Title of the Sermon: Preparing to Meet Allah
Elements of the Sermon:
The importance of preparing to meet Allah.
The believer loves to meet Allah, while the disbeliever does not look forward to meeting Him.
How to prepare for the meeting with Allah.
All praise is due to Allah—the Most Kind, Most Merciful—who has prepared for the believers an abode of eternal bliss, who has filled their hearts with longing to gaze upon His noble Face, and who has promised the disbelievers punishment and banishment in the blazing Fire. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without any partner—meeting Him is an inevitable truth. And I bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger, whose words are truth. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and his companions, in abundance.
To proceed: Fear Allah, O servants of Allah, with true fear, and be mindful of Him in private and in public:
َا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
“O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims.” (Sūrat Āl ʿImrān: 102)
Servants of Allah:
Aḥmad and Ibn Mājah narrated from al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “We were once with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when he saw a group of people. He asked, “What have they gathered for?” They said, “A grave they are digging.” So, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ rushed ahead of his companions until he reached the grave and knelt down beside it. Al-Barāʾ said: “I came around to see what he was doing, and I saw him weeping so much that the ground beneath him was wet with his tears. Then he turned to us and said: ‘O my brothers, prepare for a day like this!’”
Indeed, it is a certain day, a destiny from which there is no escape. So what have we prepared for it?
Belief in the Last Day is a pillar of faith. No one’s faith is complete without it. Allah has paired belief in Himself with belief in the Last Day, because the one who truly believes in Allah knows with certainty that he will meet Him and be held accountable—either to Paradise or to the Fire. Allah the Exalted says:
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّكُمْ مُلَاقُوهُ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“And fear Allah, and know that you will meet Him. And give glad tidings to the believers.” (Sūrat al-Baqarah: 223)
Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ once said to a man, “How old are you?” He replied, “Sixty years.” Al-Fuḍayl said, “For sixty years you have been walking toward your Lord, and you are about to reach Him.” The man said, “To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return.” Al-Fuḍayl said, “Do you know the meaning of what you just said?” The man replied, “Explain it to me.” He said, “You say ‘I belong to Allah’—meaning, I am His servant. And you say ‘to Him we shall return’—meaning, you are returning to Him. So, whoever knows that he is a servant of Allah and will return to Him, let him know that he will be made to stand before Him. And whoever knows that he will stand before Allah, let him know that he will be questioned. And whoever knows that he will be questioned—let him prepare an answer.”
Servants of Allah:
Have we prepared our answers?
This worldly life is only a passage, and the Hereafter is the true destination. The believer lives in this world with the meeting with Allah constantly before his eyes. He is driven by both fear and hope—fear over his shortcomings in his duty to Allah, and hope in His mercy. He is certain of the Hereafter as if he sees it with his own eyes. That is why, among the very first descriptions Allah gave of the believers in Sūrat al-Baqarah, is that they believe in the unseen and they have certainty in the Hereafter.
Allah, Exalted is He, is the First and the Last. He is the First who brought us into being from nothing, and He is the One who began to shower us with blessings and favors. All goodness is in His hands, and no evil can be attributed to Him. He is the Last—to Him all people return, and to Him all matters are referred. Allah says:
وَأَنَّ إِلَى رَبِّكَ الْمُنْتَهَى
“And to your Lord is the final return.” (Sūrat al-Najm: 42)
So the believer sees the meeting with Allah as a reunion with the One from whom all goodness comes, a return to the One from whom existence began and to whom it ends. This is why the believer loves meeting Allah, hopes for it, and longs for it. His heart is stirred by yearning to see His Face and to gaze upon Him.
The Prophet ﷺ used to supplicate for that yearning—not as a wish to flee from calamities or trials, but out of pure love for his Lord. He would say: “I ask You for the joy of looking upon Your Face, and the longing to meet You, not in a harmful distress nor in a misleading trial.”
Reflect on Allah’s words, giving glad tidings to His righteous allies:
مَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ أَجَلَ اللَّهِ لَآتٍ
“Whoever hopes to meet Allah—indeed, the appointed time of Allah will come.” (Sūrat al-ʿAnkabūt: 5)
One of the people of deep knowledge said: “When Allah knew how intense His righteous servants’ longing was to meet Him, and that their hearts would never be at ease without seeing Him, He fixed an appointed time for that meeting, so that their souls could rest with that promise.”
These are the people of noble longing—those who love Allah, who yearn to meet Him, and who race toward His pleasure.
How many nights have they stayed awake, turning away from the comfort of their beds, calling upon their Lord in fear and hope—fear over their shortcomings and sins, and hope in the mercy of their Lord.
Servants of Allah:
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him. And whoever dislikes meeting Allah, Allah dislikes meeting him.” (Agreed upon: al-Bukhārī and Muslim)
So, what do you think, O servant of Allah, of the one who loves the Most Merciful and longs to meet Him?
How beautiful is the reward of the believers when they meet the Most Merciful Lord! The angels greet them and offer them peace, just as Allah said:
وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًا * تَحِيَّتُهُمْ يَوْمَ يَلْقَوْنَهُ سَلَامٌ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَرِيمًا
“And He is ever Merciful to the believers. Their greeting on the Day they meet Him will be: ‘Peace.’ And He has prepared for them a noble reward.” (Sūrat al-Aḥzāb: 43–44)
Then they enter the abode of His honor, dwell in His Paradise, and He calls out to them in mercy:
يَا عِبَادِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ وَلَا أَنْتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ * الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِآيَاتِنَا وَكَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ * ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ أَنْتُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ تُحْبَرُونَ
“O My servants, today there is no fear upon you, nor will you grieve—those who believed in Our signs and submitted in Islām. Enter Paradise, you and your spouses, rejoicing.” (Sūrat al-Zukhruf: 68–70)
Exalted is He—how great is His generosity! Because they believed in Him in this worldly life, submitted to His guidance, loved Him and were loved by Him, aligned themselves with His cause and opposed for His sake, and were not distracted by trade or commerce from His remembrance—they longed to meet Him, so He longed to meet them. He met them with radiant joy and delight, and rewarded them for their patience with Paradise, silk garments, eternal bliss, and a magnificent kingdom.
And their greatest reward was that He lifted the veil from them, granting them the supreme gift—nothing greater than gazing upon His noble Face:
وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَاضِرَةٌ * إِلَى رَبِّهَا نَاظِرَةٌ
“Some faces that Day will be radiant, looking at their Lord.” (Sūrat al-Qiyāmah: 22–23)
As for the disbeliever—he did not believe in Allah, nor fear Him, nor affirm the Day of Meeting with Him. He meets his Lord in the worst state, encountering Him while Allah is angry with him. He meets Him like a runaway criminal slave meets his Master—the very Master who had honored him, shown him kindness, bestowed favors upon him, sent him messengers—but the slave denied His blessings, disbelieved in His messages, rejected the Meeting with Him, and cast doubt upon His promise and warning.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ لِقَاءَنَا وَرَضُوا بِالْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَاطْمَأَنُّوا بِهَا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ آيَاتِنَا غَافِلُونَ * أُولَئِكَ مَأْوَاهُمُ النَّارُ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ
“Indeed, those who do not expect to meet Us, who are content with the worldly life and feel secure in it, and those who are heedless of Our signs—those, their refuge will be the Fire for what they used to earn.” (Sūrat Yūnus: 7–8)
They were deceived by their worldly life and their so-called civilization. Their wealth, children, and adornments captivated them. They clung to the earth and looked down upon the truth, thinking they would never return to Allah:
فَنَذَرُ الَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ لِقَاءَنَا فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ
“So We leave those who do not expect to meet Us to wander blindly in their transgression.” (Sūrat Yūnus: 11)
They used to say: “How can these decayed bones be restored after they’ve crumbled?” They said, “This is just our worldly life—we enjoy it and that’s it.” But when they are faced with the Day of Reckoning, they regret it—when regret is of no benefit—and they weep, but their weeping will be in vain!
قَدْ خَسِرَ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِلِقَاءِ اللَّهِ حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَتْهُمُ السَّاعَةُ بَغْتَةً قَالُوا يَاحَسْرَتَنَا عَلَى مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِيهَا وَهُمْ يَحْمِلُونَ أَوْزَارَهُمْ عَلَى ظُهُورِهِمْ أَلَا سَاءَ مَا يَزِرُونَ
“Certainly lost are those who deny the meeting with Allah. Until, when the Hour comes upon them suddenly, they will say, ‘Woe to us for what we neglected in it!’ while they bear their burdens on their backs. Unquestionably, evil indeed is what they bear!” (Sūrat al-Anʿām: 31)
May Allah bless me and you through the Noble Qur’ān, and benefit us all with its verses and wise remembrance. I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you—so seek His forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
The Second Sermon
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and all who follow him. To proceed:
We are all traveling toward Allah. Each one of us will inevitably stand before Him:
يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَى رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا فَمُلَاقِيهِ
“O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with great exertion and will meet Him.” (Sūrat al-Inshiqāq: 6)
Every one of us will have a moment where we stand before Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“There is none among you except that his Lord will speak to him, without any interpreter between them. He will look to his right and see nothing but what he sent forth. He will look to his left and see nothing but what he sent forth. He will look ahead of him and see only the Fire before his face. So protect yourselves from the Fire—even if only with half a date.” (Agreed upon: al-Bukhārī and Muslim)
If this is the reality—then how should one prepare to meet Allah?
The most important thing to bring before Allah is a purified heart:
يَوْمَ لَا يَنْفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ * إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ
“The Day when neither wealth nor children will be of any benefit—except for the one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.” (Sūrat al-Shuʿarāʾ: 88–89)
The believer prepares for meeting his Lord by continually tending to and correcting his heart. He purifies his creed from all forms of shirk (associating partners with Allah) and misconceptions. He purifies his intention and love, removing any preference for this world, and detachment from creatures or their approval in place of Allah's.
And what is more dangerous than shirk with Allah?
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever meets Allah without associating anything with Him will enter Paradise. And whoever meets Him while associating others with Him will enter the Fire.”
And Allah, the Almighty, says in a ḥadīth qudsī: “O son of Ādam! If you were to come to Me with sins filling the earth, but you meet Me not associating anything with Me, I would bring you forgiveness filling the earth.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhī)
Servants of Allah, how many things today corrupt the Muslim's creed? How many doubts surround him from every direction? How many tricks do the devils use to deceive the believers, corrupt their faith, and test them in their religion?
The believer must guard his creed and preserve his faith from anything that might weaken or ruin it.
He must also correct his deeds—being diligent in what Allah has obligated. He must fulfill the religious duties prescribed upon him, then draw closer to Allah with supererogatory acts as much as he is able. He must do so in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—not through innovations or newly invented practices.
He should guard his hearing, sight, and limbs from everything that Allah has prohibited—so that he may be among the successful and secure when he meets the Lord of all the worlds. Allah the Most High says:
فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا
“So whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him do righteous deeds and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord.” (Sūrat al-Kahf: 110)
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “Whoever prepares to meet Allah, his heart will detach from the world and its demands. The fires of desire will be extinguished from his soul. His heart will humbly incline toward his Lord. His ambitions will turn fully toward Allah, toward loving Him and preferring His pleasure.”
O Allah, rectify for us our religion which is the safeguard of our affairs. Rectify for us our worldly life wherein is our livelihood. Rectify for us our Hereafter wherein is our return. Make life an increase for us in every good, and make death a relief for us from every evil.
O Allah, grant victory to Islām and honor the Muslims. O Allah, destroy the criminal Jews. O Allah, send tranquility into the hearts of those striving in Your path, deliver Your oppressed servants, and raise high the banner of the religion—by Your might, O Strong, O Firm One.
Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
