The topic of today’s Khutba is based on verses 30 to 32 of Surat Fussilat. These blessed verses talk about those special people who say that Allah is their Rabb and then they remain firm on what they say.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي كُنْتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ
“The ones who say, Allah is our Rabb, and then remain steadfast, the angels will descend on them, saying, Have no fear and do not grieve. Rejoice in the good news of the Garden that you have been promised.“ (Fussilat, 41:30).
The word Rabb is very profound and means provider, sustainer, protector, benefactor, owner, and master. If Allah is accepted as one’s Rabb, as He should be, then He is to be obeyed totally. There is no question of complying with some commandments of Allah and not complying with others or considering some injunctions to be practicable and others to be impracticable. To consider some commandments of Allah as impracticable is not to trust in the knowledge and wisdom of Allah. Since whatever comes from Him is out of His absolute knowledge and wisdom, every divine command is to be accepted and obeyed. The Qur’an says,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ كَافَّةً
“O you who believe! Enter Islam totally”(al-Baqarah, 2:208).
At the same time, there has to be complete reliance (tawakkul) on Allah. Tawakkul means putting in one’s best efforts—leaving no stone unturned, and then putting one’s trust in Allah and not in one’s own efforts or availability of the means one has, because whatever the outcome, it comes about only with the approval and decree of Allah and not otherwise. It is reported that one day Prophet Muhammad (SAW) noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it. He asked the Bedouin, “Why don’t you tie down your camel?” The Bedouin answered, “I put my trust in Allah.” The Prophet (SAW) then said, “Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah.”
The true believers remain steadfast on the affirmation that Allah is indeed their Rabb. They stick to what they claim and they stand up to it. They demonstrate it in their thinking, feelings, actions, and behavior. According to a hadith, a sahabi by the name of Abi ‘Amrah Sufyan bin Abdullah (RA) said to the Prophet (SAW),
يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ! قُلْ لِي فِي الْإِسْلَامِ قَوْلًا لَا أَسْأَلُ عَنْهُ أَحَدًا غَيْرَك؛
“O Messenger of Allah, tell me something of Islam which I can ask of no one but you.” The Prophet (SAW) replied,
قُلْ: آمَنْتُ بِاَللَّهِ ثُمَّ اسْتَقِمْ
“Say I believe in Allah, and then be steadfast.”
To declare, “I believe in Allah” is easy, but to hold on to it and to earnestly live by it is not that easy. It takes no effort or energy to utter the few simple words—la ilaha illallah (there is no god but Allah) but to be firm on it, to stick to it, and to stand up to it is not easy at all. Claiming Allah to be one’s Rabb means that one should not have any complain against Allah’s decisions and should accept them with complete calmness. Sometimes, whatever we go through by the will of Allah may even be unpleasant apparently, but whatever comes from Allah has to be beneficial in the long run, if not immediately. Nothing befalls a person without His permission.
مَا أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَمَن يُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ يَهْدِ قَلْبَهُ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
“No misfortune occurs except by Allah´s permission. Whoever has belief (iman) in Allah, He will guide his heart. Allah has knowledge of all things” (al-Taghabun, 64:11).
A true righteous believer who says رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ (Our Rabb is Allah) and remains firm on it has attained the level of ihsan, which is the highest state of iman. When there is real iman, there is no fear. This is because true believers understand that nothing happens without Allah’s permission. Nothing can harm them unless He wills it. And if any harm comes, it is only with His permission, and is therefore acceptable to them, as He is their Rabb; their Lord. His decision, however unpleasant it may seem, has to be for some ultimate good. The prick of an injection is painful but beneficial. Surgical amputation of a limb is a loss but saves one’s life. Hence the friends of Allah have no fear and are not grieved even if a calamity befalls them. In verse 51 of Surat al-Taubah, the believers are told to say to the hypocrites,
قُل لَّن يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوْلَانَا وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
“Say, nothing can happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us. He is Our Master. It is in Allah that the believers should put their trust” (al-Taubah, 9:51).
What happens to the believers who say that their Rabb is Allah, stick to what they say, and lead their lives accordingly,
تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ
“Angels descend upon them” (Fussilat, 41:30).
There is a general consensus that angels descend upon believers when they are about to die, and move from this world to the next world. The angels come from the invisible world to welcome the souls of these believers in order to escort them honorably to that world. Imagine this: you are on your deathbed, and while everyone is crying around you, angels descend upon you tell you that you have nothing to fear and nothing to be sad about. They also give you the glad tidings of Jannah. What more can a Muslim strive for? That is the reward of taking Allah as one’s Rabb and then staying firm on it.
Does the phenomenon of descending of the angels upon virtuous believers occur only when these believers are about to die or do the angels descend upon them in this life also? The Qur’an speaks about angels descending to help and support believers in their fight against the forces of evil. For example, the angels descended upon them in the Battle of Badr.
We also learn through a hadith that says, “Any group of people that assemble in one of the Houses of Allah to study the Qur’an, tranquility will descend upon them, mercy will engulf them, angels will surround them and Allah will make mention of them to those (i.e., the angels) in His proximity.” And what do the angels say to these righteous believers?
نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَاؤُكُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآَخِرَةِ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِي أَنْفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ () نُزُلًا مِنْ غَفُورٍ رَحِيمٍ ()
“We are your companions in this life and in the Hereafter. Therein you shall have all that your souls desire, and therein you shall have all that you ask for” (Fussilat, 41:31-32).
May we also take Allah as our Rabb, and then remain steadfast. May we also be among the recipients of Paradise.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين.
Brothers and sisters! We should know that Allah has created man, and has produced in him the inclination of getting attracted by worldly things and of satisfying his worldly desires. This is something, which is ingrained in human nature. The Qur’an says,
زُيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ حُبُّ الشَّهَوَاتِ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ وَالْبَنِينَ وَالْقَنَاطِيرِ الْمُقَنْطَرَةِ مِنَ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ وَالْخَيْلِ الْمُسَوَّمَةِ وَالْأَنْعَامِ وَالْحَرْثِ ذَلِكَ مَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَاللَّهُ عِنْدَهُ حُسْنُ الْمَآَبِ
“The satisfaction of worldly desires through women, and children, and heaped-up treasures of gold and silver, and pedigreed horses, and cattle and lands is attractive to people. All this is the provision of the worldly life; but the most excellent abode is with Allah” (Aal ‘Imran, 3:14).
At the same time, the wrong and the right path have also been clearly demarcated.
وَهَدَيْنَاهُ النَّجْدَيْنِ
“And We showed him the two paths [of good and evil]” (al-Balad, 90:10).
Having been endowed with free will, man is solely responsible for the moral choices he makes. A true believer despite his natural inclination to satisfy his worldly desires does so only through lawful–halal means and checks himself from indulging in anything that is unlawful or haram, however, tempting or attractive it may be.
For leading a pious and righteous life in this world, he is promised paradise wherein he would be able to satisfy all his desires to the maximum, and he will have whatever he asks for corresponding to the level of his taste and the level of his consciousness and understanding. Having all their desires fulfilled, the last and final desire of the people of paradise will be to have a direct sight of their Lord, with no covering between Him and them.
The people of paradise are the guests of Allah. Hence, no one knows what Allah will actually provide them with. We learn through a hadith that says,
قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَعْدَدْتُ لِعِبَادِيَ الصَّالِحِينَ مَا لاَ عَيْنٌ رَأَتْ وَلاَ أُذُنٌ سَمِعَتْ وَلاَ خَطَرَ عَلَى قَلْبِ بَشَرٍ
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “Allah, the Exalted, has said: I have prepared for my righteous slaves what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and the mind of no man has conceived.” And the Qur’an says,
فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّا أُخْفِيَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
“No soul knows what joy is kept hidden in store for them as a reward for their labors” (al-Sajdah, 32:17).
May Allah make us also among the inhabitants of that eternal abode of eternal bliss; Ameen.
