Hosai Mojaddidi – Lesson Summer of Smiles
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of smile for the well-being of human beings, especially children. They touch on the concept of mirror neurons and how they can mimic each other's behavior through mirror neurons. The speakers emphasize the importance of learning to apply the concept of mindfulness to daily life, not just rewarding them for their actions. They also discuss the importance of not insulting people with what they know about them, and to rise above the best way to proceed. They stress the need to show one's love and weaknesses to others, especially when it comes to their religious affiliation and to share experiences to bring people to a state of wonder and joy.
AI: Summary ©
They're Jose es Salaam aleikum.
Wa Rahmatullah here but a cat you know how are you?
I'm the lights so great to see you.
Smile. I just had the exact same device and wow, it's already I
can't believe we're in mid Shaohua so it's been over for sure a month
but almost miles, two months. Time is running, but it's lovely.
Lovely to see you anytime, anytime.
I'm so excited to be learning from you and I wasn't lying. We're
getting on that notebook and starting and
I'm
just like your friend from the LA Bismillah Rahim Al hamdu lillah wa
Salatu was Salam ala Chapelle MBI even more saline. Say that our
Mowlana What have you been hammered? Some Allahu Allah. He
was salam. While he was happy Absalom the Sleeman Kathira
Assalamu alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh Dear brothers and
sisters Alhamdulillah it is again an honor to be with all of you.
And hamdulillah and you know, on especially on this beautiful day,
I'm Gemma. As I mentioned, we are just a little bit past the halfway
point of shot was upon a loss. So there's just a lot of reason for
us to to be joyful on this occasion, even though yes, our OMA
is hurting and there's certainly cause for a lot of pain in the
heart, we should still be grateful. And that's partly what
we're going to inshallah reflect on today is the Sunnah of smiling,
you know, this, this beautiful sunnah, that we have to maintain
as much as possible, even during our painful moments, or during
these periods of life, whether it's on a personal level, or, you
know, for the collective when we're, we're in pain, we still
have to find those moments to just really be in deep states of
gratitude for the blessing. So and Hamdulillah I think it's a
reflection we all need. And, you know, it's interesting, I
mentioned this often, but I don't believe in coincidences, because
there are no such things, you know, everything is interconnected
some way or another. And of course, there's divine decree, but
I find it whenever I see interesting patterns, or
serendipitous sort of things happening, aligning, I like to
point them out. And I, you know, I didn't quite know what the topic
was going to be today. Until not that long ago, and so on have the
deadline, which is fine. That is the nature of these martial law
events sometimes. So I was waiting for, you know, the assignment. And
though, you know, the organizers had no idea that all week long, I
have been actually speaking about this sunnah of smiling and, more
specifically, actually, something related to how we as human beings
even learn how to smile, you know, which is if you just look at young
children, you know, newborn infants, for those of us who have
children of Hamdulillah, in some cases, they may enter the world,
you know, within that state, interesting. I have, I have one
son, my youngest is named smile. And when he was born, it was kind
of like, a festive
time, I guess, or in the hospital anyway, not not, not in, you know,
in the general, you know, for the general
society or community. But in the hospital where we were, it was
kind of festive, because Subhanallah, the, the birthday,
that, you know, the the day of birth was something to be
celebrated. I guess they had news crews there. It was kind of, you
know, the floor that we were on, all the mothers were being
interviewed, because it was one of those birthdays. And so the nurse
that was, you know, that was taking care of me and helping him.
She kept calling him smile, but she didn't get that his name was a
smile yield. She just was like, Oh, I have your baby, smile,
smile, and I end and so and she had actually told me that I had to
have an emergency procedure. But she had told me that when, you
know, he was brought into the world that he was smiling. And I
was like, Oh, wow, usually, you know, they're crying and it's
chaotic scene, but he was smiling. So I think it just stuck in her
mind that his name was smiles every time she would bring him to
me. She'd be like, Oh, it's so you know, it's kind of like in a
celebratory state like oh, and his and his name is even smile how
great like if I didn't feel the have the heart to correct her. So
I just let her think that his name was smile. But you know, some
children come into the world somehow a lot in that state where
you can see like a crack of a smile. And that's just a beautiful
thing to experience when you see a newborn infant, you know, and as I
said, in other cases, they're not that happy to enter the world. We
Because Subhanallah, they've just come from their mother's womb
where they were warm and safe, and everything was fine. And, and you
know, from reading a mama had dad's book, you know, in the lives
of men, we learned that this, this is the hardest place for the soul
to be. And, you know, you go from the primordial realm to the warmth
of the mother to dunya. Dunya is, you know, that if Tila and that's
why they say that the baby enters the world crying, and everybody
else is joyful. That's usually how it goes. So but most, you know,
children come into this world, you know, in that panic state and that
state of anxiety, but when you do see a newborn, develop the ability
to smile over a little bit of time, they say researchers say
it's usually because they are mimicking, right, we learn to
mimic the, the facial expressions of the people that are taking care
of us, our parents, or grandparents or siblings, whoever,
you know, those initial people are that are around us. So we start to
as our eyesight develops, and we can focus better, we start to
mimic. So it's an it's an act of mimicry, you know, to smile. And
so, you know, interestingly, you know, now we have research that
shows that, that this is actually something that we do, in many
ways, you know, this idea of what we call mirror neurons, right?
That we will, as you know, when we're interacting with one
another, we will learn to mirror as a almost as a sign of like, or
a reflection of empathy, right, the expressions and the cues, the
nonverbal cues that we are receiving from our interlocutors
the people that we're speaking with or engaging with. And so,
I've been speaking on this topic, because there's research now that
shows that the youth this generation, especially post,
internet, post social media that have been raised on devices have a
harder time with this is, you know, this concept of, you know,
mimicry, or mirror neurons or facial expressions even. And it's
because from this time, they're very young, in many cases, not
obviously, in all cases, but in many cases, they have been
introduced to these devices, and a lot of their interactions are, you
know, through through these in these virtual ways, right, whether
it's playing, you know, playing on devices, or interacting with even
family members, you know, on because sometimes, if you if you
think about, you know, little children, speaking to
grandparents, or family members that are distant from them, now,
we have a convenience of, you know, FaceTime, and all of these
platforms that we can just pick up a device and talk, sometimes have
lengthy conversations, you know, with our loved ones, and young
children do that, certainly, as well, through this medium. And so
what that has done, unfortunately, one of the consequences is that it
has impaired in a way, the ability of children who've really been
exposed to this to maybe a large degree, or the ability to, to
mirror as well as in previous generations. And so teachers, for
example, and this was kind of how the conversation that I've been
having with a few different, you know, teachers and people who work
with, with students a lot, we've all observed a generational shift,
you know, that, that there, there's a tendency for younger
people to not be able to animate or to express in their, you know,
facial features, or their, you know, their expressions or facial
expressions. They're not able to, to, to, to reveal or, or in any
way show their emotion. So, it's hard, right, especially as a
teacher or a public speaker, if you're speaking to an audience
that does not, you know, give you feedback, because it is a form of
feedback. In fact, I think it's 80% of our communication is
nonverbal. So if you're sitting in front of people who don't have
that ability to nod to smile when you're smiling, to receive what
you're saying, in a way that's affirming, it can make it
challenging because you're not quite sure is the message landing
and you know, as a, as a teacher, we really look for that like with
with our students, through facial expressions through those
nonverbal cues. We can it indicates to us whether or not
we're on target, you know, for our lesson or you know, whatever we're
trying to relay so it becomes challenging. These are part of the
modern challenges that we have, but it brought me to this topic of
smiling and what an important sunnah it is in our tradition as
we
No, this is a sunnah of the prophesy Saddam, he told us quite
literally to smile and to spread peace and to make sure that we are
that we recognize that when we're doing that it is considered an act
of charity. And I love that, that he tied that there because it also
indicates that you don't necessarily have to be in a state
of happiness, quote, unquote, or joy or anything like that in order
to smile, right? Because to make it a sadhaka, is not about you,
it's about other people, right? When you give wealth or you give
your donate time, or you do anything for set up, you're
putting the other person before yourself. And so the fact that he
put that little caveat that it or that you know, that smiling has
that reward, I think is beautiful, because it's a reminder to us that
it's just something we should do in order to maintain healthy, you
know, societies, healthy families, healthy communities, that we
should be people that are willing to step outside of our own selves
for the sake of the other. And that if that means, you know,
doing something that goes against maybe what's happening internally,
because I know, you know, many of us, we're carrying burdens, there
are people who have real pain that they're they're walking around
with real, whether it's physical pain, emotional pain, they are,
they're really feeling things on a very deep level. And, you know,
like, just imagine I have I have siblings who work in the medical
field, I have a I have a sibling who does trauma, you know, trauma
surgeries, he's, he's a surgeon, and some of the sometimes we don't
hear from him for days on end, because he's working around the
clock and hospital after hospital doing multiple, you know, long
shifts. And then some of the cases that he deals with are really
traumatic cases, you know, gunshot wounds, violence, children being
shot at killed, it's horrific, and I just, when I see him, you know,
in family gatherings, I can tell when there's something you know,
like, burdening his soul, because, you know, you if you're around
people enough, and you're paying attention, you'll be able to tell
when a person is their mind is somewhere else, you know, but
they're trying to be with you. And so they'll force that smile. And
it's a beautiful act, when you see people who are in these spaces or
who do carry a lot when they're when they're able to do that, but
it's a prophetic quality because the prophesy, so no one, no one
can even compare to the burden that he carried. I mean,
subhanAllah, what do you think about the fact that he saw true
visions, right, during the Sol, a mirage, and obviously in other
dreams and other incidents? The province was Saddam was given a
news that I don't know, I'm certain majority of us, we could
not bear to see even a fraction of what he saw. And that's why he
said that if you knew what I knew, you would laugh little and weep
much, because he saw, you know, the condition of his own mug, you
know, in the future. Really, things that I like I said, it
would be so difficult for any one of us to bear. And yet, and yet it
is a verifiable, it's undeniable that one of the hallmark qualities
of the prophesy Saddam was that he smiled often and that he brought
people into a state of peace and enjoy just by his countenance,
just by what he was able to give them in those exchanges, those
nonverbal exchanges, you know, because we know he did speak, he
was not a person who's who spoke excessively, he was an everything
he did, he was moderate, and he was perfect, and it was beautiful.
So it was his presence, but in in the first impression, you know,
with everybody that met him, it was his warmth, that is what
captivated them. So he had the ability to set aside the pain and
the, you know, the images that he that he saw, you know, people
being tortured, like, like real images, subhanAllah of members of
his own OMA being tortured, and he had to carry that knowledge he
knew the other thing that I think about which is incredible, is he
knew who the Manasa painter, you know, in his time, and it's like
wow, to have that knowledge is also a burden knowledge, you know,
to know, you know, people who are who are corrupt and who have this
duplicity and not be able to tell others you know, it's so he had to
carry knowledge
She was a burden and yet he still found time to be so beautiful. And
so in His disposition and His demeanor in the way that he
interacted with people. And so obviously he's he's our exemplar.
And when we look to Him, we should remember that about him that even
though we're troubled, and we have burdens and problems, and a lot of
us are trying to, we're barely keeping our head above water, as
they say, when we do it as an act of worship, when we set aside our
pain for the for the comfort and well being of other people, we
are, we are not only being rewarded by us path, but we are
actually in line with the example of the prophesy Southern, and we
don't really know the weight of our actions, you know, the weight
of our actions is something that we should consider because a smile
is something easy to do, you know, it's just, you know, it's muscles,
it's moving your face, and in a way to express something. And it
doesn't take much. It's something that you know, it's automatic
process in some cases, but it's very simple to do. And yet, and I
don't say this, with any exaggeration, a smile can actually
save a life. And a perfect example of this is the story of Kevin
Hines, which if you're not familiar with, you should
absolutely look it up. Because every time I think about the power
of smiling or just the power of human connection, really, which is
what it's about, it's about connecting yourself to the other.
The power of that is reflected in this single story. And there's
many I'm sure other examples that could we could borrow from but
Kevin Hines always stays with me. And I remember we were again,
first introduced to him by Sheikh Hamza many years ago, his story,
and I just was blown away, and I looked him up right away. And
anyway, you can, you can find more about him. But he basically was
someone who was, you know, carrying a lot on his heart. And
he decided one day, he was here from, he's from San Francisco Bay
area, or he was from here. But he basically decided one day, that he
had had enough. And he kind of made a bargain or a deal with
himself that he was going to take a bus and this was like, I
believe, if I'm not mistaken, like a multi city travel, like he had
to go from multi different cities in order to get to his
destination, which was the Golden Gate Bridge. And if you're not
familiar, the Golden Gate Bridge has unfortunately, another name.
Because it was it's a it's a bridge that was known for people,
you know, jumping, or taking their lives. So it has that reputation.
So he basically made this deal with himself that he was going to
take the bus and get to the Golden Gate Bridge. And the deal was that
if anybody along the way, was asked him how he was smiled, you
just basically acknowledged his existence, and tried to have that,
that human interaction with him, but he would not act on his
intention. But because it goes Subhan Allah, he spent, you know,
this ride, however long it took, getting from his, you know, place
of residence to his destination without a single person
acknowledging him. And so he made the decision, he went to the
Golden Gate, and he actually jumped. Now the story Subhanallah
takes a really incredible turn, he sets and you know, he obviously
live to tell his story, that the moment he jumped in, and he made a
mistake. And he actually called on a lot and said that if Allah were
to save him, that from what he had done, that he would spend the rest
of his life helping people. And the survival rate of that fall, by
the way is very low. It's a very high drop off, but also, the
Whitewater is very harsh, there's jagged rocks, it's just it's not a
survivable jump. And that's why all the below most people succeed.
But this man Subhan Allah against all odds, and of course, Allah is
is the best of planners. So he's the one who decrees these things,
but this man, he jumps he makes the sincere dua, Allah answers his
door, he falls into the water and shatters like his spine. So he is
he cannot, he survived. He didn't die on impact. But he can't get
up. He can't swim to safety or try to keep himself up despite his
attempts, because he's pretty much immobilized at that point. And so
Allah subhanaw taala sends a sea lion
because, you know, the the bay, San Francisco Bay Area has sea
lions, he sends a sea lion to this man, and that sea lion helps him
to safety Subhan Allah and he actually carries him to the shore
and then the people eventually because they saw him jump, they
were able to send rescue so he lives to tell this
story. And now he's a well known public speaker, and he goes around
to doing suicide prevention. But I always found his story to be very
compelling, because it just shows you that had we, as you know, a
species, really, you know, How had we been practicing this? Or how do
we take in this, this
advice of our prophesies, so that and, you know, speaking of the
general, you know, of, of the prophecies, and not just the
Muslims, but like, as a species had, we been, in practice of the
importance of really acknowledging people and connecting and being
willing to set aside whatever's going on and, and just see one
another, you know, and we were doing that on a large scale, and
we would have, obviously, healthier societies, where maybe
we wouldn't have people in these mental health crises all over
Ireland, but the fact that that was something that he needed and
yearned for, and actually, you know, made it as a condition of
whether or not he would take his own life, indicates that we just,
we weren't, that we haven't been for a really long time, we, we
pass each other by all the time as human beings, we, we were so busy,
we're so caught up in our own problems and our own, you know,
goals and objectives that we have, that we end up just just, you
know, ignoring, and completely denying the the fact that a lot
puts people in our path for a reason. And that's something that
if you were mindful, right, every moment was was something that you
were really present in, you would not, you know, look, look at
anybody that crosses your path as being insignificant, but rather,
maybe even question like, subhanAllah of all the people, you
know, that I'm, you know, on this, like, for example, even something
as simple as, you know, an elevator, or like, you know, you
go into a when we're, when I'm on a plane, I always try to take
inventory of the people on the plane, because it's like, this is
not some random, you know, accident, there's maybe some
wisdom and why all of us have to be on this trip together, right?
We do things sometimes without that, that even presents that what
is the wisdom? Why why now, or just the different people that
come into our come in and out of our lives? or teachers or co
workers or neighbors? Right, like just thinking about why are these
people in my in my life? You know, why? Why are these the people that
ospite chose to surround me with or to put me in this particular
situation with, we don't do that enough. And then, you know, we
tend to, like I said, just move, move about in this way, where
we're in just oblivious, we're, we're oblivious to people around
us. But here is this man who his story, I think, just highlights
that it all he was looking for was one connection, and that would
have helped him but you know, Allah has another purpose for him.
But I think the greater lesson is, what, how do we take the sunnah
to, you know, in its practical application, how do we apply it?
Is it something that we reserve only for our loved ones, right?
Because there's some people who are very affectionate or are
willing to show their love and demonstrate their love for their
family and their people that they know but then with other people,
you know, we're, we're, we're just not willing to do that. And that's
another question to ask because the Balsom said, very clearly in
the Hadith to say salaam to those you know, and those you don't
know, so he's actually instructing us to give our you know our dua
because the Salam is a DUA and hopefully we're giving that dua
with with the right countenance, you know, you don't want to be
giving the ayah to someone with a stone face, you know, so when you
say salaam to someone, you hopefully are also smiling. And
when you do that, and he's telling you to do that, not just with
those, you know, but also with those you don't know, he is
telling us to be magnanimous, to be outside of ourselves, to be
generous in our gifts and all that has given us and a smile is
certainly one of those gifts. And so, you know, there's something to
think about, you know, is it only reserved for those that that I you
know, I want to be close to and that I trust, and then I just kind
of you know, because I've heard this and I'm sure we've all heard
it from people that there there are some people that's their
experience, they just they don't they walk past other Muslims and
they won't even get a Salam they won't even get a glance they don't
get anything no acknowledgement whatsoever. So we've really veered
away from the Sunnah.
And that's why I think when you when you study, you know, things
like mindfulness, which which I mentioned, it's it's so important
because it brings you back into the awareness of every moment what
you're doing, what's your intention, what's your purpose,
why are you doing it and the
Wisdom, you know of why we follow our beloved subtle body and
southern because he obviously is directing us to those actions that
he knows are going to benefit us. And you know, just as a single
word Could, could potentially land someone, either in the fire or in
paradise, right according to the Hadith, so could a single action
and there are plenty of Hadith that show that kindness, you know,
selflessness, generosity, single deeds are the keys with which
people enter Jannah. And so maybe a single smile that we offer to
someone who is in pain who is in need of that smile, whether we
know it or not, is enough for us to be admitted into paradise. So
this goes back to another beautiful Hadith where the prophet
said and quite literally, is telling us not to undermine good
deeds, and he says SallAllahu Sallam and this is a sahih Hadith
reported an event. Hey, Ben, he says the process and says do not
be little any good deed. The first thing he mentioned is even pouring
your water, like you're into another into your brother or
sisters like water, right, like a jug or cistern or, or some, you
know, some vessel. So that's the first thing he mentioned. Because
sometimes, you know, we we think it's not a big deal right to to
give someone a cup of water. We don't think it's just it's not a
big deal. But if the province was mentioning it, it is a big deal
because you're showing again, generosity and kindness. So that's
the first thing he says then he says, speaking to your brother
while smiling at him, like don't underestimate the power of just
doing this right and there are some Subhanallah teachers who
mashallah even, you know, platformed by celebrate mercy,
I've always admired actually many of the teachers mashallah
Batticaloa, they have this almost like a permanent smile with which
they speak and it's really beautiful to see that because it
just reminds you of the prophetic sunnah right to, to while you're
addressing people, you know, even though we're speaking to a camera,
you know, here we're we're not engaged in with an audience. But
there are some people who my shot the Batticaloa are so aware, and
so present, and so mindful of their behavior, that they are
fully, you know, they, they know what they're doing. And they're,
they're, you know, applying this this beautiful son of smiling, so
speaking to your brother while smiling at him. And then he says,
this is just the rest of the Hadith, beware of trailing your
garment. It is a form of vanity that Allah does not approve. So
he's giving us again, these just general guidelines of behavior. So
don't underestimate the good deed of giving your brother or sister
something like water. Don't underestimate smiling while you're
speaking to them. But then also do not, you know, do things where
you're, you're not aware of the opposite, you know, that dragging
garments can be a form of arrogance, right.
And then if a man insults you with what he knows about you, do not
insult him with what you know about him. Verily, you will have a
reward and the penalty is upon the one who spoke it. I really
appreciated, you know, of course, everything the problem was him
said we should appreciate but I love this message. Because what I
what I imagine, especially this last part of it, is smiling
through even when someone is saying things about you that are
not true because you have the knowledge that Allah subhanaw
taala knows who you are, and I'm gonna speak specifically to those
people who I know because I hear about these examples all the time,
whether it's your spouse, whether it's your parents, whether it's a
co worker, or your boss or someone in a position of authority over
you. Sometimes we have people in our lives that emotionally or
verbally may abuse us and they may even try to shame on us in front
of other people. If you know yourself, well if you are right
with Allah subhanaw taala you're a person of Taqwa. You're a person
of good luck and beautiful character. You don't hurt people
you don't you're not deceptive. You're not a bad person. If
someone is trying to injure you with false words about you, you
know, insults about you that are just not true. Take heart this
message of the prophesies. Because what does he say? And I'll repeat
it, if a man insults you with what he knows about you, right? So
let's say that's a person that's that person's perception or
they're made, either they're lying or they're, it's their perception
of you, but they're basically saying these things about you
right to your face. Do not insult him with what you know about him.
In other words, rise above don't fall to their level. Don't give in
and do the same thing because you have
have to have that confidence that in that moment, Allah subhanaw
taala is with the one who doesn't participate doesn't stoop to that
low level just takes the high road. And the best way to really
proceed actually, is to smile through it, to smile through while
someone is saying something that is just simply not true. It takes
obviously, great discipline, great restraint, to not want to lash
back out and put them in their place with full on, you know,
injuring them the same way insulting them the same way, it's
very easy to do that. That's what we want, you know, what we would
refer to as the default, it's very easy to to be to default into that
kind of behavior. It's much harder to rise above, but it's also
prophetic, because the prophesies set an example after example. You
know, that's he that would happen to him, right? There were people
who would come and they would, they would do things. I mean, you
know, their stories were one man, I remember, pretty much manhandled
the process and took him by the collar, can you imagine and just
like, you know, aggressively, you know, and told him a love for God,
because it was something having to do with, you know, the, the booty
of a war that he wanted, or something like that, but he was so
aggressive with the problem size, liberalism, of course, always
being the perfect example are, and always having that temperance,
that ability to remain completely unfazed. You know, he didn't give
in to these, these provocations, he was very much in control of
himself, he would just, you know, handle it with such grace and such
beauty and such compassion and such understanding and, and then,
you know, subhanAllah, because he knew why, no matter what the these
people were saying, or doing, or even if they, you know, the mushy
keen when they were trying to insult him, like a thought thought
if, and other places, no matter what they were doing, it didn't
matter, as long as he was right with Allah subhanaw taala. And
that should be the considered, you know, the concern that we all have
is, we're just as long as we're right with Allah, Who cares what
people say. And it's a very freeing thing to get to that
level. But it is one of the goals of spiritual work. It should be it
should be one of our aims and goals, that we completely detach
ourselves from caring about what other people think about us, and
prioritizing what Allah subhanaw taala thinks about us. And as I
said, it takes a lot of spiritual practice and time. But that's why
we have a perfect example of the prophesies. And because he's here
to teach us these things. So it's so important to read, how he
handled the scenarios and situations where people were
trying to incite him trying to injure him and just say, Can I do
that job? Am I at that level to do that? And if not working towards
that goal, because insha Allah Allah is with those who do that.
And then just one thing before we stop for the q&a portion I wanted
to mention which I forgot, which is maybe a little interactive
component. For those of you who are watching. I thought it was
interesting statistic, but does anybody know how often According
to research, children smile during the day versus adults?
It's really an interesting statistic. I'll give you a moment
to type in your answers. But how many times a day do you think
young children who are still in that age of play, right? Think of
between the ages of birth to seven, right? That's the age of
play? How often do you think children in that age? are smiling
a day? And then what do you think is the statistic for adults? I'd
love to see your answers
mashallah, so 30 times a day is that for children, brother or for
adults?
Yeah, if you can maybe qualify that 100 Okay. Mashallah. Very
good. Getting some answers here. Thank you keep them coming. I
think they mean as children. Okay, I see adults, six in child 30.
Savonarola. That's an interesting number. Usually, yeah, I
appreciate the such an original answer. So the actual statistic,
nor do you have an idea, I would say, in the hundreds for children
and less than 100 for adults, because anybody who's Yeah, who's
around children with you, if you're a teacher, you're a parent.
It might surprise you might not. But actually it's 400 times a day
on average for children's subpanel
All right. And then it's so sad when you see the adult number
Yala. Happy people and this is happening people, so not all
adults, happy adults is 40 to 50 times a day. So 10 times more
children are, are smiling than we are. And then the average adult is
only 20 times a day. So you can do the math on that. But I think it's
really tragic. But partly why I think it's important to mention is
because the difference between children and adults is that
children still have the element of awe right? That they are in a
wander state, they're looking at the world and the experience that
they're having in the world in a state of wonder, we lose that over
time. And it's not that the world becomes any less wondrous or
impressive. Allah's Island, the natural world is incredible. It's
that we become more jaded and more burdened over time with human
problems, which is why we have to go back to our worship because it
is only through our worship of Allah subhanaw taala that we can
re ignite that all within our hearts. That's why we say Allahu
Akbar before we enter the prayer, right? We're literally reminding
ourselves that, despite all the things that we see in the world,
and all the things that are burdening us, and that break our
hearts, and the destroyer, spirits, that God is greater than
all of it, and he brought us into existence, and he is watchful over
us, and He is with us, and he is closer to us than our jugular
vein, Allahu Akbar. And that should bring you bring us into a
state of, again, just just immense gratitude, and, and, and presence
with our Creator. And that's how, then we of course, translate that
all into action, by being people of generosity and spirit with time
with our wealth with our food. And we start to share and from that
sharing comes again, this commitment to the prophetic
example of spreading the peace of Shia salaam rabbinical giving
people the you know the gift of your smile. So, in sha Allah, just
remember that that we it we shouldn't be childlike. In other
ways. Of course, we should mature and we should, you know, grow and
develop in our intellects and our understanding but in terms of our
spirit and, and all that we have for just being in existence, we
should absolutely try to emulate our, our younger or younger, or
the children of you know, around us, wherever they are, whoever
they are, and try to take them as our examples and show them
teachers.