Yaser Birjas – The True Meaning Of Being Grateful JumuAh Khutbah
AI: Summary ©
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Grader's light is not just a matter of gratitude, but also a matter of character. Grader's light is a way to show gratitude to others and achieve something. It is important to work on gratitude and personal behavior to show gratitude. Grader's light is a means to achieve something and it is important to show gratitude to the people around us.
Grader's light is not just a matter of gratitude, but also a matter of character. Grader's light is a way to show gratitude to others and achieve something. It is important to work on gratitude and personal behavior to show gratitude. Grader's light is a means to achieve something and it is important to show gratitude to the people around us.
AI: Summary ©
I seek refuge with Allah from the evil
of our souls and the evil of our
deeds.
Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and
whosoever He leads astray, none can guide him.
And I bear witness that there is no
god but Allah, and that there is no
partner for Him.
And I bear witness that Muhammad is His
servant and Messenger.
O you who have believed, fear Allah as
He should be feared, and do not die
except as Muslims.
O you who have forgotten, fear your Lord,
Who created you from one soul, and created
from it a wife, and spread among them
many men and women.
And fear Allah, whom you ask for mercy.
Verily, Allah is ever watching over you.
O you who have believed, fear Allah, and
say the truth.
Your deeds will be corrected, and your sins
will be forgiven.
And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has
certainly attained a great triumph.
Know, O servants of Allah, that the best
speech is the speech of Allah, the Most
Blessed and Exalted.
And the best guide is Muhammad, peace and
blessings be upon him.
And the evil of affairs is their innovation,
and every innovation is an innovation, and every
innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is
in the Fire.
Then are the principles, O servants of Allah.
Now people, they have different reasons for that.
But for the believer, for a Muslim, there
is no one day or one part of
the year that is designated for something like
this.
As a Muslim, you know and you believe
that being grateful is part of your deen.
And it's part of every single day, if
not even every single breath of your life,
to be grateful.
To be grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
Be grateful for the blessing that you have
around you.
Be grateful to the family that Allah blessed
you with.
Being grateful for many, many, many things.
Brothers and sisters, being grateful is extremely important
for a believer.
I want to explain to you why this
is so important.
Because without it, we're going to get lost.
Especially in time when, subhanallah, trials and difficulties
and hardships and people will start thinking negatively.
And when you think negatively, you're going to
start completely overlook all the blessings they need
to be grateful for.
And without having that positive outlook at the
good things they've been blessed with, subhanallah, people
become depressed.
And become now psychologically actually trapped into this
feeling.
Without being grateful for Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala, for the blessing that you have, you're
going to feel lost in a dark space
in this world.
So what does it mean to be grateful
for the Muslims?
And how do you understand that?
The first thing we need to understand about
us as human beings.
By nature, or I could say, by default,
we're not grateful.
By default, you're not grateful.
So what does that mean?
It's not by nature that you're grateful.
It's by character.
It's a choice you make to be grateful.
Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said that
at the very beginning of surah al-insan.
When He said, subhanahu wa ta'ala, Does
this insan even remember?
Do you even know?
Do you remember?
When you've been nothing before you became a
human being?
Before you became who you are?
It'd been nothing.
And then He said, subhanahu wa ta'ala,
We create this insan from what?
From mixed fluids.
To try them.
To test them.
As part of the plan.
The divine plan of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
He said, And we gave them the instruments
and the tool by which this test will
be valid for them and good for them.
Then He said, subhanahu wa ta'ala, We
showed them the way.
We guided them.
So He said, subhanahu wa ta'ala, Whether
they choose to be grateful or ungrateful.
The translation doesn't give the meaning shakiran or
kafura properly.
Why?
Because in the Arabic language, Allah says, Which
means, some of them will choose to be
grateful.
The expression kafur, fa'ul in the Arabic
language means excessively ungrateful.
So what does that mean?
It means the majority of the people will
not be grateful.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has done
it in the Quran as well too.
He said, And few among My servants who
are truly grateful.
He used kafur and shakur over here.
But when He spoke about the default state
of insan, We're less less grateful.
So among the few who are grateful, There's
even fewer who are truly grateful.
Brothers and sisters, This was denying Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, Not admitting His favors upon
you.
All of this is a major sin.
As a matter of fact, that is the
plotting of the shaitan.
Then the shaitan said to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, When he challenged Allah azza wa
jal, Ya Rabbi, just let me live until
the end of time.
I'll prove it to you.
He says, I promise you.
I will attack them.
From behind them, from in front of them,
from the right side, from the left side.
I'll leave no place for them.
وَلَا تَجْدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَاكِرِينَ And you would not
find the majority to be grateful to you.
Which means the majority would not be grateful
to you.
That's the plotting of the shaitan.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, My dear
brothers and sisters, Reminded us of the danger
of being ungrateful Over and over and over
and over again.
Many many times.
In the surah we all admire to listen
to Because it sounds beautiful.
But do we even understand the meaning of
that warning?
And that threat?
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَنَ He says.
Which of the favors of your Lord would
you deny?
Almost after every ayah in surah ar-Rahman,
Allah is reminding us.
You will deny me.
You will.
You will reject my favors upon you.
You will forget about these favors that Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala blessed you with.
He says that multiple times.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَنَ Which of the favors
of your Lord are you going to deny?
What does that mean my dear brothers and
sisters?
As much as we try to be grateful,
we still overlook a lot of blessings.
When something happens to us, we forget.
And we go back again to being what?
Being ungrateful.
As Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, He says
about us, وَلَقَدْ مَكَّنَّاكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَجَعَلْنَا لَكُمْ
فِيهَا مَعَيْشُوا قَيْلًا مَا تَشْكُرُونَ He says, look.
I've given you the earth.
I've given you all the blessings of this
earth.
And He says subhanahu wa ta'ala, وَجَعَلْنَا
لَكُمْ فِيهَا مَعَيْشُوا I give you life here.
And then He says, قَلِيلًا مَا تَشْكُرُونَ But
you're not so grateful.
Little or seldom that you give gratitude to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Brothers and sisters, being grateful is a matter
of character.
It's not just a matter of nature as
we understand from this.
So if you want to be grateful to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, what does that
exactly even mean?
You need to be consciously thinking of being
grateful to Allah azawajal.
Showing your gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala, it needs to be on regular basis
to Allah azawajal.
That's what it means.
So how can we do this?
How can we do this?
See, when it comes to showing the gratitude,
first of all, you have to understand you're
doing it in different ways.
There's the verbal and the non-verbal.
The non-verbal way to do gratitude to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is through what?
Through your heart.
This heart.
When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives you
a blessing, are you content with it?
Do you feel in your heart that you're
happy with what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
blessed you with?
You know what?
Even if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala chose
to test one of us, may Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala protect us from any trials,
but if we go through tests and trials,
how do we receive that?
People have different levels on how to receive
the trials from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Imam Ibn Qayyim rahimahu wa ta'ala, he
divided them to categories.
Because in the face of trials, some people
they choose the path of tasakhut.
They start whining and start crying and going
out and complaining, and they leave nobody but
to complain to.
About Allah azza wa jalal and about what
they're going through.
He goes, and this is muharram.
That is unacceptable.
It's unacceptable.
It's prohibited.
The second, he said, some of us will
show patience.
What does it mean to show patience?
Meaning, I'm not going to say anything bad.
I'm not going to do anything bad.
But you know what, I don't like it.
In my heart, I despise it.
I don't like it.
That's okay.
As long as you don't say anything, you
should be fine.
You're safe at least.
The third category, he says, qal ar-rida.
When you have that satisfaction in your heart.
You're not just accepting it.
No, you're also satisfied.
Allah chose this for me.
I don't understand the wisdom, but I know
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows better for
me.
So I'm satisfied with that.
But then what is better than that?
What is better than that?
He goes maqam al-shukr.
When you get to the level of gratitude.
That even you see a great power of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, a great blessing
of Allah azza wa jal being given to
you even through these trials.
Like you look at the big picture right
now.
Not the pixel part of it that is
part of your life.
No, the whole thing right now.
Being part of this makes you feel more
satisfied and willing to give gratitude because Allah
chose you to go through this trial maybe
for something better for you.
Who can reach at that level of understanding
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's trials, Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala's wisdom and your ability
and capability of being grateful in a moment
like this?
Who can get to that level?
We can barely be grateful when things are
good.
Imagine being grateful when things are not so
good.
Brothers and sisters, the heart is the most
important thing.
You can maybe say, Alhamdulillah.
But does your heart comply with that?
When you say, I thank Allah for things,
but is your heart really complying with that?
And I mentioned that many many times and
I still hear it from people.
Whenever you ask them, how are you doing?
They say, I cannot complain.
I said, you already complained.
Like when you say, Alhamdulillah, I cannot complain.
Or it could be better.
You already complained.
Just say, Alhamdulillah and be satisfied with that.
That's the highest level.
But it requires a lot of training.
A lot of training.
A lot of exercise.
Failures here and there.
But at the end, you will get there
InshaAllah once someone tells you how are you
doing?
Say, Alhamdulillah.
And so many blessings.
And you will say it with joy even
though you have nothing.
But because you know if Allah chose to
put you through this, you know He has
wisdom.
And I'm gonna go with Allah's subhanahu wa
ta'ala's plan for me.
That's the absolute submission.
Brothers and sisters, the other form of gratitude
is with the tongue.
When you say, Alhamdulillah.
Ashukrulillah.
Every time you know you remember, say Alhamdulillah.
You say something, Alhamdulillah.
And we say Alhamdulillah whether we think we're
going through something good or something as a
hard or hardship.
We go always Alhamdulillah.
Why?
What does it mean when you say Alhamdulillah?
Alhamdulillah is praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
for His absolute perfect qualities and attributes.
That's the meaning of Alhamdulillah.
Saying Subhanallah is you're freeing Allah azza wa
jal from any faults or flaws in His
qualities subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So saying Alhamdulillah when you affirm His perfect
qualities.
So when you say Alhamdulillah in the face
of trial, what exactly you're saying?
I say Alhamdulillah.
I thank Allah azza wa jal the most
perfect, the all perfect, meaning even what I'm
going through, even though I see it to
be hard or difficult or a trial, but
I know He is the most perfect, He
is the most merciful.
That's part of His rahmah probably.
His mercy that I have to go through
this.
Part of His wisdom that I have to
go through this.
Because I know He is all perfect subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
So you say it, my dear brothers and
sisters.
Another form of showing gratitude to Allah azza
wa jal is using these blessings that He
bestowed upon you for His service.
Why did He give you sight?
Why did He give you wealth?
Why did He give you health?
Why did He give you time?
Free.
That you have nothing to do with it.
What do you do?
What do you do with these things?
And if you're not utilizing this to show
your gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
you will regret it when you lose that
opportunity.
Then the Prophet ﷺ says, اغْتَنِمْ خَمْسًا قَبْلَ
خَمْسًا Make sure you benefit from five things
before five things catch up with you.
Like your young age before you get old.
When you're healthy before you get sick.
When you're wealthy before you become poor.
And all these other things.
Like basically utilize these blessings before they're taken
away from you.
Because Allah says He's going to test you.
And part of His test is taking some
of these ni'mah, some of these blessings to
see how you're going to react to these
things.
So brothers and sisters, there are many ways
to show gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
But definitely being grateful shows alhamdulillah that positive
outlook on this world.
Now the question as many people ask, why
do people refuse to be grateful?
Why do people refuse to be grateful?
What prevents us from being grateful?
The ultimate answer to this lies in the
fact that as human beings, we do not
like to be in debt to anybody.
You don't like to be in debt to
anybody.
You don't like anybody to have a favor
on you.
Because if they have favor on you, what
does that mean to you?
I owe them something.
If you're obliged right now to submit to
them or maybe be kind to them or
do.
You always feel that kind of debt that
you owe that you have to repay this
individual.
That's why sometimes we deny the most obvious
thing.
Like your spouse, your parents, your children.
You owe each other a lot.
Just being part of your life, you owe
them that part as well.
But we always deny that we don't want
to be grateful towards one another.
Now you can imagine now to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
Some people so arrogantly, arrogantly.
They don't want to believe in Allah azza
wa jal.
So they reject all these favors.
They don't want to accept that that what
they have in their hand all came from
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So they deny Him completely and being ungrateful.
Which is why again, being grateful, it's a
matter of character.
It's a matter of choice.
It's not a matter of nature.
So make sure that you work on this.
Refine your characters of gratitude.
Be grateful.
Be grateful on daily basis.
Think of the blessing Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala has stored upon you and there are
so many you can't even enumerate.
وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا If you
try to enumerate and count the blessings of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala you will never
be able to count them.
May Allah make us among those who are
grateful to Him.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bring our
heart to be grateful.
Show our gratitude to Allah azza wa jal.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to
give us the ability to be shaykireen.
قُولُوا قَوْلِي هَذَا وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمُ وَلَيُّ وَلَكُمْ
وَإِسَاءَ مُسْلِمِينَ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّ وَالْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ الحمد
لله رب العالمين صلى الله وسلم وبرك على
نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم تسليمًا كثيرًا
ثم مما بعد My dear brothers and sisters
One last thing I want to mention about
being grateful The Messenger of Allah s.a
.w. mentioned in the hadith مَا لَا يَشْكُرِ
النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرِ اللَّهِ If you don't show
your gratitude to the people you won't show
your gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
What does that even mean?
When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says هو
الرَّزَّق He is the one who sends the
rizq provision to you He is subhanahu wa
ta'ala the one who is the dajawad,
al-karim He is the most generous He
sends all these blessings to you He is
sending them through people He is sending them
through others around you When you get the
health and the wealth and the employment and
all these Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is
giving you sakinah with your family, with your
parents, with your spouse All these things are
blessings Coming from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
He is utilizing the people to deliver them
to you So therefore, it's extremely important to
show our gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala by being grateful to the people around
us It's hard to admit your gratitude to
a human being Again, it makes you feel
so much indebted to them But it's okay
It's okay to admit the virtue that Allah
blessed you with having, alhamdulillah, a good family
good job, good health, alhamdulillah good time that
you spend in your life All these things
It's okay to admit to other and be
grateful to them So make sure, before you
leave, inshallah wa ta'ala send your gratitude
to somebody Meet someone and show them your
gratitude, inshallah wa ta'ala Send them a
text message Say, look, listen, I haven't been
actually saying Jazakallah khair But I want to
make sure that I deliver that message to
you, inshallah wa ta'ala Whoever that person
is Make sure to be grateful BarakAllahu feekum
Allahumma a'alimna ma yanfa'na wa anfa
'na bima a'allamtana innaka anta al-'alimul hakeem
Allahumma aati nufusana taqwaha wa zakkaha anta khairun
man zakkaha anta waleehu mawlaha Ibadallah inna Allah
wa malaikatuhu salloona ala nabiy ya ayyuha lathina
amanu sallu alayhi wa sallimu taslima Allahumma salli
wa sallim wa barik ala nabiyyina wa muhammad
wa ala aali wa sahbihi ajma'een wa
ardi Allahumma al-khulafa al-rashidina al-bikr
wa umar wa al-athman wa alaihi wa
sahbihi ajma'een wa man thawam bi ihsan
wa umar al-din wa aqeem al-salam