6 Farhan Abdul Azeez Hope in Allah

Hope in Allah

Introduction: Reflecting on Ramadan

It just seems like yesterday we were celebrating and rejoicing the start of Ramadan. The Ramadan Mubaraks and the hugs and the phone calls to family and hopefully no arguments. But we were celebrating.

Now we are in the last Jumu'ah of Ramadan. It seems like time has just flown by. Our last day of Jumu'ah, the last day of this blessed day of the week which Allah has chosen to be the best day of the week. We are in this last moment today, just a few hours left. It gives us a chance to reflect back on what has passed and the short time that is coming as well. Both at the end of Ramadan as well as inshallah Allah gives us life to future Ramadans and afterwards as well.

Allah says in a verse that we by now have all likely heard many times and perhaps even memorized. Where He says:

O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you so that you may attain taqwa. So it's an opportunity to reflect on what have we accomplished in these 23 days so far, 24 days.

The Purpose of Fasting: Building Taqwa

Have we built taqwa in our hearts? Do we even understand what that is? A chance to reflect and it's a chance to check the measuring stick. Because we may have found other benefits, we maybe have become more charitable, we maybe have become more patient, more empathetic towards others who have less than us. The weight scale in our bathroom maybe happier or maybe upset because we put on pounds.

But ultimately how we gauge how we've done so far in Ramadan is this: our taqwa. Abu Huraira radiallahu anhu described a muttaqi in a very beautiful analogy when he said that, Have you ever walked on a path full of thorns? And the man said, Yes. So he said, How do you walk in such a path? He said, Well, I look before I make every step.

Perhaps I lift my clothes to prevent things being stuck to it. But I carefully place every foot as I walk along the road. And he said, Similarly, that exactly is taqwa.

That every step of this life that you take before you put that step down, you pause and you think, Is this something that pleases Allah? Is this something that will earn the pleasure of Allah or earn the anger of Allah? Is it something that is useful to me in my akhira or something that will take away from my akhira? Ultimately, that's what it boils down to. Have our minds become more aware of Allah or not? In everything that we do.

When we wake up and we're making wudu for salah, and we spit out the water from our mouth, we're careful not to let even an extra drop go down our throats. No one sees us, no one knows except Allah. Yet we're

mindful, we're aware of Allah, we're aware that we're fasting. Therefore we do the extra to make sure we don't break our fast.

And that's the purpose of fasting, ultimately. So that this awareness of Allah is built into our mind, our psyche, our consciousness. That's the gauge that we can move going forward as Ramadan soon comes to an end.

Living with Awareness of Allah

Are we more aware of Allah in everything that we do? When we are, when we think about Allah before we wear our clothes to go out to work or to go out to the store. When we think about Allah and how we talk to our parents or how we talk to our siblings or our co-workers. Are we thinking about Allah and how we behave, how we drive, how we speak, how we sleep.

In every aspect of our lives. If we are, if you found yourself more aware of Allah than you found yourself having gained some of what this month is meant to give you. Now Allah, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) told us in a hadith that Allah said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 1904, Sahih Muslim 1151)

All the deeds of the son of Adam are for him except for fasting. That fasting is something that is very unique, very special that Allah Himself has kept a hidden reward for those who fast. Again because no one knows, when you go to work no one can tell that you're fasting. When someone sees you no one can tell this person is fasting, this person is not.

It's something done sincerely for Allah. And when that ikhlas, that sincerity is built into your life, that Ramadan teaches us, the relationship with Allah builds. Because we have relationships with Allah. Relationships are based on emotion, based on feeling, based on a level of connectivity, based on a level of gratitude and love. That's what we have to have with Allah.

When that develops, then we can live the verse which Allah says:

Say, indeed my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my death, everything that I do is dedicated to Allah. Dedicated to Allah. That's the ultimate goal of fasting.

Seeking Reward in Everything

Maybe your mother asks you, would you like to go to the store? I'm going to go to Kroger to get some groceries for iftar. The young man, young woman maybe has nothing to do, school's out, summer vacation, but he doesn't want to go. But he knows that just the comfort it will give his mother to be with her. Maybe carrying the groceries from the cart to the car, that's all it takes.

But that small ajr, you're going to look for it. Not just in tarawih, not just in salat al-fajr or the five salawat, not just in recitation of the Quran, but everything that we do. Maybe you're walking back home and you see a bird looking for its rizq amongst the soil. And not fearing that you may cause it fear rather than walking along the sidewalk, you will cross the street and walk along the opposite side. Allah knows.

Everything that you do, your decisions are guided by Allah. Guided by your hope in Allah. After Ramadan is over, we ask Allah to give us life to see many Ramadans in our lives. When we look back and we want to see, did we get what we want out of Ramadan? We have to see, are we more aware of Allah? Have we built this connection with Allah?

When does that come to truth? When does a moment of truth come? When we go through difficulties. When we go through trials, right? That's when those who have that relationship with Allah, have that hope in Allah. At that moment, that relationship comes to benefit them. Rather than turning away from Allah, they turn to Allah in dua.

They turn to Allah in humility. When they're blessed with something of goodness, they give thanks to Allah. When they're tested with something of difficulty, they turn back to Allah. They show patience. They ask Allah for the khair in it, right?

Understanding Husn al-Dhann Billah

To have this husn al-dhann, this concept of husn al-dhann billah, this good expectation of Allah, it comes based on a few things.

First: Allah is Fully Aware of Our Situation

Number one, that we understand Allah is fully aware of our situation. Allah knows the difficulties we go through. In a beautiful dua, in the masjid of Allah, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was once passing by, and this Bedouin man, he came across him praying to Allah, and he was making dua to Allah, and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) paused to listen to his dua. He says:

O the One who the eyes cannot see.

And the minds cannot comprehend. And those who wish to describe, they cannot describe Your majesty, they cannot encompass Your majesty. He says:

Nothing changes Allah. The things that occur in this world, nothing affects Allah. Then look what he says in a beautiful dua:

O Allah, You are the One who knows the exact weight of all the mountains.

And the exact volume of all the seas.

And You know the exact number of drops of rain that fall and the exact number of leaves of the trees. That's who Allah is.

He knows everything hidden and open. Therefore He's fully aware of what we go through. He's fully aware of our thoughts and our actions and how we deal with what Allah sends our way. So we have to realize Allah is aware.

When we see the oppression happening in Palestine and every Friday it seems that more and more are killed. Just the other day a 16-year-old boy, a 17-year-old boy, the soldiers went to his family two days prior and threatened his mother, we're going to kill your child. Came two days later and shot him in the neck and he was killed. Then they claimed he was throwing rocks that justified the murder of a child. When we see these things, understand:

Don't ever think for a moment that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. Don't ever think for a moment Allah is unaware of your situation. Whatever difficulty or ease you may be going through, Allah is fully aware.

Second: Allah is Fully Capable

Number two that we have to understand that not only is Allah aware, but He is fully capable of changing the situation. Allah is fully capable:

That's it for Allah. Nothing is difficult for Allah.

Third: The Mercy of Allah

Then thirdly and perhaps something that we can lose track of is brothers and sisters, we have to understand the mercy of Allah envelops all things. The mercy of Allah. When we understand who we're worshiping, who we're dealing with. Imam al-Qurtubi rahimahullah mentions a narration which the four khulafa were sitting together. He said, they were studying the Quran.

Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu says, I have recited the Quran from its beginning to its end. The whole thing and I have not found an ayah that inspires more hope than the ayah in which Allah says:

Think about it. What ayah in the Quran inspires the most hope for you? Perhaps this ayah won't come to mind. It's a very unique ayah that Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu chose and it shows his depth of understanding of the Quran. Allah says, that let everyone work according to his inclination and his ability, his natural disposition.

Perhaps someone is more apt to fasting outside of Ramadan while someone else has been given rizq and he has the ability to give, the tawfiq to give for the sake of Allah. Someone else has beautiful character. Everyone let him work on what his predisposition is.

Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu says:

You know, our disposition as human beings is that we make mistakes. You know what he says? Beautiful statement:

But nothing is more befitting of Allah than to forgive and forgive and abundantly forgive the slaves. In fact, if we were a people who did not sin, Allah would replace us with a people who did sin and then ask Allah for forgiveness.

The Verses of Hope from the Khulafa

Umar al-Khattab said, I have recited the whole Quran as well from beginning to end. The verse that I have found to be most inspiring of hope is a verse in Surah Ghafir where Allah says:

Ha Mim. The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Then you know what He says? Allah is the one who continuously forgives and the one who continuously accepts the repentance.

Allah, He first mentioned that He forgives the sins before even mentioning that He accepts your repentance. Before you even turn to Him in repentance, Allah is already wiping away your sins. That's the mercy of Allah.

Uthman radiallahu anhu says, I've recited the Quran from the beginning to the end and I have found no verse inspiring more hope than the verse when Allah says:

And tell My slaves. This word (عِبَادِي) where Allah calls out to us with this word, My slaves. It's a loving call of Allah to us. Ibn al-Qayyim says upon hearing this:

What a comfort, what coolness, what comfort to the eyes, and to the soul, and a coolness to the eyes to hear that Allah has called you His slave. A loving call. Tell My beautiful, My honored slaves that what? I am the most

forgiving, the constantly merciful.

Ali ibn Abi Talib says that I have read the whole Quran from beginning to end:

Say to my slaves again this loving call of your Master Allah. Say to my slaves who have wronged themselves, do not ever give up hope in the mercy of Allah, for Allah will forgive all sins. Indeed, He is the Forgiving and the Merciful.

Imam al-Qurtubi's Choice

Imam al-Qurtubi, the narrator of this incident, he says, I have recited the Quran. The verse I have found to be most inspiring of hope. SubhanAllah, you see, there's no shortage. How the ulema and the sahaba, they're all different where they found their inspiration. Imam al-Qurtubi says, the ayah that gives me the most hope is the ayah in which Allah says:

Allah says, those who believe, and they don't cover their belief with shirk, with dhulm which means shirk, with associating partners with Allah.

أُولَئِكَ لَهُمُ الْأَمْنُ

They are those who will find security, find safety, find peace, find tranquility. When? On the day of judgment when people will be scared, when people will be frightened, when people will be dropped to their knees and begging for the mercy of Allah. Those who don't commit shirk and cover their iman with shirk.

لَهُمُ الْأَمْنُ

They have the security.

وَهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ

And they are those who are guided from Allah. Now, why is this so interesting? Because we've come to the end of Ramadan, just 5-6 days left. All of us, perhaps all of us without exception, are looking back with some level of regrets.

Never Lose Hope in Allah

That I haven't done what I set out to do. I haven't fully taken advantage, maybe sleep overcame me on one of the last 10 nights and I missed that night. Well, understand brothers and sisters, your Lord is the most merciful. The hope in Allah that you have should never waver. Should never waver no matter the circumstance, no matter what you've done in wronging yourself, no matter what you've done in terms of mistakes, no matter what the situation is, no matter what life throws at you. Ultimately, Allah is there as the most merciful.

To appreciate that, I found a statement from one of the salaf, Hammad ibn Salamah rahimahullah who said something very beautiful. He says:

He says, I swear by Allah, if I was given the option:

That on the day of judgment, I can have my parents be my judge or Allah be my judge. Can you imagine a scenario in which a mother would destine her child to eternity in jahannam? To a second of jahannam? When we know the hadith in which a man in this world who was given all of this world, everything of this dunya that he could ask for, he had. He was dipped in jahannam for one second and taken out and he was asked about his blessings and he said, I have not had any blessings. That's how severe the punishment was. Can you imagine your mother, even no matter what you've done in terms of disobedience or disrespect, she can never destine her child to that? There's no way.

So Hammad ibn Salamah says, if I had the choice between Allah or my parents judging me on the day of judgment, he says:

I would choose Allah. I would choose Allah. Why does he say that?

Because Allah is more merciful to me than my own parents.

So how is it that you think of Allah? How do you gauge your expectation of Allah when you make dua to Allah? Do you make dua to Allah with this confidence that you're dealing with the Most Merciful? Have we lost some sort of hope? Brothers and sisters, Allah tells us, never give up on the hope of Allah, the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful.

I say these words and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and for you, so seek His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Gracious. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, and upon his family and companions.

The Hadith of the 99 Scrolls

I want to end the khutbah with sharing with you one hadith. A beautiful hadith that's found in the books of

Imam al-Tirmidhi and it's an authentic narration which the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) told us that:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi 2639)

On the day of judgment, it will be called out in front of all of mankind. One man.

O so-and-so son of so-and-so, prepare yourself to stand before Allah. And so the narration says:

He says, 99 scrolls will be brought full of bad deeds that this man has committed in this world. Each scroll is as far as the eye can see. Miles and miles of records of bad deeds.

He will stand before Allah, and Allah will tell him:

Allah will ask him, do you deny anything in these records? He will say, no.

Have the angels who have recorded your deeds, have they wronged you in any way? And he will say:

Allah will ask him, do you have any excuse? Do you even have one good deed?

No. The man will become terrified and he will say, O Allah, I have nothing. I live my life completely away from You. I have nothing to offer. But Allah says:

Allah says, rather no, you have many good deeds with Us and there will be no oppression today.

A card will be brought out. A card. That on it will be written:

I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger. That ikhlas of Ramadan is meant to develop. That you're doing it only for Allah. There's no one seeing you, no one knowing what you're doing. But Allah. That sincerity in your belief in Allah.

The hadith will say, this one card will be brought:

What will this one card do, O Allah, this one card as far as the eye can see in length? Allah will say:

You will not be wronged today. Justice today.

The hadith says that all the scrolls will be placed on one scale, and the card on the other. And the scrolls will be light and the card will be heavy. And the man will have succeeded.

The Key to Success: Sincerity

Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah, Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah says something very interesting about this hadith. He says:

He says that the deeds that you and I do, they aren't differentiated by number, nor by how they look. Rather what? He says:

He says that you may have two deeds, two people praying, and it looks from the outside to be the same:

But its reward with Allah is that between like the heavens and the earth. Why? Because... Why? This is the key point to understand. We all know, we all say:

We will all come on the day of judgment with (لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ)inshallah, Allah allows us to die with Islam. He says:

Everyone will have this card, but many of us, many people will enter jahannam because of their sins. Why? Because of a lack of sincerity in this belief in the oneness of Allah. Ramadan is meant to build that in us, brothers and sisters.

Conclusion: Fasting with Faith and Hope

So we ask Allah to make us amongst those who fast this Ramadan:

(مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا) (Sahih al-Bukhari 38, Sahih Muslim 760)

To make us amongst those who fast Ramadan with faith and hope in Allah.

O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad among the first and the last, and among the highest assembly until the Day of Judgment.