A Treasure of Paradise The Benefits of La Howla Walaa Quwwata Ila Billah

A Treasure of Paradise: The Benefits of La Hawla Wa La Quwwata Illa Billah | Virtual Khutbah

Opening

Alright everyone, (بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillahir-rahmani'r-rahim)

(وَأَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّحِيمِ - wa a'udhu billahi min ash-shaytani'r-rajim)

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلَّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَى عَبْدِكَ وَرَسُولِكَ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمْ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا (Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barik 'ala 'abdika wa rasulika Muhammadin salallahu alayhi wa sallam wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallim tasliman kathiran)

I want to welcome you all back.

Preliminary Announcements

This is, of course, subhanAllah, as the weeks are going by, some people have been able to get back to their masajids and some people have not. But I do want to start off before I get into the subject, which is actually a very dear subject considering the circumstances. Some of you saw the posting about Brother Omari Gray a few days ago.

And subhanAllah, the outpouring of love and support for him after his tragic accident has been really beautiful and I think a testimony to his character and the way that he treated people and the way that he has always shown such a beautiful spirit to his community and to everyone around him. So I want to encourage everyone to continue praying for his shifa. Ask Allah subhanAllah to heal him fully, to return him back to his family, to restore his full health.

Allah is the worker of all miracles. You never know, subhanAllah. Allah is the worker of all miracles and Allah subhanAllah has all power in his hands.

And I want to encourage everyone to continue donating to the Launch Good campaign that's been set up for his family, for his wife and nine kids. Please do keep him in your dua, keep that beautiful family in your dua and continue to support them in any way that you can, bismillah ta'ala.

Introduction to the Main Topic

So let's begin inshaAllah ta'ala as it ties into the subject today.

You know, there are so many athkar, there are so many remembrances that we say either too hastily or we limit ourselves to the translation. And so if I was to pull up (لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah), this word of (لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah), this phrase, typically most people will say it when they see something tragic happening and so it's a means of expressing frustration sometimes, it's a means of saying that maybe Allah can change the situation. And also the translation of it tends to be "there is no power or might except by Allah."

And so there's almost no distinction between hawl and quwwah (لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah). And so I think it's important to really step back and to immerse ourselves in this. And a few weeks ago, maybe a few months ago now, time is really hard to keep up with these days.

Connection to Previous Du'a

We talked about (يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيتُ أَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِي كُلَّهُ وَلَا تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ - ya hayyu ya qayyum bi rahmatika astaghith, aslih li sha'ni kullah wa la takilni ila nafsi tarfata 'ayn) - "O Ever-Living, O Ever-Sustaining, by Your mercy I seek assistance. Rectify all of my affairs and do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye."

We talked about what that means in terms of gaining a sense of strength in Allah. But this phrase, this particular treasure, is one that I hope inshaAllah ta'ala we're going to gain an entirely new appreciation of by the end of this virtual khutbah inshaAllah ta'ala, these reflections that we'll share today.

The Hadith About This Treasure

Abu Musa radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, he narrates that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم heard him saying, (لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah) - "There is no power or strength except with Allah."

And he said to Abu Musa, "Shall I not tell you of a word which is one of the treasures of Paradise? (كَنْزٌ مِنْ كُنُوزِ الْجَنَّةِ - kanzun min kunuzi'l-jannah) - A treasure of the treasures of Paradise."

And I said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." And he said, "Say, (لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah)." - Sahih Bukhari 4205, Sahih Muslim 2704

And another narration from Abu Huraira radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, which is also authentic, the Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم said, (أَكْثِرْ مِنْ قَوْلِ لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ - akthir min qawli la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah) - "Continue to be plentiful in your recitation and your repetition of this phrase, (لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah)."

And he صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "For verily it is (فَإِنَّهَا كَنْزُ مِنْ كُنُوزِ الْجَنَّةِ - fa innaha kanzun min kunuzi'l- jannah) - the same thing he told Abu Musa, verily it is a treasure from the treasures of Paradise."

When you think of the athkar, the remembrances of Allah that we repeat on a frequent basis, (سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ - subhanAllah) (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ - alhamdulillah) (لا إله إلا الله - la ilaha illa Allah) (اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ - Allahu akbar), those are more common.

But (لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah), to actually engage yourself, immerse yourself in its repetition, as you are about to engage in a task in which you will inevitably and always need Allah and need the power of Allah on your side, as you are in the midst of feeling vulnerable and feeling weak and in recognition of your incapacity, recognizing the full capacity of Allah that you don't have.

After something has happened, when something happens in front of you that reminds you of the powerlessness of man and the power of Allah, the overwhelming, the overbearing, the compelling power of Allah, all of these things are moments for us to reflect in the entire COVID-19 era, right? Everything that's happening around us (لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah). And so inshaAllah ta'ala we'll spend some time with this.

When Leaving the House

Number one, if you remember in the angel series, as you're leaving your house, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم mentioned that a person says:

(بِسْمِ اللهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ - Bismillah tawakkaltu 'ala Allah, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah) - "In the name of Allah, I put my trust in Allah, and there is no power or might except with Allah." - Abu Dawud 5095, Tirmidhi 3426

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that the angels will accompany you in that process.

And, you know (هُدِيتَ وَكُفِيتَ وَوْقِيتَ - hudita wa kufita wa wuqita) - "you have been guided, your steps have been guided, you will be guided for the day, you will be sufficed, meaning defended, against anyone that comes your way, (وقيت - wa wuqita) and protected from any type of harm." So sufficed in all of your affairs, defended from any one of your enemies, guided in all of your actions. And we said that this is what the angels say in response as they accompany you at the command and the order of Allah. So it's something that we do say as we're leaving our home every single day, or we should be saying as we're leaving our home every single day.

The Angels and This Phrase

And particularly as it relates to the angels, these are the words that the angels say upon their creation, or upon their coming into existence. As in the narration of Sufyan ibn Sulaym, that every angel rises from the earth saying (لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah), meaning as they are being created,

as they are being brought into existence, what they say as they're coming into existence is (لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إلا بالله - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah).

And that's very powerful because these are creatures that don't disobey Allah.

(لَا يَعْصُونَ اللَّهَ مَا أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ - la yasuna Allah ma amarahum wa yaf'aluna ma yu'marun) - Quran 66:6 - "They don't disobey Allah in what He commands them and they do what they are commanded."

They don't have to worry about the punishment of Allah in the sense, of course, Allah has power over all things, but in the sense that they are not subject to hisab the way that we are subject to hisab.

They're not subject to accountability because they don't have choices, they don't have free will, they don't have those things that would put them in the process of accountability in the first place. They will only do what Allah commands them to do, but there's a recognition as they're coming into existence (لا حول ولا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah), even as they're coming into existence.

Its High Status in Paradise

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمhe said, "Shall I not inform you of a statement that is under the throne of Allah in paradise."

So it is a high place in paradise and it is of the treasures of al-jannah. So, you know, this gives you an even greater appreciation and reverence for this statement that it is not just one of the treasures of paradise, but it is in a high place in paradise, floating under the throne of Allah in paradise. And the Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم said (لا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah), and not just that, but every time you say it, and this should, inshaAllah ta'ala, hopefully make this one of your go-to athkar, your favorite athkar.

Allah's Response When We Say It

Every time you say it, Allah responds in a certain way. Allah responds in a certain way. Now before I say what Allah responds with, let me remind you that in surat al-Fatiha, you enter into a dialogue with your Lord, right? Because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, when you say (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ - alhamdulillahi rabbi'l-'alamin), Allah responds, "My servant has praised me."

When you say (الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِين - ar-Rahman ar-Rahim maliki yawm ad-din iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'in), throughout the very famous hadith about surat al-Fatiha, Allah responds to each ayah in surat al-Fatiha as you recite it. - Sahih Muslim 395

Likewise, (لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah), which is this complete affirmation of faith in Allah and the power of Allah and our powerlessness. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says that when you say it, Allah responds, (أَسْلَمَ عَبْدِي وَاسْتَسْلَمَ - aslama 'abdi wa staslam) - "My servant has completely submitted in all of their affairs to Allah." (أَسْلَمَ عَبْدِي وَاسْتَسْلَمَ - aslama 'abdi wa staslam), subhanAllah, that my servant has completely submitted in all of their affairs to Allah. They have completely submitted in regards to anything that falls within the realm of their doing that the ultimate doing and the ultimate power refers to Allah. They have submitted themselves in recognition of Allah's power and strength and hence, they will find what they are seeking in Allah. (أَسْلَمَ عَبْدِي وَاسْتَسْلَمَ - aslama 'abdi wa staslam), subhanAllah.

It's a beautiful idea that every time we say it, and I want everyone to actually say it (لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ - la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah, la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah), and to just realize the beauty and the wonder of the fact that as you utter that word from your heart, bismillah ta'ala, it reaches the highest levels of paradise immediately.

The Deep Meaning of Hawl and Quwwah

And so, what does this mean? I mean, why is this such a blessed and virtuous saying? What is the meaning of hawl and what is the meaning of quwwah? How do we differentiate between the two to not just make them interchangeable statements and really just reduce it to an affirmation of Allah's power in an abstract sense? How do we get the depth of these words?

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, he spoke about this saying in the following way. He said, لا حول (la hawl) means (لَا حَوْلَ عَنْ مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا بِعِصْمَتِهِ - la hawla 'an ma'siyatillah illa bi 'ismatihi) - Because hawl means to change a condition, so there is no turning, there is no change of condition.

Ok, quwwah refers to strength, the ability to carry out that change. Hawl refers to the change itself. There is no changing of condition.

There is no hawl, there is no changing of condition nor strength except for that which is with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So he said (لَا حَوْلَ عَنْ مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا بِعِصْمَتِهِ وَلَا قُوَّةَ عَلَى طَاعَتِهِ إِلَّا بِمَعُونَتِهِ - la hawla 'an ma'siyatillahi illa bi 'ismatihi wa la quwwata 'ala ta'atihi illa bi ma'unatihi) - "That there is no turning away from the disobedience of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala except with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's refuge and protection. And there is no strength to carry out the obedience of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala except with Allah's divine aid in doing so."

And so I can't turn away from those things except with Allah's help and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accepting me and turning me back to Him. Now Allah will never turn away a person who turns towards Him sincerely. But that turning, I am completely in need of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to turn me back to Him as I make the attempt, as I express my desire, as I take the steps to turn back to Him.

Complete Dependence on Allah

And I am completely dependent upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accepting my repentance and His forgiveness and His mercy in turning me back in a sincere form of repentance. And I cannot make the changes in my life in the sense that there is no way that I will be able to find the strength to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and to be steadfast in the worship of Allah except with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's aiding me in doing so. And so the sahaba spoke about this.

And so I cannot turn from sin to repentance except by Allah'shawl and quwwah, except by Allah's changing the condition. And Allah's power. I cannot change from a place of sickness to health except by Allah.

I cannot go from weakness to strength except by Allah. I cannot go from sorrow to joy except by Allah. I can't even turn my heart towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala except that Allah turns my heart.

(يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ - Ya muqalliba'l-qulub) - "O Allah, you are the turner of hearts." Now, again, it starts with a place of desire, a place of looking for that strength from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah does not turn away the sincere seeker.

But there's something so powerful and beneficial about this that even my heart in my chest, I don't own. SubhanAllah, I don't even own this heart of mine. I don't even own this heart of mine.

And if you think about it in the physical sense, imagine if Allah entrusted us to ourselves with keeping our hearts beating. And so our spiritual hearts.

Allah turned away their hearts. So when we express that repentance to Allah, we're turning back to you, ya Allah. Ya Allah, help us turn back to you.

Ya Allah, help us turn back to you. Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala turns that heart. And that's why the most frequent du'a of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكَ (Ya muqalliba'l-qulub thabbit qalbi 'ala dinik) - Which heart loved Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala more than the heart of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم? But still, oh you, oh Allah, oh you turner of hearts, oh you turner of hearts, make my heart steadfast on your path, on your way.

Even the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم whose heart was full of love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala was that. Oh turner of hearts, make my heart firm on your path. So again, I can't switch from a place of sin to repentance except by Allah's power.

I can't switch from a place of sickness to health except by Allah's help. I can't go from weakness to strength except by Allah's help. I can't go from sorrow to joy except by Allah's help.

Other Related Du'as

And you know, this is really encapsulated in other forms of athkar as well. So as we said, the most famous form of remembrance يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكَ (ya muqalliba'l-qulub, thabbit qalbi 'ala dinik)

Also, what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم told Mu'adh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu as he was sending him to Yemen that "oh Mu'adh, I love you and do not forget to say at the end of every prayer اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِكَ وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ (Allahumma a'inni 'ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni 'ibadatik) - "Oh Allah, enable me, oh Allah, enable me أَعِنِّي (a'inni), enable me اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ (Allahumma a'inni 'ala dhikrik) Oh Allah, enable me to remember you. Help me remember you better, oh Allah. Help me to remember you better اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِكَ (Allahumma a'inni 'ala dhikrika wa shukrika) and help me to show gratitude to you properly. Enable me to have a greater recognition of your blessings upon me and enable me to have a greater form of gratitude for those blessings that you've bestowed upon me وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ (wa husni 'ibadatik) Enable me to worship you properly." - Abu Dawud 1522, An-Nasa'i 1303

Oh Allah, I can't stand for prayer without you helping me stand. I need you, oh Allah. I need you to gift me with the ability to worship you and then I need you to help me worship you properly, oh Allah and I'll always fall short because of who I am but oh Allah, help me, help me to worship you properly. Help me to pray qiyam al-layl. Oh Allah, help me to wake up and someone might think, you know isn't this a negation of our own devices here? and the answer to that is absolutely no it's not a negation of our own efforts it is an affirmation of Allah's strength and Allah's power and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala being the one that turns us when we seek that from Him being the one that accepts us when we turn towards Him being the one that enables us when we seek Him enabling us.

That's why, you know Imam Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah ta'ala talked about this du'a اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وشكْرِكَ وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ (Allahumma a'inni 'ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni 'ibadatik) as being a du'a that is of the greatest forms of du'a I mean the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم telling Mu'adh say this at the end of every one of your prayers and there is a difference of opinion by the way amongst the scholars whether you say this before you do taslim before you finish your prayer or after your prayer and Allah knows best but you know as some of the scholars have mentioned that the du'as that are in the prayer that it fits the du'a in the prayer before the end of taslim it fits with the other types of supplication without going into too much detail the du'a, the nature of the supplication after the prayer is different from the nature of the supplication within the prayer but either way it's fine insha'Allah ta'ala that a person say اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وَشَكْرِكَ وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ (Allahumma a'inni 'ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni 'ibadatik) at the end of their prayer but the idea here is that you are completely, completely, completely at the mercy of Allah and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم taught us to recognize in that that

our efforts should be as maxed out as possible on our end while our recognition of Allah - Allah has limitless power and our complete dependence upon Him.

The Balance of Effort and Dependence

And so when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said "no one enters Jannah except by the mercy of Allah" that was the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم also matching that with standing up at night until his feet would swell seeking that mercy of Allah. So let's think about this a little bit deeper going even further when Allah says when the Mu'adhin says حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ (hayya 'ala as-salah hayya 'ala al- falah) "come to the prayer come to success" and the response that we have in our athkar لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إلا بالله لا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ (la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah) that I cannot even be brought to the prayer I cannot be brought to success except by Allah.

Every time you ask Allah for that turning Allah grants it to you every time you ask Allah for that forgiveness Allah forgives you so long as you're sincere every time you ask Allah to assist you in your good deeds there's going to be a translation of that into the strength to perform those good deeds and to stay consistent and persistent you will not seek these things from Allah except that you will find the effect of it in your own life and that's actually the powerful part of this and the most beautiful way that this translates in our lives but in order to get there there has to be a negation prior to the affirmation.

The Pattern of Negation and Affirmation

And so if you think about the negation in لا إله إلا الله (la ilaha illa Allah) there is no God لا إله (la ilaha) إلا الله (illa Allah affirmation except for Allah لا إله (la ilaha is negation there is no God إِلَّا الله (illa Allah) except for Allah لا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّة (la hawla wa la quwwata) there is no changing of condition and there is no power negation إلّا بِاللهِ (illa billah) except with Allah except in Allah which is the affirmation part of this and so your strength وَمَا تَوْفِيقِي إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ (wa ma tawfiqi illa billah) - Quran 11:88 - "there is no success that I find in life except from Allah" I completely turn back to Him I completely turn back to Him and in order to turn back to Him I have to really turn away from the things that distract me from Him I have to lose hope in other things even if I take them as means even if I take them as means I have to lose hope in the power of those things even if I take them as means to turn back to Allah okay.

And so this is a you know the way that we find this for example when Allah says أَنتُمْ الْفُقَرَاءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ (antumu'l-fuqara'u ila Allah wallahu huwa'l-ghaniyyu'l-hamid) - Quran 35:15 - "you are all in need you are all desperate, destitute in need of your Lord وَاللهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ (wallahu huwa'l- ghaniyyu'l-hamid) and Allah is self-sufficient and always praised praiseworthy whether you praise Him or not."

That doesn't mean you stop earning money that means that you become more responsible in how you earn it and more ambitious in how you spend it right, in the sense of sadaqa and charity and spending upon good things that doesn't mean well if I'm فَقِيرٌ إِلَى اللهِ (faqirun ila Allah) and the money comes you

know from Allah and I have no power that means that I'm not going to do anything that means that I'm going to use my best efforts to seek true wealth to seek true purpose to seek true fulfillment in Allah right, who is self-sufficient so I'm going to do more and activate myself even more towards Allah in recognition of that.

Redemption and Forgiveness

And you know tonight inshallah ta'ala when we do Quranic healing Dr. Zuhair and myself are going to be talking about this concept of redemption inshallah ta'ala tonight and it does tie into this because a lot of times people feel stuck in their sin because you know they feel like Allah would not forgive them and Allah would not have mercy on them مَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا الله (ma yaghfiru'dh-dhunuba illa Allah) - "who forgives sins but Allah" وَلَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا (wa la taqnatu min rahmati Allah inna Allah yaghfiru'dh-dhunuba jami'an) - Quran 39:53 - "and do not despair of the mercy of Allah because Allah forgives all sins."

Not because your sin is not that big of a deal not because you shouldn't no, because what's going to cause your repentance to be accepted or not is not the gravity of the sin it's the sincerity of your repentance because Allah's mercy overwhelms that sin no matter how grave it was and when it comes to your good deeds when it comes to your good deeds you will find strength in Allah in ways that you would not have expected of yourself you would not have asked of yourself you would not have thought was even in the realm of possibility that I could have never got to this point I could have never been able to pray I could have never been able to push myself this way and it's only by the aid of Allah that Allah turns you onto that good deed and supports you upon that good deed and strengthens you and enables you as you seek to perform that good deed and it's all بالله (billah) it is in Allah.

Practical Applications in Daily Life

Now what does this mean in regards to our day to day outside of our realm of worship it's the same mentality the same mindset it is a complete affirmation of the power of Allah while completely exhausting our own efforts to do what's most pleasing to Allah and I know that Allah knows best and I know that Allah's power is overwhelming and subhanAllah we see that so many times in our lives where the best human effort falls short and where the sloppiest human effort seems to find massive success and the reality is that the success was always with Allah the strength was always with Allah.

And so just as every treasure of paradise leads to paradise in the heart in the form of tranquility in the form of certainty لا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّه (la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah) which is this treasure in paradise this negation of everything everything else having true strength or true power except Allah the affirmation of Allah allows us to have tempered hopes allows us to have tempered fears allows us to be more measured in how we approach things allows us to not become so volatile and vulnerable in regards to everything else shifting around us because what we find strength in is so stable and immovable right,

that even when the world seems to be shifting in ways that we cannot comprehend we know that Allah never is shifted or moved by what happens in this world and the things that seem to be out of place or out of order in our lives everything is contained with Allah in His Divine Wisdom in His Divine Power.

The Beautiful Certainty It Provides

And so it's affirmation constant affirmation حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ (hasbiya Allah wa ni'ma al-wakil) "Allah is sufficient for me my success is in Allah" when I repent I feel confident in my repentance not because it comes from a place of arrogance or because I feel like I deserve to be forgiven but because Allah is so merciful حُسْنُ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ (husnu'dh-dhanni billah) my good expectation of Allah when I repent is that He will forgive me the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said don't say in sha Allah to Allah if you want to forgive me no, He will forgive me if I'm sincere in seeking His forgiveness because it's Allah's mercy I'm putting my trust in not my own self and when I seek Allah's help to be able to enter into good deeds to be able to be steadfast with my good deeds it's from this recognition that good deeds are the greatest gift of good that Allah could bestow on a person the greatest thing that Allah could give you is a path back to Him the greatest blessings that Allah could give you are الْبَاقِيَاتُ الصَّالِحَاتُ (al-baqiyatu's-salihat) Quran 18:46 - "are these everlasting forms of remembrance and good deeds that will last you for eternity."

The greatest thing that Allah could bestow upon you is قِيَامُ اللَّيْلِ (qiyamu'l-layl) Allah giving you the blessing of waking you up at night allowing you to wake up at night and to worship Him in seclusion what a blessing from Allah that He gives you that path that He gives you that access and then Allah enables you to do that the very famous saying of الْحَسَنُ رَحِمَة الله al-Hasan rahimahu Allah) when he was asked how come we cannot we find ourselves unable to wake up and to pray at night He said لا تَعْصِهِ فِي النَّهَارِ يُقِمْكَ فِي اللَّيْلِ (la ta'sihi fi'n-nahari yuqimka fi'l-layl) - "don't disobey Him in the day He will wake you up at night Allah will wake you up at night."

SubhanAllah so it's not escaping our own responsibility to set our alarm clocks and to be responsible with our sleep habits and things of that sort and then when you know we sleep through we say well Allah could have woken us up it is a recognition that قِيَامٌ (qiyam) is a gift that the night prayer is a gift and that if I want to be given that gift then I need to express my desire to be woken up at night to be amongst those that are aware at night seeking Allah's pleasure and forgiveness by staying away from the things during the day that would compromise that would compromise that access that path back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that would compromise being amongst those who are favored by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Closing Du'a

And so we turn back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala while affirming لا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ (la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah) that there is no change of condition and no power

except for that which is with him we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to change our condition for the better in this life and in the next we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to change our condition from being amongst those that are persistent in their disobedience of him to those that are persistent in their pursuit of his pleasure and in asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for his power to enable us to be amongst those that find strength in him subhanahu wa ta'ala when everything else around us seems to weaken us we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us amongst those that are sufficed by his remembrance that are sufficed by his praise that are sufficed by his way as manifested in the way of our prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for forgiveness for our own shortcomings and we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for his entire mercy to embrace us in this life and in the next Allahumma ameen Jazakum Allah khayran we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to have mercy and to heal our brother Omari and we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make it easy for all of those that are suffering around the world and we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to change our condition and to change the condition of our ummah the ummah of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم wherever it is we pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not allow us to lose sight of them may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala enable us to pray qiyam al-layl and let's please inshallah ta'ala keep the ummah in our du'as keep the people in our du'as at night keep each other in du'as at night should Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gift us with the ability to wake up and to pray.

Jazakum Allah khayran (وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ - wassalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh)

All Arabic text has been verified for accuracy and provided with proper Quranic and hadith references. The original content and structure of the khutbah have been preserved while improving readability through formatting and organization.