Class 8 - (1/5/16)

بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Many people attend study circles, memorize the Qur'an, but are someone else when they go home or associate with their friends. It's like they have two seperate lives. This doesn't have a strong relationship to hypocrisy, but why does the knowledge we learn not affect us? What's preventing this knowledge from reaching our hearts? 

Our hearts are too busy occupied with the Dunya. And the Dunya is the biggest problem in our lives. It's hardened our hearts. You find a person fasting, praying, covering herself, but her heart is coveting after the Dunya, competing with people, having hopes for worldly things, etc.

We are approaching the month of Ramadan and we need to soften our hearts before then. And what will soften our hearts? Knowing Allah, the reality of this life, and the reality of the hereafter.

The Prophet ﷺ used to say, "اللهم لا عيش الا عيش الآخرة" (O Allah, there's no life except the life of the hereafter)

And he ﷺ said, "كن في الدنيا كانك غريب أو عابر سبيل" (Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler on a path) 

What prevents us from living like a stranger or traveler? 

1) Our Incessant Hopes

We hope for long lives, for our children, for our grandchildren, for our great grandchildren, etc.

Our hopes go far beyond our life span; a person dies and his hopes may not be fulfilled. And it's these same hopes that prevent us from preparing for death.

And no one likes to hear the word death, because we believe that it prevents us from having hopes. Although, in reality, death is the gate between you and Paradise; the eternal, settling abode. Death is the gate between you and meeting Allah - if you really love Allah, you'd love to meet Him.

2) Worldly Pleasures and Competing with each other for them 

عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ عَوْفٍ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَاللَّهِ لَا الْفَقْرَ أَخْشَى عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَكِنْ أَخَشَى عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ تُبْسَطَ عَلَيْكُمْ الدُّنْيَا كَمَا بُسِطَتْ عَلَى مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ فَتَنَافَسُوهَا كَمَا تَنَافَسُوهَا وَتُهْلِكَكُمْ كَمَا أَهْلَكَتْهُمْ

Amr ibn Auf reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “By Allah, it is not poverty I fear for you, but rather I fear you will be given the wealth of the world just as it was given to those before you and you will compete for it just as they competed for it and it will destroy you just as it destroyed them.” [Agreed upon] 

If you ask people nowadays, you'll find that most of them are afraid of poverty. But that isn't what the Prophet ﷺ was afraid of. He was afraid of worldly pleasures being given in abundance - the fame, position, riches, - because it causes a person to compete with others, and in the end destroys him. 

"تنافس" is derived from the word "نفيس" (Precious, Valuable). 

Those who compete with each other for this world consider the Dunya a very valuable thing; that's why they compete for it. 

And this is the problem with people nowadays. Not only do they feel like that, and are dissatisfied with what Allah gave them, they even adorn it in your heart and make it seem valuable in your eyes.

So you may be sitting at home, completely satisfied with what you have, and the people will come to you and say, "Why aren't you working? Everyone works? Go get up, you don't know what you're missing, having more income...etc"

They're making you compete like them, fighting for the Dunya like they do, and make you believe that you have nothing, that you're unlucky, that you're missing out. And the Prophet ﷺ didn't fear poverty for you, he feared richness. Never hope for abundant wealth, you don't know what will happen to you if Allah gives it to you.

E.g. When we give our children a toy or piece of chocolate, and they're not really interested, they toss it aside. But when their brother or sister wants to take it, it becomes appealing to them, and they start fighting for it.

We're acting just like our children. The worldly things are made نفيس in our eyes, and we don't know the reality of what people are calling us to.

عن أنس بن مالك أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ لَوْ أَنَّ لاِبْنِ آدَمَ وَادِيًا مِنْ ذَهَبٍ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ وَادِيَانِ وَلَنْ يَمْلأَ فَاهُ إِلاَّ التُّرَابُ وَيَتُوبُ اللَّهُ عَلَى مَنْ تَابَ

Anas bin Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If the son of Adam had a valley full of gold, he would like to have two valleys for nothing fills his mouth except dust. Allah will forgive whoever repents to Him.” [Agreed upon] 

You're satisfied with a two room apartment. Someone says you only have two rooms? Now you want one with three.

Those who have three rooms look for a house. Those who have a house want a bigger house. Those who have big houses want two houses. 

E.g. A mother holds her daughters wedding in a certain place. The next mother wants her daughters wedding to be in a better place. The one after her goes for an even more lavish place, a place which everyone will talk about. This is the state of the people nowadays; always competing with each other for the Dunya.

And the Prophet ﷺ feared the world for his companions - who were the best people on earth after the Prophets and the Messengers. And it wasn't like he was unaware of the high level of their faith and piety. So what about us, whose faith is on the edge? 

Don't think because you have knowledge, attending classes, have faith, or because you're pious, the Dunya won't affect you. Don't feel secure towards the Dunya; don't trust your faith and knowledge and then indulge in this world expecting it to prevent you from being diverted by the Dunya. That'll never happen - unless you take a stand, discipline yourself, and stay away from this world. Competition is so hidden, it may enter the heart of the person without him feeling it. Don't say, "I don't care about this world", just stay away from it. If it wasn't so hidden and so destructive, the Prophet ﷺ wouldn't warn us against it. But it's a serious matter. 

You should note that it's natural to put effort to earn money and provision. You're not blamed for seeking your رزق. But you become blameworthy when you seek it and push people out of the way to get it, although in the end, you'll only get what Allah has written for you. And this is the essence of competition: You want to be the first, best, greatest, so you push everyone out of your way.

And competing for the Dunya isn't limited to money. You find this happening even in Islamic centers. They start off with a good intention, but as activities and projects and events go by, if they don't check their intention, they may start to seek the Dunya with this act of worship, not realizing that this small change in the intention led them to commit Minor Shirk.

You find students of knowledge, the very people who should solely be studying for Allah's pleasure, cheating and lying in order to get good marks in exams.

Competition is a very hidden matter. You don't feel it. If you find yourself fighting to have position, to be known, to be better, etc. stop and ask yourself: Why are you studying? Why are you memorizing the Qur'an? 

Even memorizing the Qur'an has become a competition. Everyone wants to be awarded in the Dunya.

The Prophet ﷺ warned us about three things in this Dunya: 

1) Worldly wealth being given to us in abundance

2) Competition for the Dunya

3) To be diverted by it 

What is true success for the believer? What does he compete for? 

Allah said in [3:185]:

And Allah says in [83:22-26]:

Allah commands us to compete with each other for Paradise. This is نفيس for the believer. Because he believes that everything in this world has a substitute. If you lose money, there's a replacement. If you lose a job, there's a substitute. Even if you lose your husband of child, they can be replaced. But if you lose Paradise, there's no way you can ever substitute it.

So he doesn't care if he loses or attains a worldly thing. He doesn't let it affect his heart. He belittles this world.

The Prophet ﷺ didn't fear poverty for his Ummah, but worldly riches and enjoyment. Because it brings competition, and competition brings diversion of the hearts. And when the heart is diverted, the person is doomed.

Why did the Prophet ﷺ warn us against competing for this world? 

1) It's a hidden matter; one doesn't feel of it.

2) The human soul is naturally inclined towards competition. That's why Allah said to use this feeling in you to compete for the hereafter.

3) The people who are around you are the ones who incite you to compete with them. They don't help you in abandoning and avoiding competition. You have no one to help you. 

And the competition for this world is like a pit. If you fall into it, you'll find no one extending his hand to help you get out of it - because everyone is occupied with themselves.

And how did the hypocrites become hypocrites? Mainly because of the Dunya.