Abdurraheem Green – THE CALL TO ADVENTURE E-Reminders

Abdurraheem Green
Share Page

AI: Summary ©

The hero's journey is divided into four parts, starting with the ordinary life where everything starts. The call to adventure is a step in the journey that takes the "are of the" and is a positive step in the journey. The importance of fulfilling one's potential and finding one's own success is emphasized, as it is difficult to achieve goals in life. The journey is not about trying to excel, but rather finding one's mind to be flexible and adaptable. The speaker emphasizes the need to reframe the journey and consider other ways to achieve success.

AI: Summary ©

00:00:23 --> 00:00:27
			Salam Alaikum brothers and sisters, welcome to
		
00:00:29 --> 00:00:30
			the hero's journey.
		
00:00:33 --> 00:00:40
			Today we're going to be talking about the call to adventure. Part one, probably because I don't
think I'm going to come up with this today.
		
00:00:41 --> 00:00:54
			Now, the hero's journey, as we talked about last week, and if you want to be up to date on this
whole discussion, I suggest you listen to last week's episode,
		
00:00:55 --> 00:00:56
			because I talked about
		
00:00:58 --> 00:01:06
			what is the hero's journey, and what is really a hero. And this I will be constantly refreshing,
		
00:01:07 --> 00:01:22
			resetting our understanding what it really means to be heroic. And always remember brothers and
sisters, that you are the hero of your own journey. And that's something we're going to keep on
		
00:01:23 --> 00:01:27
			reminding ourselves of over and over again.
		
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30
			So the hero's journey.
		
00:01:33 --> 00:01:54
			I'm not going to repeat what I talked about last time, but let's talk about the call to adventure.
So the first part of the hero's journey is the call to adventure. And you can say that this part or
this stage, one of the journey of the hero is divided into four bits. So first of all, the ordinary
life, that's where it all starts
		
00:01:56 --> 00:01:57
			an ordinary life.
		
00:01:58 --> 00:02:14
			The second part is the call. And the third part is the refusal of the call. And the fourth part is
the push the thing that pushes the person to start the adventure to accept the call. So
		
00:02:15 --> 00:02:25
			we probably won't get time to cover all of those in today's episode. But first of all, I want to
talk about the first part,
		
00:02:26 --> 00:02:27
			the ordinary life.
		
00:02:28 --> 00:02:38
			So in a sense, brothers and sisters, the ordinary life is the life we're born into. It's the way the
world is that surrounds us.
		
00:02:39 --> 00:03:32
			And it probably doesn't need much explanation, an ordinary life, what is an ordinary life. But it
really very often is exactly the thing that people resist wanting to have changed the most, even if
that ordinary life is really appalling. If people get used to living that life enough, and they used
to get living that way, for long enough, it becomes normalized for them. And it's very interesting
to see that many people when abuse becomes normalized for them, when oppression becomes normalized
for them. When wrongdoing and tyranny becomes normalized for them, they actually strangely resist
changing it.
		
00:03:33 --> 00:03:59
			It's almost as if they want to stay in that horrible place. And that's really partly because human
beings, we are incredibly adaptable. We're incredibly good at surviving in all sorts of different
situations. And one of the ways that we do that is that we sort of conform to the situation or the
environment in which we're in. And we sort of accept it as the baseline.
		
00:04:02 --> 00:04:40
			And yet, in a sense, that helps to survive. And as we've understood in studied when we, in our
previous series, when we've been going through all these different types of cognitive dissonance,
all these types of different ways that our brain gets things wrong, and makes mistakes and jumps to
conclusions that are not necessarily the correct ones. One of those things that we have been over
again and again, is that bias, that confirmation bias that the bias that really we just like things
to, to be the way they are we don't really like things to change very much.
		
00:04:41 --> 00:04:52
			And we just just just generally we tend to look for things that confirm our preconceived prejudices.
And we find it very hard to accept things that challenge it.
		
00:04:53 --> 00:04:54
			On the other hand,
		
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59
			one of the things that drives us as human beings as well is variety.
		
00:05:00 --> 00:05:14
			At so it's interesting that we have this almost counterbalance this counterweight in our nature,
this almost this anxiety, this want for change, there's need for change. And that's really why we
recognize ultimately,
		
00:05:15 --> 00:05:45
			the hero. That's what makes the hero heroic. That what that's what makes them special. What makes
them special, what makes them heroic is they go against the grain, they leave the ordinary life
behind, they resist what is ordinary, and they go after what is extraordinary. And that is something
as human beings we value, we happen to value, something that is rare.
		
00:05:47 --> 00:06:00
			And we give value to rare things. And in a sense, the more rare thing is, the reality is, it's often
the more that we value it. That's why I suppose gold is
		
00:06:01 --> 00:06:31
			considered a medium of currency in exchange, because it's comparatively rare. I mean, there's lots
of other reasons, right? But scattered, it's the principle of scarcity, when something is scarce, we
value it more. And that's especially true if something has utility is something's actually useful
for us and it is scarce, then that thing becomes more and more precious. And I think what we're
going to see is, everyone ultimately realizes that that's the point
		
00:06:33 --> 00:06:37
			is that, at the end, people realize
		
00:06:40 --> 00:07:21
			the value of the hero, because at the end of the whole story, the hero is going to bring something
back to the community that is going to make it better that is going to improve their lives that is
going to make a world in some way, shape or form. However, what however little way, they're going to
make the world a better place. Right? So but let's ask the for let's talk about the first question,
the ordinary life or what's wrong with an ordinary life. You may ask What's wrong with being normal
and being an assuming? Doesn't Allah Subhana Allah love the simple people? Doesn't Allah subhanaw
taala love the people who are known
		
00:07:22 --> 00:08:01
			as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us there is a beautiful incident where one day the
Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was sitting with his companions, and the man passed by. And the
Prophet asked his companions who was sitting with him, what do you think of this man? They said,
Yes, we will lie he is. He is the best from amongst us. He's like, he's the most like, everyone
would like to be like him. Because if this man, if He intercedes if he goes, and he seeks, you know,
intercession, meaning if he goes and
		
00:08:03 --> 00:08:47
			asks for something, people are going to listen to him. So he's a man that is listened to is a man
whose opinion is, you know, valued. And if he was going to propose to some woman to marry, he would
not be refused. And, you know, so he's, you know, and he's wealthy, and he's this and so, the
Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam waited a while, and then another man came by so what do you think
of this one? Oh, messenger of Allah. He is really, you know, like, unfortunately, is like, you know,
this guy, if he talked to someone, and he tried to get his opinion, listened to no one would give
him any attention. And if he was going to try and get married, he would be refused and rejected.
		
00:08:47 --> 00:09:08
			Why? Because he's, you know, he's poor. He's done, assuming he's, you know, so the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said something along the lines of verily in the sight of Allah, one of
these bonds that you consider the least is more valued in the sight of Allah than a world full of
the first one.
		
00:09:10 --> 00:09:45
			And so this is something Subhanallah count counterintuitive. It's something that really goes against
the grain of what we think is normal. That Allah subhanaw taala does love the unassuming Allah
subhanaw taala as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that, you know, the poor will enter
paradise 500 years before the wealthy. So there are many, many benefits and virtues of simplicity of
poverty, even the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself.
		
00:09:46 --> 00:09:59
			Actually, despite his position and his status, lived a very unassuming life. His life in His house
was very simple. He slept on a very simple mattress that was stuffed
		
00:10:00 --> 00:10:08
			With reads, there was nothing in the house of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salam when he died
except cleanliness.
		
00:10:10 --> 00:10:37
			And even the Prophet SAW Allah while your son and few came across the Prophet sitting with a group
of people, you may not know who he was, in fact, this is what happened once a man came looking for
the Prophet, he said Which one of you is Muhammad? Because the Prophet was sitting with these
companions and the men couldn't see, because the Prophet wasn't sort of Lago it was some sitting on
a throne. He wasn't. The man had to ask, Which one of you is Mohammed Subhan Allah.
		
00:10:38 --> 00:10:46
			It just shows how the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was. So what do we mean that? Right?
		
00:10:50 --> 00:10:54
			The thing is brothers and sisters, when you think of a hero,
		
00:10:55 --> 00:11:34
			I guess obviously, in many ways, shape and form. The idea of a hero is shaped by the movies and the
stories that we hear. But you think about the prophets of Allah who actually you ascended. You think
about these people, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was telling us of the virtues, they were
heroes. Because remember, the hero has this call to adventure. And he is going to live an
extraordinary life, not an ordinary life. So already the clue is there. These people a Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he was identifying,
		
00:11:35 --> 00:12:18
			as you know, being valued in the sight of Allah subhanaw taala, that itself is going against the
normative values that people had in this society in this society. And that is what we find again and
again, that Islam is often pettiness, those things that sometimes the things that we may imagine,
are so important and are considered to be important amongst us, and not important in the size of our
mosque. And very often the things that people do not consider important or very valued and important
in the size of our lab. But remember here that everybody is the hero of their own journey, in
reality,
		
00:12:19 --> 00:12:45
			the hero and being heroic and going on the journey, the hero's journey for you to embark on the
journey of the true hero. It is not about what other people think about you. It is not how you are
in the estimation of others in the eyes of others in the account of others, not a Toll Brothers and
sisters, the hero's journey
		
00:12:47 --> 00:12:51
			is about how you are in the sight of Allah, of course.
		
00:12:53 --> 00:12:58
			And it is also about yourself, because in reality, those are the only real
		
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01
			measurements that count
		
00:13:02 --> 00:13:50
			how you are in front of Allah, and how you are in front of yourself. These are the only two things
that matters, because it is very possible that you could be despised and hated by the generality of
people. But you are heroic in the sight of Allah. And in your own heart in your own mind that you
know that you have taken the right course of action. And of course, when you look at the hero's
journey, it that's by definition what it is going to be. Because the moment that you step away from
the ordinary, the moment that you decide to do something different from what everybody else is
doing, then you're going to meet opposition as inevitable. You're definitely going to meet
		
00:13:50 --> 00:14:31
			opposition as worker. He said to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam when the Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam received the first revelation. And you know, he went to a deja and then deja
reassured him and they went to go and see what occur. And when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam told Baraka about what had happened, it was the cousin of the prophet and he had converted,
he was, you know, he was a Christian. And he used to write some pages on the injeel. He said to the
Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that no one came with what you'd have, he'd recognize that he
was the Messenger of Allah, and that the angel that come to him was Julian, and he said, no one has
		
00:14:31 --> 00:14:59
			come with what you have come accept that they will be rejected by the people. Now it's important
that the hero in no way shape or form is trying to be rejected. And some people make this mistake,
you know, they make themself strange, on purpose. And yes, though Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam said, Islam came as something strange and it will refer
		
00:15:00 --> 00:15:13
			In something strange sort of tuba, which means glad tidings, or it is a tree in paradise for the
strangers the horror bar, this is the reality of this journey of the true hero
		
00:15:16 --> 00:15:52
			is that you're going to be a stranger, you're going to be a stranger to yourself, you're going to be
a stranger to your family, you're going to be a stranger to your society, that is all part of what
makes it so heroic. That's what that's all part of what makes it something so compelling. That is
all part of what makes it something that is a story that is told over and over again, by so many
different people in so many different ages and so many different cultures, because there is a
challenge because it is difficult. But it doesn't need to be something that is necessarily epic, and
		
00:15:54 --> 00:16:14
			impressive to people. Like I said, brothers and sisters, the very nature of it may be that is quite
the opposite, it may be quite unassuming. And the path of the hero may not be at all what people
imagine. In fact, it very often isn't, it very often isn't what people imagined to be heroic.
		
00:16:17 --> 00:17:24
			So again, brothers and sisters, the hero's journey is not about impressing others, it's not about
being heroic in their eyes, that is a big mistake. Because that itself will be the opposite of what
the whole hero's journey, the whole journey of the hero is ultimately about. Because in reality
brothers and sisters, this, this call to adventure, this call to adventure by necessity, is usually
the impetus of it is a realisation of a danger of a threat that is being faced by the community.
Right? So it's not necessarily it's not really a threat to you as an individual, what motivates in
many cases, the hero in the realization that there is a threat, a threat to the people, they love, a
		
00:17:24 --> 00:17:58
			threat to their community, a threat to what is important to them. And that threat could be an
external physical threat, or it could be an existential threat. And it's very interesting brothers
and sisters that Subhanallah when you read the life of the prophets in the Quran, you read, look at
Loot Alayhis Salam, look how the people are treating him, look how they are abusing him, look how
rude and unjust and brutal they are in their treatment of him.
		
00:17:59 --> 00:18:21
			Yet he is motivated by such compassion. He really cares about them. He cares about his people, all
of the prophets, they care deeply about their people. They want them to be guided, they want them to
be on the right path. They want them to be helped. They want them to leave
		
00:18:22 --> 00:18:32
			the bad state they are in because they fully realize and understand the impending danger. So
brothers and sisters Listen, right?
		
00:18:33 --> 00:19:09
			What is this about? It's when I say leading an ordinary life, I don't mean not being a simple,
straightforward person. I don't mean not being unassuming because that's fine. You can be all of
those things, and you should be all of those things. You'll never get you you're not setting out to
be some superstar, you're not setting out to be some ego figure. That's not what it's about. That's
that believe me, this is the exact opposite of what it truly means to be heroic.
		
00:19:11 --> 00:19:54
			In the true sense, right? What it really is, is about an inward journey, what it really is about
fulfilling your potential, your real potential, being the best that you can be fulfilling your
potential. And only Allah can judge that and only you truly know in your heart. Whether you have
done that. That's the question brothers and sisters, that's the issue. Are you really fulfilling
your potential? Are you really fulfilling your life's purpose? Are you really making the best of the
gifts that Allah has given you?
		
00:19:55 --> 00:19:59
			And that's only something that Allah is going to judge and that's only something that you're going
to know
		
00:20:00 --> 00:20:41
			In your deepest deepest of hearts, so let us remember. So it all comes down to something that we
have been emphasizing over and over and over again. The issue of Nia the issue of intention, the
issue of motivation. What is your intention? What is your motivation? What drives you, brothers and
sisters? That's what it comes down to. Right? What are you going to do with your life? And this is
an important question. Because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he said that the two feet of
the son of Adam will not move from that place in front of their Lord until they are asked about
five,
		
00:20:42 --> 00:20:53
			your life and what you did with it, your health and how you cared for it, your money, and how you
earned it, and how you spent it and your knowledge and how you acted upon it.
		
00:20:55 --> 00:21:22
			First one, your life and what you did with it, you our feet, your feet, my feet will not move from
their place in front of Allah, until he has asked us What did you do with your life? You see? What?
And so look, we don't need to wait. Now. I'm asking you now. Ask yourself now. What have you done
with your life?
		
00:21:23 --> 00:22:16
			And what does that mean? What is implicit? In that question that Allah is going to ask you, what is
implicit brothers and sisters is the Allah gave you the gift of life, he gave you health, he gave
you life, he gave you a mind, he gave you intelligence, your mind is the same as my mind. It is
okay. Like we may have, you know, be wired in different ways we have stroke, you know, I may have
stronger neural pathways about some things than you. But I'm what I'm saying is, for nearly
everybody, the basic structure is of your mind is the same, that the basic capabilities of your mind
is the same. We have flexibility. This is you know, this is something Subhanallah that scientists
		
00:22:16 --> 00:22:36
			have become more and more aware of, is the amazing adaptability and flexibility of our mind. We can
keep on learning, we can do extraordinary things, if we are ready to put in the effort, if we are
ready to put in the effort. And I've talked about this many, many times, right?
		
00:22:38 --> 00:23:14
			It's all about how do we strengthen those connections in our brain, what what we give our attention
to what we give our focus to that is what formulates and that is what trains our mind to make us
better and better at those things. Right? So that is what talent really is. Talent is really just
focused and dedicated application to keep on pushing yourself to improve yourself brothers and
sisters, and this is the question, What have you done with your life? What have you achieved?
		
00:23:16 --> 00:24:05
			And again, please don't get me wrong. What have you done and what you have achieved? Does not mean
how have you impressed everybody else? Did someone write an epic poem about me? Did I get an
obituary in the times did I reach the 200? Most Influential Muslims? No, that's not what we're
talking about. We're not those things are not important in the sight of Allah. Did you have a nice
house? Did you have a nice car? How many kids do you have? You know, these things are not important.
Allah does not look at our external being how we are externally. Allah is looking at our hearts,
brothers and sisters, Allah is looking at our heart, have the purified have we made our intentions
		
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07
			pure for our lifespan?
		
00:24:08 --> 00:24:17
			Have we understood the essence of who we are? Are we worshipping Allah sincerely, and worshiping him
along?
		
00:24:18 --> 00:24:39
			This is what is important brothers and sisters. Right? This is what is important. Okay. So when when
Allah is asking us, what have you done with your life? What have you achieved? The point being is
you all of us need to realize our potential. We have so much potential, we really do.
		
00:24:41 --> 00:24:59
			Absolutely. Our potential is huge, and most of us totally underestimate how much we are really
capable of. Honestly brothers and sisters in no way shape or form. Do I consider myself an
extraordinary person?
		
00:25:00 --> 00:25:15
			I am not extraordinary intelligent, I'm not an extraordinary person, in any way, honestly, but
Subhan Allah when I think about the things that Allah has allowed me to achieve in my life,
		
00:25:17 --> 00:25:19
			and I don't mean from the point of
		
00:25:20 --> 00:26:10
			these things may not necessarily be impressive or, or necessarily important to Allah subhanaw taala,
from the point of view of things that are pleasing to Allah, but I'm just saying, I get amazed how
Allah has given someone like me, and I look at my life, and And subhanAllah I think that I have
learned to be good at a lot of things, a lot of things. And I, sometimes there's just so many when I
think of the list of them, and I just keep thinking of more and more and more. And again, I
honestly, in no way shape, or form, do, I think of myself as extraordinary but simple things that
most of us most of you listening today can do these things, but, you know, learning to read,
		
00:26:11 --> 00:26:37
			learning to write, learning, basic arithmetic, you know, some of the simplest things that just
simple life skills, they are actually quite extraordinary to think what took place for you to be
able to master them. So brothers and sisters, the point is, what have you done with your life? Like,
Allah is gonna ask you, you don't have to answer this question. What have you done with your life?
		
00:26:38 --> 00:26:51
			What have you done with the gifts? But let me think of, you know, some things that may surprise you.
In terms of the answers that Allah subhanaw taala may be looking for?
		
00:26:52 --> 00:26:57
			How about I served my husband, I served my wife, I served my family.
		
00:26:58 --> 00:27:41
			You see now today, in this day and age, maybe a woman is expected to have a career, she is expected
to earn money. She's expected to be a doctor or a CEO, or I don't know so many extraordinary things.
But these are things that are important to one. Absolutely not. The things that are dear and beloved
to Allah. I'm not saying you can't do these things. By the way. I'm not saying that you can't do
these things with a good intention and achieve many great things and beneficial things in Islam. But
primarily, Allah subhanho wa taala.
		
00:27:43 --> 00:28:04
			What did he What does Allah consider to be extraordinary? What is extraordinary in the sight of
Allah is a woman who is serving and caring and looking after her husband. Now, I know some of you
may be going oh, patriarchy this and that. Look.
		
00:28:05 --> 00:28:37
			Okay, let's agree. Okay. I'm not saying this is easy. This is the point. It's not necessarily an
easy thing. And it's not necessarily a pleasant thing. Because from our perspective as Muslims Oh,
and by the way, from the perspective of the journey of the true hero, it's this is not pleasant.
This is challenging. This is difficult. This is hard. This is a struggle. This is about fighting
demons,
		
00:28:39 --> 00:29:15
			and monsters. Yeah. The Hero's Journey is a hard journey is a challenge is difficult. So the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, a woman who obeyed who fulfills her Islamic duties. She prays five
times a day she past Ramadan, and she does her duties light Islamic duties and she serves in a
better husband will be told enter Paradise by whichever gate you please Subhanallah it is not a
cheap thing to enter paradise.
		
00:29:17 --> 00:29:20
			But the reward of this is so great.
		
00:29:21 --> 00:29:41
			It's may seem mundane, this may seem like nothing but it is not mundane, it is not nothing. It is
extraordinary. And it is hard and it is challenging, and it is difficult. But it's something that is
very pleasing to Allah. Why? Because it is difficult and it is challenging, and it is hard.
		
00:29:42 --> 00:29:54
			And this is what the hero does. Remember. Remember that that the essence of the hero's journey. The
essence of this call this call to adventure and it is an adventure
		
00:29:56 --> 00:29:59
			is the realisation that there is a need beyond my need.
		
00:30:00 --> 00:30:40
			The journey is here, the hero's journey is not a selfish thing. The hero is not motivated and cannot
be motivated by selfishness by just fulfilling their own desires and whims. And if it is some
narcissistic narcissistic drive for, you know, glorification, that's not heroic. Absolutely not.
That's not what the hero is about. It wouldn't really be heroic men would it. Other people may think
that person's heroic, but inside that person self is just doing what he or she finds nice and
comfortable and easy for themselves.
		
00:30:43 --> 00:30:52
			So brothers and sisters, you see, that's the hero, the hero is serving the community. They're what
they do they do for the greater good.
		
00:30:54 --> 00:30:59
			This is the essence of what the hero is about. So it could be that
		
00:31:00 --> 00:31:05
			or being your husband, caring for your children, your mother.
		
00:31:07 --> 00:31:30
			Here's a look at this. Right? A man comes the Muslims are just about in the time of the Prophet
salAllahu alayhi wasallam. They're just about to go on a hustle. And bustle is like an expedition of
fighting expedition. The Muslims would go out and they would have these battles. And you know, so
this is a hospital.
		
00:31:31 --> 00:31:37
			And so this young man, he wants to go and he obviously is full of
		
00:31:38 --> 00:31:53
			motivation by the great rewards of participating in this struggle in this husba. And you know, he
wants to go and he wants to join the armies. He wants to go and join the soldiers. And
		
00:31:55 --> 00:32:00
			so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says to this man, do you have a mother?
		
00:32:03 --> 00:32:17
			Because he comes he says, almost novel, I want to participate in this struggle. I want to
participate in this. And the Prophet says, Do you have a mother? He says, Yes. And the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, go home and serve.
		
00:32:19 --> 00:32:24
			Allah, you see, brothers and sisters, go home and serve your mother.
		
00:32:25 --> 00:32:35
			Because the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa Salam is saying that serving your mother is greater than
even participating in this. This fighting,
		
00:32:37 --> 00:32:56
			that's, again, goes, is a very, very counterintuitive, we immediately think of people who are
soldiers and who fight for their queen in that country and their land and their flag and all of this
and that we think of them as being heroic and not necessarily,
		
00:32:57 --> 00:33:07
			not necessarily at all. In fact, some of those people may be the worst tyrants and the worst
oppressors, and they may just be on the path of tyranny and oppression and injustice and wrongdoing.
		
00:33:09 --> 00:33:38
			You don't often think of someone you see, here's the thing is that, that the ordinary life, what is
the ordinary life? What do I mean by the ordinary life? Yeah, in this case, this young man, him
serving his mother is extraordinary. That's the heroic thing for him to do. That's his call to
adventure. Not going and participating in a battle.
		
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40
			No.
		
00:33:42 --> 00:33:46
			The same with off man, when the Prophet when when it's and this is the battle of brother,
		
00:33:48 --> 00:34:38
			and of man's wife, who's the daughter of the Prophet is ill and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam orders him to stay to look after his wife. That is extraordinary brothers and sisters. That
is extraordinary. It is not always what we think it is. You look up on us who served the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he was at was heroic what he did, in its own way. So I think if you now
understand really, what is going on here, I don't want you to think of being heroic in you know, New
Avengers terms, right? I don't even want you to think of it in you know, the in terms necessarily of
the stories we hear of the great heroes of Islam.
		
00:34:40 --> 00:34:45
			No, you have to understand what being heroic is for you.
		
00:34:47 --> 00:34:49
			What does it mean for you?
		
00:34:51 --> 00:34:51
			Right.
		
00:34:53 --> 00:34:58
			And often it means doing the hard thing doing the difficult thing doing the challenging thing.
		
00:34:59 --> 00:34:59
			Right and
		
00:35:00 --> 00:35:07
			challenging for you difficult for you heroic for you brothers and sisters. Right? So Subhan, Allah
		
00:35:09 --> 00:35:20
			Subhana Allah, it is very, very important to reframe this whole idea, this whole journey, because
this is about your journey. This is about
		
00:35:21 --> 00:35:36
			what is your journey? What are you going to do with your life? Is it a bad thing to say? That to
Allah on the Day of Judgment? What did you do with your life? I saw paradise at the feet of my
mother, I cared for my elderly mother,
		
00:35:38 --> 00:35:46
			may his face be rubbed in the dust, the one who one or both of his parents reach all age, and he
doesn't enter Paradise by serving them.
		
00:35:49 --> 00:35:51
			So what the prophet sets Allahu alayhi wa sallam,
		
00:35:52 --> 00:36:04
			what did you do with your life? You see, that is something the right thing to say that is not,
that's not nothing. That's something significant, that is something important.
		
00:36:05 --> 00:36:35
			You see, it's something extraordinary. But it depends on you and your capabilities and your
possibilities that are lost one of the lessons presented. And the point being here is that when you
do it, when you are serving your mother, when you are serving your family, when you are serving you,
your husband, or your community, or whatever it is you may be doing, you may do other things, you
may do things that people do consider to be heroic, because it's impressive,
		
00:36:36 --> 00:36:39
			in a sense to the wider community. Right?
		
00:36:40 --> 00:36:46
			You may go and you know, help the orphans and the needy and you know,
		
00:36:48 --> 00:36:58
			give food to the starving and liberate the oppressed. And yes, that might all of that is included as
well. But again, it's not because
		
00:37:00 --> 00:37:05
			you're, it's it's not because people are going to consider you heroic, is not what it's about.
		
00:37:06 --> 00:37:40
			It's about what are your capabilities? What are your? What are the talents and the skills and the
abilities that Allah has given you? And how are you utilizing those in the best way? Yeah. So this
is the, you know, this is the ordinary life which is contrasted with the call away from the ordinary
life, it's for you to be extraordinary. And yes, you do need to be extraordinary. You do need to do
whatever you do in an extraordinary way. And that's what's important.
		
00:37:41 --> 00:37:44
			To it's really about having a son.
		
00:37:46 --> 00:37:54
			You see, and that's what the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us, Allah has prescribed sand
in all things.
		
00:37:55 --> 00:38:01
			Right? So when you slaughter slaughter, well, you think, Well, you know, slaughtering an animal to
eat.
		
00:38:03 --> 00:38:03
			You know?
		
00:38:04 --> 00:38:20
			No, but you when you do it, you do it in the best and the best way that you can, it's not a pleasant
task to take the life of a living creatures not It's not pleasant, but you do it in the best way,
the Most Merciful way, the kindest way, right?
		
00:38:22 --> 00:38:24
			You take your time
		
00:38:26 --> 00:38:38
			to do it in and you take your time to do it in the way that is best and most pleasing to Allah.
That's what it means. Whatever you do, do it with Sam, as if
		
00:38:39 --> 00:39:02
			you are seeing Allah, but you don't see Allah but you know, that Allah subhanaw taala is seeing. So
this brothers and sisters, this is the first part of the call to adventure, the ordinary life and
then the call the call, who knows what the call may be brothers and sisters, the call, but
fundamentally, the essence of the call is really something
		
00:39:03 --> 00:39:59
			that is challenging, that is threatening your community. The key here is it's something outside
yourself. It's not about you. It's not about what is making you comfortable, is not about what is
making your life easier, in in the simple sense. Because this is going to involve struggle. This is
going to involve effort. This is going to involve taking you outside of your comfort zone. This is
what it's about. You have this comfort zone, you have this zone where you feel comfortable. You need
to step out of that to achieve more to Excel, you are going to have to keep pushing yourself. That's
what it means. What did you do with your life? Did you keep pushing yourself, didn't you
		
00:40:00 --> 00:40:16
			Keep trying to excel. Did you keep trying to improve and do things in an extraordinary way? And I
don't mean things, I mean good things. Right things, things that are pleasing to Allah subhanaw
taala.
		
00:40:17 --> 00:40:39
			Right. So this is the hero, the hero, his call is a threat. That is something that is threatening
his community. Well, you know, in the case, it could be your mother. Her old age is a threat, isn't
it? If you think about it, it's a threat to her comfort, it's a threat to her well being.
		
00:40:40 --> 00:41:12
			You see, it's not a threat to you. Right. It's something that in some way in the and the profits, of
course, in the case of the profits, it is the understanding that these people are disobeying Allah,
the threat to them is the threat of hellfire, the threat to them as the threat of Allah subhanaw
taala is punishment coming upon them because of their disobedience and their misguidance? It could
be so many things. It could be so many things, brothers and sisters, things that may seem huge, and
things that are relatively small.
		
00:41:14 --> 00:42:01
			And again, just it may not be one thing, it may be in fact many things brothers and sisters, right?
But the key is that you are going to be serving someone or something other than yourself. Yes, and
it is inevitably going to mean resisting your desires, resisting your knifes resisting what is
comfortable and easy view and putting yourself in some way shape or form in danger? Yes, that's what
it is. It's going to be a threat. It's going to be a danger to you. This is the nature, enjoying the
right and forbidding the wrong speaking up for what is true speaking guests against falsehoods and
injustice and oppression. Of course,
		
00:42:02 --> 00:42:06
			this is going to be potentially a threat to your comfort and your well being.
		
00:42:08 --> 00:42:18
			But what needs to be said needs to be said what needs to be done? What is what needs to be done?
Standing up for truth standing up for what is right. A lot of the time
		
00:42:19 --> 00:42:33
			is not easy. This is why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam What did you say? You see the
greatest jihad, the greatest struggle is to speak truth in the face of an unjust ruler.
		
00:42:35 --> 00:42:45
			Because that ruler has the ability to make your life miserable to take everything away from you. how
courageous is it, to stand in the fruit for the face of a tyrant
		
00:42:47 --> 00:42:48
			in front of them.
		
00:42:51 --> 00:42:53
			And to tell them about the wrong but they are doing
		
00:42:54 --> 00:43:00
			like Ibrahim did, like Musa did for example.
		
00:43:01 --> 00:43:08
			Anyway, brothers and sisters, this is the call to adventure. All of us have a call to adventure.
		
00:43:09 --> 00:43:13
			Not just once, but many, many times, maybe even
		
00:43:14 --> 00:43:53
			a few times a day, you might get a call to adventure. It may be one big call to adventure. Who
knows. This thing also can happen over and over and over. Maybe it doesn't just happen once maybe it
happens many many times brothers and sisters. That is it for today. I'll handle it. I hope you
enjoyed and are enjoying our exploration of the journey of the true hero and I hope you're
understanding a little bit what it means really to be a hero. Really. Okay. So until next time,
brothers and sisters we will continue in sha Allah if Allah gives us life until then a Salaam
Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh