Riyad Nadwi – 38. Ikhlas Tasting the Sweetness of the Most Enjoyable Thing in the World
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The importance of strong intentions and guidance in pursuing rewarded goals is emphasized, along with the importance of recognizing the highest and most noble intentions in seeking to glorify Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. hedonic experiences, such as the rose in Jannah, bounty of the beast, and the bounty of the beast in the world, are also discussed. The importance of having a heart connection to Allah's teachings and not suffering hardships or trials is emphasized, along with the need for guidance and guidance to avoid feeling overwhelmed and achieve high values. The speakers emphasize the importance of finding a guide to achieve success in life, building strong mental health, and developing love for Allah and connecting with Allah.
AI: Summary ©
Assalamu
alaikum, everyone. I think we'll make a start
inshallah.
Today inshallah will be our 3rd session of
this term. We're going through lessons from, and,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
vie with one another
in seeking to attain your lord's forgiveness.
And gardens
whose width is as the width of the
heavens and the earth.
1
which has been prepared for those who believe
in Allah and his messenger.
That is Allah's bounty which he bestows upon
those whom he pleases.
Allah is the lord of all abounding bounty.
Flee therefore to Allah.
Surely I am a clear warning to you.
Brothers and sisters, Assalamu Alaikum.
Welcome to lecture number 38
in our series on Ikhlas and its related
subjects.
Last week, we
continued reading from the chapter,
Bayanu Anani Ataayi Radanakhilatin
Takhta
the exposition of the fact that intention is
beyond choice.
In that, we recounted the salient points of
the chapter,
to keep in mind which were the with
the example
of seeking marriage for the better reasons.
And the main point there was that in
order to acquire the ability to foster
superior goals, we must
engage our minds and hearts in three things.
And those three things were, 1st,
strengthening our belief in the revelation,
in the guidance, strengthening our belief in the
guidance, in the reflection,
on pondering on the source of it.
That this is a guidance from Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. So strengthening our belief in that.
The second was to increase and strengthen our
knowledge and consciousness of the greater Fada'il,
the greater virtues, the higher virtues for loftier
deeds. And
so that our minds can settle
on the higher goals and not be cluttered
with the virtues of the vanishing world.
And then the third was by strengthening our
understanding and resolve resolve to
dismiss contradictory
thinking,
contradictory thoughts.
As, and in that vein, we emphasize the
need to foster what is known as daf'al,
daf'al munafirat,
to build the capacity
to rebel and dismiss
contradictory
thoughts. Thoughts that run contrary to your higher
goals. For example,
the self centered thoughts,
of not having children because,
it's a difficult thing or because it's of
high cost in childcare, etcetera.
These are contradictory thoughts
and thoughts that should be challenged and dismissed
in favor of more noble thoughts
in, in regard to having children that is,
such as thoughts of following the sunnah of
Rasulullah salallahu alaihi wa sallam who said, and
nikaham min sunnat. He that marriage
is of my sunnah, and whosoever neglects this
sunnah, then he is not my father. He's
he's
not from among me. And, also, the prophet
another noble thought in that is that to
partake in the fulfilling of his wish. Rasulullah
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to be part to be party to that,
of fulfilling rasool Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam's
wish. In the reminder of the in in
the remainder of that chapter,
there were 5 more notable points. The first
was the importance of perspectives.
The
that.
If if the,
nia
that the perspective that you will have will
affect the intention.
So if the if the intention if the
if the if the perspective changes, then so
does the intention.
So intention follows one's perspective. We had in
that in for that, the the story of
Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal, where he was able
to modify his perspective from hadith scrutiny to
seeking to terbiyah and tazgiyah.
The second point was to recognize that the
intention in is that intention is to action
what
soul is to body.
I repeat that. Intention is to action
what soul is to body.
In other words,
actions without good intentions
are like bodies without souls.
So working to foster
higher and better intentions is like putting better
and better life into a body.
And, and the strength of that intention will
determine the magnitude
of the reward.
Point number 3 was that the highest and
most noble intention
is seeking to glorify Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
because he is most deserving
of all obedience. Of of that Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala
is most deserving of worship.
Obedience with the intention of glorifying
Allah,
for he is most deserving.
This is the most honorable
and cherished and highest of intentions.
And here,
Imam Ghazali gives 3 anecdotes
to drive home the point. He's,
he says, okay.
That,
he someone saw Allah
speaking to him in the dream and he
said to him that everyone is asking Jannah,
but he but this particular person is asking
for him, for himself, for asking for
Is is this person sees asks Allah
what is the path to towards you, oh
Allah?
And Allah says, Utruq nafsaka wa ta'ala ilayyah.
Leave yourself. In other words, leave all the
desires and the yearning for of all the
things around you and then you will come
to me and then come to me. That
is the path towards me.
This is
Shibli was asked. Someone saw him in a
dream,
asking him,
that what did Allah do with you?
He said he didn't ask me to prove
any of the, any of the claims I
made with with evidence except one.
That I had said once
that.
That which loss would be greater than the
losing losing of of heaven.
And then so Allah said, Ayu kasaratin a'adamu
min Khusranilika'i.
That whichever which loss can be greater than
the loss of meeting me. Meeting Allah in
other words, meeting Allah
with
Allah's
entering into Allah's mercy and being,
entering into the compassion of Allah with Allah's
love, that is the laka'a. The laka'a are
pleasant laka'a, pleasant meeting with Allah.
Now to give you
further context and comparisons here, I want you
to think about this for a moment.
This is in relation to Jannah.
The pleasures of Jannah
are beyond imagination.
All the things that we can imagine, the
the the most,
enjoyable things in the world, we all seek
enjoyable things. We have we we we we
look for enjoyment and entertainment, things that that
we enjoy.
But all of those
are eclipsed
by what will be in Jannah.
For we are told in the Quran,
That no soul knows
what has been hidden for them of comfort
for the eyes or, as rewards for what
they used to do. In Jannah, that will
be an this is further explained in Hadith,
where Rasulullah salallahu alaihi wa sallam
said,
that,
that I prepared for my
pious
servants.
That I've created for
my pious servants what no eyes has seen,
no ears has heard, and no heart has
conceived. So this is beyond our ability
to,
to imagine.
And there, we will suffer no none of
the limitations of this world, you know.
That the one who enters into paradise will
will enjoy it and he will not find
any difficulty in it.
Like, we wear clothes, we buy the best
clothes here, but then after a while it
wears out. There it will not. Latablati abahu.
Walayafnasabahu
and his youth, it does not diminish.
He he he remains in a state of
you youthful
health.
And then,
That you in there, you will live you
you will live with in perfect health with
no sickness, with no hail. And then in
this world, Allah this is the world of
test.
And in the world of test, we have
that with the with hardship, with good and
that
you have hardships with it with with ease.
Hardship with ease. You have good with
difficulty.
That I will I will I will test
you with
loss of wealth and family and, and
things that you love in this world. So
this world is a test. We are we
have beauty in this world, but it comes
when a beautiful rose comes with thorns.
The rose in gender will not have a
thorn, but this one is that so you
can either focus on the thorn or on
the rose, the beauty of the rose. And
that's what we need to do is is
is to focus on the rose
and know and when we think about the
thorn, think about the fact that this is
the nature of this world, that it comes
with both. It it comes with the it
comes with the beauty and the fragrance of
the rose but with the
thorn as well.
So the bounties of Jannah, the point that
I'm making here is that the the bounties
of Jannah will be such that it will
make you forget the hardships and difficulties of
this world. And it will seem like nothing
as we are told in Hadith, you know,
that,
You know,
be an army. You know? The person who
have enjoyed the most in this world. Imagine.
And we're not talking about the billionaires of
today. We're talking about, people of all if
you took all of human history from Adama,
alayhis salam, to the last person that will
live on the planet, and then you find
the one
who had the most, who enjoyed the most
about he was unbeliever,
the unbeliever who who enjoyed the most in
this world,
that person will be dipped.
He will dip into Jahannam for just one
moment, and then he will be asked,
He
that have you ever enjoyed anything? And he
would say, no. That
that I've never tasted any any
ease or any heart any any
pleasure. I I know nothing of comfort.
That that will be the effect of Jahannam.
And
conversely, on the other side,
that you would that the person who suffered
the most, the of the believers, of the
Muslims,
the one who suffered the most in the
world. Here again, the entire history of humanity
from the beginning, from Adam alayhi salaam till
the end of time, if you were to
survey everyone and find out which one suffered
the most. Imagine that. A human being who
suffered the most in all of human history,
and you picked him up.
And he will be picked up on the
day of judgement, and then he will be
He will be dipped into Jannah just one
moment.
Have you ever
suffered any difficulty
or or trials or tribulations in the world?
Any any hardship?
And he will say,
That I have never suffered anything.
That just one moment, they said I've never
suffered any hardship or any difficulty.
That would be the effect
of that's the effective quality
of the nayim, of the bounties in Jannah.
That it will make us forget everything we've
all all we have suffered here.
Now
in
that compared now in this is to give
you an idea of the level of Nain,
the level of bounty in the in in
Jannah. Right?
And then
in relation
to
the nayim, the bounty that is beyond that,
Allah says in the Quran,
That for those who do good, that they
will get their reward of good, wazhiyada, and
they will get more. In relation to that,
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said,
that
when the people of Jannah will enter into
Jannah,
And then someone will proclaim and say, oh,
you have now
that there is an appointment
with Allah.
That he wants to reward you.
And then they will say,
And they will say, did you not brighten
our faces?
And did you not,
save us from the fire? And did you
not enter into paradise? Nain. What could there
be that you want to give us? You've
given us everything.
When they've seen all this, that Nain
that made the person who suffered more, that
bounty in Jannah that made the person who
suffered the worst in this world forget everything,
that will be in front of them, and
they will say, well, what could it be?
And then faqal fayuksha fil hijab,
and then the veils will be lifted.
And then, and then, the
the veils will be lifted as in they
will
be able excuse me. They will be able
to have an audience with the divine, with
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And when that happens,
Rasulullah salallahu alaihi wa sallam took a swore.
He he took an oath. He said,
He's saying that I I swear in the
name of Allah that I'm saying
that Allah did not give them anything, anything
in all of Jannah, in all of this
that we have been talking about. Nothing of
this.
That nothing is more was more beautiful and
more sweet and more enjoyable
than to look upon the countenance of Allah,
to have that audience with Allah. That will
be the most pleasurable experience that you will
have
in Jannah.
This is now,
this is, of course, in Jannah. But in
this world,
that is veiled. But we can still
enjoy
the sweetness of divine being
of the proximity to the divine. Proximity
to Allah. Korb mean Allah.
That that that Korb is there seeking Allah
in your intention, seeking Allah with love and
devotion
has
joys that are beyond all joys in this
world.
The scholars used to relish this, and they
used to marvel in the beauty of it,
in the sweetness of it, so much so
that, Ibrahim,
Imam Ibrahim ibn Adham
said that
that if the kings and the princes
knew what we enjoy
of bounty
in in their Ibadah, in in their audience
with Allah, in their in their closeness to
Allah, in their
Ibadah. He said,
that they would fight us with for it
with
swords. They will use swords to get it
because what do kings and princes want? They
they are seeking
the pleasures of this world, everything that is
pleasurable. And if they know, if they knew
the extent of the pleasure that we get
from
our interaction,
from our Ibada, from our Salah, from our
Quran, then they
would fight us for it with swords.
They
they they they are and they used to
pity those who were denied this joy.
One of them, one of the saliheen said,
that these
poor people of the dunya in other words,
the people who are who are not who
do not believe or who do not recognize
Allah. He used to say,
That they that they leave the world without
tasting
the most
the the sweetest, the best of it. They
have not tasted it.
And when they ask, what is the sweetest
of it? What is the most enjoyable? What
is the greatest pleasure of this world?
That recognizing
Allah, that pleasure of recognizing your Allah, that
pressure of knowing Allah, that pleasure of dhikr
of Allah, doing of remembering Allah.
Now that so that's that's what they used
to say.
And the great,
scholar, the Noon al Musri says that, kamaalaiyajidil,
kamaalaiyajidil
jasadwa. Now he's explaining
this that happens in general.
The the difference between people and the difference
between the one who recognizes this the the
value of
proximity, of Korbamilullah,
of of of being in the presence of
Allah, of of recognizing that Allah is seeing
you with intention, love, and dedication to Allah.
He says,
that the
just as
the person does not
find
the joy of food
when he is sick, the body does not
find does not
taste the
the the sweetness of the food when when
the body is sick. When someone is ill
and you give them the best, the most
delicious food, it tastes bland to them. It
doesn't taste wild. It doesn't taste good. He
said
that that so he's saying, It
doesn't find the the the pleasure of the
the sweetness, the deliciousness of the food. When
some when you are ill, you don't taste
it. You lose your taste.
He said,
it is exactly like this.
That the heart does not find
The sweetness
of the sweetness
of of worship
with with with with sins. It doesn't we
don't taste it. We don't taste the sweetness
of this Ibadah. Whereas both are nourishment.
That the food is a nourishment for the
body
and the Ibadah is a nourishment for the
soul. But the but we're denied that we're
denied that for a reason. And that reason
is that
sin.
The reason is clutter.
The the food is enjoyable when one is
in good health. But when we are ill,
the most delicious and sweetest food is bland
and tasteless.
Food for the soul,
the heart are also sweet and delicious.
But when the hearts are ill with sin
and love for the world,
that food,
the nourishment
for the soul,
feels bland and tasteless.
But
then the when the heart is cleaned,
when the heart is cleansed from the clutter
of sin with toba,
then the joys of spiritual nourishment can be
tasted
and can be enjoyed in the way like
the other pleasures that in a way that
the other pleasures of this world will not
come anywhere close to it. It will surpass
all the pleasures of this world.
Now,
let's take a moment to reflect on this.
Let's reflect on our hedonic experience. Do you
know what hedonic mean?
Anybody?
Your hedonic is
your,
things that are pertain that pertains
to
relates to
your sense of
things being pleasant and unpleasant in life.
So in relation to food, the enjoyment of
food, that's a hedonic experience.
And our enjoyment is not only based on
the taste stimuli in the food.
It also depends on other factors. And the
reason well, you will know what we will
come back to the reason why I'm telling
you this.
It is
it is it's
It is also based on perception,
labeling
of the kinds of food.
The the kind of labeling we have in
our hearts and minds for the food. How
we label different foods
in our mind plays a significant role in
the way we experience them.
A few years ago,
there was an interesting study conducted right here
in Oxford at the Nuffield, the Department of
Clinical Neuroscience.
And they were looking at the effect of
cognition and language
on actual taste.
Yeah.
Because the effective
properties of food
are not own are not the only determinants
of how you will experience it. Whether you
will enjoy it, whether it will be pleasurable
or not. That there are other factors that
top down the factors. They they they were
trying to that they they were they were
investigating whether there are other factors.
And so they scanned people's brains where they
tasted substances that were labeled in different ways.
And for
the particular substance,
one substance, they had 2 sets of labels.
In one label, and this was for
umami flavor, the MSG,
type taste.
They labeled it rich and delicious taste.
That was one label. So and then they
gave you and then while they were scanning
brains. So this was this was a research
not only based on people's self reporting about
how how tasty it was, but the mechanisms
in the brain. There are mechanisms in the
brain that you can you can scan and
recognize. There there's an area in the,
the orbital
prefrontal cortex. It's a subcortical
area. It's called the
the ventral,
stratum,
where
you can measure
the level of pleasure that a person is
deriving from a particular substance,
right, due to blood oxidization,
etcetera. So the they labeled this,
boil
this one
substance,
rich and delicious taste, and also
the same substance was labeled,
boiled
vegetable water.
Right?
So what do you think happened? What do
you think was the outcome of the play?
Put that in modern terms.
Well, not modern terms, but in desi terms,
if I if I say,
if I had one plate of biryani,
and I I labeled it traditional spicy biryani,
and the same plate of food I named
I labeled it meat and spices in boiled
rice,
That'll be that will give you 2 different
results.
So what did they find?
In the research, what they found was that
people's reporting,
that the in the
orbital frontal cortex that this in this subcortical
area that I'm telling you about, that the
activity increased and
their
understanding of it changed. Their their their their
pleasure the the pleasure that they derived from
the same food
changed on the basis
of how they perceived it.
You know what we said earlier, tatba, a
niyat, tatba, and nadar, that the perspective
follows the the intention follows the the perspective,
but it also affects
your interaction, your engagement with the the experience
you have. So when the food is labeled
rich and tasted increase,
rich and delicious,
it increases the taste stimuli
of the food and the value of the
experience.
It was more enjoyable and this was
confirmed also in the brain activity.
So now, why am I telling you this?
In fact, I I brought the,
the the link to show you to show
you the difference. Look.
If you see that green
that green spike that's going up there, that's
how much more they enjoyed it,
if you can see.
This
is how much more you enjoyed it. Now
the the reason I'm, I'm I'm showing you
this is that
changes of our perspective
can change and to help us
build our appreciation and our experience with our
Ibadah.
Is that this could or or if we
change our perspective about our Ibadah,
our acts of worship, if we were to
label our Ibadah as we tend to do
in our minds only as
chores,
as tasks, as duties and responsibilities,
then we are less likely to enjoy or
taste the sweetness in it.
If instead of labeling our Ibadah
merely as chores, we begin to look at
it, in our mind's eye
as valuable gifts.
As gifts of Tawfiq from Allah,
then
we will, insha Allah, begin to enjoy and
taste
the sweetness in it.
If we consider our prayers, our reciting of
Quran, our dhikr
as blessings, as honors from Allah,
who has made it possible for us to
do it, then we will begin
to experience one of the greatest pleasures in
this world.
The pleasure of intimacy and proximity with Allah,
Of being close to our creator.
We need to change, therefore,
the labels and the perspectives in our mind.
For example, instead of seeing the place of
Sajdah as the place where you put your
head,
we should see
prostration
as a
portal
for closeness to Allah. While reflecting on the
words of the prophet who
said what did he say?
That the closest
the servant is to his lord is when
he's in Sajdah. So if you see your
Sajdah, not not only the place where you
put your head for salah to complete the
chore or the ritual, but this is a
portal. This is a place. This is this
is the the joy
the the this should bring joy to your
heart. That look, this this is something else
that Allah has given me. This is something
special.
This joy alone should be enough to eclipse
the other joys in the world. We must
recognize
that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in his infinite
mercy and compassion
has given us a place where we can
feel closeness to him. Everywhere, all you have
to do is go in Sijnah. That place
has said that. Another example, we can derive
joy from the words
that Allah has taught us to say in
prayer.
Words of prayer that he has shared between
himself
and us. He says he says,
That I've
separate that I've distributed. I've shared
the the salah, the the fatiha.
The and and and listen to the love
and affection in these words. He's saying that
I've shared it. I've shared the salah, the
fatiha, between myself and my servant. And for
my servant is that which he asks.
Now can you see the loving
tone of this word of these words?
The joy of knowing that when we say
Alhamdulillahi
rabbilaaalameen
that Allah is responding. Allah is saying to
the angels Hamidani Abdi that my servant has
says has has praised me. And when we
say,
Ar Rahim,
he says,
Athna alay Abdi, oh, my servant has spoken
well of me. And when we say, Mariki,
he says, Majidani Abdi, my my
my my my servant has my my servant
has glorified me. And when I say,
Allah says, this is between me and my
servant.
And
when at the end, he says,
He said that this
that my servant will get what he asked.
Now this is a this instead of thinking
about in salah, as we tend to do
about exams and all sorts of other things,
While while reciting the Surah Fatiha,
we should have this these words of live
communication with Allah in our hearts and feel
the joy
of knowing that Allah is listening and responding
live
as the words are pronounced in our mouth.
As they as they as they are pronounced
in their mouth, Allah is listening and and
responding live to each one of us. And
there's no limitation on this intention because this
is another thing that shaitan comes and says
to you, oh, why will Allah there's so
many of us reading, but how will he
listen? Allah's attention
is not limited like ours.
He can listen to everyone.
Anyone who is praying all at once and
still respond to all at once. Knowing that
Allah is listening and responding
should bring joy and sweetness to our prayers.
This is the kind of joy the scholars
were referring to when he said that when
they said that the kings and the princes
would,
you know, fight us. The the they if
they knew what kind of joy that we
enjoy, they would fight us with swords. So
may Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, bless us to
enjoy the closeness
to him in our Ibadah. The closeness in
sajdah, and to relish in the door reciting
his words, and to taste the sweetness in
his remembrance in his dhikr.
For there's certainly no pleasure
on the face of the planet like it.
There's sweetness to be had
in everything we do for the sake of
Allah. I repeat that. There is sweetness, enjoyment,
and pleasure to be had
in everything we do for the sake of
Allah, starting from our iman. And this is
the words of the prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam. He said he said that that there's
sweetness to be had in our iman. He's
so Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, salathum
mankunnafihi
wajada halawatil iman. That three characteristics
a person who has 3 character 3 things.
Then
He he will he will find the sweetness
of iman.
You will experience the sweetness of iman if
there's 3 things in you.
1 of these 3 things.
Said
first,
That Allah and his prophet should be more
beloved to you than everyone else. That is
the first one. To love Allah and his
prophet more than everyone else. That uppermost. So
it's a question of heart. This is about
heart. This is about this is about where
your heart is. And then if your heart
if if you can if you can muster
that, if you can foster that love, then
you will taste the sweetness of iman, as
saying. The second one,
That you need to love someone
for the sake of Allah.
Because we love when you the object of
your love, everything that is connected to the
object of your love should be beloved to
you. Mahbubu al Mahbubu be Mahbubu.
The beloved of the beloved is beloved.
So
so it is so everything if so you
love someone
because that person
is a believer in Allah. That person is
a servant of Allah. I love Allah, and
I love all of Allah's servants. I love
this person because he worships Allah, but because
he worships Allah. He's sincere. He's sincere.
He he he does
he he prays to Allah. I love that
person because of that. I love that person
because of their iman. So it is the
connections that you can build with build love
for the sake of Allah. That is it.
That's the second point. And the third one
is also for in the heart. It's to
have dislike and disdain and to hate the
returning to Kufr.
That to hate going into kufr going into
disbelief
as as much as you hate going into
the fire.
So, yeah, you know, the the story I
I said about,
loving,
loving things that everything that is connected. You
remember the, the poem
that I read to you in in the
earlier sessions that, Amurra'a Al Diari Diari Layla.
That I that Majinoon said that, you know,
I passed,
the
the the the dwellings the dwellings of Layla.
Or kissing the walls of the the walls
of the dwellings in the in the city
where where Layla lives. And and
But it's not the love of these of
these walls and these, of these dwellings that
has fascinated my heart.
But
those but the love of the one who
lives in in in that in these dwellings.
So it is anything that is connected to
Allah should be beloved. And anything that is
that is against, that takes you away from
Allah,
then we should have they they should be
no. They they should be a rejection, a
repulsion in the heart towards it, A karahiya,
a dislike. And that's that's the configuration of
the heart. If you have this,
then you will taste the iman. You will
taste the sweetness of the iman. This is
the what Rasulullah
said.
Now the 4th point was that
if one is not able to make a
high level intention
this is Imam Zali now coming back to
Imam Zali saying that if one is not
able to make a high level intention, then
they must not lose hope. He must not
become despondent.
Because
this is a journey
and an ongoing battle with Shaytan.
And we have to pace ourselves and not
fall into the trap
of overdoing
and then suffer burnouts.
In other words, to avoid going into extreme.
So if you find ourselves if you find
that the higher intention is not present in
our heart at a given moment, then settle
for the next best thing. The next best
thing and and if the intention is not
is to take a rest and then plan
to use your invigorated body after resting for
Ibadah at a later stage, then so be
it. Because,
That the most beloved
of actions
in the eyes of Allah are those that
are consistent, that those that are constant.
Even if it's a small amount, but you
do it regularly
because that mountains are built from pebbles,
but you have to continue doing it.
So so that's it. And then he reminds
us, Imam,
Ghazali reminded us of these statements of Abu
Darda and Sayyidina Ali, where Abu
Darda said that I I I I give
myself some relaxation
with some sort of play, some some sort
of free play, things that he that that
he can relax.
That then that
becomes, an assistance for me for for practicing,
for doing good deeds, for doing things. And
said
That gives your heart a rest as well.
That's
because if if it is forced continuously,
then it will become blind.
Now further on in the chapter, Imam Khuzali
explains this point with examples from the field
of medicine, from the from chess, and from,
battle strategies. He says that recognizing these subtleties
of when and how to exercise control and
restraint
is not easy.
And, you you know, he he he says
that it it's a it's a difficult task.
Only expert
scholars expert,
and and not
all scholars. He said experts in the field
of Tuskia and Taribia will recognize the benefit
of pacing yourself.
And that is why the general advice is
that you should find yourself a guide,
as one who will be able to tell
you because often we go we go into
extreme and not realizing that we have done
so. So
the general advice is to find a guide
and not to try to navigate
the rough seas of Terbia and Telskya on
your own.
Because as time pass,
the age of Fitan, the age of corruption
and confusion
increases.
This is what is this is the prophesized
by Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
And then this is why the scholar says
that man man,
That the one who does not have a
sheikh, someone to guide him, then often, shaitan
becomes his sheikh because he tricks him. You
know? It's it's a,
it it the
the increase of fitan can lead you
into into stumbling, into traps, as he trapped
our our our father, Adam alaihis salaam. So
no one should see themselves
above the trickery of shaitan.
No one should see it. If Adam alaihis
salaam in Jannah, having been given guidance, ma'am,
Allah is still if he's still trapped, then
who are we and you? The prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam said, you
know,
That how will you be? He's speaking to
the servant. In other words,
your descendants, your
the Muslims of the future. How will you
be when your women have become
rebellious and your and your youth have become
sinful?
And, and you have left your struggles,
the struggles for Din.
And they said, oh, can that be?
Would would such thing happen? And he said,
none. Yes. Of course.
I swear in whose hand my life is.
And worse than that will happen.
What can what what could be worse than
that? They said and he said,
He said,
that's, how how will you be when you
did not
enjoin
towards good and forbid evil?
And, will that happen? Oh, Rasulullah. He said,
yes.
And even worse than that will happen. I
swear.
And they said, kaifa. Kaifa. And then he
said, kaifa wa antum idar raitum al ma'arufa
munkara wal munkara ma'arufa.
That how will you be when you start
seeing
when you start seeing evil as good and
good as evil, as we are seeing today
in the world,
the the values are turning upside down. Black
is white and white is black and dark
is is light and light is dark.
All things are being turned upside down. So
when they heard that, they said,
oh, would something like that happen?
And he said,
And even worse than that will happen.
And how will you be when you will
give when you will enjoin towards evil and
forbid good? He said that will also happen.
Will such a thing happen?
And then even worse than that will happen,
I swear. And they said, how would that
happen?
He said that fitna will come on them
and send them a fitna. That even the
intellectual even the one with intellect, the wise
one will become confused. Hayran.
So fitna will continue. So we should not
see ourselves as over and above that or
safe from it.
No? Well, the point is that we need
to help. We need help with wisdom and
guidance because Shaitan can trick us. And as
Rasool Allah Prophetizes
that this will happen as he tricked our
father Adam. So Imam Ghazali says
that
except the chosen very few scholars.
That not the general,
flow of scholars.
But I'll have
the and then he gives the example of
a of an expert,
medic, a
doctor, a physician.
In the old
in the old medicine,
the
diagnosis were based on,
on temperatures. So when a person has a
fever, you give them foods that that would
cool them down. But he said, sometimes, you
you would find a doctor who will give
he give him give him give him meat.
And
and
a person a a green doctor, someone who
doesn't really understand what's going on, he will
see this and think, oh, this is craziness.
What are you doing? The person has fever
and you're giving them meat. But
that person did the doctor with the greater
understanding will know.
And you're either a wolan because he's not
only suffering from fever, but he he has
weakness and you have to build up his
strength first before you treat him with with
the opposite. Because treatments are with the opposite,
so you build them up first and then
treat. So he said, well, it has and
so it is for.
A person who is an expert in playing
chess, you will find that they were they
might give some pawns in it, to reach
a goal. And so likewise for a person.
And a person who doesn't understand this might
laugh and say, oh, he's losing. You know,
this is what is happening? But
the person who is an expert with battle
strategies, He he
that he might he may run you might
see him retreated, turning his back and running
away, but that is to draw the enemy
into a narrow place to
to to you to to use it. And
so it is with the battle of the
Nas and shaitan.
That it is all battle with shaitan.
So
The the one who is treating this and
one who is who is gifted in dealing
with this, he does he does subtle
tricks to trick the to with the nafs
and the shaitan, but the the weak person
will not see this. For they embody
So it is not it so it is,
the the moorid, the one who is following
someone,
he he should not
that he should not
keep secret a rejection in his heart for
what he sees his sheikh does. Because if
sheikh might does something, might see his sheikh
playing or doing something,
and then some sort of,
rejection or low thought may come in his
mind for that and not realizing what
the reason for it. So if you are
following someone, then you shouldn't have you shouldn't
have incurred in your heart for that thing
if you see your sheikh do something.
And not for a student as well.
And yet that he go that he accuses
his teacher of, you know, wasting time or
doing something, which doesn't seem right
for him.
He has to stay to the extent of
his own
experience, his own perspective, his own vision, his
understanding.
What he does not understand,
that what what he does not understand from
the of the sheikh or the of his
teacher. The the the states and conditions of
his teacher.
And then he leaves it and he says
that, look, until the time comes, when when
when this the secrets of this will be
understood.
When he reaches that stage. And
Tawfiq is from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. So
in conclusion,
intentions can be multiple and also varied in
ranking and higher intentions
is desirable, but we we have an aim.
We we should aim to
increase the value of our deeds with lofty
intentions and aspirations,
which is part and parcel of a Muslim's
character.
And also in general terms, having lofty aspirations
is the characteristic
of a Muslim. In the sunnah of Rasool
Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, we we find
this,
that this is known as aluulhiman.
Lofty aspirations
is a blessed characteristic
of a believer.
The Sahaba,
they wore rags.
And they suffered thirst and hunger and torture,
but their aspirations
were always high.
They they kept it all. You know?
Bilal had stone on his chest,
and he was being tortured, but he said,
Al Ahad Al Ahad Al Ahad. He kept
it. He kept his aspiration high to Allah.
When they were in tying stones on their
stomach to quench their hunger,
they were, at the same time, looking to
take Islam to the corners of the earth.
In in the story of the battle of
handak, the battle of Ahzab, there is a
glimpse of this of how high
the Udu ul Himam. The lofty aspirations that
Allah kept in their hearts in that story.
That, you know, that it it's reported that
the the difficulty that Allah
ordered them to dig this trench, a massive
trench, and then they they came up in
front of a boulder. And that boulder was
too big. The axe could not dig, so
he took it.
He said, okay. Give me it. He took
the axe.
And then he hit the axe.
And he said,
and then a third of it broke off
when he hit it. And then he said
immediately,
Allah, from the spark of that flesh, he
saw Allah opened for him a vision. And
he says, Allahu Akbar.
That I've been given I owe Allahu Akbar.
I've been given
the keys
to the Levant with to Syria and Sham,
the the the that whole area there, the
in the Levant. I've been given
that that at that time, it was the
Byzantine Empire, the Roman Empire of that time.
Said I've been given I've been given the
keys of Sham, Fatihaq Sham, and
I swear by Allah,
and I swear by Allah, I'm seeing
it's their red palaces right now that I've
been I've given keys and I can see
their red palaces.
And then and
then he hit it the second time,
and then the a third,
that it
it was
part.
Another third were broken off. And then he
again, he says,
that I've been given the keys of Persia.
In, Al Abiad. I'm seeing now the palaces,
the the white palaces of, of Persia.
And then when he hit hit the the
final time and it broke away,
that I've been
given the keys of Yemen.
And he says, I swear by Allah, I'm
seeing the doors of Sanah. San'a, the door
the the the gates of San'a,
at this very moment from my place right
here. Now that
led the Sahaba
to what?
To ride out of the well, ride out
of the of of the desert and take
took Islam.
These these people who are in rags, who
are being attacked,
they when they when they understood this, they
they wrote out
the Hudu al Himmam, their high
aspirations.
Let them
in those dire
situations. They these aspirations were formed. That this
din will reach those places, so we will
take it. And so they rode out of
the desert and took Islam
to conquer half of the known world, at
least. Well, more than half of the known
world
in a very short time. That high aspiration
comes it starts with seeking
better and better intentions
in your Ibadah, in your collection, and in
your
experience of the sweetness of this deen.
That the deen is sweet.
Everything you do has joy and pleasure that
you can experience.
Anything you do for the sake of Allah
can be pleasurable,
And that is the thing to do. And
that and and that's the reason I have
given you. Your it it it's not only
about the quality of something, but it's the
way you approach it. Your approach to it.
Just as the way you approach the food,
if it's labeled in the wrong way,
then it will not have the effect on
your heart and mind. Likewise,
if we approach this from the perspective of
this is the final word,
the final guidance
for humanity, for the rest of the existence
of the world. Every human being that is
born
from the time
of prophethood of Muhammad salallahu alaihi wasallam,
every human being that is born on the
face of this planet, his success in this
world and the next, his success in the
Akhirah, his ultimate success, his or her success,
every baby, everyone,
every
human being that is born in this planet,
their success depends on this guidance from Muhammad
sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam until the end of time,
until
the end of this planet.
So who is who is there to take
it? It is us. It's our responsibility
to exemplify it, to show it, to show
the mercy of Islam, to show the bounty
of Islam. But,
the one who does not have, cannot give.
So we must embody it. We must embody
this guidance. And the way to embody it
first is to
have it in your heart, is to
develop your love for Allah, develop your connection
with Allah, seek closeness to Allah,
and change
your perspective
That the intention
follows
the perspective.
So change your perspective in this, and, insha
Allah, we will benefit.
We will increase in our Ibadah. For those
of you who I I did say this
at the end of last time. But if
those of you who are working, who want
to work on your salah,
I have a series,
on the Daramax tube website in the,
in YouTube. It's called Daramox Tube, d a
r a m o x, Tube.
And in the playlist, you will find one
on Salah.
Please,
the short the 20, 25 15, 20 minutes,
lectures. I think 40 or is 80 or
40? Is it 40? Yeah. 40.
For developing Khushu, improving your salah, you can
listen to that.
Okay. Let's pray.