Sheikh Arafi - Lutf of Allah for His Servant

Opening Praise and Salutations

Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah, who has what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. And to Him is all praise in the Hereafter. And He is the Wise, the All-Aware. He knows what enters the earth, and what comes out of it, and what descends from the sky, and what comes out of it. And He is the Merciful, the Forgiving. Glory be to Him. I praise Him, glory be to Him. And I thank Him, glory be to Him, for His mercy and His kindness to all of us. And I pray for peace and blessings upon the bright Siraj and the glad tiding of the Prophet. Alhamdulillah.

Indeed, the best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ. And the worst of affairs are newly invented matters, and every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

Indeed, all might, all aid, all success, all rectification, all achievement, and all prosperity in this world and the Hereafter belong only to the Almighty, the Most Blessed and Exalted. And in His fear and in His constant mindfulness by the hearts of all the worlds.

All Praise is Due to Allah Alone

All praise is due to Almighty Allah. All praise, all sorts of praise are due to the Almighty Allah. I bear witness that there is no God except Allah. He is the one and only God. He is the all-seeing, the all-hearing, the all-knowing. He is worthy of all affairs of His creation. He is the one and only God. Worthy of our sincere worship. Worthy of our diligent service. Worthy of our innermost love. He is the one and only God. Worthy of our utmost appreciation. He is the one and only God. Worthy of our total, complete, absolute, and unconditional devotion. He is the one and only God. Worthy of the best and most supreme names. And He is the one and only God. Worthy of the best and most perfect attributes. Our Lord. Our Creator. Our Cherisher. Our Nourisher. The Lord of the Worlds.

Al-Lateef — The Subtle, The Gentle

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, one of the names of Allah — and I bear witness — is Al-Lateef, The Subtle, The Gentle.

Allah is the one who provides, who strengthens, who inspires, who guides, who supports, who helps — in the most gentle ways. In the most gentle ways. In the most gentle ways. Al-Lateef. And when we read the Quran we see stories of His Lutf and His care for His righteous servants.

The Lutf of Allah with Prophet Nuh

For example, we see His Lutf with Nuh (alayhi salam). Indeed, Nuh called upon Him, and Allah is the best of answers, the best of responders.

He saved Nuh and his people, his family — except those who chose not to be saved, of course, his wife and his son — مِنَ الْكَرْبِ الْعَظِيمِ — from the great calamity.

And Allah made his progeny to be the inheritors of the earth. And Allah teaches us the story of how He inspired Nuh (alayhi salam), and how his people were coming by him, seeing him building this ark, and making fun of him — making fun of the Prophet Nuh (alayhi salam). And he said:

You will see what this ark would be a means to. And Allah saved him from the great flood, the great calamity.

The Lutf of Allah with Prophet Ibrahim

We see the same story of gentle guidance and support and aid for Sayyidina Ibrahim (alayhi salam). His people ignited a huge fire — a huge fire — and they catapulted him, threw him into that huge fire. And Allah said:

They wanted to harm him, they wanted to destroy him, and We made them the losers. And Allah made them the ones in the loss. Then He said:

When we read this ayah, my brothers and sisters, we have to stop and think. Allah said to this fire: كُونِي بَرْدًا — become a source of coolness — وَسَلَامًا — peacefulness. Not only cool, but also peaceful, so that in its coolness it would not harm Sayyidina Ibrahim (alayhi salam). بَرْدًا وَسَلَامًا — peacefulness. This is the Lutf of Allah — His gentle guidance, His gentle aid and support for His righteous servants.

The Lutf of Allah with Prophet Musa

You see it also in an amazing situation that happened to Sayyidina Musa (alayhi salam). The companions of Musa (alayhi salam) said, we are about to be overtaken — they will come and catch us. And Musa (alayhi salam), again with great faith, trust, and confidence in Allah, said:

Indeed, indeed, my Lord is with me and He will guide me. Indeed, indeed, my Lord is with me, He will show me the way. Then a gentle message, a gentle command to Musa (alayhi salam): strike the sea, and it will split open — each part becoming like a great mountain. This is the story of Musa (alayhi salam) — strong support, great guidance for the servants of Allah.

The Lutf of Allah with Maryam

My brothers and sisters, again, the story of the Lutf of Allah for His righteous servants. We see this in the story of Maryam (alayha salam). And Maryam (alayha salam), very quickly, became anxious and worried. And Allah, in the story of Maryam, shows us His Lutf for this righteous servant of His. She said:

She said, upon seeing this pregnancy: I wish I was nothing. I wish I had not been born. She wished she would have already been dead — مِتُّ قَبْلَ هَٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسْيًا مَّنسِيًّا. And then a voice comes to her:

From beneath her comes the voice. The voice of whom? The voice of Isa (alayhi salam), talking to her. In a way, informing her that this would be a speaking child — a speaking baby, speaking as soon as it is born. فَنَادَاهَا مِن تَحْتِهَا أَلَّا تَحْزَنِي. And in the meantime, he is assuring his mother: لَا تَحْزَنِي — don't be sad, don't be worried. قَدْ جَعَلَ رَبُّكِ تَحْتَكِ سَرِيًّا — your Lord has provided for you a small brook, a stream. That is the Lutf of Allah with this servant — a message of guidance and assurance and strength and aid and support at the right moment, at the most needed moment.

The Lutf of Allah with the Prophet Muhammad in the Cave

The same thing happens to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). In the cave, the kuffar come and they are about to discover the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. And Abu Bakr would say to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam): "Ya Rasulallah, if one of them were to lower his eyes towards his feet, he would see us." And what did the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) say? He said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3653; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2381)

"O Abu Bakr, what do you think of two, when Allah is their third?" Abu Bakr took heart. We are two, but Allah is with us. The Prophet said: do not worry, don't be sad — Allah is with us. Allah is with us. As long as we are loyal to Him and faithful to Him, loyal to His cause.

And Allah confirmed this in the Quran:

The Lutf of Allah in Our Own Community

Upon coming to this masjid today, I passed by the compound back in 2005, beginning of 2006. This beautiful, blessed community was renting a space as a masjid. Some of you here — our seniors and elders, our pioneers — may Allah bless all of you and them in particular. I remember that, and I'm sure they do too. A small space — it couldn't be more than one tenth of this space. But it started a great journey. It started a great community. After I visited with the brothers one of the Sundays over there, I learned that, mashAllah, the community transferred — and here we are. And inshAllah, next year or very soon, we'll be in a much bigger place, and the community will be bigger and bigger.

And I want you, my brothers and sisters, to remember the Lutf of Allah. How Allah brought us, slowly but surely. How Allah gave us the guidance and support and the help and has been with us, every step of the way.

Closing: Do Not Lose Hope in Allah's Gentleness

Do not be sad. Because this life can be very tough. It can be very difficult. It can be extremely challenging. It can sometimes be overwhelming. Some people may be depressed. They lose hope. They reach a point of hopelessness. And we always, always have to keep in our hearts and our minds how Allah's Lutf is with us each and every day.

Each and every one of us has stories and stories about Allah's Lutf upon them. Each and every one of us is a living story of Allah's Lutf. A living example. Let us not lose focus. Let us look for it.