From Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri (May Aallah be pleased with him) who narrated that: “The Prophet (sallAllahu alyhi wasallam) entered into the Masjid one day and found therein a man among the Ansar (the helpers of Islam) by the name Abu Umamah and he (the prophet) asked him: ‘O Abu Umamah, why do I see you sitting down in the Masjid when it is not prayer time?’. He (Abu Umamah) replied: ‘O prophet of Allah, I have been inflicted with anxieties and burden of debts’. Then the prophet (sallAllahu ‘alyhi wasallam) said: “shall I teach you a statement, when you say it, Allah will relieve you of your anxieties and settle for you your debts?’, he (Abu umamah) said: ‘O yes the prophet of Allah’. He (the prophet) said: ‘when you wake up either in the morning or in the evening, say:
‘O Allah , I take refuge in You from anxiety and sorrow, weakness and laziness, miserliness and cowardice, the burden of debts and being overpowered by men’. Abu Umamah said that ‘I did all this recommendation of the prophet and Allah eased me of my anxieties and burden of debt.'”
(Collected by Abu Dawud)
Explanation of the Du’aa to alleviate Grief, Distress and Anxiety
The Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم he said as reported by the noble companion Abdullah ibn Mas’ood رضي اللّه عنه and reported by Imaam Ahmad in his Musnad. (Arabic) اللَّهُـمَّ إِنِّـي عَبْـدُكَ، إبْـنُ أَمَتِـكَ، the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said
No slave is afflicted with anxiety and grief and then says, O Allaah I am your slave son of your male slave, son of your female slave, نَاصِـيَتي بِيـدِكَ my forehead is in your Hand, مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُـكَ،and Your judgment upon me is assured, عَـدْلٌ فِـيَّ قَضَـاءُكَ، and whatever You have decreed for me is just, أسْـأَلُكَ بِكُـلِّ اسْمٍ هُـوَ لَك I ask You by every name belonging to You سَـمَّيْتَ بِـهِ نَفْسَـكَwhich You have named Yourself,فِـي كِتَـابِكَ ، أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ or You have revealed in Your Book, أَوْ عَلَّمْتَـهُ أَحَـدًا مِـنْ خَلْقِـكَ or You taught one of Your creation, أَوِ اسْـتَأْثَـرْتَ بِهِ فِـي عِلْـمِ الْغَيْـبِ عِنْـدَكَ or You have preserved knowledge of that Name with You in the Unseen, I ask You that You make the Qur’aan the spring of my heart,أَنْ تَجْعَـلَ القُـرْآنَ رَبِيَـعَ قَلْبِي ، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي ، and the light of my chest, وَجَـلاَءَ حُـزْنِي وَذَهَـابَ هَمِّـي ، a banisher for my grief and a reliever for my anxiety.”
The Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said, “إِلاَّ أَذْهَبَ اللّهُ حُزْنَهُ وَهَمَّهُ وَأَبْدَلَ مَكَانَهُ فَرَحَا whoever says this Allaah سبحان وتعلى will replace his distress and grief with joy.
The Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم was asked “O Messenger of Allaah should we not learn this? He صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said, “Certainly! It is proper and befitting for the one who hears of this supplication that they learn it.”
Brothers and sisters this hadith reported by Imaam Ahmad contains amazing benefits.
Benefits that are important to each and every one of us because there is not one of us except he will be met with trials and tribulations and this is a test from Allaah سبحان وتعلى, to distinguish between those who are truthful and those who are faking. Allaah عزّ وجل He said in the Noble Qur’aan in Surathul Baqarah verse 155,
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الأَمْوَالِ وَالأنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ
Certainly we shall test you with fear, hunger, loss of wealth, life and fruits but give glad tidings to the patient”
Imaam Sa’adi رحمح الله تعلى mentions in his explanation of the Qur’aan ‘Taysir al Kareem ar Rahman’ explaining this verse, he said, (Arabic) “Allaah the Most High informs us that He would definitely test His servants. (Arabic) So, the one who is truthful can be distinguished from the one who is faking and is a liar.” So, the one who is annoyed and irrational can be recognized from the one who is patient. And this is the Sunnah of Allaah عزّ وجل. So from this verse we benefit that each and every one of us will meet a test. Depending upon our reaction, then this will show whether we are from those people who are patient or from those people who are irrational and impatient.
With regards to this hadith then I will use some of the words of the people of knowledge to explain it. Ibnul Qayyim رحمح الله تعلى firstly and foremostly, and some of the other scholars from amongst the people of knowledge. In this life as Shaykh Abdur Razak he mentions the slave is tried with a variety of painful experiences. These painful experiences they affect the heart, causing it to become restless and they cause pain to the soul. Also it may be disturbing and stressful, what you have suffered and experienced.
Now brothers and sisters there is something that you have to understand and this is an important point mentioned by Ibnul Qayyim and others,
if the pain that you have experienced (Arabic) if it is related to things that have happened in the past, then this is sadness. Understand this. If the pain that has afflicted the heart is connected to something that has happened in the past, then this is sadness. Huzn.
And if it is connected to something that you expect and fear will happen in the future then this is worry, Hamm, and
if it is related to something that is going on in your life right now then this is anxiety or stress.
And there is no way to remove these three things from the heart unless we truly return back to Allaah عزّ وجل and humble ourselves before Allaah. Surrendering to Allaah عزّ وجل and accepting His command and believing in His pre-decree. And knowing His Names and Attributes and believing in His Book. And reading the Qur’aan and contemplating upon it and acting upon it. This is the only way that you can remove sadness, worry and anxiety from the qalb (heart).
And I say to you that this supplication, dua is not something only meant to be said upon the tongue.
Many people they make dua or they mention various adkhar and it is just a movement of the tongue. There is no feeling in the heart. And that is why Ibnul Qayyim رحمح الله تعلى mentioned in his book ‘al Fawaid’ (Arabic) the most superior remembrance and the most beneficial form of remembrance is that which is found in the heart and it is spoken upon the tongue. (Arabic) And the one who is mentioning Allaah the one who is supplicating to Allaah, invoking Allaah he should understand the meaning of what they are saying and the intent behind it. And this is why we are explaining this hadith brothers and sisters today.
Many people make dua, many people make dhikr but they don’t understand what they are saying and they don’t understand the intent behind it. So therefore they may not achieve what they expected to achieve due to the deficiency in themselves.
Another thing before I continue to explain this hadith using the words of the people of knowledge ahlul ilmi wal fadl is that when we make dua to Allaah عزّ وجل, and this is important, we have to supplicate to Allaah سبحان وتعلى with love, fear and hope
What is the proof? Allaah عزّ وجل, He said in the Qur’aan,
أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ
Those whom they call upon like Jesus, the angels those whom they call upon themselves desire for themselves a means of access to their Lord. They themselves want to become closer to Allaah azza wa jal. Which of them should be the nearest? And they, referring to Jesus, Uzair, the angels and their likes, they hope for His Mercy and fear His torment. Surah al Isra v. 57
So ad-dua when we supplicate to Allaah عزّ وجل we have to supplicate to Allaah عزّ وجل with love, with fear and with hope. That is the dua, the supplication that is beneficial, that is the dua insha Allahu ta’ala that will be like a sword for the believer.
And Shaykh Abdur Razak he mentions, “(Arabic) speaking about the words mentioned by the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم in this hadith, in this dua, he said these are some amazing words that every Muslim should learn. It is not difficult a few lines. Every Muslim should learn so that they can utter them when they are faced with a trial or a test where they experience sorrow, anxiety or worry.
Look what the Shaykh he says, “(Arabic) however it should be understood that these words they are only beneficial if they are correctly understood and the intent behind them is actualized and realized and a person behaves appropriately.
If you make the supplication and your mind is elsewhere or you make the dua and you are thinking about something else, or you make the dua and in reality you don’t understand what you are saying, how will this really be beneficial to you? I have seen many times when you say to somebody, “Akhi ittakillah and seek refuge from the Shaytaan what your doing, what you are saying is not something that is good.” They say “authubillahi minashaytaani rajeem” without any type of contemplation about what they say and that is why the evil that comes from their mouth or their behaviour might be worse than that which was before. Why? Is it because the statement authubillahi minashaytaani rajeem is not beneficial? No! that is not the case. Because if somebody said authubillahi minashaytaani rajeem, contemplating upon the meaning thinking about that which it means and the intent behind it, then when they said those words when they uttered those words with their tongue Allaah سبحان وتعلى will protect them from the accursed Shaytaan. That is why Shaykh Abdur Razak he said, these words are only beneficial (Arabic) these supplications they are only beneficial if a person correctly understands what they are saying and the intent behind the dua is realized and actualized and a person acts appropriately. As for just mimicking the supplications and the ad’iyah, as for just mimicking the various prophetic supplications and remembrance without understanding the meanings then he said, (Arabic) then this will have little effect and no benefits.
So we are not only advising ourselves firstly and foremostly we are not only advising our brothers and sisters to learn it we are advising them to learn it and understand it because as Allaah عزّ وجل informs us in the Qur’aan, there will be a time where a person experiences these things, experiences sadness, experiences anxiety, experiences worry, but here is a prophetic cure a supplication that will remove all of that. And all of us are in need of this. No matter how strong you think you are, no matter how perfect you may believe you are, no matter how important you may believe you are, we are all in need of this as will become apparent when we explain this supplication Insha Allahu ta’ala.
Shaykh Abdur Razak he mentions (Arabic) if we were to study this dua this supplication, the supplication which I mentioned to you at the beginning of the dars, when the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said, no slave is afflicted with anxiety and grief and then says “O Allaah I am your slave son of your male slave, the son of your female slave, my forehead is in your Hand, and Your judgment upon me is assured, and whatever You have decreed for me is just. I ask You by every name belonging to You, which You have named Yourself, or You have revealed in Your Book, or You taught one of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of that Name with You in the Unseen, I ask You that You make the Qur’aan the spring of my heart, and the light of my chest, a banisher for my grief and a reliever for my anxiety” except that Allaah will replace his distress and replace it with joy.
So Shaykh Abdur Razak he said if we study this dua this supplication we find that it comprises four important fundamentals. And there is no way to achieve happiness and banish the anxiety, worry and sadness unless these four fundamentals are understood and implemented.
What are these four fundamentals?
The first fundamental : worshipping Allaah سبحان وتعلى alone and totally humbling oneself before Him and surrendering to Him
Brothers and sisters (Arabic) The first fundamental that is found in this dua, (Arabic) the first fundamental that is found in this hadith in this dua is worshipping Allaah سبحان وتعلى alone and totally humbling oneself before Him and surrendering to Him, because look, the slave he acknowledges he is part of the creation of Allaah and he recognizes that similarly his fathers and his mothers starting from his biological father and mother all the way to Adam and Hawwa all of his fathers and mothers all of them are part of the creation of Allaah سبحان وتعلى and they belong to Allaah سبحان وتعلى. Look, when the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said in the supplication, “اللَّهُـمَّ إِنِّـي عَبْـدُكَ، إبْـنُ أَمَتِـكَ، O Allaah! I am your slave the son of your male slave, the son of your female slave”, (Arabic) all of them belong to Allaah عزّ وجل, Allaah is their Creator, their Lord, their Master, the one Who controls their affairs and there is not a moment where they are not in need of Allaah عزّ وجل. And they do not have anyone to protect them, they do not have anyone to shelter them except Allaah سبحان وتعلى.
“O Allaah! I am your slave the son of your male slave, the son of your female slave”, when a person says that he comes down from that pedestal that he has placed himself upon, he humbles himself before Allaah. No matter how great you may seem in this dunya, no matter how much people praise you, no matter how much people try to be like you, no matter what you try and present about yourself you are a slave of Allaah. Remember that ya Abdullah. We are all slaves of Allaah سبحان وتعلى and we are nothing. We belong to Allaah and Allaah is in control of us. Allaah سبحان وتعلى is the one who can benefit us. Allaah سبحان وتعلى is the one who can harm us. If you supplicate to Allaah humbling yourself before Allaah عزّ وجل that is the start, that is the beginning.
And look there is no difference between a rich man and a poor man. There is no difference between a black man and a white man. There is no difference between an African and an Asian or an Arab. There is no difference between the one who is poor and the one who is rich. The one who has a nice thobe and the one who has a dirty thobe or a thobe with holes, no difference between somebody who lives in the west and somebody who lives in the east, when they supplicate to Allaah عزّ وجل they say, “ اللَّهُـمَّ إِنِّـي عَبْـدُكَ، إبْـنُ أَمَتِـكَ،, O Allaah! I am your slave, the son of your male slave, the son of your female slave”, again when a person says this he causes them to humble themselves and it removes kibr, haughtiness and arrogance from the heart. Because haughtiness and arrogance is what, rejecting the truth and looking down upon people. So when you say this, “O Allaah! I am your slave, the son of your male slave, the son of your female slave”, lineage does not matter. It does not matter if you come from this tribe or that tribe because your father is a slave of Allaah, like your mother is a slave of Allaah, it doesn’t matter we all belong to Allaah عزّ وجل.
However as Ibn Qayyim رحمح الله تعلى mentions, when we say “O Allaah! I am your slave, the son of your male slave, the son of your female slave,” this slave is a slave who is obedient to Allaah عزّ وجل, because the servants of Allaah سبحان وتعلى are divided into two categories. Those slaves of Allaah who are obedient, those slaves of Allaah who are righteous, those slaves of Allaah who are upon the correct path. Allaah عزّ وجل refers to them in the Qur’aan
وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْنً
The slaves of Ar Rahman of Allah the Most Merciful, they are those who walk upon the earth with humility Surah al Furqan v. 63
Not with arrogance and pride.
Then you have the second category and this is the whole of the creation the whole of the creation are the slaves of Allaah, they are servants of Allaah in the sense that they are all subservient to the command of Allaah they are all under the control of Allaah عزّ وجل. However this hadith is referring to what? O Allaah! I am your slave an obedient slave not a rebellious slave I am a slave with obedience and I try to be righteous. So that is the first important fundamental found in that supplication.
Second fundamental : Believe in the pre-decree of Allaah
(Arabic) The Shaykh he mentioned the second fundamental to be found in that hadith that we have to understand in order for that supplication to benefit us, in order for that supplication to remove that sorrow, in order for that supplication to remove that grief or that worry or that anxiety or that sadness he said (Arabic) that the slave should believe in the pre-decree of Allaah عزّ وجل and the predetermination that Allaah سبحان وتعلى He decrees for the creation and the slave should believe that which Allaah سبحان وتعلى wills to happen will happen and that which Allaah does not will to happen will not happen. And they should believe that no one can overturn the judgment of Allaah سبحان وتعلى like, nobody can object to the decree of Allaah سبحان وتعلى.
And that is why the Prophet Muhammad صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said in this dua, “نَاصِـيَتي بِيـدِكَ my forelock, my forehead is in Your Hand, Your judgment upon me is assured and what You have decreed for me is just.” Fannasia thul abd, and we all know that annasia thul abd is the front of your head is in the Hand of Allaah سبحان وتعلى. (Arabic) Allaah سبحان وتعلى does with the slave with that which He chooses. And (Arabic) Allaah سبحان وتعلى pronounces judgment upon the slave as Allaah سبحان وتعلى chooses and no one can turn the judgment of Allaah عزّ وجل. So if you understand this ikhwaan if we understand this brothers and sisters then we will know as the Shaykh he mentioned (Arabic) the life of the servant and his death, his happiness and his misery, his well being and his trial, his test, all of that is under the control of Allaah سبحان وتعلى and he has no power whatsoever to change any of it.
And if the servant believes that his forelock and the forehead of the rest of the creation all of them are in the Hand of Allaah سبحان وتعلى alone and Allaah سبحان وتعلى does with them that which He chooses (Arabic) then what would be the result? If you believe that Allaah عزّ وجل is truly in control of your affair then you will not place your hope in the creation. Because I am telling you one thing brothers and sisters and you most probably have experienced it more than me because many of you are most probably senior to me in age, that when you place your hope in people, they let you down. When you place your hope in people, they let you down. When you expect them to be there they are absent. Why? because, they have no control over your affairs. Similarly as the Shaykh he mentioned in this explanation (Arabic) before that you will not fear any of them you will not fear them you fear Allaah سبحان وتعلى because only Allaah can benefit you. only Allaah سبحان وتعلى can alleviate and remove you from that situation that you are in. And you will not treat the creation like if they are kings that possess and have any control over anything.
And if you behave in that fashion, if you have that belief you don’t place your hope in the creation, you do not fear them in that fashion, that they don’t deserve to be feared, you will not treat them as if they are kings. If you are a person that understands this fundamental and abides by that which it necessitates (Arabic) your Tawheed will be firm and your tawaqqul reliance on Allaah will be firm and your servitude of Allaah will be firm and that is why Hud as the Shaykh mentioned عليهِ صلات وسّلام he said to his people
“إِنِّي تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللّهِ رَبِّي وَرَبِّكُم
I place my reliance in Allaah عزّ وجل my Lord and your Lord,” Surah Hud v. 56
Why? because Hud عليهِ صلات وسّلام he understood, he understood that Allaah سبحان وتعلى is in control of everything.
مَّا مِن دَابَّةٍ إِلاَّ هُوَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهَا
There is not a beast or an animal or anything that walks the earth except Allaah سبحان وتعلى is in control of their affair. Except Allaah سبحان وتعلى takes hold of their forelock.” Surah Hud v. 56
When the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم looking at this dua, when the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said, “مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُـكَ ، your judgment upon me is assured,” then as Ibnul Qayyim رحمح الله تعلى he mentions in his book Fawaaid ul Fawaaid (unsure) he said, (Arabic) this sentence here it contains two things. (Arabic) That Allaah’s judgment upon his servant has already been decided. Allaah’s judgment upon his servant has already been decided.
At-thani (second) When the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم in the dua, “عَـدْلٌ فِـيَّ قَضَـاءُكَ، that your decree for me is just.” then this shows that Allaah سبحان وتعلى, His decision is just. For Allaah سبحان وتعلى Maaliki yawmideen the Possessor of the heavens and the earth and everything that is in them and between them, the Creator of mankind, the Lord of the whole of the creation. With all of that He is just. As Allaah سبحان وتعلى said in the Qur’aan,
“وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِّلْعَبِيد and your Lord is never oppressive to His servants”. Surah Fussilat v. 46
So we should believe firmly in our hearts as the Shaykh mentions in his explanation that every decision of Allaah and everything that Allaah has decreed about His servants whether it is his health or whether it is sickness, wealth or poverty, a sensation or a pain, life or death, punishment or forgiveness and everything else all of this is Just سبحان وتعلى.
The third fundamental : Belief in the names and perfect attributes of Allaah
The third fundamental that is found in this hadith, (Arabic) “that the slave should believe in the names of Allaah, the beautiful names of Allaah and the perfect attributes of Allaah that have been found in the Qur’aan and the Sunnah and he should use them to supplicate to Allaah سبحان وتعلى. As Allaah, He said in the Qur’aan,
“وَلِلّهِ الأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا
And Allaah سبحان وتعلى has the most beautiful Names. So call upon Him by them”. Surah al A’raf v. 180
And Allaah said in the Qur’aan, “Invoke Allaah or invoke the Most Merciful, by whatever Name of His you call upon Him or you invoke Him by, it is the same as to Him belong the most beautiful Names.”
Because the Shaykh he mentions that the servant (Arabic) the greater amount of knowledge that the servant has about Allaah and His Names and His Attributes then the greater khashiyah the greater his fear will be of Allaah سبحان وتعلى and the more mindful he will be of Allaah سبحان وتعلى and this will cause him to distance himself from disobeying Allaah سبحان وتعلى and falling into that which Allaah dislikes. (Arabic) As some of the salaf they used to say, (Arabic) “Whoever knows Allaah سبحان وتعلى the best then he will be the one who fears Allaah سبحان وتعلى the most.” (Arabic) And the Shaykh he said, “that is why one of the greatest things that will banish this anxiety and worry and sadness that the slave, he knows his Lord. That the slave he knows his Lord سبحان وتعلى.”
And as I say to you brothers and sisters just pausing here with regards to some of the benefits of knowing Allaah سبحان وتعلى and knowing his Names and His Attributes. So we can understand the statement of some of the salaf when they used to say, “(Arabic) the more the person knows Allaah the more he will fear Allaah سبحان وتعلى.”
If we believe brothers and sisters that Allaah سبحان وتعلى is Samiun, Basheerun, Aleemun, the All-Seeing, the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, and that nothing in the heavens and the earth is hidden from Him and that Allaah سبحان وتعلى knows that which is done in private and that which is hidden and He knows even when a person blinks their eye and that which a person hides in their chest, if we believe that Allaah سبحان وتعلى is like this, then how will He cause us to believe. He will cause us to constantly be mindful of Allaah, that Allaah sees us, He will cause us to control our tongue, it will cause us to safeguard our body parts and prevent them from disobeying Allaah. It will cause us to monitor our hearts, and try and protect our hearts from everything that is not pleasing to Allaah.
Ibn Rajab رحمح الله تعلىhe mentioned in his book Sharh Kalimatul Ikhlas. And look brothers and sisters this is the effect of knowing the Names and Attributes of Allaah عزّ وجل, he said, (Arabic) a man on one occasion he tried to seduce a woman (Arabic) and they were in an open barren space meaning it was just them, a dark night, a dark place in a barren land, desert land, nothing was there, just them but then, the woman refused, why did she refuse? And how did the man respond? (Arabic) The man said, “(Arabic) Nothing can see us except for the stars.” She said, “Where is the one Who created the stars?” So look at the effect of knowing the Names of Allaah سبحان وتعلى meaning Allaah سبحان وتعلى, He sees us. As Allaah سبحان وتعلى says in the Qur’aan,
أَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَرَى
Does he not know that Allaah sees. Surah al Alaq v. 14
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ
Verily, your Lord is Ever Watchful (over them). Surah al Fajr v. 14
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
Fear Allaah! Verily Allaah is the All-Hearing the All-Knowing. Surah al Hujurat v. 1
And Allaah سبحان وتعلى says in the Qur’aan,
اعْمَلُوا مَا شِئْتُمْ إِنَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
“Do that which you desire, Allaah sees everything that you do.” Surah Fussilat v. 40
So if a person has this belief in the Names and Attributes of Allaah they will be mindful of Allaah عزّ وجل. If the slave knows that Allaah سبحان وتعلى is the Most Merciful, the Most Beneficent, ar Rahman, ar Raheem, al Kareem the Most Generous, then whenever they sin, whenever they fall short, then they know they can always return back to Allaah عزّ وجل and repent. Again, not like the creation, because the creation we love to be pardoned but we do not pardon, how many times do you find in life we may make a mistake and a person will never let you forget that mistake. Twenty years will pass and they will remind you of it. Thirty years will pass and they will remind you of it, even if you changed your life, Alhamdulillah Allaah is ar Raheem, al Ghafoor the All-Forgiving, not like the creation (Arabic) because the creation they are weak, and they are oppressive. We love to be pardoned but we don’t pardon, we love for our faults to be hidden, we but we don’t hide peoples faults. We love to be shown mercy but we don’t show mercy. Alhamdulillah if we know Allaah عزّ وجل we won’t pay any attention to the creation. We won’t turn and try and please the creation, because we will turn to Allaah because Allaah is al Ghafoor, He is the All-Forgiving.
Allaah سبحان وتعلى is the one who accepts repentance (Arabic) that is why, the one who repents from a sin is like the one who has no sin. Your slate is washed clean. Not like that person behind you who tries to constantly put you down, and remind you of that time when you slipped. People slip in life, people err in life, people fall short in life, when a person sins and makes a mistake. There is either one of two ways you can go. For the slave that knows that Allaah عزّ وجل is the Most Merciful, the Most Beneficent. The one that knows that Allaah عزّ وجل loves the people who make taubah,
إِنَّ اللّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
Allaah loves those who purify themselves. Surah al Baqarah v. 222
The one who knows this Alhamdulillah, he will take the path of Aadam عليهِ صلات وسّلام and repent to Allaah عزّ وجل taubatan nasoohah with the sincere correct repentance, and Insha Allahu ta’ala he will walk upon that same path that that was trodden by Adam عليهِ صلات وسّلام and Insha Allaah that path will lead to al Jannah.
However, another person who maybe ignorant or he maybe arrogant he may follow the path of Iblis and may Allaah سبحان وتعلى protect all of us from that path. Because Iblis he was haughty and arrogant and he didn’t want to admit his mistake and that path it leads to the Hellfire. Wal iyaadu billah
So brothers and sisters from this knowing the names and attributes of Allaah we will never despair of the mercy of Allaah عزّ وجل. Never! If we do something that we feel bad about and we regret don’t look to the creation to please them, turn to your Lord who forgives all sin. Turn to Him sincerely and beg His forgiveness and don’t worry about that person who tries to put you down and censor you and blame you even though you may have repented even though you may have changed.
Also brothers and sisters from knowing the Names and Attributes of Allaah سبحان وتعلى because in the dua that Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم he said, “I ask You by every name belonging to You, which You have named Yourself, or You have revealed in Your Book, or You taught one of Your creation, or You have preserved in knowledge of that Name with You in the Unseen another benefit of knowing the Names of Allaah and this has a benefit on you and an effect upon the servant and the servitude of a servant if the slave he knows that Allaah عزّ وجل is Just and if the slave he knows that Allaah سبحان وتعلى becomes angry at those people who are disobedient and Allaah سبحان وتعلى punishes those people who are disobedient then this should cause the slave to be fearful of Allaah سبحان وتعلى as Allaah عزّ وجل He said in the Qur’aan,
وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَاعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ
Fear Allaah and know that Allaah is severe in His punishment.” Surah al Baqarah v. 196
And Allaah سبحان وتعلى He tells in the Qur’aan
وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
Fear Allaah and know that you will be resurrected and you will be gathered before Him عزّ وجل.
Surah al Baqarah v. 203
If this servant knows Allaah and the Perfection of Allaah سبحان وتعلى and the Beauty of Allaah سبحان وتعلى then this will cause them to love Allaah عزّ وجل in a special way and this will cause them to have a great yearning to meet Allaah سبحان وتعلى and we know brothers and sisters “(Arabic) Whoever loves to meet Allaah, Allaah loves to meet him”. So these are some of the effects mentioned by some of the people of knowledge in their books that knowing the names and attributes of Allaah عزّ وجل has an effect upon the servant’s life.
And again this hadith is a proof brothers and sisters that Allaah عزّ وجل has more than 99 names as the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said, “I ask You by every name belonging to You, and a few lines later, those names which You have preserved in the knowledge of the unseen with You.” So Allaah عزّ وجل has more than 99 names, names that He has kept hidden with Him in the unseen.
The fourth fundamental :
The fourth fundamental brothers and sisters to be found in this wonderful dua, this wonderful supplication which I said at the beginning of the lesson each and every one of us is in need of and when we are faced with something the first thing we say is, “make dua for me akhi”, “make dua for me ukhthi”. However look at Abdullah ibn Abi Salih, he was sick and Tawoos he visited him, one of the scholars of the past. Abdullah ibn Abi Salih, he was sick and one of the scholars of the past visited him. So Abdullah ibn Abi Salih he said, (Arabic) “O Abu Abdur Rahman make dua for me.” This famous scholar of the past he said, “(Arabic) Make dua for yourself, because Allaah سبحان وتعلى responds and answers the supplication of the one who is in a difficult situation”. So make dua for yourself, supplicate to Allaah yourself,
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ
Your Lord said, supplicate to Me and I will answer you”. Surah al Ghafir v. 60
So another benefit and the fourth fundamental to be found in this wonderful dua and these things have to be understood that the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم instructed us and taught us we say that “You make the Qur’aan the spring of my heart”.
Ibn Qayyim رحمح الله تعلىhe said, “(Arabic) this is the rain that gives life to the earth, (Arabic) so the Qur’aan it was compared to the rainwater that gives life to the earth because the Qur’aan it gives life to the heart.” And there are many verses that inform us that the Qur’aan is a cure for the quloob as the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم he mentioned similarly in this hadith.
Allaah سبحان وتعلى He said in the Qur’aan
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءتْكُم مَّوْعِظَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَشِفَاء لِّمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِين
O mankind there has come to you a good advice from your Lord a healing for the heart and a Mercy and guidance for the believers.” Surah Yunus v.57
Al Imaam as Sa’adi explained this verse “(Arabic) Allaah سبحان وتعلى said, it carried (unsure of the word) in the creation to turn towards this Book, this Noble Book and Allaah mentions some of the characteristics of this Book. From the characteristics of this Book is what? It is a maw’ila a piece of good advice or admonition, (Arabic) it admonishes you and it warns you about those actions which earn the anger of Allaah which result in the punishment of Allaah. Also, it informs us that the Qur’aan is a cure for that which is in the chests. As Sa’adi mentions he said, that it is a cure for that which is in the chests, it cures the sicknesses of the desires and lusts and also the sicknesses of doubts.
And another attribute or characteristic of the Qur’aan it is a guidance and a mercy for the believers.
Brothers and sisters there is something important. In order for somebody to benefit from the Qur’aan they have to submit to the Qur’aan. They have to submit to the religion of Allaah عزّ وجل. (Arabic) They have to submit in totality
ادْخُلُواْ فِي السِّلْمِ كَآفَّةً
Enter perfectly in Islam. Surah al Baqarah v. 208
accept everything that is found in the Qur’aan to be the truth.
(Arabic) When they find no displeasure in their nafs, because if you don’t submit from day one, few years down the line that is going to crop up. That displeasure, that rebellious nature is going to crop up. And you are not really going to benefit how you should benefit when you recite the Qur’aan or when you read it. Allaah سبحان وتعلى He said in another verse about the Qur’aan,
لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّه
“Had we sent down the Qur’aan on a mountain you would have seen the mountain humbling itself and rent asunder by the fear of Allaah.” Surah al Hashr v. 21
Maalik ibn Dinaar used to read this verse and used to say, “I swear by Allah no one truly believes in this Qur’aan unless their heart humbles itself when they hear the Qur’aan.”
So Ibnul Qayyim رحمح الله تعلى he said, about the saying of the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم in this duaأَنْ تَجْعَـلَ القُـرْآنَ رَبِيَـعَ قَلْبِي ، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي ، when we ask Allaah سبحان وتعلى ‘to make the Qur’aan the spring of my heart and the light of my chest’ he said it is the rain that gives life to the earth he said and also he said رحمح الله تعلى (Arabic) the life of the body and the life of the limbs, all stem from the life of the heart. So the life it emanates and it flows from the heart to the limbs, it flows from the heart to the chest and to the body, to the various limbs so that is why we ask Allaah سبحان وتعلى to give us life in our heart and we ask Allaah عزّ وجل to make the Qur’aan رَبِيَـعَ قَلْبِي the spring of our hearts. Ibnul Qayyim he said, “Sadness and anxiety and worry opposes and it contradicts the likeness of the heart.” So therefore we ask Allaah عزّ وجل and the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم asked Allaah سبحان وتعلى in this dua that Allaah سبحان وتعلى make the Qur’aan a banisher of the grief and a reliever for anxiety.
And Ibnul Qayyim he mentioned an important point brothers and sisters I want to you to pay attention to this he said, (Arabic) “Some people they suffer from anxiety or stress and they think the answer is to do something haraam or something that they used to do in the past, because Shaytaan is whispering and now they are weak and they are susceptible to the whisperings of Shaytaan. Ibnul Qayyim said, “If the anxiety and worry and the stress if it is removed by using other than the Qur’aan for example if you are sick and you regain health or some affair of the dunya, opposition or a wife or a child (Arabic) then the anxiety, the stress and worry as soon as those things are done is going to come back.” However if the Qur’aan is the spring of your heart then it will banish those things forever as long as that belief is in your heart as explained earlier in the dars.
And that is why Ibnul Qayyim رحمح الله تعلى he says, “Whoever is not cured by the Qur’aan then Allaah سبحان وتعلى will not cure that individual, who ever is not happy with the Qur’aan in terms that they believe it to be sufficient Allaah سبحان وتعلى will make nothing sufficient for them.” So if a person faces anxiety, if a person faces stress, if a person is suffering from depression then the answer is clear. Alhamdulillah the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم he explained to us the cure and the correct cure. And I said at the beginning the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم was asked “O Messenger of Allaah should we not learn it?” He said, “Of course, whoever hears it should learn it.” We should all learn it.
~Transcription of Abu Abdullah Hasan As Somaali’s talk.
Quest for Paradise 
Very enlightening article..JazaakAllah Khair.