One of the most important things that the Quran does for a believer is that the Quran essentially gives us an entire understanding of not only ourselves but of the world around us. And so within the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is really a... An explanation of why we're here, where we came from, what we should do while we're here, and then where we're going. One of the most important...
realities that the Quran explains to us is that the nature of the abode that we're in is an abode of tribulation. This is an abode of trials and tribulations. And this is, the Quran is rife with verses that remind us of this fact.
And so one of these verses in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that he is the one who, He created life. and death and he created life in order to test you. And then he says that to see which one of you is the best in actions. Ayukum ahsan wa amala.
Which of you is the best in actions. And then also another text that was in Surah Al-Murk. In Surah Al-Naml Allah tells us that Sulaiman who was given an immense Dominion actually says about what he was given هَذَا مِنْ فَضْرِ رَبِّي لِيَبْلُوَنِي أَشْكُرُ أَمَا كْفُرُ That do I ashkuru am akfuru Am I grateful or am I an ingrate? Do I have ingratitude?
And here kufr means to be ungrateful because that's the fundamental meaning of the word. وَمَنْ شَكَرَ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ And whoever is grateful is grateful really for the benefit of his own soul. وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ رَبِّي غَنِيٌّ كَرِيمٌ And then he says, and whoever is ungrateful, then verily my Lord is independent and kareem. Which... One of these words in Arabic that has many different meanings, but generous and noble, exalted.
So, my Lord is ghaniyun, is rich without need, and kareem, generous with his riches. So, this is what Suleiman says. What's important here is that what Suleiman is essentially telling us is that tribulation is not just a negative. aspect of life, which a lot of people think, oh, I'm going through a lot of trials and tribulations. This is a reminder that tribulation is also blessing, that blessings are tribulations.
So depending on whether you're grateful or not, because a lot of people are pure ingrates with their blessings. And one of the remarkable things about our time is that people are just filled with ingratitude, even though there's so many blessings. Like people use... There are places where people are definitely suffering considerably, but for many, many people, especially here in the U.S., and I know there's other people listening that are in places like Malaysia or Europe or many places where there's just immense blessings.
So the two fundamental blessings that if you have them, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala expects you to worship Him. If you're lacking... One or both of these two blessings, you might have some excuses, but when you have these two blessings, you have no excuse with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And those are security and freedom from hunger. This is a fundamental thing in surah Quraish when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, لِإِلَٰهِ قُرَيْشِ إِلَٰهِ مِرَحْلَةَ الشِّيْتَاءِ وَالصَّيْفِ فَلْيَعْبُدُوا رَبَّ هَذَا الْبَيْتِ Let them worship the Lord of this house. Why?
Because He has secured you, أَامَنَهُمْ مِنْ خَوْفٍ He has secured you from any fear, so you're in a state of security. أَطَعْمُهُمْ مِنْ جُوعٍ وَأَامَنَهُمْ مِنْ خَوْفٍ He has given you food, so He's given you satiety from your hunger, and He has given you security from any fear. So those are the two blessings that Allah is saying warrant the worship of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And that, you know, in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the fundamental ones are the physiological needs, he calls them. But actually the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, I think, has a better hierarchy of needs than Maslow. And of course he does. I mean, I don't think, I know.
Because the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam actually put, the first khutbah that he gave when he went into Medina was, he said that... يَا يُهَنَّاسُ أَفْشُ السَّلَامُ Like spread peace. In other words, create security in your societies.
And in Sahir Bukhari, one of the three hallmarks of faith is, the third one is بَذْرُ السَّلَامُ لَلْعَالَمِ Spreading global peace. Spreading peace around the world. So the Muslims are, we are supposed to be spreaders of peace.
Global peace. So that peace, is what the Prophet told us to spread. And then he said,, and then he said,, and feed the hungry.
So there you have security at the very bottom of the pyramid, and then the next are the physiological needs. Because if you're about to have your lunch and a bear or a lion shows up, you're going to forget your lunch. Security is the fundamental need before the physiological needs. You need security. And then he says, And then maintain kinship bonds because family is the foundation of a society.
So you're moving up in this hierarchy. And then he said, And then pray in the night. when people are asleep.
So now you have to work on yourself because everything, the hierarchy is there. Your securities are taken care of, your food's taken care of, you have family. Now, work on yourself and get close to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. And then he says, تَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةِ بِالسَّلَامِ So it begins with peace and it ends with peace.
Then he said, you will enter paradise in peace. And Salman al-Farisi, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, told him that no one, will enter paradise without a passport. And he literally used the word jawaz in the hadith.
لا يدخل الجنة أحد إلا بجواز من الله مكتوب فيه أدخلوها بسلام آمينين In other words, دعه يمر. Like just laissez-faire, let him pass. So here in dunya, you have all these boundaries.
They're in the Akhirah as well. Jannah has a border patrol. So you're not going to get into Paradise without a passport, with a visa from Allah. But that visa is a permanent, you know, they call it like permanent residence visa. You'll have Iqamah Da'ima, right?
And you become a citizen in Paradise. That's in the Hadith. So it's really quite extraordinary. But one of the things, so... You've got that side of the dunya, which this is the half of the world that we're in, where people, I feel, are just total, like so many people, I hear people whining all the time about how horrible things are.
They don't know how horrible, I mean, I'm somewhat of a historian. I've read a lot of history. You know, I have a degree in history.
So my reading of history, like, don't complain. Because you have no idea what has happened in the past, in history. It's terrifying what's happened. Like what people have gone through, the hunger they've suffered.
I mean, our Prophet ﷺ suffered immensely, but yet he never complained. Show me anywhere where he complains. The only complaint the Prophets give is to Allah.
They don't complain to anybody else. There's nowhere where he complains. Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Because... They understood everything.
So now why didn't they complain? That's the important thing. And this is what the Quran teaches us, why they didn't complain.
And here's the reason. In the Hikmah of Ibn Ataylah, he says, and this is in the 104th Hikmah, and this is one of the most important books that was written in our tradition in the science of Ihsan, recognized by... all of our scholars, it's commented on by so many people. One of the great Maliki scholars, Ahmed Zarruq, has over 25 commentaries on it, some say up to 32. And he would finish commenting on it, he would start a new commentary because he was getting new insights into these things.
And Faqih al-Bannani said, if it was permitted to read... Other than the Qur'an in prayer, it would have been permitted with the hikm of Ibn Atayla. I mean that's hyperbole obviously, but the point he was making was, this is such a stunning book with insight. So one of the things that he says, قَالَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ Ibn Atayla, Mufkara of the... of the Egyptian people that he was born and raised in Egypt.
In fact, some say because the famous hadith, there's a hadith and may Allah give succor to our brothers and sisters and sons and daughters in Yemen who are just going through immense trials and tribulations. But Ibn Atayla was originally from Azd, which is a Yemeni clan. And so when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that Al-Imanu Yamani, some of the scholars said he was referring to Abul Hasan, who was from the Bani Ash'ar, who were a Yemeni tribe.
And then when he said, Wal-Fiqhu Yamani, and jurisprudence is Yemeni, he was referring to Imam Malik, who was from Du'asbah, which is another Yemeni tribe. And then when he said, Wal-Hikmatu Yamaniya, and wisdom is... is Yemeni as well. They say he was referring to Ibn Atayla because he was also Yemeni from the, and there's As the Kabir and as the Saghir, there's different people from that. But it's one of the great tribes of the Arabs or clans.
So anyway, Ibn Atayla, radhi Allah anhu, says, لِيُخَفِّفْ أَلَمَ الْبَلَاءِ عَنكَ عِلْمُكَ بِأَنَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ هُوَ الْمُبْتَرِ لَكَ In order to diminish the pain of your tribulation. He has given you knowledge. Glory be to him that he is the one trying you. So once you know that, that diminishes the weight of the tribulation.
And this is what our prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam knew. And this is why at the lowest point of his life, which is Ta'if. He does that remarkable dua at Ta'if that as long as you're not upset with me, I'm fine with what's come to me, as long as you're not upset with me.
And this is from the book of Allah when the Prophet was commanded, وَصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ فَإِنَّكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا In Surah At-Tur. Be patient with the hukm of your Lord, with this decree of your Lord. because you are in our providential care. Like, you're in our care here. The ulama say it's which is related in the etymology, the greater etymology to right?
So, So then he says, فَالَّذِي وَاجَهَتْكَ مِنْهُ الْأَقْدَارِ هُوَ الَّذِي عَوَّدْكَ حُسْنَ الْإِخْتِيَارِ So the one who sends these trials and tribulations that you hate, he is also the one who has accustomed you to things that you love. And so he says, بِمَا تُحِبُّهُ فَاشْكُرْهُ عَلَى مَا أَوْلَاكُ This is Ahmed Zarruq. وَاسْبِرْ لَهُ فِي مَا بِهِ تَوَلَّاكُ So be grateful with the things you love from Allah and be patient with those things that Allah has sent you that are difficult. And this is why, إِنَّ فِي ذَٰرِكَ الْآيَاتِ لِكُلِّ صَبَارٍ شَكُورٍ This Quran are signs for people that are constantly patient and constantly grateful.
You have to be one or the other in any given circumstance. If it's a trial, be patient. If it's a blessing, which is also a trial, then the response is gratitude.
Those are the responses. Ibn Atayla said, He had an immense weight on his shoulder and he was just really troubled. And he went to his Shaykh, Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi in Egypt. He was from Alexandria.
And he went into him and he told him, every human being is in one of four conditions. And each of those conditions has an appropriate response. You're either in blessing and the response is gratitude.
You're in tribulation and the response is patient. You're in obedience and the response is to witness God's tawfiq, that he's given you this success, shuhud al-minna, to see the blessing of obedience from God. Or you're in disobedience and the response is repentance.
And that's it. And Ibn al-Tayla said when he heard that, he felt like this incredible weight was taken from his shoulders. That's it.
That is a Boolean algebraic formula for how to live in this world. You're in one of those four states. And so just be blessed. Now, one of the things he goes on.
I mean, this is something amazing. Imam al-Junaid, who was one of the great. And again, Ibn Taymiyyah, Rahimahullah.
All of the scholars recognized Imam al-Junaid. All of them. Nobody said, you know, this Imam al-Junaid. All of them. But.
Imam Al-Junaid in the Risalah of Imam Al-Qushayri, they mention a story that Imam Al-Junaid said, كُنتُ نائمًا عِنْدَ السَّرِي That was his uncle, Sari Al-Saqqati. He was a, you know, Saqqati is like a, he was, he had a junkyard. And so he sold like, from a junkyard.
That's, that was his, it was a halal job. It's amazing, right? I mean, the best food is from.
Jobs that are halal and every job that's halal is dignified. We don't, He was actually a smith. So he was doing something that was labor. And one of the things about our culture is it denigrates labor, you know, which is really sad because labor like carpenters and tailors and people that do these type of things.
These are some of the most halal jobs now in the world. Nobody should ever denigrate these type of jobs because they're actually very, very... valuable for society.
But anyway, he woke him up. He was sleeping and he woke him up. He said, قَالِ يَا جُنَيْدِ رَأَيْتُ كَأَنِّي وَقَفْتُ بِنِي يَدَيْ فَقَالَ لِي He's telling him his vision that he saw. It's as if I was standing before God.
He had a dream. And he said, and God said to me, خَلَقْتُ الْخَلْقَ فَكُلُّهُمَا الدَّعُوا مَحَبَّتِي I created creation and all of them claim to love me. فَخَلَقْتُ الدُّنْيَا And then I created the world and nine tenths of them fled. And only one tenth remained.
And then nine tenths of that tenth fled because I created paradise. And so now only one percent is left. And then, I sent upon them an Adam's weight of tribulation and nine tenths of that one tenth of that one tenth left me.
Now you're literally down at just point one. Faquttu lil baqeen ma'i La dunya aradtum You don't want dunya? Wala aljannata tarabtum And you don't want jannah?
Wala minal nari harabtum And you don't flee from the fire? Wala minal balai farabtum And you're not fleeing from tribulation? Famaada turidu What do you want?
قَالُوا أَنْتَ تَعْرُمُ مَنْ نُرِيدُ You know what we want. فَقُلْتُ لَهُمْ إِنِّي مُسَلِّطٌ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنَ الْبَلَاءِ بِعَدَدِ أَنْفَاسِكُمْ مَا لَا تَقُومُ لَهُ الْجِبَالِ الرَّوَاسِ أَتَصْبِرُونَ قَالُوا أَنْتَ تَعْرُمُ مَنْ نُرِيدُ I am going to subject you to tribulation with the number of your breasts. And even the high mountains could not stand it.
Will you show patience? قَالُوا إِذَا كُنْتَ أَنْتَ الْمُبْتَدِي فَفَعْنْ مَا شَئْتَ If you're the one sending the trial, then do what you want. فَهَا أُولَٰي عِبَادِ حَقًّا Those are my true servants. I mean, this is a dream that one of the Salihin saw, but it's a remarkable dream. And so here it is. that the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam was told us when he was asked, who are the people that have the greatest tribulation?
Su'idah Rasulullah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. Ayyun nasi ashaddu balaan Which people have the greatest tribulation in the world? Faqala sallallahu alayhi wa sallam The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said Al-anbiyaa thumma al-amthalu fal-amthal First the Prophets and then those closest to the Prophets and then those closest to them. Yubtala nasa ala qadri deenihim People will have tribulations based upon the degree of their faith, their religion, their deen. فَمَنْ ثَخُنَ دِينُهُ وَاشْتَدَّ بَلَأُهُ The ones whose deen is very strong, their religion is strong, they will have اشتدّ بلاء They will have great difficulties.
وَمَنْ ضَعُفَ دِينُهُ وَضَعُفَ بَلَاءُهُ And those who have weak religion, they will have weak tribulations. وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيُصِيبُهُ الْبَلَاءُ حَتَّى يَمْشِعَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ وَمَعْلَهِ خَطِئًا There will be people who have so much trial, that they will be walking on the earth without any sin. This is a Sahih Hadith. So, this is it. Now, even more extraordinary is that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam told us that on the Day of Judgment, there will be the people of Afia who had well-being in this world, when they see the rewards, this is in the Musnad of Imam Ahmed, when they see the rewards, of the people of tribulation in this dunya who had great suffering and difficulty, they will wish that they were flayed alive in the dunya, their skin.
تُقْرَضُ جُلُودُهُمْ بِالْمَجْهَرِيَةِ The Prophet ﷺ said that their skin was flayed alive, cut from them. That's what they would hope in the dunya. And this is, people don't realize this. This is a difficult thing. Now, do we want suffering?
No. The Prophet said, أَسَلُّ اللَّهُ لَعَافِيَةً And he went by some people in great tribulation and suffering, and he said, أَوَلَمْ يَسَلُّ اللَّهُ لَعَافِيَةً Didn't they ask for well-being? And this is why, إِنِّي أَسَلُكَ لَعَافُو وَلْعَافِيَةً وَالْمُعَافَةَ الدَّائِمَةَ فِي دِينِي وَالدُّنْيَاءِ وَأَهْلِي وَمَالِي وَاسْتُرْعَ أَوْرَاتِي وَأَمِنْ رُوَاتِي These are the du'as that we say every day, every morning, and every evening. Why? Because these are the du'as of asking Allah for well-being.
So it's not like we want suffering, but when suffering comes, See who the one who sent the suffering. Why did he do it? The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that there are people that سَبَقَتْ لَهُمْ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ مَنْزِلَةً That there are people that have a station. In the dunya, like they have a station with Allah. لم يبلغها بعملي But that person did not reach the station with their actions.
In other words, what Allah wanted from them, they did not give to Allah. فابتلاهم So then he tries them. So he will ابتلاه في جسده وفي ماله وفي ورده حتى يبلغ منزلته عند الله until he achieves the station.
that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, because He shows patience. Imam al-Ghazali said that there are people who their sins will only be removed by depression. Like literally Allah will give them sadness and grief.
And this is the removal. This is an abode of huzan. Look at the description of the Prophet. كانت دائم الحزان He was constantly in a state of huzan. But he was also in a state of joy with Allah.
So these are not paradoxes. These are understanding the nature of the abode. When you see the world, you can't go now on the internet without seeing things about Yemen. How could you not cry? Or Palestine, or Syria, or Iraq.
I mean, how many tears have been shed by our community over just looking at the tribulation around the world? But what you need to understand is, Maybe those people aren't fulfilling what Allah expected from them as people of the Prophet Muhammad's ummah. And maybe he's removing all of their sins in this world.
I mean, I saw three women on CNN from Syria and they were literally crossing into Turkey, fleeing the crises. And I just, it completely floored me. You know, the person, the reporter just said to this person, You know, what do you think? What do you think about this situation?
And she just looked at him and she said, Allah is present. Allah exists. That's a believer's response. You know, so on the amyom al-qiyamah, what maqam does that person have? Because that's patience.
I mean, all these Muslims have gone through all these things. We've been through this before. I hear people saying, oh, you know, people, I'm losing my faith. There's people in America, Muslims that are losing their faith because of what's happening in Yemen.
Like, what does that mean? Look at the people of Yemen. Like, they're calling on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And this is the difference.
It's amazing. Don't lose your akhirah because of somebody else's losing their dunya. I mean, we're people of akhirah. We're not people of dunya.
This abode is what it is. And it's a zero-sum game. It always has been.
You know, some areas get better. Other areas get worse. But it stays dunya.
And we've had a long run, those of us who are over here, we've had a long run of blessings. So I see dark clouds on the horizon. I'm not a negative person, but I see dark clouds on the horizon. People should be doing spiritual exercises to get ready for what's coming, because you don't want to lose your faith just because everything falls apart. And things fall apart.
I mean, World War II, my goodness. I don't know. People should be grateful.
That's my feeling. My advice to myself and everybody else is just be grateful. Alhamdulillah wa shukurillah.
Stop complaining all the time. It's just amazing, the complaints. So this is it.
In order for him to mitigate the pain of your tribulation, he gave you knowledge that he was the one trying you. liyabluwakum layukum ahsanu hamala So may Allah make us people of patience and gratitude. Even better is to be grateful all of the time because the arifeen, the people that know Allah, are grateful even in their tribulations.
Because Ibn Abbas said in every tribulation, know that there are three blessings hidden that you have to see. The first is it could have been worse. You lost a child, you could have lost all your children.
You lost a hand, you could have lost both hands. So, and then know that it's in your dunya, like it's in your worldly things and not in your religious matters. So if you lose money, like his stock market collapsed and you lost all your money, just alhamdulillah, it's just dunya. And then the last one, it's in this world and not the next world. So, On the Day of Judgment, maybe you're going to say, I wish I had more tribulation, like those people that see the people in tribulation getting all their rewards, saying, I wish I had more tribulation.
Don't wish for more tribulation. Just ask Allah for aafi and for well-being. But know that if tribulation comes to you, it's probably because you're closer to Allah than other people.