allahs protection

Allah's Protection

Opening of Khutbah

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَكَفَى وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَى أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَأَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا

Reference: Quran 29:69

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Reference: Quran 37:180-182

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ

Introduction: This World as a Place of Trial

Allah has created this world, the world that we live in, as a place of trial and tribulation. Having trial and tribulation in one's life is actually the rule, not the exception. Beyond that, Allah has created us as human beings who are unable to carry most or bear most trials and tribulations.

And so the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) in his infinite mercy, has actually taught us some ways by which we can protect ourselves from the difficulties of this world. So the first thing that you should understand is that this world is a place of trial and tribulation. And to avoid that trial and tribulation is the exception, not the rule.

So the fact that most of us are healthy, most of us are happy, most of us have food on our table, that's not the rule, that's the exception. We're lucky, we're fortunate, because that's not the way that most of the world works. Every day, if you look through the statistics of the world and you start counting how many people are involved in some sort of crime, or how many people are murdered, or how many people are diagnosed with a new disease, it's something like every second, there's dozens of people that are afflicted with some new trial or some new tribulation.

The Reality of Trials and Tribulations

Every second, I mean, if you think about it, at least once a week, I see a new child with a leukemia at the hospital. Once a week. That's not rare.

Every week, in the hospital in which I work, we diagnose a new child with leukemia. Now, I mean, my child, that wasn't my child, that wasn't the child of somebody that I know, but we're lucky. We're fortunate.

These are difficulties that Allah has created within this world, because this is a place of musiba. It's a place of trial and it's a place of tribulation. And so what we should realize is that these things can afflict us at any minute.

At any point in time, there can be some difficulty that comes upon us. We can become ill with such an illness that there's no cure. That's easy for Allah.

We can lose our jobs. We can lose the security blanket that we have around us. We can lose our parents.

Now, some of these things are going to occur anyway in life as part of Allah testing us, but there's certain trials and tribulations which people, if they occur, you will never be able to live your life the same. I mean, if you lose your job, you're going to get another job. So, in a way, it's a test from Allah and it's a little bit difficult, but it ends up being made up.

A Personal Story from Medicine

But, for example, in the very first few weeks that I began my residency, one of the things that we have to do in what I do as part of medicine is we analyze tissues from the body. So, any tissue that's removed for any reason comes to us and we analyze it and explain what was going on with it. So, for example, if someone has a cancer, they'll take out that area that has the cancer.

They'll send it to us. We'll tell them what type of cancer it is and give them ideas on how to treat it. So, one day, I'm sitting with six or seven.

They come in buckets. They come in these small little containers. I'm sitting with six or seven buckets, and all of a sudden, I open one of the buckets, and I see in the bucket this much of a child's arm from the hand to about the wrist.

It had to be at least a six- to nine-month-old child, just a small hand. And I look in that bucket, and I'm wondering, what is this hand doing in this bucket? This is amazing. I mean, this isn't a cancer.

This isn't some kind of specimen that needed to be removed from an old person. This is a six-month-old child. And I could see that there were cuts across the hand, and it was sort of like pieces of grass all over it.

So, I picked up the history sheet, and I read the history, and it said that this child's father had driven over his child with a new lawnmower that they had purchased just a few days ago, meaning the father was just lawn mowing. He didn't see the child, and the hand was there, and he went right over his child's hand. Now imagine, if you have children, you know that if that were to ever happen to you, you would never begin to live.

You would never be able to live your life the same. You would never be able to sleep. Every time you close your eyes, that thought would come in your mind. It would just take over you completely. Now, Allah decided that for that particular person, and He didn't decide it for us. There's no difference between us and that person.

That could have been a Muslim. This happens in Muslim countries as well. The only thing is that Allah decided to test one person in that way, and He decides not to test us in that particular way.

At any minute, anything like that can happen. You can be diagnosed with a terminal disease. Who's to say? So, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) actually taught us that we should recognize the fact that Allah has the power to afflict us with trial and tribulation at any time.

Recognizing Our Weakness and Seeking Protection

That's the first thing. The second thing we should recognize is that we're human beings, and we don't have the ability to bear those trials and tribulations. So, we should ask Allah to protect us.

There's du'as in the Qur'an in which we ask Allah to not bear upon us those difficulties because we're not able to carry them. So, one of the things that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) taught us, and this is the point that I'm trying to get to, is that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) told us that after Fajr prayer and after Maghrib prayer, we should make the following du'a three times.

The Protective Du'a

Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 5088; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3388

This is a du'a that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) told us to make three times after Fajr and three times after Maghrib prayer. It's a means by which we protect ourselves from the afflictions which Allah befalls upon humanity.

So, everybody should memorize this du'a. It's from Sahih Hadith, there's no discussion or debate about the du'a, and it's definitely a sunnah to recite it after Fajr prayer and after Maghrib prayer.

Translation and Meaning of the Du'a

Translation: "In the Name of Allah, with Whose Name nothing in the earth nor in the skies can cause harm, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing."

So, (بِسْمِ اللهِ الَّذِي لَا يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ - bismillahi alladhi la yadurru ma'a ismihi shai'un fil ardi wa la fis-sama'i) - there is no harm when someone takes His name. Nothing in the earth and nothing in the skies. (وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ - wa huwas-sami'ul-'alim) - and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.

So, (بِسْمِ اللهِ الَّذِي لَا يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ - bismillahi alladhi la yadurru ma'a ismihi shai'un fil ardi wa la fis-sama'i wa huwas-sami'ul-'alim), this is the perfect way in which we can seek protection from those difficulties that are existing in the universe.

Types of Difficulties We Seek Protection From

Now, sometimes those difficulties are something that Allah decides to send upon people, and other times it's the evil that people plot among themselves. I mean, how many thieves are there that are thinking about which car to steal right now? How many thieves are there that are thinking which house they should break in? How many psychopaths are there looking for someone to murder? It could be us, you never know. And so, this is the way by which we protect ourselves from the difficulties and the trials and tribulations of this world.

And everybody should memorize this du'a.

Now, included in this du'a is not only those trials and tribulations of people, meaning the negative trials and tribulations, and not only the trials and tribulations of human beings, but also the trials and tribulations that Shaytan intends to afflict upon those people who follow Allah. Now, in the end, there are many types of trials and tribulations.

One of them is you may lose your job, or you may lose your house, or someone may steal your car. Those are difficulties, and we tend to see them as difficulties, but the reality is those pass. But there's one trial and tribulation for which there is no answer, and that is a disconnection from Allah.

The Worst Affliction: Disconnection from Allah

That's the worst thing that can happen to us. And so, that's the special thing that we should make du'a for.

Because, in the end, even if you get a terminal illness, you're going to die.

But you'll end up in Jannah. What difference did it make? You just died 20 years earlier. It looks like a big deal when you're in this earth, but when you go into Jannah in the end, you'll be happy that you were here 20 years less.

It makes no difference to you. People will cry for a few days, and they'll move on with their life. But if you get disconnected from Allah, then the effect is Jahannam, and there's no cure for that.

It's the one affliction for which there is never a cure. And so, in this du'a, when you make this du'a, you should think about the things that you're seeking protection for. So, one is the protection against the difficulties of this world.

And another is a protection against all the evil that exists within this world. And a third is a protection from that enemy who is so open that he swears by Allah's Izzah, by Allah's grandeur, that he will misguide people and take them away from the path of Jannah. So, that's the worst affliction that can befall us.

How to Practice This Du'a

So, when we make this du'a, three times after Fajr and three times after Maghrib, it should be a daily inculcated habit within us. And we should think about the things that we're protecting ourselves against, and we should envision our families within our minds. We should think, I'm making this du'a for myself, I'm making this du'a for my family, I'm making this du'a for my community.

So, Bismillahilladhi layaburru ma'a ismihi, shay'un fil ardi, wala fissama'i, wahuwassami' wal-'alim. And if you don't have it, you can pick up any of the common books of du'a, and it's in there, it's one of the most commonly taught du'as, and it's one of the most protective of the du'as which the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) taught us. So, take advantage of the things that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) gave us.

Our True Insurance Policy

Now, in this day and age, when we have something valuable, we try not to, but our society goes out and purchases insurance, right? So, for their life, they purchase insurance. For their car, because it has value, they purchase insurance. For their house, they purchase insurance.

So, there's all these things that people like to purchase insurance for in order to preserve the valuable things of their life. Well, this is our insurance policy as well, right? This is the real insurance. It's seeking help from Allah to protect us from those difficulties.

That's the best type of insurance. And so, we should use these policies, these insurance policies that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) gave us, because they contain an immense power, and they can provide an incredible amount of benefit. So, don't forsake that which the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) gave for that which people have created, because you'll never find cure in it.

What the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) gave is what Allah taught the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). And what Allah taught is what's best for His creation, because He created them, He knows. He's the most wise. So, Bismillahilladhi layaburru ma'a ismihi, shay'un fil ardi, wa laafis sama'i, wa huwa al-sami'i wa al-'alim.

Three times after Fajr, and three times after Maghrib, every single day.

Purpose of the Gathering

So, for those who haven't been here before, the real purpose of the gathering is not the talk, but basically the fact that we get a chance to recite some of the ayat of Allah, and some of the famous athkar from Hadith. So, everything is silent.

There are sheets here. I'll just pass them out if you need them. So, you'll see that every other line is salawat, and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) recited it to yourself.

The Command to Send Salawat on the Prophet

And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) told us in several... First of all, the Qur'an commands us. Allah commands us by saying:

So, we're commanded in the Qur'an to actually send salawat on the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). So every other line is salawat on the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallá-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). Recite whichever one you're most comfortable with, and then you'll find that the even lines are actually ayat from the Holy Qur'an, or famous athkar from the Hadith.

So, everything is silent, and it's basically a chance for you to recite these and reflect yourself on the greatness and the grandeur of Allah.

Closing

Salawat.