IOK Ramadan Reflections Series: #11

IOK Ramadan Reflections Series: The Deal That Will Get You Jannah

Transcript:

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱشۡتَرَىٰ مِنَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ أَنفُسَهُمۡ وَأَمۡوَ ٰ⁠لَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ ٱلۡجَنَّةَۚ یُقَـٰتِلُونَ فِی سَبِیلِ ٱللَّهِ فَیَقۡتُلُونَ وَیُقۡتَلُونَۖ وَعۡدًا عَلَیۡهِ حَقࣰّا فِی ٱلتَّوۡرَىٰةِ وَٱلۡإِنجِیلِ وَٱلۡقُرۡءَانِۚ وَمَنۡ أَوۡفَىٰ بِعَهۡدِهِۦ مِنَ ٱللَّهِۚ فَٱسۡتَبۡشِرُوا۟ بِبَیۡعِكُمُ ٱلَّذِی بَایَعۡتُم بِهِۦۚ وَذَ ٰ⁠لِكَ هُوَ ٱلۡفَوۡزُ ٱلۡعَظِیمُ ۝١١١ ٱلتَّـٰۤىِٕبُونَ ٱلۡعَـٰبِدُونَ ٱلۡحَـٰمِدُونَ ٱلسَّـٰۤىِٕحُونَ ٱلرَّ ٰ⁠كِعُونَ ٱلسَّـٰجِدُونَ ٱلۡـَٔامِرُونَ بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِ وَٱلنَّاهُونَ عَنِ ٱلۡمُنكَرِ وَٱلۡحَـٰفِظُونَ لِحُدُودِ ٱللَّهِۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ ۝١١٢

“No doubt, The One True God – Allāh – has already made a trade with the believers. He bought their lives and their wealth, and in return they will get Heaven. They fight for the sake of God, and as a result, they end up taking lives, and lose their own. This is a true promise and oath that God has laid out in the Torah, they Gospel, and the Qurʾān. Is there anyone who is more trustworthy to fulfill their end of the bargain than God? So rejoice, be happy, because of this transaction that you have pledged. And that is the greatest victory. — [Who are those believers?] The people who:

• Repent and turn back to Allāh

• Who worship and devote themselves to Allāh

• Who praise and show gratitude to Allāh

• Who fast for the sake of Allāh

• Who bow down and make rukūʾ

• Who prostrate themselves and put their faces on the floor in sajdah

• Who command, encourage what is known and good

• Who prohibit, warn against that is unknown and bad

• Who guard and are weary of the boundaries of Allāh

Give the believers the good news!”

Sūrah al-Tawbah has a special place in my heart. It’s filled with so much emotion. It’s a sūrah that is extremely harsh when addressing the hypocrites, those people who lied to the face of the Prophet ﷺ and made his life difficult. But at the same time, it highlights the status, rank, and level of the true believers. Those who have truly dedicated their lives to Allāh ﷻ and the Prophet ﷺ. And these two (2) āyāt highlight exactly that.

Allāh, The One True God, starts off by mentioning a promised transaction; literally a purchase agreement. He ﷻ has detailed:

1. The Buyer
2. The seller
3. The commodity
4. The purchase price

And He ﷻ is saying this is a promised agreement. If the sellers actually are willing to sell the said commodity, The Buyer WILL fulfill their end of the bargain. This can be done to emphasize that the purchase price is actually extremely high and valuable. Sometimes, if someone is willing to pay a LOT of money, the seller will almost second guess, and be like “are you sure?” or “don’t play games with me” because the terms are almost too good to be true. So what is that trade?

1. The Buyer: Allāh, The One True God ﷻ
2. The sellers: Muslims, Muʾmins, believers
3. The commodity: their life and wealth
4. The purchase price: Jannah, Heaven, Paradise

Now, don’t get me wrong, the purchase price of Jannah is unimaginable. If it was anything else that we would be able to offer to sell, we wouldn’t think twice. But our lives and our money? Who doesn’t love their own life and their possessions? That’s a lot to give up. But the return price – Jannah – is unbeatable. So good, that we want a promise that we’ll actually get it.

And how do we manifest our willingness to give up our life and wealth?

یُقَـٰتِلُونَ فِی سَبِیلِ ٱللَّهِ فَیَقۡتُلُونَ وَیُقۡتَلُونَۖ

We fight, defend, advance, and do everything for the sake of Allāh, to spread and teach and preach this perfect religion. When jihād and military tasks are on the table, then lives will be lost. If we are in times, like now, wherein we as residents of America are not at war, then we combat ideas, world views, concepts with our words, books, minds, actions, and more. We preach and teach. We write, educate, speak, and guide people – they are willing to lend us an ear.

Again, the return is almost too good to be true.

وَعۡدًا عَلَیۡهِ حَقࣰّا فِی ٱلتَّوۡرَىٰةِ وَٱلۡإِنجِیلِ وَٱلۡقُرۡءَانِۚ وَمَنۡ أَوۡفَىٰ بِعَهۡدِهِۦ مِنَ ٱللَّهِۚ

This is a true promise and oath that God has laid out in the Torah, they Gospel, and the Qurʾān. Is there anyone who is more trustworthy to fulfill their end of the bargain than God? — He’s said it before, and He’s saying it again. It’s in His Words, His Books. He ﷻ never breaks His promises. Don’t doubt this promise, don’t doubt this sale.

فَٱسۡتَبۡشِرُوا۟ بِبَیۡعِكُمُ ٱلَّذِی بَایَعۡتُم بِهِۦۚ وَذَ ٰ⁠لِكَ هُوَ ٱلۡفَوۡزُ ٱلۡعَظِیمُ

So rejoice, be happy, because of this transaction that you have pledged.

Now, the bar is a little higher than just fighting for the sake of Allāh. Someone can’t just say, “yeah, sure, I’ll go spread Islam and get Jannah!” It requires the lifestyle of a true believer. Not just one outward action.

ٱلتَّـٰۤىِٕبُونَ ٱلۡعَـٰبِدُونَ ٱلۡحَـٰمِدُونَ ٱلسَّـٰۤىِٕحُونَ ٱلرَّ ٰ⁠كِعُونَ ٱلسَّـٰجِدُونَ ٱلۡـَٔامِرُونَ بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِ وَٱلنَّاهُونَ عَنِ ٱلۡمُنكَرِ وَٱلۡحَـٰفِظُونَ لِحُدُودِ ٱللَّهِۗ

• repent and turn back to Allāh

1. 1. 1. They seek His forgiveness
      2. Want to change their lives for the better
      3. Leave their bad habits
      4. Make a u-turn in their life
      5. Turn back to Allāh

• who worship and devote themselves to Allāh

1. 1. 1. They fulfill their rights and duties to God
      2. Their prayers, fasting, charity, Ḥajj
      3. Fulfilling through that, the rights of others

• who praise and show gratitude to Allāh

1. 1. 1. They say Alḥamdulillāh
      2. Praise and compliment God for His Perfection
      3. Are grateful and appreciative of every blessing
      4. Faith, health, family, money, happiness, education

• Who fast for the sake of Allāh

1. 1. 1. They fast in Ramaḍān, extra fasts

• Who bow down and make rukūʾ

1. 1. 1. This shows their dedication to ṣalāh, prayer once again

• Who prostrate themselves and put their faces on the floor in sajdah

1. 1. 1. This shows their dedication to ṣalāh, prayer once again

• Who command, encourage what is known and good

1. 1. 1. They live by it themselves
      2. They follow and do what is known, and good
      3. Tell others, help others, advise others
      4. They don’t just preach it and do the opposite

• Who prohibit, warn against that is unknown and bad

1. 1. 1. They stay away from it themselves
      2. They leave off what is wrong, unknown, and bad
      3. Tell others, help others, advise others
      4. They don’t just tell others that it’s bad, but do it themselves anyways

• Who guard and are weary of the boundaries of Allāh

1. 1. They don’t cross the rules of Allāh
   2. They don’t play games with Allāh
   3. They don’t roam around the boundaries of God’s prohibitions
      1. Only 1 sip of wine ➝ that’s not “too” bad, right?
      2. I said something mean, but it wasn’t a lie ➝ so it’s not “that” bad?
   4. They are extra careful when it comes to disobeying God

وَبَشِّرِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ

Give the believers the good news! — Congratulate them! Let them know that they’ve done it! That they’re getting Jannah in return.

Tonight’s Ramadan Reflections Series talk was brought to you by the IOK Seminary Faculty. Catch up on previous videos or catch the next videos on the IOK Ramadan Reflections Series page.