Allah loves - the Muhsineen

Thursday Halaqa

10/24/13

Sr. Dana Jarrar

MCA Santa Clara, CA

“Inna Allaha Yuhibbu”

Whom does Allah love? What characteristics does Allah love? In sha’ Allah we will go through all the characteristics mentioned in the Qur’an that Allah loves. The first one is Al-Musineen - people who have Ihsan - those who do good.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ المُحسِنِينَ

Truly, Allah loves Al-Muhsineen, those who do good. 2:195

Al-Muhsineen: People who have Ihsan

• What is Ihsan? 
• 1. To worship Allah as if you see him. So, 1st part is Ibadah.
• 2. And if you don’t see Him, He sees you. If you don’t sense Him, at least sense that He is seeing you. 2nd Part - to take yourself to account, muraqaba.
• If you take it to the root - you find the word hasan--the good works, the opposite of bad deeds.
• What do we need to improve? Better deeds (a3maal), better thoughts (afkaar), and a better state (ahwaal).
• We need to raise our soul and grow it. This needs to be one of our goals. 
• One of the ways to raise and grow our soul is Tasbih, especially after prayer. Like in yoga, how they tell you to focus on a word, that focus produces a clear mind. 
• The Muhsinoon erase their sins with good deeds. For example: You said some unkind words, you can erase that by saying some kind words.
• Yawmu Arafa erases a lifetime of sins! Allah did not create us to make our lives difficult. He is not trying to find your mistakes and sins. The good deeds get 10 hasanat. The bad deeds get 1 sin. So one good deed erases 10 bad deeds. 
• Allah told us this small circle is Haram, and everything else is Halal. Some are sitting in the sin. Some are trying to take a step out. Some are trying hard to stay out of it. Sometimes we are so obsessed with the Haram and picking on others. Allah said He is Ghafoorun Raheem, the Forgiving the Merciful. 
• Circles: you are in a circle, then your parents in a bigger circle, then family, then friends, then all people. Ihsan is going beyond your own circle. Don’t keep sitting in one circle. 
• If someone told you an unkind word, don’t try to return the unkindness to show you can be unkind too. Rather you can express kind words—exchange the bad words with good words.
• Keep yourself to account.  At the end of the day, think about the sins you did that day. 
• After sin: you can sit in guilt the rest of your life or think about what good you can do to erase that sin. 
• A little guilt is good - it squeezes you, it is necessary. So that when the situation comes again, you will remember the guilt. So talk to yourself and tell yourself next time If this happened again, I will do x, y, and z. 
• Be aware that the shaytan will come and try to whisper to you. He wants you to stay sad and depressed so that you can’t move forward. Say Authobillahi min al shaytan al rajeem. Say AstaghfirAllah Al 3atheem. Say to yourself, 'I am human, I make mistakes, it’s ok. I am going to keep walking forward'.
• You can raise that phone and make that phone call to your friend who you made a mistake to. Say to yourself ‘O Allah this is for you, I am going to make things right with this person’.
• Now try to find ways to do good to erase the sins.
• When Allah wants to change you, He sends you trials that will force you to change. 
• Remove the bad state with a good state (haal hasan). Haali ma3 Allah - my state is with (in the care of) Allah.
• Can you read your heart or are you ignoring it?
• Bad states with Allah: Shirk. This is when you don’t see Allah, you see someone or something else. Doing something to please Allah AND please people. Has to do with the intention. This is when you want the pleasure of people or if you’re obsessed in pleasing a certain person.

• Surat Al Nahl: 98 { فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ القُرآنَ فَاستَعِذ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ } So when you want to recite the Qur'an, seek refuge with Allah from Shaitan (Satan), the outcast (the cursed one). Push shaytan with isti3atha. Push a bad state with a good state. 
• Clearing the state between you and Allah: by focusing while reading Quran and making tasbih after Salat. Surat Al Nahl: 99 { إِنَّه ُُ لَيسَ لَه ُُ سُلطَانٌ عَلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِم يَتَوَكَّ } Verily! He has no power over those who believe and put their trust only in their Lord (Allah).   
• The cure of shirk is Tawakul - which is from isti3atha.
• Good state: Tawakul - relying on Allah.  
• We need to work on our Tawakkul. When you want to have tawakkul, you have to go through trials, and tawakkul will grow.  
• You can’t just say I trust in Allah. You have to show it in your words and behavior.
• Never say to yourself, ‘alhamdulilah I have reached the highest level and if I die now I will go to Jannah’. Be careful what you say.
• Tawakkul - to not be a perfectionist, because you are relying on Allah. 
• Also know that the Shaytan changes his tricks. When you say authobillah, he won’t keep trying the same thing. 
• Tawakul – I must do what is obligated on me, and then rely on Allah for the result. It could be that you tried your best, but Allah doesn’t want that for you right now.
• Shaytan will try to make you feel bad - you must know and understand that you don’t have control of the results anyways.