Stand Your Ground

Alou.

Smilla Rahmanir Rahim Al hamdu lillah wa Salatu was Salam ala Rasulillah Salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh

My dearest brothers and sisters, may Allah subhana wa Taala bless you. I'm going to give a talk a little Nazi her little advice on some aspects of the farewell speech of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam. And in the context of parenting and in the context of giving Tibet to our children, I think I want to pick out two main aspects of the speech of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. The first one is as he begins, when he says to the Ummah, oh people listen to me earnestly, worship Allah subhanho wa taala. So that's the first point. And then the other point, which is quite connected, which is the famous Hadith that we mentioned over and over again, when we say that an

Arab is no better than a non Arab, and a white is no better or is not superior, over Oblak and vice versa, except in good deeds and piety, in taqwa in righteousness. Now, these are oft repeated cliches in our tradition, we are always talking about worshipping Allah, especially to our children. And we always talk about, you know, we're all the same, right? We're like the teeth of a comb. We're equal in rights, in dignity, in spirituality, and all of these things, you know, didn't you hear the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he said that a white is no better than a black and a black is no better than a white and an Arab is no better than a non Arab and a non Arab is no better than an

Arab and all of these things. And we, we get so proud concerning these a meeting virtues and these ethics that our tradition has. But I think what we have to do brothers and sisters is learn to internalize this, because we have moved traditionally from an amount of internalization to an amount of memorization, because if you look into the Arabic and you look into our classical spiritual tradition, you will see that when they were taught to memorize something, it didn't mean memorize it like an iPad. It didn't mean memorize it like a computational system. It didn't mean memorize it like you're a database. That's not the reality of Islam, but rather, when they memorize something,

they internalized it, it became part of their spiritual being. And this is why traditionally, we always, we always had this concept of tarbiyah, this concept of cultivating the virtues in Islam within the spiritual DNA of a Muslim. By now what do we do we throw the hadith of someone, we throw the iron someone and we think, cool, cool, and they're gonna change. It doesn't work that way. Even the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had a lot of beer, who was his scholar? He was his scholar. It was the angel,

who was a scholar of the Sahaba, the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wasallam, who were the teachers of the tabby and it was the sahaba. Right? There's this almost as unwritten spiritual law that you don't just learn from abstract words and writing. You're not confined in the prison of ink and paper. But rather you see the whole thing for what it is, you don't just see the blobs of ink and think, Oh, these are nice words. It's very similar to the analogy that Oliver's Ali was talking about, when he tried to basically debate against the atheist of the time, in his alchemy of happiness. He says, these type of people like ants walking on a book, and someone's writing on the

book, and they can't see the words for what they are, and they can't see someone was actually holding the pen, right? This is very similar to what we're doing now. Spiritually, it's like we're going towards that point of view, which I think we need to nip it in the bud. And really stop this because we have to learn to internalize the words that we memorize. Because Islam is about a state of being not a state of doing. We're not human doings. We're human beings. We be we do and we become

if you just stop at Basic, abstract and memorization, it won't change you. This is unwritten spiritual law, this teddy bear process, that first and foremost, the parent has to take charge. And then the wider society is an outward Emma, you know, when I see lots of organizations, teaching, for example, I instruct for an organization which is an institute brother said Tasneem also instructs for an institute there are many great Institute's around May Allah, preserve them and bless them, but I think that is

Basically a symptom of a course. Because traditionally, we didn't need Institute's because traditionally we had this environment of tarbiyah. Well, when people go to the masajid, they would respect the imam in the scholar, and they'll sit under his feet. Because Wallahi brothers and sisters, you will learn from a scholar that you will never learned from a book. Even if he reads from a book, I am telling you from my own experience, and I've learned things the hard way. I've learned things the hard way around so many mistakes, and all publicly available. And hamdulillah humility is good for the soul. So from that point of view, you need to really understand that you

will learn from a scholar, what you won't learn from a book, even if he's reading the book to you, because there's something that's going on here sign that's being passed from heart to hearts. And this is very significant. So when the Prophet says, I'm said, all people, listen to me earnestly, worship Allah subhanho wa taala. We need to inculcate this in the hearts of our children, what worship is, and I mentioned this yesterday, I touched upon this yesterday, worshiping Allah subhanho wa Taala is not a thing that we do, because it's an identity. We all suffer from an identity complex. Now, who am I? Am I Pakistani? Or am I American? Am I American? Pakistani? Am I Muslim,

American, Pakistani, or Pakistani, American, Muslim, I'm a DC, Pakistani, half Mongolia, half Lebanese, whatever is happening these days, right? Hamdulillah. But the point is, we have an identity complex and what happens, the concept of worship is inserted in that need to belong. I think that's the problem. We should not socialize our children that worship just become some kind of identity, like you're wearing a new piece of cloth, or you're wearing a hat, or it's something that labels you. This is problematic because worship is not a hat that you wear. Worship is something that comes through you. It's a derivative of your own innate nature, we have to tap into the fitrah

of our children to understand that there is something created within them. fitrah fattura Photron Fatah Rahu, something is created within them. By Allah subhanho wa Taala is unchanging, that they know Allah is a reality. And they know that Allah deserves to be worshipped. So our job as parents is not to give them a label or socialism or give them an identity, but to make them realize who they are from within. That's the key. And this is why they are they might say the way to awaken the fitrah is giving them good tarbiyah is giving them Quran making them internalize things, it cleans the fitrah. Imagine the fitrah is like a lens. And this lens, if it's clean, the child can see the

Hawk can see the truth. But if if this lens is dirty, or it's clouded, it requires some cleaning.

And that's the job of the parents. That's the job of Dawa. That's the job of the Quran of the Sunnah of even sound rational arguments. That is the job to clean the fitrah. And we have to understand it from that point of view. And the first

lesson that we learn concerning this is to teach our children what worship really is. Worship is that you fall in love with Allah subhanho wa taala. Worse worship is that you fall in love with Allah worship is that you want to know Allah because you love him and you want to know him more worship is that you want to obey Allah. Why your free will because the most rational spiritual thing to do worship is that we want to show the child that all their acts of worship should be directed to Allah alone.

And what we need to teach our children is the concept of gratitude because I truly believe that gratitude is the key to open the door to worship. If you see Surah Al Fatiha, it is the summary of the whole of the Quran. And a summary of the Quran is Tao heed is affirming the Oneness of Allah subhanho wa taala. And what's the first line in Surah Al Fatiha Al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen, all grateful, perfect gratitude and thanks belongs to Allah subhana wa to Allah. Allah is Seeing the scene here now to open the door to understand what it means to have a relationship with Europe to start from a premise from the basis of gratitude.

And we need to talk to our children about this on a daily basis to make them make them understand this, you need to be grateful to Europe, who is Europe, the one that nurtures you, the one that loves you, the one that owns everything is the master of everything that maintains everything that sustains everything that created everything. This is what he means that you have a Rob and you, you are his Hulk you are his created thing. And there is a connection between the Hulk and alcoholic, the creative thing and the creator and that relationship is master and slave, master and slave and they

For they should understand that everything is due to Allah, everything is due to Allah. And we should be grateful. And We should be grateful for the ability to be grateful. Allah subhanho wa Taala says in the Quran, that we could never enumerate the blessings of Allah. And I wanted to find an interesting strategy to basically show this to children, to Muslims, to non Muslims, to those in pain to those who are in a state of pleasure to really show the wildlife saying is Huck here. And I think I found an example.

Brothers and sisters,

the thing that keeps us alive, the thing that Allah subhanho wa Taala uses as a physical cause as the as bad as the cause, for us to stay alive is our heartbeat.

I want you one day to sit at home, even with your children and put the phones away, put the TV away, put the entertainment away, and just reflect on your heartbeat for an hour. You would realize how limited you are how contingent you are, how dependent you are, you're going to realize that you don't control your own existence, you're going to see how weak you are as well. And you're going to realize who is the divine monster.

And I want you to start thinking about if your heart were to stop right now, what would you feel? And I want you to ask yourself this question. If I if I only had 1000 heartbeats left?

What would I do?

In extra fact, if you had two options, to have 1000 heartbeats, or to have 1000 heartbeats, but with the ability to have an extra 1000 heartbeats, if you gave me $20,000, everybody would choose the second option. And even if they didn't have the money, they would find it as best as they can just to get the extra 1000 heartbeats. This shows us

how precious one hobby is just one heartbeat. Just precious one heartbeat.

Now I have a challenge for you. I want you to count every single heartbeat you've ever experienced in your life.

It's practically impossible.

For the first two or three years you couldn't count. So you got backlog. You're sleeping, backlog, eating, going toilet speaking with people backlog. In actual fact, even if you could speak from Day Zero or day one, you could still never count all your heartbeats. It's a practical impossibility. And yet this one heartbeat is the physical cause that Allah has given us, in order to keep us alive. And our life is something that we don't earn, we don't own and we don't necessarily deserve. We can't even create a fly. We're not the source of life and existence.

So that one heartbeat is the physical cools of Allah has used to keep us alive. And this precious gift of life we don't earn we don't own and we don't deserve is given to us freely, every moment.

Freely every moment.

So if someone gives you something you don't earn, you don't own you don't deserve. But it's so precious. How should that make you feel?

Grateful, even if you're suffering, even if you're happy, regardless of the situation, you've in a state of gratitude, grateful to whom Allah subhanho wa Taala This is why don't be like the one who receives $1,000 every day. And after a year, he starts thinking that $1,000 This is why Shimek and atheism and all of these isms and schisms are totally incoherent, anti spiritual and irrational,

so much to be thankful for, but all to be thankful to.

And this is very important to inculcate in the hearts and minds of our children. And the way this happens not to say to them Be grateful better, that's not going to work. Children don't listen, they see, children don't listen, they observe, you could give a child a book, he won't change them. But if you if you show them behaviors that will change them. This is why the earlier man what they will do, they wouldn't say southern could diminish as well. They wouldn't say give southern chi purifies your sins, what they will do is here's the money, go to the marketplace, get a bunch of apples, and give it to everybody and you can't have none, just to show what Sadaqa means. That is self sacrifice

for the sake of Allah subhanho wa Taala that when you're a parent, you see your children, you're holding their hands and you're walking down the street, and you individually give them $1 Each and you tell them give it to that man who's asking for money. It's an action. And then when you teach them their Islamic ethics, the Hadith the Quran and do the action, then you bring it together, you create a holistic human being, but unfortunately many of us we're just talking, we're not walking, and this is why there's a big disconnect. I told my children one of these things fine, but what will you

doing you can say don't backpack but you're backpacking backpacking at home. You can say give sada Cabo Oh you do spend on your alloy wheels you're crazy weddings and lots of gold for Maha, right?

You think it works away?

How many of you know what's the good diet? Put your hand up be honest. Greens, vegetables, right? Is that good? Is greens good for you? Vegetables good for you. Okay, what do you have yesterday?

Donut, and we will become donuts, don't we? That's the problem. Don't tell me knowledge is going to change you. Knowledge won't change you, like Mr. Malik said is a true knowledge is the is the kind of light that Allah puts in your heart. As a result of internalizing what you know, abstractly. There's a disconnect between our knowing and are being and we have to link those things together. One way of doing that is by one understanding it number two, enrolling people in your behavior if you want love at home, be loving. If there's no love at home, there's no point waiting for love or they don't love me. You know, one river Hindu sister came up to you once and said, I need some

advice. There's no love at home. Okay, when's the last time you said you love your parents? She was shocked. Well, there you go. You're part of the problem. Right? The millennials say you love them.

So this is a very important lesson concerning worship brothers and sisters. Finally, what we need to focus on is the other part of what I want to bring to light which is part of the sermon where the Prophet has said all mankind is from Adam and Eve. And Arab has no superiority over a non Arab, no, a non Arab has any superiority of an Arab also why it has no superiority of a black and a Black has no superiority over why except by piety and good actions. And this links to the Hadith in Sahih Muslim, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that Allah doesn't look at your forms and your colors, but rather he sees what's in your hearts and your actions. Okay? So this is very important

for us to understand. So why is it the need of the time? What is what are the needs of the time because I would even argue from a tabular point of view, you're pondering point of view, that the first greatest sin, one of the first greatest sins was actually racism. shaytaan was the number one racist. Why? Because he was told to bow down to Adam, he said, No, I'm different. I'm fire. He's clay. That was his that was his response. shaytaan was the first racist. So if you're a racist, you're a shape on crane. And this is a we need to really understand this carefully. Because what does shaytaan do, he looked at his limited experiences, his limited access perspectives, his limited

AKA, his limited understanding his limited, contingent, dependent self, and use that as a premise as a foundation to claim something general. And that's the basis of racism. Generally speaking, you know, I had a really bad experience with two black guys in my life, therefore, all black guys are bad. I had 1000 Bad experience of DCs, therefore, DC so bad, right? It doesn't work that way. That's actually the intellectual form of racism, right. And the other forms, which we could discuss later, but the point here is, this is one of the biggest diseases, especially in America as well. And the reason I want to mention it, because we live in a time, especially in the West, especially actually

in the whole of the West, the whole of Britain and Europe, and America is now a center right type of politics. And lots of people are using this as an anchor as a hinge to basically open the door to this kind of fundamentalist nationalism. We're having right the kk k, did you see the videos of the hands up? Held Trump, right? This doesn't mean Trump's a bad guy. But look what's happening. Look what's happening, people. Look what's happening in Europe, an increase in Islamophobia. If you read the newspapers, you see that it's no different jokes, juxtapose them with the newspapers of Nazi Germany, same narratives. I'll give you this challenge as Google it. Newspapers, Nazi Germany with

the Jews, newspapers in England and Europe, and you see what's happening. Just juxtapose them and you'll see it's exactly the same narrative. We it's not all doom and gloom, by the way. But the point I'm trying to say is the reason when I mentioned this is a lesson for our children, because our children must be beacons of light concerning this. They must understand our history, our tradition, and where we need to go. Even the likes of Ajay Toynbee. Look what she said Look what he said, the extension of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam in the contemporary world. And there is, as it happens, the crying need for the propagation

of this Islamic virtue

This is why Allah subhanho wa taala. Maybe this is why He said, We were created from a male and a female and made it a different tribes and nations in for you to know one another, the two out of four to know one another. Do you know what this means? It doesn't mean come together on your commonalities, look at the tafsir. Look at the exegesis, it doesn't mean oh, we have common things we're going to come together in so happy, he doesn't mean that it actually means know your differences. If you know what makes you different to somebody else, and you know why that person is different from you. And you explain that difference in a compassionate, intelligent and human way,

then those differences are not going to be excuses for hatred, and for bias. And for prejudice. This is a profound Islamic teaching, very profound, because there's no point talking about what brings us together because it's a given, I'm going to connect with you because you're a human being we have similar needs right easily. But the things that are bringing us apart, the things that are causing hatred, and divisiveness and prejudice, are the things that we're unsure about. Where is she covering her head? Why does he have hair and his beard? Why do you ask the why does he have to go and pray? Why are they not eating in this month? Just say, oh, forget that this has come together

and commonality, it's still not going to answer the question, it's still not going to

prevent that fire of hatred and prejudice from emerging. We need to start talking about why we're different, but with compassionate intelligence, and when you show that that difference is human, it's valid. It's relevant, it comes from a compassionate tradition, even if they don't accept it, at least they won't hate anymore. And this is a profound Islamic teaching a profound ayah in the Quran. Talk about what makes you different.

Now, brothers and sisters, I had a rant yesterday, so I'm not going to tell you off about the internal racism. I already have done that. So let me just end with some good news.

You know, the orientalist and historian Hamilton gave he said the following words that I think should encourage us to basically look into our tradition and try to internalize his values at home, he said, But Islam has a still further service to render to the cause of humanity. It stands after or nearer to the rural east than Europe does. And it possesses a magnificent tradition of international understanding and cooperation. No other society has such a record of success, uniting in an equality, of status, of opportunity, and of endeavor, so many and so various races of mankind. Islam has still the power to reconcile, apparently, irreconcilable elements of race and tradition.

If ever, the opposition of the great societies of East and West is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition. Brothers and sisters, we got work to do. Let's internalize our tradition. properly, it starts at home. It starts by being not only knowing and I play and I ask ALLAH SubhanA to bless every single one of you. So we become beacons of light for the whole world on the whole community. Because people need this. You know, it's no point having a candle in the dark right or candle in one room, bring out into your society. We have this node, spread this node star home and then work on others and inshallah is going to happen. It's all good

news. May Allah bless you, somebody from Allah