All praise is due to Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon the Messenger, his household and companions.

Fellow Muslims! Fear Allaah as He should be feared. For fear of Allaah is the best provision. Fear Allaah wherever you are and carry out the deeds for which you were created. Allaah says, “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Adh-Dhaariyaat 51:56)

Dear brethren! The keen observer of the affairs and situations of this life will find out that many people live in hardship and misery. They lack security and peace of mind and their hearts are full of rancour, hatred and selfishness. On the other hand, he finds other people who live comfortable life. They are honourable in the eyes of the people. They are good-heart and their minds are pure from rancour and they are cheerful. The observer is then forced to ask: ‘What is the cause of difference between these two groups?’ It is the sweetness of faith. The Messenger of Allaah said, “One who is pleased with Allaah as his Lord, with Islaam as his way of life and with Muhammad as [his] Messenger would taste the flavour of faith (Eemaan).”

He also said, “Whoever has three qualities will experience the sweetness of Eemaan: Allaah and His Messenger are dearer to him than anything else; he loves a man just for Allaah’s sake; and he would hate to return to disbelief after Allaah rescued him from it just as he would hate to be thrown into fire.” (Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim)

Brethren in faith! Eemaan has a flavour that supersedes all other flavours. The sweetness of faith is an innermost-felt one. It is the peace of mind that moves throughout the body as water moves in the veins. With the sweetness of faith, there is no sleeplessness nor anxiety or strains. It is all mercy, contentedness and bliss. “That is the bounty of Allaah which He gives to whom He wills, and Allaah is the Possessor of great bounty.” (Al-Jumu’ah 62:4)

Belief in Allaah is the peace of mind, guidance of the heart, source of light for the travellers, hope for the hopeless, security of the frightened, victory for the fighters in the cause of Allaah, glad tiding for the pious and the gift for the deprived. Faith is the father of hope, the brother of bravery and the companion of hope. It is also the glory of any nation and the very soul of all people.

The first step towards attaining the sweetness of faith and the flavour of happiness is to be pleased with Allaah as the Lord and the Controller of one’s life; that He is the Merciful Lord of this world and the Hereafter; that He is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earths; that He is the Creator of death and life; that He is the Bestower of favours; that He is the One Who answers the distressed when he calls upon Him and that is the Remover of evils. He gave each thing its form and then guided it. He created man in the best form, breathed into him from His Soul, fed him, clothed him, gave him security from fear, guided him from error and taught him after he had been ignorant.

The faith that provides sweetness is the one in which the soul is totally submitted to Allaah and His pleasure; in which soul is free from desires. It is the one in which the soul worships Allaah, hopes for His mercy and fears Him. For all affairs are in His Hand and all things shall return to Him.

It is the faith that makes man pleased with Allaah and spread out his hands to Him in supplication saying, “O Allaah! I take refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath, and in Your forgiveness from Your punishment and from in You from You. It is beyond my ability to praise You as it is due. You are as You have praised Yourself.”

The second flavour of faith is to be pleased with Islaam as one’s religion. Islaam is the religion of Allaah that He revealed to His Messenger. It is the only religion with which He is pleased and besides which He will not accept any other religion.

Listen to this wonderful embodiment of pleasure with the religion of Allaah: ‘Umar bin Al-Khattaab one day got angry with his wife ‘Aatikah and he told her, ‘By Allaah, I will hurt you.’ His wife responded, ‘Are you able to drive me away from Islaam after Allaah had guided me to it?’ He said, ‘No.’ The woman then said, ‘By what else can you hurt me then?’

Allaahu akbar! She was confident, was at ease and was contented as long as her religion was preserved, even if she was to face enormous calamities. Her soul was at ease as long as she had to lose it in the cause of Allaah.

Islaam is the source of satisfaction and light, the source of happiness and guidance.

The third flavour of faith is to be pleased with Muhammad as the Messenger and Prophet. Muhammad is the sincere well-wisher, the mercy and guidance, and the excellent model. He has no rival in obedience or in judgment. Allaah says,

“But no, by your Lord, they will not truly believe until they make you [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in full, willing submission.” (An-Nisaa 4:65)

Being pleased with Muhammad as the Messenger necessitates following and emulating him practically.

Dear brethren! If the faith is correct and is well-established in the heart it shows in practical life. When a believing Muslim walks in the land, he walks correctly and piously. He is a pleasant fragrance and his movements emanate from faith and tranquillity. Allaah says about him in a Qudsee hadeeth, “When I love him I become his ears with which he hears, his eyes with which he sees, his hand with which he holds and his feet with which he walks. If he asks from Me I will certainly grant him [his request] and if he seeks refuge with Me I will certainly grant him refuge.”

When one tastes the flavour of faith, his life becomes pleasant. His sight and thought will be attached to the most sublime and everlasting matters. Allaah says, “[To the righteous it will be said], O reassured soul, return to your Lord well-pleasing and pleasing [to Him].” (Al-Fajr 89:28)

Dear brother, have you ever seen an appearance more beautiful than that of righteous men? Have you ever seen toil more pleasant than that of those who pray tahajjud? Have you ever seen tears more tender than the tears of the repentant? Have you ever seen humility better than that of those who bow to Allaah and prostrate to Him in humility? Have you ever seen a paradise greater than that of the believer when he worships his Lord?

Such is the flavour of faith which they experience whenever they worship. As for the hardships they face in worldly affairs, they find sweetness of faith in that. They are contented with what the fate brings to them and therefore have peace of mind.

The true believer faces his life composed, happy and contented however his condition may be. He does not lose hope over what he misses and does not excessively rejoice over whatever he achieves. His faith is characterised with dependence upon Allaah. He learns lessons from the past and prepares for the future. He makes use of the means and does not rage over the decisions of Allaah. He is never reluctant to work. His motto is the saying of Allaah, ‘And my success is not but through Allaah. Upon Him I have relied and to Him I will return.” (Hood 11:88)

A true believer believes with certainty that he will never miss whatever has been written down for him and that he will never achieve what is not destined to be his. He believes that the entire inhabitants of the heavens and the earth cannot benefit or harm him except with what has already been written down for him.

He does not destroy himself with distress nor does he succumb to failure. He never seeks tranquillity in disgrace and laziness. All his life is full work, tribulations, righteousness, justice, competition in doing noble deeds, fighting in the way of Allaah and patience. He is never disturbed by calamities. The Messenger of Allaah said, “The affair of a believer is wonderful and all his situations are good. When he is in bliss he thanks [Allaah] and that is good for him, and when he is afflicted with hardship he bears it with patience and that is good for him. And none but the believer has that quality.”

It is through strong faith that a believer is liberated from fear and cowardice and anxiety. Allaah says, “Say never will we be struck except by what Allaah has decreed for us; He is our Protector. And upon Allaah let the believers rely.” (At-Tawbah 9:51)

The life of a believer is full of contentedness and flavour. He lives his life under the shade of these principles. If he is given he takes and thanks, and if he is deprived he is contented and patient. If he is commanded he implements the order, if he is restricted he refrains and if he commits a sin he seeks forgiveness. It is through this faith that a believer frees himself from the shackles of desire, whisperings of devils and temptations of this world. He is full of happiness and contentedness and he is far from avarice and stinginess.

Indeed, the flavour of faith removes materialism and anxiety and implants righteousness and compassion. It is then that the heart can experience tranquillity. Allaah says, “These are those – he has decreed within their hearts faith, and supported with spirit from Him.” (Al-Mujaadilah 58:22)

Fellow Muslims! The weak of faith will always groan in his calamity because he does not know the One Who tries him with the calamity. He hates to travel because he has no provision and he goes astray because he has no guide. Great is the loss of the loners. Allaah says, “Woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of Allaah.” (Az-Zumar 39:22)

He who is not a believer is unfortunate. He will not be conscious of Allaah in his sayings and deeds. His conduct is characterised with selfishness. He does not have confidence in himself and mutual compassion and cooperation are, in his life, replaced with rancour and dissention. Without faith and its sweetness, mankind are like harmful beasts.

Brethren in faith! Modern civilisation with its overwhelming materialism and hollow technology is a living witness that happiness can never be attained through pleasures or materials of this world. They are never satisfying. The avarice for it draws man to wars and thereby causes him to bring misery upon himself and others. Desire for the pleasure of this world creates enmity and aggression. It creates psychological diseases, social disruptions and ideological instability. These consequently lead to drugs and then to psychological clinics. Allaah says, “And whoever turns away from My remembrance – indeed, he will have a depressed [i.e. difficult] life, and We will gather [i.e. raise] him on the Day of Resurrection blind.” (Taa Haa 20:124)

Allaah also says, “So whoever Allaah wants to guide – He expands his breast to contain Islaam; and whoever He wants to misguide – He makes his breast tight and constricted as though he was climbing into the sky.” (Al-An’aam 6:125)

Dear brethren! Fear Allaah and believe in Him. Obey your Prophet and hold fast unto your religion. We are pleased with Allaah as our Lord; we are pleased with Islaam as our religion and we are pleased with Muhammad as our Prophet.