Faraz Rabbani – The Rawha #091 Means of Renewing Faith Expansiveness and Light for the Soul The Goldmine of Messengerhood
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You're listening to the Roha, daily guidance for
seekers with Sheikh Rasro Beni.
In our daily
Roja,
in which we look at some of the
guidance of the beloved messenger
We are continuing in our look at 40
hadiths on the merits of La Illaha Illallah,
and
we began
last class by looking at the first 5
hadiths
from this work by Sheikh Yousaf and Nabahani
which collects
40 hadiths on the merits of the greatest
statement
that can be made. The statement of.
And we we looked at the tremendous value
of
that it is the key to paradise.
Whoever says it with sincerity
will enter
paradise.
And
that
it is what
nurtures,
what protects,
nurtures,
and completes
faith.
So, of course,
a question would arise.
Right? A question would arise that what moves
one to want
to say. What would move one to this?
This is what hadith number 6
addresses,
right,
that what is the underlying
motive
that moves the believer
in all that they do?
Because even if you know the merit of
something,
what would make you seek that merit?
So we see hadith number 6. And Abi
Zar Radhiyallahu Ta'ala Anhu Anhu Qal. So Abi
Zar Radhiyallahu Ta'ala Anhu Anhu Qal. So Abi
Zar Radhiyallahu Ta'ala Anhu Anhu Qal. So Abi
Zar Radhiyallahu ta'ala Anhu Qal.
The beloved messenger
said, every morning
right? Every morning. One enters every morning and
every part of your body.
The sullama
can refer to either
every bone,
but it
refers to more every part of your body
owes a charity.
And every morning,
every part of your body owes
a charity.
What is that charity?
Right? It's an ex charity
is
in the broad sense of tzedakah,
charity,
a charity is an expression of good.
Right? Is an expression of good.
Why does every part of your body owe
charity
every morning? Right? Meaning, every new day,
every part of your body owes charity.
Because every part of your body, everything
about you is a gift from Allah.
Right?
And
when someone gives you a gift, what is
owed for it?
Gratitude.
But gratitude is not simply something that is
felt.
Gratitude
must be expressed
for it to be sound.
And this is something, of course,
in life we should not ignore.
That remember
to express your gratitude to people. It's not
enough to feel it.
Right?
It's not enough to feel it.
The basis of gratitude is that it should
be expressed,
and we should really think about the circles
of gratitude. Just as we owe gratitude
to Allah, and we'll see in this hadith,
we owe gratitude to Allah's creation. And the
prophet said, whoever is not grateful to people
is not grateful to Allah.
And there's many wisdoms in that because they
are from the gratitude to Allah Subha'ala because
he created them.
But also
gratitude to people is easy because it's tangible.
Someone did good to you.
If you can't recognize the tangible good that
people do,
then how can you realize the subtle good
that Allah does for you?
That's one of the aspects of gratitude, and
one should think about all those whom one
owes gratitude to and have a gratitude plan.
There are teachers in high school who benefited
you.
When did we ever
thank the people who do public good for
us? Even in your building
where you live, so many people do good
for you.
Be grateful. Right? And that our tendency is
to be ungrateful.
The delivery person is late, we're upset,
but the person just brought food for you
that otherwise you wouldn't have had. Right?
Express gratitude.
But then when you enter each day,
right, every part of your body is a
gift from Allah.
Therefore, you owe charity for it.
Why? As an expression of gratitude to Allah.
Every
every saying
is an expression of charity.
And every
praising of Allah is charity.
And every
statement
of which is what
means is every saying
is charity.
And every saying Allahu Akbar is charity.
And the Alemay say these zikrs, saying them
as charity,
firstly, for the gift of the tongue because
of the greatest of gifts.
Right? Because without the tongue, you could not
express yourself.
And if you couldn't express yourself,
you couldn't communicate. And without communication,
there is no society.
Right?
And that's a human benefit.
And the basis of all so all social
benefit
arises from the tongue because if you can't
communicate with people,
there's no community.
And all spiritual benefit
is also connected with the tongue. Your prayer
is uttered.
Remembrance is uttered. Quran is uttered.
Right?
So all these utterances,
spiritual utterances
are a gratitude for this great gift of
the tongue,
but also
that when you notice any of the the
good that ever of any part of your
body, one of the things you do is
you engage in these zikrs. You praise Allah.
You say you glorify Allah. Say Alhamdulillah.
You say
for the gifts that you have.
Every part of your body. Right? And all
that you do in life connects to parts
of your body. You eat something,
it nourishes some part of your body. Some
of us don't even know where the food
goes.
But go somewhere, so be grateful. Right?
How? You express it.
And commanding the good is charity. Why?
Because when you command the good upon others,
it's not to put them down because you
are grateful
for the gift of guidance
that Allah has blessed you with. And gratitude
entails
one thing that amongst the things that entails
is that you want that good for others.
Want to share that good with others. Right?
So commanding the good is done as an
act of charity.
But also tells us
so many lessons about commanding the it's an
act of charity. You're
giving something for the sake of Allah to
another
that will benefit them. It is not a
put down.
And forbidding the wrong
is charity.
It is so it is done out of
gratitude and out of concern for the good
of the other.
So these are all acts of charity.
And
something
that has the reward of all these acts
are 2 rakas that a person performs
of the prayer
of the mid morning prayer.
And this is related by Imam Muslim and
in.
Because the prayer is a challenging prayer, because
the basis is is in the morning people
head out for their worldly concerns.
So if at that time you can give
something
voluntarily, you didn't have to do it. Voluntarily
for the sake of Allah, it has the
reward
of
praising Allah, of glorifying Allah, and praising Allah,
and saying
and
has a reward of commanding the good, and
has a reward of forbidding the wrong.
So I asked why? And there's number of
explanations. Why does salatul duha contain all that
reward?
Because one, it expresses gratitude.
It expresses gratitude
that you begin the day
doing something
voluntarily for the sake of Allah.
Right? Either before you head out to work,
once you get to work, but you make
that time. Right? And
gratitude
expresses consciousness of Allah.
Right? So this is this proves that concern.
So, of course, there's a call here that
performed the Duha prayer out of gratitude to
Allah. And this is one of the outside
the oblique outside the obligatory prayers, the most
emphasized prayers are
the emphasized.
After the obligatory prayers, the most emphasized
prayers are the emphasized.
Then after the emphasized,
there are 3 prayers
that require particular attention, right,
that are not connected to the times of
prayer directly, which are
night prayer,
yeah, tahajjud
or.
Secondly,
the prayer, the mid morning prayer, which is
any,
you know, anytime after sunrise
till before.
To pray 2 or more rakas, optimally 4
or more up to 8 or 12.
Right?
So strive to make them. But it also
tells us why is this hadith mentioned
here in this collection
that the basis of our saying
is gratitude to Allah.
Right? And it's an act of expression of
gratitude.
This is why it's mentioned. This hadith is
in,
related by,
Imam Muslim and in Nasayee.
The 7th hadith
your dying
to say.
And this
is related by,
also by Imam Ahmed and others.
Right?
So it's related by all the authors of
the Sunan,
plus
Imam Ahmed and
Imam Muslim and Sahih
that instruct
your dying
to say.
The the early Muslims differ on this on
two positions
because the word
can refer to either the dying or those
who died.
The dying or those who died.
So some said it refers to before some
when someone's on their deathbed to instruct,
to encourage them without
too much exaggeration, lest they refuse because they're
in a distressed state.
You encourage them without
annoying
to say
indirectly
when the time is right with discretion.
Because the prophet said, as we will see,
whoever's last words
are enters paradise.
And that's something that is encouraged.
But
it is also
understood
by many of
the many of the companions
and early Muslims to make talkeen
to the deceased.
Right?
And this is
established within the 4 schools of Islamic law,
as either permitted or praiseworthy from this hadith,
and it was understood in that way by
some of the companions. And it's a matter
where there's 2 positions. Some said this hadith
refers only to when someone is dying, but
the word
can refer to either dying or dead.
Right? Linguistically and in the usage of the
Quran and the Sunnah.
Right?
So and the we know that the prophet
addressed those when people were buried. He addressed
them on more than one occasion.
So some Sahaba said that that's exceptional, and
that's a sound interpretation. That was that was
an exceptional thing the prophet did. He did
it with some of the believers, and he
also did it with some of the disbelievers.
After a whole group of believers were collectively
buried after one of the battles, the prophet
addressed them, that I have found the promise
of my lord to be true. Have you
found the promise of your lord to be
true? And saying, the Umar said, are you
talking to the dead?
He's a very practical man.
And he said, yeah, Umar,
you're not you cannot hear me any better
than they can.
So from that,
many of the early Muslims from the and
onwards and of the
took that it is from the Sunnah to
make talkeen,
to instruct the deceased once they're buried. That
oh, so and so,
you are now entering your grave.
If
if the angels ask you,
who is your Lord? Say my Lord is
Allah. If they ask you,
who, you know, who is your prophet say?
The messenger of Allah salallahu alaihi wa sallam.
If they ask you what's your book say?
The Quran,
etcetera. Right?
And say La Illahillullah.
Right? So you instruct them and that has
a basis. And there are 2 opinions,
within
the 4 schools of Islamic law. In the
Hanafi school,
both opinions are considered sound. Imam Sharun Balaali
and others mentioned
that a lot of the Fuqaha
deemed
it the deemed that one does both.
Right? Does it for the for the dying
and also at the grave with discretion. In
our time, sadly, many people like creating commotion
even at the grave, so one needs to
have discretion about it.
But if you see someone doing this, don't
say this is wrong and it's because
it has a basis in the sunnah and
from the practice of
the salaf right from the Sahaba and the
Tabi'in,
who are our imams of guidance.
The 8th hadith
So Abureyya relates to the messenger of Allah
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said,
renew your faith.
He was asked, oh messenger of God, how
can we renew our faith?
He said
make much mention of the statement.
Make much mention of the statement. Make much
mention of the statement.
There is no God but God.
This is related by.
Renew your faith. So here we say, see
one of the merits of
besides and we'll see hadith about the great
rewards of saying it, of it entering paradise
is that it renews, meaning it
strengthens
faith.
And the from that we would say see
that this should be one of the intentions.
Right? And this the greatest intention of zikr
is tajidul iman. It's to renew your faith
because the faith itself is the greatest of
of good deeds.
Right?
But that entails,
of course, that the person who will benefit
the most by saying is
someone who strives to understand its meanings. So
when we say,
what does it mean? Right?
There's no God but God. They say God
is the one God is the one worthy
of worship. Why is he worthy of worship?
Because he is the creator.
Because he is
the one free of need of any other
whom all are in absolute need of. So
when we say La ilaha illallah,
right,
to renew our faith we bear in mind
these many, the none worthy of worship, of
complete devotion. What is worship? Worship is absolute
unconditional devotion.
Right? All other devotion concern is relative. No
one is worthy
of worship, meaning absolute
attention
and devotion except Allah.
There's none
there's no creator but Allah. There's none
free of need of any other whom all
are in absolute need of except Allah. There's
none who has absolute
existence but Allah. There's none who is abs
who has absolute life, but Allah. There's none
who has
absolute will except Allah. There's none who has
absolute power, but Allah.
Right?
There's none who gives but Allah, and you
can think through all the names and attributes
of Allah
because none possess it those names and attributes
belong to Him and none shares in their
meanings.
So there's none
absolutely merciful but Allah, there's none more caring
than Allah
and this is one of the ways that
in mentioning La ilaha illa Allah one brings
to mind the meanings of who is God,
who is
Al Ilah, who is Arrab, who is the
Lord,
what are the attributes
of Allah,
what are the names of Allah. As one
says,
and this is a part of renewing faith.
Of course, the prophet said
make much mention of it. He did not
specify
a number, and the wisdom in that is
that the door is open.
As much as you can do,
right, in accordance with the parameters of the
sunnah of not losing balance, right, because there's
things you're responsible for, etcetera. The more you
do, the better it is. Right? And this
is, of course, the basis of an important
principle
that
that make engaging
in copious amounts of devotion
is not an innovation
unless it results in some
consequent harm.
Right? And this is one of the things
that some people
establish these weird
principles, which are innovations,
that doing something more than the process and
the reports have done it is a. There's
no basis of that.
Right? And one of the great scholars of
the Indian subcontinent,
Imam Abdul Hai al Lakhnawi,
who died in the year 305 or 306
after the Hijra, but it's
130 something years ago.
He died at the age of 39, authoring
127
books,
mostly in in Arabic, and he only visited
Arabia twice for Hajj.
He,
he wrote an amazing book called Establishing the
Decisive Proof
that making much devotion is not an innovation.
And one of the proofs is that many
hadith like this, many Quranic verses.
Make much remembrance of Allah. Doesn't say how
much. And the basis is that the that
something that is left unconditional
cannot be conditioned by mere opinion.
Unconditioned remains unconditioned unless
the lawgiver, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala or his
messenger condition it that only to this extent,
and there's no such texts. Right?
Of course, on the condition that we adhere
to the sunnah of not being excessive,
not causing harm, etcetera.
The 9th hadith,
So
both Sayidna Umar and Sayidna Talha ibn Ubaidullah
both relate to the messenger of Allah sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam said, truly I know a
statement that no person says it
when they are
about to die and when death has come
to them,
except
that
their soul will find for it
a
an expansiveness.
Right?
When it leaves their body and it will
be
great light for them on the day of
resurrection.
La Illahillah. It is
La Illahillah. There's no God but Allah.
Of course, the the Ulema say one of
the things that's understood for that. Do you
know what moment you're gonna die?
No.
So the the only way to guarantee that
it'll be the last thing you say is
to say it very frequently.
Right? Say it very frequently. And also, the
basis is that habits remain. So it's not
your habit to say it when you're fine.
Why would it and the habits and the
the time was most difficult to uphold habits
is
when you're very sick. It's very hard to
to make habits. So the say that one
of the things understood from the encouragement of
it being the last words that one says
is that it should
be that frequent mention
of should be one of the most inveterate
habits that one
has. Right? So that even if you're sick
and well and unwell and, like, yo, you're
on your last breath, but this is something
that doesn't leave you even when all other
habits
may fall away. And may Allah
grant us that.
And,
likewise, the 10th hadith
So ibn Hiban relates from Sayyidna Uthman that
the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
said, truly I know a statement that no
one says
truly from their heart.
Truly from their heart. And they die upon
that except that Allah makes
the fire
prohibited for them.
It is.
Right? Again, a call to make much mention
of this noble statement. May Allah
realize us in it. We're going to look
briefly
at the opening
of Imam al Ghazali's,
masterpiece,
Ayuhul Waled.
And
the background to the to the treatise, of
course,
right,
is
that
a student who was close to Imam al
Hazali
asked him
for advice after many years of study with
him.
And he studied
many of the sciences
and gained much,
you know,
much standing in their knowledge.
Right? And of course, you see the humility
of the student.
Right? That after years of study, they still
went to their teacher. The student went to
their and they they studied with Imam Al
Ghazali. And we know from the works of
Imam Al Ghazali, we see from them very
clearly what is Imam Al Ghazali's emphasis.
Right?
But the student, after years of studying with
him, felt that he'd not gained anything, and
he had complete deference. Tell me what I
should prioritize in life, so I can hold
on to it. So you see the humility
by which
you seek guidance.
Right? Because a cup that is full
cannot be filled.
Right? A cup that is full cannot be
filled. And, of course, you wouldn't think that
we benefit
almost a thou
900 years later from the works of Amal
Ghazali
so much
that
someone who studied for years with Amal Ghazali
would be seeking their knowledge for merely worldly
purpose. Right? But this is the humility that
the that this student had.
Right?
So the there many copies mentioned in the
introduction,
which is not from the not
from Imam Al Ghazali himself,
but so the student asked Imam Al Ghazali
for advice that he could hold on to
for the rest of his life
on to know what knowledge is of benefit
and what he should prioritize,
and some counsels that he could hold fast
from. Who
he could hold fast to. And this is
an important
aspect
of seeking religious
guidance that many people neglect,
which is which
is sincere
counsel,
Right? Which is sincere
counsel.
Right? That very often we we seek knowledge.
Right? And then we try to implement it.
We ask questions.
Can I is this allowed? Is that not
allowed?
But
we don't
but we don't
seek advice
of
those whose advice should be sought. Right? And
this wasiyah
is a very important sunnah.
Right?
The sunnah of the prophets,
actually, Allah counsels his creation,
right, to have taqwa of Allah.
Right?
And the prophets the the Sahaba used to
go, and they're attending
the Khutva's of the prophet, the talks, the
the gatherings, but still they'd go and ask
for advice for themselves.
And the prophet used to give them advice
particular to them. We know the many hadith.
Counsel me, oh messenger of Allah.
So the so Imam Al Ghazali
is addressing above all
the the student of knowledge. And likewise, anyone
who is seeking the way of beneficial knowledge,
which is why we'll be looking at this
treatise.
And we'll just look at the opening paragraph.
Imam Al Ghazali says,
Know well,
oh loving child.
Now this is someone who became a scholar.
Right?
But he,
Imam Al Ghazali is addressing him with the
with the love of a father
to their child, but also you don't you
don't call someone my child unless
that's the the nature of the relationship between
them. Oh, it's also who you who you
calling a child. Right?
Al Aziz. Right? Who is dear.
May Allah grant you a long life.
In his obedience.
And may he
cause you to travel
the path
of
those beloved to him.
K. That really
the the dua of the righteous is enough
guidance if you pay attention to what they're
saying. K.
That what is the purpose of your life?
You seek a long life
in
in obedience to Allah.
Right?
Because this world is an investment whose return
you're seeking
eternally.
And may he may he make you travel
the way of those
beloved to him. And what should you your
approach be in this life?
Pursue the path
of those
who have truly turned to me.
Is true turning.
So he says to them,
that
the proclamation
of sincere counsel of is
written
from the mind
of
messengerhood.
Right? That when we give
when we give sincere counsel, it is written
from that mine. Right?
Where where where precious
metal and stone, where that would just precious
is taken out from from the mine
of messengerhood
of
Right? Peace and blessings be upon him.
If counsel has come to you from him
then what need do you have of my
counsel?
And if
the prophetic counsel has not come to you,
then what have you gained in all these
past years?
So this is, of course, reminding of a
few things that the whole purpose of religious
knowledge is to connect one
to
prophetic guidance.
The whole purpose of all religious knowledge, whether
it be
or
or any of the derivative sciences or theology
or anything,
this purpose to connect you to the guidance
of the prophet.
And then if it connects if you're seeking
knowledge
has is supposed to connect you to prophetic
guidance,
then you should be connecting to it.
Then you should be connecting to it. Don't
be negligent of prophetic guidance. And if you're
connected to it,
then what should you be doing with that
guidance?
You should be taking heed from it. You
should be taking counsel for it.
Because the purpose of it is not knowledge,
it's to be guided.
And if that's happened to you, then you
don't need anything else. And so this is
a high level
reminder to a personal knowledge that your seeking
of knowledge should be connecting you to prophetic
guidance.
If it is connecting you, then
take heed from it. Take counsel
from it.
And the reason we strive to deepen our
understanding through
through
through
through all of these things, so we can
have deeper understanding of what Allah and His
Messenger are telling us
soundly.
But don't
divorce
your seeking of religious knowledge
from the source of religious knowledge. These are
meant to connect you.
And if you didn't connect, you wasted your
time.
But if you connected, but then you don't
benefit from that connection, so you know how
you derive meanings from texts.
Now, of course, you don't make but
you should take that
to take counsel.
Right. So you read that don't say to
your parents. You've studied
you know that words indicate meanings not just
directly, but also by their indication. Means speak
respectfully to to all people. Right. So use
your knowledge
to derive counsel
from Allah and his messenger.
Otherwise,
you have wasted your time. Right. Practically for
us, if, you know, for those like me
who are just beginning in their seeking of
knowledge, is that as you seek knowledge of
the sciences of Islam, with that, we should
all be cultivating
on a regular basis
our reading and reflecting upon the Quran and
the Hadith of the Rasool
And then applying what we learn,
right,
to better understand,
more soundly understand,
more deeply understand
the prophetic council, right, which is what the
prophet has conveyed to us of the Quran
and what he has conveyed to us of
divine inspiration
through his own teachings
So this is his opening
call and then in his first admonition, he
gives a very powerful standard.
That what is a sign of Allah turning
away from someone or turning to someone?
Right?
And it returns to what you prioritize in
life,
and it's a it's a powerful counsel. This
work,
Ayuh al Waled,
is translated into English in a number of
translations. You can find them online and is
also a capable translation published by Islamic Text
Society called Letter to a Disciple. I would
encourage you to get this work. So we'll
be reading this Mondays to Fridays
to Thursdays along with
the the 40 hadiths that we're looking at.
May Allah
grant us and you
commitment to the way of the one regarding
whom our beloved
Lord has said,
if you obey him, you shall be guided.
And whoever obeys the messenger has indeed obey
Allah. Right?
And who obeys Allah and his messenger,
that's the person
who has truly
succeeded
with tremendous success. May Allah realize us in
that.
Thank you for listening to Naraha, daily guidance
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