2015-03-13 - Friday Prayer - Sheikh Asil Khan

Opening Praises and Salutations

All praises are due to Allah, the Cherisher and the Sustainer of the world. May Allah's blessings and salutations be upon mine and your universal Rasool, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

We must be thankful to Allah that He created us as Ashraful Mukhluqat — the paragon of creation. He created us as Insan, and also we must be thankful to Allah that He made us Muslim, and He made us in Ummah Muhammad, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, the best Ummah.

We have to be thankful to Allah for His countless favours and bounties that He bestowed upon us.

And if you would like to count the favours of Allah, you will not be able to number them. But how many of us think sincerely about all His favours and bounties?

The Creation of Man — A Favour in Itself

Look right from the beginning — how Allah created us. Allah says:

Indeed, We have created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him as a nutfa (drop of fluid) in a safe lodging. Then We made this nutfa into a clot. Then the clot into a piece of meat — a mudgha. Then from that mudgha, Allah made bones. Then these bones were clothed with flesh. Then after that:

Then We brought him forth as another creation. And blessed is Allah, the best of creators. Look at this procedure — the steps.

Then after that, every human being has to be thankful to Allah right from the beginning. Allah has fed us in the darkness when no one else could feed us. And when we were babies, we were so weak — we could not even clean ourselves. We had no strength, no power. Allah has given us power and strength.

Not only that, when we are in this world, Allah reminds us:

He made the earth as a resting place for us, and the sky as a canopy. And He sent down water — rain — and out of that Allah created fresh fruits for your provision. Never make any partner to Allah while you know. These are the favours Allah is mentioning and reminding us of. Look at this — that after having that many favours, still you are ungrateful to Allah.

The Command to be Grateful

So these are the commandments:

Remember Me, and I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not be ungrateful.

Now if you are grateful to Allah — that is a promise made by Allah — Allah will give you more:

And indeed, if you are grateful to Allah for the ni'mah that is bestowed upon you, Allah says: "I will give you more." — لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ. And those who know Arabic grammar — that noon has a shadda, it has a specific meaning: "Definitely, I will give you more, I will add more to you." But if you are ungrateful — be careful — "My punishment is severe."

The Companions' Example of Gratitude

SubhanAllah. Sometimes the Sahaba ikram would sit together, remember Allah, and thank Allah collectively. They would make a halaqah and thank Allah — for Islam is a great ni'mah.

In Sahih Muslim, it is narrated that the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, went out to a group of his companions and said: "What brought you here?" They said: "We sat to remember Allah and thank Him for what He guided us to Islam and blessed us with it."

(Sahih Muslim, Book 48, Hadith 17)

Once the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, passed by his Sahaba and they were sitting together. So the Messenger of Allah asked: "Why are you sitting here?" The Sahaba ikram replied: "Yes, we are sitting here remembering Allah and thanking Allah for guiding us to Islam and for the favours He bestowed upon us."

The Sahaba ikram would just sit and thank Allah that Allah had blessed them with Islam. How many of us thank Allah that we are Muslims? Alhamdulillah.

My brothers and sisters in Islam — once we have this realization, this realization that Allah has blessed us, then many things will be solved, just because of being thankful.

The Three Types of Gratitude (Shukr)

Now there are three kinds of thanks — shukr:

1. Shukr bil-Lisan — Gratitude of the Tongue

Shukr bil-lisan — we say with our tongues. We say الحمد لله على كل حال. We praise Allah, we say shukran, we use our tongues and we express with our tongue.

2. Shukr bil-Arkan — Gratitude of the Limbs

The second kind of gratitude is shukr bil-arkan — we thank with our actions. Allah has given us a body. SubhanAllah — Allah has given us hands, we can see with eyes, we can hear, we can walk, we can talk. Look at these favours — these great favours that we do not appreciate, that we do not use in the proper way as Allah wants from us. If we do not do that, indeed we are thankless.

So bil-arkan — whatever Allah has given us, if we use it according to Allah's will, this is called shukr bil-arkan. We make ibadah, we help one another, we see and we hear what is right for us. And if we misuse these — our limbs, the portions of our body — against Allah's will, this is called na-shukri — that we are thankless. Do not misuse them. Allah has given us these with a certain purpose, so we have to utilize these favours according to Allah's will.

3. Shukr bil-Janan — Gratitude of the Heart

Shukr bil-janan — we must realize from the bottom of our hearts all of Allah's favours. When we realize in our hearts Allah's favours, this is called shukr bil-janan — that you really, sincerely, are realizing, you are feeling, you are thinking deeply: "Yes, Allah has blessed me."

But what happens? There is a very little number — those who thank Allah — a very little number. Most of the human beings are ungrateful. They will start complaining because of the smallest things. And if we are deprived sometimes, we start complaining.

The Story of Imam al-Ghazali

This reminds me — a person came to Imam al-Ghazali and he started complaining that he was less fortunate, that he did not have enough money or enough property. So Imam al-Ghazali asked him:

"How about if I pay you 50,000 dirhams for one of your hands? Give me one hand."
"How about if I pay 100,000 dirhams if you give me your two eyes?"
"How about if I pay another 100,000 if you give me both your legs?"

He kept adding, and the man kept saying: "No, I can't do that."

So Imam al-Ghazali said: "On one hand you are complaining, but on the other hand you have so much wealth — so much value within yourself. Don't you realize this?"

SubhanAllah. Look at us — when we look at ourselves, then we thank Allah.

Look at Those Below You

This hadith of Rasul, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam — because we are human beings, we are not perfect, we have many shortcomings. When we look at someone else, we start comparing, and sometimes we feel we are less fortunate. Maybe I have a small house, or maybe I do not make enough money, or maybe I am suffering with these problems. Then we start complaining. But Rasul, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, has given a beautiful example. SubhanAllah.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 55, Hadith 7)

Look at those who are lower than you, and do not look at those who are above you — for it is better that you do not overlook the blessings of Allah upon you.

You know what happens when you look at those who are lower than you? If you have a big house, or if you have a small house — look at those who do not have even a house. If you have a big problem, look at those who have many, many problems. If you have a small car, look at those who do not have a car at all. There are many people who are less fortunate. When you look at them, you will appreciate whatever you have.

When you start counting, when you start looking at the things that you do not have, you will find many. But when you sincerely check what you have, you will have everything — name it, you will have everything. These are the teachings of Islam. Whatever you have with you — sincerely understand, sincerely feel it — you will realize that you have everything, nothing is missing. There is only Islam that we are talking about. Allah has blessed us — if we thank Allah only for Islam, we will not be able to thank Allah enough. SubhanAllah.

Misusing Allah's Blessings

The thing I was talking about — sometimes we misuse Allah's ni'mah. Anything — name it — if you misuse it, it means that you are thankless. And one of the things when we talk about misusing — it reminds me, in these days, smartphones, this technology.

One of our devices — maybe you will not like it, but yes, be realistic. iPhone, smartphone — they are misused. Do you know this? They may be for a certain purpose. If you are using them for the right purpose, then Alhamdulillah, you are thanking Allah for the ni'mah that you have. But misusing means — the adhan is on, the adhan is called, the khutba is there, salah is being performed, but the cell phone is still on. We are playing games. Unfortunately, we are watching indecent videos, hearing indecent language from the smartphones. We are always addicted — our mind is always right on the cell phone.

Do you think that is thanking? That is misusing. My brothers and sisters — especially our young brothers — your parents, they are kind enough. They have given you a smartphone. If this is a ni'mah, do not misuse it.

For the knife — when you use it for the right purpose, to cut a vegetable or a fruit, yes, it is good, that is what it is for. But when you harm someone, when you kill someone, or cause injuries — now you are misusing that device. So you can misuse any instrument — your health, your hands, your eyes, your feet, name it.

So what we have been asked:

Five Before Five — A Famous Hadith

And the hadith of Rasul, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam — a very famous hadith — and especially for our young brothers, though it is for all of us, no one is excluded. Rasulullah, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, said to a man:

(Shu'ab al-Iman, al-Bayhaqi, Hadith 9767; also recorded in Mustadrak al-Hakim)

"Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your preoccupation, and your life before your death."

Your Youth Before Old Age

Allah has given you strength and power — do not misuse the strength and power before you get too old. Now you are independent, but the time comes when you are dependent and cannot do much. Sheikh Sa'di says — asking Allah's forgiveness in your youth is the tradition of the prophets. The example is given: the lion or the tiger, when he is healthy and young and powerful, he dominates. But when he gets old, he cannot move. Before that time comes, we have to utilize our youth.

Your Health Before Sickness

When you are healthy, use your health in the obedience of Allah, before you get sick and cannot move. When you go to the hospital and look at all those patients suffering a chronic ailment — they cannot even move. If they wish, they say: "I wish I would have done this and that." But they can't. So while you have time, while you are strong — why don't you utilize it? And by the way, if it happens that you cannot move, that you are not functioning anymore, Allah will bless you and give you reward even if you are not doing it, because you used your time.

Your Wealth Before Poverty

Allah has made you rich — utilize your wealth before you get poor. It happens — you have experienced it — people sometimes, because of natural disasters, because of many other reasons, were rich and suddenly became poor. So utilize your wealth before you get poor.

Your Free Time Before Preoccupation

Utilize your free time before you get too busy. Sometimes when we are young and we don't have kids — we are not married — and we have free time. But after that, what happens? When you get married, you have children, you have work, you have this, you have that — your schedule is too tight and you can't do much. So the Prophet, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, is reminding us — appreciate and thank Allah that you are free, you can do whatever you want right now according to Allah's will.

Your Life Before Death

And the last — for all of us — your life before you die. As long as we live, appreciate your life, thank Allah that Allah has made you alive. Rasul, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, always used to make this du'a after getting up:

"All praise is due to Allah, who brought us back to life after He caused us to die, and to Him is the resurrection." — because sleep is half of your death. When you get back, thank Allah — Allah made you alive again.

In the hadith of Rasul, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, the person who eats or drinks and then makes this du'a of thanks after eating and drinking — Allah will forgive all his previous sins. We are eating, we are drinking — this is for us. But if you thank Allah sincerely, Allah will forgive your sins. SubhanAllah.

Collective Gratitude and the State of the Ummah

This is a reminder for all of us — collectively and individually. And this is one of the reasons that today we are not grateful to Allah's favours, and collectively Muslims are in crisis. Individually, Alhamdulillah, I would say I am okay, I am fine. But what about your other brothers and sisters around the world? If they are suffering, maybe I am part of that.

If all of us are not thanking, not appreciating Allah's favours and Allah's bounties, Allah may take these favours away. Or there will be no barakah in them. Or maybe this ni'mah will become something harmful for us.

Conclusion and Du'a

All my brothers and sisters in Islam — let us sincerely think deeply that there are countless bounties and favours. And if today we start thinking deeply and thanking Allah, you never know — this is Allah's promise — Allah will give you more.

May Allah give us tawfiq to understand, and may Allah give us tawfiq to thank Allah all the time. Whatever blessing that Allah has bestowed upon us — may Allah give us tawfiq to utilize it according to Allah's will. Inshallah, Allah will help us and will bless us in this world and in the life of the Hereafter.