Ramadan Prep The Philosophy of Fasting

or the scholars weren't there, and they wanted to play around with things. What do they start with? They're gonna drop the most difficult visual of all. So what I'm gonna so fasting in general, whether it was Ramadan or not, because I don't know that it wasn't a model. And by the way, I'm not claiming that I'm just saying that the concept of fasting existed in all of the faiths as Allah subhanaw taala explains that the verse, the first thing to go, the first thing to go from the deeming as fasting, because it's way too difficult, you know, because even now, as I talk to you about Ramadan, there's a part of you that's worrying about it. Don't lie, but act like your your

every person here, there's a little piece of you that's worried about Ramadan, worried about how they're going to get through Ramadan and wondering if they're gonna be able to do it and then thinking,

my lunch, my tea or coffee in the morning? How am I going to my sleeping schedule all everyone's worried about it a little bit? Funnily enough, everyone gets through it, and they're fine. But that piece of you is because the neffs is okay with a lot of stuff like the nurse can put up with different discipline, disciplinary activities that you do. You're forced to do certain things, but then you tell it that you can't eat and drink when you're starving or you're thirsty. That's where the left wants to draw the line. So you know, that's That's enough. Across I understand we pray with him now. The thought of him no read Quran. I don't want to do any of this stuff. I'm doing it

because you want to do it. I'm willing to do it. But why? Why this? Why not eating and drinking? We're starving. We're working. So the nest doesn't like it at all.

The first thing to go almost every faith in our deen. Not only is it still here, it's actually one of the most beautiful times of the year. And everyone knows when you look back at your life, when you look back into your past, Ramadan always has a good memory attached to it. Oh, he's almost always you can't say that about any other months. If I asked you about any other month, what good memories you have, you don't know you don't even know what those months are.

But you have a good memory always attached to some Ramadan that you spent some time in the past because of what Allah subhanaw taala offers us with the Allah. Gamma cootie Valentina, more commonly called La La Quinta taco, and the goal of decreeing it upon you was for you to find piety, at taqwa, at Taco, to be able to discipline yourself to the point where you have that safety valve that preventative met those preventative measures that will allow you to make decisions better in your life, death was very simple. It's a very simple system. It's just the question before you say something or do something, will this harm me? short term or long term? Will it cause me harm in

Donia or inocula? Now in my life now or later in my life will cause me any form of harm? If the answer is yes, then you don't do it. If the answer is no, then you go ahead, it doesn't necessarily have to be beneficial. It could be something that's neutral, neither beneficial nor harmful. Dakwah doesn't care about the neutral peace, duck was just there to help you not fall into something that will be harmful. It just holds you back from the Hellfire Insha Allah, it holds you back from doing something that later on you'll regret in your life. And if you learn to build that, if you can have that in your life, that that will inshallah take you very far. Because wherever you are, you'll

always, before you do something, say something engage in any activity or in an endeavor. Yes, the question is this, how safe is this? Am I going to later on pay for it? Am I going to look back and feel out? That was a bad decision? And if you're able to kind of take that moment, and then say, Oh, nope, not gonna do that, then you're, you're safe. Which is why duck was is the is the answer here. So when I think about Ramadan, I think about I think about these four things. And from a philosophical perspective, I think of why we're fasting, oops. The first one is the importance of learning self discipline. Ramadan is about self discipline. If you notice what's going on, if you

pay attention to what's happening during the day of Ramadan, you understand what's what you're about, I teach a lot of Disgaea sessions. And this guy's important, you have to learn about yourself, you have to understand your spirit and your soul, and your self, your your subconsciousness and your consciousness. And you have to in your conscious itself, you have to know what these things aren't, you have to understand how they work together, you have to be able to tease out what's happening on the inside, because it's quite noisy inside of you. I don't know if you've noticed or not. But it's quite noisy. There's a lot of things going on. You don't get a lot

of quiet and peace and quiet inside. Especially if you want to do something that's important to you, that's a little bit difficult, or that is not necessarily enjoyable. But that requires a lot of sacrifice a lot of discipline. The next doesn't want to do it. You don't want to do it. But you asked yourself that question. Why is it that I know something's helpful? I have the tools to do it. I want to do it, but I don't do it. It's an insane equation. It's a very, it's a very crazy, why is it unless someone's holding a knife, a knife to your throat or a gun to your head? It doesn't make any sense. If you have the tools, you know what's helpful, you want to do it then why can't you get

it done? Because there's a struggle on the inside that we don't really notice. We don't take we don't we don't take interest in. There is someone on the inside that is sitting behind the steering wheel and they're caught make calling all the shots and they like to lead you on to think that you're making the shots but you're not

If

you're not really because the neffs does a lot of it, Ramadan comes in teaches a little bit of self discipline is like a boost of self, you know, you can, you can call the shots, because the next one is to eat all day long and want to drink all day long to it doesn't want it fast, even for a moment doesn't see the point of it 10 times out of 10 you bring any animal that is healthy, we're all mammals, you bring any animal, any mammal that is healthy, and you present it with food that it wants and is hungry, Italy 10 times out of 10 The only time that won't happen is if it's a human being. And they're fasting, that's the only time it works is the only time if you're hungry and

you're healthy, and that's the food you eat, then you get you're gonna you're gonna go for it.

While you're fasting for a reason that is beyond any science and beyond

what is scripted, there's a reason for you to say no.

No one else can tell you to do that, by the way, but Allah subhanaw taala no one has the authority to look at USA, okay, three days straight. All day long, you are hungry, understood all day long, you're hungry, and you're thirsty. And if you're married, you stay away from the right fit all day long for 30 days straight, who has the authority to say that to you? And who's keeping track? Who's keeping track.

You go home and you you take a big jug of water and walk into the closet, chug it down and walk out. Who cares? Who saw you? Who's there's no police. But you think I'm gonna show up at your door with the with some armed officers and take you away? There's no no one, no one knows. Know what you get. You can act like you're fasting, almost. No one's gonna care. No one's gonna ask no one, no one, no one knows that something between you. And Allah is the most specific thing that you do. The only way you can do it is if you have some self discipline, I want you to notice the ability that you have you have the ability to discipline yourself to tell you enough, no, no, we're not doing this. And

then apps will listen. It's not impossible. It's very doable. I'm gonna just teach you to know you can do it here. Here's an example. Here's 30 days. And for 30 days straight, you go to work, and you're starving. And you're fine. Because you do have the ability. It's just a question. So it's not this. What are Milan teaches? You is not? The question is not? Can you?

The question is will you write? Is it that that's what the Milan teaches? Ramadan just takes this word and replaces it for you. You can't walk around saying that? I can't? No, you can. The question is, will you, that's all they're very different questions with very different answers attached to them.

Ramadan teaches us that there's a difference between what we want. And what we need.

What we want, is everything you want, you want it all, and you want more of it all, all the time. You always want more, there's always room for improvement. Whether it's your house, whether it's your car, whether it's your relationships, whether it's your wealth, whether it's your status, whatever it is, whatever it is, there's always room for you to be better for you to have more for you to climb higher on that, on that ladder of power, or a ladder of significance and importance. There's always a way to be better. And the novice always wants more of its

tell me anyone who's sitting was like, Nope, I'm good. I don't want anything else. I don't want any more. I don't want to be promoted anymore. I don't want to be paid any more money. I don't I don't want anything more. I'm happy the person died long time ago, that no one's like that. Everyone wants more. And that's fine. I'm not I'm not going to argue that with you. It's just to tell you that what you want. And what you need are not the same things. Just know that that what you don't need that much. If you're able for three days straight to get through a full day of work or a full day of schooling without drinking water, or eating or nibbling on anything.

That means when you're eating throughout the day and other days, you don't necessarily need it. You just want it and that's okay. It's not it's not about taking away from you what you want is about making sure you have clarity. It's just that you have clear you know, that there's i want it i don't necessarily need it. So be careful when you use the word I need. Yeah, especially when you're younger. I need this you need it. Let's stop the car. Hit the brakes pull the so you need What do you mean you need define that? What does that mean? The people of Gaza need? Yeah, they can say we need for sure. They're starving. They can say we need you and I what do we need? We want that's

okay. But it doesn't mean we need and Ramadan is very, very good at clarifying those two things separates them because we the nervous system kind of blurs them together kind of blurs the lines and merges them so that you tell you what you want. You can do the same thing. So you got upset. I need that. No, you want it but you just put them together now and you're gonna get all upset about it. But no, no, I'm not gonna push them to go no, no, no, this is what you need. Here's what you want. That's fine. This is all you need. You can get through 30 days. No food and

Make all day long, you'll be fine. You'll be fine. And you are you worry now before we move on a bit and you go into the mall, you're fine. You're absolutely fine. Have a headache the first day, second day and then you're used to it. Tell me anyone here. Does anyone here find the last day of CRM of Ramadan difficult as the first day is?

The last day is a walk in the park. So as you don't even think about the last thing, you're worried about the first two or three days when you have that lack of caffeine headache, right? When you don't get your bagel at 12 o'clock at lunchtime, or when you come home at five o'clock hungry as a horse and you're not going to eat for a couple more hours. That's what you're worried about. But then a few days in that's it doesn't matter anymore because you're used to it. Because the nervous is very adaptable. And we just don't want it to adapt to something better. We just keep it the way it isn't. Again, it's not about forcing you to it's just to understand that there's a difference

between the two.

All of the great battles Historically, many of them at least happened in Ramadan. Now at first Ramadan I love I love I'm going to I'm going to do something for you that first Ramadan this is a something I made up

the second year of hijab was the first time the Sahaba heard the word cm right would happen it would happen in second year and budget would be right in there. Right then in there we start with that

first bundle happened in Ramadan Fatima Cavinder Ramadan healthy and having a rollin angel who tap into Ramadan all these great Gianni great battles occurred in a modern Muslims went in fasting.

But I always imagine that first Ramadan with the Sahaba hearing these verses and asking the prophet is awesome. You say what?

We're gonna do what? You're gonna fast. Like,

like fast from what? Like drink water? Anything, anything that comes into your mouth liquids or solids?

Like like every day? Yep. Every day.

Like during the day? Yeah, during the day.

You mean when we're going to work and stuff and like in the middle of this? Have you ever been to Saudi Arabia and stood outside at 12 o'clock in the afternoon? You understand what the sun can do to you? You can fry an egg on your on your if you're bald, you can find egg on your head. No problem. Very easy.

So these people are working. They're all farmers are their shepherds. They're outside in the midst of the sun. And they're being told Yeah, no, no, no food and drink.

So like you're sure can you get his check again? How long how many days once just today? No, no 30 days this year? No, no every year? No, you're kidding me every year and we're gonna go to a battle we're gonna fight. We're gonna fight fasting.

All right. So they went

what a lesson for them. Right? What a, you know, extra curricular activity to go on. I can't even imagine you always forget that but it'll happen during Ramadan. And we tell the story of whether I'm guilty of that. I love the Battle of buzzer when I tell it over me four or five weeks and love going to details I always forgot to point out instead of Milan, they were fasting by the way. This was the first time I've on the ever It wasn't even the second one. It's not like they got a first Ramadan to warm up and get used to it. No, the first Ramadan though, you're gonna go fight the biggest battle that you'll ever fight for the rest of your lives. The most important and significant moment in the

history of the Muslim ummah will occur and the first Ramadan where people are fasting Subhan Allah Subhan Allah just emit an amazing beginning to us, because that's how he sees it. subhanho wa Taala Milan is a time for productivity to go and do better not worse, is the time where you actually get to shine, you got to bring the best out of you. Not the worst.

You know, we don't we when you're fasting, right? And someone

the hadith is someone says something bad to you, then you say, I need to be in Islam, right.

So did we use it as a threat? You know, someone says to you, and you saw him, and I saw him. And my mom said this is the last this is the last warning to you. I'm sorry. I'm fasting as if it means that look, I have no patience. I have no pursuit. No, it's the opposite. If you're fasting that means I will not engage in any form of negative behavior. I won't say anything bad, I will listen to anything bad. I won't get into a fight. I won't allow my ego to make the get the best of me because I'm fasting because this is the time where I get to draw myself closer to Allah subhanho wa taala.

Milan gets us to appreciate our blessings a little bit more. It puts us in that mentality where we feel.

Here's here's what I always do. The best day of the year for me at work is the first day of work right after Ramadan. Right. So I three days of fasting going to work every day in clinics and working everywhere. And then I'm Alonzo first so I go to work and I am the happiest person on the

I

don't know what all these people are complaining about. I don't know what they're all upset about Monday coming in dragging their feet. I am happy. I can have my tea this morning. I'm going to have lunch later. What? What what is Why are you so upset? This is amazing. I did this for 30 days starving. Ramadan gets you to appreciate what Allah gave you. You don't get more. You see, it's all about expectations, right. And life is just about expectations. If you're expecting 100 And you get 90, you're upset. You're disgruntled, you're sitting there feeling like you were ripped off. But if you're expecting 10 And he got 90, you're as happy as can be. You feel like they're the biggest

winner in the world. It's important. Ramadan just pulls back these unrealistic expectations. We do it to our children, we get upset when our children have unrealistic expectations. When you've worked all of your life to make sure they have a house above their heads. They're going to a good school, they get to eat good food, they are protected, they're safe, they're not abused. And you aren't they have their own room for God's sake. They have their own bed, they're not sleeping with someone else for you. You've you've done a lot for your kids, and then they expect more you pull your whatever hair you have left out of your head. Because why are you expecting more? Why are you so entitled?

When Allah headmaster Allah Allah, the Exalted example is for Allah. It's no different.

We are no different with Allah subhanaw taala, then our children are with us. Well, he no different.

We just keep on asking for more. And the moment he does not give us the full platter. That's all we see.

That's all we see. It's just that whatever was missing, that last piece that didn't come through the moment of frustration, the failure

for God's sake, your whole life has just been a story of things working out without you being involved.

You have there's an infinite amount of ways that things to go wrong for you. And Hamdulillah you sit here you're healthy, you're able to function, you're Muslim, and then one thing goes wrong, one thing

and then you're not happy anymore. And you start asking, and then you want to meet with the shift to ask him why did God do this to me as if I have a catalogue for you.

To explain to you why

amounted Ramadan, just remind you just pull back your expectations a bit, you can survive with less. And a lot of this could have taken what you see you fast voluntarily. What about the people who fast and voluntarily the fast because they don't have access to fresh water or to healthy food. Or they're ill I'm an oncologist people have cancer can't eat. They don't have an appetite, they can't they want to eat but the vomit it all up, they can't just because your body is rejecting food because some something, something horrible is growing on the inside, the body doesn't want to feed it anymore. So they can't eat, they're sitting in front of a good meal, they can eat it and they can

enjoy it, they can even smell it.

The expectations we have in this life have to be refined a little bit, you have to go back and revamp them and kind of revisit them, take a look at them again. Ramadan is remind you that maybe me put me pull down. Maybe instead of expecting more from Allah expect a little bit more from yourself. It's obvious you can do more. It's obvious you can do more here, I held food back from you and water and you still did fine. So it's obvious that you can do more. Because if you can do this much without food and water, if I give you food and water, doesn't it make sense that you do more? Doesn't it make sense? Here's more you do more. So maybe instead of expecting more from Allah, maybe

expect a little bit more from yourself. And that's what this does teach us. You appreciate blessings, you learn a little bit of empathy.

The person who fasts has, should have the most empathy in their heart, not the least they shouldn't be the people who are pounding on their horn breaking traffic and yelling at people and giving them no, it's the person who feels the pain of hunger. So he thinks he or she they think of those who are hungry, and they feel for them. This is an ugly feeling. I don't I don't want anyone to feel like this.

I don't want anyone to feel like this. This is a horrible feeling.

That's what fasting does, it gives you a little bit of empathy. Yeah, maybe I should maybe I should think beyond myself. Maybe I should start thinking about those who don't have access to these things. Maybe I dedicate my life towards becoming someone who has a voice and has a status and so I can so I can be their voice I can do something for them, they can make sure that children don't go hungry and people don't lose their basic rights and are sitting there waiting for someone to offer them. nourishment or or hydration.

And that's what Ramadan is supposed to do. But this is the philosophy of fasting. This is why we're fasting or fasting for these goals. I beg you Wallahi. Just Just think about these things so you can take make them so you can benefit from from what you're you're coming up to. Because if you go through Ramadan, feeling upset, feeling sorry for yourself, that you're hungry, that all your other friends and your co workers and your colleagues are eating and drinking and you're not and feeling like I deserve to rest and I deserve

have time off and I deserve to be given a second I need I deserve people's empathy because I'm hungry. change that a little bit well like for your own sake change that a little bit and learn from this philosophy that you You're stronger than you know you're more capable than you know your potential is way more than you know expect less from your environment and expect less from Allah who has given you a lot already and expect more from yourself well Allah is very healthy not only physically it's also mentally extremely healthy way to live and that's what I'm Allah is there for but then if you if you sleep all night and you use up all you know if you sleep all day you're up

all night and you're over eating throughout the month like Ramadan you're supposed to lose weight because you don't eat as much

this is where I'll lose you. I'm gonna hold on to you for a few more minutes I'm gonna lose you at the end inshallah good

Ramadan is a large adjustments. Those who attend my

sessions know what Milan is a large adjustment.

You can't build good habits with large adjustments. Learn this from me, this is very helpful for you in your life.

Good habits are built through small adjustments, small changes, baby steps, things that you repeat on a daily basis for a long time. They're really small, and then you expand them slowly. But if you have bad habits, you get rid of them with large adjustments someone who is addicted to a substance.

Historically speaking, they tried two approaches. They tried, okay, let's cut down let's do it slowly. All right, you're you're drinking this much about the holiday drink this much and you cut it down. Or if you're doing this much like cocaine or weed or whatever, it didn't work, it didn't work. The only way it works is you stop cold turkey. You go to rehab, and you struggle and suffer and then you're off and you'll never touch it again. It's the only way for a large for a bad habit to be broken is you have to just stop it.

And it's hard because that's a large adjustment to your lifestyle. And that's what Ramadan specializes in.

Think about this for the next two weeks. Ramadan is here to redeem you have bad habits. That's what I want you to look at it that way if you do it well if you do what I've done appropriately like you fast the way you're supposed to fast and you attend for children up till now we can you do Khurana we'll talk about the plan and show you do it all right, then it's very hard to hold on to a bad habit. You have to be a professional, like you have to work hard. I tip my hat for you. If you're able to do it, I'm going to willing to still hold on to a bad habit because it's very difficult. Almost impossible. Number one is designed to take away your ability to have a bad habit. And that's

what it's there for. It's there to rid you of bad habits not necessarily good habits. It's not necessarily there because you can't Can you fast everyday after the mullah? No. Are you expected to know can you pray every single night that Oh yeah. after Ramadan? No. Are you expected to know you're not this this is specific. This is a time that Allah subhanaw taala calls upon the hearts of his of his servants. And they come running. That's it.

We just Allah Subhan there's something, something in the air, and they just come to him Subhanallah without and our job is obviously to make it welcoming and make people feel at home and make sure that they keep on coming afterwards. That's our role. Charlottetown

The idea is that no. does what he does. He brings people you can't you can't group duplicate that after Ramadan. You pray thoroughly Ramadan, and then you say okay, let's do 1pm On a Saturday, is it the same?

We've been doing it for a year before poor fellows down here and maybe a lady at the end, is it there, they're not in there, like just trying to get through it. Because there's something about that time. He just brings people's hearts in subhanho wa Taala just the hearts of his of his servants come closer to him. And it's there to help you get rid of these bad habits to large adjustments. Use it appropriately think and write down your bad habits for your own sake. Think about them. What are they? What I what do I what do I never want to do again.

Now if you can't think of that, then you have bigger problems than you even know. If you're not able to come up with what your bad habits are, what is that you want to get rid of in your life and you have to rethink your whole your whole existence. We all have bad habits, it's part of being alive. And Ramadan if you use it appropriately will help you get rid of bad habits. Low tide on him

this is what I want you to change in terms of your attitude.

It's not despite fasting. You don't say, Oh, I'm gonna go to work in spite of the fact that I'm fasting. Oh, I'm going to be a good person today. Even though I'm fasting. Oh, I'm going to be kind and patient, despite the fact that I'm starving. No, no, no, no, please stop. That's that's garbage language. We're gonna get rid of all that. No, you're gonna do it because you're fasting. It's because you're fasting is not despite fasting. We have we have played around a little bit with our terminology as Muslims while we have so many ways and I tried to point these things out as much as I can. Because these attitudes actually not mean a lot.

You're a Muslim. You believe in Allah subhanaw taala because of the difficulties. Your belief in Allah strengthens me with difficulties. You don't believe in Allah. This

like life being difficult, you don't hold on to your faith, despite the trials? No, no, you hold on to your faith because of them. We believe in Allah because there are difficulties and the more the difficulties come by with the more we believe in Allah, and the more we love Allah Subhanallah that's how this works. When you flip the terminology you basically you're you're drilling a hole in the fundamental core of what Islam is a husky Bonanza and Utako and you're cool. Man now whom like afternoon that people think they're gonna walk around saying we believe in Allah and then we're not going to be put to the test. The Prophet alayhi salatu salam says you'll be teller. an MBO was solid

on its own when M fell, fell and fell or shadow. Nassim Tila and an MBA are the people who are tested the most in life are the MBAs and then the pious, then the better and then the better. And

it's ranked by piety. The more pious you are, the more he will test you. So we don't believe in Allah despite difficulties in pain. We believe in Allah because of difficulties and pain. And we're not going to be good at Ramadan, despite fasting, we're going to be good in Ramadan, because we're fasting. Can you make that flip? Can you take enough time contemplating what I just said, so that you can have that mental change that mental change, if you have it, then you don't need to attend any of the ones you've got? You're good, you're good. You're good forever, because you see fasting and you see them Adan, as

it's like your mountain. It's the source of your strength. It's not the cause of your weakness. You're not fighting against somebody you're using the power of this month, the power of fasting for you to be a better person in your life. That's what I think is worth thinking about.

Ever heard of this term? When you buy any biology

majors here, you know what gluconeogenesis is. So your poor liver now your poor liver. Now this dude sits there in your right side of your abdomen.

And he is very talented. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He's a chemist of the highest rank, and he can do a lot with what was going through the blood. But the liver can only do so much when it when you're shoveling doughnuts down your esophagus all the time. Like if every couple of hours something has been go is going down. Your liver doesn't see the point anymore. It's like there's no need. I have all these tools in my lab. I can take all like I can move fast and I can take carbohydrates and I can take sugar and I can I can get you I could keep everyone happy. The brain what you need. I'll make get it for you. No problem. I can use all these things. But then after a

couple of years of of eating all the time, your liver cysts, they're almost Yaniv unemployed. Or it's like those it's like animals Buffy and fibula, drought Obeah. You know, it's like the governmental, Jonnie,

employed people in Arabic countries. They sit in these in these desks doing nothing all day long, nothing, absolutely nothing. They just eat and drink and they make their food and they're preparing it so they don't do it. No work at all. There's no work to be done. Your liver becomes lazy, because there's no need for to do anything anymore. And then even the liver becomes fatty. Ever heard of fatty losers? Where are you very well known disease kills a lot of people eventually.

But your liver has this little trick.

If after a couple of hours of nothing coming down

your brains like, hey,

it's getting a bit hot up here because someone said, we need we need some fuel running out. The stomach is like I know I'm telling him. He ain't listening. I don't know. We just walked by all this food. It was a cookie right there. No one claimed it. I don't know why I told him I wanted it. He didn't didn't pick it up. The water was there. He's not I don't know what to tell you. I'm making him as hungry as humanly possible for you. So now the stomach and the brain are arguing back and forth in the pancreas is like well, I don't know how much more I can hold back this insulin before I kill you. And there's so they turn to Mr. Liver. And they asked him if he can. If he has a trick up

his sleeve, and he does that he can go in and hit start. And he can start getting you power from the inside. It's an internal source of power. You never needed an external one. You always had the ability to you can run on delivers that gluconeogenesis for days for weeks for months. And some of us have eaten

enough food like for a year and it will be fine. We'll be fine. We don't feel too well. But we'll be fine. I know I have at least a couple of months in me.

If I don't make my I'll survive, I'll survive. But if it's not given the chance, you know, I love this because it's even biologically it's telling you you the source of your power is internal meaning you have internal sources of power you don't need to keep on no you don't just stop for a second to stop shoveling stuff down for a moment. You have way more than you can bring that that power that energy from within from within. It's all set up you always did. You always did. You always could. You always had the ability to generate power and

Did you from the inside, you didn't need an external source. You never had to be dependent on it. I find that be very poetic. Even on a biological level. It's very beautiful. That Ramadan is there to remind you, you there's way more to you than then even you are willing to, to admit.

Fast like you just accepted Islam. All right. I'm just giving you the things to think about. Fast when number one comes as if it's the first time ever, I want you to forget all the Ramadan's before, I want you to consider yourself new to Islam. New just everything is new, sometimes very helpful. I do this all the time. I go online and look for people who just accepted Islam talking about your experience. I put me to tears every time because they say things about Islam that I've been taking for granted for years and years and years. Stuff that I don't even think about anymore. Things that I don't even feel are valuable. I just because I do it all the time. As a part of my upbringing. I

was born into this science I my parents made me do it. But then you see someone who the first is new to them, and they're being introduced to Salah for the first time they make sujood for the first time they read fatty hand they actually read the meaning of Fatiha not as someone who has been studying Fatiha for 50 years who has read like multiple volumes on it know someone who just the first time reading just a translation and their their take on it is just so so raw and unique. When it comes to fasting the same thing the concept is so odd it's so I want to say weird but just so original it's authentic. What is this all day long? And that they try it anyone here have I don't

say white friends but non Muslim friends who who who are like amazed by the fact that you fast which amazed by it and then they try a date or something right? To try a date or something then they're like wow, this is I'm saying it's helpful for you well like that you benefit from that way more than they do you feel like well, mashallah, I actually I'm actually doing pretty well by being able to be able to do this, because there's something beautiful about what you do. So fast as if Islam is new to you, as this is the first year that you're being exposed fast that the Sahaba did that first year fast as they were being told that they have to go into the Bible about that while fasting. Think

about that. And then think of Yanni what would that mean to you?

Remember when they that picture came out two years ago, really cool.

First picture of a black hole

that's what we have on the inside now is apart, it's something that we have inside of us. We all do.

The Black Hole we're gonna use it is because what it does, as far as we can tell them the universal law item is what astrophysicist think, is that it's antimatter. And it basically just swallows everything. It can swallow not only universes, planets in salt, like swallow salt solar systems they use in full and full galaxies as the it's just they don't understand how about that one is and there's no end to how much you can actually take inside of it. And we all have that inside of us. There is no end to how much you want. And there is this emptiness that we carry on the inside all of us we all do.

Whether physically with the pouch of the stomach that we got that's empty or the spirit itself, we have this emptiness and no matter what we throw on it, or throw into it hoping to suffer to for it to be the fill it up to satisfy it or to quiet it down to hungry or it gets hit some people throw food and, and and travel and some people throw you know, play and parties and games and and some people throw alcohol and substance abuse. They're throwing things out or just being a workaholic, it's not having no time just hoping that this emptiness that just gnaws away at you, when you're alone will go away. It just gets hungrier. And people just get more and more anxious and more and

more depressed and more and more unsatisfied with your lives. The only thing that fills that emptiness is the love of Allah subhana which is it? It's Allah jealous, you know, it's knowing Allah is being close to Allah subhanaw taala which is why he brings Ramadan, like, think about it, he could have made the budget month where we're close to Allah without the fasting, right? Just think about it didn't have that fasting. You could have done Oh, yeah, and we could have like all these rituals and all this beautiful above agenda, Dr. Hub webinar tovala all these all these details happen, but you don't have to fast he wanted to happen during fasting. So that you remove a lot of

these distractions. Like what like food and drink for example. If that's the distraction then everything else What are you gonna call everything else? If food and drink your basic needs are called a distraction or the way that they're being approached in Ramadan? If so, you don't need that going to distract it. What are you gonna call other stuff that we do, or other pastimes that we that we engage in. He wants you to put all that away and just focus

just focus on Allah Subhan your relationship with Allah subhanaw taala and that's how you're gonna feel fulfilled. And it's not food and it's not drinking it's not leisure is not having more or owning more being more powerful or being more famous or everyone who went after something and duniya and got it was really disappointed after they got it. My hand to God I swear to you Wallahi every single person who

went after something and Dounia and finally got it. I asked them now and they're like, Yeah, was it worth it? No,

they don't ask me the question I don't want to come, I want to come off as ungrateful to Allah and Hamdulillah. But was it worth it, they don't feel that way. Nothing is worth going after besides the satisfaction of Allah subhanaw taala that doesn't mean that you're not ambitious in life, but you become ambitious for different reasons. You become ambitious, not so you can satisfy that emptiness, you become ambitious because you want to use whatever you achieve to please Allah subhanho wa Taala to be closer to Allah subhanaw taala. And that's, and that's the trick. And that's what we have this water Madonna is here to teach. That's the philosophy of fasting, that there's the emptiness on the

inside, you've been shuffling, stop for a second, doesn't go away. It doesn't get bigger response stays the same. You want to change it pray at night. And then one night in the interval we will make a sujood and you'll bawl your eyes out and you'll feel like that was the most valuable moment of your entire life. Because you're at peace with yourself. Because you were honest and you were clear and you're direct and there was no masks anymore there was no lying and there was that that that serenity that tranquility and that closeness to Allah so and everything else means nothing. Everything else is just it's just it's there use it well, from the bottom I just use it for what

it's for. Don't Don't Don't be enslaved by it. Food is there for your needs not for you to be running after it all the time looking for it. It's just not it's not worth living that way. Mala Dona Ana Allahumma but living Ramadan Jemaine that is what I wanted to share with you. But here now I can lose you. I'll say at the end because we're done. He was making losing. So I talked about he talked about this idea of fasting.

Try this, try this. Try fasting. And then act.

Be quiet. I know you don't want to you want to want to hear me hear this. You're gonna hear this anyways, every year every I say this? And they said I don't like it. No, sorry. You don't like it? I tell them every year they don't do it first, and then I'll

break your fast. How have you dates? Drink some water? A little soup? And then pray Maghrib and go to the masjid. All right. Try it. Just try it. Just try it. Try it once.

Try it once and see. Do you die?

Alright, just what happens? Nothing happens. Actually, you have probably the best night of your life. If you fill up this tank, at Muslim and comfort zone Oh yeah. Aside from the fact every couple of seconds, you're burping and calling causing a public health hazard, and almost a bit knocking people on their feet, you're also half intoxicated, because of all the food you have on the inside. You cannot enjoy the Quran, you can't hear what's being said, you just want the amount to be done. You want to go home, try fasting because the concept of fasting is eat less, eat less, so he less don't add it all up to Muslim. No, say okay, I eat this much. I usually eat this much for breakfast

and this much for for for lunch and this man from Ghana and then for load comes and I eat all of it then and then have salad later on, that's not going to help you're gonna gain weight and feel miserable throughout the whole month. But eat less and try it this way. Try just not try to dissociate your fasting from the promise of food at night with no break your fastest, it's actually sooner to break your fast immediately. Immediately, not a second late, but try to eat less and see how that goes through. I've been doing this for over 18 years 19 years now. It's not hard at all. It gives you a completely different understanding of fasting it puts you in a different mindset and I

ask people to try it every year and no one every everyone who anyone who tries it they have to come back and complain to me about it's fine it's not it's not it's not difficult to do and actually helps you it helps you a lot because you don't have as much time to eat and if you're after a hug and done oh yeah he can barely eat a little bit that you have any appetite on so if you have if you were to eat less than at the end of Ramadan you feel much more energized because not eating as much and you're getting better. So try that and show this Ramadan and let me know how your experiences and what we'll do is when I'm going to do so this is actually official I'm going to put a QR code

for you to put in your experience with doing this right and we'll see how many people actually put an experience

will probably be very very few people do we have

good okay so just for the for the kids who attend exam Allah here or even everyone else who attended will have like a few minutes of a Kahoot just to answer some of the questions that will go first of all to Asia and Georgia tomorrow will be the second session of

a talking about cm we'll talk about the bounties of Ramadan. Make sure you have the the the posters tomorrow morning is the final post fight or potluck I'll give the final dose and we'll have breakfast and the world will be off until after Ramadan and also please you're welcome to come and participate in show he's not gonna look at

it

Santa, Santa Monica

Santa Monica. Okay,

we're gonna do a Kahoot quick before Asha in sha Allah so for those of you who can't see the code in the back, it's 3507978 so join as soon as possible that way we can get it done before the other end inshallah or sorry the tama

today's prize is going to be chocolate

chocolate

so if you win after Salah after the hotter you can go get the prize from the office and shawl on the back

by 738 We're going to start in sha Allah okay

730 Maybe 30 seconds in 30 seconds

Does anyone need any more time?

Raise your hand if you need more time to join the game. Okay quick

the codes 3507978

Okay, ready? Ready Okay

so hopefully you've been paying attention because the questions came directly from today's halacha inshallah so question number one the worst vessel you can fill is your blank What is it

is it your mind your stomach, your car or your hands? Johanna answered this today.

Stomach is correct.

Let's see the leaderboard. We have Yusef in first yes sir Denali in second Lulu and third M wn VIP and fourth gate True or False fasting is commonly practiced through all three Abrahamic religions

practiced is fasting practice by all three religions True or False

this was mentioned

false it's false because even if it's mandated it's not practiced right now check out that said that.

Is that is how it works. Okay Ramadan Muslim.

Okay, question three. What surah is Ramadan mentioned in the Quran

surah dilemma ADA.

Salt al Fatiha Surah can have or certain Bacara what surah is Ramadan mentioned in the Quran?

Botha is correct

okay, let's see the leaderboard we have yes at adient first, Lulu in second Bharat and third Mashallah.

Okay, question number four. The Sunnah is for your stomach to be filled with two thirds of food and 1/3 of water. Is that true or is that false?

Two thirds food 1/3 Water

true false

false to 1/3 Water Sorry 1/3 Food 1/3 Water 1/3 air

it's false. Okay, there's a leaderboard

go to next question. Quick otter.

Ramadan is about learning.

self discipline, how to survive with no food how to lose weight or what we want as humans. What is the Ramadan about learning?

self discipline is correct.

leaderboard is the same. Masha Allah

which of the major battles did not

Boker and Ramadan this one is not particularly mentioned in the Khalifa but it's a test of your zero knowledge

by the prophetic Maccha Bhandup or ATHLEAN which of these four was not did not occur in the month of Ramadan at the time of the Prophet SAW Selim

summed up

the other three were on the slides to be fair, the other three were on the slides.

Okay, now we have the first two still there and so high in third Amen in fourth and Ibrahim and fifth Masha Allah

Okay, next question.

Ramadan teaches us the difference between what we want