Musleh Khan – Remembering Death
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the loss of Shaykh's home and the importance of his mindset in understanding death. They share stories about the loss and the difficulty of understanding death in theena of the world. The importance of acceptance of death is emphasized, and the speakers encourage people to live by their spiritual principles.
AI: Summary ©
Inna alhamdulillah, nahmaruhu wa nastaeenuhu wa nastaghfiruhu, wa
na'udhu billahi min shururi anfusina wa min
sayyiati a'malina, man yahdihil lahu fala mudhilla la,
wa man yudhlil fala hadiya la, wa ash
'hadu an la ilaha illallah wahdahu la sharika
la, wa ash'hadu anna muhammadan abduhu wa
rasuluhu, sallallahu alayhi wa ala alihi wa as
'habihi, wa min sairu ala nahji wa mastana
bi sunnatihi ila yawm al-deeni amma ba'd,
fattaqullah ayyuhal ahbab, fa qad amarana subhanahu wa
ta'ala fi tanzili, ya ayyuhal lazeena aamanu,
ittaqullah haqqa tuqatihi, wa la tamutunna illa wa
antum muslimun, thumma amma ba'd.
My brothers and sisters, before we begin, we
ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to shower
His mercy and acceptance on all of us
here today.
Allahumma ameen.
And as for our brothers and sisters that
are suffering here and around the world, we
ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bless
all of them with patience and strength and
reunite all of us together with them in
Jannatul Firdawsil A'la.
Allahumma ameen.
Ayyuhal ahbab, there was a time when a
great scholar that many of us have heard
of who died in the year 2001.
His name is Shaykh Uthaymeen rahimahullah ta'ala.
There was a time, a famous story during
his lifetime where the king at that time
came with an entire group and visited the
Shaykh rahimahullah ta'ala in his home.
The first thing that I want you to
think about is it's not the Shaykh or
a citizen going to visit the leader because
usually that's how it would happen.
You would go and visit the leadership or
the king or the president in their palace
or in their home.
But instead the king brings an entire party
with him and they come and visit the
Shaykh rahimahullah ta'ala.
One of the reasons why is that it
was well known especially amongst his students.
The Shaykh lived a simple humble life.
He slept on the floor, didn't own a
bed, had one room to himself and he
engrossed his life with just seeking knowledge and
sharing that with the ummah.
And when the king and his party came
to visit the Shaykh, the king asked the
Shaykh, Is there anything that you need?
We will be more than grateful to provide
for you.
The king wanted to gift the Shaykh in
order to honor and show gratitude for his
service to the ummah.
The Shaykh says, No, I don't need anything.
Alhamdulillah, I'm fine.
So the king says, Listen, I heard this
small place, this tiny room, you don't have
a bed, you don't have a pillow.
I heard this is the way that you
live.
Allow me to gift you a home that
is fully furnished.
The Shaykh says, No, thank you.
Fajazakallahu khairah.
The king insisted and this went back and
forth a few times.
Then the Shaykh says, You know, if you
really must know, I am already building a
home in another city.
So the king says, Okay, khalas.
After he left, the students of the Shaykh
overheard and asked the Shaykh, Where is this
place, this home that you're building?
The city that you said you're building a
home in is so far away.
How will we visit you?
And how are we going to study with
you?
And the Shaykh says, Isn't there a famous
cemetery in the city that I mentioned?
The students said, Yes.
Says that is where I am building my
home.
The Shaykh, of course, means that he is
preparing for his real home, a home where
he can enjoy the fruits, the luxuries.
All of the riches, the real home that
will come and be gifted to the believers
in the Akhirah, in Jannah.
Inshallah, may Allah allow all of us to
be from amongst them.
Allahumma ameen.
Now, I want the first point to share
with you.
Why do I share this story?
How did the Shaykh give a response where
literally he has the opportunity to ask for
anything that he wants?
Anything that he could think of at that
moment is literally at his disposal.
But instead, his only thought, his only priority
is the Akhirah.
Where does this mindset come from?
This is not something that happened at the
spur of the moment.
This is something that the scholars teach us
is a reflection of how a believer lives
his or her entire life.
And so today, I want to share with
you how the believer thinks about and remembers
death.
And the reason why we choose a topic
like this is simple.
We continue each and every day to hear
about the loss of loved ones, friends and
families.
And what hurts the most, we all know
we have to leave someday.
But sometimes when you hear the news of
the passing of a loved one, they weren't
sick.
You didn't see any signs of death.
It just happened suddenly as a shock.
And sometimes that's the death that hurts the
most.
Why does this happen?
And what are believers taught in the Quran
and Sunnah when it comes to this kind
of death?
So I want to bring your attention to
the famous Ayah in Surat Ali Imran.
All of us know this verse.
It happens three times in the entire Quran
where Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala tells us, In
Surat Ali Imran, Allah continues.
This is the verse in Surat Ali Imran.
Allah also tells us, In Surat Al-Anbiya
and also in Surat Al-Ankabut.
For us to really understand how we prioritize
the Akhira life above and before this life.
We have to understand what is teaching us.
When you look at the translation of this
Ayah, you'll notice that lots of translations will
say that every soul shall taste death.
And this is not necessarily the most accurate
way to translate the word Nafsun.
Nafsun literally is me and you the person
in his or her entirety.
Part of that is our soul.
But also Nafsun is your personality.
It's the qualities that make up you, who
you are, how people when they talk and
they interact with you, the person that they
meet, the person that they listen to and
hear.
All of the components that make up an
individual is called Nafsun.
So a better way to look at this
Ayah is every person is already in the
state of tasting death.
What does this Ayah even mean?
For us to embrace the believer, to embrace
their death and look forward to life after
death.
The first thing that the Quran teaches us
to do is to constantly think about your
death and don't think about it to the
point where you become depressed.
You become stiff.
You can't work.
You can't talk to anybody.
You have so much anxiety.
You become morbid, lost and confused.
That's not the purpose.
But rather our messenger alayhi salatu wasalam taught
us that when the believer thinks about death,
what it does, how that translates in my
life and in your life is that it
causes us to live a more productive life.
This is the reason why you and I
we think about our death.
Now, sometimes maybe not even some many times
we will forget about it.
We won't think about death in and of
itself.
That's where Kullu Nafsun comes into play.
Every single person is already in the state
of tasting death, meaning if your mind, your
thoughts are not thinking about death.
Well, guess what?
You know, those stairs that you have to
climb in your home as the days and
the months go by climbing these stairs becomes
more and more difficult.
Once upon a time, you could run really
fast.
Now, you can barely run.
You're struggling to walk.
Once upon a time, you look in the
mirror.
Now, you start seeing more and more of
those grays from every part of your face.
Now, your skin starts reminding you that you're
tasting death.
Your health reminds you your intellect before you
used to have a fantastic memory.
Now, it's a struggle to remember basic things
each and every day.
So, the mind now is tasting that all
of these things that we interact with that
we are involved in 24 hours a day.
Is Kullu Nafsun Dha'iqatul Mawt?
Now, I ask you, brothers and sisters, who
thinks about death like this?
Where you look at your skin and you
start seeing the wrinkles are there, the aches
and pains and all your joints are starting
to become stronger and worse and your energy
levels are going down.
Who internalizes and translates all of these moments
we experience every second of the day that
these are reminders that I am slowly, slowly
leaving this world.
So, the believer, they are constantly remembering and
they are constantly reminded of death.
May Allah Azawajal bless all of us with
a Hussnul Khawatim, a righteous end.
Allahumma Ameen.
Then Allah Azawajal gives us a few things
to think about.
Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala then tells us, Kullu
Nafsun Dha'iqatul Mawt?
Wa Innama Tuwathawna Ujoorakum Yawmal Qiyamah.
It is on that day that once we
pass away, that the person will reap, they
will receive compensation and reward for all the
things that they used to do.
Faman Zuhzih AAaninnar.
The one who was shifted, who was pulled
away from the fire.
Keep in mind the ayah.
The ayah tells us that the person who
they were given a distance, pulled away from
the fire, which tells us what?
This surah, this ayah is telling us that
there are people just being close to the
fire, in and of itself, they start feeling
its punishment.
They don't have to be in the fire
to feel its punishment.
Just being near it alone, they start to
feel its effects.
May Allah protect all of us.
Allahumma Ameen.
Faman Zuhzih AAaninnar, Wa Udkhila Al-Jannah.
This is a fantastic and beautiful part of
the verse.
Allah says, and they were entered into Jannah.
Allah entered them in Jannah.
They didn't get into Jannah because of all
the amazing things that they did.
Udkhila, Allah by his mercy saw and judged
this person, me and you, and came to
the conclusion, you have done so well.
Not only do you go to Jannah, but
I am personally going to ensure you get
there and get there now.
May Allah bless all of us with Jannah.
Allahumma Ameen.
You see what's happened.
We started off this verse about death.
When the believer hears this word for the
first time, here's the litmus test to know
if you're somebody that when you think about
death, you're thinking about it the way the
believer should or not.
When you hear this, your heart is not
afraid.
When you hear the word death or you
hear the passing of a friend or a
relative, it scares you.
It might sadden you.
It might upset you, but you still say,
Those words can still manifest from your tongue.
And you understand that this is the process
of life.
You're able to embrace and accept it.
When you can do this, it is a
sign that you are remembering death in a
way that Allah is pleased with.
And as a result, every single day of
your life becomes a productive day.
That's the goal.
This person has become the true champion.
They have won.
You know, there are several words in Arabic
to describe somebody who has won or become
successful.
Faaz or fawzun is when somebody passes the
finish line.
They don't need to go back.
They don't need to worry about anybody else.
They have already made it.
It's the end of the race.
It's the end of the struggle.
That's called faazun or fawzun.
So Allah says to you and I, once
you enter Jannah, I enter you in Jannah.
You have done it.
You have completed the struggle.
What is this worldly life except that it
is two things.
Remember these two words, brothers and sisters.
Mata'un and ghurur.
Mata'un is usually referred to as something
that's trivial.
It's important.
You use it, but you don't depend on
it to live your day-to-day lives.
So scholars give us examples like simple things
like utensils, like a straw or a spoon
or a fork.
All of these things are linguistically looked at
and described as Mata'un.
When you have it and you're using it,
you need it, but it's not like your
life will stop or you can't live well
if you don't have it.
This is called Mata'un.
This is one of the descriptions of worldly
life.
And then Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala uses another
word.
Which is a very common word in Quran
and that is Ghurur.
Shaytan, one of the names that he is
described with is Al Ghurur.
What is this word?
Ghurur is when somebody is distracted or they're
at their lowest and people come and take
advantage of you.
That's called Ghurur.
And that's why Shaytan is described as Al
Ghurur, comes to you, to you and me,
especially on those days and moments when you're
struggling with your Iman.
The Shaytan is there when we are most
vulnerable.
Allah describes the entire world this way.
How?
Scholars tell us if you let this world
become your priority, you fall into the state
of Ghurur, where you will hold on and
death, going to a funeral, praying a Janazah
prayer, being around the remembrance or the reminder
of the passing of someone close to you.
And even if you don't know them, it
frightens you.
You don't want to be around that.
You know, I still meet Muslims who say
to me, it's like, man, when I go
to a Janazah, that's like the worst thing.
I try to avoid that as much as
I can.
If this happens, you have fallen into Ghurur.
And Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala reminds us not
to let this happen.
Now, how do you achieve that?
How do you maintain this life where you
can embrace the reminders of its end, still
be a Muslim that Allah is pleased with
and still live a good and productive life?
The answer to this question is what we
conclude with in the second part of the
khutbah.
My brothers and sisters, sometimes it's important for
you and I to take a break from
what's happening around us.
Sometimes it's important to just stop.
And just look at you, look at yourself,
look at how things have been running and
working at home.
And ask yourself, if you were to meet
Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala tomorrow, perhaps maybe tonight.
Do you feel that you're ready to meet
him subhanahu wa'ta'ala?
Sometimes you have to just pause and just
talk to yourself.
Am I ready to meet him subhanahu wa'ta
'ala?
No one can answer this except you.
So I ask Allah to continue to keep
us close to him and put Barakah in
our time, put Barakah in our lives, in
our homes, and especially with our sons and
daughters.
May Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala preserve Islam in
us and them, daiman abada, always and forever.
Allahumma ameen.
So in conclusion, brothers and sisters, now we
understand what we have to do.
Now we understand how we have to think
about and be reminded of death as the
Prophet alayhi salatu wasalam taught us, that we
should constantly remember it.
And the goal is to remember it.
So it translates into a productive life.
How do I do that?
How do we start that process?
One of the answers Quran gives us is
found in verse number 41 in surah Verses
many of us here know, where Allah subhanahu
wa'ta'ala tells us This
verse is the verse that helps us to
live this life.
Allah azzawajal says, as for those that say
It's not enough.
It's great.
Alhamdulillah.
You say that.
Allah wants two things from us.
Say it.
Then Allah wants you to uphold and live
by the principles of So you even if
you're not a sheikh, you're not a scholar,
you've never engrossed yourself in the knowledge of
the deen.
You don't have a deep understanding, but still
you do understand the basics.
You can practice the basics.
That's a great start in the sight of
Allah.
But Allah says even the little that you
know, make sure you live by it.
Then when our turn comes and the angel
of death visits us.
Ibn Abbas said, these ayat of surah Fussilat.
These ayat are speaking about the person who
is literally on their deathbed and they start
to see the angels getting closer to them.
They start descending.
Angels are everywhere.
Only the person who's about to die seconds
away from passing away.
They can see all these angels filling up
the room.
Some of you when you're around somebody who
is about to pass away.
Do you notice that sometimes their eyes roll
up?
Some of the scholars say that's one of
the signs.
They're seeing something that you can't, you and
I can't see.
So they see these angels are coming and
these angels say to them, Don't be scared.
Don't be sad.
Congratulations.
You did it.
You know, this ayah is so remarkable because
the believer is being told before they are
entered into Jannah.
Congratulations.
You're already going there.
Congratulations.
Jannah awaits you.
You've done it.
It's the same Jannah that you were always
promised.
Allah blesses for that believer who lived that
life, thinking about him, prioritizing the Akhirah, held
on to whatever little faith or Iman they
had, whatever little knowledge they had, they held
on and they lived by those principles.
Congratulations.
The angels come and give you reassurance.
Don't be afraid and don't be sad.
Jannah is what awaits you.
I pray that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala enter
all of us in Jannah.
With our loved ones, those that are present,
but also those that have passed away, our
friends and our families, we ask Allah to
reunite all of us together with them under
a beautiful tree or a beautiful shade in
Jannah.
The goal today, my brothers and sisters, and
this is what I leave you with, is
to hopefully keep a bit of that spark
in your heart.
That spark of faith and Iman, for it
to continue to illuminate, for it to continue
to stay spiritually alive in you.
So once you get back out there inshallah,
somewhere in your heart and soul, you feel
that the Quran and Sunnah has fueled you
once again and you find a bit of
hope and strength and perseverance living each day,
but also prioritize and look forward to a
better and more peaceful and perfect life in
the Akhirah inshallah ta'ala.
We send peace and blessings to our Rasul
salawatu rabbi wasalamu alayh kama amrana subhanahu wa'ta
'ala fi tanzili inna allaha wa malaikatahu yusallun
ala al nabi ya ayyuha allatheena amanu sallu
alayhi wasallimu taslima Allahumma salli ala muhammad wa
ala ali muhammad kama salli ala Ibrahima wa
ala ali Ibrahima innaka hamidun majid Allahumma ghufril
muslimina wal muslimat wal mu'minina wal mu'minat al
hiya'i minhum wal amwat innaka qareebun sami
'un mujeebu da'wat Allahumma innana nasaluka al
jannah wa ma qarraba ilayha min qawlin aw
amal wa na'udhu bika minandar wa ma
qarraba ilayha min qawlin aw amal Rabbana aatina
fid dunya hasana wa fil akhirati hasana waqina
al thab al naar Subhana rabbika rabbil izzati
amma yasifun wa salamun ala al mursaleen walhamdulillahi
rabbil alameen