Finding God in a Material World

Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil 'Aalameen. Wa as-salaatu wa as-salaamu 'ala ashraf al-anbiya'i wa al-mursaleen, habibi ilaahal 'alameen Abil Qasimi Mustafa Muhammad. [Allahuma salli 'ala Muhammad wa ali Muhammad] wa 'ala ahli bayti tayyibeen at-tahireen. Qaala Allahu Ta'ala fi kitaabihi al-kareem, Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim, "Alladhina aamanu wa tatma'inna qulubuhum bi dhikri Allah, 'ala bi dhikr Allah tatma'inna al-qulub" (13:28).

Many of us worship Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala because we are afraid of the punishment of Allah. We are afraid that Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala will hold us accountable on the Day of Judgement and many of us focus on the idea of fear, creating something that we are afraid of in our minds, and then that is the drive that pushes us to worship Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, that is what makes me wake up to pray Fajr prayer, that is what makes me to follow all of the Islamic guidelines, because I am afraid of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

Now, this is a drive, this is one of the means where people can get closer to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala and Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala mentions this drive, this means in numerous ways in the Qur'an, when Allah speaks about the Day of Judgement, when Allah speaks about the Hell-fire, when Allah speaks about the death and the afterlife and how everyone will be held accountable, this is using this drive.

However, Amir ul-Mu'minin Ali ibni Abi Talib 'alayhi as-salam, he has a beautiful hadith, he says that there are other means, there are other drives that could motivate a person to get closer to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala.

Amir ul-Mu'minin, he says, "There are three types of worshippers, there are three types of 'ubbaad'. There is one who worships Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala out of fear,' and then Amir ul-Mu'minin says, "wa tilka Ibaadat ul-'abid" 'and that is the worship of the slaves,' because the the main motivation that makes them obey Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala is their fear, the fear of punishment.

And then he says, and then there is a second drive, there is a second drive that makes people worship Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala and that is the drive, the one who sees the paradise and he hears the verses in the Qur'an that speak about the Jannah and the afterlife and the blessings. And then he says, yes, it does make sense, I just have to worship Allah for 50, 60, 70 years and then I have eternal paradise, this is a very good transaction, so then he says, I will worship Allah for the sake of paradise. And then Amir ul-Mu'minin says this is also a drive that motivates people to worship but then he says, 'wa tilka ibaadat ut-tujjaar'- this is the worship of the business person, the one who has made a business transaction with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala.' And there is nothing wrong with that, Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala speaks about a type of 'tijaarah'- min al-mu'minina rijaalun... He speaks about individuals that sell their lives for the sake of the afterlife. This is a tijaarah, this is a business with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. But the lowest, the first was, was the fear of the punishment and then the second group is the ones who worship Allah for the sake of paradise.

And then he says and there is a third group and that is the one who sees that Allah is deserving to be worshipped. Allah deserves to be worshipped, so they worship Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. He says this is the worship of the free man, this is the worship of the free individual, the one that does not look for a gain, to gain something from Allah, or is not afraid of anything, but he knows that Allah deserves to be worshipped.

And when we actually sit and we think about it, we see that Allah does deserve to be worshipped. He gave us everything that we have, every breath of our lives, every breath that we take- this is from Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. Every moment, every blessing, everything that we have in our lives, this is from Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. Does it not make sense for me to show appreciation?

Allah has given me 24 hours a day. How long does it take me to pray 17 rak'ahs? 17 rak'ahs, say each rak'ah is one minute, and then add the time of wudu' say half an hour-30 minutes. Allah has given you 24 hours for a person, a just person would say it is ok if I give 30 minutes of my day to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. This is the one who sees that Allah deserves to be worshipped and this is the highest level of Ibaadah. This is the ones who have fallen in love with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, the ones who yearn that closeness with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala.

This is the Ibaadah of one, like Rasul Allah or Amir ul-Mu'minin or the Ahlul Bayt 'alayhim-us-salaam, who Amir ul-Mu'minin, he says in one hadith, he says 'ruk'atu-l-li fi dunyaa kum ahabbu ilayya min-al-jannati wa maa fiha'- 'one rak'ah for me, Amir ul-Mu'minin, he says one unit of prayer in this life, this is better for me than heaven and what it has. Why? Because when I am praying one rak'ah, I am speaking to Allah, I am connected to the One who created paradise. So what is the value of paradise when I am speaking to the One who created paradise?

And this is the beauty, the beauty. My dear brothers and sisters, we have the opportunity to connect with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. Five times a day, we can speak to Allah, we can build a relationship with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. And a relationship that is based on love is much stronger and much more powerful than a relationship that is based upon fear.

Sometimes we see that certain individuals, they use religion to bring fear in the hearts of people, they scare people through religion but that is not the way religion is. Religion is not a tool of fear. Religion is a means of loving, it is a way of loving and we should stress on the Mercy of Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala and the loving aspect when it comes to worshipping Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. And we have a Hadith from Imam Al-Sadiq 'alayhi as-salam, he says, 'al hubb afdhal min-al-khawf'-'Love is a much stronger drive than the drive of fear.'

Right now, you see in a classroom, especially with little kids, the moment the teacher leaves the classroom, what happens in the classroom? There is chaos and they start yelling and shouting and throwing paper- this is natural because the only thing that is keeping them from not doing that is the fear. They are afraid of the teacher. But if someone loves the teacher and knows that the teacher will be upset if we did something like this. You see that this person, the teacher is in the class or out of the class, they are going to behave at all times.

So we should [not]have a fear, we should have a relationship with Allah that is based upon love so that when people are not around us, our parents are not around us, other people are not looking at us, we will worship Allah in a way that we would do in front of other people. This is the best form of relationship, the one that yearns for the Mercy of Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. "Alladhina aamanu wa tatma'inna qulubuhum bi dhikri Allah, 'ala bi dhikr Allah tatma'inna al-qulub"(13:28) - 'The ones who believe and have faith, their hearts find satisfaction when they remember Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala and then Allah says, 'ala'- 'yes', 'ala bi dhikr Allah tatma'inna al-qulub'-'Indeed, it is through the remembrance of Allah that the hearts will find peace when they remember Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala.'

So we live a lifestyle, in this materialistic lifestyle, a material life where everything revolves around objects, everything revolves around money, everything revolves around things. I go to work, I go study, I do everything so that I could make money. I go and I make money, I spend it buying things, I buy these things so that I could find comfort and eventually I see that I am not comforted.

Because we are missing the main, the main equation, the main solution to happiness. Allah says it very clearly "ala bi dhikr Allah tatma'inna al-qulub" -'it is through the remembrance of Allah that the hearts will find peace.' So therefore, we must know Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. Many of us we know a God that, we have created a monster out of God. And you see groups today, these terrorist groups like ISIS, al-Qaa'ida, they create a monster out of religion when religion is not something that people should be afraid of.

Religion should be the place where people find comfort, especially the religion of Islam. No matter what kind of sins you have committed, no matter what you have done in your life, the only place that you will find refuge is Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. In one verse Allah says: 'wa qul yaa 'ibaadi alladhina asrafu 'alaa anfusihim' (39:53) -'tell my 'ibaad', tell my servants, the ones who have oppressed themselves by sinning'-'alladhina asrafu a'laa anfusihim, laa taqnatu min rahmat Illah'- 'Do not ever give up hope in the Mercy of Allah,' 'Inna Allaha yaghfiru udh-dhunuba jami'a' -'Because Allah forgives all of the sins.'

But today there are certain groups that create a monster out of religion and they make people, make religion and the masjid and the place of worship, the last place that they will go to, when that is not the case, that is not how religion should be.

Even with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, Allah is All Just, Allah is All Knowing, He knows our actions, but Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala He is also Arham ar-Rahimin. He is al-Ghafur ur-Rahim, He is the Mercy Giving, The Merciful. Do we not say in our prayers, Bismillah, Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim? There are 99 names of Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala but he chose Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem in this verse that we recite every day, The Mercy Giving, The Merciful.

It is recorded that when this verse came down: "Fa man ya'mal mithqaala dharratin khayran yaraha, wa man ya'mal mithqaala dharratin sharran yaraha"(99: 7-8) - 'He who does an ounce, a small 'dharrah'- atom's weight of good they will see it on the Day of Judgement, and he who does an atom's weight of evil, they will see it on the Day of Judgement.'

So Rasul Allah, he was standing in the Masjid and this verse came down. Rasul Allah recited it in front of the Muslims, so a man, he stood. He stood and he tells Rasul Allah 'Will Allah hold us accountable for even an atom's weight, even a small atom's weight? Rasul Allah told him, 'Yes, "Fa man ya'mal mithqaala dharratin khayran yaraha" - 'He will see it', "wa man ya'mal mithqaala dharratin sharran yaraha" -' the one who does an atom's weight of good will see and the one who does an atom's weight of evil, they will also see it.'

So the man began to cry, the man began to cry. He said 'Idhan halakna'-'Then therefore we have perished.' Because if Allah is going to hold us accountable for the atom's weight of evil, it is most of us, the wrong that we have done compared to what Allah has given me compared to the blessings of Allah upon me they are much more than the good; all of us-most of us.

The man began to cry and then a few moments later, the man began to smile and he laughed. So Rasul Allah told him 'What happened to you? At one second you were crying and now you are happy'. He says 'Yes, I am happy because Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala is Karim- Allah is The Generous. 'Li anna Al-karima idhaa qadrah 'afaa'-because The Generous One, when He is capable of giving, of becoming generous, He will be generous'. And Allah, He is capable of doing everything and He is The Generous One.

So the man smiled. Rasul Allah sall-Alahu 'alayhi wa aalihi, he tells his companions 'Ilzamu saahibakum fa qad faqiha wa astayqan'-'hold on to this man, go and take lessons from this man, because this man truly understands Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, he has yaqin [certainty] in Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala.'

So we need to have a relationship with Allah that is based, that is motivated on love, on love and building a relationship based on love. And Allah says in the Qur'an: ' ...Wa alladhina aamanu ashaddu hubban li-Llah' (2:165) - 'The ones who have faith, their love is the strongest, the strongest relationship with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala.' This is the drive of love that they have- 'alladhina aamanu ashaddu hubban li-Llah',

You see some people that when they are in love, you see how they act? You see that they are always on their cell phone texting or they are, they are very excited, they can not sleep. Well the ones who are in love with Allah, they have the same type of relationship, in the middle of the night they can not sleep. Why? Because they have someone to speak to. Fajr time, before Fajr, they get up, they wash their face they are very happy doing it because they know it is worth their time. They anticipate the times of prayer, this is the, this is the love' ...Wa alladhina aamanu ashaddu hubban li-Llah' (2:165) -'The believers, their love is much stronger towards Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala than any other love that we see in this life,' because a love towards Allah is a love that we will see in this life and in the afterlife.

But there are many relationships in this life, that is it, you only know this person during this life after we leave this life, that relationship will end, that relationship will end, but the relationship with Allah is a relationship that lasts forever. So, building a bond with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, this is the greatest form of love that we could have, one that wakes someone up in the middle of the night.

Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala speaks about the ones who have fallen in love with Allah. They have allowed themselves to fall in love with Allah. Allah says, 'Tatajaafa junubuhum 'an il-madaji' yad'una Rabbahum khawfan wa tama'a, wa mimma razaqnahum yunfiqun'(32:16). Speaking about the people who pray in the middle of the night, that is a drive of love, that is a love drive. When you are in love with someone, you want to spend hours talking to this person. Allah speaks about the ones who have fallen in love with him. Allah says 'Tatajaafa junubuhum an il-madhaji' -'Their bottoms, they are lifted from their beds.' Why? Because 'Yad'una Rabbahum'-'they call upon their Lord', 'khawfan wa tama'a'-'fear and hope' in Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, 'wa mimma razaqnahum yunfiqun'- 'and they give from what We have given them.'

And then Allah says a verse that he does not say about any type of worship. Allah, any type of worship when it comes to prayer, when it comes to salaah, when it comes to zakat, when it comes to Hajj, Allah mentions the reward, the reward is known by the angels, they are counting the reward of that act.

However, when it comes to tahajjud, when it comes to that bond that is speaking to Allah in the middle of the night, Allah says, 'Falaa ta'lam nafsun ma ukhfiya lahum min qurrati a'yun jazaa'an bimaa kaanu ya'malun' (17:23)- 'No one knows, not even the angels, they do not even know the reward of the person who stands in the middle of the night and speaks to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala.' This is a loving relationship.

Now what is love? We say we have to love Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, we should build a relationship based on love. How do we build a relationship based on love? Well, why do we love things? Why do we fall in love in life? Sometimes I love a person, sometimes I love a place, sometimes I love an object. Why?

There are a few reasons why we fall in love in life. One time you fall in love when you see apparent beauty. We human beings, we are inclined to love something that is beautiful. When you see something or a person that is beautiful, there is something in ourselves that we feel that we are attached we want to be around this person. And we see that this is something that is very common.

And not only with a person, sometimes with things. Sometimes we would travel hours, we are in the car just so we could go and stand in front of a waterfall, Niagara Falls or you go and you look at a mountain or you go and you look at a sunset. You see that people they are willing to pay hundreds of dollars just to go and look at something that is beautiful because we are naturally inclined to look at something that is beautiful. This is one reason.

Second, we humans, we love the inner beauty. Maybe something it might not be beautiful from the appearance from at first, but then inside you see that this is something that is very beautiful. For example, our parents, we love them because of their inner beauty. We love them because of the favours that they have had upon us. We love them because of the generosity that they have shown towards the care. This is all a type of inner beauty, we love them.

Or our Imams, why do we love our Imams? Why do we love Rasul Allah salla-Laahu 'alayhi wa aalihi? We did not see the face of Rasul Allah but we love Rasul Allah because of the generosity, because of the offering, because of what he offered, what he gave and we have fallen in love with Rasul Allah salla-Laahu 'alayhi wa aalihi. These are the Sifaat Al-Jamaaliyyah Al-Batiniyyah -'the beauty, but it is inner beauty' and perhaps that beauty might be greater beauty than the apparent beauty, because the apparent beauty many times it goes away.

But then the long relationships, the lasting relationships, the marriage that lasts for 40 and 50 and 60 years, that is a marriage that lasts because of the inner beauty, not because of the apparent beauty and this is a very important issue. When you are getting married, you need to focus on the inner beauty.

And a third reason is because of the favours. I love someone, I feel attracted to someone if this person has done a favour to me. If this person has taught me something, if this person has given me something, if this person has done something to help me at one point in my life, this person has done 'ihsaan' [favour] towards me, I feel that I am indebted to this person, I fall in love with this person. And this is one of the main reasons why we love many people in our lives, because we know that this person has done a favour upon me, this person has saved my life, this person has done something for me.

Now, these are the three reasons, apparent beauty, inner beauty and someone who has done a favour upon me. Now, let us come and compare these three reasons with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala.

When it comes to the apparent beauty, who is the Creator of the Beauty? Who is the one who created the beauty that we see? Who is the 'Musawwir fi al-arhaam'- 'Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, He is the One who shaped the body and the hair and the nose and the mouth and the facial features in the womb of the mother.' Is this not the best artist? Right now, we love artists, we love art. Well go and look at what Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala has created. He is that the Creator of the Beauty.

Sometimes we go and we buy a painting for 200, 300 dollars of mountains. Yes, this is something very beautiful, an artist, he came and he painted mountains. Well, who was the original Creator of the mountains? Who is the original Creator of the Beauty? So why do I love the artist and not love Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala? Why do I love the beautiful figure, the mountain and the waterfall and the beautiful person but I ignore Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. Is not Allah the source of beauty? Is He not more worthy of being loved?

Second, the inner beauty, we love someone because they are generous, because they are knowledgeable, because they have done something that is very good, we are attached to this person. Well, who is the source, who is the source of knowledge? Who is the source of generosity? Who is the source of Rahma, and Mercy? Is it not Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala? So is Allah not more worthy of being worshipped?

We follow people because you see this person is a very knowledgeable person. Well Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala is the source of Knowledge. He is the one that gave that knowledge to that person, that Rahmah. Sometimes you love someone because this person, he has this 'hanun'- this person has that mercy in their heart. Yes, this is a virtue, this is something very good and we we love someone that has that but what about Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. Is Allah not the source of Mercy?

And third and final one is the one who has done a favour upon you. You love someone who has done a favour upon you. What about Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala? Has Allah not done the greatest favour upon us? Allah says, 'Wa in ta'uddu ni'mat Allah, laa tuhsuha'(16:18) - 'If you try to count the blessings of Allah, the Mercy of Allah, you will never be able to count it.' If you sit and count for the rest of your life, Allah gave me this and this and this and this, you will never be able to count it. You will never be able to put a number on it.

Because everything even you know, sometimes we say Alhamdulillah we need to be thankful that we are able to say Alhamdulillah, because who gave me that power to say Alhamdulillah? Who gave me the tongue? Who gave me the lips? Who gave me the ability to come to the Masjid? Someone might say, I came to the Masjid, this is my way of thanking Allah. Who is the one who gave you the ability to come to the Masjid? There are many people that can not even go to a Masjid, there is something wrong with them. So we need to be thankful for the ability to be thankful.

So this is when it comes to loving Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. When we look at it and through a materialistic way, we see that Allah is the one that is most worthy of being loved. Allah is the one that is most worthy of and for us to have a relationship with in our lives.

And this is why when we look at the lives of Rasul Allah and the Imams and the Ahlul Bayt, we see that they focused on this relationship with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. They focused on a relationship of love, speaking to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala as if they are speaking to someone that they love, and that is what makes your bond stronger and more solid with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala.

When it is fear or when it is just wanting something; if it is fear, the moment you see that you feel that the fear is lifted, you start disobeying or when you want something, the moment I got what I wanted. We have seen many people, they want to have a job, they keep praying and crying and crying, once they got a job, that is it, you do not see them doing du'a anymore. They want to have a child, they keep crying and praying to have a child once they have a child, that is it, you do not see them asking Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala.

But the one that is truly in love with Allah, this person will have a relationship no matter what. And here we see the way that the Imams speak to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, the one that has fallen in love with Allah.

We see in a portion of the du'a- 'Munaajaat al-Muhibbin. A portion of the du'a of Amir ul-Mu'minin, Imam As-Sadiq, Imam Zayn ul -'Aabidin. The Imam says, 'Ilaahi man dhal-ladhi dhaaqa halawata mahabbatik, farama minka badala wa man dhal-ladhi anisa bi qurbika fabtaghaa 'anka hiwalaa'- 'he says 'Oh Allah where is the one that has felt that love with You? And then he goes and he finds someone else.'

If you have a relationship with Allah, what does it mean to go and find a relationship with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala once you have tasted the love with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala? And then the Imam, he says 'Ya muna qulubi-l-mushtaaqin'-'You are the hope of the ones that miss You and anticipate You and yearn a relationship with You', 'Wa yaa ghaayatu a'maal il-muhibbin as'aluka hubbak'-'I ask You to increase that love in my heart towards You.' 'Wa hubba man yuhibbuk wa hubba kulla 'amalin yusiluni ilaa qurbik'- 'He says 'Oh Allah increase that love that that I should have towards You in my heart.' Ask Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala to strengthen our relationship with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala because a relationship with Allah: 'alaa bi dhikr Allah tatma'inna al-qulub'(13:28). It will mean happiness even if you are living in difficult conditions, if you have Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, you will have that happiness in your heart.

And we see the way that the Imams speak to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. In one part, Imam Sadiq 'alayhi as-salam, he says 'Ilaahi anaa jaa'iun la ashba'u min hubbik'- 'Oh Allah, I am hungry, but this hunger, it cannot be quenched.' I cannot feed that hunger with food or water, quenching your thirst with water. When you want a love with Allah, you keep wanting and wanting. 'Anaa ja'iun la ashba'u min hubbik, wa atchaanun laa adhma'u min hubbik, waa shawqaa! waa shawqaa! waa shawqaa! ilaa Rabbin yaraani wa la araa'- 'He says, I anticipate that relationship, that bond with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala.'

Now we spoke about loving a lie in a material world and using the materialistic logic to love Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. However, there is a very important point. When you love someone, when you love someone in your life, when you have a friend that you love, what do friends do for one another? They are there for another. If I have a friend, my friend is going to be there for me in the time of need because we love one another, we are friends with one another.

If you are in love with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala in a loving relationship, who is the more generous one in that relationship? Who is the one that is more generous in that relationship? It is Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala and the One that is the more Generous, He is, the One that keeps giving and giving. So when you love Allah, that means Allah will love you many times more, many times more than the love that you just have towards Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala.

It is narrated that Prophet Shu'ayb 'alayhi as-salam. Prophet Shu'ayb was living in Madyan during the time of Prophet Musa 'alayhi as-salam, Musa was in Egypt and Prophet Shu'ayb was in Madyan. Shu'ayb, he used to cry and cry and cry, Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala tells him 'Why are you crying?' He says 'I am crying because I love Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, I love you Oh Allah.' So he keeps crying until he loses his eyesight, until he becomes blind. Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala gives him his eyesight back. He is able to see once again, he continues to cry and cry and cry until he loses his eyesight once again, Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala gives him his eyesight.

The third time he cries and cries and cries Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala tells him 'Oh Shu'ayb, what is it that you want? If you want paradise, then I have made paradise wajib upon you. It's obligatory upon you to enter paradise. And if you have made, if you are afraid of the hellfire, then I have made the hellfire haraam to burn you. I have forbidden the hellfire from burning you. What is it that you want?' He tells him 'Oh Allah, I am in love with you'. So Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala replies to Shu'ayb, he tells him 'Idhan sa yakhdimuka Kalimi' -'Because of that relationship that you have, 'My Kalim, the One who is Kalim-Ullah, Musa, he will become your servant.'

The Kalim of Allah, who is from the Ulul 'Azam Prophets, who is from the high Prophets, high ranking Prophets, he will come and he will become your servant and this is exactly what happened. Musa, when he left Egypt, when he escaped the first time alone, when he left Egypt, he went to Madyan and he met Shu'ayb and he served Shu'ayb for ten years. Ten years he was serving Shu'ayb and then he married one of his daughters and his life moved on. But here is the point of this, the moral of the story, that Shu'ayb was so in love with Allah that the Kalim of Allah, who is a Higher Prophet, he came and he became the servant of Allah, the servant of Shu'ayb- Musa became the servant of Shu'ayb.

So this means that when you have a loving relationship with Allah, Allah is the more Generous One in the relationship. Allah is the One that will give and continue blessing in the relationship.

Now, how do we show love? There are two very easy ways. The first is that we must have Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala on our minds all the time. And second, we must show love and obey Rasul Allah sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa aalihi. 'Qul in kuntum tuhibbuna Allah fattabi'uni yuhbibkum'(3:31) -'If you love Allah, then follow Rasul Allah.' Follow Rasul Allah, follow the Sunnah of Rasul Allah, show love towards Rasul Allah, show love towards the Ahlul Bayt ' alayhimu as-salam.

This is the way of showing love to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala because when we show love to the Ahlul Bayt, we are not just showing love to people, we are following the orders of Allah. Allah says in the Qur'an, 'Qul laa as'alukum 'alayhi ajran illa al-mawaddata fil qurbah' (42:23) -'The only thing that I ask is that you show love to the Qurbah, to the family of Rasul Allah sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa aalihi.' When you show love to the Ahlul Bayt, this is a way of showing love to Rasul Allah, and when you show love to Rasul Allah sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa aalihi you are loving Allah. And when you love Allah, Allah will bless you and Allah will bless your life.

And today we remember a Lady, a lady who did not do, who was not known for so many things in her life other than one very important thing, and that is the love towards the Ahlul Bayt 'alayhim-us-salaam. And that is Umm ul-Banin, the wife of Amir ul-Mu'minin, the mother of Abul Fadl 'Abbas and the brothers of Abul Fadl 'Abbas. Today Umm ul-Banin, it is known that if you have anything, if you are in need of anything, you do a nadhr, you do a vow, you send salawaat, you do one tasbih 100 salawaat for Umm ul-Banin, your hajaah [desire/need] will be delivered. Why? Because she has a position in the eyes of Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. Why? Because of the sacrifices that she gave for the sake of the Ahlul Bayt alayhum as-salam. Because of what she offered, for the sake of loving the household of Rasul Allah, because she loved the children of Fatima and she loved Rasul Allah and Fatima-tu-Zahra 'alayha as-salam.

This honourable lady Umm ul-Banin, It is recorded that after the death of Fatima-tu-Zahra, probably a few years later, Amir ul-Mu'minin, he tells his brother 'Aqil, he tells 'Aqil 'Oh 'Aqil, I want you to find me a lady who was born from strong men, powerful, a powerful lineage with strength and bravery.' 'Aqil, he used to know the family names and the tribes, 'Aqil tells Amir ul-Mu'minin 'What are you looking for? Why are you looking for strength when you want to marry a woman? This is not something that usually someone looks for. He tells him 'Because she will have children that will be there for my son Husayn on the day of Karbala' and this is exactly what Umm ul-Banin had.

It is recorded that when Amir ul-Mu'minin, he saw her on his wedding night, their wedding night. Her name was Fatima Bint Huzam Al-Kilaabiyyah on her wedding night, Amir ul-Mu'minin, he saw her and he was amazed with her beauty, she was the mother of Qamar Bani Hashim [Moon of the Tribe of Hashim]. He was amazed with her beauty, but he wanted to test her, he wanted to see, is this just apparent beauty or is there something deeper than that? So Amir ul-Mu'minin, he tells her 'Oh Fatima what do you need? What do you require from me? What is there? Is there something that I can give you? She tells him 'Oh Amir ul-Mu'minin I want you to not call me by my name anymore, I don't want you to call me Fatima anymore.'

Amir ul-Mu'minin tells her 'What is wrong with your name? It is a beautiful name, why do you not want me to call you Fatima anymore?' She tells him 'Because when you call me Fatima, this might break the heart of your children, Hasan and Husayn and Zainab and Umm Kulthum. They have just lost their mother Fatima and I do not want to take the position of their mother, Fatima. I want to be the servant of the children of Fatima, I am the servant of Fatima and the children of Fatima'. So Amir ul-Mu'minin, he named her Umm ul-Banin, the mother of the children, the mother of the boys, and she had four children, whom all of them, they were killed on the day of 'Ashura for the sake of Imam Al-Husayn 'alayhi as-salam.

This honourable wife of Amir ul-Mu'minin, Umm ul-Banin, she would go after the tragedy of 'Ashura she would go to the Baqi', to the cemetery and she would build, she would make four mock graves, she would make for four graves, and then she would make another grave next to them, a mock grave.

Then she would recite 'La taduwanni wayki Umm al-Banin, tudhakkirini bi-l- uyuthi-l-arin kaanat banunun liya ud'aa bihim wa-l-yawma asbahtu wa laa min banin, layta sha'ri akama Akhbaru bi anna Abbasan qati'a al-yamin'. She would say 'Do not call me Umm ul-Banin anymore because I have lost all my children.' And then she would remove, she would destroy those four mock grades. And then she would say 'All of my sons, they are sacrificed for the son of Fatima, Aba Abdillah al-Husayn 'alayhi as-salam.' 'Anaa laa gafa'a la darbi adh-dhu'un wa sa'ili al-yarhuni wa yaj'un. Qil man ilaa ghayyaabi yalfoon wa na ghaibi bil-lahad madfun.

La hawla walaa quwata illaa bil-Lah al-'Aliyy al-'Adhim. Inna li-Llahi wa inna ilayhi raaji'un. Nas'aluka Allahumma wa nad'uk bismika al-'Adhimil a'dham al-a'azzal il-ajali wa al-akram. Ya Allah. Ya Allahu, Ya Rahmanu, Ya Raheem, Ya muqallib al-qulub, thabbit qulubana a'la dinik. Allahumma ghfirli al-mu'minina wa al-mu'minaat al ahyaa'i minhum wa al-amwaat. Taabi' Allahumma baynana wa baynahum bil-khayraat. Innaka Mujibu ad-da'waat. Innaka Ghaafiru al-khati'aat. Innaka maahi as-sayyi'aat. Innaka a'la kulli shay'in Qadir. Wa sall-Allahu a'la Muhammadin wa 'aali Muhammad.

[There is no power and might save that of Allah, the Mighty, the Honored. 'To Allah do we belong and to Him is our return'. We ask Allah and we call upon Him in his most Honorable & Mighty Name- O Allah. O Allah, O the Most Merciful, O the Most Kind, O the one who turns the hearts, establish our hearts with steadfastness on your (chosen) path. O Allah we ask that You pardon the believing men and believing women, those of them that are alive and those from them who have passed on, those who have preceded us and will come after us with goodness, Indeed You are the one who Hears all the supplications, Indeed You are the Forgiver of the Errors, Indeed You are the eraser of the ill deeds, Indeed you all-powerful over all things. And we pray that You send your salutations and blessings upon Muhammad and his Progeny]