Sheikh Abdul-Bari ibn Awwad Ath-Thubaiti – 16 Dhul-Hijjah 1435

His Eminence Sheikh Abdul-Bari ibn Awwad Ath-Thubaiti, may Allah preserve him, delivered the Friday khutbah entitled, “Tasting the Sweetness of Faith”, in which he talked about the sweetness of faith, its different signs, and how a Muslim can taste it. He mentioned some Qur’anic verses, Prophetic hadiths, and statements attributed to the Prophet’s Companions and the righteous predecessors on tasting the sweetness of faith.

Praise be to Allah. Praise be to Allah, Who has given faith taste and sweetness. I praise Him, Glorified be He, and I thank Him, for He has promised to increase bounties for whoever thanks Him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, Who has no partners, and Who says in the Qur’an:

“For those who have done good is the best (reward, i.e. Paradise) and even more (i.e. having the honour of glancing at the Countenance of Allah) …” (Yunus: 26)

I also bear witness that our master and prophet, Muhammad, is His servant and messenger, who showed his Ummah the ways of misguidance as well as the path of happiness. May Allah bestow His peace and blessings upon him and upon his family and Companions, who were foremost in virtue and good deeds.

Now then,
I advise you and advise myself to fear Allah. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islam [as Muslims (with complete submission to Allah)].” (Al ‘Imran: 102)‎

Al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that he heard Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, say, “He has found the taste of faith who is content with Allah as his Lord, with Islam as his religion, and with Muhammad as a prophet and as a messenger [of Allah].”

Whoever is content with Allah as his Lord certainly loves Him, puts his trust in Him, seeks His help, and is sure that Allah alone, Glorified be He, is sufficient for him; he does not resort to anyone else, for anyone other than Allah is weak and helpless. He for whom Allah is not sufficient will not find anything sufficient, while he who is content with Allah gains all that is good. Whoever seeks sufficiency with Allah alone will not stand in need of anything, and whoever seeks power and glory with Allah will never be humiliated for any reason whatsoever. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“Is not Allah Sufficient for His slave? …” (Az-Zumar: 36).

Whoever is content with Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, as a messenger of Allah definitely takes him as his example, leader, and guide and devotes himself to studying his life and following in his footsteps. Finally, whoever is content with Islam as his religion is fully convinced of it; he follows whatever it prescribes and avoids whatever it prohibits.

There is sweetness in faith that none can taste except for those who are deserving of it. If faith enters the heart and its delight mixes with it completely, this will engender pleasure in the heart, fill one’s life with joy, and give one comfort and contentment. Those who feel the sweetness of faith delight in performing the acts of worship, endure hardships to attain Allah’s good pleasure, strive hard in His cause, and sacrifice everything for His sake. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“Say: “In the Bounty of Allah, and in His Mercy (i.e. Islam and the Quran); – therein let them rejoice.” That is better than what (the wealth) they amass.” (Yunus: 58)

When the sweetness of faith firmly settles in a believer’s heart, it makes him attached to Allah, Glorified be He, at all times and under all circumstances, in all his acts and at any hour of the day and night. It makes him always aware of the presence of his Creator, Originator, and Supporter. It is for this reason that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, commanded us often to say, “I am content with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, and with Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, as my prophet.”

Abstaining from sins for the sake of Allah brings forth a feeling of sweetness to the heart which is felt by those who do that out of fear of Allah and out of humility before Him. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The furtive glance (at women) is one of the poisoned arrows of Iblis (Satan); therefore, Allah, Might and Majesty be to him, will reward anyone who lowers his gaze out of fear of Allah with faith whose sweetness he will find in his heart.”

Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “There are three qualities that whoever possesses will taste the sweetness of faith: that Allah and His Messenger are dearer to him than all else, that he loves a person only for the sake of Allah, and that he hates to revert to disbelief just as he hates to be thrown into the fire.”

The sweetness of faith requires a dear price and at the same time has blessed effects. Its price is that Allah and His Messenger should be dearer to a believer than all else. This implies that the Qur’an, the Book of Allah, and the Sunnah of His Messenger should be dearer to a believer than anything else. When there is any conflict within the believer between his own narrow interests and the teachings of the religion, the believer should give precedence to the teachings of the religion and the good pleasure of Allah and should choose obedience to Allah and His Messenger rather than the desires and whims of the lower self. In this way, Allah, Exalted be He, becomes more beloved to the believer than anyone else, and only then will his soul be always attached to His. Loving the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, means that a Muslim must not receive any commands except from the Prophet’s guidance and that he must not follow a path other than his, such that he does not find within himself any resistance against the decisions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and such that he comes to observe the same good manners as the Prophet’s, peace and blessings be upon him, such as generosity, altruism, forbearance, and modesty.

The price for the sweetness of faith is that a believer should love a person only for the sake of Allah. This means that the believer should establish his relations with others on the basis of faith alone. Thus he should love and support the believers, even if they are weak and poor, and hate those who disobey Allah or associate partners with Him, even if they are powerful and wealthy. Our love for others for the sake of Allah is only true when it does not increase when they are bounteous to us and does not decrease when they turn away from us. This hadith deepens the notion of brotherhood in Islamic faith, which can only be sincere when it is cherished purely for the sake of Allah and when it is intended to attain His good pleasure. The sweetness of true brotherhood in Islam can only be tasted when it is coupled with fear of Allah. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“Friends on that Day will be foes one to another except Al-Muttaqun (pious).” (Az-Zukhruf: 67)

Another requirement for tasting the sweetness of faith is that a believer should hate to revert to disbelief just as he hates to be thrown into the fire. The Qur’an tells us that a man may worship Allah in a state of doubt, standing, as it were, on the edge of belief. If good befalls him, he is content with it, but if trials and afflictions befall him, he reverts to disbelief, thus losing both this world and the hereafter. Such a man believes in Allah as long as life smiles on him, but if he is less fortunate, he abandons belief and returns to his former ways. Contrary to this, a true believer is never affected by the changing fortunes of life. He is always steadfast and always insists on doing good deeds, whether he is desirous of doing them or not, whether he is rich or poor, and whether he is healthy or sick.

This type of pleasure has been described by those who have tasted the sweetness of faith. One of them said, “I experience times when I say, ‘If the people of Paradise have this feeling, then they are in great bliss.’” Another said, “Indeed, there is a paradise in this world that whoever fails to enter will not enter the Paradise of the hereafter.” Yet another one said:

“Faith produces joy and pleasure in the heart. Whoever does not feel it either lacks faith altogether or has only weak faith, and he belongs to the category of people about whom Allah, Might and Majesty be to Him, says, “The bedouins say, “We believe.” Say, “You believe not but you only say, ‘We have surrendered (in Islam)’, for Faith has not yet entered your hearts” …” (Al-Hujurat: 14).”

Among those who have tasted the sweetness of faith is Khubaib ibn ‘Adiyy, may Allah be pleased with him. It was said to him, just when he was about to be crucified, “Would you like Muhammad to be in your place while you sit safe and sound in the comfort of your family?” He replied, “By Allah! I would not at all like to be sitting in the comfort of my home and family enjoying the safety and pleasures of this life if Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, was hurt by a thorn.”

When a Muslim woman, who tasted the sweetness of faith, was informed that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was killed in the Battle of Uhud, she rushed to the battlefield only to find that her father, her brother, her son, and her husband had all been killed. Despite this, she asked, “How is Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him?” When she saw him still alive, she felt reassured and said to him, “O Messenger of Allah! All misfortunes are insignificant as long as you are safe and sound.”

He who tastes the sweetness of faith will never abandon his religion even if he is torn to pieces. The disbelievers of Makkah placed a heavy rock on Bilal ibn Rabah’s chest, may Allah be pleased with him, in order to force him to revert to disbelief, but he endured this suffering, saying, “Allah is the One! Allah is the One! He is the Only God! He is As-Samad (the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need)!”

Heraclius, the Roman emperor, who was a contemporary of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, once asked Abu Sufyan, may Allah be pleased with him, “Has anyone of his [the Prophet’s, peace and blessings be upon him] followers reverted to disbelief out of displeasure with his religion?” He said, “No.” Heraclius then said, “Such is true faith when its sweetness mixes with the heart.”

When a Muslim tastes the sweetness of faith, he turns into a new person whose life has a different character built upon giving. He feels happy with what he gives and not with what he gets and he offers good to others. One of the signs of tasting the sweetness of faith is for the servant to believe from the bottom of his heart that all provisions come solely from Allah, that no one can prevent a servant from getting what Allah has bestowed upon him, and that no soul will die until it has fully received its provision and completed its appointed term. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“Whoever works righteousness – whether male or female – while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter).” (Al-Nahl: 97)

May Allah bless you and me with the Great Qur’an and make us benefit from its verses and wise words. I have said what you have heard and I ask forgiveness of Allah, the Most Great, for myself and for you. Ask Allah for forgiveness. He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.