Hamza Tzortzis – Listening and communicating with excellence

			Salam Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh brothers and sisters and friends apologies for my state, I
just came back from the gym, I want to talk about listening and communication. If we sincerely and
genuinely want to communicate with people in a profound way, we have to listen with the intention to
understand.
		

			This means we have to turn off our internal radio. Because usually we are manufacturing responses,
while we're listening to people. And this is not a genuine, it's not an authentic or sincere way of
engaging with someone else, because you just basically create your own story. And we shouldn't
impose our stories. on other people, we should become a blank canvas for people. So we must listen
with the intention to understand them. This means that we're not going to look at the words, we're
going to try to look out for their meaning and their context. Because words are vehicles to meaning,
don't attach your meaning to their words, don't attach your story to their words, don't attach your
		

			drama, which is based on your past unlimited ideas and experiences, on to the words, try and seek
out and look for their context and their meaning because words are vehicles to meaning. And once you
do this, you'll be able to connect with people in a profound way, we must become more intellectually
and spiritually mature, to be able to listen with the intention to understand to turn off internal
radio, to not attach our own meaning to the words. And this is why after they speak, we should
usually say, what did you mean by that?
		

			I've understood what you said in this way.
		

			Am I correct? If not, can you clarify? Can you give me your context? This is a very powerful way of
engaging with other people. And in this way, you are sincerely true to yourself and you true to
them, because you should, you should want to sincerely engage with him. If not, then what you're
doing. You're just having a monologue, not a real dialogue. Even though there is another person
there. You're really engaging with your own ego. Right? It's like you're just speaking at your own
self, right? a projection of your own ego. And this is something that is not in line with the
prophetic way, the prophetic Sunnah of the Prophet salallahu. It he was saying, because we know a
		

			fundamental principle in the Islamic tradition is a son, which means excellence that we are people
of excellence, sincere, excellence, people of goodness. And the excellent way of communicating with
people is to become a blank canvas, to engage with them to listen out for their meaning, to listen
out for the context, not just the words, because words are vehicles to meaning. And once you do
this, everything changes in your engagement with other human beings.
		

			Another thing I want to talk about is powerfully creating the best human being, in your conversation
in your communication. What do I mean by this?
		

			When you communicate with other people, you need to look out for
		

			their potential, because human beings are almost an infinite number of possibilities, okay? And we
know from the Islamic tradition, every human being is born with innate goodness, because we have
this concept of the fifth of the fitrah means the innate disposition, every human being has this
fifth one in this fifth row, there is there are forms of primary knowledge or proton knowledge, you
could call this, you know,
		

			innate knowledge, right. And this includes that a lot of God is a reality He's worthy of praise or
worship, extensive praise and worship. And we have an understanding of a basic level of objective
goodness. This is the human being but the human beings fit for the human beings, innate disposition
gets corrupted or locked or clouded. And it's our job to help unlock their innate disposition to
awaken the truth within. One way of doing that in your communication is communicating powerfully by
looking out for their potential. So what does this mean? It means that when you're speaking to
someone, even if they don't like you, even if they disagree with you, right, even if you consider
		

			them a so called enemy when you're communicating with them, you should look out for the best human
being, you should listen out for the most wise human being, you must listen out for the most sincere
human being, you must listen out for the great human being. And in your listening and communicating
and looking out for that type of human being. You should now use words and communicate with them as
if they are that great human being and once you do that you will create from the conversation and
that's an amazing and powerful way of engaging with other human beings, especially in the context of
		

			Sharing Islam. Now, there are some traditions there is a story that is related about Khalid bin
Walid, one of the famous companions of the Prophet Mohammed upon him the peace. Now, before Khalid
bin woody became Muslim, he was basically the butcher of Muslims, right? And yet the Prophet
Mohammed upon him VPS, according to this tradition, he said, and I'm paraphrasing that how can such
a wise person not accept the truth not accept Islam, and accordingly, Molly's actually became a
Muslim as a result. Now, what is this, this is a powerful way of communicating this is the prophetic
way of communicating with people, you look out for people's greatness. In this case, this person is
		

			very wise. And you look out for that wisdom, and you communicate with them as if they are wise. And
when you do that you create from the communication from the discussion from the dialog. And this is
a powerful way of communicating with other human beings. So when you're interacting with other human
beings, look out for their greatness, look out for their excellence, look up for the that they're
that they are the most ethical human being that the most righteous human being that the most
truthful human being, that they are the most amazing human being, and use words and communicate with
them as if they are that and once you do, that, you create that person, through your communication
		

			and your discussion, your dialogue and your interaction, and everything changes. And this is the way
that we must be. And in the context of sharing Islam. This is how you respond to things this is how
you should respond to things with the in the best way, right, we must respond by that which is
better as the court answers which means responding with what is more virtuous, and what is more
beautiful. For example, in chapter 41, verses 33 and 34. God says, Allah says in the Quran, and who
is better in spirits in the one who calls to Allah calls to God does righteousness and says, I am
indeed one of those who submit, and the following verse says good and evil are not the same, repel,
		

			but that which is better, and between two people, there was hatred, to attend to intimate
friendship. And this is very powerful, because the Arabic use of the word repel is not followed by a
direct object. So it could also mean repel anything by that which is better. And what does by that
which, which is better mean, according to the lemma, according to the scholars by that which is
better means respond by that which is more beautiful, and that which is more virtuous. So when we
speak to people, we must be the people of virtue and beauty. And isn't it the most beautiful and
virtuous way to listen with the intention to understand to become a blank canvas for people to look
		

			out for people's meaning and not just for the words isn't the most beautiful and virtuous thing to
do? By powerfully creating from your communication by looking out for the best human being and
communicating with them in a way that that as if they are that amazing human being? Isn't that the
most virtuous and beautiful thing to do? Of course it is, and it's a prophetic way. So
		

			those people that have bt and B people have said I want to live better cattle.