Believers

Bilal Philips

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Channel: Bilal Philips

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Come to LA where a capital, loss, peace and blessings be upon all of you. I'd like to welcome you to this episode of the best in Islam. In this episode we'll be looking at what Allah Subhana Allah and His Messenger have declared to be the best

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in human society in the world, and their affairs and the actions

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of human beings. And this particular episode, we'll be looking at who were considered to be the best of the believers. Allah subhanaw taala stated in Surah Al Anam verse 110 110.

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Quantum hydro Metin urgently NASS Tamura bill Maru Fatah, Nana Moncure, Luna Bella,

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you are the best of people

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ever raised

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up for humankind, you command the good,

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forbid the evil and you believe in Allah. So this statement of a law subhanho wa Taala in the Quran describes the best

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of humankind, what makes them the best that they believe in Allah. So we're talking about the believers. However, there are two characteristics which Allah has added to make the believers the best.

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These characteristics, those who possess them, become the best of humankind and the best of those who would believe those characteristics are first and foremost, commanding the good

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and secondly, prohibiting the evil and the term which Allah uses in the Quran. For good, Tamura noble maroof, you command

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what is known to be good Alma roof what is known? Why does the law use the term what is known and not just merely say, they command the good ol hair.

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Because

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what is being stressed here? When a law speaks about humankind, you are the best. You the believers are the best nation, group community raised up from the totality of humankind, who know what is good. We're born with a sense of good and bad, right and wrong, righteousness and evil.

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we are given that this is imprinted in our souls, which is why Allah described the human soul saying for Allah Maha fujimura ha ha taqwa that Allah has inspired that human soul, to know what is corruption and to know what is righteousness, and goodness. So first and foremost, Allah gave the characteristic of commanding the good priority, that we have a duty, wherever we see what is wrong,

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to advise others to try to correct it. As we are able,

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and the prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him. He gave it

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different levels. He said, Man, there are men comun Quran, poliovirus God, whoever amongst you sees an evil should prevent it with his hand.

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He commands the good by preventing

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the evil with his own hand. When when he is in

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a position of authority, find them yesterday, they're fabulous. And he. And if he is unable, a person is not in a position, they're not in our thority, to stop an evil, to command what is good,

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then they should speak out against that evil. And if they're still unable, then the least they can do is dislike it in their hearts,

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then that is the lowest level of faith. For somebody who only has that option. It is not the lowest level of faith, it is the product of faith. But for those who have the ability

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to stop it with their hands, or to speak out against it, but they avoid that and only hate it in the heart, then for them, that is the lowest level of faith. So we are commanded

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to fear a law

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to command the good to the degree that each and every one of us is able, what is required of rulers

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is not required of those who follow them. Each

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level of society has

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their level of good, which they are required

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to command. And that

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comes with the general responsibility. For each and every human being, which was expressed by the prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him. And the Hadees, in which he said, Luke O'Brien, or kolloquium, must own an rhit. Each and every one of you is a shepherd, responsible for his or her flock.

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We all have responsibilities,

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to ensure that the good takes place, what is good, what is right,

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we have the responsibility to ensure that it takes place and to prevent what is evil, what is harmful.

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That's why the other section was added. But then how Nonnenmacher we have to prohibit the evil that has to go along with commanding the good because to command the good, and not prohibit the evil is to give evil a chance to overcome that good. It's not enough in a society, in a community in a home to only command what is good, demand that what is good is done.

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But evil takes place, and nothing happens. No one says anything about it. That is not good.

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That is harmful. So these two are two halves of the whole,

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commanding the good,

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prohibiting the evil, the one supports the other,

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the more good you command,

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the greater chance that evil will be prohibited. But we don't leave the prohibition of evil to chance.

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We have to engage ourselves also in prohibiting the evil. So as a parent, for example,

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when you tell children,

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the good things that they should do, when they go to school, they should listen to their teachers.

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When they play with their friends, they should share.

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At the same time we have to tell them in the school, you should not

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treat your fellow students badly, they should not cheat or you should not lie to your teacher. So we prohibit those things which are not good for them. Similarly, when they're playing with their friends, when we tell them on one hand share commanding the good.

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We should also tell them not to take the property of others, which is the evil, evil that could possibly occur. Not to speak badly of others to avoid gossip, to avoid slander, speak well. We command the good, avoid evil speech. We prohibit the evil. And if we look at the various Pillars of Islam, we see that they're all geared towards commanding the good developing the good

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and prohibiting the evil

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elements in our lives. Sala, which is the backbone of the Muslims, day to day life, when Allah describes the purpose

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the value of Salah he said, in the salon tanha and in fact shy warmonger. That Salah prevents evil speech and evil deeds. So it is preventing, prohibiting the evil. How does it do that? Well, when we pray, we only pray using the words which Allah has prescribed for us through the messenger, he has told us what we should say in our prayer, and all of the things that we say in our prayer, good things. So we are being restricted from saying anything bad, and if we make any personal additions to our prayers, supplications that we might add here or there. Again, these are for good. So the prayer

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prevents us from evil speech, we're not allowed. We're not able to engage in evil speech, you cannot

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commit slander, or backbite, gossip, these kinds of things, there is no room for it in the prayer. So this is training us to avoid these things.

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And on the other hand, we know that the prayers primary purpose was to remember a lot to be conscious of Allah. And this is why Allah said akima Salah lithic re establish established the prayer for my remembrance, in order that we may remember, Allah will continue this subject after a small break.

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Salaam Alaikum Aleikum, I would like to welcome you, their viewers back from the break. Prior to the break, we were looking at the prayer with regards to commanding the good and prohibiting the evil. And we had said that

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a law had described the purpose of prayer, as that of remembering Allah Akemi Salah, the decree established the prayer, in order that you may remember me, what is the purpose of that remembrance. The purpose of that remembrance is that we would be commanded by that remembrance to do good.

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Because when we remember a law,

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we seek to do good, if we're going to do evil, that remembrance of a law helps us to stay on the right path, to avoid that evil. So this is the significance is the importance of remembrance of Allah. And that's why for example, alcohol is prohibited.

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Because it causes us to forget a lot. When we forget a lot because we're intoxicated, then we do things that we wouldn't even imagine we could do. Some of the worst and most heinous of crimes are committed in states of intoxication. So the remembrance of a law is for commanding the good. So all of the various practices of Islam, whether it is giving Zakat, giving charity, that is the good being implemented,

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commanding ourselves to do good, encouraging others to do good, or it is the pilgrimage to Mecca, sacrificing to commemorate the good of Prophet Abraham, to bring that goodness into our lives, to recognize the sacrifices of his wife hajer and bring that type of sacrifice into our lives also, the good that comes from it. So the whole of Islam is about commanding the good and prohibiting the evil. We will look at now another statement of the Prophet on the matter of the believers, and who is the best among them.

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Abu huraira quoted the prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him as saying, I'll move on Kofi. Hi, Ron Hubbard in a law Hey, minute minute dive. We're equal in higher.

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The strong believer is better and more beloved

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To a law, then the weak believer, though there is good in both the strong believer

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is more pleasing to Allah than the weak believer. What does this mean? Is it physical strength?

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Or is it strength of faith? scholars looking at this said, it's both.

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We should be physically strong. If you are physically strong, you're able to do things that those who are physically weak are unable to do. So there is good and having strength. Prophet Muhammad sallahu wa sallam was strong.

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He wrestled with his companions, during narrations about him, being challenged by some of the top wrestlers of Arabia, and him wrestling and defeating them. So Prophet Muhammad, may God's peace and blessings be upon him, was a strong man also.

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And weakness, physical weakness, where it produces weakness in faith or weakness in doing good, or in prohibiting evil,

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then, obviously, that lessens the value of that believer. So the strong believer physically, but even more importantly, spiritually,

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is more beloved to Allah. That means that we should strive for the pinnacle of faith. Our goal should not be just to believe, just to get by, that we may be called Muslims, believers, that shouldn't be our goal. Because if we fall short of that goal, then we have missed the boat altogether.

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So our goal should be the highest, we should strive to be the best, to be strong in faith, and to do the things which make us strong in faith. Because by saying that the strong believer is better than the weak believer, we're encouraged then, to do those things which will make our faith strong. Those things begin with knowing a lot.

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Through revelation, through what the prophet sallahu wa sallam has informed us through the verses of the Quran, through being around

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the believers, the stronger believers, that helps to strengthen our faith, through doing as much good as we can, doing righteous deeds. This increases our faith, avoiding evil deeds, which decrease our faith, the more evil deeds we do, the weaker our faith become. So that weak believer, spiritually weak believer is one who may be engaged in many evil deeds. So obviously, he is not going to be or she is not going to be very pleasing to Allah. So

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what does that mean? It means then, that we should strive to be strong believers in Allah, so that if we are caught up in some errors, sins, etc, we may fall from that state of being a truly strong believer to being a pretty strong believer, that's good, okay. Better that than being a weak believer, cool. When he or she falls, they fall into this belief. Now, the prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him, went on, to say that, in both of them there is good. The belief the fact that they are believers, that in and of itself is good, whether strong or weak. Having that characteristic means that there is good in both, even that weaker believer is still good. As the

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prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him and said, Man, Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah Jana, whoever states, sincerely believing understanding that there is no god worthy of worship, but Allah will enter Paradise, maybe they will be punished for some time, they may end up in hell for some time. However, they will ultimately make it to paradise. So, belief is in fact, the key. The key to success in both this life and the next. But as the Prophet sallallahu Sallam encourages us here, we should strive to be the strongest of believers. That should be

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He then went on to say, cherish what benefits you seek help from a law and do not despair. Cherish what benefits you meaning

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a Harris so determine us, you know look out for seek out what is beneficial to you. things which are not beneficial is better you avoid them, they're not going to help you. So focus on that which is beneficial. That is what's going to strengthen your faith and do not despair.

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Do not feel that any mistakes that you have made, cancels your faith etc. No, by not despairing, having trust in the law, having hope in a law that keeps our faith strong, if it calamity befalls you do not say, if only I had done that, it would have been like that, if only avoid if only instead say, other law, or my shot, I find it is the destiny of a law. And he does what he wishes for Surely, if opens the door for Satan, this If only I wish I had,

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I should have going into all of that. No, it's done. It is a law's destiny, that what has taken place has taken place. So leave it Yes, learn if you've made a mistake from it, you learn from that mistake. But don't dwell on Oh, if only if only if you hadn't said this, if you hadn't done that, if only, you know, that just ruins your life. And it's the door through which Satan creates confusion in people's mind puts them in a state of despair puts them in a state of fear and, and weakness, depression, all of it comes from that. So we avoid the ifs. If only instead, accept it has happened. We shouldn't have done it. Yes, I shouldn't have done it. It's done. Now. Let me know try to make

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the best of it. Correct. Whatever is wrong, improve better, whatever that strengthens faith that builds faith, accepting the destiny of God in our lives. And with that the viewers would like to thank you for being with us. And this episode of the best in Islam. And we hope to see you in our upcoming episodes in sha Allah said Ahmad aleikum wa rahmatullah warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Si.

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Si.

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Si.

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See,

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pray when you

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pray, praise Him.

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