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Praise be to Allah, The Lord (The One and Only) of the worlds.
O Lord, if we are not eligible for Your Mercy, Your Mercy is Sufficient to embrace us.
You said and Your Saying is Al Haqq:
﴾ And My Mercy embraces all things.﴿
We are among these things O Lord.
And I testify that there is no god but Allah Alone, and that He has no partners.
Allah says in a Divine Hadeeth:
((“Whoever from among My servants takes refuge in a creature instead of Me, I will make the land crumble to pieces with him and I will take away from him all the means in the heavens and the earth. And whoever from among My servants gets disappointed with My creatures and takes refuge in Me, I shall realize his intentions. Then even if the Heavens and the Earth and whatever they contain plot against him, I shall provide means for him to be saved from them.))
And I testify that Sayyidina Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is the Messenger and the slave of Allah.
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, May Allah be pleased with him, reported: A man came to the Messenger of Allah PBUH, and he said, “O Messenger of Allah, instruct me.” The Prophet PBUH said:
"You must fear Allah, as it is the sum of all good"
O Allah, our Lord! Grant peace and blessings to Sayyidina Muhammad, upon his Family, upon his Companions, the trustees upon his message and leaders of his armies, and upon those who followed them with Ihsan till the Day of Judgment.
O Allah, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity.
O servants of Allah, I advice you and myself of fearing Allah and I encourage you to obey Him and I will begin with what is good.
At Taqwa (piety):
1- Importance of Taqwa:
Dear brothers wherever you are, At Taqwa is the subject of this Khutbah.
At-Taqwa (Piety) is one of the prominent issues of the Holy Koran; and more than three hundred verses in the Holy Koran lay emphasis on the term “At-Taqwa” (Piety). Man in his present life, is liable to innumerable types of risks and dangers, in case he fails to follow his Lord’s guidance. This is because the present world, verdant and beautiful as it is, is pregnant with countless perils and mazes: Wealth, women, family, lust and greed, infatuation and temptation.
2- Questions that should be answered:
How can man safeguard himself against getting lost amidst such mazes and delusions?
How can man safeguard himself against getting trapped in such perilous temptations?
How can man safeguard himself against getting himself seduced into lusty desires and caprices?
How can man safeguard himself against mad pursuit of money and wealth?
How can man safeguard himself against wretchedness in the present world and chastisement in the Hereafter?
In order to answer these questions we say:
According to the teachings of Islam, when man formulates his ideology concerning the world, life and man in accordance with what has been revealed in the Holy Koran, and when man builds up his daily activities according to the Divine Revelation and Legislation, he establishes his life on a basis of the fear of Allah and His good pleasure. On the contrary, should his mind go astray, and his work go wrong, he builds up his life upon the brink of a crumbling bank that will tumble with him into Hell Fire.
True and devoted servitude to Allah safeguards man against wretchedness in the present world and punishment in the Hereafter. To this effect, Allah, Glory be to Him, says,
﴾ O mankind! Worship your Lord (Allah), Who created you and those who were before you so that you may become Al-Muttaqun ﴿
Fear Allah so that you may save yourselves from misery in the present world and from the torment of the Hereafter.
Is there anyone save Allah, whose existence is definitive, who is the Perfect and Absolute, the Living and Everlasting, who has the Most Beautiful Names and Attributes, the One and Only, the Everlasting Refuge, the Unique, the First, the Last, the Outward, the Inward, in whose Hand is the Dominion of everything, to whom the whole matter shall be returned and The Master of the Kingdom? Is there any one save Allah whose Wrath is to be feared, whose pleasure is to be sought? Is there anyone except Allah whose chastisement is to be feared and whose Mercy is to be sought?
Is there anyone save Allah Whose hellfire is to be avoided and Whose Paradise is to be sought?
3- Allah commands us to adhere to Taqwa:
Verily, Allah bids mankind to be pious and to fear Him, because He has knowledge of everything, He is swift at reckoning, and to Him is the Return and the Mustering. Allah, the All-mighty speaks the truth when He says,
﴾ Will you then fear any other than Allah? ﴿
4- Allah is The One Who should be feared:
However, we fear Allah not only because we are under His Might and Power, and not only because all our matters shall be returned unto Him, but because He is also the Majestic and Splendid, the Bounteous and Gracious, the Merciful, the Compassionate and the Generous Benefactor. He is as He says,
﴾ He (Allah) is the One, deserving that mankind should be afraid of, and should be dutiful to Him, and should not take any Ilah (God) along with Him, and He is the One Who forgives (sins). ﴿
5- At Taqwa is reached only by those who believe in it and in its reward:
Man will never fear the wrath of a certain authority or seek the pleasure thereof unless he believes in such an authority in the first place, and in the good he will receive from it in case he obeys it, and in the loss he will have if he disobeys it. This is the nature of man; he will never fear his Lord, he will never avoid what He forbids him to do, and will never do what He bids him to do, unless he knows Him. Thus, religion originates in Knowing Allah. To this effect, Allah, says,
﴾And fear Allah if you indeed are true believers. ﴿
Therefore, belief is the basis of piety and fearing Allah. To this effect, Allah, Praise be to Him, says,
﴾And if the people of the towns had believed and had the Taqwa (piety), certainly, We should have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth ﴿
Reflecting on the universe is a path to know Allah:
The ways for knowing Allah are innumerable, most important of which are contemplation on the creation of the heavens and earth. Allah, the Almighty says,
﴾ Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding. ﴿
﴾ So let man see from what he is created! ﴿
﴾ Then let man look at his food, ﴿
﴾ Do they not look at the camels, how they are created? ﴿
﴾ Do they not see the birds above them, spreading out their wings and folding them in? None upholds them except the Most Beneficent (Allah). Verily, He is the All-Seer of everything. ﴿
Beyond a shadow of doubt, contemplation and deliberation on the Signs that Allah has spread in the heavens and earth, are sure to guide man to absolute definitive belief in the fact that such a great universe must necessarily have a great Creator, a Merciful Lord and a Wise Controller, Who is worthy of obedience, Whose Punishment is to be feared and Whose Pleasure is to be sought.
Allah All Mighty, says,
﴾ Verily, in the alternation of the night and the day and in all that Allah has created in the heavens and the earth are Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) for those people who keep their duty to Allah, and fear Him much. ﴿
The Noble Quran is a path to know Allah:
One of the gates that lead to knowing Allah is the noble Quran, which is the Right Course, the Straight Path and the Tight Bond of Allah. Should man deliberate its verses and meanings, he will inevitably find out full agreement between the context of this miraculous Book, on the one hand, and principles of logic, aspects of good human nature and man’s welfare and interest individually and collectively, on the other.
Deliberation of the noble Quran leads to absolute definitive belief that it is Allah’s Word that was revealed onto His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH), and that it is the only way to man’s happiness and prosperity in the present world and the world to come. Allah, says,
﴾ An Arabic Qur'an, without any crookedness (therein) in order that they may avoid all evil which Allah has ordered them to avoid, fear Him and keep their duty to Him. ﴿
6- Why man doesn't fear his Lord?
Most amazing are those who do not fear Allah; and if the one of them is bidden to fear Him All Mighty, vainglory seizes him in his sin.
Why man doesn't fear Allah? Why man doesn't fear disobeying Allah? Why man doesn't follow Allah's Guidance in all his acts, words and conditions?
Despite the fact that Allah, teaches man, through the mind that He has given him, through the Fitrah He molded him with, through the book He revealed to His Messenger (i.e. Quran), through the Sunna [Prophetic traditions] that manifests His Holy Book, through His acts that confirm His Wisdom and Justice, through the call of those who preach His religion, and through inspiration of angels, the question still remains: “why does not man fear his Lord?! Why is he not afraid of disobeying Him?! Why does not he follow His guidance, given Allah teaches man? Allah, says,
﴾ So be afraid of Allah; and Allah teaches you. And Allah is the All-Knower of each and everything. ﴿
Effective means to reach At Taqwa:
In the followings are the effective means with which man hastens to reach At Taqwa:
1- Honesty:
Honesty is in fact one of the fast ways to be pious and fear Allah i.e. to be honest to yourself, to your Lord, to other fellow humans. Truly, man’s belief will never be well established and deeply rooted until his heart is upright; and his heart will never be upright until his tongue is. Allah, says,
﴾ O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell-fire and made to enter Paradise). ﴿
2- Healthy social environment:
Social environment that safeguards man against evil is also another efficient way to be pious and afraid of Allah. Allah, says,
﴾ O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds) . ﴿
3- Seeking means of approach to Allah:
Another efficient way is to seek the means to draw near to Allah, by acquiring knowledge that leads unto Him, under faithful scholars, performing deeds of righteousness and worshipping Allah most sincerely and devotedly. Allah, says,
﴾ O you who believe! Do your duty to Allah and fear Him. Seek the means of approach to Him ﴿
4- Endurance:
The way to At Taqwa, however, is not paved with flowers and daffodils, but with hardships and adversities, because Allah’s commodity is so dear; and because The deeds of Paradise are difficult to reach, for they are on top of a hill, while the deeds of the Fire are easy to find in the lowlands, thus there must always be endurance, self-control, sacrifice and expenditure in the Way of Allah., Allah, the Almighty says,
﴾Verily, he who fears Allah with obedience to Him (by abstaining from sins and evil deeds, and by performing righteous good deeds), and is patient, then surely, Allah makes not the reward of the Muhsinun (good-doers - see V.2:112) to be lost." ﴿
5- Paying all the efforts:
At Taqwa, however, needs complete devotion and sincerity on the part of man. Man should give all he has to gain Taqwa, so it is not accepted that the pious gives only part of his vitality, but rather he should put all the efforts. This is because man’s status with Allah All Mighty is determined by the size of his righteous work and sincere devotion. And, indeed, righteous work exalts man in honor and rank, and for all, there will be degrees according to that which they did, and the righteous deeds exalt it. To this effect, Allah says,
﴾ So keep your duty to Allah and fear Him as much as you can ﴿
This means that we should put all the efforts.
The ways Allah honors the pious ones with:
1- Forgiving their sins:
It is most generous of Allah that He, Most Merciful, does not only forgive all man’s evil deeds as soon as he puts one foot on the way to Taqwa but also causes scribe-angels and even the whole world to forget such evil deeds. Even more, He Most Bounteous increases him in reward. To this effect, Allah says,
﴾ And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will remit his sins from him, and will enlarge his reward. ﴿
2- Making things easy for them:
It is also most beneficent of Allah that as soon as man sets one foot on the way to Taqwa, Allah, appoints for him of His command, easiness. All problems are, hence, solved; all troubles disappear; and difficult things turn out fair and easy. Allah says,
﴾And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make his matter easy for him.﴿
3- At Taqwa is man's way out of hardship:
It is most Bounteous of Allah that He made At Taqwa the way out of every hardship, worry and depression. He All High says,
﴾And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty).﴿
Important derivations from the Ayah:
The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), confirmed the importance of the above Ayah, which points out that At Taqwa, is the way for solving all man’s problems and troubles.
It was narrated from Abu Dharr that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “I know a word – (one of the narrators) ‘Uthman said: “a Verse” – which if all the people followed it, it would suffice them.” They said: “O Messenger of Allah, which Verse?” He said: “And whosoever fears Allah, He will make a way out for him.” [65:2]
When matters are catastrophic, when hardship takes over, when there is no way out, when obstacles block the way and when man falls in despair, Taqwa will be the answer, for it eases the way, it solves any complicated matters, it opens the paths and it overcomes the obstacles.
Whosoever fears Allah, when being visited by a disaster and bears witness to the Oneness of Allah, be patient under His Judgment, accepts His foreordainment, and sticks to his good principles and sincerity, Allah is sure to appoint for him a way out of such a disaster and turn his hardship and distress into ease and comfort, his fear into security, and his hardship into ease.
Whosoever fears Allah and gives no way to vanity or falsehood to take over his reason, Allah is sure to appoint for him a way out of misguidance, loss, delusion and disappointment.
Whosoever fears Allah and thus denies his own might, power and knowledge, Allah will appoint for him a way out of what He has enjoined on him by helping him to fulfill it.
Whosoever fears Allah, adheres to His Commands and never trespasses them, verily Allah will appoint for him a way out from what is prohibited or unlawful to what is lawful and permissible and from distress to ease, and from the Fire to the Garden of Paradise.
Whosoever fears Allah in earning his living, and seeks things that are permissible and please Allah, He will truly appoint for him a way out from stint of provision to sufficiency, and from destruction of wealth and bankruptcy to protection and growth of wealth.
Whosoever fears Allah by adhering to the Prophet’s Sunna and tradition PBUH, Allah is sure to appoint for Him a way out from misguidance and heresy as well as evil innovations of heretics.
Whosoever fears Allah in choosing his wife and in treating her, Allah will verily appoint for him a way out from marital wretchedness.
Whosoever fears Allah in bringing up his children, Allah will certainly appoint for him a way out of their disobedience and ingratitude.
Whosoever fears Allah in finding for himself an adequate decent lawful job and in performing it properly, Allah is sure to appoint for him a way out of failure and disappointment.
The levels of Taqwa:
In fact, At Taqwa is of different levels. Allah All mighty says,
﴾O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. ﴿
Adherence to Allah’s Commands, that have come to man through authentic reporting is sure to establish a good connection with his Lord. Through this connection Allah is sure to assign to him a Light whereby he distinguishes Truth from Vanity, Good from Evil and Reality from Falsehood. By such a Divine Light, the believer sees the reality and secrets of things as well as the in results and consequences of deeds. Allah, Glory be to Him, says,
﴾O you who believe [in Musa (Moses) (i.e. Jews) and 'Iesa (Jesus) (i.e. Christians)]! Fear Allah, and believe too in His Messenger (Muhammad ), He will give you a double portion of His Mercy, and He will give you a light by which you shall walk (straight)﴿
You may lay your hand, with your eyes closed, upon something that feels very smooth, but then suddenly cry out and draw back frightfully when you open your eyes to find a scary viper before you. You safely liked its silky touch before you open your eyes, but you bounced back screaming upon seeing what you are up against, so is the present world that temps, hurts and passes by.
According to Imam Al-Ghazali, the well-known Muslim scholar, may Allah have mercy on him, At Taqwa is “A light which Allah Casts into man’s heart”. Such light is the essence of the acute insight which ensures rightness of work and happiness in both abodes.
If you want for these hopes to come true fear Allah:
Don’t we all wish to be the most honored with Allah? Then why don’t we fear Him?! Allah All Merciful addresses this matter,
﴾ Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa [i.e. one of the Muttaqun (pious - see V.2:2)]. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware. ﴿
It has been rightly said in the prophetic Sunnah, “If you want to be the most honored of all man, then fear Allah ; if you want to be the most powerful, put your trust in Allah; and if you want to be the most prosperous, then be more confident in what is in Allah’s Hands than what is in your own hands.”
Don’t we all wish to be loved by the Creator of the heavens and earth, the One Whose Love causes all of His creatures to love us, and Whose Love grants us tranquility and peace of mind and favors us with a sure abode of Honor in the presence of Omnipotent King (i.e. Allah)?
I
hope you will sweeten in a bitter life
and I hope you are satisfied even if people are not
and I wish that the relationship between us has solid ground
even if my relationship with the people is nothing but ruin
If your intimacy is fulfilled then everything is less importance
and everything above this ground is nothing but dust
If you want all that, then let’s fear Him, because He All High says,
﴾ Yes, whoever fulfils his pledge and fears Allah much; verily, then Allah loves those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious - see V.2:2). ﴿
Don’t we all wish that Allah, the Lord of all worlds, the Majestic and the Splendid, becomes our Protector and Guardian, takes us forth from the shadows into the light, and defends us and puts us under His Divine Care and Protection? Let’s then fear Allah. He, Praise be to Him, says,
﴾But Allah is the Wali (Helper, Protector, etc.) of the Muttaqun (pious - see V.2:2). ﴿
Don’t we all wish to have Allah in our favor and with us. If Allah All Mighty is with us, whosoever can be against us? If He All High is against us, whosoever can be with us? Allah’s being with us and in our favor means protection, support, care honor and dignity? Then, why don’t we fear Allah? Allah, Glory be to Him, says,
﴾ Truly, Allah is with those who fear Him (keep their duty unto Him) , and those who are Muhsinun (good-doers, - see the footnote of V.9:120). ﴿
The ultimate success lies in At Taqwa:
Prosperity, all prosperity, success, all success, triumph, all triumph, good reason, all good reason, supremacy, all supremacy, wealth, all wealth, good fortune, all good fortune, and happiness, all happiness, are to be guaranteed through Taqwa and fearing Allah. To this effect, Allah, he Almighty says,
﴾ And fear Allah that you may be successful. ﴿
Allah also says:
﴾ And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell-fire and made to enter Paradise). ﴿
The pious puts his foot on the path of gratitude (to Allah):
If man feels that he is overwhelmed with Allah’s Grace and, hence, desires to thank Him, how can he thank Him enough and all his existence is out of His Favor, all his entity is indulged in His Bounty? This is because
﴾ And whatever of blessings and good things you have, it is from Allah.﴿
﴾ And if you count the Blessings of Allah, never will you be able to count them ﴿
In fact, mankind are incapable of counting the wonderful blessings of only one of Allah’s Favors, not to mention thanking Him duly. However, Allah, the Most Gracious, shows us that whosoever fears Him, Allah will pave for himself the way to be duly thankful to Him. He Most Merciful says,
﴾So 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] that you may be grateful. ﴿
To sum up, it may be said, that At Taqwa means to safeguard yourself against disbelief by belief, against polytheism by monotheism, against hypocrisy by truthfulness, against disobedience by obedience, against heresy by following the prophet’s Sunna and tradition PBUH, against sinfulness by devoutness, against the charms of the present world by asceticism, against heedlessness by remembrance and against Satan by taking him for an enemy.
Fearing Allah should be your provision, for you don't know
If night comes will you live till the morning?
Man might laugh day and night unknowing
That his burial cloth is already weaved
How many children are hoped to live long
Only death put them in the darkness of the grave
How many brides are beautified for their grooms
Only their souls were taken at the night of Al Qadr.
At Taqwa side in the lives of the righteous ancestors:
Omar bin Abdul-Aziz, may Allah be pleased with him, used to address his adviser, Omar bin Mujahid, “If, one day, you find me go astray, hold me tight, shake me violently and tell me, ‘Fear Allah, o Omar! You will die!!’”
Abu Hanifah An-Nu’man, the venerable Imam and scholar, refused to take shelter in the shade of a tree of a man to whom he was indebted with some money, after having known that every loan that brings about profit is considered as Riba (usury).
A man once came to al-Hasan al-Basri and complained to him: “The sky does not shower us with rain.” He replied: “Seek Allah’s forgiveness”
Then another person came to him and said, “I complain of poverty.” He replied: “Seek Allah’s forgiveness.”
Then another person came to him and complained, “My wife is barren; she cannot bear children.” He replied: “Seek Allah’s forgiveness.”
The people, who were present, said to al-Hasan: “Every time a person came to you complaining, you instructed them to seek Allah’s forgiveness?”
Al-Hasan al-Basri said, “Have you not read the Ayah of Allah? Then he recited:
﴾ "I said (to them): 'Ask forgiveness from your Lord; Verily, He is Oft-Forgiving; 'He will send rain to you in abundance; 'And give you increase in wealth and children, and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers.' " ﴿
Second Khutbah:
Reasons why supplications are not answered by Allah:
The prophet PBUH sought refuge with Allah from a heart that doesn't entertain the fear (of Allah), from an eye that doesn't drop a tear, from a soul that is not satisfied and from the supplication that is not answered.
What are the reasons why the supplications are not answered by Allah though Allah says:
﴾ And your Lord said: "Invoke Me, [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism)] (and ask Me for anything) I will respond to your (invocation). Verily! Those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islamic Monotheism)] they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!" ﴿
Salman Al-Farsi narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said: “Indeed, Allah, is Hayy, Generous, when a man raises his hands to Him, He feels too shy to return them to him empty and rejected.”
Nothing is more honored in The Sight of Allah than supplication.
1- Unless man follows Allah's commands, Allah will not respond to his supplication:
It seems that Allah the Almighty doesn't answer man's supplication until man follows His commands.
Allah says:
﴾ And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad ) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright. ﴿
This means: they believe in Me and they follow My Guidance, and when they do so, they will be guided to the answered supplication.
2- Examples to elaborate the concept:
Let me elaborate by giving this example: we all know that vehicles are built up according to advanced science and in every vehicle there are devices and very complicated systems. If this vehicle breaks down, we should examine all the systems and devices in it and study everything about the laws of motion and wiring systems in order to find the flaw and then fix it.
However, if we stand by the vehicle and we scream, wail, cry and supplicate, what will happen? Nothing will happen and the car will not be fixed.
This is exactly our way in dealing with Allah.
We should study all the constant laws Allah created so that we will be able to organize and define our connection with Allah, with our selves, with those around us and with things around us.
Once we learn about those laws and believe in their credibility, we will shed a light on the flaws in our life and our connections, and we will put our hands on the deviated path (we followed) away from Allah's Method. Only then we can fix the flaw and turn back to the right path and as a result our supplications will be answered.
3- Ten reasons why the supplication is not answered by Allah:
Dear brothers, It is reported that Ibrahim bin Adham, May Allah have mercy on him – once passed through the market of Basrah. People gathered around him and asked:
O Abu Ishaq, Allah the Exalted says in his Book
﴾ And your Lord said: "Invoke Me, [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism)] (and ask Me for anything) I will respond to your (invocation). ﴿
However, we have been calling on Him for a long time and He does not answer our prayers. [Ibrahim] replied, “O people of Basrah, your hearts have died in respect to ten things:
First, you know Allah but you do not give Him His rights;
Second, you have read Allah’s Book but you do not act by it;
Third, you claim to love Allah’s Messenger PBUH yet you abandon his Sunnah;
Fourth, you claim to be enemies to Shayṭan but you conform to (his ways);
Fifth, you say you love Paradise yet you do not work for it;
Sixth, you say you fear The Fire yet you put yourselves closer to it (by sinning);
Seventh, you say death is true but you do not prepare for it;
Eighth, you busy yourselves with the faults of others and disregard your own;
Ninth, you consume the favors of your Lord but are not grateful for them;
Tenth, you bury your dead but take no lesson from them, and you expect Allah to answer your supplications”
Transgression and unlawful income come between the supplication and answering it by Allah.
Allah says:
﴾ Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors. ﴿
This means that that the aggressor is not liked by Allah and his supplication will not be answered.
The prophet PBUH said:
((O Sa'd, consume lawful things and your supplications will be heard))
[At-Tabarani on the authority of Ibn Abbas (D'aeef Al Sanad)]
