What is the Key to Paradise?

[Arabic recitation]

And first commands of Islam. If we were to say what is the first thing any human being is commanded by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? What is the key to paradise? When we speak about a key, a key only works if it has teeth in it. And those teeth have to match up exactly with the lock in order for it to function. And that key upon which a person chisels in and grinds in his or her teeth to this key. What is it? What is the foundation upon which all other actions, all other acts of worship are built? What is the first thing every human being is commanded with? What is the greatest act of worship? The greatest act of worship is the of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is this is summed up in the first command which is the testimony ofahill. A person wishes to enter into Islam. They begin with the testimony ofahillahillahillahill that is a proclamation of and an ethos upon which all other subsequent acts of worship are built and based. In a narration, the companions Abbas and others they have mentioned that the key to paradise is the scholars of Islam. They have mentioned from amongst the the students of the companions and the students of the students of the companions. They have expounded upon this statement of our forefathers, our ancestors, the companions of the prophet Muhammad sallall.aii Wasam and they sayahill is the key to paradise and all acts of worship that are based uponahillah uponed they are the teeth to that key. So a person in order to begin to shape his key that will unlock a door that is specific to him they begin that withahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahillah now they have their key now they start to grind into this key their acts of worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala prayer there is a notch in the key zak a notch in the key. Hajj, another notch in the key. Jiad, a notch in the key. Commanding the good, forbidding the evil, another notch in the key, etc. Until on the day of judgment, everyone has a key. Everyone who began withahillah, they have a key. And this key will open a door that is complmentary of this key. If it's a sophisticated key, a lot of time have has been taken into shaping it, then a similar door will be presented for this person in paradise. However, if the key is very primitive, the person, you know, testified thatallah, but they struggled with it a little bit, they don't have as many notches in their key, they will enter paradise as well. However, if a person does not have a key, all of their deeds, even if they were for the sake of Allah, even if they cried, even if they had a heart filled with love when they did these acts of worship, there is nowhere to put these notches that they've earned. Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala says he says subhanahu wa ta'ala on the day of judgment those people that did not begin withahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahillah they did not begin with establishing the key those who had elements of shik those who did not enter into Islam starting and ending and revolving around their of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says and we will bring forth whatever deeds they did and we will make these deeds into a scattered dust. There's nowhere for these particles. There's nowhere for these grains of sand to be built on. This is what represents.allah speaks about the most critical components of andahill is the the summary the summation of the religion of every prophet and messenger. Hence Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says to our prophet sallall.aii Wasallam. In the opening verses or the be beginning verses of he says he says subhanahua and we have never sent a messenger before you except that we send revelation to him. We begin revelation to him. We end revelation to him. All subsequent revelation to him revolves around and is founded upon none is rightfully worshiped but I so worship me. And so if we understand this concept, we understand that tohed is an act of worship. The act of purifying beginning with the purification of the heart from all other elements of superstition all other elements of turning to other than Allah perfecting that that's the greatest act of worship that any person can put forth for himself. Often times when we say what is worship, what is the definition of worship? You'll hear answers salah, zak, fasting of Ramadan, Hajj, reading the Quran, remembrance of Allah, correct? These are all acts of worship. These are examples of worship and instances of worship. But this is not the definition of worship. And this is why be this is one of the reasons why we see a chasm between people in the masid and outside of the masid. in Ramadan and outside of Ramadan. In Mecca and outside of Mecca, there's a big difference between who they are in these two different places or times. Why is that? One of the reasons, not the only reason, but one of those reasons is because the definition of warship in this person's mind is extremely small, extremely limited. that worship is reading the Quran. It's making salah. It's so basically things that only happen in the masid or things that only happen during a certain time of year or things that only happen in a certain place. And so what happens if this is our definition? You will see a person, they will come to the masid often. They will be very devout in the masjid or in Ramadan or in Mecca or Medina etc. as they should be right but when they leave these times or places you see a whole other side of this person that hasn't been touched or affected by that worship. You'll see that same kind of person is a person who lies, who steals, who cheats others, who harms others, who uses their tongue to harm other people. Their Muslim brother is not safe in their absence or perhaps even in their presence. Why is this? Because again that is warship and then the other compartment of my life is the rest of the world. And this is very incorrect. Rather if we were to say what is the definition of worship? Very simple definition. Worship is anything that a person says or does or believes or leaves off. Anything that a person can do to gain favor with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, anything that a person does that Allah loves, this is worship. The scholars give a more precise definition. They say They say worship is a general term in the Quran and Sunnah that includes all things that a person does or says whether it's inward or outward that Allah loves. What is worship? Anything that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves. If you understand this definition now, you understand how every single breath you take, every beat of your heart, every waking moment of your life has the potential to be an act of worship. Even if you are asleep, it has the potential to be an act of worship. And alkari the great scholar of the companions. He said he said that he intends the worship of Allah in his sleep just as he does in his waking moments. Meaning sleep is something that is neutral. It's not an act of worship in itself. Everyone sleeps whether you're Muslim or non-Muslim. However, if the person's intention is I am going to sleep to regain some strength to worship Allah to use this strength to use this recharge for the sake of Allah. Now even your sleep, even your meal that you eat, even your customs, they all become an act of worship. But all of this has to be based on the main principle of of and this is why the act of worship that is greatest in Islam after the pillars of Islam after the obligations. If we were to say after all obligations, what is the most preferred thing to do in your free time? If you have fulfilled your obligations, those things which are mustab, those things which are preferred, should you spend that time praying extra or should you spend that time reading the Quran extra or that the most preferred and virtuous act of worship after obligations is seeking knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah. Why? Because you're not physically doing something per se. However, you are building that masid, that temple in your heart from which you worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And this is the difference between the companions and all people who come after If a person amongst us were to pray the best prayer and a companion of the prophet sallall.aii wasallam pray the exact same prayer exact same prayer. Would their prayer be rewarded with the same amount as ours? The answer is no. Their prayer would be far more rewarding. Why? What's the difference? It was the exact same thing. Yes. But what is occurring in the heart is very different. Very different. And this is why the prophet sallall.aii wasallam said.

[Silence]

Inklim the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam said to other companions because the companions they're not all the same. There are companions who became Muslim way later down the road and there are companions who became Muslim at the very beginning. some of the newer companions who had become Muslim after all most major events, they were having a a bit of an issue with some of the earlier companions. And so the prophet sallallah.aii wasallam said, "Do not harm my companions." He's speaking to other companions. He said, "If any of you were to give the equivalent of in gold for the sake of Allah, it would not be equal to one of those companions giving a mud or even half of it of grain. If you put his hand in here of grain and gave it, the other one gave the entirety of in gold. This handful of grain is more virtuous than that mountain of gold. Why? Because of the knowledge and intensity of what's going on here in the heart. This is this is the difference. And that's why you see the companions, the prophet sallall.aii wasallam, they didn't go to and make 20. They didn't go and pray all night long. No, they did it once or twice, but they.

[Arabic recitation]

Allahbar. Allah.

[Arabic recitation]

[Silence]

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about the relationship that was shared between Fyon and his followers. What was the nature of this relationship? Fyon was a very very arrogant man. As a matter of fact, he is the poster child for arrogance and rejection of truth. second only tol himself when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala opened up the sea before Musam and Misam and Bi is able to cross that sea and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala delivered them to safety We see that Pharaoh upon seeing this was only increased in intensity and arrogance and he then went right after them. To us being removed from the situation, this seems very illogical. How could a person see such a thing and still use his own legs to walk to his own demise? Yet people do it every single day on this earth in one way or another. And when you really read the Quran and take to heart the details of what was going on in that husk of a heart that Pharaoh had, you can kind of start to understand the thought process behind him walking himself to his own destruction. But the real question is why did everyone else follow him? There were people from amongst his followers that barely had anything to do with what was going on. There were people amongst his followers who were not as well informed as Pharaoh and his closest adviserss were. people who just kind of jumped on the bandwagon and did what everyone else was doing, yet they were met with the same destruction. And so the question is, what was the relationship between Pharaoh and his followers? And how was he able to walk his people out into such a clear dead end? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in describing this relationship that Pharaoh did not take his people seriously. He looked at them as barely human. He did not allow them to think for themselves. He did not allow them to have an opinion contrary to his. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in response to this belittlement, his people followed him and obeyed him. It's incredible that you would disrespect a people and only earn their loyalty in return. What kind of people are are these? When we look into the Quran and we fast forward from the time of Pharaoh to the time of Abu Jah and his advisors, Abu Jah, he was referred to as Abu Jah, which would literally translate to the person of extreme ignorance. He was referred to before Islam as Abu Hecim, the man of extreme wisdom. And he was he was a nobility as close to royalty as anyone could get in that tribal environment of pre-Islamic Arab in the Arab Peninsula. These were the chieftains. Abu Jah Abuahab ibn Khalifa Ibn and on and on. These were the people that if you or I were born in Mecca at that time, we would grow up looking up to these people. If you or I were born in Mecca at that time, if they were in our modern times as kids, we would grow up with their posters hanging in our bedrooms. These were the heroes of society at that time. They were the people that every young man wished to be and every young woman wished to be with. When we look at Abu Jah, he was referred to as Abu Hakim. He was known as a very fair man, a very generous man. More than 30 verses of the Quran were revealed regarding ali. So much so that prior to the prophet sallall.aii wasallam it was said IF THERE WERE EVER to be a prophet it would be he was extremely generous. He was so generous that every Hajj season when all of these pil pilgrimmers came from all corners of the Arab Peninsula to make their Hajj. He would slaughter from his own personal wealth. He would slaughter for them 10 camels every single day until the Hajj season was over and they all left. He would slaughter hundreds of camels every single day for these strangers out of service to the house of Allah. He had rebuilt an entire part of the Kaa on his own from his own wealth and the rest of the Cabba was rebuilt by all of the tribes of Qur. He was referred to as Al or Al the one who is equal to the entirety of the rest of Quraysh. Why? Because every year, just we do to this day, we take turns as Muslims putting the cloak on the Kaa every year. This is something that they did even before Islam. And every year the tribes would all collaborate and pitch in to make this cloak. And every other year he would do it on his own. This man was doing in the service of the house of Allah what an entire city did to take his place. was not only known to be incredibly generous but very fair and a person who had a strong inclination to justice and service of his of his tribes. These men Abu Leah this man was royalty. He was referred to as Abu Leah, meaning the one of akin to burning embers because his cheeks were so red. Why is that important? Because the more pale a person's skin was and the less tanned a person was in that easy bake oven desert. This meant that this this man is of high status and royalty. He doesn't have to go out into the sun. He doesn't get a tan. That's for peasants. He never had to walk out of the shade unless he wanted to just for fun. These are the kinds of men who were the chieftains of Quraysh. If you or I were born into that society, you and I would have grown up looking up to these people. There would hardly be a man amongst us who was not touched by these men's generosity or fairness in one way or another coming up in your life or my life. But when the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam was appointed and sent as the messenger of Allah. These men turned against him and they started to spread rumors about him. They said he was a magician. They claimed he was a poet. They said he was a madman. They claimed he was a liar. And so on it goes for 13 long years to the point that they even all got together and made an agreement that no one and no tribe would have any dealings with Benny Hashim or Benny Abdul Mutalib. No dealings at all. They would not sell them even a grain of wheat or barley. They would not marry them. They would not come to their aid. They would not sell or buy anything from them. And they would not allow any other tribes in the Arab Peninsula to deal with them. Excommunicated. And they wrote this down and they hang this. They hung this agreement in the Cabba. And so three long years of starvation ensued in which the bellies of the children of Benny Hashim and Benny Abdalib swelled with starvation and malnourishment. They would not allow anyone to give them a loaf of bread to the point that when people would go to visit their relatives, they would have to hide loaves of bread and scraps in their clothing and in the clothing of their women just to get something to their family members or friends. Now the question here that every one of us should ask himself IF THE PROPHET Sam were to have emerged in today's time today what would that have looked like? What would that propaganda and embargo have looked like if he were to have emerged today? Or if the world was then as it is today, it would be the equivalent of every news agency, every major country all collaborating to defame and be to defame and disparage the prophet sallall.aii wasallam and his companions. If you look at the men who you grew up looking up to, the people that you aspired to be like or even sit in a gathering with them, they all agree. Their scholars, their experts, their nobility, their chieftains, they all agree that he is not a prophet. He is not a messenger. Look at the kind of people that are following him. Slaves and children and women. And look at the kind of people that are standing with Abu Jah and Abu and Khalif and Wi, the nobility, the warriors, the heroes of the society. The question here is if you or I were in that situation, if we were faced with that dilemma of choosing which of those sides to be on and which of those WAGONS TO JUMP ON, which one would you have chosen? It's easy to say, "Of course, I would have been with the messenger sallall.aii alaihi wasallam. But think about it. Look at what makes you angry today. Think about the opinions that you have that you hold. If I were to say to you, name to me the BIGGEST VILLAIN OR THE WORST of of people in the past 150 years in MODERN HISTORY. WHO POPPED into your mind? Who taught YOU THAT? MANY OF US to think that our opinions are our opinions. The opinions I hold are opinions that I have arrived at and come to hold through my own independent thoughts. But that's not usually the case. What makes you angry? WHAT GIVES YOU AND SPARKS YOUR OUTRAGE? Is it what comes on your phone? Is it what pops up on the TV? Do you believe what you're being told in your phone and on these social media platforms and by these news agencies? Do you swallow the facade entirely? This is the questions we need to ask ourselves. Why? Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has told us OF MILLIONS OF HUMAN beings just you and I who will enter the gates of hell on the day of judgment saying we have arrived here because we have obeyed our chieftains and our leaders. ers. That's why they are in hell because they sold their own and their own soul for someone else's dunya and they became a component in a propaganda machine and they jumped on whatever bandwagon was most popular. The prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam tells us that when a person is placed into his grave, two angels will come and set him up and ask him, "Who is your Lord?" Meaning, who did you worship? Who is your prophet? Meaning, who did you truly follow and emulate? And who what is your religion? meaning what was the ethos and law that you lived your life by and a person will answer not with what they know but with what they did with their lives. These are where these answers come from. And so the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam said the believer will say that my lord is Allah Islam is my religion and Muhammad is my prophet Sam he said.

[Silence]

He said, "And as for the hypocrite or the person of extreme sinfulness and disbelief, he will say when asked these questions, I DON'T I DON'T KNOW. I heard people saying something and so I just said what they said. These people jumped on the bandwagon. IT WAS POPULAR TO be Muslim during their time. They heard people saying something, so they said it, but they didn't believe it. They didn't investigate it. They didn't form their own opinion. They didn't use their faculties. They didn't reason their way to that. They just jumped on the bandwagon. They did what was popular. AND SO OUR QUESTION today is, who does your outrage belong to? Who does your opinions belong to? ARE THEY YOUR opinions or are they the opinions of our equivalent of Abu Jah and Abu and Khalif? Why does Allah tell us these stories? He documented these stories meticulously in the Quran so that we could learn to be vigilant. It's not that we are to not trust our scholars or experts. know, but especially in the environment that you and I reside in, we have to be very careful which bandwagon we jump on. And you can change these things about yourself immediately. YOU CAN SWEAR, I will never take my opinions from an ELECTRONIC DEVICE. MY OPINIONS, my outrage, my love, my fear, my hope, it will all come from the book of Allah and the Sunnah of the prophet sallall.aii wasallam. That is the Muslim. It will come from the right sources WITH GREAT CARE TAKEN before I allow any opinion into my heart. It is very easy and it is the most natural thing in the world to just do what is popular, to say what is popular, to learn all of the buzzwords. But as Muslims, we fight a an even more challenging fight. Because what is even worse than holding these opinions and fighting the fight of others that doesn't belong to us is that we try to give it an Islamic twist. Many of us Muslim brothers and sisters because of the environment we are in, our children are drinking the poison of neo feminism, extreme liberalism, all of these new movements and then going through the Quran and finding evidence for these very misguided paths. It is upon every one of us to investigate and to only allow something out of our mouths that we are certain will be of service to us when we stand before Allah in his court.

[Silence]

[Arabic recitation]

Is.

[Arabic recitation]

Moment to look down. Make sure that your feet and your shoulders are in line with the feet and shoulders of your two neighbors. Perfecting our rows, not being out of place in the row, completing the rows. This is part of the prayer and this is something that will determine much of the reward of our.

[Arabic recitation]

Bismillah. in Allah. Allahel.

[Silence]

Allahel.

[Silence]

Allah Oh, I can go.

[Silence]

Mama.

[Silence]

Allah stuffalamikum.

[Silence]

Brothers and sisters very Quick reminders. First one is the fud prayer. Inshallah tomorrow will be at 6:00 a.m. So tomorrow fud inshallah will be at 6:00 a.m. Also there's a youth program this evening after I is there's a bonfire. It's going to be very enjoyable for the children inshallah. It's going to be moderated by sister fara and havas malik. So inshallah please make sure your children youth is here. It will be after Isha and there will be Quran recitation and some reflections inshallah. So please join and make the best of it. Also please donate generously on the way out. I'm good. You are electric.