Radio sermon: Remembrance Of Allah

Transcription

1 Radio sermon: Remembrance Of Allah Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations, and Peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, the faithful and the honest. Oh, Allah, w e know nothing but w hat You teach us. You are the All- Know er, the Wise. Oh Allah, teach us w hat is good for us, and benefit us from w hat You taught us, and increase our know ledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep aw ay from them. O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and know ledge, and from the muddy shallow s of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity. First serm on: Allah, the Almighty, is Perfect and inevitably Existent. He, Glory to Him, has the Beautiful Names and the Perfect Attributes. He is One, and there is no one comparable unto Him, w hether in His Being, Acts, or Attributes. He is the Creator and Lord of all things. There is no god but Him. He can not be perceived by senses, and can not be compared w ith people. He is over everything; and nothing is over Him. There is nothing comparable unto Him, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Know ing. He is neither a substance nor an image; He is not limited, divisible, made of parts, perishable, or changeable. He is far above time and place. And He, All-High, is unlike w hatever might occur to our minds or w e can ever imagine. He, All-Mighty, know s w hat w as, w hat is, w hat w ill be, and w hat w as not: if it w ere, how it w ould be. He know s secrets and w hat is yet more hidden. Everything is in need of Him for everything. He is Self-Sufficient, Perfect, and needs none. He is the Everlasting and Eternal. He is Self-Existent and is not in need of anything or anyone for His Existence. That is Allah, your Lord, the Creator of all things; there is no god but Him; then how you are deluded aw ay from the Truth! As for man, he is a w eak creature w ho is in need of his Lord for every thing. His human body is in need of food and drink in order to subsist; his heart is in need to remember Allah and keep linked w ith Him in order to remain alive; and his mind is in need of know ledge in order to develop. The above-mentioned three kinds of needs are indispensable for man to maintain his existence, safety of his existence, perfection of his existence, and persistence of his existence. Now, let us leave matters of man s nutrition needs to scientists of nourishment and intllectual needs to religious clerics; and let us talk about the human heart and the nourishment thereof, explicitly Remembering Allah. Narrated Imam Malik in his Al-Mouatta : The Prophet (PBUH) said: Shall I tell you of something that is the best of your deeds, the most virtuous one in the sight of your Lord, that w hich exalts you to the most sublime ranks (in Paradise), and that w hich is better for you than spending gold and silver (for the Cause of Allah) or meeting your enemie s and striking their heads and they striking your heads [i.e. fighting against them (for the Cause of Allah)]?! They said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! He said: Rem em bering Allah. By virtue of the above Prophetic Hadith, it is clear that Remembering Allah has a considerable significance in a believer s life, particularly, as it is mentioned in more than three hundred Verses of the Holy Quran, w hich confirms that Remembering Allah must accompany man in all his affairs and conditions, because it is a real kind of w orship that involves one s heart, mind, and tongue. To remember Allah, Most Gracious, means to Remember Him through His Cosmic and Quranic Signs, His apparent and hidden Graces, His Commandments and Prohibitions, to remind other fellow humans of Him by explaining to them His Beautiful Names and Attributes, to remember Him in your heart and in your tongue, to glorify Him, to praise Him, to profess His Oneness, to remember His Godhood, and obey Him, Alone, in all your situations and conditions, to remember Him so that your heart becomes peaceful, your distress vanishes, your [1]

2 breast is comfortable, your livelihood becomes felicitous, and so that He grants you victory over your enemies. In fact, remembering Allah is mentioned in the holy Quran in ten w ays, one of w hich is direct Command. To this effect, Allah, All-Mighty, says, O you w ho believe celebrate the praise of Allah, and do this often Another w ay is prohibition of being forgetful of Allah, Most Gracious. To this effect, Allah says: And be you not like those w ho forgot Allah; and, therefore, He made them forget their ow n selves! Such are the rebellious transgressors! [XXXIII ; 41] [CIX ; 19] In this context, some interpreters said: Their forgetfulness of Allah caused them to forget themselves in the sense that they did not know the reality of themselves, their mission in the present w orld, or the never-ending happiness w hich has been prepared for them if they obey Allah. A third w ay of remembering Allah is to associate one s success and prosperity in both abodes w ith constant remembrance of Allah, All-Mighty. To this effect, Allah, Most Gracious, says: and celebrate the Praises of Allah often (and w ithout stint), that you m ay prosper. [CXII ; 10] A fourth w ay is that Allah, Glory to Him, considers heedlessness of the rememberance of Allah a reason for man s great loss. To this effect, He, All-Mighty, says, O you w ho believe! Let neither your riches nor your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. If any (of you) act thus, the loss is their ow n. [CXIII ; 9] In other w ords, no Favor or Blerssing a true believer receives from his Lord is greater than w hen He, Most Gracious, remembers him as a rew ard for his remembering the Lord or reminding other f ellow humans of Him. In this context, Allah, Praised and Glorified, says, Then remember Me; I w ill remember you. And be grateful to Me, and reject not Faith. In fact, Remembering Allah should be the ultimate goal of human beings and the essence of their w orship and acts of obedience. That is w hy Allah, All-High, considers it the essence of man s w ork and greater than any other kind of w orship or act of devotion. To the same purport, Allah says: And recite (and teach) w hat has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord: none can change His w ords, and none w ill you find as a refuge other than Him. Concerning Allah s Words And Rem em bering Allah is greater., [II ; 152] [XIIX ; 27] exegetes hold that it embraces more than one significance. First, remembering Allah is greater than any other kind of w orship or act of devotion. Second, it means that if you remember Allah in your prayer, He w ill remember you much more than you do. A third meaning is that remembering Allah safeguards man from

3 committing sins or misdeeds. Some exegetes, how ever, hold that remembering Allah is in fact the greatest thing in prayer. To this effect, Allah, Most Gracious, says, Verily, I am Allah; there is no god but I; so serve you Me (only), and establish regular prayer in order to remember Me. In general, Allah considers remembering Him as the spirit of good deeds; therefore, if they lack remebrance of Allah, good deeds are dead bodies w ith no spirit. Furthermore, remembrance of Allah is the life for man s heart. It is narrated in Sahih Al-Boukhari and Sahih Muslim that the Prophet (PBUH) said: The parable of someone w ho remembers his Lord and another w ho does not remember Him is the parable of a living and a dead person. And according to the narration of Muslim: The parable of a house in w hich Allah is remembered and a house in w hich Allah is not remembered is the parable of the living and the dead. In this context, some scholars said: Remembering Allah is as necessary for the human heart as w ater is for fish. In a Divine Qudsi Hadith, Allah, All-Mighty, says: [XX ; 14] I am as my servant thinks of me, if he remembers Me in himself, I remember him in Myself. If he remembers Me in a company of people, I remember him in a better company. If he comes near to Me a p of a hand, I come near to him a cubit. If he comes near to Me a cubit, I come near to him a fathom. If he comes to Me w alking, I come to him running. Scholars hold that even if there w ere only the above Divine Hadith as the fruit of remembering Allah, it w ould suffice man in Honor and Grace. Remembering Allah drives Satan aw ay and suppresses him. It pleases the Most Merciful Allah and brings man nearer to Him. It removes distress and w orry and brings happiness and joy. It strengthens man s heart and body, brightens his face and enlightens his heart. It enlarges man s provision and makes him better off. It enshrouds man w ith dignity, congeniality and gracefulness. It conduces to Allah s Love, w hich is the spirit of the religion of Islam, the pillar of Faith and the pivot of man s happiness and safery in both Abodes. As afore-mentioned, remembering Allah repels Satan and over-pow er him. To this effect, Ibn Abbas narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said: Satan is (forever) sitting on man s heart. No sooner is he (man) heedless and forgets (Allah) than he (Satan) w hispers evil to him. But if he (man) remembers Allah, he (Satan) sneaks aw ay. That is w hy Satan is called in Arabic Al-Wasw as Al-Khannas, i.e the w hisperer of evil, w ho w ithdraw s and sneaks aw ay w hen man remmbers Allah. Mo ath Ibn Jabal also narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said: Man never does anything that rescues him from Allah s Punishment better than Remembering Allah, the Alm ighty. Occupying oneself w ith the remembrance of Allah keeps man aw ay from futile talk like slander, backbiting, calumny, talebearing, idle talk, ect. This is because man s tongue is never at rest; it is either a heedful tongue [2] [3]

4 that extols Allah s Names and Attributes or a heedless tongue that gets indulged in vain talk. The same thing applies to man s soul, w hich, if not filled w ith good, fills man s life w ith evil, and man s heart, w hich, if not filled w ith love for Allah, is filled w ith love for the perishable trivial mundane things, and also man s tongue, w hich, if not involved in extolling Praises of Allah, utters vain meaningless things. In this context, Allah, All-High, says: The Believers must (eventually) prosper: Those w ho humble themselves in their Prayers, w ho avoid vain talk, w ho are active in deeds of Charity, and w ho abstain from (illegal) s ex. [XXIII ; 1-5] One of the benefits of remembering Allah is that it is the only cure for hard-heartedness. This is because the more forgetful of Allah man is, the harder his heart is. Nothing can eliminate man s hard-heartedness except remembering Allah. In other w ords, remembrance of Allah is a cure for man s heart as much as heedlessness and forgetfulness of Allah is the source of its ailment and death. In this context, one of the scholars said: Remembering Allah is a remedy, and remembering people is a disease. When w e become sick, w e seek remedy in remembering You; But w hen w e do not remember You, w e relapse into sickness. Moreover, remembering Allah is conducive to Allah s Friendship and Protection as much as heedlessness and forgetfulness entail His Hatred and Enmity. In other w ords, the more man remembers his Lord, the more his Lord, Most Gracious, loves, befriends and protects him; and the more man is heedless and forgetful of his Lord, the more his Lord hates and antagonizes him. Nothing could ever make man more dested to Allah than his being heedless or forgetful of Him. Allah s Favors and Blessings can be attained and His Anger and Punishment can be repelled by nothing better than remembering Him and glorifying His Beautiful Names and Attriubtes. This is because remembrance of Allah entails His Love and Grace and repels His Wrath and Punishment. Furthermore, remembering Allah is the Paradise of this present w orld. One of the righteous scholars w as quoted as saying: There is a Paradise in this present w orld; w hosoever does not enter it, he w ill never enter the Paradise of the Hereafter. Such Paradise is Rem em bering Allah. Another scholar referred to such Paradise saying: What can my enemies do to me. My Garden of Paradise is in my heart; w herever I go, it is w ith me. My imprisonment is devotional seclusion (for rem embering Allah), killing me is martyrdom, and driving me aw ay from my homeland is tourism. A third one said: How miserable people of the present w orld are! They pass aw ay from it w ithout having tasted the most delicious thing therein. And w hen he w as asked: What is the most delicious thing therein?, he said: Know ing Allah, the Almighty, loving Him, and rem embering Him. One of the righteous men w ho used to constantly remember the Lord, Most Gracious, said: There come upon me times (of utmost happiness) w herein I say, If people of Paradise enjoy such happy tim es, they w ill certainly be in a really happy life. It w as also narrated that a righteous young man committed a sin, w hich hindered him f rom remembering Allah, the Almighty, because he w as filled w ith sorrow and w orry; and he sat w aiting for Allah s Punishment and Torment. He remained so for some time, but nothing happened to him. He turned to the Lord, saying, O Lord! I disobeyed You, but You did not punish me! The Lord, Most Gracious, inspired him, O My slave! I punished you but you did you did not recognize that. Did I not deprive you of the pleasure of remembering and invoking Me?! Al-Hasan Al-Basri said: Seek sw eet happiness in three things: perform ing prayer, Remembering Allah, and reading the Holy Quran. If you find (delight in those three things), it is alright. But if you do not, it means that the door (to Allah s Love and Mercy) is closed; so search for the reason. Remembering Allah is conducive to His Generous Donnation. This is because Allah, Most Generous, grants those w ho remember Him much more than those w ho ask Him. In a Divine Hadith narrated by Omar ibn Al-Khattab on authoritiy of the Prophet (PBUH), Allah said:

5 Whosoever is distracted by My Remembrance from asking Me, I grant him more than that w hich I grant to those w ho ask. Remembering Allah also leads to Allah s Mercy and, hence, tranquility and peacefulness of man s heart. It w as narrated in Sahih Muslim on authority of Abu Hourairah that the Prophet (PBUH) said: Whenever a group of people sit in a place w here they remember Allah, angels surround them, mercy is made to overw helm them, peacefulness comes dow n unto them, and Allah remembers them among those w ho are w ith Him. And w henever a group of people sit in a place w here they do not remember Allah or ask Him to bestow His Blessings upon their Prophet, they suffer decrease of their good deeds on the Day of Judgment, and incur Allah s Wrath and Punishment. A isha (May Allah be pleased w ith her) narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said: On the Day of Judgment, man shall regret every hour during w hich he does not remember Allah. A good human model should be someone w ho is in constant rememberance of his Lord, All-Mighty, and is rightly guided by His Divine Revelation and Guidance. Those w ho are heedless and astray should by no means be follow ed or taken for good exemplars. To this effect, Allah, Most Gracious, says: Nor obey him w hose heart We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us, one w ho follow s his ow n desires, w hose case has gone beyond all bounds. Rememberance of Allah breeds intimacy w ith Him and provides man w ith spiritual enhancement; therefore, it should be constantly observed. In this context, Allah says: [XIIX ; 28] O you w ho believe celebrate the praise of Allah, and do this often. And glorify Him morning and evening. He it is Who send Blessings on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of Darkness into Light; and He is Full of Mercy to the Believers. Their salutation, on the Day they meet Him, w ill be Peace! ; and He has prepared for them a Generous Rew ard. [XXXIII ; 41-44] Kinds of Remembrance: To call out Allah s Name, saying: Allah, Allah. To this effect, Allah says: But keep in remembrance the name of your Lord. [CXXIII ; 8] To glorify Him, saying: Soubhana Allah ( Glory is to Allah). To praise Him, saying: Alhamdu lillah (Praise is to Allah). To testify to His Oneness, saying: la ilaha illallah (There is no god but Allah). To say: Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greatest). In this issue, w hat is important is not the w ords and utterances in themselves but rather the meanings and intentions thereof; therefore, such w ords as Glory is to Allah, Praise is to Allah, There is no god but Allah and Allah is Greatest, as afore-mentioned, are the things that endure of good deeds, w hich Allah mentions in His Words:

6 Wealth and sons are adornment of the life of this w orld; but the things that endure of good deeds, are best in the sight of your Lord, as rew ards, and best as (the foundation for) hopes. When Allah, All-Wise, explicitly describes the above-mentioned supplications of glorification, praise, monotheism, and magnification as being the things that endure of good deeds, He, implicitly describes adornment of this present life as being ephemeral and perishable. In other w ords, this present life, as the Holy Prophet, (PBUH), confirms, is a temporary provision for both the pious and libertine. Moreover, the perishable vanities might w ell be conducive to man s misery and perdition if they divert him from the remembrance of his Lord, Allah. To this purport, the Quranic Verse goes: O you w ho believe! Let neither your riches nor your children divert you from the rem embrance of Allah. If any (of you) act thus, the loss is their ow n. Another kind of Remembrance is to beseech Allah for forgiveness. Allah, Most Merciful, says: [XIIX ; 46] Ask forgiveness from your Lord; for He is Oft-Forgiving. He w ill send rain to you in abundance, Give you increase in w ealth and sons, and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers (of flow ing w ater). Another kind of Remembrance is to invoke Him, for invocation is the essence of w orship. Allah, Most Gracious, says: [CXIII ; 9] [CXXI ; 10-12] When My slaves ask you concerning Me, (tell them that) I am indeed close (to them); I listen to the prayer of every supplicant w hen he calls upon Me; let them also, w ith a w ill, lis ten to My call, and believe in Me;that they m ay be rightly guided. Another kind of Remembrance is to remember His Bidding and Forbidding, His Good Promise and Threat, His Paradise and Hell, and His Law s and Legislations. Another kind of Remembrance is to remember the good righteous deeds of those upon w hom Allah has bestow ed His Grace: Prophets, believers, martyrs, and righteous people, and to keep aw ay from those w hose portion is Allah s Wrath, w ho go astray and cause others to go astray, in order that your w orship may be acceptable. Another kind of Remembrance is to Remember Allah s Quranic Verses. Allah, the Most Beneficent, says: Establish regular prayers at the sun's decline till the darkness of the night, and the m orning prayer and reading (of Quranic Verses);for the prayer and reading (of Quranic Verses) in the m orning carry their testim ony. [II ; 186] [XVII ; 78] Readers of the Quran never grieve; and those w ho learn the Holy Quran, Allah w ill let them enjoy healthy sober minds until they die. Another kind of Remembrance is to remember Allah s Cosmic Signs. In this context, Allah, Glory to Him, says, Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed Signs for men of understanding: Those w ho remember Allah (w hile they are) standing, sitting and lying dow n, and contemplate the creation of the heavens and the earth,

7 (saying): Our Lord! You have not created all this w ithout purpose, glory to You! Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire! He also says: [III; 190,191] Soon w ill We show them Our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their ow n selves, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that your Lord does w itness all things? Another kind of Remembrance is to remember Allah s Acts and Cosmic Signs. He, All-Mighty, says: We w ill, w ithout doubt, help Our Messengers and those w ho believe, (both) in this w orld's life and on the Day w hen the Witnesses w ill stand forth. [XCI ; 53] [XC ; 51] Second serm on: One of the Cosmic Signs that bespeak Allah s Infinite Divine Pow er and Might is the dynamic gravitation among planets and stars, w hich governs the w hole universe, from atoms to galaxies. The sun, for example, gravitates the earth by a very great pow er, w hich makes the earth move in orbit round it. If the sun s gravitation of the earth vanished, the earth w ould leave its orbit round the sun and go far astray in outer space, w here there is nothing but darkness and cold. Consequently, life on earth w ould be impossible because the temperature w ould drop to absolute zero. In this context, Allah, Most Merciful, says: It is Allah Who sustains the heavens and the earth, lest they go astray; and if they should go astray, there is not one that could sustain them after Him; verily, He is Most Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving. [XXXV ; 41] If w e supposedly desire to replace the pow er of the sun s gravitation w ith ropes of steel by w hich w e tie the earth to the sun, w e need a million million ropes, the length of each is 156 million kilometers, and its diameter is 5 meters. Every one rope of these can bear more than 2 million tons of attraction pow er. Moreover, if w e tied these ropes w ith the surface of the earth, w e w ould become in a forest of steel ropes; and the distance betw een every tw o columns w ould be less than the diameter of a third column. This forest of ropes w ould eclipse the sun s rays and deprive us from any movement or activity. All this pow er - the pow er of the sun s gravitation to the earth - w hich is more than tw o million tons multiplied a million million times, is just in order to keep the earth in orbit round the sun three millimeters per second. Consider Allah s Words: Allah is He Who raised the heavens w ithout any pillars that you can see. Then, He firmly established Himself on the Throne; He has subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law ); each one runs (its course) for a term appointed. He does dispose w ith all affairs and explain the Signs in detail that you may believe w ith certainty in the meeting w ith your Lord. The above verse means that there are pillars w hich w e do not see. These invisible pillars are the pow er of gravitation, w hich govern the w hole universe. Allah, All-Mighty, says: We shall show them Our Signs in the horizons and in their ow n selves, until it becom es manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that Your Lord does w itness all things? [XIII ; 2]

8 [XCI ; 53] He, Most Gracious, also says: Those truly fear Allah, from among His Servants, w ho have know ledge. [XXXV ; 28] The above-mentioned w ere Allah s Signs in the horizons, but w hat about His Signs in man s ow n self? If someone suddenly meets a dangerous deadly insect, w hat happens? The image of this insect is imprinted on his retina in the form of a light-sensation that is transmitted to the brain in the form of a sensual conception. The brain orders the pituitary gland to deal w ith this danger according to its w isdom. This pituitary gland, w hich w eighs less than half a gram, gives a hormone-order to the adrenal gland to provide the body w ith utmost readiness to encounter this danger. The adrenal gland, in turn, gives five orders: one order to the heart in order to hasten its beating; hence, the heart-beat of a frightened person increases. It gives a second order to the lungs in order that their palpitation be in harmony w ith the increase of the heart-beat. The third order w hich the adrenal gland gives is to the surrounding blood vessels to narrow in order that blood moves to the muscles instead of the skin; hence, the face of a frightened person becomes pale. It gives a fourth order to the liver in order to excrete an extra amount of sugar to the blood, because it is the fuel for muscles. Also, it gives a fifth order to increase the hormone of thrombosis in order to minimize bleeding. All such things take place in one single moment. Such is the Creation of Allah! Show me w hat others have created! And in your ow n selves, do you not see? Another kind of Remembering Allah is to remind people of their Lord, Most Gracious, to call for Him, making people aw are of His Existence, Perfection, and Oneness, to teach them His Book, w hich guides people to the Right Path, to tell them about His Messenger, (PBUH), as w ell as the Prophetic Tradition and Biography, addressing their minds and hearts at the same time, and to be a good model for them. Allah says: A similar (favour have you already received) in that We have sent among you a Messenger of your ow n, show ing you Our Signs, purifying you, and instructing you in Scripture, Wis dom and in new Know ledge. Dear Muslim brother! As you have been guided to Allah, strive to seek after guiding people to Him. Strive to be a rightly guided and guiding man. Strive to be a righteous reformer. This is the greatest kind of Remembering Allah. It is the w ork of Prophets, Messengers, true believers, monotheists, and sincere laborious scholars, w ho are the foremost in Faith and w ill be the foremost in the Gardens of Eternal Bliss in the Hereafter. Imam An-Naw aw i, may Allah have mercy on him, extended the meaning of Remembering Allah, saying: It should be know n that the virtue of Remembering Allah is not confined to extolling Glories and Praises of Allah, Most Gracious, bearing w itness to His Oneness, or the like. Nay, rather, every one w ho obeys Allah is someone w ho Remembers Him. In other w ords all acts of obedience reflect remembrance of Allah, Lord of all w orlds [1] - It w as narrated by Imam Malik (1 \ 211), At-Termidhi (3374), Imam Ahamd, and Alhakem. [2] - It w as narrated by Al-Boukhari and Muslim. [3] - It w as narrated by Malik and At-Termidhi (3374). [II ; 151] Translation : Auditing :