Note: The following transcript was generated using AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Benefit from that age where you're a youth. Benefit from that time. They knew that their people were not worshipping the one that deserves to be worshipped.
So what did they do? They chose to take the stance that was right. Which is to believe Allah is the one who deserves to be worshipped. Ponder here.
Allah said you call on to me and I will accept it. The requirement, what is needed from you for Allah to accept your dua is for you to make it. Allah does not tell us these stories in the Quran so that we are amazed with it and say, wow, this is a beautiful story and we leave.
The reason is for us to take lessons from it. Insha'Allah ta'ala in today's Friday session insha'Allah ta'ala, I want to go through the story of Ashabul Kahfi insha'Allah ta'ala and extract some benefits from it bi-idhnillah al-kareem. The story of the people of the cave.
The stories in the Quran are the greatest of stories. Allah ta'ala tells us in surah Yusuf, Subhanahu wa ta'ala he says, Muhammad, we are going to tell you the best of stories. That which we reveal unto you in this Quran.
Even though you were heedless of some of these things that we're going to tell you. Some of them you didn't know. In surah Al-Kahf Allah says, We will tell you their story with truth.
And in surah Ali Imran Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he says, That this story or these stories are stories which are true. Even though there is no story like the stories in the Quran. So insha'Allah ta'ala Ashabul Kahfi.
Allah mentions their story. And a lot of us we recite surah Al-Kahfi on Friday. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he says in the Quran, Then We sent them so that We may know which of the two parties is better for what they have spent.
We will tell you their story with truth. They are young men who have believed in their Lord. And We increased them in guidance.
And We bound their hearts. When they stood up and said, Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We will not call upon a god other than Him.
We said, then, These are people who have taken gods other than Him. If they do not come to them with a clear authority, then who is more unjust than he who invents a lie against Allah? And when you have withdrawn from them and they worship none but Allah, then go to the cave. Your Lord will raise you up from His mercy.
And He will prepare for you a companion from your affair. Until Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he says, وَلَبِثُوا فِي كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلَاثَ مِئَةٍ سِنِينَ وَازْدَادُوا تِسْعَى قُلِ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثُوا لَهُ غَيْبُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَبْصِرْ بِهِ وَأَسْمِعْ مَا لَهُمْ مِّن دُونِهِ مِنْ وَلِيِّ وَلَا يُشْرِكُ فِي حُكْمِهِ أَحَدًا Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in those passages tells us the story of the people of the cave and Ashabul Kahfi my brothers and sisters is one of the symbols of Iman these people, their story it's a مظهر من مظاهر الإيمان as Ibnul Qayyim says in his كتاب دائع الفوائد it's a symbol, it's a sign of what true Iman does to a people and how it shapes them and what kind of people it makes them become they realized that their people were upon disbelief they knew that their people were not worshipping the one that deserves to be worshipped Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so what did they do? they chose to take the stance that was right which is to believe Allah is the one who deserves to be worshipped subhanahu wa ta'ala and they came with qualities that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala praised them for they cut away from these people who were disbelievers and they went towards a cave Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions it He says subhanahu wa ta'ala اِذْ أَوَى الْفِتْيَةُ إِلَى الْكَهْفِ فَقَالُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا Allah mentions in this verse that they went away from their people and they went towards a cave and they supplicated to their Lord Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and they said رَبَّنَا آتِنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً Bring us and give us from you mercy وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا and put our affairs in the right direction give us guidance show us what is right from what is wrong Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala He accepted their dua subhanahu wa ta'ala but what is very profound is that they didn't even know the way that Allah will accept their dua when Allah accepts the dua He might do it in a way that you didn't think that it will be accepted so what did Allah do to them subhanahu wa ta'ala that dua that they made Allah accepted it by telling us that He did فَضَرَبْنَا عَلَى آذَانِهِمْ فِي الْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَدًا They were made by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to actually go to sleep for a very long time in that cave that's not something that came to their mind that wasn't what they were thinking just that verse alone shows us that number one the dua, the power it has and that it is truly a weapon of the believer and that we should use the dua at our advantage call Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for help وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ دُعُونِي أَسْتَجِبَ لَكُمْ Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala He said supplicate to me and I will accept your dua ponder here وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ دُعُونِي أَسْتَجِبَ لَكُمْ Allah said you call on to me and I will accept it the requirement what is needed from you for Allah to accept your dua is for you to make it you need to come with that part and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will accept it in another verse Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala He says وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ دُعُونِي أَسْتَجِبَ لَكُمْ وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ دُعُونِي أَسْتَجِبَ لَكُمْ in that same verse Allah tells us subhanahu wa ta'ala those who are arrogant who don't make the dua they don't supplicate they don't call on to their lord سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ they will enter the hell fire in another recitation وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ دُعُونِي is recited as وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ دُعُونِي أَسْتَجِبَ لَكُمْ the meaning still stands the same وَلِذَلِكَ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ he used to say I don't carry the burden and I don't ask myself whether the dua will be accepted or not the burden I carry عُمَرَ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ saying is to make the dua because I know once the dua is made the response is with it so these the people of the cave here what did they do? they called on to who? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and he accepted their dua but let's look at some of the characteristics of ibadur rahman for Allah to accept their dua what kind of people were they? what kind of sifat and characteristics did they come with? so that we can come with it Allah does not tell us these stories in the Quran so that we are amazed with it and say wow this is a beautiful story and we leave the reason is for us to take lessons from it دروس و عبر and that we leave and we act upon it the first characteristics Allah told us that they have he says نَحْنُ نَقُصُ عَلَيْكَ نَبَأَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُوا بِرَبِّ فِتْيَةٌ number one they were young youth they weren't old Ibn Kathir he said a very profound statement this statement is very profound look what he said Ibn Kathir rahimahullah on the commentary of this verse he says فَذَكَرَ تَعَالَىٰ أَنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ he says that Allah mentioned that they are youth Allah specifically mentioned that and everything Allah mentions there is a reason behind it there is a wisdom behind it there is a purpose behind it Allah does not mention something without a reason behind it Ibn Kathir he said فَذَكَرَ تَعَالَىٰ أَنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ Allah mentioned that they are youth وَهُمُ الشَّبَابُ وَهُمْ أَقْبَلُ لِلْحَقِّ وَأَهْدَىٰ لِلسَّبِيلِ بِنَ الشُّيُوخِ the youth are the ones who accept the truth the quickest they are the ones who surrender to the truth the truth quicker than who? the elder ones the senior people they've made their minds up they've what? they've made their minds up and the path that they're going to take they've already made that up وَنْغَمَسُوا فِي دِينِ البَاطِلِ and they have indulged into false religions those who are senior in age وَلِهَذَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُ الْمُسْتَجِيبِينَ and based on that the majority of the people who accepted the message of the Messenger ﷺ was who? شَبَابَ the youth وَأَمَّا الْمَشَايِخُ مِنْ قُرَيْشِ as for the elders in Quraysh فَعَامَتُهُمْ the majority of them بَقَوا عَلَى دِينِهِمْ they remained upon their religion وَلَمْ يُسْلِمْ مِنْهُمْ and there was not surrender, submission, adherence إِلَّا الْقَلِيلِ except little from the elders because they already made their mind up look what he then says وَهَاكَذَا أَخْبَرَ تَعَالَى عَنْ أَصْحَابِ الْكَهْفِ and Allah is also telling us the same thing about who? أَصْحَابُ الْكَهْفِ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا فِتِيَةٌ شَبَابًا and if you look at the Prophet's message صلى الله عليه وسلم he directed it at the youth he spoke to them multiple times he said in a famous hadith that you all know سَبْعَةٌ يُظِلُّهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي ظِلِّهِ يَوْمَ لَا ظِلَّ إِلَّا ظِلُّوا seven, Allah is going to give them a shade the day when there is no shade when the sun is brought close and everyone is going to sweat that day عَلَى مِقْدَانِ مَعْصِيَتِهِ in accordance to the person's sin everyone is going to sweat and they are going to drown inside it someone is going to reach here the sweat someone is going to reach their knees someone is going to reach their waist someone is going to drown the Prophet he said that day there is a group of people seven groups of people who Allah is going to give them a shade سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى seven groups of people from them is what وَشَابٌ نَشَأَ عَلَى طَاعَةِ اللَّهِ you see a youth who grew up on the obedience of Allah he is from the seven that will be given a shade the day when we are most in need of a shade is that it? no another narration the Prophet mentioned صلى الله عليه وسلم he said اغْتَنِمْ خَمْسًا قَبْلَ خَمْس benefit from five before five comes to you and in there the Prophet he mentioned وَشَبَابَكَ قَبْلَ حَرَمِكِ benefit from that age where you are a youth before you age benefit from that time actually what's very profound is this hadith it's always amazed me when I heard this hadith the Prophet mentioned in the hadith that Imam al-Tirmidhi narrated in his Jamia من حديث أبي برزة الأسلمين the Prophet he said لا تزول قدماء عبد يوم القيامة a slave's leg will not move from its position the day of judgment you're not allowed to move right or left forward or backward you're not allowed to move you'll stay still in that position until you answer four questions حَتَّى يُسْأَلْ عَنْ أَرْبَعٍ four questions you'll be put will be put towards you and you have to have an answer for those you know what's very profound in the four questions that is asked one of the questions is عَنْ عُمْرِهِ فِي مَا أَفْنَى how have you spent your life صح you'll be asked about your life your youth sorry your life your entire life and in that same hadith it says وَعَنْ شَبَابِهِ فِي مَا أَبْلَى and how you spent your youth but then I always used to ask myself why is Allah mentioning or the Prophet mentioning in this hadith the life span of the person will be asked and then in there he says again the youth مَرْحَلَةُ الشَّبَابِي will be asked again why what is that is that not part of the time it is but the reason you're asked for this مَرْحَلَةُ الشَّبَابِي is لِأَهْمِيَتِهِ because of its importance actually Shaykh al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah in his Kitab al-'Aqeedah al-Wasitiyah he authenticated this hadith where the Prophet ﷺ he said the Prophet said this إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَيَعْجَبُ Allah is fascinated بِشَابٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ صَبْوَةٍ a youth that does not have deficiencies Allah is fascinated with this a youth who does not have the deficiencies that youths have women temptations money wasting time he doesn't have that very focused very determined driven knows what he wants upholds the morals a Muslim should uphold when that comes from a youth Allah is fascinated the reason Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned it in al-'Aqeedah al-Wasitiyah is he wants to affirm from the hadith صِفَةُ العَجَب the characteristics of fascination so the Prophet gave a lot of importance to the youth ﷺ he used to address them by that title he would say يَا مَعْشَرَ الشَّبَابِ مَنْ اِسْتَطَاعَ مِنْكُمُ الْبَاءَةَ فَلْيَتَزَوَّجُ whichever from amongst you youth can get married get married وَمَنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعُ and whoever from amongst you is not able to get married وَمَنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعُ فَعَلَيْهِ بِالصَّوْمِ upon him is fasting if you can't get married fast فَإِنَّهُ يَكُونُ لَهُ وِجَاءٌ the fasting will castrate your desires in the end this the fact that the Prophet kept addressing the youth shows you the importance that the youth have the second characteristics that Ashabul Kahfi have is فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُو they believed they believe in الله سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى and brothers and sisters حَسَنَ البَصْرِيُّ he summarized this statement of Iman he said لَيْسَ الْإِيمَانُ بِالتَّحَلِّي وَلَا بِالتَّمَنِّي وَلَكِنَّهُ مَا وَقَرَ فِي الْقَلْبِ وَصَدَّقَةُ الْعَمَلِ حَسَنَ البَصْرِيُّ he said Iman is not a mere claim it's not something I'm a Mu'min you can just claim it no no no no Iman is what settles in the heart it's what's in your heart deep in your heart and then it shows on your limbs it can't happen that you have strong Iman in your heart and it's not shown on your limbs أَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ وَالْجَمَاعَةِ many giants scholars of عقيدة and حديث and fiqh mention it أَبُو قَاسِمْ هِبَتُ اللَّهِ أَلَّا لَكَئِيُّ mentions it أَبُو بَطَّةَ الْعَكُبُرِ رحمه الله mentions it قِوَامُ السُّنَّةِ in his Kitab al-Hujjah في بيان المحجّة mentions it large number of scholars mention it which is the concept of التَّلَزُّمُ بَيْنَ الظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِمُ that there is a relationship between what's inside your heart and what shows on your limbs it's not possible that a person's heart is strong on Iman strong I said and then the outer is zero it can't happen it's impossible yes it can happen that you have little little Iman in your heart and it doesn't really show a lot on your limbs that can happen of course that can happen but if your Iman is complete in your heart it cannot it cannot be absent from your limbs so Iman is not just a claim brothers it is something that we need to show on our limbs أَصْحَابُ الْكَافِي when Allah is saying here إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُوا it does not just mean that it's in their hearts it means that they acted upon it they lived by Iman it shaped who they were and of course we're going to see that Insha'Allah Ta'ala and this my brothers and sisters this concept of Iman when it enters your heart and it really enters your heart it shapes everything around you everything falls in line the Mu'min he becomes as they say tunnel visioned everything he knows why he's here where he's heading what he wants and Allah made it clear in the Quran I'll give you one example there is a battle that Insha'Allah Ta'ala we're going to see in the Seerah Allah speaks about that battle I've mentioned it a few times but again the reminder benefits the believer this battle is called Ghazwatul Khandaq it's also called Ghazwatul Ahzab the reason why it's called Ghazwatul Khandaq is that the Prophet ﷺ he had to build a what? a trench but it's also called Ghazwatul Ahzab because a lot of the different factions came together to fight the Prophet ﷺ there were many Hizbs Ghatafanan Banu Quraizan Banu Nadheeran Banu Qaynuqaan Quraish all came together once and for all they wanted to destroy the Prophet ﷺ look at the way Allah speaks about that battle and I want you to look at the people the way that they were at that moment they were two groups and not a third Allah says يَا أَيُّ الَّذِينَ أَمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَاءَتْكُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا وَجُنُودًا لَمْ تَرَوْهَا وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرًا إِذْ جَاءُوْكُمْ مِنْ فَوْقِكُمْ وَمِنْ أَسْفَلَ مِنْكُمْ وَإِذْ زَاغَتْ الْأَبْصَارِ your eyes went up وَإِذْ زَاغَتْ الْأَبْصَارِ وَبَلَغَتْ الْقُلُوبُ الْحَنَاجِرِ and the hearts reached the throat there is no battle Allah described it like this وَتَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَ Allah then says هُنَالِكَ بِالتُّلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَزِلُوا الْزِلُو وَزُلْزِلُوا زِلْزَأْلٍ شَدِيدًا Allah said I tested them and it shaked the believers hunger, cold the fire, they ignited it goes they're in their city and it's the entire city of Medina is sieged their women are behind them now the Jews of Medina have already broken the contract and they are behind them with their women and children it's a moment of test for who? the Prophet and his companions Allah tells us there's two groups of people I want you guys to ponder here the first group are those who are hypocrites who do not have what? the characteristics of Iman Allah says وَإِذْ يَقُولُوا الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ the word في قلوبهم مرض في قلوبهم مرض the scholars mention everywhere in the Quran that you find where Allah says في قلوبهم مرض is referring to the منافقين except سورة الحزاب وَفَلَا تَخْضَعْنَا بِالْقَوْلِ فَيَطْرِبْ عَلَّذِي فِي قَلْبِهِ مَرَضٌ وَقُلْنَ قَوْلًا مَعْرُوفًا that's not necessarily referring to the منافقين it's referring to the Muslims whose heart is sick other than that it's referring to who? the hypocrites so this verse is referring to who?
the hypocrites وَإِذْ يَقُولُوا الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ مَا وَعَدَنَا اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ إِلَّا غُنُورًا this now the test has come they've been tested trialed the response that they give is what? they accuse Allah and His Messenger they say Allah and His Messenger deceived us it is Allah and His Messenger that put us through this problem in the first place we didn't even have this problem in the first place their criticism and their statements is directed at Allah and His Messenger what about the believers? they're told the opposite of what the Munafiqeenah said and it's the same situation why is the response different? وَلَمَّا رَأَى الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْأَحْزَابَ قَالُوا هَذَا مَا وَعَدَنَا اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَصَدَقَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَمَا زَادَهُمْ إِلَّا إِيمَانًا وَتَسْلِيمًا they see the same thing they're in the same circumstance they're in the same situation the responses are different the reason is because وَلَمَّا رَأَى الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْأَحْزَابَ it's Iman another example, a second example the people of Fir'aun who are with what? Fir'aun the magicians of Fir'aun when Musa Alayhi As-Salam came they spoke to Fir'aun they said to Fir'aun أَإِنَّ لَنَا لَأَجْرًا إِن كُنَّا نَحْنُ الْغَالِبِينَ if we take out Musa we annihilate him we crush him are we going to get something? are you going to do something for us? Fir'aun says of course I will of course I'm going to do something for you guys what am I going to make you? I'm going to give you guys a station I'm going to raise you guys up so that you are part of my closest circle they were happy when they threw their sticks and whatever they had whose name were they throwing it at? قَالُوا بِعِزَّةِ فِرْعَوْنِ they said that we throw this with the power and the strength of Fir'aun that was what they were like at the beginning when they saw what they saw and Musa got scared Allah says فَأُوجَسَ فِي نَفْسِهِ خِيْفًا Musa slightly got scared what he could see is scary Allah commanded him throw the stick, Musa threw the stick the stick took out everything with the permission of Allah SWT it became a big snake and it took out everything now, what happened to the magicians?
they did a 180 the magicians from where they were at they did a 180 and they said قَالُوا أَمَنَّا بِرَبِّ هَارُونَ وَمُوسَىٰ قَالُوا أَمَنَّا we believe who do we believe? أَمَنَّا بِرَبِّ هَارُونَ وَمُوسَىٰ now they've become mu'min they've surrendered to Allah they've tasted the sweetness of Iman Firaun tried to scare them and he tried to say to them what? لَأُقَطِّ عَنْ أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ مِنْ خِلَافٍ وَلَأُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ فِي جُذُوعِ النَّخْلِ وَلَتَعْلَمُونَ أَيُّنَا أَشَدُّ عَذَابًا وَأَبْقَىٰ I'm gonna make an example of you guys I'm gonna cut your hands on this one I'm gonna hang you on the trees I'm gonna make an example of you I promise what did they say? what do you want Firaun? where is that coming from? where is that response coming from? it's coming from where? Iman they've tasted the sweetness of Iman and so this is what they say to Firaun قَالُوا لَنُؤْثِرَكَ عَلَى مَا جَاءَنَا we are not going to choose you over what has come to us right now that which Musa has just brought to us is Iman Wallahi we are not going to choose you over it and before who were they choosing? Firaun so my brothers and sisters this issue of Iman is what we really need to work on if we really work on it Iman will bring so much for us my brothers and sisters it is actually Iman that unites us when Allah says that the people are brothers what did he use? what term did he use? إنما المؤمنون إخوة if we strengthen our Iman we will become brothers he didn't say the Prophet backed that ayah with another hadith he said المؤمن للمؤمن he didn't use the word Muslim he used the word مؤمن المؤمن للمؤمن كالبنيان يشد بعضه بعضا فشبك الدبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بين أصابعه he said that the believer the مؤمن to another مؤمن is like a building which is cemented يشد بعضه بعضا who is it that are divided the people who lack Iban ولا تكونوا من المشركين من الذين فرقوا دينهم وكانوا شيعا ولا تكونوا من المشركين a مشرك is the opposite to a مؤمن he is the one division comes from صح ولا تكونوا من المشركين من الذين فارقوا دينهم is another recitation who left their religion and walked away from it we all together are brothers so the first characteristics that we need to come with my brothers and sisters is we have to Iman the third characteristics Allah mentioned for أصحاب الكهف is that they were guided إنهم فتية آمنوا بربهم وزيدناهم هدى they had Iman Allah increased them in guidance سبحانه وتعالى these individuals are profound أصحاب الكهف Allah is mentioning them He named the entire surah about them سبحانه وتعالى anyone who Allah guides Wallahi there is no one to misguide you if Allah puts you on that path and you are on the right path من يهدي الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا if Allah misguides you then there is no one to help you brothers that's why the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in every khutbah he would give he would say من يهديه الله فلا مضل له ومن يضلل فلا هادي له the Prophet used to say that صلى الله عليه وسلم وزيدناهم هدى but brothers for Allah to give you guidance to increase you in guidance to show you things as they are what is it that's required from you والذين اهتدوا those who seek guidance looked for guidance want guidance show appreciation to the concept of guidance Allah says والذين اهتدوا زادهم هدى وآتاهم تقواهم Allah gave them and increased for them guidance and gave them taqwa the fourth characteristics of Ashabul Kahf was what they stayed firm ثابتون على دينهم they stayed firm they didn't shake when a little wind of questioning or doubts came look what Allah says وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ their hearts Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala what did He say وَصَبَّرْنَاهُمْ We made them patient resilience Allah gave them subhanahu wa ta'ala in them going against their nation they're little in number they're going against the entire nation Allah gave them patience this is something Allah used for the sahabas in the battle of Badr and this concept Muhammad Al-Amin Al-Shankitiyyu said if we look at based on the ayah إِذْ يُغَشِيكُمُ النُّعَاسَ أَمَنَةً وَيُنَزِّلُ عَلَيْكُم مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً لِيُطَهِرَكُم بِهِ وَيُذْهِبْ عَنكُم رِجِزَ الشَّيْطَانِ وَلِيَرْبِطَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتَ بِهِ الْأَقْدَامِ if we look at that verse we find that the sahabas coming to the battle of Badr fighting that's when Allah is telling us that he made their hearts firm Ashabul Kafi when they left their place of residence and they showed that they don't want to stay in this place where Allah is being disobeyed that's when Allah is saying I kept their hearts firm and patient so it has to come from you it has to come from you what? the actions you can't sit back and expect everything to be done for you look at the mother of Musa when Allah SWT instructed her to tie him to the edge of her building and she used to everyday put him in a bucket a basket and one day the rope opened and Nabi Musa got away Allah says وَأَصْبَحَ فُؤَادُ أُمِّ مُوسَىٰ فَارِغًا إِن كَادَتْ لَتُبْدِي بِهِ لَوْ لَأَرَّبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قَلْبِهَا لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ Allah SWT he tells us the mother of Nabi Musa's heart became what? وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قَلْبِهَا وَأَصْبَحَ فُؤَادُ أُمِّ مُوسَىٰ فَارِغًا her heart became empty she got scared she just lost her child she looked she couldn't see him anymore he's gone Allah look what he said وَأَصْبَحَ فُؤَادُ أُمِّ مُوسَىٰ فَارِغًا إِن كَادَتْ لَتُبْدِي بِهِ لَوْ لَأَرَّبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قَلْبِهَا she was about to go out to the army of Ziraun and say I lost my son and they would have said what? you have a son?
and she would have exposed herself and then they would have known that but Allah says what we did was we made her heart firm we calmed her down she didn't have to say that she didn't have to worry Allah placed in her heart what did he do? لَوْ لَا أَرَّبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قَلْبِهَا that feeling comes when you listen to Allah first that is what brothers and sisters a lot of people are looking for they're not going to get it unless they surrender to who? to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and my brothers listen every one of those three situations I just told you اِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ وَزِيدَنَاهُمْ هُدَىٰ وَرَابَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ in Surah Al-Anfal where Allah mentions the battle of Badr where Allah made their hearts firm and the mother of Musa a.s all three of them the outer situation was not pleasant but their hearts were calm that's what you need to remember they are like a boat well built in the middle of the ocean where the tides are coming from all directions as long as that water doesn't go into the ship the ship won't sink what do you think? it will just float on top of it that's how they are for Allah to give us that brothers and sisters what do we need? وَأَصْبَحَ فُؤَادُ أُمِّ مُّسَىٰ فَارِغًا إِن كَادَتْ لَتُبْدِي بِهِ لَوْ لَأَرَّ بَطْنَ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِهَا لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ she was from the believers first of all she came with Iman and that's why Allah made her firm the last characteristic that they had was they ran to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ فِرَارُهُمْ إِلَىٰ اللَّهِ تَعَالَىٰ which is the sixth they were in a land where Allah was disobeyed shirk was done it was the land of the disbelievers they ran away for their religion وَإِذَا اِعْتَزَلْتُمُوهُمْ وَمَا يَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ فَأُوُوا إِلَىٰ الْكَهْرِ يَنْشُرْ لَكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ وَيُهَيِّ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ مِنْ الْفِقَارِ they went to the cave they locked themselves in that cave and that's when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala disobeyed and the religion of Allah is disobeyed what is it upon a believer? to get up and to what? it's to leave that place and not to be in that place what were the things that Allah did for them? once they came with all of those characteristics what were the things that Allah done for them? I want to share some of the things I've written today just after reciting surah al kahfi by the way there is a difference of opinion in reciting surah al kahfi on Friday if the hadith is sahih my heart is more inclined to the idea that reciting it any day of the week is right and the reward is still there but restricting it on the Friday is not only the day where the reward is connected to, if you read it on Monday you still get the reward, Tuesday you get the reward Wednesday, Thursday, Friday the ahadith that restrict it to Friday are not authentic but the hadith that keep it general are authentic does that make sense? so you can read it on Friday, you get the reward, you can read it on Saturday you get the reward, you can read it on Thursday you get the reward read it on Friday, Monday, Tuesday, whichever day you want does that make sense? some people just, they think it's specific to that Friday because of the narrations and yes there are some scholars who authenticated it but I'm of the opinion that those narrations restricting Friday every day, on a Friday night on a Friday daytime are not authentic but if you take the authenticity it's fine inshallah, the issue of sahih and dhaif, it's an ijtihadi issue, opinions are different on sides no one should impose his view onto others, so next Friday you still can come to the class no one's going to kick you out of the class for holding that opinion, inshallah ta'ala what are some of the things Allah gave Ashab ul Kahfi once they came with those characteristics number one, Allah protected subhanahu wa ta'ala their body for them Ashab ul Kahfi as you all know they were, they went into the cave and they slept but what was very profound was, their sleeping was a sleep which was very long and number two they were tossing and turning and also if you saw them it was like they were awake these were things Allah gave them subhanahu wa ta'ala, this is called karamat as Muslims should we believe that there are karamat of course these are not prophets Ashab ul Kahfi are they prophets no, do they have karamat they do can a Muslim, a mu'min be given karamat haa, it's a haqeed you have to believe that but he has to come with characteristics of iman and taqwa there's someone who doesn't pray and said I don't have to pray and he's got nine wives and then he says to you I am, I get karamat I go to the Kaaba and I pray and I come back that person we will say he's twisting the concept of what karamat he's got no karamat we all together some of the books you do see karamat we mentioned in the seerah Abu Bakr had some karamat right we mentioned it where food was more just like it happened for the prophet where the guests came and they were eating in the house of Abu Bakr and the food kept growing more and more this is from the what karamat so ashabul kahfi had karamat Allah said about them you can recite it like that from their karamat was what the sun could not hurt their body the sun that burns Allah took the heat from it not to hurt them so the sun wouldn't burn their body it was as though they were breathing it wasn't like they stopped breathing they were breathing the sun would come into the cave but it would not be directly to their body because the human body what does it need it requires sun we need sun the amount of sun we require it we need it the sun will not burn their skin also Allah their skin did not wear out meaning if they were to slide down on one particular place the earth would eat them but they're not, they're turning when they get tired they turn over when they get tired they turn over also they were not hungry before that Allah says if you were to see them you would think they were awake you would think how could that be, their eyes were open they were like that and they were sleeping they were as though they were sleeping but in reality they were sleeping Allah says Allah says I was the one tossing them right and left tossing them my brothers and sisters all of this care why is Allah doing it for them Ibn Al-Qayyim Wallahi it's nothing else because of the characteristics they came with it's those characteristics that they came with that Allah is protecting them like this he's accepting their dua subhanahu wa ta'ala and not only that because of their nobility and their righteousness the dog that was with them Allah mentioned that as well the dog was also with them the scholars they said what was the significance of mentioning the dog the reason why he was mentioned is because he's with what he's with noble people when you're with good people you deserve what do you call it you deserve to be mentioned you deserve to be said look at the significance of the place Allah didn't just mention they had a dog he mentioned the position of the dog his legs were stretched out the dog he was also in the same situation as them why is he mentioned being in the companionship of righteous people being with righteous people benefits you select your friends wisely who are the people you can trust can this person be my friend yes select choose don't let everyone into your life why because you are what your friend is it's a representation of who you are why did you choose this person why do you like to hang around with this person it's something within you that is attracted to this person and the Prophet summarized it when he said المرء the person is upon what you're of the religion of your friend فاليوم بر look this look is not just see it, it means think is نظرة اعتبار select handpick choose the person you want to be your friend don't just let anybody into your life why my brothers and sisters because we are as the Prophet he said we are مدني بالطبع we as humans we copy each other if you look at who you are today you're an amalgamation of so many different things that have come together things that you've taken from your mom things that you've taken from your dad things that you've taken from your siblings things that you've taken from your neighbors the people that you play football with you've taken all of that from them and it shaped who you are true or false so when you choose this person he's going to affect the way you think he's going to affect the way you talk he's going to affect the way you carry yourself it's going to affect the way you respond to things and I'm sure all of you here will admit to that you've met people who have amazed you and you thought wow this individual subhanAllah just being with them has touched my heart amazed with the way that they carry themselves then choosing your friends wisely أصحاب الكهف that's the benefit we take from them and the mentioning of the dog and why Allah mentioned it subhanahu wa ta'ala also the thing that Allah did for أصحاب الكهف was what Allah made their appearance scary the way that they looked so that nobody can try to harm them or do anything to them subhanahu wa ta'ala that's why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala He mentions وَكَلْبُهُمْ بَاسِطٌ ذِرَاعَيْهِ بِالْوَصِيدِ لَوِ اطْطَلَعْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ if you saw them لَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِرَارًا you run away from them scary, it wasn't like they were beautifully sleeping and everything it was to scare off any and everything to not harm these individuals brothers I took a benefit from Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali he said رحمه الله he said a very profound statement he said Allah is protecting them even though they are not protecting themselves He is taking care of them even though they are not taking care of themselves why? اِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ وَزِيدَنَاهُمْ هُدَىٰ they had iman they came with what was required from them Allah said don't worry I'll take over I'll take care of you you don't even subhanAllah brothers, they are not coming with the means for Allah to protect them right now, He is taking care of them and guess what subhanAllah the scholars mentioned that the time that they spent in the cave was longer than the time that they were out on the earth meaning they did small deed for them to be protected for a longer time and that's what's required from us brothers عَمَلٌ يَسِيرٌ لِأَجْرٍ كَثِيرٌ a small deed for a lot of reward that's what's needed from us we don't have to move the mountain of U'ud I mentioned this before, Abu Bakr became a companion at the age of 30 something and he died at the age of what? 60 something 30 years approximately he was a companion before that he wasn't 30 years he's been under this earth for 1400 years he's reaping the fruits of those 30 years only where he comes number one after all the prophets عَمَلٌ يَسِيرٌ that's what the Quran means يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَن يَتُوبَ عَلَيْكُمْ Allah wants to forgive you يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَن يُخَفِّفَ عَنكُمْ Allah wants to make it easy for you Allah wants to take you to Jannah Jannah can take us all brothers so small deeds how long did they stay in their cave for? وَلَبِثُوا فِي كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلَاثَ مِئَةٍ
300 years and some of the scholars mentioned it wasn't even 100 years that they walked on this earth they stayed وَلَبِثُوا فِي كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلَاثَ مِئَةٍ سِنِينَ وَازْدَادُوا تِسْعَى 309 years they were sleeping Allah is honoring them and protecting them سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى some of the scholars mentioned this can be for us لَهُ مُعَقِبَاتٌ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُونَهُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ that's exactly what the Prophet was teaching Abdullah ibn Abbas when he said to him يَا غُلَامِ إِنِّي أُعَلِّمُكَ كَلِمَاتٍ إِحْفَظِ اللَّهَ يَحْفَظْكَ protect Allah's boundaries uphold this religion be fearful of Allah guess what يَحْفَظْكَ Allah will protect you you will know in suratul kahfi when Nabila and Musa and Khadir are walking together they come to an orphan whose house is about to collapse جِدَارَ يُرِيدُ أَن يَنْقَضَ فَأَقَامَهُ جِدَارَ يُرِيدُ أَن يَنْقَضَ فَأَقَامَهُ it was a building that was about to collapse Musa asked them and Khadir take us as guests they refused Musa got upset with that Khadir what did he do he built their house for them and he told them the reason is because they are orphans and under it is what treasures, I want to conceal it for them the reason why he did all of that was what reason وَكَانَ أَبُوهُمَا صَالِحًا their parents were righteous people, Allah sent two prophets to build their house for them because their parents were good Saeed ibn al-Musayyib would say before he starts his prayer, he is Sayyid al-Tabi'een he says to his children, I'm going to pray and I'm going to fast and I'm going to do righteous deeds so Allah can protect you because of the good that I do, my good deeds Allah will protect you guys for it, we all know the story of Abu Tiba al-Tabari they said he reached 100 years of age 100 years he reached, he was on a camel, and he jumped from the camel, and his students were shocked, they said to him, be gentle on yourself you're 100 years of age how are you going to jump from a camel and do you know what he said حَفِظْنَاهَا فِي الصِّغَرِ فَحَفِظَهَا اللَّهُ فِي الْكِبَرِ we protected our limbs when we were young and Allah is going to protect it for us now that we're old some of the Salafis saw a man who was begging and he was making he was begging the people and they said ضَيَّعَ اللَّهُ فِي الصِّغَرِ فَإِذْ ضَيَّعَهُ اللَّهُ فِي الْكِبَرِ he forsaked Allah when he was young and Allah has now forsaken him, if we forsake Allah's religion, Allah will forsake us سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى and we will taste the bitterness of so much suffering and hardship I stop there inshallah, anything I've said that was wrong or incorrect is from me and shaytan and Allah and his messenger are both free from it سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ أَشْهَدُ أَن لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنتُ أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْكَ
