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Library / Transcribed Sermons / With what do you protect yourself from Hell fire?

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Indeed all praise is due to Allah, we praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of ourselves and actions. Whoever Allah guides, none can mislead, but he whom He leads astray you will never find for him a protecting guide. I bear witness that none is worthy of worship except Allah, The Fist and The Last. There is no God but He, the Compassionate, the Merciful and I bear witness that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His messenger. He is his purest servant, pious worshipper, and the best of His creation. He showed us all goodness, and warned us about all forms of evil. He left us on a clear path, which is free from mistakes and obscurity. Whoever abides by it will be guided, and whoever deviates from it will be lost and confused.May Allah’s peace and blessings be on Muhammad, his companions, and those who follow him in goodness until the Day of Judgment.

 

To proceed:

 

Fear Allah O Believers. Fear Him as He should be feared and do as Allah Almighty commanded you to do with respect to His rightswhich include His Oneness, His Glorification, His love, His Exaltedness, trying to get nearer to Him as much as you can and seeking His pleasure. For verily, the best that a person can do is to engage in what pleases his Lord the Most High. Indeed Allah Almighty laid down religious obligations upon you to make you happy in this world and to protect you from the horrors of the hereafter. So strive to fulfill these obligations in a manner that your Lord is pleased with you. Every act of worship draws you near to your Lord whereas disobedience keeps you away from your Lord. Every good deed and every act of obedience done outwardly or inwardly, between you and Allah the Exalted or between you and another creation done to observe the rights of people and being good to them will draw you closer to Your Protector. And know that the greatest way of getting closer to Allah the Exalted is by observing a right which He laid down upon you, whether it is His right or the right of His servant. Thus the most beloved way which a servant can draw nearer to Allah is by fulfilling Allah’s duties and obligations. It is transmitted in Sahih Bukhari on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Allah said: “'I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory till I love him, so I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him, and if he asks My protection (Refuge), I will protect him; (i.e. give him My Refuge) and I do not hesitate to do anything as I hesitate to take the soul of the believer, for he hates death, and I hate to disappoint him.”

So the first stage is to observe what Allah Almighty has made obligatory upon you and the second stage is to increase in doing good deeds, obeying voluntarily and doing recommended acts of worship. This is the way in which a person realizes the pleasure of Allah the Exalted as well as realizing success in the hereafter and deliverance in this world.

O believing servants of Allah!
Verily, the way in which a person attains the pleasure of Allah is by protecting himself from everything which draws him towards Hell fire, and everything which takes him away from guidance. This is a responsibility which Allah Almighty entrusted upon each one of us. Every one of us is required to protect himself from Hell fire. In this regard, Allah says: “O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones.” [al-Tahrim: 6].
Allah commanded us to do protect ourselves from His punishment and His displeasure and from the fire he prepared for sinners. This cannot be achieved except by obeying Allah and drawing near to him. Indeed you are responsible for yourself and you shall be accountable for everything you do whether small or big, whether done secretly or publicly. So be warned that Allah will see something on you that does not please him. Verily, Allah took Adam (peabe be on him) from paradise because of his sin, so do not belittle or underestimate a sin however little or small it may be, for indeed, they will accumulate on a person till they destroy him. Sahih transmits a hadith on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said: “Beware of belittling sins for verily they will accumulate on a person till they destroy him.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) gave an example of sins when he said: “This is similar to people who descended upon a spot in the wilderness. Then each of them started to gather wood, until they had a large amount of wood. Then they lit a fire, and cooked the food that they put on the fire.” Meaning to say that: sins that are belittled are not seen by people as something significant. A person will say this is not harmful and this will not affect me and this will not take me away from the correct path and this will not anger Allah. “Beware of belittling sins for verily they will accumulate on a person till they destroy him.” This is how the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) described small sins which are belittled. They accumulate on a person and destroy him. Then he went on further to clarify how destruction will occur by giving the following example: “This is similar to people who descended upon a spot in the wilderness. Then each of them started to gather wood, until they had a large amount of wood. Then they lit a fire, and cooked the food that they put on the fire.” This is how destruction will occur if a small sin is followed by another small sin. A believer is required to protect himself from small and big sins. To this end, Allah says: “Leave (O mankind, All kinds of) sin, open and secret.” [al-An’am: 120]. Allah Almighty commanded us to leave open sins which people see occurring or hear about them or have knowledge of them as well as secret sins which are between you and Allah the Exalted. So be cautious and strive to avoid these sins. “Every son of Adam is a sinner” but sinners differ in the way they return to their Lord by repenting and asking Him pardon. The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said: “And the best among those who sin are those who often repent.”  The Messenger of Allah acknowledged that mistakes are there, but this does not end there because there are people who justify their sins by saying everyone is a sinner but are unmindful of the Prophet’s significant guidance which says that the best among those who sin are those who constantly repent. You should therefore repent constantly. The Prophet said “constantly repent” not just repent because they repent frequently and keep on repenting from time to time. A single repentance is not sufficient for them because it is worship which a human being does not leave at other times or in other circumstances. It is an act of worship which is done for the whole life. We are so much in need of making frequent repentance and seeking forgiveness. So do not say: those sins will not harm me because I sinned but I did not see the effect. There is no sin which is committed except that it leaves an effect, but when the insight is blurred and the heart is blinded sins start to increase on a person till his heart becomes black while he is unmindful. At that point he will not be able to be mindful. There will be obstacles which will hinder him from returning to Allah and become righteous. Therefore frequently make repentance and ask for forgiveness. Muhammad son of ‘Abdullah had the purest heart, was closest to his Lord in terms of worship and obedience and he was the most God fearing person who executed Allah’s commands. Do you know how many times he used to ask forgiveness from Allah? He used to seek for forgiveness more than 70 times in one sitting like the sitting we are having, “O my Lord! Forgive me; turn to me in mercy for You are Oft-Returning and Most Forgiving.” This is the solution of erasing sins and raising your status as well as removing every harm. The Messenger used to ask for forgiveness more than 70 times in one sitting. Muslim transmits a hadith on the authority of Abu Harairah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said that: theMessenger of Allah (peace be on him) used to say while prostrating himself: “O Lord, forgive me all my sins, small and great, first and last, open and secret.”

He (the Messenger of Allah) used to ask Allah to forgive his sins and mistakes, small and great. Ask yourself from today’s morning till now, how many sins have you committed? And do not forget to include sins that people do not see but which are known to Allah. How much pride do you have in your heart? How much jealousy do you have in your heart? How much envy do you have in your heart? How much is your heart astonished by people seeing favors bestowed upon you? Some people limit sins to a specific type of sins. A person says: I do not commit adultery, I do not steal, I do not disobey my parents and they forget that these sins are not every sin; there are other sins which might lead you to destruction. They might lead you into a bad ending. So fear Allah openly and secretly and avoid sinning privately and publicly. Strive in lessening sins and bad deeds as much as you can and frequently repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness. Follow a bad deed with a good deed, for it will erase the bad deed. Verily, Allah Almighty loves those who constantly ask Him for forgiveness and those who keep themselves pure and clean. I have said this, and I ask of Allah my forgiveness and your forgiveness, He is indeed the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

 

SECOND SERMON

All praises are due to Allah; I praise Him as He deserves to be praised. I cannot enumerate His praises as He praised Himself. I bear witness that none is worthy of worship except Allah, The First and The Last. There is no God but He, the Compassionate, the Merciful and I bear witness that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His messenger. O Allah! Bless Muhammad and his family as you blessed Ibrahim and his family; You are indeed worthy of praise, full of glory.

To proceed:  

Fear Allah O believers! Protect yourselves from Hell fire by obeying Allah, by doing what you were instructed to do by Allah and by leaving what you were prohibited to do because in so doing you will attain happiness in this world and success in the hereafter. In this regard, Allah says: “And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, He indeed is successful.” [Ali ‘Imran: 185].

In another verse He says: “Surely for the righteous is achievement (or success).” [al-Naba’: 31].

O Allah make us from among Your pious servants and Your successful group as well as among Your righteous friends, O Lord of the universe.

 

Indeed we are in need of someone who can remind us, exhorts us and wake us up from our heedlessness for indeed heedlessness has gotten the better of many people because of getting so much attached to the world and distancing themselves from the hereafter. For this reason, it is incumbent upon a believer to correct and reform himself and to set right his path to his Lord. To this end Allah says: “Every soul is held in pledge for its own deeds.” [al-Muddathir: 38].

Do not be deceived by the large number of wrongdoers, do not be deceived by the large number of those who are heedless and do not be deceived by the large number of those who are liable to sin for Allah will not call you to account with them, but He will call you to account alone and He will ask you about His commandments and prohibitions and what you did about such and such a thing, why you disobeyed on such and such occasion. Indeed Allah Almighty informed us in His Book that every one of us is a prisoner of his own actions: “Every soul is held in pledge for its own deeds.” [al-Muddathir: 38].  Meaning to say everyone is imprisoned, in his earnings and in his actions. Your actions will either free you or confine you. If they are righteous they will free you from punishment and if they are other than that then there is no one to blame but yourself.

O Allah, grant us guidance and protect us from the evil our own souls. Do what Allah has commanded you which involves reforming yourselves and advise your families to do good deeds. Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said: “Beware. Every one of you is a shepherd and everyone is answerable with regard to his flock. The Ruler is a shepherd over the people and shall be questioned about his subjects (as to how he conducted their affairs). A man is a guardian over the members of his family and shall be questioned about them (as to how he looked after their physical and moral well-being). A woman is a guardian over the household of her husband and his children and shall be questioned about them (as to how she managed the household and brought up the children). A slave is a guardian over the property of his master and shall be questioned about it (as to how he safeguarded his trust). Beware, every one of you is a guardian and every one of you shall be questioned with regard to his trust.”

You will not have salvation if you fail to observe the rights of your family and the rights which Allah entrusted you with over your family. This does not necessitate that this hadith is an advice to fathers only so that those who are not fathers will say we are not addressed by that hadith. This is an address for every believer. The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said: “Whoever amongst you sees an evil, he must change it with his hand; if he is unable to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is unable to do so, then with his heart; and that is the weakest form of Faith.” And the Quranic verse says: “Protect yourselves and your families from fire.” [al-Tahrim: 6]. You protect your families by advising them and counseling them. The father, mother, brother, sister, children and adults; we are all instructed to invite to what is good and forbid what is wrong to the extent of our capabilities. Verily sins block goodness from people and will prevent goodness from you. The first thing that sins will block is contentment of the heart and the feeling of happiness. So ask for forgiveness frequently for that to go away. After this has happened, sins will result in the spread of misfortunes and evil on earth and in the heaven as was mentioned by our Lord the Most High when he said: “evil (sins and disobedience of Allah, etc.) has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned (by oppression and evil deeds, etc.), that Allah may make them taste a part of that which they have done, - that is: so that men should see the fruits of their actions and negligence. And why is this? -In order that they may return (by repenting to Allah, and begging his Pardon).” [al-Rum: 41]. That is to say: maybe they will return to their senses. If we are repeatedly warned  and we do not turn back from evil then heedlessness will be very difficult to remove from people’s hearts, advice and reminder will be of no benefit till they are afflicted with punishment and Allah’s wrath descends on them, then they should blame none other than themselves.

Allah disciplines His servants by what He causes to happen to them privately and publicly, he denies them what they love and gives them what they dislike so that they may turn back from evil and return to Him. Therefore affliction and deprivation of favors can be a cause for repenting to Allah, and begging his Pardon. Allah says: “for the wrong­doing of the Jews, we made unlawful to them certain good foods which have been lawful to them.” [al-Nisaa’: 160]. This prohibition can either be legal prohibition or fate related prohibition by which Allah prohibits some of His favors and goodness on His servants due to sins. Verily the best way of avoiding Allah’s wrath and removing misfortunes and adversity whether personal or general is by returning to Allah, Lord of the heavens and earth by repenting to, and begging his forgiveness. Therefore turn to Allah and hope for the best.

 In short repentance is: remorse for past sins, giving up current sins and devoting to reform and become righteous in the future. This is what Allah Almighty instructed us when He said: “O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance.” [al-Tahrim: 8].

 

O Allah! Grant us guidance and protect us from the evil of ourselves. Guide us to the right way O Lord of the universe. Make us among Your believing servants, Your righteous friends and Your successful group. Avert from us evil and shameful things O Allah!

O Allah! We ask You for guidance, piety, chastity and self- sufficiency. O Allah! Grant us a good ending in all affairs. O Allah! We ask from your favours sincere belief, good actions and right guidance inwardly and outwardly O Lord of the Universe. Keep us safe in our lands and reform our leaders and rulers and give us rulers who fear You and follow what pleases You. You are indeed the Living, Self-Subsisting and Eternal.

 O Allah! Bless Muhammad and his family as you blessed Ibrahim and his family; You are indeed worthy of praise, full of glory.

 بماذا تتقي النار

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