Ammar Alshukry – Do Good, Do Not Wait
AI: Summary ©
The worship of Islam is essential and everyone should take advantage of every moment to reach it. The importance of good deeds and investing in relationships with Allah is emphasized. The use of the word "sallama" is used to describe the worship, and avoiding sin and delaying good deeds is emphasized. The church is not providing a way to live life, and fasting is key to achieving prosperity.
AI: Summary ©
All praise is due to Allah. We seek
his guidance and his forgiveness.
We seek refuge in Allah from the evil
of ourselves and the whispering of our desires.
Whom Allah guides, no one can misguide, and
whom he allows to be misled, no one
can guide. And I bear witness that there
is nothing worthy of worship except Allah alone
having no partners, and that Muhammad
is his slave and his messenger and his
perfect worshiper.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran,
oh you who believe,
fear Allah as he deserves to be feared
and do not die except in a state
of Islam.
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, oh, mankind.
Fear your Lord who created you from a
single soul and produced from that soul. It's
mate and made from their combination many men
and women. So fear your lord whom you
ask each other by and by the ties
of kinship. Verily Allah is ever watchful over
you. And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, oh,
you who believe,
fear Allah and say that which is correct.
He will correct for you your deeds and
forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah
and his messenger then they are indeed victorious.
To
proceed,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
Allah says, raise to the forgiveness of your
Lord.
Raise to the forgiveness to your Lord of
your Lord and a paradise
that is equal to the expansiveness of the
heavens and the earth
that has been prepared for the people of
Taqwa.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes a certain
speed setting here,
and that speed setting is to race.
And interestingly enough the Ulema mentioned a number
of speed settings
that they understood from the Quran.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, for example,
when it comes to the speed through which
a person is to seek the dunya,
Allah subhanahu
wa
ta'ala says That Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is
the one who made for you this earth
subservient.
So He says so walk
in its pathways
and eat from his provision.
And so when it comes to the seeking
of the dunya, the speed setting is that
of walking.
And when it comes to the Zikr of
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, Allah says
And so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that
on the day of Friday when the call
is made for the salah, then hasten to
the remembrance of Allah. And so it's a
higher speed setting when it comes to the
remembrance of Allah that you pick up the
pace and that you hasten.
And then when it comes to Jannah,
in the verse that I started with Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
and also otherwise
raise one another towards paradise.
And then when it comes to Himself
Allah Subhanu wa Ta'ala says, Fulfirru
ill Allah,
flee towards Allah.
That you flee towards Allah and
when you flee like you're fleeing from something
dangerous,
and there's no gas left in the tank.
You are your your fight or flight response
is taking over, and you are going at
speeds that otherwise you would not be able
to go in security and safety.
In any case, I wanted to speak briefly
in this kutba about an energy
that we are taught to have when it
comes to the worship of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
And that is to take advantage of every
moment, to take advantage of every day. Rasulullah
salallahu alaihi wa sallam says, in the hadith
that's reported by Muslim the hadith of Abu
Hurayrah, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says,
He says, hasten to do good deeds
before fitna, trials touch down that will be
like the portions of a dark night.
He says,
He says a person will wake up a
believer,
and they will go to sleep a disbeliever.
And they will go to sleep a believer,
and they will wake up a disbeliever.
They will sell their religion for a portion,
a presentation of this world, something to be
presented to them of this world. And so
the prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam says hasten to
do good deeds. Do good deeds now while
you can. Before fitna touches down, that will
be dark. It will be confusing
like a dark night in which a person
will wake up a believer and that night
they won't check out before they go to
sleep a disbeliever.
They go to sleep a believer, and they
wake up a disbeliever. They sell their religion
for a portion of this world, and that
selling of their religion for a portion of
this world can be for many reasons. It
could be through doubts,
it could be through shahuat,
desires, it could be out of fear, protection,
security,
it could be for many reasons and the
prophet says,
do good deeds while you can.
Do good deeds while you're safe.
Do good deeds while you're healthy.
Do good deeds while you're secure.
Invest in a relationship with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala while everything is good. In another hadith,
the famous hadith of ibn Abbas that's reported
by Atirmidi, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, he says,
He says preserve the commandments of Allah and
Allah will preserve you. Preserve the commandments of
Allah and you will find Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala with you. And another variation he says,
Know
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala during the good times
and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will know you
in the bad times, in the difficult times.
Know Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when life is
going good, invest in a relationship with Allah
when life is going good, so that when
your world is flipped upside down, and everybody
in their life will have moments where they're
flipped upside down because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
promises that of every individual. He
says, Allah says, Do people think that they
will be left alone saying we believe and
they won't be tested?
Everybody is going to be tested. But when
those tests come,
there are going to be those who have
a relationship with Allah from before, and so
they are protected and they are preserved,
and there are those who won't have that
relationship, and so they have no protection,
and they're not preserved. Rasool Allah sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam tells us to invest in that
relationship now Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam to take advantage
of today, tomorrow is not promised. And you
see how the prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam
took advantage of every moment. There's an amazing
hadith, Uqbam al Harith, reported by al Bukhari
he says,
that I prayed 'asur with Rasulullah
He says,
He says,
He says that Rasulullah salallahu alaihi wa sallam
made the salam after I prayed asr with
him, he made the salam, and then he
got up quickly,
And he was literally jumping over people's shoulders.
People are still sitting down. The prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam is jumping over people's shoulders
until he goes into one of his houses.
And then he says,
He says,
So the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, the
people were startled by how quickly he had
gotten up. What's going on? Is there an
emergency? And so the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam goes into the house of one of
his wives and then he comes back out
and he sees everybody's faces are still startled.
And so he says,
The
Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, There were
some there were some gold that I had,
gold of sadaqah
that I had in my house. I just
remembered it. And so I hate it in
another narration it says,
I hate it for it to spend the
night. It's It's Asur time, Halas, it's about
to be Maghrib and the day is gonna
be over. So the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam immediately went into his house and he
commanded for it to be distributed. He hated
that sadaqah that be in his position that
it spend an extra night without being distributed.
The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is showing us
first hand the urgency of doing good deeds
when you can take advantage of it.
That if somebody gives you money for sadaqah
and says, can you please give this out
to people over here, over there? You don't
keep it in your bank account for a
week when you can distribute it today. Take
advantage of it today. Is there sadaqa that
you can distribute today?
Is there a debt that you owe to
somebody
that you haven't paid back, and it's in
your account, but you just haven't gotten around
to writing the check, you just haven't gotten
around? Rasulullah salallahu alaihi wa sallam says He
says that the the delay in repayment
of someone who has the funds is oppression.
You're oppressing that person by not paying them
back if you have the funds to do
it. Rasulullah
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says that is oppression.
Is there somebody that you should be paying?
Someone whose services you use, and you just
haven't gotten around to paying them.
The urgency of doing good deeds, the Prophet
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is showing us Himself,
taking advantage of every moment. In another hadith,
Aisha radiAllahi mentions that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam had commanded the distribution of sadaqah. It
was like 6 gold coins, it was something
you would consider to be very insignificant.
And the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam was
being taken care of by Aisha,
and he would faint salallahu alaihi wa sallam.
And then he would come back and he
would command her to distribute the sadaqah.
And then he would faint against sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam. And anyway, she went through the
process of carrying him until he became better.
And then he asked her, did you distribute
the salaqa? And she said, no. Oh messenger
of Allah, I was so engaged in taking
care of you that I forgot about it.
And so the promise of the light is
salam commanded for the sadaqa to be brought
to him, and he held the gold coins
in his hand, and he said,
He said, What does Muhammad sadaalaihi wa sadaam
think his Lord is going to do with
him? If he meets Allah with this charity
in his hand,
and he hasn't distributed it. What does Muhammad
Rasool Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
The urgency that he's showcasing to us,
and realizing that good expectation in Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala is not that a person be
lackadaisical with the commands,
but that good expectation in Allah is that
you seek his reward by striving sincerely to
Him.
Abu Hurair
actually Jabin Abdila
hadith that's reported by Bukhari and Muslim, Showcasing
the urgency that not just the prophet shalallahu
alaihi wa sallam had, but the Sahaba radiAllahu
had with good deeds. An amazing hadith
Jabin Abu Abdullahi says
that on the day of Uhud,
a man said to Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam,
Said, If I'm killed, where am I gonna
be? What's gonna happen to me, Rasulullah?
The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, Fijjannah.
So Jabir says,
He said that he had some dates in
his hand, this man, he had some dates
in his hand. And when the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam said Jannah,
the man threw the dates that were in
his hands, and he immediately proceeded to the
battlefield until he was killed. He didn't even
wait
to eat the dates that he had in
his hand. He didn't even pass them to
anybody else. Immediately he cast them.
Race towards Jannah.
Race towards Jannah that is equal to the
expansiveness of the dunya and the akhirah.
Is there a salah
that you can pray today? Is there a
Quran that you can read? Don't delay it.
Surat Al Kahf, how many how many times
in our lives have we heard about reading
Surat Al Kahf on a Friday?
Read it today.
Is there salaam upon the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam that it's Jum'at time, you still
haven't sent? Take advantage of it. Take advantage
of this life that you had. You know
one time the Prophet shalallahu alaihi wa sallam
was walking by a grave,
and he looked at his companions,
and he said, 2 rakas
that any one of you can pray.
Not thinking anything of it
is more beloved to this person than your
entire dunya.
2 rakahs right now, you're alive.
If you pray 2 raka'ahs, you would not
think it's a big deal.
But yet for the people who are in
the graves that is more beloved to them,
than the world and everything in it.
Allah Subhanu Wa Ta'ala has gifted us a
beautiful day, and that is today. Rasoolullah Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam says in hadith it's reported by
Atirmidi, the hadith of San the hadith of
Sanman.
He says
He says, Whoever of you wakes up
healthy in their body,
safe in their dwelling, with enough sustenance for
today, then it's as if the entire world
is rolled out for them.
Number 1. The first blessing in this hadith
is that you woke up. There are billions
of people who would trade places with you
right now,
the fact that you're alive.
And then healthy in your body,
safe in your dwelling.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala when he describes the
blessings of Quraysh, he says,
The one who gave them security from their
fear.
And you have enough for today, it's as
if you have the entire world rolled out
for you.
And then finally,
Rasoolullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
in a profound hadith,
he says,
He says, hasten to do actions before 7
things.
He says, hasten to do good deeds before
7 things happen. These are 7 things that
hover around every single one of us.
At any point in time, we are susceptible
to them. Number 1 he says, are you
simply waiting
for faqranunziya?
Poverty
that will make you forget.
People will do all sorts of things
when they're poor.
Rasool Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says, invest
in in doing good deeds when you have
sustenance,
when you're protected, when you're
when you have sustenance, you're able to worship
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala comfortably.
But when people are poor, they do all
sorts of things that they otherwise would not
do.
Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa sallam in the hadith
that's reported by Tirmidid, the hadith of ibn
Umar. He says,
I heard this hadith from the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam not once, not twice, not
3 times, more than that.
What's this hadith?
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam tells the story of
a man from Bani Israel called Al Kifl.
And this man, Al Kifl, the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam said he did not stay away
from committing any sin.
Every sin was up for grabs for this
guy. He did everything.
And so on one occasion there was a
woman
who was in need, and
she came and she approached him,
and she needed to borrow money. But this
guy is a wicked guy, and so he's
not gonna give her money from the goodness
of his heart. He rather
agrees on the condition that she gives him
access to
her.
And so the prophet said
that when Al Kiv was in position of
a man with his wife, the woman cried.
And Al Kiv said to her, what's the
matter? Am I forcing you? She said, no.
This was our agreement, but she said I
never did this before.
What what caused her to be in that
position? Poverty.
And Al Kifil he got up and he
left the money with her, and he said,
I'm never going to commit sin against Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. He did a general repentance,
I'm never going to sin against Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala ever again, and he died that
night. Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, and on
the next day it was written on his
door
Allah has forgiven Al kifl. But the point
here is not Al kifl, the point is
the woman what caused her to be in
that predicament, it was poverty. Rasoolullah Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam used to speak forgiveness from Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala from poverty that would make a
person forget their obligations and the rules that
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has placed.
Or he says, Or
are you are you waiting for
wealth that will make you arrogant and transgressive?
There is a level of wealth that everybody
has that may cause them to be transgressive.
That limit is different for different people.
But wealth can be corruptive.
And the prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam used
to seek refuge in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
from wealth that is corruptive. Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala says that a person becomes transgressive when
they think that they're independent, and few things
make a person feel more independent than wealth.
And then Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says,
or
illness
that will corrupt you. Illness that will corrupt
you. It corrupts your body, it corrupts your
limbs. You're not able to worship at the
level that you were able to before. You're
not able to act. You're not able to
carry yourself.
You're not able to do the things that
you were able to do before.
Or he says, Oh Haraman
or He says, or old age
that will make a person
not have their their their consciousness.
Or he says,
or
sudden death.
What are you delaying good deeds for?
Are you safe from sudden death?
How many people go to sleep
and they don't wake up?
How many young people do we hear about
in our communities passing away?
Life is not promised for anybody.
The promise of Allah alaihi wa sallam says
don't delay.
Any of these things might
happen to a person at any given point
in time,
and then he says, Oh iddajal,
fasharruhaibin
yon tavar, or the or the antichrist will
emerge,
and what an evil person is waiting, or
he says, O isa, wasa'atu adhaawammar.
Or the day of judgement itself,
and the day of judgement is even more
disastrous,
and even more bitter.
The lesson here is the Prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam saying don't wait for any of these
things.
If you're healthy, if you're alive,
if you have
the opportunity to do good deeds,
then don't delay them.
On the topic
of charity, I'll end with this.
Rasulullah
salallahu alaihi wasallam was asked in hadith of
Anas,
a man came to him and said, You
Rasulullah,
He said, Which charity is the most rewardable?
Which charity is the most rewardable?
And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said,
He says that you give charity
while you are healthy,
and you are stingy.
Where you are fearing
poverty,
and where you're hoping for wealth.
He says, you don't wait until you're about
to die, and then you say, so and
so I'm giving this much, and so and
so I'm giving this much, and they're going
to get it anyway.
But the point here is that a person
gives sadaqa
when they are healthy,
and when they are stingy. Stingy meaning what?
Stingy meaning like I can invest this money,
I can donate this money here, or I
can invest this money and you know,
in my business and, you know, the power
of compounding and all of these financial advisors
saying that if you if you donate this
money at 20 years old then it compounds
over the rest of your life it'll be
greater than this amount that you donate at
30, and this amount that you donate at
40, and this amount that you donate at
50, or you invest.
And I have so much that I can
still do, and I still need to get
married, and I still need to build, buy
a house, and I still need to save
for this, and save for that.
The prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, when you
can give in that moment, and I wish
that in our fundraisers, and don't worry there's
no fundraiser attached to this, we can talk
about sadaqah without a fundraiser.
But
I wish that in our fundraisers we would
even talk about the age of people who
are donating.
Because the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says
the best is when you are healthy,
and when you still have your life ahead
of you, and when you're still looking to
build that life,
not when
you delay.
We ask Allah to allow us to hear
the speech and to follow the best of
it. We ask Allah
to make the best of our days our
last days and the best of our moments
the day that we meet him, and that
he makes every today that we experience a
day that we come closer to him. We
ask Allah
to accept from us our actions and our
fasting and our charity in the month of
Ramadan, and that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allows
us to to experience many Ramadans
until we meet him. We ask Allah Azza
Wa Jal to make this,
blessed month,
to make this month a month in which
we have fast that are accepted, that Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us the ability to
fast the 6 days of Shawwal, that Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala bring peace and prosperity
to our brothers and sisters in Palestine that
Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, remove from them their
difficulty, that Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, heal their
injury. We ask you, oh, Allah, subhanahu wa
ta'ala, you are the protector, Protect their blood
and protect their wealth.