WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU THAT
YOU FEAR NOT THE GREATNESS OF ALLAH

Why does man turn away from truth that is quite obvious?
Why does man avert from the guidance of the Messengers of Allah who bring him every good, then you find him afterwards go through the tracks of Satan where there is neither guidance nor rationality?
This questions is answered by the Holy Qur'an. Our master, Noah (PBUH) was the most constant of the Messengers () in calling to Allah and indicating truth all through his long life. The Holy Qur'an tells about his story in a Sura called after his name:
"He said: O my Lord! I have called to my People Night and Day. But my call only increases (their) flight (from the Right). And every time I have called to them, that Thou mightest forgive them, they have (only) thrust their fingers into their ears, covered themselves up with their garments, grown obstinate, and given themselves up to arrogance. So I have called to them aloud. Further I have spoken to them in public and secretly in private, Saying, Ask forgiveness from your Lord; for He is Oft-Forgiving, He will send rain to you in abundance, Give you increase in wealth and sons; and bestow on you Gardens and bestow on you rivers (of flowing water). What is the matter with you that you fear not the greatness of Allah?" (Noah, vs. 5-13).
Noah () made them desirous of getting Allah's forgiveness and His Favor, in addition to worldly wealth and luxury, but the problem lies, as the Holy Qur'an tells us, in the fact that they did not fear the greatness of Allah.
O the Ummah of the Beloved, Al Mustafa (), this is the great problem.
The more glorification and reverence of the Exalted Allah there are in the heart, the more responsive and obedient this heart will be to the command of Allah; and the weaker the reverence of Allah there is in the heart the weaker the response of this heart becomes.
This is a relationship that we have to remember always and constantly: the relationship between the reverence and glorification of Allah and man's response and its consequences. Therefore, I would like to talk about the following:
First: Causes of the Heart Glorification that Produce Response
They are three: vacancy of the heart, remembrance of Allah and contemplation.
1-Vacancy of the Heart
This means to have the heart free from whims. It is the heart that is not controlled by self-desires, and it is free from fanaticism, blind imitation and self trends. The Exalted Allah said:
"Do they not then earnestly seek to understand the Quran, or are their hearts locked up by them? (Muhammad, v. 24).
When the heart is not released from the locks and from the predominance of the whims, it will not benefit from remembrance and meditation.
2-Remembrance and Contemplation
The Exalted Allah said in His Holy Book:
Men who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate" (Al Omran, v. 191).
He, the Exalted, also said:
"and remembrance of Allah is the greatest" (Al 'Ankabut, v. 45).
Man has to expose his heart to the remembrance of Allah more than remembering this world. The fact we are living in is that we ponder over and remember this world more than we do the Exalted Allah, the consequences of which is heedlessness in the heart.
The Exalted Allah said:
"Then celebrate with praises the name of thy Lord, the Supreme! (Al Waqi'a, v. 74).
By His saying: "the Supreme", the Exalted Allah draws the attention to the necessity of the presence of the feeling of glorification in the heart.
Remembrance may be the statements transmitted from our Beloved and master, Muhammad (PBUH), i.e., monotheism and praise of the Exalted Allah. It may also be through reading the Holy Qur'an which the Exalted Allah also considers great in value, He said:
'And we have bestowed upon thee the seven oft repeated (verses) and the grand Quran " ( Al Hijr, v. 87).
Reading the Holy Qur'an in a state of politeness, meditation and perception produces glorification, but when the tongue is used only in remembering this world and its creatures: "but little do they hold Allah in remembrance" (An Nisa', v. 142), this is the description of the hypocrites.
Contemplation is pondering over the great creation of the Exalted Allah:
"and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth" (Al 'Umran, v. 191).
The One Who created the great heaven and what it includes, and the earth and what it includes is greater and more exalted, because the Creator is greater than His creatures.
The Exalted Allah said:
"Allah! there is no god but He! Lord of the Throne Supreme" (An Namel, v. 26).
The 'Supreme' in this verse is the description of the Throne not of the Exalted Allah. The Exalted Allah means to say: 'Lord of the Great Throne', and not 'the Great Lord of the throne' to indicate that if the Throne itself is great, its Creator should be even be the Supreme Great.
Isn't the One who created this great Throne Great by Himself?
The Throne that is described as great by the Exalted Allah is the product of the Exalted Allah Who is the Lord and Creator of this Supreme Throne.
Such meditation leads to the glorification in the heart of the believer.
Secondly: Signs of the Heart Glorification
If man wants to test his heart and see whether it has signs of glorification, can he put it in a scale to see whether it belongs to the people of glorification or to the people of heedlessness?
Certainly, yes. Glorification of the heart has three signs:
1-The feeling of humiliation in the presence of the Exalted Allah:
"O ye men. It is ye that have need of Allah: but Allah is the One Free of all wants, worthy of all praise "(Fater, v. 15).
When you pray, you usually say:
"Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek" (Al Fatiha, v. 5).
Were it not for your disability, you will not have asked for aid. Were it not for your humiliation, you will not have asked for glory. Were it not for your weakness, you will not have asked for power.
When you prostrate your head in prayer in the presence of your Lord, and invoke and supplicate Him in fidgetness while you feel your urgent need for Him within your heart and your submissiveness in His presence, this will be the first sign of your glorification of Him.
2-Glorification and Tremor of the Heart
The Exalted Allah said:
"For, Believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts" (An Fal, v. 2).
Haven't you felt this tremor of the heart out of fear and awe at His remembrance?
The tremor of the heart and its glorification mean its shaking and confusedness out of the feeling of the greatness of the Exalted Allah.
If somebody tells you that a momentous affairs have happened, how would you feel?
When somebody informs you about a matter of great significance, you usually find yourself confused and your heart shaken. Won't your heart be shaken at the remembrance of Allah?
3-Glorification of the Rites of Allah
"and Whoever holds in honor the rites of Allah, such should come truly From the piety of the hearts" (Al Haj, v. 32).
If one of the rites of the Exalted Allah, or one of His judgments indicated by our Master, Imam and Messenger, Muhammad (), is mentioned before you and your heart trifles with it, then you never belong to the people of glorification.
If any legal rules, say in economy, sociology, family affairs, vital statistics, business transactions, organization of the individual or the community, proved to be from the Exalted Allah and His Messenger, and your heart trifles with any of them, this will be an indication of your complete separation from the people of glorification:
"It is not fitting for a Believer, men or women, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger, to have any option about their decision" (Al Ahzab, v. 36).
Thus the signs by which we are tested are three:
-The feeling of humiliation in the presence of the Exalted Allah.
-The feeling of tremor, fear and confusion in the heart at the remembrance of the Exalted Allah.
-Glorification of the Rites of the Exalted Allah.
Thirdly: The Practical Consequences of the Heart Glorification
1-Quick Response to the Order of Allah
Describing the hypocrites, the Exalted Allah said:
"when they stand up to prayer, they stand without earnestness" (Annisa', v. 142).
The quick response on your part indicates that you have listened to the Great Lord:
"O ye who believe! give your response to Allah and His Messenger, when He calleth you to that which will give you life" (Al Anfal, v. 24).
Every affair that the Exalted Allah and His messenger () call you to do implies making you alive.
2-Complying with the Command of the Exalted Allah and Avoiding His Prohibitions
We have already mentioned the signs of the heart glorification, and herein we refer to the signs of the practical compliance to the command of the Exalted Allah, as well as the avoidance of His prohibitions, i.e., when you perform what you are ordered to do, and abstain from doing what your are ordered to avoid.
3-Preservation of the Sanctity of the Creatures
This is another practical result, we can find in reality, from the heart glorification of the Exalted Allah:
" And do not eat up your property among yourselves for vanities" (Al Baqarah, v. 188).
"Nor take life which Allah has made sacred except for just cause" (Al 'Isra', v. 33).
"nor speak ill of each other behind their backs" (Al Hujurat, v. 12).
When you find yourself tending to preserve the sanctity of creatures in their blood, in their wealth and in their honor, you can consider yourself one of those who glorify the rites of the Exalted Allah, but if you find yourself otherwise, then you are far away from glorification.
By Allah, if glorification of the Exalted Allah increases day by day in our hearts, we will never find a thief, a backbiter, a cheater, or an oppressor. On the contrary, we will find mutual mercy and love exchanged by the members of society.
Is this Aleppo we used to know?
Where is the relationship of mutual mercy and love among the neighbors, or rather, between the son and his father or his mother?
This is one example concerning the close relationships. As for the far ones, there is, alas, a lot to talk about.
Is this the kind of relationship the Exalted Allah commands us to have? Certainly not.
Oh Aleppo…Oh Syria…Oh the Arab countries…Oh the Ummah of our Master, Muhammad (PNUH), do return to Islam, do return to ethics, do return to responding to the Exalted Allah and His Messenger, do return to the heart glorification of the Exalted Allah.
Allāhum…Guide us to You favorably, and make us from those who listen to wisdom and follow the best of it.
I say my words and ask God's forgiveness.