The Divine Purpose of Trials & Tribulations | Ustadh Quran Hodge

All praise belongs to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. Praise, alhamdulillah, is madha, is praise and shukr. Those two combined is hamd. So, all praise and thanks at the same time is due to Allah and solely to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. And we seek Allah we praise Allah and we seek Allah's help and we seek refuge in Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, from the wrongs that are inside of ourselves and our soul our souls and the wrong actions that we have committed in our lives, dear brothers and sisters. And we bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. The one who is in control of all dominion, the one who has created life and death, and who has power over all things. And we bear witness and testify that the last and final prophet of the of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, is Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. We send praise and benedictions upon the prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and upon his family and the companions all together. I advise myself, dear believers, and I advise you all. Allah to have to have taqwa of Allah, which is God consciousness, which is to have reverence of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah tells us in his glorious Qur'an, "Oh, you who claim to believe, all of you who claim to believe, Muslims, have consciousness of me and grant me my right, and do not die except in a state of submission to me." Allah also says in his glorious Qur'an, "All of you who claim to believe, Muslims, have consciousness of me and say words which hit the mark. Therefore, Allah will correct your actions from speaking correctly, he will correct your actions, and therefore, your sins will be forgiven. And whoever obeys Allah and his messenger Muhammad Sallallahu alayhi wasallam has won the ultimate victory. Dear brothers and sisters, I want to speak to you about something sensitive that we all will go through in life at some point in time or that we have encountered. And I'd like to share something with you personally. Recently, as some of you may know, last Friday my dear beloved sister Marisha rahimahullah passed away. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. And every single one of us, dear brothers and sisters, will be tried and tested with death. Whether be the death of a loved one or whether it be death of ourselves. And I want to implore you and I want to encourage you and myself to push yourself to know the glorious Quran because this is the only way of all darkness, out of all darkness that you will ever receive from any afflictions in your life, dear brothers and sisters. And it is the most important thing. There is no one else that you can run to except to Allah. Only to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can he pull you out of any grief or sorrow that you may be feeling in your life from any situation and especially death because our hearts are connected to that loved one. And generally in America, the way that we perceive life when someone is taken from us and we witness that janazah, all we see is that dead body. And sometimes that causes us so much grief and so much pain because we can't see beyond what the what the true reality is. So, I want to speak to every single soul and I ask that you bring your hearts to attention because verily this is the reality. As Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala first tells us in Surat al-Mulk Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has already told you and I what is the purpose of our creation, dear brothers and sisters. Allah reminds us reminds us that he is the one who has created death and he has created life in order to test which of you and I are the best in our deeds and actions. And everything that you and I do or experience can be rewarded. So, on this matter in regards to speaking about death in Surat al-Baqarah I want to recite to you and I want you to remember these verses, verses 153 through 157 of what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says are the best guided people in these matters of afflictions coming to them. Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem >> [snorts] >> Firstly, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, "Dear believers, seek help through patience, enduring patience, and salah. For truly Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is with those who practice sabr, who practice patience. And so now Allah is directly he's telling you and I that you must connect with the Quoran through that salah. You must be able to understand and learn the words of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so that they can take effect and actually change you. So he says bear patience >> [snorts] >> and by connecting with the salah. And he says in the next verse Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he follows that up and he says and regarding the people who have died in my path Dear brothers and sisters, just when one dies in the path of Allah it doesn't mean that they were solely a shaheed who went out to the battlefield and lost their lives. Whether your loved one passed because of cancer any sickness, dementia a car accident any type of accident, the fact that they were a Muslim, they died in the way of Allah. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says do not say regarding the one who died in my way that they are dead. Rather they are truly alive, but you who are still who still remains on earth just cannot see. Don't say that they are dead. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he then tells the believers even more. He says for the sheer sobriety says and I want to draw this analogy for you before we translate this verse. You and I know that we've grown up we've grown up and we've gone to school. And generally from the way that schools are built and the whole process of what the purpose of a school is in order for you to learn and to apply these things that you are being taught. You know that while being in school this is the place of tests. So it comes no shock or no surprise to the one to the student who is in school. Correct? You know that you are going to be tested. Muslims this life that we are living in is the school. And generally as a student you become extremely happy at least if your teacher tells you what's going to be on the test. So you're not just lost in bewilderment. And you feel kindness towards your teacher because of the fact that they at least let you know the subjects that you will eventually incur on this test. So what does Allah say to the Muslims who are in school meaning living this life? Allah says surely believers we are going to test you with fear. You may have fear of losing your spouse. You may have fear of losing your child. You may have fear of losing your job. We are also going to test you with hunger. >> [crying] >> You look around the world. Many of our brothers and sisters are starving or some of you may have come from places where you have lived through this tribulation. Allah also says and you will also incur diminishment of life. From simple things, whether you slam your finger inside of a car door, your nail turns black, and then you lose that fingernail. Or God forbid, you break a bone or lose a limb or your life itself. Allah also continues and he says and you're going to lose money. Whether someone steals from you, whether you have to pay something in excess because your account is overdrawn or whatever the case is. And you're also going to lose the fruits of life. You look at our young children and you look at their grandparents. Do you see the grandparents running around the same way, all energetic, the way that the little kid runs around? But Allah says, truly give glad tidings, though, to those who endure patience. And one of our brothers reminded me yesterday, whenever someone comes to you and they've been afflicted with a musibah or something that has harmed them, a loved one has passed away, or they become harmed in some way, shape, or form. Who goes up to them and say and says, "Congratulations, brother or sister." This is what Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala wants to do for us. And why is that? In the next verse, Allah says, What is the thing that the believers say? Those who have patience, Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala says that they reply like this. Whenever an affliction hits or harms them, a musibah, these tests that your teacher has already told you of what you're going to come across. And no, you don't know when they're going to happen. But the fact that you are a student, the fact that you are a Muslim, you know what is going to incur on your test at some point in time in your life. So, what are you doing to prepare? Are you coming to know your Lord and what he has told you inside of your glorious Quoran so you can be prepared for that moment? And when you take that test, you can reply with the best of answers. And the best of answers is inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. Truly, I belong to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and truly I'm going to return. You know what this what this test is about. So, when these things come to you, you don't lose your mind. AND YOU DON'T RESPOND in a way that is contrary to the way and obedience that a true believer responds to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Truly think about that and let it seep into you. People saw me speaking at my sister's janazah. And they would come to me and they would say, "Oh Quoran, brother, how are you so strong? How are you able to put your sister inside of the grave? How is it that you're able to take her face and turn her towards the qibla? How are you able to pour into over her body and then start to put the dirt over her body? And then stand over her and then give a speech to the community? How are you so strong?" And so I reflected about this. It's not strength. I'm no incredible Hulk. I'm a human being. But the strength that I do have is the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So, what they are seeing is not the strength of Quoran, but they're seeing the strength of iman. And I'm not claiming that I'm some good person or I'm better than. But I want you to understand something. If you want to see the truth, you must implement it. You must connect with it. And that's how it will help you get over every single trial and tribulation that you and I will suffer in this world. And the beautiful thing about a musibah. A musibah is a trial or tribulation, something that someone is affected or afflicted by. If you look at the Arabic root of this word, it comes from the sad, the wow, and the ba. For example, if I was to say asaba sayyadu maqasidahu If I was to say that there was a hunter who hit his target. A hunter hit his target. Allah uses word a musibah because whatever Allah sends your way, it was for you believers. >> [snorts] >> The loss of your loved one. The pain that you go through, the fears that you go through in life. It was written for you. And Allah is waiting for the most appropriate response from you. And look at the reward of those who respond firstly with inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. Truly I am the creation of Allah and truly I am returning to him. Allah is reminding you and I that we are taking a test. And there's a way to answer these questions or these problems of this test. Look at the reward of what Allah truly says is for the believer. Ula'ika alayhim salawatun min rabbihim wa rahmah. >> Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says regarding the person who responds to their problems of this test in this fashion of which we just have spoken that truly the blessings salawatul salawatul rabbihim the blessings the prayers of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the same ones that we send upon Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam is actually bestowed upon you from ALLAH HIMSELF AND his mercy and truly those are the right guided people. So dear brothers and sisters, I implore myself and I implore you all you're a human being and I'm a human being. There's going to be times where we suffer. There's going to be times where we forget even we remember that carcass of our loved one. And the shaitan may throw whispers at you. But you have to connect with these verses. You have to connect with the Quran because that is the only way the only thing that will truly push you push you through anything it is that you are being afflicted with in life. These verses that I tell you now when tears come to my eyes thinking about taking off the mask of my sister and her taking her last breath. When tears come to my eyes about opening up the mortuary or the morgue door and watching my body my my sister's body being taken out inside of a bag. To me she looks dead. But when I connect with the Quran and I stand in salah and I try to have patience I recite these verses and they bring sakina to my heart. Knowing that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that those who died in his way are not dead. You just cannot perceive them. Respond this way, and truly I will bless you through the trials and tribulations that you experience in life. >> [clears throat] >> Truly Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says when the Quran is read, you must be quiet and pay attention. He says that truly he swears by time and says truly insane, the human being is in a state of loss, dear brothers and sisters. Except for those who truly believe. And also those who truly believe, they do righteous actions, and they encourage towards patience and the truth. I have said my first speech, and I seek refuge in Allah from the sins that I have committed in the sins that everyone has committed in here and from the entire ummah. So, take this time to seek the forgiveness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, for surely he is the all-forgiving, the most merciful. >> [snorts] >> All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, the one in which he is the safety net for those who have taqwa, who are conscious of him. And there's no animosity from Allah upon us except for those who practice oppression upon others and upon themselves by committing sins and not putting a barrier between themselves and that sin trying to stay away from it. And we bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam is his last and final messenger. The last thing I would like to say is I I'm extremely appreciative of the community and you guys have taught me something very valuable of being a Muslim. This was the first time that I've ever me myself experienced someone this close to me passing away and what you all have done for me and my family have been nothing but insurmountable. And so I just want to show you who you are and encourage you even more so how we should be when we hear about our friends or family or brothers or sisters loved ones who have passed away. The Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam has told us Muslimi alal Muslimi. There are five rights. There are five rights that every Muslim has upon the other, upon one another. He says, "Raddut tahiyyah." Which is returning the salaam. Then the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam says, "Wa ijabatu da'wati." And answering the da'wah, the call of another Muslim when they call you and invite you. Then he says, "Wa shuhudul with the janazah team?" And witnessing the janazah of others. Then he also says, "What should we do with them and marry them?" And visiting the sick. And lastly, he says, "What should we do with them and eat them?" And also what should we do with them and eat them? And also what should we do with them and eat them? And also what should we do with them and eat them? And also what should we do with them and eat them? And also what should we do with them and eat them? And also what should we do with them and eat them? And also what should we do with them and eat them? And also what should we do with them and eat them? And also what should we do with them and eat them? And also what should we do with them and eat them? And there were non-Muslims also who showed up. They were able to experience da'wah from seeing the Islamic janazah going on and then my family was heavily impacted, especially those of them who are non-Muslim. So look at what Rasulullah alaihi wasallam encourages you and I to do. And what it really does is bring community together. So I ask myself and I ask you all to obey Allah and his messenger Muhammad alaihi wasallam because there's nothing but goodness for you and others by doing so.