Haifaa Younis – Taqwa – The Islamic Way of Life

AI: Summary ©
The importance of learning to pursue a path of Islam and the verses of the message is emphasized in the segment of the transcript. The speaker emphasizes the need for more practice and knowledge in order to achieve success in life, as it is crucial for personal growth. The importance of avoiding small dogs and pursuing a path of piety is also emphasized. The segment also touches on the importance of practice and personal relationships for personal growth.
AI: Summary ©
In the name of Allah, and praise be
to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon
the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family,
his companions, and those who follow him.
O Allah, teach us what is good for
us and what is good for us by
what You have taught us.
You are the Praiseworthy, the Answerer, the Hearer,
and the Dweller.
Glory be to Allah.
May Allah make me better than what everyone
thinks of me or what they say of
me.
And may Allah forgive what you don't know
about me.
It's always lovely to be in Michigan.
Although I try always to avoid being in
Michigan six months of the year.
And you know which months they are.
So alhamdulillah, this is beautiful, the weather is
amazing.
What I wanted actually, before I start talking
about the taqwa, is the verses that was
recited.
And as most of you probably have heard
from me or from all your teachers, that
everything Allah send to us without planning is
a message from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And you really have to learn this.
Everything, like you are sitting here, you are
not sitting here, there is a reason.
But we don't, we are too busy.
We take everything casual.
Oh, it just happened, by the way.
But the more you focus on this, and
you spend some time thinking, speak less, and
less distraction, you are going to see what
Allah is sending you.
For example, before I talk about the verses
that was read, on Saturday morning, we were
in New York City.
So, may Allah reward the hosts, where do
you want to go?
I said, take me to a green place.
I love greenery, I love the creation of
Allah.
So, of course, if you are in New
York City, you are going to go to
Central Park.
Long story short, so we went, they said,
you are going to love this.
We went there, and there was a beautiful
fountain.
Okay, everybody will say, whatever, it's a fountain.
Okay, beautiful, whatever, whatever.
There was one thing caught my eyes.
And I don't know how many of the
people with me caught their eyes.
There was a lot of people, because it
was a beautiful day in New York.
And it was early morning, but people, mashallah,
they were very energetic, and people were walking,
cycling, running.
But there was also a lot of dogs.
Now you are going to say, what is
this?
So, we were looking at the fountain, and
there were dogs here, and dogs here, and
dogs looking at the fountain.
Except one dog jumped into the fountain.
Amazing.
Because remember, I even looked at the hosts
who were with me, and I said, just
pay attention.
This dog has no brain.
See, if you laugh, you are not getting
to what I am saying.
You should all be like, what is she
saying?
Why is she talking about a dog?
So, I kept watching this dog.
And the dog first, very comfortable with the
water, first drank water.
And the owner, obviously, was a little close,
but not too close.
And then the dog starts swimming in this
fountain so beautifully.
I don't know if, no, Alia was not
with me, unfortunately.
But literally, it caught my eyes, how this
creation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, that
has no brain, and that's why you all
were laughing, what is the big deal about
a dog?
Start swimming so beautifully, elegantly, and you can
feel, if you are focusing, you can feel
this dog is enjoying the moment.
As we all say, enjoy the moment.
What caught my eyes next is not only
this, but there were so many dogs.
Some stood up, watching, and walked.
And some almost jumped into the lake, way
bigger than this dog.
But they changed their mind at the end
and moved.
And one actually was a little bit courageous,
jumped into the lake, but didn't swim.
Just walked a little bit and moved out.
What is the message?
See how you're all looking at me?
We're talking about path of piety, right?
Path of piety is in every single minute.
And there is no piety goal, you will
not reach where you want to be in
piety, unless everything around you is a way
of taking you closer to Allah.
I kept looking at that dog, even when
they say, let's move.
I was moving and I was looking back,
I was like, where is he gonna go?
I don't know if it's a he or
a she, but who taught this dog to
swim?
Literally, I asked around me, and I was
like, how does dogs learn how to swim?
We take swimming lessons and they teach you
and someone shows you, and you think, how
does dogs learn how to swim?
Why this dog was so courageous, the other
one was not as courageous, and the other
many dogs were not interested.
Who moves them?
Did you get my point?
Are you all with me when I'm sharing
with you?
You probably have seen something like this every
single day.
I mean, if you go out for a
walk in the morning, very unlikely in this
country, you're not gonna see somebody walking with
a dog.
And it's very interesting, there's a lot of
dogs in New York because people walk.
It's a city, it's not like suburbs like
here, or like where I live in California.
And I kept thinking, subhanallah, ya Allah, and
then that's when you start making dua.
Because I kept looking and I said, ya
Allah, just like you taught this creation of
yours with no brain, only desires, you taught
him how to do things to save himself
or herself because they easily can die drowning.
Teach me, teach me, think this.
Can you hear me?
I don't know.
We'll save you.
I think so.
Bismillah.
I guess it needs less touch.
So basically, oh, I don't know.
Okay, you can hear me, alhamdulillah.
So I looked at the dog.
Literally, I'm talking to you and I'm still
seeing.
And it was not like a beautiful dog,
like, no, it was very ordinary.
Like, if I was walking and the dog
was walking next to me, it wouldn't have
said, oh, look at, you know.
But the point is, I said, ya Rabbi,
like you taught this dog how to swim
with no brain.
How you taught this dog to enjoy the
moment with no brain.
Teach me how to enjoy your creation, and
I have a brain.
And teach me how to save my life
on the Day of Judgment, like you taught
him how to save himself swimming.
Did you get my point?
This is how we get close to Allah.
Piety, we all talk about taqwa.
And if you are with me in the
year of knowledge, some of the students knows
that.
And I was like, stop throwing this word.
Because we all throw it.
Ittaqillah.
And I have no idea what this means.
Or are you a muttaqil?
I'm trying.
Okay, what are you doing to be a
muttaqil?
I think I am.
Oh, really?
What is the sign?
No, no, no, I'm not even close to
this.
Where am I?
Why not?
Who said so?
So the first thing I want you, always
wherever you are, like you're looking at me.
You're looking at this beautiful stage behind me.
These are all signs of Allah.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is known by
two things.
It's not by memorizing the Qur'an and
you have no idea what are you memorizing.
There is the written signs of Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala, which is the Qur'an.
And there is the signs that you see.
And the signs you see is what I
just shared with you.
Second is what she just recited to us,
may Allah reward her.
The beautiful voice, an almost perfect tajweed, just
a little tiny mistake.
I'll let her know, I'll tell her at
the end, because it's a very tiny one.
Most of you didn't pay attention to it.
No problem.
Are you Ibadur Rahman?
Can I stand now in front of you,
or any one of you, or all of
us stand up and say, yes, we are.
And what makes me Ibadur Rahman?
Basically, Ibadur Rahman, people of taqwa.
People of piety.
But what did they do?
What did they do?
The first sign, and it's so interesting in
this verse, that Allah didn't put number one,
that they pray.
He said it later on.
Didn't even put worshipping Allah alone, number one.
He put it later on, because that's extremely
important.
But I'm going to take you through it,
because this is a path of taqwa.
Subhanallah, my beautiful two sisters were with me
this morning, and it's like, what I'm going
to be talking about?
They said path of taqwa.
I was like, okay, let's see.
So Ibadur Rahman, the servants, slaves, and he
didn't say Ibadullah.
He put Rahman.
That's a different story, one day we'll talk
about it.
And if you are studying the Quran, see
why Allah put here Rahman, and he didn't
put Allah.
But the first sign, each one of you
here, first sign, you are a woman of
taqwa.
You are on the path of taqwa.
You've reached it.
And it is so interesting the way Allah
said it.
And if you have your phone, and you
don't know the meaning of it, open it
and read the meaning of it.
Literally, word by word translation, they walk on
this earth, that's the word that is not
very easy to translate.
Hawna, hawn, take it easy.
In Arabic, hawn, take it easy.
When you are so emotional, in the Arabic
language you say, hawn alayki, take it easy
on yourself.
So yamshoona al-ardhi hawna, take it easy?
No.
So what is it?
The other meaning.
Slowly.
So everybody who walks slowly is servant of
Allah.
And everybody who walks fast, which I am
one of them, not Ibadur Rahman.
No.
And if you go and read the commentary
of it, it's a figure of speech to
describe your body language when you walk on
this earth.
Which reflect who you are, or how do
you see yourself, and what is your relationship
with Allah.
It's so interesting, because it's always blew my
mind, why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
and I'm not questioning his hikmah, but I
am asking myself, there is something major in
this, that he put it number one.
One word translates this way of walking.
Because anyone knows, other than the teachers of
course here.
Anybody knows.
You all know this verses that was just
read to us?
How many of you knows them?
Well, you need to.
This is one of the most beautiful verses
of the Quran.
It's the end of surah al-furqan.
It should be your goal in life.
In life, because I cannot be in akhira,
I can't do it.
Has to be in here, because the work
is here.
The number one sign, you are a person
of taqwa.
You are a person on that path, is
what Allah said here.
You are humble.
Don't you ever, ever, ever, there is no
excuse to say, I did it, it was
me, I am better.
You look at someone, you don't say anything,
but your body language, that look, you are
looking at her, you think you are better,
her or him, or your house is better,
or your children are better, or your career
is better.
When you look at people from pedestal, the
more humble you are, without weakness, by the
way, never associate this two, because I know
the question that's going to come, what about
my self-esteem?
Self-esteem has nothing to do with humbleness.
Humble, when you don't see yourself have done
anything, and whatever you have, the first thing
you say, I don't deserve it.
We all say, why me?
Right?
Why me?
When things we don't like happen to us,
why me standing speaking to you?
Nothing special.
It's Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Choice, inshallah, it is not a test, because
don't you think this is not a test,
huge one, whoever is in this seat knows
what I'm talking about.
Then he comes to salah, but he didn't
say salah, obligation, he said night.
Look at the word.
Those who spend the night, normally spend the
night sleeping, that's usually in the Arabic language,
you spend the night sleeping, not those people
of taqwa, not those people who on that
path, who they see jannah right there, and
they have decided they're going to jannah, they
don't sleep in the night.
Doesn't mean I'm not going to sleep, but
I'm not going to have a day, or
let's say a night, with not at least
10 minutes, before fajr, talking to him, begging
him, telling him I am so grateful, telling
him I don't deserve everything you gave me,
tell him I'm going through a very tough
time, tell him I don't want anything but
you.
How many of us do that?
The path of taqwa, show me your night
salah.
Subhanallah, very recently someone, he was a young
man, and he said, you know me, you
saw me speaking, tell me, what do you
think?
Anything missing?
I said, you want me to be straightforward?
And he said, please.
I said, I'm not going to praise.
I'm sure so many people praise, but there's
something missing.
He said, what is it?
He said, I know also, but I just
don't know what it is.
I said, the awe of a scholar.
And he said, oh, I know what that
means.
I've seen it in my teachers.
And he said, why do you think it's
missing?
Beautifully, he did not deny it.
And I said, I'm going to ask you
a question.
You have all the right to answer me
or not.
He said, what?
I said, do you do qiyam al-layl?
He said, no.
I said, that's the reason.
Night salah, don't talk about taqwa.
Don't say, I'm a mutaqi.
Don't get upset when someone looks at you
and says, ittaqi, la.
If there is no night salah in your
schedule, minimum four days a week.
This is what most of the teachers that
taught me said this.
They said, make sure the week is seven
days.
More than half of the week, you're spending
it in things more than just the obligation.
And that includes qiyam al-layl.
And that's why Allah said it number two.
Number one, you're humble.
You're humble.
Don't look down at people.
Don't you think you're better?
Just because you were born in this country
and you have no accent.
And I'm here speaking to this crowd because
I can see this crowd is mixed.
So if your parents came from overseas and
they still have very thick accent, don't you
look down at them.
Then you're arrogant.
Or if the parents look down at the
kids because look at them.
We brought them here and look what happened
to them.
You're arrogant.
I spend money on them.
I raise them.
You did, but Allah helped you to do
that.
So number one, ask yourself.
And if you're really sincere, you will ask
somebody to tell you and you will be
open to it.
Do you think I'm arrogant?
Somebody, subhanAllah, a young man, very young, came
to visit me.
And again, at the end, he said, what
do you think of me?
I said, I'm giving it to you.
This is his very good friend, like my
family, especially his mother.
And I said, you are one young, arrogant
man.
He said, really?
Why?
He listened, alhamdulillah.
I said, because you are always right.
And anything not good happens to you, it's
somebody else's fault.
I didn't do this because, and the because
is always someone else.
I'm giving you all these real examples because
the first path of piety, you have to
be humble.
You have to say to yourself what he
said, alayhi salatu wasalam, when they told him,
why are you sitting on the floor?
He said, and why are you eating this
way?
He said, I sit like the slave sit.
And I eat like the slave eat.
Who is he?
The best creation that Allah created.
And look at you and me, and especially
living in the West, where it is like
engraved in us, pushed in us, sometimes shoveled
in our mouth to act like we are
arrogant.
Don't, and nobody will say you are weak.
On the contrary.
Humbleness, to me, it's a strength because so
many people can do it.
Let alone acknowledge they are arrogant.
So, ibadur rahman, yamshoon alal ardi hawna, wa
idha khatabahumul jahiluna qaloo salama.
I'm sorry, I missed one of the most
important thing.
How many times in your life, show me
hands, someone violated your right verbally?
Really?
I'm moving to Michigan.
It?
This is it?
What a polite community is this.
Nobody?
Alhamdulillah.
I'm sure, but you're just not thinking of
it, or just don't want to say it.
Including when you walk and someone look at
you, and then ask you a question, and
says, I'm sorry, what is it?
Telling you, you don't speak English well.
Or someone looks at you, this was said
to me in my face.
Do you speak English?
In my face.
Wallahi.
And Allah here is saying, you're a person
of taqwa.
You're a person of taqwa, you're on that
path.
Taqwa at the end, jannah, I'm going, I
don't care what happens here.
Wa idha khatabahumul jahiluna qaloo salama.
When the ignorant speaks to them.
And ignorant here, in any category.
Ignorant of deen, ignorant of manners, ignorant of
knowledge, any ignorance that has happened to you
from human beings, your response should be salama.
Salama mean, the general meaning of it, I'm
going to respond with peace.
I'm not going to argue with you.
I'm not going to say what you said
to me.
I'm just going to, as we say, make
it go above my head.
And if you read this, in another verse
of the Qur'an, when Allah, subhanahu wa
ta'ala said, to the Rasul, alayhi salatu
wa salam, khudil a'af, wa amur bil
'uruf, wa a'arid anil jahileen.
Make pardon your character, and act what is
the norm in your community, and stay away
from the ignorant.
And these two are connected.
The story of Sayyidina Umar.
And I want you all, think if one
day in your life, this happened to you,
something similar.
This is in public.
So Sayyidina Umar usually, when he was a
khalifa, he has a majlis, he has like,
a public gathering where people come.
And usually he is surrounded, and you read
it everywhere, he's usually surrounded by the major
sahaba.
And they saw the Ahlul Badr, the people
who fought at Badr.
So you're talking, Abdullah was young, you're talking
about Sayyidina Uthman, Sayyidina Ali, you're talking about
all these major ones next to him.
And then one of them, younger, had an
uncle, who had asked him, you have a
way of getting me to meet him, I
want to come and meet Umar.
He said, sure.
So he asked Sayyidina Umar, can I get
him in?
He said, yeah.
He came in, that man, in public, to
Sayyidina Umar.
He said, ya Umar, ittaqillah, the same word.
Sayyidina Umar, if he walks from one side,
shaytan will run to the other.
And Rasul said about him, if there was
a prophet to come after me, it will
be Umar.
That category, let alone he's one of the
ten who was given Jannah.
So he's in public right there, saying to
him, ittaqillah.
And then he starts telling everything not true.
You are not just, you don't give this
to people, you think you are right, and
you can imagine what happened to Sayyidina Umar.
And they see it right away in his
face.
And Sayyidina Umar, he always advised to Rasul
alayhi salatu wasalam, cut his neck.
Iqta' rasa ya Rasul.
It was very well known.
Anyway, the young sahabi, younger, and he is
not with the same caliber of those.
But this is his uncle.
Looked at Sayyidina Umar right away.
And look at you young people when you
see the elders are doing something not right.
Or vice versa.
He said, ya Rasulallah, ya ameer al mu'mineen.
Leader of the believers.
He didn't say anything other than Allah said,
now, when you say the name of Allah
in front of Sayyidina Umar, what will happen
to his heart?
He said, Allah said, and he quote the
verse from the Quran.
Take pardon as your character, enjoy what is
accepted in the social gathering, and stay away
from the ignorant, then he added, and he
is among the ignorant.
What do you think Sayyidina Umar did?
Nothing.
Didn't even answer.
Ibadur Rahman.
Are you that person?
When someone say things negative about you, true
or false, it doesn't matter.
Will you just say, Ibadur Rahman, and you
think with yourself, Allah is looking at me,
this is my opportunity to please Allah, this
is my opportunity to go to Jannah, let
it be.
So what do they say about me?
I'm not a good person?
Allah knows.
And here, speaking is not only speaking, text
messages, somebody posts something online, friends talks about
you, let's say relatives talks about you, whatever
it is.
Put Ibadur Rahman as your goal.
This is how we will change as an
Ummah.
Because we are gradually becoming copy paste of
the society around us.
And it's so unfortunate.
And majority of us, we are becoming Muslims,
I call it, the Muslims of rituals.
You know what Muslims of rituals?
Alhamdulillah.
We pray, Alhamdulillah.
We fast Ramadan, Alhamdulillah.
We wear hijab, Alhamdulillah.
We do all this.
But just let's come and see when there
is a matter of the rights of the
others, forgiveness, pardon and show me the real
Muslim here.
Your path of taqwa, your path of piety,
and this is a very high level by
the way.
Because enough Allah said, Allah loves those of
taqwa.
Allah loves those of taqwa.
You want Allah to love you.
Not you love Allah.
We all, how dare we don't love Allah.
But Allah loves me?
Or you?
Or you?
Or you, or you, or you?
Why?
As one of the poets said to Allah
in a figure is like, of course I
love you.
You are worthy of love.
But why you will love me?
What is special about me?
But I can.
Because he said it in his book, his
words, that for sure definitely Allah loves one
of them is people of taqwa.
So if I didn't answer you, or I
didn't answer you, I'm not weak.
I'm not weak.
There's nothing easier than just responding.
But I want to be loved by Allah.
I want to be a person of taqwa.
I want to pave my path to Jannah.
Which means I'm going to do something most
people don't do.
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا وَالَّذِينَ
يَبِيتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمْ سُجَّدًا وَقِيَامًا Now come to this.
It's painful, but it's reality.
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا أَنْفَقُوا I want you to feel
this.
And you say, why this is in the
middle of Ibadur-Rahman?
Middle of it.
What character now?
When they spend, they are not wasteful, and
they are not miser.
وَكَانَ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ قَوَامًا وَكَانَ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ قَوَامًا
They are people of middle.
How many of you show me hands?
You say, I sometimes waste.
Show me hands.
A good number of hands are up.
More than 70%.
How many of you say, I'm miser?
I'm not talking about money, by the way.
Money is one.
Miserness is not only in money, or wastefulness
is not only in money.
There's so many things.
What is the issue?
And I really want to hear it from
you.
If not now, definitely when we will have
the panel.
Why do I waste?
Why do I, when I buy that coffee
or tea, and I take three or four
sips, and leave it?
I didn't like it.
You bought it.
Why the bottle of water?
Half of it is left.
And I'm sure at the end of this,
we will see this.
We see it in masajid in Ramadan.
And he specifically, this is why I was
like, every time I read this, subhanAllah, I
did a retreat about Ibadur Rahman.
Because so much caught my eyes.
That the first five Allah put, He didn't
talk about the things that we all do.
Because that's, of course, don't waste.
And wastefulness is haram.
And I don't use this word very frequent.
But this one is haram.
Don't waste your time.
First thing is don't waste your time.
And don't waste your energy.
Don't waste your emotions.
This may be something surprising for everybody.
Especially for the youth.
Everything is becoming an issue.
Anxiety.
Worried.
I can't sleep in the night.
Why?
What happened?
Everything is much easier for us.
Everything in here.
In a, just a one button, and everything
is done.
Don't waste your emotions on things doesn't worth
wasting.
And I'm asked this question the last two
days, and I'm gonna ask here.
How many of you here show me hands.
You have cried.
Cried.
Tears.
Something of dunya.
I didn't say halal or haram or big
or small.
Doesn't matter.
Something of dunya.
How many of you have cried?
Show me hands.
I'm sure everybody.
Alhamdulillah.
How many of you?
Don't raise your hand here.
Because that's between you and him.
How many of you in the middle of
the night?
Alone.
With him.
You don't need anything.
Everything is perfect.
Alhamdulillah.
You just choked because you thought of him
or you read a verse from the Quran
and you choked.
Again, don't show me hands but ask yourself.
Here, I want to be wasteful because it
is not waste.
It is not gonna be waste.
It's gonna be that eye that will never
see the fire.
An eye that shed tears because of no
other reason than the awe of Allah.
How many of us?
We're too busy.
So many things I have to do.
I'm overwhelmed.
All these words we keep hearing and I
keep reminding myself are you overwhelmed with the
feelings of Allah?
Are you overwhelmed with where I'm gonna be
in the Akhirah?
Am I overwhelmed from the moment they will
put me under this earth and they will
throw the dust over me and one week
or two weeks or a month or a
year later, most people will forget me.
That's what I need to be overwhelmed.
That's taqwa.
Remember, if you are thinking this way, you
are on the path of taqwa.
When I look and I see something that
I can use.
She left it.
She left the bottle.
I don't care.
She didn't want the good deed.
I'll take it.
I'll pick it up.
I don't need to drink it.
Fine.
Take it with you home.
You have an animal, give it to the
animal.
Going out, give it to the plant outside.
How much it's gonna cost you?
One extra second or ten?
But I'm gonna be Ibadur Rahman.
He like your name let's say Fatima Muhammad
something.
You are related to that person.
Then I'm gonna be related to him.
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا أَنفَقُوا لَمْ يُسْرِفُوا وَلَمْ يَقَتُرُوا Don't
waste.
And I see so much waste.
Especially between women.
It's so painful because the moment that goes
doesn't come back.
Sleep is not waste as long as your
sleep, your niyyah is act of worship and
you're gonna get up and you're gonna feel
more energized and you're gonna do things pleasing
to Allah.
There's no waste.
But when I am on the social media
for five and six hours and I'm not
doing anything.
I'm just killing time.
Or I'm bored in the summer.
I always tell the youth this word B
-O-A-R-D is not is not
in the Muslim should not be in the
Muslim vocabulary.
Because every minute I'm gonna be asked about.
Then Allah says now at the end لَا
يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرًا Now came to
the major sins.
They do not worship anyone beside Allah.
وَلَا يَقْدُرُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَىٰ بِالْحَقِّ
And they do not kill any soul unless
it is there is a reason for the
killing that is allowed by Allah.
وَلَا يَزْدُونَ And they do not have an
illicit or intimate relationship outside.
Then comes more.
Path of Taqwa You see this so many
times in the Islamic conferences I really got
invited to somewhere and I don't choose the
topic but this word comes in.
And yet I wanna see it.
We wanna see it.
We wanna see it in our actions.
We wanna see it.
I am a mudtaqi.
You know what mudtaqi mean?
Taqwa, just to make it easy for everybody.
It's translated loosely because there is no real
word in English to translate the depth or
the deep meaning of it.
Taqwa literally is a shield.
It's a shield you put around you and
we use it for everything.
اتَّقِي النَّار Be careful of the stove.
That means you gonna protect yourself from a
harm.
Then you are a mudtaqi.
Even now like you live in Michigan, in
the winter, you dress heavy because you wanna
protect yourself from the severe cold.
You are a mudtaqi.
But not in the spiritual sense.
You are a mudtaqi in the dunya sense.
You are protecting yourself from the cold.
Because cold can harm.
المُتَّقِي spiritually.
The woman, the man, the person, the Muslim.
They are 24-7 carrying a shield around
them from the not punishment of Allah.
This is what I love.
It's not the punishment of Allah.
It's the wrath of Allah.
The anger of Allah.
You don't want him to be upset with
you.
You don't want him to look at you
now or me or us and he says
these are my servants.
These are the people who I chose them
to be the Muslims.
Or the other way around.
Wow!
And Allah says to you, to you, to
us all نِعْمَ الْعَبْدِ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ As Allah
said to Sayyidina Ayub what a servant he
is.
Always return or turn to me.
So taqwa your daily life.
Continue the usual.
Of course no haram.
But you are always always on your tiptoes
that Allah is looking at you and what
does he say about me?
And why do you want to do that?
Because this is one, not all, but one
of the way zip you through Jannah.
Zip you through Siratul Jannah.
It's one of the highest level when you
have this journey with Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
They teach you that it's a journey.
And you have to go through stations.
They call it maqamat.
Stations.
Like you're going on a steps or on
stairs.
And you go up and then the end
of it is you're very close to Allah.
It's done.
I'm talking about here in dunya.
And it will take you in Akhirat.
Many steps in the beginning.
The end of it there is three scholars
differ.
Is it reliance on Allah?
Truly?
Is it taqwa?
I'm always thinking of him.
I'm always putting this shield around me.
Or it is rida.
Most of the scholars will tell you it's
rida.
When you are so pleased with Allah, whatever
happens to you.
Not only when everything going your way.
So here it's taqwa for us.
We really have to learn it.
But we have to practice it more than
we learn it.
Can you be a mutaqi now sitting in
this?
Yes or no?
Give me an example.
When I'm sitting in a lecture.
Yes for sure.
But you're a mutaqi.
The way you sit.
The way you're thinking.
What are you writing?
How are you looking to the person next
to you?
That's taqwa.
And then you have to have a question
inside you.
Brewing inside you.
Am I?
And then the answer is I don't know.
Nobody can judge you by the way.
It's only Allah.
But you're gonna say to yourself Ya Allah
make me one.
I can't do it.
But you can.
You can.
Knowledge we are here.
Right?
This is Miftah Institute.
Many of you want to learn.
You know what is the direct way to
learn?
Wallahi it is not registering in either Jannah
or Miftah or any.
Number one is what?
It's taqwa.
Not my words.
You all read Quran.
It's in Surah Al Baqarah.
Who can finish it?
What taqwa Allah?
Be Allah conscious.
Be a person of taqwa.
And Allah will teach you.
I remember one of my first teachers.
I used to say he was visiting us
when I was in St. Louis.
And he was giving us khutba juma.
So just before the khutba I was asking
Ya Sheikh what is the subject will be?
You know like a student you want to
know.
And he said I don't know.
And I was like subhanallah so he doesn't
prepare for juma?
And he said I don't know.
And I still remember this.
And he said as I go on the
minbar Allah make me think of something and
make me speak.
What taqwa Allah.
But this is what it is.
You want to learn.
You want to learn this deen.
You want to be a better person.
You want to be close to Allah.
Otherwise you will not be here today.
Start by having this I call it personal
relationship with Allah.
The personal relationship we all have with people
around us.
Alhamdulillah.
But where are these and this relationship with
Allah?
Is it when I have time?
Left over time?
You know when we pray isha?
And we are dead tired.
We have done everything.
And now let me go and do isha.
Left over time.
One of my Quran teacher always used to
tell me this.
Don't give the words of Allah the left
over time.
Give it your peak time.
And your peak energy.
So to summarize this Taqwa is a goal.
And Taqwa is a journey.
And a Taqwa should be my companion.
In everything in your daily life.
It is a daily life thing.
It is not when I am in Mecca.
It is not when I am listening to
a lecture.
It is not when I am in Ramadan.
It is a daily companion with me.
And by the way I know you all
say this is very difficult.
Absolutely it is.
And we all will fail.
But get up.
Because with Ibadur Rahman the last verse he
read وَالَّذِينَ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ يَلْقَى ثَامًا يُضَعَفْ
لَهُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَ إِلَّا If somebody have
done all what Allah said don't do.
But if you repent to Allah and you
do a good deed Allah will change your
bad deeds to good deeds.
Done.
And this is actually a hadith of Rasul
A.S. اتق الله He is a man
asked him اتق الله and then وَاتْبَعْ السَّيِّئَ
الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُوهَا So when you learn this and
you said okay I am going to be
a مُتَّقِي and tomorrow is Monday and the
rat race will start wherever this rat race
is work, college, school, home there is we
are surrounded by temptations, surrounded by bombarded, not
surrounded bombarded and the journey will start tomorrow
and I failed someone said a word and
it really bothered me and I responded in
a way I didn't just say it doesn't
matter and I walked that's fine it's not
fine what you did but it happened I
am going to be a person of Taqwa,
immediately I am going to remember what Rasul
A.S. said you did a bad deed,
do a good deed you transgressed about somebody
apologize, you can't apologize the person disappeared, make
dua for them give a charity in their
name and then you are a person of
Taqwa you are not doing it for them
by the way you are not doing, don't
think of other people, they will not help
me with anything they will not help you
with anything on the day of judgment, I
am doing it for myself I am doing
it for myself I will end up with
this we just finished Hajj may Allah accept
from all of us and he said this
in the middle of Hajj he is talking
about the rituals of Hajj he said take
provisions you know when you pack I remember
this verse every time I pack whether you
are packing for yourself or for somebody else
even when you are packing food for your
children you are packing lunch for yourself packing
suitcase, you are traveling you are packing because
you are moving anytime you are packing because
you are going to put things you need
and Allah says the best provision the best
thing you will pack with you every morning,
every evening wherever you are going whether a
Muslim or a non-Muslim environment doesn't matter,
by the way I need Taqwa more with
the Muslims than non-Muslims take it with
you and if you don't know how to
do it, ask Allah and learn about it
it needs only one thing remember he is
looking at you I'll end up with this
for all of you we all pray and
we are going to go for Salat al
-Asr I want all of you when you
are in Rukua for a second think Allah
is looking at you you will freeze that's
Taqwa and that's what Taqwa does to you
simple and we all can do it again,
journey but you start the journey and he
will pull you you fail, he will get
you up you beg him, he will respond
but we are miser being with ourselves may
Allah make us among people of Taqwa may
Allah make us of those who listen to
the word of admonition and listen and understand
and follow the best of it and may
Allah make us of those who when we
fail get up