The Top 10... | Remembrance of Allah | The Classroom of the Sahaba

Opening & Recitation

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh, dear brothers and sisters. First of all, I would like to sincerely apologize for starting late. Today's session was delayed quite a bit — about 30 minutes — and I apologize for that. I was invited for a khatm of Qur'an in a local masjid and I accepted it. We were there and I had to give a talk for the masjid and it just went on longer than expected.

You know, sometimes these last few nights of Ramadan, especially the khatms, people are sitting there — so many people — and they're all there to enjoy that moment and it gets stretched, not in a negative way, in a positive way, because everyone really enjoys those moments. So I was there and I was also a part of that gathering.

There's a scholar by the name of Qatada who says: to be a part of the khatm, the completion of the Qur'an, is more virtuous than even going for Umrah. In some narrations he mentions that — to be part of a khatm. You know, Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) was a great sahabi. When he would finish the Qur'an, he would gather his entire family, his relatives, and they would get together and then do the khatm together and make du'a together. So these are things that we find in our tradition.

Hence I was attending a khatm in a local masjid. Alhamdulillah, it went great. May Allah bless all those that were a part of that gathering and bless you for waiting, and I truly apologize. Shaykh Abdullah also had a khatm in his own community — my brother Shaykh Abdullah Waheed Bajan — and Shaykh Abdullah Uduru, who is joining us today, also had a khatm in his masjid. So mashaAllah, all three of us were able to be a part of these gatherings.

I will bring on screen one of our beautiful students from Houston — Ghufran — for a short recitation, just to get us insha'Allah in the right mood, the right mindset.

MashaAllah, Hafiz Ghufran — that was beautiful. MashaAllah, him and his brother. His brother is actually finishing his studies next year in our school. MashaAllah, he'll be graduating as a scholar. And Hafiz Ghufran, you have two years left, insha'Allah. Time flies, right? And mashaAllah, you have been hearing his recitation alongside the other students on a daily basis as we have recorded the entire Qur'an in our studio. It is now online and on YouTube. Hafiz Nurul Huda and Hafiz Idrees — they all recited one juz' each and alhamdulillah they finished the Qur'an in that manner. So you can always go back on our page and insha'Allah view and listen to the Qur'an being recited by them. May Allah bless you, Ghufran.

Introduction to the Topic: The Dhikr of Allah

And today's topic is about the ibadah of dhikr. We're going to talk about the dhikr of Allah — how this is one of the greatest forms of ibadah.

Shaykh Abdullah Uduru, I would like to ask you on this topic of dhikr — what comes to your mind? What do you feel that the crowd needs to hear as we conclude the blessed month of Ramadan? I know it's easy — dhikr is easy, it's not hard — but we want you to bring us back. How easy is it? And how important is it?

The Meaning of Dhikr — Reflect to Connect

[Shaykh Abdullah Uduru]: SubhanAllah. When I think of dhikr, I think of the linguistic meaning, which further transfers into the technical meaning — what we call the istilahi meaning. So lughatan, it's like to remember something, to recollect. I always tell people: we have to reflect to connect. You have to think about something. And those thoughts — depending on what they are and how they manifest — that's where the fruits come in.

So when you think about something, when you think about Allah, you think about His names and His attributes, and how that took place in your life — that demands something from you. What are you going to do about it? So, for instance, when people want to become Muslim, there's a lot of linguistic dhikr going on. They're thinking: what did I do in my life? What were those things that took place in my life? What am I going to do about it? The regrets that I have. I know that God is One. I know this is the right choice. So they perform that action.

So I really think about remembrance. And from the remembrance comes the other forms of dhikr — mainly the ones we know and that are commonplace amongst us all — which is dhikr bil-lisan, right? It's mentioning that with your tongue. Saying subhanAllah walhamdulillah. The adhkar of the morning and evening — adhkar al-sabah wal-masa. It's saying those names of Allah with your tongue. But it really won't have any significant — or let's say the optimal — effect if there is no remembrance of the heart. So that's primarily what I think about.

The Qur'an as Dhikr

29 nights of Ramadan have gone by. The Qur'an is just — every ayah — the dhikr of Allah. And the Qur'an is, I think, the most beautiful way to do the dhikr of Allah. You have so many things through which to remember Allah.

Allah says:

It is nothing but a reminder for all the worlds. Always reminding. This is the concept of:

And we send down of the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy for the believers. This concept of dhikr, dhikr, dhikr — so much remembrance in the Qur'an. And when you educate yourself through ta'lim, the dhikr comes with it.

So it's been a month of just listening to the Qur'an, juz' by juz', talking about the Qur'an, reflection moments with the Qur'an, top 10, the classroom with the Sahaba. It's just so refreshing. And I'm so grateful for this. You kind of have to — now I've heard it so much, I've spoken about it so much, I've read about it so much in the last month — I just hope it settles into my heart. And that's my biggest concern right now.

Leaving This World with Your Tongue Moist with Dhikr

The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 3793; also reported by al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir)

The best deed is that you depart this world while your tongue is moist with the remembrance of Allah. Very interesting that the Prophet ﷺ said this. How do you know that an event was successful, or that a da'wah was impactful? The best way to know is that when you leave, you're still speaking about it. You're still talking about it — "man, that night was a great night, it was a great wedding, the food was so good" — and you're still talking about it. And if you really liked it, what you end up doing is going online and leaving a review for that restaurant or that hotel or that place that you went to. Your dhikr of that place did not stop.

So what the Prophet ﷺ is saying is: as you leave the month of Ramadan, as you leave these places, continue speaking about it. Because you speaking about it is a sign that you enjoyed it. And you not speaking about it is a sign that you were waiting for it to leave.

Fath Makkah and the Command to Increase Dhikr

This is why, when the Prophet ﷺ was blessed with Fath-e-Makkah — the greatest victory for the Muslims — Allah at the end of it... And people always ask, what should we do as Ramadan is ending? This greatest victory happened in the last 10 days of Ramadan. Some say the 23rd night, some say the 25th night. What did Allah tell His Prophet ﷺ to do when he gained the greatest victory of his life?

"O My Habib, now you start remembering Me even more." No one gives a gift to a loved one for them to love them less. A gift is given so that the love may increase. Allah does not give us the gift of this blessed month of Ramadan so that we may love Him less. But rather, the hope from this is that we both love each other more and we can love Allah more.

Ya Rasul of Allah, turn back and do your dhikr of Allah now more than before. And this is why this hadith was chosen on this night — that as we are leaving, the dhikr of Allah, not just passively or as a backdrop or as a side thing, but rather as an active form of ibadah should be done. And the best dhikr to do at these times is:

To do istighfar — "Ya Allah, we were not able to worship You the way that You ought to be worshipped."

Why Continue Dhikr After Ramadan?

[Shaykh Abdullah Uduru]: SubhanAllah. It's really about — if you're at that gathering, that wedding ceremony, you remember it, but you're remembering the good moments that made you want to talk about it again and even relive it. So those experiences that you had in Ramadan — cherishing them, remembering those good times, remembering how Allah brought you through COVID, that you were able to be there, that you were able to make it to the masjid, that you were able to hear the book of Allah, that you were able to fast. You could have been sick from the aftereffects or whatever the case may be.

But there are so many things that could have happened that we don't think about, because we are nas — SubhanAllah. The word nas comes from, as some scholars say, nasiya. You know the poem:

We as mankind — we forget more than we remember. We forget our sins more than we remember them. And Allah is still al-Ghafoor. Allah is still al-'Afuww.

What is the du'a that we make in searching for Laylatul Qadr? As Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked her husband Muhammad ﷺ — she said, "What should I say if Laylatul Qadr approaches me?" So:

"Oh Allah, You are the Pardoner, You love to pardon, so pardon me." (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3513; graded as Sahih)

The Two Pillars of 'Ubudiyyah — Ibn al-Qayyim

[Shaykh Abdullah Uduru]: Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) mentions in al-Wabil al-Sayyib a beautiful concept. He makes a du'a at the beginning of his book and he says:

He says: these three things — if you were given them, you are thankful; if you were tested, you are patient; and if you commit a sin, you seek forgiveness — these three things constitute true happiness.

Then he goes on to talk about al-istighfar. And he mentions — quoting Shaykh al-Islam al-Harawi al-Hanbali — how he said:

He says these two things the servant goes through in their life. Two things. And Ibn al-Qayyim says these are qa'idataa al-'ibadah — the two pillars, or two maxims, of ibadah and 'ubudiyyah, of servitude.

The first of them is mushahadat al-minna — to witness the favor of Allah. Some scholars say al-Mannan is one of the names of Allah:

Allah is the One who bestows upon you His blessings and He reminds you of His blessings. And then the second one is witnessing — you are approaching your ayub al-nafs wal-'amal — the mistakes that you've made.

Each one of these things produces something. So when you think about the minna, it brings hubb — it brings kamal al-hubb. And the second one brings kamal al-dhull — perfect humility. So when you think of Allah and what He has given you — "I made it here to Ramadan, my family's healthy, Allah has blessed me with patience through a family member that may have passed away" — it's really those moments alone with Allah that get you through. Thinking of those good moments has gotten me through. You think about how Allah blessed you with that. He blessed you with closure, with the ability to move on, to continue on, and to live the legacy of that person. So when you think of that — that's the minna of Allah which increases your love of Him.

And then at the same time, you're thinking about how you fell short before — that's the mutala'at al-'ayb. You're thinking about the deficiencies and shortcomings that have befallen you. When you think of the Prophet's ﷺ du'a — as Ibn Rajab mentions:

Meaning: I seek forgiveness for that which You know, for indeed You are the Knower of all unseen things. There are sins that we have forgotten we committed. Just think about that. Allah is al-'Alim and al-Khabir. He has all knowledge. He knows that sin you committed at any moment — He knows it, and it is impossible for Him to be ignorant of that. So all those things that you've forgotten — just thinking about the sins you've forgotten should make you subhanAllah — sorrowful in that moment.

And he mentions inqisar al-qalb — that word inqisar is such a comprehensive word in regards to turning back to Allah and inabah. Inqisar comes from qasr, which means to break. Your heart is broken — shattered — in front of Allah.

And that brings the dhull — the humility. And these are the two things. So when you think about those moments in Shawwal, in the months that follow, when you were in Ramadan and you were crying and you were just alone thinking about Allah — you think about that. And that's the dhikr. So when you think about it, you say astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah — a hundred times during the day. You get up and pray two rak'ahs. You give some sadaqah. You read the Qur'an al-Karim. You sit down and say: "I want that feeling that I had in Ramadan. I want to capture that feeling."

Dhikr During and After the Amal

Something that comes to mind — when you're doing the amal, do the dhikr of Allah:

So He says: when you are in the thick of the battle, when you are in the thick of the amal — like it's late on the 29th night or the 25th night and you're really enjoying yourself — continue doing it. Fathbutu — don't turn away. Make sure you continue. But at the same time, fadhkurullah — know that Allah allowed us to be here. This should bring a sense of gratitude, and then you become grateful.

And then when you finish the amal:

Allah says: when you finish all the rituals and the manasik of Hajj — you went through this entire difficult journey — when you leave, fadhkurullah 'ind al-Mash'ar al-Haram — continue remembering Allah, as this is what got you there, this is what made you get there. Speak about it. So people know that you enjoyed it. Not just share pictures — come back and share your reflections. Share your moments. Speak to someone about it.

Like, imagine going somewhere for a vacation, you come back, and your family asks, "How was it?" — "It was good." They don't wanna go there anymore because you're not hyping it up enough. So we need to hype this up as much as we possibly can so that other people know that they missed out on something. So the next time when it comes, we are able to be back, and they also want to be back. It's on us to make sure that we speak about these things as they are leaving.

And, you know — normally if we wanna experience a moment, we have to go to certain places, right? Like we have to go to that restaurant to experience that food. But to experience Allah's love and mercy:

We can experience that feeling in our house, in our room, on our bed. That feeling can happen — if we just follow that same blueprint.

They say in sports: what pushes a person who won the finals to want to win again? It's that feeling. I want to experience that feeling that I felt when I won it last time. I want to experience that feeling of triumph and victory. Well, we need to gain victory in the courts of Allah. This is what makes you want to come back.

And the scholars debate: how do you know if an amal is accepted? We don't know until the akhirah. But one of the greatest signs of an amal being accepted is that Allah allows us to do it again — and again. So as we're leaving this blessed month:

Allah says: the remembrance of Allah is the greatest thing. That is in the ayah of salah — إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ — as if the salah was not itself a dhikr (it was a dhikr), but Allah says we have other things to talk about — continue, keep the dhikr going.

Shawwal and Beyond — Remembering the Ni'mahs of Allah

[Shaykh Abdullah Uduru]: SubhanAllah. I mentioned on my Friday Khutbah that it happened years ago when I used to teach — there was a young child walking with his father in Shawwal and he said, "Baba, why are we still coming to the masjid? Ramadan is over." So it's really about — if you're at that gathering, that wedding ceremony, you remember the good moments that made you want to talk about it again and even relive it.

Thinking about how Allah brought you through — you were able to remember Him, hear His book, fast. So many things could have happened that we don't think about, because as nas, we are forgetful. We forget more than we remember. We forget the sins more than we remember them. And Allah is still al-Ghafoor. Allah is still al-'Afuww.

Ibn al-Qayyim also mentions — and this is profound — the du'a of the Prophet ﷺ:

"I acknowledge Your blessing upon me and I acknowledge my sin." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6306 — part of Sayyid al-Istighfar)

And when we understand that, you know — as Mufti Bajan and Shaykh Abdullah spoke about — the concept of manna: that favor of Allah on us, that He is al-Mannan. The favor that Allah has done for us, that we've come across this month of Ramadan, which leads us to be grateful to Him and remember Him.

Talk about the blessings of your Lord. If you've been watching and learning, talk about it, write it down. What's next now? Every time, it's our nature — we accomplish something and then we want to go further. We've been to this restaurant and we want something better, something new. Similarly with this Islamic concept of manna — alhamdulillah, we're so blessed. Now this blessing is demanding that we start to strive harder for better things.

The Angels' Prayer and Allah's Encompassing Rahmah

And you know, there's an ayah in Surah al-Mu'min — Surah Ghafir — where the angels say:

Both rahmah and 'ilm are brought together here. Wallah, Your rahmah encompasses everything. So someone could be oblivious and forgive someone, but Allah is not neglectful or oblivious — He's fully 'alim of their wrong, and He says, "You know what, I'm going to let you slide." A police officer isn't being merciful because he didn't catch you — he just didn't see you. Allah saw you and He was merciful.

So Allah's knowledge and His rahmah are being appreciated together. And the favor that Allah has done for us — that He is al-Mannan, you know — the favor that He has done for us that we've come across this month of Ramadan leads us to be grateful to Him and remember Him.

Gatherings That Remind You of Allah

That hadith where the Prophet ﷺ was asked which gatherings are the best for us:

(Reported in various collections including al-Bayhaqi's Shu'ab al-Iman; attributed to hadith literature with slight variations)

The best of your companions is he whose sight reminds you of Allah — not because they're intimidating, but their presence alone, subhanAllah. And when you sit with them and learn from them, your knowledge increases. And when you see them — when you see them praying, giving charity, the way they forgive people — their actions, not their speeches, the way they interact, the way they behave, the way they worship — remind you of the akhirah. Like they're just an embodiment.

And there are some people — every act reminds you of the akhirah. I find that narration to be very interesting because it's not just dhikr by yelling at someone or talking about it, but looking at these things — these are the gatherings the Prophet ﷺ said to be around.

So when you're finishing Ramadan, find these places. Because it keeps you so motivated. Honestly, as much as we've studied — if I'm all alone and I go on YouTube, the first video won't be a dhikr video. No, the first video might be something on cars, something about snowboarding, something about whatever my interest is at the moment. But imagine seeing people who are just constantly motivating you. Be around it.

And just to quickly add to that — one is to look in your friends list and try to find those people and those gatherings. The second is to become those people. Why can't we become those people? You become those individuals. One is: okay, I can become a person where when people see me, I can meet them with respect and love. And the only way to do that is to be intentional about it. That's the intention when you meet people — you have nothing else in mind.

Allah in the Qur'an when He speaks about nur and iman, He said this happens because of two things. Number one, it happens because of the places — the houses of Allah. So we encourage all of us to continue populating the masjid. And the second one is rijalun — be around people. Being in the masjid and then being around people. In those two things, you're naturally constantly in the dhikr of Allah.

Takbir on Eid — And the Legacy of Ramadan

I remember — Shaykh Abdullah, you said atqabbal Allah minna wa minkum. My father, may Allah protect him, had a sunnah when he would take us for Eid — he would make us read the Takbir so loud that by the time we got there for Eid Salah, we were so pumped up, jumping off walls. He would get us so pumped up saying the Takbir. It was so powerful. And this is why starting it off right on Eid — when you take your children to the masjid, start with saying the Takbir in the home, out loud. These things will hopefully, insha'Allah, instill memories in us.

They say: how do you regrow a relationship with someone? Remember the good moments that you had with them. So how do we regrow this relationship with Allah three months from now? Remember these moments. That felt so good. Remember those good moments.

You know, Abu Huraira used to go into the aswaq — the marketplace — saying:

Wallahi — when new Muslims see this, when non-Muslims see Muslims coming out of the masjid at eight in the morning, they think: what is going on? Is there a Black Friday sale somewhere? They see that something is happening, and that is the dhikr manifesting outwardly.

And what Allah says at the very end — upon the conclusion of Ramadan:

Upon the conclusion — magnify Allah for having guided you, and perhaps you will be grateful.

I always tell them on the minbar when I conclude my Eid khutbah: have fun, go somewhere, eat and exchange gifts. Please, let the children understand to have dhikr of this day and remember these moments. You know, a family therapist in our community shared that his fondest memory of Ramadan is mint chocolate ice cream. He said, "Because my dad used to take me after Tarawih to go get mint chocolate ice cream. I still remember it till this day." So those moments of Ramadan were associated with something that he liked. It's a good memory. And next thing you know, Sha'ban is approaching and we're getting ready for Ramadan again. Use Ramadan as a catalyst for something new — for a new habit, for something you want to increase in.

Remembering Death — Akthiru Dhikra Hadim al-Ladhdhat

The only hadith that comes to mind, it's not a hadith about dhikr al-lisan — it's the dhikr of death, you know:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2307; Sunan al-Nasa'i, Hadith 1824 — graded Sahih)

Increase your remembrance of the destroyer of pleasures — meaning death. That's a beautiful hadith in itself. Do you remember death very often? It's starting to become more present for me. After my sister — you know, my sister died of cancer — and then just seeing how time, subhanAllah, time is limited. You start to think about what legacy you're leaving.

What's interesting — I was in a book club with some brothers and one of them made an interesting observation: he said, subhanAllah, when we were young, we were worried about our first name, but when we get older, we worry about our last. What legacy are you going to leave? That's what I always tell people — even at my sister's funeral with all of her friends: what legacy are you going to leave for that person? What did they want to fulfill in their life, and what role can you play in fulfilling that?

The wisdom in that is subhanAllah — the more you think about death, you start to think about how you're living your life. You see certain scholars — Fudayl ibn 'Iyad, who was always thinking about that. Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak. These Tabi'een and the likes of these ulema were always on that. Abu al-Darda. You know, companions — they were zuhad, and they were always thinking about that. SubhanAllah — it's amazing when you have that remembrance. And that's always why I say: you have to reflect to connect. That's the key.

SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar — The Tasbeeh After Salah

There's a hadith when the Prophet ﷺ told Aisha to recite subhanAllah, walhamdulillah, wallahu akbar at nighttime before going to sleep. And you think about what they call cognitive behavioral therapy — CBT — where someone is asked questions and it's kind of like self-therapy where one is speaking to themselves consistently. And you think about why we repeat subhanAllah, subhanAllah, subhanAllah. It can't just be once — and Allah knows why we do it 33, 33, 33, and perhaps 34.

What is the difference between subhanAllah and alhamdulillah and Allahu Akbar? You know, concluding Ramadan — subhanAllah in your life. You know, whenever Allah says:

It's always a tanzih — a declaration of Allah's absolute perfection and transcendence. So it's amazing — we say this so many times, and it kind of revs you up to think more about Allah. Where was the subhanAllah moment in your life? Where was the alhamdulillah moment? Where was the Allahu Akbar moment?

And that can only happen if you pause the world for a second. If we're distracted, we're not able to reflect. Just have to stop. Put the phone away. Get your quiet time. After salah, just for one second, two minutes, reflect. If you catch the reflect part, you've earned the remembrance part. That is the key. Everybody is running after remembrance — "I want to remember, I want to remember." We have to catch the train, and the engine that's hitching the remembrance is reflection. That is the key.

And what better time than right when you've just finished your prayer. You say:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 591) — It is interesting that this was legislated that way — that right after the salah, you first say a statement of humility — astaghfirullah — for any shortcomings that took place within the salah. And then after that, you remember Allah. You recite Ayat al-Kursi. You make some more adhkar. Right after you've made invocations within the prayer, there is still more. So keeping the tongue moist with the remembrance of Allah.

Firm in the Grave — Yuthabbitu Allah al-Ladhina Aamanu

When you leave this dunya — you know, when you think about the three questions asked in the grave — man rabbukum, ma deenukum, man nabiyyukum — it's not going to be easy. Oh, the angel of death — even though I'm a munafiq, you know, "My Lord is Allah, my deen is Islam, my prophet..." No, it doesn't work that way. It's going to be what was there in your heart — that is what is going to keep you firm when you answer those questions when the angels come to you.

Allah keeps firm those who believe with the firm word — in this world and in the akhirah. InshaAllah, our souls will leave like the water that seeps gently from a faucet, not like a thorn being pulled through wet wool. And it will smell like musk, insha'Allah ta'ala.

So the dhikr of Allah — remembering Him when we leave this world — is something that we ask Allah to make us of those whose souls leave while connected to Him.

When the soul reaches the collarbones and you are at that moment looking on — the dhikr of Allah is there, it comes back to us, and it becomes a source of remembrance and help for us. This is why the Qur'an:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 804)

The Qur'an will be an intercessor for its companions. Everything — the shafa'ah for us — because we took care of it, subhanAllah.

The Kalimah Tayyibah — A Tree with Deep Roots

I want to share two ayat — they are connected. One ayah leads to the other:

Sometimes people say: what's the point of me saying one subhanAllah? What's the point of me saying one alhamdulillah? I can't do all of it, so I should just leave all of it. No. If you can't buy a hundred stocks, you just buy five. You buy whatever you can. You can still be a part of that.

You know, my favorite hadith is:

(al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani; also attributed in various collections of athar)

The people of Jannah will only regret those moments that they passed by without the dhikr of Allah. So they're sitting in Jannah and they hear this beautiful, soft noise from above — and they say, that person must have done so much more than me, so much more tahajjud, so much more in their ibadah to get that higher Jannah. The angels will tell them: the only difference between you and them is that they said one more الحمد لله — and that one alhamdulillah got them to the next level.

A good word that we use — it benefits us now. The roots are here, but the reward of it continues to grow, continues to cultivate itself. And insha'Allah when we get there, we will see the benefit of it. And that leads me to the next ayah:

To Allah ascends the good word, and the righteous deed raises it. When we say these words, they go directly to Allah. This is why the Mufassirun — Mujahid mentions — Allah says this because:

Because since we say the name of Allah, it actually goes directly to Allah — and Allah says our name. Allah mentions our name. If our name can be seen in front of Allah and mentioned by Allah, how can we not get accepted?

And it's not the opposite way — that I first need to start doing good deeds and then I speak about Allah. No, just start speaking. The statements, the speech actually leads to the 'amal. The speech motivates the 'amal and propels the 'amal to continue going up to Allah.

You know, people always say: "Don't speak, man, because you don't act upon it." But the tafseer of the ayah:

— the tafseer of this ayah is not that you can't speak about something you're not doing. This ayah means: don't speak about something that you don't want to do. So if you don't want to pray tahajjud, don't give advice about it. But if you want to do it and you're not doing it yet, then give advice about it, because the speech motivates the action.

Everything Is From Allah — Increasing Love Through Seeing His Signs

Love is found in everything of that person. Sometimes my brother is gone — rahimahullah — but he's still with us. I wear his vest all the time. When I wear it, I think of him and I love him even more. When I smell his perfume, I love him even more.

If we start seeing that everything that we have is actually Allah's anyway — our love for Allah will just increase. I see my brother's car. It sits in our driveway and takes a spot. But I promise you, no one is ever going to move it. Because it reminds us of our brother. And it brings us so much happiness. Even if it does eventually change, it doesn't matter — because he's enjoying much more wherever he is, insha'Allah.

But if we understand that everything is from Allah anyway, then our love for Allah will increase every single time something good comes into our life. "This is from Allah." So what, manna? It came from Allah. Allah, make us amongst those people who can find dhikr — not only in saying it, but in seeing it. "Wow, Allah gave me this too? Allah, You are so great." Allah, make us amongst those people.

Closing Du'a

Brothers and sisters, please make du'a for Shaykh Abdullah and his family. May Allah accept from him, his family, and his children. May all of our children be from the righteous. May Allah give strength to Shaykh Abdullah Uduru, Mufti Abdul Wahab, and all of us who are joining this program. May Allah make this night a night where we are forgiven, a night where we are elevated, amongst those who benefit and are rewarded on the night of Laylatul Qadr.

We ask Allah to forgive our parents, our siblings, our wives, our children, all of us. Ya Rabbal Alameen. We ask Allah to give us many more Ramadans in which we are able to enjoy and worship Him and remember Him. We ask Allah to make our tongues busy and moist with the dhikr of Allah. When we leave this world, may we leave with our tongues and our hearts connected to Allah. We ask Almighty Allah to forgive our shortcomings and our faults, to overlook them, to reward us for the little work that we have done — to appreciate it, magnify it, multiply it, and reward it on the Day of Judgment, Ya Rabbal Alameen.

Jazakumullahu khayran everyone. Ameen. Bi rahmatika ya Arhamar Rahimeen.