One of the things that I struggled with, I remember I would hear the imams, whether in
Egypt or Saudi Arabia, and I'd hear these stories of the people of the Salaf
You'd hear about Abu Bakr, or Umar, or Uthman, or Ali, you'd hear about Ummahat al-Mu'minin
you'd hear about Sahabiyyat, Umm Ammar, and you'd hear about the sincerity and the feats
that they would perform. You'd hear that Imam Abu Hanifa, he would finish the whole Qur'an in one night in prayer
You'd hear Imam al-Shafi'i, rahmatullahi alayhim, that he would recite the Qur'an 60
times in Ramadan. You'd hear that Sufyan ibn Uyaynah made 60 hajj, and every time in Arafah he would make
dua to Allah, he would say, Oh Allah, bring me back next year
Until the final year, the 60th year, he didn't make that dua, and he died the month before hajj
And when they asked him, why didn't you make that dua, he said, I'm shy from Allah
Sixty years is too much. Abdullah ibn Umar did 60, I didn't want to exceed him
Allahu Akbar. You hear these things, and I remember thinking to myself, man, I'm not even going to make
it to Jannah. Look what these guys are doing. When they pray, they cry
When they read the Qur'an, it softens their heart. Abu Bakr came, gave all of his money to the Prophet ﷺ and to Allah
Abu Dahda gave 400 trees for one tree in Jannah. And I would think to myself, man, I'm a hypocrite
I like to watch TV. I like to watch some sports. I like to play basketball
I like to go out with my friends. Where's Allah in my life
And that's what I want to talk to you today about. Because sometimes people can trick you into thinking that you're worse than you are
And sometimes you can trick yourself into thinking you're better than you are
Sometimes it could be even your parents, could be your teachers. They might make you think you're worse than you are
They put you down. You're not even worthy to be put in the rubbish. Sometimes the way we talk to each other makes us feel low
And sometimes you make yourself think you're better than you are. And in between that is the balance
In between that is the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. In between that is finding Allah
And Allah tells you to search for Him. And that search begins with ilm, knowledge
See it's one thing to say, oh I know brother, I know, I know enough
The moment you think you know, you don't know. The moment you think I have enough, you have nothing
You've lost your way to Allah. Because the first of commands to our Prophet ﷺ was iqra
The first command of the Prophet ﷺ is Allah ﷻ says him
fa'lam, come to a certainty of knowledge. Anahu la ilaha illallah. That none is worthy of worship but me
Allah ﷻ. Wastaghfir li dhanbik wa lilmu'mineen. And ask Allah, ask me for forgiveness and also for the believers
So how do you find Allah? Knowledge. When Sahabi, he was riding with his companions
They were out on a journey. He fell off the camel. His head was split open
He hit a rock when he fell down. And his companions, they got off the camels
They wrapped his turban tight. They saved his life. He came back to consciousness
And when he woke up, they said, alhamdulillah, you're fine now. Drinking and eating fine
Time of salah comes. All right, make wudu. He goes, what do you mean make wudu
Can't I make tayammum? They say, what are you talking about? What you think you're gonna invent your own deen
What do you mean make tayammum? He said, look man, look my head. If I take the turban off
if I put water, I'm gonna die. They said, Allah says in the Quran
فَإِن لَمْ تَجِدُ مَا أَنْفَتَ يَمَّمُوا صَعِيدٌ فَإِن لَمْ تَجِدُ مَا أَنْفَتَ يَمَّمُوا صَعِيد�
If you don't have water, make tayammum. Then you can use the earth to make a ritual cleansing
But we have water. What, you're gonna make your own madhab? You're gonna think for yourself
This what Allah said. This what Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said. This is sunnah
He said, you sure? They said, yeah. Took his turban off, made wudu, died
Got infected, died. They buried him in the desert. They came home a few days later
they see the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. Prophet asked, where is he? فَقَالُوا مَاتَيَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَحَكَى لَهُ حِكَاية�
They told him the story. فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَا قَتَلُوه�
They murdered him. They killed him. أَلَا سَأَلُوا How dare they not come and ask me
How dare they think that they know enough just because they read a verse of the Quran
إِنَّمَا شِفَاءُ الْعِيِّ السُّؤَالِ The cure of ignorance is to ask a question
You have to ask someone who knows. فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ They're the ones who point you to Allah
The prophets of Allah did the same. I'm gonna give you just three examples from the prophets of Allah
asking questions that you and I would not ever dare ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
Musa asks Allah. Musa speaks to Allah direct. Musa says as is in Surah Al-A'raaf
رَبِّ أَرِنِي أَنظُرْ إِلَيْكَ My Lord, let me see you. Allah says, لَن تَرَان�
You can never see me in this life. وَلَكِنُ أُنظُرْ إِلَى الْجَبَلِ But look, Allah doesn't just say
you can't see me. Allah gives him evidence why. وَلَكِنُ أُنظُرْ إِلَى الْجَبَل�
Look to that distant mountain. فَإِنْ اِسْتَقَرَّ مَكَانَهُ فَسَوْفَ تَرَانِ If it remains as you see it
I'll let you see me. فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّى رَبُّهُ لِلْجَبَلِ When Allah's magnificence
became known to the mountain in part, it was destroyed and Musa fell down dead
Allah brought him back to life to prove a point. He asks the question
I want to know, Ibrahim asks Allah as is in Surah Al-Baqarah
Because I'm telling you, if you have a question, you can't just keep it, you got to ask
Ibrahim says to Allah, رَبِّ أَرِنِي كَيْفَ تُحِيِي الْمَوْتَى O Allah, show me how you bring the dead to life
Allah says, أَوَلَمْ تُؤْمِنِ Is it because you doubt? You don't believe
You don't believe I can do it, Ibrahim? هَنَ بَلَى وَلَكِنْ لِيَطْمَئِنْ قَلْبِ�
No, Allah, I believe in you, O Allah. But my heart, I just wanted to be at ease
meaning there's something here in my chest. Allah says, you believe? Take four birds
different shapes and colors and sizes and feathers, cut them into small pieces
mix them up, وَاجْعَلْ عَلَى كُلِّ جَبَلٍ مِّنْهُنَّ جُزْأً Put some on every distant mountain
ثُمَّ دُعُوهُنْ And then call them to you. يَأْتِينَكَ سَعْيَةً They will come putting themselves back together
and fly back to you. Allahu Akbar. عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام The Hawariyeen, the believers
the Sahaba of Jesus عليه السلام. They believe in him. They saw him with their own eyes by the power of Allah
bring the dead to life, breathe into a clay model of a bird
with the power of Allah came into life. They saw him with the power of Allah
cure the blind and the deaf and the mute. All of this, and they still ask
They say, يَعِيسَى ابْنَ مَرِيَمِ Ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala أَن يُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْنَ مَائِدَةً مِّنَ السَّمَاء�
Ask Allah to bring down a table spread from the heaven, something we can eat from
تَكُونُ لَنَ عِيدَةً We'll take it as a day of celebration. And so it's a day that we will be proud
of knowing Allah brought heavenly food down to us. قَالَتَّقُوا اللَّهِ He said, fear Allah
What's wrong with you people? Everything you saw, you want more? They have a question
Allah says, I will answer. قَالَ إِنِّي مُنَزِّلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ I will bring it down to you
But the one who eats from it and then disbelieves, فَأَعَذِّبُهُ عَذَابًا لَا أُعَذِّبُهُ أَحَدًا مِّنَ الْعَالَمِين�
Allah gives them the answer to the question. So that brings us back to you
Who do you ask? And what do you ask about? Three questions that I want you to begin with
The first question is, do I love Allah? Have I chosen Allah
You're not a Muslim just because you were born Muslim. You're a Muslim because you made a choice
أَسْلَمْتَ وَجْهَكَ لِلَّهِ You have to give yourself to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala
Number two, have I walked and taken the first step on His Sirat al-Mustaqeem
Have I planned to take the steps that will lead me to Jannah
Or am I just living life by accident? Whatever happens, happens. If my parents take me to the masjid
I go to the masjid. If they don't, I'm not going to go. If my father tells me
did you pray? I pray. If he doesn't, I don't. What do you want
You want to be spoon-fed like a baby? Or you're going to get up and cook it
That's what you got to do. So are you walking the straight path
Or is people carrying you every step of the way? And third and finally
and I leave you with this question, is what am I willing to give up for Allah
What are you going to give up to be successful in finding Allah
And if you find Allah, it is as the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says
to Abdullah ibn Abbas, a young man like you, a young Muslim like you
my brothers and sisters, احفظ الله يحفظ Guard Allah, He will guard you
احفظ الله تجده تجاه Guard Allah, you will find Him in front of you
always with you, always leading you in success in life. And I pray that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
gives you and I success in life