Ibraheem Menk – DESIRES & HABITS Motivation
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of finding one's own success and finding one's own happiness in life. They stress the need for rewarding one's desire and finding a person who can fulfill it. The speakers also touch on the historical context of Islam and the importance of not acknowledging actions of others. The importance of finding happiness and fulfillment is emphasized, along with the Sharia and finding happiness in one's life.
AI: Summary ©
What do you find yourself doing?
Two different lives I'm living.
Raises your dopamine level.
What do you think that has done to
your psyche?
I want this, so I will get it.
What have you done?
You are married to four, you cannot get
the fifth wife.
Why?
What does a vape pen cost?
Let's be real about it.
Is that what we were created for?
It's called imposter syndrome.
What it is costing you is your future.
It's about building your willpower.
The answer is in front of you.
A changer of your life.
You will look forward to meeting Allah.
Lovely, always lovely being in a masjid setting.
It gives a different vibe.
And there is a different feeling of spirituality.
I'll begin with a short recitation and then
we will commence inshallah.
In the name of Allah, the most gracious,
the most merciful.
In the name of Allah, the most gracious,
the most merciful.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the
worlds.
We ask for help from Him.
We send salutations upon the Seal of the
Prophets and the Imam of the Messengers.
Our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.
O Allah, nothing is easy except what You
make easy.
You make sadness easy if You will.
O Allah, ease and do not make it
difficult.
Fulfill the good and we ask for help
from You.
We thank Allah, the Lord of Glory and
Glory, for having gathered us here today.
And we ask Allah to surround us with
His blessings.
And we ask Allah to surround us with
His blessings.
us with the Malaika and to cause his
mercy and his Sakinah to descend upon us
and to raise us with the Anbiya a
.s. and those whom he has mentioned with
them, Ameen.
If we take a look at the globe
today, people are after their desires.
People are chasing what will please them, their
pleasures.
So you find the youth vaping and not
only the youth, the older generation have taken
it up as well.
You find people in the nightclubs, you find
people partying, you find people after that which
they feel will fulfill their souls.
But funny enough, as pleasure rises, we find
that happiness, the bar for happiness is dropping
and people are unsatisfied and dissatisfied with their
lives.
And the countries that have the most freedom
in the world tend to have some of
the highest rates of depression, of depression.
I remember going to Sweden and the brother
was telling me that we have one of
the highest rates of depression in the world,
yet we are one of the most free
countries, liberated countries.
So if the answer is in liberating one's
desire and becoming a hedonist, someone who is
after his desire, then why is it that
these people are offing themselves?
Why is it that these people are offing
themselves?
So the answer cannot be in that which
is chasing the desire and going after that
desire day in, day out.
You know, what does a vape pen cost
today?
What does a vape pen cost?
Does anyone know?
Maybe people are ashamed to say that they
know, right?
Don't worry, I won't say I know how
you know, right?
No, no, uncle, but how do you know?
I'm just starting with you.
No, five pounds, we know it's about five,
ten pounds, right?
It doesn't actually cost five pounds.
What it is costing you is your future.
It is costing you your health.
It is costing you your drive.
You know, the human mind is made such
that when we take that vape pen early
in the morning and suck on it and
you think you're putting, you know, strawberry and
lemon and lime into your lungs, those are
just chemicals made up in a lab.
When you put that into your lungs, the
mind is designed such that it releases a
certain chemical that floods your brain and tells
you you've achieved what you need to achieve
for the day.
You know, they say, and forgive my language,
I know we're in a masjid, they say
that raises your dopamine level by one, by
one time, meaning 100%.
It floods into your brain, right?
Nicotine raises your dopamine level by 200%, which
means twice the amount of that involving or
engaging it does.
So, imagine what this does to the psyche
which has been created by Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala to go out there and build.
You know, the lack of that chemical within
your brain is actually driving your life forward.
So, when you wake up and you take
a puff on that, you're actually flooding your
brain with a chemical that tells you, you're
all okay now.
You don't need to go out and work,
you don't need to go and provide for
your family, you don't need to do much,
so you find the person is lacking the
drive to move forward in their lives.
And every few seconds, every few minutes, you
find them putting their hands in their pocket,
taking out the pen and sucking on it
again.
You know why?
They're trying to repeat that chemical flooding of
the brain.
You know when you take that first hit
and your brain is full of these pleasure
chemicals, right?
They're trying to repeat that, but as you
continue to try again and again, it becomes
less and less until such a time where
that will do nothing for you.
And that is why we find that a
person who partakes of food, you partake of
food, you sit down to a meal and
you eat the most delicious meal, which bite
is the most enjoyable one?
It's the first one that you take and
put into your mouth and you enjoy that
so much.
So, you find the person beginning to eat
and eat and eat and they eat and
fill their bellies and they continue to eat,
trying to repeat the pleasure that they received
from the first bite, but that will not
happen.
That will not happen.
You know why?
Because this is the Dunya.
Allah Rabbul Izzati Wal Jalal created it for
you to take just as much as you
need from it.
And that is why Jannah is fulfilling.
That is why Jannah is fulfilling.
Look at the Hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ.
It is enough for the son of Adam
to have a few morsels of food that
will keep his back upright.
That will keep his back upright.
So, if it is absolutely necessary, فَثُلُثٌ لِطَعَامِهِ
وَثُلُثٌ لِشَرَابِهِ وَثُلُثٌ لِنَفَسِهِ So, it will be
a third for his food and a third
for his drink and a third for air.
You know what?
That third, third, third that we go to,
we say you should only fill a third.
You should only fill a third.
That third, third and third is only if
you must.
The Hadith starts by saying, مَا مَلَأَ آدَمِيٌ
شَرَّ وِعَاءً مِّن بَطْنٍ There is no vessel
that the son of Adam has filled that
is worse than the stomach.
Which means that fulfilling your desires to the
nth degree will never be good for you.
It will never be good for you.
Fulfilling your desires to the point where you
don't want any more of it but you
continue to take it is actually, أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ
اتَّخَذَ إِلَهُ هَوَاهُ Have you seen the one
who took his nafs as his God?
You've taken your nafs as your God.
Because what you've done is you've said, Okay,
I want this so I will get it.
What have you done?
You've replaced Allah with your desire.
You've just said, Allah wants me to do
this but I want to do that.
So I will actually do what I want
to do.
What have you done?
You've taken your nafs as your driver.
You've taken your nafs as your God.
So this dunya was designed such that if
you partake of it in small amounts, If
you partake of it in small amounts, Then
you will find that the little that you
have will be very enjoyable.
Hence Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made most
of it haram that you see out there.
So you see the people engaging, dressing the
way they want to dress, Drinking what they
want to drink, Eating what they want to
eat, Smoking what they want to smoke, Taking
whichever drugs they want to take.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made it
most of, in fact all of that, He
made it haram, right?
And then He gave you halal.
So you're not allowed to go out there
and sleep with whoever you want to.
But I've given you the option of nikah.
Here you are, it's allowed.
So you are allowed to partake of this
dunya in small quantities.
Yes, you are allowed to marry four.
No problem.
You're allowed to marry four in Islam.
No problem.
But after that four, haram.
You are married to four, you cannot get
the fifth wife.
Why?
Because you have chosen that Allah will govern
your life.
And who is that Allah?
That Allah is the one who created you
and fashioned you and placed the system within
you.
And now that He has given you a
manual to operate your life, You choose not
to.
You say, no, hold on.
I will follow my desire.
So what happens?
Ultimately, you reach a point where that thing
that you gained pleasure from, that particular vape
pen that you smoke, becomes a source of
your torment.
It becomes a source of your torment.
Because now when you wake up every day,
there's no drive.
And I'm using the example of a vape
pen because it is so common amongst everybody
today.
I see people puffing on it.
The man puffs on it so much that
when he blows out, you can't even see
his face anymore.
Allahu Akbar!
Is that what we were created for?
And you think that it's costing you five
pounds?
Wallahi, it is costing you your future.
Wallahi, it is costing you your future.
It's not costing you the five pounds that
you spent on it.
Your health is being destroyed and more importantly,
I believe, your drive is being taken, sapped
away from you.
Same with the images that we have on
our phones.
Easy to access these images.
Easy to watch the obscene and the immoral.
Very easy.
Pick it up and you got access to
all sorts of scenes.
You know, they say that kings of the
past, kings of the past would not have
viewed the number of that people by the
age of 15 today would have viewed.
Allahu Akbar!
What do you think that has done to
your psyche?
What do you think that has done to
your psyche?
Do you think it's just left you all
okay?
And let's be open about this.
You know, I know that there is this
conservative culture where we don't want to talk
about these issues, but they are rampant.
They are happening.
People who are coming to the masjid are
engaged in some of these activities.
People who are going to madrasah are engaged
in some of these activities.
Let's be real about it.
You know, this scenery that we are speaking
about has a natural inclination.
Now, why do I say this?
You don't have a natural inclination to go
out and take crack cocaine.
Do you?
You don't have a natural inclination to go
out and, you know, have some heroin, shoot
yourself up with heroin.
You don't have a natural inclination to go
and snort something out there in the streets.
But you have a natural inclination towards the
opposite gender.
You have a natural inclination to engaging, fulfilling
your desires.
So, what they are appealing to is very,
very powerful.
And the same goes, you engage, you flood
your brain with dopamine.
And this drug that is within your brain,
this chemical that is within your brain will
sap the drive away from your life.
So now, you don't want to work.
Hence, you find a person who is addicted
to such scenery will tell us that, Brother,
I'm done.
I want to off myself.
I can't live like this anymore.
I go, I have cases where the brother
tells me, It's not enough.
My body is telling me, I can't do
this anymore.
But my mind and my soul desires more.
You see why we say that deprivation by
following the commands of Allah SWT is the
answer.
And there is no other answer.
You will never fulfill your soul with this
dunya.
If the answer was in that, then all
of that scenery and imagery would have fulfilled
you.
You'd be happy.
But they say, and I recently heard a
scientist say this, that the higher the amount
of pleasure you pursue in your life, the
less happiness you will have in your life.
Allahu Akbar.
What did Rasulullah SAW tell us about our
desires?
O youth, The
one who is able to get married, then
let him marry.
For indeed, it is better for lowering your
gaze and it is more protective of your
private parts.
What is he telling us?
The first lesson we can take from this
is that primarily people get married to fulfill
their desire.
So there is nothing wrong in admitting that.
That is a halal outlet that will earn
you reward.
Nothing wrong in admitting that.
But the second thing that we see, the
second part of this hadith, وَمَلَّمْ يَسْتَطِعُ And
the one who is unable to do so,
فَعَلَيْهِ بِالصَّوْمِ فَإِنَّهُ لَهُ إِجَاءُ So the one
who is unable, let him fast.
For indeed, that is a shield.
You know, why is the fast a shield?
Why is the fast a shield from your
desires?
Can I ask that question to the brothers
here today?
Anyone know?
Why is the fast a shield from your
desire?
Anyone know?
جَزَاكُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا That's the answer I was
looking for.
It's not about deprivation.
It's not about removing or lacking food in
your stomach, and your stomach grumbling, and you
feeling thirsty.
Because ultimately at the end of the day,
you are going to eat and drink.
So it's not only about that.
It's about building your willpower.
Your ability to keep away from something despite
wanting it.
And what are the three things?
Food, drink, and desire.
Allah said keep away from it from the
morning until the evening.
What is that fast doing?
It's preparing you for bigger challenges.
Okay.
Now you see a woman on the street,
or you see a woman on your device.
It becomes easier for you to close your
eyes, look away, avert your gaze.
Why?
Because you are able to practice that, keeping
away from that which is halal, during the
daylight hours, from dawn to dusk.
You're able to do that.
So now it becomes easier for you to
do it when you see something haram.
You see how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
made it a training ground for us to
protect ourselves.
Hence the entire shariah, the entire shariah is
there to protect the human being until he
gets to Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal while
Allah is pleased with him.
And there, the amazing thing about it is
you will get that which will fulfill your
soul.
And if you pursue that, the beauty of
it is that if you pursue that, Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala makes the pursuit fulfilling
in this dunya as well.
So you know how we spoke about a
person who's addicted to these scenes and can't
leave them.
And he reaches a point where, I want
to off myself.
I can't do this anymore.
I have no drive.
I have nothing.
The opposite is that when you follow the
command of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, keep
away from haram, keep away from your desires,
then you will find that you are fulfilled.
You feel happy.
You feel pleased.
Why?
Because again, the pleasure has come down.
The pursuit of the pleasure has come down.
So Allah has placed pleasure and happiness in
the pursuit of His happiness.
Allahu Akbar.
Allahu Akbar.
That is the Sharia.
That is what we have.
Unfortunately, today we wait for science to tell
us, this is why you should follow the
Sharia.
Yet Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal told us
more than 1400 years ago.
Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal tells us that
the one who moves away from my signs,
then he will have a constricted life and
we will raise him yawmal qiyamati, blind.
He will ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
why did you raise me blind?
And I could see in the dunya.
I could see.
So Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal tells him
in this manner, the signs came to you
and you ignored them.
You chose to turn away from them.
You forgot them.
So today you shall be forgotten.
Today you shall be abandoned.
Today you shall be left.
Wallahi, dear brothers and sisters in Islam, where
are we sitting today?
We're sitting in Masjid Humayra.
Where is Masjid Humayra?
In the city of London.
Where is the city of London?
In the United Kingdom.
Where is the United Kingdom?
In the world.
Who does the world belong to?
None other than Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
limanil mulkul yawm lillahi al wahidi al qahhar
Who is the dominion for today?
Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal will ask yawmul
qiyamah.
Who does it belong to?
To Allah, the One, the Compeller.
Why the One?
Because everybody else has fallen away.
Their power has fallen away.
Their might has fallen away.
The authority has fallen away.
Today, who does it belong to?
It belongs to Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
Everything in this world, everything in this universe
belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala including
you, yourself, your nafs, your body, your bones,
your lungs, your flesh, your everything that you
have.
It belongs to Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
Hence, we as human beings say, as Muslims
say, Inna lillah.
Indeed, we belong to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
Did you not accept as a Muslim that
Allah is your commander?
Allah is the One whom you take commands
from.
Allah is the One whom you listen to.
Allah is the One whom you follow.
Allah is the One whom you worship.
Did you not accept as a Muslim, as
one who submitted to your Maker?
Yes, you did.
So, why then look elsewhere, everywhere else for
the answer?
The answer is in front of you.
It is in your Quran.
It is in the Salah that you perform.
It is in your understanding of that message
from Allah Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
And this Salah, why do we say it's
a turning point?
And without it, you can't change your life.
You cannot change your life.
Someone performing 4 Salawat in the day, without
a valid excuse, they perform 4 Salawat in
the day, and they want to change their
lives, they will not change their lives.
You will not change your life.
If you are missing your Fajr Salah, Wallahi,
you will not change your life.
Yes, maybe you are on a journey where
you have built up from 1, 2, 3,
4, now you have reached 4, and you
are about to get to 5, Alhamdulillah.
You are on a journey, you are moving
towards something good, we commend you for that.
But if you have been performing 3 Salawat,
4 Salawat in the day, for the last
10, 15 years, I can guarantee you that
your life has not changed much.
If anything, it has become worse.
Now, than it was 15 years ago.
Why?
Because you chose not to do the bare
minimum that Allah Rabbul Izzati Wal Jalal has
asked of you.
And I will show you, display to you,
how this Salah is actually a changer of
your life, and we will end off at
that, bi-idhnillah.
Allah Rabbul Izzati Wal Jalal tells us, Recite
that which has been revealed to you of
the book, and establish the Salah.
Establish the Salah.
Indeed, Salah prevents from immorality and evil.
You remember we spoke about immorality, and what
it does to your brain, and how it
floods your brain with a certain chemical.
Allah Rabbul Izzati Wal Jalal says that, Salah
places a barrier between you and those desires.
If you establish your Salah correctly, then you
will find yourself keeping away from the haram.
And if you continue to engage in that
haram, there is something wrong with your Salah.
And when you keep away from immorality, what
happens?
You wake up with drive in the morning.
You want to go to work.
You want to achieve.
You want to provide for your family.
You want to do something.
So Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells you,
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ
Successful are those, the ones whom, they are
conscious of Allah in their Salah.
They are conscious of Allah in their Salah.
They are what?
They are successful.
Successful in the dunya, successful in the akhira.
And that is success.
My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, you
want to change your life, you don't know
where to start from, begin with your Salah.
You're already praying five Salawat in the day,
improve your Salah.
Your Salah has already improved, add to it
Qiyamul Layl.
And you know what will happen?
You will achieve success in this dunya.
You will love the little bit that you
receive from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
You will enjoy it and find happiness in
it.
And you will look forward to meeting Allah
Rabbul Izzati Wal Jalal, knowing that Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala has prepared a lot, a
lot for you.
One parting message.
You know we speak about Tawakkul, Taqwa, and
that is there 100%.
But something that we really can inculcate in
our lives is Husnul Zanni Billah.
Thinking good of Allah always.
When you get up in the morning, say,
Alhamdulillahi Alladhi Ahyana Ba'dama Amatana Wa Ilayhi Nushoor.
I thank Allah who gave me life after
He gave me death, and to Him I
shall return.
And then think that, Ya Allah, You have
given me an amazing life and I look
forward to even more.
I know You will give it to me.
And have that Yaqeen from Allah Rabbul Izzati
Wal Jalal, that He will give you the
best.
Why?
Ana inda zanni abdi bi.
I am with my servant as he assumes
of me.
In zanna bi khair fa khair.
If he thinks goodness of me, then good.
Wa in zanna bi sharr, fa sharr.
And if he thinks bad of me, then
it will be bad.
So inculcate that good thought of Allah in
your life.
And go about your day knowing that Allah
is there for you.
And He will provide, and He will do
everything for you.
And think good of Allah, and Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala will open your doors.
You will just see things happening in front
of you.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us
the ability to become more grateful.
And may Allah Rabbul Izzati Wal Jalal give
us the ability to focus on what we
have.
And to be grateful for the halal that
He has provided.
For indeed that is a ni'mah from Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
The ability to enjoy halal is a ni'mah
from Allah Rabbul Izzati Wal Jalal.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala empower us
to do that.
And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant
us the ability to keep away from that
which is haram and prohibited.
And may He be pleased with us when
we meet Him.
There are two signs.
So the question to repeat it is that,
what are the signs that we are gaining
closeness to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?
What are some of the signs?
And this is a very common question.
Something that comes to the mind of a
believer.
The first sign that you can look for
in your life is, what do you find
yourself doing?
So analyze your day.
And if the first thing that you do
when you wake up is the pleasure of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and is the
happiness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, pursuing
the happiness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
the fajr salah, recitation of the Quran, the
dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you
find yourself clearing your intention between you and
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala regularly.
Then know that Allah wants goodness for you.
And you are on the correct path.
And the second thing that I would say,
من سرته حسنته وساءته سيئته فذلك مؤمن.
The one whose good deed makes him happy.
It makes him happy.
You gain fulfillment.
You gain joy from worshipping Allah.
And your bad deed makes you sad.
Then that is a believer in Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
So when you do something wrong, you feel
like, I've done something to displease my Maker.
I should seek forgiveness.
I should ask Allah.
He's seen me.
Nobody saw me.
But Allah saw me.
Let me seek forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
Then you know you are a believer.
You know, people ask me this often, that
how do I know I'm not a munafiq?
How do I know I'm not a munafiq?
It worries me.
And the most profound answer that I heard
was, if it worries you, then you are
not a munafiq.
If that is a worry, a concern for
you, that you are a munafiq, then you
are not a munafiq.
Why?
Because this was the concern of some of
the sahabah.
This was their concern.
Am I a munafiq?
You know, at night I do this.
In the daytime I do that.
I have these two different lives I'm living.
People see me a certain way.
But I know myself.
Everybody is like this.
It's called imposter syndrome.
If that imposter syndrome bothers you, then you
are not a munafiq.
A munafiq never sits and says, Am I
a munafiq?
He never sits and questions because it doesn't
bother him.
He has no conscience.
So, that is a proof, a sign that
you have something within you that's alive and
you should thank Allah for that.
You should thank Allah for that.
BarakAllah Fiqh.
JazakumAllahu Khayran.
It was lovely being here.
Thank you for attending.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept from
us and gather us in Jannatul Firdaus.
Ameen.