Being Conscious of Allah سبحانه و تعالى - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Khutbah Opening

Praise be to Allah, we praise Him, we ask for His help and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, none can misguide him. Whom He misguides, none can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, no partner for Him. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant, His Messenger, and pure from His creation, and His friend.

Allah has sent him to all people as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. He conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and advised the Ummah. And He left us on the path of al-Mahajjah al-Bayda' — its night is like its day, nothing escapes it but destruction. Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family and companions, and whoever is guided by his guidance and follows his Sunnah and calls to his call to the Day of Recompense.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims.

O mankind, fear your Lord who created you from one soul, and He created from it a wife, and He spread from it many men and women. And fear Allah with whom you ask for mercy. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you.

My beloved brothers and sisters, I start by praising Allah and I send blessings and salutations upon our beloved Messenger Muhammad ﷺ.

Allah is Always Watching

My brothers and sisters, every Jumu'ah, there is an ayah that we recite before we start the sermon. The first ayah is Surah An-Nisa', where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala starts the ayah by saying, "O mankind, be conscious of your Lord" — O mankind, have piety and have taqwa. And the ayah ends with: "Indeed, Allah is ever watchful over you. Indeed, Allah is ever observant over you."

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is watching us right now. He is seeing you every single moment of your life. He sees and hears everything that you do. He is aware of every single thought that occurs to you, and every emotion that you have. And you, my brothers and sisters, and me — all of us — are on constant surveillance.

Now I want you to pause and think and reflect over that for a second. Imagine someone was following you with a camera 24/7, every second of your life. Imagine you had no private moment. How would you behave? Imagine every single moment in your life was being recorded.

Because it is. Every single moment in your life is being recorded. Imagine this morning, last night, the day before, all of Ramadan, your whole life — night and day, when you are alone, when you are with people — everything.

My brothers and sisters, we lie to ourselves when we think we have private moments. There are no private moments. Allah is always watching you. And this concept is so important for us Muslims to appreciate and understand. Because will you behave the same when you are conscious of the fact that Allah is watching you?

Allah constantly reminds us in the Qur'an:

Allah sees what you are doing.

Allah is aware of what you are doing.

He knows what is in your hearts.

He knows what you conceal, and that which is even more hidden.

He knows the treachery of the eyes and what the hearts conceal.

Does he not know that Allah is watching?

Every time — Allah is watching you. Every moment Allah sees you. And my brothers and sisters, the one whom Allah blesses with the awareness of this fact, their lives will change.

We often attend lectures and reminders and sermons like these — and that's the whole point of Jumu'ah:

Remind, for indeed reminders are beneficial to the believers.

But there is nothing more beneficial to the believer that truly sets you straight, that truly changes you, than truly realizing that you have no private moments — and that Allah sees you as you disobey Him, as you sin, as you lie, as you cheat. Allah sees you. Every word that you say, truthful or false, Allah hears. Every oppression that you commit, Allah knows.

Think about that. I want you to think about this morning. I want you to think about your interactions.

Indeed, Allah is ever watchful over you.

Two Dimensions of Divine Awareness

Now when we think about muraqabah — the fact that we are on constant divine surveillance — you need to think about two things, my brothers and sisters. Two things.

One: Allah sees everything that you do that is good. Every sujood that you have ever made, every du'a that you have ever said, every letter of Qur'an you have ever read — Allah sees it, Allah knows it. Every emotion, every hope, every fear, every wish, Allah is aware of it.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells the Prophet ﷺ in the Qur'an:

The One who sees you when you stand, and sees your movements among those who prostrate.

All of Ramadan, Allah saw you. Allah saw you attend taraweeh. Allah saw the steps that you took. Allah saw the du'a that you made. Allah saw and knows the sincerity that you had.

So when you find that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is constantly reminding us that He is عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ — All-Knowing, All-Aware, Ever-Observant, Ever-Watchful:

He is with you no matter where you are.

It should fill you with a sense of joy that Allah is always seeing your effort. And it should fill you with a sense of fear, for Allah sees your disobedience. And this is the Muslim's path — that you are ever and always in between hope and fear. But it is your responsibility to instill within yourself that God-consciousness, that you are aware that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sees you.

Do they not know that Allah knows what they are hiding and what they are making public?

And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that some of them were thinking:

That Allah does not know much of what they were doing. Allah knows and Allah sees.

The Essence of Taqwa

So this instills within you a sense of consciousness. And this is the essence of piety and taqwa. We always talk about taqwa, being pious, God-conscious. It means that you are aware, my brothers and sisters.

And wallahi, the next time you are about to say something, if the first thought that comes to your mind is: "Allah hears what I am saying — so let Allah not hear except that which pleases Him. And Allah sees what I'm doing — so let Allah not see except that which pleases Him. And Allah knows what is in my heart — so let my heart not be corrupted."

This, my brothers and sisters, is more important and more beneficial to you than any reminder. This concept will set you straight.

One of the Salaf was asked, "Advise me, remind me." And he said:

(Attributed to the Salaf — exact source unspecified by the speaker)

"Do not let Allah be the one you care the least about who is watching you."

And I want you to imagine someone who tried to commit a sin, and first ensured that there was no one around, then locked the doors, then checked the windows — thinking to himself that he finally had a moment of privacy. Not knowing that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is watching him. It is idiocy. It is heedlessness to think that we have private moments.

And those among us — and may Allah forgive us our sins — those among us who find it easy to sin when they are alone: that means they are not conscious of Allah jalla jalaluhu. And what did the Prophet ﷺ say about those? That when they are alone they are willing and find it easy to transgress upon the things Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has made prohibited. They find it easy.

SubhanAllah. The Prophet ﷺ said in a narration that they will come on the Day of Judgement:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4245 — reported from Thawban رضي الله عنه)

With good deeds like mountains — and Allah will make them scattered dust. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will remove those because of their willingness and because of their arrogance — that they thought they could sin and sin and sin and disobey without having any care in the world that their Lord, Allah jalla jalaluhu, is watching them. May Allah forgive our shortcomings and sins.

Ihsan: Worshipping Allah as Though You See Him

My brothers and sisters, muraqabah is extremely important. It's important because when the angel Jibreel came to the Prophet ﷺ in the masjid to teach us our religion — in that famous narration that ends with:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 1 — the Hadith of Jibreel)

"He came to teach you your religion."

He asked the Prophet ﷺ about ihsan — excellence, to excel in worship. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 50; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 1)

"That you worship Allah as if you see Him. And if you cannot see Him, then indeed He sees you."

I want you to imagine, my brothers and sisters, how would you pray and how would you worship if you could see your Creator, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? No doubt it would be vastly different from the way we do it every single day. And if you cannot find the level of iman required to reach that level, then remember that indeed Allah sees you.

Attaining Khushu' in Salah

And often there is a question posed: How do I attain khushu' in my salah? How do I gain focus? I am distracted with the dunya. And there are many tips that are given — know the meaning of what you are saying, come to the salah early and prepare mentally, make your wudu and come to the first row, make du'a for Allah to grant you khushu', understand the importance of the salah.

But one of the greatest things that can help you attain khushu' is the simple fact that you remind yourself that Allah is watching you, that Allah is hearing you, that Allah is observing your salah. That is enough of a reminder for you to not be thinking about where you parked your car, or what groceries your wife asked you to pick up. That's enough — that Allah is watching you.

And my brothers and sisters, I want you to think about this: the next time someone tells you, "Brother, fear Allah" — we say it so often to each other that it has lost meaning. Fear Allah. Fear Allah. This is what we need, my brothers and sisters. If we had taqwa, everything else would be fine.

The Lesson of Ramadan: Carrying Taqwa Beyond the Month

And that's the beauty of the month that we just finished — Ramadan. Ramadan is the month of piety and taqwa. When you wake up in the morning in Ramadan and you are alone in your house, and you are thirsty, and you want some water — who is stopping you? You can go to the fridge and have some water. Who is stopping you? It is your understanding that your Creator, who told you to fast, sees you.

It is that level of consciousness that you need to carry beyond Ramadan. It is that level of thinking you need to have always. When someone upsets you and you are about to say something horrible to them — you realize that Allah is Sami'. Allah hears this.

And brothers and sisters, the muraqabah that we need to have — the God-consciousness — first and foremost should be Allah-centric.

The Story of Abdullah ibn Mubarak

SubhanAllah. There was a story that happened in the time of the Salaf. There was a man called Mubarak. Mubarak was a servant, and he was working for his master in the orchards and gardens of his field. One day, the master — a righteous man who had a daughter he was hoping to marry off — told his servant: "Bring us some grapes."

And the servant Mubarak brought him grapes. But the grapes were sour or not ripe. So the master got angry. He said, "What's wrong with you? Why are you bringing me grapes that are not ripe? Go and take them back and bring me proper ones." And he brought them again. And the same thing happened again. By the third time, the master got angry and said, "I'm asking you to do a simple job — why can't you bring me the ones that are ripe?"

And Mubarak said, "How can I know whether they are ripe or not if I cannot taste them? You have never given me permission to taste them — and Allah sees me. How can I taste and eat something that does not belong to me without permission, when Allah sees me?"

Look at the level of muraqabah that this young man had. It's something very simple — just a grape. But what was big in his heart? Allah is watching me. I cannot transgress upon someone else's property or wealth without their permission.

This man was so amazed by the thinking of his servant. He said to him, "Come here. I have been trying to marry off my daughter for a very long time. What would you think? What would you advise me?"

And Mubarak said, "I advise you to find someone righteous for her, because wealth in this dunya is meaningless. What truly matters is being righteous."

And the master said, "I do not know anyone more righteous than you." He freed him and married him to his daughter. And that young woman and Mubarak had a son. That son is called Abdullah ibn Mubarak — for those of you who know, one of the great scholars of Islam — born from the righteousness of a man who understood that Allah is watching him.

My brothers and sisters, if we instill in ourselves muraqabah and understand that Allah is watching us, it will change our lives completely. It will change your prayer. It will change your private moments. It will aid you and help you in getting rid of certain sins that you are struggling with. Remember: Allah is watching you always.

I say this and I ask Allah to forgive me and you and all those who have sinned. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Second Khutbah: Allah is Near — And Private Sins

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger. My beloved brothers and sisters, we could, wallahi, all day talk about the concept of being conscious of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And I want to remind myself and all of you that in your most desperate and difficult moments, remember that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sees you and hears your du'a:

O Muhammad, if My servants ask you about Me, tell them I am near. I respond to the call of the caller when they call upon Me.

Remember that Allah is near. One of the Salaf was asked: "What does it mean to have muraqabah? What does it mean to be God-conscious and aware that Allah is watching you?" He said:

(Attributed to the Salaf — exact source unspecified by the speaker)

"It is to know that Allah is near." It is to know that Allah is near, every single moment of your life. So it should aid you in your du'a, in your reliance, in your trust, in your hope in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But similarly, it should aid you in sinning less. It should aid you in not thinking that you have a private moment.

You should remind yourself of this the next time — and wallahi, we live in a time when people are tested with private sins so much due to these wretched devices that we have. We are tested with many private sins — relationships you are not meant to have, viewing things you are not meant to view, saying things you are not meant to say. Behind the screen, you find yourself following and saying and doing things that you would never do in public. But remember that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is watching you.

And remember, Allah has set upon you angels that are observing you as well — حَفَظَةٌ — those that are watching you and those that are recording what you are doing. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive our shortcomings and our sins.

The Month of Shawwal: Continuing Good Deeds

My brothers and sisters, it is also important for me to remind myself and all of you that we are now in the month of Shawwal. May Allah accept our fasting in Ramadan. Ameen. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us among those who were forgiven in the blessed month of Ramadan. But worship is not only in Ramadan. We continue, and we hope to go from strength to strength.

And just as you fasted Ramadan, I urge you all to add the six days of Shawwal. Whoever fasts those six days, it is as if they fasted the whole dahr — the whole year. This is, inshallah, what we hope to achieve. So I urge you all to fast the six days of Shawwal.

If there are some among you — especially my sisters — who have fasts to make up, make up those fasts first and make it urgent if you want the reward of the six days of Shawwal, because you have a finite amount of time. So make up the missed fasts first, then do the six days of Shawwal as well.

I also urge all of you: the good habits you have built — the prayer, the night prayer, coming every single night to the masjid during the last ten nights, perhaps coming twice to the masjid — let those habits not go away. Pray at home at night. Pray after Isha. Before your witr, add some qiyam and build the habit up. Continue the habit of reciting the Qur'an. Continue the habit of fasting. If you can fast Mondays and Thursdays, please do so. And continue being as charitable as you can be, for we want to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala always:

And worship your Lord until certainty — death — comes to you.

Closing Du'a