Hosai Mojaddidi – An Agenda to Change Our Condition (Session 8)
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AI: Transcript ©
hamdulillah similar hot or humid 100 an hour so that was salam ala
I should have an MBA will mursaleen say that our Mowlana
What have you been on for mid summer Maharani he was sell him
while he was sad to sell him for Sleeman Kathira a Salaam Alaikum
Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh Dear brothers and sisters, and
hamdulillah it's great to be with all of you again. We were together
just a couple of weeks ago. We do these every other week for those
of you who are joining in for the first time hamdulillah these
sessions are open to to everyone we are covering a text called
agenda to change our condition which is written by Sheikh Hamza
Yusuf any memes a check in and Hamdulillah we are today actually,
we just finished up the introduction. The last session the
last two sessions, we are working on the introduction part. And so
today I'm excited because we're going to start chapter one and
have the law on Taqwa. So, if you have the text you can read along
with me i also have slides which I'll share in a minute, but just
for those of you who do not have the text here is another image of
it. I like to always show this just in case there are people who
are joining us for the first time. So let me go ahead if you permit
me, excuse me, permit me just a second I will share my screen
inshallah.
Okay, and let me expand this so that you have a large view
Bismillah.
Okay, so I'm going to again, we're going to pick up
on chapter one, it's page 12 in the text. So 100 Allah, this
chapter is on tequila. And here we have I've the slides are all from
the texts. So you if you don't have the textbook or the book,
inshallah The slides will be sufficient. So right off the bat,
the very first thing that's shared is the meaning of what Taqwa is.
And we have a few different scholars that are quoted or a
couple of scholars that are quoted. First off CT of the Y had
been Asha defines Taqwa as follows. It is the summation of,
or the summation of Taqwa is avoiding prohibitions and
fulfilling injunctions both inwardly and outwardly. And then
emammal Janee defines it accordingly, he says that
linguistically, it means to ward off. In other words, it is to take
precaution according to other scholars of truth, it is to
protect oneself from the punishment of Allah, by obedience
to Him. And it is to guard the self from Allah's punishment, due
to an omission of a right action or commission of a wrong action.
What is intended is in one's obedience is sincerity. So
Subhanallah we can clearly see there, the definitions are all
pretty consistent
of what it is, and especially this last definition, which is expanded
on again by Eben Asha, he says that the aspects of top four or
four in number, and so we want to look at these four as well. So I'm
gonna go ahead and go to the next slide, jumped ahead there. So, if
I should, he tells her the line he says that the aspects of top are
actually four, right? And these for the wayfare are the pathways
of benefit and the four are fulfilling obligations outwardly,
right. So whatever is incumbent upon us, we do them that are
outward, we do those actions, also those inward actions, right. So,
whatever is within from within our heart, what we should be
believing, but also, you could read this as you know, outward
actions versus private action. So, you know, thinking about being
again consistent in one's practice, and then also avoiding
prohibitions outwardly and avoiding prohibitions inwardly,
because again, we know that the Manasa peon or were the ones who,
outwardly they may have displayed a type of action or believe, but
inwardly they had a total different reality. So the believer
who has true Taqwa is consistent in his his or her outward and
inward realities, but also in their, you know, in their when
they're with people in private places. I mean, in public places
or privately, they're consistent. So it's not that they only pray or
fast or speak well when they're with people, but they're actually
that is just their character. Right. So these are Fourth thing
qualities are these four aspects of Taqwa have to be applied to
eight things. And he's defined those as the heart and then the
following inroads to the heart to so all of this has to be again
consistent in one's internal spiritual heart in one's belief
system, but as well as as well as the actions that one does with our
tongue, eyes, ears.
stomach, *, hands and feet. So you cannot be a person of Taqwa
with and have, you know sort of cherry pick where you want to
apply Taqwa or uncertain things, you are obedient. And you fear
Allah subhanaw taala or you claim to fear Allah. But then you make
excuses in other areas, it has to be again across the board. These
four factors or four aspects of Taqwa have to be applied in all of
these different areas.
So, then we go on, and he says, here, we get the slides to pick up
here.
Went too far ahead. Okay, so, then on page, so this is all covered
apologists on that first page, all of this content given to us right
away and then we move to page 12. And now, we have from some gems
from Imam Ibn Giselle Kelby, who tells us that the Stations of the
human being are five. Okay, so what are they? First is guarding
against disbelief, right? This is the station of submission as
unbeliever as a Muslim. As someone who accepts Islam, you're in a
state of submission, and you are protecting yourself from
disbelief, guarding against forbidden things. So now, it's not
just that you believe or you submitted, but you're actually
this is, you know, be the next step, right. And this is the
station of repentance. So you're actually really concerned about,
you know, seeking repentance, but staying away from those things
that are haram, guarding against doubtful matters. So there's a lot
of things that are kind of in that gray area, right, the Haram is
clear, the head is clear, then you have the mcru. And you have those
things that are just not always clear. So this would be
scrupulousness. A scrupulous person is one who is really just
very specific and tedious or very careful, very careful about their
practice. So they they guard their guard against doubtful matters,
right? So that's the station of scrupulousness. And then your
move. So all human beings, we find ourselves in one of these five, so
you have to as we're reading through the list, consider where
are you in this list, right? Are you at that level where you really
are trying to stay away from those things that are just not clear.
And if so, then the next station is where you would work. It's like
a goalpost and the next station that you elevate to is guarding
against extraneous matters, this is a station of freedoms. Right,
so really just trying not to be excessive in any way. There's a
lot of things in our world as we all know, that we indulge in. So
when you take a path of Zod, you're trying to really just be
limit yourself to the bare necessities and not really indulge
your enough's very much. And, and really more you're very much more
focused on again, your worship and your they could have almost no
power at that. And then the last is guarding against other than
Allah occupying the heart. And this is the station of vigilance.
Obviously all of us, our hope is that we can inshallah reach this
last state to be totally free of all the distractions of this
dunya. And, you know, I thought it was interesting again, that you
know, this is the, the, you know, we all some, if you if you think
about all of our paths, right, we were in shallow, we're all
obviously as even as stated here, every believer is where we're
already past and shallow, that first state. But we're, there's
growth, right? And that's the objective of Mujahidin of
constantly struggling against the self is that you don't just remain
in one state or get stagnant and resign yourself to just being
comfortable, where you're at. You're always looking to better
yourself and that's how we inshaAllah achieved Taqwa is that
we're never satisfied with where we are if you get to the place
where you think mediocre you know, being mediocre is good enough or
just your you know, bare minimum effort is good enough, then you
want to really think about this list here in front of you, you
know why we're why are these things taught to us? What is the
point of all this is because we're supposed to be getting better,
we're supposed to be, you know, working towards purification and
transformation. And again, the whole point of this text is to
change your condition. So think about really seriously where you
would fall in this lesson. Ask Allah subhanaw taala for tofu to
give you the hammer, you know, the the strength, the ambition, the
will to want to elevate to the next level and to protect you from
slipping back because so many people, unfortunately, that's also
a very true reality. You know, people who do go through these
different stations and maybe achieve a certain level of
practice.
But then because they weren't, you know, maybe they got a little self
righteous, maybe they they attributed their success to
themselves, right, which is one of the, one of the great
tricks of shaper and that a lot of people fall for is that they think
that their spiritual growth is because of their own actions. And
they forget to keep asking Allah subhanaw taala for guidance to
keep asking us whether to protect one from losing whatever they've
acquired, right. So it certainly happens to many people that as I
said, they'll they'll progress along and then all of a sudden,
they fall back and fall short. So we want to constantly ask us
probably for protection from that, but you have to have the humility,
to know first of all that that can happen to anyone, but also to have
the understanding that the point of our struggle, our spiritual
struggle, is to, uh, to move up this ladder to be always looking
to the next place. So for example, if you're inshallah you know,
staying away from the Haram like you've given up, you know, or you
just don't indulge and really try your hardest to not do any of the
Haram acts. And of course, there's clear home and then there's subtle
things that most people still struggle with. For example, you
might you know, people might not drink alcohol, because that's very
clear haram, but then they still indulge in gossip, right? So if
you haven't yet purged yourself from the Haram and really
understanding what it what constitutes the unlawful you need
to focus on that and look at your behavior, look at the
conversations you have on a daily basis, your actions on a daily
basis, what are you doing that is potentially you know, not letting
you move forward if you you know, I speak to people all the time who
kind of express that they feel like they're not really getting
anywhere and they haven't really grown very much even though they
do continue to pray they fasted Ramadan you'll they'll do things
but they don't really feel like they're, they're growing
spiritually or that they have Herschel in their prayers, there's
too many distractions, there's too many other things going on or you
know, they're just their thoughts are, are not always clear. There's
an internal clear battle happening. So they're trying to
figure out what the potential cause is. A lot of times it could
just be that even though they're abstaining from the clear haram
maybe they haven't purged other things that are still there would
still fall under the Haram like you know consuming river just
things that we you have to take inventory and really think about
what is preventing me from having spiritual growth but always again,
looking to get up this ladder where am I you know, if I've
covered the up i inshallah don't indulge in the Haram and let's
look at the macro, what am I doing that's potentially micro that I
need to change? And then beyond that, how much am I indulging my
knifes, you know, if I've covered the Haram and the mcru, okay, am I
really am I am I giving into my desires so much that it's
preventing me from really doing my prayers with her shoe, reflecting
on, you know, almost pop out of his attributes, doing all the
extra EBA that I want to be doing, if are my actions or my neffs.
Because sometimes, you know,
the dunya is very tempting, and we may not realize that the food that
we consume, or the wealth that we have, that we're not distributing
fairly or adequately, the excess purchase purchases that we make
that we don't need, you know, a lot of people have, especially now
that we're in quarantine, you know, it's so easy to be bored,
that you may think I'll just go you know, Amazon, just go do some
shopping online shopping, and you end up spending money that you
really don't need, and you're accumulating things that you like
I said, they're excessively you don't need them. Whereas you could
have, you know, donated maybe something to a cause or done
something more important. So those habits those actions are also
sometimes contributing to why we're not increasing or moving
forward moving up on this ladder, the spiritual ladder. So it taking
inventory is really important, but we all Inshallah, the objective is
again, to get to that last place where the dunya just loses its
flavor, you know, you don't have we don't inshallah want to,
to be here to the point that we're willing to, to let it take over
that very, very special real estate in our heart. You know, the
real estate in our spiritual heart is
incredibly valuable. And it should be for Allah subhanaw taala for
the prophesies for things that truly matter. And so if we're
attached to things in this dunya, then it's going to take over that
that real estate. And that's where when you start to think about the
value of things, what really matters, you know, what do I
really want out of this world, then it's a lot easier to let go
of some of those attachments. So that is, you know, the higher the
higher level and shot lots of it's a hard it's not an easy process at
all to get to. But we asked the last part of it don't feel. So he
goes on here. And this is from again, images of Kobe, he says
that every believer is at the station of submission, but we
increase Allah's protection over us by attaining the higher
stations. So the more we progress than Allah will protect us, which
is of course, we all want his protection. This dunya again, is
not a place of safety. For anyone, really, it's a place where there's
a lot of danger to our person in our personal selves, but also our
spiritual hearts. So we're always in Shaolin, in need of and seeking
Allah's protection and of course, protection in the next life. And
then he says, because the vast majority of the muscle community
is only at the first or second level, we all suffer. This is a
really important point because now it's talking about, you know, the
collective responsibility we all have when we talk about the agenda
to change our condition. This is on a very personal level, but
also, you know, a communal level, like let's think about the Muslim
ummah right now, let's think about the suffering that's happening in
so many parts of our world. Why is that the case it's likely because
again, we're at those two bottom tiers, and we haven't moved
forward. And he says, when a critical mass of believers commits
to moving to the third and fourth levels, we will see the benefits
of Taqwa permeate our communities, as promised in the Quran, Subhan
Allah and Shortland. Let's We ask Allah spanner for that. So what
are these benefits of Taqwa? Let's look at the text is now moving to
describe the benefits and show that on page bottom of 13. So the
very first one listed.
Here it says the first the benefits of Taqwa are innumerable,
right? There's many things that are hidden, we don't know them.
But of course, almost have that knows all the benefits. The ones
that are known, are perceivable, and are important. He lists here
in this text. First is the moral rectitude of one's offspring. Now,
you know, I, for those of you who may not know, I do parenting
classes, I'm actually in the middle of one. Right now, we're
having our last session next, this coming Saturday. But this question
about, you know, the worry that or, you know, one's children, that
concern about whether or not our children are going to maintain
their faith are going to be able to, you know, withstand all of the
fitna of this world is probably one of the questions, the most
common questions I get. And I see and of course, I have it as well.
I have two kids. It's always always on my mind that all of us,
Canada, please protect my children, you know, keep them in
fitrah. They're still young, but also preserve their Eman. Let them
only, you know, exist in on this in this world, with with the
shahada fresh on their tongues and you know, they're connected their
hearts are connected to, to Allah and His Prophet, so I saw them and
that they really have a strong Muslim identity. That's my
certainly my dua for my children. And I'm sure all of us. So here
right away, it's the very first thing listed that if you really
care about your children, then you have to think about your own
behavior, right. But because it's connected, if you have taqwa, then
this is one of the benefits right? That they almost have that one
shot law, assure you that your children will be protected. So
here are the verses that are cited. Oh, my son established
regular prayer and join what is just in for but forbid what is
wrong and bear with patient constancy, whatever it flicks you
surely this is resolved in your affairs. Right and then another
verse, those who have left behind weak offspring are fearful
concerning their well being let them have consciousness of Allah
subhanaw taala. So it's the remedy is right there if you're worried
about your children, and I know I've talked to parents who are
worried my child is so meek, so kind, so vulnerable, gullible,
gentle hearted, I'm so worried so you know, they're gonna lose their
way in this dunya. So if you have sons and daughters or a son or a
daughter that you are worried about, because, again, the world
is increasingly becoming such a dark place. Well, here is the
answer. You know, you don't have Taqwa of Allah Subhan
A lot of data, make sure you are fulfilling your obligations. And
inshallah it's one of the, the benefits that also panel with that
I will ease your heart in that regard. So the next one, the next
blessing of Taqwa for us in short life we commit to again.
That quote is that blessings come which come from above and below.
So I mean, who doesn't want blessings to descend upon them,
right? We all do. Inshallah, here in chapter seven, verse 96, had
only the people of the cities believed and had taqwa, we would
have opened up for them blessings from the heavens and the earth. So
all of us have to think about that right now, you know, that we're in
this strange time, where we all are seeing very odd weather
patterns, right? Global warming is a big topic. That's always, you
know, around or, you know, it's a buzz topic. But let's think about
if we want that, you know, we want protection as well for from a loss
part though to to make it easy for us, you know, the weather and
whatever else is happening in this planet, that we are just
completely unaware of things are always happening and in outer
space, for example, that we may not even have any idea that could
be imminent danger, Allah knows right? But we want peace right. So
here, this this is somehow was giving you have a clear solution
that if you have taqwa and you have strong faith in all those
paths, that inshallah he will, again, bring you blessings from
the heavens and the earth. So in that can, you know, can manifest
itself in many ways I just used whether, because it came to me,
but of course, blessings from the heavens and the earth can be many
different things, depending on whatever else probably a decrease
for us.
Another blessing is provision from ALLAH and a way out of difficult
circumstances. So how many of us struggle right with maybe our
financially, there's a lot of more struggling right now, they may not
know if they're going to have rent money or money enough to to, you
know, withstand the rest of this year or the rest of this
quarantine and COVID locked down period. So there's that and then
there's also just difficulty you know, could be a very difficult
situation or relationship that you're in or a job or some other
situation that you find yourself in. Again, almost part that is
giving us the solution that if you are in a difficult place in your
life, then taco could be the answer to giving you inshallah
freedom and ease from that. So whoever has taqwa, we will prepare
for him a way out and provide for him from where he was not
expecting SubhanAllah.
And that's really deep. If you I mean, we could all if we really
think about moments, of utter desperation, of just feeling like
we had no solution that, you know, came to us or that we didn't think
there was a solution to maybe a really difficult problem.
But maybe we prayed, maybe we got up in the middle of the night. And
we asked somebody Oh, please, I don't know what to do. Right? We
have I mean, that's what is the hotter is for right, it's the
hottest, Loveless, the hotter is really a.of Total utter
desperation, like I'm stuck between two situations, or I just
lost. So you're asking all this pop up for guidance. And when you
do that with true sincerity and thukpa, how many of us have had
those experiences where shortly after suddenly, the answer comes
and it's again, it confirming what the IRS says, We never anticipated
or thought that such a solution was impossible. And here almost
either makes it easy for us. You know, this happens to people every
day. There's people who can attest to this, that they were in a very
difficult situation, but Allah gave them a way out. So
100 in that and then safety, right. So again, similar themes
here. But safety, who we saved those who believed in us and had
been people of Taqwa. So safety can come in. I mean, it can, the
context of that can be you know, there's so many different ways to
interpret that. But if you want to feel safe in shot law, this is
increasing in tempo and our last part that will give you safety or
that feeling of safety because you know, right now, we were, I was
just looking at some research yesterday actually on anxiety
disorders, you know, there it's most common disorder, mental
health issue in the world globally. It's in especially here
in the US,
plaguing NATO, more than close to half of it.
A billion people worldwide. So a lot of people are suffering from
the feeling of unease, the feeling of anxiousness, the feeling of
instability, just not feeling safe. So under the novice can just
have increasing our Taqwa of Allah subhanaw taala can give us that
can restore that feeling of peace in our hearts, and that feeling of
safety in our hearts.
The next is the Divine Presence manifested as almost protection.
Again, surely Allah is with those who have to play who beautify with
excellence. And you do I mean, come to that if you're if you've
ever been with people who have really strong faith, they don't
get shaken up very easily. It's like Subhanallah they're just,
they're, they're walking around with, you know, these spiritual
bulletproof vests or something because the world, you know,
things can happen, but they just seem to be really composed and
they don't, they don't get shaken up. And it's likely because of him
that Allah, Allah has just given them the state and it's, you know,
it's from him obviously, because they have that Taqwa. And they,
they're working so hard on themselves that allows Panthera
protects them from from falling apart in, you know, in the event
that something happens. It's part of the law, victory, right?
Whoever obeys Allah and His messenger.
That's the next slide one second, let me go to the next slide.
So whoever obeys the law in His Messenger, and knowingly has all
in consciousness of a law, those are the victors. I mean, who
doesn't want to be the winner, right? Who doesn't want to be
successful in the sight of Allah Subhana Allah subhanaw taala with
the last part that we all do, so this is it, if we want to
inshallah be among those who are Victorious on the Day of Judgment,
and we show up in sha Allah with good news, you know, then this is
how we do it, knowingly having all unconscious, conscious ness of
ALLAH, so being aware of our partner, but also being in that
state of truly, you know, just having
talked about on it's so sad, because when you think about
children, you know, and we were all children at some point, but
even if you're ever if you ever spend time with children, it's
like Subhan Allah we have all children have an all they have
wonder, and the slightest thing can impress them and put them in
this state of just, you know, being amazed by very simple
things, things that we as adults often take for granted.
And I even with my own children, and I teach them I'm around
children a lot. And I just love to see how something that again, I
may have may be desensitized to because I've seen it so many
different times. But for them, they are just in awe of one of the
things my kids have recently really grown to love is to
stargaze so they'll we have these apps you can get these apps I
think it's one of them was calling Sky View there's a few different
apps but they they've been just you know eager every night now
that come to that it's getting darker earlier, it's actually even
more time for them to do it. But we we restrict it we don't let
them on that there for too long but they enjoy going out and just
looking at the stars through this app because if you aim it to
different you know different directions, it'll tell you which
constellations which planets whatever's going on, and at that
time and so they're they just love it they they're so in awe with
with outer space and the mysteries of the universe. And then I think
about you know, I've seen much on my share of document documentaries
and I've read different facts here and there but I think because
adult the adult brain can only maybe you can juggle so many
thoughts at once or you know, responsibilities kick in. We
sometimes just tend to oh yeah Masha Allah Subhan Allah and then
we move on to the next thing but if you actually take time, you
know to pause and to deeply allow yourself to reflect on a lot of
things that all will enter your heart which is why it's so
important to disconnect you know to take a break whether you love
the ocean or love the mountains or love the desert you know, there
are people who you know like to go you know, to me we have in
Southern California anyway, there's a Joshua Tree there's,
there's places that are apparently really beautiful. I have not yet
been maybe one day in sha Allah, but I've heard really amazing
things from even places like that you know, that you
Book feel spiritually connected because you can go out there, it's
so empty and, and there's no light pollution so that you can actually
see the stars. And you can appreciate the universe of almost
perfect but it's so important to connect on on some, in some way to
be out in nature go on a hike, even walking in the grass without
your shoes on can have immense benefits. Just physiologically,
there's research that shows just touching, grounding, you know,
being grounded to the earth is very healing. But it also makes
you marvel and appreciating the things that we take for granted
the simple things a feeling of the texture of grasping, yeah, of
course, unless you have an allergy don't do that. But, you know,
touching sand, things that are that are that as children we loved
to do. I mean, every kid at the beach is like, could stay there
for hours playing in the sand, while adults are, you know,
eating, talking and, and just doing whatever sometimes even on
their phone I've been guilty of that we've we lose on and this is
the part of the problem with the modern world is that we're so
distracted by so many toys and gadgets and things that sparkle
and shine in front of us. And then of course, obligations and work
and all the serious stuff that we lose. Ah, so I love that it was
mentioned here that part of having telkwa is knowingly having or like
really consciously trying to bring those feelings back into your
heart and, and really reflecting on things. We're just pausing and
taking a minute to think about the blessings that we have that we
take for granted. I mean, I know, finisher Hamza has talked about,
for example, the blessings of eyelashes, you know, something
that sad enough, it didn't occur to me any way to think about the
blessing of eyelashes until I heard him mentioned that. And so
it's like, oh yeah, I've never actually sat and thought about the
function of my eyelashes and what a blessing it is and how
Hamdulillah I can, you know, see and do so many things. Because
these little tiny hairs are able to capture dust particles and you
know, protect my eye from drying out when they're open for too long
and all of the other amazing functions of the body. But the
point of reflecting on those things is that it leaves you with
that just beautiful, pure unadulterated love for Allah
subhana wa Tada that's just, you know, from from a simple exercise
of reflection, or a purposeful, Expedition seeking or when we go
out and we're trying to, you know, have those moments of awe, the
outcome of that inshallah is that you're really are Subhan Allah and
hamdulillah Holic Thank you Your Allah for this beautiful creation
that you've
you know, left us in and have given us the experience of thank
you for existence, but those are the thoughts that really fill your
heart instead of complaints and all the other negativity that are
so often for consumers. So, the next benefit here is a good goodly
into life. Again, we all ask inshallah for her so hot that we
all want a beautiful end and inshallah and and where we're not
compromised you know in some way our faith is intact in sha Allah
we are die we die in a state of will do in a state of you by that
I mean there's people who die Subhanallah and reciting Quran on
a hedge I mean how amazing of a death is that you know, as opposed
to other ways where people can be humiliated you know, some people
call the biller or you know, who are not obviously
you know, on the path are doing what they should be doing. They
died really horrific, but also humiliating ways you know, so we
ask almost always for, for protection from that and to to be
taken from this life in the best of states. But that's one of the
benefits of having Taqwa that inshallah he will give us then
let's here's the is surely for the people of Taqwa is a beautiful
end, inshallah. Paradise itself. I mean, that's the ultimate prize,
right? We all want in sha Allah agenda. We all want to, I mean,
that's why we're here. That's why or that's what our objective is,
is that we pass the test of this dunya in sha Allah, and were
sincere in our faith and that we inshallah receive the ultimate
reward of being with those we love and of course, Allah subhanho The
process Salam and finally having the beatific vision of Allah's
Prophet, that's the ultimate prize that we all should be seeking and
making a
Our objective in this world that that is what we want every prayer
you do every fast every good. Every good charity every or every
charitable act, every good deed, it's all for that I want the final
price inshallah to be in the highest agenda. So these are the
benefits of attaining and really working on. So now let's see here
so the text now goes into how do we achieve that
the only way to achieve Taqwa is through spiritual struggle. Majah.
Okay. Oh, wait, did I skip? Yeah, here sorry, this is the correct
slide.
Now, in the text, you know, it mentions here the spiritual
struggle is not something that miraculously just comes into one's
life. So you it starts somewhere and the starting point is the
heart. So when you have a stirring a movement of the heart, that
leads to the limbs, right, so there's this feeling of remorse,
maybe of guilt, of grief, right of fear, there's a lot of motivating
factors for why people suddenly wake up from their spiritual
slumber and want to, you know, get right back on track, there's,
there's many life events that can put people in that place, right
have three thinking their choices and, and their life trajectory,
and really wanting to renew their faith. And so the movement starts
in the heart.
For so, you know, for me, for example,
I was raised in humble animal, some family and I always had a
strong Muslim identity. But that didn't necessarily translate in
actions, I did not wear hijab, I was not consistent in my five
prayers. But yeah, if anybody ever dared say anything about Islam or
Muslims, I was very vocal and not afraid to defend my my faith or
my, you know, people from my cultural background, I just had
strong cultural and religious identity. So it took actually a
few different events. But for me, one major event was the loss of my
grandfather, you know, seeing someone that you love, slowly
decline and, and finally, leave this world and then seeing their,
their body. I mean, it was the first death, for me a personal
death in the first body that I ever saw. Which is, you know,
really, I think, proof of the wisdom of the remembrance of death
and of making sure that we don't fall for the, you know, the, just
the modern
obsession with running away from death. A, there's this fear,
immense fear of because you know, when you have the dunya, which is
one of the diseases of the heart, the attachment to the world, then
obviously, the last thing you want to be thinking about is death,
disease, all those things that make you uncomfortable. So what
you do is you start to obsess over youth obsess over, you know, just
maintaining anything that, that that is that, that erases the
thought of death. And so when you look at in our society, where the
elderly, you know,
it's really sad, but
because of our obsession with youth, you don't see the elderly
out and about and walking the streets and in America, like you
do when you travel in other parts of the world, in Europe, when I
went to Spain, a few years ago, so like, everywhere, there's somehow
they were ever they're very big part of society, you know, they're
sitting in their little cafes or restaurants. And, you know, but
they were there they were, you know, part of the city life.
Turkey was one of my favorite things. When we traveled to
Turkey.
A couple years ago, I think it's been a good Gosh, time just seems
to
have stopped since this year. But yeah, it wasn't last year, the
year before. But Turkey was also SubhanAllah. You know, something
really amazing. When I observed how many elderly people were in
the squares, or in the restaurants were in the shops, sometimes they
were behind the, you know, counters working. It's like, wow,
this is such an imprint. I mean, they they're, we're not hidden.
And so we have to think about our own, like I said obsession with
with youth and not remembering death, because it takes us away
from the remembrance of all this parent data. And so for me, that
was it. As soon as I saw that dead body of my grandfather, and I
realized like, whoa, that's going to happen to all of us. It started
with
really making me think seriously about my faith. And then there
were other events that eventually led me to really just making a
commitment. Like I need to start being more honest of a person, I
cannot claim to be Muslim. But I don't dress like a Muslim. I don't
behave like a Muslim, I don't do my prayers, you know, like, what
kind of Islam was that? That was for me my own journey, right. So
that stirring of the heart, Allah chose for me for that to happen in
my you know, early first year of college, I don't have to do that,
which should give you that it's 100 that he's guided me
throughout. But it can happen like that, for other people a car
accident near death experience for themselves, or maybe, you know,
they just had a really tough relationship that they came out
of. So there could be multiple, multiple,
you know, paths or experiences that give people the awakening.
But it starts in the heart moves into the limbs. And that's when
the struggle really takes in. And then it's, it's also from an
awareness of the distance right that you've had from between you
and God, which leads to Pilbara. So when you start to realize,
like, wow, I have really not been doing what I should be doing. And
there's this remorse and guilt that enters the heart that Towba
it has a lasting effect. It's not just a passing fleeting thought,
you know, sometimes we may feel bad about something, but it
doesn't really stay with us. When we're repentance or Toba is, you
know, really filling the heart. The guilt is it's an agitation to
the soul, right? It's like you're you're not comfortable in your own
skin, you don't feel good about yourself, you could be the most
successful, accomplished person, beautiful person come from a great
family, in all of the material, you know, from from the material
lens, but because you internally feel guilt for maybe sins that you
committed a lot of people that's another path, they commit terrible
sins, that they feel so horrible about that it makes them yearn for
Allah's purification, right, like I want to be cleansed. So then
they turn to Allah in Toba. So all of these things are where the
Mujahidin how it manifests, right? And it it's it like I said has
that lasting effect. And so he says here, that the the Mujahidin
is a move of the heart that affects the limbs and results in
repentance in which we seek to purify ourselves of prior wrongs,
and remove them from our present activities and make a stronger
commitment to a future free of the mistakes of the past. So that is
true Majah that when you feel again, remorse, but wants to never
turn back to what you were doing the person you are. And you know,
the best example of those really are people who convert to Islam.
Mashallah, they're amazing, because you see, a lot of them,
you know, come from completely different backgrounds, and then
they make a one ad and are fully committed. And you would never in
a million years associate them with their past. That's Taqwa. In
practice, that's faith in action. It's like I don't ever want to be
reminded of or remind anyone of, of the person I used to be the one
who drank alcohol, who had illicit relationships, who cursed who
smoke to cheated people who lied to people, you know, they people
have backgrounds like that. So then 100, that when they take
their faith seriously, and they take their shahada, and they
commit, you see such a departure that he would never in a million
years think that that was the same person. That is true Taqwa. Right?
So on the page on page 16, which is where we now come to the end of
this first chapter, or let me see here, since
Yeah, at the top of page 16.
He says here, this is our purpose for being here. We must simply
start, not tomorrow or the day after, but today, right now, at
this moment, the heart must make a firm commitment and never turned
back. The rewards are immense. The pleasure of mastering the self is
second only to the subtle knowledge and pleasure of intimacy
with Allah, that is a result of that mastery. You know, so again,
wherever you are, when we go back to that to those other two, the
initial slides, right, the five stations that we described,
wherever you are in that,
in that list, you want to think about what is it going to take for
you to move to the next level. And then you know,
This is this this text is a transformative text. So the advice
is very clear. It's, it's telling us, you know, if you have a desire
to change yourself, and it's true, and it's sincere and you want to
be better than Don't postpone that, NIA don't make false
promises and procrastinate later, you know, at the end of this year,
Once COVID is over, I'm going to start doing my prayers on time. A
lot of times, that's just what's what's up from Shaytaan, he knows
that we're forgetful, and that when the moment is gone, we're
just gonna get distracted by something else. And that's why how
many people have that experience where they have high hammer, maybe
in Ramadan, for example, a lot of amazing openings happen to people
in Ramadan, and they start making all these, you know, promises, I'm
going to start doing this, this and this and this. But if you
don't strike when the iron is hot, you will lose the momentum, you're
gonna lose it, and it'll just then be a memory and watch, it's
happened to myself, I have certainly this has happened to me
many times. But I know others as well, is that when that hammer is
there, and it's strong, and it really feels like it's a new leaf,
or you know, you're turning a new chapter to turning a new leaf in
your life, then you want to seize the day, right? Seize the moment,
and say, I need to do this now. And for everybody that's
different. Some people, you know, once they, their word is their
word. And if they say they're going to do something, they'll do
it for other people, they need to be accountable to someone. So
maybe you share this noble intention with your spouse or
someone that you're really close to who's a support system for you
spiritually. But you kind of externalize it, you verbalize it,
because holding good thoughts also is a problem. You know, there's an
internal battle constantly happening, where our roof, the
part of us that has always yearning for a loss of habitat,
may, you know, have really great lofty ideas and goals, but then
the NAFSA shaitan, battling it out against the rule, we'll use all
the tricks possible to just you know, destroy our momentum or, or
distract us. So the best way sometimes is to verbalize it so
that you can hold yourself accountable. And maybe talking to
someone about, you know, what I really want to start the most
important place starting point really, for all of us if we if
we're thinking about making some lasting changes, or or permanent
changes to our worship, is to look for first and foremost at our
prayers, because those are the first things that we're going to
be asked about, on the Day of Judgment. So we want to think
about the timeliness of our prayers, right? The sincerity with
which we come to the prayer, are we coming? Dragging our legs
frustrated and tired and exhausted and just not really wanting to be
there and doing it because we have to? Or are we doing it because we
realize that we we owe so much to Allah subhanaw taala and this
paltry act of praying, which will never be enough to show our
gratitude
should be done with at least a present heart, you know, and of
course, we're humans, we're gonna get distracted, but it's the
intention, right? If you get to the prayer, intending y'all I
wouldn't really have shown this prayer, I want to be present. And
you want that, like it's a true yearning, it's a true desire, and
you keep coming to the prayer with that inshallah you'll get there.
You know, some people have this really crazy notion that unless
they have that feeling, what's the point of praying that's pure wasa
Can you can get that feeling if unless you put the hard work in,
you know, it's not like, you're gonna stand, you know, to be in a
long walk, but and all of a sudden, you're gonna see a light,
and angels are gonna descend on around you and you're just, you
know, you're gonna see visions of Jannah. Like, is that what you're
expecting? That should happen before you pray? And then you'll
commit to prayer. If so, then shutdowns just deluded you, you
have to say, the prayer is the debt I owe. Which I'll never be
able to repay for existence. It's the reason why I'm created. And so
I need to really prioritize my prayer Fajr veho as a mother of
Isha all of them you can't pick certain prayers that you're going
to do you know dutifully and devote your time and do them
beautifully with amazing, you know, recitation and then Miss
other prayers and excuse yourself from other prayers, because you're
thinking oh, well, I do you know, the the mother had been the, you
know, Valhalla or Nasir, but I can't do Fajr Fajr so hard for me.
If you're if you're already letting yourself go with that,
because you don't have to work I have to get up early and oh, it's
just too hard. Allah will have mercy on me. You know, some hot a
lot. That's, I'm sorry to say it's just another trick of shade. Don't
be
Has we're all in this, you know, world for the same reason we're
here to worship the last part that if the prophesy centum, who had
been guaranteed Genda is the Beloved of Allah, not only prayed
all of his prayers on time with excellence in every which way, but
he did additional prayers, it's because we shouldn't be humble, we
should be grateful. And we should be, we should feel the weight of
how much we should be grateful to Allah subhanaw taala for and
nobody gets exceptions to that, you know, people, of course, who
are ill, and who have other circumstances, Allah, of course,
makes things easy. But the prayer for even the Ill even the one
who's laying flat on their back and cannot move is still further
upon them to do when it comes in. And a lot, of course, makes it
easier for them with the will do.
I mean, you know, facilitates all of that. But you can even do it
with your eyes. If you're paralyzed, for example, you know,
there's always something that for each person circumstances that
will that are acceptable. But the bottom line is, is that everybody
prays, who is of sound mind, and who is able to, we pray. So don't
let shade on, you know, make you think you're special somehow. Or
that you allow your neffs and your, you know, your physical
circumstances to seem like they're so extreme and so exceptional,
that you get a parent's to not pray on time. And then you can
just wake up your alarm for for the time you need to get up for
work or what have you. A lot of people that's what they do, they
convince themselves it's okay a lot. It was my intentions. I wish
I could, but I can't, don't do that. Commit, say a lot, I know
that this is going to be hard for me, I'm probably going to have
really tough days ahead of me, maybe because it's my routine,
I've just gotten on a routine, I've never really committed like
this before, I might have headaches, I might be grumpy at
work, I might just not be happy because my sleep was interrupted,
but you matter more. So if I have to set five alarms, I have to call
my friend or you know, do something to get myself out of
bed. That's the point that's realizing that I cannot make
excuses for myself because Allah hu Akbar he is greater than
anything that I can bring, you know, to justify why I'm not
worshiping as he deserves to be worshipped. And so make those
commitments and do them now don't make, don't put them off. And this
for every single person is going to be different, maybe 100. Now
you're doing your prayers on time. And you're really committed in
your prayers, and you look to the next level, you know, what can I
be doing? Additionally, what can I take away? Right, avoid? That's
blameworthy. And what can I increase that's praiseworthy. And
you just start evaluating yourself on such a deep level, that your
mind is constantly preoccupied with what you know, people
sometimes think about,
you know, the hadith of iman, Islam and Sam, right? Sign is, you
know, being in such a state that you it's almost as if you see a
law knowing very well, you can't see him, but knowing that he sees
you, right, this is the definition of sin. And for some people that
might be like, wow, wow, that's so amazing, you know, that people can
be in that state? Well, if you spend your day trying so hard to
take inventory of your actions and find where you can improve, and
you're really guarding yourself against those things that are
harmful. In many ways. That is that is a sad, right? That's a
display of Sn because what are you doing, you're mindful of all those
products throughout your day? Right? You're always thinking
about what I the choices before you and if you think about every
single choice that we make every choice
especially in our transactions with other people but also with
ourselves. There's always a right way and a wrong way to do things.
You know, from the most subtle things like just basic etiquette,
you know, when you're when you're eating, let's say, you know, we I
mean? We could just take it to that level, but if you if you
evaluate your behavior, you know, are you eating with with a dog Are
you eating with the presence of, you know, mindfulness of God? Are
you saying Bismillah Are you just jumping right into that meal
slobbering all over the place getting your fingers dirty and
checking your phone every two seconds watching inappropriate
videos, I mean, people will sit at the dinner table over a meal where
Allah Smith has just given them a beautiful meal and it could be
hand in or it could be made by their own hands but even that is
still a gift from Allah gave you the ability gives you the
ingredients gave you the you know, the every everything the home
right to be able to create these meals. So is it not? You know,
does he not deserve to me think with with at least something
In the beginning, Bismillah write about how many people jump into
their meals, no remembrance of Allah. And not only that, there'll
be eating this delicious food.
But then they're doing things like gossiping, you know, or watching
things you know, as in other eyes is a real reality. So you're
watching the Haram, while you're, you know, you're taking in this
nourishment that almost probably has given you. Those are things
you have to watch for. But if you're conscious of your
decisions, decisions and choices, what you do is you bring awareness
to your mind
that you know what, this is wrong, I shouldn't do this after a while
and you start to change your behavior that is the process of
ThoughtBot anything that you do, you're thinking, would Allah be
pleased with me or not? And you start to change in that way,
right? That pleases Allah subhana wa Tada. And so here, and the last
pages of this chapter, we're reminded that Allah has commanded
us to turn to Him with sincerity, or you believe turn to Allah, all
of you together with sincerity in order for you to have success. And
then this last is sort of Bukhara, right?
It is, oh, humanity, worship your Lord, Who created you and those
before you in order for you to realize that quite yet even NASA?
What are they? What are the publikum La La Quinta taco, this
is Subhanallah the first command that Allah is telling us, right?
We have to worship Allah as he deserves, and to remember
constantly, that everything that He has given us, every action
we're able to do is by His grace, that we're able to do it. And if
we just have that awareness, you know of those things in the
moment, or even as an afterthought, you know, and you're
lying in bed, and you're thinking about your day, and you're just
reevaluating things and you start remembering a continent that Allah
is so generous, you know, he was able to or, you know, he gave us
this opportunity gave us that opportunity start to a taking
account of things. That's that's taco that's bringing awareness and
mindfulness of Allah and having gratitude in your heart and
Sharla. So mail was part of that increases in Taqwa. I'm going to
check the time. Oh, very close. Okay, we're almost at the end. Let
me exit out of this.
So we can check the
the chat here to see if there are any questions. Inshallah Tada, you
give me just one moment
I'm gonna go to YouTube as well, because I think there's, I know my
shoulders, people on YouTube are tuning in, and that's where a lot
of our questions do come in. So let me check you do?
That
okay.
So
I don't see any Oh, actually, hold on. Let me check, do live chat.
Okay, so I don't see any questions on the thread here. But inshallah
we do have a few minutes or a couple of minutes left, if you
would like to ask a question you're more than welcome to. But
yes, we are at the end of chapter 60. I'm just going to make sure I
didn't miss anything here. Oh, he mentioned here that
well follows next. So chapter two. The next class we'll do is a
series of exercises designed to help us set out on the path. There
are difficult for earning paradise was never meant to be easy. All
things of worth are only obtained through great efforts, whether the
pearl at the bottom of the ocean, or the skill of the master
craftsman. The pleasure of our Lord is infinitely greater than
the material gains of this world.
So much of the next chapter, chapter two is on the heart and
its treatment. So now we're going to get into some more practical
exercises and reflections on how we can do this. You know,
achieving Taqwa is of course, something that we know is part of
that Mujahidin but how do we battle it out with our knifes
literally what is the you know, how can we fight our our own
knifes and shaitan and overcome our weaknesses? So shovels we'll
look to that in the next session. But I thank you again for your
time and if you don't have the text, please do get it you can get
it from Sun dolla sa nd a la.org agenda to change our condition
check it out. But thank you so much for being here. This evening
with with us in sha Allah if you have any further questions, you're
more than welcome to do
communicate me I can excuse me communicate with me directly. I'm
on Facebook, I'm on Instagram. So you can message me there but thank
you again. We are ending right on time. So inshallah we'll see you
next time and have a wonderful rest of your night. Okay. Oh,
before we forget, we should do our da Hamdulillah. With him and also
in Ireland. Illallah Nina Avenue. Family, Swati Hattie, with us. I
will help you with us over summer Subhanak Alohomora we haven't
because shadow and Leila Elantris have recorded to the lake along
the service animal that I cannot say that I will know that I will
have you been a Muhammad some of the holiday who sent him while it
was sort of this theme and Kathy hamdulillah she's like, Well,
okay, and thank you so much. Have a great evening. Everyone said I
want to go what are some of the law who are going to get