"Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allah is with us":

 Dear brother, we are discussing a new Fa'idah (point of benefit) from the rich book Al-Fawa'id (Points of Benefits) of Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon his soul. This Fa'idah revolves around Allah's Words:

(Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allah is with us)

[At-Taubah, 40]

 These words refer to the situation in the cave, where As-Siddiq said:

(("O Allah's Messenger, if one amongst them were to see at his feet he would have surely seen us. Thereupon he, peace be upon him, said, "Abu Bakr, what can befall twain who have Allah as the third One with them."))

 Before I start with these words, I would like to give you a brief introduction. Man has a strong motive to food and drink, so he eats to be satiated, he has a very strong motive to marry, so he gets married and have children, and he has a third motive, which is one of the most important motives, and it is called by psychologists the motive to self-assertiveness. According to this motive, you like to be someone who has a good reputation and who occupies a high position. This is a basic need. Man yearns for being a well-known person, a superior man or a strong man. In fact this need for being outstanding can be fulfilled perfectly by being religiously committed in the right way. Our Master, As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, supported the Prophet, peace be upon him, loved him, was loyal to him, accompanied him, gave him his money and accepted him as the husband of his daughter. Thus, this noble Companion was described by the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the following Hadith:

((Never has the sun risen or set on a person, other than a Prophet, greater than Abu Bakr.))

  In a Hadith reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari's, when the peohple of Al-Aqabah pledged allegiance to the Prophet, peace be upon him, he ordered the Companions to immigrate to Al-Madinah. Quraysh noticed that the number of his Companions grew, so they decided to prevent him from letting his Companions immigrate. They started to think about the means of accomplishing such a plot. Some of them suggested imprisoning him, while sh3er wanted to exile him, but they agreed upon killing him. Allah revealed such a conspiracy to His Prophet, peace be upon him, and ordered him to leave. As-Siddiq left with him as it was mentioned in this well-known story.

Who can defeat a man supported by Allah?

 Dear brother, due to the Greatness of Allah, this great Da'wah (calling people to Allah); this final Message lasted. It could have been over had the Prophet, peace be upon him, been killed. Please, pay attention to the fact that this Da'wah continued without any fierce war or any great powers, but it went on, by Allah's Wisdom, due to small reasons. Do you know what happened? The spider wove its web at the entrance to the cave, and the dove made a nest on the edge of the cave, so Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, protected his Prophet, peace be upon him, and his Message with small things. Out of the greatness of this religion, Allah can destroy a man by a trivial cause, while a great Da'wah can go on by a small cause. If Allah supports you, who can stand against you? Your success is manifested in the side you take. You eat, drink, get married and have children, but to whom should you be loyal?

  Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, clarified the facts of faith and the difference between them and the sweetness of having faith in the following Hadith of His Messenger, peace be upon him. The Prophet, peace be upon him said:

((Whoever possesses the following three qualities will have the sweetness (delight) of faith…))

[Narrated by Anas Ibn Malek]

Whoever reaches to Allah tastes the sweetness of faith:

 Dear Brother, I swear to Allah that I am not exaggerating when I tell you that if one of us tastes the sweetness of faith, he will be another man, and if he tastes the sweetness of faith his home will turn into Paradise, even if it is no more than sixty square meters, and his income is few thousand Liras. In our daily life, we eat, drink, enjoy our life, get married, have children, travel to other countries and so on, but has anyone tasted the sweetness of faith? After the noble Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, tasted the sweetness of faith, they became heroes in the daytime and devoted religious men at night (they spent the night worshipping Allah). Those Companions, achieved heroic acts the mind could not conceive. Imagine, a small group of 10.000 people could reach by their openings the ends of the earth, whereas, we as Muslims, are not able to maintain our independence, since five Muslim countries are under occupation, we are not in control of our own affairs and our enemies are plotting against us using thousands means. Where is the greatness of religion?

 When tasted the sweetness of faith, the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, became brave heroes and unique characters. To make the meaning of the believer clear to you, consider the example of a doctor who has got PhD, do you know what the letter D which precedes his name means? This letter means that he completed his studies at the primary school, at the intermediate school, and at the secondary school, he had a high degrees which enabled him to study at the university, he got a Bachelor of Arts, a Diploma, an M.A and a PdD which he got after he had wrote a book about a new topic. This is what the letter D stands for.

 Do you know the meaning of a believer? It means a moral, scientific and aesthetic rank in Allah's Sight The believer is whoever knows the great truth, the secret of his existence and the purpose of his existence. Also, he knows why he has been created in the worldly life, he knows the truth about the worldly life, he knows the truth about man, he knows the truth about the universe, he knows what is permissible and what is not permissible to do, he knows what is Halal (permissible matters) and what is Haram (forbidden matters), he knows good and evil and he knows the right and the wrong things. Hence, the believer acquires a scientific degree. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((Allah had never taken an ignorant Wali (pious person), and if He had done so He would have taught him.))

 Allah the Almighty says:

(And we made Sulaiman (Solomon) to understand (the case))

[Al-Anbiya', 79]

Gaining happiness through connection with Allah:

 Dear Brother, once I made a comparison between the amount of the money a little child has and the one referred to by an official in the Pentagon. Suppose that I ask a little kid "How much money do you have?" He replies, "I have a great amount of money", so I would guess this amount is around 200 Liras as his father is a teacher (he may not be able to have this money but after Eid when his relatives give him money).On the other hand, when a Pentagon official said, "We have prepared for this war a great amount of money", you would think that this great amount may be about 200 billion Dollars." Notice how the same words (a great amount of money) are used by two different persons; when the little kid use them the amount is estimated to be around 200 Liras, while it is estimated to be about 200 billion Dollars when they are used by a senior official at the Pentagon. Much in the same line, when Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, refers to something great, then it is the Greatest ever. Allah the Almighty says:

(And taught you that which you knew not. And Ever Great is the Grace of Allah to you (O Muhammad, peace be upon him))

[An-Nisa', 113]

 Believe me, I am not exaggerating when I say that the greatest achievement ever is to know Allah:

((O son of Adam! Ask for Me and you will find Me, and if you find Me you will have found everything, but if you lose Me you will have lost everything. And I (should) be dearer than everything to you.))

[Tafsir Ibn Kathir]

  Knowing Allah means to know His Perfections, His Beautiful Names, His Exalted Attributes and His Mercy upon us. Furthermore, it means to know that He has created us to be admitted to Paradise:

((O people, this worldly life is a place of crookedness and is not a place of straightforwardness. It is a place of grief and is not a place of joy. Whoever recognizes this will not feel joy at [the achievement of] some hope or feel grief at wretchedness. Allah has meant for the worldly life to be a place of trial, and has meant for the Hereafter to be a place of ramification. Hence, He has made the adversity of the worldly life a reason for the reward in the Hereafter, and He has made the reward of the Hereafter a compensation for the adversity of the worldly life. He takes to give and afflicts to reward.))

[Kanz Al-Ummal from Ibn Umar]

 What made As-Siddiq have such heroic stance? What made As-Siddiq offer all his money? He (the Prophet), peace be upon him, said to him,

(("O Abu Bakr, what have you kept for yourself? He said, "Allah and His Messenger."))

  When you pray for the Prophet, What do you say? You say, "O Allah, have Your Peace and Blessings on our Master and the Happiest among us." In fact, happiness is the goal of all of us. Have you ever thought that the true happiness, the true comfort, and the true success is to reach to Allah, to act upon His Order, to seek His Affection towards you, to serve His servants and to be at the service of His creations.

 A man made Munajat (talking with Allah secretly), by saying "O Allah the night can never be sweet but by making Munajat to You, and the day can never be sweet but by serving Your servants. If you want to perform a good deed, let it be for Allah's Sake only. Each one of us has activities but they are all performed to his own advantages, such as buying goods of high quality in order to increase his profits, buying a bigger house, decorates his home, buying a modern car or going for picnics…etc. Hence, all these activities are in the end to his advantage. Have you ever done anything seeking by it Allah's Countenance? Have you ever done anything that relieves the worries of this Ummah? Have you ever done anything good to this Ummah? What will you answer Allah when He asks you On the Day of Resurrection what you have done for His Sake?

Life without love is meaningless:

 Dear brother, as long as your heart beats everything is possible (you still have the chance to do a good deed for Allah's Sake), but if the angel of death comes then all is over:

(The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection))

[Al-Fatihah, 4]

 Allah is the Only Owner of this world, and the Hereafter:

(The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection))

[Al-Fatihah, 4]

  When I read about As-Siddiq, I wonder at the exalted position Allah granted him, and I wonder at the noble stance he took during immigration. When he accompanied the Prophet, peace be upon him, he walked in front of him fearing that he might be attacked from front, then he walked behind him fearing that the attack might be from behind, then he walked on his right side fearing the attack from that side and then he walked on his left side fearing the attack might be from it. When they reached the cave, he (As-Siddiq) entered into it before the Prophet, peace be upon him, to make sure that it was safe. How great his love to the Prophet, peace be upon him, was!
 Dear Brother, life without love is meaningless. We had a university professor who is considered one of the top five professors in Psychology, and when retired, a farewell ceremony was held for him. In the speech he delivered at the ceremony, he said, "Whoever does not feel a need to love or to be loved is not a human being". How about you? Do you truly love Allah? Do you love worshipping him? Do you love His servants? Do you love a weak creature whom you help to improve his life?

Connection with Allah enables man to taste the sweetness of faith:

 Dear Brother, our Master As-Siddiq was the greatest believer after the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him:

((Close all the small doors in this Masjid except for that of Abu Bakr.))

((He has never wronged me, so keep this mind.))

 Your success lies in staying with the truth, in defending and in supporting the truth.

 Allah is Generous. Man may be well-known. Yet, he has people around him who help him, and those people are close to Allah. We, Muslims, are a work-team, and the essential fact about the believers is that work as one team-work. Each one of those believers should serve the other through his major, career and craft. If someone's craft is repairing electronics, he can offer his services to the Masjid. You can offer your services and do something through your craft or major, and so you will get closer to Allah. The main thing is to offer your services:

((Whoever possesses the following three qualities will have the sweetness (delight) of faith…))

[Narrated by Anas Ibn Malek]

  By Allah, I would like to tell you something and I am not sure that you would accept it: If you keep fulfilling a desire although you know that it does not please Allah, then you favor it over obeying Allah, and so be pretty sure that the path to reach Allah is closed:

(If your fathers, your sons, your brother, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in which you delight are dearer to you than Allah and his Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in his Cause, then wait)

[At-Taubah, 24]

 By Allah, I am shocked when I see a Muslim cheating his fellow Muslims in buying and selling. Does he believe that Allah is the Greatest? Such a Muslim considers the money he gains from cheating is greater than Allah. We can see many paradoxes and negative things in our daily life. Yet, when you keep steadfast, you will be connected with Allah, and when you are connected with Allah, you will taste the sweetness of faith. Our Master As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, tasted the sweetness of faith.

Allah's Testimony for our Master As-Siddiq:

 Dear brother, is there any stronger testimony for this great Siddiq, than the one of Allah in the following Ayah?

(…the second of two, when they (Muhammad, peace be upon him, and Abu Bakr) were in the cave, and he (peace be upon him) said to his companion (Abu Bakr): "Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allah is with us." Then Allah sent down His Sakinah (calmness, tranquillity, peace, etc.) upon him)

[At-Taubah, 40]

 You can go one reading the Ayat which follow this one. Bear in mind that Allah is waiting for us (to repent and return to Him):

((Allah the Exalted says in Hadith Qudsi, 'O Dawud, had the heedless known how much I long for them and wait for them to leave their sins, their limbs would have been turned into pieces out of their love for Me. That is my Will towards the heedless, so how would I be with those who draw near to Me?'))

[Mentioned in the relic]

Allah helps those who call people to Allah and do good deeds:

 Dear Brother, this is the month when your success should be manifested. It is the month when you are supposed to be motivated to be a successful man from the very morning:

((For the ones whose concern is this world, Allah will scatter his affairs, place poverty between his two eyes and he will not get from the world except what is written for him. As for the one whose intention is the Hereafter, Allah will gather for him his affairs, place contentment in his heart and the world will come to him willingly.))

[Narrated by Ibn Majah from At-Tirmidhi]

  By Allah I read the following Hadith 40 years ago:

((Whoever is too busy with reading the Qur’an to ask Me, I give to him the best of what I give to those who ask.))

[Ad-Durar Al-Manthoor from Umar Ibn Al-Khattab]

 Is it possible to perform a good deed, to call people to Allah and to be merciful to people who are around you, and feel no sort of support, success, defense, closeness (to Allah) or honor granted to you by Allah? This is impossible.

 Dear noble brother,

((Whoever possesses the following three qualities will have the sweetness (delight) of faith: 1. The one to whom Allah and His Apostle becomes dearer than anything else. 2. Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah's sake...))

[Narrated by Anas Ibn Malek]

 Allah and acting upon His Orders and Prohibitions in the Quran, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, and His Sunnah should be the most endeared to man than everything else:

((...and that one does not like him but loves Allah, and hates to come back in disbelief as he would hate to be thrown into the fire))

Every man should perform a deed seeking by it Allah's Countenance only:

 Dear Brother, it is not reasonable to limit religion to performing acts of worship imperfectly, nor is it reasonable to be a very average person who just performs Salah. If you do not have an unbelievable outstanding quality, your faith will not be strong. If you are a man who has reached to Allah, known Allah, connected with Allah, asked Allah for His Help, trusted in Allah, approached Allah, and been pleased by being close to Allah, you should say "I'm the happiest person."

 O dear brother, who has not reached such a rank (being the happiest man) in Ramadan, when will he reach it then? Abu Hurairah reported:

((The Prophet, peace be upon him, ascended the pulpit and he said, "Ameen, ameen, ameen." It was said, "O Messenger of Allah, you ascended the pulpit and said ameen, ameen, ameen." The Prophet said, "Verily, Gabriel came to me and he said: Whoever reaches the month of Ramadan and he is not forgiven, then he will enter Hellfire and Allah will cast him far away, so say ameen. I said amen…"))

 If the Muslim missed the chance to be forgiven in Ramadan, then when will he have such a chance?

 O dear brother, think in the morning of doing a good deed, and make the following Du'a, "O Allah, help me do a good deed that would draw me closer to You." Think of performing a deed that needs efforts, but you will not be paid for it, because you intend to perform it seeking the Pleasure of Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He. As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, is our role model. He was the first Companion who believed the Prophet, peace be upon him, who served him, who supported him, who spent his money on him and who accepted him to be his daughter's husband. These things explain why the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((He has never wronged me.))

 There are too many other As7adeth in which the Prophet, peace be upon him, praised this reverend Companion, may Allah be pleased with him. He is honored when Allah mentioned him in the following Ayah:

(…the second of two, when they (Muhammad, peace be upon him, and Abu Bakr) were in the cave, and he (peace be upon him) said to his companion (Abu Bakr): "Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allah is with us." Then Allah sent down His Sakinah (calmness, tranquillity, peace, etc.) upon him)

[At-Taubah, 40]

 I would like to tell you, dear brother that if you are with Allah (acting upon His Order), then do not be sad, because Allah is with you indeed. Try to establish a strong connection with Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, and try to make Munajat to Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He. I ask Allah to grant you and me success, and prosperity, to accept our fasting and to set us free from Hellfire.