Loneliness is of two types.
You have the loneliness when you are physically away
from people and you have another type of loneliness,
which is a lot harder to cope with,
which is when you are surrounded by people,
but you really are alone.
And I want you
to imagine what Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam felt like
as his people, his own people, not an external enemy,
his own people have kindled a fire for days and days
and days and days that none of them could even come close to
and they were prepared to throw him into that fire.
Not only that, but his own family was complicit.
And not only his own family, but his father in particular,
who Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam loved so much
and had called to Allah
with the most beautiful of manners for so many years.
Now the Prophet (SAW) experienced something like this
in Ta'if when he went out to at-Ta'if
and he said it was the worst day of his life
when he was made to walk through this narrow line,
where people threw things at him, cursed him, spit at him,
punched him, insulted him,
and he only had Zaid Ibn Haritha radiallahu ta'ala anhu
in front of him as far as human support in those moments.
And it was the worst day of his life (SAW)
But Ta'if was a town outside of Makkah.
These were not his people.
And he had Zaid Ibn Haritha with him (SAW).
With Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam,
the scholars say imagine the pain where it's his own people,
his own family, his own father
and as Ibrahim looks out to the crowd as he is stripped
and put into this catapult to be thrown into this fire,
he doesn't even see a sympathizer.
He doesn't see someone who has told him privately
that I've got your back.
He doesn't see anyone that really supports him
or that loves him or believes in him.
He sees complete abandonment. Complete humiliation.
In those moments, some of the books of tafsir,
they narrate that Jibreel Alayhi Salaam went
to Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam and asked him if he wanted help
and Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam said, "if it's from you,
then no. But if it is from Allah (SWT) then yes."
And though those narrations are not in any book of hadith
or found with any certain authenticity,
there's a powerful narration
from Ibn Abbas radiallahu ta'ala anhuma.
He says "hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakeel"
Allah is sufficient for us
and he is the best disposer of our affairs.
He said it was a word, a phrase,
that Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam said "hinna ulqiya fin-naar"
when he was thrown into the fire.
And it was the word that Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said
when the disbelievers in Madinah surrounded
the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
and his companions as they were about to be massacred
in the battle of al-Khandaq
and they said to them
"inna annasa qad jamaAAoo lakum fakhshawhum" [3:173]
these armies are coming from all over arabia
to eat you. They will consume you. You should fear them.
And it increased the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
and the companions in faith.
"waqaloo hasbunaAllahu waniAAma alwakeel" [3:173]
They said the same thing that Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam said
as he was thrown into the fire.
And the fire did not hurt Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam
because Allah removed the heat of the fire
and the army did not hurt the Prophet
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
and the companions because Allah (SWT) removed the strength
of that army.
All it came down to was "hasbunaAllahu waniAAma alwakeel".
Allah is the best. Allah is sufficient for me
and he is the best protector.
He's the best one to dispose of my affairs.
Imam Malik rahimahullah ta'ala,
he actually had these words inscribed on his ring.
"hasbunaAllahu waniAAma alwakeel"
Some of the companions of Imam Malik rahimahullah,
they asked him, they said,
"how come you only have "hasbunaAllahu waniAAma alwakeel"?"
He said, "because what follows
"hasbunaAllahu waniAAma alwakeel" is.
"Fanqalabu bini'Amatin minAllahiwafadlin lam yamsas-hum soo"
That they returned with the favor from Allah (SWT)
and his bounty having no harm touch them.
No harm had touched them.
And so not only did Allah protect them,
Allah gave them more, Allah increased them.
As he did with Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam
as he did with Muhammad (SAW),
as he did with the companions,
as he does with anyone who really calls out to him
and who affirms that Allah is the best protector
and Allah is sufficient for them
and Allah is the best disposer of our affairs.
And a lot of times we don't really realize this until we're
in a situation where we feel like we've hit
our lowest point,
where we feel like we have no choice but to turn back
to Allah.
When all of the Asbaab,
when all of the means of this world are taken away from us
and we have no choice but to turn to Allah, al-Ahad.
Allah, the one. And it's really poetic
because a lot of times you don't realize
what Allah has given you in himself
until everything else has been taken away from you.
And that's why a lot of times it takes time for us
to really appreciate the power of a dua.
Hasbunallah means you have no one but Allah.
Even if you have others, Allah is sufficient for you.
Allah is sufficient for you.
Nia'amal wakeel
Allah is the best disposer of our affairs,
what that means is that even if you have others
to support you in your affairs,
even if you had no one to dispose of your affairs,
even if you had no one to advocate for you,
even if you had no one but Allah (SWT).
"wa kafa billahi wakeel"
He is sufficient (SWT) as a disposer of your affairs.
You have to affirm with certainty that Allah is the best
and Allah is sufficient even if you are distracted
by the plentiful means around you
or you are desperate because you have no means around you,
Allah is sufficient for me, Allah is enough.
And this is particularly powerful by the way,
when you are Al-Mathloom,
when you are the oppressed one.
Da'awatul mathloom
the Prophet (SAW) said, "the cry of the oppressed,
there is no hijab, there is no veil between it
and Allah (SWT)" even if that person was a disbeliever,
if they were calling upon Allah alone,
without attributing any partners to him,
Allah (SWT) responds, "I will support you.
"Laansur annaki"
I will support you.
"walaw ba'ada heen"
Even if it comes after some time."
But that's usually when we find ourselves falling
into a place where we get to discover Allah (SWT)
in a powerful way
and this is something we train ourselves with
so that when we feel the hardship of this world,
whether it is the crushing power of an oppressor
or the crushing tongue of a slanderer,
we go right back to hasbunaAllahu waniAAma alwakeel
Aisha Radiallahu anha, we see when she was slandered
in Madinah and she looked around and she didn't find anyone
to support her, she didn't find anyone advocating for her,
it's instinctively she said hasbunaAllahu waniAAma alwakeel
She immediately remembered this remembrance.
hasbunaAllahu waniAAma alwakeel
Allah is sufficient for me
and he is the best disposer of my affairs.
And just as Allah did not let Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam down,
did not let Muhammad (SAW) down,
he didn't let Aisha radiallahu anha down either.
Allah (SWT) revealed ayat, ayat in her support
and elevated her as a result of that slander.
Dear brothers and sisters,
there's a narration that's mawqoof
that stops at Abu Darda radiallahu ta'ala anhu.
It's very powerful about making this part of our daily lives
and that's probably one of the things
that we can interrogate ourselves with,
with these duas,
with these remembrances is that sometimes we wait
for an extraordinary situation
to make these extraordinary duas
that could transform our ordinary lives if we do them
on a daily basis.
Abu Darda radiallahu ta'ala anhu said,
"whoever says seven times in the morning and in the evening
'hasbiallah la illaha illahu"
'alayhi tawakaltu wahuwa rabul 'arshil adheem'
"Hasbiallah"
Allah is sufficient for me.
"la illaha illahu"
There is no God but him.
"alayhi tawakaltu"
Upon him I have placed my trust.
"wahuwa rabul 'arshil adheem"
And he is the lord of the mighty throne."
That if a person says this seven times in the morning,
seven times in the evening,
Allah (SWT) will remove all that distresses them.
And you'll find in, you know, mental health books
and classes that to deal with anxiety,
they tell you to repeat certain phrases.
SubhanAllah, here you have this guidance
to repeat this phrase seven times in the morning,
seven times in the evening.
"hasbiallah la illaha illahu
'alayhi tawakaltu wahuwa rabul 'arshil adheem'
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