Abdulfattah Adeyemi – We Are Victors Not Victims

Abdulfattah Adeyemi
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AI: Summary ©

The history of the title "the victory of Noah" in the Bible describes those who were victorious and not victims, as well as those who were not weak or weak, and those who were strong. The story also touches on the perception of the story and its significance to the culture of the time. A woman named Moqud was punished for protecting the book of Islam and faced trials related to her actions. The importance of embracing the idea of growth and success is emphasized, along with the need to be mindful of one's emotions and consider the potential consequences of one's actions.

AI: Summary ©

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			In a world filled with chaos and uncertainty,
		
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			find peace, guidance, inspiration and wisdom with Abdul
		
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			Fattah Adeyemi's official app.
		
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			The Quranic stories are all about those who
		
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			are victorious, not those who are victims.
		
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			The Quran tells many beautiful stories and there
		
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			are narratives that span centuries and civilizations in
		
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			the Quran from the humble deserts to the
		
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			mighty palaces of kings.
		
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			These are not tales of defeat, these are
		
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			not stories of despair, these are not stories
		
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			of helplessness, they are accounts of victory in
		
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			the truest sense of victory and this victory,
		
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			the victories of these prophets are not over
		
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			lands or wealth alone, but over despair, victory
		
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			over tyranny, victory over temptation and victory over
		
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			the trials of souls.
		
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			The Quranic heroes, the prophets and righteous personalities
		
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			are victors, they are not victims, for their
		
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			triumph lies in their steadfastness, their faith and
		
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			their submission to the divine will of Allah.
		
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			And I want you to take the story
		
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			of Noah for instance, for 950 years he
		
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			preached the message of Tawhid, he endured the
		
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			mercury, he endured the rejection, he endured even
		
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			the betrayal from his own family and outwardly
		
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			a person may think he failed, his followers
		
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			were few and the world around him drowned
		
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			in disbelief, yet the victory of Noah was
		
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			not measured by numbers but by the steadfast
		
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			commitment to his mission.
		
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			His ark became the symbol of salvation, it
		
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			carries not just a handful of believers but
		
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			the hope of the continuity of the faith
		
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			in Allah.
		
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			You see that in Quran chapter 71 verse
		
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			1 and from the perseverance of Noah we
		
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			learn the true victory lies in remaining steadfast
		
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			in the face of overwhelming odds that may
		
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			be against you.
		
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			The story of Noah, he was not a
		
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			victim of the people that he preached to
		
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			that didn't believe in him, but he became
		
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			victorious at the end of it all, that
		
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			is an inspiration for all of us.
		
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			Then look at Ibrahim a.s, a lone
		
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			figure that was standing against an empire of
		
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			idolatry, defying his people and their king, he
		
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			was thrown into a blazing fire and he
		
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			emerged unscathed by the will of almighty Allah.
		
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			His faith as pure as the flames were
		
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			fierce, Allah gave him that victory, he was
		
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			not a victim of society's cruelty, he was
		
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			the victor who redefined courage and trust in
		
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			almighty Allah.
		
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			That was Ibrahim, his sacrifice symbolized by his
		
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			willingness to offer his beloved son became a
		
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			timeless lesson in submission and is celebrated annually
		
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			by Muslims all over the world.
		
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			Then look at Yusuf a.s, he was
		
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			thrown into the well by his own brothers,
		
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			sold into slavery and in prison on false
		
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			charges, yet from the death of betrayal and
		
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			despair, Yusuf rose to become a ruler in
		
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			Egypt, he embodied forgiveness and wisdom and what
		
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			you must understand from here is this, he
		
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			was not a weak person, he was not
		
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			a victim, a weak person cannot be said
		
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			to be good at forgiving others because even
		
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			if you don't want to forgive, you don't
		
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			have the power to take revenge.
		
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			The person whose forgiveness of others is most
		
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			valuable in the sight of Allah is the
		
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			one that has the power to take revenge,
		
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			yet he forgave.
		
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			I need you to begin to understand this
		
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			is the meaning of being a victor, somebody
		
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			who is victorious, is somebody who can forgive,
		
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			not somebody who is weak and defeated and
		
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			you saw what happened to him eventually, he
		
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			forgave his brothers because he had the power
		
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			to take revenge and his forgiveness is supposed
		
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			to be a lesson for all of us
		
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			to learn.
		
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			Then consider Musa a.s, don't get it
		
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			twisted, Musa was not a victim to Firaun
		
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			and that story was not about Firaun, the
		
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			story was about Musa a.s, you observe
		
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			all of his trials with Firaun, he led
		
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			his people out of bondage eventually, he split
		
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			the sea by Allah's command and he shattered
		
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			the chains of oppression with the power of
		
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			Allah's divine revelation, his life was marked by
		
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			challenges and despite these challenges, his legacy is
		
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			one of liberation and courage and trust in
		
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			almighty Allah.
		
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			For you to see, Musa was not a
		
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			weak person, he was a strong personality, remember
		
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			when he gave somebody a blow and the
		
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			person died seven times, if I didn't mention
		
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			seven times, I'm just adding it, it's like
		
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			one blow, seven deaths, that was not a
		
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			weak person and eventually when Allah asked him,
		
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			what's that thing you are holding oh Musa,
		
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			it's my staff, I reclined on it and
		
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			I used to beat down folders for my
		
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			flocks, there are many other things I use
		
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			it for and Allah said, Musa, I know,
		
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			drop that staff you are holding and when
		
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			Musa dropped the staff, you know what happened,
		
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			the stick hit the ground and the stick
		
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			did not stay still, it began to move
		
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			and to quiver, began to waver and began
		
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			to be animated and lo and behold, what
		
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			happened, that stick, that staff became a snake
		
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			and for a person who is just seeing
		
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			this story for the first time, you will
		
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			think that okay, well it was the death
		
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			stick, then it became a snake, no, it
		
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			was a complete transformation from plant kingdom to
		
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			animal kingdom, I didn't mean that the stick
		
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			just started growing leaves, okay, it was dead
		
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			and came to life, it didn't just come
		
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			to life, it moved from plant kingdom to
		
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			become an animal and it was moving and
		
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			moving and Musa ran because he saw what
		
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			he never expected and Allah said, excuse me,
		
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			where are you going, go back, pick your
		
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			staff, didn't you tell me it was your
		
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			staff, go and pick your staff, now my
		
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			staff has now become somebody's snake and Allah
		
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			asked him to pick it back between you
		
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			and me now, I was not there too,
		
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			if you were there and Allah asked you
		
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			to pick the snake, will you pick from
		
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			the head or will you pick from the
		
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			tail honestly, you want to pick from the
		
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			tail, it will make more sense, so you
		
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			just like move around, turn around, see how
		
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			you can grab it by the tail, but
		
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			the Allah that I know will not want
		
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			Musa to pick by the tail and the
		
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			Musa we are talking about is not somebody
		
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			that will pick by the tail I believe
		
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			strongly that Musa gripped the head of the
		
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			snake, if you could grip the head of
		
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			the snake, then you can face somebody like
		
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			Firaun, the story is not about a weak
		
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			person, the story is about a strong man
		
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			and so he was described by one of
		
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			those two ladies, the daughter of Shu'aib,
		
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			he said, one of the daughters said, oh
		
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			my father, hire this man because the best
		
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			person you can hire is a strong person
		
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			that is trustworthy, now the story of Muhammad,
		
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			who happened to be the conqueror that declared
		
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			forgiveness for his oppressors, when he had to
		
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			go to Mecca, Allah says, Allah
		
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			said, indeed, I've already opened Mecca for you,
		
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			I've already granted you a manifest and a
		
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			conquest, a manifest victory, Muhammad did not play
		
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			victim with the people of Mecca, the prophet
		
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			did not gather weak people around himself, the
		
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			prophet gathered the people that he knew were
		
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			strong enough for the faith, for you to
		
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			understand very well, I'm saying it again and
		
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			again, Islam is a religion of power, Islam
		
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			is a religion of strength, Islam is a
		
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			religion of victory, but it all depends on
		
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			your perceptions about what you see and what
		
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			happens to you in life, let me tell
		
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			you about this perception, you all know Abu
		
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			Hanifa, one of the four right-handed caliphs,
		
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			there's a well-known story of Abu Hanifa,
		
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			Imam Abu Hanifa, he was imprisoned with this
		
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			very notorious thief, he had problem with the
		
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			caliph of those days, Muhammad Al-Mansur, there
		
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			was a debate and Imam Abu Hanifa's own
		
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			side of the story is that, no, the
		
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			Quran is the word and revelation of Almighty
		
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			Allah and then the other scholars, they had
		
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			different opinions and because that was the opinion
		
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			of the king himself, all of the other
		
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			scholars stood to the side of the king,
		
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			but Imam Abu Hanifa stood aside, he said
		
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			no, I will not accept for you to
		
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			adulterate this Quran, the Quran is what it
		
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			is, so what happened, they grabbed him, they
		
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			beat him up, they removed his turban, somebody
		
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			kicked him from behind, he fell and they
		
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			dragged him like that, removed his clothes eventually
		
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			and people were like, ah, ah, our Imam,
		
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			our Imam, they put handcuffs on him and
		
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			they shackled his legs and they were dragging
		
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			him like a slave, like a prisoner, like
		
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			a thief, they dragged him into prison, but
		
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			Imam Abu Hanifa would still not change his
		
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			mind and eventually, he met this thief that
		
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			happened to be notorious and the head of
		
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			all thieves in that place and the thief
		
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			just saw Imam, he would crouch to one
		
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			corner, he would be doing a scarf, he
		
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			would be looking morose, he would be looking
		
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			sad because part of the punishment of Abu
		
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			Hanifa was that he should be flogged every
		
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			morning and evening, then one day, the thief
		
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			approached him and the thief said they flog
		
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			me 1000 every day, but you know the
		
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			difference between you and me, Abu Hanifa, you
		
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			are supposed to be happy that you are
		
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			being flogged like this and humiliated, then Abu
		
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			Hanifa looked up, why, look at what he
		
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			did to me, the thief said you see,
		
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			you are being flogged for being righteous, while
		
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			I am being flogged for committing crimes, are
		
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			you not lucky, we are suffering punishment for
		
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			two different things, you are being punished because
		
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			you go to paradise, I am being punished
		
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			because I'll go to *, you are being
		
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			punished for defending the book of Allah, I
		
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			am being punished for defiling the book of
		
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			Allah, you should consider yourself lucky, then from
		
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			that day on, the perception of Abu Hanifa
		
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			changed and he began to almost enjoy whenever
		
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			he was being flogged for that because he
		
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			knew yes, I'm being flogged actually because I
		
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			defended the cause of Allah, now your perception
		
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			for suffering, for trials, for things you go
		
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			through in life, you have to be sure
		
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			you have a good reason for suffering, you
		
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			know some suffering in life, Allah will be
		
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			like, hey, yeah, you suffer, then I will
		
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			compensate you for suffering, right, you know that,
		
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			but there are some sufferings, if you suffer,
		
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			you suffer for nothing, you suffer for nada,
		
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			no reward for your suffering, so ensure that
		
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			your suffering, your trials are on the path
		
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			of Allah, an armed robber that is being
		
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			resilient, running away from being caught by the
		
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			police, that is resilience now, isn't it, hey,
		
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			you're still hard-working now, right, you're still
		
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			very strong, isn't it, but still, you see,
		
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			he's going to be punished for what he
		
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			has done, but for somebody who is resilient
		
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			on the path of Allah, you should be
		
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			happy that Allah gave you the opportunity to
		
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			pass through some trials, but be very sure
		
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			that you are going through trials and test
		
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			of Allah, not because you are weak, not
		
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			because you are naive, not because you are
		
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			ignorant, and not because you are stupid, and
		
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			not because you have victim mentality, you are
		
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			going through trials because Allah has brought it,
		
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			not that you brought it upon yourself, many
		
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			of the trials that happen to us is
		
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			because of what our hands has put forth,
		
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			we cause most of it by ourselves, beware,
		
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			there are consequences, many of us are not
		
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			going through trials from Allah, we're only going
		
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			through the consequences of our weaknesses and our
		
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			stupid actions, sorry, I'm using that word, the
		
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			victim mentality is the shackle of the mind,
		
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			if anything happens to you, what can I
		
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			do, I don't have power, this victim mentality
		
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			is a prison that is built not of
		
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			steel, but of sorrow, somebody can remove the
		
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			steel, but they can't remove the sorrow that
		
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			you brought against yourself, it is where the
		
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			inmates of the prison, it is where they
		
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			carry the weight of every hardship, every slight
		
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			and every failure as an unbearable burden, it's
		
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			a perspective that narrows the soul and you
		
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			begin to whisper, why me, why me, when
		
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			you hear somebody says, why me, that person
		
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			is having a victim mentality, the victim mentality
		
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			clings to pain, as if the pain were
		
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			a badge of identity, somebody will be like
		
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			just telling stories of helplessness, stories of blame,
		
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			stories of despair and some people just like
		
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			to wear their sufferings because they want people
		
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			to be proud of them that they are
		
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			suffering, when was the last time you ever
		
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			see a hadith that tells you that suffering
		
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			should be something you should be proud of
		
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			and there are some people when you are
		
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			telling them, you see I went through and
		
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			so, they'll be like, hmm, you have not
		
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			seen anything, let me tell you what I
		
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			went through, is it a competition to show
		
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			okay, who suffers more, you or me, the
		
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			people you see speak like that, they see
		
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			the storm and they ask why the sun
		
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			has forsaken them, why, they do not see
		
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			the blessing of the rain and they do
		
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			not see the cleansing of the earth or
		
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			the renewal that follows the rainfall, indeed they
		
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			lament the wetness of the rain, the discomfort
		
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			and the cold, they allow the clouds to
		
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			obscure the infinite possibilities of the horizon, the
		
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			victim mentality feeds on self-pity, then you
		
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			begin to organize pity party for yourself, the
		
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			victim mentality feeds on your self-pity and
		
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			they assign power to external forces, you look
		
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			for people to blame, you look for circumstances,
		
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			you look for poverty to blame, you look
		
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			for weaknesses to blame and sometimes you blame
		
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			your destiny for bringing such weaknesses your way
		
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			and for bringing such circumstances your way, it
		
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			shrinks the heart and blinds the eyes to
		
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			the wisdom in trials, to the strength forged
		
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			in adversity and to the beauty of resilience,
		
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			it cries out for justice but often forgets
		
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			that true justice begins from within, are you
		
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			just with yourself, it begins with the will
		
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			to rise and reclaim control over your soul,
		
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			Allah will not change your situation until you
		
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			change what is within your heart and the
		
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			quranic stories remind us that even the darkest
		
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			moments are not final destinations in our lives,
		
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			Yusuf will have chosen the victim's lament as
		
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			he lay in the depths of a well
		
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			or the shadows of a prison, he will
		
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			have been complaining and complaining but he embraced
		
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			the life of trust, he changed his chains
		
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			into stepping stones towards honor, to remain a
		
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			victim is to remain stagnant, it is to
		
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			drown in the mire of if only and
		
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			what if, how I wish I had and
		
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			you forget that within every hardship lies the
		
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			seed of opportunity, the victim mentality is the
		
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			wind of the spirit, the victim mentality swallows
		
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			where the victims crawl, while other people don't
		
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			know what they want to do you already
		
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			figure out where you are going, it's a
		
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			state of mind that sees trials as the
		
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			bridges not barriers and challenges as calls to
		
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			growth not curses to the victor does not
		
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			ask why me but the victor asks what
		
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			can this actually teach me if victor walks
		
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			into the storm with unshaking faith he knows
		
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			that every gust of wind every crash of
		
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			the thunder is shaping them into something stronger
		
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			something greater the victor knows that the teabag
		
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			will not let out the best of his
		
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			level without the hot water and when it's
		
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			inside the hot water it basks in it
		
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			with resilience knowing fully well that this is
		
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			where the best of my flavors will be
		
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			let out the victor do not deny pain
		
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			and did not dismiss adversity but they embrace
		
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			as a teacher they understand that refinement comes
		
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			through the ordeal of hardship the victor does
		
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			not relinquish control to external forces they remember
		
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			that is the ultimate planner and that every
		
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			trial every trial is a part of a
		
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			divine wisdom that is beyond human comprehension this
		
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			mentality is not born out of arrogance but
		
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			out of submission submission to the will of
		
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			Allah to the belief that the soul is
		
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			never given a burden that is greater than
		
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			what it can bear Allah does not burden
		
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			his soul beyond what it can bear the
		
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			victim mentality is embodied in the prophets Ibrahim
		
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			a.s stood before the fire not as
		
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			a victim but as a victor and so
		
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			you have the choice to make life presents
		
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			choice to be a victim or a victim
		
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			the different lies not in the circumstances but
		
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			in the response the victim sees a test
		
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			as a punishment the victor sees it as
		
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			an elevation after every trial Allah elevates you
		
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			and when you are passing through trial you
		
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			have in front of you the fact that
		
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			Allah will promote you to a higher class
		
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			the victim bows to despair but the victor
		
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			bows to Allah standing taller with every prostration
		
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			the Quranic narrative is a testament to the
		
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			victor spirit it calls out to the human
		
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			soul it urges us to rise above the
		
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			victim mentality to embrace the trials of life
		
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			as gift in disguise and to walk the
		
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			path of the prophets who triumphed not because
		
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			they were spared the hardship of life but
		
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			because they converted the hardship into worship the
		
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			lesson goes to all of us do not
		
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			let the weight of your trials press force
		
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			in your life let them be the button
		
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			that press play in your life or that
		
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			press fast forward to your life to process
		
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			your drawing closer to Allah and the ultimate
		
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			victory of eternal bliss in the presence of
		
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			Allah and finally for the women folk if
		
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			you observe the women mentioned in the glorious
		
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			Quran they were all matriarchs and great women
		
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			great women who are the ones you are
		
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			to emulate in the glorious Quran the story
		
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			of Hadnatu the mother of Mariam Mariam the
		
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			mother of Isra Ali sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
		
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			all of these women you hear mentioned are
		
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			great women in Islam for all of you
		
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			to emulate and you see what you can
		
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			do about that they were mostly matriarchs matriarchs
		
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			are women who are in control and in
		
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			charge of their destinies they were not laid
		
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			down people who didn't have anything to do
		
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			with their life you remember the story of
		
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			Bilkis the one that eventually married Suleiman Bilkis
		
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			was a matriarch she was not just a
		
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			woman like that you should emulate her story
		
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			know that the way Suleiman had his kingdom
		
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			Bilkis also had her kingdom you should understand
		
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			it is in that same story Allah mentioned
		
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			the story of the Namlu the Namlu that
		
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			is the ant that was calling the other
		
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			ants all your ants enter into your holes
		
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			so that Suleiman and his people will not
		
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			march you will not step on you without
		
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			and you see it is called Namla that
		
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			Namla happened to be a female ant the
		
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			one that was in control and in charge
		
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			in other words Muslims we are not victims
		
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			we should be strong we should be powerful
		
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			when trials come trials should come not because
		
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			we were weak not because we didn't know
		
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			what to do but because Allah chose that
		
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			trial for us and we can recognize it
		
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			like that when trials come in form of
		
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			punishment we should ask Allah's forgiveness perhaps we
		
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			have been negligent in some of the things
		
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			about our lives and if you look at
		
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			all of these prophets who have mentioned you
		
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			see that these episodes in their lives were
		
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			just part of the journeys of their life
		
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			and Nabi Ayub the one that was sick
		
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			for a while remember that he was a
		
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			wealthy man before Allah tried him with this
		
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			sickness and after the sickness Allah restored him
		
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			back to his wealth he didn't spend his
		
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			life as a downtrodden person let the believers
		
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			rise up to their duties and responsibilities let
		
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			us not be weak anymore let us be
		
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			very strong and let us be the kind
		
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			of powers to reckon with on earth because
		
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			this is what's supposed to be Allah has
		
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			designed it like that so that Allah will
		
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			make Islam to supersede every other way of
		
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			life that is the design of Islam that's
		
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			the principle of Islam and that's the mentality
		
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			of Islam that we are victors we are
		
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00:23:37 --> 00:23:40
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