Yasir Qadhi – Wisdoms of the Quran #26 Persevere, As You Have Been Commanded to – Hud 112
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The speaker discusses the need to stay firm in worship and preserving the heart, as well as the danger of losing power and the importance of staying true to Islam. They emphasize the need to save and reinvest in deeds that reward us, as well as to hold onto the maximum percentage. The importance of persistence, perseverance, and continuity in worship is also emphasized.
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Assalamu alaikum Warahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
Today was our
final actual maxim
or gem. We have one conclusion left.
And for the last Qur'anic wisdom,
I chose
Surah Hud Fastakim
kamaumirtah.
For the very last message, I want you
to take a message that will persist with
us after Ramadan.
And that message is about persistence.
Fastaqim
kamaumirta,
stay firm
and keep on going as you have been
commanded to do. Fastakim,
the Islamic concept of istaqamah
which is encapsulated
in Surat Al Fatiha every single day, at
least 17 times when we say, idhinasiratalmustaqim,
that's the same concept of fastaqim,
istikama,
keep
on persevering,
keep on persisting,
keep on walking down the path, don't give
up. And this concept of persistency,
this concept of istikama,
it is a constant theme. I quoted you
Surahud,
but I could have quoted you any half
a dozen of verses. For example, Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala says,
We are telling you, You Rasulullah,
you and Nuh and Ibrahim,
and Musa, and Isa, the same commandment.
That what? Aqeemuuddin
istikama,
have the same firmness in the deen. And
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commands the Prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam that fadru, call to Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala, wastaqim
kamaumirta.
The same phrase occurs, call to Allah and
be firm in what you have been commanded
to do. Do not waver left or right.
And when Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala appointed Musa
to go to Fir'aun, Musa prayed to Allah,
Oh Allah, help me, give me my brother,
give me my brother Harun so that we
can go together. Allah says, qalaqaduujeeba
daawatukuma,
I have given you your dua. Then what?
Fastakeema,
the both of you do not give up.
Be firm, be consistent,
persevere.
Allah tells the prophets,
istaqim,
istaqimah
Allah tells Ibrahim Musa 'Izzanur
and our Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
fastakim,
do not waver back and forth. And that
is why
when Iblis was thrown out of Jannah, what
did he threaten Allah? He threatened Allah that,
O Allah, because You have done this to
me, he blamed Allah. Oh Allah, because you
have done this to me, la aqrudan nalaham
sirataqalmustakeem.
I am gonna tempt them away from the
istaqamah.
The job of Iblis
is to waver our persistence.
The job of Iblis,
to destroy
our istikamah.
We are told to remain firm, we are
told to keep on going down the path,
we are told to go to the sirat
al mustaqim,
and Iblis knows
that if we stay on that sirat, he
shall fail. So what is his one threat
to Allah? The one threat to Allah, laqurudan
nalahome sirata kalmustaqim.
Thumma laatiyannahum
mimbaaniadihim,
woman khalfimwalaymanimwashamaim
Iblis said, I'm gonna attack them from every
single angle to try to get them where?
Away from the siraat. That's my goal. I
want them to not have Istikamah.
So what is Istikamah?
What is this concept that Allah tells all
of the prophets that Allah told Ibrahim and
Musa and Isa, that Allah tells Harun and
Musa, Istikima.
What is this Istikamah?
Ibn Qayyim says,
Istikamah
is the persistence of the heart in worshiping
Allah. Because when the heart is persistent, the
body will follow. That is istikamah.
Istikamah
is not a one off religiosity,
and that's the danger
of some of us during this month of
Ramadan.
Because a one off religiosity
is not istikamah.
Istikamah
quite literally translates as persevering,
persistence.
That's what istikamah is. So when Ramadan is
coming to an end, we have to be
especially careful that we don't just float up
with the wave of iman and then come
crashing down. That is not what Allah has
commanded. Allah has commanded
constantly, He has commanded, fastakim,
wastakim,
istakimah,
istakimu, istakimu,
the constant theme of the Quran, ikhdinasratalmustakim.
So as Ramadan is coming to an end,
O Muslim, the religiosity
we have been infused with, the spirituality
that has made us, alhamdulillah,
so strong during this month. We have to
share, and we have to save, and we
have to make sure that we hold on
to the maximum
percentage that we have. When Allah blesses us
with a monetary investment, what do we do?
With a monetary gift, what do we do?
We take as much as we can, the
wise one, and throws it in an investment.
We put it into something that we can
benefit from. This is the purpose of Ramadan.
Ramadan
is a bonus of iman. We have gotten
a massive chunk of iman. Now that iman,
the goal then, the wise person is that
we save that iman, we apportion that iman,
and we put it into our bank of
istaqamah, we put it into our heart of
istaqamah,
so that it propels us until the next
ramadan. And then the same thing happens again,
and again, and again. O Muslim,
istaqim,
persevere,
persist. Remember what our prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
said,
The most blessed of all deeds to Allah
and the deeds that Allah loves the most
are the ones that are persistent,
even if they are small. Persistence
is what pays off. Persistence is what Allah
loves. Persistence is how religiosity
is dictated. So when Ramadan comes to an
end, then make sure your lifestyle
and your schedule post Ramadan is better than
it was pre Ramadan.
Make sure you are now persevering
and persisting
in acts of worship, and in better akhlaq
that you didn't have before Ramadan.
When you do so, then you will live
up to the concept of istikamah. And what
will happen to the one who has istikamah?
What will be the blessing of the one
who has remained firm upon istikamah?
Allah tells us in the Quran,
Inna ladheenaqalurabunallahu
Those who live their lives with this tikama,
they shall get the VIP treatment.
The angels will come down in flocks upon
flocks. The angels will come down. Our Prophet
Sallallahu alaihi wasallam said, These are the angels
of death. They're coming down to welcome the
soul of the righteous. So, Inna ladheenaqaru
rabbunallahu
thum mastakamoo
Notice to the very end, they said, Allah
is our Lord, and then they were firm
in that when the angel of death comes,
he shall have with him an entourage of
VIP
angels. And all of them are going to
say, be calm, relax, we're here, we're gonna
take care of you. We took care of
you in this world, we'll take care of
you in the akhira.
Akhira. O Muslim, as we come to an
end, remember the Qur'anic maxim of istikamah.
What is beneficial
is not a one off religiosity,
that's not what Allah is looking for. What
is beneficial
is persistence,
is perseverance,
is continuity.
So now that Ramadan has come to an
end, then continue
in the worship of Allah and persevere
and persist so that InshaAllahu
ta'ala, when it is our time to go,
we too will be welcomed by the very
angels that Allah says, and we wish to
hear as well, latakafu
walataazanu
Because we had istikamah, may Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala make us of those who have istikamah,
and may Allah guide us to Surat al
Mustaqeem, and we have but one lesson left,
and that will be our conclusion. Wassalamu alaykumu
rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.