The Certainty of Meeting Allah | Shaykh Okasha Kameny | Jumuah Khutbah

The Certainty of Meeting Allah

Alhamdulillah, all praise belongs to Allah, the one who grants honor to Islam and elevates it, who humiliates disbelief and casts it down. He is the only one, Almighty Allah, who is worthy of worship. He shatters tyrants by his overpowering might and he sets the scales upright and he is the only ruler who rules without a congress and he has access to everything that he wants, sublime and exalted be he.

The Path to Glory is Surrounded by Trials

Respected audience, the path to the glory undoubtedly is surrounded by hardship, is surrounded by trials. The path to the glory of this life, the life of dunya, is surrounded by tribulations, yet we find ways to convince ourselves that where there is no pain, no gain. So if this is a path to the earthly glory, what do you think about the path to Almighty Allah? It's also surrounded by hardship and it's something that the companions understood and that's why the companion by the name Sufyan Ibn Abdullah al-Thaqafi came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked:

"O Messenger of Allah, tell me something I can hold firmly to."

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Say: 'My Lord is Allah', then be firm upon it."

Holding Fast to Faith

This companion Sufyan Ibn Abdullah al-Thaqafi understood that the only way to ultimate success and to have that greatest momentous encounter with Allah on the day of Qiyamah is by being firm. He came to the Prophet and asked, knowing that this life is surrounded by hardship and also keeping in mind that the path to Almighty Allah and meeting Almighty Allah is certain and it's also surrounded by hardship. So please messenger of Allah tell me something, educate me, let me know, tell me something that I could hold on to no matter what happens in life just so that I save my soul on the day of judgment. Tell me something that I could hold on to regardless of the world turbulence, regardless of hardship, regardless of whatever I will encounter in life, I will hold on to it and will never quit on my religion and will never quit on Allah and whatever he tells me I remains upon it until I meet him.

Then the Prophet told Sufyan:

"Say I believe in Allah" and "I believe in Almighty Allah" and once you say that be about it, stay upon it and be firm and staunch upon it. Do not allow the wind to cause you to swerve, be upon what you say that you believe in. You believe in Allah then stick to Almighty Allah's map, you believe in Allah then stick to his guidance and this is what the Prophet told this Sahabi Sufyan ibn Abdullah al-Thaqafi simply because Almighty Allah already told us in Quran:

O human being, relentlessly you are striving to Almighty Allah and undoubtedly you will meet him. Know that you will meet Allah so no matter what happens in life, prepare for that encounter the day that he brings you to him on the day of Qiyamah.

The Promise of Meeting Allah

So in Surah Al-Inshiqaq in chapter 84 verse 6, Almighty Allah promised us to meet him on the day of Qiyamah so the hardship of this dunya and hardship of this life should not cause us to forget about this meeting and encounter with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and our mother Aisha رضي الله عنها وارضاها came to him and said we know that the word or the road to Almighty and the path to Allah is surrounded by hardship and we know on the day of Uhud you struggle, we know on the day of Uhud they cause you to bleed and the non-believers cause you to lose your tooth. Has there ever come upon you a day that is more harder for you than the day of Uhud?

The Certainty of Meeting Allah

Has there ever come upon you O Messenger of Allah a day that was more hard, that was more severe unto you than the day of Uhud? Because the day of Uhud you bled, because the day of Uhud the sahaba dispersed. So has there ever come upon you a day that was harder on you than the day of Uhud?

Then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "Yes, indeed I have met suffering in the hands of your own people. Your people caused me to suffer and they caused me to be left alone over there on the day of Taif. But the hardest day in my life was not the day of Badr, nor the day of Uhud. The hardest day in my life, Aisha, was the day when I did not have anyone other than Almighty Allah - no father, no wife, no son, no uncle, nobody from my own family to support me. Only Allah was with me on that day, and only Allah was with me on that day.

"Aisha, the only earthly support that I was able to lay my eyes on was Ibn Abdul Yalil, and I went to him for help, but he was not the right aid. The earth he was on was not to be, even though he was not the right aid for me. He did not support me and he left me alone. That was the hardest day in my dawah."

When Others Turn Away, Allah Remains

عباد الله, when the Prophet said to our mother that the only source of help that he saw on that day was Ibn Abdul Yalil, who turned him down - so maybe you in your life, your only source of help other than Allah may also turn you down. Your only help may turn his or her back on you. Does that mean you leave the path of Almighty Allah? Simply because you lost your job, you forget Allah? Because you're going through anxiety, you forget the deen of Almighty Allah?

"He did not help me, but I found Almighty Allah with me throughout my dawah."

So here the Prophet is telling us: although he is and remains the best, but he also struggled in calling others to Allah and in his pursuit to meet Almighty Allah, who gave him the support that he needed. And that's why those who embarked upon his route - the sahaba - they also faced similar and they encountered similar hardship.

The Trial of Uthman Ibn Affan

Here is the third khalifa, Uthman Ibn Affan. He is at the center of glory among the people of Quraysh. And even if a woman wants to lull her baby, or someone wants to praise somebody else in Quraysh, they always bring the name of Uthman Ibn Affan. So you will see a mother lulling her baby by saying: "I swear by Allah the Most Merciful, I swear by Him that I love you as much as Quraysh loves Uthman." So Uthman was the most beloved among them in his own family.

And yet the day he professed the deen and embraced Islam and said لا إله إلا الله - the day he took shahada - this love that Quraysh showed Uthman turned into hatred. The love that they showed Uthman turned into hatred, and his own people subjected him to punishment.

And the one who was in charge of punishing Uthman was his own uncle, Al-Hakam Ibn Abil Aas. Al-Hakam Ibn Abil Aas bound him in his own chains and shouted at his face by saying: "Will you today abandon your own forefathers' religion? The forefathers' deen? The fathers who actually supported you and gave you all the wealth?"

And by the way, Uthman was among the richest individuals in that time. If he were to be here today, all the shark tanks from Mark Cuban to his own crew will come to his own company with their own application to ask for a job or position. This man was wealthy. Yet when he took shahada and the love that they had for him all diminished, and they turned against him.

And his own uncle Al-Hakam Ibn Abil Aas, every day in the shackles that he put Uthman in, would shout at his face saying to him: "By Allah, I will not get you out of these chains until you denounce the newly invented religion!" - he meant the religion of Islam - "I will not get you out of these chains until you denounce the deen of Muhammad!"

"I will never recoil and go back to the earliest faith of mine and leave Islam, no matter what you do to me!" And Uthman remained firm upon the deen. They took some of his wealth, but he said: "My path to Allah that is surrounded by hardship is enough for me. If I have Allah with me, the wealth will return - if not in this life, then the life after."

The Test of Faith

Here so here is what Uthman went through because of his own faith, because of his own deen. So when you embrace this deen, or when you are a born with shahada and you are upon it, know that you will be trialed. Know that you will go through tests. And the test is only to elevate you, and Almighty Allah تعالى شأنه only brings the test so that to see who amongst us will remain firm, as He commanded us in chapter number 11 in Surah Hud, verse 112:

"And be upright as thou had been commanded. Be upright and remain firm." So Almighty Allah commanded you and commanded me and commanded us all to be firm and upright upon His own deen. Will you answer to Allah yes? Or you will say: "Only yes if the life is nothing other than prosperity, but in adversity I do not know Allah?" لا والله!

عباد الله, Uthman remained upon the faith. Some of what he lost, Almighty Allah returned in dunya even before meeting Allah on the day of Qiyamah. And none of us will ever pray in the masjid of Rasulullah in Medina صلى الله عليه وسلم except Uthman has his own share, because he is the one who expanded it. And Jaysh al-Usrah - he was the one who prepared it. And also Bi'ru Ruma - he was the one who purchased it for the Muslims. Yet because of لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله, he was not left alone.

The Altitude of Faith

So you also today, here in America or in Asia or in Europe or in Africa, as long as you hold on to لا إله إلا الله, whatever you go through, know that it's a test from Allah. It's only a turbulence when you take off. At the end of it, it's nothing but happiness before meeting Allah.

No flight will ever get to its own assigned altitude without going through turbulence, and no flight will ever land safely except by crashing and going through microbursts or also turbulence. So in your life, know that there is no way for you to be elevated and to be raised by Allah to the highest altitude that He - Allah - wants to assign for you, except you will be tested, except you will go through tests and through turmoil.

If you say yes, Almighty Allah will assign the highest altitude for you. If you say no, you will still struggle in your earthly life, in your earthly pursuit, but you have no altitude with Allah سبحانه وتعالى.

The Martyrdom of Abu Bakr An-Nabulusi

Here is a man by the name Abu Bakr An-Nabulusi - Imam Abu Bakr An-Nabulusi. Because of Islam and because of لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله, he was tortured by Bani Ubaid. Bani Ubaid punished him - and that is the Fatimid rulers - they punished him.

Do you know why? He was not part of the Mexican cartel, nor was he among the Sicilian family running drugs, nor was he among dealers just going through by oil and stealing. He was not a criminal, nor was he a person who broke the law, or someone who went against the law of the land. The only reason why they punished him is because of لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله.

Imam Abu Dharr Al-Hafidh said: "There is never a moment when Imam Abul Hasan Ad-Daraqutni - Imam Ad-Daraqutni was an authority in the science of hadith - whenever he hears the name or he is reminded of Abu Bakr An-Nabulusi, he would be in tears and he begins to cry."

Do you know why? Because Bani Ubaid, they asked him to denounce the tawhid. They asked him to denounce tawhid. He said: "I'm upon my tawhid until I meet Allah." "Denounce the teachings of the Prophet!" He said: "Until I meet Almighty Allah." "Okay, are you upon the Sunnah?" He said: "Absolutely, I'm upon it until I meet Almighty Allah."

And then they decided to punish him. Do you know how they punished the Imam? The Imam was crucified, and then they asked a Yahudi to open and crack his scalp. He cracked open his scalp and started to skin the Imam alive.

Imam Al-Hafidh Abu Dharr said: "As they were crucifying the Imam An-Nabulusi, he was making dhikr. They're crucifying him: لا إله إلا الله، لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله. Crucified, still: سبحان الله وبحمده. Crucified: لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله.

"As he was being skinned alive, the one who was subjected and also put upon the Imam to crucify him and skin the Imam alive said: 'I myself couldn't take it - skinning a human being alive.' He said: 'When I reached to his own heart...' When the Imam skinned the Imam, when the guy skinned the Imam, he removed the skin of the Imam to his lips, and the Imam is still making dhikr of Allah. He is pulling the Imam's skin, still in dhikr of Allah. He is pulling to the left, still dhikr in Allah.

"Imam Al-Hafidh said: 'And when they put the knife in the Imam's heart, as they put the knife in the Imam's heart, the last word that came out of his mouth was an ayah from chapter number 17, verse 58:

"All what I went through has been already decreed by Allah before my creation." That's how he ended, عباد الله.

The Choice Between Trials

So the road to Almighty Allah - if you choose it, there is trial. If you denounce it, still trial. And I would rather be tried and also be tested in my life, knowing that Almighty سبحانه وتعالى has my back, than to turn my back to Almighty Allah and quit on His own religion and give up my deen just because I want to appease the norm, just because I want acceptance. I give my back to Allah when He is the one who has the backs of everybody!

لا والله, عباد الله! Everybody that embarks upon the route to Allah and you embrace Islam and you are upon the path of tawhid - لا إله إلا الله - know that you will be tested. And part of this life, as Almighty Allah announced in ayah one of Surat Al-Mulk:

Almighty said: "He created the life and death simply to test you, to see who amongst you will perfect his or her act, who amongst you will perfect his or her conduct and your own faith to Almighty Allah سبحانه وتعالى."

Islam as an Amanah (Trust)

So to my dear brother in faith and my dear sister in faith: Islam to us is an amanah from Almighty Allah. Amanah means trust. Islam is a trust from Almighty Allah - is a trust from Allah. Islam is an amanah. Tawhid is an amanah. And you will be asked about this trust on the day of Qiyamah.

Prayer is an amanah, and you will be asked about it on the day of Qiyamah. Zakat - charity is trust, and you will be asked about it on the day of Qiyamah. Al-Hajj, for whosoever has a way to do it, is an amanah, and Almighty will ask you about it on the day of Qiyamah. Ramadhan is an amanah, and Almighty Allah will ask you on the day of Qiyamah.

Every single ni'mah that Almighty Allah has blessed His slave with is an amanah - is a trust - and He will ask you about it on the day of Qiyamah. Your own body is an amanah from Almighty Allah, and He will ask you about it on the day of Qiyamah. Your health is an amanah, and He will ask you on the day of judgment. Your wife is an amanah, and Allah will ask you about her on the day of Qiyamah. Your husband is an amanah, and Almighty Allah will ask you about him on the day of Qiyamah. Your children - they are amanah, and Almighty Allah will ask you about them on the day of Qiyamah. And also your neighbors - they are amanah, and Almighty Allah will ask you about them on the day of Qiyamah. And every single barakah in your life is amanah, and Almighty Allah will ask you about that amanah and ask...

You about that trust on the Day of Qiyamah. My brother in faith, your wealth - yes, it belongs to you, yes it's in your own bank account - but it's an أمانة (amanah), a trust from Allah. And Almighty Allah will ask you about it on the Day of Qiyamah.

Leadership and Amanah

Leadership is أمانة (amanah) and Allah Almighty will ask you about it on the day of Qiyamah. An Imam is in the position of amanah and Allah Almighty will ask him about the amanah on the day of Qiyamah. Your students - they are amanah and Allah Almighty will ask you about them on the day of Qiyamah.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5188)

From Abdullah ibn Mas'ud in Sahih al-Bukhari, the Prophet said: "Every person, every single individual - all of you are caretakers and Allah Almighty will ask you about what He had entrusted you with on the day of Qiyamah."

The Hijab as Amanah

And my sister, your hijab is also amanah from Allah. If now they ask you, "Don't you think this hijab of yours, or this khimar of yours, or this abaya of yours, or your niqab, or your jilbab is actually uncivilized? Why don't you take it off?" You tell them: "If my hijab and showing my skin is part of being uncivilized, if showing my skin means that I am civilized, then animals would have been more civilized than human beings. If showing my skin means I'm civilized, then pigs would have been more civilized than humans, because their skins are always out."

I show that which Allah Almighty wants me to show, and I conceal what He wants me to conceal, because the beauty He gave me is amanah and He will ask me about it on the day of Qiyamah.

The Perfect and Sealed Religion

عباد الله (Ibad Allah), this is the Deen of Allah, and that Deen has been sealed and it's the guidance from Allah Almighty. No guidance will ever rise and come above the guidance of Allah Almighty - no stoicism is above Allah's guidance, no Machiavellian chapters are above that of Allah Almighty's guidance. No guidance will come closer to Allah's guidance.

This is the بيان (bayan) from Allah Almighty. He perfected His Deen and He sealed the ni'mah.

The Deen was completed in its foundations and branches before the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) passed away. There is no Deen after "I have completed your Deen for you," and there is no ni'mah after "I have perfected My favor upon you."

The Prophet's Consolation in Hardship

عباد الله (Ibad Allah), as we wrap up today's khutbah, part of what the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) consoled himself with - as we cited Hadith 3231 in Bukhari and Hadith 1795 in Sahih Muslim - when he suffered at the hands of the people of Aqaba...

Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud asked him, as Imam Muslim reported in Hadith 1792: "How did you used to console yourself when you have no supporter around you, O Messenger of Allah? How did you console yourself when you have no help?"

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1792)

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said to Ibn Mas'ud: "As I was going through turmoil of life and an air of melancholy was on me and hardship surrounded me and I have nobody but Allah Almighty, I envisioned a prophet - one of the prophets of Allah Almighty - who told me about how his own people beat him to death and left him to die. But Allah Almighty revivified that Prophet, He brought him back to life. As he stood up wiping the blood from his own face, he said: 'O Allah, forgive my people, for they do not know. Forgive my people, for they do not know.'"

The Way of the Prophets

So that was the route of prophets and the route of messengers and the righteous. Whatever they go through or whatever they went through, they knew it's a test from Allah. They did not quit on Allah, they did not give up on Allah Almighty.

So likewise, you here in EPIC, you here in America, you here in Europe, or there in Europe, or in Africa, or Asia, or the Middle East - no matter what happens to you, the Islam is the remedy, the Deen is the medicine. You hold on to it - Allah Almighty will find a way for you, like He found a way for Prophet Musa when nobody was with him but his own people. In front of him is the sea, and behind him is Fir'awn and his groups and troops and entourage.

His own people asked him: "O Musa, we are surely overtaken! There's no way out for us today and there's no way for us to navigate."

He said: "Never! I have Allah with me, and He will guide me." Meaning, if you have Allah with you, my brother, He will always guide you. And if you have Allah with you, my sister, Allah Almighty will always guide you.

Closing Du'a

And we close asking Allah Almighty to keep the unity among us and keep us united. I ask Allah Almighty to keep us united. I ask Allah to unite the hearts of Muslims. I ask Allah to remove enmity from our hearts towards one another. I ask Allah Almighty to allow us to represent His Deen until we meet Him. I ask Allah - whatever we need to remain staunch, strong and powerful upon His faith, may He allow us to get that in our system and give us the ability to forgive one another.

I ask Allah Almighty - the way He united us here, may He bring all of us on the day of Qiyamah, and may He make us the source of guidance for our fellow Americans. May He make us the source of guidance for our own families. May He allow us to be upon what pleases Him until we meet Him.