Imam Muhammad Abdul Latif

“We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.” Quran 2:144

http://www.lighthousemosque.org/apps/videos/videos/show/6861470-the-parable-of-moses-and-pharoah-imam-abdul-latif-finch

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Allahuma salli ala Sayyidina Muhammad al Faatihi li maa ughlika

"My earth and sky dont encompass Me while the heart of my believing slave encompasses Me." Hadith Qudsi

"I am to My slave as he thinks of Me, so let him then think of Me as he wills". Hadith Qudsi

Sayyidna Ash Shaikh Ahmad at Tijaani radhiallahu anhu said:

"Oh murids, repent to God from your bad opinion regarding Him. Know that God's manifestions to you are  based on the condition of your hearts. So whoever harbors a bad opinion of God its as if he has but destroyed the Ka'ba a thousand times. "

My sight has been lost in your vision.

Ive heard you so clearly that others think I'm deaf.

Your fragrance made all else rotten to me.

I'm numb from the touch of others my beloved

because all I feel is you.

This taste has proven to ruin what I thought was me.

Ya Rasulallah you were sent as a mercy to the worlds

but you destroy all with that gentle embrace.

as salaamu alaykum,

Please take the time to watch this khutba recently filmed at the Lighthouse. I havent quite figured out how to load video clips on this site. Any suggestions?

http://www.lighthousemosque.org/apps/videos/videos/show/6127633-the-prophetic-model-of-leniency-imam-abdul-latif-finch

AL

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

wa sallallahu a'laa Sayyidina Muhammad al Faatihi li maa ughlika

قال رسول الله صل الله عليه و سلم اذا اردت ان تذكر عيوب غيرك فاذكر عيوب نفسك رواه الرافع

The Messenger of God, may God's mercy be forever more upon him and His peace, is recorded to have said:

"Should you become eager to mention another's faults, recall your own." (Ar Raafi)

The biggest obstacle to overcome when engaging with others is one's self. Yes, it's you. No, it’s not Brother Kamal and his less-than-polished manners. No, it’s not your wife and her inability to make Thai food just the way you had it in the restaurant last night. Nor is it your husband who isn’t exactly, say...Atticus Finch. Nor, believe it or not, is it the non-Muslim co-worker who doesn’t seem to understand why you have to put your foot in his sink.

The truth is that they are all better than you in one way or another. How? In the most general sense, we know our sins, shortcomings, and outright transgressions against God and man. We do not, however, have any real clue regarding others and their states. The non-Muslim might have more latent faith than any of us which will manifest later in life while we have an alternative ending. May God, by His grace, save us all from the fire. But it's hard to see that when one deems oneself superior to others.

أخبرنا أبو عَروبة ، قال: حَدَّثنا كثيرُ بنُ عُبيد ، قال: حَدَّثنا محمدُ بنُ حِمير ، عن جعفر بنِ بُرقان ، عن يزيدَ بنِ الأصمِّ عن أبي هُريرة ، قال: قَالَ رسولُ الله : يُبْصِرُ أَحَدُكُمُ القَذَاةَ في عَيْنِ أَخِيهِ، ويَنْسَى الجِذْعَ في عَيْنِهِ صحيح ابن حبان

He is recorded to have said, God's mercy and peace be upon him: "One of you sees the rheum in the eye of his brother while forgetting the tree trunk in his own." (Ibn Hibban)

While we may have 20/20 vision when it comes to others' faults and are virtually psychologists when it comes to studying others' motives, we are blind to the most apparent issues that we have ourselves. We don’t know ourselves and seldom study our own motives. Its part of the universal human condition.

Matthew 7:3

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eyes and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"

Honore' de Balzac, the post-Napolean era French novelist stated:

"They have greater tranquility of heart who care neither for the praises nor the fault-finding of people."

Indeed, tranquil people have higher objectives than the fleeting opinion of others. Rather, they aspire to the esteem of God. They use their actions versus their useless talk as a ship to cross the strait that is the world. It is their intent for God alone that would take them to the other side.

حدَّثنا الحُمَيْديُّ عبدُ اللّهِ بنُ الزُّبَيرِ قال: حدَّثَنا سُفْيَانُ قال: حدَّثَنا يحيى بنُ سَعيدٍ الأنْصاريُّ قال: أَخبرَني محمدُ بنُ إبراهيمَ التَّيْمِيُّ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ عَلْقَمَةَ بنَ وقَّاصٍ اللَّيْثيَّ يقولُ: سمعتُ عمرَ بنَ الخَطّابِ رضي اللّهُ عنه على المِنْبَرِ قال: سَمعْتُ رَسولَ اللّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلّم يَقولُ «إِنَّما الأعْمَالُ بالنِّيات، وإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِىءٍ ما نَوَى: فَمَنْ كانتْ هِجْرَتُه إِلى دُنْيَا يُصِيبُها، أَوْ إِلى امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُها، فَهِجْرَتُه إِلى ما هاجَرَ إِلَيه

The Commander of the Faithful, `Umar b. al-Khattâb, may God be pleased with him, relates that he heard God's Messenger, peace be upon him, say: "Actions are but by intentions and every man will have only what he intended. So whoever emigrated for God and His Messenger, then his emigration was for God and His Messenger. And whoever emigrated to attain something of this world or to marry a woman, then his emigration was for whatever reason he emigrated." (Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim)

In other words, our actions --- whatever they may be --- are based on the intentions that preceded them. So if a person had no intention at all or if the intention was for some paltry objective like making oneself feel superior to another, then he will not at all be enviable in the end. Shipwrecked at sea, neither here nor there.

This is one of the meanings of the statement that "one who knows himself knows his Lord". In other words, if he knows himself and acts appropriately with that knowledge, he will eventually know his Lord intimately in Paradise.

And God knows best.

Sheikh Muhyiddin ibn Arabi said:

"The most modest echelon of the people of the spiritual path is attained by submission in that which you do not know yourself and the highest is confirmation of it. All else outside of these two stations is deprivation."

"An unwarranted glance is a poisoned arrow from the arrows of Satan, may he be cursed. Whoever abandons it fearing God, Sublime and Exalted is He, God will give him a faith whose sweetness he will find in his heart".

In a time wherein opening one's eyes can be a dangerous decision, we often find ourselves as target practice for the devil. He knows us. He knows our weaknesses and he preys on us like any open enemy would. The only difference is that he is relentless in his pursuit. Misery loves company and those who are outside of the mercy of God, as he is, are the most miserable of sorts. He is detached from God, therefore alone and would like to have you as a roommate in the place he is condemned to carry out his isolation from Him, eternally. I hear it's really spacious?.bottomless almost.

He would love nothing more than to see a sound heart be corrupted. If the heart is corrupt the limbs will be to. Bull's-eye!!! However, he can't do anything physically and so he is left to the power of suggestion. Advertising is also in the same vein. No billboard can force you to buy a product. It can suggest that if you buy the product then you will have a woman just like the one paid to place the product at hand. If you eat from the fruit you will live forever. Sound familiar?

Nevertheless being human we are inherently weak and if not for the Mercy of God we would be necessarily fuel for the fire. We are already fuel for the fire of our passions in this world, for the most part; it would fit that we would have an equal turn of it in eternity.

No one is denying our natural inclination toward beautiful things but rather we are admitting the shear fact that hell is hot. It has flames that are black. Enough said. God consciousness though, is the antidote for this mess called lust. In the hadith above the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salam has found for us a way out as is his normal merciful mode. He is the guide on the straight path. He tells us that if we would restrain our glance we would find something much more delighting within our own selves. It is something that wouldn?t leave. It wouldn?t get old. It wouldn?t sue us for half when the marriage goes array.

This precious jewel that is hidden in our hearts is called faith. When we disobey God the glimmer of that treasure to diminish since it is clouded the ugliness of heedlessness. If one is not careful it can totally loose its entire luster and one would have no light with which to see. One would be left with no discernment in the dark. One would be all alone to fend for themselves in the arena of the world, caprice, ego, and the devil wherein they have no chance.

Indeed knowledge is mercy. Once again we see how a bad situation is actually made good if we just learn how to listen to him sallallahu alayhi wa salam. Good listening is nothing but application. May God give us the qualities. If we do so we will find that the most difficult of circumstances are actually the doors to the bliss that is hidden in our hearts. We will find that with restraint there is God. Verily, God is with those who are patient. God, give us that intimacy and the satisfaction we crave which can only be found with You. Ameen!

Suleiman Ad Daaraani (r) said that whosoever is satiated from hunger will be tried with:

1) The loss of the sweetness of worship.

2) An inability to keep the wisdom they have acquired.

3) A lack of concern for the creation because when in that state of satiation he considers all of creation to be satiated.

4) Heaviness in worship.

5) An increase in desires.

6) the fact that the believers’ lives revolve around the mosque while this individual’s is around the toilets.

In comparison, Imam Malik (r) would relieve himself once every three days. He would do so

outside the precinct of the sanctuary of Medina out of respect for that sacred place.

Futuhaat

Futuhaat  are all those things that are

 opened to the individual by God, after having been closed to him,

outward and inward blessings, such as livelihood, service,

knowledge, wisdom, inspiration, etc. (Al Qaashaani)

May God grant us such futuhaat in this blessed month of Ramadhan.