- Seminars and Lectures abroad / ٠01 Masjid At-Taqwa- Morning lectures 1
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- Masjid At-Taqwa- part 1
Introduction:
Dear brothers, a noble brother of ours suggested to make Friday lesson an opportunity to answer questions, so that people may benefit from them. Some personal questions are answered personally; however, answering some questions publicly might be beneficial to most of the brothers who attend this lesson. I agree to the suggestion, and I am waiting for you to agree. Let us allocate Friday for your questions, and next time bring papers and pens and write down your questions, and so they are the subjects of our Friday lessons.
The relation between the east and the west:
Generally, we all notice the fierce attack against Muslims all over the world as if a third world war has been declared against Muslims. It was hidden previously, but today they attack Muslims in broad daylight.
One of the Congressmen said, "Since the west has the upper hand over the east, we will not allow any Islamic administration to take place." His decision was very obvious in Algeria, Palestine and Egypt, for when the healthy and honest elections brought Muslims to govern the countries, the elections were canceled. Thus, there is deep hostility between the west and the east, and one time we thought wrongly that they like us, while Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Lo! You are the ones who love them but they love you not﴿
Choosing the right question:
Next Friday, we will start answering your questions, but they should be relevant to the public interest. For example, I will not answer questions like, a man traveled from Amman to Al-Aqabah with his car at 7 AM, and he arrived four hours later, what is the name of this driver? These kinds of questions are irrelevant to the common interest, and believe me some people ask such questions.
In literature, there are novels, which can be 1000 pages, stories, short stories, and anecdotes, which revolve around one incident that might contain a great moral lesson.
An Egyptian man sent his son to Al-Azhar to acquire Islamic knowledge. Five years later his son came back with a certificate, and he delivered a sermon in the Masjid. His father cried while he was listening to his son's sermon, so people thought that he cried out of happiness for the achievement of his son, but actually he cried because he was sorry for himself and his ignorance.
A very notable scholar from Damascus, may Allah have mercy upon his soul, told us this story saying that the father's name is Zakariya Al-Ansari.
He sent his son to learn Islamic knowledge, and he came back to his father after graduation. The father realized how ignorant he was, so he rode his mule, and he left Aswan (which is located in the south of Egypt) and headed to the capital (Cairo) which is 1000 kilometers away from his residence.
It took him a month to arrive in Cairo, so he asked where the Azhar was (but he pronounced it wrongly out of his ignorance). He repeated his question explaining to people that he wanted to go to the place where people used to get Islamic knowledge, so he was told by people the right way to pronounce the word Al-Azhar.
He reached his destination and started to learn reading and writing at the age of 55, and he did not die before he was one of Al-Azhar's scholars. He occupied the highest religious ranks in the Middle East. This man was once illiterate!
The right choice:
Now, what is the moral of this story? The decision made by man regarding his destiny will come to pass if it is accompanied by strong will and deep faith, given the vanishing of the entire world is easier to Allah than keeping man's honest ambition not fulfilled.
In another story, a young man from a very backward village in Aleppo decided to educate himself, so he used to hold onto trucks to have a free ride to Aleppo. Then, he worked in a restaurant under very tough conditions. He used to washed dishes all day long in exchange for two meals only. Then he had another job where he was paid money. Finally, he became able to pay for his journey to Damascus.
After few years, he moved to Damascus, and he enrolled himself in a private school. This is a long story, but at the end he did not die before being the Rector of Damascus University, and his name is Muhammad Al-Fadel.
Let me tell you this: The decision man makes concerning his destiny will come to pass if it is made with strong will and deep faith. Also, it is easier to Allah to vanish the world than to keep man's yearning for something he asks Allah for unfulfilled. The proof is in the following Ayah:
﴾ And He gave you of all that you asked for,﴿
Allah brought you to this life to help you to achieve your destiny, but be aware that Allah does not deal with wishes. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ It will not be in accordance with your desires (Muslims), nor those of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), whosoever works evil, will have the recompense thereof,﴿
Wishing to be a scientist without striving to be one is nonsense; the path is there and you have to take it. Thus:
﴾ And whoever desires the Hereafter﴿
The sign for his true will is:
﴾And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it, with the necessary effort due for it (i.e. do righteous deeds of Allah's Obedience) while he is a believer (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism), then such are the ones whose striving shall be appreciated, thanked and rewarded (by Allah).﴿
I would like to elaborate. If the existence of Allah comes across the mind of a man in Alaska, and this man has no job, Allah will bring him an opportunity of a job in Washington (which he read about in a newspaper), and he will work there in a company which has a branch in Gulf area, and he will travel there and live next to a Muslim man who will introduce him to Islam, and this Alaskan man will embrace Islam eventually. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾Had Allah known of any good in them, He would indeed have made them listen﴿
If you desire to know the truth, it is thousand times impossible that you will not reach it. Read the Quran, and you will find that many Ayat indicate that guidance is given by Allah Alone:
﴾Truly! Ours it is (to give) guidance,﴿
This means that Allah the Almighty assigned His Most High Entity to guide the person who seeks the truth.
﴾Truly! Ours it is (to give) guidance,﴿
Once, I met a representative of a Dutch company, and he told me about his business, and that he was a sales manager there. I welcomed him and was very generous to him. After a while, I said to him, "Allow me to tell you a little bit about Allah", but he interrupted me saying, "Stop! I do not care about such information, and I am not interested in it. All I care about in life are a beautiful woman, a vast house and a luxury car.
﴾Had Allah known of any good in them, He would indeed have made them listen, and even if He had made them listen, they would but have turned away, averse (to the truth).﴿
Even if you desire something that seems to you impossible to reach, you will reach it as long as you are honest in seeking it. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And He gave you of all that you asked for,﴿
Unfortunately, most of us desire to become rich without striving to be one of the rich, or he may desire to be a knowledgeable man without making use of the available means to become so. Hence, be aware that Allah does not deal with wishes.
﴾ It will not be in accordance with your desires (Muslims), nor those of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), whosoever works evil, will have the recompense thereof,﴿
The bad social environment and having non-religiously committed parents are two excuses of some people who cannot be guided. However, these excuses are not convincing. Thus, if you keep giving such excuses till the Day of Resurrection, you will not be excused, for guidance is in Allah's Hands, and if you ask for it sincerely, you will get it.
A professor in psychology, who is considered one of the best five psychologists in the world, said to us once, "Man might be affected by his surroundings, parents or era, but he affects his ownself for he owns the free will, and the proof is that an Islamic knowledgeable man might be the son of the most immoral person."
A man in Damascus owns a night club, and he has a daughter who works as a teacher in the suburb. She never asks for a penny of her father's money, because of his business, and had she asked him for a million, he would have given her. She is a religiously committed daughter of an immoral father!
Keep in mind, the decision taken by man regarding his destiny will come to pass if it made with determination and faith. This is what happened to Zakariya Al-Ansari who rode his mule and headed to Cairo to seek knowledge, and he became a notable scholar in Al-Azhar.
Ask Allah for your need. Who is the aggrieved? He is the one who does not ask Allah. Ask Him, and He will give you what you want. This is the law in the Worldly life: Ask Allah, and you will get what you asked for. Keep in mind that all the things you have achieved are desires you asked Allah for and you strived sincerely to get, and all the things that you have not achieved are mere wishes.
﴾ It will not be in accordance with your desires (Muslims), nor those of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), whosoever works evil, will have the recompense thereof,﴿
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾And keep yourself (O Muhammad PBUH) patiently with those who call on their Lord (i.e. your companions who remember their Lord with glorification, praising in prayers, etc., and other righteous deeds, etc.) morning and afternoon, seeking His Face, and let not your eyes overlook them﴿
Are you served when you come to the Masjid? No you are not, for there is no rocking chair to sit on, and no coffee or tea to drink, so we all sit on the floor, and for what? We do that to seek Islamic knowledge.
﴾And keep yourself (O Muhammad PBUH) patiently with those who call on their Lord (i.e. your companions who remember their Lord with glorification, praising in prayers, etc., and other righteous deeds, etc.) morning and afternoon, seeking His Face, and let not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp and glitter of the life of the world;﴿
