Part of The Muslim's Treasure (series completed)
· Lesson 4 of 11
Muslim Treasure - On the Virtue of Calling to God | Episode (4) | Calling to God is a reason to escape loss
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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We are pleased, at the Sheikh Hasa Islamic Center,
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to present to our honorable listeners
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a reading of the book
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*Kanz al-Muslim*
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on the virtue of calling unto Allah (Da'wah),
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by its author, Junyar Bamarni.
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Salvation from Loss:
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Callers unto Allah
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are the true winners on the Day when people will be in loss,
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and they are the joyful ones on the Day when people will be in distress.
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Da'wah is a means of salvation from loss,
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which Allah Almighty mentioned in His saying:
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"By time, indeed, mankind
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is in loss,
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except for those who have believed
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and done righteous deeds
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and advised each other to truth
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and advised each other to patience."
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Reflect, then, and you will find that Allah negated loss
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from whoever believes, performs righteous deeds,
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undertakes the advising of people,
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and mutually counsels them to adhere to the truth,
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call towards it,
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and remain patient with whatever arises along its path.
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The Continuation of Your Good Deeds After Your Death:
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Calling unto Allah is among the greatest means of this,
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just as the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"Whoever calls to guidance
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will have a reward equal to the rewards of those who follow him,
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without that detracting from their rewards in the slightest."
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Narrated by Muslim.
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Thus, the reward of Da'wah continues for the servant after his death,
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and even while he is asleep.
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And you can well imagine:
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if ten people benefit from you through a lecture,
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or an audio recording you distributed to them,
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or a book you gifted them,
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how many good deeds will proliferate for you
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among these people, their relatives, and others!
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And when death takes you suddenly,
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these good deeds will remain for you,
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reaching you while you are in your grave.
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Therefore, calling unto Allah
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is an easy path to acquiring reward,
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whose recompense endures for you after your death.
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Consider that everyone for whose guidance
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you became a means—all their righteous deeds,
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such as prayers, remembrance, fasting,
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charity, and Da'wah,
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will be in their scale of good deeds,
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and the like thereof will be in your scale of good deeds as well,
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without diminishing anything from their own rewards.
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How immense are these virtues!
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But where are the competitors?
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The successful merchant
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is the one who achieves the greatest amount of profit
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in the shortest period of time.
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Likewise is the wise believer
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who seeks good deeds and the high
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ranks in the Hereafter;
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he strives to attain that through calling unto Allah,
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which multiplies his deeds manifold.
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And the believers who strive
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for the Hereafter are of two types:
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the first is one who engages solely in personal worship,
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whose deeds cease upon his death,
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and his records of deeds are closed.
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The second is one who engages in worship,
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calling unto Allah, teaching
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Allah's legislation, and doing good to creation;
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this person attains the loftiest stations:
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his deeds continue,
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and his record remains open,
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filled with rewards and good deeds every single day.
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A Cause for Allah Almighty's Love:
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A question: who are the most beloved of people to Allah?
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Calling unto Allah
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is a cause for Allah Almighty's love,
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as the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"The most beloved of people to Allah
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are those who are most beneficial to people."
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Narrated by al-Tabarani and graded Hasan by al-Albani.
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And the greatest benefit to people
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is guiding them to Paradise;
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benefiting them by rectifying their creed and their religion,
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purifying their character, and elevating
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the level of their faith.
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Allah loves the doers of good,
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and Da'wah is doing good to people.
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He says: "And do good;
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indeed, Allah loves the doers of good."
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And if benefiting people
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by providing food for them holds the rewards that it does,
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then how about feeding their hearts
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and nourishing their souls with the provision of faith,
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through which their true life is attained,
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and becoming a cause for their entry into Paradise?
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Hunger can be driven away with a loaf of bread,
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so why should my sorrow and worries multiply?
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The greatest concern of the caller
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is rescuing people from the Fire.
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Indeed, the master and leader of all callers,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"My example is that of a man who kindled a fire,
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and when it illuminated what was around it,
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moths and these creatures
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that fall into fire began to plunge into it,
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while he started preventing them, but they overcame him
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and rushed headlong into it."
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He said: "Such is my example and yours:
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I am holding you back by your waistbands from the Fire,
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saying, 'Come away from the Fire! Come away from the Fire!'
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Yet you overpower me and rush into it."
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Agreed upon.
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Allah Almighty's Praise
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and the Angels' Supplication of Forgiveness for You:
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Reflect with me:
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Da'wah is a cause for Allah Almighty's praise
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and the prayers for forgiveness from the angels and all creatures.
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The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
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"Indeed, Allah and His angels—
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even the ant in its hole
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and even the fish in the sea..."
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And the blessing (Salat) from Allah
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means His praise, and from the angels
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it means seeking forgiveness for you.
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Thus, calling unto Allah encompasses all merits,
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rewards, and virtues.
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So what a profound loss for whoever deprives himself
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of these blessings!
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Attaining the Prophet's Supplication, Peace and Blessings of Allah Be Upon Him:
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Da'wah
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is in compliance with the command of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him:
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"Convey from me, even if only a single verse."
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Narrated by al-Bukhari.
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And whoever conveys his Sunnah,
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he supplicated for him to have a radiant face,
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in his saying, peace be upon him:
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"May Allah brighten the face of a person who hears something from us
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and conveys it just as he heard it,
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for perhaps the one to whom it is conveyed is more understanding than the one who heard it."
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Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, commanded
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conveying from him even if it is a single verse,
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and he supplicated for whoever conveys from him even if it is a single hadith.
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Conveying his Sunnah to the Ummah
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is superior to shooting arrows into the throats of the enemy,
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because shooting arrows
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can be done by many people,
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whereas conveying the Sunan
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is the duty of the heirs of the Prophets and their successors among their nations."
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May Allah make us among them
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through His grace and generosity.
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Developing the Caller's Skills:
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Furthermore, calling unto Allah
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is among the means of increasing the caller's knowledge and skills
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through his practice of Da'wah,
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debate, and preparation for dialogue with others.
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The Reward of Patience on the Path of Da'wah:
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There is no doubt that this path is not paved with roses,
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so I give you glad tidings of immense reward
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for the harm you endure from those near before those far.
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Allah Almighty said:
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"And He rewarded them for their patience with a Garden and garments of silk."
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If you are merely righteous,
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no one will harm you;
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but if you are a reformer,
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you will inevitably face harm from the ignorant,
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and reward is commensurate with hardship.
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The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
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"No fatigue, illness,
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anxiety, sorrow,
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harm, or grief afflicts a Muslim,
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even to the pricking of a thorn,
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but that Allah expiates some of his sins thereby."
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Narrated by al-Bukhari.
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Quraysh used to love the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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but when, after his commissioning, he became a reformer
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spreading good and rectifying errors,
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they harmed him, showed him hostility, and fought him,
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because the reformer clashes with their whims
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when he seeks to extricate them
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from the corruption of their souls.
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The scholars have said:
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"A single reformer is more beloved to Allah than thousands of merely righteous people,
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because through the reformer, Allah protects an entire Ummah,
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whereas the righteous person merely protects himself."
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Thus, it is not befitting for a Muslim to settle for personal righteousness
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without engaging in reform,
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for that is cowardice, weakness, and abandonment of duty,
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and a cause for the Ummah's loss and destruction.
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For Almighty Allah said:
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“In truth thy Lord destroyed not the townships tyrannously while their folk were doing right.” (11:117)
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"...while its people were reformers."
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He did not say "merely righteous."
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May Allah make us among the righteous reformers.
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And since the honor of Da'wah is so sublime,
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such a noble rank
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and this noble and honorable status
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through sacrifice, steadfastness, and patience.
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Do not fear hardship in the path of calling to Allah,
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for at the very first moment in Paradise,
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you will forget all weariness.
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When a caller undertakes the mission of calling to Allah,
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he experiences two states:
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the state of people embracing him,
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as happened to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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when the people of Medina welcomed him
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and rejoiced at his arrival;
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and the second, the state of people turning away from him,
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as happened to the Prophet (peace be upon him)
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when the leaders of the people of Ta'if rejected him
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and incited the fools and young boys against him,
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until they pelted him with stones.
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Allah, Mighty and Majestic, does not surrender His allies to His enemies,
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but He is All-Wise, All-Knowing;
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He disciplines and refines the caller at times,
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and refines others through him at other times.
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Yet, the state of people embracing the caller is more severe and perilous,
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for vanity and self-admiration may creep into his heart,
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worldly positions may be offered to him,
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and he becomes vulnerable to the temptations of this worldly life;
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these are among the entryways of Satan,
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distracting him from religion with worldly pursuits, wealth, and status.
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As for the state of people turning away and rejecting him,
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it provides the finest and most profound spiritual training for him;
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for through it, the caller turns ever more sincerely to Allah,
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drawing nearer and devoting himself fully to Him.
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Consequently, as a result of that devotion,
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the support of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, arrives,
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just as happened to the Prophet (peace be upon him):
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when the people of Ta'if drove him out,
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he supplicated Allah, Who supported him with Gabriel
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and the Angel of the Mountains,
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then facilitated his honorable re-entry into Mecca,
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then honored him with the Night Journey and Heavenly Ascent (al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj),
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then facilitated the Migration (Hijrah) to Medina for him,
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culminating in the triumph of Islam and establishment in the land.
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Allah Almighty said:
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The period of spiritual cultivation:
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in this period, Allah tests the caller
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and refines him through what rectifies his character,
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in order to test his patience and truthfulness,
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cultivating within him the readiness to endure hardships,
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have mercy toward the creation,
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and yield with total submission to the Truth.
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Thus, he is tested with good and bad,
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wealth and poverty, security and fear.
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Allah Almighty said:
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And He Almighty said:
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"Who, when disaster strikes them,
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a calamity,
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they say: 'Indeed, to Allah we belong,
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and indeed, to Him
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we will return.'
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Those—
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upon them are blessings
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from their Lord
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and upon them
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from their Lord
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and mercy,
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and those—
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they are the rightly guided."
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The period of manifest victory:
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if the caller remains patient in the face of trials
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and persists in calling to Allah despite severe conditions,
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the scarcity of helpers, and the abundance of adversaries,
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Allah will be with him,
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answering his supplications,
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defending him, protecting him, and forsaking his enemies.