and my nephew claims that he is a
prophet of Allah and he claims that he
receives Revelation from The Lord of the
heavens and the Earth
and listen to how he describes it he
says
there is not a single person I swear by
Allah upon this religion other than
these three people no one on earth
except for these three people
now a thief could have done something
with that he could have went up to the
prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam and
investigated the matter
but he did what most people would have
done which is waited out
wait to see what's going to become of
this affair he didn't necessarily oppose
it in fact he didn't
express any hostility to the prophet
saws he wasn't someone that had any skin
in the game when it came to the idols of
Mecca
but he waited it out and I want you to
imagine as you see the sights of the
Kaaba today what is it like when only
three people are standing in front of
the cabin worshiping Allah properly
and later on he would become Muslim
towards
towards the conquest of Mecca so towards
the very end of that span of the Prophet
saws life and indeed he's blessed
because he's a companion but he would
frequently be heard saying
I wish I would have been the fourth I
wish I would have been the fourth I wish
I would have been the fourth I could
have been the fourth I could have went
there I could have asked him something I
could have found out about this religion
I could have went and prayed next to the
prophet saws
behind us I could have been the fourth
and I want you to contrast this reaction
to a much more famous story
is on the complete opposite end of the
spectrum waratah has prepared his entire
life for this opportunity
he's gone all over the world studied a
scripture that's completely unfamiliar
to him learned languages I mean done
levels of Investigation
that only a handful of people even come
close to doing in Mecca
and he has the prophet saws
right in front of him
and the prophet saws describing this
experience
and as warakah hears this experience is
already as some of the scholars of
Sierra would have mentioned already in
his 90s
he's extremely elderly he only has a few
days left to live and this opportunity
that he hoped he would have encountered
early on in his life shows up and his
first reaction I want you to pay
attention to the The Ordering of his
words
I wish I was young
wish I would be alive when your people
run you out
subhanallah before he even mentioned to
the prophet saws you'll be run out he
already is expressing regrets
I wish I was young
he worked his entire life for this
moment and the moment shows up when he
only has a few breaths left in life
I think I could have been young and I
could have been with you when you're a
people run you out now the prophet saws
reaction is wait they're going to run me
out
his first reaction is I wish I was young
I could have been with you when that all
happens because he waited for that
opportunity and of course
narrates that waraka lived only a few
days after that
now the prophet saws
with a level or two in Jannah all by
himself
so the output is there the reward is
there but that opportunity that he
prepared himself with how many times
when you read the books of Siro do you
hear about these elderly people that
passed away
that had great children great
descendants
but waraka's investigation paid off
Allah knows why he chose him for that
time Allah knows why a man who is that
sincere and dedicated did not get to be
30 years old or 40 years old when the
risada came to Muhammad sallallahu
alaihi wasallam Allah is perfect
but there's something there now if you
take the example of waraka
who prepared for the opportunity who
investigated the opportunity before the
opportunity even came
to who simply encountered the
opportunity and then waited out to see
what the investment was going to vary
you have a couple of mindsets
none of this is random most people take
the afif way of all the Allah most
people wait things out if you think in
terms of Dunya Investments worldly
Investments most people strike at an
opportune time when they're able to do
something
was not someone who simply came across
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
he waited for the moment he was studying
he was investigated and as soon as the
opportunity was in front of him he
renewed his commitment to live up to
that opportunity with every fiber of his
being
so sometimes when we talk about missed
opportunities
it's because of the time that you live
in
and Allah knows why he put you in this
time and why he didn't put you in the
time of the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam and the companions sometimes
it's not knowing the blessing of what's
in front of you
and that's why the scholars mentioned
that knowledge is one of the greatest
ways proper investigation of knowledge
is one of the greatest ways to make sure
that an opportunity does not Escape you
if you read about the virtues of
something constantly if you're reading
about the virtues of how are you going
to miss you're reading about the virtues
of coming to the measures how are you
going to miss coming to the measures
you're reading about the virtues of
voluntary fasting how are you going to
miss out on voluntary fasting and the
list goes on and on and of course so
many more things that are outside of the
realm of what we typically deem as
ibadah of worship that there are
opportunities upon opportunities upon
opportunities but if you're not studying
those virtues you might miss it
and there's a famous narration from
we used to follow the footsteps of the
prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam and he
heard
when the messages say that whoever
Witnesses the janaza and then follows
the janasa until the person is buried
Allah will write down for that person
two mountains
in one narration the size of in one
narration
the smaller of the two mountains it's
also an authentic Hadith is like uh
so if you attend the janaza you get one
mountain like of Good Deeds if you go
through to the janaza and you witness
the burial as well then you get to
and Allah knows best if the smaller one
would be the one where there is less
exertion which is attending the janaza
and the Masjid
how many more people attended
then actually follow it to the graveyard
that discrepancy is always huge unless
it's someone that was very well known to
the community even then there is a
discrepancy right why because I've got
to get back to work
I've got to get back to what I was doing
I've got to get back to what I've you
know my meetings for the day very few
people can take out that time and say
let me go now
he hadn't heard about the reward of
going to the graveyard itself and so
when he heard say that he said you heard
that from the prophet saws he said yes
and he sent someone he said go ask all
right have she heard that from the
prophet saws as well he wants to really
make sure that he's not hearing two
different things here and he's sitting
in the Masjid
and he's got these uh these rocks in his
hand
and he's nervous he's picking up the
dirt
he's waiting for the answer basically
the equivalent of pacing and the man
comes back from um
confirms indeed the prophet saws said
that whoever prays the janaza and then
follows it
until that person is buried will have
two mountains the size of uh or the
smaller of them the size of and he
throws the rocks that are in his hand he
says how many mountains have I missed
out on
how many calories how many mountains did
I lose not knowing this so sometimes you
miss an opportunity
because you don't know about something
and that is the beauty of what we have
in this time subhanallah at no point in
history can you look up the following
the virtues of an action like you can
right now information is easily
available to you
but at no point in the history of this
ummah will you find less people acting
upon these virtues
even though they're available to us
and so it's investigating the virtues of
something and then making sure that you
don't miss out on them sometimes it's
not knowing the opportunities that are
present to you in a place
where you live you know subhanallah one
of the narrations that we mention in the
stories of the sahaba of the Allah
is a narration from
when I was just thinking about this
incidence
as I was thinking about this
he went to Hashem he lived in Iraq so he
went to Syria and he's pursuing
knowledge in different parts of the
world and he says that I went to Hashem
and I pray to recars in the Masjid and I
said
oh Allah facilitate for me a good
companion let a good companion come in
so he said this man walks in and people
go and they sit around him and he's
clearly their Sheikh he's clearly their
scholari he's not a hobby he comes later
on in the second generation he says this
is clearly an important man and he said
that person comes and he sits right next
to me
and I said to him who are you he said
subhanallah I asked Allah o Allah grant
me a righteous companion and then Allah
brought you right here right next to me
one of the greatest Companions of the
Prophet salallahu sitting right next to
me in the Masjid
where are you from
he says I'm from kufa in other Iran and
that responds to him and he says
didn't you have amongst you and Kofa
that Secret Keeper of the Prophet saws
who no one else knew those Secrets
except for him who was he talking about
said yeah and then he went on and he
said Allah
don't you have that person that lived
amongst you in Iraq that was protected
from the shaitaan on the tongue of the
Prophet salallahu he's talking about
he said yeah
and then he said
don't you have that person amongst you
who was the companion of the siwak of
the Prophet saws I mean he used to carry
around the siwak of the Prophet saws the
slippers of the Prophet saws and
accompany him and bring his law to him
and that is
yes and then he starts to ask him all
these questions about and things of that
sort now is a great student a great
tabari so he clearly took advantage of
those opportunities but I was thinking
about the subhanallah how many times do
people not take advantage of the
opportunities in their own location and
they say if I got over there
right how many of you said if I moved to
Dallas and then you don't attend the
Holocaust in Dallas how many of you took
advantage of the places that were
already present to you the scholarship
that was there the opportunities that
were there how many people say if one
day I get to go study overseas
if one day this presents itself to me
and sometimes that's not taking
advantage of the place that is there in
front of you sometimes the scholars
mention it's not taking advantage of the
times and most of those times
are the down times of the ummah the down
times of the ummah when the prophet saws
praised the work of shaadan he said that
that is a month
that people become heedless in regards
to because it's situated in this awkward
place right between a sacred month and
between Ramadan so while everyone is
thinking about Ramadan lasallehun are
already thinking about and how they can
make the most of you're in one of those
lost times right now by the way you're
in a sacred month which is going into
the month of Allah but you're in this
awkward space between
and for some reason most people think
it's over after anapha
you're in this time the low times the
low Seasons that still have high yields
where Allah has placed all these
opportunities in front of you but most
people don't take advantage of down
times that's why the most blessed time
of the day for Dura is one between
because most people are exhausted at
that time
the evening remembrance says
most people are not thinking about at
that time most people are thinking about
unwinding at that time
right let me get home and collapse on
the couch at that time I don't want to
think about anything else right now
that's a time in which is blessed today
on the day of Friday
that's a time in which Dura is blessed
the hour of acceptance we ask Allah to
allow us to catch it
and then finally dear brothers and
sisters
most of the time we're not paying
attention
to the closing Gates of Jannah that are
in front of us which are these
opportunities that Allah has given to us
and subhanallah there are two ways to
look at this
either the gates of Jannah are closing
because of a circumstance that will not
be present tomorrow because our
circumstances are changing or the means
by which we have to pursue a particular
gate of Jannah
is not going to be there for us so when
the prophet saws
health and free time being the two most
neglected blessings of people
either the circumstances changing
or what you have to pursue is changing
the means by which you have to pursue
the closing gate of Jannah there's a
particular circumstance or a set of
circumstances that you have right now
that give you an opportunity to pursue
Jannah in very specific ways that will
not be there tomorrow
Allah knows what they are Allah knows
what circumstances will change or what
means will change but every single one
of us has something present right now
because of the stage that they're at in
life or because of what's available to
them to pursue Jannah with and it's not
necessarily going to be that way
tomorrow
and subhanallah you think about that
with your parents and there are multiple
narrations about this of course the
famous narration where the Prophet saws
sent that young man back from the
battlefield to his mother
what's more exciting than dusting your
feet and getting you know getting into
the thick of it with the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wasallam and the
prophet saws imagine says go back home
to your mom
right go back to home to your mom and
that's where Jenna is that it's at her
feet again it doesn't sound as exciting
it doesn't sound as glorious but that's
rasulullah I'm telling a man in his time
go back to your mom
there's something that is special there
and subhanallah there is a narration
there are several narrations one of them
from
and the janaza of his mother and as he
was crying the people asked him why are
you crying he says why should I not cry
uh
when one of my gates to Jannah just
closed
another narration from
if one gate closes then rush to the
other gate you have two parents some of
us subhanallah have lost one of those
Gates others have lost two some of us
still have both of them present
and again at what point in human history
has connectivity been easier has it been
easier to connect to someone to face
time to pull someone up on a camera to
call
those Gates of Jannah are open to you if
they're open to you if one has clothes
go to the other if both have closed then
spend in their name and make Dua for
them but there are opportunities that
are available to you that will not
necessarily be available tomorrow
subhanallah and I'll end with this
comment I never thought that I'd quote
Warren Buffett but there's a statement
that he says and I thought it was really
profound because it fits this he said
Beware the investment activity that
produces Applause the great moves are
usually greeted by yawns he was talking
about Dunya Investments material
Investments and you'll find this other
great Scholars that they compare the way
that people look for the Investments of
this world to the way that you look for
the investments in the Hereafter most
people enter Jannah with very little
fanfare
may Allah make us from the people of
Jannah
for ordinary actions
that had extraordinary rewards that they
took advantage of it's the majority the
majority of the people of gentlemen
and so be introspective every day not
just of the sins that you committed not
just of the blessings that were
available to you but the opportunities
that you have for that day may Allah
allow us to take advantage of each and
every single one of us of them in a way
that is pleasing Tim Allah I mean
foreign foreign