Introduction and Gratitude
At the beginning and at the end, boundless praise belongs to Allah, the Exalted, the Creator and Lord of all worlds. He alone we worship, and from Him alone we seek help. We ask Him to forgive all our sins and cover our faults, to accept our acts of worship and our good deeds, and on the Day of Judgment, by His mercy, to admit us into the highest level of Paradise. Amin, O Lord.
The finest salutations, blessings, and peace be upon Muhammad ﷺ, the last Messenger of Allah, whose followers we—praise be to Allah—are. Peace and blessings be upon his noble family, the Ahlul-Bayt, his exemplary companions, all martyrs, the righteous Islamic scholars and learned ones, and upon all believing men and women. I pray that the Lord of the worlds bestows His pleasure and mercy upon all of us gathered here.
Dear and respected brothers in the religion of Islam, esteemed mothers and sisters, dear congregation of the Philipsburg community, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
Thanks to the Hosts and the Community
I feel a genuine need, indeed as a believer, a brother, and a human being, to thank all of you who have set aside your free time and come here to the house of Allah—to the place most beloved to Allah beneath the heavens—to perform the Asr prayer and, I hope, to hear something beneficial from me, God willing. I pray to the Lord of the worlds that this is so. Thank you, and may Allah reward you.
I especially want to thank my hosts. First of all—and you will not mind—I thank Merim, the brother who hosted me in his home and contacted me to come and visit you here. Thank him for that, and may Allah reward him. I also want to thank my colleagues, Zufere ef. Zahirović and Emrah ef. Bećirović, as well as your community board president, our diligent Bahrudin Gazi. May Allah grant them good health, strength, and steadfastness, and may you together persevere in what our common goal is: to preserve our iman, to preserve our families, and, God willing, to secure for ourselves the Hereafter and Allah's pleasure.
The Goal Defined by the Qur'an and Sunnah
The goal is clear, defined by the Qur'an and Sunnah. But considering the circumstances of these worldly blessings—and we will see how blessings can be a greater trial than war, suffering, and hunger—it is not an easy task at all. However, we have a recipe through the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and in today's lesson I will try to remind us of those Qur'anic and Sunnah prescriptions. The Lord of the worlds, out of His mercy, wisdom, and knowledge, revealed them through His beloved, the Messenger Muhammad ﷺ, in the Qur'an, and our Messenger Muhammad ﷺ realized them in practice through his Sunnah. For the Messenger was a human being like us, of flesh and blood, who cried and laughed, who experienced victories, defeats, and trials, but praise be to Allah, he succeeded in his mission.
And we, in this small place in the heart of Germany called Philipsburg—this is Allah's wisdom, I cannot define it otherwise—it was His decree that about thirty years ago, people sat down with the thought: we need a house of Allah, a masjid; what shall we do, how shall we do it? And here is its realization. Therefore, at the outset, I ask the Lord of the worlds to reward with the highest Paradise all those who from the beginning participated in the construction and purchase of this house. Blessed are you, and blessed are you who will come here and maintain this house and, God willing, improve it for this common goal, which is Allah's pleasure.
The Value of Allah's House and the Call to Regular Attendance
Allah is pleased with, loves, and expects from us that we visit His houses. Allah expects that His houses—and this is His house—become dearer to us than our own homes, our own property. Therefore, I ask you, brothers and sisters, to constantly motivate one another to come here whenever we have time, not only for Jumu'ah, not only for Tarawih during Ramadan, but whenever we have time. I know that the world awaits, obligations await, and all of that, so perform your worship, but above all work for the Hereafter, and then, God willing, what remains for the world. But let it not be the opposite: the world first, and then whatever is left for the Hereafter. For this life will pass, no matter how much we have, no matter how wealthy and influential we become—with titles, wealth, properties—we go to the grave alone. Neither your wife—or husband—nor your child, nor your parents, no one will go with you. There we will flee from one another until the judgment ends. This is the place of preparation.
The Messenger ﷺ said: whoever loves the house of Allah—meaning, when you see someone regularly coming to the house of Allah, coming to the congregation, to prayer in congregation—bear witness to his iman, testify that he is a believer. There is nothing more sublime than being a believer. That is, to be a Muslim—for a Muslim is one who verbally declares the oneness of the Lord of the worlds through the shahada and the messengership of Muhammad ﷺ. But iman is a higher degree. Iman must be earned through sacrifice, through practice, by living the Qur'an and Sunnah daily—that is, fulfilling what Allah commands and guarding against what He forbids, and likewise following what Muhammad ﷺ commands and staying far from what he has prohibited.
This is just one of the many opportunities that we, praise be to Allah, as Muslims, believers, have to draw closer to the Lord of the worlds. Indeed, it is a phenomenon, a miracle, a wonder: why me, why you, that we are aware of the Lord of the worlds and the messengership of Muhammad ﷺ? And why are we guided, praise be to Allah? Yes, we are. But why does Allah leave other people in misguidance, as the Lord of the worlds says: He guides whom He wills and justly leaves in misguidance whom He wills. We are honored; we have prayer, awareness of Allah, and we know that this is the most beloved place to Allah, so let us make use of it and come here throughout our lives.
Reward for Steps Towards the Mosque and Encouragement to Give
After all, every step from our house or apartment to Allah's house is multiplied in reward by Allah, the Exalted. For Allah rewards a good deed from ten up to seven hundred times.
﴿مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا﴾ (Man jā’a bil-ḥasanati fa lahu ‘ashru amthālihā) — “Whoever does a good deed shall have ten times its reward.”
And in Surah Al-Baqarah, concerning spending in the path of Allah—and why about spending? Because we love wealth, we love euros, we love money. Allah promises a reward of seven hundred times, and even more for whom He wills, because we sacrifice what we love. So I ask you, whenever it is needed for the mosque, for Islam, for your faith, let us not be stingy, for that is an investment in the Hereafter. Allah promises and then challenges: are there those among you who will give a loan to the Lord of the worlds? Consider—Allah honors you by allowing you to lend to the Lord of the worlds. How can I lend to the Lord of the worlds? Who am I to do that? But Allah has given me provisions, and now He invites me to sacrifice a part of that provision, a part of my wealth, for the cause of Islam, because I love it.
Allah says: who is it that will willingly give Allah a loan, so that Allah will multiply it for him many times over? Let us remember well: whatever we give in the path of Allah, Allah will never remain indebted to anyone—we cannot even fathom that. He will return it to you, if not through a raised salary, then through peace in your family, through healthy, secure children. If you did not have a neighbor, I would say He protects you from evil. He will safeguard you from misfortunes and trials. Let us not always think: I donated 1,000 euros for the mosque, so now I expect Allah to increase my salary, to give me a 13th salary, some kind of profit. Not everything is in money; some of it is in health, in security, in a good relationship between husband and wife, in obedient children. Is it not so? People who are sick, what would they give to be healthy? Husbands with disobedient wives, or wives mistreated by husbands—what would they give to have proper spouses and obedient children? What would they give? All the wealth of this world? But that is a gift from the Lord of the worlds, just as iman and guidance are, I swear by Allah.
The Greatest Blessing—Guidance and Security
When you list the blessings we are provided with, first of all: that I am alive and healthy, that I am sane, that I know my identity, who and what I am, that I know Allah has guided me apart from the rest of the world. That is, Allah has left millions of people in misguidance, but He guided me, and to Allah I fall in prostration, because that is the only way to Paradise, to Allah's mercy. I say: I am honored, O Lord! That is the greatest blessing. And family, health, wealth, peace, and security. Look, there is no Gaza here, no Ukraine, no Iran, no Middle East. There is no war here, no shooting, alhamdulillah. But this people has been through much, as you well know, some seventy-odd years ago. There was chaos in the country, but see how Allah changes things. Yet through our actions and work, we now secure the future for our children and grandchildren. How our grandchildren will live here depends on us, on our actions, on living the faith, on enjoining good and forbidding evil. Whether they will live in peace and security or face trials—believe it. So that is an obligation.
To preserve my iman, my faith, because Allah honored me with it; not to relax in this world for a second; to treat every day as the last and as the most valuable gift in life; and to see what I can use today, on this Saturday, to draw closer to the Lord of the worlds, to strengthen my faith, to strengthen my inner iman, to draw closer to the Lord of the worlds, to seek His favor.
How beautifully Allah says in Surah Al-Ma’idah:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُوا فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ﴾ (Yā ayyuhā alladhīna āmanū, ittaqū Allāha wa btaghū ilayhi al-wasīlata wa jāhidū fī sabīlihi la‘allakum tufliḥūn) — “O believers, seek to win the favor of your Lord.”
How can you and I win the favor of the Lord of the worlds? By doing what He loves. And what does Allah love most? Prayer at its earliest time. He loves those who fast; He loves... I will cite a Qur'anic verse about whom He loves and who are the successful believers. In Surah At-Tawbah, it is listed explicitly—the Lord of the worlds says:
﴿التَّائِبُونَ الْعَابِدُونَ الْحَامِدُونَ السَّائِحُونَ الرَّاكِعُونَ السَّاجِدُونَ الْآمِرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّاهُونَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَالْحَافِظُونَ لِحُدُودِ اللَّهِ﴾ (At-tā’ibūna al-‘ābidūna al-ḥāmidūna as-sā’iḥūna ar-rāki‘ūna as-sājidūna al-āmirūna bil-ma‘rūfi wa an-nāhūna ‘ani al-munkari wa al-ḥāfiẓūna li-ḥudūdi Allāh) — “Those who constantly repent, who worship, who praise Allah, who fast, who bow and prostrate, who enjoin good and forbid evil, and who guard the limits of Allah...”
Nine qualities.
Qualities of Successful Believers and Encouragement to Self-Examination
He says: “At-tā’ibūn”—the one who constantly makes tawbah. Let us analyze this verse a little. Am I like that? The verse ends with: “wa bashshir al-mu’minīn”—give glad tidings to the believers. Give glad tidings to the believers. Before that, I mentioned who the believers are, to whom we should bear witness that they have iman: the one who regularly comes to the mosque. By Allah, to the mosque. Now you ask yourself: well, only Jumu'ah—is that enough? Could it be better? Could it be more? Answer for yourselves. I do not know your circumstances, how far you live from the mosque, whether you all have cars, whether you can walk or bike—I do not know, but each of you knows the answer. And you know how it is in Islam: the farther the mosque, the better. And why? More steps, more reward.
Then the Lord of the worlds says: “at-tā’ibūn”—those who constantly return to the Lord. Today, tonight, I will repent a hundred times. Why? Because I did not use the day as I should have. I was heedless, negligent; I slept, was lazy; I could have come to the mosque but did not. I could have recited ten pages of the Qur’an, but I did not. Instead of talking about the Hereafter and reading books, I scrolled through social media, watched some series, the Champions League. And that is okay, but what benefit do I gain from it? That is the key question. What benefit do I gain for the Hereafter when I lie in the grave, when my brothers lay me down? Will I benefit from having worried about some match and gotten upset? A person cannot help but get upset. Will I benefit? What is that to me? And how many minutes did I stare at a screen, compared to how many minutes, hours, and days did I look at the Qur’an?
How often was I in company where there was backbiting and idle talk, compared to how often I listened to lessons, sermons, and enriched myself, my family, motivated myself, my spouse, my children towards worship, good deeds, coming to the mosque, reciting the Qur’an. As for the recitation of the Qur’an, Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, said that if your hearts were truly sound, you would never tire of reciting the Qur'an and never let it go. And how much do you and I hold a mobile phone, compared to how much we hold the Qur’an, brother and sister? Come on, answer for yourselves. How much Qur’an do you read daily? Not much, right? Very little, no matter how much you say.
Awareness of Allah’s Blessings and Constant Tawbah
Let us thank Allah, first for being Muslims, then for health, for guidance, for family, for wealth, for security, for food, for drink... and you count Allah’s blessings, yet you could never enumerate them. That is why Allah says: who are those who receive glad tidings? He says: “at-tā’ibūn”—those who continually return to Allah, who always improve, who are never satisfied with themselves. That is key. You cannot be satisfied with yourself, brother; by Allah, you cannot.
Self-Reflection on Religious Duty
Consider your own life: when you were a young man or woman, sixteen, seventeen, twenty years old, the moment you reached puberty you became obligated to perform religious duties. Did you pray every salah on time? Did you make dhikr every day, thank Allah, and seek forgiveness a hundred times? Why do I say a hundred times? Because the Messenger Muhammad ﷺ taught us to seek istighfar a hundred times a day. Did you? I did not—did you? That is the issue. And yet we want Jannah, we want the company of the Messenger, we imagine ourselves to be something… I am being slightly provocative on purpose. Forget about those who do not pray or fast; why should you concern yourself with them, even if they are your family members? By Allah, you will run from your own mother, your wife, your friends, your fellow congregants, your imams—from everyone. You will care about nothing except your own fate.
On the Day of Judgment, one's feet will not move from the spot where they have stood for fifty thousand years until they answer for everything: their entire life, their youth, their knowledge, their wealth. Absolutely everything.
Worship Extends Beyond Ritual Prayer
The truly devout person is the one who performs ‘ibada. Worship, of course, is not only salah. Salah is ritual worship, the most pivotal and important act. Know that there is no Islam without salah. There is no true Islam, and especially no iman, without every salah. Theoretically, we may accept that a person remains in Islam by simply uttering the shahada—we will not hound someone by saying, “Look at you, you are not in Islam.” He is in Islam, but substantive Islam, and particularly iman, does not exist without regular salah. Let us not deceive ourselves; let us be perfectly clear—by Allah, let us be perfectly clear. How can anyone claim to have iman yet neglect salah? Allah does not take that lightly. In Surah al-Muddaththir, the inhabitants of Hell, when asked what brought them into Saqar, will reply, “We were not among those who prayed.” That is the first characteristic of the people of Hellfire.
I speak of al‑‘abidun—those who serve. Allah says: “I created jinn and mankind only to worship Me.” I want to broaden the picture here, to stretch it a little. ‘Ibada is salah, zakat, hajj—but ‘ibada is also your conduct toward your spouse, your parents, your children, your coworkers. How you behave on the street, in traffic, in this worldly life—that too is ‘ibada. The Messenger ﷺ said that when you come across a branch that has fallen after the wind, if you remove it, that is a sadaqah. It is like a stone that might fly from under a wheel and injure someone. Help with a good deed by giving your brother even half a date, by offering a gift, or by shielding yourself from the Fire through it. The Messenger ﷺ said that iman consists of seventy-seven parts: the highest is “La ilaha illa Allah,” and the lowest is removing a branch from the path; and modesty is a part of iman. The Messenger ﷺ thus taught us a series of methods by which we attain, maintain, and preserve our iman.
Gratitude and Reliance on Allah
Then there are al‑hamidun—those who are ever grateful. Whenever you ask someone, “How are you?” they answer, “Alhamdulillah.” You see a person who is unwell, in pain, in poverty, in worry, in trial—yet they always say, “Praise be to Allah in every condition.” Who among us is prepared, every day when asked how we are, not to recite our miseries: “Oh brother, this one wronged me, my employer cheated me, my salary hasn’t arrived…”? We always complain, and yet we always… What is the problem with us? Today, while we live in comfort, the problem is that we do not see what we have. We only see what we lack, by Allah. And may Allah protect us from that. When a desire of ours goes unfulfilled, if we are sincere believers, know this: when your wish is not granted, Allah is thereby protecting you from something. If you are a sincere believer, you sincerely attach yourself to Allah, you supplicate, you make du‘a, you give sadaqah and ask for something to come about in your life—but you see that it does not happen, that it has not materialized—know that Allah preserved you, if you are His sincere servant. Do not despair and do not complain about Allah. Allah does not like us to complain. He has given us ninety-nine percent, and the one percent He withholds from us in this world is for our own good and for the Hereafter, yet we immediately start complaining. Especially when we compare: how come some have and I do not; how come some have been promoted and I have not; how come some own more properties and I have nothing? Yet the Messenger ﷺ says: compare yourself to the one who has iman, who performs ‘ibada and good deeds, who serves Islam and the community—compare yourself to them. As for those with abundant wealth and property—surely they will be held accountable for that wealth. They will be asked about every euro they earned: how they earned it and how they spent it. Only two questions regarding wealth. And so a person has nothing to lament, but rather to have trust. This is what Allah has decreed for me—alhamdulillah, and it is more than enough. So long as I am alive, healthy, know Allah, can fall in sajdah to Him on my own feet, can get to the mosque, my children are well, and so on. We need not elaborate further.
The Essence of Inner Sight and Guidance
You know the story of the person who complained, or rather claimed that he would enter Jannah on the basis of his good deeds, so Allah Almighty showed him in a dream his eye being removed and the value of the eye being placed on the scale. He said, “I would give the entire world to have my eye back.” That is how much your deeds are worth—and you take them for granted. What if Allah takes away your eyesight? Yet the worst is when Allah takes away one’s inner vision. What is inner vision? As Allah says: “It is not the eyes that are blind, but the hearts in the chests.” You speak to someone about life: “Brother, your life is passing by, you have grown old; come, prostrate to Allah—how will you meet death?” You cannot move him—that happens only when Allah guides. Can people guide? No, they cannot. They can clarify a little, explain, motivate, but only the Lord of the Worlds is the One who guides and makes a way. Here we are speaking of al‑hamidun—the grateful. In Surah Ibrahim, Allah says: “If you are grateful, I will surely give you more.” That is our Lord. Be grateful to Him sincerely, from the heart, in word and in deed. Gratitude is expressed through deeds. You can say “alhamdulillah” a billion times today, but if you do not pray, you have not thanked Him at all. That is false gratitude. Know that. Gratitude is also expressed through your limbs and your wealth. We must do what Allah has commanded us.
Commanding Good and Forbidding Evil
Then come those who fast, those who bow and prostrate, those who enjoin good and forbid evil. We have somewhat neglected this principle. We are all afraid of one another. We are afraid to caution a brother or sister who is doing something wrong or living improperly—not harshly, but in a beautiful and gentle way. Allah says in the final verses of Surah an-Nahl: “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful counsel, and argue with them in the best possible manner.” Even with disbelievers, hypocrites, and ignorant people who insult Islam, Allah, and the Messenger—even with them, do so beautifully. The best ambassadors are those who bear witness to the faith through their beautiful conduct, their beautiful akhlaq.
A Recipe for Increasing Iman
Faith and religion are discussed here because the Lord of the Worlds says in Surah al-Anfal: “Indeed, the believers are those whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned”—at the same time they feel love for their Lord and, by Allah, also fear. Love for their Lord and fear because of their past shortcomings and deficiencies. “And when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith.” Here is a recipe for increasing iman. ﴿وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا﴾ (wa izā tuliyet ‘alejhim āyātuhū zādet-hum īmāna)—“And when His verses are recited to them, it increases their faith.” And they are, truly, those who rely upon Allah in all matters.
Genuine Reliance on Allah
What does it mean to truly rely on Allah? It means, brother and sister, that you do everything within your power, and then in the end you entrust the decision about your fate to your Lord. I sometimes tell students: you study, attend lectures, take exams, regularly submit your seminar papers—on the day of the exam, you have prepared everything. You have plowed, harrowed, sown the seed, and then you rely on Allah that it will sprout, that is, that you will pass the exam. It is the same for those of you who work—every morning you get up to go to your job. You cannot say on Monday and Tuesday, “I do not feel like it.” You have never said that. Your employer would immediately call: “What’s the matter, are you sick? Bring a sick note.” Yet now you say to the Lord of the Worlds, “I do not feel like getting up for Fajr. I can get into Jannah without Fajr and without Dhuhr.” Compare the two. How would your employer react, and what do you expect from Allah? Negligence, heedlessness? “I can do it the way I think I should pray, as much as I think I should pray, and that is enough for Jannah.” It does not work like that, brothers and sisters. It is not right. That is only one segment. And the segment of conduct, of relationships with family and surroundings—akhlaq, morals, responsibility, fulfilling obligations—that is a broad topic, each its own separate theme.
Encouragement Within the Family and Small Things That Become Great
Therefore, brothers and respected sisters, we must be motivators to one another within our homes. Husband, wife, children—every day: “Come here, let us read five pages of the Qur’an, let us do the evening dhikr, the morning dhikr; come, let us go to sleep with wudu.” All of that is assumed; it is the Sunnah of Muhammad ﷺ. But we forget—we fiddle with our phones, watch TV, fall asleep without wudu. The Messenger ﷺ, the Beloved of Allah, the first to enter Jannah, never lay down in his bed without having wudu and without reciting Ayat al-Kursi. I give just one example. Someone might say these are small things, but they become weighty matters if you neglect them. Small things that are taken for granted while you do them become weighty matters when you omit them. The night prayer and other voluntary acts—they are not obligatory, but out of love for Allah you rise in the depths of the night, you want to endear yourself to Him. I quoted earlier: you want to endear yourself to your Lord. You want something extra—just as in this world you might take on an extra job to earn more. Similarly for the Hereafter: fasting on Mondays and Thursdays, reciting the Qur’an, coming to prayers besides Jumu‘ah, rising for the night prayer—that is the extra that Allah especially values. We do not have to, but we want to—out of love for the Lord.
Never Let Complacency Set In
I touched on this during the khutbah, and I always mention it: we believers who hope for Allah’s mercy—thank Allah, we are guided, we pray, we know Allah, we remember Him, we are in Allah’s house. But we must never slacken for a second or be satisfied with ourselves. One can always do better. One can always give more in the way of Allah. I say “give” because we love wealth and we always calculate. “I gave there, so I don’t need to give here…”—we would set everything: every Friday, every month a certain sum—that, insha’Allah, is for the Hereafter. “I need for myself, for my wife, for my children. This is for the Hereafter, and this is my salary.” Most of the salary is kept for oneself, and only a little for the Hereafter. That is, in quotation marks, “for Allah,” to help Allah and His religion. Yet that is a transaction with Allah. For what, in truth, belongs to us? That which we have given away—not what remains so that the heirs quarrel over it, which sometimes happens, so that brothers and sisters become angry because father did not distribute the inheritance properly in time. One should reflect on that. The religion is alive, it educates us, and we follow the life of Muhammad ﷺ, who gave away all his wealth. But Allah does not ask that of us, nor did the Messenger. We are not at that level. I have not, in fifty years of life, met anyone who gave away everything and left his children to Allah. Yet Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, gave away all his wealth four times—four times, not once. When the Messenger asked him what he had left for his family, he said, “I have left them Allah and His Messenger.” That is a transaction. ‘Umar came and said that he had given away half, and thus Abu Bakr was valued, and the Messenger said: the closest to me is Abu Bakr, then ‘Umar, then ‘Uthman, and the rest of the Companions. I have yet to meet a Bosniak who gave away everything to Allah Almighty. And Allah does not expect that from us. Because in the throes of death, near the end of life, you must leave one-third to your heirs. See, that too is wisdom and justice. You must leave one-third, and you may dispose of two-thirds—but leave that one-third to your wife, your husband, your children so that they may be independent.
Free Time and the Blessing of the Congregation
I am speaking of a situation when we understand religion superficially and are satisfied with the minimum. We all have the opportunity to draw closer to the Lord of the Worlds, to reflect on the passage of time. The Messenger ﷺ says: two of the greatest blessings a person only appreciates once they are lost are health and free time. That is irrevocable. Free time is when you come home from work, alive and healthy, you have finished your day’s labor, you have showered, eaten a nice lunch, rested for the next day, and then you can come to a prayer in congregation and strengthen your iman. Then you will see baraka. Here I see a very healthy atmosphere, alhamdulillah. When I see your faces, the atmosphere here, you have potential, by Allah, beautiful. I congratulate you on that. And for the sake of your children who are here—alhamdulillah, may we all, insha’Allah, prepare the ground for it to be even more advanced, even better, for you to expand this house of Allah. Blessed are those who serve this house, the house of Allah, and help with voluntary contributions, hoping solely for Allah’s reward and mercy. Know that Allah’s reward and mercy await you. Allah and His Messenger have promised that.
Guard Against Satanic Deception and Have a Pure Intention
On that path, do not let Satan deceive you so that you say, “That’s enough from me, I’m tired, enough, more than some others.” Allah has honored you with awareness of Allah, of Jannah, of following the Qur’an and the Sunnah—never say that. Say to yourself: I will serve my religion and my brothers, my congregation, as long as my legs carry me, as long as I have my reason and ability. For sometimes Satan deceives a person: he works his entire life, and then someone does not praise him, reward him, or mention him, and he becomes angry. “Look at that one, he came yesterday, did something, and he is praised to the skies, while I, who have been here twenty years, am never mentioned by the imam.” Yet you do not work to be mentioned by the imam, but to be mentioned by Allah. It is human that every injustice hurts us, but when a person has a pure intention, he is not concerned with people’s praise and compliments.
Sincerity and Reward from Allah
If someone mentions that you have contributed to this mosque, even if someone merely says “alhamdulillah,” that is the first good news for the believer. Just say, “May Allah be pleased, and may we all be better, insha’Allah.” When you are sincere, Allah gives more than we deserve—believe me, in this life. By Allah, Allah gives more than we deserve, because Allah promises that.
The Promise of a Beautiful Life Through Righteous Deeds
There is a beautiful verse that speaks about the beauty of life in this world when you are in worship, when you guard your prayer and protect what is sacred to Allah. It says: Allah grants you to live a beautiful life in this world. The verse states:
﴿مَنْ عَمِلَ الصَّالِحَ مِنَ الْذَّكِرِ مَا فَوْفَقَهُ وَمُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً وَلَنْ نَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرًا مِّنْ بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ﴾ (men amile s-sāliḥa min eḏ-ḏikri mā fawfaqahū wa mu'minun fe-la-nuḥyiyennehū ḥayāten ṭayyibeten wa le-necžiyennehum eǧram min bi-aḥseni mā kānū ya‘melūn)
It says: Whoever does good deeds, constantly doing good, constantly in service to Islam, towards people and family, and was a believer – man or woman – pay attention to this: Allah will grant, it says, that they live a beautiful life. A beautiful life. He will reward them in this world, it says, more than you deserve, more than what we have objectively achieved in our eighty years of life, if that is some kind of average. But what is crucial is firm iman, faith, and perseverance.
The Danger of Distancing Oneself from the Congregation
I am not asking who will praise me, nor has anyone mentioned me. Enough about me. I don't like the president, I don't like the treasurer, I don't like the imam, I don't like how that person prays. You well know that these can sometimes be reasons and justifications for people of unstable faith. Some discussion – we did something, someone didn't, someone didn't respect your opinion. You proposed something, and they tell you: "That doesn't work, brother, that's not for this situation right now." It's a valid idea, but it wasn't accepted. And then shaytan does his work, and little by little you start to distance yourself, you distance yourself from Allah's house, you distance yourself from Allah's mercy. There must be no distancing.
Even if the imam here were a fasiq – the greatest sinner according to Allah's jurisprudence, meaning the biggest sinner – you know that the imam is flesh and blood, there is no sin he is free from. You have no excuse not to come here, not to stand behind him. What if the imam is a sinner? You say: "I intend to follow Allah, to draw near to Allah," but you must be in the congregation. Of course, if he is unfit for anything – may Allah forbid, if he does not fulfill the Islamic conditions for an imam – then you physically remove him, right? But I am talking about a situation where a person cannot find an excuse not to come to Allah's house.
The Trial of Blessings
You see, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ warned his companions in many ways how a situation can arise where blessing becomes a greater trial. Remember this, because we are living in that time. It is a much greater trial for faith and for the Hereafter than affliction, war, loss of wealth, life, or children, as mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah. There are sayings of many companions, and they say: "Allah tested us with war, with enemies, and we passed the test. Then He tested us with worldly pleasures, gave us blessings, and we failed the test."
There was war – aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina – many passed that test, patiently endured, became martyrs. But as soon as they got hold of wealth and blessings, they lost their faith, their family, and everything. How many such cases are there! He never complained during the war, but when he went to Germany, to Switzerland, to the West, he immediately started counting euros, looking at one luxury, then another, then a third – where is the end? As the Messenger said: "One valley of gold, then another, give me a third, O Allah." And then only what can fill the eyes? Dust. But then it is too late, there is no remedy.
Reevaluating Life's Goals
And so you reflect within yourself: why do I live, what is my goal, what do I want in life? Honestly, when you sit alone with your wife: let's see what we want, what we are striving for. Well, you know, to save, then security, then to provide security for the children. I am a little here, in the same position – Zagreb, Childsburg, it's the same Western civilization. It doesn't have to be the children, but your grandchildren could go astray. May it never happen, by Allah! Because you were not careful, because you were not an example in the house. Because everything else was more important – school, sports, and entertainment – than prayer, than the Qur'an, than the congregation. And what have you achieved? What kind of work have you accomplished? You earned two, three properties, and your grandchildren went astray. Then Allah points to that work. You were not righteous, you were not an example. You did not insist on prayer, on guarding what is haram, you did not insist with your daughter on modest dress and so on. And while you could – until she was twenty. When she is twenty, whether son or daughter, you have nothing more to seek there, it's finished. That is a grown person. Do we understand each other? Yet you always had time to work extra, to get involved, to earn more.
Sometimes money is needed. It is better to be rich than poor. Certainly it is. Better to have than not to have. You cannot give zakat, or charity, or go on hajj if you have no money, isn't that so? But if that becomes the purpose of life, then you lose your faith, you lose contact with Allah, and it all boils down to that superficial little bit – what did we live for, what did we fight for?
The Messenger's ﷺ Warning About Competing for Worldly Gain
And so, the Messenger ﷺ said, during the Battle of the Trench, when the enemy was about to overrun Medina to slaughter, rape, and turn it into a graveyard. He said, when the companions were at their wits' end, the Messenger ﷺ said at that moment: "When they thought all kinds of things about Allah, I am not afraid of this situation. You will, Allah willing, overcome this. I am afraid that the world might open up for you, and then you start competing with one another over who has what – so I must have, I must have too – and then you perish as those before you perished."
So, brothers, everyone must, as we say, have coffee with themselves, and then compare those priorities. It doesn't matter that you are thirty years old, that you are in your prime, or forty, but you do not know how much Allah has decreed for you in life. You don't know. Not everyone will reach the age of ninety, right? Not everyone will.
He said: the clever, intelligent one is the one who prepares for what cuts off every pleasure and separates loved ones. And that is death. Everyone will die, except me, right? That is how we behave. I give a sermon at a funeral, and people stare with wide eyes for two minutes, it dawns on them, but after two minutes they talk about themselves. That, it is said, is a sealed heart. Meaning, when you see your brother lowered into the grave, a relative, a parent, a grandparent – I too will go down there, what then? What then? Then life. Then life follows.
Awareness of Eternity
That is why we Muslims say: he has moved on, not died. There is no death – there is a physical death, but it is a migration to eternity. Then the real life begins. "Return me, Allah, for one day so that I may live in worship of You." There is no return. There is no return. You had today, Saturday, which is the eighteenth of April, and tomorrow as if you live on. But there is no return, and that's your whole life. These are serious situations. It is about eternity, brothers. In this world, whatever trial befalls a person, it will pass, the person will die. It could be the last ten years, it could be in unbearable pain, but it will pass. Is that true? It will pass, we will die, we will be extinguished. But there, there is no end. There it is eternal: either Paradise or Hell.
So let us get serious and first help ourselves by seeking help from Allah. This is very important: ask Allah for help. "O Allah, guide me to deeds that lead to You, to Your mercy and love. Inspire me to become stronger in worship, to make my worship more qualitative, to do good deeds of various kinds with which You are pleased. And to not pay attention. Do not compare yourself with others; I can guide myself by comparing myself with the Messenger and the companions. You need no better teachers and motivators in life. See how they behaved towards worship, towards the Qur'an, towards families, towards wealth, and towards all those acts of worship, those deeds that led to Allah's pleasure.
The Right Attitude Towards the World
So, the story is not over, and the job, as they say, is not done. We have this world which is beautiful, we love it – of course, every normal person loves to be healthy, to be well dressed, to have something to eat and drink, to have a good mount, a good car, and a healthy wife or husband and children, and for everything to be perfect, alhamdulillah. No one likes to be tested. But Allah promises – I am sometimes afraid of this. He says: "Do you think that you will enter Paradise while Allah has not yet tested you as He tested those before you, the generations?" They were afflicted by poverty and illness. They were so shaken that until Allah, the Messenger and the believers said: "When will the help of Allah come? We can no longer endure this." And look at us – no one bothers us, no one persecutes us. Alhamdulillah, opportunities for work, for salary, nice apartments, nice cars, nice clothes, refrigerators, there is no food we don't have today, right? Look, I am not that old, I am fifty years old, but I remember in my town of Čelić, in the shop there was one kind of chocolate. Go now, open a shop, enter the shop – how many kinds are there? There are a hundred and fifty, right? Banana – what is a banana, brother? There were apples and oranges. Those were the two types of fruit – and my strawberries when they succeed, our Bosnian ones. And now avocado, mango, I don't know how to pronounce it. Right, brothers?
So what is the problem? That we think it is taken for granted. By Allah, nothing is taken for granted. Nothing is taken for granted, rather thank Allah and be patient in trial. And say: "O Allah, grant me what is good for me, for my Hereafter, so that I may draw closer to You. And You know my abilities. Do not test me, O Allah, with what I cannot bear, where I would lose my family, my iman, and my Hereafter." Some can endure more, others cannot. And we, through supplication – I seek refuge in the Lord of the worlds – ask that Allah not test us with what we cannot bear.
Spiritual Diseases and the Need for Constant Remedy
So, cheerful, joyful, motivated – from today, for the rest of my life, I want to be better. I am not good. Many days have passed, I have not done any good for the Hereafter. None at all. Only worldly matters, worldly matters, family, worldly matters. We cannot escape that. Do not misunderstand. We cannot. That is our obligation: to be responsible at work, to arrive at work on time, to complete tasks, right? But let the Hereafter be the priority. And then a person will achieve peace and security. It says, the disbelievers know how to tear out of our chests that beauty of faith. He said, they would do it physically, but they cannot. It cannot be paid for with money, or position, or army, or anything. It is a gift from Allah, a gift from the Lord of the worlds, directly into the heart. Directly. And you say, when the fasting person says: "If I were to ask you, here is all of Germany, billions, billions, all the billions of the world – go ahead and break your fast intentionally." No, there is no power. Here, take my head – I will not break my fast, right? That is that feeling. That feeling should also be present with reciting the Qur'an, with prostration, and with living for Islam. Then Allah grants strength and victory.
But if we calculate – a little bit of this world for me, a little bit of the Hereafter, a little bit, like a buffet, what my soul desires, right? Well, Islam is not a buffet where I can pick and choose. This morning at breakfast – again, there is all kinds of food, and you choose. The eyes are hungry, but not everything can fit on the plate, right, only some. But Islam is not like that. Islam is as Allah commanded and His Messenger, but Allah does not burden anyone beyond their capacity. That does not mean that you miss the obligatory acts. The obligatory acts are assumed – matters of iman and Islam, what is assumed of you; that is the alphabet, the foundation. But when it comes to voluntary acts, there Allah does not burden beyond capacity. If you cannot perform the night prayer, you go to sleep early. Don't get up, brother. It is better not to get up than to get up for the night prayer and then be late for work. It is a greater sin in Allah's sight that you prayed than if you hadn't. Do you understand me? You fast, you want to observe the fast of Dawud – you are always nervous out there. Not nervous, but weak at work: "I am fasting, the fast of Dawud." You cannot always fast if your work suffers. Fast Ramadan, alhamdulillah, that is sufficient from you, if it is commendable, if you can, but... And so on.
Don't go around giving advice to others: "Spend a little more time with your family." We would love to be like those in Bakkah, but... So, praise be to Allah, I am repeating myself, we are honored with the deen and Islam, but we have a task to progress in faith, and then Allah expects from us to sacrifice wealth and free time. And what is most important, and what we find hardest to sacrifice, is our own ego. That is the broad spectrum of traits: arrogance, envy, laziness, negligence, forgetfulness.
Dead Hearts and the Need for Constant Protection
They asked Hasan al-Basri – the generation that came later, he was a tabi'un, but that fourth, fifth generation after Muhammad ﷺ. He, Derči was a known tabi'un, Hasan al-Basri. They asked him: "You, Hasan, Shaykh Hasan, you talk to us here, you preach, you guide, but, they say, we change very little, because our hearts are sick." He said: "If they were sick, they could be cured, but unfortunately, your hearts are dead."
And look at one beautiful Qur'anic verse from Surah Aal-E-Imran – a supplication, a verse of supplication:
﴿رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْوَهَّابُ﴾ (rabbanā lā tuziġ qulūbanā ba‘de iḏ hedejtenā wa heb lenā min ledunke raḥmeh, inneke ente el-wehhāb)
It says: "Our Lord, do not let our hearts deviate from the right path after You have guided us." Pay attention to this. I am on the right path, aware of Allah, I know what is halal, what is haram, what leads to Paradise, what leads to Hell, and yet I beg Allah: "O Allah, do not allow my heart to deviate. You are Al-Wahhab, the One who gives abundantly. Have mercy, You are the One who is merciful."
Allahumme, ya muqalliba al-qulūb, thabbit qalbī ‘alā dīnik – the Messenger's beautiful supplication: "O Allah, O Turner of hearts, keep my heart firm on Your deen, let it be firm, strong, steadfast." Supplication – that is, supplications to Allah – you cannot be on the right path, you cannot remain on the right path without Him. You cling to the Lord of the worlds and beg Him for help. Because our hearts rust, the Messenger said, just as iron rusts when water comes upon it. With what should we clean them? Remember death often and recite the Qur'an much. Remember death often – that shakes a person: the stay in the grave, in the earth. And then you have the situation where the Messenger every day, before every salam, in every prayer, supplicates to Allah: "Protect me, among other things, from the torment of the grave, from trials, from the Hellfire, from the trials of life and death, and from the trial of the false messiah, the Dajjal." And that is our duty.
Self-Examination as Protection from Shaytan
And I want to share something else with you about those spiritual illnesses that can befall even believers. I sometimes fear this for myself, and I reflect: is my heart sufficiently submissive to Allah? Is it that which I… is Allah pleased with my salah, with my children, with anything I do?
I think that as long as a person examines himself, that is good. When a person stops examining himself, Shaytan has defeated him. There are both physical and spiritual illness. You know well: someone who is psychologically ill will say that they never complained when something physical hurt them, but when the soul aches—there is no pretending there. We must not take it lightly and say, “Come on, what’s wrong with you, why worry so much, what depression, what anxiety.” That is a serious matter. May Allah protect us and keep us safe.
The Difference Between Physical and Spiritual Sickness
What is the difference between spiritual sickness and heart sickness? When a person is physically and psychologically stable, but spiritually sick—spiritually. When you are physically sick, you know what hurts; you go to a doctor. The doctor makes a diagnosis, then gives you therapy—you have an indicator of the illness. In spiritual sickness, nothing hurts.
Someone who does not pray will still have food and drink; Allah will grant him a long life and plenty of wealth. He prays not, fasts not, learns the Qur'an not. That is spiritual sickness. What can be the consequence of physical sickness? Death. Death to which believers look forward every day. Severe physical illness—Allah cleanses you of sins through it and admits you into Jannah. But spiritual sickness—nothing hurts. What is the consequence of spiritual sickness? Jahannam. Jahannam.
The Healer for Spiritual Sickness is Only Allah
For physical illnesses there are teams of doctors. Some specialist treats and heals you. But for spiritual sickness there is only one Healer: Ash-Shafi, The One who cures all, and that is Allah. So when you feel a little depression or psychological instability in life—there is no help without salah and reciting the Qur'an. No help from any top psychiatrist and calming tablets. When it is spiritual sickness, that which affects the psyche—of course that exists too, Islam does not deny it. But that spiritual sickness—for it the cure is only the Lord of the worlds.
A Du'a for Strengthening Iman and a Beautiful Ending
I ask the Lord of the worlds to strengthen our faith in our hearts, insha'Allah, to motivate us, to help us, and to advance in iman, that we do deeds with which He is pleased. That Allah grants us a beautiful end. That is crucial. No matter what we do, what we live from, what we are occupied with, our common goal is Allah’s beautiful end, Allah’s pleasure, Allah’s bonus—entry into Jannah.
When will our souls be completely at rest? On the Day of Judgment, when your Lord tells you: you are forgiven, enter My Jannah. Allah says in Surah Ali Imran: “Hasten, race toward Jannah that is as vast as the heavens and the earth, prepared for those who are conscious of Allah, who are constantly mindful of Allah.”
Characteristics of the God-Conscious—Generosity, Restraining Anger, and Forgiveness
And who are those who are mindful of Allah? They are those who give on Allah’s path both when they have and when they do not have. When they have enough, and when they set something aside as a hidden reserve—saving for old age—they still give that on Allah’s path. They are those who restrain anger and forgive people. Note these characteristics. You give what you love most—wealth—both when you have it and when you do not, even when you need it, but you give on Allah’s path, for the Hereafter. You restrain anger when people anger you and wrong you. You forgive people who have wronged you. Allah loves the doers of good.
Forgiveness of Sins is Only from Allah—No Intermediary
In translation, the ayah follows: When people commit injustice against themselves, sin, then they remember, then they shed a tear, then they seek forgiveness of sins—and then you have part of the Qur’anic ayah: “And who forgives sins except Allah?” Except Allah. Who will forgive your sins? I cannot forgive you. We have no confession. That is shirk. Only Allah, directly. Everything depends on you directly. It depends on you talking a little with Allah, so to speak, to see what your status is.
The Key Question for Eternity
We conclude with one key question. What is the key question for destiny, for the Hereafter, for eternity? If Allah sent an angel to you right now, would you be pleased with yourself, or would you say: I could have done better through life? That’s it. And then if He sent one and Allah said to you: do you want Me to take your soul now, or do you want a little more time? “Now, Lord—a few more days, Lord.” But when it comes—there is no delay. Not even for a second.
Closing Du'a and Blessings
May Allah help us, insha'Allah. Praise be to Allah that we are Muslims. Amin. May Allah gather us together in Jannah and in the Hereafter. I wish you every success and goodness of this world, in your affairs, in your families, and that here you be servants, servants of the congregation, that you develop this congregation, insha'Allah. May Allah enable you to purchase these plots that are being sold, that you expand. May Allah grant everyone. Thank you once again for coming. As-salamu alaykum.