Allah's First Command: Never Associate Partners With Him

Yeah, you just put this in here. Plug in.

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Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in the first command in the Quran when you open the Quran from the very beginning from the First command in the Quran, do not associate similars unto Allah knowingly. Similars a nid in the Arabic language is something that is similar to something else. This is referred to as a nid and its plural is dead. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's first prohibition do not associate do not set up ascribe similars unto Allah. things, people, places that you make similar to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The next the first command of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala or worship your lord. These are the first things Allah teaches us in the Quran. The first command or worship your Lord. The first prohibition do not worship other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala didn't just say don't worship other than Allah. He said in this verse do not ascribe similars unto Allah. Why? What does that mean? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us that there is nothing him. He is completely unique and sublime. He is unmatched. Anything that you can conjure up in your imagination, no matter how vivid, even if that imagination is guided by the descriptions of Allah himself in the Quran, whatever you come to imagine, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not similar to that. He says subhanahu wa ta'ala and there is no equal to him subhanahu wa ta'ala. He says there is nothing unto him yet he is all hearing allseeing. He sees, he hears, but it's not the seeing and hearing of anyone or anything else. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us that the idoltors, those who worship idols, when they are put into the hellfire by Allah, they will be put there and placed there with their idols. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells tells the people of Isra who worship other than Allah, you and your false gods will be the fuel for the hellfire. You won't just be in the hellfire. You will be the fuel of the hellfire. And so in Allah tells us that there will be a dialogue between these idoltors and their gods, their false gods. Whatever these false gods are, whether they be a person Fidel, whether they be stones, whether they be trees, graves, whatever it is, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us that their disposition towards their gods, these things that they worship, they crawled on their face for these gods, they dedicated their lives to these gods. And so what will their attitude and disposition be towards these false deities in the hellfire? They will proclaim to these false deities that we swear by Allah Almighty that we were in clear misguidance when we would make you speaking to their false gods when we made you equal to Allah. equal to Allah. What does that mean? That means that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he is the only one worthy of worship. He is the only one who is worshiped rightfully in any way. And worship can take place in many forms. There's worship of the heart, worship of the tongue, things that we say, worship of the body salah and hajj and jihad. There's worship of a person's wealth and his property and what he owns zakad and so forth. And there's also worship by abstaining from something. A person does not drink alcohol out of worship to of Allah. A person does not eat pork out of worship of Allah. A person does not take ribba out of worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And there can be an almost endless combination of all of these five places where and can take place. If a person directs any of this worship to other than Allah, they direct a worship of their heart to other than Allah. They fear other than Allah in a way that is only in a way that is only appropriate for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is this person has made Allah has made this thing equal to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Not that this thing is equal or comparable to Allah. No. But he has made this thing or this person equal in his worship of Allah and his worship of this thing or person. It's very important to understand this point and that is that when a person directs his worship to other than Allah then this person is essentially saying Allah is worthy of worship and also this thing or this person is worthy of worship. So this person has now ascribed to Allah attributed to Allah a nid he has attributed to Allah a similar and that is the first law that Allah has governed humanity with and the genind with and that is do not worship other than Allah do not ascribe a similar unto Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala And so this is the first command of Allah in the Quran and this is the first prohibition of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Quran. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala starts out many of his commands throughout the Quran when speaking about the rights and to the rights because what is oppression? What is oppression? If we were to say what is the definition of oppression in the Quran of the definition of oppression in the Quran it is placing something in other than its rightful place. This is considered to be oppression. When a person takes the right of Allah which is the worship of Allah and directs it to someone or something else this is oppression. He has now taken this right of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and he has dealt oppressingly oppressively he's taken something that belongs to Allah and given it to other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala likewise what is the definition of alen the definition of justice. It is placing things in their rightful place. It is placing something in its rightful place. This is called in the Quran. And so the greatest oppression is that a person direct his worship to other than Allah. And this is why Allah describes in the Quran and relates to us the advice that gave to his son that he said he said my son do not associate partners unto Allah indeed a shik This act is the greatest of oppression. Does this mean that a person oppresses Allah? Can the p can a human being oppress Allah? The answer is no.

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Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says about those who sin that indeed they did not oppress us rather it is their own souls that they oppressed. Iban Abbas said Allah is too great to be oppressed by his servants by his slaves subhanahu wa ta'ala. But has the person dealt with Allah in an oppressive manner? Yes. Subhanahu wa'tala. And so when Allah discusses the rights, the rights of the parents, the rights of the wife or husband, the rights of the neighbors, the rights of even animals, when he speaks about the rights, he has summed them up into 10 general rights. in a verse which is in it's verse number 36 from and it is referred to by the end and the as the verse of the division or the distribution of rights. And he begins categorizing these rights with his right over his servant. Subhanahu wa'ta'ala. He commands and worship Allah all of you and do not associate anything unto him. This this word anything is very important. Why? Because sh comes in many forms and many of these forms are silent killers. Silent killers. I want you to imagine something with me. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, Have a.

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Can be mean.

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Subhanahu wa ta'ala. The sin that Allah has proclaimed twice in the Quran that he will never forgive. A person can be forgiven by Allah for atrocities. He can be forgiven by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for the most heinous and atrocious of histories. However, what he will not forgive and never forgive is a ship in any of its forms. And so this is a silent killer. I want you to imagine with me that you are resurrected in front of Allah subhanahu.

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The ground is split and you are brought forth. You come out, you crawl out of your grave and there are the two angels there waiting for you. some scholars mentioned four angels. Some mentioned the ones that were writing your deeds throughout the dunya that they will be there to direct you to the place of judgment in front of Allah. And as you are on your way to meet the creator of all that exists, the infinite, the one who has no beginning and no end. Everything you could possibly desire is found sub in his hand. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. And everything that you could ever fear is also at his disposal. And you come before Allah and it turns out that there are actions, there are statements, there are beliefs that you spent your days and nights in the dunya. These things were acts of shik. What kind of problem is this? Is there any problem that can be imagined that is more horrifying than this? No takebacks. Can't go back. There's no, "Oh, I didn't know. I was unaware. You live. I gave you life for 20 years, 30 years. I gave you a mind so powerful, an intellect so powerful, you could imagine what is unimaginable. you could imagine things that can't even exist. I gave you an intellect so powerful that you were able to comprehend my words that I sent to the prophets and messengers. I gave you free will. I gave you health. I gave you comfort. What did you spend it doing? You didn't have time. You didn't know. Seriously, this idea is a plague that we have. Many of us feel that we can get off on a technicality. The technicality of I didn't know. I misunderstood. I didn't mean right. That technicality, the technicality of I'm not a scholar. You were not commanded to be a scholar. You could literally learn what Allah has commanded you you and what he has demanded of you in if you spent a half an hour each night studying the books of the scholars of Islam which speak on various subjects. You could learn the things that are prohibited, the things that are demanded, the things that are expected of you. But a person lives 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 years and you didn't know, what were you spending your time doing? And so we have this idea that, well, if I didn't know, I I'm automatically forgiven. That may apply to some things, but could you imagine if a person goes barreling down the road at 150 m an hour, police stops him? What are you doing? Oh, I didn't know that I couldn't speed. I had no idea. The IRS shows up. Oh, I didn't know I had to pay taxes. I didn't know. Would that be acceptable? Who would accept such a pathetic such a pathetic excuse? A lack of knowledge is only acceptable when a person exhausts his opportunities. He did his best. But especially in our time, the the the the time of internet that moves at breakneck speed, entire libraries of hundreds and thousands of years of scholars works at the tip of your fingers and you didn't know. And so this is the most important thing we can learn and the greatest right of Allah which is worship Allah and do not associate anything anyone unto Allah in your worship. We will end with that for this afternoon. Inshallah we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to teach us. The prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam taught Abu Bakr a dua specifically about this specifically about because he said that is so silent in my umah it's like the footsteps of ants and Abu Bakr said then what can we do what can we say he.

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Allah. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in one of the earlier opening verses of he says subhanahu waala which translates to indeed it is only the one who believes in Allah and the last day and establish establishes prayer and gives zaka and does not fear and revere other than Allah. It is only this type of person who truly builds the houses of Allah. Builds the houses of Allah. Many people have heard this verse before. They misunderstand this verse. What they understand this verse to mean is building its physical walls. That it's only permissible for the most righteous of men to build the walls, the physical walls of the masid and the house of Allah. And that's not what is intended by the verse. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala affirmed the building of the Kaa which happened before our prophet Sam was even a messenger more than a decade before he was a messengerat. It is the mushikim, the idoltors, the pagans, the polytheists from amongst who rebuilt the Kaa, the house of Allah. And when the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam conquered Mecca and it became a home for Islam and it was reverted back to the pure house of Allah and scrubbed clean of the filth of idolatry. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala did not command the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam to rebuild it to tear it down because it's only those who believe in Allah in the last day that can build the houses of Allah what's meant here by building the houses of Allah is establishing the houses of Allah building it with worship shipped building the houses of Allah by worshiping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in these houses in the house of Allah who are those who are the rightful builders of the worship of Allah on the earth it is those who believe in Allah in the last day establish prayer they don't just make salah they don't pray. They establish prayer. Which means when they stand to make salad, they fulfill it and give it their all each and every time. And this only comes by way of determination, only comes by way of practice, only comes by way of learning and implementing the sunnah of the prophet sallall.aii wasam. You won't find that Allah commands in the Quran, pray everyone pray. That's not good enough. It is establish prayer. Establish prayer which means to fulfill the prayers conditions and pillars and obligations and sunnah. Pray as the prophet sallall.aii wasallam prayed and pray with your hearts not just with your body. And so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes the type of men that establish the houses of Allah with their worship. They are those who believe in Allah in the last day. They establish prayer. They give zak and they do not fear with reverence other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We're not speaking about fear of snakes or fear of death or fear. These are natural fears. We're speaking about fear with reverence. Fear with with worship out of worship of other than Allah. Pede your worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. These men don't have that. They don't have that kind of fear. They worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They stand for the truth and justice and they stand for the sunnah of Muhammad. Wasam in spite of everyone and everything around them. They are not shamed into cowardice. They are not shamed and made weak by the blame of those who antagonize them. Rather, their enemies only make them bolder. And so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not only describes the type of people that the mass the houses of Allah were built for but he describes what kind of environment the masid is supposed to be. The masid, the house of Allah, a companion, may Allah be pleased with all of them, once came to the prophet sallall.aii wasallam and he asked him, "Oh messenger of Allah, what place on the earth is closest to Allah?" The prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam. He wasn't speaking about a specific place. He was asking about a type of place. What types of place on the earth are closest to Allah? The prophet sallall.aii wasallam said Allah I have to ask. I know in our time this is unbelievable that a person who doesn't know something would say I don't know I have to look into it because now we live in the time of I know everything and I have an answer for everything here the messenger of Allah says I do not know I have to ask ji and he asked ji and ji said, "Aham, I have to ask." And so, Jirel returned to the prophet Sam. Wasam and told him the places on earth closest to Allah. The closest places on the earth to Allah are the massid is the masid and the furthest place on the earth from Allah is the marketplace. The marketplace is supposed to be the exact opposite of the masid or rather we could reverse that. The masid is supposed to be the stark contrast to everything the marketplace is. When you look at the marketplace, why is that the worst place? It's the worst place because that is the place that brings out the worst in people. And the masid is the place that is supposed to bring out the best in people. The marketplace is what brings out of people greed, enmity, viciousness, Mcavelian attitude. The marketplace is where people lie and cheat one another and try to get over on one another. Where men and women mix together freely. Where indecency is rampant. Where people go and forget about the hereafter because of their excitement over the dunya. That is the description of the marketplace. It's a place that's loud, chaotic. And the prophet sallall.aii wasallam would tell the companions in the masjid. He would say to them, "Beware of bringing the chaos of the market into the masid." The masid is supposed to be the stark opposite of what the marketplace is. that when a person comes to the masjid, it brings out the best in them. It brings out their hope, their reason, their remembrance of Allah. It brings out their truthfulness, their courage, their honor. It is a place where people come to be purified by Allah. And Allah says as much that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala described the masid as that it is a place that has in it men who desire with every fiber of their being that they be chosen by Allah to be purified. Purified from their foolishness. Purified from their cowardice. Purified from their shortsightedness and perversion. Purified. And Allah tells us about the men in the masid. He says indeed Allah does love those who seek to be purified and those who are in constant constant repentance to Allah. They want to be purified inward and out. They want to be changed and metamorphized by Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala in the masjid. And so the prophet sallall.aii wasallam commanded throughout his days in Medina teaching the companions how to make the masid as different and separate from the marketplace. He sallallam prohibited buying or selling or advertising in the masid. And he said inah that if any of you sees someone buying or selling in the masid, then say to him, "May Allah make this transaction of yours fail." Because the masid was not built for this. Listen to those words. The masid was not built for this. Look, no one of us here is getting paid to come in here today. We are here gathered because we believe that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has commanded us to be here. It's a place that gathers people of all ages, people of all walks of life. The professionals, the intellectuals sit right next to those who are not so. And the rich and the poor come together and sit on the same ground and pray shouldertosh shoulder. What an opportunity for the savvy salesman. What an opportunity this this presents for a person who is wishing to exploit the house of Allah to line his own pockets. And so the prophet sallallah.aihi wasallam taught the companions how to protect the masid from that. The masjid is not made and built for people to exploit by buying and selling. It is not built for people to exploit for their personal or worldly agendas. The masid is the place where people come in order to be purified and repent to Allah. And Allah loves those who are in constant repentance. And Allah loves those who seek purification. The prophet sallall.aii wasallam even prohibited announcing lost items in the masid. He prohibited in Muslim that a person who's lost an item come to the masid and announce it to the people in the masid looking for it. not permissible. The prophet sallall.aii Wasam said, he said, "Whoever you find in the masjid announcing his lost items, then say to him, may Allah not return to you your lost item." The masid was not built for this. Look at how the prophet sallall.aii wasallam taught the companions to protect the house of Allah. It's not for buying and selling. It's not for your political agenda. It is not for you to exploit. It's not for your Instagram clicks and followers. The masid is the house of Allah where people come to try to get to paradise, to try to be good in a bad world, to try to find light in the darkness, to try to revive their hope in a hopeless world. That is what the masid is for. So do not bring the marketplace into the masid. And he would command the companions again as we mentioned as well. Stay away and beware from bringing the chaos and the sounds of the marketplace into the masjid. And that is why the prophet sallall.aii Wasam has mentioned that one of the signs of the hour. One of the signs that the is about to emerge, one of the signs that Allah is preparing the earth to be folded up and ended is that the marketplaces will become all connected. No matter where you go, you can't escape it. Even in the masid, you can't escape the marketplace. I'm sitting between and many people will sit between and the prophet sallall.aii wasallam said that if you repeat after the mu what he says and then you make the dua after. If you repeat what the muadin says and then make dua, Allah will answer your dua. I remember one of the students one of the students of knowledge, he had related that he had a lot of problems. He had a lot of issues that were wearing him down and were affecting his personal life and his studies. We're speaking about students of knowledge, people that seek knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah. And he said, "So I decided to not pass up a single time between the adan and the without making fervent dua that Allah make things better for me." He said, "I did this only for a short time, a month or two, and I was given so much more than what I asked for to the point that I was ashamed of myself in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala." Meaning Allah gave me so much more than I could have ever asked just by doing this small thing. the few minutes that I was, I felt that I didn't have a right to all these things Allah was giving me. We'd rather jump on Amazon real quick and look to buy some things. This is impermissible. This is haram in the masid. This is not what the masid is for. The masid has not been built for these things. And part of the exaltation of Allah is exalting the masid, the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has said, he says, He says regarding the Kaa and the masid by extension and those who exalt the houses of Allah, they do so only to their betterment with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It is of the best and most noble of things that a person can do is to exalt the masid, the house of Allah. When I come into the masid, I am clean. I don't have any bad smells with me. I don't bring dangerous weapons into the masid that are could potentially harm the people that have come to seek peace. I do not bring things into the masid that will harm people. I lower my voice. When I come into the masid, I feel like I am in a place no other. That is where we start on our path to redemption as a people. We start with the masid. It's the It's the heart inside of the body for any community, the masid. All of the blood goes back to the heart. It's regenerated, reoxygenated, and is sent back out to the rest of the body. That is what the masjid is for. And it is the best of men and women who are those who are at their best in the masid. We ask Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala that he teach us true reverence of the masid that he subhanahua make our masid pure and purifying for.

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Allah has encouraged that we recite on the day of J. The day when attending the masid is an obligation upon those who fit the criteria and Allah first tells us about some young men who found refuge in a cave and were purified by Allah and he subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us a cave similar to that. That is what the masjid is. The masid is our cave that we retreat to in order to be spared and saved from the dunya. We ask Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala that he subhanahu wa'ta'ala with his grace and mercy and forgiveness that he grant us the enlightenment and the knowledge necessary to recognize the truth when we hear it to the that he grant us the courage to adhere to that truth and the audacity to remain upon and for that truth. that he grant us the honor of dying for and upon that truth and the nobility of being resurrected with his people. All.

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Becoming.

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Allah.

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Asleep. Allah.

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Allahhammed.

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He was here. Alhamdulillah.

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But allah.

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Stand shouldertosh shoulder.

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Stand shouldertosh shoulder, foot to foot. Be as straight and coherent in your rose as possible throughout the prayer. Please turn your phones off. Turn off any distractions.

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Alhamdulillah. Foreign speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech. I am.

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Allah. So me Allah.

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Allahel. Allahbel.

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Alhamdulillah.

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So now we're Yeah.

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Allah say Allah Allahbel Allahel. Allahbel. Allahel. I don't know.

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Number.

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Allah salam. How's everything?

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Looks I have to go down to italam. So I'm just going to remind you a few programs that we have inshallah going on at the masjid and encourage you to take advantage of it. we inshallah have many programs. The first one I'm going to tell you about is on every Saturday we have two classes for Quran. They're one for the brothers and one for the sisters and they run simultaneously. It's from 11:00 a.m. I'm sorry from 11 to 1:00 p.m. So make sure you take advantage of that and there is no cost to this. Another program we have is the MCCT youth soccer program, which is a club that's run on Wednesdays and Fridays. And it's between 2:45 on I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Take that back. Saturdays between 1:30 and 2:30 and on Saturday again at 2:45 to 4. So the soccer program runs on Saturday. Now, we have also a a basketball program, and that's the program that runs on Wednesdays and Fridays, and it's between 4:15 and 6:15. So, make sure you take advantage of any of these programs. If you yourself or you have a youth that can lift from that, please come and join and be at the mid as you heard from the that this is the place that you wanted to be inshallah. Also, there is two upcoming events. One is going to happen on these on Saturday the third Saturday of this month. Inshallah our im will be doing a workshop for zaka. So if you have any question about zaka, how to you know to calculate your zaka, how to do your obligations, you have different scenarios that you want to know about, please come and join us. It's an aer time third Saturday of this month inshallah. So make sure you attend. And one last event that's going to happen Saturday, September 6 and this is for boys. So all boys inshallah, if you're interested, make sure that you hook up with brother Hassan and ask about this. It's on September 6 inshallah. This is going to be 1 hour before. So it's but make sure that you if you have any questions that you work with us. please do donate donate generously. We are having a lot of expenses. So help us to help you inshallah. Mama.