Sulayman Van Ael – The Divine Names 2
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AI: Transcript ©
With the will of Allah, we will continue
with our journey through the divine names of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And as we always do, we will mention
in brief what we mentioned last time.
And there were many points that we mentioned.
One was that we need to know Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala because it is the
reason why we were worshipped, why we were
created.
Secondly, we said we need to know Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala because it is our
source of happiness, a true happiness.
Thirdly, we said we need to know Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala to preserve this community
and to empower them because without the names
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, our worship
will be weak and our connection with Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala will be weak.
And everything we do for Allah's sake at
a certain point will be weak.
So in brief, this is what has been
said last time.
So now with the will of Allah, we
are going to have a look at one
of the names of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
The name we are going to start with
today is a name I have referred to
in the bayan before the khutbah.
So we said that we have mentioned that
name before and now we are going to
mention the name Shakoor subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So it is very important that when we
look at the Arabic language that we are
always going to look at the roots of
a letter, of a word.
Every word has root letters and this is
how we understand the word in Arabic.
So for example, I am going to have
a look at the word eyebrow for example
in Arabic.
How would you call this you think?
An eyebrow?
It is al hajib.
Which word do you hear in hajib?
Of what does it remind you?
Please, don't, yes, hijab, hajib, hijab.
So it means it has the same root
letters as hijab, ha, jin, ba.
Meaning everything that covers or everything which is
a veil will be hijab.
So the hajib, the eyebrow is called hijab
or hajib because it stops the sweat of
the forehead from coming into your eyes.
This is why it is called hajib, it
veils, is this clear?
So in the Arabic language if we want
to understand a word we have to look
at the root letters of that word.
Like if we are going to say shakur,
shakara, yashkuru, shakirun, mashkur, we hear three root
letters that always come back.
Which are they?
Listen with me, shakir, mashkur, shakirun, shakirin, shakkar.
Which three letters do we always find back
here?
The shin, the ka, and the ra, shakara.
So if we want to understand what the
name shakur means then we will need to
have a look at what the root letters
mean.
What does shin, ka, ra, shakara mean in
the Arabic language?
So this is the first thing we are
going to have a look at.
So shakara in the Arabic language means to
give something, to give a lot in return
for little or in return for nothing.
This is what shakara means, that I give
you a lot in exchange for a small
amount.
Like I would give you a kilo of
gold and you would give me three pounds,
I give you more than you deserve.
Is that true?
I give you more than you deserve.
Or the name shakara in the Arabic language
might also refer to someone rewarding you for
something you didn't do.
Like someone who is shakur or shakir rewards
you without you having to do anything.
And this is what we find in the
hadith of the Messenger of Allah when he
said, and if he has the intention to
perform a good deed, then he or she
will be rewarded.
Just you sitting down and saying, you know
what, when I go back home, when I
return home I want to memorize the divine
names.
Just your thought, you will be rewarded for
this.
And this is why the Messenger of Allah
said that the mu'min attains levels with his
intention that he can't reach through his actions.
Because that which we can think of is
much more than that which we can ever
do.
So if you now have the intention, like
if I had money, I would feed the
entire world.
Then you will be rewarded for your intention.
So the Messenger of Allah said, if someone
wants to perform a good deed and he
doesn't do it, he has a hasana.
If he intends to do it and does
so, he will have a hasana multiplied by
ten, multiplied by seven hundred times or even
more.
Then he said, and if he or she
wants to perform a bad deed, an evil
deed, and doesn't do it, for Allah's sake,
then he or she will be rewarded.
So when you look at it, if you
have the intention to perform a good deed,
you're rewarded, one.
If you want to do it and you
do it, you're rewarded, two.
If you want to perform an evil deed
and you leave it for Allah, you're rewarded.
And on the other hand, the Messenger of
Allah says, and if he or she intends
to do something bad and does it, then
she or he or she will be, will
receive bad points, negative points.
And he said, and this will be a
whole or less like if we do a
good deed, it's multiplied by ten.
If we do a perform a bad deed,
it might be divided by ten.
So the ulema, when looking at this hadith,
they say, how can one be in loss
with a Rabb that is as shakoor as
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?
How can, if you know this, how can
you go back to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala while you are bankrupt in hasanat?
This is impossible.
Thinking about good deed, reward.
Thinking and doing, ten rewards, seven hundred or
more.
Thinking to do something evil and not doing
it for Allah's sake, what reward?
Doing something bad, maybe the half of a
bad deed.
So this is the meaning of the name
as shakoor, as shakoor is the one that
gives you more than you deserve or that
rewards you for something you didn't do or
rewards you because you accepted his gift.
Like, for example, I would come to you
and say, here you are, I give you
five hundred pounds, say mashallah, now I would
be generous, I would be kareem, I would
be generous.
But the next day when I see you,
I give you a thousand pounds and you
say, what are you giving me a thousand
pounds for?
I say, because you accepted my five hundred
yesterday.
Now this is no longer being generous, this
is being shakoor.
Is the difference clear?
Like, I'm giving you because you accept my
generosity.
This is ajeeb, this is really marvellous, this
is astonishing.
And this is a shakoor, subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
And how would this then apply on what
we see is like, if we pray, we
pray thanks to Allah.
If we fast, it's thanks to Allah.
If we behave well, it's thanks to Allah.
If we can stay away from haram, it's
thanks to Allah.
And yet he rewards us for this.
And this is why Dawood Alayhi Salaam, this
is why Dawood Alayhi Salaam said, like Ibn
Kathir Rahimahullah Azawajal mentioned, he was sitting and
thinking about Allah's blessings.
And he said, ya rabbi kayfa ashkooruk, he
said, oh my lord, how will I thank
you?
wa shukri laka ni'matun minka alayh, while thanking
you is a blessing that you bestowed upon
me.
So me being thankful, grateful, is in need
of being grateful.
And when I'm grateful, it's once again from
you.
So this is like Ibn Kathir mentioned in
his tafsir, how Dawood Alayhi Salaam looked at
it, like how can I be grateful if
being grateful is actually your blessing?
This is ajeeb.
And this is what Allah refers to in
the Qur'an, when he said, ma asabaka
min hasanatin fa min Allah, wa ma asabaka
min sayyiatin fa min nafsik.
The good that you do is from Allah,
and the bad you do is from yourself.
SubhanAllah.
And all of this is a shakoor, yaani
like Ibn Ata'illah Rahimahullah Azawajal, and I
do not quote him, it's just the meaning
of what he has said.
When Ibn Ata'illah Rahimahullah said, if you
want to open the door of hope, look
at what he is giving you.
And if you want to open the door
of despair, look at what you are giving
him.
If you want to open the door of
hope, look at the blessings he keeps on
pouring out over us.
And if you want to despair, then look
at what we are doing with these blessings.
If we were to interact with people, the
way we interact with Allah at some times,
we would be left without friends.
If we would interact with people, the way
we interact with Allah, we would have been
without friends.
He calls us, we don't answer.
When people don't answer us, we get angry.
He says, the best prayer is the prayer,
like the Messenger of Allah has said, if
you don't said at the beginning, the starting
of the prayer time.
This is when Allah calls you, Allahu Akbar,
this is your meeting.
You know, Allah allowed us to be a
bit later, but not to be too late.
We have Dhuhr time till Asr time, but
the appointment is at the very beginning.
But he allows you to be late, but
not too late.
So who's the best one then?
The one that says, I want to be
on time.
Even if you're late, you're late, but not
too late.
You see this?
And all of this is a divine mercy
of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Like we with our jobs, we are three
minutes, you know, before time we're there.
We're afraid, we rush, we stress, I'm going
to lose my job, I'm going to lose
my work in traffic jams, blowing the horn
and whatever I do, I get stressed because
I think I might be late for a
minute.
When it comes down to Allah, it's completely,
entirely different.
You know why?
Because he spoils us.
He spoils us.
He's very good for us.
So now a shakur, what does it mean?
The shakur is the one that gives you
in return for nothing.
This is the highest degree of the understanding
of this name, is that we understand that
all of the good that we have, we
do not deserve it.
The Messenger of Allah said, like Imam Suyuti
mentioned in al-Jami'a, the only right
that we have upon Allah and this is
because he chose to give us this right,
not because we deserve it, but because he's
generous.
The Messenger of Allah said to Abdullah ibn
Mas'ud, he said, do you know the
haq of Allah, the right of Allah upon
his servants and the right of the servants
upon their Lord?
He said, Allah and his Messenger know best.
He said the right of the servant, that's
the only one, not being fed, not having
a roof over your head, not living in
a land where there is no war, not
being healthy, not being fed, whatever.
This is not our right.
We are slaves, we have no rights and
everything we have is extra.
Everything we have is extra.
So the Messenger of Allah said, the right
of Allah upon the servants is that they
worship nobody apart from him and that they
not associate anybody or anything with him.
And the right of the servants when they
do this is that he grants them paradise.
And in another narration, the Messenger of Allah
said, the servant has no right upon Allah
in this dunya apart from a roof protecting
him against the rain and lukma, it can
be just a handful of food that straightens
his back.
And one garment to hide his aura.
And that's it.
So he is treating us like kings.
We had the right, a roof above our
heads can even be a bridge.
He didn't say a house, it's a roof,
something above your head.
And everybody can have this.
Even if you take a tree or a
branch, you put it above your head.
This is what is your right, umbrella, yes,
whatever.
So if you're going to look at Allah's
generosity, the biggest musiba, calamity that touched us
that came over us is that we always
think that we're such good friends with Allah
because he didn't punish us yet for all
the bad we have done.
We say, I'm all right.
I have a good connection with God.
I can do what I want and nothing
happens to me.
This is the problem.
This is exactly where the problem lies.
It is that we are we resemble people
of whom Allah said in the Quran, why
doesn't Allah punish us for what we have
said?
Why?
And it means that we didn't do anything
wrong because we are Allah's beloved ones.
But this is not true.
The biggest punishment is that your today is
no better than your yesterday and that your
tomorrow might be worse than today.
That every second that we live doesn't drag
us or bring us closer to Allah.
That we are more worried about dunya than
akhira.
That we love money more than hasanat and
that we cry over money.
And we lose more than over hasanat we
lose out on.
This is the mosiba.
So now, shakur subhanahu wa ta'ala is
the one that gives you not because you
deserve it.
So all of a sudden we feel a
kind of humility, like we feel humbled like,
okay, so he doesn't give me this and
that and this and that because he loves
because I'm special.
No, because he's special.
Because he keeps on giving while knowing who
you are.
Not just knowing who you show to the
people that you are.
But he knows who you are on the
inside.
Your feelings, your wants, your passions, your hidden
secrets.
So a shakur, he gives because he is
shakur.
Not because of you, not because of me.
So now the ulema, they say, okay, a
shakur from a linguistic point of view, like
if I were to take two cows, I
have two cows, same age, born the same
day, and I feed them the same amount
of food.
And after six months, one cow gives me
more meat than the other one.
Then the one that gives me more meat
in return, will I will call a daabatun
shakira, meaning a shakir animal.
Why?
Because it gave me more than the other
one.
Is this clear?
So now if we're going to look at
how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala treats us,
it's incredible.
Like if I were to tell you, you
know what, brother, I give you, you give
me three pounds and I give you Oxford
Street and Piccadilly Circus for you.
All the buildings, all the shops, I own
them, it's for you, three pounds, you won't
even believe me.
You say, this can't be true, this man
is joking, I say no.
Three pounds, Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus, all for
you.
You would say, oh, this man is generous.
This man is kareem, this man is shakur,
shakir, giving me more for something.
But when we look at Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, he gives us in return for
a life of 40 years of devotion, he
gives us an eternal life where there is
no Oxford Street or Piccadilly Circus, but where
castles are made out of gold and silver.
But yet it doesn't move us as much.
When we have a good deal, you know,
I'm going for a car and I'm surfing
on the internet to find the cheapest way
to lease this car and I'm able to
make a profit of 50 pounds a month.
I'm so happy and most happy man on
earth.
I come back home with a smile and
I say, yes, I was able to save
50 pounds a month.
Good deal.
What about our deal with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala?
This is what it's all about.
So shakur, when you're going to look like
our life on earth to build our castle
on the face of the earth.
What is it?
Every day traffic jam.
Do we agree?
If you're going to your job, especially with
a car through London, it's terrible.
It's a nightmare.
So traffic jam, an hour going, an hour
back, hour and a half go, hour and
a half back.
Traffic jam, not once in a week, five
times a week.
Do we agree?
Traffic jam, you know, to have 1,500,
2,000 pounds a month.
So traffic jam.
Then I have one month holiday, a bit
more, maybe a year, 11 months working, working,
working one month.
You are allowed to, you know, to come
down, but that's not enough.
So holiday once.
Then I have to pay taxes up to
40% or more now every year.
And then subhanallah, I have to work eight
hours a day.
In exchange for doing this 40 years, I
will receive a house made out of bricks.
A house made out of bricks with shortcomings.
I will need to repair it every, paint
it every, subhanallah.
And I will not enjoy it as much
because when I was 20 and saving the
amount, now when I'm 50 or 60, it's
not the same.
I can enjoy looking at it, but it's
not the same as being 20 and enjoying
it.
So now when I look at Allah Jalla
wa Ala, he only wants me to be
in the traffic jam once in a lifetime,
Hajj.
One traffic jam, one for five days.
Five days in a lifetime is nothing.
Traffic jam, going very slowly, you know, not
allowed to stress out and so forth.
That's one.
He gives me 11 months of holiday and
one month of working, fasting.
One entire month of working every day.
Then he subhanallah doesn't want me to work
eight hours a day.
He wants 35 minutes a day, 35 minutes
a day, five prayers times seven minutes, 35
minutes a day.
And he doesn't want 40%.
He wants 2.5% for the poor
people.
And in exchange for this, he doesn't give
me a house of bricks, but a house
of diamond and gold and silver and rivers
of milk and honey and an eternal bliss.
This is what a shakur means.
He gives you what nobody else can give
you and what nobody else would give you.
Is this clear?
So, when the Messenger ﷺ described paradise, you
know, we know the hadith, but when you
listen to it and when you dissect the
hadith, you will see that the hadith is
very special.
He said in Jannah there is what no
ear has ever heard.
What no eye has ever seen.
Oh, sorry, no, the order is very important.
What an eye has never seen and what
the ear has never heard and what nobody
has ever thought about.
OK, so now when we when we divide
our world in our perception, we can divide
it into three categories.
That which we see, that which we hear
of, and that which we can imagine.
Is that true?
That which what I have seen, that which
I have heard, and that which I imagine.
The Messenger ﷺ said in paradise Allah has
prepared for the believers what no eye has
ever seen.
Well, I haven't seen all the world, have
I?
So even though I have seen a lot,
I say I heard about more than what
I've seen.
So if you would say in Jannah is
what no eye has ever seen, well, it
could be something like I've never seen in
South Africa, some flowers, some birds.
No, what no eye has ever seen and
the world you have heard of is larger
than the world you have seen.
He said, not what you have seen and
not what you have heard of.
So this excludes everything that came to you.
So you say, OK, so what about the
imaginary world?
So the real world, what I have seen,
what I have heard of, seen or read,
whatever.
It's not that.
So it's not the real world.
OK, then let me go to the imaginary
world.
And he said, and even that which nobody
can imagine himself.
And this is a world without limits.
That which you can imagine yourself is without
limits.
So everything you can imagine yourself Jannah to
be, it's not that.
And this is why Abdullah Ibn Abbas radiallahu
anhu, when he spoke about the verse and
it's similar will be given, Allah speaks about,
for example, grapes in Jannah, right?
And bananas as well, for example.
So Allah speaks about Talha.
So about these different things.
The only thing we need to know is
that the name is the same, but the
reality is different because we have never seen
it, never heard about it, and we can't
imagine it.
It are merely examples for us to get
connected to a world we can in a
certain way grasp.
But its realities are different.
You've never tasted it.
You've never smelled it.
You've never touched it.
You've never seen it.
You've never heard about it.
And even that which you imagine now to
be a banana, it's not it.
When Allah speaks about green in Jannah, it's
green by name, but not green by color.
It's not the green we know.
So meaning that all the colors, like everything
that we know, you know, everything we see
around us was one day something imaginary, meaning
it was not a part of the real
world.
At a certain point in time, somebody said,
I'm going to, you know, design a microphone
and if someone speaks through it, you know,
everything we see was actually a dream, which
was turned into reality, isn't it?
So now what we should know, the only
thing we can imagine ourselves are straight lines
and bended lines, circles, squares, triangles, and we
can't imagine ourselves any shape apart from that,
or a triangle with a, you know, a
bended line on the end.
Bended lines and straight lines, that's all we
know.
In Jannah there are other shapes, other shapes
we can't imagine.
Why?
Because we are not in Jannah.
Because the Messenger ﷺ said, and you can't
imagine it, because the human brain is limited
to what Allah has allowed it to imagine
and see and create and hear.
In Jannah it's a new world, a new
day, a new world.
So when you, people will enter in Paradise
and they see this, they will say, الحمد
لله الذي هدانا لهذا وما كنا لنا اهتدى
لولا انهدانا الله Imagine yourself entering Paradise, smelling
perfumes you've never smelled.
Do you know that some of the scholars
said about the ayah in Surat Muhammad, وَيُدْخِلُهُمُ
الْجَنَّةَ عَرَّفَهَا لَهُمْ He will make them enter
Paradise and then very often it's translated as,
and he will let them know Paradise.
No, عَرَّفَ الْعَرْف in the Arabic language means
a perfume, the sense of perfume.
So عَرَّفَهَا لَهُمْ means, and they will enter
Paradise that Allah has perfumed for them.
A divine بخور, you enter, you say, what's
this?
You've never heard it, never seen it, and
then Allah says, وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يَدْخُلُونَ عَلَيْهِم مِّن كُلِّ
بَابٍ سَلَامٌ And the ملائكة they come to
them, they greet them when they enter Paradise,
مِن كُلِّ بَابٍ they come from every single
door, مِن كُلِّ بَابٍ when Allah says every
single door, it means every single door in
Paradise.
From all the levels in Paradise, from the
castles of the prophets, of the صالحين and
the اولياء and the علماء, the angels will
come from all the doors in Paradise to
greet you individually.
سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ يَنِي سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ
Every angel in Jannah, without exception, even those
who carry the arsh, all, Jibril, Mikael, Israfil,
all the angels greet you.
سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ This is سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ, well
done, well done, enter Paradise forever, well done.
So when people enter Paradise, one of the
first things they will see, one of the
most beautiful things they will see, like in
Surah 39, Surah Az-Zumar, where Allah SWT
says, وَتَرَى الْمَلَائِكَةَ حَافِينًا مِنْ حَوْلِ الْعَرْشِ يُسَبِّحُونَ
بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ مَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ وَقِنَا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ
رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ Meaning, when they enter Paradise, تَرَى
الْمَلَائِكَةَ you will see the angels حافِينًا مِنْ
حَوْلِ الْعَرْشِ flying and putting their wings around
the arsh, and flying around the arsh.
How big is the arsh!
Allah says the angels, all the angels, جبريل,
ميكايل, إسرافيل, ملك الموت, سبحان الله All of
them around the arsh.
How beautiful would this be!
You see them flying, you hear the noises
of their wings.
You look at it, you are marvelled.
This is one of the first things you
will see.
Allah made this for us.
وَتَرَى الْمَلَائِكَةَ حَافِينًا مِنْ حَوْلِ الْعَرْشِ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ
رَبِّهِمْ They praise the glory of their Lord.
And at the end they will say وَقِيلَ
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ And that which will
be said is الحمد لله رب العالمين وَإِذَا
رَأَيْتَ ثَمَّ رَأَيْتَ نَعِيمًا وَمُلْكًا كَبِيرًا And when
you look and look once again, you see
a blessing and a kingdom.
A very large, wide, vast kingdom.
So now this is a شَكُور.
A شَكُور giving you everything in exchange for
nothing.
If I would come to you and say,
can you work one week for me for
£6,000?
Say, oh, he's paying well.
He gives a lot.
If you count what Ronaldo makes a second,
it's a lot.
Compared to what the Muslim gets for once
a day, it's nothing.
The problem is that we want everything here.
We want it now, so we don't have
the feeling that we already have it.
You, at the moment that you are sitting
here, you already have your gardens ready for
you.
You have your palaces.
Why do we feel depressed?
I don't have this car, I don't have
a villa, I don't have this, I don't
have...
You have more than this.
Oh, this man has a personal cook.
You will have thousands of personal cooks.
What are we worrying about?
It's as Allah Jalla wa Ala explained.
جَلَّا بَلْ تُحِبُّونَ الْعَاجِلَةَ وَتَظَارُونَ الْآخِرَةَ You want
everything quick.
Because we are in a fast food era.
Where we just click, and it's there.
You click.
Do you know internet, you don't have to
click?
Now we click, right?
I want something, click.
I've got it.
Amazon, click.
I'm not sponsored by Amazon, by the way.
So, you just click.
From your home, click, click, and it's there.
You want to see China, click.
You want to know how much this car
costs, click.
Everything is click.
Click and what?
Click and collect, exactly.
So now, even in Jannah, you know here
when you click and collect, they bring your
food to your home, you have to wait.
Pizza, click and collect, click, you wait 30
minutes, it's there.
In Jannah, you know what the beautiful thing
is?
Like, you won't, wanting something is a need.
And in Jannah, there are no needs.
You will never have the feeling you want
something.
You have the feeling, the moment you receive
it, that this is what you want.
He gives you what you would have wanted,
before you want it, so that there is
no need.
SubhanAllah.
So there is no click and collect.
There is collect and no click.
Even instant coffee is not instant.
You have to wait.
So now, if you look at all of
this, all of this is a reflection of
the name, Ash-Shakur.
Of the name Ash-Shakur, subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
And when you look at this, you say,
Allahu Akbar, you know?
It's incredible.
His blessings and his favors are so big,
that we can't even imagine.
Do you know that even the blessings we
have are not ours?
Allah says in the Qur'an, وَمَا بِكُم
مِّن نِعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ It's often translated as,
there is no single blessing that you have,
or it came from Allah.
But in the Arabic language, it's, فَمِنَ اللَّهِ
It is from Allah, and stays from Allah.
Because we are slaves, we do not possess
anything.
So this is why, when we understand, that
even this which I have when I wake
up in the morning, for me it's very
easy.
Oh, my computer.
Oh, my phone.
I don't possess anything.
It's still from Allah.
So now, when I look at this like
that, the scholars say, Shukur, gratitude is divided
into two categories.
الشكر على نعمة الإيجاد و الشكر على نعمة
الإمداد الشكر Memorize this one.
الشكر على نعمة الإيجاد و الشكر على نعمة
الإمداد Meaning, being thankful for the moment that
the blessing is given.
That's one.
That's الشكر على نعمة الإيجاد This is the
shukur of most people.
you want something for very long you know
we always want especially when people want to
get married I want to get married to
this man I want to get married to
that woman and then ya rabbi please ya
rabbi during the night asking all uncles and
aunties please make dua make it easy make
it easy and then when you're not sure
you're in a moment of despair you think
it will never happen and then when it
happens ya rabbi thank you thank you and
then we never thank him again most people
thank Allah the first three four days when
they receive something who thanks Allah Jalla wa
'ala every day for everything he has this
would be impossible this is why the Messenger
of Allah taught us a dua and he
said if you say the following in the
morning and in the evening then you will
have thanked Allah Jalla wa'ala for all
the blessings if you say the following Allahumma
asbaha bi min ni'matin aw bi ahadin min
khalqika faminka wahdika la sharika lak falaka alhamdu
wa laka shukr and in the evening Allahumma
amsa bi min ni'matin aw bi ahadin min
khalqika faminka wahdika la sharika lak falaka alhamdu
wa laka shukr so you can find this
on the internet that that would be easier
like it's so you say oh Allah there's
no blessing that I have or anybody from
your creation or it's from you and you
alone so it is you I do praise
and it's you I do thank he said
if you say this then you have thanked
Allah for every blessing but now to come
back the majority of people thank Allah ala
ni'matin ijad the very moment that they are
given the gift now when I get into
my car do I still say oh thank
you Rabbi I had my car for a
year two years three years my bike my
shoes my basketball whatever and this is where
the people the awliya differentiate themselves from the
common people they thank Allah every day for
what they have and this is what we
call shukru ala ni'matin ijad the thankful the
gratitude that he lets you keep and have
and enjoy this blessing day after day because
it's his when this man went to the
mosque and he left his wife with his
son behind and then he had to he
went for a couple of weeks and came
back at that time his son died and
he loved his son so much so his
wife now the son died the moment he
came back from the journey first went as
it is in the Sunnah to pray two
rakat in the mosque and then go home
so when he arrived she didn't tell her
husband that her child had died she had
washed him she had put him in the
kafan already and he came in and she
smiled at him and then that same night
they were together and after they were together
she said my husband if someone would do
we say lend you or borrow you when
you if someone would lend you a hammer
or whatever and would ask it back from
you would you be angry he said of
course not it's not mine why should I
be angry when someone takes back what is
his she said then you should be patient
today because Allah has taken back what belongs
to him the life the soul of our
son the man got angry so why didn't
you tell me why did you do this
and the next morning he went to the
Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam the man he said
look at what my wife did and then
the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam smiled he said
did she really do this and is she
so strong he said yes and then he
said may Allah bless the night that you
have passed when they were together and then
Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala bestowed upon them after
this seven young men seven young men that
all memorized Quran and died on the way
of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala so yes the
sugar is also when you lose something that
you don't get angry because you know it
didn't belong to you imagine yourself lending someone
borrowing someone if I give it to you
do I lend it to you or borrow
it to you okay imagine that you borrow
from me my car you borrow my car
and I tell you you know one day
said yes my wife is in hospital I
don't have a car I need to go
back and forth my children they go to
school I say no one day and then
when you bring back my car I tell
you know you can keep it five five
more days he's giving me more every time
and then on the fourth day I would
say brother I'm sorry I actually need my
car now do you know that many people
will get angry they might think he told
me five days and now it's full they
forget that originally it was one this is
what they call what people Al Haq Al
Muqtasad we call this in Al Fiqh meaning
this is my garage you don't have a
garage I don't have a car so you're
my neighbor and I see you don't have
a car and I say you know brother
you know what you can do just park
you know in front of my garage because
it's very difficult to find a place during
the night just put it there and after
three months I tell you I'm sorry is
it possible or after a year I'm sorry
I would like you to no longer put
your car in front of my garage now
he might even feel something in our hearts
which is sick you know it's sick to
feel this but like why why why does
he does so then I go in the
morning I look through my window but he
has no car in front of his garage
then I come out second day no car
in front of his garage and I become
obsessed I said I want to know why
did he not allow me anymore any longer
to put my car in front of his
garage while he doesn't have a car well
because it's his garage he doesn't need an
explanation he doesn't need to give an explanation
and this haq al muqtasib a lot of
people think that when you give them something
extra that they deserve it like somebody giving
you a sadaqa every month and then all
of a sudden he stops why did he
stop you know all of a sudden you
you you think he's stingy stingy we say
stingy yeah you think it's stingy but he
was actually being very generous and this is
the same with everything we have when Allah
takes it back it's because it's nice we've
got nothing to say being its status on
a job kids marriage it's difficult but it's
true so I want to end on this
note and then we can leave some questions
for you I will give some more examples
as well so I want to end on
this note like the true shukr true gratitude
they say أَلَّا تُبَارِزْ رَبَّكَ بِالْمَعَاصِيِ عَلَىٰ جُسُورِ
النِّعَمِ or that you do not go against
Allah standing on the bridge of his blessings
you stand on the bridge a bridge of
blessings don't use this bridge I mean don't
use this these blessings to go against Allah
and to bear is Allah have been mousy
that you are disobedient to Allah Jalla Allah
through that which you have been given by
him is the most terrible thing to do
it's like Subhanallah yeah you go with a
friend to you take him to a soccer
club right and you take him you're a
very very good football player and you introduce
him to the coach and you were about
to make to the Premier League and he
loves you likes it and all of a
sudden he starts gossiping about slandering speak talking
behind your back and all of the sudden
the coach kicks you out and he puts
your friend in your place how ugly is
this he has used you misused you and
abused your trust you using his goodness to
go against you this is what I liked
about what they said about Ronaldo they said
like there was a man who is very
rich true story he's very rich and he
lives in a villa but he doesn't have
a job and people said how did you
have this beautiful villa in this beautiful car
he said it's from Ronaldo people said this
is a joke I mean why would he
do this so they went to interview him
and said yes it's true he said they
came to people and they said that the
one that would make a goal would be
chosen and we run together me and him
and where we were in front of an
empty goal he passed the ball to me
so I was able to make the goal
after this I went to him and I
said why did you do this he said
because you deserve it more than I do
you're a better football player than I am
and then Ronaldo said when he's one of
his first paychecks he bought a villa for
that person and a car because he knows
that he wouldn't have made it without that
guy so now this is just an example
isn't it we have many examples from before
I just wanted to show you that even
people that don't say I'm a Muslim or
I'm this or that sometimes they remember the
good that other people do so don't forget
the good that Allah does okay another thing
of gratitude they say is that you melt
away in shame seeing that he keeps on
blessing you while you keep on sinning so
this is also they say an ingratitude is
shame that you say I don't deserve this
like your child did very bad at school
but he has a very good behavior for
example and you buy him a nice football
and you know a ticket to go to
Manchester United or Liverpool he says I don't
deserve it that I mean look at my
grades it's not about deserving Allah doesn't do
this because we deserve it he does it
because he's kind and generous and Shakur okay
is that clear okay so in excuse me
yes Allah subhanallah okay are there any questions
about what I have said for now last
thing sorry if you know Allah Jalla wa
Ala is a Shakur meaning he is the
one that will reward you if you know
that he is Shakur then you do not
want anybody to to thank you you don't
want anybody to reward you because if you
want someone to thank you or reward you
Allah will not anymore he won't any longer
like on Yom Kiyamah when people come and
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala you will be
expecting a reward for something which you have
done for your wife your children whatever and
Allah says no you did it for their
sake so look for your reward with them
not with me it was not for me
I'm not in need of any partners so
any deed that you have done a good
deed for me and others apart from me
then I will leave you with your partner
that you have associated to me is this
clear so this is the strength because very
often in life people won't see how good
you are or how generous you are people
might not even notice it but then you
get sad you become sad you feel it
you might be longing for appreciation gratitude applause
you have no time you are dealing with
Allah this is easy to say but it's
difficult to do but this is how it
has to be done needs to be done
and because exactly because shukr being grateful is
so difficult it's the minority of people that
are grateful Allah says in the Quran Surah
Saad and a few amongst my servants are
grateful and the Messenger ﷺ also told us
that we have to be grateful towards people
we don't expect others to do it but
we do it لا يشكر الله من لم
يشكر الناس the one that did not thank
people didn't thank Allah thanking Allah is also
thanking the sebab the means that he has
used also very important and the Messenger ﷺ
said when someone has done good for you
then do the same for him in return
that is something which is equal to what
he or she has done and if you
can't find anything then supplicate for this person
until you have the feeling that you have
given something equal and back in return the
Messenger ﷺ also said like in the Jamia
of Imam Suyuti showing Allah blessings talking about
Allah's blessing blessings is what is shukr is
a form of gratitude what does this mean
it means that one is not allowed to
complain we talk with people about what goes
good in life not about what goes bad
in life unless it is with a scholar
because you are in need of advice a
doctor because he has to know what is
going wrong with your body a psychologist if
you are in need of answers or an
economist if you are in need to do
something in your life or an architect or
the landlord you just talk to people about
the negative aspects in life with people that
can change something otherwise it is gossip gossip
about whom one of the Saliheen said be
aware that you do not backbite your Lord
even though he hears it said how?
by complaining to creation what the creator has
done to you by complaining to the creator
to the creation about what Allah made happen
in your life because at the end this
is what we do yes and this isn't
alright and this is always wrong and why
is it always me?
it is like we are disconnected from the
Qadr we do this everyday Sayyidi and this
is why reminders are good so that we
can elevate and lift up that we can
climb higher everything I say I am in
need of myself I am just talking out
loud so this is very important that we
do not backbite Allah because he always hears
and he always sees so this is also
another form of Shukr and the last form
of Shukr I want to share with you
is the greatest form of Shukr is that
you transform yourself into reflection of what the
name contains of meanings that now you still
thank people for what they have done 2
years ago you tell your wife for example
you remember that meal you made that day
when you were sick 2 years ago thank
you you keep on thanking people if you
would have given me I don't know even
something small that every time I see you
and I say thank you people say stop
why should I stop?
because your blessing is still there your gift
is still there I am still using it
why should I stop saying thank you?
this is one of the most beautiful aspects
in life recognition not taking things for granted
thanking people for everything that they do and
also in a marriage this is very important
like can you make me a cup of
coffee?
turn on the lights switch off the lights
like everybody is like a director in the
house others are employed would you like to
do this please?
and when they do it thank you somebody
brings you a glass of water and I
am not talking that this is exaggerated this
is the way we will keep on talking
they say if you want your marriage to
work be in the very last days of
your marriage as you were in the very
first and then every day will be a
honeymoon it is not impossible it is not
impossible if you know that through marriage you
can attain the highest levels of paradise by
sticking to it you know so impossible it
is ok but let us say at least
90% then do we agree?
yes to be quite frank we need to
climb to the highest levels this is very
important we need to start and it is
never too late like one of the questions
I ask is has a husband ever really
thanked his wife for every pain she went
through during 9 months and then giving life
to the child and you know if we
have the flu we men we have the
flu all the house knows that we are
about to die I can't I am this
is a man usually not all men but
a lot of them and then when I
need to recover the time for recovery after
the flu the wife gives birth today and
when she is home she is already on
her feet the doctor says no lay down
no she is not and we sleep subhanallah
then we say can you keep him quiet
I need to work tomorrow wife has a
24-24 job and apart from that she
often also works so thanking thank you for
giving this small real life puppet that we
have in our lives just thanking the same
if the husband works and the wife doesn't
work for example or they both work thanking
each other thank you for going out every
morning 8 hours 9 hours 10 hours everyday
and coming back and providing for us you
know we take everything for granted and everything
is so obvious that we forget that the
people we live with are in need of
appreciation they are in need of gratitude in
need of us expressing and showing that we
really value what they are doing for us
and we don't do this and this is
when we die this is when we die
from a social point of view and this
is terrible so the messenger in brief he
taught us all of these things and the
shukr at the end he said in the
jama of Iman Suyuti someone who eats and
is grateful attains the same level as someone
who is fasting and enduring and patient someone
who eats and is thankful it's not about
some of Ramadan of course about the non
-obligatory ones someone who eats and is grateful
and thankful attains the level of someone who
is fasting and is being patient this is
the power of shukr the power of shukr
this is in brief what I wanted to
say so if there are any questions you
would like to ask then please do so
the messenger of Allah there was a man
who came to the messenger of Allah while
he was talking about boasting with what we
have and he said oh messenger of Allah
if someone likes his clothes to be beautiful
and his shoelaces to be beautiful look it's
from the very largest thing we see the
clothes to the tiniest thing we see the
laces so he says if he likes his
clothing to be beautiful and his laces in
another narration his shoes to be beautiful and
that they match that you look do my
shoes match my socks does it match my
tie whatever my glasses the messenger of Allah
said this is not boasting he said Allah
is beautiful and Allah loves beauty he said
boasting being arrogant is refusing the truth and
stepping on people's rights so yes the messenger
speak about the blessings of your Lord and
talking about the blessings of the Lord is
in deeds and in words and the messenger
of Allah said like has been mentioned by
Imam Suyuti he said Allah loves it to
see the blessings he has bestowed upon his
servants he loves it when you show the
blessings you have not to boast but because
you love the blessings of your Lord and
this is like in the story of Ayub
A.S. in As-Sahih when Allah cured
him he poured down upon him how do
you call that subhanAllah Al-Jarad grasshoppers golden
grasshoppers and he started grabbing them and putting
them away and he said are you greedy
Ayub he said if it comes down to
your blessings yes so it all depends on
how you look at it and you don't
do this to break people's hearts you know
sometimes let us say that I have a
Rolex which I don't a Rolex with some
diamonds not gold diamond silver Rolex handmade with
my name on it Suleiman Imam of Ashford
and Staines community center and then I arrive
here with my Porsche you know or let
us say with a Bentley or Rolls Royce
Phantom you know and I arrive here I
sit in front of you talking about Al
-Akhirah and talking about love for Allah and
his messenger and not loving Dunya most probably
you would look at me like this man
is no I mean he is not real
he is fake you wouldn't even believe me
like but if I am paying Zakat on
everything I have where is my Haram where
is my Haram is it Haram to buy
a Rolls Royce no is it Haram not
to pay Zakat on what I have yes
do you know that the messenger of Allah
S.W.T had the best camel of
the entire Arabian Peninsula and the best camel
Al-Qaswa she was strong she was quick
she we wouldn't be even able to pay
this today a lot of people won't be
able to do this it would be like
the Bentley of today or Lamborghini or whatever
he had this A.S.W.T so
now we judge people in harmony with what
they possess if he possesses a Rolls Royce
and a Lamborghini he can't be connected to
Allah in the Akhira do you mean that
every poor person is connected to Allah of
course not of course not so it is
all about if you have these blessings and
Allah has bestowed them upon you and they
are Halal you are allowed to enjoy them
Subhanallah you are allowed to enjoy them not
to break people's hearts everybody is different some
people have more some people have less and
the last example that I want to give
you is like Abu Huraira A.S.W
.T who came to the messenger A.S
.W.T and said Ya Rasulullah the rich
people have taken away with them such and
such what would you expect if people came
to you today ah the rich people what
would you expect somebody to be jealous right
ah the rich people have cars they have
villas they have rolex they have A.S
.W.T Ya Rasulullah the rich people he
said what's wrong with the rich people say
they go away with the Hassanat so while
they were looking they were poor people they
were underfed they maybe were of Ahlus Sufah
sleeping in the mosque A.S.W.T
These poor people these rich people say what's
wrong with the rich people say they go
away with the Hassanat so the poor sahaba
came to complain about the rich sahaba not
because of their money because of their Hassanat
and he said what do you mean They
said you saw Luna come on.
We saw the way I saw Luna come
on.
I saw my first of the Kona well,
I'm a tough about He said they pray
like we pray they fast like we fast,
but they can give away in charity and
we can't This was their sorrow so then
the Messenger of Allah said Our lamb, you
know, he didn't Allah give you shape.
I mean something that you can give Sadaqa
said if you say any Subhan Allah So
this is the hadith in brief so now
they were happy they were trying to hide
it you know, you hide hassanat, you know
But then the rich people they also wanted
hassanat because their hearts were connected to Allah
Look at Uthman radhiallahu anhu When he provided
for all the army in the time of
the Prophet That he gave away in a
way in a way until the Prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam said nothing will harm earth man
Whatever he does after today But this didn't
turn earth man into someone lazy knowing that
whatever I do today, I'm forgiven it Encouraged
him to do more out of Gratitude.
So now these poor Sahaba they started saying
And then the rich people they came.
What are you doing?
So, what is this thing this new thing
there and Then they had to say it,
of course, and then a couple of days
later the poor Sahaba came back He said
ya Rasulallah The samia Ikhwan al-agniya biman
af'al our rich brethren Have heard what
we do So they are doing now what
we are doing the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
smiled And he was happy.
This was this the result of his dawah.
This is an incredible, you know, he smiled
and he said This is a blessing of
Allah and he bestows it upon whom he
wants So look at the sorrow and the
worry of the Sahaba radhiallahu anhu Just to
say that having a lot of money doesn't
disconnect you from Allah Having beautiful clothes beautiful
shoes doesn't disconnect you haram does So this
is a brief what I wanted to add
to this Well, there's a whole Yes
That's true.
But Like imam al-munziri rahimallah mentioned in
a tarheeb al-tarheeb that the Prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam said one dinar Can weigh more
heavy than a thousand And they said how
so ya rasulallah.
He said this man that gives away one
dinar only has two and the one that
has thousand Takes just something out of maybe
a million So even someone poor who gives
Percentage wise more than the rich one one
dinar will be more heavy than the thousand
of a rich man Subhanallah, this is this
is Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala's, you know shukr
Now this is Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala shukr.
But there was a debate a large one
in the in the 8th century About who
and even before but then they concentrate on
it.
Like who is better the poor patient person
or the rich generous Shack it grateful person
So there are all debates and they've written
about it in the same year as well
It's an entire debate and at the end
it all comes down to taqwa not to
money because Allah in surah saad speaks about
Suleyman and his wealth and he said he
was a blessed servant because he was Submitted
and about Ayub who was poor.
He said he was a blessed servant.
He was submitted to Allah So it's not
about money.
It's about this here.
No, okay Yes It
all depends Yes, I think it all depends
You are allowed to talk about your child
and to say mashallah.
My child is very intelligent and so forth
It comes down to one.
Why do you say it?
That's one and secondly to whom do you
say it?
imagine you have a parent with a disabled
child and you keep on talking about how
good your child can run or A mental
disabled child and you keep on telling them
how intelligent your child is this would be
wrong Because the person you are telling it
to is not the right person to tell
it to you understand Which doesn't mean that
parents who have?
a child A disabled child wouldn't want you
to tell it so they maybe they ask
it themselves And it's your child doing good
at school because a lot of people have
beautiful hearts so they wouldn't mind But we
didn't wouldn't do it ourselves or a woman
that just lost her husband.
You say mashallah My husband always takes me
to park You know, she just lost her
husband.
It would be the wrong person to tell
it to so it's really the fit of
Ahwal-e-mukhatabeen of the situation of those
who you talk to But it wouldn't be
wrong to speak good about what you possess
or what you have if it is not
to boast Or to break hearts Is that
good?
Okay, like you you would go somewhere in
Africa Africa For example where people don't have
a lot of food and you start talking
about how much we eat That would be
wrong.
Yes Yes
This is from a psychological point of view
very difficult if you are very appreciative of
people and people are not appreciative of yourself
but from an educational point of view, we
should tell people like if your child doesn't
appreciate what it has from an Educational point
of view you should say you should appreciate
what I do Or also if you feel
you're hurt if your husband or your wife
doesn't appreciate what you do You can tell
them and share the feelings.
You know, this is your personal emotional dimension
You say actually it hardens my heart and
it takes a bit away a bit of
my love For you if you don't appreciate
what you have or what I do, so
you can talk about it But the highest
level we always talk about the highest levels
is that you really don't care if people
are not appreciative But with children you do
it from an educational point of view.
This is very important.
You should Tell them to say thank you
to appreciate it You should remind them of
what you have given already what they have
and how and so forth But from an
educational point of view not because of the
ego Is that does that make sense?
Thank you so much You enlightened us so
much Naba'e May Allah bless you Thank
you so much.
Last question insha'Allah That was you Yes
I've always been like this Yes, I'm going
to mention this Next time but now this
group of names is the the group of
the names of divine gifts Okay How many
names you have done so far?
The first one Last class was an introduction
Yes, it's each Tuesday insha'Allah Insha'Allah
And on Friday not this Friday every two
weeks we have The prayer management And on
Sunday we have the prophetic soul No, the
prophetic soul is after Fajr And the other
ones are after Isha Wa salallahu wa salam
wa baraka ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa ala alihi
wa sahbihi walhamdulillahi rabbil alamin