Friday Khutbah (10/1/2003) delivered by Shaykh Muhammad Taher
DISCLAIMER: This reminder was originally delivered in Arabic. Any meanings lost in translation are not to be attributed to the speaker as reminders are translated by volunteers. The mosque has no official translater and volunteers often have no formal qualifications to translate on the day. Please forgive any errors as they are from our human weakness and any right guidance is from Allah.
Indeed all praise is due Allah, we praise Him, seek His aid and ask His
forgiveness. We seek shelter in Allah from the evil of our own souls and the
evil of our own actions. Whoever Allah has guided then no one can misguide him
and whoever Allah has caused to be misguided then no one can guide him.
I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone and
I bear witness that Muhammad is his slave and messenger, may the peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, his family and all of the righteous. Amin.
To proceed, …
Allah the Exalted says in the Qur`an,
“The believers are those who, if they remember Allah their hearts tremble, if the verses of Allah are recited they are increased in faith and in their Lord do they put their trust. They are those who establish prayer and they spend from what we have provided for them, they are the true believers, they have [elevated] ranks with their Lord, forgiveness and a generous provision.” (8:2-4)
He, Glory be to Him, also says,
“Give glad tidings to those who humble themselves to Allah, those who if Allah is mentioned their hearts tremble, those who are patient with that which afflicts them, those who establish prayer and they spend from what we have provided for them.” (22:34-35)
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
This is [the nature] of the heart of the believer; it is full of life,
feeling and emotion. The heart of the believer is far from heedlessness, free
from harshness and free of deception. It is wary and vigilant, it takes itself
to account for the sins it commits and gentleness, softness and sensitivity
are some of the characteristics of the hearts of the believers,
“Those who, if they remember Allah their hearts tremble,”
As for the hearts of those other than the believers, then their hearts are
hard, as Allah reminds us in the Qur`an,
“Woe unto the hearts which are hard to the remembrance of Allah, indeed they are in manifest error.” (39:22)
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
The heart of the believer that truly wants Islam is a heart that is always with Allah, it does not leave Him even for the blinking of an eye, it is not satisfied with any other than Him and its link with Allah the Exalted is strong and sound.
In this way the heart of the believer is elevated through its observance of Allah, as it knows with true certainty and with no doubt that Allah hears him [the believer], sees him, is aware of all of his states, whether they be in secret or in public and that Allah has the ability to do whatever He wills. Such a person knows if he moves that it is recorded in his account, if he utters a word it is written either for him or against him in a preserved book and if a thought crossed his mind, he presents it in front of the scales of truth and accepts it if he finds it in conjunction with it and rejects it if he finds that it opposes it.
As Allah says in the Qur`an,
“Whatever state you are in, whatever you recite of the Qur`an and whatever you perform from deeds then We witness it; even an atom’s weight does not escape your Lord, whether it is in the heavens or the earth, or whether it be smaller than that or greater than it, except that it is recorded in a clear register.” (10:61)
And in another verse,
“Do they think that We do not know their secrets and their private conversations? Indeed Our messengers are with them recording it all.” (43:80)
Allah also says,
“And if you to speak openly, then We know the secrets and what is even more hidden than that.” (20:7)
So the believer takes this as his belief, brings it to his mind, reflects upon it and knows that Allah the Exalted is closer to him than his jugular vein; thus he weighs all of his actions in the light of the shari’ah. Consequently, the believer lives in this life, his heart full of sensitivity, he does no evil, refuses no good and at the same time he is attached to Allah, believing firmly in the hereafter.
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
These values and qualities have been firmly fixed by Islam in the heart of the believer; it is reported that the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, visited one of his Companions called Harithah while he was ill and said to him, “How do you find yourself?” He replied, “I find myself truly believing in Allah.” He, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, “O Harithah, consider what you are saying, as everything has a sign, so what is the sign of your faith?” Harithah said, “By Allah it is as if I can see paradise on my right and hellfire on my left and the bridge [al-sirat] below me.” He, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, “O Harithah, you have experienced it, so remain firm.” [i.e. you have come to understand the truth and the reality of faith so remain firm upon that] When Harithah saw happiness on the face of the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, he said, “O Messenger of Allah, pray to Allah that I may be cured and that I die fighting in the path of Allah.” The Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did so and Harithah participated in the Battle of Badr and was martyred in it. Harithah’s mother then came to the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asking about him saying, “Is he in paradise or hellfire?” and the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, replied, “Is it only one garden? Indeed there are many gardens and your son is in the highest of them - al-Firdaws.” This dispelled her sadness regarding the loss of her son due to the elevated rank he had achieved.
This is true faith my dear Brothers and Sisters and true sensitivity, emotion and link with Allah.
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
The heart of the believer has various signs which indicate its well being:
This sensitivity reflects the level of our faith as the person with a sensitive heart blames his own soul every time it tends towards evil. Then such a person assesses his soul - which was more prevalent - times of remembrance and reflection, or times of heedlessness, play and amusement? So that however much you feel that Allah is observing you at home, on your way and in every aspect of your life, then this will reflect the level of your faith. Do we for example remember the hereafter when we commit an act of disobedience? As the amount remember will reflect the level of our faith. Are we careful of sins or the whisperings of Satan and therefore avoid them? Thus, the amount we avoid such things is also an indicator of our faith.
Therefore my dear Brothers and Sisters, we should be aware of these signs and search for them in our hearts and souls. Similarly, if we do not find them then we must cause them to be present and revive them in our hearts so that they become true hearts, soft hearts and the best of hearts for Allah the Exalted.
Thus, my dear Brothers and Sisters, we have come to know the nature of such hearts, which we should examine from time to time; if they are well we maintain that and adorn them with the light of faith. However, if they turn away from the good and head towards that which corrupts them, desiring all that destroys them, wishing for all that removes them from their Lord and Sustainer, then we must be careful, take the issue seriously and work extremely hard to make our hearts alive and full of faith.
And know that the heart is like a citadel and Satan is your enemy who wants to enter it, possess it and gain power over it.
And know that this citadel cannot be protected except by guarding its gates.
And know that the heart is the noblest part of the human being as it is the abode of the knowledge of Allah and our belief in Him.
“Indeed there is in this a reminder in this for whoever has a heart, or listened and bore witness.” (50:37)
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