MIFTAAH SEMINAR

REVIVING THE HEART

Ustadh Ubaydullah Evans

Ibn Ata’illah stated: Allah SWT has gathered all goodness

SESSION 6

and He has made the keys which unlock that house the
sunnah of the Prophet SAW.
If we want the good which Allah SWT has gathered, we
must follow the Prophet SAW.
He continues: So follow him (SAW) through being content
with what Allah SWT has given you.
Allah SWT says:
َ َ ‫ن ﻋَ َﺬاﺑِﻲ ﻟ‬
‫ﺸﺪِﻳﺪ‬ ‫ﺷ َﻜ ْﺮﺗُ ْﻢ َﻷَزِﻳ َﺪﻧﱠﻜُ ْﻢ َوﻟَﺌِﻦ َﻛ َﻔ ْﺮﺗُ ْﻢ ِإ ﱠ‬ َ ‫َو ِإ ْذ ﺗَﺄ َ ﱠذ‬
َ ‫ن َرﺑﱡﻜُ ْﻢ ﻟَﺌِﻦ‬
(14:7)
And when proclaimed your Lord, "If you are thankful, surely I will
increase you; but if you are ungrateful indeed, My punishment (is)
surely severe." (14:7)

When we are thankful, Allah SWT will increase us in

what we have and He will also increase us in the
gratitude which we give for what we have.
We have enough of everything which we need except
gratitude.

1 p.g. EDUCATION | PRESERVATION | APPLICATION

 Zuhud
SESSION 6

He continues: Follow the Prophet SAW through zuhud.

Zuhud means abstinence, however it is frequently
misunderstood.
Zuhud is not about having nothing in your hand. It is
about having nothing in your heart.
It is not about what you own, but it is about what
owns you!
One who practices zuhud does not go after the dunya.
They strictly use the dunya to go after the akhira.
There is a part of us that should be reserved for
Allah SWT.
A person can have a lot of material things in this dunya
and still be a zahid by not being attached to these
things.
He continues: And leaving that which does not concern
you in your speech and your actions.
The Prophet SAW said: From the beauty of someone's
Islam is leaving that which does not concern them.
He SAW was not a person who followed behind
people trying to find their shortcomings.
He SAW commanded us to cover the flaws of our
brothers and sisters and not to be people who dig
for others mistakes.
This includes leaving gatherings when people start to
backbite about others.

2 p.g. EDUCATION | PRESERVATION | APPLICATION

 Follow the Prophet SAW
SESSION 6

He continues: Whoever has this door of following the

Prophet SAW open to them, this is a sign that Allah SWT
loves them.
Allah SWT says in the Quran:
ُ‫ﺤ ِﺒ ْﺒﻜُ ُﻢ ﷲﱠُ َوﻳَ ْﻐﻔِ ْﺮ ﻟَﻜُ ْﻢ ُذﻧُﻮﺑَﻜُ ْﻢ ۗ َوﷲﱠ‬
ْ ُ‫ﻮن ﷲﱠَ َﻓﺎﺗﱠ ِﺒ ُﻌﻮﻧ ِﻲ ﻳ‬
َ ‫ُﻗﻞْ ِإ ْن ُﻛ ْﻨﺘ ُْﻢ ﺗُﺤِ ﱡﺒ‬
(3:31) ‫ﻴﻢ‬ ٌ ِ‫َﻏ ُﻔﻮرٌ َرﺣ‬
Say: "If ye do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you
your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (3:31)

If we are able to implement the sunnah of the

Prophet SAW in our lives, this is a sign that Allah SWT
loves us.
He continues: If you want all good in your life, say: Oh
Allah I ask You for adherence to the way of Your messenger
in my speech and in my actions. So whoever wants this,
give up causing harm to the servants of Allah SWT.
This is the dua we should make if we want all good in
our lives.
The Prophet SAW said: The true Muslim is the one
from whom other Muslims are safe from their tongue
and their hands.
If we want to taste true submission to Allah, we
must be a person who other people feel safe
around.
The Prophet SAW also said: The Mumin is the one
from whom his neighbor is safe from any bad action.
3 p.g. EDUCATION | PRESERVATION | APPLICATION
 We should strive to make our neighbors feel safe
SESSION 6

and happy with us as Muslims.

He SAW said: Oppression is going to be darkness on
the Day of Judgment.
He continues: (Give up harm) In people's honor and their
lineage. If only people would give up oppressing each
other, they would all hasten to Allah SWT.
We must treat people with dignity and respect.
We should not treat people better or worse based on
their lineage or race.
We would reach the object of our search to Allah SWT
if we stopped oppressing one another.
He continues: Instead, we are like someone who is in debt,
who is unable to move freely because we fear running into
people that we owe.
He is saying that in our relationship with Allah SWT, we
are like those who can not benefit from His divine
breezes of mercy.
We can not experience these breezes because we
harm and oppress others.
He continues: Imagine if you were in the company of a
king and someone came to you and demanded that you
pay a debt. This would frustrate/embarrass you, even if it
was a small thing that they were asking for.

4 p.g. EDUCATION | PRESERVATION | APPLICATION

SESSION 6

He continues: If you can imagine how embarrassing that

would be, how will your state be on the Day of Judgement
when there are hundreds of thousands of people that
come to you demanding things which you've taken from
them. Maybe you've taken someone's money or despaired
someone's honor.
The Prophet SAW taught us that on the Day of
Judgment, everyone that we have wronged will take
from our good deeds.
He SAW said: Shall I not tell you who the bankrupt
person is? The sahabah said: Oh yes tell us. He SAW
said: The person that comes before Allah SWT on the
Day of Judgment with their scales full of good deeds.
They've prayed, fasted, and given in charity. And then
everyone that they have wronged begins to come and
take from their good deeds. They slandered this
person, they talked behind this person's back, they
stole from this person, they disrespected this person,
they belittled this person, they ridiculed this person,
and then they end up with nothing. This is the
bankrupt person.
We must remember that we worship Allah SWT and
through the worship of Allah, we become respectful
and we have regaurd for everything else.

5 p.g. EDUCATION | PRESERVATION | APPLICATION

SESSION 6

We must be careful of looking down at others and

judging others as it will result in us oppressing them.
Once we give up the injustice, we will be able to reach
Allah SWT.
He continues: The real afflicted person is the one whose
sins and desires have ripped them until they become like a
tattered waterskin.
There may be a poor person who has more taqwa than
a rich person, however we find ourselves feeling bad
for the poor person.
Ibn Ata'illah tells us here that the real person who we
should feel bad for is the one who is destroyed by their
sins and desires.

6 p.g. EDUCATION | PRESERVATION | APPLICATION