Planning For The Hereafter
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Channel: Bilal Philips
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AI Generated Summary ©
The importance of adhering to the Bible and the Sun shaping our way of thinking is emphasized, as it is crucial for us to submit actions to the Bible and not fear loss or loss displeasure. The importance of love for Islam is emphasized, as it is essential for individuals to demonstrate a life of one being in control and to be aware of their actions. educating children in Islam schools and avoiding unfair media coverage is emphasized, as it is the right of every Muslim to be educated and to read the Bible in a clear and authentic way. The importance of following laws and regulations and avoiding sin is emphasized, and the goal is to change behavior and habits to become a culture of success and change behavior.AI Generated Transcript ©
Something we come across in the crime
spoken on the member.
When lectures come through, they talk about it. It's there.
It's hard, it's out there, but it is untranslated
into action, not actualized
This is the basic problem facing Muslims today.
They have been divorced or divorced from Islam
from real Islam.
This is the big challenge that we're faced with today around the Muslim world.
So when we speak about preparing for the Hereafter,
we're talking about
putting Islam into practice. actualizing is
the missing link in the lives of Muslims today.
Islam not realized.
Now prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
had given us
a basic formula
for actualization of Islam.
Simple,
not complicated, not philosophical.
Nothing that one has to reflect on research.
Call it a no brainer. It's just right in front of our eyes. This
characteristic of amoraim
entoma secton vizima lenta de la vida. I've left with you two things.
If you hold on firmly to them, you will never go astray
cadabra law
personality
The Book of Allah and my son
that's it.
If you hold on firmly to them, you will never go straight to some narrations he said bite on to them with your mailers.
Use mailers if you just say bye Tom because you could bite on with your PC and have a little bite on it and easily come out of your mouth but he said no bite on with your motors means it's got to be all the way back in your throat there you got a good grip on it
that is how we should have a grip on ourselves.
So
the basic requirement
for that preparation is
holding on firmly or adhering to your Koran. And this is not
holding on firmly to the Quran and the Sunnah.
Those who held on to the Quran and the Sunnah in the past they call themselves or they were referred to as our listener. Well, Gemma,
our listener, well, Gemma,
those who held on firmly to the Koran, and
the people of the cinema and the community
because holding on firmly to the law requires
holding on firmly to the community.
One who strays away from the community
is devoured
like the sheep that strays away from the flock, the wolf will devour it.
So that community became an essential part of holding on firmly to the Koran and the sooner
we can find in the Koran five verses
Which specifically address the benefits of adhering to the Quran and the Sunnah.
The first of the verses in Surah
verse 71,
a lot of there were my
father fosun.
whoever obeys the law, and His Messenger, has greatly succeeded.
And his messenger has greatly succeeded. obedience to Allah.
And obedience to the
obedience to the law requires that whatever commanded us to do it, whenever he is forbidden,
whatever Prophet Muhammad, Allah has commanded us, we do it. And whatever he has forbidden us we leave it is what it means
rejects the idea that some people will raise,
well, if it's not forbidden in the Koran,
where is it? forbidden?
There are people making these kinds of statements today.
I don't see it forbidden in decline.
But
what a law said is that whoever obeys Allah
and
His Messenger,
they will be successful.
So you know, we don't make any distinction. In terms of obedience, of course, there's a difference between a lion is messenger
in terms of who they are,
Allah, we worship the messenger we follow similarly.
But in terms of obedience, there is no distinction.
There is no distinction.
Because
a lot of fun to Allah didn't just reveal a book,
a book of Revelation, the Quran, he didn't just reveal that
he could have.
He sent a messenger to explain to people how that book of revelation was to be applied.
He translated
the Koran into a way of life.
He was the living plan.
That's why he was so important.
Why you cannot separate the Quran, from the messenger
who brought it.
He was not like a postman. Now the postman, he brings the mail, he drops the mail off and he keeps going.
He doesn't know what's in the mail.
It's irrelevant to him. His job was just dropping off that piece of mail a whole different
role.
His job was to
practically demonstrate for us how that
was to be applied.
Because without his demonstration,
you could come up with a whole bunch of different things.
Why those people who deny the sinner
deny what Prophet Muhammad
taught, what he brought.
They come up with all kinds of interpretations and practices.
No longer
match that of the JAMA
the main body of Muslims, they deviate
because it's now left up to what you think what I think is when it's left up to what you think and I think everybody's got an opinion.
Opinion superior to my own.
pinion,
maybe I have to claim something that I'm receiving special inspiration. And that makes my opinion more important than yours.
And then from special infrared inspiration it becomes revelation. We have Mirza Ghulam Ahmed.
This is the process.
So
the first verse addresses obedience, that it is about obedience. And this is the essence of Islam. The obedience
submission,
which we all know Islam means submission.
This is obedience.
When you obey, you submit.
It could be external, it could be internal it could be both.
Because what is required a versus both.
From the Sharia perspective, what is required at least is external.
But what Allah wants from us, is not only external, but internal, that we submit willingly.
Now that we submit because the law is there,
but we submit willingly from inside of ourselves. So the first verse addresses obedience, second verse, in Surah Noor, verse 52, Allah says there will My UT allow Rasulullah
sallallahu
taala, aka homolka is
whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger fears Alon keeps his duty to him, is truly successful.
Same concept in the end,
ultimate success comes through
obedience to Allah and His messenger. But in this verse, another
aspect is brought
fearing a law
and keeping one's duty to him.
This is the element of sincerity.
Doing it, fearing Allah.
Not feeling a lot.
Like we fear a lion.
If we
hear that the circus
had an accident. cage, door was left open and a lion jumped out.
They would run that that's fear. That's one kind of fear.
The one we're talking about fearing a law, we're not talking about that kind of fear.
Essentially, it is talking about fear of a loss displeasure.
See, fear of a loss displeasure. That is the higher level
fear of a loss punishment. That is the second level.
Level One is fear of a loss displeasure.
We don't want to displease Allah,
because of our understanding of who he is,
what he represents with the gods to ourselves.
We don't want him to be displeased with us.
And on the other level, of course, they don't want to be punished as a result of his displeasure.
But first and foremost, we don't want him to be displeased. This is something
where
all of us
for those who we love, truly, that's how we feel.
We don't want them to be unhappy.
With us,
they love them. We want them to be happy with us.
If we really love them, we want them to be happy with us.
And that's why the books I sell them and said
that none of us truly believes, until we love Allah and His Messenger more than anything in this world.
true faith
we hear about Halawa to man,
the sweetness of faith.
True Faith cannot be achieved
without loving a law and His Messenger, more than anything else in this world.
Because as long as we love the things of this world more than we love Allah,
then
we will not fear his displeasure.
Because what is more pleasing to us?
We will do.
Why, because it's more pleasing, because we love it more.
That's why a lot said when levena amanu. I said the hug band Lila.
And those who believe, truly believe they love a lot more
than anything else.
That's where true sincerity
is going to manifest itself. Sincerity based on our love of Allah.
And, of course,
this is something which is required of each and every one of us. And it is something that we
are obliged
to raise our children with,
that our children should grow up with that love of Allah.
What happens for most of us is that we're so busy working in the dunya.
Getting the necessities to provide for the family and all these other things that we don't have time to inculcate this love of Allah in our children.
So when we see them grow up, and they want other things, they have other choices they want to make, we wonder why you're Muslim, you shouldn't be doing that you shouldn't want that you shouldn't.
But they didn't grow up with that love of Allah.
God love of Allah, which we have to
put in the mind of the child from it is in the youngest ages.
And as psychologists will tell us,
between the ages of
one and five, the personality of the child is formed.
The love of a law is not put in the mind and the heart of the child, by the time it is five.
It's not to say that the child will never love a law, because people may grew up in atheist families. When people don't even recognize the existence of Allah. Its parents don't get the children may come and accept a lie in their lives except God in their lives. This happens. So we're not talking about an absolute rule. But as a general principle,
and this is of course, very, very important for us as Muslims very important, especially in this state in this environment, that the love of the Lord
needs to be in the hearts of the children. By the time they're five means it means that doesn't mean like five years old. Now you get everything you can you think to try to put it in the child's home. You're working on it consistently.
Meaning that you're relating things back to a law.
They're hearing this connection, everything is related back to a law.
Fear of a loss displeasure.
If we're able to give our children that by the time they're five, then we have given them a solid foundation for faith.
That if we fail, then we have an uphill battle after that.
But to say we can still succeed, Yes, we can.
And they might succeed in spite of us.
In spite of our failures, they may turn out to be
good,
committed Muslims, it can happen too. But it's the question of percentages.
where parents are conscious, and lay that foundation of love of the law, then the percentage
of chances for that child to grow up with that fear of the law, that love of the law.
Grew up a righteous child about who the prophet SAW Selim had said, that there would be seven shaded by law thrown
on the day when no shade will be available, except the shade of a throne.
Among those seven was Shaban, Nasha, a fee a bad Attila.
A youth, a young person who grows up worshipping Allah.
In most cases,
our children grow up not worshiping Allah.
And later on in their 20s, or 30s, whatever they wake up, like most of us coming from
the home country, whatever, you know, we look back at our youth, right? Rarely worshipping Allah just playing.
Our father sends us to the masjid, you know, we go hang out with our friends and come back when to the masjid
wasn't really there? Maybe something happens
later on, which causes us to stop and think well, you know, what is this life really about?
100 law there was islamize there. So we could reach out and say, Well, let me look at what Islam is saying. Yeah,
you know, life is more than just this thing that I'm involved in.
Like everybody else, life has more meaning to it than this. So, we have something that can
guide us out of it.
But this
concept, this aspect, with regards to raising our children, this is essential. With regards to ourselves, of course, it is also essential.
It is what distinguishes between
one who worships a law,
because he or she has understood,
understood what worshiping Allah means. And those who do it because everybody else around them does.
It is the culture, it is the tradition.
It is what we do.
And this is why we have
a struggle
in the lives of
Muslims, young people in this society, where they are placed in environments
with a whole different perspective.
a whole different way of looking at life
and tradition, a whole different set of traditions.
And then we find our
youths, young people changing
drastically
in ways we
Never imagined could happen. But it happens in front of us.
So on one hand, we need to raise our children with that sense, that awareness of a law in their lives of God in their lives. And at the same time, we have to live with that in our own lives. Because of course, in the end,
it goes back to the example that we show.
What example did we show them?
It's both aspects. One aspect is that we have to be conscious
and work on this principle. At the same time, we have to also demonstrate to them
a life where one is in fact conscious of doing things
that we know are truly pleasing to Allah and avoiding things which are displeasing to him.
The third verse
from Surah Nisa, verse 69.
My UT la sala
de la Rasool
Allah Kamala Deena nama La La him manana Bina was the Tina was Shahada solid in raha sooner una ecography? Ha.
Whoever disobeys a lot is messenger,
sorry,
tired.
whoever obeys Allah and His messenger and the messenger will be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His grace,
the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, the righteous, how excellent are these companions?
This verse
addresses
the righteous companions
that those who we take as our
close friends and associates etc.
If they are not righteous people
who are conscious of the law,
having the same goals that we have,
then they are likely to affect us.
They are likely to affect us.
This is the environment
those who take as our friends this is why you find so many verses in the Quran, which speak about the believers
taking as their close friends there are
other believers that they don't take the disbelievers as the close friends, it doesn't mean you cannot have this believers as friends.
Cuz you can have them as friends.
If you are to communicate Islam to them, you have to be a friend. You can communicate Islam, while despising and hating. It's not gonna work. Yeah, that will will be ineffective. People will hear it in your voice, they will see it in your face. They will know it from your body language that you don't like them. So what are they going to do with whatever you say, or whatever you do give them
so just from a practical principle of dour, you have to have a relationship, a good relationship. You're living in an environment which is basically a peaceful environment, leaving aside the crime and all the other stuff that's going on, but in general, we're not in war. I mean, it's not like
Gaza or Afghanistan, you know, this is not same situation.
So,
we should be
relating positively suddenly, with the non Muslims
we have around us. However, if they become
the main circle of our friends, they or Muslims who are unconscious,
there are only Muslims in name there are close friends. These are the ones we hang out with all the time, but
they're not really Muslims.
The only Muslims in culture while we all came from the same village,
you know, the same country,
same area. That's what brings us together. That's our basis of our relationship. Then
whatever little Eman we have whatever little faith we have, will be overshadowed
by those who don't have the same goals as us.
So we will become as they say, Delia FIDE, you know, we will be
focused in our
thoughts and our actions. Because if the Acura is the goal, then it means the dounia becomes the goal.
And that's what those people will be talking about.
And that is why, for example, when the prophet SAW Selim describe
a man, a mass murderer, who had killed 99 people, I'm sure you all heard this story.
authentically related in
other books of Hadith.
He kills 99 people, and he's looking for some means of repentance,
of salvation from what he has done.
Forgiveness.
He meets a monk
and asked them all monk,
is there any forgiveness for me? The monk
tells him, you who have just killed 99 people and you're seeking forgiveness. No, there's no forgiveness for you.
So he kills them, makes it 100.
He's upset.
He's angry. Inside himself, he wants forgiveness. The fact that the door is closed, it makes him blind in his anger and he kills the monk.
Later on, after his anger subsides, he starts thinking again, forgiveness. He wants forgiveness. He wants salvation for what he has done.
He goes looking, and he finds
a person of knowledge, the scholar, and he asked him
and of course, the scholar tells him school students forgiveness,
prologue and forgive anything.
That's what he needed to hear.
But the scholar didn't stop there.
He didn't just tell him, okay, he turned to Allah and repent, he told them, that you must leave the town that you're in.
That town you're in is an evil town.
Your companions, the people around you are evil.
So they have made you evil, they have affected you. So you must leave it and go to another town where the people are good.
They're righteous people in that other town.
So part of his repentance, involve changing his companions, those who he was around all the time living with relating to good friends, etc.
They were evil friends.
So that's the same principle that we have to be conscious of. If our goal is the Hereafter, then those people around us, who we take as our close friends, the ones who we speak to every day, who we hang out with, who we entrust our secrets to who we seek advice from, they should be people who have the same goals.
So it is not just even a question of Muslim, non Muslim. That becomes a question of
practicing Muslims.
That if we don't have around us, practicing Muslims, then the likelihood is that we will ourselves be, quote unquote, non practicing Muslims.
If there is such a thing,
So
the company we keep
is critical.
And the prophet SAW Selim illustrated that in a number of statements.
And another statement, he said that the good companion is like the perfume merchant.
The good companion is like the perfume merchant, one who sells perfume.
Either, he will give you some, the selling. So it gives you a small amount of wipes around your hand whenever you go away, smelling nice.
Or
even if he didn't give you any, just the fact that you are sitting next to him, you're always in this company, he's opening up bottles of perfume, the scent is coming out. So when you walk away, you're gonna smell nice.
Anyhow,
you'll always have this good smell, just from being in his company. Whereas the bad company panion He is like,
the blacksmith. The one who works with iron is beating iron, he has the bellows is
because
you are in his presence is beating the iron sparks are flying.
Either one of those sparks is gonna burn some holes in your clothes.
Or, at best, you will walk away stinking of smoke.
That's it. If you didn't get burnt, you will walk away stinking of smoke.
So if your best friend, for example, is a cigarette smoker, you don't smoke cigarettes.
But you travel in his car,
you stay in his house.
People they come into contact with you smoking away. When smell, you get a smell of smoke. That's real.
And that's what the bad companion is like.
Those who don't have the same goals. That's why it is essential.
It is essential for us as adults, that we choose our companions well.
The circle of people that we bring to our homes, for gatherings for parties, etc.
that these be people who
fear a lot.
And then for our children the same thing.
If our children, most of their time is spent with other kids who don't have the same concerns at all,
their idea about life and that is a whole different perspective. There what's going to happen to our kids
even though we might be trying to keep a particular environment in our homes, but our kids are being affected systematically, consistently.
And they will turn against us.
And this is why
it is essential for Muslims, especially here essential for Muslims, that their children be educated in Muslim schools.
Not Salahuddin didn't pay me any money to plug their school.
But this is reality.
It's not to say that simply because you have a Muslim school, that again, job's done,
you know, no worries to put them in, put her in the Muslim school. Everything is okay. No,
that's but we still have our own responsibility at home. The two have to be
coordinated for success to be achieved.
But if we don't have that one the school we say no, no, we're doing it you know, at home and all this and no, the school is where the child spends most of his time or her time
Can we compete
we will not be able to compete.
So this is why it is
Essential. That's why it is the right of every Muslim child to be educated in a Muslim institution.
It is their right.
And if we don't do it, we are not fulfilling their right.
We have oppressed them.
We have cheated them
and we will have to answer to a law for it.
To look I'm Ryan aku masala Nana Yachty. Each and every one of you is a shepherd, responsible for his flock, his or her flock. Responsible must all in meaning you will be asked accountable, you are held accountable for your flock.
The last verse
in Surah, Nisa also verse 13.
There are law says when my daughter in law was Sula
hujan, not into dreaming, and her holiday was Alec and
whoever bazelon is messenger will be admitted to the Gardens under which rivers flow forever. And that will be the great success.
The first of the verses we looked at in soil as Abbot says they are the ones who will be successful. second verse it says those who are truly successful,
then this verse clarifies what that success is. It is paradise, that is the ultimate success. We're everything that we desire
that we wish for everything is fulfilled and manifest there.
So when we have some sisters influenced by
women's liberation and feminist movements, etc, raising the question, all of this description in the Koran and it's mentioned in Islam, and is all about men, and what the men are going to get in paradise. And we heard this one
the men are going to get the lion, the damsel of Paradise, what about us?
We say, as Allah said, welcome, fee her malatesta he and
he will have in it in Paradise, whatever your souls desire.
That is the simple answer.
The fact of mentioned or not mentioned,
the dimension has reason and logic behind it. But in fact, in the end,
it is whatever the souls desire. That is paradise. That's what the goal is. So there is not going to be any injustice on the unfairness, whatever you desire will be there.
The what you desire young men of paradise and it's for you.
That's what allows promised. It's not the issue of preference of men. It's just dealing with
human nature.
Human Nature is that men, like multiple women,
women, like one man, that is the norm. But to say there are exceptions, but that's the norm.
So the Quran addresses that nature, that nature, which is found throughout the world, every corner of the world.
That is all it's not giving special preference.
So it is about paradise. But that be the real focus.
Because that's what we're talking about in the afternoon because of course, the aka involves how to write, we say preparing for the era doesn't mean prepare well
and there's no preparation well
then to avoid hell.
So
That being the case
then we have to consider
how do we
adhere to the Quran? And so now
how do we correct change, modify our lives in such a way that we can truly adhere to the Quran and the Sunnah.
Because
the focus is on
the Hereafter, the ultimate benefit paradise, the pleasure of Allah subhanaw taala.
Reality is that even in this life itself, if we adhere firmly to the Quran and the Sunnah, there are worldly benefits.
There are worldly benefits.
And in the course of educating our children, young people,
we shouldn't, of course, leave that side out. Because Paradise is in a sense, theoretical.
This world we live in, is reality.
So
if we're not able to see benefits also in this world, then it's difficult to be focused only on the benefit in the next world. If all we see from it in this world is harm.
If we're only losing out,
then there is no success. There's no
real benefit from adhering firmly to the prominence and the endless lag. So therefore, it is also important
that we be conscious of the benefits here and have our young people, our children, etc, growing up with that awareness also, that ultimately there is benefit here.
And we see in the laws of Islam.
There are a lot of talks about the benefit and the harm, we see this concept of benefit mentioned
the reasons behind the laws. So many of them will find explained that ultimately, when a law prescribes something, it is because it is beneficial to us.
He is not prescribing something, which is in fact harmful to us.
But something where the benefit outweighs the harm because you can find harm in everything.
There's harm in water.
to drown in water isn't
a one handed you drink it, it's good.
But you can drown in it.
So
when a law permits something, it is where the benefit outweighs whatever harm there is, when he forbid something, it is when the harm outweighs the benefit.
So when the
doctors, scientists say well, it has been shown
that drinking half a glass of red wine with your meal helps to lower the chance of heart attack.
This shouldn't shake our faith.
For those people who don't understand their Look, look at the good that there is in wine and the Muslims from it it.
The point is, Allah already said that 1400 years ago, that there is good in it, there is some benefit, but the harm in it is greater than the benefit.
That's the bottom line.
There's no denial that there is some good
in a variety of different ways like that is a medical benefit.
There is good for those people who are selling it to making a lot of money.
Right. So there's good benefit there. But the harm in it is far greater than the benefit.
That's the bottom line.
And others have come to that realization.
For some 11 years in the United States of America,
they had a period in the 20s of what was called prohibition,
prohibition where they banned the making and sale of alcohol in the whole country,
in United States of America,
by themselves for 11 years.
Why? Because the harm of alcohol is clear.
You can go on the internet and you can under alcohol and impact on you see all kinds of harm that comes out of it destruction in the society, crimes, murder battering husband, wife, most of the cases people are in states of intoxication,
the most heinous of the crimes. So the evidence is clear.
The benefit in the application and the adherence to the Quran and the Sunnah in this life is real.
And we shouldn't downplay it for the Acura. Acura is important, that should be the ultimate focus. But at the same time, we should know that in the application of the Sharia, there is benefit for humankind.
And that's why
Muslims without knowing it,
want Islam to rule their lives?
They want that to be the system which governs them. Now there are a whole bunch of factors which prevented factors from within factors from without.
And this is what is ultimately at the root of all of the conflicts in the Muslim world. Whether it's Chechnya, and the bombings in Moscow and, you know,
Afghanistan, Palestine, wherever we go,
we need to know that that's what's at the bottom of it all.
Muslims
living lives, according
to the Quran and the Sunnah,
according to the Sharia.
This is the root of the struggle going on in the world today.
I when people raise this issue to us, why are you Muslims, who say your religion is a religion of peace? Islam means peace. You're having peace conferences, and peace this and peace that, but all we see is that you're blowing up things into pieces.
That's all we see.
You guys always doing that, you know, you are the expert, you know, suicide bombers. And why is this?
We have to be able to get underneath the surface to understand what is at the bottom of it all.
Why a young girl 17 years old,
would go in a subway strapping bombs to herself, and blow herself up with 29 other people in the Moscow subway. Why?
What would cause her to visit Islam
is this religion of violence. This is Islam which made her do this.
This because Islam doesn't support this.
Islam does not support this Islam is opposed to this. That is haram in Islam.
So it's not Islam.
But it is her desire
for Islam to succeed, to survive.
It is misplaced in terms of how she understood what should be done, etc. That's what she was told this is the way since we can't fight them militarily. You know, we can't stand in the battlefield with them. They're just too many they're too well armed. Then
the best way to try to get them out of our lands and to get our lands back.
In our own hands is to curtain terrorize them.
And they will bring the verse of the Quran.
Right?
Of course, not understanding that you don't just take verses of the crime like that.
It does say, you know, prepare, whatever means you have
and put heart fear into their hearts.
And then say,
even the term ear hub, which they translate is terrorism comes from the same verb used in the verse, it's there.
What?
The Prophet sallallahu wasallam, he showed us how to apply that verse.
That's the point. He demonstrated how that verse is to be applied, and it was not that way.
Not the way that they're interpreting it.
So the point is that
whether consciously or unconsciously, Muslims around the world,
feel that
Islam should rule their lives.
And the struggle is there to remove the bonds, the bounds, the forces, that stop that realization.
So, as I said,
the benefit of Islam in this life Israel.
And its fullness is seen when the Sharia is applied
across the Muslim world,
when the Shia when the Sharia was applied,
we know in the past, this was a flourishing era, when Muslims invented were the leaders of invention, technology, technology, etc. This was the Golden Age,
when Christianity
was applied, full force governing the society and the rules etc. In Europe, this was called what are the Dark Ages
completely different impact? Why because Christianity is not the religion of Allah.
It is a pagan religion,
which evolved out of the true religion of Allah.
So naturally, that pagan religion which involves worshipping a human being,
laws, which are set up by human beings become oppressive,
like all human regimes, which are not guided by revelation.
So we can see practically historically
the impact on Muslim society when it is applied.
And that's a whole lecture in and of itself.
The worldly benefits
from applying the Quran and the Sunnah adhering to the Quran, and the Sunnah.
But
due to our limited
time,
we need to look at the practical aspect of how do we adhere to the Quran and the Sunnah.
Because we need to walk away from here tonight, with at least some idea of things that we need to do in order to fulfill this essential principle, the most fundamental principle of our religion in order to achieve the goals that Allah has set for human beings in this life.
So if we look at what constitutes adhering to the choir, does it mean
adhering to the choir meaning that
we must be bound to the
When you adhere to something, you know you're stuck to it, like glue. The Koran should be stuck to us, we should be stuck to it like glue.
Not that we're wearing it around our necks.
You know you have people tell them sticking to the crime means you put the Quran in a locket and you wear it around your neck all the time, never take it off, even when you're in the shower, toilet, everything, you'll keep it on this, but you're sticking to the crime. No, this is not what it means.
or for other people, it becomes decoration in the house, you have huge
works of art, where the Quranic verses are written in bronze and gold lettering and calligraphic styles, we look at the sake can't figure it out. You can't even read it.
But it looks beautiful. And we put it on our walls.
And we have no end of ways
that we have developed
to replace the true adherence to the ground.
And what we do is because it's all dealing with the external,
that's easy. So we develop a whole set of what they call etiquettes of the Quran.
Some of them they say for example, the Quran when the Quran is being read, your head should be covered especially for women to wear your hijab
Mr when you require
and that is like known some societies. If a girl a woman was to read cry without their head covered, so
what is this but it has nothing to do with Islam. I've never said this was something required, but now it has become a must.
Right?
So this involves respecting the Quran special respect. Some people throughout the Quran it should be at the top of the show.
And when is it taken down? Ramadan
blow off the dust.
Ramadan, then after Ramadan, back up the top
keeping it special
and people have all kinds of covers for it and
where you can keep it you know some people get into fights in the masjid because some cultures, the Quran, you cannot put it on the ground.
So if you're reading the Quran in the masjid, and you reach the verse where you're supposed to make sujood
then you cannot put the Quran beside you and make your sujood get back up and read the quad you put the quad summer
What are you doing? You've got the crown on the ground.
I didn't mean anything by it. You know
what you're doing the last word and you're putting it on the ground.
That's serious. Some cultures they understand. It's not really put in that status but in some cultures is serious, a serious affront to the Quran to put it underground.
Some even if you're reading Quran, you sit in the masjid your legs folded, you put it on your lap, you're out.
Crime is on top of
law
is a big thing.
Does it make a big big thing out of that? No, you have to keep it on your lap.
So
and we have no end rituals and rites that people have invented around the Quran, which is supposed to mean that you love the Quran. This is how much you love it Your job is to make sure your child has got the corn you can start
things we've made this
but you don't see Prophet Muhammad says Allah never told anybody to kiss the Quran.
Allah never recorded kissing the Quran or his Sahaba are the generation. So where did this come from?
We get the Blackstone,
Blackstone
that is something a part of a REIT.
The particular right doesn't mean that simply because you kissed the Blackstone, you should kiss the crap. What is the connection between the two?
So adherence to the crime
is not in those external things.
adherence to the Quran
means
adherence to what the Quran is telling us. This is what it essentially is. Its adherence to what Allah has communicated to us in the Quran.
Meaning that we are stuck to it, meaning that we are in regular contact with it, meaning that we should be reading the Koran regularly.
Barely.
Daily, we should be reading the Quran as much as we can wish, we should be able to find time, because we find time for so many other things, we should be able to find time to read the Koran every single day.
And reading it meaning reading and reflecting on its meanings.
Not merely reading it.
The Arabic parroting the Arabic text, and we don't really know what we're reading.
We should be clear on that.
reading it in Arabic, we should know what that means
is if we don't know Arabic, then we should have the translation next to it. We read something of it in Arabic, we read it
in our languages.
And the reading of it in Arabic, we should understand that it is a step towards reading it and understanding it. That is the goal. It's not just to learn how to read it, how to pronounce the letters correctly.
Not to understand what the law is saying to us directly without an intermediary. That's the whole point. That's the whole That's the goal. To be able to read the Quran in Arabic, and understand what Allah is saying.
directly. Allah is communicating to us
to be able to hear the miracle of the Quran
because that's where the essential miracle of the Quran lies in
the literary aspects of the Quran.
So,
adhering to the Koran, must start there.
reading it regularly, daily
and reflecting on its meanings because Allah says Allah the Quran, Allah, Allah, will they not reflect on the Koran?
Or are their hearts locked up? If we're not reflecting then the hearts are locked up? Meaning that
we are just involved in the ritual.
And isn't that what has happened to us?
With regards to the various reciters of the Quran?
Most of us
people talk Have you heard such and such so and so's recitation? Mashallah
Have you heard this one? I heard that one and there's a whole thing that you know, it's it's this is now in the stores you know, buying this one the latest reciter this style this intonation this this?
I mean, it's become really big.
But
if you really look at what is at the bottom of it, what you are doing Actually, we know that music is haram
we know that music is haraam.
So we've replaced it with
as music.
So the reciters are like the pop stars. Okay, it's not Madonna and Michael Jackson. You know it's
check so and so on check so and so.
We put it in the car while we're driving. It soothes us.
I like his recitation.
Not reflecting on what he's saying what the lighting is just his voice just so nice. It's soothing.
So, is that what the Quran was for? No, it's true, but he did say, Man lamea Taiwan national conference seminar now, whoever doesn't sing the Quran is not of us. So it should be recited melodiously Yes, it's supposed to be as long as you're able, that's how you should recite it. But
that is not the goal.
So this is another fitna that has come up, where people are focused on the reciters mode of recitation as opposed to what Allah is actually saying. So the goal is to learn Arabic, to be able to understand the Quran, as it was revealed to reflect on what Allah is saying to us.
Because the Quran is the law, speaking to us directly, it is truly the Word of God.
So, adhering to the Quran
involves
making this a part of our lives a central part of our lives, because everything comes ultimately from the cloud.
Everything of Islam, which we said, way of life, everything else, it's all coming from the clouds, that is the spring
from which the waters flow. So, that one we must look after we must protect, we must take care of we must be in regular contact.
So this is what we have to do.
It involves also memorizing,
memorizing, as much of the Quran as we can.
On the other hand,
in terms of adherence to the Sunnah.
The Sunnah of the prophet SAW sanlam covers everything.
the sin of the prophets of Salaam, covers everything of Islam.
So not being what the Bible says Sallam said, what he did, what he approved.
Some of those things which he said and did, and approved,
we classify as far as
obligatory. Some of those things we classify as Mr. hub recommended, rewarded if you do it, not punishable. If you don't, some are called MOBA. You do it, you don't do it, no reward, no punishment. Some are called makrooh. If you don't do it, you're rewarded. If you do it, there is no punishment.
And some of it is haram.
If you do it, you're in sin.
If you avoided it, you're rewarded.
So when somebody says, growing the beard is asuna.
What is happening here is yes, it is similar meaning the prophet SAW Selim did it. But what aspect of the Sunnah?
Is it obligatory? Is it recommended?
Is it MOBA,
disliked or forbidden aspects.
Reality is that we have to be able to distinguish in all of the various requirements in our day to day lives, where the prophet SAW Allah has instructed us we have to be able to distinguish between those things which are obligatory and those things which are recommended, mutual disliked and forbidden.
Scholars have
in fact,
they have gone through and analyzed and put these various acts in various categories categories, and we should be clear on it.
In terms of growing the beard, of course, growing the beard is from the obligatory so now.
Not the rest.
commended sooner. But from the obligatory sooner meaning that the prophet SAW Selim commanded us to do it. And if one does not do it, one is in sin.
It is a sin to shave one's beard
as it is a sin for a woman not to wear hijab.
It is a sin. So we need to know that whether we're doing it or we don't doing it, and we need to know at least what its status is, and what we have to come to.
You have to be clear.
Somebody might ask, is that a big thing? This is a dying in Afghanistan, you're talking about growing your beard.
Though, the bottom line is that
if you are to do something about what is happening in Afghanistan,
the likelihood of you being able to actually do something there in the big issue. When this little issue of just growing your beard you can't do
it? Oh, yeah, it's not like cavada Stan, but it is also
a measure. It is there is a scale here. If you can't do the little things, then be sure you're not going to be able to do the big things.
And that's why the boss element said he Arkham, Omaha carotid zoo, beware of the score and minor sins
are not a big thing.
Enough of those little sins, and then you do have a big thing.
Three shouldn't consider any sin too small
to be concerned about. It's a minor sins and little one.
If we want to be able to obey a law seriously and sincerely, then we have to take care of the little things. It's taking care of those little things consistently, where we are able to build
Seriously, what happens when people don't take care of the little things, they jump to the big things, they end up doing big things, but the big thing doesn't have a proper foundation. So it ends up becoming distorted and
destructive.
unsustainable.
So
adherence to the sinner involves knowing this now, we should be clear on the sudden that we should have read the books of Hadith
as we read from the Koran. We should also read from the books of Hadith we have
Sahih al Bukhari Sahih Muslim you should read from there to to be in touch. I'm not saying go into the Hadith. Now you're gonna say okay, I'm just following Quran and Sunnah. So I'm just gonna take the verse take the Hadith, you know, I'm gonna, no, no, I'm not suggesting that. But we should be in touch with the Saudis. We should be in touch with
what is not clear, we seek clarity.
But a lot of the Hadith are very clear. You don't need a special scholar to come and explain to you what this means. A lot of it is like, just like a lot of the most of the crime straightforward. Most of the similar straightforward, but there are aspects, which are law has left
through the prophet SAW Selim, or through the Quran itself, where we do need to turn to those who know when we don't know.
Because there is
an order, knowledge.
scholarship has a value and that's why Islam, you know, put such great stress on the scholars turning to those who know when you don't know victory in quantum law talamona those who know if you don't know.
On the other hand, adhering to the sydnor involves eliminating the beta
because the opposite of the sooner is the beta.
The innovations in the religion
So, we said that
adhering to the sooner
involves eliminating the bidder
the good or being the opposite of the sooner
whenever a bit comes into existence, a son dies,
it replaces the tsunami.
So,
the Scylla for it to be upheld,
to take its proper place, whatever opposes it has to be removed has to be eliminated.
And this is one of this struggles that the Muslim world faces today
that so much of their practices, so many things that we do, are founded in Buddha.
They are a result of
innovation, which we have introduced and made a part of the religion.
So much of it
and that is why we find ourselves in many cases under attack
for this and for that we are known in the world as honor murderers, honor killers,
you know, honor killers,
known for honor killing for Muslims are known for you see,
almost every day, somewhere in the Muslim world.
Jordan, Pakistan, Turkey,
not everywhere in the world. But in some countries, that tradition of the family honor being purified by spilling the blood of its members
is firmly a part of the societal norm.
It is a great evil,
a great evil
women the title of honor killing, killing For Honor.
And Islam, there's no such thing
as shut off.
This is no such thing. We have no category like this in Islamic Sharia. And the Sharia murder is murder would kill you are killed. That is the law.
But
that's what we're known for.
This is a Buddha.
And so on and so forth. We have many, many other examples of our introduction of practices, which now deface the image of Islam
calling for the killing of homosexuals.
He's homophobic.
This is one of the labels, right?
So even Muslim speaker is now giving lectures that to be careful what they're saying.
You can say what Islam says
that that we stand for.
We should be able to stand by it. This is our religious conviction, your society, you want to consider it to be okay. You know, I norm
personal choices, whatever. That's okay. We're not saying you cannot do that. That don't insist that we have to accept that in our hearts. No, we don't. Legally we're bound to accept it.
Legally living in this society You're bound. That is the law of the land. So on a legal perspective, meaning that if you hired somebody, you have your own business, you hired somebody, and then it turned out he was a homosexual.
For you to fire him because he's a homosexual is illegal.
It's illegal.
So on that basis,
because Islam, okay, we're opposed to homosexuality, etc. But I'm living in a country where the laws have protected and given them certain rights, then you have to respect those rights.
In the heart is another situation, but externally according to how you apply your business
decisions, etc, you have to obey it. And if you're not ready, then you need to pack your bags. That's the bottom line.
So
we need to be known for what is truly Islam and not known for what is distortions of Islam
that is necessary in terms of adherence to the sun that we have to clear away the false hood for us to be able to see clearly the truth and to uphold it.
Now,
if we take that theoretical
concept of adherence to the Quran and the Sunnah,
down to the practical things we said we had to, to do
these things which we're not doing
how do we start to do these things that we're not doing, and to stop doing the things that we shouldn't be doing?
It means now we have to change our behavioral patterns.
The normal practice the habits that we have developed in our day to day life, we have to address them, we have to tackle them.
We have to overcome them and replace them with new habits, ones which are reflections of adherence to the Quran and the Sunnah. For example, we talked about reading the Quran every day, this was not the habit
of reading it, it was just, you know, good luck out, we didn't think stop. Okay, now, to read it properly, reflect on it. So it will have some impact in our lives, we have to change our pattern, we have to find room in our day to do this. And we can't just say I will do it. Because shaytaan is busy.
Satan, the satanic forces are busy. If we established that in our lives, then that is the basis of a major change.
So that's why when you pick up the car and
you start
tired before, but all of a sudden you picked up the crowd you want to read it and
yawning
tiredness seems to overcome you
there are forces there to stop you to discourage you.
So therefore, it means that to be able to do it, if it's just left up to when you feel like it when you have the urge you feel the
inclination, then you will not be able to do it. They may do it one day, two days, but you will not be able to do it. You have to we have to set aside specific time.
special time
of course, people's work schedules and all these different things may affect what that time is.
Traditionally, that time was after Salatin
to start off the day after Salatin fudger we sit read the Koran for half an hour
every day, read and reflect
not necessarily trying to finish the whole client. That's not the goal. The goal goal is to read and reflect
and that's the same thing when we come to Ramadan inside Ramadan outside Ramadan is the same thing.
The goal of reading the Quran in Ramadan is not to finish the car.
The goal is to read and reflect same goal.
So we have to set aside decide, make a decision that we will set aside this time in our schedule every day to do it.
And if we can get the family to do it at that time, then that
Much better, more people doing it
helps each other.
So it means that we have to change our
lifestyle.
And truly,
when we look at the whole picture, it involves major change of our lifestyle.
So,
right now,
what we're speaking about is just a thought.
Right now, it is just a thought.
If
we ponder on it, reflect on it,
then it becomes a conscious thought.
And if we make a decision on the basis of it,
then we have the foundation for an action.
And once we
do it, and do it consistently, then we have
the basis for a new positive habit in our lives. So, what we are, what we have in front of us what the challenge we have here out of all of this is that, we need to change our habits,
habits, which are bad habits, based on ignorance, culture,
etc.
and replace those habits with good habits.
So, the key in terms of
removing the bad habits, it is
to act on, actively be engaged in tackling those habits, we have to think about and know where the bad habits in our individual lives, lie.
Reflect on them, think about them,
then make a decision to tackle them.
Small ones,
working our way up to the bigger ones.
And
being around others, committed to a similar approach, working together with family with friends, etc. to eliminate these bad actions, bad habits, which have now dominated our lives. So that practicing Islam becomes very difficult.
And then
we replace it with
positive good habits, which are taught by a thought in the Quran. And the sooner
that way of life that we said,
Islam.
So it's about habit changing. Of course.
Oftentimes, people will say, Well, you know, to change.
This takes time.
Time. Rome wasn't built in a day.
You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
These are common statements. But reality is that that change doesn't take time.
It is the decision to change which takes time.
When we make that decision,
when the change comes,
changes overnight, instantaneous once we have made that commitment, that decision, then the change starts. But it's just about reaching that point where we say, Yes, I'm going to do it.
That's the one that takes forever, can take a lifetime we end up dying and never doing it.
So I asked the last $1
to put in our hearts
a strong desire to make a change.
to come back and adhere to the Quran and the Sunnah
and to make
The love of Allah and His Messenger, most dear to us than anything in this world
as the last one to Allah,
to give us the courage because this takes courage, we ask Allah to give us the courage to make that step,
the courage to work with our families, and our friends,
and to truly make a change in our lives, beginning with tonight, because this is the time for decision.
You can walk away from tonight and
think about it and
forget it.
Or we can walk away from tonight with the decision to actually come back to that path to success, which a loss Medallia has described.
So I ask Allah to help us to make that decision tonight.