Dear noble brothers, there is an Ayah in the Noble Quran in which Eid is mentioned, so I would like to repeat the Ayah we were discussing yesterday:
﴾ The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Saum (fasts) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number (of days which one did not observe Saum (fasts) must be made up) from other days. Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allah (i.e. to say Takbeer (Allahu-Akbar; Allah is the Most -Great) on seeing the crescent of the months of Ramadan and Shawwal) for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him. ﴿
The Ayah indicates that Eids (feasts) in Islam come after major acts of worship. Eid ul-Fitr comes after the month of Siyaam (Ramadan), and Eid ul-Adha comes after the season of Hajj. One of the meanings of Eid is returning to Allah the Almighty and fixing your connection with Him. Listen to this Hadith, please:
(( When a sinner turns to Allah with repentance, a caller calls those in the heavens and earth, "Congratulate him, as he has repaired his relationship with Allah the Almighty."
))
Dear noble brothers, pay attention to the second Ayah in this lesson:
﴾ And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad PBUH) concerning Me… ﴿
[ Al-Baqarah, 186
]
The first part of this Ayah is repeated in about 30 Ayaat in the Noble Quran, but the second part does not exist in this particular Ayah; Allah the Almighty does not say, "Say":
﴾ They ask you concerning menstruation. Say: that is an Adha (a harmful thing for a husband to have a sexual intercourse with his wife while she is having her menses), therefore keep away from women during menses… ﴿
In the following Ayah you can notice how the first part and the second one of the sentence are mentioned:
﴾ They ask you concerning fighting in the Sacred Months (i.e. 1st, 7th, 11th and 12th months of the Islamic calendar). Say, "Fighting therein is a great (transgression)… ﴿
As I have just said, there are more than 20 Ayaat that have the same sentence structure, "They ask you… Say…" except this one:
﴾ And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad PBUH) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). ﴿
It seems that Allah the Almighty wants to refer to the fact that there is no barrier between you and Him when you make Du'a (supplication) to Him:
﴾ And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad PBUH) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). ﴿
[ Al-Baqarah, 186
]
There is no mediator in this Ayah, while in the other Ayaat the Prophet, peace be upon him, is the mediator since Allah the Almighty says to him, "Say". In this Ayah the structure is different:
﴾ And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad PBUH) 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. ﴿
Dear noble brothers, Du'a is worship, better yet, it is as the Prophet, peace be upon him said:
(( Du'a (Supplication) is the pith of worship.
))
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Say (O Muhammad PBUH to the disbelievers): "My Lord pays attention to you only because of your invocation to Him… ﴿
[ Al-Furqan, 77
]
In fact, all ritual acts of worship can be condensed in Du'a: Salat is Du'a, Hajj is Du'a, and Siyaam is Du'a too. I repeat the Ayah:
﴾ And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad PBUH) 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). ﴿
When is the Du'a answered ? Pay attention to the Words of Allah the Almighty, please:
﴾ …So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright. ﴿
Religion is in its essence but Du'a:
﴾ Say (O Muhammad PBUH to the disbelievers): "My Lord pays attention to you… ﴿
This is the main thing:
﴾ …Only because of your invocation to Him. ﴿
Du'a is what connects the creation to the Creator; it happens when the created asks his need from the Creator, so Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad PBUH) concerning Me… ﴿
[ Al-Baqarah, 186
]
Allah the Almighty immediately says, "I am indeed near" without saying to the Prophet, peace be upon him, "Say":
﴾ …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. ﴿
We should obey Allah the Almighty and believe in Him.
Stages of guidance:
You know that there are four stages for Allah's Guidance to His creations.
The 1st stage: The clarifying guidance:
The first stage is the clarifying guidance. If you are a healthy man, you live in a house with your family and children and you have no problems in life, you will be guided by the clarifying guidance when you listen to a Khutbah and be impressed by the words of the Khatib (the orator). The clarifying guidance is also manifested when you are touched by a religious session, a seminar in which great scholars gather and disccuss religious issues, reciting the Noble Quran, reading a religious book, reading a book of Sirah (the biography of the Noble Prophet or his noble Companions), and reading a book about the Prophetic Ahadeeth.
Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, guides you while you are healthy, you live in your house safe and sound, you are among your family and children, and you are stable, financially speaking, by calling you to Him through the above-mentioned means. Therefore, your perfect stance at this stage is to respond to Allah's Call. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ O you who believe! Answer Allah (by obeying Him) and (His) Messenger when he (PBUH) calls you to that which will give you life… ﴿
You will be given life unlike those who are mentioned in the following Ayah:
﴾ (They are) dead, lifeless… ﴿
You may have good health, your heart rate is about 80 beats, your blood pressure is 120/80, and all your organs function regularly. Yet, you could be lifeless (religiously speaking) in Allah's Sight:
﴾ (They are) dead, lifeless… ﴿
A poet said:
The deceased who passed away
is not the relieved dead man
The real dead man is the living dead
I tell you; a man whose heart, pressure, and all his physical organs are healthy could simply be lifeless in Allah's Sight. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ (They are) dead, lifeless… ﴿
Your whole life should be about knowing Allah the Almighty and worshipping Him as you are supposed to.
(( O son of Adam! Seek Me and you will find Me. When you find Me, you will find everything else, but if you turn away from Me, you will miss everything else. ))
[ Mentioned in the relic ]
Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest):
There is a grave contradiction in our daily life; we are used to saying Allahu Akbar (Allah is the greatest, but keep in mind that whoever obeys a creature, whosoever he might be, such as the wife, the friend or the partner, at the expense of disobeying Allah the Almighty has never known the meaning of Allahu Akbar even though he might have repeated it with his tongue a thousand times! If you say in Eid Allahu Akbar a thousand times, but you fulfill your wife's wish when she asks you to do something against Shari'ah rulings, then you have never said Allahu Akbar, because you consider pleasing her more important than pleasing Allah the Almighty.
I repeat this point one more time: Whoever obeys a creature at the expense of disobeying Allah the Almighty has never known the meaning of Allahu Akbar even if he utters it with his tongue a thousand times. You should believe that our religion is about facts not a religion of legends or suppositious rites.
I attended a conference that was held in Washington, and it was about creeds. At the conference the ritual acts of about 18 creeds were presented. At the conference no speeches were delivered. Instead, the ritual acts of worship of the different creeds were presented. Apart from Islam which was represented by Azan and interpreting one page of the Noble Quran, all other creeds were merely dancing and singing.
Keep in mind that whoever obeys a creature at the expense of disobeying Allah the Almighty has never known the meaning of Allahu Akbar even thought he might have repeated it a thousand times. If your partner in business is the only agent of a European company, and this company forces you to buy goods that are prohibited in Allah's Sight, but you may make a fortune if you buy them, and you accept that under the pretext that you should meet the basic needs of your children, then you will have obeyed the creation and disobeyed Allah the Almighty. Hence, you will never have known the meaning of Allahu Akbar even if you might have uttered it a thousand times.
Do you think that Allah's Promise would not be fulfilled? Let me tell you this: Annihilating the whole universe is easier to Allah than leaving His Promises to the believers unfulfilled. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth… ﴿
Be honest and tell me, are we granted succession in the earth? There is III World War against us (Muslims). It was behind the scenes, but everything has become clear recently. One of the members of Congress said, "As long as the west has control over the east, we will never allow any Islamic ruling in the Middle East."
In Algeria, there were healthy elections, so the Islamists won the elections. Yet, the elections were cancelled. Similarly, the Islamists won the elections in Palestine, but the results were not accepted, and the elections were cancelled as well. The same goes for Egypt; when the Islamists won the elections, the elections were cancelled. Hence, The West will never allow any Islamic ruling, because we abandoned acting upon Allah's Order.
In brief, this happens to us due to the fact that we abandoned acting upon Allah's Order, so Allah the Almighty has forsaken us. I repeat the Noble Ayah:
﴾ Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth… ﴿
Unfortunately, at present we are not given succession in the earth.
﴾ …And that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion…). ﴿
We are not granted the authority to practise our religion, but rather there is III World War against us (Muslims).
﴾ And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear…). ﴿
We are not granted a safe security, succession in the earth, or the authority to practise our religion.
There is a delicate hint in this Ayah. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ …And that He will grant them the authority to practice their religion… ﴿
Which religion Allah the Almighty has promised to grant us the authority to practise? The answer is:
﴾ …That which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). ﴿
Since we are not granted succession in earth, this means we do not understand religion the way Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, expects. We understand Islam as religious celebrations and meetings, while it is actually a commitment. Islam is a detailed way of life that starts with the marital relationship and ends with the international relations.
You mistakenly think that Islam is five things; Shahadah (bearing witness that there is no Deity worthy of worship but Allah Alone and that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger, Salat (offering prayers), Siyaam (observing fasting), Hajj (performing pilgrimage), and Zakat (almsgiving), which are in fact the ritual acts of worship, whereas Islam is a detailed way of life that starts with the marital relationship (which is the most private relationship) and ends with the international relations.
You may ask: How many elements are there in Islam? The answer is: There are about 50.000 elements in Islam. These items are related to earning money, spending money, choosing the wife, bringing up children, spending one's leisure time, spending evenings, dealing with partners, business, trade, buying and selling, and all other daily life activities and details. Whatever man does, belongs to one of these categories of Shari'ah rulings: Fard (obligation), Wajib (mandatory), confirmed Sunnah, unconfirmed Sunnah, Mubah (allowed), Makrooh Tanzeehan (the act is strongly discouraged) or Haram (impermissible).
These rulings should be taken into consideration in all aspects of life. Someone may tell you, "I perform Salat regularly, but oddly enough, he holds a wedding ceremony in which females are half naked, and they mix with males freely. Not to mention, the groom sits before them all, looking at their beauty. Is this Islam? Regrettably, religion to us is mere ritual acts of worship which do not need a lot of effort.
Dear brothers, there are hundreds of examples about responding to someone's desire that displeases Allah Al-Wahid Ad-Dayyan (The Only One the Just), and so whoever does that has never known that Allah the Almighty is the Greatest even though he might have repeated that a thousand times.
Pay attention to the following Ayah, please:
﴾ The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail… ﴿
Regarding this point, Allah the Almighty says in another Surah:
﴾ Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world… ﴿
Whoever has huge wealth but is sterile will be deeply hurt, and the same goes for the one who has about 12 children, but he has no money to satisfy their basic needs. Both situations are hard; having money with no children and having children with no money.
﴾ Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world. But the good righteous deeds (five compulsory prayers, deeds of Allah's obedience, good and nice talk, remembrance of Allah with glorification, praises and thanks, etc.), that last… ﴿
Allah the Almighty says in the same Ayah:
﴾ …But the good righteous deeds (five compulsory prayers, deeds of Allah's obedience, good and nice talk, remembrance of Allah with glorification, praises and thanks, etc.), that last… ﴿
[ Al-Kahf, 46
]
What does Allah the Almighty say about the wealth and children? He the Almighty says:
﴾ Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world. But the good righteous deeds (five compulsory prayers, deeds of Allah's obedience, good and nice talk, remembrance of Allah with glorification, praises and thanks, etc.), that last… ﴿
There is an implied indication to the temporary nature of wealth and children when Allah the Almighty refers to the everlasting deeds, right? Wealth and children are temporary, while good righteous deeds are everlasting.
﴾ Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world. But the good righteous deeds (five compulsory prayers, deeds of Allah's obedience, good and nice talk, remembrance of Allah with glorification, praises and thanks, etc.), that last… ﴿
What are these good righteous deeds? Scholars said that they are, "Subhna Allah (Glory be to Allah), al-hamdu lil Laah (praise be to Allah), la Ilaha illa Allah (there is not Deity worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest)." Saying these words means that you know Allah the Almighty, Whom if you know, you will know everything else, but if you miss knowing Him, you will miss knowing everything else. Let me repeat the Ayah:
﴾ Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world. But the good righteous deeds (five compulsory prayers, deeds of Allah's obedience, good and nice talk, remembrance of Allah with glorification, praises and thanks, etc.), that last, are better with your Lord for rewards and better in respect of hope. ﴿
The good deeds that last are: Subhna Allah (Glory be to Allah), al-hamdu lil Laah (praise be to Allah), la Ilaha illa Allah (there is not Deity worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest)
A scholar said, "Whoever seeks something by disobeying Allah, will be far from what he seeks, but if he seeks something by fearing Allah the Almighty, he will get it." Beware, you will never ever be a winner as long as you disobey Allah the Almighty. On the other hand, you will never ever be a loser as long as you obey Allah the Almighty. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ …And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (PBUH) he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell-fire and made to enter Paradise). ﴿
Dear noble brothers, the word great has a special meaning (when it comes from Allah the Almighty). If you visit your brother on the day of Eid, and your little niece says to you, "O uncle, I have a great amount of money", you know that he means 100 Dinars. On the other hand, when a senior official in the Pentagon says that his country collected a great amount of money for its war against Iraq, you know that he means about 200 billion Dollars. How about the meaning of great if it comes from Allah the Almighty?!
﴾ …And Ever Great is the Grace of Allah unto you (O Muhammad PBUH). ﴿
You will surely believe that this is the greatest bestowal ever!
Dear noble brothers, in some societies, corruption is widely spread. For instance, you cannot do any paper work without bribery. However, the believer is never affected by this corruption, and in such a society where people's words and actions contradict Allah's Way, he will take into consideration the Law of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, ignoring what people say or do. Allah's Law is based on granting you the Divine Protection which is presented in the following Hadith:
(( Whoever abandons something merely for the sake of Allah, will in return receive things from Allah serving him in his religion and in the Hereafter. ))
This is definitely what happens when you favor Allah's Pleasure over pleasing others.
Once, while an Arab Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and one of his employees where welcoming the British Minister of Fuel and Power at the airport, she shook hands with the minister, and when she wanted to shake hands with that employee, the latter refused, because he was religiously committed. Later, the minister said to him angrily, "You would not have been hurt had you shaken hands with her."
The British minister was invited to a feast in one of the most famous restaurants, but the Arab minister said to that employee, "You are not invited to the feast." He said that as a reaction to his behavior at the airport, and the employee said, "Ok, no problem."
While they were sitting in the restaurant, the British minister said, "Where is the man who refused to shake hands with me?" The Arab minister was embarrassed by her question, and he said, "He apologized for not being able to be with us." Then, she said, "I would like to meet him." She insisted on that, so they called him and he came. She said to him, "Why did you refuse to shake hands with me this morning?" He replied, "Because I am a Muslim, and my religion forbids me from shaking hands with a non-Mahram woman (any woman which a man can get married to). You are a non-Mahram woman to me, so I am not permitted to shake hands with you." When she heard that she said to the Arab minister, "Had all Muslims applied Islam like him, they would have had control over us." This is how Islam should be applied.
There is a painting in one of the museums in Vienna which represents the good morals of a Turkish soldier when he lowered his gaze while giving a young woman the price of the grapes he bought from her. Indeed, when Muslims lowered their gaze, they reached Vienna in their openings, but when they feasted their eyes on women's beauty, they became behind other nations. Islam is a great religion!
Dear noble brothers, I hope that I can convey this point to you clearly and precisely; in my opinion the termination of the whole universe is easier to Allah than leaving this Hadith inapplicable. Here is the Hadith:
(( Whoever abandons something merely for the sake of Allah, will in return receive things from Allah serving him in his religion and in the Hereafter. ))
[ Ibn Asaaker, on the authority of Ibn Umar ]
Consider this Hadith one of the axiomatic rules, so fear none but Allah the Great when it comes to violating His Shari'ah, and this is confirmed by the Hadith of His Prophet, peace be upon him:
(( Whoever abandons something merely for the sake of Allah, will in return receive things from Allah serving him in his religion and in the Hereafter. ))
[ Ibn Asaaker, on the authority of Ibn Umar ]
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds
Praise be to Allah, the Lord (The One and Only) of the Worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Master Muhammad and upon his noble Folks, Companions, the trustees of his mission and the leaders of his banner, and be pleased with us and them, O Lord of the Worlds.
