Stop at the word "Ghaib":

 Dear brother, at the beginning of Surat Al-Baqarah, Allah the Almighty says:

"Alif-Lam-Mim. [These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur'an and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings]*This is the Book (the Qur'an), whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqun [the pious and righteous persons who fear Allah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden) and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)]*Who believe in the Ghaib."

[Al-Baqarah, 1-3]

 Let us stop at the word the Ghaib; we live a concrete reality in which there are houses, vehicles, women, food, high and low incomes …etc. the Hereafter, on the other hand, is not concrete; all we know about it is pieces of information. For instance, you read the Ayah in which Allah the Almighty says:

"And indeed the Hereafter is better for you than the present (life of this world)."

[Ad-Duha, 4]

 The Hereafter cannot be perceived by the senses. Let me elaborate by making a simple analogy between two cases. In the first case the marital bliss can be manifested in the household where the husband is happy with his wife, and where there is a mutual understanding. The second case is completely the opposite; the husband who is a friend of the above mentioned one, is always arguing with his wife, so she left the house and went to her parent's house. As a result, the house got into a mess and the children were left with no one to care of them. All this has made his life unbearable. The husband of the first case lives the reality of the marital bliss, but all he knows about the miserable situation of his friend is information. On the other hand, the husband of the second case lives the reality of the marital misery, but all he knows about his friend's happy life is information.

Who is the Believer?

  We all live the worldly life, which is a concrete reality, so we care about the income, provision, health, children and the wife. In contrast to the worldly life, the Hereafter is not a concrete reality, and we just have information about It. Who informed you about the Hereafter? Had he been someone who is just like anyone of us, we would not have paid attention to him, but the informer is the Creator of the Universe. The scholars said that we should believe in whatever Allah informs us about as if it occurred before us. The proof mentioned in the following Ayah:

"Have you (O Muhammad PBUH) not seen how your Lord dealt with the Owners of the Elephant?"

[Al-Feel, 1]

 Neither you nor I have seen the Owners of the Elephant, but the scholars of Quran Interpretation said that we should consider the information given by Allah as a concrete fact. Allah the Almighty says:

"The Event (the Hour or the punishment of disbelievers and polytheists or the Islamic laws or commandments), ordained by Allah came, so seek not to hasten it."

[An-Nahl, 1]

 The Event has not come yet, but since Allah the Almighty informs us that it will come, we should take His information as a fact. Who is the believer? The believer is the man who believes in the Ghaib.

This is the Hero?

 Imagine that you are driving a bicycle on a straight way, then, you find two different roads, one is ascending and the other is descending. Which one will you choose? You will instinctively choose the descending road since the conditions there are good; the road is paved and good, it is surrounded with trees and flowers and the weather is fresh and breezy. However, when you find a notice informing you that this road ends with a big hole which contains beasts and wild animals, you will certainly choose the ascending road, even though it is rough, dusty, full of obstacles and sunny. The reality which is represented by the descending road encourages you to choose it, but the information which is represented by the note makes you choose the ascending one in spite of all the difficulties and the obstacles found there Who is the hero? The hero is whoever reads the Noble Quran, believes in whatever is mentioned in It, acts upon its rulings and safeguards himself against the temptations of the worldly life.

This is the Situation of People:

 I am not exaggerating when I say that the majority of people enjoy the worldly life; eat, drink and enjoy life. They do not care if their earning is Halal or Haram, nor do they care about being asked by Allah on the Day of Judgment where they get their money from and how they spend it. All they care about is living their lives and enjoying it by picnics, eating, drinking, set their gaze free, and watch TV until the late hours of night, and then they say, "live your life." In fact, they enjoy an interesting reality, while the Hereafter where they will be accounted for their deeds, is for them an abstract idea. It was narrated from Aisha that the Prophet peace be upon him said:

"The just judge will be brought forward on the Day of Judgment and will be judged so severely that he will wish that he never judged between two people for so much as a date."

[From Tabarani and Ahmed.]

A Meaningful Story:

 One day, I travelled to a far country in the southern half of the earth. At that time in my homeland it was hot and the temperature was 43°, so I checked the internet to know what the weather was like in that country. I found out that it was winter and the temperature was 7° or 8°. I did not take that information seriously, because it was just an abstract idea. I took light clothes with me, but when I arrived there, it was very cold and I lived the reality of the information I read about that country. I wished I had taken wintery clothes. It was really a lesson which I would never forget.

What is the Reason Behind the Security and the Happiness of Man?

 We are still dealing with the Ayah:

"Who believe in the Ghaib"

[Al-Baqarah, 3]

 Who is the hero? He is whoever believes in Allah through His Noble Quran.

 Dear Brother, unless you act upon what is mentioned in the Noble Quran, you do not believe in the Ghaib. Your reality calls you to accumulate money, and the Quran calls you to give Sadaqah from your money. Reality calls you to enjoy your worldly life, whereas the Quran calls you to act according to the Method of Allah. Reality calls you to sleep, while the Quran calls you to wake up and worship Allah at night. Allah the Almighty says:

"O you wrapped in garments (i.e. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him) * Stand (to pray) all night, except a little."

[Al-Muzzammil, 1-2]

 This is the first night of Ramadan, so your heroism should be manifested in believing in the Ghaib. Believing in reality is easy, and everyone can say that he is realistic, but the hero is the one who believes in the information written in the notice which assures him that he will be in danger if he chooses the descending road no matter how comfortable and entertaining it is, and that the ascending road which is rocky, dusty and tiring will lead him to an eternal happiness.

 The problem of the majority of people is that they do not believe in the information given to them. For instance, they do not care about their nutrition. they eat delicious but unhealthy dishes which cause them a lot of diseases. Unlike those people, who believe what doctors say about such unhealthy food, will eat only healthy food in order keep themselves healthy. Thus, believing in the Ghaib is the reason behind our security and happiness. I repeat what I have said earlier: we are in the month of Ramadan, so ponder over the Ayat of the Noble Quran, believe in the Words of Allah and act upon them.

Stop at these two Words:

 I asked you repeatedly in some of my lessons to imagine with me the following scenario:
 Imagine that a person lives in Damascus and he wants to go to Homs. It is winter, but the weather in Damascus is sunny and the roads are not wet, whereas in Homs it is snowy. When he reaches An-Nabk (a name of a city)he reads a notice informing him that the way to Homs is closed due to the snow. Therefore, he gets back to his town. What does make him do so? It is the notice. An animal will go on walking until it is stopped by the snow, because it believes the reality. You as a human being can either use your mind and follow what is written in the notice, or forget about your mind and go after reality.

 Most of people live, eat, drink, and enjoy their lives forgetting about the Day of Judgment when they will be judged for their deeds and behavior; their relations with people and their feelings. The Prophet peace be upon him said:

"The feet of a servant will not move on the Day of Judgment until he has been questioned about four things): his life - how he spent it, his knowledge - how he acted upon it, his wealth - where he earned it and how he spent it, and his body - how he used it."

[Narrated from Abu –Barza Al-Oslami]

What is the Meaning of "came" in this Ayah:

 If you believe in Allah the Almighty, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, you should believe in Allah's Words as if they are witnessed. The Ghaib, should be turned into reality for you, Almighty Allah says:

"The Event (the Hour or the punishment of disbelievers and polytheists or the Islamic laws or commandments), ordained by Allah came."

[An-Nahl, 1]

 The verb "came" is in the past tense

"So seek not to hasten it"

[An-Nahl, 1]

 This Ayah means that it has not come yet. However, as a believer you should believe in Allah's Words and be certain that this day will definitely come.

The subject of our lecture Today:

 The subject of our lesson today has to do with:

"Who believe in the Ghaib"

[Al-Baqarah, 3]

 Had the Hereafter been concrete like the worldly life, all people would have raced to It, but they would not have tasted the sweetness of happiness in the Hereafter had not they worked hard for It. Thus, People who believe in the Ghaib, resist the temptations and whatever is forbidden in the Worldly life and adhere to the permissible deeds, because Allah has promised them that there comes a day when they will live in an everlasting happiness.  Whoever believes in that day, is included in the following Ayah:

"Who believe in the Ghaib."

[Al-Baqarah, 3]