Sikander Hashmi – The Currency of the Hereafter KMA Friday Message
AI: Summary ©
The state of the heart is the driving force behind the currency of the future, and actions such as fasting and learning forgiveness are essential for achieving goals. The importance of hope and fear is emphasized, and good deeds are addressed through rewarding oneself and building feelings and emotions towards Allah Subhanahu Wa ta'ala. preparation for the upcoming month of anniversary is emphasized, and the importance of learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning about the importance of learning and learning
AI: Summary ©
Respected elders, dear brothers and sisters, my young
friends,
Yesterday
we were
at the cemetery
and being in the graveyard
is a reminder
of the inevitable reality.
The prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam was actually encouraged
it.
So visit
the graves,
the graveyard
because it reminds you of death,
reminds you of the inevitable
reality. As Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us,
Every
single soul
every soul
must, will taste death.
It is the reality my brothers and sisters
whose whose most valuable currency
or only currency
as iman
and arma alusali.
Faith and good deeds. As Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala tells us,
That indeed the human being
is in laws.
Accept those who believe
and do good deeds.
And the strength of that currency my brothers
and sisters
is in 3 things.
Number 1, the state of your heart.
Number 1, the state of your heart, the
condition of your heart.
Number 2,
your intentions.
And number 3,
the perfection
of your actions.
The strength of the currency of the hereafter
is
in the state of your heart,
your intentions,
and the perfection of your actions.
In this dunya my brothers and sisters,
what do people value? Power, armies,
arms, weapons,
wealth,
fame,
looks,
good reputation,
public relations.
But once a person enters their grave,
once a person enters their grave,
nothing else holds any value except
their faith
and their good deeds.
Those are the only two things that matter.
And when we look at the cemeteries,
there's no differentiation
between
who was who, who came from where,
and had what and how much and how
they looked.
Especially in the Islamic tradition, there's no differentiation.
When you go to cemetery, they're all the
same.
Sometimes some families they put plaques but even
those are on the ground, they're flat. You
can't tell from a distance until you actually
walk up to it.
So none of these things
hold any value whatsoever in front of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Or even before getting to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala in the grave.
It's only and only the currency of iman
and good deeds.
And the special season for earning this currency
is coming very soon.
Because today,
today is the 13th day of Sha'aban.
Sunday will be 15th.
And before you know it, the month of
Ramadan will be here Insha'Allah.
This month of Sha'aban is special
because it's the month to train for
the blessed month.
It is the month which most people neglect
as the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam told us.
It is also the month
that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam used to
fast
a lot or the most you could say.
Because he said that the actions,
the deeds are presented to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala in this month and I like to
be fasting and be in a state of
fasting
when my deeds are presented.
So this is a month
not to sit back and relax and think
that, Oh, Ramadan is 2 weeks away so
let us just take it easy. But rather,
this is the month to train and to
prepare
to ensure that we embrace every single moment
of the month of Ramadan,
to prepare spiritually and mentally.
And if we don't prepare now and it's
already a bit late by the way to
be honest when it comes to preparation for
Ramadan.
But if we don't even prepare
at this point,
then we will certainly miss out something from
the month of Ramadan.
We don't wanna miss out on any opportunity
to get more wealth in this dunya, in
this world.
Then why lag behind for the hereafter
when it comes to the true and the
real currency that's actually going to make a
difference?
See Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us to
rush, to race,
to work forgiveness and Jannah.
So Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
encourages us
to rush, to race
towards forgiveness, towards
Jannah.
What does that tell us? There's action involved.
There are actions involved
in gaining them forgiveness of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala. There are actions involved in making it
to Jannah.
You can't just sit back and relax,
have wishful thinking
that Jannah will be ours, will be yours.
There's action that's involved.
It's gotta be movement. There's gotta be harakah.
There's got to be some effort
that's put into achieving and attaining these things
through the mercy of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Now on the day of judgment my brothers
and sisters,
that is when we will realize
the true value of every single deed.
The true value of every single deed
will be truly realized
on the day of judgment.
Because, you know, every single deed,
every single good deed
is valuable.
Abu Zar radiAllahu anhu relates
from the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam that he
said to him,
Do not belittle any good deed.
Do not
belittle any good deed even meeting your brother
with a cheerful face.
Because subhanAllah,
we don't know
which
action
maybe the one
that makes it for us.
It could even be
a smiling cheerful face.
The prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam tells us do
not belittle any good deed. Don't look down
upon any good deed. Think that it's not
valuable or it's not worth much.
Surah Al Zalzal Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gives
us good news.
Right? Many of us probably have recited this
ayah many times
in salah.
So whoever does an atoms weight of good
will see it.
Whoever does even an atoms weight of good.
You tell me how much is the weight
of an atom,
of a speck, even smaller than a speck.
What's the weight?
Nothing. It's negligible.
But Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells us, so,
But
Allah
tells
us, That whoever does an atom's weight of
good
will see it. But right after that, he
also warns us.
And whoever does an atom's weight of evil
will see it.
You will see it.
So Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gives us good
news first but then there's also a warning.
If you've done good deeds, whatever they may
be, no matter how small they may seem,
know
that they will be recognized insha'Allah.
You will be rewarded for it insha'Allah. It
will be there in your book of deeds
but it's scary as well
because no matter how small of an evil
deed, sin you may have committed,
it is also going to be there in
your book of deeds.
It will also be visible. It's not gonna
go away simply because it was small.
And this one thought that keeps getting me
is what if on the day of judgment
you just one good deed short
or have one sin too many.
Right? Because it's a test. Right? And you
don't know the results
of the test until it's over.
Right? When you get your exam papers back,
you get your grade. Right? That's when you
find out how you actually did.
Right? So the results of this exam are
going to be given to us on the
day of judgment. That's when we'll find out.
What if I'm short just by one deed?
What if it's that one fast?
Or those few extra rakas
of prayer?
Or maybe a few extra moments of dua
and dhikr?
Or maybe that extra dollar, that loony, that
toony in charity
that makes the difference.
That smile,
that nice word,
that care,
that service to your loved ones,
to your neighbor,
any good deed because we don't look down
upon any good deed.
So what if it's that one deed that
I could have done
but I didn't? Maybe because I was too
lazy, maybe because, you know, I didn't feel
like it, or because I didn't think it
was important.
What if it's that one deed that ends
up making the difference
and I find myself short? And subhanAllah,
these verses, Surah Al Zanzar, they establish
the
perfect balance of hope and fear.
As Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us or
rather says to the prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam
to tell us,
Inform my servants, O Prophet,
that I am truly the all forgiving most
merciful.
So when you read that, you're like alhamdulillah
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Arghafooru Raheem.
I feel good. Get so much
hope. But right after that,
and that my torment is indeed the most
painful.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us. May
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us the recipients
of His mercy and His forgiveness.
You see this was the condition
of Sayyidina Umar bin Khattab radiAllahu an
who said
that
That if a caller from heaven announced
that all people would enter paradise,
all people would enter Jannah
together
except for 1 man, except for 1 person,
I would fear. Who's saying this? Sayyidu Amar
Abu Khattab radiAllahu anhu. I would fear
that I am him. If there's only one
person who would be deprived of Jannah
out of all people,
I would be afraid
that I would be him.
On the other hand,
if a caller announced
that all people would enter hellfire
except for 1 man,
I would hope that I am him.
So this is the balance between
hope and fear and this is the condition
that we want to strive for.
When we come across the verses of the
Quran, the words of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
that talk about forgiveness, that talk about his
mercy,
then we feel hope.
When we come across verses that talk about
his punishment,
the severity of his punishment,
then we are afraid
that we may end
up as recipients of those.
As we approach the month of Ramadan, my
brothers and sisters,
let us try to cultivate these feelings
so that we are ready
to embrace every moment
of the month to maximize
benefits
and gains.
As we discussed last week when we were
talking about the love for Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala,
if we build these feelings and emotions towards
Allah
and the things that are valuable to Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ascribes value to,
then doing
the things becomes much easier.
Why? Because now the heart is into it.
Why?
Because the heart is into it. You're doing
it with your heart. You're doing it not
because you have to
but because you want to. You want the
closest of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You want
the special love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
You want the virtues and the blessings associated
with it. You want the rewards. You want
jannah. You want mafira. You want these things.
And when your heart is in that condition
then it propels you.
It pushes you to do it. Right? Because
you want to do it.
Right? You want to be protected from the
punishment of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You don't
wanna end up in the wrong category.
Right? You wanna make sure that you have
taken every opportunity to maximize your good deeds
because you know that this is real
and this is gonna have a real impact
on you once you're gone from this zinnia.
And so if you build these conditions in
our heart, then everything else that we're supposed
to do and that we have to do,
it becomes easier for us. But if you
don't have these conditions in our heart,
if you don't have these conditions in our
heart, we don't have this understanding,
then it becomes so tedious and so difficult.
And it's not to say you could still
be struggling
even with the right condition in the heart.
You could still potentially.
But then there's it's meaningful.
There's purpose behind it. You know why you're
doing it. You know what it holds.
The value that it holds.
Right? So this is how we want to
prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming of the
month of Ramadan. So a few tips inshaAllah
as we wrap up to prepare for the
special guest which is Ramadan.
Is number 1 to get mentally prepared.
Right? It could be as simple as looking
at the timings for fasting,
looking at the timings for prayer,
planning your schedule,
planning your vacation from
work. Right? Looking at your schedule for classes
if you're a student.
Right? And just just taking it in and
just figuring out, okay, how how is my
day gonna look like in Ramadan?
You know, how can I tweak things
so that I can maximize the time and
the benefit?
Secondly, my brothers and sisters,
it's taken content related to Ramadan.
This is my personal favorite,
is to read the hadith of the prophet
salallahu alaihi wasallam that relate to Ramadan.
Because if you want to get the true
spirit, the true essence of an act or
of a time and how it's supposed to
be celebrated, how it's supposed to be done,
you look at the sunnah of the prophet
salallahu alaihi wasallam.
Right? There's the best example.
Right? So taking in those ahadith,
right? The verses of the Quran that talk
about fasting about Ramadan. Right? The tafsir, the
commentary, the lectures surrounding these topics,
readings,
Right? To get inspired so you get in
the in the zone.
Right? Number 3,
getting spiritually prepared.
And that means
to start phasing out
junk consumption.
Start phasing out
Junk consumption.
What is junk consumption?
It's those talk shows that you like watching
to and listening to.
It's those TV shows, those serials, those dramas.
It's that Netflix
series that you're addicted to.
Right? It's that podcast that you always look
forward to and can't live without.
Right? All this content, the addiction to the
phones,
to scrolling.
Right? Whether it's Instagram or whether you're on
Snapchat or Facebook or even Whatsapp, right? Whatever
it
is, phasing all of that junk consumption
out and replacing it with recitation of Quran,
with listening to Quran,
with reflection upon Quran,
content that boosts our iman.
Iman
boosting
content.
Fourthly, fasting if you can, if you're able
to. If you're not able to, that's fine.
But if you're able to and it's not
obligatory, but today is 13th, the the white
days, the 3 white days of the lunar
month, 13, 14, 15th, 13th is already done.
They can't fast now. But 14th is tomorrow,
15th is on Sunday. Right? So trying to
get used to fasting especially in the month
of building
a habit for waking early.
Offering qiyam if you're not in the habit,
the hajjr prayer if you're not in the
habit of doing so already, waking up a
little bit earlier before Fajr Adhan. Because you're
gonna have to wake up for suhoor anyway
Insha'Allah.
Purifying yourself from haram wealth and haram consumption
and haram clothing
which are all barriers potentially to the acceptance
of dua.
Imagine the misfortune of a person who makes
dua in the month of Ramadan but their
food is haram, their clothing is haram, their
earning is haram as the hadith of the
Prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam tells us of that
traveler.
How could the dua be accepted? Right? And
that becomes a barrier for us. Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala to purify us.
Right? Fix your relationships.
Right? Clean your heart towards others because this
also can be a barrier to the forgiveness
of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. We ask Allah azzawajal
to bless us in this month of Sha'aban
to to help allow us to prepare
in every way possible for the coming of
the blessed month. Ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
to grant us the opportunity to live Ramadan
again. Nobody plans not to have another Ramadan.
Nobody plans
to not have another Ramadan. So every Ramadan
that comes, take it as overtime. Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala has given you an extra opportunity,
another period of overtime.
Right? Take full advantage of it because you
don't know when it's gonna go away and
you don't know if another one's gonna come.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless us always.
We'll kick it we'll take a quick break
and we'll continue.