How does bravery open the heart to truth?

To accepting what is right, rejecting what is false. These are things that many of us know consciously that we are supposed to do, right? As Muslims, we are supposed to accept accept truth. We are supposed to reject falsehood and so forth but there are millennia. There are hindrances. Things that get in the way of us accepting the truth and rejecting falsehood. What I mean by accepting the truth and rejecting falsehood is not just accepting it and saying, yes, I believe that. When you accept something that is the truth, it affects your actions. It affects your speech. So, if you accept a verse from the Quran, it changes you and it changes your actions and it changes your heart and it changes your outlook and it changes the way that you see the world and it changes the way that you speak and it changes the way that you deal with others and it may change your sleep pattern and it may change your diet and it may change all kinds of things, alright? And so, acceptance is not just lip service, just I accept that. Yes This is true and this is false. That's not that's not that's very superficial acceptance. Acceptance of the truth is when it is received by the heart and finds a place there to reside. Where a person will be affected by these things that they have accepted. Likewise, rejection of falsehood is not to just say, oh I reject this. I don't agree with this, etcetera but it will affect your actions. So, let's give an example on that. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and he said, he mentions and this chapter we've been in for a long time, right? We're about, we're about close to the end but this chapter is one of the most important chapters in all of Zed al Maat. In fact, it was it's to be so important that some scholars have taken this chapter alone and written entire books on explaining and expounding upon the meanings of this chapter. Because of its importance and because of the depth of the things that lawless if Ibn al Kaim Rahim Allah wish to expound upon these meanings. more than he did in the original text. It would have been the the book would have ballooned up much much larger than it already is and actually, we could say, subjectively that his other book, Madera Giuselikin, Madara Giuselikin, the stations and the levels of those who are on their way to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is kind of an explanation of this chapter, really. Yeah. Whole book and it's a very long book. It's a it's about 1500 pages long and it's essentially an explanation of but these things that he list here and brevit with brevity in he has expounded upon in other places and other works of his such as Madera Giuselikin which was one of his most most received books and one of his most expansive books with regards to the heart and its connection to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the journey of person takes throughout his life on his way to meeting Allah. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's what book is actually about. This book is about the prophet and following in that line what is part of his sunnah? What is part of his way? What is what is what is the what are the causes for us to accept his sunnah? and accept what we learn from this book. Well, these things that he lists. There are other things as well but the topic of this book just does not allow too much too much detail on these issues. So, we have spent a lot of time in this chapter which we are bringing the words of from his other works into our explanation of this chapter. Even though this chapter, we could have breached through it and and and 15 minutes and kept going. However, it's a very very important chapter which is why I had chose to take the route of spending a lot of time in this chapter because it deals with the heart. It deals with the heart being opened. If the heart's not open, the rest of the book is not going to be of use and so, he is listing these things that act as a cause for the heart to be open, open to the prophet and as I mentioned, when a person accepts something as truth, it has to be accepted to the point that it affects his or her. That it affects his or her actions, right? And speech and outlook and whatever it is and likewise when a person rejects falsehood, it it it has to purge itself from a person's actions and speech and demeanor and thought. This is what truly rejecting and accepting means. It's not merely to just, you know, say, yes, I believe the Quran is true and I read it and you know, I breached through it and at the end of reading the Quran, I'm the same guy was the no matter how many times you read the Quran. Sometimes, people read the Quran once a month. Some people read the Quran once every three weeks. Some people read the Quran once every two weeks. Some people read the Quran once every week, once every three days. No matter how many times you read the Quran, if you are the same person at the end that you were at the beginning, you have not read the Quran. You may have worded it. You may have mouthed its words but you did not read the Quran. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said He said in those whom we have given the book to, meaning of the companions of the prophet and those righteous that came before, they recite and follow its recitation the way that it should be followed. Those are the ones who have have truly believed in the Quran. So, we Understand from this that faith, when we say faith, what is faith? I say belief. Belief is not an adequate word, okay? That's not enough. They have the scholars of they have clearly identified and defined the meaning of in the Quran and in the Sunnah what is Al Iman? Al Iman in the language christically, language wise. It is not only just a belief but a belief that is so strong and so deeply accepted and embedded in a person's heart. That it that it demands action and it demands ad herence. So, if a person believes in something, it will demand ad herence. If they merely know it, but they do not but it they do not ad here to what they know. This is not what is meant by belief in the Quran and Sunnah, right? And so, as the scholars have also mentioned, belief, what is belief? Belief is basically five things. Number one, it is acceptance and belief in the heart and it manifests itself and it is a speech with the tongue and it is also something that articulates itself in actions and it increases with the obedience of Allah and decreases with the disobedience of Allah. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. That is the meaning of imam. So, what is a man? Iman? It is belief in the heart. And also actions of the heart. It speech. It is action, and it increases with obedience to Allah and it decreases with the disobedience of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So, it fluctuates based on a person's, a person's actions and speech, and the strength of their belief. An example of this, when we say a person believes something but they did not ad here to it that it is not belief. A very good example. There are many examples in the Quran but there's one that comes to mind in Allah says, and.

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Of these verses of the Quran of the Sunnah. They disbelieve in them and they make fun of them and they make light of them. Allah says, so do not sit in their company as they do that. unless they, unless they speak about another topic, right? So, in Medina, there were Muslims and non Muslims and households were shared by both Muslims and non Muslims, right? So, some of the people in the household may be Muslim and others may be non Muslims. They may be Jewish. They may be idolaters, they may be unMuslims, whatever it is and so, the that was in every home, however, was the prophet and the Quran that he came with. This is something that was spoken about and discussed at length by everybody because it was so compelling and so, it entered every home. However, in these homes, sometimes the non Muslims in these homes would begin to make lights or even mock these verses of the Quran that were revealed and disbeli in them and speak about their disbelief and express their disbelief in them and so forth. So, there would be Muslims in the home as well. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ordered the Muslims do not sit in these gatherings. If this is what is happening, if if if the Quran and the Sunnah are being rejected out outwardly and they are being made a mockery of, then, you are not to sit in these gatherings. Until day, speak about another topic. You know you have your parents or whoever it is in the home that's not Muslim. They speak about other topics that are neutral. That's fine. You can sit with them and you can speak with them about that. But if the topic of Allah and his messenger come up and they begin to make a mockery of it or make light of it or etcetera. Then you are too. Remove yourself from that gathering. And you are not to sit in a gathering that. What does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then say right after? He says if you continue to sit in that gathering, even if you're not speaking, you're not to, you're not, you're not saying yes, I agree or no you're just you're just there, right? You're just present in that gathering. He says, if you are doing that, then you are the same as them. You are equal to them. But do we understand from this? We understand from this that yes, I believe in Allah in the last day but if I sit in such a gathering and it doesn't affect me to the point where I have the inclination to remove myself or speak out, then, this is not really belief. This is just a very superficial belief. True belief, expresses itself on a person's tongue and a person's action if it doesn't, if it doesn't demand ad herence, then it's not belief. It hasn't reached a deep enough part in your heart for you to have truly believed in it, right? And so, When we say the the the causes for the heart to be open, understand that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he has referred to himself in the Quran and he has said have you planted it or are we the ones who plant? So Allah is referred to himself in that way that he plants seeds that he sows seeds and to sow seeds, to plant a seed in the ground, you have to disturb the earth. You have to open it up. It's a violent process, right? And that's what learning is. You come to learn something, something that you thought is the way or you're comfortable, right? But the Quran and the Sunnah, they have in order for them to be planted properly. There has to be pickaxe or there has to be a shovel that's taken and then the earth has to be disturbed and broken apart in order to reach a place where that seed can find it, can find its its bed so that it will grow and be nourished and that process is uncomfortable, right? It's uncomfortable. The Earth is nice and flat and leave it it is. Yeah, if we leave it it is, we won't get any fruits. So, in order to get those fruits, we have to first destroy and then we have to repair. right? And so, is speaking about the things that will open up the earth in order for those seeds to be sown in order for those seeds to be planted. What are the things that a person can do and what are the things that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does in order to disturb that earth and open it up and open up a caveat in it. Deep enough in order that seed may be sown That a seed may be embedded into that earth so that we can have some results, right and so this is what this chapter is about. That's why it's such an important chapter of and I encourage everybody to not only be suffice with what it is we say here but also go online, look up you know, Zad Al Maad for Ibn Al Kaim in Arabic, in English. You don't have to buy the book. Look it up. Go to this chapter. Read what he says. Right? Research it. This is this is this is how knowledge is sought. This is how knowledge is is is implemented The seventh thing he, seventh thing that he mentions is of the things that open the heart is a says, bravery. bravery. Bravery is one of the keys to opening the heart. Is a person who is brave and is courageous and has valor. This person, their heart is open. What does that mean? How could bravery have something to do with that? It has a big, it has a big role to play. That is when a perfect person is brave. What is bravery? Doesn't mean that you're not scared. Everybody get scared. Everybody gets nervous. Everybody gets anxiety, right? The brave, the courageous, they are able to push away that feeling and do what needs to be done. That's the ultimate really of, that's the ultimate of what the truth is. Isn't it? Is that you receive the truth? It's uncomfortable. The ground is being dug. It's being disturbed. You're uncomfortable with what is being said. However, you have the bravery and the courage to accept it in spite of whatever the consequences or whatever the results may be. When I say bravery and courage, most of us, what comes to our mind is bravery and violence and that's not what I'm speaking about. That is an aspect of bravery, an aspect of bravery is in violence, in times of violence, in times of war, in times of physical violence where there's physical harm that could be put on a person right? A person could be afflicted with. that's a type of bravery that you put yourself in harm's way because you know that this thing needs to be done or this thing cannot happen, right? However, the bravery is much more broad than that. There's a lot of types of bravery bravery An example of bravery is accepting the message and following the what's good in a bad world. Everybody will point fingers at you and say, what are you doing, man? This is this is ridiculous. This is this. This is that. Look at the rest of the world. It's a very dark world and you're trying to keep a light lit in it, right? It's a dark world. It's a bad world and you're trying to be good. That's a type of bravery. You're trying to be good in a bad world. people around you or snakes in the grass. They lie. They have many faces. Not just two faces. The prophet said in the he said in the worst of people are.

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Unfortunately, we live in a world where it's not just.

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What he has told us through his revelations and his prophets. That's what right and wrong is and so, If the whole world is doing something wrong or if the majority or if you see everybody and and it looks like they're getting ahead, you know, they're getting ahead and they're they're doing these things and it's working out for them and here I am. I'm not doing it. That's a type of bravery. You're being courageous. You're facing a cold world because you're holding on to a book and a hope. That's all we have really, right? We have a book and we have a promise from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We have a hope that All will fulfill that promise Not that Allah won't fulfill his promise but that we meet the criteria for him to fulfill his promise. That's what we hope for. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will always fulfill his promise. But he also says fulfill my fulfill my fulfill your obligations and I will fulfill mine. Fulfill your your half of the agreement and I will fulfill mine. So we hope that Allah will fulfill his promise with us. Meaning that we hope that we will make ourselves eligible for his promise of forgiveness and salvation before we leave this earth and this world. That's what's meant, right? And so, the issue here, the issue here is, braver y. Not just talking about being a tough guy. Not just talking about in the face of violence. That that's something that yes, it takes bravery to do that but it's really not that difficult, right? Because when when violence is occurring, sometimes you are sucked into it and you have no other choice but to engage in that in in that violence. And that is a type of bravery. But there's other bravery it's much more, much much more subtle what we mentioned. Trying to uphold the words of Allah even though a lot of people or many people or most people or all the people or whatever it is, do not uphold the word of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Being honest while the while while the majority are dishonest. Being being doing the right thing when the majority not only are not doing the right thing but scorn you and look down at you and point fingers at you for doing the right thing. The prophet said Islam Muslim he said Islam began strange and it would return to being strange just as it began. You know, this narration, just as it began, it will return to being strange. How, what what does that mean? It was strange when it began. Meaning, when the prophet arrived as a prophet and he told people, do not worship idols. true brotherhood is found in Allah True love is for the sake of Allah. be honest, keep good ties with your kin. Stand up for what is right. defend the weak. Defend the the give of what you have. Don't be stingy. Etcetera. Etcetera. All of these things that he mentions. Pray and These were very strange ideas People didn't take them very well. Most of them didn't what he was saying. Because people found their pride in their lineage. I'm from the tribe of so and so. I am I am of this race. Therefore, I am superior. So, the prophet came and did away with that. Said, no, you're not superior. Superiority comes not in the color of your skin or your lineage, superiority comes in. The veracity of your actions, your legacy, and your station and with Allah. That's what real honor is. People didn't that, right? So, it was strange. It was strange to them and not only was it strange but people pointed fingers at them and they made jokes about them and they mocked them. The the early companions. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said The life of this world has been made beautiful in the eyes of those who disbelieve and they make a mockery of the believers. They make jokes about them. They point at them. They they they they you know mock them and they belittle them and sometimes they tortured them, right? And that was the most extreme cases that were happening in the later days of the prophet Dawah in Mecca, right? And then it and then it turned into full-blown war later on when he moved to Medina. They still wouldn't leave him alone. Now, it was just pure violence and and armies were attacking him and his companions from every single direction there is. Right? Every tribe, they would all collaborate and find a common enemy and that was the prophet tribes that had been sworn enemies for centuries. collaborated just to see the downfall of the prophet and his companions. So, bravery was not just in the time of war, bravery was also in the time of peace. Bravery in our lives is not just that we are willing to put our body in harm's way. That's that's not that fantastic, really. It's not. Non Muslims do that all the time. Just fast What is true fasting, right? Fasting the prophet said, Rafath. He said, true fasting is not to just abstain from food and drink and and and deprive your body of food and drink. True fasting is to refrain from that which is haram and that which is idle and unusedful. That's what true fasting is. There's fasting, not eating all day until the sun goes down, not drinking anything. That's not that fantastic. Most people can do that on the first goal. Soccer moms do that. Little girls trying to lose weight, do that. Everybody can do that, right? It's not that fantastic. What's fantastic is to control your temper, control your heart, control your right? That's that that's that's where the rubber meets the road. Control your tongue Same thing with bravery. Going out and fighting. Once the fight starts or once the battle begins, you're not thinking about anything. You're not scared anymore. Most people once the battle begins and the first bullets start flying or the first sword starts swinging. Call us. All you're focused on is the fight. It's not that fantastic. It's not that amazing. Muslims and non Muslims all do that. What's is to be different amongst the people that force you to be in their way. That's amazing What's brave is not to just meet the enemy in the battlefield. What's brave is what the youth of the cave did. Where they left everything and they went and hid in this cave because they refused to bow down to other than Allah What's what's brave is the prophet and his companions leaving their home and leaving their wealth and moving to a strange land. Right? This is bravery and when a person does this, when a person puts himself in that kind of vulnerability, he is actually opening his heart very very much and this is what Ibn il Kaim is referring to here. So, it's not just I'm brave because I can shoot a gun or I'm not afraid of anybody and all this tough guy talk. That's everybody says that, right? True, bra is your actions, that you're willing to be different for the right reasons in spite of your environment. Everybody is, is, is, is, is, going against what is right, you have the audacity to do what's right in a in a in a wrong world. You have the audacity to be good in a bad world. You have the audacity to say, this is wrong and I will not engage in it. I don't care who does, I don't, I don't, it doesn't matter to me. If the Sheikh himself says it's okay all the way down to whoever. I know this is wrong and I will not engage in it and I will not be pressured by any society or anyone to engage in it. That's bravery and that's what the companions at the beginning of Islam went through. That's what was meant by this religion began strange and it will return to be strange it began. because just your breath, right? First, your lungs are empty. you take a deep breath, they fill to capacity, but then the breath comes out again, right? We have an ark, and then we have a climax, and then it descends again. This is what happened to the Muslim Ummah. Right? Muslims within 23 years of receiving all the way to between these two verses, they took over and they were able to govern the majority, all of the known world. And by the time of the end of the, they were the greatest empire that humanity has ever seen and they were the most effective empire. They were the best thing that happened to humanity. it's not just about taking over land and conquering land. The Romans did that. The Persians did that, right? The the the Pharaohs did that. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about they were able to not only conquer but they were able to conquer the hearts of people. That's truly amazing and they did that in how many years? 40 years? Pretty fast. And that legacy lasted for how long? Last for about 1300 years. 1, 350 years until the final collapse of the Ottoman Empire and now everybody's off doing their own thing. Everybody's all willy nilly. Our head got cut off. Whether that was good or bad, this is all part of the plan of Allah This is one of the signs of the hour, one of the signs of the hour is one of the signs of the hours One of the signs of the hour that the prophet mentioned is that there will be many many police forces that will enforce different laws and there will be many many leaders. Each person will take a piece of land and have his own country and they will be their own king. This is this is exactly what the prophet told us was going to happen. Don't be surprised by it. It's dismaying. It's not nice. It doesn't feel good. It doesn't it's not nice to have non Muslims tell us that there's a difference between the Jordanians and Palestinians and Lebanese and Iraqi and and Malaysian and and Indonesian and this this is not pleasant, right? And so you have Palestinians that you know, you know, when the English came and they gave us our borders and they said, okay, this is Jordan and this is Palestine and this is Syria and this is Lebanon and this is Iraq and this is Tunis and this is you know, and they gave us all of these things. We got these things from non Muslims. Not how the Muslim Empire was. Yeah, we we used to describe certain areas. This is the land of Iraq. This is the, we didn't say it say there's a difference between us. Didn't say there's a difference between Iraqi and a Palestinian or a Yemeni but when they gave us those borders and they gave us patrols on their borders, now, we start to, oh, there's a big difference. Palestinians are good. Jordanians are bad. Jordanians are good and Palestinians are bad, etcetera, etcetera. All this came from home. All this came non Muslims. This was the inoculation that they gave us. Right? This is this is only exist in our heads. There's no difference. There's no difference. The only difference between us is our is our religion and our strength with Allah. That's it. If you want to be you know, we are we are Egypt. We are the mother of the Earth. We are the land of knowledge. Okay, okay. right? True valor and true honor belongs to Allah and his messenger and the believers. That's it. Does it belong to Egypt? It doesn't belong to Palestine. It doesn't belong to Jordan. It doesn't belong. This is all just a bunch of false things that a Shaitan put in our heads to divide us. That's what this is. There's no difference. So, you're telling me that that when I'm standing on the border of Palestine and I cross into the border of Syria, there's somehow a difference between the people. There may be difference in the way that we speak, difference in the way that we cook our food. What's the difference between us and them? All of the sudden, I have left the land of of of of men of courage and went into the land of the men of of snakes and and and and the feeble. This is nonsense. This did not come to us from the prophet or Allah. This came to us from a Shaitan and his minions from the human being this is all very recent. This was never something that happened in the time of the true the true leaders of Islam. There was a and after that there were states that would follow that Khalifa. That's it. Where are you from? I'm from Iraq. I'm from Yemen. I'm from Palestine. I'm from here. I'm from there. All of that doesn't mean anything. show us what you're made of. Right? and so what is, what is courage courage is the strength of mind and will To have fingers pointed at you. We pointed out and and looked at as as wrong and weak and feeble and this and that. Why? Because you are? You are working with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. What people say is is immaterial to you. It's not affect what you know to be right. You read in the Quran you read in the Sunnah, this is wrong, you follow it. And then other Muslims will point fingers at you. Because this religion began strange and it will return to be strange it was before, right? So people that wear your clothing and speak your tongue, they're the ones that will scold you for it. They are the ones that will say, what are you doing? And this is not Islam, this is this, this is that, right? When you learn and you know this is right, and you know this is wrong, not suspect, not think, not go on your own whim, not make tough seal of the Quran on your own. This is not what we're speaking about. We're speaking about no. This is an issue of right and wrong. Not an issue of difference of opinion. That's that's a totally different issue. We're speaking about this is right and this is wrong and you have the audacity and the courage to stand up and say no matter how many people on this earth do this, it will always be wrong and I refuse to engage in this. That's what is meant by bravery. Right? You have the courage to have less than others because you're not willing to do what others are doing to get more. You have the courage to live a different lifestyle. style that is less exciting. Said, do not be fooled by all of the travel and dazzle of the people of disbelief in all of the earth. This is just a fleeting pleasure that they will enjoy. So, the the the the companions they were fine, they were upstanding, they believed in the prophet all of a sudden, they're in famine. All of the sudden, nobody wants to do business with them. All of the sudden, their own mother and father disowned them. All of the sudden, right? And so, they are suffering with the prophet again, a book and a hope. That's all they have to hold onto. They may have lost thing. Some of them lost their their wives. Their wives left them. I don't want to I don't want any Muslim. I don't want anything to do with that. Their own mother and father left them. Some of them were even chained up in a room. in their own home, by their own parents, chained with chains. Right? In their own in their own home. And meanwhile, the non Muslims, Abujah, Abulaha, all these guys. the disbelievers, they're traveling, they're eating grapes from Damascus in in the in the in the winter. They're enjoying apples from over here. They're traveling all over and they have this fancy caravan and everybody, you know, bows down to them and so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells the companions and he tells the prophet.

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Don't be fooled by this. This is just busy work. You are the ones that are on the truth. Stay on the truth. be afraid of man. What does that mean to not be afraid of man? Everybody has a natural fear of being hacked to death or shot or we all are afraid of that, right? But are we all do we find fear in our hearts from our boss, from our from the person who signs our paycheck that maybe he won't sign it. Maybe he'll fire me. Maybe if I make salah or if I do the right thing or if I don't do this wrong thing, he's going to fire me and that what am I going to do? And then was your boss there when the angel came to your mother's womb and wrote down what your bounty is going to be in this world? He wasn't there. Was he there when you were born into this world? Nope. You're going to be there when you die in Passover? Nope. It was only Allah that was there. and so a bravery is being able to look at the world in this way. I will do what is right regardless of the consequences. Now, I think is right. Not what my own opinion tells me. We're speaking about right and wrong. We're not speaking about differences of opinions and how to hold your hands in salah and that stuff. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about this is right categorically. This is hara categorically. I will not bend the law of Allah. I will ad here to it and let the chips fall where they may. That's bravery. And if you can exhibit that, your heart is open and the more you do that, the more Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will give you of his wisdom and of his light. As enough for tonight, Muhammad Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant us all true bravery and that he Allah truly opens our hearts to the Quran and Sunnah and that he you know, disturb the earth as much as he needs to in order for us to be, in order for, for us to be in order for seeds and of goodness to be sown in our hearts that we meet him with.