Winter Reflections Part 2 Message 3

Transcription

1 3 rd January Winter Reflections ةيوبن لئاسر Part 2 {Message 3} Lecture by Sister Eman al Obaid AL IMANU HAYTUL RUH THE LIFE OF THE SOUL IS BY THE FAITH The human being consists of body and soul. But people only focus on the body, what about the soul? Faith gives life to the soul. Iman in Islam is to believe whatever Allah subhana wa ta'ala told us and whatever Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam told us. Iman is an affirmation, to confess and believe without seeing. Iman is a blessing, nobody can realise it or feel the value of it except the person who lives with the faith. A person who does not know the meaning of the faith, they will be at a loss. Nothing will give them the joy and happiness. They will enjoy the different delights in life but yet they still cannot find that happiness. With the faith you don t need to see everything to believe in it. This gives the light to the soul. Al Iman should be within you as the blood flows in the veins of your body. With the faith you will be at rest and you will feel happy. With the faith you can even bear the difficulties. The faith is not tangible but something you need to feel. 1

2 ... Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah was asked about the best of deeds. He observed: Belief in Allah. He (the inquirer) said: What next? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: Jihad (struggle to the utmost) in the cause of Allah. He (the inquirer) again said: What next? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: Pilgrimage accepted into the grace of the Lord. This hadith tells us the best of the deeds is the faith. The Pillars of Faith are six but the main belief is the belief in Allah subhana wa ta'ala: - to believe in His divinity - to believe in His perfections - to believe that nobody is like Allah subhana wa ta'ala - to believe in His Actions, Names & Attributes - to believe in everything which Allah subhana wa ta'ala informed us of. You believe Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam was a messenger and - You believe in everything Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam sent forward to us What is this faith? Al Iman is something and seventy doors (Levels / degrees). The least of faith is to remove the harm from the road. The highest level of faith is La illaaha illa Allah The faith, which we need is a great blessing from Allah subhana wa ta'ala. It has a minimum and maximum. Whether you have the minimum or maximum, you will get the idea of what is the faith. Imagine a person not doing the least of the faith. The least of faith is just an action of the limbs, but because of his belief in Allah subhana wa ta'ala and his belief in the Messenger of Allah he will remove the harm from the street. The next hadith tells us what is the weakest of faith the border. How you will know if you are a believer or a non believer? 2

3 If you see any wrong, let him change it by his hands. If he can he will change it by his tongue. If you can t, at least go to the heart. You need to deny it in your heart. If you see something wrong and you can t do anything about it, a person should at least deny it in their heart. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala protect our heart from getting used to the sins. Ameen. The problem is when we get used to the sins, we loose the faith. So you deny it from your heart i.e. celebrating the new year, practices of other religions, bidah etc. You can t force the people to change but at least reject it in your heart. We need to account ourselves. Other scales of faith Mizan ul Iman. If you have the following characteristics you have the faith. These hadith relate to the actions of the limbs something practical, actions you can understand. 3

4 ... Abu Hurairah narrated that: The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: "By the One in Whose hand is my soul, none of you has believed until I am dearer to him than his son or his father.'" (Sahih)... A person negates they are a believer until they love Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam more than anybody else, and even more than themselves. How can I love Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam more than myself? Umar Khattab, when he heard this hadith he said to Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam Of course I love you O messenger of Allah, more than my father, more then my children but not more than myself. Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam said You will not have the complete faith until you love me more than yourself. Umar said Khalas, I love you more than even myself. This is just one switch the love. When you repeat these hadith it will sink into your heart and make Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam the most beloved in your heart. Anas: Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam said A person will not attain the faith until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself. Ask yourself do you really have this characteristic? Do you love for your brother or sister what you love for yourself? Do you prefer yourself over others? This will include so many sicknesses of the heart, jealousy, arrogance, being proud. A believer will not envy somebody, a believer will not be jealous, a believer will not be proud, a believer will not hate somebody because a believer loves for his bother / sister what he loves for himself. Something you like, can you share it with someone else? Something you like for yourself and your children, do you like it for others? This is really an indicator if you are a believer or a non believer. You will share and want and love for somebody else to enjoy what you are having. It is not about giving what you like, it is loving for them what you like. 4

5 Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam said A person will not attain faith until he believes in the decree, good and bad. Whatever befalls you, good or bad it will never miss you. And whatever missed you, it will never befall you. When anything happens to you good or bad, it has to come to you. When anything missed you it will never happen. Sometimes people are not pleased with even with the good. Qadr is through things or with people. Don t look at people action s, this is the decree befalling on you. Are you pleased and content? This is a matter of faith, Allah subhana wa ta'ala decreed this, and there is a wisdom behind whatever Allah subhana wa ta'ala decreed. The scales of faith: - belief in Allah subhana wa ta'ala and love for Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam - Love for your brother / sister what you love for yourself - To believe in the qadr, good and bad... It was narrated from Salim that his father said: "The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said I heard a man urging his brother to be modest. He said: 'Indeed modesty is a branch of faith.'" (Sahih)... Haya = modesty. If a person has faith they will have modesty. We need to ask ourselves how much modesty do we have? This is how much faith we have. The more faith you have in Allah subhana wa ta'ala the more haya you will have. Faith and modesty always go together, more faith without modesty does not go together. Three actions of the limbs: 5

6 ... It is reported on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed: He who believes in Allah and the Last Day should either utter good words or better keep silence; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day should treat his neighbour with kindness and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day should show hospitality to his guest.... To say good or to be silent are all your utterances good. Speech is a desire so a person having faith will think before he speaks. Something good, he will say it, if bad or zero he will remain silent. Faith is the light of soul. Are you really always uttering the good or remaining silent? To honour your neighbours To honour and entertain your guest Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam said You will not enter Paradise until you believe. And you will not believe until you love each other. Faith is the life of the soul. A person cannot enter Paradise without the faith. Allah subhana wa ta'ala associated entering Paradise with the faith, and Allah subhana wa ta'ala associated the faith with loving each other. 6

7 If you love all the Muslimeen this is an indication of your faith. How can I love everybody? Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam said Don t you want me tell you something if you do it, you will love each other? Spread the Salaam among each other. Saying Salaam is a very small action, when you spread the salaam you will love each other. When you say Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu you are making a du a for that person: - may Allah subhana wa ta'ala give you the peace - may Allah subhana wa ta'ala give you the mercy - may Allah subhana wa ta'ala give you the blessings When you make one du a for one person an angel will say for you is the same, and Allah subhana wa ta'ala will make that person to automatically love you. But today people only make salaam to people they know. When you all love each other this is the faith and you will enter Paradise. Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam said Purification it is part of the faith Purification and cleanliness is PART of the faith. A Mumin is always clean, always purifying himself, always in a state of wudu. His body, place and clothes are clean. The taste of faith Here faith is described as something tangible, it has a sweetness and a taste. Who is the person who can taste the taste of faith? To be content and pleased with Allah and His Messenger. 7

8 Whatever Allah subhana wa ta'ala decrees for you, you will be pleased and accept it, and you will be pleased with Islam and the legislation as a way of life, and pleased with the Messenger sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam and follow his sunnah. If you love Allah subhana wa ta'ala and His Messenger sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam you can find the sweetness of the faith you accept and you are pleased. This is the solution to our problems and the taste of the faith. Are we pleased with everything or are we always rejecting, unhappy? Acceptance is very important for the faith. This is the taste of faith. The next hadith is the sweetness of the taste of faith.... Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, "Whoever possesses the following three qualities will taste the sweetness of faith: 1. The one to whom Allah and His Apostle become dearer than anything else. 2. Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah's sake. 3. Who hates to revert to disbelief (Atheism) after Allah has brought (saved) him out from it, as he hates to be thrown in fire."... - Allah subhana wa ta'ala and His messenger sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam are the most beloved things to you, then you can find the sweetness of the faith. - Whenever you love anybody, you love them only for the Sake of Allah, you don t love them for the sake of yourself. In this you will find the sweetness of the faith and the balance in life. A lack of faith leads to an imbalance, especially with the love. Allah subhana wa ta'ala deserves to be loved for Himself and anybody else you love for the Sake of Allah. - They hate to go back to the disbelief he hates to go back to the bidah, back to the misguidance, back to the disobedience, to be thrown into Hellfire. You hate to go back to they way you were before the guidance. These hadith tell us: The minimum and maximum of faith The scales of the faith The taste of the faith, the sweet taste of the faith The faith makes the heart drawn to Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Faith is the Jannah on Earth - the Garden of Faith, faith is like a garden. To Guard Your Faith What are the obstacles and things that can destroy or affect your faith? 8

9 People are not being affected by the ayat, they had no zulm in their faith (no defect in their faith) asked what can affect the faith? Shirk. As shirk zulman azeem - associating a partner with Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Attaching to other than Allah subhana wa ta'ala, hoping from other than Allah subhana wa ta'ala, fearing and invoking other than Allah subhana wa ta'ala. This causes your faith to be affected.... It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira: A fornicator who fornicates is not a believer as long as he commits fornication, and no one who steals is a believer as long as he commits theft, and no one who drinks wine is a believer as long as he drinks it, and repentance may be accepted after that.... Sins affect you faith, decrease your faith, remove the faith at that moment you are committing the sin. A believer will not commit sin. Adultery, theft and drinking alcohol are all major sins. You need to guard your faith as it can be affected by - shirk - committing sins Faith is important and essential in our life. We need to ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala constantly for the full faith. 9

10 For your faith to have value it must have limits, to be a believer has limits. Faith will benefit you only for a certain time, when the time is over the faith will not benefit you.... It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed: When three things appear faith will not benefit one who has not previously believed or has derived no good from his faith: the rising of the sun in its place of setting, the Dajjal, and the beast of the earth.... Faith will not benefit you and you cannot increase your faith after these signs have happened. Now you have the benefit. Haste in increasing your faith, don t delay it. Benefits of the Faith Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam said A person will come on the Day of Judgement with their records of sins and felt he would go to Hellfire because of these sins. Then he will be told you have one record which says La illaaha illa Allah. 10

11 Allah subhana wa ta'ala but this card on one side of the scale which is heavier than the Heavens and the Earth this is the value of your faith, this can expiate the sins, this is the heaviest thing on your scale, this is the fruits of the faith.... Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri: Allah's Apostle said, "When the people of Paradise have entered Paradise, and the people of the Fire have entered the Fire, Allah will say. 'Take out (of the Fire) whoever has got faith equal to a mustard seed in his heart.' They will come out, and by that time they would have burnt and became like coal, and then they will be thrown into the river of Al-Hayyat (life) and they will spring up just as a seed grows on the bank of a rainwater stream." The Prophet said, "Don't you see that the germinating seed comes out yellow and twisted?"... A mustard seed of faith, a little faith - Maybe a person has many sins or a few good deeds but a little faith can save a person from Hellfire and admit them into Paradise. So what about a person with more faith? Faith is the life of the soul. We ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to have a full and a complete faith, and to make the faith to be in our heart. Ameen. Ya Rabbi, increase me in guidance and keep me on the way of guidance until the last moment of my life. This is a transcript of a lecture given by Sister Eman al Obaid. We ask Allah subhana wa ta ala for His forgiveness and His Mercy. Anything that is good from these notes is from Allah subhana wa ta ala. Any mistakes & misrepresentations are my own. I ask Allah subhana wa ta ala for His forgiveness and to put forgiveness in the hearts of those who read them. JazakAllah Khairan. 11