The Meeting with Allah (SWT) - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Opening: The Khutbah of Need

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى، نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ، وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ 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، صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا.

The Greatest Hope of the Believer

In our religion, we're told that in Ramadan and outside of Ramadan, one of the greatest things that the worship of Allah reminds you of is what you have most to look forward to. And that is, by the mercy of Allah, our meeting with Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ. For the believer, that is the greatest hope and their greatest dream and their greatest wish — that they will meet their Lord and Creator Allah whilst He is pleased with them, whilst He is happy with them, whilst they see Him and they meet Him, whilst in a state of enjoying His mercy and His bounty.

The Hadith of Ammar Ibn Yasir

It is collected in the Sahih of Ibn Hibban, upon the authority of one of the scholars of the Tabi'een, a man by the name of As-Sa'ib Ibn Malik رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى. He said that we were sitting in a masjid and there entered upon us the companion Ammar Ibn Yasir رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا.

Ammar Ibn Yasir is one of the greatest, most illustrious companions of our Prophet ﷺ. His parents, Yasir and Sumayya, were from the early Muslims, the early people to accept Islam, and they were the first martyrs in our religion — both of them killed by Abu Jahl at the beginning of Islam. And the Prophet ﷺ used to walk past them whilst they were being persecuted and tortured. The Muslims were few in number and weak on that day. But he would say to them:

"Be patient, O family of Yasir, for indeed your appointment — what you have to look forward to — is Jannah."

Ammar Ibn Yasir walked into the masjid and the narrator says that he prayed two rak'ahs, but he made them short and quick. So then he walked and passed by this group of people who were sitting there. The narrator says that someone in that gathering said to him: "O Ammar, you prayed two very quick, very short rak'ahs." He said to them in reply: "Do you think that they were quick and short? By Allah, I made du'a in them with a number of du'as that I was taught by the Prophet ﷺ." And then he left and walked on.

The narrator, Sa'ib Ibn Malik, said that he wanted to hear what du'as the Prophet ﷺ had taught him. So he followed him outside of the masjid and said: "O Ammar, what is the du'a that you made in this salah, that we thought was short and quick, but to you it was something else?" He replied with a long du'a, but the point I want to mention here today is that part of the du'a was that he said he was taught by the Prophet ﷺ to say:

"That I ask You, O Allah, to allow me the sweetness of being able to see Your face, and that I should have longing and desire for Your meeting, O Allah."

This portion of a du'a shows us the mindset of our own Prophet ﷺ, and it shows us the way that the companions were nurtured — each and every single day, day in and day out, no matter what that day may throw at them. Every single day that you wake up, there are challenges awaiting you that you don't even know, from the ilmul ghayb, from the unseen. You don't know by the end of that day if someone that you love will have passed away, or if you or someone that you love will be struck down by some illness or disease. You don't know what's going to happen to you, your family, or your wealth on that day.

But the believer is the one who, despite all of those challenges, despite every time Shaytan comes and he tries to knock down your fortress, your wall, your connection with Allah — every time he tries to sever that link between you and your Lord — the believer is the one who has that goal in mind: "My goal is that I am looking forward to something greater than just what this day has to bring, than just what this week or this month has to bring, than just what my goals are this year or even in this blessed month of Ramadan. My goal in this life is that meeting with Allah."

The Last Verse of Surah Al-Kahf

And doesn't Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ tell us this in the last verse of the surah that we read every Friday — Surah Al-Kahf:

"So whosoever desires, wants, longs for the meeting with their Lord, then let them perform righteous deeds — this month of Ramadan, righteous deeds — and they should not associate anyone in worship with their Lord."

Now that you're in the middle of Ramadan, that midway point coming on to the last ten nights, this is the time when many people begin to slack. This is the time when you feel that the masjid isn't as full as it was at the beginning of Ramadan, nor as full as it will become by the end of Ramadan. This is the time when fatigue and tiredness and Shaytan come knocking upon our door. But the one who is a believer knows that for that meeting with Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ:

فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا — let them continue each and every single day to better themselves, to do more good deeds, to come closer to Allah, even if it is by a single step. وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا — and they worship Allah alone, not associating anyone in worship with Him.

And Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ says in Surah Al-Ankabut:

"If you hope and you wish and you want and you desire that meeting with Allah, then know that that appointment is coming." Allah has made an appointment with Himself for the believers.

The Mindset of the Prophet and His Companions

This was the mindset of the companions. The Prophet ﷺ used to wake up every single day — and he was the greatest and the best of this creation, the leader of all the children of Adam, the most beloved of the creation of Allah. But every single day there was a challenge that came knocking at his door: either with him personally, with his family, with his children, or to do with his ummah and the companions رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ. How many times did people try to assassinate him or harm him? How many occasions were his companions persecuted and tortured? His own wife, Aisha our mother رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا, was slandered and his honor as a result was attacked. Numerous of his children passed away during his lifetime ﷺ. Battle after battle, war after war, challenge after challenge.

But the Prophet ﷺ every single day had this in his mind: his meeting was with Allah. What he had to look forward to was that meeting with Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

The Hawd — The Pond of the Prophet

Our religion tells us about that meeting with our Lord. Jannah — that is our meeting, inshallah. That is what we aspire to. The Prophet ﷺ said to his companions when they asked: "O Messenger of Allah, where shall we meet you on Yawmul Qiyamah? Where will we be reunited?" The Prophet ﷺ said: "Come to my pond, my Hawd. Its water will come from my river in Jannah. And its water is whiter than milk, sweeter than honey, and more fragrant than musk. Whosoever drinks from it will never experience thirst again."

That is the meeting of the Prophet ﷺ with his ummah. That Hawd, that pond of the Prophet ﷺ, will have golden cups scattered upon it — their number, the Prophet ﷺ said, will be like the number of the stars. And every single time a person comes to that pond, the Prophet ﷺ will take one of those golden vessels and cups, draw water from that pond with his own hand, and serve his ummah — even though he has more right that we should serve him ﷺ. But he does so to honor his ummah, because that is what they strived for. That is what you and I strive for.

And sometimes it is easy to lose sight of that goal. It is easy to lose sight of that greatest want and desire when you are busy with your everyday life. But this month of Ramadan, these seasons of worship, every time you pray five times a day — this is one of the things that should most remind you of that meeting with Allah.

The Scholars of the Salaf and Their Resolve

The scholars of the Salaf used to say: "We fast these long, hot summer days because we want to quench our thirst with the water of Jannah. We would willingly sacrifice our thirst and our hunger and every other creature comfort that we have in this life." Why? Because they desired something greater. Something more noble. Something far more lasting.

So the scholars of Islam, the companions, those scholars who followed in their footsteps — every single day they would persevere. Every single day, despite the challenges that came their way, they knew that the path to overcome them was to come closer to Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ. And so long as you are coming closer to Allah, even if it is step by step, then know that you are on a path of goodness. Know that Allah wants good for you. But if at the first sign of challenge you move back — you are in reverse — then that is a sign of a problem between you and your relationship with Allah.

The Blessings of Jannah

If you look at the Sunnah of our Prophet ﷺ, as Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ also does in the Quran, he spoke to us of the longing for paradise by describing to us in explicit detail Jannah and every single thing that it contains. The Prophet ﷺ told us that Jannah is something:

"Jannah, what you are looking forward to inshallah, by the mercy of Allah — it is something that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind can ever possibly imagine."

The Prophet ﷺ told us in another hadith:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2836)

"Whosoever enters into Jannah, they will have consistent blessing — everlasting blessing. Never will they despair or become sad. Never will the toils they experienced in this life come upon them in Jannah. Their clothes will never disintegrate, and their youth will never turn to old age."

The Prophet ﷺ told us that the people of Jannah will have every single thing that they desire — every single thing that they call for, that they want, they will be given. To the extent that the Prophet ﷺ told us, in the authentic hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2348)

A man from the people of Jannah will seek permission from our Lord Allah. And he will say: "O Allah, grant me permission to plant agriculture. I want to plant vegetation." So Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ will say to him: "Don't you already have all of these great blessings of Jannah — with its palaces and its castles and its rivers and its gold and silver and musk, with its thrones and couches and reclining seats, and all of these great foods and drinks that Allah has prepared? Don't you already have what you want?"

The man will say: "Yes, but I love to cultivate. I love planting. I'm a gardener — that's what I do." So Allah will grant him permission. He will plant a seed, that seed will sprout and become big until it reaches the height of the mountains. So Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ will say to this man: "You, O son of Adam — you are never satisfied. Allah gives you everything in Jannah and you still want to plant."

A Bedouin man heard this hadith of the Prophet ﷺ and said: "O Messenger of Allah, that man must be from Quraysh or the Ansar, because they are the only people who like that. As for me and our people, we don't like planting." So the Prophet ﷺ smiled at him.

The point being that everything that you desire in Jannah — as Allah says:

"You will have everything that your soul desires, everything that you want, and everything that you were promised you will be given."

Glorifying Allah in Jannah

Some of the scholars said concerning the verse in which Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ says:

They said in their books of tafsir, that the meaning of this verse — and Allah knows best — is that when the people of Jannah want something, that is all they have to do: glorify Allah and call out His name, honor Him and praise Him, and everything that they want will come to them. To the extent that if there is a bird flying in Jannah high above them, they simply need to glorify Allah, and that bird will fly and come to them so that they can have it. That is from the blessings of Jannah.

Children in Jannah and the Market of Jannah

Our Prophet ﷺ told us in the authentic hadith that if a person wants a child in Jannah, then Allah will give them a child, and their pregnancy and their birth and their growing will be in a single moment, just as that person desires. Everything will be given to a person in Jannah according to the level that they desire.

Yet despite all of this, and every single blessing of Jannah, there are still greater blessings. In the hadith, the Prophet ﷺ told us:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2833)

"There is a marketplace in Jannah, a gathering place, that the people of Jannah will come to each and every single Friday." And when they come there, a northerly wind will blow upon them — upon their faces and upon their clothes — فَيَزْدَادُونَ حُسْنًا وَجَمَالًا — and it will increase them in beauty, even though the people of Jannah are already perfect in their beauty. And as it increases them in their beauty, they will return back to their homes in that state of excess beauty. So when their families see them, they will say: "By Allah, you have increased in beauty since the last time we saw you!" And those people will reply to their families: "And you too, by Allah, have increased in beauty from the last time that we saw you."

That is why the scholars of Islam — like Imam Al-Hasan Al-Basri and Imam Ahmad and all of the great scholars of Islam — when they were asked: "O Imam, when do we rest in this life? When is the time that we get to relax?" they would say: "You don't relax until your right foot enters into Jannah. That is the moment of rest for the believer." Until that time, you have a duty, and it is your opportunity to earn that reward from Allah.

We know in life that you don't achieve anything that you really, really want unless you strive for it, unless you work for it.

The Greatest Blessing: Seeing the Face of Allah

But despite all of these blessings of Jannah, there is a single blessing that is far greater than all of them combined. A blessing that is far greater than every other blessing I have mentioned and that I haven't mentioned. And that single blessing of Jannah is being able to see the face of Allah.

As the Prophet ﷺ taught us in that du'a I mentioned at the beginning:

"O Allah, I ask you the pleasure and the sweetness of being able to see Your face."

Ibn Al-Qayyim رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى gathered many ahadith concerning this single blessing. He said that this is something which is mutawatir — it has been repeated and reported in numerous narrations, on a number of companions such as Jarir, Suhaib, Anas, Abu Hurairah, Abu Musa, and Abu Sa'id — that the believers in Jannah will be able to see the face of their Lord, just as you see the sun in the middle of the day, and just as you see the full moon on a cloudless night.

The Description of That Blessed Meeting

It is reported that the people of Jannah, when they enter into Jannah, a caller will call to them and he will say: "Indeed your Lord invites you to visit Him. So hasten to your Lord." So the people of Jannah will collectively say in a single voice:

"We hear and we obey."

And they will hasten towards their Lord, until they reach a wide, spacious valley that has been appointed as their place of meeting with Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ. And Allah will command that His throne is placed therein. The believers on that day will be reclining and sitting upon pulpits — pulpits of light, and pulpits of gold, and pulpits of silver, and pulpits of rubies and gems and pearls. The least of them in seating position — and there is no one considered lowly in Jannah — will be placed upon cushions of musk. And because of the blessings that Allah has given to them, they will think there is no one better than them in Jannah, even though they hold the lowest place of seating.

Once they have settled and are seated, the caller will call out again and will say:

"Verily, you people, you have an appointed time with Allah, and Allah wants to fulfill that meeting. Allah wants to meet you."

They will say: "Why does Allah want to meet us?" Hasn't Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ already illuminated their faces? أَلَمْ يُبَيِّضْ وُجُوهَنَا — "Has He not already made heavy our scales of good deeds? وَثَقَّلَ مَوَازِينَنَا — Has He not already entered us into His Jannah? وَأَدْخَلَنَا الْجَنَّةَ — And has He not already removed us from His fire?"

And as they are sitting there waiting for Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ, they will see a light above them — a light so bright and so majestic and so glorious that it will envelop everything within Jannah. And when they look up, they will see their Lord Allah. And Allah in all of His glory and His majesty will call out to the people of Jannah and He will say:

"Peace be upon you."

And the people of Jannah will respond:

"O Allah, You are السَّلَام — the One free from every weakness and every imperfection. And all perfection and peace comes from You. Glory and praise be to You. Blessed be You, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor."

Allah will then smile upon those people of Jannah. And He will say to them: "Now that you have entered into Jannah, where are My slaves who in this world, in this life, they used to worship Me even though they never saw Me? Where are those people who, despite not seeing Allah, had that belief in Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ and that strength of iman that they would continue to worship and obey Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ and stay away from disobedience?"

"Today — this day — is the Day of Increase. This is when you get more than what you were already promised."

So the people of Jannah will say:

"O Allah, we are pleased, so be pleased with us."

So Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ will say to them: "Were it not that I was already pleased with you, you would never have entered into Jannah." But then He will say: لَكِنْ هَذَا يَوْمُ الْمَزِيدِ — "Today is the Day of Increase. Ask for that which you want."

So the people of Jannah, in a single collective voice, will say: "O Allah, allow us to see Your face. Allow us to look upon Your glory and Your majesty. Allow us to see Your face." So Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ will remove His veil, and they will look upon the face of their Lord.

The Prophet ﷺ told us in another hadith that the people of Jannah will see the face of their Lord and they will not jostle or push one another in order to see it, but they will see it as clearly as you see the full moon on a cloudless night.

And when they look upon the face of Allah, that single glance will make them forget every other blessing in Jannah. Every other blessing of Jannah they will forget simply by looking at the face of Allah. And were it not that Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ had decreed that the people of Jannah cannot be destroyed, the majesty and the glory of the face of Allah would have destroyed them.

Then Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ in that meeting will speak to each and every single person individually, and He will say to them: "Don't you remember such and such a day in this dunya when you disobeyed Me, when you committed such and such a sin? Don't you remember what you did in this life?" And that person will say: "Yes, O Allah, I remember. But didn't You already forgive me?" And Allah will say: "Yes, I forgave you. And that is why you have this blessing of Jannah."

That is the meaning, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, of the verse in Surah Yunus, wherein Allah says:

"Those people who do good in this life — for them is goodness and more." The goodness that they will have is Jannah with all of its blessings and bounties. And the more — the increase — that they will have is that Allah will give them permission to see His face.

Closing Du'a of the First Khutbah

بَارَكَ اللَّهُ لِي وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقُرْآنِ وَالسُّنَّةِ وَنَفَعَنِي وَإِيَّاكُمْ بِمَا فِيهِمَا مِنَ الْآيَاتِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ، أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِجَمِيعِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ.

Second Khutbah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَمَنْ وَالَاهُ، أَسْلَمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا، أَمَّا بَعْدُ.

When you understand this extremely important and crucial point — the appointment that Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ has promised the believers in Jannah — it gives you that impetus, that motivation, that extra effort that you need in order to continue your journey to Allah. And you always have this at the forefront of your mind — not at the back of your mind, but at the forefront of your mind — each and every single day as Allah breathes life into you and gives you life for that day.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3904; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2382)

"Indeed there is a servant of Allah that Allah gave a choice — either he could have from the beauties of this life, from the adornments and the pleasures of this life whatever he wished, or he could choose that which was with Allah. So he chose that which was with Allah."

When the Prophet ﷺ said this, Abu Bakr began to cry رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ. And he said: "We would sacrifice for you, O Messenger of Allah — we would sacrifice our own parents, our mothers and our fathers." The people sitting there hearing this said to Abu Bakr: "Why are you crying? He's speaking about a man who chose what Allah has. Isn't that something good?" But they later found out that the Prophet ﷺ was referring to himself, and he was speaking of his own death. And Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ was the only one who understood the context of this hadith.

This was the frame of mind of the Prophet of Allah: working towards Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ, choosing and sacrificing for what Allah has and what Allah possesses over anything and everything else. This is what we need to do in this month of Ramadan.

Now as we come on to the last ten nights of Ramadan, the Prophet ﷺ would do even more — he would put in more energy and more time and sacrifice more to attain the pleasure of Allah. This Ramadan may be your last opportunity. These next few nights may be your last opportunity. Use them wisely and remember that appointed meeting inshallah with our Lord.

Appeal for the Masjid

Before I conclude, brothers and sisters — this is a Friday, which is the blessed day of the Muslim week, and this is the month of Ramadan, which is the most blessed of months. I want to ask you on this blessed day of Friday, in this blessed month of Ramadan, to extend your support to this masjid.

I know that this is a month in which you give charity and you support a number of causes and you do many other good deeds. And we ask Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ to accept all of our good deeds, no matter how small or how great, that Allah accepts each and every single one. But this masjid needs your support — just as it needs your support throughout the year, but especially now in this month of Ramadan.

This is a masjid that, by the blessing of Allah, is built upon giving back to the community — just as the masjid of the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah when he established it was a masjid for the community. We don't believe in this masjid in hoarding money and collecting it in bank accounts. But what we have we spend in the way of Allah — whether it be on the building or the activities that we do. For those of you that frequent this masjid and are up to date with our activities, I don't need to go through that in detail, but if you want more detail it is all online.

At this moment, in this month of Ramadan, today we have an appeal that is starting right now — and that is to replace the roof and the upper windows of this building, of this section of the masjid. That roof, even though it may seem okay as you are sitting beneath the ceiling and it is protecting you, actually underneath there is a lot of rot and it is in a state of great disrepair. We need from our community £200,000 — inshallah, in this month of Ramadan we would like to collect it so that we can begin the work of replacing the whole roof. And even though that sounds like a lot of money, I know that we as a community, if we pull together, remembering our meeting with Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ and remembering the reward — especially in this month of Ramadan — of giving in the path of Allah, we can achieve that target.

It's not a large amount. This masjid sends hundreds of thousands of pounds to people across the world who are needy, and we spend tens of thousands of pounds on our da'wah activities and so on. But all of that, after the blessing of Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ, is from your support — it is because of the support that you give to your masjid.

So on this blessed day of Ramadan I ask you for that support. And remember that the Prophet ﷺ said that indeed charity prevents evil harm. One of the greatest ways of removing harm from yourself and your family, of removing trials and difficulties, is by giving sadaqah. The Prophet ﷺ told us that it is one of the greatest and surest ways of removing any affliction and harm. So please donate generously. Jazakumullahu khayran.

Closing Du'a

We ask Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ on this blessed day of Ramadan that He accepts our good deeds, that He accepts from us everything that we have put forth, and that He allows us to continue to worship Him and increase in that worship in these last ten nights of Ramadan.

"O Allah, allow us to witness Laylatul Qadr. O Allah, allow us to witness Laylatul Qadr. O Allah, give us the reward of that worship that is equal to a thousand months. O Allah, bless us and our families, our wealth and our community. We ask Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ that He protects us from Shaytan and his traps."