Life Before Death - Shaykh AbdulBary Yahya

Rasulullah 'sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam' would often say the Arabic prayer, "Allahumma, ya muqallibal-qulub, thabbit qalbi 'ala dinik" [O Allah! Thou alone canst change our hearts from good to evil, from evil to good. Make my heart fixed in Thine din, do not ever let it turn away from or abandon it!]. Upon hearing this, the Sahaba 'alaihimurridwan' said, "O Rasulallah 'sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam'! You, too, are afraid of turning renegade?" "Who on earth could ensure me from makr-i ilahi?" was his answer. [Makr means trick. Lexically, makr-i ilahi means divine trick.] For, a hadith al-qudsi states, "Men's hearts are in the power of Rahman. He changes hearts as He wishes." That is, He changes them to evil or to good with His Attributes of Jalal and Jamal. The first thing written in Lawh-i mahfuz was: "There is no Allah besides Me. Hadrat Muhammad 'sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam' is My Messenger and My beloved one, and all are My creatures. I am the Rab, the Creator of everything." Then prophets and all the people that will come to the world until Doomsday were registered, the good ones as Said and the evil ones as shaqi.

`Ya muqallibal-qulubi, thabbit qalbi `ala dinik
(O Controller of the hearts make my heart steadfast in Your religion).''

YA MUKALLIBAL QULUB SABBIT QULUBANA ALA DEENIK.

AMEEN.

Life Before Death - Shaykh AbdulBary Yahya

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Anas (radi Allah anhu) narrated that asking for a firm and obedient heart was one of the constant supplications of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); and one narration from Umm Salamah states that the Du’a he made the most was:

“Allahumma ya Muqallib Al-Quloob thabbit qalbi ‘alaa Deenik,” which means,

“O Turner of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your Religion.” There is, however, another authentic

Du’a narrated in Sahih Muslim that isn’t as well-known: “Allahumma Musarrif Al-Quloobi Sarrif

Quloobana‘Ala Ta’atika,” which means, “O Allah, Turner of the hearts, direct our hearts to Your obedience.”

Take advantage of your life before you die.

AbdulBary Yahya was born in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and very soon thereafter immigrated to the U.S. with his family. He grew up in Seattle, WA and after completing his primary and secondary education there, began his studies at the Islamic University of Madinah. Upon graduation from the Islamic University of Madinah's College of Shariah, AbdulBary Yahya returned to Vietnam and Cambodia and became a teacher and director of the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society in Cambodia and the Umm al-Qura Charity Organization in Vietnam. He presently resides in Seattle, WA with his family and is the Imam (spiritual leader and advisor) of Masjid Jaamiul Muslimeen in Seattle, WA. He also holds the positions of President of the Cham Refugee Community and Vice-President of the Islamic Center of Washington State.