| Today�s topic I believe is a very gentle thing, a worship which is very simple to do, and something we love, something that doesn�t take long but is very valuable � thikr (remembering God) [O ye who believe! Celebrate the praises of God, and do this often; And glorify Him morning and evening] (Al Ahzab) [for without doubt In the remembrance of God do hearts find satisfaction] (Ra�d) Last year I did a programme about the thawab from thikr of Allah, sobhan Allah, abd alhamdolilah etc but today I want to talk about the thikr which the prophet used to do like the prayer for when you get up, for when you put your clothes on, for when you leave the house, for if it rains. If you go into the bathroom there�s thikr for you to say, if you go out of the bathroom you say thikr. There is always something to say, if someone dies, you say thikr, if someone is ill, you say thikr. This is something we are not doing enough of, and I think it�s because we�re not feeling it. I want us to look at how valuable it is, and why the prophet used to do this? We are all not doing this, who can say that they always say thikr? Let�s live through this, and see why the prophet used to do this and why we need to. First let�s say what does thikr mean? It is the speech of a tongue expressing what the heart feels. Laughter and tears are feelings in the heart which are turned into actions. This is the key to the remembrance of the prophet of God. So it�s the expression of the tongue for every feeling of the heart in this life. The prophet used to remember at all these times, because he felt something at every experience in his heart, at every experience in this life! Peace be upon him! It is the speech of a tongue expressing what the heart feels. So the first thing to gain from thikr will be that your heart will be affected by every experience in life. From the beginning of Ramadan we have been giving you programmes by the titles of maintaining your bonds with your relatives, or treating you parents well, or the sirat, that someone may come and say they want to go over everything we�ve said before as they�re worried that they might forget them. To this we say that each thikr reminds you of all of the meanings of Islam! So if you remember as the prophet used to, every experience in the day where you remember God, this will remind you of everything we have learnt from Islam. Here�s an example, a man went to the prophet and said to him that all the parts of islam are getting a lot for him, and asked him to choose something for him to focus on from all of it. The prophet replied that that his tongue should not forget for once thikr Allah. So if you remember God at every moment then I will have really covered everything else too? Because if you remember God at every moment like the prophet, then everything that happens to you in that day will remind you of God. Your heart will be moved by everything that happens to you in that day and then you will gain everything in islam. That�s why I chose to keep this to the end of Ramadan. Let�s see another important gain from copying the prophet with his thikr that he said every day and night. Be careful, your heart may be moved by every experience you have, but it might not be in the right way. Someone may wake up thinking oh my God I have woken up what an awful day to come, or someone who might get up too optimistic! We want something to measure what the right movement of your heart should be and that is the thikr of the prophet. By saying this thikr you will wake up having exactly the right feeling. For example, if you see a beautiful scene, your heart will no doubt be moved, but you may think, I wish my love was here with me so we could share it with me! It was moved but not in the way of God. Someone else might see a beautiful scene and they are religious and say sobhan Allah but who knows if this was also moved in the right direction. Someone else might see the rain and say sobhan Allah, look at God�s mercy, He brought down the rain with mercy on His creations, then remembers the verse [Then contemplate (O man!) the memorials of God�s mercy! How He gives life to the earth after it�s death] (Ruum). So which one of them, the second or third? I don�t know but if you say what the prophet used to say you guarantee that your heart has been moved in exactly the way that God wants it to be. This is what to measure it by for the full, complete and true feeling of islam was in the heart of the prophet, so when his tongue speaks it will say the utmost expression of these feelings! Here�s another example: thunder. We�re all religious now, one person hears it and says �ya Satir ya rab� and was scared. He remembered God but he was scared by it. Another person hears it and says �ya Jabbar el samawat wal ard�. When the prophet heard it he said �How perfect He is, (The One) Whom the thunder declares His perfection with his praise, as do the angels out of fear of Him�. So the best thing to remember when you hear it is a feeling of calm and of jalaal Allah and that thunder is only a creation of God and so are you, so don�t be afraid, this is it saying sobhan Allah. So the second gain from saying the thikr of the prophet is that you will guarantee that your heart will be moved the way God wants it to be moved. Look at another example: when you see the full moon, what should we do when we see it? One person may say Wow, the moon is beautiful and so is the night. Someone else may see it and say �look at your abilities God�. The prophet said from the hadeeth �Hilalo khayrin wa bishr, allahoma ahillaho alayna bil amn wal eman, walsalamaty wal islam, rabby wa raboka Allah.� The strongest expression you can say. Look at the ending of it �rabby wa raboka�, it�s as if you are saying, you and I oh moon, despite how far we are from each other, are together in worshipping God. This hadeeth is saying to you that the moon is close to you, and the trees, the sand, the stars, all of us are worshippers of Him, and the non-believers are the ones who are going the other way. Another example: going to the mosque, what should you say? �O Allah, place within my heart light, and upon my tongue light, and within my ears light, and within my eyes light, and place behind me light and in front of me light and above me light and beneath me me light. O Allah, bestow upon me light" So you have to come out of the mosque filled with light. You have got the strongest feeling. Look how important these are? The sunset, what can it give you? You may say you feel moved by it, that you love to watch it and you love to listen to a certain song at sunset. There�s something better than all of this, listen to what the prophet said: There is nothing stronger than this. After prayer, what do you say? After completing the prayer the prophet said: �O Allah, You are As-salaam (the one who is free from all defects and deficiencies) and You is all peace, blesed are You, O Possessor of majesty and honour.� �Why this hear? There is a hadeeth that when you meet God for the first time, God will call you �ya ahl al janna salam alaykom�. And as soon as He says �salamon �alaykom� we will say �Allahoma anta el salam, wa minka al salam, tabarkta ya tha jalali wal ikram.� So why after prayer? Because when you were in prayer you were with God. So when you finished the prayer you wished you could bring back that meeting again so you remembered the next meeting with God in heaven. Again, why are we copying the prophet with these remembrances? Your heart will be moved, you have guaranteed to have got the strongest feeling which God wanted you to have, and a third thing which is most beautiful now. The prophet never used to say anything which he didn�t feel in his heart so if you say what the prophet used to say at those moments, then you have got the feeling of the prophet�s heart right then and there. People say they wish they could go to the rawda so they can pray in the place the prophet used to pray in, but if you say these things at those times then you have got felt the same thing in your heart that your prophet used to at those times. Look at these 3 things? The similarities of the feeling of the prophet! Therefore the companions used to do this, they used to say the thikr with his tongue and feel it with his heart. For people with insomnia, listen to this. Zayd bin thabit went to the prophet and said he couldn�t sleep at night so the prophet said to him �Ilahy, gharat el nojoom, wa hada�it el �oyoon, wa anta hayon qayoom, la ta�khotha sinnaton wala nawm, ya hay ya qayoom, ihdy layly wa anim 3ayny� Feel the beauty of the words of the prophet . It�s saying to Him, my eyes are weak that they won�t close unless by You, and You who Do not sleep, so You who Do not sleep, close my eyes! Imagine if you said this with your heart. Zayd bin thabit said after that that, as soon as he said this he fell asleep. You have said the strongest thing which you can say if you cannot sleep, no one with insomnia will say better than this. Look at this other hadeeth, sayida Fatimaand sayidna Ali went to the prophet asking for a slave to help them in their home as they were very tired and they didn�t have much money. For those people who are tired who have children, take this thikr. The prophet said to them that if she and her husband were going to bed, together, to say �sob7an Allah� 33 times, �alhamdoluliah� 33 times, and �Allaho Akbar� 43 times, so that it completes 100. Fatima said that when they said it, God increased their strength that they didn�t need servants after that. Look at how important this is and the muslims have left it, a sunna of the prophet and people are not saying it! I�ll give you a current, live example of a youth who had recently become more religious, and he was starting to visit the mosque with us in Egypt. Every summer there was a big party in the north coast of Egypt and he normally used to go into it but he had started to become religious and didn�t know what to do but decided to go. So we taught him the thikr for travelling, not really realising anything. So we gave him this thikr then he said that he took the duaa� and hung it in his car (it comes printed). He started reading it and his heart was getting moved by each part of it �Allahoma inna nas�aloka fee safarina hatha al bir wal taqwa� ah (translation is followed), can you feel the heart being moved at these? �wa min al 3amaly ma tarda� Imagine you ignore these and try to finish it, you�ll find many things that will scare you: �Allahoma inna na�ootho bikka min wa�atha�i al safar� - in travelling there are many accidents and tragedies which may occur, �wa ka�aabatil manthar, wa soo� el monqalab fil mal wal ahli wal walad� - you could return and find a problem had happened to your family. The boy started feeling and he said he started to read it again. (O Allah we aks you for birr and Taqwaa, in this journey of ours, and we ask for Your deeds which pleaseYou. O Allah faciliate our journey and let us cover it's distance quickly. O Allah, You are the Companion on the journey and The successor over the family, O Allah, I take refuge with You from the difficulties of travel, from having a change of hearts and being in a bad predicament, and i take refuge in You from an ill fated outcome with wealth and family). He said he was now faced with 2 choices; he could either keep on going and be hypocritical after the du�aa he had just read, or turn around and so he turned around. See what the meaning of this is? Another example, I was on the plane on my way to London and there were a couple of youths next to me, 21, 22 year old Arabs. I asked them what they were doing, they looked like good people. They said they were going there to study, their parents had sent them to study, to complete the last year of university, then study masters and doctorate and then complete it there. Then I started worrying about them inside, thinking I wonder who they will meet there, and what they will get into, and whether the devil would influence them. Then, as we started approaching London, I found one of them saying to the other, �Let�s say the prayer for entering a country� � it turned out they were religious and I hadn�t realised. This du�aa made me think that as long as they have said this then there�s no need to ever be worried about them. Listen to the du�aa: �O Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and all that they develop, Lord of the seven earth and all that they carry, Lord of the devils and all whom they misguide, Lord of the winds and all whom they whisk away. I ask You for the goodness of this village, the goodness of its inhabitants and for all the goodness found within it and I take refuge with You from the evil of this village, the evil of tis inhabitants and from all the evil found within it." Look how he said Lord of the seven skies! God is the Lord of everything. So how come he chose the winds? Because most of the people travelling are travelling to increase their blessings and what is the thing that moves the clouds to bring the rain to bring blessing? The wind! And what is the thing we are most worried about travellers for? The devils. When I arrived, I was surprised to read in the book of Sheikh Mohamad Al Ghazaly called �Fan Al Thikr wal Du�aa�. He said he�d experienced something similar where he�d met some youths and was worried about them and had reminded them of this thikr, and how he wasn�t surprised when he found them returning after 10/15 years, successful doctors, strongly linked to God. So he said who knows, perhaps it was because of this thikr in this night that God then protected them for all those years. The prophet pbuh, if you concentrated on the words used by him in the thikr, they all have important meanings that you won�t believe how you could have missed it. When you look into the mirror, I bet no one says the thikr in front of the mirror. What happens to you when you look? You�re happy about the way you look, you might admire your beauty, or how handsome you are etc. �Look at what the prophet is saying you should say �Oh, Allah, the way ur perfected my looks, perfect my morals" He is bringing up that there�s something more important than your looks, and not only that but he reminds you that this is God�s creation. What about when you grow older and you look at yourself and are sad about how old you have become? This is also to show you that what is important is the beauty of your morals, so they both gain from the same du�aa! Another du�aa for when you wear new clothes. You may be happy with yourself, and wanting to show off. As soon as you wear the clothes say �All Praise is for Allah who has clothed me with this garment and provided it for me, with no power nor might from myself� Why die martyred? Where does this fit in? Beware that life doesn�t distract you for the most valuable thing in life is for you to die a martyr. Listen to this next du�aa. The prophet pbuh goes into the mosque and finds a man depressed and sitting there and he asks him �Why are you sitting there and not working?� The man says that he can�t find work, and has many debts, and is scared of the future and worried about the past, and that he�s tired and asked him to pray for him. The prophet then said to him �Haven�t I taught you some words?� This thikr is for the youth saying that there are no jobs and sitting at home doing nothing and that there is unemployment in the country so he can�t find anything to do. This thikr for bringing on the productivity and efficiency. So he told him to repeat after him and said �O Allah, I take refuge in You from anxiety and sorrow, weakness and laziness, miserliness and cowardice, the burden of debts and from being over powered by men.� Why these four? Because the things which prevent productivity and efficiency for success in life are these four things. The first things are worry and panic about the future, do not worry! The second one is motivation, whoever doesn�t have motivation cannot succeed. The third is cowardice and selfishness, have confidence! The fourth is that someone controls the omma�s wealth so that it becomes indebted and when the omma has debts then it cannot take a decision and is controlled. The prophet said say these 4 things with your tongue and your heart, say them and you will be blessed. What, straight from the sky? Say them and your energy will come back and so you will work and you will be blessed. To the youth who have lost hope, say this thikr and you will be blessed. Look at what you say at birth and at death. When someone is born to you, look what the prophet says for you to say: �We are being blessing by the new-born, we are thankful to the Provider (who gifted us with the newborn). We are sustained by the bir of the new-born, and the new-born has grown� Is there anything left?! Firstly, he is not yours, you have been blessed with him from God. Secondly, thank Him. Thirdly, what do you wish for in this child? Two things, that he grows for you and treats you well so he gathered these two things in there. After that, this blessing to someone has dies, what do you go and say? �Verily to llah, belongs all what he sustains and what He takes, and everything with is with perfect measurement... and then he (peace be upon him) ordered for her to be patient and hope for Allah's reward" He gave and He took, and he doesn�t do anything with malice but everything He does is measured, so be patient and give him hasanat which will reach him in his grave. I swear that this du�aa is better than the ones we say now. I used to go and tell the woman who lost her child this prayer and she would regain hope knowing that she can send her child hasanat in the grave. Also, know that the Prophet lost his son Ibrahim too from our mother Mariya al-Qubtiya, so for those mothers who lost their new-borns, have the feeling that u have something in common with the Prophet and if u bear the lost of ur baby with patience, Allah will reward u with a Mansion in the heaven." The Prophet (pbuh) narrates, that the The Almighty sayd to his angels, if they taken the child away from his slave, the mali2kas say "yes" and He says, wat did my slave do? They say that ur slave thanked you, then The Almighty orders for a Mansion to be build for her (the mother) in the paradise for her patience! BE THANKFUL and feel that ur baby outreached in paradise. When you wake up: �All Praise is for Allah who gave us life after having taken it from us and unto Him is the resurrection� As if the prophet is saying to you that you are dying every day so beware you don�t sleep on a sin. �in The Name of GOD, who created us and took the soul away from us� When you come to sleep �In Your name my Lord, I lie down and in Your I rise....� When you sleep every night is a small death. Do not sleep on a sin, for God takes your soul every night and returns it back to you, before a night comes when He doesn�t return it. Thikr. I am advising you, to buy a book, something like �Hisn al muslim� which is found everywhere, and learn these. Do you want to do something more, get the book of athkar for Al Imam Al Nawawy which you�ll find all the athkar in the world. Before I finish, I want to show you that thikr does not only tell you what we have said, but it also protects you. I want to tell you some ahadeeth to show you the beauty of the thikr the prophet used to say in the morning and in the night. The prophet says that whoever says when they awake and before they sleep �Verily accepted (and satisfied) Allah as a GOD, of Islam as our holy religion and of Muhammed peace be upon him as a Pophet and as a messenger Radeeto bilahy rabban, wa bil islam deenan, wa bi Mohamad salla Allaho �alayhy wa salam rasoola� then God will please him on that day. This is in the morning and night athkar which no one is saying. Whoever says in the morning and at night: �In the Name of God, which nothing can be harmed with his name not in earth nor in skies and Verily he is the Hearer and the all knowing, the Omnisceint."Nothing will harm him in that day. That is why we say they protect you! Whoever says �I take refuge from Allah's most completed words from the devils that he has created�, nothing will hurt him, not the bite of a snake or the bite of a dog or any poison which may harm a person. Whoever says when he awakes or before he sleeps: �O Allah, I take refuge from finding u a companion or accompanyhing anything that i know with u and forgive me from stuff that i have no kowledge of." you will not be affected by hypocrisy in that day. Whoever says in the morning and night: �O Allah, u are my GOD, there is no God but you, you created me and i am ur slave and i am on ur reign and promise as far as i can hold�.� to the end, then if he died on this night or this day, then he will go to heaven. How can we not be saying these athkar of the day and night?! Whoever says goodbye to their parents saying �Astawdi�ky/ko Allah alathy la tadee� wathai�oh�.� Then God will return them to you. When you come to leave the house �In the Name of GOD, upon Him i rely, O Allah i take refuge in ur for being humiliated and to humiliate...." Then the angels say to him �u have asked, u achieved ...� and the devils say what can we do to him then? You may say you can�t learn these but you can learn the lyrics of 100o songs, learn the athkar of the prophet pbuh! Have you seen the thikr? We all say thikr, we all say sobhan Allah, Alhamdolilah wa astaghfar Allah, but go and learn this athkar of the prophet and send them to each other, and feel the happiness that you are feeling the same things in your heart that God wants out of us the most. I pray to God to accept us, forgive us and be pleased with us. Tomorrow may be the last programme if it�s the end of Ramadan and we will be praying a lot at the end of it and talking about what we will be doing after Ramadan, God willing. Remember the Glorifcation Prayer (salaat al-tasaabih) that i send u Friday! Lets All of us promise ourslves to end our Ramadaan with the Glorification Prayer and Glorify the Almighty, the one who created us! Lets thank him through this gifted Prayer The prayer is a very very very important one and i strongly encourage most of u to do it! for further instructions or a copy of it via email please email me at [email protected]. And let me end today's topic with this following hadiith, which is qudsiii! On the authority of Abu Hurairah ra, who said that Rasulullah saw said : Allah swt said : " I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself. And if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me a hand's span, I draw near to him an arm's length. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed " (Hadist Qudsi: Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah ) |
| Remembering God the Way the Prophet Did! |