Sulayman Van Ael – The Divine Names 13
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
Because we will never be able to describe
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in a way
which is due to him.
And this is the highest level of comprehension
is that one does not comprehend.
That one does not grasp.
And this is why the Messenger of Muhammad
ﷺ very clearly stated لَا أُحْسِ ثَنَاءً عَلَيْكَ
أَنْتَ كَمَا أَثْنَيْتَ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ I do not
encompass praising you.
You are as you praise yourself.
That's it.
So, the Prophet ﷺ guided us to the
highest level of understanding the names of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So, this is also something which Imam al
-Ghazali ﷺ is referring to.
So, now as you have the paper in
front of you.
So, Imam al-Ghazali's book.
So, today's class, we are going to read
my summary of Imam al-Ghazali's introduction to
his book about God's names.
I will do this by reading the text
and provide the students with information and answer
their questions.
And the goal is to understand why Imam
al-Ghazali wrote the book and inspire the
students by reminding them of the elevated state
of this science.
So, this is what we are doing now.
So, Imam al-Ghazali, as I mentioned, said
that we fall short in this knowledge.
Meaning that we will never be able to
encompass Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And this is why some of the scholars
said that the name al-mu'min, which is
very often translated as the protector.
Saying that it would be from al-aman
and al-aman.
But al-mu'min is also the believer.
Meaning, al-mu'min is the only one who
encompasses belief in himself.
This is one of the meanings of al
-mu'min.
So, we believe in everything we have been
taught.
In every name that we have been taught.
In every attribute that we have been taught.
But we do not know the realities of
this.
And we neither know everything else.
Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala didn't tell
us everything about himself.
Because he is limitless.
He is above time and place.
He is elevated, jalla wa ala, subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
So, al-mu'min is the only one.
Like the Messenger of Allah, understood, I am
not able to praise him 100%.
Why?
Because my praise is limited to what I
know of him.
And only Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is
able to praise himself.
And this is why when Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala will remove the earth and the
heavens and everything which lives in them and
on the earth and under the earth and
in the oceans.
When everything will disappear, Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala will then say, To whom belongs dominion
and kingdom today?
And as there is nobody to answer the
question, he will answer the question and say,
To Allah, the one, the one that is
in control of everything.
You see?
So, we can't encompass Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
And this is why the angels that carry
the Arsh, the angels that carry the Arsh,
the throne of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And the Messenger of Allah said that the
throne rests on their head and their feet
are encrusted in the soil of the earth.
And a bird can fly between their ear
lobe and their neck.
Just this part here, only this where I
can put my finger here.
A bird can fly between the ear lobe
and the neck for 700 years.
Meaning that they are immense.
And they carry the throne and they say
subhanaka, subhanak.
You are free of all shortcomings, you are
free of all shortcomings.
Because, you know, when you can say 10
,000 good things about someone, you even feel
this.
Like when you ask someone, what do you
think about me?
What do you think of me?
And you are expecting like a very long
list of good traits.
You are patient, you are generous, you are
courageous, you are this, you are...
And the only thing that this person says
like, I like the way you walk.
You will feel like it's an insult.
Like he praised you, but nevertheless you experience
it to be an insult.
Why?
Because this person fell short in praising you.
And he mentioned one thing while he should
have mentioned 10 things.
You see?
And this is why these angels say subhanaka,
and you are free of all shortcomings.
And this is the highest form of praise.
Because even if we praise him, we fall
short because we didn't praise him in every
way that he deserves to be praised.
So this is a shortcoming.
So this is why subhanAllah is so powerful.
Subhanarabbika rabbil-izzati anna yasifoon.
Allah is elevated above everything that they ascribe
to Him.
SubhanAllah.
So anyway.
So this is why Imam Ghazali says human
powers fall short of attaining this goal.
This is how one of the sentences with
which he opens his book.
He says like, look guys, we...
He didn't say guys, of course.
He said, look guys, what you need to
know is whatever we are going to say
here, how strongly marveled you may be, this
is nothing compared to what I'm really and
truly talking about.
Okay?
We just mentioned the meaning of subhana and
the words of Imam Ghazali.
So, okay.
Now Imam Ghazali after clarifying that his book
is in no way coming close to giving
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's due when talking
about the divine names and attributes, he says,
two things deter a discerning person from plunging
into such a sea.
First of all, the matter itself represents a
lofty aspiration, difficult to attain and uncertain of
accomplishment.
For it is the highest summit and represents
the farthest of goals, such that minds are
bewildered by it and the sight of intellect
falls far short of its principles.
So, he says like, khalas.
So, whatever we are going to try to
do here, the first thing is, it's a
lofty aspiration.
Like, to start with, it's the world of
the unseen.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, from iman bil
ghayb, is believing in Allah jalla wa ala.
Because we don't see Allah.
We see things that remind us of the
existence of Allah.
We see things that remind us of His
power and generosity and love for beauty and
compassion and patience and strength and so much
more.
So, we are continuously connected to His actions,
which are a reflection of His names, not
of His being.
Which are a reflection of His names.
So, we connect to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala through the things we see and through
the things that happen in life.
And this is how He connects to His
creation.
Through the things He makes happen in our
lives.
And this is why, remember we said, you
will not come closer to Allah as long
as you don't like Him to reflect strong
names in your life.
Like taking away your rizq, like taking away
your child, taking away your honor, not giving
you what you like.
All this is also Allah, doing something.
So, when you just want Allah to tick
your boxes, like, I want you to be
generous, I want you to elevate me in
rank.
I want you to grant me health and
wealth and children and this and that.
But when He does the opposite of what
you want Him to do, then all of
a sudden you are no longer connected to
Allah.
And this is why we are veiled until
we are pleased with Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala manifesting all His names in our lives.
And there are 99 names that He or
more that He will manifest in our lives.
And when we disconnect what happens in life
from it being a manifestation of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala's names, then we will be
blind for our Creator and our Lord.
The best way to get to Allah is
through life.
And this is why Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala says in the Qur'an, وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ
وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُ Fear Allah, be conscious of Allah
and He will teach you.
Not through a Shaykh, not through a book,
not through the Qur'an, not through the
Sunnah.
He will teach you through life.
تَقُوا اللَّهُ Fear Allah and you will find
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala present in everything
which happens in your life.
Now, in presence, of course, not with His
essence and being.
So the first thing he said, the matter
itself represents a lofty aspiration, difficult to attain
and uncertain of accomplishment.
We will never be able to get to
the final destination when it comes down to
knowing Allah.
This we have to forget.
There is no such a thing, not even
in the hereafter.
Why?
Well, because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's beauty
is not limited.
His power is not limited.
His knowledge is not limited.
He is unlimited subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So, His beauty as well, and this is
why He created everlasting bodies in an everlasting
bliss, the Garden of Eden, where we will
be able to focus on getting to know
Him more.
That's what Paradise is about.
Everlasting bodies, being able to draw closer to
their Lord every single micro-mini-second of
their lives.
That's what Paradise is about.
And all the rest is just, you know,
distraction.
But a halal distraction.
In Paradise, like rivers of honey and milk
and so much more, and a palace of
gold and silver, well, like Ibn Ajeeba says,
this is the lowest level of ikhlas.
That you yearn for Paradise because you want
to be distracted, while other people want Jannah
to look at Allah.
This is their goal, you see?
So now he says, uncertain of accomplishment.
This is impossible.
For it is the highest summit and represents
the farthest of goals.
Like on paper, it's very easy.
Come on, let us look at the names
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Rahman, Rahim, Malika, subhanAllah, this and that.
But this is not what it's about.
It's not about your mind grasping something, it's
about your soul experiencing something.
Because connecting to Allah doesn't happen with the
mind.
That's knowledge.
That's not connecting.
And sometimes we don't seem to be able
to differentiate between knowing and connecting.
Like we are marveled of our intellectual efforts
and what we have learned today, with our
minds.
We say, oh subhanAllah, Allahu Akbar, oh yes,
oh beautiful, wow.
But no connection is established, you see?
So it is because the soul needs to
be trained to connect to Allah.
Exactly as the eyes are trained.
A child when it's born, it doesn't see
colors.
It just sees shadows and vaguely some shapes
when it's three months old, four months.
So its sight becomes stronger and stronger.
And this is the same with the soul.
Why should it be any different?
The soul can become stronger by getting connected
to Allah.
But this is in need of time.
Like for example, Layth now, subhanAllah, he's a
year and a couple of days old.
He still doesn't grow.
And he doesn't walk.
But he tries to talk.
So he mixes it all up.
I think he heard me talk too much.
So he's there delivering khutbas and khutab and
stuff.
But he doesn't walk, he doesn't crawl.
So anyway, you see that in everything we
do, we accept that we need training to
achieve a goal.
If you want biceps that no longer fit
into your shirt, you know that it's not
by watching a movie about bodybuilding and fitness.
It is by going to the gym.
Not in one day, not in two, not
in three.
But maybe in six months, after six months.
With the condition that you follow a diet.
That you sleep well.
That you eat well.
And so much more.
So just to train a muscle in the
world of the seen things, things that are
obvious and apparent, we need to train.
Ask Jiu Jitsu.
When does it become a part of your
brain?
When does your body do something without thinking?
In the beginning, when you learn something new,
isn't it a new movement?
You have to think about it.
After 7,000 hours, you don't think.
It's gone, it's finished.
So now the soul, when did we train
the soul?
So you say, why doesn't it happen?
Well, the same as...
And this is what classes are about.
Classes are like people watching videos about gym
and bodybuilding, expecting that they will go back
home with a six-pack, with triceps and
biceps, and shoulders like a bull.
That won't happen.
And this is why Ibn Ajeeba said, as
long as you keep on taking water from
someone else's well, you will always be out
of water.
You need to create your own well, and
then you will be a possessor of water,
and won't be in need of someone else's
water.
And this is what I always say, when
you sit in a class and you feel
something, yes, I'm not talking about my class,
in general, when we, us all, sit in
the classes of the Mashaikh and the Ulema,
then there are things going through our hearts
and through our souls, not just through our
minds.
We are inspired, we feel that we get
connected up to a certain degree, to Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala, to the Hirat and
so much more.
But this is in reality not our feeling.
This is a feeling which the teacher shares
with the students.
And you have a glimpse of that feeling,
but it's not yet yours.
Because the moment the teacher stops talking, or
the moment you close the book, it flies
away.
It wasn't yours.
You went into someone else's well.
So now we need to turn looking and
observing these videos of jinn, let us give
this example, right?
We need to turn watching these videos into
action, and doing, into copying.
This is what we need to do.
And then we will create a stronger soul.
So our soul needs to be trained exactly
as our bodies, as our sight.
This is the sunnah of Allah on the
face of the earth.
We were not born walking and talking and
joking.
That took years.
So that is why he says that we
are uncertain of the accomplishment.
Also why?
Because it's in Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala's
hands, figuratively speaking.
We can't force him to make himself known
to us.
Exactly as you can't force anybody in this
life, who has a certain status or degree,
a certain status within society, being a king
or a mayor or a president, you can't
just knock the door and say, I want
to get to know you.
Say, who are you?
There are certain conditions, prerequisites.
You need to, you know, three months in
advance, you need to write a letter, then
you need to wait.
But here we are saying, God, I want
to know you.
It's true, knowing God is easy because he
made it easy.
But there are conditions.
And one of these conditions is a pure
soul.
The purer the soul, the more that Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala will unveil you.
Not himself, Allah is not veiled.
What is big enough?
If you are veiled, that means that that
which is veiling you is bigger than you
are.
Or as big as you are.
He's not veiled.
The ones that are veiled are the people.
And we have many layers in front of
our eyes.
And you should, you know, even though that
a layer, a curtain, a transparent curtain, right?
You have one, you can see clearly, isn't
it?
You put a second one, you can still
see through it, but not as good.
If you put 100 of these transparent curtains,
one behind the other, will you still be
able to see something?
No.
But every time you take away one curtain,
it will become a bit more clear to
you.
The curtains that we need to remove are
the sins.
The sins of oppression, the sins of jealousy,
the sin of not lowering the gaze, the
sin of gossiping, the sin of lying, the
sin of breaking hearts, the sin of breaking
promises, the sin...
So every time that you now take away
a veil, all of a sudden, you start
to build a clear image for your soul.
You see?
So the veils are transparent, but there are
too many, you see?
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala removes these
veils in harmony with you strengthening your soul
until you are behind one veil.
That will never be lifted.
Okay.
Then he says, رحمه الله سبحانه وتعالى Allah!
How could human powers follow the way of
investigation and scrutiny regarding the divine attributes?
Can the eyes of bats tolerate the light
of the sun?
Can the eyes of bats tolerate the light
of the sun?
Subhanallah!
We can only get as close as we
are able to bear with our human bodies
and our limited powers.
You know, this is for example...
How much would this voltage be?
240?
240?
Huh?
220.
Let's say 220.
Okay, I take my electric toothbrush, which is
100 or something, and I plug it in.
What happens?
We can't say anything else but...
Yes.
We want to get plugged into the world
of the unseen.
And sometimes we plug in more, with a
voltage that we are not ready for.
And this is where spiritual burnouts happen.
This is where we see that we were
praying night prayers, gone.
We were saying every Fajr in the first
row, gone.
I will memorize Qur'an, gone.
Everything we start...
Why?
Because we didn't plug in the right connection.
And so we got disconnected, thinking that we
are connected.
There we are, but we are receiving spiritual
electroshocks.
We are about to die.
And this is in need of guidance.
This is in need of guidance.
And if we don't have this guidance, we
might be thinking that we are connected, but
in reality we are disconnected.
So we need to ready ourselves, to prepare
ourselves, to make that jump.
You see?
And this is where the problem arises of
too many people talking about religion.
I mean too many people without knowledge, talking
about religion on social media.
Everybody sharing knowledge.
And at the end you have an overdose.
You don't know what to do.
This one says do this, that one says
do that.
And at the end you do everything, but
this will lead to a spiritual burnout, and
you wake up doing nothing.
And in very brief, when we look at
the Messenger of Muhammad we see that he
gave a lot of advice to his companions.
But the majority of these pieces of advice
were individual pieces of advice.
Oh Messenger of God, tell me what should
I do?
He says be good to your parents.
Somebody else, pay on time.
Somebody else, he says hold on to the
dhikr of Allah.
Someone else, he says read the Qur'an.
Someone else.
So you see all of these things.
To someone he says fast three days a
month.
Someone else, he says do the psalm of
Dawood.
Somebody else.
So he was giving individual advice.
What do we do now?
After 1400 years, we have all this bank
of information in our online brain.
And we find all of these Ahadith.
And we look at them and we say,
oh I'm a bad Muslim.
Because I don't do this, I don't do
that.
So we start creating a certain feeling of
guilt in our hearts because we feel that
we are not living up to the Ahadith
of Rasulullah ﷺ.
But we were actually not meant to live
up to all these different pieces of advice.
We should first look at his general advice
and live up to that.
And individually, you look for a Shaykh.
A Shaykh in Fiqh or a Shaykh in
Tarbiyah or whatever who can guide you, who
can give you advice.
This has always been the case with the
Muslims.
You see?
So anyway, so as I said, one of
the reasons why we don't get there, why
we have a burnout, why we don't connect
to Allah ﷻ is because there is an
overdose.
There is too much of everything.
And where there is too much of everything,
there is too much of nothing.
They go together.
Okay.
So for one who does not know Rasulullah
ﷺ, he says, how could human powers follow
the way of investigation and scrutiny regarding the
divine attributes?
Can the eyes of bats tolerate the light
of the sun?
SubhanAllah, this is a beautiful one, isn't it?
He said, the second deterrent, declaring the essence
of truth of this matter, all but contradicts
whatever the collectivity has hitherto believed.
Do you know the word hitherto?
Hitherto.
Hitherto.
I wrote it down, but I didn't look
it up.
Hitherto.
Hitherto.
What does it mean?
Okay.
Yeah, because...
Okay, I'm sorry.
I'm not reading very clearly.
So now, weaning creatures from their habits and
familiar beliefs is difficult, and the threshold of
truth is too exalted to be broached by
all or to be sought after except by
lone individuals.
The nobler the thing sought after, the less
help there is.
So this last one is very...
He says, the nobler the thing sought after,
the less help there is.
SubhanAllah.
And what is the most noble thing?
Getting to know Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
To be quite frank, when you look around
yourself now, when you look around, who can
you name?
And I don't want you to name anybody
that inspires you just by living with them.
They say, this person is connected to Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
You wake up and you see someone fearing
Allah, in awe for Allah, loving Allah, yearning
to be with Allah, yearning for the prayer.
You know, as he said, the nobler the
thing sought after, the less help there is.
That's the Sunnah of Allah in the face
of the earth.
That's the same with climbing the Mount Everest.
The higher you go, the less participants there
will be.
Once you pass 5,000 meters, there they
go.
Some of them dying, some going back down,
some losing fingers, some crying, some depressed, some
traumatized, some want to commit suicide.
And the higher you go, the lesser they
are.
And this is when you want to reach
the climax of, the peak of the existing,
the seen world, the apparent world.
So what if you want to reach the
climax of the world of the unseen?
So this is why, if you don't find
them, you have the obligation to become them.
Don't forget this.
There always have to be people in this
community who through their actions, through their behavior,
remind others of Allah.
Their silence is stronger than their words.
This is it.
Their deeds do the talking.
Their reflection remind others of Allah.
When they talk, they speak good.
When they're silent, it's because being silent is
better than talking.
And this is an obligation.
They have to be exactly as there have
to be scholars in our community, teaching people,
as there have to be doctors and lawyers
and so much more.
There also have to be these kind of
people.
Because if we no longer have an example,
and we are people, we are being led
by example.
If we don't have examples, then we will
not try to imitate these examples.
And this is why Allah says in the
Quran, وَاتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ مَنْ أَنَا وَإِلَيْهِ And follow
the way of those who have submitted themselves
to Me.
So this is very important.
So if you do not find them, then
it is your struggle.
Your struggle to find them.
And to be an argument for the people,
not against the people.
For the people that are getting connected to
Allah at a very high level.
It's still possible, even in these difficult times,
where spirituality seems to have been killed by
the knife of ignorance.
So this is all the sword of ignorance.
Beheaded.
So now, Allah.
The nobler the thing sought after, the less
help there is.
And then Imam al-Ghazali says, For one
who does not know God, silence is inevitable.
While for one who God knows, silence is
imposed.
For one who knows God, his tongue is
dulled.
So he makes a difference.
If you don't know God, then silence is
inevitable.
What do you talk about if you don't
know Him?
What are you going to say?
And for one who knows God, silence is
imposed.
Why?
They say because if someone who is close
to Allah were to explain to the people
what it is to be close to Allah,
they wouldn't understand it.
So they keep their very secrets of being
close to Allah to themselves.
Because people wouldn't be ready for this.
And this is why Imam al-Ghazali in
his last book, he said, And I hide
my secrets from the eyes of people.
Because if I were to share them, they
would have said that killing me is halal.
Why?
Because they wouldn't understand.
Imam al-Ghazali says that when he was
in Palestine, that every day would be better
than the day before.
And he said, And every day I said,
One cannot go any higher than this.
And the next day I was proven wrong.
He said, Until I understood that wilaya can
go as high as there where prophethood starts,
meaning they don't mix.
But if prophethood starts here, being close to
Allah stops there.
So that's a long way.
That's a very long way.
And this is what Imam al-Ghazali said.
So people who are really connected to Allah
with their souls, they don't share their secrets.
Because people wouldn't understand.
And furthermore, because how are words created by
man strong enough to describe the connection made
in a world unknown to man?
It's impossible.
No word is strong enough.
No meaning is deep enough.
No sentence is vast enough to describe what
it is to be connected to the One.
That's impossible.
So they don't even try.
And that's why they remain silent.
This is what he said.
And for the one who knows God, silence
is imposed.
There's no way.
There's no way.
SubhanAllah.
Imam Ibn Ajeeba, may Allah have mercy on
him, was just describing these kind of people.
And then he goes on and he says,
the hearts of those who are near to
Allah, he says this in his Iqad al
-Himam.
فَقُلُوبُهُمْ فِي رَوْضَاتِ مَعْرِفَتِهِمْ يَحْبَهُونَ And their hearts
are wandering through the gardens of knowledge of
Him.
With their hearts and their souls, they dive
into the oceans.
Oceans unknown.
Lands unexplored.
Deserts unknown to man.
And they go so deep.
And he says, when they come back, they
come back and give you a flower.
A flower that they took from a beautiful
garden which is not seen to the eye.
They come back with pearls.
And there they are.
They say, where did they get these pearls
from?
Where did they get these spiritual flowers from?
And then you know that they were somewhere
else.
That even though their bodies were here, but
with their souls they were connected.
So they share what nobody else can share.
They inspire what nobody else can inspire you
with.
Why?
Because they took it from another place.
Okay?
So this is what Imam al-Ghazali, Rahim
Allah Azza wa Jal, is referring to.
SubhanAllah.
Allah.
Yes.
In sum, are you saying that we should
all strive for wilayah?
Well, there's a difference between striving to become
an example or striving to become a wali.
As Imam Abu al-Hassan, Rahim Allah Azza
wa Jal, said, wilayah will not be given
to someone who is eager for wilayah.
Meaning, for the sake of wilayah.
You want wilayah, when you think that wilayah
is being close to Allah, being His friend,
being, you know.
But wilayah, just for the name of wilayah,
no, that would be wrong.
So you don't want wilayah, you want to
be close to Allah, and this is what
wilayah.
Is that clear?
Yeah.
So, and at the end, as an argument,
they give, وَاسْطَنَعْتُكَ لِنَفْسِي Like Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala says to Musa alayhi salam, And
I have chosen you and made you and
formed you for me.
You cannot impose yourself.
Like, I'm going to become a wali?
No, no, you beg.
You see, that's a very big difference.
And one says, Subhanallah, I remember at the
very beginning when I was a Muslim, that's
24 years ago, subhanallah, and I was sitting
with a friend and he was smoking his
cigarette.
He was a Muslim.
And so, subhanallah, and he was looking at
me and I said, Yeah, we really have
to get close to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
We need to, you know, to connect to
God.
He said, hold your horses for Iman.
I said, why should I?
It's, you know, and he said, Don't you
know that you are talking about something very
big?
And subhanallah, this man wasn't practicing.
I don't believe in such a thing as
a practicing and not practicing.
But anyway, it was just five prayer nine
to five Muslim, but with a very good
heart.
And nine to five Muslim, I don't mean
that he wasn't Muslim after five.
I mean, he would work nine to five,
not be a Muslim nine to five.
And so he would just go to his
job, have his home, his garden, and that
was it.
So while he was smoking a cigarette and
I said, Don't you want to, you know,
join me?
He said, No.
I said, Astaghfirullah, why?
He said, When you open this door, there
is no way back.
He said, Because once you get in to
that valley, where you are looking for nearness,
either you lose yourself, either you're devoured by
Satan, or either you get to Allah.
But back, no.
Because when you make this promise to yourself,
and you showed or claimed, and Allah says,
If they would have been true into that
which they told Allah and promised Allah, it
would have been better for them.
But once you say, Ya Rabbi, I want
to get close to you, and you go
through that door, there's no way back.
He won't accept.
And if you want to go back, you
will be punished.
You will be punished.
And that's when you see, Okay, I'm going
to do a bit less.
All of a sudden, Barakah goes away, the
blessings go away, problems.
And then you go back.
You will also find problems, but problems that
make you, not problems that break you.
That's the difference between problems that are from
God, Allah Jalla wa Ala, and problems that
are due to your sins.
Problems that are the result of your sins
break you.
And problems that are given by God to
form you, make you.
That's it.
That's the scale on which we weigh whether
it is a test out of love or
a test to teach you or to remind
you.
Okay?
So now, you said, Don't do this.
There is no way back.
And subhanAllah, yes indeed, there is no way
back.
There is really no way back.
Because when you say that you want Allah
Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, then Allah doesn't want
you to want anything else.
And if He sees that you want something
else, He will take it away from you.
You want honor, He dishonors you through people.
Not because He hates you, but you said
you wanted Him.
Well, you don't find Him behind honor.
You find Him behind holding on to Him
and holding on to your belief that He
is sufficient for you when all the world,
including your loved ones, dishonor you.
True.
You don't always find Him behind wealth, but
in your strength, in your belief that He
is Abazaq, the Provider, when you lose everything.
You see?
So He will take away everything you love
and like.
You know?
And these are the little things that disturb
us.
You know, you might tell your husband or
your wife 50 times the same thing.
They keep on doing it.
Why?
Until you accept it with your heart.
I'm not talking about haram.
Haram, you should never accept haram.
But there are things that keep on disturbing
you.
Well, they are.
Don't look at the hand that moves.
Look at the power that makes the hand
move.
And grasp this.
Yes?
We should be always aiming or hoping to
start.
We shouldn't be like Him.
We should be aiming to enter that circle
of awe.
Yes.
With no turning back.
Yes.
We should.
We should.
If you...
Look, Allah made it very clear.
There are Ashab al-Yameen and there are
the Muqarrabin.
People that are on the right hand side
and people that are close to Allah.
Who do you want to be?
In everything we aim for higher.
If I have a car of 2009 now,
I won't be thinking about having a car
of 2007.
I will be thinking of a car of
2010, 2011.
And if I have this car, I want
another one.
A bigger one.
A faster one.
You see?
If you are living in a small apartment,
you're not thinking about going to a smaller
one.
You're thinking about going to a bigger one.
Why would this be different with an eternal
life?
So we should aim as high as we
can.
But at the same time, we should expect
it to become more difficult as we get
closer to Allah SWT.
That's it.
And at the end, like Imam al-Ghazali
mentioned, in his book Hajj al-Abideen, which
is a book I would like to teach
one day in the mosque as well.
We read it really from cover to cover
and we explain it inshallah.
When I say we, I mean us, not
we and me.
And then we explain it.
He says, until everything in the life of
the servant is disturbed, and he finds himself
alone in the midst of a crowd.
He's alone.
He feels lonely.
Nobody seems to understand him.
Nobody seems to connect to him.
Nobody seems to have the same desire.
Nobody seems to be inspired by the same
thing, motivated by the same one.
So he feels lonely even though he's in
the midst of his own family.
He says, until he finds himself or he
finds his heart got rid of everything apart
from Allah.
He says, so the only thing that remains
now in his heart is the yearning to
leave to meet his creator.
He says, and this is the state of
his heart until he dies.
In the desert of love.
This is how Imam al-Ghazali describes it.
So when you are strengthened by Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala and helped, then at a
certain point, your heart will have nothing in
it.
Nothing.
No desire.
Nothing.
If you eat, it's because eating keeps you
alive and keeping yourself alive is a duty.
Or because you want to enjoy Allah's blessing
to thank Him.
Nothing.
You have here nothing.
And he says, and this is your state
until you die.
And now you are restless.
Because the only thing which is stopping you
to go back to the one you love
is dying.
But you can't take your life.
So the only thing is, Ya Rabbi, I
want to go back.
And this is why Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala at the moment when you die and
you are this ruh that was longing for
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Allah will say, Oh soul that came at
rest now that she's dying.
It doesn't mean before that she was at
rest.
She was restless.
Because she wanted to connect as good and
as strongly as she could to establish a
strong connection.
And this only becomes stronger when she dies.
So now, Oh soul that came at rest
now while you are dying.
Time has come.
Go back to your Lord.
Happy and pleased.
And He's pleased with you.
So this is the, you know, very high
state.
But this is the state of people that
were taught through life by the Lord of
life.
This doesn't come through books.
This comes by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Given by Him.
Is that clear?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
I'm talking way above my own experience.
But I know that what I'm saying that
I believe in it.
So that's why I share it.
It's in no way.
I would love to be like that.
I mean all of us.
I mean, imagine.
No, it doesn't.
It's even like that, that your strive becomes
more difficult because you will become more harsh
on yourself or with yourself.
Why?
Because you will start seeing everything which is
small and tiny in the eyes of other
people as big in your own eyes.
Like you will look at forgetting to you.
I don't know.
You will put yourself under a microscope.
And everything that you now see as something
small in a year when your Iman becomes
stronger, you will look at it as something
big.
And this is what the companions said.
They said, Today you are minimalizing things which
we used to consider to be big sins
in the time of the Messenger ﷺ.
Minimalizing.
Like it's nothing.
But we consider it to be from amongst
the major sins in the time of the
Prophet ﷺ.
Okay, so we continue.
So for one who does not know God,
silence is inevitable.
While for one who knows God, silence is
imposed.
For one who knows God, his tongue is
dulled.
Okay.
Imam al-Ghazali as you see here in
front of you, or maybe not yet.
No.
Imam al-Ghazali has divided his book into
three parts.
Imam al-Ghazali r.a. has divided his
book about Divine Names into three parts.
The first part is an introduction and preparation.
And the first part is a philosophical debate
where he wants to know, is the Ism
referring to the Musammah?
Ya Salam.
Do you know that all of these debates
at the very beginning were not...
It means, is the name a reflection of
the one who is named?
And is the name really defining the named?
You see?
Are they one?
Are they different?
Are they all-encompassing?
Partially referring?
I mean, so, Ahlus Sunnah is talking about
this.
Why?
Because the innovators started saying so many different
things.
So at the very beginning, Haqqinah was very
clear.
There were no debates.
Just believe in Allah, believe in the angels,
the Hereafter.
Khalas.
Then all of a sudden, people started saying,
yes, but what if someone is a mu'min
in this, apparently, outwardly a mu'min, but actually
is a munafiq?
Will he be in Jannah?
Or will he be in Nahr?
Or will he be both?
So all of a sudden, they started saying,
al-manzilat bayn al-manzilatayn.
So now the people had to, the scholars
had to refute this.
The people started saying, Allah resides within his
creation.
So they had to write books about this.
Then they said, Allah controls the earth in
such a way that human beings have no
free will, al-jabr.
So they needed, Allah said, no.
Allah doesn't interfere with his creation at all.
He created them and let them do what
they wanted, and then they will be judged,
like the Mu'in al-Tazila say, like
the Qadariyya say.
So at the end, every time Ahlus Sunnah
had to refute, which led to hundreds of
books with difficult terms and philosophical debates, which
were not a part of our Islam at
the very beginning, but which were needed to
defend Islam at the very end.
You see?
So this part, we are not going to
dive into, because, I mean, this is not
necessary for the moment.
When we will go over a book of
Aqidah, then I will definitely talk about this.
So that's the first thing which Imam al
-Ghazali mentions in the first part of his
book.
In the second part of the first part,
he will be clarifying whether it is permitted
for those names of God which are close
to one another in meaning to be predicated
according to a single meaning so that they
would be synonymous or must their meanings differ.
Like the name like Al-Kabir and Al
-Jalil and Al-Azim, for example.
This is the example he gives.
Al-Jalil, Al-Kabir and Al-Azim.
Like the immense, the majestic and the great.
He says, do they actually mean the same?
But it's just another way to say the
same?
Or do they actually mean something different in
a certain way that differentiates them from what?
From the other.
So this is something he will dive into
which we will dive into as well because
this is a part of the fundamentals on
which our study of the divine names will
be based.
So what is clear, there is a difference
when I say you are big and you
are tall.
You are strong.
You are, you know, I can mention many
different things about you, but they all mean
something else even though that in general they
seem to be saying exactly the same thing.
So this is same with the names of
Allah because what we say in the Arabic
language is Ziyadatun fil Mabna Tadullu ala ziyadatin
fil ma'na meaning if the words within
a, if the letters within a word are
more in number than it is because the
word contains a larger meaning.
Okay.
So Ziyadatun fil Mabna Tadullu ala ziyadatin fil
ma'na So this is clear.
So Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim So we have
Ar-Rahman, Alif, Lam, Ra, Ha, Meem, Alif,
Noon and we have Ar-Rahim, Alif, Lam,
Ra, Ha, Ya, Meem So now some say
Ar-Rahman has more letters than Ar-Rahim.
Okay.
So Ar-Rahman should have a larger meaning
than Ar-Rahim meaning this is when they
have the same radicals, the same root letters.
Okay, only then does this apply that when
words have the same root letters and they
have more other letters apart from the root
letters, their meaning is faster and larger and
broader and this is why we say Ar
-Rahman is the one that has Rahma in
Dunya and Akhira and the Rahim is the
one that will only have Rahma for the
Muslimin in Al-Akhira.
So Rahman has Rahma for believers and non
-believers in this life and in the hereafter
is a Rahim who has mercy for the
believers only.
This is according to Abdullah ibn Abbas but
there are other opinions.
It's just one of the examples I wanted
to give even though I differ not with
Abdullah ibn Abbas but I choose for another
opinion which is also attributed to companions and
other scholars.
But I just wanted to show this.
So yes, a different name means a different
meaning.
So this is what he's going to dive
into and which we are going to do
as well.
Then he will be explaining how a single
name shares two meanings.
That is also one of the studies that
we will find in this book.
So one name can share two meanings which
might be exactly the opposite.
It looks like in itself it's an antonym.
Antonym, yes, you see.
For example, we have Al-Jabbar very often
referred to as excuse me?
Yes, or the healer very often.
People say the healer which is in Arabic
also referring to this.
And others say the breaker.
It can be both because in breaking he
heals and in healing he might break.
So some of the names can actually be
understood in two different ways.
And in the Arabic language we very often
have something which we call Al-Addad.
Addad means the opposite.
And it's a Fiqh.
We call this Fiqh Al-Lugha.
The Fiqh of the Arabic language which is
the knowledge of Al-Addad.
And Al-Addad is actually the knowledge of
one word which can mean two opposite things.
Or which can be used for two opposite
things rather.
And for example, the word Salim or Salim
which is usually referred or we usually refer
to a healthy person with Salim or Salim.
But in the Arabic language we also refer
to a sick person with the word Salim
or Salim.
And the reason why is the Arabs used
to do this Tafa'ulan out of hope
that this person would be cured.
So we can find if you visit a
Salim meaning a sick person.
So if now you don't know that this
exists then you will wrongly translate this word
when you visit a healthy person.
But it's actually a sick person.
So we see that Al-Addad exists within
the Arabic language.
It's a science within the many sciences of
the study of the Arabic language.
So this is what he will do.
He will explain how a single name can
share two meanings.
Then he will investigate how man and mankind
probably this is a word that will be
changed in the Me Too era.
Because mankind, why is it referring to man?
Why is it referring to man?
So the human being.
You, man, being.
You see?
And every, almost every negative word starts with
miss.
Oh, this is a good understanding.
This is a misunderstanding.
Understanding of the misses, you see?
This is a good interpretation.
This is a misinterpretation.
You are guided.
You are misguided.
So you see, try to look for these
words with miss.
You will see that the majority of these
words are, do we say pejorative?
Pejorative?
I think it's pejorative.
Can we?
Huh?
No, no, no.
It means negative.
But I try to translate it from French.
Pejorative.
It's like committing perjury to say it's probably
right.
It's probably right, yes.
It's the first time as a Belgian that
I said a word that the Brits had
to think about.
Yes.
Almost there.
So I was astonished when I look at
the miss words.
There is a missing link.
Subhanallah.
But on the other hand, you also say,
I miss you.
But look at it, at the miss.
Misunderstanding, misguided, misinterpretation.
Give another one.
Miseducation.
Misjudged.
Misjudged.
Subhanallah.
This is very, stuff a lot.
Mistreated.
Mistreated.
Yes, because men have the habit to treat
women in a bad way.
So when you would treat a man in
a bad way, you would say you are
mistreated.
Treated like a miss.
Subhanallah.
I don't know if it's true, but it
seems to me that when we are going
to look at the etymology of these words,
that this might very well be the case.
Allah.
So now, as I said, explaining how Al
-Insan shares in the meaning of each of
the names of God Almighty.
So how can it be that a human,
you man, you know, I'm really weighing my
words.
Because it's true that some things are exaggerated,
but other things should be really, you know,
be given a second thought as well.
Because there are many things wrong.
And a woman has, not in Islam, but
outside of Islam, had to fight for many
rights.
Just if you go back to 1920, where
she didn't have the right to vote, where
she didn't have the right to keep her
own family name, which was already the case.
The Muslims didn't have this problem.
Keep your name.
That's how it goes.
So you see that they had to fight
for their rights.
And so it's normal that they start investigating
things.
Exactly like Malcolm X did, right?
Everything in the dictionary, black heart, black male,
black this, you know, a black day, a
black.
So I think Black Friday.
I don't know Black Friday.
It's meant to be good.
Okay.
So anyway, you understand what I mean?
So I think that we as Muslims, like
for example, now when I translate a Hadith,
I stop just saying him.
I will say him or her.
You will see this when I talk.
So this is why when he and she,
or when someone wants to worship, he's, I
will also say her, he's or her Lord.
So I'm trying to apply this because I'm
not just, you know, directing myself towards men,
but also towards weak men.
Yes.
Alhamdulillah, in Arabic, we don't have this problem.
So let's continue in Arabic.
So explaining how the human being shares in
the meaning of each of the names of
God, which seems to be contradictory because on
the one hand, we say God Almighty Subhanahu
wa ta'ala is, we can't compare him
to his creation.
But on the other hand, we say that
we can put his names into practice.
So how do we harmonize between these two
things?
And can we, in the Quran and the
Sunnah, find some of these examples?
And of course we can.
So this is also what Imam Ghazali is
going to do.
Then in the second part of his book,
he will explain the names.
A, it will be a clarification of the
meaning of the 99 names of God.
And then B, explaining how Ahlus Sunnah reduces
all of these names to a nescence with
seven attributes.
And we will discuss this as well in,
not all of this today, of course, I
mean, but I'm giving you a pre-taster.
So then three will be a complementary explanation.
So the names of God, do they exceed
the 99 by divine instruction?
Meaning, are the Asma'u Allahi Azawajal Tawqifiyah?
Tawqifiyah means, are they in need of a
dalil of the Quran or of the Sunnah?
So this is a debate amongst the people
of Ahlus Sunnah.
So what we very often hear is we
can distract, extract.
We can extract from an attribute from every
name, but not a name from every attribute.
So, for example, if Allah Subh'anaHu Wa
Ta-A'la tells in the Quran that
he plans, يَكِيدُ إِنَّهُمْ يَكِيدُونَ كَيْدًا وَأَكِيدُ Can
we now say, because Allah Subh'anaHu Wa
Ta-A'la, this verb is referring to
an attribute, not to a name, you see?
So, yes, can we now say, because Allah
says, وَأَكِيدُ I, أَكِيدُ Can we now say
that one of the names of Allah derived
from this is Al-Ka'id?
You see?
Or Al-Maqid or whatever.
So can we say this now?
Allah, for example, الله يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ Allah mocks
them.
Can we now say one of the names
of Allah is Al-Mustahzi?
You see?
So this is why there is a debate
going on amongst Ahlus Sunnah and they are
trying to find out if we are not
in need of a straightforward dalil from Kitab
and Sunnah and if we were to be
allowed to extract a name from an attribute
or a deed, what are the conditions?
Okay?
So this is something which Imam Al-Ghazali
is going to have a look at as
well.
So he's going to tell you, okay, there
are some conditions, like the name is perfect
and beautiful in all its senses, in all
its meanings, in all its dimensions, like the
mocker wouldn't be, for example, a name like
that or like this.
Is that clear?
So he's going to mention and going to
talk about this, which we are going to
do as well.
It's very interesting.
So, yes, can we derive or extract names
from attributes and verbs or not?
Then also, does every verb attributed to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala indicate that there is
an action taking place which can be understood
from the verb being used?
What do I mean?
Like the hadith, Allah wrote a book.
And this book is with him and under
his command.
And it's above the Arsh.
So now when we say Allah, can we
now say Allah is a writer?
Can we say Allah writes?
You see, or did he order the pen
to write?
And it's not a verb that we attribute
to Allah because very often in the Arabic
language, we attribute a verb not to the
one executing the verb, but to the one
that is commanding the verb to be executed.
This is one of the ways of which
is in the Arabic language.
So what is it?
Like, for example, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
says, ask the town, ask the village.
Are we going to ask the village?
No, we're going to ask the people of
the village.
You see, so very often there are things
that are not present within the Arabic language,
words that are removed for a reason.
Okay, so now to come back.
So when we say if there is a
verb, does it mean without any hesitation that
this verb is one of the actions of
Allah?
Of course it isn't.
For example, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he
obliged the pen to write everything which will
happen until the Day of Judgment.
Allah didn't write it.
So is Allah a writer now?
Because the hadith says, inna allaha kataba, Allah
wrote.
Well, some say no, he ordered the pen
and the verb was attributed to him because
he ordered.
Like, okay, like if, okay.
But this would be if the word kataba
or kataba would actually mean writing.
And this is our misunderstanding of the Arabic
language because we are so used to reading
cheap translations.
I'm not saying everybody must be, that we
forgot about all about the depths of the
Arabic language.
Kataba in the Arabic language also means qada.
Right?
It has been made obligatory.
It can mean amara.
It can mean commanding.
It can mean making obligatory and so much
more.
So kataba also means decided.
Right?
In a book.
And what has been decided is written in
a book.
And who wrote it?
Not Allah.
It's not one of his attributes to write.
Because, you know, so this is very important.
So because the aqeedah is linked to these
explanations and understandings.
Is this clear?
So this is also something that we will
have to look at, inshallah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
And then explaining how it is permissible to
describe God, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, by
whatever may qualify him, even if no permission
or divine instruction is to be found, as
long as it is not prohibited.
This is something that we just mentioned.
And then explaining the advantage of enumeration and
specification of the 100 minus 1 names.
So why are there 100?
And what is the benefit?
Sorry, why are there 99?
And are there 99 or are there more?
So that's another study that Imam al-Ghazali
will share with us, bi-idhnillahi subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
So like this, I gave you an explanation
about everything that we are going to look
at, inshallah.
So are there any questions about what I've
said until now?
Yes, please.
It's kind of related, but maybe it's not.
I was listening to this scholar the other
day, and this question came to my mind.
You were using the word God.
Yes.
As for the scholar, he was saying that
we shouldn't use the word Khuda.
I hope you heard the name Khuda.
Yes.
So he says, I've been saying it to
all the scholars around, that we shouldn't use
the word Khuda.
We should use the word Allah instead.
No.
And so then he started explaining where the
word Khuda comes and how Allah has got
all the properties of all of His 99
names.
So when you are addressing Allah with the
name Allah, you are addressing Him with all
of His 99 names.
But when you are saying the word Khuda,
you are not.
Okay.
You want me to shed light.
So the question is, should we use the
word God?
That's a very big debate, isn't it?
It's a very big debate.
Why should we be using the word Allah?
Like when I'm speaking, my job is to
talk all day long.
So I'm not saying God.
I'm saying Allah.
I'm not ashamed of it.
Why should we be ashamed?
There are people who are ashamed of using
the word Allah.
Well, if the reason is that they are
ashamed, then this is wrong.
But when you talk to people and you
define to them what you mean when you
say God, and you know that the person
in front of you...
Everyone knows that.
What?
Everyone knows the name Allah.
Yes, I mean.
It's not about that.
It's about when the person in front of
you knows what you mean when you say
God, for example, then we can't say that
it would be haram to use the word
God, as long as that which you are
referring to is clear to the people that
you are not referring to Jesus.
Like if I were to be a Christian
and I would say God, that would mean
something else.
If I would be a Jew and I
would say God, it would mean something else.
Or if I would be, I don't know,
whatever, from any religion, when I say God,
they know what I am referring to.
So from that dimension, there is nothing wrong
with using the word.
Because it is referring to a broader meaning
than what the word entails.
Is it better to say Allah?
Yes, it is.
But is it wrong to say God?
No, it is not.
So that's how I look at it.
I have a concern, I would like to
share with you.
I have seen little kids, like little kids
at the level, saying, oh my gosh.
Yes, what is gosh?
I don't know what the meaning of gosh
is.
Gosh, so it's derived from, oh my gosh.
You think, you should be sure.
No, I think it's some sort of postulate
or looking cool kind of thing, saying, oh
my gosh.
No, I don't think, oh my gosh.
What you should know, Habibi, is to start
with our scholars.
What?
I wasn't born here, so I don't know.
Our scholars are very careful when it comes
down to declaring things haram.
Haram means that something drags you to *.
You see?
So scholars would more say things like, I
don't prefer it.
I don't like it.
I don't think it's suitable.
I think something else is better.
But saying that, for example, I don't know
what the meaning of my gosh is.
If the meaning is bad, then it's haram.
Like if it would be an insult, it
would be haram.
If it doesn't mean anything, then it is
useless.
You understand what I mean?
But I couldn't say it's haram.
It would be useless to say it, but
it wouldn't be haram to say it, if
you understand what I mean.
And if it was originally, oh my God,
for example, well, then we teach people to
say, oh my God.
But I mean, it all goes back to
what it means, why people say it.
And if the meaning is bad, then it's
haram.
But if they were to say, oh my
gosh, and gosh doesn't mean anything.
I don't see anything wrong with it.
Would it be better to say, subhanAllah?
Of course, yes.
Will you convince the world to say, subhanAllah?
I don't think so.
So if it's not haram, leave them to
it.
There are other priorities, like getting Muslims to
pray again, for example.
Stop Muslims from gossiping, lying, cheating, deceiving, and
so much more.
So I think we should set priorities there.
But if it's bad, the meaning is bad,
it's haram, then you definitely have to stop
people when you hear them, if they're children,
for example.
I actually don't know.
Yes, so that's why I gave the different
options.
No, I don't know.
Yes, sir.
So when you spoke about just the physical
body, the training, the diet, etc.
And then the spiritual side has its own
side to that as well.
Could you shed some light on what you
mean by in addition to, for example, teslamAllah,
additional...
Yes.
I will try to make it as short
as I can.
There are three dimensions to reviving the soul.
The first one is istighfar.
Istighfar, I mean begging Allah for forgiveness with
the heart, not just with the mind, not
just because you want to tick the boxes,
but really because you regret.
And you do istighfar until you feel that
your soul has been revived.
How does one know that his or her
soul has been revived?
Well, very easy.
By noticing that the connection between knowing and
feeling has been established.
That when you hear the word paradise, you
experience joy in your heart.
When you hear the word fire, that you
experience fear in your heart.
That when you hear the word Allah, that
you experience love and awe.
And that hasanat are more beloved to you
than money.
That giving is more beloved to you than
receiving.
And that losing out on hasanat is more
disliked by you than losing out on 5
,000 halal pounds.
So when you feel this again, then you
know that your istighfar has done its job.
For some it can take a month, for
some a week, for some a day.
For some 10,000, for some 20,000,
for some 100,000 or less or more.
Second thing is, inshallah I will stop in
5 minutes.
So you should imagine yourself in a dark
room where you are chained and there is
a door and a light switch.
First you need to get unchained to find
the light and to then get through the
door.
Do we agree?
The image, the picture.
Need to get unchained?
That's the istighfar.
That's what's always taking us back to where
we started from.
Like okay, I'm going higher, yes, yes, yes,
boom, we fall again.
Okay, now three weeks I didn't gossip, three
months I didn't look at haram, three months
I didn't lie.
All of a sudden there we are again.
Okay, so istighfar unchains us.
So now we need to find the light.
The light is the salah over the Prophet
ﷺ.
Because the Prophet ﷺ said if someone performs
one salah over me, and he pronounces one
salah over me, Allah will pronounce ten over
him.
But Allah says in the Qur'an that
he and his angels pronounce the salah over
you so that he will take you out
of the obscurity into the light.
So the salah of Allah ﷻ puts you
in the light.
The light of making the correct choices.
The light of having the correct passions, desires,
goals.
And so forth, you see.
So this is when the Messenger of Allah
ﷺ said that Allah ﷻ said, when I
love him, the servant, I will be the
eyes through which he sees, the ears with
which he hears, the hand with which he
grasps, and the feet with which he walks.
Meaning that everything he does will draw him
or her closer to Allah ﷻ.
Is that clear?
So that's now first istighfar.
Okay, light switch, you want to find the
door.
It's the salah over the Messenger of Allah
ﷺ.
And now at the door there are bodyguards.
They want to push you back in that
obscure little room and want to chain you
again.
And this, you have to fight them.
You want to stay out of that room
because you don't get anywhere.
And this is where the Prophet ﷺ says,
your iman in your hearts gets worn out
exactly as your clothes get worn out.
So renew your faith in your hearts like
you renew your worn out clothing by saying,
la ilaha illallah.
So that's the third one.
So these three athkar are very important on
our path to Allah ﷻ.
Istighfar, salah over the Messenger ﷺ, and la
ilaha illallah.
And we start with the istighfar as much
as we can, even if it takes a
month, two months, whatever.
I knew some people, they would do a
thousand, they said, for every word I have
said which wasn't good.
Thousand a day, one for each word.
Even if he doesn't remember or she doesn't
remember, astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah.
And thinking about the words.
SubhanAllah, the more you think, the more you
will remember words you have said that you
shouldn't have said.
Then a thousand for what you have looked
at that you shouldn't look at.
Then a thousand for breaking hearts.
A thousand for being stressed.
And like this, you will cry while you
do this.
You say, astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah.
Now you just think about the words.
Now you think about the gazes.
Now you think about what you have listened
to.
Now you will think about what you have
thought of.
And when you start crying, crying, crying, and
you dig deep, then you will get rid
of the burden of that sin which got
you chained to your bed and to so
many other things.
So these three, istighfar, salah over the Messenger
of Allah ﷺ, and la ilaha illallah are
a bed of roses.
It's a divine garden of nearness, and the
carpet of divine presence.
Allah
subhana wa ta'ala.
I would like the students that participate in
the class to have the book.
So because last week or the week before,
we decided that we would go in a
structured way.
And so I want to go over some
of the things that Imam Ghazali said in
his book.
I want to finish all the names, inshallah,
by the end of this year.
So please talk to the class so we
can see the names.
Okay, that will be beautiful.
Are there any other questions?
This Sunday, the Prophetic Soul, inshallah, will happen
as well.
So take your book with you.
Are we not making your Dutch book?
Which Dutch book?
The book you wrote in Dutch.
About?
A lot of things in Dutch.
Yes, of course we will.
We are going to combine both.
Yes, yes, yes, we will.
The Dutch book is about, I categorized the
names.
So what I will do, I will take
some of the explanations of Imam Ghazali, of
that name, but within the framework of my
book, if you understand what I mean.
He says some things which we really have
to know.
So it will be good if we combine
both of them, inshallah.
Yes?
What happened about the message?
That's online.
Online?
Or not, I don't know.
No, I don't have a link.
No, did you do a lesson still?
I had a lesson, yes.
So there's two lessons already?
Yes, yes.
I don't know.
Yeah, it's supposed to come online.
But I don't know how they do it.
JazakAllah khairan, everybody.
I would like to thank also Ashden and
Staines Community Center for opening their arms and
doors, and Omar for always being there.
May Allah ﷻ reward you immensely.
Amin.