8. Seeing Allah in the Hereafter

One day in Egypt I decided to visit the Museum with my family. While we were there we decided to visit the famous mummy collection. Wow! You should have seen what it was like trying to get into that place. You have to pay another special fee; there is another metal detector, going in and out, and a large number of security guards as well. A few weeks ago a brother was showing me his new I-Phone. I must admit that it was really impressive but the one thing I noticed was that it was in a case. The other day I left my house with my computer and my wife scolded me, "Put it in its case." The obvious conclusion here is that it is not enough for us to own things of value. But when things are seen as truly valuable we protect them.

Now, since we've established that the most valuable thing is faith I would like to ask you a question: what has Allah chosen to protect faith? Let us think for a moment on this issue. For, indeed, the most valuable of commodities must be placed in the best case.

The Prophet [may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him] informed us that the Hearts of the believers are the vessels of Allah [the most exalted]. Thus, the heart, dear brother and sister, that beats in your chest is the case, the safe and the vault by which your faith is protected. For that reason, it is important that we keep our hearts clean and protect them.

Allah [the exalted] out of his great mercy for us not only orders us to protect our faith but gave us certain tools to protect and strengthen it and the case with which it resides.

1. Prayer- a daily protection

2. Jum'ah- a weekly protection

3. Can any of you think of a yearly protection? Yes, mashallah, the month of Ramadan! Ramadan was seen as such an advantageous time for faith that the scholars used to refer to it as, "The market for the people of eman."

This month is upon us and represents a great mercy. The Prophet informed us that, during this month, the gates of Heaven are opened, the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained. Ibn al-Khuzaimah's narration adds, "That every night a caller states "O seeker of Good! Accept the good! Oh doer of evil refrain from evil!" Sh. Yusuf al-Qaradawi states that, "It is as though Allah is saying, "Oh negligent one! You have neglected My service for 11 months. Here, out of my mercy is one month. If you take advantage of it you will be forgiven and can start anew free of sins!"

Four things to do during this month:

The Prophet [may Allah's peace and blessing be up him] stated that there are for things we should do during this month. Two that bring about Allah's happiness and two that are for you, the servant of Allah.

1. To say lai laha illah allah in abundance

2. To make istighfar [saying Oh Allah I seek your forgiveness]

3. Asking Allah for paradise. I would suggest that you ask Allah to grant the entire Ummah Paradise as such a dua, in your brothers and sisters absence, will be a means for the malaikah to pray for you. Thus, if you make this dua for the 1.3 billion Muslims the world over, 1.3 billion malaikah will supplicate the same for you!

4. Ask Allah to save you from the fire of Hell.

We ask Allah to bless you, raise and illuminate you. We ask Allah to give our brothers and sisters the strength to overcome their souls. We ask Allah to bless the new Muslims, give them the correct understanding and make them good examples for the society. We ask Allah to unite husbands and wives, to bring children back to their parents and parents back to their children. Remember that this is the month of forgiveness dear brothers and sisters. So, if you would like Allah to bestow His mercy upon you, then bestow your mercy on others.

Asalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah