Wednesday 2 nd January 2013. Winter Reflections Part 2 l ةيوبن لئاسر {Message 2} Lecture by Sister Eman al Obaid www.alhudasisters.wordpress.com To do things with sincerity, for the Sake of Allah, this is the freedom. We all want freedom. We need to free ourselves from our desires, the chains and traps which hold us back from this freedom. FREEDOM IS ONLY WITH IKHLAS. Chapter (98) sūrat l-bayinah (The Clear Evidence) 98:5 And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allah, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him), and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) and give Zakat: and that is the right religion. Chapter (22) sūrat l-ḥaj (The Pilgrimage) 22:37 It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah, but it is piety from you that reaches Him. Thus have We made them subject to you that you may magnify Allah for His Guidance to you. And give glad tidings (O Muhammad SAW) to the Muhsinun (doers of good). Chapter (3) sūrat āl ʿ im'rān (The Family of Imrān) 3:29 Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Whether you hide what is in your breasts or reveal it, Allah knows it, and He knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. And Allah is Able to do all things." The religion is about Ikhlas. Only your sincerity will reach Allah subhana wa ta'ala. 1
Ikhlas = a persons goal in all their utterances, actions, silence and worship is the Face of Allah. You purify all your actions, your deeds and your silences for the Sake of Allah. You don t desire the dunya, you don t desire the praise of people or even you own desires. Al Ikhlas is an action of the heart Allah subhana wa ta'ala will not look to your body, He is looking at your heart and Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam pointed to his chest. Ikhlas is related to the heart, and while you are alive Allah subhana wa ta'ala is watching only your heart. Allah subhana wa ta'ala revealed the books and sent the messengers only for ikhlas. The deeds you do in life without ikhlas (for the Sake of Allah) they will be useless. The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for. The reward is from the intention. The amal is accountable and acceptable with the ikhlas. This is the freedom, when you don t look to anyone except the Face of Allah. 2
Ikhlas comes when you know Allah subhana wa ta'ala, love Allah subhana wa ta'ala & magnify Allah subhana wa ta'ala, your heart will automatically turn and seek the Pleasure of Allah. The Virtues of Ikhlas... Narrated Abu Huraira: O Messenger of Allah who is the most happiest person with your intercession on the Day of Judgment? Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam replied I thought this question would come from you as I saw your eagerness for the hadith. The most happiest person with my intercession on the Day of Judgment will be the one saying La illaaha illa Allah for the Sake of Allah. No one deserves the worship, no one deserves the attachment except Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Just say La illaaha illa Allah to be happy to have the intercession of Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam on the Day of Judgment. This looks like a small deed but look at how much you will get. Freedom is to free yourself from unacceptable deeds, free yourself from the displeasure of Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Allah subhana wa ta'ala is the Most Perfect, Allah subhana wa ta'ala will only accept deeds with ikhlas.... On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (glorified and exalted be He) said: I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone else's sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me. Don t say I am visiting my relatives for the Sake of Allah and for my relatives. Pm said your visit will be for the relatives for Allah will not have anything. Don t say I am doing a deed for the sake of Allah and for your sake as it will only be for your sake and not for the sake of Allah. Allah is the best of partners. 3
Allah subhana wa ta'ala said He is the best of the partners. If anyone associates with Allah another partner all your deeds are for My partner. Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam addressed the people Purify your deeds, don t make your deeds half for Allah subhana wa ta'ala and half for someone else. Do all your deeds for the Sake of Allah. Allah subhana wa ta'ala will not accept your deeds, big or small, except those purely for Him. You cannot share your deeds with anyone else they are underestimating Allah subhana wa ta'ala. When you are self sufficient from a person you don t need somebody else. When you are not satisfied you are looking for somebody else. Allah is the Most Rich and He will only accept your deeds purely for Him. Look at all your ibadhat, your actions and your utterances are you really doing them for the Sake of Allah? Allah subhana wa ta'ala will not accept any deeds if you are associating a partner with Him One person came to Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam and said What do you think of a person who went to battle and wanted the reward and to be remembered by the people? Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam said Nothing he has, nothing he has, nothing he has, because he associated with Allah. Verily Allah will not accept from deeds except those purely for the Sake of Allah. We need to reform ourselves again and again. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala forgive us for our past and guide us in the future and present to do all the deeds for the Sake of Allah. It is a great loss when Allah subhana wa ta'ala will not accept all your good deeds. The hadith s are messages from Allah subhana wa ta'ala through Nabi sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam. There is no way to be saved in the dunya and the akhirah except with the ikhlas. 4
The whole dunya will be cursed and everyone in the dunya will be cursed except anything you do seeking the Face of Allah. The value of the dunya is doing everything for the Sake of Allah, including your eating and drinking and sleeping etc. In your heart you are seeking the reward from Allah subhana wa ta'ala, you want Allah subhana wa ta'ala to praise you, you are seeking Allah s Pleasure - only Allah subhana wa ta'ala and no one else. You will see the fruits of these deeds in the dunya and in the akhirah. Salvation is only with ikhlas. A little ikhlas can save a person from Hellfire and admit them to Paradise. A small amount of ikhlas with good deeds can admit a person into Paradise.... Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "One day a man became very thirsty while walking down the road. He came across a well, went down into it, and drank and then climbed out. In front of him he found a dog panting, eating the dust out of thirst. The man said, 'This dog is as thirsty as I was.' He went back down into the well and filled his show, putting it into his mouth (in order to climb back up) and then gave the dog water. Therefore Allah thanked him and forgave him." They said, "Messenger of Allah, will we have a reward on account of animals?" He said, "There is a reward on account of every living thing."... 5
Why did Allah subhana wa ta'ala appreciate this deed? Because there was no one else around who would see him or praise him. This person did the deed with sincerity. Allah subhana wa ta'ala will give you much reward. Allah subhana wa ta'ala forgave him all his sins and admitted him into Paradise. The way to be saved, to be saved from Hellfire, to be saved from your sins is with ikhlas. When you deal with someone Perfect your relationship will be Perfect. Ikhlas is essential and at the same time so great. Now look at the opposite shirk. A little shirk with a lot of deeds can render all the good deeds. A little deed with ikhlas will expiate all the sins. A little shirk will render all the good deeds. Allah said I am the richest of among all the partners of association. Whomever does deeds associating a partner, Allah will leave them with their shirk. Allah subhana wa ta'ala is the best among the partners and the richest among the partners. Why do you need to associate another partner with Allah subhana wa ta'ala? Great deeds with no ikhlas. The greatest deed is to acquire the knowledge and this has so many rewards from Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Imagine if someone is acquiring knowledge without ikhlas.... Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "A person who acquires (religious) knowledge, which is (normally) acquired to gain the Pleasure of Allah, (for the sole reason) to secure worldly comforts will not even smell the fragrance of Jannah on the Day of Resurrection (i.e., will not enter Jannah)."[Abu Dawud].... 6
He will be deprived from Paradise. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala give us ikhlas with acquiring the knowledge. You need to learn and at the same time have ikhlas and watch your heart. Little deeds with ikhlas Allah subhana wa ta'ala admited him to paradise and forgave him his sins Great deeds not for subhana wa ta'ala he was deprived of Paradise. You will spend years acquiring the knowledge we don t want these years to be rendered. Ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to grant you ikhlas. Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam said The one seeking knowledge to compete with a scholar, or boast in front of the foolish, or to turn the peoples faces to him is not for the Sake of Allah. Allah will admit him into Hellfire. To do things for the Sake of Allah, this is the salvation. If you want to be free, free yourself from the chains, from the peoples praise, from a worldly benefit. A heart with ikhlas is free from all the chains. If you see a person praying and seeking the Face of Allah and at the same time the praise of people; if you see someone fasting and they want the praise of people; if you see someone giving charity for the Sake of Allah and at the same time he wants the peoples praise; if you see someone going for Hajj for the Sake of Allah and at the same time he wants the peoples praise. He doesn t have anything. 7
Allah subhana wa ta'ala does not accept anything where you associate a partner with Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Ikhlas is the way of salvation, it is essential and a serious matter. Three points to account yourself, three signs that you have ikhlas: 1. If you are sincere your deeds should not change when you are with a group of people and when you are alone. 2. If you are sincere the deeds will not increase because of the praise and will not decrease because of the dispraise. 3. If you are sincere you only want the reward directly from Allah subhana wa ta'ala, you don t want it from anyone else. O Allah, grant us ikhlas. The difference between the people is the ikhlas, the more ikhlas you have the more you will be elevated. Ikhlas is your goal ikhlas is La illaaha illa Allah. Don t make ikhlas as a means for something else, make ikhlas as a goal. 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. 8