 It is the taqwa of Allah Subh'anaHu wa Ta'ala that it is the wasiyah. This is the counsel of Allah Subh'anaHu wa Ta'ala for all of the people that came before and all of the people that will come until the end and that in this word that it combines all of the most important aspects of this Deen, the outward dimension of it and the inward dimension of it. That which relates to practice and that which relates to attributes of the heart. That which relates to what we need to adorn ourselves with and that which relates to what we need to rid ourselves of. And Alhamdulillah that our Prophet ﷺ, who is the Qa'id, Al-Ghurr al-Muhajjineen is that he is the Imam of the Atqi'at ﷺ, he is one who said, Attaqwa Ha Huna wa Asha'ira Sadri Sharif ﷺ, he says taqwa is here, taqwa is here and he pointed to his blessed chest ﷺ and this is a chest that is not like the other chest. This is a chest that is not like the other chest, this is a chest that is not like the other chest. Have we not expanded your breast? And we look at the inner dimension of the human being and the successive layers of the heart from the outermost dimension of the heart which is the Sadr, that if we go a little bit deeper then we get to the Qalb and a little bit deeper then we get to the Fu'ad and if we get a little bit deeper to the Dhub, all of these different dimensions of our internal being whereby which that Allah ﷺ gives those that are beloved to Him special gifts according to the degree of piety and according to the degree of taqwa. And one of the things that our Lord ﷺ is that he teaches us to ask for and he teaches about the true type of clothing that it relates to this greatest provision of all which is to prepare to meet Allah ﷺ and the greatest way that we can do that is with taqwa and our Lord ﷺ says, and seek provision and indeed the greatest of provision is taqwa and the the libas of taqwa the clothing of taqwa this is what is even greater and so you have what are called the khila at taqwa you have what are called the garments if you will of the clothing the garments of taqwa and as we expose ourselves to the sweet reasons of Allah ﷺ mercy and that Allah ﷺ through his benevolence in his subtle generosity to bother but I believe the stoes upon his servants and the difference between this type of clothing and the hour type of clothing is that the hour type of clothing when it gets dirty that you take it off this is a type of clothing when Allah ﷺ dons it upon us as it remains and it stays and ultimately the quest of life is it how much virtue can you and I gain and obtain how much can we prepare ourselves for the meeting with our Lord ﷺ and this is the purpose whereby which that we come together on a special day like that of Juma is to remind ourselves of the importance of life and where we are going and that we also need to be very careful is that the reality of the human affair even though that we think at times that we're justified in demanding some type of right or justified even that even claiming our own existence is that we have to recognize as ultimately before Allah ﷺ that we're all fukhara we are entirely incompletely impoverished and we do not deserve anything and to the degree that we actualize this and experiences within the depths of our heart will be to the degree in which not only that we have theological clarity but every success of love on the trickle down effect of our practice of this Dean is that it will be adorned with beauty and that we will be recipients of the divine grace and how did it a lot of time was out of the lab or left as birth of guidance and that we know that we are part of a living tradition and we know that there are living links in this tradition that connect us back to the way that the people who came before us that were successful experiences religion and we know that there is people who came before us that were validated by our Lord Subhanahu wa ta'ala and one of the greatest examples of that yes you can mention the prophets but if you say their prophets let's talk about the companions what is the wisdom that we say after we mention one of their names ravi allahu anhu may God be pleased with them even though this is in the past tense is that it is an ultimately a dua and that we know that it is a dua but at the same time we know that a lot of it is content with them so we're asking a lot other to increase them ultimately and that we are essentially saying that these are people they were basho they were human beings like we are human beings they walked on the face of this earth all of the companions were converts to this religion and despite that the these were people that were validated by God Subhanahu wa ta'ala they were validated by our Lord Subhanahu wa ta'ala and that this is the greatest blessing of all and that even though they were outwardly here on the face of this earth is that you could have someone at any given time that is validated by Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala but the people that are validated by Allah they are the people of taqwa what does Allah ta'ala say about these great awliya of Allah alla inna awliya allahi laa haupun aalihim wa lahum yakzanoon indeed that the awliya of Allah is that they shall not have fear upon them nor shall they grieve and who are they alladina aminu wa kanu yattakoon they are the people who used to believe they have belief and they have taqwa and they are people of piety they are people of God consciousness they are people that place successive barriers between them and anything that would distance them from their Lord ultimately Subhanahu wa ta'ala in this world by experiencing the beauty and the greatness of the pleasure of worshiping in the next world by distance from Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and being in the abode of His wrath Subhanahu wa ta'ala that these links and these living links to this tradition one of the things that we used to remember is that in the times where we spent in the short time that we spent with some of the great scholars of Murtutanya is that every time that you would leave them is that they would shake your hand and they would quote verses of taqwa and that they would give you this last parting advice a taqwa a taqwa and they would remind you in a sense in a similar way that the Prophet ﷺ did is that it taqwa laheithum aakunts have piety and have taqwa wherever you might be and so that as you part from them is you take this with you and that you understand that ultimately that everything that we do in life can be understood in one of the five rulings of the sacred law and that we need to be aware of this and this is the greatest thicker of all is to be reminded of the hukum and the ruling of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala before we embark upon anything so that we know that when we do something we're doing something based upon knowledge and that we know if it's something that we should do we know then we want to scrutinize our intentions also so that we can make sure that we do it for His sake Subhanahu wa ta'ala and that in this other aspect of this link is that we know is that these are these living scholars that are still with us that are people of taqwa they have an ability to single out and give advice to people in ways that were you to take oftentimes that what is a very short phrase or a few words as you find in it is guidance for the rest of your life then perhaps this is the indication that just as our Prophet had you I'm a column that some of his inheritors approximate that in a way that is befitting of them as members of the Ummah of our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam they've also be given a reflection of these comprehensive words that our Prophet was given sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and if I think back to these experiences that with these busted people one of the things when I first went to the place that I did my primary studies is that I had heard a statement that the one of the teachers had said is that the sincere person in the school the sincere student that it is sufficient for them to remain here for two days now obviously what is not meant by this is the our dimension of study this is something like any other profession in life if you're going to be a cardiologist that you have to go through years and years and years of 20 plus years of training if you're going to be an engineer likewise if you're going to do any trade or crap whatever it might be is that you have to go to it through extensive training if you're going to master anything you have to be willing to invest at least 10,000 hours of your life to reach a level of mastery of whatever it is that you are doing but these keys that they were then given and when this was mentioned to this teacher is that he paused for a moment he was deeply affected by these words and the reason he was deeply affected by these words because he realized is that the reality of this statement requires that a certain person has these traits that he was then going to mention and that these traits are great with Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala and that we tend to often times in the the world and the reign of quantity to relegate practicality to the outward dimension that we relegate a greatness to the outward dimension but the true aspect of greatness ultimately even though there always is going to be an outward dimension is that the tafawat in the various degrees of greatness is all an internal reality so when he was asked about this statement is that he paused and then he went on to say five different traits and the reason they were mentioned is this is because this is one of the most powerful pieces of advice I've ever received and it is not just for me this is something that could be applied to whether someone is studying in a traditional school or any from any person from any walk of life that is doing anything that it is that they might be doing is it all can be that applied to it so the very first thing that he said of these five traits is Taqwee taniyati wal Azimah is that we learn to strengthen our intention and attain resolution we strengthen need to learn to strengthen our attention intention and attain resolution Azimah is that once you reach a state of resolution is that then you have to place your trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala but the intention is one of these that mysterious if you will aspects of our Dean that oftentimes is neglected in our communities but if we look at the early people is that they used to say is that the son of the righteous predecessors used to teach their children intention the way that they would teach him a chapter of the Quran and it is shocking to see how long so many Muslims have been Muslim for all of their life but never once oftentimes if they sat down to hear the discourse of intention and his intention is important because it relates to what makes us uniquely human it's the way we exercise our volition or freedom of choice so whatever you choose to call it as Imam al-Junei said what you love I'm who that ultimately it is the intention that will lead someone to be eternally in paradise or eternally in the fire it all gets back to intention in the way that we exercise our freedom of choice and being aware of that intention and that we know that there's various degrees that first start with a suggestion or thought and then leads to a desire that is stirred up in our soul and then leads to a hook them in a judgment that you give it and then needs to an intention that we make and finally we have resolution before the act that we do being aware of this process is extremely extremely important and notice the word here not just to have intention because that's for everyone and one of the foundational hadith of this religion is the in the manna matter vinyat hadith that we've all heard however here the word says taqia is that we learn to strengthen our intentions so when we come to juma we don't just mosey on in and that just okay I have to this is something I have to do have a little bit of time I'll work and I'm going to go back which one of us made a conscious intention that this is juma this is the greatest day that the shun has shown upon according to our prophet sallallahu alaihi sallam such that when we walk through that door that we are prepared entering into a baton beauty love this is a house of Allah it is affiliated and attributed to Allah and that our heart comes to life as a result of this so that when we're sitting in juma is that we actually are prepared in our heart to hear something what might benefit us not just thinking how we can quickly get a meal and get back to work and we respect everyone's works commitments and someone's feasibility they're working for the sake of Allah to provide for the families so not to take from that in the slightest however is that learning to strengthen our intentions and everything that we do even when you're at the workplace what is your intention you get the reward for an obligation if your intention is to provide for your family and to be able to provide for yourself so you don't have to extend your hand and ask for other people and to ask for other people learning to strengthen our intention and if we can reach this level where we soon have resolved that then it opens up all different types of goodness for us and that if we think about for instance in the blessed month of Ramadan which is coming soon we're now in the blessed month of Rajab and this is a time that even though in general that the people who came before us would prepare six months before Ramadan but especially the two months before and then blessed month of Rajab and the month of Shabban just before that we reach Ramadan this is a time of preparation what are the intentions that we are making now what are we practically doing to prepare for it so that when that blessed month of Ramadan enters is that we have something of this Azimah of this firm resolution and it is this firm resolution is that whatever we start to do something for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that we will be blessed to finish it it is the Azimah and the resolution that allows you to get through it that if we stand up and pray you might have a good intention but it is that Azimah and that firm resolution as you stand in prayer and the thoughts come to scatter your mind to think about other things and to take an internal voyage and abandon what is happening and being present in the moment but it is that Azimah that's going to allow you to bring yourself back and to be able to be conscious simultaneously of the specific position that you are in and the prayer and what it is that you are saying simultaneously this is possible that if you watch carefully over your heart so this is the first piece of a device in ultimately everything that comes after it is encompassed in it is that the more that the reality of the strengthens in our heart making good intentions and strengthening those intentions having it lead to firm resolution and all of our different affairs is that the more wonderful things that we will have happened in our lives the second aspect is is the second thing that he said is that when he was asked that how can we be from these people that come and that two days is sufficient for him and really what he's indicating here is that this relates to what you could call your estate dad that you're preparing us and this is the Sunnah of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the earth generally speaking the more you come prepared or something the more you'll get out of it if you go to an interviewer and you're not prepared it's going to show that if you go to a test and you're not prepared for it's going to show is that even the greatest of athletes is that they're great because their practice that is done right and then it becomes permanent not perfect unless they practice perfectly is that the greatest athletes they're the ones who actually practice the most even though they have a God given ability and whatever it is that they're doing is that this aspect that relates to preparing ourselves for whatever affair that we were embarking upon and the second thing that he said was is that we have to strive to purify our hearts this is something we have to be convinced of and I hope everyone here is convinced of it about how it is related to this Dean and this is something that we have to then further going through a long drawn-out process to the day that we meet our Lord subhanahu wa ta'ala of constantly purifying our heart more and more uprooting from it that which is displeasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that learning about the theoretical dimension of it and then watching over the heart and seeing the way that this appears and then replacing it with what is beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala working hard and notice the word here is it's tihad that if we're going to work towards purification of the heart it is not easy because the nature of the human being is that we are susceptible to have a broad array of things come to our heart at any moment and from the bounty of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala if you see things being from him is that he will generally speaking put you through in a normal lifespan a variety of different circumstances whereby you can come to know the state of your heart and you can come to know what it is that you need to be worked on and in particular the greatest at the top of the list is marriage and that if you propose you confront marriage like this is that using it as a way to determine that the what is held what is realized dormant within your heart and the various diseases that are associated with the or that if you are spend a lot of time in close with someone and then you travel with them or you go into business with them or you start an organization with them you will see wonders that come from Betty Adam and you will find that amazing things that are like torment in the hearts and that only rise in certain circumstances so this is a second thing that he mentioned after strengthening our intention entertaining resolution is working hard to purify the heart the third trait that he gave was the following is stem sakin betta wall do I what in kisar al khal is that in hearing firmly to a perpetual state of humility and brokenness of heart this has to be present in us wherever we are is that we cannot be arrogant and think we are better than an ant and this is not metaphor this is reality if we think we're better than that ant that is crawling on the window sill is that we still have traces of ignorance in our heart because the reality is we do not know in adamant objects even you can't even think you're better than our rock it would a beautiful dean that we have because everything that is in adamant ultimately whether it be from the mineral kingdom or the plant kingdom that it will ultimately be in ultimately perish except for the very few things that a lot of us decreed is going to be in paradise with the believers aside from those things and the various divisions of the makhl pot and the lot of his creation that everything is going to perish kuru sheen halakun illa wajha everything is perishing except his noble countenance subhanahu wa ta'ala so that we can't even think we're better than an inanimate object and this is the way of the believer is that they're more humility that we have the more broken that we are the more that we are opening ourselves with the divine outpour of mercy because this is the nature and we find in the tree one of the greatest of all examples is that the tree has roots and because it is low in the earth it is the earth that receives the rain and rain is a metaphor for mercy so if we want to receive the mercy of Allah ta'ala is that we have to be humble and one of my teachers heard his teacher say that if you're going to compete with anyone in anything you should compete with them in humility is it see who can be the more humble or the most humble and what does that mean humility is that oftentimes people misunderstand this great trait what it means is is that you are aware before your lord of your own faults you are actively don't think that you are better than anyone or anything it doesn't mean that you stand for justice if there's not an opportunity for you to stand for justice was it what it means is internally in your heart you do not think you're better than anyone and you're conscious of that and on top of that is that you are broken before Allah your heart is brittle before Allah outwardly with people you interact with interact with them according and that inwardly though is that you are broken and these are the people that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is with and then the next piece of advice that he gave was personal one month after him so the first three traits are for our own selves is that strengthening our intention purifying our hearts and constantly remaining humble the fourth piece of advice relates to other people and if we could understand the secret of this that is having a good opinion of others is that good that having a good opinion of others will prevent you from being enslaved to Allah's creation because how many people that there are so preoccupied with other people are doing with what other people are thinking with what other people are saying they can spend their life they in and they out preoccupied preoccupied preoccupied with other people if we would simply just have personal one and have a good opinion of people is that you would spare yourself so much toil and so much trouble you would sleep better you would be less you'd have less stress if you just learn how to have personal one and it's always amazing is that people's interpretations of things is that sometimes you just might be bothered by something might not have been paying attention you might have been excessively tired you might have just stayed up all night you don't know people don't know what you just went through and that they completely misinterpret your body language or something you did or didn't do that were someone simply just to have a good opinion of others and strive to do so is that you would save your heart so much dissonance and so much energy because that we should not think that the only way to exert energy is the outward dimension of physical movement of exercise and things like that and in fact that exerting ourselves inwardly and thought at times is actually makes us much more tired than any physical type of exercise and so that when we preoccupy ourselves and we direct our energy towards negativity and ill feelings and so forth this has a drastic impact on every single layer of our health primarily our spiritual religious health and that if we would simply learn how to have a good opinion of others and strive to find excuses for our brother and that think about how much healthier communities would be think about how much more purity we'd have in our hearts when we come to pray next to our brothers and sisters for the sake of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and his final piece of advice with the following ma'a muwasalat al-Ama is that you do the afore above mention things but you have a regime you have a Tartee that you set up in your days and in your nights and in your weeks and in your months a set regime where I wish you organize your time accordingly that every Muslim is in need of this is that we are taught this ultimately in the prayer is that there are five prayers at specific times and that even if we have difficulty sometimes having our outward lives revolve around those prayers it should be our goal is that the five prayers are the pivot they're the axis of our day and that we should ideally pray all of our prayers in the beginning of the time in congregation if we can in a masjid but at least with the blessings that we have with the masjid that are now growing in most communities in the places like the United States of America we should strive to play Salat al-Fajr and Salat al-Isha in congregation in the masjid if we were able to and I remember one time when I was studying that the Adhan was called and the prayer was going to that the Aqaba was going to be after about 10 minutes and I wanted to go somewhere and do something very quickly and I was intending to make the prayer the man who was that in charge of this place that he was leaving and he was about to lock the door and I asked him could I just just one minute go in quickly and come back out and he looked at me like I was great in this person I don't even think know how to read or write and he looked at me and he said do you want me to spend the night tonight out of the protection of Allah he said do you want me to spend the night tonight out of the protection of Allah because he knew is that whoever prays Salat al-Isha in a congregation who ever prays the Isha prayer he will sleep in the protection of Allah this is an Amni this is a common person that this was his level of understanding is that this was his level of awareness is that we all have to have a program or a regime in our lives and one of the things that the scholar said is that this is the way that we have blessing in our lives is the way that we receive blessing in our lives by having set things that we do at seven set times and that we have a cornucopia of different types of devotion and worship and if we sprinkle it in over our day in our week in our month is that you will find that there is a special blessing from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in each one of these things so if we do these things people open up great doors that whether we have a career whether we are in school or whether whatever it is that we are doing mad Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to give us to tofiq