Worshiping Allah entails using the available means:

 Dear brother, we will talk about a new topic in the series Means of Access and Signs of Acceptance, and it is Considering and Using the Available Means. This topic is raised by Ibn Al Qayem, may Allah have peace upon his soul, and we are using his own words. I am not exaggerating when I say that Muslims' main problem at present is keeping this rule unapplied.

 Being a worshipper to Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, entails respecting His Laws in everything and applying them, and this is how your full submissiveness to Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, can be manifested. Actually, Allah created this universe and made it based on causal principle (the cause of an object must contain at least as much reality as the object itself, whether formally or eminently.):

﴾ Verily, We established him in the earth, and We gave him the means of everything. So he followed a way.﴿

[Al-Kahf, 84-85]

 Using the means is a crucial part of religion, whereas disregarding them is a grave sin. Actually, Muslims are lagged behind other nations, their rights are violated, their lands are occupied, their children are killed and their treasures are looted, because they neglected the available means, while their enemies used the means. Furthermore, Muslims disregarded the means, and they resorted to Tawaakul (putting trust in Allah without using the means).

 Your submission to Allah entails using the means. If your son gets ill, you should take him to the closest doctor, buy him the best medication, give him the medicine yourself and then invoke Allah from the bottom of your heart to cure him. Thus, you should use the means as if they are everything you can depend on, and then put your trust in Allah as if they are worthless.

The right and wrong actions are based on right and wrong conceptions:

  Dear brother, every action one does is preceded by a vision, and this explains why the thief steals. He steals, because he thinks that he will get hefty money for a minimum effort, but he forget the punishment and the prison he will be sent to. Hence, since all actions are preceded by a vision, and having the right vision will make your actions right, while having the wrong one will corrupt your actions.

 Here is another example: When you see a red light on the dashboard of your car, you should not think that this red light is for adornment purposes, because it alerts you that something is wrong with the car (it may need to have the oil changed), so if you think that this red light is for adornment purposes and you keep driving your car, the engine will break down and your car will not move any more. Accordingly, you will not be able to continue your journey, and you will not reach your destination. Let alone, you will pay lots of money to fix the car. However, if you understand that this red light is a warning, and so you stop the car and change its oil, your engine will stay intact, and you will be able to move on with your trip and reach your destination. This example is very simple, yet it clarifies everything with regard to misconceiving things or having wrong assumptions about something:

﴾ Say (O Muhammad, peace be upon him): "Shall We tell you the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds?* "Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds! ﴿

[Al-Kahf, 103-104]

 If a nation assumes that its safety can be obtained by being submissive to the stronger nation, she is mistaken, because this submission will make the stronger nation humiliate her, violate her rights, loot her treasures and occupy her land. On the other hand, if this nation assumes that the victory is granted by Allah Alone and that this victory is deserved by only those who follow Allah's Religion, and so she reconciles with Allah and follows His Religion, she will be surprised, and she will strongly believe that her faith and reconciliation with Allah changes all the equations and cancels the superiority of her enemies:

﴾ But if you remain patient and become Al-Muttaqun (the pious), not the least harm will their cunning do to you. ﴿

[Aal-'Imran, 120]

 I would like to give you one more example: In a car company, every month they have 100 burst tires, which makes a big problem, and each time they have a burst tire, the driver is punished by the manager, but in another car company, they have only one burst tire each month, so what is the main cause of such a problem? The main cause lies in the fact that the manager gave instructions to fill the tires with air till the pressure is 40, while it should be 30 as in summer the weather is very hot, and when the driver speeds up, the air inside the tire expands causing its burst. Therefore, the wrong conclusions are caused by having a wrong vision. Thus, when man has a wrong vision, he will pay the price.

Muslims' main problem nowadays is having wrong visions:

  The first important point is the difference between the Masajid in the Companions' era and the ones in our era. At early Islam, the floor of the Masajid was only sand, and its ceiling was covered with fronds, yet Muslims' flags flew in the horizons, do you know why? Well, Muslims at early Islam reached China in the east and Paris in the west.

 Nowadays, our Masajid cost billions and our Islamic appearances are striking. Moreover, there are Islamic conferences, books, lectures, CDs and adornments everywhere. However, there are five Islamic countries under occupation and our treasures are in the hands of our enemies. Needless to say, the entire world declared a war against Islam, but why did all these things happen? Why did the flags of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, fly everywhere and they were superior? Why Muslims today are defeated and very weak? The reason is because the Noble Companions understand what Islam means, while we misunderstand it.

Tawheed (Monotheism) rectifies the wrong conception:

  Dear brother, Tawheed rectifies the wrong conception, for Tawheed makes you see that all matters are managed by Allah, He is the One Who grants victory, He is the Omnipotent, the Exalter, the Abaser, the Bestower of Honor, the Humiliator, the One Who grants prosperity and the One Who grants victory. Therefore, Tawheed corrects one's misconceptions, whereas Shirk (Polytheism) drives man away from the right ones. Allah says:

﴾ And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him [i.e. they are Mushrikun -polytheists - see Verse 6: 121]. ﴿

[Yusuf, 106]

 The minute you count on your money, you are involved in Shirk (polytheism), the moment you count on a powerful human being thinking that your salvation is in his hands, you are involved in Shirk and whenever you count on your cleverness, you are involved in Shirk.
  Let me tell you the story of a cardiologist in America who put his trust in jogging. He used to jog for 20 kilometers every day, and as a professor at the university, he used to give lectures about the good effects of jogging. Thus, jogging meant a lot to him, and though his opinion is right, he died young. Was there anything wrong in his opinion? No, there was not. The error resulted from depending on jogging alone and forgetting all about Allah.

 When you put your trust in something and forget Allah, you will be Divinely disciplined. One should use the means as if they are enough, and then put his trust in Allah as if they are not sufficient. If the wrong conception has nothing to do with the behavior, then you can have whatever conception you like, and if the wrong Aqidah has nothing to do with the behavior then believe in whatever you wish, but it is a proven fact that every misconception and every error in Aqidah will reflect on the behavior, and this is why Allah never accepts any doctrine that is adopted blindly (without being convinced of it) even though it might be right, because Allah says:

﴾ So know (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) that La ilaha ill-Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah), ﴿

[Muhammad, 19]

 Allah does not say, "so say O Mohammad, peace be upon him", but He says:

﴾ So know ﴿

[Muhammad, 19]

Muslim's beliefs are not accepted without searching, studying and believing in them:

 Allah never accepts to have the Muslims' beliefs adopted blindly, but rather He accepts them after searching, studying and believing in them deeply. The Aqidah which is embraced by tradition (from fathers to children) is not accepted, otherwise all those who followed deviated doctrines should survive in the Hereafter, because someone would say, "It is not their fault, but it is the fault of their sect. They just responded to the leader of their sect when he gave them the instructions and orders." Accordingly, the Aqidah that is followed by tradition is not Divinely accepted, because man should check the beliefs before adopting them due to Allah's Saying:

﴾ So know (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) that La ilaha ill-Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah), ﴿

[Muhammad, 19]

 Let me give some examples about using the available means:

 - If your son is ill, your supplication will not be enough to cure him. You should take him to a good doctor, you should buy him the good medication and you should give it to him yourself, and then you supplicate from the bottom of your heart, "O Allah you are the One Who can cure my son." In other words, you should use the means as if they are fairly enough, and then put your trust in Allah as if they are useless.
  - If your son has difficulties in comprehending mathematics, it is not enough to say to him, "O son, invoke Allah to make you pass the math exams". This is unacceptable. You should bring your son a tutor to teach him mathematics, then you say to him, "O son invoke Allah to make you pass the math exams".

 - If a disease took over your crops, it is insufficient to say, "O Allah, save my crops." You should bring a medicine and follow the instructions of the agricultural engineer, and then you say, "O Allah, save my crops".

 - If you have stagnant goods, you should know that there is something wrong with the way you bought them, with their price and with the way you marketed them.

 When our Master Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, once saw a group of people who claimed they put their trust in Allah, while in fact they abandoned the available means, he said to them, "Who are you people?" They replied, "We are the Mutawakkiloon (those who put their trust in Allah." To which he said, "No, you are not. You are Muta'akkiloon (those who look to be fed)". Then Umar went on saying, "You know for sure that the sky does not send down silver or gold. The Mutawakkel is a person plants crops while putting his trust in Allah that his crops will grow and produce fruit."

 - Umar once saw some camels afflicted with a skin disease (scabies), so he asked the people what they planned to do to treat the camels’ affliction. They told him that they had among them a pious old man who went out to the camels every day and prayed to Allah to heal them. To this Umar said, "Along with the old man’s supplication, you should place tar upon the camels' skin." (Tar was an effective medical treatment for that particular disease.)

 This is the foremost problem of Muslims today; they keep supplicating Allah to destroy their enemies by saying, "O Lord take revenge against our enemies and destroy them, for their destruction is not beyond Your Omnipotence. O Lord, make their plot a reason for their destruction", thinking that it is enough to do so, while they are passive, preparing nothing against their enemies and using none of the means for that cause. Our enemies, on the other hand, keep awake, and they work round the clock. We will never defeat them unless we use the means and unless we apply the following Ayah:

﴾And make ready against them all you can of power,﴿

[Al-Anfal, 60]

 There is a big mistake in our vision as Muslims, for we think that Allah will make us victorious no matter what. He does not make us victorious (as long as we forget about using the means), and though everything is in the Hand of Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, He orders us to use the means.

﴾But if it had been Allah's Will, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you). But (He lets you fight), in order to test you, some with sh3er.﴿

[Muhammad, 4]

Qada' and Qadar never exempt man from his responsibilities:

  Dear brother, I was once in a conference in Malaysia, and one of the attendants who delivered a speech, said, "As long as Muslims use Al-Qada' and Al-Qadar (Divine Preordainment and Decree) to justify their mistakes, they will never be victorious or advanced." Allah says:

﴾Verily! Those who brought forth the slander (against 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) the wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him) are a group among you.﴿

[An-Nur, 11]

 That slander was an unbearable accusation towards Lady Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, yet Allah says:

﴾Consider it not a bad thing for you. Nay, it is good for you.﴿

[An-Nur, 11]

 How come that slander was not a bad thing? Well it is so, because it was a test through which Muslims were classified into the believers who held onto a good thought of Allah's, Messenger, peace be upon him, and his wife, may Allah be pleased with he, and the hypocrites who had ill thoughts and who spread the slander:

﴾Verily! Those who brought forth the slander (against 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) the wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him) are a group among you. Consider it not a bad thing for you. Nay, it is good for you.﴿

[An-Nur, 11]

 Following this Ayah Allah says:

﴾And as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be a great torment.﴿

[An-Nur, 11]

 Al-Qada' and Al-Qadar will never excuse anyone from his responsibilities. Thus, as long as Muslims use Al-Qada' and Al-Qadar, to justify their mistakes, they will never overcome their problems, and their countries will stay occupied by their enemies. It is wrong to be slothful and keep saying, "This is What Allah decrees" "We can do nothing". Having such a belief is unacceptable, because Allah orders you to resist, and He will be with you when you do so. The problem is that whenever Muslims commit a grave mistake and get the painful results, they say, "This is but Your Lord's Arrangement", "Allah decreed that to happen" "We are helpless; we cannot do anything about it", "We are slaves of Ihsan (charity), not slaves of trails" and "Allah will save us." All these statements are wrong, for Allah orders you to resist and to offer Jihad.

 I allow myself to say that all the calamities, Muslims are suffering nowadays, are the results of their grave mistakes and laziness. Al-Qada' and Al-Qada have nothing to do with the effects of laziness. When a student does not study, and he fails in the exam accordingly, he cannot say, "Glory be to Allah, He did not decree success for me." This is absolutely not true, because this student did not study. However, if a student studies well, but before the exam he gets ill and as a result he fails, only then he can say that this is Qada' and Qadar.

 The difference between Al-Qada' and Al-Qadar and the results of idleness is that the former are a compelling Divine Decree, whereas the later are the effects of certain causes. For instance, if you do not study, you will not succeed, and if you do not buy the right commodities, they will become stagnant. Therefore, if you want to belong to the Ummah, which once was the leader of all nations although her members were mere shepherds, you should use the means. Who is your exemplar (in making use of the means)? He is the Prophet, peace be upon him.

Man should use the available means then put his trust in the Lord of Lords:

  Dear brother, do anyone of you believe that there is someone who is more honorable than the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him? Though he is so, he used all the means when he immigrated from Makkah to Al-Madina. He, peace be upon him, used the shore course. He stayed in Thawr cave, he assigned someone to erase his traces from sand, he appointed another one to fill him in with news, he asked a third one to bring him food and water and he hired an expert tracker though he was Mushrik. Thus, he, peace be upon him, used all the means, so if the most honorable man and the Master of mankind was that polite with Allah and used all the means, how do we, Muslims, dare to stay unprepared against our enemies and instead spend our daytime sleeping? How can we say, "O Lord, destroy our enemies for destroying them is not beyond Your Omnipotence"? Neglecting means is according to contemporary terms a strategic error.

 Our lecture today is related to your career. If you are a merchant and you cannot sell any of your goods due to economic depression, be aware that there are other merchants who sell their goods despite the economic depression, because they use the means. Hence, choose the right commodities, offer fair prices for your goods, display your goods properly, market them and offer your customers all the facilities you can give. Above all, habituate yourself to point the finger of blame to your own self instead of using Al-Qada' and Al-Qadar to justify your mistakes, and only then you will succeed. Success lies in facing the problem not ignoring them, for only the ones whose soul and faith are weak jump over their problems and justify them by Al-Qada' and Al-Qadar.

Man should rectify his conceptions lest he inclines easily towards extremism:

  Dear brother:

((Narrated Awf ibn Malik: The Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, gave a decision between two men, and the one against whom the decision was given turned away and said, "For me Allah sufficeth, and He is the best dispenser of affairs." The Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Allah, Most High, blames for falling short, but apply intelligence, and when the matter gets the better of you, say; 'For me Allah sufficeth, and He is the best disposer of affairs'." ))

[Abu Dawod by Awf Ibn Malik]

 The Prophet, peace be upon him, was upset when the man was not satisfied with his decision, so he, peace be upon him, said:

(("Allah, Most High, blames for falling short…"))

 When you fell short:

((…apply intelligence, and when the matter gets the better of you, say; 'For me Allah sufficeth, and He is the best disposer of affairs'."))

[Abu Dawod by Awf Ibn Malik]

 If a student does not study, and accordingly he fails, he should not say:

((For me Allah sufficeth, and He is the best dispenser of affairs))

 He should admit his mistake by saying, "I failed because I did not study." The student can say these words when he studies very well, but he gets sick and cannot attend the exam:

((For me Allah sufficeth, and He is the best dispenser of affairs))

 We should rectify our conceptions.

 Dear brother, extremes are easy to adopt, for it is easy for example to leave your children without following up, without discipline and without reckoning, and when one of them does something wrong it is easy to punish him or hit him. Your success as a father lies in making your son loves you as much as he fears you. The same goes for using the means, for it is easy to ignore them. For instance, it is easy to a very respectful man, who is traveling up north in his car, to neglect checking his car. However, he will most likely die with his family in an accident. He should check the tires, the engine, the oil and everything in the car, lest he will have an accident. If he does not check the car, and he has an accident he cannot say that it is due to Al-Qada' and Al-Qadar. On the other hand, when he fully checks the car before traveling, but he has an accident, he can say that it is due to Al-Qada' and Al-Qadar.

Man's understanding of Qada' and Qadar should be correct:

  Dear brother, I would like to say one more point: Once the plague epidemic broke in Syria and western Iraq; it was most severe in Syria. When the news of plague broke, Umar had been on his way for a tour of Syria, but he returned from the Syrian border as advised by his companions. Abu Ubaidah met him there and said, "O Umar, do you run from Allah's Will?" Umar was shocked by this and said in sorrow, "If only someone else would have said this other than you Abu Ubaidah", and then Umar said, "Yes I am running from Allah's Will, but to Allah's Will. Healthiness is Allah's Will and thus I am running from Allah's Will, but to Allah's Will." Then he addressed his army asking if any of them heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, saying anything about plague. Usamah said, "I heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, saying:

((It is a Allah-sent punishment from the calamity or from the remnant of the calamity with which people were afflicted before you. So when it is in a land and you are there, do not get out of it, and if (this news reaches you) that it has broken out in a land, then do not enter therein.))

[Muslim by Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas]

 The latest theories about prevention procedures indicate that the one who bears a disease (like plague or terminal disease), but he is not sick should never leave the land he is in, lest he spread the disease in other lands. You can notice the Prophetic inimitability in the abovementioned Hadith. Let me repeat, Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Yes I am running from Allah's Will, but to Allah's Will." In another Hadith, the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, asked the Prophet, peace be upon him:

(('Do you think that the medicines with which we treat ourselves, the Ruqyah by which we seek healing, and the means of protection that we seek, change the Decree of Allah at all?' He, peace be upon him, said, 'They are part of the Decree of Allah.'))

[At-Tirmizi by Ya'mur As-Sa'di]

  This is the right understanding, so laziness, surrendering, passivity should have no place in your life. Thus, raise your child properly, enlighten him/her, discipline your household and perfect your career, so that you will be an effective individual in this Ummah.

 Our understanding of Al-Qada' and Al-Qadar should change. If a doctor in the emergency room is chatting with a nurse or playing cards, and because of his carelessness a patient dies, he cannot say, "Glory be to Allah, this man died because his hour comes." This is absolutely not true! He should be punished for his negligence. We should not use Al-Qada' and Al-Qadar to justify our errors. We should not say, "This is Allah's Decree", while it is your fault. Scholars said, "He who, uses medicine to cure people and he is not a doctor, should pay blood money for his errors".

 Dear brother, there are many details of our topic which will be discussed in other lectures insha' Allah. In my view, this topic is about one of the crucial issues of which Muslims are in dire need in this critical period, because our enemies are using the means, while we disregard them. We should bear in mind that we will never be victorious if we fall short in using the means, and this is but a Quranic order, for Allah says:

﴾And make ready against them all you can of power,﴿

[Al-Anfal, 60]