Central Sermon : “Let us elevate our souls with gratitude”

We wonder… What has happened that we no longer feel comfortable with our loved ones? Why do people no longer find solace in each other? Where have those human beings gone for whom little material was enough, even little time, but who left unforgettable feelings? Has love died, even though we have never expressed it more, verbally and non-verbally? Even the most beautiful gathering is spoiled by disagreements over religious, political, artistic, urban, familial, or other issues!
Suddenly, a loved one becomes less loved because they do not support the same political ideology. A relative becomes the worst enemy because they mentioned one of our weaknesses somewhere, sometime. So much aggression in emotions, and so little time to contain them.
We wonder what we are doing to our souls? What are we teaching them? What habits of the new “normal” are we instilling in them? Do our souls not notice that they are falling? Has spiritual elevation become insignificant? How is it possible to live in an environment where hatred and primitivism reign among Muslims?

The lowest of the low is reached by the soul that hates and opposes the beloved of Allah.

Ibn Ishaq reports in his Sirah and Imam al-Bayhaqi in his work “Dela’il al-Nubuwwa” – The Proofs of Prophethood, from Safiya bint Huayy ibn Akhtab, the wife and mother of the believers, who said: “I was the dearest daughter to my father Huayy ibn Akhtab and to my uncle Abu Yasir. Whenever I met them, they would take me in their arms, even if there was another child with them. When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came to Medina, he stayed in Quba in the district of Bani Amr ibn Auf. My father Huayy ibn Akhtab and my uncle Abu Yasir went to see him. They left before dawn and did not return until after sunset. They returned tired, exhausted, and worn out, to the point that they could barely move. As always, I was happy to see them, but by Allah, neither of them even turned towards me because of their great concern. Then I heard my uncle Abu Yasir ask my father: ‘Is it really him?’ My father replied: ‘By Allah, yes!’ My uncle asked again: ‘Did you recognize him from the description (in the Torah), are you sure?’ He replied: ‘Yes.’ ‘Then, what do you feel towards him?’ asked my uncle. My father replied: ‘By Allah, I feel hostility that will remain as long as I am alive.’

Huayy ibn Akhtab is the embodiment of the enemy of Islam at all times and in all places. Hatred towards Islam is a characteristic that cannot leave their hearts, even if their tongues sometimes say otherwise, their hearts remain filled with hatred towards Islam and Muslims.

A soul that does not notice beauty has lost its compass.

Beauty lies in harmony! The more harmonious the soul, the more it perceives this harmony and finds a moment of breath, a moment of peace that signifies relief, and a moment of movement that signifies success! Harmonizing one’s soul with the words of the Merciful is the noblest and most difficult task of every believer! Seek the true beauty of the soul, do not burden it with vague assumptions about what is beautiful and useful!

“And do not argue on behalf of those who deceive themselves. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are treacherous and sinful.”

(Quran, Surah An-Nisâʾ: 107)

How does it happen that a husband no longer notices his wife’s beauty? And how does it happen that a wife no longer trusts her husband after decades of marriage? Where have all the beautiful moments together gone?
It is precisely in these beautiful moments that the values and beauty we do not want to notice lie.

Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, the leader of chastity, was the one for whom Allah the Exalted sent down from heaven the verses (the first 20 verses of Surah An-Nur) confirming her chastity and innocence in the face of the slander spread about her… She, may Allah be pleased with her, was the one who transmitted the most hadiths among all women (2210) – among all the companions, only three transmitted more than her; Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, with 5374 hadiths, Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, with 2630 hadiths, and Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, with 2286 hadiths. Such was Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, for the community. But in her life with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, there are moments that are marked by names, by the nicknames by which she was called.

She is: Ummul-muminin – the Mother of the Believers. This nickname was carried by all the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as they were named by Allah the Most High. (Surah Al-Ahzab 6).

She is: Ummu Abdullah – the Mother of Abdullah. When her sister Asma, the wife of Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with them both, gave birth to Abdullah, Aisha brought him to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and he put his saliva in the child’s mouth, called him Abdullah, and said to Aisha: “And you, you will have the nickname of this son, Ummu Abdullah (the Mother of Abdullah)!” Although she never had a child. (Abu Dawood and Ibn Hibban)

She is: El-Muveffeqa – the one inspired for success and goodness. Imam Tirmidhi recorded from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever loses (i.e., to whom die) two young children, Allah will enter him into Paradise because of them.” Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: “And what about the one who loses only one child?” “And the one who loses only one child, O Muveffeqa,” he said. And what about from your community who has no loss (of children)? – she asked again. “I am the loss for my community. They will not be afflicted with tragedy as they would with my death,” he said. Referring to this nickname Muveffeqa, the commentator of Tirmidhi’s “Sunan,” Mubarakpuri, said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, called Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, by this name because of her success in good deeds and in practical matters expressing compassion towards this community.

She is: Ibnetu Abi Bakr – the daughter of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with them both. (Muslim)

She is: Ibnetu As-Siddik – the daughter of the Truthful, that is, of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with them both. (Tirmidhi 3175 and Ibn Majah 4198)

She is: Humeïra – rose, light. This nickname was used by the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, when he asked her if she wanted to watch the Abyssinians playing with spears in the mosque. (See “As-Sunan al-Kubra” 8951 by Imam an-Nasa’i, as well as “Silsilat al-Ahadith as-Sahihah” 3277 by Sheikh Albani).
This word Humeïra/rose, actually means white, light… because Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, had fair, white skin. The ancient Arabs used to say “red” to mean “white” because of the predominance of red over the color of the Arabs. Thus, the Arabs called a white woman a “red woman.” Saleb was asked: why is the color red specified and not white?

And he said: “It is because the Arabs do not designate a white man for his white color, but for them, the one who is white is the one who is entirely chaste and pure from any defect. Thus, when they aim for the white color, they say: red.” (According to the famous dictionary “Lisanul-Arab” by Ibn Manzur)

She is Aisha. This nickname was used by the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, when he announced to her the visit of the angel Gabriel and conveyed his greetings to her. (Bukhari and Muslim)

These are the beautiful moments recorded. Through beautiful names, nicknames – symbols that make these moments unforgettable, if there is in them a human quality: authenticity!
Our spiritual decline begins when we turn away from authenticity. Then we no longer thank, we only demand. We assume everything for ourselves, and almost nothing for others. The elevation of our souls begins with the awareness of gratitude for the opportunity to improve and the search for forgiveness from the Most High.
“Whoever constantly expresses gratitude (el-hamd), will continue to receive blessings. And whoever continues to ask for forgiveness, what is forgotten will be revealed to him.” (Ibnul-Kajjim, may Allah have mercy on him, in his work “Diseases and Remedies” p.188)

Raise our souls, O Lord, and make us those who love and are loved.

(Central Sermon by the religious leader Hafiz Hilmija Redžić on March 15, 2024, at the “Centre Islamique et Culturel Berat” in Esch-sur-Alzette)