Ammar Alshukry – Do Good Do Not Wait
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of good deeds and investment in relationships with Allah. The urgency of doing good deeds is emphasized, along with the importance of praying for health and safety. The speakers also discuss the use of salallahu alaihi wa sallam in various political and media environments, including fraud, death, and desire for wealth. The speakers emphasize the importance of not delaying one's plans for life and giving charity.
AI: Summary ©
All praise is due to Allah, we seek
His guidance and His forgiveness,
and 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 salallahu alaihi
wa sallam is His slave and His messenger
and His perfect worshiper.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran,
O 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 its
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 subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
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 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 Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, in the hadith
that's reported by Muslim, the hadith of Abu
Hurayla. Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says
He says, hasten to do good deeds.
Before fitna, trials touchdown
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 wa sallam 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 could 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 salallahu alaihi wa sallam 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
Rasulullah salallahu alaihi wa sallam 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's gonna 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.
Rasoolullah salallahu alaihi wa sallam tells us to
invest in that relationship now salallahu alaihi wa
sallam 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 adid.
Reported by Al Bukhari he says
that I prayed Asur with Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam. 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 salallahu
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 of Allah ahi 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 of Allah
ahi 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 salallahu alaihi wa sallam said there
were some there were some gold that I
had. Gold of sadaqa
that I had in my house. I just
remembered it And so I hate it in
another narration says,
I hate it for it to spend the
night. It's a sur time. It's about to
be and the day is gonna be over.
So the prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam immediately
went into his house and he commanded for
it to be distributed. He hated that that
be in his position that it spend an
extra night without being distributed. The prophet salallahu
alaihi wa sallam is showing us firsthand
the urgency of doing good deeds when you
can take advantage of it.
That if somebody gives you money for sadaqa
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, Rasoolullah 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. Rasoolallah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam 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
salallahu alaihi wa sallam is showing us himself,
taking advantage of every moment. In another hadith,
Aisha mentions that the prophet salallahu alaihi wa
sallam had commanded the institution of sadaqa. 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 salallahu 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 sadaqa? 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 prophet salalahu alaihi wa sallam
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 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.
Actually Jabir ibn Abdillah radiyaAllahu hadith that's reported
by Bukhari and Muslim. Showcasing the urgency that
not just the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
had but the sahabir radiyaAllahu had with good
deeds. An amazing hadith,
Jabinim Abdullaahi says
that on the day of Uhud, a man
said to Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa sallam,
said if I'm killed where am I gonna
be? What's gonna happen to me Rasool Allah?
The prophet
said
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 wa sallam 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 Quran
that you can read? Don't delay it. Surat
Al Kaaf. How many how many times in
our lives have we heard about reading Surat
Al Kaaf on a Friday?
Read it today.
Is there salaam upon the prophet subhanahu 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 subhanahu 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 rak'ahs right now, you're alive.
If you pray 2 rak'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 subhanahu wa ta'ala has gifted us a
beautiful day, and that is today. Rasulullah salallahu
alaihi wa sallam says in the hadith it's
reported by Atirmidi, the hadith of sun the
hadith of Sanma.
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 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,
Rasulullah salallahu alaihi wa salam
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 faqranunsia
poverty
that will make you forget?
People will do
all sorts of things
when they're poor. Rasoolullah salallahu alaihi wa sallam
says, invest in in doing good deeds when
you
have sustenance,
when you're protected, when you're mastoor,
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 alaihi wa sallam in the hadith
that's reported by 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
salallahu alaihi wa sallam tells the story of
a man from Bani Israel called Al kifl.
And this man,
the prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam 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 sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
said that when Al Kivl was in position
of a man with his wife, the woman
cried. 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 he
got up and he left the money with
her and he said I'm never going to
commit sin against Allah. 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 salallahu alaihi wa sallam 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. Rasool Allah 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
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 salallahu alaihi as salam 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 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,
or the or the antichrist will emerge,
and what an evil person is waiting, or
he says
or the day of judgment itself
and the day of judgment is even more
disastrous
and even more bitter.
The lesson here is the Prophet
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 wa sallam 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 salallahu alaihi wa sallam 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 that 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
gonna 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 and 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
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 salallahu alaihi wa sallam 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 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 azza wa Jal to allow
us to hear the speech and to follow
the best of it. We ask Allah azzawajal
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 azzawajal
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 grants us the ability to
fast the 6 days of Shawwa, that Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala
bring peace and prosperity
to our brothers and sisters in Palestine that
Allah
remove from them their difficulty, that Allah
heal their injury. We ask you, oh, Allah
you are the protector, protect their blood, and
protect their wealth.