The facts about the unseen related to the acts of worship we are performing should be in front of our eyes. It should be alive in our hearts. Fasting or any acts of worship performed without belief will not benefit the person.
We should have belief in all the matters of the unseen related to Ramadan as well as احتساب. Mere abstinence from food and drink without faith is fruitless.
This depends on how soft the heart is.
When we say soft heart we are referring to the heart which receives information from Allah as if he witnesses and sees this unseen. It is as if there is a transparent barrier between him and these facts. He can sense and feel Paradise and Hell.
The hard hearted person may hear about Paradise and Hell but there is a thick wall between him and it. He does not feel or sense these facts.The thick wall represents the occupation with the Dunya.
Allah dispraised the hard hearted person. فويل للقاسيات قلوبهم
Also, a soft heart is shown clearly in acts of worship. The soft hearted person stands in prayer feeling and knowing that he is standing in front of Allah. He knows that when he is bowing his sins are dropping from his shoulders, this is why he prolongs it. When he prostrates he feels the closeness to Allah, so he invokes him.
The hard hearted person just goes through the actions. His heart and mind is occupied with the thoughts of this world. Acçordingly, he will not benefit from his عبادات.
He prays, but does not benefit. He enters and leaves Ramadan, yet there's no change.
When the believers heart gets diverted in prayer, he will immediately bring it back. We are humans and our heart changes. The believer struggles to control his heart during acts of worship.
Many people receive the month of Ramadan while their hearts are occupied with this world. This is why they don't fast as they should.
If the heart is filled with the Dunya then the Aakhirah will come out of it. If the heart is filled with the Aakhirah the Dunya will leave it.
This doesn't mean you abandon the world. Use what Allah has given to you of provision and manage your life with it, but don't occupy your heart with every matter of this world. Keep your heart safe for thinking of the Aakhirah, for doing good deed, etc.
Allah has given us everything in this world for a purpose. He gave us hearts to believe in a Him. If you do not use your heart to believe in Allah, the Day of Judgement, Angels, etc. then you have corrupted and spoilt your heart. You didn't use it for the purpose Allah created it for.
We spoil our hearts, using it for things which it wasn't created for. All we think about is where to go, what to eat, etc. We fill it with useless things and there is no place for faith.
We need to receive Ramadan with a heart purified of worldly things.
If it happened that the Dunya overcame your heart, what should you do? You should struggle hard to repel these thoughts. You need to struggle against the Shaytan, the evil of yourself, other people, etc. This will revive your heart.
توكل
In (11:123)
When you want to worship Allah with any act of worship, you need to rely on Him first.
Mankind in its entirety have three common characteristics:
1) We are all in need
2) We are all weak
3) We are all incapable
Since you are in need, rely on Allah who is All-Rich to suffice you. Since you are weak, rely on Allah who is All-Strong, and able to give you strength. Since you are incapable, rely on Allah who is All-Able to enable you.
We have to admit our weakness.
We will never be able to perform any act of worship unless Allah makes it easy for you. We will not be able to receive any benefit of your actions unless Allah benefits you.
Eg. You want to get up for tahajud. As soon as you intend to do this action, ask Allah to make it easy for you. Most people put alarms, tell the family to wake them up, etc. and they go to sleep relying on all these means and not Allah. This is why we miss it many times. Allah is teaching you to not rely yourself or the means. It is Allah who brings the means for you, and it is He who benefits you by it, because he is Al-Awwal.
You may get up and start falling asleep during the prayer. Again, ask Allah to make it easy and to benefit you.
After you finish the act of worship, ask Allah to accept it from you.
We are approaching a great, blessed month. From now we have to ask Allah to enable you to reach the month of Ramadan, to benefit you in that month, etc.
Why are we so sure that as long as we performed an act of worship it is accepted and rewarded?
1) We think that when Allah commanded us to worship Him, we have to perform it out of our might and power.
2) We think that as long as Allah made it for easy for us to do the act of worship it is accepted. This is a very serious misconception.
The committee of ifta said, "The reward of the prayer is in accordance to how much you collected your heart in it. The Prophet said maybe only 1/10th will be accepted, etc, etc"
Don't despair or feel useless. We don't do these actions properly because we rely on ourselves. If we rely on Allah, we will be able to do it well and we will be rewarded for it. All you need to do is rely on Him and He will help you. This is something easy, but it is we that make it difficult on ourselves.
3) We aren't concerned about our عبادات.
We don't think about the prayer until the time of prayer arrives. If you are concerned, Allah will help you, guide you, and accept if from you.
If you offer the prayer with a collected heart, you will feel your faith increase.
Ask Allah with your heart, between you and Him. And whoever trusts Allah, Allah will suffice Him. Don't worry.
The Shaytan makes us feel like this act of worship is very difficult, although it is very easy. Ask Allah, with your tongue and heart all the time to help you and benefit you.
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Ayat al-Kursi
This is the greatest verse in the Qur'an. Allah is introducing His noble self to us. No one deserves to be worshipped except Him because He is الحي القيوم. Everything in this Universe will die, except Him. No slumber or sleep overtakes Him, because His life is perfect. Everything in the heavens and earth belongs to Him. No one can intercede with Him without His permission.
Allah knows everything we are doing. He knows what we did, what we are doing, what our state will be in the future. And we don't know anything about Allah's knowledge, except what He teaches His Prophets and Messengers.
His footstool extends over the heavens and earth. And this indicates Allah's greatness.
No fatigue touches Him in preserving the heavens and earth. Be at rest, don't worry. Allah is taking care of you and everything. He is the most High and Great.
In the next verse Allah tells us that there is no compulsion in religion. We can't force people to believe, because the truth about Allah is already manifest. Falsehood is known and the truth is known.
Whoever believes in every detail Allah mentioned about himself, whose attributes are mentioned in Ayat-AlKursi, you have grasped a trustworthy handhold (لا اله الا الله).
The fruit of which is that Allah will be your Wali. He will take care of you, protect you, reform both your worldly and religious affairs, enlighten your heart, give you strength, etc.
And whoever disbelieves in Allah, then their allies are the طاغوت. Imagine the state of the person whose guardian is Shaytan. He will guide him to every evil, constrict his heart, corrupt his life, and cause him to fail.
يخرجون من النور الى الظلومات
Everyone has the light of فطرة which Allah has placed in our hearts. We use it to distinguish between right and wrong and to reach the truth. But because they had taken Shaytan as their Wali, He took them out of that soundness and light into darkness and corruption.
After this, 3 stories are mentioned.
The Story of Ibrahim and Nimrud: Allah gave kingdom, power, and worldly things to Nimrud. Because of this, He forgot who Allah is. He disputed with Ibrahim. He claimed that He also gives life and causes death.
Why did Ibrahim mention giving life and causing death in particular? Because it is impossible for a created thing to exist without a creator and it is impossible for something to perish without a cause. There should be a creator controlling life and death.
Nimrud brought two prisoners. He pardoned one and ordered the other to be executed and claimed he causes death and gives life.
Ibrahim then said that Allah is the one who brings the sun to rise on the east and set on the west, and if Nimrud had the power he claimed, to change the system of the universe and cause the sun to rise in the west. Nimrud was defeated.
Atheists attribute this to nature. How can nature, which is lifeless, cause life and death?
والله لا يهدي القوم الظالمين
2nd Story.
Verse 259:
This was a Prophet. He didn't doubt in Allah's ability, but was looking forward to witness Allah's ability. So Allah caused him to die for 100 years. He preserved the food and drink the whole time, although it is usually the first thing that perishes. He caused the donkey to die and turn into bones. When he was resurrected, he saw his food and assumed he slept for a day or part of a day. Then he was commanded to look at the donkey, Allah brought the bones together and clothed it with flesh and blew the soul back into it. Then He said, اعلم ان الله على كل شئ قدير
If the believer has a doubt regarding any matter of Aqeedah, and wants to know the truth, Allah will make him go through a situation where he sees it, in order for his faith to increase.
3rd Story.
Verse 260:
Ibrahim did not doubt Allah's ability. But he wanted to see how Allah gives life to the dead with his own eyes. He wanted to change from علم اليقين to عين اليقين. We all may have knowledge which causes certainty, but not all of us see it with our own eyes. And there is a state called حق اليقين, which we will see on the Day of Judgement.
Allah commanded him to bring four birds, cut them into pieces, put them on the mountain, and to call them and they will come.
The Verses before Ayat-AlKursi are about spending and Jihad. We know that life and death is in Allah's hand, so we should go forth and do Jihad.
What is the relationship between Ayat-AlKursi and spending (Verse 254)? If we know about Allah, that He granted us this money, will resurrect us on the Day of Judgement, etc. we will spend. We humans were created with stinginess and greediness. When you believe in Allah, in the attributes He mentioned in Ayat-AlKursi, it will help you overcome this stinginess. You know that Allah is able to compensate you.
الحي القيوم
The Prophet invoked Allah using this name profusely. These names have a great effect in removing any kind of distress or calamity.
HADITH: Whenever the Prophet was afflicted with any matter, he would say, "يا حي يا قيوم برحمتك استغيث"
If you implore Allah with these names, while knowing its meaning, and with humility, He will relieve your distress.
HADITH: In the morning and evening the Prophet used to say, "يا حي يا قيوم برحمتك استغيث أصلح لى شأني كله و لا تكلني الى نفس ترفة عين
We don't know what trials we are going to face during the day. We are surrounded by different types of troubles and danger every morning and evening. No one can help us, protect us, from these except Allah.
HADITH: Whoever says استغفر الله الذي لا اله الا هو الحي القيوم و اتوب اليهyou will be forgiven even if you ran away from the battlefield.
Running away from the battlefield is a major sin. If you say this some of your major sins will be forgiven.
Ibn AlHajr, "This signifies that whoever is like a person who ran away from the battlefield or lesser than that will be forgiven as long as the sin isn't with regards to the rights of the people or their wealth"
Say these with submission and humility, contemplating its meaning.
In (20:111)
Faces will humble themselves to الحي القيوم. They will witness Allah on that Day, therefore they will show humility and submissiveness.
It was said that the true believers show humility in this life, and on the Day of Judgement, those who didn't will show more humility and regret and submission on that day.
Therefore one should know these two names in order to worship Allah with submission. If you want to have submission in your acts of worship, you need to know who Allah is.
The one who does wrong does so because he doesn't know who Allah, الحي القيوم is.
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