Saif Morad – FNP Two Keys to Happiness Friday Night Program
AI: Summary ©
The speakers stress the importance of happiness and guidance from the creator in achieving success, with emphasis on sincerity, practicing, and developing a strong relationship with Allah. They also emphasize the importance of mastering emotions and focusing on the good of oneself to achieve happiness and a spiritual level. The program offers guidance on achieving happiness and controlling emotions through practicing the verse "taq wa" in the Bible and a workshop on practicing it. The program is an actual workshop and provides guidance on practicing the verse "taq wa" in the Bible and practicing it.
AI: Summary ©
Again,
we are honored to have our beloved
Sheikh Saif Murad
who is our guest speaker tonight,
and also
a candidate for the open position that your
Masjid has as a resident scholar.
And he will, insha Allah, be with us
over the weekend. So it will be tonight's
program,
and and we will have, insha Allah, a
program tomorrow
after Duhur, and a program
after Duhur on Sunday as well. You can
see all the details on the website or
through the newsletter, insha Allah, or on your
social media.
It has all the details with the titles,
so you can, inshaAllah,
plan accordingly.
Just inshaAllah,
to introduce Sheikh Saif,
just a quick introduction,
so inshaAllah, we can get right into the
lecture tonight.
Sheikh
was born in Riyadh, Saudia,
and lived
as a baby, of course, over there, inshaAllah,
with his family. Then they moved to Jeddah,
then they also moved
for a while
to India,
and then they moved to Canada,
Most of his life,
his, you know, upbringing was in Canada,
got married,
later on,
to a sister who is here in the
US and this is where he has the,
or had the chance to visit the US
several times, Masha'Allah.
Alhamdulillah, and
Sheikh Masha'Allah decided to continue his studies,
his bachelor
and his master degree in Madinah, in the
Islamic University of Madinah.
This is where he acquired his degrees
and he is still currently there,
He's been living in Madinah
for 11 years,
The city of Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
May Allah
bless this city, a city that Prophet loves
and Allah loves.
And it is one of the most
holiest and most blessed cities on the face
of the earth. We ask Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala to allow us to always go there
and visit. InshaAllah, that was just a quick
introduction. Of course,
Sheikh Seif
deserves way more than this, but we just
wanted to, limit it to this so we
can get into the lecture.
May Allah
bless us with beneficial knowledge,
and may He teach us that which is
beneficial and increase us in that which is
beneficial, and He give us the ability to
act upon that knowledge.
1st and foremost, I'd like to thank all
of you for attending and the community at
the Islamic Association of Raleigh for inviting me
and having me here. Allah
make this
a benefit
and bless us with the best in this
world and the next.
Today's topic that we're gonna be discussing is
about the 2 keys
to happiness.
Now, anyone here attended the khutba earlier?
The 2 keys were mentioned there,
but I didn't mention it as the keys
to happiness, so let's see if we can
pick up on it.
So, before we start, what is happiness
exactly?
How would you define
happiness?
Anyone?
There's no right or wrong answer.
To travel? Okay. To have experiences. Alright. Nice.
Yes brother.
That will bring you closer to Allah zakalakhair.
Anyone else?
Contentment.
And we'll take one more.
Okay, being nice and kind to each other.
So, they define happiness as a state,
a state in which you enjoy
joy, satisfaction,
contentment,
and you are satisfied with the quality of
your life. So, generally speaking,
what they define it as
is that
there's more good in your life than the
bad, and you're able to see that, and
you are
happy with the level of your life, the
quality of your life, you feel that fulfillment.
Now, let's look at what Allah
has talked about in the Quran.
He tells us in the Quran,
These letters are known as and
the scholars differ in 2 opinions that what
are these things. Some of them say it's
from the which is the ambiguous matters,
so that's why you see in the books
when they translate it says Allah is the
one who knows what the meanings of these
letters are, and they leave it at that.
The other scholars said no, it is actually
known, and they deferred in over 30 different
sayings to what this is.
And his father, Muhammad
Amin he said that these letters, if you
look at the context that it comes in,
usually when Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala talks about
them,
he mentions the Quran after that.
And so on and so forth.
So, these letters Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, he's
challenged Arabs with it that you people are
people of language,
of you understand the language, you have reached
the pinnacle when it comes to language.
So, these letters are from the language
and Allah is challenging them to bring something
similar to it.
And then he said,
that that is a book showing the high
status of the Quran, that there is no
doubt in it, and you will never find
somebody who authors a book saying that there
is no doubt in this book, but they'll
always mention that if there's any mistakes, anything,
please bring that forth. And usually people will
say that, you know, it seems like this
is what the truth is, but Allah
right off the bat, he says there's no
doubt in it,
and it is a guidance for those people
of Taqwah, and the Quran is also it's
also guidance for people, for mankind.
But who are the ones who benefit from
the Quran? Are the
The people of they are the ones who
find benefit in the Quran because they take
it as a way of life, they apply
what's there.
Then Allah describes the people of Taqwa, and
we see this throughout the Quran. He describes
them in different ways.
Here, he's saying, those who believe in the
unseen.
The unseen matters, and the only way to
know what the unseen is is through a
revelation.
Nobody can come and say that, hey, I
know what the unseen is, and they bring
stuff from their head. Doesn't work that way.
It is revelation, divine revelation, that tells us
what is in the world of the unseen.
And, they're the ones who established the salah,
not performed the salah, but they established the
salah, and they spent from that which Allah
has provided them. He said,
from We are the ones who've provided from
that provision they spent.
And then he says,
Now getting more specific,
that they believe
in that which has been sent down to
you and that was sent down before you,
and they are certain
in the hereafter.
Certainty means there's no doubt in any way,
shape, or form.
There's no hesitation that perhaps it could be
true.
Certain
of what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said and
that we're gonna stand in front of him
on Yomul Qiyamah.
Then he says,
He restricts guidance to these individuals,
that they are the ones who follow this,
who have these qualities,
guidance from their Lord.
Allah is the one who's guiding them and
he restricts success to these individuals.
Anyone picked up on the 2 yet?
So, Sheikh Asadi
has an interesting observation.
He says that in the Quran,
Allah
brings salah, and then brings zakat after that.
You will find this throughout the Quran.
They establish the prayer and they give the
zakat, and he said the salah is that
sincerity to
Allah
but the zakat, who's the one who's benefiting
from it?
It's not Allah Allah doesn't need our worship,
but it is the people
who benefit from it. So he said,
the key to happiness
is in sincerity to Allah
and
you mentioned it, or close to it.
Pardon me?
And in striving to benefit to people. So
these are the 2 keys to happiness,
sincerity
to Allah
and in striving to do good to people.
And in the Khutba, we mentioned that ihsan
is of 2 types,
in that relationship with Allah
and in striving to benefit people.
And Ibn Qayyim
he mentioned
that
that the prophet combined between
that relationship with Allah that mindfulness
and good characteristic.
Because it is that rectifies that which is
between
the servant
and
Allah
and it is that good mannerisms, that characteristics
that we demonstrate
that rectifies our relationship
with the people.
Because
necessitates
the love of Allah
It brings the love of Allah
whereas the good mannerisms
calls words the love of that individual.
Now, this is a very interesting observation
that
to move people
to do good towards others.
And if you notice that when people are
down,
they're depressed, not clinical depression, but, generally, they
feel down, they feel stuck in life, when
they go sit with a coach or sit
with a therapist,
what do they try to do? They try
to move them towards helping other people.
Because now the focus shifts. You're not thinking
about yourself anymore, you're thinking about somebody else.
And when you help somebody, you feel good
about yourself, that you can do a good
job.
And in human needs psychology, there are 6
core needs that every individual has, and we're
gonna look into this in detail tomorrow. We're
gonna see how these play out in our
lives and especially in our marriages.
But
somebody who understands this, they try to move
the people towards contribution,
towards contributing to something that is greater than
yourself. It's not about you. Because if we're
stuck in ourselves,
we're
become selfish.
But when we move to a higher level,
when we move and try to serve other
people,
you will always be able to snap out
of it. But they're still missing that one
core element,
which is that sincerity
to Allah
And without that,
true happiness will never be attained
because Allah says
that it is only through the remembrance of
Allah
does the heart feel contentment,
feel secure,
feel safe.
Now, we're gonna look at
4 things that we can do
to strengthen that connection with Allah
and we'll take this from one verse. And
then we'll look at 4 a hadith that
if we learn to implement this and we
master it, we will
be master our relationships with people.
So, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in
the Quran,
That recite that which has been revealed to
you from the book, and establish the salah
because that is what prevents the and the
the
evil, abhorrent sins, and that which the deen
has forbidden.
And the remembrance of Allah
is greater than that, and Allah
knows that which you do. So, we're gonna
take 4 things from this ayah. The first
is our relationship
with the Quran.
The book of Allah
said that draw closer to Allah
by any means necessary. Whatever you can do
to draw closer, do that. But know that
you will never draw closer to him in
a way that is more beloved to him
than his
book. And Allah
tells us in the Quran in Surat Al
Baqarah itself,
that those who follow my guidance
they will have no fear
and no grief, no sadness.
And he tells us that
those individuals who follow my guidance,
they will not be misguided
nor will they be wretched.
Now, Sheikh Hasadi, he looks at these two
verses,
and he says within this Allah
is guaranteeing 4 things.
So in the first one, he says that
who the ones who follow his guidance,
the ones who act upon the teachings of
the Quran,
Allah
is negating 2 things here. The first is
fear.
And usually fear is associated with the future,
that we're afraid of what's to come.
I have anxiety because I'm thinking of the
future and it's unknown that's causing me to
stress out.
And or sadness or grief is usually associated
with the past.
I have regret over things I missed. I
missed that opportunity.
There's regret there.
So if Allah negates these two things,
what's the opposite of that?
Happiness.
Also,
complete security.
Allah subhanahu wa'ala So if these two things
are negated, a person has complete safety and
security there. In the other verse, he negates
the one who follows his guidance negates from
them being misguided
and being wretched. And what's the opposite of
that?
Happiness. Right. So, guidance and that a person
will never be wretched in their life. Even
Abbas
said that Allah
guarantees
guarantees
that the one who follows His guidance
will never be misled
and will never be wretched, which means they
will be always safe, they will be guided,
and they will be happy in their life.
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells us this
in
That whoever, this is a conditional sentence, there's
a condition here that whoever does good
whether male or female
while being
believers.
So, that's the condition. Whoever does good and
means
that it's done for the sake of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and is done following the
sunnah of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
when it comes to acts of worship.
But acts that have nothing that are not
acts of worship generally, like going to work,
cleaning the home, so on and so forth,
these, if the intention changes and we make
it for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala, it becomes an act of worship and
we'll get rewarded for it.
So the ulama, they play the game of
intentions.
Their
becomes
The people who are in the state of
awakening,
their normal habits that they do,
the day to day things going to the
grocery store, taking care of this, doing that,
going to work, so on and so forth,
because of the intention that's present it becomes
an act of worship.
So, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is saying the
ones who do good whether male or female
while being believers.
There's
two points of emphasis here. Now, this is
very difficult to translate in the English language,
but those of you who understand the Arabic
language, you understand the emphasis that's being shown
here.
Allah
is guaranteeing
guaranteeing
that he will bless them with a good
life,
a life of halal provision, a life of
happiness, a life of contentment.
Now, happiness does not mean
the absence
of difficulties
because then we'd be in Jannah.
Happiness does not mean that there's no difficulties
there,
but we are able to see the blessings
that is there despite the difficulties, and we
understand that whatever Allah
decrees for us, there is hikmah behind it.
It's meant to make us stronger and better.
It's meant to raise us to a higher
level.
And this is one of the most important
things
that we understand that Allah is talking here
not about reciting the Quran, but it's about
acting upon the Quran. When I first went
to Medina and we used to get invited
to some of the mashaikh's homes,
one of the questions that I used to
ask and other people also used to ask
is,
how do we
strengthen our iman?
How do we strengthen that relationship with Allah
and almost always they would say that recite
the Quran.
Who's gotten that answer before?
Right. To recite the Quran.
And if you Google and you see, okay,
how do you strengthen your iman, you'll probably
find one of the top things saying recite
the Quran, build a relationship with the Quran.
Now I looked at myself, and I was,
okay, you know what? I review the Quran.
I recite it, but how come I'm not
getting to a higher level?
And then I was listening to a lecture
one day, one of the said, he's like,
we have to be honest with ourselves
and look at how our relationship with the
Quran is.
And he said that most people
have a relationship with the Quran that's based
on recitation. That that's what it is. They
recite the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And that is good. Any relationship with the
Quran is a good relationship.
But he said, the relationship that transforms people
lives
is a relationship of,
reflection and action.
That is what leads to transformation.
And
we have 4 types of relationship with the
Quran. The first is one of recitation
and there is good in that because the
prophet
said that any
letter that you recite from the Quran, you
get 10 good deeds. And he said, I
don't say that alif, lam, mim
is a word or letter but alif is
a letter, lam is a letter, meem is
a letter. For just reciting these three letters,
we get 10 good deeds for each single
letter. A second type of relationship with the
Quran is a
relationship of listening.
That when the Quran is recited,
then listen to it and be quiet so
that you may
be shown mercy. So listening to the Quran
brings about mercy.
A third type of relationship with the Quran
is that of studying the Quran. The Prophet
said
that people do not gather in the masjid
and study the book of Allah like we're
doing right now, except that the angels descend
and they surround them, and the mercy of
Allah descends on this gathering, and Allah
mentions them in a gathering that is better
than the gathering they're in.
Now, there's still one more level,
and the higher level is
a relationship
of reflection
and action,
and that is what leads to transformation.
And if people are reciting
and reflecting, that's good.
Listening and reflecting, that's also good. Studying and
reflecting, that's excellent
because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said,
a book that we have sent down upon
you that is blessed.
Blessed from every angle
so that you may reflect over its verses.
One of the main reasons the Quran was
sent down was for us to reflect over
it,
and the people of understanding
will remember.
The one of the main key reasons Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala sent down the Quran was
so that we would reflect over it.
And this was the way of the
that they used to study 10 ayaat at
a time
and they would learn its meaning, they would
act upon it, then they would move on.
Ibn Umar radhiyallahu anhu he said
that some of the best of the companions
during the early days, they only memorize 1
surah or a little bit more than that.
Can you imagine that? You could say one
of the longer surahs,
but they it was easy for them to
act upon that surah.
But he said the people that will come
later,
it will be easy for them to memorize
the Quran,
that even children and people who don't have
eyesight will be able to memorize the Quran,
but it will be difficult for them to
act upon the Quran.
And even Ibn Musud
had a similar statement.
He said that it was difficult for us
to memorize the Quran, but it was easy
for us to act upon it, but those
who are gonna come after us
is gonna be easy for them to memorize
the Quran,
but difficult
to act upon
it. Now, let's look at a verse.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in the
Quran.
For those of you that understand Arab, the
Arabic language, did that do anything?
Now, let's translate it.
Say, O Muhammad,
who is the one that provides to you
from the heavens and the earth? Who is
the one that controls
the sight and the hearing, grants you that
ability? Who is the one that brings the
dead from the living, the living from the
dead? And who is the one who confer
who runs the affairs? They will say Allah,
so tell them, will you not have taqwa?
That
that one who possesses all this, that is
your Lord, the one, the truth,
then what comes after falsehood except that which
is truth, and where are you turning?
Now, those of you who understand English, did
that do anything?
It did do something? Is that correct?
Right? Now,
let's look at it from a different perspective.
Let's ask ourselves this question. Right. He's telling
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
who?
Who is the one
that provides
for us from the heavens and the earth?
Allah.
Who is the one who has granted us
our sight and our hearing?
Who is the one
who brings forth the dead from the living
and the living from the dead?
Who is the one
that runs the affairs of everything, that controls
your affairs?
They will say,
Allah.
Now, ask ourselves,
will you not
fear Allah?
How do you answer that question?
If you have to ask yourselves, can't escape
it, you have to ask yourself that question.
Will you not
fear?
How do you respond to that?
And then the next part,
that the one who has these qualities, that
runs everything,
He is your Lord, the truth, the absolute
truth.
Now what is there after truth except misguidance?
There's no level in between.
Okay? There's half truth, half falsehood.
It's truth or it's falsehood,
And we understand that. Now comes another question.
And we have to ask ourselves this question,
because that's what impacts.
Because we can recite it, and we'll pass.
We'll get the agenda, that's good. We can
translate it, we'll go past it.
And how come you turn away?
And that is the art that is lost,
and this is just an example.
The art of reflecting over the Quran.
And this is why Hasan al Basri, he
said,
that may Allah
have mercy upon
the person
who sits with the book of Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala in solitude,
and he presents himself in front of it.
That he sees, am I from the individuals
that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is talking about?
And if he is, he thanks Allah
and asked him for more of that.
And if he's not,
then he returns to Allah. He repents.
He turns back to Allah
and he changes his ways before it's too
late.
And, he also said
that the reflection of the Quran is not
memorizing the Quran that your Tajweed is unbelievable.
You can make people cry just through their
recitation,
but rather it's in the adherence to the
commands of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Because there is somebody who said
that
I read the entire Quran from start to
finish through memory without making any mistakes. That's
extremely difficult to do.
But Hassan al Uqbal and he said,
that you
wasted the whole thing
because
none of that shows in your behavior.
There's no impact of that
or trace of that in the behavior of
the person,
and that is the level that we need
to try to get to.
It's the level where the Quran becomes our
guide because Allah says
that indeed it is the Quran, this Quran,
that guides to that which is that which
is most upright, most correct,
And, in every single era,
people think that the Quran is not relevant
anymore. It's just a book of barakah,
have stories,
recite it, blow on people, and that's it.
But the Quran is just as relevant today,
as it was when it was first revealed
to the Prophet
The shortcoming is in us,
but it takes time. The Quran needs our
time so that we learn it.
We understand the message Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
is telling us, and then we actually go
and implement
the verses of the Quran.
And, through
studying the Quran, Sheikh Abdullahi said that there's
7 main themes that the Quran talks about
through deduction.
1st is and if you put any verse
from the Quran, it's either talking about one
of these 7 topics.
The first is
tuhid,
the oneness of Allah
That Allah
is the true Lord and he's the one
deserving of worship.
The second is
the
truthfulness of the Prophet
That the Prophet
is the messenger of Allah.
The third is
which is matters related to the hereafter.
The 4th is which
is rulings, that which is haram, that which
is halal, that we should do, how to
do it, so on and so forth. The
5th is wa'ad, the promises
for those who do good, what Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala has in store for them. The
6th is
wa'av, which is the warnings that's there for
those who transgress and don't follow the guidance,
what's waiting for them. And finally that you
have is Qasas,
the stories that comes in the Quran.
And this is extremely important because we have
to look and be honest with ourselves.
How do we look at the Quran?
What are our thoughts about the Quran? If
you were to take a minute and pause
and ask yourself,
what are my thoughts about the Quran? How
do I view the Quran?
How do I view Islam?
Especially, and this actually goes for everyone not
just the younger generation,
but when the thinking is that Islam is
restrictive, Islam is no fun, the Quran is
not relevant today, the Quran is just a
book that you recite,
Islam
is
boring.
If the thinking is like this,
it's gonna create a feeling,
and that feeling is gonna be the opposite
of excitement,
opposite of joy,
opposite of wanting to implement that.
When we feel like that,
we're not going to want to practice Islam.
We're not going to want to read the
Quran,
because we view it as some as something
that is not enjoyable.
But is that reality?
Or is that our virtual reality?
The reality is the Quran
is
the book of Allah, the speech of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Uthman radiAllahu anhu said that if the hearts
were pure,
they would never get tired from reciting the
book of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Islam is
the deen of Allah.
Islam is the way to Allah.
There is fun in Islam.
Allah
does not want difficulty for us.
He does not want difficulty for us.
So this is the reality of things, how
Allah and his messenger described it. If we
think from that point, that perspective,
then we're gonna feel excited,
that I'm connecting to Allah. I'm getting good
deeds just by doing simple things.
I can go play basketball and get good
deeds.
I can go enjoy with my friends and
still get good deeds because of that intention
that's there. And when that feeling is there,
we're naturally going to gravitate towards doing the
action. We're going to want to take the
action, we'll want to get closer to Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and that will create
a good result for us.
We're going to be
happy.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala also tells us in
That all mankind
has come for, come to you from Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
A reminder
that which reminds you of that which is
best in the best way, in the best
form, in the best style from your Lord,
from the one who has created you, who
sustains you, who nurtures you, who takes care
of all your affairs.
And it is secure for that which is
in the heart.
And, generally, the disease of the heart goes
back to 2 things,
the doubts
and
the and the doubts that's there
and the desires,
and the Quran
is the cure for that.
But not the way we recite, or the
way that we got we've gotten used to,
but through that reflection, looking at it. What
is Allah
telling me? What is the consequences if I
act on this?
And there are studies that actually been done
to study the impact of Quran
on anxiety
and stress and mental health and so on
and so forth, and they found a strong
positive correlation
just through listening to the Quran that it
relieves stress.
And we already know this because Allah is
telling us,
is a cure for that which is in
the heart.
But when people take it to a higher
level, when they develop that relationship
of reflection and action,
it transforms the entire thing. Because what happens
is is the focus shifts.
Because you have a world view that we
think how things are supposed to be, then
Allah
tells us how things actually are.
And when we are in virtual reality,
that's when we struggle.
But when Allah
brings us back to reality, how it actually
is, and we actually understand that, and the
heart accepts it,
then you're okay.
You're able to deal with the difficulties that
comes your way because you know you have
the tools to deal with it.
And Allah
tells us in the Quran
that the Quran is a dhikr for you.
Now, how do you translate dhikr?
Remembrance.
Anyone have a different translation?
Sisters?
Generally, we translate dhikr as remembrance.
In the books of Tafsir, they mentioned that
another definition for this is shutoff.
It is shutoff for you.
Who can translate shutoff?
Honor.
So, the Quran is a means for us
to get honor
for you
and for your
people. And we're going to be asked about
this bounty that Allah
has given us.
That you were given this book.
You were given the best of books.
What was our relation to
it? How did we act on the Quran?
So, this is the first
strategy in strengthening our sincerity with Allah
is developing that relationship with the Quran,
strengthening that relationship with the Quran.
The second is
and establish the salah.
Now, you have
the Surah to salah
and you have the actual salah.
So, you have the picture of the salah
or the actions of the salah and then
you have the reality of what salah is.
The reality of salah is that it's established
with
with presence there.
Because when that is there, what's the result
that comes?
Because salah is supposed to prevent us
from the evil actions.
Because when we stand in front of Allah
there is a connection, that open connection between
us and Allah
We're calling him, we're standing in front of
him.
The deed that the Prophet
had to go up to the 7 heavens
to get the order of salah. Everything else,
Allah just sent the command down to him,
but he had to ascend and go all
the way up to get to command to
establish that salah.
The contract that we have between us and
Allah
is that salah. And the prophet
said
that whoever guards a salah, make sure that
they practice it, they act upon it. They
establish the salah,
they have a promise from Allah
to enter them into Jannah.
Because that's what salah supposed to do. It's
supposed to stop us, supposed to prevent us.
The prophet
was told that there was a young man
from the Ansar.
He used to come and pray with the
prophet
and then he used to go and do
the
do the evil sins. And the prophet
said that his salahat and haw is gonna
prevent him
one day.
So, it wasn't after just after a short
while, he changed his ways and he repented
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. So, regardless,
for all of us here and take this
message to your friends, to your family members,
tell them whatever you're doing,
you have a boyfriend, a girlfriend, you're drinking,
you're going to the club, you're doing x
y and z, don't leave the salah.
Pray your
salah. Make sure you pray 5 times a
day because that salah and try to bring
that presence, that fushu in there, not just
bang it out, but actually try to establish
salah with presence of mind because that salah
one day is gonna prevent them,
is gonna stop them
from those actions gonna transform their lives.
So, we need to work on
strengthening that
connection with
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And, if you look at the Quran, Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala mentions 4 main reasons why
people go to the hellfire.
This comes in Surah Al Mudathir
When the people of Jannah asked the people
of Jahannam, what is it that entered you
into the hellfire?
The first thing they say is we were
not amongst those who prayed,
and we did not feed the poor, we
didn't give the zakah, and we used to
indulge and talk about those
hateful matters of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and
we rejected faith.
And the 4 main reasons
for Jannah is in Suratul Muminoon
So, the four reasons that people enter into
the hellfire are combated with the 4 main
reasons to enter into Jannah,
that indeed
the believers have succeeded, the ones who believe
goes against those who rejected Yawmalakhr.
In their salaha shirom,
that they are
mindful, fearful of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, goes
against lam nakumin al musalin, who are not,
from those who pray.
And they use
they use to turn away from.
Is indulging and talking things that have no
use for especially
the impermissible things, voguer talk, doing actions that
are displeasing to Allah
and they used to give the zakah. So
these 4
against those 4. Then comes so this is
the second part, which is strengthening
our salah,
being able to get to a higher level
when it comes to our salah. And it's
not gonna be perfect,
but we have to try. How can I
go at least 2% higher, 3% higher, even
5% on a regular basis until I'm able
to establish
that? Then Allah says,
and the remembrance of Allah
is greater
than all of that. The scholars mentioned different
things regardless. They say the remembrance of Allah,
or Him remembering you is greater than your
remembrance of Him. This is one interpretation. Another
is that dhikr itself or the dhikr that's
in the Quran that's in the salah is
greater than all other actions. Another is dhikr
itself by itself is one of the greatest
forms of action.
And the prophet
said that the son of Adam has not
done an action that is more precious or
that will save them from the hellfire more
than the remembrance
of Allah
And this is something that is so extremely
easy to do.
Anywhere you are driving, waiting in line, just
sitting around, people are just quiet, we can
do that.
Anytime
we're sitting La ilaha illallah.
SubhanAllah, alhamdulillah. The 4 things that are more
most beloved to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Four
words. SubhanAllah, alhamdulillah,
Takes less than 2 seconds to say.
So, this is another aspect that we need
to establish which is strengthening
our relationship with Allah through His remembrance.
Because
what happens with all these three things right
here?
The focus shifts.
We start thinking of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
we start being mindful of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala,
and that changes our state.
Because we know that we're standing in front
of him, we're reading his book, we're remembering
him.
And Allah
says,
that remember
me and I will remember you. Ibn Al
Qayyim, he wrote in a book over a
100 benefits of the remembrance of Allah.
And he said, if this thing, that when
you remember Allah,
he remembers you.
Who are we that Allah
is gonna remember us?
But when we remember Him
with our tongue and heart present,
Allah
the creator of the heavens and the earth
remembers us.
And if that was the only benefit, He
said, of dhikr, that would be more than
enough.
And a man came to Hassanal Basile and
he's complaining about his heart being hard.
He said, adhibhu be dhikr,
melt it with the remembrance of Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala.
Soften it with the remembrance of Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala.
And Allah tells us in the Quran,
That those who believe and their hearts become
soft to the remembrance of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. It is only through the remembrance of
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will we get that
Itminal which is that sense of safety,
security,
contentment.
It comes from remembering
who Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is.
And then he says,
So the third thing strategy
is to develop
a relationship with dhikr,
and we start off by doing the morning
and evening athkar.
That is your superpower.
If you think of Iron Man, he has
that suit.
Your morning and evening athkar
is your suit
that will protect you from people's jealousy and
their envy and everything that's coming your way.
If you if we establish that, that becomes
that barrier, that protection
that will protect us from all these things.
And, if you were to just search on
Google morning evening afkaar, you'll get a whole
list of them. Start by at least doing
one of them, and then build a routine
to do all of them, so morning and
the evening. Then Allah
says,
and Allah
knows
that which you do.
So, the 4th strategy
is to strengthen that mindfulness of Allah
Now, I want everyone
to take a deep,
conscious breath. Okay?
This conscious breath brings you back into the
present moment.
You cannot worship Allah
in the past, and the future is unknown.
It is now that we have to worship
Allah
So, while being in the present moment,
move into your heart,
and you know that Allah is a aline.
Allow yourself
to connect with Allah
He knows everything that you're going through.
It's real, that connection is real. It's not
an idea,
it's not a theory,
it's real.
Allow yourself to feel that reality.
He's a Samir,
he hears everything you say.
He is Al Basir.
He sees everything that you do.
And everything that happens in the heavens and
the earth, He sees it.
Allow yourself to feel that.
He is Al Wadud,
the most loving.
He loves you more than your own parents
love you.
Allow yourself to feel it.
He is Al Qareeb,
closer to you than your own jugular vein.
Allow yourself to feel that closeness.
He is Al Mujeeb, the one who answers.
Know that when you call upon him, he
responds.
Allah is not far away.
Despite ascending over his throne, Allah
is closer to us than our own jugular
vein.
And we have to sometimes slow down.
Because we live in a culture that everything
is about hustle, hustle, hustle. Gotta go, gotta
go, gotta go.
But we gotta pause.
And sometimes just go into your heart,
and allow yourself to connect with Allah
Allow that to happen.
So if we take these four things,
relationship with the Quran,
and having that awareness of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala, that he's watching me,
anything I do, he knows about it.
He sees it.
He's at Habir, he knows
what's in our hearts. Even the things that
we don't know, he knows it.
So we're gonna take these four things,
and we have to know where we stand
right now.
Because we have to see things as they
are. Not worse than they are, not better
than they are, but what is reality?
So if we take our relationship with the
Quran
on a scale from 1 to 10,
what rating would you give yourself?
And it's about being honest, it's not about
criticizing,
about making people feel bad, but it's about
improvement.
But in order to improve, we have to
know where we stand.
So, if you were to look at your
relationship with the Quran,
what would you give it on a scale
from 1 to 10?
The second thing is the salah.
If we were to look at our salah,
what would we rate it on a scale
from 1 to 10?
The third thing is the
if you look at it remembering Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala,
what would we rate that on a scale
from 1 to 10?
And finally, when it comes to that mindfulness
of Allah
being aware,
what would we rate it on a scale
from 1 to 10?
Now, whatever these numbers are,
whatever they are,
what is one thing you could do?
You can choose one of these, you can
choose all 4 of them,
but what is one thing that you can
do
after you leave here
that will move it up one number?
One point higher. We don't need to go
all the way to 10. We can aim
for that, definitely, but let's start with one
number. So, what is one thing you can
do right now as everyone make a conscious
decision
telling Allah
that after I leave here tonight,
what is one thing that I can start
doing that can be something small
that will take me one point higher
in one of them or all 4 of
them
or 2 of them as you like. In
my relationship with the Quran,
my relationship with the salah, my dhikr, and
my mindfulness of Allah
One thing, that's it, that you can do
that will take it up one point.
And then once you get that to that
level, it could be, say, you're at a
5 and you get to a 6, then
think of how you could take it up
to a 7,
and then to an 8,
and then I don't think anyone will ever
give themselves a perfect score.
But it is small steps that leads us
to improvement.
So, these are the 4 things when it
comes to improving our relationship with Allah. Now,
there's many things there, but we're looking at
1 aya and taking 4 principles from that.
Our relationship with the Quran, with our salah,
with dhikr, and bringing that awareness of Allah
in things that we do.
Now, you can take one thing, right, something
that you do habitually. It could be putting
the kids to bed, it could be getting
them ready, it could be
just getting everyone out the door in the
morning. Something that you do is just kind
of, like, on automatic.
Okay?
Bring intention and presence into it, you transform
it into an act of worship. Just one
thing. Look at it, something that I do,
and just on auto on autopilot,
let me bring presence and intention into it
for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
I'm there fully engrossed in the moment.
When you do that, you will feel grateful
for that situation that you're in, and you
turn that into an act of worship.
The second thing we're gonna look at from
the keys of happiness is that relationship with
other people.
Abu Muhammad,
one of the great scholars from the he
said that I looked at all the hadith
when it comes to adab and good mannerisms,
and he said that they go back to
4 hadith. So we have a very rich
tradition when it comes to when it comes
to good mannerisms and how we should behave
with other people. And he said all these
hadith, they go back to 4 main hadith.
So we're gonna look at it, and this
is very simple to memorize.
The core concept, we wanna take this with
us and
implement it into our relationships.
And these 4 hadith, tomorrow, we're gonna look
at practical ways to actually implement them. Today,
we're just gonna look at in a general
sense. So, the first is the prophet
said,
that whoever believes in Allah and the last
day,
then let them speak good or remain silent.
So, that's the first thing. In our relationship
with people,
communication,
mastery.
Now, what do you notice in this hadith?
Allah saying whoever prophet
saying whoever believes in Allah and the last
day, so from faith
is to speak good
or remain silent. What comes first?
Speaking good. The encouragement here comes,
to speak good.
If you are unable to do
that, then remain silent.
Don't make it worse than it needs to
be, but the encouragement is to actually speak
good.
We can all learn how to speak better
by choosing how
we the words we choose, the way we
say it. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells in
the Quran,
that tell my believing slaves to say that
which is.
Is what?
The words we choose,
the way we say it, how many times
have people heard, it's not what you said,
it's how you said it.
That impacted us, right? So, the way the
words you choose, the tone that you utilize,
the pitch that you're using, and also sometimes
timings as well, sometimes not the right time
to bring something up.
Because
what?
Because
comes
and he whispers in people's heart. What do
they mean by that? How could they say
something like that? They don't care about me,
so on and so forth. He comes and
he puts a thought there, and that thought
runs.
It runs within our minds.
And is a clear enemy towards us. So
to prevent them from happening,
be clear in the way we speak.
And ibn Masludi said that he swore by
Allah
and he said that is there's nothing that
is more deserving to be incarcerated
than the tongue
because of how much bad it brings about
when people are not in control of the
way they speak. Relationships can be destroyed
by one sentence.
You can shatter a person's confidence
by one sentence.
You can humiliate your spouse
with one sentence,
but that's all being recorded.
And Allah
is gonna ask us about that.
So, it is very important that we deal
with others, we actually learn how to communicate
in a way that will make these relationships
blossom.
The next hadith is the prophet
said, a man came to him and he
said, give me advice. And the prophet
said, do not get angry.
He repeated his request. The prophet
said again,
don't get angry. 3rd time he said,
don't get angry.
This hadith
is pointing towards
emotional mastery,
to be in control of your emotions
when dealing with people.
Do not react,
be aware of your triggers.
We have the ability to control our emotions.
We have the ability to suppress our anger.
This does not mean you don't feel anger.
We hear my memes at the end of
the day. You will feel that, but we
have the ability to control that anger,
that do not let it loose because
years of work can be ruined just because
we reacted
in that moment,
so to master our emotions with people.
They might say stuff.
They might even do something,
but we are always in control
of how we react.
And that's how we should be because that's
when we are empowered.
When the thinking becomes you're the one who
made me angry, you're the one who annoys
me, you're the one that made me do
this, then we're not in control, somebody else
is in control because they are pushing the
buttons.
But when we acknowledge that I am in
control, I am reacting,
yes, my rules is what makes me feel
angry because I think that is not correct,
then we take control of the situation,
and we're able to behave in that way.
So, the second thing is we are in
control of our emotions when dealing with people.
If people are annoying and they do things
that irritate us, either we cut ourselves from
them or
we actually go and speak to them in
a kind way because we can say anything
to people as long as it's said in
a good manner.
But we have to learn how to actually
do that,
and it is something that we definitely can
learn. The 3rd hadith is
that
from the goodness of a person's Islam is
that they leave off that which does not
concern them.
This is focus mastery.
So focus on the things that benefits you.
Adopt a growth mindset. If you notice, Islam
that from the goodness of somebody's Islam, so
as they're progressing in life, their Islam needs
to be getting better.
Otherwise, they'll be in the same level.
And from the signs of that is that
they leave off things that does not concern
them. So when dealing with people, don't get
into matters that we don't need to get
into. How much money do you make? How
much does your house cost?
Because people don't like to be asked these
kind of things.
So worry about things that actually matter.
Being good towards
them. Checking up on them.
Because people, they hate to be asked.
The prophet
was asked that give me advice that if
I do something, Allah will love me, and
if I do something, the people will love
me.
He said, so do not attach your hearts
to the dunya. Allah
will love you
and leave off asking people about their things,
and they will love you.
So, to bring about that love by
not
becoming nosy and inquiring about everything.
So focus, master, what am I gonna focus
on?
Focus on things that actually bring out a
benefit, about improving ourselves, about doing good for
other people.
And finally, the hadith
that none of you will truly believe
until they love for their brother or sister
that which they love for themselves.
Now, this does not mean that if a
person does not do this, they don't have
iman. It means from the pinnacle of iman,
from the most complete matters of iman, from
getting to the highest level of iman
that we
love for others,
that which we love for ourselves.
If I want to succeed, I should want
for my brother and sister to succeed as
well. If I want good, I should want
for my brother and sister to succeed as
well.
Now, in a relationship, this plays out differently.
Or how do you apply this in a
relationship?
That when you're upset,
how would you like to be dealt with?
Think of that for a second. Would you
like to be yelled at? Would you like
to be criticized?
Would you like to be put down? Anyone?
Sure.
We would like to be talked to with
respect.
We would like to be addressed in a
kind way.
We'd like to be,
sure, point out my faults, but do it
in the right way.
So, similarly, we should want that for other
people as well.
If we're upset,
just like we would like to be treated
in that sense, we should also deal with
that in that way as well.
Just like we would like our needs to
get met, we should also love for our
friends, family,
spouse, children, for their needs to get met
as well.
So if we master these 4 hadith and
its
application,
that we speak good or remain silent,
don't make it worse than it needs to
be.
When you calm down, then you can go
and address the matter once again.
Our emotional mastery as well, that people cannot
rile us up. No matter what they say,
it does not bother me. I'm still in
control.
I choose if I want to have a
relationship with you or not.
So controlling our emotions. Thirdly, focus mastery.
That concern ourselves with that that is actually
going to move the needle forward for us
in our lives.
In both in Dunya as well, things are
going to actually benefit me. What skills can
I learn that will improve my future?
And also in akhirah, how can I get
closer to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala? What things
can I start doing? What things can I
leave off? What things do I need to
do less of that will improve my relationship
with Allah? That will make it that Husul
Islam, that my Islam is getting better and
better until I reach a state of Ihsaan.
And then finally,
loving for the other person that which we
love for ourselves.
How can I bring that in there? Because
this hadith, it actually points to
the purity of a person's heart
because it's against our nature, because we want
to talk, we want to react, we want
to get in people's business.
We don't care, like, okay, you know, I
want it for myself, whether you get it
or not, that doesn't matter, as long as
I'm getting what I want. But it takes
practice,
implementation,
du'a,
tawakkul,
till we get to that level. Because we
talk at a level, but in order to
get there, there's steps that we have to
take. We have to practice, we have to
learn, we have to become self aware how
shaitan gets the best of us. There's a
hadith in which the prophet
was sailing with his companions in the masjid,
and he said that a man from the
people of Jannah is going to enter the
masjid. So, this individual enters,
and his beard is dripping with water from
Udu and he's holding his slippers in his
left hand
and then he prays and then he leaves.
The next day, the Prophet SAW Alaihi Wasallam
said the same thing that a people from
Ahlu Jannah is going to enter. The same
guy enters.
The 3rd day,
he said a man from the people of
Jannah is going to enter the Masjid and
the same person enters the Masjid
and when the Prophet
got up and left, Abdullah ibn Amr
ibn al Aas, he gets up and he
goes to this man's house, and he knocks
on his door, and he says that, you
know what? I had a dispute with my
father, and I swore that I'm not gonna
go home for 3 days. So if you
would give me a place to stay, I'll
be really grateful for that. He said, okay.
Fine. Come in. You know?
So after 3 days, he relates this
story back to the companions, he said that,
you know,
I didn't see him pray.
I didn't see him do anything
extraordinary,
but he's like, I did notice that when
he was sleeping, he would toss and turn,
he would remember Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, and
he would say Allahu Akbar. And he's like,
one thing I did notice is that he
would never
he would only speak that which is good.
He'd only speak good about people. And then
he said, you know, I went to him
and I almost was belittling his good deeds
because he didn't see according to his standard
what should be what people should be doing
to reach Jannah.
So, he goes and tells him that,
look, this is the reality of what happened,
I didn't have a dispute with my father,
it's because the Prophet
said that a person is gonna come who
is gonna be from Adul Jannah. He said
this for 3 days, and every single day
you entered. So I wanted to come and
see what you're doing, but he said, I
didn't see you do anything extraordinary.
It was normal.
He said, that's exactly what it is. I
don't do anything that is special.
What you saw is what the reality is.
I wasn't trying to hide my good deeds
from you. But he's, like, there is one
thing
that
before he goes to bed,
he makes sure that he doesn't have any
in his heart for the Muslims.
And this is that
the advice and love he has openly, that's
the same that's internally.
Because people, you know, they show you a
good face, but internally they don't like you.
They don't want good for you.
But they smile on your face, but internally
there's something going on. And he's like, I
make sure that I don't have any hasad,
any envy, or jealousy
in the good that Allah
has given them.
So, Abdullahi responds and he says,
that's what made you reach that level,
and that is something that we don't have
the ability to do.
Because it's against the
nature of insanity.
But that does not mean that we cannot
get to that level.
Just like you've gotten to the level in
your careers that you are at, we can
also get to a spiritual level in that
as well. It just requires work, discipline,
learning from mistakes, adjusting strategy, asking Allah
depending on Him.
And,
we can get to a higher level when
it comes to our spirituality.
So once again to recap,
the keys 2 keys to happiness is our
sincerity in our relationship with Allah
and in our relationship with others, striving to
be a source of benefit.
The prophet
that the best of you are among the
people who are the most beneficial
to people,
and people who do a lot of volunteer
work. You will see there's a lot of
fulfillment in that realm
when you help other people. There's a lot
of fulfillment there.
So, to strengthen
the aspect
with Allah
our relationship with the Quran,
our relationship with our salah,
our relationship with dhikr,
and having that
presence of mind that Allah
is watching me.
That way we'll keep our actions in check.
And if we want to strengthen our relationship
with other people,
then being able to speak good,
we can all learn this,
Or don't make it worse than it needs
to be. 2nd thing, learning to control our
emotions.
3rd thing, focus on that which is actually
beneficial for you.
And then, lastly,
loving for the other person that which we
love for ourselves,
because people are naturally drawn towards.
People are naturally drawn towards.
Even
said
this exact statement, that people,
naturally, they love
those who do good towards
them. You will never find somebody who's
absolutely
excellent in their relationship with you that you
hate this person.
Stop being such a nice guy or a
nice girl.
You will never say that to somebody because
that level of excellence, that goodness they show,
that kindness
naturally draws us towards that person.
That we mentioned them, this person is so
amazing, you should meet them, come sit with
them, you'll love them
because of their sincerity and how they deal
with other. So may Allah
make us amongst those who learn and benefit
and implement.
May you forgive our sins. May you make
us amongst those who become better and better
and better until they meet him and he
is pleased with them.
If anyone has, any questions related to the
topic, then feel free to ask.
Thank you so much. May Allah bless you
and accept the good that we do.
Before that, tomorrow's program is about the 3
pillars of a happy marriage.
Now, all of us are in a one
in a relationship one way or another, so
even those that are single,
you will find benefit in it because the
first two pillars have to do with
something else.
Then the 3rd pillars comes the actual relationship.
So even if you're not married,
you will find benefit in it. So please,
join us. Insha'Allah.
The brother asked, can I define what taqwa
is? So taqwa is defined as
number 1, taqwa comes from that to protect
yourself from something that you're afraid of. So
taqwa is defined as protecting yourself from the
punishment of Allah
through his obedience and staying away from that
which is forbidden.
Abu Hurair, radiallahu anhu, he was asked what
is taqwa?
And he said that if you saw a
thorny path in front of you that has
a lot of glass and dangerous things there,
how would you walk upon that? Be very
careful not to step on something that could
be harmful for you. So he said that
is what taqwa is,
that you walk in this path of dunya
while avoiding those things
that will lead you to a bad ending.
So to bring that mindfulness of do that
thing that which Allah
has
legislated,
and to stay away from that which Allah
has forbidden.
So those, like, the most simple definition is
that.
Being conscious. So also that and that comes
from being mindful of Allah
where you're able to know that, you know,
just like we talked about, he sees you,
he was watching everything, everything is being recorded,
and to bring that into our daily activities
that we do.
So in terms of,
tadebbur being a lost art, so before you
can do tadebbur, you have to understand what
the verse is actually talking about. So understand
what it's talking about, go back to the
books of tafsir to see what the scholars
have mentioned there, and then you can reflect
and see that, you know, what is the
reality of this verse.
Shabdulillah Shirkriti was one of the teachers in
the prophet's masjid. He's the tafsir teacher in
the prophet's masjid. So his father was a
mufassir. He's the son of a mufassir. He's
very well versed when it comes to the
Quran. So he said there are 7 points
of benefit when it comes to benefiting from
tafsir.
So these are the first is what are
the
meanings of the words, the mufradat? What do
the words mean? The second is nahu and
saf. So what is the grammatical and syntax
aspect? The third is balaga, which is
how would you translate balaga?
The rhetoric, you could say.
Language the eloquence
that's there in the language.
The 4th is the rulings that's there. So
for non Arabic speakers, this is, like, not
relevant because you can't do it. Right? So
the next three points are extremely important. So
number 1, the 5th is the context of
the verse. What's the context of the verse?
How Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is describing it?
The 6th is,
is this verse implemented today
or is it left alone?
And then the final is, what are the
consequences of that?
That if this verse were to be implemented,
what would be the results?
And if people are leaving it off, what
are the consequences of that? What things are
they missing out on? So before we can
do tadaibbur, we have to understand the verse,
understand the tafsir, at least a basic tafsir,
and then this is something that is open
for everyone to reflect upon and see that.
Where does this verse stand in terms of
my relationship with the Quran? Am I acting
upon this? How can I bring it more?
What is one thing I can do that
will lead me closer to Allah
in that sense?
Practical, I'll give you one. One conscious breath.
Right? Before you take anything, just take deep
breath, bring yourself back in the present and
start your salah. Now, kushu and salah is
one of the most difficult things there that
a person is going to face because there's
a shaitan called Khinzab that is designated to
distract us from our salah.
So when we do feel that presence, we
say,
spit to the left three times, and then
he will go away. But this is something
that goes through training. Right? The more we
try to bring that presence, we ask Allah,
Subhanahu Wa'ala, Allah give me.
And we'll give it time that maybe it's
gonna take some time. You're not gonna feel
it the first time, the second time. Maybe
a month will go by, you won't feel
it. But then you'll get to a point
where you start feeling it. And then also
be mindful that, okay, what am I doing
outside salah? Is there anything that I'm doing
that might be taking away the?
And And this goes back to sins because
the sin can remove the Khushu from our
connection with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. So be
mindful of that as well,
Alright.
Thank you guys for coming out. May
Allah bless you once again, and we'll see
you tomorrow.
So tomorrow's program is from Duhr. So after
Duhr, 2 o'clock, and we'll probably go until,
just before.
Alright? So it's an actual workshop, so bring
some, pens and and notebooks if you're coming.
Is that