Salah Mahmoud – ICF Jummah – Divine Reflections – A Path To Hope and Renewal
AI: Summary ©
The first week of the new year is crucial, including taking care of one's health, making friends, learning from mistakes, finding a new "," learning to be a person, forgiveness, and avoiding evil spirits. The speaker emphasizes the importance of avoiding death, staying in a certain land, not living in any of their own, not living in any of their own, not living in any of their own, not living in any of their own, and not living in any of their own.
AI: Summary ©
Hayy alal falah.
Allahu akbar.
Allahu akbar.
La ilaha illallah.
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.
As
-salamu
alaykum
wa
rahmatullah.
Allahumma ahina ala la ilaha illallah.
Wa amitna ala la ilaha illallah.
Wa ba'athna ala la ilaha illallah.
Wa adkhinna aljannata wa nahnu nashhadu alla ilaha
illallah.
Wa ashhadu anna sayyidana wa nabiyyana wa muallimana
wa habibana wa shafi'ana yawmal arda alallah.
Sayyidina Muhammadin sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barik alayhi wa
ala alihi wa sahbihi.
Waghdallahumma an sadatina Abi Bakr wa Umar wa
Uthman wa Ali.
Wa an as-sahabati ajma'in wa anna
ma'ahum ya rabbal alamin.
Amma ba'd.
My dear brothers and sisters, in the last
week khutbah, I was talking about the nasiha
or the advice of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam to Abu Dharr al-Ghaffari.
Where he says, O Abu Dharr, strengthen your
ship, for the sea is deep.
Stock up on provisions, for the journey is
long.
Lighten your back, for the mountain is steep.
And purify your work, your amal, for Allah
is watchful.
A beautiful advice from Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam that we wanted to end the year
of 2024 with.
And I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
that you benefit from it.
And I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
that as we are starting the new year,
that you have all kind of good intention,
niyat, khayr, inshallah, to improve and to change
yourself.
Allahumma ameen ya rabbal alamin.
And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
to bless this year and to make it
better than last year.
And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
to forgive the sins and shower them with
the mercy, anyone who passed on.
And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
to give shifa to anyone who is struggling
with their health.
And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
to give a better job and a better
source of income and provision for those who
lost their jobs.
And I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
to give barakah and nisqa halal tayyib for
anyone who is struggling financially.
Allahumma ameen ya rabbal alamin.
Brothers and sisters, there was an experiment.
It's kind of harsh, but there is a
wisdom and a beautiful lesson that we can
learn from it.
A group of scientists, they brought rats because
they wanted to, you know, try something, test
something.
And they brought some buckets, you know, filled
with water, like huge ones, big ones, right,
to ensure the rats would not be able
to escape.
And they put, you know, they filled half
of it, of the buckets, with water.
Then they put the rats in this water,
in these pockets, different, like in these buckets,
like eight rats in a bucket.
To see what is going to happen.
Obviously, it's harsh.
But they wanted to learn something.
So, while they were observing this experiment, the
brothers and sisters, they noticed that the rats
were trying to risk to save themselves by,
you know, climbing, by trying to escape from
that water.
Otherwise, they're going to drown.
Right?
So, they noticed that the rats, they tried
for 15 minutes, and then they're about to
give up.
They surrendered to death.
There is no way out.
So, right before they feel they're going to
die, they would take them out of the
pocket, out of the buckets of the water.
So, they brought them out of the bucket,
and then they tried the same experiment again.
They put the rats again in the bucket.
And this time, the rats, they were trying
the same thing, trying to escape.
The first time, remember, how long did it
take them?
15 minutes.
The second time, brothers and sisters, you know
how long it took them?
60 hours.
They were trying for 60 hours.
You know why?
You know what's the secret behind that?
One word.
Hope.
H-O-P-E.
Hope.
The first time, they felt there was no
hope.
We're dying.
That's it.
But when they actually saved them, the second
time, they thought the same thing will happen.
They will eventually be saved, but they need
to keep on pushing and trying and trying
harder.
For 60 hours, they have tried until eventually,
of course, they saved them.
So, what do we learn from this, brothers
and sisters?
As we're starting a new year, inshallah, we
ask Allah to make it a blessed year.
Ameen.
There is something beautiful in our deen when
it comes to hope, to amal, and ittafa
'ul.
As I start the new year, the very
first thing that you try to change is
your relationship with Allah.
Your connection with Allah.
That's the first thing.
Yes, we have what we call a new
year resolution.
Some people call it a wish list, whatever
you may call it.
But something you want to change in this
year.
The very first thing you should always write
down is my relationship with Allah.
How is my relationship with Allah?
Is it improving?
Is it not improving?
Am I getting better this year or not?
And at the end of the year, you
need to review this.
Is my relationship with Allah good or not?
Am I still committing the same exact sins?
Am I going through the same habits, making
the same habits, the old habits, or am
I changing them?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, brothers and sisters,
created us and He knows that we slip
and we make mistakes.
That's why He gave us hope.
And the concept of hope here is tawbah
and repentance to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
It's the most beautiful concept that Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala gives us.
If you ever want to talk about hope,
talk about the rahmah of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells you it
doesn't matter what you do.
As long as you ask for forgiveness, I'm
ready to forgive and reset.
Start again.
Of course, there are conditions.
Right?
Start again.
Brand new person.
Finish the salah, make the dhikr.
You're a brand new person.
Every single time Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
says, It doesn't matter what you do in
your life.
You can always come back and I will
accept you.
That's it.
That's hope.
So you start in this new year and
you want to reconcile with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala and you want to reconnect with
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
But deep inside, you know that you've made
a lot of mistakes and you feel ashamed
of yourself.
And you feel ashamed that Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala sees what you do.
And because of that, brothers and sisters, we
stop ourselves from reconnecting with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
Either because of this or you don't want
people to judge you.
And that's another problem.
Even if you want to improve yourself, you
don't want people to make fun of you.
Oh, he goes to the masjid.
He's a mawlana right now.
Right?
Especially for young people, it happens all the
time.
Oh, mashallah, he started growing a beard.
He started doing this.
You're a mawlana now.
You've become a mufti.
And it starts from where?
From the parents.
Which is so ajib, wallahi.
It's ajib.
Of how many parents, as soon as their
kids started coming to the masjid, praying, praying
five times, reminding them to pray.
It's like, whom do you listen to?
Where do you go?
Ajib.
I understand that you want to be careful.
You want to make sure that your son
is doing the right thing.
But if your son or your daughter are
trying to change themselves, please do not stop
in their way.
Help them.
Even if you're not on the path.
But do help them.
So, a lot of times, we do not
reconnect with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
We do not make tawbah.
Because we're worried that Allah will not accept
us.
Because we've messed up really, really bad.
Shaykh, I've done all kinds of sins.
I've committed all kinds of sins.
You think Allah will forgive me?
Yes.
He says, Allah will forgive you.
He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
And that's part of being a human being.
Nobody will be an angel.
Ever.
Myself included.
We will always continue making mistakes.
But the difference is, as long as we're
aware of the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala and the hope that every single
day Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives us.
Every single day is a gift from Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Every single day, every single morning you wake
up, you open your eyes, is a gift
from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is giving you
hope.
He's telling you, He's giving you hope.
He's telling you, there is a second chance
for you.
Every single day, there is a second chance.
The amazing story that I shared before, and
the dialogue, the conversation between Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala and Shaytan Iblis, when Allah kicked
him out of Jannah, you know what he
said?
He said, وَعِزَّتِكَ وَجَلَالِكَ I swear by your
glory that I will continue misguiding them until
the Day of Judgment.
Until the last breath, I will continue misguiding
them.
I will always tell them, there is no
hope.
You're so messed up.
You're not going to improve.
You're a bad person.
That's what Shaytan instills in our mind.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala responded saying, and
I swear by my glory that I will
continue forgiving them as long as they ask
for forgiveness.
That's the deal, brothers and sisters.
2024, 2025, 1446, 1447, it's always going to
be the deal with Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
It doesn't matter what happens.
As long as you rectify yourself, as long
as you are ready to come to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, come forward to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
The month of Rajab started.
It's a wonderful opportunity to prepare yourself for
the month of Ramadan.
May Allah allow us to reach the month
of Ramadan.
Brothers and sisters, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
personally invites each and every one of us,
He says, O my servants who wronged themselves,
on 2024 we wronged ourselves.
He said, do not despair from the mercy
of Allah, for Allah forgives all sins.
Shaytan wants you to give in, to give
up.
It's not going to work, Habibi.
Stop going to the masjid.
It's not going to work.
And shaytan, when you try to better yourself,
he tells you, aren't you ashamed of yourself?
After what you've done, you're still asking Allah
and you're praying to Allah.
What a hypocrite are you, subhanallah.
That's shaytan.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, don't listen
to this.
I am here to accept you.
People will not accept you, but Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala will accept you.
So brothers and sisters, with the new year,
it's a fresh start with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala first.
You know why?
Because when you fix your relationship with Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, everything else in your
life will be fixed.
Wallahi.
And it doesn't mean that you're not going
to be tested, you're not going to lose
your job, you're not going to have marital
issues.
You will always have those things.
That's part of the process you and I
have to go through.
We have to embrace the process.
We have to accept it.
Tests are part of dunya.
Otherwise it's not dunya, it's jannah.
Right?
But your life is going to be always
good.
Always.
Because you believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala, your relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala is always good.
You know when couples come, especially when the
unfaithfulness happens, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give
maghfirah to anyone who is doing something behind
his wife's back, or anyone who is doing
something behind her husband's back.
Ya Allah, give them rahman, Ya Allah, forgive
their sins and bring them back, Ya Rabb
al-alameen.
Right?
So I always say to the wife or
the brother, forget about this.
Forget about your wife catching you or you
catching her.
Forget about this.
Forget about this.
What about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?
If your relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala is straightforward, it doesn't matter if the
whole world asks for your phone or your
password.
Right?
You know the silly argument, should I share
my password with my wife or not?
Are you scared of something?
Are you worried of something?
That's why when someone asks you for the
password, you're worried about it?
Right?
Aren't you ashamed of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala?
Allah can see you.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can see you.
So brothers and sisters, start afresh with Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Focus in your relationship with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
is ready to accept you.
Wallahi, He is ready to accept you.
Say astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah, and you know, be regretful.
Regret what you've done in the past because
you disobeyed the creator, Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala, and move on.
And that's the most important thing.
Right?
Ask for maghfirah, alright?
Feel bad for what you did, ask for
maghfirah, and move on.
That's the most important thing.
That's the most important thing.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will forgive you.
He's not going to tell you, Hey, tomorrow
you've done that.
I mean, you've done that the other day.
He's not going to tell you this.
He's going to treat you as if you've
never committed a sin from the very, very
beginning.
Start fresh.
That's the invitation from Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam tells us
a beautiful hadith, a beautiful story.
He says, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is
more happy, is more happy with your tawbah,
when you repent, when you come back to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
He's more happy than a person.
Imagine this.
Someone takes his ride, camel, horse, whatever, his
Ferrari, whatever, and he goes to the desert.
And on the ride, on the back of
the ride, his provision, food, water, everything to
make him survive.
And then he rested under the shade of
a tree.
Just take a rest, a break.
And when he wakes up, he does not
find the ride.
The camel or the horse or the car
is gone.
And remember, there's nobody else on the desert.
And then the food is gone.
The water is gone.
This person has nothing to do but wait
for death.
And while he's waiting for death, the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is giving us this
analogy.
While he's waiting for death, he opens his
eyes again, and he finds the ride next
to him.
It came back.
And because he was so happy when he
saw that, his technical speaking is back to
life.
He says, اللهم أنت عبدي وأنا ربك.
Oh Allah, you are my servant and I'm
your lord.
You know why he said that?
Out of joy.
Meaning that he could not hold himself.
He was so excited for coming back to
life that he made this mistake.
And he said, Oh Allah, you are my
servant and I'm your lord.
How happy he must have been, subhanAllah.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, Allah
is happier, is more happy when you repent
back to him than that person.
Don't be ashamed of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
Astaghfirullah sincerely from your heart.
But you know, when you say astaghfirullah and
you're planning another haram thing in your mind,
it doesn't count.
It doesn't count.
Brothers and sisters, it's a new year.
Let's start fresh with Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
There is always hope in Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
We conclude with this.
Ibrahim ibn Adham, someone came to him and
he said, Yeah imam, I committed a lot
of sins and I feel bad about myself.
Can you please tell me something that keeps
me away from sins and from this path?
I don't like my life like this.
I want to be better.
So he said, Ibrahim ibn Adham, may Allah
have mercy on him, said, If you do
these five things, if you're able to do
five things, then the sin will not harm
you.
The sin will not harm you.
If you guarantee five things for me, the
sin will not harm you.
I want you to remember this very well.
Okay?
Because there is a message behind that.
And we conclude with this inshallah.
He says, There are five conditions.
If you fulfill the conditions, the sin will
not harm you.
Go do whatever you want.
He said, What's the first one?
The first one, when you went to disobey
Allah, do not eat from his provision.
The moment shaitan puts this maasi and the
sin in your mind, don't eat from the
provision of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Don't eat from the rizq of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
The man said, From where then I will
eat?
It's everything from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
That means I'm not going to eat.
He said, Aren't you ashamed that you ate
from the provision, the rizq of Allah, and
you disobey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?
That's the first condition.
So, do not eat from the provision of
Allah.
The second condition, when you went to disobey
Allah, do not reside in any of his
land.
Do not reside in any of his land.
Don't live in Dallas, don't live in Houston,
don't live in New York, don't live anywhere
in his land.
Find somewhere else where you can disobey Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
He said, How come?
How can we do that?
Everything, the whole universe, belongs to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
And then he said, Is that right for
you now, to eat from his provision, and
resign in his land, and then disobey him?
Does that make sense?
Is that right?
And then he said the third condition, when
you went to disobey Allah, while eating from
his provision, and residing in his land, find
a place where he cannot see you.
Go hide somewhere, in your closet, in your
house, you know, anywhere, where Allah cannot see
you.
And then commit the sin.
He said, How come?
How can I do that?
Allah can see me everywhere.
Then he says, If you know that Allah
can see you, then how dare you?
To disobey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and
commit the sin.
Number four, he says, When the angel of
death comes to take your soul, say to
him, delay me for a while, until I
repent.
When the angel of death, and this, young
people, death does not discriminate.
In the beginning of the khutbah, I spoke
about hope, but there's always a limit.
There is a limit to everything.
If you think that, oh, the sheikh said,
you can make masiyah, and then repent.
Commit masiyah, and sin, and re-repent.
Over and over and over again, and Allah
will reset.
But what if, the angel of death comes
to any of us, while we are committing
the masiyah, the sin.
What are we going to do about it?
It happens so many times.
Right?
How many times you hear, I've heard stories,
about young people, dying in the bathroom, while
taking drugs.
Overdosing the bathroom.
Right?
Or watching something inappropriate.
Masiyah.
The angel of death, comes during that time.
Allahu Akbar.
How shameful this is.
Right?
Think about it.
So he says, if the angel of death,
when he comes to you, do not tell
him, delay me for a little bit.
He said, that's not going to happen.
Right?
Number five.
He said, when the angels of judgment, when
they want to take you, to Jahannam, Allah
protect us.
Don't go with them.
Don't go with them.
He said, this is not even possible.
He said, if you cannot do, any of
these things, then, why would you commit sins,
and this will be, Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
Brothers and sisters, there is always hope, in
the rahmah, of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Start fresh.
Come back to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, is ghafoor,
rahim.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to
forgive our sins, Ya Rabb al-alameen, and
to accept our good deeds, Ya Rabb al
-alameen.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to
protect our youth, to protect our young people.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to
shower all of us, in His mercy.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to
unite all of us, in Jannat al-Firdaws,
Ya Rabb al-alameen.
Allahumma ghafoor lana, wa rahamna, wa aafina, wa
aafu anna, wa akrimna, wa la tuhinna, Ya
Rabb al-alameen.
Allahumma ameen, wa aqeem al-salat.
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.
I bear witness that there is no god
but Allah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger
of Allah.
Come to prayer, come to success.
Prayer has been established, prayer has been established.
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.
There is no god but Allah.
The path of those on whom You have
bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked
Your anger, nor of those who have gone
astray.
Allah does not burden a soul except in
its capacity.
It has what it has earned, and upon
it is what it has earned.
Our Lord, do not take us in if
we have forgotten or made a mistake.
Our Lord, and do not burden upon us
a burden as You have burdened upon those
before us.
Our Lord, and do not burden upon us
that which we have no power to bear.
And forgive us, and forgive us, and have
mercy on us.
You are our protector, so help us
against the disbelieving people.
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord
of the worlds.
The Beneficent, the Merciful.
Master of the Day of Judgment.
It is You we worship and You we
ask for help.
Guide us to the straight path.
The path of those on whom You have
bestowed favor, not of those who have incurred
Your wrath, nor of those who have gone
astray.
Ameen.
Ameen.
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.
Peace and mercy of Allah be upon you.
She is the aunt of Shamim and Omar
Ghaffar, passed away in India.
And we have sister Saida Parasha, she is
the mother-in-law of our beloved brother
Ghazwan Sheikh.
She passed away in Houston.
Let's make dua inshallah.
Ameen.
Allah is the
Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.
Peace and mercy of
Allah be upon you.