WEBVTT

00:00:00.210 --> 00:00:03.410
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

00:00:03.410 --> 00:00:08.500
Landmarks on the path of steadfastness.

00:00:08.500 --> 00:00:12.029
The remembrance of Allah.

00:00:12.029 --> 00:00:17.039
Among the means of steadfastness

00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:20.039
is the frequent remembrance of Allah, the Exalted.

00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:23.100
Allah has commanded frequent remembrance,

00:00:23.100 --> 00:00:25.100
for He, the Exalted, says:

00:00:25.100 --> 00:00:28.100
"O you who have believed,

00:00:28.100 --> 00:00:32.100
“O ye who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance.” (33:41)

00:00:32.100 --> 00:00:35.100
and exalt Him morning and afternoon."

00:00:35.299 --> 00:00:38.429
Even in the context of battle,

00:00:38.429 --> 00:00:41.429
Allah commanded frequent remembrance,

00:00:41.429 --> 00:00:43.429
for He, the Exalted, says:

00:00:43.429 --> 00:00:46.460
"O you who have believed,

00:00:46.460 --> 00:00:50.460
“O ye who believe! When ye meet an army, hold firm and think of Allah much, that ye may be successful.” (8:45)

00:00:50.460 --> 00:00:53.460
“O ye who believe! When ye meet an army, hold firm and think of Allah much, that ye may be successful.” (8:45)

00:00:53.460 --> 00:00:56.460
that you may succeed."

00:00:56.460 --> 00:00:59.880
Remembrance is the believer’s fortress

00:00:59.880 --> 00:01:01.880
against Satan.

00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:04.980
It is narrated from al-Harith al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him)

00:01:05.180 --> 00:01:08.180
that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

00:01:08.180 --> 00:01:10.180
said:

00:01:10.180 --> 00:01:12.180
"Indeed, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He,

00:01:12.180 --> 00:01:14.180
commanded Yahya ibn Zakariyya

00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:16.180
with five words."

00:01:16.180 --> 00:01:17.340
The hadith...

00:01:17.340 --> 00:01:19.340
And among these words,

00:01:19.340 --> 00:01:20.340
he said:

00:01:20.340 --> 00:01:23.340
"And I command you to remember Allah,

00:01:23.340 --> 00:01:25.340
for the likeness of that

00:01:25.340 --> 00:01:27.340
is like a man pursued by an enemy

00:01:27.340 --> 00:01:29.340
following him swiftly,

00:01:29.340 --> 00:01:31.340
until he comes

00:01:31.340 --> 00:01:33.340
to a fortified stronghold

00:01:33.540 --> 00:01:35.540
and protects himself from them."

00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:37.540
Likewise, the servant

00:01:37.540 --> 00:01:39.540
does not protect himself from Satan

00:01:39.540 --> 00:01:41.540
except through the remembrance of Allah.

00:01:41.540 --> 00:01:43.859
Ibn al-Qayyim said

00:01:43.859 --> 00:01:45.859
in *al-Wabil al-Sayyib*:

00:01:45.859 --> 00:01:47.859
"If there were no other virtue in remembrance

00:01:47.859 --> 00:01:49.859
than this single quality,

00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:51.859
it would be fitting for the servant

00:01:51.859 --> 00:01:53.859
that his tongue never ceases

00:01:53.859 --> 00:01:55.859
from the remembrance of Allah, the Exalted,

00:01:55.859 --> 00:01:57.859
and that he remains constantly engaged

00:01:57.859 --> 00:01:58.859
in His remembrance.

00:01:58.859 --> 00:02:00.859
For he does not protect himself

00:02:00.859 --> 00:02:01.859
from his enemy

00:02:02.060 --> 00:02:04.060
except through remembrance.

00:02:04.060 --> 00:02:06.060
The enemy does not enter upon him

00:02:06.060 --> 00:02:08.060
except through the gate of heedlessness.

00:02:08.060 --> 00:02:10.060
He lies in wait for him,

00:02:10.060 --> 00:02:11.060
and when he is heedless,

00:02:11.060 --> 00:02:13.060
he pounces upon him and devours him.

00:02:13.060 --> 00:02:15.060
But when he remembers Allah, the Exalted,

00:02:15.060 --> 00:02:17.060
the enemy of Allah, the Exalted, shrinks away,

00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:19.060
becoming small and suppressed,

00:02:19.060 --> 00:02:21.060
until he becomes

00:02:21.060 --> 00:02:23.060
like a sparrow or a fly."

00:02:23.060 --> 00:02:25.060
This is why he is called

00:02:25.060 --> 00:02:27.060
the *Waswas al-Khannas* (the whisperer who retreats),

00:02:27.060 --> 00:02:29.060
meaning he whispers in the hearts,

00:02:29.060 --> 00:02:31.060
but when Allah is remembered,

00:02:31.060 --> 00:02:33.060
when Allah, the Exalted, is remembered,

00:02:33.060 --> 00:02:35.060
he retreats—that is, he desists and shrinks back.

00:02:35.060 --> 00:02:37.310
Ibn 'Abbas said:

00:02:37.310 --> 00:02:39.310
"Satan is perched

00:02:39.310 --> 00:02:41.310
upon the heart of the son of Adam;

00:02:41.310 --> 00:02:43.310
when he becomes forgetful and heedless,

00:02:43.310 --> 00:02:45.310
he whispers,

00:02:45.310 --> 00:02:47.310
but when he remembers Allah, the Exalted,

00:02:47.310 --> 00:02:49.379
he retreats."

00:02:49.379 --> 00:02:51.379
In *Sahih al-Bukhari*,

00:02:51.379 --> 00:02:53.379
from Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

00:02:53.379 --> 00:02:55.379
The Prophet

00:02:55.379 --> 00:02:57.379
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

00:02:57.379 --> 00:02:59.379
"The likeness of the one who remembers

00:02:59.379 --> 00:03:01.379
Allah and the one who does not remember his Lord

00:03:01.379 --> 00:03:03.379
is like the living

00:03:03.379 --> 00:03:05.539
and the dead."

00:03:05.539 --> 00:03:07.539
And in the two *Sahihs*,

00:03:07.539 --> 00:03:09.539
from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him),

00:03:09.539 --> 00:03:11.539
he said:

00:03:11.539 --> 00:03:13.539
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

00:03:13.539 --> 00:03:15.539
"Allah, the Exalted, says:

00:03:15.539 --> 00:03:17.539
'I am

00:03:17.539 --> 00:03:19.539
as My servant expects Me to be,

00:03:19.539 --> 00:03:21.539
and I am with him

00:03:21.539 --> 00:03:23.539
when he remembers Me.

00:03:23.539 --> 00:03:25.539
If he remembers Me to himself,

00:03:25.539 --> 00:03:27.539
I remember him to Myself;

00:03:27.539 --> 00:03:29.539
and if he remembers Me in a gathering,

00:03:29.539 --> 00:03:31.539
I remember him in a gathering

00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:33.539
better than them.

00:03:33.539 --> 00:03:35.539
If he draws near to Me by a span,

00:03:35.539 --> 00:03:37.539
I draw near to him

00:03:37.539 --> 00:03:39.539
by a cubit;

00:03:39.539 --> 00:03:41.539
if he draws near to Me by a cubit,

00:03:41.539 --> 00:03:43.539
I draw near to him by an arm's length;

00:03:43.539 --> 00:03:45.539
and if he comes to Me walking,

00:03:45.539 --> 00:03:47.539
I come to him running.'"

00:03:47.539 --> 00:03:49.889
And in *al-Tirmidhi*,

00:03:49.889 --> 00:03:51.889
from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),

00:03:51.889 --> 00:03:53.889
from Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,

00:03:53.889 --> 00:03:55.889
that He says:

00:03:55.889 --> 00:03:57.889
"Indeed, My servant—the true servant—

00:03:57.889 --> 00:03:59.889
is the one who remembers Me

00:03:59.889 --> 00:04:01.889
while he is meeting his opponent."

00:04:01.889 --> 00:04:03.889
This hadith

00:04:04.139 --> 00:04:06.139
is the decisive word

00:04:06.139 --> 00:04:08.139
and the distinction between the one who remembers

00:04:08.139 --> 00:04:10.139
and the one who struggles (in jihad).

00:04:10.139 --> 00:04:12.180
For the one who remembers while struggling

00:04:12.180 --> 00:04:14.180
is better than the one who remembers

00:04:14.180 --> 00:04:16.180
without struggling.

00:04:16.180 --> 00:04:18.240
And the one who struggles while heedless,

00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:20.240
and the one who remembers without struggling,

00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:22.240
the latter is better than the heedless struggler

00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:24.240
who is heedless of Allah, the Exalted.

00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:26.300
The best of those who remember are the strugglers,

00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:28.300
and the best of the strugglers are those who remember.

00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:32.300
Allah, the Exalted, says:

00:04:32.300 --> 00:04:34.370
"O you who have believed,

00:04:34.370 --> 00:04:36.370
when you encounter a force,

00:04:36.370 --> 00:04:38.370
stand firm,

00:04:38.370 --> 00:04:40.370
stand firm,

00:04:40.370 --> 00:04:42.370
and remember Allah much,

00:04:42.370 --> 00:04:44.370
that you may succeed."

00:04:46.370 --> 00:04:48.750
He commanded them to have frequent remembrance

00:04:48.750 --> 00:04:50.750
and to struggle simultaneously,

00:04:50.750 --> 00:04:52.750
so that they may be in hope,

00:04:52.750 --> 00:04:54.750
in hope of success.

00:04:54.750 --> 00:04:56.750
Allah, the Exalted, has said:

00:04:56.750 --> 00:04:58.750
"O you who have believed,

00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:00.750
remember Allah

00:05:00.750 --> 00:05:02.750
with much remembrance."

00:05:02.750 --> 00:05:04.750
And the Exalted said:

00:05:04.750 --> 00:05:06.750
"And the men who remember Allah

00:05:06.750 --> 00:05:08.750
often and the women who do so,"

00:05:08.750 --> 00:05:10.750
meaning often.

00:05:10.750 --> 00:05:12.750
And the Exalted said:

00:05:12.750 --> 00:05:14.750
"And when you have completed

00:05:14.750 --> 00:05:16.750
your rites,

00:05:16.750 --> 00:05:18.750
remember Allah as you remember

00:05:18.750 --> 00:05:20.750
your forefathers or with greater

00:05:20.750 --> 00:05:22.910
remembrance."

00:05:22.910 --> 00:05:24.910
It contains the command for remembrance

00:05:24.910 --> 00:05:26.910
in both frequency and intensity,

00:05:26.910 --> 00:05:28.910
due to the servant's intense need for it

00:05:28.910 --> 00:05:30.910
and his inability to be independent of it

00:05:30.910 --> 00:05:32.910
for even the blinking of an eye.

00:05:32.910 --> 00:05:34.910
For any moment

00:05:34.910 --> 00:05:36.910
in which the servant is heedless

00:05:36.910 --> 00:05:38.910
of the remembrance of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,

00:05:38.910 --> 00:05:40.910
is against him, not for him,

00:05:40.910 --> 00:05:42.910
and his loss in that moment

00:05:42.910 --> 00:05:45.300
is greater than what he gained in his heedlessness

00:05:45.300 --> 00:05:47.300
of Allah.

00:05:47.300 --> 00:05:49.300
There is no doubt that the heart rusts,

00:05:49.300 --> 00:05:51.300
just as silver and other metals do,

00:05:51.300 --> 00:05:53.300
and its polishing is through remembrance.

00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:55.300
It polishes it

00:05:55.300 --> 00:05:57.300
until it leaves it like a mirror,

00:05:57.300 --> 00:05:59.300
bright and clear.

00:05:59.300 --> 00:06:01.300
If he abandons remembrance, it rusts;

00:06:01.300 --> 00:06:03.300
if he remembers, he polishes it.

00:06:03.300 --> 00:06:05.519
The heart rusts due to two things:

00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:07.519
heedlessness and sin.

00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:09.519
Its polishing is through two things:

00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:11.519
seeking forgiveness and remembrance.

00:06:13.709 --> 00:06:15.709
Whoever is heedless for most of his time,

00:06:15.709 --> 00:06:17.709
the rust will accumulate

00:06:17.709 --> 00:06:19.709
upon his heart,

00:06:19.709 --> 00:06:21.709
and it will rust in proportion to his heedlessness.

00:06:21.709 --> 00:06:23.709
When the heart rusts,

00:06:23.709 --> 00:06:25.709
it does not reflect

00:06:25.709 --> 00:06:27.709
the images of realities as they

00:06:27.709 --> 00:06:29.709
truly are;

00:06:29.709 --> 00:06:31.709
he sees falsehood in the image of truth,

00:06:31.709 --> 00:06:33.709
and truth in the image of falsehood.

00:06:33.709 --> 00:06:35.709
This is because,

00:06:35.709 --> 00:06:37.709
when the rust accumulates upon it,

00:06:37.709 --> 00:06:39.709
it darkens,

00:06:39.709 --> 00:06:41.709
and the image of truths does not appear in it

00:06:41.709 --> 00:06:43.740
as they truly are.

00:06:43.740 --> 00:06:45.740
When the rust accumulates upon it

00:06:45.740 --> 00:06:47.740
and the *ran* (covering) settles over it,

00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:49.740
his perception and understanding

00:06:49.740 --> 00:06:51.740
become corrupted;

00:06:51.740 --> 00:06:53.740
he neither accepts the truth

00:06:53.740 --> 00:06:55.740
nor rejects falsehood.

00:06:55.740 --> 00:06:57.740
This is the greatest punishment of the heart,

00:06:57.740 --> 00:07:00.160
and the root of this

00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:02.160
is heedlessness and following

00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:04.160
one's desires.

00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:06.160
For they extinguish the light of the heart

00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:08.160
and blind its vision.

00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:10.160
Allah, the Exalted, says:

00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:12.160
“Restrain thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord at morn and evening, seeking His Countenance; and let not thine eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who followeth his own lust and whose case hath been abandoned.” (18:28)

00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:14.160
"his heart from Our remembrance,

00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:16.160
and he followed his desire,

00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:18.160
And his affairs were in a state of neglect.

00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:20.160
So, if a servant intends

00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:22.160
to take a man as a role model,

00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:24.160
he must observe:

00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:26.160
Is he among the people of remembrance,

00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:28.160
or among the heedless?

00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:30.160
And is that which governs him

00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:32.160
his own desires or divine revelation?

00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:34.160
For if the one who governs him

00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:36.160
is his own desire,

00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:38.160
and he is among the people of heedlessness,

00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:40.160
and his affairs are in a state of neglect,

00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:42.160
then he should not take him as a model nor follow him.

00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:45.290
As for the meaning of "neglect" (fart),

00:07:45.290 --> 00:07:47.290
it has been interpreted as squandering;

00:07:47.290 --> 00:07:49.290
meaning, the affairs that he is obligated

00:07:49.290 --> 00:07:51.290
to uphold and fulfill,

00:07:51.290 --> 00:07:53.290
and upon which his guidance and success depend,

00:07:53.290 --> 00:07:55.290
are lost, for he has neglected them.

00:07:57.350 --> 00:07:59.350
It has also been interpreted as excess,

00:07:59.350 --> 00:08:01.350
meaning he has gone to extremes.

00:08:01.350 --> 00:08:03.350
It has been interpreted as ruin,

00:08:03.350 --> 00:08:05.350
and it has been interpreted as opposition to the truth.

00:08:05.350 --> 00:08:07.350
All of these

00:08:07.350 --> 00:08:09.350
are closely related interpretations.

00:08:09.350 --> 00:08:11.350
The point is that Allah,

00:08:11.350 --> 00:08:13.350
glorified and exalted is He,

00:08:13.350 --> 00:08:15.350
has forbidden obedience to one who embodies

00:08:15.350 --> 00:08:17.350
these characteristics.

00:08:17.350 --> 00:08:19.350
Therefore, a person should examine

00:08:19.350 --> 00:08:21.350
his teacher, his role model,

00:08:21.350 --> 00:08:23.350
and the one he follows.

00:08:23.350 --> 00:08:25.350
If he finds him to be as described,

00:08:25.350 --> 00:08:27.350
he should distance himself from him.

00:08:27.350 --> 00:08:29.350
But if he finds him to be someone who is dominated by

00:08:29.350 --> 00:08:31.350
the remembrance of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,

00:08:31.350 --> 00:08:33.350
and the following of the Sunnah,

00:08:33.350 --> 00:08:35.350
and whose affairs are not neglected

00:08:35.350 --> 00:08:37.350
by him,

00:08:37.350 --> 00:08:39.350
but rather he is resolute in his affairs—

00:08:39.350 --> 00:08:41.450
for there is no difference between

00:08:41.450 --> 00:08:43.450
the living and the dead except through remembrance—

00:08:43.450 --> 00:08:45.509
then the likeness of the one

00:08:45.509 --> 00:08:47.509
who remembers his Lord and the one

00:08:47.509 --> 00:08:49.509
who does not remember his Lord

00:08:49.509 --> 00:08:51.509
is like that of the living and the dead.

00:08:51.509 --> 00:08:54.409
These are milestones on

00:08:54.409 --> 00:08:56.409
the path of steadfastness.