Doors of Repentance

Doors of Repentance

A Khutbah by Yusha Evans

Opening

(السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ - assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh)

(بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim)

(الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى أَشْرَفِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ، نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ - alhamdu lillahi rabbil 'alameen, wassalatu wassalamu ala ashrafil anbiya'i wal mursaleen, nabiyyina muhammadin wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'een)

(أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ - ashhadu an la ilaha illallah wahdahu la shareeka lah, wa ashhadu anna muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh)

I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger.

Introduction

How's everyone? Well, forgive me for my tardiness. I would blame it on the traffic and the motorway and things of that nature, but it's just appropriate that I'm on Muslim standard time today, which means about 45 minutes late. So I'm actually a little bit early, Inshallah.

Before we even get started on the topic of the lecture, I want to see and take a questionnaire whether this lecture is even applicable to you guys or not. Because I don't know. It could be that this lecture is not applicable to you.

Is there anyone in this room, by a show of hands, that has made a mistake or committed a sin in their life? Raise your hand. If I had my feet, I would put them up too.

Okay, hands down. How many of you are going to commit another sin? Raise your hand. And you're sure of it. You guarantee, you know, Inshallah, if you live any longer, you'll commit another sin. Raise your hand. To human nature. Correct?

Okay, so we need this lecture. But why? Why do we commit sin? Why is it that we as human beings know, number one, that there's not a single person walking this globe today that has not committed sin, and there's not a single person walking this globe today that if Allah allows them to live another day, they won't commit another sin. Why is that? Why is it like that? Question.

I didn't come just to lecture. If I don't get you to start thinking, then I might as well talk to the wall, because that's about as closed as your brain is going to be for the rest of the day. Why? Why do we sin? There has to be a reason.

Nothing happens within the creation of Allah without a happy purpose, without there being a reason. So the fact that we do commit sin, there has to be a purpose and a reason. Has to be. Allah, nothing happens within the

scope of His power, of His existence, and everything that He controls, without a reason. And without that reason being fully known to Him, and without that reason being fully designed by Him. Correct? Yes or no?

So the fact that we commit mistakes and we sin, there has to be a reason. Why? Anybody? Can anybody give me a clue? If not, then I'm assured that we need this lecture.

Yes, Akhi? So God will forgive our sins. So God will forgive our sins. Anybody else?

The brother's pretty much hit it on the head, Inshallah. I think that it's the human nature about external factors and internal factors. Sometimes external factors, the shaitan is all the time there. And it's like it has an influence somehow on the human being. And the internal factor is all about, you know, we are not complete. We are not meant to be complete, you know. So sometimes the system is just falling down and we are just driven by our desires. Internal, external. Shaitan, our desires mixed together equals sin.

Very beautiful. You didn't know that I was going to start with a Q&A to you, did you? I never thought that would happen, yeah. This is a university, by the way.

Yes, brother? If everyone didn't sin, then there would be no reason for us to keep looking and going closer to Allah. Then we'd be just straight in Islam, no need for Islam. So there would be no need for Islam if we didn't sin, right? If we don't be perfect, then we wouldn't go closer to Allah.

Good. All of this is very good. Sisters, you can answer too. It's appropriate. You can answer, inshaAllah. One last one.

Yes, brother? Choice. Because we have a choice. Because we have a choice. Because of the fact that we have a choice to do what we want to do, we're going to screw it up sometimes, yeah?

All of that is appropriate. But there is also a very beautiful reason behind it all. And that's what I want to discuss tonight, inshaAllah ta'ala.

The Nature of Choice and Free Will

Because you see, life is all about choices. It's all about choices we make. Every day when we wake up, we're presented with choices for the entirety of our day. We're presented with choices everywhere we go. The choice to do this or to do that. And Allah has created a will within us, a will within us to choose between doing this and that, or the third, or right or wrong.

But of course that will is within His will. It's contained within His will for all things. It's within the qadr of Allah. Nothing else outside of the qadr of Allah. But we do have a choice to do. Now, Allah understood that from the beginning.

And this is what we're going to talk about today. Because it's not about whether you will make a mistake or not. Because we've all seen that we're all going to make mistakes. We're going to sin. And we're going to continue to sin as long as we continue to live. It's about what we do with the mistakes.

The True Purpose of Our Existence

You see, this is the real purpose of our existence here. Not whether we will make a mistake and screw it up or not. Because we're going to. We're innately going to. Even the best of us are going to fall, and slip, and make mistakes, and commit sin. It's about how we deal with the sin that makes it or break it for the Muslim, and for humanity.

And this is the one thing, unfortunately, that most major religions in the world have gone astray upon. The sin nature of the human being, and how to deal with it. How to deal with the fact that we have a choice between right and wrong, and we will sin.

So how do we deal with that sin in front of the one who created us? This is where most major religions have gone astray. Not understanding how to answer this question. And the beautiful thing about Islam, and this is one of the reasons I accepted the religion of Islam, was because it is so clearly defined in Islam, within the Qur'an, and within the Sunnah, about sin, and mistakes, and how to deal with them, and why they're here, and what for, and what to do about it, that it was very easy for me to enter into this religion.

Because I wanted to fix myself. I was looking for a way out of the life I was living. And no other religion gave me a way out. They gave me a wiped over theory of placing it on this person's shoulder, or doing this, or that, and the third. But none of it dealt with the reason. Why? Why? There has to be a reason.

Allah's Conversation with the Angels

Islam was so pure and simple about it. And I found it very early when I was reading the Qur'an. Because in the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah, Allah describes a conversation that He had with the angels.

And you'll find this in ayah 30. Very early in Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah 30. When Allah says:

Remember, and remember when your Lord said to the angels, "Verily, I am going to place on the earth a khalifa."

(Reference: Surah Al-Baqarah (2:30))

A representative, a vicegerent. Something special, something special. And from the terminology that Allah used, khalifa, the angels understood that this is a special creation that Allah is going to create and honor it. He's honored this insan for some reason.

Now, the angels were a little bit adept and in tune with what happens when Allah creates something that He gives a free choice to. Whom did they learn that from? Anyone know? The jinn who were before us. They saw how if you Allah create someone who has a choice, what will happen?

So the angels responded:

"Are you going to place in it one who will cause mischief? He will cause mischief, fasad on it, and he will shed blood. While we celebrate your praises day and night."

(Reference: Surah Al-Baqarah (2:30))

The angels were telling Allah that look, if you want to be praised, we praise you. You created us for that purpose. You can create more of us for that purpose. We praise you in the exact way you wish to be praised without fail. We do not even have the capacity to disobey you. So why do you want to create this khalifa who is going to go on earth, cause mischief and shed blood?

Now, did the angels know us? Did they know us? Oh, they knew us. Did we not fulfill that very clearly? Did we not become the mischief makers on earth? Yes, we become the source of mischief on earth. What about shedding blood? How long was it in the lineage of the first insan, the first khalifa that Allah created, how long was it before blood was spilled? One generation. One generation, Adam's own children shed blood and one killed the other.

So the angels knew us very well. They understood what would happen if Allah placed us on this earth. But yet Allah responded to them, not by answering their question, not by explaining Himself, but by saying what?

"In verily, truly, without a doubt, I know something you don't know."

(Reference: Surah Al-Baqarah (2:30))

The Manifestation of Allah's Attributes

I know something you don't know. There is something about this khalifa that I know that you don't know. And this is the beauty of our deen. This is the beauty of the Rabb that we worship, is that yes, Allah could be magnified by that which He created. The heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the expanse of the universe, those all celebrate the praises of Allah. The things which He created, the angels praise Allah.

The greatness of Allah can be seen in that which He created. Something that this human mind can't even begin to fathom. We barely even touched and scratched a minute surface of what is in the expanse of what Allah has created. And we can't even understand barely our own creation, much less anything else.

So all of this greatness and expanse of the universe, and the angels, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and Allah had already created these jinn that could have this power to praise Allah. But you see, there was some attributes that belong to Allah.

There were some attributes that belong to Allah, that could only become known, and could only become manifest when Allah created something, created something and honored it, even though knowing it would disobey Him. It would turn away from Him. They would make mistakes. They would sin. They would make wrong choices. They would go down the wrong roads.

But then there would be a portion of them, there would be a group of them, who would do what? Return to Him. Return to Him. Turn away from that which they were doing, and say:

"Indeed, I have wronged my own soul. If you don't forgive me and have mercy upon me, indeed, I will be one of the losers."

(Reference: Surah Al-A'raf (7:23))

You see, this is where Allah has the capacity to show His true greatness. That yes, I created this insan, this Adam.

The Story of Adam in the Garden

I gave him the choice of right and wrong. I placed him in the garden. And when Allah placed Adam in the garden, He told him, all of this that is within Jannah is for you to enjoy. All of it, just enjoy what you wish. Except for this one tree. Don't touch it. Just leave it alone and don't touch it.

But we all know the story very well. That shaitan, a man's avowed enemy, who has been avowed enemy to us even before the ruh was blown into the first of us. He was an avowed open enemy because he saw the honor that Allah had given to this khalifah that he was going to create. He caused them to eat from the tree.

Now, when they ate from this tree, Allah told them to get down from here. This is not your place anymore. You now will dwell in the earth for a time. But, but, I will send people to you and to your generations forthcoming. Whosoever follows those guidance which I send, on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve. But those who turn away from my guidance, then surely they will be in loss, and they will dwell in the fire.

The Words of Repentance

Now, there's a very beautiful hadith narrated about this time. And it tells us all we need to know about this sin nature of the human being. You don't need to become allegorical with it. You don't need a degree, and a PhD in Islamic studies to understand this very simple concept.

When Allah told Adam to get down on his wife, number one, he taught them some words. And those words were the source to which Adam and Eve could fix their mistake. He said to them to say what? What did he tell them to say?

"Our Lord, we have wronged what? Our own souls. We have done *dhulm* to our own soul. We have oppressed our own soul. If you don't forgive us, and have mercy and *rahmah* upon us, then indeed we will be a loser."

It's a matter of *yaqeen*, that *tawbah*. That look, we've wronged our own soul. That's clear. And if you don't forgive us, it's also clear that we will be a loser. In this life and the next. And Allah forgave them.

Allah forgave what they had done. And then Adam asked Allah something. And you can find this in Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Bidayah wa Nihayah and a number of other hadith places you can find this narration.

Where Adam said, My Lord, Rabbani, when you created me, did you not create me with your own hands? And Allah says, no. Yes, I created you with my own hands.

Did you not after creating me with your own hands, breathe into me the *ruh* of life and cause me to live? Allah says, no. For sure I did.

And when I sneezed, because it's the first thing Adam did when the *ruh* was given to him, he sneezed. And Allah said to him, the mercy of Allah be upon you. He said, did you not say that to me? Allah says, no. Yes, I did.

And when you placed me in that garden and told me not to eat from that tree, did you not know I was going to eat from it? Was it not well within your knowledge that I would eat from that tree? Allah says, no, of course. Everything is within my knowledge.

Then Adam said, Then will you not forgive me for it and put me back in that garden one day? Allah says, no. For sure I will.

The Process of Tawbah

You see, this is the process. This is the understanding of why we're here and why we commit sin. We're here to worship Allah, of course.

"Man was not created and jinn was not created except but to worship Allah."

But no one can do that without stop. No one can be perfect at that. It's not possible for us as human beings to be perfect in that worship. We will commit sin and we will make mistakes. But Allah has made a very simple process by which the human being can come back to a perfect relationship with Allah in terms of how He sees us. And this is through *tawbah*. This is through *tawbah*.

It is the doors of *tawbah* by which we have a perfect relationship with the one to whom we worship. And that's the only way. You cannot do it through effort. Your own effort will only take you so far. It is impossible.

Is there anyone here that thinks even if they try with the hardest of their might, with the hardest of their energy, every single day for the rest of their lives to live without committing another sin? Is there a person here who thinks they can do that? It's not possible. It's not possible. So we need a way.

We need a way to fix the broken relationship that we have with Allah. Because Allah created us to worship Him. When we fall short in that, we have to find a way to mend that broken relationship.

And this is where Islam has solved this solution so simply. That we as a human being, I myself as a Muslim, I stop what I'm doing. I realize, number one, I've made a mistake. I've screwed it up. Maybe again, and again, and again, and again, and again. But I have a Rabb who understands this. And I turn to him. And I say, my Lord, forgive me. Forgive me and have mercy upon me.

The Hadith of the Forgiving Slave

And Allah forgives. There's a Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ that there's a slave who goes forward and commits a sin in front of Allah. And then he turns to Allah. And he says, my Lord, I have wronged my soul. Forgive me. And Allah forgives him.

Allah forgives him. Then he goes forward. Some time passes. He commits another mistake. Does another sin. He slips again. He does what? He turns to his Rabb. Right away he turns to his Lord. And he says, my Lord, I've committed another sin. I've wronged myself. Forgive me. And Allah forgives him again.

Then he goes forward. Some time passes. And he commits another mistake. Yet another sin. And he says, my Lord, I have wronged my own soul. Please forgive me. And Allah forgives him again.

Then he goes forward. And he commits yet another mistake. Yet another mistake. But he turns to his Rabb. And says, my Lord, I have wronged my own soul. Forgive me. And what does Allah say to him?

"He knows that he has a Rabb that will forgive him. He knows this. He understands this. That he has a Rabb who will forgive him. So I have forgiven him. Do as you wish now."

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2758)

Not meaning to go forward and commit sin. But he's allowing his slave to go forward. Because he knows that whenever this slave commits a sin, he's going to turn to his Rabb. Because this slave knows that he has a Lord who forgives sin.

Understanding Allah's Mercy

You see, this is a problem. We as Muslims have had for far too long. Is that we have not understood that Allah is more merciful than He is angry. We have been taught to fear Allah at the end of a stick. For most of our lives.

And you know this. Especially those of us coming from back home.

And I've only been Muslim for 15 years. But I feel like it's been a lifetime. For those of you who come from back home, you know that Islam has taught you at the end of a stick. That if you do this, Allah is going to throw you deep into hell. That if you do that, Allah is going to punish you. Everything was a warning. Fear Allah. He's going to beat you. He's going to throw you, burn your skin.

And if you weren't taught to fear Allah, you fear whoever has the stick. We were taught to be obedient through fear. Which is not a problem. Unless that's the only way we're being taught. Because then we go on and pass that on to the world. That's an attitude that we live with. And then we instill that into our children.

Rather than teaching them that you should not do this. Because you have a Rabb, who is merciful. He will forgive you. But out of your respect for him, you should try to avoid this. But if you mess up, doesn't mean the stick always has to come immediately.

There is a means by which you can fix your mistakes. And we as parents have unfortunately not been forgiving with our children, the way we should be. We should learn to be as forgiving with our children as we would wish Allah to be forgiving with us.

Because if we can't teach our children that there is a process by which forgiveness can be obtained, then how can we get them to understand that these huge sins that they're going to commit in front of their Lord, He can then forgive them for it.

That's why we have a lot of our youth who have just walked out of Islam. Because they think that they're too bad. They've done too much. They've gone too far. They broke all bounds. And Allah could never in any way be pleased with them ever again.

And I've heard this too many times. And I have to tell these young men and young women, who is it that closed the door of repentance for you?

The Door of Tawbah Cannot Be Closed

When creating this khalifah, He opened a door to *tawbah*. He opened a door to *tawbah* for Adam and Eve. And that door cannot be closed. Cannot be closed. But by one thing. But by one thing that you can do, they can take that door and close it in your life. While you're still living, breathing and walking. And what is that? *Shirk*.

You can take the worship that Allah created you for, and then give that to something which He created. Very simple. You can take the worship that Allah created you for, and willingly, knowingly, hand that worship over to something which He created. By that means you take that door and you shut it yourself. You shut it yourself.

Other than this, as long as you're still walking and talking and breathing, and you haven't met the angel of death who is standing right in front of you. That door is always open for you to walk through at any moment.

And it is not like it's a long road to get to. That door is always right behind you. It is always right behind you.

This is why the word *tawbah* is used, because *tawbah* means to turn around. To turn around. If you have committed a sin in front of Allah, you turn around, and that door is right there. It is right there.

And it is one of the *fiqh* of the *sunnah*, is *salat al-tawbah*. Learning how to fix our relationship with Allah.

The Importance of Relationship with Allah

We wonder why our lives are in shambles. And most people come to me, and they ask me questions about their lives being in a wreck. Their lives are in a wreck. Their family relationship is in a wreck. Their relationship with their spouse is in a wreck. Their relationship with their children is in a wreck. Their relationship with their parents is wrecked. Their relationship with their friends is trashed. Their life is miserable. They can't find any good anymore.

And you know the first thing I ask these people, how is your relationship with Allah? How would you define your relationship with Allah? Because if your relationship with Allah is messed up, it's discombobulated, I'll ask them, when is the last time you made *tawbah* for Allah? When is the last time you stood up, prayed two *rakah*, got on your face, and asked Allah to forgive you?

If they tell me, I don't even remember the last time. I tell them that this is why the rest of your life is destroyed. This is why you don't have a good relationship with your spouse. This is why you don't have a good relationship with your parents, with your brothers and sisters, with your friends. It's because the relationship with your creator is askew.

Therefore the relationship with the creation will never be in order. We have to understand that this is the system that Allah works in for us. That Allah creates this condition for us based on how we are with Him.

He wants me to come back to Him. Maybe Allah is placing so many obstacles in my way that I'll stop and just think for a moment, and turn around and fix my relationship with Him. Because with Allah, if Allah cared nothing about your soul, if Allah didn't care anything about whether you went to Jannah or not, then Allah would give you the best life that He could.

He would give you everything, throw the *dunya* at you, let you live this life as a beautiful, fantastic, decadent life, and then bring death upon you, and toss you into the deepest pits of hell, and it'll be done with you. That would be the reality. But the reality is Allah tests those whom He loves. He brings hardship upon those whom He loves. And it's all defined on our relationship.

So you see life is not really about whether we will or will not commit mistake. The mistake is guaranteed. I guarantee you, you're gonna make one today. I guarantee you, you're gonna make another tomorrow, and maybe

another next day. The only way you're not gonna make a mistake through the day, is probably if you sleep all day long. You will make mistakes. You will have problems.

But it is about how we fix these relationships.

The Beautiful Hadith of Forgiveness

You see, this is something that brought me to a beautiful understanding about Islam. That yes, I've screwed my life up majorly. When I was sitting in that masjid 15 years ago, listening to the imam talk about the forgiveness of Allah, and how the door of *tawbah* is always open, and how Allah wishes to forgive us.

There was even a beautiful hadith he told us from the Prophet, that Jibreel came to the Prophet one day, and he said to him, Tell the Muslims, if they commit this certain sin, I forget exactly what sin it was, that he would forgive them. And the Prophet ﷺ went and told the Muslims, Allah says if you do this and repent to Him, He'll forgive you.

And then they were like, Okay, what about the other thing that we do? So he went back to Jibreel, Jibreel went and inquired, came back, said, That one, Allah will forgive too. They said, Okay, what about this third sin? And the fourth sin? And the fifth sin? And it kept going on and on and on, until Jibreel finally came back. And he said, Tell them this, that Allah has told them, that no matter how many sins they have committed, even if the sins that they have committed, would fill the entire world, and everything that it contains, everything that it contains, that if they meet their Rabb, having worshipped nothing but Him, and expecting good from Him, that they would find a Rabb with a light forgiveness, to that which they have sinned.

Basically telling them, no matter what you've done, no matter how heavy and great your sins may be, if you have repented to Allah, you have worshipped Allah, and you meet Allah, expecting good from Him, then that is what you will find.

And Allah has told the Prophet in the hadith Qudsi:

"I am as my slave perceives me. I am as my slave perceives me."

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7405)

So if you perceive a Rabb who is only angry, and who only punishes, well guess what? That's what your life is gonna be filled with, anger and punishment, and probably *akhira* as well. But if you worship a Rabb whom you know, number one, will punish me, he will punish me, he has the right to punish me, but he will forgive me. And before creating anything, he took an oath with himself, that my mercy will always overcome my anger.

If Allah has the choice between mercy and anger, mercy will be the thing that is chosen. I will always allow my mercy to overcome my anger. Because wallahi, if Allah was only angry, as the non-Muslims like to portray Islam as, if Allah punished us for everything we did, not a single one of us would exist.

Signs of Allah's Mercy

No one would exist on the face of the earth. Allah would punish us for everything that we did the moment we did it. The moment you committed a sin, you would receive exact retribution for it.

People ask me, how do you know Allah is merciful? I tell them, when I commit a sin, He doesn't punish me. That's how I know He is merciful. If I committed a sin today, and I'm still able to talk about it right now, I know Allah is merciful.

He's given me a window, an opportunity, by which to come back and fix that mistake. Because if Allah wasn't merciful, I commit a sin, He would just let me end my life right there, snatch me off of the earth, and that would be the way I end my life. But we know that Allah is merciful.

Stories from the Day of Judgment

There are people who will come on the Day of Judgment. Two of them particularly the Prophet ﷺ told us about.

One of them, he's already had his deeds weighed, and his heavy scale side is on the bad. His bad deeds about weighed his good deeds. So Allah has decided that he needs to be punished. So he's being dragged to hell by the angels.

And when he gets close to being thrown into hell, hell recedes back. Hell recedes back away. And Allah asked him, what is the matter with you? What is the matter with you? And hell says, my Lord, He is seeking refuge with you from me.

Even though, even though you have condemned him, you have ordered for him to be punished by me, he is still seeking refuge with you from me. Therefore I have to step back. And Allah tells the angels, drag him, release my slave. Let him go. Let him go and he enters into jannah. Because he's called upon Allah by His mercy.

He is still, even after all of this, still seeking refuge with Allah. And there's another man who the same thing has happened to him. He's being dragged. And he turns and says to Allah, my Lord, I did not expect this from you. This is not what I expected from you.

And Allah will say, my slave, what did you expect from me? You committed the sin. You disobeyed me. What did you expect from me? He'll say, I expected that your mercy could even come to somebody like me. That even someone like me could have your mercy.

And Allah will tell the slaves, release my slave. Because now he has called upon me by my mercy. And therefore I am giving it to him.

You see, Allah desires mercy. This is the side that Allah always wishes to go with. To be merciful. To be merciful unto you. But you have to understand that concept. You have to understand that with your own.

Our Self-Doubt and Allah's Desire for Us

You see, we all think that we've screwed up so much. And I know all of you been there. I've been there. Still there a lot of times thinking that I've screwed up so much. I don't even have the energy to put my two hands in front of my face and make dua to Allah. Because I'm wasting my time.

How many of you been there? How many of you been there? I'm wasting my time even calling upon Allah. I've got too many sins, man. My sins are so heavy that my dua is gonna bounce right off of them. It's not gonna go anywhere. How many of you felt like that before? If you felt like that, it's a sign of iman. It's a sign of iman.

That you have some iman. You worry about your own situation. But you see, Allah wishes for you more than you could ever imagine. Allah desires for you for whom He created more than you could ever ask for or even imagine. Even imagine. I'm gonna tell you about a couple of people and I will bring it to an end.

Just wanna show you how merciful Allah really is. That you're not even like these people and yet we complain so much. We worry so much. Why worry?

The Last Man to Leave Hell

I'm gonna tell you about, and you probably heard this before, the last man to ever leave hell. The last man to ever leave hell. There will be a man who will be in hellfire for so long. Who knows how long he's been there? Who knows he could have been in there for millions and millions and millions of years. But he's been in there so long he's turned black. He's been burned so many times that he's turned completely black.

And Allah removes him from the fire but yet he's still standing in front of it. And he's standing in front of it and he's so close to it still that he can feel the fire on him. It's still burning. I mean it's just still hot. And he only ask Allah one thing. He says, my Lord, I'm only gonna request for you that you just turn my face away from the fire. Just turn me around. Just don't let me face this fire anymore. I've been here long enough.

And Allah asks him, my slave, if I give you this, if I give you this, will you ask me anything else after that? And the slave says, no, by Allah I won't ask anything. That's all I want. Just turn my face away.

So Allah turns his face away. And he's not looking at the fire anymore. Now, as he's looking in the distance, here comes a tree. There's a tree. It's a very beautiful tree and there's a nice shade under it. So he looks at it and he has desire for it. He just want to be under that tree. So he breaks down, and he breaks his promise to Allah. He says, my Lord, just let me go to that tree. I just want to go to that tree. Just let me sit under that tree. I'm happy if you just let me sit under that tree.

So he asked him, did you not already tell me that you won't ask for anything else? He says, yes, but this will be the last thing I ask for, I promise. I won't ask anything else. I'm done. Just put me by the tree. So Allah puts him by the tree. And he's sitting there by the tree.

And he can see Jannah now. He can see the gates. He can see the doors of Jannah. They're off in the distance but he can see it. And you know, he just starts desiring. He wants Jannah. He sees it. He can see it with his own two eyes. And so he says, my Lord, just let me stand outside. I don't even want to go in. I don't have to go in. Just let me stand outside. Why not?

So Allah tells him the same thing. Did you not already say that if I would give you this tree, you wouldn't ask for anything else. Look, I just want the tree. I just want to stand outside the gate. I don't have to go in. Just let me see it.

So Allah puts him outside of the gates of Jannah. And he's standing there. For who knows Allah. Imagine what he's seeing now. He's hearing the people of Jannah. Maybe he's hearing some people he knew. Maybe he's hearing the Prophet Musa. Who knows what he's hearing and witnessing on this standing at the gate of Jannah.

And he gets itchy. He can't take it anymore. He can't take it. He's saying, ya Allah, just let me go in. Just let me go in. Just let me put my feet inside. I just want to see it.

And so Allah says, Didn't you already the same thing ask me? He said, look, I won't ask for anything else. I'll be done. So Allah grants him to go inside the gates of Jannah. And then gives him a kingdom for himself that is as big as the world and everything it contains. As big as the world and everything it contains.

And then asks him, Are you happy now? Are you happy now? I've let you into Jannah. I'm giving you everything that the world ever contains. Are you happy? So the slave says, yeah, I'm happy. Okay, yeah, I'm good.

Then Allah doubles it. Allah doubles it for his slave. Gives him twice. Two times the world and everything it's ever contained. And says, are you happy now? The slave says, yeah, I was happy the first time.

Then Allah triples it. And says, are you happy now? He says, yeah, I was happy the first time. Then he quadruples it. Are you happy now? Then five times over. Then six times over. Then seven times over. And the slave now is saying, okay, yeah, stop, stop. That's enough.

Eight times over. Nine times over. Ten times over. Allah is saying, are you happy now? Do you see now how much Allah is desirous? For us to be pleased. For us to be pleased that the worst of us that ever existed is being forced upon him now. Ten times the world and everything that it ever contained.

And that is the least person that will ever enter into the Jannah. That is the least person to ever enter into Jannah. And the last person to ever leave Hell.

So if that person can obtain that kind of reward and that kind of retribution just for having sincere worship for Allah, even if he was the worst of us, then what about you or I? What about you or I? What does Allah want for us? What does Allah have in store for us? We don't know. But we didn't do anything to deserve it. We know that.

Everything is a Blessing

We've screwed up so many times. We don't deserve even the air Allah has given us to breathe. If any of you

think you deserve anything that Allah has given you, then we've already stepped off the straight path.

Because everything Allah gives us is a ni'mah. The air He's given us is a gift. It's a blessing. The water we drink, this is a blessing. The food we eat, it's a blessing. The clothes we wear, it's all a blessing. It's all a blessing.

But let me tell you something, brothers and sisters, as I bring it to a close. There is nothing that is more of a blessing that Allah has conferred upon His slave than Islam. Nothing. Nothing. There's nothing that exists by which the slave can benefit themselves.

And we're all slaves. We're all slaves. Even the non-Muslims are slaves of Allah. They just don't accept their slavery. They don't accept it. Some people are rebellious slaves. Like if a master owns a group of slaves, there might be some of them who accept it. They know they're slaves and they just accept it. And they just live a life knowing that they're a slave.

There are some who reject it. No, we're not slaves. And there are ones who will try to run away. But they're still slaves. They're still slaves owned by their master. Just like we will always be slaves owned by our master who created us.

But you have to understand that the greatest thing that Allah gifted you with after giving you life, period, is this religion of Islam. This means by which we can worship Allah. By which we know how to worship Allah. And by which we know how to fix the mistakes that we make and will continue to make.

Because without Islam, that relationship becomes screwed up. Because every other religion has failed in this aspect. They failed in the responsibility of learning how to control the relationship between the slave and the master. Islam is the only religion that has ever had it right and that will ever have it right.

We commit sin. We make mistakes. We have a Lord who is merciful. Who created us knowing that we will sin. Created us knowing that we will make mistakes. But He has made a path by which some of us will come back to Him. And that is the way He can show His greatest attributes of mercy. His greatest attributes of forbearance. His greatest attributes of patience with us. His greatest attributes of loving us.

And this is by which we should worship the One whom we have been created by.

Living with the Reality of Death

Now, I hope you understand that this relationship is a fragile relationship. Because life is fragile. Life is fragile. It is held on by a thread. None of us ever know when that thread is going to be yanked. And we're going to be relocated from this life and into the next. None of us ever knows that. But we have to live assuming.

The Prophet said, No, excuse me, it was Umar ibn al-Khattab who said, Let none of you who go to sleep at night think that you're gonna wake up in the morning. Don't go to sleep at night expecting that you'll wake up in the morning. That's a fool's idea.

This is the trick of Shaytan. When we lay in bed at night thinking that, yeah, I'm gonna get up in the morning, no problem. I didn't finish it today. I'll fix it tomorrow. Or none of you that wake up in the morning expect that you'll make it to sleep that night. This is how the believer lives their life.

If I lay down tonight, I better not lay down tonight unless I have taken account for myself. As Umar said, Take account, take hasaba on yourself before the account is taken for you. So if I lay down tonight, my relationship is alright with my Rabb before I lay down tonight.

The true mu'min cannot sleep. They cannot rest. They cannot lay down at night knowing that their relationship with Allah is askew. Something's wrong. Something's out of place. The same with when you wake up in the morning.

When you wake up in the morning, live your day knowing that you're going to have to face Allah one day. And that you live today trying to fix that relationship with the one whom you will stand in front of on the Day of Judgment. This is the most beautiful way of life to live.

You're gonna screw it up today, tomorrow, the next day. But every night, every single day, try to fix it again. And trust me, Allah does not get tired of your tawbah. He does not get tired of hearing how much you screwed up. He doesn't get tired of hearing how many times you failed. He loves the fact that you know that you have a Rabb who forgives sin and that you turn to Him and you ask Him to forgive you.

By Allah, this is a door that Allah has opened for all of you and it cannot be shut by anyone except if you hand that worship over to someone to whom He created.

Closing Dua

Glory be to You, O Allah, and all praise is for You. I bear witness that there is no deity except You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You.

Final Message to Students

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. O' students, I want to encourage upon you to get involved with Islamic Society.

Why should you get involved? The reason you should get involved is because this is your university. This is where you go to school. This is where you present yourself. This is where you're going to be for the next couple of years, few years, who knows how long. So you need to try to make this the best years of your life, the best environment that you can while you're here.

You need to get involved with the Islamic Society because it is here for your needs, for the needs of the Muslim students. Trying to spread the message of Islam. Trying to encourage people to worship Allah better. Trying to

encourage people to be more pleasing to the Lord.

Also trying to benefit you by having services that cater to your needs. So by not getting involved, you cannot complain of things don't go the way you want them to go. Especially when it comes to your deen.

So get involved inshaAllah. Find a position, find a niche. Get involved in however you can. Even if it's just coming, setting up for events or lectures or meetings and then cleaning up after. If that's all you can contribute, it's a great contribution. But the talents that you have, use them to help.

Please Allah and get involved. If you don't get involved, you can only blame one person and that's yourself. So I expect you to get involved inshaAllah to the best of your ability and be involved to the best of your means.

Closing Salutation

End of Khutbah