 As-salamu alaikum warahmatullahi wa rahmatullahi Alhamdulillah wa shukrullah. It's a great blessing to be here in this blessed company and this blessed masjid with this blessed gathering and it's actually a bit difficult to speak with the Mubarak Kiswah here. Alhamdulillah wa shukrullah but inshallah we seek Allah's pleasure in sharing the blessed teachings of our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Allah says in the Quran the verses that were recited that verily we have sent you as a witness, as a bringer of glad tidings, and as a warner with the ultimate end and consequence that you all, the ummah, believe in Allah and his messenger and that you all support him and venerate him and glorify him morning and evening and the scholars of Tafsir discuss who is the hymn in these verbs and so it's a bit difficult to translate. Some said that the first two refer to our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and so that you support the Prophet and that you venerate the Prophet, peace be upon him and then the third one is for the Divine and that you glorify him Allah ta'ala morning and evening but others felt their opinion was that in fact all three refer to the Divine and so that you support Allah by supporting his religion and that you venerate Allah and that you glorify, glorify Allah in the morning and evening but how do we venerate Allah ta'ala is through venerating the sacred law and venerating the Prophet himself sallallahu alayhi wa sallam so his, the meaning of the Prophet is always there and if we begin with the third command or consequence in this in this ayah glorifying Allah in morning and evening the remembrance of Allah is something the Prophet emphasized the most sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and a man came to him in the hadith of the Muslim Ahmad and said oh God's messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam the details of the religion have proven very numerous for me it's it's it's overwhelming give me one thing to hold on to that I can just that I can just you know make it my my personal thing to cling to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam let your tongue always be moist with the remembrance of Allah mighty and majestic and in the example of the one that makes remembrance of Allah compared to the one that does not is like the example of the living and the dead and so the first principle to to sort of focus on in the context of victory seeking victory is are we people of Allah's remembrance are we people of the of regular consistent remembrance of God book or tomah assila a portion in the morning a portion in the evening that's a very practical thing that of course in addition to the five prescribed prayers to make it a personal commitment as part of the principle mentioned two words earlier what to what to a zero who what to a zero that you support him because how do we support God it is messenger is by taking these teachings seriously but the second one then veneration this is something I wanted to just reflect together with the blessed company about the examples many examples and there's countless of how the companions would venerate the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in the hadith of amir ibn al-aas radhul anhu on his deathbed that he this is in sahi muslim he cried extensively on his deathbed and then he turned his face to the wall and he finally said ma kana ahadun ahabba ilayah min rasulillah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam so this companion is about to leave this world and he says there's no one more beloved to me than God's messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam Nor is there anyone more majestic in my eyes than him sallallahu alayhi wa sallam ma kuntu utiqu an'amla ainaia minhu ijlal an'ahu and I was not able I could not bear to take my fill of looking at him due to my deep veneration of him sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that the companions it was actually difficult to look too long at the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam because of the great jalal the great majestic and the reflection of the divine majesty in the majesty of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam this is also reflected in the beautiful lines of poetry of another noble companion Hassan ibn Thabit who one of the poets of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and he said lammana dartu ila anwarihi sataat when I looked at his lights that had risen shining wadattu min khifati kaffi ala basri out of awe of him I had to place my hand in front of my eyes khaofun ala basri min husni suratihi out of fear for my eyes could they could they even stand could my eyesight handle and withstand the intense beauty of his form so I could not look upon him except within my capacity lights from his light drown in his light and from his blessed face sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is the rising of the sun and the rising of the full moon ruhun min al-noor fi jismin min al-qamar a soul made of light in a in a body from the moon itself kahlatin that is like a gown nusijat bil-anjum al-zuhri that was sown from the sparkling stars and this is the companion of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam this is the understanding of the companions Allah be pleased with them all together uh this woman qayla bint mahramah she said that I was once sitting behind the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and he was sitting with his blessed knees up and he was holding his knees and she said when I saw him in this posture of humility sallallahu alayhi wa sallam I started to tremble out of fear I started to tremble out of fear and so one of the companions sitting with the messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said this uh this woman is trembling because of your presence oh god's messenger and uh and so the the woman narrates that Allah's messenger without turning around without looking at her he says ya miskinatu alaikis alaikis sakinatu which is a poetic he says oh humble woman be calm be calm alaikis sakina and she says as soon as god's messenger said it sallallahu god removed that fear from my heart that awe from my heart and so the the majesty of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam we have so many narrations of his immense beauty like jabir ibn samura the great companion and sahi muslim he says kana wajahu sallallahu alayhi wa sallam like the sun and the moon and abu hurayda said kana shams tajri fi wajihi radhulahu he said it's as if the sun were flowing in his blessed face yet Allah combined that perfect beauty with perfect majesty sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and so it was even difficult to look too long and so veneration of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was also a consequence of realizing his immense blessings the barakah and how many narrations are there of the barakah that the companions experienced by his presence sallallahu alayhi wa sallam abu hurayda said so he once complained he said to god's messenger i hear so many hadith from you but i forget them and so the the prophet said sallallahu alayhi wa sallam you know spread out your cloak so he spread it out so the prophet with his two blessed hands started making a motion like scooping into the open garment then he said place it upon yourself and so abu hurayda placed it upon himself as he to shaytan but i never forgot a hadith after that i never once forgot a hadith after that ibn abbas radhulahu alayhi wa sallam the young companion who was the cousin of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he said as imam bukhari relates that the prophet said dammani rasulullah ila sadrihi one day the prophet embraced the young blessed boy to his blessed mubarak chest sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and then he said Allahumma allimu l-kitab Allahumma allimu l-kitab oh Allah teach him the book and in the riway wa faqihu fiddin and give him deep understanding of the religion ibn abbas what is he what does he become he becomes the eminent companion in terms of ta'weel or tafsir of the quran to the extent that he's called tarjuman al quran the interpreter par excellence of the quran and the entire tafsir corpus goes back to ibn abbas primarily he is the great interpreter of the quran amongst the companions and his teachings then are distilled to the tafsir tradition where did it start it started with the prophetic embrace it started with the prophetic embrace uh more examples of the barakah Hazrat Ali ibn abit that he said that when the prophet sent me to yemen to teach and to to judge uh with his his expertise of the sacred law he says ya rasulullah tabathuni wa anashaab iqdi baynahum wa la adrim al qadha he says you're sending me but i'm so young and you know i have to judge amongst them as as a qadi and i you know i'm not sure if i'll know the judgment so what happens in the according to the hadith fadarabah sallallahu alayhi sallam be yadihi fi sadri so the prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam strikes the chest of huzzard ali karmalawaj with his blessed hand and then he says allah mehdi qalbahu wa sabbit lithanahu oh allah guide his heart and make his speech steadfast firm and truthful so say na ali karmalawaj he says so by the one that splits the seeds because one of the names of allah in the quran splitter of seeds by the one who splits seeds mashakaktu fi qadha in baynahs name baad i never had any doubt about the right judgment between two people thereafter huzzard ali karmalawaj safina the great companion safina he said the prophet instructed him sallallahu alayhi sallam he said i need you to carry something ibn fa inna ma anta safina and it was a heavy thing but he says carry it because you're a safina which means a huge ship and says you you are a ship safina says fellow hamantu yawma idin waqru ba'ir he says from that day onwards if i had to carry a whole camels load which is a large weight if i had to carry a whole camels load oh ba'irein or two camels load or three camels load oh arba or four camels load oh hamsa or five camels load oh six or six camels load oh seven or seven camels load ma thakula alayh it wasn't heavy for me anymore this is the barakah of the prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam and these experiences cultivated this profound veneration this this profound veneration in the hearts of the companions radi allahu anhum jami'an in the morning every morning in madina after fajr the khuddam the people who had served the city would bring their buckets of water which was the water source for the city they would bring it to the prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam every morning he would dip his blessed hand in each one for the barakah to be sent throughout the city and they said in the hadith even on a cold morning they did that as a regular practice ibn masrood radi allahu the great young shepherd that became a great one of the great imams of the companions at the time of the at the time of the sahaba and thereafter how did his a blessed scholarship begin that he was one of the early converts and he once said ya rasulullah alimni min had al-qul he said oh god's messenger teach me from this blessed teaching and so the prophet from masah rasulullah rahsi said the prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam wipes the head of ibn masrood and he says may allah have mercy on you because you are a young boy but you shall be taught you will receive special knowledge and ibn masrood then becomes who does he become when we read the history he becomes the great imam of kufa and the teachings of ibn masrood are distilled which eventually become the school of abu hanifa abu hanifa emerges from the madrasa from the seminary the teachings that were that were remnant in kufa from the seeds planted by ibn masrood as well as ali bin abid talab the two great imams of kufa allah be pleased with them both this is this so the and and the largest mother historically in our in our umma right this this started with the blessed wipe of the prophet over the head of ibn masrood and ibn masrood had this he had the sacred relics so he was the he was the carrier of the na'al sharif you know the blessed sandals of the prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam as well as the siwak the toothpick as well as the wisada the pillow and ibn masrood the the campaign he was min ahl al-bitana so when the companions were with the prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam and he returned home they had to stop outside ibn masrood could continue on because he had to set up the blessed belongings of the prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam and this this the two na'alain the two sandals of the prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam reflect on the barakah of those sandals because when nabi musa alayhi sallam came for his appointment with with the divine allatah ala kamanidhim ikhla'ana aleyk that remove your two sandals but when our blessed messengers sallallahu alayhi sallam was taken on isra al-mayraaj from makkah to jerusalem and then up through the cosmos above the seven heavens to the sidr to the low tree and then past that where hasid jibreel alayhi sallam could not go allatah ala did not command him to take off his two sandals he got to go with his blessed sandals sallallahu alayhi sallam and so what does that mean that means that on that blessed blessed night that the entire cosmos was under the shadow of his sandals sallallahu alayhi sallam his two na'alain if we cannot fathom the rank of his blessed sandals how can we fathom his blessed rank with allatah ala sallallahu alayhi sallam and this is why in our tradition the na'al is like this it's placed on the kufi because it's the crown of the believer and many ulama there there's an entire genre in our tradition of poetry on the na'alain chariphain on poetry on this the na'aliyat poetry on the sandals themselves how mubarak so where does this then this so they experience all this barakah and what did that do to their blessed hearts the noble companions they fell in love they fell madly in love and this is what you know we read the narrations over and over about the love they had hasid ali karamallah waj he was once asked kafa kana hubbukum li rasoolillah sallallahu alayhi sallam he was once asked what was the love of you all like for god's messenger he said kana rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi sallam god's messenger peace be upon him beloved than all of our wealth and more than our children and more than our parents and more than our mothers and more beloved than cool water when one is dying of thirst and so the companions reflected the beautiful hadith of the prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam waj he was once asked none of you truly believe none of you truly believe until i am more beloved to him than his parents than his children and all of humanity and at khaibar at khaibar they were having difficulty with one of the fortresses and the prophet said sallallahu alayhi sallam in a hadith tomorrow i shall give the banner i shall give the flag to a man that allah will give victory on his hands and the reflection tonight is surat al fat the surah of victory which was revealed after hodabiyah when the peace treaty was enacted because in islam victory comes through peace because then we can make the dawah in peaceful coexistence and the light shines so brightly but so the principle of fat is related to the principle of love because read the hadith what is the prophet say sallallahu alayhi sallam tomorrow i shall give the banner the flag to a man that allah will give victory on his hands and how does he describe the man sallallahu alayhi sallam you love him he loves god and his messenger and god and his messenger love him and all the companions that night were eager to see if which one of them would be it and that morning after fajr the prophet asked after the prayer sallallahu alayhi sallam he says aina ali ibn abbi talib where is hazzad ali karmalawaj and so what was conjoined in the hadith though victory and mutual love between the believer and god and his messenger allah and his messenger sallallahu alayhi sallam ajeeb so love is the foundation and we reflect this woman at uhud at the battle of uhud that she came after the battle was done and this was the time 70 plus martyrs 70 martyrs of the blessed companions allah be pleased with them all so she came she and the rumor had spread that god's messenger had been struck although alhamdulillah wa shukrillahi was not killed on that day sallallahu alayhi sallam but the that rumor had spread so she comes eagerly asking this ansari woman how is allah's messenger and they say they say your father was martyred she says inna lilahi wanna alayhi rajaun how is allah's messenger they say your brother was martyred she says inna lilahi wanna alayhi rajaun how is allah's messenger they say your husband was martyred she says inna lilahi wanna alayhi rajaun how is allah's messenger sallallahu alayhi sallam they say he's fine she says not till i i need to see him take me to see him and they take her and she sees the blessed sallallahu alayhi sallam and she says kullu musibatin baadika jalal in every tribulation after you is it's small and minor so long as you are okay sallallahu alayhi sallam we can bear anything but what was in these blessed people's hearts how much love how much veneration allah be pleased with them all and we'll conclude with the beautiful story of huzzal bilal radi allahu that after the passing of the prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam and huzzal anas said it was like the lights went out he said when the prophet arrived in madina after at the hijrah sallallahu alayhi sallam allah minhu kullu she everything was lit up he says when when he passed away sallallahu alayhi sallam udlima kullu she everything became dark in our lives everything was dark and so huzzal bilal had moved to sham syria and after many years then he has a dream of the prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam and he says ya bilal what is this distance why haven't you visited visited us o kamakal sallallahu alayhi sallam huzzal bilal woke up so distressed he was so worried so he rushes the first thing in the morning on his horse he goes straight to madina munawra he goes straight to the grave roda sharifa grave of the prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam he gives a salam he starts kissing the grave and then hasan and hussein come radi allahu anhu ma and he starts kissing the blessed grandsons of the prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam and then they say make the adhan you know it's been so many years make the adhan and so he starts the adhan allahu akbar allahu akbar and then when they heard his voice the street started coming out they thought did the messenger come back and when he reached and I showed them Muhammad Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi sallam they said madina before or after had never had that much crying everyone came out in utter tears longing for the messenger sallallahu alayhi sallam may Allah make us people who long for the messenger sallallahu alayhi sallam may he make us people who love the Allah in his messenger and are loved by Allah in his messenger with Allah's luth and afia and tamam la afia may Allah make us people of remembrance of Allah and veneration of Allah in his messenger wa salli lahumma nasidru Muhammad al-Nabi lumi wa la alihi wa sahmi wa sallim walhamdulillahi