RISTalks

And that is a characteristic that Allah mentions very specifically when he talks about the soul that is at peace and Nafsul mutma'innah, the soul that is at peace because it removed the animal-like characteristics of the self and so it inclines towards Allah and Allah says:

O soul that is at peace come back to your Lord pleasing and pleased. And the scholars say that Allah chose to mention pleasing first because an nafsul mutma'innah. That self in particular that person is more concerned with pleasing Allah than being pleased by Allah.

And obviously sometimes you read these statements and there is a statement that I remember one of my students asked me about a very beautiful statement from Rabia al-adawiyya radiyallahu anha wa rahimah Allah. She said, Oh Allah one time.

She said this in dua. She said:

Oh Allah If I'm only submitting to you because I want Jannah then don't give it to me. And if I'm only submitting to you because I fear hellfire then don't protect me from it. But if I am submitting to you for the moment of being able to stare at you and to please you then give me those things.

Now that's a subhanAllah. That's a dangerous statement to make because Allah will test you with your words. Allah will test you with your words. There's something so special about that. Why do you incline towards Allah in the first place? and a lot of times the only time you incline towards Allah is for the love of something else and yes, you know that can be an effective catalyst in beginning that relationship with Allah. But your relationship cannot start and end with with tragedy and the only time you incline towards Allah is when something bad happens to you and whenever you really want something and need something that's not a sincere relationship. That's not sincerely pursuing the love of Allah.

The Example of the Prophet at Cave Hira

And you know subhanAllah every year when I go to Hajj I take my group with me and we go to Hira not because it's a form of Ibadah not because if it's an it's an act of worship or anything like that not because it's a ritual of Hajj and you look up at Hira and you see the climb of Hira and now they have these stairs that go back and forth back and forth back and forth back and forth and with those stairs it takes you over an hour to get there and The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to make that climb as Aisha radiallahu anha says without having any desire to see anyone the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would spend weeks up there. He would spend the month up there and his wife Khadija radiallahu anha was supportive. She didn't say when are you coming home? You know she wasn't on him and you know that's not an excuse for husbands to neglect their wives by the way. This is a very special circumstance.

She knows something special is happening. She would take food and climb up there herself and take it to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and comfort him and make sure he was okay.

And you know subhanAllah if you're at Hira if any of you have ever been up there. It's beautiful because if you look out the cave you can see the Kaaba even till now with all the tall buildings around it. You can still see the Kaaba when you stand up there at Hira and subhanAllah I think to myself every time I go there when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) made that climb. Was the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) suffering from any form of marital issues? Was the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) suffering from economic disparity? Was the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) going broke or bankrupt? Was the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) being attacked in society? Was his name being dragged through the mud? Was there anything wrong in the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)'s life? Was there anything dunya? Anything worldly that would have made him climb up there and the answer is absolutely not in fact we see from a worldly perspective things went downhill after Hira. After he received the revelation. What does that tell you about the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) longing for Allah.

It was unconditional. It wasn't just because I want something and yes, you know what dear brothers and sisters:

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said always ask Allah and Allah is more. But it can't begin and end there all the time. Sometimes you have to long for Allah just because he is Allah and you need him and SubhanAllah knowing those attributes of Allah and putting yourself down, you know imam ash-shafi'i rahimahu allah ta'ala He said very beautifully in one of his poems. He said:

Oh my lord, how am I supposed to call upon you when I am as disobedient as I am and that's imam ash-shafi'i rahimahu allah ta'ala. He said and how am I not supposed to call upon you when you are the most generous. Allahu akbar the way these people understood Allah. Why would you want to just feed this ego of yours and feed your nafs? When you have a relationship opening its doors to you like that. When you have a creator like that that is welcoming you and that is telling you that I can give you something that is so much more that is so much more and I can give you something that truly will allow you to walk the face of this earth with Jannah in your heart with a paradise in your heart. And that is the paradise of certainty knowing that there is something meaningful in your life.

The Danger of Spiritual Narcissism

But you know what dear brothers and sisters I want to shift for a moment to something that I feel like is very important in this entire discussion. There is a great article that was written in the Huffington Post maybe a few weeks ago by by a rabbi by the name of Alan Lurie if I'm not mistaken, and he wrote an

article called the allure of spiritual narcissism. It was an incredible article and subhanallah it really blew my mind because it made me think of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) as I was reading that article I was thinking of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) how the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) warned us against everything that he was mentioning.

And you know what he said? He said spiritual narcissism is that the end goal of your spirituality is self-love and feeling amazing. The only thing you want out of your spirituality is to feel great. So it's like buying a new car or buying a new house or acquiring something else of this dunya. It's a self-help method. It's just to make you feel good. And is that supposed to be the goal of our Dean that we're just supposed to make ourselves happy that we're just supposed to make ourselves feel good.

Is it that the exact opposite of what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) embodied? We find that Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) I guarantee you dear brothers and sisters. The way the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) enjoyed his tahajjud, his qiyam al-layl is a way that none of us would be able to enjoy our prayer. The way the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) loved to interact with Allah. The way he loved to stand at night even with his feet swelling (صلى الله عليه وسلم) I guarantee you if it was up to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) if Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) could put himself in a room and just pray all day long. He would do it because he loved Allah that much. But that wasn't him (صلى الله عليه وسلم). That wasn't what he was about alayhis salatu was salam.

Yes, it felt amazing. Yes The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), you know There's Umm Salamah radiallahu anha says one time the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) stood up on a night of qiyam al-layl while he was sick. While he was sick (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And he prayed that night reading separately while the seven long surahs of the Quran. He loved Allah that much. He loved to stand with Allah. But you know what? I'll share with you another hadith which shows us what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was about and it's one of those things that sometimes is lost in the subtle meanings you just you know when we're not paying attention when we're reading these ahadith in the descriptions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

The Prophet's Service to the Ummah

Aisha radiallahu anha was asked: Did the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) ever used to sit down when he prayed qiyam al-layl when he prayed at night? Did Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) ever sit down? And she could have just answered. Yes when he got older the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) sat down. You know He had two years in the last two years of his life Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is in his 60s and I guarantee you he was busier than any of us were than any of us are and all of us put together will ever be. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was busier than all of us and was more tired than we were. So it's only natural that as an older man (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in his last few years that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would sit down for some of the salah, but that's not how she answered the question. She said:

(Abu Dawud hadith 1307)

Yes when the people burned him out. When the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was exhausted by the people the way the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) served this ummah. The way he brought happiness to everyone the way the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) cared for people Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) burned out and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) didn't burn out meaning he stopped praying qiyamul layl. No. But the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) started to pray a few rak'ah sitting down at night because he couldn't stand up anymore at night the entire night.

What does that tell you about the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم)? And what does that say about us and our spirituality and how we should view spirituality and what should we should be seeking with our spirituality and you know subhanallah a lot of times you know we see young people in particular and mashallah I see a sea of young people in front of me and may Allah bless the youth of North America and the youth all over the world people are always depressed and down on the youth of our generation and you know American Muslims Canadian Muslims. You're throwing everything away la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah I've heard these statements ten years from now. No one's going to be in the masjid.

This isn't going to happen. That's not going to happen. How many institutions in the last ten years have been founded by young American and Canadian Muslims? educational institutions youth and youth organizations conventions Activities how many of those are youth initiatives? We're not done with the youth. But you know what the crisis is sometimes Obviously living the privileged lives that we do. Where it's all about me me me me me. What can I do for myself?

I'm not happy today because this is happening. Why isn't salah making me happy? Why isn't this convention? Why isn't this halakha getting to me me me me me me? There's something else about that. That you know sometimes the way to rid yourself of its ego and of its empty desires its petty desires is to attach it to a cause that is greater than it. And when you attach it to a cause that is greater than it then you find yourself too busy thinking about greater things and in touch with greater things and in touch with serving the people to sit there and live out your animalistic desires all the time. It leads you to something else. It softens your heart.

The Story of Abu Mahjan

You know, there's a story that we find from the time of Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas (صلى الله عليه وسلم) about a man by the name of Abu Mahjan al-Thaqafi Rahimahullah ta'ala. Abu Mahjan was a young man who used to always drink alcohol and Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had to constantly punish him and Eventually when the battle of Qadisiyah came the time of the battle of Qadisiyah came Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas said, you know what? I'm gonna tie you up. I'm just gonna hold you. I'm just gonna hold you here and I'll deal with you later. And subhanallah, he leaves that that that man Abu Mahjan and he goes out to

the battlefield and his wife was watching the prisoner and while the prisoner is there Abu Mahjan is there Abu Mahjan starts to cry.

And he tells the wife of Sa'ad: I can't believe that when this is going on. When these people are struggling that I'm sitting here tied up because I can't stop drinking alcohol. He said please just let me go and join my brothers just for a day. I'll come back I won't tell anyone that you let me go. I can't handle being here because I couldn't control my alcohol habit I can't handle just sitting here while my brothers are out there struggling. And you know what? She listens. She saw the sincerity in that man. She let him go. Abu Mahjan wrapped his face. Went to the Battle of Qadisiyah. Fought so bravely that after the battle Sa'ad started to ask who was the person that was veiled that was fighting that way. But while he was asking that Abu Mahjan was already on his way back to the wife of Sa'ad to be tied up and act like nothing happens. So Sa'ad comes home and he tells his wife. And you know when we come home we talk about how the day went, right? You know, I was at work and this happened today. Guess what happened at work today. Sa'ad is coming home and saying I was at the Battle of Qadisiyah and let me tell you what happened and Subhanallah, he says that this man came that fought so bravely and we don't even know who he was. She said do you know who that was? That was your prisoner Abu Mahjan. He cried because he wanted to be with you and I let him go and he came back and look at him. He went and he tied himself back up. Sa'ad radiallahu anhu went to Abu Mahjan and he released him and he told Abu Mahjan:

Wallahi, even if you drink again, I'm never gonna punish you again and Abu Mahjan responded to Sa'ad and this is what I'm getting at Abu Mahjan responded to Sa'ad and said:

Wallahi. I am never going to drink again. What happened there? A shift in priorities. It was no longer just about him. It was about something greater than him. He realized that there was a cause that was greater than him that was out there that he needed to be a part of and that kept him away from living out those animalistic desires that removed his self from himself.

And That's something that Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) told us would even happen with a man that would establish justice on this earth after it is filled with injustice the Mahdi himself Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

(Ibn Majah hadith 4085)

Allah will correct him in one night. Allah will reform him in one night. Sometimes by attaching yourself to those causes. Sometimes by going out there and by caring for other people and serving other people as Gandhi once said something very beautifully said find yourself by losing yourself in the service of people.

By going out there and attaching yourself to those those causes of justice and social justice Allah allows you to remove your ego and remove your lowly nafs from yourself.

Caring for Others and Serving the Community

And that's why Abu Huraira radiyallahu anhu says a man came to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and he complained that his heart was hard Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam told him:

Ahmad hadith 7566

You should accompany an orphan. You should care for him show him mercy and feed him from what you feed yourself. Because then you'll understand something about him. Then you'll understand life again, then your priorities will shift because you would have attached yourself to a cause greater than yourself. Your heart naturally softens with that stuff and so we can't fall into that false notion of spirituality where it's all about me and I just need to feel happy and as long as I'm happy it doesn't matter if everyone else in the world is miserable when I see something going on in the world when I see Syria or Egypt or Libya or what was being talked about today or Burma or Somalia or any type of conflict that's going on in the world wherever it may be when I see any of that I'm not gonna change the channel because I don't want to depress myself I need to engage those I need to engage those causes and engage those local causes when I see a homeless person on the side of the street. I need to engage that cause when I see that someone is being oppressed in the community I need to engage that cause. That's part of your spirituality. That's part of your Iman.

That's part of removing your nafs from yourself. Otherwise, it's a nafsi form of spirituality which is completely contrary to Islam and dear brothers and sisters if you read because I mentioned where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that Allah has said whoever takes a wali of mine a close friend of mine as an enemy, then I will wage war against him. You look at all of those ahadith where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentions people that were beloved to Allah that were unnoticed by people but Allah noticed them. Who do you find you find a woman that used to clean the masjid? You find a man that saw a thirsty dog and took his shoe off and filled his his shoe with water and gave that water to a thirsty dog and said Allah provided for me when I was thirsty. So I'm going to provide to that dog as he is thirsty. You see a man that used to forgive people at night and release all of his grudges when he went to sleep at night. You find all of these situations of people that contributed to their societies that attached themselves to causes the man that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said and this is mind-blowing. I saw a man strolling in Jannah because he removed something that was harmful from the road in service of people they found their spirituality and they found their true selves.

The Prophet's Anger: Only for Allah

And you know what? I'm going to add something else to this because a lot of times and in these last few minutes that I have a lot of times when we look at the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam I feel like we try

to paint a romanticized portrait of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. We don't need to do that. You know what the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam sometimes got angry and when he got angry Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam Aisha radiallahu anha said his anger was not like the anger of any of you:

Bukhari hadith 3560

But wa man taqama li nafsihi qat. He never got angry for his nafs. He never got angry for himself. Whatever was done to him as a person he forgave it sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. But whenever Allah's boundaries were crossed whether that meant people blatantly disregarding what Allah revealed or people oppressing the creation of Allah:

sallallahu alayhi wa sallam

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam became angry for Allah. Sometimes the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam got so angry that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam's face became red. But the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam never transgressed the bounds of Allah because that's what he was angry for in the first place. So he strove for noble causes and was angry for noble causes in a noble manner. And that's the problem that sometimes we only want to paint a portrait of a monk. And that's not what the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was. That's not what Isa alayhi wa sallam was. That's not what Jesus peace be upon him was. Yes, Isa alayhi wa sallam is rahmatan lil'alameen, the way that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was rahmatan lil'alameen, a mercy to all the world. But when Isa alayhi wa sallam sees corruption, Isa alayhi wa sallam gets angry. You need to be angry sometimes, but what are you angry for? You need to show courage sometimes. Just don't let that courage become arrogance.

The Prophet's Final Intercession

You need to care for people you need to be able to take those same things that people take to satisfy their lowly selves and satisfy Allah with those same attributes and with those same traits. Reshift it and serve people and attach yourself to those causes and dear brothers and sisters at the end of the day whenever we look to our Creator and we try to we try to remove our ego and we try to remove the things that are between us we have to understand that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is our example and even on the day of judgments where it is most justified to be selfish on the day of judgment and to worry about:

On the day of judgment. Even then when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has one du'a. One du'a that he can make for his ummah, one du'a that he can make for himself. You can ask for anything. He could ask for a status of elevation over the elevation that's already been given to him sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Go ahead and ask for anything. You know what the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam does? He still intercedes for us. That spirit is something that's very special and it's not something that's supposed to

be just specific to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. It's the same spirit of that great man in Surah Yaseen who was killed by his people after he did du'a to them and whenever he was killed, he said:

I wish my people would only know how my Lord forgave me and how Allah showed his generosity to me and made me amongst the noble.

I wish my people would know. Even then you're not selfish. Even then you're not just thinking about yourself when you get to Jannah, you can be as selfish as you want. But here it's not about just feeding yourself and dear brothers and sisters when we see things taking place around the world you know, I'm not necessarily saying that we have to be amongst those, you know, the heroes like dr Abbas Khan who went to Syria from the UK as a doctor to serve or the young brothers Amir Qasim Rahim Allah ta'ala Who's from here? Who passed away in Rabaa? I'm not saying we have to be those people I'm saying that that's the spirit that we have to embody. That it's not just about me and if the only thing you worry about every single day when you wake up is how you look and your appearance and your car and feeding yourself and your own self-gratification even if that means in the form of spirituality if that's the only thing that you think about you have a problem not only with your iman you have a problem with your humanity. That's a serious issue that's a serious issue and we feed ourselves because we don't realize what's greater than ourselves and by serving the people around us and by attaching ourselves to those causes we realize that not only are their causes greater than ourselves but there is Allah who is greater than all of those causes.

Closing Duas

And we ask Allah to be pleased with us and to make us amongst those who incline towards when we ask Allah to support us against ourselves. We ask Allah to grant us a happiness that is rooted in serving him. We ask Allah to make us amongst those that are pleasing to him and that will be pleased by him. We ask Allah to make us amongst those whom he loves and allow us to love those whom he loves and we ask Allah to raise us in the company of the most beloved Rasool Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam in Jannat al- Firdaus.