Today, in sustenance, people want to engage in haram / forbidden things,
thinking that if they don't, they will lose out,
not realizing the conviction should be such
that your Sustenance is not going to be decreased
because you stayed away from haram.
In fact, if anything is going to increase, Allah owns it.
Ibrahim (a.s) put his life on the line according to what we would look at it from.
But in essence, he knew whatever Allah has written is going to happen
and so he did it.
His own son, sacrificed for what?
Because it was the instruction of Allah.
Similarly, in your lives and mine,
if you want to be celebrated in the true sense, even after you've died,
Surrender to the rule of Allah.
Don't do that which is displeasing to Allah.
And because you're a human, if it does happen, turn to Allah again.
Repent to Allah. Allah will grant you. Allah will give you.
Have you ever thought to yourself
why is it that Allah made this compulsory a journey,
You've got to go to Makkah.
The Hajj is a fifth pillar of Islam.
It is incumbent upon those who can afford the journey,
who can manage it in terms of health,
and who have permission from authority to visit the Holy Lands.
That is called istita'ah. The overall ability, it's not only about finances.
It also has to do with your health and whether you are actually able to go.
And it also has to do with whether or
not you have the permission to be there by authority in that particular land.
If you have all of that, you would then be one of those whom it is incumbent upon.
If you delay it unnecessarily, you would be sinful.
May Allah make it easy for all the pilgrims,
all those who are planning to go, all those who shall be going for the Hajj.
May Allah make it easy for them and accept it from them.
However, have you ever thought to yourself
why is it that Allah made this compulsory a journey?
You've got to go to Makkah.
I was once asked by a non Muslim, what's the big deal?
And I said, there's a very big deal, subhanallah a huge deal.
Why not?
You may not understand it, but we do as Muslimeen.
So I thought perhaps we'd revise the history of it and see and refresh
so that our hearts can yearn once again to visit the holy lands.
Remember, if you don't have the permission to go for the Hajj,
but you do have permission to go for Umrah,
Which is the minor pilgrimage, then you should do so.
And the more often or however many times
you could go for the Umrah, it will always be beneficial for you.
For your spirituality, for your religion, for your closeness with Allah.
In fact, a narration says the minor sins
committed between two Umrahs that you have fulfilled are automatically wiped out.
And as for the one who goes for Hajj,
the Prophet (pbuh) clearly says he will come back pure and clean,
with All his previous sins forgiven.
In fact, as pure as the day he was born.
And we always have been told that it's even purer than that.
Have you thought of it?
Why is it pure than that?
When you were born, you came with a slate.
What was on that slate? Nothing.
Zero. When you go for Hajj, your slate is not returned to zero.
Only the bad is wiped out. What about the good?
It stays there.
So I wiped out all the bad.
But the good remains.
May Allah Almighty grant us goodness.
Remember, whenever in your life you make Tawbah,
you return to Allah, you change your entire life from wrong to right.
Allah says, if you do it for my sake I love it so much
that I will convert the bad that you did into good on the right side of the scale
on the Day of Judgment simply because you changed your life because of Me.
May Allah Almighty grant that to us.
My brothers, my sisters, remember one thing.
Ibrahim (a.s) sacrificed a lot, yet he was known as Kalilulah, the friend of Allah.
Allah has proven to us that closeness to Allah has nothing to do
with how famous you are, how popular you are,
how powerful you are, how much wealth you have,
how much strength you have, what your looks are like, or your body, et cetera.
Allah Almighty has proven that to us
by sending the Most Beloved unto Him, his friends and a chain of messengers.
And all of them went through struggles.
And He says to us through
the Blessed lips of Muhammad (pbuh) that the prophets of His
are the first ones who go through hardship and trial
from their own people and various other sources,
and then the rest who are closer to them and closer and so on and so forth.
So the closer you are to Allah, the more challenges you will face in your life.
The closer you are to Allah, the more people will make your life difficult.
Because Allah wants you to trust Him fully.
Let's go back to this history very briefly.
Remember Ibrahim (a.s) when He was young, he grew up in a home that was not Muslim.
But he always searched for the one deity who made him,
because he always knew deep down that
the only one worthy of being worshiped is the One who made me.
No one else. Nothing else.
And so he looked at the stars. He looked at the moon, he looked at the sun,
he looked at other creatures of Allah Almighty. But he refused. He said, no.
And these things, they are there, then they disappear.
They are big, and then they become small, and they are not there.
The sun is huge and then it goes away.
He says, no way, don't be mistaken.
He never, ever worshiped them.
He only considered and contemplated. That's what happened.
But he didn't worship these creatures.
He continued further and further until he says.
Ayah al-An`am (Cattle, Livestock) 6:79
I have turned my face in dedication, in worship,
in submission to the One Who has created the heavens and the earth,
and I will not be from among those who associate partners with Him.
Allah loved that so much. Are you serious?
Subhanallah...
Are you serious in that statement that you will only worship the One who made you?
Are you serious that you will only Worship
He who made the heavens and the earth called Him the Maker,
The Creator, the Nourisher, the Cherisher, the One in absolute control of
every aspect of your existence and Mine and entire existence?
Are you sure He is the only one you're going to worship?
If the answer is yes, well, We have to test you, because Allah says,
Ayah al-`Ankabut (The Spider) 29:2
do people think it's okay and enough to just say we're believers,
And then they are not tested regarding that belief?
Allah says, We tested those before you in order to distinguish
those who are truthful and those who are not.
So what does Allah do?
Allah Almighty begins to put in your path trials, tests.
And each time there is a trial, what does it do?
If you're a believer, it draws you closer to Allah.
And you lay your trust in Allah and your conviction in Allah.
How many problems have you and I have been through in our lives?
Say, for example, how old are you?
You might be 20, 30, 50.
The older you are, the more challenges you've had.
You might have had such massive challenges in your life where at that time
you thought, I'm not going to come out of this and today you're sitting like a king.
Subhanallah, am I right or wrong?
There were times in your life when you probably thought,
I'm so ill and sick, I'm not going to make it.
And today you are healthy as fit as a fiddle.
Subhanallah, there were times in your life,
e when perhaps you might have had a business disaster
where you thought, I don't know how I'm going to come out of this.
And today you have 20,30 people working for you, if not more.
Has it not happened? So Allah shows you hang on,
the days are owned by Us.
Were they not days when things disappeared from you,
When you lost everything you had, Perhaps..
And Allah says you're still alive.
You have clothing, you have a plate of food.
You're okay. You're surviving.
If it brought you closer to Allah, look at what you learned from Ibrahim (a.s),
Ibrahim (a.s), A young age, he was threatened, threatened by whom?
His own family, his own people.
They threatened to burn him.
They threatened to throw him into the fire.
They threatened to kick him out of the community.
Guess what? They executed these threats one by one.
You and I are threatened sometimes, people don't execute it.
And if they do, it's not as bad as, we're going to burn you in the fire,
SubhanAllah,
What did he say?
I trust Allah, my Maker. I trust Him.
The greater the trust, the greater the challenge and the bigger the miracle,
the day that happens, Allahu akbar....
This yaqeen and conviction of Ibrahim (a.s) is what is being celebrated over and above,
his dedication to Allah alone.
He worshiped Allah alone.
Ayah an-Nahl (The Bee) 16:120
Allah describes him as a whole, ummah, as a nation.
Because even though people didn't accept his message at the time, few, very few.
He had his nephew, Prophet Lut (a.s),
his wives or his wife at one stage before he had the other one.
And Subhanallah, that was all.
And he was a prophet of Allah.
Imagine two people, a few people, a handful of people maximum.
But here is Ibrahim (a.s), he knows.
Allah instructed me,
leave your family here, and you proceed to Bayt al-Maqdis
or to this direction, immediately he left it and he went.
Alllah says, We need you to sacrifice your son.
Whatever the reason was;
Some of them we know, some we may never know.
He said, if it is coming from Allah, that's it.
His son was so well trained that
he says o my father, if this is from Allah, that's it, it's going to happen.
I will surrender to it.
Make du'a, Allah makes me from among those who are patient.
Who is saying that? The son,
Imagine the type of conviction, if Allah Has instructed you that's Allah.
today in sustenance, people want to engage in haram / forbidden things,
thinking that if they don't, they will lose out,
Not realizing the conviction should be such that
your sustenance is not going to be decreased because you stayed away from haram.
In fact, if anything is going to increase, Allah owns it.
Ibrahim (a.s) put his life on the line according to what we would Look at it from.
But in essence, he knew whatever Allah Has written is going to happen.
And so he did it.
His own son sacrificed for what?
Because it was the instruction of Allah.
Similarly, in your lives and mine,
if you want to be celebrated in the true sense, even after you've died,
surrender to the rule of Allah.
Pray dedicate yourself to Allah. Worship Allah alone.
Remember Allah, don't do that which is displeasing to Allah.
And because you're a human, if it does happen, turn to Allah again.
Repent to Allah. Allah will grant you. Allah will give you.
So Ibrahim (a.s) when Allah instructed him things
that were impossible for you And I, he did those things.
He became closer and closer and closer to Allah.
Alalh says
Ayah as-Saffat (Those Who Set The Ranks, Drawn up in Ranks, The Rangers) 37:106
Allah says this is clear cut test from Allah.
Clear cut test from Allah. For whom?
The major test Ibrahim (a.s) That is the Hajj.
Allah loved it so much. Nothing stopped him from worshiping Allah.
No amount of threat, no amount of harassment,
no amount of execution of threats stopped him.
They said we'll kick you out.
He said do what you have to.
I have Allah with me.
Who do you have with you? Subhanallah.
May Allah Almighty protect us.
We never ever compromise our relationship with Allah for anything, that comes first.
Then the hajj is being celebrated.
You will understand why?
Ibrahim (a.s), Number one, he worshiped Allah alone, come what may,
Number two, the sacrifices he made, one after the other, so many.
I've only mentioned a few here.
Later on also, he had so many sacrifices, one after the other.
Every time he turned to Allah, he kept on making du'a to Allah;
Look at the Quran.
It is filled with du'a made by Ibrahim (a.s),
Meaning many duas are there, of his, are mentioned in the Quran.
Why such great mention of a man who lived long back?
Because Allah wants us to learn the lesson.
Look at his family members.
His wife was left with a child, Hagar and Ishmael in Makkatul mukarramah.
Nothing to eat or drink.
What was the conviction?
Allah will provide.
The wife asks him
Is it really Allah who asked you to do this?
Meaning to leave us here in this barren land with no one?
And obviously he kept on going.
Yes, it was Allah.
Some time later what did they need?
Water, Route of life.
It came gushing from nowhere.
My brothers, my sisters, when you are In desperate need of Allah and you are close to Allah,
and you ask Allah, and you continue to ask Allah.
It might take not seven rounds from Safa to Marwa, not seven days or seven months.
It might take seven years for you and I, we are not prophets of Allah.
But I promise you, when the Zamzam comes gushing, it will gush for a lifetime.
I'm talking about in your life and mine.
We're talking about sustenance.
You will be shocked what Allah has done for you in seven years.
But be patient, don't lose patience.
We are too impatient.
You make dua, today at Asr time. You said you know what it was Jummah,
I went to the masjid, I cried to Allah, I shed tears.
Allah doesn't want to listen to me, Hang on.
It's only Asr, man.
It's only time of Asr,
You got to wait seven months to seven years.
The cycle. Sometimes people say it's seven years,
as Muslims, we don't believe that per se.
But we do know that it's Allah's timing.
So hang on, be patient.
My brothers, my sisters, maintain that dedication,
Look at what Allah tells Musa (a.s) and Harun (a.s)
Allah says they were making dua against the pharaoh for a while.
The word is fastakima.
Allah says you've been calling out to Us, right,
for the destruction of the pharaoh.
We've already answered your dua. It's coming.
But in the meantime, Istiqamah remains steadfast.
Be patient. Today you suffer the loss.
Hang on, hang on. Be patient.
Continue in your relationship with Allah.
A day of victory has to come.
Seven years from today, like I said, all of us.
How many problems have you had in your life?
I'm repeating it because it's a very important question.
Were they not days, were they not days
in your life when you thought I'm not going to make it?
And today, where are you sitting...
Subhanallah, beyond imagination.
But that time you were crying, you thought Allah is not responding.
Look at where you are today.
You're sitting so happy, you're sitting with such goodness.
Where is the gratitude to Allah?
What happened to those days when you were saying allah is not listening to me?
Where did all that go? And then, guess what?
Another test is also coming soon.
Because that's the nature of life.
If Allah gives you life long enough wait, wait, another one is coming.
And the good news or the bad or news is that
the next one is going to be bigger than the previous one.
Because even at school you can't have the same questions of grade one all along.
It has to continue further and further.
It has to become bigger and bigger.
So many narrations show you the greater the test, the greater the reward.
When Allah loves you, he tests you more.
He will give you the challenges.
So may Allah Almighty strengthen us.
That is the hajj, the pilgrims are going.
There will be a Ihram, that simplicity.
There will be goodness.
But at the same time, it's not such an easy journey.
The heat on one hand, to fulfill with such numbers, on the other hand,
To do it correctly.
My brothers, my sisters, all of that put together,
always ask yourself and remind yourself
this is Ibrahim (a.s) and then Muhammad (a.s)
These are the sacrifices of those who were chosen by Allah.
You would like to be chosen in a different way by Allah.
Learn to sacrifice for the sake of Allah.
Don't become despondent. Small thing happened in your life.
You lost a loved one.
Yes, it's a very big challenge, it's a huge test for you. But guess what?
That's the Sunnah of Allah.
It's the way of Allah.
It's the plan of Allah.
The other week we spoke about preparing for loss and guess what?
Today we are telling you if you have lost someone,
well, there are people better than you and I who have lost more than you
and I in terms not only of loved ones, but other things as well.
And they were grateful to Allah.
They moved on towards Allah in such a beautiful way.
You know when you go to the graveyard
what's the dua the Sunna is ... ..mean peace be upon you.
those who are here in these graves from among the believers and the submitters
That's the dua. We, all of us who are standing here,
greeting you InshaAllah that's what you are saying.
We will be joining you soon.
Allahu akbar, what have you thought?
That's the dua, what are you saying?
We will be joining you soon.
May Allah make it easy for us the day we go.
May Allah Almighty grant us goodness.
May Allah (swt) accept the Hajj from the pilgrims
and make it easy for all of us to go for Hajj,
and for Umrah to learn a lesson, not just to say
I made 20 hajj in my life, I made 30 in my life.
I went so many times.
It's not about the number.
Yes, you might be happy you went. Did it change you?
Did your faith and your conviction develop to a higher level?
Remember, you'll be tested again and again.
No matter who you are, it has to come.
It's part of Allah's plan.
That's why I'm saying it today.
So thank Allah.
Look at the goodness.
My brothers, my sisters,
when Allah Almighty tells us that He has favored us and He has given us.
He tells us if you try and count the favors I have blessed you with,
We challenge you,
You will never be able to count them. Never.
We challenge you.
Ayah an-Nahl (The Bee) 16:18
More than once in the Quran, Allah says if you are going to count
the favors of Allah upon you, you are never going to be able to count them all.
It's impossible.
That's a challenge for Allah. So start counting.
Let's check the list.
Every day you'll be writing more and more things until the day you die.
You keep on writing and there'll still be things you've left out.
But guess what?
The opposite is true.
If you are trying to count the tests that Allah put in your life,
You will be able to count them.
If I ask you how many problems do you have in your life?
I swear you will put up a list of ten things.
Say these are my problems.
I'm finished, my life is over. Look at this.
Three things have gone wrong in my life. Three things.
Come on, man, think about it.
Have you ever thought that the tests that Allah puts in your life, He counts them.
They just counted. There are a number of them.
That's it. You can count them, I promise you all of you, and me too.
But when Allah gives you, he says that you won't be able to count.
But man becomes depressed over that which he can count, that is negative,
over and above that which he cannot count, which is positive.
Where are we? Thank Allah.
Turn to Allah. Appreciate Him, praise Him.
Continue to praise Him because he teaches us the way to be granted increase
in goodness is to show gratitude and thankfulness, not just by your mouth,
but by your actions, your deeds, your worship and ultimately your repentance.
May Allah Almighty forgive our shortcomings, for indeed we are human beings,
we falter, we do things here and there.
May Allah forgive us and keep us steadfast
and grant us a good lesson and help us to sacrifice, so that
in the same way Ibrahim (a.s) sacrificed is eternal.
At least ours, our children, our families
can continue it in a way that it will result in us earning sadaqa jariyah,
continuous rewards for a long, long time into the hereafter,
until we are all gathered in JANNATUL FIRDAUS
in the companionship of Nabi Muhammad (pbuh)- Ameen.