Tazkiyya before Ta’aleem

Auto-generated transcript:Khilal Ramadan Rahim, Alhamdulillah, Rabbil Alameen, Wasalatu Wasalamu Alayhi Sharifil Abiyyil Mursaleen, Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wa'ala Alihi Wasallam, Tasleeman Kaseeran Kaseera, Faman Badu. My brother and sister, it's very, very important to think about the purification of the heart, tasiyat al-nafs, for learning Islam. People come to me and say, I want to become a great speaker. And I say, that's absolutely the worst place to start. because before you become a great speaker, you have to become a great worker, like a person who does amal, who lives by Islam. This desire to speak and the desire to tell people what to do, this is a huge trap. Sahal bin Abdullah, he says, it is not lawful, it is not possible for light, for the nur of knowledge to enter a heart in which there is something that Allah dislikes. Just think about this. These are things which are so critically important that we need to reflect on them. He says, I repeat his words, it is not lawful, it is not possible for light, for the nur of the knowledge of Islam to enter a heart in which there is something that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala dislikes. And he says, the source of this, this statement is the statement of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in Surah Al-A'raf, Allah said, I will turn away from the verses which are arrogant in the earth without truth. And if they see every verse they do not believe in it, and if they see the way of the right path, they do not take it as a way. And if they see the way of the wrong, they take it as a way. That is because they have denied our verses and they were not the way. And in the verse of the verse, Allah says, He says, I will turn away from my signs those who act unjustly with arrogance in the land. Allah is saying, I will turn them away from my signs so that they will not get to that. And even if they were to see, even if they were to see every sign, they still would not believe in them. If they see the right path, they will not take it. But if they see a crooked path, they will follow it. This is because they denied Allah's, our signs and were heedless of them. May Allah Ta'ala protect us from being people like that. Sufyan bin Ureena in his tafsir, he says Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will deprive them from understanding the Quran. SubhanAllah, we see how, what is the wages of arrogance, how arrogance will destroy you if you are arrogant. May Allah have mercy on us. Arrogance is the first trap of the ulama and the umara, of the rulers and people with authority and of people who are people of knowledge as in they know the theory but they are, you know, their hearts are sealed because they have arrogance in them. So when they become... Ulama, when they graduate from this or that darurum, they start considering themselves to be great scholars and they spend their time criticizing other people without looking at themselves and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is saying such people, I will prevent them from seeing. Right? Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is saying, I will prevent them from seeing. Muhammad Yusuf al-Firyabi, rahmatullah alayhi salam, he said, Allah is saying that we should not be afraid of the people who are not in the right direction. He said, Allah is saying that He will deprive them from reflecting on the Quran and taking lessons from it. Ibn Kathir, rahmatullah alayhi salam, in his tafsir of this ayah, he said, Allah punished them with a terrible punishment of ignorance because they were arrogant. So whoever allows, now we talk about the taskiyatul nafs, we talk about purification of the soul. I remind myself anew that all of these talks of purification of soul are worthless if we do not actually go and purify ourselves. For example, imagine. Imagine that you have just come back from a run, you are sweating, you are stinking, your body is full of sweat and dust and muck and God knows what, right? And you are watching this absolutely passionate speech about the benefits of bathing, right? And all the ways of taking a ghusur and all of that, and you listen to this lecture for three hours. Believe me, at the end of three hours, you are still stinking. You are probably stinking worse because you haven't had a bath. Instead of listening to the lecture, if you had just gone and taken a bath, even if you didn't rain incorrectly, you would still be clean. So the issue of this issue of having arrogance in the heart, the point to understand is, so whoever allows jealousy, envy, hatred, greed, malice, resentment, arrogance into his heart, Allah will turn him away from his Quran. To be turned away. Doesn't mean that you will not be able to memorize the Quran. Imdal Haj Al-Maliki in his book Al-Madkhal said, I have seen a lot of mutakabbireen, arrogant people memorize the Quran, but their hearts are turned away from it. They have not been given any understanding of it and they do not act upon it. So this is the question of, if you know, if somebody says, I understand, then that understanding must be reflected in action. If the understanding is not reflected. Reflected in action, then the person has not understood. The person may have memorized, but that memorization will not help them. It's like a stone compared to a sponge. If water is poured on a stone or a sponge, which one will absorb the water? If water is poured on these two things, a stone and a sponge, which one will absorb the water? That is not because a sponge is stronger than the rock, but because it has the capacity to absorb water. It is not external strength or memory power or anything like that, which is important, but the hidden strength of Ikhlasul Niyah and Taskiyatul Nafs, the purity of the intention and the purification and purity of the soul, the heart, a heart which is pure from all that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala dislikes and which yearns for knowledge that can take him closer to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. This is what we need. And that is what we should we ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for. If the heart is purified from arrogance, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will open a door of understanding for him, which he doesn't open for others. And if the heart is not purified of these evil characteristics, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala himself will prevent him from the life which can open his heart and give him a beautiful life. And this is not just a question of likeliness. We are not talking about life in this world, but in the Akhirah. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala said, وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ In Surah Al-Baqarah at the end of the longest of the ayat of the Qur'an, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala said, So have Taqwa of Allah. وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُ And Allah will teach you. وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala knows everything. That is why I say that when Tarbiyah was separated from Ta'aleem, the Nur left Ilm and only dry words remained. The knowledge of the Alim must be visible in his or her behavior. The first sign of true knowledge of Islam is Tawaduh. It is humility, humbleness. Knowledge that creates arrogance is the Naqshband. The knowledge of Iblis, of Shaytaan, who considered himself better than Aadab . Rabbani, divine knowledge, shows the person who has it how small and insignificant he is and so he lowers himself before Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyah said, When Allah wants to favor somebody, listen to this carefully, when Allah Ta'ala wants to favor someone, he reminds him about his sins. That's Allah's favor. Because the Prophet said, when Allah wants to favor someone, he reminds him about his sins. So the person is saved from arrogance and makes istighfar again and again. Of course, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, when we make istighfar, we make istighfar with the full confidence that Allah has forgiven us when we made istighfar even once. But we still keep on making istighfar as a sign of our budiyat and our humbleness. The benefit of making istighfar often is that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala accepts the dua of the person and provides him and forgives him and provides him from sources he could not have received. And solves his material needs and problems and becomes sufficient for him. Ibn Abbas said that Rasulullah said, If anyone constantly seeks pardon from Allah, if anyone constantly makes istighfar, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will appoint for him a person who will be his companion. If anyone is not a person who is not a companion, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will appoint for him a way out of every distress and a relief from every anxiety. Allah will provide for him a way out of every distress and a relief from every anxiety and will provide sustenance for him from where he does not expect. From a source he cannot imagine. In another hadith, Abdullah Ibn Abbas said, Narrated that Rasulullah said, The one who regularly says istighfar, that is frequently repents to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for sins he has committed, Then Allah Azza wa Jal will make him a companion. He will open a path from poverty and difficulties for the person. Repents to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for his sins which he committed. Allah Azza wa Jal will open a path from poverty and difficulties. So a path that is away from poverty and difficulties. Will relieve his poverty and will relieve his difficulties. All sorrow and hardship will be removed and in its place prosperity, contentment will be granted. One will receive sustenance from unimagined and unexpected sources. We have heard, I mentioned the story of Imam Ahmad the baker many times. So I won't repeat it here. But think about and remember that story. Now ask yourself, what the words of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and the words of Rasulullah Does to our heart? Let us ask ourselves, what does the words of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and the words of Rasulullah What does it do to our hearts? When people find sweetness in the words of their beloved and listen to them,