Bismillah [Music] is we should have just asked imamsay to continue the whole time so reality sign of the end times will continue and conclude our conversations on we have covered the chapters on sincerity of intention and last class atoba repentance to Allah so the third chapter is which is exactly what I believe you were taught today by Imam Zaid Allah protect him that the chapter on patients supper could be translated as patients as persevere and perseverance steadfastness as fortitude it has all of these meanings of a type of firmness and uh there's three scenarios that are generally mentioned by the scholars about the different contexts that we have to have patients in so one of them is patience in fulfilling our duties patience in fulfilling our duties primarily our religious duties but by extension our worldly duties that are part of our functioning in the world in a sound and valid manner which are rooted also in religion so working raising a family social obligations Etc that are rooted in ultimately the remembrance of God so all duties that the person has whether foundationally religious and then secondarily worldly that are that enhance one's ability to practice religion and the second context is in avoiding what's interdicted in avoiding what is prohibited so avoiding the unlawful avoiding what God has uh prohibited what's offensive to God most high that takes sub again patience fortitude perseverance and then the third context is dealing with the trials and tribulations that are part of the very nature of this world so dealing with the ipt dealing with the tests from God and uh we say part of the very nature of this world because this is something that's important to realize one of the main reasons why we fail to have adequate suburb is because we have this sort of idealistic understanding of this world that this world is supposed to be perfect that this world is supposed to be a place of Raha of Absolute Comfort and satisfaction but that Abode is the next life and our Aki the the Abode of absolute satisfaction and Absolute Comfort and absolute freedom from difficulty is only the next life which is why it's called the the real life the real life this life is um it's it's a concatenation of um it's it's just a a series or Nexus of of matters that are so unreal that the moment they exist they they're already ceasing to exist and the perpetuity of things in this world is only because Allah recreates them but in and of themselves and so this world is full of it's full of uh it's it's part of its nature is that it won't be perfect and Allah has designed the world in this way because it is the Abode of testing and so if we can realize the nature of this world then it's a lot easier to have to have patience fortitude perseverance but if we are idealistic in our understanding of this world then we fall short he says don't find it strange when things go wrong so long as you're in this Abode don't find it odd or counter-intuitive when things is when the water is murky if you take a stick and Shake the Dust the mud at the bottom of a of a of a body of water and it surfaces up and you can't see any more in the water that's called Kadir and so the akadar this world is not a place of Safa it's not a place of Purity and pristiness it's a place of meaning the anxieties of this world the difficulties of this world the tests of this world the failings of this world the disappointments of this world all of these negative things uh uh don't find it strange so long as you're in this world because this world is only manifesting what is its necessary and inherent quality this world is only manifesting what is its necessary and inherent trait which is disappointment which is disappointment and so the at the very you know beginning of our conversation we want to highlight that this is the key to to having this is the key to bearing patiently with the difficulties of this world is realizing that's the nature of this Abode and uh and so this is the what the Allama have said this is this is uh an obligation to have this level of sabir enough patience to fulfill our obligations enough patience to withhold from what's wrong and enough patience to bear the trial without losing your religion so what's the third what's the obligation of patients is that you don't despair in God when the trial hits and you don't stop your the duties that are upon you so the person if a child hits and they say that's it I'm gonna stop praying because why did God do this to me so that's clearly unlawful and so they lack Sabbath they lack the obligatory basic patience that every believer must have okay and then this light suburb has been called by the early salaf rasul Iman it's the very head of one's faith in other words if that level of Sabbath is gone then once Iman is at the verge of the God forbid of being lost but there's different levels and so that's the obligatory level what's at a high and that's the level of Islam at the level of Islam at the level of irsan of spiritual Excellence is not simply to bear with it so you don't despair so you don't lose your religion but to actually get to a level where you are content with Allah where you are content with what he has decreed so the obligatory level you don't fall apart and you're able to despite the difficulty continue with what is owed to Allah our creator the higher level of spiritual Excellence is to actually find somehow a type of contentment and satisfaction because of your relationship with Allah because of your recognition of Allah during the trial because of your satisfaction with your lord and realizing that your lord has not decreed anything in this world except that it has a surpassing wisdom this is one of the keys to this level that are what we've been taught by our teachers is to realize that there's nothing that exists in this world except that there is a surpassing Divine wisdom behind it even if it's unapparent to us from an initial investigation no matter how much is suffering no matter how much evil Allah has his wisdom and his wisdom permeates uh creation and inshaallah will remind ourselves more of this point when we discuss some of the Hadith begins with some of the verses of the Quran for example the Allah says 155 that we shall certainly test you Allah so the Lamb of tokid the noon of tokid there's no doubt there's no this is this is already as it were occurred and affected we shall certainly undoubtedly test you all be shaytan with something of fear of hunger of of lacking of Finance loss of wealth us of Souls of uh lives of of family and friends Etc and then fruits of one's farming firstly or general fruits of one's efforts of livelihood but give Glad Tidings to the people of patience give Glad Tidings to the people of patience so again Allah has promised that there shall be difficulty so it's again embedded in the nature of this life Allah also says this is from Zuma verse 10 verily the people of patience shall be recompensed their reward without any accounting without any Reckoning so it's it's immeasurable the reward of patience is immeasurable the reward of patients what's coming in the next life and inshallah in this life as well is immeasurable and Allah says also Surat Ashura verse 43 um and verily again the lamb for emphasis verily whoever is patient and whoever forgives then indeed that is from the resolve of matters indeed that is from the resolve of matters okay and this azim reminding us of the uralism the greatest the prophets are the ones of firm resolve at the head of them our Master Muhammad followed by hazrat Ibrahim al-islam followed by hazrat Musa followed by hazrat is these five Master prophets or Masters even amongst the prophet they're called those of firm resolve and so what are some of the prophetic virtues of firm resolve okay again fortitude in all circumstances and then rougher and this is specifically when one has been harmed is to forgive this is one of the great tests of patience is when others harm you when others insult you so do we hold grudges or are we able to let go for the sake of Allah well if we're able to let go um this is from The Firm determination and resolve of matters and Allah says in Surat al-baqarah verse 153 was Salah take help through patience and through the prayer take help through patience and through the prayer in Allah verily Allah himself is with the patient verily Allah himself is with the patient and in that light this is considered the greatest worldly benefit let alone otherworthy of having patience is the Maya of Allah is the witness of Allah this is a unique witness Allah is with everyone is with you wherever you are in all circumstances but there is a special a special unique a special unique witness Divine witness as it were that Allah to Allah has with the people of fortitude and in this life the mentor of Imam kosheri says foreign he says that the people of patience have won they are triumphant with the Great uh uh unimaginable dignity and honor of both abodes they have won over they have triumphed with the unimaginable dignity and honor and Grace of both abodes this life and the next is something that outweighs this life and the greatest thing in this life and the greatest thing in the next life which is what it's the witness of Allah Allah being with you and based on this verse in verily Allah is with the people of fortitude of perseverance of patience of steadfastness and uh and so our prophet sallallahu he spoke at length about this virtue and this is why this is one of the lengthier chapters in the reality that the first Hadith in this chapter God's messenger said Iman Purity is half of Faith Purity is half of one's very Iman this is firstly the outward Purity that enables us to worship God as is owed to him and then of course the inward purification as well secondarily or what's derived from the Hadith and praise be to Allah alhamdulillah the statement praise be to Allah for all Praises Allah's it fills the very scales it fills the very skills what Subhan Allah and the two statements subhanallah absolute glory is for God and absolute praise is for God the two of them fill or together they fill everything between the heavens and earth and the ritual prayer is an illumination and charity is a proof was and this is and fortitude and patience is a uh insurmountable light the uh it is a it is a overwhelming uh gleam or light it's different from and the Quran is either a proof for you or against you every person enters the morning and is putting his soul for sale he's in a transaction with God every single morning the human being is in a transaction with God so he either frees his soul towards virtue or destroys his soul in Vice he either frees his soul I.E with virtuous prophetic Behavior or he destroys destroys his soul I.E with demonic and bestial Behavior Muslim Imam Muslim relates this Hadith uh and this is obviously there's so much to say about this one Hadith but a couple points that we were taught specifically by our teachers regarding this Hadith that subhanallah um that subhanallah is a very interesting word in in Arabic it's actually so there is an implicit subhanallah if someone says so it's a type of emphasis by its very linguistic form means I really thank you because it's the it's the remnant of a whole sentence which is in a type of emphasis similarly subhanallah there is an implicit statement I am glorifying God subhanallah With the Glory with the glory of God with the very affirmation of transcendence above anything Unbecoming to God and so the tasbi is affirming Transcendence of God above any imperfection or any deficiency above any imperfection or any deficiency any nox any lack opposite of Kamal so it's affirming the full kamalat infinite kamalat or Perfections for the divine alhamdulillah all praise is God's alone and there's a lot of alhamdulillah but one of the most common interpretations is the AL of the alhamdu the definite particle is one of totality universality all Praises without exception are owned by God God owns them in other words even if I pray so and so well done Yusuf well done for something that I do Allah owns that praise the Divine prerogative takes that praise it's really God that we're praising whether we realize it or not alhamdulillah Praises for Allah alone and so yes whoever doesn't thank people hasn't thanked Allah so we thank fellow man as a duty to God right right we respect the means through which Allah gives us our blessings so if it's fellow man we honor them we thank them for their their efforts but ultimately it's God it's Allah who decreed and manifested and created those benefits on at the hands of fellow man and so even when we praise other people whether we realize it or not alhamdulillah it's Allah's prayers he owns it alhamdulillah it's not no one else owns praise and another tafsir of alhamdulillah is the one that gives Rahim Allah is that Allah created creation and Allah knew that creation would be unable to praise God as is due to him is that no matter how much we praise Allah on our own it would fall short far far short of what Allah is owed but we don't know the Majesty of Allah we in fact can't we cannot know the Majesty of Allah nothing temporal can know the Eternal by definition the in its full Allah so because we are unable to praise God as is owed to God Almighty taught God Almighty praised himself with what is befitting for his majesties and so Allah said alhamdulillah as his own speech and then he revealed this to us so that we may mirror and reflect Allah's Praise of himself so that we may mirror and reflect Allah's Praise of himself so ultimately we are simply echoing as it were the Divine Praise for himself Allah praising himself alhamdulillah only Allah knows what it means and it's his speech he revealed it in the Fatiha so these two statements they Phil they fill everything between the heavens and earth in other words the entire Cosmos the entire created world all temporal Realms of being all temporal Realms of being are imbued and saturated with the glory and praise of God are imbued and saturated with Allah's glorification of himself and Allah's Praise of himself and so even in our mundane lives subhanallah and even in the difficulties and tribulations and the suffering that we might face or that Humanity faces subhanallah alhamdulillah it's not divorced from the glorification and praise of Allah whether we can see it or not and so the people that realize this the people that realize that Allah deserves all praise in all situations despite the pain they might feel it's their Praise of alhamdulillah that fills the scales it's specifically those people who are most realized in the praise of Allah that is owed in all situations and that exists in all situations and the glory of Allah that is true in all situations those people that when they say alhamdulillah that their Praise of Allah in the prior statement it's their praise that fills the skills many of us unfortunately our praise may not fill the scales in that way we ask Allah to give us tawfiq to forgive us for our shortcomings but you you know in a simple example in conversation how are you doing alhamdulillah you know it's the grudging alhamdulillah like yeah but dot dot dot you know that what we were taught that alhamdulillah doesn't fill the entire skills and there's benefit there's reward but the alhamdulillah that fills the entire skills is something much deeper it's something much more beautiful and and so again going from Mere putting a mere uh uh mere patients and not falling into despair to actually to actually being content with Allah's degree the people that are most contented with their lord it's their praise that fills the skills the most it is their praise that fills the skills the most on and this does not mean that we can't experience pain so the greatest of people the greatest the people closest to Allah they experience pain pain is a real thing difficulty so the experience of the difficulty it wouldn't be a test if it didn't hurt and in that light another thing we were taught is that at the moment of the test there is some excuse for bad adab in the heart that Allah overlooks some a lot of the bad adab in the heart at the very moment of the trial because the trial is meant to test us and so it might take some some time before things can settle and the person has the wherewithal to to for to to again to to to try to become realized in these lofty meanings and so uh but uh again he says that it's not from contentment that you don't feel the pain it's not from contentment that you don't feel the pain it's not like if you feel the pain you have no contentment rather contentment with Allah is that you do not object that you do not object with Allah's decree and Allah's ruling this is contentment to not object with Allah's decree and ruling but feeling the pain is part of the human experience so was prayer is in uh unimaginable light was charity is a proof of one's Faith was and then patience and fortitude is again a a great illumination a shining a shining illumination and the Quran itself is a proof for you or against you right that reciting the Quran is a great virtue but are we manifesting its meanings memorizing the Quran is a great virtue but are we manifesting its meanings are we uh are we reflecting the lofty teachings of the Quran in our days and our nights so it's either proof for you or against and then every morning a person is selling his soul as it were so much he either frees his soul or destroys his soul how does one free their soul every day by spending it for Allah by spending it for Allah so how do you every morning the soul is for sale how do you free it instead of destroying it by spending it so ironically the thing for sale is the thing to be spent the thing that you're putting for sale is the very thing that you need to spend in order to benefit from the transaction suspending it for the sake of Allah through Salat through through the through the thicker alhamdulillah subhanallah through the rest through the all of the previous aspects that are mentioned in the Hadith that's how one spends their soul so that they save their soul and so this this Hadith is a all the meanings are intertwined it's very subhanallah the second Hadith foreign so uh the Blessed companion uh Allah be pleased with him and his father that he said that people of the ansar residents of Medina asked God's messenger I.E for for wealth and so he gave them and they asked again and he gave them until everything that he had in his possession was spent so the prophet saws gave everything that he had so then they said the prophet sallallahu said to them after he had spent everything in his Blessed Hands uh whatever I have of good of and in this context wealth I shall not withhold it from you all but whoever seeks to have dignified restraint I.E such that they don't ask people for money then God will in fact give him dignified restraint whoever seeks to have dignified restraint there such that they uh do not ask others for for wealth then Allah will bestow that on them and whoever seeks to be free of need I.E from fellow man then Allah will make him indeed free of need of fellow man and whoever forces himself and works on himself to become a person of patience and fortitude then in fact Allah to Allah will make him a person's person of patience and fortitude and this form is the form five which often has to do with so it's difficult somebody was not easy again time and time again forcing oneself to be just a little stronger just a little more perseverant just a little more patient whoever does that and they're genuine with Allah Allah out of his Mercy will in fact give him give them that uh that lofty trait and what's the fruit the prophet saws no one was ever given a gift that's better and more expansive than patience no one was ever given a gift that's better and more expansive than patience patience is most expansive because in all contexts as we said there's something of patience that's the foundation whether it's fulfilling our duties to Allah whether it's withholding ourselves from what is displeasing to Allah whether it's dealing with the vicissitudes and exigencies of our worldly lives uh suburb must be there it's foundational it's foundational and so this is the most expansive uh and the greatest of uh the virtues according to this Hadith so it's about working we put the effort in and Allah will give us the fruits of that so that again it's not something a person wakes up with or excuse me is born with you know it's not something that some people might have a unique disposition towards some of these virtues but for most of us it takes effort it takes effort and so when you see someone who is manifesting and exemplifying great virtues realize they put a lot of time and effort into it whoever works on themselves takes themselves to task to be a person of fortitude then then God in fact will give them that fortitude there's a story of one of the early Muslims who said that had trouble with Helen they had trouble with forbearance meaning that when people annoy them of being able to put up with it and not want to retaliate or to give that verbal insult back to them or whatever so he said that in order to work on it I decided to room with the most annoying roommate in town that's what he did I was I was it was difficult for me with him and so I found the most annoying roommate in town and he said after several months I emerged halim I had him in fact and so um and there's a principle for all the virtues right there's a principle for all the virtues forbearance is only by working on becoming forbearant knowledge is acquired only by taking oneself to task in acquisition of knowledge whatever virtue you find yourself lacking the road to acquiring it is struggle is working on yourself taking yourself to task until you uh have that virtue by Allah's Grace the third Hadith Muslim and my Muslim relates that God's messenger said how wondrous is the affair of the believer you know the prophet salallahu is marveling and this is really touching his soul how wondrous how marvelous how awesome is the affair of the believer verily his affair all of it is good for him and this is not for anyone except for the True Believer this is not for anyone except for the True Believer if Good Times befall him he is grateful and that was better for him and if bad times afflict him he is perseverant he has fortitude he is patient and that in fact is good for him is that whatever again whatever the circumstance to have this this uh these foundational virtues to to deal with the circumstance and therefore the circumstance is good okay so what makes the circumstance good is our ability to be prophetic in that moment if we fail to be prophetic in that moment then it's bad for us even if it feels good even if it causes a temporary happiness it's not good for us what's good for us is when we uh reflect that light in the in the Muslim Ahmed the same Hadith the prophet says Allah wondrous is the affair of the believer Allah does not decree anything for him except that it's good for him wondrous is the affair of the believer Allah does not decree anything for him or her except that it's good for them and so again it's about realization realizing Allah's wisdom realizing the benefit realizing that there's hidden Realms of divine grace that we can't see they're hidden what's called whoever thinks that Allah's Grace and subtle kindness is separate from the situation this is because they are short-sighted this is because they're short-sighted and so to see again to see deeply and and Beyond the immediacy of the of the circumstance so it's very it's not an easy thing one of the uh definitions of sub or descriptions of suburb Imam Junaid those ones asked what is he says he says that it's to swallow the bitter without frowning to swallow what's bitter without frowning and another Master IBN atha was asked what's the definition of Sabbath he says uh uh is to stand with the test with the most beautiful etiquette with God to stand with the test to be there in the test with the most beautiful etiquette that's owed to the creator of the test Allah ultimately the remembrance of Allah will heal it inshallah this is the great cure is remembering Allah and not forgetting him to Allah and the prophet sallallahu sallam he held the people closest to him to the highest of standards he held the people closest to him to the highest of Standards it was not easy in terms of one's worldly material life to be close to the prophet saws it took the greatest of sacrifice so this one of the Hadith the fifth Hadith in this section um the Hadith is related by Usama the son of zaidi Bin haritha who is the mola the client or the freed slave of God's Messengers Osama uh no Zaid is the HEB of rasulullah Zaid is the Beloved of God's messenger this is how he was known amongst the sahaba and Osama is he is the son of the Beloved of God's messenger Allah be pleased with them both so he relates to foreign foreign powerful uh seen in the in the in the Sierra one of the daughters of God's messenger peace be upon him sent word to him saying that verily my son is about to die my baby boy is about to die so come be present so the prophet salallahu he responded by sending someone to convey his Salam and say on his behalf verily for God is what he takes and for him is what he gives Allah has the right to take and Allah has the right to give he it's his what he takes and it's his what he gives and everything with Allah has an appointed lifespan and appointed term so let her be patient and let her reckon her reward with Allah this is the message that the prophet sent to his own daughter when her son is passing away and the commentator IBN Allah says that the prophet saws sent this message instead of responding by coming because he held them at the highest of Standards he wanted her to be strong he wanted her to be that much stronger of of dealing with this tribulation but she responded saying by Allah I ask you please come she would she swore an oath to asking his presence so he stood up and with him and other eminent companions Allah be pleased with them all so the baby was lifted to God's messenger and so he placed it in his blessed lap and the baby's body was shaking it was shaking or in convulsions so the Blessed his eyes welled up with tears his blessed two eyes welled up with tears and remember we said that feeling the pain does not contradict being content with Allah but the some of the sahaba were confused this is God's messenger the closest of all people to the Divine how come he is crying and so sad says oh God's messenger what is this so he says this is Mercy has placed it in the hearts of his servants God most high has placed it in the hearts of his servants and another narration God most high has placed it in the hearts of whomever he Wills of his servants in the hearts of whomever he will some people don't have that Mercy and verily the only people that God shows Mercy to amongst his servants are those the very people that have mercy themselves the people in amongst Humanity that Allah shows Mercy to are the people the people that they themselves have mercy for others and uh uh Nam it's interesting that this this is the same meaning of the Hadith the first Hadith that the student learns when they study Hadith with the teacher is the people of Mercy Allah and the all merciful has Mercy on them have mercy on all those on earth and the one whose Majesty is in the heavens shall have mercy on you have mercy on all those on Earth and the one whose Majesty is in the heaven shall have mercy on you so uh foreign which could be translated as you know literally means back off like just keep your distance because you have not been Afflicted with my Affliction and you don't realize you don't know it so the prophet saws continued and then one of the companions said to her in this was the prophet sallallahu and she did not find anyone guarding the door so she said I did not realize it was you I did not realize it was you fakala and so he responded verily patience is at the first moment of the affliction verily patience is at the first moment of the Affliction and Muslim relates that she was crying over a child that of hers that had died uh the main point of the Hadith is related to the end in the context of this chapter in namas is that the real test of patients is at the first moment of the difficulty uh but it's worth mentioning one of the things that this shows us in the Hadith is that a Muslim is excused for ignorance even if it technically entails kuffer a Muslim is excused for ignorance even if it technically entails kofor because of the ignorance it's not that they don't mean to commit kofor they just it's a mistake based off of ignorance so telling the prophet sallam these type of words is a type of disbelief it entails back off if you don't know what I'm going through or you don't realize this is uh but because the prophet saws he did not uh find fault with her Iman or anything he merely used it as a teaching opportunity because he knew that she said it out of a type of of ignorance and so you know a Muslim is still a Muslim despite mistakes they might make improper statements even improper understandings or beliefs that could very well even entail koffer if because they don't mean it and and many people might fall into these types of statements by accident and by Allah's Mercy they are still Muslims so it's an it's a crisis of Education more than a crisis of Faith uh and when when people make Unbecoming statements often the 12th Hadith foreign um IBN Missouri relates Allah be pleased with them states he says it's as if I am watching as if I am seeing God's Messenger right now describing one of the prophets describing one of the prophets amongst all the prophets God's peace and blessings Beyond them all his people struck him and caused him to bleed while he was merely wiping the blood from his face all the while saying oh God forgive my people for verily they don't know what they're doing says it's as if I I can see I he's recalling one time when our Prophet sat down and described to the sahaba there was once a prophet amongst God God's Messengers God's prophets who was struck and caused to bleed by his people but he was wiping the blood from his blessed face and praying for the people oh while they're doing it you know it's while they are causing him to bleed while they are fighting him he is making prayer oh God forgive my people because they don't realize what they're doing Imam comments on this Hadith he says our Prophet salallahu is the Storyteller but he's also the subject of the story he was describing himself and this is the what's well known when the prophet salallahu did not want any of the blood blessed blood to touch the ground because had a drop of his blood touch the ground Allah would have immediately destroyed the quresh who were fighting him so out of his love and concern for his very enemies he is making sure the blood doesn't touch the ground and then what's his Dua what's his supplication is oh Allah forgive them they don't know what they're doing oh Allah forgive them they don't know what they're doing so on top of all of that the sublime patience the sublime fortitude the sublime contentment with Allah the sublime magnanimity to overlook the very harm of enemies while they're harming he has the sublime humility to reference himself as just one of the prophets one of the prophets once they went through this takes no credit foreign subtle blessings in all of our difficulties that our Prophet said the Muslim is never Afflicted and then he lists several types of afflictions he says whether it's nasab nasab is exhaustion like real fatigue you know some people have like chronic fatigue syndrome just really painful exhaustion that's nasab so um whether it's fatigue wasab is an illness it can also be used for chronic pain so again chronic illness chronic disease chronic pain nor stress nor depression and sadness nor harm or insult nor anxiety even a thorn that pricks him even a thorn that pricks him except that Allah uh removes because of that difficulty some of his sins except that Allah removes and expiates because of that difficulty Yahoo some of his sins so it's always spiritual elevation if we see it correctly and in related foreign [Music] when he was when he was ill and this Allah knows best could have been his final illness he had a fever notices how difficult the fever was and he says oh God's messenger verily you your fever is intense when you have a fever it's very intense and the prophet says absolutely correct my fever is like the fever of two men amongst you my fever is like the fever of two men two men amongst you I said is that because you have double the reward the prophet says indeed that is such there is not a single Muslim that is Afflicted with harm whether a thorn or anything worse than it anything above it save that God most high expiates because of it his sins and that his his sins fall from him like the leaves fall up from a tree his sins fall from him like the leaves fall from the tree and the 15th Hadith that whoever Allah's messenger said whoever Allah wants good for he gives him some affliction whoever Allah wants good for Yusuf minhu he afflicts him to a certain degree that this is a sign that Allah wants good for people so a lot of people ask okay how do I know if my difficulty or my trial is a sign of Allah punishing me or a sign of Allah forgiving my sins or a sign that Allah is elevating me in rank how does one tell the difference so the first step is to just do a quick or a genuine self-evaluation and to see if one is persisting in a sin okay there's a trial that hits someone that one should begin introspection if they were not already doing so and to examine themselves and see if they are if they have been persisting on a sin if they have been persisting on a sin and so if that's the case make Toba turn back to Allah and uh be hopeful that the that the tribulation will be lifted if there's not a clear persistence on on a sin then one should be hopeful that it's not a punishment and that the sign the sign that in fact it it's it's its elevation and forgiveness rather than a punishment is the state of one's heart during the trial is the state of one's heart during the trial so if during the trial the person starts to fall into Despair and object to Allah and why me and why did you do this then that's a sign they are they are falling because of that trial it's a type of punishment from Allah God forbid but if they find in their heart again this fortitude and they are at least working on trying going through that struggle to be perseverant and patient with Allah or even higher that they're struggling to be content with Allah and they have that contentment with Allah's decree and they are satisfied okay Allah and they're able to praise Allah as it is due even though they are in pain and difficulty then that state of the heart is a sign inshallah that they are indeed being forgiven and they are being elevated by the test itself so this Hadith is being manifested in how can one know if they are included in this Hadith is again these uh understanding the state of one's heart and making tawba to Allah if one is in sin thank you the 19th Hadith in this chapter one one is foreign foreign when Allah wants for his servant good he hastens his punishment for him in this life and when Allah wants for his servant bad or evil he withholds it from him because of his sin until he gives it to him in full on the day of judgment and the messenger said verily the greatness of the recompense the greatness of the reward with Allah is commensurate with the greatness of the trial the greatness of the reward with Allah and the openings from Allah is commensurate to the greatness of the trial and verily Allah when he loves a people he tests them verily Allah when he loves the people he tests them so whoever is pleased with Allah then he shall receive Allah's pleasure but whoever is upset and angry with Allah then he shall receive Allah's Wrath whoever is upset and angry at Allah shall receive Allah's wrath so again these are principles uh by which we can understand at a deeper level what's happening to us as individuals as communities even as in ummah we don't uh we don't we you know we don't belittle the suffering and we don't we are not neglectful in taking the means to alleviate the difficulties in our lives and in the and and as communities or as an ummah but at a deeper level we have a realization of what's happening in other words these tests and these trials are an indication that a our punishment is coming in this life so inshallah it won't be in the next life and this is something from other Hadith we know that the prophet foretold about our ummah specifically that our ummah is given its punishment in this life not in the next life so collectively the trials that are ummah faces there's a deep wisdom in it again though that we don't belittle the fact that we need to take every measure to to solve these problems and these crises but also that it's a sign of Allah's love verily when Allah loves the people he tests them and so if we again if we can respond with contentment with Allah then we have the pleasure of Allah that that love is is fully manifested but if the person responds with the being angry with Allah then they have God forbid Allah's anger so there's there's two lenses there's the lens of the Sharia and the lens of the hakika right and the Jal is only one eyed the Jal is only one eyed so he can only see he can't see depth you can only see the two-dimensional so the believer is too eyed both eyes are open the lens of the Sharia we have to take the means if it's a personal trial you take every means to LIT so the trial is lifted if it's Health you find the The Physician or the expert to help you if it's finding a job you go work hard and take the means get educated get a great resume right we in the eye of sharia we take all the means that we need to take in order to alleviate the the trials of this world as in ummah there are several problems and ultimately foundationally it's a crisis of ignorance and so we it behooves us from the lens of sharia to take every means possible to educate ourselves to revive education in our communities to revive real prophetic education globally but from the lens of hatika the entire time we realized these meanings that when Allah loves the people he tests them when Allah loves the people he tests them all of this is happening why is this decreed for us it's we're being elevated we're being forgiven Allah loves us Allah is pleased with us if we can hold on to patience hold on to contentment we have Allah's contentment and what other greater thing is that and the irony of that lens that the Hadith says whoever is content with Allah then they shall receive Allah's good pleasure is that the only way you can be content with Allah is that Allah is already pleased with you that it's Allah first and Allah last you're never first and you're never last so Allah has the praise in the beginning and the end so if you find yourself content with Allah you're able to have riddha with Allah in the end you receive riddha from Allah and so alhamdulillah in the end but the only reason you had the tawfiq to be content with Allah is because Allah was pleased with you from the beginning so Allah is praised in the beginning Allah is praised in the middle Allah is praised in the end and so take no credit for whatever good Allah bestows uh on you and on your heart and in your life so we have to be three-dimensional in our sight and realize things in their uh you know so so what's a beautiful another beautiful Hadith that again captures these meanings is the simplest you know two words conjoined by a conjunction all these meanings were gathered in these so all of the meanings we just discussed everything that was discussed today is captured in this Hadith so from the lands of sharia of what we need to do tie the rope take the means to solve problems take the means to alleviate disasters and trials and catastrophes but from the lens of the lens of Ultimate Reality rely on Allah rely on Allah and so one is the work of the limbs the other is the state uh of the heart and so that tawakul is rooted ultimately in having a good opinion of Allah and this is the this is the most foundational wondrous is the fear of the believer when good befalls him he is thankful when evil when difficulty afflicts him he is patient the both gratitude and Patience are rooted in the virtue of is to have a beautiful opinion of God is to have a beautiful opinion of God a good opinion of God and this is again the door of all good whether you're in a good state in Happy Times whether in a bad state or bad times it's bad unless you have a good opinion of Allah just feeling happy is not a virtue in and of itself having a good opinion of Allah is always a virtue whether you're happy or sad whether you're pricked by a thorn or you're not pricked by a thorn no matter what no matter what because Allah said I am in the opinion of my servant in me if we think good of Allah so uh this is the greatest thing that we can ask for is to have a beautiful opinion of Allah whoever beautifies his opinion of Allah then Allah has already opened the doors and the gates of Divine Mercy whoever beautifies his opinion of Allah Allah has already opened the gates the floodgates of divine mercy so we ask Allah to give us tawfiq and to protect us to give us afia well-being safety security and to give us the means to alleviate the troubles the difficulties that we face as individuals communities there's any questions inshallah will endeavor to uh address them so the question on the the different uh definitions of ichhlas and Sid and how they relate to each other so again this is one way of looking at it so according to that this perspective a class is to be realized in iyakanabud and Sid is to be realized in Iraq and astain so echlas is to make one's intention sincere that one is doing things only to draw nearer to Allah that's their only aim the only goal is to draw nearer to Allah Sid is to realize that that itself is a gift from Allah Sid is to realize that all good that's manifesting on one's hands is but by the creation the tawfiq the grace that's given by Allah so it has nothing to do with One's Own in other words effort whether material or spiritual putting the effort in whether for worldly tasks or for Spiritual progress is but the location of Allah's gifts it's the address that Allah sends tofik to address itself excuse me effort itself cannot create anything you put in all the effort to attain something the effort cannot create anything Allah is the only creator of results of anything and so what is effort what is struggle struggle and effort is the location it's the context through which Allah usually creates success whether material or spiritually so Sid is to realize this Sid is to realize that the only reason good is happening is because of Allah's Allah's Grace and this is called Sith which means mere honesty you're just being honest with yourself because Allah is the creator of everything the same thing for saber the topic for today Allah says have patience that's the effort then realize your patience was only a gift from Allah if you get it the fruit of your effort to be patient the actual ability to be patient the fortitude that that you have that you find is but a gift from Allah it only happened because of Allah so it's the same like it's a very similar and it's the prophet said it explicitly as we saw today he didn't say whoever forces himself to have patience then he's patient then Allah gives him patience so Allah is the giver of all good and alone is best any other questions inshallah no by Nature what okay uh so the first question what is blessing like Baraka so Baraka is when Allah creates more uh more good or more fruits in otherwise normal circumstances so whether it's time so for example normally a person works for an hour and they accomplish normally a certain amount X for example well if there's Baraka then they put that same work in for that same hour but the fruits might be 2x or 3x or something like this so it's when Allah creates more results when he creates more results or fruits with the same time or or amount of effort and the prophet taught us that Allah has placed Baraka in our mornings and so people often notice that they're able to accomplish more in the morning than the same amount of time in this effort and time if if it's in the afternoon for example we know that there's buttock in certain places the person will find that in Medina for example their ability to read Quran the amount that they can read the quality of the recitation what's happening to the heart with the recitation in the same half hour compared to outside of Medina it's very different so barakas when Allah creates more results and fruits with the same special Temple circumstances that relates I think that answers the second part too so it's just it's the creation of Allah so he can create more in the same Dimensions none yeah about a moment what the tribulation is no so these are good questions so Hadith that when Allah wants a good for a servant he gives him tribute punishment or tribulation in this life uh and if Allah does not want good for his servant he withhold withholds it from him be them be he because of his sin and then gives it to him fully in the day of judgment so we understand that vis-a-vis sins in other words if a person is sinning a lot and they have very great comfortable lives then that's the dangerous scenario according to the Hadith in other words if a person has committed sin and they find difficulties or tribulations you know they should they should not you know they should always ask Allah to lift it but they should realize that at least it's now and not in the next life that Allah has given it now instead of the next life so there is a there's a blessing in that despite that we don't ask for tribulation but the second scenario was someone be them be he because of his sins or despite his sins or excuse me because of his sins it's it's still withheld so Allah did not want good for them so if a person uh has a life that does not have a lot of tribulation but they also have not committed many sins then inshallah they're not in that category so and then also keeping we should keep in mind that even a comfortable life is a test that it's all a test so is the person having the amount of sugar gratitude that they should show for those types of blessings and often more often than not we realize that we we fall way short because the moment something is taken from us we start falling apart very easily so uh it's always a test anything else no is it bad other to try to figure out Allah's wisdom in his decisions so in general the other is to trust Allah to trust Allah and to trust that there is wisdom and if one is able to ascertain whether through asking people of knowledge or people of spiritual Excellence then you know that that there's no harm in that it seems like but it can be very difficult to try to do it with very in a very specific manner so uh the other Allah knows best my understanding is that is to consign it to Allah it's not necessary to ascertain specifics but to consign it to Allah to just hand it over yet the man of the believer amongst the folk of pharaoh he said I can sign this matter I can sign my matter to Allah in Allah Allah is ever watchful he sees his servants immediately after that Allah says which is immediate without a delay Allah saved him from the evils of their plotting Allah saved him from the evils of their plotting so the wikaya the protection is conjoined to the tafweed the consignment that when we consign things to Allah then we're protected from the harm of the of the circumstance so this is the other is to consign whether we ascertain the specifics or not this can be very difficult and Allah Knows Best let me get his myself thank you um someone asked how does one maintain during the trial do they mean what we talked about of having a good opinion of Allah well in this case when they they do have the word yakin and how do they maintain like they did put the word Husson before it but I think they've been saying how do they maintain certainty that this is a this is from goodness from Allah during the trial yeah um so I mean whoever struggles to force themselves to have these high virtues like patience and certitude and a good opinion of Allah Allah inshallah he will in fact give it to them by his Mercy so to put the effort in and uh and uh to have good company if you're if we're around people of these virtues then it's that much easier to to have them but if around people who are completely absent-minded and get frustrated with the slightest of things then will be prone to to such reactions and and Alana's best anything else say the last part again is is the person what um mashallah you have such a pure heart you're confused what it even means alhamdulillah so a person who gets upset with Allah uh they they're they're they object that why did Allah decree that for them so ultimately Allah's decision why did Allah decree that for them so the the opposite to be content is to be content with the decision of Allah to send that to to to to test them in that way while beseeching Allah to alleviate them right it doesn't negate the one's absolute need for Allah for for help in the situation but they are contented with the fact that this is the test Allah has chosen for me so it's a type of uh objection to Allah's decision and Allah Knows Best alhamdulillah anything else no if you're angry or upset with people does that mean you are angry with Allah so it could Allah protect us our anger should be for the sake of Allah so if it's anger for the sake of Allah then it's it's not being angry at Allah so someone does something that's offensive to Allah and you get angry someone does something that's prohibited by Allah and you get angry that's anger for the sake of Allah and we see that in the seedah we see that with the best of people that they were getting they would get angry for the sake of Allah but if we get angry because of our egos and then in essence right we we are we are in in a sense expressing uh dissatisfaction because Allah is the creator of that circumstance but we often don't realize that so inshallah pardon us but the prophet he said when the man came for advice he says don't get angry and the man kept on asking and he said he kept on repeating responding don't get angry don't get angry don't get angry don't get angry so it's from uh it's it's it's again it's it's another foundational thing is to be able to control anger but yeah it is it is you know people's annoyance of us is but another decree of Allah so it's related to that last one inshallah thank you so much um if we struggle to achieve a goal and we find that there are more and more barriers against it is this a sign that it might not be good for us and at what point do you continue to be patient or give up uh mashallah so it's difficult to give like broad answers with that it's better to you know to uh look at the specific scenario and consult people of wisdom uh the person should consult their someone local who is a person of wisdom and uh and guidance uh in general um uh like some of the fokaha said if you're starting a business for example then give it three tries and if on the third try it doesn't work then realize it's not good for you so find something else so uh so they they say you should be bold and courageous in starting the new endeavor but after the third failure then it's perhaps a sign that it wasn't meant so Allah knows best you know it depends what exactly this context is but uh but you know another principle of our of our tradition is to be contented with where Allah has placed us and to uh not necessarily seek a change until Allah facilitates that change foreign consult people of wisdom and guidance and then see what Allah does see what Allah opens see what he closes if something is staying shut the door is an opening after several times maybe see what door is open or what door door is easily opened and this is all in the context of things that they're not clearly right or wrong if there's clear clear right or wrong then there's no question if there's some virtue or obligation that we have to have then if it takes a hundred times a thousand times we keep on trying and the same with avoiding what's wrong but we're talking in the context of neutral things worldly things of things that there's not a clear ruling from Allah on it then we have to and we're weighing different options then it goes back to these principles of of a making which the prophet taught to the companions like Asura of the Quran it's very important to make it to ask people of guidance and wisdom for advice and then giving it a few tries seeing what Allah opens seeing what he closes and learning how to read the signs of Allah in one's life and again this comes with a good this ability inshallah so we ask Allah to make us people who read his signs and who are realized in the prophetic Beauties and who are free of the bestio and demonic vices and uglinesses and we ask Allah to alleviate all of us from our difficulties in the entire ummah from the ummah's difficulties and to make us means of serving him and serving his creation