Haifaa Younis – Hajj Journey – What Comes After
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of staying strong during a busy rat race and the use of "has" in various cultural settings, including planning weddings, learning about money, and following rules. They emphasize the importance of shaking hands and not cutting hair, and stress the importance of understanding the source of one's money and avoiding confusion. The speakers also emphasize the importance of glorifying Allah's symbols, learning to be a "character," and not cutting one's hair. They stress the importance of learning to be a "character" in the face of difficult situations and making a positive impact.
AI: Summary ©
Thank you, everyone. Welcome.
I know it's a very short notice. Actually,
I was debating, should I not do it
this week? But then I was like, let's
I I had a feeling it's not gonna
be a lot of people coming because of
the summer and the break.
But I just wanted to share with you.
I'm not gonna talk to you about the
experience of Hajj because we have a program
this coming Friday
in the Masjid. I'm sure you all knew
about it, and we're gonna talk to you
about the reflections from the Hajj. I opted
to do the other thing, which actually I
thought about it when I was there,
and I talk about it, I talked about
it to the there.
Whether you are you were in Hajj
or you were not in Hajj because we
talked about before
I went to Hajj
that what about those who were not invited?
Right? Because it's an invitation,
and there is no,
reason in my mind or in anybody's mind
that why, for example, I was invited, you
were not invited,
Or the 1,800,000
were invited and not the other 1,800,000.
This
is a wisdom Allah knows.
Right? I'm not gonna say I'm better he
invited me. No.
Or they are better they didn't invite them
because you didn't want them to go through
the difficulties we went through. No. Then I
don't know Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But what
I wanted to say because at the end
when when you finish the Hajj during the
Hajj, you are inside the Hajj. You know,
when you're inside something, you don't think about
it. It's when you finish, and
I mean, I had 2 more days to
stay after the Hajj in Mecca where things
are a little bit less crowded,
and this is very relative, of course.
Then you start thinking what's next.
So for you here, we didn't go to
Hajj. So,
I'm sure everybody did herb us to fast
the the 10 days, the 9 days, you
fasted the day of Arafah, I'm sure everybody
made the dua, then we celebrated the Eid,
let's say the way pleasing Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. What is next?
And I kept thinking and saying this to
everybody around me. The challenge is not during
Hajj.
The challenge during Hajj is very beautiful
because you're driven, you're focused,
you do things you can you say to
yourself, no way I can do it. Right?
There's days
I was joking with some of the hajjaj
with me. There's days you're you're you know,
the apps we have about the the steps,
There's days where the app will send you
a message and says, what's going on today?
This is way too many steps that you're
used to. Right? Honestly, I mean, 5 miles
a day is not a big deal. That's
the usual because anything happens, you're getting out
of that bus and you're walking.
So in a struggle, if you wanna use
or to obey Allah or to dress properly
or to pray on time, what is the
big deal there?
Right? What do you do there? I mean,
you're there
obeying Allah
call for salah, you go, whether you're in
minna, whether you're in nahr ofa, let's alone
when you're in Makkah on Madinah. Of course,
you're gonna go and pray.
The challenge is when you come back.
Right? So today is Tuesday. Imagine last Tuesday,
I was in Mecca. What is the big
deal to pray Asar on time?
Let alone enjoy it.
Here when you are, you come back, you're
back to the rat race.
You're back to all the challenges that you
have, and the first challenge is me, is
you,
my nephews, and and of course the people
around me and everything else. So the question
is how to stay strong?
And what does Allah want from me when
I come back?
Or again, you finish the 9 days of
Dhul Hijjah and you did the Hajj with
your heart as we spoke about before, and
how do I what does he want from
me? And SubhanAllah,
I was thinking for those of you who
know the Quran,
when Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala mentioned
the Hajj in the Quran, he mentioned it
in 2 main Surahs.
He mentioned in Surat Al Baqarah,
and he mentioned it in Surat Al Hajj.
There is no other mention of Al Hajj,
even when insort Ibrahim.
So Ibrahim talked about smart cover. He didn't
talk about Hajj. So I want you to
pay attention because everything in the Quran
is is not just because.
There is a reason, and there is reasons.
So if you come to Surat Al Baqarah,
I'll take you through it
as as simple as I can. So Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala come to the Hajj and
the first thing he talks about the Hajj
is
so the first
mention about anything about Makkah is he mentioned
about Safa and Mawwah, and Safa and Mawwah
is something we're gonna do in Hajj because
we're gonna do shay. We're gonna move between
these two mountains as Sayyid Haajar did. But
then there's no and then he talks about
here, he talks a little bit about Umrah,
not only Hajj but Hajj and Umrah, that
you know what? You cannot cut your hair
unless you for Hajj, unless you take you
you bring with you the animal.
A detail, okay. And then
this is in the second part of the
Quran. Now Hajj is mentioned by name, and
Allah says al Hajj u Ashburam
ma'alumat.
Hajj, verli Hajj is during,
prescribed or well known months, and we all
know that.
And then then he talks about,
what we're gonna do. Right? And he said,
it's okay
if you're gonna also
do some actions of dunya and hajj. The
most important thing in hajj is taqwa. And
then he comes to the rituals, what we
did, which you all have seen when we
went to Arafa.
Right? You all saw the pictures. By the
way, what you see pictures is not reality.
We don't see the mountain. We don't see
what everybody we don't. We're in that tent,
especially this year. We didn't even get out
of the tent because of the heat.
Okay. So we went to Arafa, and then
we left. We went to Mizarifah. This is
in the verse.
Here, the Hajj is not done yet. We
only did the Arafah.
We still didn't go to Makkah. We didn't
do the law for,
but Allah changes completely
in the verse.
And he says
pay attention because that applies to me today.
If you have finished your rituals,
meaning you finished it all. We didn't in
the in the verse. He's not. He's gonna
come to after
this, but he's reminding me again and again
and again and again, what do I want
from you?
Now you finished Muzdalifa. Now you're sitting in
Mina.
Mina is a mini
duniya
because now I don't have
anything around me honestly to remind me of
Allah. There's no Kaaba around me. There is
no there is Hujaj around me, but there
are people like me. I'm sitting in a
room. It could be easily like this
doing nothing. I have my phone with me.
I'm eating. I'm drinking. I can't even fast.
Actually, I'm not allowed to fast. So what
should I do, you Allah, now? Now this
is you and me here. Back to the
rat race. Now he remind me.
This is the first clue of what Allah
wants from me when I come back
and how to stay strong and stay focused.
And he says,
Once you finish your rituals,
meaning here, take it, you finished your salah.
You fasted on Monday Thursday, you gave your
qurbani,
you went and visit your mom because
it's pleasing to Allah, You went and visit
somebody
sick. Any you came to the class,
any act of worship, what do I do?
And he says immediately, and this is number
1.
I call it the weapon after you finish,
Ramadan and Hajj, the main two big ones
for us to stay connected.
Once you lose it, you are
remembrance
here SubhanAllah and of course this is given
at that time to the Muslims at that
time,
but it so much applies to us, he
said remember you Allah
the same
they say in Arabic,
is a tool that to teach me and
do this like you do, like literally, tashbir
is like, and he says remember Allah
the same way you remember your parents
because they really used to brag about their
parents, but then Allah says No,
a lot more.
So that's number 1. Again, I'm gonna take
you through these verses
and apply it to your life. Number 1,
when you ask me how do I stay
strong?
I just finished,
Ramadan. It was amazing,
but now I feel I'm drifting, which all
of us are. The first thing you're gonna
ask yourself, where are you from the dhikr
of Allah?
And then he says,
normally what people do,
why do we drift?
It's amazing, Yani, when I was looking at
this and thinking of it, like SubhanAllah, and
he says,
from among people, not everybody,
because some people stay very strong. Some people
come back from Hajj, they are completely different,
so it is not generalization,
and he said from people,
what what are these ya'll be?
You
all know this dua
Some people
ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you're doing an
act of worship, you're asking
Allah, right?
Give me this dunya,
he didn't say what,
give me from this life, and then Allah
says wumalaqoo fil akhiratimal khalaq, doesn't think about
his akhirah, no shier in the akhirah, in
my dua,
not Allah saying I don't have a shire,
in my dua
and think now about you all, what do
you ask Allah after salah?
When do you turn to Allah fully?
Tears, crying, begging
is when there's an issue in dunya,
and the issue could be a good one.
I applied for a job. I need
need the job. Look at my dua. I'm
going for the interview.
Right? I'm opening a letter from the college
and look at their faces, the the students,
and what they are doing, you Allah, please
make it,
but no thinking of the akhirah,
and then he gives, as always, the style
of the Quran gives you the better option.
Meaning from the people
You Allah, they say, You Allah, give us
good, and I'm gonna say good because I'll
come to what hasanah, and
in the hereafter hasanah
and save us from the punishment of the
hellfire.
The $1,000,000
question is what?
What is this Hasan?
You all do you know all you all
know this dua? You all know it. I
don't think anybody is not familiar with it.
What is this hasanah that we keep asking
Allah for?
What is this hasanah and dunya?
And what is this hasanah and diakhir?
Number 1, it tells you
you can have the duniya
and you can have the akhir
because he said it exactly the same, the
same word.
Give me good in this duniya and give
me good in akhir,
right? And Allah says
Those people who ask for both,
they will have the share of both
and Allah will give or Allah sariel khisab
He will recompensate very quickly. What is hasanah?
The $1,000,000
question I always say because that's the usual
question people ask. Can I be rich in
this dunya
and I'm gonna get to Jannah?
Can I be very successful? Can I be
in in college or in school absolutely doing
very well
and still I'm gonna go to Jannah?
Or I have to be
focused only on akhira,
nothing to do with dunya, then I am
successful?
This question is for you.
Yes or no? Both. Both.
So you I can have them both.
Okay. Yes, everybody? Yes. Yes? Show me hands.
Let's see here.
Tay, what about the others?
There's no way I can have them both?
So the question is, can I have them
both? The answer is yes.
This is gonna put a big smile on
everyone's face. Okay. Alhamdulillah.
Let me go and buy go and buy
the most expensive car. Haras. Allah said hasanam,
hasanam, this is hasanam, let's do it. Yes
and no.
Yes and no.
Since Allah used the same
word
the same word
that means this good is equal to that
good.
This good,
when I say this meaning in this dunya,
the dua I'm asking Allah,
this will lead me to that good. So
scholars differ, what is this hasanah?
And Allah left it, it's amazing when Allah
leave it
unexplained, I mean of course Allah could have
said exactly what it is, so the scholar
says this could be the good spouse,
Hassan would be a good husband, good wife.
This could be even they talked about cars,
daba at that time, could be a good
animal for them to ride for us these
days. Good car. Right? Could be the home.
Could be a good job.
All good good good good.
So what is the problem?
Where did you get it from,
and how do you use it?
So when someone gives me a $1,000 right
away
now I just and then somebody put $1,000
here. Can this be a hasanah?
Yes or no? It does. Absolutely, it can
be.
2 things, and this applies to everything good
in your life. Again, we have different ages
today. We have youth, alhamdulillah.
We have
very youth, not very youth, and very mature.
Let's put it this way. Right?
So yes. So there is nothing called old
for the woman.
So here I am whatever Allah gives me
the first thing I'm gonna look at because
once we learn this we will learn the
One of our problems is we don't think
about both. It's either this or here in
general who will term in general is true,
but I can definitely have the dunya. In
fact, having the dunya
as a Muslim is something Allah wanted and
loves.
The strong believer
be better and more beloved to Allah than
the weak believer.
Right? So a 12 year old got some
of you here. Right? You can always say
she's strong because she's 12 year old.
Right? Or a 70 year old woman, physically,
she's not strong. But what is strong here?
There's 2 things
in general,
which is the beauty of this dunya. It's
actually
wealth
and the children.
Wealth and children.
So, again, back to the $1,000 somebody put
it here. I'm gonna say, okay. Is this
Hasana?
Right? Someone just give you a a car
key right now.
Right? Come in and says, you know what?
I like the way you look. This is
the car key. And you look at the
car and says,
whatever the car you like. I I'm not
gonna give number names because we are online,
and I'm not gonna promote any car.
Then the first question, where did this come
from?
No.
Is this his halal source?
It's everything comes from Allah, but this is
someone gave it to me or including your
salary,
including the money, including the inheritance, include is
this his halal?
If somebody stole this car and gave me
the key,
then that's not Hassan,
or
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala decided, somebody looked at
me and says you know what,
take it. So is the source halal?
Everything,
and number 2, how are you using it?
This is the biggest problem.
The second is the biggest problem. We are
still aware, Wali lah al Hamd, as Muslims
as the source of the money.
We all know that this this source is
not allowed.
Even if I use it, I'm uncomfortable and
all the questions I get just sidetracked,
I probably got more than a 1,000 questions
in this Hajj.
We did a religious sisters, religious question and
answers, and literally, I'm not exaggerating, it was
more than a 1000 questions, and I was
like woman if you are so keen about
your deen as you are in this 10
days
you will all go to Jannah and please
don't forget me in your dua.
So the question we all
still say, where did this the money come
from? But we rarely look how we are
spending it.
Give you painful examples.
Yeah, it's after Hajj.
So when you are planning a wedding,
wedding is
a Hasana.
Right? It's something good, celebration,
I'm happy as a parent, I'm happy as
a bride, I'm happy as a groom, it's
a it's and something please Allah generally.
But when I am doing this wedding,
planning this wedding, what is inside this wedding,
what am I wearing as a woman, what
is happening inside it, is that hasanah?
Don't answer me, leave it. This is the
questions you all have to ask because absolutely
it can be a hasanah,
absolutely
it can be the wedding, the most beautiful,
elegant and the most pleasing to Allah. So
the first thing
after we come back from Hajj or after
we move out of a season of obedience
to Allah, Where is the hasanah in my
life?
Is every hasanah Allah gave me and each
one in this room and let alone everybody
with me online
have hasanat
in this duniya?
Are you using it for Allah?
Did you get the point?
When you get this best job
that you have been waiting all your life
for, did you take off your hijab because
you are afraid they will not whatever inside?
Then that's not Hasan. I don't care how
much money they gave you,
and don't justify it because that's what happens
these days.
They get the money,
the source of the money
was a big question mark,
and then they start donating that money, some
of it, and says,
and I said, this is good, but this
is not good.
Yani, did you see the point?
So if I am disobeying Allah that's not
good, and if I am obeying Allah that's
good, but this is not going to balance
this unless this is way better than this.
So
number 1 is hasanah, what is the hasanah
in your life now after 8? It's a
week after 8, last Tuesday was 8,
Where is the hasanah in your life?
And all the hasanah you have it as
we speak, are you using it for Allah
or not?
Like, again, as I came back from Hajj,
how am I after Hajj?
So that's number 1. It's in the middle
of the verses of Hajj. Then Allah literally
after he finished this, he goes to
Mina.
Mention Allah again, mention
Allah in a certain appointed
time or days,
and some people
If you'd stay 2 days in Mina, that's
fine, if you stay decide to stay 3
days, that's fine limani taqah, as long as
the reason you left early or you stayed
longer
is because of the taqwa of Allah. Okay
so now back to rituals.
Now if you are with me in Hajj
at this point we have done Arafah, we
have done Muzdalifa,
we have actually done Tawaf and now we
are in Mina
and now we are leaving,
Right? We slaughter the animal, Allah comes to
the slaughter
of the animal. What did he say after
slaughter the animal?
No. Actually, not here. This is in the
Hajj. Here we finished mina. Done. I'm packing.
I'm coming back. You finished aid, you finished
arafa, tomorrow is aid, what does he want
from me? Look at the verse,
go back and read it. It's in Surat
Al Baqarah, since second part of the Quran,
I can't remember the number, but it is
when Allah speaks about the Hajj, it's 2
pages Allah speaks about the Hajj. So the
first one, muzdari fa'arafa and then he talks
about hasanin, don't forget that.
Then he goes to Mana and done, khalos,
Hajj is done, And he gives this order
to us, You Allah Adhina Aamanu.
Okay. People, you and me. Anytime Allah says,
Aamanu You Allah Adhina Aamanu, It's you and
me.
Regardless how
what a good Muslim I am, I'm still
a believer. I believe in Allah
Subhanahu, I believe in Rasool alaihi salatu wasam.
I am a believer. What level? That's a
different story, but Allah didn't put levels. He
said, yeah, you're already in a aman. What?
This is the order immediately after Allah finished
the Hajj.
Oh people, oh believer,
enter
quote unquote
in peace, sometimes it's his translate as peace,
and then he says kaifa
for those of you who know Tajweed,
even Tajweed
serves the purpose as a.
You have to read it this way. It's
not an option. I can't say kafah. I
didn't read it right. It has to be
kafah.
What's kafah
in total?
No.
Sin here is not peace.
It's submission to Allah.
Kafah
is non optional if I'm gonna use a
word we use, what does that mean?
I can pray but I can't pray at
work,
That's not kaafah.
When I come to the masjid, I dress
properly because I'm coming to the masjid,
but when I go to work, I just
can't. I'm gonna be the only woman. Everybody
is gonna be looking at me. That's not
kafah,
that's selective.
If I'm with my friends, you know, we're
talking, and I'm not gonna mean it, I've
just said these things.
I'm back biting.
I mean but we're just having fun,
but then when I am with these people,
no, I can't say this. What will they
say about you? That's not kafaa,
that's selective.
This
deen
is not pick and choose
and unfortunately
many of us especially women, well, actually even
men, pick and choose.
When it comes to things I like,
and it is also from the deen, alhamdulillah,
or when it comes something from the deen
it's easy for me,
then I'm fine,
but the challenge is when something comes in
clear, it's not different opinion,
Allah said it
and now comes
and look back at the hasanah,
combine it now,
and if
I am gonna do the way I wanted
it, it's not gonna become a hasanah.
It's not gonna take me to the.
What do I normally do?
Justify what I am doing.
Find an excuse,
sugar coat it, and if there is no
sugar
I'm gonna go and grab the famous sugar
we all have, it's called Allahu Afua Rubahi,
Allah is all forgiving.
I had this beautiful discussion last night,
and someone looked at me and says don't
you know Allah is Ghaffourahiem? I said absolutely
I know, if Allah is not Ghaffourahiem he's
not gonna give me a sip of water
because I don't deserve it.
I'm talking about myself.
Kafah
is in total,
you know when you love someone, I always
bring the love of a human being to
each other and the relationship to understand the
relationship with Allah. When you love somebody,
really love someone, it doesn't matter who this
person is, right? Again, spouse, spouse to be,
children, parents,
a friend.
You really love them, and you give them
everything,
everything, even without asking.
What do you expect from them?
They love you when they can,
They obey you when they when it is
easy?
What do you say?
I give you everything and you give me
only what you think is right. What kind
of relationship is this? You get hurt.
Right?
This is what Allah is saying.
Hajj
when you come back.
Hajj when you are here and you fasted
the day of Arafah and it's very hot
and it's long
day, why? Because Allah said so, because you
believe
that the day of Arafah when you fast
Allah will forgive your sins the year before
the year to come, and when I fully
believed, when I was standing in that day
and it was 50 degree, I was extremely
hot
and tired
and drained, but we did it.
Allah helped us because I know
that day I did it correctly. I'm gonna
leave that camp as if my mom just
delivered me.
I know it,
then I need to come back and I
know it also,
same y'kaim,
same certainty
that he forgave me, that he will forgive
the year before the year after, that I
need
same
belief
that he told me, enter into Islam in
totality,
the answer is Samiyanahu ala'ana.
I hear and I obey and I don't
want to hear the word but, I say
this to myself.
That doesn't, this is not easy, I think
this is one of the hardest things to
do
is when I submit to Allah totally,
you applied for this college, you have the
best score, the best whatever,
the best,
personal statement, the best the best
and you get the letter of rejection.
You learned from Hajj,
you did it in Hajj, you did it
here
Atulufussimi kafaa
the answer is
Qadralla Mashafar
Allah decree and whatever Allah decree is gonna
happen period,
no discussion, no why me, no it's unfair,
no all these, no the whining, I don't
say unfair
when I was chosen for Hajj and none
of you were chosen for Hajj, why?
I didn't say it's unfair, I, not you,
I, because I got it.
So if
we all as Muslims
apply this in our daily life
life will be completely different.
I submit to his will period,
and this is, by the way, this is
all Islam.
Islam, the word if you translate,
it's submission,
and he then
the same verse, he knows why I can't
do it.
Do not follow.
Follow the footsteps of shaitan.
He comes in whisper,
you're not in Arafa.
That wasn't Hajj,
now we're living in America this is 2024,
come on Allahu Akhoor Ar Rahim
These are all the whispers of shaitan,
and you really need them. One of the
things when you come back from Hajj or
when you come out from act of worship
is when you start
absolutely knowing this is him whispering into you.
At least you know it is shaytan whisper,
now you're gonna run to Allah says protect
me.
So the first two things he said
in here learn the hasanah,
each one of you on this room, each
one of you listening to me,
learn what is what hasanahs you have,
We have plenty.
All of us have in here so many
things common, all of us, but each one
of us also have an a special hasana.
Now are you using this hasanah for the
akhirah?
You're so beautiful, is that gonna be
putting you ahead of me in Akhirah because
you're more beautiful
or the other way around?
Your husband is extremely wealthy and very nice
and takes care of you and everything you
always wanted and Allah gave it to you,
are you using this for the Akhir?
Are you using it in this dunya
to take you to another big huge palace
in Akhir or no?
So this is what Hajj these 2.
Move to Suratul Hajj, now Suratul Hajj he's
talking about Hajj, and Suratul Hajj is so
interesting,
Allah mentioned from Hajj 3 things, he mentioned
the call for the Hajj,
Sayyidina Ibrahim he tells him
call people for Hajj,
they're all gonna come walking or they're gonna
come on every mount, but there's no details
other than a mention
of Tawafu Ifada
so
they will go around the old house,
and then he talks about slaughter the animal
twice,
and slaughter the animal you all did it.
I'm sure everybody did Qurbani,
What does he say in between?
Again, what I take with me here, he
said 2 things.
Same words with just a one little bit
difference. He said,
What Allah made it haram?
This is good for him.
Let's take a pause here. In the middle
of the Hajj,
verses. What is haram?
This is what he said. What is haram?
I'm asking.
What is haram general? Don't give me examples.
What is haram?
It's forbidden. That's translation.
What is haram?
I'm sorry?
Disobeying God. Disobeying God. That's also
yeah. But in general, and anything anything, if
I do,
I'm gonna be punished, and I'm not being
harsh. That's the definition.
And if I don't do
do it,
I will be
rewarded.
That's haram.
So if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, for
example, don't watch this.
Right? Let's say extreme, let's say *.
Allah absolutely taram.
There's no doubt, there's no different opinion about
that. Now if I don't do it
and it's in front of me
right there
I'm gonna be rewarded
and if I look at it,
I'm gonna be punished. That's haram.
And then you can apply it to everything
else lying,
stealing,
dealing with interest,
dressing not in the way pleasing Allah,
you name it.
Yeah. Okay. Right.
Haram in your life,
the title.
Haram in your life. Everyone
in this room. Again, young and old,
the haram is everywhere,
unfortunately,
and the haram is so easy, and the
Haram is free, and the Haram, everybody does
it.
And sometimes it comes to you and people
gift you the Haram,
And they send you a link, don't make
sure you watch it. And everything in that
link is haram. It's free.
I mean, just a click.
And that's when Allah says immediately you have
to say, glorify it, meaning not to glorify
the act, but to glorify the one who
told you don't do it.
That's when you come back from Hajj, when
you come back when you come out from
an act of worship to continue,
to stay
on the right path, not to be not
to drift because we all say this, oh,
I come out from mama 1, I have
all these plans, and and I say I
smile and say, let's talk about it in
a month.
So look at the haram in your life,
everybody, and you don't have to talk about
it to anybody because he
knows.
Do you have haram in your life? The
first question.
Again, woman, men, young, and not very young.
If the answer is yes
immediately
the answer should be take it out
uncategorically
because these are haram.
This will be exactly opposite the hasanah we
talked about. And he said,
Whomsoever
glorify the boundaries of Allah. You know when
somebody says come on, what's wrong with it,
let's do it, nobody sings it, I just
can't,
I just can't, it's not pleasing to Allah,
and you say it in this way,
you have just
glorified Allah
let alone what He's telling you,
then you move
still in Surat Al Hajj, right? And then
He says
immediately talking about the animals and then he
says the bigger one,
Whomsoever now look at the next thing, say,
glorify, now what?
First I glorify the Haram, meaning I am
not gonna do it for no other reason
than
it is not pleasing to Allah,
it's not I can't, it's not I don't
like, it's not my taste, no, no, no.
On the contrary, I love it or I
like it or it's everybody else doing it.
Well, I'm gonna be the only one who
is not who everybody's gonna look at me
or I may get bullied, but I'm not
doing it because
Allah doesn't like it. Then he comes to
the other now next level, the hasanah and
afghirah.
This is a huge problem for us Muslims.
When you glorify the symbols of Allah, I'll
give you one example and you all gonna
feel it, what happens when you hear the
adhan and you're in the Masjid? In the
Masjid here.
What happens?
Look at the woman area
talking,
still looking at your phone,
maybe
chit and chatting, maybe doing, maybe laughing, maybe
reading, maybe, maybe,
and you're not doing something harm, you're sitting
in the masjid,
but you did not glorify his symbol.
That's a sign that the heart needs more
taqwa because he said the opposite, if you're
glorified that means you have taqwa in your
heart, and what is taqwa?
That you don't do anything that's not pleasing
to him
because you love him. I this is my
definition.
Now look at yourself a week after Eid,
few days after we came back from Hajj,
where are you from the symbols of Allah?
And I brought the adhan because that's something
even in the house,
adhan is a symbol of Allah, haj is
a symbol of Allah, Arafa is a symbol
of Allah,
Masjid itself is a symbol of Allah.
Look at us when we enter the Masjid.
There is no difference between us entering a
Masjid and entering a wall,
especially in the West,
and I'm talking about women,
what we dress, how we speak, how we
act, the same, nothing different.
And I had a couple of women look
at me and says, please forgive me, I
just came from work.
And I I couldn't say anything, but in
me I said is work like the masjid
of Allah?
Why? Because I'm not glorifying it, everything comes
from here.
When you love someone
love is feeling is in the heart, when
you love them you talk to them very
different than when you talk to somebody else
casual.
The most important thing to me,
to really stay focused and strong and connected
to Allah
glorify His symbols,
even if, you Rabbi forgive me, if it
doesn't make sense
to me
at this day and age.
Enough, he said so.
So look at your relationship with his symbols.
How many people come to me between Adan
and Ikama
to ask me a question? And I said
it's time for dua, let's talk after
salah.
Can't tell you how many, and I know
they did not do it
for any reason other than they don't know.
Why don't I know? You read the Quran
and the first thing they say was symbols,
what are symbols of Allah?
This is a symbol of Allah.
This is a symbol of Allah,
when I'm praying it's a symbol of Allah,
when I am not praying and people ask
me and I say because I'm having my
manklim and since Allah said don't do it,
I'm glorifying his symbol,
so learn this, this what is one of
the biggest challenge for us in living in
the West, and now it's seeping even
to the Muslim world that the symbols of
Allah become casual,
heed,
I wasn't here, but I have no doubt
because if I saw it there it is
here.
What happened when the imam was giving the
hutba?
Everybody was talking,
I'm sure, I wasn't here but I'm sure,
right,
talking,
enjoying,
checking the phone, sending aid,
greetings, it's all halal,
but he did not glorify
his symbol,
symbol of aid salah and symbol of aid
salah is the hutma,
that's the difference, it's like jum'ah, don't talk
about jum'ah, if you're going to talk about
jum'ah, well I'm not going to cover the
rest.
How do I come to the masjid, what
am I dressed,
What do I do during the khutba, after
the khutba, after salah? What do I do?
The masjid is
which is lovely, it's beautiful actually in the
West, my friends always ask me how is
the Masjid in the United States? I said
the Masjid in the United States is my
identity, it's a center, It's when I go
and I feel I'm not the only one,
but it becomes the extreme.
People now, even masajid, they don't call it
masajid. They're called centers,
which is centers. It's true.
But I have to keep reminding myself that
this is an Islamic center.
Because if I call a center that could
be anything,
but I am gonna remind myself I'm entering
an Islamic center,
meaning You are them sha'arillallah,
because in Islamic centers
there is the
the symbols of Allah it's not like any
other center, it's not a shopping center,
right, or a medical center
or a law center,
When you go to a medical center, what
you see is different than when you come
to Islamic center. Learn
learn to glorify the symbols of Allah. I
think this is one of the
main things that we Muslims are failing in.
We still still
glorify the harams, meaning we know it is
haram and we feel bad when we are
doing it.
If I share with you the questions I
had there,
I even at the end I said to
the woman, if Allah will give you the
keenness
that you had in these days
about avoiding the haram
when you go back your hajjiz mabur.
They were so particular
about every single
small thing, did it break my uhmah, did
it break my hajj, is my hajj is
not my bruh anymore? It's amazing
to the point where he said I said
to them, stop being obsessed about it because
that's also shayfan.
And then at the end, I said,
I wish and I hope and I pray
and all of you pray, when you go
back, you're gonna be so obsessed
about the symbols of Allah and the haram
of Allah to the point the questions. Oh,
I just I just comped my hair and
one
literally one of the questions I one hair
came out, is my ihram balub? Is my
hajis valid? What is that? You glorified his
symbol
because he said
don't cut your hair, and now you are
very
much aware.
What happens when I come down?
He's still here.
He's still the same Allah in Makkah during
Hajj in Arafah and now and today.
So You
Allah that day if I'm gonna come to
the masjid and I hear nothing in the
woman
area because it is hada, or why I'm
gonna ask Allah to take me back, then
I don't wanna see what's gonna happen tomorrow.
That means we changed.
Let's say, no. When you are inside your
house
and you're gonna say, no. I'm not gonna
do that, or I'm gonna do that, this
is sha'a'irillah.
The last two things
and the end of the Hajj,
done,
and especially related to Orbani, that's why I'm
showing this because that applies to everybody here,
and he said give black tiding to 2
kind of people,
give black tidings,
meaning good news.
What's good news?
What good news he's gonna give me? I'm
coming back from Hajj, or I just finished
my qormani, they called you and says Jazaqi
Laukhay the people ate meat finally because you
send your autayah.
He said bashurin muqbetin
or bashurin masinin.
2 qualities
when you come back from Hanj
you need to say to yourself
am I?
I'm gonna stay like that. What is these
two qualities, you're a bit?
Not easy,
but the result is amazing. Al muhabit, he
said, What
is a muhabit?
There's no single word to translate as always
because the Arabic language is so rich that
sometimes you have to put 6 7 English
words to give you the one meaning.
Al Muhammed,
the person,
the person could be anyone
that has the following criteria because Allah described
it, waba sharin muhibiteen, give glad tidings to
those muhibiteen, who are they You Rabbi al
Ladina,
those,
4 characters let's see if you have it,
4,
number 1
related to the first thing he said about
Hajj
when Allah is mentioned
their hearts tremble
Al wajal
is
anytime you put fluid
in a container,
in a pot, on the stove, and it
is boiling.
When it gets to the point boiling and
you start hearing
zzz and you say, oh, I need to
rush,
turn it off. It's gonna boil. It's gonna
come out. This is a wajal.
The wajal is from the love and the
fear of Allah
that it's gonna be flowing out of your
heart,
and you're going to have this feeling
only because Allah was mentioned.
So when Allah has mentioned,
what happens to your heart?
What happens to your heart? When somebody look
at you and says,
have
be Allah conscious, what happens when you hear
Allah not the conscious?
Because he said
when you hear Quran,
when you hear a lecture,
what happens?
I wanna hear it.
What happens usually?
You're all quiet.
Nothing.
Am I right?
Am I being very hard
or reality?
Answer them, I would love to say no
no no that's not true.
I was like okay show me please, I'm
coming with you wherever you're going show me.
I need to work on that.
Anytime you wanna change,
you can't change unless you know where are
you.
Meaning somebody tells you say to somebody
I think you need to lose weight, somebody
look at you and says I think you
need to lose weight,
some
of the things we women worry about, which
is fun, and you're gonna say why do
you think I need to lose weight? What
did you see?
I'm fine.
Uh-uh.
What's your weight? What's your height?
You're past the ideal body weight. Right, and
everybody looks at me what is the ideal
body? I have to explain
so now comes in
where are you
And again don't judge others, this is about
you, me,
where are you with Allah?
Where are you when Allah's name is mentioned,
when the Quran is mentioned?
When any of the symbols of Allah,
what happens to the heart?
Meaning
simple example, you all remember in Ramadan
or I'm sure
in Arafat last week, last Saturday,
last Saturday, the last hour of the day,
you're fasting
right before mourub, and everybody's saying it's Arafat,
stay
we're not gonna talk, let's go and make
dua.
Where was your heart and how were you
asking Allah?
Right, and what happens
after you break your fast,
so muhubit
make it a goal,
maybe you already there alhamdulillah,
maybe you are close alhamdulillah,
maybe I'm very far, I'm still gonna say
alhamdulillah, you know why? Because he is teaching
me.
Are you a muhabit? So the first one,
what is your heart reaction when Allah has
mentioned?
2nd, it's all by the way, the first
two things is all they call the it's
your heart actions.
What happens
when something you don't
like befall you? I'm not talking about people
of Gaza.
I'm not talking about the extreme. I'm talking
about
you again.
Right? You were expecting something and that something
didn't happen, and it's a trivial of dunya.
What happens? End of the world, anxiety,
depression,
no. You're patient.
That doesn't mean you like it. I don't
like it,
but I'm not, I'm just gonna say Allah
brought it at skhair,
2,
3,
wal muqini salah, where are you from salah?
Everyone,
where are you from salah? I hear this
all the time, I can't play in school,
why?
I can't pray at work, why?
I can't pray in college, why?
You know what my answer always I say?
Do they give you a break to go
to the bathroom?
People look at me and say, Of course,
I said, Then of course you can pray.
If you look at salah,
you know, you forgive me, but I'm just
gonna I'm trying to make it easier for
everybody.
If I look at salah as a need,
a need,
the same way my body needs to go
to the bathroom,
You reach a point where you say I
can't anymore,
I need,
then yes, I can,
but I don't.
And the glad tiding doesn't apply yet, and
I say yet, I'm very optimistic because we
all can change.
Bashirinmuhibiteen,
give glad tiding,
Those who want your reaction when Allah has
mentioned.
What happens when something you don't like happens
to you?
What's your relationship with salah and the money?
When someone gives you money young and old
and you got I don't know if you
still have this. We used to love aid
for many reasons, but one of them is
because we are waiting for the money.
They still have this in the airboat. I
don't know if you still do it here.
We wait for all these adults to come
to the house, and we are in front
of them,
and and we fight who's gonna go and
give them, you know, the juice or the
coffee, because once you go there, they will
give you the money.
Right? So when you get that money, what
do you do with it? Young, let alone
old.
When Allah
suddenly you get a raise at work
or you get end of the year bonus,
what happens? You give some of it right
away?
The last thing,
this here and then Allah talks about again
the animals
and Allah is not gonna get anything out
of its blood or meat,
and He says and
the end talk of the Hajj.
Did you come back from Hajj?
And I'm asking this myself before anyone and
anyone of you who came back from Hajj
or anyone who's listening to me. Did you
come out of the Arafa and Eid,
and you are a masen?
What's a masen?
What's masa?
I'm so so I don't know. I love
it. Leila, she said I don't know. I
love it. I love honesty. What is a
masa? Mursan? Anyone
that's in worship, you worship Allah as if
you see Him, if you don't see Him
He sees you, that's in worship.
Yesan is in 2 things I have to
be a Muslim with you
I have to be a with you now.
Just just as as we speak, because I'll
be on the dean. As you speak,
Right? Here I am. I am giving a
talk. Am I a machine?
You are a person sitting in this class
listening to this, class.
Are you a machine?
Let's see. For me, for the speaker, ihsan
means you give it your best, you do
it the best, you come on time, you're
prepared
and you
you do it
because you care
and you want to please Allah,
that's Ihsan,
simple.
You as a student
you came on time, you're focused. Even if
you cannot focus you're struggling to get
to become a better human being. You're gonna
give it literally give it its due right.
That's Ihsan.
And in Ibadah,
he's watching me. Think of your Ibadah.
I say this all the time to myself
when I really want to focus on salah.
It's I don't know why it always comes
to me when I'm in rakur
and I say to myself think Allah is
watching you,
what happens? You freeze,
think of it, you freeze, Allah is looking
at me literally you freeze, no dua comes
up
the Masan
in every step in your life,
in every,
step in your day,
in every breath from you, your muhasan,
you came in today,
did you park your car with ahsan?
Parking a car, ahsan?
Did you enter with ehsan?
Did you sit with ehsan?
Meaning the best you can.
Could be your Ihsan is different than yours,
mine is different, but this is the best
walaih, this is the best I can do
and that's what Allah wants from me, the
best that pleases Him
in my ability.
Did you give
did you give
the the the money, the gift to the
kids in in aid with Ihsaan?
Did you go for salatul aid with Ihsaan?
Dress properly,
so happy even with all the trauma in
the world, but you're happy because it's day
of happiness,
and I am happy because Allah wants me
to be happy, and I treat people very
nice, and I forgive everybody, and I greeted
everyone even those who don't like me, even
those who didn't respond to me, I don't
care. I am I'm I'm in a state
of Ihsan.
That's what hajj does to me.
Should.
Hajj and I'm gonna wrap it here Hajj
teaches me
not everything I do in life that pleases
Allah makes sense.
I ask this every time I go to
Hajj, why do I start in Arafah?
Why Arafah
is from after Dhuhr to Maghrib?
Why it is not from Maghrib to to
to Fajr? It's very hot.
There's no answer other than
he said so.
Why Tawaf 7? Why not 5?
Why not 9?
Why it's anticlockwise?
Everything in this world is with the clockwise.
Why I have to be anticlockwise?
And if I do it clockwise, it's invalid.
Isn't this weird?
Right?
Why men and women all together in tawa?
Versed in masajid and everything else we are
supposed to be said, why
He said so? Many people ask me this
question,
I said he said so, they give the
time of Rasool alaihi salatu wa sallam, they
give it after and they are doing it
here.
Why I have to tawaf then I do
sayy'? Another
many questions I got, oh I did my
sayy? I said did you do your tawaf?
No I didn't, it was too crowded, I'm
sorry it's invalid,
why?
Because he said so. Hajj teaches you the
following,
take home message from Hajj.
Not everything in this life
has to make sense, and I have to
be convinced.
Then you are not a Muslim,
Then I didn't get into the submission kafar.
To reach that level because this is another
question I got. How do I get this
level?
One answer.
Know about your creator.
Know who's Allah, especially for the young people
here.
If you're 12 and 13 and 15
and you knew about Allah your life will
be very different
because you will connect everything to Allah and
when it doesn't make sense you say it
makes sense because he said so,
so let's start the process of change and
very interesting
that Hajj is in the last month
of the Islamic calendar,
subhanAllah,
you know that in 2 weeks the new
year will start more than less than 2
weeks,
the new year,
the symbol of the new year is what?
Don't worry about the dunya
one,
it's a it's a new beginning,
right?
Probably going to be different. Alhamdulillah I have
another year to live.
Yes you do, and you just came out
of Hajj
and you went and it was very challenging
and you probably all heard about all the
deaths,
it was very difficult this year, no reason
other than Allah said so because nobody has
control over the weather,
This is the hottest year they have ever
seen,
not in hand, seen. Can't tell you how
hot it was.
It's I've never seen it.
Alhamdulillah,
so may Allah subhanahu wa'ala make us sununmubateen,
may Allah make us sununmuhasineen,
may Allah subhanahu wa'ala make us of those
Allah said so, alhamdulillah, Allah didn't say so,
alhamdulillah,
stop arguing, may Allah
teach us what's hasanah, what is good in
this life, may Allah make us focus on
dunya to get to the akhirah, the best
hasanah in akhirah is actually Jannah, one of
the names of Jannah is a hasanah.
Ladina Asan Al Husna
Waziyada,
Al Husna is a Jannah, so may Allah
subhanahu wa'ala teach us this, may Allah subhanahu
wa'ala make us better, may Allah subhanahu wa'ala
invite you all
and don't tell me I've done it before,
do it again. We traveled to the same
city many times because you like it, learn
to go to Hajj for those of you
who haven't, Make the niyyah
that you really wanna go, and if Allah
invites you, alhamdulillah, if he didn't invite you,
then he didn't, but you really wanna do
it. And don't tell me I'm too young.
There is no age limit.
I'm 16, I'm gonna go to Hajj, yeah,
go.
Absolutely.
Or I'm 70, I didn't go, yeah go,
you're still alive,
so may Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala accept from
all of us, may Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
forgive our shortcomings,
and just another reminder this coming Friday inshaAllah
we're going to talk about reflections,
personal reflections, not only me actually it's also
the judge in this community.