[Music]
So, I'm on the plane yesterday and I'm
actually quite tired and you know, I was
ready to knock out on the plane and
right after we take off, I start hearing
some crying around me and it's not the
crying of the baby that goes w it was an
adult crying. So, I kept looking around.
who is this person crying, mobbing and
sobbing, you know, for like a long time.
So eventually I get up to walk around.
I'm like, I need to see if this person
is okay. So I walk about three rows back
and I see a grown man, you know, maybe
well into his 30s, well into his 40s. He
is crying and I thought to myself,
subhan Allah, you know, maybe someone
died, you know, maybe he got divorced,
maybe something happened. So I let it be
and I went back to my seat. I was like
inshallah. I'm like you know may Allah
rectifies his affairs whatever it is.
Sometime later on I see this guy get up
and he goes towards the back and I
thought you know what let me start up a
conversation with him because you'll
notice that when people are in their
darkest moments that's like the best
time to give them dawa. So I went to the
back and he's asking for a glass of
water or something to drink and I too
asked for something to drink. So I asked
him, you know, I hope you don't mind,
but I saw you crying. Is everything okay
with you? And again, I'm expecting, you
know, I got robbed, someone died,
something happened. He goes to me, I was
watching a movie, and I just couldn't
stop crying.
I'm like, okay, that's interesting. You
know, I've heard about women and, you
know, our sisters crying while watching
movies, but a grown man, you know, this
has to be intense. So I asked him what
he was watching. He tells me I was
watching The Vow. Do the sisters know
what The Vow is? It's like a, you know,
the number one like chick flick of our
times right now. So I'm like, "Okay,
what about the movie made you cry?" And
he goes, "You know, this guy was so in
love with his wife that, you know, he
was in love with her. They got into an
accident, she lost her memory, and she
could not remember him. And he tried so
many different things to win her love
back, but she just couldn't remember
him. And it got even worse. Not only did
she not remember him, but she remembered
her previous memories before him. So her
old boyfriends and, you know, her old
life before him. That's the only part
she remembered. So now that she's come
out of this, you know, amnesia, she's
only remembering a life without him. And
he's finding it very difficult to adjust
and to accustom to. But he keeps trying
his best. He takes her back to the same
restaurants. He takes her back to the
same places, takes her back to the, you
know, the same vacations. And he just
can't win her love. but he doesn't give
up. And then towards the ending, she,
you know, she doesn't get her memory
back, but she starts to love him again.
And I thought to myself, the only thing
that made this man be truthful and, you
know, sincere to his wife was the vow
that he made when they got married. And
at that time, I'm like, really, that's
all it took to make you cry?
But I was like, you know, I'm like, I'm
glad everything's okay. And I really
didn't know where to take the
conversation after that. I'm like, how
do you give a a person da after that?
It's like, you know, we're all created
by Allah, but you know, that's like a
fictitious story. I didn't know what to
do. So, I was like, inshallah, next
time.
But I did have a moment of reflection at
that time. You know, the main concept of
this movie was this vow that he made and
how he lived up to it. My dear brothers
and sisters, we have all made vows to
Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Allah subhana
wa ta'ala tells us inah verse 172. And
remember when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
extracted from the children of Adam
their loins from their backs and made
them testify
am I not your Lord? And they said,
"Indeed, we have testified so that on
the day of judgment, we will not be able
to say that we were heedless of this
affair that Allah subhana wa ta'ala is
our creator and sustainer." And that was
one of the first things that came to my
mind. The v the vow, the covenant that
we made with Allah subhana wa ta'ala,
greater than any vow that a husband
makes to a wife or a wife to a husband
or a mother to a child or any other
relationship. Yet you see when it comes
to Allah subhana wa ta'ala shan has won
this battle in distancing us from Allah
subhana wa ta'ala. So I want to dedicate
this talk to loving Allah subhana wa
ta'ala again. I want to dedicate this
talk to getting to know Allah subhana wa
ta'ala again in hopes that we can
fulfill our vow to Allah subhana wa
ta'ala. No matter what happens in our
lives, no matter how bad that amnesia
gets, no matter how bad the accident, we
will always know who Allah is and why we
love him. Let's start off by how Allah
subhana wa ta'ala commands us of this in
the Quran. The famous verse that all of
us know here. We've heard it many many
times where Allah subhana wa ta'ala says
that I did not create the mankind in jin
except for my worship. The greatest muid
of the Quran Abdahb
he said about this verse that to worship
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is to know
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala meaning that
the greatest form of worship that we can
do is to get to know who Allah subhanana
wa ta'ala is because once you truly know
who Allah subhana wa ta'ala is you
cannot help but to worship Allah and to
love Allah and to venerate Allah subhana
wa ta'ala likewise Allah subhana wa
ta'ala tells us inah hash
that Allah subhana wa ta'ala tells us
and do not become of those people who
forgot Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so
Allah subhana wa ta'ala made them forget
themselves indeed these people are the
transgressors
now there's two points in this verse
over here the first point is when Allah
subhana t says do not be of those people
who forgot Allah now Allah subhana wa
ta'ala just doesn't give you problem, he
gives you a solution as well. So the
solution to having forgotten Allah is
that Allah subhana wa ta'ala goes on to
tell you who he is two verses later when
he goes on to tell us in these three
beautiful verses who Allah is which
starts off with
Subhan Allah.
[Music]
In these three verses, Allah subhana wa
ta'ala reminds us of who he is. So the
people who forget Allah get to know
Allah subhana wa ta'ala again through
his names and attributes. But Allah
subhana wa ta'ala teaches us a second
lesson and this is the logical proof in
terms of why we need to know Allah
subhana wa ta'ala. We're constantly told
that this journey of life is about
self-discovery, discovering who we are,
discovering ourselves. But Allah subhana
wa ta'ala tells us in this verse that in
order to truly discover who you are, in
order to truly discover your potential,
you need to discover who Allah subhana
wa ta'ala is first because you will
become a manifestation of the things
that you ask Allah for. A manifestation
of the things that you obey Allah with,
a manifestation of those things that you
plea Allah subhana wa ta'ala for. So in
order to truly discover who you are, you
need to discover who your creator is.
Because if your creator is filled with
generosity, he will create generosity in
you. If your creator is loving, he will
create love in you. If your creator is
pardoning, then he will instill
pardoning inside of you as well. So to
discover who you are and who you should
be, you need to realize and learn who
your creator is. So this in summary is
why we need to know Allah subhana wa
ta'ala. Firstly, the commandment of
Allah. Secondly, it's about discovering
who we are. It's about discovering where
we stand in the world. It's about
discovering are we really the moral and
ethical people that we claim to be
because all good comes from Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala alone. So now let us
take a look at who Allah subhanana wa
ta'ala actually is. The most glorious
name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is
Allah. And this is the primary name of
Allah subhana wa ta'ala. And the name
Allah comes from the worshiped al.
So Allah is a signification
of our worshshiping of Allah subhana wa
ta'ala. And you will see that the reason
why Allah subhana wa ta'ala chose this
beautiful name to constantly be used in
the Quran to constantly be used to call
upon him is to remind us of our
relationship with Allah subhanana wa
ta'ala to remind us of our relationship
with Allah subhanana wa ta'ala. So our
relationship with Allah subhana wa tala
is one of worship one of servitude. We
were created to remember Allah to
venerate Allah to love Allah to make s
to Allah to make to Allah. This is our
relationship with him. And this is why
throughout the Quran, Allah subhana wa
ta uses the term Allah to remind you
that the one that created you, the one
that sustains you, the one that you call
upon is the only one that is worthy of
your worship. Now, one of the unique
things about the name of Allah
that a lot of us do not know about is
that the name Allah is one of the
greatest names of Allah subhana wa
ta'ala. The messenger of Allah
sallallahu alaihi wasallam tells us that
indeed Allah subhana wa ta'ala has a
name that if he is to be called by it he
responds. If he's to be asked by it he
gives and over the 40 opinions that
exist two of them are the strongest.
They are and being the first opinion and
Allah being the second opinion and Allah
subhana wa ta'ala knows best. But it
seems that Allah is the stronger opinion
because if you look at the duas that the
messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi
wasallam mentioned that mention the
greatest names of Allah all three of
them mention Allah but not all three of
them mention.
So when you call upon Allah subhana wa
ta'ala call him by this name and you'll
see the miracles that Allah subhana wa
ta'ala performs. This Lord that we talk
about Allah, he is Allah because he
possesses every beautiful name and every
beautiful attribute and he is worthy of
our worship because he possesses these
names. So you see that it becomes
circular in nature that we can only
worship he who possesses all the
beautiful names and attributes and since
we worship him then by necessity every
beautiful name and attribute must belong
to him subhanahu wa'ta'ala. Let's look
at another name of Allah subhana wa
ta'ala. Allah subhana wa ta'ala is aloud
the loving and the beloved.
Bringing it back to the movie when I
asked the man, you know, why was he
crying? One of the things he mentioned
was that I wish I had a love like this
in my life. And I thought to myself,
subhan Allah, at that time that no
matter how much love you have in this
life, from your friends, from your
spouses, from your parents, from
everyone else in this world, you will
always have a void in your heart that
can only be fulfilled by the love of
Allah subhana wa ta'ala. And this is
what
he goes on to mention that indeed in the
heart is a void that can only be
fulfilled with the love of Allah subhana
wa ta'ala. And a lot of us don't realize
this. A lot of mankind does not realize
it. So that void that they find in their
heart, they try to fulfill it with the
desires of this world. Whether it be
through wealth, whether it be through,
you know, women, whether it be through
everything else, they try to fulfill it
through desires. But they notice that
they become more empty and more empty as
these desires are fulfilled. They'll see
that they'll try to fulfill it maybe
with alcohol, with drugs. But where does
that lead them? It leads them along the
same path. They'll try to fulfill it
with every each and every single thing
but it won't be fulfilled because that
portion of your heart was created to be
loved by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
alone.
He gives a beautiful example. He says
the love of Allah in the heart of the
believer is like a tree. The love of the
believer for Allah subhana wa ta'ala is
like a tree. Its roots are the fear of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Its trunk is
humility for the sake of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. Its leaves is modesty from
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the fruit
that it's bear that it bears is
obedience of Allah subhanana wa ta'ala.
So you'll see that our whole
relationship with Allah subhana wa
ta'ala it revolves around love. And this
is why he gives his other famous example
and parable that our journey of worship
towards Allah subhana wa ta'ala is like
that of a bird whose head is love and
its two wings are fear and hope. Now
what is a bird without a head? It is not
going to survive. It's not going to be
able to fly. Similarly, our journey to
Allah subhana wa ta'ala, if it does not
begin with love, then our journey will
not progress. And that is why I began
with aloud to remind us of this that
Allah subhana wa ta'ala loves us and he
wants us to love him as well. And this
is one of the unique names of Allah
subhana wa ta'ala where not only is
Allah subhana wa ta'ala the subject but
he is the object as well. So when we
talk about alman he is the one who shows
mercy he's not the one who has mercy
shown to him. When we talk about that
Allah subhana wa ta'ala is alafur and
alafur he is the forgiver but he is not
the one who is forgiven but when it
comes to aloud not only subhanahu wa
ta'ala is he the loving but he is the
beloved as well Allah subhana wa ta'ala
tells us in the Quran that there's not a
tree except that it glorifies Allah not
a bird except that it glorifies Allah
not any one of Allah's creations except
that it is glorifying the him except
that we do not understand their
glorification Listen to the hadith of
the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi
wasallam where he says the skies shake
the skies shake and creek and they have
the right to shake and creek because
there's not a distance of four fingers
except that an angel is making an angel
is making sag an angel is making to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and this will
continue till the day of judgment this
is the love that Allah subhana wa ta'ala
created for him now our question arises
where is our love for Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala
we'll learn that by the end of the
discussion we move on to that Allah
subhanana wa ta'ala is the one who
covers up and this is a beautiful
example for all of us that Allah subhana
wa ta'ala created us with our
deficiencies created us with our
mistakes but with these deficiencies
with these mistakes Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala covers us up just like we use
clothes to cover up our bodies. During
the time of Mus Alisam, rain stopped to
come down. It ceased to descend and a
drought came about. So people came to MS
and they said, "Yeah, Musa, you speak
directly to your Lord. Will you not go
to him and speak to him and ask him for
rain to come down?" So MSA, he goes to
Allah subhana wa ta'ala and he asks him,
"Oh Allah,
time has gone by and rain has not come
down. What is the reasoning behind
this?" So Allah subhana wa ta'ala tells
him that there is an individual in the
community who has not sought forgiveness
from Allah subhana wa ta'ala for 40
years and up and until this person
leaves rain will not come down. So tell
this person to leave and then rain will
come down. So Mus Alisam goes back to
his people and he tells his people, "Oh
people, there is an individual from
amongst all of you that has been
committing sins for the last 40 years
and not once has he repented. Whoever he
is, let him leave our community so that
the rain can come down so that we can be
nursed once again."
And then you can imagine in a gathering
like this, no one moves, no one gets up.
But then miraculously the rain of Allah
subhana wa ta'ala starts to descend and
people start to wonder what happened. MS
just said that until someone leaves the
rain's not going to come down but no one
came down but no one left. So Mus Alisam
he goes back to Allah subhana wa ta'ala
and he asks him oh Allah you said that
the rain will not come down up and until
someone leaves but no one left and the
rain started to come down at that time
Allah subhana wa ta'ala tells him
something so profound he said my slave
made such a sincere repentance I
couldn't help but forgive him I couldn't
help but forgive him so Mus Alisam being
the slave of Allah He's curious who is
this slave of Allah that got forgiven by
Allah subhana wa ta'ala perhaps I can
benefit from him as well. So he asks him
oh Allah who is this individual that you
have just forgiven and pardoned. And
Allah subhana wa ta goes on to tell him
oh Maha I concealed his sin while he was
a sinner and did not expose him. Do you
think that I shall expose him now that
he has repented?
Allah is a the one that covers up. My
dear brothers and sisters, no matter
what sin that you may have, Allah
subhana wa ta'ala covers that sin. It is
between you and Allah. And that is why
the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi
wasallam has told us that all of his
ummah will be forgiven except for those
who expose their own sins because Allah
subhana wa ta'ala while knowing that sin
that you committed, he covered it up for
you. So who are you to go and expose
that sin? So take advantage of Allah
subhana wa tala being a that Allah
subhana wa tala did not expose you and
turn back to Allah and repent to him
one of the great imams of the he said be
grateful to Allah subhana wa ta'ala that
Allah subhana wa ta'ala did not create
an odor for our sins for if indeed there
was an order for our sins none of us
would be able to sit next to another and
it's the type of odor that you can't
like mask with deodorant or like axe or
anything else. You know that's a big
blessing from Allah subhana wa ta'ala.
Let us talk about
the one who answers all supplications.
Allah subhana wa ta'ala tells us
that if my slave asks about me, tell
them that I am near, I answer the
supplication of every supplicator. Let
me share the story of a a sister with
you.
She says it was the first day of Ramadan
and my father had a heart attack while
he was in the masid. So they take him to
the hospital. I hurried to the hospital
and I'm looking at my father and I see
this beautiful old man, the man that
took care of me when I was young, the
man that changed my diapers, the man
that took me to school, the man that
tried his best to grant me every single
thing that I desire. And I realized what
a terrible daughter I was to him at that
day. So I made dua to Allah subhana wa
ta'ala and I said, "Oh Allah, please
grant him life so that I can show him
the same righteousness that he showed me
and Allah subhana wa ta'ala brought him
out of the heart attack and gave him
life for four for four more months. In
these four months, she did everything
she possibly could from cooking for him,
cleaning for him, driving him to his
appointments, any wish or desire that he
had, she would be the one fulfilling it.
But at the end of the four months, she
starts to realize that subhan Allah,
life is really getting difficult for my
father. He can't go to the bathroom on
his own. He can't breathe on his own.
And while it's great to have him around
the house, it's unjust of me to want him
to keep being alive but be suffering at
the same time. So she makes dua to Allah
subhana wa ta'ala that, "Oh Allah,
please do not let him leave this world
except in a state of obedience to you.
So the day of Jum comes four months
later. He goes out for salat. He comes
home with his friends and his family and
it's as if he's perfectly fine,
perfectly healthy. Nothing is wrong at
all. He spends the whole day together
with his family and friends. They pray
and the father excuses himself. He says,
"I'm feeling tired." So the youngest
daughter, she takes him upstairs and not
even five minutes go by, but she starts
shouting, "Everyone come upstairs.
Everyone come upstairs.
So everyone goes upstairs and you can
imagine as if you're walking into that
room and it is your own father
that his spirit is leaving his body. His
eyes are gazing up towards the skies and
his spirit is leaving. And as that is
happening, he's saying,
and those are the words that he dies
with. Now you think to yourself, subhan
Allah, who could have planned such a
death? It was Allah subhana wa ta'ala
when that daughter made dua for her
father. Think about our prophet Yunas.
When he's stuck in the belly of a whale,
he's been swallowed whole without being
chewed. He's stuck inside. What recourse
could he possibly have to get out of
this predicament, to get out of this
situation? Is he going to fight his way
out? Is he going to bite his way out?
What is he going to do in your darkest
moments? You have no recourse except to
turn to Allah subhana wa ta'ala. And
look at what Allah subhana wa ta'ala
says to Ununice. When you called out
[Music]
that he called out in the depths of the
darkness, oh Allah, there's no one
worthy of worship except for you. I have
been of those who oppress themselves. He
called out to Allah. And then the sunnah
of Allah subhana wa ta'ala is that he
always responds with that which is
equivalent or that which is better. So
now when Allah subhana wa ta responds to
Ununice, he is obviously going to save
you. He's from his slaves, from his
prophets.
And thus we saved him from that which
was calling him sad and causing him
sadness and sorrow. But that is the
equivalent response of the call of
ununice. There has to be something
greater. Allah subhana wa ta goes on to
tell us
that just like Allah subhana wa ta saved
unus in his moments of darkness he will
save all of us. We just need to have the
same recourse. Call out to Allah subhana
wa ta'ala and Allah subhana wa ta'ala
will show you who al- Mujib is the one
who responds to supplications.
Let us talk about
we have a predicament in our communities
that people are not getting married. So
you have you know a thousand sisters and
you have 300 brothers. There's a
shortage of brothers and people aren't
getting married. One of the worries that
the brothers have is that perhaps I'm
not financially stable. And one of the
concerns that sisters erase with the
brothers is that you're not earning
enough money for me. So it becomes
circular in nature. But let me share
something with you my dear brothers and
sisters. Allah subhana wa ta'ala makes a
promise in the Quran where he tells us
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will
provide for you. Now when does he say
this? He says this when the people of
Medina they stopped wanting to marry the
orphan girls. They wanted to marry the
women of noble line lineage, the women
who had wealth and they left away the
orphan girls because they were poor and
the Sahabah themselves, some of them
were not rich. So they're trying to get
rich through marriage. Allah subhana wa
ta'ala tells them that put some faith in
Allah. Go ahead and marry the orphan
girl
that Allah subhana wa ta'ala will grant
you sufficiency and he shall make you
rich. This is
Allah's messenger sallallahu alaihi
wasallam tells us that if the children
of Adam were to put their trust in Allah
just like the bird then Allah subhana wa
ta'ala would provide for them just like
he provides for the bird that leaves its
house early in the morning looking for
food and then comes back home fulfilled
not looking for anything else being
sufficed. My dear brothers and sisters,
when we talk about Alazak, he is the one
that provides for us all. I want you to
think about how did you get to the state
that you are in right now? Allah subhana
wa ta'ala provided you with parents that
provided that provided for you. But how
about the rest of the world? They didn't
have the same luxury. You got to your
state right now because Al Razak
provided for you. And you will go even
further when continues to provide for
you. So put your trust in when you seek
your sustenance. Do not ever think that
by cheating or by partaking in the your
wealth will increase. But know my dear
brothers and sisters that wealth will
only increase when says it should
increase. So put your trust in Allah
subhana wa ta'ala and he will cause it
to increase. My dear brothers and
sisters, the names and attributes of
Allah subhana wa ta'ala are many. But I
want to go back and conclude with one
simple point. Knowing who Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala is. When Allah
subhanana wa ta'ala uses the term Allah
throughout the Quran and uses his names
and attributes throughout the Quran, it
is a reminder for us that let us reflect
on those names and attributes to get
closer to Allah subhana wa ta'ala. So
when our iman goes down, one of the best
ways to increase it is by turning back
to the Quran and looking at those names
and attributes and looking how Allah
subhana wa ta'ala uses those names and
attributes and that is how you will get
to know Allah subhana wa ta'ala.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created you to
long for him. Allah created you to
desire him. Allah created you for one
moment and one moment only. And that
moment is the day where you will meet
Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Throughout this
day, you're going to hear a lot of
information. And I say information
because it doesn't turn into knowledge
up and until you act upon it. And this
is just a reminder for myself and
everyone else over here. Do not come to
these conferences for the sake of mere
entertainment and for the sake of
passing the day. but come to these
conferences for the sake of getting
closer to Allah subhana wa ta'ala. I'll
conclude with one last story that
perhaps it may enlighten you and
enlighten myself. I was in this
beautiful city of Medina
and I was sitting with one of my
teachers. I was reading a text to him
and the habit of Saudi Arabia in
general, not just Medina, is that
wherever you're going, even if it's a
short distance, you're going to be
zooming down like it's a 30 km zone,
you're driving like 130. So, we're going
like 130 kilometers an hour. No one's
wearing their seat belts. Very unsafe,
very dangerous. And as we're driving
away from the university, the teacher
halts his car and goes to a sudden break
and I go jerking forward. And I'm like,
whoa, what just happened? You know, no
one crossed by, no one, you know,
there's no reason to stop. Why did he
stop? And the he stops the car. He gets
out of the car. He walks and he does
something and then he comes back into
the car. So I couldn't you know resist
it. I had to ask him what was that all
about? What did you just do? And he says
you know Allah's messenger sallallahu
alaihi wasallam he tells us that the
lowest form of iman is to remove
something harmful from the pathway and I
saw a glass bottle and I thought to
myself, subhan Allah, what if someone
gets injured while stepping on it or
what if due the heat of the sun it
explodes and like pops a tire or
something of that nature? Now that in of
itself it blew my mind but what came
next Subhan Allah I could not understand
how such people still lived in this
world. Subhan Allah. He says you know
Navidid the greatest moment in our lives
what we hope for is that meeting with
Allah subhana wa ta'ala. And you never
know what that deed is that will allow
you one extra second, one extra minute,
one extra hour to look at the beautiful
face of Allah subhana wa ta'ala and for
you to express yourself at that time
that oh Allah I struggled in this world
for your sake. Oh Allah I held on to
this dean while like hot coals for your
sake. Oh Allah, I sacrificed, I lived
and I died for your sake. And Allah
subhana wa ta'ala being a the one who
appreciates, he will say, "Oh my slave,
for you is this paradise and everything
else that your heart covetss and
desires." My dear brothers and sisters,
that is Allah. Long to meet him and he
will long to meet you. May Allah make
the most beloved and best of our days
the meeting with Allah subhana wa
ta'ala. Amen.
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]