Dear brother, this is the last lesson of interpreting Surat Al-Insan, Allah says:

﴾Therefore be patient (O Muhammad) and submit to the Command of your Lord (Allah, by doing your duty to Him and by conveying His Message to mankind), and obey neither a sinner nor a disbeliever among them* And remember the Name of your Lord every morning and afternoon [i.e. offering of the Morning (Fajr), Zuhr, and 'Asr prayers].﴿

[Al-Insan, 24-25]

The connection between patience and remembrance (of Allah):

  Is there any connection between patience and remembrance? Patience is a passive attitude, whereas remembrance is an active one. Had man remained patient but not remembered Allah, he would have lost his balance. Man should have a substation for refraining from committing sins, which is remembrance. Since man is molded to like goodness, beauty and gaining things, he needs positives. Hence, if man refrains from fulfilling the forbidden lusts, and he remains patient while doing so, he needs the positive substitution which has to be good enough to make him forget all about committing whatever is forbidden for Allah's Sake. This substitution is remembering Allah.

 When man is upright with little remembrance of Allah, his uprightness becomes unbearably a burden on him, simply because this uprightness entails being forbidden from many things. For instance, he may be forbidden from eating many kinds of food, which will leave him with no kind of food to eat. Thus, there must be a tasteful kind of food to present to him, and that will make him forget the forbidden one. Hence, patience should go hand-in-hand with remembrance given patience is a passive attitude.

 I mentioned in a previous lecture that one should be patient while offering the acts of worship; they entail endeavoring and efforts. Also, he should be patient while controlling his desires and he should be patient while accepting Allah's Preordainment and Predestination (Qada' and Qadar), but what is the substitution for all that? The substitution is manifested in amiability with Allah.

 The beauties of the worldly life are money, food, women, wonderful places, vehicles, houses and so on, so when the believer abandons lots of things for the Sake of Allah, he should have other source of beauty (as an alternative to all these worldly beauties) to please him. This source is found in remembering Allah. Accordingly, being patient should be accompanied with remembering Allah. Otherwise, man loses his balance as he is ordered to abstain from doing forbidden things. In fact, man's happiness lies in remembering Allah.

The constructive substitution:

 It is said, "Indeed, there is a Paradise in the worldly life whoever is deprived of admitting to it, will never be admitted to the Paradise of the Hereafter." It is the Paradise of being close (to Allah)." A scholar said, "What can my enemies do to me, my paradise and garden are in my chest, and they are with me wherever I go. My expulsion from my homeland is tourism, my imprisonment is my privacy with Allah, and my killing is martyrdom". Some interpreters of Hadith said, "When the Prophet, peace be upon him, said that Abu Bakr is in Paradise now, he meant the Paradise of being close to Allah."

 There must be a substitution for the things you are forbidden from doing.. When you prevent your son from doing doubtful matters and committing sins, there must be a substitution for this deprivation. Hence, you should teach him and give him bonuses he loves in order to make him forget the things he abandoned.

 Some fathers suppress their children by preventing them from doing things saying, this is Haram, that thing is unacceptable, that one is forbidden, etc. Well, you should teach your son about the forbidden things, but at the same you should offer him a substitution. This is a rule of thumb in educating and raising up children and in Da'wah. When man is prevented from committing doubtful and forbidden things, he is supposed to be given a positive substitution such as the things he likes. Religiously speaking this method shows the beautiful aspect of Islam. When someone walks in the desert suffering the unbearable heat and thirst, he will keep going because he knows that he is coming closer to an oasis where he will find shade and water. Similarly, man should be at ease when he is offered the positive things (after he has abandoned the negative ones). They are embodied in being close to Allah.

The sweetness of faith attracts you to the religion:

  Let me tell something, dear brother: The religion is logical and true, and it gives man deep, complete and integrated explanation of the universe, life and man. Moreover, the religion gives you a profound explanation of death considering it a start not an end, the religion considers life a preparing phase not a consuming one and the religion gives man a great value by making him the foremost creature. All these great points, coherent system and deep perception are not enough alone, because in order to be attracted to religion you should taste the sweetness of faith. Man is attracted to religion when Allah inspires him, pleases him, gets him closer to Him and makes him tastes the sweetness of being close to Him. This explains why the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "…will taste the sweetness of faith …", which means that faith has a taste.

 There are convictions, ideas, principles and perceptions in faith, yet in Islam there are tastes which you taste and feel. What attracts you to the religion is the sweetness of faith, what attracts you to Allah is the closeness to Him and what attracts you to sacrifice things and give sh3er is the happiness you are indulged in when you do so. These are the bonuses, without which Da'wah cannot be a successful one. The religious commitment which is solely based on suppression and Tahrim (such saying this is Haram and that is forbidden)does not work. There must be encouraging rewards in order to bring happiness to you, so that when you forsake impermissible things, you will still have the permissible ones with which comes the closeness to the Almighty Allah. We should always keep this point in mind.

Hearts are at ease by remembering Allah (Dhikr):

  The Almighty Allah says:

﴾ And remember the Name of your Lord﴿

  The following Ayah should be comprehended correctly and precisely grammatically speaking, Allah says:

﴾Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism), and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.﴿

[Ar-Ra'd, 28]

 We sometimes read the Quran without being aware of its delicate miraculous versification. If Allah said, "the hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah", that would not be an Ayah from the Quran, because saying it this way means that hearts find its rest not only in the remembrance of Allah, but also in other things, like abundant amounts of money, fame or cheap pleasures. Thus, when the Almighty Allah, our Lord, the All-Knower, the Creator says:

﴾ Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.﴿

  This means that hearts find rest (only) in the remembrance of Allah.

 There is a craving need within man and there is something missing in him, which cannot be filled with money, health, fame or power. The millionaire, the healthy person, the famous and the very powerful one might be the most miserable people on earth, so this missing thing can only be filled with faith:

﴾ Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.﴿

The integration between Dhikr and Islamic knowledge:

 We should know beyond doubt that man is made of heart, mind and body. Given the body needs food and drink to live, the mind needs knowledge as its nourishment, and the heart needs remembrance through perfecting the prayers, remembering the Almighty Allah, reciting the Quran, making Du'a, Istighfar (asking Allah for His Forgiveness), Munajat (talking to Him secretly), invoking Him, Tasbeeh (glorifying Him), praising Him and Takbeer Saying Allah is Great)All of these are means that lead you to Allah, and they bring happiness to the heart and nourish it. We can make an analogy between remembrance and the engine of the vehicle, and between the mind and the steering wheel. I've just said that knowledge nourishes the mind, and remembrance nourishes the heart, so remembrance gives you a tremendous pushing power, while the mind, which is nourished by knowledge, gives you the method to act like a steering wheel that keeps you on the right path. Hence, remembrance and knowledge complement one another.

 Keep in mind that if Da'wah is not based on knowledge, it is crippled, if it is based on knowledge alone without remembrance, it is crippled as well and if it is based on knowledge and remembrance but neglects man's physical needs, life, the Halal earning and the necessities of life, it is an unsuccessful one.

The ways through which we increase our knowledge:

  In the definition of worship, "It is a voluntary obedience preceded by undoubted knowledge and leads to eternal happiness", there are three ways represented by: an epistemic side (knowing Allah with certainty) a behavioral side (obedience) and an aesthetic side. These three ways are closely connected: we know Allah, and then act upon His Order so that we can be connected with him, and finally be extremely pleased and forget about all the hardships in the worldly life because of this connection.

((How wondrous is the matter of a believer, there is good in all his affairs, and this is only for the believer. If something good happens to him and he is grateful, then this is good for him, and if a calamity befalls him and he is patient, then this is also good for him))

 The Almighty Allah says:

﴾O you who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance.﴿

[Al-Ahzab, 41]

Dhikr in abundance:

﴾ with much remembrance.﴿

 It is about remembering Allah abundantly, not remembering Him and that is it, because the hypocrites can offer little remembrance:

﴾Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who deceives them. And when they stand up for As-Salat (the prayer), they stand with laziness and to be seen of men, and they do not remember Allah but little.﴿

[An-Nisa', 142]

  Hypocrites do remembrance a little, whereas the believer does remembrance in abundance.

 Abundant remembrance embrace the five daily Fard prayers provided that they are offered perfectly, reciting the Quran daily, Tasbeeh, Istighfar, invoking Allah, Munajat, Takbeer, Al Hamd (praising Allah), Ash-shukr (thanking Allah), Da'wah, explaining Sunnah, clarifying an Islamic ruling and shedding the light on Sirah (prophetic biography):

﴾O you who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance.﴿

[Al-Ahzab, 41]

The outcomes of Dhikr:

  If you mention Allah in whatever assembly you attend, hearts come together, faces radiate and people around you become happy, but the minute you talk about other than Allah, people in that assembly will leave it as if they smelled in it a foul odor of a rotten carcass of a donkey. Thus, be keen on remembering Allah in every assembly you attend. All you have to do to remember Allah is to remind people of an Ayah, of a Hadith, of a religious story, of an Islamic ruling, of a Prophetic biography, of a Companion's biography, or of whatever elevates you to a better rank. Allah says:

﴾ And remember the Name of your Lord﴿

  Remembering the name of your Lord either to yourself or to sh3er, because this Ayah can bear more than one meaning:

﴾ And remember the Name of your Lord every morning﴿

  Remember Him at dawn:

﴾ and afternoon [i.e. offering of the Morning (Fajr), Zuhr, and 'Asr prayers].﴿

  Remember Him at noon (Zuhr) and in the afternoon (Asr):

﴾And during night, prostrate yourself to Him (i.e. the offering of Maghrib and 'Isha' prayers), and glorify Him a long night through (i.e. Tahajjud prayer).﴿

[Al-Insan, 26]

﴾And during night﴿

  Also, remember Him at sunset (Mughrib), after sunset (Ishaa) and at night prayers:

﴾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* Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying): "Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose, glory to You! (Exalted be You above all that they associate with You as partners). Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire.﴿

[Aal-'Imran, 190-191]

The method of Islam is complete:

  Hence:

﴾And remember the Name of your Lord every morning and afternoon [i.e. offering of the Morning (Fajr), Zuhr, and 'Asr prayers].﴿

  Every order in the Quran entails obligation. This great religion, which contains delicate, profound and evidence-based issues is a complete method for your heart, body, social life, psychological life, the way of raising up your children and your Aqeedah (theology), but unfortunately it has narrowed down to mere ineffective ritual acts of worship. Islam is an entire lifestyle.

 Allah says:

﴾Verily! Allah commands that you should render back the trusts to those, to whom they are due; and that when you judge between men, you judge with justice. Verily, how excellent is the teaching which He (Allah) gives you! Truly, Allah is Ever All-Hearer, All-Seer.﴿

[An-Nisa', 58]

 Allah does not say "trust" (singular), but He says "trusts" (plural), because there are always two parties in life: The first party includes Kuffar (infidels), hypocrites, the heedless, sinners and criminals, whereas the other party includes the believers:

﴾But if they answer you not (i.e. do not believe in your doctrine of Islamic Monotheism, nor follow you), then know that they only follow their own lusts. And who is more astray than one who follows his own lusts, without guidance from Allah? Verily! Allah guides not the people who are Zalimun (wrong-doers, disobedient to Allah, and polytheists).﴿

[Al-Qasas, 50]

Categories in life:

 There are only two categories in life, and there is no third one. If you are not enlisted in the first category, then surely you are enlisted in the second. Hence, if you do not respond to the Almighty Allah, you are following desires, if you do not defend the truth, you are following falsehood, if you are not with Allah, you are with Satan, if you do not protect values, you are keen on fulfilling your own interests and if you are not amongst people of the Hereafter (who works in the worldly life to be admitted to Paradise), you are amongst the people of the worldly life who are the other party.

 The worldly life is full of countless categories, among which is a new one which makes the world divided into the North rich countries and the South poor ones. Besides this division, people are categorized according to their races, gender, colors, peoples, nations, clans, sects, religions and schools of thoughts which are all void.

Men are two types:

1- A man who knows Allah and is admitted to Paradise:

 People are of two types only; regardless of the gender, race, color, religion and sect the person belongs to, man is either someone who knows Allah, acts upon His Order, is kind to His creations and establishes a connection with Him, and so he is pleased in the worldly life and in the Hereafter…

2- A man who forsakes Allah and so loses his Hereafter:

 A man who turns away from Allah, disconnects his relation with Him, breaks away from His Divine Method and is mean to His creations, and so he is miserable in the worldly life and in the Hereafter.

 There is no third type of people, and this classification is the only true one. Hence, man is either a good one upon whom Allah's Mercy is bestowed, or a bad wretched one who will be neglected by Allah.

﴾Some among them will be wretched and (sh3er) blessed.﴿

[Hud, 105]

﴾Some faces that Day shall be Nadirah (shining and radiant)* Looking at their Lord (Allah)* And some faces, that Day, will be Basirah (dark, gloomy, frowning, and sad),﴿

[Al-Qiyamah, 22-24]

﴾On the Day (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) when some faces will become white and some faces will become black; as for those whose faces will become black (to them will be said): "Did you reject Faith after accepting it? Then taste the torment (in Hell) for rejecting Faith."﴿

[Aal-'Imran, 106]

There are two types of people: Some people will come (in the Hereafter) with white faces, while the other ones will come with black ones, some will look at Allah, whereas the faces of the sh3er will be dust-stained, some will be happy, while the sh3er will be wretched, some are people of Paradise, while the other ones are people of the Hellfire, some are the people of hardship, whereas some are the people of prosperity and the faces of some are shining and radiant, while the faces of the other ones are dark, gloomy, frowning and sad. This is the true classification, so other classifications are invalid. Thus, man is either a believer or a disbeliever. In the following Ayah "These" are the first party which includes Kuffar, Mushrikoon (polytheistic), sinners, heedless people, hypocrites, criminals and atheists, whereas the second party includes the believers, Allah says:

﴾Verily! These (disbelievers) love the present life of this world, and put behind them a heavy Day (that will be hard).﴿

[Al-Insan, 27]

 They love the worldly life which runs in their blood and which is everything in their eyes. They consider it their destination mistakenly thinking that who owns it will become happy and who misses it will be wretched:

﴾Verily! These (disbelievers) love the present life of this world﴿

However, The Almighty Allah is greater and more exalted than having limited graces.

All people are subject to death:

 How can Allah's bestowal (upon his slaves) end after death? If it is so, then it cannot be considered a bestowal. In fact the worldly life is a foolish race in which every one dies at the end; the poor, the rich, the powerful, the weak, the handsome, the ugly, the healthy and the sick die, for death ends everything. This foolish race is like the car race which ends with a bottomless gap after driving 100 meters. Every car will wind up in it; the strong, the weak, the new, or the old car. Like this gap, the grave is the place where everyone will lie on; the scholar, the ignorant, the rich, the poor, the wretched and the happy person will lie on it. The graves are where all people on earth will end up in. Hence:

﴾Verily! These (disbelievers) love the present life of this world, and put behind them a heavy Day (that will be hard).﴿

It is the Day of Judgment. Man will be called to account:

  It was narrated in a symbolic anecdote that a rich man from Egypt died, and his children were worried about him regarding the torment of the grave. Therefore, they asked a poor man to stay with him in his grave for one night to keep him company, and they paid him 100 Egyptian Pounds in return. That amount was a fortune for someone like the poor man. He wore a sacking bag in which he made openings in it for his head and his arms, and he put a rope belt around his waist. Ankar and Nakeer (angles of graves) came and found two people in the grave. Fearing to be mixed with the dead guy, the poor man moved his leg in order to tell them that he was alive. Upon seeing him moving, they started with him. They asked him, "Where did you get this rope from?" He said, "I took it from the garden." They asked, "How did you get into the garden?" They started beating him to make him confess how he got into the garden, saving more torment for the rope and how he got it. Coming out of the grave the next morning exhausted and tired, the poor man said to the man's children, "May Allah be with your father."

﴾Verily! These (disbelievers) love the present life of this world﴿

  The Almighty Allah says:

﴾So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it* And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it.﴿

[Az-Zalzalah, 7-8]

((A woman was punished in Hell because of a cat which she had confined until it died. She did not give it to eat or to drink when it was confined, nor did she free it so that it might eat the vermin of the earth))

 A cat was the reason behind admitting this woman to Hellfire, so what about the punishment of whoever tortures mankind?

﴾Verily! These (disbelievers) love the present life of this world, and put behind them a heavy Day (that will be hard).﴿

  Keep in mind Allah's Saying:

﴾No injustice (shall be done to anybody) ﴿

[Ghafir, 17]

The negation of oppression in Allah's Attitudes:

﴾And We shall set up balances of justice on the Day of Resurrection, then none will be dealt with unjustly in anything. And if there be the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it. And Sufficient are We as Reckoners.﴿

[Al-Anbiya', 47]

  Where will this happen?

﴾and not the least injustice, even to the size of a Naqira (speck on the back of a date-stone), will be done to them.﴿

[An-Nisa', 124]

﴾and they will not be dealt with injustice even equal to the extent of a Fatila (A scalish thread in the long slit of a date-stone).﴿

[An-Nisa', 49]

 Not even Qitmeer (the thin membrane over the date-stone). Where will this happen?

﴾So it was not Allah Who wronged them, but they used to wrong themselves.﴿

[At-Taubah, 70]

  The negation of oppression in Allah's Attitudes is mentioned in lots of Ayaht. Everything will be reckoned accurately, so the foolish person is the one who thinks that the Divine Reckoning is not accurate. Such a person takes what doesn't belong to him, oppresses people, builds his triumph over the wreck and sadness of other people and collects his wealth by impoverishing sh3er.

﴾Verily! These (disbelievers) love the present life of this world, and put behind them a heavy Day (that will be hard).﴿

 A thief thinks himself brilliant when he breaks in houses and takes people's money, but when he is arrested, his money is taken from him and he will be sentenced to forty years or to death if he kills someone, he will realize how foolish he is. In fact all criminals are psychologically classified as "idiots.

Man was perfectly created:

 Imam Al-Ghazali, may Allah have mercy on his soul, once addressed his nafs (ownself) saying, "O my nafs, if a doctor warns you about eating a certain food you like, you will obey him. Are the doctor's words more truthful to you (nafs) than Allah's Promises? How infidel you are if they are so! Are the warnings of the doctor more terrifying to you than Allah's menaces? How ignorant you are if they are so!"Whoever disobeys Allah is stamped with ignorance and kufr (atheism):

﴾Verily! These (disbelievers) love the present life of this world, and put behind them a heavy Day (that will be hard).﴿

﴾It is We Who created them, and We have made them of strong built. And when We will, We can replace them with sh3er like them with a complete replacement.﴿

[Al-Insan, 28]

 If we split a copper ball into two halves and evacuate it from air, and we tied each half to four horses and try to pull apart the two halves by moving every four horses in a different direction from the one of the other four, they will not be able to pull the halves apart, why? Because it is evacuated from air, and thus it is firmly solid. Much in the same line, the collum ossis femoris (neck of thigh bone) is located inside the cavity of pelvis that is evacuated from air, and it is firmly tight in the body. In fact, the hardest bone surgery at all is the one which requires removing the fragilitas ossium from the pelvis.

﴾It is We Who created them, and We have made them of strong built.﴿

  Fathers sometimes hold their kids from their hands, had it not been strongly tight, his arm would have been dislocated. Unlike the handle of a suitcase, which might be broken because it is weak and which is not tight and not well-designed, the weight of the child, his joints, his muscles, his ligaments and his gristles are perfectly designed (by Allah). Even if the father pushes his son out of anger, this push is considered according to the child weight by the Creator, so that it won't cause any harm to the child:

﴾It is We Who created them, and We have made them of strong built.﴿

Man is a complete construction:

  Man is a complete construction. You will laugh at a 1900 car model, for it has no gear box (only one speed), the tires are not filled with air, but rather they are made from rubber and its lights are manually turned on at night from outside. By comparing this old model to recent car models, you will notice that man's expertise improves by time. This improvement is clear in the invention of train. When the first invented train ran, a man was ordered to walk in front of it in order to warn people from it. What does that mean? It means that the speed of that train was slower than man's.. Unlike that train, the modern trains travel 380 Kilometers per hour. This is how man's skills improve with the passage of time.

 With all the changes that took place to those inventions, has man been exposed to modifications so far? Have you ever heard about the models of man? Absolutely not, because man was created perfectly, so even calling the "Az-Za'idah Doodiyah" (which means "a spare part with no use") as appendix is a mistake. It is called Adh-Dha'idah (it is a noun and the verb is yadhood, which means to defend, and so it should be called the worm-like defender), and it was created to defend the body. Actually, Allah never creates something worthless in man's body; it is absolutely complete.

﴾It is We Who created them, and We have made them of strong built.﴿

  If the hair had nerves, what would have you done then? You would have needed for a surgery in a hospital in which you would have been under complete anesthesia in order to have your hair cut. The same goes for the nails. Unlike nails, the bones need these nerves in order to make someone feel the pain in case he has bone fractures. Also, this pain makes the person keep his bone in its position, which is four fifth of the treatment.

 Regarding the newborn baby, had it not been granted the suckling reflex, no one would have lived, including people in this Masjid. Suckling breast milk is a very complicated process which is performed by the infant by its Fitrah without teaching it to do so. You can see how the infant closes its mouth tightly when it catches the papillula (breast nipple) of its mother and sucks air. Could you have taught your infant to suckle milk, had he not been granted this reflex? Could you have made him understand what you teach him even if you did that in Arabic? Without this reflex the infant will starve to death:

﴾It is We Who created them, and We have made them of strong built.﴿

  You grease your car engine, but the human being is self-greased, how? The mother gives her newborn baby in the first 24 hours after birth a yellow substance called colostrum which works as dissolvent to the grease, and this is why the infant's stool is black in the first 24 hours after birth.

 The balance system in the ear makes you speechless before its mechanism; without which you will need feet like the feet of the camel to walk instead of your nice small ones. Thanks to the balance system in which there is a liquid and cilia which incline three degrees to adjust your standing position. The balance system is very complicated.

  There is a part in the brain which detects the direction of the sound by calculating the difference between two sounds of 1\1620 part of the second in order to detect the direction of the sound. As for the eyes, they help you see in three dimensions. Concerning the nose, it has 20 million nerve endings, each one of them has seven cilia dipped in a mucous substance which interact with smells and form a geometric structure for each one of them. Thus, you can tell the difference between Jasmine, Musk, Umber, roses, cumin, pepper and spices. Allah has honored you by giving you this very strong sense of smelling.

Though your sight does not exceed the room you are sitting in, your sense of hearing can work beyond the walls of this room. You can hear the sound of something (in the other room, for example).Concerning, the sense of smelling, it helps you tell if there is something rotten in your house. Allah has given you the senses of hearing, sight and smelling which are controlling systems:

﴾It is We Who created them, and We have made them of strong built. And when We will, We can replace them with sh3er like them with a complete replacement.

The true believer is always ready to leave the worldly life:

  By old age, these systems start to weaken and the kidneys start to fail. Once I told a powerful man who occupied a very important position through which he could harm people, "Beware, for Allah can punish you by making you suffer from cancer, cirrhosis, kidneys failure, brain stroke or palsy. Each one of these is enough to turn man's life into living Hell. The people you do harm to are Allah's servants, so prepare answers to Allah for all your actions and deeds." These words are very crucial.

﴾Verily! These (disbelievers) love the present life of this world, and put behind them a heavy Day (that will be hard).﴿

  A superior student who got the highest grade in the country was asked, "How did you get this grade?" He answered, "The hour of the exam was always in my mind." Similarly, the believer always keeps the reckoning hour, the hour of leaving the worldly life and the hour of meeting with the Creator in his mind. The amazing thing about the believer is that he is ready for the most serious event in life, which is death. He spends his entire life preparing for this hour just like that superior student who prepared himself for his exams, studied, summarized the course books, revised them all and answered all the questions in them, so he is well-prepared. The heedless, on the other hand will be taken aback (on the Day of Resurrection). Hence:

﴾Verily! These (disbelievers) love the present life of this world,﴿

  As if Allah despises and scolds them, for they love the present life of this world, Allah says:

﴾Say: "Short is the enjoyment of this world. The Hereafter is (far) better for him who fears Allah, and you shall not be dealt with unjustly even equal to the Fatila (a scalish thread in the long slit of a date-stone).﴿

[An-Nisa', 77]

 Be realistic; you know that man lives financially comfortable when he is 40. At this age he gets a wife, children and enough income to suffice him and his family. Let us say that you are 40, and death comes when you are at your 60s or early 70s, so is it reasonable to spend those 40 years working hard to enjoy your life for 20 years only? The years when man can enjoy his life would have been limited if there had been no Hereafter. Hence, all accounts are going to be settled (by Allah) accurately:

﴾Verily! These (disbelievers) love the present life of this world, and put behind them a heavy Day (that will be hard).﴿

The Kafer's ordeal on the Day of Resurrection:

  When the Kafer sees his seat in Hellfire, he will say, "I have never seen any prosperity in my life." Our master Ali, may Allah be pleased with him addressed his son Al-Hasan by saying, "The pleasure that is followed by Hell is worthless." If you own billions, a palace in every city, tens of vehicles, tens of planes and tens of ships, these properties are of no value as long as they cause to be sent to Hell. Ali, may Allah be pleased with him went on, "…and every good matter that is followed by Hell is also worthless. Likewise, the evil that produces Paradise is not evil. Any bliss other than Paradise is valueless and any misfortune other than Hell is (regarded as) good health."

 Suppose someone has neither arms nor legs, he is blind, deaf, mute, and poor, he has neither a wife nor children and he lives on the sidewalk, but he will be admitted to Paradise, then all these afflictions (other than Hell) are considered good health, comparing to the unbearable Hellfire. Allah says:

﴾And they will cry: "O Malik (Keeper of Hell)! Let your Lord make an end of us." He will say: "Verily you shall abide forever."﴿

[Az-Zukhruf, 77]

  The Almighty Allah says:

﴾Those are they who have purchased error at the price of Guidance, and torment at the price of Forgiveness. So how bold they are (for evil deeds which will push them) to the Fire.﴿

[Al-Baqarah, 175]

Pondering over the Ayaht of Paradise and Hellfire:

 Whoever is careless about the Ayaht in which Hell and Paradise are mentioned, his faith is shaky. We should be all ears and eyes to these Ayaht, we should strive to deserve Paradise, which is the abode of bliss and the abode of eternity and we should flee from Hellfire (avoid whatever causes us to enter it). Hence, you should do everything that brings you closer to paradise and stay away from whatever keeps you away from it:

﴾Verily! These (disbelievers) love the present life of this world, and put behind them a heavy Day (that will be hard). It is We Who created them, and We have made them of strong built. And when We will, We can replace them with sh3er like them with a complete replacement.﴿

 This means:

((The Prophet, peace be upon him, as he narrated that Allah the Almighty said, "O My slaves, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My slaves, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. O My slaves, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more than a needle decreases the sea if put into it. O My slaves, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him who finds good praise Allah and let him who finds other than that blame no one but himself."))

[Muslim, by Abi Dharr]

 Allah the Almighty says:

﴾Verily! This (Verses of the Qur'an) is an admonition, so whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allah).﴿

[Al-Insan, 29]

Man is molded to believe in Allah by Fitrah:

 Suppose that you travelled to Beirut and saw the rocky shore there. If we show you a picture of the scenery you saw, you will remember it right away because the picture reminds you of something you know very well. Similarly, every word in the Quran reminds us of something we know by Fitrah. Originally, you are a believer by Fitrah, and man is born with Fitrah and is molded to believe in Allah. Thus, man can never be at ease unless he believes in Allah, and he can never be secured unless he remembers Allah and turns back to Him:

﴾So set you (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) your face towards the religion of pure Islamic Monotheism Hanifa (worship none but Allah Alone) Allah's Fitrah (i.e. Allah's Islamic Monotheism), with which He has created mankind. No change let there be in Khalq-illah (i.e. the Religion of Allah Islamic Monotheism), that is the straight religion, but most of men know not. [Tafsir At-Tabari, Vol 21, Page 41]﴿

[Ar-Rum, 30]

  You are designed, characterized and programmed to believe in Allah, so if you do not, you will be wretched, and your heart will be filled with fear:

﴾Verily, man (disbeliever) was created very impatient* Irritable (discontented) when evil touches him* And niggardly when good touches him*- Except those devoted to Salat (prayers)﴿

[Al-Ma'arij, 19-22]

Leaving Fitrah is the source of misery:

 Whoever offers prayers is neither impatient nor niggardly. Consider the example of two vehicles, one of them is a car, and it is designed to run on paved roads, while the other one is a tank which is designed to run on bumpy lands. Accordingly, if you drive the car on the bumpy lands, it will be damaged and its oil tank will be broken because of the bumps, holes and rocks, whereas the tank has a chain instead of tires and it is designed for bumpy lands. As for man, he is designed to believe (in Allah), and when he does that, he will live in comfort. You are a believer by your creation, nature and character. Thus, once you break away from your Fitrah, you will become miserable. Actually, breaking away from Fitrah is the reason behind most psychological illnesses. Man is comfortable as long as he is good to sh3er, and he becomes fearful when he hurts them.

 A friend of mine told me that while he was in Germany, he checked in a hotel where there was a nice plaque hanged over the beds, and it said, "If you could not sleep, then your sins do not let you, as our beds are comfortable". Indeed, when man sins, he won't be able to sleep because of compunction. Only the upright person can sleep comfortably, for people don't have rights upon him; he didn't oppress anyone, he didn't torture any person and he did not cause someone's misery. If someone causes the misery of a creature even of an animal, he will collapse from inside.

Security is the greatest grace at all:

  Therefore, Fitrah is based on believing in Allah, Allah says:

﴾Verily! This (Verses of the Qur'an) is an admonition﴿

  Basically you are a believer by Fitrah, and molded to have faith which is part of your nature:

﴾Verily! This (Verses of the Qur'an) is an admonition﴿

  In fact, the Quran reminds you of this Fitrah. One should know that reconciling with Allah brings stability to his soul, and he will find himself the very minute he repents to Allah. Moreover, he will feel that as if mountains were removed from his shoulders. Fulfilling forbidden lusts and committing sins are like a burden, but when you (sinner) repent to Allah, you won't be disturbed by this burden, and you will become gentle, optimistic, cheerful and secured. Allah the Exalted says:

﴾ (So) which of the two parties has more right to be in security? If you but know."* It is those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah and worship none but Him Alone) and confuse not their belief with Zulm (wrong i.e. by worshipping sh3er besides Allah), for them (only) there is security and they are the guided.﴿

[Al-An'am, 81-82]

  The mother of all graces is security and it is the very thing that the believer is rewarded with. If you are with Allah, who can be against you? And when you find Allah what do you lose? Actually, you lose nothing:

﴾Verily! This (Verses of the Qur'an) is an admonition,﴿

  You have the free will, Allah says:

﴾ so whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allah).﴿

The ways to Allah are as many as people:

  The paths to Allah are as many as people. Some of these Paths are seeking knowledge, being upright, offering good deeds, raising up good children, giving advice to Muslims, feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, treating the wife kindly, perfecting your work, being honest, being trustworthy, being chaste, teaching Islamic knowledge and calling people to Allah:

﴾so whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allah).﴿

  Out of Allah's Divine Perfection and Great Bounty, happiness is His, but there are paths to take in order to gain it such as the perfect parenthood, the perfect dutifulness to the parents, the perfect husband, the obedient wife, perfecting someone's job, refraining from deceiving people and honesty:

﴾so whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allah).﴿

  Befriending believers and attending religious lessons are paths to Allah. The Prophet, peace be upon him, taught us that when we enter the Masjid, we should say:

((O Allah, open the gates of Your mercy for me))

 You are in Allah's House and in His Hospitality, and Allah's Generosity to you is embodied in making your life prosperous, managing your affairs, enlightening your heart and making you take the right decisions.

 In one of Damascus suburb, a gang of young men (seven or eight among whom there were educated men) attacked a jeweler, forced him to show them where his safe was located, stole 10 Kilograms of gold and killed him. One week later, the crime was unfolded and all the criminals were hanged where they committed their crime. Were they brilliant when they committed the crime? No, they were idiots. Did they enjoy the gold they stole? No, they did not. They were deluded when they thought that they owned a fortune of 10 Kilograms of gold, but they had got the death penalty in the very place of their crime.

Allah's Illumination is manifested in His Mercy upon man:

 What does "Allah have mercy on you" mean? It means that you are given the right insight, the wise decision and the right words to say. Also, it means that Allah grants you prosperity, facilitates your affairs, grants you marital bliss, makes your children dutiful and helps you do good deeds through which you can approach Him., This is how Allah's Mercy is manifested.

 There are neither refreshments nor cozy seats in the Masjid. Yet, when Allah's Illumination is manifested in His Mercy upon you, He grants you tranquility and security, facilitates things for you, helps you in your job and gives you a clear vision so that you do not commit mistakes or wrong sh3er by your words. All of that are manifestations of Allah's Mercy. Allah says:

﴾Verily! This (Verses of the Qur'an) is an admonition, so whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allah).﴿

The connection between man's will with Allah's:

1- The connection between man's will and Allah's is an act of Wisdom:

﴾But you cannot will, unless Allah wills. Verily, Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise.﴿

[Al-Insan, 30]

  The connection between man's will and Allah's has nothing to do with compulsion, but rather it has to do with Allah's Wisdom. Whatever happens in the universe is by Allah's Decree, whatever happens is meant by Allah to happen and whatever Allah decrees to happen actually happens. To elaborate, if someone sins, Allah the Almighty Allah may and may not punish him due to His Divine Knowledge of that person. Hence, when Allah does not punish him, it means that Allah is giving him a chance to repent, but if He punishes him, this means He wants to make Him stop committing sins.

 Thus, Allah's Decree is based on profound Wisdom and on Mercy, but not on imposing things on man If a good man is about to commit a sin, Allah prevents him from sinning, because He knows that he is a good man; He puts obstacles in his way. Sometimes Allah allows someone, who is totally controlled by his desire, to fulfill part of this desire, but then He punishes him for doing so.

 Again, Allah connects man's will with His Divine Will for wise, merciful, disciplining and educating purposes, not for an obligating purpose. This refutes some people's excuses for abandoning Salah and lacking faith by saying, "Allah didn't decree for him to be guided to the Right Path". These excuses are mere lies for which Allah has sent down no authority.

 The following is the second meaning:

2- Man's will is a free will:

 The second meaning: Man's will is a free will, whereas Allah's Will is a will of testing and trial. Let me clarify this point by giving an example from our daily life. The administration of a university studies all the application forms of the students. When they start assessing the application forms of the applicants who wants to study at the Faculty of Medicine, they accept those who got higher marks in their third secondary school, while those who are excellent at literature, their application forms are sent to the Faculty of Arts & Humanities. Hence, the students have the free will to choose studying at the faculty they want, such as the Faculty of Medicine, but the administration of the university assesses their documents, their marks and their capacities, and accordingly, they forward their documents to the faculty that suits them.

3-Allah's Will is the will of tests and trials (to people):

 Allah's Will is the will of tests and trails (to people), and it is the will of the Divine Mercy, Wisdom, Discipline and Education. It is not a forcing will which is a wrong concept:

﴾Those who took partners (in worship) with Allah will say: "If Allah had willed, we would not have taken partners (in worship) with Him, nor would our fathers, and we would not have forbidden anything (against His Will)." Likewise belied those who were before them, (they argued falsely with Allah's Messengers), till they tasted of Our Wrath. Say: "Have you any knowledge (proof) that you can produce before us? Verily, you follow nothing but guess and you do nothing but lie."﴿

[Al-An'am, 148]

 Hence, if this connection between man's will and Allah's is understood as a connection of obligation and oppression, the free will the punishment, the reward, Paradise, Hell, the Divine assignment, bearing the trust, sending the Prophets,, peace be upon them, sending down the Revealed Books, should all be cancelled, because all these things will be simply a silly play. Man owns the free will:

﴾But you cannot will, unless Allah wills.﴿

  The connection between the two wills is based on profound Wisdom, Education, Discipline and Divine Knowledge of man's choice:

﴾Whoever wishes for the quick-passing (transitory enjoyment of this world), We readily grant him what We will for whom We like. Then, afterwards, We have appointed for him Hell, he will burn therein disgraced and rejected, (far away from Allah's Mercy).﴿

[Al-Isra', 18]

  Allah's Will can be manifested in preventing someone whose faith is weak from travelling abroad, lest he loses his faith. Thus, Allah puts barriers in his way to prevent him from travelling, whereas another person who may benefit from such travelling will be allowed by Allah to travel. Sometimes Allah prevents a young immature man from getting married at that early age, lest he corrupts his wife. Therefore, Allah sometimes postpones things and in other times He makes things happen early. Therefore, the believer shouldn't be pushy in what Allah has postponed, or he shouldn't postpone what Allah allowed to happen early, but rather he should accept Allah's Decree in which lies the Divine Wisdom. Again, man's will is based on the free will, while Allah's Will is based on the Divine Knowledge, Education, Mercy, Discipline and Guidance.

4- Allah's Will is educational means (to mankind):

 Allah says:

﴾Whoever wishes for the quick-passing (transitory enjoyment of this world), We readily grant him what We will for whom We like.﴿

  A person might long to have a lot of money, but having huge amounts of money is not good for him, so Allah doesn't give him money. Such a person whishes to have money, but Allah sees that he is not the suitable person to have money. The same goes for travelling when Allah doesn't will for someone to travel. Therefore, Allah's Will is that of Divine Educating and Mercy, and it is based on the Divine Knowledge. The proof is in the following Ayah:

﴾But you cannot will, unless Allah wills. Verily, Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise.﴿

  Out of His Divine Wisdom and Knowledge, Allah decrees something for you or He doesn't, but as for you as a human being, you have the freedom to choose whatever you want. However, making you successful in whatever you choose is in the Hand of the Almighty Allah.

Allah's Guidance to mankind:

1- Guiding man to fulfill his needs:

 It is said that there are four kinds of guidance. The first one is the guidance to fulfill your interests through the graces you are divinely provided, such like hearing, sight, comprehension and fear. Also, you are guided to be hungry and thirsty; had man not had the feeling of hunger, he would have starved to death. When he needs to eat, he feels hungry. There is no need for Allah to order man to eat whenever he is hungry, because He installed in him the impulse of hunger which is a static one in man.

2- Guiding man to Allah:

 The second one is the guidance to Allah.

3- The guidance of prosperity:

 The third one is the guidance of prosperity:

﴾We narrate unto you (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) their story with truth: Truly! They were young men who believed in their Lord (Allah), and We increased them in guidance.﴿

[Al-Kahf, 13]

  When you choose to follow the path of guidance (to Allah), Allah will facilitate things for you by giving you the chance to meet the people of truth, by helping you obey Him and be upright and by giving you money in order to spend them in Allah's Cause. This is how the guidance of prosperity is manifested:

﴾And as for Thamud, We showed and made clear to them the Path of Truth (Islamic Monotheism) through Our Messenger, (i.e. showed them the way of success), but they preferred blindness to guidance, so the Sa'iqah (a destructive awful cry, torment, hit, a thunderbolt) of disgracing torment seized them, because of what they used to earn.﴿

[Fussilat, 17]4- Guiding man to Paradise:

 The forth kind is the guidance to Paradise.

 Let me repeat the four kinds of guidance: The guidance to fulfill one's interests, the guidance to Allah, the guidance of prosperity and the guidance to Paradise:

﴾He will admit to His Mercy whom He will and as for the Zalimun, (polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.) He has prepared a painful torment. ﴿

[Al-Insan, 31]

Allah's Mercy upon His slaves:

 The Mercy of the Almighty Allah is beyond description. Allah's Mercy is limitless: It is manifested in granting health, happiness, prosperity, the peace of mind and security. Hence, Allah's Mercy is wide. If you are granted Allah's Mercy, but you are deprived of the bounties of the worldly life, you are the happiest creature ever. On the other hand, if you are deprived of Allah's Mercy, but you are given all the bounties of the worldly life, you are the most wretched creature ever.

  It is really amazing to feel that sleeping on thrones is like sleeping on a cozy bed as long as you are granted Allah's Mercy, but one won't enjoy a cozy bed if he is veiled from Allah's Mercy, because he will be the most miserable creature. Also, no matter how wealthy man is, he will be the most miserable man if he is veiled from Allah's Mercy.

 One of our brother noticed the difference between two situations on one day. He met a very wealthy multi-millionaire who complained to him about sickness, boredom and weariness. He told him how the worldly life became tasteless and how he was not happy with his family, his children, his house or his country. On the same day, a woman visited him and asked him for 1000 lira every month to pay her rental money. The two men asked her about her address, and they went where she lived. They were surprised when they saw her house which was located in the basement of a building. Although it was small, it was clean, nice and full of happiness and affection between the husband, who was present, and the wife. Upon seeing the house, the wealthy man decided to give her 2000 lira per month, but she refused saying, "No, thanks. 1000 is enough. My husband's income is enough for us, so all we need is the rental money." How strange! A woman who lives in a basement is extremely happy, while a millionaire is so miserable, and he is wailing over his luck and misery. Again, having money but being veiled from Allah's Mercy makes you the most miserable creature, whereas depriving you of money and bestowing His Mercy upon you makes you the happiest creature.

 Man's strength turns into affliction if he is veiled from Allah's Mercy, whereas the weak person is the happiest creature if he Allah's Mercy is bestowed upon him. Moreover, you will be satisfied if Allah gives you His Mercy but deprives you of having children. On the other hand, children become a burden on those who are veiled from Allah's Mercy. Therefore, seek Allah's Mercy, Allah says:

﴾But the Mercy (Paradise) of your Lord (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) is better than the (wealth of this world) which they amass.﴿

[Az-zukhruf, 32]

 I always make this Du'a, "O Allah, as You have made the worldly life the apple of the eyes of its people, make pleasing You the apple of our eyes."

 Ask for Allah's Mercy, ask for His Prosperity, ask for keeping you obedient to Him, ask for His Love and ask for His Contentment which is the utmost grace one can have

Allah's Love to His slave crowns all blessings:

 The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to our master Mu'ath, "By Allah I love you Mu'ath". It is a bestowal to be loved by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, to be loved by Allah, to be upright, to be humble, to be polite, to be honest, to be faithful, to be chaste, to be pure and to serve people and be honest with them. If Allah loves you, He will make other creations love you. It is a bestowal unto itself to be loved by Allah, to be pleased with by Him and to be obedient to Him:

﴾He will admit to His Mercy whom He will﴿

 Who deserves to be admitted to Allah's Mercy?

 The oppressors are the excluded from Allah's Love and Mercy:

﴾as for the Zalimun, (polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.) He has prepared a painful torment. ﴿

 The Zalimun are the ones who are deprived of Allah's Mercy, whereas the just, the merciful, the upright, the honest, the trustworthy and the chaste are the ones who are admitted to Allah's Mercy.

 If a teacher says to his pupils, "I will take whoever I want to the picnic" this statement will be understood as a moody choice of his, but if he follows that by saying, "Only the lazy ones will be not taken to that picnic", this will make his words clear enough. Hence:

﴾He will admit to His Mercy whom He will﴿

 You may think that this will is Allah's, but you should keep in mind that such will has rules:

﴾as for the Zalimun, (polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.) He has prepared a painful torment. ﴿

 So beware of oppressing people and beware of getting away from Allah's Shade, and seek His Shade on a Day when there will be no shade but His.

Man finds the truth by his Fitrah:

 Dear brother, the last Ayah is very delicate:

﴾Verily! This (Verses of the Qur'an) is an admonition﴿

[Al-Insan, 29]

 Islam is man's religion by Fitrah, and the Quran, the Prophets and the Messengers, peace be upon them, were sent to remind you of your Fitrah.

 An actress was asked about her feeling while she is on the stage, and she said, "A feeling of shame and disgrace, and this is the feeling of every female who exposes her beauty to people. Love between a man and a woman should stay within the framework of marriage and inside closed rooms." This is the Fitrah, and though she is Fasiqah (sinful) and an actress, she knew the truth by her Fitrah.

 Man is programmed, tuned (so to speak) and molded according to this religion, so when he goes along with it, he will be at ease exactly like the car which leaves the bumpy land avoiding to be crashed and is driven on the paved road easily. This is the Fitrah:

﴾Verily! This (Verses of the Qur'an) is an admonition, so whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allah).﴿

 If someone enters the Masjid, he will be admitted to Allah's Mercy as he chooses his path towards Allah, and despite all the worldly pleasures in his house, he prefers to listen to the truth (such as the Quran or a religious lesson):

﴾so whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allah).﴿

 Seeking knowledge, teaching it, spending money (for Allah's Sake), serving in the Masajid or calling people to Allah are paths to approach Allah, and the many paths one takes the better:

﴾He will admit to His Mercy whom He will﴿

 Allah's Will is crystal clear:

﴾as for the Zalimun, (polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.) He has prepared a painful torment.﴿

Allah's greatest Graces:

 This Surat "Al-Insan" is one of the most delicate Suwar (in the Quran), it starts with:

﴾Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was nothing to be mentioned?﴿

[Al-Insan, 1]

 All of us enjoy three major graces:

 1- The grace of existence:

 Our existence is a grace.

 2- The grace of livelihood:

 Having air, food, water, drinks, wife, children, house, parents and friends is a grace.

 3- The grace of guidance and consciousness:

  These are the three graces: The grace of existence, the grace of livelihood and the grace of guidance and consciousness.

Supplication:

  In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord (the One and Only) of the Worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Master, Prophet Muhammad, the Faithful and the Honest. O Allah, help us constantly remember You, expressing gratitude to You and worship You in the best manner. Bestow upon us a longing t