Love of This Dunia is a Disease | HEARTIFY | Ustadh Mohamad Baajour | EPIC Masjid

Welcome Back

First, I have to admit that I concluded that I cannot live without you. And it's very hard to leave you guys, Allahi. Even though I was all the way on the other side of the world, but my heart was here, Allahi. Allah, I miss you too, Habibi. May Allah keep our hearts united, and may Allah, just like He gathered us here with this love, gather us under His shade, when there's no shade except His shade. Ameen.

I just want to say salam alaykum to all our brothers and sisters in Australia. I'm sure they're all watching. They took care of your brother. They were great hosts and amazing people. May Allah bless them and protect them. And subhanAllah, they're very thirsty for knowledge, Allahi. Every talk we gave, places are packed. They just want to come and learn and improve their deen. SubhanAllah. May Allah accept. Ameen.

The Heartify Series: Diseases of the Heart

So we go back to our series, The Heartify, begging Allah to purify our hearts from all kinds of diseases. We took many, many diseases. And I just want to briefly remind myself and remind you, that the diseases of the physical heart, they might hurt you in this dunya for a short period of time, and you might die as a shaheed because of that disease. But the diseases of the spiritual heart, they will haunt you in this dunya, they will hurt you in the grave, and they will ruin your akhira. So this is just to show you the importance of this topic. And the concentration you should give on how to cure ourselves from these diseases.

Like we mentioned disease of shirk, disease of hypocrisy, disease of arrogance, many diseases. All these diseases, they are actual diseases. That every single one of us have either went through or is going through.

Tonight's Disease: Love of This Dunya

Now tonight's disease is definitely, without a doubt, every single one of us have it, but it varies by ratio from one person to another. Maybe some have it 5%, some 10%, some 20%, but everybody has it. And that disease is hubbid dunya, the love of dunya. The love of dunya. Why the love of dunya is a disease? We will find out tonight inshallah ta'ala.

What Allah Says About Our Love of Dunya

First of all, Allah subhana wa ta'ala, He told us that you love this dunya. When He said:

You love the ajila, you love this dunya, you love to see instant gratification for everything that you do. And you neglect the akhira.

And also Allah subhana wa ta'ala told us in the surah we will hear tomorrow morning at fajr:

There are people who love the ajila, the quick, instant reward. And they forgot that there is a day, it is so heavy, that is coming up.

Signs of the Disease: How Do You Know If You Have It?

Now, what are the signs? I want to know, am I from the people who have this disease? What are some of the signs that me or you have the disease of hubb al-dunya in our hearts?

First Sign: Favoring Dunya Over Akhira

First, you favor the dunya over the akhira in your daily life. For example, you favor work over salat. Tomorrow is Jumu'ah, no plans to come to Jumu'ah. But there is a plan for so many meetings. You favor sleeping over fajr. You have disease of dunya.

You favor investment over charity. And I'm not saying that somebody has hundreds of charities and he invested, he loves dunya. No, no. When he's given a choice to invest in the akhira and invest in the dunya, no thought, no thought about investing in the akhira. Immediately, dunya, dunya, dunya, dunya. That's all he or she thinks about. How can I increase the zeros on my statement? This is his full concern. The main concern is how to improve in dunya. Akhira has no place in my heart. This is the one who has 100%, 90% love of dunya in their heart.

Second Sign: Not Caring About Halal vs Haram

Second, sign that a person is from the people who has the disease of hubb al-dunya. Not caring where is the money coming from. Halal sources, haram sources. He does not really care. He does not really care. Money is money.

You know how many of our brothers, when you ask them, why are you selling cigarettes or selling haram or selling alcohol or pork or whatever, they tell you, this is America. Wallahi, I want to ask them one question. Is this answer valid in front of Allah? The one who said, my land is vast. You tell them, this is America. Subhanallah.

Or another one is, these are kuffar. What does that mean? What kind of da'wah you are giving, when you yourself are selling haram, imagine I'm selling haram and at the same time I'm inviting someone to Islam.

You know, remember I told you the story? One time I was at 7-11 getting water. So I'm grabbing the water from the fridge and a woman next to me, she had three, four cans of beer here and here like this. And she said, excuse me sir, can you get me one more beer? I looked at her. I said, no, I'm sorry. Ah, you're one of them. Don't tell me because, and she started cursing, you are Muslim because your brother on the counter is also a Muslim and he sells it day in, day out. Your brother on the counter is also a Muslim and he does not only touch it, he sells it day in, day out. So you're pretending they don't want to even give it to me? Subhanallah.

So they have this, oh I'm selling to kuffar. This ayah, ayah number two in surah al-ma'idah:

Help one another in birr, in taqwa, in good things, and do not help one another in evil things. The scholar said, applies to humanity. Humanity, not only Muslims. Muslim, I cannot sell you alcohol. Non-Muslim, I can. No, no, no. This is, there's a harm in it. My creator said there's a harm in it. And you are my brother in humanity, I will not sell it to you. I will not sell it, period.

So when the person, as a matter of fact, listen to this hadith. Rasulallah ﷺ said, subhanallah. This is, by the way, this is one of the signs of the day of judgment. He said, a time will come. Mankind, a time will come to mankind when a man will not care whether what he gets in income is halal or haram.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2059)

A time will come, he does not ask anymore, is it halal or haram. This is outdated. So that's a sign of love of dunya.

Third Sign: Envying Those Who Have Dunya

Third sign of love of dunya. Envy of the people who have dunya. You have envy. I wish we have what Qarun had. In the Quran, surah al-Qasas, the people who loved the dunya, they said, look at Qarun, look at his entourage, look at his bodyguards, look at his horses, look at his weapons, look at his, we wish that we have what Qarun had. What Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala did:

Qarun and all that belonged to him disappeared in a second. The same people, two seconds later, الحمد لله, Allah did not give us what Qarun had.

So you envious, my neighbor got a new car. You hate it. And you want to do everything possible to get that new car, to get that new bigger house, to get that promotion. You don't feel good when someone improve in dunya matters. Your brother, your cousin got promoted, mashallah, he's moving up. You do not like it. And if someone improved in deen, does not mean nothing to you. As a matter of fact, it brings us to the fourth point.

Fourth Sign: Loving People of Dunya, Hating People of Akhira

A sign that you love the dunya, or you are in love with the dunya, and you're not in love with the akhira, is that you love to hang out with the people of dunya, and you hate to sit down with people of the akhira. When you're sitting down, and subhanallah I experienced it, you sit with people that they are too much into dunya. The minute you start saying, قَالَ اللَّهُ ya shabab الْمَوْتُ قَادِمٌ Anything, they want to move, they cannot sit down in that place. What is this? Every time you see us, قَالَ اللَّهُ وَقَالَ الرَّسُولُ ya akhwan, work for the akhira, come to the masjid. Leave us alone. You hate the presence of people of akhira, and you love, look what Allah said in surat az-zumar, subhanallah.

Wallahi this Quran, this is going to be my topic tomorrow in the khutbah. We have neglected it so much. Wallahi it will change our life if we just focus on it. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said:

And when Allah has mentioned, the people who do not like the akhira, so straightforward ayah, اشْمَأَزَّتْ You know what اشْمَأَزَّتْ mean? Disgusted from that gathering. If Allah's name is mentioned, if the akhira is mentioned, they hate it. وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ دُونِهِ ya shabab What's up with the bitcoin? What's up with the real estate? What's happening with the stocks? إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ Real estate. Tell me what's going on. يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بَشَارَةَ Their smile is up to here. يَلَّا يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ Tell me about this. Forget about the mountain, the akhira. What do you think you are in the masjid?

So, if you feel that your heart is always, your mention, your talk is always, dunya, dunya, dunya, you are from the people of dunya. Because the person is always engaged with what he loves. Always talking about what he loves.

Fifth Sign: Overwhelming Anger When Missing Dunya

So, I'm overwhelmed with anger if he misses a deal from the dunya, from the people of dunya. You know, we have learned. Remember, I gave this example a few months ago. If I just bought a piece of land next to epic 10 years ago, 600 now, the guy gave it to me for 60 and I said no. I started haggling, I wanted 55. And he cries and getting upset and mad. Habibi, that piece of land is not yours. If it was yours, no one on earth can stop it being yours. No one, no one.

So, if you miss a deal, you went to an auction, and they're doing an auction, and you saw a car or a van or whatever, that is going like unbelievably cheap. And you ask, subhanallah, if I came half an hour early. No, it's not yours. If it was yours, you would have came half an hour early. It's not yours.

So, the believer, الحمد لله قدر الله ما شاء فعل. It's not mine. I did my best. Not like, it's not mine and he's sleeping. No, no, he did his best, he went to the auction, and on his way to the auction, he had a flat tire. He found out he needed gas, and the gas station was 10 miles away. So, he did the best, and the thing did not work out, it's not for him. الحمد لله.

The person who loves dunya, he went back home and he curses his wife. You see, I told you, don't make breakfast. And the day before, he was cursing her because she made breakfast. Because she did not make breakfast. So, always angry about missing something from the dunya. That's a sign that you love the dunya so much. The love of dunya is already creeping in your heart.

The Cure: Knowing the Real Value of Dunya

Because of the time, what is the cure? We need a cure. What is the cure? سبحان الله One of the cures, as simple as knowing what you love. Knowing the value of what you love. And who could be better, tell us, what is it worth than the owner? Right? If you want to buy a car, you want to buy a phone, you want to buy... You ask the owner, what do you think, how is the quality, what do you think, how long has it been, the car, transmission, when did you... Ask the owner.

So, let's ask the owner of this dunya, what is it worth? Look, an ayah coming from the alim that started with اعلم. اعلم is the verb from علم, knowledge. The alim is saying, know for a fact:

This dunya, my dunya, I created this dunya. This is nothing, this is amusement, this is fun, this is worthless. It's a competition between you. It is who have more money, who have more children, who has this. This is the dunya, this is what you're fighting for. It's worth nothing.

Don't be fooled by this dunya. I am the owner of this dunya and I'm telling you it's worth nothing.

Ya Allah, which one? Listen to this. Think about it as business.

Allah has two businesses. One is called Al-Akhirah, one is called Al-Ula. Ya Allah, which one is better?

The owner is telling me, Listen, this one is much better than this. And I'm insisting I want to buy this. Ya Ammi, this car, the transmission is going to break in two weeks. This one is amazing. No, no, no, I will take this. Ya Akhirah, I own them both. Allah, this is what we're doing. So when I know the insignificance of this dunya, how can I put it in my heart?

Rasulullah ﷺ, the whole dunya, can you imagine, I just came back from Australia, and we are now in America, and Europe, and Africa, and Asia, all of them, all this dunya. Rasulullah ﷺ said, Dunya compared to the Akhirah, is like you put your finger in the ocean, how much water stuck to your finger, this is dunya compared to the Akhirah. Ya Ammi, the Akhirah is the ocean, and what's stuck to your finger is dunya.

Wing of a mosquito, not a mosquito, mosquito that you kill and you get upset and annoyed with, wing of a mosquito. It's not worth wing of a mosquito. Rasulullah ﷺ was walking and he saw a dead goat, he said, eat from this goat. He said, Ya Rasulullah, who would like to buy this goat? He said, Ya Rasulullah, this goat is worthless, look at this, it has one ear, and usually if it's alive with one ear, nobody buys it. He said, the dunya is less worth in your eyes than this, in Allah's eyes than this goat in your eyes. Worthless.

When you know how worthless it is, how can you fall in love with it? That's number one.

Remembering Death and the Reality of This World

Number two, remembering, Ya Akhwan, let me ask you a question. Where is your great-grandfather? Where is he? Oh, this is his house, that's his car, that is his, where is he? He's gone. He's gone. And he left these things, and you are going to leave, and you're going to leave these things to your children, and they're going to leave. So when I remember all this, this is all going, it's all worthless, I'm not taking anything with me.

How many times we buried so many people, so many people, we do not put with them a car, a ring, a watch, a house, a wife, a child, gold, silver, nothing, nothing with them, nothing. And we see it all the time, that all they take with them is this, these gatherings, this Tasbeeh, this Salat, this Sadaqah, that's all they take with them. And we see it with our own eyes.

I mentioned this before many times, you know what kills me the most, Wallahi, it kills me, it kills me? In the graveyard, on the top of the grave, smoking. Smoking on top of the grave. If this scene did not shake you, what is going to shake you? Smoking on top of the grave, SubhanAllah, ya akhi, you cannot give up, just for that respect for the deceased, respect for the amwat in the graveyard, just quit for five minutes, just a respect for the sheikh that is standing there, respect for the dua that's being made. Smoking, you cannot, even in the graveyard.

Remembering death, remembering I'm leaving this dunya, how can I be attached to it so much and I'm leaving it? That's why when one of the salaf was asked, why we love dunya and we hate akhira? He said, why do we love the dunya and we hate the akhira? He said, because we hate to leave our mansions to the ruins. We have built our dunya and we have ruined our akhira. And who would like to leave from the palaces to the ruins?

Be Content with What Allah Has Given You

Third, be content with what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given you. You're working hard, you went to school, you studied, you became a doctor, you became this, you became that. Alhamdulillah, whatever Allah has given me, Alhamdulillah.

The تكاثر accumulation kept you so busy. Until when? حَتَّىٰ زُرْتُمُ الْمَقَابِرَ. Until you visit the graves. What does that mean? That means my stay in the grave, whether it's 100, 200, 5000 years, it's just a visit. Then I'm going to continue to the akhira. It's just a visit. And usually the visit is very short. حَتَّىٰ زُرْتُمُ الْمَقَابِرَ. You kept on accumulating until they took you to the graveyard.

Think About the Bliss of the Hereafter

One of the greatest things that will make you forget about this dunya is thinking about the na'im of the akhira. How can I be addicted to something worthless while Allah promised me with something eternal? Everything, everything is eternal. There's no sleeping. There's no getting sick. There's no urinating. There's no... Nothing, nothing. There's no hatred. There's no malice. سَلَامًا سَلَامًا. All you see is peace and joy and happiness. That's it.

How can I forget about all this and give this... We, if you notice, ya akhwan, all our life is focused on the shortest life. This life is 60, 70, 80. The other one is hundreds or thousands. And the other one is eternal. All the focus is on the shortest. And you and me call ourselves shrewd businessmen. Habibi, this is the shortest. Be content.

Clarifying What the Love of Dunya Means

Now, very important. Love of the dunya is not completely hated. That does not mean you hate the dunya and hate everything in it. No. Here, the love of dunya, the disease, means that you have dedicated your life for dunya and you neglected your akhira. Otherwise, Allah in the Quran, He told us:

The dunya itself is a form for the akhira. So the dunya itself is not what is hated. The addiction to the dunya is what's hated. This is when we say the love of dunya. Otherwise, we love our children. The children are from the dunya. We love our business. We love our parents. There's nothing wrong with that. We love to get married. This is all dunya marriage. So that's not what is hated here.

I don't want somebody to say, No, I'm neglecting the dunya. I'm going to get a tent and live there and eat bread and olive oil. Olive oil from Palestine. So this is not what is hated. What is hated is to be addicted to the dunya.

And also another thing, very important. Placing any creation over the creator is a form of love of dunya. Placing the creation over the creator in any decision is a love of dunya.

You know, there's a saying in Arabic. It says, Whomsoever treat the dunya as his Rabb, the dunya will treat him as its slave. So, we are supposed to have this dunya in our hands, not in our heart. We are supposed to own it. Not it owning us. You are supposed to sacrifice it for your hereafter. Not sacrifice your hereafter for it.

As a matter of fact, what's the evidence? Rasulullah ﷺ, He used to ask Allah to fix his dunya.

So, the dunya itself is not madhmuma, it's not hated and disgusting. No. How do you act and how do you treat the dunya and how do you behave in the dunya depends on your love to this dunya.

Now, finally, subhanAllah, what's wrong with having a righteous doctor or a practicing engineer or a Hafiz IT man? What's wrong with that? Why can't I combine both? What's wrong with that? Why is either this or that? It's so beautiful to see a successful man or a woman and they are both God-fearing. They fear Allah subhanAllah in everything that they do.

The Key to Success in Both Worlds

Rasulullah ﷺ, he said, subhanAllah, and we'll end with this. He said, Listen carefully. Let me rephrase it. Rasulullah ﷺ said, Allah subhanAllah will shatter his affairs and make him fear poverty constantly. And he will not get anything from this dunya except what it has been decreed to him. And whosoever make the akhira his concern, Allah will settle all his affairs and make him feel content with his lot and his provision. And the dunya undoubtedly will come running to him.

The dunya will come running to him. Focus on the akhira, the dunya will come running to you. Focus on the dunya, you will lose both. Simple as that.

See, Akhwan, one of the main reasons that people get addicted to the dunya is the weakness in tawakkul. Weakness in tawakkul. What if, what if, what if? Why are you doing this haram thing? Oh, I want to secure the future of my children. You're opening haram business to secure the future of your children? The future of your children is either jannah or nar. What are you doing about that? That's the future of your children.

May Allah subhanAllah make us from the people of the akhira. May Allah subhanAllah make the akhira our main concern. May Allah subhanAllah purify our hearts from any disease. May Allah azza wa jal make our homes full with love and mercy and tranquility. May Allah make our last deeds, our best deeds, and our last words, لا إله إلا الله, barakAllahu feekum.

I love you all for the sake of Allah. Alhamdulillah, Allah brought me back safe to you. See you next week inshaAllah.

Al Fatiha