Ibraheem Menk – Youre A Winner
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of testing andulations during trials and busulations to avoid negative consequences. They stress the need for the dams and dams in people's behavior to compensate for bad behavior and avoid mistakes. The history of Islam, including the use of the datch as a scale of judgment, is also discussed, along with the importance of avoiding mistakes and remembering that one is the most important person in one's life.
AI: Summary ©
Allah has promised to test us by the
very virtue that we believe in him.
Hence he says, Alif Lam Mim, Ahasiba an
nasu an yutraku an yaqulu amanna wa hum
la yuftanoon Do the people believe, Alif Lam
Mim, then do the people believe, do they
think that we will leave them to say
that they have believed in Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala and they will not be tested?
This is a question as a retribution from
Allah rabbul Izzati wal Jalal, saying, rebuking us,
saying, how can you believe that you will
say that I believe in Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala and then you shall not be
tested by Allah rabbul Izzati wal Jalal, meaning
by the very virtue that you say, I
believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you
shall be tested.
So wait and know that those tests, trials
and tribulations will come in your life, but
that does not mean that you assume the
worst of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and
that does not mean that you should expect
for problems in your life, rather assume the
best of Allah rabbul Izzati wal Jalal, I
am with my servant as he assumes of
me, if he thinks good of me, then
he shall receive goodness, and if he thinks
bad of me, then he will have bad
and evil in his life.
So don't assume the worst of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, but prepare yourself for trial
and tribulation, knowing that Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala has promised for that trial and tribulation
to come.
And we see that some of those who
have disbelieved in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
enjoy the most lavish of lives, why?
Because Allah does not reward with this dunya,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not use
the dunya as a measure of reward and
punishment, hence Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had
the greatest trial and tribulation, but do you
want to know whether you are in the
bounty of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala or
whether you are being tested, then go back
to how your relationship is with Allah rabbul
Izzati wal Jalal, regardless of what is happening
around you, whether you find yourself in rich
wealth and goodness, or you find yourself in
a calamity, regardless of what is happening around
you, ask yourself, what is my connection to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala like?
Am I close to Allah rabbul Izzati wal
Jalal?
Do I pray my salah?
Am I connecting with Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala on a daily basis?
And if the answer is yes, then you
are close to Allah rabbul Izzati wal Jalal
and you are on the right path and
you are in the bounty of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, you are better off than
the one who has the entire dunya, everything
at his disposal, everything, but he disbelieves in
Allah rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
Why?
Because if you are to die today being
close to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then
what does that translate to for you?
What does that mean for you?
It means you are in the pleasure of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
It means you are in Jannah forever and
ever and ever and ever, everlasting bliss.
And if that man who disbelieves in Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, yet he has everything
of this dunya, were to die today, what
does that translate to?
I don't need to say it.
We all know what it translates to.
So that is why we say that trial,
test, calamity, tribulation in your life does not
mean you are distant from Allah rabbul Izzati
wal Jalal.
If anything, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on
the very next page of this Surah, he
tells us something very interesting.
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ And from
amongst the people are those who say we
believe in Allah rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
فَإِذَا أُوذِيَ فِي اللَّهِ جَعَلَ فِتْنَةَ النَّاسِ كَعَذَابِ
اللَّهِ And when he is tested, then he
makes the fitna.
Then he makes the fitna of the people,
meaning the harm of the people that has
come to him, he makes it like the
punishment of Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
This is speaking about war.
When the people went out to defend their
lives and to defend their deen, then Allah
Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal says that when they
were harmed, someone struck him with a sword,
he had a wound, something happened to him,
then some of the people, their response is
not to say, Their response is not to
say, So this is only a test from
Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
Some of them would actually respond by saying
that this is the azaab of Allah Rabbul
Izzati wal Jalal.
This is the azaab of Allah Rabbul Izzati
wal Jalal.
Meaning, a rain comes down, a part of
your house falls down, and your first reaction
is, why is Allah punishing me?
Then you have got this dunya wrong.
Your iman is lacking, there is something wrong
there.
Because you said you believed, but when the
trial and tribulation came, it didn't draw you
closer to Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
Rather, you looked at the dunya as a
measure of goodness.
So you said, Allah gave me, so I
am thankful.
When Allah took away from me, why is
Allah punishing me?
That is not the scale of judgment for
a believer.
That is not the scale of judgment for
a believer.
And I say this because today, as I
go about around different places, I find people
asking me this question.
Why is it that we are believers, and
Allah has tested us, and we are being
punished, and we find our brothers and sisters
being slaughtered.
But in reality, that is not the punishment
of Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
Hence we see some of these scenes that
come out of these places, where people, they've
lost their brothers, they've lost their sisters, they've
lost their uncles and aunts, people that they
deem to be blood, people that are their
blood.
They've lost them, and what are they saying?
Alhamdulillah, all praise is due to Allah.
Why?
Because the iman is alive in the heart.
They know that we are brought into this
world by Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
He gave us the life that we have.
He chose to take it away, so we
thank Him.
We thank Him, we are grateful to Him.
Not only shall we remember that we are
from Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal, and to
Him we shall return.
We are on this journey to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, but over and above that,
we thank Him for His decree in this
matter.
He decided and He chose Allahu Akbar.
That is a level of iman that is
higher, because they know what they are here
for.
So never use this dunya as a scale
of judgment.
If the dunya was a scale of judgment,
then Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would have
had the most wealth.
And Fir'aun would have had the least
wealth.
But Fir'aun had so much, and Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was given less of
this dunya.
Umar ibn al-Khattab r.a walks in
to Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, sitting or
lying on his side.
And when he gets up, he notices the
marks of the mat.
You know the mat that was on the
ground, it left marks on the side of
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
So his eyes begin to tear.
And he looks at Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam and says, Kisra and Qaisar have been
given so much, yet look at the marks
that this mat has left on your body.
So Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam's answer is
profound, and in that is the answer for
you and me.
He says, Amatardhaa ya Umar?
Are you not happy, O Umar?
Anad dunya lahum walukhra lana?
That the dunya is for them and the
akhirah is for us?
That the dunya is for them and the
akhirah is for us?
That should be the response of a believer
when he sees difficulty in his life.
You know, sometimes we face so much trial
and tribulation, that we, as good believers, we
begin to think, Why am I being tested
so much?
You know what Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal
says, وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَنُوا كَفِّرًا عَنْهُمْ
سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ And those who have done, they have
believed, and they have followed it up with
good deeds, we will compensate their bad.
We will compensate their bad.
What is that compensation?
What is that compensation?
Allah gave you a calamity, a problem, a
trial, a difficulty.
The nature of that difficulty is temporary, meaning
it will pass.
And in return, He compensated you with something
that is everlasting, something that is pure bliss,
something that is a real reward.
So, even in your trial, test and tribulation,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is compensating you
for your bad with goodness.
With goodness.
This is Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
And this is the nature of this dunya.
We need to remember what is the measure
of goodness.
The measure of goodness is the Akhirah.
And the measure of knowing whether you are
receiving that Akhirah in your life is to
ask yourself how close you are to Allah
Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
You know, after the first verse that we
recited in this talk today, Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala says, أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ
أَن يَسْبِقُونَ سَاءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ Do those who
have done evil believe that they shall escape
us?
Bad is their judgment.
Bad is their judgment.
It doesn't take belief in Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala for you to use your logic
and say that I'm in this world.
I came at some point.
I was non-existent before that time.
People never even knew that I was going
to come into this world.
My parents didn't even know that they were
going to be given me.
I'm here today and I am going somewhere.
I am going somewhere.
So, we remind those who are engaged in
evil day in day out.
And Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, when speaking about
mistakes, he said خَيْرُ الْخَطَّائِينَ الْتَوَّامُونَ The best
of those who make mistakes, commit sins, are
those who repent to Allah rabbul-izzati wal
-jalal.
But these are evil people.
These are people who wake up.
Some others are evil people.
They wake up with evil on their mind.
How am I going to bring down such
and such a person?
How are we going to humiliate these people?
How are we going to eliminate such people
from earth?
You know what the response of the believers
to such people is?
To remember that Allah is in control.
Allah is in control.
That very piece of earth that they slaughter
our brothers and sisters on, belongs to none
other than Allah rabbul-izzati wal-jalal.
He is, was, was, is and will always
be in control.
Even though they may feel that they are
the judges.
And they take life when they want.
And they allow people to live when they
want.
They don't realize, سَاءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ What an
evil judgment they have.
If someone views this from the slaughter and
the massacre that happens.
If someone views this from the viewpoint of
the akhirah.
Then they will actually feel sorry for the
perpetrators.
Why?
Because they are asking for everlasting doom.
They are inviting everlasting doom.
So whenever you think about life, and you
see happenings around you, remember that the yardstick
of measurement for the believer is not the
dunya.
It is not the dunya, the dunya fania.
The dunya is temporary, it comes and it
goes.
You came, you will go.
But the true yardstick of measurement is where
that person is.
وَثَى اللَّهِ رَبُّ الْعِزَّةِ وَالْجَلَالِ What his condition
is.
وَثَى اللَّهِ رَبُّ الْعِزَّةِ وَالْجَلَالِ We ask Allah
SWT to grant us the ability to view
the dunya in the correct manner.
And we ask Allah SWT to give us
iman that is followed up with action.
Such that He will grant us His rahmah
and His mercy and Jannatul Firdaus.
Ameen.
وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ