 All praises due to Allah who has blessed us with Islam and blessed us with this life and this life is a blessing. And one of the greatest proofs of the blessing of this life is how few people want to leave it. There are very, very few people who are suicidal, who have become so despaired of this life, so disgruntled with this life, so dissatisfied with this life that they will take measures to leave it. That's one of the proofs of the blessing of life itself. Alhamdulillah, all praises due to Allah. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala opens His scripture, the Qur'an, with the surah, the chapter referred to as Al-Fatiha, the opening. And this chapter opens up for us, not only the rest of the Qur'an but it opens up to us the pathway to a successful life. The first thing we need to do or to know to lead a successful life is to know that we have a Creator. And the first thing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does in His book is He introduces Himself to us. Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. In the name of Allah, in the name of Allah or with the name of Allah, Ar-Rahman, the one who is inherently merciful, Ar-Raheem, the one who extends that mercy to others. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala introduces us Himself to us by name. His name, the name of the Creator of the heavens and the earth and all between is Allah. Bismillah in the name of Allah. And then after introducing or informing us of His name, He informs us of His most preponderant attribution. Some people we meet and immediately we know they're dominant characteristic. You know this person is stingy, this person is self-centered, this person is egocentric, this person is gentle, this person is harsh. We know from the initial meeting Allah ta'ala after informing us of His name, Allah. He informs us of His predominant or preponderant attributes, Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem, the one who is inherently merciful and the one who extends that mercy to others. And the most significant of those others, Allah ta'ala informs us in the Quran, wa kana bil mu'mineena raheema, and He is merciful to the believers. He's merciful to everyone, but He's especially merciful to the believers. And the greatest mercy He's bestowed upon the believer is faith itself. It's faith itself. Some people believe if I have material wealth then God has been merciful to me. If I have intellect, I've been shown mercy. If I have physical safety and security, mercy has been shown to me. But the greatest manifestation of Allah ta'ala's mercy to a human being in this world is the blessing of faith. Wa kana bil mu'mineena raheema, because the blessing of faith makes the absence of everything else bearable. But if a person has no faith, then there's very little that that person can bear the absence of. With no faith, the lack of money becomes unbearable. With no faith, the lack of a spouse becomes unbearable. With no faith, the lack of various material things can in some instances become unbearable. But with faith, real faith and true faith, the lack of a car, a house, a spouse, a job, money, a bank account is all bearable. Because a person finds in his or her relationship with Allah ta'ala the sweetness of life that makes everything else in life bitter. And the loss or lack of anything that's bitter is bearable. La ilaha illallah. So he informs us of his mercy. And then he informs us of his might. Alhamdulillah, or before that, he gives us a reason to praise him. To be praised because of his mercy. Our Rahman Rahim. Bismillah Rahman Rahim. Alhamdulillah. Allah ta'ala is praiseworthy because of his mercy. He's praiseworthy for many things, but in this context. Because he has manifested his mercy to us. He has manifested his mercy to this creation. And establishing balances in everything. He's manifested his mercy. And he's to be praised for that. When we understand the mercy in our lives, as it's been manifested to us in our lives. What has left for us except to say Alhamdulillah? When we realize how merciful Allah has been to us. He's guided us to faith. He's guided us to a realization of who we are. He's placed no enmity in our hearts. Based on the teachings of this religion. That will lead us to despise or hate another person. Because of their race. Or their color. Or their ethnicity. Or their origin. Or their socioeconomic status. The Quran doesn't encourage the poor people to envy and rebel against the rich. It encourages the rich people to be charitable to the poor. So that the wealth circulates in society. And everyone has a basic standard of living. And a basic standard of well-being. But some people have more than others. And we're encouraged to pray for them. And to acknowledge that Allah is bounty that is extended to them. And he doesn't encourage the wealthy people to look down on and despise the poor people. He doesn't encourage them to think of ways they can keep them locked into poverty. But he encourages them to enrich them. Give them from the wealth of Allah. He's giving you. And zakat isn't what we think it is. Zakat, its origin is also to be given in gold if you have gold. Or silver if you have silver. Or grain if you have grain. And not a little bit of grain so you can have dinner tonight. That's zakat ul fitr. Zakat is to bring someone a ton of grain. So that they can go to the marketplace, become self-sufficient. Not only self-sufficient can themselves engage in commerce. And then they have an excess that they can then extend to others. It's to enrich people. And to make people self-sufficient. Not to just divvy up a little, little here, little there. To give a lot here. So that that person can become self-sufficient. And that person can then extend and be merciful to others. As others have been merciful to him or her. So that the mercy is never lacking. And as we reflect on Allah Ta'ala's mercy. Not only in the teachings that he extends to us in the Quran. But the mercy he's extended to us in our lives. A person might say, well I haven't experienced much mercy in my life. Are you so upset that you're out trying to end someone else's life? Are you so upset that you're trying to end your own life? You're so wretched. You've been afflicted with these suicidal impulses. Are you so upset that you still can't smile in the face of your children? Or your neighbors? Or your relatives? Are you so upset you can't go outside on a day like today? And find some beauty that warms your heart? And if you say no, no, no, no, no to all of the above. Then that's a manifestation of Allah's mercy in your life. And that's sufficient reason to say Alhamdulillah. So when you step out of these doors. Look at the sky. Look at the flowers in bloom. Even in the heart of the city. And say Alhamdulillah. All praise is due to Allah. For His mercy are Rahmanu Raheem. Alhamdulillah. Rabbil Alameen. Then he mentions his power. He's mentioned his Jamal. His mercy. Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Alhamdulillah. Then he mentions his Jalal. His power. Rabbil Alameen. The Lord, the owner, the sovereign of all the worlds. So he mentions his majesty. Rabbil Alameen. How much power does it take to control the world? All of the worlds. To decree every process that unfolds in every corner of creation. At every moment of creation. Infinite power. Infinite might. Unqualified strength. But even after mentioning that. He reminds us again. Don't allow that to overwhelm you. Don't allow that to absorb you. And to remove you away from the dominant reality. Yes, I'm the Lord of the worlds. But unless you, unless you forget. I'm inherently merciful and I extend my mercy to others. Ar Rahmanir Raheem. Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Alhamdulillah. Rabbil Alameen. Ar Rahmanir Raheem. So he surrounds his majesty with his mercy. Ar Rahmanir Raheem. Alhamdulillah. Rabbil Alameem. Ar Rahmanir Raheem. And then he reminds us. Maliki Yomiddin. He comes back to his might. He comes back to his jalal. Maliki Yomiddin. The owner, the master. The sovereign of the day of judgment. Maliki the owner. Maliki the sovereign. Half's wash. Who will be guided? And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. There is no partner. And I bear witness that our master Muhammad, his servant and messenger. O my people, those who believe, fear Allah, the Truth is in your hands. The Truth is in your hands. And death is not in your hands except you Muslims. O my people, fear Allah, the Lord who created you from the one soul. And created from it her husband. And of them there are many men and women. And fear Allah, those who ask for him and the mercy. Indeed, Allah is kind to you. O you who believe, fear Allah and say a very good word. He makes your deeds good for you. And he gives you your oppression. And whoever obeys Allah and His messenger, he has achieved great success. As for others, All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, we ask His forgiveness. We forgive Him, we repent to Him, and we seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our souls and from the bad deeds of our deeds. Why this Tarteeb, this arrangement? After his mercy, after he reminds us again, he mentions his majesty. But what context? Malikiyyomiddin, the owner or the sovereign of the day of judgment. What happens on the day of judgment as far as we're concerned? We're told by our prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, Allah divided his mercy into 100 parts. One part, his dispenses amongst the creation and all of the mercy that's manifested by every living thing from the beginning of creation until the end. The other 99 parts, his hell back to be dispensed amongst us when? Yomiddin, on the day of judgment. La ilaha illallah. So he reminds us Malikiyyomiddin of the time and the place, the maqam, the station where his mercy will be more manifest than at any other time. Ar-Rahman ar-Rahim Malikiyyomiddin. And if we recognize that, if we know he is Allah, who Allah, that's his name, Allah. And if we know of his mercy alhamdulillah bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim and if we praise him as he should rightfully be praised alhamdulillah and if we understand his power and his might that he controls our life, that he gave us this life, that he sustains this life, that he controls this life every breath that we're in existence, that he controls our faith, he will make the determination as to ultimately we are disposed to hell or we're entered into paradise if we know that and then we understand that despite that awesome power that he has as the Lord, Rabbil Alameen, he is still the inherently merciful who extends his mercy to others. Ar-Rahman ar-Rahim and if we know that most of that mercy 99 out of 100 parts are held back to when we will be judged Maliki Yomeddin How can we do anything other than worship him? Iyakan abudu Iyakan abudu Who else would be deserving of worship? Who else would be fittingly worshiped? Who else can we fittingly bow down and humble ourselves to than the one who possesses those descriptions? Iyakan abudu Iyakan abudu and this is the point we want to focus on Iyakan abudu Many who are engaged or have been engaged throughout human history in the philosophical quest one of the greatest questions that has occupied their minds is what is the purpose of this life? What is the purpose of life? This question is vexed philosophers it is challenged theologians but we have a clear, simple, unequivocable answer unequivocable answer وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونَ Allah Ta'ala says I have only created the jinn and the humans that they worship me The purpose of this life is to worship our Lord The purpose of this life is to worship our Lord That's why we are here and worship is why they can be vexed One of our scholars defines mercy كل ما يحبه الله يرضاه من العمل الظاهرة والبعطنا كل ما يحبه الله يرضاه Allahumma sallallahu wa sallam من أقوال وعمال الظاهرة والبعطنا Everything that Allah loves and is pleased with from our speech and our internal and external actions That's worship So worship isn't just praying Worship isn't just fasting Worship isn't just zaka or charity Worship isn't just going to hajj Worship is everything that Allah Ta'ala that Almighty God loves and is pleased with from our speech our internal and external actions and our actions are the greatest witness to our speech Oh you believers Why do you say that which you don't do? Hated is it with Allah that you say that which you don't do? Islam is not empty talk So the actions are a testimony to the speech and the speech is a testimony to what's in the heart One of our poets mentioned He doesn't like you from a letter to be with the original words The words are in the heart and the speech is a testimony to what's in the heart Don't be amazed by the speech of a speaker He doesn't like you from a letter Don't be amazed and impressed by the letter that the qateeb gives or more generally by the speech of a speaker until there's something to authenticate that speech Inna ma l-kalamu la-fil-fu'adu wa inna ma rather speech resides in the heart and rather ju'ila l-lisanu ala ma fil-fu'adi dalila the tongue has only been made as an indicator of what's in the heart the tongue has been made as an indicator of what's in the heart and the limbs have been made as an indicator of what's on the tongue and this is why we strive for the total rectification of the human being We don't want to rectify people's tongues If that were the case instead of the Quran we give them Shakespeare If they could read Arabic the Quran is the Shakespeare of the Arabic language to use that parable But in English we give them Shakespeare maybe Carlisle Canterbury tells or something But we don't just strive for the rectification of the tongue We strive for the rectification of the heart and the rectification of the tongue and the rectification of the limbs Total rectification of the human being That's our goal and this is what we have to bring into the world brothers and sisters and we'll come back to this So, Iyaka and Aboor I've only created the jinn and the humans that they worship me that they worship me That's our purpose and as we say worship is vast at the essence of worship a bad act There are two things a ta'a obedience what tadallul or what tawada and humility obedience and humility that's at the foundation of worship and that's one of the reasons so much of the Islamic moral system strives to inculcate in the believer obedience of our Lord and humility and our actions our state and our hearts humility because humility is one of the great keys to obedience you can't obey someone you don't humble themselves to can you go and get my phone I left it in the car and I didn't lock my car it's right on the seat someone can take it go get your own phone why should I get your phone you should be going to get my phone you want to obey someone you don't humble yourself to who are you to tell me to do anything I don't care someone steal your phone who are you asking me to go do something for you our humility allows us the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam he's our exemplar if children asked him to do something he would go do it Imam Malik is related that he was in the masjid he came into the masjid after the congregation performed awesome in his school there's no prayer after the congregational prayer until the sun sets and the students who were waiting for him saw him pray two rakats and they said Imam Malik what's this you told us there's no prayer after the congregation the congregation passed and now we see you praying he said that little boy passed when I passed by he said Malik prostrate yourself and I reflect on the Quran the verse that says when they're told to prostrate they prostrate themselves or they refuse to prostrate we're there we're there and when it's said to them prostrate yourself they refuse to do so hell is for those who belay the truth so he said I didn't want to come over the hookah under the ruling of the verse and where did it come from a little boy from a boy a person who understands the nature of reality doesn't fear humbling himself or herself because number one they understand that's an integral part of me worshipping my Lord why are so many people turning away from the worship of God because they've aggregated themselves I don't need religion that's just old fashioned superstition I don't need that I have this great mind where did you get it why aren't you like a chimpanzee or an orangutan especially in the case that you say you evolved from the apes you say I'm not saying it that's what Mr. Interleck says revolved from the apes why is there such a huge gap between you and the closest ape then evolution implies slow change over a long period of time does it not? we say he evolved into an entirely different person so he didn't wake up one day and bam, he's different just slowly went to school got a job came more responsible got married assumed responsibilities of marriage and over time became a whole different person but it is man he went to that boot camp program for one month and it revolutionized him boom almost overnight new person but evolved is slow so if we slowly evolved from the apes why is there such a huge gap between us and the apes how come the best an ape can do is use a stick all of them to get some meat out of the nut and they've been doing that for generation after generation after generation which is another blessing on humans a lotile is not an ape not only blessed us with this intellect that nothing else in this creation shares he's blessed us with the ability to accumulate knowledge so when you see a cell phone that's not something that people working for Bill Gates or Steve Jobs came up with that's a result of the accumulation of human knowledge from the being of time which allows us to do what not to have to reinvent the wheel what does someone say they see you doing something that's already been worked out don't reinvent the wheel that's already been figured out let me explain it to you but every generation of monkeys has to do what you can't say reinvent the wheel monkeys haven't gotten to the wheel yet but they have to use primitive tools a stick or stone to break like their monkey ancestors whereas human beings started with the stone and the stick and now human beings are using invisible digital signals bounced off of satellites hundreds of miles in the sky in synchronized earth orbit they figured out how to do that so the satellite stayed in the same place over the earth for years without falling based on its own momentum satellite doesn't have a rocket that's keeping it moving with the earth it's based on the gravitational pull of the earth bouncing a signal off that satellite so that we can talk right now if you have the necessary iPhone 4 to someone halfway around the world you evolved from an ape and because you evolved from an ape you become too arrogant to prostrate yourself to your lord a lot has divided his mercy into 100 parts one part he dispenses amongst the creation and all of the mercy that's manifested by every living thing from the beginning of creation until the end of the other 99 parts he's held back to be dispensed amongst us when Yomeddin on the day of judgment la ilallah why this Tartif, this arrangement after his mercy after he reminds us again he mentions his majesty but what context Maliki Yomeddin the owner or the sovereign of the day of judgment what happens on the day of judgment as far as we're concerned we're told by our prophet we're entered into paradise if we know that and then we understand that despite that awesome power that he has as the lord he is still the inherently merciful who extends his mercy to others and if we know that most of that mercy 99 out of 100 parts are held back to when we will be judged Maliki Yomed r-Rahman r-Rahim and if we praise him as he should rightfully be praised alhamdulillah and if we understand his power and his might that he controls our life that he gave us this life that he sustains this life that he controls this life every breath that we're in existence that he controls our faith he will make the determination as to ultimately we are disposed to hell so he reminds us Maliki Yomeddin of the time and the place the maqam, the station where his mercy will be more manifest than at any other time al-Rahman r-Rahim Maliki Yomeddin and if we recognize that if we know he is Allah that's his name, Allah and if we know of his mercy alhamdulillah bismillah humility allows us to prostrate ourselves to our Lord and a believer doesn't fear humbling himself for the sake of God where if you're humble people push over you they think you're a chump, you're a punk they're just gonna trample on you the next time I see you you're gonna have footprints on your chest a believer doesn't fear that because a believer believes not only in the promise of Allah but in the promise of the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam who said no one humbles himself for the sake of Allah except that Allah elevates them and Allah ta'ala when believers believe that he gave them control of the world and when believers got away from that and started relying on their own power and became too humble to humble themselves before Allah and to humble themselves before their fellow human beings Allah took power away from them there are forces at work that defy our physical calculations that defy our reasoned arguments and those are the forces we need to tap into because those are the real keys to power and strength, authority and dignity in the world so humility at tadallul or we could say tawada and love, mahabba those are the foundations of worship those are the qualities that may iyayk and a'aburu a living reality in the heart of the believer in the interest of time there was more I want to say I want to remind myself in you of a few verses that convey to us what Allah loves Allah ta'ala says Allah loves the people who exemplify excellence in all that they do Allah loves the people of excellence excellence in their worship excellence in their relationship with their fellow human beings excellence in their relationship and in the work that they do excellence in every realm we're encouraged to be people of excellence Allah has ordained excellence in everything as our prophet informs us and then he goes on to say if you slaughter do it in a most excellent fashion sharpen your knife and give rest to the animal because that animal is going to become part of you you are what you eat you are what you eat and so that animal and people might say you know slaughter sacrifice they're filming this don't they this is a concept that's not some crude barbaric process this is again their forces at work an animal wants to be slaughtered when he or she knows they're going to be part of your righteous deeds they're going to give you fuel to do righteous deeds pleasing to your Lord this is a reality and the opposite is also true so it behooves us to be excellent in everything from the mundane to the most refined articulation of our religious and ethical principles to have excellence Allah Ta'ala mentioned Allah loves those who turn to Him in repentance Allah Ta'ala loves to accept repentance which means what? Allah Ta'ala isn't concerned with us messing up some of us we mess up so to speak then we're down in the dumps we get so far down in the dumps we forget to repent that's the problem the problem is not the sin the problem is the refusal to repent for the sin sinning is not good I'm not saying it's but it's not an inherent problem sinning will not put you in hell unless you fail to repent from the sin and sincere repentance vows to never return so perhaps you will keep falling and falling and falling into the sin maybe you're not sincere but the sin will not ruin you the failure to repent will ruin you for that reason Allah loves those who repent so you then say Allah loves those who are free from sin no Allah loves those who turn to Him in repentance and He loves those who keep themselves pure pure in their dress pure in their thoughts pure in their actions pure in their speech and we've said many times that's why we don't imitate the speech of vile, profane people it's not fitting a Muslim to walk around with profanity coming out of his or her mouth because why? these are not pure even if you say well the meanings change it's not pure in its origin and we always look at the origin of things and what were they intended for? its original intent was vulgar and that vulgarity affects people there was a young lady some of you might have heard her a spoken word artist who does poetry and she said in poetic form I'm summarizing what she said she says funny how the young men in our community acted with a lot more maturity and self respect than respect for others when they called each other my man as opposed to calling each other my boy and my dog think about it you are what you eat we don't need just the physical full weave messages when I was growing up you say yo what's up my man? my man my man my man my man now I hear the young folks my boy what's up my boy what's up my dog what's up my nigger and we wonder why we got problems you are what you eat and the food is not just physical food purity of speech purity of thought we're not just purity of clothing not extravagant clothing what we have should be pure we don't want pig in it we don't want something that's stolen I'm looking good in my stolen goods you're looking wretched because your good looking stolen goods testify to the wretchedness of your character and if you were internally sound you look good in whatever you wore it might have holes and patches on it your internal beauty would beautify it man you look good so you inherit them clothes from your grandparents they should look good on you la la hella la in the la yuhibbul muhsineem in the la yuhibbul tawabeen wehibbul muttahtahireen he loves those who are pure in the la yuhibbul muttaqeen he loves those who are mindful of his commandments and prohibitions we should be mindful and that should weigh on us it should impact our character am I keeping myself within the parameters Allah Ta'ala has established Almighty God has established for my actions that's the challenge for a human being that's what dignifies a human being that's what humanizes a human being it's not just let it all hang out that humanizes us you don't even find animals that just let it all hang out unless they're rabid or something they have rabies and have lost their faculties animals have restraint they won't even fight each other to the death one animal gets the other one down gets up and goes off and says well I'm not encroaching on this territory but the animal doesn't come kick him and gore him until he's dead you don't find that in the animal kingdom you find it in the zoo you find it in an artificial environment and to a certain extent we all live in a human zoo which makes it especially critical for us to consciously rise above our circumstances by holding on to what our Lord has given us to hold on to how fast to the rope of Allah which is the Quran and don't be divided amongst yourselves these are the people Allah loves wallahu yuhibbu s-saabireen Allah loves those who are patient patience is a virtue that's what all of us heard that even those of us who didn't grow up Muslim patience is a virtue our parents would tell us we read in the books patience is a virtue it's a virtue because patience again is one of those foundational traits that is a key to a successful life you might not get it today you might not get it tomorrow but if you live right and you do right sooner or later you're going to get it if it's good if it's good and worth having you're going to get it but sometimes it takes patience because Allah to Allah in many instances he doesn't give it to us right away because he sees do we really want it do we really value it do we really cherish it do we have a real desire for it Allah to Allah will test us as we said words are empty I really want this okay how long are you willing to wait for it two weeks you don't want it too bad your words are false if you really wanted it you'd be willing to wait for it you'd be willing to wait a lifetime for it how long did Nuh Aleyhi Salam wait for the rectification of his people he didn't write them off in two weeks I may die when they didn't respond forget them Allah destroy them 900 years he waited 900 years for the rectification of his people that's patience how long did Ibrahim Aleyhi Salam wait for a child he waited 80 years no I married the sister and we've been married 6 months she's not pregnant yet man I got a you know I got a good mother you know she 6 months how long did Ibrahim Aleyhi Salam wait 80 years 80 years that's patience we have to really look at the standards that Allah has given us to measure ourselves by that's what they're there for that Ibrahim Aleyhi Salam was an ummah meaning of an ummah an example the prophets Aleyhi Salam are examples that's why they're human beings we can't say they're angels so we're human they're angels how could we be like that no we're human they're human and we can't be exactly like them but we can begin to strive to attain what they attain to and finally well there's more in Allah Allah loves those who trust in him Allah loves those who trust in him brothers and sisters everything's going to be alright don't panic say it's bad for Muslims right now it depends on how you look at things it depends on how you look at things if you look at my good good or bad with me is based on my relationship with Allah then it's as good or as bad as you make it as a powerful hadith qudsi the beginning of it Allahumma sallallahu wa sallam wa sallam I am as my servant thinks I am that's the basis for good or bad if my servant the human being thinks I don't exist I won't exist I am as my servant thinks I am atheism isn't a proof for the nonexistence of Allah atheism is a proof for the existence of Allah because Allah's existence is so manifest only he could veil himself from someone only he has the power to veil himself from someone if a person thinks Allah is merciful they'll find mercy if a person thinks Allah is stern they'll find sternness but the sternness won't be because Allah is not merciful it will be because of the circumstances and situations that person imposes on himself or herself because they've shielded themselves from Allah's mercy these are the foundations of worship those are the qualities that make a living reality in the heart of the believer in the interest of time there was more I want to say I want to remind myself in you of a few verses that convey to us what Allah loves Allah Ta'ala says Allah loves the beliefs not only in the promise of Allah but in the promise of the messenger of Allah who said no one humbles themselves for the sake of Allah except that Allah elevates them and Allah Ta'ala when believers believe that he gave them control of the world and when believers got a reasoned arguments and those are the forces we need to tap into because those are the real keys to power and strength authority and dignity in the world so humility or we could say and love love from that and started relying on their own power and became too humble to humble themselves before Allah and to humble themselves before their fellow human beings Allah took power away from them there are forces at work that defy our physical calculations that defy our humility allows us to prostrate ourselves to our Lord and a believer doesn't fear humbling himself for the sake of God where if you're humble people push over you they think you're a chump you're a punk they're just gonna trample on you the next time I see you gonna have footprints on your chest a believer doesn't fear that because a believer