Zia Sheikh – How to have Strong Belief Jumuah Nov 6th 2015
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AI: Transcript ©
And it is better in the eyes of
Allah SWT than a weak believer.
But at the same time, the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam also highlighted, وَفِي كُلٍّ خَيْرٍ There
is khayr in all believers, but the strong
believer, and I'll mention what strong means in
a minute, but a strong believer is better
than a weak believer.
Then the hadith goes on to say, اِحْرِصْ
عَلَىٰ مَا يَنْفَعُكُ Be eager to do things
that will be beneficial to you.
وَاسْتَعِنْ بِاللَّهِ Seek the help of Allah SWT.
وَلَا تَعْجَزْ Do not lose hope.
Seek the help of Allah SWT.
And do not lose hope.
Do not become despondent.
وَإِنْ أَصَابَكَ شَيْءٌ فَلَا تَقُلْ If any affliction
comes to you, if you get affected negatively
by something, then do not say, لَوْ أَنِّي
فَعَلْتُ كَانَ كَذَا وَكَذَا If only I had
done something this way or that way, then
this would have happened.
But say, وَلَا كِنْ قُلْ قَدَّرَ اللَّهُ وَمَا
شَاءَ فَعَلْ Say that whatever Allah SWT ordained,
He did and it happened.
Because this word, فَإِنَّ لَوْ تَفْتَحُ عَمَلَ الشَّيْطَانِ
This word if, whenever we say if in
the past tense, if I had done this,
if I had taken that certain medicine, if
I had gone to that doctor, if I
had said this in my job interview, this
opens up the doors of the Shaytan to
dwell on the past.
So, let's focus first on the beginning of
the hadith, in which the Prophet SAW said,
that a strong believer is better than a
weak believer.
What does that mean?
We can talk about strength in a physical
sense, and physical strength is also good.
But, most of the scholars say, that the
strength that is being mentioned here, is the
inner strength, the willpower, hope, optimism, all of
these things are referred to in this beautiful
hadith.
That a strong believer, meaning his strength, his
conviction, his willpower, his optimism, his view of
the world, is in a positive sense.
It's never in a negative sense.
He takes everything in a positive way.
So this believer, he is better in the
eyes of Allah SWT, and more beloved, than
a person who is negative all the time.
He is pessimistic all the time.
He looks at everything in a negative sense.
He believes that whenever anything is going on
in the ummah, that the whole world is
against Muslims.
So, we really need to understand this hadith,
and put it into practice, and we will,
inshaAllah, do things in a positive way, we
will take action in a positive way, and
that will affect our life, and the lives
of the people around us.
When a person has this quwa, this willpower
inside him, then what happens?
He has strength in all of his deeds.
Everything that he does, he will go through
those deeds with firm conviction.
He will not lose hope, whether those deeds
are related to the world, or the hereafter.
Whether a person is using this strength in
his business, or his workplace, or related to
the affairs of the hereafter, he will have
strength in all of his deeds.
When a person talks, and says anything, he
is firm in his conviction.
He is firm in what he says.
He is not wishy-washy.
He is not wishy-washy, and I am
going to mention a hadith later on, which
talks about a person who is imma, according
to what the Prophet s.a.w. said,
and how the Prophet s.a.w. forbade
us from becoming imma, meaning a person who
has no opinion of his own, he just
goes the way the wind blows.
So a person, when he is a strong
believer, he has conviction in whatever he says.
Thirdly, whenever he practices, he is steadfast upon
his practice.
He doesn't shave his beard because he thinks
that he is going to be labeled a
terrorist at the airport, and he doesn't change
his name at the workplace because he thinks
that the name Muhammad is too Muslim, and
he will be scrutinized because of the name
Muhammad.
When he practices, he is steadfast, and he
stays firm to his conviction.
When the person debates or argues with somebody,
he is clear in his argument.
His argument is clear.
He talks according to the Quran and the
Sunnah, and when we talk according to the
Quran and the Sunnah, that talk is going
to be in black and white.
It's going to be very very clear, and
there will be no turning away from that,
that person is going to be strong in
his arguments.
When he ponders, when he is alone, he
thinks he is going to be Mutmain, his
heart is going to be at ease.
He is not going to be stressed out
by the affairs of the world around him,
or even his own affairs.
If he is having difficulty in the workplace,
or he is having difficulty at home, he
is not going to be stressed out, but
he is going to be Mutmain, he is
going to be at ease, he is not
going to lose sleep at night, because of
his firm conviction in Allah SWT.
He holds fast to the teachings of the
Deen, and he is never weak in those
teachings.
Sometimes a person, when he is faced by
afflictions, and problems, he turns away from Allah
SWT, and he thinks to himself, that I
have been worshipping Allah SWT for so long,
and now I am affected by this problem.
What did I get out of worshipping Allah
SWT?
Allah SWT describes such people, وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ
يَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ عَلَى حَرْفٍ فَإِنْ أَصَابَهُ خَيْرٌ يَطْمَأَنَّ
بِهِ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ إِنْ قَلَبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ
As long as a person, he is getting
good in his life, and he is not
having any difficulty, he worships Allah SWT.
But when he is afflicted by a fitna,
a trial, a test, a tribulation, he turns
away from Allah SWT.
Allah says about this person, خَسِرَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ
ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِينُ This person, he lost
out in this world, and he lost out
in the hereafter also.
And that is the biggest loss.
So when a person, he has this strength
within him, this conviction within him, he remains
steadfast to the teachings of Allah SWT through
thick and thin.
After Fajr today, I talked about a verse
from the Quran, that who are the people
of taqwa?
Allah SWT has prepared Jannah for the people
of taqwa.
أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ And then the ayah goes on
to say, أَلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ Those
people that spend in the way of Allah
SWT in good situations and in difficult situations.
So the difficult situation, financial restrictions or financial
difficulties, he is going through that difficulty, it
doesn't prevent him from infaq fi sabirillah and
doing good, continuing to do good.
So this is what a believer is supposed
to be.
All situations are equal for him.
He doesn't stop practicing because he is going
through difficulty.
This person who is firm in conviction, when
he sees people doing good, he will be
the first person to stand up and assist
them and help them and be a shoulder
to lean on in any problem or challenge
that those people who are doing good are
going to have.
And that person when he sees people on
the wrong path, he will try to order
them and forbid them from going on the
wrong path and if they don't listen, then
he will shun those people.
So these are the qualities of al mu'minul
qawiyy, a strong believer.
And the opposite of that is what the
Prophet s.a.w. said, la takunu imma
'ah, do not become imma'ah, imma'atun,
it is the plural of imma'un, it
refers to a person who has no willpower
of his own.
He just goes according to the wind.
If the wind is blowing north, he goes
towards the north.
And if the wind is blowing south, he
goes to the south.
This is what is referred to in this
hadith as imma'ah.
The hadith goes on to explain, taqoolun in
ahsanannas ahsanna, if people do good, we will
do good.
wa in dhalamu dhalamna, and if people do
dhulm, meaning they do wrong, they oppress, then
we will also do the same thing.
walakin, what are we supposed to be?
The hadith tells us, wattinu anfusakum, in ahsanannas
an tuhsinu, establish yourself, and become firm, steadfast.
If people do good, then you should do
good.
wa in asa'u fala tadlimu, If people
are doing bad, then you should not do
dhulm, and you should not do wrong.
Always do good, whatever the situation is.
So the opposite of a strong believer, what
kind of habits do these people have?
A weak person becomes a slave of the
environment.
He becomes a slave of the environment.
Whatever the environment tells him, whatever the latest
fashion, he has to have that latest fashion.
The latest clothes, the latest brand name, the
latest gadget, he has to have it.
He becomes a slave of the environment.
This is a person who is weak-willed.
The recurring habits of the people around him
become his guidance.
Whether those habits are cultural, whether they are
just something that has become fashionable, and we
have so many situations nowadays where people are
really asking questions about this issue of sexual
orientation.
It's so difficult to even talk about this
from the member.
Even Muslims are falling into this trap of
thinking that it's perfectly okay to have a
form of orientation which is completely against the
command of Allah SWT and against the nature
of a human being.
And people are saying it's okay.
It's a free country.
We should allow everything to happen.
So this is a sign of a person
who is not firm and resolute in his
beliefs and his teachings.
He will go according to what the environment
tells him.
And unfortunately, again, in a mostly conservative environment
like the country in which we are living
in, a few years ago, this was not
even acceptable by the larger society, by the
society at large.
But it's become, because of lobbying and because
of protests and so on, it's become kind
of accepted as the norm.
We can never accept these things as the
norm and a firm believer stays resolute in
his understanding of the Quran and the Sunnah.
So going on, how then should we attain
this inner strength and how do we become
strong believers?
There's an ayah in the Quran where Hud
is telling his people Ya qawmi istaghfiru rabbakum
thumma tubu ilayh yursilis samaa alaykum midrara wa
yazidkum quwatan ila quwatikum wala tatawallahu mujrimeen He
says, oh my people, make istighfar.
Ask Allah SWT for forgiveness and then return
back to him.
What does that mean?
Return back to his teachings.
Return back to his commands.
Return back to what Allah SWT wants you
to do.
The result will be yursilis samaa alaykum midrara
He will send down rainfall for you.
He will give you good in this world.
He will give you risk and sustenance.
And on top of that wa yazidkum quwatan
ila quwatikum He will increase your strength with
the strength that you already have.
So this is the way that we get
that inner strength, that inner belief, that inner
conviction.
Fulfilling the commands of Allah SWT and staying
resolute in those commands of Allah SWT and
not wavering.
wala tatawallahu mujrimeen And finally, the same ayah
says Do not turn away in the state
of being criminals meaning disobedient to Allah SWT
and then you will get what is desired
in terms of that strength.
The second way, the second step to getting
this strength is to have what is known
as the tawakkul and complete trust in Allah
SWT.
As Allah says in the Quran Whoever has
the tawakkul and trust in Allah SWT Allah
SWT is enough for him.
Allah SWT is sufficient for him.
Again, that tawakkul will prevent him from becoming
wishy-washy.
It will make him resolute and strong in
his beliefs and his actions.
Whatever the situation, whatever the environment, he will
be proud of his beliefs, he will be
proud of his actions and he will continue
to fulfill the command of Allah SWT.
The hadith itself, it says Seek the help
of Allah SWT and do not lose hope.
This is, in a different wording, this is
what tawakkul is.
That whenever you go through difficulty, rather than
looking everywhere, right and left, and up and
down, simply turn to Allah SWT and seek
his assistance and do not lose hope in
that assistance of Allah SWT.
Thirdly, we have to make dua to Allah
SWT that He removes these weaknesses that we
have within us.
A very prominent and famous dua of the
Prophet SAW that we should practice all the
time.
All of the opposite of a strong believer
are found in this dua that the Prophet
SAW is seeking refuge from.
I seek refuge from worry and grief, from
worry and grief and to lose hope and
laziness and I seek your help from cowardliness
and stinginess and I seek your refuge from
being overpowered by debt.
Debt is something that also weakens a person
in front of the person that he owes
money to.
I seek your refuge from being overpowered by
debt and being overpowered by men, by humans.
This dua is something that we should put
into practice at all times.
And
then,
fourthly, the hadith goes on to say don't
get hung up on the past mistakes that
you have made.
We all make mistakes, we've all had difficulties
in our lives, we've all said something or
done something that has resulted in detrimental things
in our lives but we cannot just get
hung up on those things and this is
what the hadith goes on to say If
I had only done this and this, then
this would not have happened.
Because this if, it opens up the doors
of the shaitan and a person starts to
lose hope for the future also.
So to stay and think about and dwell
upon the mistakes made in the past is
not something that a believer is supposed to
do.
Finally, a verse from the Quran which highlights
basically the attitude of the anbiya alimus salatul
salam Why
should not we have the tawakkul on Allah
subhana wa ta'ala?
He is the one who guided us to
our ways, our paths, the correct path, the
true path.
He guided us to what we are supposed
to do and what we are not supposed
to do.
After accepting his guidance and putting it into
our lives, why should we not have the
tawakkul on Allah subhana wa ta'ala?
We will have sabr, we will have patience
upon the adh-e-itha and the harm
that you are trying to do to us.
And only on Allah subhana wa ta'ala
do the people of tawakkul have tawakkul.
This is the essence of that hadith that
I just mentioned.
Strength, tawakkul on Allah subhana wa ta'ala,
trust in Allah subhana wa ta'ala and
we will never become despondent and we will
never lose hope.
I pray that Allah subhana wa ta'ala
gives us tawfiq to understand and practice what
is being said and heard.
Allahu Akbar