Know Allah in Good Times, Not Just Crisis

Alhamdulillah.

[Silence]

For Babel. Continuing.

[Silence]

A narration that Noah mentions as the third consecutive narration in this chapter, the fifth chapter of the chapter of vigilance of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala. we could go ahead and read the first portion of the narration that we've already covered. forch.

[Silence]

He mentions the narration of Ib. He says Abbass narrates that one day I was behind the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam writing and he said to me young boy I'm going to teach you some truths be preserve the boundaries of Allah the commandments of Allah the prohibitions of Allah and Allah will preserve you in turn preserve Allah and his boundaries and his prohib prohibitions and you will always find him before you. If you ask then ask Allah and if you seek aid then seek aid in Allah and know that if all of the world were to collaborate to attempt to benefit you with something they could only benefit you with that which Allah has already written for you. And conversely, if they were to collaborate, to attempt to harm you with something, they could only harm you with that which Allah has already written again upon you. The pens of decree have already been lifted from the pages and those pages have since dried. This narration is been collected by Abisa in his sun and graded by as being authentic and it is as he has said. Now there is another addition another portion outside of it's actually inbah addition to this in which Ib adds that the prophet sallallahi wasallam added which is the same meaning as preserve Allah's boundaries and preserve and adhere to Allah's boundaries and laws, prohibitions and obligations etc. And you will always find him in front of you. You will always find him there before you. get to know and become familiar to Allah in time of ease and Allah will know you in your times of difficulty. This is a very key component which separates the believer from the non-believer. There is nothing unique per se about a person who is afflicted with a calamity or difficulty, finds himself in a crisis and calls out to Allah. Everybody does this. Every human being when the illusion of independence drops, a person is faced with just how weak and helpless he is and how in need he is of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in those moments of difficulty and crisis and tragedy etc. Everyone calls out to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. However, what is unique is someone who sees through that illusion in times of ease. In times when most people fall asleep, most people become deceived by the illusion. Most people start to believe that illusion of independence. The believer continuously sees his absolute dependence on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and this is what is most counted for a person. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has mentioned that the disbelievers the mushri of Mecca those who had rejected the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam's call to Islam so staunchly and so vehemently that those same individuals when they per for instance were would find themselves on a boat and the sea becomes chaotic and they fear death and fear destruction. Those same worshippers of those same idoltors, those same men that would otherwise die in defense of their idols would then abandon their idols and call to Allah alone without any partners. This is something that Allah subhanahu.

[Arabic recitation]

Throughout the Quran as an evidence an evidence a testimony from a person's own self to what he really believes. and so this is something that is not very unique. What is unique is that a person in times of ease, in times when the illusion of independence is most is most captivating, is most deceptive, is most inviting. The person still remembers Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala, still obeys Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala. That is when a person is able to truly build a strong and meaningful relationship with Allah. Not when things are going bad, but when things are going good. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us that the human being is most prone to disbelief when he is in times of ease. He says, "Subhanala that the human being will transgress mainly when he sees himself as independent, not in need of anyone else, not in need of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so when is a meaningful relationship built with Allah? It's built during times of ease. It's built during times of comfort. It's built during times when most people would forget. When the nature of the human being kicks in to forget and enjoy and fall asleep, this person remains vigilant of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala during this time. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us the story of Ununus. What is it that saved you from the belly of that whale? What does Allah sight as the thing the saving grace for you? It was his worship. Correct? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says Allah says that Once he was swallowed by the whale, had it not been for his t meaning worship, general worship of Allah, obedience to Allah, he would have remained in that will's belly until the day of resurrection. Now, is there any person alive or dead? Any human being that has ever existed that would be swallowed by a whale? Any human being whose sanity is still intact that would be swallowed by a whale? Swallowed by a whale and not call out to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Where is this person? Bring me the most avid, staunch, vehement, vicious atheist and let a whale swallow them. They will call out to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala alone without any partners perfected in that moment. Right? So then what is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala referring to here in this verse? He says, that he was someone who obeyed and worshiped Allah before the whales swallowed him. Not not after. Yes, after he called out to Allah, but before the whale swallowed him, he had a strong relationship with Allah. He had built a strong relationship of obedience to Allah before that incident. He had he had an account of worship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So when he needed Allah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala responded as the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam teaches us here. He says he says build that relationship with Allah. Obey Allah in times of ease and Allah will recognize you and acknowledge you and answer your prayer and deliver you in your times of deepest need. Right? This is the most critical difference between the believer and the disbeliever. between the one who has a meaningful relationship with Allah and one who doesn't. Everyone calls out to Allah in times of hardship. It is only the believer that calls out to Allah in times of ease. And honestly, every single one of these sentences is a principle by which a person is to live his life and a principle by which a person is to understand the Quran. He says in the next sentence, back. Subhan Allah. He says, "And no, be certain, have no doubt that whatever has afflicted you could never have missed you, was never meant to miss you, and that whatever has missed you was never meant to afflict you." The whole concept of close call almost. This is a concept for human beings who are messy and ignorant and unable to compute all the variables. We have things that. Right? However, with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, there is that which is and that which isn't. Right? There is that which afflicts a person. Even if it just seems it if just one little thing would have changed, that wouldn't have happened. No, that's an illusion. It was never meant to miss that person. Right? I'll give you an example. A person jumps in his car, drives down the road. As he's driving down the road, he passes, let's say, a drunk driver. They get killed. They get hit by this driver. They get killed. that moment when they their path intersected with this other driver that ended up the cause of claiming their life. What could have changed or what was needed to change in order for him to miss that to leave his house? If he would have dropped his keys at the door of his car and bent over to pick the keys up, they would have missed it. That would have never happened, right? That's the illusion. If he would have jumped in his car and as he's backing out, a dog passed behind his car. He had to pump the brakes for a second. That one second completely makes them what? makes their paths miss each other. They would have never crossed paths. That's the illusion. That is the illusion by which the non-Muslim, the disbeliever, the one who does not see by the decree of Allah sees the world. As for the believer, what does our prophet teach us? Doesn't matter if it was one second or one hour or one year or one century. It was written. That's why we're taught to say what when something happens. When it's happened and it's done, what are we taught to say? That is the decree of Allah. And what he has willed, he has done. That's what we're taught to say. Not almost if only. This is the wording of the disbeliever in the Quran. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,.

[Silence]

You meet. He says, "Oh, you who have believed, do not be the disbelievers, those who say to their brothers, their comrades, when they are claimed by death in battle or in travel. If only they had stayed home, they would not have died." Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that is merely an illusion that is used by Allah as a punishment for their disbelief to cause them agony in their hearts but really it is Allah who gives life and takes life doesn't matter if it was in this trip often times we look at it as the person left the person crossed the street and the car hit them and they died. And the idea is if they hadn't crossed the street, they would have lived. This is incorrect. Really, the understanding of Allah's decree is what? This person died because Allah wrote for him to die at this moment. Crossing the street is just incidental, right? You could not have avoided that. If this person were to be locked down by the department of of of defense to not cross that street and Allah subhanahu wa tala had written that upon him, he will cross that street. There is no way to avoid that with respect to the decree of Allah. Now that doesn't mean that people aren't held account. They are held to account. This is not our discussion. Our discussion now is something that happens. Could it have not happened? The answer is Allah had decreed it. We will continue this inshallah in our next gathering and.