Finding Allah's Nearness In Life's Ease And Hardship

Opening Praise and Salutations

الحمد لله خالق الوجود من العدم، وجاعل النور من الظلام، ومخرج الصبر من الألم، فنشكره على المصائب كما نشكره على النعم، ونصلي ونسلم على رسوله الأكرم، ذي الشرف الأسمى والنور الأتم، وكمال النبيين والكتاب المحكم، سيد ولد آدم الذي بشّر به عيسى ابن مريم، ودعا بمبعثه إبراهيم عليه السلام حين كان يرفع قواعد بيت الله المحرم، والذي بارك الله به كافة الناس، العرب منهم والعجم، وسبحان الذي لم يتخذ ولداً، ولم يكن له شريك في الملك، ولم يكن له وليٌّ من الذل، وكبّره تكبيراً، الحمد لله الذي أنزل على عبده الكتاب ولم يجعل له عوجا.

أما بعد، أيها الناس، يقول الله تعالى في كتابه، بعد أن أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم:

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 2450)

"One who fears sets out in the early hours of the morning, and one who sets out in the early hours of the morning reaches his destination. Know that the goods of Allah are expensive. Know that the goods of Allah are Jannah." — or as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said.

Respected audience, dear brothers and sisters, and honorable esteemed guests of Allah, let us start off with the glorification of Allah. اللهم يا من لا تراه العيون — all the water that exists in the oceans were to be turned into ink, and all the trees that exist in the world were to be turned into pens, and they start to engage in writing the glorification of Allah, the ink will finish and the trees will perish, and yet there would still be the glorification of Allah which remains.

Two Categories of People

Respected audience, when we look at the creation of Allah, mankind in general, you'll find people divided into two broad categories. There's category number one: they're the people who live a very smooth life, everything has been given to them by Allah. There are not much trials and tribulations and difficulties in their life, and they zoom through their life.

And at times, some of them may have a close connection with Allah, and some of them may not have a close connection with Allah. Why they have a good life is because that is something which had been decreed for them by Allah. Attaining a close connection with Allah does not guarantee a good life. Yes, Allah does say in the Quran — one who does good deeds in this worldly life and tries to attain the pleasure of Allah by doing so, and he believes in Allah, we will give him a حياةً طيبة — a beautiful and pure life.

But a حياة طيبة does not necessarily mean the riches of the world. So many a times we find people complaining and they say that I try to obey Allah as much as I can, and I try nothing to disobey or to cause the wrath or the anger of Allah, yet why do difficulties still exist in my life? The answer to that is that attaining nearness to Allah, having a close connection to Allah, does not necessarily mean that you will be rich in this worldly life.

The second category of people are those who have difficulties in life. They may not have the same resources available to them, and you'll find them going from one place to the other, trying to make both ends meet. These people may be closer to Allah. Why? Because they are known as منكسرو القلوب — and according to the hadith of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, Allah is to be frequently found in the people with the broken hearts, the منكسرو القلوب.

The Hadith of the Two Men

There is a famous hadith of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم in which an individual passed and Rasulullah asked, "What is your opinion about this individual, this person?" And the Sahaba, the companions, they replied, "Ya Rasulullah, he is a very capable person." Why is he capable? Because he has the riches and the treasures of this world. If he were to seek someone's hand in marriage and send a proposal, it would immediately be accepted. And if he were to talk, people would quiet down and they would listen to him.

Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم remained quiet. A second person passed by, and Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم repeated the same question: ما رأيك في هذا؟ — "What is your opinion about this person?" And they said, "Ya Rasulullah, he is an incapable individual, he is a poor individual. If he were to send a proposal, the proposal would be immediately rejected. And if he were to speak in a gathering, nobody would listen to him. He is a nobody."

(Sahih al-Bukhārī, Hadith 5091; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2283)

Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم replied: "If the entire world were to be filled with the first individual, this person would still overpower them in weight due to his closeness to Allah and the weight of his iman."

The Institution of Rasulullah

When we look at the madrasa or the school which was established by Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, we find that there are no two categories of people in that madrasa and that institution. In this worldly life, we do divide people into different categories and we compartmentalize — this person belongs to this group, this person belongs to this sect — and even within our own institutions, we are accepting only of those people who may further our cause.

So if you look at the prestigious universities of the world — Harvard — they have a stringent measure in place. They would only accept the people who would benefit them. If anyone does not follow upon their strict guidelines, they would immediately reject this person. Why? They would say, "This person has no benefit whatsoever."

But when you look at the institution which was established by Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم — which started from that devoted small band of Sahaba رضوان الله تعالى عليهم أجمعين — you will find there to be no standard. There is nobody who needs to belong to a specific culture. No one needs to come from a certain background. No one needs to have a certain amount of education in order to be a part of that institution of Rasulullah.

We find that not more than 35 Sahaba were literate. The rest of all the Sahaba رضوان الله تعالى عليهم أجمعين were illiterate — they did not even know how to read and write.

They cannot read and they cannot write. And consequently, Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم himself was أُمِّي, and this is one of the miracles of Islam itself and of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم — that Allah started off the Qur'an with:

— to an individual who could not even read or write.

The Sahaba's Unceasing Striving

And when we look at the secret behind the success of the Sahaba رضوان الله تعالى عليهم أجمعين, we find one common factor: they were never satisfied with their status in the eyes of Allah. They were always striving and trying to accomplish as much as they could.

Abu Bakr al-Siddiq

When you look at the example of Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه, you find him on many occasions saying, "I wish I was a rock, I wish I never existed." Why? Because they were fearful of facing Allah. What is the reality of Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه? He is the second of the two individuals in the cave. When nobody was there, no one was capable of helping Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم — who do we find as a steady companion of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم? It is Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه. Multiple verses were revealed in the Qur'an and he was multiple times mentioned by Allah himself. Yet we don't find him to be satisfied.

Umar ibn al-Khattab

When you look at the example of Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه, he used to laugh at himself when he became the khalifa and ruled over two-thirds of the world. He would say, "O Umar, you were once a person engrossed in jahiliyyah and ignorance. You used to work for your aunt, for your khala, and she used to give you some dates at the end of the day. You would make a small little idol out of those dates and you would worship them for a little while, and then when you would get hungry, you would eat your own god." This is how humble they were.

Hanzala ibn Abi Amir — The Story of the Munafiq Fear

When you take the example of Hanzala رضي الله عنه, who is known as one of the كُتَّاب الوحي — he was one of the writers of the wahy — and that would require him to be in close proximity to Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, to be very near and always in his company. He once found himself in a condition in which his iman wasn't the strongest.

It is mentioned in a narration:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2750)

— that he passed by Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه and he was crying. And as you know the Sahaba had deep love for each other, so Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه immediately asked him: ما لك يا حنظلة؟ — "What's with you, O Hanzala? What makes you cry, why are you crying?" He replied: نافق حنظلة — "Hanzala has indeed become a munafiq, Hanzala has become a hypocrite."

So Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه asked him, "Why do you say that? It's not possible — you are such a close companion of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, how is it possible that an individual like you can be a munafiq?"

He said: نكون عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم — "We find ourselves sometimes in the company of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and نسمع منه المواعظ — we engage ourselves and we listen to the talks, the sermons which are being issued by Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and our iman reaches its peak. We find ourselves at the height of iman itself, and at times our eyes become teary and we are crying. But then what happens? نرجع إلى أهلنا — we return back, resort back to our families, and the iman, the state that we were previously in, it goes away. And we become engaged in dunya itself, and that high level of iman comes down."

This is Hanzala رضي الله عنه — do we find him to be satisfied? No. So Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه — did he say to him, "Relax man, what's the deal with you? Go home and relax, we were just sitting, we attended a half an hour, one hour sermon, go home and relax"? No. What did he say? "This is something I face as well." He didn't try to hide his weakness. This is a common factor we find amongst the Sahaba رضوان الله تعالى عليهم أجمعين — that they were eager to help each other in their weaknesses.

He says: أنا على نفس الحال — "I find myself in a similar condition." So what is the next possible scenario? "Let's go back to Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم and mention this to him." So they resort back to the company of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and Hanzala رضي الله عنه once again repeated the same phrase to Rasulullah: نافق حنظلة — "Hanzala has indeed become a munafiq."

Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم asked him, "Explain yourself — why do you say such a thing?" And he explained the same scenario to Rasulullah: that when we are in your company, we are at the height of iman, and when we go back to our families, there is a certain amount of weakness in our iman.

Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم replied: "O Hanzala, if you were able to retain that same level of iman permanently, then يُصَافِحُكُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ فِي جُلُوسِكُمْ وَفِي مَشْيِكُمْ — you would find the angels eager to shake your hands when you are walking, talking, eating, sleeping, engaged in whatever activity."

But Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: سَاعَةً وَسَاعَةً، سَاعَةً وَسَاعَةً — "O Hanzala, this is something which can be attained after long and long practice. You will find yourself one hour engaged in the remembrance of Allah, your heart attentive towards Allah, but in the other hour you will find yourself engaged in your worldly responsibilities." This shows you the balance of Islam itself.

But in conclusion, my point being: when you look at the examples of the companions of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, you never find them to be satisfied.

Unpacking the Hadith: Man Khafa Adlaj

Let us take a deeper dive into the hadith of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم which we recited in the beginning, in which Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم states: مَنْ خَافَ أَدْلَجَ.

Here the word خوف was mentioned, and the word khawf means fear. And adlaj means a person who is scared of something, but at a specific time. Here we can appreciate the uniqueness of the Arabic language — that there is a specific word for someone who finds himself in a state of fear in the early hours of the morning. And the example of this is that the armies back in the days would usually attack in the early morning hours. Why? Because the people are usually resting and they are at their most vulnerable.

So the statement given by Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم is: مَنْ خَافَ أَدْلَجَ — one who fears in the early hours of the morning is indeed able to save himself. Why? The reason this example is given is that a person who tries to save himself in the early stages of sin has indeed saved himself.

And then the hadith goes on to say: one who got scared and abstained from sins, and ran away in the early morning hours, has indeed reached his destination. And what is the منزلة here, what is the destination? It is Jannah itself. And then Rasulullah states that the goods and the merchandise which is being offered by Allah is indeed very, very expensive. It is not something that you can attain in a split second's notice; it is something that you need to strive for for the rest of your life — just like the way the Sahaba رضوان الله تعالى عليهم أجمعين were.

The example of Hanzala رضي الله عنه — he strove for his entire life until he died a shaheed. The same example was given: he feared nifaq over himself. So he says: مَنْ أَدْلَجَ بَلَغَ الْمَنْزِلَةَ — and indeed the one who feared has reached his destination.

أَلَا إِنَّ سِلْعَةَ اللهِ غَالِيَةٌ — know that the goods which are being offered by Allah, which is ultimately Jannah itself, is very, very expensive. And what is that? Know that what is being offered by Allah ultimately is the success that is everlasting and which will never end.

Those who believe in Allah and engage in good deeds — for them Allah has prepared the Gardens of Firdaws as an abode. خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا لَا يَبْغُونَ عَنْهَا حِوَلًا — they will remain in it forever, never to be transferred anywhere else.

May Allah give us this reality and this understanding.

Second Khutbah — Announcements

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim.

Some important announcements. Please pass the donation boxes from left to right and donate generously. Sadaqah wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah. Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم says: Sadaqah given on the day of Jumu'ah is greater in reward than any other day.

No curb parking — do not park on the curbs behind the seminary building or the Swift Highway. We have additional parking spaces in the used car lot.

Masjid Darussalam will be hosting its annual Hajj Seminar this Monday, June 4th, after Salatul Dhuhr, which is at 1:30 PM. The program will include a detailed presentation about the two holy cities and the rites of Hajj and Umrah, a lecture on the spiritual dimensions of the journey, as well as practical tips to make the journey easy, and an in-depth Q&A on the fiqh of Hajj.

Join us for the weekly programs. Team Fajr will continue tomorrow, Saturday, InshaAllah. Fajr Iqamah is at 4:45 AM. Tuesday Tafsir will continue on Surah Hajj with Mufti Azimuddin Ahmed after Salatul Maghrib.

Register for Deen Intensive classes which start June 20th. Register for Tanweer classes which start August 14th. And register for the Qur'an, Islamic studies, and sports for boys and girls ages 6 to 14. Tafheem weekend program fall semester starts from August 19th. You can register at Darussalam's website.

There is a du'a request. Brother Anwar Siddiqui will be undergoing surgery next Thursday. Brother Nadeem's father had a minor cardiac arrest yesterday — he is in the hospital in India. Please make du'a for his speedy recovery.

Closing — Surah al-Ghashiyah

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh