Ebrahim Bham – Hope amidst despair
AI: Summary ©
The umirals of Umirals of Islam face challenges such as lack of confidence, self-esteem, and hope. They stress the importance of good health and wealth for success and comfort. The speakers also discuss the reasons why people feel sad and fearful, including the belief that God gives happiness and mercy, the desire to make people feel like they have hope and mercy, and the desire to give people glad tidings of hope and mercy. The video of the boulder on a companions during the ADN peace initiative describes the similar story for the throne of Yemen, where the throne was crippled and killed by theyingying of the throne. The speakers also discuss the events occurring in the Apopka region, including the assassination of the proud proud proud proud proud proud proud of the proud proud proud proud proud proud of the proud proud proud proud proud of the proud proud proud proud of the proud proud proud proud of the proud proud proud of the proud proud proud of the proud
AI: Summary ©
Amma baad, faya ayyuha al-muslimoon, O Muslim
brothers, we are all aware of the situation
that is in this world.
We find ourselves both individually and collectively many
a times in a state of despondency, in
a state of anxiety.
Individually, people have their own challenges, whether it
be with regard to the challenges of financial
challenges, or with regard to relationship challenges.
But today we are all aware that we
have more challenges than perhaps previously.
Collectively, as an Ummah, we face challenges that
perhaps we have not faced anywhere, anytime in
our history.
However, despite this, we need to take hope.
We must not despair.
We must not become despondent.
Because despondency and depression and losing hope in
the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
is not the temperament of the believer.
Allah ta'ala in the holy Quran in
surah Yusuf says, Innahu laa ya'asu min
rawhi Allah illa alqawmu alkaafiroon It is only
the disbeliever that loses hope in the mercy
of almighty Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Ulama of the linguist have said that the
word Iblis also comes from the word Balas,
which means despondency.
And nothing gives shaitan and the satanic forces
greater pleasure than seeing Muslims in a state
of despondency.
Despondency gives rise to a lack of confidence,
lack of self-esteem.
And we as believers, we are supposed to
have confidence and self-esteem.
Many people will ask, what are the reasons
why we should have hope?
And in today's khutbah, I would like to
enumerate some of the reasons why we are
supposed to still feel hope and not be
overwhelmed by despondency.
Firstly, our deen is not only a deen
and a religion which looks at the worldly
life.
We have a futuristic belief of the year
after.
Our ultimate success is the one who saves
himself from the fire of Jahannam.
Says Allah in the Holy Quran, فَمَنْ زُحْزِهَا
عَنِ النَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازْ He who
saves himself from the fire of Jahannam and
makes himself worthy of entry into Jannah, he
is successful.
On the other hand, Allah ta'ala says
about the disbelievers, وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ وَقِفُوا عَلَى
رَبِّهِمْ Says Allah in Surah An-Nam, if
only you can see the evil people in
front of Allah ta'ala.
And Allah will say, أَلَيْسَ هَذَا بِالْحَقِّ Is
this fire of Jahannam, the punishment of the
fire of Jahannam, not the truth.
And they will say, بَلَا رَبِّنَا Yes, it
is the truth.
And Allah will say, فَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابِ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ
تَكْفُرُونَ Now taste the punishment of that which
you used to deny.
Now that is the ultimate success.
We can live a life of luxury and
comfort, but الْيَادُ بِاللَّهِ May Allah ta'ala
protect.
If you enter and go into Jahannam, what
is the use of the life of luxury?
And you might lead a life of difficulty
here in this world.
But if you gain entry into Jannah, then
of course you are successful.
In a hadith, Nabiya Karim Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
had said, If for example, a person leads
a life full of luxury, it doesn't happen
because even in your ease, there is certain
challenges.
But if for example, Nabiya Karim Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam said, You live a life of full
of luxury.
If Allah on the day of judgment were
to dump you in Jahannam, take you out,
Oh my bondsman, Oh my servant, Did you
ever see comfort?
And you will say, No, Allah, I've never
ever seen comfort.
So we believe in a futuristic vision.
We look at the akhirah in terms of
our success and in terms of our ease,
our comfort and our ultimate felicity.
The second thing is, Nabiya Karim Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam has told us, Ajabal li amril mu'min,
inil amra kullahu khair.
Very wondrous is the affair of the believer.
For him, everything is good.
Everything is khair.
Everything is blessed.
If any good comes upon him, he makes
shukr.
He thanks Allah Ta'ala.
He is grateful.
It becomes a means of reward.
And of course, if any challenges come upon
him, we must remember, we never ask for
challenges.
We always ask for afiyet.
We always ask for ease.
But if it comes, then we make sabr.
Nabiya Karim Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam told his uncle,
Abbas radiallahu ta'ala anhu, O Abbas, always
ask Allah for afiyet.
There is nothing better to ask Allah Ta
'ala for afiyet.
Afiyet means ease and well-being.
But Nabiya Karim Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, the
believer, all affairs are good for him.
If good comes, he makes shukr, he gets
reward.
And if anything untowards happens, he remains with
sabr, with perseverance, he still gets reward.
And this is for no one but the
believer.
So that is the second reason with regard
to our hope.
The third reason, Nabiya Karim Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
had said, that good expectation of Allah Ta
'ala and becoming and having hope is a
separate and distinct ibadah.
Inna husna az-zu'zan, Billahi min husni
al-ibadah.
Having good expectation and having hope in Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala is part of husn
al-ibadah.
It is part of great, you know, ibadah
and devotion.
Especially when we reach towards the latter portion
of our life.
Nabiya Karim Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam saw a person
who was on his deathbed.
And he said, how do you find yourself?
Subhanallah, what a great reply he said.
He said, I am afraid of my sins.
I am worried about my sins.
But I have hope in the mercy of
Allah.
Nabiya Karim Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, No person
has these two aspects in his life.
But Allah Ta'ala gives him safety from
his fears.
And Allah Ta'ala gives him what he
hopes.
The fourth reason, Nabiya Karim Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
has told us to be people who give
glad tidings of hope and mercy.
Nabiya Karim Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam had said in
a famous hadith, Bashiru wa la tunafiru, yassiru
wa la tuassiru.
Give people glad tidings.
Don't make people fear and hate the religion.
And make things easy for people.
Wa la tuassiru.
And do not make things difficult for people.
Always give people hope.
Wallahi al-azim, the person who gives people
hope, a person who is an optimist, he
is a magnet for people.
People love people who are, you know, for
those who are always looking at the positive
aspects of life.
And we are supposed to look at the
positive aspects of life, you know.
And people don't like a pessimist.
A person who is always complaining, always grumbling.
People don't like a person.
So they say a person who is an
optimist, he looks at a donut and he
sees the donut and he said, there is
so much sweet on the side.
And the pessimist, he looks at the hole
in the donut, he sees nothing to eat
in the middle of the donut.
But we are optimists.
We are always people who give glad tidings.
Because an optimist and a person who gives
hope is someone who is a magnet to
people.
Another example, the fourth reason with regard to
having hope is our beloved prophet sallallahu alayhi
wa sallam.
Our beloved prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam never
ever lost hope.
Wallahi al-azim, so amazing examples we get
from the life of our beloved nabiya kareem
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
You know, in the ghazwah of the trench,
in the expedition of the trench, and in
that particular battle, it was a very trying
time for the muslims.
And on one occasion, nabiya kareem sallallahu alayhi
wa sallam was told that a group of
sahaba who were digging the trench, they came
across a boulder that could not be removed.
And amazingly how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
works, the wisdom of Allah, that boulder came
on a group of companions among which was
Salman al-Farsi radiallahu ta'ala.
Salman the Persian.
He was the one who gave the view
that we must dig a trench.
And the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam accepted
it.
It also tells us that we as muslims,
we are not averse to new ideas.
And when we see, we find that when
Abu Sufyan came and he saw the trench,
he said this is not the way the
Arabs ever ever used to fight.
But the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam realized
for that time, it was the need of
the time, need of the hour.
He did not say this is not our
way.
It's not the way how we normally do
things.
He was not averse to a new idea.
He accepted it because it was relevant and
beneficial for that particular time, subhanallah.
Anyway, when the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
was told about it, he came with a
chopper and three times he hit the boulder.
And every time there was sparks that flew.
And not necessarily according to the chronological order,
the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told the
companions, Do you know what was in those
sparks?
And they said, Allah and his Rasul knows
best.
And the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said,
Allah ta'ala showed me the treasures of
the Persian Empire.
And Allah ta'ala showed me the treasures
of the Roman Empire.
And Allah ta'ala showed me the treasures
of the kings of Yemen and the treasures
of the Yemen, subhanallah.
And the munafiq and the hypocrites, they started
making a joke that here you are digging
a trench because you do not have resources
to defend yourself.
And you are seeing dreams of overtaking the
superpowers of the time.
And yet that's exactly what happened.
Subhanallah, that is exactly what happened.
Within a short period of time, within one
or two decades, the sahaba and the companions
of our beloved nabiya kareem sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam, led by the vision of our prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, conquered all of these
empires and civilizations.
That is our prophet.
Even at the time when he was digging
a trench, because of circumstances, he was still
having such a great vision and such hope.
He even had hope with regard to his
greatest enemies.
Now sometimes I give this example, and every
one of you must take this example.
Subhanallah, what a great example.
Never lose hope on anyone.
Never give up on anyone.
Umar r.a set out to assassinate the
nabi of Allah.
Anyone who kills the nabi of Allah, anyone
who has such an evil intention, and he
has to come through with his intention, he
is destined to the fire of Jahannam.
He set out to assassinate the nabi of
Allah.
Today, we don't go to Medina, but we
go past the qabar of Umar r.a,
and we say, He set out to assassinate
the nabi of Allah.
The nabi of Allah made dua for him.
Today he is sitting next, lying buried next
to the nabi of Allah.
That is how the prophet of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala had vision, had hope, even
with regard to the worst enemies.
And that is what we are supposed to
do.
In a similar manner, my dear respected elders
and brothers, we talk about the situation in
Gaza.
And we all know what is happening with
regard to Gaza.
The Palestinian health ministry, and may Allah ta
'ala reward the people of Palestine, they still
persevere, they still steadfast, under such great circumstances
of tragedy and difficulty.
But look at them, you know, the Palestinian
health ministry made mention, and they had a
register of 649 pages, of 34,000 people.
Many more have been, you know, martyred.
But they had the record, details, of 649
pages, of 34,000 people who have been
martyred.
The first 11 pages, the first 11 pages
of children, between the age of 0 and
1.
This is in an age where people today
talk about human rights, and the powers of
the world are telling us about human rights.
And the first 11 pages of the 649
pages, it is with regard to children, who
are between the age of 0 and 1.
And of course, we can feel, and of
course we feel the pain.
We can feel the pain.
And we feel, ya Allah, why is this
happening?
Where is your power?
And where is your greatness which we believe
in?
But remember my dear respected brothers and elders,
Allah has his wisdom.
We sometimes can understand, sometimes we cannot fathom
the reason.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows.
But what we do know, Allah ta'ala
says, in surah Ibrahim, Allah is not unaware
of what the zalimoon they do.
Allah is fully aware.
Allah will take them to task.
But we do make dua sometimes.
We are human beings.
Ya Allah, let it be sooner rather than
later.
When are we going to see the zalimeen?
Ya Allah, when are they going to be?
Able to bear responsibility for the consequences of
what they are doing.
But it will not happen by our time
frame.
It will not happen by our wish and
desires.
It will happen by the desire of almighty
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Hazrat Musa a.s. made dua, رَبَّنَا اتْمِسْ
عَلَىٰ عَمْوَالِهِمْ وَاجْتُدْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُهُ حَتَّىٰ
يَرَهُ الْعَذَابَ الْعَلِيمِ He made dua with regard
to Fir'aun that Allah must destroy him.
But according to the rewrites, and according to
the narration, one narration say it took 40
years.
One narration say it took 70 years.
Even the prophet's dua, it happened after a
while.
But it will happen.
فَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَاسْتَكْبَرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَقَالُوا
مَنْ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةٌ أَوَلَمْ يَرَهُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ
الَّذِي خَلَقَهُمْ وَأَشَدُّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةٌ Remember the tribe
of Aad.
And they said that they were so arrogant.
And what did they say?
فَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَاسْتَكْبُرُوا مَنْ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةٌ Who
is greater than us in power?
Don't you see the same similarities?
They feel that they can do whatever they
want.
They see who is greater than us in
power.
أَوَلَمْ يَرَهُ Don't they see?
أَنَّ اللَّهَ الَّذِي خَلَقَهُمْ The one who created
them is greater than them in power.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will deal
with them when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
sees them.
And whenever we feel with regard to the
tragedy of the people who are dying, we
see it.
Sometimes it's difficult to see.
Remember this.
And take great amount of consolation and hope.
Nabiya Karim sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, when
we see people dying, and we see them
being, you know, bombed to pieces, children.
Nabiya Karim sallallahu alaihi wa sallam has said
in a hadith in Jamia ut-Tirmidhi, The
person who is a martyr, he, with regard
to his killing, doesn't even suffer the pain
that you feel when a small ant bites
you.
The shaheed doesn't even feel that pain.
He doesn't even feel that pain.
His pain is even less than that.
Nabiya Karim sallallahu alaihi wa sallam has said
in a hadith in Abu Dawud Sharif, يَشْفَعُ
الشَّهِيدِ فِي السَّبِعِينَ مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ The shaheed
will intercede for 70 people of his family
on the day of judgment.
In a hadith, Nabiya Karim sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam said, that the shaheed on the day
of judgment, there will be no one in
Jannah who will wish to come back to
this world except the shaheed, except the martyr.
And he will say, O Allah, send me
to the world that I can gain the
same pleasure once again that I got when
I was martyred.
Subhanallah.
This is what we believe in, my dear
respected brothers.
So we never lose hope.
We are a nation of perpetual hope and
optimism.
And therefore we conclude this particular message that
we shall always be among those who have
optimism.