Ibraheem Menk – Change Your Life With Good Thought

Ibraheem Menk
AI: Summary ©
The importance of positive thinking and bringing about change is emphasized, with a focus on the negative impact of hardship on one's belief in Allah's actions. The speaker emphasizes the importance of faith and belief in achieving success and empowering one's thinking to positively think. The speaker also highlights the need for faith and belief in achieving success and staying true to oneself.
AI: Transcript ©
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Change is a word that we often hear

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from people.

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And many of us are seeking to change

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if not all of us.

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We constantly tell people that change is something

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that we should do.

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And they say that the only constant in

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life is change.

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But the question is, how do you change?

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How do you bring about change?

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And there are many ways.

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Oftentimes we talk about tawbah.

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Returning back to Allah, Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.

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Turning to Him, seeking from Him, making dua

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to Him.

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All of this we speak about.

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But one of the ways which we oftentimes

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find ourselves not paying attention to is the

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fact that we should think good.

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Think positively.

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And even when circumstance and situation is bad,

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a person is encouraged to think positively.

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You see, Ayub alaihi salatu wassalam had lost

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his limbs in some narrations.

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They mentioned that he had a disease known

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as gangrene.

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And he lost his limbs.

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He lost his family.

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And he lost his wife as well.

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Allahu Akbar.

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Some narrations say that the only person who

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stayed with him is his wife.

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And he refused to ask Allah Rabbul Izzati

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wal Jalal to lift this condition from him.

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Why?

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He was ashamed to go to Allah subhanahu

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wa ta'ala.

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After Allah had given him so many years

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of prosperity, he was ashamed to go and

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raise his hands to Allah and complain to

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Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.

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Even though there is nothing wrong with that.

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In fact, it is rewarding to turn to

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Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

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But this was a higher state of thinking

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where he thought, with what faith do I

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go to Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal?

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What type of a person does this?

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It is a person whose mind is in

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the right place, positively thinking.

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Thinking good of Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.

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So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us

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finally, when Ayyub alayhi salatu wassalam called out

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to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala وَأَيُّوبَ إِذْ

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نَادَى رَبَّهُ أَنِّي مَسَّنِي الضُّرُّ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

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And when Ayyub called out to his Lord,

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that hardship has touched me, it has afflicted

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me.

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And you are the most merciful of those

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who are merciful.

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Allahu Akbar.

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Look at the wording of Allah Rabbul Izzat,

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of Ayyub alayhi salatu wassalam.

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What does he say?

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And when Ayyub called out to his Lord,

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hardship, difficulty has touched me.

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It's just touched me, O Allah.

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وَأَنْتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ And you are the most

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merciful of those who are merciful.

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The man's limbs are falling apart.

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Allahu Akbar.

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And what does he say?

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Difficulty touched me.

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Implying that this is just something small, O

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Allah.

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You've touched me with this.

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You've given me this little bit of difficulty

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in my life.

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And you are the most merciful of those

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who are merciful, even in his difficulty.

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He's remembering and bearing in mind that Allah

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Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal is the most merciful

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of those who are merciful.

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You see, it is easy for us to

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remember how merciful Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is

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when things are easy, when the bank account

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is full, when the house is amazing, when

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the car is the latest, and there's no

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issues in my health, and there's no issues

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in my family.

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It's easy for us to remember that Allah

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is the most merciful of those who are

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merciful.

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But in difficulty, in hardship, a person who

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is not close enough to Allah Rabbul Izzati

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wal Jalal begins to wonder where Allah is.

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Why Allah has tested him with this?

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Why Allah has afflicted him with this hardship?

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So in your hardship, if you find yourself

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thinking good of Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal,

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that is a sign of your belief in

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Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala.

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Because O Allah, I know you've tested me

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with this, but all along I had a

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good life.

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I had so many good years.

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I thank you for those good years.

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If you are grateful, then I will increase

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you, increase you in blessing, increase you in

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wealth, increase you in bounty, and if you

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are ungrateful, indeed my punishment is severe.

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This is the mindset of a believer, and

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this is the point of change.

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This is where it all starts, in the

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heart, the heart and the mind of a

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believer.

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When you begin to change your thought process

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and say, I know Allah has got me.

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I know Allah will change my circumstance.

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I know Allah who gave me yesterday deprived

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me today will give me tomorrow again, and

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I know that this is a reason for

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my entry into Jannah.

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If only I thank and seek forgiveness from

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Allah Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala tells us something,

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and this is a lesson for us.

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This is a lesson for us.

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The next time we find ourselves wondering why

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we are being afflicted, why we are going

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through trouble and difficulty, we need to remind

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ourselves of this ayah.

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مَا يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ إِن شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنْتُمْ What

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will Allah do?

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What will Allah achieve by punishing you if

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you are grateful and you believe?

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What will Allah achieve by punishing you if

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you are grateful and you believe?

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What does this mean?

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Allah gains nothing from you being afflicted, from

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you being in trial and tribulation.

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That is an opportunity for you, O servant

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of Allah, to gain closeness to Him for

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your benefit, for your goodness, for your akhira,

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for your everlasting bliss.

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So even in that is a rahma of

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Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.

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Even in your trial and tribulation and difficulty

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is a rahma of Allah subhanahu wa ta

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'ala and this is why we see that

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Ayub a.s. says وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ And

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you are the most merciful of those who

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are merciful.

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What does Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal do?

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فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ فَكَشَفْنَا مَا بِهِ مِنْ ضُرٍ So

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we responded him and we removed that trial,

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we removed that hardship, we lifted it.

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وَآتَيْنَاهُ أَهْلَهُ وَمِثْلَهُمْ مَعَهُ And we gave him

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his family and the like of them as

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well, meaning double.

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We gave him more than he had before.

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You see, that idea, that belief that Allah

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will come through for me is so rewarding

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that Allah will give you more than you

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had before.

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But you need to believe when you are

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going through the difficulty.

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You need to have that conviction and yaqeen

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that Allah will come through for me.

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And no matter what I lose, no matter

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what I lose, I know that this is

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just the dunya.

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This is just the dunya.

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As long as I have my faith, I

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have my most prized possession with me.

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I have my most prized possession with me.

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Why?

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Because if I lose my faith, there is

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no replacement of that.

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There is no goodness that can come after

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that.

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The only thing that I can't lose is

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my faith.

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And this is why the dua of Rasulullah

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ﷺ was not, Allahumma laa tusibni.

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Oh Allah, don't test me.

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He didn't make that dua.

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You know why?

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He knew he was guaranteed trial and test

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and tribulation.

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But do you know what his dua was?

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Oh Allah, don't place our trial and tribulation

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in our deen.

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Don't let me ever question you, oh Allah.

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Don't let me ever doubt you, oh Allah.

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Because if I do that and if I

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lose my faith, then there is no replacement

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of that.

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There is no goodness after that.

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So we really need to bear in mind

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the fact that Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal

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is, was and will always remain the most

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merciful of those who are merciful regardless of

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what is happening around us.

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My family member died.

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My limb got cut off.

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I had to go to the hospital.

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I was diagnosed with cancer.

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I had all sorts of problems.

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Perhaps you went to, you woke up one

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day and you heard that your entire business

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was taken and seized by the authorities.

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You know why you're okay?

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You know why you're okay?

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Because you're a believer in Allah Rabbul Izzati

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wal Jalal.

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Because you know that Allah remains and Allah

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is there for you and this is just

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a trial and that you are from Allah

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to Allah and ultimately you will stand before

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Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

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So it's okay.

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It doesn't matter what I've lost of this

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dunya.

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I don't lose my mind when I lose

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this dunya because I'm not so attached to

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it.

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It doesn't matter if it goes.

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And you look at the story of Yusuf

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a.s. He goes.

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He's lost.

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He's thrown into the well.

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His father loses him.

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And then his father loses another son as

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well.

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And at this juncture, even though his very

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own brothers, Yusuf a.s. brothers have deceived

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him and they come back to their father

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and even though they are being honest in

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their speech and they say that, you know

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what?

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He stole.

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According to them, they thought that the other

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brother of Yusuf a.s. known as Binyamin

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had stolen.

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So they told their father Your son has

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stolen.

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The father did not believe them.

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And he just said to them, Allah knows

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what you are describing.

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A beautiful patience.

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Allah will bring them all to me again.

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Allah will bring them back all to me

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again.

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And then the very same sons that came

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to him with stories, the very same sons

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that deceived him, he tells them O

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my dear sons, go and search.

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Look for Yusuf.

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Look for Yusuf and his brother.

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And don't lose hope in the mercy of

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Allah.

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Here is Yaqub a.s. after having lost

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two sons.

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And he is dealing with the very culprits

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themselves.

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And he is telling them, go, don't lose

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hope in the mercy of Allah.

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Where was his heart?

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Where was his heart?

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Simply, the answer simply put is it was

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with Allah.

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The next time you are being afflicted and

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the next time you are going through trial

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and tribulation and problem, ask yourself one question

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in that trial.

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Where is my heart?

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What am I thinking about Allah?

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That's what matters.

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And that is what will get you through.

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May Allah change our perspective.

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May Allah empower us to be more positively

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thinking.

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