Adnan Rajeh – Beyond Ramadan – What we need to do to be well

Adnan Rajeh
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The importance of acceptance and learning to support oneself and build a foundation for Islam is emphasized. The speaker emphasizes the need for evidence, praying outside of the Masajid, and providing basic information and choice of fields to achieve their goals. The importance of education, mentorship, and advocacy for individuals and groups within society is also emphasized. The speaker stresses the need for a way to support individuals and build a foundation for Islam, and the importance of working towards a narrative that is not racist or evil.

AI: Summary ©

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			He says, subhanahu wa ta'ala, say, it's
		
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			through the bounty of Allah and the compassion
		
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			and mercy of Allah. Through that, may they
		
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			find joy. It is better than all that
		
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			they possess that they will possess in their
		
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			lives.
		
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			Now if it's meant as a dua, then
		
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			I'm okay with it. If it's meant as
		
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			a statement, then it's false
		
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			because we are not well,
		
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			and that's fine. But if it's meant as
		
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			a statement,
		
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			I don't think it's I don't think it's
		
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			correct if it's a statement because we are
		
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			not well.
		
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			We are very, very unwell as an ummah
		
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			and as a community. We are unwell. We
		
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			have not been well for quite some time.
		
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			And unfortunately, as the years progress, we become
		
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			less and less well.
		
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			Nasal Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
		
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			But the re but the reality is that
		
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			these last 6 months
		
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			have been probably the the least 12 months
		
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			of our of our of our lives at
		
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			least in the last 10 years or or
		
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			so.
		
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			And after Ramadan, it's really worth taking a
		
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			moment
		
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			and reflecting and sometimes I feel that the
		
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			khutbah after Ramadan or the timing after Ramadan
		
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			is probably the most important for us as
		
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			an ummah in general.
		
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			Because we are offered the opportunity
		
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			to reflect and to contemplate and to make
		
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			some decisions.
		
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			Even Masood
		
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			would walk out of his house after Ramadan
		
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			and he would say,
		
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			He will walk on and say, where is
		
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			the one who is accepted so that we
		
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			may congratulate him?
		
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			And where is the one who has been
		
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			deprived and rejected so that we may offer
		
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			our condolences? Oh, the one who is accepted,
		
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			may Allah grant you
		
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			the blessing of the acceptance that you have.
		
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			And, oh, the one who is rejected
		
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			and is deprived, may Allah
		
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			grant you a substitution alternative for the that
		
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			you're in.
		
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			Hassan al Basri, Muhammadullah alaihi, used to say,
		
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			Every day that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is
		
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			not being disobeyed in in your life is
		
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			a Eid. And everyday that you focus on
		
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			Allah
		
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			satisfaction
		
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			on your obedience to Allah
		
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			and fulfilling
		
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			your purpose in the eyes of Allah
		
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			is for you a day of aid, a
		
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			day of celebration.
		
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			And what we do celebrate during these days
		
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			of Eid is Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala's bounty
		
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			upon us that we were able to get
		
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			through this holy month of Ramadan.
		
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			And we celebrate that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
		
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			granted us the strength to fast it and
		
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			to pray within it, and they granted us
		
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			the ability to come to the masajid and
		
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			to recite his his book
		
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			and to draw ourselves closer to him. So
		
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			that's what we celebrate. We celebrate our the
		
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			the ability to do that and what it's
		
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			going to mean for us moving forward afterwards,
		
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			which is what I want this I need
		
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			to discuss with you throughout,
		
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			this hot tuba.
		
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			I brought this up around a year ago
		
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			and I'll bring it up again today.
		
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			I don't see that there is innate value
		
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			in masajid being full. I know that sounds
		
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			really weird but I don't see it.
		
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			I know that Allah
		
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			calls his servants into his homes throughout the
		
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			month of Ramadan and masajid get full.
		
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			But my true belief is that if that
		
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			does not translate
		
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			into acts of worship afterwards, if it does
		
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			not translate into something else, it's almost as
		
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			if it is evidence that those acts of
		
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			worship were not accepted.
		
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			We'll never know for sure until we meet
		
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			Allah whether anything we did was accepted or
		
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			not. And by the way, everything that you
		
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			do has that possibility. May Allah subhanahu wa'ala
		
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			accept our deeds say I'm say I'm in.
		
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			We have no we have no evidence really.
		
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			We have no proof. No. We don't have
		
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			solid proof ever that your deeds are accepted
		
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			or not. None of them. Not one of
		
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			them. There's not one deed that you'll do
		
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			in the entirety of your life where you
		
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			could swear that's that it is accepted or
		
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			not accepted.
		
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			Period.
		
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			And since that's the case, as human beings,
		
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			as Muslims, we continue to strive until the
		
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			last moment because we don't know. Maybe everything
		
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			we did before was just rejected for reasons
		
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			that are valid for lack of sincerity and
		
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			lack of clarity and lack of commitment and
		
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			lack of grit and lack of love and
		
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			lack
		
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			and lack of humbleness and humility, and the
		
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			list goes on and on.
		
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			So we don't know. But the scholars have
		
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			talked about evidence, not proof. Evidence, meaning signs
		
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			that maybe the deeds are accepted. Talk about
		
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			signs and this is not something I'm making
		
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			up because the the scholars, they have almost
		
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			consensus on this issue. Their consensus on the
		
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			signs of acceptance
		
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			is the ability to continue
		
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			afterwards.
		
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			That is this one of the the main
		
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			signs of consensus of acceptance in the eyes
		
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			of scholars is that you're able to take
		
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			what you did and continue it or translate
		
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			it into something that is practical, that is
		
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			pragmatic, that is effective in people's lives, that
		
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			affects people's
		
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			that affects your lifestyle,
		
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			the change in your in your decision making
		
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			process, in your choices, in in in the
		
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			direction of your life.
		
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			So So when I talk about not seeing
		
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			innate value and message at full, meaning I
		
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			wait until see afterwards. If that translates afterwards
		
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			into people actually changing the way they live
		
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			their lives, I mean, they actually have direction
		
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			now.
		
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			They see what is valuable in this world
		
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			and they're moving towards it. They are trying
		
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			to satisfy Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in ways
		
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			that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has commanded them
		
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			to satisfy him.
		
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			They're living for the for for the well-being
		
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			and the best interest of their nation, of
		
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			their Ummah, they're trying to serve Allah subhanahu
		
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			wa ta'ala through serving others, then yes. I
		
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			think that the these these messiah
		
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			being full meant something. But if they didn't
		
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			I mean, if you go back to the
		
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			to exactly the way we we we were
		
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			before,
		
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			then I don't know. I think that maybe
		
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			that's a sign of the opposite.
		
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			Then that is to a certain degree a
		
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			sign of the opposite
		
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			that this didn't do anything. It didn't mean
		
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			anything.
		
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			Think about it. How many Masjid are there
		
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			in the Muslim world? Yeah, you do you
		
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			realize that most of these Masjid throughout, Yani,
		
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			the last 10 nights of rahulah, we're we're
		
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			packed.
		
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			It's nothing impressive about that. All messaged will
		
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			fill up. People will come to messaged everywhere.
		
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			But then what? What's the point? So I'm
		
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			a said before, so the imam prayed and
		
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			there was,
		
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			50 lions behind him. And people made dua
		
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			and everyone
		
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			was crying.
		
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			And then what?
		
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			If that's where it ends, then it just
		
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			didn't even it didn't even pick up.
		
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			If that's where it ends, then I'm not
		
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			sure that these deeds have made it to
		
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			the first guy, let alone make it to
		
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			Allah altogether.
		
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			I don't know that these deeds are even
		
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			making it to the first guy to begin
		
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			with. I don't know because Allah
		
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			he doesn't accept people
		
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			who compartmentalize
		
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			the deen.
		
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			And He doesn't accept someone who takes one
		
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			part of the deen, but the other part
		
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			doesn't care about. Yeah. I'll take the rituals.
		
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			I'll pray. But no. When it comes to
		
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			actual actual standing by righteousness or advocating, you
		
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			know, I've got student too much. It's all
		
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			I'll pray throughout I'll I'll fast and pray
		
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			throughout Ramadan. But I was telling Ramadan, no,
		
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			I don't do no. It doesn't work that
		
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			way. The the Islam does not work. It
		
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			doesn't function that way.
		
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			Not for the individual and for sure and
		
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			definitely not for the Ummah and not collectively.
		
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			In order for us to have some hope
		
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			of Allah accepting our
		
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			Ramadan
		
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			to to have value for us, we have
		
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			to make sure that after Ramadan, we are
		
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			able to use that fuel to allow us
		
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			to move forward. That's how salah and Ibad
		
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			has always been seen in Islam. It's been
		
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			seen as the fuel that you use to
		
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			continue to carry this message forward.
		
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			Oh, you were told that at the beginning
		
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			of his dua, pray all night. Half of
		
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			it if you can't do all night, maybe
		
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			a bit more, a bit less, But you
		
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			have to pray. Read the Quran and invocate
		
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			Allah and make dua.
		
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			Why? You're
		
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			gonna be carrying a heavy burden of a
		
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			message.
		
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			At night,
		
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			you have that part of opportunity to stand
		
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			and speak to me.
		
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			Why? Because during the day, it's a long
		
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			swim.
		
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			You have a lot of work to do
		
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			throughout the day, so you need your prayer.
		
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			You need that connection. Ramadan
		
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			serves as our fuel. It connects you to
		
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			Allah, to the almighty subhanahu wa ta'ala. It
		
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			connects you to Allah. When you're connected to
		
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			Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you're more likely to
		
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			be able to carry his message and do
		
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			the work throughout the day that happens outside
		
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			of the doors of Masajid.
		
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			The work that happens outside of the Masajid
		
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			where the actual work happens. Here I preach
		
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			to the choir. Here I speak to you're
		
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			Muslim, you listen to you accept what I'm
		
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			saying because it's Islam. I'm I'm I'm explaining
		
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			Islam to you and you already know it.
		
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			The real work happens outside.
		
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			That's where Islam is practiced. That's where Islam
		
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			is preached. That's where Islam is advocated. That's
		
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			where people actually carry Islam. Here in the
		
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			Masjid, you're here to This is Masjid, a
		
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			launching pads.
		
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			Ramadan is a launching pad.
		
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			It's where you go and you get yourself
		
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			trained and and and and and you support
		
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			yourself with your community and you feel empowered,
		
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			you feel energized so you can take all
		
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			of that, you can go and you can
		
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			carry Islam outside.
		
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			If it ends there,
		
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			it's it's like you're going for it's it's
		
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			like taking a training course and then
		
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			throwing the surface. Why? Taking a training course
		
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			some in something and never using it ever
		
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			again.
		
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			People do that all the time. It's a
		
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			complete waste of time.
		
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			Ramadan serves as that launching pad. That's what
		
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			we have to see it as. And after
		
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			8, after Ramadan is over, we had to
		
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			take a moment and think about these things.
		
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			Of how are we going to make sure
		
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			that this month is going to be accepted
		
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			for us. Allow this month to do for
		
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			you what it's supposed to do. Allow it
		
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			to influence your decisions and your choices and
		
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			the way you live your life moving forward.
		
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			We are we don't exist in silos in
		
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			this world and we definitely don't exist as
		
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			individuals as in the eyes of Allah Subhanahu
		
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			Wa Ta'ala. We're part of a Jama'ah. Whether
		
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			you like it or not, you're a part
		
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			of an ummah.
		
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			You're a part of ummah till Islam, the
		
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			ummah of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
		
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			you're a part of that ummah. You belong
		
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			to this group for better or for worse.
		
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			For better or for worse, you're a part
		
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			of this group. You may like it, you
		
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			may not. It doesn't make a difference. You're
		
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			still a part of the group.
		
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			This group either sails together or it sinks
		
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			together.
		
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			And that has to be the mentality that
		
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			you carry in your head and in your
		
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			heart
		
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			that you will live for it, that this
		
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			is the cause that is worth living for,
		
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			that all that you do is for that.
		
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			And without that concept in your mind, I
		
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			don't know. I don't know what exactly the
		
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			value of of the acts of worship and
		
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			rituals are. I I really don't.
		
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			Last year, I pointed out 5 things
		
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			that I thought were the priorities of of
		
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			of this Muslim community in the West.
		
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			I've actually come more recently to see that
		
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			it's just one thing
		
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			and the rest just serve it.
		
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			There's really just one thing and the rest
		
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			are just there to to help help it
		
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			along. I talked about education.
		
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			I talked about mentorship.
		
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			I talked about outreach. I talked about
		
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			financial centralization. I talked about advocacy. These are
		
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			the 5 things I talked about.
		
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			An uneducated
		
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			will do nothing. A community that's uneducated won't
		
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			go anywhere. It has to be academically and
		
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			Islamically properly educated. They have to know their
		
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			DNA. They have to know what they're doing
		
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			as well. They have to have careers, and
		
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			they have to be able to yeah. They
		
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			have to have good jobs and have good
		
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			careers and have to understand the world and
		
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			and have influence in academics and influence in
		
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			how the world thinks and understands and also
		
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			have to know their deen so that they
		
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			know how to speak in the name of
		
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			their deen.
		
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			And we have to make sure that we
		
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			offer that education to individuals and groups within
		
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			our society, old and young. It doesn't make
		
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			a difference. Man and woman, old and young,
		
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			everyone should be educated. Mentorship, we have to
		
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			make sure that the baton is handed down.
		
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			That if you carry the the the cause
		
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			of your omen the omen in your heart
		
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			that the next generation does as well. It
		
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			doesn't die with you, it doesn't end with
		
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			you. If it ends with you then we
		
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			we there's no point of any of this.
		
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			It has to be handed down. That requires
		
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			personal relationship building capacity.
		
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			That requires you actually taking time and investing
		
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			in people who are younger than you.
		
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			Investing in the younger generation and putting up
		
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			with with everything that comes with that because
		
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			that is never easy. It's never been easy.
		
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			It never will be easy. It's always difficult.
		
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			It's always a headache. It always takes time,
		
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			but it's it's it's required and it's obligatory
		
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			upon us to do that. We have to
		
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			perform proper outreach. Outreach means not just out
		
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			reaching out to non Muslims to to bring
		
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			Dawah to them, but also to our own
		
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			society counterparts.
		
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			Muslims who don't find their place in the
		
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			Masjid. Muslim aren't comfortable coming here for whatever
		
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			reason. Muslim didn't grow up in Masjid. It
		
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			wasn't a part of their upbringing. It wasn't
		
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			a part of their culture. But they're Muslim
		
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			all the same. We need to out we
		
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			need to reach out to them to see
		
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			how it is we're going to serve them
		
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			and serve their children.
		
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			Wealth has to be centralized.
		
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			We have to to when we make big
		
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			decisions regarding money, it has to be something
		
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			that is in the best interest of the
		
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			collective, not the best interest of 1 group
		
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			or a few a few elitists to have
		
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			ideas that they want to move through. No.
		
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			It has to be the the interest of
		
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			the of the whole group because we only
		
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			have the resource of wealth is something that
		
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			is not again, infinite. It's finite. You have
		
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			to make sure that you operate it properly.
		
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			There has to be for the any community,
		
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			and we have to have a way to
		
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			actually support those who want to get married
		
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			and buy homes and start businesses or else
		
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			how is it that we're going to empower
		
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			our own community? And finally advocacy.
		
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			And if your brothers and sisters asked you
		
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			for nusra, for an advocacy,
		
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			then you offer it unless they're asking it
		
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			against people whom you have a covenant with.
		
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			In that case Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sees
		
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			all.
		
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			The disbelievers, your enemies will continue to advocate
		
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			for one another and they will stand by
		
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			one another and they will have alliances within
		
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			each other. If you do not,
		
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			This is regarding
		
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			If you do not offer them the advocacy
		
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			that they are requesting and that they deserve
		
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			from you, then will occur and great corruption
		
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			on earth will occur.
		
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			If you are a if you are requested
		
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			to offer your advocacy and your nusla to
		
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			those who deserve it from you and you
		
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			refuse to do it, then fitna tul falard.
		
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			That on earth, there will be a fitna.
		
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			Wafasadun kabiran, great corruption.
		
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			This is the end of Surah Al Anfal.
		
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			I talked about this verse specifically a number
		
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			of months ago.
		
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			But this is what he's teaching us Those
		
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			are the 5 these are the 5
		
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			fields that I think our community here in
		
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			the west should be prioritizing. Now I could
		
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			be wrong, but I talked about this a
		
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			year ago, and I only became more convinced
		
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			of these 5 because I I reviewed them.
		
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			I reassessed. I met with people. I talked
		
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			about what could be changed. What can we
		
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			remove? What should we add to these?
		
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			I really didn't find anything else outside of
		
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			them that is required from us as Muslims
		
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			living here in the West.
		
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			In attempt to try and bring that
		
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			to full circle,
		
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			I have put up a QR code. Within
		
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			this QR code, you'll be able to put
		
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			in some basic information and a choice of
		
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			1 or 2 of these fields that you're
		
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			interested in. I think it's time we put,
		
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			you know,
		
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			put ourselves to the challenge. If you truly
		
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			believe in what I've been talking about, if
		
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			this is make if this makes sense to
		
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			you, if you believe that Islam is beyond
		
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			just rituals,
		
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			Islam is not just salaam, siyam, and zakah,
		
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			as important as those things are in Islam
		
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			for sure. No one Aqdil would say otherwise.
		
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			But if you believe Islam is beyond that,
		
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			that there's more to Islam than that, that
		
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			as Muslims we are required to offer more
		
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			than that, then let's see what it is
		
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			that people can do.
		
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			You get to quickly put in information and
		
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			then choose something and then we have a
		
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			list. Within that list, once we have a
		
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			list of people who are interested in a
		
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			certain field, we will start organizing meetings. In
		
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			those meetings, we will talk about this specific
		
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			field, and how you would like to be
		
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			involved, and how to organize the efforts so
		
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			we actually get something done in a way
		
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			that is beneficial to the community at large,
		
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			not to the peep not just to the
		
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			people who are congregants and dismissed it or
		
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			within this area of the city.
		
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			I have come to the conclusion
		
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			that the one goal of our existence
		
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			is is advocacy.
		
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			Everything is here for advocacy. We carry Farbul
		
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			Kifaya on behalf of the Ummah. We carry
		
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			this communal obligation on behalf of Ummah Muhammad
		
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			alayhi salatu wa sallam to speak on behalf
		
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			of those who cannot speak, to be the
		
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			voice of the ones who have no voice.
		
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			Because if you grew up somewhere in the
		
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			Middle East, you know
		
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			that certain things can you can't there there's
		
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			limits to how what you can do. There
		
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			are limits and the governments there are making
		
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			sure that slowly, the
		
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			the the the feeling, the identity of being
		
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			Muslim is being pulled out just with time.
		
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			Just slowly being removed until almost nothing is
		
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			left of it. And the Muslims in the
		
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			Middle East don't want them. Most human beings
		
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			don't accept. Most Muslims in their hearts, even
		
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			if they're lacking basic practice, even if they're
		
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			struggling with the basics, they still deep inside
		
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			would love to see Islam be in a
		
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			better situation. They would don't want to see
		
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			Islam. They wanna see oppression. They would love
		
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			Islam to be practiced properly and for ethics
		
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			to to resurface again. We know this because
		
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			we know the people.
		
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			But they don't have a voice, and they
		
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			don't have anyone to advocate for them. And
		
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			you and I exist here, and we have
		
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			that right. We have that And because we
		
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			have that right, we have that responsibility.
		
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			And we carry this as a communal obligation,
		
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			as a fardqifaya.
		
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			To advocate on behalf of those who have
		
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			no one to advocate for them, to be
		
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			the voice of those who have no who
		
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			who cannot say what they want to say,
		
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			That you you and I have to do
		
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			that for them. This is our I don't
		
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			see any other purpose of us existing here,
		
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			and I've been taught them lately this for
		
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			10 years.
		
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			For 10 years. I never left Syria, by
		
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			the way. I was born in Richmond Hill.
		
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			I was born in Toronto. I never had
		
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			I I left I I lived in Syria
		
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			per I mean, by by choice.
		
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			I studied there by choice. I stayed in
		
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			the university there by choice. I got married
		
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			and stayed there by choice. I did not
		
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			have to.
		
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			But I chose because I could not, in
		
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			my mind, figure out why would I come
		
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			here. Why would I leave my country and
		
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			come here? No offense to anyone here. I
		
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			didn't know why I would come here though.
		
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			Why would I leave and come to this
		
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			country? I didn't see what what purpose could
		
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			that serve. My people are there. The ummah
		
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			is there. The need for service is there.
		
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			So why would you get up and leave?
		
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			I was kicked out. I had no choice.
		
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			I had to leave or die. So I
		
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			left. So now that I'm here, like, why
		
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			what am I gonna stay here to do?
		
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			What's the purpose? Just to live. Just to
		
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			eat and drink. I don't think that's a
		
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			very that's
		
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			not a high function.
		
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			Sian makes you rethink all that. Sian's here.
		
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			We'll hold back your food and drink. If
		
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			that's all you're living for us, hold it
		
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			back in a bit. Maybe take away that
		
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			distraction for you for a minute. See if
		
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			you can think something bigger. See if you
		
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			can zoom out and take a step back
		
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			and think again.
		
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			There has to be a purpose for our
		
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			existence here. I know that's hard to accept,
		
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			especially if you're born here. I was born
		
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			here too. So you lose that argument.
		
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			Being born in a place does not mean
		
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			that you don't need a purpose to live
		
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			there. No. You need a purpose. Living in
		
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			the Middle East, you needed a purpose to
		
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			live there. If you I was if you
		
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			were born in the Middle East, you lived
		
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			there, you had to have a you had
		
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			to have a purpose wherever you are. This
		
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			is not just for people who are born
		
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			here. But when you're here, I find that
		
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			people don't take the time to think about
		
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			what purpose they serve. They don't.
		
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			But you all at the loose end, you
		
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			always think, where's my purpose?
		
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			Like, well, how do I achieve this idea
		
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27
			that I'm a Khalifa, that I'm a Abd,
		
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			that I'm here to serve Allah subhanahu wa'ala.
		
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			How do I achieve that? And people living
		
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			here, advocacy is what we have to do.
		
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			We have to be that voice. And that's
		
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			why we have to focus on education
		
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			because advocates have to be well informed.
		
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			Because advocates have to be well informed. They've
		
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			had to be confident in who they are.
		
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			And we have to have mentorship because people
		
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			do not advocacy is an art. It takes
		
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			time. You have to teach it. It has
		
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			to be learned through observation. You have to
		
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			strengthen people and and and walk them down
		
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			this path of learning how to do it.
		
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			So you need mentorship. And you need to
		
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			outreach because the more people advocate, the more
		
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			likely it is that we get what we
		
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			want.
		
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			More people enter Islam, more Muslims from far
		
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			away find their way back to Allah, the
		
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			more people who will advocate.
		
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			And the more wealth you have to use
		
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			for advocacy
		
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			as we all know at this point clearly.
		
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			We know this all all along, but now
		
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			it's it is it is shamefully clear that
		
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			money is what speaks. It's not rights.
		
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			It's not human rights. It's not blood. It's
		
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			there's nothing. It's money. You have money. Everyone
		
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			will listen to you and your narrative becomes
		
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			meaningful. Your narrative Everyone feels sorry for you.
		
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			All of the crocodile tears fall upon the
		
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			faces of the lying politicians, the corrupt politicians
		
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			of the world, if you have money to
		
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			put in their pockets. Otherwise, your blood means
		
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			nothing. There's no problem. 30, 30, 33, 35,000.
		
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			No. It doesn't matter. Like, it doesn't matter
		
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			how many children are burnt and killed and
		
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			buried on the rubble and died and lose
		
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			their parents. No. Because you don't have money.
		
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			But if you had money, suddenly suddenly it
		
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			matters. Oh, you have money. Then, well, of
		
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			course, your your narrative means a lot, and
		
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			you'll stand up in front of people and
		
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			they'll be and and imagine, Wallahi, imagine if
		
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			Muslims were doing a fraction
		
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			of of what the state is doing. A
		
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			fraction of what they were doing. Wallahi, a
		
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			fraction, not even one thing. Well, only one
		
00:22:06 --> 00:22:08
			thing was enough for for for people to
		
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			start talking about everyone
		
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			That
		
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			double standard unfortunately has nothing to do with
		
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			concepts, has nothing to do with with with
		
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			the principle, has everything to do with with
		
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			money.
		
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			We are not the poor community.
		
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			We're not poor in anything. We have numbers,
		
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			and we have youth, and we have expertise,
		
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			and experience, and skill sets. We lack a
		
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			little bit of willpower in organization.
		
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			A little bit okay. We lack a lot
		
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			of it of willpower on organization and leadership.
		
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			I'll I'll take that back and we lack
		
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			a lot of it. We lack a lot
		
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			of organization and willpower. Unfortunately unfortunately
		
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			unfortunately, we're still stuck with small
		
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			agenda driven
		
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			goals. We're still living in our own little
		
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			silos. It's still we we're still tunnel visioned
		
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			when we're trying to do things. We're not
		
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			seeing the bigger picture of what this Ummah
		
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			actually needs. Unfortunately,
		
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			I don't know until when that's going to
		
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			continue to be the case, but it has
		
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			to change. All of these things, in my
		
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			opinion,
		
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			education and mentorship and outreach and wealth will
		
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			serve advocacy.
		
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			He does not fail to advocate for his
		
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			right.
		
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			No person will advocate for the rights of
		
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			someone else who is being oppressed,
		
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			whose wealth and integrity and rights are being
		
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			taken away except Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will
		
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			make sure that in the moment where you
		
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			want Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala's advocacy and strength
		
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			and power, he will offer it to you.
		
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			And no one will fail to offer someone
		
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			who is being oppressed
		
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			advocacy and strength and power and alliance when
		
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			they need it except Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
		
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			will wait until you're in a position where
		
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			you need someone to stand by you and
		
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			then he will let you down.
		
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			As you let others down.
		
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			And his back will be turned on you
		
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			and he'll forget you just like you turned
		
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			your back
		
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			and forgot.
		
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			As you were given your our signs, we
		
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			sent our signs. What's happening right now is
		
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			one of the most glaring signs that we've
		
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			ever seen.
		
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			One of the most glaring signs of God
		
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			you've ever seen what's happening in Gaza today.
		
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			And what's been happening in the Muslim world
		
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			for the last 3 decades.
		
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			It's a sign that is so glaring and
		
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			so it's it's blinding.
		
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			It's blind it's worse than eclipse.
		
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			Everyone got
		
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			excited to stare at,
		
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			2,
		
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			objects
		
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			in the terrestrial coming in front of each
		
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			other.
		
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			What what about what's been staring us in
		
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			the been blindingly staring us in the face
		
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			for the last 30 years? All of this
		
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			zwolim that's been occurring, and the lack of
		
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			care,
		
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			and the lack of of of commitment and
		
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			lack of grit for it all. What about
		
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			that?
		
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			You think that
		
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			think a star and a and a moon
		
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			sitting in front of each other just
		
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			is more impressive to you than than a
		
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			child that's eating grass or a mother who's
		
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			mourning her baby or a father who's lost
		
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			everything.
		
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			There's no there's no comparison.
		
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			That is God screaming at you. That is
		
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			Allah
		
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			yelling at you saying wake up.
		
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			You need to wake up. You have to
		
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			get up.
		
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			You have to start living differently. You can't
		
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			afford to live like this. You can't. We
		
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			can't. We can't afford to live like this
		
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			anymore.
		
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			Ramadan has to be a point where we
		
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			we make a decision
		
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			and we turn our lives around. Let Ramadan
		
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			do that for you. So that insha'Allah your
		
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			your Ibad, all the time you spent will
		
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			be accepted.
		
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			So it'll be accepted insha'Allah ta'ala because you
		
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			want you want to be accepted. Don't don't
		
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			we want acceptance?
		
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			Anyone here that is is sure and and
		
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			and confident about their acceptance?
		
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			You're confident that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala accepted.
		
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			How do you know?
		
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			That confidence on its own is arrogance because
		
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			you have no you're you're stating something you
		
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			have no knowledge of. I want to be
		
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			accepted. I know you do too. And if
		
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			you want that to be the case, then
		
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			we have to start making some decisions here.
		
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			And it's not just about feeling masayed. It's
		
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			about actually doing the work. The work happens
		
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			actually outside of Masayed. This is where you
		
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			come when you're tired.
		
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			When you're out there fighting and you're working,
		
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			you're speaking and and you're defeated
		
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			and and you've been let down and you're
		
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			tired, you come here. You come here and
		
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			your heart finds the solace that it's looking
		
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			for. It finds that serenity, finds that peace.
		
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			When you're out there, you're trying, you're pushing,
		
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			and it's frustrating, and there's one challenge after
		
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			the other, and you've fallen down, and you've
		
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			slammed your face on the concrete meat a
		
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			100 times, and you feel broken, you come
		
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			to the masjid, and you find your heart
		
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			in the Masjid, you find those who stand
		
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			by you and support you and aid you
		
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			and strengthen you. That's what these places are
		
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			for.
		
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			That's what these places are for. That's what
		
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			he used them for Alayhi Salatu Wa Salam.
		
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			The Ali when he built the message that
		
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			you always come here, we come, we regroup,
		
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			we regroup here,
		
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			we debrief here, we become the member, we
		
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			remind ourselves of why we're doing it. We
		
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			say,
		
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			For you, we will live for you, we'll
		
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			die for you. Everything we have is from
		
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			you. You take what you want, you leave
		
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			what you want, then we're happy with it.
		
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			Just allow us to do something that is
		
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			in service of you that will make you
		
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			satisfied.
		
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			That's all we do. And we come back
		
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			and then we go and work outside.
		
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			Take a moment. Scan it. Put your name.
		
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			Let's see if we can do something. I
		
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			know this has been tried before probably many
		
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			times. Maybe it didn't work out for whatever
		
00:27:30 --> 00:27:33
			reason. This now but it's still worth trying.
		
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34
			Getting people's
		
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			energy
		
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			and whatever it is that they're interested in
		
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			doing in the service of their ummah. So
		
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			that when you meet Allah, they said I
		
00:27:40 --> 00:27:42
			tried. I was good at, I can't do
		
00:27:42 --> 00:27:44
			a I have education, mentorship. That's all I
		
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			can do. I don't understand money.
		
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			Outreach is outside of the Masjid. I'm I'm
		
00:27:48 --> 00:27:50
			stuck inside here. And advocacy, I don't have
		
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51
			that.
		
00:27:51 --> 00:27:53
			I I don't have the skill set for
		
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			that. You need someone who is much more
		
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			cool headed to speak and and do these
		
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			things. Figure out what you're good at. Wait.
		
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59
			What can you do? What what are you
		
00:27:59 --> 00:28:02
			interested in? Sign up, do something. Work with
		
00:28:02 --> 00:28:05
			your group, work with your community, work in
		
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06
			to strengthen it. That was that's my message
		
00:28:06 --> 00:28:08
			for you this week inshaAllah ta'ala, to try
		
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10
			and and and move this forward so that
		
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12
			we actually have something to to to share
		
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13
			and talk about. Maybe we could you'll be
		
00:28:13 --> 00:28:15
			well, I a little bit of of, just
		
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17
			a few accomplishments for a for a community
		
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18
			can can go a long way in terms
		
00:28:18 --> 00:28:21
			of morale. I feel like our problem as
		
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22
			Muslims is that we haven't really accomplished anything
		
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23
			that we can be proud of.
		
00:28:24 --> 00:28:26
			Right? So we have all the masjid. No
		
00:28:26 --> 00:28:28
			one's no one's see, no one's very,
		
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30
			Yani, proud of masjid.
		
00:28:30 --> 00:28:32
			And and for good reason, because people like,
		
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33
			yeah, so what? So the new masjid.
		
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35
			Deep inside, we all know there's nothing we
		
00:28:35 --> 00:28:37
			can't be proud of that. There's nothing there.
		
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38
			It's just a new space. You spot a
		
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39
			space, you put a sujid, and you have
		
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40
			a guy standing up front yelling at people.
		
00:28:40 --> 00:28:42
			It's it's it doesn't mean anything. What you
		
00:28:42 --> 00:28:44
			want where show me some actual work. Yeah.
		
00:28:44 --> 00:28:46
			You're in a Quran program. They were in
		
00:28:46 --> 00:28:48
			Quran programs everywhere. They were in Quran programs
		
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49
			as we speak in Gaza. As they're being
		
00:28:49 --> 00:28:52
			bombed. They they they everyone does that. Show
		
00:28:52 --> 00:28:54
			me something else. And now that we see
		
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55
			all of what's happening in the world, we
		
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56
			know that that's something else has to be
		
00:28:56 --> 00:28:58
			in the field of advocacy, has to be
		
00:28:58 --> 00:29:00
			in the field in getting our rights
		
00:29:00 --> 00:29:03
			and and and raising our voice and pushing
		
00:29:03 --> 00:29:05
			back against a narrative that is evil, that
		
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06
			is racist, that is disrespectful,
		
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08
			that is double standard.
		
00:29:09 --> 00:29:11
			That is that's what that's what will bring
		
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12
			back some morale for us. You want to
		
00:29:12 --> 00:29:14
			feel that you want something for your children
		
00:29:14 --> 00:29:16
			to look up for look look forward to
		
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17
			look back at and feel good about, then
		
00:29:17 --> 00:29:19
			let's just do some work. Let's actually achieve
		
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21
			something for this nation. Let's achieve something for
		
00:29:21 --> 00:29:23
			our community. Let's say that we have strength.
		
00:29:23 --> 00:29:25
			We have unity. We have some work. We're
		
00:29:25 --> 00:29:27
			we're accomplishing these. We're pushing a narrative forward,
		
00:29:28 --> 00:29:30
			and then people start feeling feeling better about
		
00:29:30 --> 00:29:32
			it all. And once people start feeling better
		
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33
			about it, they'll they'll work harder.
		
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35
			And that's where I think we should, you
		
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36
			know, spend our time.
		
00:32:01 --> 00:32:03
			Think every day about the millions of people
		
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04
			who made du'a this Ramadan.
		
00:32:05 --> 00:32:07
			And remember, Allah subhanahu wa'ala only accepts du'a
		
00:32:07 --> 00:32:09
			from those who are sincere and focused. He
		
00:32:09 --> 00:32:09
			only accepts du'a from those who are sincere
		
00:32:09 --> 00:32:09
			and focused.
		
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10
			He
		
00:32:11 --> 00:32:13
			He only accepts dua from those who are
		
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14
			focused and sincere. He doesn't accept the dua
		
00:32:14 --> 00:32:16
			from a heart that is distracted and far
		
00:32:16 --> 00:32:18
			away. No, no. You have to be living
		
00:32:18 --> 00:32:20
			the life. You have to live a life
		
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21
			that reflects that which you are asking for
		
00:32:21 --> 00:32:23
			and that which you want from him, subhanahu
		
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24
			wa ta'ala. I hope that was a benefit
		
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30
			to you.