Johari Abdul-Malik – It Aint Over Til Its Over
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Beginning the hudbatuljumma
today, praising Allah
and thanking Allah
for having blessed us
for having blessed us to have lived to
see the days nights of shahr Ramadan.
Where
we know that these days nights they are
filled with blessings.
They are filled with
forgiveness.
And filled
with a freedom from the hellfire.
To have lived into the month of Ramadan
with all of its rewards
that
Allah
would have blessed us
to rehearse the Quran.
That Allah would bless us in the month
of Ramadan,
to achieve
the obedience
to Allah's command because Allah has ordained the
institution
of sound for the generations that preceded us.
Informing us in the Quran,
There
are
those who followed the previous
prophets.
They were given this command,
and somehow their people went astray.
We are blessed, walhamdulillah,
that we are in the Ummah of Rasulullah
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. We have not abandoned.
We want to acquire,
to acquire
this reward, this taqwa
from the month of Ramadan.
But today I want to say something to
you,
and I don't want you to feel offended,
but I want to warn you.
There are many of us, when we
look at our achievements
in the month of Ramadan, and we set
out some achievements,
we said that in Ramadan,
oh Allah,
let me
stand in the night and pray, and I'm
going to acquire some taqwa.
If, oh Allah, you let me fast,
while I'm fasting I'm going to give up
vain speech, while I'm fasting, alhamdulillah,
I'm going to pray more. I'm going to,
alhamdulillah,
have more athkar. I'm gonna read the Quran.
I'm gonna do more and more and more
in the month of Ramadan.
You get close to the end of the
month of Ramadan, and maybe you say to
yourself,
well, I didn't do too much.
I didn't do as much as I wanted
to do.
But you feel good about yourself.
You know some people who are not in
the masjid, you know them, but they're not
here.
And you start feeling good that you're one
of those people, alhamdulillah, you're saving yourself from
the fire because you're here.
Maybe after the month of Ramadan, you're reading
the Quran and you start feeling,
SubhanAllah,
feel close to Allah
because I was in the masjid.
Maybe
as you come to the last days in
the month of Ramadan, and you say, well,
in the last 10 days I have Ithakaaf,
and Allah is gonna free me from the
hellfire, I start feeling good.
It ain't over yet.
They have a saying in this country, it
ain't over till it's over.
So I want to remind you today of
a story about
a great scholar,
Abdullah ibn
Imam
Ahmed.
Everybody knows him as Imam Ahmed, radiAllahu alaihi
wa'am.
The story says that
the son of Imam Ahmed,
he was with
his father
at the time of his death.
All of us, alhamdulillah,
we would like to be by the side
of our loved one when
they die.
Abdullah,
he was by his father.
And he knows what hamdilela, that his father
was a person who was upright.
His father was a scholar of Islam.
His father was teaching what handi left. He
was an example of good character.
SubhanAllah,
if there is anyone who is living with
someone, and not only are they a scholar,
but they're also your family member. You live
with them. You see what they do in
public and what they do in private.
Maybe, subhanallah, you say to yourself, you know,
even as a Muslim, I'm fasting Ramadan, and
although people can't
see me, even in private
I'm obeying Allah.
And my fasting,
I know that I'm doing it.
And so on the deathbed
of Imam Ahmed, the story goes,
as is often for people at the end
of life, maybe
they will fall into unconsciousness.
And so while he was unconscious,
as many of you know this rewire,
he began
saying some words and his son listened to
what the father is saying because he knows
it's the last words maybe that his father
will pronounce.
Laban.
Not yet.
No, not yet.
The son is standing over his father. He
knows that if he's dying, he's gonna meet
the American mouth.
And the American mount is gonna say to
him,
your soul come out.
Come with me.
Your life is over.
There's no more air for you to breathe.
There's no more water.
There are no more wives, no more children,
no paychecks.
Nothing is left. Not a speck is left
for you in this reality, in the dunya.
Come with me.
And the son sees the father,
and in his semi conscious state, he's saying,
no.
Not yet.
As any son who believed that his father
really was a pious person,
he starts being concerned.
What is happening to my father?
How could someone I thought was so pious,
now
in in the last minutes of his life,
he's he's
afraid to face death?
The companions
of the prophet,
they were happy to meet death
because they know they can throw off the
shell of this life, and all of the
the maseeba, all of the problems and the
trials and the tribulations, it'll all be over
at the time of death. Subhanallah, they see
it coming.
But this son, he hears his father saying,
not yet.
And as it is when people are
sometimes in this saqqara, they're going between
consciousness and lack of consciousness,
teetering on the border of death,
they'll come back to consciousness again.
And so Abdullah has a chance to talk
to his father.
He said, oh my father,
why were you saying,
no, not yet.
I'm afraid for you. What what was happening
with you? And his father replies to him,
according to this narration, that Shaitan was standing
right next to me biting his fingernails,
saying, oh,
Ahmed,
you slipped through my hands.
I almost had you.
You could have been like the person in
the hadith
of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam,
the pious person that when they meet Allah,
and Allah asks, what did you do for
me?
They say, oh Allah, I was a pious
teacher.
I used to teach people the Quran and
the sunnah of your Rasool sabbalani wasallam,
great public lectures, and I used to write
books and I was famous
for
teaching.
And Allah will say to him,
you were doing it so that people would
say about you
so and so.
So now get your reward
from them
because your work wasn't for me.
Maybe you could have been like the rich
person who, when they meet Allah, they say,
you Allah, I I spent all of my
money in your cause.
Allah said, no. You spend it so that
people would say, oh, so and so is
so generous.
Maybe
he could have taken a risk and feel
comfortable like the person who said, I was
living in this life, you Allah, and I
was fighting to defend Islam,
and I died in your cause.
And Allah said, no.
You were acting like that because you wanted
people to fear you.
You weren't doing it for me. You wanted
people to say you were brave.
It wasn't about me.
So now
the time of death, you're meeting Allah.
Go and ask those people
who you were trying to impress,
ask them to give you the reward.
Imam Ahmed could have been in that place.
He could have said,
yes, Shaitan, I beat you.
You tried to get me one time with
some shirt, but I didn't go for it.
The imam, you could have said, I know
one time I was tempted by a beautiful
woman, but I didn't I didn't pay her
any attention. Alhamdulillah,
beat you.
Yes, Sytan, I know you were laying for
me in every place and subhanAllah. All throughout
my life I defeated you.
Now I'm facing death.
You miss
me.
Imam Mohammed's
reply should be a lesson for us.
He says to Shaitan, no,
not yet.
It ain't over
till it's over.
I don't want to live a second
thinking that I have escaped
shaitan in this life. I got it going
on. I don't have any sin.
Because that's when you are the most vulnerable.
Check out the new shahada.
Somebody takes shahada.
They used to drink,
gamble,
fornicate,
lie,
cheat,
and steal.
They went every kind of place.
Chaitan doesn't really bother them.
They almost
their disobedience to Allah is on autopilot.
They don't need the wasa wisoo to get
them to go do something. They're on their
own.
But the day that they take Shahada,
Allah forgive them of their sins,
all of a sudden they become
public enemy
for shaitan
number 1.
We gotta get that person off to serrat
Mustaqim.
Well, a man, he's been pious his whole
life. He gets married,
women find out that he's married
on the job.
Men paid you no mind before then, but
now you're married, then they start winking at
you.
Why? They said, oh, because he's he's upright.
Your stock, your value goes up.
When Shaytan knows
that you're on the Sarat al Mustaqim,
and he knows when you're getting close to
the end of the game,
then that's the time to strike you out.
And so Imam Ahmad said: No,
not yet.
I have not defeated you, Shaytan,
until I take my last
breath.
I'm reminded of so many missed opportunities that
we have in life.
Were we to have the attitude that
it ain't over till it's over?
Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah
Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah
Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah
Farooqdah Farooqdah Farooqdah
Farooqdah
Farooqdah.
But if you want the ultimate achievement,
even when you are free from your immediate
task,
continue to struggle
and turn your attention to Allah.
Allah.
And this phrase is used
often in the Quran,
and the prophet
borrows from the style of the Quran in
his kalaam,
saying that Allah
makes the best deeds of a person
their last deeds.
That Allah makes for you,
the last deeds,
your best deeds.
I don't know how many of you
look at
a grade point average
if you go to
your child is in school or when you're
in school, your grade point average.
Your grade point average, even though maybe some
of us, they started out
as a poor student,
but then over time we became better,
our grade goes up,
but we're always held back by the low
grades that we made in the past.
So your GPA is brought down.
If you were to be evaluated
by someone saying, I want to look at
how did the student improve?
In their senior year when they're better
than in their freshman year
or their sophomore year, and we're gonna
give them whoever they were at the top,
then we'll count that because they have learned
throughout
their matriculation,
and so we're not going to penalize them.
Only the mercy of Allah has this kind
of grading system,
that Allah
counts most
our last deeds.
None of us knows
when
our last deed will be.
Therefore
we should have
this process
of saying to ourselves
that it ain't over till it's over.
That
even though I feel comfortable, Alhamdulillah,
I fasted Ramadan, insha Allah, I'm gonna live
to see the day of Eid,
there's no guarantee.
Tonight in Dar al Hajjara, we will have
the hittman.
We'll close and we'll finish reading the Quran
tonight,
Fatima Al Quran.
There are many people I know,
not you, but there are many people I
know.
Sometimes we call them Muslims.
Am I right?
The only time you see them is on
the 27th of Ramadan.
They probably have a Khatam al Quran group.
You see them, they come for the hibra.
There's probably another group, they're just the Ramadan
Muslim. You will see them again next year.
If you're in any one of those
groups, say to yourself, it ain't over yet.
I know there's someone saying, but imam, laylatul
kadri khairun min al fushar. I wanna get
a lifetime
of reward.
If I'm standing in that night, SubhanAllah, I
should be good.
If Allah forgives sins from 1 Ramadan to
the next Ramadan, alhamdulillah, long as I get
to the next Ramadan, I'm good.
But you don't know that.
Just like Imam Ahmed said, I don't know
whether this
is my last round or not.
So until I take my last breath,
no,
I have not defeated Shaitan yet.
So, alhamdulillah, I'm inviting you.
We know, alhamdulillah,
the prophet
he told us that
anyone who completes the month of Ramadan and
follows it with 6 days,
it would be as if they fasted all
year.
My advice to you is
not to take it
literally,
but what is it really saying to us
in a bigger picture?
Don't stop fasting
just because Ramadan
is over.
Don't stop
standing in the night and praying because
there's no tawheed prayer, so why should I
pray?
Even though
I'm going to hear people say
in the adhan of Fajr,
salaatul khairum minnaum,
me I'm sleeping.
But in Ramadan,
I'm awake for suhoor,
so I pray
fajr
on time,
but now Ramadan is over.
Just keep going.
Don't stop.
So So the prophet has given you an
institution,
fast and shaban.
Why? So you can keep going.
I'm gonna give you a challenge.
I believe that for our children,
Ramadan
is the
best month of the year.
For our families, it's the best month.
For our friendships,
it's the best month.
Why? Because, alhamdulillah,
we give up those other relationships to have
a relationship with Allah,
and we do it all together.
There are some children, they live in our
society, they live in isolation.
But in Ramadan,
the masjid is open every night for them.
All of their friends come.
We're trying to make sure that in Ramadan,
our children have a good time. They have
their candy at suhoor time.
Sorry.
I know some of y'all I know some
of the children, they eat candy at suhoor,
I'll tell you now.
You try alhamdulillah
to give
them treats so that they can enjoy
the sweetness of Islam.
Families,
some youth I had at Howard University,
please come forward, brother. They're brothers standing right
there. You see them standing right there? You
would not believe they're standing right there because
they want to sit down, but you won't
move to give your brother a seat to
come forward.
Husnu adan, right? Isn't that what they're calling
it? Husnu adan?
Right?
You prefer others over yourself? Come on, man.
Make a seat for the brother.
In the month of Ramadan,
one student at Howard University,
she was making a joke, but it's serious.
She said, how? I know it's Ramadan
because my mother cooks dinner every night.
That's America.
Maybe another country would be different, but in
America,
all of a sudden the kitchen becomes alive
in Ramadan.
Families eat together.
They spend time together.
The children and the wife and the husband
come to the masjid together.
When Ramadan is over,
don't have the feeling that I got it.
Have the feeling I need it.
Ramadan is over, you used to be hungry
to be in the masjid.
Stay hungry
for the Masjid after Ramadan.
You were hungry
to stand
behind the imam and recite the Quran
after Ramadan,
stay
hungry.
When Shaytan
comes to you after Ramadan and starts tempting
you, and saying, oh man, you don't need
to go to this, you don't need to
get up for that,
tell Shaytan, no,
not yet.
Not until I take my last breath will
I leave this,
and I'm going to keep going.
Brothers and sisters,
I want to invite you now
to prepare for the day of Eid,
and I'm going to make the announcements now
because I think they're so important.
That is,
tonight we will have
the khatam al Quran. Please join us.
At the end, there will be a very
long dua,
not just for us and our families,
but for the whole Ummah.
Umma.
Inshallah,
a du'a for our whole world.
And so I ask you, bidnila, to join
us tonight.
I need to inform you the kind of
fitr is $10 per person per member of
your family,
and I have read hadith that say even
the slave
should pay
Zakat al Fitr,
so that you have a sense of how
serious it is.
And we want to get that zakat early
enough
so that we can, in an organized way,
distribute
it to those in need in our community.
So I'll ask you today, if you can
pay yours a cattle fitter
today.
Dhavalhithra is planning for
the Eid prayer for Monday,
July 28th.
There will be 5 prayers.
It is important, bidnila,
that you try to come to
the prayer
early.
Know that it is a prayer, walhamdulillah,
that is
the opposite
of salatul jumwah,
that we will pray
followed by a khutbah.
I invite you, bayidnillah,
to stay for the khutbah.
All of the,
imams that are speaking that day will try
to keep their khutbah short,
even me.
The first prayer will be at 7 AM
with Sheikh Mohammed Al Hanouti.
The second prayer, 8 AM
with,
brother Usama Abu Shehrd.
The third prayer will be at 9 AM
with Sheikh Shakir.
The 4th prayer will be with
Ashraf Nubani,
and the 5th prayer well, that's at 10:15,
Ashraf Nubani,
and 11:30
with yours truly.
We ask you,
please, we're going to have an Eid celebration
the next Saturday, which is August
2nd,
from 12 to 6. It will be
a celebration
on the grounds of the masjid,
pony ride, the train ride, games, clowns, laser
tag,
food,
and it's all
for free.
We're asking you to donate
as much as you can, at least $5,
walhamdulillah,
so that we can pay for everything,
so no one will feel
that they missed out on the day of
Eid. Some child said, Abiyyah, I want to
go ride one more time, and you say,
we cannot afford it.
On this day will be a day of
abundance.
Long as they can wait in the line
and be patient, walhamdulillah, they get to ride
the pony again.
Walay, I'm telling you, there are some children,
they remember the pony ride from the day
of Eid, all their lives.
SubhanAllah.
You think it's small, but for them, walais,
it's it's a big deal for them.
I need to inform you,
when you're coming for the salat, the times
again, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, and 11:30,
please
park your car across the street at either
of the 2
churches. Obey the rules to make it easy
on our security people.
Alhamdulillah,
know you will come in one door with
your shoes, shoes, you'll put them in a
plastic bag, and you'll leave through the other
door. So, don't come with the idea you're
gonna leave your shoes on that side, and
then can't find them after the thing, and
you blame Imam Johari.
Alhamdulillah,
we ask you, alhamdulillah, to donate generously, and
I wanna thank you all, SubhanAllah.
We had our fundraising,
major Ramadan fundraising Wednesday night with Imam Saraj,
and alhamdulillah, we reached our goal $200,000.
We ask Allah to reward each and every
one of you abundantly
for what you have given and replace it
with something better.
O Allah, guide us among those whom You
have guided. O Allah, protect us among those
whom You have protected.
You Allah, take us as friend among those
whom you have taken as a friend. You
Allah, we ask that you accept our fasting
in this month, you Allah. O Allah, accept
our standing in the night, you Allah. O
Allah, accept our prayers, walhamdulillah.
O Allah, accept our sacrifice, subhanAllah, in your
call. O Allah, we ask, alhamdulillah, that you
continue to bless us and our families, you
Allah. O Allah, keep us together on the
Suratul Mustaqeem.
You Allah, some of us, our families are
in Surat al Mustaqeem. You Allah, some of
us, our families are in difficulty, you Allah.
Keep us close, you Allah. Keep us close,
you Allah. Cause us to love you and
to love each other more, you Allah. O
Allah, we ask that you keep us, alhamdulillah,
away from the harm and the diseases of
the society, you Allah. O Allah, Allah. O
Allah, purify us, you Allah, from the recitation
of your Quran, you Allah. O Allah, those
who maybe are having diseases, you Allah. We
ask that you grant them your shifa.
You Allah, those who are suffering,
with the lack of of of risk, you
Allah, sustenance. Oh, Allah, we ask that you
increase their sustenance, oh,
Allah. Oh, Allah, help us, alhamdulillah, that we
will be among those who help, you Allah.
Oh, Allah. We are living in a world
with so much difficulty and violence, you Allah.
Oh, Allah, umahu ma'am, antasalamwaminkasalam.
Watabarati yavaljalalewalikram.
O Allah, you are peace and you are
the source of peace, You Allah. O Allah,
make us to be agents of your peace,
You Allah. O Allah, that we might work
and strive, alhamdulillah, to bring peace to our
world. O Allah, we ask for your mercy
on those who are suffering around the corner,
You Allah, and around the world.
O Allah, we ask alhamdulillah,
for your mercy and your peace on the
Prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam, and on his family and
on his companions,
and on all of the MBR and also
follow the way of your haqq, you Allah,
until the day of judgment.