Bilal Philips – How to Increase Your Eemaan
AI: Summary ©
The importance of positive intentions and renewing them is discussed, as well as the challenges of increasing Eman and the importance of thinking positively instead of just trying to increase it. The title of the Quran is a source of reference, and practicing good deeds and good deed is crucial for achieving a great goal. The importance of reading the Quran and not just reading it with the help of others is emphasized, along with the need to correct the story and use it as a tool for learning. The school's child abuse and the problem of disrespecting children are also discussed, along with educating children on the history and meaning of the Quran.
AI: Summary ©
In Alhambra, Linda
knock Madonna Stein want to start a federal
when I would have been let him in surely I'm fusina Woman sejati I'm Elena.
Miyata hinda Philomel Daniela for my youth little fella had yella was shadow in la ma hula hula Sharika was shadow ana Muhammadan. Abdu, who was Zulu.
Indeed All praise is due to Allah and as such we should praise Him, seek His help, seek his forgiveness, and seek refuge in Allah from the evil which is within ourselves, and the evil which results from our deeds. For whomsoever Allah has guided, none can misguide. And whomsoever Allah has allowed to go astray, none can guide
and I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship but Allah, who is alone and without partner.
And I bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is the last messenger of Allah.
And now Stoeckel Hadith he Kitab Allah,
okay, had you had you Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
was Sharon Ohmori Mahabharatha Akula modesetting Bayda or coolabah attend Allah Allah, Allah Allah Allah Tim for now.
Indeed, the most truthful form of speech is the book of Allah.
And the best source of guidance was the guidance wrought by Muhammad salallahu alayhi wasallam.
And the worst of all affairs are the innovations in religion.
For every innovation in religion is cursed. It is a source of misguidance and it leads ultimately to the hellfire.
Brothers and sisters.
As we reach the middle of Ramadan
we need to reflect on what has passed and what is to come.
We need to renew our intentions
as the province ASALA mad told us, whoever doesn't set his intention prior to the fast has no fast.
So the intentions remain
the most important and the most basic element of fasting as it is for any righteous deed
whose reward we seek from Allah.
And this month
among
others of the Quran,
a month of righteous deeds
a month of
controlling our appetites, our desires
controlling
our thoughts and our behavior
in this month,
there still remains a question in the minds of many of us
how to increase our Eman?
The most common question
I receive from Muslims
from all around the world
my Eman is low.
It's going down
how to increase my Eman
and it is of course a question which should be important to each and every one of us.
Because for us to die in a state
of low Eman
is very dangerous. That is a very bad sign for what is to come.
Ideally, the best way to die is to die in a state of high Eman.
When the mind is at its peak,
this is the state we want to be able to leave this world in.
We should be striving to leave this world in that state
and for many of us
This issue of increasing Eman
seems so complex,
so difficult.
So philosophical,
so complicated, that we can't find the means ourselves.
When in fact, the Prophet SAW salem said, I didn't know your
religion is easy.
It's not complicated.
Our concept of God is simple.
It's not like Christianity where, you know God has a father, he had a son, Holy Ghost.
Three gods in one.
God, the Father is God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit.
Yet, God, the Son was praying to Him, and sits beside them in the heavens now, but he is the same.
This is mind boggling. This is weird philosophy.
So to figure out anything after that, if you don't know who God is, if God is so complicated to you, then how do you figure out anything after that? What do you do with the rest of your religion?
So it boils down to just salvation, you believe you are saved?
Otherwise, it's just too complicated.
Whereas in Islam Alhamdulillah.
We believe in the same god
of Jesus,
the same God of Moses, Abraham, of Adam, one God,
simple,
no relatives,
just one God.
And He is the only one that we worship. Simple. No intermediaries. No special friends who will do favors for you
know, you have to go to him directly.
That's the simplicity. A Dino user.
It is simple to understand
its principles. Ours made simple by last month Allah because it is the truth. The truth is simple. The truth is self evident. It's not complicated.
So when we go back and look at the issue of
how to increase my Eman
as especially in these times, where we have so many challenges, whether political or social, ideological,
economical,
whatever, so many challenges.
The solution remains the same. It doesn't change what it took to increase Eman in the time of Prophet Muhammad Allah and the time of a Salah Salaam and the time of Musa and the Gambia, Allah masala is the same thing it takes to increase Eman. Now my times are not special.
No more special than they were in the time of this haba or the time of Prophet Isa. etc.
The formula is a very simple formula
increase good deeds, increase Eman.
decrease bad deeds, increase Eman simple.
You want to increase the man
do more good.
Give up evil.
Simple
and this is the month which is supposed to help us achieve that goal.
To help strengthen that awareness and consciousness that we live in an environment where there is plenty of opportunity to do good, where there's plenty of opportunity to give up evil it is there.
Wherever we are
That opportunity is there for us. simple formula
do more good.
So how do we turn that into practical terms? Very simple.
When we get up in the morning, or at the time of support,
we think about some good we can do today.
What happens is that we just make this a horror we eat, we go pray, and we go to sleep, and then we go to work. And we don't stop to think,
what good can we do today? Now we say it's automatic, you know, there should be good somewhere, somehow we should be out. But you know, as I say, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
Simple.
If you fail to make a plan about doing some good, then the likelihood is you become so busy with all of the requirements of your job situation, you're out there and all the things that are going on around you forget it, then comes if tar is didn't do any good today,
Days Gone.
A day, which we can't bring back
squat, we missed the chance.
So it's very simple. And even if you missed it at so far, it doesn't mean it's gone all day, as long as we have nit Iftar we still have the chance.
So
that is something we should take away
from today.
On our way back home, when we get back home,
think reflect what good can I do today? What good deed or deeds can I do today?
And a good deed of course, is not necessarily a deed which is good for us.
Because we don't judge things simply by whether it's good for us or not good for us.
Right? We judge things according to what is pleasing to Allah. Simple criteria. That's what the real good is real good is whatever is pleasing to Allah.
So we just have to reflect on something we can do today. Maybe even plan for the days to come.
To start something that you can do regularly every day, that's wonderful. That's the best kind of good deed not one everyday you have to sit and think thrower, but one which you have thought out, you put it in place and every day you're there doing it.
Good deeds, very simple.
And of course,
among the good deeds of Ramadan is the reading of the Quran
is one of the good deeds. Now prophet Muhammad wa salam didn't say to us, you need to read Quran and Ramadan.
He didn't say to us if you read the whole Quran in Ramadan, you will get this reward that reward a house and Jenna etc.
No Hadith like that. If you heard it, you know it's false. It's fake. No such Hadith.
He revised the Quran in Ramadan with Gibreel.
But Allah connected to
Jehovah Ramadan, a lady on Zillow feel for
the month of Ramadan in which Allah revealed the Quran. Allah linked the two together.
And the essence the foundation of our deen
is the word of Allah is
nothing more basic than that, that is the essence of Islam. What Allah
said to us,
the Quran is Allah speaking to us.
And we need to understand the Quran that way.
It's not a storybook. A lot of non Muslims.
When they pick up the Quran, they start reading it.
They find it going here, there and everywhere.
This book is confusing.
As it's translated, obviously, it's confusing.
It's not a real book
because they're using
Reading the Bible, which is a bunch of stories is a storybook story after story after story, with great details about these stories.
That's what they used to say when they pick up the Quran. And most books when you get it if it's a, you know, a book with some kind of a message, not a science book, but a book with some kind of a message. It's a story. It's coming in some kind of story form. We're used to stories from where children, what do we like, that time story?
As what kind of books do we like to read books with stories in it
that were raised on that we are inclined to stories.
So when they pick the book up, it's not following the story pattern. This is confusion. I'm expecting a story. I'm looking for a story. I mean, yes, there is the story of Prophet Yusuf. Is there one story, but is there another chapter that we can say that whole chapter is a story? One story?
Okay.
So then what?
This is the point that is lost on many that the Quran is talking to us. It is Allah speaking to us.
He is communicating with us. And just as when you sit down and communicate, if you listen to two people talking, do they talk in stories?
They sit down for half an hour, and they just tell one big long story. No,
they will start something then something else comes up and this one adds this one. And
that's how we speak. We don't speak in stories. But this is the Quran talking to us. So Allah talks to us and to all of our needs, whether it's psychological, whether it's emotional, whether it's spiritual, whether material, Allah talks to us through the Quran.
This is the word of Allah.
So what better foundation
for our faith?
Then Allah, God Almighty, speaking to us directly.
That is the Quran.
But unfortunately,
for most of us, we haven't grasped that.
The Quran is a book of Baraka.
It's a Baraka book.
You read it, for the 10 Hassan that you get for every letter.
It's not about communication, you're not thinking in those terms. You're just thinking about hash and art. And it's a good thing to think about as an ad, it's not bad. But if thinking about has an ad, causes you to miss out on the real message of the Quran, then that's very dangerous.
That's very dangerous, we have misplaced our connection with the Quran.
It's become misplaced.
We're focusing on the wrong things.
And that's why for most of us, the Quran remains for 11 months on the top of the shelf.
We keep it the highest point, above all the other books we put it on the top of the shelf. That's where the dust collects.
At the end of the 11 months, when Ramadan comes around, we take it off, we blow off the dust.
We sit down we start reading it for the astronaut.
We read the whole Quran and Ramadan. If we can do it two times we feel even better. You know,
the more the merrier.
But what Allah had to say to us
we didn't grasp.
It went over our heads.
For most of us who don't understand Arabic, we don't even understand what is being said there. We've learned how to parrot the Arabic alphabet and its letters read it.
But we have no idea what Allah is saying and even for Arabs, you might think oh, but they are observed so fortunate. They you know, they understand, but actually they're just reading it fast too. They're not even thinking about it either.
They're just reading we do we do we do at
Because the goal of reading Quran in Ramadan has become completing Quran in Ramadan
it's the completion. Why for those Hassan that the 10 for every letter you add up how many letters are there in the Quran? It's a big number. Multiply that by 10 Ma sha Allah. That's a huge number.
But that's not what the Quran was for. When the Prophet SAW Selim said to the Sahaba yes
there are 10 good deeds for every letter you read. And I don't mean I left la meme is the letter but alif is a letter lamb is a letter meme is a letter. He was saying it
to people who understood that the purpose of reading the Quran
was guidance houden lil Mata teen there it is, right there very simple.
Not complicated. Again, a dino user why we read the Quran couldn't guidance, guidance for those who fear Allah.
So what we need to do, we want to increase the man
let's get back to the Quran the way it was supposed to be read.
It's not important to complete the Quran in Ramadan.
It's not important. What is important is to read the Quran and receive the message of guidance from Allah subhanaw taala and to implement that guidance in our lives, that is what is important.
Even if all we get through in the whole of Ramadan is Surah Baqarah
Komamura Komatsu, Arthur Baqarah.
If that's all we get through,
know that if we have gotten through Surah Al Baqarah.
Understanding what Allah has said in it, trying to apply what we understand of it, we have achieved a great goal.
A great goal. So great that up the lipid Massoud said that the one who had learned Surah Al Baqarah.
Among us among the Sahaba 60 odd 1080 odd 1000 In the process, LM died.
He was called half
he was called how I feel.
Today, if you call somebody who learns who Al Baqarah half when people say I will the biller.
That's sacrilege. The half is the one who has memorized the whole Quran from fatty how to nurse that is half don't call anybody else happy.
That is the attitude people have today. But that wasn't the understanding of Sahaba.
The one who had learned Surah Al Baqarah was called half field.
Because he
didn't mean simply memorizing.
F didn't mean memorizing
the wrong sides LM said what credo comenta Allah man Quran Allah Allah. The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it to others.
We turn that into another statement. Pharaoh Coleman Hafiz Al Quran our her father.
The best view are those who memorize the Quran and make other people memorize it.
These are two different things.
Learning the Quran Bay and God valve memorizing also. But memorizing the Quran doesn't necessarily involve learning it. The message of the Prophet SAW Salem was to learn the Quran
memorizing was a way to help you to learn it, not a ritual
of just memorizing the text.
where for example, in Pakistan, the common practice and this is nothing against Pakistan is one of my wife was Pakistani
Children who have Pakistanis, so
don't take this out of context we say I look he talked about Pakistan is why? Because this is something I've experienced in Pakistani culture
that
parents will choose out of their children, one male, they will say Listen, your job is to memorize Quran
the rest of us will go and we will deal with the dunya we do whatever you know takes etc. Don't worry about anything we will take care of you just memorize Quran just you why? Because they believe that if one memorizes Quran, he can take so many family members along with him into Jana.
So we ensure that we are going to gender we have that one. It given the job of just memorizing the graph.
A couple of months ago,
one Pakistani family contacted me from
Canada.
And they asked me what should we do?
Our son
who memorized the Quran, dutifully
practiced Islam,
fasted, prayed everything.
15 years old, he came home and told us I don't believe in God.
I don't believe in God, this was just, you know, so shocking. I don't believe in God, I don't believe in Islam. I'm not a Muslim.
He memorized the Quran. How can we say that?
This is should we kick him out the house? Because he would, you know, affect the other children?
In fact, them
pass his disease on to them, what should we do? Should we keep him and also kick him out?
This
big trial, a huge trial, what do you do?
But the lesson
the lesson in it,
he memorized the Quran, and he left Islam.
Now, there may be many factors involved. And you know, that's a whole lecture and discussion in and of itself.
all by itself.
But enough to know that the memorizing of Quran did not protect him.
It didn't protect him
because he didn't know what the Quran was actually saying.
That's the reality.
So we need
in this month
to get back to the Quran, as it was intended to be read.
To read the Quran with understanding as Abdullah witness, oh, that said, we used to learn the Quran 10 verses at a time. And we did not move on to the next step until we learned and understood everything which was in those 10 We try to practice it then we went on.
That's how they learned the Quran.
And I ask Allah Subhana Allah to bring us back to the Quran.
And to read it in this month, as it deserves to be read. And I asked the last one the Allah to give us the reality of that message, the message of the Quran reality which should transform our lives
into lives pleasing to Allah subhanho wa Taala Akula Kalia was stopped for a lolly hola como decided Muslim in Temecula dam festival Pharaoh in know who Oliver for rhyme seek forgiveness from Allah, as he is the only one who can forgive our sins.
hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen wa Salatu was Salam ala Rasulillah al Karim wala Ali was Hobie Minister Nebojsa Nettie, he and Naomi Deen all praise you to Allah and realize peace and blessings be on the last prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and an all those who follow the path of righteousness until the last day
so
The beginning point
for increasing a man
is to read the Quran
to read the Quran
as much as we can,
if we can do it daily,
if we can do it weekly,
however much we are able, we should try our best to read it.
But to read it with that
consciousness, not to read it like parrots,
to read it without consciousness, where we are seeking to understand the message that Allah is communicating to us with
if we are able to do that,
then the Quran will change us.
We cannot help it
without us even deciding and thinking, Yes, I want to change with the Quran, it will change us
that is the power
of the Word of God. Allah subhanho wa Taala
it will change cause change
but we need to read it with understanding that is the key.
So, though I don't say to my non Arab brothers and sisters don't read the Arabic Quran, no.
Read the Arabic Quran.
But whatever you read, read along with it, the translation
read along with it, the translation to my Arab brothers and sisters, I say, read the Quran with tafsir Yes, you understand the Arabic words and maybe some of them you don't.
But to understand what is being conveyed, we have Tafseer we have no end of Tufts years that see Ribnica Thea is one of the best.
So this is the key that we should focus on to read the Quran.
With tafsir
the English that we're reading is tafsir. Some of you might say oh, we don't have tafsir in English, maybe not so easy to get and no no the English stuffs here
know that the Quran cannot be translated.
We say translation of the crowd we call it that. But it's not a translation of the Quran.
It is an explanation of the meanings of the Quran as understood by the translator. That's what it is.
The best thing is to be able to read the Quran
understand the words of ALLAH
and
understand the message with the help of the Tafseer etc that is best. So that's why I say still keep reading the Arabic don't lose track of the Arabic because the Quran
is an Arabic Quran.
And this is not because some people say well, you know the language in Gemini is Arabic This way you should learn Arabic. No, there is no authentic hadith which says that the language in Jannah is Arabic or some people so what Allah is going to speak to you on Yom Okayama judgment, you know, he's going to talk to you in Arabic
and the angels in the tomb.
Mancha and the Kia they're gonna speak to you in Arabic Mandarin book. They're not gonna ask you, who is your God? They'll say Mandarin book. Now, this is a misunderstanding.
You will be communicated with and you will understand.
At that time, you will understand everyone will understand in the grave. Everyone will know. Those questions will be clear. We don't need any translators. In this life, we need translators helpers, so we make the best of it here.
We try to read
an
Understand
and our practice here in Ramadan where we have found time to read the Quran.
Outside of Ramadan we should keep going. Don't put it on that top of the shelf
keep it close at hand. Don't think that it is a form of disrespect to the Quran to put the Quran on your desk because somebody was on your desk, put it on the top
that's where the Quran is supposed to be on top of everything.
So the physical Quran becomes the focus. If the Quran falls, they pick it up
to
where did we ever hear of Rasulullah Salim doing that. The Sahaba told anybody to kiss the Quran if it fell on the ground. No. We made it up because we lost track of what's going on inside the Quran. We now focus everything on the outside of the crime.
It should be in a leather binding. It should be wrapped up in some countries you see it's very fancy.
So everything is focused. You live in the masjid. Don't turn your back when you walk out of the masjid because the crowds are kept here. You don't turn your back on the Quran brother. You walk out the masjid this way.
We have no end of practices. We have added you're reading Quran sitting in the masjid, you know you have the Quran in your lap. Your outer eye you're putting the Quran on top of your outer Mila
but this is ignorance. This is just plain ignorance.
Because we don't have the connect with what Allah is saying. We have found a substitute rites, rituals customs that we have made up around the Quran. So we respect the Quran by doing all of these things. But in fact we disrespect the Quran when we don't understand its meaning and apply it. This is where the real disrespect lies.
And that's why Allah Azza wa Taala said
Elia to the Bruna Quran will they not reflect on the meaning of the Quran?
Allah collusion of Allah, or are their hearts locked up? That's our state. today.
Our hearts are locked up
and that's why we are where we are.
We have been disconnected from the Quran.
So how can we succeed?
How can we progress?
How can our Eman grow
when the spring
the spring waters of Eman are the Quran
and we are disconnected from it.
This is a very sad state
that we are in the OMA and it's not just here.
It is across the OMA from one end to the other.
And
to make matters worse,
to make matters worse.
We have inherited a tradition
of child abuse
around the Quran.
Child abuse, we call it memorization of Quran
Tahfiz schools, but these to a large degree
are schools of abuse.
Child abuse.
I know some of you might say this is terrible. Why is he saying that?
This is reality.
And we have to correct it
the stories of the those who went to these field schools they will tell you
the torture that they went through
and I am personally I have five kids who memorize the Quran in the school so I'm not just talking from hearsay
And these were the best of the schools.
Torture.
I went into the school, one of the best
in the Gulf.
And I saw the staff sitting with the students around him there started to cry and rocking and rolling. And beside him I saw an array of one look like weapons.
Stick, hose, chain, Assassin, what is what are these things for?
I asked, the hostess said what are these?
So these are for the children, you know, if they get out of line, etc.
I asked my son oh, what's going on? He said, You know, he tells us to choose the stick, we want to be hit by
you choose this the chain or the hose, whatever, whichever you think is going to be the lightest study, which is you choose it and he whacks you with it.
What is this?
This is how the Prophet SAW Salem taught the Sahaba Quran.
This is how the Sahaba taught the tablet in God.
Surely not.
And if this child is student, you know is a little unruly, whatever. Then they have them do all kinds of contortions, which we really it's, it's a form another form form of abuse. The child is asked to stoop, put his hands under his legs and hold his ears. They call it the chicken. Because you're you're crouched up like a chicken holding your ears. In that position, you have to stay in that position.
This is abuse.
This is physical abuse.
No less
and worse. I'm just talking about some of the common ones, which many of my friends they say, Yeah, we went through it, you know, because I'm the lie. I accepted. This law was ready. I don't so I didn't experience this at all. But so many of them I would say yeah, we know it. Yes, yes. We remember those days. You know, some of them tell me you know, I ran away from the school.
My parents couldn't get me back into that school I just ran.
So many of these students, they say well look at so and so is Hafeez and so and so. But how many to get that one out of 25 or 50. The other 49 or 24, who now hate the Quran.
They hate the Quran because they associate the Quran with abuse,
physical abuse.
And if you read, you go to the website apostates from islam.com
mortar Deen mineral islami.com
you will find in their stories. These things we used to be tortured in the Quran schools they used to do this Twister ears, the breaker feet and all this kind of
this is the
and I remember, in one of the countries we gathered the whole files together who are teaching Quran and present it to them that they needed to learn
how to teach without violence.
There are other ways to get the kids to be quiet to settle, etc without inflicting on them violence.
Unanimously they said no.
You cannot teach the Quran without the stick.
This is the book of Allah.
This is the book of Allah.
Which we have reached this stage that we are forcing this thing down the throats of our children with violence.
And then we wonder why young people are rejecting moving away from unwilling to practice the way and we wonder why.
Of course a lot of the OMA are just silent.
But I see when I mentioned this torture so many of you smile you
all know it?
Right most of you have experienced it. But we need to stop it
we need to protect the Quran.
This is the health of the Quran, protecting it, putting it in its proper place, ensuring that it is taught in a way which is going to touch the hearts of the children
that it would change them and make them among those who will change the OMA. That's what we need to be producing.
So as a good deed,
a good deed this Ramadan.
Those of us
who are connected, most of us have some connections with grant schools etc.
We should strive to make
a change, to stop this to develop core and schools where the teachers of Quran are trained educators.
They know classroom management, they know how to handle children child psychology.
They're not going to blame everything on the gym.
The child just won't listen. So I say these covered in the gym, the gym has taken me we need to beat it out of him.
This No, there is child psychology. certain ages, children display certain behavior. It's common all around the world.
They need to know child psychology, you're dealing with children, you are a teacher, you have a responsibility
to convey the message of the Quran in the best way.
So let this be a resolution
for those here today.
To use your influence, to put a stop to this travesty
to this disrespect of the Quran, this misuse of the Quran
and change for generations to come. Let us be the ones to step up and say yes, we need to stop it now.
And I ask Allah Subhana Allah to forgive our sins
in this month of fasting and prayer,
to increase our Eman
to give us through inspiration, righteous deeds that we can make a part of our lives from today onwards.
Ask Allah smart Allah to forgive our parents. Those who have passed away to give them gardens from Paradise instead of pits from * as a grave.
And I asked us to make our last words before leaving this world
in the law