Saif Morad – Success Is For Those Who
AI: Summary ©
The importance of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in the Quran is discussed, emphasizing the need to purify oneself and strive towards the SCOful soul. The speakers stress the importance of finding pleasure in learning to purify one's behavior and finding happiness in life. They also stress the importance of balancing personal growth and learning to purify behavior, setting small steps, and avoiding toxic people. The speaker emphasizes the importance of avoiding toxic people and setting small decisions.
AI: Summary ©
We as Muslims,
we can only swear by Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
But Allah can swear by whatever He wants.
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, He only swears
by that which has benefit in it
and something that has tremendous
importance.
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in the Quran,
He starts many surahs by swearing, by taking
an oath.
And this is to draw our attention
because something really important is coming up, something
that needs us to be mindful.
So what is the importance when Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala
makes
11
consecutive
oaths?
How important is that thing that's about to
come?
If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is taking oath
after oath after oath after oath, imagine somebody
standing here saying, wallahi, wallahi billahi and getting
even more excited.
Something serious is about to come up. Something
that's very important that we need to pay
attention to.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in Surat al
Shems,
Allah swears by the sun and its brightness.
And then he says,
and he swears by the moon that which
follows the sun, that which comes after.
And by the day when it unveils it.
Some of them some of the scholars say
that it unveils the day, some themselves it
brings forth the sun.
And by the night
and when it covers everything.
And by the
heaven,
and by the one who fashioned it, who
built it.
That look at the creation of the heaven,
how perfect it is. There's no defect in
it.
And if you doubt then turn back again
and see if there's any defect. We'll never
find any defect in the creation of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And He swears by the earth
and the one who spread
it out. He made it suitable for us
to live on.
And Allah swears by the nafs and by
the one who fashioned it.
And He is the one who
fashioned it. He is the one who made
all these things.
He points us in the direction of these
things, these creation
so that when we reflect ultimately we come
to the conclusion that there is a creator.
And the creator is greater than everything.
And imagine if there was no sun, what
would be our state? Would we be able
to survive?
If there is no day, would we have
energy to go out and to go out
and work?
If there was no night, would we be
able to get our rest?
Everything is designed
in perfection.
It's a system.
And we were created for a reason and
Allah says,
And by the nafs
and the one who fashioned it made it
absolutely perfect.
Everything we do
is designed.
And he said he inspired
the nafs
to the way
which is good
and also the way that is wicked.
And fujur is to do that the actions
that will lead a person to destroy themselves.
And taqwa is to do the righteous actions
from sayings
and even the actions both the inward and
outward that is pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala and that will ultimately lead us to
enter into Jannah and be protected from the
* fire.
And the nafs is something that we translate
as the soul
or the self
or the ego
or the essence of the human being. But
it is the driver
that drives the body and the soul.
And Allah swearing by all these things. These
are 11 things that he just swore by.
And within it he swore by himself as
well. So what's the important thing that's coming?
What is the thing he's drawing our attention
to?
What is the thing that we if we
do it, we will attain success in this
world and the next. But if we neglect
it,
then may Allah protect us.
He says,
That the one who purifies his nafs
has succeeded and success means that they attained
that which they want.
And they avoid that which they fear.
And as for the person who neglects their
self, who neglects their nafs, who buries their
nafs
in sins and disobedience
and shirk, then this person has ultimately lost
out on everything.
And the reality of tazkiyah
linguistically
means two things, tathir
and ziyada, 10 niyyah.
And even within the context of Islam, this
is what is required that we purify ourselves.
Nobody is born perfect.
Naturally, the nafs is inclined to its desires
but it needs to be disciplined.
We need to purify ourselves
to remove the
wickedness that we have in our hearts from
jealousy,
arrogance,
showing off, doing things for the praise of
others.
Everybody loves to be praised.
And we need to realize these weaknesses because
how can we grow
before not willing to acknowledge that we have
weaknesses.
And then once we go on this path
to cleaning ourselves, we also have to adorn
it with the beautiful mannerism, with the beautiful
characteristics
of Islam.
And even Najabi recorded a hadith that is
Sahih according to Sheikh Albani
that
That the best type of jihad
is the struggle in which a person strives
against himself, against their desires.
And this was what is required of us,
to understand
the weaknesses that we have
and then to struggle against them.
Because this is ultimately what will bring us
happiness. Allah said,
that the one who succeed is the one
who purifies themselves.
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala he mentions in
the Quran 3 different types of nafs.
The first one is
the nafs that is inclined to evil, that
commands the person to do that which is
wrong, To disobey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. To
neglect the rights of Allah and the rights
of the people.
The second type of nafs is
nafsulawwama.
The reproachful
nafs.
That which is kinda shaky, it's not really
firm. Sometimes it does good and sometimes it
doesn't. And when it makes a mistake, it
blames itself because it wants itself to do
better.
And when it does good, it's happy,
it rejoices but it's still not firm.
They get caught
up in the dunya, they get caught up
with the people, they get caught up with
shaitan,
and they can't get caught up with their
desires.
And then there's the higher level which is
something that we all need to strive towards
which is
the tranquil soul, the blissful soul,
the nafs
that is striving for the sake of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
This is the nafs that enjoys
worshiping Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, has that strong
connection with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Once that
with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, wants to be
with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Because they know that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
that the Prophet Sallallahu Wa Ta'ala told them
that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala said
That I am as my slave expects me
to be
and I am with them when he remembers
me. When they remember him, Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala is with them.
And if you look at Suratul Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala says,
The sequence of these words is not accident.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, tazakah first
because when the nafs is purified,
when a person
goes against their desires and puts in the
work, and they start moving towards Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, and they overcome
their selves,
then naturally, this is a natural response,
they're gonna start gravitating towards that which Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala loves.
That is gonna be their enjoyment.
They're not gonna find enjoyment in other things.
They're gonna find that enjoyment in remembering Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because Allah said,
that if you remember me, I'm gonna remember
you.
And imagine that, you know, we all want
people to remember us,
to talk good about us. But what if
the creator of everything,
the King of Kings remembers us?
Us who are nobody,
but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will remember us
and they establish the salah. They enjoy the
salah because they are conversing with Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
And we as Muslims
must make our goal to grow. And if
we look at the Hadith of the Prophet
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, he's always calling us to
go back to get better.
That none of you will truly believe means
none of you will reach the pinnacle of
iman until they love for their brother and
their sisters what they love for themselves.
And hasa jealousy, these kind of things runs
in every single person.
We see a person get a promotion, and
we feel that you know, I'm better than
this person. I'm more intelligent. I work harder.
Why did this person get it?
But we have to combat this thing. And
one of the ways we do it is
make dua for that person. Make dua for
your brother and sister and ask Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala to give you as well.
One of the golden advice of the prophet
salallahu alaihi wa sallam,
He said that when you get up for
salah, pray as if it is your last
salah.
You know somebody who is conscious of the
akhirah that they're gonna meet Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, they're playing at a different level, they're
at a different state.
They're mindful of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So when they get up and pray, it's
as if they're expecting
to leave this world. And then the Prophet
salallahu alayhi wa sallam said, When you speak,
speak in a manner that you never have
to apologize.
Not from an arrogance arrogant standpoint. Where some
people they say stuff and they do stuff,
they'll never apologize because they can never be
wrong.
But the prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam is
telling us to be in control of our
emotions.
Emotional mastery
where we speak in a manner
that is good.
We have control of our emotions. We understand
what emotions we're feeling and we direct them
in a positive way. And then when we
speak, it's always good.
Because these people they understand
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commanded us to
say that which is good because
that shaytan wants to sow the seeds of
discord between us. He wants us to fight.
He wants us to not have good relationship
with one another. He wants couples to break
up.
But a person
who works on themselves,
person who works to purify their enough,
they try their best to speak that which
is good. And then the Prophet sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam said,
and give up all hope in attaining that
which is in the hands of people.
Because your relationship is with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala directly. Whatever is gonna come to you
is never gonna miss you. No matter how
many mountains, how many moves you make, whatever
is gonna come to you will never miss
you. And whatever miss you was never meant
for you for the 1st place. And when
a person has this understanding,
and they understand that the person who does
not the person, but the one who designed
their life is Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. They
know that Allah wants good for them, that
everything that comes to them is good.
So may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us
among those individuals
who are constantly growing, who cleanse their selves.
And one of the dua that the prophet
salallahu alaihi wa sallam used to always make
because our nafs at the end of the
day is in the hands is in the
hands of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
He is the one who purifies whom He
wills.
And if we move towards that, then Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala will definitely help us. And
the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam used to
make the dua,
That O Allah,
give my nafs its taqwa.
Give it its taqwa so we enjoy doing
the good things. And purify it because you
are the best one who purifies,
You are its master and You are its
protector.
So it becomes very important for us to
move
towards growth, to move towards Allah
to move towards Ihsaan,
to try to pray at a level as
if
we are seeing Allah
And if we can't do that, at least
we should play at a level where we
know that Allah is watching
us. So what are some of the ways
that we can bring,
we can purify our nafs?
Firstly, is to do
tahgib of tuhid,
to establish tuhid.
And there's a difference between knowing and doing.
We all know that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
is watching us.
We all know that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
listens to everything that goes on. We all
know that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is aware
of everything that we do.
But how many people
act in that way?
There's a difference
when we understand on a cognitive level,
and when it becomes our behavior.
And that's where we need to move to.
We need to move to the level
where we behave in a way
that we established tawhid in our life. We're
aware that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is watching
us, listening to us.
And this is what is true sincerity because
the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam was
told in the Quran,
That my salah, my sacrifice, my life, my
death is all for the sake of Allah.
This is true sincerity. When we move, when
we breathe, when we speak, when we do
everything,
sincerely for the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala. Because
at the end of the day,
it is Allah's pleasure that we need.
The whole world can love us, but if
Allah does not love us, what do we
gain? And the whole world can detest us,
but if Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala loves us,
then what did we lose?
And that is the true secret to life
where we live for the sake of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. We do everything for the
sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Another thing
we can do
is to read the Quran.
And more importantly,
reflect over the Quran.
Because we all can read the Quran and
that is good because we get hasanat in
it. We listen to Quran, that's also good
because we get hasanat as well. We can
study the Quran as well, that's even better
because the angels come down and mercy descends
upon these people. But the best level is
to reach to a level of tadaqbur, of
reflection over the Quran and action.
That they follow the Quran and they act
upon the Quran the way that it was
meant to be act upon.
And Khababin A'ati said that draw closer to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala by all means necessary.
Try to do everything that you can that's
within your power, but know that there is
nothing
that you can do that will draw you
closer to Allah
than His words, than His speech.
And when we read the Quran,
and we come upon the ayat of Jannah
and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes the muttaqeen,
he describes the people that he loves.
We need to ask a question that is
he talking about me?
Is he talking about me?
Do I have those qualities? Because it's all
there. The blueprint for success is there in
the Quran. The people who make it to
Jannah, their qualities are there in the Quran.
The things that Allah loves is already there
in the Quran.
But we have to ask ourselves and be
honest.
That is Allah talking about me.
And if we find that, you know what?
I'm actually not
behaving in a way that is beloved to
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Now we get yakadah,
we get leverage on ourselves. And we need
to take a step because this moment can
vanish, we can get caught up in our
lives.
But we take a step forward and we
repent to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. We make
that commitment that, You Allah, I'm weak, I
need your help. Help me. I'm willing to
do what it takes. Guide me to that
which you love. And we take small steps
because if we take too much on at
one time, we're never gonna succeed. But we
take small steps, we have a plan, we
know where we wanna go, we have our
eye
on the prize. And if we make the
intention and we're sincere, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
will make it easy for us. Another thing
we can do
is to establish dhikr in our lives.
You know that constant remembrance of
If we're remembering Allah, then we know that
He's remembering us.
And the Prophet
told a man who came and complained
that the laws of Islam have become too
much. He's talking about the because
the the obligatory actions are actually not too
much. Everyone needs to and is able to
establish them. But as for the this is
from the beauty of Islam that there's so
many things we can do.
You know some people are more inclined towards,
so yeah, some people enjoy reciting Quran more,
some people enjoy other things more.
So one of the things that is so
easy to do
is to remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And
the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam told this
person
that,
that keep your tongue moist with the remembrance
of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And this
is the month of Dhul Hijjah, the best
10 days.
One of the forgotten sunnah is the takbir
al mutlaq, which is the unrestricted takbir that
we can do at any time. There is
no restriction.
Even Umar and Abuhur radiAllahu anhu, they used
to go to the marketplace and they would
do the takbir.
They used to go this, go out and
do this.
And the people will listen and they would
also start doing it as well.
On their own, not as a unit.
And this is something that we can do
all the time. How easy it is to
say, Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Astaghfirullah.
Nobody has to know. We can be waiting
in line, we can be driving, we can
be talking to other people and when there's
silence, we can do can remember Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
And another thing we can do is to
try to be in the company of those
individuals who remind us of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala. Those individuals
who talk about
goals,
and talk about jannah, and talk about getting
better.
And we need to avoid the company of
those people who are toxic and negative, and
everything they do is they complain.
And they wanna talk about other people,
and they don't have a vision for their
lives. But we need to be in the
company of those individuals who are striving for
Jannah, who remind us of how we can
be better. When it comes to the dunya,
we should look at those who are under
us because that makes appreciative of the niyamah
that Allah has given us. But when it
comes to our deen, we should always look
at the people higher than us.
Look at the stories of the companions, the
life of the Prophet
Look at the sunnah, how much of the
sunnah am I actually establishing? Which ones can
I bring into my life? Which ones are
easy to do that I can start right
now?
So may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us
the tawfeeq
and the strength
to become
or
bless us
with the tranquil soul.