Kamil Ahmad – Parables of the Quran #03
AI: Summary ©
The importance of giving in sadaqah and avoiding hesitation and uncertainty is emphasized in Surah statement. hesitation and hesitation are conditions that are removed by actions and behavior, and individuals should be cautious with their actions and feelings related to their actions. The importance of learning about rewards and building a strong foundation is also emphasized. The transcript uses examples of parables and encourages listeners to practice giving the right way. The importance of fear and fear in the process of good deeds is emphasized, and individuals should be aware of their actions and emotions related to their actions.
AI: Summary ©
Bismillah walhamdulillah, wassalatu wassalamu ala rasoolillah.
Is it working?
I mean the sound.
Check the sound.
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.
Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen.
Hamdan kathiran tayyiban mubarakan feeh.
kama yuhibbu rabbuna tabaraka wa ta'ala wa
yarda.
wassalatu wassalamu al-atamman al-akmalani ala khayri
khalqi allahi ajma'een wa ala alihi wa
sahbihi wa man ihtada bi hadih mustanna bi
sunnatihi ila yumm al-deen.
Allahumma a'allimna ma yanfa'una wa infa
'na bima a'allamtana wa zidna ilma wa
alina al-haqqa haqqan wa rizqna ittiba'ah
wa alina al-baatila baatilan wa rizqna ijtinaabah
wa aj'alna mimman yastami'una al-qawla
fa yattabi'una ahsana wa ba'd salamu alaykum
wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
We continue with our series.
We continue on with our series on the
amthal al-Quran, the parables of the Quran.
And last week we mentioned two parables that
are mentioned in surah al-Baqarah.
One was the parable of sadaqah and the
reward of it.
And then we mentioned the parable of that
which annuls and cancels the reward of sadaqah
because of al-man and al-adha.
You know, boasting about it, boasting about your
sadaqah.
So today we move on to the next
two parables that come immediately after these two
parables in surah al-Baqarah.
So the next parable that we have is
the reward of giving in sadaqah.
Again, Allah gives another parable for the reward
of giving sadaqah.
And this is giving it, giving sadaqah with
ikhlas, with sincerity, and being sure of the
reward of Allah.
And so the previous parable that we covered
was of a person who lacks sincerity.
Right?
He's doing it to show off.
He's doing it for other than the sake
of Allah.
Allah mentions like the munafiq, the hypocrite.
Right?
Now Allah mentions a parable to give comfort
to the believers and to reassure them of
their reward if they give with ikhlas, sincerity,
and they are sure of the reward of
Allah.
And so, this sincerity, this ikhlas, that, you
know, one dollar that I give is far
better than millions that I hold back.
Right?
This certainty that you have, this iman that
you have.
You know, it's a deep belief in your
heart.
And so this parable, Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala basically says, وَمَثَلُ الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ إِبْتِغَاءَ
مَرُضَاتِ اللَّهِ وَتَثْبِيتًا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ And the example
of those who spend their wealth seeking the
pleasure of Allah.
So this is ikhlas.
And they are sure of Allah's reward for
themselves.
تَثْبِيتًا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ What this means is that
they are sure of Allah's reward.
Meaning that they believe in the reward of
Allah for what I've done.
Allah says that this sadaqah, its example, كَمَثَلِ
جَنَّةٍ بِرَبْوَةٍ أَصَابَهَا وَابِلٌ فَآتَتْ أُكُ لَهَا ضِعْفَيْنَ
It is like a garden on high ground
which is then hit by a downpour of
rain.
Heavy rain.
So what happens?
It's gonna produce, right?
Whatever fruits, whatever vegetables are there growing, it's
gonna produce double what it should because of
the heavy rain.
فَإِلَّمْ يُصِبْهَا وَابِلٌ فَطَلْ If it is not
hit by a downpouring of rain, then even
a drizzle is sufficient.
Even light rain is sufficient.
وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ And Allah is all
-seeing of what you do.
So here Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives
us a parable, an example.
And that is the charity, the sadaqah of
the believer.
His sadaqah is compared to high fertile ground.
High fertile ground.
And so a garden, meaning a farm or
a garden that produces fruits and vegetables, a
garden that is on high ground, it receives
better sunlight and wind and breeze.
So it produces better fruit.
And it produces more fruit.
Now if you add to that, if you
add to that a heavy downpour of rain,
then it's gonna produce double of what any
other garden or farm would produce.
Right?
But now even if this high, this garden
that is on high ground, even if it
doesn't get a downpouring of rain, a light
drizzle would be sufficient to produce that rich
fruit.
Why?
Because it's fertile ground, it's rich, the soil
is rich, and it's on high ground.
And so this is how your sadaqah is.
This is how your sadaqah is when you
give it for no other reason than for
the sake of Allah.
And you are certain of the reward of
Allah.
You are certain of the reward of Allah.
And so if you give a lot, that
is the comparison of a downpouring of rain.
Someone who gives a lot, someone who's always
giving.
Right?
And even if you give a little, and
that is the example of the light drizzle.
Right?
Either way, the reward is gonna grow.
Right?
Either way, there is guaranteed reward and profit
because the ground is the same.
And that is the ground of ikhlas, of
sincerity and iman.
Right?
Knowing that this is the reward and I
should expect this reward.
That's what we mean by being sure of
the reward.
Like the Prophet ﷺ says about fasting Ramadan,
من صام رمضان ايمانا واحتسابا Whoever fasts Ramadan
with iman and looking forward to the reward.
Looking forward to the reward.
And so here, the only difference is the
amount of rain.
Right?
And so some people, they give a lot.
Some people, they're always giving.
Day in, day out.
Right?
These are, and they give with sincerity.
These are, تسابقون الاولون Right?
The likes of Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه.
Right?
And others, they do also give.
Right?
But not as much.
Right?
And so they are, we can say like
ashab al-yameen.
In surah al-waqi'ah, Allah ﷻ divides
the people into three groups.
Two groups are the people of Jannah, and
the third group are the people of the
hellfire.
The two groups of Jannah, Allah ﷻ divides
them into تسابقون الاولون Right?
Those who are always at the forefront.
The likes of Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه
and others.
They're always competing to be at the front.
And the rest of those who will end
up in Jannah, from among the believers.
They are the second group.
The Prophet ﷺ tells us about how Allah
ﷻ you know, nurtures and takes care of
our reward for sadaqah.
The Prophet ﷺ says, and this is in
Bukhari and Muslim.
He says, whoever gives sadaqah, the value of
a date, a small date, which he earned
through halal means.
So money that you give, that you earned
through halal means.
And he said Allah only accepts that which
is pure.
Allah accepts it with His right hand, and
He fosters it for him.
He takes care of it for him.
Just as one of you fosters his baby
horse until it becomes like a mountain.
كَمَا يُرَبِّي أَحَدُكُمْ فُلُوَّهُ Like one of you
nurtures and takes care of his baby horse.
Taking care of him, maintaining it, until it
becomes like a mountain.
Right?
So the point is, you know, the reward
of sadaqah is multiplied as we already mentioned,
right?
In the previous parable, 700 times.
But this parable, it focuses on the importance
of sincerity and, you know, iman when you
are giving.
And the verse ends, Allah Subhanahu wa ta
'ala says, وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيدٌ This teaches
us, Allah says, and Allah is well aware,
or He sees what you're doing.
This teaches us that matters related to intention.
What is in the hearts?
Who is this known by?
Only Allah.
Right?
Only Allah.
And so those who give sincerely, only Allah
knows.
Those who give out of riya and showing
off, again, who knows?
Only Allah.
And so that's why Allah ends by saying,
وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيدٌ And Allah sees what
you do.
Among the lessons that we learn from this
parable, number one, is that we need to
focus on that which will allow our sadaqah
to be accepted by Allah.
Right?
We like to give.
We like to give in sadaqah.
But sometimes, some of us, we don't pay
attention.
You know, is my sadaqah being accepted or
not?
Right?
And this parable teaches us that there are
two ingredients that are required in order for
Allah to accept our sadaqah.
And so whenever we give, we are faced
with two obstacles.
Whenever we are giving or we are asked
to give, we face two obstacles.
Number one, riya.
Number one, riya, showing off.
Doing it for other than Allah.
Doing it so people praise us.
Right?
Wanting people to praise us.
You know, wanting to impress people.
And this is a disease that nowadays a
lot of people are involved in with their
good deeds where, you know, they basically, you
know, everything they do, they put it in
the public.
Right?
They take selfies, and, you know, they'll make
videos of themselves doing all kinds of good
deeds.
Right?
Why?
Because they want the people to know.
And so they're doing it for the people.
And so this is the first obstacle.
The second obstacle is hesitation and uncertainty.
Basically, you're hesitant.
Should I give or should I not give?
You're uncertain.
And this is because you're uncertain of the
return of any profit.
Am I gonna get anything out of this
or not?
And so the first obstacle is removed by
ikhlas.
By having ikhlas, sincerity.
That's how you remove riya.
Tell yourself, I'm doing this for Allah and
Allah alone.
I don't care if people see me, they
don't see me.
Right?
And the second obstacle is removed by sidq
of iman.
Right?
Where you know for certainty that there's gonna
be return in this.
You know that because Allah has promised it.
You know that because Allah has promised it.
It's similar.
Yaqeen means conviction, certainty.
It's the highest level of belief.
It's not just believing but with certainty.
Sidq means to be true to your iman.
And that's why Abu Bakr was given that
title of as-siddiq.
Right?
He was true to his iman.
The second lesson that we learn is the
importance of ikhlas when giving once again.
And so the only sadaqah that is accepted
by Allah is the one that is given
sincerely for his sake.
Which is why before you give, what should
you do?
Or when you want to give, what should
you do?
Try to conceal your sadaqah.
Try to avoid being seen.
Try to avoid being seen.
Because it's more likely that you'll avoid riyaa.
And that's why there are many examples from
the salaf and the later scholars as well.
How they would basically hide their sadaqah to
the point where no one would find out.
And they would go and give to the
poor.
They would leave whatever sadaqah at the door
where they don't even want the poor person
to know that they are the ones who
gave.
Right?
That's how much they cared about their ikhlas.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala actually tells
us this about concealing and hiding our sadaqah.
What does Allah say?
إِن تُبَدُفْ صَدَقَاتِ فَنِعِمَّهِ If you give in
sadaqah and you give it publicly, then that's
good.
Right?
وَإِن تُخْفُوهَا وَتُؤْتُوهَا الْفُقَرَاءَ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ But
if you hide it when you are giving
it and you give it to the poor
and you hide it, you conceal it, then
that is better for you.
So we don't say it's haram to give
publicly as long as the intention is sincere.
That's the condition.
It becomes haram when your intention is not
sincere and you're doing it out of riyal.
But there are times when it's fine to
give publicly and it's even encouraged like when
you want to encourage other people.
When there's a certain cause and we want
people to give and we do fundraisings and
if one person gives, then another person will
give.
There are times when giving publicly is fine
and actually encouraged.
But we're talking about the general principle.
And so what matters is not how much
you give, but how sincere you are in
whatever you give regardless of how small it
is.
Regardless of how small it is.
You know if you were to give just
one dollar sincerely for the sake of Allah
without any riyal, that is far better than
giving thousands and you gave it out of
riyal.
And so what is in our hearts is
more important than what may be in our
hands or in our pockets.
The third lesson, the importance of learning about
the rewards of giving sadaqah.
And so what encourages us to give is
when we learn of the reward.
And when we learn of the rewards, when
we learn of the rewards, this will cause
us to give with iman.
Right?
Remember, this parable mentions two things, ikhlas and
having this sense of expecting the reward from
Allah.
So how can you build that in your
heart?
By learning.
By learning of the rewards of giving in
sadaqah.
And how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has
promised that whatever we give, He's gonna replace
it.
He's gonna replace it for us in this
dunya and in the next.
So you're guaranteed of the return.
That's guaranteed.
And this is why Allah gives us this
parable.
Because most of us, we have weak iman.
And that's because we simply don't see the
reward.
We don't see the returns.
Right?
We've been told about it.
We've been told about it.
But we can't see it.
And that is what distinguishes the people of
high iman and the people of low iman.
Right?
I mean Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu, he was
distinguished by this feature.
Where for him not seeing, right?
That for him was something more believable, if
it's coming from Rasulallah ﷺ, than that which
he sees before his eyes.
We have the famous incident of al-Israa
wal-Mi'raj.
When the Prophet ﷺ comes back that night,
and the rumors are spreading, that Muhammad ﷺ
is claiming this.
And the kuffar are jumping on this occasion,
to try to put doubt in the hearts
of the believers.
How can he claim this?
That he went all the way to Jerusalem,
and then from there he went up to
the heavens.
How can you believe in this stuff?
So when they came to Abu Bakr radiallahu
anhu, and they asked him, what was his
response?
He said, لَإِن قَالَهَا فَقَدْ صَدَقْ As long
as he says it, then I believe it.
And I believe in that which is even
more, more further from being believed in.
Something even more unimaginable.
And that is, that the wahi comes from
him in the split of a second, from
the heavens.
So the point here is that, when we're
told about something, and the world of the
unseen, we believe it.
But now, the level of our iman, this
is different from person to person.
Right?
This is different from person to person.
And most people, their iman won't be that
high, because they can't see it with their
eyes.
Right?
And so that's why Allah gives us this
parable.
Right?
He brings a concept, that he has told
us about, and that is, that whatever sadaqa
you give, it's multiplied.
And he's gonna replace whatever you give, he's
gonna replace it for you.
So he brings this concept, and gives us
an example of it.
Right?
Comparing it to something that we can see.
And that is this garden, on high ground.
Right?
Compare that to any other farm or garden.
Right?
That is not in that, you know, ideal
place.
You know, where it gets the proper sunlight,
the proper breeze, the proper amount of rain,
etc.
Alright, after that we move on to the
next parable.
That is in the very next ayah.
And this is giving in sadaqa, and then
annulling it.
Yes?
Yeah, as I mentioned.
The general rule is that we should hide
it.
Right?
The general rule.
And then there are exceptions to that rule.
Right?
There are exceptions to that rule.
And the evidence is the ayah that we
mentioned.
You know, if you were to give publicly,
it's good.
But if you were to hide it when
you're giving it, that's better.
So that shows us which is better.
But, as I said, there could be times
when, you know, giving publicly is better.
To encourage others, so others follow our lead.
Right?
Alright, after mentioning the parable of the one
who gives sincerely, and with, you know, certainty,
and the reward, now Allah gives us the
example of someone who gives sadaqa, even if
it's sincerely, or if it's not sincerely.
But then after giving sadaqa, he does something
that causes it to become null and void.
And so there are many things that we
need to be careful about.
That cause our good deeds to go to
waste.
And Allah mentioned a parable of that.
We mentioned last week.
What was that thing that you do that
cancels your good deed, your sadaqa?
Al-man.
Right?
To remind people of the favors you did
to them.
But that's only one thing.
There are many other things as well that
we need to be careful about.
And we'll talk about these things, but let's
get to the parable.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, أَيَا وَدُّ
أَحَدُكُمْ أَن تَكُونَ لَهُ جَنَّةٌ مِن نَخِيلٍ وَأَعْنَابٍ
تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارِ لَهُ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ
الثَّمَرَاتِ Allah asks a question.
Would any of you wish to have a
garden with palm trees and grapevines and all
kinds of fruits with rivers flowing underneath?
وَأَصَابَهُ الْكِبَرُ وَلَهُ ذُرِّيَّةٌ ضُعَفَاءٌ And then this
person, who owns this farm or this garden,
he becomes very old.
And he has children who are young, who
are weak, or they may be ill, or
they may be girls.
Either way, they're weak and unable to help
him.
فَأَصَابَهَا إِعْصَارٌ فِيهِ نَارٌ فَاحْتَرَقَتْ So what happens
to this garden?
Basically, a tornado hits it.
And this tornado has fire in it.
So a fire tornado hits the garden, burning
it all to the ground.
Allah asks, Does any of you want this?
The answer is obviously no.
Then Allah says, كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ Allah says, this is how Allah
makes His ayat clear to you, so that
perhaps you will reflect.
So that perhaps you will reflect.
Alright, here Allah compares the sadaqah that we
give, that becomes cancelled, that goes to waste.
He compares it to a beautiful garden that
is destroyed.
A beautiful garden that is destroyed.
So, first, in the very beginning of the
ayah, Allah paints this beautiful picture.
And again, coming back to the point we
mentioned last week, why does Allah use these
particular examples of gardens and crops and fruits?
We mentioned it last week, why?
Because the people of Medina were into agriculture,
right?
This was their main source of income.
And so Allah paints this very beautiful picture
for them, right?
You know, they're imagining this, right?
A garden, date palm trees, grape vines, right?
Rivers flowing through them.
Then all of a sudden, Allah says that
it's hit by this fiery tornado, and it's
all destroyed, right?
So at first you're thinking, yeah, I want
that.
And then what happens?
When you hear it's all destroyed, you're like,
you know, I don't want that, right?
And so the sadaqah that we give, the
sadaqah that a person gives, is like a
garden of palm trees and grape vines underneath
which rivers flow, in which you have every
fruit.
Remember, Allah also mentions that, in which he
has every fruit.
لَهُ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ But then what
does Allah say?
And then you're afflicted with old age.
Okay, now you're old, and you have children
who are weak, who can't help you.
And then your garden is hit by this
tornado that has fire and it's burnt down
to the ground.
So when it came time to harvest, to
yield and harvest and collect the fruit, it's
all destroyed after all this hard work and
effort.
And this is when he is most in
need of it.
Why?
Because he's old, and he has children who
are weak, right?
He has to feed them.
This was his source of income.
Not only that, but even if he wanted
to rebuild, even if he wanted to build
up, build back everything that's been destroyed, can
he do it?
No.
Because he's old, and he has no support,
right?
From his young weak children.
So imagine the pain that this man would
go through when he sees that everything is
destroyed.
All of his, you know, hard work of
years and a long time.
And this is similar, this is similar to
what Allah mentioned of Ashab al-Jannah.
Who are the companions of the garden?
Yes, in Surah al-Qalam.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ
كَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابِ الْجَنَّةِ إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا لَا يَصْرِ
مُنَّهَا مُسْبِحِينَ Allah says, we tested them, meaning
these kuffar of Quraysh, just as we tested
the companions of the garden.
When they swore to one another that we're
gonna go cut the fruit early this year.
So there were three brothers, and they had
a garden in which they used to grow
fruits.
So they said, this year we're gonna go
early.
وَلَا يَسْتَثْنُونَ They said, we're gonna go early
in the morning to cut the fruit.
وَلَا يَسْتَثْنُونَ And they did not make any
exception.
فَطَافَ عَلَيْهَا طَائِفٌ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَهُمْ نَائِمُونَ فَأَصْبَحَتْكَ
الصَّرِيمُ Allah says that he sent a storm
that basically destroyed everything while they were sleeping.
And so it was reduced to ashes.
These people basically, they wanted to go early
in the morning to take everything in, so
that the poor don't come asking for anything.
They were greedy, right?
And here Allah wanted to teach them a
lesson of their greed.
Now, here in this ayah that we just
covered, who is this parable for?
Does it mention anywhere there in this ayah,
does it mention, is there any mention of
a good deed?
You notice there's no mention, right?
Unlike the previous parables Allah mentions, the one
who does this, it's like such and such,
right?
Now, I mentioned it's sadaqah, right?
But where did I get that from?
Here Allah simply asks a question, right?
It's not mentioned, but how does Allah end
the ayah?
So perhaps you will reflect.
So basically, Allah wants us to think and
ponder and reflect over what he's telling us
here.
He wants us to use our minds, right?
The context of the ayat is clear, right?
This is now the third ayah that comes.
The previous two ayahs talk about, first the
one who does man, when given sadaqah, and
then the second ayah that we just covered,
the previous parable, the one who gives sincere,
right?
So obviously this must be talking about sadaqah,
right?
In Sahih al-Bukhari, we have a hadith.
Imam al-Bukhari, when it came to this
ayah, he mentioned the tafsir of it from
an incident that took place with Umar and
Ibn Abbas.
So one day, Umar ibn al-Khattab, r
.a, he had the companions of the Prophet
ﷺ with him, and he asked them, he
asked them, who do you think this ayah
was revealed for?
Who do you think that this ayah was
revealed regarding?
So they said, Allah knows best.
Allah knows best.
Umar r.a got upset.
He said, say either we know or we
don't know.
Say either we know or we don't know.
So then Ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Abbas r
.a, who was one of the younger companions,
he said, O Amir al-Mu'mineen, I have
something in my mind about this ayah.
So Umar r.a, he said, my nephew,
speak and do not underestimate yourself.
Don't belittle yourself.
Don't think because you're young, that you shouldn't
share what's on your mind.
Ibn Abbas, he said, this is a parable
about a good deed.
This is a parable about a good deed
that becomes destroyed.
So then Umar r.a asked, which good
deed?
Ibn Abbas said, a good deed, and that's
it.
A good deed.
So then Umar r.a said, this is
a parable for a wealthy man who works
in the obedience of Allah.
But then Allah sends Shaytan to him and
he begins to commit sins until his deeds
are all wasted.
Until his deeds have all become lost.
Ibn Kathir, he says, that this hadith suffices
in explaining this ayah and clarifying this parable.
He says, Ibn Kathir says, it describes the
actions of someone who begins with good deeds
but then reverses course, replacing good deeds with
bad deeds.
May Allah protect us from such an outcome.
By their later actions, they nullify the righteous
deeds they had previously performed.
When they are in dire need of those
earlier good deeds, they find nothing to benefit
them.
And what they relied upon abandons them at
their most crucial moment.
And so this parable was given for anyone
who does a good deed, like sadaqah, but
then he does certain things that nullify those
good deeds.
Whether it's the hypocrites, the munafiqun, and the
people of riya, as we've already spoken about,
or those who fall into men, as we
also spoke about, or those who commit shirk
and kufr.
Right?
A person who lived a life of righteousness
and then he commits kufr or shirk, all
his previous good deeds are gone to waste.
And so this ayah is general.
It's not specifically regarding one particular action.
And so, this parable is for those who,
you know, we can say in the context
of the ayat, they're talking about sadaqah.
So, those who sacrifice their wealth and they
give it in sadaqah, hoping to see the
fruit of that on the Day of Judgment.
And that is when they're gonna need it
the most.
Right?
That is when they're gonna need it the
most.
Just like this man who, he needs the
fruits at this age.
Right?
At a time when he needs it the
most, he's gonna come to see it all
gone.
Likewise, you know, when these people come on
the Day of Judgment, hoping to see their
rewards, they're gonna see that it's all been
destroyed.
And so they fall into regrets and into
grief and depression.
Worse than that of this old man and
his destroyed garden who didn't benefit from it
himself, nor did his children benefit from it
after him.
And so we work hard in this dunya
to build a future for us and for
our children.
And so imagine when you spend, you know,
like this man, all your life you spend
building for your future and the future of
your children, and then all of a sudden,
it disappears.
Right?
That is how these people will come on
the Day of Judgment.
That is how these people will come on
the Day of Judgment.
All right.
Some of the lessons that we learn from
this parable.
Number one, a warning of the danger of
harboring wrong intentions.
And so, you know, this ayah is a
warning for the believer that you need to
keep an eye out for your intention.
Always renewing it and, you know, giving it
special attention.
And the Salaf were known for this.
Right?
They were known for always paying attention to
their niyah and making sure that whatever they
did, that they had ikhlas.
Whatever good deed that they did, that it
was, you know, 100% purely for the
sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And so the niyah is more important than
the act itself.
Right?
Sometimes we put so much effort into the
good deed while forgetting about the intention.
Secondly, fearing losing our rewards.
This is a fear, a real fear that
we need to have.
And so again, the Salaf, they would have
more fear than hope when it came to
their good deeds being accepted.
When it came to their good deeds being
accepted by Allah.
Yes, on the one hand, we need to
have hope.
Right?
As the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said,
whoever fasts Ramadan with iman and ihtisab, expecting,
looking forward to the reward, Allah will forgive
him all his sins.
Right?
And the previous parable, the ayah, وَتَثْبِيتَ مِّنْ
أَنفُسِهِمْ They're sure of the reward.
They give and they're sure of the reward.
Right?
But that doesn't mean you do good deeds
and you live and you just feel good
about yourself.
Right?
That's not what that means.
But rather, after you've done the good deed
with ikhlas and hoping for the reward, after
that, there should be a sense of fear.
There should be a sense of fear that,
you know what, maybe this is not going
to be accepted.
And this is how the Salaf were.
Right?
Before you do it, have hope.
Right?
And after you're done, have some fear that
maybe it hasn't been accepted.
And there are so many examples of this
from the lives of the Salaf.
For example, it's well known that after Ramadan,
they would make dua to Allah for six
months.
Asking Allah to accept whatever they did.
Right?
And then the following six months, the six
months before the next Ramadan, they would pray
to Allah to allow them to experience the
next Ramadan.
So this shows us that they cared a
lot about their rewards, you know, their good
deeds being accepted by Allah.
And they were fearful that it wouldn't be
accepted.
There's the example of Thabit bin Qais.
He was the khateeb of the Prophet ﷺ.
He had a very powerful voice.
And Allah reveals Surah Al-Hujurat.
And in the beginning Allah says, Allah
says, O you who believe, do not raise
your voices above the voice of the Prophet,
nor speak loudly to him as you speak
to one another.
Or else your deeds will become null and
void while you are unaware.
So it said that Thabit bin Qais, when
this ayah was revealed, he went into hiding.
He went into hiding.
And so the Prophet ﷺ noticed that he
was missing.
So he asked the sahaba to go look
for him.
And they found him at home, locked up.
And they asked him, what's going on?
He said, I used to raise my voice
above the voice of Rasulullah ﷺ.
So now all my good deeds have gone
to waste.
And I am from the people of the
hellfire.
Right?
So, you know, look at how they took
this seriously.
Whereas we today, we do good deeds thinking
I've done so much good and that's it,
I'm going to be guaranteed Jannah.
And my good deeds have been accepted by
Allah.
So then the sahaba went back to the
Prophet ﷺ and told him what he said.
The Prophet ﷺ said, rather he is from
the people of Jannah.
Rather he is from the people of Jannah.
And so the Prophet ﷺ made him from
among among those who he gave glad tidings
of Jannah.
So Thabit ibn Qais is among the sahaba
who the Prophet ﷺ mentioned that they have
been promised with Jannah.
And again there are so many countless other
examples from the salaf where they used to
fear their good deeds going to waste.
Finally, and this lesson is perhaps the most
important related to this parable.
We have to learn what it is that
annuls and cancels our good deeds.
We have to be aware of these things.
So that we don't end up falling into
them.
So we already spoke about al-man.
Right?
When it comes to sadaqah in particular.
Also we spoke about riya.
Right?
Showing off our good deeds.
It makes those good deeds to go to
waste.
There is also something similar to riya.
Which is?
Yes, ujb.
Ujb is self admiration.
Riya comes before the action.
Ujb comes afterwards.
So you're able to differentiate.
Riya is you're doing it from the onset
for others.
Right?
Ujb, you're not doing it in front of
anyone.
You didn't even have that intention.
Right?
It could be that you prayed qiyam al
-layl in the middle of the night.
In the privacy of your home.
But then the next morning, you come and
you start feeling proud about what you did.
You don't even tell anyone.
You don't even tell anyone.
You don't even want anyone to know.
But you feel that you now are better
than everyone else.
This also causes the good deed to go
to waste.
Also, what?
Something that is similar to riya.
Which comes from sammah.
Hearing.
This is similar to riya.
But what's the difference?
What's the difference?
So riya comes from ru'ya.
Right?
From sight.
Tasmi'ah is from hearing.
Yeah, basically.
Riya, you're doing it for people to see.
To see you.
Riya, you do it in front of people
so that they see you with their eyes.
Without you telling them.
Tasmi'ah or sammah is you going about
telling people who didn't see what you did.
They didn't see what you did, but you
go about telling them.
Like in the example of you praying qiyam
al-layl in the privacy of your home.
No one saw you.
But the following morning, you come and you
tell the whole world.
You want them to hear about you.
And how good you are.
Yeah, if you're doing it for that purpose.
If you're doing it for that purpose, that
you want to be known as someone.
Right?
You want to be known as someone, then
that falls under this.
But if you're doing it with the intention
that you want people to follow your lead,
then that's different.
Right?
You did it sincerely for the sake of
Allah.
And the only reason you're telling people is
so that they also follow you.
And the Prophet ﷺ says, whoever starts something,
من سن في الإسلام سنة حسنة Whoever starts
doing a particular good deed and people follow
him in it, he'll get the reward of
that.
Right?
But here we need to pay attention to
what is in the heart.
Also, what causes our good deeds to go
to waste is doing them publicly, doing good
publicly, but then committing sins privately.
Committing sins privately.
The Prophet ﷺ says, I know people of
my ummah who will come on the day
of judgment with good deeds like the mountains
of Tihamah.
These were the mountain range in Hijaz, Makkah
and Madinah.
He says, however, Allah will make them like
dust that is scattered.
Allah will make the reward of those good
deeds to become dust that's scattered.
So one of the companions, Thawban r.a,
he said, Ya Rasulullah, describe them to us
some more so that we don't end up
becoming like them unknowingly.
So the Prophet ﷺ said, they are your
brothers from your people and they worship that
night as you do.
But they will be people who, when they
are alone, they transgress the sacred limits of
Allah.
So they do good publicly, but then when
they're alone, they commit sins.
So this is something we need to be
careful about.
Yeah, what's meant by this hadith is people
who, they don't care.
They'll do good publicly, but they don't care
about, you know, what they do in private.
They commit sins and they don't care.
Because for them, their image is more important
to the people.
It's like as if, it's like as if,
you know, they've made Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala to be, you know, unworthy of having
any care about the fact that Allah is
watching me.
Right?
As opposed to someone who commits sins privately,
but he feels remorse after that.
And he turns to Allah in repentance.
He's constantly turning to Allah in repentance.
That's different.
That's different.
Also among the things that nullify our good
deeds is al-dhulm.
Right?
Wronging others.
The Prophet ﷺ once asked the companions, Who
is the bankrupt among you?
Man al-muflis?
Who do you consider to be someone who
is bankrupt?
And so they said, you know, the muflis,
the bankrupt one among us is the one
who doesn't have a dinar or a dirham.
He's bankrupt.
So the Prophet ﷺ said, the bankrupt of
my ummah will be those who come on
the Day of Judgment with salah and fasting
and zakah.
But they hurled abuses at these people, and
they falsely accused these people, and they unlawfully
consumed the wealth of these people, and they
shed the blood of these people, and they
beat others.
Right?
So all of these are examples of dhulm,
and doing wrong to others.
The Prophet ﷺ said, so his good deeds
would then be given to those people.
And then if his good deeds fall short
to clear them out, then his sins would
be entered into his account.
Their sins will be taken and thrown onto
him, and then he'll be thrown into the
hellfire.
So this shows us that even if we
do good deeds, we need to be careful
that those good deeds, perhaps we're going to
lose them on the Day of Judgment.
Why?
Because of dhulm that we did to others.
Also, there are many other things as well.
Individual particular sins that cause good deeds to
go to waste.
For example, specific sins that the Prophet ﷺ
mentioned.
Drinking alcohol.
Drinking alcohol.
The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever drinks alcohol,
his salah is not accepted for 40 days.
And what that means is, not that he
doesn't have to pray, but the reward of
it he's not going to get.
Also, the one who approaches a fortune teller.
The one who approaches a fortune teller, the
Prophet ﷺ said, that again, his salah for
40 days is not going to be accepted.
And also, having dogs.
Keeping pet dogs.
The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever keeps a
dog, and obviously without a legitimate reason that's
allowed in the sharia.
For example, we're allowed to keep dogs for
hunting, for guarding dogs, and so on and
so forth, but not pet dogs that we
keep in our homes.
The Prophet ﷺ said whoever keeps a dog,
every single day, every single day, his good
deeds are being decreased.
Meaning the reward is being decreased.
So these are some of the things that
cause our good deeds to go to waste,
and so we need to be aware of
them.
So that we don't end up being like
what Allah ﷻ mentions in this ayah.
So this is where we'll stop for today.
Any questions?
I don't think I mentioned ayah, but there
is an ayah.
There is an ayah in that regard.
مُشفِقُون مُشفِقُون So the word that's used in
the ayah is مُشفِقُون.
They're fearful that their deeds were not accepted.
So they do good.
Allah praises the people of Jannah as being
people who do good.
They do a lot of good, but then
afterwards they have this fear.
So the question is, we spoke about عُجْب,
feeling self-admiration about your good deeds, and
how this annuls the good deed.
But we're also taught that our thoughts were
not held accountable for them.
So these are not just mere thoughts.
These are feelings of the heart.
These are what we call actions of the
heart.
أعمال القلوب So there are certain things related
to the heart that we will be held
accountable for.
For example, you look down on others.
You don't do any harm to them.
You don't touch them.
You don't even say anything to them.
But you look down on them.
Allah will hold you accountable for that.
This is arrogance.
This is pride in the heart.
And this is similar to this.
You go out and you start looking down
on everyone else.
These people are not as good as me.
And look at what I did.
I prayed all night.
So you have this feeling in your heart.
And this is something we will be held
accountable for.
Whereas thoughts are different.
Thoughts of doing evil, for example.
But you don't do it.
That's different.
Now when we say that we're not allowed
to feel good about the good deeds that
we do.
We can feel good and we should feel
good.
But what's not allowed is self-admiration.
And what's meant by that is what I
explained.
That you feel that I did something great
that no one else has done.
And also, you don't attribute it to Allah.
This is an important part of this concept
of ijk.
Where you feel that you did it on
your own.
You don't attribute the fadl to Allah.
Allah is the one who helped you do
it.
Allah is the one who guided you to
do it.
It's all about yourself.
I did this.
I did that.
Instead of attributing the bounty to Allah.
So the question is about having fear to
the point where you lose hope.
In the mercy of Allah and Him accepting
your good deeds.
So basically we have to balance between the
two.
We have to balance between fear and hope.
That's why we said before doing the good
deed, you have a lot of hope.
And that's why you do it.
You do the good deed because you want
to do it for the sake of Allah.
Because you hope for a certain reward.
But then afterwards, you feel that I didn't
do it properly.
I didn't do it as Allah wants me
to do it.
Right?
And imagine these are the Salaf who were
far better than us in how they were
doing their ibadat.
Right?
And yet they had these feelings of fearing
the good deeds not being accepted.
But at the end of the day, there
has to be a balance.
So it shouldn't be that you put so
much emphasis on fear.
That now you are completely losing the hope
of Allah.
You've lost hope.
Right?
This is not what we're talking about here.
Right?
And also, the scholars say that in good
times, we should put more weight on fear
than on hope.
And in tough times, when we have calamities,
etc., we should put more weight on hope.
Like at the time of death.
Right?
They say at the time of death, a
person should not be thinking that all my
good deeds are gone.
And now I'm going to Allah having nothing
to expect.
Right?
Because this would then lead him to have
negative thoughts of Allah.
Su'adhan.
Right?
Which is haram.
And so they say at the time of
death, you should put more weight on hope
than fear.
So it depends on circumstance.
And Allah knows best.
Alright, we'll stop here inshaAllah.
And we'll continue next week bi-idhnillah.
Subhanak Allah wa bihamdik.
Ashhadu an la ilaha illa anta astaghfiruka wa
atubu ilayk.
Wa sallallahu alayhi wa sallim ala nabiyyina Muhammad
wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'in.
Wassalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.