Faraz Rabbani – The Rawha #069 Closeness to God Through His Remembrance Reliance on Allah Most High
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You're listening to the daily
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will be covering Imam Yusuf al Nabhani's beautiful
collection of 40 sets of 40 hadith of
the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,
as well as imam Zarnoji's guidance for seekers
of knowledge regarding the ways of seeking knowledge.
Muhammad.
In resuming our
daily roha, in which we look at some
of the guidance of the prophet and
we
look with it at
some guidance for seekers
of knowledge,
and every believer should be a seeker of
knowledge.
We
have reached
40 hadiths
on the virtues of the remembrance of Allah,
mighty and majestic.
40 hadiths
on the virtues
of the remembrance of Allah.
So this
is the 4th collection
of 40 Hadith
in Sheikh Yousaf and Nabhani's set
of
40 Hadith.
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So Shaq Youssef Al Nabhani in this collection
begins,
Muhammad
Said Al Musaleen.
Said to proceed. These are 40 hadiths on
the virtues
of remembrance.
The word zikr
comes
from right?
And zakara
refers to mentioning
or remembering.
Right?
And remembering entails
by consequence
tazakkur
right
taking heed.
So,
the remembrance
of Allah has
merit
at the level that you are mentioning him
So there's merit
in that.
Alright?
But the significance of of
the mention
of Allah
is that you state words,
right,
but
they convey meanings.
And the meanings that you mention
are the greatest possible
meanings.
Right?
Which is why
the remembrance of Allah
has come
and the
and the remembrance of Allah is greater because
the single greatest thing you can state
is
the name of the eternal,
the absolute,
the most perfect.
If words convey meanings,
then
words mentioning Allah
are
the very best of words.
And how do you mention Allah? Allah has
taught us. The messenger
has taught
us. Right?
So it is the very fact that you
are mentioning Allah,
right,
that is of consequence,
but the meanings that they convey
are
the greatest possible
of meanings.
These meanings conveyed
are meanings of Iman,
right when you say or or or or
these
meanings are meanings of faith,
and the best of actions
is faith itself
or that which
strengthens
faith.
So, one of the key merits
of remembrance of Allah
is that it strengthens the iman directly because
you are mentioning
Allah
right, you are mentioning meanings
These are all statements of faith,
and
one also remembers Allah with gratitude because Allah
did not have to
allow us to mention him
or
show us how to mention him.
And the of the messenger has been blessed
by the general permission
to mention Allah
at any time and in any place with
rare
exceptions, with very rare exceptions.
So that too is a tremendous blessing because
previous peoples
there were many conditions
to when and how
one could engage in dhikr
or
who could engage
in remembrance.
So that too is a great blessing.
But in dhikr,
and then of course, Allah has chosen
along with the inherent meanings of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as a mercy
to this Ummah has chosen
to make tremendously
powerful.
As we will see in the hadiths here.
The Ulema say that if there was nothing
mentioned in the merit of remembrance of Allah
besides the fact that Allah says
So, remember me, I will remember you.
Right.
And if in all this existence,
the creator and sustainer of all that exists
remembers you.
Right. What else
do you need? As ibn Aba Ileh
says
that oh god
what has any missed out on
if they
have found you
and what has any found
who has lost you,
but for remembrance
to be truly
impactful
it has
adab, it has proper manners, some of which
we will see
in
these
hadiths that we are going to be looking
at.
But they say
the
return firstly
to remember
that the words that you engage in of
zikr
they point
to Allah
So be so
strive
to be conscious of
Allah
of
be be conscious of the greatness,
the majesty,
the beauty, the perfection
of the one you are remembering.
Right?
All the outward means
are ways of facilitating that, that you strive
to be in ritual purity.
You strive to face the qiblah,
you try
to diminish
distractions,
etcetera.
But the most important adab is
to have
that
that deep veneration
within
within one
to have a longing
for the divine to have a shok
right?
And
then to remember that it is not words
that one is remembering, but meanings which is
why they they say that
one should bring the meaning
to heart
before
one says it with the tongue that applies
to du'a
and it applies
to dhikr. So, do not say alhamdulillah
and then think about it
because then did you really mean alhamdulillah when
you said it.
So, bring the meaning to heart first
and then say it.
But
Allah has made dhikr unconditional.
Right? It's a gift,
but it's also an opportunity.
That Allah commands us
us
make remembrance of Allah with much remembrance
and he describes the believers
those remember Allah standing
and sitting
and on their sides, meaning lying down.
In all their states. So whether you're walking
or you're sitting down,
right,
whether normally or in a bus or in
a car or lying down, you're exhausted.
Doesn't matter.
You know?
That
it's not conditional.
And though there are optimal states to engage
in remembrance
none of them are conditions for remembrance.
And presence of heart while sought in remembrance
that is not a condition for remembering you
have many things on your mind, you are
worried, you're stressed,
stay on remembrance.
Right? And and we'll see,
some of
these meanings in these
Hadith of our beloved messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
So the first hadith
So the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam relates that Allah most high says. So
hadith could see.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
I am
as my servant
thinks of me.
I am
as my servant thinks of me.
This has many potential meanings,
and it's stated exactly in this way to
bring out those meanings.
That I am as my servant thinks of
me that when you think of Allah,
Allah is with you
and how you think of Allah,
that's how Allah will be with
you. Right? So if you're like,
well, I don't know if Allah will answer
my I don't know this, and what about
this? How you think of Allah is how
you will find Allah with you.
I am as my servant thinks of me.
So the implication is think highly or think
frequently of Allah and think highly of Allah.
And I'm with them
when they remember me.
This is the meaning repeated in many of
these. I am with them when they remember
me.
But the problem is we are absent
in our remembrance.
Then the hadith continues.
If they remember
me
within themselves, I to themselves,
I remember them
to myself.
Right? And the remembrance of Allah is the
remembrance of estimation
and praise and reward and drawing close.
And if they mention me in a gathering,
I mention them
in a gathering
better than that gathering,
meaning in the gathering of the angels.
This as many other hadith that we'll see
after this
affirms the great merit of gathering to remember
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala
and there are dozens of hadith
on the praiseworthiness
and great reward of gathering to remember Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And if
they draw close to me
by a hand span,
the shibr
is a hand span
I draw close to them by an arms
length.
The smallest action
Allah magnifies its consequence
in terms of
your relationship with Allah
But what is sought by it?
The coalseness of Allah. The realization
of I am with them when they remember
me.
But part of the divine wisdom is why
can't you realize that right away?
So that it truly does express that you
are seeking him. It truly does express
your gratitude. It truly does express
your trueness. It truly does express
your love.
Right? Love has its demands.
Right?
Zubayr says to Zwaida, I love you. 20
years later, he said, you know, you never
said you love me. I said, I told
you 20 years ago.
That's not good enough. Right?
And Allah's is the highest
of regard.
And if they draw close to me by
an arms length,
I draw close to them
by a which is 2 arms length.
Length.
And if they come to me walking,
I rush
to them that whatever you do, Allah magnifies
it.
But what is sought in drawing closer to
Allah is consistency
that is the coming to Allah walking. It
is not just small bursts or bigger bursts
but, consistency
And that's when you find
the divine rushing,
right, which is is
the effulgence
of of divine
favor
and
drawing
close, and this hadith is related by both
Bukhari and Muslim and others.
The second hadith, Alibmi Abbas
the second hadith
in which the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
relates that Allah most high says
If you,
oh child of Adam, if you remember me
alone,
I remember you alone. Meaning, I remember you
to myself.
Meaning on your own meaning, if you remember
me to yourself, I will remember you to
myself.
And there's great reward in that.
And if you remember me in a gathering,
I will remember you in a gathering better
than them.
This
is related by
with
a rigorously authentic chain of transmission. So this
is similar in meaning to the previous hadith.
The 3rd hadith.
Allah most high says
as related by the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam.
I am with my servant
if they remember me
and
their
2 lips move
by
me.
And they'll their 2 lips move by me,
right, I am with my servant,
and the very fact that Allah refers to
someone
as his servant,
right,
this
right, this ascription
is an ascription of honor,
because everything is Allah's servant,
but this
is
as the
poet said, don't call me
anything but her servant
for it is the most beloved of my
names.
Right?
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala when he praises
the prophet for the ascension says,
glory be to the one who
took on a night journey
his servant.
Right, it is of honor,
and he revealed to his servant what he
revealed, right, that
ascription, Abdihi,
Here, Abdi, my servant,
it is an description of honor.
I am with my with my servant.
If they remember me and their lips move
by
me. If you remember, now the asked the
question that if you remember Allah, your lips
will move.
So why is it mentioned here?
And their lip and by me do their
lips move,
meaning
that
true remembrance
is
one very super one very simple
expression of this is that we see in
this that it is the sunnah
that when we engage in dhikr of Allah,
we pronounce
what we say
right? And that is affirmed even the word
dhikr
is to
is is to mention something or you can
say it is the mention of god
okay. That is the difference between thikr, which
is mention and thikr, which is thinking,
but here.
So, that is one, but this is the
sense that while you engage in the action
it is you do the action
by
Allah.
Right? So it's not that I am remembering
Allah, but you're conscious that the very act
that you're engaged in it is Allah
who inspired it. It is Allah who's facilitated
it.
Right? Because he is
he he is
your creator and sustainer.
He is the creator and sustainer of your
action.
Right? So you engage in it,
but aware that this is by Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala.
And that is
essential
to it is you alone we worship.
But it is you alone that we are
reliant upon, that we seek assistance of.
Right. With no sense of ability or power
for oneself, for all ability and power is
Allah's. And this hadith is related by ibn
Majah and by ibn Hibban and his Sahih.
The 4th hadith and was
and
So here there's greater reward
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says
as related by the prophet
my servant does not remember me to themselves
except that I remember them
in a to a to a
group of the angels
and
they do not remember me in a gathering
except that I
met remember them
in the highest company which is the company
of the most August
of the angels
and this is related by
the Imam al Tabarani
with the sound chain of transmission.
And
a 5th hadith
So in the 5th hadith, it's related to
the prophet
said
that Allah Most High
that truly Allah Most High says, oh child
of Adam,
if you remember me
you are being grateful
to me
and if you
are forgetful
of me then you are being ungrateful
to me.
And the kufr here is
It's
a failure to recognize
blessings,
which is why the state of the Messenger
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was
the Messenger of Allah would be in remembrance
of Allah in all his states even in
his sleep.
He got up
while lying down
asleep
and he went to pray. The Saba asked
because while being the most majestic
of creation,
he was also the most approachable
of creation.
That you Rasulullah,
you
you ask them that you were asleep, but
you you have gotten up to pray without
making wudu. He says,
I am not
like you are.
My eyes may sleep,
yet my heart sleeps not.
And it's in the Sahih
and other
such hadiths.
And then
we're going to continue tomorrow with
a lengthy Hadith.
Hadith number 6 which is related
by Imam Bukhari with this specific wording and
similarly by Imam Muslim of how the angels
go around earth seeking out
the gatherings of remembrance.
Right? I mentioned the tremendous reward and honor
and blessing
of the gatherings of remembrance.
So knowing that,
you know, why would one
avoid them?
So that's what we wanted to cover today
from
the first
five hadiths of
the 40 hadiths on the virtues of remembrance.
In our
look at
the
proper manners
or the etiquette or the way
of a student of knowledge
from Imam Zanuji's work Talim al Mutalim,
we have reached a very important chapter and
is there for an important reason
on Tawakkul,
on trust in Allah.
So he's described to us
some of the adab of knowledge and having
intention and goals and prioritizing
and
choosing the right teachers
and the right subjects
and how one structures one's learning.
But then
Tawakkul here is important, why?
Because
starting off with studies
can appear pretty straightforward.
It's like climbing a mountain. Initially,
it's all straightforward.
It's, you know, you you you're walking and
typically the valley
because it's where the water gathers
coming down from the mountain is all rich
and verdant and so on. Likewise, when you
start in seeking all, wow, the the sheikh
so and so came and,
this happened and woah. And, you know, there's
this whole exhilaration.
But then you start climbing.
Oh my god. This requires effort.
And oh goodness. What about my retirement fund?
Oh my goodness. What will happen to my
parents?
Oh my good. You get all these fears.
That when you start looking down,
I may fall.
There's a lot of doubt self doubts and
doubts about
possibilities that arise
which is why trust in Allah is important
and you have to remember why you pursued
that path to begin with.
Tawakkul
is a
is one of the central
values of our religion
and
but it is,
a neglected value in its meaning.
Tawakkul, they say it's,
the coolness of certitude.
Right?
And it is a necessary
consequence of Tawhid.
Right? Lack of Tawakkul is from lack of
Tawhid.
Right?
What is?
Right? We say we trust in Allah, but
what does it mean?
Right? The it's it's a state
of the one
who makes another
their agent.
If you're going to do something,
right,
you you you have agency
to do something.
But you can appoint someone as an agent
to do it.
Right? That is called Tawkeel.
You make them your wakeel.
And it's based you you trusted them, but
they're acting on your behalf. When you have
Tawakkul,
you
you have
made Allah your Waqeel.
You've made Allah
your agent.
Right?
What have you made to act on your
behalf?
So you put you're trusting
in Allah, not upon yourself.
Now
has to do with
that which is outside of your
choices.
Right?
Does not negate
responsibility
for your choices.
But you realize that you don't possess other
than your choice.
K? Everything else
results,
contingencies,
consequences,
the unforeseen,
everything outside of your
immediate choice,
you make Allah
your agent in it. And if you made
Allah your agent in it, then you cannot
worry about it.
Because only a fool would.
Like because an
you would only appoint someone as an agent
on your behalf if you trusted them. But
when they're going to do it on your
behalf,
worrying about it won't change anything.
You ask someone, go buy me some coffee.
Here's
$20.
And then you're worried. I wonder what coffee
they'll buy me. Well, when they buy the
coffee, you'll find out.
Right? But while they're
going to get it, you can't affect the
result. Right?
So that's the idea of tawakul. You can
sign
all that is outside your
immediate choice to Allah.
Right?
That is you entrust Allah with
all outcomes.
Right?
With
complete
trust
and confidence
in him
regarding them.
And this is the meaning expressed
when we say Allah is our sufficiency
and he and how
and
how
and
he is the very best
of
agents,
the bet very best of guardians.
Right? The very best of those trusted.
So
it's in that context that Imam Sur Nougie
says
Then
after considering the taking of means and so
on, how you arrange your studies and things
that he's talked about. It is absolutely necessary
for the seeker of knowledge to have
trust upon Allah.
The here is referential
to have reliance upon Allah.
Right? The
which
which trust meaning trust upon Allah
in their seeking of knowledge.
So what if you made the choice to
seek knowledge,
your choices should focus on seek knowledge.
The things that are outside of that that
do not relate to it and that are
not required by it,
Those busying yourself with them goes against the
Waqul.
That's why he says,
and one should not concern oneself
with the matter of one's provision.
And one should not busy
one's heart
with that.
And we we will see in hadith that
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam has mentioned
that there's certain categories of people whom Allah
has taken upon himself
to provide for. 1 is the seeker of
knowledge.
So it's related with this chain of transmission
that through Imam Abu Hanifa that the Messenger
of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said whoever gains
whoever
seeks to gain understanding of the religion of
Allah, Allah will grant them sufficiency
with respect to their concerns.
Right? Mean, if they place their trust upon
him in them.
And he will provide from them in ways
they could not imagine.
And then he
explains
He said because whoever busies their heart
with matters of provision
and sustenance
and clothing and the like,
they will rarely
be able to free themselves up
to acquire
praiseworthy character and the highest of matters.
So this applies to the one who is
dedicating themselves completely to
to to knowledge, but also has to do
with the one who's not able to dedicate
themselves completely to knowledge
that one takes the means,
but it should not busy their concerns. So
what what are you thinking about? Oh, I'm
thinking about what's going to happen at work
with the boss with this with this with
this.
Right? What should your concern be? The prophet
in his dua
said,
that do not make this worldly life the
greatest of our concerns
nor the limit of our knowledge.
Right? That one takes the means
but once put puts one's focus,
one's discretionary
focus
where it should be.
Right?
And
in that he quotes a line of poetry
which we will
read and then we'll stop there. He says,
And this is a type of poetry
you can call it's put down.
K? He says, leave aside
all praiseworthy traits.
Don't travel
in their pursuit
and sit
for you are the one who will feed
and you are the one who will clothe.
It's a put
down. But do you think you're the one
who will feed yourself and clothe yourself?
When Allah says
that there's nothing in the heavens or in
the earth
except that it is upon us to provide
for it.
Well, who are razak? He is the provider.
So you take the means, but don't worry
about
the results.
Right? And that's why the oleman distinguish between
concern.
Right? Concern is that which is translated into
a plan of action
and the taking of means.
But the sign of concern
is calm
and worry,
which is when
one
is agitated about potential
consequences and what ifs and so on and
worry,
concern
can be can be found with trust in
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala that you plan, you
think through even contingencies,
but then you act, but the sign of
it is that the coolness of certitude,
And then he
details what reliance upon Allah
in entails.
And part of this as well is
the words of the prophet
who told us how does one pursue
worldly matters? He said,
seek,
you know, with beautiful
restraint.
With beautiful restraint. So, seek it, seek it
well, seek it beautifully, but with with a
restraint that is beautiful because it has balance
in it. It does not squander
genuine worldly considerations,
but it does not squander
the true
eternal considerations.
And
al Ijmaelufat
Talaab is also that you seek the path
in the pursuit of worldly matters
that will facilitate
and fulfill
for you the pursuit of ultimate good.
And that applies to work, which is what
he's emphasized here,
work and earning and provision. And it also
applies likewise
with family and other things.
And that don't
because without,
one loses focus.
And if one loses focus,
one will not be able to to not
only to seek knowledge,
but also as he's mentioned, to seek
seek
the great virtues of our religion
because they require
focus and dedication
and consistency because these are what change
requires. May Allah
facilitate it for us.
Thank you for listening to the Raoha, daily
guidance for seekers with Sheikh Farazrabani.
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