Abu Taymiyyah – The Sabbath Breakers – Winter Conference – Leeds 2024
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the culture of avoiding punishment and disrespecting actions in which people practice religion to avoid negative consequences. They also touch on the social pressures of Islam, including the use of nets and fear of consequences for those who engage in the wrongdoings. The speakers emphasize the importance of forgiveness and embracing one's own worth, while also reminding individuals of the struggles of the drug industry and reminding them of the monk's advice to leave. They also emphasize the importance of forgiveness and embracing one's own worth.
AI: Summary ©
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed
Satan.
And ask them about the town that was
present at the sea, when they transgressed in
the Sabbath, if their Satan should come to
them on the day of their Sabbath, a
lawful day, and a day when they do
not prove that it does not come to
them.
Thus do We test them for that which
they used to disobey.
And when a nation among them said, Why
do you admonish a people whom Allah will
destroy or punish with a severe punishment?
They said, An excuse to your Lord that
they may fear Him.
But when they forgot that which they were
reminded of, We saved those who forbade
evil, and We seized
those who were unjust with a terrible punishment
for that which they used to disobey.
But when they transgressed against that which they
were forbidden, We said to them, Be apes,
despised.
And when your Lord made the call to
prayer, He will surely raise against them, until
the Day of Resurrection, those who will blame
them for the terrible punishment.
Indeed, your Lord is swift in retribution, and
He is Forgiving, Merciful.
My beloved brothers and sisters, Wallahi, it's an
absolute pleasure to be in your presence.
I ask Allah SWT to keep every single
one of you firm upon his religion.
Say Ameen.
And I always tend to say this at
the beginning of my lectures, especially when I
come to a crowd of such wonderful faces.
These gatherings, my brothers and my sisters, they
are not limited to practicing individuals.
Everyone started somewhere.
You were like that once upon a time,
and then Allah SWT blessed you.
No matter what you're going through at this
moment in time, what stage you are at
with regards to practicing your religion, my beloved
brothers and sisters, the door is always open.
These gatherings are not just for practicing people,
brothers and sisters.
Like I said, no matter what stage you
are at in terms of your practicing, no
matter what stage you are at in terms
of your religion, the door of rahmah, the
door of mercy, the door of forgiveness is
always open.
May Allah SWT bless every single one of
you.
My beloved brothers and sisters, I read some
verses related to the Sabbath breakers.
This is a chapter in the Quran where
Allah SWT instructs His Prophet Muhammad SAW to
relate a story to the Israelites in his
time.
One day, the Messenger SAW was engaging in
a conversation with those in Al Medina.
And he wanted to remind them of their
forefathers, their ancestors, in how they used to
transgress and violate Allah SWT's commandments in order
to keep them humbled, right?
Constantly boasting about how we are the chosen
ones, how we are on our way to
paradise.
So Allah SWT instructed Prophet Muhammad SAW to
ask them about the Sabbath breakers.
Ask them about the village of those who
were situated near the sea.
These individuals, my brothers and my sisters, because
of their transgression, because of violating the commandments
of Allah SWT, Allah SWT decided to test
them.
What was this test, my brothers and my
sisters?
On Saturday, you are not allowed to fish.
The Messenger SAW is trying to awaken those
who he is currently residing with.
Those that the Messenger SAW is engaging with,
right?
Take a lesson from your forefathers.
The sins and the disbelief and the transgression
and the violations is going to have a
detrimental effect on you.
Look at how they were impacted and be
aware and awake that it could definitely happen
to you.
A lot of the time, my brothers and
my sisters, when we engage in sins, when
we engage in haram, many of us may
think that the only time I have to
answer to Allah SWT is when I meet
him on the day of resurrection.
When I meet Allah, that's the only time
I would have to answer to Allah SWT.
My beloved brothers and sisters, it may well
be that the consequences, the implications and the
ramifications of our sins, we are struck with
it almost instantly.
And this is what Allah SWT tells us.
Never are you struck with an affliction except
this is due to what you have earned
with your own hands.
But I love the latter part of the
verse.
Despite the sins and the transgression that we
as human beings may fall into, Allah says
in the Quran, Imagine, my brothers and my
sisters, Allah held us to account for every
little thing that we do.
We are being told he forgives, he pardons,
he overlooks the majority of that which we
engage in.
The majority of that which we fall into,
my brothers and my sisters, that's from Allah
SWT's kindness, his mercy that he doesn't hold
us to account for every little thing that
we do.
Yet, my brothers and my sisters, the moment
things start going wrong in our lives, it
may well be that we are ready to
turn our backs against Allah SWT.
Is that fair, my brothers and my sisters?
With that which we so excessively fall into
all the time, instead of returning back to
Allah SWT and taking heed, waking up, perhaps
maybe I'm going through these struggles due to
a shortcoming, due to a transgression, a violation
of something that Allah told me to fall
into.
Right?
My brothers and my sisters, you have the
Messenger SAW, he is reminding them, they transgressed
and they violated, so Allah SWT eventually ended
up destroying them.
Right?
Allah SWT tells us, On that one day,
which was Saturday, they were instructed, do not
fish.
Every other day of the week, right?
Every other day of the week, go and
do as you wish.
Fish, don't fish, but you have the legislative
concession to do as you wish.
So what did they do, my brothers and
my sisters?
They set up their fishing gear, their nets
on Friday, right?
And then they would come back on Sunday,
saying, look, we didn't do anything on Saturday,
thinking that they could deceive Allah SWT.
They set up the nets on Friday, all
the fish, they get stuck, right?
They fall into the nets on Saturday, then
they come back on Sunday.
Taking the fish, eating it, selling it, and
whatever else they would do.
Right?
Allah SWT, my brothers and my sisters, he
told us about the three groups of people.
Number one, those who engaged in the wrongdoings.
Explicitly and openly, they would what?
Violate Allah SWT's limits.
Right?
Thinking that they found a loophole that they
could deceive Allah SWT.
Isn't that pretty common, my brothers and my
sisters?
Right?
That we at times may think that we
can get away from the commandments of Allah
SWT, thinking that there might not necessarily be
any consequences, any ramifications to our actions.
The second group of people, my brothers and
my sisters, they are referred to as the
quietists, the silent spectators.
They saw all of this taking place, despite
my brothers and my sisters, Allah SWT instructing
them to enjoin the good and forbid the
evil, they kept quiet.
To the point even they said, to the
third group, who were the third group?
Those who would enjoin the good.
They would condemn the evil.
They would try to be muslihoon, those who
were rectifying that which was happening around them.
Right?
They would try to change whatever they could
to the best of their ability.
The second group, the silent spectators, the quietists,
they would say to them, why do you
bother?
They are about to be destroyed anyway.
Let them be.
But their response was, those who would enjoin
the good and forbid the evil, So we
can exonerate ourselves in front of Allah.
Right?
They were motivated, my brothers and my sisters,
to carry out their duty and fear of
Allah SWT's punishment.
Let us try and guide, let us try
and make clear for the people, so that
perhaps we are able to save them as
well.
Right?
This was the mindset of this group of
people.
What does Allah SWT then tell us?
Right.
When they turned away, when they turned their
backs on Allah SWT, those who were instructed
to fulfill the commandments of Allah SWT, Who
did Allah SWT save?
Those who would forbid the evil, they would
condemn that which was wrong.
It is them that were saved by Allah
SWT.
My brothers and my sisters, right?
It's important that we realize that Allah SWT
throws us opportunities, left, right and center to
be part of a greater process.
Allah SWT tells in the Quran, We made
you from the greatest of nations.
When do we become from the greatest of
nations?
When we correct one another.
Right?
Not because we hate that individual who is
doing that which is displeasing to Allah SWT.
Absolutely not.
But because this is a huge cause as
to why Allah SWT may save us from
a collective punishment which will end up affecting
us as a community.
And this comes in different types and different
forms.
I want to finish off inshallah with giving
advice to three groups of people.
Right?
The first group, my brothers and my sisters,
are those who have not committed the sin.
You can imagine.
Those who were engaging in the haram.
On the day of Saturday, my brothers and
my sisters, was the only day where the
fish would come onto the seashore in such
abundance.
It was getting very, very tempting.
The wrongdoers, they used every trick in the
book thinking they could deceive Allah SWT.
They were told six days of the week,
go and fish.
Just on that one day.
You know what this test was?
That the fish would come in abundance on
the day of Saturday.
So they used that trick while the rest
were watching.
Right?
It's getting very, very tempting, my brothers and
my sisters, to do that haram.
And this is, my brothers and my sisters,
right?
Something that many of us may well struggle
with.
You want me to stay away from disobedient
acts while everyone else is doing it?
They seem like they're having a great time.
Right?
They seem like they're really, really enjoying themselves.
Let me tell you all a story, my
brothers and my sisters.
Right?
Social pressures, right?
Approximately, maybe in 2004 or 2005, I believe
it was, the little that I knew, my
father one day explained to me that riba
is haram.
You are announcing a war with Allah SWT.
Right?
If you engage in that which is interest
-based, alone that is haram or anything else
that is displeasing to Allah SWT, right?
You will be under His wrath.
This is what my father told me from
a very young age.
Until one day, I happened to be with
a relative, right?
And he was thinking about taking out loans
that were interest-based.
And by the way, what I'm telling you
guys about has nothing to do with our
brother who came on stage the other hour
earlier.
I was in front of my relative, and
he was telling me about how he wants
to now start his business based on interest
and so on and so forth, right?
And he said to me, everyone does it.
But I said to him, isn't this haram?
He said to me, I did a bit
of research and I came to the conclusion
that this is how BMW started a business.
Look at how well they are doing.
Right?
They've prospered.
They now have become multi-millionaires.
Maybe now it's reached into its billions.
And at the time, the little that I
knew, and we still have so much to
learn, right?
Isn't riba haram?
But so and so done it.
These social pressures, my brothers and my sisters.
You can imagine the Sabbath breakers, those who
violated the limits, those who violated and transgressed
Allah's commandments, while others are anticipating and looking
at what they are doing.
What is going to happen?
It's very, very, very tempting.
What happened eventually, my brothers and my sisters?
Those who enjoyed the good, they were saved.
You know what happened to that brother, my
brothers and my sisters?
From that point on, up until now, they've
gone into loss, bankrupt, and up until this
very day, no one's able to open that
shop anymore.
Every time me and my little brother drive
by, I say to him, this is the
result of riba.
We may think, my brothers and my sisters,
and we're ready to jeopardize so much.
Take this from me, my brothers and my
sisters.
I was about to say younger brother, but
I think I'm older than most people here,
right?
As someone who has seen enough in life,
many supposedly, or it seems from the apparent,
that they're enjoying their lives.
Wallah, it's not the case.
The other day when we, me and my
family were in Riyadh, a brother came up
to me on the Friday Jum'ah, and
you know what he said to me?
I've left behind all of the haram, right?
I've turned my back on the dunya.
I'm here now, fulfilling the dream of my
father, right?
But when I look online, it seems like
they're really enjoying their lives, all of the
friends that I left behind.
It was then, my brothers and my sisters,
that I sent him a whole load of
links, and articles, especially from Daily Mail.
Daily Mail tends to report a lot of
the depression cases of footballers all the time.
So I said, here you go.
We've all heard of Jim Carrey, my brothers
and my sisters, right?
Jim Carrey.
Comedian slash actor slash Canadian slash American.
Guess what he said, my brothers and my
sisters?
I could easily quote a verse from the
Quran, but at the time is, or me,
at this moment in time engaging with you
all, perhaps we might be able to relate
to the statement of his.
What did he say?
I wish everybody could get rich and famous,
and do everything they dreamt of, so that
they can realize it's simply not the answer.
I don't just memorize Quran and Sunnah, guys,
all right?
I wish everybody could get rich and famous,
and do everything they dreamt of, so that
they can realize it's simply not the answer.
I collect all of this, my brothers and
my sisters, on my iPhone, right?
On my iPhone, I have what?
A page that says depression, Daily Mail, and
footballers.
Every time I come across an article of
them, talking about how this is not the
life that you would so desperately want, I
take it and I put it there.
So I could quote it in gatherings of
such.
This is what we might think, my brothers
and my sisters.
I swear by the Lord of the Kaaba,
right?
What you see on the screen is extremely
different to what is really happening behind closed
doors.
Take this from me.
I engage with multimillionaires, rappers, drug dealers, and
celebrities.
What they all have in common is money,
that which is materialistic, women, and everything else
you can think of.
But wallahi, behind closed doors, they are a
completely different individual.
Right?
And then I concluded my discourse with this
brother that I ran into in Riyadh with
the following statement of Malik ibn Dinar.
You know what he said, my brothers and
my sisters?
There isn't a greater affliction, a greater punishment
than being afflicted, my brothers and my sisters,
with a heart that has become hard.
Spiritual emptiness is what many of us may
be suffering from.
The way Allah Azawajal has created our hearts,
my brothers and my sisters, it craves for
its creator.
That connection is what your heart is crying
out for.
And there's nothing that can give you that
contentment, that satisfaction, that you are so desperately
looking for, except if you build that connection
with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Nothing else, my brothers and my sisters.
Right?
Think about it for a moment.
Why is the drugs industry a billion dollar
industry?
Ever wondered why?
On BBC it says that cocaine, right, is
considered Britain's open secret.
Who do you think is consuming it?
Right?
You think only a junkie is consuming it,
my brothers and my sisters?
That you see rolling around at the bus
stop when you go out to Fajr?
La Wallahi.
Professionals, doctors, engineers, and whoever else it might
be.
And yes, I know, don't ask me how.
Right?
They are the ones that are consuming it.
Sports, billion dollar industry.
Games, adult content, billion dollar industry.
Then you look at the entertainment industry.
Hollywood, Bollywood, Somaliwood.
Right?
Add Arab world to it as well.
Billion dollar industries.
Why, my brothers and my sisters?
It is there to distract your mind.
To occupy your heart from exactly what you
have been created for.
Right?
And that is to build that connection with
Allah.
To worship Him the way He deserves to
be worshipped.
That's the first advice that I want to
give my brothers and my sisters.
Secondly, my brothers and my sisters, or the
second type of individual.
Someone who has already fallen into that sin.
Right?
It may well be that your life is
now going through troubles and hardships.
And our sins, they have these consequences as
I mentioned at the beginning.
Right?
They transgressed.
So Allah SWT trialed them.
He tested them.
Right?
And things are getting more and more difficult
for them.
Right?
It's time, my brothers and my sisters, that
we turn to Allah SWT in forgiveness.
Every single one of us.
Don't let the shaitan tell you that you
are not good enough for forgiveness.
It doesn't matter what you are doing.
I don't think anyone here killed 99 human
beings.
And then made it 100.
We know the famous story, right?
Of the one who killed 100.
Right?
Why did he kill the 100th?
He went to a monk.
Asked, is there a way for me to
be forgiven?
The monk said, no.
Okay, let me make it 100 then.
Eventually he found a man that had knowledge
and told him, leave where you are.
Go and move to so and so place.
Indeed, there are people there that worship Allah.
Go and worship Allah SWT with them.
Right?
Disconnecting yourself.
Detaching yourself from whatever it may be.
And guess what, my brothers and my sisters?
He ended up in Al-Jannah.
Because this individual had the sincerity.
He made the decision to make that change
there and then.
How often is it, my brothers and my
sisters, we hear about cases of somebody saying,
I will and I wish and I shall.
He went to sleep and he never woke
up.
He went to sleep and he never woke
up.
Right?
The biggest trap of the devil to make
you feel that you are what?
Not worthy.
Right?
So make that tawbah today.
The moment you leave from here, right?
Make the intention from now that I, I
am going to leave this place different to
how I came into here.
This is firm resolve.
This is sincerity, my brothers and my sisters.
And last but not least, my brothers and
my sisters, the third category.
Or the third type of advice that I
want to give.
Somebody who has now been engaging in haram,
violating Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's limits and
transgressing.
But you feel like there's no punishment coming
your way.
I've probably gotten away with it, right?
This, my brothers and my sisters, may well
be istidraj.
Right?
It could be that you are being led
into that which is going to be far
worse.
As Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us.
And it's similar to the verse that we
quoted earlier.
فَلَمَّا نَسُوا مَا ذُكِّرُوا بِهِ فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَبْوَابَ
كُلِّ شَيْءٍ When they turned their backs against
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's commandments, they turned
away.
Right?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala opened more and
more doors.
Enjoy yourself, go ahead.
Right?
But then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells
us.
فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَبْوَابَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَتَّى إِذَا فَرِحُوا
And then when they began to rejoice.
أَخَذْنَاهُمْ بَغْتَةً Right?
They were taken really severely.
Sometimes that happens, my brothers.
Go, keep doing it.
But then when the punishment comes, right?
It may well be that you end up
losing everything.
So make a sincere repentance from today, my
brothers and my sisters.
The last verse in Surah Al-Baqarah.
رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِنْ نَسِيْنَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا رَبَّنَا
وَلَا تُحَمِّلْ عَلَيْنَا إِثْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ
مِنْ قَبْلِنَا Right?
What does Allah azza wa jalla say at
the end?
وَعْفُوا عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا أَنْتَ مَوْلَانَا To
conclude, Ibn Kathir says, When you say وَعْفُوا
عَنَّا Oh Allah, I ask you for عَفُو
It means ثِيمَا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكَ مِمَّا تَعْلَمُهُ مِن
تَقْصِيدِنَا وَزَلَلِنَا Anything between me and you, oh
Allah.
That which is between myself and you, my
Lord.
Of all the shortcomings, of all the sins
that I have committed, oh Allah, forgive me
for that.
And then we are told وَغْفِرْ لَنَا The
difference between العفو and also الغفران غفران, my
brothers and my sisters, we're asking Allah azza
wa jalla to cover these shortcomings, these sins,
right?
These transgressions, my brothers and my sisters, that
we have fallen into, so that the public
doesn't come to know about all of that
which we have engaged in.
So you're asking him ثِيمَا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ عِبَادِكَ
فَلَا تُظْهِرْهُمْ Oh Allah, don't allow them to
see أَعْمَالَنَا الْقَبِيثَةِ أَعْمَالَنَا الْخَبِيثَةِ القَبِيحَةِ All these
evil, ugly sins that I have fallen into,
oh Allah, cover it, conceal it.
وَارْحَمْنَا فِي مَا يَسْتَقْبِلُ Anything that I'm going
to do in the future or that which
I'm going to fall into, oh Allah, give
me the success to protect myself from committing
another sin, right?
This is the answer, my brothers and my
sisters, that many of us may well be
looking for when we have transgressed, when we
have violated.
And all of us are sinners, my brothers
and my sisters.
Don't think anyone that stands here is flawless.
We are all human beings, as the Messenger
of Allah ﷺ told us.
And we're bound to fall short.
We're bound to make mistakes, fall into errors,
and do that which is displeasing to Allah
ﷻ.
But that which makes you distinct from the
rest of the sinners is that you return
back to Allah ﷻ, right?
Perhaps it may well be the reason why
Allah ﷻ saves us, right?
And saves those who are advising us who
are there, concerned of our best interest.
I ask Allah ﷻ to benefit us from
what we had.
Jazakumullah Khayran.
Honestly, to see an arena so full, right?
In the holiday period, while you could have
been doing all sorts of things, right?
Especially in these days.
But you chose to sit here to better
your understanding of Allah ﷻ.
Jazakumullah Khayran.
May Allah ﷻ bless you.
May Allah ﷻ bless you.
May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah
be upon you.