 Verily, all praises for Allah, we praise Him, we seek His assistance, and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of ourselves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever Allah misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad peace be upon him is his slave and messenger. And what about, Audhu Billahi Minash-Shaytanir-Rajim, Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim? Qal Allahu ta'ala fi Kitab-il-Kareem. Ya ayyuhal ladina amanuttaqullaha haqqatu qatih Walatumutunna illa wa antum muslimoon. O you who believe, fear Allah as he should be feared and die not except in a state of Islam. There is a narration in Musnad-e-Mam Ahmad as well as in Al-Bayi Haqi and some other sources that one time the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam was sitting with the Jibril alaihi sallam when suddenly the sky split open and an angel came down and descended closer to them. And as this angel came closer to them, Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam looked at Jibril alaihi sallam and he saw that Jibril was shrinking himself or becoming smaller or bracing himself as if he was afraid of something. And this angel drew close to them and said to Rasulullah, O Messenger of Allah, I'm a messenger that's been sent to you from God. I've been giving you a choice. And I'm paraphrasing here, but the choices the angel gave to Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam were to either continue to live as a king with all the riches of this world or to continue to live as a humble slave. And Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam looked to Angel Jibril and then he said to the angel, that I choose to be a humble slave. Then the angel left and Jibril alaihi sallam said that this angel has never been down on the earth before this day. Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam asked Jibril why he braced himself or shrunk himself as if he was afraid. And Jibril alaihi sallam said, he replied, I swear by Allah, I didn't think that he came except to announce the day of judgment. Which means we can derive from this that the angel was Israfil. And after this incident, the Sahaba noticed that Rasulullah became even more humble. He, before this incident, he used to sit up and eat or he would sometimes recline in a reclining position and eat. But after this incident, he only ate sitting up, only ate sitting upright. And it was because it was more befitting for a humble slave. And we can also infer who the angel was referring to when he said live as a king. He was likely referring to Suleiman alaihi sallam. And Suleiman alaihi sallam, he was a prophet of Allah, but he also was a ruler who had all the riches of this world. And he also had the hereafter. Meanwhile, Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam never lived such a life. He grew up in orphan. And even when he was given this choice, Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam preferred to live like a humble slave. So for our prophet who is given the title of Habibullah, beloved of Allah and who is the best of the best of creation and for him to choose to live like a humble slave, it is only befitting for us as his followers as the members of the best ummah that we try to follow in his footsteps of what it means to be a humble slave of Allah or slaves of ar-Rahman. In Surat al-Furqan, Allah talks about several qualities or attributes of ibad ar-Rahman. Allah tells us who are these people that deserve the noble title of the slaves of ar-Rahman or slave of the merciful. But before I talk about those attributes of ibad ar-Rahman or slaves of ar-Rahman, I want to focus on the literal meaning of ibad ar-Rahman. As for the word ibad, it is said to be a plural of abd, which means slave, but there is also another plural of abd, which is abid. And the difference between abid and ibad is said to be that the abid is the slave who makes mistakes, but does not repent for those mistakes or does not fix those mistakes. Meanwhile, the ibad is the one who makes mistakes, but is always sincere and constant in his repentance to Allah swt. So even the name ibad stresses the importance of repeatedly and sincerely making tawba. It's reported in Sunan ibn Maja that Anasur ad-Di Allahu reported, Qala Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, Messenger sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, every son of Adam commits sin and the best of those who commit sin are those who repent. And this also ties to the significance of ar-Rahman as well. Out of all the names Allah swt used, he used in ibad ar-Rahman, he used ar-Rahman. So what does ar-Rahman mean? Why is it this name? According to Imam al-Ghazali, ar-Rahman is more specific than ar-Rahim. And ar-Rahman refers to a kind of mercy beyond the powers of the people and related to happiness in the next life. So for people who exhibit those qualities of the ibad ar-Rahman, of the slaves of ar-Rahman, Allah swt gives them, he grants them his special mercy and he grants them the title of ibad ar-Rahman. So what are the characteristics of these ibad ar-Rahman? The first characteristic is that the ibad ar-Rahman are humble people, they are not arrogant. And Surat al-Furqan describes this in verse 63. Wa ibad ar-Rahman illadina yamshuna alal ardi haunaw Wa idha khatabahumul jahilun Wa idha khatabahumul jahilun qalu salama The true servants of the most compassionate are those who walk on the earth humbly. And when the foolish address them improperly, they only respond with peace. It's important to note that this ayat does actually refer to the physical act of walking. So it's good to ask what does walking with humility mean and we can look to the example of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was said to walk with both haste and tranquility. So he walked at such a pace that some people would sometimes need to catch up to him. But we also know that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not walk with an air of arrogance. He did not walk boastfully or with his chest pushed out or anything of the sort. He walked with hona, with tranquility. It can also be defined as dignity or calmness or humility. But there are also other things that we should be aware of in order to act with humility. And this is first and foremost a reminder to myself and then to all of you, that humility means not making people uncomfortable with our presence. It means making sure other people are not having to serve you or carry or fetch things for you. This is something especially applicable to people my age or younger, that it is better for us to be in service of others and our parents. We should avoid being disruptive and dramatic. The Ibadur Rahman bring a comforting and calm presence to any room that they walk into. And we also recognize that because we are all creations of Allah SWT, for that reason we do not act better than others. We do not act arrogant and we do not belittle others for their shortcomings. It's narrated from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud in Sahih Muslim that Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, no one who has an atom's weight of arrogance in his heart will enter paradise. A man said, oh messenger of Allah, what if a man likes his clothes and his shoes to look good? He said, Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Arrogance means rejecting the truth and looking down on people. In Surah Lukman, Lukman gives the following advice and Allah SWT says, And do not turn your nose up to people nor walk pridefully upon the earth. Surely Allah does not like whoever is arrogant, boastful. It's narrated by Abu Huraira, that the messenger of Allah, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, might is his garment and pride is his cloak. Whoever seeks to compete with me concerning them, I will punish him. This is in Sahih Muslim. Imam An-Nauwi says regarding this hadith that his garment and his cloak refers to Allah SWT, that the pronouns are referring to Allah SWT and those who show arrogance, now the beloved are actually trying to compete with Allah and they will be punished for that. The second quality of the slaves of the Ibad-ul Rahman or the next quality, as it were, is written in the ayah as well. Wa idha khatabahumul jahiluna qalu salama and when the foolish address them improperly, they only respond with peace. So what do we get from this? We get that the slaves of our Rahman are the peacemakers. They avoid confrontation with the difficult or ignorant people if someone behaves improperly towards them, they respond with salam, they respond with rahmah. They respond to ignorance with kindness and they refrain from argumentation or improper behavior. Because they don't just send salam, they are spreading salam. Another special characteristic of the Ibad-ul Rahman is that they are diligent and consistent in their Nawafil prayer, especially their night prayer, the tahajud. Wa lazeena yabituna li rabbihim sujjadun wa qiyama There are those who spend a good portion of the night prostrating themselves and standing before their Lord. What makes tahajud prayer so beloved to Allah swt is that it's done in the darkness of the night when others are asleep, for no other reason than to please Allah swt and to get closer to Him. And tahajud does not have to be spending one third or one half of the night in prayer, even starting with spending 10 minutes before fajr in Nawafil prayer is an immense reward for us because those last 10 minutes are also in the last third of the night. And there is a hadith, I'm sure we've all heard this one narrated by Abu Hurairah. Messenger sallallahu alayhi sallam said, Allah swt comes every night down on the nearest heaven to us. And when the last third of the night remains, saying, is there anyone to invoke me so that I may respond to invocation? Is there anyone to ask me so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone seeking my forgiveness so that I may forgive him? This does not only apply to the last 10 nights of Ramadan, the last portion of a night is a time when Allah swt listens to our du'as. And as we fight our desire to sleep, we also build up our patience inshallah. We ask Allah swt to grant us the ability to pray tahajud regularly and consistently. Another characteristic of the Ibadur Rahman, the slaves of the merciful slaves of our Rahman, is that they seek refuge from Jahannam. And they do this because they fear the punishment of the fire so much, they constantly ask for protection from it. As is written in Surah Al-Furqan, verse 66. There are those who pray, our Lord, keep the punishment of hell away from us, for his punishment is indeed unrelenting. It's certainly an evil place to settle and reside. One thing to take note of is the word gharama, and it comes from a root word that is used to describe the debt lender, who owes people money. So if you imagine owing someone money, and they never forget the debt that you owe them, and they're always, you know, they never forget the debt that you owe them, and they're always, you know, the debt that you owe them, and they're always chasing after you, and you are never able to escape a confrontation with that person, that is what the punishment of Jahannam is compared to. So we ask Allah SWT to protect us from the punishment of the fire. Another characteristic of the Ibadur Rahman is that they are neither excessive in their spending, nor are they stingy to the extent that they are neglecting their obligation to their family. As it is said in verse 67. They are those who spend neither wastefully nor stingily, but moderately in between. So the biggest takeaways from this are number one, to not spend on the haram. And number two, and perhaps this may be more difficult for some people, to not spend extravagantly to the point that we are living beyond our means, even in what is permissible. One way that we can avoid unnecessarily spending is researching anything that we buy, especially, and be aware of impulsive shopping, which is especially easy when so many online stores are available. And another even more important thing is practicing gratitude, because the person who is truly appreciative of what they have is not worrying or concerning themselves with what they do not have. As it is said in Allah SWT in Surah Ibrahim, verse 7. And remember, when your Lord proclaimed, if you are grateful, I will certainly give you more. But if you are ungrateful, surely my punishment is severe. We are also required to spend in the way of Allah SWT, which means starting with your family. We start with our family and we spend on them so that we fulfill our obligation to them. We are also required to spend in the way of Allah SWT, which means starting with your family. We also fulfill our obligation to them. It is recorded in Sahih Muslim that Abu Hurairah, radiAllahu anhu, who reported, messenger of Allah SWT said, of the dinar you spend as a contribution in Allah's path or to set free a slave or as a Sadaqah given to a needy or to support your family. The one yielding the greatest reward is that which you spend on your family. We ask Allah to make us of those who spend fi-sabilullah. The next characteristic is that they avoid three sins, shirk or associating partners with Allah, murder and fornication. Allah SWT says in Surat al-Furqan, verse 68 There are those who do not invoke any other God besides Allah, nor take a human life made sacred by Allah, except with legal right, nor commit fornication. Whoever does any of this will face the penalty. And whosoever transgresses in this manner, it is best for that person to sincerely repent to Allah SWT. The next characteristic of the Ibadur Rahman or the slaves of the merciful, the slaves of the Rahman is described in Allah SWT says about them in verse 72 of Surat al-Furqan, والذين لا يشهدون الزورة وإذا مروا بالله ويمروا كירامة There are those who do not bear false witness. And when they come across falsehood, they pass by it with dignity. And again, this is first and foremost a reminder to myself that from this we can obtain that the Ibadur Rahman do not attend sinful and immoral gatherings, especially ones that promote shirk. They don't lie. They don't engage in Allah. And Allah can be defined as useless or harmful talk or doing things which don't benefit you. In other words, the Ibadur Rahman did not waste their time. We ask Allah to make it easy for us to spend our time in his way and we ask for forgiveness in our shortcomings. Next, the Ibadur Rahman take heed in the ayat of Allah as it is in Surat al-Furqan, verse 73, Allah SWT says والذين إذا ذكירوا بآيات ربهم لم يخيروا عليها سمهم وعميانا There are those who, when reminded of the revelation of their Lord, do not turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to it. Next, the Qur'an is not the only book of the signs of Allah. The signs of Allah are all around us in nature, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, in the creation of the night and the day. And every single one of us, given that we are a creation of Allah, we are all signs of Allah SWT. So, in that regard, Allah SWT says in Surah Ali Imran, verse 191 that they are those who remember Allah while sitting, standing, sitting on each side and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth. And pray, our Lord, you have not created all of this without purpose. Glory be to you. Protect us from the torment of the fire. Pondering on and applying the lessons of the Qur'an and Sunnah can be difficult for some of us, even in an age where there is so much information available to us in the form of books or lecture. So, we ask Allah SWT to make us of those who ponder the Qur'an and Sunnah to our daily life. The last quality of the Ibadur Rahman that I'll be talking about today is mentioned in Surah Al-Furqan. They do not just pray for their own salvation. Rather, they also include their family, specifically their spouses and their progeny in their prayers. They ask Allah SWT to make their spouses and their children, especially their children, they ask that the children be the coolness of their eyes, which can also be interpreted as their refuge and their relief. The Dua in Surah Al-Furqan Allah SWT says There are those who pray, our Lord bless us with pious spouses and offspring who will be the joy of our hearts and make us models for the righteous. I say this, I ask Allah SWT to make Dua to Allah SWT verily he is most forgiving, most merciful. To conclude, there is a hadith that the two most beloved names to Allah are Abdul Rahman and Abdul Allah. Abdul Allah and Abdul Rahman. And the reason these names are so beloved to him is that these names embody the excellence of the servitude to Allah SWT. We ask that Allah SWT make us true slaves of Ar-Rahman because these people are the ones who will be given the ultimate pleasure. They will be given Allah's pleasure and they will be given Jannah. It is they who will be rewarded with elevated mansions in Paradise for their perseverance and will be received with salutations and greetings of peace. Staying there forever. What an excellent place to settle and reside. It's supported by Al-Mustawrat ibn Shaddad, that Messenger of Allah SWT said this world, i.e. its pleasures and its duration in comparison with the hereafter is similar to the amount of water one gets when he dips his finger into the sea. Let him see what it then returns with. This is in Riyadh-ul-Salliqin. We ask Allah SWT to forgive us for our shortcomings. We ask that he make us among the people of Jannah. We ask Allah SWT to make us among the Ibad-ul-Rahman. Allahumma ja'alna min ibad-ul-Rahman. Allahumma ja'alna min ibad-ul-Rahman. Allahumma ja'alna min ibad-ul-Rahman. Allahumma deena fee man hadayt wa aafina fee man aafayt wa tawallana fee man tawallayt wa bariklana fee ma a'atayt maqinasharra ma qadayt innaka taqdi wa la yuqdaa aleyk wa innahu la yadillu man walayt wa la yaisu man aadayt tabarakta rabbana wa ta'aalayt innallahu wa malaykatahu yusalluna ala nabi. Ya ayyuhal ladina amanu sallu aalihi wa sallimu taslima. Indeed Allah SWT commands three things and he forbids three things. He commands justice and good conduct and giving to relatives. And he forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression.