Aqeel Mahmood – Being Positive
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
Yeah.
Today, brothers and sisters, in this Khutba, I
want to talk to wanted to talk to
you
about
how we
perceive things
that happen in our lives
and how we react
to
things that
happen in our lives which we never expected,
things
when they turn out
not how we wanted them to turn out,
and our mindset,
how we behave,
how we think, how we react,
what we do
when negative things happen in our lives,
and
the consequences
of
our reactions
and our behavior.
When we
reflect on
this religion of ours,
this religion of ours is
a religion
which encourages
and promotes
positivity,
Being positive
regardless
of an individual's
circumstances.
We as an umma know
that the light of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
will never be extinguished.
And Islam will always be here.
And so
as an ummah, we should be thankful that
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has blessed us with
Islam and that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
will continue this light of Islam.
And it's something that we should be proud
of.
But on an individual level,
in many cases,
things happen to us,
and
we start to question why those things happened
and why Allah
decreed certain things to happen to us.
And sometimes a person can be negative to
such an extent
that without anything
having happened to him, without any bad experience,
he's thinking about the future in a negative
manner.
He may be thinking about his financial state,
and he's worried about what the future holds.
Where am I gonna make the money to
support my family?
How am I gonna make enough money?
Even though
up until this point, Allah
has blessed him with the wealth which he
had.
A person may be questioning
why he's going through trials
related to
his business, his work, his health, his family,
many things.
And that
doubt, those questions
may
have him
question
even the existence of Allah.
Why am I in this state? If there
was a god,
why isn't that god helping me? Why isn't
Allah assisting me and helping me in my
situation?
So a person starts to have negative thoughts.
He starts to think about what might happen
in the future.
What's going to happen to me? What's going
to happen regards regarding my health? What's going
to happen to me regarding my wealth?
And we said that Islam is a religion
which encourages
positivity.
It's a religion which tells us that we
have to be positive regardless of the circumstances.
And this is why
in a hadith in which Allah
himself states a hadith Qudsi,
He tells us,
I am
however
my slave perceives me or thinks of me.
When a person thinks badly of Allah,
when a person has bad thoughts of Allah,
when a person isn't hopeful that Allah
will help him, will aid him, will take
care of him, will take care of his
affairs,
when a person has this negative
attitude towards Allah,
then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will have a
negative attitude towards him.
And so because he's negative
about Allah
and he has bad thoughts about Allah and
he's not optimistic about the future,
there's more chance of this individual going through
more trials and tribulations,
more problems occurring in his life.
Because he's not dependent on Allah. He doesn't
have this trust in Allah subhanahu wa
I am however my slave perceives me or
thinks of me.
When you're
hopeful of Allah's aid, when you know Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala will help you, protect you,
take care of you, deal with all of
your affairs,
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will reciprocate.
He'll respond likewise
because the slave
has shown optimism.
The slave is being positive about his relationship
with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will aid that slave of
his.
If we look
at some of the narrations of the messenger
of Allah,
we see that
even positive
speech was something which the messenger of Allah
sallallahu alaihi wasallam would encourage
the slaves of Allah to do.
He would encourage them encourage them to speak
positively.
Not just
to have positive thoughts, but to express that
in one speech.
And in fact, research shows that when a
person speaks positive
speech, when he thinks positively and that is
shown through his speech,
that makes that person more optimistic about the
future. It makes him more positive.
And you may have heard about people who
always repeat things to themselves,
saying positive words, words of affirmation,
saying good things
in order for themselves to feel better.
There is some truth to this because the
messenger of Allah
told us in a hadith,
There is no and there is no
There are no infectious diseases except by the
permission of Allah. A person shouldn't be worried
about catching an infectious disease because that's in
the hands of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And there's no bad omens.
And it's called
because in the past, they would use birds
as a sign of whether something was good
or bad, or whether they should do something.
If a bird went a certain direction,
they would say because the bird has gone
this direction, we shouldn't travel today.
If a bird goes the other way, they
would say this is a good sign, this
means we can travel, nothing bad is going
to happen. This was what they used to
do, superstitions.
So the messenger of Allah salallahu alaihi wa
sallam, he tells us
There is no
There is no infectious disease except by the
permission of Allah. There is no
There are no bad omens based on the
directions of a bird.
But I'm amazed by
And so the companions asked what is messenger
of Allah? He said
a good word, saying good things,
saying positive speech, speaking good as opposed to
speaking bad.
Because this has an effect
on the way you even behave. It has
an effect on if you're talking to others,
on them.
And how they'll perceive things.
When you're remembering Allah, you're thankful to Allah.
You're saying good things about your situation regardless
of how bad it may be.
This is a sign
of your positivity,
of you being optimistic.
And
when we reflect on some of those situations,
some of those incidents in the time of
the messenger of Allah alayhi wasalam,
which are too many for us to mention
today,
but some of these give us an idea
of how powerful this
mindset is,
being positive.
Once the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam,
he visited a man who was sick, a
Bedouin man.
And
when he visited this man, the man was
sick. He was lying down.
He was very ill. The messenger of Allah
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said to him, as
we say when we visit a sick person,
never mind.
May it be a means of purification if
Allah wills.
Even in a state when a person is
suffering from an illness, we are positive. We
look at the positives, not at the negatives.
Even in that situation where he may even
end up dying.
Never mind. May that illness, may that disease,
may that problem that you're afflicted with
be a way for Allah to remove your
sins.
Because we know any situation, any trial a
person goes through, Allah removes a person's sins
depending on how severe that trial and tribulation
is.
So he said
being positive,
positive speech,
positive reinforcement.
And so the sick Bedouin,
he said to him he replied and he
said, Tahuur,
purification.
No.
Rather it's an infectious disease.
It's a boiling fever that's harassing this old
man so much that it's going to lead
me to the grave.
So he rejected this idea of this illness
that he had being something which was good,
being something which was positive. And so the
messenger of Allah
he said in response,
Then yes, if that's the case.
Meaning if that's the way that you want
to perceive this illness that you have, then
that's how it'll be.
I am however my slave perceives me. And
narrations mention that this man he passed away
from this disease a number of days later.
Because of the mindset that he had, Studies
actually show
that women who have a more optimistic outlook
on life, they are 30%
less likely
of suffering from heart diseases.
Other studies also show that people who are
optimistic
have lower
risks of suffering from strokes,
and it's also said from research
that those individuals who are more optimistic
are less likely to suffer from disabilities.
And as they get older,
they end up living longer in certain cases.
This is what research shows us.
And based on this hadith we can understand.
When a person is optimistic,
when a person is positive,
then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will reciprocate. Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala will accommodate for that individual.
One of the things we should do as
Muslims,
whenever calamity is
before us
is to always hold on to that glimpse
of light in that darkness that we're experiencing.
When there's complete darkness, there's always that limp
that glimpse of light. Something we can hold
on to. Something positive we can take from
that circumstance, from that situation.
If we look at
how
the messenger of Allah
told us,
how amazing is the affair of the
believer. How amazing is the affair of the
believer. The one who believes in Allah. The
one who has iman.
All of his affairs are good.
Regardless of what happens to him, it's good
for him.
And that's only for the believer. That's only
the case with the believer. When something pleasant
happens to him, he's thankful to Allah.
When he comes across a trial or tribulation,
he's patient and that's also good for him.
He's being rewarded for his patience in times
of trials and tribulations.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us
There are 2 eases after a person goes
through a hardship.
We lose lots of money. We're suffering from
an illness.
There's a death in the family.
Something like this happens
and we become sad, and that's a natural
thing to experience. We become upset.
It's a difficult thing. It's a trial we're
going through. When you're patient, you're being rewarded.
After you show that patience and after you
go through that hardship that you're going through,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives you even more
strength, makes you even stronger.
Because the next time somebody passes away from
your family, the next time you suffer from
a from a lock a loss of wealth,
the next time you're having issues with family
members,
you're more experienced,
you're stronger than you were before because you've
already been through it.
And you know what to expect to a
certain extent, and you're able to handle it
a lot better than you did before.
So on top of the patience that you
were showing
in face
in the face of this hardship you were
also
becoming stronger as a result of showing that
patience
in times of hardships
which every single one of us will go
through.
We look at
how in the past the righteous
and those who are from the believers would
have
and trust in Allah in the most dire
circumstances.
Hajar
was left behind in the middle of the
desert with her newborn son Ismail
with no food, except for a small amount
of food and a small amount of water,
with no one around to help them,
no one traveling in that direction,
no one leaving where she was being left
by Ibrahim alaihis salam, and Ibrahim alaihis salam
is walking away under the command of Allah
to leave her.
This is a trial that Hadid went through.
It's something that she has to go through.
It's a test for her. How did she
respond? When she's looking around, she has a
small amount of food,
Ibrahim is leaving her and their newborn child
in the middle of the desert.
Something many of us couldn't even imagine.
These were the trials of those who had
iman.
Hajar alaihi salam, she tells Ibrahim
why where are you leaving us? Why are
you leaving us here? There's nothing here. How
are we gonna survive?
And Ibrahim alaihis salam
can say nothing because this was an order
from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Hajar then asks,
did Allah order you to do this?
Ibrahim alaihis salam simply responds, nam.
And Hajar responds,
In this case, he will never abandon us.
He will never forget us.
In a situation
where we will think that person will surely
perish,
they're not gonna survive in the desert with
small amount of food. There's nobody around. And
we know that's the story of how Zamzam
was discovered.
That's the story of the birthplace of the
greatest
land on the face of the earth, the
city of Makkah.
And the birthplace
of the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
the Kaaba.
Look at the reward
attached to Hajar alaihi salam's trust and and
positivity in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Look at
what came about as a result of how
she was so positive about her circumstances. We
look at the story of Yaqub alaihi salam.
When he thought
or he felt
that his sons had done something
to his most beloved son, Yusuf alayhis salam.
And so when they went with
his other son Binyamin
and he was also
being tested with his other son Binyamin,
who was left with Yusuf alaihi salaam because
Yusuf had made a plan,
they went back not knowing that it was
Yusuf who had kept Binyamin behind.
The one who was in charge of the
finances when they went to ask for food
and they went to ask for help from
Youssef, unbeknownst to them that it was Youssef
alaihis salam. Now they're worried. They go back
to Ayyaaqoub alaihis salam knowing that they had
already got rid of his other son, Yusuf,
their other brother. And now they're going back
with that binyamin.
So Yaqob alaihis salam, if we think about
his state of mind, imagine losing a son.
Imagine the trials and tribulations of losing a
son. And then imagine
later on losing another son,
losing 2 sons.
This would rattle anybody's faith in Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. This is something which could question
a person as a result of this test,
he could question his own faith.
Why is this happening to me? Why 2
sons?
Yaqub alaihis salaam,
he realizes
that the believer
isn't stung from the same hole twice. There's
something going on.
There's something more to this. Even though the
news he's received that is that has
been left behind.
So he says to them,
Oh my sons, go and investigate
about the situation of Yousef and his brother.
And don't despair
from the
hope of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Being hopeful
of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Don't despair
from being hopeful of Allah Azzawajal.
And sure enough,
when they went,
they found Binyamin,
and on top of that they found Yusuf
alaihis salam,
who was the one they were talking to,
the finance minister of the land of Egypt,
and they both came back
safely
and soundly to their father. This was
the optimism
of Yaqub alaihis salam. He was being positive
about his situation
and he never thought badly. He was holding
on to those positive things that he could
think about,
that he could hold on to in those
cases where many of us would think there
is no positive
to gain from this situation. There is nothing
good about my situation.
We look at the stories from the life
of the messenger of Allah alaihi wasallam.
The battle of the trench.
This was the 3rd battle
of the Muslims.
The Arab world had come together. Every single
tribe
of the Arab world had come together
to unite, to extinguish, and wipe out the
Muslims.
And they were on their way to Madinah
to wipe out the Muslims, to destroy the
Muslims. And the Muslims were outnumbered,
so they dug a trench around the city.
When they dug this trench
there was an area of the trench which
they weren't able to destroy.
A huge
rock in this trench
which they wanted to break down into pieces
and they weren't able to break this huge
rock. So they called the messenger of Allah
alaihis salatu wa sallam.
And the enemy is on their way. And
this rock needs to be destroyed, needs to
be removed. And they're trying with their axes
and their weapons and they can't remove this
rock.
If the rock isn't removed, they'll use this
rock to step on and remove themselves
out of the trench onto the other side,
onto the side of the Muslims.
And so they called the messenger of Allah
and the messenger of Allah he
raised the axe that he had,
and
he said Bismillah.
And he struck the rock, and as soon
as he struck the rock, the companions, they
said, we saw a flash of light.
The strongest, most white kind of light that
we've seen.
And the messenger of
he said, Allahu Akbar,
I have
seen the keys
of ancient Syria being granted to me. And
I can see by Allah
the palaces of Syria in front of me.
Here they are about to be
faced with the greatest
trial
and fight of their lives
facing the rest of the Arab world,
afraid that maybe Islam will be wiped away,
afraid that there won't be any Islam,
Afraid that all these people have come together
to fight them.
And here the messenger of Allah is showing
them and telling them where Islam is going
to be in the future.
What's going to be the fate of the
Muslims?
Sham, Syria is going to be yours.
Forget Arabia itself.
The messenger of Allah raised
the axe and hit the rock a second
time and he said Allahu Akbar, Persia is
granted to me. I swear by Allah I
can now see the palace of Madain.
And then he struck the rock a third
time and he said Allahu Akbar I have
been given the keys of Yemen. I swear
by Allah I can see the gates of
San'a
right from where I'm standing right now.
And so in this situation, the messenger of
Allah showed
positivity,
optimism to those
who were worried about their fate.
They were struggling to see any positives about
their situation.
On top of this,
there were individuals
in Madinah itself after they had dug the
trench from the Munafiqun,
from the people of the book who decided
to rebel
and harm the Muslims instead of supporting the
Muslims in the city of Madinah.
And so Allah
caused the Muslims to become successful.
They became victorious
even though the situation
was such a difficult situation.
Being positive
breeds positive actions,
doing positive things. When you say positive things
you do positive things. There was once a
leader by the name of Al Hajjib al
Mansur.
Al Hajjib al Mansur,
he was somebody
in the early days of his life who
used to be a delivery person. He would
use his donkey to
take people's goods from the market to their
homes.
And so he was sitting with 2 of
his friends and they were talking about the
future, what their hopes are for the future.
And when they asked him what his hopes
were, he said I hope to be the
leader
of Andalus of Andalusia.
And they laughed.
And he said to them if I become
the leader,
what do you ask of me?
One of them said I'd like for you
to give me a huge house and a
beautiful horse
and lots of wealth. And he mentioned many
things.
The other he said to him, if you
become the leader of Andalusia,
put me on the donkey facing the other
way, train me around the city, and tell
the soldiers to whip me. Because it's never
gonna happen. You're never gonna be the leader
of Andalusia.
Years later,
Al Hajjib
Al Mansur,
this individual became the leader and the Hakim
of Andalusia.
He became the leader, and he called the
both of them forward.
And he gave the man
what he promised to give him from the
goods and the wealth and the treasures that
he now had in his possession.
And he also gave the other man what
he promised him.
Traveling through the city on a donkey
being ripped by those soldiers.
The point being brothers and sisters, when a
person is positive about what may happen in
the future, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the
one who can make it happen. When you're
positive,
then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will have positive
thoughts about you and he'll respond positively towards
you. We look at the story of how
Umar ibn Abdul Aziz told us
how he was somebody who had
ambition. He was somebody who was ambitious.
And he said that
I have an ambitious soul.
Whenever I have a goal, I try to
reach that goal, and I always try
to go higher than the goal that I
set.
I always try to aim for the stars.
So he said that I had this ambition
to marry
the daughter of the leader Fatima, and I
married her.
Then I had this goal. I had this
lofty goal, this ambition
to be the governor.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala granted me this.
I became the governor of a land. And
then I had this ambition
that I wanted to be the khalifa of
the muslims.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave me this.
And now
I hope
that
I can have this last final lofty ambition
and goal of having the highest stations of
paradise.
And
he will have because he was somebody who
was positive. He was somebody who had an
idea about what he wanted, and he was
negative about what he could achieve,
his potential.
When Allah is on your side, brothers and
sisters,
anything is possible.
When Allah is on your side nothing is
impossible.
So us being believers here in the masjid
today is a blessing from Allah.
We know that we are in this masjid
about to pray
and we're worshiping Allah.
Regardless of our circumstances
and our situation outside of the masjid,
at work, with family,
with our health, whatever the case may be,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will always be with
us. He'll always be helping us. So long
as we're having good thoughts of Allah.
I am however my slave perceives me and
thinks of me.
Brothers and sisters, we were talking about being
positive
and having positive
thoughts
and how positive thoughts can be something which
will bring about success in a person's life.
And in fact, being positive about Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala,
having good thoughts of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
will
be a cause for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
to help you and to aid you.
So when you're positive about your own future,
wealth will come to me if Allah wills.
Allah will provide for me. Allah will take
care of my health. Allah will take care
of all my circumstances as long as I'm
patient and have faith in Allah. Allah will
reciprocate.
Finally, brothers and sisters,
a way in which we can show positivity
in our lives.
According to a hadith of the messenger of
Allah,
when he told us,
whoever makes lots of istighfar,
whoever says astaghfirullah
many times in the day, Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala will provide for him a way out
of each concern that he has, and he'll
solve all of his problems, and he'll provide
for him from ways he never even imagined.
Simply by saying astaghfirullah.
Simply by increasing our istighfar
and asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to forgive
us. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that
he does forgive us of our sins and
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives us the
ability and the mental capacity
to be positive about all and any of
the situations
which occur in our lives.