The Appetite for Deen | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed

The Appetite for Deen

If you don't have an appetite, you cannot eat. To sleep, you build an appetite to sleep. We build appetites towards sins. We build appetites towards certain conversations. Everything in life requires an appetite.

How is it so, when we were younger a few years ago — or for some of you many years ago — everyone is young. Like Shaykh Musa was saying that nowadays we call today's uncles "young-cles" — they're young and they're uncles. And we learn never to call an elder lady "auntie." That'll probably be the last thing you ever say, right? "I'm an auntie you?" I mean, I guess so. If you're not an auntie, then I guess you're a baji.

Nonetheless, how is it so that when I was eating five years ago, I would be fulfilled by an appetizer? Walk into a wedding, eat an appetizer and be full. Now fast forward — the appetizer, the five-course meal, and the dessert are not enough for me. Because my appetite grew. I need more to fulfill that physical realm of mine. I need more to be able to move forward. Why did that happen? Because we grew. And since we physically grew, our appetite also grew.

Spiritual Stagnancy: The Enemy of Progress

How is it so that there is spiritual progress when the appetite of worship remains the same? How is it so that there is progress in the relationship with Allah if there is a stagnancy in our appetite?

Imam Shafi'i rahimullah says:

That I see that the most pure element — the purest element of this world — is water. Water is what purifies us:

Water is what brings everything to life:

Water is what cultivates land and brings crops to the world. It is the essence of life. Imam Shafi'i says that even water — that which gives us purity and gives us life — if it stops moving, if it becomes stagnant, that same water, rather than giving us purity, becomes a form of impurity. Because it stopped moving. There was no progress.

Everything in life, in every niche and genre, we define success with progress. Progress is synonymous with success. If I was a junior in college for two years in a row, that is the definition of what people call failure. If I had a job in an occupation for five years and did not receive a pay raise — that is stagnancy. That is, in some people's words, failure. Where is the progress in my relationship with Allah? That requires an appetite.

The poet says: how many people think about progress and say that I will do it tomorrow? I will do it later. This is why when Mujahid rahimullah defines a key characteristic of a believer and compares it with a key characteristic of a hypocrite, he says one of the symbols of a believer is that he or she knows not to keep a far distance between the intention and the amal. Because if there is a gap between the intention and the amal, there is room for Shaytan to come in. There is room for waswasa.

He says on the Day of Judgment, when everyone will be brought up and we are looking for light, certain people will be given light — those who lived with light in this world. And what is light in this world? It is amal, good deeds.

The Five Effects of a Good Deed

Ibn Abbas rahimullah says:

How is it so that we believe that the food we consume has an effect on our body? Everyone believes in that. I live in a family where my parents are physicians, and from the moment we could hear and speak, we heard: "Don't eat this, don't eat that, because it will have this effect, that effect." Don't drink coffee — now all I do is drink coffee. Don't eat these chips, don't eat those chips.

My sister-in-laws know never to keep their sons or daughters with me. Seven, eight years old — my nephews. Because if I take them out, they're definitely coming back with something they're not supposed to eat. "Can we get some iced cappuccino? Can we get some Coke?" I ask, "Are you allowed to?" And they say, "Allah didn't say it's haram." That's a good answer, right? That's all that matters. And of course I've heard from the sister-in-laws and the brother at times.

But the food that we eat has an effect. The drinks that we consume have an effect. The vaccines that we take have an effect. Everything has an effect on the physical body. If that's the case and we are so convinced by it — so convinced that we are able to change the complete diet of our home because of it — how is it so that what the eye looks at doesn't have an effect? How is it so that what the ear consumes doesn't have an effect? How is it so that what the tongue speaks doesn't have an effect? All of these things have physical effects.

This is why Ibn Abbas says that every good deed that we do has five effects.

First Effect: Radiance on the Face

The first: ضِيَاءً فِي الْوَجْهِ — that Allah puts a radiance on that person's face. There is a light coming from that person. And the light is not an extension of cream or lotions or the hue of their skin. It is the extension of the divine effect of a good deed. He did not say "for many good deeds are many effects" — every single good deed holds these effects.

Such light could be seen on the Prophet's face ﷺ. Hassan ibn Thabit says:

Hassan ibn Thabit says: no eye has ever experienced such beauty. No mother has ever given birth to such a beautiful child. It is as if you requested Allah to create you in a certain way — and Allah did so.

On a small tangent — when the Prophet ﷺ first came to Medina, the Jews of Medina were intimidated by him because they were the religious hierarchy of the community. And when this man ﷺ entered the city, everyone was attracted to him like a magnetic force. Some people don't have to say much. They don't have to walk in a certain way and assert themselves in a gathering by speaking loudly and raising their hands. Their mere presence brings comfort to others. He says when the Prophet came, people were pulled towards him.

The Jews in Medina said to Hassan ibn Thabit — because at that time he was also not yet a Muslim — "Allah has given you a very sharp tongue. We want you, when Muhammad ﷺ walks down the hill, to say something about him that blemishes his honor. Say something that takes away from his respect, that takes away from his legacy." He stands at the bottom of the hill and waits for the Prophet and the companions to walk down, intending to taunt and embarrass him in front of everyone. He has prepared couplets in his mind. The moment he sees the Prophet ﷺ, he says:

He says: the moment I saw the rays coming from the Prophet's face, I took my hand and covered my eyes. Did I cover them because it was not a pleasant sight? No — it was the most pleasant sight in the world. I covered my eyes because I was afraid that if I were to stare at this person for a moment longer, perhaps Allah would take my eyesight away. خَوْفًا عَلَى بَصَرِي — true light comes from good deeds.

The city of Medina, which is known as مُنَوَّرَة — the illuminated city — was it illuminated because of the light it had? It wasn't illuminated because of the architecture of its buildings. It wasn't illuminated because of the landscapes of Medina. It hardly had fresh water to serve its people. It was not illuminated by the structure of the city. It was illuminated by the deeds that people populated in that community. The people who lived there knew that physical light is important — it can light us up for a moment — but there needs to be light which is divine. And that light comes from Allah Himself:

Allah is the source of light in our life. The darkness that we live in at times is not an extension of lack of wealth or lack of movement — it is perhaps the shortage of Allah's light:

Second Effect: Light in the Heart

Then he says: وَنُورًا فِي الْقَلْبِ — that Allah brings light in the heart, and this light becomes a source of guidance. Even when we travel — those of us from the Midwest like Michigan — when you drive to the East Coast, to the Rockies, to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, or to Arizona — there are hilly roads that are extremely curvy. Very curvy roads, and generally at night there is no light on those mountains. The only light guiding you are your headlights. Curvy roads, extremely dark, in an unknown place. If for a moment those headlights stop working, it could be the death of someone. Because now there is no physical light.

This is the significance of noor in our life. We are living in a world that has many pathways — curvy roads, dark roads, unknown places. And the only light that can allow us to remain on Siratal Mustaqeem is the light of the heart. It is noor. And it comes from doing good deeds. It comes from reading Qur'an and preparing for the month of Ramadan. It comes from the deed of dhikr. Every deed has this effect.

Third Effect: Internal Strength

The third effect of a good deed is that Allah gives us internal strength — قُوَّةً فِي الْبَدَنِ. How many of us have said, "I'm too tired to do this"? It's not physical weakness — it's internal weakness. There is a lack of inner strength. And how do we gain inner strength? We build the appetite through doing good deeds.

You know, mothers and fathers at times have to force-feed their kids vegetables. At some point the child can grow up and actually enjoy vegetables. Force-feed it so they can build the appetite for it. And now that same youngster enjoys broccoli. That same youngster enjoys bindi. They enjoy certain vegetables that they never enjoyed before. It was force-fed to them long enough that now they find it to be a part of their natural needs.

Similarly, when we are in our infancy stages of spiritual growth, we have to at times force-feed certain good deeds. We will not sleep until we recite durood ten times. We will not sleep until we recite one safha — one page of Qur'an. We force-feed ourselves. And a time comes where it becomes second nature to us.

Imam Ghazali rahimullah would say the epitome of a person's sincerity is when they are involved in a good deed and they don't even recognize how great that deed is anymore — because it's second nature to them. Like when we're fasting, we don't even realize we're fasting, because it's the highest point of sincerity. He says the level of sincerity and the level of enjoyment that we hope to reach is when we are doing a deed and we don't even realize how long we've been doing it for.

The simple example: how many of us have decided to watch a video — highlights, reminiscing over LeBron James finally winning a championship in Cleveland — and you open it saying "I'm only gonna watch one video." One hour later: "Okay, one more video." Two hours later: "Okay, I think I should sleep." One more video — until the phone hits our face. Why do we just continue? Because we enjoy it. We don't even notice how much time we're spending doing it.

How many times do we call our friends, the uncles and aunts or our youngsters, and say "We're only gonna speak for 10 minutes"? But since we enjoy that person's conversation so much, we end up speaking for two hours without even realizing how much time went by. And if that person stops for 10 minutes, that means they don't really enjoy speaking to you — because they're counting down.

The peak of enjoyment is when we set ourselves a goal — that we will pray four raka'at of tahajjud — and without even noticing, we've prayed eight. We will read Qur'an for five minutes, and without even noticing, we recite it for 20 minutes. Because now we enjoy. قُوَّةً فِي الْبَدَنِ.

Fourth Effect: Blessings in Provision

وَبَرَكَةً فِي الرِّزْقِ — the fourth effect is that it brings blessings not only in our food but in our families.

Fifth Effect: Love in the Hearts of People

And the fifth blessing is that Allah puts love in the hearts of people for us. Because now Allah loves us. The Prophet ﷺ says in a hadith: when Allah decides to love someone, He calls Jibreel:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3209; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2637)

"O Jibreel, I love so-and-so, so you should also love this person." So now Jibreel falls in love with this individual. And then he comes to the heavens where the millions of angels are and says: إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَحَبَّ فُلَانًا فَأَحِبُّوهُ — "Allah has declared His love for so-and-so person, so all of you must love this person." حَتَّى يُوضَعَ لَهُ الْقَبُولُ فِي الْأَرْضِ — until there is a trickle effect of this love and it enters into the hearts of our children for us, into the hearts of our spouse, into the hearts of our friends.

The blueprint of people loving us is not to give them more and expect more from them. The blueprint for people loving us is that we give Allah more. And Allah allows that love to be such a powerful force that everyone in that community will be able to notice it. Because now Allah loves us — and Allah does not hide His love. Allah's love is apparent. Allah's love is seen in the way that He treats us. Allah's love is seen in the way that our children respond to us.

This is what Sufyan al-Thawri would say:

"I could see and gauge the effect of my sins in the way that my car turns on in the morning. I could see the effect of my sin in the way that my spouse opens the door for me in the evening." If they open the door and they're not happy with me, or if they speak to me while shrugging their shoulders, I don't say it's their fault. I say it's my situation with Allah. And once I fix that, everything else follows — it is like a satellite that touches everything else.

A person who doesn't recognize the power of the satellite can turn the TV off but it can still turn on because the satellite is connected. We can turn off and turn on certain relationships in our life as long as the satellite is connected. Who is the source?

The satellite is Allah — who is the source of goodness, who is the source of giving.

Seek Only from Allah

Ibn Abbas rahimullah says: as a seven-year-old kid, the Prophet ﷺ looked towards me as I was riding on his camel and said, "O youngster, listen to these few words." He said:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516)

When you seek help, only seek it from Allah. When you ask of anyone, first ask Allah. When you seek comfort, first seek comfort from Allah. This notion that du'a is only to ask Allah is the furthest from the reality. Du'a doesn't mean su'al — it doesn't just mean to ask. Du'a means to have a conversation with Allah, to speak to Allah.

Ibn al-Qayyim says that the greatest way of mending the pieces of a broken heart is munajat with Allah — by speaking with Allah. Our hearts are at times broken. People break our hearts. Situations can break our heart. Iqbal says in Urdu:

He says: your heart — when it's broken and shattered, Allah likes it more. Because it gives Him a chance to mend it again. And it gives that person a chance to reconnect with Allah. It allows that person to recultivate that relationship with Allah.

The blueprint is to connect with Allah. The blueprint is to build that relationship. The currency of this world can fluctuate — can rise and fall. Bitcoin can go up and it can drop. Gas prices can continuously go in circles. But the currency that matters in the court of Allah never changes. The currency that is accepted in the court of Allah will always remain the same. And that currency is good deeds.

That salah that was prayed by the Prophet ﷺ, and that du'a that was prayed by Ibrahim before being thrown in the fire, and Nuh as he was leaving his community, and Yunus as he was struggling in the mouth of the whale — it's the same Allah that we call to. It doesn't have to be an ask. It can be a conversation. Ibn al-Qayyim says a broken heart is mended by having munajat with Allah, by speaking with Allah.

The Verse Hidden in Ramadan

In the Qur'an — the verses of fasting only come once in the Qur'an. Only once. Ramadan is only mentioned once in the Qur'an. Zakat is mentioned more than a dozen times. Salat is mentioned more than 70 times. Hajj is mentioned more than eight times. Taqwa is mentioned about 80 times. But siyam is mentioned one time. And in this one time, Allah gives us the physical rules and the spiritual rules and the benefits of fasting.

Right in between, there are two verses that speak about fasting. One is the famous one:

And there is a verse that comes after, and a third verse which speaks about the rules of fasting — when do you eat, when do you not eat, when do you break your fast, when do you keep your fast. And sandwiched between them is a verse — a famous verse — which in a very subtle way informs us of the beauty and the objective of this month. Where Allah says:

It comes right in between these two verses. Only once is Ramadan mentioned. And right between the two verses that mention Ramadan, Allah says: when My slave asks of Me, let him know that I am very close. But he has to ask of Me. The ask from Allah is not a large ask. The ask from Allah is just to present ourselves.

Whosoever comes to Me walking, I run towards that person.

Allah's System: Effort Over Results

The system of Allah — the only system in this world — I find this to be quite astonishing and so forgiving, so empowering: Allah has given us so many opportunities. Allah's system is the only system in this world which rewards us not based upon our results, but rewards us based upon our effort. It's the only system.

Imagine going to a professor at Cleveland State University or wherever we study and saying, "Hey, I really tried hard. Like I made a lot of effort, but Ramadan came around and since Ramadan came around I couldn't fulfill my assignment. But I tried really hard." What is the professor going to say? "I'm trying really hard to pass you — but I can't." Trying doesn't allow us to be successful in the courts and systems of this world. We go to our boss and say, "Hey, you gave me these few tasks. I tried really hard to get it done. I stayed awake at night. I did everything I could, but I didn't finish it." The boss will say, "Well, next time try harder." Trying hard doesn't get us places in the courts of this world.

Allah's system is such that He says just your effort will be rewarded — that effort, that desire, that want. We don't have to read one juz. If we struggle to read and we read one page, Allah will give us double the reward.

The Prophet ﷺ was sitting with his companions and said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4937; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 798)

Whosoever recites the Qur'an will be given the honor of being within the company of the elite angels. And of course there were some in that gathering who did not know how to read the Qur'an. So the Prophet ﷺ then said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4937; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 798)

Whosoever struggles to recite it will get double the reward — a reward for the struggle and a reward for the recital.

What is the most rewarding prayer? Tahajjud — because it is the hardest prayer. The most rewarding charity is charity when we need the money ourselves — because it is the hardest to give. The most rewarding forgiveness is that forgiveness when it is difficult to forgive someone. Our sense of reward is not only confined to the act itself — it is also inclusive of how difficult it was.