Part One
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, the Most Beneficent, the Most
Merciful, and the Only Owner of the Day of Recompense. I praise Him, Glorified be He,
and thank Him for his immense grace. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone,
Who has no partners, the Protector, the All-Praiseworthy. I also bear witness that our
master and prophet, Muhammad, is His servant and messenger, who called to Allah’s
straight path. May Allah bestow His peace and blessings upon him and upon his family
and all his Companions.
O Muslims!
I advise you and advise myself to fear Allah. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered
and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be
feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him
always], and die not except in a state of Islam [as Muslims (with
complete submission to Allah)]. (Al ‘Imran: 102)
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Life and its opposite, death, have both literal and metaphorical meanings. For
instance, the growth of plants gives life to the earth, while knowledge and sound
judgment give life to the mind. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
(They are) dead, not alive ... (An-Nahl: 21)
Islam has revived humanity and brought it back to life. Through Islam, Allah has
delivered us from spiritual death, which is more serious than the death of the body.
Unless the message of Islam enlightens the servant’s heart and fills it with life and
guidance, he will be engulfed in darkness and will be counted among the dead. Allah,
Exalted be He, says:
Is he who was dead (without Faith by ignorance and disbelief) and
We gave him life (by knowledge and Faith) and set for him a light
(of Belief) whereby he can walk amongst men – like him who is in
the darkness (of disbelief, polytheism and hypocrisy) from which he
can never come out? ... (Al-An‘am: 122)
This is the description of a believer – he was dead because of his complete ignorance but
Allah gave him life through the message of Islam and the grace of faith and provided him
with light by which he can walk among people. As for disbelievers, they are dead in the
darkness of their disbelief and polytheism.
One form of death is the death of hearts through lack of belief. A dead heart does
not know the Lord and is not guided by His Light. In fact, the true life is the life of the
heart. A man’s life is measured by the extent to which he is close to Allah and by the
hours he spends in doing acts of righteousness, piety, and obedience to Allah. Beyond
that, life is worthless and meaningless.
If a servant turns away from Allah and preoccupies himself with sinful acts, he
will waste his true life and will end up saying:
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... “Alas! Would that I had sent forth (good deeds) for (this) my
life!” (Al-Fajr: 24)
Allah, Exalted be He, says:
So verily, you (O Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him)
cannot make the dead to hear (i.e. the disbelievers), nor can you
make the deaf to hear the call ... (Ar-Rum: 52)
Here Allah compares the disbelievers, with their dead hearts, to those who are buried in
the graves, for their souls have died and their bodies have become tombs for them. Just as
those buried in the graves do not hear, so the disbelievers cannot hear the voice of truth.
If life means feeling and movement, the hearts that do not react to knowledge and
are not moved by faith are truly dead. This is not to compare their death to physical
death, but rather this is the death of the heart and the soul.
Ignorance is death and waste of life, while knowledge provides light to life,
guides hearts and minds, and helps attain happiness in this world. Whoever lives in
ignorance has indeed wasted his life and lost part of its splendour. Allah, Exalted be He,
says:
Shall he then who knows that what has been revealed to you (O
Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) from your Lord is the
truth be like him who is blind? ... (Ar-R’ad: 19)
An ignorant person is nothing but a body that walks on the earth morally devoid
of life, even if he is physically alive. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
... This is only a Reminder and a plain Qur’an. That he or it
(Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, or the Qur’an) may
give warning to him who is living (a healthy-minded – the believer),
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and that Word (charge) may be justified against the disbelievers
(dead, as they reject the warnings). (Yasin: 69-70)
A man dies when he loses his vigour and determination. His energy withers and
he becomes a slave to his lustful desires and worldly pleasures, his main concern being
only to satisfy them. Conversely, a Muslim’s life is lively and energetic as a result of the
remembrance of Allah and of Paradise and Hellfire, and he is fully determined to engage
in acts of obedience and worship. Such vigour is the sign of life, for it gives value to a
Muslim and adds meaning and effect to his life.
A man may die morally when his feelings die and he becomes emotionally frozen.
The liveliness of emotions and their continuous responsiveness to events are a proof of
life and a sign of faith. How can a Muslim stand still, without his feelings and emotions
being stirred by the various events in the east and the west, including the continuous
tumults and successive trials and tribulations that have rocked the ummah, giving rise to
genocide, violation of all that is sacred, killing and displacement, ridicule and mockery,
disunity and diaspora, and backwardness and poverty?
Hudhaifah ibn Al-Yaman, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I heard the
Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say:
‘Temptations will be presented to men’s hearts as a reed mat is woven
stick by stick. Any heart which is impregnated by them will be
branded by a black mark, while any heart which rejects them will be
branded by a white mark. The result is that there will be two types of
heart: a white heart, like a pure stone, which will not be harmed by
any turmoil or temptation so long as the heavens and the earth
endure, and a black heart like a vessel which is turned upside down,
not recognizing any good nor rejecting any evil, but being
impregnated with his own desires.’”
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The senses may also die. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
... They have hearts wherewith they understand not, they have eyes
wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not
(the truth). ... (Al-A‘raf: 179)
The senses are brought to life by observing good moral conduct, speaking
politely, lowering one’s eyes and avoiding looking at what Allah has forbidden, and
being humble towards one’s fellow Muslims. The Messenger of Allah, peace and
blessings be upon him, said, “Smiling in the face of your brother is charity.”
A person may also die socially. This happens when his role in life and society
becomes limited and when his communication with his family, relatives, and people in
general becomes weak. As a result, he lives in solitude, which is bound to have a negative
impact on his mission to build his society, country, and ummah and also on the
development of his character.
True life, servants of Allah, involves making achievements and having ambition,
unlike death, which is associated with despair, lethargy, laziness, waste of energy, and
idleness. Achievement means doing something for yourself, your society, your country,
and your ummah. A believer will never be satisfied with the good he does until he ends
up in Paradise. Our noble Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, instilled ambition
in us when he said, “When you ask Allah (for something), ask Him for Firdaws [i.e.
the best and highest part of Paradise).” Umar ibn Abul-Aziz, may Allah have mercy
on his soul, said, “Mine is an ambitious soul.”
Waste of time, servants of Allah, is in fact a kind of death, and it implies man’s
death in this worldly life and causes serious consequences with regard to behaviour,
ethics, and belief. Al-Hassan Al-Basri, may Allah have mercy upon his soul, said, “There
is no day on which dawn light first begins but a caller sent by Allah, the Truth, says, ‘O
Child of Adam! I am a new creation, and I am a witness to your deeds. Therefore, take
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your provision of good deeds from me, for if I am gone, I will never come back again
until the Day of Judgement.’”
Being inspired to make use of every hour in one’s life is a sign of Allah’s grace. It
is regrettable that some people do not care about wasting their time in useless activities.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “There are two
blessings in which many people incur loss: health and free time.” Many nights are
actually wasted and dead when some people stay up all night doing useless or unlawful
activities, ironically calling this “nightlife”. In fact, doing so kills and wastes one’s life
and dissipates one’s energy.
Values and principles may also die, giving way to the spread of negative qualities,
such as envy, selfishness, hatred, and injustice. In this way, virtuous life disappears
completely because of the prevalence of these shameful traits. For instance, having a
sense of honour, protectiveness, and solicitude for one’s women (or ghayrah, as it is
called in Arabic) is a sign of life. Lack of such sense of honour is bound to cause
destruction and lead to all forms of shame, for one’s honour is precious and invaluable.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever is killed in defence of
his family’s honour is a martyr.” A man’s sense of honour and solicitude for his
family’s women is a mark of his strong faith and good moral character; as a matter of
fact, a society where women are protected and where men have a sense of honour with
regard to them is a pure, chaste society.
The disappearance of trustworthiness (al-amanah) from people’s lives and the
drying up of its fountains are symptoms of a severe disease that affects the whole society.
When trustworthiness is removed from people’s hearts, this is sign of some deficiency in
the fabric of society. Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The
first thing that will be lost in your religion is trustworthiness, and the last thing to remain
will be the prayers.” Abdullah ibn Amr, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the
Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The Hour [i.e. the Day of
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Resurrection] will not come until obscenities and abominable deeds spread, the ties
of kinship are severed, and the unfaithful are trusted and the trustworthy are
accused of betrayal.”
Answering the call of Allah and His Messenger brings life to man. Allah, Exalted
be He, says:
O you who believe! Answer Allah (by obeying Him) and (His)
Messenger when he (peace and blessings be upon him) calls you to
that which will give you life ... (Al-Anfal: 24)
Answering the call of Allah becomes a source of life by performing virtuous deeds and
by revering, implementing, and complying with the orders of the religion. The more
responsive we are to the call of Allah, the better and more beneficial our life will be.
Those who do not answer the call of Allah and the call of His Messenger lead a deficient,
imperfect life which is not worth being called a life at all, even though they walk upon
the earth like all the living. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
It is only those who listen (to the Message of Prophet Muhammad,
peace and blessings be upon him), will respond (benefit from it), but
as for the dead (i.e. disbelievers), Allah will raise them up ... (Al-
An‘am: 36)
May Allah bless you and me with the Great Qur’an and make us benefit from its
verses and wise words. I have said what you have heard and I ask forgiveness of Allah
for myself, for you, and for all Muslims for every sin we have committed. Ask Allah for
forgiveness. He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
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Part Two
Praise be to Allah, by Whose blessing good deeds are accomplished. I praise Him,
Glorified be He, and thank Him. I bear witness that there is not god but Allah alone, Who
has no partners, and I bear witness that our master and prophet, Muhammad, is His
servant and messenger. May Allah bestow His peace and blessings upon him and upon
his family and his Companions.
O Muslims!
I advise myself and advise you to fear Allah. For Allah, Exalted be He, says:
O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered
and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be
feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him
always], and die not except in a state of Islam [as Muslims (with
complete submission to Allah)]. (Al ‘Imran: 102)
Servants of Allah!
Sleep is a kind of death and is one of Allah’s miracles and blessings. We can draw
lessons and morals from this miracle, which testifies to the power of Allah, Glorified be
He.
It is Allah Who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and
those that die not during their sleep. He keeps those (souls) for
which He has ordained death and sends the rest for a term
appointed. ... (Az-Zumar: 42)
Allah has decreed, in His wisdom, that man should sleep so that the body may
continue to live. However, too much sleep damages life and is likely to cause a great deal
of harm and lead to loss of benefits and interests.
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Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, was once asked about the
reason for his hard work during the day and his standing in prayer at night, and he said,
“If I slept during the day, I would ruin my subjects, and if I slept at night, I would ruin
myself.”
Allah, Exalted be He, says:
It is He Who takes your souls by night (when you are asleep), and
has knowledge of all that you have done by day ... (Al-An‘am: 60)
O Servants of Allah!
Ask Allah to bestow His peace and blessings on the Messenger of Guidance, as
Allah has commanded you to do so in His Holy Book. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
Allah sends His Salat (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy) on the
Prophet (Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) and also
His angels too (ask Allah to bless and forgive him). O you who
believe! Send your Salat on (ask Allah to bless) him (Muhammad,
peace and blessings be upon him), and (you should) greet (salute)
him with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation, i.e. As-Salamu
‘Alaikum). (Al-Ahzab: 56)
O Allah! Send Your prayers upon Muhammad, his wives, and his offspring as
You have sent Your prayers upon the family of Ibrahim, and send Your blessings upon
Muhammad, his wives, and his offspring, as You have sent Your blessings upon the
family of Ibrahim; You are All-Praiseworthy, All-Glorious. O Allah! Be pleased with the
four Rightly-Guided Caliphs, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, along with their
families and the Prophet’s honourable Companions, and also be pleased with us together
with them, by Your forgiveness, generosity, grace, and benevolence, O Most Merciful of
All the Merciful!
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O Allah! Grant power and glory to Islam and Muslims. O Allah! Grant power and
glory to Islam and Muslims, subdue disbelief and disbelievers, and destroy Your
enemies, O Allah, the enemies of Your religion. O Allah! Make this country and all other
Muslim countries safe and secure.
O Allah! Grant victory to those who strive in Your cause to make Your word
reign supreme everywhere. O Allah! Unite their rows, make their hearts firm and strong,
gather them around a single word, and guide their shots, O All-Mighty! O Most Strong!
O Allah! Grant victory to whoever supports Your religion, and disgrace whoever
forsakes Islam and Muslims! O Allah! Grant victory to Your religion, Your Book, Your
Prophet’s Sunnah, and Your believing servants.
O Allah! Make whoever harbours evil intentions towards us and towards Islam
and Muslims preoccupied with his own problems and make his plotting the cause of his
own destruction, O All-Hearer of Supplication! O Allah! Protect Muslim countries
against every evil and harm, O Most Merciful of all the merciful!
O Allah! We ask You for Paradise and every word or deed that brings us closer to
it, and seek refuge in You from Hellfire and every word or deed that brings us closer to it.
O Allah! Make good for us our religion, which safeguards our affairs; make good
for us this world in which we live; and make good for us the hereafter which will be our
eternal abode. O Allah! Make our life an increase for us in all goodness and our death a
respite for us from all evil, O Lord of the Worlds!
O Allah! We ask You for the ways to good, the outcomes of good, the beginnings
of good, and the ends of good, and we ask You for all good. We ask You for the highest
ranks of Paradise, O Lord of the Worlds! O Allah! We ask you for guidance, piety,
chastity, and freedom from need.
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O Allah! Lavish upon us some of Your blessings, mercy, grace, and provision. O
Allah! Lavish upon us some of Your blessings, mercy, grace, and provision. O Allah!
Lavish upon us some of Your blessings, mercy, grace, and provision.
O Allah! Be with us and not against us, render us victorious and not defeated,
plan for us and not against us, guide us and lead us to guidance, and grant us victory over
those who have oppressed us.
O Allah! Make us among those who remember You and praise You, who are
humble to You, and who often implore You and return to You in repentance.
O Allah! Accept our repentance, forgive our sins, approve our cause, guide our
tongues to say the truth, and purify our hearts from envy, O Lord of the Worlds!
O Allah! Bless our lives, bless our spouses, bless our offspring, bless our money,
and bless our time, O Lord of the Worlds!
O Allah! Have mercy on our dead, cure the sick among us, release our prisoners,
and manage our affairs, O Lord of the Worlds! O Allah! Relieve our distress and alleviate
our suffering, by Your mercy, O Most Merciful of all the Merciful!
O Allah! Guide our ruler to what You love and accept. O Allah! Lead him to
Your guidance and make him do what pleases You, O Lord of the Worlds! O Allah!
Guide all Muslim rulers to act according to Your Book and rule according to Your
shari’a, O Lord of the Worlds!
O Allah! We beseech You, O Allah! You are the All-Mighty and we are the weak;
You are the One Free from all needs, and we are the poor who are in need of Your
favours. O Allah! Send down rain upon us and do not make us among the despairing. O
Allah! Send down rain upon us. O Allah! Send down rain upon us. O Allah! Send down
rain upon us. O Allah! Let the rain bring forth mercy with it and let it not cause torment,
affliction, destruction, or flooding. O Allah! Let the rain bring forth mercy with it and let
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it not cause torment, affliction, destruction, or flooding. O Allah! Let the rain bring forth
mercy with it and let it not cause torment, affliction, destruction, or flooding, by Your
mercy, O Most Merciful of all the merciful!
O Allah! We ask you for Your pleasure and for Paradise, and we seek refuge in
You from Your wrath and from Hellfire.
… Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not,
and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the
losers. (Al-A‘raf: 23)
… Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in
Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have
believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful.
(Al-Hashr: 10)
... Our Lord! Give us that which is good in this world and that
which is good in the Hereafter, and save us from the torment of the
Fire! (Al-Baqarah: 201)
Verily, Allah enjoins Al-Adl (i.e. justice and worshipping none but
Allah Alone – Islamic Monotheism) and Al-Ihsan [i.e. to be patient
in performing your duties to Allah, totally for Allah’s sake and in
accordance with the Sunnah (legal ways) of the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) in a perfect manner], and giving (help) to
kith and kin (i.e. all that Allah has ordered you to give them, e.g.,
wealth, visiting, looking after them, or any other kind of help, etc.);
and forbids Al-Fahsha’ (i.e. all evil deeds, e.g. illegal sexual acts,
disobedience of parents, polytheism, to tell lies, to give false
witness, to kill a life without right, etc.), and Al-Munkar (i.e. all that
is prohibited by Islamic law: polytheism of every kind, disbelief and
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every kind of evil deeds, etc.), and Al-Baghy (i.e. all kinds of
oppression), He admonishes you, that you may take heed. (An-Nahl:
90)
Remember Allah and He will remember you. Thank Him for His favours and He
will give you more. Verily, remembrance of Allah is greater than all, and Allah knows
what you do.
