Bilal Philips – Missed Opportunities
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AI: Transcript ©
hamdulillah alameen wa Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah Karim. Allah Allah he was asked he, Minister nevison he laomi Deen
all praises you to align your life Peace and blessings Ghana's last prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and all those who follow the path of righteousness until the last day.
The topic of today's football
was that
of missed opportunities.
mentioned that
when we see the season of Hajj,
season of righteousness and opportunity to do certain deeds which Allah has promised, for them great rewards when we see his path,
and any opportunity path, or any season of righteousness,
we should reflect we should cause us to reflect
on past opportunities in our lives in general.
Because each day,
there are opportunities to do righteousness that we allow to go by
without taking advantage of them.
And this, in fact,
is a sign of failure.
This is a sign of failure in this life.
When we miss the opportunities to do what would help us to succeed, not just in this life, but in the next life.
What we find is that a lie in the Koran
tells us to study in the middle of the comb,
you should hasten to forgiveness from your Lord.
And reverse goes on to say,
in gaining that forgiveness, what you are hastening for is a paradise,
whose dimensions is that of the heavens and the earth.
This is
what Allah has promised us, if we hate them. So his forgiveness
is forgiveness.
Not nearly by saying I stopped for the law,
I seek forgiveness from Allah. But by doing acts of righteousness, which would earn us allows forgiveness.
A lot also said in the Quran, for sceptical hierarchy, that we should compete with each other,
in
gaining the good things of this life,
the good things which will benefit us, not only in this life, but in the next
we should race with each other for that.
However,
when we look around ourselves,
look at those around us we look at ourselves.
What we find is that people are hastening
to gather around them, the dunya
they are competing with each other
and how much they can accumulate of this life of the pleasures of this life.
How much money
cars, houses, whatever.
This is what people hate us for. This is what they compete.
And this is what is reflected in the conversation. When people gather when they sit.
They're not talking about how can we do further righteous deeds. What righteous deeds can we plan to do together?
What good things can we do to benefit others classically and benefit ourselves not to gather and when they gather, they talk about the home they're building back home or the home they're building here. You know what they have, how much money they're making, what their salaries are, how much rent you're paying, you know,
the new car you just bought?
Me This is what most of the conversation is about.
And this is what this is great.
evidence
that we are losing in this life, we are failing in this life.
Because, as far as our fandom has said, and k is more than enough to where I'm in any modern mode, that's the
wise is firstly,
the person who has been blessed by a law with wisdom is the one who takes account of himself.
He takes stock of himself,
he checks himself.
Are these opportunities being missed? Yes, then I have to change my program.
he changes his program in order that he would gain what Allah has promised, after this life, as well as Ala Moana to say, after checking himself, he works, he acts
for that which comes after them.
And the foolish one
is the one who doesn't check himself
enjoys this life
and hope that Allah is going to give him the best of the next life.
Such a thoughtful
This is something
we find
throughout the Muslim world today.
Muslims who are Muslims in nevan
not practicing Islam.
But they have this great confidence that they're going to paradise in the next night.
The lies
the lies the most,
most forgiving.
All of their trust, all of their hopes, are based on the fact that Allah is most merciful, but they have not done the acts which would avail themselves of Allah's mercy.
These are foolish hopes.
This is a foolish person.
And this is the situation of the mass of the Muslim world today.
And because of that,
lack of action, that lack of utilization of opportunities which are presented daily by Allah, for
Muslims to avail themselves of Allah's mercy, then instead, they are cursed by Allah.
And what they find falling on them are the punishments of oma,
whether it is in Bosnia, Somalia, Kashmir, or Philippines or wherever Muslims are India,
they are suffering under the punishments of Allah.
Because they have not availed themselves
of the opportunities which allows presented for them.
To work righteousness, to compete in righteousness, to establish the religion of Islam, religion of a law in their own personal life, as well as in the communities around themselves. They have not applied themselves.
Because if we
do not attempt not only to practice Islam ourselves, but to establish it allows us to establish it within community, then we have felt
I'm not saying that
if we fail to establish what have tried, we have failed know,
if we have tried and failed, we have succeeded.
But if we have not tried
then we have failed.
There is no guarantee of success.
For our actions in this life,
lowlifes promised
success in the next slide.
So what we know is that it is our duty to strive to make an effort.
Whether we succeed in this life or not.
A lot of promise in terms of the lion circle, that if we help
to establish the religion of Allah, that Allah will give us success.
This is his promise and we have to believe it.
If we don't act in accordance with that statement of a law, then in fact, we have not really believed. We say we believe in a law, but we don't act in accordance with that belief.
That means, in fact that we don't really believe
amount of mention
a hadith in which department has
further elaborated on this idea of utilizing opportunities
in which he mentioned seven different
opportunities
which govern a man's life.
Which if myth
leads to failure in this life.
This particular statement of apartments I send them is a very comprehensive statement.
However, in the presentation, I didn't hear the first point that you raised,
then somebody
poverty, that's the one I thought was the first but then he started to call that number two. So there was one before it's
the what I, what I got that he mentioned was poverty.
This is the things that we should
make use of before these particular things, these things, the things that we should make use of before it's poverty, you know, before poverty strikes, before sickness, before a sudden death, before old age, before the false Christ. And before the final hour.
Are you included with the poverty?
Oh, okay. Yeah, I thought it was, it was one point that she was describing.
So
what the problems are solemn here, try to refer to, or referred to in a statement, you know, governs the main points in a human life, were there certain transitions were certain transitions take place.
The first one, then?
Well,
firstly, then, you know, excessive wealth.
That
if we're in a situation,
a normal situation, where we are,
we have enough to look after our needs.
That
we are not at that point
diverted
from remembering a law from worshiping the law.
Unless
we
do not, or unless we utilize the start, utilize all our energies and trying to gain the Zuni around.
All of us safe, right at this point in time, or at a moderate stage.
In comparison to people back home, where we came from whatever,
we're making some reasonable amounts of money, maybe it's not as much as we'd like. But it's reasonable amounts, it's enough for us to live relatively comfortably. And
this is an opportunity where there's not pressure on
pressure, which would cause us to deviate pressure of excessive wealth.
Although we think of exactly what was something that was six
right now, this is what people's conversations we spoke about earlier, people conversation tends to be about, you know, trying to gather more and more of the Zuni around.
But, in fact, the situation we are in right now is the ideal situation, for us to worship Allah.
So utilize our time and our energies in worshiping Allah thanking him for what we have
is why problems are selama said to look to those below us,
not those above. Look to those below us. Because if we then help us to remember a lot spavor honor,
the favors which he has given us, which is we tend to neglect when we start to look to those above us having more than us of the junior. So this is a general recommendation because when that excessive wealth comes.
This is a monstrous fitna, which very few people managed to escape will not accessible
outcomes,
then people change
isn't the history that we've seen Muslim history, when Muslims went into Spain, when they went into to India, when they went into wherever they went, initially, when they first went in that first generation were people, you know, who are very much concerned with the religion and living simple lives and establishing the rule of God etc. But then after that rule was established, you know, and and control developed over large areas, then the wealth started to come in, and then the people started to change.
And then
you find them deviating, going into all the various forbidden areas, and they end up once they reach that stage of deviation when they start to compete and fight amongst themselves. And the state breaks up into a number of little mini states. And then when the enemy comes back,
then some of those Muslim leaders of the many states join forces with the enemy, to defeat the mass of the Muslims. That's the history
from the time of the problems are solved, at a time, so today, look, this is a general principle happening.
And this is what we see in the States, various Muslim states today, in terms of the excessive wealth, what this has led them. So
we should be very careful of this. And, you know, this is
in reverse one of the swords at the end of the crime, we're in the losses, color in the internal labor law.
stuff now, that, you know,
the individual human being
becomes affected.
When he sees himself,
not in any need, he sees himself so rich, so powerful, you know, he is not in any need of anyone or anything,
he forgets a lot. He feels he has everything that one could have.
But the reality is that
this is the height of misguidance.
This is opening one, up to the worst of the calamities, of among, if not in this life, definitely in the next, because all the rich and the riches of the past, they did not benefit those who had them, the pharaohs
who enslave
masses of people on a scale,
perhaps greater than anything else known in history,
to build for themselves, these huge tombs, which remain, even till today, the pyramids,
having themselves very there, and many of their slaves killed along with them and buried along with them to serve them in the next life. But they believe when they came, they're going to come back into the next life with all the treasures that were buried along with them, and they needed slaves. And there are a number of this, like hundreds of enslaved killed there, and laid to rest in the grave waiting for them.
But the reality is that
in Cairo museum or London or Washington, whatever, you know, we find their bodies, they're, you know, embarrassingly displayed. They've been stripped of their clothing, looking horrible.
So much for all that wealth and those that they kill them. That's the reality.
That wealth has led them to believe that they were themselves bad as an upward spiral thing, another Bukola Buccola, I am your Lord. Most
people
oppressed themselves become oppressive. Would that well.
At the same time, the opposite of that is extremes of poverty.
Very Muslim, again, in that moderate state that we are, it's very important for us to utilize this opportunity before extremes of poverty strike.
Because again, when people fall into extreme poverty, this can cause people to turn away from a lot altogether.
Now people ask why me?
They can't be a god.
Why should this happen to me?
Why should happen to my family, my people, and so many cases that you hear about,
extremes of poverty,
which cause a person to become so concerned about his journey.
hear about providing, you know, food in, in his mouth, etc, that he will go to any lengths
to disobey a law in any way to get what is necessary for himself or his family to survive.
Again, Samantha seldom used to seek refuge in Allah from poverty, I
know, some people would have believed
that poverty is something which we should know, does not teach us to see poverty, you have certain mystic movements
promote this idea of poverty.
But, in fact, Islam doesn't support it at all.
Poverty is not something which is like
Islam worked for, for the eradication of poverty.
At the same time, he does not seek excessive wealth either. That's why the systems are there for the distribution of wealth.
And we know anything, when you go to the extreme,
then there
turns out to be harmed.
The third point was that of sickness
that we have our health now.
It is something that we tend to take for granted.
Whatever health we have now, it may be less than what we had before. But it's still more than many people have, or that we could have in the future. We do have health now. And there's a lot of things that we can do, going to make O'Mara, you know, extra prayers at night, etc, etc. These things we have, we have the ability to do this now, then, it's very easy situation to for this situation to change. We're big, we become so sick, that we can no longer do these things. We wish to do them but we can't. Because we become sick.
We will regret them the opportunities that we have before.
And this is
related also to some of the practices like hedge fund where people tend to leave hedge into the latter part of their life. This is wrong
and should be done once you are able, once you're physically able, economically you have the means to go and do it. Don't leave it until the the latter part of the life you know when you have one foot in the grave. And this is what traditionally Muslims do around the world, but it is wrong.
Because you may become so sick you can make a journey and only that you may die before
and you will then have been sinful in having not done Hajj when you are able to and delayed
drunk
Furthermore,
Baba Salah warned of sudden deaths, again,
no death is around the corner. This is why
lm encouraged us to go to the graveyard.
He said I used to prevent you from going to the graveyard. But now I command you to do so both in the graveyard because it reminds you
of the next life It reminds you of your own impending death, that you could be there
any at any moment
that something sudden death, you see catching people
all the time.
Car accidents, accidents in the home and
people just die. Somebody was your friend yesterday.
This is something that can happen to any of us.
So we should not feel
complacent. We should not be complacent.
Whatever opportunities we have now we don't know when we may lose them. And of course when a person dies, that's it. There's no more coming back to do good deeds, there's no more means of continuing to do good deeds. The only things that can help us are the good deeds that we have done, which are of continuing value.
We've done some charitable works. We've taught others that knowledge and the charitable works you've done, continue to earn good work for us. And our children if we raised them properly, when we die their prayers for us continue to help us.
This is what we have to do. We have to raise our children properly, so that they would pray for us after adjust. We have to try to use what Allah has given us in this life in such a way that it would continue to benefit us after we pass.
So the majority of our energy should be spent in doing righteous deeds of continuing value.
Also
Ah, Aguilar refers to describing how He created man, when he starts from a stage where he was unable to take care of himself as a baby, having no knowledge and able to do nothing for himself, people have to look up. And some people he calls to go back to that state again, let the latter part of their their life where they become so old and senile and decrepit. The exception, they can't take care of themselves, somebody has to take them to this oneness and everything,
their minds that God can't play on.
This is a state
that
may happen to any of us.
And inshallah, we should use our knowledge and consciousness that Allah has given us now to make the best of our opportunities. Now, before such a situation arises.
The price
magician, the Job says something about which the prophets before all warned their followers,
the false price
would be a trial to mankind,
because he will have certain powers, the law will give him certain powers,
which will make him seem
like a prospect or even that,
to those who are ignorant,
and will end up following him because of his claims,
and the work that he does,
which appear so miraculous.
We have to know what Islam is,
and understand it properly. Otherwise, we will be caught up in it.
You have many, many Muslims,
whose concept understanding of Islam is so distorted, that if the false Christ comes,
they will be amongst his immediate followers.
Because they think that what makes a man holy is the ability to do magic, miracles, they consider it to be miracles, you have various
holy men.
Just looking at a magazine last night,
National Geographic, they were talking about
Mauritius.
And they gave some examples of Muslims in Mauritius. One example was that of Shiites who had these they were in the Muharram profession, but they had all these
like, spikes stuck into their bodies. They're walking down the street with these spikes in their bodies and their cheeks in their face that someone hears and all that.
And then the other example he gave was of a Muslim holy man from one of the Sufi *, you know, who was taking a sword and sticking it through his jaw.
This is the sign this is what makes this man holy, so the people around him because you can take a sword and stick it to his job.
Of course, it is common in the non Muslim societies. You know, you have those two, Buddhists who admire those who are able to walk on coals, you know, hot stones are heated to the point where they're
if you drop a piece of paper on, it will just burn up, they walk on it to the
to the sign of reaching the peaks in spirituality.
And others, you know, the Hindu, Yogi's and the others who are able to fit their bodies and do all kinds of wild things which the average person can do, some of them bury themselves in the ground, they cover them up with dirt, they will stay there for three, four days, and then they come back up alive, these kind of things which appear to the people to be miraculous, and therefore it causes the people to submit to these. And why should
Islam teaches us the false would have all that they say static origin of all that. But if a person does not understand Islam, they don't understand how he's who Allah is.
What is mad.
Then, when the job comes,
and he calls the earth
and tells it to give up its treasures,
in on gold and silver will come up to the surface of the earth.
And he will cause reverse the flow in front of him
like paradise, people will just be able to solve.
He will fire an arrow into the sky and he's going to kill that
and the arrow will come down, covered in blood
and people will take
Kim has a gun.
And many will be amongst those who call themselves Muslim. So it's very important for
your opportunity that we have now to find out to know what Islam is. And to teach that to our families, so that they don't become followers of the false Christ when He comes. Because he is coming without a doubt.
And the last
of the seven trials is that of the final hour.
which Allah describes mankind as being in a state as if they're drunk.
They'll be stumbling around in a daze state as if they're drunk. But they're not just because of the
the deep
and terrible files of this hour.
To put men in that state,
we have tried to prepare ourselves
to do what we can in this life before that hour comes an hour which allows promising which is coming and can come at any time.
A time when the only thing that is going to benefit us, is our faith and righteous deeds.
And the Imam closed off the first part of the clip
with a surah known as a tekapo.
The accumulation which speaks to all that we've spoken about
the people in this life
by the competition in accumulating the lunia.
The treasures of this life
are so macabre, until
they visit the grave,
not by choice.
Visiting the graves here means when they are lowered into the grave.
This competition will cause them to be so distracted in this life, that they won't realize the foolishness that they're involved in until they die and have been lowered into the grave. This is when they finally realized
made them
cannot have autonomy
to McCullough.
This is when
you will know
a lot of repeats.
emphasizing that for a lot of people is going to be a big shock.
big shock.
Allowed killaloe Salah Muna
If only you knew with a certainty
that you will see
the fire
and you will see it with
he is with
a clarity, which is
incomprehensible to us in this life.
When we hear about it, we're seeing it as something else.
And at that time, someone else aluna Yama is in and in life.
And at that time, you will be asked about the pleasures of this life.
And that's when you don't want to be asked about
you are caught.
You will see the fire you will know that's where you're headed.
And you will be asked about this life on the things of this life which you are given and about your competition in trying to gather it. And you know that every answer you give will be further confirmation for you going to *.
This is a state
we should all fear
and that fear should lead us to act
in accordance with a lot of commands to strive
to compete with each other and righteousness in this life.
And for those of you coming back from ads
were not the same they are like except your Hodge
may be the hedge mob rule.
One which is blessed by a law so that when you have returned you returned from the Hajj
fewer from sin like the day you were born
because you had a Hajj, which was in accordance with the law of command, line up with our law for sukawati data if
you're not involved in any kind of lewdness
and
Hajj is a circumstance, of great trial for people with regard to lewdness.
Because there are so many circumstances
where women will be around you,
women, who may be coming from countries where they are not
properly trained in terms of how to cover themselves, so they may be exposed.
They may be maybe due to the crowds or whatever pushed up against you, and all these other different things.
This is a big trial, that you do not fall into a state of lewdness
or into a state of bad
words.
So many opportunities there where people will step on your feet and knock you down and all kinds of things for you to curse and to shout and to, you know, become abusive,
or others become abusive to you and for you to join them the abuse.
argumentation, whether physical
or verbal,
if one manages to pass through the head without being caught up in any of these things,
remembering a lot throughout
fulfilling the requirements of the hatch, then a lot of promise.
Forgiveness,
which takes him back to the beginning.
However, the man said,
he is surprised to see certain people
who are very
anxious and very
definite about making Hajj regular, they make it every year. Every year comes, they'll be making much, you know, it's like something you got to do. But they don't
love people.
Instead, this is delusion.
foolishness.
They're not playing five times a day that has is useless.
Because Islam begins with Fela.
If the distinction between belief and discipline is whoever abandoned this
neglect, gives up, has fallen into a state of dismantling.
So it's like
President Clinton coming and making Hutch.
I mean, what is it going to do for him.
So this is a kind of, you know, as you'll be making, if you are not established in prayer, then such as is of similar,
use useless.
So, just a reminder, for those coming back, that
the reward from Allah
is for Islam,
a way of life,
not a ritual
that we have to leave Islam throughout our lives, for the rewards which alive promises for Hajj or for any of the various righteous deeds to come to us, we have to live.
So, as we said the topic of today's call
was one of missed opportunities.
The passing away of the period of hatch,
opportunity to pass and slaughter.
This is an opportunity which is
if we have not benefited from that season of Hajj
or even if we have benefit.
Likely we have not benefited fully or completely we should reflect with his passing the passing of that season on opportunities which pass us throughout our lives
because the seasons a major opportunity but in our daily lives. In our waking hours. There are many opportunities
spare time
spent
much of it
in foolishness.
We have to be careful.
We have a responsibility to utilize our health, our wealth,
our time, everything that aligns given our age or youth etc, we have to utilize this
in
accumulating around ourselves
the things which will benefit us not only in this life, but in the next
life there any
comments anybody would like to make concerning
the topic of football,
or any questions
anyone would like to raise
in the
first few days
more than
a person's
life
even when
you don't want this period
of time,
the
opposite
feel something
we take into account
what happens inadvertently?
You know, as Dr. Sandler said that we're not held to account
for
what comes to our mind as long as we don't speak on it, or act on it.
Right. So what may initially come to our mind,
that may be from shape or maybe from the circumstance we find ourselves in however, natural reactions, whatever. But then when we dwell on it, because we have the opportunity when that comes to our mind or whatever, to either dwell on it, to say out the left, seek refuge in Allah, put that aside and carry on or we can dwell on it.
Once we dwell on it, that leads us to either speak or to act on it. This is when Now, those circumstances can become sinful for us and be considered amongst the lewdness which may occur during Hajj or Umrah.
Further questions
or comments?
Can you raise your voice
was
our brother suggesting that during hard you may make minor sins which a
person referred to as being a scratch on your record?
or major things this can destroy your hands all together
for the benefit from your head, this is as a general statement, he has two
minor sins and salami forgive excuse and major ones which he may not.
However, that which comes to your mind as a result of a circumstance, which you have no control over, this would not be considered amongst the minuses.
This wouldn't be considered amongst the minuses, because circumstances where we have no control, which is according to the destiny of Allah, Allah is not going to punish us or to consider it against us, if it is not by our choice.
So, the minor sin may come when a person says something,
a lesson then when he acts on it,
you know, he may say something to his compiler to give example, I would say say if he said something to the other person with him, you know, boys not woman, so and so on. So,
that would be his minus, whereas, what is the
interest of a woman
with another house
this is a major because it actually breaks the alarm, if you get into a fight or you curse somebody or something like that these are amongst the things you should not do when in hajj, but they are not in and of themselves acts which would break your status. Okay?
No, it is not forbidden.
A person at home one is not making
to sacrifice.
Even if the person
is appointed that this is what a person was intending to make the sacrifice is not to clip his nails or cut these here. But if he does, so, does that mean he cannot pack a pack? No, no, no, just like it's a it's a kind of a recommended thing. And also the sexual relations not included in that because he's not going into accident status. But he's just doing some of the things similar to a person in
a bakery to have to get a haircut.
But if you have not cut in New York, there's a general recommendation a case for clipping of the nails and cutting the hair that this you know, should not exceed 40 days. So it's not a requirement. No, because the cutting of the hair again, it's coming out of your forearm and you didn't enter into a forearm so that is not a requirement for you to do so. But you may do so at the end of the day.
Okay, shall we close with Hanukkah, Hanukkah, Shadow Allah in Ansan astok suka