Jannah or Jahannam: The Only Two Choices | Jumuah Khutbah | Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi | EPIC Masjid

The Two Ultimate Choices

Dear Muslims, when was the last time that you genuinely desired Allah's reward and Jannah? When was the last time you found yourself contemplating and thinking about the reality, the inevitable reality of the Akhirah, and the fact that there's only two choices, either Jannah or Jahannam?

When was the last time we raised our hands up to Allah and from the depths of our hearts made a sincere du'a to Allah, that, ya Allah, I want Jannah, and I want your rida?

The Qur'an's Constant Reminders

Have you never considered the reality that the Qur'an is so full of reminding us of Jannah, that you can barely read a single page except that it will remind you of this reality? One of the core messages that the Qur'an came with, one of the fundamental aspects that the Qur'an is constantly reminding us.

In fact, one of the most common phrases in the Qur'an that we're all familiar with:

This is one of the most frequent phrases of the entire Qur'an. Why? Why is Allah constantly reminding us about this reality?

Allah tells us such vivid detail about the blessings of Jannah, the beauty of Jannah, about who shall get it.

Those who believe and do good shall be in Jannatul Firdaus as their abode.

They shall be in it forever.

They will never want to leave from Jannah. They will never want to leave from Jannah.

The Prophet's Night Prayer

The Prophet ﷺ, when he would begin the nightly prayers, tahajjud, there's a really interesting phrase that I would think about, why is he saying this phrase? And you realize why he is saying it. He began his salatul tahajjud. This is the beginning of his night prayer with the frequent du'a:

Oh Allah, to you belongs all praise. You are true. Your speech is true. Your promises are true. Jannah is true. And Jahannam is true.

This is how he would begin salatul tahajjud. And the reason being, when you remind yourself of this reality, then it has an impact on your life at every single level. When you constantly remind yourself, والجنة حق والنار حق then it will impact your dunya and your deen. And this is why the Qur'an is constantly reminding us of this reality.

The Warning Against Forgetting

In fact, Allah warns us of those who forget about it. Allah warns us of the consequences of not thinking about the Akhirah and of Jannah. Allah says:

Those who have no desire to meet us, they've forgotten the reality of meeting Allah. They're not thinking about meeting Allah. They have no desire to meet Allah. And so what happens?

They are happy with the dunya. And they are content with what they get in this dunya.

Allah mentions, those people:

They are heedless about Allah and meeting Allah.

These are the ones that will end up not in Jannah but in Jahannam. In other words, not thinking about Jannah, not caring about Jannah, is one of the pathways to enter the opposite of Jannah, and that is Jahannam.

The Ultimate Test

Dear brothers, dear sisters, when all is said and done, there is only one ultimate test of passing. This whole world and all that is in it is meaningless. All the ups and downs are not worth anything if one reality is not met.

Allah reminds us in the Qur'an:

Every one of you will die. I shall die and you shall die. Every human being that you've ever loved is either dead or will die. Nobody is going to live forever.

And you will be given what you deserve on the Day of Judgment.

This is it. Whoever manages to save himself from the naar and get the rewards of Jannah, that is the one that has passed. That's it. Everything else is absolutely irrelevant. The ultimate end all and be all, the ultimate litmus of success, the ultimate reality of existence, we want Jannah.

So why should we not remind ourselves of that reality? Why should we not constantly make du'a to Allah of that reality?

The Simple Du'a of the Bedouin

When the Prophet ﷺ was teaching somebody how to pray and what to say in the prayer, he said, what is the du'a that you make? Tell me what is the du'a that you make? It was a new Muslim, a Bedouin. And you know Bedouins were blunt. Bedouins didn't have the political correctness.

And so the Bedouin said, Ya Rasulallah, I don't know any of the du'as you and Mu'adh constantly teach the people. I don't have any knowledge of this. All I do, I make du'a to Allah. O Allah, cause me to enter Jannah and save me from the fire of hell. O Allah, cause me to enter Jannah and allow me to be avoided from the fire of hell. And I don't know anything else of your, he said the word dandana, you're buzzing. I don't know all of the long du'as. All my du'a, I just know, O Allah, I want Jannah and I want to be safe from Jahannam.

So everybody started laughing because he was being so crude, so blunt. And the Prophet ﷺ smiled and said, Don't worry, حولها نداندن. All of our du'as are buzzing around this reality. All of our du'as they have the exact, this is the thamara, this is the end result. Everything that we are buzzing that you cannot memorize, don't worry. You have summarized it and you're upon good. I don't need to teach you anything else.

This simplicity of this Bedouin is something that we should be thinking about. Every other reality leads to the ultimate reality. And that is desiring Jannah, thinking of Jannah, making du'a to Allah for Jannah.

Prophetic Du'as for Jannah

Look at how many prophetic du'as are there. اللهم إني أسألك الجنة. O Allah, I ask you for Jannah. The Prophet ﷺ said, O Allah, allow me to love the deeds of the people of Jannah. Allow me to love the people of Jannah. O Allah, save me from Jahannam. So many du'as about Jannah that the Prophet ﷺ would make.

And again, when was the last time you and I sincerely made such a du'a?

Do you not know what our Prophet ﷺ said in a famous hadith? He said, anybody who sincerely desires Jannah, you have to want it. And raises his hands to Allah and asks for Jannah three times. Jannah itself will say, O Allah, this person wants me, accept my shafa'ah for him.

But when was the last time I raised my hands and you raised your hands? When was the last time we sincerely had that desire?

The Detailed Descriptions of Jannah

Have you ever wondered why the Qur'an is so full of descriptions of Jannah? Every facet of Jannah is described. Allah talks about جنات تجري من تحتها الأنهار. Allah tells us about the doors of Jannah, each one of which is so wide. The Prophet ﷺ said, you cannot see the ending.

Allah Azza wa Jall describes to us the palaces of Jannah. He describes to us the tents of Jannah. The Prophet ﷺ described the weather of Jannah. It's neither hot nor cold. There will be sunshine but no direct light. You will always be in a shade. It's perfect ambience.

The Prophet ﷺ told us the details that are even mentioned in the Qur'an of the rivers of Jannah, the goblets of Jannah, the cups of Jannah, the cuisine of Jannah. Everything is there.

The Companionship of Jannah

The Qur'an reminds us that of the blessings of Jannah will be good companionship. We're gonna have friends talking. We're gonna have friends that we knew in this world. And in Jannah, our memories are perfect. So everything that happened to us, our entire existence, we will remember exactly when and where. And every person that we ever met and interacted with and ends up there, we can also interact and meet with them.

Allah describes to us that the friends will be sitting على سرر متقابلين. They're gonna be on couches, lining and sitting down. And just reclining, because we never have to go to sleep in Jannah. Jannah has no night. There's no darkness. Nobody sleeps in Jannah. Nobody uses the restroom in Jannah. So many blessings and perks, and you just gonna have the pleasant time of the body, of the mind, of the soul, the eternal companions, the hur of the companionship of Jannah. All of this is mentioned, every single aspect.

The Greatest Blessing: Seeing Allah

And the greatest blessing of Jannah, the greatest blessing of Jannah is the beauty of interacting with Allah directly. The blessing of seeing Allah and hearing Allah directly. The blessing of gazing upon the face of Allah.

On that day, the faces will be bright because they're looking at their Lord.

And hearing the speech of Allah directly.

Allah will say salam, and the people will respond to that salam. This is the highest blessing of Jannah.

So Jannah is described as a place of physical blessing, as a place of intellectual blessing, and as a place of spiritual blessing. Everything is blessed in Jannah.

Responding to Mockery

And by the way, some people try to make fun of our descriptions of Jannah. Some people mock the Qur'anic descriptions of Jannah. But there is no reason to mock. Wallahi, the very people who mock Jannah, they are the ones who try to get it in this world through haram mechanisms.

All of the pleasures that are described in Jannah, they will be for those who live pious lives. And so we abstain from haram pleasures to be rewarded with the halal pleasures of the akhirah. The very people who mock Jannah, they try to live haram pleasures that are described in the halal places of Jannah.

The sharab and the companionship, and all that is described over there that Allah says will have no impurity. Allah says that there's gonna be sharab:

They will not get drunk, they will not have any side effects. The sharab of Jannah is not like the sharab of this world.

So the Prophet ﷺ told us, whoever drinks the sharab of this world and does not repent, shall be denied the sharab of the hereafter. So we're incentivized. You want sharab, you will get it in Jannah in a much better manner. You want the good things, live a good life and you will get it in Jannah.

The people who make fun of Jannah, their lifestyles betray their reality. Because they live the most corrupt and the most filthy lifestyles. And we are told to live pious lives to get the pure blessings of Jannah. So nobody should be ashamed about any of the descriptions of Jannah.

Beyond Human Comprehension

And also realize all of these descriptions, Allah Azza wa Jal gave them to us to incentivize us. But the reality is beyond the language. The reality is beyond what we can understand. Allah says:

That they are being told that which resembles, they understand it, but its reality is above what they resemble.

No person really will understand. You don't know what Allah has hidden for the people of Jannah.

And our Prophet explicitly told us, that in Jannah is that which the eyes have never seen, the ears have never heard the descriptions, and the mind has never envisioned. So all of these descriptions, they are meant for us to just understand and be incentivized. The reality is above these descriptions. The reality is above, but we cannot understand. Our minds cannot understand.

So Allah is using the language for us, so that we are incentivized. And who is not going to be incentivized with physical blessings, and spiritual blessings, and intellectual blessings.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

In reality, Jannah is whatever you want. That is what it is. Whoever wants something, Allah will give it for them. They will have whatever they want.

And we have even more than what they could possibly want.

Final Reminder

So all Muslims, a reminder to myself and all of you, that death is inevitable. Nobody is going to be safe from death. A reminder to myself and all of you, the Qur'an constantly, consistently reminds us of this reality of Jannah. This is one of the main messages of the Qur'an, that the Quraysh denied, the Quraysh mocked, the Quraysh made fun of. And Allah continues to remind them of this reality. And there are many benefits and blessings to believe in Jannah.

The Purpose of Life Through Belief in Jannah

Of the main benefits when you believe in Jannah, is that it informs you of your purpose of life. As Allah says in the Qur'an, when you don't believe in Jannah, this world becomes the end all. And when this world becomes the end all, you act differently. But when you remember this world is temporary, and have a permanent abode, then everything changes.

Allah reminds us of the famous hidden convert in the palace of Fir'aun, at the time of Musa. That hidden convert when he was giving da'wah, what did he say?

O my people, this world is temporary. Whatever all the power you have, all of the injustices you're doing against people, don't you realize you're gonna have to go back to Allah and there's a permanent abode in the Hereafter. And He mentions in the Qur'an, whoever does any good, فَأُولَـٰئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ Remember, when you do good, you will enter Jannah.

So, of the benefits of believing in Jannah is that it gives you firm iman in Allah and in the Hereafter.

Jannah Incentivizes Good Deeds

Also, of the benefits of believing in Jannah, it incentivizes you to do good deeds. And there's nothing wrong with that. We are humans in the end of the day, we need incentives. And Allah has given us these incentives. As the hadith Qudsi says, Heaven and Hell competed with one another. Who is more a manifestation of Allah's creation? And Allah said to each of them, O Heaven, O Jannah, you are my rahmah. And O Jahannam, you are my azab, you were both my creation, I will use you both.

So, Allah is demonstrating for us, belief in Heaven and Hell incentivizes us to think about the consequences of our actions. Allah wants us to think long and hard before we do something. And that's why in the Qur'an, when Jannah is mentioned so many times, Allah mentioned specific good deeds. Why? Because those good deeds will get us into Jannah.

And the verses go on and on. Go and race towards Jannah that is meant for the righteous people. Those who, they do what? Those who give up their money and they feed the poor and they control their anger and they're good amongst people. Notice how Allah linked Jannah with your conduct immediately. Immediate efficiency. When you believe in Jannah, you will control your anger. When you believe in Jannah, you will treat people better. When you believe in Jannah, you will be more generous. This is one of the main benefits of reminding ourselves of Jannah. Jannah is permanent, this world is temporary.

Jannah Eliminates Excessive Love of This World

Of the blessings of believing in Jannah is that belief in Jannah eliminates from our heart excessive greed, excessive envy, excessive love of this world. One of the main fundamental desires that brings about destruction is loving the dunya too much, loving the world too much, loving wealth too much. When you believe in Jannah, all of a sudden you realize, I'm not gonna take my money to my grave. I'm not gonna take my fame to my grave. Everything that I have is gonna go away. مَا عِندَكُمْ يَنفَدُ وَمَا عِندَ اللَّهِ بَاقٍ. Whatever you have, it will go away. And whatever is with Allah will remain forever.

So when you remind yourself of Jannah, you have a paradigm shift. So what if I have this dunya or don't? I want the forever akhirah. This dunya is temporary. If I have it, how long will I enjoy it? If I don't have it, how long will I suffer not having it? But the akhirah, I cannot afford to not have it. So Jannah shifts your paradigm and you start looking forward to the akhirah.

Jannah Brings Peace and Comfort

And of the greatest blessings of belief in Jannah, of the greatest blessings of belief in Jannah, is that Jannah brings about a sense of peace and calmness and serenity regardless of the troubles of this world. Jannah gives you a comfort that no dunya worldly blessing can give you. Because Jannah gives you consolation. And Jannah allows you to deal with the problems of this world because this world is not Jannah.

And that is why when Allah describes the wife of Firaun, Asiyah. Asiyah, the wife of Firaun. She was being tortured. She saw so much torture. She's in the palace of Firaun. What is her escape? Seeing all that bloodshed and that anger and that hatred and that violence, what was her escape? Praying to Allah and saying,

That is her optimism. Ya Rabb, whatever is happening in this world, what I need from You in the akhira, I want a house in Jannah close to You. This is the reality of belief in Jannah, that it consoles you, comforts you, no matter what you have or don't have. A loved one has died and gone away, inshaAllah you have Jannah to look forward to with them forever. A problem of this world, our brothers and sisters in suffering in Gaza, they have something to look forward to. This is not fatalism that they give up in this world, but it is a consolation that no matter how bad life is, وَلَلْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ الْأُولَىٰ That the future and Jannah is better than what you have over here.

Allah Invites Us to Jannah

Dear brothers and sisters, Allah has made Jannah for us. That is why our mother and father, as soon as they were created, they were put in Jannah to demonstrate it is meant for us. There is a symbolism of why Adam and Hawa were first put in Jannah and then brought down to this earth. And that symbolism is, that is your rightful abode. But Allah will tell us to come only when we have done something to get it.

Allah wants us to enter Jannah. وَاللَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ This is in the Qur'an. Allah is inviting you to Jannah. وَاللَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَىٰ دَارِ السَّلَامِ Allah is inviting you to the abode of peace.

Allah wants you to get into Jannah. But in order to get into Jannah, you must turn to Allah, submit to Allah, and try your best to do your good deeds. Allah tells us very clearly,

That is the Jannah. You will inherit it because of your actions that you've done.

So, O Muslim, constantly think of Jannah. Constantly make du'a to Allah for Jannah. Remind yourself of the reality of Jannah. And then live up to that promise by doing good deeds so that you will get into Jannah.

Death is our final destination. Death is our inevitable reality. And what we want when we see the Malakul Maut, and when we leave this world, what we wanna hear from Allah is,

That is what we wanna hear. O my servant, O my soul that has been pleased with me, come back to your Lord. I am pleased with you and you are pleased with me. O my servant that has worshipped me, go ahead and enter the pleasure of Allah and go ahead and enter Jannah. I want to hear that when I die and you want to hear that when you die. So when we die, let us prepare to hear that announcement of entering Jannah.

May Allah bless us with and through the Qur'an and may He make us of those who its verses they understand and applies halal and haram throughout our lifespan. Ask Allah's forgiveness. You as well ask Him for His maghfur and the Rahman.

Working for This World While Awaiting Jannah

One of the beauties of our religion is that even as we think of Jannah, even as we think of spirituality, we are still told to do what we can in this world to make it a better place. Knowing this world will never be a Jannah, knowing that Jannah is only in the Akhirah, still we strive to make the world a better place regardless of what is happening.

And we're about to come across the two year anniversary, the two year time gap when the evil assault against our brothers and sisters began in Gaza. And still there is no end in sight and there's much to be said but time is limited here and neither is this the time to discuss the political plan. But without a doubt, the plan that is being offered to our brothers and sisters, it is a very sad and pathetic reality and we leave it to them to decide whether that is better than their current situation. But without a doubt, they're being taken advantage of and our du'as are for them.

Rising Threats Against Muslims in America

And along with this brothers and sisters, it needs to be said, we need to be cognizant that in the last few weeks and months, we have seen a rise of a concerted effort to target Islam and the Muslims. If you are aware of what is happening in this country, social media, politicians are becoming blatant. We have people that are saying, the constitution should not apply to Muslims. We have elected politicians, elected politicians singling out Islam and saying Muslims should not run for office, Muslims should not be in congress. We have people that have large political clout, media pundits that are literally mentioning our religion and saying the first amendment should never apply, the founding fathers didn't want Islam in this country. And they are bringing up a new level of hatred.

Why? What have we done in this country? They're the ones fighting amongst themselves, all the assassinations, all the what not. Why? Because we're being used like we were used so many years ago as a scapegoat, to get out of the problems happening, and to try to justify what is happening in Gaza and other places. Once again, my religion and yours is being dragged in as a red herring, as a wild card. They want people to look at and create a drama that doesn't exist. Create a drama that doesn't exist. Why? So that nobody looks at the drama they themselves are causing.

In response to this, and by the way, again it needs to be said here, last week one of our senior members of our city, brother Marwan Maruf, was arrested on bogus charges. Every one of you should know this and be aware of it. They want to send a message. He didn't do any crime, he's been living here for decades. For decades, he's one of the pillars of our community. Everybody knows him, everybody knows his heart is pure, he's helping the world. He has not done anything wrong. But the message is being sent, hey, don't protest for Gaza, don't get involved in Gaza. The message is being sent on some technicality. They want to try to scare and intimidate us.

What are you going to do? Are you going to be intimidated? Are you going to be scared and coward? Because if you do, your rights will continue to be infringed on. If you agree to be treated as second-class citizens, then don't complain when you're treated as third-class citizens and eventually even more infringement will be done against you. We cannot allow this to remain and every one of us needs to become vigilant and aware.

Hate crimes are on the rise. Ten days ago, one of our sisters in Virginia or Maryland was literally attempted to be murdered. Anonymous person comes up, sees her in hijab and niqab and shoots her from his car and then goes away. The shooter still remains at large just because she was wearing a hijab and niqab in a parking lot in broad daylight. The world is becoming a very different place. Around the world, things are happening.

Please, brothers and sisters, understand, if our brothers and sisters in Gaza are suffering so much, the least we can do is understand we're in this together. The reason they're doing this is because of what's happening over there. So you and I need to get some courage, get some backbone. Understand, we cannot allow this. This is unconstitutional. What is happening right now across the country, it is against the laws of this country, but they're using us as a testing ground to see if they can infringe on our rights and then they'll do even more than this. Already talk is beginning of people who have become naturalized citizens to see if they can get them off because they're protesting for Gaza.

لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله. Complete unethical. So this is a time and a place where we have to stand up and do something. And again, much can be done. Tomorrow, there will be a protest in our city of Dallas in front of the city hall. Tomorrow at two o'clock, I encourage all of you to go and be a part of this. This is a part of our civic duty, a part of who we are. What is happening in Gaza is happening in our name and we cannot allow this to happen.

And other aspects as well, social media. Why are they trying to ban social media? Why are they trying to curb social media? Now, this is not even hidden. This is blatant and public. These media outlets like TikTok and Facebook and Twitter, all of these, now it is public. The owners are literally banning people when they post content on Gaza. Why? Because they realize that our voices have had an impact. They realize this is happening. So what is the solution? We have to be even more involved. Continue to raise awareness. And as I've said, the tide not only is turning, it has turned.

The next generation, alhamdulillah then alhamdulillah, by and large, by large majorities, the next generation is tired of the lies and the rhetoric of the elders. But right now they're still in charge. So we need to continue. And that means every one of us has a role to play. Every one of you has the duty to impact your family and your friends. So do whatever you can.

Your belief in the akhirah should incentivize you to trivialize the problems of this dunya and to do your best to come close to Allah to help your brothers and sisters. So may Allah allow the love of the akhirah to seep into our hearts and to then activate us to do good in this world. That is the real thamarah of belief. When you believe in Allah and the akhirah, it changes your deen and dunya and incentivizes you to be a better person.