Omar Suleiman – Control Your Desires
AI: Summary ©
The importance of finding people with a certain kind of desire is emphasized in Islam. The seven categories of people who have a certain rank are discussed, including those who use the title of Islam's supervisor or leader, those who have a desire for success, those with a desire for the richest among, those with a desire for the last century, those who have a desire for success in the past, those who have a desire for success in the past, and those who have a desire for success in the future. It is emphasized that fulfilling one's spiritual desires is essential in achieving success and success in life.
AI: Summary ©
Dear brothers and sisters, I want to take
you for a moment subhanAllah to a scene
that should literally shape every single moment of
our breathing existence in this life, which is
the scene of the day of judgment when
a person rises from their grave and a
person starts to make their way to whatever
place Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has destined
for them to assume in that majlis, in
that gathering.
Now subhanAllah as you're going around and you're
meeting all of these extraordinary people, people that
you have heard about, people that have inspired
you, people that you have sought to follow,
people like Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, the anbiya,
the prophets of Allah, you see Musa alayhis
salam and Isa alayhis salam and Ibrahim alayhis
salam, the family and companions of the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wasallam, you're going to see a
bunch of people who you don't know.
Some of those people will have incredibly high
ranks with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And as you're going through that gathering and
you're paying attention to these people that you
have no idea what their names are or
what they did to achieve that spot, you
might be asking questions.
Is this a person that lived in a
previous generation that sought to do great things
or that maybe achieved great things that I
didn't know about?
Or is this a person who did things
that other people did not see as so
great?
Let me rephrase that for a moment.
There are people that were great people in
the past that did incredibly impactful things but
perhaps the attribution from a worldly perspective was
not there.
People attributed that greatness or that impact that
effect to another figure, to another group.
And there are other people who lived amongst
their people and what they were doing seemed
seemingly small and they might have been looked
at with a sense of irrelevance.
But at the end of the day now,
they've all been elevated to this place alongside
the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and the greatest
people to ever live.
Now as you're inquiring, there are a few
things to keep in mind.
From the first category of people, those who
sought to impact the times that they lived
in but not necessarily get the credit, they
are a category of mukhlisun, a category of
sincere people who never wanted to be celebrated
in this life but only wanted to be
celebrated in the next.
And wallahi, behind every single great effort and
behind every single transformative figure is a great
group and a great figure that Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala knows, that takes joy in
seeing the work being celebrated without their name
being attributed to it.
But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, We
will write down what they have put forth
and we will write down their footsteps or
their effect.
It can mean two things.
It can speak to the precision by which
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala records your steps,
even the steps that you make towards good.
Or it could speak to your athar, as
in your effect, your impact.
Because you might have impacted things in ways
that are not so tangible or obviously quantifiable
in this life.
And so it's the group of people that
are mukhlisun, a group of sincere people to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that sought a
rank with him, not necessarily a rank in
this world.
And then there's the second group of people,
people that did relatively small things, that lived
relatively ordinary lives, but somehow they have this
rank with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And this is who I want to speak
about right now.
When you talk about the seven people who
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions as categories
of those that are shaded by Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala on a day when there
will be no shade except for his, those
seven categories start off with who?
Who can actually, I know it's really loud
in here, I can barely hear myself by
the way, I don't know how much you
guys can hear, but who can tell me
what those seven categories are?
Who's the first category?
Does anyone know who the first category is
of those seven shaded under the throne of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the day
of judgment is?
A just ruler.
And subhanAllah if the ruler is just, if
a leader is just, then they are able
to implement a society that inculcates the virtues
that are found in the next six categories.
A just ruler builds masajid.
And so you know, you have another category
of those who used to frequent the masajid.
A just ruler encourages places of religious growth
for young people where the masajid are.
And so young people grow up attached to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
A just ruler encourages and sets a tone
in society where people can love each other
for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala because they live in an environment in
which virtue flourishes.
They don't have to cheat to get ahead.
They love for the right reasons and they
love in the right places.
They come together to do those things that
are encouraged from the very top all the
way to the bottom of society.
So you've got sort of this culture that's
being created in this society of those people
that are shaded under the throne of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
But then you've got these people, three categories.
A person who was called by a woman
of great beauty and status.
They said, I fear Allah.
You've got a person who merely resisted a
direct message.
You've got a person who resisted an environment
to where they were able to commit that
sin to fulfill a lust and desire and
they held themselves back for the sake of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
You have a person who remembered Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala in private and shed a
tear.
You have a person who gave sadaqah in
a way that their right hand gave without
their left hand even knowing.
But I want you to think about as
you're meeting this group of people on the
day of judgment.
When you meet this person who is sitting
in the league of prophets and just rulers
and leaders and reformers throughout history and what
did you do to get here?
I resisted my desire when there was an
open opportunity for me to fulfill it.
All I did was I held myself back
from that which was displeasing to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he said
in an authentic hadith, Have
taqwa in regards to those things which Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala has prohibited and you're
going to be of the greatest class of
worshippers.
Be pleased with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
with what Allah has apportioned to you and
you will be the richest of people.
It's a profound hadith for many different reasons
but particularly as it pertains to this talk.
You know you usually in this life get
celebrated because of the things that you do
and most of the people that are celebrated
on the day of judgment are celebrated for
things they didn't do.
That's what the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
is saying because they held themselves back from
things that were displeasing to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala because Allah knows how hard that
is and when you do that for his
sake, you are expressing a level of devotion.
You're expressing a level of dedication to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala that puts you in
the ranks of prophets and martyrs.
Think about how incredible that is and I
want you to think about this from a
practical perspective.
Is it harder for you to stay up
all night in the last 10 nights of
Ramadan and pray in the masjid and listen
to an inspiring khatira and make dua or
is it harder for you to walk away
from a relationship that you know is displeasing
to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when every
fiber of your being desires that relationship?
Which one's more difficult and that's where the
greater reward is.
See Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not
look to the certificates that you have.
Allah does not look to the accolades.
Allah does not look to the quantity of
things.
Allah looks at the depth of the quality
of your sacrifice.
What are you willing to give up for
my sake?
What are you willing to walk away from
for my sake?
What are you willing to strive for for
my sake?
Because good deeds make you feel good anyway
and so people will naturally incline towards all
sorts of good deeds because they render a
certain type of goodness inside of you.
You feel good.
You go to salatul fajr, you come to
a conference, you read quran.
Yes you might be tired, you might have
sacrificed sleep, you might have sacrificed something else,
but you feel good.
Your soul immediately feels good.
Your mood changes.
You feel happy, emotionally satisfied, mentally set.
But when you walk away from something that
your heart desires, that your soul desires, when
you walk away from a craving, it's painful.
And other people will not celebrate you for
that, but the one who made you will
celebrate you for it.
Meeting Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala in the
midst of all sorts of opportunities to displease
him and saying, Ya Allah, I tried.
You know many of you may have heard
the hadith where the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
said to the companions of the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam, that after you, O companions, are
days that require great patience.
To be patient in those days is like
holding on to a burning hot coal.
And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, and
for those who come after you that hold
on to that burning hot coal is the
reward of 50.
He said 50 of them, Ya Rasulullah.
He said no, 50 of you.
Now Subhanallah, I want you to think about
this.
How many of you have read about the
battle of Badr?
This is how I can know if you've
heard my microphone or not.
How many of you have read about the
battle of Badr?
How many of you don't like raising your
hands?
All right, that's good.
You've read about Badr.
You've read about Uhud.
How many of you have heard the story
of Bilal radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu under the
stone?
Jazakumullah khayran to those of you that are
raising your hands.
Okay, should I repeat everything I said?
You've heard the story of Bilal.
You've heard the story of Sumayyah radiAllahu ta
'ala Anhu radiAllahu Anha.
You've heard the stories of these people.
Can any one of us say that we
have been put to the test in regards
to our sacrifices the way that they were?
Can anyone in here say that they've been
tested for la ilaha illallah the way that
Bilal or Salman or Sumayyah have been tested?
Has anyone been forced to be subjected to
starvation and dehydration and torture and been made
a refugee and killed even by their parents
for being a Muslim in here?
Probably not.
And so when the Prophet ﷺ is saying
this to the companions that after you, O
companions, come these days that require an incredible
amount of patience, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
is not talking about sabr al-mashaqqa, sabr
al-mashaqqa, being patient with trial and tribulation.
Rather, as many of the ulema explain, the
Prophet ﷺ is talking about sabr al-shahwa,
to be patient with your desires.
What does that mean?
You have more access to haram, to fulfill
your desires in a moment with your phone
than any generation that came before you could
ever imagine.
It takes you seconds to corrupt your soul
in a way that other people would have
physically had to put themselves in a place
to corrupt their soul.
Other people would have had to worry about
being seen, being caught.
Other people would have had to worry about
social stigma.
Other people would have had to worry about
the time and the place.
You know, there's a mindset like when you're
physically going to a place to commit haram.
As you're going there, that gives you time
to think about what you're going to do
and perhaps turn you back away.
That requires an element of dedication to your
desires, if that makes sense, that you're going
to go out there and commit haram somehow.
Right now, it is literally the burning coal
in your hands.
This is your burning coal right here.
It doesn't take you but a few seconds
to fulfill your desires.
It doesn't take you but a few seconds
to taint your soul.
Now, when you can meet Allah ﷻ, having
said that, Ya Allah, the temptation of shaitan
was literally in my hand and I spent
my entire life trying to make sure that
I feared You in regards to it.
You might find yourself on the Day of
Judgment amongst the prophets and the martyrs and
the legends that you read about in books.
Allahumma ameen.
Allah did not say that as for the
one who prayed all night and fasted all
day, that Jannah is their ending.
Tell me where in the Qur'an it
says that.
Rather, those who restrain themselves for My sake,
Jannah is their refuge.
In fact, it is their refuge.
It is their abode.
It is their abode.
Those who fear Allah in private, those who
fear Allah in the unseen, they do what
they can even as no one else sees
them to be in a situation in which
they are sacrificing the most belligerent of desires
that they have, the tughiyan of the nafs
for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala and even trying to convert those moments
of privacy into moments of worship.
That's a wali of Allah.
That's a friend of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
That's not a normal person.
And so you don't have normal circumstances today.
You don't have a normal set of temptations
today.
Everything about this time is abnormal.
Everything about this time is abnormal.
But that means that the reward of doing
things that might seem seemingly insignificant is also
abnormal.
And that's when the Prophet ﷺ says, you
have the reward of 50 bi-idhnillahi ta
'ala.
And so I want you to remember this
hadith, if you can, insha'Allah ta'ala,
what the Prophet ﷺ mentioned, ittaqil maharim takun
a'abada an-naas, warada bima qasamallahu lak
takun aghna an-naas.
Be mindful or fear Allah in regards to
the things that he has prohibited and you
will be of the greatest of worshippers.
And be pleased with what Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala has apportioned to you and you
will be the richest of people.
How many people think that I will be
good with my religiosity?
I'll be good with Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala?
I'll be satisfied with continuing to make du
'a if Allah just gives me this thing
that I'm asking him for?
You condition your religiosity with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala to say, look, I'm making du
'a.
Oh Allah, give me what I'm asking you
the way that I'm asking you for here
and watch the way that I respond to
what you're asking of me in the future.
It doesn't work that way with Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
Warada bima qasamallahu Look yourself in the mirror
today and say, I am the richest person
in the world because alhamdulillah I have everything
that I need to be a good Muslim.
Allah has provided for me enough stability, enough
security, a much love, enough blessing to where
I feel sufficed alhamdulillah.
Everything Allah gives me gives me as bonus
because Allah gave me Islam.
Allah gave me a sense of purpose.
Allah gave me a mission.
Allah gave me a paradise to seek that
is eternally blessed, never boring, and never limited.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us
from the people of Jannah.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us
from the people of Al-Firdaws Al-A
'la.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us
to overcome the pull of our desires in
private and in public.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us
to please Him with our set of circumstances
no matter what those circumstances are.