My beloved brothers in Islam, It is from Allah’s mercy and blessing that he made for us seasons for worshipping him so that we compete in them and perform good deeds that makes us closer to our creator. And the successful people in this life are those who make use of those seasons and add as much Hasanat as possible to their records and don’t let these seasons pass by without benefiting from them. And one of the best seasons that Allah () has blessed us with is the one we’re currently witnessing, the 1st 10 days of Dhul- Hijjah. These days are the ultimate best days of the year as prophet Muhammad () informed us. Moreover, Allah () has swore by these days as in Surrat Al Fagr
وَالْفَجْرِ (1) وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ ( 1 ) By the dawn ( 2 ) And [by] ten nights And the majority of interpreters of the Qur’an have mentioned that these 10 nights mentioned in the Suraah are not the last 10 nights of Ramadan, but rather the 1st 10 nights of Dhul- Hijjah. And these days are the ones Allah mentioned also in Suraat AlHajj ليشهدوا منافع لهم ويذكروا اسم الله في أيام معلومات على ما رزقهم من بهيمة الأنعام ( 28 ) That they may witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of Allah on known days over what He has provided for them of [sacrificial] animals. So these known days that we should mention the name of Allah in are the 1st days of Dhul- Hijjah. As for the favor of good deeds in these 10 days compared to the rest of the year, you all know and heard the Hadeeth by prophet Muhammad () narrated by Ibn Abbas that he said: " مَا مِنْ أَيَّامٍ الْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ فِيهَا أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ مِنْ هَذِهِ الأَيَّامِ " . يَعْنِي الْعَشْرَ . قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَلاَ الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ قَالَ " وَلاَ الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ إِلاَّ رَجُلٌ خَرَجَ بِنَفْسِهِ وَمَالِهِ فَلَمْ يَرْجِعْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ بِشَىْءٍ " . “There are no days during which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these days,” meaning the (first) ten days of Dhul- Hijjah. They said: “O Messenger of Allah! Not even Jihad in the cause of Allah?” He said: “Not even Jihad in the cause of Allah, unless a man goes out with himself and his wealth and does not bring anything back.” And in another Hadeeth narrated by Ibn Omar (), that prophet Muhammad () said (ما من أيام أعظم عند الله ولا أحب إليه العمل فيهن من هذه الأيام العشر، فأكثروا فيهن من التهليل والتكبير والتحميد) There are no days are more beloved to Allah than these 10 days, so increase saying in them (لا إله إلا الله، و الله أكبر، و الحمد لله) So dear brothers, make use of these days and make extra effort in these days, and increase your good deeds as much as you can in these days. And be aware of one fact, these days are completely different than the days of Ramadan. 1st difference is that Ramadan is 30 days so even if you lose some days, you’ll have more chances to make up. But in Dhul- Hijjah, you only have 10 days, and 25% of them has already passed as we speak. So hurry up dear brothers. The 2nd difference is that the devils in Ramadan were all chained and locked up so we all found it easy to do good deeds in Ramadan. However, in Dhul- Hijjah, the devils are with us right now and they work in full speed to make us miss the blessings that are available in these 10 days. So dear brothers be aware of this fact that the days we are in are more challenging than Ramadan, and they require from you a higher spirit and more effort and more determination than usual days. And there are so many ways that can help you lift up your spirit and rise to the challenge. Amongst those ways is knowing the prize. If you want to encourage yourself in doing great deeds, then remind yourself that the reward is greater than you can imagine. And if you find yourself lazy in doing good deeds, this is because you don’t realize the greatness of the reward for these deeds. And this is completely logic and part of our nature that Allah () has created us by. No human being would pay a large amount of his money in return of something he doesn’t know what it is. Similarly, the lazy muslims are not enthusiastic in wasting part of their lives for a reward they don’t know. And we all know what the reward is, The Jannah! And it is from Allah’s wisdom that he hid the Jannah from our eyes. It could have extremely easy for Allah to show us what the Jannah looks like, but the real test of this life is believing in the unseen. And from Allah’s mercy, He did not completely hide the Jannah from us. He told us through the Qur’an so many descriptions of what to expect in the Jannah and how does it look like. And ofcourse the real Jannah is harder for any human being to really imagine of comprehend, so that’s why when Allah () mentioned it in the Qur’an he used three methods. 1st, if he mentions something in the Jannah that has an equivalent in Dunya, so Allah mentions it by name. 2nd, if he mentions something in the Jannah that has no equivalent in Dunya, so Allah mentions for us something somehow similar to it in the Dunya. Whereas, if Allah mentions something in the Jannah that has no equivalent in Dunya and we even can’t imagine or comprehend it, so Allah () does not tell us any information about it. Dear brothers in Islam, This Dunya is mortal and our lives in it are so limited. So don’t make so much effort in decorating your lives in this life, and focus on our real life, the one which will never end and you can stay in two places. Either in Jahhanam () or in Jannah. And always remind yourself that the Jannah is not one grade, and that not all muslims will be in the same level in the end. However, we will be distributed on 100 levels. It was narrated that prophet Muhammad () said "إن في الجنة مائة درجة أعدها للمجاهدين في سبيل الله ما بين الدرجتين كما بين السماء والأرض" ((رواه البخاري)). "In Jannah there are a hundred grades which Allah has prepared for those who fight in His Cause; and the distance between any two of those grades is like the distance between the heaven and the earth." So be aware brothers, that not all muslims are rewarded in the same way, Allah () says in the Qru’an: أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ اجْتَرَحُوا السَّيِّئَاتِ أَن نَّجْعَلَهُمْ كَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَوَاءً مَّحْيَاهُمْ وَمَمَاتُهُمْ ۚ سَاءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ Do the evil-doers imagine that We shall make them equal to those who believe and do good, making their lives and deaths alike? How vile is their judgement! So it would be unjust from Allah () to treat all muslims the same. Although all muslims have believed in Allah and his messenger, but not all of us did the same effort. And it would be unjust that Allah () reward those who spent their lives in the sake of Allah in the same way as those who were lazy. Allah () mentions in the Qur’an in Surat Al Waqi’ah, that on the day of judgement, all humanity will be distributed to three categories: إِذَا وَقَعَتِ الْوَاقِعَةُ (1) لَيْسَ لِوَقْعَتِهَا كَاذِبَةٌ (2) خَافِضَةٌ رَافِعَةٌ (3) إِذَا رُجَّتِ الْأَرْضُ رَجًّا (4) وَبُسَّتِ الْجِبَالُ بَسًّا (5) فَكَانَتْ هَبَاءً مُنْبَثًّا (6) وَكُنْتُمْ أَزْوَاجًا ثَلَاثَةً (7) فَأَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ (8) وَأَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ (9) وَالسَّابِقُونَ السَّابِقُونَ (10) أُولَئِكَ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ (11) ( 1 ) When the Occurrence occurs, ( 2 ) There is, at its occurrence, no denial. ( 3 ) It will bring down [some] and raise up [others]. ( 4 ) When the earth is shaken with convulsion ( 5 ) And the mountains are broken down, crumbling ( 6 ) And become dust dispersing. ( 7 ) And you become [of] three kinds: ( 8 ) Then the companions of the right - what are the companions of the right? ( 9 ) And the companions of the left - what are the companions of the left? ( 10 ) And the forerunners, the forerunners - ( 11 ) Those are the ones brought near [to Allah] So the believers of Allah are separated in two groups, the righteous (الابرار) and the forerunners (المقربين) And in Suraat Al Waqi’ah Allah () has mentioned the difference between the Jannah of the righteous and the Jannah of the forerunners., who are close to Allah(). In addition, Allah () has also mentioned in Surat AlRahman the difference between these two categories. Allah () says: وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتَانِ ( 46 ) But for he who has feared the position of his Lord are two gardens – And then after mentioning what is available in those two gardens, Allah () said وَمِنْ دُونِهِمَا جَنَّتَانِ ( 62 ) And below them both [in excellence] are two [other] gardens - So the higher gardens are for those closest to Allah, who are the forerunners while the two lower gardens are for the righteous believers. And Allah () has mentioned for us so many differences between those two kinds of believers in Surat AlWaqi’ah and Surat AlRahman. He mentioned the difference between the trees of the righteous and the trees of those close to Allah. He mentioned the difference between the wells and rivers of the righteous and the wells and rivers of those close to Allah. He mentioned the difference between the fruits of the righteous and the fruits of those close to Allah. He mentioned the difference between the seats of the righteous and the seats of those close to Allah. Also, He mentioned the difference between the wives of the righteous and the wives of those close to Allah. And Wallahy there is a huuuuuge difference between the reward of the righteous and the reward of those close to Allah. And it would take us hours to mention all of these differences and explain them in this gathering, so that’s why it is your homework and your duty to go and learn about the Jannah yourself. And you’ll find all you need in Allah’s book in Suraat Al Waqi’ah and Surat Al Rahman. So dear brothers in Islam, let’s go back to Allah’s revelation and learn more about it and learn what Allah () wants us to know in order to have peaceful lives in this life and the hereafter. Dear Brothers in Islam, Let’s finish our gathering today by a small story about one of the Sahabah, his name is Abdullah Ibn Rawahah. This Sahaby was one of the early converts of Islam from the people of AlMadinah and one of the people who attended the second ‘Aqaba pledge. Moreover, this Sahaby attended all the battles with prophet Muhammad () and in the end he died as a martyr. But let’s see how were the last moments of this Sahaby’s life and what was the reward from Allah () to him for all of his effort throughout his life. This great Sahaby died as a martyr in the battle of Mo’tah, when prophet Muhammad () sent an army to fight some of the Arab allies of the Roman empire. In this battle prophet Muhammad () did not participate and he chose Zaid Ibn Harithah as the leader for the muslim army. He then informed the army that if Zaid ibn Harithah was killed, then Ga’far Ibn Abi Talib should lead the army, and if Ga’far Ibn Abi Talib was killed, then Abdullah Ibn Rawahah should lead the army and if he would be killed so the muslims should choose a leader amongst themselves. And the Sahabah knew that when prophet Muhammad () says that if a person shall be killed in a battle so it will happen and this person will die as a martyr. So all three of Zaid ibn Harithah, Ga’far Ibn Abi Talib and Abdullah Ibn Rawahah knew that they are going to die as martyrs in this battle. And they all knew that they are not returning to their homes after that battle. Then when the battle started the fight was fierce as the muslim army of 3000 men were fighting against the Roman army of 200 thousand men. And during the battle Zaid ibn Harithah was killed as prophet Muhammad () anticipated, and then Ga’far Ibn Abi Talib was killed as well and Abdullah Ibn Rawahah led the army. But when he saw Ga’far and Zaid get killed infront of his eyes, he hesitated for 1 second in leading the muslim army. Only for one second he hesitated but then he soon realized the reward that is waiting for him, the Jannah and then he said some beautiful words of poetry to encourage himself: He said: طائعة أو لا لتكرهنه أقسمت يا نفس لتنزلنه ما لي أراك تكرهين الجنة فطالما قد كنت مطمئنه O soul of mine! I swear by Allah that you surely will enter it,Willingly or Unwillingly.’” You’ve been always in peace my soul. Why do I see that you do not want to go to Paradise? Then he took the lead of the muslim army and died after that as a martyr. Back in the Madinah, the prophet () was being informed by Gabriel of the details of the battle as it happened. And He informed the Sahabah that Zaid Ibn Harithah died as a martyr and he entered the Jannah, then he told them that Ga’far Ibn Abi Talib died as a martyr and he entered the Jannah, then he told them that Abdullah Ibn Rawaha died as a martyr and entered the Jannah, but he is in a level a little below than the one of Zaid and Ga’far. Only because he hesitated for one second, he lost a higher rank in the Jannah. So dear brother in Islam, Always remember that our real home is the Jannah, and that the Jannah is 100 levels.And that the difference between each level and the one below is like the difference between the heaven and the earth.Always remember that we are accounted for all of our deeds and that each one of them counts. Prophet Muhammad () said " الكيس من دان نفسه، وعمل لما بعد الموت ، والعاجز من أتبع نفسه هواها، وتمنى على الله الأماني" "A wise man is the one who calls himself to account (and refrains from doing evil deeds) and does noble deeds to benefit him after death; and the foolish person is the one who subdues himself to his temptations and desires and seeks from Allah the fulfillment of his vain desires". Remember brothers ألا إن سلعة الله غالية، إلا إن سلعة الله الجنة" Be on your guard that the commodity of Allah is precious. Verily the commodity of Allah is Jannah".
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
NewsHere we will inform you about news and events inshaAllah! Archives
March 2021
Categories |