Abu Taymiyyah – New The Trials Of The Prophets – Winter Conference – London

AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the struggles of Islam's "married woman" and the importance of praying for friendships and hardships to avoid becoming angry. They share stories of people experiencing hardships and struggles, and encourage others to pray for their friendships and hardships to avoid becoming angry. The importance of praying for one's friendships and hardships to avoid becoming angry is emphasized, and the church is called the best of two. Prayer and finding one's own family and history is also emphasized, as well as practicing their religion and not going back to their past.
AI: Summary ©
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed
Satan.
Were not My verses recited to you, but
you used to deny them?
They said, Our Lord, our misery has overcome
us, and we have been a people astray.
Our Lord, drive us out of it, for
if we return, we will be wrongdoers.
He said, Settle in it, and speak not.
There was a group of My servants who
said, Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive
us and have mercy on us, and You
are the best of those who show mercy.
Alhamdulillah, Rabbil Alameen.
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Wembley.
You know, my brothers and my sisters, once
upon a time, I dreamt of playing on
Wembley Stadium.
And here we are today, some of you
guys know I had trials for West Ham,
right?
Back in the day.
But Alhamdulillah, now we've replaced all of the
rappers, the singers.
On some of these days, when you could
have been doing something completely different.
We know what many of our friends, many
of our siblings, many people that we know
what they're going to be engaging in, in
this festive period.
But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala picked you
out from thousands of people to be sitting
here, looking to get closer to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
I said this in the last two venues,
and I'm going to say it again, my
brothers and my sisters.
These gatherings, they're not just for practicing people.
The doors are wide open for anyone and
everyone.
It doesn't matter what stage you are at
in your journey to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
No one has the right to make you
feel unworthy sitting here with your brothers and
sisters.
Like I said, it's not just for practicing
people.
No matter where you are at in your
journey to Allah, the door of repentance and
the door of mercy, my brothers and my
sisters, is open.
My brothers and my sisters, in this segment
today, I want to speak a little bit
about the trials, the tribulations.
The hardships and the difficulties that the prophets
went through when dealing with their people.
When things get really, really difficult, it's easy
to feel as if though Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala has forsaken us.
When the weight of the world feels unbearable
and life's trials crush down upon you, despair
will begin to creep in.
But sometimes, a single good thought about Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, a glimmer of hope
in His mercy and His wisdom can be
the turning point.
The reason why your fortunes shift in unimaginable
ways.
To truly hold on to that hope, we
must first know who Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala is.
My brothers and my sisters, would you all
agree that you can't love something that you
don't know?
You can't love something that you don't know.
Many of you all are maybe looking to
get married or already married.
And if you're not looking to get married,
you've got a problem, right?
You are going to pick someone out from
the midst of thousands of choices, both the
brother and the sister.
The more you get to know about that
individual, the more your desire and your love
for that potential spouse increases.
Agreed?
Tomorrow you find out that Bushra prays at
night and you're thinking to yourself, you've hit
the jackpot.
And likewise my sisters, right?
You came to know about this individual, he
prays at night, he fasts in the day,
he's wonderful to his mother.
And you're expecting inshallah ta'ala the same
treatment.
But he's always going to treat his mother
better, remember that.
The point is, you can't love something that
you don't know.
The more you come to know about something,
the more you begin to be inclined towards
them.
Not that I'm comparing Bushra to Allah in
any way, shape or form, my brothers and
my sisters.
But how do we expect our hearts to
become activated?
How do we expect to have that connection
with Allah and we don't know anything about
Him?
The only source of information that we have
of Allah are His names and His attributes.
We don't learn it in order to start
debating online.
No, it is to get him to know
better.
And the more you do, my brothers and
my sisters, the more you'll feel that touch,
that connection, the sweetness and the contentment that
you are so crying out for.
You know when you're in the prayer, one
of the common questions that I get on
Fitnagram is, I don't feel that connection.
Please advise me.
How can I feel that touch with Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala?
My brothers and my sisters, this is what
I want you guys to walk away with.
To understand Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's names.
When Allah azzawajal tells us time and time
again in Surah Yusuf, He is all-knowing
and He is all-wise.
It doesn't make sense to us.
Why is this happening to me?
I so badly want this particular sister, but
it doesn't seem to be happening.
And vice versa, my sister, you try everything
in your power.
You speak to your father, your uncle, and
maybe even the mayor to try and convince
him.
But it doesn't seem to be working.
Years go by.
Years go by, my brothers and my sisters.
And then we say, if that didn't happen,
we wouldn't have this today.
Allah is all-knowing, Allah is all-wise.
It is mentioned a number of times in
Surah Yusuf.
His own blood brothers, my brothers and my
sisters, they get rid of him.
They throw him in the well and then
he is sold into the slave trade.
It doesn't stop there.
The wife of Al-Aziz, of the minister,
she is going crazy over Yusuf a.s.
Absolutely stunned by how handsome he is.
And she has lost it.
Locks him in the room.
And she says, hey Talak, let's get it
on.
Right?
And Yusuf a.s. runs for his life.
Eventually he is thrown into prison.
One trial, hardship after another, and another, and
another.
And you are thinking to yourself, right, why
would Allah a.s. do this to Yusuf?
But like I said, Allah is all-knowing.
He is watching every step that you take.
And every move that you make, fully aware
of every little thing, my brothers and my
sisters, that you are going through.
But, bear in mind, everything happens by Allah
a.s. wisdom.
A lot of the time it don't make
sense to us as to why this is
happening.
When life overwhelms us, it's very, very tempting,
my brothers and my sisters, to turn our
backs on Allah a.s. To let our
pain drive us away from the one who
really understands us better than anyone that walks
on the face of this earth.
We've all faced moments, we've all faced moments
where the storm seemed endless.
It felt like there was no light at
the end of the tunnel.
Our problems piled up, leaving us broken and
exhausted.
With all that which is going on, my
brothers and my sisters, like I said, it's
so easy to turn your back on Allah
a.s. We've all been there, my brothers
and my sisters.
Don't think you are the only one that
is going through these troubles, these hardships, these
trials and these tribulations.
So, my brothers and my sisters, Allah a
.s. tells us countless stories in the Qur
'an.
About the prophets, the most beloved to him.
The most severely tested people are the prophets.
And those that are like them, those that
are like them.
The Messenger s.a.w. said, one is
tested in accordance to how much he's holding
on to his religion.
These stories in the Qur'an, my brothers
and my sisters, are not there for entertainment.
They're not there as bedtime rhymes or chimes
and whatever you want to call it.
And then as if, my brothers and my
sisters, these stories are not speaking to us.
They were speaking to the Messenger s.a
.w. Did you know, my brothers and my
sisters, when he went through hardships, when he
went through difficulties, he needed inspiration.
He needed something to get him through.
Yes, that's Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. And
Allah tells us, O Prophet of Allah, we
know exactly what you're going through.
The pains, the anxiety, the distress, we know
what you're going through.
Right?
Allah tells him, keep glorifying him.
Rush into prayer.
And this is what the Messenger s.a
.w. would do.
And I can put my hand up, my
brothers and my sisters, this is something that
really, really helped me.
Right?
In the face of trials and hardships, run
to the prayer.
The feeling that you feel, right?
It is unimaginable.
Right?
You can't put it into words.
Rushing back to Allah, especially when things get
difficult.
As the Messenger s.a.w. told us.
Right?
He goes through hardships, he's rushing to the
prayer.
How do we expect my brothers and my
sisters, right?
To move away or to navigate around all
of these problems.
And we are not even trying.
That one connection that we have between ourselves
and Allah.
That which keeps us breathing.
That which keeps us, my brothers and my
sisters, right?
Being able to function, the oxygen.
Can you function without oxygen?
The salah is no different to that.
It is that connection.
Ask yourself this question, my brothers and my
sisters.
If I'm not praying, what else am I
doing as a Muslim?
What is the only Islamic thing about me?
Is it only my name?
Think about it for a moment.
Throughout the day, what is it that we
do that allows us to identify as Muslims?
May Allah s.w.t. allow us to
stand before Him in humility.
So there are many stories.
There are many examples in the Quran, my
brothers and my sisters.
Of the prophets who went through hardships and
difficulties.
Ibrahim a.s. The Imam of At-Tawheed.
The man, my brothers and my sisters, who
smashed the idols.
Who called to At-Tawheed.
Fulfilled the message in the best way possible.
And even then, he begs Allah.
He begs Allah.
Oh Allah, prevent me and also my offspring
from falling into associating partners with you.
Worshipping idols.
This is a man of such caliber, my
brothers and my sisters.
Despite him having passed all of the tests.
He's begging Allah s.w.t. to keep
him firm.
Where do me and you stand, my brothers
and my sisters?
The trials after trials.
He had to leave his beloved wife.
Hajar a.s. And his son in the
middle of nowhere.
Many of us have been to Mecca, right?
You can see how lit the place is.
He's leaving his wife and his son in
the middle of nowhere.
There were no lights, right?
There were no walls.
It was just the Kaaba there.
In the middle of nowhere.
Inni askantu min dhurriyati biwadin ghayri dhi zar
'a.
Right?
Nothing, my brothers and my sisters.
Allah instructed him, no ifs and no buts.
And he begins to walk away.
Right?
He begins to walk away.
His wife, Hajar, she comes running behind him.
And she says, Allahu amara ka bihaza.
Did Allah a.s.w. instruct you with
that?
He said, yes.
You know what her response was?
If that is the case, Allah will never
forsake us.
Allah will never desert us.
Right?
When you feel like, my brothers and my
sisters, no light at the end of the
tunnel, Allah will never forsake us.
My brothers and my sisters, what did this
lead to?
Her good opinion.
Her good thought of Allah s.w.t.
Right?
Zamzam came out from beneath her.
The people started visiting Mecca.
The Kaaba.
Right?
It's not just her anymore.
Up until this very day, whenever we go
to Safa and Marwa, after having finished doing
the circumambulation around the Kaaba, we remember Hajar.
Right?
When she was running from Safa and Marwa,
she would see the mirage, thinking that it's
water.
But nothing.
She did this seven times.
Can you imagine?
Right?
A mother who's by herself with her child,
running back and forth, back and forth.
Right?
And then the Zamzam springs up from beneath
her.
Right?
All of that, my brothers and my sisters,
because of a good thought of Allah s
.w.t. It didn't stop there.
From the offspring came out who?
Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. In one's darkest
moments, my brothers and my sisters, Yaqub's reliance
on Allah's perfect plan serves as a timeless
reminder.
He endured the pain of not just losing
one son.
Not just one son that he lost, my
brothers and my sisters, but two, both Yusuf
and Binyamin.
Yet he remains steadfast, placing his trust entirely
in Allah.
In the depth of his sorrow, he poured
his grief out to the only one who
really understood him.
Right?
The only one who really understood him.
I only complain my suffering and my sorrow
to Allah s.w.t. We run to
the creation, right?
Maybe the first time they'll be there, you
have a shoulder to cry on.
Second, third, after that, this guy is always
complaining.
Why is she always crying?
This is what he said behind your back.
But my brothers and my sisters, right?
Allah loves for you to run back to
Him.
In fact, He gets angry when you don't
ask Him.
As the Messenger s.a.w. said, Whoever
doesn't ask Allah, Allah becomes angry with him.
Ya'qub s.a.w. is showing us
how we should deal with our adversaries.
How we should deal with our problems and
hardships.
Go in a corner, my brothers and my
sisters, while the people are fast asleep.
Go and beg Allah.
Go and cry out your sorrow to Him.
Your hardships and your difficulties.
Then you also have my brothers and my
sisters, Musa s.a.w. I want every
single one of you, my brothers and my
sisters, to imagine the following scene.
Musa s.a.w. and his people standing
before an endless ocean.
As far as the eye can see, it's
waves stretching, my brothers and my sisters.
And you're thinking to yourself, there's no way
for us to go past this ocean.
Behind him, the sound of Pharaoh's army grows
louder and louder.
The thunderous pounding of hooves, the clashing of
weapons, and the shouts of warriors carried on
in this wind.
Dust rises in the distance, signaling their approach,
drawing closer at every single heartbeat.
The people glance back in terror, their eyes
filled with despair.
An unstoppable force bears down upon them, and
ahead lies an immovable barrier.
They are trapped, sandwiched between a raging sea
and a might of Pharaoh's army.
Where do you go, my brothers and my
sisters?
There is no way out.
Where are the people now of Musa going
to escape to?
It feels impossible, and hope seems like a
distant memory.
They looked at one another.
The companions of Musa, they said, we are
now going to get caught.
Musa Alayhi Salaam, his good thought, his good
opinion of Allah, he turns around and he
says, No!
Allah is with me, and he is the
one that is going to guide me.
And we know the rest of the story.
The sea was split open, and Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala saved Musa and his people.
And the one who drowned was Fir'aun
and his people.
He calls out to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala, saying his shahada, but it was a
little too late.
It was said to him, Now!
Now, oh Fir'aun!
Now!
You were disobedient.
You were someone who engaged in corruption.
He butchered and he massacred.
This is Fir'aun, my brothers and my
sisters.
Right?
Are we going to wait, my brothers and
my sisters, for the last very moments, before
we depart from this world?
And even then there is no guarantee that
we will be able to utter the shahada.
How many people do I know, my brothers
and my sisters?
Allah gave them many, many opportunities, lifelines after
another.
They went to sleep and they never woke
up.
I will and I shall.
I'm going to repent.
Make dua for me, bro.
Yolo, right?
You only live once.
This is what he says to me.
I've got my whole life ahead of me.
He went to sleep and he never woke
up.
When Allah gives us non-stop reminders.
You coming here today, my brothers and my
sisters, is a reminder for all of us
to wake up.
Every single one of us, including the mashayikh
who will be speaking here.
We all have shortcomings.
We all have errors and mistakes.
But you know what makes you distinct from
your fellow human being?
The fact that you respond back to Allah
Azza wa Jal.
The fact that you repent.
وَخَيْرُهُمَا الَّذِي يَبْدَعُ بِالسَّلَامِ The best of the
two is the one, my brothers, وَخَيْرُهُمَا الَّذِي
يَتُوبُ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلٍ The best of
the two is the one who returns back
to Allah Azza wa Jal and repents.
كُلُّ بَنِ آدَمَ خَطًّا وَخَيْرُ الْخَطَّائِينَ الْتَوَّابُونَ They
are the best of those who make these
errors.
They rush back to Allah Azza wa Jal.
They cry their eyes out, right?
They beg Allah Azza wa Jal for their
forgiveness.
So you have Musa A.S. as I
mentioned, my brothers and my sisters.
Despite them having their hearts in their mouths,
my brothers and my sisters, Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala saved them.
Musa A.S. had good thoughts of Allah
Azza wa Jal.
Then you have also Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam.
Despite the endless trials, pain, and relentless battles
he faced from every direction.
Did you know, my brothers and my sisters,
our Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam lost six
out of his seven children.
He lost six out of his seven children
in his lifetime.
The only one that remained was Fatima.
And she passed away six months after he
departed from this world.
Can you imagine?
And then we lose a little bit of
money through Bitcoin, right?
And we want to perhaps like turn the
whole world on top of ourselves.
Just a bit of money, right?
Money comes and goes.
He lost six out of his seven children
in his lifetime.
Can you imagine?
And despite all of that, my brothers and
my sisters, he remained unwavering in his confidence.
Right?
And believed strongly that this religion that he
was preaching and propagating would reach the four
corners of the world.
The Messenger of Allah A.S. said, لَيَبْلُغَنَّ
هَذَا الْأَمَرُ مَا بَلَغَ اللَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ You know
this religion here?
It is going to reach wherever the night
and the day has reached.
He still has this unwavering confidence, right?
This certainty that this religion is going to
reach every single household.
Now imagine my brothers and my sisters, right?
How far the religion is going in the
era of social media.
Wasn't the Messenger of Allah A.S. truthful?
Even if you don't want to listen, it's
going to be in your face.
Allahu Akbar!
Allahu Akbar!
The Messenger of Allah A.S., my brothers
and my sisters, we are also told, when
he went to Ta'if, did you know
my brothers and my sisters, the noble feet
of the Messenger of Allah A.S. started
bleeding because they began to stone him.
He's saying to them, Say, لا إله إلا
الله calling them to Tawheed.
Say, لا إله إلا الله and you'll be
successful.
And they're stoning him, right?
Bullying the Messenger of Allah A.S. Just
so the religion of Islam can reach us,
my brothers and my sisters, on a plate.
They had it hard.
Today we have it easy.
But even then, we take it for granted.
The angel of the mountains comes to the
Messenger of Allah A.S., approaches him and
says, If you wish, we can get these
two mountains and smash it on top of
them.
You know what he said?
You know what he said, my brothers and
my sisters?
Did he say, right, no problem, get rid
of them?
No.
إِنِّي لَأَرْجُوهُ أَن يُخْرِجَ اللَّهُ مِنْ أَصْلَابِهِمْ مَنْ
يَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَلَا يُشْرِكُ بِهِ شَيْيًا
I have hope one day that from their
loins, there will be people who call to
Allah A.S. They accept the message of
Tawheed and they stay away from shirk, associating
partners with Him, right?
And this is exactly what happened, my brothers
and my sisters.
He continued with his good thought.
He never ever thought about having bad thoughts
of Allah SWT.
Also my brothers and my sisters, right, also
my brothers and my sisters, think about your
darkest and most suffocating moment.
The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam again, he
never shifted whatsoever in his unwavering confidence, right,
and his good opinion of Allah.
They are migrating from Mecca to Al-Madinah.
And we all know the famous story of
when him and Abu Bakr radiallahu ta'ala
anhu, hid inside of the cave, right?
And then they were being followed up until
the enemy had ascended the mountain.
You think to yourself, they're about to get
caught.
You know what Abu Bakr radiallahu ta'ala
anhu mentioned?
لَوْ أَنَّ أَحَدَهُمْ نَظَرَ تَحْتَ قَدَمَيْهِ لَأَبْصَرَنَا If
only he just looked down like that.
If one just looked down to his feet,
then he would have seen us.
The Messenger of Allah a.s, he says
to his companion, لا تحزن.
Do not be sad.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
is with us.
Encouraging him to continue with his good faith
in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
My brothers and my sisters, when you are
struck with a problem and you begin to
think that there is no way out, then
remember Prophet Yunus a.s. who was in
three darknesses.
The darkness of the night, the darkness of
the sea, and the darkness of the stomach
of the whale.
When you find that your family is the
biggest obstacle in your growth and your progress
as a Muslim, then remember Ibrahim a.s.
who was driven out of his home by
his own father.
I know we probably have rivers here.
Ibrahim a.s. who was given a very,
very hard time.
لَأَرْجُ مَنَّكَ He threatened his own son that
if you don't stop, then I'm going to
stone you.
But he continued and eventually left.
When your body cries with pain, remember Ayub
a.s. who had more pain than any
of us can imagine.
When you are practicing your religion and those
around you and everybody else thinks that you're
backwards, irrational, disconnected from reality.
You don't make sense.
Or they talk to you as if, you
were just practicing or you only started practicing
right now.
Yesterday, you were smoking.
Yesterday, you weren't wearing hijab.
Yesterday, you were messing around.
And now you want to tell me what
is right and what is wrong.
When somebody makes you feel like that, my
brothers and my sisters, then remember none other,
Nuh a.s. who was instructed by Allah
to build an ark in the middle of
a village and everyone's laughing at him.
And Allah tells us, وَيَصْنَعُ الْفُلْكِ وَكُلَّ مَا
مَرَّ عَلَيْهِ مَلَأٌ مِن قَوْمِهِ سَخِرُوا مِنْهِ As
he's building, people are walking past making a
mockery, ridiculing Nuh a.s. But he continued,
he continued, made them aware that he will
have the last laugh.
فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ مَنْ يَعْتِيهِ عَذَابٌ يُخْذِيهِ Remember that,
my brothers and my sisters, this life is
short, we will have the last laugh as
you continue to hold on to your religion.
When you begin to feel, my brothers and
my sisters, that you've lost everything, or that
you're bankrupt, or you're struggling financially, then remember
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ who would enter into his
house and he would say to his wife,
هل عندكم شيء؟
Is there anything that I can eat?
The response would be, لا, we don't have
anything.
If that's the case, you know what?
I'm gonna fast.
Have any of us, my brothers and my
sisters, ever entered into our homes, into our
kitchens, opened the fridge and we saw it
completely empty?
The Messenger ﷺ, barely had anything, my brothers
and my sisters.
When you feel betrayed, stabbed in the back,
your own blood brothers, or sisters, or family
members are giving you a hard time, then
remember Yusuf ﷺ.
They tried to kill him but he did
not die.
They sold him into the slave trade, yet
in the end he became a king.
When you think of the massacre that is
taking place in Palestine, then remember my brothers
and my sisters what Firaun done.
He killed thousands of children so that Musa
ﷺ would not arrive.
And in the end, not only did he
arrive, but he was raised in the house
of the one who sought to kill him.
Remember, the will of Allah ﷻ is above
the will of all.
وَاللَّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَى أَمْرِهِ And Allah ﷻ has
full power and control over his affairs.
But most people don't know.
وَاللَّهِ وَبِاللَّهِ وَتَلَّهِ Victory in the end, my
brothers and my sisters, will be for the
Muslims.
As I was preparing this lecture, my brothers
and my sisters, I was looking for something
that I could perhaps inspire the attendees.
A lot of the time when people come
to us with their problems, we tell them
be patient.
We give them examples of the Prophets.
And sometimes we feel, this is maybe out
of touch with my reality.
As I was writing my brothers and my
sisters, the Syrian thing happened.
And I thought to myself, it may have
reached a breaking point with our brothers and
sisters in Palestine.
And now they are seeing the freedom that
the Syrians are enjoying.
Perhaps this is a way now to make
them feel better, to give them hope, to
make them aware that there is light at
the end of the tunnel.
My brothers and my sisters, Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala is aware of everything that takes
place.
To conclude, I want to remind every single
one of us that once upon a time,
we used to make dua to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala about something that we so
desperately wanted.
And it is today that we are enjoying
all those duas that we used to make.
Don't ever forget that.
With a dua, no matter what your situation
is, you feel like that it's all doom
and gloom.
And that there is no hope for you
now to become a better person.
Right?
Then remember, you are one dua away.
Asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the
last third of the night, when my brothers
and my sisters, the people are fast asleep.
This is the time when Allah comes down
in a manner that suits His Majesty.
And He says, whoever from amongst you wants
something, right?
Then let him ask me.
Everyone's got a background here.
Everyone has a past.
Everyone has a history.
We were all like that once upon a
time.
But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, He showers
His blessings upon those who so desperately want
change.
Make that intention that I'm not going to
go back to where I came from the
same way I entered into this building.
I am not going to leave the same
way I came into this building.
The rahma of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
is so vast.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us
from amongst those who become His beloved close
servants of His.