The Cry From the Masjid (SL 2013)

The Cry From the Masjid - Sri Lanka 2013

Opening

"I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan"

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"

Quranic Recitation

"O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment. But the clothing of taqwa - that is best. That is from the signs of Allah that they might remember."

"O children of Adam, let not Satan tempt you as he removed your parents from Jannah, stripping them of their clothing to show them their private parts. Indeed, he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you do not see them. Indeed, We have made the devils allies for those who do not believe."

"And when they commit an immorality, they say, 'We found our fathers doing it, and Allah has ordered us to do it.' Say, 'Indeed, Allah does not order immorality. Do you say about Allah that which you do not know?'"

"Say, 'My Lord has ordered justice. And establish your faces toward Him at every masjid and invoke Him, sincere to Him in religion. As He began you, you will return [to life].'"

"A group He has guided, and a group deserved to be in error. Indeed, they have taken the devils as allies instead of Allah while they think that they are guided."

"O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess."

Reference: Quran 7:26-31

Salutations

We send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) His entire household, all his companions. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bless them all. And to bless every single one of us.

Opening Remarks

My brothers and sisters, I see and I notice the face of the youth. Which is really really a very positive feeling. It is something that is extremely good.

Something that really gives us hope of the revival of the ummah. And at the same time, it is something that brings about a lot of goodness within community and society. I must mention as I start the first evening lecture during my few days that I will be here in the city of Colombo in Sri Lanka.

That as I disembarked and as I left the airport, I noticed great development in this country. Infrastructural change of a positive nature. For this, you need to thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And you need to thank the government of this particular country that they have really engaged in so much. I noticed it took me just about 15 minutes to get across from the airport to come into the city. Whereas last year it took me 1 hour and 15 minutes.

So that 1 hour by the will of Allah, some of you might complain that the CD that we have in our car, we are no longer able to listen to the entire lecture. But believe me, what really is of essence is that the journey has been made easy. Sometimes we take for granted this type of development.

But having traveled to many countries, let me tell you, you are fortunate. You thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. May Allah grant us strength in the same way that we have a highway that comes from the airport all the way into the city without any traffic lights.

We zoom across so easily. We need to think about how good we feel when we can actually dart from one end to the other without any obstacle. What about darting into jannah in the same way? What about going through the highway without any obstacles, with no traffic lights into paradise? May Allah grant that to us as well.

In the same way that a huge effort, dedication and money was required to bring about that highway, effort, dedication and wealth will be required to build your entry into paradise similarly. Something extremely important. When we use these facilities, we don't for a moment think that they will help us the few times that we use that road.

Perhaps we will go down in history as being a generation that contributed to our country the most, maybe. But what about going down as a person who entered the akhira, a person who entered paradise by reaching out to people, by being the best of people, by trying to obey the instructions of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as best as possible, by being people who were always found in the masjid. What is the masjid? Amazing.

That's our topic this evening. The cry from the masjid. It's a topic I was given to speak about.

Amazing. So I chose to start with the cry of the highway. Because mashallah, as we move on that highway, think for a moment how lovely we feel.

The Highway to Paradise Analogy

I felt so good. I was actually shocked. For a moment I thought I was in a first world country.

To my left and right were beautiful green gardens. Amazing. Even better than some first world countries.

The weather has been immaculate and excellent this time by the will of Allah. We thank Allah for this. But as I was crossing, I told myself, Ya Allah, grant us entry into paradise in a similar way.

Then I remembered that entry into paradise also requires a great effort. What is that effort? Make your way to the houses of Allah. Find your way to the place where you will prostrate.

The term masjid is derived from the word or the root, sajada, which means to prostrate. Sa-ja-da, to prostrate. The place of prostrating is known as the masjid.

How many of us prostrate five times a day for our maker, then we expect to enter paradise with ease. A great effort is required. No one is asking you to lift concrete blocks in order to get that highway prepared.

No. But what is being asked of you is to lift your blanket off your bed in order to get the highway prepared by the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You know those of us in Sri Lanka, because of the laws of this country, many people have updated motor vehicles.

You are not allowed to import a vehicle older than X amount of years. Beautiful law. Because the country is updated, everyone has nice motor vehicles.

And when you jump into your new car, mashallah, whether it is an Alphard or a Valfire, whatever else it is, mashallah, you know what happens? You feel so nice because of the smooth ride, you are happy, but you don't know that was an expensive car. You worked so hard to earn the money. And at the same time, you bought it, you want good roads.

What did you do to contribute towards those good roads? Some of us have done very little, or should I say, we can do more. But we get so excited when we have a lovely road. One of the things that came to my mind was, mashallah, those with the Jaguars now will really enjoy the ride, because look at how beautiful it is.

Allahu akbar. I don't know about the speeding fines and traps and all that, but it's all part of the laws. However, how excited we get for a beautiful ride.

We will fulfill the laws and get to our place. The same applies with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You want to enjoy a beautiful ride to paradise? Well, you just got to fulfill the laws.

Do not go above the speed limits. Make sure you are not stopped or blocked by some obstacle. May Allah protect us from spiritual punctures.

Sometimes when we deviate, you know, a person wants to talk on their mobile phone whilst they are driving. And believe me, that is so dangerous and detrimental that even from a religious point of view, it is frowned upon very strongly. You are putting the lives of others in danger.

Even if you think you are multitasked. Believe me, the women who are multitasked perhaps, will tell you, don't do that. Allahu akbar. They will tell you, don't do that. What about us? So if we are to talk on the mobile phone, not only will we be fined, but we are putting lives at risk including our own. We will tell you, adopt the law.

Adopt the law of the land. Do not do that. What about with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Why is it that we want to get to a destination, but we are not yet in the masjid? We have not yet got to the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

We have not yet read our salah. So, to start off this message, I want to invite you to the most beautiful pillar of Islam after the shahada. And that is to fulfill and establish your five daily prayers.

The Importance of Five Daily Prayers

How can I call myself a Muslim when I have not yet established my five daily prayers? And if you notice, the establishment of your five daily prayers will come upon levels. There will be a stage when you have to force yourself to do it. You have to.

My brothers and sisters, we love each other for the sake of Allah. We want to go to paradise. We do not want to see each other heading in the wrong direction.

Imagine the day in a few years when your entire city and country is linked with beautiful highways. What will happen is, if you miss one turn, you will have to go perhaps another 10 to 20 kilometers before you can get another turn. You will have wasted fuel.

You will have wasted a lot of time. And perhaps you might not get to your destination on your particular appointed time. What happens to us is, in our journey to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, we sometimes miss the turn.

We sometimes go further in transgression of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. By the time we come back, we have already lost a bit. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us.

An effort is required. We want to see each other in paradise. Without making an effort, nothing good just comes about.

Take a look at the infrastructural development. Wallahi, it might take you 4 years to build a building. A tall building, a skyscraper in the center of the city.

But after those 4 years, you are smiling all the way. The stress, the amount of money spent, the sleepless nights for how many years? For 4 years. After that, you can rest.

Because your building is built. But that rest also, it is conditional to the type of building you have built. If your structure was not good, you will always be worried of the building dropping.

May Allah protect us. It is prohibited for us as Muslims to go against the laws of town planning. Because if we put up a structure that is dangerous for those who will live in it, then we are guilty of culpable homicide the day that that building comes down and loss of life happens.

May Allah protect us. So this is why as Muslims, we need to be good citizens of our own land. And how will we be good citizens of our land when we are not even good to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's laws.

So this is why the most disciplined of people are supposed to be the Muslims. They get up early morning, not because they've got to go to work, but they have to prepare for that palace of theirs which is going

to come after death. Just today I tweeted something very interesting.

Life, Death, and Preparation

We heard of the death of Nelson Mandela. And it is natural that a man who has struggled to fight tyranny, to fight racism, to fight oppression and so on, who became an icon globally of the fight against apartheid and racism and so on, he is a man that will definitely be missed. He has left a legacy we learn from.

And amazingly we all say condolences to his family. And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bless us. The day we die, we learn a lesson from such a death.

Because what I said today is something strange. It came to me at Jumu'ah whilst I was speaking. And I'm sure some of you might have heard it.

Life is not guaranteed for anyone, not at all. No one here can guarantee that he or she is going to get up and walk out alive. Not one person.

But at the same time, death is totally guaranteed. If I were to ask you how many of us are going to die one day, we will all have to put up our hands. Every one of us.

Yet we prepare for life much more than our preparation for death and post-death. It's a sickness. Allahu Akbar.

We become sad at the loss of life, don't we? When life is lost, we become sad. We should be saddened, loss of life. If it is a Muslim, we are sad.

If it is a non-Muslim, we are sad because they have not seen the light. So, as we become sad upon the loss of life, we should be even sadder, more deeply saddened at the loss of the afterlife. If a person has lost his life, but they have not lost the afterlife, they are still prone to gain.

They will be gaining. They will be smiling one day forever and ever. But if a person has lost this life and the afterlife, then it is called (خَسِرَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةَ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِينُ)

Reference: Quran 22:11

He has lost the dunya and the akhira. That is indeed a manifest loss. Very clear cut مُبِينٌstraightforward.

You have lost both this world and the life after death. So, how many of us have whatever we want in this world? Not a single one.

So, when are we going to get whatever we want? Well, some, may Allah protect us, may never ever get everything they want, because they would have lost the dunya, and they would have lost the akhira.

But we as mu'mineen and believers, we definitely do know that with us, even though we might have lost

a little bit in the dunya, we might not get exactly what we want, we might not be, for example, able to marry precisely who we want, sometimes it is not possible. We might not be able to have as much wealth as we want, perhaps the health we have is not as we would like it. But Allah says, don't worry, a time will come when I will give you whatever you want.

What is the condition? Just ensure that you have fulfilled the instruction of mine as you lived in this world. Now one might wonder, what is the instruction of Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala? We have spent a lifetime studying the instruction of Allah, and we will continue studying it. It is something that is not difficult at all to fulfill.

In fact, it has in it the blessings in this world, as well as in the life after death. Say for example, a person who gets up for prayers early morning, he has already disciplined himself. The non-Muslim will tell you, early to bed, early to rise, will make you healthy, wealthy and wise.

Have you heard that? I can add to that if you want. But let's leave it at that for now. Early to bed, early to rise, will make you healthy, wealthy and wise.

We will tell you, as Muslimin, we were taught this a long time ago, Allah forces us to get up early. There you are. So stage number one, you will force yourself because it is the law of Allah.

Stage number two, you start enjoying it because you love Allah. Amazing. You start enjoying it, my brothers and sisters, because you love Allah.

I see the youngsters seated in front of me. My brothers, my sisters, remember one thing. If you start fulfilling your salah because you love Allah and do it as a pleasure, that's the day you will feel the inner joy and the link with your own Maker.

When you know deep down that my Maker will not let me down, when I get to the life after death, I definitely do know there is something awaiting me that will result in everlasting bliss, that will result in smiles, that will result in me getting whatever I desire.

In it, meaning in jannah, whatever your soul desires, whatever is tasty to your eyes, and you will be in there forever, dwelling therein forever and ever. I'm sure we've heard this verse many a time in the past.

But do we work towards it? That's the question. May Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala bless us, may He strengthen us. We have the houses of Allah.

Starting with the Faradh

It is not befitting for us to even start speaking about the house of Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala when we are not even fulfilling our five daily prayers, when we are not even fulfilling our own salah. I've always told the youth and the youngsters, listen my son, do me a favor, do yourself a favor. What is the favor? Fulfill at least your faradh.

That's the minimum. We are not saying that that is your duty, fulfill your faradh and walk out, but that is the starting point. It is a starting point.

Some people are lazy, they say, you know the salatul isha' is going to take me so long. I'm going to have to read the sunnah and the faradh and the sunnah and the witr and so on. And so they say, well I'm not going to read it, just leave it, it's okay because I'm weak, I'm weak.

The reality is, those are the clutches of the devil. Imagine a man is telling you, this is just an example that came to me now. A man is telling you, I will give you five thousand dollars.

And you say, no. I don't have any place to carry that money. So just leave all of it.

If you have space for two thousand dollars, take two at least. And you know, it reminds me of the man who was dreaming. And in his dream, someone was offering him something, some money.

So, it was the other way around, where the man is saying, okay, you know what, I'm going to give you a hundred dollars. He says, no, I want a thousand. He says, no, no, no, no.

I'm only giving you a hundred. So this man who was sleeping, he says, no, I want a thousand. So the other man is arguing, he says, no, I'm only giving you a hundred.

In the meantime, something happened and this man woke up. When he woke up from his sleep, he realized there is no hundred, and there is no thousand. So he quickly closed his eyes, he says, okay, just give me the hundred, let's get it sorted out.

Give me the hundred, let's get it sorted out. Allahu Akbar. But the point I was raising was that, as much as you can fill in your pocket, fill it, take it, because you are unable to carry a large amount maybe, but at least you will be able to carry something.

What happens with us, when we look at the salah and we think, now I have to make wudu, now I have to go, now I will have to spend so many minutes, what will happen? Amazingly, we start thinking, for example, wrongly that, let me just leave it all together, I'll just make tawbah a little bit later on, I will repent to Allah. It does not work that way.

Reference: Sunan at-Tirmidhi Hadith 2621

Do you know that the hadith of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ such a big warning.

A warning of the exit from the fold of Islam, of a person who intentionally abandons salah. This is why, a few weeks ago one of my colleagues was asking me, that you know when we get each other up in the morning, and we should be very careful how we word it. Because if you are waking someone up, say for example, wife is getting up husband, or the other way around.

And say for example, the wife is saying, listen my hubby, are you getting up for salah? If he says, no I'm not. Do you know what he is saying? He is saying, I'm not going to fulfill the pillar that makes me a Muslim. So, I'm just leaving it.

And it only took you two minutes to do it. It took you five minutes. So, don't say, are you getting up for salah? Say, get up.

Just say, get up. Because the minute you say, are you getting up for salah? If the answer is no, believe me, it is such a dangerous statement, I don't even feel like uttering how serious it is. A person saying no, it's like telling Allah, you know what, I don't want.

And you walk away. How can you do that? So, we ask Allah to strengthen us. We need to think of these deep statements as well.

Getting someone up, get them up. Are you getting up? Think to yourself, I'm alive, I'm breathing, I've got eyes, I've got so many things, and you know, mashallah, Allah has blessed me so much. Let me get up for the sake of my maker, start my day with two rakat of salah.

So, you start with the faradh. Then you come across a hadith of the Prophet s.a.w. where he says,

Reference: Sahih Muslim Hadith 725

In Sahih Muslim, the Prophet s.a.w. has explained this hadith, subhanallah, where he says, the two units that are read for salatul fajr, which is the sunnah of fajr, not talking of the faradh. The faradh is already compulsory, it has its own reward.

But the two sunnah, the two units that we are reading pre-faradh, the hadith says, they are better than the entire world and whatever it contains. Imagine. So, get up a little bit earlier.

Amazing. Those two units. And this is why when we get to the house of Allah, we should get there a little bit early, so that we can read them beautifully.

Some of us get there late. And then we want to rush through those two units as though Allah is going to be benefiting from what we are doing. It is us who are benefiting, not Allah.

I cannot rush through my salah in a way that I pretend that I'm doing a service to Allah. No. I'm actually benefiting myself.

I'm serving Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala. But He does not need that act of worship. It is me who needs it.

So remember, start off with your faradh. My brothers, my sisters, extremely important. That salah, when we get up early morning, not only will we feel good, but we have already been awakened at that beautiful time.

You can go to work on time. You will not be late. Why? You're a Muslim.

When a Muslim says, I will be there at 8 o'clock, believe me, by the will of Allah, 5 to 8, they are there. This is why I always say, in most cases, those who arrive late for their appointments, have something wrong with the fulfillment of their salah on time. Always.

There might be obviously some exceptions to that, because people who arrive late due to reasons beyond their control. But if a person is always late for his appointments, what will that indicate? It will indicate that they are not on time for their appointment with Allah 5 times a day. But a Muslim should be so disciplined that when the adhan goes off already, they are preparing to walk towards the masjid.

Friday Prayer Competition

Imagine. On a Friday, did you know that there is a competition that takes place? A beautiful competition that takes place. Do you know what? Those who come first to the masjid, their names are recorded.

This one was first. This one was second. This one was third.

The angels are standing at the door of the masjid recording the names of those who came first. Second. One uncle comes 10 o'clock in the morning.

His name is written. Every Friday this man is first. This one is second.

That one is third. When the imam gets up in order to deliver the sermon, those books are closed and even the angels come in to listen to what is being said. It's a hadith of Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 929 and Sahih Muslim Hadith 850

How many of us want to win that race even once in our lives? Once in our lives. A lot of us seated here, mashallah, we've been reading salah for years, alhamdulillah. Jumu'ah, we've all been there.

Today, mashallah, we had a beautiful crowd, Salatul Jumu'ah. But the winner is he who came first. Only Allah knows who that was.

And then second and third and fourth and so on. So much so that another hadith says, whoever is there in the first hour, they are as good as he who has sacrificed a major animal for the sake of Allahsubhanahu

wa ta'ala. Who comes in the second hour, meaning in the second time, is as though they have sacrificed a smaller animal and so on and so on.

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 881 and Sahih Muslim Hadith 850

May Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala make us from the winners at least a few times in our lives. Something very interesting. The house of Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala, the masjid.

The Relationship with Allah's House

Imagine myself, if I were to come to your house, I would need to know you at least. I would need to know you a little bit before I just come to your house. I wouldn't like to barge in to anyone's home.

No. I might not be welcome there. Subhanallah.

May Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala grant us goodness. If I am close to you, you'll find me at your home. If I am not close to you, if I have a problem with you, you'll find me never coming to your home.

How many of us have a problem with Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala? Why then do we never go to his house? When I say never, I mean, Jum'ah we are there because we heard someone say that if you're not there for Jum'ah, you exit the fold of Islam. So we go there by hook or crook. But we're talking about that which you feel, I want to go to the house of Allah.

Why? Do we have a problem with Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala? If you see one man in another man's house every day, and the two of them are sitting and having meals together, and the two of them are really enjoying the company of each other every day, it means they are so close, they have a beautiful relationship. Tomorrow, if one of them says, brother, I need your help urgently, I'm stuck.

The other one will say, okay, leave everything, I'm canceling my trip overseas.

I'm coming to deal with whatever the problem is. Why? Because you are very close. One man will cancel his trip overseas because of the sickness of another man's child, if they are very, very close.

They can do that. So you see the one man in the other man's house, and they are sitting and eating together every day, it is indicative of their closeness. What about us? The house of Allah, we are not there on a daily basis.

We find ourselves, the relation with Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala is not as it should be. Do you know why? Because we have the devil, who beautifies for us that which is around us in a way that we begin to think this is the main aim of life. So the main aim of life in a lot of cases becomes the materialistic items.

I want to marry the king's daughter, and I want to be able to buy that particular vehicle, and I want to live in that type of a house, and I'm going to buy that particular property in the city center, and I want to earn a figure, a salary with 12 digits for example.

Subhanallah, that's your aim in life. So mashallah, you ended up marrying the king's daughter, alhamdulillah, you ended up getting that car, you got those phones, you got that salary, you built that house, you built that building, whatever else, now what? Now what happened? Now you're old.

So, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us goodness. Allahu Akbar. May Allah bless us.

You have not yet started, you have not yet started getting into building for the investment of the akhira, because salah is not in place, zakah is not in place, truthfulness is not in place, you know, protecting from sin is not in place, those are the things that will earn us paradise. We worship our maker alone. That's what we declare, that's what we say, but do we act upon it? This is why, remember it's important to learn things connected to the dunya, to this world, very important.

You may have the luxuries and the facilities, but don't make that your main aim. You need to learn survival of the akhira. Let me give you an example that I think I've given before.

The Parable of the Professors and the Boatman

There were these professors who were crossing the river in a boat with an old man who was the sailor. He was rowing away as they're sitting there, and one says, I'm a professor of biology, and the other one says, I'm a professor of geology, and the other one says, I'm a professor of thisology, and the other one says, I'm a professor of hematology, and the other one says, whatever else, and they all look at this man and says, what are you the professor of? He says, I didn't go to school. They say, you have wasted your life.

Did you hear what they said? You have wasted your life. All he's doing is he's busy rowing. He's rowing the boat, and they're all crossing the river.

They're all professors in theologies. So now, suddenly the waves come. When the waves come, what happens? The old man who's rowing, he looks at all these professors and he says, have you learned swimology? Do any one of you know how to swim? And they said, no.

He says, well, you have wasted your life. He says, I am a swimologist, and I know divology. So I will dive into the poolology.

Allahu Akbar. The moral of that is, I won't end it, you can end it how you want. You can either make them drown, or you can make them have survived somehow.

But the moral of it is, look at the focus. That is how we operate in this world. We know every ology.

But we don't know that Quranology. And you can call it Salahology. Whatever you want to call it, call it.

But do we pray? Do we know, do we have the link with Allah? When the true waves come of death, will we be from amongst those who have survival kits, so that we can live happily ever after? Or will we be

from amongst those who will have to say, I don't know. I had everything. I was a professor in every ology there was.

But today, I don't even know, I don't even have a link with my maker whom I'm going to return to. Something very important for us to think. You know, we are sound intellects.

This country, mashaAllah, beautiful. We speak English, we understand. We have read and written.

We have top schools, whether it's in Thomas or any other school. I see the smiles. I just overheard that name today.

SubhanAllah. So, it's important for us to know that we have everything laid down. Every time we go to school, we pass the Walawatta Masjid and Nimal Road Masjid and what else? Masjid, mashaAllah.

Everything we pass. And we look at it and alhamdulillah, Kol Patti Masjid. Every time we pass it, we see, mashaAllah, they're going to extend this, they're going to expand it, they're going to make it big, alhamdulillah.

We hear that. We say, did you see the new masjid? We are putting up this, that, mashaAllah. But we used to carry on going to university and come back, go to school and come back.

What was the link with the masjid? Only the word, mashaAllah, if we are lucky. Someone comes from abroad and we take them around. We say, you see, this is a masjid.

Okay, we know. How often have you gone there, my brother? How often have you put your head down on the ground for Allah?

That is the link. These houses will bear witness for us or against us on the day of Qiyamah.

You came here or you didn't. You put your head on the ground. That piece of ground will bear witness forever and ever.

So and so and so and so. And so and so have put their heads on this ground, I bear witness, for the sake of you, oh Allah. Are we ready? For the ground to bear witness that we have prostrated on it for the sake of our Maker five times a day.

It is not difficult. Come on, strengthen yourself. You will find, you know, I went to one country.

The Airport Prayer Room Experience

I won't say which country because I don't want to say anything negative about any country. But it's a positive statement I'm about to say. I went to one country and I entered this lounge.

You know, sometimes you have access to a little lounge just before you fly. And what happened, I noticed someone from a distance who was not dressed appropriately. And suddenly I went into this little business

center where they had a computer and so on.

And I was busy with my work. A little while later, I came out and I was walking to the musalla. Musalla meaning the place of salah.

As good as a masjid, so to speak, a place of making sajdah. So, as I was walking out, I noticed the same person covered from head to toe. They had just gone in for salah and they were walking out.

That's what I noticed. And in my mind I said, subhanallah, this sister, I wouldn't even have known that she was a Muslim. But she has gone in to fulfill her salah.

The only way I know is she came out with something from top to bottom. Later on I saw her again. She was back to her original dress.

She had a little handbag. Perhaps she folded up something in her in her handbag and put it in. Whatever she had to cover herself with.

And I told myself, there are people who are dressed as proper Muslim who do not read salat regularly. They will be too embarrassed. And here there are people whom we might look at and we will not even think they are Muslim, but they are fulfilling their salah.

Both of us have something to correct. But the one who is the bigger hypocrite is the one who is dressed correctly and does not bother to have the link with Allah regarding salah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us from hypocrisy.

Later on, one brother met me at that same lounge. And he told me, do you know the sister here is a very very big celebrity. And I was shocked.

I said, amazing. Look the celebrities who are Muslim fulfill their salah. They know they have to answer to Allah.

They know their answering is not to me and you. But with us, we forget for a moment and we think, look at these people. Are they even proper Muslims? But my brother, you will be shocked.

Those whom you think are a big deal in the world, some of them fulfill their salah more regularly than you and I. May Allah make us strong. Really, because when you start off with salah and you link with Allah through salah, it will automatically protect you from a lot of immorality and evil. A lot of it.

And sometimes people say, but I've been reading salah for many years. Why is it that I still feel the inclination towards adultery or pornography and so on? That is because there is something wrong with your salah. Perhaps you are just paying lip service to it.

Understanding the Salah We Perform

One of the main cries of the masjid, of masjid here meaning the place of prostration is, my brothers and sisters, we have not yet understood the salah that we have been fulfilling for years on end. We have not made an effort to understand the meaning of sami'allahu liman hamida. Rabbana wala kal hamd.

I don't even know what it means. And when we don't know what it means, how can we achieve the sweetness of it? We are reading salah. Allahu akbar.

May Allah protect us. We don't know anything. We have no clue.

Let me give you another example. This I was told by one of the mashayikh. He says, there was a man who was fulfilling salah.

And he was an irregular, but he made his tawbah and he came to the masjid. So he arrived at salatul fajr. And I hope my brothers and sisters, that not a single one of us misses salatul fajr tomorrow morning.

Is that a promise? By the will of Allah. You know insha'Allah means two, three things. I'm sure you're aware.

If you say insha'Allah, then you say, are you coming to my house? I say insha'Allah. Then when they don't come, you say, did I say yes? I just said insha'Allah. You got to say, yes insha'Allah.

So are we ready tomorrow morning fajr? And the other four salats as well. Masha'Allah. Not just fajr.

So this man walks in for salatul fajr. And he's standing. And the imam starts reading surah al-baqarah.

Okay. He reads surah al-baqarah. And it's a nice long surah.

You know surah al-baqarah is very long. So this man is standing, and he's thinking, hey, this imam is reading long. Now, one of the cries of the masjid, my beloved imams who lead the salah, do not over lengthen your salah.

Stick to that which is sunnah. And understand it. And realize, that when you lengthen your salah, sometimes you are discouraging the weak ones behind you from coming for the next salah.

So if you are standing and reading beautifully, and the microphone is good, and masha'Allah everything is beautiful and nice, and the weather is beautiful, and you are just prolonging, prolonging, there are some of those surah al-baqarah people at the back. You know. So you need to remember they are still a bit weak.

You know. So that is one of the cries of the masjid is, you know, calm down, cool it a little bit. Maybe you rather read a bit shorter so they come back.

And we don't want to read quick, in a way that we are insulting Allah. You know taraweeh time in the house of Allah, many of the imams, they read like a concord. That's why they have stopped the concord now.

Do you know that? Concord is blocked, banned, finished. No more. All of them that are still there, they are just in museums.

Because it's too fast. We have concord salah. Alhamdulillah.

What is that? What is that? You are insulting Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Rather read short and clear, than to read long and unclear, and insult to Allah. Who said you have to finish the Quran? To finish the Quran is a sunnah which is very great, but not at the expense of speed, never ever.

Remember that. And this I'm addressing us as imams, who lead in the masjid. People say, I went and I listened to the whole Quran.

That man used to finish taraweeh in 10 minutes. What did you hear? You just heard the humming of a bee, that's all. Like a sound of mosquito.

Coming to your ear. And that's all you knew. May Allah protect us.

The Story of Surah al-Baqarah and Surah al-Fil

So this man came in for salah, and he's reading this surah al-baqarah is being read. And at the end of the salah, he looked at the man next to him, nudged him. He says, hey, this imam read very long.

Which surah did he read? So he says, it is called surah al-baqarah, which means the cow, and it is the longest surah in the Quran. So he said, okay, now I must ask, before I start my salah, which surah is being read? So al-baqarah was very very long. So now he came for salah al-maghrib, the poor fellow.

And he started, allahu akbar. So imam finished, walad dhalin, and he starts,

So this man nudges the other one and says, you know what, before you start, what surah is this? He says, this is the elephant, alfeel. So that man says, if baqarah was so long, I'm sure feel must be even longer, let me go away.

My brothers and sisters, remember, this is the attitude and mentality of some of the public. Because they are weak. So he says, no, this is one of the shortest surahs in the Quran.

The reason I'm saying this, many reasons, there are many benefits for all of us. But one of them is, we have not yet made an effort to know the surahs and their meanings. That is why we do not achieve the

sweetness within the salah.

I have had occasions where I have led personally some long salawat of salah al-fajr. And some people have come to me and told me, Sheikh, you should have read even longer, the meaning was so powerful. Subhanallah, that is the type of statement we need.

But we don't know the meaning, we're not bothered. Like I always say, we've studied so many books, in order to achieve all those ology degrees we spoke about moments ago. But we haven't studied the one book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Nor have we studied the sunnah of Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ). It requires an effort, it requires dedication, it requires time of work, it requires a lot. You have no guarantee that you will live to old age when you can do that.

So let's do it as soon as we can. So one of the cries of the masjid is, let us start learning the meanings of the salah that we fulfill. Let us learn the size of the salah.

The Excellence of Prostration

Another cry of the masjid, when we go down in prostration, don't do it as though we are chickens trying to peck on little pieces of grain from the ground. No, do it as an act of worship of the highest degree, the prostration to your maker.

(Sahih Muslim Hadith 482)

The closest a slave can be to his maker, to Allah, is when he is in sujood, in prostration.

So you are the closest to Allah when your head is on the ground. So take your time. That is one of the cries of the house of Allah, or the cries of the place of sajda, that we are there for a very short time.

Lengthen it a little bit. Learn some of the other duas that you should be reading in prostration. Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) used to say,

And I'm sure we know his praising of Allah, glorification of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, who is my Rabb, my maker, my creator, my cherisher, my sustainer, the one in control of every aspect of my life, the most high.

One of the statements. The other one is,

(Sunan at-Tirmidhi Hadith 3421)

My head or my face has prostrated on the ground for the one who has made it. That's what you are saying.

My head is prostrated on the ground for the one who made it. The one who gave it its form. Meaning the identity you have.

Everyone has a unique identity. The one who gave it its form. I'm putting my head on the ground for he who gave me my identity.

And the one who caused a little hole within what is known as the ear. Such a perfect hole that when it was opened I could hear. And the one who slit the most perfect slit at my eye in a way that when it opened I could see.

Who gave you your eyes and your ears? Today we are listening, mashallah. Beautiful. We can all hear loud and clear.

Why? Allah gave you ears. So we owe Allah the prostration. Oh Allah, I'm putting my head on the ground because you gave me ears, you gave me eyes, you gave me my identity, you gave me everything else.

That's why I'm on the ground. And this is how you develop your link with your maker. How can you let the time of salah go by when the mu'adhin says,

Beautiful.

And we say, hey, didn't that just sound like Makkah? It's not about the sound. Nor is it about the tune. It is about the message.

Come to success. So when we die we will be told, but you in your life have heard the call to success 21,000 times. Why did you only respond to it 200 times? We made sure that that statement (حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ) is repeated twice in the call for prayer, and two times in the preparation of, or should I say once or twice in the preparation of the saf in the masjid.

Yet we are still found elsewhere. How can that be? Who does not want success? Every one of us wants success. I want to be a successful businessman, successful in my family, successful in this and in that.

A few hours ago one of the brothers was saying, make dua for me, I need success in polygamy. And I'm thinking to myself, my brother, powerful dua, very powerful dua. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us success in achieving the best of the akhira.

Really we need to focus on this. We all want success in every aspect. However, the ingredients or the formula to achieve that success, we are not ready to follow it.

Someone wants success for example in polygamy, but all he wants to do is to make halal his little girlfriend he's had for many years. May Allah protect us. Look, the doors of tawbah are open.

That's a topic on its own. Today we are talking about the cries from the masjid. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us goodness.

That call from the masjid, it is also a cry. Come to success, come to success. We are far away from success.

Who wants real success? Find yourself in the house of Allah. Find yourself prostrating for Allah, not just one day. I have had cases where people say, Sheikh, I've been reading salah now, it's been a week and I haven't yet seen good results.

One week Allah gave you life, my brother, you are 30 years old. So for 30 years you were not reading salah. One week you started reading, you expect to start seeing big change.

You know when you plant a seed, some of the trees, like some of the mango, some of them, and even some of the papaya, some of the different, you know, trees. When you plant it, it doesn't just grow the next day. It's not like a jack and the beanstalk story.

No. You plant the bean now, tomorrow morning it's up to seven heavens. It doesn't work like that.

Firstly you soften the land. You plant the seed, you need to know how to plant it. You put water, you have fertilizer, you look after it.

When it is young, it is more easily broken than when it grows strong. So when you've just repented to Allah, and you've started reading your salah, you will become more prone to the clutches and the whispers of the devil, who will tell you, no, come on, leave it, it's okay, you're achieving nothing. That's the devil, your plant is still small.

You are allowing an elephant to trample over it, your tree is gone. But you need to nurture it, you need to look after it. Make sure that when it becomes strong, the trunk is powerful of the tree, then you find it will not be damaged.

So I was saying, some of the trees do not bear fruit the first year, they bear the second year. Why? Because one of the lessons is, sometimes you will call out to Allah within minutes, you are given what you want. You go for the first salah after tawbah, and your doors open already.

That's the gift of Allah upon you. That's a very big gift of Allah. But that doesn't happen always.

Allah loves us so much that He holds us longer. I know for a fact, sometimes when a person is far away from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, out of the love of Allah, He creates difficulty in that person's life, so that

they've come close to Allah. Now they are crying, they are in salah, they are doing tahajjud.

I'm sure a lot of us when we have had problems in our lives, we were regular in tahajjud. The problem was solved, tahajjud goes.

I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

Some of us we have a problem, we are there for salah first, so much so that when that mu'adhin is not there, we are the ones who do that iqama. And you know, they call it iqama or takbir. Once the problem is solved, why don't I see you in the masjid and say, Sheikh, my problem is solved.

It's finished, it's over. Over? Astaghfirullah. So if that is the case, it's better for Allah to keep you in a problem all your life, so that you can continue coming here.

So the imam is saying, Oh Allah, that man used to come every so often, put another problem in his life. Why? Because we need to see him here, ya Allah. He needs to come.

It's a cry of the masjid. Why wait for a problem before you read your salah? Believe me, Allah can do that to you. If He loves you, He can do it, create big disaster.

And then suddenly you are in the house of Allah, crying to Allah, you dressed appropriately now, why? Because I have a problem.

The minute problem is gone, the dress code goes, that goes, this goes, everything is gone. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala safeguard us.

So, like I was saying, a man saying that for one week I've been reading salah, my problem is not solved, he needs to understand, no, Allah did not guarantee you that if you read salah for one week, your problem will be solved. But He did guarantee that the moment you repent correctly, and you start after the promise that you are not going to miss a salah, fulfilling your salah correctly, you will achieve the contentment of the heart.

Behold, it is through the remembrance of Allah that the hearts will achieve that contentment, that peace, that tranquility.

What is the remembrance of Allah? One of the highest forms of remembrance of Allah is salah. Salah itself, and the recitation of the Quran, and trying to learn it and its meaning, and putting it into practice, that is partly one of the greatest forms of the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So we ask Allah to strengthen us.

Like I say, success we all want, but the formula, the caller who's calling to success, we don't want to respond to him. Like a man telling you, I would like to go to Gaul. And then he's going in the other direction.

Where are you going? To Gaul. But the signs saying Gaul, and the people who are calling out towards Gaul, there they are. They're in the other direction.

He said, no, no, no, I'm going to Gaul, don't worry. It's Gaul, you know. May Allah protect us.

The Palestine House Story

There was a man collecting funds for Palestine. So, we found him to be fraudulent. May Allah protect us.

And from this we learn something. My brothers and sisters, do not believe everything that you hear and see, collection for this and collection for that. Make sure it is reputable, and make sure you know who you are giving.

I know of scams, even on Facebook and Twitter and elsewhere, where they will pretend to be someone they are not. Some people pretend to be myself as well. And they will say, we are collecting funds for Indonesia, and we are collecting funds for here and there, and they will take qasam by Allah.

So this man, we went to see him. And we told him, you know what brother, why are you doing this collecting funds, saying you are collecting for Palestine? He says, wallahi I'm collecting for Palestine. Come to my house, I'll show you the proof.

When we arrived at his house, on the gate there was a sign. His address was there, and he says, welcome to Palestine. Welcome to Palestine.

So he was collecting money for his own house. And he named his house Palestine. So when people were giving, they were giving to Palestine.

But which Palestine, they don't know. Now that's a new one. When someone says, we are collecting for Indonesia, ask them, which Indonesia? May Allah grant protection to our brothers and sisters across the globe who are struggling.

May He use us to reach out to them. So the point I'm raising is, sometimes we say, I want success. Which success? The call to success, you are going to the right.

But you are supposed to go to the right. Yet you are walking towards the left. Shaytan also has his address.

And on his gate he has the word success. Do you know that? Which means he will promise you. And he will promise you big success.

But he calls you in the wrong direction. So you need to know the source of your knowledge. You need to know the source of the success that you are yearning for.

It is the house of your maker. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us goodness. Now I'd like to get into a few nitty gritties that a lot of the men folk would be able to relate to.

Proper Etiquette in the Masjid

My brothers, when you get into the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you need to know, your dress should be appropriate. The verses that I read today, they are verses, amongst those verses, there was a verse where Allah says, O children of Adam, ensure that you dress beautifully at the houses of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Don't come in as though you are a little soccer player in your shorts and your little t-shirt with all adverts on it.

You know I visited Dubai recently, and I was so happy to hear that some of the masajid there do not allow you to enter in clothes that have any form of writing on them. You're not allowed to come in. Go back, dress appropriately, either in proper clothing that covers you, with you know disciplined clothing, formal, or your proper long dress.

Then you walk back. They literally send the people away, telling them, you are not fit to enter the house of Allah. So people ask me, is this allowed or not? It is definitely allowed.

They say, but it's not your house, how can you not allow? No, there is an etiquette. It is just that in our countries we are weak. So we do not implement that.

By right, even the nightclubs will tell you that you are not allowed to enter with this clothing and that. Astaghfirullah. We make sure we fulfill that rule.

But the house of Allah, we will arrive there with something that really has dirty messages on it. May Allah protect us all. The minimum I can do for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to dress properly, appropriately.

I'm going into his house. I must smell good. The hadith says, if you have eaten raw onion or garlic, then do not enter the masjid until you have washed your mouth thoroughly, thoroughly.

(Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 855)

Because you will harm the people next to you with that bad smell. What about us who smoke like chimneys? And we have packet after packet of Marlboro and whatever else there is. Then we enter the house of Allah and we expect not to harm the angels and the men who are there or the people who are there.

My brothers, it is about time we made sure we were clean and smelling good. Smelling good. And this is why one of the benefits of wudu is that we will wash our feet, we will wash our hands and so on.

So when we enter, we will not have smelly toes that have just come out of smelly pair of shoes. May Allah protect us. So wash up thoroughly coming to the house of Allah.

Also we don't want to disturb the other worshippers in the house of Allah. Make sure your phone is on silent. One of the biggest cries of the masjid today is that we have the latest of the dirtiest of songs that are playing in the house of the almighty Rabbul Alameen.

Coming from whom? From myself and yourselves. And this is why I challenge you to put a simple ringtone on your phone. The reason is, if you were to make a mistake, we are human beings, we make mistakes.

If you were to make a mistake to have left your phone on whilst you are in the masjid, in the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, if it were to ring, at least the ringtone will not be a distraction via dirty words. It will be a mere tone that will be ringing and you will turn it off as soon as possible. So put yourself a simple ringtone.

Why do we need all these funny ringtones of people singing songs of the dirtiest nature? And then we enter the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and by default, that is the time the call comes. Why is it? There was one masjid I entered, Salatul Dhuhr, and believe me, as we started the first rak'ah, a man's phone rang. The next day I happened to be in the same masjid for Salatul Dhuhr.

The same phone, the same man, the same time, and the same song. And I told myself, Ya Allah, same song on Samsung. Allahu Akbar.

If I looked at that man, I might have embarrassed him a bit more. So I waited until I saw him go out, walked out with him, I greeted him, As-salamu alaykum, how are you my brother? You know, mashallah, beautiful. You see, we're all human beings.

We all make mistakes. So, the issue is not that your phone rang, because that's a human error. But my brother, the issue is the ringtone you have.

And he looked at me and he just did this. That might give away where he was from. But anyway, Allah make it easy.

At least I hope the brother, the message was correct. And I hope that he benefited from it. It was my duty in a beautiful way.

We did not want to embarrass, because that is the house of Allah. These are the cries of the house of Allah. I have been into the masjid, masjid al-haram in Mecca.

Some of us go for hajj. And you know what? This is something I have seen. One brother was complaining very very strongly about others who were making tawaf and answering their phone.

And he was sitting with me and complaining. Moments later, he got up for tawaf. And you know what? As he was coming around, I saw him on his phone as well.

And I'm thinking, look, we are quick to point fingers at others, but we are guilty ourselves. Really. Many times we are guilty ourselves.

We have not yet done anything to improve ourselves, but we want everyone else to improve. And this happens throughout our lives. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us improvement.

So, these are some of the cries of the masjid. Also, my brothers, do not fight over a fan, and an air condition, and a window, and so on in the house of Allah. That will spoil your stay at the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

It will spoil it. Endure for a little while by the will of Allah. If, yes, you have the capacity and you are, for example, part of the group that runs the masjid, you may want to make decisions.

I remember going to the UK, and I saw signs saying, the windows on this side shall remain open. The other side had signs saying, the windows on this side shall remain shut. So, whoever wants can now choose.

I should either sit here or sit on that side. Because some people like it cold, some like it hot. I hope there were some who liked it in the masjid 9 days.

Allahu akbar. If you understood what I said. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us protection.

May He make us from those who understand. We go to the house of Allah few minutes, and we spoil the whole stay by complaining, Oh man, that brother, he closed the window. I'm never going to go back there again.

People fight, really. They fight fists. They stop coming to the masjid, why? Because that brother, he closed the window, he opened the window, he switched on the fan, he turned the fan off.

These are irrelevant. Ask yourself, how many of us go to the masjid for a window? How many of us go for a fan? How many of us go for a certain spot? If that's the case, we are there for the wrong reasons.

Sometimes Allah wants you to endure, so when you sweat a bit, you can actually shed a lot of your sins.

Perhaps you might be elevated in status by the time you walk out, because you sweated much more, and you only endured for the sake of Allah, and for the sake of the unity amongst the brethren. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless us. So these are some of the cries of the house of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Like I started, I'd like to tell you, my brothers and my sisters, remember fulfilling salah. That musalla we buy, you know what is a musalla? A sajjada. It is a cloth that we use to read the salah upon.

Although we don't need that cloth because we are allowed to read on bare ground, according to the hadith of Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) but a lot of us would prefer to use a cloth just for our own purposes. Believe me, what is the point of buying fancy Turkish carpets, and beautiful travel carpets, or travel pieces of material, or little rags in a plastic, where we say, I want to give you this as a gift. What is it? It's a small travel prayer mat.

We've never used it. What's the point? If you were honest, you could say, my sister, just give it to someone who really reads their salah. Would we say that? None of us would say that.

Because we would be too embarrassed. But inside, sometimes that's the correct answer. So we can change that.

Inshallah, we are looking forward to the peace. We are looking forward to inner peace. You know, one of the biggest gifts that Allah blesses us with after iman is peace and stability.

What is the point of external peace when there is no internal peace? We would like the development of both. As much as people would like to live in harmony and peace, we also need to wish for the internal peace. Wishing alone is not enough.

Work towards it, my brothers and sisters. And really, I promise you one thing, the promise of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that is, those who fulfill their salah, and those who establish salah and give out their alms, or their alms meaning the charities to the poor, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, for them is paradise.

For them will be goodness in this world and the next. So if you would like goodness in this world, my brothers, my sisters, my sons and daughters, remember, establish your prayer out of the love of Allah without missing a single prayer. And on top of that, give from the wealth that Allah has given you without clinging to it.

And you will find you are preparing your paradise. You will be investing towards that falah, that success, because you have realized that whatever I got in this world is temporary. So let me give.

And my preparation for the akhirah primarily is that I worship Allah alone and I fulfill these five daily prayers. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless every single one of us. I hope the few words I have said tonight, I hope they will motivate us to read salah.

Believe me, I've been as direct as possible. And I hope and I pray that every single one of us can learn something, fulfill the prayer for the sake of Allah, for your own sake, for your own benefit. If we were to die right now with an intention in our hearts that, Ya Allah, forgive our past.

From this day, we are never going to miss a single prayer. We will take our time with our prayer. We will learn the meanings of our prayer.

By the will of Allah, we will enter paradise by mere intention. By Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,

(Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 1 and Sahih Muslim Hadith 1907)

Indeed, all actions are judged by their underlying intentions. And for every person, every person shall receive what they intended or the recompense of their intention.

So every one of us intends inshaAllah by the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, with an effort from us as well that we have given by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to fulfill this salah. Am I right? By the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Closing Dua

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept this reminder and grant us all the strength to establish our five daily prayers with sincerity and understanding. May He make us from among those who respond to the cry from the masjid and find our way to His house regularly. Ameen.