Yahya Ibrahim – A Fresh Start
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AI: Transcript ©
Always we begin with the praise of Allah.
We are thankful to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala for the opportunities
of the life that we have been given,
the blessings that we are able to be
thankful for and recognizing
of our need of them from Allah,
and also for the blessings of that which
we are absent in mind and are unaware
of them as blessings in our life.
And I pray that Allah
makes you and I from those who are
Those who are foremost
and quick to that which is good.
Allah
is the 1 who has made it as
a part of the qadr of you and
I as human beings.
That it is a sunnah ilahiya, a sunnah
of
Allah to give you and I an opportunity
to be regular in establishing
a mindset of redeeming ourselves to Him.
And 1 of the special qualities that we
have been provided as Muslims, as an ummah,
that is from the specialities
of the Prophet Muhammad salallahu alaihi wa sallam's
community of faith,
is that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala opens to
us
an opportunity for a fresh start
each and every day,
each and every week, each and every month,
each and every season, each and every year.
And this is something that other faiths
are not privileged
to be provided.
In fact, for us, the concept of tawbah
and redemption
is a very unique concept within Islam.
That it's just between myself and Allah that
I can set right what I have tarnished,
that I have brought to ruin.
And each and every year, Allah gives special
seasons
for redemption.
The season of Ramadan,
followed by the season of Dhul Hijjah,
followed by al Ashhor Al Haram,
followed by the opportunities
in the days and in the nights
when Allah nears His creation and descends in
the majesty that is befitting to Him and
invites to us,
Is there anyone who seeks my forgiveness that
I may forgive them?
Is there anyone who seeks a new beginning
and a return to me that I may
provide it?
And the mindset of a believer is 1
that invites them to return to Allah.
1 of the things that we take for
granted as believers
is the opportunity
to press pause
and rewind
our life with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Wallahi. It is 1 of those opportunities
that those who have gone into the next
life
hope and will and wish that they have
that opportunity.
Rabbir ji'un. Oh, Allah, just let me go
back.
Just give me 1 more chance.
Let me have 1 more fajr prayer.
Give me 1 more Ramadan.
Give me 1 more chance to spend from
my wealth to take myself and family to
Umrah. Just give me 1 more opportunity
to put a little bit of sadaqa in
the mouth of a yateen.
Let me look past my home and my
family.
Just give me 1 more chance to be
better in my hijab.
1 more chance to end the haram discussion.
1 more opportunity
to ask someone I know I have wronged
in my heart to forgive me.
Rabir J'ool,
oh Allah, send me back.
SubhanAllah.
You and I, as we sit here in
this blessed day of Jumu'ah, have been given
numerous opportunities
just in this day.
The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says,
The most magnificent
day that the sun ever rises on is
the day of Jumuah.
It's the day that Allah created humanity. It's
the day that we were brought down to
earth. It is the day when our resurrection
will be held. It is the day where
Adam asked Allah for forgiveness and was forgiven.
In this day, there is an hour,
a section of time
that no 1 asks Allah for forgiveness in
it, except they are forgiven.
Subhanallah. The opportunities
abound or plenty.
Anytime he would read anything from the Quran,
the moment he would finish it, the first
thing that he would ask of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala is his forgiveness.
In fact, the moment you and I say,
after this salah or any salah you perform,
The first thing you will say,
taught to us by the prophet salayahu alayhi
wasalam is astaghfirullah
astaghfirullah.
Not because you were committing any wrong,
but because you have a heart, a mind
that is meant to be trained
on anilbhu
ilaaradiqum,
anilbhu ilallah, return to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam would set
this as a powerful mandate.
In fact, each and every day the Prophet
salallahu alaihi wa sallam would say,
I ask Allah for forgiveness, and I turn
back to him in repentance
each and every 1 of my days more
than 70 times a day. The istighfar of
the prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam was istighfar for
you and I.
The, ahlil sunnah wal jama'ah, our belief as
Muslims is that the prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam
was Ma'asul.
He was 1 who was protected once prophethood
arrived.
When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says to him,
that
Allah may forgive for you, It
is on behalf of your ummah as a
representative what you ask me.
He teaches you and I to return
to Allah.
See, the opportunity
is lost when 1 does not believe that
they are foul and in error with Allah.
And that is the discussion that I have
with you today.
The mindset of a believer is 1 of
always indulging in correction,
not 1 indulging in
and assuming Allah's grace will eventually find it.
The mindset of a believer is the 1
that Allah speaks to.
Allah never speaks to the criminal in the
Quran and says repent.
Allah does not speak to the sinner in
the Quran and say ask for forgiveness.
Allah does not say,
Oh sinful people return to Allah.
Rather Allah only
and exclusively
and uniquely
says,
Because it is only the believer,
1 whose heart is awake
of the complexities
of their life,
that understands
the necessity of being regular
in asking Allah for help
in doing what is good,
and in help in staying away from what
is error, which is the essential element of
tawba.
The essential element of seeking istighfar.
Each and every 1 of us, we have
this great hope.
As you sit in front of me as
a heart that is waking and awoke with
Allah,
You have the hope insha Allah, you will
live till the next Ramadan.
You have the hope if you have not
performed Hajj, that Allah will carry you to
Hajj. You have the hope if that you
were in Hajj, that Allah has accepted your
Hajj. Why? What is the sum value?
What is it that you were seeking of
Allah in the month of Ramadan?
You make it all the way to Hajj,
spent all that wealth,
donated all that time and energy and effort
to go all the way there. For what
purpose? Is that you hope
that you have been given a Hajj that
is Mabur,
that you return back
home, As if you were just newly born.
Fresh start.
But the fresh start is with you now.
The opportunity is here.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam would say,
The 5 daily prayers,
completing
them. And praying Jumuah,
and then the next Jumuah, 1 week
in between 2 jumu'ahs.
Ramadan, ila Ramadan,
and having a good Ramadan,
and living and completing a year, and having
another Ramadan. Your
sins that are minor in regard are forgiven
by Allah if you stay away from the
calamities, the major cities.
The heart of the believer
that is attached to their prayer place,
that is attached to the masjid for Jum'ah,
that is attached to a body that seeks
to be subdued and fast to Allah correctly,
internally,
and mentally, and externally,
is 1 that is focused on that very
aim.
I want to speak about the strategy
that is taught to us by the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wasallam, the psychology of redemption, the
psychology of redemption and repentance.
What is the mindset you and I seek
now as we wake up to this recognition
that it's not just
Allah forgiveness that descends without our involvement.
It's not just that we wait and hope
and think and assume
that somehow
Allah will redeem us.
In fact,
the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, 2 separate
suhadah,
hear from him a wondrous hadith
that is full of hope,
but is full of caution.
Abu Hurayyah as well as Mu'adib lijabal, they
report that the prophet salaisedale and both of
them hid this hadith.
Both of them did not share this hadith
until the end of their life.
Until the final moments of their life, they
said, just because it is knowledge shared by
the prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam, I don't
want to keep it with me and return
to Allah.
The prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said that the
1 who says La ilaha illallah with truthfulness
from their heart will eventually make it to
Jannah.
When Umar heard this,
and Abu Hurayrah was narrating it, he came
to the prophet
and he said, you Rasulullah,
perhaps,
perhaps people will just hear this and they
will just assume, say,
Allah is merciful. I believe in only 1
Allah Everything is good.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi and Abu Hurayrah understood
from the words of the prophet hold this
saying with Muadh ibn Jabal. Muadh ibn Jabal
radiAllahu anhu on his deathbed
is when he shares these words of the
prophet
of great hope.
Al Imam al Hassan al Basri, he would
say,
Iman is not a whimsical wish.
It's not something you wish and say, oh,
I wish Allah gave me more iman.
I wish I was a better Muslim. I
wish I prayed more. I wish my kids
prayed Fajr.
I wish my daughter observed better hijab.
I wish my family was more observant of
this.
Iman is not a wish.
It is something that is in your heart.
And then the truth of your words and
actions put it into effect.
That if it is in your heart, it
becomes
an aspect of your iman with Allah
It begins to take form. And all of
us are on the spectrum of return.
The psychology of redemption begins first with self
criticism.
It's not about what others see of you.
It's not what others think of you.
It's not what others know about you, good
or bad. It is that you within your
heart, you have that some value. I know
my place with Allah.
I know where the Quran is valuable in
my life and where it is not been
present in my life.
I know
how halal my income is. I know
what I spend in, what I save in,
where I spend, and how much I give.
I know
what my calculation of Zakah is involved.
I know
the sum of my being,
the hatred and anger I have towards another
human being.
I know who I am.
So I begin to take note.
This muhasaba,
this accounting of yourself
is a powerful powerful motive in our faith.
It is balanced between being 1 who is
compulsive and obsessive,
that everything in their life they feel themselves
wrong.
And it is 1 where they do not
assume all hope and all promise is given
by Allah without action.
Is that we live life, do the best
we can, and ask Allah for where we
are negligent.
Ask Allah to fill the gaps in our
life and seek to make incremental,
if not giant steps
of righteousness
in our very being with Allah.
The first step is self analysis,
self assessment,
self criticism,
self blame, a nafsulawama,
a soul that looks into the inner parts
of its life and that of its family.
This cannot remain
in that stage
if 1 seeks to be successful with Allah
until they make the second jump,
which is now I know that there are
gaps. Now I know that there are problems.
Now I know there is a mis salah.
Now I know that I have not prioritized
badjib. Now I know I'm absent from the
Majid. Now I know that the Quran is
not present in my life, in its translation,
in its reading, in its sound.
Now I know.
The second leap,
the second stage
is self control,
is to take ownership
of one's decisions.
And that
is an important teaching of the Prophet Muhammad
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
A man,
the Prophet says to him, sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam, Look at the offer of Rasulullah
He says to him, if You Miqdad, ask
me now.
This is a moment of Allah's mercy. Meqdad,
ask me now
for anything and I will invoke Allah for
you
and Allah will grant it to you. Imagine
Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says, right now,
whatever hope you have, whatever dua you have,
tell me and I will make it for
you right this minute. Allah will answer it.
Miqdad simply says, you Rasulullah, I need nothing
of this dunya
except that you and I are together in
Jannah,
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. I just want to
be with you in Jannah.
Although Allah has already said to the Prophet
salaihi wa sallam, the dua will be answered.
And Miqdad, you and I as people of
Sunnah, we assume him to be from the
people of Jannah.
Even though he's been promised his dua has
entered, listen to the words of the prophet
salallahu alaihi wasallam.
He makes dua that Allah joins them in
Jannah and then he says to Miqdad,
Miqdad,
help my dua for you
by increasing your prayer.
Nothing
is given for free.
Jannah is not for free.
Jannah is hidden behind trouble and difficulty and
patience.
Jannah is not for the weak of heart.
Jannah is not for the 1 who slumbers
and sleeps and is lazy with Allah.
Jannah is not for the 1 who does
not seek to endeavor
when they know that they have fault and
blame.
Help me
to achieve this for you, oh Miqdad, by
increasing
your prayer.
Beginning to develop the root of self control
and self accountability
leads you to the 3rd and final stage.
The 3rd and final stage, which I will
address with you after is
self sacrifice. What will you give up to
achieve what you see?
Self sacrifice.
Nothing worthy
of attainment
is ever granted
without hardship.
We read these beautiful verses in Surah Al
Duha, 1 of the Surahs
that was loved by the Prophet salallahu alaihi
wasallam, a surah full of hope.
The Allah would
say to the Prophet
that I will give you the good
and I will give you the ease.
The Surah that comes immediately after it
describes how to receive it.
I want rida of Allah. I want to
be happy, O
Allah. How do I achieve it? In the
next Surah Surah Al Sharuh,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says
And Allah
says to the prophet
That with the hardship,
you will find the ease that you are
seeking and praying for. Most of us, all
of us, we like to hear the second
word, yus.
All of us, we want the yus. Nobody
wants the yus that is necessary to achieve
the yus.
There is no 'usr without 'usr
Look at the life of Rasulullah salAllahu alaihi
wa sallam His whole life Allah says, I
will give you what will please you after
usr.
Without the usr in your life, there is
no usr.
Because how do you appreciate the good
if you did not earn it?
The prophet
would say about Dawud alaihis salam
that he never ate a meal except that
his hands had earned it, and he was
a king and a prophet of Allah.
The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
was 1 who taught us about the necessity
of giving up to achieve.
He would
give
from his time, from his energy, from his
wealth,
from his home,
from his fame, from his reputation,
to shelter the ummah of the Prophet Muhammad
salallahu alaihi wasall.
Remember that verse, my dear brother. When times
grow dark,
and things that are plentiful in your life
do not seem as plentiful as they as
you would seek them.
When what you think into your hand may
not be enough, look at it and say,
That if I hold on, if I'm patient,
that I will find with Allah the relief
and the ease.
The prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam had to
make hijrah from Mecca to have Madina,
and it's only through being expelled from Makkah
that he conquers Makkah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
It is only being put away that 1
finds ascendency.
Allah
has made this a sunnah in my life
and yours.
So begin to calculate for what are you
willing to give up.
What hours of entertainment in the evening for
you and your family are you willing to
give
up that you wake up all for fejr?
What hours
are you willing to give up my young
my young man, my young student in our
school or in others? Are you willing to
give up so that you can achieve the
career that last 40 years?
What are you willing to give up?
What are you willing to spend
so that you can gain
that which lasts longer
and is which is more plentiful?
My dear brother, what are you willing to
give in your home with your wife and
your children,
of your time and your energy,
of your effort and just your presence
that pays off dividends.
Sometimes people say it in error.
They say things like, I spent
time with my family. You didn't spend anything.
You saved your family with the time
you were with
them. May Allah
keep us as homebodies, as the Prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam was. May Allah keep us
united as communities and as people of faith.
Allahumma ameen. I pray that Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala sends his light and his guidance and
his hidayah into my heart and yours, into
our home, into our schools, into our children's
hearts. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protects our
staff and our students, our parents and our
teachers. That Allah leads our board and principals
to that which is pleasing to Him. That
Allah allows this institution
to be a place of learning, not just
of the secular studies, but of Allah and
the sunnah of his Nabi Muhammad salallahu alaihi
wa sallam.
I pray that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
allows us the opportunity and honor to be
of those who redeemed themselves to Him,
who recognize the favor of Allah allowing us
to ask Him for help and forgiveness. That
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala allows us a mindset
that returns to Him ultimately
each and every day. I pray that Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala favors you with the khair
of the dunya and akhirah, and protects all
of us from the punishment of jahannam. I
pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allows the
gathering that we have assembled
to not depart unless it is marhoom and
forgiven. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makes our
hearts enlivened with the sunnah of the Prophet
Muhammad sallallahu
alaihi wasallam.
Security that they deserve of you, You arhamaruhammeen,
that they seek from you, You Allah. We
ask you, You Allah, to forgive us our
inability to help them in more meaningful ways.
You arhamar rahemeen, we ask you to make
us from those who are the first to
quell the fear of others,
and the hunger of others. And that our
wealth and our charity and our zakah and
sadaqa reaches
the homes and the bellies and the clothing
of the forefins and the needy. Allahu ameen.
I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala favors
us with the light of iman and the
Quran.
Humble yourselves to Allah
Turn your bodies completely towards the qiblah, keep
your eyes at the place of your sujood
Find your humility and your stillness and your
quiet in your salah.
Consider this could be a final prayer for
you.
Inshallah once again next week, salatul jumuah is
also available here at our school 1 more
week inshaAllah during the school holidays.