From the Streets to the Masjids

From the Streets to the Masjids

Imam Siraj Wahhaj

Introduction: The Importance of Our Final Deeds

From the streets of Jahiliyyah to the masjids, my subtitle is this: (إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالْخَوَاتِيمِ - Innamal a'maalu bil khawaateem) (Sahih al-Bukhari 6493). The Prophet said, "Your deeds shall be judged by your last deeds."

Don't tell me how you begin the race, tell me how you end it. Don't say to me, Imam Siraj, I am a Muslim, I'm born a Muslim. It's fine, alhamdulillah. But the Prophet said, (كُلُّ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ - Kullu mawloodin yooladu 'alal fitrah) (Sahih al-Bukhari 1358, Sahih Muslim 2658) - "Every human being is born by nature a Muslim," in the very fitra and the nature in which Allah created us.

"And do not die except as Muslims." This is the issue. The issue is not what I am now, today, in this city, in this country. The issue is, what will I be when I die? (فَإِذَا مَاتَ الْإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُ - Fa idha maatal insaanu inqata'a 'amaluhu) (Sahih Muslim 1631) - "When a person dies, their deeds finish."

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, alhamdulillah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

Addressing the Audience

Brothers and sisters, I pray Allah the Almighty to help me to articulate on my tongue what is in my heart. Who am I speaking to now? Let me tell you who.

Those of you who are sitting here right now, Muslims, that may be struggling with your deen, difficult to be a Muslim. Maybe you don't pray, or you pray a little bit. Maybe you have some relationship with a female, or a man that's not your husband, or a female that's not your wife. Maybe you find yourself on drugs, or maybe you don't have those difficulties, but you have other difficulties. I'm speaking to you.

Maybe you came here today, you're not a Muslim, and maybe even you came here today, and you have bad feelings about Muslims. Maybe even today you came to spy on the Muslims. I'm talking to you. Maybe you're sincere, and you know, I kind of like Islam, I like what I hear. I come to the conference, and maybe I'll get something, and maybe I'll become Muslim. I'm talking to you.

Who am I speaking to? Among this audience tonight are some in the very highest level of Iman. Maybe your faith is better than my faith. Your knowledge is better than my knowledge. I don't take that for granted. Maybe it's true. You pray in the masjid every day, five times a day. You, you know, you go to the masjid, you, sister, who wear hijab, you wear niqab, and you love Allah, you read the Quran, and you do all of these things, and

you have the very highest level. I'm talking to you. So I pray Allah, the Almighty, that today, and the last day of this conference, not just me, but the speakers, will touch upon your heart.

The Two Doors of Every Masjid

From the streets of Jahiliyyah to the masjids, my subtitle is this : (إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالْخَوَاتِيمِ - Innamal a'maalu bil khawaateem), the Prophet said. Your deeds shall be judged by your last deeds. Don't tell me how you began the race, tell me how you ended.

Don't say to me, Imam Siraj, I am a Muslim, I'm born a Muslim. It's fine, alhamdulillah. But the Prophet said, (كُلُّ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ - Kullu mawloodin yooladu 'alal fitrah). Every human being is born by nature a Muslim, in the very fitra, and the nature in which Allah created us. But Allah warns us in Quran (وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ - Wa laa tamootunna illa wa antum muslimoon). Don't die, except as a Muslim. This is the issue. The issue is not what I am now, today, in this city, in this country. The issue is what will I be when I die. (فَإِذَا مَاتَ الْإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُ - Fa idha maatal insaanu inqata'a 'amaluhu). So because when a person dies, the deeds finish.

So that's what I like to do today, inshallah. Every masjid, every Muslim organization have two doors. It has a front door by which people become Muslim. I came through that front door. Yusha Evans came to the front door. Imam Zaid Shakir came to that front door. Yusuf Estes, Yusuf Islam, Suhaib Webb. All of us, we came to that front door, alhamdulillah, and became Muslim.

But on the other hand, every masjid, every Muslim organization, have a back door by which people leave the fold of Islam. The job of the imams, the shuyukh, the scholars, is to open wide the front door and close the back door.

The Five Pillars: The Foundation of Islam

If you ask the question to people, Muslim, you say, are you Muslim? Yeah, I'm Muslim. Yeah, I'm Muslim. Do you make salah? No. I don't make salah, but I'm a Muslim. Do you fast the month of Ramadan? Yeah, no, no, no. I don't fast the month of Ramadan, but I'm a Muslim. Do you give zakah? No, I don't give zakah. I'm a Muslim.

A man came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. He want to know about Islam. And the Prophet said, he began to teach him, five prayers a day. The man said, is anything more than the five prayers? That's it?

He said, yes. He said, that's it, except what is extra. And then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, I'm coming upon you to fast in the month of Ramadan. He said, Is there any more fasting than this? He said, no, except what is extra. And then the Prophet, he mentioned zakah. He said, more than the zakah? He said, no, except what is extra.

So that's it. Five prayers a day, fasting in the month of Ramadan, giving zakah. And the man turned away, he said, "I swear by Allah, I would neither increase that or decrease it." And he said, he will be successful if he does that. Five prayers a day.

The Gift of Five Prayers

There are some sitting here who don't make prayer five times a day. Can I tell you something? Do you remember when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was given the commandment from Allah for Salat? He said, Allah ordered my Ummah to make 50 prayers a day. Listen to what he said, I returned with it, the commandment of 50 prayers a day. This is our Prophet. Allah told him, told him what to do. He said, okay, 50 prayers a day, no argument, no debate, no rebuttal, 50 prayers a day. I returned with it until I met Musa, peace and blessings be upon him.

Stop for a moment. Do a little math. If we had to pray 50 prayers a day, the entire day, how often would we have to make prayer? Every 28.8 minutes, we would have to make prayer. Ain't no accident that Allah recorded that. Why didn't Allah tell the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, five prayers a day? Because he's teaching a lesson.

So he went to Moses, and Moses said, what did your Lord command you for your Ummah? He said, 50 prayers. Go back to your Lord. Your Ummah will not be able to do 50 prayers a day. How Moses know? Moses experienced. He had to deal with people. He had to deal with human beings. He knows his experience is too much. Go back to your Lord and ask him to reduce it. And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, goes back to Allah. Allah reduces it. And every time Allah reduces it and goes back to Moses, peace and blessings be upon him, Musa says, Go back to your Lord. Your Ummah will not be able to pray 50 prayers a day. Until finally, it's five prayers a day.

What did Musa say? Go back to your Lord. Ask him to reduce it. Your Ummah will not be able to do five prayers a day. And the Prophet was too shy. And Allah revealed, it is 5, but it's 50. And Allah rewarded us as if we prayed 50 prayers a day.

The Reality of Neglecting Prayer

Stop. One year, I was in a city in America and I had to lead the Eid Salat and Khutbah. And the prayer was about 8, 8:30 in the morning. And as I'm sitting there getting ready for the Salat, an organizer, he takes the mic. He says, Our brothers and sisters, Imam Siraj is about to lead Salat Eid. But it's important, if any of you missed Fajr prayer this morning, you should get up now and pray the Fajr prayer before we pray the Eid prayer.

Now, I'm facing, my back is to the people, so I'm saying, I'm not going to look to see how many people get up to make Fajr prayer at 8:30 in the morning. But I heard this rumbling noise, movement. And I just had to take a look. And I turned around and behold the number of people who were standing up making Fajr prayer way before Fajr prayer was over. I don't know percentage, 45%, 50%. I don't know. But I know a lot of people stood up.

There's some of us saying, I don't make prayer five times a day. Are you kidding me? I was doing some research and let me share this with you. Although 64% of the French population, that's 41.6 million French people,

identified as Roman Catholic - 64%, that's 41.6 million out of the 65 million - 41.6 million identified themselves as Roman Catholic, but listen to this. Only 4.5% of those were actually practicing Catholics according to the French Institute of Public Opinion.

Why I say this? The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: (لَتَتَّبِعُنَّ سَنَنَ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ شِبْرًا بِشِبْرٍ وَذِرَاعًا بِذِرَاعٍ حَتَّى لَوْ دَخَلُوا جُحْرَ ضَبِّ لَدَخَلْتُمُوهُ - Latattabi'unna sanana man kaana qablakum shibran bi shibrin wa dhiraa'an bi dhiraa'in hatta law dakhaloo juhra dabbin ladakhaltumoohu) (Sahih al-Bukhari 3456, Sahih Muslim 2669) - "You will follow the people that came before you step by step and inch by inch so that if they crawled in the hole of a lizard, you will crawl right behind them."

The Christians and the Jews, we will follow the same thing? He said, who else? Are we like that now? Call ourselves Muslims? I'm a Muslim. I'm a Muslim. If you are a Muslim, if you're in Oslo, if you're in Norway, if you're a Muslim, you're in Denmark, you're in Sweden, if you're in Europe, if you're a Muslim, how then can you be like everyone else? If you're like everyone else, what's the difference?

The Reality of Modern Society

According to the World Health Organization, every day, 100 million intimacies around the world that results in 910,000 conceptions a day, 350,000 sexually transmitted diseases a day, 150,000 abortions a day. Now, sisters, can you excuse me for one minute? I want to talk to the brothers. Can I? Yes?

Brothers, listen to me. The sisters, they can't hear us. I want a true answer. How many of you brothers are attracted to females? Raise your hand. One brother got two hands up. All right. For you who didn't raise your hand, talk to me after my lecture. We have to have a talk.

You can't help yourself. God created you that way. Made you attracted to a female. He knows it. And this is why the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: (مَا تَرَكْتُ بَعْدِي فِتْنَةً أَضَرَّ عَلَى الرِّجَالِ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ - Maa taraktu ba'dee fitnatan adarra 'alar rijaali minan nisaa') (Sahih al-Bukhari 5096, Sahih Muslim 2740) - "I have not left a trial more difficult for a man than a woman."

We know, brother, that you're attracted to women. No problem. But marry them. You marry them. You don't have illegal intimacy between man and woman. You marry them. If you want to have a woman, you marry her. You take care of her. That's what it's all about. Allah give us the halal. He give us so much halal to drink. You can drink water. You can drink juice. You can drink coffee. You can drink tea. You can have all of these things to drink. But now you have to have alcohol. Why? Why you have to have alcohol? Why you have to smoke weed? You know weed? We call it weed. What do you call it? Marijuana? Weed.

Okay. Muslim told me, he said, Imam Siraj, if Allah bless me to go to Jannah, all I want to do is smoke weed. True story. It's true story. We want Allah to make us pleased with what is halal. You're Muslim. I only eat halal. I only drink halal. I'm not going to drink that. I'm not going to do that because I'm a Muslim. You're Muslim. So now we got to come out of the Jahiliyyah and we got to come into Islam.

The Example of Umar ibn al-Khattab

Now, I want to ask you a question. Does anyone doubt the integrity, the authenticity of Umar ibn al-Khattab? Any of you? Raise your hand. How many of you think that he will go to Jannah? Raise your hand. Okay. We learned a lot of things about Umar. Let's just say a few.

(اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الْإِسْلَامَ بِأَحَبِّ هَذَيْنِ الرَّجُلَيْنِ إِلَيْكَ بِأَبِي جَهْلِ بْنِ هِشَامٍ أَوْ بِعُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ - Number one, the Prophet made dua

Allahumma a'izzal Islaama bi ahabbi hadhayni ar-rajulayni ilayka bi Abi Jahlin ibni Hishaam aw bi 'Umara ibnil Khattaab (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 3681, authenticated by al-Albani) - "O Allah, strengthen Islam by either Abu Jahl ibn Hisham or Umar ibn al-Khattab." And Umar, he becomes Muslim, alhamdulillah.

The Prophet said: (لَوْ كَانَ نَبِيٌّ بَعْدِي لَكَانَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ - Law kaana nabiyyun ba'dee lakaana 'Umar ibnal Khattaab) (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 3686, authenticated by al-Albani) - "If there were a prophet after me, it would have been Umar." But there's no prophet. (وَلَكِنْ لَا نَبِيَّ بَعْدِي - Walakin laa nabiyya ba'dee) - There's no prophet after me. But if there were, it would have been Umar.

The Prophet said: (مَا سَلَكَ عُمَرُ فَبًّا إِلَّا سَلَكَ الشَّيْطَانُ فَبًّا غَيْرَهُ - Maa salaka 'Umar fajjan illaa salakal shaytaanu fajjan ghayrahu) (Sahih al-Bukhari 3683, Sahih Muslim 2396) - "Never does Umar go down one road, but Shaitan, he goes by a different road other than the road of Umar." He's the second khalifa.

Amr ibn al-As asked the Prophet, alayhi salatu wa salam: (أَيُّ النَّاسِ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْكَ - Ayyun naasi ahabbu ilayka) - "Who among mankind do you love the most?" He said, Aisha. (قُلْتُ - Qultu) - "I said (مِنَ الرِّجَالِ - Minar rijaal) - among men." He said, alayhi salatu wa salam, (أَبُوهَا - Abooha) - Abu Bakr. (قُلْتُ ثُمَّ مَنْ - Qulu thumma man) "I said, then, who?" (قَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ - Qaala 'Umar ibnal Khattaab) (Sahih al-Bukhari 3662, Sahih Muslim 2384(.

Let's rehearse. Who does the Prophet love the most? Aisha. Then, Abu Bakr. Then, Umar. Good. Are you following me? You follow the line of... Okay.

The Prophet alayhi salatu wa salam said, I saw myself in Jannah, and I saw this palace, and I said, who does this belong to (لِعُمَرَ - Li 'Umar) - It was said, Umar. He said, I started to go in to this palace to look around, and I thought about the ghayrah of Umar. Ghayrah, in Arabic, people say jealousy, but more dignity, you know, honor. I thought of the ghayrah of Umar, and I didn't go in. And when he told that to Umar, Umar cried and said, Ya Rasulullah, how dare I put my ghayrah before you.

So we agree, Umar has a high stake. True or not? Okay, good. Good. We're doing good. And you're talking back to me today, alhamdulillah.

The Story of Uwais al-Qarani

I want to relay this hadith to you, because I want to talk about coming from the streets of Jahiliyyah, because I want everyone here, inshallah, to move to a higher state, and those who are already in a higher state, I have a message for you, and then we finish.

When Umar became khalifa, this is muttafaqun alayhi - al-Bukhari hadith, Muslim hadith. Whenever a delegation from Yemen came, he asked the question, is there a man among you named Uwais ibn Amir? Every time a delegation came, he was obsessed with it, preoccupied with it. This is Umar ibn al-Khattab, the khalifa. Every time a delegation from Yemen came, he's asking for a man named Uwais ibn Amir.

And one day, he asked, and he said, this is him, Are you Uwais ibn Amir? He said, yes. Umar wasn't satisfied with that. He said, From Yemen, from the tribe of Murad? He said, yes. And from the branch of Qaran? He said, yes. Okay, good, good, so far, good. Did you used to have leprosy? And Allah cured you except for the size of a dirham? He said, yes. Okay, this seems to be the man I'm looking for, but not yet. Do you have a mother? He said, yes.

You know how long Umar did that? 10 years. 10 years, he's searching for this man named Uwais ibn Amir. Who is Uwais ibn Amir? He's a tabi'een. He never met the prophet, so he's not a sahaba, but he's tabi'een. And the prophet, peace be upon him, said: (إِنَّ خَيْرَ التَّابِعِينَ أُوَيْسٌ َالْقَرَنِيُّ - Inna khayrat taabi'eena Uwaysun al-Qaranee) (Sahih Muslim 2542) - "The best of the tabi'een is this man named Uwais al-Qarani."

And after Umar asked all those questions, he comes to the issue. He said, the prophet, peace be upon him, said that there's gonna come a man named Uwais ibn Amir from Yemen, the tribe of Murad, and the branch of Qaran. And he said all of these things, he said he has a mother that he is faithful to. And listen to what the prophet said: (إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ أَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرَ لَكَ فَافْعَلْ - Inis tata'ta an yastaghfira laka faf'al) - "If you're able, ask him to ask Allah's forgiveness for you." (فَاسْتَغْفِرْ لِي - Fastaghfir lee) - "So please, ask Allah to forgive me." And he asked Allah to forgive him.

Stop. Wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait a minute. You mean to tell me, Umar ibn al-Khattab, all of this that the prophet said about him, and he's 10 years searching for one man, just to ask him to make supplication to Allah, that Allah will forgive his sins? Who of you, who have this iman, that level of iman, so much that you would do what Umar did, search for man just to ask him to make supplication for Allah's forgiveness for you?

What's the lesson? The lesson is, never ever ever take Allah for granted. Never rest on your laurels. Never think that you've done so much, that you got it made.

The Transformation of Malcolm X

How many of you heard of Malcolm X? Almost all of you. Malcolm X is, in a sense, a good role model for us. Not the same role model as the prophet. We're not talking about that. It's a different thing altogether. But Malcolm is an example of how far you can go and come to Allah. I don't care how far you've gone.

You should read the autobiography of Malcolm X. People tell me, that many people accepted Islam through the autobiography of Malcolm X. If you study Malcolm, Malcolm was in jail for burglary. And in jail he had a nickname. Do you know what Malcolm X's nickname was in jail? Satan. The devil. Shaytan. Everything wrong in society, Malcolm did it. This is his own admission. Malcolm was so far from Allah, so far from Islam.

And so in prison he learned about a group called the Nation of Islam. The Nation of Islam, headed by a man named Elijah Muhammad, they had the name Islam, but they didn't have the Aqidah of Islam, they didn't have the practice of Islam, for instance. And I was in the same group, so I speak as a minister. I was in the Nation of Islam.

Let me just take a minute to tell you something about the Nation of Islam that Malcolm joined. Number one, the most important thing for us as Muslims is the belief in the oneness of Allah. True? Okay. In the Nation of Islam, they taught that a man named Fard Muhammad was Allah. Number one. Number two, they taught that Elijah Muhammad was a messenger of Allah. Audhu Billah. There is no prophet after Muhammad alayhi salatu wassalam.

You see how we pray? The Prophet alayhi salatu wassalam said: (صَلُّوا كَمَا رَأَيْتُمُونِي أُصَلِّي - Salloo kamaa ra'aytumoonee usalli) (Sahih al-Bukhari 631) - "Pray as you see me pray." So when a Muslim pray, all the things we do is what the Prophet did alayhi salatu wassalam, we imitate his salat. In the Nation of Islam, they didn't make salat. They face the east, not Qibla. And they put their hands out like this and they prayed. They didn't make ruku, they didn't make sujud. That was their prayer. We fast in the month of Ramadan. In the Nation of Islam, they didn't fast in the month of Ramadan. They fasted in December.

Malcolm became a minister in the Nation of Islam and the top minister. And he taught what I just finished telling you for 11 years, 12 years. And then in March 1964, Malcolm X, al-Hajj Malik Shabazz, he leaves the Nation of Islam. He goes to make hajj and defined the real Islam. Within one year, 1965, February 21st, while giving a lecture in New York City, he was assassinated.

What city was Malcolm born in? Omaha, Nebraska. Where did he die? New York City. Allah said: (وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضِ تَمُوتُ - Wa maa tadree nafsun bi ayyi ardin tamootu) (Quran 31:34) - "No one knows what land they are to die." So Malcolm, alhamdulillah, we pray became a shaheed. And all the Muslims around the world know about Malcolm. Look where Malcolm became.

A Modern Story of Transformation

There was a man who was on drugs. If any of you are on drugs, listen carefully. He was on drugs for 30 years. Every kind of drug that you can imagine. This man, my height, 6 feet tall, got sick and wound up in the hospital. He had gotten down to 60 pounds. Imagine a man 6 feet tall, 60 pounds. And the doctor told him, you should call your family members. I don't think you'll live to tonight.

This man said to the doctor, please leave my room. I want to talk to someone who knows. He said that night he called on Allah. That was 22 years ago. This brother is in my community. Two years ago, he said, Imam, I've been clean from drugs for 20 years. I want you to come with me in my celebration. I went with him. They had a celebration for him for being cleaned in 20 years.

This brother is so gifted. Whenever we have someone have a drug problem, we bring them to him because that's his expertise. This brother is so good. He can look at you and say, Imam Siraj, you see that brother over there? I can look at him. He's on crack. You know what crack is? Crack cocaine? No, you don't have that here, right? He said that brother over there, he smoke a reefer. That brother over there, he drinks alcohol. So when everybody sees him coming, they go like this. But he's a Muslim today. Alhamdulillah. Allah brought him from Jahiliyyah and brought him to Islam, finally.

The Purpose of Our Creation

You know, I feel like we cheapen Allah so much that we don't worship Him. (وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ - Wa maa khalaqtul jinna wal insa illaa liya'budoon) (Quran 51:56) - He said, "I only created the jinn and the human beings to worship me." You have no idea that Allah, you know, the punishment of Allah is real. Sheikh Shadi, inshallah, tonight we'll talk about some of the punishment.

I want to just take one aspect, just a few seconds. You ever been on line, and like it's a long line, and take time, and you're like, oh, come on, come on, caught in traffic. Come on, come on, come on. I remember a couple of years ago, we had a shortage with gas, gasoline shortage. We had long lines, and you would be in line for an hour or two hours waiting to get gas. You ever been like that on line, long line? I want you to think about this.

If you believe in resurrection, it's going to happen. No question. Sheikh Shadi yesterday talked about the punishment of the grave. I want to take a second to remind you of this. (يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ - Yawmal qiyaamah) - "The Day of Resurrection." Standing. I want you to see people being resurrected naked. Standing, waiting to be judged by Allah. Okay, come on, come on, let's go, let's get it on. How long it's going to be? How long this standing going to be? 50,000 years.

I want you to think now, as you're standing there waiting for your Lord, you ain't sitting on no chair. You're standing in the heat, and you're sweating. You're standing in line, not a day, not a week, not a month, not even a hundred years. 50,000 years waiting to be judged. And some people standing there waiting to be judged, they know the end. Let it happen, they say. Let it happen now. But the believers, the Prophet alayhi salatu wasalam said that their time would be half of that, but it would seem like part of a day. May Allah bless us to be part of that number.

This is real. Allah is real. The hellfire is real. Jannah is real. Punishment in the grave is real. It's no joke. We ain't playing. This is real. But we too busy. Why did you make prayer? I'm too busy. What you busy doing? I'm watching TV. I'm too tired to pray now. What are you doing? I'm on my internet. I'm on my smartphone. I'm on all of this. I can't pray now. What? I can't fast. Why can't you fast? Why?

The Man from the People of Jannah

Finally, Anas, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and al-Nasa'i, they narrated this hadith from Anas ibn Malik (Musnad Ahmad 12697, Sunan al-Nasa'i al-Kubra 10041). It's gonna be my last point. He said the Prophet was sitting among his

Sahaba. He said to them, soon there's gonna come a man from Ahlul Jannah. A man from Jannah. Soon after that, a man walks in with water on his beard from wudu, with his sandals in his left hand. The next day, the Prophet said the same thing. Soon will come a man from Ahlul Jannah. The same man from Ansar, he came, same thing, the sandals in his hand and water from wudu from his beard. And the third day, the same thing.

So when the Prophet got up and walked away, one of his companions, I don't wanna tell you his name right now. I'm gonna tell you in the end. One of his companions went and followed this man and said, I had some issues with my father and I swore that I'm not going to stay with him for three days. Can I stay with you? The man said yes. So this companion went with that man to his house and they went to sleep. And this companion is looking, waiting for the man to get up to pray, to Tahajjud prayer. He didn't get up. He said, but I noticed every time he turned around, turned positions, he would praise Allah. Allahu Akbar.

This happened for three days. And the third day, this companion said to this man, the Prophet said he was among the people of Jannah. He said, let me tell you something. I didn't have no issue with my father. But the Prophet said this about you and I wanted to see what you did so that I can emulate it. But I didn't see anything special. And the man said, you're right. This is it. So this companion walks out. He calls him back. He said, well, there's one more thing. I never have anything in my heart against other people and I'm not envious of the gift Allah gives to other people.

And this companion said, that must be it. No companion it was? Hmm? Hmm? Yes. It was Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As. So? So? (قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ خَيْرُ أُمَّتِي قَرْنِي ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ - Qaala Rasoolullaahi sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallama khayru ummatee qarnee thummal ladheena yaloonahum thummal ladheena yaloonahum) (Sahih al-Bukhari 2652, Sahih Muslim 2533) - "The best of my ummah is my generation and then the generation that follows it and then the generation that follows it." The companions of the prophet. Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As.

The Danger of Spiritual Complacency

Let me tell you something about him. The prophet came to him one day and said, is it true what I hear? That you fast every day and you stand in prayer the whole night, every night and you read the entire Quran. Is it true? He said, yes. He said, don't fast every day. Fast three days a month is sufficient. It's as if you fasted the whole month. He said, I can do better than that. So he kept negotiating with the prophet until finally the prophet said, fast one day, break the fast the other day. He said, I can do better. He said, no, you can't do better. This is the fast of David. He said, pray at night and sleep. In the Quran he said, read the Quran once a month. He said, I can do more than that. And finally they negotiated. He said, well, don't read the Quran except within seven days.

What's my point? What's my point to all of this? You great Muslims who sit here, don't you ever, ever think that you got it made. All these shuyukh, they go around the world and they give dawah, blah, blah, blah. And the imams, they lead the masjid, blah, blah, blah. And they do all of this and they give sadaqa and they do all of that. Good, alhamdulillah. Never think you got it made, why?

The Race is Not Over Until the End

I leave you with this and that's my last statement. Someone put on my Facebook a 600 meter race. A woman. Fascinating. 600 meters. At about 400 meters, she got tripped up somehow and she fell. And I would estimate that at least, they were ahead of her at least 50 meters. And everybody can understand she fell and it was over, no chance. She got up and she started running. And that woman was running, she was running, she was kicking and she passed one and she kept on and she passed another and she kept on and she passed another and the last moment, she won the race.

Don't worry about what you used to do. You're still alive. (إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالْخَوَاتِيمِ - Innamal a'maalu bil khawaateem) Your deeds shall be judged by your last deeds. Make your last deeds right.

The Final Warning and Hope

And then the Prophet gives a warning and this is the warning, the scariest hadith on one hand and the most (إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إِلَّا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ : hopeful hadith on the other hand. He said فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا - Inna ahadakum laya'malu bi'amali ahlil jannah hatta maa yakoonu baynahu wa baynahaa illaa dhiraa'un fayasbiqu 'alayhil kitaabu faya'malu bi 'amali ahlin naari fayadkhuluhaa) (Sahih al- Bukhari 6594, Sahih Muslim 2643).

Careful. A person can do the work of ahlil jannah. Ha, listen. I go to the masjid. I do this. I fast on Monday and Thursday. I fast the month of, I fast the fast of Dawud. I do this. I wear niqab. I do this. I stay away from haram. Good. They do all that until they're this close to jannah and then they begin to do the work of the people of Naar. (فَيَدْخُلُهَا - Fayadkhuluhaa) - And then they go to the hellfire. Why? What did you do? Maybe they become muflis. A muflis is one who used to be rich become poor. Maybe they backbited somebody. Maybe they slandered somebody. Maybe they shed the blood of someone. Maybe they stole the wealth of someone.

On the other hand, (وَإِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إِلَّا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا - Wa inna ahadakum laya'malu bi'amali ahlin naari hatta maa yakoonu baynahu wa baynahaa illaa dhiraa'un fayasbiqu 'alayhil kitaabu faya'malu bi 'amali ahlil jannah fayadkhuluhaa) - And then there are people like Malcolm X. The hadith don't say Malcolm X. Who do all this evil work. But in the end, they do the work of people of jannah. They make tawbah. Allah loves those who make tawbah. He accepts them and then he enters them into jannah.

Not how you begin the race, but how you end. May Allah bless you and bless all of you to be among the people of jannah. Ameen. Ameen.