Adnan Rajeh – End of Ramadan Reflections
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the concept of "obs yourself" during Masajid calls, emphasizing the importance of finding one's way to connect to something beneficial for the human race and finding one's way to connect to something. They stress the need for dedication, resilience, and perseverance to build a successful nation, as well as preserving one's community and mentorship to avoid wasting time on negative thoughts. The speakers also urge people to grant themselves the blessings of the day of yearly celebration and fulfill their obligations, while reminding them to prioritize their success over others and preserve their community.
AI: Summary ©
Then you can all leave.
And then, you you can have 5, 6
minutes, and then people can get out of
here.
The post
or end of Ramadan
sharing point that I wanted to make with
you.
And I actually had planned this out a
little bit different,
at the beginning of Ramadan where it was
the the intention was for this to be
the final finale of the, Usmanullah Husna, but
I I I removed one of the names
I was gonna talk about and decided to
push this at the end. Just as something
to, for you for all for you all
to reflect upon.
There's a question I wanna pose pose for
you for the next maybe 5, 6 minutes,
inshallah. It's a short call to you, inshallah.
It's not going to be that very long,
not that long,
is what is the point of full masajid
if people, if Muslims elsewhere are starving?
This is a question for you to ask
yourself. What's the point of masajid that are
that
are absolutely packed, but people elsewhere are starving
to death?
And and and when we talk about Masajid
being packed, I'm not even talking about Masajid
Yaani, you know, here and No. Masajid also
plays other parts of the Muslim world where
thousands and thousands of people pray. Like, literally,
6, 7,000 people fit in the Masjid and
it's and they're yeah. Look. Just full full
from isha till to wither all throughout the
month. You find it all across the Muslim
world. And people in the millions, in the
tens of millions, sometimes maybe 100 of millions
of Muslims throughout this month on a nightly
basis were praying tarawih.
What's the point of all that if there
are Muslims who are starving elsewhere,
who are starving literally maybe maybe just a
100 kilometers from where those masajid are are
are
you know, are situated.
Maybe maybe it's a couple of 100 kilometres,
meaning you can drive in a couple of
about 4 or 5 hours, you can get
there. For us, it's a it's a little
bit longer
farther away, but still it's just a it's
a plane.
A trip it's a plane trip less than
a less than 24 hours. You'll you can
be right there. So it's not like we're
talking about people living on some other planet
somewhere where where where it's, like, you know,
decades away to get to them. No. It's
just it's less than a day if you
in modern in modern
in modern transportation. So what's the point? Is
there is there a point of this? Is
there a point of Masazhet being full and
other
and and and people are oppressed and people
are starving and not doing well? This is
No. There is a point obviously, but this
is what I'm asking you. Like what is
the how how does this If messengers that
are full don't translate
don't translate into action
that is meaningful
for this Umma, then I'm not sure exactly
how much of it is like, how do
you know that Ramadan is accepted?
Right? How do you know? The way that
you know Ramadan is accepted is what you
do after Ramadan. That's how you find out
if Ramadan actually was accepted for you is
how you end up behaving after Ramadan. Like
what you do with your life when it's
over.
Masajid were always were always starting points. There
were starting points. There were centralized
areas of enlightenment where people would come and
they would learn and they would connect to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so that they could
take all of that nur and they can
go and they can use it for khair
outside of the masjid. That's why the prophet
built the masjid first when he first got
into Madinah. He built this small it wasn't
a fancy masjid. It was very very simple.
Like, very simple. You wouldn't even know it
was a masjid because it didn't really have
a high manor or anything. It was it
almost had no wall had no walls. For
the majority of the time, it had no
walls. Half of it was only
roof. The other half didn't have a roof
on it. Very simple, but it was a
place where people came and that's where they
got their daily or weekly or whatever or
annual
dose of iman and that's and they used
that to build their nation. Like, they had
they had other things that they were going
to do with their time, with their life.
They knew what they're gonna focus on. They
understood why they were alive and how they're
gonna take what they were learning and and
and use it and channel it in a
and and channel this energy in a direction
that's going to be beneficial for the human
race and beneficial for themselves and for the
ummah that they're a part of. This was
second nature to them. They didn't have to
listen to something like what I'm sharing with
with you today, but
I mean, we have a problem in our
ummah today where we can film Masajid, no
problem. You can you can build a place,
you can start a Jum'ah, and you can
take the pictures, you share it with the
social media of how many people are praying.
What's the point?
I think the more the numbers actually, the
more scared I get
because it's it's sounding more and more similar
to the prophet, alayhis salatu wa sallam's.
They're just it's just it's foam of a,
foam of the sea or foam of a
river. Like, it's it's a lot, but it's,
it's it's not worth anything. There's no there's
no weight to it. I fear for myself
and I fear for us for this as
being the case. And I'm not saying that
we don't wanna fill our message. You know,
for sure that's what we want to do.
But then what? There has to be then
what? That question has to be you have
to ask yourself that. Like, you have to
know what's what's next. What's next?
Starting tomorrow, what is next? Yes. Of course,
we go for our aid and we enjoy
our families. We give
but then what?
Khilaz? We wait until next Ramadan? Are you
serious? That's how this is gonna work?
If that's the case then we should be
we have to close these places down. Like
these places aren't worth being open if that's
all if they're not doing their job, if
they are not if they're not launching pads,
if they're not launching pads for for the
Muslim Ummah to to come in, to learn,
to connect, to repent,
to turn back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
to network and then to leave this place
afterwards and start doing something, and build their
nation again.
That requires a lifelong a lifetime of dedication.
It requires grit. It requires resilience. It requires
perseverance. It requires striving.
It takes a lot for you. This ummah
was not built on it was built on
on on on sweat and tears and blood
for years years years for it to become
what it became, and then when it fell
it's going to require the same amount.
Al Hadim is easier actually. To to to
destroy something takes no time. To rebuild takes
a long time.
Now we've been
we've
been we've been tear this almost been they've
been tearing it down for a long time,
for for
for centuries. It's gonna take a long time
to rebuild.
It's gonna take a lot of people who
are fully dedicated, who have that within their
hearts, who who understand why they're alive, understand
what the purpose of life is.
Where
did he put you? Where did he put
you on earth? Don't don't ask too many
don't complicate life. Where are you? Look around.
Where are you?
In this world, where are you? What spot
are you in? That's where you are. That's
where he wants you to be. That's where
you're gonna work. That's your focus, that's what
you're gonna work on. Don't don't think about
don't waste time asking questions that you have
no answers for, that you can't you can't
even you can't even begin to answer these
questions. Just focus on what you have right
now. Where are you on earth? Where did
it even situate you? Who are the people
around you? What community are you are you
a part of? Work.
Do your do your Carry your share of
the burden. Carry your share of the of
the of this Umma.
If you don't carry the, yeah, the burden
of this Umma, you're a burden on the
Umma.
Umma. Like if you're not carrying it on
your shoulders, it is carrying you
and we have enough deadweight
as it is.
We have enough deadweight as it is. Don't
be another
don't
carry it on your take this responsibility
on your shoulders. And after let Ramadan be
that moment where you decide to change things.
It's a turning point for yourself. That's what
Ramadan is designed to be.
It's a prolonged one because it takes time
for us to make decisions. It's not a
moment. It's not a night. It's not a
No. No. It's a month. It's a month
that gives you time to reflect
and repent
and, you know, comprehend and contemplate and take
so that you make that decision that Ramadan
is that launching pad. It's that turning point.
And after
Ramadan, you turn into someone who understands what
their purpose is. You focus on your role.
What's your role?
How are you serving the ummah, your piece
of the puzzle? Where does it fit? It's
a huge mosaic.
It's a huge mosaic. There's so many we're
so diverse.
There's so much going on. I'm just a
small piece of this puzzle. I'm not even
not even visible,
but I'm a piece just like you are.
It's a small one. It's hard. You can't
see it when you zoom out too well,
but you know if a couple of 100
of us do it, then we we fill
in a little spot. It's worth something. If
another 100 people do that, then they'll fill
in another spot and then suddenly we have
a picture. We have something, we have something,
we have substance, we have substance.
Figure out what your piece of the puzzle
is, and put it in a spot. And
if everyone else around you is singing and
dancing and running around and doing what they
want, it doesn't matter. Just put your head
down, focus on what you're doing and fulfill
that piece of the puzzle that you figured
out for yourself, whatever that may be. Whatever
that is, I don't dictate I don't No
one can dictate for you how you're gonna
serve this ummah, how you're going to serve
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on earth. That's your
That's that's for you to figure out. That's
for you to figure out. You're gonna figure
that out somehow.
You'll start you'll try something, it won't work.
You'll try something else until you find. This
is what I'm good at. I'm gonna do
this. This is what I find
fulfillment in that, and then you'll do that
till the day you meet God. But if
you don't try, you don't care, you'll never
figure this out.
This is what Ramadan is designed for.
I beg you
to rethink how you see this month and
how you see why Allah and how you
understand why Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
granted it to you and gifted it to
you, so that you can take this into
your heart and you can go ahead and
you can live life with with a different
focus where your qiblah is actually your qiblah.
You know what your direction is, you know
why you're here and you figure out that
piece and figure out what your focus is
going to be. Last year, I shared with
you the 5 the 5 disciplines, the 5
fields that I think
Muslims in the west should focus on. This
is what I think they should focus on.
I could be wrong, but this is what
I I Yeah, I
talked I've been thinking about it. I thought
about it for a long time for maybe
9 years, then I shared it, then I
watched it for another year and I still
think that these are the 5 categories. I
think we still as Muslims in the West
there are certain things we can do.
We actually have the privilege to do certain
things that others can't do. Right?
First of all, we have to take care
of ourselves. We have to have education. We
have to have mentorship. These are 2 2
this is to preserve our own community, this
is to preserve ourselves. If you have no
'ilm, if you don't have knowledge, then you'll
worship Allah ignorantly and then you'll make mistakes
and it won't work out. Without mentorship, I
can't make sure that the next generation of
human beings, Muslims, will actually know their deen
appropriately and have the same identity. Without those
two things, we don't have a community. Meaning
we'll exist for another maybe 40 years and
then it'll all go just, you know, basically
to be dismantled, won't exist anymore, disappear. So
we have to have those 2 things. Those
are 2. And then there's the aspect of
dawah, which is what we are here to
do. There's dawah towards people who are similar
to us, Muslims who just are lost or
people who aren't Muslim at all who want
to find Islam, which is outreach.
And and we are obligated in both situations
to actually spend a lot of time investing
resources into that, resources into our own
Are you telling me that you sit here
and all of your family, everyone, all your
family members are Mashallah, Mu'tazimin,
you're the least
You don't have any friends or people that
you know that don't come to Masjid at
all and have nothing to do with this
deen altogether.
Do they not deserve any for any amount
of our thought, any amount of our worry,
any amount of our planning? They don't deserve
anything.
And if Allah granted us this this beautiful
blessing of guidance, we have no interest in
trying to see how we can help those
who don't have that blessing. We don't worry
about other people. We don't care. You're okay
with people that you love and know going
in the wrong direction and ending them in
jannah. You don't That doesn't matter to you.
Outreach has That's what outreach is. And then
if you have enough compassion in your heart
then you start worrying about people who aren't
Muslim altogether. Why why can't they be helped?
And why aren't we helping them?
The financial piece of this community. This community
can only go as far
as as as it's good as at managing
money.
If we don't manage our wealth appropriately as
a community, if we don't
harness that energy and make sure that that
wealth is being used to service the people
here and to help those who have no
Then what are we doing?
There's a lot of wealth in this ummah.
Look around you. Look at the demographic that's
sitting in this message. Masjid, the majority are
people who are young. That means this community
has wealth in it. That's where wealth comes
from. Wealth is within the
you're working. If you're not working, you're about
to.
If you're not working, it's a few years
and you'll be working. You're part of the
workforce. You'll be making money. So, there is
money in this community. We have to centralize
it. We have to make sure that we
we use it appropriately.
We don't drain the community's
wealth by starting machete that we don't need.
And we have to start pointing out what's
needed so that wealth is used appropriately, so
that we actually build something.
Well, I'll be happy. We have to This
has to be We have to we have
to reassess all of this.
And then we have to do advocacy.
Advocacy was the last thing I talked about
a year ago because I didn't see this
coming. I didn't see this
stretch of 6 months actually being the case.
It just didn't
Yeah, subhanAllah,
it was not on the horizon for any
of us. When I talked about this I
didn't think that we're gonna we we would
be we'd be talking next Ramadan.
I'm sharing a 6 month
Yani, ongoing,
just brutal
genocide occurring in the Holy Land of Ibrahim
and
his children.
And for that to be the case today,
and these people not only are they sleeping
under fire and lead, but they're also starving.
They're starving because we are weak,
because we are disorganized,
because we are not
centralized, because we have no leadership,
because we don't know how to work with
one another, and we don't know what we're
here to do on Earth. That's why that's
why this is happening.
That's why if we were different, that would
be different.
This is a this is a this is
a fact. It's not even an opinion.
This is a fact. If we were different,
then this would not happen to people. This
wouldn't be occurring. Not just to them, but
to anyone because we would advocate, we would
have the weight, we would have the pull,
we would have the push to actually stop
these type of behaviors.
And that comes from communities that have wealth
and that have organization, and have knowledge, and
have people who are willing to advocate politically,
advocate
academically, you can stop stuff like this.
You can stop it. But when a community
doesn't,
when a community is just a population of
people who are just living in their little
silos. They come to Masajid. Yeah. They come,
oh, Masjid is full of fajrism. Yes. So
what? And then what?
I don't know if Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
accepts from us
these rituals when we aren't when we're not
focusing on our peace. I don't.
I I'm this is me just sounding an
alarm for you. I don't know if Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala accepts from us these rituals,
if we are not people who stand for
Haqqah, if we are not standing against Dhulm,
if we're not organizing, united. I don't know.
You Allah, inshallah he does. But I don't
know
when our basic role is not being Like
our central role is not being built up.
The Sahaba thought that this was going to
be an option for them with the prophet
alaihis salatu wasallam. They built the Masih, they
were happy, they didn't want to go to
Badr. Why? We're happy. No. No. No. The
struggle is, the struggle is outside of Medina.
That was the whole point of that battle.
That's why it was in Ramadan. The struggle
is outside here. They were happy. They were
they were having a great time. I can't
imagine. Can you imagine how how beautiful the
first of all of the prophet alaihis salaam
must have been? Do you understand how how
how gorgeous that was? Like how If you
think about it, you're with him Alaihi Wasallam,
the first Ramadan ever. How
Right?
It's just it's just the beauty of it,
the profoundness, the closeness.
But no, we're gonna go and we're gonna
go and fight.
We're gonna go and we're gonna claim Haqq,
and we're gonna stand up against dul, and
we're gonna stand against the the most
revered army within the land. Why? Because the
struggle is outside. The struggle is not just
the min It has to be taken outside.
You can't just recline. We're happy, we're quiet,
we're reciting the Quran, we're close to Allah,
and everything is nice. Yeah.
Do that as fuel, so that you can
go outside and you can stand for what
is right. And if you don't do it
as fuel to stand for righteousness, then it's
meaningless.
Then it's meaningless.
I'm sorry, but this is the reality of
the matter.
This is the launching pad. This is where
it all starts.
This is the starting point. This is where
you begin
and then you walk out of that door
and that's where you continue it, and
you have to do it in collaboration. You
have to do it as a part of
a community. You have you're a part of
something. You're not you don't exist on your
own. You're part of a group. You may
not like the group. That's fine.
You may not enjoy their company. You may
have problems with them. It doesn't matter. They're
still your group and you still have to
work with them. And if you don't want
this to happen again I I say the
word again as if it stopped. Right? It's
very well, it's so pathetic.
I say again as if it I I
had stopped. It didn't stop. It's still it's
ongoing. It's ongoing. Think of that.
May Allah protect them. Maybe the worst is
yet to
come. The worst could be yet to come.
Right?
This is serve this serves as a wake
up call for us to remind ourselves of
what our purpose and our
what our obligations are,
What we're here to do. So take some
time and think about that. I put up
a QR code. This is simple.
You just have the 5, you know, categories.
Choose 1 or 2. Something that you're interested
in. Maybe choose something else. If you don't
like the 5 and you think they're wrong,
well point out what it is you want
to do. Let's see if we can organize.
Let's see if we can compile
any groups of people who care about a
certain topic. Let's see if we can put
together some some efforts. Those who are interested
in education or mentorship or advocacy, let's see
if we can organize some efforts
and get people who will ongoingly
work on these fields within our community and
help build the future, invest in people, invest
in
the work itself and what it requires.
Whether it's, you know, whether But if you're
good at money, maybe you focus on that.
If you're good at advocacy and you're articulate
and you like Yani, do that if you're
an educator, if you're someone who knows how
to mentor, if you're someone whatever, you have
to have something to offer. What is it
that you want to offer? Let's see if
you can organize that a little bit. Let's
see if you can put a little bit
of
Just a way to say we tried. We
tried. We were we were dealt a hand
up and it wasn't great and this is
the best we could do. It's not it
wasn't great.
We came with Bilaha is not that great.
Let's hopefully you'll accept it. Maybe maybe if
we try hard, we can make something of
it. I
know that we can do a lot. I
know the potential of this ummah has always
been there. It's huge. It's huge.
It's huge.
It's just a matter It's a question of
whether people are willing to fulfill it or
not and people are willing
to take
on themselves a life changing decision of commitments
and resilience and striving to the end, to
the end.
Whatever that end may be. Whatever that end
may come. You just
stick yourself, you put yourself on this path
and you just walk.
You just walk for the sake of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. When you get tired, you
come here. When you get tired, you come
here. When you feel beaten, you come here.
When you feel down, you come here.
When you feel defeated, you come here. When
you feel sad, you come here. When you
feel sorrow, you come here. When you feel
like you're empty, you come here. This is
what this place is for. It's to fill
that emptiness, to allow you to to grant
you that strength again, so you can go
back and you can face the world again.
And you I mean you And then you're
defeated again, you come back here again. That's
what this place is for. This is not
where it ends.
This is where it begins.
That's what I wanna share with you. May
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept from us what
we offered in Ramadan. May Allah subhanahu wa'ala
grant you the blessings of Ramadan, the forgiveness,
the hasanat, and the freedom of punishment. May
Allah subhanahu grant this ummah. You see, Ramadan,
year after year. May Allah subhanahu grant us,
grant us Ramadan when we are in a
state
of strength and and prevalence. And may Allah
subhanahu wa'ala grant us the blessing of the
day of Eid.