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23rd May 2013

Hadith 29: Deeds that lead to Paradise II Lecture by Sister Eman al Obaid www.alhudasisters.wordpress.com

On the authority of Muadh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:

I said, O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an act which will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from the Hellfire. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, You have asked me about a great matter, yet it is easy for him for whom Allah makes it easy: worship Allah, without associating any partners with Him; establish the prayer; pay the zakat; fast in Ramadhan; and make the pilgrimage to the House. Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, Shall I not guide you towards the means of goodness? Fasting is a shield; charity wipes away sin as water extinguishes fire; and the praying of a man in the depths of the night. Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited: [Those] who forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend (charity in Allahs cause) out of what We have bestowed on them. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do. [as-Sajdah, 16-17] Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar and its peak? I said, Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is the prayer and its peak is jihad. Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, Shall I not tell you of the foundation of all of that? I said, Yes, O Messenger of Allah. So he took hold of his tongue and said, Restrain this. I said, O Prophet of Allah, will we be taken to account for what we say with it? He (peace and blessings of Allah

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be upon him) said, May your mother be bereaved of you, O Muadh! Is there anything that throws people into the Hellfire upon their faces or: on their noses except the harvests of their tongues? It was related by at-Tirmidhi, who said it was a good and sound hadeeth.

I said, O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an act which will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from the Hellfire.

Maudh bin Jabal asked Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam a question which led to a hadith, the gates of good. From this question you can see the main concern of the sahabah is to go to Paradise. Maudh bin Jabal not only wants the information, he also wants to apply it, put it into practice. The sahabah wanted the knowledge from Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Maudh bin Jabal is a Seeker of Knowledge. Seeker of Knowledge When you acquire the knowledge your main concern should be to go to Paradise and to be away from Hellfire. Sometimes people seek the

knowledge as a desire to feel good. Seek knowledge in order to make yourself closer to Allah subhana wa ta'ala. For the Sake of Allah subhana wa ta'ala When you seek knowledge to be closer to Allah subhana wa ta'ala and to go to Paradise you will not care about the result, you will acquire the knowledge for the Sake of Allah.

Are you seeking the knowledge for the Sake of Allah or:

Are you seeking knowledge for yourself to satisfy yourself? May Allah subhana wa ta'ala make our deeds for the Sake of Allah. Acquiring knowledge for your desires diverts you from the main purpose of acquiring the knowledge AL JANNAH where you will be close to Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Abdul Mubarak one of the righteous people said: The ilm, if you dont learn the ilm for Jannah then the ilm is transgression like when water overflows from a container. People are overflowing with knowledge but it will not make them go to Paradise because it is like a desire. Some people love to study which is a good thing the desire for learning is a good thing. If you are using your desire for learning the deen in order to fulfil your own desire, for yourself, this will not lead to Paradise. We learn two things from this statement:

To LEARN and to APPLY what you learn

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Dont make the knowledge a desire, acquire knowledge to make you CLOSER TO ALLAH subhana wa ta'ala.

Why am I learning? We need to always ask ourselves Why I am learning? The signs that show you are not learning for the Sake of Allah is when you are frustrated, impatient, hasty this is when you are learning for your own ego. But when you learn for the Sake of Allah you know that Allah subhana wa ta'ala will appreciate your learning. The sahabah had a very high ambition - they wanted to go to Paradise. What was Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam response?

He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, You have asked me about a great matter,

Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not consider this a simple question or that he had already given them an answer in another hadith. Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam appreciated this question because to go to Paradise is very important, very great and the secret of our life is that our goal should be to reach Paradise.

The Greatest Success A person who is pulled away from Hellfire and admitted to Paradise, they have obtained the greatest success. Success from himself, success from shaytan etc., so many things we need success from to reach Paradise. It is not just knowledge that we need to learn, we need to overcome ourselves. Knowledge should reform you, not make you like Firaun learning just for the sake of knowledge, learning just to obtain some material thing. Paradise is a very great goal. Life is a deception full of so many temptations that deceive us. Paradise is something so great therefore it is not an easy matter.

yet it is easy for him for whom Allah makes it easy:

This is to motivate you to go to Paradise is not like going to University or applying for a job, you are in the neighbourhood of Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Dont close the doors, it is easy, but the ease is connected to something. It will be easy for whom Allah subhana wa ta'ala made it easy for them. Paradise is not easy when you try to go there by yourself. In every matter you

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should not be far away from Allah subhana wa ta'ala, you need Allah subhana wa ta'ala to make the way to Paradise easy for you. Chapter (2) srat l-baqarah (The Cow) 2:185 Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship Islam is easy Allah subhana wa ta'ala made the religion of Islam based on ease. Allah subhana wa ta'ala said it is easy for whom Allah subhana wa ta'ala made it easy. You need to rely on Allah subhana wa ta'ala to make the path easy. For some people the way is difficult and for others it is easy. Why is it easy or hard for you? HARD when you cant seem to do good deeds, this is when you rely on yourself and are not relying on Allah subhana wa ta'ala. When Allah subhana wa ta'ala makes it easy nothing can stop you, there will be no obstacles. We need to overcome ourselves, overcome our confidence. You need Allah subhana wa ta'ala to make the way easy. EASY Chapter (92) srat l-layl (The Night) 92:5 As for he who gives and fears Allah 92:6 And believes in the best [reward], 92:7 We will ease him toward ease. Their goal is Allah subhana wa ta'ala, their goal is to reach to Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Their target is La

illaaha illa Allah (None has the right to be worshipped except Allah). If you go towards Allah subhana

wa ta'ala, Allah subhana wa ta'ala will make the way easy for you. The Mutawakkil totally rely on Allah

subhana wa ta'ala. They will go to Allah subhana wa ta'ala on the Day of Judgment without any hisab,

no difficulties, no waiting.

I cannot rely on myself or rely on my deeds. Our deeds are full of defects and are not what Allah subhana wa ta'ala deserves. How much is your tawakkulAllah? The Amal

worship Allah, without associating any partners with Him;

Submit to Allah subhana wa ta'ala out of LOVE AND MAGNIFICATION, be a Slave of Allah. You cant do without your Master accepting your actions. Love You need the love to do the good deeds, blindly. If you love or desire something else you will deviate. Your prayer should be out of love. You need love to keep going, you need to

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magnify Allah subhana wa ta'ala in order not to sin, in order to repent. Dont worship as if you have a favour on Allah subhana wa ta'ala, Allah subhana wa ta'ala knows what is in your heart. Chapter (2) srat l-baqarah (The Cow) 2:156 There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Love will motivate you. When you worship Allah subhana wa ta'ala dont look at how big your deeds are, you are giving your deeds to Allah subhana wa ta'ala the Greatest so be shy. Dont share your worship

Dont let anyone have a share in your worship

Dont be a Slave of Allah with somebody else dont share Allah subhana wa ta'ala does not like you to share the worship, Allah is the Most Rich, He doesnt accept it if you associate anyone with Him. Hadith Allah subhana wa ta'ala left them with their shirk. We cause our own destruction when we are a slave of someone else with Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Allah subhana wa ta'ala wants us to be high. Allah subhana wa ta'ala will leave you with your shirk. We want to share what is tangible, infront of us. But people make their desires their god. Purify yourself to free yourself from Hellfire.

SHIRK is the greatest thing Allah subhana wa ta'ala forbade us from.

TAWHEED is the greatest thing Allah subhana wa ta'ala commanded us to do. Your heart should be pure, pure