Gaining Perspective - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Khutbah: Gaining Perspective

The Importance of Perspective

With the difficulties, the challenges, the calamities, the problems that people are facing and experiencing — and they have the presence of mind to understand the lessons that are contained therein for themselves. Our religion is an amazing religion. It is a religion that not only deals with the minutiae, with the halal and the haram, with the individual rulings that we need to live our lives as Muslims, but it is amazing because it also tells us the overarching principles, the main objectives and goals of this religion and the Sharia so that we can better understand the context within which those rulings apply and how they work.

And from those overarching principles, from the ways in which our religion makes us think, is that it tells us that we should always have perspective — it helps us to gain perspective. Our Quran, the book of Allah Azza wa Jal, the Sunnah of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is replete with verses and narrations that speak about this issue of having perspective. Sometimes something happens to a person — a death in the family, someone's diagnosed with a disease, a terminal illness, financial issues and troubles — and what those issues and those events are meant to do is that they are meant to jolt you, shock your system, make you sit up and think and ponder over what it is that you're achieving in this life.

Are you still on that same path that Allah Azza wa Jal wants you to be on, or have you veered off course to the right and to the left? And if you have, then now is perhaps the time to reset that course. When Allah Azza wa Jal decrees such issues to take place, it's not just because of the grief or the sadness or because of the inevitable reality of this life, but it is also so that those people who experience them, those people who are standing on the periphery and witness them, take lessons as well.

Allah Ta'ala says: Evil is rampant upon land and upon sea because of that which people have earned, so that they may taste some of the results of their actions.

Why? Because perhaps that will jolt them, remind them, make them turn back to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. If you see things around you that don't make you stop and ponder your own position, your own station, your own status — if they don't make you question whether you have fulfilled the rights of Allah Azza wa Jal and the rights that Allah has given to those people around you — then you have wasted your opportunity. You have not taken benefit from the reminder that Allah has made as plain as day, and it could be no plainer.

The Central Question: Have I Done Enough?

Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala throughout the Quran, the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ throughout the Sunnah — they spoke about this issue. Why? Because when it comes down to it, the question that each and every single one of us has to grapple with, the question that every single one of us has to ask is: Have I ultimately done enough that when the time of death strikes me and takes my soul, have I done enough to stand before my Lord and Creator Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, to stand before Him and to answer for my deeds?

Have I done enough to buy my salvation? Have I done enough to be able to cross that bridge that Allah will place over the fire of Hell — that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ described as being thinner than a strand of hair, sharper than a blade, with claws that will take people who pass over it and throw them into the depths of the fire — وَالْعِيَاذُ بِاللَّه — have I done enough to be able to pass over that bridge and enter into Jannah?

The Quran is full of those verses. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — how many narrations remind us of this reality? Why? Because we as humans, we forget. That is the purpose of this dunya — to make us forget, to distract us. So we become so busy in things that are small. Yes, they may well be important. They are rights that we have to fulfill. All of us need to work. All of us have families and responsibilities. But when those other issues don't fall within that greater perspective, within that greater goal, that greater vision — then what is it that we are achieving? What is it that we're doing?

The Dunya is Cursed

The Prophet told us صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in the hadith of Abu Hurairah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ, collected by Imam al-Tirmidhi:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2322)

This life and this dunya is cursed and everything within it is cursed. Meaning what? Meaning that the purpose of this dunya is to take you away from Allah — to distract you, to busy you, to make you forget the reality and the certainty that all of us agree on. And every single person, irrespective of their background and their religion and their belief, all of us agree that we will soon die. That we will soon leave this temporary abode. Whatever our differences, whatever our issues, the one thing that everyone agrees on is that we have a limited amount of time. Life is fragile. It is unpredictable.

It is cursed and everything within it is cursed — except for the remembrance of Allah and what brings you closer to Allah, and a teacher who teaches knowledge or a student who seeks knowledge. Anything that you do in this life that in some way, shape or form will bring you Allah's pleasure, bring you Allah's reward, draw you closer to Allah — that is all that you will take from this life. And everything else, no matter how great, no matter how extravagant, no matter how precious it may seem to you, is something which will waste away.

Allah says:

Know that the reality of this life is play and jest and amusement and the boasting of one another — because we boast about wealth and we boast about our children. That's what the reality of this life is. But what you take away from it is what you have invested for the next life.

The Reality of Death

Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells us in the Quran, speaking about the reality of death numerous times:

Every single soul shall taste death. And all of the good that you receive, all of the harm and the evil that you receive — both of them are tests for you. Because what we take from them is the way that we respond, the way that we react — does that blessing or does that trial bring us closer to Allah or does it take us further away from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala? That is the perspective that Allah Azza wa Jal is telling us to have over and over again.

Life is fragile. Say to them that the death that you flee from, that you run from — it will surely come and take you. And then you will be returned to the One who knows the hidden and the seen. And He will inform you of your actions.

And Allah Azza wa Jal says in the Quran: Wherever you may be in this life, when your time comes, even if you're bolted, hidden in lofty peaks and towers, death will come and it will take you. There is no hiding from it. There is no escape from it.

And when their appointed time comes, neither will it be delayed by a moment nor will it be brought forth by a moment. Everything is as Allah Azza wa Jal decrees. And so life by its very nature, Allah Azza wa Jal has ordained it to be unpredictable — because the one who understands this reality is the one who then prepares for what is permanent, for what is everlasting. For the life in which, even though we've lost our loved ones or we've been separated from those that we love, that life is a life that is permanent and within it there is only bliss. There is no harm. There is no sadness. There is no grief. There is no pain. It is eternal in its blessings, eternal in its joy and happiness.

Allah Azza wa Jal says:

To Allah alone belongs the knowledge of the Hour, and where the rain will descend, and what is in the wombs of the mothers. And only Allah alone knows — no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow in terms of action and deed, and no soul knows on which land it will die.

The Companions and Their Perspective

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would remind his companions constantly of this reality, and that's why the companions رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ, they were people who despite their many responsibilities — despite being parents, despite being spouses, despite being children, despite all of the various things that they had to do — that reality was never far from their mind.

The Prophet said to them صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in the hadith collected in Sahih Ibn Hibban on the authority of Ubay ibn Ka'b رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ:

(Sahih Ibn Hibban, Hadith 2999)

The food that we eat — the children of Adam, humans — the food that we eat, he said صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, has been made as a parable for this life. No matter how you spice and season that food, it will always come out the same way — أَكْرَمَكُمُ اللَّه. That is the life of this world. No matter how great the enjoyment, how wealthy you may be, what you may possess and own, its end is always the same. Just like food — it doesn't matter how expensive, how well-trained that chef is, how well seasoned and prepared it is — its ultimate ending is exactly the same.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ mentioned this over and over again for one reason and one reason only — and that is so that we may have perspective.

What Have You Prepared?

In the hadith of Anas ibn Malik رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ, collected in Sahih al-Bukhari: A man entered into the masjid to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and said, "O Messenger of Allah, when will the Hour be established?" But the time of prayer had come, so the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ stood up and led the prayer. And then when he finished from the prayer, he asked, "Where is the man who had the question about the Hour, about Yawm al-Qiyamah, about the Day of Judgment?" So the man said, "Here I am, O Messenger of Allah."

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said to him: "What have you prepared for it?"

That is the question. The question isn't: when will we die? How will we die? Is it today? Is it tomorrow? Is it next year? Is it because of a disease or because we're walking on the street and we get knocked over by a car? All of those aren't important. But what is it that you have prepared?

And the answer of this man — and then the response of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — highlights, emphasizes and re-emphasizes to us what it's all about. What is our main priority? The man, when he was asked this question, had to pause and think. And this man was a Bedouin man who came from the desert. He's not one of the companions like Abu Bakr or Umar. He's not a warrior and a general like Khalid ibn al-Walid. Or a scholar like Abdullah ibn Abbas or a narrator of hadith like Abu Hurairah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ.

He said, "O Messenger of Allah, I have not prepared for it much. I don't have extra prayers. I don't have extra fasting. I don't have extra charity. But what I do have is that I love Allah and I love his Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ."

And that is the Iman that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is emphasizing over and over again. Not only that we just say it, not only that it's something we just verbalize, or that it's something which we assume from each other — but to have Iman with integrity, to stand up for what you believe in. If Allah is truly more beloved to you than anything and everything else, and so is the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, then it doesn't make sense that when we know that something is from Allah and his Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, we would choose a different path — that when we have a choice in a matter between A and B, we wouldn't ask the question: which one of those two options would be more beloved to Allah and his Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ?

This man doesn't have much — doesn't have the jihad of some of those companions, doesn't have the sadaqah and the charity of some of those companions, doesn't have the knowledge base of some of those companions. But what each and every single one of those companions did have — and there was no shadow of doubt about it — is they had that firm, strong belief and love for Allah and his Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

So the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ replied and said:

A person will be resurrected with those that they love. That is perspective. The perspective that even though Allah Azza wa Jal takes people away, or that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala decrees for some of us that we live a life of pain because of illness, or that Allah Azza wa Jal decrees poverty for some of us — we understand that these things are temporary and fleeting. But if we uphold what Allah loves, uphold what the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ loves, even the hardest of circumstances in this dunya can be a means of success in the akhirah.

What if Allah Azza wa Jal opens the blessings of the dunya and opens the blessings of this life, but those blessings only lead us further away from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala — then they were not worth anything. They are more harm than they are good. Because the Prophet told us صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, again giving us perspective, showing us the reality of this life as opposed to the next life:

The point of a stick that you place on the ground — that amount of space, that small circle of space in Jannah — is better than this life and everything within it. Because that is Jannah, and that is what the companions were trained and nurtured to work for. That's what they would do. And so the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is telling me and you — that's what we need to concentrate on. And when, from the mercy of Allah Azza wa Jal, we factor that in within our obligations, within our work life, within our family life, within the relationships that we have with our friends, we factor in what Allah loves and what the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ loves — then even those times become acts of worship. They too are transformed into means and opportunities of reward.

Working Hard for Jannah

The Prophet told us صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ that gaining Jannah isn't easy. It's not something cheap. It's not something which you can just take. It's not something which you will just be given or handed. It is something which you have to work for. The Prophet said صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2450)

Whosoever fears that they won't reach a certain destination, they leave at night. You have to be somewhere in the morning. You know that it's not going to be enough — you leave earlier to make sure. And whoever does so will reach their destination. For verily what Allah is selling, what Allah wants you to take and buy and work for is extremely expensive, extremely precious — for what Allah is selling is nothing less than Jannah.

We have to work for it. It is that time and effort, that strength of Iman, that trust in Allah Azza wa Jal — when we live each and every single day, each and every single moment, to the best of our ability in a way that is pleasing to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Then when those times come of difficulty, when those times of trials come upon us, when death strikes us, we will have the presence of mind — by the permission of Allah Azza wa Jal — to be in that state, to say لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّه before we die, to think positively of Allah, to have that Iman in Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.

This, as the Sunnah shows, is not about theoretical knowledge. It's not about just knowing the answers. Because the Prophet told us صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ that the questions that will be asked in the grave are not complex questions. They're not difficult questions. You don't need a PhD to understand them. Non-Muslims know the answers: Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your Prophet? These are answers that we all know — but only those people who have the strength of Iman, sincere Iman, will be able to answer them in the grave. Whereas the others will say, "I heard the people say something, but I don't know." I know what others said, but because I didn't believe it, they won't be able to say it in the grave.

Realigning Our Priorities

The Prophet told us صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ to have perspective in these issues. Why? Because when you have perspective, every time you have a calamity, every time there is a problem or a hardship that you come across, you know that it is a reminder from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. You know that your perspective needs to be realigned, your goals need to be realigned. You need to think as to what it is that you're achieving and what it is that you're doing. And when you realign those priorities, when you understand and you gain that perspective, then you work even harder, you try even harder, you do even more.

Because you know that, for example, if it's your parents that passed away — by doing so, by making du'a for them, by doing righteous deeds, they will have a share of that reward. And even if they weren't the best of Muslims, the greatest thing that you can offer to them now, to your loved ones, to the people that are closest to you, is to be a means of good for them after they have passed away. There is nothing else that you can do for them, but your actions, your du'a, your charity, your righteousness may be a means of mercy for them on Yawm al-Qiyamah.

This is the perspective that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gives to us. And that's why the companions of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, without exception, after the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ passed away — you don't see that they took a step back. You don't see that they stopped or they started doing less or that they thought that they had already done enough. Rather, what you see is that they did even more. They went forward and they went stronger and they went harder. Because the greatest wish that they had — as is mentioned in a number of hadith — when they would ask the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: "O Messenger of Allah, where will we meet you on Yawm al-Qiyamah? Where will we be reunited? Where can we see you on Yawm al-Qiyamah?" — they understood that the only way to reach that destination, the only way for that reunion to take place, is by then doing more, by coming closer to Allah Azza wa Jal, by not using the trials that we're faced with as an excuse, but rather using them as an opportunity, as a means, as a reason to become stronger and closer to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.

That's what the companions did. That's what Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ did despite being guaranteed Jannah, and Umar رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ did despite being promised Jannah, and Uthman رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ did despite having that hundred percent ironclad guarantee of Jannah, and Ali and all of those companions رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ — because they had perspective, they understood the greater goal, they understood what the greater vision is.

So from the greatest traps of Shaytan is that we see things all around us — we experience things that are extremely personal and close to us — but we come out the other end not having remembered, not having been reminded, not having changed, not having been jolted by these issues or these events that Allah Azza wa Jal decrees for us as a reminder.

May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala make us from amongst those who take these reminders on board, and may Allah Azza wa Jal give us the strength and the tawfiq and the ability to use them in a way and a means that brings us closer to Him Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. We ask Allah Azza wa Jal that He makes us from amongst those people who are strong and steadfast upon this religion, and that Allah Azza wa Jal gives us life upon Islam and death upon Islam and resurrects us in the company of the prophets and the righteous.

The Difference a Single Deed Can Make

Two final points that I want to make. Firstly, from the perspective that Allah Azza wa Jal gives to us in these issues and these events that take place is the ability to realize that perhaps the difference between our salvation and our failure is a single deed. Every single deed that you perform may be the reason for your salvation. It may be that one act that you perform, that one deed of righteousness, that one statement that you make that is pleasing to Allah Azza wa Jal, that one showing of character and good manners to someone — that may be the difference between salvation and between damnation.

The Prophet told us صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in the hadith in which it is said that he joined two people in a pact of brotherhood — two companions he joined in a pact of brotherhood — and one of them died, and then only by another week the second one died. So when they prayed over the second one who had passed away a week later, the Prophet said صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ to the companions, "What did you say in your prayer for him?" They said, "We made du'a for him and we said: O Allah, forgive him; O Allah, have mercy upon him; and O Allah, reunite him with his friend and his companion."

The Prophet said صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: "But where is his prayer compared to his prayer, and his fasting compared to his fasting, and his actions compared to his actions? The difference between them is the difference between the heavens and the earth."

That one week that Allah Azza wa Jal gave him extra — that one week of opportunity that the companion understood, having learned the lesson from the death of his friend, that it's an opportunity that can't be wasted. The Prophet said: from that one week, the difference is like the heavens and the earth. And that's what it is. When you have that sincerity and you turn back to Allah every single day, every single opportunity is something that you have to take.

Supporting One Another in Times of Calamity

The second and final thing that I want to mention in conclusion is that from the great principles and from the great objectives of this Sharia is that in times of calamity and difficulty, the Sharia comes and is legislated in such a way that we support one another, that we help one another, that we assist and advise one another. And from the hardest calamities that a person can go through is the death of a loved one.

It is extremely important as a reminder — for myself and for all of us — that we know how to fulfill the last right of our Muslim brothers and sisters, let alone if that person happens to be a close family member. It's not right and it's not befitting that we don't know how to pray the janazah prayer. We don't know the du'as that we're meant to recite. We don't know how to give condolences to the family of the deceased because we still haven't learned that simple line — that one-line du'a — and it's been so many years that we've been doing this. It's not something befitting for a Muslim, and it's not something befitting in terms of fulfilling the rights of a Muslim upon another Muslim.

The Prophet said صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1601)

Whosoever consoles his believing brother in their difficulty, in their calamity, Allah Azza wa Jal will clothe them with a green cloak that others will be envious of on the Day of Judgment. If you look throughout the issue of condolences and the funeral, you will find that the smallest of deeds — like praying the janazah prayer, following the procession to the graveyard, giving condolences — every single one of them is great in reward, great in the weight of the reward that Allah Azza wa Jal gives. Why? Because it is the final right of a Muslim. It is the final thing that you can offer for your fellow Muslim brother or sister.

But if we don't know the manner in which to do it, we don't know how it is that we're meant to act, the space that someone needs, the support that they need — how we should be the ones cooking for them and helping them as opposed to expecting them to do it for us. When Ja'far رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ passed away — the brother of Ali رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ — the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said to the companions:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 3132; Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 998)

Cook and prepare food for the family of Ja'far, because they have other things that they're preoccupied with.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, in the hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari — Usamah ibn Zayd رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ reports that the daughter of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, Zaynab رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا, her child was on his deathbed — a young boy was on his deathbed. So she sent a message to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, and he was sitting with his companions. She said, "O Messenger of Allah, he's on his deathbed — come."

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said to the messenger: "Go back and give her my salams, and say to her:"

Say to her: to Allah belongs what He gives and what He takes, and everything is at an appointed time. So be patient and hope for Allah's reward. And he gave her the space that she needed. He is the father of the mother, the grandfather of the child — but he knew to leave her space. But Zaynab رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا insisted — because this isn't just a father or grandfather, this is the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — "O Messenger of Allah, come. I want you here." And so then the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ got up and he went.

The Sunnah and our religion is legislated in such a way that we have principles — that when people go through things, when we need perspective or others need perspective, our role is to help them and to support them through that process. It is these issues that we need reminding of, these issues that we need to learn and take on board — because otherwise the cultures and the practices that we have will never change when they're not placed in light of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

Du'a and Closing

We ask Allah Azza wa Jal, by His most beautiful names and lofty attributes, that He showers His mercy and His forgiveness upon us and upon those of our family members that have passed away, and that Allah Azza wa Jal makes them steadfast, and that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala makes their graves expansive and enlightened, and that Allah Azza wa Jal opens for them doors from the doors of Paradise.

We ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala that those of our parents that are still living, that Allah gives them good health and that Allah Azza wa Jal allows us to serve them and to honor them and respect them in a manner in which they deserve.

We ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala that He reunites us and all of our loved ones in the highest ranks of Paradise, in Jannatul Firdaus. We ask Allah Azza wa Jal that He makes us from amongst those who will be resurrected in the company of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.