Riyad Nadwi – 0.8 Imam Ghazali on Ikhlas
AI: Summary ©
The importance of pride in Islam's culture is manifested through various factors, including body language, clothing, past experiences, desire for wealth, and desire for wealth. Representatives of success and success in life are recognized through strong personal values and recognized through actions and projections. The importance of protecting oneself from disrespect, sharing one's position, and showing oneself as a sincere person is emphasized. The use of mockery and deception in the media is discussed, as well as the importance of showing oneself in a situation where both motivation for reward and reward for reward are equal. The importance of finding a sense of urgency in one's mind to avoid unnecessary behavior is emphasized, and the need for continuous focus and mindful behavior is emphasized.
AI: Summary ©
Allah
has revealed
to his prophet Muhammad
that they were not commanded except to worship
Allah
being sincere
being sincere to him alone, that Allah
in faith, in religion, inclining towards the truth,
and to establish prayer and to give charity,
to give zakah,
and that is the correct faith. That is
the correct religion.
Brothers and sisters, assalamu alaikum.
Welcome to
our 8th session on
lessons from Imam Al
Azeri,
which is our last session this term.
In our previous session, we looked at the
meaning of the term
and how it differs from
in
that
is the showing
of
more general
projection of,
perfection, whereas
in
Rhea is showing of showing in acts of
worship.
And our attention was drawn in the text
to 4
main points.
The first was that
Riya was classified as haram
and from the primary sources, from the Quran
and from Hadith.
The second point was that
there are 5 broad areas in which
riya is manifested.
The first was riya via the body as
in showing off
the effects of 'ibada
or the or the effects of piety on
the body. Example of that would be,
keeping a dry lip to show that you're
fasting.
The second one was
via cloth and appearances,
as in wearing the clothes of olema to
give the impression of having deep knowledge
or
to give the impression of piety or creating
an artificial
mark on the forehead to show that you
are frequently prostrating.
Number 3 was
ria via speech or verbal habits
and that is through
criticizing
people,
criticizing,
the validity or
criticizing hadith chains of narrations to show that
you are
you are knowledgeable in in hadith, to project
that, that you are knowledgeable in hadith literature
and hadith criticism,
or through parity of showing keenness to guide
people and to steer people in the right
direction.
And then the 4th area through which this
happens is the,
via
direct
like lengthening of the sujood when you're in
prostration,
especially when people are watching.
And number 5 was
ria in
our social circles, ria in with our contacts.
We are with
seeking an example would be seeking the visit
of pious people or the seeking seeking the
visit
of Ullama or famous people so that then
you can project the impression
that people are seeking your blessings by visiting
you.
So those were the 5 broad areas in
which manif riya tend to manifest.
The third point that we would run to
was that the Mora'i,
the person who is indulging riya is called
El Morai.
So El Morai, the one who practices riya,
can sometimes trick themselves into thinking that they
will avoid riya
by rehearsing their behavior in private.
And what they
do not realize is that by doing so,
they're they're doubling their ria their ria in
private as well. They're they're they're indulging in
ria in privacy as well.
And following on from that is was the
4th point was the person can be an
ascetic, a monk on a on the top
of a mountain
in seclusion and still be indulging in Rhea
in that he or she
spends time simulating the impression they make on
others.
And while in solitude, their their their concern
about what people are thinking about them, not
they have no urge or, or yearning for
what for wealth or for any material gain,
but
the position in the heart nonetheless.
Now these were
may, the means and situations in which
the schemes of Ria tend to manifest.
But it is important here
to bear in mind that
we should not fall into a trap of
thinking that if you see someone doing one
of these things,
in the
to assume automatically that this person
is indulging in riya because
we have observation of what people are doing,
and if someone if we see someone
praying and along sujood or making dua or
crying and doing something, then we should not
automatically,
assume that that person is indulging in riya.
For someone to have riya
while doing 1 or several of these things,
it must include
motive. It must include
an an an a a a direct motive
to show at some level.
And
as we know
that motives are not visible.
They are in the heart. And so only
Allah and the person who is doing it
knows what's in the heart. So do not
allow shaitan
to trap you into making bad judgments about
people's actions.
This knowledge, this this this these discussions, these
things that we are learning
is for our own heart, is for our
own introspection
to enable us
to take ourselves to task.
And here it is
perhaps pertinent to reflect on the words of
the great imam,
who
said that
that I was denied
the
praying of the night prayer, the tahajjud prayer
at night
for
5 months because of one sin I committed.
And the first part of it is is
denied. No. The police didn't come in his
house and stop him from praying.
He he just he wasn't given the tawfiq,
to pray
and he saw this as a punishment.
When we get up at night
in in the cold winter, you've opened it,
come out of your duvet
and go and make wudu and pray and
stand in front of Allah on your own
at night no one's seeing you, then that
is the time when Allah says
look at my servant, he's left his bed
and he's coming, he's coming, he's coming, he's
praying to me.
That will power, that strength to do that,
that tawfiq
comes from Allah. When we do that we
should see it as a gift, not a
sacrifice
that we have made, it is a gift
and this is how he's explaining it that
he was not given that gift of
of praying at night. He was not given
because
of one sin he committed. And
what was that sin? He explained. He said,
I saw a person crying
and I said in my heart
that this person is indulging in riya.
I made a mistake. He's acknowledging
that he made judgment on that person's action.
So
here in is a,
a good
story to remember whenever
Shaitan comes to you and tries to make
you
pass judgment on the actions of others, this
is this training, this all these discussions that
we're having is about looking at your own
heart, it's about looking
at
your own motivations, your own intentions.
Now together with these points, I also
gave you a bite sized discussion
to put your mind at ease about hadith
in general because,
hadith used specifically in this subject, the subject
of tatkia.
Hadith can be weak in the criteria of
1 scholar and strong in the criteria of
another scholar. It can be weak in one
book and strong in another book or weak
in one subject and strong in another.
When a so when a when a hadith
is weak in one subject but it is
strengthening your iman,
then you should not have any
hesitancy, any qualms in your mind about
following or about taking benefit from that from
those words.
Now today,
I want to continue in the chapter,
the true nature of ostentation and through what
it is achieved.
Yes.
Yep.
So
last week, we
we concluded with
the the the situations in which it it
happens. But then
there is an,
an additional discussion
that is added to this chapter
in which he speaks about
the
Ria,
and
the need
for levels to to recognize levels.
So he's saying here that first
that in our day to day activity, there
is need there is need for some states
for
a recognition
for people to recognize who you are and
your status for our day to day living
just as we need, and he's giving he
uses the example
of wealth.
We all need a certain amount of wealth
to satisfy our necessities.
And, likewise, we also need a certain amount
of of, of recognition
in order to satisfy our our needs.
But that is that has to be kept
in in proportion
and not go into excess. Just as someone
going into excess in the pursuit of wealth,
they will end up. And he says this
that
he said,
that,
is if you're seeking
excessive wealth or excessive position,
it it says,
He he said that if,
in it said, turning of the heart towards
seeking position to speaking status
is the foundation of shuroor, foundation of evils
that can accumulate on you.
It is just
it is the same as the person who
is
bent on getting more and more wealth. He
wants to, acquire enormous wealth.
That the person who loves
status and who loves
wealth
will not be able to leave
sins
of the heart and sins of the tongue
because that is a natural progression. It will
push you if if you have love for
status.
And this we can see in in our
society,
the meteoric rise of narcissism,
the the conclude
the consequence of this sort of behavior of
seeking status all the time
turns a person's
psyche into a narcissist. You become a narcissistic
person who is constantly
measuring and seeking more and more and more
of status and being,
in a in a way,
you're you're focused on
building your status and raising your position in
for in people. I've I've dealt with narcissism
in one of the other series with,
I think that was with,
relations between parents and children. That's also on
the website, but, but we we can talk
about that later.
The point here is that,
you need to be recognized as I when
I when I spoke to you about
the need for your CVs. You're allowed to
do certain amount of of of projection of
saying that, well, look, I know so and
so as long as it does not have
any,
exaggerations in it.
And the example he gives is that of
Yusuf alaihi salaam who said
give me the the responsibility that I I
have the I have the the capacities. I
I I have the the skills.
He said as for if someone
is given status
without any scheming from himself
or any any yearning from himself
and that person and
the person does not seek. And now we
all say, oh, I don't seek status. But
the problem, if you want to measure it,
the litmus test for it is
that you do not
become grief stricken and concerned about losing it.
That is the test. That if you find
yourself of it of given status, but you're
not worried about if people take it away
from you, you lose it or it it
reduces.
That is the test. If if you if
you're if you find yourself in this position,
then
then there is no harm in that one.
And he the example he gives here is
this that there's no status higher than the
status of Rasulullah
So he had position.
He
had
status. And the status of
the the the caliphs
and the righteous caliphs.
And the people
also have status
But
the shifting of attention, the shifting of concern
towards
towards it, excessive. And here, we're talking here
about quantity. Note this idea of reg regulating
things to the degree of necessity and not
going into excess. And that's the problem. That
that's not what usually happens. Just like when
you get wealth, you want more wealth. When
you get status, you want more status. And
it and then it has a knock it
has a spiraling effect on the heart. So
that is what
means. It means switching it it means the
entire focus of one's
efforts and one's mission in life then gets
trans gets,
derailed into this direction of of of raising
your status.
And he's saying that look, that
it is not that this
we've classified the riya as
haram
but
that level
of status that level of recognition
among your peers or for your job or
for your mission that you have that Allah
gives you, that is not haram and the
the,
evidence for it. He's saying
and from this perspective,
the beautifying of your clothes,
that a person wears when he goes out
to meet his friends, to meet people, and
you go to face people,
which is showing this is not harm.
But but it has to be not in
excess. Not in excess. You're going spending £400
for a t shirt because it has some
designer label on it and then showing people
that look I have this shirt because it
it was £500 or £5,000,
coat because it has a designer label on
it. That's excess. We're talking about necessity and
to maintain a normal level of decorum, you
know, the proprietor you you you appropriate level
of decorum among your among your peers, then
that is allowed.
So they say
first of all, it is not
in that sense.
And on this, we can extrapolate
the that all types of beautification and,
wearing of clothes and be and and beautification
is allowed
as long as it is not in excess.
Now what Dalil and the and the evidence
of this is
That's
who is reporting that the prophet
wanted to was about to go out to
meet his companions one day.
And he was looking into, you know, these
large,
mud pots. The the large ones with water.
At the brim of it, it was filled
with water, so then there's a reflection in
it. So he looked into that reflection of
the water, fix his turbine in his hair.
So he's
so she said,
oh do you do this?
She she seemed to be surprised about it.
Said,
yes I do. Yes.
That Allah loves
that Allah loves that you should beautify yourself
for your brothers
when you go out, then so
if
you go out towards them,
that Allah loves this, so this was for
him.
Because he was ordered
to invite the entire creation.
And then to seek their inclination towards obedience
and to draw their their hearts
and if he was to fall in their
eyes
they will not follow him,
but they will not be inclined towards follow
him.
And so therefore, it was necessary for him
to show to show the good aspects of
himself,
of his situation, of his condition
so that their eyes do not belittle him.
For
that the eyes of the general public
extends to the outer form.
They do not look at the inner form.
So he did it in order as
as a as a favor
in order to draw their hearts towards following
him. So
that is one reason why it is done.
Another reason, what I can
and if a person decides that look, I'm
going to beautify myself
to a reasonable
level and appropriate level of decorum
for for for people,
so that they do not vilify me and
rebuke me. They don't say, well, you have
he's starting,
criticizing you.
So that they will not
you know that if you go in you
go in a certain situation and people will
will start rebuking you or vilifying you or
criticizing you, then and if you dressed in
if you dressed in a certain way you
go in your, in your pajamas,
to to class, then that would be that
would not be showing respect to people. So
in the same way,
is this is an allowed this is allowed.
You're allowed to do that.
It is so you're allowed
to protect yourself from the pain of
abuse and insults.
To seek
a a a comfortable
coexistence with among you among your brothers, among
your your social circle.
And he you will not be able to
to mix with people if they see you
as dirty and grubby.
For even,
So some showing
that is not
are allowed.
And sometimes it is an obedience. You're doing
like
was doing it
because Allah commanded to do so.
A
person is among some rich people and he
he spends on them
to
it's not sadaqah
then that is allowed
and it's not haram.
As for worship, acts of worship
as for
these things like
salah and zakat and siyam
fasting etcetera
that a person a a person who is
indulging in riya
are in 2 are are are in 2
states.
The first one
that he has no intention other than show.
Pure show.
He has no intention for reward.
All he wants to do is show. So
he's giving charity and he wants to show.
He's coming to the masjid because he has
to show people. That's all.
So this
destroys his whatever he's giving
is is null and void.
Actions are with
actions are on the basis of intentions.
And so long as this person is not
intending,
he's
he's
And this person is not only
destroying his actions so that we can say,
oh, well, it's it's like nothing. It's not
on void and he is returned to as
if he has not done it. No. That's
not the case.
That he is increasing in sin in this.
As as we know from the from the
sources. And
there are 2 two ways,
two meanings of this It it it two
reasons for this why this has happened.
The the first is why this is so
terrible. He's explaining now the reasons for
for for
the detestable nature of this thing. The first
is that
it's concerning the people who you're showing. He
says the first is that there's there's
deception and scheming.
That he's giving the impression to these people
who he's showing, he's showing. He's giving them
he's he's giving them the impression
that he is
that he is a,
a sincere person and obedient to Allah
that he is of a person
of and he's not so.
The people do this for
as well.
And the second reason
and the second reason is in concern it
concerns Allah and which is of course more
it's it's it's more severe, more more more
more terrible.
That whoever
intends
with Allah's Ibadah
Allah's creatures you in you are focusing you
are doing Allah's Ibadah
and intend not Allah but His creatures
then you are indulging
in mockery of Allah
this is mockery.
And
then the hadith is quoted
is that when he shows when when we
do this
then Allah says to his angels, he says,
look at my servant. How look at my
slave. He's mocking me. He's mocking me. He's
doing Ibadah to me.
He's pretending to do he's pretending to worship
me, and he's actually
showing other people. He does not have me
in his heart.
And he's he gives an example. He says,
the person stands
in service
of a king all day long.
As is usual, our people do service to
the king. They stand with the and serve
him all day long.
And he's not there to please the king.
He's not there to serve the king, but
he's there
He's there to to look at one of
the king's female,
slaves
That she's
so he's in his enjoyment is is diverted
somewhere else, but he's pretending to be to
serving the king.
Right? If
that this is mockery of with the king.
If
he's not
he's not serving the king because he wants
to get close to the king. Well,
that his his intention is to is one
of his slaves. He
said that
how
pejorative it is,
what what a condescending thing it is that
you should do this.
There is nothing more condescending and more and
high mockery than to do a with
to
aim for a slave of Allah with the
of Allah showing this slave, this weak slave
who holds nothing of benefit and harm for
you.
And
do we do this except
that we know we we think that
we in our mind, somewhere, some some crazy
configuration has has developed in our mind to
make us think that this ad, this slave
is more capable
Allah is more capable of fulfilling
your needs than Allah.
And that this person is more
deserving of nearness, of seeking his nearness, of
from
more than Allah.
That we are giving preference
to him or to her these these creatures
of Allah. We're giving creatures. We're giving them
preference
over the King of Kings.
Allah
And you're you're making he's making
we make this
we make the the aim of our
these people, the the people around us.
And what
mockery can there be that is more? What
high mockery can there be higher than the
one that raises the slave over the creator
of the heavens and the earth?
So this
is one of the great
destroyers.
It one is one of the great pitfalls.
The
the the lesser
that some levels of riya are lesser than
some are more than some.
As will come later on.
And
they're all all the
ria, all types of ria has
sin in it. Maybe some are severe and
some are light.
According to
what you show with.
And if if only it was if if
you want one thing, if one if there's
one thing to
classify this as
terrible, It will be sufficient
for
for to understand that you are that
you are the fact that you are doing
for
someone else other than Allah is sufficient.
That
he even if he didn't he he's doing
it he's done
he did not he did not seek to
get close to Allah and he's doing
he's aiming for
other than Allah when you stay in Sujood,
when you stay in prostration
for any moment longer, for 2 minutes or
1 minute longer than you need to be
because you think someone is watching you, then
that sense becomes for that person.
And
you're giving that person the place of Allah
in your heart. What I'm saying that
that we know that if a person prostrates
to someone,
aggrandize to give
to aggrandize someone in prostration,
we know that that is that is disbelief,
that is apostasy in the sense in an
open apostasy.
But
Ria
is a is the hidden ship. It's the
hidden is the hidden disbelief.
Because we don't have Allah.
Because the one who is showing
is making grand people in his heart.
And
that greatness that has come into his heart
has then
driven him to prostrate and to bow for
him.
So
the people are the people so people are
aggrandized
with this
prostration
from one angle
And
the bottom line is that as long as
you're not
making Allah grand in your heart with sujood
then you will make others grand, someone else,
some some creature of Allah.
And that is close to shirk like those
who worship other things.
Except that he's he wants to aggrandize himself.
He wants to raise him his his greatness
in himself by showing this
through
the that he's doing, the through
a through a simulation of a of worship
of Allah. So assimilation of of showing greatness
to Allah.
And because of that, he's actually wanting to
aggrandize himself.
This is a narcissistic
behavior
in this in that sense. It is it
because ultimately, that's the purpose. So this is
not an open
a explicit shirk,
as, as in the case of bowing down
to a to an idol.
But and for that reason it is shirk
and kafi and it is a it is
the it is the lesser shirk,
not the not not the manifest shirk.
But it is the it is the full
extent. It is it is the highest.
It is the high point of ignorance.
And the ones and people do not fall
into this except if they are deceived by
shaitan.
And how does he does it? He gives
him the impression
that that these people
have control over your benefit and your over
your your harm
That these people hold your benefit
and your hold benefits and and harm and
your sustenance and your and your salvation
and your interest, the good of your interest
and and and your eventual
position in the more than Allah that they
have more
control and more and more to offer you
than Allah.
Allah.
And for this reason, he has shifted his
his face in his attention.
Yeah. In this attention economy that we're living,
our attention now is shifted towards this, towards
creatures.
And he's now focused his whole heart towards
them.
So that he can draw towards himself. They're
not the hearts.
And if Allah were to say, okay, well,
let let
let let them take care of you. Well,
to hand them over to them, that would
be the least of
what he should do. He he he he
that can happen to him.
That is that all the creatures
are helpless,
are unable to help themselves.
They have no control. They have no ability
to help themselves
or to harm. They have no control. They
have no power over
helping over benefit or harm.
So how are they able to help others?
How can they be able how can they
be perceived
to be beneficial to others?
And this is in this world.
So how about a day when
a father will not be able to help
his own son?
And neither would a child be able to
help his father anything.
Even the prophets will be saying,
oh, myself, myself, myself.
So how do we how do we
replace
the rewards of the
and the acquiring of closeness to Allah.
How
what he's what he intends, what he gets
from how can he do this with this
with this,
with this false yearning, with this false
this this false yearning in the dunya from
from people, seeking it from people.
So then we should not be
we should not be any in any doubt
that Al Murahi, the one who is indulged
in show
with the of Allah, with the worship of
Allah is
in the Sahat of Allah. He is in
Allah in the dislike of Allah. I mean
from both perspective from the perspective
of the sources
and also from analogy we can tell
This is if he doesn't have
any hope for
any hope for reward.
As for if he
intends to have reward from Allah and praise
from people both
in in giving his charity or in salah,
so that one is a shirk
that undermines
Okay. It's in in the Kitabul Ikhlas.
He will not get the reward,
at all.
Okay. So
that was the end of that.
Now the exposition of the
stages of.
There are different
there are different levels of it. So
So you'll either be in a state where
you're where you intend
nothing but
reward or you intend reward and
also showing people
or
or or you intend and one of the
2 is
on and then you'll be in a situation
of
you'll be in a situation where
you
intend reward and you also intend to show.
And intending reward is stronger or intending
show is stronger or they are equal.
So he's saying in the first one,
The the first
level and which is the worst of all
is that your intention is only to show.
There is no there is no intention for
for reward.
Like the person who prays and without intending
for salah.
And the person who
is
so
he's
this person
is
is in the
dislike of Allah. Right? He's disliked by Allah.
That's so that's the first. That person is
beyond the pale. He's he's he he a
person who does it without any intention.
The second level
that he wants
that he wants reward
he wants reward, but it that intention, that
motivation is weak.
And he that if he was alone, if
people were not looking, then he would not
do it. That he wants to do it.
He does it for people, but he also
hopes for reward. But but it's the the,
intention for reward, the motivation for reward is
so weak that if people were not watching,
he would not give.
So he's saying that
And this is also that if he that
showing people isn't is is necessary,
and he'll do it because
he
he hopes that he'll get some reward as
well, but the main reason is doing it
for people.
So this
so this is similar to to the first
category and that category is the category that
look you're you're in you're in sin.
And then there is the 3rd category
that they are both equal. The levels are
both equal.
That if
one of the 2 were if they were
separated, then he will not do it. But
when they come together, then he does it.
Then then he becomes inclined and ready to
do it.
That he will
be
that he would that this would be equal
as if he is
he wouldn't gain anything.
He will get the same level of sin
as the same level of of of reward.
And and and the
sources seem to suggest that he will not
get anything as well.
And the the fourth one is when the
motivation for showing people is the is the
dominant one.
But he it's it's not the dominant one.
It
it increases
his eagerness to do it, but it's not
the dominant one. It it increases him. It
increases
his
enthusiasm
and his,
his energies to do it.
And if these people were not there, he
will still do it. If people were not
watching, he would still do it.
But if and if it was just
the the riya, then it he would not
he would not be forced to do it
because it the
intention, the motivation for riya is weak.
He said what we think about this is
that
that his intention for will
in such a situation
will not be destroyed,
but his reward will be diminished
severely or he'll be punished
for the for the amount of riyah that
he has committed.
And he will be given the reward on
the on the on
on the basis of of
of his intention of his motivation for reward.
As for the saying of the prophet
that I'm
I'm the last one. I'm I'm I'm least
in need of shirk.
It is about this is in relation
to situations where both
the motivation for riya and the motivation for
Sawab are equal or the motivation for riya
are more than the motivation
for Sawab, for for reward.
Right. How much time do you want? We
got 10 minutes. I wanted
to also
read
you see, we started this,
in the big in in in the first
class, I mentioned this hadith about
the
riya is something that is hard
to see. It is hard to discern
because it's like a black ant crawling on
a black stone in a dark night.
And,
he addresses this,
in a chapter, and I I hope you
can,
read it.
He's saying,
he said the exposition of the ria that
is,
more subtle
than the crawling of an ant than the
crawling of the ant.
So
is conspicuous
and the parent. It's
and inconspicuous.
The
the
the conspicuous one is the one that leads
you to do it without thinking about reward.
That that's the that's the
and the one that is
less
conspicuous,
less apparent
by a slight degree,
the one that does not
motivate you up towards action,
clearly.
That it makes
it it it lightens the the burden it
lightens the burden of actions of doing good
actions
for for for the pleasure of Allah. You
you you're doing good you're doing something for
Allah. You're indulging in and
you do not want to show people, but
it makes it easier.
Your your designer
that the person who is accustomed to doing
tahajjud at night, and he finds it difficult.
It's hard. It's it's it's, difficult to get
up and everything.
But if 2 guests come one night to
him,
he he's it's he he gets up with
and he doesn't find it hard anymore. It's
it's really,
it's it's he he he's,
energized to do it.
And it's it becomes easy for him.
But but he knows that if
if he did not intend to get reward,
he will not he will not,
he will not abandon it.
He's not praying only to show them because
he does have reward in his mind. So
that is one level below
the open ria, the ria with without any
intention for reward.
And then
under that,
there's another one that's more,
that's harder to to perceive.
It does not affect the actions.
It does not reduce or increase the burden
he has a he has something in the
heart that's buried deep in the heart
Things that
cannot
be,
things that that do not draw your that
that do not
instigate you towards action. You can only recognize
them through corollaries, through the signs.
And the biggest sign
that this hidden rhea, this deep one, the
one that you're that you're hardly you are
finding difficulty like the ant well getting closer
to the ant
and and his and its most
apparent
indication, its sign
and
that
he's happy when people find out about what
he's doing that joy comes in the heart.
That
when people hears about this person or this
person prays then
that brings joy in the heart.
But this is also a type a a
sign of a deep
rya.
Person may may have
may have true sincerity in his action, and
he does not intend any rya.
He hates it.
He pushes away from his mind.
And he completes the action.
But if people finds out about it, what
or what he does, then he becomes
yeah. But if people finds out about what
he does,
then
he it it brings joy to his heart
and comfort. He he devised comfort for
and then that lightens. He feels it feels
good by doing the Ibadah.
This makes his he he begins his enjoyment
of the ibadah increases
by the knowledge of people of it and
that's the problem
and this joy
indicates to a hidden rhea, a rhea that
is very deep.
And from that this this joy comes
That if it wasn't that there is that
if it wasn't for this
that his heart is
shifted, his heart has some attention towards people,
then that joy would not
have appeared in his heart.
He said that this,
that rhea is the kind of rhea that
is buried in in in in a in
an amber, like fire in an amber
deep inside. You don't you you look at
it and you think it's a it's a
it's a rock. It's a stone, but there
is fire buried deep in it.
So the the recognition when people find out
about it, this has brought the fire out.
That if that joy comes into his heart
and he does not repel it
with with dislike
that if he does not repel it then
that will become a sustenance it will start
to feed
that hidden vein of rhea
in the heart to grow
and then it creates it activates
a subtle power in in a subtle power
of,
in the heart
And then that
that activation of it creates in the person
a a need a need to demand, a
demand
then
to,
indulge in
subtle actions
to bring, to facilitate
the knowledge of people, to facilitate people knowing,
to make it known. So some so there'll
be subtle things that will that will happen,
that will that will somehow bring it into
play so that people may find out more
and more.
And he would eat it and it's always
indirect. You will have indirect things that will
happen. He wouldn't call towards it directly.
And it's this is hidden. So he doesn't
do it openly,
but he does it. He does it.
On the top. Incognito.
Drawing his his the way he carries himself
and indirectly, he will do it. That's how
it happens.
So that is a third level
of arreya. And then below that, you have
an even
a degree that is even more concealed, more
inconspicuous.
And
and more hidden than that,
that he he conceals what he's doing, and
he doesn't want anyone to know about it.
The heart.
And he's not happy with anything that that
anyone finds out about him. He he's not
happy with any of that.
He so he's safe from all the other
3
that that we have done that we've covered
so far.
But
if he's if he's in front of people,
when he when when he meets people,
and. He loves that they start that they
salute him in salaam. They say salaam to
him.
So that they meet him with reverence and
respect.
So that they should praise him.
And so that they should be enthused in
fulfilling his needs.
And so they should give him concessions in
trade
and they make space for him where he
sits
and if someone
fails to do this
then that becomes a burden in his heart.
And
he finds that there's some there's some distancing
that develops between him and that person.
And
the explanation for this, it is as if
this person
is demanding
recompense
for the that he has hidden, that he
has done in privacy. He's demanding
he's demanding
the, the recompense for it in
honor and in respect outside. He's expecting it.
Even though people did not see it, even
though people did not
Well,
when when he will he's he's saying that
people aren't unfulfilling his that he has a
because he is so he's so so pious
and he's doing all this
And
as long as
the that we do
is not
that the that we do and
and the that we do not do is
equal as far as people are concerned,
then
when and we are not satisfied with Allah
alone knowing,
then then our our
will not be
clean, will not be clear
from
some degree of riya in it.
That is more,
subtle than the crawling of that black ant.
And of course, all of this is possible
that it may destroy your your your actions.
And only those who are truly truthful
will will will be saved from
it. So
I'm sorry I'm gonna go over a bit
today.
This is the last, lesson of the term.
Who says that
Allah will say to the Quran on the
day of judgement
that did people not
did people not used to
give you concessions in trade,
make make them prices low for you?
Did people not say salaam to you and
respect you?
That didn't people used to do all these
things. And in other words, you're this is
the reason why you did it. You got
all these things, so there's nothing for you
here.
And there is no no reward for you
That there's no there's no reward here for
you. You have taken it all.
So
he's saying
and and then he gives a long story
here about the peep people, you know, some
pious people,
who were discovered by a king, and they
came and surrounded
them. And in order to avoid this sort
of to being in this situation,
the the head the the heads,
scholar, the pious person there,
acted in a strange way,
started eating stuffing his food, his mouth with
food. And the king said, is this your
leader? And he and he went away. And
when they asked him why he did it,
he said, look, I'm,
I I don't like all this,
recognition.
So he's saying that the real the people
who are really sincere,
they're they're they remain they're constantly
afraid of Ria.
That they they
make an effort to conceal, to trick people
into thinking that they're not doing as much
as they do.
They they are more they spend more effort
in,
concealing their good deeds than they spend in
concealing their bad deeds.
And and and
all of this is because they want to
keep their good actions
pure.
And then Allah will will reward them on
the day of judgment in front of
everyone.
And they know that Allah does not accept,
accept, accept, accept the pure.
And they have recognized
the intensity of their need and their poverty
on the day of judgment.
And that the day that day will be
when no wealth, no children, and no progeny
will be of assistance
that no father will be sufficient for his
son will he be able to help his
son
And even the the the truthful ones will
be worried about themselves.
And everyone will be saying
oh myself myself.
So what about others?
Because because you worry
That it's like the people who are going
to Mecca they they carry the
the the Moroccan, the the the pure Moroccan
gold. That this was known
as famous for for being pure.
That they they knew that the that the
people, the Bedouins
would not take any counterfeit.
And
the needs are increased when you are in
the Bedouin
in Bedouin land.
There's no one to help
you. The the pure gold you need.
And so you will see on the day
of judgment, the people of that has
of clear hearts with pure
and the clear
travel
target.
The the the things that they've carried on
the journey, the the packings that they carry
will be will be of Taqwa.
So the
traces of rhea, the veins of rhea, and
the effects of rhea are are many. And
that as long as you have in your
heart a differentiation
between
the
view
of an animal
and a human being of your Ibadah
then there's a problem. If if there's a
differentiation between you because it should be the
same whether an animal is looking at your
Ibadah or a human being is looking at
your Ibadah
so then there will be a problem with
your
that when when we don't worry, we don't
we don't get, we don't start prostrating longer
when we see an animal looking at us.
He said
or or even a a young child that's
looking at you you don't worry about that
you don't you're not worried if an if
a child comes or a child goes or
an animal comes or an animal goes
whether a child whether this animal looked at
me or not
If you are
sincere and you are satisfied with the view
of Allah
then you will belittle the view, the eyes
of the intelligent ones, the human beings.
Just as you have belittled
the the the eyes of the of of
the beasts, of the animals, and the children
and and and the mad people the insane
if an insane person look at you you
will not feel that you have to impress
him
and then he will know that the that
these
intelligent that the intelligent one has no power
over
your sustenance
and over your over
your ultimate success
that they have no
power to increase your reward or to destroy
or or to reduce your punishment.
Just as the
beasts, the animals, and the children, and the
insane people have no power over helping you
or or or causing you harm.
If you do not find a difference between
these 2,
so there is still problems with your
rear.
But
not every
defect, not every problem in your rear will
destroy your entire action, but one should be
worried about it.
We've gone over,
inshallah,
if Allah keeps us alive,
we will continue these theories
next term.
But listening to all of this,
I think the question now is how long
will these thoughts remain in our minds?
How long will it remain salient in our
hearts?
How long
before it fades from our memory and we
forget all about it and revert to our
old habits. That's the main problem
is that we hear all of this and
it and then it doesn't stick.
It depends on 2 things. 1st is the
degree of seriousness and urgency with which we
take on board
this
advice.
Do you feel a genuine sense of urgency
to avoid and
a genuine sense of urgency to avoid the
riyyah, or is this just another
stream of information
to satisfy our curiosities?
That we need to check. We have to
create a sense of urgency
in this because as I said, this is
the first thing that will this is the
opening scene on the day of judgment.
The first three people that will be called.
And the second is that the volume we
spend in the cluttering activities
because that's the thing that makes it fade
in the activities that foster obsessions for social
recognition and celebrity.
If our attention and our focus,
the focus of our mind is continuously
dragged in 100 directions of, you know, every
10 minutes, we are dragged in 1 different
in a different direction and focus continuously
in disparate directions
with whisperings from posts and from tweets and
from clips,
then we will lose attention. The saliency of
what is most important and more urgent
will will fall. And this is not how
the Sahaba had
their
hierarchy of saliency in their mind. What was
more important? What did they keep as urgency
in their mind? And the companions of the
prophet
and their followers, the Tabireen,
took these matters with an urgency that is
of the highest order.
And to give a glimpse of this urgent
this sense of urgency, I want you to
listen to this hadith and then we close
inshallah. It's a,
hadith about
a,
a person going to the the the rabbi
of the he's a Shufayun. He's,
he goes to Madinah,
and he
sees a group of people in in in
the masjid
sitting around the person and he asked who
is this person and they said that he
that,
this is Abu Raya
So he goes and sits with him And
when he sits in the gathering and when
everyone went away, he goes up close to
him. And he says, he says to him,
that,
you know,
he goes close to me. He said,
that I should that I want you that,
you should tell me something
and that that you heard from
They asked in 2 words, something
that you understood, something that you take you
took on board and was there and something
that you learned and you transmitted.
Tell me something that you learned from the
And
he said, yes. He said, yes. I will
tell you.
So
Abu Huraira said to
him, Afaal. Yes. I will do.
That he he started to hyperventilate
and
going into a trance, type of trance, you
know, sobriety crying.
And
and then he controlled himself to
and then he started over again. He said,
and I will tell you a hadith that
taught me and then,
and in this house, you know, the house
in
Rasulullah SAWS'S house.
There there was only me and him, no
one else.
Then he started to faint again, hyperventilate,
crying, and
and then and then he
brought himself together. He's he was going he's
starting to faint, and then he came back,
came came, and then he wiped his face
and he started again. He did the same
thing.
What do you call
it?
Then he and the 3rd time, then the
4th time. And on the 4th time
he fainted and fell on his face. He's
trying to report the hadith but he falls
on his face.
So he said I caught him and I
held him on myself
I've held him for a long while.
He
then
was he he he came to his senses
and he said to me,
for
and the first person he will call is
the one who has the Quran. Half of
the person who's a reciter of Quran, who
has Quran.
And the mother who dies in the path
of Allah.
Allah
and he will say to the did
not teach you what I said, what I
revealed to my prophet
but
I that what did you do with what
you learned?
That I was I would read it night
and day
then Allah will say
that you lied.
And the angels will also say you lied.
They will say you lie
That you wanted people to say that you
are a and
it was said.
And likewise, the same will be said to
the martyr and the same would be said
to the philanthropist, the one who spent lots
of money.
And
so, Jafayyan also went and said this hadith
to to,
and when he said it, he started, he
cried.
He cried so much. We thought that he
would die.
And then when he when he came back,
when he when he managed to bring himself
together, he wiped his face and what he
would call
that his that Allah and his prophet spoke
the truth. And then he
read
this
verse.
But who wants only this the
trinkets of this world and the glitter of
this world, this world and its glitters, then
I will give it to them and they
will not miss anything.
May Allah protect us and keep us safe.
Now note in the conversation, he's talking about
something you learned and something you understood.
Knowledge on its own is not enough.
It's
the
knowledge
to truly understand knowledge, you have to be
able to put it into action.
If not, you'll be like a bookshelf carrying
lots of books, but no understanding that can
lead to action.
Alhamdulillah, in these 8 weeks, we've pondered on
the need for Ikhlas,
starting with the
amazing
story of Imam Ghazali and
then his deep insights into
personally into,
the yearning for position and celebrity,
the virtues of,
the joy of anonymity in contrast to
the celebrity mania and the dangers of Ria.
And we did this with the sole purpose
of
identifying and addressing these
problems
within our own selves. It is for introspection.
This is not a manual for pointing fingers
and to saying, ah, you there. I see
in her, she's suffering from or she or
he is suffering from celebrity mania or
because this is what Shaitan wants you to
do. He wants you he wants you he
wants to undermine your progress. So do the
opposite. Focus inwards,
scrutinize
your intentions
and motivations
with
the consciousness of Allah in your heart
that and Allah
will guide you, He will help you
insha'Allah. If Allah keeps us alive insha'Allah next
time,
we will continue these lessons. There is much
more to cover. We're just beginning to scratch
the surface now.
Try to revise what you've learned in the
holidays,
if possible listen to them again we will
circulate the links of the recording and make
your own notes that's helpful in keeping it
alive in your mind Insha Allah. Now let
us pray.
Oh Allah
please forgive us and help us.
Oh Allah,
place the yearning for position and celebrity in
our hearts. Replace it. Replace the yearning
for
position and celebrity in our hearts with genuine
concern for what you can see in the
secret chambers of our hearts.
Teach us sincerity so that we become recipients
of your special mercy.
O Allah,
place our joy and our happiness
in our prayers as it used to be
for your beloved O Allah, cleanse our hearts
from the deluge of worldly chatter in our
prayer and bless us with attention to details,
attention
to the details of your scrutiny,
to the details of your scrutiny of our
thoughts and motivation.
Oh Allah,
we are your servants, we are your creatures,
we are your creation,
we are your slaves, we have no other
to turn to but to you.
Accept us and guide us to what pleases
you.