Wael Ibrahim – Why do we worship Allah SWT
AI: Summary ©
The importance of worshipping Islam is discussed, including the use of "we" to describe actions and emotions, fasting, and the definition of taqwa. The importance of actions and actions in relation to taqwa is emphasized, along with advice on improving one's taqwa. The segment emphasizes the need to practice Islam in a professional and authentic way, avoid confusion and mistakes, and be prepared for death. The importance of following Prophet's teachings and not giving up on guidance is also emphasized.
AI: Summary ©
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
Are you guys sleeping?
Are you sleeping?
You don't even answer the question.
Are you sleeping?
I can't hear.
Somebody Egyptian here.
Masha'Allah.
Masha'Allah tabarakallah.
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.
Alhamdulillah wa salatu wa salamu ala Rasulullah salallahu
alayhi wa sallam.
Rabbish rahli sadri wa salli amri wahlul uqdatan
min lisani yafqahu qawli subhanaka la'ilma lana
illa ma'allamtana innaka anta al'alimul hakeem.
I'm very glad to be with you my
brothers and sisters for the first time ever
in Blackburn.
And I don't know why people keep on
scaring me about coming here.
Yeah, they told me these people, be careful,
they're very conservative.
And I don't know what does that mean.
So let me test the water here.
Are you guys conservative in the sense that
you don't smile?
Do you smile?
Can I see your smiles?
Smile, smile brother.
Don't be scared to show your teeth.
Yeah, mashallah tabarakallah.
My brothers and sisters in Islam, jazakumullahu khayran
for coming down here for light upon light
conference tour with the theme of the power
of worship.
Now, we all must have heard the question,
what is the purpose of life?
If you've heard that question before, raise up
your hand.
Raise up your hand.
Yep.
So probably you heard a lecture with that
same title.
What is the purpose of life?
You probably may have engaged with someone that
you wanted to open doors for him to
reflect over his own existence and maybe you
yourself have asked him that question.
So what do you think the purpose of
life is?
True or false?
And I'm sure that if I ask all
of you today, what is the purpose of
our life, you will get the answer correctly.
I'm 100% sure.
You will not say my purpose is to
have a selfie with Mufti Menk.
You will not say that.
I'm sure that will not be, probably it's
a dream, but it's not the ultimate purpose
why you're here.
Right?
So maybe in the introduction, I'm not sure,
MC perhaps have mentioned this ayah.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونَ That I
have not created jinkind nor mankind except to
worship me.
So the main purpose of why we were
created is already established in the Qur'an.
And that is to do what?
To worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Alhamdulillah.
We all know this.
But we seldom ask ourselves another question.
We seldom ask ourselves another question.
And that is, what is the main purpose
of ibadah itself?
Why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala create
us to worship Him?
And this is perhaps the element that we
wanted to add to our lives to empower
our acts of worship inshallah.
And alhamdulillah, Islam is a very very comprehensive
religion.
And all these questions are already answered.
All what we need to do is to
enhance our knowledge about the deen so that
we can inshallah ta'ala practice Islam in
a better manner biiznillah.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said in the
Qur'an, يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ عَبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي
خَلَقَكُمُ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ O
people!
O mankind!
Worship your Lord who created you and those
before you.
Why Allah?
Why did you create us to worship you?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala answered, so that
you may attain taqwa.
One of the main purposes why we worship
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is to enhance
and increase that concept that we will unpack
in a minute inshallah ta'ala called taqwa.
And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala narrowed
down this command to the believers.
So the first ayah is addressing all mankind
because the purpose of every living creature is
to worship their creator.
But once you acknowledged Allah as your Lord,
once you acknowledged Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
as your prophet, then listen up.
The same one that you have acknowledged have
imposed upon you certain obligations.
So for example as a sample of this
obligation Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us
about siyam, about fasting.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا
كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ All
you who believe, all those who have acknowledged
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as their Lord,
as their creator and Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam as the final messenger.
Fasting was prescribed upon you as it was
prescribed for the people before you.
Why Allah?
Why this beautiful act of ibadah was made
obligatory?
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ The same thing, so that you
may attain taqwa.
This is how important taqwa is.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created us
to worship Him.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created us to
worship Him so that we may attain taqwa.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala imposed upon
us certain acts of worship that will help
us improve that concept in our heart, taqwa.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us
that if you wanted to be guided towards
that direction, then follow something else that is
very, very important.
And that is the Qur'an, the roadmap
that is leading to Jannah inshallah ta'ala.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the
Qur'an, أَلِفْ لَا مِّنْ ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا
رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ This is the Qur
'an.
This is the book.
In it there is no doubt, alhamdulillah.
In the Qur'an there is not a
single thing that you should doubt or be
ashamed of.
هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ This book, this Qur'an is
a guidance for whom?
For those people with taqwa in their hearts.
Allahu Akbar.
For those people with taqwa in their hearts.
Some people they said that Umar ibn al
-Khattab radiallahu anhu Arda, even before taking the
shahada, before becoming a Muslim, he had this
element of taqwa in his heart.
Why is that?
What is the evidence?
Because the Qur'an was able to impact
him positively.
So if you would interact with the Qur
'an and follow the commands of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala to the best of your
ability, the Qur'an is capable to change
that heart.
The Qur'an is capable of taking you
from your sinful way of life into something
better.
And even Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told
us, وَأَنَّ هَذَا صُرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوا And this
is my straight path.
This is my straight path.
Very upright.
Therefore, فَاتَّبِعُوا, follow that.
Follow that way.
وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ And don't follow any other
way of life.
Don't follow trends on the internet.
Don't ever say, my friends do this, my
family do this, my culture said this, what
Islam said to you.
This is what matters.
And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said
towards the end of this ayah, this is
how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commanded you
to do, to follow that path, to follow
that book.
Why?
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ Again, so that you may attain
taqwa.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reminded us
of the children of Israel back in the
days when Allah revealed upon them the revelation
and they didn't take it seriously.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, وَإِذْ
أَخَذْنَا مِثَاقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ الطُّورَ خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ
بِقُوَّةٍ وَاذْكُرُوا مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ Allahu Akbar.
Look at this, that remember the children of
Israel when Allah took a covenant from them
to worship Allah, to obey Him.
And Allah lifted up the mountain above their
head to the point that they thought that
Allah will crash it upon them.
خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ Take what we have
revealed upon you with might.
Take it seriously.
وَاذْكُرُوا مَا فِيهِ And remember its content.
Apply its knowledge in your day-to-day
activities.
Why?
So that you may attain taqwa.
Allahu Akbar.
I hope that you guys are following.
Are you following?
Can you respond to me?
Because I feel sleepy.
If you don't respond, I'll sleep here on
the stage.
And Mufti Menk will never speak again.
Because I'm warning you from now on, you
have to respond to my questions, right?
Allah make it easier.
And subhanAllah, one of my favorite ayat about
taqwa in the Qur'an, where Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala said what?
وَتَزَوَّدُوا فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَى وَالتَّقُونِيَ أُولِي
الْأَلْبَابِ And take your provision with you.
What provision?
This life that we're living in, my brothers
and sisters in Islam, is a very short
journey.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ told us, كُنْ فِي
الدُّنْيَا كَأَنَّكَ غَرِيبٌ أَوْ عَابِرْ سَبِيبٍ Be in
this dunya as a stranger, a passerby.
I am not from England.
I am from Australia.
So I'm here for a short while, and
then I'm going back home.
That's the plan, right?
And for me to come here, I need
to take with me a provision that will
sustain that journey.
Similarly, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala send us
to this dunya for a short while.
And He is advising us, He is commanding
us, He is reminding us to take for
this journey of the dunya, our provision.
Whatever you need to sustain yourselves, your family
members, take it, do it, so long as
it's halal.
But then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said,
what in that ayah?
But the best of all provisions is taqwa.
And then Allah said, وَاتَّقُونِ يَا أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ
And have taqwa in me, O people of
understanding.
Why is that important?
Because we're going back to Allah.
إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا عِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ So if you
are smart, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is
telling us, improve your level of taqwa and
everything else, wallahi, will be fixed for you.
Everything else.
Don't worry, I will define taqwa in a
minute.
I'm just laying down that foundation.
I want you to connect the dots.
We were created to worship Allah.
We were created to worship Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala so that we may attain taqwa.
All our acts of worship were meant for
us to enhance our level of taqwa in
our heart.
The Qur'an is the best guide for
us to attain taqwa.
And the best of all provision that you
can do for yourself and for your family
members, your children, the coming generations, is to
improve taqwa.
And as a result, Allahu Akbar, look at
the beauty of what Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala is preparing for us.
وَسَارِعُوا إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِّن رَبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ
وَالْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ And haste, haste all together.
My brothers and sisters in Islam, Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala is telling you, hurry up.
Haste towards forgiveness from your Lord and Jannah,
which its width is the heavens and the
earth combined.
Allahu Akbar.
أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ This Jannah was prepared not for
anyone.
It was prepared for whom?
For the people of taqwa.
Allahu Akbar.
وَلِلَّهِ الْحَمْدُ So who is ready here to
improve their taqwa?
Show me your hands.
Otherwise I will leave the stage.
See these guys are not ready for taqwa
at all.
Allah make it easier.
So what taqwa really is?
Let's now define taqwa based or according to
some of the tabi'een, the sahaba, the
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, linguistically and so on.
And then we can give you four practical
tips to improve your taqwa insha'Allah before
I leave the stage bi-idhnillahi ta'ala.
There is a man by the name of
Talq ibn Habib.
Talq ibn Habib, one of the tabi'een,
one of the students of the companions of
the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
When he was asked to describe taqwa, he
was asked one day, describe taqwa to us.
Like what is taqwa really?
So he said beautiful words.
In my opinion, this is the most comprehensive
definition for taqwa.
Few lines, but it summarizes everything about taqwa
that you need to know insha'Allah.
So he said, taqwa is al-'amalu bi-ta
'atillah, to act in obedience to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, ala nurin min Allah, upon
the guidance or the light of Allah.
So to work and to act with the
intention of obeying Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
based on His own guidance and instructions, not
based on your own desires and whims.
Remember this.
Islam is not about, I think, I believe,
I feel, I guess.
We may love so many things that are
haram, and other people would consider it okay
or good.
That's not Islam.
Islam is the deen of instruction.
Allah is your master and you are who?
You are the slave of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
And the slave of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala has only one job, and that is
to obey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala without
a question.
Simple.
Don't debate Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
One of the characteristics of the believers is
to, when they hear the command, they say
what?
Sama'ana wa what?
We hear and we argue.
We hear and, just give me a little
bit of time brother, pray for me.
Sama'ana and inshallah I will do it
later.
No.
Sama'ana wa ata'ana.
We heard and we obey.
That's your job.
So may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make
us among those people who swiftly respond to
the commands of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So he said at taqwa once more, al
-amalu bita'atillah, ala noorillah, tarju thawaballah.
To act in obedience to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala upon the right guidance of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, hoping for the reward
from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And then he continued, wa tarkil ma'asi
ala noorillah, and to leave sins behind, to
abandon sins, also based on the instructions of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, out of fear
of the punishment of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
This is taqwa in the most, in my
opinion, most comprehensive manner, yet few lines to
understand.
Basically obeying Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala according
to his will.
And that's by the way the meaning, the
very meaning of Islam, is to submit fully
to the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala, not to your own ideas, not to
your cultures, not to what you think is
right.
Wear hijab, sister.
Yeah, brother, wallahi, it's the most difficult thing
in my life.
How to wear hijab, brother?
Can you give me some tips on how
to wear hijab?
Sister, if you want to put hijab on,
this is how you do it.
Simple.
And the brother will come with smoking in
his hand, like, you know, cigarette in his
hand.
Blowing the air in your mouth, telling you,
pray for me, pray for me.
Make dua.
And the smoke will blind you before you
make even any dua.
And he's telling you, pray for me to
quit smoking.
Do you want to know how to quit
smoking?
Take that pack off and throw it immediately.
Throw it immediately.
Don't wait for shaitan to, you know, nap
you.
Don't wait.
I don't know how to lower my gaze,
brother.
Close your eyes.
Subhanallah.
Did I tell you about the guy who
came to me one day and tell me,
you guys making things difficult.
You guys, he means you mashayikh.
People look like me.
Poor guy, he didn't know how I was
before.
So he said, you guys making things difficult.
What have we done, brother?
He said, you always make, you know, ruling
like on cigarettes, haram, haram.
It's not haram, brother, look.
It's not haram, it's makruh.
That's what he said.
So I said, look, brother, I'm not a
mufti.
I'm not a scholar.
I will never tell you cigarettes halal or
haram.
I'll leave that to Shaykh Asim al-Hakim
and, you know, Dr. Muhammad Salah and those
knowledgeable people, you know.
For me, I will tell you, brother, if
you think that it is okay, I want
you to light up a cigarette right now.
So the brother said, like, are you serious?
I said, yeah, please.
So he took actually a cigarette out of
his pocket.
And I told him, what is the lighter?
He said, here is the lighter.
What do I do now?
I said, light it up.
But before taking the first puff, say, Bismillah
ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.
Yallah, show me.
And he said, can I do that?
I said, yeah, why not?
If you don't think that it is haram,
then we are told as Muslims, before doing
anything, say what?
So say, Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim and
then smoke.
And after you finish, before you throw the
cigarette, say, alhamdulillah.
You know, who burned my lungs?
Come on.
So, be serious.
You want to change?
You can change.
But are you willing to make a change?
Are you willing to face people who will
look at you and say, what happened to
you?
Sometimes, unfortunately, in our cultures, people who are
Muslims supposedly, they will tell their daughters who
wanted to put hijab on, you're still young.
Wait until you get married.
Wait until you become pregnant.
Wait until you have babies.
Wait until you're 70.
Just before going to the grave, we will
put hijab anyway.
La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.
Al-Hafidh ibn Rajab, rahmatullahi alayh, he also
defined taqwa.
He said, asn al-taqwa, the essence of
taqwa, an yaj'ala al-abda bainahu wa
bainamaa yakhafahu wa yahdharahu wiqayatun taqeehi min dhali.
That the essence of taqwa is for the
slave of Allah SWT to place a barrier,
a protective barrier between himself and anything that
may anger Allah SWT.
That is taqwa.
So when you are behind closed doors and
you're on the internet, and there's something haram
that you can see, and you say no
to that, that's taqwa.
Because you know that Allah is watching you.
That is taqwa.
You fear falling into that sin.
Abu al-Darda'a radiallahu anhu, one of
the companions, also defined taqwa in a beautiful
manner.
And he even go, he went a step
ahead of everyone.
And he said, that tamam al-taqwa, the
completeness of taqwa, this is the summary now
of taqwa, is for the slave of Allah
SWT to fear his Lord in a manner
that is as small as the atom, the
size of the atom or a grain.
To that smallest thing.
You will not go for it unless you
are aware whether it is halal or haram.
To a point he mentioned, to a point
that sometimes those people will stay away from
halal, thinking that it might anger Allah SWT.
Something doubtful.
But today we justify the haram.
We halalize the haram.
We try to find loopholes to do what
is wrong.
But look at the companions and the definition
of taqwa, that sometimes even halal actions will
be left behind out of fear that they
might be haram.
Allahu Akbar.
That's why the Prophet ﷺ said, الحلالُ بَيِّن
والحرامُ بَيِّن وَبَيْنَهُمَا مُتَشَابِهَا That halal is obvious,
haram too is obvious, and between them there
are those gray areas.
Doubtful matters.
فَاجْتَنِيبُ الشُّبُهَاتِ Therefore, avoid those doubtful areas.
Don't say it's makrooh and take it.
You don't know even the ruling of makrooh.
Makrooh means an act that is hated, disliked
by Allah.
Allah doesn't like it.
Even though He will not punish you if
you have performed it, but He will reward
you if you abstain from it, subhanallah.
So what is better?
If an action was classified as makrooh, is
it better for you to do it anyway
or to leave it?
Because you know in leaving it, Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala will reward you.
Ibn al-Mu'taz has beautiful lines of poetry
about taqwa, the definition of taqwa.
He said, خَلِّ الذُّنُوبَ صَغِيرَهَا وَكَبِيرَهَا ذَاكَ التُّقَى
Filter your life, my brothers and sisters in
Islam, from sins.
Whether these sins are minor or major, filter
your life from it.
ذَاكَ التُّقَى This is taqwa.
كُنْ فَوْقَ مَاشٍ فَوْقَ أَرْضِ الشَوْكِ يَحْذَرُ مَا
يَرَى Be like the one who walks upon
thorny road, a road that is full of
thorns and sharp objects.
Be like the one who's walking in between
of all these harmful objects.
يَحْذَرُ مَا يَرَى He is vigilant while walking
because it might hurt him.
You see, this is taqwa.
It's to ask yourself all the time, is
it halal, is it haram, is it right,
is it wrong?
Don't just do it anyway and say, Bismillah
and eat.
No.
لَا تُحَقِّرَنَّ صَغِيرَةً إِنَّ الْجِبَالَ مِنَ الْحَصَى Don't
ever belittle, don't ever belittle sins, minor sins.
Don't say it's just a minor sin.
إِنَّ الْجِبَالَ مِنَ الْحَصَى Taqwa for mountains indeed
were formed as a result of sands and
stones coming together.
The Prophet ﷺ told us, إِيَّاكُمْ وَمُحَقِّرَاتِ الذِّنُوبِ
Beware of minor sins.
Why is that so?
Because they will come on the day of
judgment as mountains of sins that will doom
men.
May Allah protect us all.
Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim rahmatullahi alayhi He also
classified taqwa into layers.
He said there are three levels of taqwa.
First one is protecting your hearts and your
limbs against sinful activities.
To protect yourself against sinful activities.
The second layer is protecting yourself from disliked
activities.
The makrooh that we were talking about.
And the third one is protecting yourself against
that which does not concern you.
That which does not concern you, leave it
behind.
Three levels of taqwa.
Evaluate yourself my brothers and sisters.
Which level are you?
Or which level do you want to work
on more?
Ali Ibn Abi Talib, and this is the
last definition before I give you the four
practical tips inshallah.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib radiallahu anhu wa rada,
again he was asked about taqwa, and he
gave them four definitions for taqwa.
Are you taking note sisters?
Sisters, are you taking notes?
It's not haram to speak by the way.
I'm asking you because I'm sure the brothers
are not taking any notes.
Oh, there's one brother mashallah.
One brother show me his phone.
Mashallah.
So Ali Ibn Abi Talib said, Taqwa is,
الخوف من الجليل.
والعمل بالتنزيل.
والرضى بالقليل.
والاستعداد ليوم الرحيل.
الخوف من الجليل.
To fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and
his punishment.
And the fear here doesn't mean that Allah
is a scary figure.
No.
The fear here means that we know his
abilities and capabilities.
And we know his creation.
He created Jannah.
And as much as we love to hear
talks about Jannah, also we shouldn't neglect that
Allah is the same creator of Jannah, had
created something else.
What is it?
Hellfire.
And Hellfire was not created for a barbecue
party.
It was created for something bigger than that.
So fear that part.
If you disobey Allah, you know where you're
gonna go.
So that's taqwa.
To fear Allah and his abilities.
Second, الخوف من الجليل.
وَالْعَمَلُ بِالتَّنزِيلِ And to apply the knowledge of
the revelation in your life.
To apply the Qur'an, to apply the
teaching of the Prophet ﷺ to the best
of your ability.
The implication is that without applying the Qur
'an, the Qur'an will never impact you
in any way.
What is the point of having a Qur
'an on the shelf?
Or kiss it whenever we see it somewhere,
you kiss it and put it back on
the shelf.
What's the point?
Umar ibn al-Khattab r.a was said
that he never moved from one ayah to
another unless he applied the previous one.
Apply it practically in his life, subhanAllah.
The third one is and to be content
with what Allah had given you even if
you think it is little.
Be happy, be satisfied with who you are.
Don't ever look at the mirror and complain
about your look.
And say, I'm ugly.
Do you think that Allah had created something
ugly?
Is that you believe about Allah subhanAllah?
Or because social media have standardized the, you
know, beauty, style and you look at yourself
and you look at those who are presented
on social media and you feel less about
yourself?
Never.
When we look at the mirror, my brothers
and sisters in Islam, the Prophet ﷺ taught
us to recite a dua.
Whoever can recite that dua here, I'll give
him, inshaAllah ta'ala, a prize.
Who knows the dua of reciting in front
of the mirror?
I can see only one sister?
La hawla wa la quwwata.
Two sisters?
Okay, sister.
Okay, sister, I'll give you five pounds.
Because I don't like coins.
Can you pass, sister?
Can anyone pass to the sister?
Brother?
Just give it to the volunteers.
And there was another sister very keen to
get the five pounds at the back.
You can split it, inshaAllah.
Allahumma kama hassanta khilqati, hassim khuluqi.
Oh Allah, as You have beautified.
Listen carefully, my brothers and sisters.
As You have what?
Beautified my appearance.
Beautify my manners too.
One dua for everyone.
So we're all beautiful.
That's the implication.
That's the understanding.
Whether you look this or you look that,
that's how Allah decided for you to look.
Don't ever complain.
Be content, be satisfied with what Allah had
given you.
And the final one is, walista'dadu liyawmir raheel,
and to be ready for the day of
departure, to be ready for death.
Four points I wanted to leave you with,
inshaAllah, practical tips to improve your, inshaAllah, is
my time up?
Because I can't see any.
Still I'm...
Okay, four points inshaAllah.
Number one, if you wanted to improve your
level of taqwa, because this is the one
that will give you that power of worship.
This is the one that will empower you
when you say Allahu Akbar, you know exactly
what you're saying.
You're saying that Allah is greater than anything.
So not a single TV series, or movie,
or song, or a match, will take you
away from the greatness of Allah when you
say Allahu Akbar.
That's taqwa.
Taqwa will blind you from the world, and
make you focus on your main objective of
why you were created, Allahu Akbar.
Remember this.
So the first thing that will help you
inshaAllah, is knowing who Allah is.
Knowing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us in
the Quran, فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ
Know.
Learn.
That there is none worthy of worship except
Allah.
Know.
Knowledge is very important to know who your
Creator is.
That's why they said, it's not about sinning,
whether that sin is minor or major.
This is not the issue.
We're all sinners.
The Prophet ﷺ told us, كل ابن آدم
خطاء All the children of Adam are sinners,
and the best of those who sin are
those who often repent.
This is not the issue.
The issue is, when you belittle, who are
you sinning against?
When you belittle, who are you sinning against?
You are sinning against the King of all
Kings, Allah, the Creator.
When you belittle that, and you think that,
إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ Allah is merciful and
forgiving.
Yes, وَشَدِيدُ الْعِقَابُ as well, and He's severe
in punishment as well.
Don't forget that part, please.
Know Allah.
Sometimes we sin, and we go against Allah's
commands, and so on and so forth.
Remember, when you know Allah, you will know
that He is able and capable of forgiving
all sins.
True or false?
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَا الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا
تَقْنَتُوا مِن رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ
جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ Tell my servants,
O Muhammad ﷺ, tell my slaves who have
sinned day and night, who have transgressed all
bounds, tell them, despair not from the mercy
of Allah.
Don't ever lose hope in the mercy of
Allah.
Don't ever give up on Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
Things sometimes become tough, a little bit.
I was just sharing with the brother a
while ago that at one point in time,
I was paralyzed waist down for one year.
It's not easy.
But look at me now, I'm walking, Allahu
Akbar, from this to this.
Allah is great.
I'm limping a little bit and the limp
is so cute.
Are you telling me to...
I was just talking about the cuteness of
my limp, brother.
Why you want me to go down now?
Okay, I'm wrapping up.
The point is, don't ever give up on
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So know Allah, so that you remain firm
upon the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
Number two, remembering death.
Remembering that one day you're going to leave
here and go somewhere else, the hereafter.
And the hereafter for every individual will be
at the time of death.
Once you die, once Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala calls you back to Himself, your day
of judgment has begun.
You will be questioned in your grave.
Wallahi, if death doesn't wake us up, what
else?
I don't know what else will wake us
up to that reality.
That we are belong to Allah and to
Him we shall return.
And that's why the Prophet ﷺ said, remember
quite often or mention quite often the destroyer
of pleasures, death.
Why?
Because it reminds you of the hereafter.
Number three, dua.
There is one dua, inshallah, I hope and
I pray that you can memorize it, recite
it all the time.
اللهم إني أسألك الهدى والتقى والعفافة والغنى Oh
Allah, I ask you for guidance and taqwa
and chastity and richness in the heart, contentment,
ameen.
And finally, my brothers and sisters in Islam,
we begin from where we left off.
Be a true slave of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
Be a true slave.
Obey without objections.
Obey without debates.
Obey without involving your own thoughts or opinions.
Obey without delay.
Obey without delay before it is too late.
Before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala calls you
to Himself.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us
taqwa in the hearts.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gather us,
inshallah, on the day of judgment as the
people of taqwa.
Ameen, ameen, ameen.
قُلُوا قَوْلِي هَذَا وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ
إِنَّهُ وَالْغَفُورُ وَالرَّحِيمُ جَزَاكَمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا Ameen.