Hosai Mojaddidi – Acquiring Beautiful Character Through God’s Divine Names
AI: Summary ©
The importance of preserving and labeling names for one's own character is discussed, along with the need for truthfulness and acceptance in life. The speaker emphasizes the importance of learning about one's own health and lifestyle to overcome fear of others and pursue small small actions to improve one's health and lifestyle. The speaker also highlights the need for acceptance and balance in one's life and practice gratitude and small small actions to improve one's health and lifestyle.
AI: Summary ©
Bismillah so here's the first Hadith.
This is a report in Sahih Muslim the prophesies that I'm reminds us
that almost that has, of course 99 names and there are opinions of
that he has more than 99. But we have, we have the 99 names given
to us. And he tells us that whoever preserves them will enter
Paradise, but preserving them is, there's more, you know, to it than
just memorize memorizing them, right we can all memorize, but
it's actually about using them supplicating with them, as you
know, we goes on to explain this hadith he says that it's to
preserve them is said to mean to enumerate and count them and one
supplication, it said to me to persevere in them, to respect them
in the best manner to guard what they require and to affirm their
meanings. And it said, the meaning is to act by them and to obey
Allah subhanaw taala, according to the implications of every name. So
when we study the 99 names, it's to gain knowledge of our Creator,
but also to hopefully acquire some of if not all, as much as we can
all of them hopefully, in our own conduct in our own character, and
to manifest these these virtues in the way that we live, and the way
that we interact with people in the way that we speak to people in
the way that we conduct ourselves and carry ourselves. So we of
course, have Alhamdulillah The best example of how to do that, it
would be very difficult, if you can imagine, without having a
guide or a teacher to show us the way but this is the gift of the
prophesy centum is that he embodies exactly what this entails
taking on these divine attributes in his own character. And of
course, we know that he was described by his wife I showed her
the Aloha and her that he was the that his character was the Quran
right that he was the walking Quran is often referenced as and
Allah's father says about him well in Nicola Allah Harlequin Ave in
the Indeed, you are of a great moral character. So his example is
really what we need to study and and when we study, we will of
course see the Quran and the by virtue of the Quran, of course,
the attributes of Allah coming through him. And so here's
Ibn katheer, expanding on the Tafseer of this hadith, he says,
the meaning of this verse is that the prophesy Saddam would emulate
the Quran, and its commands its prohibitions, and it became his
temperament. His character became accustomed to it and he abandoned
his visceral carnal nature. And that's a really important point
which I'm going to get to at the end of the presentation, what that
means how to abandon your visceral, carnal nature, whatever
the Quran commanded, he did, and whatever it prohibited, he
abstained, along with this, Allah subhanaw taala, ingrained with
within him great character traits of modesty, generosity, courage,
forgiveness, forbearance, and every beautiful trait. So again,
whenever you see these very specific qualities of the
prophesies that I'm being, you know, listed or, or expanded on
good practices to reflect on your own character, do I possess these
qualities? Where am I lacking? What do I need to work on?
Modesty, generosity, courage, all of these virtues and noble
qualities?
Now, how does that how can we then apply this to the 99 names?
Obviously, for time sake, we can't go through each and every one of
them. But I thought for the purpose of this conversation, that
we could at least focus on these three attributes and how they and
how human like our virtues or our qualities emanate from these
particular attributes. So we have of course, and again, if you don't
have the book, please get this book because mashallah, you can go
through each name and expands on meanings and there's a lot of
beautiful commentary on everyone, but I'll help you know the truth,
right, this is Allah subhanaw. Taala is one of one of his
attributes. It teaches us just by studying this attribute, other
virtues that we can apply in our own daily life and practice
honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, discernment,
righteousness, because they're tied together if you're truthful,
you will become righteous, they all emanate from this attribute,
and not to say they only emanate from this attribute, but these are
some of the virtues that we can embody as human beings, because
they are a reflection of the these attributes of Allah Subhana Allah
Alim knowledge right the most knowledgeable the All Knowing is
Allah subhanaw taala. But we can understand what that is, by in our
own in our own selves by acquiring knowledge by being people who
pursue the path of knowledge and wisdom by having increasing our
understanding.
Thinking and perception and awareness, just being aware,
right? There's a lot of people who are described as, as being a
believer, seven shamira references as well, that they they're kind of
going on about life like cattle, they're not aware. And that means
that there's, there's something else is going on, they're
distracted. So waking up opening your eyes and of course, we know
him I'm already spoke of this too, right and now Sunni m v them out
on teboho that people are asleep. And when they die, they wake up.
So there's a there is a quality of of the human being that can
sometimes put us induce us into the sleep like states where we
don't have awareness. So knowledge is beyond just knowing, you know,
knowledge from studying books, but it's actually being really awake
to what's happening, for example, your own our own temporality. I
mean, how often do we really think about the fact that our days are
measured, and we have literally no idea how none of us, not a single
one of us have any idea how long we have on this earth. Now, if
that doesn't inform your every single day, that's problematic,
right. And a point that I, I reflect on a lot is travel, like
how many of us take for granted, because we live in an era where
travel has become so normal, and it's very easy to jump on a plane
or get in a car, and we go from one place to the other. But we
don't really think about that, that it's a blessing. You know, as
our teachers remind us, it is a blessing and a true miracle that
we survive every day. Because the opportunity for so many things to
go wrong, given how complex our societies are, right? How many
people are occupying spaces, and how many things could go wrong, we
have to wonder at the fact that we are given life every day, and
Allah wakes us up and we have another day. So this is just
something that we have to be aware of, if you're not aware of this,
you take it for granted. And many people end up squandering their
time, their life, because they don't bring this into the
forefront of their mind that I have to really appreciate every
single day, every single day is a gift. So that's one way of
becoming aware. And then I'll Kareem, this is another attribute
of Allah subhanaw taala. That really, if we embody it, we
understand it, it helps us to do as the previous slide mentioned,
which I'll get to overcome the beastial qualities of the human
being. Because to be generous means that you have, first of all,
trust in Allah subhanaw taala, you trust your creator, you don't have
these diseases of the heart that can affect our capacity, to be
generous, to be magnanimous, to be forgiving to give. So all of that
comes from, it's kind of like what they refer to as the scarcity
mindset, right? Someone who has a scarcity mindset has doesn't have
appropriate telecoil in their Creator, but a person who has an
understanding that Allah is the most generous, and that that when
you give, for example, from your wealth, it's never a loss, right?
We know this, we know that when we give, it's always an increase,
it's actually an investment. And so understanding this attribute of
Allah subhanaw taala, and then applying it in your own life,
becoming a person who's generous with their wealth with their time
with their knowledge, who is selfless, who prefers other people
who's magnanimous, who's willing to again, have compassion for
others, all of these manifests from these attributes. So these
are the three I wanted to just focus on because practically
speaking, they offer us great opportunity to develop beautiful
character, right? And so just again, to remind us, ALLAH SubhanA
wa Tada in chapter 10, here, almost one is reminding us and
that attributes, once you become familiar with them, and you start
to read, whether it's the Quran or Hadith, you find that they really
are quite prevalent. I mean, they're almost by the references
them often, again, to, to remind us of the importance of adopting
these these beautiful qualities. But here all this says, for that
is Allah, your Lord, the truth, the truth. So, you know, pursuing
truth, what does that mean? Well, it's, for us, it's, it's, again, a
defining quality of the believer is that we are people of truth, we
seek truth. And that even if it's against ourselves, that's a really
important part of being people of truth that we're willing to negate
our own knifes our own positions. And if you put this bring this in
a practical way in your relationships, right, if you're, I
mean, for those of us who are married, there are going to be
times where, you know, you get into these heated discussions and
debates. And you know, the neffs wants to
continue double doubting and digging your heels and you're just
really adamant about your position. But if the truth becomes
clear, and it's
against you. If you're truly a God fearing person, then you say you
surrender to the truth because you know that it's more important that
you're a truthful person before all of us have data than just
trying to win the argument or the debate. And this can apply to any
situation. But that's, you know, one way of being a person that
really embodies this or understands the importance of
truth. And of course, the prophesy said, and we know, before even he,
he received a revelation, one of his nicknames or names that he was
known for was being truthful, right, I saw the Columbia in the
most truthful and the trustworthy. So they go hand in hand. And this
was something that from a very young age people saw in him. And
there were many examples of how those who were even outside of the
faith after you know, he received revelation would still in trust,
the prophesy said, and because he was so trustworthy, and so, you
know, making sure that we we can really, truly say that about
ourselves, are we truthful? Do we lie? Do we kind of dismiss or
diminish the weight of our words? Do we think it's not a big deal if
you're being dishonest, and this, again, in a practical way, can
apply to our, the way that we communicate about ourselves,
there's a lot of misrepresentation that happens. I mean, we see it
all the time. You know, whether it's people applying for jobs, or
even just ethics, when it comes to studying students, you know,
practice having ethical practices, practices with finances, I mean,
how much? How much, are we really embodying this, there's a lot of
cheating, that happens. And this is why when you study the diseases
of the heart, it becomes clear that, that these are, you know,
things that we have to really fight the urge to not cheat other
people to not be dishonest in our transaction. So not, you know, try
to fudge numbers or do this or that just because we want
something. But unfortunately, this is a very common thing, even in
marriage, people will misrepresent themselves, just because they want
to get married to someone, they will literally lie. They'll create
false stories and hide very important details. And it's very,
it's a very difficult time that we're in right now. Because we
have a problem with people practicing being very dishonest.
So how then you have to think like Spatola? How can you reconcile
that as a believer? Right? How do you how do you possibly reconcile
wearing hijab or coming to the masjid, praying, fasting in
Ramadan, doing, you know, going to Hajj and all of these other
practices that we do, while also being
corrupt on this level, but it's amazing that there are people
unfortunately, who think that it's not a big deal, or they don't
really think about it. So being honest, is such an important
quality for the believer. And all of us have to again, ask
ourselves, do we really truly practice this in as in every way
that we possibly can? Again, the mirror is the prophesize. And he's
the the reflection of perfection that we're looking at.
The next attribute that we talked about was knowledge. And here
Allah subhanaw taala says, Indeed, my Lord is subtle. And what he
was, indeed it is he who is the knowing the wise. So again, it's
his attributes, but how does that,
you know, how can we take on that attribute in our own way, well,
being on the path of knowledge, hamdulillah you're all here. This
is why supporting organizations like that I have my foundation,
especially for women, for young girls, it's so important, because
it actually prioritizes this as a path. And we live in a day and age
where,
you know, material wealth is just preoccupies so many people's time,
energy thoughts, they wake up thinking about money, they go to
sleep, thinking about money, and they're always thinking about, you
know, just what they don't have, versus, or what they want, and not
really reflecting on what they've already been blessed with. And
that's again, part of our challenge in this dunya is that
we're going to wrestle with the desires that overcome the heart
and then ABS which we'll get to at the end, you know, this constant
jihad, enough's, Hubbard dunya, the process of said, would be a
sign of his OMA toward the end of time. So these are things that we
are living, and we have to then say, well, how can I?
How can I, you know, combat or not protect myself from falling into
that knowledge, knowledge is the way that we protect ourselves,
because the more you know, the more you realize that as, you
know, as other shamira referenced as well. It's all in the hands of
Allah subhanaw taala. And when you have that knowledge that, you
know, there's nothing to be worried about. There's nothing to
fear that whatever I seek and I want, I just turn to my Lord and
He can change my circumstance and I have to really relinquish that
to him.
him that it puts you in a state of just trust and and, and balance
and equilibrium so that you're not full of this anxiety that of
course you bliss calls us to He calls us to be in states of
anxiety and fear. And so to combat that we need knowledge. But you
can't do that on your own either. Because there's too many. I mean,
we live in the age of information, we live in the age of
misinformation, disinformation, even in our own,
you know, in spaces where people are, you know, are presenting
themselves as being teachers, we have to be very careful, because
there are a lot of wolves in sheep's clothing. And so making
sure that the knowledge that we get is sound knowledge and making
sure that we're vetting and and, you know, looking at, you know,
the sources of knowledge. And so, you know, just a rule of thumb,
it's really important, if you're going to study with someone, make
sure that you know who their teachers are, make sure that they
cite their sources, because a lot of people are misguided with
knowledge that's just given and it may be presented in a way that
sounds authoritative. But then you find out that it was actually
maybe the, you know, there was no real, real reference for that, or,
or, you know, it was just an opinion, but it wasn't something
that was sound. So being on a path of knowledge entails all of that,
seeking knowledge, making sure that we're doing it correctly. And
here, of course, the prophets, I saw them reminds us whoever
travels a path in search of knowledge, Allah will make easy
for him a path to paradise. So they go hand in hand, I mean,
subhanAllah, when when you're going to learn, you're going to be
calm from this dunya that induces us, again, into states of anxiety
and panic, that's what it's designed to do. But knowledge will
free you from that. That's why some of the most extraordinary
examples that we've seen in recent months, which I know all of us
have, it's literally stopped us in our tracks, because we can't even
believe what we're seeing are these incredible people may Allah
again, free them and and liberate them from their from their
oppressors. But the people of OSA, what is it about them, they
materially they don't have anything, literally have nothing,
but they have knowledge of who their creator is. And that is why
they can withstand what's happening to them. So knowledge is
so liberating on so many levels, but we have to be put on that
path. So and that's again, bringing back the attribute of
Allah subhanaw taala that calls us to be people of knowledge allottee
and, and then the last attribute that I want to focus on is Al
Karim, that I was proud to describes himself as the most
generous, right, and this is to remind us that we should practice
this as believers and unhindered Alhamdulillah. Many of us,
we come from cultures where this quality of being generous, being
hospitable, being, you know, gracious, inviting people, whether
it's with, you know, people coming, you know, into our homes,
Alhamdulillah. Many of our cultures, this is very common in
the Muslim world, people who travel to the Muslim world for the
first time are sometimes shocked and struck by how generous the
people are, even though they have nothing, they may have very
little, but they're so willing to give. And so it's such a beautiful
trait. But in our own experience here, especially in the West, when
we have an abundance, do we also exhibit this quality? Or are we do
we struggle? Because maybe those diseases of the heart have
entered? Right? Do we and and a good exercise, for example is to
think about whenever you want to give, right? Whenever you're in a
position to give, if you're having this internal dialogue within
yourself. And your you initially had a really good intention, and
all of a sudden, you talked your way out of it. That's a red flag,
you want to think about what's going on there? What justification
did you give yourself to not send that, you know, push that donate
button? Or give that $100? Bill? What justification did you give
yourself in that moment? Sometimes it might be I mean, it might be a
true concern, right? It might be something real, but if it's a
repeated thing, where every time you want to give, you're suddenly
not able to and you're frozen, and you have like this, you know,
whole, like I said internal struggle and then you you opt not
to that's an indication that there is something going on there and
you need to explore that. Because if you're, if you're if your mind
is telling you or your analysis telling you that there's a loss by
giving this or we need to go back to the drawing board there and you
have to have a better understanding of how generosity
works in our in our tradition. We don't believe that we believe that
the more generous you are, that Allah Subhana Allah will increase
you right? Then check out Allah as he then Nico when you are showing
gratitude for your blessings and you are willing to share right pay
it forwards share the wealth, whatever you've been given, Allah
will increase you that's just a fact. So these are just ways again
to to think about that. And then the process and again, this is a
hack
That's just a good reminder for us that if we want to taste the
sweetness of faith which inshallah we all do, we all want we're here
we're seeking, we're yearning. We're asking Allah for guidance.
We're asking Allah to draw a sneer, well, he's giving us
direction, if we want to do that, then these are the, these are the
steps, right one who worships Allah alone. So we obviously don't
associate any partners. And we declare that very firmly and we
give charity, we actually are people who give and the way the
condition that he describes is so important, how do we give charity,
right? It's not just a matter of giving, but it's the way that you
do it, that we give it with a cheerful and earnest soul that
we're willing and happy to give. So it's not begrudgingly it's not
like, ah, you know, there's this again, tug of war. No, it's that I
want to please my Creator. And I'm going to do this as a practice.
And it does take time for especially if you've ever had, you
know, if you've ever had struggled with with wealth or been in those
constricted states, and you're not sure about your, your, your, you
know, your risk or or you may have lost your job, there's going to be
moments where you feel anxiety, but that's actually the time where
the, if you're giving the most in that time, it's an it's a great
testimony of your faith. So these are all beautiful practices that
we can draw, just by studying the attributes of Allah subhanaw
taala, in our own, you know, practical, day to day lives, we
look at you know, these these different ways that we can
understand the attributes of Allah subhanaw taala. And, and grow a
greater appreciation for just how truly beautiful our deen is, I
mean, again, I mean, I'm always in that state of reflection of
Alhamdulillah. Allah, Allah now within Islam, and I'm sure we all
are, especially as we look at the world and the state of the world
around us, and we just see things falling apart, or that's what it
seems like, politically, we've seen this just last night, I'm
sure some of us were tuned in going, Oh, my God, what is
happening, and then you're like, 100, and then our Muslim. And we
know that this, you know, we don't have to worry, because a lot at
the end of the day, he's in control, and we just, we, we just
surrender, and we submit. But all of these are beautiful, again,
qualities to possess. Now, I said that I've referenced that initial
page. And I'm sure some of you may recognize this slide. But it's a
very important slide. It's something that I think we need to
keep reminding ourselves and our children and for those of us who
have children, that we have to understand how like this, this how
of how do we reach these ideals? Because these are all ideals are
very beautiful, that we talked about the attributes of Allah, we
talked about prophetic quality. So it's like, how am I going to do
this? Right? How can I struggle against my soul? Well, we have to
know who we are, by design. And what we've been given in order to
do this successfully, we've been given the intellect, and the
intellect is king, as they say, it's a queen, it's, it's at the
crown of your, your, your body, the mind. And that's because it's
supposed to be leading. And so
if you can, again, pursue knowledge and you really
understand things, then it becomes easier to do the rest, which is
taking control of those other parts of our nature that will make
that will stand in our way, right, we do have that we have an
appetite of impulse, we have emotions that impact our behavior,
and that impact our spiritual progress. But if you can develop
and and you know, really
pursue knowledge, but develop your intellect, it will help to to take
control of these other faculties, right, so your, your emotions
start to take, you know, to become more regulated, you're not always
anxious, you're not always afraid. Because why, again, you have
knowledge of your creator, you know that the way that he's
designed the world, you know that the world is temporal unit. So
that's a really important thing, point to think about, whatever
you're suffering through whatever you're going through, the constant
reminder that it's not going to last forever, is really important.
And but that can't happen if you're not aware of that, or if
you're not using your mind. So knowledge helps to temper the
emotions that we feel and we experience states of, again,
injustice. I know a lot of people, especially as of late because of
everything that's happening. They're really overcome by
emotion, when will this suffering and how long can we do this? And
there's this constant, nagging feeling of just rage, almost
right? Because you're seeing injustice on scales that we just
can't comprehend. But again, it's only knowledge that is going to
help us to come down from those intense states where we feel like
we have no control because we it's knowledge that informs us that
ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada is in control that there is a day of
judgment, that every oppressor every aggressor, every evil
Monster will get their day with their Lord and there's no escape
from that. That is the only way that we can survive this dunya and
watching all of these atrocities, it, there's nothing else there's
nothing else anybody can say, or do to help the person who's
struggling to cope with all this, but to remind us, Allah is in
control and no knowledge escapes, and
nothing escapes him. So be patient and wait. So knowledge does that.
And the knowledge also helps with the appetites. Because we're,
again, look around the world, you'll see people completely
becoming enslaved by their appetites, whether it's food,
drink, their, you know, their carnal desires, they've, they've
lost it, and that's now all they do and all they think about, and
they've lost control, there's no control over themselves. And our
deen again directs us to balance to restore an equilibrium in the
body and that there's an appropriate time and place and so
we have knowledge that informs us don't over eat, don't over
consume, take care of your health, the body isn't a man of Alaska,
you know, protect your, your your physical body, but protect your
family, protect your community, do not indulge, just indulge in
harmful things. These things will destroy you, they'll destroy,
they'll have a ripple effect, we'll just go right through
families and societies. And that's exactly what's happened.
consumption of alcohol, drugs, look at what it's doing to our
world. But our then again, knowledge, don't fall into that
don't go near it. So these are the things that if we really
understand our last pilot has given us all the tools, we will be
able to to inshallah protect ourselves and acquire beautiful
character. And, again, just in case, you know, you haven't heard
this before, these are the three stages. And it's a process. So we
first have to understand the way that we're created, which is the
slide before, but here's the process, right, we have to go
through the holly. So if we want beautiful character, yes, knowing
the attributes of Allah studying the seer of the prophesy set, I'm
absolutely important. But we also have to empty out we have to
purge, we have to be willing to look at our own diseases of the
heart and say, I can't do this anymore. I don't want to lie, I
don't want to gossip, I don't want to cheat. I don't want to be
envious. I want to stop. So for anybody, for example, if you
struggle with envy, and this is a an issue that I know is common,
because I hear about it all the time. Especially in this, you
know, post social media, you know, age that we're living in where
we're bombarded with, with a lot of showboating, and people just
constantly shoving their lifestyles in our faces, it can be
very difficult, right to, to not feel envious. Well, one of the
ways that you can overcome that instead of trying to, you know,
play in a way making it hard for your heart or for yourselves, is
to just get off if if if social media is driving you crazy, and
you keep looking at, you know, people's lives and their marriages
and their homes and their clothes and their love, you know, their
vacations, if it's too much for you get off. And I know people
who've done that it's just amazing, you know, people who just
are like, you know, what I've deleted my Instagram, I'm not it
just was too much. For me, that is a person who's using their
intellect, they're realizing that me, you know,
complaining and whining about these problems, but then
continuing to allow for the very means for these problems to occur.
just doesn't make sense. So I need to cut myself off of the root
cause and the root cause is exposure, right consumption. So
just to get off what you do you think that you're going to
suddenly become irrelevant and fall apart and have no clue what's
going on in the world. If you're not on Instagram, you'll be fine.
Because it's shallow, the fact that you're not on social media,
hopefully something will stir inside of you to say, You know
what, I need to actually have more, you know, real transactions,
more real conversations, not just behind the screen, and that will
that that healthy replacement will start to really give you a bigger
broader picture of the reality of the world because you're not
looking at the highlight reel anymore of a person's life. And
I'm sure we've seen I mean, I know some of you may follow some of the
more popular you know, Muslim influencers but we've seen
marriages fall apart we've seen a lot of horrendous things as of
late you know, people their struggles are in public view if
that's not enough of a wake wake up call for all of us to not look
at this distorted lens of what's happening online and then think
that that's reality I don't know what it is but my point is if
that's a disease of the heart that you struggle with, get off Hollis
don't engage right and then increase your inshallah softball
with people who remind you about law that will help you so to Holly
is really about action and you
You're the you're the you're the one responsible, it's all on all
of us to, to do that and to identify those diseases. And then
the healthy is to try to now acquire. So this is what this
presentation was and of course studying the Sierra continuing to
study the attributes of Allah, it's we're now adorning our souls,
right? We're acquiring that knowledge we're taking on those
virtues, we're learning about what it means to be really generous.
We're learning about what it means to be patient, truly patient,
right? Sovereign Jamil. And then all of that will come as you learn
as you study, and then taking on you know, these virtues as as
practice because, you know, gratitude, for example, is is not
something that's just on the tongue. Gratitude has three parts
to it. You have to believe truly in your heart when you're
grateful, like you truly feel grateful to Allah, it overwhelms
you. It's like, you know, it's, it's brimming, you're brimming
with gratitude. Then, it comes on the tongue where you say,
Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for all the blessings, and you're
constantly in a state of gratitude, you know, practice of
expressing your gratitude. But the true
manifestation of gratitude is action. Right? It's it has to go
beyond the tongue. It has to go beyond what's just in the heart,
you actually have to act. And that's where sharing your
blessings comes into play. So the Holly has really taken on the
virtues and then the jelly the final process is trying to look at
the highest potential you can have. And that becomes your
target. Right? A sabich wanna save a coin, the believers are
constantly vying, we're trying to get ahead, we're not settled with
mediocrity. We don't want to be last we want to be first. So that
competitive edge is really important to adopt to be like, I
just want to keep getting better and better and better. And no
matter how good you get, knowing that you can always be better
right? So that's what acquiring beautiful character entails.
Inshallah. I think that is my final slide because that the Fed
was here my neffs Crusher and she's going to slam this just
close my laptop.
But just like I'm located in Sharla