Audio File: The Divine Countenance.mp3

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Click to listen/download Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed's discourse
The Divine Countenance.mp3


Proper use of Allah's Blessings

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

One of the blessings of praying to the Merciful Lord to “guide us on the Straight Path” is that we should utilize our material blessings and assets to be of benefit to us in this life as well as in the next. 

How many people waste their lives and the precious material gifts that the Merciful Lord bestowed on them? Many of them became pauper after having much, and they then realized that they wasted their time and resources in things that did not stay with them forever. They then had to continue the journey of life with very little, or in some case with nothing.

Sometimes the thought may come to the minds of the believers and that is,  why is it that Allah is bestowing so much of material things on the “rejecters of His Oneness? Many of them do not only misuse their wealth, but they also cause harm, hardship and suffering to believers who may not agree with what they are doing.

Such a thought once crossed the mind of Prophet Moses when he saw how Pharaoh was using his God-given gifts to torture and torment the Children of Israel. When Moses saw what Pharaoh was doing he prayed to Allah as follows:

Our Lord! You have indeed bestowed of Pharaoh and his chiefs splendor and wealth in the life of this world; that they may lead men astray from Your Path. Our Lord, destroy their wealth, and harden their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful doom……………Allah said: verily the invocation of you both is accepted. So you both keep to the Straight Way, and do not follow the path of those who do not know. (Qur’an:10:88-89)

Prophet Muhammad (pboh) used to feel sorry for those who wasted their wealth, talent and life by staying busy with only the material life, not realizing that one day they will have to die and leave all these things behind them. So sad and depressed he used to be when he saw how these people were wasting their lives that Allah had to console him. This is recorded in the Holy Qur’an in the following verse:

Perhaps you will kill yourself (O Muhammad) with grief, over their footsteps (because they do not accept the message), as they do not believe in this narration, i.e. the Holy Qur’an. (18:6)

Prophet Muhammad (pboh) knew that, out of ignorance, the non-believers are spending all their time trying to acquire as much as they can the wealth of this world and then they will be called back by the Lord and they will die and leave everything behind them. And some of their inheritors may even abuse what they got.

Muslims are taught to manage their precious time and resources properly, so that these things can benefit them while they are alive in this world, and will also benefit on the onward journey and in the next life.

Islam teaches us how to do so.

 

A Bright Bulb

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

It is the custom of a lot of people that when they are decorating a home they usually put up a lot of bright bulbs.  If the bulbs of those lights aren’t bright and shinning it will not serve its purpose.

Every human being is like a bulb.  And the mission of life is to keep that bulb bright and shinning, so that it will be part of the decoration of the Garden on the Day of Resurrection.  In that Garden the perquisite of being there is to have a bright and shinning personality.  In this connection Allah tells us in the Qur’an;

O ye who believe!  Turn to Allah with sincere repentance:  In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow, - the Day that Allah will not permit to be humiliated the Prophet and those who believe with him.  Their light will run forward before them and by their right hands, while they say, "Our Lord! Perfect our light for us, and grant us forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things".  (66:8)

There are two ways of keeping our bulbs bright and shinning.  One is to do good.  When we do good we add to the brightness of the bulb.  Another way is to wipe out the dust and smut that prevents our blub from shinning brightly.  The way of doing this is to constantly ask for forgiveness for your Lord.

A lot of people don’t keep this in mind at all.  When you reach a point in life concentrate on two things that Allah makes mention of in Surah Nashr;

Celebrate the praises of Thy Lord, and pray for His forgiveness: (110:3)

Keep your light bright and shinning by glorifying Allah, by seeking forgiveness for your shortcomings, by doing good to others and by connecting your lamp to the source of the light; i.e. Prophet Muhammad (pboh) because he is Sirajum Munirah – the lamp that gives light.

Our aspiration is to get into the Garden and the beginning of entry into the Garden is when you will rise with brightening countenances.

In this earth there are limitations.  For example Prophet Muhammad (pboh) could not have seen the true personality of Jibreal in this world.  It was only when he was outside the dimension of space and time he saw his true personality.  So we cannot understand what are the implication and the beauty of having a bright light.  It is only when we are resurrected we can understand fully.

Pray to Allah to perfect your light and try your best to avoid those things that soil your light or your soul.  The soul is the source of our light and we must never forget that our nafs is impacting upon it.

Our personality comprises of both the body and soul so we need to take care of both.  Because man cannot see the soul much attention isn’t given to it.  We must understand that the soul is the source of our light and we must polish it in order for it to shine brightly.

May Allah forgive us all and bless us with the ability and understanding to remove the spots we would have put on our light and polish it at the same time.

The Rehearsal

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Brother and sisters, firstly I would like to wish all our brothers and sisters, and in particular those from the Markaz al Ihsaan, who will be performing the Umrah in the next coming weeks, insha Allah.  They have been invited by Allah to His Holy House and we beg Allah to give them all a safe journey to and from and let it be rewarding, insha Allah.

Visiting the Holy House and the blessed city of Madinah is enjoined on all believers who can afford it; and the benefits and blessings that are derived from it are many.  Insha Allah I wish to highlight a few good reasons why Muslims must avail themselves of this opportunity as it will definitely help them in this life and the next.

Firstly, we all understand that we are not here forever and we all have a fixed life span.  We will have to leave everything we’ve accumulated behind.  Leaving and going to the Holy Land therefore is like a practice session in a way; because one day we will have to leave and begin the journey back to our Lord.  And it’s reflected in the Talbiyah that is recited;

“Here I come at Thy service O Lord, here I come.  Here I come at Thy service and Thou hast no partners.  Thine alone is All Praise and All Bounty, and Thine alone is The Sovereignty. Thou hast no partners”.

This is a good practice that believes inculcate to remind themselves that one day we have to leave everything and go back to our Lord and stand before Him.  And look at the humble manner in which we are commanded to observe the Hajj/Umrah.   You adorn yourself in simple humble clothing.  And at that point in time you can’t think of material things.  All you’re preoccupied with it glorifying and begging the Merciful Lord.  It is a rehearsal for what will happen on that inevitable Day.

Secondly, we all love our family, our friends and that which Allah has blessed us with.  When we go to the Holy Land we get the discipline that none of these things really matter as it cannot help you; it is only you and your Lord.  Your family and assets cannot help with being bombarded with the millions of people.  It is actually you and your Lord.  This too is a rehearsal for the Day of Accountability as Allah says in Surah Abasa;

That Day shall a man flee from his own brother, and from his mother and his father, and from his wife and his children.  Each one of them, that Day, will have enough concern (of his own) to make him indifferent to the others.  (80:34-37)

Those who visit Allah’s sacred House; they will get the experience and blessings of that kind of feeling and the good that goes along with it.  In Makkah especially it’s a question of survival.  Everything is so fast paced and everyone is always on the go.  In contrast Madinah is so different.  It reflects the verse from Surah Yaseen that we recite so often;

"Peace!" - A word (of salutation) from a Lord Most Merciful!  (36:58)

If Allah has created in paradise in peace and tranquillity and Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said “between my house and the pulpit there is a garden of the gardens of Paradise” can you imagine the feeling you will get?  Firstly you will get the feeling of amazement; ‘look where I am’.  I am blessed to stand in the same city that my Prophet (pboh) lived in.  It’s quite different from Makkah.

Anyone who has the means and can find the time to make this sacred journey it is highly recommended to go and experience these things.  Go with the right intention.  Nothing can be compared to being able to stand in the Holy House and glorify Him and praise our Loving Lord.  And Allah is so merciful that anyone who worships there the blessings are multiplied many times over.

So today, we wish all our brothers and sisters, who are indeed blessed to go, all best and request that they especially offer salaams to the best of all creations (pboh) on our behalf and remember us in their duas.

We beg Allah to enable all believers to visit His Holy House and the mosque of His Beloved (pboh).  May He bless and enable us to successfully meet Him on that Promised Day and may the meeting be special, blessed and highly rewarding insha Allah.


The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at
http://www.youtube.com/markazalihsaan

Submitting to Allah in all conditions

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Last week we spoke of the importance of cultivating faith in our hearts.  We remind ourselves of what Allah tells us in Surah Hujuraat;

 

The desert Arabs say, “We believe”.  Say, “Ye have no faith; but ye (only) say, 'We have submitted our wills to Allah, for not yet has faith entered your hearts.  But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught of your deeds: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.  (49:14)

 

If you have true faith in your heart it will manifest throughout your entire personality and when that happens, you will submit to Allah willingly.  There are some who profess to have faith but as Allah says ‘in their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease’ (2:10); meaning that they don’t really have faith.  And Allah expounds about such people in the very beginning of Surah Baqarah;

 

Of the people there are some who say: "We believe In Allah and the Last Day;" but they do not (really) believe.  (2:8)

 

In reality they are professing to be something they are really not.  There is something else in their hearts.  We need to culture our hearts to ensure that faith enters and remains there, because the heart is the centre or nucleus of the personality.  And if the heart has true faith it will manifest itself throughout the entire personality.

 

Understand that we, on one hand, want our entire personality to meet the expression made by Hazrat Abraham (as): Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds:  He understood so well the importance of his complete personality being in total submission to Allah.  And that is what we should all strive for.

 

If we want to get close to our Lord we need to aspire for it.  We cannot put anything between us and Him.  If we love the world more it will ultimately come between us.  The true believer, in all conditions, learns to submit to Allah no matter what the circumstance may be.  We are living for His sake and He will not let us down.  He will give us all sorts of trials and always remember that the higher you go the more the trials you will get.  Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said “when Allah loves a servant, He tests him” (Tirmidh)

 

Look how He tried His Beloved (pboh).  He was an orphan born  in the most aristocratic family but they were so humble.  His mother could not even afford a wet nurse.  And look at how he was able to draw all the people close to him.  He never forced them.  On one hand they knew if they were associated with him they would get blessings from Allah and on the other they knew they will learn to culture and cultivate their personalities.

 

The test of faith of the believers is the trials from Allah.  When the trials come will you run to someone else other than Allah?  When everything is good and peaceful your faith isn’t truly tested.  As Allah says in Surah Hajj;

 

There are among men some who serve Allah, as it were, on the verge: if good befalls them, they are, therewith, well content; but if a trial comes to them, they turn on their faces: they lose both this world and the Hereafter: that is loss for all to see!  (22:11)

 

Some people sit on the fence.  When everything is nice and rosy there aren’t any complaints; but when they are afflicted with some hardship they lose faith and trust in Allah.  This is what we have to be careful about.  Any of us can display levels if hypocrisy at anytime if we give something priority over Allah.

 

Everyday Hazrat Umar (ra) would visit a Companion who Prophet Muhammad (pboh) made a special dua for.  This particular companion thereafter possessed the ability of identifying a hypocrite.  So gifted was he that whenever there was a Janaza of a hypocrite he would not attend and this led Hazrat Umar (ra) to scan the crowd to see if this particular Companion was present.  If he was not present Umar (ra) would refrain from leading the Janaza because he knew the deceased was a hypocrite.  And Everyday Umar (ra) would visit this blessed companion and ask “am I a hypocrite?”

 

It is quite easy to fall into complacency.  For example when salaat time enters and we don’t pray our salaat because of some worldly preoccupation; what happens?  These are the things what we need to be careful about.

 

A true believer is a humble person because on one hand they know their Lord is close to them and on the other they know they can make mistakes at anytime.  Your heart is like the pearl inside an oyster.  Try your best to keep it bright and shinning.

 

Ask you Lord for forgiveness for the wrong we would have all committed.  Yes we make mistakes but if our intention is Allah He will help us.  Strengthen your heart through His remembrance and through this insha Allah, Satan will not get the better of you.

 

We all have one life to live and everyday that passes is a day gone.  May Allah always protect us, guide us and bless us insha Allah.

 

 

The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at

http://www.youtube.com/markazalihsaan

Sincerity in the heart

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Allah tells us in Surah Hujuraat;

 

The desert Arabs say, “We believe”.  Say, “Ye have no faith; but ye (only) say, 'We have submitted our wills to Allah, for not yet has faith entered your hearts.  But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught of your deeds: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.  (49:14)

It is easy to say something with the tongue, whether it is meant or not.  Islam doesn’t want that from us.  Instead our total personality must be in complete submission to Allah and only then will you be a true believer. 

Allah says about some people; In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease:  (2:10)

Why is this?  Because they say they believe but do so for some ulterior motive.  Those are not from amongst the true believers.  Instead we must concentrate on true submission to Allah from our heart.  As Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported “there is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoiled, the whole body gets spoiled – and that is the heart” (Bukhari).

Sometimes we hear people say ‘that person doesn’t have heart’.  It means that the person being described doesn’t have love and compassion etc.  These qualities don’t come from the tongue.  True love comes from the heart.  This is why Islam emphasises that we bring the faith into our hearts. 

Look at what Allah did when He wanted Prophet Muhammad (pboh) to begin preaching the Deen.  He caused Jibrael to impress the Qur’an in the heart of Prophet Muhammad (pboh) on the night of the first revelation.  So when he spoke to the people it was not only coming from his mouth but his heart as well. 

Culture and cultivate your heart to have true submission and God consciousness and only then you would have really achieved something.  If you have Allah in your heart and you are submitting to Him only then will you find peace and tranquillity.  This is possibly why He says

 

“Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah; for, without doubt; in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.”  (13:28)

You can have everything of this world but have no peace of mind.  When you culture and nurture your heart to have true submission to Allah you will find peace and contentment.  And you will also get closer and closer to your Lord.  If you have no peace and contentment then something is wrong. 

Understand also that when you think of, or do evil, it will impact upon your heart.  Even if no one is aware of it you are putting stains on your heart.  We need to all the time keep looking at our hearts and work upon it to ensure that we have sincerity and purity. 

And this is where our zikir and meditation can help.  By engaging in spiritual mediation you will know if you are engaging in something wrong; if so, you will feel a ‘heavy heart’.  And if you are engaged in good or surrounded with good you will feel a difference in your heart.  Insha Allah your heart will aid in guiding you. 

Our mission is to make our heart bright and shinning and full of sincerity and purity; else we are just like the Bedouins who Allah spoke of.

Keep your heart clean and pure and strong in Allah’s remembrance and let Him take care of our affairs insha Allah.

The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at

http://www.youtube.com/markazalihsaan

Be prepared for your resurrection

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

 

Part of our beliefs is that one day we will be resurrected, after we’ve gone from this world and our bodies have been decayed.  All human beings, since the time of Prophet Adam (as) and the billions that followed will all be resurrected.  Some people have a problem in comprehending the resurrection and its possibility.  To this Allah says beautifully in the Qur’an;

 

O mankind! if ye have a doubt about the Resurrection, (consider) that We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out of a leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed, in order that We may manifest (Our power) to you; and We cause whom We will to rest in the wombs for an appointed term, then do We bring you out as babes, then (foster you) that ye may reach your age of full strength; and some of you are called to die, and some are sent back to the feeblest old age, so that they know nothing after having known (much), and (further), thou seest the earth barren and lifeless, but when we pour down rain on it, it is stirred (to life), it swells, and it puts forth every kind of beautiful growth (in pairs).  (22:5)

 

Allah has given many eye openers in nature that demonstrates resurrection.  In the ayat quoted above Allah draws reference to the dry parched earth.  It looks lifeless with the plants and tress withering away.  However when Allah causes the rain to fall the greenery comes back.  This is easy for Allah and so too is the resurrection of human beings.

 

Allah was very descriptive in the ayat mentioned above regarding the process of human existence.  Each and every one of us started life as a microscopic grain of sand.  Do you think a grain of sand would decay?  No it would not as is would form part of the earth.  We were all created from this microscopic grain of sand and then Allah caused it to grow into a sperm and further caused the sperm to fertilise an egg and thereafter caused it to grow into a human being.  How great is Allah?

 

What is the wisdom in Allah telling us this?  In order to understand about this a little more,  we see what Prophet Muhammad (pboh) said:

 

Abu Huraira narrated, that the Prophet said: “There is nothing of the human body that does not decay except one bone; that is the little bone at the end of the coccyx of which the human body will be recreated on the Day of Resurrection”.

 

That tiny grain of sand which we all began life from does not decay.  It goes back into the earth.  Then upon the command of Allah it will grow back into the person it once was.

 

Understand that this is not difficult for Allah.  The difference the second time round is that we would come out with a bag around our neck that contains all our deeds.  The lighter our bag the more likely our chances are of meeting Allah.

 

It’s important that we understand this because it is an eye opener for us.  What am I doing for the resurrection?  Will I be happy with a bright and beautiful countenance or will I be like a withered rose.  You are responsible for your own future.  What are you doing to ensure that the meeting with your Lord would be a beautiful one?  We all want to meet Him and would like that He is pleased to meet us.

 

Take care of your life and don’t waste it because one day it will be the only asset you have of value for the next phase of life.

 

May Allah enable us to engage in much good throughout our lives so on that Day when all of mankind are brought back to life we will be from amongst those who will be most pleased to meet our Lord and insha Allah He would be pleased to meet us.

 

 

The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at

http://www.youtube.com/markazalihsaan

Sincere Repentance

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said “Whoever says: La ilaha illa Allah (there is no god but Allah) will enter Paradise”.

 

We need to understand that this is the ‘passport’ for entry into Paradise.  We need to also understand that going to paradise is one thing; but when will we actually enter paradise is another matter.  There would be some who would have to go through the Hell fire before they enter Paradise.  Because of their deeds and actions they will have to go to hell first and then through Allah’s Mercy, He will take them out and enter them into Paradise.  However they will be referred to as the Dwellers of Hell.

 

We don’t want to go to hell, no matter how short the stay.  As a result Allah tells us in many places in the Holy Qur’an that we should constantly beg Him for forgiveness.  For example Allah says in Surah Tahriim;

 

O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance: In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow, - the Day that Allah will not permit to be humiliated the Prophet and those who believe with Him. Their light will run forward before them and by their right hands, while they say, "Our Lord! Perfect our light for us, and grant us forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things”.  (66:8)

 

Allah is addressing the believers in the ayat.  Allah also tells us in another ayat ‘if Allah were to punish men for their wrong-doing, He would not leave, on the (earth), a single living creature’.

 

No matter how much we try at the end of the day we are all humans and we may still commit mistakes knowingly or unknowingly.  And no matter how much faith we may have today we all have past records and it maynot be as we would want it to be.  As result Allah advises us to constantly repent.

 

Repentance is not just a mechanical exercise or lip service as some say.  It demands sincerity.  Sincerity means that I am truly sorry for the wrong I would have committed and for soiling my soul with black spots.  And if you repent sincerely Allah says in the ayat mentioned above; in the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow.

 

Even if you did something wrong don’t let it hinder you from humbling yourself and begging Allah to forgive you.  It’s very easy to make a mistake and Satan has real capacity and power and knows our weak spots and how to work on them.  However one simple thing can nullify all his power and this it ‘I seek refuge in Allah’.

 

Don’t think for example that you can recite plenty Darood or give lots of charity to balance off your wrong deeds.  Try your best to stay away from evil in totality.  We can’t foster good and evil in our hearts at one and the same time.  Keep struggling and working on your nafs and Allah says that He will make our light bright and shinning. 

 

What we do here every Thursday is to firstly seek repentance for our shortcomings and to also strengthen the other dimension of our personality which is to culture our qalb to resonate Allahu.  If you have Allah in your heart, Satan cannot divert you.  It’s a barrier between you and him.  He is always looking to catch you and will use every method possible as Allah has given him permission.

 

The only thing that will pull us through is belief in our Lord.  Today sadly we are seeing that for some people life has no value.  Keep in mind however that those on the straight path, Allah will help and protect them insha Allah.

 

Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said ‘seek forgiveness and repent more than 70 times a day’.  And He is the Messenger of Allah; therefore if he did it we should try our best to do the same.  And we should always pray for those who have gone before us.  Be generous in this matter and you would have done a service to not only your beloved ones but also ourselves as Allah is Most Merciful and would bless us in the process.

 

We need to always be mindful that life is an onward journey and part of our mission is to send goodness before us.  Begin from now and remove any black sports we’ve stained our souls with by sincerely repenting to our Most Compassionate Lord.

 

May Allah enable us with the capacity to always repent to him daily and may He guide us and protect us from the ills facing society insha Allah.

 

The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at http://www.youtube.com/markazalihsaan