Are You Ready to Meet Allah (SWT)? (with Sign Language) - Shaykh Muhammad Ali

Khutbah Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ 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 بَلَّغَ الرِّسَالَةَ وَأَدَّى الْأَمَانَةَ وَنَصَحَ الْأُمَّةَ وَتَرَكَنَا عَلَى الْمَحَجَّةِ الْبَيْضَاءِ لَيْلُهَا كَنَهَارِهَا لَا يَزِيغُ عَنْهَا إِلَّا هَالِكٌ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى أَهْلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كَلَامُ اللَّهِ وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ أَعَادَنَا اللَّهُ مِنْهَا. أَمَّا بَعْدُ.

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنَا مِنَ الْفَائِزِينَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ.

Introduction: A Topic We Try to Avoid

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, our topic of khutbah today is a topic that the majority of us — if not all of us — do not like to be reminded of. We don't want to remember it. Why? Because we do not like it. We try to flee from it, we try to run away from it, we do not want to remind ourselves and remember it to ourselves.

If we were all asked the question: this morning, when you left your home, when you left your work, when you left the maqahi — the coffee shop — as you were heading towards the masjid, as you have entered the masjid — has the thought of dying ever come to your mind? Have you thought about death? Have we thought about death as we were coming and entering the masjid? When was the last time we thought about death? Was it when we saw some news that people are dying here and there? Or are we listening? Are we taking heed from the advice of the Prophet ﷺ?

The Command to Remember Death

The Prophet ﷺ commanded us — and his command is where he said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2307; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4258)

Increase the remembrance of death, because it is the one that cuts off all that which is sweet.

And Allah told us in the Qur'an that as human beings we try to flee from death, and Allah has said:

O Muhammad, say to the people: the death that you are trying to flee from, trying to run away from, trying to escape from — that death will definitely come to meet you.

Allah mentioned in the Qur'an in many places the coming of death, and inshallah today our topic is going to be about death. Because if we forget about death, our heart will become very hard. Nothing will enter it, no reminder is going to penetrate through your heart if you forget about death.

Allah's Warning Even to the Best of Mankind

Inshallah, my brothers and sisters in Islam, I'm going to remind myself and you what Allah has said to His Prophet — the best of mankind — what He has promised him, what He told him, what He warned him about. Allah has said to the best of mankind:

Indeed and verily you are going to die, and all of them will die. Those who are your enemies — they will also die just like you.

Allah told us:

Allah said: I am the one who has willed death upon you, I am the one who has written that, and no one can outrun Us — it will come.

And Allah has said in Surah An-Nisa:

Death will come to you wherever you are, even if you are in a fortress which is well protected. The angel of death will come — no one can escape from the angel of death. It will come.

And Allah has said in Surah Qaf:

The stupor of death has come in truth — that is what you were trying to avoid. SubhanAllah.

The Message of Jibreel to the Prophet ﷺ

My brothers and sisters in Islam, look at what Jibreel ﷺ has said to our dear Prophet ﷺ. From the hadith of Sahl — the angel Jibreel came and said to the Prophet ﷺ:

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani; also reported by al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman)

O Muhammad, live however long you can live — definitely a time will come when you will perish and die. And love whomever you want — definitely you will go, you will leave that person. There will come a time when you will be taken away from the people that you love so dearly. And do whatever you want — definitely you will be held accountable, and that is what you will be rewarded with, whether it was good or evil.

What the Salaf Said About Remembering Death

My brothers and sisters in Islam, as believers, look at what the Salaf have said regarding death. Al-Taymi rahimahu Allahu ta'ala said:

Two things will cut off and will definitely take away from you the love of this dunya. Number one: ذِكْرُ الْمَوْتِ — when you know that you are going to die, you are not going to worry about this life, you are not going to be concerned with this life, you will think about the akhira. Number two: وَذِكْرُ الْوُقُوفِ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ — when you remember that you are going to stand before Allah.

Each and every one of us will die individually. No one is going to die for you. No one is going to die because you have just died. You are going to die on your own. Your life will disappear. The soul will be taken away from your body. And we are all going to stand before Allah.

Three Blessings for Those Who Remember Death

Look at another 'alim from the Salaf, what he said:

If anyone continuously remembers death, Allah will bless him with three things:

Number one: تَعْجِيلُ التَّوْبَةِ — you are going to make tawbah to Allah as soon as possible, because you remember about death. Number two: قَنَاعَةٌ فِي الْقَلْبِ — you are going to be content, you are going to be happy with what you have. You are not going to try and look for something extra. Whatever Allah gave you, you will be happy with it. You will have peace and tranquility in your heart. Number three: نَشَاطٌ فِي الْعِبَادَةِ — you will have energy for worshipping Allah.

Three Punishments for Those Who Forget Death

But what will be the opposite — when we do not think about the akhira, when we do not think about death and we forget about death? What is Allah going to do to us?

Allah will punish you with three things if you don't remember about death. Number one: تَسْوِيفُ التَّوْبَةِ — you will always delay tawbah. That is why it is difficult for us to make tawbah. Shaytan is going to come to you and say: you are going to make tawbah next year, next month, tomorrow — and he doesn't want you to make tawbah today, because you forget about death, and death can come to you at any time. Number two: تَرْكُ الرِّضَى بِالْقَلِيلِ — you are not going to be happy with the little that Allah has given you. You want more. Number three: تَكَاسُلٌ فِي الْعِبَادَةِ — you will always be lazy when it comes to your ibadah.

The Four Houses of Every Human Being

My brothers and sisters in Islam, you have just heard what is going to happen to the people that do not remember about death. Let me remind myself and you with an amazing statement made by the student of Imam Malik — Ibn al-Qasim. Ibn al-Qasim said:

Every human being will live in four different houses. We are all going to live in four houses, we are all going to reside in four different abodes.

He said the first one is الرَّحِم — the womb of your mother. That is your first house. And he said after that house, when you come out of that house, you will come to the next house — which is the house that you live in right now. And Ibn al-Qasim said every house is bigger than the one before. He said the next house you are going to live in is this world, where we are going to earn khair and sharr, where we are going to do righteous deeds and evil deeds.

And he said the third house you are going to live in is حَيَاةُ الْبَرْزَخ — the life of the barzakh — and the house you are going to live in is the house of Al-Qabr. And he said that house is far bigger than the house of this dunya, the same way that this dunya is far bigger than the womb of your mother.

And he said the final house that you are going to live in is the one that will be there for eternity — it is the greatest house, the biggest of all houses. And he said that is دَارُ الْآخِرَة.

All of us will live in these four houses. And guess what — no one was ever born and wished that he went back to the womb of his mother. The child, when the child is born and comes to this world, they cry and they scream at the beginning because it is a new environment. But after that, they do not want to go back to the womb of their mother, because that was a very restricted house — it was a house that was very tight.

And when the believer leaves this house — which is the dunya, the life of this dunya — he will never wish to come back to this world ever again, if he did some righteous deeds.

Death Is Better for the Believer

And Abu al-Darda' r.a. said: death is better for the believer, and death is better for the non-believer. Just imagine — what did he say? Death is better for the believer, death is better for the non-believer. And he said: if you don't believe me, let me recite some verses for you.

He said: Allah — what did He say at the end of Surah Al 'Imran?

What Allah has prepared for those people who are righteous in this world — what Allah has prepared for them in the akhira — is far better than what they have in this world. He said: because of that, death is better for the believer, because when the believer leaves this world he will never wish to come back to this world.

And he said: for the non-believer, it is also better for him to die. Why? He said: did you not hear what Allah has said?

Allah has said: those who disbelieve should never think that the reason We allow them to live long is that We want khair for them. No. Allah has said: إِنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ لِيَزْدَادُوا إِثْمًا — We give them respite so they increase their bad deeds even further and further. And after that, what is going to happen to them? وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ — a humiliating torment is waiting for them.

نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ وَمِنْ عَذَابِ النَّارِ.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ.

The Messengers of the Angel of Death

My brothers and sisters in Islam, we might be asking ourselves the following question: will the angel of death ever communicate with us? Can we ever get a message from the angel of death — a warning message?

Imam Al-Qurtubi — look at what he said. It has been narrated in a report that some of the prophets said to the angel of death: do you not have a messenger that you send before you come to the person? What do you think the answer of Malak al-Mawt was? And look at what Malak al-Mawt said:

Malak al-Mawt said: Wallahi, I do send many messengers — many messages. And he said: among the messages I send are the illnesses. When we get ill and sick — that is a message from the angel of death. Also, وَالشَّيْبُ — gray hair. When you begin to have gray hair, that is a warning from the angel of death. When your hair goes gray, that is a warning from the angel of death. And وَالْهَرَمُ — old age. As you get older, that is also a message from the angel of death. And also the ability of hearing and the ability of seeing things will decrease as you get older — and that is a message from the angel of death.

And then the angel of death said: the person who has seen all of that, if he doesn't take heed from all of that, and he doesn't make tawbah to Allah:

I am the final messenger — there is no messenger after me. Meaning: I will come and take your life. SubhanAllah.

Are You Prepared to Meet Your Lord?

As a believer — are you prepared to meet your Lord? If you were told that you were going to die straight after Jumu'ah prayer — who among us is ready to die?

Look at what has happened. Imam Ahmad rahimahullah ta'ala has narrated this: Malak al-Mawt came to the Prophet Ibrahim alayhi salam when it was the time for him to die. And then he asked the angel of death — when the angel of death told him that he was about to take his life — he said: O angel of death, have you ever seen a dear friend taking the life of another dear friend?

And then Malak al-Mawt went back to Allah and told Him what Ibrahim had said. And then look at the answer of Allah. He said: go back to Ibrahim and say to him the following — have you ever seen a dear friend who dislikes to meet his dear friend?

And when the angel of death came back and spoke to Ibrahim and told him the answer of Allah, Ibrahim alayhi salam said: take my soul away from me at this moment.

Who is ready to meet Allah among us? The only person who is going to wish to meet Allah is those people who have done righteous deeds — those people who know that they are the friends of Allah and not the friends of Shaytan.

The Warning of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali

And I am going to conclude today's khutbah with the following saying. Brothers, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali rahimahu Allahu ta'ala has said: O you — whenever Shaytan sees you coming out from the circles of remembrance, like coming to the khutbah of Friday — because all of us walked into the masjid — he said: when Shaytan sees you, because Shaytan is waiting for us outside. When we came to the masjid, he just stopped outside, waiting for us right now. Waiting until we leave.

He said: when Shaytan sees you come out of the circle of remembrance — from the khutbah, from the study circle — if he sees that you are exactly the same way that you were the time that you walked in, that your heart has not changed, that you do not want to make tawbah to Allah — what is going to happen? Shaytan is going to be happy with you as soon as you leave the masjid. He is going to welcome you and he is going to say: welcome back to me.

And then Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali rahimahullah ta'ala said: if you go back out of the masjid and your situation has not changed, you did not make the decision to make tawbah to Allah from now on — Shaytan is going to welcome you and he is going to be happy with you. But when you leave — before you leave — if you make the decision to change and be a better Muslim, Shaytan will be very upset.

Isn't it time for all of us, Ikhwani, to make the decision today that we are going to upset Shaytan when we leave the masjid today, and say: we are going to make tawbah to Allah and we are going to be better people than we were the time that we walked into the masjid?

If that is the case, we will upset Iblis today. We will make him feel upset, and we will make Allah so proud of us and so happy with us. So inshallah ta'ala, let us make that promise inshallah ta'ala before we leave the masjid today and say: we are going to make tawbah to Allah. Let us have that conviction — bi idhn Allahi ta'ala — and that strength of saying: I am going to change, and I am going to overcome my desires, and I am going to overcome Shaytan. I know Shaytan wants to mislead me. Because we know death is going to come, and when it comes, it will come without warning.

How Many Have Left Us Since Last Friday?

We know, brothers — and I want to conclude with this. How many Muslims have died since last Friday? How many Muslims attended Friday prayers last week and have not attended Friday prayer today? How many Muslims?

I can give you just one example, and I am sure many of you are aware of this, and I am sure you felt the pain with us and with everyone else. Do you know what happened last Saturday? Do you know what happened to your Muslim brothers in Somalia? Last Saturday, just before Asr time, many Muslims who prayed Salatul Jumu'ah last Friday will never be able to make Jumu'ah today. What happened? In just the blink of an eye, more than 300 people disappeared. Some of them beyond recognition — no one can even recognize who they are. No one can even tell: are they males or females? Their parents do not know them. Their wives and husbands do not know them. They have just disappeared.

They were just like us. They left home thinking that they were going to live long enough to make tawbah to Allah, live long enough to do something righteous, live long enough to see their children grow. That is what they thought. But today they have disappeared.

How many Muslims have disappeared since last Friday in Iraq? How many Muslims have disappeared since last Friday from Myanmar — our Rohingya brothers and sisters? How many Muslims have disappeared since last Friday in Syria? How many Muslims have disappeared here and there, and how many human beings have disappeared?

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we do not know whether we are going to make it to next Friday. So let us make sincere tawbah to Allah, upset Iblis outside, and make Allah happy with us.

Second Khutbah — Qur'anic Recitation

اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ. اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ.