بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
4/1/1439H
The noblest matter one can spend his life in seeking is knowledge. Muadh Ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه used to say,
تَعَلَّمُوا الْعِلْمَ ، فَإِنَّ طَلَبَهُ عِبَادَةٌ ، وَمُذَاكَرَتَهُ تَسْبِيحٌ ، وَالْبَحْثَ عَنْهُ جِهَادٌ ، وَتَعْلِيمَهُ لِمَنْ لا يَعْلَمُهُ صَدَقَةٌ ، وَبَذْلَهُ لأَهْلِهِ قُرْبَةٌ ، لأَنَّهُ مَعَالِمُ الْحَلالِ وَالْحَرَامِ ، وَمَنَارُ سَبِيلِ الْجَنَّةِ ، وَالأُنْسُ فِي الْوَحْدَةِ ، وَالْمُحَدِّثُ فِي الْخَلْوَةِ ، وَالصَّاحِبُ فِي الْعُزْلَةِ ، وَالدَّلِيلُ عَلَى السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ ، وَالسِّلاحُ عَلَى الأَعْدَاءِ ، وَالزَّيْنُ عِنْدَ الأَخِلَّاءِ ، وَالْقَرِيبُ عِنْدَ الْغُرَبَاءِ ، يَرْفَعُ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَقْوَامًا فَيَجْعَلُهُمْ فِي الْخَيْرِ قَادَةً ، وَهُدَاةً يُهْتَدَى بِهِمْ ، وَأَئِمَّةً فِي الْخَيْرِ تُقْتَصُّ آثَارُهُمْ ، وَتُرْمَقُ أَعْمَالُهُمْ ، وَيُقْتَدَى بِفِعَالِهِمْ ، وَيُنْتَهَى إِلَى رَأْيِهِمْ
"Acquire knowledge because seeking it is worship. Reviewing it is glorifying Allah. Researching it is jihad. Teaching it to the ignorant is charity. Serving the scholars is a way of drawing near to Allah because knowledge is the path of ascension to the stations of Paradise. It is a companion in isolation and a comrade in distant lands. It speaks to you in solitude. It is a guide to prosperity and a shield against adversity. It is a weapon against enemies and beautifies one among friends and is nearness amongst strangers. With it Allah elevates people and makes them guides and bellwethers of good, leaders of good whose footsteps are followed, whose actions are looked at and imitated, and whose opinions are stopped at" [Abu Nu'aym in Al-Hilyah]
Do not belittle your coming here, and your sitting for one hour, holding yourself patiently to listen, even if it is to something that you already know. Your sitting and listening is considered an act of worship, if you have purified your intention, and this hour will be for you and not against you. Gathering has merits and rewards which listening online does not have; it is enough that the Angels will be around, Allah's mercy descends, the names of the attendees are mentioned with Allah. Do not think that the person coming and putting effort is equal in reward to the person who gets knowledge without effort. Everyone has their reward with Allah. All are good, but the level of the reward is different with Allah.
Az-Zuhri said, "There is nothing like knowledge for the one who wants to worship Allah."
The most important matter that one can know about and worship Allah with is the knowledge about Allah. It is important to know Allah because:
#6 - Knowing Allah reforms our Hearts and Minds
The solution for many people nowadays who suffer from excessive concerns, waswaas, grief, distress, is knowing Allah. If one knows Allah, he will have peace in his mind and tranquility in his heart. Allah mentioned this in Surah Muhammad [47:2]:
"But those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and believe in that which is sent down to Muhammad (SAW), for it is the truth from their Lord, He will expiate from them their sins, and will make good their state."
"و أصلح بالهم" - And will make good their state
Allah promised to forgive their sins and reform their worldly affairs, their religious affairs, their hearts, their reward. Allah promised to reform them as a whole, if they believe - If they believe in Allah and the rest of the articles of faith, do good deeds, and follow the truth. It is not enough to believe, there has to be action as well.
E.g. If you know and believe that Allah is All-Wise, You will be pleased with everything Allah has written for you.
E.g. If you know and believe that Allah is Al-Qareeb, you will enjoy your dua.
E.g. if you know and believe that Allah is Malik Al-Mulk, you will always hope that Allah will give you from his Mulk (Dominion) and you will never despair in Him.
الرضا (Contentment) is a means to صلاح البال and العافية (Wellbeing)
People suffer from these distresses and constriction in their heart because they do not know who Allah is. If they knew Allah, they would be happy. The believer may go through distress in his life. He may go through sadness and grief. Even the Prophet ﷺ went through distresses. However, when the believers go through a distress and they are reminded about Allah, they immediately feel at rest, because they know who Allah is. As for the one who does not know Allah, even if he is reminded, he will still feel unhappy, distressful, and have constriction in his heart, because he does not know who Allah is.
So the first condition in order to attain the psychological and mental wellbeing is to be a believer. And the basis of belief is knowing Allah. Many people take care of their bodily health and neglect looking for the remedy for their psychological problems, although if your heart is reformed, your whole body will be reformed. And the end of this body is food for the worms in the grave. Yet instead of nourishing their hearts, people nourish their bodies and forget Allah.
Many people are dissatisfied with Allah and always complain about Him. They do not know that if you are pleased with Allah, Allah will be pleased with you. And if Allah is pleased with you, your life will be a goodly life. Your heart and spirit will be reformed.
How can I attain الرضا (Contentment) in this worldly life?
Contentment has three conditions which you have to fulfill:
i) Contentment with Allah as your Lord
ii) Contentment with Islam as your Religion
iii) Conrentment with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as your Messenger
If you do that, you will be of those the Prophet ﷺ said regarding:
#1 - من رضي بالله ربًا وبالإسلام دينًا، وبمحمد رسولا وجبت له الجنة
Whoever is pleased with Allah as his Rabb, with Islam as his religion and with Muhammad ﷺ as (Allah's) Messenger, Paradise will be made obligatory for him. [Muslim]
#2 - من قال حين يسمع المؤذن: أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، وأن محمدًا عبده ورسوله، رضيت بالله ربًا وبالإسلام دينًا، غفر له ذنبه
He who says when hearing the Adhan:
'Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah Wah-dahu la sharika Lahu; wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa Rasuluhu, radhitu Billahi Rabban, wa bi Muhammadin Rasulan, wa bil Islami Dinan
[I testify that there is no true god except Allah Alone; He has no partners and that Muhammad (ﷺ) is His slave and Messenger; I am content with Allah as my Rubb, with Muhammad as my Messenger and with Islam as my Deen],' his sins will be forgiven. [Muslim]
#3 - من قال إذا أصبح : رضيت بالله ربا وبالإسلام دينا وبمحمد نبيا فأنا الزعيم لآخذن بيده حتى أدخله الجنة
Whoever recites the following duaa in the morning:
Radeetu Billahi Rabban wa Bil Islami Deenan Wa Bi Muhammadin Nabiya
I am pleased with Allah as my Rabb, with Islam as my Deen, and with Muhammad as my Prophet
I guarantee that I will definitely take him by his hand and enter him into Paradise. [At-Tabarani]
The above are three authentic Hadiths which talk about a very important matter - الرضا (Contentment); To be pleased with Allah. Satisfaction with Allah is an action of the heart; it is not just a word you say with your tongue. This means that you have to check your heart when you say it. Are you really pleased with Allah, with His Religion, and with His Prophet? If one understands and fulfills this concept, his soul will turn from illness into wellbeing, from weakness into strength. The worldly life is full of hardships and you have to take yourself through this life to salvation. How? With being pleased with Allah. Through it, you can save yourself and reach Paradise, and be the person whom the Prophet ﷺ said regarding: وجبت له الجنة (Paradise is obligatory for him)
How do you have الرضا (Contentment)?
FIRST: رضا (Rida - Contentment) with Allah
#1 - To be pleased with Allah as our Lord (Rabb) who has brought us into existence, and provides us with sustenance, and all that we need in our existence.
الرب (Ar-Rabb) is the Creator who brought you into existence, provided you with all your sustenance and all the means of you existence. You have to be pleased with Allah as your Rabb, who created you.
When Allah created you, He created you in a certain form, with certain features, with a certain nationality, with certain capabilities, in a certain state - rich or poor, with certain parents, etc. Are you pleased with the share that Allah has given you of creation, provision, and capabilities? Are you pleased with what Allah has given you in yourself and what is around you - of family, parents, etc.?
You are required to be pleased with everything Allah has granted you. Not that you are pleased with your colour and are unhappy with your hair. Nor that you are happy with your parents and unhappy with your children. You have to be pleased with all that Allah has granted and bestowed upon you of your share of Rizq.
Most of the time our concerns revolve around the one deficient matter forgetting about the rest of the blessings Allah gave us.
E.g. The concern women have is their features. They run after the beauty shops, the salons, plastic surgery, displeased with what Allah has given them. When they are invited to a dinner or a lunch, all they talk about is fitness - gaining and losing weight - forgetting the rest of the blessings Allah has given them. This is a very clear indication that they are not pleased with what Allah has given them.
This does not mean do not beautify yourself. It is the nature of women to beautify themselves. Allah says in Surah Zukhruf [43:18]:
"(Do they then like for Allah) a creature who is brought up in adornments (wearing silk and gold ornaments, i.e. women), and in dispute cannot make herself clear?"
The disbelievers say the Angels are the daughters of Allah. Allah refutes them in this verse - Do they attribute to Allah a creature who is brought up in adornments and when they are in dispute they cannot make themselves clear?
Women are not like men. Allah chose the Prophets to be male, which indicates that women are not like men and men are not like women. We have to accept this fact; this is how Allah created us. Allah has mentioned clearly who we are in the Quran.
It does not mean do not beautify yourself. But do not excessively talk about it and spend your entire life in these trivial matters. He who is not pleased with his lineage, form, shape, lives in misery. He forgets that this is his share Allah gave him and he should be satisfied with it. The soul which is pleased with says: This is a gift from Allah and I have to be pleased with the gift of Allah.
One of the things which may make one displeased with what Allah has given him of provision is the people around him. Be careful of these people because they will make you ungrateful to Allah.
#2 - To be pleased with Allah as our Lord who bestowed upon us many blessings and to use these blessings in obedience to Allah.
E.g. You have children. Do not compare your children with other children. Allah gave everyone children who are suitable for them, and He gave everyone children with different capabilities, intelligence, and forms. Be satisfied with what Allah has given you and them and do not make your life nor your children's life miserable. Why do they have to be a doctor? To force them to be one is out of ignorance. It means you do not know who Allah is, who had given you this blessing. This child may have a limited level of understanding and intelligence, so do not give her a hard time.
When you have children with certain capabilities what should you do? How do you show Allah you are pleased? Comply with the command of Allah, and do your best with them. Do not complain all the time and be unhappy.
If you say رضيت بالله (I am pleased with Allah) and you are not pleased in your heart, it is considered hypocrisy, because you are saying something with your tongue which is contrary to what is in your heart. الرضا (Contentment) is not a mere statement of the tongue, it is proven with action.
#3 - To be pleased with Allah as our Lord with regards to what He opened for us of gates of goodness and use it to enter Paradise.
E.g. If you are weak in memorization of the Quran or knowledge and you see that your sister is very strong in memorization, do not complain. This is the limit Allah gave you of memorization. The Prophet ﷺ said,
من قرأ حرفًا من كتاب الله فله حسنة، والحسنة بعشر أمثالها لا أقول: ألم حرف، ولكن ألف حرف، ولام حرف، وميم حرف
"Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a ten-fold reward. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter." [At-Tirmithi]
If you cannot memorize, you can recite.
Also, the Prophet ﷺ said:
يقال لصاحب القرآن: اقرأ وارتقِ ورتل كما كنت ترتل في الدنيا، فإن منزلتك عند آخر آية تقرؤها
The one who was devoted to the Qur'an will be told on the Day of Resurrection: 'Recite and ascend (in ranks) as you used to recite when you were in the world. Your rank will be at the last Ayah you recite. [Abu Dawud and At-Tirmithi]
The Scholars said this refers to that which you recited and acted upon. The Prophet ﷺ did not say, "The Memorizer of the Quran", although some Scholars are of the opinion that he should have memorized it. Ibn Qayyim رحمه الله said that even if a person memorized the Quran, his degree will not be at the last verse he memorized, but the last verse he acted upon. So, if your strength is not in memorization, then accompany the Quran day and night. Recite it, understand it, ponder over its verses, act upon it, read the Tafseer. Then on the Day of Judgement it will be said: اقرأ وارتقِ (Recite and ascend) to you.
There are many ways to reach Paradise. Allah made eight gates for it; He did not make only one gate. There are gates of Salat, Jihad, dutifulness to parents, knowledge, etc. If Allah did not open the gate of voluntary fasting, perhaps He opened the gate of knowledge for you. If He did not open the gate of knowledge, maybe He opened the gate of dutifulness to parents. Allah opened a certain gate for everyone to reach to Paradise. Do not focus on one deficiency. Be pleased with what Allah has given you of capabilities and of your share of provision. Reach Paradise with your share of provision, Allah does not ask you for more than that.
Since we are all different in states, the reward will be different, in accordance to our efforts.
E.g. You are weak and cannot fast, but you can recite Quran. Then do that. Allah opened a gate for everyone. Be pleased with what Allah gave you of provision, capabilities. Go through whatever gate Allah opened for you to Paradise.
Do not wish for something which is very far whilst leaving what is in your hand. Many people neglect what is in their hands and head for something which is very far and which Allah didn't open for them. Use what Allah gave you to approach Allah and go to Paradise. Allah will not ask you for more than that. In Surah At-Talaq [65:7]:
"Allah puts no burden on any person beyond what He has given him. "
Allah will not ask you beyond what He has given you. Look at what Allah has granted you and use it to reach the pleasure of Allah and Paradise. Use the talents Allah gave you to reach Allah.
E.g. Some people are good at communication. Use your talent to reconcile between people, bring happiness to people's hearts with good words, etc.The Prophet ﷺ said,
والكلمة الطيبة صدقة
It is also charity to utter a good word. [Agreed Upon]
E.g. The gate of having children are opened for you. But they are not righteous. How is this a gate to Paradise? By having patience in teaching them, waking them up for Fajr, sending them to the Masjid. Your Jihad with your children who are unrighteousness is your gate to Paradise. Your reward is not like the reward of the person who has righteous children. Allah gave you this particular situation, so be pleased with it and do not complain.
E.g. Allah opened the gate of Hajj and Omrah for someone and did not open it for you. Do not say I want I want and give a hard time to yourself and your family. If Allah makes it easy, He will make it easy. But if all the gates are closed and you keep complaining it indicates you are displeased with Allah. If you take the means and it was not made easy for you, you have to accept the Qadar. Be pleased with what Allah has granted you of blessings. There are people who are used to complaining and it's become part of their lives.
E.g. Allah opened the gate of being at home and not working for you. That's your gate to Paradise. Allah opened the door of working for another person; that's her gate. Everyone has a gate which Allah opened for them to go to Jannah so do not think of a gate which is not open for you. Accept whatever Allah has given you, He knows best what suits you. If you are not fit for it, He will not open that gate for you, no matter what you do - as a mercy with you. So be pleased with Allah.
If the gate is far and out of your reach do not waste your time and life for it. Hold on to whatever means Allah extended for you. If He closed a means, then be pleased, perhaps He may open another gate for you. Know and understand the actions of Allah. He opens and closes.
Do not complain for the sake of complaining, it indicates the you are not pleased with what Allah has given you. Whatever is constricted for you in this life is your means of salvation on the Day of Judgement. There is something good behind this gate which is constricted. Take whatever gate is opened for you, and do not waste your life running after what is closed.
In conclusion: If any gate is opened for you, what should you do?
Allah guided us what to do in Surah an-Nisa [4:66-68]:
"And if We had ordered them (saying), "Kill yourselves (i.e. the innnocent ones kill the guilty ones) or leave your homes," very few of them would have done it; but if they had done what they were told, it would have been better for them, and would have strengthened their (Faith);"
"And indeed We should then have bestowed upon them a great reward from Ourselves."
"And indeed We should have guided them to a Straight Way."
Four rewards, if you just obey and comply with the command of Allah.
#4 - To be pleased with what Allah has ordained upon us
Being pleased with the Qadar of Allah is a part of being pleased with Allah. It is to be pleased with whatever Allah has written for us of good and evil events. We should know that there is a wisdom behind every Qadar (Decree), Allah has sent down, even if it is appears to be an evil event. There is good behind every evil.
We read Surah AlKahf every Friday and know the story of Musa عليه السلامand Al-Khidr. Three evil incidents are mentioned:
a) The scuttling of the ship. The good behind that was to prevent the King from taking the ship from the poor people.
b) The child being killed. Al-Khidr killed him because Allah informed him that if this child grew up, he would be a cause of fitnah for the Religion of his parents.
c) The damaged wall being repaired by Al-Khidr in the town of the people who refused to entertain them. Al-Khidr repaired it because there was a treasure under the wall. If it had not been repaired the treasure would have been taken, but Allah reserved it for the children of a righteous man.
Apply this to yourself. Whatever difficulty, constriction, sadness, grief you go through, know there is a wisdom and something good behind the situation. If you are patient and thank Allah, Allah will show you the good behind the matter. There is good behind every matter Allah decreed. As soon as the Qadar comes disturbing you, talk to yourself and tell yourself to be patient and be pleased with Allah, that when Allah decreed this He knows what is good for you. This is how you deal with the distresses in your life.
Allah said in Surah AlBalad [90:11]:
"But he has made no effort to pass on the path that is steep."
العقبة is a small mountain. The person has to overcome the obstacle in order to see the good. But the person did not put any effort to cross the mountain. If he had done that, he would have got abundant reward.
"And what will make you know the path that is steep?"
What is that small mountain?
"(It is) Freeing a neck (slave, etc.)"
"Or giving food in a day of hunger (famine),"
These are examples of obstacles you have to cross in order to get the good behind it.
Every evil in this world opens the gate to good.
This is because it is a test and Allah wants to see your contentment. When Allah puts you under distress and pressure, are you still pleased with Him or not? This is the test. Some people are pleased with their lives and blessings, but as soon as they are afflicted, they cannot bear it. In every test of evil, Allah is testing our contentment. Are you pleased with Allah in this situation which is disliked to yourself?
In order to reach the state of contentment, we need to know who Allah is. We are studying about Allah because we want to be pleased with Him, and we will not be able to be pleased with Allah until we know Him.
He is Aleem (Knowing), Raoof (Kind), Wadud (Loving), Rahman (Merciful), Hakeem (Wisdom), etc. When you remind yourself of Allah, the impact of the distresses you are going through will be lessened. Knowing Allah helps you overcome the evil decrees.
Allah sees and knows what is in your heart. Weak knowledge about Allah makes a person displeased with Allah, strong knowledge about Allah makes a person pleased with Allah.
We need to remind ourselves:
رضيت بالله ربا وبالإسلام دينا وبمحمد نبيا
Radeetu Billahi Rabban wa Bil Islami Deenan Wa Bi Muhammadin Nabiya
I am pleased with Allah as my Rabb, with Islam as my Deen, and with Muhammad as my Prophet
We have to say it, and we have to live it. We should not be like the hypocrite who says something with his tongue which is contrary to his heart.
This statement helps you answer the questions in your grave. If you are pleased with Allah as your Lord, you will reply that Allah is your Lord. There is a difference between a person who merely says it with tongue and someone who says it and works according to it.
If you perform ablution every day and someone asks you how to do it, will you say "Wait let me go check" or will you immediately respond? You will immediately respond, because you live and practice it daily. If you practice contentment daily, you will be able to answer with "Lord is Allah" in your grave.
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