The Gift of Being Guided | Shaykh Tariq Musleh | Guardians of the Heart Conference

The Gift of Being Guided

Join me, beloved brothers and honorable sisters, in thanking Allah for each and every single one of His favors upon us.

We thank Allah, the one who guided us to this moment, the one who guided us to this house of Allah, the one who gifted us the smiles of our children, the one who blessed us with the hugs of our parents, the one who granted us every sajda in the masjid, the one who through Him and by Him every morsel of food is eaten, who through Him and by Him the eyes blink and the heart beats. Alhamdulillah, thumma Alhamdulillah. Who would we be without Allah? Where would we be without Rasulullah ﷺ? And so we thank Allah for every and each one of those favors.

The Greatest Favor: Being Guided

The greatest of all of those favors is not the cars parked outside. The greatest of all of those favors is not the house you go home to tonight or the person you sleep next to. The greatest ni'ma in your life is that Allah guided you, and chose you, and selected you to be from the ummah of لا إلهَ إلا الله، محمدٌ رسولُ الله ﷺ.

And so we raise our hands in du'a, and we ask Allah to make us from those who both live and die upon لا إلهَ إلا الله، محمدٌ رسولُ الله ﷺ.

All of that, my dear brothers and sisters, to say — Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh. It is an incredible honor and pleasure to be here with all of you, to be here on behalf of Muftah Institute, to not only be in the gatherings of Allah's remembrance, but to be in gatherings that are known as the gatherings of Jannah.

Halawatul Iman — The Sweetness of Faith

These are our samples of Jannah. This is where we taste halawatul iman. Khayrun minad dunya wa maa feeha — better than everything this world has to offer is halawatul iman, the sweetness of iman.

This world is a place of maladzaat. Maladzaat is like taste and samples at Costco. You take a sample at Costco — no matter how good it is, a maladza is something whose taste is only from the tip of your tongue to the back of your throat. That is the nature of this dunya. The extent of its pleasures are momentary at most.

But halawatul iman is consistent. Halawatul iman is a sweetness that is infectious. Halawatul iman is not only infectious, but it is like a seed that continues to grow so long as it is placed in the place where it can grow. And so these gatherings are such a gift to us from Allah. And so we thank the volunteers and the organizers and all of those that made it possible. And for you to take the journey to be here is an indication of Allah's love for you.

Can You Feel the Love of Allah?

Can you feel it? That's my topic with you for today. Can you feel the love of Allah? One of the ulama, he says: what is life other than love letters from Allah to you? Every chapter of your life is Allah declaring His love for you.

From the moment you are in the womb of your mother:

That before you knew that you were you, Allah fashioned you in the womb of your mother. And then from there Allah says:

That He exited you from the womb of your mother. You didn't exit yourself from the womb of your mother. Allah exited you. That is Allah showing you His love.

And then Allah inspired you to drink from your mother. Then one day she taught you to walk. Another day she taught you to talk. All of this is Allah declaring His love for you. Every second that your faculties work is Allah declaring His love for you.

Allah could have made every flower of this dunya free of color. Allah gave it color out of love for you. When Allah speaks about the stars above us, Allah says that one of the reasons He made them the way that they are is zina — a beautification. Why? Because Allah wanted you to gaze upon something that brought coolness to your heart and warmth to your soul. All of this is Allah declaring His love for you.

So can you feel the love of Allah? Can you feel the love of Allah around you and in you?

Be a Provider, Not a Consumer

And part of it is not only to be a consumer of that love. We live in a society that is hyper-fixated on being a consumer. Sometimes, and the mashayikh know this, brothers and sisters will come to us and they'll be like, you know what, I really can't love my dad that much — he could have done so much better for me. I'm not really vibing with the masjid; they really could have done so much more for me. Some of us have fallen into this trap as a result of the society that we live in, where we enter every space as a consumer. So in my house, I'm a consumer. In my marriage, I'm a consumer. In the masjid, I'm leaving a Google review for the shaykh, for the masjid, for the facility. Everywhere, I'm a consumer.

The nature of the believer is that they are providers, not consumers.

"Oh Allah, make me a blessing wherever I may be." To be a blessing means that you are a well of wellness. And around you are those who are aching. Around you are those who are hurting. Around you are those that are dealing with death, and divorce, and difficulty. Around you are those people, and they are coming to you to find that healing.

And so, as you can experience — from the moment that you were conceived in the womb of your mother until the very moment you stand before Allah — I declare to you in the house of Allah, in the night of Allah, that in that entire experience, never did Allah shy to show you His love.

But as an ambassador of Allah, have you manifested that love of Allah? To your spouse, to your children, to your masjid, to the strangers that you work with — what does it mean for you to love for Allah?

The Story of Mu'adh ibn Jabal and Loving for Allah

One time, one of the tabi'een — I think his name was Abu Usama Ad-Darimi — he was traveling in Syria, and he walked into a masjid in Sham. When he walked into the masjid in Sham, he saw this incredibly handsome and illuminating individual that was leaning against the pillar. And he saw — and he is one of the tabi'een, so this is the generation after the Sahaba, after the Prophet ﷺ and after the Sahaba — meaning he gazed upon the faces of the greatest generation, but was not able to have the honor of looking upon the Messenger of Allah in real life himself.

He's sitting there in Sham, in Syria, and he's looking, and he sees all these people gathered upon this man who is shining light. And he says, who is this man? Everybody's talking, and every once in a while they turn to him like he's going to give them all the answers. They tell him: that's Mu'adh ibn Jabal. And he just observes from a distance, and something is planted in his heart.

He says, SubhanAllah, my journey took me to Homs a little bit after. When I went to Homs, which is another city in Syria, he says, I walked into a masjid, and I found an identical situation. I found the same exact illuminating man of righteousness sitting there with so many people gathered around him, remembering Allah, and asking him questions about the deen of Allah. And he says, I knew who it was. It was none other than Mu'adh ibn Jabal radiyallahu ta'ala anhu.

He said, I waited for him. And I waited, and I waited. And I came to Mu'adh ibn Jabal, and I waited for him to finish praying. Then I approached him, and he said, I cut to the chase right away. I didn't waste any time. He says:

That I love you for Allah and by Allah.

That because of Allah and for the sake of Allah, I love everything I see about you, O Mu'adh. And look at the response of Mu'adh. He said:

By Allah? He said, yes, by Allah. He challenges him again — by Allah? He says, yes, by Allah. He challenges him again — by Allah? You love me for Allah and through Allah? That is where this love comes? He says, yes, O Mu'adh. I love you for Allah and by Allah.

He says, I heard the Prophet ﷺ say:

(Muwatta Imam Malik, Book 51, Hadith 15; also referenced in Musnad Ahmad)

That the Prophet ﷺ said that Allah from above seven heavens made a declaration, and He said: my love is mandated — my love is prescribed — for those that love one another for Me, and those who meet with one another for Me, and those that visit one another for Me. These are people for whom Allah's love is mandated.

The Esteemed Servants of Allah

One time the Prophet ﷺ, as he was gathered in a gathering like this with the Sahabah — what would be more beautiful than to be gathered with the Prophet ﷺ — we ask Allah to make us from those who are granted the sohbah of Rasulullah ﷺ. He said:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 21525; also referenced in Sahih Ibn Hibban)

I want you guys to hear me when I say this hadith. From the servants of Allah, are servants of Allah. Some of the ulama that do sharh of hadith, they comment on this and they say: the first مِنْ عِبَادِ اللَّهِ is an acknowledgement that everyone is an abd of Allah. The person that is the most disbelieving of people is still depending on Allah. The person that is the most atheist of people, the most liberal of people, the most difficult of people — they are the عِبَادُ اللَّهِ and they depend on Allah whether they acknowledge it or not.

But there are two types of عِبَادُ اللَّهِ: عِبَادُ اللَّهِ that know that they are عِبَادُ اللَّهِ, and عِبَادُ اللَّهِ that don't know they are عِبَادُ اللَّهِ. And then from amongst those that know that they are عِبَادُ اللَّهِ, that acknowledge that they are servants of Allah, there are those that embrace being the servants of Allah.

And I'll tell you, my brothers and sisters — this dunya, the only real freedom is to be a عَبْد of Allah. You can be a عَبْد of Allah by choice or a عَبْد of Allah by force. The عَبْد of Allah by choice is the most free of all of Allah's creation.

The Prophet ﷺ says: from the servants of Allah, are servants of Allah — meaning that they are a chosen group from amongst them — they are not from the Prophets and Messengers, yet the Prophets and the martyrs have a healthy envy and jealousy of their position.

You witnessed Gaza. You saw people lose their houses for Allah. People bury their children for Allah. People with bloodstained streets for Allah. People that were ready to give everything for Allah. That there are a people that the martyrs and the Prophets will wish that they were in their position on Yawmul Qiyamah.

I want you to hear this from me. I want you to observe the humility of the Sahaba. The Sahaba did not just say مَنْ هُم. The Sahaba, they said:

Who are they? So perhaps we can love them. Because to choose to love is an act of ibadah. To choose to love is prophetic. To choose to love is an act of spiritual revolution when you choose to love for Allah. Who are they, so perhaps we can love them?

The Prophet ﷺ says:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 21525)

They are a people who love each other for Allah. تَحَابُّوا is this incredible Arabic word that means that there is a reciprocation of the love. That it is a constant engaging of love. Love being shown in words. Love being shown in action. Love being shown in khidmah. Love being shown in nasihah, or advice. Love being shown in visiting at times of sickness. Love being shown in every language of love.

And the Prophet ﷺ — tabibul qulub wa tibbuha, the medicine of the heart and the doctor of the heart — was a master of every language of love ﷺ. Every language of love he mastered. And he not only knew how to speak them; he knew how to diagnose what language of love you needed. Some of us, we want to impose our language of love on the people around us. The Prophet ﷺ would diagnose what language of love is appropriate for them, and he would speak to them in that language of love.

Who are these people, that their position will be one that everyone will wish for? They are a people that love each other for Allah. They don't share the same khandan, the same balad, the same village, the same country, the same passport. They don't even have any vested personal interest and business ventures with each other. It is purely: I love you for Allah, and I meet you for Allah, and I leave you for Allah. So they are a people that are of this esteemed class on the Day of Judgment.

The Proclamation of Allah on the Day of Judgment

There are many chants, and I'll end you with this, on Yawmul Qiyamah. There are many claims that echo on Yawmul Qiyamah. The most common is the voice of so many of Allah's creation saying نَفْسِي نَفْسِي. Then we know that one of the things that will be said on that day is:

"If only I was dirt and nothing but dirt." Another claim on that day is:

"If only we followed Allah and we followed His Messenger" — and Allah protect us from being from those people. Another claim on that day is:

"I wish I never took this person as a friend."

But there are not only claims made by the creation. There are statements that echo from Allah Himself. Do you want to hear a statement that Allah says on Yawmul Qiyamah? Allah calls on Yawmul Qiyamah and He says:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 37)

Where are those that love for Me? Where are those that love for Me? Where are those that met for Me? Those that cried for Me? Those that laughed for Me? Those that met each other and did khidmah together for Me? Today I shade them under My shade — because they might not have been the most knowledgeable of people, nor perhaps the most worshiping of people. But why they loved each other, why they met with one another, why they engaged with one another, was for Me.

Interceding for One Another in Jannah

One of the most fascinating takes on Yawmul Qiyamah is that there will be a people in Jannah — a people who've made it to Jannah — and what do they start doing? They start looking for one another. So I'll tell you right now: St. Louis family, when you are in Jannah, look for me.

When you are in Jannah, look for me. The narration says that there are a people that will go and they will address Allah and they will say:

"Our Lord, there were a people that fasted with us and prayed with us, and served with us." And as a result of that, Allah frees them from the Hellfire. This is the power of loving for Allah.

Closing

So I'll end by saying: I love each and every single one of you for the sake of Allah. And I pray that Allah allows us to love each other for Him. And I ask Allah that through this love, we earn the shafa'ah of the Nabi al-Mukhtar ﷺ.