Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Mercy of Allah

Assalamualaikum and Hi

Well I just want to share knowledge about what I get from Ustads Nouman Ali Khan lecture. The tittle is the Mercy of Allah

First of all he said about remembrance. Yeah many of us just ignore the knowledge that we already know.Example like if your scroll facebook timeline, then you already see about that knowledge or things for about 100 of times. Then we will get bored of that things and ignore it. 
"The idea of remembrance is that you don’t get new information. You are told something that you already knew, but it is reinforced. Our religions teach us even if you not learning something new, you are reminded, it is still beneficial."
So don't ever get tired of it and always remind people about something beneficial because actually remembrance is powerful.
"Its also true in terms of psychological. Example a students have exam on Monday, but on Sunday he is playing video games, so his friends comes and tell him “ man, you have an exam”. He said “ I know, thanks for the reminder” and his stop playing the games and start study for the exams. He knew that there is exam but the reminder helps him anyway. Reminder benefits believers. "

In this lecture, he wants us to understand how Allah introduce himself in the surah Al-Fatihah.

الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
            
.............What is Alhamdulillah means?

It is 2 things, 1 part of it is that you thank Allah. Second part of it is appreciation. Praises is for Allah. Thanks and praise. This is 2 different things. 

.............Analogy
You can see a beautiful building, and you can praise it, but you will not thank it. You will see amazing athlete, you will praise the athlete but you will not thank the athlete. Sometimes there are opposite cases. There are person you have to thanks, even though you don’t praise them.
Allah azza wajal describes that the muslims have to be thankful to their parents no matter how what even if your parents is musyrik. You have to be grateful to your parents. Even if your parents is syirik and wants you to leave islam, and you still have to grateful to them. Ypu will not praise their syirik, but you have to thank them. Sometimes in life you can have praise without thanks, and sometimes in life you can have thanks without praise. 

When we say Alhamdulillah, then we are saying that we praise Allah for whatever his doing. Whatever his doing is great and perfect no complain. And after we praise him , we also thank him that he did it.
There are people sitting outside today, some of you thinks that the air conditioner inside the hall is not enough for you. “ Man is so hot” and the first thing that come to your mind as a muslim is Alhamdulillah its hot. Thanks Allah its hot. And praise Allah its hot. It’s a different way of thinking.
There are other people who believes in God, but what they don’t have is the first thing is Alhamdulillah and some muslims they don’t understand Alhamdulillah.
Sometimes
 “ maan, I don’t get paid enough, but whatever, Alhamdulillah” They are not really saying Alhamdulillah. They complaining and say Alhamdulillah.
“ How is it going with your family?” “ naaa.. Alhamdulillah”
That’s not Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah is from the bottom of your heart. You are grateful.
For all the things that is going wrong, you will find there is so many things that is going right.
If you are feeling hot, at least you not feeling sick. There is so many aother things that can be wrong with you.
If your car have air con problems at least your car don’t have big engine problems. There are so many other things that are going right. We are the people of Alhamdulillah means that we are constantly grateful and constantly positive.

...............The Concept
If we understood Alhamdulillah, we will never be depressed. The muslims cannot be depressed. You will find today about the ummah, people complains about the muslims. We complain about the ignorance of the muslims, corruption between the muslims. We complains, complains and complains.
Allah azza wajal Is the one who change our circumstances. All we need to do is turns to him and say Alhamdulillah. We have to be positive. That’s the first things Allah told us about himself. 

رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

.............What is rabbil alamin means?
The essence of the word rabb is master. And the opposite of master is slave. If Allah call himself master and he is necessarily call us slave. The summary of entire quran that if you can understand that Allah is the master, and you can accept that you are his slaves, then you can understand the quran.

.............Concept Of Slave
What it is means to be a slave? What it is means to accept Allah as the master? The difference between a free person and a slave is a free person can do whatever they want. They can eat whatever they want, they can look at whatever they want. But a slave before he wants to do anything, he have to ask the master. Every choice you make, we will turn back to the master. Allah call himself master and this is also very powerful. In the word master and in the word slave there is a negative point of view, in humanity there has been slavery, and in slavery people are humiliated. The person who are slave are humiliated and they cannot wait to be free. They want to get rid of the master. Example like slavery in America, the African people are slave to them, cant wait to get free, they don’t have love for their master, they just have hate for their master. They have resentment towards their master. And even If they are free, the slaves still have resentment and hates their master before. So when you think of slavery you don’t think of love. You think of hate. You are not praising your master genuinely  , you don’t want to thank them.

...............Allah as Master
Before Allah calls himself master, Allah says All praises belongs to Him, and All Thanks belongs to him. No other master will have ‘alhamdulillilah’ .There could be other master who have slave, but the slave will not praise him and thank him genuinely. There is no other master who have slave who willingly to become his slave. Slave always come by force. This Master is different . He’s not forced any of you to be his slave. He just said whoever wants to come just come and whoever wants to go just go. It is your choice. What kind of master is this is. Given choice to his slave. And even after he gives choice, the slave tell were ready to be your slave. Because Alhamdulillah hi rabbil alamin. This is the way Allah introducing himself. 

الرَّحْمـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

The most difficult part to translate this ayat is the word ar-rahman, the Arabic words, actually means 3 things 

Concept of Rahmah
the word ar rahman and ar Rahim has something in common. They have the words rahmah. Rahmah means mercy which not good translation because rahmah includes care, love and consideration.   When women is pregnant, her bally is call rahmah, and why it is called rahmah because her baby is taking care from all of the side, the child is completely take care from all angle.even if her mother has problem, the baby will not know. Allah he describe himself ar ar Rahim, it means that he has cover us entirely with his love, in hi mercy, in his blessings and his care. He is taking care of you and me all the time.

Concept of Ar rahman
  • Extreme

When Allah’s love, and Allah’s care and Allah’s mercy and Allah’s help and its extreme its not normal than you use ar rahman. Its unusually loving. Excessively loving, and excessively care. Then it’s  ar rahman.

  • Happening right now 

 The second that is happening right now.  If somebody is patients, its that means that he is patient right now? No. that’s means that he has the quality of patience and maybe he is angry right now and we don’t even know. You can give somebody a quality but that doesn’t mean that the quality is obvious right now. If I call somebody generous, it’s that means they spending money right now?? No. its just means that he just have that quality. When we call Allah Ar rahman, were not just saying his loving that he is merciful that he is kind, that he is caring. He is saying that he is doing all that right now. It is extreme and happening right now.


  • Not permanent 

 The third meaning is, Arabic words, when someone is extremely loving and merciful you would say rahman. But this is also means something that is not permanent. Is someone thirst permanently? No.is someone hungry permanently? No.  Is somenone angry permanently? Ar rahman actually means Allah is loving you, and he is taking care of you. And he is extremely doing so right now but don’t  think that it is permanent. 

Concept of Ar rahim
Ar Rahim has two quality. The two quality of ar Rahim are it is always. It is different from the first one, the first one is temporary and this one is permanent. The second is that it is not necessarily obvious. Its not necessarily happening right now. Ar Rahim is a quality, its not active. Like the previous example. Its there. Example if somebody says that her mother is loving, It doesn't me her mother is loving all the times. It means that she has that quality. That what ar Rahim means.



 The beauty of this ayat is the mercy of Allah will be extreme, will be immediate but it will not be permanent.  He said ar Rahim immediately after and he made it permanent. And if he said only ar Rahim then the mercy  will not be extreme and it won’t be immediate. So he put to of them together so that we know that today Allah will take care of me and tomorrow. Today ar rahman, tomorrow ar Rahim.

 Ibnu abbas was asked, what is ar rahman and ar Rahim means. Ar rahman is for the people of this world and ar Rahim is for the people of akhirat. It is so powerful because he understand that this world is temporary and the next world is permanent. 

Analogy
Some of you, you have jobs and maybe you’ll get paid on Thursday. You have to go home at 3pm but your boss was stuck at traffic jam and no is 2.30. You need that money to pay all the bills. And you get worried, you friends said don’t worry he will be come, he is dependable. You answer, yeah I know he is dependable , but I hope he is dependable right now. I don’t need the quality inside of him, I need him to be active right now.
Somebody having a hard time and you tell him Allah is merciful. I know, I know Allah is merciful. But I need Allah to be merciful right now. Allah knows when people having a hard time, they don’t care about the future, they care about right now. If you are really hungry right now, and your wife asked you about what should we eat next week. You must don’t care about next week, you just want to eat right now. And the she gives you food and after you full you asked you wife, what should we eat next week.
Allah says that he will take care of us now with ar rahman, and I will take care of your future with ar Rahim. 

Misconcept
The problems nowadays, some kids saying, some adults saying, “ I know its haram, but Allah is so merciful, Allah has ar rahman, ar Rahim. I know its haram, but come on, he will not punish me for that. Allah describes his merciful and loves in extreme way and some people might take advantage of it.
Example a teacher, of a teacher is too kind to his pupil, a teacher that can be joking with his pupil, some of the students might take advantage of him like doesn’t care what the teacher is asking and saying.
Another example, imagine there is a man that has a slave. He tell his slave that you can do whatever you want , just don’t go on the other side. One day, the slave closes to the border and his fall at the wrong side,he immediately look at the master and apologize. And the master don’t say anything.
The next day he pretend to fall, and apologize, the master don’t even look angry. The slave said this is very good, the master doesn’t say anything. This means its ok. Some muslims says I have some haram substances and no lightning strikes from the sky, it should be ok. Allah is ok with it. Now this slave spend his time on the other side most of the time. After one year, the master call his slave and says, do you remember when I said you cannot go on the other side?. I think I want to punish you. I don’t want to punish you right away. Ive been counting, every time you when go to the other sides, but I will punish you all at the same time. This is the judgment day. The human beings things that you can get away with whatever that you are doing, .
No problem, I bad something bad yesterday, nothing bad comes today, that’s means I can do that again tomorrow. Nothings gonna happen.


مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

The Concept
But Allah said ‘malikiyaumiddin’, he is the owner of the judgment day, everybody will get what they deserve.
Allah is balance two things. On one hand Allah is extremely loving, extremely merciful and on the other hand, if you take advantage of his love and his mercy and he will judge you to.
On judgment day, there are two kinds of people, people who he deeds book were checked,acquainted , audited, and there are people who Allah don’t check his record. He just release them go.
Allah describes on the judgment day, there will be people who will be given the books of deeds on the right hand, The guy who given the books on the right hand, he will be release in an easy way. The angel just say, go its okay.
But if you get stop by the security of judgment day, and they said lets see your book, and they open it and if you get asked by one questions, the judgment day is bad for you.
In judgment day , either we will be under the shade of ar rahman and ar Rahim or we will be under the justice of malikiyaumiddin.  We want Allah not to judge ask, we want Allah to show his mercy.


Conclusion 
Don’t think you’ve been forgiven just because you do some good deed. And don’t think Allah will not forgive you. If you made mistake the rest of your life, don’t think that you will get into hell, your not. You are still life. The opportunity is still there. Allah still gives you air to breathe it means that he still allows you to come to him. Everybody is still alive right now, because Allah wants them to make taubah. That’s  a mercy of Allah to them. So you don’t ever think its too late for me or Ive done too many bad things and thinks that Allah will not forgive you. You are not bigger than the mercy of Allah. And at the same time you don’t ever think that even if you do bad things that Allah will be merciful to you.
There are some people who only have one sins,its become a habit to him and he keeps do it over and over. Just one problem they have and they don’t let it go. Allah describes in this quran, the guys who have one sin, who have one problem , who have this one addiction it could be drug, it could be alcohol it could be pornography , could be your anger, and so many other things. We all have some problems.but if you don’t let go that problems that you, you still hold on to that sin, and Allah said that you get wrapped up into that sin
May Allah helps us accept the fact the we are slave and may Allah helps us earn his mercy and his love in this dunya and akhirat

You can listen to the lecture here