Allah Will Honor You

Allah Will Honor You

As-salamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. As-salamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. We begin by bearing witness that there is only one God worthy of worship and unconditional obedience and that Muhammad ﷺ is his final messenger.

We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him and those that follow in his blessed path until the Day of Judgment. Allahumma ameen.

Dear brothers and sisters, last week we spoke about the insecurities that Shaitan is able to exploit and turn into full sins or lifestyle-type sins.

SubhanAllah, I wanted to focus on one particular element of the tricks of Shaitan which is deeply profound when you look at the way that the Prophet ﷺ tied these things together.

Two Promises: Allah's and Shaitan's

First and foremost, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makes it very clear throughout the Qur'an that at every moment of your life when you have a decision to make, you are listening to two promises:

You have the promise of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you have the promise of Shaitan. As Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah says, literally every decision you make, you're going to have the promise of Allah and his reward and the promise of Shaitan and his consequence. And you have to hear those two voices at the same time and actively get used to making your nafs listen to the promise of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And that applies to the big and the small, to the public and the private, to the major and the minor. Every single decision that you make that involves righteousness and wickedness is not neutral. Allah is making you a promise of a reward and a rank. And Shaitan is making a promise of a consequence and a humiliation.

Now there's something very important to point out here. As Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah says, there's the promise of ajr and there's the promise of maqam — the promise of a reward and the promise of a rank. When it comes to Shaitan, there's a promise of a consequence and a promise of humiliation. It refers to something that is inside of us that when we are called to do something for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, it's not always a numbers game. Sometimes it plays into how we actually view ourselves.

The Fear of Poverty and the Fear of Humiliation

And so I'll talk about this from the perspective that the Prophet ﷺ did. And there is a genius — nothing short of a genius — to how the Prophet ﷺ diagnosed spiritual ills and talked about the way to spiritual elevation. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ made a tie between, a connection between the fear that we have of poverty and the fear that we have of humiliation. That those two things are deeply interconnected. The way we fear poverty and the way that we fear humiliation. In fact, in many ways, we fear poverty because we fear the humiliation that might come with it. In the same way that many people desire wealth because of the prestige that comes with it.

But in almost every single hadith where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ mentions one of these things, he mentions the other. In fact, even in our du'a, when we say:

Oh Allah, I seek refuge in You from cowardice and stinginess. That a person that holds back with their reputation likely holds back with their spending for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as well. Because they try to guard those two things with the wrong means. And they have a lowly self-image. And so they pursue wealth uncontrollably. They pursue reputation uncontrollably.

حُبُّ الْجَاهِ وَالرِّيَاسَةِ، حُبُّ الْمَالِ — you find that in every book of Tazkiyya: the love of prestige and prosperity go hand in hand. The fear of poverty and humiliation go hand in hand.

Now why is this important? And subhanAllah, you'll find that there's a saying attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib radiyallahu ta'ala anhu that he mentioned: to not have anything is less humiliating than having to ask someone for something. To be poor is less humiliating than to beg someone for something else. Understanding the way that we are.

70,000 Shayateen and Your Sadaqah

Because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ spoke to the intensity by which Shaitan tries to get you to hold back spending for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And it's very interesting here. Because when Shaitan pulls you back from giving sadaqah, from giving charity, it's very one-tracked. What do I mean by that? It's very clear: if you spend for the sake of Allah, you're going to miss out on something else. Spend too much money, you're not going to have enough money to spend for this. Spend on this, you won't have money for your savings. What if this happens and you need to have this as protection and security. So it's a very one-tracked message.

No one is going to come to you — except for maybe a spouse or a family member — and say, you're giving too much for the sake of Allah. No one is going to say calm down, or that it's going to sully your reputation in any way, or that it's going to look bad on you. It's a very straightforward message: you spend too much on Allah, you won't have enough for yourself.

When Shaitan ties a knot on top of your head when you're sleeping at night and he says, "shhh, go to sleep, don't wake up and pray" — it's very one-tracked. You're tired, you have a sleep deficit, and if you wake up and pray, then you're going to lose out on the hours that you have for sleep. It is one-tracked. Very few people in your life, if anyone — and they're probably not very good people — will tell you, don't get up and pray at night. That's a very weird and strange message.

But when it comes to our sense of honor, there are many different ways in which Shaitan can penetrate.

Now I want you to think about this hadith from the Prophet ﷺ. This is a hadith from Buraidah radiyallahu ta'ala anhu — a man who embraced Islam on the way when the Prophet ﷺ was making the hijrah. A simple Bedouin chief, who went on to become a student of the Messenger ﷺ. He narrates in an authentic hadith that the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 22979; narrated by Buraidah ibn al-Husayb radiyallahu anhu)

A man is not able to give sadaqah until he has to pull it out of the jaws of 70,000 shayateen. Think about the image here. You're about to give sadaqah, you're thinking about it, the Prophet ﷺ is saying: imagine 70,000 shayateen biting on it, and you have to pull it and yank it out of their mouths. That's that hesitation that you feel. And then you start maybe reducing the amount. You rarely will say charity or no charity. You'll say, you know what, maybe I'll just knock this number down a little bit more. سَبْعِينَ أَلْفَ شَيْطَانٍ — 70,000 shayateen that promise you poverty.

Imagine if you could visualize that every single time someone calls you to give for the sake of Allah — and no, there's no fundraiser today — but imagine: you have to pull it out from 70,000 mouths to be able to give it for the sake of Allah. That's the pull. That's the hesitation.

Your Sense of Honor and the Shayateen

Now when it comes to your sense of honor, when it comes to you doing something for the sake of Allah that you feel like detracts from your reputation, that you feel like detracts from your sense of izzah, from your sense of rank — imagine how many more mouths of shayateen open up.

In fact, think about all the people around you who might not be shayateen in their essence, but shayateen al-ins — people that play the part of Shaitan, at least in a moment. When they say: "Are you really going to forgive? Are you really going to make up with that person? Are you really going to text that person? Are you really going to call that person? Are you really going to let this go? If you let this go, what do you think people are going to say? If you let this go, what does that say about our family? If you let this go, this is going to happen, and this is going to happen, and this is going to happen. Hold on to that grudge. Be petty because of this, and this, and this, and that."

Think about how many devils' mouths open when you think to humble yourself for the sake of Allah, because you fear a loss of maqam, a loss of rank. See, when it comes to spending your money, it's pretty straightforward — loss of ajr: do I believe that I'm depositing and loaning for the sake of Allah in the hereafter? But when it comes to what I feel like is a loan of my reputation, a loan of my honor, a loan of my person, then it gets a little bit more complicated. Because I will hear in my head so many times that I should fight, and I should argue, and I should be petty, and I should brawl, and I should hold a grudge, and I should do this, and this, and this, and that — and that is the way that I puff my chest out and I walk on this earth with a sense of dignity and honor. And in truth, you're being a fool.

Allah's Promise: Forgiveness Brings Honor

And the Prophet ﷺ says in a hadith from Abu Hurairah radiyallahu ta'ala anhu — and look how he brings it all back together — he says ﷺ:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2588)

I swear by Allah, wealth is not decreased by spending in charity. And in the same hadith: Allah will not increase a servant of His in the ability to forgive except that He'll increase him in honor. That person who forgives frequently — who is particularly forgiving and who overlooks people's faults, who is able to let things go, to be able to resolve grudges quickly, who is quick to forgive, quick to overlook — Allah will increase that person in izzah, even if 70,000 shayateen from the jinn and 10,000 human beings tell him otherwise. Allah promises you that He will increase you in honor.

And the Prophet ﷺ says in the most general way: no one ever humbles himself for the sake of Allah except that Allah elevates him, except that Allah puts you up.

And subhanAllah, that fear of being less, that fear of what people will say, that fear of what that other person will think if I forgive, that fear of what that person is going to say if I don't jump in on this and this and that — all of that goes away when you connect yourself to wanting that rank with Allah. Let them call you a coward. Let Allah crown you on the Day of Judgment. Who cares? I have something better.

How many times did people point and laugh at the Prophet ﷺ? How many times did people think that the Prophet ﷺ was diminishing himself by not responding in kind to the types of things that were happening around him? How many times? And Allah azzawajal — through every single one of those things — said:

We have elevated your mention, O Messenger of Allah. Because you never humble yourself for Allah except that Allah honors you.

The Burden of Reconciliation

Even if it means 70,000 shayateen — sometimes when you have to write that text message or make that call or let something go, it's more than, imagine having to pull your phone out of 70,000 shayateen's mouths. That's what it feels like at times. It feels heavy.

The burden of reconciliation. The burden of husn adhan — assuming well of what people say. The burden of letting a sly remark go. The burden of being the person to bring people together, bring your family together. To end something silly online or something silly on a WhatsApp group. All of that burden. People will say things about you. But what do you want Allah to say about you? Because Shaitan's making you a promise. Allah's making you another promise.

And you wonder why the Prophet ﷺ was always so composed and had such control of his temper — to the point that even when he released the valve alayhi salatu wassalam and showed anger, he did it for the benefit of those people too, because it would wake them up. And he did it for something greater than ego, alayhi salatu wassalam. But you know why the Prophet ﷺ maintained that composure? Because he knew where praise and rank comes from. It's from Allah who sent him. It's from Allah that a person is honored and dignified.

Shutting the Shayateen's Mouths

And so I want you to think about how you shut the shayateen's mouths. The next time someone pokes at you. The next time something happens within your family, your community, whatever it may be. And shut all 70,000 mouths — and a few human mouths as well, without physically shutting them — so that you could pursue that rank and honor with Allah.

And that was what Imam Ahmad rahimahullah mentioned when he said, "I forgave everybody in my life. Even the people that tortured me, I forgave them."

And I'm going to say this: in this day and age that we live in, it is the age of anger and rage. Forgiveness and grace are not popular concepts anymore. They're really not. They're looked down upon. They're looked at as weak. And that means that the reward for them is greater.

When he said — because I remember from Imam al-Hasan al-Basri rahimahullah, commenting on the ayah:

That people who are forgiving and people that reconcile and people that squash these things quickly — their reward is with Allah. That on the Day of Judgment, when everyone's on their knees, Allah is going to say: "Where are those people who used to forgive and overlook for the sake of Allah?" And they will stand when no one else stands. They want that rank. They want that rank. They want that reward.

I say this, dear brothers and sisters, because Shaitan can make you poor in the soul and he can make you petty with your ego as well. And I want you to actually start to visualize shutting him up. When you do your tashahud, it is heavy on him. When you give your sadaqah, it's heavy on him. When you overlook, it's heavy on him. When you get up to pray, it's heavy on him. Because you have to reduce his impact on you by showing that you're pursuing something from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And it can be done because we see the examples of the people that came before us and what they overcame for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

May Allah azzawajal make us those people upon whom Shaitan has little entrance. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to overcome all of his madakhil — all of his ways to our soul. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us amongst those that pursue His reward and His rank at all times. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not make us amongst those who fall for the tricks of Shaitan. May Allah azzawajal grant us the promised Firdaus — the promised highest level of paradise — should we aspire to that high reward. Allahumma ameen.

Aqoolu qawli hadha wa astaghfirullaha li wa lakum wa li sa'iril muslimeen, fastaghfiruhu innahu huwal ghafururrahim.

Second Khutbah

Alhamdulillah. As-salatu was-salamu ala rasoolillahi wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala.

Dear brothers and sisters, before we make the du'a, I wanted to mention particularly brother Sa'ad Beiruti, rahimahullah ta'ala — one of the founders, one of the pioneers of this community in Irving — who passed away last night and whose janazah is taking place as we speak right now, as his janazah was after the first khutbah in ICI. SubhanAllah, this was one of the first people that I met when I came to this community. Someone who always showed a propensity towards khair and towards helping people.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect him from adhab al-qabr altogether — from the punishment of the grave and from the punishment of the hereafter — as he passed away on Laylatul Jum'ah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive all of his shortcomings. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for his family. May Allah azzawajal make his reckoning easy and make his reward high. Allahumma ameen.

So please keep him in your du'a today bi-idhnillahi ta'ala, and his family as well.

Ibadallah: Allah ya'muru bil-'adli wal-ihsani wa ita'i dhil-qurba wa yanha 'anil fahsha'i wal-munkari wal-baghi. Ya'idhukum la'allakum tathakkaroon. Fathkuruallaha yadhkurkum. Washkuruhu 'ala ni'amihi yazid lakum. Wa la dhikrullahi akbar. Wallahu ya'lamu ma tasna'oon. Wa aqimu as-salah.