Sikander Hashmi – Spirit of Arafah KMA Friday Message
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AI: Transcript ©
Said,
The Hajj is Arabah to the point that
if a person is not able to do
or does not do the the
standing in Arabah
for even a moment on this day before,
then their Hajj is incomplete.
So for every judge,
for every person who is performing the pilgrimage
to be present in our path
on this day is a compulsory
element of their Hajj. Of course, there's other
elements and other parts as well, which will
be completed and which have been done also,
but this was the most critical.
Now for the first time in 3 years,
Gujaratians from around the world
were able to participate in the Hajj and
food arena.
Yet there were so many people who intended
to go for Hajj, but they were unable
to go
this year as well.
And there were so many
who likely intended
to go for Hajj in the year of
the pandemic.
But instead,
their time came
to return to Allah
and he said,
may Allah
grant them all the reward of their good
intentions. May Allah
grant them all the reward of Hajj Marroor
as prophets as the prophet
has
told us
paradise. May Allah
grant them Jannah, Ameen, Al Qadarqimin.
As we speak, my brothers and sisters,
the pilgrims
are headed
to Muslalifa and then are spend the night
there and return to midnight in the morning.
They are in a tired
and justy state. It was 44 degrees Celsius.
They're not outside today.
It's hot.
Rain,
very minimal boats.
And most the men have basically 2 sheets
of cloth with their towels.
So they're they're tired, they're dusty,
and Allah
actually
looks at them in this state. The prophet
told us that Allah almighty boasts to his
angels. What does
Allah do?
On
the afternoon of Arafat and says on the
day of Arafat and says, look at my
servants.
Look at my servants coming to me, disassembled
and dusty.
So this state in which everyone has forgotten
where they have come from. They have forgotten
what they normally wear. They have forgotten
any type of,
divisions or differences
based on ethnicity or based on socioeconomic
status or anything else.
And they have come to Allah
in this state
of
equality and in this state
of not being, you know, essentially forgetting themselves
to turn to Allah
Allah
loves this action, and he goes to his
angels
about the Pujaj who are in this state.
Because remember, the angels
have no choice but to worship and glorify
Allah But these human beings,
Allah
gave them the free will and they had
the desire and they made the choice and
the effort. Although, of course, Allah facilitated it.
So Allah
finds this as something
which is pleasing to him, that he boast
about these people to the angels.
So, visibly, he may not be in good
shape,
but
spiritually, insha'Allah,
it will have been purified and forgiven
and granted protection from the fire because the
prophet
told us that
There is no day upon which Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala frees more of his servants
from the hellfire
than the day of Arafat.
He draws near and then he boasts of
them to the angels
saying, what do these servants want? What do
these servants, these slaves of mine, what do
they want from me? So Allah
of
course, he knows what they want, but
he makes the angels, you know, recognize and
realize because remember in the beginning when the
human being was created,
they were a little bit unsure about how
this human being is going to turn out
to be. So Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
you know, once again, boast about these these
people to the angels and as the prophet
said, there's no day on
which the Allah frees more of his servants
from the hellfire than the day of Allah
sent us this protection as well.
Brothers and sisters, so many of them must
have come
with so many good folks.
And they must have made so many. Of
course, if you're able to watch the live
stream, you could see the people understanding,
sitting all day, making dua from Allah
So you can imagine
what hopes and aspirations
and duas and feelings and love for Allah
that
people have and how they have made,
especially, you know, when I look at the
elders, the seniors,
the elderly who have come from around the
world,
you know, people from small villages.
Some of them who have dreamt all their
lives
to visit Matha and to perform the Hajj.
Some of them who have been saving for
all of their lives
to come and perform the Hajj.
I still remember, you know, some sites when
you're making the on the Kaaba
and, you know, there is,
a a like, there's a group of, obviously,
a large group of people. But then in
the middle, you see there's, like, a little
circle
that no one no one is really there.
So it's like a little area. Everyone's walking,
but there's a little area that you don't
see anymore.
So, you get close. And in one instance,
it was
a very, very, very elderly gentleman
who was essentially
in a rapport perpetually.
Like, his man was was
was was was so,
you know, was
such in such a position that he's constantly
as if he was making.
He was not able to lift his head
hard
with the canes,
and he's walking in his room to go
off. Then one time, I saw, again, an
area. There's no one there. And there was
someone who was on the ground with no
legs.
Oh, no legs.
Just 2 stumps
doing the.
So these people, my brothers and sisters,
and so many of them have been making
dua to witness this moment
and sacrificing and saving and crying for that
moment. So imagine what kind of dua they
must have made today.
Imagine what the level of must have been
today. We have instances every year. A brother
from,
from the UK, actually,
53 year old, electrical engineer, living in England
for almost 25 years.
He had a dream last year that he
was walking for Hajj from England.
He saw a dream last year, last August,
that he was walking for Hajj,
and he set off,
unquote. And he actually walked from the UK
and reached
and performed a Hajj.
Another man
from South Africa,
he set out for on what? 3 years
ago.
3 years he walked
from South Africa and he made it to
Makkah as well to the holy lands to
perform Hajj.
And Allah accept from them, of all the
people.
Obviously, my brothers and sisters, we were not
chosen to perform the Hajj this year.
And perhaps we feel we are it's true
we are physically distant, you know, 10,000 kilometers
or whatever it is from the Mas'id man.
But by the mercy of Allah
we are still able to journey towards Allah
on this day. And we have
been the offer given the opportunity to not
be deprived of the spirit of a heart.
Right? And this is the beauty of our
deen of the deen of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
That, yes, there is value in virtue in
certain lands and being there at certain times.
Yet,
this deen is just about physical proximity.
But rather rather to be spiritually close to
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
you can do actions and you can develop
feelings
and you can strive and sacrifice regardless of
where you are in this world.
When someone passes away, a loved one passes
away, especially in distant land, people were not
able to travel,
especially because of COVID where they're not able
to travel. Yes. It can be very difficult
that you're not able to join the jahazah
of your loved one. You're not able to
see them from last night. But remember that
your duas
and your good deeds, your
for them is
not contingent upon you being physically close. Yes.
It's helpful. We like to be close. We
want to be close for our love for
us. I understand that too. But that is
not it. And actually the most important part
which can actually benefit them can be done
from anywhere in the world. So this is
one of the beauties
of our deen, and we thank for this.
So my dear brothers and sisters, this day
is special for a number of reasons. Of
course, we talked about the Hajj and that
is the most important of all. But it
is also the day Allah
perfected this religion. And the favor of Allah
was completed
upon this. Again, Sahih Hayd was reported from
Muhammad
that a Jewish man said to him,
there is an ayah in your book in
in the Quran which you recite. And if
it had come to us, meaning the Jewish
people, we have we would have taken that
day as a Eid, as a festival, as
a day of celebration.
So I say,
now asked him, which ayat is this? And
he replied,
I am the Allah
says that this day,
I perfected your religion for you, completed my
favor upon you, and have chosen for you
Islam
as your religion.
This is Allah
has mentioned this in the Quran very, very
clearly, so there should no
misunderstandings. There should be no confusion
about which deen is the deen of Allah
There should be no confusion about which deen
is the deen that is going to lead
to success and is going to lead to
jannah. That is only one religion and one
deen, and that is the deen of Islam.
Whoever takes another deen, another path other than
Islam will never be accepted.
So this is something that should be very
clear in our hearts, in our minds that
this is the true religion. It is not
a new religion. It is that a religion
of Sayna Adam alayhi salam, the original religion
of Allah
the religion of Sayna Ibrahim alayhi salam,
the one religion of
Allah
So say, no,
said, when you know on which day and
in which place that was revealed for the
prophet
It was when he was standing in Arafat
on a Friday, like today. So this is
when this verse was revealed,
and we must realize and appreciate the fact
that the religion of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
is a perfect religion.
The imperfection we find in Muslims is because
of our own weaknesses
and because of our own misdeeds,
not because of any,
any fault in the deen of Allah
The deen of Allah is the deen of
fitrah. It is a design for our natural
disposition.
It has been given as a way of
life from our designer and our creator, and
the person
can only be truly successful
if they follow this way and the need
of
Allah If they do not follow that, they
may seem
like they have success, but in reality,
any other way is never going to be
the true success. May Allah
always guide us and protect us. I mean,
my brothers and sisters, it is a day
that
Allah gives them oath by and he calls
it a day that is witnessed
in.
That the witness day is the day of
Arafa. The Rashul is Arafa and the witness
is Friday. Meaning, these days are witnessed by
Allah and the angels in particular, and they
carry special significance.
Related that the messenger of Allah
was asked about fasting on this day of
and he said,
as we read in the hadith meeting last
night, it expedites for the sins
of the previous year and of the coming
year.
May
Allah grant us that for those of us
who are able to fast and those who
are not able to fast, may Allah
still grant them this reward. I mean, the
fasting on this day is must have had.
It is recommended. It is advisable. It is
commendable. It is rewarding for those who are
not in Hajj and the one who are
the people who are in Hajj, they are
not to fast. It is not from the
sunnah for them to fast on the day
of Arafa because the prophet
did not pass on this day while he
was in Arafa. And,
nonetheless, it is not a requirement.
It is not it's not it is something
which is commendable and recommended. So if you're
able to do so, and
if you wanted to and you were not
able to do so, and it will
also grant you the reward for your
intentions. Abdullah
related that the prophet
said
that
that the best of Dua is Dua on
the day of
And the best that I and the prophets
before me said
is that there is no god but Allah
alone with no partner or
associate and his is the dominion to him
be the praise to him be praised and
he has power over all things. So my
brothers and sisters, this is the day of
making dua even though we are not in
Arafat. Of course, for those who are there,
they spend their time doing remembering Allah and
making lots of dua. But for us as
well and the scholars have, you know,
have discussed this, but nonetheless, there is virtue
in
making
even though we are not in even
though we are not able to be there,
we want to try to feel
and wish that we were there and we
try to do as many actions as we
can that are pleasing to Allah
and that can indicate to us to him
our desire and our feelings
of what we actually wish that we were
there and that our God be accepted as
well.
My brothers and sisters, Friday is the best
day of the year.
Sorry, the best day of the week, and
we have this
special day of the year as well. So
there is double virtue,
especially, you know, during this time
of and especially between and especially
sunset. So all of those, you know, those
special times are coming together on this day,
which makes this day even extra special.
Tonight, we'll be this evening, we'll be having
a special
gathering virtually and in person as well
online and in person,
was going over a special
going over the guidelines of the and also,
you sharing some, some,
details about the prayer, the sun as a
beat, and how they're making dua as well.
So this will be happening 8 PM onwards.
We'll also have a
if you'd like to bring a dish, for
your for yourself, for your family, and to
share, 8 ish. You don't have to bring
the whole meal just to be clear.
To share the 10 others or a few
other people in shalom. Please do join us.
Some of the sisters, let us speak the
package of this blessed and
grant acceptance of our and accept our sacrifice.
So we'll make someone else. So I'll just
do the announcement right now. So a prayer
will be tomorrow at Walter River Park.
At 9 AM and the prayer at 9:30
AM.
This is the part which is Canary Complex,
where the Tawag Hill is in the winter
time. I'm sure a lot of kids went
there to slide.
Essentially, Terry Fox from here, south past the
highway, past Costco, and then it's gonna be
on your right side. So So here, inshallah,
it will be in the park just adjacent
to the.
Inshallah. Everyone is welcome. Please bring your prayer
mats, bring your chairs, and bring your.
Secondly, we also have,
arrangements this year
to collect,
the to give to those who need.
So the freezer's in the kitchen. Right? Yes.
Yes.
You have a freezer in the kitchen.
So when you have your meat, the equipment
bag is 1 kilo, 2 kilos.
Mark them as to what it is. There
are those markers and supers there, and leave
them in the freezer, and that will distribute
it to the family of your meat. And
lastly,
due to the Internet outage, our vending machines,
are not working at this time.
So if you want to intend to give
anything, either you can get cash or you
can make the.