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Those who do not sleep and those who spend

Those who do not sleep and those who spend

In Surat Sajdah, which the Prophet (peace be on him) used to recite in his Fajr prayer on Fridays, Allah Almighty mentions those who forsake their beds – they win the battle against their duvets and pillows. They stand in night prayers (qiyam al layl), rather than being tempted to sleep all night.

These believers rise to pray and supplicate to their Lord full of hope. They alternate between fear and hope, which are the two wings with which we fly to Allah.

تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

Their sides shun their beds, as they pray to their Lord, out of reverence and hope; and from Our provisions to them, they give. (32:16)

Allah Almighty uses the word Rabb here, rather than God, as Rabb is the one who nurtures and looks after his subjects. Allah Almighty is looking after them and they beg Him as their Lord.

Spend from what you have been given

These special believers are people who do not hoard. They spend. They acknowledge that what they have, came from Allah, unlike Qarun who had the presumption that his wealth was the result of his own efforts and intellect.

Spending is one of the gates which allows you to enter Jannah. People are close to Allah when they spend for His sake. The angels ask Allah to replace the wealth of those who spent it and for those who did not spend it to perish.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace be on him) said that angels make dua every morning for those who spend:

“Two angels descend every morning, and one says: ‘O Allah, give him who spends something, in place of what he spends.’ The other one says: ‘O Allah, give destruction to him who withholds”. (Bukhari and Muslim)

The reward

No one knows what Allah has prepared for you as a reward for what you have done. Allah has offered us pleasure beyond their imagination in return for our actions.

فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّا أُخْفِيَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

No soul knows what delights await them, as a reward for what they used to do. (32:17)

The reward is connected to your tangible actions not your hopes. Imam Ghazali used to say the one who makes dua with no action is mocking Allah. Allah admits people to Jannah out of His mercy, not because our actions make us worthy of it. however, our deeds will be put on our scales to be weighed to calculate our reward.

Qiyam ul layl

We do lots  of night payers during in Ramadan but let’s continue this even when it is over. May Allah make us from those who rise to worship Him and who spend for His sake. Ameen.

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.