A guiding address by His Eminence the Shaykh on how to make the most of the vacation period.
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The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows:
This is the final session in the month of Rajab in the year 1404, and it is the weekly session that takes place every Thursday. This will also be the last session before the vacation, and the sessions will resume, if Allah wills, after the resumption of studies at the end of Sha'ban.
We ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to bestow upon us and upon you beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds.
We were in the process of finishing the tafsir, meaning: the tafsir of Surat al-A'la, because we are in the middle of it. However, perhaps what is appropriate in this session is to guide people regarding what they will do during this vacation. So we say, and we say with the help of Allah the Exalted:
There is no doubt that the hours of one's life are more precious than dinars and dirhams, because the hours of life pass and can never be recovered. And every day that passes moves us further from this world and closer to the Hereafter. The days go by, the hours end, and the years pass, until a person reaches the appointed term about which Allah the Exalted said:[Yunus 10:49]. If this is the status of life and the hours of life, then it is obligatory for the sensible person, let alone the believer, to make use of these hours in what he was created for. And what we were all created for is the worship of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Allah the Exalted said: [Adh-Dhariyat 51:56].
And worship: "is a name for everything that brings one closer to Allah the Exalted, whether it be speech or action": whether it be the action of the visible limbs or the action of the heart, and whether it be the speech of the tongue, which is utterance, or the speech of the heart, which is belief. Everything that brings one closer to Allah is worship.
And we do not want, and Allah the Exalted also does not want from us, to remain constantly in prayer, or to remain constantly confined in the mosques for dhikr and recitation. Rather, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade continuous, unceasing worship, when it was reported to him that some of his Companions said: one of them said, "I fast and do not break my fast," and the second said, "I stand in prayer and do not sleep," and the third said, "I do not marry women." So he addressed the people and said:Mishkat al-Masabih 145Muttafaqun 'alayh (Zubair `Aliza'i), and he said: . And based on this, we say:
There is no blame on a person for delighting himself with what Allah has made lawful for him, so that boredom, weariness, and fatigue may leave him, but on the condition that it be in what Allah has made lawful for him. And this vacation that has been established for students and teachers during the year is nothing but for this purpose: to dispel boredom, weariness, and fatigue, and to give the soul its share of what Allah has permitted for it.
People are divided into categories during this vacation:
Some of them make use of it by traveling to the House of Allah the Sacred, and to the Prophet's City, upon its inhabitant be the best of peace and greetings.
And some of them make use of it by traveling to visit relatives and kin.
And some of them make use of it by traveling to call people to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and to guide and direct people.
And some of them make use of it by dedicating themselves to reviewing what has passed in the pursuit of knowledge, and recalling what they have forgotten.
And some of them make use of it by helping their father in selling or buying or plowing or the like.
And some of them make use of it by going out to the open desert and taking a walk in a manner that is permissible.
And some of them make use of it by going out to the open desert and taking a walk, but in a forbidden manner. They spend their time either watching what is broadcast on the televisions that come to us from abroad, either because they have recorded what they captured from them on video tapes, or they carry satellite dishes with them so that they can watch there whatever they want. And there is no doubt that these people have lost both this world and the Hereafter. They have lost this world because they did not work during this period in what pleases Allah, Mighty and Majestic, except for the obligatory duties that are unavoidable, such as prayer and ritual purity.
And they have lost the Hereafter because these sins become a cause for their torment and punishment in the Hereafter. And perhaps the sins will accumulate on the heart until it is sealed over, refuge sought in Allah, as Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said:[Al-Qalam 68:15] meaning: when the Qur'an is recited to him, he says: these are the tales of the ancients. So Allah the Exalted said: meaning: they are not the tales of the ancients, [Al-Mutaffifin 83:14]: until they did not taste the flavor of the Qur'an—we ask Allah for safety.
"So sins are the messenger of disbelief" as the scholars said—may Allah have mercy on them.
And some of them make use of it in something more vile than this, by traveling to the corrupt, wicked outside, where they do what Allah wills of types of sins, and perhaps they abandon prayer, so they incur a great loss, refuge sought in Allah, and they return having lost both this world and the Hereafter, with a darkened face and a blackened heart. So the important thing is that people have inclinations, and it is obligatory for the sensible person to make use of his time in what is a cause for the pleasure of his Lord, Mighty and Majestic, so that when certainty comes to him, it comes to him while he is in the best of states. Because one who is afflicted with sins during his health and the vigor of his youth may perhaps continue with these sins, so when the time comes when obedience is needed, he is bankrupt, with empty hands, unable to bear witness at the time of death—we ask Allah for safety. So the sensible person, my brothers, calculates his days and nights: how did he spend them? Did he spend them in obedience to Allah? Or did he spend them in disobedience to Allah?
If he is in obedience to Allah, let him praise Allah for that, and let him continue with it, and let him ask Him for steadfastness until death. And if it is otherwise, let him seek repentance, for it is possible now, but when death comes, it may not be of benefit. So I call upon you and myself to make use of this vacation in what pleases Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And you have known what Allah has facilitated for us to mention of the things in which people are divided or distributed during this vacation. So I urge myself and you to make use of it in what pleases Allah, by worshipping Allah, by benefiting creation, and by giving the soul some enjoyment in a permissible manner, and so on. We ask Allah to make us and you among those who spent their times in obedience to their Lord, and to make us steadfast in that until death, and to take care of us in this world and the Hereafter. Indeed, He is capable of all things. And now we come to the questions, and we start with the right side as usual, and each person has one question from which nothing branches off. Yes.
As for what follows:
This is the final session in the month of Rajab in the year 1404, and it is the weekly session that takes place every Thursday. This will also be the last session before the vacation, and the sessions will resume, if Allah wills, after the resumption of studies at the end of Sha'ban.
We ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to bestow upon us and upon you beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds.
We were in the process of finishing the tafsir, meaning: the tafsir of Surat al-A'la, because we are in the middle of it. However, perhaps what is appropriate in this session is to guide people regarding what they will do during this vacation. So we say, and we say with the help of Allah the Exalted:
There is no doubt that the hours of one's life are more precious than dinars and dirhams, because the hours of life pass and can never be recovered. And every day that passes moves us further from this world and closer to the Hereafter. The days go by, the hours end, and the years pass, until a person reaches the appointed term about which Allah the Exalted said:
When their time has come, then they will not remain behind an hour, nor will they precede [it]."
إِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهُمْ فَلا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَAnd I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْأِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِAnd worship: "is a name for everything that brings one closer to Allah the Exalted, whether it be speech or action": whether it be the action of the visible limbs or the action of the heart, and whether it be the speech of the tongue, which is utterance, or the speech of the heart, which is belief. Everything that brings one closer to Allah is worship.
And we do not want, and Allah the Exalted also does not want from us, to remain constantly in prayer, or to remain constantly confined in the mosques for dhikr and recitation. Rather, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade continuous, unceasing worship, when it was reported to him that some of his Companions said: one of them said, "I fast and do not break my fast," and the second said, "I stand in prayer and do not sleep," and the third said, "I do not marry women." So he addressed the people and said:
yet I fast and I break my fast; I pray and I sleep; and I marry women. He who is displeased with my sunna has nothing to do with me.
أما إنّي أصوم وأفطر، وأصلّي وأنام، وأتزوّج النساء، فمن رغب عن سنّتي فليس منّيIndeed, your Lord has a right over you, and your self has a right over you, and your family has a right over you, and your guest—meaning: your visitor—has a right over you. So give every right-holder his right.
إنّ لربك عليك حقّا، ولنفسك عليك حقّا، ولأهلك عليك حقّا، ولِزَورك -أي: لزائرك- عليك حقّا، فأعط كل ذي حقّ حقّهThere is no blame on a person for delighting himself with what Allah has made lawful for him, so that boredom, weariness, and fatigue may leave him, but on the condition that it be in what Allah has made lawful for him. And this vacation that has been established for students and teachers during the year is nothing but for this purpose: to dispel boredom, weariness, and fatigue, and to give the soul its share of what Allah has permitted for it.
People are divided into categories during this vacation:
Some of them make use of it by traveling to the House of Allah the Sacred, and to the Prophet's City, upon its inhabitant be the best of peace and greetings.
And some of them make use of it by traveling to visit relatives and kin.
And some of them make use of it by traveling to call people to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and to guide and direct people.
And some of them make use of it by dedicating themselves to reviewing what has passed in the pursuit of knowledge, and recalling what they have forgotten.
And some of them make use of it by helping their father in selling or buying or plowing or the like.
And some of them make use of it by going out to the open desert and taking a walk in a manner that is permissible.
And some of them make use of it by going out to the open desert and taking a walk, but in a forbidden manner. They spend their time either watching what is broadcast on the televisions that come to us from abroad, either because they have recorded what they captured from them on video tapes, or they carry satellite dishes with them so that they can watch there whatever they want. And there is no doubt that these people have lost both this world and the Hereafter. They have lost this world because they did not work during this period in what pleases Allah, Mighty and Majestic, except for the obligatory duties that are unavoidable, such as prayer and ritual purity.
And they have lost the Hereafter because these sins become a cause for their torment and punishment in the Hereafter. And perhaps the sins will accumulate on the heart until it is sealed over, refuge sought in Allah, as Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said:
When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples."
إِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِ آيَاتُنَا قَالَ أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَNay!
كَلاَّRather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning.
بَلْ رَانَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ"So sins are the messenger of disbelief" as the scholars said—may Allah have mercy on them.
And some of them make use of it in something more vile than this, by traveling to the corrupt, wicked outside, where they do what Allah wills of types of sins, and perhaps they abandon prayer, so they incur a great loss, refuge sought in Allah, and they return having lost both this world and the Hereafter, with a darkened face and a blackened heart. So the important thing is that people have inclinations, and it is obligatory for the sensible person to make use of his time in what is a cause for the pleasure of his Lord, Mighty and Majestic, so that when certainty comes to him, it comes to him while he is in the best of states. Because one who is afflicted with sins during his health and the vigor of his youth may perhaps continue with these sins, so when the time comes when obedience is needed, he is bankrupt, with empty hands, unable to bear witness at the time of death—we ask Allah for safety. So the sensible person, my brothers, calculates his days and nights: how did he spend them? Did he spend them in obedience to Allah? Or did he spend them in disobedience to Allah?
If he is in obedience to Allah, let him praise Allah for that, and let him continue with it, and let him ask Him for steadfastness until death. And if it is otherwise, let him seek repentance, for it is possible now, but when death comes, it may not be of benefit. So I call upon you and myself to make use of this vacation in what pleases Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And you have known what Allah has facilitated for us to mention of the things in which people are divided or distributed during this vacation. So I urge myself and you to make use of it in what pleases Allah, by worshipping Allah, by benefiting creation, and by giving the soul some enjoyment in a permissible manner, and so on. We ask Allah to make us and you among those who spent their times in obedience to their Lord, and to make us steadfast in that until death, and to take care of us in this world and the Hereafter. Indeed, He is capable of all things. And now we come to the questions, and we start with the right side as usual, and each person has one question from which nothing branches off. Yes.