 Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh my brothers and sisters Bismillahirrahmanirrahim we always commence with the name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who is the most gracious the most merciful Alhamdulillahi wa salatu wa salamu ala Rasulillahi wa ala alihi wa sahabi hajma'in we praise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala we send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad peace be upon him his household his companions may Allah bless them bless us bless every one of us and grant us goodness and forgiveness Ameen we're looking at supplications from revelation the dua when we call out to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and he has kept within every single one of us needs if he wanted he could have created us without needs we would have been independent each one of us but no he wanted us to call out to him and that was part of our test who are we going to call out to we call out to Allah and Allah alone so he has mentioned so many supplications of the messengers of his may peace be upon them all in revelation and it's important for us to go through these supplications we learn a lot of lessons the biggest lesson that we learn is they worshiped Allah in a beautiful way will we worship Allah in a similar way so this evening we're going through Ibrahim Aleyhi salatu wa salam's du'as a few more of some of these supplications made by one of the greatest of the prophets of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the greatest being Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam and Ibrahim Aleyhi salatu wasallam comes thereafter he is among the top five Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about his du'as and supplications in many places in the Quran I'm going to start off with the verse of Surat al-Baqarah where Allah says وَإِذْقَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّجَعَلْ هَذَا بَلَدًا آمِنَا وَرْزُقُ أَهْلَهُ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ مَنْ آمَنَ مِنْهُمْ بِلَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرَ what a beautiful way of calling out to Allah Allah is saying remember when Ibrahim said to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala oh my Robb let this town or this city or this place be a peaceful secure place let this here he is speaking of what became later known as Makkahul Mukarrama oh Allah let the city be a beautiful city you know the term balad is used to refer to so many things the town the city sometimes even a village they just call it balad depending it's like a growth point so let this place be aminan let it be a place that is safe and he did not just make dua for its safety but he says وَرْزُقُ أَهْلَهُ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ and grant its inhabitants fruit produce من آمن منهم بِلَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرَ those who believe from amongst them in Allah and the last day so this was the dua he made he's making dua for peace stability security and he's making dua for produce so that sustenance one hand your relationship with Allah the other hand your relationship with the dunya with this world because you have to earn and you want to eat so let that produce come and he says for those who believe in Allah and the last day but Allah's mercy is greater when I look at this dua I think to myself Ibrahim alaihi salatu wassalam over time we will see how his duas have evolved and become broader and broader here this dua was very broad he's making a dua for a certain city yes they were his family members in progeny but he did not know who would come in the future in that particular place imagine as a result even Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam was born in Makkahul Mukarrama but Ibrahim alaihi salam says oh Allah grant those who believe in you and in the last day Allah says hang on I'm going to give even those who disbelieve subhanallah amazing amazing we ask Allah give me this Allah says I'm not only going to give you I'm going to give your neighbor your sister your brother and everyone else as well how about that subhanallah sometimes you say oh Allah give me a hundred pounds a hundred dollars a hundred rands and Allah says not just a hundred I'll give you 500 and on top of that I'll even give you a little bit of extra this and extra that I'll throw it in subhanallah that is the mercy of Allah that is the greatness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala you ask for something he gives you more than what you've asked for unlike us humankind when someone asks you for something you're trying to look at how you can chop it up and how you can give them less than what they've asked you for may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us all guidance and goodness so ibrahim aleyhi salatu wa salam Allah says qala wa man kafa rafa wa mati'uhu qalila Allah says even those who disbelieve I'm going to give them provision for a while I will give them provision for a while so those who disbelieve Allah says I'm going to give them I will give them and evidence is across the globe there are people who believe who have got people who don't believe who also have and sometimes it's vice versa in the sense that people don't have on either side of the of the coin it's all up to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala but this is a beautiful dua how many of us make dua for our countries for where we live for our people for the others oh Allah let it be a peaceful city even if you're living in a non-muslim country we make dua for peace and goodness because that is how we will be able to grow that is a time when growth will happen when there is peace stability goodness if you look at how Islam spread across the globe mostly it spread through business dealers who used to be upright good muslims business men and women who used to be upright in a way that when they dealt with people they were so impressed by the set of rules and regulations that were followed by these people that they started following them as well so may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us an understanding and a very deep understanding let's look at another one of the verses where ibrahim aleyhi salatu was-salam calls out to to Allah for a few more things look what he says he says remember when ibrahim aleyhi salatu was-salam called out to Allah saying oh my Rabb let this city be a peaceful city and protect myself and my son or my children from worshiping idols where did that come from it was not random the father of ibrahim aleyhi salam in a different place used to worship idols so ibrahim aleyhi salam saw the detriment that they was in worshiping these idols so he says oh Allah i want this place to be aminan i want it to be secure to be peaceful and protect myself and my offspring from worshiping idols because worshiping idols would take away the inner peace subhanallah according to what we've learned and according to ibrahim aleyhi salatu was-salam's dua he's asking for peace and the first component of peace is that you worship Allah alone amazing look at how the two are connected so he would be saying oh Allah protect us from meaning grant us peace and let the enemy not come here instead of that he says grant us peace by firstly giving us the protection from worshiping idols ever again once he tasted the sweetness of worshiping the maker alone there was nothing that needed explanation thereafter in fact ibrahim aleyhi salam never ever worshiped the idols because from the very beginning he questioned his father so this is why when when they came all the way to makkah remember he was made to leave by his own people so when he came to makkah he had a concern what was the concern you know i might die but i don't want my offspring to ever go back to ever go back to what my father was in now you and i know we have big plans for our children we need to make dua for our children we need to try with our children but ultimately Allah alone knows whether you will be alive to even see what's going to happen to your children and you definitely will not be alive to see what's going to happen to your great grandchildren and your progeny on offspring if Allah gives you any so it's important to know that makkah dua trust Allah leave it in the hands of Allah when he takes you away it's he who will make sure that what you wanted will be granted if it's been a part and parcel of the destiny that Allah has chosen for you and for them may Allah make it easy but our duty is to continue to make dua so here comes a question if everything was predestined by Allah what was the point of ibrahim alayhi salam or anyone of us for that matter making a dua to Allah how would it change things well the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him told us that dua actually changes destiny that the predestiny that Allah had chosen dua to a certain extent has an effect an impact upon some of the details of that destiny that was Allah's choice although ultimately Allah knew that you were going to make the dua and as a result of the dua this is what was going to happen that's one explanation another explanation is you and i don't know what what's destined for us so we're still in suspense so because i don't know i need to keep trying i mean when a person says well i don't know what Allah's destined for me so i don't want to go to work well that definitely now means that what was destined for you is that you don't go to work so how are you going to earn when you haven't even utilized the energy that Allah has bestowed upon you to work so because you don't know go out and work what you're going to get Allah alone knows but if you gave up before you even started citing the issue of predestiny then that was your foolishness someone asked me a question that you know if Allah knows everything's that's going to happen why do we even have to do anything i said because you don't know that's why Allah knows you don't know so if you don't know you have to keep on working towards it because Allah knows who's going to heaven and who's going to hell right you don't know i don't know so i'm going to keep on working towards going to heaven so that at least i increase my chances of going to heaven perhaps Allah may have written my name from amongst those going to heaven but if i'm going to sit back and do whatever i want claiming that as it is Allah has written it then who is to blame i am to blame so it's a very simple answer don't use the issue of predestiny to justify your sin your misbehavior and your disobedience your distance from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so let's go back to the dua of ibrahim alayhi salatu wa salam so he's made he's just made a dua for the city you and i have seen what has happened to mecca to mukarrama it's a beautiful city it's a safe city it's been granted the produce by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala from all over the globe even though things don't grow in mecca besides maybe dates and one or two other things but it has in it fresh produce from across the globe subhanallah it was the dua of ibrahim alayhi salatu wa salam the sincere prayer of someone who loved Allah who dedicated his love for Allah who sacrificed for Allah who left that which he had to leave for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when he called out to Allah Allah granted him so he's making a dua for the city and then he's making a dua for his children so that they may be protected from worshiping that besides Allah brothers and sisters let's make a dua for our offspring let's ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala always to protect our children from doing that which would displease Allah but we need to start with ourselves protecting ourselves from the disobedience of Allah together with the dua and the supplication we need to make an effort and always ask Allah to protect you from haram always ask Allah to protect you from that which is sinful Allahumma kfini bi halalika an haramik wa ghanini bi fadlika amman siwak that was a dua of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam oh Allah let halal be sufficient enough for me let halal be enough for me to the degree that i'm protected from haram and oh Allah grant me independence through your virtue that i don't ever need to depend on anyone else anyone besides you that's a powerful dua so you make that dua Allah will grant you happiness and contentment through halal and he will keep you away from haram but if you are not content with what is halal for you you end up walking towards that which is haram and that is dangerous so make dua for yourself protect yourself make dua for your children and have hope in the mercy of Allah then he says rabbi innuhunna a'dlallakafiram minan nasi fa man tabi'ani fa innahu minni wa man a'sani fa innaka ghafoorul raheem he pauses for a moment to speak about the idols that he spoke about in the previous dua where he says protect me and my offspring from the idols he says because these idols have led so many people astray innuhunna a'dlallakafiram minan nasi many people he has seen including his father were led astray by the idols fa man tabi'ani fa innahu minni whoever follows me and what i am saying then consider him from me he is from me and whoever disobeys me did he say he's not from me no he says then oh Allah you are most forgiving most merciful subhanallah imagine how powerful this dua is he's saying oh Allah i am calling people towards worshiping you alone whoever worships you alone he has followed my message he is from me you can consider him a part of me whoever doesn't you are most forgiving now this was to do with his offspring as well he's making a dua for his offspring in the previous dua he's making a dua for the city and the believers even though they were all from his offspring supposed to be because they were the people of makkah initially later on jurehum joined etc but ismail aleyhis salam married into jurehum he had offspring from them remember ibrahim aleyhis salam is saying oh Allah if they follow what i'm saying by worshiping you alone then they are from me and if they don't you're most forgiving most merciful i pause here for a moment we're talking about supplications from revelation how would this have impacted upon our lives we would never have imagined that such a powerful dua would show the closeness of a father to his children and his offspring to come even those whom he doesn't know it gives me you know it brings to my mind something that has come to me from so many different parts of the globe where people complain you know i'm steadfast but my son is suddenly left islam he's an atheist or my my child has turned away from islam or my son doesn't want to read salah my daughter doesn't want to dress appropriately etc sometimes you go to a scholar and they'll tell you cut relations throw the person out kick them out that's it you have nothing to do with them etc etc but i'm a mother i'm a father i have a concern so i can make a dua to Allah oh Allah if they follow what i've said alhamdulillah they are from me and my family if they don't you are most forgiving most merciful guide them have mercy on them you know for inaka ghafoorun raheemun ghafoor means forgiving they may not seek forgiveness but you are raheem as well you are merciful you can have mercy on them by making them seek that forgiveness because one might argue Allah will only forgive those who seek forgiveness if they don't seek forgiveness what's the point of you seeking forgiveness on their behalf if they are remorseful then when you seek forgiveness on their behalf it will help but if they're not remorseful then don't bother wasting your time because you need to ask Allah to have mercy on them to begin with because through that mercy Allah will guide them to turn back to Allah so if you're living in a non-muslim country if you're living in an environment where there is a lot of pressure so many things that are not absolutely according to the way you would like them you know what people may swerve they may turn to the left to the right the fact that they get back onto the path and they continue further even if it means towards the end of their lives wallahi it's the gift of Allah it's the guidance of Allah yes we need to understand that many of us have hopes and dreams for our children they choose otherwise sometimes we have nothing we have no power over them we won't have power over them beyond a certain point because the Almighty has kept them independent to a great degree but we will make dua for them here is Ibrahim saying oh Allah those who've turned away you have two qualities that I have open number one is you are ghafoor you're most forgiving if they've sinned forgive them number two if they've turned away completely have mercy on them by bringing them back to the path look at the power of this beautiful dua of Ibrahim alaihi salatu wa salam he's speaking about the idols he knows the damage and the harm of these idols and he's saying that oh Allah bring these people back forgive them and if they have faltered then you guide them then the dua continues Ibrahim alaihi salam was one who made lots and lots of dua and we see the result of this beautiful dua in so many different ways today on the earth this was the dua of Ibrahim alaihi salam listen to what he says these are beautiful verses of Surah Ibrahim he says oh Allah oh my Rab I have left some of my family I have left who did he leave he left his wife Hajar alaihi salam and he left his son Ismail alaihi salam he says oh Allah I have left some of my family in this valley that has no growth of any form of greenery in it it's barren completely ghairi zara word means the valley and it has no greenery no growth of plant no plantation at all I've left them in this valley in the baytika al muharram at your sacred house so you told me to leave them I left them why did I leave them li yuqeemu s-salah in order for them to be able to establish the prayer so I have left them there in order for them to establish the prayer and I am going in order to establish your prayer by obeying your instruction to leave them and to continue even if he didn't understand this was the uniqueness of Ibrahim alaihi salam even if he didn't understand exactly what Allah wanted to achieve he followed it knowing that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is definitely the Lord he is the maker the creator and he will give so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala here says when this man made this dua he called out to us he left his family he says oh Allah I'm leaving them I'm leaving them in order for them to be able to establish your worship here in the city so I want you to do something for me oh Allah what was this that Ibrahim alaihi salam wants Allah to do he says alaihim I want you to make the hearts of all the people love and yearn towards them towards that place towards makkah in order for them to establish that salah and that ibadah that act of worship that you prescribe and grant them from produce in order for them to be thankful so when Allah gives you produce it's in order for you to be thankful but look at how powerful this is I ask you every one of you isn't your heart with the kaaba isn't your heart with makkah wouldn't you like to go to makkah well the answer is yes in 100 of the cases that is the dua of Ibrahim alaihi salam here he's saying oh Allah I'm obeying your instruction I'm doing exactly what you want whether I understood it or not is a different point what I want you to do for me oh Allah is I just want you who is the owner of the hearts of the rest of mankind to put it in their hearts to want to come here subhan Allah you asked me to go to makkah yes I would the kaaba yes indeed maybe not greater makkah etc things have changed and so on perhaps there might not be anything else in you know in the whole peninsula but makkah indeed madina indeed the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam's resting place indeed and makkah absolutely who would not want to go there it's amazing it has this magnetic effect upon every Muslim why it's the dua of Ibrahim alaihi salatu wa sallam so look at how powerful this dua of Ibrahim alaihi salatu wa sallam and this is why in inshallah in our next episode we want to see the dua of Ibrahim alaihi salam prior to him having gotten Ismail alaihi salam and what he said as a result he was always thankful to Allah he always praised Allah he was so thankful that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loved him so much thankfulness is a sign of all the messages of Allah in the case of Nooh alaihi salam Allah says he was definitely a slave of ours who was very very grateful whatever we bestowed upon him he was grateful I want to end off by saying my brothers my sisters think of the favors of Allah upon you think of all of the favors of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon you learn to thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala indeed if we think of these favors of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon us we will be able to show gratitude to Allah we will be able to realize how much Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has actually given us and that is when we will thank him with the most beautiful of words may Allah bless you all I look forward to the next session this beautiful episode that we have inshallah shall be continued and I hope that you follow I'll say this wa sallallahu wa sallam wa baraka ala nabiyina Muhammad wa sallam