Prayers by
Shaykh Muhammad Al-Akili
Fundraising Event held at Zawiya Fellowship
Cambridge, Ontario
December 15th 2012
1st of Safar 1434
خطبة للشيخ
محمد العقيلي
في مسجد النور
الزاوية العقيلية العمرية
كامبريدج
١ صفر ١٤٣٤ هجري الموافق لـ ١٥ديسمبر ٢٠١٢ ميلادي
Title: PRAYERS BY SHAYKH MUHAMMAD AL-AKILI
Arabic Title: al-Khutab al-Aqiliyya
This publication is copyrighted under the Bern Convention. All rights reserved Worldwide. No part of this publication may be reproduced, utilized or transformed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording of any information storage and retrieval system, now known or to be invented without permission from the publisher and the copyright owner in writing.
الزاوية العقيلية العمرية
© 2012 All Rights Reserved for Zawiya Fellowship
http://www.zawiyafellowship.com
Printed in Canada
Download PDF here
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
والصلاة والسلام على رسوله الكريم
We begin this prayer in Your Holy Name our Divine Sovereign Lord. Your special Grace and All-Encompassing Mercy is the lot of the elite who accepted Your guidance and who adore and worship You devoutly, and Your universal incessant Divine Compassion touches all lifeforms You alone sustain, our Lord.
Gratitude originates from You our Lord, and back to You it is eternally owed. You are the Creator of everything, and nothing exists except what You create. You are the sole Provider of everything, and You alone sustain everything. Everything comes from You, and back to You it returns. We bow in reverence to Your Majesty our Lord, and we submit to Your magnificence O true Holy One. We surrender our needs to You for You are the Sole Sustainer and Provider Who knows our true needs. You are the Divine Effulgent Light of the heavens and the earth, Glory is Yours O Allah, Allah, Allah. You alone created everything, You gave it its shape, created its intelligence, measured its eternal needs, founded its dependence and its reliance on You. There is no maintainer besides You, and no associate there is for You our Lord.
Our Lord, shower Your blessings upon our Master Muhammad and the blessed family and companions of our Master Muhammad, as You blessed our Master Abraham and the family of our Master Abraham. Divine Graciousness emanates from You, and You are the all-Glorious Lord of Majesty.
O Allah, O Most Magnificent and Most Compassionate, Your Light is Most Effulgent and You are our Lord and Creator, our Cherisher and Sustainer; O Most Magnificent and Most Glorious, Your Beautiful Attributes brought us to existence, Your Omnipotent Powers and Sacred Attributes الأسماءُ الحسنى are manifest proof of Your Sovereignty and Dominion. We all bow to Your Holiness, and we beg for Your Mercy and Grace.
One after another You created us, one after another You take us back, and altogether You resurrect us with one call. What a Most Magnificent Lord You are. No one except You can do that, and there is surely no Divine Supreme All-Sovereign Lord except You. Ya Allah, Ya Allah, Ya Allah, we testify that there is no Divine Sovereignty except You Ya Allah, and we bear witness that Muhammad is Your Servant and Messenger. You sent him along with the signs of the Last Hour: “For that the Messenger to be a witness over you and you be witnesses over people. Therefore, establish regular Salat prayers, give the due alms, and take refuge in Allah. He is your Lord, and what a Most Exalted Master, and what a Most Powerful Supporter.”[1]
لِيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ ۚ فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِاللَّـهِ هُوَ مَوْلَاكُمْ ۖ فَنِعْمَ الْمَوْلَىٰ وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ ﴿٧٨﴾
Our Lord! Be our guardian at this hour, and be thou our guardian at that Known Hour. The Day when some faces will shine with Your Light, and others will be gloomy dark in shame for what they did under Your Divine Holy Gaze, and the observation of Your blessed and obedient witnessing Malaa’ika angels in this down world.
“My Lord! Expand my perception, make my task easy for me, and loosen a knot in my tongue, for them to understand clearly what I say.”[2]
“رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِّن لِّسَانِي يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي.”
Ya Allah! Our Lord! You gathered these beautiful people here today, young and old, men and women, boys and girls, unborn and babies who are still inside the womb of their mothers, along with others who are still in the cradles, You gathered us here in Your mosque for Maghrib and Isha Salat prayers, and even offered us a meal for coming, even though You are the One Who brought us, and yet, You are the One Who receives us and shelters us in this blessed Mihrab.
Our Lord! We implore You to shelter us, our parents and children on the Day of Judgment under the Holy Canopy of Your Divine Luminous Sacred Arsh (throne), in peace with joy to shine with Your Light, as You joined us today in Holy Musala mosque to bless us and to forgive us, in peace and joy in this blessed Mihrab under Your Holy Gaze, in the presence of Your blessed Malaa’ika angels who also came by Your decree to record this event, and to list in their records the names of those who are present, young and old, male and female, born and not yet born to this down world. My Lord! Sufficient You are for a Witness, the Divine One Himself, the miracle which is Your work testifies to Your Holiness and to Your Sacredness.
Our Lord! You taught us about balance sheet, and You revealed to us that only You can balance it, and regardless how many efforts we make, You help us to carry our tasks for Your sake. You alone can instigate the efforts, for everything is Yours, and no move can take place or stillness is mesmerized except as You Will. When we learn Arabic, we also understand that the English word ‘mesmerize’ is derived from the Arabic word ‘mismaar `مسمار which mean nail in English. That is how strong is the fastening.
As You know our Lord, when we go to the store to shop for Eid gifts for clothing for our children, we strive to find a good deal of good value, a dress of bright colors that make us happy, and good looking. Our Lord! When we look out to buy a car, we search for quality and value that matches the quality and lifespan of the engine. You made some of us this much intelligent and smart, even though we know that our joy for the “new” is temporary, and what we buy, we cannot take it to our living rooms. So we keep the car on the street. Our Lord! We beg You not to make us carry our bad deeds on our shoulders on the day we have to cross the Sirat صراط. Our Lord! Make our bearing on that Day light and pleasing to bear, just as the joy of home coming after a long trip away from the beloved. Forgive us our Lord before that Day comes. Ameen.
When You, our Lord promised the believers a Janna paradise, You also promised to grant them joy and happiness out of Your Mercy and Grace, and to supplement that with the most satiating eternal joy of looking at Your Magnificent countenance, our Lord. You grant that to whoever You want. Our Lord! Allow us to share that joy along with the Prophets, the Messengers, the awliya الأولياء, the Ulama, the Martyrs, the High ranking malaa’ika angels, and the righteous ones الصالحين.
Here in this down world, we have to work hard to earn money to buy anything we need, but in the paradise of Janna You promised the believers, You have already chose the color of clothing of its dwellers, You took measurement of each individual and their needs, male and female, even the children and the Houris who serve, and You made their cloak of silk and embellished them with brocades, and then You embedded them with jewels and added extra ornaments of Gold bracelets mounted with hyacinth and emeralds, jewelry of every kind that please the eyes, and what the dwellers of Janna paradise wear. What a magnificent Lord You are. All praises are due to You our Lord.
Our beloved Rasul r said: “I do not ask – أنا لا أسأل”. Our Lord, he said that because he knew that You have already written the destiny of Your creations, and even though You granted Your beloved Messenger r anything he asks for; yet, he stayed happily as a faqir فقير in this life, and he r kept his wish for the hereafter, for the Day of Judgment, and that is to ask and pray for the forgiveness for His Umma.
Our Lord, You said: “Isn’t it time [now] for those who have faith [in earlier revelations] that their hearts should soften and become humbled when they hear [the Quranic] admonition from the Absolute Sovereign Lord and the truth that came down, and that they should not be like those who were given a Book, but, when time [between Messengers] elapsed [and seemed too long,] their hearts hardened, for a good number of them lead a dissolute life. You should know that Allah is the One Who repeatedly brings the earth back to life every time it dies. We have certainly exposed you here to clear proofs so perhaps you may come back to reason. Charitable men and women who loan to Allah a sincere good loan, He will multiply it for them, and they will receive a generous reward thereafter.”[3]
“أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّـهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ ﴿١٦﴾ اعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّـهَ يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا ۚ قَدْ بَيَّنَّا لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ ﴿١٧﴾ إِنَّ الْمُصَّدِّقِينَ وَالْمُصَّدِّقَاتِ وَأَقْرَضُوا اللَّـهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا يُضَاعَفُ لَهُمْ وَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ كَرِيمٌ.” ﴿١٨﴾ (سورة الحديد ٥۷)
Our Lord, You said: “It is not your wealth or [the number of] your children that raise you in station in Our View, but [such proximity] is reserved to someone who believes and engages in doing righteous deeds. Such ones will receive double their reward for what they did in lofty Chambers [in paradise] where they will dwell safe and secure. And those who keep on challenging, [thinking that they can override] the warnings stated in Our revealed verses, such ones will certainly be brought in to face their punishment. Say [to them]: “In fact, My Lord is the One who extends the living means to whoever He wants among His created servants, or He may limit them for him [as He wills], and whatever you spend, He is the One Who replaces that, and He is certainly the best of providers.”[4]
” وَمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُم بِالَّتِي تُقَرِّبُكُمْ عِندَنَا زُلْفَىٰ إِلَّا مَنْ آمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَأُولَـٰئِكَ لَهُمْ جَزَاءُ الضِّعْفِ بِمَا عَمِلُوا وَهُمْ فِي الْغُرُفَاتِ آمِنُونَ ﴿٣٧﴾ وَالَّذِينَ يَسْعَوْنَ فِي آيَاتِنَا مُعَاجِزِينَ أُولَـٰئِكَ فِي الْعَذَابِ مُحْضَرُونَ ﴿٣٨﴾ قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّي يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَقْدِرُ لَهُ ۚ وَمَا أَنفَقْتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهُ ۖ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ” ﴿٣٩﴾ (سورة سبأ ٣٤)
I shy from my Lord to say who is borrowing from Whom! Are we here to loan Allah a good loan, or are we here to borrow from Allah I the Rich beyond needs Who is the true Owner of everything in the heavens and on earth, and Who is the Sole Provider and Sustainer for all of His creation. A buy and sell contract requires both parties to be present when a deal is to take place. My Lord, here on this day on this first day of the month of Safar 1434 Hijri since the year Your beloved Prophet and Messenger r left his birth place city of Mecca he loved extremely. He left his birthplace and migrated with his bosom friend our master Abu Bakr As-Siddiq t on their way to Medina Shareef. The tribe of Quraysh sent a few foot trackers to pursue them. One of them was a polytheist called Suraaqa bin Maalik. He pursued them for the sake of a promised one hundred camels reward. Once he reached a short distance from them, the front feet of his horse started to sink in the sand down to its knees. Suraaqa bin Maalik realized what can be his end without help, and he called out in fear and beseeched Allah’s Messenger r to pray for his safety, and promised that should Allah U save his life, he would give up his pursuit and try to mislead the other trackers. Allah’s Messenger r then prayed for him, and once Suraaqa stood on his feet and felt safe again, Allah’s Messenger r said to him: “How would you feel if you should wear the gold bangles, the waistband and the crown of Khosra?” Suraaqa replied: “Do you mean Khosra son of Hurmuz the emperor of Persia?” Allah’s Messenger r replied: “Yes.”
My Lord! Suraaqa bnu Maalik who was a polytheist mushrik then accepted the deal in fear for his life. He repented and believed Your beloved Messenger r when Your Prophet r had nothing at hand to support that transaction, except his blessed word r, and he is surely the most truthful and his promise is from You our Lord, and Your Promise is most true. In fact, it took over a dozen of years before that transaction materialized. It was in the time of the Caliphate Omar t may Allah be pleased with him, when the Muslims conquered Persia and brought back the war spoils, among them was the crown and personal effects of Khosra. Omar t called Suraaqa t and fulfilled the promise of Allah’s Messenger r upon whom be peace, by delivering the crown, the gold bangles and the waistband of Khosra to him.
In fact, our beloved Rasul, Allah’s Prophet r did not make a deal. He was not a common person who was afraid and who made a promise no one can fulfill except You my Lord. Our beloved Messenger r upon whom be peace saw Suraaqa in his destiny as a believer and as a blessed companion in this world and in Janna Paradise. Your magnificent Messenger r also prophesied the future of Persia’s coming into Islam. Another beautiful part of that story is when Omar t delivered the promise, Suraaqa t may Allah be pleased with him wore the promised effects for a moment and then offered them as a sadaqa charity to the treasury.
Our Lord! You breathed إيمان faith, certitudeيقين and serenity سكينة in the heart of Suraaqa at that moment, and Suraaqa accepted the Promise, because he knew that You are the One Who makes and fulfills promises.
Our Lord! Your Promise is true, and the Quranic revelation You send down with Gabriel u to Your Magnificent and Most Beautiful Messenger r is the truth, our Lord, endow us today with true ايمان faith from Your ocean of Divine overflowing Mercy. A breath of faith that will dissipate any doubt in anyone’s heart.
Our Lord! You alone granted al-Fudhail bnu Iyadh الفضيل بن عياض salvation. You turned him from a criminal and a highway robber into a pious wali ولي. You taught him his religion as well as knowledge from Your Inner Knowledge العلم اللدني by which he was able to repent and to worship You correctly as well as to share that gift of inner knowledge with those You guided his way under Your sublime guidance and Holy Gaze.
Our Lord! You guided us to Islam, we plead with You to grant us faith like that of the blessed companion Sahaabi of Rasul-Allah r Suraaqa bin Malik t among others You blessed. Grant us to walk in the footsteps of the blessed companions Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman, Ali and their families and as followed by generations of believers of earlier ages. Our Lord! Grant us ايمان faith directly from You, by You and for You. Our Lord! We have no recourse or means to reach You except as You provide for us, and no one can grant except You. You said: “When Allah extends His Mercy to people, no one can prevent it [from taking place], and whatever He restricts, no one other than Him can release it, and He is the Most Supreme in Power and the All-Wise. O people! Remember Allah’s favors on you. Is there anyone other than Allah that provides your sustenance from the heavens and the earth? There is certainly no Divine Sovereign Lord other than Him. Therefore, how can you be left to elude such recognition?”[5]
مَّا يَفْتَحِ اللَّـهُ لِلنَّاسِ مِن رَّحْمَةٍ فَلَا مُمْسِكَ لَهَا ۖ وَمَا يُمْسِكْ فَلَا مُرْسِلَ لَهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ﴿٢﴾ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّـهِ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ هَلْ مِنْ خَالِقٍ غَيْرُ اللَّـهِ يَرْزُقُكُم مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۚ لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ فَأَنَّىٰ تُؤْفَكُونَ ﴿٣﴾
My Lord! I beg and implore You before this blessed crowd of believers You gathered in Your blessed Mosque this evening, not to let our hope in Your Mercy and Compassion be vexed or disappointed. Forgive us our sins O Lord, and strengthen our faith in standing on Your Straight path. Our Lord! You brought us here to Your House this evening to forgive us, and You prepared Your gifts for each and everyone You gathered in Your House tonight. My Lord! Not even the entire material wealth of this planet if multiplied to infiniteness can equal even a single drop of the ocean of Your Divine Grace, Mercy, Compassion Rahma رحمة and Forgiveness today. Our Lord! Grant us what You brought us to receive. Grant us Your Forgiveness, Your Pardon, Your Grace, Your Light, Your Sublime Divine Compassion, and Your Pleasure.
Our Lord! We are poor and You are rich without needs. Make the food and water You invited us to share this evening as medicine for our illnesses, physical illnesses and spiritual.
Our Lord! Our beloved Prophet r taught us how to pray in congregation for rain when there is a drought caused by our sins and failures, our Lord, here we come before Your Holy Majesty to pray in congregation, asking for Your Mercy to forgive us our sins and failures in subscribing correctly to our religious duties (Deen-ul-Islam) as we must. Our Lord, make us true devout worshipers who adore You with the utmost sincerity, remove any hypocrisy, procrastination, ignorance, haughtiness, pride and arrogance from our hearts, and make us true servants of Yours. Accept us our Lord as true servants in Your Kingdom, in this temporary life of the down world, as well as in the coming permanent life of the hereafter.
Our Lord! Your blessed malaa’ika angels are here tonight by Your command to write down what you decree, so we pray and beseech You our Lord to forgive us by the shafaa’a intercession of Your beloved Messenger, the holy Prophet Muhammad r upon whom be peace, and to grant us Your ultimate forgiveness and Grace. Our Lord! Let this be our hope and supplication You keep for us as long as we live in this down world, and grant us its benefits on the Day of our minor Qiyama comes, when the angels of death come to take us back to our permanent life. Make it a mint of Divine Compassion when we lay alone inside our graves, and on the Day of Resurrection, as well as on the Day of the major Qiyama when we stand up for Judgment. Have Mercy on us our Lord. You are indeed the Most Merciful and Most Compassionate.
When people look to purchase a property for their temporary life in this down world, most of them, today pay in installment. Our Lord, here we come this evening by Your guidance to celebrate Your Holy Name, and we are hoping to make a deal: You forgive us our failures in obeying Your commands, and You help us to do better as You Please our Lord. You forgive us for failing to properly follow the Sunna tradition of Your beloved Messenger Muhammad r, You forgive us for our selfishness, stinginess and for listening to the whispering insinuations of the devil when he tells people that they will become poor if they give money in charity. While You our Lord, the Most Generous One, You promised to replace what we spend in charity, to forgive us and to expand Your Favors.[6]
الشَّيْطَانُ يَعِدُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ وَيَأْمُرُكُم بِالْفَحْشَاءِ ۖ وَاللَّـهُ يَعِدُكُم مَّغْفِرَةً مِّنْهُ وَفَضْلًا ۗ وَاللَّـهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٢٦٨﴾
Our Lord! You ordered our blessed father Abraham r and his blessed son the Prophet Ismail u to build the Holy Ka’ba in Mecca. Our Lord! Here we stand before You in Your House, You alone own. We are Your poor servants who are in dire need of Your Holy Mercy and Compassion. We have nothing to give into this Sacred Holy deal except what You alone gave to us in trust, and ourselves and everything we have is Your property as You said it: “لله ما في السموات وما في الأرض” “To Allah belongs whatever the heavens and the earth contain” and You say: Whether you declare what you think or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it: [7]
” وَإِن تُبْدُوا مَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُم بِهِ اللهُ “
Our Lord! We are poor and You are the Rich to infiniteness and without any needs. We are Your creation and we are in need of Your forgiveness, and You are the only One Who provides for all needs. We, the poor ones in need of their Lord are gathered here tonight by You our Lord to bear witness to Your Oneness, and to the conclusion of Your Message to humanity by the revelation of the Holy Quran. Our poor ones and the rich ones are baffled by Your generosity and Mercy ocean, we are all humbled when you ask us: “Who is there to loan Allah a good loan, and He will multiply it for him many folds, for Allah is the One Who limits and extends [His favors], and you will be brought back to Him altogether.”[8]
مَّن ذَا الَّذِي يُقْرِضُ اللَّـهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا فَيُضَاعِفَهُ لَهُ أَضْعَافًا كَثِيرَةً ۚ وَاللَّـهُ يَقْبِضُ وَيَبْسُطُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ ﴿٢٤٥﴾
Our Lord! You also said, and Your speech is the truth: “Say [to them]: “In fact, My Lord is the One who extends the living means to whoever He wants among His created servants, or He may limit them for him [as He wills], and whatever you spend, He is the One Who replaces that, and He is certainly the best of providers.”[9]
قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّي يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَقْدِرُ لَهُ ۚ وَمَا أَنفَقْتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهُ ۖ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ ﴿٣٩﴾
Our Lord! You are the All-Wise. You made usury unlawful for us to take or to give, even though, You promised those who refrain from dealing in usury to multiply their earnings and to pardon them for merely asking You. You said: “Allah blots out any profits earned from usury, and He makes charity grow in benefits, blessings [and new earnings].”[10]
يَمْحَقُ اللَّـهُ الرِّبَا وَيُرْبِي الصَّدَقَاتِ ۗ ﴿٢٧٦﴾
Our Lord! We pray to You not to let Your House or any of our homes or dwellings or livelihood be indebted to any banker or usurer, and here we submit ourselves and everything You entrusted us to manage to Your Holy trust. Our Lord! You taught us that “Those who devour usury, they rise in the morning like someone who is demented and stunned by the devil; this is because they say: ‘Charging interest is just another form of trading, both are alike.’ But Allah has permitted trading, and He forbade dealing in usury.”[11]
الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ الرِّبَا لَا يَقُومُونَ إِلَّا كَمَا يَقُومُ الَّذِي يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنَ الْمَسِّ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا الْبَيْعُ مِثْلُ الرِّبَا ۗ وَأَحَلَّ اللَّـهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا ۚ ﴿٢٧٥﴾
Our Lord! You asked us very little for the deal of granting us Your forgiveness and a magnificent and most beautiful property in Janna paradise. You only asked us two and one half percent of our saved assets which in fact is your property to clean our act, to purify us from sins, and to extend the lifespan of the charity donor. Our Lord! You know how stingy some humans are. When they feed the hungry, they talk about it, and others may talk publicly of their good deeds of helping others, and yet, You forgive them.
Our Lord, in the early days of Islam, Abu Bakr t placed his entire assets directly in the blessed hand of Your beloved Messenger r upon whom be peace, and today, we are humbled and shy to place this meager donation which in fact belongs to You back in Your Holy Hand, our Lord. Today, we place this willingness to uphold our faith with Your Help in Your trust. Today, our Lord, we consent to Your commands and pledge to remain in repentance as long as You grant us and accept our repentance. You are indeed the One Who accepts the repentance of His servants and Who forgives them:
إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الغَفُوْرُ
Our Lord! When Your servant Khizer u was teaching a lesson in total dependence on You our Lord, and that everything is already predestined, also Sayyidina Musa u Your blessed Messenger taught us this lesson in Your Holy Quranic revelation. Khizer u explained: “As to the wall [I rebuilt], it belonged to two orphan children from that town, and there was a treasure beneath it that should be theirs. Their father was a pious man, and your Lord wanted them to reach full maturity and to excavate their treasure, as a special Mercy from your Lord. All of these events, I did not do them of my own will. This is the interpretation of what you could not endure with the required patience.”[12]
وَأَمَّا الْجِدَارُ فَكَانَ لِغُلَامَيْنِ يَتِيمَيْنِ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ وَكَانَ تَحْتَهُ كَنزٌ لَّهُمَا وَكَانَ أَبُوهُمَا صَالِحًا فَأَرَادَ رَبُّكَ أَن يَبْلُغَا أَشُدَّهُمَا وَيَسْتَخْرِجَا كَنزَهُمَا رَحْمَةً مِّن رَّبِّكَ ۚ وَمَا فَعَلْتُهُ عَنْ أَمْرِي ۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَأْوِيلُ مَا لَمْ تَسْطِع عَّلَيْهِ صَبْرًا ﴿٨٢﴾
Some people may say: “We are saving for our children!” Allah knows best. How many children some parents bequeathed them immense wealth, some of whom used such wealth and resources to lead them to hell fire? Only Allah U knows who and what will these children do when they grow up? We beg You our Lord this evening, of this day, of this first day of the month of Safar, 1434 years after the Hijra migration of Your Holy Prophet r from Mecca to Medina, we implore You our Lord to grant us and our children to live as good Muslims, and when it is our time of arrival to our destination in Your Kingdom as You promised, we beseech You our Lord to take us back with full إيمان faith. Our Lord, let Your blessed malaa’ika angels write it down this evening that we implore You to keep our children on the path, to teach them the true faith of Deen Muhammad, our beloved Prophet and the Seal of Your Messengers r upon all of whom be peace, protect them from the accursed devil and his helpers of jinn devils and human devils, for should we or they lose our connection with Your Rahma and compassion for a single moment, there may not remain much faith or Islam in this community. You know best, many of our children are already experiencing immense trials and hardships in growing up, and some may have already gone astray for lack of true knowledge. Our Lord! Guide us all to Your way, “The way of those You blessed on the Straight path.”
صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ ﴿٧﴾
Our Lord! You said and Your speech is the truth: “Allah teaches you.” “ويعلمكم الله” Teach us wisdom our Lord. Our father Abraham r prayed to You on our behalf our Lord and You accepted his supplications: ‘Our Lord, make both of us submitted to You, and out of our descendants a nation that submits to You. Show us our [required] rituals, and turn to us; for You are surely the Oft-Returning [in pardon and forgiveness], and the Most Merciful. Our Lord, and raise a Messenger from among them, who will recite Your revelations to them, and who will instruct them according to the Book, teach them wisdom, and purify them. You are indeed the Most Exalted in might, the All-Wise.’[13]
رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ﴿١٢٩﴾
You accepted and fulfilled his prayer, and You sent us our beloved Rasul Muhammad r. Your beloved Prophet and the Seal of Your Messengers to humanity, upon all of whom be peace. It was Your favor on us indeed when You said, and Your Holy Word is the truth:
لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّـهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا مِن قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿١٦٤﴾
“Indeed, Allah has endowed the believers with a great favor when he sent them a Messenger from among themselves, who recites to them His revealed verses, purify them, and teaches them the Book and [the virtues of good] wisdom, even though they were previously in manifest error.”[14]
يُسَبِّحُ لِلَّـهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ الْمَلِكِ الْقُدُّوسِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَكِيمِ ﴿١﴾ هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا مِن قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿٢﴾ وَآخَرِينَ مِنْهُمْ لَمَّا يَلْحَقُوا بِهِمْ ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ﴿٣﴾ ذَٰلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّـهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَن يَشَاءُ ۚ وَاللَّـهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ ﴿٤﴾
“All of what’s in the heavens and earth continuously celebrates the praises of the Divine Sovereign Lord, the Absolute King, the Most Holy, the Supreme Almighty, and the All-Wise. He is the One Who sent people who had no [guiding] Book, a Messenger from among themselves, who recites His revelations to them and purify them, and who instructs them according to the Book, and teaches them wisdom, even though they were clearly astray before his coming. And through them to others who are yet to joined them, and He is the Supreme Almighty Lord, the All-Wise. Such is the bounteous favor of the Divine Sovereign Lord. He grants His favors to whoever He wants, and Allah is the Most Magnificent Lord of Divine Grace.”[15]
My dear brothers and sisters, these are our children in the physical array of tree leaves, but they are also independent souls with their preset destiny and their own minds. We pray to our Lord and beg of Him today and with every Du’a prayer to keep them on the straight path for generations to come. Such children are independent beings and they are souls that are even older than our father Adam u and were all created some thousands of years prior to his formal creation. Everyone in this humanity was created from the most blessed Divine Noor at the inception of our Lord’s intention to create us.
My dear brothers and sisters, try to give your own born children a piece of food you like and they don’t have a taste for it. Try to give your own sons and daughters a traditional jubba or a sirwal and qamees they do not feel the connection to its fashion of your motherland. They are in fact as independent of us as we are independent of our own parents, and yet we owe our parents who gave physical birth to us to revere them and to acknowledge that Allah I has placed Janna paradise under the feet of our mothers.
Hear me my brothers and sisters. I stand here before our Lord Y to remind ourselves of a more important trait of a journey we are put through, and arrival to our final destination is getting closer for sure. Look how travelers by air check every other moment on the GPS television screen in front of their seat the remaining distance, and the anticipated time of arrival. What a wonder! How eager we are to check distance and arrival time in this world, while we better pray to our Lord for safe arrival to our permanent destination. Even when a common air pocket shakes the airplane in the sky, it makes us tremble in fear and pray harder. Don’t we need to check our distance and time in a journey that Allah alone knows its arrival time, and that can be at any moment? Allah knows best!
My Lord! We ask for Your pardon. Here we come tonight by Your Mercy and Grace to re-affirm, to reconfirm and to renew our faith and shahada testimony of La ilaaha il-Allah Muhammadon Rasul Allah.
لاَ إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ
You are indeed the Most Generous, the Most Gracious and Magnificent in Beauty our Lord. We submit to You and we collectively beg You for your mercy in this congregation of believers. Our Lord, grant us Your special grace and forgive us our failures, and answer our prayers.
Our Lord says: “And who can be more true to his Promise other than Allah? Therefore, enjoy the good deal you bartered [with your Lord], and that is truly the most awesome win.”[16]
وَمَنْ أَوْفَىٰ بِعَهْدِهِ مِنَ اللَّـهِ ۚ فَاسْتَبْشِرُوا بِبَيْعِكُمُ الَّذِي بَايَعْتُم بِهِ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ ﴿١١١﴾
My dear brothers and sisters, this is Allah’s House, and He calls us to come to Salat prayers to forgive us, to bless us and to reward us altogether. We did not gather here on our own to give each other lectures about donation or fundraising. We came to share in Allah’s Mercy, “Rahma” compassion and forgiveness for failures we brought upon ourselves regarding His command and those of the Sunnah of His Most Blessed Messenger Muhammad r in this down world.
Our Lord! Grant us Your ultimate Grace, teach us our religion, teach us how to be grateful, grant us to shed a single tear in gratitude, acknowledgment and love for You and for Your beloved Messenger and Prophet Muhammad r and reward us in this prayer for one thousand supererogatory rak’a of Salat prayersنافلة . Ameen.
“O believers, spend generously out of the bounty We provided for you. Do so before the coming of a day when there will be no commerce, friendships, or mediation, and those who reject the message are the unjust ones.”[17]
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنفِقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَّا بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلَا خُلَّةٌ وَلَا شَفَاعَةٌ ۗ وَالْكَافِرُونَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ ﴿٢٥٤﴾
“[O people!] Acknowledge and respond positively to the call of your Lord before an immutable Day comes and which is beyond repeal by Allah. On that Day, you will have no shelter to escape to, and you can no more deny it or alter your destiny.”[18]
اسْتَجِيبُوا لِرَبِّكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَّا مَرَدَّ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّـهِ ۚ مَا لَكُم مِّن مَّلْجَإٍ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن نَّكِيرٍ ﴿٤٧﴾
All praises are due to Allah, the most Exalted, most Magnificent, the Guardian, the Provider, the Compassionate, the Forgiver, the forbearing, the One Who hides the sins of His creations, Who says each night: “Is there anyone asking for forgiveness? Is there anyone in need?”
هَلْ مِنْ مُسْتَغْفِرٍ؟ هَلْ مِنْ سَائِل؟
أقول قولي هذا واستغفر الله لي ولكم فاستغفروه إنه هو التواب الغفور.
اللهم إنا نستغفرك ونستهديك ونؤمن بك ونتوكل عليك ونثني عليك الخير كله ونشكرك ولا نكفرك.
اللهم إياك نعبد، ولك نصلي ونسجد، وإليك نسعى ونحفد، نرجو رحمتك ونخشى عذابك، إن عذابك الجد بالكفار واقع.
اللهم اهدنا فيمن هديت، وعافنا فيمن عافيت، وتولنا فيمن توليت، وبارك لنا من الخير فيمن أعطيت، وقنا واصرف عنا شر ما قضيت، فإنك تقضي ولا يُقضَى عليك، وإنه لا يذل من واليت، ولا يعز من عاديت، تباركت ربنا وتعاليت، والحمد لك على ما قضيت، وصل اللهم على سيدنا ونبينا ومولانا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين.
سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ ﴿١٨٠﴾ وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ ﴿١٨١﴾ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّـهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿١٨٢﴾ (سورة الصافات ٣٧)
My Lord, shower Your eternal and everlasting blessings upon our master Muhammad ﷺ who is the best of Your creations and the inherent Light of Your Divine Throne, the Seal of all the Prophets and Messengers, and the most exalted and perfect of your creation. Ameen, Glory be to You, O Lord of all creations.
Al-faqir ila Rahmati Rabbihi
Muhammad al-Akili
Download PDF here