- So we said that the angels are worshipping Allah
at this moment with tasbeeh,
with saying SubhanAllah and glorifying his perfection.
But every day as Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
creates new angels,
angels are born saying one word of dhikr,
Safwan ibnus Sulaym radiAllahu ta'ala 'Anhu said
Maa nahada malakun minal ardi hattaa qaal
"Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah"
As the angels are brought into this world
no angel rises up, except that the angel says,
"Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah"
"There is no power and no strength, except with Allah."
That's the initial recognition
of every single angel as it comes into existence.
What about us as human beings?
How important is it for us to say,
Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah?
"There is no power, no strength,
except that which is from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
and with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala."
Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah
Saying "Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah"
is not only a recognition that Allah is the only one worthy
of worship and that you are in need of him,
it's that it's only him who can actually turn you
back to him.
And so Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gives you the means
and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala grants you the goal.
He is in charge of all states, including yours.
He's the one who blesses you with strength.
He's the one who overcomes your greatest obstacles for you.
He's the one who pulls you out of weakness
and he is the one that allows you to come back to him,
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, in ways that are beneficial to you
in this life and, of course, even more so in the next.
And the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
"Shall I not tell you of a word
which is one of the treasures of Paradise?"
Kanzun min kunoozil Jannah
A treasurer of Jannah.
And so the companion said, "Yes, oh messenger of Allah,"
he said, "Say Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah."
And in one narration the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
said "Akthir min qawli
Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah" .
"Be frequent in saying
Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah."
So say it 100 times, 1,000 times.
Whatever you can.
Keep on repeating this treasure of Jannah.
And as the 'Ulamaa mention,
what this means is that you will find treasures,
not just trees, treasures in Jannah
that will be granted to you
because of the amount of times that you said
Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah.
Now what does this dhikr actually mean?
And Imam Ibn Hajar Rahimahullah Ta'ala,
he summarizes some of the statements
of the companions and he says,
Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah means.
Laa tahweela lil 'abdi 'an ma'siyatillah illaa bi'ismatillah
Wa laa quwwata lahoo 'alaa taa'atilllah illaa bitawfeeqillah
That there is no turning away from sinning against Allah,
except with the redemption of Allah.
And there is no strength to worship Allah,
except by being given the ability to do so by Allah.
So it's Allah who changes states.
Allah changes a person from sin to repentance.
Allah takes a person from sickness to health.
Allah takes a person from weakness to strength.
Allah takes a person from sorrow to joy.
Allah changes your state.
And when you entrust him
with that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
will never let you down.
And that's why SubhanAllah there are other du'aa
that are in the spirit of
Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah,
including the most frequent du'aa of the Prophet
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam.
Yaa muqallib al quloob thabbit qalbee 'alaa deenik
"O Turner of Hearts, make my heart firm on Your religion."
So even my heart is not in my possession.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is the one who can turn
it back to him and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is the one
who can keep me steadfast on his path.
Now some of you might think,
"Well does this mean that I have no power?
Does this mean that I have no responsibility?
Because if I have no responsibility
then I have no accountability."
And obviously that's not an Islamic concept.
So what does Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah mean
for our part of this, for our work?
And this is really the beauty of our relationship
with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Is that you have to lose hope in all of these other things
while using them as a means to connect you
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
What does this mean?
Laa ilaaha illAllah represents the first article of faith,
the admission of the oneness of God.
Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah
connects us to the last article
of faith, which is qadr, the belief
in Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala's divine decree.
It's complete tasleem to the decree of Allah,
complete submission to the decree of Allah,
which is why the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
in one narration, that if a person says
Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah,
Allah says "Aslama 'abdee wastaslam .
"My servant has resigned and submitted himself to Me."
And so you do all of the things that are necessary
to elevate yourself, to bring yourself to the positions
of happiness that you seek in this life,
to positions of strength,
and to ultimately a position of salvation,
but you recognize as you are engaging those means
that it's only Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
who could bless those means and provide for you
and bring you to where you need to be,
and that's why you submit yourself even as you fully work.
And this is something that represents our relationship
with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala from the very moment
that we set foot out of our doors.
The Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said
that when a person leaves their home
and says, Bismillah tawakkaltu 'alAllah
Wa Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah.
"With the name of Allah, I put my trust in Allah,
and there is no power or strength except with Allah,"
that the angels respond and the angels say
"Hudeeta wa kufeeta wa wuqeeta."
That, "You are guided, you are defended,
and you are protected."
And then the shayaateen, they flee from that person
and they say to each other as they're walking away from you,
"How can you deal with a person who has been guided,
defended, and protected?"
And so it's your protective shield as you leave your house
that as you go to take yourself to a position
of goodness you know that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
is going to be your ultimate protector.
And the most noble place to go
with this transformed being of yours, and this perspective,
is to the masjid.
And that's why when we respond to the call of salaah,
when we hear hayya 'alas salaah hayya 'alal falaah,
"Come to the prayer, come to success."
We respond with Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah.
That, "There is no power or no strength except
with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala."
Meaning it's only Allah 'Azzawajal
who can bring me to success.
It's only Allah who can bring me to salaah.
Now I don't make any excuses, I wake myself up,
I do my best to go out,
but I know that at the end of the day Allah is the one
who grants me the means of success
and Allah is the one who rewards me with success
and so I fully put my trust in him, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah.
Now I wanted to end, SubhanAllah, with a beautiful du'aa
that really shows you how incredible your du'aa can be
when you combine these various adhkaar
that we've been covering,
these various forms of remembrance.
In one narration from 'Ubadah ibnus Samit
radiAllahu ta'ala 'Anhu
he said that the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said
that, "Whoever wakes up and says
Laa ilaaha illAllah wahdahoo laa shareekalah lahul mulku
Wa lahul hamd wa huwa 'alaa kulli shay-in qadeer.
Wa subhanAllah walhamdulillah wa laa ilaaha illAllah
Wallahu Akbar wa Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah"
And then that person says, "rabbighfirlee",
"My Lord, forgive me."
The Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
"That person would be forgiven for all of their sins."
And in one narration
the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
"Allah would forgive all of his sins,
even if they were like the foam of the sea."
And the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam continues,
and he said, "And if that person then makes a du'aa
Allah would surely answer their du'aa.
And if that person gets up from bed and makes Wudu
and then prays, Allah would surely accept their prayer."
And so all of these adhkaar, in and of themselves,
they are treasures and trees in Jannah.
So what is it like when you start to mix
these adhkaar together and acknowledge fully the power
of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala over you
and your dependence upon him,
and then seek prosperity in this life
and forgiveness for the hereafter
after which the entrance is into Jannatul Firdaus
with our Prophet, SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam?
Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah
Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa
billahil 'aliyyil 'adheem
Bismillahi tawakkaltu 'alAllahi
Wa Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah
Maa shaa Allahu laa quwwata illaa billah
Laa ilaaha illAllahu wahdahoo
Laa shareekalah
Lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu
Wa huwa 'alaa kulli shay-in qadeer
SubhanAllah
Walhamdulillah
Wa laa ilaaha illAllah
Wallahu Akbar
Wa Laa hawla walaa quwwata illaa billah
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