Jumma Khutbah: Longing for Allah #VRIC2018

Longing for Allah

The long years that we're trying to overcome and reach one goal after another — and that is the love of Allah. Longing for the company of Allah.

Our Creator, in the companionship of the One who created us, is what we seek, is what pushes and drives us. And if we reflect over this one thing, it helps us to overcome anything. It is the one thing that maybe we're so worked up over.

The activist mindset of trying to overcome and make people understand — if we simply tie ourselves to this one piece and make it the common denominator to every one of our struggles, you will see how ease will be put in your heart. And hardships are made as if they're nothing.

Solace enters your heart. And comfort will be brought down on you even though in the darkest and most difficult of times. Longing for Allah. Being in the company of our Creator Allah. The love of Allah.

The Hadith of Allah's Love for a Servant

Our Prophet ﷺ had described this in a hadith where he said: Jibril عليه السلام is called to by Allah — when Allah loves a person, He calls to Jibril:

Allah loves this person, so love this person — and so Jibril loves this person. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3209; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2637)

And then He calls out to the heavens and the earth that Allah loves this person, so they should love them. And all of the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth love them, and they are granted the pleasure of the people of the earth and acceptance. Allahu Akbar.

The Companions and Their Love for Allah

To the extent the companions of our Prophet ﷺ were so ingrained with this principle in their lives that they sacrificed everything they ever had when they came to Medina and migrated and became refugees and were exiled from their homes, rejected — some of them — by their own families. They were not accepted in the society they lived in, and they were forced to create a home. The one thing that kept them in complete peace and happiness is the seeking of the love of Allah.

To the extent one day, Anas رضي الله عنه, a young man in the companionship of our Prophet ﷺ, narrated that the Prophet ﷺ went to one of his companions, Ubayy ibn Ka'b.

Allah commanded me to recite the Qur'an to you. He said: Allah mentioned me by name to you? He said: Yes. And he wept. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4960; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 799)

The Prophet ﷺ came to Ubayy ibn Ka'b and said, "Allah commanded me something today. He ordered me to recite the Qur'an to you." Ubayy ibn Ka'b said, "Allah mentioned me? Allah mentioned me?" The Prophet ﷺ said, "Yes." He said, "The Lord of the heavens and the earth — He mentioned me by name?" He said, "He mentioned you by name." And Ubayy رضي الله عنه started to cry.

Simply the mention of a creation in the sight of Allah was something that made their hearts tremble and shake. This is the nearness to Allah that they applied in their day-to-day lives.

Ibrahim ibn Adham and the Du'a for Peace of Heart

To the extent that a great scholar by the name of Ibrahim ibn Adham رحمه الله تعالى prayed one day seeking this closeness to Allah. This is what filled their hearts. This is what they wanted to achieve more than anything.

He said, "Ya Rabb, You gave someone You love what will give their heart peace before they meet You. So give me what You gave them. Because I'm feeling my heart constricted and tight."

He رحمه الله said, "I fell asleep that night and I saw in my dream that Allah spoke to me. And He said to me, 'Ya Ibrahim, don't you have shame that you asked me to give you what will give your heart peace before meeting Me — and you don't reflect — how can the heart of anyone ever find peace until they meet their beloved?'"

So I said, "Ya Rabb, my love for You overpowered me and I didn't know what to say. So forgive me and teach me what I should say." So He said — Allah said to me — "Say this du'a:"

"Oh Allah, make me pleased with Your decree. Grant me patience in the tests and difficulties. And grant me the ability to be thankful for Your blessings."

Bilal and Mu'adh at the Time of Passing

The companions, even at their time of passing — the moment when you leave this earth — the only thing they looked forward to is this companionship and love of Allah. Bilal رضي الله تعالى عنه, while he was on his deathbed in his moments of passing, his wife cries out — she's losing her loved one. And Bilal رضي الله تعالى عنه tells her:

"Don't cry, because tomorrow I will meet my beloved, Muhammad ﷺ and those of his companions."

Mu'adh رضي الله عنه, on his final passing — a man who when he was 18 years old accepted Islam and was charged with being a scholar of Medina — on his deathbed he would say:

"Welcome to death. You are long awaited for us to be with our beloved."

Loving to Meet Allah

What did it mean to love Allah to them? What did it mean that it helped them overcome everything? Our Prophet ﷺ has said: whoever loved to meet Allah, Allah loved to meet them. And whoever hated to meet Allah, Allah hated to meet them.

And it was said to the Prophet ﷺ, "Ya Rasulullah, everyone loves to meet Allah, but we all hate to die." The Prophet ﷺ said, "That's not what is meant. Rather, it's at the moment of your passing. In that moment when you're given the news of mercy and of meeting with Allah and glad tidings — they at that point love to meet Allah. And Allah loves to meet them. And if they are given the news of other than that — they are those who did not live by the means of Allah — they then at that point hate to meet Allah, and Allah hates to meet them."

The Prophet ﷺ has said about reaching this state: "Allah has divided your character among you like He divides rizq. Allah gives this world and material gain to those He loves and those whom He doesn't love. But He does not give faith to anyone except those whom He loves."

Knowing Allah Through His Words

The Prophet ﷺ taught his companions, and their connection to Allah increased when they spoke to Allah by speaking to His words. Allah says:

"And if you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they would say they were created by Allah."

"If all the trees on earth were pens and the sea, with seven more seas added to it, were ink, the words of Allah would not be exhausted. Allah is Almighty and All-Wise."

When it came to the reality of life and understanding how to live in accordance with the love of Allah, Allah would teach the Prophet to teach them — tell them that this world is like a resemblance of a plant that blossoms by the help of water which Allah sends from the sky. After a short time, all of them fade away, and the winds scatter them and turn them into dust. Allah is capable of all things. Wealth and children are an adornment of this life of the world, but lasting righteous deeds are better with your Lord, and better in hoping in His love.

Those Who Divert from the Love of Allah

The Prophet ﷺ taught them about the nature of the diversions of this life — those who seek to take them away from the love of Allah:

They have three ways of diverting our attention from the love of Allah. Those who make us prefer the life of this world over the life to come. Who turn others from Allah's way — saying, if you're not going to follow us, at least don't follow what you're doing. And lastly, those who try to make what they follow crooked and not right — "Don't follow this Islam. Follow an Islam that's according to our standard."

The Reward for Those Who Seek Allah's Favor

And the Prophet ﷺ taught them what's in store when you seek the favor of Allah:

"Those who recite the Book of Allah and establish prayer and spend in His cause out of what We have provided them, secretly and publicly, can expect a profit that will never perish. He will repay them in full and give them extra from His bounty. He is Most Forgiving and Appreciative."

Faith as a Trust and Favor from Allah

And He ﷺ taught them and us that Allah gave us this faith as a trust and favor because He loved us:

"The revelation We revealed to you, O Muhammad ﷺ, is truth and confirms the revelation that came before it. Allah is well informed about His servants — He sees everything. We gave this as an inheritance to Our chosen servants. Some of them wronged their own souls. Some stayed between right and wrong. And some, by Allah's permission, were foremost in good deeds. And that is the great bounty."

And lastly, the only reason why Allah chose us to be Muslim is the pure favor and mercy and love of Allah. And if a person reflects on this love, it only increases their love for the love of the Almighty for us:

"And even after all of this, you keep turning away. And had it not been for the favor and mercy of Allah upon you, you would certainly have been of those who perished and were the losers."

The Mercy of Allah: Forgiving the Repentant

We ask Allah to grant us love. فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

A rhetorical question: if someone wrongs you horribly — yet they come up to you and they have the audacity to apologize — but you know 100% that even though they are apologizing to you, they will do it again. Would you forgive them?

The vast majority of humanity will never forgive someone that disingenuously apologizes, knowing that they're going to come back and do it again. I'm talking about the most horrible thing you can imagine — someone literally steals your house or does some grave deed. The vast majority of humanity would never forgive such a person.

وَلِلَّهِ الْمَثَلُ الْأَعْلَىٰ — Allah forgives us. Knowing that no matter how sincere we are, no matter how ardently we want to seek repentance, we're going to commit sins after that. And yet, He accepts from us. This is the mercy of Allah that the Prophet ﷺ describes:

A servant of Allah commits a sin and says:

"O Allah, forgive my sin." And Allah says, "My servant recognized that they have a Lord and they committed a sin and they asked for forgiveness. Because they knew they have a Lord, I forgive them." And they will commit the same sin and say, "O Allah, forgive me." And Allah will say:

"My servant understood that they have a Lord who forgives sins and can give consequence. Because they know they have a Lord, I have forgiven them." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7507; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2758)

And this repeats. Until finally, they keep asking for forgiveness — and you would think that Allah would turn from them. But Allah says, "My servant has committed a sin and has known they have a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for sins. Let them do what they wish — I have forgiven all of them."

The Pinnacle of Faith: Loving Allah and His Messenger

When we know the One we deal with — this is why the Prophet ﷺ taught them that the height of all of our faith, the absolute pinnacle of reaching our faith, is to make the love of Allah and His Messenger the primary intention and motivation to every action.

"None of you will reach the pinnacle of faith until I am more beloved to them than their children, their parents, and all people." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 15; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 44)

Umar and His Love for the Prophet ﷺ

Umar رضي الله عنه went to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "I love you more than everyone. I would do anything for you — except myself." The Prophet ﷺ smiled at him and said, "Not yet, Umar. You haven't reached the pinnacle yet." Umar رضي الله عنه went back and reflected — where is the love of Allah and His Messenger in my heart? — and he went to Rasulullah ﷺ and said, "Ya Rasulullah, I love you even more than myself." The Prophet ﷺ said, "Now, Umar."

Do you know the follow-on effects of that? It wasn't something he just said in his words. Zayd ibn Aslam رحمه الله تعالى says — from his father — that Umar رضي الله عنه, in his Khilafah, gave from the stipend of the Bayt al-Mal, the state treasury, 3,500 gold coins to Usama ibn Zayd, one of the most beloved companions to the Prophet ﷺ. And he granted 3,000 only to his son Abdullah ibn Umar, his own son.

So Abdullah ibn Umar was upset at his father. He said, "Why did you prefer Usama ibn Zayd over me, and I am your own son — and I preceded him in every single battle with Rasulullah ﷺ?"

Umar رضي الله عنه said, "Because his father, Zayd, used to be more beloved to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ than your own father. And Usama, his son, was more beloved to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ than you. So I gave preference to the beloved of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ over even my own beloved."

The Three Qualities of Reaching the Pinnacle of Faith

Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه mentions that the pinnacle of this faith is reached in three qualities:

One — the one for whom Allah and His Messenger become more beloved than anything else. Two — one who loves a person and loves them only for the sake of Allah, not for status, gain, or any kind of money or any part of this dunya. Three — one who hates to turn to disbelief after Allah saved them and brought them to Islam — they would rather perish and be burned than revert to disbelief. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 16; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 43)

Practical Ways to Reach the Love of Allah

Allah gives us practical ways in identifying this love. This is mentioned by Imam al-Daqqaq رحمه الله تعالى, who says: if you want to truly reach the pinnacle of loving Allah — that it goes through every action that you do, that it becomes the center point of what you seek, that it reminds you of the intention of what you're doing — whether it's your relationship with your wife or your husband, whether it's how you talk to your children, whether it's what you do at your workplace when everyone is cheating the system and trying to get out of work, or whether it's in your university and how you discuss with others your day-to-day affairs, or whether it's how you as Muslims represent yourself in this community — in every facet of life — he said three things:

Number one — repent quickly and don't delay. Don't delay your repentance. Constantly be in a connection with Allah. Let Allah hear your words. Ya Rabb, Ya Rabb. The Prophet ﷺ says Allah, when He hears the words of one of His servants, He loves it so much He delays the answer so that they can continuously call to Him — out of Allah's love for that servant.

Number two — contentment with what you have. Everyone is chasing something they don't have. And everyone is living their life with means they don't have and providing for their own families. How many people are in such a state of debt because they live outside of their means? They're seeking something that others have that they don't. And they can't reach it. So what do they do? They try to live beyond that. This is all from discontentment of the heart.

Number three — have energy in your ibadah. Have energy. Call to Allah with some energy. Don't make it a task.

And whoever forgets the consequence of three things, he said, will lose this. And that is: delaying repentance, being unhappy and having displeasure with what they have, and laziness in worship.

Ibn al-Qayyim: Reflecting on Allah's Favors

Ibn al-Qayyim, in closing, summarizes all of this and how we can better our relationship with Allah. He says: if a servant would reflect fairly and deeply over what their Lord has given them and who He is, they would know that it is His favor over them that He prevented them from worldly material gain — its pleasures and its bliss. What is even greater than His favor, he says, is that they were prevented from receiving this worldly life. It's the fact that He does not withhold except that He gives you better. And He would not make you go through hardships except that you are granted relief. And you are not tested except to be purified. Neither are you given death except to give you everlasting life. Neither does He take you from this temporal home of this world except that He meticulously prepared and planned for you a path that reaches its destination only to Him.

Du'a

We ask Allah to grant us His love. We ask Allah to make the love of Allah the primary factor of our existence — that it permeates every aspect of our day-to-day life. Help us to overcome ourselves. Help us to not be prevented from the good that You have because of the evil that we commit.

Oh Allah, accept us to be in Your companionship. Oh Allah, accept us to be in the companionship of our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Oh Allah, help us to overcome the difficulties of this life — in the constriction and seeking of material gain — to the expansiveness of Your love in the akhirah.

We ask Allah to make it easy on those who are oppressed, those against whom oppression has been committed. For those who are suffering in this community, in this country, and all over — oh Allah, lift the siege against Masjid al-Aqsa and those who are suffering in Yemen, and in Burma, and in Somalia, and in all of the world — in Afghanistan, in Kashmir, in Iraq, and in our communities from the injustices that we see.

We ask Allah to spread His light and love through us, that we be made a means of guidance to others, and that that is implemented within our families first before those in our community. We ask Allah to make the highest objective we reach be that He not be angry with us — that He loves us and calls our names just as we do, that He mentions us in a gathering better than the gatherings we are in here in this world.

We ask Him to make the primary motivation — whether we get up or whether we sleep or whether we pass away in this life — that we reach the same level our Prophet ﷺ has described: the highest of companionship. We ask Allah to allow the love of Allah to overcome every single difficulty and hardship that we face. That when we look at the love of Allah it motivates us to change our own actions. We ask Allah to grant us nearness to Him.

وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ