 My brothers and sisters it is important for us to be conscious of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala For indeed if we would like to achieve anything meaningful in this world and the next We need to be conscious of the maker the one who made us the one whom we will all be returning to This is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the difference between one who believes and One who does not believe is vast one of these differences Happens to be the fact that a believer always knows where he is heading He is always conscious of the fact that he will have to meet his maker one day Ma min kum min ahadin illa sayu kallimuhu rabbuh Laysa baynahu wa baynahu turjuman Every single one of you one day shall speak to your Lord without a barrier Without anyone to explain and so on you will understand exactly what your Lord is saying and you will have to respond May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make that day a beautiful day for us the best of days Indeed one of the most beautiful gifts that a believer can have is to be able to look at Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and Communicate with the one who made him that is one of the biggest gifts And we should every one of us be looking forward to that beautiful day So the question is how do I prepare for the day when I will be meeting the one who made me today You and I get excited when we need to meet an important person You and I would probably make sure that the appearance is such that they do not see flaws in us at the same time We may want to put on a scent That would be such Attractive in a way that it does not turn the person away from us If you have a meeting with someone who happens to be higher up the political ladder or Someone you look up to in any way you would make sure that you were not at this grace Something of a very higher example when it comes to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala we do not want to be at this grace We do not want to be someone whom Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not want to meet And this is why Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam says Man a hubba liqa'a Allah a hubba. Allahu liqa'a Whoever is looking forward or loves to meet Allah Allah loves to meet him or her So if I love to meet Allah and I'm looking forward to it Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would love meeting me too It's amazing yet. Allah does not need us. He does not need us at all But he would look forward to meeting someone who's looking forward to meeting him and this is why in the Quran in more than one Place Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala explains to us what to do you you are looking forward to meeting with Allah Who so ever from amongst you is looking forward to the meeting with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he needs to make sure primarily that two conditions are met He needs to do good deeds Al-Amal al-Saleh according to those who've explained the verse the Mufassireen and the Ulama have explained quite clearly that al-Amal Means a deed and al-Amal al-Saleh is a deed that was taught by Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam When you worship your maker do not fabricate or create or innovate an act of worship from your own self No, Allah sent someone to teach you how he wants to be worshiped So stick to that when you want to fulfill your salah Ensure that you're fulfilling it in a way that Allah will love a way that Allah has taught And this is the way taught by the messenger of the same Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala whom we are trying to please So therefore my brothers and sisters protect yourself from innovation come what may when it comes to acts of worship Do that which is taught by Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam in a way that was taught by him Hence you would be preparing for the day you meet with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala something very simple Similarly Allah says if you are looking forward to the meeting with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala On top of the deeds being pure and good as per the teaching of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam Make sure that you render no act of worship for anyone or anything Besides Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala The worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is for him alone an act of worship is Rended solely and only to he who made me he who made you when I put my head on the ground It is solely for the one who made me no one else when I ask for general happiness When I ask for cure when I ask for goodness in this world and the next I'm asking Allah and I'm asking him alone If Allah has given someone the ability the physical ability that I can witness with my eyes to help me in a way Then after asking Allah's help I may ask them brother Can you give me ten pounds because I know they have a hundred pounds and this is something physical that is Witnessed by the eye, but none of us controls the happiness and sadness of one another or the other We need to know this is from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the goodness the good fortune the general Baraka and blessings in Sustainance all this is from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala So if I want to meet Allah and I want to prepare for the day when I will meet my own maker I need to render acts of worship solely and only for him as per the teachings of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam This is something primary. I'm sure we've heard it We've understood it to put it into practice is not so easy because every day We will have shaitan coming to us in different forms different messages different types of Messages coming to us literally from the devil Trying to turn us away from the goodness taught by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the goodness taught through Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam The the way to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala there will be people adding They will be people trying to say things they will be people subtracting We need to know the battle is all about trying to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That is the battle and then we are also taught that if you would like to meet with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala one of the ways of Preparing is kathratul istighfar seek a lot of forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Do not think for a split moment that I have not sinned today So why should I say oh Allah forgive me when I haven't even done anything wrong? My brothers and sisters we live in an environment such that there are two types of sin Major and minor some of the minor sins we engage in without even knowing that's how it's become May Allah forgive us may Allah make us conscious This is why the term taqwa is translated in so many different ways because in the Arabic language It's quite simple, but try and bring it into the English language It's very difficult to explain some people say the fear of Allah some people say the consciousness of Allah and You know the deeper explanation is to create a barrier between you and the punishment of Allah by obeying his commands and abstaining from his Prohibitions, this is something unique. We need to understand one powerful word taqwa Taqwa is to be able to please Allah to be conscious of Allah to be able to ask Allah's forgiveness to ask him to make you conscious of So many different things we fasted a few months back and you and I know that one of the aims of fasting Allah says In order for you to be achieving Piety in order for you to be achieving consciousness you become conscious of the food you become conscious of your feelings You become conscious of those who cannot afford you become a person who has who is filled with compassion and so on reaching out to people Throughout the year the next 11 months after the month of Ramadan You and I know that if we have become conscious of all these things We would be assisted in a beautiful way to get closer and closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala So if I am to be a person who asks Allah's forgiveness Oh Allah forgive me two things happen one is the sins I've committed are forgiven and two is once they are wiped out my level begins to increase Who wouldn't want that my level of closeness to Allah? Begins to become better. I get closer and closer to my own maker through Istighfar The evidence of it is the fact that the Sahab Aradiyallahu anhum the companions of Muhammad peace be upon him narrate to us quite clearly saying that Muhammad peace be upon him used to ask Allah's forgiveness Although he did not need it he used to ask Allah's forgiveness more than 70 times a day and sometimes A hundred times a day he used to say oh Allah forgive me Astaghfirullah my brothers and sisters when we seek the forgiveness of Allah Spare a moment to think what you are saying sometimes shaitan comes to us to make us say astaghfirullah a hundred times But without thinking what we've said while we are sinning we are busy saying astaghfirullah Astaghfirullah astaghfirullah and we are sinning in the middle of a sin It shows that we are not conscious when we say astaghfirullah after every prayer After every prayer as we make the salam the sunnah is to say astaghfirullah audibly thrice at least subhanallah Oh Allah forgive me. I seek your forgiveness. Oh Allah from what? Yeah, Allah. I'm weak I am a human being that which I know that which I don't know the main major sins Require specific Istighfar and what is known as Tawba To repent in a way that you don't go back to the sin Those are the major sins, but the minor sins as you know Al-Jumu'atu ila al-Jumu'ati kaffaratu lima baynahuma a Jumu'a when you fulfill it correctly to the next Jumu'a Fulfill correctly the minor sins the minor sins are expiated. They are gone They are forgiven by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's something unique. It's a gift of Allah So if I want to prepare to meet with Allah I need to ask him forgiveness on a daily basis more than a hundred times because there was a messenger Who was spotless sallallahu alaihi wasallam He used to ask so many times surely myself who has no standing when it comes to the level of the messenger I am far far worse. I cannot even compare myself So I need to ask for forgiveness even more than that But the minimum is at least fulfill that sunnah may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us all. Amen My brothers and sisters imagine arriving in the presence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the day of judgment or beyond And there is so much istighfar on your sheet You know we will be given our books in your book a lot of istighfar Tu ba liman wujida fi saheefatihi istighfaran kathira Give good news of jannah to the person in whose books or in whose sheets there is a lot of istighfar Imagine I've committed sin and we've all committed sin that which we know that which we don't know and we've just said may Allah forgive us We repeat it may Allah forgive us all. Amen Imagine if I arrive on the day of qiyamah with all the sins I've committed and then I'm standing in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala And all the istighfar is also there you tell me when Allah calls himself ghafoor raheem ghaffar wa ini la ghaffar un liman taba wa aman Amazing how Allah says I am so forgiving the term ghaffar is known as mubalaga Whereby it does not just mean to forgive but it means to constantly forgive Allah says I keep on forgiving subhan Allah Imagine if I arrive and I have so much of asking Allah's forgiveness on the day of judgment and I have the sins What do you think Allah who is the most forgiving will do when he has seen that you are asking for so much of forgiveness? Really you need to have hope and that brings me to the next point if you want to meet with Allah in a beautiful way have hope Have hope in the mercy of Allah never ever lose that hope have a good feeling regarding to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Ina inda dhani abdi bi according to one hadith Qudsi Narrated by Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Allah is saying I will treat every individual According to how they perceive me so you need to perceive Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as ghaffar But there is a condition that perception must not make you intentionally continue sinning and hope that okay Allah will forgive me. You know you commit to sin and say ghafoorul raheem. We heard in the Masjid ghafoorul raheem Let me continue, you know whether it's gambling adultery Whatever else it is Alcohol and drugs and the nightlife and all the haram and every time you're doing something Don't worry. We just heard Allah's ghafoorul raheem that is something dangerous It is shaitan's trap and it is such that you die in a bad condition May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us be genuine when you seek Allah's forgiveness be honest be sincere Perceive yes that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will indeed forgive you yourself and myself Yourselves and myself we have no way forward besides having hope in the mercy of Allah If you lose that hope your door is closed and your road is closed You need to have hope in the mercy of Allah. That is what will keep me alive the day I'm on my deathbed may Allah grant us all a good death The day I'm on my deathbed. What do I expect? I'm looking forward to the meeting with Allah. I have no other option I need to say oh Allah I have hope in your mercy no matter what my condition will be on that day I need to have hope we get old some of us die young But those who might become old and perhaps you can't walk anymore You can't do what you used to do in the past anymore You need to continue having hope in Allah as the pain increases in your body. You need to know it is Kafara to the noob it will forgive your sins It will expiate the sins that you may have committed and on top of that your status begins to become Elevated because you are bearing what is known as sabr sabr does not just translate as forbearance or patience It has an encyclopedia of meaning may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide us So my brothers and sisters never lose hope in the mercy of Allah We will hope in the mercy of Allah. We will hope that Allah loves us We will hope that he has forgiven us and inshallah that is the condition upon which we will meet him We will meet him with the same hope may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala be pleased with us at all times I mean similarly what is extremely important is known as Kafara to sujood there was a companion of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam who was once told or Asked a question about paradise and he wanted it and he asked for it and the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says Well, help me to achieve it for you by Fulfilling sujood often by finding yourself in prostration a lot So my brothers and sisters you want to prepare to meet with Allah you got to take something with you Subhanallah, what is it? Qatar to sujood Aqrabu maya koonu la abdu li rabbihi wa huwa saajid the closest that a worshipper is to his Rob is when he is in the condition of prostration Umir to an asjuda a la sab'ati a'adum Al-jabha wa asha rabi yadihi ila an fihi wal yadaini warruk bataini wa atrafil qadameen The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam speaks to us about the correct method of prostration and he says Seven bones I've been instructed to prostrate upon and he pointed to the forehead Or he said the forehead and pointed to the nose and then he says the hands and The tips of the toes the knees and the tips of the toes so you have six and this is the seventh one Let us prostrate and take your time in prostration Qatar to sujood often prostrating not just your salah But you need to lengthen it a little bit not just your farad salah you need to constantly Ask yourself how much have I done voluntary many of us would read the farad and walk out Yes, your duty may be done But remember get closer to Allah prepare in a way that you would actually be able to come and offer something You have something grand according to the narration of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam You are looking forward to meeting with Allah you want jannah you want paradise inshallah the beauty of it Will only be felt when you are preparing for that beautiful day My brothers and sisters there are so many other ways of achieving the closeness to Allah Preparing for the meeting with Allah your kindness you're reaching out to those in need You're reaching out to your brothers and sisters whether they are in your city in your locality or across the globe Those who are struggling and suffering just to reach out to them with something small that you may have perhaps with a prayer If you don't have anything material good words amongst yourselves Cleansing your heart so that you learn to love one another this all for the sake of Allah You will be prepared for the day you meet with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala take a look at the narration where the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam Speaks about Rajulani Ta-ha-ba fi-llahi Ijtama'a a-layh wa ta-farraqa a-layh those who love each other the two who love each other for the sake of Allah Will be granted a special shade on the day of qiyamah imagine you're preparing for the day Why do we call ourselves believers because we believe there is a hereafter we believe in Allah in the angels in the prophets in the books And so on we believe that good and bad comes from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Yes, he's granted us capacity capability He has put us in this world for a test, but he is in charge. He's in control. He's the absolute Allahu Akbar the irresistible. There is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. My brothers and sisters ask Allah forgiveness For indeed he is the one who will forgive your sins I call you call me Hatha. I ask the forgiveness of Allah for you and the forgiveness of the Muslims so please forgive him For indeed he is the Forgiver, the Merciful