How Tahajjud Removes Stress and Sins | Khutbah by Dr. Omar Suleiman

dear brothers and sisters when the topic of the night prayer comes up outside of ramadan it can feel a bit out of touch it can feel a bit disconnected from people because let's be very honest when we look at the state of ourselves collectively it's hard for us to pray the five prayers we have a struggle with with the mandatory prayers and so some might say why talk about tahajud why talk about the night prayer when people are struggling with the five obligatory prayers and i ask myself that question as well if someone's struggling with the farah how can they even begin to entertain to entertain the idea of praying at night and ramadan is of course an exception you find people that just like people fast ramadan that struggle with other obligations in the deen and we ask allah to make ramadan the fasting of ramadan means for them to fulfill the other obligations but just as people you know confess ramadan but they can't do a lot of those other things throughout the year in many ways people sort of relegate this practice to this special 10 nights and that's it and we don't really touch it and maybe one day my faith will get to the point that i feel connected enough to allah subhanahu wa that i can start to entertain that conversation and then once i start to dive into the books and i start to read about the way that the salaf the way that the pious predecessors viewed the amulet seemingly as an obligation not an obligation in the technical sense which we'll get to but as an obligation on themselves for spiritual health it can be demoralizing and depressing because you read that and you say where am i and these people who would blame themselves so much for missing one night of priyamalid and i don't remember the last time that i prayed a meaningful night of almost when you talk about coming close to allah subhanahu ta'ala it is true that not that than what i have already made obligatory upon them you can't prioritize the nawafin over the you can't prioritize the voluntary deeds over the obligatory deeds however if a person tastes the sweetness of certain voluntary deeds not only can it help them be more consistent with the obligatory deeds it can help revive the spirit of those obligatory deeds in fact which is what has said about suratul zem if you read surat in the third revelation to the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam it is a page and a half the second half is one ayah is one ayah and ai says that allah withheld the second part of the muslim for an entire year from us meaning what when allah first revealed to us revealed to the prophet to saws up and pray at night to stand up and pray a significant portion of the night and to recite a significant portion of what was revealed for a year the obligation upon meaning the night prayer was an obligation on the ummah for an entire year before the obligation of the five prayers came later on similar to how we have ayam and some days that were obligate that were obligatory for fasting but when ramadan came they became voluntary like the fasting of arafah and ashura and other days like that okay so with the prayer of qiyamale she says that for a whole year and this was the most difficult time in the life of the prophet saws and by the ummah who was facing persecution and had no community which is one of the wisdoms that the urimah mentioned they didn't have a community to gather they they had no masjid they had come to sneak into and to study and to do what they could but everyone really had to pray by themselves for a whole year she said we all prayed until our feet would swell and then allah revealed the second part of it which rendered the night prayer voluntary but the prophet saw some still maintain the habits meaning the prophet saw some still would pray until his feet would swell and of course many of the companions would maintain that habit and there was a wisdom to them that when you are struggling this practice is not just a means of giving you great perspective and great connection to your lord but it also provides a unique level of relief of hem of stress and anxiety and that's something that's very unique about this particular habit this particular good deed when you read about it the way that the companions and the salaf and the pious predecessors speak about this act in particular as being one that removes stress you stand up at night you have a direct connection to your lord it's quiet you don't have a meeting coming up right you you can you can create the scene set the scene the kids are most likely sleeping they should be sleeping at that time it's just you and allah subhanahu wa tarana the the rules of kia male are not as rigid and i don't say that in a negative way but with the the maktuba with the with the mandatory prayers there are certain things you can and can't do but with the qiyam you can spend the whole night with one or two ayats you can allocate certain time to your such that certain time to your standing up it's a moment of joy and when the scholars spoke about it that's what they say it's very interesting because just like with fasting you know you always start reading about these studies to try to make you feel better about your faith and you don't need to right the benefits of fasting it just it it feels good right when you hear about the physical benefits and things of that sort as well basically these studies confirming what you already have been acting upon because it was prescribed by your lord and so you read these studies about mindfulness meditation 20 minutes a day 20 25 minutes a day but don't do it all at one time because you need to break up your mindfulness meditation throughout the day because it will reset the cycle for you and get you back to where you need to be and put put you know between those breaks those meditation breaks everything in perspective and it will improve the quality of your sleep and if you improve the quality of your sleep then you're energized during the day i'm like these people just need salah they just need prayer we already we have something prescribed to us that is so beautiful that doesn't mean that times of dura and wikir and introspection are not good as well but salah really offers that vehicle and improves the quality of a person's day and a person's night and we when you think about the unique stress relief you know people spend the entire night binge watching movies or uh you know hanging out and they're halal ways to spend time as well right but you know there is a certain relaxation i need some relief tonight so i'm going to spend some time and i'm going to just you know kill some time and feel good and sometimes if it's halal it's good for you but what he was saying is that people who have established this night prayer even if it's a small portion that they are in more joy than the people of lahu with their lahu now we're not even talking about people of sin right that's a whole nother level and he said you know describing it he says he said it's as if i could see my heart laughing when a person enjoys that night of prayer he said lol in living in this life right i don't think about anything in life as giving me as much joy as i do i have not found anything in my life that is just sweeter gives more pleasure that's how they're speaking about it then he said that i love the night prayer or i love the night because that's when i get to meet my lord that's when i get to spend time with allah and we were talking about the last few weeks how people can be exhausting he said in the daytime i'm not so crazy about because i have to meet the creation of allah dealing with the lord at night dealing with people during the day there is a peace and a tranquility that comes from that that makes what comes throughout the day more bearable and that joy is freshening that joy is replenishing that joy is meaningful it's you know people are searching for it here and there and it's in those few moments at night and i'm gonna get to this at the end but that doesn't mean praying all night that means those few moments that 10 15 minutes that 20 minutes of recalibrating every single night at some point in the night between you and allah subhanahu ta'ala he was asked he said how come the people that sleep the least at night have the freshest faces during the day it's as if they're they're energized he said because they spent the night in seclusion with the most merciful so allah dressed them with his lights a person spends the night praying to allah subhanahu ta'ala in seclusion with their lord and so allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives them nur gives them light gives them something that would that that would connect them with every single muslim to the point when you talk about when we love each other for allah subhanahu wa ta'ala you see a brother you see someone in the masjid brothers seeing brother sister seeing sister and right away you love that person for allah subhanahu wa ta'ala say you know there's a sukhena there is a tranquility that is coming from that person a person would see that person for the first time he would say you know i really love that man for allah i don't know that person but i love them for allah something is being emitted from that person and that is that time that they're spending with their lord at night one of the things that the scholars also mention particularly about this is that during the day the challenge of salah is that you're thinking about what comes next the greatest distraction and that's how you treat the nephs is that you learn what it is that ails it most people get distracted in their prayers by the appointments of what comes next so you're in salah but you're you're planning your next step your next you know i gotta go do this at four o'clock five o'clock you're going here you're going there your mind is racing ahead of the salah most people that's what catches them and distracts them and you you indeed have appointments you might have to squeeze in your prayer time some of you right now are still at work thinking about your next thing it's it's natural right that's your struggle but subhanallah what they say about is that it's a gift from allah because you're not missing appointments you're not distracted by this immediate need that you have next it's at the quietest time of your existence and the only thing that you're giving up is sleep there's a very beautiful example that was given by tabiri by the name of binhani he likened it to physical exercise you know when you physically exercise initially there is an exhaustion of the body but then you realize that you're exhausting the body for the sake of what the body you're exhausting the body for the sake of the body and so he said when you give up sleep you realize at some point that your sleep is actually filled with more blessing has more barakah in it that 15 minutes or 20 minutes that you compromise is not gonna make you a groggy person throughout the day it's not gonna mess things up for you the sleep has more blessing in it and what you gain from that time in qiyam ullel makes the sleep the easiest thing to give up in this dunya you're not giving up appointments you're not thinking about i got this in 10 minutes hopefully you're not checking what's up at 3 a.m or whatever it is or 4 a.m you have time you can pause you can focus it's quiet and the day has not yet started and that's wisdom from allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so whether it's in the beginning of the night when other people are going to sleep or the end of the night when most people are still asleep you can dedicate and allocate that time and this is where we find this idea of what it means to have closeness to allah your brothers and sisters aim high if you seek to be an average muslim you know and that's why i i despise it when people self-label say i'm a non-practicing muslim you've basically sealed your salah i'm a non-practicing muslim i don't pray that's what it means i don't pray five times a day aim high if you seek to be an average muslim you're going to be a very deficient muslim if you seek to be a person of taqwa then maybe you'll fall short and you'll sin sometimes but if you seek to be a person of seek to be a person of excellence there's one way there and that's a personal connection with allah isaan does not come except through personalizing that connection with allah and that's where you find the salaf say the pious predecessors say nothing establishes that connection like it's too busy throughout the day too much going on there is nothing that connects a person to allah like that time because allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions that he descends at that time in a way that befits him subhanahu ta'ala he's calling out to you and he's saying who wants to come close to me who has an appointment allah has all the time for you allah does not take slots it's not restricted for some religious people somewhere in the world no the broken the sinner the the the righteous the person who's trying to be righteous everyone calling upon allah that time of the night that's your time to get close to allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he said there is nothing there is nothing he said to a a person who asked him what is it that brings a person closest to allah says nothing brings you closer to allah than he also one time he grabbed the shoulder of a man and he said to him comes down every single night dunya to the lowest heaven a person has not told the truth they have lied when they claim to love me but when the night comes he sleeps on my appointments he sleeps when i come down to meet him when i speak when i'm when i'm ready to listen to that person ready to listen to him or her and you say you love allah isn't it that every lover spends some time with their lover and he says here i am looking out to my servants when the night comes looking out to my lovers those that love allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and he says and tomorrow when they come to me then i will satisfy their eyes i will cool their eyes i will fill their hearts with my jannah those same people that i love you want to be from those who are muhib of allah those who really love allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that's that only time no distractions 15 minutes 10 minutes something small and the greatest thing you can ask at that time is forgiveness that's the greatest thing what am i going to ask allah forgiveness the greatest cause of stress is your sins because that's what puts the barrier between you and allah and that's why that idea is always at the forefront of any discussion on tahajud any discussion on the night prayer from the quran and from the sunnah as hari hum yesterday in those last moments of the night they're seeking forgiveness from allah the last 10 nights of ramadan you're asking allah for forgiveness is there anyone that's seeking forgiveness so that i can forgive that person as allah subhanahu ta'ala says to the angels as he sees that slave of his standing up at night go see what he's asking go see what she's asking me for oh my lord they're asking for your pleasure and for your forgiveness allah says to the angels bear witness o my angels anni that i have indeed been become pleased with that person and forgiven that person that's your time to get close to allah and ask allah for sins that sin that's wearing you down that sin that's bearing on your conscience it's sins that prevent qiyam and it's qiyam that prevents sin so you got to take that first step of walking away from that sin and that step forward is going to be at the night prayer and that's where you say to allah subhana wa ya allah i'm sorry when everything's quiet when it's just me and you i'm sorry allah and i'm seeking your forgiveness the last thing i will say to your brothers and sisters in this regard is don't belittle the small amounts of qiyam beginning of the night end of the night middle of the night don't be literally it matters and that's why the prophet saws said in the authentic hadith whoever stands up and just reads 10 ayats 10 verses will not be written as a person of heedlessness do not be from the refining those people who are heedless heedlessness means you have a barrier you don't perceive god properly you don't understand your purpose properly if you're standing up and praying just with ten verses reading two two short surahs you won't be written from women and whoever stands up and recites a hundred ayats then they are written from the exceedingly devout the pious woman comma and whoever stands up and recites a thousand verses which by the way if you want to do it once in your lifetime the last two jus of the quran is a thousand verses then they will be written amongst those who are piling up good deeds who have gone far ahead of everybody else with their good deeds sometimes it takes that example sometimes it takes reminding yourself that the small thing counts while you're aiming to get better while you're aiming for the bigger thing so that you don't think of qiyamaal as some sort of habit that's just reserved for this exclusive group of people no it's not it's for the muslims it's for those who want to stand up and pray those who want to enjoy that connection with allah seeking first and foremost his pleasure and his forgiveness and that's why ibn omar allahu ta'ala umar in a narration from he says that abdullah umar used to come upon us in mecca he used to pray at night long prayers in the night so one night he said to me right when fajr was about to come in said once you stand up and pray even if you're going to read just a third of the quran i mean a third of the quran you know fajr is almost around the corner so i said to him is right around the corner what do you mean how am i going to read a third of the quran that's maybe something that you know you guys do we don't do a third of the quran so he responded who would not want to meet allah subhanahu ta'ala saying every night i used to read a third of the quran right before fajr so dear brothers and sisters i know it seems like a distant habit one for the exceedingly pious but it's a way to allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that cannot be replaced by any other way and insha'allah those who are struggling with their five prayers to pray them on time this will only help it bid it's not in place of it it's a means of connecting yourself to the lord that you call upon day and night we call upon him for forgiveness and for salvation foreign you

Channel: Yaqeen Institute

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Keywords: yaqeen institute, islamic research, islamic lectures, islamic studies, islam, faith, iman, omar suleiman

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Length: 23min 16sec (1396 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 01 2021