Capacity of the Heart

Capacity of the Heart

By Sh. Omar Suleiman

Opening - The Call to Prayer

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah Come to Prayer Come to Prayer Come to success Come to success Allah is the greatest Allah is the greatest There is none worthy of worship except Allah

Introduction: Different Hearts in the Same Gathering

As we sit here today in this Salatul Jumu'ah, as every single lecture and every single Islamic gathering, it's always the case that you have a variety of people. All of us are sitting here together with the intention of fulfilling our obligation of Salatul Jumu'ah. But at the same time, within this very room, if there is 300 or 400 or 500 people here, there is 800 or 1000 thoughts that are going through our heads. And each person has come here with a different mindset.

Some of us are here and we're still thinking about our jobs. We're still thinking about that which we left behind and that which we will go to after Salatul Jumu'ah. Some of us are here looking for a wow effect. What's the Imam going to say this week? What's going to impress me this week? What's going to change my heart this week? Some of us are just here because we have to be here. Some of us put our dunya on the shelf with our shoes. Some of us have come here and we are waiting for something to come from Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) to completely change our hearts.

The Simplicity of the Prophet's Khutbahs

And dear brothers and sisters, I want us to imagine the khutbah of Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ for a moment. Rasulullah صلّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would not stand on the manbar and wow the sahaba with some new fact that they've never heard. Bring some sort of idea or some sort of concept that they've never heard of before. Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ did not come on the manbar and say something new to the sahaba. In fact the messenger صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ his khutbahs were extremely precise. His khutbahs were short. And as the ulama say, most of it was from Suratul Qaf. And it was as Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) referred to it in the Qur'an, nothing but dhikr, a reminder.

A reminder to the sahaba and a reminder in its nature is not something that you've never heard before. It's something that reminds you of something that you've heard before and it brings out the best in you. The hearts were ready to receive it. That's why in the time of Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ although his khutbahs were simple and to the point and they were reminders in their nature, as Al Hasan رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ says, whenever the sahaba would leave the masjid after Salatul Jum'ah, they would leave behind puddles from their tears.

The Story of Tufayl ibn Amr Ad-Dawsi

Think about that for a moment. The same words that we started off our khutbah with today, more or less khutbatul haja, were the same words that Tufayl ibn Amr Ad-Dawsi رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ when he came from Ad-Dawsi. He was the physician. So it's not because he was someone who was so simple-minded. He was intelligent. He was the doctor of his tribe. He was the one who Abu Hurairah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ who would accept Islam on his hand because he was from his tribe.

He was someone who was at such a class, who belonged to such an intellectual group, that the people from his tribe were afraid that whenever he went and he heard the words of Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ something might happen to him. They knew how intelligent he was. But this man رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ who was advised to ignore Rasulullah صلّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ to place cotton in his ears, to not listen to a word that he said, would accept Islam based on:

The same words that we start off every single khutbah with. That everyone looks at the imam blankly when he's saying them like, "Okay, when's he going to get to the real topic?" It was the same words.

The Central Question

And dear brothers and sisters, this is what I want to do today. I want all of us to think about this: Why is it that our hearts do not have the capacity that the hearts of the sahaba had? Why is it that our hearts do not reflect upon the Quran the way that the sahaba reflected on the Quran? What is it about the words that they were hearing that was different from the words that we're hearing? Except that it was from a different mouth and it was from the most honorable mouth of Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . But it was the same words that they would hear Friday, every single Friday. It was the same Quran that we recite, the same Quran that we rush through, that our hearts do not become affected by at all. It's the same exact reminder. It was nothing but dhikr.

The Story of Umar ibn al-Khattab - Part 1

And in order to truly illustrate this dear brothers and sisters, we go to the life of Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي اللَّهُ عَنْهُ. And I know everyone has heard the story of Umar ibn al-Khattab رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ . And we all love Umar رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ . And your masjid is named after Umar al-Farooq رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ . So I can't really tell you anything new. But the story of Umar ibn al-Khattab رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ illustrates something magnificent. It illustrates how one man, if he does not want to be moved, can be as stubborn as can be. But once he allows himself to be moved, can be the most influential person in the world. And an unbelievable change can take place in him.

The story of Umar رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ whose exposure to the Quran does not come from surah Taha. The story of Umar's exposure to Quran comes way before that. The same words we recite. Umar رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ was someone who was constantly drunk. We all know the story of him, someone who would bury his daughter alive. Imagine how harsh he had to be to do that. Someone who was so deep in his ignorance of Allah جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ that when he reflects on his story of worship before Allah جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ he talks about when he used to come to their version of Hajj and he didn't find a God. So he takes dates and he puts them on a palm, on a branch, and he puts that branch together and he starts to worship that. And then he eats his own God.

That's what Umar رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ was like before Islam. That's what the second most influential person after the prophets in our deen was like. That's what the man who Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

"If there was to be a prophet after me, it would have been Umar" was like.

The man who Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says that there were people in the ummah that came before you, the nations that came before you, that were مُحَدِّثُونَ - spoken to by the angels. They had some sort of instinct that was magnificent that no other people would have. And if there's anyone in my ummah that's like that, it's Umar رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ .

Umar's First Exposure to the Quran

He was a person who used to get drunk every single night, do away with his عَقْل every single night, his intellect every single night. And the only time that he would consider worship is whenever he had no one to get drunk with. When he looks for people to get drunk with him and he finds that his buddies are not there, he says, "Well you know what, let me go consider some عِبَادَة right now. Let me go consider an act of worship. Let me go to the Kaaba and do some طواف something like that. I don't have anything to get drunk with tonight."

The same way that we think, if there's a Lakers game, I don't think the masjid is as full as it is when there isn't a Lakers game. Or for the older generation, when cricket's going on, although everyone's awake at 4 o'clock in the morning, Salatul Fajr I'm sure is not as packed as it should be. But you know what, when there's no cricket and there's no Lakers game, let's go to the masjid. Let's benefit. Let's do some عِبَادَة so we can feel good about ourselves. It's not priority, but let's infuse some عِبَادَة in there.

So Umar رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ decides to go to the Kaaba. And this is where he finds Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ alone, reciting Qur'an in the middle of the night. What a perfect opportunity to do away with him صلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. But you know what, he's curious. "I wonder what he's reciting."

So he says that I crept under the cloth of the Kaaba and I went around the Kaaba to where Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was reciting until I was face to face with him. SubhanAllah, think about this. I was face to face with him. The only thing between them was that thin cloth of the Kaaba. And I was listening to the words that he was reciting. This is his first exposure to Qur'an. What is Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ reciting? Surah Al-Haqqah.

And he's listening to these beautiful words. But you know what, his heart doesn't have the capacity to accept these words yet. So he says, "He must be a poet. He must be a poet. These words are too incredible. He must be a poet." He didn't think to himself, "This must be revelation." He must be a poet.

Then Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ recited:

"These are not the words of a poet. Little do you believe."

So he's astonished and he says, "Well in that case, he must be a soothsayer. How does he know what I'm thinking? He's reading my thoughts. This can't possibly be revelation. He must be a soothsayer."

"And these are not the words of a soothsayer. Little do you remember. But these are the... This is the revelation from the Most High."

What is his response the first time? He got sick. He was so affected that he got sick. That he went to his house and he was confused. What is it that just happened? But the way he reacts to his confusion the first time is not that, "Let me consider that this might be revelation." He says, "You know what, this whole thing is getting me so bundled up inside. Let me just go kill Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . If I kill him I won't be confused anymore." SubhanAllah look at his mindset, his mentality.

Umar's Second Exposure - Surah Taha

And we all know what happens there. And I'm gonna fast forward a bit to the second exposure of Umar رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ to the Qur'an. Surah Taha. After he realizes how reckless of a person he is when he slaps his own sister, when he has beaten a noble man, and he sees the blood from his own sister, and he realizes that this is not something that's befitting of a man. And he says, "Let me read what you guys are reading." This time he has the capacity. This time he wants to read. And he reads from that Qur'an, from that sheet. Listen to how beautiful these words are:

"Taha. We did not reveal this Qur'an on you to cause you distress. Except for a person, a reminder for a person who has khashya (fear of Allah)."

At this point in time, at this point who has the capacity? At this point who has some fear of Allah? At this point has some humility? This is a revelation from the one who created the heavens and the earth and everything that is in between them, Ar-Rahman, the most merciful ascended the throne. Everything around us, the heavens and the earth and everything that is within and between belongs to Ar-Rahman.

The Transformation of Umar

And SubhanAllah Al-Azeem, from that moment on, you have a man who is willing to go to Rasulullah صلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and not only is considering this might be a revelation, although I want you to really think about this dear brothers and sisters. Which one was a more powerful experience? Think about this. Taha is a beautiful surah. But if I'm standing in front of a person who's responding to all of my thoughts, that's a more powerful experience than Taha.

But listen to his reaction this time. He goes to Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and he wants to take this deen out to the public. As Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ says the Islam of Umar was a victory for this deen. The Islam of Umar was Izzah, was honor and glory. And he was and he's looking for people to proclaim his new faith to. He's looking for Abu Jahl and he knocks on Abu Jahl's door. "I'm a Muslim now." And Abu Jahl tells him something that I really can't mention in the khutbah I guess, right? May Allah curse you. May your Lord curse you. And he's looking for someone to spill the news. He's looking for the Fox News and the CNN and all these people of Mecca now so that they can get the word out so he can stand firm on his faith.

Although this experience was not as powerful as the first one, in a matter of 24 hours Umar رَضِيَ الله تَعَالَى عَنْهُ had completely taken this deen and his own spirituality to a new level and Islam was being proclaimed in the streets of Mecca and he was fighting for it and he was sacrificing for it.

What Made the Difference?

What's the difference dear brothers and sisters? The second time around, his qalb, his heart had the capacity to accept that which was being recited. As Imam Al-Muzani رَحِمَةُ اللَّهُ says:

"In a matter of a moment, he accepted Islam with Taha. Just a few words of Taha. And he was more beautiful than the sun whenever the sun has risen. And he was more beautiful than the full moon. He was clearer in his Islam than the full moon. He lit this ummah up. He brought this ummah to its glory. He entered into paradise and he greeted it and it greeted him."

But it all came from a few words. But his heart had the capacity to accept it.

The Quranic Question About Locked Hearts

Now I want you to think about these two incidents and the incident of Tufayl ibn Amr Ad-Dawsi. And consider this one ayah from the Qur'an:

"Don't they contemplate the Qur'an? Or are their hearts locked? Are their hearts locked?"

And I want you to think very very profoundly about the difference between those men and us, and the difference between Umar part 1 and Umar part 2. If you are already reading the Qur'an and you don't have the capacity to listen to what the Qur'an is telling you, you don't have the capacity to listen to khutbatul haja, these words are nothing to you. These words are routine for you. Then there is a problem there. And many of us will sit and think, "Why is it that the Qur'an doesn't affect me?" Many of us complain. All of us have this problem. We're definitely not like the sahaba where we leave the masajid and we put tears all over the place. We're definitely not like that. And we all complain. We're all sad about this. If you're not sad, that's even a greater indication that you need to be scared. We're all sad over this. How come I cannot have the same amount of khushu' as those men? Why doesn't my heart get affected like them?

Why the Quran Doesn't Affect Us

Because if you read the Qur'an dear brothers and sisters, and if you listen to the khutbatul haja, if you listen to all these words praising Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) if your heart does not have the capacity to absorb it, if your heart is already full of something else other than Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) if your heart has holes in it from the sins that you've committed, there is no way that you're going to be able to accept it the way that those men accepted it.

And Allah (عَزَّ وَجَلَّ) tells us in a very profound manner the reason why the kuffar did not want to listen to the Qur'an. The reason why the Qur'an had no effect on the Qur'an. Allah (عَزَّ وَجَلٌ) on them:

(قَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا) - Kuffur means to reject. Kuffur means to reject. Kuffur means to conceal. They were concealing the truth. They were concealing everything that they knew to be true. They said to the truth

when it came to them, and this is not the traditional way of composing a sentence, but Allah (عَزَّ وَجَلَّ) already mentioned their attribute of kuffur before he mentioned why they were rejecting the Qur'an.

(قَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِلْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ) - They said whenever the truth came to them:

(هُذَا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ)

"They're constantly making excuses up. He made this all up."

Why is it that Allah (عَزَّ وَجَلَّ) is saying that this is their problem? Because Allah (عَزَّ وَجَلٌ) also tells us whenever the ayat are recited upon them:

"There is a stain on their hearts. Their hearts are covered because of that which they used to do."

Two Problems That Block Our Hearts

And they already had an ulterior motive. They already had an agenda to reject the Qur'an. When you read the Qur'an dear brothers and sisters, are you ready to accept what it tells you? Are you ready to accept its rulings? Are you ready to do as it tells you to do? Or are you reading it already with some hesitation? "I want to read surah ar-Rahman because it makes me feel good. I want to read one of the nice surahs that don't talk about hell too much. You know I'm not too comfortable with surah an-Nisaa. That one is not progressive enough for me." You're already reading it with a motive to push it away. And you wonder why it's not affecting your heart.

And the second thing dear brothers and sisters, how many sins have you committed that already blacken your heart so that you cannot appreciate what's being said? How do you expect Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) to allow you to absorb this gift of the Qur'an when whenever you came to the masjid you were involved in haram and when you leave the masjid you're involved in haram? How do we expect Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) to grant us this beautiful gift when we have already convinced ourselves that whenever we leave this masjid I'm going to text message someone I shouldn't be text messaging in the first place? I'm involved in a haram relationship. My money is haram. I'm already planning the sins for today while I'm in the khutbah. What's my sin going to be today? How can we expect Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) to enlighten our hearts and illuminate our hearts when we've already filled it with so much garbage and junk? When we are disobedient to our parents, when we are oppressive towards our families, how can we expect these things to happen?

So before you can accept the Qur'an, before I can accept the Qur'an, before we can be brought to tears by it, before we can accept it, our heart has to have the capacity. Or else we're nothing more than Omar number one with a nice cover.

The Story of Bilal and One Word

We ask Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) to make us amongst those who recite the ayat of Allah (عَزَّ وَجَلٌ) and who are affected by them and who do as are commanded from Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) and the Messenger (صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ)

I want to mention one more incident. And this is truly an incident that puts all of us to shame. Imagine sitting with Ameer Al-Mu'mineen Omar ibn al-Khattab (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ). And sitting in this gathering, Omar ibn al-Khattab, Bilal ibn Rabah, and Khabbab ibn al-Arat, may Allah be pleased with them all. And they're reflecting on the torture that they used to go through for the sake of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى).

Now they're sitting at the times where Islam has reached its peak. They're reflecting on the days that they used to be harmed. Khabbab (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ) showing his back, his skinless back, because his master used to pour the coal down his back. Bilal reflecting on the torture that he went through. And Omar (رَضِيَ الله عَنْهُ) asks Bilal ibn Rabah (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ) a very simple question. He says, "Ya Bilal, when they were torturing you..."

I want you to think about this. How did Bilal hear Islam? Bilal heard Islam, Bilal accepted Islam on the basis of the attacks on Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ). Not hearing a word from the messenger (صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) himself, not hearing a single ayah or letter of Qur'an, not hearing a single hadith, not hearing a Shaykh Yusuf Estes or Imam Siraj Wahaj or someone who's gonna, you know, all of a sudden enlighten them. He didn't hear any of that. It's literally like someone sitting in his house watching Fox News or watching whatever that council woman's name is that was attacked, Deborah Polly, attacking Islam and saying, "Wow, I want to be Muslim and I'm ready to die for it." It's something that doesn't make much sense. But Bilal (رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ) is ready to die for it.

And Omar (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ) asks him a simple question: "Ya Bilal, how come when you were being tortured, the only thing you were saying was (أَحَدٌ أَحَدٌ) (One, One)?"

You know what he says (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ)? He says, "If I knew anything other than (أَحَدٌ أَحَدٌ) then I would have said it."

(سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ!) Think about how powerful of a statement that is. We recite (قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ) all the time. All he knew was one God, one God, one God. And that was enough for him to be ready to die for his deen.

Modern Examples of Hearts Being Transformed

We have people coming all over the world, people that are accepting Islam. We have sister Lauren Booth who's coming, Tony Blair's sister-in-law. There's the banquet tomorrow that she's going to be at. You have all of these different people coming to Islam. You have people that are brought to tears by (لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ)

In my own masjid I saw it with my own two eyes. A young sister who was so overcome by tears that she could not even pronounce the shahada. And a 65 year old woman crying after that and saying, "I've been

saying (لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ) my whole life and I never once cried over it." What's the difference between me and her? The capacity of the heart is different.

Conclusion: Eliminate the Poisons

Dear brothers and sisters, eliminate the poisons that are not allowing you to appreciate this Qur'an and eliminate all of those things, the ulterior motives that cause you to be hesitant when reciting certain chapters of the Qur'an. We ask Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) to make us from ahlul Qur'an. We ask Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) to bless us with the capacity to appreciate the Qur'an and we ask Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) to raise us on the day of judgment reciting his words and saying (لا إلهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ)

Closing Du'a