5 Farhan Abdul Azeez CZ 2012

Being a Firm Believer

Introduction: The State of Negligence

The topic is being a firm believer. How many of you understand Arabic? Yesterday in the Sustain Your MSA talk there were a couple of Arab brothers, so I thought it was kind of cool if I mentioned some poetry. I'm not Arab myself, but I really like Arabic poetry. So I want to share with you just some lines of poetry that a poet once said, and then we'll kind of go from there. I think this poetry really summarizes the state of us, MSAs and MSA members and the youth in general, generally speaking.

The days and the years go by and people are in a state of negligence and they're sleeping. The people go through their lives negligent of Allah and they don't remember the Quran or Islam. Wealth gathering has become the tahajjud of today, and enjoying one's pleasures has become the qiyam of today. Shaitan has beautified all evil things, and the people are doing whatever they want from haram.

Then he says, addressing the soul, "Ya nafs, enough, the sins have become too much." He says that negligence and being deceived by this world is what leads to one committing sins and crimes. Then he asks a question to the soul: Do you know the day or the time that's been recorded and written? Allah indeed does know that time.

What will you say when you are carried in your janazah and you are buried in your grave, very dark and severe? This is the question. So do you have an answer? What will you say when your tongue begins to speak? Who will help you when your soul is about to depart your body? And when the angel of death comes and says the time is up? Then he ends by saying that today you will do whatever you want and you can enjoy and do whatever you want. But tomorrow you will die and the pens will be lifted.

The Reality of Our Condition

I wanted to start with this because when you see the state of the ummah, it really saddens the heart. You can look at it as half full or half empty. But really when the masses of the Muslims are in a state of ghaflah and the days and the years are passing by and nothing shakes them, it is scary.

The Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) described himself as a man in the desert who lit a fire and the moths and the insects are rushing towards this fire. Insects are attracted to light. I remember back in the heyday, we would stay up late and play Risk all night long. I don't know if you guys play the board game, but it takes a long time. So we were playing and we have one of those halogen lights in my living room and there's this huge moth that's just flying around and it starts getting closer and closer and closer and then it just lands on it and you can just hear it and then you see the smoke and it's incinerated.

That's what happens. The Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is giving an example. He's like, I am like a person trying to prevent these insects from flying into this fire. He says, I'm grabbing people by their belts and I'm dragging them away, but they throw me off and insist to jump into the fire. This is an example the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) gave of himself with people. He was sent as:

"[And We have not sent you except as a bringer of good tidings and a warner.]"

He was sent as somebody who gives glad tidings and as a warner. And so you guys are involved in MSA and part of the role that we've taken in getting involved in MSA is to try and be somebody who helps yourself and helps others on campus.

The Reward of Patience in Times of Trial

When you see people falling off the straight path day by day, it can become bothersome and it can become difficult. This is where we have to take a step back and look at the teachings of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). He said, addressing his companions 1433 years ago:

(Source Name)

"That certainly in the days coming ahead of you are days of patience."

And he says:

(Source Name)

"For the one who stays firm at this time, at that time when trials are coming one after another, will have the reward of 50 of the Sahaba."

The Sahaba when they heard this said, "Ya Rasulullah, أمنهم أو منا" - they said, maybe he misspoke. He said 50 منكم the reward of 50 of you. They said, do you mean 50 of them, like one of their own contemporaries? He said, no, from amongst you.

The Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

(Source Name)

"That the trials will be presented to the hearts like a straw mat, one stick after another. A straw mat, all it is is just sticks one after another. He says, that's how the time will come."

Our Tests Compared to Those Before Us

Without question we live in that time. We live in a time where everywhere you turn and everywhere you look, there are trials. Be it for us or be it for our brothers and sisters overseas. When you know what's happening in Syria right now, they are going through a whole different world of test. Something more similar to what the Sahaba went through than what we're going through. We don't leave our home afraid that we're going to get captured and tortured or killed.

We might get an insult from someone. Worst case scenario, maybe the worst thing that's ever happened to anybody in this room is somebody actually physically hit you. But other than that, maybe some bad looks and some comments and mostly support. Really, a lot of people that just either ignore you or they'll say, hey, I respect that you're holding on to your identity even in this time. But I want to put things in perspective.

The Story of Abu Sufyan and Heraclius

There's an interesting conversation that happened between Abu Sufyan and Heraclius. During the time when the

Prophet was in Medina around the 6th or 7th year after Hijrah, Abu Sufyan wasn't a Muslim. He was with the delegation from the people of Mecca, from the people of Quraysh in the area where Heraclius was ruler. Heraclius heard that they were there.

He had them come to his courtroom. He told them, he asked all the people who were from Mecca who amongst you is most close to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in relationship. Abu Sufyan said, I am. He's a relative of the Prophet. So he told him to come forward. Imagine you're in a courtroom just like this.

Heraclius is up front. He has Abu Sufyan step forward and all his friends, all the people he came with from Mecca are staying behind him. He tells the people behind him that if Abu Sufyan lies to me, I want you to signal to me that he's lying. Abu Sufyan can't see them because he's in front of them. He's going to ask Abu Sufyan a series of questions. So Abu Sufyan has to tell the truth because if he doesn't and one of his boys rats him out, they're in trouble.

He asked him a series of questions. Heraclius was a learned man. He knew about the Torah and the Injil and he knew about the coming of a Prophet. So he asked very specific pointed questions to determine is Muhammad a Prophet or not. (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)

He asked him about his lineage. Abu Sufyan said he's from the best lineage from amongst us. Then he asked them, did you used to accuse him of lying before he claimed that he was a Prophet? They said no. He asked them, was anybody in his family a king? They said no. He asked them, who are his followers? He said his followers are the poor and the weak. Then he said, are they increasing in number or decreasing in number? They said they're increasing in number.

All these questions after Abu Sufyan answered, he replied and gave them an indication that these are all examples of the Prophets. The Prophets always come from good lineage. The Prophets never had a kingdom in their past, in their family. The Prophets, their followers are the poor and the weak and the downtrodden of society. The Prophets, their followers increase and don't decrease.

The Question About Apostasy

Then he asked them a question that I want to focus on. He says:

"He says, do the people, any of his followers, after coming to Islam, do they leave because of something in their hearts of dislike to the religion? Do any of the followers of Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) leave the religion because of some sort of dislike? He says, no."

Then Heraclius replies by saying:

"That is the example of Iman. That once it enters the heart and it firms root in your heart, the heart embraces it with such joy and happiness that it will never let it go again."

كَذَلِكَ الْإِيمَانُ - That is how Iman is. So then we have to ask ourselves this question. Do we find ourselves falling off the path of Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)? And if we do, why? Because Iman, if it truly has entered our heart,

we wouldn't have this struggle.

You wouldn't see people leaving Islam. Saqib is going to talk next about the ayah in Surah Hujurat:

"They said, we believe. Don't say you have believed, just say you have submitted and Iman has not yet entered your heart. So I'm not going to touch on that. But Iman is such that if it enters the heart and it truly sets root in your heart, then this person, this believer, will not leave."

The Strength of the Sahaba

That's what I want us to really think about, the amazing feeling that they had of being near to Allah and being close to Allah. You know, I mentioned what the Sahaba went through compared to Syria, compared to us. We know what they went through. They were driven out of their homes, they were tortured, they were killed, they were beaten.

There were people, Uthman ibn Affan was wrapped up in a mat and was set on fire. There were people who literally, they took burning rods and placed it on their heads. Umar al-Khattab, they say he was super, duper strong. He would beat a woman until he would stop when he got tired. When he got tired from beating somebody. You know when you watch a boxing match by the twelfth round, the punches slow down because they're tired.

Can you imagine taking that kind of beating and not just taking it but taking it, a woman taking it from Umar al- Khattab? And when he would say that, I stop because I'm tired, she would respond with words that would just make him more angry. Where does that come from?

There were people who, Khabbab, when he came to the Prophet to complain, he was saying, can you make at least dua for us and dua against the people of Quraysh? The Prophet said, you all need to take a chill pill. He didn't say that but said something similar to that, the meaning of which. He says you guys are people who rush, you want victory too quickly, too much:

"Relax, stay the course."

Later when they were discussing in Medina, Umar al-Khattab and Bilal ibn Rabah and Khabbab, they were all talking about what they went through in Mecca. Khabbab just lifted up his shirt and showed them his back and he showed the marks, they had literally black holes burned into his back. I'm saying these things because they went through all this but they stayed firm.

Our Minor Challenges

When you look at our challenges, we're scared about somebody giving us a dirty look. Or we're scared to say salamu alaykum to someone because it'll give us the identity that we're a Muslim. Somebody's name is

Mohammed Kashif, they'll say, no just call me Mo'Kash, that's it. You don't want to be identified as a Muslim, you're scared to even be known as a Muslim.

When that happens, that's problematic. If we think about what they went through and we think about what we go through, I think we'll come to realization that our tests are much less severe than what they go through. I wanted to, without getting into too much details about this and that, just cut to the chase and say, let's go with the statement of Heraclius.

When he said that iman, when it enters the heart, the heart embraces it with such a fervor and love and longing for it that it'll never let it go.

Steps to Stay Firm in Times of Fitna

I want to kind of go over some steps that we can maybe talk about and what we can do to try and stay firm in times of fitna, in times when fitna are being presented to us one after another like sticks in a straw mat.

First: The Most Important Dua

Firstly, the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was narrated that he said that the most frequent dua he used to make was:

"This is the Prophet himself. He would say, O Allah, the firmer of hearts, the one who firms hearts, firm my heart on your religion:"

"This is the most frequent dua the Prophet made. If the Prophet's making that dua, what about you and I? What about in a time when we are a minority and when you go to school, you're surrounded by non-Muslims? When the masajid are far away from your homes and you maybe make it there once every couple of days, once a week, once a day at best maybe? When you have an MSA meeting once a week and you're alone the rest of the time, the first and foremost is to seek help from Allah. This is the dua that the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) taught us."

Second: Good Companionship

Secondly, and maybe it's not really in order of priority, but secondly is having good companionship, having people around you who will strengthen you and keep you strong. There was a really amazing example that gives you an idea of how important this is. How many of you guys heard of a companion by the name of Abdullah ibn Umm Maktoum? Do you know who he is? Do you know anything about him? I heard somebody said he was blind.

Abdullah ibn Umm Maktoum was a blind man and we know from the surah:

"When the Prophet turned away, he turned away from Abdullah ibn Umm Maktoum. A blind man came to him but he was talking to a delegation and he wanted to focus on them. These are people like leaders. If they become

Muslim, that's huge for Islam.

After the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم passed away during the Khilafah of Umar al-Khattab, the believers, an army was going out. There's a lot of battles that were happening at this time. Abdullah ibn Umm Maktoum got ready to go out to battle. A blind man. Umar al-Khattab sees him and he says (إِلَى أَيْنَ - ila ayna) - where are you going? What are you doing? You're a blind man.

He says (يَا ابْنَ الْخَطَّابِ، أَتَحُولُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ الشَّهَادَةِ - ya abnal khattab, atahulu bayni wa baynash shahadah) - O son of Khattab, are you going to come between me and martyrdom for the sake of Allah? This is what I want to do. I want to go out for the sake of Allah.

The shaheed:

"No fear, no grief, straight to Jannah."

Even now, before the Day of Judgment, Allah puts their souls in birds, they fly around Jannah and eat from the fruits of Jannah and their homes hang under the throne of Allah in Jannah.

(يَا ابْنَ الْخَطَّابِ، أَتَحُولُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ الشَّهَادَةِ - ya abnal khattab, atahulu bayni wa baynash shahadah) - O son of Khattab, are you going to come between me and martyrdom for the sake of Allah? This is what I want to do.

He's a practical man. He's like (مَاذَا سَتَصْنَعُ بِهِمْ؟ - madha satasna'u bihim?) - What are you going to do? You're blind. What are you going to do? You know what he says? He says:

He says, at the very least what I will do is I will increase, when you're looking from far away, if the enemies are seeing the Muslim army coming, he's saying, I will increase the number of black dots that they're going to see from a far distance. I maybe can't fight. I can't see. But at the very least, I will increase the number.

When you talk about thabat and being firm on the path of Allah and staying strong in the face of challenges, maybe you can't do it, maybe I can't do it, maybe we don't have the strength or we haven't yet found the strength, but Allah can give us the strength because we all have the potential to do so.

You Have Been Chosen for Iman

I say that because Allah says in the Quran, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said in a hadith that Allah gives iman only to those whom He loves. Allah gives dunya, the world, He can give it to those He loves and those He doesn't love, it doesn't matter. But He only gives iman illa man yuhibb, except for those whom He loves.

If Allah chose you, if Allah chose to give you iman, that means you have potential to live up to be the best Muslim you can be. But if right now, at this moment in your life, you can't do that, then at least don't hurt or be against or discourage those who are doing that, and rather be with them.

I came from Michigan State University, huge party school. When I came, the first day I came to campus, when I came to the masjid, one of the brothers of the MSA comes to me, my dad, and he tells me, Brother, let me give you some advice, if you're coming here, stay away from the MSA. What do you mean stay away from the

MSA? He says, the former president a couple of years ago, he literally came to my door and invited me to go to the strip club. I'm like, really? Really?

But there was literally a culture at our university where the wrong was right and the right was wrong. Where a hijabi was a stranger and was looked down upon. She was ostracized. If her brother didn't have at least one girlfriend, Bro, you can't, you don't make the cut. That's the culture that was there.

What I'm telling you is, make a culture that supports righteousness. Make a culture that supports righteousness. Maybe you don't have the strength right now to do what the people of steadfastness are doing. Right now. But you do. Number two, you haven't decided, you just take the commitment to Allah.

Ibn Umm Maktoum says, I want to just increase the number of the Muslims. Surround yourself with good companionship.

Third: Increase Your Iman Through Good Deeds

Number three, any deed that increases your iman, any deed that increases will increase your strength in Allah, your strength in staying firm in the path of challenges. So reciting Quran, praying, making dhikr, helping somebody out, getting involved in the MSA. All of these things, any good deed, will help you stay strong.

One thing I would advise, I have a couple minutes left and I have a lot of things to say. So one thing I would advise, I'm just trying to hit maybe the highlights of what I have left. One thing I'll advise is this.

Fourth: Change Your Perspective on Life

I want you guys to change your perspective on life. What do I mean by that? If you can change your perspective, and when things happen or things that you see in this world, if you can somehow connect it to akhirah, it will help you stay strong. What do I mean?

For example, you're leaving the MSA meeting, the MSA dinner when there's, mashallah, 300 people there. Or you're leaving Juma khutbah at the masjid, huge crowds right away. As soon as salam, salam, everybody rushes to the door, right? Everybody's bumping into each other trying to get their shoes. When you see that crowd, remember, think about the hadith of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم where he said: The gates of Jannah, between the gates of Jannah, is 40 years worth of travel. But on that day, my ummah will come to the gates of Jannah in crowds and crowds and crowds.

When you see the crowds of people leaving or entering the masjid, or leaving or entering the MSA meeting, you're reminded about the crowds that will enter into Jannah. Your heart longs for Jannah. When you're walking, the next time you walk outside of the session, you say salam alaikum to someone. Think about this. I want you to remember what Allah says:

"When those who have taqwa of Allah, they are being driven to the gates of Jannah."

He says:

Until they reach the gates of Jannah, and the guarders of the gates of Jannah, the gatekeepers say to them:

(Quran 39:73)

You hear this greeting of peace, and it reminds you of the same greeting you'll have when you reach the gates of Jannah.

You see what I mean by change of perspective? How many times do we say salam to one another? But when you change your mindset, and you start thinking like this, your heart gets attached to Allah. When you see the trees now in springtime, you see the flowers coming up, you see the grass turning green, the trees growing their leaves again, you remember that just like Allah brings life to the vegetation, Allah will also cause us to die and bring us back to life again. Change your perspective.

The examples can go on and on. But for sake of time, I'm going to stop at those examples.

Fifth: Think About What Allah Has Prepared

Think about what Allah has prepared for those who stay steadfast. To help you stay steadfast, think of what Allah has prepared for those who stay steadfast. Allah, the hadith Qudsi says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 3244, Sahih Muslim 2824)

I have prepared for my righteous servants what no eye has ever seen, and what no ear has ever heard, and what no heart has ever imagined.

Allah says:

"You have no idea of what Allah has prepared for the righteous person from the joys of whatever makes your eyes happy:"

It's a reward for what you used to do. If you think about that, if you think about what Allah has prepared, my question to you would be, would you trade whatever joy it is that you would have now, or whatever difficulty you might face by staying firm, would you trade that for what Allah has prepared for you? It's a simple question.

The Sweetness of Iman

Lastly, and this comes back to, this really comes back to the beginning quote, which I kind of wanted to revolve my talk around, and that was:

When iman truly enters the heart, the heart embraces it in a way that it'll never let go again. Have we ever tasted the sweetness of iman? Have we ever tasted the sweetness of iman?

Ibrahim ibn Adham said that if the kings of the world knew the sweetness that we taste when we go into sajdah and put our faces on the ground, humbling ourselves to Allah, if they knew the sweetness we tasted, they would gather the world's armies to come and try and take that from us. Everybody has an emptiness in the heart.

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah describes, he says, everybody has an emptiness in the heart that will never be filled by anything except for being close to Allah. People go home and they'll, you'll go back to your hotel tonight, you're going to turn on the TV and flip through channel and channel, again and again, looking for something. You'll spend hours on YouTube, on Facebook, on the TV, but you'll never find comfort. The more you do it, the more emptiness you feel.

But if the same person just goes into sajdah thinking and remembering, again, changing your perspective, remembering the hadith when the Prophet says, the limbs that enter into sajdah, hellfire will never touch them. You go into sajdah with your hands and your feet and your face, knowing that these same hands have committed sins. You're saying, with hope from Allah, you praise Allah and you ask Allah, can you forgive me?

Just imagine that you go to any king from the kings of this world, any governor, any person of importance, five times a day, humbled and you knock on their door and you say, I need your help. Five times a day, every single day of your life. Do you think that person will turn you away? If a beggar, if you come to campus every day, 8 a.m. for a chemistry 101 class and every single day, a beggar came to you five times, he comes to you five times and not just ask, he begs of you. He bows down in prostration in front of you and he says, help me.

Would you turn the person away? Then what about Allah? What about the one who is the most merciful of those who show mercy? What about the one who is the most generous of those who are generous? What about the one who promised? If you turn to him, he will come to you. If you walk to him, he will run to you. Come with humility.

The Example of the People of Syria

I'll end with two things inshallah. I want to share with you a hadith, I want to share with you a story. The people in Syria, I don't know how many of you guys have watched videos online of what's going on in Syria. Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah. Honestly, I'm happy because some people will say, psychologists will say, don't do that, I couldn't, no, do it.

Do, absolutely do it. Because at least it attaches your heart to what's going on there. One thing that goes through my mind when I watch it is when they're being tortured, have you guys seen some of the torture videos when they're beating them? They're saying, say there's no God but Bashar.

Have you guys seen that? Or they'll make him make sijda to Bashar's picture. You guys might have seen that. I remember watching one video of a man, and he's a pretty strong man, and they're beating him, and they're beating him, and he's crying like a baby.

I'm not criticizing him. I mean, imagine being in that position. But the reason why I'm mentioning what I mentioned is because when I watch that, I kind of think back to the old times, and think back to the steadfastness that the sahaba, the people of righteousness had, when they were done much worse than this. But they wouldn't give in.

The Story of Asiya, Wife of Firaun

The wife of Firaun, Asiya bint Muzahim, she believed in Allah. When Firaun found out, he gathered all the people, and he comes out to them, and he says, what do you know about Asiya? They say, mashallah, she's your wife, she's awesome. I mean, it's the wife of Firaun, what can you say? He says:

She worships a lord other than me. So they bring her out. When they drive stakes through the arms and the legs, they pin her down in the ground, driving stakes through her arms and her legs. They bring this huge boulder, and they place it on her chest, under the sun. A woman. The people torturing her are the soldiers of Firaun.

These strongest men. They're beating her, and they're beating her, and you know what she would do? And I want you to know, those of you who watch the videos of Syria, you can at least put a, helps, you know, compare things. You know what she would do? She would laugh.

She would laugh. Firaun said to the people around him, he said:

Aren't you amazed at how crazy she is? We're torturing her and she's laughing. She's laughing.

Do you know why she's laughing? Do you know why she's happy? Because a believer whose heart is attached to Allah, a believer who's tasted the sweetness of Iman, when they go through a difficulty, when they go through a trial, they know that Allah knows what they're going through. They know that they're doing it for His sake alone. So they're happy that, O Allah, I'm showing you my faith in You.

This sweetness that I'm tasting right now, I will never trade it for anything. So sisters, when somebody says, what's that thing you're wearing on your head? Look outside, you can't walk outside anymore without seeing:

And they criticize you. This is my sweetness with Allah. Back up off. I enjoy something that you have never tasted before.

Then, right when her soul is about to pass, you know what she says? Absolutely amazing. She says:

"Oh Allah, build for me, not just a house in paradise, but build for me a house next, build for me, first she said, next to You, a house in paradise. It's not the house that's the issue."

Let me be close to You. That's all I want. You know what happened? The angels cover her with their wings, and the skies opened up for her, and she saw her home in Jannah, and she passed away.

The Hadith of the Dipped in Hellfire and Jannah

I end with a hadith. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says that if a person of this world who had the most comfortable life ever, all the riches, all the women, or if he's a woman, all the boyfriends, whatever, every single thing a person could ask for. And he was dipped one second in hellfire, half a second in hellfire. And he is asked, have you ever tasted a sweetness in your life before? You know what he says? No, wallah, I never have tasted a sweetness before, half a second in hellfire.

Then the flip, somebody who just, the most miserable person in this world, somebody who had never had food to eat, never had water to drink, somebody who was beaten, who was tortured, who had every single bad thing happened to him, born paralyzed, you name it. The worst situation in this world. And he is dipped just for a second in jannah. Just for a second. And he is asked, have you ever experienced difficulty in your life before? He says, no, wallah, I never experienced difficulty.

My question to you, whatever it is, challenges we're going through, is it worth it? When we think about what Allah has prepared for us, if we stay firm.

Conclusion: Keep Trying for Guidance

Allah says:

"And those who are guided - He increases them in guidance"

Those, ihtadaw, comes on the wazn, that means you try for guidance. You're not just guided. The one who keeps trying every single day, they're in the trenches, they might not lower their gaze one time, but they'll try again. They'll keep trying, keep trying. The one who keeps trying for guidance, Allah says, I will increase them in guidance, and I will give them taqwa.

Jazakum Allah khayran. I apologize for going over as usual. May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.