Remembrance of Allah (SWT) (with Sign Language) - Br. Semir Said

Khutbah Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ.

Amma ba'd — verily the best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him and his family. The worst of affairs are the newly-invented matters, and every newly-invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire. May Allah protect me and you from it.

The Advice of Taqwa

My brothers and sisters, I advise myself first and foremost, and yourselves, to fear Allah, because it is the advice that He gave to those before us as well as us, where He says:

"And We have instructed those who were given the Scriptures before you and yourselves to fear Allah." So let us fear Allah in all our situations and circumstances. And know, my brother and my sister, that Allah has prepared gardens for those who have taqwa, as He says:

"And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for those who have taqwa" — for the al-muttaqoon.

The Remembrance of Allah

My brothers and sisters, there are many ways in which we can attain taqwa. One of those is what we will be talking about today, and that is the remembrance of Allah — dhikr. Allah says in the Quran:

"Remember Me and I will remember you." Now, remembrance comes in different ways and in different forms. Sa'eed ibn Jubayr, one of the famous tabi'een, said: "Everyone who performs an action out of the obedience of Allah is the one who remembers Him." So any form of action that we do could be considered as remembrance of Allah, as long as we make sure that it is solely for His sake.

Allah describes those who remember Him in Surah Al-Imran, where He says:

"Those who remember Allah standing and sitting and upon their sides, and ponder over the creation of the heavens and the earth." This, my brothers and sisters, is a great tool by which we can attain the pleasure of Allah.

Allah Mentions Those Who Mention Him

The Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him and his family, mentioned in a hadith collected by Imam al-Bukhari that Allah said:

"I am with My slave when he thinks of Me, and I am with him when he mentions Me. If he mentions Me to himself, I mention him to Myself, and if he mentions Me in a gathering, I mention him in a gathering far greater, far more superior."

Look, my brothers and sisters — Allah, the One who created me and you, the One who created the heavens and the earth, the One who created the sun, the One who split the sea for Musa, the One who revealed the Quran upon Rasulullah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him and his family, the One who makes your heart beat without your control — He mentions your name. He mentions you by name. Now what can you ask more than that? Allah mentions you if you mention Him. If you mention His name in a gathering, He mentions you by name in a gathering far greater — in a gathering of angels, such as Jibreel, and we know of his magnitude and greatness in terms of his creation. This is the reward for simply remembering Allah.

Now I want you, my brothers and sisters, to just think about this, ponder over this — the fact that Allah will mention you. Allah is in no need of us, but rather we are in need of Him, and yet by simply mentioning Him, Allah will mention us by name. What a great reward! What a great blessing for such a small action!

Allah also says:

"And the men and the women who remember Allah frequently — Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and great reward." We ask Allah to grant us forgiveness and give us tawfiq and ability to remember Him as we should.

Practical Ways to Remember Allah Throughout the Day

My brothers and sisters, let us look at practical ways in which we can make sure that we remember Allah frequently, or as much as we can.

1. Du'a Upon Waking Up

We can start our day, as soon as we wake up, by making a du'a. A very simple and short du'a — this is one of many we can say as soon as we wake up:

"All praise is due to Allah, who gave my body health, and returned to me my soul, and allowed me to remember Him."

2. Praying Fajr in the Masjid and the Morning Adhkar

We can also make sure that we try our best to pray Salatul Fajr in the masjid. After that, we can try to read the morning adhkar — as many of them as we can. Nowadays we can find these adhkar in a small book known as Hisn al-Muslim (Fortress of the Muslim), and it has become even easier because we can now find it online — all you have to do is search on your phone and you will find it very easily.

3. Du'a for Leaving the House

We can also make sure that whenever we leave our house — going to the masjid, going to work, to school, to university, and so on — we make the du'a for leaving the house:

A very short and simple du'a, but the reward for it is great. This is asking Allah for protection, as Rasulullah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him and his family, has promised in the hadith that you will be protected by Allah throughout the day. So you start your day with the remembrance of Allah.

4. SubhanAllah wa Bihamdihi — Two Mighty Words

Throughout the day there are many short, simple, and easy du'as and adhkar that we can say — again with great reward. Among them, the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him and his family, mentioned in a hadith where he says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6682; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2694)

"Two words, easy on the tongue, heavy on the scale, and beloved to the Most Merciful: SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi, SubhanAllahil Adheem." Very easy, very simple — it doesn't take much effort, but look at the reward, my brothers and sisters. We are given opportunity after opportunity to gain the pleasure of Allah and to gain forgiveness, but yet many of us are heedless and take these things for granted.

5. SubhanAllah One Hundred Times

In another hadith, Rasulullah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him and his family, mentioned in a hadith collected in Sahih al-Bukhari:

"Whoever says SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi one hundred times a day, all his sins will be forgiven — erased — even if they are like the foam of the sea." Again, another chance. SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi — you have a whole day, and it takes less than a few minutes. Just one hundred times and all your sins are forgiven. Simple deeds, my brothers and sisters — simple actions, but look at the reward.

6. Seeking Forgiveness — Astaghfirullah

And again, in another hadith, Rasulullah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him and his family, mentioned another du'a where he says that if you say:

— every time you say this, all sins are forgiven. Again — all sins are forgiven! Opportunity after opportunity, my brothers and sisters, to gain the forgiveness of Allah. Not much physical effort. Simple deeds, my brothers and sisters. And these are just some examples — there are many, many, many du'as that we can say and receive these amazing rewards.

So, my brothers and sisters, let us make sure that we try to learn as many of these as possible to earn the pleasure and the forgiveness of Allah.

The Warning: The Hypocrites Who Remember Little

Let us not be amongst the hypocrites, for Allah mentions them in the Quran and describes them, saying:

"And when they stand up for prayer, they stand with laziness and to be seen by others, and they do not remember Allah but little." Look at the two extremes — the difference between those who remember Allah much and the reward that is promised them, as opposed to the hypocrites who do not remember Allah much, and we know what they will face on the Day of Judgment.

So let us try our best, my brothers and sisters, not to be from those, but to be from those whom Allah talks about — those whom we mentioned at the beginning of the khutbah — those who remember Allah much, and thus Allah remembers them. If they remember Him to themselves, Allah remembers them to Himself. And if they mention Him in a gathering, Allah mentions them in a gathering far greater.