Three Moments That Lead to Paradise

Three Moments That Lead to Paradise

Khutbah by Dr. Omar Suleiman

Introduction: The Importance of a Good Ending

Dear brothers and sisters, it is important for us as we are witnessing mortality, the way that we are witnessing it today, and witnessing the amount of janazahs that we are witnessing today, for us to remember something very important. That while we ask Allah for حُسن الخاتمة )husn al-khatima), for a good ending, that it would be unreasonable to ask Allah for a good death if you're not living a good life.

Essentially what you want to do with yourself is put yourself in a position where the majority of your time is spent in a way that you would want the angel of death to meet you, and all of your time is spent in a way that you are taking into consideration that the angel of death may meet you at any time.

The Principle of Good Living According to Ibn al-Qayyim

And what that means is Ibn al-Qayyim divides them into two, is that the majority of your time, as much as possible, is spent in actions that are pleasing to Allah. And none of your time is spent in actions that are displeasing to Allah. Hence make as much of your time as possible a way that you would be happy if the angel of death showed up to you right now and you would say الحمد لله alhamdulillah), I'm ready.

I was in a state of listening to something good, reciting something good, doing something good. I was doing something that's pleasing to Allah and that I want to meet my Lord with. And the believer is never heedless to a point that they engage themselves in that which they would be afraid to meet the angel of death with, and hence meet Allah with.

Examples of Good Endings from the Companions

And so you see these beautiful narrations of حسن الخاتمة husn al-khatima), of a good ending, from the companions of the Prophet. And throughout our history, stories of scholars that died saying لا إله إلا الله la ilaha illallah). Why? Because they lived saying لا إله إلا الله )la ilaha illallah(.

Stories of people that died in their سجود sujood), in their prostration. Why? Because they exerted themselves towards prostration all the time. That's not a person who is doing سجدة sajda) like the pecking of a rooster.

That is a person who used to take their سجود )sujood) seriously, who used to go to their سجدة )sajda with a special longing for Allah, and Allah gifted them with that ending. Uthman ibn Affan رضي الله عنه )radiyallahu anhu), who died reciting the Qur'an, reciting فَسَيَكْفِيكَهُمْ اللَّهُ ۚ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ )fa sayakfeekahumullahu wa huwa samee'u al-'aleem) - Quran 2:137, the verse in surah al-baqarah, was someone that was distinguished by reciting the Qur'an in its entirety on a regular basis, on a daily basis, and so Allah allowed him to be met with death at that moment.

The Hadith of Usaid ibn Hudair

And there is a beautiful narration I came across that I wanted to share today in that regard, about the state of our hearts when death meets us. And it's a narration that's narrated in al-Mustadrak by al-Hakim by Fatima bint Hussain ibn Ali. So this is the great-granddaughter of the Prophet, Fatima, the daughter of Ali, who is the son of Ali and Fatima, may Allah be pleased with them all, who narrates on behalf of our mother, Aisha رضي الله عنها radiyallahu anha(قالت كان أسيد بن حضير من أفضل الناس qalat kana Usaid ibn Hudair min afadl al-naas). That Usaid ibn Hudair, the great companion of the Prophet, one of the earliest Ansar of Medina, who came to Mecca to embrace Islam early on, in بيعة العقبة bay'at al-'Aqaba(, that he was from the best of all people.

The Three States Leading to Paradise

And he used to say fakani yaqool, law anni yaqoonu فكان يقول لو أنني أقوم كما أقوم في حال هذه الثلاث kama yaqoonu fi hal hadhihi thalath). If I was to be in any one of these three states, if I was to be in any one of these three states لكنت من أهل الجنة، وما شككت في ذلك la kuntumin ahlil jannah, wama shakaktu fee thalik). I know that I would be from the people of paradise, no doubt about it.

If I was to die in one of these three states, I would know that I am from the people of Jannah, and I would have no doubt about it.

First State: Reading and Listening to the Qur'an

He said حين أقرأ القرآن وحين أسمع )heena aqra'u al-Qur'an wa heena asma'u). The moments that I'm reading the Qur'an or listening to the Qur'an.

This is not reading the Qur'an and listening to the Qur'an while scrolling through your apps or having a bunch of background noise going on or, you know, just having it somewhere in the background. No, قراءة القرآن بالتدبر والتفكر qara'at al-Qur'an bil-tadabbur wal-tafakkur), to sit down and to recite the Qur'an with contemplation and introspection.

Dear brothers and sisters, Ramadan is only three months away. اللهم بلغنا رمضان، اللهم آمین )Allahumma ballighna Ramadan, Allahumma ameen). And with the time that we have, we should push ourselves to do more than one khatm of Qur'an in Ramadan, a full recitation of Qur'an in Ramadan. Why not divide it from now and say, I'm going to do ten juz for the next three months so that I have a khatm to welcome Ramadan as well.

Take time to read the Qur'an, a daily portion of your time. حين أقرأ القرآن وأسمع Heena aqra' al-Qur'an wa asma'u). And tell me what the state of your heart is when you're reading the Qur'an and there are no distractions.

Tell me how your heart is like when you're listening to a beautiful recitation of the Qur'an and there are so many beautiful قراءات )qara'at) now that you can press play and be moved, your heart immediately moved and stunned by the recitation of the Qur'an. How much of that is your life?

Second State: Listening to Righteous Speech

So that's his first state. He said the second one, when I listen to the خطبة )khutba), the sermons of the Prophet. Now obviously, we don't have the blessing of living amongst the Prophet. I want you to think about the most righteous person you have ever been around.

And of course, only Allah knows the hearts. But you were around someone who you knew had a particular state with Allah جل جلاله )jalla jalaluh). A righteous scholar or a righteous worshiper, someone that's distinguished with their علم )ilm) or their عبادة ibadah), their knowledge or their worship, and you spent some time with them. What was the state of your heart like? How was your Iman in those moments? How was your Iman in those moments, your faith in those moments when you had righteous companionship?

As Imam al-Shafi'i used to say, I love the righteous though I don't consider myself amongst them because maybe I'll gain their intercession. They'll rub off on me. My Iman raises in the presence of certain people and I might gain their intercession. Imagine what it was like to be around the Prophet. The state of a person's Iman, sitting with the Prophet, listening to the خطبات )khutbas) of the Prophet So part of this is his presence. That is unmatched in any way whatsoever.

The صحابة sahaba) would fear hypocrisy because when they were with him, where were they? حنظلة )Handala( رضي الله عنه radiyallahu anhu). And then Abu Bakr is saying نافق أبو بكر Nafaqa Abu Bakr(. Abu Bakr became a hypocrite. حنظلة )Handala) became a hypocrite. Why? Because when we're with the Prophet our Iman is here and we can't sustain that when we're away from him. But that's not normal to sustain that anyway because if you were like that you'd basically be an angel. You can't.

But that's the presence of a righteous person amongst you and who were righteous and whose intercession is more sought than the messenger of Allah. But then listening to his words, the effect when you sit down and you listen to رياض الصالحين )Riyadh al-Salihin) by Imam al-Nawawi which we recite on a normal basis, on a nightly basis Shaykh Yasir Birjas goes over رياض الصالحين )Riyadh al- Salihin). Listening to the أحاديث )ahadith) of the Prophet.

As Imam Ibn Abi Jamrah has in his مختصر muqtasir) of al-Bukhari, in his summary of the صحيح )sahihof Imam al-Bukhari, a history of scholars that would read صحيح البخاري )Sahih al-Bukhari) from cover to cover in hard times as a means of lifting a hardship. May Allah bless Shaykh Ameen and the brothers at Dar al-Qasim, the scholars in Chicago when the pandemic started they recited al-Bukhari from start to finish because it's the words of the messenger of Allah the أحاديث ahadith) of the Prophet and reading them brings about a peace of heart and a stillness around you.

So connecting to the words of the messenger is a precious سنة )sunnah) and the books like رياض الصالحين Riyadh al-Salihin) were written so that people could take the virtues of it. You don't have to wait for Shaykh Yasir to open it and read it for you, read it yourself. Have a portion of رياض الصالحين Riyadh al-Salihin) which focuses on الفضائل )al-fada'il), which focuses on the virtues and things that the average Muslim can benefit from.

Read the words of the messenger and read his سيرة )seerah) and connect to him So the first one is listening to the words of Allah and reciting the words of Allah. The second one is listening to the words of رسول الله Rasulullah) and reciting the words of رسول الله Rasulullah(

It is noteworthy that Usaid ibn Hudair was particularly known for his beautiful recitation of the Qur'an. In a famous hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari, when he was reciting Surah al-Baqarah at night, angels descended from heaven to listen to his recitation, appearing like lamps in a cloud above him - Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Virtues of the Qur'an.

Listen to the third one. He says the third one.

Third State: Witnessing a Janazah

When I am witnessing a جنازة janazah I had someone tell me last week I prayed more جنازة )janazah in one month than I prayed in my entire life. I think at VRIC we prayed more جنازة janazah in one month than we prayed for the existence of our entire community it seems.

All of the جنازات )janazahs) we're witnessing. What is that doing to you? Where is your heart during those جنازات )janazahs) as you're witnessing and praying those جنازات )janazahs)? He says, and he continues by the way. He says, Every time I watch a جنازة janazah) in front of me, I talk to myself.

The Power of Self-Reflection During Janazah

This is now self-talk. I talk to myself and I tell myself what the deceased is going through, experiencing at the moment, being carried from the hearse, the car, to in front of me. Hearing the imam above him saying الله أكبر allahu akbar) four times, knowing that he's about to go to his grave and will hear the footsteps of the people walking away.

I tell myself, I tell myself from the perspective of the person that is dead, what is happening to me right now? And I start imagining I am the one being pulled and what I'm about to experience and what are my thoughts right now? What is it that I'm about to encounter? Those moments of witnessing the جنازة )janazah) and telling yourself that is me and being able to put yourself in the position of the جنازة )janazah), rather than be robotic about it, rather than, okay another جنازة )janazah), rather than simply missing the person. If you knew the person who is in the جنازة )janazah(يا الله )ya Allah), that is me. That is me.

And you start talking to yourself. I'm about to be put back in the car. I'm about to go to the grave. My loved ones are about to bury me under the dirt and I'm about to be visited by the two angels from Allah. You're telling yourself this is next, this is next, this is next. Dear brothers and sisters, that self-talk does something to your heart.

The Benefits of Mental Rehearsal

It puts your heart in the right place. And the more you're thinking about your own جنازة )janazah), the better your جنازة janazah is going to be إن شاء الله )insha'Allah). The more you're telling yourself about the experience as you're watching someone else go through it and preparing yourself for it, for this day prepare yourselves.

The more ready you will be when you are actually the one being carried out of the car and actually the one, you've already rehearsed it. You know when they show great athletes, by the way, a great NFL quarterback or a great basketball player, they show them on the court, on the field, on the practice field and they are rehearsing the game over and over and over and over again. How many times have you rehearsed your جنازة )janazah as you watch the taking place in front of you? And may Allah give us the best of endings.

Final Du'a

May Allah allow us to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to Him and make the best of our deeds the last of them and make the best of our days the day that we meet Allah. May Allah not make us amongst those who are unprepared. May Allah make us amongst those who are always pleased and pleasing.