 We are in the blessed month of Rajab, the sacred months, and in these closing days and nights that tonight is the 27th night of Rajab, which is according to many of the Ulema, the date of the blessed Isra'u and Me'alaj, the blessed night journey of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam, from Makkah to Jerusalem and then from there the Me'alaj, the ascension up into the heavens and past the seven heavens, the seven skies of the cosmos, Samawat, As-Sadaq, and then beyond the Masjid al-Muntah for this poetry and witnessing the signs of his Lord, As-Zawajal, Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam. And according to the dominant position of Sunni orthodoxy, having, experiencing not only the speech, direct speech, intimate discourse with Allah swt, but in fact having brought the vision of Allah swt, which in this dunya was granted only to our blessed Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam as a manifestation and sign of his blessed rank, his blessings be upon him as the best of creation, Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam. But reserved for all the believers in the hair after in Paradise and we ask Allah swt to make all of us and our families and loved ones and friends and companions amongst them. And so reflecting just for the few minutes that we had together, reflecting on some of the lessons of the As-Sadaq al-Maharaj that perhaps we can directly apply in our lives and not simply to recollect the sacred story and to reflect on the wonders that were bestowed to our blessed Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam, which itself is a great thing, which itself is a remembrance of Allah himself and which is something that we are rewarded for and which is a basis of drawing near to Allah, but also deriving some practical things that we can apply directly in our lives thereafter, after hearing and being reminded of the sacred story in light of which I encourage everyone to attend the event tonight in the masjid and bringing your families to be reminded of this sacred and beautiful story, but also that thereafter that we have specific particular things that we can work on in terms of our relationship with Allah swt. It's one of the secrets of the first verse of Surat al-Isra'ah, which references this night journey. Subhanallah, the most beautiful night of the day is that Allah swt, you know the translation of the first transcendent and glorious above the imagination is the one who took his servant by night on a special night, from the sacred precinct in Makkah to the furthest mosque i.e. in Jerusalem, is that the attribute by which Allah swt describes the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam is that Subhanallah, the most honorific title granted to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam, and the context of the greatest of blessings that Allah Ta'ala described upon the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam, the most wondrous of blessings, the description is the servant of Allah or his servant. This is the most honorific title of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam in the Quran. And the next Surat al-Kahf, Alhamdulillah, that he has sent upon his servant. This is also a supreme blessing granted to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam, it's the sending down of the book and what's the description of the prophet in the context of the same Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam is abdihi, again his servant, and this nisbah, this description to Allah, this ibadah of construction in the Arabic language, the servant of him, his servant, this is profound. That Allah Ta'ala has ownership, he takes ownership of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam, but he is his servant, Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam. But also the Prophet is, Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam, the servant of Allah, and this is a trait that we can all partake in. In other words, when the Prophet is Ashrad, there's Nabi or Rasul, this is something that, this is designated to special individuals and the Prophet is the last of prophets and messengers, peace be upon them all. But Orbudiyya is a door that's open for all of us and incumbent upon all of us to enter into. And so, realizing our servitude, an Orbudiyya that, not merely ibadah, which is the physical worship of Islam, ibadah, the worship of the prayer and the worship of giving zakat and the worship of the fasting, etc. But Orbudiyya, the state of the heart, the state of servitude that is in the heart, in those acts of devotion and therefore outside as well throughout our days and nights, actualizing our Orbudiyya, actualizing our servitude towards the Divine. And of the most salient qualities of servitude, or the servants of Allah, is tovah, is repentance. And this is one practical thing that we can take, is that the reminder that Sallallahu Alaihi Sallam is a divine summons to each of us to renew our tovah to Allah, to deepen and intensify our repentance to Allah, to make it more real in our lives, to make it something more actualized in the way that we are, in the way that we are in the morning, in the way that we are in the evening, in the way that we are throughout our times, is in a state of repentance. Appendence is a great virtue and it's the most salient virtues of true servitude. The true servant of Allah is never satisfied with the way that we are. And interestingly enough, one of the specific recommendations from the sunnah for the month of Raja is the steqqah. The steqqah is one of the most specific, it's one of the most important, specific devotions of the sacred month. And so this is, as a reflection of our servitude to Allah, is asking for forgiveness and ever being ever penitent and turning unto Him as the wajjal in tovah, in repentance. And this presupposes an ethic of introspection that each of us is conscious of the way that we are and that we notice our slips and we notice our faults and which of us doesn't have our slips and which of us doesn't have our faults. And this is something that we are, this is something that none of us can deny. There are you, let alone the venu, the faults that we have, let alone the sins that we submit to. And so it stays far. The Prophet ﷺ made it stay far, 72 of 100 times a day, despite the fact that he was sinless and infallible. What about us then? Tovah to Allah Azza wa Jalla. And this is something that Allah Ta'ala is overjoyed with. This is the basis of receiving the Deba'in Jura. Allah Ta'ala is more overjoyed with the repentance of His servant. Tovah to Abdi. This is what informs our will-ya. Then someone in the desert who had lost his camel with all of his provisions on that camel and then suddenly finds it, stumbles upon. Saffa ta'ala, he stumbles upon that lost camel. The joy in the heart of a man facing his very, the loss of survival in a desert without any provision and finding the camel with all of that water and food. Allah Ta'ala is more overjoyed with the repentance of the servant. Subhanallah. And so inviting that joy into our lives. And this is something that we have to be, this is something that we have to have a sense of urgency for. It's not just putting this off. And I know we mentioned in the Riyadh of Sadaheen that it's a religious obligation to make Tovah for every time we sin. It's wajib shar'am in the sacred law of Islam for every instance of committing a sin to seek forgiveness for that and make repentance for that. And that presupposes not only recognizing what's wrongs but having remorse for them and being committed to not doing it again. This is the sacred law of the mu'min. It's not simply lip service but it's heart service, heart servitude. It's not lip service, it's heart servitude, heart servitude. And this is why one of the early metaphysicians of Islam, Sahih al-Qaqidat, to study the great Persian metaphysition of the third century, he says, Repentance is to not procrastinate. Repentance is to not procrastinate. A sense of urgency. A sense of duty. It's not that we never sinned. We are fathable. Every human being, other than prophets, is going to sin. It's chrome to error. It's chrome to sin. But the best of them are the ones that repent and apologize and have remorse and try their best not to do it again. This is what is incumbent upon each of us. This is the month of Islifat and this is the month of Awuliyah. And this is the description of the Prophet specifically in Isra'ul Merah. Isra'ul Merah. Our uliyah presupposes our ethic of Tova, our the consistency of Tova, the urgency of Tova. And through this Tova, through consistent, genuine Tova, the sins will lessen, insha'Allah. As one of the, another metaphysician of Persian Azerbaijan, Bundarim Hussain was a shakr-e jurist and Usuli scholar and he was a student of Abu Bakr-i Shibit. He says, Whoever flees from sins through Tova, through repentance, through remorse, through genuine need, being committed to not repeat them, those sins flee from him. The devil is less interested in causing them to stumble because they are empowered through their Tova, through their genuine attitude of servitude towards the Divine. And this is also the basis of protection from Allah. Islifat is the great shield of the believer in this life, let alone for the Hereafter. What a great shield in the Hereafter. Islifat is the best shield in the Hereafter. Sins will, we will stumble and fall as fathomable humans on Earth, but our safety then is asking for forgiveness. And so in the next life, when the fire, when we're held accountable, and it's either the paradise or fire, we ask Allah to let us not enter fire at all, that Islifat will be the profound shield from the fire, but also in this life it's a protection from calamities, or when calamities strike one's vicinity, from it being a special grace for a person. Calamities are interwoven in the fabric of this life. There's something that is very clear from the Qitan and Sunnah. Muslims don't have the problem that in philosophy is called the problem of suffering. The problem of suffering is not a problem for Muslims. It never was in our theological discourse. It wasn't a sailing issue. It was dealt with as a tertiary matter. Why? Because from the very basic reading of our scripture, every believer recognizes that suffering is interwoven in the fabric of this life. This is not the abode, this is not paradise. This is not the abode of paradisical life. This is the abode of a life that has its ups and downs. Hills and valleys. The paradise is in the next life. That's evident to every believer. But those calamities Allah Ta'ala gives a special grace for the people of Islifat, for the people of genuine, consistent repentance and seeking forgiveness, that even at times of calamities they have a sanctuary. This is why another of our early metaphysicians, Abu-Hassan Al-Shadr Ibrahimullah Ta'ala, he says, The best fortress basis of protection, the best fortress is what he, capital H, has informed you of seeking forgiveness. Of seeking forgiveness. And the reality of Islifat is that your only source of solace and comfort is Allah. The only one with whom you feel truly comfortable with, truly at solace and peace with is Allah Ta'ala and none besides. And then he cites the verse, that Allah Ta'ala, his proof for, it's the best protection and Allah was not going to punish them while they are seeking forgiveness. This is the best fortress and this is one of the blessings of Mecca to renew our commitment to repentance and Islifat as an expression of our ability to be equally described of attributed to the prophet, salamu alayhi salam, with respect to the Islifat. Beautiful. And reflecting on this last wisdom that we just cited from Abu Hassan Masha'a that not only is Islifat the best fortress of the believer but notice what he says about its reality. And the reality of seeking forgiveness is that you have no true solace and source of comfort and refuge besides Allah. And this is also one of the secrets of the Islifat. Is that the true solace of our prophet, salamu alayhi salam, was Allah. That salamu alayhi salam happened according to most scholars of Seerah right after Ahmed al-Khuzn. And notice Ahmed al-Khuzn. What was the year of sadness? The year of sadness was a year, the most difficult year for our prophet, salamu alayhi salam. And it was a year in which he lost peace and blessings to be upon him. All of the worldly sources of comfort and solace even though the whole time his true comfort was with Allah. But in terms of Hasbah in the world, worldly means, Khadija, his beloved, blessed wife, I'll be pleased with her. What was, how valuable was she to the prophet, salamu alayhi salam? How much love was between them? How much comfort did she provide them in? Salamu alayhi salam, specifically in the context of the difficulties of inviting to Islam in the most difficult, aggressive environment towards the religion, towards the faith, towards the freedom of religion, effectively, essentially. The issue was not simply this religion, but there was no freedom of religion. He wasn't even allowed to proclaim what was being revealed to him, salamu alayhi salam. But in any case, look at the blessings that unfolded from Lady Khadija, our blessed mother, of Allah, so financial support and emotional support through the vicissitudes of so many people to Allah in the difficult, early years of the non-community. And then the loss of Abu Talib. This is not only the last fatherly figure in his blessed life, as we know, Orkin at a young age and then Abu Muqtalin, another fatherly figure in his early years, he loses him at a very young age, salamu alayhi salam, and then Abu Talib was the fatherly figure. And in the Arabic language, the brother of the father is like the father. This is why I went in the story of Bahina, the monk, that he says this loses person's father, Abu Talib says I'm his father. And Bahina says that's impossible because according to the stricture he was orphaned. And so he admits that it's true, that his father's brother, his father passed away, because the stricture said that. But why did he say, the first time it wasn't alive because in the custom of the Arabs, the brother of the father is an affected father, it's like the father, and especially if the baby was orphaned from the father. This is why also in our Aqida and the azar in the Quran was not the actual father, Sayyidina Alayhi Salam, the name of the father, but Azar was the paternal uncle, the brother of Tariq and this is why Ibrahim As-Salaam he invites him to Islam and he says, Ya'abati, oh my father. But the point being is that losing Abu Talib is effectively essentially losing another father. And then also the political support that Abu Talib had provided the entire time. Because then he became nominal, Abu Dahl took on the head of the clan of Ben-U-Hashim and then his support in quotes. Giving a license to the aggressors to do what they would. This is when the punishment, the difficulty is really intensified for the Prophet, S.A.M., for him is less a person specifically, S.A.M. So losing Abu Talib, the loss of worldly political support is always that positive figure. And then the Dawah at Ta'if, as you all know from the Masjid-e-Seerah and the rejection from the people of Ta'if at the hands of the people that the Prophet generally loved the most, children and servants, the disenfranchised of the community and the children of the community were the ones from whose hands the stones were being thrown upon his blessed person, S.A.M. such that he was leading S.A.M. and every worldly S.A.M. every S.A.M. that in the world was a locus of comfort and solace, which is really from Allah and the whole time the Prophet was recognizing Allah and all the solace he received his entire life, S.A.M. but all of that is taken away and he turns to Allah as he always turns to Allah, just what Toba means S.A.M. returning to Allah in the beautiful Dawah after Ta'if expressing his Papa and expressing his neediness for the Divine and his servitude towards the Divine despite those difficulties and then what shortly thereafter ensues according to the S.A.M. A.M. meaning Allah directed, meaning Allah directed let alone the wonders that were unfolding in the cosmos and the heaven and heaven and paradise and hellfire and all the angelic realms and all the secrets of the cosmos being unfolded Yaghi S.A.M. did not even divert his glance and his glance was not diverting nor did it trespass he was focused only on one of that night S.A.M. the only one he loved S.A.M. truly his Qaraan S.A.M. his solace, his comfort his refuge S.A.M. the Hizdah Habibullah Allah Ta'ala is Al-Wadoor the Prophet S.A.M. is the most profound and direct recipient of that wood and muhabba from the Divine Himself and this is the meaning of the love it's SubhanAllah SubhanAllah what a night and that's also part of the answer to this quote problem of suffering is that Allah will give spiritual illumination to the servant of suffering and during their trials they stay connected to their Lord and they go back to their Lord in a state of utter need and servitude they hold on to their content with whatever Allah is sending them the blows of faith even though it's painful pain is natural to experience but not complaining to the Divine not objecting to the Divine then there's spiritual openings unimaginable spiritual openings but the Prophet S.A.M. had only one one goal that night SubhanAllah his Lord Allah Himself jibreed cannot cross this is the low tree this is for the Prophet S.A.M this is his maqam maqamud he is Muhammad S.A.M he is Ahmad S.A.M S.A.M and so what was granted to him as an expression of that love for the rest of his life and for the life all of our lives as believers besalaat the ritual prayer this is our meeting with the beloved this is our meeting with our beloved our true solace in the country of Allah As-Salaam-Alaikum and this is where we need to place that love place our hearts into the prayer as a reflection of that beautiful meeting because each of us in our own context in our own states as servants of Allah we need Allah and we can meet Allah in our own way in this Allah and so this is the the most important lesson from this is give our hearts to the prayer give our hearts to the prayer because this is our meeting with Allah as a reflection of us mirroring something some drops of the ocean of that meeting on that night we ask Allah to make us people of genuine repentance people of genuine servitude people of genuine mahaqa with the divine of Allah with the blessings and companions with the believers and the righteous and the audya of Islam we ask Allah to rectify our hearts and to make us people who taste the sweetness of verjab taste the sweetness of shaqan taste the sweetness of ma'ma ma'ma we ask Allah to make us people who are oriented towards Allah that just as the kindle of our prayer is towards maqa and muhadramah the kindle of our hearts is only Allah in the prayer and outside of the prayer the kindle of our hearts is always directed towards Allah s.a. and is with pleasure and everything that he loves and his remembrance and presence we ask Allah to give us in order for ourselves and our families and our entire ummah we ask Allah to give us Allah to purify our hearts and He needs to do what He asks that Allah and His angels have received the blessings of Allah may Allah produce us in His grace and His health and the blessings of Allah We thank Allah for giving us the blessings of Allah may Allah bless us