Forgive Me When I Whine by Brother Bilal Assad

Forgive Me When I Whine

Speaker: Brother Bilal Assad

Opening Greetings

(السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ - Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh)

(بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ - Bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim)

And how happy I am and privileged to be invited by you to be your guest speaker for tonight. It is my honor and my happiness to be able to address you.

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Introduction

The topic tonight is, forgive me when I whine. Forgive me, oh Allah, when I whine, meaning when I complain. Such an important topic about the tarbiyah or the training of oneself.

It is a struggle and a strive for every Muslim to be able to achieve this noble character of being able to be satisfied with what Allah has given them and to realize the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon each individual and upon us as a society and upon us as a human race. Allah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim, the most merciful to all mankind or the humans or the world, the giver of mercy to specific people as well. He has not left anyone out except that He has given blessings to them.

We call this ni'mah. And every single one of us here, every single individual, every old and every young has got so many blessings that if you were to try to count them, really, and you thought about them, you'll not be able to finish counting them at all. But unfortunately, a lot of people today tend to count the blessings which they don't have.

And that's a really wrong thing to do. We should not look at what we don't have but rather look at what you do have. And if you do look at what you do have, you'll end up being a person who thanks Allah night and day.

The Promise of Gratitude

And do you know what Allah said about a person who thanks Allah night and day? Allah said in the Quran:

"[If you are grateful, I will surely increase you...]"

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If you are grateful and you thanked Allah night and day, I, meaning Allah, I will give you more, I will give you more. But the condition is that you have to be grateful to Allah. Because not being grateful meaning that you do not realize that Allah is a merciful God.

And He made us recite this verse in every ruka of every salah that we pray. And your prayer cannot be accepted without reciting:

(الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ - Alhamdulillahi Rabbil 'Alameen)

Thanks and gratitude belongs to Allah the Lord of all.

(الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ - Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim)

The most merciful, the giver of mercy, the giver of blessings, the giver of ni'mah.

The Example of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

Thank you O Allah. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم Habibuna, the messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, the most blessed of all mankind, of all the humans, of all the races.

He used to stand up in the middle of the night, praying to Allah every night. One of the nights when it was really dark, and didn't have light like what we have the blessing of today, Aisha رضي الله عنها extended her arm to feel if the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was next to her.

But she couldn't feel his body, so she moved her arms around because she couldn't see at night. And then her hands struck the feet of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. He was standing praying to Allah, his Lord.

After he finished, she felt a little bit of remorse for him. Thinking that he's not getting enough sleep and rest for his body. So she said, Ya Rasulallah صلى الله عليه وسلم give your body some rest.

For it is you who Allah has forgiven everything of your past, present and future sins. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم obviously does not, never allowed himself to fall into sins. But this was the blessing of Allah.

She's saying to him, at least give your body some rest. Do you know what his reply was? He said, Ya Aisha, since Allah has given me this great blessing of forgiving my sins, should I not be a thankful servant then? A mu'min never fails to worship Allah no matter what happens. And when he's given lots of blessings or blessings are taken away from him or her, they are still worshipping Allah and getting closer to Jannah.

You give me blessings, I thank you Ya Allah and I'll worship you more. You take them away, I'll worship you more so that you can give me more. And so that you can test me and watch Ya Rabb, watch that I can pass your test.

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Understanding Our Purpose

Which brings me to the most important part of how to increase your gratitude towards Allah. The first and most important thing for a believer to have brothers and sisters in their life, without it you can't be a grateful person. You have to understand the reason and the purpose why you are created.

Why are we here in the first place? Why do we have such a short life? What are all these things around us, these creations that keep reminding us about something? What do they want to tell us? They want to tell us that we have a purpose in life. And that Allah has created us for a short time in order to test us, to examine us. This is a test for us to know, not for Allah to know, because Allah already knew.

But obviously He's a fair God. Allah is fair, so He needs us, we need to go through it in order so that on the Day of Judgment we can stand in front of Allah and say, Ya Rabb, now I know why, if you punish me I know why, and if I enter Paradise I know why I deserve it. The purpose in life is a test from Allah.

There is Jannah and there is Jahannam. If you want to enter Jannah, you have to work for it. And in order to enter Jannah, you have to earn it.

This is why Allah said in the Quran:

"[Do people think that they will be left alone because they say, "We believe," and will not be tried?]"

Do people think that they will be left alone because they say, "We believe," and will not be tried and tested on that word. And we have tested the ones before them and we will know who are the ones who are truthful in that word and who are the ones who are liars when they said that word. I bear witness that there is only one God and Muhammad is His Messenger so work towards worshipping Him.

Work towards Jannah if you believe in that. Obey Allah and His Messenger. Stay away from what He has forbidden. Thank Allah for what He has given you if you bear witness to this, that He is your Lord. So Allah has to test us and this is the purpose in life. You'll either earn paradise or not.

Responding to Trials

For this reason, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, a true mu'min, when they receive a calamity, you know what a calamity is, right? A trial. Something that if you don't believe in Allah, you will think, why is this happening to me? But as a believer, when you receive that calamity or that misfortune, you know that this is a test at the moment for you. Will you pass it or will you fail it?

Are you going to sit there and whine over and over again and say, why me? Why not someone else? What have I done? What did I do to deserve this? Have you recalled a moment in your life when you were tested? What did you say? How did you feel? What did you think? Have you recalled a moment in your life where you thought to yourself, why is this happening to me? I'm still young.

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I want to party a little bit more. I want to go out with the boys but I can't because I'm ill. Or something's happened to me. Or some of us say, I wish no illness happens in my family because then I'm going to miss out on the next weekend with the boys maybe. Always afraid of some calamity or misfortune because we want to enjoy a little bit more of life. We want to live life to its fullest.

We want to enjoy it a little bit more. There's nothing wrong in Islam with enjoying life a little bit. But obviously not in that mentality. We are not ready to be tested. We are not ready to be tried. You know what that means when you're not ready to be tested and not ready to be tried? Well you have to revise your Iman.

Are you really a truthful person when you said, Oh my Lord, I believe in you that you are my God and I believe in the Quran and I believe in Jannah. But I want to enter it without earning it. I just want to sit back, enjoy life and enter Jannah for free. That's not possible.

Can you get wealthy in this life without working for your money? No you can't, obviously. Can you get educated and go into a stream that you want to become without going through lots of struggle and being tested and sacrificing some of your social life? We all work here.

The Priority Test

Most of us work here. And I know that the Sydney people mostly are involved in a lot of trade. A lot of them obviously go to university as well. But each and every one of us probably here is a working person. And you know how much you sacrifice from your social life, right? What, 8 hours a day maybe? Minimum, 9 hours, 13 hours of your day. You sacrifice.

And we are willing to repeat that every day. Every morning. We will wake up at 6 am. And I hate to say if some of us forget about Fajr prayer and rather would wake up at 6. I hate to say that some of us, if the alarm didn't go off for Fajr or no one woke us up, it's no big deal. But if the alarm was missed for when we wake up for our work or no one woke us up, we go nuts.

What is more important here? Well, because you see, that's a proof that a person like that maybe loves the luxury a little bit more. And when the test of calamity befalls them, I guarantee you that that type of a person or most likely will not be able to pass this test. They'll be the first to whine. They'll be the first to complain. They'll be the first to lose their temper.

And I have seen in my life many people when a tiny affliction befalls them, they are quick to complain about Allah, not to Allah. There's a difference between complaining to Allah and complaining about Allah.

Story of the Basketball Player

Why me, man? What have I done? I've been good. I've been praying. You know, when I teach, where I teach, there was this young boy who wanted to become a basketball player.

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And as he grew up, training in basketball, became a teenager, one day he crossed the road and a car hit him and he broke his leg. I think he fell off the tree and he broke his leg. He broke his ligament which made him disabled for life. What I mean by disabled, meaning he cannot go into extreme sports.

He said, I used to pray five times a day. I have memorized two juz' of the Quran. I read the Quran every day. Why did Allah do this to me? He knows that I hope to become a sports player one day. He knows my hope and all my life and he took that away from me.

I'm not going to pray to him anymore. And he stayed for three whole years not praying a single rakah to Allah. But alhamdulillah, one day he discovered as he discovered a talent other than basketball.

He had an ability to make public speeches. And one day he stood up in class and I asked him to say something to the students about a certain knowledge of Islam. And he spoke about it because he had to. And he received some good feedback from the people.

After that, he realized that Allah had given him a different talent being able to give dawah to Allah. Something happened to the boy. And he still played basketball but on a low level. And he said to me, Allah is a, you know, I've never discovered that I have a talent inside of me. No, it worked for him.

And I realize now that maybe basketball wasn't really my path. Maybe if I tried that way, I probably wouldn't have been able to get there and I'll probably miss out on all the other talents that I have. The talent of entering Jannah and being able to benefit people.

Something happened to him. Alhamdulillah, he started praying again. The point of that is there are many people like him who are straight away quick to complain against Allah. But there are a few who realize that they have other talents that Allah had given them. You never know.

Allah says in the Quran:

"[...But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you...]"

You may hate a thing when it is actually good for you. Or you may hate a thing when Allah may bring out a good out of it. You never know where your benefit will lie.

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The Countless Blessings of Allah

My brothers and sisters in Islam, the amount of blessings that Allah has given us cannot be counted. And He said this in the Quran numerously. Listen to what Allah said:

When Faith Wavers

In fact, if Allah were to take away a calamity or a blessing from a person He says he is immediately so quick to losing his faith. Listen to what Allah says in the Quran:

There are among the people who worship Allah on a single letter. What does that mean? Like on the edge, like a feather. A single breeze can probably blow them away of their faith. They worship Allah just as if they are hanging on a tiny leaf or something.

When something good happens to them, they feel luxurious. They feel satisfied. They feel comforted. But when something small happens to him or her, what happens to them? They turn away from Allah. And he will lose the Dunya and the Hereafter.

How many people are in that situation where a tiny breeze or something makes them lose their way?

Story About Slavery Misconception

The other day as I was teaching, a young boy came up to me and said, Sir, I went onto this website and they said that Islam had slavery and the Prophet ﷺ he had slaves. I said, so what do you think of that? He said, it shook my faith. I go, Subhanallah. Someone on a website who is a non-Muslim comes to you and in one single sentence manages to almost take you out of Islam when you have been a Muslim all your life and you know much more than them about Islam and you're telling me that it's shaking your faith.

The Media's Impact on Faith

Nevertheless, look how many Muslims there are actually. A tiny word in the media. A little word or a tease or a joke about Islam makes our youth today feel embarrassed of walking with their religion and showing it off and learning about their faith. They whine and whine and cry. Why is our Islam so oppressive, they say.

Why is Islam everything is haram haram, they say. One person said to me, he goes, Brother, everything is haram. I might as well stay at home and do nothing. I said, well, if you stay at home, that's also haram. But seriously, seriously. The only reason why we find there is so much haram in our life is because we do too much haram.

There's so much haram out there. And we forget what harm it does to us. We forget that it is haram. So when Islam says, for example, zina is haram. Lower your gaze. He said it to the men first. Lower your gaze, men first. And then he said it to the women, lower your gaze. Because that is better for you.

We say, look how much haram there is. I can't look at a girl. If you know that Allah forbid it because it's better for the community, better for the society, better for your sisters, better for your mothers, better for your daughters, better for your wives. Then you would obey it and you will say, Alhamdulillah, that Allah had warned me and told me about this as a guidance.

Just like we say, Alhamdulillah, that he sent the doctor to tell me to avoid this type of bacteria because it could have given me hepatitis or something like that. We thank the doctors night and day for the medicine they have and the so-called advanced technology that we have today and the medical advancement in science.

Night and day we say, we live in an extremely advanced intelligent society because we have all these discoveries in medicine and we forget that prevention is better than cure and every one of us would prevent something if we know that it would harm us physically. But when it comes to Allah who created the doctor and created the medicine, we say Allah makes everything haram.

Allah says in the Quran:

O great sorrow upon the servants. No messenger comes to them with good news except that they mock him and joke about him. And this was about the past.

Story from Surah Yaseen

There was one prophet who came to a people and he called to them. This is in Surah Yaseen. He said:

O my people, my people.

وَجَاءَ مِنْ أَقْصَى الْمَدِينَةِ رَجُلٌ يَسْعَىٰ

He came running to them, a man from the end parts of the city.

قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اتَّبِعُوا الْمُرْسَلِينَ

He wasn't actually a prophet, he was a noble man. He said, O my people, follow the messengers.

Follow the ones who don't ask you for anything in return and they are guided. They're guiding you away from what will harm you.

You know what they did to him? In the hadith it says that they grabbed this man and they told him, aren't you going to be quiet? Preventing us from our desires. We want to do what we want to do. He said, I am advising you to follow because it's better for you in your life.

They brought him and they threw him down the well. In another hadith it says that they brought him and they stampeded on him until they crushed his bones and then they threw him down the well.

The Blessing of Islam

Allah says in the Quran:

It was said, enter paradise. This ayah, for those who analyze it, this ayah is saying that as if this man wasn't even judged, didn't even go through anything except that he was immediately from the well to paradise.

Immediately he said, O sorrow to my people! If only they knew what my Lord has given me in return and how He has blessed me and been generous to me. From the well to Jannah.

O great sorrow to the servants! Whenever a messenger comes to them for that which is good for them, they tease them and they mock them.

The Blessing of Islam

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, how much has Allah given us as well in the livestock and animals. Allah said in the Quran, look at the cattle, how He gives you pure milk from between, intestines and blood and feces inside the stomach. He gives you pure milk that is tasteful and healthy for you.

Another ni'mah from Allah. Yet we deny all of this and what He has given us. We forget that Allah on top of that has given us this beautiful deen, this way of life.

Allah says in the Quran:

Today I have completed your religion, your way of life, and have completed my blessing upon you. What is this blessing? This deen, this way of life.

This is a ni'mah. I have completed my ni'mah upon you, meaning this deen is the greatest ni'mah and the complete ni'mah that anyone can ever wish for and hope for, if you really follow it. And I am pleased with this religion of Islam submission for you as your way of life.

Why Islam is a Blessing

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, what is this deen? Why is it such a blessing? Because Allah told us that this deen brings us life. It brings us guidance away from what can harm us, and takes us away from those who do harm us, and makes us become conscious and aware of the right from the wrong, which path to take and which path not to take. There is no need to research too much anymore.

Listen to what Allah says in the Quran:

Allah wants to forgive you. But those who follow their desires and their temptations and their own lusts, they want to lead you astray from it. And to go far away from this beautiful way of life which is good for you and them. Allah, through this deen, He wants to lessen burdens and harm off you.

Prevention is Better Than Cure

Even doctors today, and I come from a biomedical background. Doctors say to you today, go to any doctor, to any medical practitioner, to any researcher, to any professor of science and he will tell you, or she will tell you, that the best medicine is what? Is prevention. The best medicine is prevention. Prevention is better than cure.

Allah is the one who before them brought us the guidance of how to prevent ourselves from something. Why did Allah prevent a drop of alcohol from drinking it? Even though it won't get you drunk. Because He knows the effects of it, that later on it can be addictive. And it can cause you to drink lots of alcohol which makes you drunk and corruption on earth.

Why did He prevent us from kissing a girl which we are not allowed to, or looking at her? Because Allah knows that this can lead on to other problems. Why and why and why? So this ni'mah of Islam is the best thing that could ever happen to anyone's life.

The Rights in Marriage

Even in a spouse relationship. Know my dear brothers and sisters, that if there is any conflict between a husband and wife, it's only because one or both of them has done something haram. Abadam. Because everything that Allah has advised us, will only bring the husband and wife together.

Listen to this ni'mah of Islam. In which religion, in which society, in which culture, in which civilization, does it command the man to give a bride or gift to the woman and she has a right to do whatever she pleases with it, and halal of course, and the husband hasn't got the right to take it or ask for it, and it's a debt upon his neck no matter what happens. And that if she dies and he doesn't pay it, he must give it to her heirs, her father, her mother, her brothers, her sisters, the ones who will inherit her. Who has that right? Except in Islam.

Which one commands the man to work but doesn't command the woman to work, and if she wants to she can, with her husband's permission, and if she does, money is hers, she is not obliged to pay it. Which religion tells you that if the man divorces his wife, for the next three menstrual periods he must provide her with shelter and wealth, and that for the rest of his life, he has to look after the children, not her, even if they live with her. Which religion says that? Except for Islam.

The Rights of Enemies

Which religion tells you that if your enemy that is fighting and holds a sword against you, or is shooting at you, comes to you and says to you, please, let me, give me shelter at your home. Comes out of the army, comes to you, after he had shot many of your friends and your brothers and sisters in Islam, and says to you, give me shelter in your home, and commands the Muslim to give him shelter. This is in the Quran.

And if any of the disbelievers who are fighting you asks you to give them shelter, you must give them shelter. Which one says that? And then when they go back home, they become normal fighters to you as they were before. The same fighter. Which one says that?

The Blessing of Daughters

Which culture or civilization gives us the ni'mah, the blessings, of a daughter? When in many Arab cultures, for example, even in many other cultures, even till today, when you have a girl, everybody's quiet. And we have that saying in Lebanese. When everybody's quiet in a room, you say بنت a girl is born.

When a boy is born, everybody rejoices. Which one brings the ni'mah and says, for any man, or parent, sorry, any man or woman, who has three daughters who they raise on righteousness, there will be a guard for them from hellfire on the day of judgment. Even one daughter did not mention the boy. Not the boy, just the girl. Only the girl.

The ni'mah of Islam, I mean, we cannot, there's too much to mention actually about a family life, about relationships, about a community and a society, for yourself, for your health.

The Example of the Fly

The other day I said to my students, it is makrooh to lie down on your stomach and sleep on your stomach. They say, sir, everything is haram, even lying on your stomach? I said to them, first of all, it's not haram, it's makrooh, meaning disliked. And the reason why it's disliked is because it can harm you physically.

Some of the things that can happen to you is that you get backaches. If you are overweight and you sleep on your stomach, you will pressure the intestines and will hurt your lungs and will hurt your heart. Don't say, don't take it from me, take it from what the doctor said. But we already said this 14 centuries ago.

And having said this, I just want to show you something else. You know what a Muslim does to a fly when it lands in your food and dies in there? You know what the Prophet ﷺ told us to do? He said, dip the

fly in your food, dip it. Another hadith, dip it three times to make sure that it's all dipped. And then throw the fly out and eat the rest of the food. And don't throw the food out because this is a blessing as well.

My students said to me, sir, what do you mean dip the fly and throw it out, this is disgusting. I said, this is quite tiyab, this is a blessing. I said, what are you talking about dipping a fly, it's been in feces and stuff like that comes and you got to dip it in your food? I said, yes it's a blessing. And you don't know but Allah knows.

Guess what? The Prophet ﷺ said obviously because a wing carries the bacteria and it drops it, while another wing or part of its body carry the antibiotic. A few months ago, I don't know if you know about this, because I research a lot about these areas. A professor or a researcher, a woman in America, has discovered something.

She said, this is her research about the fly. She said, we were wondering one day, how can a fly live in all these different bacterias and land there and still survive after that? How come that if a human were to attract, for example, filth like feces or urine, we know that medically, if you don't wash your hands or if it's an unhygienic environment, you can develop hepatitis A, B, C or even D. And some of them can kill you.

Yet a fly survives. How does it survive? So she thought, maybe it has an antibiotic that we can extract from and put into the human blood so that we can also develop our immune system. So she went and they went and researched the fly.

They discovered, my dear brothers and sisters, that the fly has an antibiotic within its body and outside on its skin, on the outside of its body. Wallahi, this is a research really that's factual. Anyone who wants it, email me, I'll send it to you insha'Allah.

The most remarkable thing about it is how do we extract it from the fly? You know what she said? The only way that we know, the easiest way and the most appropriate way or the convenient way is to dip it in liquid. And then, after we dip it in the liquid, we extract that liquid and we can probably inject it into the human blood and probably develop an immune system just like a vaccine.

Just like they extract the poison of a snake such as in India and other places and they inject it into the child and it develops an immunity towards certain snakes or certain venoms from different spiders and tarantulas. And if you would like to know, also, they take the urine of a horse as well for women with metapors and they inject it in her as well. She doesn't know that, you see. But they do that and it creates an antibiotic and it's a good thing for her immune system as well.

Islam is a blessing but we just don't know that. So let us not whine about these things and complain about them.

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Patience Through Trials

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, Allah says about those who've received calamities and whine about it, He

Do you think you're going to enter Paradise so quickly and easily like that? And when we bring them the stories of the people before them, they went through trials and calamities, a lot of harm came to them, a lot of hardship, really they felt it, it clothed them, a misfortune, the earth was shaken underneath their feet until their messengers and their people used to say, when is Allah's victory going to come? Allah said, behold, just be patient. The victory of Allah is coming soon for you, don't worry.

The Story of Khubayb

This is why Khubayb رضي الله عنه came to Prophet ﷺ once and he uncovered his shirt after trying to go and give dawah to a people. And he found burns of holes, burns which made holes in his back.

He said, Ya Rasulallah, crying and wailing, I went to give them dawah and they grabbed me, they took my shirt off and they heated rocks on the fire and dragged my back on the rocks until it developed into these holes in my back. This is extreme.

The Prophet ﷺ stood up and he was kneeling down on the Kabah and he stood up, sat up straight and he said:

You are a people who are hastening for Allah's victory. Be patient, Allah is training us. There will be a time. There were people before you.

One of them will be brought in front of the people and they will bring the chainsaw and saw him in half from top to bottom. Just for them to leave, this is their call and they would not leave it.

The Story of Umar's Visit

Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه once entered into the house of the Prophet ﷺ for the first time. And as he sat down, he had a smile on his face when suddenly he began to cryيَبْكِي

The Prophet ﷺ looked at him and said:

He said, look around his house you see and he saw that the Prophet ﷺ's house was extremely simple. His mat was made of straw and he could see the marks on the Prophet ﷺ's body. His pillow was stuffed with coarse leaves and he could see the effects on his cheek, his blessed cheek ﷺ

He looked at the corner and he found some barley which was not attended to still in its mother stem. He looked at his lamp, his lantern and he found that there was no fuel in it to light it up for some light and heat.

He said يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ the emperors of Kisra and Qaisa, of Persia and Rome, they are reclining on silk and eating from the most exquisite meals. Everything they want is there for them and wearing from the most expensive clothing. يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَأَنْتَYou Messenger of God, the best of all human beings, this?

The Prophet ﷺ stood up and he smiled to teach us a lesson, not to wail and whine. He said to him:

Does it not please you, Umar? For them is this temporary Dunya and in the end is this temporary life and then they will chuck it all behind them. They won't take any of it with them. And we have the hereafter.

Obviously when he is saying to Umar رضي الله عنهhe understands what this world means and what the hereafter means. It's an everlasting bliss that never ever runs out. You'd be crazy if someone said to you work and work all your life and struggle and struggle for 50 years so that you can receive one minute of pleasure. Would you be sane if you were to go through hardship and plowing for 50 years to receive one minute of pleasure? Would anybody do that? No, no one would do that.

So we plow and struggle for the 60 or 70 years of our life which in the end is only like a day or an hour.

And they leave behind them an enormous day which is everlasting in the hereafter. So Umar رضي الله عنه replied by saying he wiped his tears and he said بَلَى يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ Oh yes يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ this is exactly what we want.

The Example of the Sahaba

The companions of Prophet ﷺ they will always look after for their neighbor and those who are deprived before they fed themselves. Abu Bakr رضي الله عنهUmar رضي الله عنهall of them. What do you think they used to eat? Olives. Olive oil. They'd leave the meat for the people and they would not eat until they made sure that the people in their flock had eaten already before they would touch it. They didn't whine.

The Prophet ﷺ when he came into the house when he used to come to the house and not find food ready or food available he would say يَا عَائِشَةُ is there no food today? She would say لَا وَاللَّهِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ we've gone through rough times. Prophet ﷺ did not wail and whine and say why why why? What did I marry you for?

He said:

Therefore I'm fasting today. I'm fasting.

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The Danger of Giving Up on Dua

There are people who make dua to Allah and they call upon Allah. Call and call and call and Allah doesn't yet respond. So what do they do? They say I've asked Allah and I've asked Allah and he hasn't listened to me. I don't want to ask him anymore. Forget it.

He leaves his prayer and goes away from Allah. Prophet ﷺ warned and he said a person may ask Allah and ask Allah and Allah would not give him. When he's just about to give him he says I'm sick and tired of this.

When Allah would have when Allah was testing him because he loves to hear his servant call upon him night and day and in order to give him so much in the hereafter. Ikhwan, for those who understand Allah you will know that when you call upon Allah and you go through a bit of hardship Allah loves to hear your voice night and day. Why? Because he's a fair God.

On the day of judgment he will say to those who didn't call upon him and will say my servant will take this and that and that and that and that. Why ya Rabbi? He will say because my servant kept calling upon me and this is why he has earned what I have given him. Allah wants to give you more and he will give you in the end, don't worry, in this life.

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The Story of Ayyub عليه السلام

Ayyub عليه السلام,Ayyub عليه السلام he had 14 children and he had great health and wealth everybody loved him. One day after 80 years Allah took away all of his 14 children, one by one. Then he took away his wealth then he took away his health until the narration says that his skin used to fall off his body until he could see his muscles and his bones and he's still alive, breathing.

Not only that, the people began to say if this man was a good person Allah wouldn't have done this to him. And so he lost his close friends. One day his wife came in and said Ya Ayyub عليه السلام isn't it enough now? Can't you ask Allah to get rid of this? It's enough? We've gone through too much?

Ayyub عليه السلام then said my wife how long did Allah give me blessings for? She said 80 years or so. He said I am too shy to ask Allah to cure me yet until 80 years of this time has gone as well. Because he's given me so much.

It was after 7 years however when he saw his wife resorted to taking from her hair and selling it, that he said:

Even look at the way that he asked Allah to cure him. He didn't say Oh Allah cure me. Oh Allah you have harmed me. Oh Allah you brought this sickness take it away from me. No, no, no. He said Oh my Lord, harm has afflicted me. He didn't even attribute it to Allah because when harm comes to a Muslim, when Allah tests you with some kind of hardship, it's actually good for you.

I'm going to say the hadith in a minute. (وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ - wa anta arhamu ar-rahimeen) and you are the most merciful.

Allah says:

"We took away all the harm away from him. We gave him his family back and his children back and doubled their amount. We gave him wealth."

Grasshoppers, like the shape of grasshoppers of gold began to rain onto Ayub (عليه السلام) who used to pick him up. And he used to, more than what he had. In the hadith it says that he would go around and picking as much as he can so quickly and then Allah sent Jibreel (عليه السلام) and said to him, Ya Ayub, are you not already being given enough blessings? Why are you trying to hog everything up? Don't worry, we're giving you blessings.

Why are you so quick in wanting to gather it all? He said, Ya Rabb, who is there that can take enough of your blessings? I'm gathering your blessing, Ya Rabb. So a Muslim Allah loves to see his servant taking from his blessing. He loves it.

And thanking Allah for his blessing. When in a hardship, they also thank Allah and they are patient.

The Believer's Attitude

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2999)

Strange is the matter of the believer. For anything that happens to him or her is good. Subhanallah. He said, when something good happens to them, they thank Allah. When something bad happens to them, they are patient.

Because Allah says in the Quran:

"And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits and food and give glad tidings to those who are patient. The ones who when a calamity befalls them they say to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. They remember that this is a test."

Real Life Stories of Faith

I'm gonna wind down now very soon insha'Allah. Brothers and sisters in Islam, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) encouraged us to visit the sick and to visit the graveyards. Why? Because the graveyards remind us that this life is short and that the hereafter is the most important. So a man came and said, Ya Rasulallah, when is the last hour going to come? The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said don't ask about that. What have you prepared for it? So the hereafter is what we are preparing for.

Visiting the sick and visiting the ill reminds us of the blessing that Allah has given us. We see when we visit the blind person we remember that Allah has given us eyesight. When we visit a deaf person remember that Allah has given us hearing. When we visit a crippled person remember that Allah has given us legs. The world is yours, you can do anything you like. Anything you like! But this poor crippled person, imagine what they were going through.

Three Brothers with Leukemia

I have three friends in Melbourne at the moment. Three of them, wallahi, are extremely strong and young people. One of them is 23, the other is 32, and the other one is 31 years old. They have everything in the world, alhamdulillah. Their youth, their health, their wealth. Allah afflicted them with a harm. Three of them were stricken with cancer.

One of them, Leukemia. The 23 year old. The second one, a rare type of Leukemia. And the third one was also Leukemia.

The first one who got Leukemia, when he was 18 years old, he found out that he had Leukemia, when he was 18. He wasn't religious at that time, and he told me this. He said he went home and started to cry and wail and say, what have I done? Why did I deserve this? Why, why, why? He began to have doubt about his own faith.

He said, a few months later I went back to the doctor, and it was all gone. It was all gone. But he was almost about to do Kufr. He was gone. So after that, he actually became thankful to Allah. Started worshipping, and became more religious. He even grew his beard. And he became one of those who became very knowledgeable in the religion, Alhamdulillah, and made Dawah to his family.

I think over 20 members of his friends also became better Muslims, and one girl over the internet, he gave a Dawah, and she became a Muslim as well. At the age of 22, he felt ill again. And Leukemia came back into his

body.

It's in Allah's wisdom why this happened. But look at his state now. He said, brother now I've got Leukemia, but he is now thankful to Allah. He still worships Allah. He asked me, should I shave my beard? I said, be patient, brother. Just keep it. Even if it's one last hair. He kept it.

And he went through a great struggle, my dear brothers and sisters, for eight months under chemotherapy. It's unimaginable what kind of pain they go through. And he takes out all their white cells that protect them from all the bacteria and viruses. That if he got a cold, a flu, he'll die from it. If he doesn't go to the hospital within about five or six hours.

He went through that. One time one of his hoses that go into his eye, he has to keep it 24-7, it became loose and blood started to pour. He fainted. He was taken to emergency hospital, an emergency. And he thought he was going to die. Then he woke up. And they said, if you were here half an hour late, you would have been dead. And on and on.

Then, alhamdulillah, they found a donor for him. And he did a transplant of the other person's blood marrow. Alhamdulillah, it worked out. But still till now, he is one day at home, five days in hospital. Because it takes time for it to take, for his body to accept it.

The other day he attracted an infection. He had to be in hospital for five days and five nights. It was very bad. We thought he was going to go, that's it. I went to visit him. Brothers and sisters, wallahi, the state I saw him in. He couldn't speak because of the side effects.

Inside of his mouth, he was full of, wallahi, I'm not exaggerating, probably 50 ulcers and pimples inside of his mouth and on his tongue and the back. He couldn't eat, he couldn't drink from it. They had to put it through his nose and through his blood.

And he's still going through it. He needs about a year to see whether his body accepts it or rejects it. Yet, wallahi, I have never seen a person like him in that situation who is closer to Allah than he ever was.

The second person, 32 years old, also attracted this rare type of leukemia. I went and visited him the other day. He has probably about, maybe, if you count them, 300 hairs left on his beard from the chemotherapy.

He was also admitted into the cancer institute or the cancer hospital because he had attracted a tiny virus which caused inflammation in his liver and if he hadn't been there, five hours later, he would have been dead. He is receiving a treatment worth $300,000.

He said to me, I visited him, he said, it was a Friday evening and I had a little speech at the Preston Majid, my usual Friday talks. I said, what would you like me to say to the people? He said, brother, barely talk, of course. He said, brother, tell the people to thank Allah for the blessings that they have, their health.

And what he was trying to say was also in this country, and I have to say it, that Allah has allowed us to be here in Australia besides all the other negativities, at least this. He said, if I was back, he's a Turkish brother, he said, if I was back in Turkey, brother, I couldn't afford this treatment. It's $300,000 treatment, the government's paying for it. I would have been dead by now.

I said to him, it's the same in Lebanon. You could be in a critical condition. If you can't pay, they'll leave you outside until you die. He said, it is Allah who put them here. It's not the Australian government, it's Allah. So I told him to thank Allah for what they have and stop whining.

The Revert Brother's Story

The third brother, he was a revert to Islam. Lebanese, used to be a Christian and converted to Islam. Married a beautiful, a good sister, and he became very wealthy. Allah gave him lots of wealth, ya Akhwan. Lots of wealth. In fact, one day he came up to me and said, brother, I have $60,000 sitting aside.

If you want, I can lend them to you and just pay me them after 10 years if you like. Or if you know anybody, I'll lend them. Such a beautiful heart. One day he came to the masjid and hugged me after a while and he said, brother, I've got cancer. Leukemia.

The cancer went away and then came back. And then for about 2 years I couldn't see him. In hospital. And finally they found a donor for him and he got a bone marrow transplant.

He had to stay in his house from memory 11 months. He wasn't allowed to leave his bedroom. Because if he did, he didn't have enough of his white blood cells to protect him against any virus or bacteria. He died within 5 hours. Subhanallah.

You would think that he would move away from Allah. But subhanallah, the other day his parents came in and he kept on giving them dawah for about 3 hours constantly saying to them, mum, dad if you don't become Muslim now, I will die a sad man. I don't want to leave this world knowing that you have disbelieved in Allah. I want you to be with me in Jannah. If you want to make me happy.

And he doesn't care that he's going to leave the world. The only thing that will make him happy is that his parents embrace Islam. So the parents said something and he went unconscious. The next day they brought the priest and he started throwing holy water on them, baptizing them again. He said, in case because you see they did kufr in other words. In case they made kufr, they went into Islam. So he started baptizing and make sure that everybody is still a Christian.

I applaud these brothers and I got a really great lesson from them. I don't know if I can be the same if I was in their position, Wallahi. Allahu alam.

Stories of Severe Trials

Brothers and sisters in Islam, inshallah, I'll wrap it down with this final story. There was a young girl in Sri

Lanka, young Anisa, who was only 5 years old and we were trying to gather some money for her for a treatment. There were many like her. They brought us some photos of her.

Young Anisa, she was born with her large intestine outside of her body. It was outside. This young girl, Anisa, grew up. She looks healthy. She plays and everything but her internal organs are outside and part of her liver is also outside of her body.

She's trying to get treatment but in India they couldn't. They sort of had like a little net over it sort of thing. Subhanallah, the Royal Children's Hospital here, I wanted to sort of bring her down and give her this treatment. But she passed away before she could come.

Young Anisa, 5 years old, her parents obviously felt grief. Let us thank Allah that he has given us healthy children, ourselves. How many children are born with problems in them and their parents go through grief. Thank Allah for he has given you.

The other day I visited a brother, young, healthy, Wallahi al-azim, 20 something years old. Good swimmer, excellent swimmer. He dived off the platform, ended up in hospital completely paralyzed. Wallahi, when I visited him he said, brother, Wallahi, I don't know how I became paralyzed. I just dived and then suddenly I just found myself, I couldn't twist over.

My face down and I can't breathe. I want to twist over. And I couldn't. I couldn't feel my body. People noticed and they brought him to hospital. He's trying to move his limbs like this. You should see him subhanAllah, like a doll, like a puppet. And subhanAllah he's coming nearer to Wallahi. It's something amazing.

I thank Allah for every, I thank Allah that I can, for every moment that Allah has given me to feel each fingertip that I have, each nail that I have.

Focus on What We Have

So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, never look at those who are less fortunate than you. Always look at those, sorry, never look at those who are more fortunate than you in life. Look at those who are less fortunate than you in life. This is better for you, he said. So that you will not be ungrateful for what Allah has already blessed you.

You know this on television, this marketing world, it has placed a disease in us. This disease of want, not need, want. I've got to have that particular thing on television. Children today, spoiled. I've got to have that iPod, I've got to have that new Playstation, I've got to have that, I've got to have that, I've got to have that.

Women and men, wailing, we've got to have this, we've got to compete in that way. Look at so and so what they have in their house, we should get like them. And families are splitting apart, competition about worldly things. And they forget that there are people who are deprived of being able to even drink water in their day. Who don't know whether they're going to survive till the next day.

Such as the tsunami in Indonesia, when I visited those orphans, wallahi I cried night and day, drinking from filthy water. You should see where they're sleeping, wallahi none of us here would let their, if they had a cow, they wouldn't let their cow sleep there, where they're sleeping.

But they couldn't do anything. And the orphans are happy running around. Subhanallah, orphans. Thanking Allah, praying to Allah. May Allah give them blessings and help them.

Closing Dua

I finish it, my dear brothers and sisters, with a dua. And I ask Allah in English so everybody can understand.

Allahumma, ya Allah, we thank you for what you have blessed us with. For every breath that we breathe. For every eyesight that we have. For every day that you bring us back to life after death, meaning sleeping. I ask you, oh Allah, to forgive us for every moment we wailed and every moment we complained.

I ask you, ya Allah, for every person tonight who is sick or ill, and for any person who is in debt, for any person who is in hardship, to relieve them from their hardship, from their debt, from their illness and their sickness. I ask you, ya Allah, Subhanallah, whoever is in prison now, who is being oppressed, to relieve them from what they are in. And to save them, to make them better people.

I ask you, ya Allah, to unite our hearts, and to make us satisfied for what we have. Allahumma rizukna al-qana'a. Oh Allah, give us satisfaction. Allahumma habibna ila ta'atik. Oh Allah, make us love your worship. We ask you, ya Allah, to make us never feel ungratitude towards your blessing.

We ask you, Allah, to increase our blessings and to not make us hortiful, to not make us heedless of your ni'mat, and to not make us arrogant when you bring something to us. We ask you, ya Allah, to not make us those who despair and quavel over things that have passed us, and not to be proud of the things that we have received.

We ask you, ya Allah, to make us generous, and to let us drink from the hands of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم on the day of judgement, and to unite us with those who donate from their wealth night and day, to make us one of those who are generous, to make us one of those who are thankful, to make us one of those who will be among those who will enter Paradise without hisab or azab, ya Rabb al-alameen.

You said, ya Rabb, that the greatest occupants of heaven are the poor people. So, oh Allah, give us that characteristic that they have, no matter if we are wealthy or poor, ya Rabb al-alameen.

I say this, and I ask Allah's forgiveness for me and you, so ask His forgiveness for this, and peace and blessings be upon the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and upon my family and companions, and peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah, and His blessings.