Nour Allah: The Path to Everlasting Success

Here is an English translation of the lecture.

Please be aware that this is not a literal translation. Rather, it is an explanation in English..

All praise is due to Allah, who made this short life a provision for the everlasting and eternal life for all who grasped the truth and answered the call of the Lord of Majesty and Honor. In doing so, they followed the perfect example, and for us, the ultimate guide was the noble Messenger, Prophet Muhammad, son of Abdullah. It is through him that we have been honored, distinguished, elevated, and granted an abundance of the immense mercy and magnificent bounty of the Lord of the Great Throne, both in this world and on the Day of Resurrection.

Our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, taught us that we are the last, yet we will be the foremost on the Day of Resurrection. We praise our Lord for singling us out with Muhammad, for bringing us out of darkness into the light of Islam, knowledge, wisdom, blessing, faith, and the best of commands. He purified us from polytheism, evil, injustice, and the transgression of major sins.

This Divine Light is not merely an external phenomenon; it is something that shines in the heart and permeates every part of a human being, relating to the intellect and the soul, which are the core. When this light enters the heart, the heart is purified and cleansed from various defects.

What are these defects? They include the flaw of pride, the flaw of hypocrisy, the flaw of arrogance, the desire for evil towards Allah's servants, and the defect of preferring one's own self, desires, and passions over the rights of Allah's servants. These are the diseases that have plagued nations throughout history, like envy and hatred, which our Prophet described as the "disease of nations". He warned that they do not just shave hair, but shave away religion.

But when the light shines in the heart, the chest expands and opens up, liberating the person from these inner darknesses. What remains in the heart is mercy, humility, repentance, recognition of Allah's blessings, and a desire for good for all of Allah's servants. It can even lead one to prefer others over oneself, just as those illuminated by this light did during the time of the Prophet, like the Muhajireen and Ansar.

When this light illumines the heart, righteousness is perfected. And with the heart made righteous, thoughts and perceptions of all things become illuminated and clear. This light has a profound impact on what a person says, sees, does, and how they interact with others.

The light doesn't stop at the heart; it spreads from the heart and soul to the blood, flesh, bones, and skin. Those whose entire being is permeated by this light are the ones who will attain closeness to the Prophet Muhammad on the Day of Judgment. They are described in the Quran: "Their light will proceed before them and on their right".

Indeed, the Prophet himself would pray, asking Allah: "Make light in my heart, and in my grave light, and in my hair light, and in my flesh light, and in my blood light, and in my nerves light, and make for me light from before me and light from behind me, light on my right and light on my left, and light above me and light beneath me. Increase me in light, grant me light, make for me light, and make me light." This immense light, centered in our beloved Prophet, the Merciful and Compassionate.

The Quran itself is a source of this Divine Light. Allah states: "There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book. By which Allah guides those who pursue His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out from darknesses into the light, by His permission, and guides them to a straight path."

And again, He says: "O mankind, there has come to you a clear proof from your Lord, and We have sent down to you a manifest light." This light enables us to discern things, understand realities, clarify paths of righteousness and corruption, truth and falsehood, elevation and degradation, happiness and misery. The Quran is called "light," and our Prophet Muhammad is also called "light". Through him, we are guided; he is the caller to the strongest path, inviting us to Islam with weighty words.

This light's greatest benefit and good are evident at the moment of transition from this short life, the moment one's connection to the physical body and this world ends. This is one of the most critical moments, known as the 'Khatima' or conclusion. Here, the benefit of this light truly manifests.

Allah states: "Allah keeps firm those who believe, with the firm word, in worldly life and in the Hereafter." These are the ones whom the angels receive, saying, "Peace be upon you; enter Paradise for what you used to do."

Contrast this with those who lived in darkness: "If you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the agonies of death while the angels extend their hands, [saying], 'Discharge your souls! Today you will be recompensed with the punishment of [extreme] humiliation for what you used to say against Allah other than the truth and [that] you were arrogant toward His verses.'" This refers to those who speak falsehood about Allah and display arrogance, planning against the weak, leading to ruin in both worlds.

Those who turn away from Allah's remembrance will have a wretched life and be resurrected blind on the Day of Judgment. They will ask, "My Lord, why have You raised me blind while I was [once] seeing?" And Allah will reply, "Thus did Our signs come to you, and you disregarded them; and thus will you this Day be disregarded."

But those with light never forget the verses of their Lord. They ponder them, stop at them, and are enlightened by them, whether standing, sitting, walking, entering, or leaving. They are the ones Allah guides, "who listen to speech and follow the best of it; those are the ones Allah has guided, and those are people of understanding."

People of this light continuously seek more of it and its perfection throughout their lives, recognizing its immense benefit at life's end, and even on the Day of Resurrection, praying, "Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You are over all things competent."

The essence of achieving this light is faith in Allah and His Messenger. It is said that if the light of even a disobedient believer were to manifest, it would fill the space between the heavens and the earth. Imagine, then, the light of the obedient, the righteous, the beloved saints, and above all, the Prophets, and the Master of Prophets, Prophet Muhammad.

This Divine Light transforms our very senses. An eye illuminated by this light finds no pleasure except in reading the Quran, the Sunnah of the Master of all beings, reflecting, remembering, and looking at Allah's servants with mercy. It sheds tears out of awe, love, and knowledge. Such an eye detests looking at this world with admiration and dislikes looking down on any of Allah's creation, even an animal.

An illuminated eye is immune to the sweetness of worldly desires and the devil's embellishments of forbidden sights, like private parts or ugly images. It sees through them, recognizing their true nature, much like someone discerning honey mixed with deadly poison. They wouldn't even consider tasting it, knowing it destroys not just the body, but eternal happiness and leads to perpetual misery.

The grave consequence of an unlawful gaze is highlighted by a story of someone on their deathbed, unable to utter "La Ilaha Illa Allah" because a single forbidden gaze had stripped their heart of that light, preventing them from pronouncing it. An unlawful gaze is described as a poisoned arrow from the accursed Satan.

Conversely, enlightened eyes reflect and remember, seeing only lessons. The Prophet, peace be upon him, looked more at the earth than the sky, with most of his gazes being ones of observation and reflection. No eyes carried such mercy, compassion, and kindness as his. And no eyes practiced such modesty and restraint from forbidden things as his.

Similarly, enlightened ears hear only what is good, and enlightened tongues speak only truth. It is said that every word spoken carries the imprint of the heart from which it emerged. In the words of an illuminated person, you can see and feel that divine light.

This light is one of the greatest goals of our remembrance and gatherings – that it may shine in your heart, fill your entire being, your senses, your meaning, and your individual parts, making you among those of light who will be gathered with the Prophet on the Day of Judgment.

We turn to the Most Merciful, asking Him to bestow upon us an abundance of this light.

O Allah, illuminate the hearts of everyone in our gathering and everyone who hears us! O Allah, illuminate their minds, their thoughts, their eyes, their ears, their hands, their stomachs, their private parts, their feet, their hair, their skin, their flesh, their blood, and their bones! And illuminate for us and for them the graves! O Allah, grant us an abundance of light on the Day of Resurrection, and make us in the company and circle of Your beloved, the Chosen One, the Righteous, the Grateful!

O Allah, let none of us remain except in Your light, and let the rest of our lives be spent in increasing Your light, and let us meet You, at the appointed hour, only when we are in Your light, loving Your meeting as You love to meet us! O Allah, grant us a light from Your light that illuminates every heart, every soul, and every secret within us, until this light overflows onto our blood, our bones, our flesh, and our skin, and illuminates our graves with the great light!

O Allah, there is no light but Your light, no good but Your good, no guidance but Your guidance, and no bounty but Your bounty! Have mercy on servants who stand at the doors of Your generosity, extending their hands in hope of You and what is with You, turning to You through the Light of Lights, asking You to illuminate them! So illuminate us, illuminate our insights, illuminate our sights, illuminate our conditions and states! For when You bless a servant with light, that light overflows even onto their furniture, their belongings, their dwelling, and wherever they go and walk!

O Allah, unite the Muslims after their dispersion, and protect them from calamities and afflictions! Save those who have been deceived and followed their desires and passions! O Savior of the perishing, O Rescuer of the drowned in the depths of the seas, rescue Islam in the East and West! Rescue the people of Islam and remove all distress from them!

O Allah, take care of the people of Gaza, and the West Bank, and the surroundings of Jerusalem, and Palestine, and the people of Syria, and the people of Yemen, and the people of Sudan, and the people of Iraq, and the people of Somalia, and the people of Libya, and the people of the East and West among the believing men and women! Assist them, O Helper, with swift aid, and repel from them the evil of every wicked one, and illuminate them, and purify them from evils, and grant them piety! And be our Guardian and theirs, in secret and in public!

O Allah, we ask You for security on the Day of Threat, and Paradise on the Day of Eternity, with the near ones, the witnesses, the bowing, the prostrating, those who fulfill their covenants to You! Indeed, You do what You intend!

May Allah immerse us all in His Light, grant us understanding, and make us among those whose light shines brightly in this world and the Hereafter. Thank you for joining us. Peace be upon you.