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A
police officer in a Muslim country wrote the
following letter to a Shaykh describing the events
that led to his return to Allah. He recalls:
Seeing accidents and
crash victims was a normal part of my day, but one
incident was different.
My partner and I had
parked on the shoulder of the highway and began to
chat. In a random second, the scene shattered to the
hideous sound of metal bodies becoming one. We threw
our heads back to see what had happened: a head-on
collision, the result of a vehicle slipping into the
lane of the oncoming traffic.
You couldn't
describe the carnage. Two young men sprawled in the
first car, both in critical condition. We carried
them gently away from the car and rested them on the
ground.
Quickly we returned
to assist the owner of the second car. He was dead.
Back we went to the two young men lying side by side
on the pavement.
My partner began
dictating the Shahadah to them. “Say:
La iIaha illAllah (there is no god but Allah), La
iIaha illAllah…”
... their tongues
wouldn't acknowledge. They started humming the
hypnotic lyrics of some song. I was terrified. My
partner had experience however and he kept repeating
his instruction.
I stood watching, no
movement, eyes locked. Never in my life had I seen
anything similar to what was going on before me. In
fact, I've never actually seen someone die, and
never in such a satanic way.
My partner continued
to instruct them to say the Shahadah but there was
no use. The hum of their song came to a slow
silence, slowly. The first one stopped and then the
other. Not a stir. Dead.
We carried them to
our patrol car, my partner made no effort to speak.
Not a whisper between us two as we carried the
corpses to the nearest hospital...
Dear brothers and
sisters, Ubayy ibn Khalaf confronted Rasul Allah -
sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - one day with a rotted
bone in his hand. He crushed it in front of his
hands, let the wind blow it away and said, “Muhammad
do you claim that Allah will bring these ashes to
life?!?"
[Has
not man considered how We created him from a drop of
semen? Yet he is an open adversary! He makes
something up to be compared with Us and forgets how
he was created. He says, "Who will revive [our]
bones after they have rotted away?]
Allah replied Ubayy
and everyone else who dares make the mistake: [Say
'The one Who raised them up in the first place will
revive them. He is aware of all creation.']
-
Surah YaaSeen 36: 77-79 (From Tafseer Ibn Katheer)
Reflecting over the
topic of this khutbah, I came across a website where
readers submit stories of their biggest regret. For
some, it was a lost love, for others it was a job
they passed up, and for still others it was a flip
of fate that ended in a horrific way.
But in all, the
regrets were worldly candies that had been lost -
short-lived pleasures of life. This is the world in
which Allah decreed that summers always come to an
end.
Those stories were
of living beings recalling their regrets. However,
what I would like to see is a website where the dead
would recall their regrets! They would not regret
the lost love, or the silly job or the twist of
fate, they would regret every second that they did
not spend worshiping Allah.
We are all here
today because we claim that Laa ilaaha illa Allah
Muhammadur Rasul Allah is what we believe.
Nevertheless, the problem is that for many it is a
belief that dropped its bags and sat down on the
tongue and did not move on to penetrate the heart.
There are many men
and women of our Deen for whom this was not the
case. Muhammad ibn Abi Imran narrates: I heard
someone ask our shaykh Hatim al-Asum how he reached
the level he was at in reliance upon Allah. He
replied, "I became
convinced in four things (i.e. that these four
things penetrated my heart). One, I am convinced
that no one else will eat the provision Allah has
decreed for me, so I am content. And two, I am
convinced that no one else is going to do good works
except me, so I am busy doing it myself. Three, I am
certain death shall come unexpectedly, so I am
busying myself in expectation of it. And four, I am
certain I shall never escape the Sight of Allah, so
I am shy to disobey him while He is watching."
Even though we all
claim to believe what Hatim al-Asum is convinced of
how many of us have it carried it past their tongue
and allowed it a space in their heart.
We all know what the
media does to distort facts on the nightly news.
They take a long speech, cut and paste, and take
words out of context. Well, the media is not the
only one that takes things out of context. Consider
the following verse:
[Say:
"My servants who have acted extravagantly
against themselves still do not despair of Allah's
mercy. Allah forgives all offences; He is the
Forgiving, the Merciful.]
So many of us have
heard this verse out of context. It may seem like a
human can do all the bad that they want and when
they die they will go to heaven. But read on...
[And
turn in repentance towards your Lord and commit
yourselves peacefully to Him before torment comes to
you; then you will not be supported.]
[Follow
the finest part of whatever has been sent down to
you from your Lord before torment comes upon you
suddenly while you do not notice it.]
[Lest
some soul should say: "Alas my grief that I was
undutiful to Allah and I was indeed among those who
scoffed (at the truth)]
-
surah az-Zumar 39/53-56
This last verse is
proof that the Qur'an cannot be translated. How do
you explain the grief of 'Yaa Hassrataa!'? Imam At-Taahir
ibn Aashoor tries explaining: Hasrah is extreme
violent intoxicated regret. It is like a servant boy
whose master charged him with the care of a flock.
Thinking that the master was not watching, he slept
and played, leaving the flock unattended. The flock
went further and further away until a pack of wolves
came and devoured every one. The regret is the
regret that boy had to his master.
On this line, Yahya
ibn Mu'aadh - rahimahullah - said, "The
most naïve thing in my eyes is to linger in sin -
with no regrets - hoping for a far off pardon. And
to hope to come closer to Allah without doing
anything. And to wait for the harvest of Jannah with
the seeds of Hell - waiting for reward without any
deeds."
You long for
redemption but have not taken its road / Brother,
boats don't sail in the desert!
The police officer
that we mentioned earlier fell back into routine, as
he narrates, and started to drift from Allah. But
another event happened to him that sealed the
return. He continues:
... What an odd
world. After some time, about six months, a strange
accident took place. A young man was moving along
the highway normally, but within one of the tunnels
leading to the city, he was maimed by a flat tire.
To the side of the
tunnel he parked and stepped to the back to remove
the spare tire. The whistle of a speeding car from
behind. In a second, it collided with the crippled
car, the young man in-between. He fell to the ground
with critical injuries.
I rushed to the
scene, myself and another partner other than the
first. Together we carried the young man's body into
our patrol car and phoned the hospital to prepare
for his arrival.
He was a young adult
in his blossom years. Religious, you could tell from
his appearance. He was mumbling when we carried him,
but in our rush, we had not paid attention to what
he was saying.
However, when we
placed him on his back in the patrol car we could
make it out. Through the pain his heart was reciting
Qur'an! He was so immersed in the recitation ...
Subhan Allah, you would have never said that this
person was in intense pain.
Blood had soaked his
clothes crimson red, his bones had clearly snapped
in several places. To tell the truth, he looked like
he was staring into the eyes of death.
He continued to read
in his unique, tender voice. Reciting each verse in
proper rhythm. In my entire life, I had never heard
any recitation like it. I said to myself, I'm ...
I'm going to instruct him to say the Shahadah just
like I saw my friend doing; especially since I had
previous experience.
My partner and I
listened intently to that soft voice. I felt a
shiver shock my back and up my arm, the hair stood.
Suddenly, the hymn
ceased. I watched silently as his hand rose softly.
He had his index finger pointed upward to the
heavens, saying the Shahadah (La ilaha illa
Allah/There is no god but Allah). Then ... his head
slumpt. Nothing.
I jumped to the back
seat, felt his hand, his heart, his breathing. He
was dead!
I couldn't stop
staring at him. A tear fell but I hid it in shame. I
turned back to my partner and told him that the
boy's life had ceased - he burst out loud crying.
Seeing a man cry like that, I could not control
myself and my partner faded away behind the fall of
my own tears. The patrol car fogged from the
emotions.
We arrived at the
hospital. As we rushed through the corridors, we
told all the doctors, nurses, and onlookers what had
happened. So many people were affected by what we
said, some stood there speechless and tearful.
No one wanted to
lose sight of the boy until they had been assured of
the time and place he would be buried.
One of the hospital
staff phoned the boys home. His brother picked it up
and was told of the accident.
His brother told us
about him: He used to go out every Monday to visit
his only grandmother outside of town. Whenever he
visited her, he made sure to spend time with the
poor children idling the streets and the orphans.
The town knew him -
he was the one that would bring them the Islamic
books and tapes. His dusty Mazda would be filled
with rice and sugar and even candies – couldn't
forget the candies – for those families who were
in need.
He would not stand
for anyone to discourage him from the long journey
to that town. He would always politely reply that
the long drive gave him time to review his Quran and
listen to Islamic lectures on his cassette deck.
And ... and that
with every step to the town he hoped for the reward
he would find with Allah...
It is true, brothers
and sisters, that Allah is Merciful and forgives and
forgives. [Yet I am quite
Forgiving ... ] But to whom? [
... towards anyone who turns (in repentance) and
believes and acts honorable; then he will be
guided.]
-
Surah Taha 20/82
[O our
people! Respond to Allah's Caller (Muhammad - sal
Allahu alayhi wa sallam) and believe in him, Allah
will forgive you of your sins and will save your
from a painful torment.]
-
Surah al-Ahqaf 46/31
Just like we reply
someone's call when they phone us - this is Allah
and His Messenger calling us! Let us answer.
There is a verse in
the Qur'an that when Shaytaan read it he cried and
felt regret. Read this verse, it is the door to our
happiness in this life and the next:
[And
those who, if they commit an immorality or wrong
themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for
their sins - and who can forgive sins except Allah?
- and who do not persist in what they have done
while they know.]
Allah then
continues: [For those - their
reward is forgiveness from their Lord and gardens
beneath which rivers flow (in Jannah), wherein they
shall abide eternally. Excellent is the reward of
the (righteous) workers.]
-
Surah Ali-Imraan 3/135,136
Allah sent the
Prophets and the books; He sent the warners and glad
tiders; and He sent the reminders. And atop all
that, Allah comes down to Samaa' ad-Dunya - in a way
befitting of His Majesty - in the third portion of
the night - every night - calling to every one of
His servants: "Is there
anyone who shall make Dua' so that I shall accept
His Du'a? Is there anyone who shall ask for pardon
so that I may pardon him?"
Dear brothers and
sisters, let us make a pledge tonight to set our
alarm clocks at 2 am in the morning. We all know
that if there was some special sports event on tv or
someone had to catch a plane at that time they would
be capable of waking up.
Let's set the alarm
to pray only 2 raka'at to Allah. And in Sajdah,
recall just one sin - just one - between us and
Allah and ask Allah ta'ala to forgive us for that
sin, pledging that we shall never return to it.
Rasul Allah - sal
Allahu alayhi wa sallam - taught us that Allah is
more pleased with the repentance of His servant than
a man who loses his camel in the desert and in that
waste land loses hope of life; In that state he sits
down awaiting death to come; then he opens his eyes
and finds his camel standing beside him with all the
provisions to take him home. In his extreme
happiness he cries out: "O
Allah, you are my servant and I am your Lord!!"
He said it wrong from the bliss of happiness.
Rasul Allah - sal
Allahu alayhi wa sallam - said that verily Allah is
more happy with our towbah then this man!
Tonight at 2 am ,
let's all try to make Allah happy with us. Believe
me, we won't regret it. | 