What Opens the Heart to True Guidance?

Thing that mentioned, the fourth out of ten. Tonight inshallah, to Allah will be discussing the fifth thing and that is as says, the says, the fifth thing that will open a person's heart.

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His heart to Islam. This is a verse that is taken to mean by many people who read it. To mean that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will open open his heart to accept Islam. Meaning to transition from being a non Muslim and to being a Muslim. That's correct. but it's also the different aspects of Islam. Because a person may become Muslim but they will bring some baggage with them. Into Islam. Correct? So a person will bring baggage with with them into Islam. A person will bring baggage with him into Islam. old habits, old vices, old whatever. Right? And so whoever, whomever Allah desires to guide, he will open his heart to Islam. Holistically and specific parts of Islam. Right? We have this text. The next text is the narration of in Bukhari. Whoever Allah desires good for, he will. He will give him understanding of the religion. Number three, the third text is also collected by on the authority of whomever Allah desires good for, he will tribulate and test and give hardship to in this life, okay? So, three things. If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wishes to guide a person to Islam, he will open his heart. What will open his heart Two main things. Number one, he will make him humble. And that is with tests and tribulations. Number two, he will make him understanding. And that is with learning what aspects of the religion concern him. statement of the prophet.

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What this narration means is that whomever Allah desires good for, he will teach him enough of his religion by which he will be able to worship him adequately and reach him based on his circumstances and based on who he is destined to be. So, if he is somebody who is a worker, he will teach him of his religion. the etiquettes of employment. If he is somebody who is a a sales you will teach him and he will guide him to learn and understand the regulations of sales transactions. So, that is money will remain pure etcetera and so, These narrations here and this verse, these are, this articulates to us that humility and knowledge are the key to guidance, humility, and knowledge that a person is humble to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because knowledge will never be taken by somebody who is arrogant. A person who is arrogant may learn facts. But they will never learn knowledge. Knowledge is what is in the and affects thee and affects a person's actions and so, a person who is arrogant, this person will never, will never learn. A good example of that are some of the followers of Musa Alaihi Salam. They were scholars. They learned, right? And where they were ended up being some of the greatest hypocrites and enemies to the prophets that ever existed. To the point that they even kill prophets, right? To the point that they would even consistently kill prophets every time a prophet would appear with that which they did not they would kill him. Zacharia being one of them, right? However, and they attempted to kill However, these people were not people of knowledge. They were people of information. They had information. They had facts but knowledge in the sense of what the Quran refers to as knowledge. No, they did not have this. It did not reach their heart. It did not illuminate their heart. What is he then the about these people of information that what is sent down to you from your lord will only increase them in? In their transgression and in their disbelief. Why? Because they're arrogant. Arrogance is something that will bar you from learning. And as was reported that Abdul Aziz said that just as the valley and the lowest parts of the earth collect the most water. Likewise the most humble of students will collect the most knowledge right? The least amount of knowledge is found, the least amount of water is found where on the top of a mountain. The further down that mountain you go and the more you venture into its valley, the more water you will find. That's where the water settles. It settles at the lowest point of the earth and so, the more a person humbles himself and bows himself to Allah, the more Allah Allah will teach him. More a person Allah will teach him. And this is the meaning of the statement of the prophet Whoever humbles himself to Allah, Allah will raise him. But does that mean he will raise him? He will teach him, grant him action, and then raise his levels. Right? Because there are reason for Allah raising people, correct? And there are reasons for Allah lowering people. There are reasons for people entering paradise and there are reasons for people entering hell. There are reasons for people being guided and there are reasons for people being misguided, correct? We understand this from the Quran. And so, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, when the prophet says, Whoever humbles himself to Allah, Allah will raise him. This means that Allah will teach him grant him success to implement what he has taught him. Henceforth, raising him in levels. and so, knowledge is a critical point in reaching Allah There is no way to reach Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala without having knowledge of what pleases Allah and what angers Allah. There is no way to reach Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala without the guidance of the messenger Muhammad So, this is why he has communicated to us the Quran is sunnah. Merely a person doing what he thinks or feels is correct and will bring him closer to Allah. This person is living in illusions and hallucinations. He's not living in the real world In the real world, what raises a person with a law is knowledge and its implementation. And what lowers a person in the side of Allah is ignorance and it's implementation and so, the next thing that Ibn ul Kaim Rahim Allah mentions is Notice the wording here He said, that a person is constantly remembering Allah in each state that he is in and in every place that he is in. Notice the wording A person is not only remembering Allah in times of hardship Allah is not a person is not only remembering Allah in times of ease. A person is not only remembering Allah in the Masjid, a person is not only remembering Allah when he is in fear, but a person is remembering a law almost in a vacuum, irrespective of his circumstances. If he's in a jail cell. He's remembering a law and if he's on a throne, he's remembering Allah. If he is in the Masjid, he is remembering a law and if he is in the depths of, the depths of the darkest places of the earth. He is remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is one of the greatest things that will cause a person to become that will cause a person to become truly guided by Allah. and so a man came to the prophet and he said he said oh messenger of Allah, the rulings and laws and regulations of Islam have become overwhelming to me. I don't even know where to start and I don't know how to completely hold and and bear this burden. that the prophet said, after he was asked, for the.

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Thing that will will open that up for me. One thing that if I constantly do it and if I stick to it and I'm dedicated to it, the rest will fall into place. He said, your tongue should always be, should always be enveloped and always be damp with thee remembrance of Allah What does the remembrance of Allah mean? It means two things. Remembrance of Allah is three categories. As a as the mention. Number one, you remember him with your heart and your tongue together. Number two, you remember him with your heart and not your tongue. Number three, you remember him with your tongue and not your heart. So, what does this mean? A person is saying Allah but his mind, his heart is are somewhere else. This is the lowest level. We have another level where heart is remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Meaning that a person is contemplating Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, contemplating and remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala but his he is not remembering him with his tongue. And we have a third level which is the highest level and that is remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with both the tongue and the heart. And he mentions that people are two types. are some that begin to remember Allah with their tongue and their heart is absent. but they forced their heart to become present because of their diligence and tenacity in remembering Allah with their tongue. So, first, the tongue, then the heart joins. And then there are another type who remember Allah with their heart and then the tongue joins. right? Obviously, the second is superior to the first because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not judge you by your, by your images or your bodies rather he judges you by your, by your hearts and your actions, the prophet said. And he mentions that, Allah looks to the heart. This is what is important to Allah. So what we are getting at here is that constantly remembering Allah in every kind of in every kind of feeling or emotion or situation a person is in. Whether you are comfortable or uncomfortable, whether you are angry, or you are happy, whether you are sad, or you are at ease and tranquil, Whatever the person's state of being is they will always remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If you can, work hard enough to make it equal no matter what your situation is, then this means that the person has reached the height of amen that is rarely reached by a human being. you can make it to where no matter how angry you are or how calm you are, you equally remember Allah No matter how sad you are or how comfortable you are, you equally remember Allah. No matter how, no matter how, safe and tranquil you feel, or no matter how anxious you feel, you are equally remember Allah, this person has reached a height of a man that is, rarely reached by, most people. Aware, no matter what the remembrance of Allah is the baseline of of his life. It is the baseline of his life. No matter what his circumstances, his remembrance of Allah remains the same. In public and in private, in happiness, and in sadness, in in in comfort, and ease, or in discomfort and hardship. The person constantly remembering Allah. Likewise, the place. Some people remember Allah when they come to a place where it sparks the remembrance of Allah the Masjid. Right? The Masjid. should spark the remembrance of Allah in a person. Because it is a place where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is remembered. A man came to the Masjid one day and he said, oh Allah, forgive me and Mohammed and don't forgive anyone else along with us. Is what he said. and then he went to a corner of the Masjid and he started urinating. For the companions of all the Allah were gearing up to take action and the prophet said This narration is in Muslim. Leave him alone. Let him finish. Let him finish urinating. Yes, let him finish Because if you drag him around the Masjid now, he's going to continue urinating and it's going to be all over the Masjid. So, yes, let him finish it all in one place so that we can have it so that we can have it quarantined. I mean, he's already started. He might as well finish. So, they can be only in one place. and so, after he finished The prophet called for a bucket of water to be poured on the place where he had urinated. And then he told the man he called the man over and he said, what did he say to him? He said, in the us in the Quran. He said these Masajids.

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Appropriate in the Masjid is the remembrance of Allah, the recitation of the Quran, and and things that are similar to that. This is what the Masjid is for Anything else that is done in the Masjid falls into two categories. It is either impermissible or it is something that is acceptable as long as it does not lead to something that is impermissible. sleeping or eating or something that. Is it permissible to eat in the Masjid? Yes. But what happens if we let everybody eat in the Masjid? Everybody comes here and takes his lunch break and brings him food and what's the message going to start smelling like? He's going to start smelling a food court and a mall, in a shopping mall, right? That's not acceptable. So, can we say we do cordially, we would ask nobody to eat in the Masjid. Yes, we could say that. What about if we allow everybody who's passing by to come and bring his blanket and pillow and just you know, kick his feet up and sleep. The Masjid may turn into what? May turn into you know, a super aid motel, right? is this acceptable? No. This is not what the Masjid was built for. It's permissible but it will lead to something that is abusive. Therefore, we can say cordially, we would ask people not to sleep here, right? I know that's not a thing here in Chicago really but in places New York City, that's a big thing. Because people don't have cars and they're traveling all day on trains and stuff and come through massage they take naps and sleep and sometimes sleep over and sleep through the night and all of these other things in the Masjid and some Massage you go into the entire floor is just full of people sleeping, right? This is not what the Masjid was. Built for, designed for. So, people come in and they sleep and they have bed bugs and they have foul smell and they have whatever and some of them come and sleep and they don't even pray. Time for prayer come the event is called, they don't get up, they keep sleeping, etcetera, etcetera. What happens? The Masjid now has is being abused, right? So, there's a difference between that which is permissible and that which is abusive. So, No matter where a person is, they remember Allah. The Masjid is supposed to spark deep, intimate emotions of remembrance of Allah. Subhanahu.

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Emotions of remembrance of Allah. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. That as soon as you see the Masjid, you remember Allah. And in your darkest times, you remember thee, light and texture, and place of the Masjid. This is your place of solace. This is what the Masjid is supposed to represent. But if we fill the Masjid with back biting and talking and food and you know, rudeness and clicks and all these other things that happen in some Massaged. What happens, that goes away. The remembrance of Allah fades and the remembrance of the duniya begins to intensify. The prophet said that the closest places on earth to Allah are the and the furthest of places from Allah on the earth are the marketplaces. We know this narration. And so, because of this, it is impermissible for a person to buy or sell inside of the Masjid, right? Now, the scholars differ on on whether or not that is if that is something which is permissible for the sake of the Masjid. So, for example here, we may buy or sell books and things that which are Islamic books in the Masjid but this is for the benefit of the Masjid and it aids in the remembrance of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's a different situation but if a person wants to sell tomatoes or tires or cars or things that in the Masjid. The scholars have agreed that this is something impermissible for the most part. why is that? Because if we allow the worst place, the furthest place from Allah to merge with the closest places to Allah and we allow them to mix together and merge together. Where now are we supposed to go to be close to Allah Where? Where where is our calf? Where is our haven? Does it, we don't have it anymore right? So, we have to keep these as separate as possible just as we have to keep genders as separate as possible. Just as we have to keep good and evil as separate as possible and the people of good and the people of evil as separate as possible, etcetera, etceter right? So, remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in any in any set of circumstances in any place. So, you do not only remember Allah when you come to the Masjid but you remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala outside of the Masjid. Perhaps even more intensely outside of the Masjid because you feel a a feeling of distance from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when you are not in the Masjid. This is one of the greatest things that will be a cause for a person's heart to be open to the light and guidance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This will be one of the greatest things that will open a person's heart to the guidance and light of Allah. Subhan Allah So, constantly remembering Allah. We don't just mean that a person is constantly saying or reciting the Quran. This of course is outward and clear and blatant remembrance of Allah. But what is meant here is a deeper meaning and that is not only are we remembering Allah with our tongues but we are in constant contemplation of the of the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Whenever a person goes to make a decision, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the first thing that comes to mind. Whenever a person says something, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's pleasure or anger are the first things that come to mind. Whenever a person goes to go somewhere or be somewhere or do something or commit to something or make a decision or any of the things they are remembering Allah how in their in their mind, the first thing that comes to their mind is, is this something that pleases Allah or is this something that may anger Allah who He says, number six, he says the sixth thing that is of the greatest causes for a person to be guided and they're hard to be open to thee, to thee, light and guidance of Allah is being good to the creation of Allah and benefiting the creation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in any way that he can. Whether that be with wealth, or with a person's reputation, or with a person own body. What does that mean? Well, let's break that down. When you are good to Allah's creation, Allah will be good to you. We see this pattern all through the Quran and all through the Sunnah. That when a person shows mercy to the creation, Allah will show mercy to him. The narration, very popular, famous narration that most of us know. The merciful, the most merciful, will show them mercy. Show mer to those who are on the earth and the one in the heavens will show mercy to you. This is what the prophet said. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says tell them that they forgive and pardon? Do you all not desire that Allah forgive you? So, we understand from this that if you forgive others, Allah will forgive you. If you show mercy to others, Allah will show mercy to you. If you are kind to others, Allah will be kind to you. And the narration of in Muslim, Allah Abdi, Abdul for Akihi, the Allah is at the service of his servant. Allah will always be at the aid of his servant as long as his servant is at the aid of his brother. As long as you are helping others, Allah will always be helping you. Right? As long as you are merciful to others, Allah will be merciful to you. As long as you pardon others, Allah will pardon you. As long as you are, helpful to others, Allah will be helpful to you. Etcetera, etcetera. As long as you conceal people's mistakes, Allah will conceal your mistakes. As long as you overlook other people's shortcomings, Allah will overlook your shortcomings, etcetera. To the point that this is almost a rough estimate of what you should expect on the day of resurrection. If you wish to see how is Allah going to treat me and deal with me on the day of judgement? It's a question we should all ask ourselves by the way. And it's a ques that we should all ask ourselves every single day When you wake up in the morning and when you go to sleep at night, when you wake up in the morning, you are to look in the mirror and you are to say, today, is going to be the best day, the day that I try my hardest. Okay? And you should say, based on my intention and my actions today, this will dictate how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is going to treat me. When you stand in front of the mirror, in the morning, you should imagine yourself standing in front of Allah. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. is going to happen Prophet said, there is not one of you except that he will stand before Allah and Allah will speak to him. There will be no translator or intermediary between the two. You're going to stand in front of Allah. Can you imagine? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describe the day of resurrection as Yo Mahalim. He described the day of resurrection as a great and tremendous day. A day when the people will all rise for the Lord of the worlds. Can you imagine yourself How frail is the human being? How frail are we, huh? How frail is the human being? If it gets just a little bit cold, that's it. You can't sleep, you can't sit, your joints hurt, you can't do anything. If it gets just a little bit too hot, you sweat, you take your clothes off, you can't sleep, you can't eat, you can't human being is extremely, extremely frail. This frail human being who is filled with many different emotions that fight each other. human being is naturally ignorant, is naturally selfish, is naturally ungrateful as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala described the human being. is naturally oppressive. In spite of himself being so weak. Now, imagine your weakness and imagine that weakness standing in front of the King of Kings, the judge of judges, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. This is something that's going to happen As a matter of fact, it is so sure that it's going to happen, that Allah speaks about it in the Quran as if it's already happened. Well our Torah is the.

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As well. It is so sure that it might as well have already happened. It is so positively going to happen that it can referred to as past tense. That's how positive we are that we're going to stand in front of Allah. With all our weaknesses and with all our skeletons and sins. and then you're going to stand in front of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. You can't hide anything. You can't argue. He is very swift in judgement. Right? and so, if you want to know roughly When that day comes when I stand in front of Allah with all my weakness and all of my sins, how is Allah going to treat me? Look at how you treat other people. Look at how you treat the creation of Allah. greet the creation of Allah and other people Well, you can expect nothing less from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And if you are angry and arrogant and dismissive and etcetera, then you can expect something of similar nature from Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. We will end with that for tonight to allow Allah Muhammad.