Submitting Yourself to Allah (SWT) | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed | Friday Reminder

The Elements of Success

My dear brothers, sisters, elders and youngsters, it is well known that when an individual traverses upon a journey in which he or she hopes to find success, that on this journey or on this mission of theirs, there are necessary elements that allow them to succeed. And without them, success becomes quite distant. They require family assistance, family support, family push, a comfortable family that can push and support them.

They require financial support. They require institutional support. They require mental support. And with all of these elements, an individual can seek success in their mission of life. And without these elements, it becomes quite difficult. The movements are there. The pushing and moving and the hustle and bustle is quite present. But we struggle to find success without family support, institutional support, financial support.

The Greatest Success Story: Ibrahim

However, one of the greatest success stories of humankind is about an individual who lacked in all of those areas. When it came to family, his own father removed him from the home. When it came to finance, there was nothing to be seen. When it came to community support, that same community that saw him grow up and raised him was the community that lit a fire that they could throw him within. That same community that saw him become the man he was, wished for him to burn alive.

The same father which raised him said to him, that if you continue preaching what you preach, and speaking about what you speak about, and believing in what you believe in, then we have to go our separate ways:

Either I will stone you and shame you, or you leave and never come back. The same individual who for 80 years had no lineage, no family, no children — becomes the father of every religion. Becomes the father of all the prophets. From his lineage comes Ishaq. And from the lineage of Ishaq comes all the prophets that came to Bani Israel. And from his lineage comes the blessed Ismail. And from his blessed lineage comes our Muhammad, peace be upon him.

Hence the Prophet, peace be upon him, says:

"I am the accepted supplication of my father Ibrahim, peace be upon him."

The Command: Aslim — Submit Yourself

So if all of these factors — which are necessary factors of success — were absent in his life, what allowed him to succeed? Allah says:

When Allah looked at him and said, Aslim — submit yourself. Submit your life, your desires, your wishes, your intellect, your rationality, your goals, your objectives. Submit them to the commands of Allah. And his instant response was, Aslamtu — I have submitted myself. It wasn't that I will submit myself, or I will think about it and gather enough content to see whether or not it's worth it. Aslamtu li rabbil 'alameen.

Response Time: The Difference Between a Believer and a Hypocrite

The difference between a believer and a munafiq — a believer and a hypocrite — how Allah alludes to in the Qur'an is our response time. What is our response time? A believer's response time is instantaneous. When they hear the adhan, they go to the masjid:

Turn towards the masjid. The difference between Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and all the other companions was his instantaneous response. The moment the Prophet, peace be upon him, called him towards Allah, he accepted. There was no delay, there was no glitch, there was no hesitation, there was no reluctance. And hence he became the greatest companion.

And the hypocrites, rather on the opposite end of the spectrum, they wait and they delay. And hence Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, says that a sign of a great act — rather the greatest sign of an act that is accepted in the eyes of Allah — is when the intention and the action have a small window. Where there is no large gap between the intention and the action itself. Because the moment we leave a window open and there is a gap, this is where Shaytan finds his place to work.

The Wall Between Believers and Those Who Delayed

And on the Day of Judgment, Allah speaks about this difference between believers and those that delayed — the hypocrites — where there will be a wall:

There will be a wall that will be dropped between believers and those that were people that delayed. And then the hypocrites will say:

All believers, why are we on different sides of this wall? Were we not with you? Were we not with you on the journey of believing in Allah and praying and doing all the acts of goodness? We were with you side by side. And the response will come: Bala — you are quite right. We were together. We were side by side.

But you delayed in your response time and changing your life. You delayed in the response time of making the intention become an action. You delayed in the response time of all of those goals that you had given to Allah and allowing that to become a reality in your life. And when we delayed, doubt was cemented into our hearts. And when that doubt started creeping in and when it became cemented, it became difficult to change.

Ibrahim in the Fire

It was this spirit of Aslamtu — I have submitted — that allowed Ibrahim, peace be upon him, to fight off the power of Nimrod and his entire community, to fight off the power of being thrown into a fire. And as he is being thrown in and the angels are coming to him from all sides and they say, allow us — give us a sign, an indication that you want us to take this fire away and extinguish it. Give us a sign that you want us to destroy these people and we will do it.

And Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, says that Ibrahim, peace be upon him, would say, have you been sent by Allah or are you coming on your own? And they would say, no, we've just come on our own because it seems that you need help. He said, no, I will wait for Allah's response. And hence, the response of Allah was directly to the fire:

We spoke directly to the fire: Oh fire, become a place that is cool and peaceful for Ibrahim, peace be upon him. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, says that the moment this announcement and this order was made, every single fire in the world became cool — not knowing who Allah was speaking to, out of fear that even for a moment they may be disobeying Allah. Every fire accepted that command.

The Journey to the Desert: Hajar and Zamzam

And his journey continues where he leaves his land and travels to Egypt and goes to Palestine. And now he is blessed with Hajar, peace be upon her, and they are given a child in Ismail. And the command has been given that, I want you to continue your journey and continue traveling. And he continues and he reaches a land:

A land in which there is no sign of life. There are no humans. There are no animals. There is no water. There is nothing there. And he has been told that now you leave your family here in return.

When we migrate from our countries — Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Syria, Palestine, Egypt — we don't migrate from a place that has a better setting of life for us to a life that is lower. We leave to seek a better life. Our parents came here to find a better life, to find peace and security. When we travel and leave our families and places, we leave them with loved ones, people that can take care of them and look after their needs.

Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and his family are leaving the gardens of Palestine — the orchards of Quds — and being left in a desert of a place. And he has been told that he cannot even speak, and he has to return.

Hajar's Trust: "Allah Will Never Waste Us"

Aslamtu — I submit. I submit doesn't mean that I will think about it and then say yes. I submit means how we do with our contracts: that I accept all clauses and conditions. If it comes with sacrifice of time, I accept it. If it comes with sacrifice of family, I accept it. If it comes with sacrifice of anything, ya Allah — this is what will make me unique in Your eyes. This is what will allow our Prophet, peace be upon him, to love us.

And he lets the family rest and stay there. And they follow him for five miles to a land called Kada'. And then finally Hajar, peace be upon her, says to him:

"Is this the command of your Lord? Is this the command of Allah?"

When we have conflict in our families and our communities, what is our point of reference? If our point of reference is conflicting, or if we have numerous points of reference, then we will have challenges in making a decision, and we will have challenges in accepting a decision. The point of reference has to be one. And that is: is Allah happy with me? Will Allah be pleased with this decision? When the point of reference becomes consistent, then decision making becomes easy, because we have something that we can refer to.

She says, is this the command of Allah? And Ibrahim, peace be upon him, nods his head. Then she says:

"If that is the case, then Allah will never waste us." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3364)

And she enters into this empty land. And her toddler, who at that time they say was six months old — she is unable to feed him. And she starts running from one mountain to the other, and the beautiful journey of Safa and Marwa begins. Her name was Hajar, which was quite indicative of the act that she completed, which was a migration. So Allah gave her the name Hajar — the person that was the epitome of migration.

And she runs from Safa and Marwa and moves back and forth, not looking for any extra support for herself, but anything that can grant her enough energy to serve her child. And the child is crying on the side of the desert land. This is against every rational thought a person could have. This is against every calculated decision that we could have. But this is according to the calculated decision of Allah.

The Miracle of Zamzam

And when she goes back and forth seven times, her form of asking and invoking and imploring the mercy of Allah was such that the response was unique. When our du'as and supplications become unique, Allah's response also becomes unique. The response could have been in the form of water from the clouds. The response could have been that some traveler could have come and gave them water. It could have been a normal response. But since the sacrifice was unique and monumental, the response of Allah was also miraculous. From the earth where there was no sign of water, He brought this beautiful well of Zamzam. It came from their sacrifice and their submission.

Our teachers would say, and they would quote al-Ghazali, may Allah have mercy on him: Allah loved the act of Hajar so much — He did not only preserve where she went from and where she came from, from Safa and Marwa, but He also preserved how she traveled in between them. Where she walked, we walk. Where she ran, we run. There was no clock keeper there like the Olympics. There were no cameras following every movement of hers. But the cameras of Allah were on, and the clock keeper was Jibreel. So every movement of hers has to be embodied in our journey of Hajj.

The Founding of Makkah Through Sacrifice

It was through that sacrifice where the city of Makkah was set and founded. We tell ourselves that we can't set a home without compromising. They were able to found an entire city without compromising a single commandment of Allah. And today, the land of Makkah was not fertilized through wealth, through education. It was fertilized through tears and sacrifice. That land which had no fruits to take care of a family is a land where the entire world continues to go to. What attracts people to that land is not simply the black structure that we see as the Ka'bah, but the soul of sacrifice that was behind it, and the amount of movements and tears that were shed for it.

So if we seek success for our families, let it be that the only standard that we have is not that of dunya, and not that of wealth and security and education alone. One of the standards that we have to make sure is cemented into our families is the reference of Allah. And the more we sacrifice, the more our home beams with light. The more we sacrifice, the more our children will shine in the eyes of Allah and also in the eyes of this world.

This land became Makkah because of the submission of Ibrahim, the submission of Hajar, and the submission of Ismail. It takes a family to make a difference. It does not take an individual. Hence Allah says, in regards to protecting ourselves from the fire:

That we protect ourselves and our families. Children had a share in this through Ismail. The spouses had a share in this through Hajar and Ibrahim. Everyone has a part in a business becoming successful. Everyone has a part in a community becoming successful — where every individual in that family says, how can I also be a part of this family that pleases Allah?

Do Not Delay — Act Today

Though it's very general, it's something that we can dig deep within ourselves and say: what can I change? What can I do today to change? The moment we delay is the moment we fall into that same sphere of what the munafiqeen were used to do:

No one in this world likes to be left behind. We don't like to be left behind when there's a flight to catch, when there's a da'wah. No one likes to be left behind. To an extent that youngsters today have coined a term for it called FOMO — Fear of Missing Out. We don't like to be left behind. Imagine if we're left behind in the journey of the akhira.

So we should not be amongst those that say tomorrow we will do, but rather be amongst those that say, what sacrifice can I make today to bring a change into our community, to allow the sunnah of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, to continue living.

The Religion Named by Ibrahim: Islam

And he became the founder of this religion which he named:

He named it after what he was able to apply to his life — which was to submit to the commands of Allah regardless of what the charge was, and what the ask was, and what the sacrifice was. It was: is Allah happy? And if that is the case, I'm ready to continue this journey of life so that I can please Allah. When the point of reference becomes one, decision making becomes easy.

Du'a

May Allah make us amongst these great people. Allow us to be raised with them. Allow us to be amongst those that can sacrifice for His sake and see the rewards and fruits of it in this life. Allow us to be amongst those whose children can be raised like Ismail and Ishaq and Fatima and Aisha. Allow us to be amongst those parents that can become like Ali and Fatima, where we bring deen first and balance it with dunya, and not dunya first and balance it with deen. The point of reference is one, and hence the decision making becomes easy.