بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
2-12-1437H
-> Allah is the Most Generous, The Most Wise. He knows how weak we are. That is why He appointed a few days for us to worship Him, which yields great rewards. We should feel shy to reject this gift from Allah, by neglecting to fill it with righteous deeds.
-> We are travelers. With every day that passes, we get closer to meeting Allah. So make احتساب (Hope for the reward) in every action you do, even in the permissible day to day actions.
E.g. When you eat or sleep have the intention you are doing so to get strength to perform worship. Your eating and sleeping become act of worships which you get rewarded for.
-> Ask Allah to help you all the time. You do not perform acts of worship by your own strength. Know that you are not tested on your strength and ability; you are tested on how much you rely and seek Allahs help. Show Allah how poor, weak, and in need you are for His help and guidance. The more you ask Allah help in the little details of your life, the more your faith will strengthen and the more you will be in worship. If you do not begin anything nor end it without asking Allahs help then you will perpetually be in worship.
-> If you did not do good yesterday, begin to do good from this second. Focus on the obligatory acts before the voluntary. And the greatest of all obligatory acts is the prayer. Try your best to pray with a present heart, with Khushoo'.
-> Prepare for your Acts of Worship.
When Allah set a time for Musa عليه السلام to meet Him, He set 30 days,then added 10 days. Musa عليه السلام waited for these days fasting and worshipping Allah.
Before you pray do something that will collect your heart, such as reciting Qur'an.
-> Give Charity as much as you can
-> Remember Allah throughout the Day
If you fast and sleep throughout the day, you will miss out on this act of worship. If you remember Allah a lot during these 10 days, you will leave these days with a tongue wet with the remembrance of Allah. Such that you will feel like something is missing when you do not remember Allah.
Ibn AlQayyim said that the ranks of Dhikr are three:
1) The lowest of which is to remember Allah with your heart void of tongue
2) To remember Allah with your tongue void of heart.
3) The highest of which is remembering Allah in your heart, such that it fills with His remembrance so you start remembering on your tongue.
How to reach the highest rank of Dhikr
-The Scholars would sit down just remembering the favours and bounties of Allah upon them. And then they would say الحمد لله.
- Remember your sins. The more you remember your sins, the more you will repent and make اسنغفار?
- Ponder over the Qur'an. When the People of the Dunya have a business season, they prepare for it. So prepare something for these days; to finish reciting the whole Qur'an. But do not recite void of understanding. It is a great blessing that Allah made it easy for to recite the Quran. Allah did not even give this blessing to the Angels. They cannot recite the Quran, that is why they descend to listen to it.
- Always seek refuge with Allah from the Shaytan. The Shaytan are chained in Ramadan, but not during these 10 days. You may recite the Quran with your tongue, but he will distract you about a worldly matter.
- Remind yourself of the Hadiths where the Prophet ﷺ enumerated the virtues of Dhikr:
Ibn Mas`ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “I met Ibrahim عليه السلام on the Night of Ascension, and he said to me: `O Muhammad ﷺ,convey my greetings to your Ummah, and tell them that Jannah has a vast plain of pure soil and sweet water. It is a plain levelled land. The plants grow there by uttering: Subhan-Allah, Al-hamdu lillah, La ilaha illallah and Allahu Akbar (Allah is free from imperfection; praise be to Allah; there is no true god except Allah; and Allah is Greatest).‘” [At-Tirmidhi]
If you want to buy a farm now, you have to spend 100,000KD, there is difficulty involved, it will die in the end, and you will leave it. Build for yourself one in Paradise.
And the Prophet ﷺ said:
يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي، وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي، فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي نَفْسِي، وَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلأٍ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي مَلأٍ خَيْرٍ مِنْهُمْ، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ بِشِبْرٍ تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذِرَاعًا، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ ذِرَاعًا تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ بَاعًا، وَإِنْ أَتَانِي يَمْشِي أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً ".
Allah says: 'I am just as My slave thinks I am, (i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him) and I am with him if He remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I too, remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a group of people, I remember him in a group that is better than they; and if he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.' " [Bukhari]
And He ﷺ said:
"إِنَّ مِمَّا تَذْكُرُونَ مِنْ جَلاَلِ اللَّهِ التَّسْبِيحَ وَالتَّهْلِيلَ وَالتَّحْمِيدَ يَنْعَطِفْنَ حَوْلَ الْعَرْشِ لَهُنَّ دَوِيٌّ كَدَوِيِّ النَّحْلِ تُذَكِّرُ بِصَاحِبِهَا أَمَا يُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ - أَوْ لاَ يَزَالَ لَهُ - مَنْ يُذَكِّرُ بِهِ "
"What you mention of glory of Allah, of Tasbih (Subhan-Allah), Tahlil (Allahu-Akbar) and Tahmid (Al-Hamdu lillah), revolves around the Throne, buzzing like bees, reminding of the one who said it. Wouldn't any one of you like to have, or continue to have, something that reminds of him (in the presence of Allah)?'" [Ibn Majah]
-> Remember the Day of Judgement.
There is no connection between death and sickness or old age. There are so many healthy people who die, so many people young people who die. Allah prolonged your life to reach this great season, where good deeds are most beloved to Allah, so take advantage of it.
One of the companions who was unable to fight Badr said, "If Allah prolongs my life to see another battle, He will see what I am going to do". They found him dead with 70 wounds. No one could recognize him except his sister, who only recognized him by his fingers.
These days are going to finish. Make Dua, especially in your prostration, at the last third of night; show Allah how much in need you are for forgiveness acceptance of good deeds. Make even your Dua during these days different from other days. Many people do good deeds then admire them, yet Allah has rejected these deeds.
When Musa عليه السلام ran away from Pharoah, he said [in 28:24]:
"So he watered (their flocks) for them, then he turned back to shade, and said: "My Lord! Truly, I am in need of whatever good that You bestow on me!"
Allah gave him Prophethood - something he did not even imagine he could have gotten.
The more you are humble, poor, and in need to Allah, the more Allah will give you and He will not let you down.
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