May 27, 2022 2:10PM | Jumuah Khutbah | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

The Eyes of the Heart

So many of these beautiful prophetic du'as are where we are asking Allah for guidance and hidayah, and asking Allah to allow us to have the proper frame of mind. When that frame of mind becomes correct and hidayah comes to us from Allah, then everything will fall into place and everything will start making sense to us. And when that noor of iman is unfortunately not lit, or has been extinguished in the heart, then the most obvious things do not make sense.

Hence we see the disbelievers in the Qur'an — all over, the accusations they would level against the Prophet ﷺ — to you and I sitting here, do not make too much of a sense. A person says: how is it possible that you see Rasulullah ﷺ presenting in front of you — from the splitting of the moon, to water flowing from his fingers, and food increasing abundantly not one, not ten times, but hundreds of times more than what was present; from winning battles in which the odds are unbelievable — that the Muslims, from every type of calculation, should have lost, but Allah is granting them victory; from clear revelation and prophecies that the Qur'an is sharing of the future — how is it possible that a person sees all of this, hears all of this, witnesses all of this, and yet refuses to believe in Rasulullah ﷺ as a true messenger of Allah, as a recipient of Wahi?

And the answer is — although it does not make sense to you and I, and we should be grateful that it does not make sense to us — the answer is:

That the eyes do not become blind — the eyes do not lose sight — but it is the hearts that lose sight. And when the heart loses sight, the ability to see and distinguish right from wrong, then everything falls apart.

Turning Away from Remembrance

And this is where Allah says:

On the Day of Judgment, Allah will raise up such people — those who a'radha 'an dhikri, who turned away their face, who turned away from His remembrance. And then Allah says, due to that: فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنكًا — We made sure they had a very difficult, constricted life on earth. And on the Day of Judgment, Allah says, We will raise them blind. They will turn to Allah and say:

"O Allah, why did You raise me blind, while I had perfect vision in the world?" Allah will say: "In this manner, Our verses came to you — the verses were very clear — فَنَسِيتَهَا — you acted like you forgot them. You acted like you didn't understand them. You acted like they weren't addressing you. You looked the other way. You chose to forget those verses. وَكَذَٰلِكَ الْيَوْمَ تُنسَىٰ — and today you will be forgotten."

And so, although you had perfect vision in the world, but who cares about that perfect vision? Let us talk about the eyes of the heart. Since the eyes of the heart were dead, blind, finished — that is why today our resurrection is going to be based on those eyes, not the physical eyes.

The Darul Jaza — The World of Recompense

Beloved friends, that is exactly what Darul Jaza is about. The world of recompense is based not on our jism — not on our external body — but on our soul. The jaza is for our soul, not for the jism. So a jism may be very healthy and wealthy and strong, but inside, if the heart is dirty and filthy, then there is no reward waiting for that soul. And if a jism is weak and frail but inside there is a very powerful, beautiful soul, then the reward that is waiting for that soul is going to be amazing. So the jaza is not based on the beauty or the lack of beauty of the physical human being, but rather the jaza is based on the internal aspects of the soul.

The Unknown Souls Beloved to Allah

Hence Nabi ﷺ has mentioned that there are some who live a life in which they don't have much to keep themselves in a very respectable position — their hair is disheveled, they have dust on their beards, dust over their body, they don't have much means of traveling, means of living, of survival. However, when they raise their hands in front of Allah, if they say "I swear, Allah will make this happen," then Allah has so much value for such people that He will ensure that what they say will happen. If they say wallahi this will happen, because they said it, Allah will ensure that it will happen, due to the relationship Allah has with such people.

It comes in one hadith regarding the people of Jannah — who are they? Bar, taqi, naqi — righteous, pious, God-fearing — but also he spoke about the fact that they are unknown amongst the people, and they are madfu'un 'anil abwab — they are pushed away from the doors. When they try knocking at someone's door, no one wants to receive them. If they speak on behalf of someone and intercede on behalf of someone, their intercession is not accepted. When they are present, no one calls them forward, and when they are not present, no one misses their presence, no one notices their absence. They are such that if someone were to ask a daughter's hand in marriage, no one would be willing to give their daughter to such a man, because in society they don't have that status, they don't have that wealth, they don't have the connections, they don't have that fame and name, they don't have that charisma. And look at the detailed expression that the hadith is giving — however, these are the people who are going to be the frontline, those who will be entering from the first group of people into Paradise.

Because in the eyes of Allah, Allah is not looking at status. Allah is not looking at what people think of us. Allah is not looking at socio-economic status. Allah is not looking at whether people love us or hate us, or whether people open up the doors for us and say "come, sit in front," or whether we are unknown. Instead, Allah is looking at the soul.

Hearts Like Lanterns in the Darkness

And Nabi ﷺ spoke about how towards the end of times there will be such hidden, beautiful souls that they are unknown and unappreciated wherever they go. However, their hearts are like lanterns during the darkest of nights. When you take a lantern and you walk with it in the midst of a night, or a flashlight — what does a lantern, or a sharp and strong light do? It literally pierces through the darkness. As soon as you turn on the headlights of your car, all the darkness in front of you — the road you could see nothing, you couldn't even see your hand — immediately, instantaneously, it tears through that, and you now have a pathway in front. To the right and to the left it may still be dark, but the area in front of your lights is so lit you are able to clearly see.

What happens when these individuals — who are not so well known, who are not very much appreciated or looked upon in societies — but their hearts are so beautiful and polished, their hearts are like lanterns of guidance, that wherever they go:

Wherever they go, the fitna — the darkness of trials, the darkness of tribulation, the darkness of problems — it is just completely removed. Their presence is so powerful that Shaytan runs away, and those who cause fitna run away.

The Example of Umar ibn al-Khattab

Similar to Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه and Umar رضي الله عنه and our great companions — when Nabi ﷺ said to Umar: there was an occasion when Nabi ﷺ was sitting and there was a young girl who was playing drums, and Nabi ﷺ had allowed her, because she was a young girl and she had made an oath — she had said: "If Rasulullah comes back healthy and alive from the battle, I am going to sing in front of him." So she was doing that with a one-sided drum. When other companions came, she didn't stop. But when Umar رضي الله عنه came, she immediately took that one-sided drum, put it under her, sat on it, and stopped. She became still, quiet.

When Umar رضي الله عنه came in and Nabi ﷺ was looking at this scenario, he told Umar رضي الله عنه: "O Umar, you know you are special. You are such an individual that whenever you choose to walk down a pathway, an alley, a wadi — and if Shaytan is coming that pathway, he decides to move out and choose another way, because he doesn't want to cross paths with you."

This is the Prophet ﷺ telling Umar رضي الله عنه — what does that mean? That this level of awe that Allah had given Umar رضي الله عنه, and the level of purity of the heart, that really — fitna? The source of fitna is Iblis himself, Shaytan. Even Shaytan would say: "I don't want to mess with this person. I have many more easy targets around. Let me go try them out. But this individual — I don't want to waste my time." SubhanAllah, imagine what type of status these individuals will have in front of Allah.

Who Is Headed for Jahannam?

And then Nabi ﷺ spoke about what Jahannam says. Jahannam says: who is headed for Jahannam?

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2654; see also Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Tafsir)

Every single arrogant individual — who is haughty, arrogant, who has got a harsh tongue and a harsh heart, who regards himself superior to others. So in the world, these types of people are very macho. They are the ones who are at the very top of the corporate world. They are at the very top of wealth. They are at the top in politics. The ones who flex their muscles, who don't bend for anyone, who do not humble themselves for anyone — whose very walk is awe-inspiring, and whose speech is also very awe-inspiring and intimidating. They have such a demeanor that no one has the guts to say anything to them. They will debase every single individual and they are extremely narcissistic people.

And what happens to them? Their narcissism, their arrogance helps them leap over others and get to the top in corporate, get to the top in accumulation of wealth — but where are they headed? If they don't have iman, and if these are the characteristics, Allah will not say "because you are in the top ten, top five in such and such field, hence you are in the top five or top ten today." Because where is the soul? Your body you worked on — but the soul is as hollow as ever.

The Court of Umar and the Lesson of Suhail

Umar رضي الله عنه one day was sitting, and Khabbab, Bilal, Ammar ibn Yasir, and others — SubhanAllah — all the other early muhajir companions who were very poor, some of them outright slaves who were later freed, had a spot right in front of Umar رضي الله عنه in his small home, in his small court. And then some of the titans of Mecca — the big shots, the nobility of Mecca — showed up at Umar رضي الله عنه's door. But since the area was so small, there was no space to sit inside, and so they were sitting in the back, outside.

So one of them started speaking amongst themselves: "Look at this — how is it that our ex-slaves are sitting in front? How is it that those who were the lowest of the low in the pre-Islamic era are right in front, next to the Ameerul Mu'mineen, next to the king of one-third of the populated world — and here we are, the big shots, the big guns, and we don't even have a spot to sit inside his house? What is this nonsense?"

So Suhail رضي الله عنه, who was very intelligent and also a very well-known individual, looked at the others and said: "I don't know about you, but I am going to take a lesson from this. If this is how things are happening in this world, at the court of Umar — even though we have become Muslims, but we became Muslims much later and we did not sacrifice anywhere near what these poor individuals did. Financially, they had less than us; we haven't sacrificed to their level. Look at the distance — we can't even get close to Umar. If I were you, I would start reflecting on what will happen on the Day of Judgment. If we cannot even get inside the house of Umar today, where will you and I stand on the Day of Judgment? Stop making a fuss of what is happening here and start reflecting about what will happen tomorrow — when it will be the day that it really hurts, when it will be a day when it really counts."

The Maydan of Hashr — The Scene of the Day of Judgment

SubhanAllah — one father who attended a graduation ceremony of his son's high school this week, like many of you have, said: "Throughout the entire graduation, I was crying. I was hiding my tears from my wife — I didn't want her to see it, because then she'd make a big scene of that." He said: "Everyone was laughing and smiling and joking, but I was crying." And I asked why. He said: "I looked at the thousands seated in the bleachers, the thousands of students sitting in chairs, the deans and the various administrators standing on the stage — and all I could be thinking about was the Maydan of Hashr. I was thinking about the Day of Judgment, the scenes of the Day of Judgment, where billions of people will be seated, and valedictorians will be announced, and people of first and second place will be announced, and also will be known who were those who came first from the bottom."

That day is coming — in which in front of every single one, not a thousand or a few thousand, but in front of billions and billions of people, every one of us is going to get called out by our parents' names. We are going to be invited up front, and we are going to be receiving our book of deeds — either in our right hand or in our left hand. Either we are going to be known, yet going to be telling people: "Here, look at my book!"

These are the people who throw their gowns, who throw their caps, who are very happy. As the Qur'an — whether it is Al-Haqqah, whether it is Al-Ghashiyah, or other places — Allah will mention that these people who will receive their book of deeds in their right hand will be showing off and saying: "Look — I led a different type of lifestyle. I was always worried and thinking about the fact that this day would come, and I was preparing for the day I would come face to face with my judgment."

Where Allah will say: "Today, you don't need anyone to come onto the witness stand. You need no prosecutor. You need no one. Today you will be your own prosecutor. Today you will be your own witness. Today your own actions will serve as a testimony, as a witness against you." And when that will be said, some people will stand up and say: "I was waiting for this. I worked hard for this." He is going to be leading a very enjoyable life in the most highest levels of Paradise. Fruits will be hanging low: "Eat and drink with much relaxation and much enjoyment, due to what you earned and what you did in the past bygone days. Today is the day of enjoyment" — and not just today, but forever.

The Book Given in the Left Hand

And then there will be others who, unfortunately, will be given their book of deeds in their left hand. Allah says:

"I wish I was never given my book. I wish I never knew my results. I wish my death in the world was the final death and I was never resurrected again. My wealth — no matter how much I have accumulated — has now come to no benefit. It is not able to help me. هَلَكَ عَنِّي سُلْطَانِيَهْ — my power, my tongue, my muscles, all of the strength that Allah had given me — هَلَكَ عَنِّي — has all been taken away from me."

And then Allah will say: "Enough is enough, angels —"

خُذُوهُ — take him! فَغُلُّوهُ — and wrap him up in chains. Allah will say: take him, فِي سِلْسِلَةٍ ذَرْعُهَا سَبْعُونَ ذِرَاعًا فَاسْلُكُوهُ — each of these chains, the length of which is 70 hand-lengths — and then drag him on his face down towards Hellfire.

That day is without doubt going to happen. And so this brother is watching the graduation and reflecting upon that day that will come — not only to him, but for all of us sitting here.

What Will Be of Benefit on That Day?

And when a person sees that — what will be of benefit to me on that day? My business card will be of no benefit. My bank balance — today I will show you my accounts, I will show you what type of cards I have, I will show you the contacts, look at my phone, whom I am connected with — none of that.

Allah says: even the angels — وَهُم مِّنْ خَشْيَتِهِ مُشْفِقُونَ — will be so overwhelmed with fear from Allah that they will not be able to open their mouth and intercede on behalf of anyone, except for whom Allah chooses.

My beloved friends, the soul is the asas — that is the real thing. As long as we are working on the improvement and the beauty of that soul, then here and there we may lose out in this world. But SubhanAllah, if we have a beautiful soul and we have قَلْبٌ سَلِيمٌ, we should be looking forward to a beautiful Day of Judgment. And we should be looking forward — more importantly, beyond that — to a beautiful abode in the Hereafter, in Jannat al-Firdaus.

A Warning — The Soul Needs Reviving

But if a person has no time to reflect on this, has no time to even think about death — to the extent that if death is spoken about, he becomes uncomfortable and he says: "Stop, please, enough. Let's speak about something else." If the Day of Judgment seems way too far off, if the scenes of the Day of Judgment seem too far-fetched — then my beloved friends, we know that the heart and the soul have suffered a soul attack and they need to be revived.

The revival of the soul is something you and I need to be worried about. And no one is going to be worried about ourselves besides ourselves — number one, we have to worry about our own soul, then we worry about our wife and our kids and our husband and our children. But we have to be worried about our own soul.

As months go by, years go by, you see people passing away. This very sad incident that took place at the shooting this week in Texas — amongst many that have taken place this year — is a stark reminder that death has no shame. It will come whenever it wants. It will take little innocent kids, it will take innocent old women, it will take innocent men, at any given time. Whenever it is meant to attack and strike, it will strike. You can't say "I'm only 12," "I'm only 8," "I'm only a toddler." There have been so many children who have died — besides this one as well — in hospitals and other war-torn areas throughout the world, just within this past week. And that is a stark reminder that who said you have 90 years to live? We don't know when death will come knocking on our door.

The intelligent person is the one who is prepared every day — that if death shows up tonight, I am ready. And if you can't say that about yourself, and I can't say that about myself, then I must change. I cannot walk away from this Jumu'ah without making a niyyah — a firm intention — that I am going to start focusing on the nourishment of my soul.

The Best Place to Nourish the Soul

And the best place to nourish your soul is in gatherings like this — in the houses of Allah, gatherings of knowledge, gatherings of dhikr, where we sit with righteous company, and we benefit from what is being shared, we benefit from the angels, and we benefit from the company that we have. So I encourage all of us here to make a point to come to Salatul Jumu'ah on a regular basis with our children. Schools are now out — bring your daughters and sons. Come and attend the weekly programs, daily programs. At least make a niyyah to pray one Salat in the masjid every day. Say inshAllah — Isha, or Fajr, or Dhuhr — come every single day. That is the nourishment of the soul: praying in the masjid.

And secondly, I want to take this opportunity to invite my beloved brothers and sisters to your sister masjid — Darussalam. This weekend we have a three-day retreat focused on the journey of the soul: starting from the signs of the Hour, to the death of a believer, the death of a disbeliever, the first night in the grave, the description of the Day of Judgment, tours of Jahannam and tours of Jannah — and the last talk on Sunday night will be the vision and beholding the countenance of Allah.

I request and encourage all of you to come with your wives, daughters, and sons and benefit from this extremely timely reminder this weekend. It is a completely free event, and meals and everything are provided for free, for all ages. Adolescents have camps, volleyball and basketball tournaments, and all sorts of other interesting and fun things for our kids as well. Come and listen and take heed. I need this topic, you need this topic, and this topic is relevant to all of us. When we take effect and listen to these things, inshAllah it will be easier for us to make right decisions for our future.

Du'a

I pray to Allah that He allows me to prepare for my death and allows you all to prepare for your death before it comes. And may He allow us to die in such a state that we are absolutely excited to meet Allah, and Allah is excited to meet us. As Rasulullah ﷺ said: whoever is looking forward to meeting Allah, Allah is looking forward to meeting him. And whoever dislikes meeting Allah — meaning death — then Allah also is not looking forward to meeting him.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6507; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2683)

I ask Allah that He allows us to lead every day as though it is our last, and then make the last day of our life the best day of our life.

Second Khutbah & Announcements

InshAllah, tonight after Salatul Maghrib, we have the weekly program. And today we have our guest, brother Sheikh Abdullah Kamil. He has come for the event at Darussalam. I encourage everyone, inshAllah, to attend this beautiful and important program. I am talking about the Akhirah and death — we have to have tafakkur for that. I encourage everyone to attend it. Bring your family and go there to attend it.

Today, inshAllah, after Salatul Maghrib, we have Sheikh Abdullah Kamil here. He will be with us after Salatul Maghrib, inshAllah.

May Allah bless you all. Jumu'ah Mubarak to all of you. Jazakumullah khairan. Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.