Yaser Birjas – Taraweeh Khatira – A Message Of Gratitude
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of gratitude and being patient towards one's love for someone. They emphasize the need for gratitude and helping others in order to be grateful to Allah Subhanahu Wa Alexa. The speakers also emphasize the importance of acknowledging gratitude and helping others in order to be grateful to Allah Subhanahu Wa Alexa. The speakers stress the need for gratitude and helping others in order to be grateful to Allah Subhanahu Wa Alexa.
AI: Summary ©
You. How many of you brothers and sisters
are here in this measure right now? How
many of you are visiting us this weekend?
How many of you visiting this weekend?
Let's see how far you came from. Give
me give me where you came from exactly.
New Jersey.
Get out of here, man. You're local now.
You're no longer a Virginia. You just moved
here.
Lubbock. Lubbock, Texas. Then New Jersey, 100, 5,
5. New York City. Which one's closer? New
Jersey and New York?
That's the same thing. Right? Okay. So New
York. Anybody else?
Egypt. Egypt. Egypt.
All of us have welcome home. Anybody else?
Yes. Where?
From Toronto. Toronto. Toronto. Oh, Toronto is still
here.
It's one of the United States as well
too. And
yes.
MashaAllah from Paris, France. MashaAllah. Abrahman actually came
and his wife,
last year, and their baby. And he's back
here to spend the last 10 nights with
us inshallah. That I hope your your wife
has been recognized by the sisters from last
year inshallah to take care of her.
So,
I wanna thank you very much all for
being here with us, and I wanna also
say thank you and for
each and every one of you for making
this happen.
I mean, last night was a beautiful night.
We were able to raise the
amount that we're hoping to raise
with grace, without stress, alhamdulillah,
I mean, without yelling at anybody.
Right? Especially,
alhamdulillah.
If you are not grateful to the people,
you will never be grateful to Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala.
With this, on behalf
of myself, Sheikh Omar, our board of trustees,
our board of directors, and all the volunteers
of this community, and honestly, and all the
families as well too. I wanna
say
and thank you very much for beautiful support
for this community.
May Allah reward
you all with houses in Jannah.
And the best place better than the Sirbalib
Ajamal. Alright.
One of the, the traits or one act
of the traits of a true believer.
And, one of the,
I would say one of those signs of
a sound heart is to be grateful
and be grateful in general. Primarily to Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. So, I wanna share with
you a few words in the meaning of
being grateful insha'Allah ta'ala. Now, in the Arabic
language. What is the word for, grateful? What
do we say? What's going to gratitude? What's
the word we use for that? For gratitude?
Shukr.
Shukr. When someone does something, what do you
say to them?
Shukr. Right? Shukr is basically the word of
gratitude.
Meaning you show me you're being grateful to
this person. But where this is coming from
anyway?
So the word Shukr is actually means,
means
it means growth
and means increase of something. So when you
say to somebody Shukran,
what do you mean exactly? You're actually adding
to the favor that they have done to
you or for you and the time that
they have bestowed upon you, you're now increasing
that and out doing them basically.
So if someone for example
helped you with something,
they pushed something with you, they gave you
something, they brought you a gift and you
say.
Now they have done something good to you,
you by acknowledging it and saying
you're increasing,
increasing the value of what they done by
making it public. At least to them.
At least to them.
So, when you say shukran to somebody,
thank you to someone, you're just letting them
know that you know what, I acknowledge that.
I accept
the blessing, I accept the favor that you're
you're doing for me. I accept that, and
you make it very well known to them
that you appreciate that and you acknowledge that
for them. That is the general meaning of
gratitude and shukr in the Arabic language.
Which is why, is one of those amazing
and most beautiful qualities
that that believers should have in this dunya
jama.
It's unfortunately,
it's been denied these days because everybody wants
to be independent.
And when you wanna be independent, what does
it mean exactly? You don't want to admit
or acknowledge anyone's favor, you know, towards you.
Because if you admit that, what does it
mean?
You feel enslaved to them.
You feel enslaved to their favors. And that's
actually the Arabic language, also in the Arabic
culture. We feel enslaved to those who do
us favors. And that's why you always want
to outdo
the favors other people when they try to
make something for you. You always try to
outdo them because you want to always be
the one who's showing the gratitude to them.
So that's now in general with human beings.
Imagine the one who deserves all the shukr,
all the gratitude. Who is that Ajamal?
Who is he?
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. He deserves all the
shukr,
or all the gratitude from us. And the
shukr in gratitude, it's the work that is
It's so hard to accomplish unless you humble
yourself. Which is why, the ulama, they speak
about the meaning of shukr towards Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala in many many different ways. Imam
Al Qayim
had an entire book on these two qualities.
A sabr and a shukr.
Being grateful and being patient.
2 qualities come hand in hand in order
for you to survive in this word of
jama'a and in the akhirah as well too.
You're between being grateful to a blessing that
you receive
or being patient towards something that you have
to deal with. So now, what does it
mean to be grateful to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala?
Al Ulamada say definition of of Shukr, they
say that, is the acknowledgement.
The acknowledgement of the blessings
by the heart, the tongue, and the actions.
And making it public
to the one that you are being grateful
for.
So when you say Alhamdulillah,
when you say
what does that mean exactly? I'm now pronouncing
it.
So that's 1 out of 3.
But is it coming from the heart? Or
just a lip service?
You gonna have to ask yourself this question.
Is it coming from the heart or is
it just a lip service?
Maybe it is coming from the heart. Now
the question is, how you gonna translate that
gratitude?
Allah blessed you with wealth. How should it
show on you? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blessed
you with health. How you gonna translate that
into your actions? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put
you in a situation, circumstances
way better than millions of people around the
world.
How are you now displaying this gratitude through
your actions?
So, if you wanna be grateful to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, you're gonna have to make
sure that you do these three things.
You bring it from the heart, being grateful,
and number 2, you bring it on your
tongue by acknowledging it, and also through your
actions as well too.
Which is why our ulema, they say there
are specific conditions for gratitude to be accepted.
Number 1,
that you acknowledge
this blessing and this nirma, and attribute it
to the one who is bestowing it upon
you.
You know sometimes people will not, I don't
know if you've seen that. That's basically seen
that among kids.
When kids, kids
do something for another child. What do they
do?
They take it, you know, out of entitlement
and they're not willing to say thank you.
So this basically they snap it from their
hands and they're not away with it. Why?
Because they don't want to say thank you.
Because they think that, you know what, no,
if I say thank you, that means I'm
acknowledging it, that you are better than me
in that sense. This is a kid's attitude
of Jema.
Adults today behave with Allah Subhanahu in the
same way.
Allah given them all these blessings,
and they're taking it, acknowledging it, who? To
themselves.
I'm smart,
I was clever,
I did it my work,
it's my this, it's my that, and they
never attribute that to the source of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. So, the first thing that
you acknowledge that nirmah,
I know that and attribute that to the
one who bestows it upon you Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
The second thing.
To love
the person who is bestowing this upon you.
Because if you acknowledge that nirma
but you still don't love him,
what's going to happen here? Are you going
to say anything about it? Most likely not.
You're gonna
feel, you're gonna feel that that guilt and
probably
animosity towards that. Why? Because
they have that blessing that they're bestowing upon
you. So they're better than you and you
don't like that feeling. Your ego is gonna
kick in. And the shaytan is gonna stop
blowing that ego that you would never admit
that to be to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
So you need to love the one who's
bestowing this upon you. Now whatever was between
human beings, what does it mean to love
someone who's giving doing doing you a favor?
Someone just carrying a bag with you. You
have to love them, go and hug them
and give them a kiss on you? Not
necessarily,
but at least, at least appreciate it in
a way that you have no hard feeling
to that individual.
The the third thing,
that you praise right now the meaning
that you are, you don't just acknowledging that,
you're not just gonna doing it out of
love, no you don't need to You're gonna
have to proclaim that and pronounce
it by saying thank you very much. And
the words of Tana are many, When it
comes to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, there are
so many. And the best way to do
upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is through what?
His beautiful names and attributes.
So if you wanna praise Allah, what are
you gonna say?
With this beautiful names of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala and all the amazing thing that Allah
bestows upon you. Also saying,
Now that's why the first thing we do
when we wake up, what do we do
is we make a dua.
You thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that he,
brought you back to life after you've been
dead.
And then, that's one of way of acknowledging
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with words as well
too. So, you always have to keep that,
and remind yourself for that. And, the last
one here is that,
using these blessings and nam in a way
that the one who's bestowing this upon you
will be pleased with.
What does that mean?
Your, your teenage kids, when you give them
their first car, What kind of car are
you gonna give them? A fancy car or
a car they're gonna destroy first?
Well, that depends. Right? But, usually when you
give them some when you give your child
something
and you see them the next day, they're
just throwing it to the corner of the
house,
and they don't pay attention to it. How
would you feel about this?
You as a parent.
I mean just like, what is this?
Wow, you're so ungrateful. That's what we tell
them, right?
You're so ungrateful.
Like I've brought this, I've brought that and
they're not acknowledging it at all because they're
just throwing it to the side.
A lot of us unfortunately,
dealing with Islam of Allah Subhanahu Wa'ala in
the same way, in the same fashion. There's
so many and
we're not really paying attention to it.
Because our mind is focused on something else
following this, from this dunya. So, if you
Allah, if Allah blessed you Alhamdulillah with physical
strength. If Allah blessed you with with prosperity.
Allah blessed you with status that you can
reach out to somebody and change someone else's
power situation.
If Allah best you with a skill, whatever
that is, then you're gonna have to use
that skill,
that status. Whatever that was Allah has bestowed
upon you, in a way that is most
pleasing to him first and foremost.
Because Allah gifted that to you. I need
to be grateful to Allah subhanahu by doing
that.
Now,
how much
gratitude should we show to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala? And how often?
Obviously,
being grateful is what?
Is a lifestyle.
Which means, it's not just, it's it's not,
circumstantial.
Only if I see something good I'll be
grateful to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Like, what
are you talking about? You're already having it
good already.
You'll be more, alhamdulillah, I mean look at
you right now. You grow up in this
life and Allah subhanahu made your life difficult
or easy. We arrive at this moment in
our lives. So, we've been hamdulillah, we blessed
with food, we blessed with health, we blessed
with this. Yes, we went through trials but
look, we still, hamdulillah, survived through all these
trials, made us stronger even.
So, you need to be grateful,
you know, and, and for everything that you've
gone through.
Not just to wait for something new to
happen to be grateful for. So, being grateful
is an act of Ibadah, that's required in
every single breath.
Not just every single minute of your life.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says when he create
man
So, we have shown this man, this human
being, mankind, the path.
So they are between 2 things,
There between being grateful
Or, being extremely ungrateful.
So what does that mean? Look, the Arabic
expression is beautiful here. Allah says
and he says kafoor.
What's the difference between saying
and kafoor.
So the word kafoor
kafoor that sound that the Arabic scale for
Faul is actually means it's there's there's intensity
and there's actually exaggeration.
So mean being ungrateful,
is probably the standard, unfortunately among human beings.
But Allah acknowledged that some of us are
shakir, grateful.
But being shakir,
not as much as being kafoor.
Like even you pronounce it you say kafoor
a lot.
But when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala spoke about
human beings in regard to being great what
did he say?
Sounds like what?
Kafour.
Here, he says,
means extremely
grateful.
But he brought it in a, in a,
in a context of what?
Few among my servants who are truly
grateful.
Like yes, there are a lot of them
are grateful,
but how many of us are truly
grateful? He says, Khalil, few.
Just
few. Which means, unfortunately,
it's the nature of man not to acknowledge
anyone's help or assistance or favor upon ourselves.
And that's why unfortunately a lot of people
here in this world right now, when they
see themselves being independent
and smart enough, and they can figure out
things on their own. What do they do?
What's the first thing they do? They deny
Allah subhanahu to existence.
They don't need they don't need them anymore.
Because they think they can do it on
their own. That's one of the greatest sins
that you can commit in this life.
Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is sending all
his blessing to you and you deny him
his heart to be acknowledged subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So remember,
few among my servants who are truly grateful.
I don't know how many of us over
here can count among the truly grateful.
Yes, you might find a lot of Shaikhireen,
but how many of us are shakur?
That's what matters here. So, I need you
tonight inshallah before you go home. Think about
it. How often do you go and do
thanks to other people? Because it's so in
the hadith that if you don't thank the
people, you don't thank Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Why you need to thank the people to
be grateful to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala? Because
how does Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta distribute his
blessings?
And his risk provision that he's bestowing upon
you. How does that work?
Through other people.
He's bestowing all these things to our other
people around you. Your spouse, your child, your
parents, your co worker, your friend, your neighbor.
All these people, all of them. Allah subhanahu
wa'ala using them as mediums
to convey his
upon
you. So if you're not gonna acknowledge them,
you're acknowledging Allah subhanahu wa'ala with his blessings
already.
Making sure, tonight inshallah before you go to
sleep, think of few people that you need
to thank.
Think of few people. Who are these people
that you know what, you don't pay attention
to their contribution into your life. You don't
pay attention much really. Could be somebody who's
always in your face, you never thought to
tell them, thank you very much for being
here around me.
Maybe you never actually thought about that. Just
think about us you can become among those
who are truly not just Shaikhin, but shakur.
Finally,
to show you how,
important that is a jamaah. Abu Khattab radiAllahu
ta'ala.
One day was
in Mecca.
And he hears a man saying, Allah
You Allah, make me among the few. You
Allah, make me among the few.
Make me among the few. So I'm gonna
stop him. He goes
You need to be explicit. You need to
tell Allah what you want from him.
So he
says,
I read the words of Allah
Few among my servants who are truly grateful.
So I'm asking a lot to make them
among the few. That's what I'm asking.
You Allah, make them among the few. There's
been reference in this ayah over here. So,
Umar Rulillahi looks at him and goes, SubhanAllah.
Everybody understand better than Umar Rulillahi.
So I want you to be like this.
Just ask Allah subhanahu wa'ala tonight to make
you among the few.
We ask
Allah to make us grateful.
We ask Allah
to make us among those who are truly
grateful.
We ask Allah to make us to give
us the ability to acknowledge the blessing that
he bestows upon us. We ask Allah subhanahu
to make us among those who always present
for this blessing. We ask
Allah to increase our love in our heart
for him, You Rasulullah.
We ask Allah, Azzawajal, to give us the
ability
to use these blessings in a way that
is most pleasing to him. And we ask
Allah
to increase our love for one another and
make us grateful to other people
We ask Allah to make to make being
grateful one of our trades, you Allah, in
this dunya. And we ask Allah to bring
us among the
provide for them.
You Allah, the entire world give turn their
backs against them. You Allah, we ask you
to be there for them.
Provide for them from the blessings that bestows
upon the world
We ask you to provide them for water
and the
food Give them
We ask you to to increase your blessing
upon them, you Allah.
Deliver them from this misery, you Allah.
Give the victory that you promised.
You Allah, we ask to protect them. You
Allah, in this very special night. And you
Allah, we ask you to restore peace and
tranquility into their hearts, into their lives, You
Rabba Alameen. And the way we all got
in this place, I ask Allah, Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala, to bring us all together.