Everything is limited when you're talking
about a place of unlimited joy.
And one of the things that we learned
from the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
is that everything we're talking about
with Jannah here is just enough for us to long for it.
Just enough for us to know
that the promise of Allah is true.
But not only is the promise of Allah true
in what He has told us about, the promise of Allah is true
that there is so much more that He hasn't yet told us about.
The Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said
that Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la has said,
"I have prepared for my righteous slaves
"what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard
"and what no human imagination can possibly grasp."
And then the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
"Recite if you wish,
'Fala ta'lamu nafsun ma ukh'fiya lahum min
qurrati a'yunin jazaan bima kanu ya'malun."
"No person knows what is kept hidden for them
"of joy as a reward for that which they used to do."
And in one version narrated by Sahih Muslim,
the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
"Nevermind what Allah has told you.
"What He has not told you is even greater."
SubhanAllah, just seize that sentence for a moment.
"Nevermind what Allah has told you.
"What He has not told you is even greater."
Everything that we've been speaking about,
there are things that Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
has not even told us about yet, that are even greater.
And the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam,
when he tells us
about the way we've been gathering,
invoking Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
crying for Jannah, begging Allah for Jannah,
begging Allah for forgiveness,
begging Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
to protect us from the punishment,
that Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la asks those angels
"What are they asking me for?"
And they say, "Ya Rabb they're asking You for Jannah.
They're asking You for Paradise."
And Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la says to the angels,
and He knows the answer.
"Have they seen Jannah?"
And they would say, "No, Ya Allah. They haven't seen it."
And Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la says to the angels,
"How would it be if they saw it?"
And they say, "They would be even more eager for it
"and they would ask You with even more sincerity."
SubhanAllah it's like Allah is boasting to the angels
about the degree of love and talab,
the way we're asking Him for this Jannah,
even though we have never seen it.
And that is a proof that we don't need to see more
to connect with Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
the way that He's given us the capability to.
You push yourself in the month of Ramadan
and in other seasons to ask Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
And I ask you after a season of connecting to
Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
don't you feel Him more?
Don't you believe more in Jannah?
Aren't you more afraid of the fire?
Aren't you more connected to Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la?
And when we come to that part of,
what are the things of Jannah we haven't even heard about?
You know, just like there are too many degrees in Jannah
to know, and there are only some names of Allah
Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
that have been disclosed to us.
Yes, only some names of Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
Other than the 99.
We are going to learn things about Allah
that we did not know about in this dunya.
We're going to learn names of Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
that we didn't even know in this dunya.
Just as all that we are encountering in this life
is only one mercy of the 100 parts of Allah's mercy.
I want you to think about that.
There are 99 parts of Allah's mercy
that He has saved for the akhirah.
We don't even know what those 99 parts of mercy look like.
Think about that one part of mercy,
and how we are connected to
Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la through that.
And all of the mercy in this world.
The mercy that Allah shows to us, the mercy that we show
to each other, the love that we have for one another.
All of that is encompassed
in just one mercy from Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
So how about the other 99?
So when you talk about Jannah, how about the things
that you haven't heard about yet?
And the point is, is that you just want to be forgiven.
And the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam taught us that
when we call upon Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
with Sayyidul Istighfar,
"The chief of seeking forgiveness"
Allahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa ant,
Khalaqtani wa ana 'Abduka wa ana 'ala 'ahdika
wa wa 'dika mastata'tu,
"Oh Allah, You are my Lord.
"There is no God but You.
"You created me and I am your slave
"and I'm doing my absolute best
"to fulfill the covenant that I have taken to You"
"A'udhu bika min Sharri ma sana'tu abu'u Laka
bini'matika 'alaiya, wa abu'u bidhanbi
faghfir lee fa innahu la yaghfiru adhdhunuba illa ant."
"I seek refuge in You from the sins that I have committed.
"I admit to You my shortcomings.
"I admit to You your favors upon me.
"So forgive me Oh Allah,
"because no one forgives except for You."
Subhanallah this du'a is an acknowledgement
that Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
has already given me so much.
And that I acknowledge my shortcomings
in regards to those blessings.
And the Prophets SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said that,
"Whoever makes this du'a
during the day, with firm belief in it,
and then dies on the same day before the evening,
that he will be one of the inhabitants of Jannah.
And if he makes this du'a with firm belief
in the evening and then dies before the morning,
he will be one of the dwellers of Jannah."
Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la always mentions
forgiveness and expiation
of sin in the Quran before entrance into Jannah,
because the only barrier you have is your sins.
You are meant to go home.
And Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la will please
you when you get there.
And sometimes, just like you don't know
what the exact reward is going to be
from Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la in Jannah,
you also don't know
which deed is going to qualify you for His mercy
and get you into Jannah.
It could be the smallest sincere deed that you do,
that unlocks all of these treasures.
But you don't know, so you keep at it.
But it is only by His mercy that we enter,
with even the most blessed and the biggest of deeds.
Ali ibn Abi Talib radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu said
"Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la has concealed
two things within two things.
"He's concealed his Awliyaa,
"His close friends, amongst his servants."
So you don't know which one amongst you is a Waliy of Allah.
You might be watching this and thinking,
I can't be this person, I can't be that person.
That sheikh, that sheikh.
You might be the Waliy of Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
That friend of Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
that Ali radiAllahu ta'ala 'Anhu is talking about.
And he said, "and Allah has concealed His ridha,
His pleasure within his good deeds."
So you don't know which good deed you're going to do
that unlocks His pleasure in His Paradise.
And so you keep at it.
Finally Imam ibn Ata'illah rahimahullah
has a beautiful hikmah, beautiful wisdom
that he talks about in regards to our limitations
in being able to grasp what Allah
Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la has promised us,
and our limitations in being able to enjoy the reward
of Jannah if Allah were to give it to us,
even if He were to give it to us in this dunya.
"innama ja'ala ad-dar al akhira mahallan li jaza'-i 'ibadihi
al mu'mineen, li'anna hathihi ad-dar la tasa'a ma yureedu
an yu'tiyahum wa li'-annahu ajalla aqdarahum
'aan an yujaziyahum fee darin la baqa'a laha"
"That Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
has made the hereafter the place
that He is going to reward His believing servants
because this dunya can't fit what Allah wants to give you.
It's too small, it's too limited
for what Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la wants to give you.
And even if Allah could give you here
what He's promising you there,
He has honored you too much to give you His reward
in an abode that is meant to perish." And so instead, Allah
Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la has promised you a reward
you can't imagine
in a Paradise that will never end.
Captioning provided by MUHSEN (www.muhsen.org)