Ali Albarghouthi – Expecting & Receiving the Best From Allah – delivered at another masjid
AI: Summary ©
The heart and tongue are essential for worshiping one's creator, and physical acts and thoughts can affect one's behavior. It is important to not abandon promises and not give up until they reach the best time to achieve their goals. Faith and connection to one's creator are also key. It is crucial to not denying oneself and not giving up until they reach the best time to achieve their goals. It is also important to plant seeds for one's health and love their Prophet.
AI: Summary ©
Inna alhamdulillahi nahmaduhu wa nasta'inuhu wa nastaghfiruhu
wa na'udhu billahi min shururi anfusina wa
sayyi'ati a'malina may yahdihi allahu fala mudhilla
lah wa may yudhlil fala hadiya lah wa
ashhadu alla ilaha illa allahu wahdahu la sharika
lah wa anna muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh sallallahu
alayhi wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam
amma ba'du fa inna khayral hadith kitabullahi ta
'ala wa khayral hadi hadi muhammadin sallallahu alayhi
wa sallam wa sharral umur muhdathatuha wa kulla
muhdathatin bid'ah wa kulla bid'atin dhalalah
wa kulla dhalalatin finnar amma ba'd when we
think of worship we often think of it,
of ibadah as physical acts as things that
we say and things that we do neglecting
the fact that our heart has its own
ibadah ibadatul qalb our heart has its own
ibadah and this ibadah is the essence of
the ibadah of the body and the ibadah
of the tongue meaning as you worship Allah
azzawajal physically through things that you do things
that you say and you emphasize this you
better emphasize equally or even more how your
heart is worshiping your creator and that is
the difference between those who believe and those
who disbelieve and today I want to focus
on a particular worship ibadah of the heart
and that is husnul zanni billah thinking the
best about Allah believing the best about Him
and expecting the best from Him Rasulullah a
.s. said that Allah azzawajal said ana inda
zanni abdi bi he said I will be
to my servant as he expects of me
as he believes about me I shall be
that to him and this is the essential
difference between those who have faith and those
who are faithless if you go to the
Quran you'll find that Allah azzawajal ascribes bad
beliefs, bad thoughts, bad expectations to those who
lack faith so for instance Allah azzawajal said
wa ma khalaqna assamaa wal arda wa ma
baynahuma baatila thalika zannu allatheena kafaru he says
we did not create the heavens and the
earth and what is between them aimlessly meaning
for nothing for no purpose for no end
he says that is the belief of those
who disbelieve that is the thoughts of those
who disbelieve that is because they think this
way that they end up disbelieving in the
creator or disregarding the creator because if they
believe this is for nothing then they can
do whatever they want and Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala on the tongue of Ibrahim a
.s when he was speaking to his father
and to his people idh qala li abihi
wa qawmihi maada ta'buduna aifkan alihatan doona
Allahi turiduna fama zannukum bi rabbil alameen when
he spoke to his people and his father
and he's asking them what is it that
you are worship are you inventing lies to
worship instead of Allah complete fabrications then he
said then what do you think about Allah
what is it that you thought about Allah
that pushed you to worship somebody else because
when you commit shirk when you associate partners
with your creator you only do this because
you think less of him you think that
he's not going to help you he's not
sufficient for you doesn't listen will not come
to your aid so you worship somebody else
beside him because you think less of him
but if you thought the best about him
you will know that you don't need anyone
else but the one who created you and
he also means by that fama zannukum bi
rabbil alameen what do you think Allah will
do to you when you meet him having
committed this crime forgot about him and worshiped
somebody else fama zannukum bi rabbil alameen so
those who have faith should believe the best
about the one who created them expect the
best from him and that begins when they
worship him so in the hadith that I
just quoted ana inda zanni abdi bi I
will be to my servant as he expects
from me the prophet a.s. continues that
Allah said wa ana ma'ahu itha dhakarani
fa in dhakarani fee nafsihi dhakartuhu fee nafsi
wa in dhakarani fee malain dhakartuhu fee malain
khairin minhum wa in takarraba ilayya shibran takarrabtu
ilayhi dhiraan wa in atani yamshi ataytuhu harwala
he said that Allah a.s. said I
am with him when he remembers me so
if he remembers me in himself if he
mentions me in himself I'll mention him in
myself if he mentions me, remembers me in
a gathering I'll mention him in a gathering
better than that gathering and if he comes
to me the distance of a span I'll
come to him the distance of an arm
and if he walks to me I'll run
to him so subhanallah this is the ibadah
that everybody should feel fortunate when they commit
when they do just simply think about this
Allah a.s. is saying just remember me
and you are assured that Allah is remembering
you at that moment by name, he knows
you if you worship Allah s.w.t
you should feel blessed honored, joyful, happy because
you've been selected if I come close to
Allah that is a great sign when you
come to the masjid raise your hands in
dua open a page of the Quran and
you read it when you help people all
of these are signs and indication that Allah
a.s. at that moment is favoring you
is blessing you and you should feel the
joy and contentment and happiness of ibadah subhanallah
now I've mentioned Allah and Allah mentions me
now I've mentioned Allah a.s. in a
group and Allah a.s. will mention me
among the angels and Allah is simply waiting
for you to take one step for him
to take two steps towards you shouldn't you
then expect the best from Allah and believe
the best about him and run to him
because he is always better to you than
you've ever been to yourself so when you
worship Allah expect the best and believe the
best about him and connected to it is
when you make dua when you ask Allah
a.s. Rasulullah a.s. said ادعوا الله
وأنتم موقنون بالإجابة make dua ask Allah while
you are certain that you will be answered
certain there is no doubt why?
because you are asking the all hearing the
all knowledgeable the all powerful the most generous
why would he deny you?
why would he not give you?
why would he not answer your dua?
and he is waiting for you to make
dua this is as Rasulullah a.s. said
dua is ibadah it's the essence of ibadah
and he is waiting for you to turn
to him so that he can give you
and Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه
said أما إني لا أحمل هم الإجابة ولكن
أحمل هم الدعاء he says I don't worry
about being answered when I ask Allah I
worry about asking Allah because if you think
about it why is it that we are
not given?
it's not because we ask Allah and He
doesn't give us it's because we don't ask
consider how little dua we make right?
we deny ourselves by what?
by not making dua so Umar is saying
I'm not worried about Allah answering me when
I make dua why?
because Allah promised it وقال ربكم ادعوني أستجب
أستجب لكم Allah promised it and He said
make dua ask me and I shall answer
you so there is a promise in the
Qur'an الله لا يخلف وعده Allah does
not abandon go back on his promises so
if you believe the best about Allah عز
وجل when you are making dua you are
certain that Allah is listening that Allah cares
and Allah answers and this is important that
Allah will give you what is best for
you at the best time some of us
give up or start having doubts because hey
I've been asking Allah for so many weeks,
months, even years it hasn't happened yet forgetting
the fact that Allah عز وجل will give
you what is best for you not necessarily
what you're asking for at that moment the
thing that we ask for could be our
detriment could be our ruin we may not
be ready for it we may get it
if we get it and kill ourselves because
of it so Allah عز وجل will say
I'll give you but not now when you're
ready I'll give you but something better than
what you asked for I'll give you by
protecting you from a greater evil than what
you asked for so a person who's raising
his hand asking Allah عز وجل does not
come back to say if Allah does not
give me this then Allah is not listening
but expects the best from Allah that Allah
definitely will answer this dua in a way
that Allah chooses in a way that fits
my need and that is believing the best
about Allah عز وجل not putting what you
want from the dunya above Allah and His
wisdom and His power so when you make
dua you expect the best from Him سبحانه
وتعالى and that it is definitely coming you
just don't stop making dua and connected to
this is tawbah, repentance coming back to Allah
سبحانه وتعالى because in the hadith in other
narrations when he said I will be to
my servant as he expects of me قَالَ
وَلِلْعُلَّهُ أَفْرَحُ بِتَوْبَةِ أَحَدِكُمْ مِنْ رَجُلٍ وَجَدَ ضَلَّتَهُ
بِفَلَاهِ and he said Allah is happier with
your repentance than someone who had lost an
animal in the wilderness and then found it
meaning expect the best from Allah when it
comes to tawbah you know how happy Allah
is when you say Astaghfirullah you will not
comprehend how happy Allah is but the simple
thing that you can do is consider the
happiest moment in your life think about it
and Allah is happier than that when what?
when you say this is wrong Astaghfirullah, I'm
coming back to Allah I wanna be a
better person Allah is happier then than the
happiest moment that you experienced and this is
how much Allah Azzawajal loves you and loves
you as his creation he wants them all
to come back to him and Allah Azzawajal
said it and the Prophet A.S. said
it يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا
تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ
جَمِيعًا Those O you my servants who have
transgressed against themselves never despair of Allah's mercy
for Allah forgives all sin all of it
you can never say I'm too far gone,
I'm too tainted I'm too weak I cannot
do this you always have a path back
to Allah Azzawajal and the Prophet A.S.
said that Allah Azzawajal said يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ
إِنَّكَ مَا دَعَوْتَنِي وَرَجَوْتَنِي غَفَرْتُ لَكَ عَلَىٰ مَا
كَانَ مِنْكَ وَلَا أُبَالِي يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ وَلَوْ
جِئْتَنِي بِقِرَابِ الْأَرْضِ خَطَايَةً ثُمَ جِئْتَنِي لَا تُشْرِكُ
بِي شَيْءًا لَا أَتَيْتُكَ بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرًا He says
O child of Adam and here Allah is
speaking O child of Adam as long as
you invoke me and ask me for forgiveness
I'll forgive you and I don't care about
what you have done even if you come
to me with the earth's fill of sin
and you come to me not associating partners
with me I will come to you with
the earth's fill of forgiveness how bad do
you have to be to come with the
earth's fill of sin yet you come back
to Allah and seek his forgiveness and say
O Allah take me back and Allah said
you are back nothing stops you from coming
back to Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَ and connected to
this is when you experience hardship and hardship
and that's the difficult time when people start
suspecting the creator and his decrees and what
he had commanded and Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَ expressed
this in the Quran إِذْ جَاءُواكُمْ مِن فَوْقِكُمْ
وَمِنْ أَسْفَرَ مِنْكُمْ وَإِذْ زَاغَتِ الْأَبْصَارُ وَبَلَغَتِ الْقُلُوبُ
الْحَنَاجِرَ وَتُظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَ at that time when
he is speaking to the prophet ﷺ and
the believers with him and they say they've
amassed against you from top and bottom and
then some of you their eyesight became wild
out of anxiety and their hearts jumped to
their throats and you started to have various
thoughts and beliefs about Allah some believed but
some started to doubt and that is what
Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَ will call in the Quran
ظَنُّوا الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ the thoughts of the ignorant the
suspicion of the ignorant about Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَ
if something bad happens to you you remember
the ayah of Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَ when he
said وَمَن يَتَّقِي اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقْهُ
مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبْ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ
فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهُ قَدْ جَعَلَ
اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا He says if you
have taqwa if you are righteous Allah عَزَّ
وَجَلَ will give you an exit from any
trouble that you may face any confusion that
you may experience and he will provide you
from where you do not know from where
you do not expect you don't have Allah
will give it to you you're not gonna
know where it's gonna come from and then
essentially here he said وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ
فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ if you rely upon Allah He'll
be enough for you that's a promise the
problem here is not that we've relied on
Allah and He did not come through the
problem is that we did not rely on
Allah we've relied on doctors and economists and
neighbors and family members and money and jobs
and titles and this world that's what we
rely on you trust it soon as something
bad happens who can help me not Allah
but who among people can help me my
money can take care of me my connections
can take care of me my education can
take care of me my savings can take
care of me my job can take care
of me and you don't think about Allah
taking care of me you don't turn to
Allah but you turn to everyone and everything
else so of course Allah is not gonna
be sufficient for such a person because He's
saying effectively practically I don't need you I
have other people to help me but Allah
is saying وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ if you
trust Allah if you rely on Him He
will take care of you إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ
أَمْرِهِ if Allah wants something it will happen
and everything with Allah عز و جل has
an appointed time you're going through difficulty it
ends there's confusion it ends there's helplessness it
ends Allah has power over it Allah also
said أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِكَافِنْ عَبْدَهُ isn't Allah عز
و جل sufficient for His servant He took
care of you in your mother's womb He
took care of you when you did not
know that harm was coming your way and
then when you need Him you turn to
somebody else and He said عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ
لَوْ أَنَّكُمْ تَتَوَكَّلُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ حَقَّ تَوَكُّلِهِ لَرَزَقَكُمْ
كَمَا يَرْزُقُ الطَّيْرُ تَغْضُوا خِمَاصًا وَتَرُوحُوا بِطَانًا it
says if you're only to rely upon Allah
as you as He deserves to be relied
on He will provide for you like the
birds they fly out in the morning hungry
come back in the evening full because if
you just simply believe if you just simply
trust then Allah عز و جل will take
care of you and that is حُسْنُ الظَّنِّ
بِاللَّهِ believing the best about Him what do
you believe about Allah?
what do you expect from Him?
that's the thing that you're gonna find that's
the thing that will be in your life
if it's positive it'll be positive and if
it's negative it'll be what?
negative أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم
فاستغفروه الحمد
لله رب العالمين حمدا كثيرا طيبا مباركا فيه
وأصلي وأسلم على رسوله محمد وعلى آله وصحبه
وسلم أما بعد as we should believe and
expect the best about Allah سبحانه وتعالى when
we worship Him when we make Duaa when
we're facing hardship in His decrees and this
is an important thing if Allah decides something
and it happens and it is not the
thing that you want you must believe that
what Allah had chosen is ultimately better than
your choice you must go along with what
Allah عز وجل unless you have space to
maneuver and what is happening is wrong then
you fight injustice but if it's something that
overwhelms you and there's nothing that you could
do about it you must always believe that
Allah and what He decrees is better than
an individual's choice or what humanity thinks because
Allah is above all in addition to that
we have to believe the best about Him
سبحانه وتعالى in His revelation in His commands
after the treaty of Al-Hudaibiyah as soon
as it was inked Umar رضي الله عنه
comes to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
protesting some of these conditions why are we
giving in to them and we're upon the
truth and they are not and Rasulullah صلى
الله عليه وسلم said أما إني رسول الله
ولن أخالف أمره وليّ ضيعني he says I
am the messenger of Allah and I will
not oppose His command and He will not
lead me to ruin I am the messenger
of Allah and I will not oppose His
command and by following His command I know
He will not abandon me He will not
neglect me and that will not lead me
to my ruin so today when you look
at the Quran when you look at the
Sunnah you must believe that when you follow
them that Allah عز وجل will always be
beside you and Allah عز وجل will not
lead you to your ruin if you follow
the Quran and the Sunnah because you understand
and you must believe that the book of
Allah is better than any other book and
that the guidance that is in it is
better than any other guidance and that the
guidance of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is
better than any other guidance so when you're
about to choose for yourself how to live,
what to say, what to do job, marriage,
travel, lodging, residence anything and Allah عز وجل
says something and you feel like something else
you would not believe the best about Allah
if you think that your choice is better
than what Allah has chosen if you believe
that haram can give you happiness and success
and comfort you did not believe the best
about Allah عز وجل if you believe that
halal that Allah's commands are so hard that
they are beyond your ability you did not
believe the best about Allah عز وجل if
you believe that there is any other path
that is better and superior to the path
of Islam you did not really believe the
best about Allah سبحانه وتعالى or do you?
to believe the best about Allah عز وجل
is to believe about Him the best in
His commands and in His decrees and in
what He likes and in what He hates
سبحانه وتعالى we do not believe the best
about Allah عز وجل when we reject His
decrees when we protest a sickness or a
demotion or a loss in this world and
we feel that we do not deserve it
and Allah was unjust to us we do
not believe the best about Allah سبحانه وتعالى
we do not believe the best about Allah
when we don't believe in His promises Allah
عز وجل says كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَأَغْلِبَنَّا أَنَا وَرُسُلِي
Allah had decreed, had written down that I
and my messengers will be triumphant Allah عز
وجل had said وَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
it is incumbent upon us to champion the
believers you do not believe the best about
Allah عز وجل if you believe that Allah
will abandon the believers if you believe that
Allah will not come to their aid if
you believe that when they ask Allah Allah
will not champion them if you believe that
the unjust the criminals, the aggressors will continue
to have the upper hand and their crimes
will go unpunished you do not believe the
best about Allah عز وجل when you don't
believe in His promises so when you read
the book of Allah you have to read
it as an absolute prediction of what is
going to happen you have to read it
as the best blueprint for your life and
the life of your children and your family
and when you return to Allah عز وجل
when you pray, when you engage in ibadah
you have to believe the best about Him
سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى that He is listening, that He
is happy that you are there that He
is rewarding you, that He is forgiving you
that He wants more of you and the
more that you give Allah, the more that
you rely on Him the more that Allah
عز وجل will suffice you and you just
simply say to yourself I will read, because
this is how you can learn it one
lecture, one khutbah is not going to be
enough to instill this in our hearts it
says, how do I learn this?
it says, read how Allah عز وجل treated
His prophets how He saved them read how
He saved Muhammad عليه الصلاة والسلام repeatedly, one
time after the other read how He answered
his dua read how He trusted him and
how Allah repaid that trust read how Allah
عز وجل protected the sahaba in Mecca and
in Medina and after read how Allah عز
وجل comes to the aid of the righteous
and then you will begin to understand that
this is how I can be and I
can live differently and I can live a
better life a life that is connected to
Him سبحانه وتعالى so now is the time
for all of us to inspect and interrogate
and question our hearts what is it that
you believe about Allah عز وجل?
what place does He have in your heart?
when you're in need, whom do you turn
to?
and when you turn to Allah, do you
fully trust Him?
can you believe that He alone can take
care of you and that you don't need
anybody else?
no one around you has power except Allah
عز وجل Allah can bring people to your
aid but no single person around you has
power they cannot harm themselves and they cannot
benefit themselves and He said عليه الصلاة والسلام
know that if all people unite to benefit
you they will not be able to do
so except if Allah allows it and if
all people unite against you to harm you
they will not be able to do so
unless Allah allows it so tell me what
power do people have for you to try
to lean on them and seek from them
and trust them all power is with Allah
عز وجل and Allah عز وجل is not
only powerful but powerful and merciful powerful and
generous powerful and loving الودود so we ask
Allah عز وجل أرحم الراحمين رب العالمين to
make us of those who believe the best
about Him and think the best of Him
and expect the best from Him سبحانه وتعالى
we ask Him رب العالمين to increase our
Iman Ya Allah plant in our hearts your
love and love of your Prophet عليه الصلاة
والسلام while the love of for the believers
and concerns for them we ask you رب
العالمين to protect us from all harm in
this world and in the next we ask
you that you protect us from the sins
that we have committed from the weakness that
is within us from the temptations of Shaytan
we ask you رب العالمين to guide us
to the truth and help us see it
and to follow it and to love it
and protect us from evil and misguidance help
us see it and avoid it and dislike
it Ya Rabbal Alameen we ask you رب
العالمين to bring quick relief to the people
of Gaza and to the people of Ahl
al-Sham and Sudan Ya Rabbal Alameen Ya
Allah protect them and come to their aid
and defend them Ya Rabbal Alameen اللهم آتنا
في الدنيا حسنة وفي الآخرة حسنة وقناعة هذا
أبا النار اللهم يا مقلب الخلوب ثبت خلوبنا
على دينك اللهم يا مصرف الخلوب صرف خلوبنا
على طاعتك اللهم ارزقنا حبك وحب من يحبك
وحب عمل يقرب إلى حبك اللهم رب العالمين
أرسل بركاتك ورحماتك على أهل غزة رب العالمين
وعلى أهل الشام رب العالمين وعلى أهل السودان
رب العالمين وعلى سائر بلاد المسلمين اللهم ادفع
عنهم رب العالمين اللهم
رد من مكرهم إلى نحورهم رب العالمين اللهم
إنا نجعلك في نحورهم ونعوذ بك من شرورهم
فإنهم لا يعجزونك يا حي يا قيوم برحمتك
نستغيف أصلح لنا شأننا كله ولا تكلنا إلى
أنفسنا طرفة عين