WHAT ALLAH WAS DOING BEFORE CREATION

So going into the lecture the time before time and don't know what's the lecture title is it's confusing for me or before time or time what was there don't know anyhow anyhow there is beautiful hadith and in this hadith there are so many benefits we can obtain but we don't have enough time okay try your best she'll I'll do that don't rush I'm too old. can't do it so fast. Hussein and the hadith is in Bkari. He says that the people of Yemen came to the prophetatam accepting Islam and the prophet praised them, complimented them and said to them that give you the glad tidings of Allah's forgiveness. So they said okay prophet of Allah we accept it. But we have question. How did this thing begin? Look at this question. The Arabs speak few words but to the point. How did this thing begin? Life, universe, earth, heavens, so many things around us beyond our understandings. How did it all begin? Now the prophetat wasallam is the one authorized to answer. So he did not tell them you should not ask such questions. Fear Allah because he's the one who gives answers. So he says to them, "There was nothing but Allah and his throne was over the water and he wrote everything in the book and created the heavens and the earth." Full stop. Now this hadith tells you about the origin of everything. All humans, animals, insects, birds, living creatures, everything in this universe acknowledge that there is only one Allah, one God. They call him God. Though God is not Allah's name, we do not usually as Muslims use God. But we say it because maybe non-Muslims would listen and they say what is Allah. So everything acknowledges the existence of Allahel. And this is the challenge that Allah gives to atheists. When you see an atheist, he would say there's no God. Okay, fair enough. Let's look at you. you. Allah says in the Quran, or were they created by nothing or were they the creation of themselves? You are one of two. Either vacuum created you. You were nothing and boom, you exist. Or you created yourself. Which one is it? Any atheist would say vacuum cannot create. So no vacuum cannot create and did not create myself. So I'm in dilemma now. What is the answer? It is allahel who created us. This hadith tells you there was nothing but Allah. In another another authentic narration, there was nothing before Allah. In another narration, there was nothing with Allah. So the only thing that is independent, the only thing that can exist by itself is Allah the Almighty. You, no matter how strong you are, how wealthy, how powerful, you are nothing without Allah. You cannot even breathe without his permission. Your breath is not in your control. Whoever can control his breath, raise your hands, please. One, nobody. Yes. Yes. And this brother who raised his hand, if you can control your breath, hold your breath for 5 minutes. And we have the mash corner office next door. They will take the rest. No one can control his breath because this is gift from Allahawel. No one can control your blood in your veins because this is from Allah the Almighty. And if you read the Quran, you will find that Allah tells us in surah had he the first and the last. So Allah is the first without beginning and he's the last without an end. And allahel tells us that his throne was on water. So in the beginning there was nothing but Allah. Allah does not need the throne. We need chair to sit on. Allahel is self-sufficient. Allah is independent. Allah does not need the throne to rise on or to be high. Allah is high by nature. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is one of his beautiful attributes that he doesn't need creation to be high over and to be upon. So what came first? The throne, the pen, the book, the water. It's an issue of dispute among scholars. In the beginning, there was only Allah. Then they say Allah created water and on the water Allah created his throne and then Allah created the pen and told the pen to write and that was 50,000 years before creating the universe and then allahel created the heavens and the earth. This is what we know about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and creating the beginning of creation of the things that we were told about and the throne is something that is beyond imagination. The prophetat wasam told us that the throne is being carried by angels. And Allah tells us in the Quran, those angels who carry the throne and those around it exalt Allah with praise of their Lord and believe in him. So does Allah need the throne? No, of course not. Does Allah need angels to carry the throne? Definitely not. But this is only to show his servants his majesty his power. Subhanah wa ta'ala. So when you stand in prayer, you know who you're praying for. The prophet tells us, was permitted to speak and describe one of the angels that carry the throne of Allahawel between the earloop and their shoulder and his shoulder. journey of 700 years." Now imagine how long would it take you to go around Earth. The elope to the shoulder is journey of 700 years. How big is this angel? Allahel does not need his throne. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. And here we come to fork of the road. Here we come to choice between im and kufur. Should we believe blindly in what we are told about things of the unseen things that we do not actually see or should we reject and disbelieve in it? The biggest mistake Muslim does is when he measures things of the unseen, things of the with his own logic and intellect with the measurements of and there he rejects what it is authentic but his mind cannot incubate it. I've heard this so many times. Muslims coming and saying, "How is it possible that every day the sun goes before it sets or at setting time to prostrate to the ar until Allah tells us go and rise again." How is it logical? The sun keeps on setting and rising and setting and don't believe in this. How many times do we hear people say how is it possible that Allah ascends to the lower heaven when it is the last third of the night and he says is there anyone seeking forgiveness so would forgive him is anyone making dua so what would respond to him how this is not logical how is it possible for us to believe that person in his grave is being made to sit and he is questioned and he is tormented in his grave. When we open the grave and we don't see any marks of torture or burning or any of that, how do you expect me to believe that on the glorious night journey is when the prophet went with Jire, he passed by the grave of MS and he found him there praying. Then he went to Jerusalem and led all the messengers including MS in prayer. Then he ascended to the sixth he sixth heaven and he saw Mus there. How is this possible? How do you expect us to believe? Allah praised us believers that we believe in the unseen and we believe in things that we're told without seeing it. And this is why when we come to things of the unseen, it is like when Malikas the great imam of Medina was asked how does Allah rise over and upon the ar this is can't understand this. So he said to him, we know that he rose over it, but we do not know how. Believing in it is obligatory and asking about it is bid. These things of the unseen, Allah did not tell us how they happened. But we have to believe in them. Now if we have people of physics and mathematics, they will tell you that in our life we depend on three dimensions. The width, the length and the depth or the height. These are the three dimensions that we can sense and feel around us. And since we are born, we know only these three dimensions. There is however fourth dimension which is related to time. And this is something we cannot actually measure. They have equations and they have theories and they have relativity theory and this and and and so many people talk about but it's all theories. But we believe that it exists. And to make this little bit clearer, when we sleep, we go into fourth dimension, 7th, 8th, 9th, so many different dimensions other than the three dimensions we know. And this is understood when you wake up and you say, I've been to so many different places. I've seen the past. And some of us may see the future and it happens as he's seen it. What kind of dimension is this? This is something that we cannot explain but we believe that it exists. These new dimensions that we sometimes find in our sleep. There are many more in the afterlife. And this is why death is the only thing that will liberate us from the three dimensions. And we will introduce us to new dimensions. As Allah says, it will be said you were certainly in unmindfulness of this and we have removed from you your cover. So your sight this day is sharp. This is when you die. your sight of seeing things, your ability of seeing things will become clear and sharp. This is why when we mention the companions of Allah, may Allah, the companions of the prophet, may Allah be pleased with them, we love them because they had the perfect iman. Unlike us, our iman is on shaky grounds. They believed and they never asked these questions. How is it possible that the son goes and prostrates to Allah? They did not ask this. How is it possible that this happens or that happened? They believe because they have conviction that whatever is mentioned in the Quran or is in the Sunnah is from Allah the Almighty. Likewise, the belief in writing the destiny of people. The prophet says and he wrote everything in the book. Everything we do is written in the preserved tablet. And get so many questions from all over the world saying sheh is my spouse predestined and this is usually from people who did not get married. So they're thinking okay should change sutor who's proposing or not? And it comes from people who are already married and stuck. Well, what can do? Is he predestined? have to live with him unfortunately. What can do? Or can change my destiny? We do not know what our destiny is. And this is why we have to believe in that Allahawel had written everything that is going to happen 50,000 years before it before Allah created the heavens and the earth. So this iman is one of the pillars of iman. It's the sixth pillar of iman. Without it, you're not Muslim. How does it add value to me? It gives you content. It gives you happiness. It gives you peace of mind. Even if drive and have an accident, will not be in state of rage. will come out and say, "Alhamdulillah, Allah predestined this. Alhamdulillah, nobody was harmed. The metal is metal. We will fix it inshallah. Alhamdulillah for everything. If my son dies, Allah predestined it. Is it in my hands?" No. Allah made this my destiny. accept it. embraced it and I'm ungrateful to Allah subhana wa ta'ala. And there are four pillars in the belief of destiny. There is the pillar of writing. So everything is written. Your provision when you were going to die, your spouses, your children, everything that's going to happen. Imagine everything that is going to happen is written. even piece of grain or sand that flows from one place to the other due to the wind. And when one leaf out of the trillion leaves on earth falls down in spiral movement, it is also written where exactly it's going to fall, where it starts to fall, and when it's going to land. Everything is written down in this preserved tablet. And this is done by Allah's knowledge. So the second pillar is one writing, two knowledge. Allah knows what was in the past, what's happening today, what is going to happen in the future, what is not going to happen in the future. How would it be if it were to happen? Allah's knowledge is not like yours and mine. And you make the biggest mistake in your life when you compare allahel to yourself. The third is intention. The divine will is the third pillar of your belief in destiny. So allahel willed it. What do you mean sheh? Allah willed everything that's happening on the earth. Good deeds and bad deeds because those who do bad deeds cannot say Allah did not will it. defied Allah's will. I'm doing something that Allah doesn't want. Allah wants. This is legislative will. Allah will make it happen. This is universal will. When Allah tells you do good things, this is religious and legislative will. Allah wants everyone to believe and to become mmin. This is legislative. Some will, some won't. Those who will, then they have fulfilled both types of divine will. Legislative and universal. But those who don't and hope the sisters don't feel bad about this because when say good and bad they say why are you saying bad to us? No no no it's just metaphorical. So when people do not comply and do not believe they fulfilled the universal will but not the religious and legislative will. And this is topic that needs more explanation but not now. And the fourth pillar is creation. Allah has created us and everything we do. So your actions are creation of Allah. No one in this universe is creator but him. So it's either the creator or the creation. So one says yeah but can create. can bring some wood, some metal, some nails and make statue. can make car. am creator. You are simply assembling. You are forming. But you're not creating out of mere nothing. This is creation. When you have nothing and you make something, Allah created the materials. Can you create materials? No. So this is one of the ways of talking back to atheist when they say we can create we say okay go ahead create wood for me from nothing they can't now having said that having taken you to this journey of knowing how things all began and that Allah was there and there was nothing with him before him and subhanahu wa ta'ala is independent from all of his creation and he does not need any of it then why were we created Allah says in the Quran have not created the jin and the mankind except to worship me but what is meant by worshiping me some people have the misconception to believe that worshiping Allahel is to go into one masjid, sit there 24 hours, 7 days week and do and this is not worshiping allahel because you need someone to feed you. You need someone to take care of your children and family. You need someone to take care of the community. So what's your role in that? I'm worshiping allahel. No, you're not. You are beggar. We call it in Arabic shahhat. You wait in the masjid for people to put their hands in their pockets and give you money. And you say, "Alhamdulillah, you have this 1,000 long prayer beat." 1,000. Isn't this little bit too much? I'm making too much dick. Who are you counting it for? Are you counting it for Allah? Allah knows everything. He will not miss one count. Are you telling yourself about it? Then you're crazy. You don't know what you're doing. This is showing off. Subhan Allah. Subhan Allah. You don't need to count. Do it without any numbers. But when you do it like this, you're showing off that listen, look at me. have these 1,000 prayer long beads and this is for making I'm righteous person. What is worship then? How can we worship Allah? In order to know and understand what worship means, it is word that includes everything that Allah loves. Anything that Allah loves and is pleased with both of words, rhetoric and deeds, both open and hidden, this is considered to be. By this definition, when you go with your spouse, take her out for dinner intending to please allahel. This is form of worship. When you drink cup of coffee or tea when it's 1 or 2 a.m. so that you become stronger to pray, drinking coffee or tea is form of ibada. When you are kind to someone who's lost and you guide them for the sake of Allah, this is form of ibada. So being positive in your community is form of ibada. Helping others is form of ibada. not only limited to prayer, fasting and giving zakat which is or which are one of the pillars of Islam but rather expand this little bit further. So worshiping Allahawel is the purpose of creation. Agree agree. But unfortunately or fortunately depending how you look at it your form of worship your will not be accepted except withhed is the most important knowledge and science on earthhed is to know Allahawel and this was mentioned in the hadith of the prophetat wasam. Nowadays come from Saudi Arabia you know that you know that and whenever the people see Saudis like me they will say wahhabi wahhabi what do you mean by wahhabi thought in the beginning that it's what you eat with sushi fish you know you you dip it in it you say no no that's wasabi wasabi was wahabi different sex who knows what is wasabi people who do not want tohed call Anyone who follows the sunnah as wahhabi. What is wahhabism? There is nothing on earth called wahhabism. come from Saudi Arabia. No scholar, no student of knowledge, no imam would say I'm wahabi. We don't have anything like this. So what is wahhabism? There's nothing. Who is calling us as wahhabies? Those who follow deviant sects and cults who do not want the sunnah. So they tarnish your reputation so that you do not follow the sunnah.