Mubeen Kamani – The Essence Of Ibadah
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AI: Transcript ©
Someone in Colorado.
We started by praising Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala,
the one who is worthy of all of
our praise and our gratitude is Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, who has given us this blessed
month of Ramadan to come close to him
is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
who awaits for us so that he can
shower his mercy and his love upon us.
Is Allah
who gives us his mercy
that we don't ask for?
Is Allah
who gives to us on every step of
our way?
We then send peace and blessing upon the
prophet the
the one that was sent as a mercy
to mankind and as an example for us
how
to live our lives
and to worship Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala.
We then send peace and blessing upon the
companions of the prophet, salallahu alaihi wa sallam,
and his family members, those who helped him
and aided him,
umabad thereafter.
A famous hadith of the prophet
when the beast of Ramadan
into
3 categories.
Saying that the first is a mercy, the
second is a forgiveness, and the third is
a freedom from the father of ji hamdom.
We find ourselves in a place where
the first ten,
the first asherah are almost over.
And like every year we
see each other and say, wow, Ramadan is
going fast.
But a question comes to mind.
Is my Ramadan working?
The other day I was sitting with one
of the youth and we were talking about
techniques on how to control your anger.
He came to me saying that, Shaykh, I
kinda struggle with my anger. What can I
do to control my anger so I don't
get mad at people so much?
And we start talking about these different techniques,
and they were under and he was understanding
them.
And then he comes and says to me,
how can I test this?
Because there has to be a test. If
you're putting effort into something,
you wanna know, is it working or not?
If you're working on your car for hours,
you want to first check if it's working.
Does it start?
Because if it's not working then we're just
wasting our time.
And that same question comes to Ramadan,
that is our Ramadan working or not?
And reality is, when you give it through
this test, when you put it through this
test,
sometimes you'll find that
it's not working.
But then,
is all hope lost?
What's the next step?
And the reality is, it's okay.
There are some adjustments that need to be
made.
You make these adjustments and what you will
find is
it will start to turn on.
Now,
what are these adjustments?
And how can you test that is my
Ramadan working or not?
And the reality is the essence to all
worship,
the main part of all ibadah,
if this is missing,
whether it's in your salah, whether it's in
your fasting, whether it's in your Quran, whether
it's in your zikr,
anything that you do,
if this part is missing,
then it's failing the test. It's not working.
Your salah,
not working.
Without this, anything that you do just becomes
a habit.
Many of us have a habit.
Every month, every year we fasten the month
of Ramadan, it's just a habit. What do
we take away from it? Nothing.
Many of us have a habit that we
wake up and we pray salah. What do
we take away from it? Nothing.
Many of us have a habit that I
come to tarawih in Ramadan, whether it's 8
or 20, it's just a habit. When I
leave from here, I take away nothing.
And the essence to worship is what you
need to be taking away. The key
component is
the closeness to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Is my salah bringing me closer to Allah?
Is my fasting bringing me closer to Allah?
Is my reading Quran bringing me closer to
Allah? Is my tarawi
bringing me closer to Allah? Because if it's
not,
then it's just a habit.
It's just something that you're doing, some movements,
some hunger that you're facing. The prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam says, come insayman,
how many people are there that fast? Saying
that there are so many people like this
that fill this test,
who get nothing from their fast except for
hunger and thirst.
Hunger and thirst, that's all they get.
Because
the essence of worship
is not there.
Their fasting
doesn't bring them closer to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
Imam Ghazali tells us that for every act
of worship there are 2 components.
There's an external component and then there's an
internal component.
And if the internal component is missing,
then the action is a waste.
How can you present an action in front
of Allah
saying that, oh Allah, I did this but
I wasn't thinking of you.
I was doing something else.
It's like being with your children but thinking
of something else. Being with your spouse but
thinking of something else. It's not
loyalty there.
But yet we stand in front of Allah
and
our minds will be some somewhere else. And
inshaAllah we'll come back to this point.
But in another place, Imam Ghazali alhamtulillahi he
tells us that there are three levels of
fasting.
And the purpose why we talked about this
is that some of us at this moment
might find ourselves at level number 1.
And if that's the case,
then it's time to step up to level
number 2 and then level number 3. He
says level number 1 of fasting
is what
everybody knows about Muslims.
That in this month of Ramadan, the Muslims
do not eat, drink or have marital relationships.
Everybody knows that. It's plastered all over Instagram,
it's plastered all over the news. Muslims are
fasting, Muslims are fasting. But these are the
three things that they refrain from. They do
not eat, they do not drink, they do
not have marital relationships.
That's level number 1. This basically, you are
just checking a box.
It's like me when I spend time with
my spouse, but my mind is somewhere else,
but I can tell her, look, I spent
an hour with you. I spent 2 hours
with you. I've been with you all day.
But it's just checking that box.
Then Imam Ghazali
says that, level number 2
is when a person fasts with his hunger,
thirst, and desires, but at the same time
he steps it up where his fast is
now going through his other body parts as
well.
He's fasting with his eyes, he's fasting with
his ears, he's fasting with his, you know,
feelings and emotions.
That he doesn't look at something that's prohibited.
He didn't say something that's prohibited. Now saying
something prohibited doesn't just mean saying something that's
foul, but saying something that hurts somebody's feelings.
The famous hadith where rasulullah
salallahu alaihi wasalam is approached by the companions
saying that there are 2 couple women that
are complaining of stomach pain,
but they're fasting. And the prophet salallahu alayhi
wa sallam has them regurgitate and meat comes
out, and the prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam
tells them, this is what what you're back
by me that you were doing. You were
not supposed to do this. So controlling and
fasting with your eyes and your tongue and
your other body parts,
that's
level number 2,
where you want to
be
at. Where throughout the day it's not that
I do whatever I want, but
5 minutes before sunset I come and sit
down and give me a jujour and give
me some, you know, samosa and biryani.
It's a little bit different.
That throughout your whole time, as you're fasting,
your mind is present.
You're there in the moment.
You remember mazara hamtulalai in another place he
says that when a person is praying salah
and you find it hard to concentrate,
this is pretty much all of us,
when you're standing in front of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala when you're in worship
and your mind starts to wander out
and go to different places, he says the
reason for this is
a person's thoughts go to those his priorities
and his desires.
Your mind will go to things that you
like, natural.
You like your children, your mind will go
there. You like your car, your mind will
go there. You like your house, your mind
will go there. You like your job, your
career, your mind will go there.
Whatever is your priority in this moment,
while you're in salah, or even outside of
salah.
You're at home, and you're in bed, and
you're about to go to sleep, but then
your mind starts to wander off, and you're
thinking about so and so thing, and you're
thinking about so and so thing. And you
ask yourself, why am I thinking about this?
And the answer is, because this right here
is a priority
in my life.
My health is my priority, and that's why
my mind is going there. My parents are
my priority, and that's why my mind is
going to my bills are my priority, and
that's why my mind go is going there.
Imam Ghazariftalalaihi
says that when you when you are in
salah, your priorities,
your mind directs itself there.
But how do you redirect it?
You know at the beginning of Ramadan,
the Khutba's
and the Khattar's were all about, Ramadan is
about God consciousness, Ramadan is about God consciousness.
But the reality is,
this is a reminder that needs to come
to us over and over and over.
It's something that we have to remind ourselves.
Why am I doing this?
When you're in salah, you have to redirect
yourself and tell yourself, why am I doing
this?
In this moment of time, what is my
priority?
Yes, my work is a priority, but right
now,
it's not.
Because in this moment of time, my biggest
priority is Allah
If you are insulah and you tell yourself,
oh no no, I shouldn't think about food,
I shouldn't think about work, I shouldn't think
about this,
the reality is
that's just gonna make you think about it
more.
The way that imam was aiah says that
the way that
you correct yourself
is tell yourself my biggest priority
in this moment while I'm in salah is
Allah
My closeness to Allah
my relationship
with Allah
And the same thing goes with every type
of worship.
In your fast,
as your mind begins to drift away,
as your thoughts begin to shift,
remind yourself
how close am I up to Allah
Is this fast
working?
The imam lazai is the 3rd level. So
you have the person that does the bare
minimum of just eating, drinking, and controlling their
desires, then you have a person who controls
their other limbs as well. But then, Imam
Ghazali says, a fast for the third, the
most elite.
This is a common folk,
the basic.
Then he says
the righteous,
but then the third is the most elite.
And that is a person who fasts with
his heart.
Throughout the day his heart is connected
to Allah
There's no space for anybody else.
It's you and Allah
And the reality is when you begin to
love Allah in this way,
where your whole day you're thinking about Allah,
Allah
will turn around and he will love you.
And very famous of these was Allah salallahu
alaihi wa sallam says,
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said,
I am with my servant if the way
he thinks of me.
If you think of Allah subhanahu wa sallam
to be if you think of God to
be this one that wants to punish you,
then that's how he will be. It's like
when my children come to me and said,
Abba, you're gonna get mad.
Well,
it's already starting. But when they come to
me and say, Abba, you're loving, you're merciful,
and that's how I'm gonna react. Allah subhanahu
wa'ala does it, he says,
I am with my servant the way he
thinks of me.
Think of my mercy and I will shower
you my mercy. Think of my love and
I will show you my love. Then Allah
says,
when my servant comes close to me,
a hand span,
a small step.
You just start to remember Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
That in return, I will come close to
him an arms length.
He then says that, if you remember me
when you are alone, then I will remember
you
in solitude.
And if you remember me in a gathering
of people with your family, with your friends,
with your community,
then I will remember you in a gathering
that's far way that's far better than your
gathering.
He then says, if you come
walking to me,
then I will come running to you.
The love that you show Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala,
the reality is,
in all of our relationships
we we fear,
what if I don't get the same amount
back?
The investment that I put into my children,
in the back of my mind, I do
fear, what if I don't get that back?
The love that I give to my spouse,
I fear, what if I don't get that
back? The commitment that I put on my
work, I fear that what if I don't
get that back? But with
Allah that fear is not there.
Because you come walking to him and he'll
come running to you.
You remember him throughout your fast, and Allah's
mercy,
his love will be there throughout your day.
Allah's love
is in the form of his mercy.
You know, we talk about the mercy of
Allah, and how these first 10 days are
all about the mercy of Allah, a person
should focus on this. But then the question
comes up, what does the mercy of Allah
look like? What is the mercy of Allah?
And the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
is,
every time
that you open the fridge and there's food
there, that's the mercy of Allah
Every time you go home and your children
smile at you, that's the mercy of Allah
Every time you are in trouble
and things worked out for you, that's the
mercy of Allah
Every time you open the app, your chase
app, or whatever app it is, and you
see some money there, that's the mercy of
Allah
Every time you thought that there's no other
way,
the Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala open the door
for you. That's the mercy of Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
And the reality is we are surrounded
by his mercy.
You and I cannot take a step without
the mercy of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. You
and I cannot live a day without the
mercy of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And this is why
at this point of Ramadan,
where we're 10 days in,
that we refocus ourself.
And we bring that god consciousness,
that presence,
the awareness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the
awareness of god into our fast. So that
our fasts are not just empty, it's not
just shallow.
It's not just a shell. It's not just
a mundane act that we end up doing.
We
always joke that people say after amban.
You know, I'm not doing this now
after I'm done.
But that comes, why? Because
this is just empty.
Our fasts are empty.
But it's okay.
Some adjustments
can be made.
We can work on this.
We can change a level from 1 to
2, and then 2 to 3, and make
our fast more meaningful. And we started off
with the verse where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
tells us
When my servant asked it about me,
when you question yourself about the mercy of
Allah,
In this month of Ramadan you
are tired. The reality is,
we go to sleep 11, 12 o'clock, we
wake up at 5 o'clock.
Many of us are on 5, 6 hours
of sleep.
It's Friday and we can't wait till Saturday,
why? Because I get to sleep in.
And you ask yourself,
in this state where I'm going all out,
where is Allah
What am I getting back? And Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala says,
when my servant asked about me,
I'm right there with you.
I'm with you.
I see the struggle that you are going
through. The hunger that you face.
The thirst that you have.
The fatigue and the tiredness.
The,
you know, the headaches that you get.
All of this,
I see
it. What am I doing?
I'm answering your prayers.
So call on to me.
And believe in me.
Put your trust that if in this month
in Ramadan, belief is not just saying,
that's basic level. We're far beyond that. We're
30, 40 years, 50, 60 years into our
Islam game.
True belief in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is
that if I put in this effort, Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala
will allow
this month to be a month of change
for me.
My situation with my children, my situation with
my spouse, my situation, all around can get
better.
It's not just for those people that have
a beard. It's not for just for those
people that wear a sobb. It's not just
for those people that stay in the masjid
all the time. This religion is for me
as well. The mercy of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala is for me as well. Our deen
is
a deen that covers every single person.
Everyone in this room, every single Muslim, every
single non Muslim, Allah
showers his mercy upon.
In one of these, Rasool Allah salallahu alaihi
wa sallam says,
in 9th of Ramadan,
Allah
throughout the whole night
comes out
and he makes out a call.
Imagine that he is saying your name.
Imagine if he's saying, oh, Ahmed.
Imagine if he's saying, oh, Abu
Bin. Imagine if he's saying,
your name.
And he's saying,
do you want my mercy?
Who is there to ask for my mercy
so I can shower my mercy?
Who is there to ask for my love
so I can give him my love? Who
is there to ask for my sustenance so
I can give him my sustenance?
Who is there to ask for my forgiveness
so I can give my forgiveness?
The reality is the essence of Ibadah is
not just movements,
it's not just hunger, there has to be
a deeper reason.
And that deeper reason is your closeness and
your connection to Allah Subhanahu.
In this moment in time, ask yourself,
how close do I feel with my creator?
You can ask yourself this question about your
spouse, and you'll say, oh, we're close.
You can ask yourself about your children, say,
yes, me and my children are close. But
ask yourself, how close am I to my
rub?
How close am I to my halik?
How close am I to my lord? How
close am I to my Allah
And this is a time to go closer
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
We have the brother from Muslim Aid here.
Muslim Aid works in many different countries
providing for the orphans, providing for,
you know, clean water in Palestine.
They are the fastest
growing Muslim non, non profit organization.
One of the projects that we're working on
are
giving clean water to the Muslims in Palestine.
So until they're here today,
you know, they ask that you donate,
you know, to provide it one system, one
filtering system, is $5,000.
If you can't do that, then whatever amount
is is appreciated.
The minimum,
they're asking that you at least sponsor an
orphan, which is $45.
Injala, on the way out, you can visit
the table. We ask Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala,
that Allah has mercy upon us and the
Muslims across the world. We ask Allah, subhanahu
wa ta'ala, that he has mercy upon Muslims
wherever they may be. He we ask Allah,
that he accepts our calls in this month
of Ramadan, that he accepts our fasting. We
ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala that he accept
our standing and praying to him. We ask
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gives us the
ability to come close to him, that we
understand the true essence of worship. We ask
for unity in this month of Ramadan. We
ask for closeness to him in the month
of Ramadan. We ask that this month of
Ramadan be a month that we transform and
change ourselves.
We ask that Allah
forgives us in this month of Ramadan. We
ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wipes away our
sins. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makes
us when people agenda in this month of
Ramadan. We ask Allah that, oh, Allah do
not let us exit Ramadan the way that
we entered Ramadan. Oh, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
break us free from our vices in this
month. Oh, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, break us
free from our temptations. Those things that
that hold us down. Oh, Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, give us a connection with you. Give
us a connection with the Quran. Give us
a connection with the prophet
Oh, Allah. We ask that you make us
good Muslims and good human beings. Oh, Allah
make us kind, make us gentle. Oh, Allah
give us a heart that is soft. Oh,
Allah give us a hand that is open
and that gives in your path. Oh, Allah
give us a eye that cries out of
your mercy. Oh Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. We
ask that you protect us from the fire
of jahannum. Oh
Allah, we ask for jannah. Oh Allah, we
ask you to give jannah not alone but
with our family members. Oh, Allah, Subhanahu wa
ta'ala. Give our parents Jannah, and give our
siblings Jannah, and give our children Jannah. Oh,
Allah, give all of our friends and our
loved ones Jannah. Oh, Allah, Subhanahu wa ta'ala,
wherever there's a Muslim struggling, we ask that
you remove the harms and difficulties from their
path.
Oh Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. In this month
in Ramadan, there are Muslims that don't have
food. Oh Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, you are
there for them. Oh Allah, we ask that
you make matters easy for them. Oh Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
accept from us. Oh Allah, be pleased with
us.
InshaAllah,
after salah,
we we, again, if everybody can stay seated,
we have a sister that will be accepting
Islam. She'll be taking her shalaz, she'll be
in the sister's area. So everybody, if if
you all can remain seated, we'll have the
shahada.
Sami'allawmi
manuhamedah.
Just a request.
We have a sister that is taking.
So everybody can stay seated for a few
minutes.
So
whenever you're ready, if you have the mic,
we can get started.
We are ready.
Once again, this is Zaynab, if she's ready,
we can start the shahada.
We are ready.
Okay. Okay. So before we start the before
we take the shahada, just a little basic
for the sister.
Our deen is based upon 5 actions.
Of course, every Muslim knows this. This is
the 5 pillars of Islam.
As a Muslim, number 1, inshallah, we testify
that the oneness of Allah, and the reason
for that is that whatever is in our
heart, we bring it to our tongue. We
verbalize it. Number 2, we pray 5 times
a day. The reason for this is to
remind us of Allah, bringing God conscious into
our lives. Number 3, we give a charity,
which if a person can afford, if it's
more than is is excessive, then they give
2.5%
of whatever is extra. Number 4, we fasten
the month of Ramadan. And number 5, we
perform the once in a lifetime Hajj.
Holy scriptures. We believe in all of the
angels. We believe in all the prophets. We
believe in life after death, and we believe
in predestination.
Even though we have control in what we
do, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala knows. So these
are 6 things that every Muslim believes in
and 5 actions that every Muslim does.
If the sister is ready, I can say
the shahada. I'll first say it in Arabic,
and then, inshallah, she can repeat after me,
and then we'll say it in English. And,
inshallah, this will complete her shahada.
That Muhammad
That Muhammad is a servant
is a servant and messenger.
And messenger. And messenger. You can't help a
smile.
Such a beautiful moment where a person comes
into the folds of Islam.
The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam tells us that
when a person accepts Islam,
it's a new page of their life.
Everything in the past in the past
is wiped away wiped away.
Completely clean. Completely clean. What a better time
to accept Islam
other than the month of Ramadan?
SubhanAllah.
Once again, inshallah, the sister, all of her
sins are forgiven. Like we said earlier, if
you want your sins forgiven,
all you have to do is ask Allah
who will forgive our sins. Inshallah, we have
the brother from Muslim Aid who have a
short appear.
Now we have one sister, one soul saved
from the hellfire.
My job is now to save
lives. 2 and a half 1000000 brothers and
sisters live in cage in Gaza.
97%
of them drink
contaminated
water.
13% annual
kidney failure over there in one of the
most inhuman
living cases in our history, modern history.
7% of the children death over there is
because of contaminated water. Luckily luckily, Muslim aid
USA was able to partner with international
relief organizations
like Red Cross Geneva and ADR
and USAID to make sure that we will
be able to install
reverse osmosis water system in Gaza.
And we were able to make 4 of
these in one of the most populated areas
in Gaza, Takbir. Takbir. Just imagine Allah is
sending us to reduce the impact of injustice
against these brothers with drinkable water which we
take for granted.
You can be a major contributor with your
donation
whether it's a one time donation, a big
donation, 10,000, 5000, 25100
or even if it is $100
whether it's one time, monthly, ongoing
just
be sure to be part of the solution
for this crisis.
If you cannot, at least what you can
do, $45
a month, orphan sponsorship,
whether it's in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Yemen,
in Southern Turkey, or in Northern Turkey, in
Ethiopia, in Somalia,
in the Pakistani administered Kashmir. We also we
have,
Allah opened 3 schools for a 1,000 students
including a 184
offered just recently. Takbir.
Whatever you can do, be a supportive,
be a generous doonor like prophet Muhammadu alaihi
wa sallam, especially in Ramadan. See us in
the back. Do whatever you can do. Do
not belittle your gift. Just be generous, be
courageous and give fee sabi lillah. We'll see
you outside and insha Allah we will see
2, 3 at least of you to come
forward and save
$5,000 from me to help solve this water
issue in Gaza Insha'Allah.
See you in the back inshallah.