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Your Future Self Is Not Who You Think It Is | Khutbah by Dr. Omar Suleiman
In this khutbah, Dr. Omar Suleiman explores how trials—big or small—reveal who we truly are. From the example of Musa (AS) with Shuayb and Khidr, to the warning signs in the stories of those who slipped, we learn that intentions alone aren’t enough—reflexes matter. How do we train our soul to respond instantly? How do we prepare for the ultimate tests like the fitna of Dajjal or the grave? This khutbah is a call to seek istiqāmah in du‘ā and deed.
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.
We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for him. And we bear witness that Muhammad (ﷺ) is his final messenger.
We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him and those that follow in his blessed path until the day of judgment. And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen.
Dear brothers and sisters, one of the amazing things about Sayyidina Musa (عليه السلام) in the Qur'an, who is the most spoken about prophet in the Qur'an,
is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives us everything about Musa (عليه السلام) from his emotions to his thoughts, to his game plans, to his actions, to how he feels after something takes place.
And so when you look at the person of Musa (عليه السلام), you are given the full spectrum. Allah azza wa jal tells us about how he was preparing for an incident.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about the very real human emotion of anxiety before an incident will take place.
Allah tells us about Musa (عليه السلام)'s emotions while he is in the middle of the most heated encounters that we have ever witnessed.
And Allah azza wa jal tells us about his relief and his praise of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala after it is all done. And so you will find of this prophet, Musa (عليه السلام), that there is a tool kit
when he goes into some of these moments of great pressure and a healthy level of self-doubt.
Not doubt in Allah azza wa jal, not doubt in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala having the tools that are necessary for him to be able to conquer the moment, but self-doubt to the extent that he goes above and beyond to prepare himself.
And so even in the words which are not unique to him, when he meets Al-Khidr (عليه السلام), سَتَجِدُنِي إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ You will find me insha'Allah to be amongst the patient.
You will find that when his future father-in-law speaks to him, سَتَجِدُنِي إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ that I will honor the contract with you, oh Musa, you will find me insha'Allah to be amongst the righteous.
You will find me to be up to the mission, up to the integrity that is required for the moment. When Ismail (عليه السلام) speaks to his father, Ibrahim (عليه السلام), you will find me, oh my father, insha'Allah mina as-sabireen.
You will find me, God willing, to be amongst the patient. They all recognized that they were entering into a very difficult moment. Something that might challenge what they have already set out to do.
And they put their trust entirely in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to see them through that moment. And subhanAllah, with Musa (عليه السلام), when he says to al-Khidr (عليه السلام), سَتَجِدُنِي إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ
You will find me insha'Allah to be amongst the patient. He was sincere. He truly wanted to meet the moment. But as things started to unfold before him, Musa (عليه السلام) slips. It's not a slip into sin.
It's being too hasty with trying to get the answers of the situation. And every time al-Khidr challenges him and tells him that, didn't I tell you, لَن تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِيَ صَبْرًا
that you will not be able to be patient with me. He once again renews, yes, I will be patient. This time I'll be patient. This time I will be patient. What the ulama speak about in this regard as you dissect these sentences from the prophets of Allah
is that no matter how much you spiritually condition yourself for the circumstance, for the moment, you don't actually know how you're going to act in the moment. And that's why the most frequent du'a of the Prophet (ﷺ)
who has the least to worry about, the one who is forgiven for his previous sins, for his future sins, for anything that has come before and anything that comes after, the best of Allah's creation,
his most frequent du'a is يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكَ O Turner of hearts, make my heart firm on your religion. And the firmness that the Prophet (ﷺ) is talking about
is not one that is like our firmness. Because the Prophet (ﷺ) does not have the potential to commit the types of sins that we're capable of committing. But O Allah, allow me to perfect the response in the most heated of moments.
O Allah, keep me upon that which is most blessed, most beloved to you when the most difficult of circumstances arise in the future. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recognizes
that no matter where you arrive, there is always the potential to slip. And there is still a ways to go in order to reach what Allah azza wa jal has made you capable of reaching even in the most heated
of circumstances. So what's the tool kit? And why is this so relevant to us right now? We're seeing a world around us fall apart. And we're seeing subhanAllah in the people of Gaza, people that have clearly prepared
themselves for the moment. And Allah azza wa jal has put them through conditions that mirrored to an extent the condition they are in right now which is multiplied. But they have already played out
in their minds the scenario that they are in right now. And so when you hear their responses, their perfect responses to these grotesque moments of genocide, know that there was a spiritual conditioning that preceded that moment. That that moment
was already rehearsed in their minds over and over and over again. And so for the rest of us, we live in an era of fitna. We live in an era of trial and tribulation. We live in an era of great uncertainty where things might
happen tomorrow that we would have never anticipated. And for some of us, we're starting to think about these major signs of the day of judgment. Not just the minor signs, but the onslaught, potential onslaught of the major signs of the day of judgment.
And how we respond to that moment. And it's important for us to recognize that just because if the Mahdi were to come out in your time, doesn't mean that you're going to be amongst those that are worthy of following him. That just because
you have at least recited the du'a maybe in passing of, I seek refuge in you O Allah from the trial of Al-Masih ad-Dajjal. Maybe not thinking about it
as you say it at the end of your salah. Hopefully at the end of every salah. Doesn't mean that you'll actually be able to resist his fitna, his temptation if you show up in front of him. In fact, some of the scholars say that that is one of the dimensions of what
the Prophet (ﷺ) says لا تتمنى لقاء العدو Don't wish to meet your enemy. Don't wish to meet your enemy. Now here's the thing. The Sahaba were prepared. The Sahaba had the intention
to always be alongside the Prophet (ﷺ) في سبيل الله The Sahaba always looked towards the potential worst circumstances and they were living an entire period of uncertainty
23 years of uncertainty alongside the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) where a new enemy from within or without will suddenly attack where a circumstance will arise but even then the Prophet (ﷺ) is saying don't wish for the most adverse of circumstances
instead prepare yourself prepare yourself with the right conditioning that's necessary ask Allah azza wa jal for thabat for firmness and then be mindful of the reward
that exists at the end of that moment should you find yourself in the thrust of that moment there is something profound to this idea of not trusting your future self there's something deeply profound about it
and self-doubt is a slippery slope because there's a level of self-doubt that will simply breed insecurity and a person will simply say I'm done, there's no way it's going to come and my
iman is going to be taken away from me at the time of death, it's going to come and I'm not going to be ready for it and there is a level of self-doubt that leads you to over-prepare for the moment
to rehearse circumstances in your mind to put yourself in those positions mentally constantly and that greatest test is the test of death itself, you won't be tested in life with anything greater than the test
the moment of death itself when the soul is actually exiting the body and if the believer is preparing for that every single day, then everything under it will naturally be prepared for, and subhanAllah
you'll find that the messenger of Allah connected, seeking refuge in Allah من فتنة القبر ومن فتنة المسيح الدجال I seek refuge in you, O Allah from being asked in the grave
from the trial and tribulation of the grave and I seek refuge in you, O Allah from the difficulty of Al-Masih ad-Dajjal and you think about what's the connection between Al-Masih ad-Dajjal appearing right before you and the angel of death appearing in front of you
it's not the situation can become so overwhelming that if you're not deeply based in what you claim to know, then your knowledge will escape you under the
heavy pressure that you're in that moment and in terms of life and the world of deception that we're in nothing would be more deceptive than Al-Masih ad-Dajjal in front of you and in terms of your senses leaving you, if you're not
deeply based in that knowledge deeply conditioned in Iman deeply conditioned in faith when the angels are in the grave and they ask you, من ربك in that type of scenario who is your lord? and they proceed to ask you the questions
you can't look around, there are no clues there is nothing to search here it's whether or not you've conditioned yourself enough in it to be able to answer from a place of spiritual reflex you immediately can answer, because you've
conditioned yourself for that moment, and we also take from this, that in the case of Musa (عليه السلام) and in the case of all of these great people that came before, the prophets and the righteous ones before us
that they built their tool kit what was their tool kit like? first and foremost, look at Musa (عليه السلام)'s du'a when Allah azza wa jal tells him to go forth to meet the Fir'aun قَالَ رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي
وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِنْ لِسَانِي يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي it's like he doesn't entrust to himself a single element of this affair Oh Allah expand my chest not Alhamdulillah I'm a prophet I've already been
through a lot, I went through the Nile River I went through fleeing death and being a fugitive and being a refugee here, I went through this difficult situation, he doesn't trust his own chest رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي expand it for me
Oh Allah وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي not that I've been through difficult things before so I don't need your تَيْسِير your easing of the affairs, no I need you to ease the affair as well وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِنْ لِسَانِي يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي
not that I've represented myself in difficult situations before and I think I know what to say if I find myself here Ya Allah untie the knot, let it flow properly, let me say the word that is pleasing to you at that
moment of great difficulty SubhanAllah if you took this du'a and you assigned it to the moment of death or you assigned it to the moment of great distress, it fits each and every single one of them
what do you want? You want the clarity the ease and the ability to say that word that is pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala under the moment of great duress, he also teaches us to have in our tool kit
that righteous company, as a scholar say when it comes to fitna be with the righteous or be alone but there is no third option, be with the righteous or be alone but there is no third option if you realize with Musa (عليه السلام) واجعل لي وزيرا من أهلي
grant me my brother let me have Harun with me when Musa (عليه السلام) goes out to al-Khidr, he takes with him Yusha (عليه السلام), Yusha bin Nun there is a righteous companion, if you can find a righteous companion then
be with that righteous companion and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks to this in the Qur'an يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَكُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ O you who believe be mindful of Allah and be amongst those who are truthful
when Allah azza wa jal says وَاصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَهُ keep yourself patient with those right, who worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala day and night
so you can't just say you will find me insha'Allah to be amongst the sabireen but you don't have sabireen around you, people that teach you sabr around you, you can't just say you will find me insha'Allah to be amongst the sadiqeen as-saliheen but you're not
maa as-sadiqeen wa as-saliheen today you're not with the righteous and the truthful people today so you have the du'a in your toolbox you have righteous company in your toolbox or you're alone but the point is that there is no third
option but you prepare that moment with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you also find in Musa (عليه السلام) again do not trust yourself trust Allah do not trust yourself, trust Allah
the sahaba mastered this so when al-qadi Abu Layla says that I saw amongst the sahaba tens of them, seventy of them every one of them every one of them interrogates himself
accuses himself of hypocrisy does that mean that the sahaba were not striving for righteousness or they saw that in themselves was a potential that they feared that they don't know what
the future holds and because they don't know what the future holds they don't know what their future selves will be and it's that fear that actually kept them straight as the scholars mentioned that the fear
that you have from a bad ending is actually the reason by which you have a good ending, your fear of a bad ending is the reason by which you have a good ending because you've thought about it
so many times and you want to make sure that you don't end up in that space and so you don't trust yourself you trust Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because you realize that
circumstances can bring out these dormant spiritual diseases inside of us that we didn't even know exist within us and So you always accuse yourself you always interrogate yourself
Again, not to paralyze yourself, but to take that trust you have in yourself and to relegate it to a trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
You fear the slip-up as much as you fear sin you fear a zallah that you can slip in a moment and Because you fear that slip-up Then you study those who have slipped up before you and those that are slipping up around you
And you say how can I make sure? That I don't find myself in the same situation as those that slipped up before or those that slip up now And you know what else you don't mock those who have fallen
Because if you taunt the people that have fallen Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will test you with falling yourself Instead you internalize the slip-ups around you you have a friend that went astray You have a colleague that you knew even when you got older and you say subhanAllah
I remember this person used to be this way. I remember this person used to be that way I remember this person used to come to the masjid. I remember this person used to speak this way I remember this person used to dress this way. I remember this person used to worship this way I remember this person this person this person
Don't mock that person Instead ask Allah for al-afiyah ask Allah to be spared and ask yourself. What happens? What happens so that you yourself can be on guard as well?
Because you're not just supposed to fear the slip-up You're supposed to study the fallen and say what do I do to make sure that I don't find myself in that same situation The other thing that we take from this dear brothers and sisters with the ulama mentioned of
The smaller istiqamah before the greater istiqamah The smaller istiqamah before the greater istiqamah The word istiqamah means to stay firm
to stay firm and it was the most frequent du'a of the Prophet (ﷺ) to stay firm and there is always a minor manifestation and a major manifestation and so
That a person would increase iman and ma'i mani him faith upon faith Just because you have faith does not mean that you have enough faith
That a personal increase from sabr to a greater level of sabr just because you can be patient in some things doesn't mean that you don't have ways to go in the school of patience and They're there every single virtue in Islam
Has a layer that is yet to be achieved by you Istiqamah is no difference and what istiqamah looks like in the minor sense in the smaller sense subhanAllah And you look at the way the scholars speak about it. It's the spiritual reflex
the spiritual reflex Meaning what can you resist the minor urges in your life? Can you resist the urge to argue over something small?
Can you resist the urge to complain about something small? Can you resist the urge to look at something haram? Can you resist the urge to speak that word in that moment? Can you resist these urges?
Can you control these urges with circumstances that aren't incredibly devastating? And if you learn that then you're preparing yourself for a moment, but I give you an example
You know subhanAllah you're watching people lose limbs on a daily basis you're watching people lose homes on a daily basis if If something were to rip in your favorite shirt coffee spills on it
How much does that ruin your day? How are you going to learn to respond with the right? spiritual reflex When Allah azza wa jal tests you with a body part if you can't respond with the right spiritual reflex Well, I'll test you with the garment that covers it
Your phone breaks your laptop falls Do you just curse and yell and scream and it's the worst thing that happened in the world? What are you gonna do if Allah azza wa jal tests you with your car with your house? right, so it's the spiritual reflex and
Allah azza wa jal always speaks about the spiritual reflex in the conditional الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ Those who when they are tested with tragedy their reflexes immediately إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ
To Allah we belong and to Allah we return Those who immediately say Alhamdulillah for small things then they'll say it for large things وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ when they fall into a sin
They will remember Allah azza wa jal and seek forgiveness for that sin how strong are your spiritual reflexes and You have to be practicing them every single day with the smallest things in life
With the smallest things in life so that when the major test comes your reflexes will still be sound your spiritual condition
Will kick in in the moment of crisis when you need it most and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will protect you from that moment So subhanAllah you think about what's your spiritual muscle memory? What's your spiritual conditioning?
How do you respond and how do you interrogate yourself every day and say how did I respond to this? How did I respond to that? How did I respond to that blessing? How did I respond to that test? How did I respond to that irritation?
How did I respond to this and do better the next day do better the next day do better the next day Until you find yourself in a situation where Allah azza wa jal tests you with something that is far
Greater the last thing that I will say with you to you dear brothers and sisters a du'a du'a du'a a du'a Seek Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protection
When you listen to the words that the Prophet (ﷺ) was using he wasn't teaching Sahaba Du'as for protection that he wasn't making for himself He himself was making those du'as with tears
I mean his salatu wa salam dripping from his eyes and so when you're asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to protect your faith When you're asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to keep you firm upon Iman
رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا. Oh Allah do not let our hearts go astray after you have guided us When you make these du'as like at the end of your salah
Don't think you know alhamdulillah. I'm way beyond this no The Sahaba were making du'a to die Muslim The best generation of Muslims that ever lived were making du'a to die Muslim. That's the baseline
And Ibn al-Jawzi rahimahullah ta'ala mentions I've seen people in their oldest age lose their Iman in the last moments of their lives SubhanAllah He mentions a man who used to come to the masjid every single day until his 80s
And then his son passed away and he lost it So ask Allah azza wa jal with a sense of desperation and vulnerability That it could happen to me, but I trust you. Oh Allah not myself
And I have husn al-zann in you. Oh Allah I have a good assumption of you Oh Allah to keep me firm if I'm trying to be firm But I don't trust my own toolbox because I know that these tools are only
Successful to the extent that you bless them may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us Istiqamah when we need it most may Allah grant us firmness when we need it most and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala keep us firm in Every circumstance upon that which is pleasing to him Allahumma ameen. Aqoolu qawli hadha wa astaghfirullaha
li wa lakum wa li sa'iril muslimeen fastaghfiroohu innahu huwal ghafoor ur-raheem


































































































































































































































































































