The Power of Gratitude Hastening Towards Righteousness

The Motivation to Worship: Gratitude to Allah

That Allah is running the system of the entire universe because of him — when a believer ponders over this fact, then automatically he becomes motivated to show his gratitude towards Allah, and automatically pushes himself to worship Allah. And this was the sentiment Rasulullah ﷺ showed us when Aisha رضي الله عنها asked him: "O Prophet of Allah, Allah has forgiven your previous and future sins — if you were to commit any" — it was just a hypothetical scenario, because we believe that the Anbiya are ma'sum; they are infallible, they never commit a sin. Nevertheless, Aisha رضي الله عنها was trying to comfort Rasulullah ﷺ. So she said: "O Prophet of Allah, if you were to commit any sin — which is impossible — if you were to commit, Allah has already forgiven. Why do you exert yourself in Ibadah to this extent that your feet become swollen?"

When Rasulullah ﷺ heard this from Aisha رضي الله عنها, he responded: "Yes, it is a fact that I have been forgiven and there is no possibility to commit a sin ever — nevertheless, should I not become a grateful servant of Allah?" So the Ibadah of Rasulullah ﷺ was on the basis of gratification to Allah. So any believer, when he ponders over this fact that he is so important in the sight of Allah — that Allah is running the system of the entire universe because of him — he naturally and automatically gets motivated to show his gratitude towards Allah by worshipping Him.

Hasten Toward Good Deeds

And when that motivation comes — to worship Allah or to engage in any righteous action — then a person should utilize that and push himself or herself towards fulfilling that motivation. This is what Allah mentions in the Quran:

"Hasten towards the forgiveness of your Lord and the Paradise, the vastness of which is the heavens and the earth, which has been prepared for the people who fear Allah." This is the concept and the philosophy in our deen when it comes to good deeds — that a person should hasten towards them, a person should compete when it comes to good deeds. Therefore Allah says:

"Let the believers compete with one another in righteous actions." This was something that the Sahaba رضي الله عنهم أجمعين practically demonstrated — how they would go above and beyond, how they would try to compete with one another when it came to good deeds.

The Example of Abu Bakr and Umar at the Battle of Tabuk

For instance, at the time of the Battle of Tabuk — it was one of the most severe battles that Muslims had to fight. The weather was extremely hot and it was the time to harvest dates. Considering all of the circumstances — fighting such a large enemy with little to no means — Rasulullah ﷺ went on the minbar and made an appeal to donate for the sake of Allah to achieve victory in this battle.

One after another, the Sahaba began to give whatever they could. And this was the day that Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه was hoping to surpass Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه. Throughout his life, Umar رضي الله عنه would look at Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه who was always ahead of him in matters of deen. So today he thought: "I might have one chance to surpass Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه." So he went home, gathered whatever he had, and brought half of his wealth to present before Rasulullah ﷺ.

Rasulullah ﷺ asked Umar رضي الله عنه: "What have you brought, O Umar?" Umar رضي الله عنه said: "O Prophet of Allah, I have brought half of my wealth." سبحان الله. Then Rasulullah ﷺ made du'a for him. Then he called Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه: "O Abu Bakr, what did you bring?" Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه said: "O Rasulullah ﷺ, I have brought everything that is before you." Rasulullah ﷺ asked: "What did you leave behind for your family?" Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه said: "I have left behind Allah and His Rasul for my family."

And Umar رضي الله عنه understood that Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه is at such a level that it is impossible to surpass him. But nevertheless, this was the sentiment of the Sahaba رضي الله عنهم أجمعين — that when it came to the matters of deen, they would always go above and beyond, they would always try to compete with one another.

The Prophetic Principle: Where to Look

This was something taught to us by Rasulullah ﷺ: when it comes to the matters of your dunya, look at those who are below you; when it comes to the matters of deen, look at those who are above you and ahead of you, so you can also reach high levels in deen. And when it comes to dunya, look at those below you so you can become content with what Allah has given you.

This was the sentiment of the Sahaba رضي الله عنهم أجمعين in the matters of deen. And when it comes to us, our sentiment is similar — but not in the matters of deen, rather in the matters of dunya. The philosophy of our deen is: when it comes to matters of dunya and worldly affairs, do not compete. Do not compete when it comes to wealth. Do not compete when it comes to the fame of this world — rather, when it comes to those things, be careful. And when it comes to deen, compete with one another and try your best to get the highest and most lofty levels that you can.

The Hadith: Rush Toward Good Deeds Before the Trials

This was something that Rasulullah ﷺ mentions in a narration narrated by Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 213)

The Prophet of Allah ﷺ says: "Rush towards good deeds before you are overtaken by fitan — trials and tribulations — such as are like parts of the dark night. Just as the night gets darker and darker as it progresses in time, likewise the trials that will befall you will slowly but surely get more and more severe. So rush towards good deeds before you are overtaken by those trials and tribulations."

The Internal and External Enemies

This was the sentiment that Rasulullah ﷺ expressed for us, because he was aware of the enemies that Allah has set for us in this world. One is the internal — our own nafs, which is always lazy and deceiving us in delaying all of our actions. And another is the external — Shaytan. Shaytan knows how a mu'min operates. Therefore he never tells a mu'min to not engage in a good act — rather, he will always make him postpone those good deeds.

Whenever a believer is motivated to do something good, Shaytan will make him postpone those good deeds. If a person is young, going to high school, Shaytan will deceive him saying: "There is still a lot of time, you're too young. When you go to college, you will start doing amal." When a person goes to college, Shaytan comes once again: "Right now you have to acquire your career, you have to worry about your job — so try your best to get the best grades in college. When you start working, then you can start doing good deeds, then you can start doing tahajjud, and you can start engaging in nawafil." When a person starts working, then the concern comes: "Now let me worry about having a stabilized life, let me try to have a house — then I will start doing extra nawafil."

The time goes on, and a person is now overtaken — at times the health is not supporting a person, or — Allah forbid — a person is affected by a sudden death. Then there is no more opportunity to engage in any good deed.

The Seven Afflictions: A Prophetic Warning

This is why Rasulullah ﷺ mentions in a hadith which is so shocking for us. Rasulullah ﷺ enumerates all of those possibilities that divert a person from engaging in good deeds:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Book 36, Hadith 2306)

Rasulullah ﷺ says in this hadith: "Hasten to good deeds before you are overtaken by one of these seven afflictions." Then giving a warning, Rasulullah ﷺ enumerates those seven calamities:

Number one — Are you waiting for such poverty which will make you unmindful of devotion? Or such prosperity which will make you corrupt? Or disease that will disable you from worshipping Allah? Or such old age that will make you mentally unstable? Or sudden death — Rasulullah ﷺ teaches us in a hadith:

Sudden death, which will not allow a person to make some necessary preparations before he dies, or does not even allow him to engage in any act whatsoever. Then Rasulullah ﷺ ends with: Are you waiting for the fitna of the Dajjal — fa sharru ghaibin yunqadar — who is the worst expected absent? Or the Hour of Judgment, which will be the most grievous and the most bitter?

Here Rasulullah ﷺ is enumerating all those possibilities — the first five of which afflict each and every single one of us at some occasion. When it comes to faqran munsiyah — although a person may not face absolute poverty, a person is always concerned with relative poverty. Whatever wealth he has, a person is never content with it. So there is always that thing bothering a person: "How can I get more? How can I get more?" And in the desire to get more, a person gets distracted from worshipping Allah and from engaging in righteous actions that will help him in the hereafter.

Likewise, Rasulullah ﷺ says: are you waiting for such wealth that will distract you from worshipping Allah? As it is seen many a time — when a person is showered with so much wealth, he has no time to worship Allah, he has no time to even show up to the masajid for even the obligatory prayers on a daily basis. Likewise, aw haraman mufannidat — Rasulullah ﷺ counts the different possibilities that distract a person from engaging in righteous actions.

The Reality of This Life: Surah al-Kahf

I will end with one of the verses of Surah al-Kahf wherein Allah summarizes the reality of this life — that each one of us will be in one of those three concerns at all times:

"Wealth and children are the adornment of this worldly life, but the everlasting good deeds are far better with your Lord in reward and in hope." Each one of us sitting here will have one of these concerns on a daily basis — a person may either be at work trying to gain halal wealth, or maybe with his family trying to spend quality time, or maybe engaged in righteous actions. And from each of these three, a person has some expectations.

Here Allah ends this ayah by showing us that yes, you have expectations from all of these three — but the one that is far more capable of fulfilling all of our expectations is the righteous actions, as they will come with you in the grave and go with you into the hereafter.

A Firm Resolution Going Forward

So now, as we are about to end this year — so many years have passed that we have spent with so much ghafla and negligence — let us make a firm resolution and determination that from now on, إن شاء الله, we will not delay in engaging in good actions. Because we never know when death comes — it is a reality which is certain, but unexpected as to when it will come.

So may Allah grant us all the tawfiq to engage in righteous actions. May Allah grant us all the tawfiq to maximize whatever opportunities we have to engage in righteous actions.

Du'a After Salah

Announcements

There are some announcements for the different programs that we have here:

Essential Arabic Program

Separate classes for brothers and sisters. You can register at masjid.org/summer. It starts on July 22nd and goes till August 9th. The timing for this program is Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The Arabic Intensive Program is designed to provide students with a strong foundation in the basics of the Arabic language through a comprehensive curriculum that focuses on grammar, vocabulary, and conversation. Students will gain a solid understanding of the language's fundamentals.

Intensive One-Year Arabic and Islamic Studies Program (Tanweer Intensive)

There is still time to join. The new intensive is a year-long Arabic and Islamic studies program which aims to lay the foundation for one's Islamic edification. Every Muslim should strive to please Allah through the gifts and talents they have been bestowed. Islamic knowledge must be acquired — choosing a professional career should not close the door to furthering one's Islamic education. The application deadline has been extended to July 12th. You can register at masjid.org/tanweer-intensive.

Weekly Programs

Team Fajr will resume tomorrow. Fajr Iqamah is at 4:45 a.m.
Tuesday Tafsir will continue after Maghrib Salah. We are currently continuing with Surah al-Ghafir.
Weekly Salawat and Khatira — every Thursday after Maghrib Salah.

Special Program

Mawlana Abdul Qasim Nu'mani, President and Shaykh al-Hadith of Darul Uloom Deoband, will be addressing on Sunday, July 14th, after Dhuhr Salah.

Du'a Requests

Please make du'a for the Palestinian Muslims.
Please make du'a for the shifa of Mawlana Makki Hijazi Sahib.
Please make du'a for Azimul Haqq, who helped build the initial masjid and the Phase 2 expansion of Darul Salam Seminary — he and his family have been involved in a serious car accident. Please make du'a for their shifa.
Please make du'a for the ailing father of one of Darul Salam's staff members.