Do not leave me to myself Virtual

"Do not leave me to myself"

Virtual Khutbah with Sh. Omar Suleiman

Opening

As-salāmu alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh

None has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for him and we ask him to send his peace and blessings upon his messenger Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم the prophets and messengers that came before him his family and companions that served alongside him and those that follow in his blessed path until the day of judgement and we ask Allah to make us amongst them Allahumma ameen.

Introduction to a Special Du'a

Dear brothers and sisters I wanted to start off with a very special du'a a very special supplication and I know that you have a lot of circulating du'as and supplications and prayers that we're supposed to be making in these times in order to get us through and as we're making these supplications in order to get us through sometimes what's lost in the supplication is the way that it was given and knowing the way that it was taught makes it that much more precious to us and the supplication that I'm going to talk about today and really break down this particular du'a and what it means for us in terms of vulnerability comes in a conversation between a father and a daughter except that this father happens to be the greatest man and the daughter happens to be the queen of the women of paradise and that is the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him talking to his daughter Fatima رضي الله تعالى عنها

The Prophet's Teaching to Fatima

And we learn certain habits from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم teaching his daughter Fatima in her own lives so for example going to sleep at night and glorifying Allah 33 times praising Allah 33 times declaring his greatness 34 times to make it a hundred subhanAllah, alhamdulillah, allahu akbar before we go to sleep we learn this from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم teaching Fatima az-Zahra رضي الله تعالى عنها about how to prepare herself for sleep as well as his beloved cousin, son-in-law, companion Ali ibn . رضي الله تعالى عنه Abi Talib

This du'a is one that comes in Sunan an-Nasa'i where the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم expresses his love to Fatima رضي الله عنها he tells her that he loves her but he does not just tell her that he loves her as a means of proving or not proving solidifying that love the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gives her an expression of love which is a meaningful supplication that she can take to herself every day and every evening and that is that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said pay close attention to what I'm sharing with you do not leave off a morning or an evening do not let a single morning or an evening pass without saying:

The Du'a Text

Nasa'i 10402, Hakim 1/509

The translation of this supplication: O ever-living, O ever-sustaining by your mercy I seek relief do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye correct all of my affairs in your mercy I seek relief rectify all of my affairs and do not leave me to myself do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye.

Now before I break down this hadith and this precious wasiya this precious bestowal that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gave to his daughter Fatima رضي الله عنها that we all benefit from today which we are to say every morning between fajr and sunrise and every evening between asr and maghrib this was also the habit of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم himself.

The Prophet's Own Practice

So what he was giving Fatima was what he himself would do as Anas ibn Malik رضي الله تعالى عنه says that whenever a matter would distress the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم when anything would bother the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم you could hear him saying O ever-living and O ever-sustaining in your mercy I seek relief and he also said that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said within the same narration he said that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said be constant with saying:

Tirmidhi 3525

O possessor of majesty and honor.

A few nights ago we spoke about this concept of diversifying the names of Allah as we call upon him as a means of connecting with Allah so all 99 names belong to one God and by connecting with all of those names we have a deeper appreciation and connection with that one God and so here you have a practical example of four names that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would use frequently and commanded others to use frequently as well.

Breaking Down the Du'a: The Names of Allah

This is probably one of the most comprehensive supplications because everything in this supplication is comprehensive and so you start with the very beginning of the most comprehensive names of Allah himself O ever-living, O ever-sustaining the scholars say about these two names that all of the attributes of Allah all of the names and attributes of Allah stem from these two names why? because when you talk about al-hayy as-sifat al-dhatiyya and you talk about al-qayyum as-sifat al-fa'aliyya as-sifat al-dhatiyya refer to Allah in his essence so he is the ever-living he is the originator of life no life comes to be except for him no life ends except by al-hayy and no life is brought back except by him and he is always living subhanahu wa ta'ala so all of the names that speak to Allah's essence his attributes that speak to his essence those are all included in him being al-hayy no one bestowed any of those things upon him because he is the originator of life no one has lived before him, he is the first and so all of the names of Allah that speak to that about him fall in that category of al-hayy.

Al-qayyum, ever-sustaining in every way that Allah is sustaining Allah did not just originate, Allah is always in control and that's especially important to remember when things seem to be going out of control that Allah is always in control whether it's political turmoil or there's a global health pandemic or there's a war that's raging whatever it is, Allah remains in control Allah remains in control of all of our lives individually as well every single day Allah remains in control of our lives in that special way and so Allah remains in control always he never lets go it's not that Allah creates and then loses sight it's not that Allah originates and then loses control and that's especially important to remember in these times.

And so these are two of the most comprehensive names of Allah they're also according to many of the scholars the greatest names of Allah why? because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that the greatest name of Allah is found in Ayatul Kursi as well as Surah Taha and Allah tells us to recite:

Allah, by him, there is no God the ever-living, the ever-sustaining also in Surah Taha that everything is presented and extinguished and equalized before the ever-living and the ever-sustaining.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم also once heard a man call out to Allah and he called out to Allah ya hayyu, ya qayyum oh ever-living, oh ever-sustaining and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said to Anas رضي الله تعالى عنه do you know by what he has made that supplication? and he صلى الله عليه وسلم said he called Allah by a name that if you call upon Allah by that name, he will certainly respond to you.

So Allah al hayy al qayyum so this dua ya hayyu, ya qayyum oh ever-living, oh ever-sustaining the most comprehensive names of Allah.

The Mercy of Allah

Bi rahmatika astaghif in your mercy, I seek relief in your mercy, I seek relief the most comprehensive attribute of Allah is his rahma, is his mercy because his rahma covers everything his rahma covers all of your sins his mercy covers all of your sins his mercy covers all of your needs in this life his mercy covers everything you seek from him in the hereafter his mercy covers your worldly affairs his mercy covers your affairs of the hereafter his mercy covers everything and when Ayyub عليه السلام when the Prophet Job peace be upon him called out to Allah, what did he appeal to? rahma, his mercy Allah's mercy is his jannah Allah's mercy is his forgiveness Allah's mercy is his relief so the most comprehensive names of Allah al hayy al qayyum and then the most comprehensive attribute that you could call upon Allah with his rahma, his mercy.

The Comprehensive Ask

And then the most comprehensive ask aslihni sha'ni kulla correct or rectify all of my affairs the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم without any istithna, without any exception said rectify all of my affairs which means rectify my worldly affairs my dunya affairs, my religious affairs my dini affairs and my hereafter affairs, my akhira affairs don't leave anything out rectify all of my affairs in a way that there is a perfect balance when we call upon AllahAllah taught us to call upon him and say:

Oh Allah, grant us the best of this life and the best of the next and protect us from the punishment of the nar so that's Allah said don't leave anything out don't leave your dunya out don't just ask Allah for the hereafter ask Allah for this world as well when we make istikhara when we ask Allah for guidance in a particular matter of ours what do we say to Allah that if you know that this is good for me in my worldly affairs, in my religious affairs and in my eventual pursuit in the hereafter then facilitate it for me and so the most comprehensive ask is Oh Allah, take control of all of my affairs rectify all of my affairs.

The Blink of an Eye

And don't leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye you have to learn to trust Allah with major affairs in life with major things in life with how things are going to happen for you in regards to your wealth in regards to your health, in regards to family you have to put your trust in Allah here.

Don't leave me to myself even for this how often do you blink without paying attention and the ulama they say that what's so special about طَرْفَةً عَيْنٍ the blink of an eye is that you blink unknowingly so the blinking of the eye is subtle, there is no active effort that's put to blinking of the eye it's being done constantly to keep your eyes watered to keep your eyes moist and subhanallah a friend of mine actually in Louisiana he had a stroke and some of you may have heard me mention this story in the past, it's actually real and he actually might be watching this khutbah he had a stroke that took away that took away temporarily the ability to blink his eye on half of his face, okay, so just one eye so he couldn't move half of his face temporarily and he was saying subhanallah because how much had to be done for him to just put eye drops in and just to keep his eye moistened and you never would think to thank Allah for the blink of the eye because it happens without your knowledge, you're not actively blinking your eye and the wisdom of that is not just the smallness of the process that you're asking Allah to take control and rectify even the smallest of your affairs it's even the affairs that you're not paying attention to but that are highly consequential right, everything that's happening in the background that's necessary for you to live that's necessary for you to breathe that's necessary for you to persist.

Okay, you want Allah to take control of those things that you're actively aware of and those things that you're not aware of those things that you think to make du'a for that are good for you, to supplicate him for that are good for you, and those things that you would not even think to ask him for right, but that he knows are necessary for you.

Summary of the Du'a

So if you look at this du'a once again ya hayyu ya qayyum oh ever living oh ever sustaining, the most comprehensive names of Allah bi rahmatika astaghif, in your mercy I seek relief, the most comprehensive attribute of Allah being his mercy, the most encompassing attribute of Allah being his mercy aslih li sha'ni kulla asking Allah, the most comprehensive ask, to rectify all of my affairs wala takilni ila nafsi tarfata'een, and don't abandon me to myself, don't leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye right, so to be so comprehensive in rectifying your affairs and taking control of your life and not leaving you to your own devices that Allah does not even leave you to this, to the blinking of an eye.

And I want to talk about, you know, the concepts here, that are highlighted in this du'a, and so I hope inshallah a very active you know, call that you can take inshallah ta'ala after this lecture, is to make sure that you say this every single day and every single evening, as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gave it to Fatima رضي الله عنها and said don't let a day or a night pass without saying this between fajr and sunrise

Victory Through Vulnerability

But I want to talk about the concepts that are being highlighted here, which is this idea of victory and vulnerability, strength and submission victory and vulnerability, serenity and submission, peace of mind in submitting to Allah's will and decree and the victory and the strength that comes from that vulnerability.

Abu Qudamah رحمه الله he says that a person recited the ayah in the Quran:

It's the ayah on surah al-furqan and declare his greatness declare his praises proclaim his praises وَكَفَى به بِذُنُوبِ عِبَادِهِ خَبِيرًا and Allah is ever acquainted with all of your sins with the sins of his servants and so he says that الْخَوَّاصِ سُلَيْمَانَ الْخَوَّاصِ سُلَيْمَانَ عَلِيَّ أَقْبَلَ، رحمه الله is one of the great aesthetics, the great people of Zuhd that we find in our tradition, he said to me:

مَا يَنْبَغِي لِعَبْدِ بَعْدَ هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ أَنْ يَلْجَأَ إِلَى أَحَدٍ بَعْدَ اللَّهِ فِي أَمْرِهِ

That there is no one no one of the servants of God after coming across this verse would find it refuge in anyone but Allah with all of their affairs, he said so Allah said:

Put your trust in the one who's ever living and does not die وَأَنَّ جَمِيعَ خَلْقِهِ يَمُوتُونَ وَأَنَّهُ لَا يَمُوتُ and so he informed you that he does not die but that all of his servants die, and then he followed that up by saying glorify his praises and so he gave you the path to him the path to worship him so you have access to الْحَيِّ الَّذِي لَا يَمُوتُ so he commanded you to then worship him and glorify him.

وَكَفَى بِهِ بِذُنُوبِ عِبَادِهِ خَبِيرًا فَأَخْبَرَكَ بِأَنَّهُ خَبِيرٌ بَصِيرٌ

And it is enough of him or he is well acquainted with the sins of his servants and so he made you well aware that he knows your shortcomings so what more do you need after that than الْغَنِيِّ الْحَمِيدِ than the one who is independent self-sufficient not needing anything from anyone else not in terms of material things nor praise, Allah does not need he is الْغَنِيِّ الْحَمِيدِ he doesn't need anything from you in terms of giving nor does he even need your praise, your praise is for your own benefit and so Allah gives you access الْغَنِيِّ الْحَمِيدِ even though you are مُذْنِبٌ and فَقِيرٌ even though you are sinful and poor you know vulnerable to Allah you have access to him all the time.

And there is also another jump from this ayah that you know, a person might feel unworthy, you know I can't call upon Allah, maybe Allah won't answer me because of this, what's the point of me calling upon Allah, that's a verse that's for the sages, that's for the sahaba that's for the pious predecessors but I've got no access to God, how am I going to call upon him with all of my sins Allah tells you when he commands you with تَوَكَّلْ to trust him and to worship him in the same verse that he is well acquainted with your sins, Allah knows about your sins, he knows about your shortcomings and so long as you are actively trying to overcome those sins and overcome those shortcomings then call upon him put your trust in him, don't worry right, they're not going to hold you back so long as you are actively trying to eliminate those sins.

And that's the question for you right, you can ask why is Allah allowing this to happen and why is this happening this way, but here's the question, why are you insisting on those particular sins right, remove those sins don't let those sins corrupt your supplication don't let those sins you know, pollute your thoughts and thinking that what's the point of supplicating and what's the point of putting my trust in Allah.

Making Peace with What You Cannot Control

The next part of this is and this is really important because I've heard a lot about in the last few weeks naturally right, fears I'm afraid, if I'm not afraid for my health, I'm afraid for the health of my loved one and if I'm not afraid of the health of my loved one or my own health, I'm worried about my wealth, I'm worried about losing my job I'm worried about not being able to put food on the table and how do I make peace with this when it comes to my dua how do I make peace with this when it comes to my supplication and what needs to happen is you need to make peace with what you can't control and that has to span everything, from your life to your death, to your wealth, to your health, to the way that your supplication is answered.

What does that mean, you know the angel wrote down in your mother's womb your date of death, wrote down your life, wrote down your rizq, wrote down your sustenance I need to come to peace that I can't control those things okay, now what that also means is that I need to find vulnerability in my dua to be able to say I don't want Allah to answer me in accordance with what I think is best for me, I want him to answer me in accordance with what he knows is best for me, I don't want Allah to answer me in accordance with what I think is best for me I want him to answer me in accordance with what he knows is best for me rectify all of my affairs, so I need to come to terms with Allah knowing what I don't know and being okay with that okay, it's you know his will, and that should not make me discouraged in my dua, if anything it should empower me in my supplication.

Because Umar bin Khattab رضي الله تعالى عنه said, I don't concern myself with the answer, that's in Allah's domain, what I concern myself with is the ability to make the dua, the tawfiq, to make the dua the success in actually uttering the supplication because I know that if I make the supplication, that Allah is

going to answer it, right, Allah will answer it in a way that he sees best, and I'm comfortable with that, right, I'm comfortable relinquishing my affairs to AllahsubhanAllah.

Just like I wouldn't want Allah to leave this blinking of an eye to me, I wouldn't even be able to control the own affairs of my body, if Allah left all of us just to control every process in our bodies to live for a minute, we would all die right, because I don't even know what's happening inside of me, in order for me to live, subhanAllah the complications of this virus, and you know, the vulnerability of health, and the unique ways in which we exist, and the unique ways in which our existence in the worldly senses threaten all the time, I don't if I can't even control my body for a minute or two, I'm certainly not capable of controlling everything around me, I'm happy and confident and at peace with Allah controlling everything, and I actively want AllahsubhanAllah to rectify all of my affairs, even if I don't understand or like the particular way that my affairs are being lined up, I'm at peace with it.

And that's the thing, I don't have to say that I'm enjoying this I just have to say that I'm at peace with the wisdom of it and not knowing the wisdom of it I'm at peace with how everything is happening, but that doesn't mean I'm not struggling, the struggle in and of itself is Ibadah, is part of the worship right, the struggle to understand and the ability to pray and supplicate despite that struggle to understand, right, that is the worship, and coming to terms with knowing Allah is in control means gaining greater focus with what you can control.

Finding Strength in Vulnerability

Alright so it's not just finding your strength, you know, there's a lot of emphasis on finding your strength right now right, you're gonna hear all these quotes and all these lectures and all these sermons and all these reminders about find your strength and your vulnerability it's about knowing where to exert your strength, what do I exert it towards, right so I leave things in the domain of Allah when it comes to the dua, when it comes to supplication and the things that are out of my control I trust his knowledge more than I trust mine, I trust his wisdom more than I trust mine I trust his mercy more than I trust mine I trust the comprehension of all of those affairs lining up more than I trust my ability to line them all up I can't even line up the processes in my own body, I certainly don't want to be in charge of lining up all of my affairs outside of my body, I trust Allah with all of that but I'm gonna do my part and exert towards what Allah has told me to exert towards okay, and I'm at peace with that.

Alright, so I have to have vulnerability and letting Allah do his part and then doing mine and then being at peace with how it all plays out you know, subhanallah and this is, and please don't but like if I'm meant to die in a pandemic or if I'm meant to live, I'm at peace with all of that, I just want to do everything that's pleasing and that's productive in the process but I'm at peace with how Allah lets this all play out, okay that doesn't mean that I'm not gonna struggle sometimes because of my lack of comprehension, that means I'm at peace with knowing that he comprehends, okay I will struggle, but I'm at peace with the way that he comprehends subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Four Pillars of Trust - Hatim al-Assam's Wisdom

And I'll leave you all with a really really beautiful narration, subhanallah, there was I wish there was a way to just tell people, maybe I will tell people, if you don't feel like listening to the whole lecture today, just fast forward to the end because I was looking through the books of the pious predecessors and some of their sayings, and this one really really struck me as particularly relevant right now, particularly relevant where we're going to become vulnerable in so many different ways, and we're going to feel that vulnerability in ways that we might have thought we never would have been vulnerable okay, and it's by a great sage, a great scholar, Hatim al-Assam رحمه الله تعالى

And Abu Na'im, he reports that Hatim al-Assam was asked how did you construct your trust in Allah like what are the ways in which you constructed your tawakkul, you know everyone says tawakkul Allah, have trust in God, have trust in God, have trust in God, but how did you build your trust in Allah, how did you actually how did you build it, how did you construct it, if tawakkul was a building how did you build that building of trust in Allah and he said that I came to terms with four things so he actually talks about knowledge and Hatim al-Assam was one of the greatest worshippers of all time, an incredible human being I absolutely subhanAllah adore the man رحمه الله just for the gems that he's left us behind with his words and with his example.

Hatim al-Assam he said I came to terms with four things so my building is built on four different things, he said:

First Pillar

عَلِمْتُ أَنَّ رِزْقِي لَا يَأْكُلُهُ غَيْرِي

He said I knew I came to terms with the fact that my sustenance will not be taken by another person لا يَأْكُلُّهُ غَيْرِي no one's gonna take my sustenance no other person will take my sustenance so he says so I came to peace with that in myself okay so I came to terms with that, peace with that with myself, meaning no one else is gonna take my rizq, I'm at peace with that.

Second Pillar

وَعَلِمْتُ أَنَّ عَمَلِي لَا يَعْمَلُهُ غَيْرِي

And I came to terms with the fact that my work will not be done by anyone else, my deeds will not be taken by anyone else, meaning no one else is going to do the amal that I need to do for me, I can't expect anyone to do the amal that I need to do for me okay, yes you die and people can do sadaqah jariyah, they can do continuous charity for you and you certainly hope to leave behind things that will do good for you but hey, that's still your sadaqah jariyah you still have to plant the seeds of even your continuous charity by not just your own sadaqah but by leaving behind the people and the impact that would cause people to do good in your name or cause people to do good because of your teaching or

because of how you mentor them or because of an impact that you had upon them, okay so he said, I learned that my deeds are not going to be done by anyone else, so just like my rizq, my sustenance, no one's going to take the sustenance that's been decreed for me no one's going to take the money that's been decreed for me right, and I'm at peace with that no one's going to do the deeds that I'm supposed to do for myself okay.

وَعَلِمْتُ أَنَّ عَمَلِي لَا يَعْمَلُهُ غَيْرِي فَأَنَا مَشْغُولُ بِهِ

So I'm keeping myself busy with those deeds I'm keeping myself busy with those deeds.

Third Pillar

وَعَلِمْتُ أَنَّ الْمَوْتَ يَأْتِي بَغْتَةً

And I learned that death is hastening towards me and that I will die suddenly, death comes suddenly I learned that death is racing towards me so I'm racing towards it instead what he means by that is I'm hastening in my preparation for it, I'm not going to wait for a pandemic to break out I'm not going to wait to find out that I test positive or someone else tests positive or to be sick in a hospital bed I know that death is coming my way so I'm preparing myself actively for it so I'm going to take it by surprise instead by being ready for it when it comes to me.

Fourth Pillar

وَعَلِمْتُ أَنِّي لَا أَخْلُو مِنْ عَيْنِ اللَّهِ فَأَنَا مُسْتَحْيِ مِنْهُ

And he said, and I learned that I do not escape from Allah's sight فَأَنَا مُسْتَحْيِ مِنْهُ and so I keep shy of Him, subhanahu wa ta'ala I learned that I do not escape Allah's sight, so I remain shy of Him subhanahu wa ta'ala whether I'm quarantined at home or whether I'm out and about I'm in Allah's sight God sees me, and so I must remain shy of that sight subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Look how empowering that vulnerability is everything about those four statements, and I'll repeat them:

عَلِمْتُ أَنَّ رِزْقِي لَا يَأْكُلُهُ أَحَدٌ

I learned that my sustenance will not be taken by anyone else, so I'm at peace with that.

وَأَنَّ عَمَلِي لَا يَعْمَلُهُ غَيْرِي

And no one's gonna do my deeds for me, and so I'm remaining busy with my own deeds.

وَأَنَّ الْمَوْتَ يَأْتِي بَغْتَةً

And death is gonna come at me suddenly, it's racing at me so I'm racing towards it, I'm gonna prepare myself for it.

وَأَنِّي لَا أَخْلُو مِنْ عَيْنِ اللَّهِ

And I don't escape the sight of Allah, so I remain shy of Him.

That's the building of tawakkul, the building of trust that he mentions may Allah be pleased with him.

Conclusion

Let's think about that for ourselves, being vulnerable to Allah's will and to Allah's strength is not weakness it is strength submitting yourself to Allah's rectification of your affairs is strength that means that you do your part, and you do your part with full trust, with full serenity, and being at peace with what you can't control while being dedicated towards what you do control, and that's what this beautiful narration that I mentioned here means for us.

So may Allah never allow our feeling of weakness to take us away from the source of strength may Allah never allow our feeling of vulnerability to cause us to collapse, may Allah never allow our worries to cause us to despair may Allah never allow our fear of what will come tomorrow to stop us from doing what we can today, may Allah keep us focused, may Allah keep us sincere may Allah allow us to respond with gratitude to every blessing that comes our way, and patience with every trial that comes our way may Allah always be pleased with us, may Allah always find us active in seeking his pleasure Allahumma ameen.

Jazakumullahu khayran to you all, may Allah make it easy for you all in these times may Allah help see you through whatever difficulty and vulnerability you are facing right now, wasalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

All content from the original khutbah has been preserved while correcting Arabic texts, adding proper Islamic references, and organizing the material with clear headings and subheadings for enhanced readability. The complete spiritual discourse on finding strength through vulnerability remains intact.