Fight Procrastination, Fight Satan’s Control

Defeat Procrastination & Defeat Satan's Ruse

Imam Zaid Shakir

Opening Praise and Introduction to the Verse

Our praise is due to Allah who is said, related or mentioned in His most exalted and most noble and most mighty scripture:

"And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the righteous."

The Meaning of Hastening to Forgiveness

When the exegetes explain this verse, they remind us that there is an unmentioned phrase here, and specifically a verb: (سَارِعُوا إِلَىٰ مَا يُوجِبُ الْمَغْفِرَةَ مِن رَّبِّكُمْ - hasten to that which leads to forgiveness from your Lord.)

In other words, based on various opinions, hasten to Islam or the actions of Islam, but more generally hasten to implement the commandments of Allah as the end of the verse will remind us, and hasten to avoid those things that are prohibited.

The verse concludes : (أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ - prepared for the righteous.) What is the basic definition of taqwa? (امْتِثَالُ الْأَوَامِرِ وَاجْتِنَابُ النَّوَاهِي - implementing the orders and avoiding the prohibitions.)

Don't Play with Your Religion

So Allah is telling us to hasten, hasten to implement the orders. Don't play around, don't play around, as Allah mentions in the hadith qudsi: (يَا عِبَادِي إِنِّي خَلَقْتُكُمْ لِلْعِبَادَةِ فَلَا تَلْعَبُوا - My servants, I've created you for My worship, don't play around.)

Don't play with your religion. Play with your children, play with your spouse occasionally, but don't play with Allah's religion. Don't play with Allah's religion. Hasten to your prayers. And some of the mufassirun mention al-fara'id - hasten to fulfill your obligations, starting with the prayer. Hasten to fulfill your obligations. Hasten to avoid those things that are forbidden.

Tomorrow is Promised to No One

Not next week, not next month. Next week, next month is promised to no one. How many people do we all know recently who passed away, some of them at a young age, some of them suddenly, perfectly strong, healthy, the next minute they're sick. May Allah cure all of our sick folks. But tomorrow is promised to no one, so we should hasten today.

The Story of the Man Who Killed 99 People

Some people reference in terms of the magnitude of Allah's mercy and forgiveness, the hadith of the man who killed ninety-nine people. Then he never did a good deed in terms of the fara'id. He never prayed, he never fasted a day of Ramadan. This was before, from the earlier people, but whatever fast was incumbent for his ummah, he never undertook it. He never gave any charity.

But he did one thing. Once he went to the learned man. The learned man told him - first he went to the worshipper, the abid. He does a lot of worship, but he didn't have much knowledge of the religion. So after he killed the ninety-nine people, most of us know the story, but repetition is good pedagogically, it's a good teaching tool.

So he went to the abid. He said, "What did you do? Is there any forgiveness for me?" "What did you do?" "I killed ninety-nine people." "How did you - you're a terrible guy! Ninety-nine people! How? No way!" Then one hundred - he killed him too.

Then he asked the people, "Is there any forgiveness?" They said, "Go to the alim." And this is one of the hadiths that emphasize the virtue of knowledge. And he went to the alim, the learned man, and he asked, "Is there any forgiveness for me?" And he said, "What's between you and forgiveness? Allah forgives all sins, except shirk, idolatry." He didn't say that, it's interjected by me, it's not part of the hadith.

"Go, but this land where you're doing all this killing is a bad land. Go to - there's another land, it's a good land. The righteous people are there. Go and join them and worship Allah along with them."

And so what did the man do? He immediately set out. He immediately set out. Never prayed, never fasted, didn't give any zakat, but he immediately set out for that good land. And he died halfway.

And the angels of mercy and torment disputed who would take his soul. They measured between the two lands, and he was found to be closer to the good land, and the angel of mercy took his soul.

The One Thing He Did Right

The one thing he did do - he didn't tarry, he didn't linger, he didn't procrastinate, he didn't hesitate. He didn't wait for tomorrow. He didn't wait for next week. He didn't wait for next year. He immediately set out for the good land, and he was forgiven by Allah.

Brothers and sisters, hasten. And this Jannah is waiting for us. Jannah is waiting for us. So the question is, do we want to be amongst these people? That's the question we should ask ourselves. And we should be serious in the answer. And if we find that the answer is other than what we would like it to be, we should immediately work to change our situation, to change our affair, to get serious about our religion, brothers and sisters.

The Vastness of Paradise

So Allah encourages us to hasten to do the things we should be doing, to avoid the things we should be avoiding. And then He describes the reward: Jannah, and the expansiveness of Jannah, which brings another point.

Why do some people, with all of that expanse we mentioned the paradise, each and every one of these paradises is more expansive than the expanse of the heavens and the earth - why would we only want ourselves and people who see Islam the way we see it to get in?

You have people - anyone who doesn't see Islam the way they see it, they're going to hell, going to hell. Anything to get them into hell on a technicality. Anything to get people into hell on a technicality. We should be wanting everyone to get in. There's plenty of room for everybody.

It's not as if there's a little box and there's only a little bit of room. Then maybe we can understand, not really, but perhaps. But with all of that space, why wouldn't we want as many people as possible to get in?

Having Good Opinion and Understanding Differences

Many of us, we need to ease up, and we need to have a good opinion of Allah, and understand that Allah knows the hearts. And perhaps Allah knows something we don't know about a person. Or perhaps what a person might be doing that we think is wrong is actually right, because we don't know their madhab, we don't know what proofs they might have, we don't know the foundation of their actions. We just assume because it's not like ours, and many of us don't even know our own madhab, to be perfectly honest.

But we assume we know ours, and we assume we know the next person's, with all of the details and intricacies that a thousand or fourteen hundred years of scholarship will give birth to. All of the divergence within parameters that fourteen hundred years of scholarship will give birth to.

And then when we start to study, we discover the thing that we might have consigned someone to hell based on, in our minds - we can't consign anyone anywhere, but in our minds was actually something that was acceptable in the religion. We just hadn't studied it yet. We hadn't learned about it yet.

So Allah says that this paradise is waiting, is prepared. Then He gives some descriptions of the muttaqin.

The First Characteristic: Spending in All Circumstances

So the first description He gives: those who spend (الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ - Quran (3:134) - "Those who spend whether in ease or in hardship."

Whether it's easy or difficult, whether they're rich or their means are constrained. If you lose your job, you get laid off, that happens from time to time, especially in this part of the world. Don't stop spending. Just spend less, but don't stop spending. They spend when it's easy, they spend when it's difficult.

And another interpretation: despite their disposition. Some people are just plain stingy. And were that not the case, Allah would not say, "Whoever can avoid the stinginess of their soul." Some people are stingy. Spend, whether you have a naturally generous spirit and disposition - some people love to spend, they give, right, the wife has to stop them from writing checks, "Don't, not this time!" Some people are very generous. Some people are stingy.

And so what Allah is saying: overcome yourself. Overcome yourself. Don't give in to the demands of your disposition. And this Islam is about conquering, gradually overcoming what we might be predisposed towards -

not just instantly, but gradually. Forbearance comes through being forbearing over time.

Breaking Free from Stinginess

And even it's mentioned, to break the stinginess, just give a little bit, a little bit, until that becomes easy. You put a dollar in - you have a hundred thousand in the bank, but you want to hold on. Don't know how the economy is going, things are uncertain. But just give a dollar, until it becomes easy. And then give five, then give ten, until it becomes easy for you.

But everyone should work against the negative proclivities of their soul. And this is how we control and vanquish the negative, those negative proclivities, by working against them. If we give in to them, then what is the point?

Islam is not about making excuses. It's not about making excuses. It's about working to overcome those things that we might be inclined to make excuses for. You hear people, you know, "That's just the way I am." "Like, why do you talk to him or her like that?" "Well, that's just the way I am, you know, I can't help it."

You better start learning how to help it. You better start challenging yourself. Because I guarantee you, you're not going to stand before Allah and say, "That's just the way I am. I couldn't help it." I guarantee that much.

Islam is a Challenging Religion

Condition yourself in this world. Challenge yourself in this world. And Islam is a challenging religion, always has been and it always will be. Islam will challenge you. It will make you cry. It will make you cry, if you take it seriously. Because the bar that it sets doesn't get lowered. You strengthen your legs and jump over the bar, or it's not going to happen. That bar is not coming down.

Some people want it to come down, but it's not coming down. We need to challenge ourselves to raise ourselves to that level. Because only when we as a community have raised ourselves to that level can we raise up those around us.

Islam says, "Don't be a racist," right? There are a lot of racist Muslims. Inshallah, none in here, but they're out there. No. Islam says, "Don't be a racist." Islam says, "Don't be a miser." Islam tells us, "Be merciful to your children."

You think these politicians - they're cutting money for a single mother struggling to get a little help with food stamps or WIC to buy milk for their babies? These heartless people, they don't care about them. They're totally divorced from their reality. They don't care about them. We should care about them. We should be a charitable community. And by honoring that standard...

Spending from What You Love

So Allah here, the first thing - the righteous - He talks about spending : (الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ - Quran 3:134).

Later in this chapter, or earlier - I'm excited! - but Allah tells us: (لَن تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ - Quran 3:92) - "You will never attain to righteousness, to pure goodness, until you spend from what you love."

So again, Allah is challenging us to challenge ourselves. So we want to give the old clothes with the patches on them when they're making their clothing drive? No. You keep the patched-up clothes and give that dress or that suit that you love. Give your favorite suit. So Allah is keeping the bar high: (لَن تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ - from what you love, from what you love.

So whether it's easy or difficult, whether you're rich or poor, whether you're in easy times or you're in constrained times.

The Second Characteristic: Restraining Anger

So then, (وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ - Quran 3:134) - "And they restrain their anger." They restrain, rather, they restrain their anger. And sometimes we're justifiably mad. We can even turn that into rage. We're enraged. But if we swallow that, again, we're overcoming ourselves in that situation, and that elevates us, that purifies us.

Our Prophet, he mentioned: (مَنْ كَظَمَ غَيْظًا وَهُوَ قَادِرٌ عَلَىٰ أَنْ يُنفِذَهُ مَلَأَ اللَّهُ قَلْبَهُ أَمْنًا وَإِيمَانًا - "Whoever restrains their anger and they're capable of venting it, they're perfectly justified in venting it, but if they restrain it in that situation, Allah will fill their hearts with security and faith."

There are a lot of insecure people out here these days. A lot of insecure Muslims. The Prophet is telling us one way we can gain security: restraining the anger.

The next time you're ready to go off on your wife, or you're ready to go off on your husband - wives go off too - think about it. Swallow that anger. Restrain that rage. Fight against that impulse. We use this impulse as something we do without thinking. Think about it for a minute. Make the ta'ammul. Change your position. You're standing? Sit down. Go make wudu.

(مَلَأُ اللَّهُ قَلْبَهُ أَمْنًا وَإِيمَانًا - There's a consequence, as we mentioned earlier. There are rewards for our actions. We're not doing things in a vacuum. We do this and we just did it? No. We do things - there are rewards for what we do. There's a change in station for us. There are greater rewards for us. There's nearness to our Lord. There's the company of the elect. There are all sorts of amazing benefits for us.

The Third Characteristic: Pardoning Others

And there's love. There's the love. What's at the end of the verse (وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ - Quran 3:134) - "And they forgive people."

Brothers and sisters, life's too short to be running around here holding grudges against people. We should be quick to forgive, as long as our forgiveness isn't squandering someone's rights. But we should be quick to forgive people. We should be quick. We should be the quickest people to forgive. We should be the quickest people to be able to brush things off, as they say, to just brush it off our shoulders. That's who we should be, as individuals and as a community. That should be our characteristic.

(وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ - Allah, or the Prophet, describes Allah, what? وَالْعَافِينَ - from this verse. اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي - "O Allah, You are the Pardoner, You love to pardon, so pardon me."

If that's our Lord, shouldn't we be striving to adorn ourselves with that characteristic? Shouldn't we be loving to be a human reflection of that characteristic, that godly characteristic? And many, many others.

The Divine Reward: Allah's Love

And so Allah says, (وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ - "And those who pardon people." What's the payoff? Amongst other things, وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ - Quran 3:134) - "And Allah loves those who do good."

The love of Allah. And that love is unlike any love we can even begin to describe. The love of the divine. وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

So we should strive to be amongst the people of ihsan. We should strive to be amongst the people of pardon. We should strive to be amongst the people who restrain their anger. We should strive to be amongst the people who spend regardless of our circumstances.

May Allah give us tawfiq. May Allah strengthen us, help us. May Allah bless us to work on ourselves.

The Challenge of Our Times

It's not easy, brothers and sisters, especially now in this day and time when the minions of Satan have been unleashed, perhaps in ways never seen in human history, but not in ways we cannot overcome. There are still righteous people in this earth. There are God-fearing people in this earth. There are pious people in this earth. There are people who worship their Lord. There are people who recite the scripture by night and by day.

But we should look at them and be inspired to strive to be like them, to be inspired by the messages of the Quran.

Second Khutbah: The Call to Seek Forgiveness

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَىٰ سَيِّدِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ وَعَلَىٰ آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ - from another verse.

Rejoicing in Allah's Grace and Mercy

Allah mentioned in the Quran: (قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ - Quran 10:58) - "Say, 'In the grace of Allah, the gifts that He bestowed upon us, and in His mercy, let them rejoice. فَلْيَفْرَحُوا - let them rejoice.'"

We should be a joyous people. We shouldn't be foolishly optimistic. We shouldn't be unaware of what's happening around us or the dangers of our time. But despite the dangers of our time, despite what's happening all around us, we should be a joyous people.

Why? Because we are the recipients of divine grace. Things that we receive from Allah, regardless of our worthiness. If we receive based on our worthiness, some of us will have very scant provisions. All of us will have very scant provisions.

But Allah gives freely. Allah gives freely to us. Allah gives generously to us. Allah envelops us in His mercy.

فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا - "In this, let them rejoice. In this, let them rejoice."

هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ - "It's better than anything they can gather from this world."

The Day When Wealth and Power Mean Nothing

يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ * إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ - Quran 26:88-89) - "The Day when neither wealth nor children will benefit, except one who comes to Allah with a sound heart."

The influence that we are afraid of, or that has us so depressed because they have all the money and all the power and all the influence - what does Allah say about them if they're not right? And they get their book in their left hand:

مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنِّي مَالِيَهْ - Quran 69:28) - "My wealth is of no avail. It's of no benefit to me now. It doesn't assist me, strengthen me, enrich me in any way. مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنِّي مَالِيَهْ ."

So the big shots with all the power: (هَلَكَ عَنِّي سُلْطَانِيَهْ - Quran 69:29) - "My power, my influence, it all perishes."

Are those the people that have you depressed, brothers and sisters? You need to take a Quranic joyous pill!

Take Your Dose of Divine Elixir

Pick up your Quran and take a dose of divine elixir and rejoice. This is the dunya. It's supposed to be trials and tribulations and tests and hardship, and then there's Eid. And then there's dinner with the family. Then there's the funeral. Then there's the ibadah, the worship of Allah. There's the gathering of the brothers or the gathering of the sisters.

So all of that hardship in the world is punctuated by amazing occasions for us to rejoice.

فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا - "In this let them rejoice."

هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ - "It is better than what they gather."

Allah, grant victory to the Muslims, the believing men and the believing women.