Omar Suleiman – Why Me #24 Do Good Deeds Extend My Life
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the loss of a woman named Zaynab heads, which was the only wife of the Prophet Sall captive Alaihi Wasallam to die in his lifetime. They also talk about the importance of helping others through hardships and loss, and the message of Islam, which is to bring good deeds and le viets to life. The speaker emphasizes the importance of the Prophet Sall authorization to increase one's lifespan and wealth, as well as the Galatians' remorse of the world and the importance of the Darvin's deeds for the future.
AI: Summary ©
You were meant to be tested in this
world,
and you were meant to bear witness to
the tests of others.
It's not just your hardships that you endure
and work through,
but to help others with whatever capabilities you
have.
And this charity has a direct impact on
your Qadr.
So if each test seems greater than the
last
and your heart is heavy with grief,
Rest assured that it is only to give
you a greater blessing ahead.
Everyone has heard of Khadija radiAllahu Anha,
but she wasn't the only wife of the
Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam to die in his
lifetime.
There's this other woman who has only a
page or 2 in most history books, if
even that. Her name is Zaynab bint Hussainah
radiAllahu ta'ala Anha. And she was the widow
of Abdullah ibn Jash radiAllahu Anhu who was
martyred in
Uhud. And she was known for only one
thing,
her sadaqah.
She used to love the poor and the
prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam loved that about her.
And so he marries her Alayhi Salatu Wasallam
in Ramadan
4 years after hijrah.
And then just after a few months of
being married to the prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam,
she passes away being the only other wife
of the prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam to die
in his lifetime.
And the first one to be buried in
the Baqir.
I want you to think about this. What
if it was her charity
that extended her life just long enough to
be granted eternity
as the wife of the prophet SallAllahu Alaihi
Wasallam in Jannah?
Was it her exemplary patience at the death
of her first husband
or her exemplary
charity that continued after?
You see, your legacy is the culmination of
all of your life's effort.
Every hardship you endured,
every obstacle you overcame,
every mountain you climbed, and every time you
rose to the occasion,
you were leaving your mark in this world
that will last for generations.
It may have been a warm smile or
an embrace that you gave to a child
masjid for the very first time that became
a formative memory and kick started his love
for the masjid.
It may be a word of of truth
that penetrated the heart of a friend going
through a really tough time that he then
carried on with him through his life and
spread to others.
It may be you pulling over your car
to help someone in need which ended up
inspiring them to look into Islam and become
Muslim.
And all these moments are shaping your legacy.
But not just that,
they may also be shaping your destiny.
Just as you have helped ease the life
of others,
prolong their lives and spent your wealth on
them,
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta A'la will increase your
lifespan and provisions so that your legacy will
only be stronger.
Just as you were charitable with others, Allah
is charitable with you.
And so your lifespan and your legacy are
stretched to encompass more so that your reward
in the next life is even more.
As the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said nothing
extends a person's life like good deeds.
But how do we reconcile this with the
verse, fa idahja
aajaluhum
la yastaghhiroona
sa'atin wala yastaghdimon.
That if their time comes, their hour will
not be moved ahead or behind,
not a single moment than that which was
decreed for their death.
The scholars said there are 2 types of
ajal, 2 types of lifespans.
There's ajalun mutlaq and there's ajalunmuqayyat.
There is the ajal, the lifespan that is
only known to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and
is unlimited.
And then there is the ajal that is
limited and known to the angels. You see
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta A'la commands the angel
to write down for his servant a certain
lifespan
with your date of death already there.
Remember, you were born with the date of
your death and your life's bank account already
documents it.
Then Allah's bounty descends and he commands the
angel to increase him in his lifespan and
wealth. So the angel erases that date and
puts something new. And then this keeps on
happening until Allah informs the angel of death
to now go and take the soul of
that person.
So the angel is not just working off
of some register,
but off of Allah's rizq, which is unfolding
before their eyes as well. Good deeds and
du'as can literally work wonders,
but we don't see the change here in
our decree just like we don't see the
reward yet in the hereafter for our deeds.
There were 2 brothers in the time of
the prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam.
One who would stay and study with him
while the other had to work to provide
for him. And the one that felt like
he was missing out opens up to the
Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam about feeling like he
has to carry the load while his brother
gets to enjoy the companionship of the Prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. So the messenger of Allah
Alayhi Salatu Wasallam says to him, la allakaturzakubihi.
It might be that Allah only provides for
you because you provide for him.
Your parent asks you to do something and
you say, I'm too busy.
But the dua of a parent literally opens
up not just the gates of Jannah for
you, but years of good ahead.
Anas ibn Malik radiAllahu Anhu says that, My
mother, Sulayim, brought me to the prophet SallAllahu
Alaihi Wasallam to serve him and asked the
prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam to make du'a for
me. So the prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said,
Allahum aqthirmalahu
wawaladhu
wa'atilirumurahu
waghfirdambahu.
Oh Allah, make his wealth and children abundant,
increase his years on earth and forgive his
sins. Now this wasn't a materialistic du'a because
the prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam knows what he's
making du'a for and who he's making du'a
for. The more life, the more wealth, and
the more children that Anas is going to
have,
the more ways he's going to dedicate that
to preserving the prophetic legacy.
So Anas radiAllahu Anhu goes on to live
for over a 100 years being the last
major companion to die. And he had over
a 100 grandchildren in his own lifetime.
And his wealth was so abundant that they
said it was like everything he touched would
turn to gold. And he became one of
the most generous companions of the Prophet SallAllahu
Alaihi Wasallam.
But he also narrated over 2,000
ahadith from the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
and spread them throughout the world. And so
many details of the daily life of the
Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam from his habits to
the foods that he used to eat, to
his conduct at home,
come to us through Anas Abdul Malik radiAllahu
ta'ala Anhu He had a longer life due
to a dua and he had barakah in
every single year that he lived. And in
a 100 years he accomplished over a 1000
years with barakah.
You see some lives shrink and others grow
and in more ways than one.
Of the punishment of sin, annnahatamhaqu
barakatulunurwabaraqatulrisk
that as the scholars say, it destroys
any blessing you have in your years on
earth
or in your wealth on earth.
Sometimes in life, everything seems great.
You used to enjoy certain things, but it's
no longer pleasurable for you. The barakah seems
gone from your life even though you're still
here and seemingly still have plenty.
The only thing that keeps life worth living
is the remembrance of Allah.
Ma'indakumyanfad
wa ma'indallahi
baq What is with you will expire,
but what is with Allah will always remain.
Wallahu khairun waabuka Allah is always greater and
more everlasting.
Wal akhiratu kayrun wa abuka. And working for
the hereafter is always better and more enduring.
And so just like some lives shrunk, others
are increased in so many ways.
Adam Alayhi Salaam gave 40 years of his
life to Dawud.
Imagine how many people Dawud fed, how many
more people he gave dawah to because he
lived to be a 100 instead of 60.
Other people with the barakah of a few
years worked wonders on earth. Umar ibn Abdul
Aziz was only 38 when he took an
earth full of injustice and filled it with
justice.
And he dies just 2 years later. Mu'adh
ibn Jabbar radiAllahu Anhu was in his thirties
when he died, but he's the leader of
the scholars on the day of judgment. Sa'd
ibn Mu'adh also was only in his thirties,
but the throne of Allah shook at his
death. And so you may ask how come
this righteous person who was so generous died
at 40?
Was their life not increased?
It may be that they were actually initially
a miscarriage, or maybe they were going to
develop a rare disease in childhood,
or maybe they were saved from a car
accident at 18 and their lives reached what
you knew. And even if they would have
died at any of those tender ages,
it wouldn't have been because they weren't good
enough to live. It would have been because
Allah knew that death was better for them
at that age.
And perhaps those touched by their death in
their youth would change their lives for the
better and continue to find their peace in
the puzzle.
All while being a sadaqa jariyah and an
extension for the deceased.
You see, some people die young and they
don't live any more years on earth to
do good,
but they also aren't here to sin anymore
while others continue to do good on their
behalf.
Allah has a plan for all of us,
And it could be that you were given
an extra day on this earth to be
part of a beautiful life for someone else,
and hopefully, a beautiful afterlife
for you all.
Many a life is long in years but
meager in fruits.
And many a life is short in years
but rich in fruit.
The fruits of your spiritual labor aren't only
found in Jannah.
The righteousness you persevered with could birth gifts
for you in this life as well.
A calamity averted or time added to do
more good or answered duas as a result
of your patience and prayer and acceptance of
his decree.
Beautiful memories can be made here with beautiful
deeds,
but the crowns of the hereafter and celebrations
in paradise
is what we really need.
Your deeds may extend your time here, but
that time is decreed for you by time
himself,
Allah.
And it may be that you started to
realize
that you may not have much longer.