Building Your Shield: What is True Taqwa?

Can't hear when he's reading. You wait until he pauses. If he gives you enough time, you give him. If not, he continues. But if you feel that he's kind of he's kind of asking you, then the person directly behind him with a nice clear voice so that he can hear. Very good. Alhamdulillah.

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Continuing in. We have just completed the fifth chapter which is the chapter of vigilance of Allah's observation. We're getting now into the sixth chapter which is the chapter of if we were to look at from a bird's eye view how is it comprised is comprised of 19 books. Okay, 19 books and an extensive introduction of general things, telqua, honesty, vigilance, etc. Honoring the guest, what have you. So, we have 19 books and then we have this extensive almost just just shy of a hundred or a little less chapters. we have yes 83 chapters. So 83 chapters followed by 19 books each book on a particular topic. For instance, the book of manners, the book of etiquets, the book of traveling, the book of virtues, the book of prohibitions, right? the book of miscellaneous things whatever didn't fit in the first chapters or 19 books is mentioned at the end. The beautiful thing about it's almost just just a little shy of 2,000 narrations. There is some slight repetition. However, if a person were to read, become dedicated to and study it, study it to where it's as if the person has memorized it. They haven't memorized it, but it's as if it is memorized. They are very familiar with it. If they needed to look something up, they can recall it. that kind of familiarity then this person has made himself familiar with a huge chunk of the prophet's sunnah. As a matter of fact, we might even dare say most of the essential core narrations and sunnah of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. if we were to look at Bkari and Muslim take them together together without repetition right without repetition we're going to have just shy of 30ome narrations 30ome hundred narration 3,000 and some narrations without repetition is going to mention a big majority of that because most of is comprised from Bkari Muslim. So this book is a milestone. It is an essential book of reading for every Muslim. Every Muslim. This is the book that a person should become familiar with. If a person were to say, "What should I read? What should I recite? if I'm reading the Quran every day, I want to become more familiar with the prophet sallall.aii wasallam with his sunnah. We say the 40 narrations of a noi. We start with those because those are the principles of all of the sunnah. And then we follow that up with and we understand through the lens of the 40 narrations. Meaning anything that is generalized in we take it back to the specificity of those 40 narrations. Those are the principles of the prophet sunnah of much of the principles of Islam in general, right? including the Quran. If we read the Quran, we understand it through the lens of fat through the lens of the 40 narrations. When you're reading a book of hadith like what are you reading? You're reading a of the Quran. That's what it is. You are reading the implementation and understanding of the prophet sallall.aii wasallam of the Quran. and any additions that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala found fit. The sixth chapter now is the chapter of the chapter of a tawa. If what if we were to say what would you translate tawa to a tawa? What do you guys think? You say translate what does a tawa mean? What would you translate it as? consciousness of Allah. Well, we got that first in, didn't we? We just we just finished that chapter. What What do you understand a ta to be?

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Okay. So if we say if we say for instance Allah says what does that translate to?

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Fear. If you read in some it will say fear. Right now this is an important point. Fear is not necessarily tawa. However, fear is the driving force behind tawa. Okay. If I said for instance, if I.

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Well, you can't keep interrupting with half things. So, if we were to say a car for instance, we mention I can refer to the car by some of its most critical components, right? So, I can call a car wheels, right? What about if I say we need some speed? Speed, right? I need something fast. I need I need to get some, you know, some speed going. This can also be a reference to the car. It's not part of the car, is it? It's not part of it. However, it is the it is the essential attribute of the car. It is the driving force behind the car. Its existence, its presence, all of that. That is why we have cars. That's why we manufacture them. That is why they that is the propelling force. The same thing here with tawa and fear. When we say tawa means fear of Allah, not really. Fear is what makes a person exhibit tawa. It's the thing that makes a person have tawa. We say what is the essential driving force behind a person observing tawa? It is fear of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala. But when we look into the language of the word tawa, we see that it shares a common etmology and root word with from something violent or something that is harmful. We call this a it can be something that is steel or iron. It could be something that is a piece of clothing. It is a right. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that.

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So Allah mentions this word as a verb and he says that he has provided for us knowledge to be able to design clothing and fashion clothing for ourselves that will protect us from the sun that will protect us from the violence of others, right? Armor. So we see that the word tawa is to use take something as a shield. Now when we look at the Quran, we see that Allah uses this verb with respect to himself. He uses this word with respect to the hellfire, right? What does this mean? This means that we are taking a shield. We are shielding ourselves from the anger of Allah, from the hellfire, from the punishment of Allah. So when Allah says, he's essentially saying, shield yourselves from Allah's anger. When he says, he's saying, "Shield yourselves from the fire." When he says, "Shield yourselves and your family from a fire, blazing fire." So, a tawa is a shield. It's a shield, right? And when he uses it as an as an adjective, a description, he refers to the people of Eman as what does that mean? They are the people who have managed to successfully shield themselves from the punishment of Allah. That's a mut. Who is a mut? the one who has managed to accomplish shielding himself from the anger and the punishment of Allah from the hellfire. Now here's the question. Who is the only person that can protect you from Allah?

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Protect you from Allah. Correct? Listen to this narration. The prophet sallallah.aii alaihi wasallam used to make the dua. Used to make this dua and he used to say, "Oh Allah, I seek refuge in your pleasure from your anger. And I seek refuge in your pardon from your justice. Mink and I seek refuge in you from you. There is no protection nor escape from you except with you. Allah says This is this is the essence of Allah says so run to Allah flee to Allah. He says commenting on this verse he says this means flee from Allah to Allah. The only one that can protect you from Allah is Allah. This is where the Muslim and the this is where they clash essentially because the mushri say that they worship other than Allah to protect them from Allah. meaning that they will intercede on their behalf. What did the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam say to his daughter Fatima or announced in general? He said, he said, "Oh, Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, ask me of my possessions and I'll give them to you. Anything you want, but I cannot save you from Allah." What did the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam say to his dying uncle? He saidill he said sayahill and I will use this statement that you make as an argument for you before Allah. So what does this mean? This means that no one can save you from Allah except for Allah. Now, how do we go about obtaining Allah's salvation? we understand now that the only one that can save you from Allah is Allah. So now, how do I get Allah to save me from himself? What's the answer? very good is to obey a law. He said worship and righteous deeds that boils down to obedience, right? So here is the definition of a tawa. Remember this, memorize this. These are not just fancy words. I could sit up here every day and tell you stories and make you feel real nice and feel butterflies in your stomach and in your tummy every time you sit down. I could entertain you. I could. Yeah. And then we could do this for 20 years and nothing will change in your life. Or we could start learning what our Allah's words mean. When I'm teaching you these things, it's not for my benefit. I mean, I benefit in the sense that I hope Allah accepts it as a form of worship, but I know these things. I could keep them to myself. Do you not think that the style of teaching that I have, it makes a lot of people it it some people don't sit around for it, right? They leave. Why? Because it's not very entertaining. And you got to you got to you have to put in an effort to learn something. I'm teaching you how to free yourselves from servitude to other human beings. I want you to learn so that you don't need other people to tell you what Allah said. I want you to understand what Allah said. And that is only going to happen if we put in the hard work. Here is the definition of awa as posited by the scholars of Islam. They tell us for.

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He is heavy. for here.

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Right? So for instance, this is the or this is the definition of a tawa. very important word for us to understand the definition of it's all over the Quran. It's all over the Sunnah. What is a tawa? The scholars tell us a tawa is defined as shielding yourself from the punishment of Allah by fulfilling his commandments and abstaining from his prohibitions. That is a tawa. A tawa is obtaining a shield. Shielding yourself from the punishment of Allah, from the anger of Allah, from the wrath of Allah. Shielding yourself from the punishment of Allah by fulfilling his obligations and refraining from his prohibitions. Right? Who are the of Allah? What make who is a we hear this a lot, right? The is some kind of mystical thing. Tell me loud. It's okay. Say it. Say whatever you remember. Put a big smile on my face. Now you're thinking correctly. And that is what is a wii? We have a verse from the Quran. Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala says.

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Indeed the true saints, the true chosen with Allah, the true close alliance of Allah. No fear upon them and no grief or sadness will overtake them in the end. Who are they? The ones who believe and observe the tawa of Allah. What is the tawa of Allah? It is say it back to me quickly and I'll let you go. What is a tawa? Define it. shielding yourself from the punishment of Allah by observing his obligations and abstaining from his prohibition. Memorize it. Go on the video, the Facebook, review it. Right? If you really want to benefit from these classes every day, review the video after you leave here on your drive on whatever, review it. Review it every day, twice, three times. Review it till you've memorized or committed to memory not only the meanings but the language of the scholars because that's important. A lot of times people know something but they're unable to communicate it in the language of the scholars. We will end with that.

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