Renewing Your Promise To Allah

And that's why when the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم came back to Mecca and Fath Mecca, the conquest of Mecca, something was missing. They said, where do you want to go, Ya Rasulullah? Where do you want to stay? Do you want to stay in this person's house or that person's house? He said, no. He said, pitch me a tent in Hujoon, next to Jannatul Muallat, the graveyard where Khadijah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهَا is buried.

He wanted to be close صَلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and reminisce. So something was missing. There's victory here, but then there's hardship here.

And Imam al-Qurtubi says, the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ he lived in all states, and he showed excellence in every state. He literally demonstrated to us the sunnah of happiness and the sunnah of hardship, the sunnah of wealth, the sunnah of poverty, the sunnah of having children, the sunnah of burying children, the sunnah of celebrating your daughter's marriage, the sunnah of having to bury your daughter. All the sunnahs are found in the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ because his ahwal were all over the place.

The Example of Prophet Yusuf

And Ibn al-Qayyim says, and the Prophet of Allah, who had the most shift in ahwal in his life was who? Sayyidina Yusuf عَلَيْهِ السَّلام He lived in every state. He goes from being the beloved child, the most beloved child, the favorite child, to playing with his brothers in the park, to now being an abandoned child in a well, to being a slave, to being a prisoner, and then he's head of state. And then he has his brothers at his mercy.

And what did he show in each and every single place? Consistency. He was still the same person. One of the most beautiful gems in Surah Yusuf, by the way, is that Yusuf عَلَيْهِ السَّلام we get insight into his life at his lowest point and his highest point.

His lowest point was prison. That was the lowest point in the life of Yusuf عَلَيْهِ السَّلام . Prison. I mean, he's in prison and the people come to him, the men come to him to ask him for dream interpretation.

What did they say about Yusuf عَلَيْهِ السَّلام when they met him? They said إنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ. We can tell that you're a person of excellence. They noticed from the khuluq, the behavior of Yusuf عَلَيْهِ السَّلام you're a person of excellence.

Okay? That's his lowest point. His highest point, when he's the aziz, when he's in charge, prime minister, and his brothers are at his mercy, and they tell him without knowing who he is إنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ. We can tell you're a person of excellence.

Allah جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ uses the same wording to show us that Yusuf in prison is the same Yusuf on the throne, which is very hard for people to achieve, because our circumstances can change us as people. We can change as people. Our circumstances can be very dangerous.

How Circumstances Can Change Us

You know, there's a shirt in America that a lot of people wear. It says, Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

It's not the gun. It's the gun that enables the people. Of course, in America, there are guns everywhere, so it's not a very good analogy.

But still, people kill people, right? I remember, subhanAllah, there was a husband and a wife in front of me, and this woman married her husband when he was in poverty, when he didn't have much money, and they were barely making it. And then Allah جَلّ جلالة manna alayhi Allah جَلَّ جَلالة showed him generosity, and Allah جَلّ جلالة gave him wealth, and he advanced in his career. But what happened? He became a jerk to his wife.

And his wife, wallahi, in front of me, she said, I liked you better when you were poor. You were a better person. You changed.

Because our circumstances can change us. Sometimes Allah gives us something, and we change for the worse. Listen to this very powerful narration from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ . It's narrated by al- Baghawi.

It's a beautiful statement, but it's scary, too. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ says

A person, the servant of Allah, starts to desire something of this world from tijara or imara, meaning from fame or leadership, or wealth, either fame or money, starts to desire it.

. Until Allah جَلّ جَلالة decrees it for that person, it's been made open to that person, it is

coming to that person.

Then Allah looks at him from above seven heavens. Allah sees his servant, and Allah جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ يَقُولُ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ Allah says to the angels,

Take that blessing away from him.

You imagine it's on its way to you. The rizq is on its way to you. The sustenance is on its way.

You're about to get exactly what you want. You're getting the person that you wanted. You're getting the wealth that you wanted.

You're getting the position that you wanted. It's on its way to you, and the angels are bringing it down to you, and Allah جَلَّ جَلالُ looks at you from above seven heavens and says,

Take it away from that person.

Why? Did that person do anything wrong? What did they do, ya Allah, to have that rizq essentially intercepted? What did they do, ya Allah Allah جَلّ جلالة says, because if I give it to that person

I will have to throw that person into hellfire. Why? Because they will change, and it will divert them away

from Allah, and Allah would rather keep you pure so that you enter into jannah, than give you what you want in this world so that you end up in hellfire.

So the person, that servant continues to say after that, oh, he beat me to it, she beat me to it. They got this, they got that. Why me? Why me?

And it is nothing but the blessing of Allah on that person that Allah held it back from you. Allah knows you. Allah knows what ails you.

Allah knows what cures you. Allah knows what renews you. Allah knows what destroys you.

Allah knows His creation. Allah knows all your fine-tuning, the stuff that people don't see. The person that you really are, beyond the appearance that you give in public.

Allah knows you. You are who you are in the dark. That's who Allah knows.

Allah knows your thoughts, your inner workings. How certain things will affect you. How certain things will move you in different directions.

The Wisdom of Ibn Mas'ud

Subhanallah, Ibn Mas'ud ا . رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ just thought of this actually, subhanallah. When he was passing away, Uthman رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ came into him when he was sick.

This just shows you how these people internalize what they say. Ibn Mas'ud was sick and Uthman رضي اللَّهُ عَنْهُ saw him dying of his sickness. Uthman رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ said, Should I go get you a doctor? He said, the doctor is the one who made me sick.

That doesn't mean don't get medical help. That means Ibn Mas'ud understood these were his last moments. And he said, I'm pleased with the qadr of Allah.

I'm pleased with the decree of Allah here. Allah knows His servants. And Allah knows what to give you and what to withhold from you.

Allah's Withholding as a Mercy

And the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم gives us this image, an authentic hadith. He says صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ that Allah withhold the dunya from His servants the way that one of you would withhold water from someone who's very ill. What he meant by that صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ there's some sicknesses where water, cold water would not be good for you.

But it would feel good, but it won't be good for you. There's a difference between the two, right?

Something might feel good, but it's bad for you, okay? So it would feel relieving, but it's actually hurting you. I remember when my wife was in delivery with the first child.

And sisters, may Allah bless you. We men couldn't do it. I know I couldn't.

And that's why Jannah is under your feet, truly, subhanAllah. May Allah reward all of our sisters. I was... And none of the brothers said ameen.

They were like, oh, we can do that. I could get pregnant. I could have a piece of cake.

I remember when my wife was delivering our first child. And as she was getting close, the doctor told her she couldn't drink water close to the operation.

And they give her a little bit of ice to chew on.

And the nurse said, no water. And my wife looked at me and she gave me the look. And she said, I want water.

And I looked at the nurse and the nurse said, she can't have water. My wife is looking at me like, who are you gonna listen to? The nurse or me? And I was thinking of this hadith, subhanAllah, that sometimes a person wants something so bad and you have to withhold it from them out of love for them. Allah does that with you.

Not because He wants to punish you. Not because it's out of vengeance. Not because, you know, He wants to torture you and wants you to feel hurt.

Allah wants to break your addiction to dunya. You know, when you have a drug addict, it's irresponsible to keep feeding them the drug to keep them happy. You need to learn to live irrespective of your circumstances.

Your connection of Allah has to mature to a place where it doesn't matter what's happening with you. And Ibn al-Qayyim says that the ahwal are always changing. You know why? He said so that Allah can constantly teach you that this dunya, this world, is not a place of istiqrar.

It's not a place of stability. This world is not meant to be a place where you find stability. This world is meant to be a place of instability to show you that you should not pursue stability in a place where stability is impossible.

That doesn't mean you don't do well with your work. That doesn't mean you don't do well with your relationships. That doesn't mean you don't pursue the best of this world and ask Allah for the best of this world.

But your expectation of this dunya has to change. Your expectation of what you get from this world has to change. And your relationship with Allah has to be consistent.

Worshipping Allah on the Edge

The one thing, Ibn al-Qayyim رَحِمَةُ الله said, the one thing that's worse than death is losing your connection to Allah. The one thing that has to be able to persist throughout all of that is your connection to Allah.

Allah says some people worship Allah on an edge, literally a cliff.

They're always on a cliff. If good things happen, they say, okay, we'll pray and we'll be good Muslims and we'll go to lectures. The minute something bad happens to them, they jump off the cliff with their iman.

Allah says in Surah Al-Fajr, as for al-insan, Allah tests you by blessing you.

And Ata says

To be tested with ease is much more difficult than being tested with hardship and poverty. Why? Because at least the one in poverty recognizes something is wrong. When everything is good, you don't recognize that anything is wrong.

You don't recognize it as a test. So when a person's in that state, he says رَبِّي أَكْرَمَن My Lord honored me. He doesn't say that out of gratitude.

This isn't this

Which is to say alhamdulillah when good things happen to you. This is to essentially justify your position. Justify your position and justify everything you're doing in life and say, look, Allah loves me.

Or else He wouldn't give me all of this. So you're doing a lot of haram but you're not facing consequences in this world. You say, well, God must love me.

Allah must love me because if He didn't love me, then lightning bolts would be striking me right now. My house would be burning down. I wouldn't have any money in the bank account.

We equate prosperity in this life with the love of Allah. Which is the opposite of what the Prophet صلى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ taught us. We don't believe in the prosperity doctrine.

We believe in something deeper than that. So this person says رَبِّي أَكْرَمَنِ look, Allah loves me.

Then Allah tests that person and Allah just restricts. Restricts their wealth. Not demolishes it.

It doesn't all tank. It doesn't all go down the drain. Allah just takes a little bit away from it.

And that person looks to Allah and says, my Lord is humiliating me. Why me? Why is God doing this to me? You know, subhanallah, I don't make this up. I actually had a brother one time in my office who was losing faith.

Why? He said, and he was very wealthy. It was weird. He drove a really nice car and everything was great in his life.

He said that every year I take my children on a vacation to Europe. And this year I can't do it. And he's angry with Allah because he doesn't have enough money to take his kids on a vacation to Europe this year.

And that's like the biggest disaster in his life. And you know what, subhanallah, as silly as that sounds, you know when we start having the iman crisis? Not when we see hardship happening to people around the world. But when we get pinched and we say, why me? Why is God doing this to me? You know, you weren't bothered when 600 people died in Syria on one day.

La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah astaghfirullah, may Allah give them victory. But when you didn't get into medical school or you didn't get that promotion that you wanted or you didn't get that person that you wanted, why is Allah doing this to me? Meaning what? We don't actually care as people whether or not life is fair. We just want it to be unfair for us.

As long as it's unfair in my favor, I'm good, alhamdulillah, I'll pray and I'll do everything. I'll be the best Muslim in the world. Once it starts to turn a little bit on us and the ahwal start to change, suddenly, why does Allah do this? Now I'm concerned about why do bad things happen to good people? And what you mean by when you say why do bad things happen to good people, you mean I'm good, why did this bad thing happen to me? And just so I don't look like a narcissistic, you know, selfish person, I'm going to project this on the entire world and say why are bad things happening to good people when all I really care about is why is this bad thing happening to me? Right? We internalize things in a very greedy way.

Consistent Worship in All States

And your relationship with Allah has to be different. You have to have that trust and that consistency in your relationship with Allah. That I will worship you in good times and bad times.

The Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) says as Ramadan is coming up, he says (عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ الطَّاعِ الشاكر بمَنْزِلَةِ الصَّائِمِ الصاير). The one who eats and says alhamdulillah, is just like the one who fasts and is patient. Meaning what? It's about your recognizing your vulnerability in the sight of Allah.

So when you're eating your good food, and mashallah you guys have a lot of good food here. Alright? You're eating your good food, and at the end of it you say (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَطْعَمَنِي هَذَا مِنْ غَيْرِ حَوْلٍ مِنِّي وَلا قوّة). All praises be to Allah who fed me this (وَرَزَقَنِيه) and provided it to me.

I didn't do anything to deserve this. This wasn't me.

This was all Allah. And you say it with such profound belief. Like it's not like (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَطْعَمَنِي هَذَا مِنْ غَيْرِ حَوْلٍ مِنِّي وَلَا قُوَّةٍ)

Where's the chai? Where's the tea? It's (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَطْعَمَنِي هُذَا وَرَزَقَنِيهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ حَوْلٍ مِنِّي وَلَا قُوَّةِ). Ya Allah, thank you. I didn't deserve this.

Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said a person wears their thawb, their garment, their abaya, their clothes, whatever it is. And when they wear it, they look in the mirror and they say (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي كَسَانِي هَذَا الثَّوْبَ مِنْ غَيْرِ حَوْلٍ مِنِّي وَلَا قُوَّةٍ)

Thank God. He gave me this and I didn't do anything to deserve this or earn it. It was all Allah.

You know what the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said the reward is for those two du'as? (غْفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنْبِهِ). All of your previous sins are forgiven every time you say that. The same reward as (من صام رمضان إيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنْبِهِ)

All of your deeds are forgiven. Why? Because it's a realization. It's an attitude.

It's a recognition. Ya Allah, I need you now and I need you tomorrow and I need you the day after tomorrow. And even if everything seems okay in this world, it's not okay until I enter into Jannah with your pleasure.

And I will worship you consistently and I will not question your decree with me. I will ask you for the best of this world and the best of the next and recognize at the same time that sometimes what I think is the best of this world is the worst of this world and vice versa. (عَسَى أَن تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا، وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عَسَى أَن تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا، وَهُوَ شَرٌ لَّكُمْ). You might love something and it's bad for you or hate something and it's good for you. So I'm gonna take that, Ya Allah.

"Perhaps you dislike a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows, while you do not know."

All I want is for you to be pleased with me. All I want is for you to see me in your favor and to enter me into Jannah. That's it.

I have no expectations other than that. And I'm willing, subhanallah, when a person has that attitude, they're able to focus on their worship, focus on what counts, focus on their consistent builds with Allah. They don't just wait for the next moment for something horrible to happen to them.

The Example of Fir'aun

You know, subhanallah, Allah (عَزَّ وَجَلَّ) mentions to us the worst human being in the world. Who's the worst human being in the world? What's that?

Fir'aun. The worst human being ever to walk the face of the earth.

Worse than anybody that you've ever met. Worse than anybody that you've ever known. Worse than any dictator that lives today.

Fir'aun is the precedent. He started it. He shows what it's like to be a dictator.

So people are Fir'aunic. Alright? Like Abu Jahl was the Fir'aun of this ummah because Abu Jahl acted like Fir'aun. So all these dictators act like Fir'aun.

The worst human being, even he, when the water started to fill up and his lungs started to feel that they were going to suffocate and collapse, even he said, I believe in Allah. Even Fir'aun could be humble in that moment. But that doesn't mean anything at that point.

Alright? The Prophet (صلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) mentions to us some people whose tawbah won't be accepted when the sun rises from the west as opposed to the east. Does it rise from the west in Bahrain? Just making sure. I'll find out tomorrow, inshaAllah.

Not by the pool. Alright? But I'll find out tomorrow. But subhanAllah, the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) mentioned their tawbah is not accepted anymore.

Why? Is that what it took for you? You had to see that? And then you said, oh astaghfirullah. Allah says,

People are on a ship, the worst, they're on a ship and they're drowning in the darkness and they call out to Allah,

When a person's dying, anyone can call out to Allah.

"And when adversity touches man, he calls upon his Lord, turning to Him [in repentance]; but then, when He bestows upon him a favor from Himself, he forgets that for which he had called upon Him before and attributes to Allah equals to mislead [people] from His way. Say, "Enjoy your disbelief a little; indeed, you are of the companions of the Fire."

Anybody.

That doesn't mean anything. What matters is (فَلَمَّا نَجَّاهُمْ) When Allah rescues them, how they act. When they get out of the hardship, how they act.

Was it just a moment where you screamed out loud? You know, subhanAllah, I fly all the time. I live on a plane. Like seriously.

All the time. And you'll see people watching their movies, reading their magazine and then turbulence starts to get bad. And then everyone puts their magazines aside and starts making du'a.

Everybody. Except for the guy that flies as much as I do. He just keeps watching his movie.

Like yeah, whatever. It's just turbulence. Happens all the time.

But you see everybody sweating, panicking. The seatbelt sign goes off. Things stabilize.

I go back to my movie. I go back to my magazine. It's as if nothing happened.

As human beings, we are quick to shift back into our gears. And not fulfill the promises we make. Not fulfill the things we say we would in our adverse situations.

The Divine Response to Ingratitude

So what happens to us? (فَلَمَّا نَسُوا مَا ذُكِّرُوا بِهِ) Allah says, when He keeps sending you moments like that, and you depend on those moments to draw close to Him. And you're not listening. You're not responding.

You're not maintaining consistency. You know what Allah says? (فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَبْوَابَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ) You want this dunya? Take it. We open all the doors for you.

"So when they forgot that by which they had been reminded, We opened to them the doors of every [pleasant] thing until, when they rejoiced in that which they were given, We seized them suddenly, and they were [then] in despair."

Here, you want money? Go ahead. Drown in it. You want fame? Drown in it.

You want this? Drown in it. Go. Go ahead.

(فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَبْوَابَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ). Go ahead, take it. (حَتَّى إِذَا فَرِحُوا بِمَا أُوتُوا) They get excited because they got what they wanted. (أَخَذْنَاهُم بَغْتَةً) And just like that it ends abruptly.

The dream quickly ends. The Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) draws this box. Also the narrator Ibn Mas'ud (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ) That the Prophet (صلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) drew in the ground a box.

And in that box the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) drew a line. And he allowed the line to extend beyond the box. And then the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) drew these little lines, vertical around that horizontal line.

Some of them connecting, some of them not. You guys get the picture? Box a line that starts here and the line goes out the box and then little lines around that big horizontal line. And he says (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) you see that box? That's the human being.

That's his ajal, that's his life. Meaning it starts here, it ends here. And he says, you see that line that goes beyond that box? Those are his amal, that's his hopes.

Meaning what? His hopes extend beyond his life. Alright? You're never gonna actually fulfill all of your hopes. Even if you die at 110 years old.

You're gonna feel like there was something that wasn't accomplished and something that wasn't attained that you still wanted to attain. The Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said, a person grows, but his love for this world continues to stay. You still attach yourself.

And you still want more, more, more, more. But then death hits you and you still have hopes. Okay? If you've ever gone to a cemetery and you look around and I know here probably you don't have all the years written on the graves as to when people died.

Do you guys have that here? Some? SubhanAllah, I often just pay attention to that and I see this person born, you know, 1990, died 2001. I think to myself, wow. This person, 20 years old.

How many dreams and hopes were buried in the grave with that person? That were never fulfilled. So the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said that's your life span. Those are your hopes.

Your ajal, your aman. Your hopes. And the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said, all those lines around that line, does anyone know what they're called? Anybody? He called them a'arad.

A'arad. A'arad means roadblocks, hindrances. What is he talking about? Those are tests.

Some of them catch you, some of them don't. What does he mean(صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ)? This is profound. This is really profound.

If you've ignored everything I've said for the last 30 or 40 minutes, listen to this part. This is profound. If Allah is not testing you in your wealth, He's testing you with something else.

He's not testing you with your health, He's testing you with something else. If He's not testing you with family, He's testing you with something else. If He's not testing you with career, He's testing you with something else.

We always see the glamour of everyone else's lives. And we only see our own horror. We see everyone else's blessings and only our own curses.

Everyone looks so happy on Facebook. Everyone looks so happy on social media. But I can tell you what, just because the Facebook cover photo is their wedding day, doesn't mean their marriage is all good.

They don't always look like that. So you see everyone else's life and they look so happy, but then, what about me? But Allah is testing them differently than He's testing you. But rest assured, they're being tested too.

And you're being tested. Some of them connecting, some of them not. Because Allah knows how He created you.

He knows your genetics. He knows your desires. He knows what your soul longs for and what your soul doesn't really care for.

And Allah tests you accordingly. Customizes His tests for you just as He customizes His blessings for you. Some of them snatch you.

Some of them miss you. But the point is the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم) is telling us the key function of these tests is to slow you down. Think about how profound that is.

You're going at kilometers. 180 kilometers. That's not too fast.

I don't know. I'm thinking miles. Is 180 too fast? You're going at 180 kilometers.

And you're about to run smack into the wall of death. And you're not paying attention to the signs on the way. So these tests grab you and slow you down.

They're like the red lights on the way. Okay? The police on the way. The alarm sign.

Slow down. Slow down. Slow down.

You're going too fast. So when Allah takes a little bit of your health, you know what that tells you? One day, I will have no health. My heart will not beat anymore.

All of this, Subhanallah, will be gone. Decayed. Be corpses.

One day, this is all gone. All of it. By the way, in 100 years, we will all look the same.

Think about that. All of us. In 100 years, if you were to open our, well Allah knows, let's say 200.

Maybe they'll come up with some technology to make people live longer. Alright? 200 years, if you were to open all of our graves, a person would not be able to tell you from you. Anybody.

We will all look exactly the same. Completely bare bones. So when I lose something of health, it reminds me to slow down because Allah is telling me that one day, I will have no health.

When Allah pinches my wealth, it reminds me that one day (يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ - yawma la yanfaʿu malun wala banun) One day, my money will not benefit me. One day, I will have nothing. When Allah takes away a family member, Allah is reminding me that one day, I too will die. Quran 26:88

I too will not have life. Allah slows you down over and over and over again so that you don't go crashing into the wall of death. So that you remember your purpose in life.

Slow down. Time out. Think about why you're here.

Renew your purpose. Renew your promise. You know why? Because too often, and I'm going to end with this, too often, when life is stable, we become complacent with our relationship with Allah.

The Danger of Complacency

Meaning what? Life is good. Alhamdulillah. I'm praying five times a day.

Doing my basic obligations. I think I'm good. I'm set.

This is exactly how it's supposed to be. We don't care to kick into overdrive or to do more or to elevate our status with our relationship with Allah because everything seems to be okay now. Things start going wrong, we go into re-evaluation.

So with our relationship with Allah, we become stagnant. We don't go forward. We don't advance.

And subhanAllah, in the dunya we sense, in the worldly sense, a person who excels in their trade, you know what keeps them ahead of the curve? That they're always looking for ways to get better. Even if

they've already exceeded everyone else, they're still re-evaluating, re-analyzing themselves, they're critical of themselves, and they're trying to gain more skills, they're trying to advance further. That's what a muhsin looks like with their faith, and that's what a muhsin looks like with their world, with their dunya-y world.

That's what ihsan looks like, excellence. You're highly motivated, always. Even if the factors around you are not motivating, you're continuing to be motivated.

You maintain motivation in your relationship with Allah. Secondly, so that's the first side effect. Secondly, when you are constantly in pursuit of this world, you do not recognize what you already have of it.

When you constantly want more, more, more, you do not recognize what you already have of this world. I'll share with you a story. It's a true story.

He's actually a friend of mine. This brother who had a really, really, really, really nice car. Alright? I mean, this car was like his second wife.

Seriously. Crazy addiction to his car. Like he used to take care of it, polish it, make sure it always looked just spotless and perfect.

So he probably took care of it better than he actually took care of his wife. The car was just always exactly as he wanted it to be, right? So subhanAllah, he went to pick up his kid from school that day and his son, as he was getting in the car, he has his book bag and his book sack or his book bag, you know, there's a strap that's coming out. So when he got in the car, he was kind of reckless.

He closed the door and the strap was still hanging out. In any case, the plastic on the end of that strap scratched his car. So subhanAllah, he tells me, he says, I was sitting there.

I'm so upset and angry with my kid. I'm yelling at him. I'm giving him a mouthful.

How could you do this? I mean, I'm just going off on him for being reckless and careless. And subhanAllah, while he's doing that, look at how Allah reminds his servants, his Ibad. While he's doing that, he hits the median on the highway, on the road.

His car flips and it flips over and it catches fire. He crawls out of the car while it's on fire and he looks back at his car and his kid is in his car and his car is in flames. Now subhanAllah, think about it.

At that moment, he remembered, what does this car compare to the blessing of my son? He didn't care about the car anymore. The car could figuratively go to hell. It's burning.

It's in flames. I want my son. And alhamdulillah, his son survived.

He had some injuries but alhamdulillah, he survived. Spent some time in the hospital. Came out fully healthy.

Alhamdulillah. Moved on. And it changed his relationship with his son forever.

I mean, subhanAllah, completely reshifted his priorities in life. Refocused everything for him. Just imagine that moment.

I was yelling at my son for scratching my car. Now my car is in flames and all I want is my son. Why do we have to function that way as people where Allah has to take something from us.

JazakAllah khair. Where Allah has to take something from us for us to recognize its blessing. Why not appreciate it before it's taken away from you and thank Him and act in vulnerability and desperation to Him and push yourself to the next level before you feel forced to do so.

Conclusion: Re-evaluate Your Relationship with Allah

Re-evaluate your relationship with Allah. Take it to the next level. Even if everything seems to be stable and if it's not stable right now and you're sitting in this crowd and you are someone that has a lot of hardship in life right now then make sure the promises you're making to Allah are sincere.

And the things that you say you're going to start doing from now on and the sins that you say you're going to quit and the good deeds you say you're going to start observing make sure you stay committed to those things inshallah ta'ala and maintain them out of your hardship. May Allah allow us to fulfill all of our promises to Him. May Allah (عَزَّ وَجَلَّ - ʿazza wa jall) give us steadfastness, istiqama on the right path.

May Allah grant us husnul khitam a good ending. And may He forgive us for our shortcomings on the way. And may He comfort us with the presence of our messenger (عَلَيْهِ الصَّلاةُ وَالسَّلام - ʿalayhi ṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salām) in jannatul firdaus and with His pleasure on the day of judgement.

اللهم آمين. InshaAllah ta'ala dear brothers and sisters before I open it up to questions and we'll take questions inshaAllah and you guys can ask me anything.

Closing Dua

We ask Allah to make us people of Quran, and to join us with our Messenger (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - ṣallā-llāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) in the highest level of Jannatul Firdaus, and to grant us firmness, and to grant us sincerity, and to grant us the strength to continue, and we ask Allah to rectify us, and to rectify through us, and to guide us, and to guide through us, اللهم آمين

(بَارَكَ اللَّهُ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ - bāraka-llāhu lī wa-lakum wa-s-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatu-llāhi wa-barakātuh)