Habib Umar’s riveting talk at Sultan Mosque: Night of Mahabbah November 2016
Alhamdulillah, we were blessed with the presence of Habib Umar bin Hafiz as he gave a riveting and hair-raising talk last night at Sultan Mosque. Here are some notes from the talk. All mistakes are my own and please leave a comment or email me for any edits necessary.
– The judgment of Allah on someone is for eternity. If someone is humiliated on the Day of Judgment, this is also for eternity. Once Allah has judged everyone, any judgment that was given on Earth will be useless and futile. The judgments before will vanish like it never existed.
– Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, as recorded in Tirmidhi, “The closest to me on the Day of Resurrection is the one who sent the most salawat on me.” The stronghold of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah, from the time of the Companions to today is to make abundant salawat, either individually or in groups, in secret or in public.
– Ubayy ibn Ka‘b said: “Ya RasulAllah, I send a great deal of blessings upon you; how much of my du‘aa’ should be sending blessings upon you? He ﷺ said: “Whatever you wish.” I said: One quarter? He ﷺ said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more, that will be better.” I said: One half? He ﷺ said: “Whatever you wish and if you do more, that will be better.” I said: Two thirds? He ﷺ said: “Whatever you wish and if you do more, that will be better.” I said: I will make all of my du‘aa’ for you. He ﷺ said: “Then your concerns will be taken care of and all your sins will be forgiven.”
– If someone is protected from the problems of dunya, then what could possibly bother him? If all his sins are forgiven then what problems will he have in the Hereafter? Therefore, salawat leads to happiness here and hereafter!
– Make your hearts present as your Lord is paying attention to what goes on in it. Prepare to get the Gaze from Ar-Rahman. He sees all that is hidden. Who else should we honor and be in awe of?
– All our promise/contracts between companies and organisations – they are all lower than our promise and covenant to Him which is great. O you who believe, verily Allah has taken a great and supreme covenant from you that is written in the Qur’an. Have we understood the agreement that we took? Have we truly taken the promise and fulfilled it? With words, heart and soul?
– The relation between believers is one of brotherhood (persaudaraan). Whether between individuals or in a group, if it’s not based on brotherhood, it is bathil. The responsibility of brothers is to fulfill rights. Allah emphasized that when 2 people are in conflict, they have to be reconciled. Due to its importance, Allah gave tips on how to do it and looks at our heart. In the Qur’an, Allah tells us to have taqwa. For the one who reconciles 2 people in conflict, Allah promised to unite him with who he loves in the hereafter. And for the one who separates someone from another, Allah promised to cut him off from who he loves in the hereafter.
– Allah told us to use our tongue wisely in doing so (reconciliation). In the Qur’an, it is said that no good is there in their speech except when it is filled with asking to do charity, to do good and to reconcile people (islah). Giving charity, enjoining good and reconciliation all bring good to a lot of people. Allah asks us to use our tongue to achieve these 3. Allah promised that anyone who does this will find His Pleasure and a great reward.
– How many words have we uttered today? Do our conversations involve the 3 things, or other things? Do we not speak day and night, to family, friends, colleagues and to everyone? Allah created us and with that tongue we use it for all kinds of things. If He wanted, He wouldn’t allow us to speak. If He charged us for every word we utter, we’ll be more careful with what we say. But we speak without being charged and with such ease. Do you think your words do not have its danger and it will not be called to account one day? Indeed the 2 Recording Angels are constantly recording all our speech, even the sigh from a sick person. Rasulullah ﷺ said, If someone believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak good or remain silent.
– Rasulullah ﷺ said to Mu’az, Allah will throw someone headfirst into Hellfire because of his tongue. Most of what breaks relations is words. Either by demeaning others, protesting, arguing, backbiting, speaking ill of others etc, these words lead to conflict. Because of that, Allah said in Surah al-Isra’, “Say to My servants that they should (only) say those things that are best: for Satan does sow dissensions among them: For Satan is to man an avowed enemy.”
– Rasulullah ﷺ admonished Sayyidatina Aishah when she insinuated that Safiyyah is short in height. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “You have said something that if the words were put in the ocean, it would have turned the ocean into filth.”
– Rasulullah ﷺ said no one believes until he loves for others what he loves for himself. How noble and exalted is his character, ﷺ! Rasulullah ﷺ taught us the best of morals but what do we do with his teachings? We must all reflect on the covenant we took with Allah to not do anything that will break that covenant. If we break the covenant of brotherhood because of worldly treasure, then the heavenly treasure will elude us. If we break the brotherhood relations because of status and rank, then what we are sacrificing is our rank with Allah.
– Rasulullah ﷺ sat and watched the patience of Sayyidina Abu Bakar as someone insulted him over and over. Sayyidina Abu Bakar kept silent until a certain point when he responded. As soon as he did, Rasulullah ﷺ stood up and left. Seeing this, Sayyidina Abu Bakar ran after him and said, “Ya Rasulallah, are you disappointed? Didn’t you see how he kept insulting me whereas I replied only once?” Rasulullah ﷺ said, “When you kept silent, I saw the angels come near and replied to his insults on your behalf. But when you responded, the angels left and shaytaan came instead. And I do not sit where shaytaan is present.”
– A hadith as guidance to avoid argumentation: “Whoever does not argue when he is in the wrong will have a home built for him on the edge of Paradise. Whoever avoids it when he in the right will have a home built for him in the middle of Paradise. And whoever improves his own character, a home will be built for him in the highest part of Paradise.”
– If someone says they are cutting ties with someone for Allah, then think deeply. If your conflict with someone is about the religion and denial and rejection of Islam, and their rejection is clear and without doubt, then place the person in the category of a disbeliever. But if your difference is because of a difference of opinion, then you cannot judge them with kufur based on your opinion or your teacher.
– If someone has similarities in belief with you, such that you and them believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Revealed Books and the Angels and Qada’ and Qadr etc, then you have no right to remove him from the fold of Islam because he believes what you believe.
– If you have placed someone in the category of a disbeliever (kafir), then Allah has determined that your relationship with them should be one of ihsan (mercy and goodness). And when it’s your own parents who are disbelievers who are forcing you to disobey Allah, you are still to treat them well. That is the order of Allah on how you should behave towards a non-Muslim.
– It should not happen that someone who lives in a non-Muslim-majority country and recently accepts Islam who then refuses to speak or eat with his non-Muslim parents. That is against Islam. If the child distances and misbehaves with his parents, his parents will hate Islam because of him and that is far from what Allah instructed.
– It is very dangerous to label someone a kafir when the scholars are not unanimously agreeing to something being wrong and/or bringing someone out of the fold of Islam. Show us one verse from the Qur’an that proves that anyone who does tawassul or tabarruk or makes du’a loudly, that it is kafir to do so? We’ll see that this issue is one of difference of opinion by scholars and we’ll see that no one has a right to label those who partake in this as kafir.
– When you want to forbid evil (mungkar), you need to determine that the evil is something that is agreed upon unanimously. If you have authority over the person, or you have the power as a governing body etc, then you can forbid the evil but only if your attempts in forbidding it does not cause a greater harm.
– Someone was brought to the Prophet ﷺ to be punished because of consuming alcohol. This happened for a second and a third time. After the third time, someone said, “May Allah curse him.” Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “Don’t be a helper to shaytaan against your brother!”
– Habib Umar also mentioned the following hadith: “You will not enter Paradise until you believe and you will not believe until you love each other. Shall I show you something that, if you did, you would love each other? Spread peace (salaam) between yourselves.”
– If anyone gladdens a Muslim’s heart, Allah will create an angel to ask for his forgiveness until the Day of Judgment. The angel will accompany this person in the grave and all the way until he gets to heaven.
– Forgive and love one another, this is the message of your religion.
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Ameera Begum
Ameera is the Editor of Muzlimbuzz.sg and a chronic reader.
Ameera is the Editor of Muzlimbuzz.sg and a chronic reader.
