Characteristics of Having Taqwa | Jumuah Khutbah | Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi | Epic Masjid

The Best of All Good Deeds

The best of all good deeds is that you introduce happiness to your brother who is struggling. Bring a smile to his face. The best of all sadaqat:

You make somebody who is in a difficult situation, somebody who is sad, somebody who has overwhelming debt problems, financial problems, grief, stress. Somebody you go and you relieve their stress. That is the best form of charity. Nothing is better than that.

And by the way, infaq doesn't have to only be by money. Yes, it is true. The number one thing when we think of infaq is money. But when the man came and said, Ya Rasulullah, what if we don't have money? What if I don't have money? He said, go and helping your neighbor is a nafaqah. Giving water from your bucket to his bucket is a nafaqah. Smiling in his face is a charity.

So when Allah says, الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ Don't think, oh, but if I don't have, how can I write a check? Think of, okay, I can volunteer my time. Okay, I can use somebody's, somebody needs a shoulder to cry, I'll go and hug them, listen to their issues and problems, give them some advice. Go to them when life is difficult, just show them love and happiness. That is sadaqah.

Donating an hour to be with your brother who is depressed, who is going through an issue. Visiting somebody who is all alone, been through a traumatic issue, been through a breakup, you go and you cheer them up. That is the highest form of sadaqah. Sadaqah, nafaqah, doesn't have to be by a check, by money. Yes, it is no doubt one of the most important. But Allah has opened the doors of charity. Anything you do to help your brother or sister, that will count as charity.

First Characteristic of Taqwa: Charity

And the number one characteristic of taqwa, of piety is what? Is that you are charitable. Which means, quite bluntly, if you are not charitable, you cannot be of the people of taqwa. If you are stingy, if you are miserly, if you don't want to help other people, then you cannot be of the righteous that Allah has called the muttaqeen.

And realize, O Muslims, that Allah has told us one of the plots of Satan, one of the tactics of Satan, of shaytaan. Allah says:

Shaytaan is threatening you, if you give charity, you will be poor. Shaytaan is threatening you, Shaytaan is taunting you, if I give, I'm gonna not have any money. But Allah is promising you, it's a promise, wa'ad. Allah is promising you, if you give, not only will I forgive you, I will give you fadl, I will give you extra, I will give you your rizq and your sustenance.

Here is the honest question we have to ask ourselves. Do you believe the threats of Shaytaan? Or do you believe the promise of Allah? It's very simple. الشَّيْطَانُ يَعِدُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ وَاللَّهُ يَعِدُكُم مَّغْفِرَةً مِّنْهُ وَفَضْلًا Which of the two do you believe? Are you gonna believe the taunting of Shaytaan? How can I be charitable? I'm already struggling, I cannot give $5, $10, I cannot give my groceries.

No, Allah mentions, and this is of the earliest revelations in early Makkah. Allah mentions, that the righteous people are those who يُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ They share their food even though they need their food. They need food, but they share their food with the people who are more needy than them. This is the essence of taqwa, being charitable.

Second Characteristic of Taqwa: Controlling Anger

Number two, the second characteristic of taqwa. Allah says, الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ Number two, وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ Those who can cover up their anger. The second characteristic of piety.

And by the way, what makes this series of verses very profound is that unfortunately, for many Muslims, piety is only restricted to the rituals. And this verse actually does not list any rituals. It lists mu'amala. It lists dealing with other people. This is why this section is so profound. Because all too often, many of us equate taqwa with only salah and ibadah and zuhd and dhikr. And these series of verses demonstrate taqwa is multifaceted. Taqwa has many components. Taqwa is not just one area. And one of the essential areas of taqwa is how you deal with other people.

So the second characteristic of piety, وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ Those who manage to conceal and control their anger. An interesting characteristic, taqwa is related to concealing anger. Why do you get angry? What causes you to get angry? You typically get angry when your honor seems to have been trespassed. When somebody says or does something that hurts your ego. Your fragile ego is hurt. Then you get angry. How dare you say this? How dare you do that?

And Allah says, the muttaqeen for whom I have preferred jannah, the muttaqeen that will get my maghfira, the muttaqeen are those who when that anger comes... Notice, Allah didn't say getting angry is wrong. It is human nature to get angry. When your honor is brought into disrepute, when your izzah, when your dignity, somebody challenges it, it's human nature, you will feel a sense of anger. And Allah says, that anger, وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ Kazama means to control and cover. Kazama means you keep it in check.

Ibn Abbas said, the most blessed morsel, he used the word luqma, which means morsel of food. The most blessed morsel you can swallow, he's giving a metaphor, a poetic metaphor, is the morsel of your own anger. If you can swallow your own anger, if you can control your own anger, he said, it will be the most beneficial meal that will protect you from all harm. If you can control your anger, you will protect yourself from your own harm and danger. The most important thing you need to put inside and not take out, not show other people, it is your own anger.

And a man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, what is the advice you give me? He said, don't ever get angry. Don't ever get angry. Don't ever get angry. And that is what we have an entire genre in our hadith tradition about how to combat anger. How do we overcome anger? Because our Prophet ﷺ told us that anger is one of the tactics of shaytaan to cause you to do something that is foolish, cause you to do something that you will regret.

Therefore, the muttaqi, the person who wants to achieve God's pleasure, Allah's pleasure, learns to control the anger. وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ

And in the entirety of the seerah, I challenge you to find me one incident in which the Prophet ﷺ could not control his anger. You will not find it. There are many times he got angry. But every single time, he controlled that anger. He never once ﷺ, in the entirety of the seerah, and imagine that, he was a family man, he had wives, he had children, he interacted with people, he was the leader, delegations came, enemies came, munafiqeen came, hypocrites came, and they said and did things that were extremely bad. He was ﷺ, five assassination attempts in his life. People did so many things to him. Never once did he lose control. The anger sometimes was there, but he always controlled that anger. This is a sign of taqwa and piety. وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ

And there are many ways to do so. Now is not the time to get into them. But very briefly, of the ways to control anger, our Prophet ﷺ said, is to mention the name of Allah when you get angry. Say, A'udhu Billah. Say, Bismillah. Of the ways to control your anger, is to do wudu. Of the ways to control anger, is to pray two rak'ah. Multiple things are told to us in the tradition, because the shari'ah has come for us to not act foolishly. And when we act in anger, almost inevitably, we will act in a way that will harm us in the long run.

So the second characteristic of the muttaqi, is, وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ Do not get angry. And if you get angry, control that anger. It is so common, anger destroys marriages. The number one cause of divorce, a husband and wife in anger, do something. Once that word comes, once that action comes, it will never be brought back. The damage has been done between parents and children, between siblings, between uncles and nephews. Something is done in anger, and it takes years to recover, or maybe no recovery will ever happen. If we only controlled our anger, وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ We will protect the fabric of society. And so of the mark of taqwa, of the characteristics of piety, controlling anger, the second characteristic.

Third Characteristic of Taqwa: Forgiveness

The third characteristic, وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ Those who forgive mankind. وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ They forgive An-Nas. The Arif Lam An means all of mankind. In other words, the default of the person of taqwa, listen to this, he does not harbor grudges in his heart. If you want to achieve taqwa, you cannot be harboring animosity and hatred in your heart. وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ عَفُو Remember from Ramadan we talked about عَفُو. Everybody should know what عَفُو means. عَفُو means to clean, to wipe away. عَفُو means nothing is left.

We all explained this dhikr. عَفُو, you wipe away. So, وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ Your heart is pure. It doesn't have anything in your heart against somebody else. You're not carrying hasad, hiqd, jealousy, anger. You're not carrying any type of memory from 10-20 years ago. No, your heart is clean and pure. This is the characteristic of taqwa. You want to achieve Allah's Jannah. وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ Forgive people. Don't carry grudges. Forgive your spouses. Forgive your family. Forgive your friends. Forgive the people of iman and taqwa.

Now pause here, footnote. Yes, there are some exceptions. Tyrants, evil people, criminals, thieves. You know, those types of people. Yes, you put the law and you keep them in check. No problem. You're not going to forgive somebody who's going to keep on robbing you. You have to get the law involved. But that's the exception. The norm, the general rule. Your family and friends, your colleagues, people that are good but they make a mistake. People that have righteousness but they have a transgression against you. The default, you want to achieve taqwa. وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ Forgive.

And Allah says in the Qur'an, that to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq when one of his own relatives harmed him, hurt him in a really nasty way. In the story of the slander, go listen to the seerah. When one of his own relatives got involved and said something really nasty, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, and he's a human being. He made a vow and an oath. He said, I swear I will not forgive that person. And I'm not going to be generous to him, used to give him some money. I'm never going to give him a gift as long as I live. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq got angry. Allah revealed Qur'an that we recite to this day. Allah revealed Qur'an about this incident. And a part of that is:

O Abu Bakr, go ahead and forgive. وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا Go ahead and turn over a new leaf. Safaha, you turn over a new leaf. Safaha, you turn over a new leaf. Give him another chance. O Abu Bakr, forgive him and give him another chance. أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ Don't you want Allah to forgive you as well? Like you do unto others, Allah will do to you. When you forgive, when you give another chance, don't you realize you also need to be forgiven by Allah? You also need to be given another chance by Allah. So when you forgive others, Allah will forgive you. And when you give others a chance, Allah will give you multiple chances. So of the characteristics of taqwa, وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ

Fourth Characteristic of Taqwa: Excellence (Ihsan)

And then the fourth characteristic, وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ Allah loves the people of ihsan. Who are the people of ihsan? The people of ihsan are the ones who go above and beyond what is required. One of our scholars of the past, al-Raghib al-Isbahani, he defined it as follows, ihsan is to give more than what is required, and to be satisfied with less than what is due unto you. Ihsan is you give more than what is required. You go above and beyond the minimum, and you are content with receiving what is less.

The Characteristics of People of Taqwa: Generosity and Forgiveness

So Allah is saying, be generous to the people, and forgive them, and control your anger, and go above and beyond and make them happy. Placate them, show them love and ihsan.

And Allah loves the people who are ihsan, muhsin unto others. What this means is, as other verses in the Qur'an clarify, when somebody cuts you off, when somebody is nasty to you, and we're talking about friends and relatives, we're not talking about evil people that are gonna take advantage obviously, we're talking about our own societies, people, friends, relatives, people that have good and bad, ups and downs, that is the way society goes. Allah says in the Qur'an that:

Evil and good are never the same.

Repel evil with good. When somebody is nasty to you, when somebody puts you down, when somebody is sarcastic, when somebody makes fun of you, you have the upper hand, and you show them generosity. ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ Respond to evil with that which is the best.

And you will find the one who had animosity against you, he will flip and turn around, and he will become your best friend, because you did not stoop to his level. You rose up, and you responded to evil with kindness. You responded to sarcasm with praise. Instead of taking the bait, you stood up, and you were a dignified Muttaqi. Allah is saying, if you do so, you are of the Muhsinin, and Allah loves the people of Ihsan. All of these characteristics are dealing with other people. And it shows you, you will never achieve piety, you will never achieve God consciousness, you will never achieve the station of righteousness, if you don't have these characteristics.

The Fifth Characteristic: Seeking Forgiveness After Sin

And then the fifth and final one, it is one of the most amazing characteristics in my opinion of the Muttaqi. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

And the people of taqwa are those who, because again, what did the verse say? أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ - Allah's forgiveness and paradise is created for the people of God consciousness. Then Allah says, there are those who do this, there are those who do this, there are those who do this. Number five, and they are those who, when they commit a fahisha, or they fall into a sin against themselves.

Pause here. What is phenomenal? What is mind-blowing? Allah says, the people of taqwa are committing sins. How is this possible? وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً Committing a sin does not expel you from the ranks of the muttaqeen. This is amazing. How is this possible? وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً The people of taqwa are those who, when they commit an indecent deed. A fahisha, something that embarrasses you. A fahisha, something you're ashamed of. One of the salaf actually commented on Ibn Abbas and his students. They said, for example, drinking, for example, zina, that is a fahisha. Subhanallah, can you believe taqwa?

And then Allah says, when they commit a fahisha. Committing a fahisha in and of itself, does not negate taqwa, but there are conditions. What is the condition? وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ Or they wrong themselves. A fahisha is a deed that will bring you shame. ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ is a wrong deed that you transgress. For example, saying something nasty to somebody. For example, taking the haq of somebody. This is not called a fahisha, but it is zulm that you have done. So fahisha and zulm are two categories of sins. Fahisha and zulm are two distinct sins. And Allah allows the both of them for the people of taqwa. Simply committing a fahisha or committing a zulm against yourself, does not immediately expel you from the ranks of the pious.

But there is a condition. What is that condition?

As soon as they commit an evil deed, as soon as the deed is done, they remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And they feel remorse and guilt and they ask for forgiveness. Committing an evil deed does not expel you from being of the pious. As long as you immediately regret, repent, cease and desist. And Allah actually encourages this repentance. And Allah says right here in this series of verses, and in fact this phrase here, it is kind of a tangent. It's not flowing with the content, but Allah wants to put it there to incentivize us.

Who forgives sins other than Allah? In other words, who else do you think will forgive you other than Allah? It is as if Allah is saying, don't lose hope, O sinner. Don't lose hope if you commit a sin, if you transgress, if you've done a crime, if you've done something wrong. Don't worry, Allah will forgive you as long as you turn to Him. And then:

And they do not persist in committing the sin. It's a one-off, it's a slip-up. You messed up, you turn to Allah, and you ask for forgiveness, and that's it. If that is the characteristic, you have not lost the status of taqwa in and of itself. A slip-up, a sin, a one-off infraction will not disqualify you from piety as long as you genuinely regret, you turn back to Allah, you ask Allah's forgiveness. What great optimism is there, O Muslim? The mudtaqi is not an angel, the mudtaqi is not sinless, the mudtaqi is human, the mudtaqi is me and you.

The mudtaqi can commit sins, can fall into error, but yes, there's no habitual major sin in the life of the mudtaqi. The mudtaqi cannot constantly be drinking, no, that's not a mudtaqi. The mudtaqi cannot constantly be stealing money, that's not mudtaqi. One-off sin, and you understand, I have done a major sin, I need to turn to Allah. You ask Allah's forgiveness, dhakarullah, you make istighfar, you turn back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then yes indeed, your status, your membership is not necessarily revoked. Your membership in the club of taqwa, it is not necessarily revoked. A one-off infraction in which you turn to Allah, Allah is forgiving, and turn back and keep on trying. وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا They are not addicted and persistent in what they are doing.

وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ And they know, they know what? They know that Allah is forgiving, and they know that they're trying to overcome. One of our scholars made a tafsir of this verse, he said, and they know, meaning, they know that they're not allowed to be continuously addicted to that sin. They're trying to overcome it. The reason why this interpretation is so profound, because some people struggle with the sin continuously. They are not technically addicts, they haven't agreed to become addicts, but every once in a while, they slip into that sin, and then they repent. And one of our interpretations of the verse indicates, the one who continuously falls, but he tries to not fall, he still comes under this verse. He is not of those who are adamant and addicted.

وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ They know they cannot become addicted. They know they cannot just maintain a lifestyle of sin. As for falling into a sin, then repenting, and trying your best to not do it, and then falling again, then repenting, then falling again. But every time you fall into the sin, you make a sincere intention, this will be the last time. As long as it is sincere, inshaAllah you are still amongst the muttaqeen. You need to make an effort. And if it so happens you fall, then you come again, and you come again. And Allah does not count. Allah does not count how often you ask forgiveness. Allah does not have a hisab for the muttaqeen. Allah does not tally the number of istighfar. Allah will forgive all sins.

Different Aspects of Taqwa in the Qur'an

If we meet these five characteristics, O Muslims, we are of the people of taqwa. Now, the Qur'an has other passages, which we're not gonna go into today. But it can be said that in every passage, there is a primary theme. For example, the beginning of surah Baqarah, Alif, Lam, Meem, ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ The muttaqeen. Who are the muttaqeen? In surah Baqarah, the primary characteristic is about theology. They believe in Allah, they believe in the books, they believe in the day of judgment. So you have to have iman to be a muttaqeen. In other verses, the concept of taqwa is linked to salah, وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ. And in this series of verses, taqwa is linked to akhlaq and interaction.

So, to summarize, the Qur'an has come to perfect our God consciousness. And different passages have different adjectives and different checklists. And some passages emphasize theology and faith. Some passages emphasize rituals. And the passage we did today, which is surah Ali Imran, it emphasizes interaction with other people. It emphasizes generosity. It emphasizes covering up one's anger. It emphasizes having a clean heart, forgiving people, being good to them, bringing happiness to them. And it emphasizes even if you commit a sin, as long as you turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah azza wa jal will continue to forgive and make you of the muttaqeen.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless me and you with and through the Qur'an. And may He make us of those who His verses they understand, and applies halal and haram through our lifespan. Ask Allah's forgiveness, you as well ask Him for His ghafoor and rahman.

The Night Prayer: A Path to Taqwa

Alhamdulillah. All praise is due to Allah, the One and the Unique. It is He whom we worship, and it is His blessings that we seek. He is the Lord of the oppressed, and He is the prayer of the weak. As to what follows, one of the main characteristics of the people of taqwa in the Qur'an is a characteristic that is so easy to do, and yet it is so difficult. It is within grasp, but so few people manage to pluck it and eat from its sweet fruits. And that is the characteristic of praying the nightly prayer, qiyamul layl or salatul tahajjud.

There are over half a dozen verses in the Qur'an that praise the people of tahajjud as being of the righteous. That praise, وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ, Allah azza wa jal mentions, وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِ نَافِلَةً لَّكَ. In the night, say your prayers. Allah azza wa jal mentions that the righteous people are those who تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ. They are breaking away from their beds, and they are praying to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah azza wa jal mentions, the righteous are those وَبِالْأَسْحَارِ هُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ. When it is dark at night, they are saying their prayers and asking Allah's forgiveness.

(Tirmidhi)

Our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, I encourage you to pray qiyamul layl. I encourage you to pray qiyamul layl. For it is the custom of the righteous before you. And it is of the greatest deed that brings you closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And it is something that forgives the sins. And it is something that purifies the heart. عَلَيْكُمْ بِقِيَامِ اللَّيْلِ. For it is the custom of the righteous, the muttaqeen before you. You wanna be from the muttaqeen, one of the easiest ways to do this is qiyamul layl.

Therapy for the Heart

And there are many blessings to qiyamul layl, brothers and sisters. And somebody will say, Subhanallah, I'm struggling with my daily prayers. I'm struggling with sins. You want me to pray tahajjud? And I say to you, do not lose hope of Allah's mercy. If you are struggling in one area, don't use that as an incentive to give up in other areas. If you cannot be perfect in one area, actually use it to incentivize yourself, I'm gonna try to be better in another area. So try your best, oh Muslim.

And let me tell you another benefit of qiyamul layl. One of the biggest benefits of praying at night. One of the biggest benefits, along with the barakah, along with the forgiveness, along with the dua Allah listens to, along with the heights of Jannah. One of the biggest blessings of praying qiyamul layl as our scholars and even the Quran indicates. Qiyamul layl is therapy for the heart. A troubled heart, an anxious heart, a heart full of gham, grief, anxiety, a heart overcome with the problems of this world. You will not find any happiness like you will find in waking up at night, going to a corner of the room, and bowing your head down to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Sweetness of Night Prayer

The peace that will come to your heart, the sakinah that will come to your soul, the sweetness of opening up your heart to Allah, crying to Allah, begging Allah for help, turning to Allah for mercy. That nourishment of the soul, it will sustain you through many tragedies. It will allow you to overcome so many problems of your life. We all have problems, oh Muslims. We all have problems of the heart, problems of anxiety, problems of stress. Mark my words, listen to me and give it a try yourself. Try praying tahajjud just for a few nights, and you will see the therapy that happens to your qalb. You will see how calmness comes to your heart.

I say to you bluntly, once you start praying, it will become like a halal addiction. You will need it so much. The night that you don't pray, you're gonna feel something is missing. The sweetness of قيام الليل, only those who know it and practice it, know its reality. And I say to you, if you cannot pray every night, don't give up, pray some nights. Pray some nights.

Understanding Qiyam al-Layl and Tahajjud

And let me tell you a halal trick. This is a halal trick, I'm not making this up. This is a good trick, you should all know. There's two terms, قيام الليل and تهجد. Tahajjud is the better. And tahajjud means, you woke up, you left the bed, and you prayed well after you had slept. This is tahajjud. And this is the higher level. But Allah praises قيام الليل. Allah praises قيام الليل and He praises تهجد. قيام الليل is also blessed. And قيام الليل is broader than تهجد.

Listen to this carefully. Tahajjud means, as I said, you will go to sleep, you will put your alarm clock on, wake up, and pray after you have slept. Before Salat al-Fajr, by an hour, half an hour, that is tahajjud. And that is the highest level. But there is a level that is still high. Not the highest, still high. That is قيام الليل. And قيام الليل does not have to happen after you go to sleep. قيام الليل can happen before you go to sleep. You can delay قيام الليل until it's the last thing you do before you go to sleep.

Suppose you go to sleep at 11 o'clock, okay, at 10:30 wind everything down. And before you go to sleep, go to a corner and do قيام الليل. This is قيام الليل. قيام الليل anytime after Isha until Fajr is قيام الليل. Tahajjud, yes, you go to sleep, then you wake up, that is tahajjud. So if you pray some extra prayers before you go to sleep, that will constitute قيام الليل. And that is the minimum of قيام الليل. And all of the blessings of قيام الليل will come to you. Agreed, not as much as tahajjud, but still you're gonna come, you're gonna get the blessings of قيام الليل.

Practical Guidance from the Companions

So if you want to be of the people of taqwa, introduce قيام الليل to your life as well. Introduce قيام الليل into your life as well. And if you cannot pray tahajjud, don't give up. Pray قيام الليل before going to sleep. And in fact, many of the sahaba who could not wake up for tahajjud, Abu Hurairah himself was of them. He said that, the Prophet ﷺ commanded me that I pray my qiyam, my witr, my salah before I go to sleep. Because he was not of those who wake up at night, so he would pray his qiyam before going to sleep. He would delay to the very end, then he would pray 2 rak'ah, 4 rak'ah, 8 rak'ah, then he would pray the witr, then he would go to sleep.

So if you can do this much, delay your salawat, your nafil to the very end of your schedule. And before you go to sleep, pray any number of rak'ah, 2 or 4, ideally 8, 8 is good. But if you cannot do 8, even 2, even 4. And then pray witr, then go to sleep. If you do so, you have done the minimum قيام الليل. And all the blessings of قيام الليل.

The Reward of Night Prayer

And our Prophet ﷺ mentioned that, the people of Jannah, they will look up to the ghuraf, to the highest level. And they will see them as you see the stars. He was asked, how do people get there? There is a description of 5 characteristics, one of them he said, and they would pray قيام الليل. You wanna get to the highest levels, you wanna get to taqwa, you wanna get to the maghfirah. قيام الليل is a necessary requisite.

So, O Muslim, my advice to myself and all of you, open this chapter in your life. Be of those who are righteous and pious. Try your best to attain this. And I swear to you, along with the blessings, along with the barakah, قيام الليل will provide to your heart, a comfort and sweetness, that will make life easier to live. You will feel a sense of nobility, and a sense of nourishment. And you will be able to overcome the problems of this world. And this is what happens when you choose Allah, and you turn to Allah, and you live a life of taqwa.

The Path to Taqwa

To conclude, O Muslims, to be of the muttaqeen is not impossible. Look at this list. It's difficult, but it is not impossible. To be of the muttaqeen requires an effort. An effort that we can all do. Try your best to conceal your anger. Try your best to be generous. Try your best to make people happy. Try your best to do the rituals, and do extra ibadah as you can. And slowly but surely, the doors of taqwa will open up. And when those doors open, Allah will open even more doors. The closer you come to Allah, the easier Allah allows that journey. So strive to be a people of taqwa, and do not ever allow your sins to make you think you can never reach there. Allah has explicitly allowed the sinner to still achieve the rank of taqwa, as long as they have istighfar.

Du'a

Salah Recitation