Being Mindful of Our Blessings

Being Mindful of Our Blessings

Opening Praise and Greetings

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, our Master Muhammad and his family and companions, and peace be upon you. All praise is due to Allah. All praise is due to Allah, Who guided us to this, and we would not have been guided had it not been for the guidance of Allah.

All praise is due to Allah. All praise is due to Allah.

The Divine Principle of Change

So you heard the verse recited, and amongst what was recited, that Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change that which is with themselves.

"And if Allah desires evil for people, no one can repulse it. And they have no protector besides Him."

So Allah is telling us that to a large extent, not totally, because His will and decree are always operative in His creation. So I should say to a certain extent, what we experience depends to a certain extent on how we respond to Allah's decree.

Our Response to Allah's Blessings

Allah bestows His blessings upon us. Do we receive them with gratitude, or do we take them for granted? Or even worse, do we reject them? How we receive the blessings goes a long ways in determining if those blessings will endure.

So one of the basic meanings (إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ - inna Allaha la yughayyiru ma biqawmin hatta yughayyiru ma bi anfusihim) - that Allah will not change the good that He's placed the people in, until they change the state of their heart. Until they become ungrateful for the blessings that Allah bestows upon them.

And once Allah desires to test the people with what they perceive to be difficulties or hardships, no one can repulse that. And so here, the challenge is to continue to be thankful for the blessings that exist in plenty and in abundance.

The Danger of Taking Blessings for Granted

Because it's easy to take them for granted. There's so much, and it's just coming in so good, and we have it so good, and the good is coming from all directions. That we just take it for granted, it's always going to be like this. And then we take them for granted, and then we complain about little things.

Remaining Thankful In All Circumstances

That we're receiving blessings in the context of difficulty, but we're still being blessed. And so will we remain thankful in times of abundance, and not take the blessings of Allah for granted? Will we remain thankful in times of hardship and difficulty, and not forget about the blessings that exist in the context of those difficulties?

One of the great blessings of tribulation is it provides us an opportunity to affirm our belief in Allah. Because it's easy to believe when things are going good, but how about when there's a struggle, there's hardship, there's deprivation? When we still believe, and we still praise Allah, we still thank Allah, then this is an affirmation of our faith.

The Blessing of Marriage

Just as it's easy, we have a lot of people, unfortunately, Muslims, and the general population in our country, they're getting divorced as fast as they're getting married. It's like water being poured into a bucket with a hole in the bottom. So you pour the water in, and it's just going out the bottom.

The marriages are poured into the bucket, and the divorces are coming out the bottom. So it's very easy to take the blessings for granted. One of those blessings is marriage.

Look how easy it is to get married, for people who want to get married. Sisters are saying it's not so easy. It's not as easy as you think. But it's easy for a guy, right? Just save up some money, get a job, go to school, 21, 22, 23, if you want to, you get married. If you want to, you should want to. I've never understood why you wouldn't want to.

I took the plunge when I was about 21, 20, 21 years old. Anyway, look if you're in Egypt. You have to drive a taxi until you're 45 years old, saving up your kurush.

Then you have to buy, you have to have the three keys. The key to the apartment, the key to the car, and the key to the business. And to get the three keys, you have to work half of your life.

And then when you finally think you've made it, the girl's family says, well, her sister just got married to a guy who's in America, and he's a doctor. And he paid a dowry of $100,000. So on top of the three keys, we want $100,000.

And you're like, life isn't fair sometimes. It can be challenging and difficult. You don't have that hardship here.

But people neglect the blessings. Forget about the blessings. Overlook the blessings.

The Promise of Increase Through Gratitude

And then Allah says that (لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ - la'in shakartum la'azeedannakum) - "If you give thanks for my blessings, I will increase them." (Quran 14:7)

So to go back to the verse (إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ - inna Allaha la yughayyiru ma biqawmin hatta yughayyiru ma bi anfusihim) - how do we change that condition? How do we go about ensuring that Allah doesn't change His blessings upon us by changing them into hardship by us being unthankful for the blessings and ungrateful to Allah for the blessings? This is how we work to perpetuate the blessings.

We give thanks for them. (لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ - la'in shakartum la'azeedannakum) - "If you give thanks for my blessings, I will increase those blessings. (وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ - wa la'in kafartum inna 'athabi lashadeed) - And if you reject those blessings, then you should know that my punishment is severe." (Quran 14:7)

Finding Blessings in Every Situation

So the first thing is giving thanks for the blessings. Thanking Allah for the blessings. And even in times when we feel we're being deprived, look for the ways we're being blessed.

You know, I don't have a Porsche or Maserati, but I have a car. And I don't have to walk. Right? I have a car. (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ - alhamdulillah) - I don't have to walk. So, I've been blessed. I've been blessed.

I don't have a car, I have a bicycle. And I have the health to ride the bicycle. I've been blessed. (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ - alhamdulillah)

I don't have a car or a bicycle, but I live a 10-minute walk from my job. I've been blessed. I don't need a car, I don't need a bicycle. The job is 10 minutes away, the store is 5 minutes away. So, if you think about it, I have a job, it provides me money. I have an apartment, it provides me a shelter.

I have a store, it provides me with food. I have a backyard, I can even grow my own food if I'm ambitious. I've been blessed. I don't need a bicycle, I don't need a car. I've been blessed.

Your wife doesn't look like a movie star. So, you're just lamenting the fact that my wife doesn't look like a movie star. You've been blessed. Because your wife looks 10 times better than the movie star once you take off the makeup.

And take off the camera enhancements. And take away all of these other things. What's her name? Selma, you look so good Selma. I really appreciate you. And plus Selma is a believer in this deen. That your Google Idol on television is in some kind of satanic cult.

And sold her soul to the devil to even get on the big screen. You've been blessed. We've been blessed.

Always look for the blessings even in times of deprivation. Even when you think you don't have what you want. You've been blessed.

Opposing the Desires of the Nafs

And just accept what you don't have as a blessing. Because your acceptance of it goes against what your nafs is pushing you towards. And all of the scholars who study these matters in terms of spiritual refinement.

And moving with speed and haste in your journey to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. There's a rule they have. Opposing what your nafs is pushing you towards is the essence of your cure.

So if you were given all these things. You got your Maserati. And you got your movie star. And you got your this and that and the other. It's only making your nafs become so ungrateful. And so unrestrained. And so impatient. And greedy. That it will lead you straight to your destruction.

Straight to hell. And so if you're not getting everything your nafs is longing for. And craving for. You've been blessed. Appreciating the blessing. Secondly.

Understanding the Nature of This World

Understanding that tribulations are the nature of the world. Tribulations and trials are the nature of the world. So taking them in stride and still praising Allah.

Understanding the nature of the world. Ibn Ata'illah al-Iskandari. He has in his Hikam. He says:

"Don't find the occurrence of things littered with kadar - the things that murky up the clear water - so, trials and tribulations. So the stream is pure. Kadar is when you take a stick and you muddy up the bottom. You've all done it when you were kids. And then it gets muddy. That's the kadar. He says, don't find the occurrence of things that muddy up the water - trials, tribulations, tests - strange. Don't find them strange. As long as you're in this world, you're in this abode. Because this world has only manifested something that is deserved based on its description."

It's the dunya. It's the dunya. It's an abode of trials and tribulations. This is the nature of the world.

And that which is necessary - necessary based on its description. This is how the world is described. This is the nature of the world. Don't find it strange.

Taking Tribulations in Stride

So, taking tribulations in stride. Not like, this is an anomaly. You know, I was tested in this way. I got sick.

Disease and illness is part of the human condition. You think that modern medicine is going to eliminate disease? It's part of the human condition. People are always going to get sick.

People have always gotten sick. You know, my little precious baby died. Babies have been dying since babies were brought into the world. My favorite uncle, he was like my father. After my father left my mother, uncle Ahmed, he filled in. He raised me.

He passed away. Old uncles have been dying since old uncles have come into the world. It's the nature of the world. It's sad. It pains us. We're humans.

We have hearts. We're affected. But, we shouldn't be surprised. Death is certain. That's the nature of the world. That's the nature of all people.

They die. Some of you come to ISNA every year. You see these little babies and now they're bigger than you. That's the nature of children. They grow up. You're surprised.

Subhanallah. Did you see Ahmed? Ahmed from Detroit. Little Ahmed from Detroit. He's bigger than me. You're surprised. Well, you've only been coming to ISNA for the last 15 years.

You first met him. He was 5. That means he's 20 now. That means he's a full grown adult. He grew up in the era of growth hormones and all of our food. So, he should be 2 feet taller than you. That's the nature of things.

Don't be surprised by it. So, don't be surprised. Just take it in stride and keep praising Allah.

The Prophetic Teaching on Gratitude

Praise Allah in the good times. Praise Allah in the bad times. And just thank Allah that He gives you the tongue to praise Him.

And this is something we praise for. We pray for. The Prophet taught us. We're talking about shukr. That's where we started.

"O Allah, give me a thankful heart." (Sahih at-Tirmidhi 3407)

"And a remembering tongue."

And the first dhikr, Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. SubhanAllah. Alhamdulillah. Just in good times and bad times, be thankful in your heart. And be mindful with your tongue.

Not Confusing People's Actions with Allah's Punishment

And then thirdly and finally, we mentioned these three things. Don't allow what you receive from the people or just means that Allah Ta'ala has created. Don't allow those to lead you to believe the negativity and the bad and even torment from the people is a sign of Allah Ta'ala's punishment.

Is a punishment from Allah. So Allah Ta'ala, He mentions in the Qur'an. That amongst the people, there are those who say, "We believe in Allah." And then when they experience some difficulty, they make the difficulty they receive from the people as if it were the punishment of Allah. It's just a test.

It's just a test. And many times that test is good from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Is good from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.

Trials Build Character and Faith

Because it's going to build character in us. As we mentioned at the outset, it's going to firm our faith. It's going to increase our faith. It's going to ward off harm from us.

You know, a lot of young athletes in here. I was a young athlete myself at one time. Now I have a screw in my shoulder and can't walk straight. But you know, I'm going to make it. You know, get to the league.

And then, bam. Broken ankle. Busted shoulder. Shattered dreams. It was hard. But then I look back a few years after that, I said Alhamdulillah.

That's the best thing that ever happened to me. Because it got me out of that fantasy world. And made me deal with reality.

Confronting Ultimate Reality

And when you deal with reality, what is the first thing that's going to become abundantly, overwhelmingly clear? (لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ - la ilaha illallah) - That's ultimate reality. So when you come out of a fantasy world, the first reality that's going to slap you in the face is (لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ - la ilaha illallah)

And unfortunately, some people, they live in that fantasy world until they get into their grave. And then what becomes abundantly clear in their grave? (لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ - la ilaha illallah) So they're distracted from reality.

Piling up the goods and the things of the world and the fantasy land that the world can represent. And then visit the grave and say, if they're from Houston, they call home to their parents. Or their children, if they're older and dead gone, children are still there.

Houston, we have a problem. But the only difference between that problem and the problem that the Apollo whatever had, you can gather all the scientists on earth, the brightest minds on earth, they were able to fix the Apollo and get it back to earth.

But whatever problems we have in the grave, all the king's horses and all the king's men aren't going to be able to put Humpty back together again. They're not going to be able to solve that problem. So it behooves us to try to get in touch with reality right now.

The Endurance of Blessings Through Praise

And once we get in touch in the good times, in the bad times, to praise Allah, to thank Allah, and those blessings will endure. Those blessings will endure. And one way the blessings endure is when they're taken away, we still praise Allah.

And so the blessing, the effects of the blessing is what? It's praise, it's shukr, it's thankfulness. So if we still praise Allah, and that physical blessing is gone, we're still blessed. And the blessing endures.

And so Allah Ta'ala says (إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ - inna Allaha la yughayyiru ma biqawmin hatta yughayyiru ma bi anfusihim)

Your nafs, and this can also refer to the heart, the qalb, the nafs, the ruh, in some synonymous stages and states.

Your heart is still with Allah. Your heart is still saying Alhamdulillah.

And so the blessing endures, and they're not taken away.

Closing Du'a

May Allah give us tawfiq. May Allah bless all of you. May Allah bless the conference. May Allah bless your attendance. May it be a source of great good and great benefit.

And may Allah Ta'ala bless us to come together in ways that are mutually beneficial and mutually reinforcing.