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AUTHENTIC ILM MISSION
AIM DAWAH ACADEMY & SEMINARY
AIM DAWAH ACADEMY & SEMINARY
The Empty Space Satan Wants to Fill
If You Do Not Fill Your Life with Truth,
Something Else Will Fill It
Khutbah Summary
Human beings were created needy, while Allah is Al-Ṣamad, the One to whom all creation turns in need. The body has an appetite, and the soul has an appetite. The question is not whether the empty spaces of our lives will be filled. The question is: What will fill them?
Central Message
If you do not intentionally fill the empty spaces of your life with truth, something else will eventually volunteer to fill them for you.
You Were Created Needy
Before smartphones, social media, drugs, gambling, gaming addiction, and the distractions surrounding us today, Iblīs had already studied the nature of the human being.
“When Allah fashioned Adam in Paradise...
Iblīs began circling around him...
When he saw that he was hollow,
he recognized that he had been created
with a nature that does not always restrain itself.”
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 2611
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 2611
Human beings become hungry, thirsty, lonely, afraid, anxious, and bored. Our minds search for something to occupy them. Our hearts search for something to attach themselves to. And our time searches for something to fill it.
The Hollow Servant and Al-Ṣamad
﴿اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ﴾
“Allah, Al-Ṣamad.”
— Al-Ikhlāṣ 112:2
You are needy. Allah is free of all need. You become hungry. Allah does not. You become tired. Allah does not. You need others. Everyone needs Him.
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ
أَنتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ
وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ﴾
“O mankind! You are the ones in need of Allah,
while Allah alone is the Self-Sufficient,
the Praiseworthy.”
— Fāṭir 35:15
The problem begins when a needy creation
tries to satisfy his deepest need
away from Al-Ṣamad.
Two Hungers
The Hunger of the Body
The stomach becomes hungry. The body becomes thirsty. Desire seeks fulfillment. Allah created lawful ways to satisfy these needs, while also establishing boundaries.
The Hunger of the Soul
The soul needs Qur’an, Ṣalāh, dhikr, Tawḥīd, Sunnah, knowledge, duʿāʾ, and righteous companionship.
﴿وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ
رُوحًا مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا﴾
“And thus We have revealed to you
a Spirit from Our command.”
— Al-Shūrā 42:52
Just as the body lives through its soul,
the heart lives through revelation.
Entertainment can distract the soul. But entertainment cannot nourish the soul. The dunya can temporarily silence the feeling of emptiness, but it cannot permanently satisfy the need for which Allah created the heart.
They Knew What Revelation Could Produce
Sūrat al-Burūj describes believers who were subjected to horrific persecution. Their crime was simply faith in Allah. Yet the sūrah concludes:
﴿بَلْ هُوَ قُرْآنٌ مَجِيدٌ
فِي لَوْحٍ مَحْفُوظٍ﴾
“Rather, it is a glorious Qur’an,
in a Preserved Tablet.”
— Al-Burūj 85:21–22
Bodies can be destroyed. But the revelation that nurtures believers cannot be destroyed. As long as Allah preserves revelation, it can nurture another generation of believers.
The battle is not merely over people. The battle is over what fills people.
“Do Not Listen to This Qur’an”
﴿لَا تَسْمَعُوا لِهَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ
وَالْغَوْا فِيهِ
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ﴾
“Do not listen to this Qur’an,
and make noise during it,
so that perhaps you may prevail.”
— Fuṣṣilat 41:26
The strategy is ancient. The technology changes. The strategy remains. Yesterday, it was noise around the recitation. Today, it may be a screen that never turns off. One video after another. One notification after another. Scrolling after scrolling.
The problem begins when recreation
stops refreshing you for your mission
and starts replacing your mission.
Shayṭān Does Not Begin by Saying: “Become an Addict”
“Do not open it,
because if you open it,
you will enter it.”
Shayṭān does not begin with the final destruction. He says: Look once. Place one bet. Try it once. Send the message. Open the door.
A Common Progression
Empty Time
→ Curiosity
→ Opening the Door
→ Experimentation
→ Repetition
→ Habit
→ Attachment
→ Addiction
Fight the sin
while it is still a door.
The Blessing Called Free Time
“There are two blessings
concerning which many people are cheated:
health and free time.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 6412
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 6412
Do not say: “I need to kill time.” Your time is your life. Every hour that disappears is a portion of your life that will never return.
﴿فَإِذَا فَرَغْتَ فَانصَبْ
وَإِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ فَارْغَب﴾
“So when you become free, strive—
and direct your longing toward your Lord.”
— Al-Sharḥ 94:7–8
When you become free, do not become empty.
Do Not Merely Remove the Ḥarām
If Allah blesses someone with tawbah from a behavior that occupied hours every day, those hours must now be filled. Replace what you remove.
Remove
Sinful entertainment, destructive relationships, heedlessness, harmful habits, and environments of temptation.
Replace
Prayer, Qur’an, exercise, family, study, righteous companionship, community service, and beneficial skills.
The goal is not merely an emptier life. The goal is a better-filled life.
A Message to Parents
Do not only tell your son or daughter: Don’t use the phone. Don’t play that game. Don’t watch that. Don’t go there. Don’t spend time with those friends.
And then leave behind an enormous empty space. Give them an alternative. Give them Qur’an. Give them the Masjid. Give them sports. Give them responsibility. Give them meaningful work. Give them righteous companionship. And perhaps most importantly: Give them your time.
Do not merely close a door to falsehood.
Open a door to something better.
Five Practical Steps
1
Identify Your Empty Spaces
When are you weakest? Late at night? When alone? On weekends? When bored, angry, or rejected? Know your doors.
2
Close the Door
Remove the application. Unfollow the account. Change the environment. Move the phone. Create barriers. Do not negotiate with temptation at the doorway.
3
Replace What You Remove
Replace scrolling with reading. Isolation with companionship. The screen with exercise. Heedlessness with dhikr. Sin with obedience.
4
Do Not Fight Addiction Alone
Seeking treatment does not contradict tawakkul. Seek trusted religious guidance and qualified professional treatment when needed.
5
Return to Al-Ṣamad
When you feel empty: Allah Al-Ṣamad. When lonely: Allah Al-Ṣamad. When overwhelmed: Allah Al-Ṣamad.
What If I Already Opened the Door?
Perhaps you have already entered. Perhaps the habit has existed for years. Do not despair.
﴿قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ
أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ
لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ
الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا﴾
“O My servants who have transgressed
against themselves,
do not despair of the mercy of Allah.”
— Al-Zumar 39:53
Close the door today. Return to Allah today. Break the secrecy. Change the environment. Seek help. Build a new routine.
Return to Al-Ṣamad
When you feel empty: Allah Al-Ṣamad.
When you feel lonely: Allah Al-Ṣamad.
When anxiety overwhelms you: Allah Al-Ṣamad.
When desire becomes intense: Allah Al-Ṣamad.
Do not try to satisfy
the deepest poverty of your soul
with another impoverished creation.
The Battle Is Over What Fills You
Shayṭān does not necessarily need to take the Muṣḥaf out of your home. He only needs to keep you busy enough that you never open it.
He does not necessarily need to convince you that Ṣalāh is wrong. He only needs to fill your schedule until you continually delay it.
He does not need to tell you that dhikr is wrong. He only needs to make something else more interesting every moment of your day.
Guard Your Attention
What repeatedly receives your attention eventually occupies part of your heart.
When You Become Free, Do Not Become Empty
Fill the body with ḥalāl. Fill the heart with Tawḥīd. Fill the soul with revelation. Fill the tongue with dhikr. Fill the mind with knowledge. Fill the home with Qur’an. Fill youth with purpose. Fill free time with what benefits.
If you do not intentionally fill
the empty spaces of your life with truth,
something else will eventually
volunteer to fill them for you.
O Allah, Al-Ṣamad,
enrich our hearts through You
from everything besides You.
O Allah, fill our hearts with īmān, our tongues with Your remembrance, our homes with Qur’an, and our time with what pleases You.
O Allah, protect our sons and daughters from trials, those apparent and those hidden.
O Allah, protect our youth from addiction, destructive desires, harmful companionship, and the traps of Shayṭān.
O Allah, make the Qur’an the spring of our hearts, the light of our chests, the remover of our grief, and the relief of our worries.
O Allah, fill our hearts with īmān, our tongues with Your remembrance, our homes with Qur’an, and our time with what pleases You.
O Allah, protect our sons and daughters from trials, those apparent and those hidden.
O Allah, protect our youth from addiction, destructive desires, harmful companionship, and the traps of Shayṭān.
O Allah, make the Qur’an the spring of our hearts, the light of our chests, the remover of our grief, and the relief of our worries.
