Tahir Anwar – Relief is Promised for the Believers
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AI: Transcript ©
Salaam Alaikum, warahmatullahi, taala, wabarakatuh,
alhamdulillahi, rabbil, Alameen WA, salatu wa, salaamu. Alay
Sayyidina, Muhammad wa, alihi wa,
sahbyhiwan, ilhamid, shaytaan I rajim, lahir Rahman, in the
name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful. I bear witness that
there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that his beloved
Nabi and Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him. Is his last and final
messenger. It's indeed a blessing of Allah, Subhanahu wa that Allah
has blessed us with faith, with iman and the ability to believe,
the ability to have Yaqeen conviction without ever having
seen Allah, Subhanahu
wa salam, that generation after generation, this Yaqeen, this
faith, this knowledge, this practice, This way of life, has
been passed along and as believers for generations and not just us.
This is a practice that has been for generations, that in any time
of happiness or sadness, we turn to Allah and His messenger. And it
is that reality that we teach to our own children, the young
children in the community. And the greatest desire for any parent or
any teacher is that not only do we pass along this information and
knowledge that we have, but also be able to pass along these
practices, this belief
and so in these difficult or interesting times that we've been
living in, and it almost feels like we've been saying this
statement time and again, these difficult times or interesting
times. I'm I'm reminded of a verse in Surah Yunus where Allah
subhanahu wa salam says, yabani, yad hab Fatah hasta, sumihi, wala
Tay, ASU me Rahila. Tells his children, Yusuf
Alaihi, Salatu was Salam had been gone for many years. Binyamin is
now, has been captured. And so the sons come back to ya abub and say,
Oh, our dear father, we've lost your other son as well. And so he
says, idha Boo go Fatah has a Sumi Yusuf. Look for Yusuf and his
brother, wala tey abuah, do not despair the relief from Allah,
Subhanahu wa and then he says, in nahula, yay a su mi rohill, omul
kafirun, that the believers never despair relief from Allah, except
for those who don't believe, except for those who don't
believe. That's why belief is so important. And belief, as we're
reminded, is not just an action of the tongue, but it's actually from
the heart. And so as we go through these times, we begin by reminding
ourselves that relief is something that Allah has promised to every
generation. Relief is something that Allah has given to all of us.
Relief is something that Allah will give to all of us in the
future. Relief is something that every single one of us has
experienced at some point in our lives, but when we go through
difficulty at times, and when we're right in the middle of it,
sometimes, even as believers, we feel that there's no light at the
end of the tunnel. We feel that there's no way out of this. But
the reality is, Allah has a plan. Allah has a plan for everyone,
and we're reminded time and again, Allah loves us. Allah loves the
believers. Allah loves the marsinine, the people who do good.
And every single one of us in our lives at some point or the other
has done good, has gone out of our way. Has been so sincere in our
actions, our giving our time, that the people, those that are closest
to us, don't even know of that good deed, right? And Allah
reminds us in the Quran Al Jaza UL ih Hassan, illal Ihsan is the
reward for good, nothing, anything but good, Allah will give it to
us. That's why we look at the example of the Beloved Prophet
Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. He never despaired the
Mercy of Allah. Subhanahu wa Allah says, Do not despair the.
Mercy of Allah, Subhanahu wa and that's why at times,
Allah uses certain circumstances and opportunities, as difficult as
they may be, to remind us, to remind us, Allah is simply
reminding us. And as a Muslim who lives in the United States of
America, who has lived here my entire life, right? And as we have
gone through this extremely difficult pandemic, right? And
while so many things have been so difficult, I'm reminded that there
have been so many amazing things that have actually come out as a
result of this in my own personal life,
my connection with Allah subhanahu wa not taking my community for
granted, the community that I am seeing week after week. As I drove
up to the zaytuna college campus today, it reminded me that this is
why I live where I live, the blessing that I have in my life,
right, the blessing that my family and I have in our lives, right?
There's so many things that come out of it, because before we drive
here every day, week after week, and we took it for granted, and
all of a sudden, when we don't have it, we say, this is such an
amazing blessing and gift from Allah subhanahu wa the ability to
reflect
afala. Karun right? The ability to reflect and difficulty, as we're
reminded brothers and sisters, is a part of life. That's why, when
Allah subhanahu wa describes death and Allah subhanahu wa taala
describes the afterlife for the believers, he says, lahouna
alayhim, wala Hun, there's no fear and there's no worry, the land of
no grief, the rant, the land of no fear, the land of No worry, is
only that of the Hereafter,
because in this world, we will have everything. We will have
grief, we will have worry, we will have fear, but it will not be with
us every day. There will be days and we will in which we will
enjoy. We will be grateful, we will be happy. That's just part of
our life. And so what does the nabi alayhi salatu wasallam teach
us, right in the most difficult, one of the most and historically
we all know this, one of the most difficult times in the life of the
prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam was him being in
Taif, right the circumstances the Amal huzan, the year of sorrow,
that led to right the incident in Taif,
and then in Taif, when the Prophet alayhi salatu wa salam was driven
out, what did he do? He made a heartfelt DUA and prayer to Allah
subhanahu wa. It was the sincerity of his prayer. It was the
sincerity of the words he used in that supplication, the humility,
right, the humility, the humbleness. He was the messenger
of Allah. He could have said to Allah and said, Ya Allah, I'm your
messenger. How could this happen to me? But he didn't. He said,
Allahu, alaika, ashgudura, faqul, Wati, wakila, tahilati. He saying,
Ya Allah, I am weak. The Messenger, Alayhi Salatu was Salam
was anything but weak. The Messenger, Ali Salam was anything
but weak, but extreme humility. And then Allah, Subhanahu wa
changed the circumstances for the messenger, sallAllahu, alayhi wa
sallam, which is why Allah reminds us in the Quran ASA, antaq, Rahu,
Shay and wahu wahiro, lakum. Wasa unto him, buchay and Mahua. Sharul
akum, there may be things that you may think that are really bad for
you, but they may end up being good for you. And there may be
things that you think that are good for you, but they're
essentially bad for you. That's why Ibn tayy Muhammad Allah Ali
reminds us, I when the time of difficulty, when the time of
calamity is extended for you. And let's think for a moment, because
we're specifically going through this pandemic. Initially, we
thought that this lockdown or closing up would only be for a few
weeks. Some countries, some places, some parts of the world,
completely denied it altogether. Then we thought it'd be a few
months and we'd be out of it right and now we're so many months into
it. And the reality is that as we're going through this right
now, it's actually gotten worse, and even worse, Ibn qayyim Rahul
Ali says it ala ALA, when the time of calamity, difficulty,
tribulation is extended for you, ma is the melodic AFI dua while
you remain engaged in your supplication.
Supplication is a condition for this. Supplication must continue.
Just because we've been asking Allah for something for months and
months and months, and we thought that Allah would immediately
answer our prayer and that it would go away in weeks, doesn't
mean we should stop making dua,
because it will go away when Allah wants it to go away, but it will
also go away as a result of the entire Ummah making dua to Allah
subhanahu
wa, he says, fah Alam? He says, No, an Allah uridu, ijab u dawati,
kafakat, Allah subhanahu wa simply, simply doesn't.
Want to answer your prayer. He doesn't just want to answer your
prayer, but you read on your Aliyah. Kafaukahat rather Allah
subhanahu wa wants to give you gifts more than what you asked
for. Lam tat lubha, you didn't even ask for it.
We don't know as human beings, we don't know what our future holds,
but our Ummah and our community over the years has done some
amazing things, and this may be the time when people, when amazing
people, when students, when teachers, may be able to hunker
down,
put their thoughts together, and then come out of this with some
amazing things that Allah subhanahu wa continue to bless.
For a while, people thought that, you know, all these masajid and
all our madad is in our schools and institutions. How would they
run? But the reality is that the community has actually come
through even more and even greater than before in so many ways, so
much talent, so much wealth, so much time. This is the blessing of
Allah subhanahu wa. That's why we're reminded the NABI Alayhi
Salatu was Salam reminds us, you know, being being grateful, being
grateful. Yes, it's difficult. I'm not denying that it's not
difficult. That's why the NABI alaihi salam says, Man Asmaa
fahisad, whosoever wakes up in the morning and you are healthy,
especially in this time you're healthy, you know you can get out
of bed, you can do all the amazing things. Amin and fi Syr be feeling
secure with yourself. We have some level of security. We have a
shelter inshallah. We have the ability to eat inshallah. We have
the love of our family that surrounds us.
We have institutions that we know, that are serving us in so many
different ways, serving our communities in so many different
ways. The deen of Allah, Subhanahu wa will continue to be preserved
in so many different ways, and we will have something to do with it.
InshaAllah, we will have something to do with it. This will testify
for us that had it not been for that institution that was
supported by those individuals,
was supported by those individuals. Islam wouldn't have
been available in this land, but because of these efforts, Allah
made Islam, made our deen, made our way of life, made our love,
made our humility, made our knowledge grow, and it brought
peace and serenity and love into the community and society. Amin
and
you have food for one day, just one day, no more than one nothing
in your refrigerator, nothing in your closet, nothing in your
pantry. All you have is the food that's going to last you till
tonight, says FAQ. Anna mahit laud says, as the NABI Alaihi Salatu
was Salam says it's as if the entire world has been gathered for
that individual. The entire world has been gathered for that
individual. And it's this hadith has been around for years and
years, for generations, and many people have probably understood it
in different times and in different ways,
but in today's day and age, right, especially the health part. Right?
As long as you have your health, you have everything. That's why
people are being so careful. And I'm happy to say that,
Alhamdulillah, the Muslim community, especially here, you
know, has been very conscious, very careful, right? It's hard not
to see each other. It's hard not to meet each other, but we're
being careful. We're engaged in ibadah. We're engaged in dua to
Allah subhanahu wa, and our hope and our desire and our prayer to
Allah subhanahu wa is that we will see better days inshaAllah. We
will see better days. That's why I'm reminded of another tradition
of the Prophet alayhi, salatu wassalam, where he says Ajab and
Liam in the matter of a believer is strange. The matter of a
believer is interesting. Then Abu Asmaa says, every affair of theirs
is always good. And you ask yourself, How can everything be
good? How can when I'm going through a difficulty, when I'm
going through a worry, when I'm going through a disease. How can
that be good? The Nabi alaihi salatu was, Salam says, walay sada
Ali Ahad in il mumin, this is not possible for anyone except a
believer. Why? The Nabi alaihi salam says, In Asaba, hussa, in
Asaba, husara, Shaka,
right in asabara, Shaka, and the Nabi Alaihi Salatu was Salam says
that when some when this individual receives some goodness,
they're grateful, right? Fakanahiran la and this is good
for that individual. When a sabbatuddha ra sabar faqanallah,
and when some calamity befalls that individual, they're patient.
And this is also good for them. Think about this, when people.
Say that Allah is angry with us, and Allah is upset with us, and
you know, think about it, even in difficulty, Allah is still pleased
with us. Why? Because we are patient. Are we patient? Ask
yourself. Ask yourself, as you've gone through all of this. How many
times have we said, Allah, will look after us. Oh, Allah, make it
easy for us. We are patient in so many different ways. We wake up in
the middle of the night to make dua to Allah subhanahu wa to grant
us relief, whatever it is, whatever that relief it is that we
may be asking Allah subhanahu
wa,
is that not being patient?
Then what does Allah say about the patient in the Quran in Allah ma,
Sabir, Allah is with those. Ma, to be with someone. Allah is with
those who are patient. This is the promise that is given to us in the
Book of Allah subhanahu wa.
The deen of Allah subhanahu wa is amazing, and the deen of Allah
subhanahu wa is very real. And so some of us may have some extra
time, some of us may have some extra whatever it may be. I want
to share a hadith of the NABI alaihi salatu wasalam, the Prophet
sallallahu. Alayhi wasallam says, il tanim Take advantage of five
before five, Shabab aramic, of your youth before your old age.
Was your health before your illness. Wahina kablak, your
wealth before your poverty. WA Farah Kabul, your free time before
you become busy. Wahayatika, Tabla motik, and your life before your
death.
And not everyone has all of these at any given time,
not we don't. It's not like you have all of these qualities, but
at some point we do have some of these qualities. We may have some
free time. Utilize that free time wisely. We may have some wealth.
If you want to secure your wealth, then give right. If you're young.
There's so much that we can do with our time, with our ability.
We can, we can. We can do so much with so little sleep. We have so
much energy. We have so many ideas, talents, networked. There's
so much that we can do, but we ask ourselves, how do we use our time?
How do we use our wealth? And I'm reminded that all of these
examples are found in the companions of the messenger,
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the messenger, the companions of the
Prophet. SallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam, you know, people say the
Sahaba, the companions of the NABI Alaihi, salatu, salam, who were
they? Who were the sahaba? The Sahaba were regular community
members, living in a community and a society. But they were good
people. They were they aspired for goodness, which is inherently
human. They aspired for goodness. They aspired for Kher. And so they
found an individual who was teaching them goodness.
And so they started, for a lack of better terms and words we would
say in America,
they started hanging out with him. That's what they did. That's they
just started hanging out with him. They said, this is a good person
to be with. This is a good person. It's good to be in this
individual's company
that his words are divine, the message that he shares is divine.
His actions are divine. SallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam.
And as a result of that my life has changed. My life has become
better.
And so they became his companions, and they became his students. They
became his students,
and his message was so powerful and his message was so divine
that the NABI Alayhi Salatu was Salam as he was commended by Allah
subhanahu wa in the
final sermon the nadi Alayhi Salatu was Salam says Allah Shahid
al rahib, the one that is present, should share this with those who
are absent, with those who are not present.
And from the time of the Sahaba until now, every generation of
believers has taken this task very, very seriously,
very seriously, no matter which part of the world your family or
my family may come from.
But for those who have been Muslims for generations in a
certain country, in a certain land, this tradition has been
passed along,
right? This tradition has been so beautifully passed along people
have.
Learned that people spent time learning the tradition. There were
people who made sure that those who wanted to spend time were
sponsored and looked after. There was, there were, there were people
who spent all the time teaching. The people that were teaching were
looked after. That is how that is how strong our tradition is.
People made sacrifices for this tradition to be passed from
generation to generation. They were people who made sacrifices of
their time. They were people who made sacrifices of their entire
lives. They were people who made sacrifices of their wealth. They
were people who made sacrifices of their buildings and their homes.
Sacrifices were made. Why? Because of a simple statement of the NABI
Alayhi Salatu was Salam
that those who are not present should receive this message,
and in order for this message to be passed along, unadulterated,
untouched, so beautifully, they were people who made that
sacrifice.
And the reason why so many of us are Muslims, and so many of us
have the knowledge that we have, so many of us have the yakin and
conviction that we have, is because someone in the generation
previous to us, prior to us, it was passed along from a generation
before them and a generation before them,
we learn so much from our own parents. May Allah bless our
parents. May Allah reward our parents. If our parents have
passed away, may Allah forgive them and have mercy on them. And
if our parents are alive, may Allah bless them and reward them
and give them good health. Ameen,
so much was learned at home. Simple actions were learned at
home. Quran was learned at home. And then for those of us that
decided that we wanted to know a little bit more about our
tradition, we went to schools. We went to colleges, universities,
institutions, all of these were established by the community. This
is money, this is talent that people could have used anywhere
else.
But there's so much encouragement. There's so much importance in our
tradition for knowledge and for ILM and for this tradition to be
passed along. And our tradition is such, right? It's such that no
matter which time it's in and no matter which place it is in, it
adapts to the cultural currents of the society.
That's who we are. We're not some exclusive individuals, right? It's
not like we have some exclusive ideas. We're not cultish any
society that we've gone in. We take the cultural norms of the
society, they become a part of our tradition. There's so much that we
have in our tradition that we share with the culture, and it
becomes a beautiful mix. And all of this is what believe in. Allah
and the messenger, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam. Pray five times
a day. Give your zakat. Be nice to people, help people. Don't hold a
malice and grudge in your heart. That's what our tradition is all
about.
How do we derive, how do we preserve this tradition? And
that's what we do. That's what we've always done. And so even
here at our college, by the father of Allah subhanahu wa has blessed
us with a faculty. Allah has blessed us with a faculty that is
just sound, that is solid, right? This is again a gift from Allah
subhanho wa taala. These are people, the faculty, not the
students, the faculty, who have sat at the feet, at the footsteps,
at the feet of the Masters in various different parts of the
world. That's another amazing thing that we have in certain when
you, when you study in a certain part of the world, you may only
get from that part of the world, but studying in the West, many a
times, we can drink from so many different fountains. These are all
fountains. All of our teachers, our faculty members, are
fountains.
And then Allah has blessed again. Thanks. Thanks to the Ummah,
thanks to the parents, thanks to the communities, thanks to the
Sunday school teachers, thanks to the Sunday schools
that they prepared, students, prepared young men and women who
said that I want to become a better individual. I want to have
a better understanding of what my dean has to tell me. I want to
become an individual who can be a part of society, to serve society,
and then those students come to the footsteps of these fountains
of these teachers that we have.
And so no matter what happens, no matter what happens around the
world, it becomes our responsibility as human beings, as
believers, of people living in this time and age, that we support
education in every which way possible, not simply by our money,
but literally by ensuring that we have institutions that can provide
this knowledge while we get through this pandemic and times
become good and so on and so forth. In the end, we want.
Make sure that our deen and our tradition and our knowledge has
been preserved for our generation, for my children and your children,
and they take this from us, and then they do the job of passing it
along to the next generation, so that we can testify on the Day of
Judgment that we were amongst those who facilitated this for the
next generation, brothers and sisters, there's a lot of hope,
there's a lot of love, there's a lot of amazing promises in our
tradition. And we pray to Allah subhanahu wa that may Allah
subhanahu wa taala allow us and grant us, tawfiq, to get out of
this difficulty and any difficulty in our life. And may Allah make us
amongst those who are individuals who learn the deen, or who teach
the deen, or who facilitate the teaching and the learning of the
deen. And may Allah subhanahu wa taala bless you and our families,
everyone with peace, goodness, serenity. Sukun, sakinah, Afiya,
well being in our lives and may Allah subhanahu wa make us happy
and content and loving individuals for as long as we live. Barak
Allahu, fikom, jazakallahu, khiran salam alaikum, warahmatullahi,
taala, wabarakatuh.