AbdelRahman Murphy – Thirty & Up Treasury Of Imam Al-Ghazli #8

AbdelRahman Murphy
AI: Summary ©
The host of a Q&A session discusses various narrations and their meaning, including one about eating healthy and staying within a guidelines. They also touch on the importance of appreciation for everything in life, including eating healthy foods and avoiding waste. The segment emphasizes the importance of learning about the characteristics of animals and humans, including their behavior and characteristics, and the importance of balancing priority of one's life with blessings of others. The segment also touches on the negative impact of hyper-industrialized lifestyles on people's health and energy, including the loss of appreciation for food and the need for everyone to receive their blessings.], [The segment discusses the importance of being aware of the process of food and the importance of being aware of the characteristics of animals and humans. The segment also touches on the negative impact of hyper-industrialized lifestyles on people's health and energy, including the loss of appreciation for food and the need for everyone to receive their blessings. The segment also touches on the
AI: Transcript ©
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Oh, back-to-back, huh?

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Back-to-back, inshallah.

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As-salamu alaykum.

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Bismillah, bismillah, walhamdulillah, wa salatu was-salamu ala

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rasulullahi wa ala alihi wa ashabihi ajma'in.

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There we go.

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Okay.

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Alrighty.

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How is everybody?

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Welcome home.

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How are you doing?

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Alhamdulillah.

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It's good to see everybody back here on

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this crisp, crisp fall evening in Dallas.

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86 degrees outside.

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I don't want to make fun.

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It's been too nice, inshallah.

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So we have, let me open up the

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Q&A, inshallah.

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We have about 30 minutes-ish before the

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event for Maghrib calls.

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So we are going to jump right in.

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If you go to slido.com, you can

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write 30 and up, those three words, and

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ask your questions, inshallah.

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Let me just open up the Q&A

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for that.

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Okay.

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And you can send your questions, inshallah.

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So we'll go over tonight's reflection from Dr.

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Mustafa Abu Suay, and then at the end

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of that, we'll do some Q&A, inshallah.

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Bismillah, walhamdulillah, wa salatu was-salamu ala rasulullah.

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So tonight's section, number eight.

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Number eight.

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It's the eighth week that we're going to

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be going over this book by Dr. Mustafa,

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which is a collection of Imam al-Ghazali's,

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you know, what Dr. Mustafa considers to be

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his premier passages from his anthology, his body

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of work.

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This one is called, Do Not Eat Your

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Path to Heaven.

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Do not eat your path to heaven.

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So this is a longer passage.

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So we're not going to read the whole

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thing because it obviously has some substance to

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it in terms of length.

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But I'll give you some of the highlights

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from it in Arabic, but we'll read the

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whole thing in English.

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Now, Imam al-Ghazali is very well known

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for being one of those great luminaries and

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scholars that wanted to and achieved the reflection

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of connecting the ordinary to the extraordinary.

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Right?

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So the mundane into the spiritual.

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And one of his goals, as he wrote

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in his great book called the Ihya al

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-Umiddin, it's nine volumes.

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One of his goals was to cause people

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to think and reflect about how they live

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their life from day to day and how

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those actions day to day were indicative of

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their spiritual state.

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And so whereas many of us would simply

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factor things like our religious actions and then

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we would factor our mundane actions.

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We would keep those two things separate.

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Imam al-Ghazali was a large proponent of

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the idea of there is no separation between

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deen and dunya.

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These are one experience.

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Right?

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And as Muslims, his argument was sound, which

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is that as Muslims, everything we engage in,

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everything we do has some kind of implication

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on us as a spiritual creation.

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So, you know, whether it's what we buy,

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how we earn our wealth and what we

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spend our wealth on.

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These are things that Islam advises us on.

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Right?

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The language that we say, the tone that

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we use when we speak, the things that

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we wear or don't wear, the things that

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we choose to indulge in.

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And even in this section, the things that

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we eat.

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Islam, one of the things that is remarkable,

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and I was actually speaking about this yesterday

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with somebody I forget, was that Islam remarkably

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gives us very strong indications about dietary restrictions.

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We're all familiar with what is halal and

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what is haram.

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We're all familiar with, you know, the things

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like pork and the things like alcohol and

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carrion, you know, dead meat, etc.

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All these things that we should not and

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cannot eat.

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But Imam Ghazali takes the conversation a step

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further, and he doesn't only talk about the

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qualitative restrictions, but he talks about the act

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of eating and how it can be a

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detriment to a person's spiritual state.

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So let's go ahead and read the passage

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from Al-Ghazali, and then we'll talk a

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little bit about Dr. Mustafa's reflection.

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He says, the aim and the goal of

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every single person who possesses a sound heart

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and mind, every single person who is of

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sound heart and mind, their goal is to

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meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the

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abode of paradise.

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That's our goal.

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Our goal is to do as much as

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we can and to fortify our faith as

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much as we can in order to meet

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Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in Jannah.

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May Allah grant us that.

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And he says, there's no way to get

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to Allah except by learning and by acting.

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So if you don't know, you can't do.

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And if you don't know or do, you

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can't make it to Allah subhanahu wa ta

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'ala.

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And he says, it's not possible to learn

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or to act except without a body that

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is healthy and that is functioning.

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So he's trying to create this argument and

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he's reducing us from a high level down

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to the bare minimum.

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He's saying, okay, we all want to achieve

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the highest levels of paradise.

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We know what is required.

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We have to go on the straight path

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of Sirat al-Mustaqim and we understand that

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that requires that we have to learn and

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we have to act.

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But in order for us to learn and

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to act, we have to be healthy, active

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creatures.

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We have to be able to get up

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and move around and do things.

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And that requires that our body be in

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a good state, in a functional state.

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And he says, a person cannot be healthy

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and functional without food and drink.

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This is the way Allah created us.

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The actual law of our sustenance is that,

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much like you guys are enjoying the drinks

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and the empanadas and the pastries.

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Why?

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Because there's calories, there's units of energy and

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those units of energy help you keep going.

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So he says, this is why the scholars

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famously said, one of the great scholars said

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that, الأكل من الدين This is the relationship

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that the scholar is tracing.

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That food and eating, the action of eating

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food is actually part of your religion.

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Not from a halal and haram standpoint.

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Not talking about bacon cheeseburger and red wine

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and this and that.

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No, that's not what he was saying.

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الأكل من الدين means that when a person

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eats, they are entering into a mode of

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sustaining their body so that they can worship

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Allah.

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And then Allah in the Quran, he says

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what?

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He says, eat from the pure foods.

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قُلُوا مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَعْمَلَ الصَّالِحَةِ He says, eat

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from the pure sustenance and then do good

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deeds.

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In the Quran, whenever Allah has two concepts

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that are joined together, even if they're seemingly

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unrelated like eating pure food and doing good

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deeds, there's no clear tangible relationship.

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But upon further review and reflection, you understand

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that a person, the quality of their sustenance

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affects the quality of their input-output.

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And so, he says, Therefore, whoever approaches food

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in order to assist themselves in learning about

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their Lord and about doing good deeds and

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strengthening themselves in piety, they should make sure

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to not eat excessively like a grazing animal

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in a pasture because that leads to corruption

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in their religion.

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And then he finishes by saying, Whatever leads

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to a righteous illuminated religious path should also

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have that same light of religion reflected on

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it.

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So what he's saying is basically, religion does

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not stop illuminating when it comes to salah

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and when it comes to zakat and all

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of the things that are religious.

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No, religion should illuminate all of our actions

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including the food that we eat.

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So let's read what Dr. Mustafa Abu Suayy

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says in his analysis.

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He says, Imam Ghazali brings forth the above

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passage, the highest aim of one's life, meeting

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Allah.

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And he goes that this is something that

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the most wise people understand.

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And he says, Those who are not wise

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are always distracted by things that pull them

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away from this goal.

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And he said that modern life is inherently

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distracting.

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So wise people know their goal, unwise people

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are tempted to be distracted, and the life

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that we live is an inherently distracting life.

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And he says, But one should work to

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make sure that every step they take is

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a spiritually transforming step.

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Every single move that we make should have

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some impact on our soul and our relationship

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with Allah.

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Thus he said, If a person is wise,

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every act they do can be for the

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sake of Allah.

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Every act that they do can have a

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good intention.

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This includes, he says, eating and drinking food,

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not just to enjoy the food and enjoy

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the drink, but to utilize that food and

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drink to re-energize oneself and to worship

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Allah.

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He says, This would fulfill the Quranic verse

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that advocates eating wholesome food and doing good

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deeds.

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Eating, therefore, he says, is considered a religious

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act.

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Eating food is considered a religious act because

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it has good associated with it.

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So with that, please go to sohbah, inshallah,

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and buy more.

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We should put this hadith up there, this

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chapter up there.

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He says, Refraining from eating to the point

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of exhaustion is considered sinful.

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Meaning refraining from eating to the point where

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you can't fulfill your prayers or you can't

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fulfill your responsibilities is actually considered sinful.

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So it's, subhanallah, eating is considered a necessary

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obligation but also is considered a noble deed

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because it helps you keep worshipping Allah subhanahu

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wa ta'ala.

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But he said that consuming food, Imam Ghazali

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warns, should not lead to overeating just like

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animals because everything that a Muslim does in

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the picture that they're painting should have spirituality

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involved.

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The Prophet ﷺ practices us, or the Prophet

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ﷺ's practice, I'm sorry, teaches us that nothing

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that the human being fills is worse than

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the stomach and that there is a proper

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food amount that they should intake.

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Now, let me share with you some narrations

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and he finishes his analysis there.

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Let me finish with some narrations of the

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Prophet ﷺ that I think are interesting and

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it's important for us to kind of center

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this conversation, right?

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This conversation is not talking about any person's

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body shape or size.

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Notice how Imam Ghazali did not talk about

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people that are tall, short, this and nothing.

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This is actually not a matter of a

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person's body size as much as it is

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a matter of what?

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Them indulging in the action of eating, right?

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Because there are many different types of people

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with different sort of metabolic rates and abilities

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to digest or abilities to process the energy

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differently.

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So this is not talking about that, meaning

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he's saying this is more about an internal

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desire more so than it is any external

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indication.

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So as I read to you these narrations,

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I don't want you to think that this

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is the prophetic proof for the keto diet

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or something.

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That's not what this is.

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This is the Prophet ﷺ talking about what?

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Controlling your desires, controlling the desire of eating.

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He says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ,

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it was reported to have said that the

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son of Adam, the human being, cannot fill

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a vessel worse than their stomach.

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Meaning that the filling to the brim of

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one's stomach is one of the most harmful

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and detrimental things that a person can do.

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He then clarifies and he says what the

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person needs to do is بِحَسْبِ إِبْنَ آدَمًا

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أُقَلَاتٌ يُقِمْنَا صُلْبَهُ That all that the human

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being should do is eat enough so that

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their back is straight which means that they're

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not keeled over from hunger.

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But then he says فَإِنْ كَانَ لَا مَحَالَةَ

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فَثُلُثُ لِلطُعَامِهِ وَثُلُثُ لِلشُرَابِهِ وَثُلُثٌ لِنَفْسِهِ That if

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it's not possible for a person to stop

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because they enjoy the food, if that's not

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possible, then famously we've all heard there is

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one-third for food, one-third for drink

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and one-third that a person can breathe.

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How many of you guys have heard the

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one-third, one-third, one-third reference before?

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Okay, so this is where it comes from.

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But here's the interesting thing.

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When you look at the hadith of the

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Prophet ﷺ, he's not saying that one-third,

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one-third, one-third is the ideal amount.

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He's actually saying that that is the maximum.

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If you need more, then have one-third

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food, one-third drink and one-third for

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breathing.

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So this is the height.

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Now what is sinful according to Islam is

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to go beyond this.

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And I think all of us can understand.

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And we probably have stories of when we've

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gone beyond this, when we've eaten too much,

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okay?

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And what it does, subhanAllah, is you notice

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in this hadith, the third that's for breathing

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gets removed, gets taken away.

00:13:55 --> 00:13:57

And actually when a person eats to their

00:13:57 --> 00:13:59

fill or beyond their fill, I should say,

00:13:59 --> 00:14:01

when a person eats beyond their fill, they

00:14:01 --> 00:14:04

actually lose the ability to breathe properly.

00:14:04 --> 00:14:05

That's why most people when they eat too

00:14:05 --> 00:14:06

much, they have to do what?

00:14:07 --> 00:14:09

They got to go lie down, right?

00:14:10 --> 00:14:11

They put on a pair of sweatpants and

00:14:11 --> 00:14:12

they find the nearest couch.

00:14:13 --> 00:14:14

And they're like, let me go, let me

00:14:14 --> 00:14:16

go, let me go, I can't breathe.

00:14:16 --> 00:14:17

Like I have to go lay down, right?

00:14:18 --> 00:14:22

Now subhanAllah, it is so interesting that this

00:14:22 --> 00:14:25

very same item of food that we enjoy,

00:14:25 --> 00:14:27

that we look forward to, many of us

00:14:27 --> 00:14:28

probably, maybe we didn't eat dinner yet.

00:14:28 --> 00:14:30

We're like, we're like hungry.

00:14:30 --> 00:14:32

We're exciting, we're excited to have food.

00:14:32 --> 00:14:33

We're excited to eat.

00:14:33 --> 00:14:34

Many of us as we look forward to

00:14:34 --> 00:14:37

that, if we eat too much, that same

00:14:37 --> 00:14:39

object of desire becomes like the most repulsive

00:14:39 --> 00:14:40

thing to us.

00:14:41 --> 00:14:42

Like you eat to the extent that now

00:14:42 --> 00:14:44

you're like, oh man, I can't even look

00:14:44 --> 00:14:45

at that anymore.

00:14:45 --> 00:14:47

All within 30 minutes.

00:14:48 --> 00:14:50

And so this is a demonstration again of

00:14:50 --> 00:14:54

the temporary nature of this material, this substance.

00:14:54 --> 00:14:57

Another narration that is mentioned.

00:14:57 --> 00:15:00

So the first narration establishes what?

00:15:00 --> 00:15:02

That we need to have some boundaries, some

00:15:02 --> 00:15:03

guidelines.

00:15:03 --> 00:15:05

And those guidelines should be what?

00:15:05 --> 00:15:07

Eat as much as you need to be

00:15:07 --> 00:15:07

able to function.

00:15:08 --> 00:15:10

And if you want to eat more because

00:15:10 --> 00:15:12

something tastes good or something, you know, it's

00:15:12 --> 00:15:14

satiating you, then you can.

00:15:14 --> 00:15:16

But don't go beyond the point where you

00:15:16 --> 00:15:17

don't have any air left.

00:15:17 --> 00:15:19

Your diaphragm expands and you don't have any

00:15:19 --> 00:15:20

room to breathe.

00:15:20 --> 00:15:21

Okay?

00:15:21 --> 00:15:24

The next narration the Prophet ﷺ taught us

00:15:24 --> 00:15:26

is that in order for us to understand

00:15:26 --> 00:15:28

the value of food, it's not only about

00:15:28 --> 00:15:31

eating it in the right quantities, but we

00:15:31 --> 00:15:32

will eat things in the right quantities when

00:15:32 --> 00:15:34

we understand the blessing of food.

00:15:35 --> 00:15:36

I don't know if you guys have ever

00:15:36 --> 00:15:40

had an experience where you may have ordered

00:15:40 --> 00:15:43

a little bit, you know, not enough.

00:15:43 --> 00:15:44

Right?

00:15:44 --> 00:15:45

So you have people over or something, you

00:15:45 --> 00:15:45

didn't.

00:15:46 --> 00:15:48

And subhanallah, there's a hadith of the Prophet

00:15:48 --> 00:15:50

ﷺ where he says that, you know, enough

00:15:50 --> 00:15:51

for two is enough for three.

00:15:51 --> 00:15:53

And enough for three is enough for four.

00:15:53 --> 00:15:55

And there's this understanding that we have in

00:15:55 --> 00:15:59

our tradition that food carries barakah with it,

00:15:59 --> 00:16:00

that food has blessings.

00:16:00 --> 00:16:01

Blessing meaning what?

00:16:02 --> 00:16:03

That a little bit goes a long way.

00:16:04 --> 00:16:06

Now, what makes a person think there's not

00:16:06 --> 00:16:08

enough is actually not the food itself, it's

00:16:08 --> 00:16:09

their perception of the food.

00:16:10 --> 00:16:12

So if you order, for example, for two

00:16:12 --> 00:16:14

people, and it's like a plate of rice

00:16:14 --> 00:16:17

and some chicken or something, if both people

00:16:17 --> 00:16:18

are hungry, what are they doing?

00:16:19 --> 00:16:21

They're like, that's not enough.

00:16:22 --> 00:16:22

Right?

00:16:22 --> 00:16:24

I could eat all that by myself.

00:16:25 --> 00:16:26

And so I don't know how this is

00:16:26 --> 00:16:26

going to work.

00:16:27 --> 00:16:30

The person is eating with their eyes.

00:16:30 --> 00:16:32

They're not actually eating with their stomach.

00:16:32 --> 00:16:34

And what they find is that as they

00:16:34 --> 00:16:37

begin to eat and enjoy the food, they're

00:16:37 --> 00:16:39

so appreciative of every bite that by the

00:16:39 --> 00:16:41

time they get done with like a small

00:16:41 --> 00:16:43

portion of it, they say, you know, I'm

00:16:43 --> 00:16:43

actually good.

00:16:43 --> 00:16:45

Like alhamdulillah, I'm actually full.

00:16:45 --> 00:16:48

This happens miraculously in Ramadan when it's time

00:16:48 --> 00:16:49

to serve iftar.

00:16:49 --> 00:16:53

You have a small like samosa or like

00:16:53 --> 00:16:55

some dates and water and a small pastry

00:16:55 --> 00:16:57

or something, maybe some fruit salad.

00:16:57 --> 00:16:59

If you're a desi, you put some spice

00:16:59 --> 00:16:59

on that fruit salad.

00:17:00 --> 00:17:00

Okay?

00:17:02 --> 00:17:04

And then you go pray or whatever.

00:17:04 --> 00:17:06

And then you come back and you're like,

00:17:06 --> 00:17:07

I'm actually good.

00:17:08 --> 00:17:10

And sometimes people like decide they want to

00:17:10 --> 00:17:10

serve the food.

00:17:10 --> 00:17:11

So they start serving the food.

00:17:11 --> 00:17:14

And after they serve it, subhanallah, the unanimous

00:17:14 --> 00:17:16

consensus from the people who serve is they're

00:17:16 --> 00:17:19

like, I actually don't feel the desire to

00:17:19 --> 00:17:19

eat anymore.

00:17:20 --> 00:17:20

I'm good.

00:17:20 --> 00:17:21

Alhamdulillah, I'm actually okay.

00:17:22 --> 00:17:23

I'll wait till after taraweeh or something.

00:17:23 --> 00:17:25

I'll have some food then.

00:17:26 --> 00:17:27

Where does that come from?

00:17:27 --> 00:17:28

Let's read this narration.

00:17:28 --> 00:17:29

This teaches us something very valuable.

00:17:30 --> 00:17:34

The Prophet ﷺ, he said, وَالَّذِي نَفْسِ بِيَدِهِ

00:17:35 --> 00:17:38

This is him swearing by the one who

00:17:38 --> 00:17:40

holds my soul in his hand.

00:17:41 --> 00:17:42

This is speaking about Allah ﷻ.

00:17:42 --> 00:17:49

He says that, النَّعِيمِ الَّذِي تُسْأَلُونَ عَنْهُ يَوْمِ

00:17:49 --> 00:17:55

الْقِيَامَةِ He says that the blessing that you

00:17:55 --> 00:17:58

will be asked about amongst the blessings, من

00:17:58 --> 00:18:07

النَّعِيمِ الَّذِي تُسْأَلُونَ عَنْهُ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ذِلٌّ وَبَارِدٌ

00:18:07 --> 00:18:15

وَرُتَبٌ طَيِّبٌ وَمَاءٌ بَارِدٌ He says, there are

00:18:15 --> 00:18:17

three things that Allah will ask you about

00:18:17 --> 00:18:19

on the Day of Judgment, meaning you will

00:18:19 --> 00:18:21

be questioned about how you handle those things.

00:18:21 --> 00:18:26

Number one, ذِلٌّ وَبَارِدٌ The cool shade that

00:18:26 --> 00:18:26

you experience.

00:18:27 --> 00:18:30

I know now we're like transitioning from Dallas

00:18:30 --> 00:18:33

summer to Dallas summer number two.

00:18:34 --> 00:18:35

Okay.

00:18:35 --> 00:18:37

But in the morning time, when it's like

00:18:37 --> 00:18:40

60 degrees and very nice, or do you

00:18:40 --> 00:18:43

feel that refreshing experience of like the coolness

00:18:43 --> 00:18:44

of the air?

00:18:44 --> 00:18:46

Or when it's hot and you get inside

00:18:46 --> 00:18:48

or get under the shade, do you feel

00:18:48 --> 00:18:50

the relief of ذِلٌّ وَبَارِدٌ?

00:18:50 --> 00:18:51

Yeah, you do.

00:18:52 --> 00:18:55

Many people, they overlook that blessing.

00:18:55 --> 00:18:57

And so the blessing itself when mentioned in

00:18:57 --> 00:19:00

abstract is like, oh yeah, shade is nice.

00:19:01 --> 00:19:03

But the one who experiences it when they

00:19:03 --> 00:19:06

need it most, they say, man, everyone underestimates

00:19:06 --> 00:19:07

how beautiful this is.

00:19:08 --> 00:19:11

The next one he says, ذِلٌّ وَبَارِدٌ He

00:19:11 --> 00:19:15

says, وَرُطَبٌ طَيِّبٌ And fresh sweet dates.

00:19:16 --> 00:19:18

Think about after a long day of fasting

00:19:18 --> 00:19:18

in Ramadan.

00:19:19 --> 00:19:21

Think about biting into that date, the first

00:19:21 --> 00:19:22

bite you have.

00:19:23 --> 00:19:24

The sugar that hits your tongue.

00:19:25 --> 00:19:27

It's like a nice juicy plump date.

00:19:27 --> 00:19:29

And you're eating it and you're saying, man,

00:19:29 --> 00:19:30

this is the most delicious thing.

00:19:30 --> 00:19:32

Even people who don't like dates.

00:19:32 --> 00:19:33

Some people are like, I don't like it.

00:19:33 --> 00:19:34

They eat it, they're like, this is really

00:19:34 --> 00:19:35

good.

00:19:35 --> 00:19:39

Because it's the appreciation that falls now.

00:19:39 --> 00:19:42

And then he says, وَمَعٌ بَارِدٌ And water

00:19:42 --> 00:19:43

that is cold.

00:19:44 --> 00:19:45

Think again about the hot day and the

00:19:45 --> 00:19:46

first sip of cold water.

00:19:47 --> 00:19:48

After you went for a run or you

00:19:48 --> 00:19:52

exercise, you feel so just exhausted and you

00:19:52 --> 00:19:53

have that cold water.

00:19:53 --> 00:19:54

Think about how that feels.

00:19:54 --> 00:19:56

Now, subhanallah, how does this all tie together?

00:19:57 --> 00:20:00

The more that we appreciate the little things,

00:20:00 --> 00:20:01

the less that we need.

00:20:02 --> 00:20:05

The Prophet ﷺ didn't say, you will be

00:20:05 --> 00:20:07

asked about the mansions and the luxuries and

00:20:07 --> 00:20:11

the palaces and the horses and the fine

00:20:11 --> 00:20:12

clothes and the silk.

00:20:12 --> 00:20:12

He didn't say that.

00:20:13 --> 00:20:15

He said, you will be asked about shade,

00:20:15 --> 00:20:17

water and dates on the Day of Judgment.

00:20:18 --> 00:20:20

These are the blessings that Allah will ask

00:20:20 --> 00:20:20

you.

00:20:20 --> 00:20:21

What does that mean?

00:20:21 --> 00:20:23

Allah will say, did you thank me for

00:20:23 --> 00:20:23

these things?

00:20:24 --> 00:20:26

Did you remember for these things?

00:20:27 --> 00:20:29

In Grand Prairie last week, Grand Prairie is

00:20:29 --> 00:20:31

like the opposite of Denton by the way.

00:20:32 --> 00:20:37

In Grand Prairie last week, suddenly there was

00:20:37 --> 00:20:39

a no water use order that was sent.

00:20:39 --> 00:20:40

I don't know if you guys saw this.

00:20:41 --> 00:20:43

So in the water in Grand Prairie, they

00:20:43 --> 00:20:48

had a fire extinguishing like solution or something

00:20:48 --> 00:20:50

that somehow some way subhanallah got into the

00:20:50 --> 00:20:54

water source and they told all of the

00:20:54 --> 00:20:58

residents in Grand Prairie, you can't wash your

00:20:58 --> 00:21:01

hands, you definitely can't drink, you can't do

00:21:01 --> 00:21:02

anything with it.

00:21:02 --> 00:21:03

The only thing you can do is like

00:21:03 --> 00:21:04

flush your toilets with it.

00:21:05 --> 00:21:06

That's all it's good for.

00:21:07 --> 00:21:07

Okay.

00:21:08 --> 00:21:09

So now I want you to imagine that

00:21:09 --> 00:21:12

you're staring at your faucet, you're staring at

00:21:12 --> 00:21:14

your fridge which gives you cold water and

00:21:14 --> 00:21:15

you're so used to it and then you

00:21:15 --> 00:21:18

say to yourself, man subhanallah, like I can't.

00:21:18 --> 00:21:19

It's gonna hurt me, it's gonna poison me

00:21:19 --> 00:21:20

if I drink this.

00:21:21 --> 00:21:24

The removal of that blessing all of a

00:21:24 --> 00:21:25

sudden now becomes what?

00:21:25 --> 00:21:28

Becomes perspective giving.

00:21:29 --> 00:21:30

So my in-laws live in Grand Prairie

00:21:31 --> 00:21:34

and so my wife mashallah, may Allah bless

00:21:34 --> 00:21:38

her, she's like door dashing water bottles because

00:21:38 --> 00:21:40

it's actually it's so far from us that

00:21:40 --> 00:21:41

the door dash would get it there faster.

00:21:42 --> 00:21:43

I know many of you are like she

00:21:43 --> 00:21:43

should have gone.

00:21:43 --> 00:21:44

Yeah, but you know what?

00:21:45 --> 00:21:46

Door dash is super fast.

00:21:47 --> 00:21:49

So we sent over like I don't know

00:21:49 --> 00:21:52

how many gallons of water and then my

00:21:52 --> 00:21:54

brother-in-law finds out he sends over

00:21:54 --> 00:21:54

water.

00:21:54 --> 00:21:57

So now my in-laws have like 3

00:21:57 --> 00:22:02

,000 gallons of water and subhanallah, the feeling

00:22:02 --> 00:22:04

in the home was what?

00:22:04 --> 00:22:08

I hope that this lasts us because when

00:22:08 --> 00:22:11

scarcity is a reality, it doesn't matter how

00:22:11 --> 00:22:12

much you have, you feel like what?

00:22:13 --> 00:22:13

This might not be enough.

00:22:15 --> 00:22:17

Few days later, the city of Grand Prairie

00:22:17 --> 00:22:18

tested the water, they said it's fine, you

00:22:18 --> 00:22:20

can go to use it and then we

00:22:20 --> 00:22:22

get a message from my in-laws, whoever

00:22:22 --> 00:22:23

needs water, come pick it up.

00:22:24 --> 00:22:25

You guys come get it.

00:22:26 --> 00:22:29

When things are scarce, we appreciate them.

00:22:30 --> 00:22:33

When things are plentiful and readily available, we

00:22:33 --> 00:22:34

lose appreciation for them.

00:22:35 --> 00:22:38

One of the things that makes us eat

00:22:38 --> 00:22:42

way more than we should is the availability

00:22:42 --> 00:22:44

of the food that we eat versus the

00:22:44 --> 00:22:46

scarcity of the food that we eat.

00:22:47 --> 00:22:51

That is a weird reality that can only

00:22:51 --> 00:22:53

be fixed by changing your perspective.

00:22:55 --> 00:22:59

Meaning, don't act and live and assume like

00:22:59 --> 00:23:01

I'm gonna have access to food all the

00:23:01 --> 00:23:01

time.

00:23:01 --> 00:23:02

When you take your meal, when you take

00:23:02 --> 00:23:05

your bite, maybe think to yourself like this

00:23:05 --> 00:23:06

is the last bite that I'll have.

00:23:07 --> 00:23:10

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiallahu anhu, the best

00:23:10 --> 00:23:12

friend of the Prophet ﷺ, he used to

00:23:12 --> 00:23:16

actually say Bismillah before every bite, not before

00:23:16 --> 00:23:17

the meal, before every bite.

00:23:17 --> 00:23:20

And he would say Alhamdulillah after every bite.

00:23:22 --> 00:23:24

And one of the scholars was saying this

00:23:24 --> 00:23:25

was a manifestation of his gratitude.

00:23:26 --> 00:23:28

He was so grateful for every bite.

00:23:29 --> 00:23:31

I used to work at an orthodontist office

00:23:32 --> 00:23:34

and the lady, Dr. Tayyiba, is an amazing

00:23:34 --> 00:23:35

person, very pious.

00:23:36 --> 00:23:37

And she used to bring food for the

00:23:37 --> 00:23:38

office.

00:23:39 --> 00:23:40

And I remember that she used to bring

00:23:40 --> 00:23:43

like, she was from Hyderabad, so her biryani

00:23:43 --> 00:23:44

was Mashallah amazing.

00:23:44 --> 00:23:46

So she brought her biryani and we'd be

00:23:46 --> 00:23:47

sitting there in the office and we'd be

00:23:47 --> 00:23:48

eating it.

00:23:49 --> 00:23:51

And, you know, like I would eat and

00:23:51 --> 00:23:53

I would clean my plate as best I

00:23:53 --> 00:23:53

could.

00:23:53 --> 00:23:55

And there would be like one or two

00:23:55 --> 00:23:58

rice grains, just normal, not a lot, but

00:23:58 --> 00:23:59

like one or two.

00:23:59 --> 00:24:00

I'm not one of those kids.

00:24:01 --> 00:24:02

The kids are like, I'm done and it's

00:24:02 --> 00:24:03

like the whole sandwich is there.

00:24:05 --> 00:24:08

So I would look at her and she's

00:24:08 --> 00:24:09

like a very classy person.

00:24:10 --> 00:24:13

Very, very Mashallah, like elegant, classy, like, you

00:24:13 --> 00:24:14

know, she's...

00:24:14 --> 00:24:15

And I would see her and she's literally

00:24:15 --> 00:24:19

picking with her fingers, her small fingers, every

00:24:19 --> 00:24:20

rice grain, eating it until there's nothing on

00:24:20 --> 00:24:21

the plate.

00:24:21 --> 00:24:22

It literally was like as clean you could

00:24:22 --> 00:24:23

eat off it again.

00:24:24 --> 00:24:25

So then I looked at her and I

00:24:25 --> 00:24:26

think she caught me looking at her because

00:24:26 --> 00:24:29

I was like, wow, you must be hungry.

00:24:29 --> 00:24:30

You know, she's like picking every grain.

00:24:31 --> 00:24:33

And she goes, no, I was taught this

00:24:33 --> 00:24:36

by my parents and my grandparents because we

00:24:36 --> 00:24:37

didn't have a lot growing up.

00:24:38 --> 00:24:40

And so everybody has to eat whatever they

00:24:40 --> 00:24:40

can.

00:24:40 --> 00:24:42

Now, Mashallah, she's an orthodontist.

00:24:42 --> 00:24:43

She's doing very well.

00:24:43 --> 00:24:46

But she never lost this appreciation for every

00:24:46 --> 00:24:46

blessing.

00:24:47 --> 00:24:49

And then she said something that just absolutely...

00:24:50 --> 00:24:51

Subhanallah.

00:24:51 --> 00:24:55

She said, I eat every grain because I'm

00:24:55 --> 00:24:58

not sure where Allah put the blessing of

00:24:58 --> 00:24:58

the meal in.

00:25:00 --> 00:25:03

And imagine that I'm eating and I throw

00:25:03 --> 00:25:05

away the part where Allah put the blessing

00:25:05 --> 00:25:06

of the meal.

00:25:06 --> 00:25:11

Out of my rejection for His blessing, I

00:25:11 --> 00:25:12

threw it away.

00:25:12 --> 00:25:15

So she said, I take a little bit

00:25:15 --> 00:25:17

and I eat every single bit of it

00:25:17 --> 00:25:20

so I can ensure that whatever Allah destined

00:25:20 --> 00:25:23

for my blessing, I got it.

00:25:24 --> 00:25:25

And this comes from the hadith of the

00:25:25 --> 00:25:28

Prophet ﷺ of appreciating every single blessing that

00:25:28 --> 00:25:29

we have.

00:25:30 --> 00:25:33

The Prophet ﷺ, he also said that the

00:25:33 --> 00:25:35

food that we eat is not only important

00:25:35 --> 00:25:37

when we eat it, but it's important before

00:25:37 --> 00:25:38

we eat it.

00:25:39 --> 00:25:42

Meaning, the animals that are consumed and the

00:25:42 --> 00:25:44

fruits and vegetables and everything that we consume

00:25:44 --> 00:25:48

should be respected even before it becomes dinner.

00:25:49 --> 00:25:55

The Prophet ﷺ, he said, مَنْ رَحِمَ وَلَوْ

00:25:55 --> 00:26:00

ذَبِيحَةً رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ Whoever shows mercy,

00:26:01 --> 00:26:03

even to the animal that they are about

00:26:03 --> 00:26:08

to sacrifice, then that person will be shown

00:26:08 --> 00:26:10

mercy by Allah on the Day of Judgment.

00:26:10 --> 00:26:13

The believer is so concerned about what they

00:26:13 --> 00:26:16

eat that they don't just see it as

00:26:16 --> 00:26:19

a materialist reality or a biological phenomenon or

00:26:19 --> 00:26:20

a transactional thing.

00:26:20 --> 00:26:24

They understand that this animal is something that

00:26:24 --> 00:26:28

Allah sent for me as a blessing, as

00:26:28 --> 00:26:28

a provision.

00:26:28 --> 00:26:30

And it's going to be sacrificed.

00:26:30 --> 00:26:31

Literally, it's going to be...

00:26:31 --> 00:26:32

it loses its life.

00:26:33 --> 00:26:36

So that I can consume it and I

00:26:36 --> 00:26:37

can have that energy.

00:26:37 --> 00:26:39

You know, one of the things that really,

00:26:39 --> 00:26:42

really caused our civilization as a whole to

00:26:42 --> 00:26:46

lose an appreciation for food is the hyper

00:26:46 --> 00:26:48

-production process of food.

00:26:49 --> 00:26:52

That things are grown and things are raised

00:26:52 --> 00:26:54

and things are processed and slaughtered.

00:26:55 --> 00:26:58

And it's like no one even knows where

00:26:58 --> 00:26:59

things come from.

00:26:59 --> 00:27:02

I remember actually asking a kid when they

00:27:02 --> 00:27:05

were eating a burger, I said, jokingly, I

00:27:05 --> 00:27:07

said, Oh, do you like cows or chickens

00:27:07 --> 00:27:07

more?

00:27:08 --> 00:27:09

Like for burgers.

00:27:09 --> 00:27:11

Do you like chicken sandwiches or do you

00:27:11 --> 00:27:13

like meat like burgers?

00:27:14 --> 00:27:16

And the kid goes, What does that have

00:27:16 --> 00:27:16

to do with food?

00:27:18 --> 00:27:19

And this kid was not like 4.

00:27:20 --> 00:27:23

This kid was like 14, like 12.

00:27:24 --> 00:27:26

And I remember like they didn't put the

00:27:26 --> 00:27:26

two things together.

00:27:27 --> 00:27:29

I said, Do you like cows or chicken

00:27:29 --> 00:27:29

more?

00:27:29 --> 00:27:31

And they're like, I don't know man, I'm

00:27:31 --> 00:27:32

eating right now.

00:27:33 --> 00:27:34

And I was clearly asking a question like,

00:27:34 --> 00:27:35

Are you gonna have the chicken sandwich or

00:27:35 --> 00:27:37

the beef burger?

00:27:38 --> 00:27:41

The separation of understanding where all of this

00:27:41 --> 00:27:44

comes from, it deadens the ability to appreciate

00:27:44 --> 00:27:46

the process that is required for us to

00:27:46 --> 00:27:47

even have it.

00:27:49 --> 00:27:51

The people that have to raise the animal

00:27:51 --> 00:27:54

from when they're young and care for them

00:27:54 --> 00:27:56

and when they get sick, nurse them back

00:27:56 --> 00:27:57

to health.

00:27:57 --> 00:28:01

And SubhanAllah, a lot of people tell stories

00:28:01 --> 00:28:03

about how like on Eid, maybe in their

00:28:03 --> 00:28:05

home countries where they may have come from,

00:28:06 --> 00:28:08

when they eat, when they have the goat

00:28:08 --> 00:28:10

or the lamb and they're gonna like sacrifice

00:28:10 --> 00:28:12

it, they have it for the duration of

00:28:12 --> 00:28:15

Dhul Hijjah and then they become like attached

00:28:15 --> 00:28:16

to the animal.

00:28:17 --> 00:28:18

And then it comes time for the sacrifice

00:28:19 --> 00:28:21

and all the kids, they lose their best

00:28:21 --> 00:28:21

friend.

00:28:22 --> 00:28:26

You know, as kind of bittersweet as those

00:28:26 --> 00:28:29

stories are, if you ever hear them, there

00:28:29 --> 00:28:31

is something woven in there and that is

00:28:31 --> 00:28:31

what?

00:28:31 --> 00:28:36

This person now appreciates every single element of

00:28:36 --> 00:28:38

what it means to have that provision on

00:28:38 --> 00:28:39

their plate.

00:28:40 --> 00:28:42

But the moment that we lose that because

00:28:42 --> 00:28:44

of this hyper-industrialized world that we lived

00:28:44 --> 00:28:48

in, where it's not even, forget even slaughtering,

00:28:49 --> 00:28:52

forget sacrificing and then forget the preparation of

00:28:52 --> 00:28:55

the animal and forget the packaging of it

00:28:55 --> 00:28:56

and all that.

00:28:56 --> 00:28:57

Have you guys ever seen someone break down

00:28:57 --> 00:28:58

an animal?

00:28:58 --> 00:28:59

How impressive that is?

00:28:59 --> 00:29:00

Forget all that.

00:29:01 --> 00:29:05

Now it's, I don't even have to cook

00:29:05 --> 00:29:05

it.

00:29:06 --> 00:29:07

All I have to do is just go

00:29:07 --> 00:29:08

and buy it.

00:29:08 --> 00:29:10

Someone else takes care of everything else for

00:29:10 --> 00:29:10

me.

00:29:11 --> 00:29:13

It's like we've removed the steps along the

00:29:13 --> 00:29:14

way that can make us grateful for that

00:29:14 --> 00:29:15

thing.

00:29:15 --> 00:29:19

The farmer who grows the vegetables or picks

00:29:19 --> 00:29:22

the fruit from the tree, they didn't just

00:29:22 --> 00:29:24

go to the store and buy that fruit.

00:29:24 --> 00:29:28

They waited and they were patient and they

00:29:28 --> 00:29:31

were resilient and they took care.

00:29:31 --> 00:29:34

And at the end of months of waiting,

00:29:34 --> 00:29:37

at the end of months of waiting, that

00:29:37 --> 00:29:41

bite of that apple or that peach or

00:29:41 --> 00:29:43

the berries that they're eating is a very

00:29:43 --> 00:29:46

different bite than the person who simply ordered

00:29:46 --> 00:29:48

it on Target Drive Up.

00:29:49 --> 00:29:52

And I'm a Target Drive Up fanatic, by

00:29:52 --> 00:29:53

the way.

00:29:54 --> 00:29:57

If they had like an archetype customer, it's

00:29:57 --> 00:29:57

me.

00:29:58 --> 00:30:00

But I have to admit and we all

00:30:00 --> 00:30:02

have to admit that we are deeply affected

00:30:02 --> 00:30:04

in our spiritual capacity by the world that

00:30:04 --> 00:30:05

we live in.

00:30:05 --> 00:30:07

And we have to undo a lot of

00:30:07 --> 00:30:08

these things.

00:30:09 --> 00:30:11

If you've never been to like an orchard

00:30:11 --> 00:30:13

or a farm to go pick fruit, go.

00:30:14 --> 00:30:16

Go and witness the process that Allah has

00:30:16 --> 00:30:19

designed in order to see how these things

00:30:19 --> 00:30:19

happen.

00:30:20 --> 00:30:21

So you can develop an appreciation.

00:30:22 --> 00:30:24

If you've never been to a farm, at

00:30:24 --> 00:30:26

least once to see the animals that are

00:30:26 --> 00:30:29

grown and raised with love and care, mercifully

00:30:29 --> 00:30:30

as the hadith says.

00:30:31 --> 00:30:33

And then that animal is sacrificed with Allah's

00:30:33 --> 00:30:36

name and then is broken down and then

00:30:36 --> 00:30:38

is packaged and sold so that people can

00:30:38 --> 00:30:39

have the nutrition of an animal.

00:30:39 --> 00:30:40

Go.

00:30:40 --> 00:30:41

Go and see that.

00:30:41 --> 00:30:43

So you can develop an understanding of just

00:30:43 --> 00:30:46

how complex the blessings of Allah are.

00:30:46 --> 00:30:48

It's not as simple as just ordering a

00:30:48 --> 00:30:51

dish or ordering something from Target.

00:30:51 --> 00:30:52

It's much more than that.

00:30:53 --> 00:30:54

We ask Allah Ta'ala to give us

00:30:54 --> 00:30:54

perspective.

00:30:55 --> 00:30:57

The last I'll share with you is this.

00:30:58 --> 00:31:00

It's a narration of the Prophet ﷺ.

00:31:01 --> 00:31:03

And he said that when a person loses

00:31:03 --> 00:31:05

complete and total appreciation for any of their

00:31:05 --> 00:31:10

blessings, for food, sorry, he says it affects

00:31:10 --> 00:31:11

them beyond what they understand.

00:31:12 --> 00:31:13

So we've talked a lot about making sure

00:31:13 --> 00:31:16

we appreciate them, making sure that we don't

00:31:16 --> 00:31:18

waste them, making sure that we also don't

00:31:18 --> 00:31:20

eat too much of it because usually eating

00:31:20 --> 00:31:21

too much is a sign that we don't

00:31:21 --> 00:31:22

appreciate it enough.

00:31:23 --> 00:31:25

When you appreciate something, when you love it,

00:31:25 --> 00:31:26

you savor it.

00:31:26 --> 00:31:29

If you brought back chocolate from somewhere that

00:31:29 --> 00:31:31

you traveled or you brought back Hafez Mustafa,

00:31:32 --> 00:31:35

the Turkish delights from Turkey, you're savoring it.

00:31:35 --> 00:31:37

You're not going to eat all those in

00:31:37 --> 00:31:37

one night.

00:31:37 --> 00:31:38

You're picking one.

00:31:38 --> 00:31:38

You're having it.

00:31:39 --> 00:31:40

Then you close the, you know, you hide

00:31:40 --> 00:31:41

it from someone in your house.

00:31:42 --> 00:31:43

And you go and have a small bite.

00:31:43 --> 00:31:45

You know, if you spend $25 on one

00:31:45 --> 00:31:47

of those dumb Dubai chocolate bars, you have

00:31:47 --> 00:31:49

one square and then you eat it and

00:31:49 --> 00:31:50

you're like, that's so good.

00:31:50 --> 00:31:51

You're not eating that joint like a Snickers.

00:31:52 --> 00:31:54

A Snickers, you can pound through three Snickers

00:31:54 --> 00:31:56

before the minute's over because they're everywhere.

00:31:57 --> 00:32:00

But you get that Dubai chocolate bar, it's

00:32:00 --> 00:32:01

different, okay?

00:32:02 --> 00:32:02

Pistachio one.

00:32:04 --> 00:32:07

So appreciation is part of how to regulate

00:32:07 --> 00:32:07

the consumption.

00:32:09 --> 00:32:11

So the Prophet ﷺ says, what happens when

00:32:11 --> 00:32:12

people don't appreciate?

00:32:12 --> 00:32:13

And we'll finish here because Maghrib just came

00:32:13 --> 00:32:14

in.

00:32:14 --> 00:32:14

So we're going to head over there.

00:32:15 --> 00:32:16

They pray at 7.51. So we're going

00:32:16 --> 00:32:17

to head over there, Inshallah.

00:32:17 --> 00:32:27

He says that, okay, he says, some people

00:32:27 --> 00:32:31

from my nation will spend their entire night

00:32:32 --> 00:32:36

drinking and eating and socializing.

00:32:36 --> 00:32:40

Like, you know, like socializing kind of aimlessly.

00:32:40 --> 00:32:41

I guess partying.

00:32:41 --> 00:32:42

I guess it's a good translation.

00:32:43 --> 00:32:51

He says, but by the morning, وَيُصْبِحُوا Subhanallah.

00:32:51 --> 00:32:54

That they will wake up in the morning

00:32:54 --> 00:32:58

and they will be قِرْضَةً وَخَنَازِيرًا They will

00:32:58 --> 00:33:00

be monkeys and pigs.

00:33:01 --> 00:33:01

Okay.

00:33:02 --> 00:33:04

Now, this hadith, when you look at hadith

00:33:04 --> 00:33:06

commentary, by the way, you don't open it

00:33:06 --> 00:33:07

up and you're like, they're going to turn

00:33:07 --> 00:33:08

into monkeys and pigs.

00:33:09 --> 00:33:11

That could be a prophecy potentially.

00:33:13 --> 00:33:17

But when you look at Arabic literature, what

00:33:17 --> 00:33:20

you find is that many times, animals are

00:33:20 --> 00:33:25

used as indicators of traits of those animals.

00:33:26 --> 00:33:28

So Imam Ghazali famously in other books, he

00:33:28 --> 00:33:30

talks about the lion, he talks about the

00:33:30 --> 00:33:32

dog, but he's not saying that this person

00:33:32 --> 00:33:34

is actually a dog.

00:33:34 --> 00:33:35

He's not your Egyptian mother.

00:33:36 --> 00:33:36

No, I'm joking.

00:33:38 --> 00:33:41

Calling your child, is a very self-inflicting

00:33:41 --> 00:33:42

insult, by the way.

00:33:43 --> 00:33:44

Because that's your child and you're the...

00:33:44 --> 00:33:45

Okay, never mind.

00:33:46 --> 00:33:46

So...

00:33:46 --> 00:33:48

In Arabic means you son of a dog.

00:33:48 --> 00:33:48

All right.

00:33:48 --> 00:33:49

Who's the dog?

00:33:49 --> 00:33:50

So anyways, so we're both.

00:33:50 --> 00:33:52

Okay, so...

00:33:52 --> 00:33:55

But what this is, is a rhetorical device

00:33:55 --> 00:34:00

that Arab literature uses to indicate the trait

00:34:01 --> 00:34:03

of that animal as being what?

00:34:04 --> 00:34:06

As denigrating the human being.

00:34:07 --> 00:34:07

Right?

00:34:07 --> 00:34:09

You're becoming lesser of a human, you're becoming

00:34:09 --> 00:34:09

more like an animal.

00:34:10 --> 00:34:11

So when we think about monkeys and pigs,

00:34:12 --> 00:34:13

what do we think...

00:34:14 --> 00:34:15

What do they behave like?

00:34:15 --> 00:34:16

Right?

00:34:16 --> 00:34:18

When you think about monkeys and pigs, are

00:34:18 --> 00:34:19

they like esteemed animals?

00:34:20 --> 00:34:22

Are they like animals that are revered?

00:34:22 --> 00:34:23

No, they're not.

00:34:25 --> 00:34:27

When you see a monkey, no one's like,

00:34:27 --> 00:34:29

wow, that monkey is, you know, classy.

00:34:31 --> 00:34:32

Curious George is as good as we got.

00:34:32 --> 00:34:34

Like after that, it was all downhill for

00:34:34 --> 00:34:35

the ape, right?

00:34:37 --> 00:34:39

Monkeys are not seen as being revered, esteemed,

00:34:39 --> 00:34:41

classy, you know, respected.

00:34:42 --> 00:34:43

They're animals, and that's okay.

00:34:43 --> 00:34:44

That's how Allah created them.

00:34:44 --> 00:34:46

I'm not trying to make fun of monkeys,

00:34:46 --> 00:34:48

but a human being being called a monkey

00:34:48 --> 00:34:48

would never be...

00:34:48 --> 00:34:50

If you call the human being a lion

00:34:50 --> 00:34:53

to talk about their bravery, or you talked

00:34:53 --> 00:34:58

about their strength, that's a different way to

00:34:58 --> 00:34:58

praise somebody.

00:34:58 --> 00:34:59

But if I said, man, you're like a

00:34:59 --> 00:35:00

monkey, man.

00:35:01 --> 00:35:01

The person's like, why are you trying to

00:35:01 --> 00:35:02

hurt my feelings?

00:35:03 --> 00:35:06

And then a pig, even worse, right?

00:35:06 --> 00:35:09

The indication of laziness, of sloth, of gluttony.

00:35:10 --> 00:35:13

So the hadith, I'm not precluding the idea

00:35:13 --> 00:35:15

that perhaps this could be a prophecy of

00:35:15 --> 00:35:15

the end of times.

00:35:15 --> 00:35:16

That's one thing.

00:35:16 --> 00:35:18

But what we can take from it today,

00:35:18 --> 00:35:22

right now, is that when a person spends

00:35:22 --> 00:35:25

their time indulging in all of their desires,

00:35:25 --> 00:35:32

food, drink, and partying, their following morning, right,

00:35:32 --> 00:35:35

the food coma hangover, when they wake up,

00:35:35 --> 00:35:37

they're virtually useless.

00:35:37 --> 00:35:39

They're degraded.

00:35:40 --> 00:35:41

They are not productive.

00:35:43 --> 00:35:46

They are, in their own way, they're useless.

00:35:47 --> 00:35:49

And they are reduced from the status of

00:35:49 --> 00:35:53

an honored human into that of an animal.

00:35:54 --> 00:35:55

And this is one of the things that's

00:35:55 --> 00:35:57

very important for us to understand.

00:35:57 --> 00:36:00

When a person misuses the blessings of Allah,

00:36:00 --> 00:36:03

it actually reduces their honor in the eyes

00:36:03 --> 00:36:03

of Allah.

00:36:03 --> 00:36:06

Allah gives us so many blessings.

00:36:07 --> 00:36:10

Our only job, we can never thank Him

00:36:10 --> 00:36:12

for them appropriately.

00:36:12 --> 00:36:16

You can never thank Allah reciprocally for what

00:36:16 --> 00:36:17

He did for us.

00:36:17 --> 00:36:18

You can never match what He gave us.

00:36:19 --> 00:36:20

And He doesn't ask that.

00:36:21 --> 00:36:23

You can never repay Him, jalla wa ala,

00:36:23 --> 00:36:24

you can't.

00:36:24 --> 00:36:24

There's no way.

00:36:25 --> 00:36:27

All He asks us to do with His

00:36:27 --> 00:36:29

blessings that He gave us is to not

00:36:29 --> 00:36:30

abuse them.

00:36:31 --> 00:36:31

That's it.

00:36:31 --> 00:36:34

And one of the greatest blessings per the

00:36:34 --> 00:36:35

hadith of the Prophet, salallahu alaihi wasalam, is

00:36:35 --> 00:36:37

the food that we consume.

00:36:38 --> 00:36:40

The purity of it, the amount of it,

00:36:41 --> 00:36:42

and the way that we respect it.

00:36:42 --> 00:36:44

And that we understand that this is something

00:36:44 --> 00:36:46

that Allah Ta'ala has given us and

00:36:46 --> 00:36:47

that we should not take lightly.

00:36:47 --> 00:36:49

We ask Allah Ta'ala to give us

00:36:49 --> 00:36:49

tawfiq.

00:36:49 --> 00:36:50

We ask Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala to

00:36:50 --> 00:36:53

make us those who understand the blessing of

00:36:53 --> 00:36:53

our blessings.

00:36:54 --> 00:36:55

And that we feel the weight of our

00:36:55 --> 00:36:58

blessings and that we consume them, we enjoy

00:36:58 --> 00:37:01

them appropriately, and we never let our blessings

00:37:01 --> 00:37:04

become a distraction from Allah Subhanahu wa ta

00:37:04 --> 00:37:04

'ala.

00:37:05 --> 00:37:06

We're going to go ahead inshallah and do

00:37:06 --> 00:37:07

some Q&A real quick.

00:37:07 --> 00:37:09

We'll do lightning round because we're going to

00:37:09 --> 00:37:10

have to head over for maghrib.

00:37:20 --> 00:37:22

Oh wow, there's so many different questions.

00:37:22 --> 00:37:23

Alright.

00:37:23 --> 00:37:24

Is there a dua or something that one

00:37:24 --> 00:37:26

can say in order to stay focused in

00:37:26 --> 00:37:27

salah?

00:37:27 --> 00:37:29

I just start making to-do list in

00:37:29 --> 00:37:30

my head as soon as I begin.

00:37:31 --> 00:37:33

Maybe make the to-do list before salah

00:37:34 --> 00:37:35

and then pray.

00:37:36 --> 00:37:37

There's a dua that I'll give you.

00:37:37 --> 00:37:41

اللهم أعني على ذكرك وشكرك وحسن عبادتك Oh

00:37:41 --> 00:37:42

Allah, aid me.

00:37:42 --> 00:37:44

Oh Allah, aid me.

00:37:44 --> 00:37:45

اللهم, everyone say it.

00:37:45 --> 00:37:52

اللهم أعني على ذكرك وشكرك وحسن عبادتك You're

00:37:52 --> 00:37:55

saying, Oh Allah, assist me and aid me

00:37:55 --> 00:37:57

and facilitate for me that I am able

00:37:57 --> 00:38:00

to remember you and that I am able

00:38:00 --> 00:38:03

to thank you and that I'm able to

00:38:03 --> 00:38:05

beautify and perfect my worship of you.

00:38:05 --> 00:38:08

So say that dua constantly especially before you

00:38:08 --> 00:38:10

pray and pray that Allah Ta'ala will

00:38:10 --> 00:38:12

give you the ability to have good focus

00:38:12 --> 00:38:12

in your prayer.

00:38:13 --> 00:38:15

But also, look, don't go into prayer with

00:38:15 --> 00:38:16

a preoccupied mind.

00:38:16 --> 00:38:17

Take care of what you gotta take care

00:38:17 --> 00:38:19

of and then do it as long as

00:38:19 --> 00:38:20

you're not gonna miss the prayer.

00:38:20 --> 00:38:21

So if it means you have to send

00:38:21 --> 00:38:23

an email or make a phone call, even

00:38:23 --> 00:38:25

there's a hadith about food, ironically enough.

00:38:25 --> 00:38:27

If the food is ready and it's waiting

00:38:27 --> 00:38:28

for you on the table and you're not

00:38:28 --> 00:38:31

gonna miss prayer, you should have at least

00:38:31 --> 00:38:32

a little bit of food and then go

00:38:32 --> 00:38:33

pray.

00:38:33 --> 00:38:35

Because now all you're thinking about during prayer

00:38:35 --> 00:38:35

is food.

00:38:36 --> 00:38:37

So the hadith of the Prophet peace be

00:38:37 --> 00:38:39

upon him teaches us don't set yourself up

00:38:39 --> 00:38:40

for failure with prayer.

00:38:51 --> 00:38:53

How do you balance ambition and working towards

00:38:53 --> 00:38:56

higher positions with knowing that our ladder here

00:38:56 --> 00:38:57

on earth is only to Allah, Inshallah.

00:39:00 --> 00:39:03

This session tonight hopefully serves as an example

00:39:03 --> 00:39:05

that you can use anything to get close

00:39:05 --> 00:39:05

to Allah.

00:39:07 --> 00:39:09

People who are able to succeed, as long

00:39:09 --> 00:39:12

as that success does not intoxicate them with

00:39:12 --> 00:39:14

arrogance and all that.

00:39:14 --> 00:39:21

People who succeed in their material aspirations, that

00:39:21 --> 00:39:23

might allow them to be able to support

00:39:23 --> 00:39:27

relief work or charity or building institutions, of

00:39:27 --> 00:39:27

course.

00:39:28 --> 00:39:29

Absolutely, there's no doubt.

00:39:29 --> 00:39:32

So being successful in your work, career and

00:39:32 --> 00:39:33

your...

00:39:33 --> 00:39:35

There's no contradiction with that.

00:39:35 --> 00:39:37

Some of the companions of the Prophet peace

00:39:37 --> 00:39:38

be upon him were very successful, very wealthy.

00:39:38 --> 00:39:41

But they never let that wealth or that

00:39:41 --> 00:39:43

success take them away from Allah.

00:39:43 --> 00:39:46

So you have to be hypervigilant to make

00:39:46 --> 00:39:48

sure that, look, Allah gave me this position,

00:39:49 --> 00:39:50

Allah gave me this platform, whatever you want

00:39:50 --> 00:39:50

to call it.

00:39:51 --> 00:39:52

I have to make sure that I'm not

00:39:52 --> 00:39:54

letting this take me away from Him.

00:39:54 --> 00:39:56

The moment that you start to feel that,

00:39:56 --> 00:39:58

you just reconsider and you kind of re...

00:39:58 --> 00:40:00

like a compass, you reorient yourself.

00:40:01 --> 00:40:02

Okay, what are some things that I can

00:40:02 --> 00:40:03

do to make sure that I'm not losing

00:40:03 --> 00:40:04

my rope to Allah?

00:40:05 --> 00:40:05

How's my masjid?

00:40:06 --> 00:40:06

How's my prayer?

00:40:07 --> 00:40:07

How's this and this?

00:40:07 --> 00:40:08

Am I going to the masjid?

00:40:08 --> 00:40:10

Am I listening to classes?

00:40:10 --> 00:40:13

Keep yourself regimented on that, right?

00:40:13 --> 00:40:14

But it's not a bad thing for a

00:40:14 --> 00:40:15

person to be successful.

00:40:16 --> 00:40:17

The last thing, wallahu alam.

00:40:20 --> 00:40:22

How do you overcome feelings of rejection whether

00:40:22 --> 00:40:24

it's a job or marriage despite this being

00:40:24 --> 00:40:25

the thing that you consistently prayed for?

00:40:26 --> 00:40:27

Realize that whenever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

00:40:27 --> 00:40:30

takes something from you or withholds something from

00:40:30 --> 00:40:31

you, He's got something better for you.

00:40:31 --> 00:40:32

That's just the...

00:40:32 --> 00:40:34

That's the situation for life.

00:40:34 --> 00:40:36

Whenever Allah withholds, He has something better.

00:40:36 --> 00:40:38

We ask Allah ta'ala to give us

00:40:38 --> 00:40:38

what's best for us.

00:40:38 --> 00:40:40

We ask Allah ta'ala to allow our

00:40:40 --> 00:40:41

hearts to detach from that which is not

00:40:41 --> 00:40:42

best for us.

00:40:42 --> 00:40:43

We ask Allah ta'ala to bless everybody

00:40:43 --> 00:40:43

here.

00:40:44 --> 00:40:44

Barakallahu feekum, everybody.

00:40:45 --> 00:40:46

Subhanak, Allahumma bihamdik.

00:40:46 --> 00:40:47

Nashadu an la ilaha illa anta.

00:40:48 --> 00:40:49

Nastaghfiruka wa atubu ilayk.

00:40:50 --> 00:40:51

Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

00:40:54 --> 00:40:56

We're gonna head over inshallah to the masalah.

00:40:56 --> 00:40:57

So for those of you who can take

00:40:57 --> 00:40:59

your chairs, the foldable chairs, we have the

00:40:59 --> 00:41:01

dollies are in the hallway.

00:41:01 --> 00:41:02

So if you walk through the hallway, you'll

00:41:02 --> 00:41:03

see them.

00:41:03 --> 00:41:04

You can just stack them on the dollies

00:41:04 --> 00:41:04

there.

00:41:05 --> 00:41:06

And then thank you for those of you

00:41:06 --> 00:41:07

sitting on the backjacks for just lining them

00:41:07 --> 00:41:08

up in front inshallah.

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