16 Jamadil Akhir 1437H / 25 March 2016

STEADFAST IN IBADAH

FRIDAY SERMON

• Which means:

• “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.”

• Dear Brothers,

• Let us increase our taqwa towards Allah and be consistent in doing what He asked and abandon what He forbid, may our good deeds be accepted by Allah.

• Dear Brothers,

• Steadfast, generally means, being consistent and passionate in doing something.

• In other words, steadfast is doing something with a purpose.

• Steadfast is important in worshiping because it can shape your characteristic and personality in our daily life.

• If we do not remain steadfast in worshiping, our worship will not be perfected and won’t last.

• Allah swt said in Surah Al-Ahqaf verse 13 which means:

• Indeed those who say: “Our Lord is Allah,” and thereafter stand firm and straight [on the Islamic faith of Monotheism], on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

• Imam an-nawawi said, being steadfast is when we are obedient to Allah and this is what the Quran and Sunnah taught us.

• Example of steadfast in our worship is being consistent in obligatory prayers, always pray mandatory prayers, always cover your aurah, give charity and more.

• Rasulullah saw said, which means:

• “Be strong (steadfast) even when you can’t do it fully. Know that the best part from your religion is praying and no one will keep their wudhu unless he is a believer.” (HR Imam Malik)

• From the hadith, clearly we are asked to steadfast in our worship.

• This clearly has important reasons behind it.

• One of the benefit of steadfast when worshipping is, they will always be with the angels, they will not feel scared nor sad, and they will gain Jannah and sustenance.

• This is as Allah said in surah fussilat verse 30 which means:

• Indeed, those who have said, "Our Lord is Allah " and then remained on a right course - the angels will descend upon them, [saying], "Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised.

• Whoever remains steadfast in being righteous, they will get full sustenance as Allah swt said in surah Al-Jin verse 17 which means:

• So We might test them therein. And whoever turns away from the remembrance of his Lord He will put into arduous punishment.

• There are 4 ways to be consistent in worshiping Allah swt:

• First: Pray to Allah swt.

• This is because obedience cannot be achieved unless it is by the will of Allah swt.

• In other words, we can’t be obedient in worshiping unless we ask Allah for permission and we can’t abandon the wrongdoings unless we ask Allah swt too.

• Therefore, we have to always pray to Allah so he will enlighten our affairs, give us concentration in our worship, strength when we pray and to fight of our nafs and the devils.

• Rasulullah saw once said to saidina muaz ibn jabal ra, as narrated by imam an-nasai which means:

• Rasulullah’s will to Mu’az ibn Jabal, Mu’az ibn Jabal told that one day Rasulullah saw hold his hand and said:

• “Dear Muaz, by Allah, I really do love you. By Allah, I really love you.”

• Then Rasulullah saw said, “I will give you a will, dear Muaz so you won’t forget to recite it everytime you finish your prayers,

• Allahumma a'in ni 'ala zikrika wa syukrika wa husni ibadatik

• Meaning: Ya Allah, help me in remembering You, be thankful to You and worship You.

• (Narrated by Abu Daud)

• Second: restrain your eyes, ears and mouth.

• Those three sense is our main sense that shapes our personality.

• With that, we have to take care of those 3 senses from doing things that Allah forbids.

• Our eyes are given by Allah to not look at forbidden things.

• So does our ears, to not hear forbidden things, things that filled with harm and filth.

• Mouth that is given by Allah so we won’t use it to say bad things, hurt others, lie, and talk bad, slandering and such.

• This applies to when we write too, like what we post in our social media.

• Humans who can take care of their 3 senses from things that Allah forbids, their heart will be pure and hence, it’ll be easier for them to remain obedient to Allah.

• Verily, a dirty heart that results from those 3 senses is the main reason why we cant remain steadfast in being obedient.

• A dirty heart will commit more sins and will be harder for them to remain obedient because there is no light to light them.

• Third: Our heart is with Allah when we pray.

• Sometime we pray because it is a normality and tradition for us that it has became a habit, therefore the prayers we did will not give an impact to our heart.

• We usually pray because it is an obligation.

• Hence, our prayer is not perfect until we finish our prayers because we are not aware of our actions when we are praying.

• Forth: put a minimum limit to our daily ibadah, so it will not decrease and we will avoid from forgetting it.

• This is one way that works for us to remain steadfast.

• This is because, the concept of steadfast is not according to how much we worship but our experience is worshiping is what matters, even though it is not much.

• We have to put a limit in worshiping like, not abandoning our prayers.

• Doesn’t matter how late we are, we should pray together.

• We can also put an objective like reading the Quran atleast one page per day.

• Therefore, no matter what, we will try our best to read a page a day.

• Dear brothers,

• Let us pray that we will gain obedience by reviving the righteous environment and so it can be our support and motivation in doing our ibadah.

• May we always gain forgiveness, loyalty and blessings from Allah swt.

• It is as what Allah said in surah al-jinn verse 17:

• So We might test them therein. And whoever turns away from the remembrance of his Lord He will put into arduous punishment.

O servant of Allah, remember that this world is a place for temporary lodging. Truly, hereafter is the

everlasting and permanent abode. So let us devote to Allah for

obtaining happiness and escape from the punishment of hellfire.

• Allah says in Surah Al Ahzab verse 56:

Which means:

“Indeed Allah confers blessing upon the prophet and His angels (ask Him to do so).

O! You who have believed, ask Allah to confer blessing upon him and ask Allah to

grant him peace.”

Let us pray that may Allah SWT be please with the khalifahs of Rasulullah s.a.w i.e

Sayyidina Abu Bakr al-Siddiq r.a., Sayyidina Umar al-Khattab r.a., Sayyinda Uthman ibn Affan r.a., Sayyidina Ali ibn

Abi Thalib r.a.

And to his companions who struggle to uphold the religion of Allah, also to his uncles Sayyidina Hamzah and Sayyidina

Abbas r.a. and to his granchildren Sayyidina Hassan and Sayyidina Hussain r.a., his

daughters Sayyidatina Fatimah al-Zahraa’, his wives Sayyidatina Khadijah and Sayyidatina Aisyah r.a. and the other wives. Followed by

his family, companions, followers of the companions and those who come after them from time to time until the end of the world.

O Allah, forgive all Muslims and believers, whether surviving or

deceased. O Allah, grant us glory and prosperity to those who fight and

spend their wealth in your way such as those who pay zakat, waqaf etc.

Ya Allah, bestow your guidance and help to the leaders and kings of the

Muslim countries especially to Abdaka Al-Harith Lishariatika Al-Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Al-Sultan Iskandar, the Sultan and ruler for the State of Johor

Darul Takzim.

And to Raja Zarith Sofea Binti Al-

Marhum Sultan Idris Shah, Tengku Ismail Ibn Sultan Ibrahim, Tengku

Mahkota Johor and Cik Puan Khalidah binti Bustamam, the Prince and

Princess, the royal kinship, and all Muslims.

KEPADA PARA JEMAAH SEKALIAN,

SILA PENUHKAN SAF YANG KOSONG

DIHADAPAN ANDA

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