- Seminars and Lectures abroad / ٠01 Masjid At-Taqwa- Morning lectures 1
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- Masjid At-Taqwa- part 1
The bitter truth is better than the comfortable delusion:
Dear brother, some people tend to live having the following motto: The bitter truth is thousand times better than the comfortable delusion. A man who has a fortified check in his pocket would prefer to know beforehand that it is a forged check, because he knows beyond doubt that making a deposit in a bank with a bad check will get him apprehended and locked up in prison. The truth tackles the conscious of people, and though it might be bitter, in my view it is thousand times better to know the bitter truth than to live in a comfortable delusion. One of the facts that the Prophet PBUH said is the following:
((A trial is not sent down except due to a sin, and it is not lifted except with repentance.))
Abu Zar narrated that the Prophet PBUH said that Allah said:
((O My slaves, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another.
O My slaves, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you.
O My slaves, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you.
O My slaves, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you.
O My slaves, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you.
O My slaves, you will not harm Me nor will you benefit Me.
O My slaves, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything.
O My slaves, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything.
O My slaves, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more than a needle decreases the sea if put into it...))
If you put a needle in the seawater, and then pull it up, how much water will it hold? The water which comes out with the needle is as much as the decreased amount of what Allah Has.
((That is because I am the Most Liberal without need, the Most Generous, doing as I will. I give by My Speech and I punish by My Speech.))
Allah's Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, "Be!" or "Go away" and it is. The moral lies in the rest of the Hadith which goes as follows:
((O My slaves, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him who finds good praise Allah and let him who finds other than that blame no one but himself))
This is the bitter truth. It is narrated in the relic:
((No man is scratched by a thorn, or stumbles, or has a twitching in a vein, except for a sin, and what Allah forgives is greater.))
Success lies in thinking correctly about whatever calamity befalls you, so instead of letting it pass like this, you should ask yourself this critical question,, "What did I do to deserve it?" Concerning this point, the Prophet PBUH said:
((A trial is not sent down except due to a sin, and it is not lifted except with repentance.))
This is why the bitter truth is thousand times better than the comfortable delusion. Hence:
﴾ No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz), before We bring it into existence.﴿
How is that? When a decision is made by authorities to suspend an employee who is accused of something, this decision is not made out of sudden, but rather it is made after investigations take place, committees are e convened to look into the accusations, and evidences which convict the employee are collected. Therefore, the decision is made after a long chain of convictions, procedures and interrogations. Hence, consider the meaning of the following Ayah, in which Allah says:
﴾ No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz), before We bring it into existence.﴿
This does not mean in any way that Allah preordained that, because it contradicts the Divine Perfection to believe that man has been predestined to be miserable. This is not true at all and the proof is in the following Ayah:
﴾ Verily, We give life to the dead, and We record that which they send before (them) ﴿
What is in the record comes after man performs his deeds not before. There is no Divine Preordainment which decrees that you will disobey Allah. Some sayings are uttered by common people, and they are but Kufr itself like saying upon drinking intoxicants out of ignorance, "Counted cups in definite places (Allah decrees that I will drink a specific number of win cups in a specific place)", but such words reflect disbelieving, and they are sayings of Kufr.
﴾ Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and have believed in Him ﴿
Allah has created us to gain happiness.
﴾ But for him who [the true believer of Islamic Monotheism who performs all the duties ordained by Allah and His Messenger Muhammad, and keeps away (abstain) from all kinds of sin and evil deeds prohibited in Islam and] fears the standing before his Lord, there will be two Gardens (i.e. in Paradise). ﴿
A man who drank wine was brought to our Master Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, so Umar ordered him to be whipped (for wine abuse), but the man said, "Allah decreed that I do that", so Umar said, "Carry out the legal punishment on him twice; once because of drinking alcohol, and another because of inventing a lie against Allah." Then He said to the man, "Woe to you! Allah's Predestination never makes you lose your free will and puts you under obligation." Some people mistakenly think that the following Ayah means that Allah obliged man to disobey Him and to sin:
﴾ "While Allah has created you and what you make!" ﴿
The correct meaning of the Ayah is the following: Any action needs energy, so if you want to pray, you have to stand up, perform wudu (ablution) and then start praying. This chain of actions needs energy, but who has created that energy? It is Allah the Almighty. Therefore, the intention to offer Salah comes from you first, and then Allah helps you with the rest. Much in the same line, the one, who longs to offer good deeds, will be helped by Allah in his cause, and it will be in his record, and the one who intends to do evil will find that in his record, but both, the one who offers a good deed and the one who does wrongdoings need energy which is provided by Allah the Almighty. Thus, the power to do anything is from Allah, but the intention comes from man first.
((…so let him who finds good praise Allah and let him who finds other than that blame no one but himself))
Adversities and the wisdom behind them:
This is the only interpretation (of the reason behind afflictions and hardships) which is Tawheed-oriented. Comprehending calamities and the wisdom behind them is a crucial part of your religion and faith. First of all, calamities befell even Prophets, and those calamities are called by scholars "The disclosing calamities". In other words, Allah tested the Prophets with those calamities in order to show people their perfection. For example, when the Prophet PBUH went to Ta'ef on his feet travelling about 80 kilometers on foot just to call its people to Allah, which would guarantee them their safety and happiness, they accused him of lying, they mocked him and they hit him. As a result, the angel of the mountains called him and said:
((O Muhammad, Allah listened to what your people had said to you. I am the angel of the mountains, and my Rubb has sent me to you so that you may give me your orders. (I will carry out your orders). If you wish I will bring together the two mountains that stand opposite to each other at the extremities of Makkah to crush them in between.'' But Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "I rather hope that Allah will raise from among their descendants people as will worship Allah the One, and will not ascribe partners to Him (in worship)."))
This is the real Prophethood.
Dear brother, when you study the stances taken by the Noble prophet PBUH, you will realize how keen he was on all mankind, because he was very merciful to them, and you will know then what is meant by the status of Prophethood. This applies to every believer, but you will never find a real believer who lies or betrays:
((The believer is naturally disposed to all the traits …))
Believers differ from one another; some of them are sensitive, sh3er might be irritable, sh3er are calm, some are very keen on their appearance and sh3er are not, but all of which are only traits that do not affect the believer's faith.
((The believer is naturally disposed to all the traits …))
A believer might be a social person, another might be a solitary one. Also, a believer might like traveling whereas another likes settling, and these traits again do not affect faith. The prophet PBUH said:
((The believer is naturally disposed to all the traits except betrayal and lying))
If the believer lies to other people or betrays them, he is not considered a believer.
Dear brother, I meant to tell you in this blessed meeting that if something you hate befalls you, you should reckon yourself and find why you were afflicted. You should think about your afflictions like this, because the Prophet PBUH said:
((A trial is not sent down except due to a sin, and it is not lifted except with repentance.))
Allah does not create us to torture us, and according to the following Hadith we can understand why calamities befall people:
((No man is scratched by a thorn, or stumbles, or has a twitching in a vein, except for a sin, and what Allah forgives is greater.))
This is the bitter truth which I find thousand times better than the comfortable delusion, and the following Ayah is another proof:
﴾ And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned. ﴿
In another Ayah, Allah says:
﴾ And whosoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart [to the true Faith with certainty, i.e. what has befallen him was already written for him by Allah from the Qadar (Divine Preordainments)]﴿
There is always Divine Wisdom behind calamities. If a problem befalls you, as a believer, you should know beyond doubt that Allah dispenses with torturing us, and so you should ask, "Why Allah afflicted me with this problem?" When man wonders about the reason of his afflictions, Allah will inspire him of the answer that this problem was for that sin you committed.
I remember a story of a woman who had children and step-children (from her husband), and she used to give her own children a full glass of milk, while she used to give her step-children a glass of half milk and half water. Consequently, and as it was proved, she was Divinely and severely punished for that. When you believe beyond doubt that there is a Deity (i.e. Allah) Who knows, reckons and punishes for bad deeds, you will not disobey Him.
You are a citizen, and suppose that you live in a city like Amman, you are driving your car and the traffic light is red, and you are fully aware that there is a traffic policeman standing there, another policeman on the motorcycle and an officer in the police car, so will you cross the red light? You will never do that, because you know that there is a law-giver who put the traffic laws, and that there are policemen who will charge you a fine. Allah says:
﴾ It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof (i.e. seven). His Command descends between them (heavens and earth), that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah surrounds (comprehends) all things in (His) Knowledge. ﴿
Much in the same line, when you know that Allah knows everything and His Power reaches you, you will not hurt any human being. Consider the following example: Every importer in Syria knows that a copy of the documents in which the goods he imports are mentioned is sent to the department of finance. Therefore, the tax department is aware of all the goods he imports. In this case he cannot hide anything, otherwise he will pay taxes tenfold.
As you refrained from breaking the law because you know that the law-giver knows about your violation and will hold you responsible for it, you should know that there is Allah Who knows, Who reckons and Who punishes. Thus, because you are keen on your safety and happiness, you should not disobey Allah, and man should really think seriously before he does any action.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds and blessings and peace be upon our Master, Prophet Muhammad, to his purified Folks and to his Companions. O Allah, increase us [in Your Blessings] and do not decrease us, honor us and do not humiliate us, give us [from Your Gifts] and do not deprive us, be in favor of us and not against us and make us satisfied and be satisfied with us. May Allah have peace upon our Master Muhammad, the illiterate Prophet, his family and his companions.
