The Benefits of the Hadiths.

The Shaykh : This is the case even though, had He willed, the mountains would have moved with him as gold (peace and blessings be upon him). He did not eat three consecutive nights of bread made from wheat, and in another wording, bread made from barley. When a person sees our condition today, he finds that several varieties are served to him for lunch, and likewise for dinner. We did not used to tell ourselves that this is a favor from Allah upon us, and that if He willed, He could deprive us of it, as Allah Mighty and Majestic said: And He said regarding water: And He said regarding fire: Had Allah the Exalted willed, He would have removed its heat, and it would have been cold and of no use in food. In reality, we are heedless of these facts, as if this is an ordinary matter that passes us by, or as if it is a right granted to us and guaranteed by Allah Mighty and Majestic. If we were to look a little at places near us, we would find that people are dying of hunger. The news announces every night or every week of great famines in which children die by the hundreds, along with the elderly and the old. A young man is unable to travel from his town, which is suffering from hunger, to another town; he dies along the way. We are now in these abundant blessings, and may we feel that they are blessings from Allah Mighty and Majestic, a favor and kindness from Him, so that we thank Him when we finish eating or drinking. Many of us are heedless of this, even though the people of this land, who are older than us, tell us that great famines came to it. They used to die in the markets, dying of hunger in the markets. The generous rich people of this land used to go out with dates mixed with water, and if they found someone on their last breath, they would pour it into their mouth, hoping they would stay alive. Sometimes they would die, and they could not do anything. Funerals for multiple people would be held in the mosques, all due to hunger. What befall us yesterday can come to us today if we become arrogant with this blessing and do not give thanks for it. A person who is present now told me that when his father brought them date pits, he and his brothers would gather around them, hoping to find a pit with a kernel inside to suck on. The one who told me this is present now and is slightly older than me. Also, an elderly person who is present now told me: "We stayed for three days, my mother and I, without eating or drinking. Perhaps they drank, as they had wells in their houses or near them. He said that one night, we were unable to sleep from hunger, so she told him, 'Go to the Hayalah, the place where feed and meat are sold, perhaps you will find some feed to cook and eat, or a bone, or something.' He said he went and found four camel hooves. Do you know camel hooves? The hoof of a camel. They used to pound them and throw them away. He took some feed from the leaves of the qat plant and the like, and brought it after the 'Isha' prayer. He said we cooked what we brought from the feed, roasted the hooves, ground them, and sprinkled them on this feed. When it was cooked, we ate it. This is something 'Ali narrates, and he is a trustworthy person. If the matter is like this, it is obligatory for a person to take heed and be admonished. This Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), had He willed that the mountains would move with him as gold, they would have moved, yet three nights would pass without him being satiated from them, consecutively, from bread of barley or bread of wheat. I say this as a reminder to myself and to you of these blessings in which we are grazing now. Many, great, and abundant blessings, and security, great security. Look at the cloth now in the canopy; it is cheap cloth, and a person can take as much as he wants. Likewise, the food in the market has no guard. The doors of the shops now are of glass and this light mesh, and yet security is available, praise be to Allah. But could not Allah replace this security with fear, and this abundance with hunger? I seek refuge in Allah. Clothing, the clothing does not leave, and the clothing is a sign that touches the body. Allah did not wrong them, but they used to wrong themselves. And He said the Exalted in Surat al-Ra'd: The thunderclaps that befall near us are a warning, because He said: which is that Allah made them taste the clothing of hunger and fear for what they used to do. For this reason, I remind myself and you of these great blessings, and I ask Allah to help us all to remember Him, give thanks to Him, and worship Him well. A person, in reality, if he is left to himself, is left to weakness, incapacity, and exposure. But he must seek help from Allah Mighty and Majestic to give thanks for these blessings, and he must remember, when these tables are placed before him containing every variety, the condition of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and what he was of hunger and poverty. And yet, he was patient, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him. He never asked Allah on any day of his life to diversify the varieties of his food and drink for him, ever. But he would supplicate to Allah Mighty and Majestic to make his provision just enough, so that he would not need anyone, but it would not be a cause of arrogance. So much so that, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, one day a guest came to him, and he sent to his wives. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by the nine houses, nine houses of the wives of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and he did not find with them anything but water. Nine houses, nothing in them but water for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And this should cause a person to be ascetic regarding the worldly life and not make it anything but a mount for the Hereafter, such that it does not become the greatest of his concerns and the limit of his knowledge, and he does not think of anything but it. For this, by Allah, is baseness, lowliness, and degradation. Because the worldly life, as it is worldly, but the Hereafter is the life, it is the true life. We ask Allah the Exalted to make us, and you, among those to whom Allah has granted goodness in this world and in the Hereafter, and to protect us from the punishment of the Fire.