Ammar Alshukry – BE GODLY – Main Session at MAS ICNA 2024
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the concept of being godly and the importance of praying, fasting, charity, and being kind to parents. They also touch on the definition of taqwa, including the concept of being content with little, preparing for death, and being a person who is cautious with their actions. The importance of personal growth and personal development is emphasized, along with the need for practical advice and guidance to achieve success in life. The speakers also touch on topics related to Islam, including learning about Allah's sub hungry for pleasure, practicing, following a bad luck, finding a way to avoid sin, and following a mutaq Public Health Driven.
AI: Summary ©
Many times when we talk about this concept
of being godly, we look at the things
that we should do.
So praying is godly, and fasting is godly,
and charity is godly, and being kind to
your mom is godly.
But I have a question for you.
Do the wicked pray?
Yes.
Do the wicked fast or can they fast?
Yes.
Can the wicked be good to their parents?
Yes.
In fact, you'll find monsters who are good
to their mom.
Can the wicked donate charity?
Yes, you'll find monsters who have foundations that
they run, where they take care of the
poor and they take care of orphans.
And so then the question becomes, how does
a person truly be godly if acts of
worship by themselves are shared by the righteous
and the wicked?
Sahih Ibn Abdullah al-Tusturi, he says, a
beautiful and profound statement.
He says, أعمال البر يعملها الضر والفاجر Good
deeds are done by the righteous and by
the wicked.
ولا يصبر عن المعاصي إلا صديق He says,
but the only people who refrain from committing
sins are the truthful.
Because sometimes it may feel good to do
something that is righteous.
It feels good to take care of my
mom or my dad.
It feels good to take care of the
poor.
It feels good to volunteer in a soup
kitchen.
That is not the true metric of righteousness.
The true metric of righteousness according to Sahih
Ibn Abdullah al-Tusturi is that a person
refrains from sins.
Because sins feel good too.
But when I suffocate my desires, that doesn't
feel good.
And when I wrestle with my ego, that
doesn't feel good.
But I am only doing it because I
believe in pleasing someone greater than pleasing myself.
And that is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And just like when a person is seeking
to be healthy, it's not enough that it's
just exercise.
Eventually they have to clean up their diet
because you can't outwork a bad diet.
Similarly, when a person wants to be spiritually
healthy, then it's not enough that they just
increase in acts of worship.
They have to dial in on their sins.
They have to close that door so that
they can find...
so that their spirituality can grow.
And so I wanted to share a number
of quick points inshallah ta'ala with regards
to this concept of taqwa.
Number one, what is taqwa?
The sahaba radhiyallahu anhum, they define taqwa in
a number of ways.
Linguistically it comes from iqaya which means to
protect yourself.
Protect yourself from what?
Protect yourself from the punishment of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
The sahaba were asked, and they asked each
other what is taqwa?
And I'll share with you a number of
definitions.
The first one is Ali ibn Abi Talib
radhiyallahu anhum.
He said that taqwa is four things.
Number one, it is al-'amalu bit-tanzeel.
It is to act in accordance with the
revelation.
wal-ridha bil-qaleel And that you be
content with little.
And it is al-istidadu liyawmin raheel And
it is to prepare for the day of
departure.
And it is al-khawfu min al-jaleel.
It is to be afraid of the sublime.
That is what taqwa is.
That you fear Allah.
That you act in accordance to the revelation.
You do what Allah commands.
You avoid what Allah prohibits.
Number three, you're content with little.
And number four, you're preparing for your departure,
your death.
That is what taqwa is.
Ubay ibn Ka'ab is asked by Umar
ibn Khattab.
Ameer ul-mu'mineen, what is taqwa?
Umar asked Ubay, he says, what is taqwa?
And Ubay says, Ameer ul-mu'mineen rather.
He says, have you ever walked by a
path that is filled with thorns?
And Umar says, yes.
And Ubay says to him, well, what did
you do?
You were walking down a thorny road.
He said, I kept my garments close to
me.
I didn't keep my garments loose.
I wrapped it up tight.
shammartu, he says, wajtahat.
And I was careful where I stepped.
I wasn't loose.
I wasn't messy.
And I was careful where I stepped.
He said to him, that is what taqwa
is.
Taqwa is that you're cautious with your words.
Taqwa is you're cautious with your actions.
And taqwa is you fear the consequences of
those actions.
You're careful where you step.
But number three, and this is a beautiful
definition.
And I'll end the definitions with this.
Talqi bin Habib, he says to his students,
he says, إذا وقعت الفتن فردوها بالتقوى.
He says that when trials happen in your
life, then repel it with taqwa.
And they said to him, well, what is
taqwa?
Can you define for us what taqwa is?
This word that we've heard so many times.
He says, it is العمل بمرضات الله.
He says, it is to act in accordance
to what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves.
عَلَى نُورٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ Upon a light from
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Seeking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's reward.
That is what taqwa is.
It is that you do the things that
Allah loves.
Number two, upon a light from Allah.
Meaning, upon the Quran and Sunnah.
I'm not just making this up.
It is upon a light from Allah.
It's based on revelation.
My act, my worship is based on revelation.
And number three, who is my audience?
I'm not seeking the pleasure of the people.
I'm seeking the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
That's what taqwa is.
And he said, it is to avoid what
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala prohibited.
Upon a light from Allah.
Also, upon revelation.
Fearing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's punishment.
And so then, why gain taqwa?
What are the virtues of taqwa?
And I'll share with you three virtues inshallah
ta'ala.
But the Quran is filled with the virtues
of taqwa.
Number one, taqwa is how true nobility is
arrived at.
You know, people naturally, they compete over lots
of things.
And everybody wants to be a step ahead
of the other.
And so I get a better job than
my brother.
I wanna have a nicer car.
I wanna have a nicer house.
I wanna have this.
I wanna have that.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, أَلْهَاكُمُ التَّكَافُرُ
We've been distracted by the desire for more.
That idea of keeping up with the Joneses
or wanting to be better, that is part
of the human condition.
However, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives us
a vehicle through which if a person really
wants to be better than everybody else, this
is the route of competition.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا
وَقَبَائِلًا لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala says, We made you
into nations and tribes that you may know
one another.
That's the reason why.
We made you into nations and tribes that
you may know one another.
You know this idea of being into nations
and tribes.
Imagine if I had to get to know
everybody individually with zero background every single time.
I'd have to start relationships from scratch.
Every single time, that is exhausting.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made us into
nations and tribes so that we can get
to know one another.
And so right now, over this weekend or
over this week, I've been walking around and
you've been meeting people and you ask them,
what city are you from?
And they tell you, I'm from Chicago.
And you say to them, that's horrible.
The pizza here is terrible and this and
that.
That's unfortunate.
The bulls are this, the bulls are that.
Or you tell them, I love Chicago in
the summertime.
Do you know such and such a place?
And they say, yes.
Do you know so and so?
That's my cousin.
Look how quickly you're able to build rapport
with individuals.
That is because we are made into nations
and tribes.
When a person mentions to you a place
you've never heard of, you've got nothing to
say.
You've got no connection to create with that
individual.
And so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says
He made you into nations and tribes so
that you may know one another, that you
may connect with one another.
But He did not make you into nations
and tribes so that you can abuse that
concept by saying, I am better than you
because I'm from this nation and you're from
that tribe.
That's not why I made you.
And so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says
إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ If Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala says the most noble in
the sight of Allah amongst you is not
if you're from this tribe or from that
tribe or from this city or from this
country.
It is the one who has the most
taqwa.
So the first virtue of taqwa that I
want to share with you is that taqwa
is how real nobility is in the sight
of Allah.
That's the real scale.
But number two is that taqwa allows for
you to differentiate between right and wrong.
And when we live in a world that
is filled with misinformation and every second we're
receiving news that we are acting upon or
that we are speaking about and the entire
world is a global village.
I'm receiving information and I'm googling countries to
find out about events that have happened there
of places that I'm not familiar with.
And when you have that much deception that
we are all exposed to and when your
own vision can belie you or when your
own vision can deceive you rather then you
have to rely on something more than your
sight and that is your spiritual insight.
You have to rely on something more than
your basar and that is your basira.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says يَجْعَلْ
لَكُمْ فُرْقَانًا If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
if you have taqwa of Allah Allah will
make for you a furqan.
He will make for you the ability to
distinguish between right and wrong.
I need that spiritual assistance as I'm making
decisions in this world.
And so taqwa is a path to nobility.
Taqwa is a path to be able to
distinguish between right and wrong.
Taqwa is how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
honors.
Taqwa is how you gain access to the
Qur'an and are guided.
There's so much more to be said.
Taqwa is the thing that weighs the heaviest
on the day of judgment on the scales
as the Prophet ﷺ told us.
But then I want to end with How
does a person become of the mutaqim?
You know, I spent years asking sheikh How
do you gain taqwa?
Because I know that taqwa is so important
but I want to know practically How do
I gain taqwa?
How do I do it?
How do I be of the mutaqim?
And so I'm going to share with you
4 or 5 points that are all inshallah
ta'ala practical that we can all go
home with.
I always like to make sure that every
presentation is one that is practical.
You have things that...
We all have things that we can do.
And so the first and always the greatest
is to ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
to make you of the mutaqim.
And so there is a dua a beautiful
dua that we are taught to make every
day and that is اللهم إني أسألك الهدى
والتقى والعفاف والغنى Oh Allah, I ask you
for guidance and I ask you for taqwa
and I ask you for self-sufficiency and
I ask you for chastity.
This is a dua that we should learn
to make we should write it down we
should memorize it and we should say it
اللهم إني أسألك الهدى والتقى والعفاف والغنى Always,
always, always your greatest tool to acquire anything
that you want is to ask Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala for it in dua.
That's number one.
Number two It is to learn about Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala himself that he is
the forgiver of sins and he is قابل
التوب and he is the acceptor of repentance
and he is شديد العقاب ذو الطول and
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the one
who is severe in punishment.
You know Umar ibn Khattab رضي الله عنه
ابن كثير when he mentions that on the
commentary of this verse that Umar ibn Khattab
رضي الله عنه had a person who used
to attend his gatherings he used to see
him around and then this companion he wasn't
a companion but this person he disappeared from
his gatherings for a while and so Umar
رضي الله عنه asked and he said where
has he been and they said this unfortunately
he's reverted back to drinking and he stopped
coming to the masjid he stopped attending gatherings
and so Umar رضي الله عنه he wrote
this man a message he wrote him a
letter and he said I praise Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala to you who is the
forgiver of sins and the acceptor of repentance
and the one who is severe in his
punishment the one who is filled with power
he quoted the verse to him and he
just sent him that letter and he told
them and he said ask Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala his friends that he's with him
he said ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
to unlock his heart and when the man
read the letter he said Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala is telling me that he's forgiving
of my sins and that Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala is the acceptor of repentance and
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is also severe
in punishment and he has power over me
and so the man repented and Umar رضي
الله عنه who told his companions he says
this is what you should do with your
brothers if they should ever fall into a
sin that you advise them and you make
du'a for them but the point here
is to remember that Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala is names and attributes Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala is the forgiver of sins, yes
but let me not be deluded by that
mercy that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is also severe
in punishment so learning more about Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala protects you and makes you
of the mufti number three is studying about
the hereafter learning about the hereafter you know
we become so obsessed with the dunya but
when a person with their mind's eye journeys
into the hereafter you will not find a
page of the Qur'an except that it
is referencing the hereafter in some way even
these chapters that we learn as children what
are they إِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ زِلْزَالَهَا الْقَارِعَةُ مَا
الْقَارِعَةُ الْحَقَّ عَمَّ يَتَسَأَلُونَ عَنِ النَّبَأِ الْعَظِيمِ all
of these chapters talking about the day of
judgment and the more a person reflects on
the day of judgment the more insignificant the
dunya and its temptations seem and I want
to challenge all of us to say do
we only talk about the hereafter when it
is in such a formal type of presentation
it's a sheikh on the minbar in the
masjid or it's a class in a school
somewhere or what have you or do we
talk about the hereafter amongst each other our
friend groups when we're in a car with
somebody informally discussing and reminding each other about
the thing that is the most certain al
-Hasan al-Basri said I never saw anything
that was more certain about which there is
no doubt that people take as if it
is doubtful that there is no certainty except
for death death is that thing that people
are certain about and yet they take it
as if it is something that is uncertain
the more a person remembers death the day
of judgment jannah, now it is the destroyer
of delights as the Prophet ﷺ said so
number three is learning about akhira and remembering
it often and then number four seeking knowledge
in general studying Islam why?
because a person can't have taqwa if they
do not know what they should be wary
of what they should avoid what are the
transactions that Allah ﷻ has forbidden between you
and your fellow man you have to know
what you need to avoid that is also
a way that a person has taqwa is
that you spend that time seeking knowledge and
then the last is to follow a bad
deed with a good deed knowing that it
will erase it the Prophet ﷺ told Mu
'adh ibn Jabal he says أتبع السيئة الحسنة
تمحوها every time you commit a sin every
time you commit a sin that you get
into the habit of following it with a
good deed there was one brother one of
our mashayikh told us that this brother he
made it a point that every time he
looks at something that's haram he checks somebody
out that's attractive he prays two rak'ahs
that's my habit but the idea of I'm
going to follow a sin that I commit
with a good deed I'm going to get
into that habit what is that gonna cause
that's going to cause for me to become
more conscious of the sins that I create
or the sins that I do and I'm
going to work to purify them actively and
every time I do that I will become
more spiritually aware and inshallah ta'ala it
will lead me to becoming of the mutaqeen
so we ask Allah ﷻ to make us
of the mutaqeen and we ask Allah ﷻ
to grant us what He has promised the
mutaqeen