Note: The following transcript was generated using AI and may contain inaccuracies.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
And with Him, I seek help. And I pray and send greetings to the Master of the Prophets and Messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be the best prayer and the most complete submission.
As for the rest, indeed, the favors of Allah are many.
And Allah said, "And if you count the favor of Allah, you will not count it."
Indeed, the greatest favor that Allah, the Exalted in His Glory, bestows upon a servant is the favor of Islam. It exceeds the favor of wealth, the favor of health, and the rest of the favors. It is from the grace of Allah, the Exalted in His Glory, upon the parents and from His care for them that Allah, the Exalted in His Glory, guides me to supplication:
"O my Lord, grant me to thank You for the favor that You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and that I should do righteousness that pleases You."
Being kind to one's parents is great. Among this is that man thanks Allah, the Exalted in His Glory, for the favor He bestows upon him and upon his parents. Some scholars have mentioned that the meaning of the word Shukr (gratitude) in relation to the favor is the greatest and most important thing.
It is to introduce the servant to the Oneness of Allah, guide him to accept this Oneness, and act in obedience to Allah, the Exalted in His Glory. This is the greatest favor that has been mentioned, and it was intended by the people of knowledge in this statement.
We find in the words of the predecessors—the Companions, the Tabi‘un, and the Imams of Islam—many statements in favor of this great religion. This favor is the favor of Islam.
Among these statements is what Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, and the rest of the Companions said:
"I have never been happier with anything in Islam than the fact that none of these desires have entered my heart."
The happiest thing in the religion of Islam is the fact that none of these desires have entered my heart.
We also find in the words of Imam Mujahid, may Allah have mercy on him, when he says:
"I do not know which of the two favors is better: to be guided to Islam or to be protected from desires."
The favor of Islam is a great favor. But if you become Muslim and follow desires, you may be misguided, miserable, and leave the favor of Islam.
Islam is a favor. Monotheism is a favor. The Sunnah is a favor. With monotheism and the Sunnah, you remain firm in the religion of Islam.
Ikrimah, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated—though this is not a legal proof, but rather a lesson—that a Prophet from among the Prophets complained to Allah about hunger and nakedness, and Allah revealed to him:
"Are you not pleased that I have blocked the door of polytheism from you?"
As I said, this needs proof regarding which Prophet it was, but the lesson remains: monotheism is the greatest favor.
The favor of food, the favor of clothing, the favor of money, the favor of luxury—this world, with all its luxuries, no matter how great these favors are, they are not equal to the favor of Islam.
So, praise be to Allah for this religion. Praise be to Allah for Islam and for the understanding of the Ummah's predecessors, whose obligations include the sole unification of Allah, following the Sunnah of the Prophet, and staying away from the people of innovation, their ways, and their methods.
We ask Allah for guidance and success.
We also find traces of the favor of Islam, the favor of monotheism, and the favor of the Sunnah in the statements of Abu Al-‘Aliyah, may Allah have mercy on him:
"I do not know which of the two favors is greater for me: that Allah brought me out of polytheism into Islam, or that He made me firm in Islam, preventing me from becoming one of the people of innovation."
Sufyan Ibn ‘Uyaynah, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
"Allah has not bestowed upon His servants a favor greater than introducing them to the fact that there is no god but Allah."
That is why one of the greatest favors upon you—greater than anything else—is that Allah has introduced you to Islam, the Sunnah, and monotheism, and has protected you from innovation.
The favor of Islam is a great favor, so congratulations to those who have been raised as Muslims. But Allah should be praised for this favor, and one should ask Him for steadfastness upon it.
Allah should be thanked for this favor, and gratitude should be expressed with the heart and with the tongue, as praise and thanks to Allah:
"O our Lord, for the favor of Islam."
And it should be shown through action—by obeying Allah, following His commandments and those of His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, and abstaining from all that Allah has forbidden.
This is how gratitude should be.
As for those whom Allah has honored with guidance and entrance into the religion of Islam, then congratulations to them.
How?
By the mercy of Islam, by the mercy of the religion of Islam, by the mercy of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
Allah, the Exalted, has allowed man, after entering Islam, to be purified from all evils, no matter how great they are—the greatest of them being polytheism and disbelief in Allah.
Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, erases what came before it.
Furthermore, Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, honors him by preserving whatever good he did before his disbelief, allowing it to benefit him after his Islam.
Polytheism nullifies deeds. If a person remains in disbelief and polytheism, no good deed benefits him. But when he becomes Muslim, Allah erases from him all evils—including polytheism and disbelief—while keeping the good deeds he performed before Islam.
And do you find a favor and generosity greater than this generosity? No, by Allah.
A person may disbelieve in his Lord and commit polytheism for years. Yet, if he repents—whether a year, a month, or even a day before his death—Allah, by His generosity, honors this servant by his Islam, his monotheism, and his concern for the Sunnah.
He keeps him away from polytheism, innovation, and whims. And Allah, in His generosity, preserves for him the good he did before Islam, even if he had remained in disbelief.
We must thank our Lord for all favors, but the greatest favor that Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, has bestowed upon us is the favor of Islam.
That is why our Lord, Glorified and Sublime be He, says:
"And remember the favor of Allah upon you when you were enemies, and He brought your hearts together, and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of fire, and He saved you from it."
Allah is the Greatest.
Islam brought security, brotherhood, and love. Those who were once enemies and filled with hatred became, through the favor of Islam, brothers.
The greatest favor is that they were once disbelievers and polytheists, on the edge of a pit of fire. If one of them had died in that state, he would have gone to Hell.
But Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, honored them by guiding them into this great religion.
This is a reminder from our Lord, Glorified and Sublime be He.
From its fruits is that a person should thank his Lord for this favor and praise Him for guiding him to Islam.
With gratitude to Allah, we must ask Him for steadfastness.
We ask Allah for steadfastness in this religion.
Praise be to Allah for the blessings our Lord has bestowed upon us.
And we ask Him to bless us and honor us, as He has honored us with Islam, with steadfastness in this religion.
I ask Allah to grant me and you steadfastness.
And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
And peace and blessings be upon the Master of the Prophets and Messengers.
