Khalid Latif – Getting Ready for Ramadan , Abdalla Idris & Imam Yasin Dwyer

Khalid Latif
AI: Summary ©
Representatives from the Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto are hosting virtual events to celebrate the upcoming month of celebrate Muslim Chaplaincy. The event is a virtual event for graduates of high schools and universities, where participants participate in free counseling sessions. The speakers emphasize the importance of understanding oneself and the physical and mental aspects of one's life to see what is going on within oneself and move forward in a holistic way. They also encourage individuals to be mindful of their emotions and not be afraid of anything, and to plant their hearts and be generous to their religion and community.
AI: Transcript ©
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18

In the name of Allah, most gracious, most

00:00:18 --> 00:00:21

merciful, all praise and all thanks belongs to

00:00:21 --> 00:00:23

Allah. We praise him. We thank him. We

00:00:23 --> 00:00:25

seek his help and we ask for his

00:00:25 --> 00:00:25

forgiveness.

00:00:26 --> 00:00:28

And we ask Allah most glorified and exalted

00:00:28 --> 00:00:31

to shower his peace, his blessing, his benediction

00:00:31 --> 00:00:31

upon

00:00:32 --> 00:00:33

our beloved prophet,

00:00:33 --> 00:00:37

Muhammad salallahu alayhi wasalam, his family, his companions,

00:00:37 --> 00:00:38

and the righteous

00:00:38 --> 00:00:39

everywhere.

00:00:39 --> 00:00:41

My dear brothers, sisters, friends,

00:00:42 --> 00:00:44

honored guests, I greet you all with the

00:00:44 --> 00:00:46

greeting words of peace, the greeting words of

00:00:46 --> 00:00:48

paradise, the greeting words of Islam.

00:00:49 --> 00:00:49

Assalamu

00:00:50 --> 00:00:51

alaykum.

00:00:52 --> 00:00:53

May God's peace, mercy,

00:00:54 --> 00:00:57

and blessings be with each and every one

00:00:57 --> 00:00:57

of

00:00:58 --> 00:01:00

you. I wish to welcome you all

00:01:02 --> 00:01:04

to Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto's

00:01:04 --> 00:01:05

pre Ramadan

00:01:05 --> 00:01:06

event

00:01:07 --> 00:01:07

and fundraiser.

00:01:08 --> 00:01:10

We thank you so much for taking

00:01:10 --> 00:01:13

your valuable time out of a Thursday

00:01:14 --> 00:01:14

evening

00:01:15 --> 00:01:15

to,

00:01:16 --> 00:01:17

share the moment with us

00:01:18 --> 00:01:19

and to celebrate

00:01:19 --> 00:01:21

Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto

00:01:22 --> 00:01:23

and to celebrate

00:01:25 --> 00:01:27

the great moment that we are about to

00:01:27 --> 00:01:28

embark upon

00:01:28 --> 00:01:30

the moment that we call the month of

00:01:30 --> 00:01:31

Ramadan.

00:01:41 --> 00:01:44

Oh, you who believe fasting has been prescribed

00:01:44 --> 00:01:46

for you as it was prescribed for those

00:01:46 --> 00:01:49

before you so that you may cultivate

00:01:49 --> 00:01:50

the mindfulness

00:01:51 --> 00:01:53

of God. So we indeed

00:01:53 --> 00:01:56

are embarking upon a very special moment

00:01:57 --> 00:01:59

in the Muslim calendar, and we're so happy

00:01:59 --> 00:02:02

that you could join Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto

00:02:03 --> 00:02:05

on this blessed Thursday evening.

00:02:06 --> 00:02:08

We have 2 very special

00:02:08 --> 00:02:10

speakers with us today.

00:02:10 --> 00:02:13

But before I introduce our speakers, I wanted

00:02:13 --> 00:02:14

to mention that,

00:02:15 --> 00:02:17

you know, one of the most important

00:02:17 --> 00:02:17

objectives

00:02:18 --> 00:02:21

of Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto is to provide

00:02:22 --> 00:02:24

faith based counseling

00:02:24 --> 00:02:25

and positive

00:02:26 --> 00:02:26

mentorship.

00:02:27 --> 00:02:28

And within the last year,

00:02:29 --> 00:02:31

our 3 chaplains here at Muslim Chaplaincy

00:02:31 --> 00:02:34

of of Toronto have held over

00:02:35 --> 00:02:36

350

00:02:36 --> 00:02:37

confidential

00:02:37 --> 00:02:39

counseling sessions

00:02:39 --> 00:02:41

ranging from questions of faith

00:02:42 --> 00:02:44

to ways of dealing with school

00:02:44 --> 00:02:45

stress.

00:02:46 --> 00:02:48

And this is a critical service for students

00:02:48 --> 00:02:50

looking for a safe space

00:02:50 --> 00:02:52

to ask questions,

00:02:53 --> 00:02:54

to seek spiritual guidance,

00:02:55 --> 00:02:57

and to connect with experienced

00:02:58 --> 00:02:58

spiritual

00:02:59 --> 00:02:59

counselors.

00:03:00 --> 00:03:02

And all of these sessions

00:03:02 --> 00:03:03

are for free

00:03:04 --> 00:03:05

without charge.

00:03:06 --> 00:03:08

And indeed, we see this service

00:03:09 --> 00:03:10

as an extension

00:03:11 --> 00:03:12

of our

00:03:12 --> 00:03:14

spiritual and religious

00:03:14 --> 00:03:15

mission

00:03:15 --> 00:03:16

as Muslims.

00:03:17 --> 00:03:20

So we are in need of your support.

00:03:20 --> 00:03:23

We are in need of your,

00:03:25 --> 00:03:27

good wishes, and we are in need most

00:03:27 --> 00:03:28

importantly of your dua.

00:03:29 --> 00:03:30

So we are here to

00:03:31 --> 00:03:32

celebrate

00:03:32 --> 00:03:34

the work of Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto.

00:03:35 --> 00:03:37

We're here to celebrate all of you, and

00:03:37 --> 00:03:39

we are here to

00:03:40 --> 00:03:41

encourage all of you

00:03:42 --> 00:03:43

to be generous

00:03:43 --> 00:03:44

and indeed

00:03:44 --> 00:03:47

to remind you if the work of Muslim

00:03:47 --> 00:03:49

Chaplaincy of Toronto

00:03:49 --> 00:03:53

is important to you, is meaningful to you,

00:03:53 --> 00:03:56

and you feel is a very important part

00:03:56 --> 00:03:56

to the

00:03:57 --> 00:04:00

forward momentum of our community, please

00:04:00 --> 00:04:01

donate

00:04:01 --> 00:04:02

generously.

00:04:03 --> 00:04:06

As well, we have now expanded our counseling

00:04:06 --> 00:04:07

services

00:04:07 --> 00:04:08

to all

00:04:08 --> 00:04:09

Ontario

00:04:09 --> 00:04:10

universities.

00:04:11 --> 00:04:13

Because our work has moved online

00:04:14 --> 00:04:15

due to the COVID 19 pandemic,

00:04:16 --> 00:04:17

our circle has

00:04:18 --> 00:04:18

expanded.

00:04:19 --> 00:04:20

Albeit

00:04:20 --> 00:04:22

we most prefer

00:04:22 --> 00:04:24

the visible presence

00:04:24 --> 00:04:26

the visible presence,

00:04:27 --> 00:04:28

of

00:04:28 --> 00:04:30

community life. However,

00:04:30 --> 00:04:31

Allah has

00:04:33 --> 00:04:35

given us this situation.

00:04:35 --> 00:04:36

So Alhamdulillah,

00:04:36 --> 00:04:39

we are now online and we are able

00:04:39 --> 00:04:42

to expand our circle. So Alhamdulillah, as I

00:04:42 --> 00:04:44

mentioned before, we have

00:04:45 --> 00:04:48

some very special guests with us today, both

00:04:48 --> 00:04:51

supporters of Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto, and we're

00:04:51 --> 00:04:53

gonna get straight into our program.

00:04:54 --> 00:04:58

Our first, beloved guest is Imam Khalid

00:04:58 --> 00:05:01

Latif, and he is a university chaplain

00:05:01 --> 00:05:04

for New York University and the executive director

00:05:04 --> 00:05:05

of the Islamic Center,

00:05:06 --> 00:05:08

at New York University.

00:05:08 --> 00:05:11

Under his leadership, the Islamic Center at New

00:05:11 --> 00:05:14

York University became the first ever established

00:05:14 --> 00:05:17

Muslim student center at a u at an

00:05:17 --> 00:05:17

institution

00:05:18 --> 00:05:20

of higher education in the United States.

00:05:21 --> 00:05:24

Imam Latif's exceptional dedication and ability to cross

00:05:25 --> 00:05:25

interfaith

00:05:26 --> 00:05:28

and cultural lines on a daily basis

00:05:28 --> 00:05:31

brought him recognition throughout the city. So much

00:05:31 --> 00:05:34

so that in 2007, mayor Michael Bloomberg

00:05:34 --> 00:05:35

nominated

00:05:36 --> 00:05:38

Imam Latif to become the youngest

00:05:38 --> 00:05:40

chaplain in history of the New York City

00:05:40 --> 00:05:41

Police Department

00:05:42 --> 00:05:43

at the age of 24.

00:05:45 --> 00:05:47

What was I doing at the age of

00:05:47 --> 00:05:49

24? I definitely was not a chaplain

00:05:50 --> 00:05:52

for not only the New York City Police

00:05:52 --> 00:05:53

Department, for any

00:05:54 --> 00:05:55

police department. So

00:05:56 --> 00:05:58

we're so happy to have Imam Khalid Latif

00:05:58 --> 00:05:59

with us. He has been,

00:06:00 --> 00:06:03

a strong supporter of Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto,

00:06:04 --> 00:06:05

and we feel so blessed,

00:06:07 --> 00:06:09

to have you present with us.

00:06:09 --> 00:06:11

Imam Khalid Latif, please,

00:06:12 --> 00:06:13

address us. Thank you.

00:06:29 --> 00:06:30

All praise is due to Allah

00:06:31 --> 00:06:33

We thank him. We praise him. We glorify

00:06:33 --> 00:06:34

him.

00:06:34 --> 00:06:36

We beseech him to send his choices salutations

00:06:36 --> 00:06:38

upon his most beloved

00:06:40 --> 00:06:42

and upon all those who choose to tread

00:06:42 --> 00:06:44

in his path until the last day.

00:06:47 --> 00:06:48

If I were to ask you all

00:06:49 --> 00:06:51

whether you're having a good day today or

00:06:51 --> 00:06:52

not,

00:06:54 --> 00:06:56

And you are to answer that question within

00:06:56 --> 00:06:57

yourself,

00:06:57 --> 00:06:59

a simple yes or no that my day

00:06:59 --> 00:07:01

is going well or my day is not

00:07:01 --> 00:07:02

going well.

00:07:04 --> 00:07:06

And then building upon that answer,

00:07:06 --> 00:07:08

I was to ask you,

00:07:09 --> 00:07:10

why?

00:07:11 --> 00:07:12

Why is it good,

00:07:13 --> 00:07:15

or why is it not good?

00:07:16 --> 00:07:18

What is it making either of those experiences?

00:07:23 --> 00:07:24

And after you reflect on that for a

00:07:24 --> 00:07:27

little bit and try to think for yourself,

00:07:28 --> 00:07:29

and ideally,

00:07:29 --> 00:07:31

at a later time, do when you have

00:07:31 --> 00:07:34

some more time allocated for that reflection.

00:07:36 --> 00:07:38

I want you to think

00:07:39 --> 00:07:41

whether you would want to have a good

00:07:41 --> 00:07:42

day tomorrow.

00:07:43 --> 00:07:45

And to not confine tomorrow just to the

00:07:45 --> 00:07:48

day that is after today, but you could

00:07:48 --> 00:07:50

place tomorrow in terms of a week from

00:07:50 --> 00:07:52

now or 2 weeks from now.

00:07:55 --> 00:07:57

And likely, most of us would say that,

00:07:57 --> 00:08:00

yes, we want to have a good day

00:08:01 --> 00:08:01

tomorrow.

00:08:02 --> 00:08:03

May Allah make it so.

00:08:05 --> 00:08:07

And within the prism of that conversation,

00:08:09 --> 00:08:10

within yourself,

00:08:11 --> 00:08:14

I would then ask you to reflect on

00:08:14 --> 00:08:16

what is it that will make that day

00:08:16 --> 00:08:17

good?

00:08:18 --> 00:08:20

What will you need for it to make

00:08:20 --> 00:08:22

it so?

00:08:25 --> 00:08:27

Where we find ourselves in a place that

00:08:27 --> 00:08:30

is most opportune, that many of us likely

00:08:30 --> 00:08:33

have heard for some time over and over,

00:08:33 --> 00:08:35

if not over the course of the last

00:08:35 --> 00:08:37

days, but weeks years.

00:08:39 --> 00:08:42

The blessing that is Ramadan, may Allah enable

00:08:42 --> 00:08:43

us to reach it

00:08:44 --> 00:08:46

and make us from amongst those who benefit

00:08:46 --> 00:08:47

from it.

00:08:49 --> 00:08:51

And the idea is we have maturation

00:08:51 --> 00:08:54

to our physical self, our emotional self, our

00:08:54 --> 00:08:55

mental self.

00:08:56 --> 00:08:59

Our spiritual maturation is also something that needs

00:08:59 --> 00:09:00

to take place.

00:09:02 --> 00:09:04

At the same way as if when I

00:09:04 --> 00:09:07

was 5 years age or 5 months old,

00:09:07 --> 00:09:09

I didn't eat the same foods that I

00:09:09 --> 00:09:11

eat now or didn't wear the same clothes

00:09:11 --> 00:09:14

that I wear now. I have organic growth

00:09:14 --> 00:09:15

to myself.

00:09:17 --> 00:09:21

My spiritual maturation necessitates me also having evolution

00:09:21 --> 00:09:23

in how I relate to my religion and

00:09:23 --> 00:09:25

my faith and to take what it is

00:09:25 --> 00:09:27

that's been given to me in terms of

00:09:27 --> 00:09:30

spiritual vehicles and practices

00:09:30 --> 00:09:32

and to now have them

00:09:32 --> 00:09:35

be things that I still generate inward growth

00:09:35 --> 00:09:36

from,

00:09:39 --> 00:09:40

especially a month of Ramadan.

00:09:43 --> 00:09:45

And to see it within the moment that

00:09:45 --> 00:09:46

we find ourselves in

00:09:48 --> 00:09:50

that goes back to these questions

00:09:52 --> 00:09:53

of

00:09:53 --> 00:09:55

what is it that's going to really bring

00:09:55 --> 00:09:56

us contentment?

00:09:58 --> 00:09:59

What is it that's going to help us

00:09:59 --> 00:10:02

to find meaning in the course of our

00:10:02 --> 00:10:02

day?

00:10:03 --> 00:10:05

What is it that's going to help me

00:10:05 --> 00:10:06

to assure

00:10:07 --> 00:10:09

that the day that I experience tomorrow

00:10:10 --> 00:10:12

is going to be a good day?

00:10:13 --> 00:10:16

And that means that our approach to Ramadan

00:10:17 --> 00:10:20

begins with the same things that it does

00:10:20 --> 00:10:21

for so many people.

00:10:22 --> 00:10:24

It's a month that's about Quran. It's a

00:10:24 --> 00:10:27

month that is for fasting for those who

00:10:27 --> 00:10:29

are able to if they have the means

00:10:29 --> 00:10:29

to.

00:10:30 --> 00:10:31

It's a month of generosity.

00:10:32 --> 00:10:34

It's a month of so much.

00:10:36 --> 00:10:39

But, fundamentally, all of it comes back to

00:10:39 --> 00:10:41

what everything in our tradition comes back to,

00:10:43 --> 00:10:45

a means of connecting to our creator

00:10:48 --> 00:10:50

and through a formula that understands that our

00:10:50 --> 00:10:51

understanding

00:10:52 --> 00:10:53

and knowing of Allah

00:10:54 --> 00:10:55

is by knowing of ourselves.

00:10:58 --> 00:11:01

What our conversation tonight affords for us is

00:11:01 --> 00:11:03

an opportunity to think about ourselves in a

00:11:03 --> 00:11:04

more holistic

00:11:04 --> 00:11:05

capacity

00:11:05 --> 00:11:07

and to not just see us through the

00:11:07 --> 00:11:10

physical self, but to also understand that just

00:11:10 --> 00:11:12

as we have a body, a badin, a

00:11:12 --> 00:11:14

jesid, a physical,

00:11:15 --> 00:11:17

so too we have the qalb, the spiritual

00:11:17 --> 00:11:20

heart. We have the aqr, the intellect. We

00:11:20 --> 00:11:22

have the nafs, the ego. We have irada,

00:11:23 --> 00:11:24

sheer will and determination.

00:11:28 --> 00:11:30

And Ramadan affords us the opportunity to connect

00:11:30 --> 00:11:33

to so much of what's happening within us

00:11:34 --> 00:11:36

and to begin now to move forward in

00:11:36 --> 00:11:38

a way that allows for us to have

00:11:38 --> 00:11:41

a holistic approach to what it is that

00:11:41 --> 00:11:42

we have going on.

00:11:43 --> 00:11:46

And the physicality of it aside, because it's

00:11:46 --> 00:11:48

never been about empty stomachs,

00:11:49 --> 00:11:51

and it's always been about full hearts.

00:11:52 --> 00:11:54

And not hearts that are full that they

00:11:54 --> 00:11:56

feel like they're gonna burst and break,

00:11:58 --> 00:11:58

but a fullness

00:11:59 --> 00:12:02

that gives us empowerment and strength and energy.

00:12:04 --> 00:12:06

That means that we have to, in our

00:12:06 --> 00:12:07

own spiritual maturation,

00:12:08 --> 00:12:11

pay attention to what comes up in the

00:12:11 --> 00:12:12

course of Ramadan.

00:12:14 --> 00:12:14

In the prism

00:12:15 --> 00:12:16

of

00:12:17 --> 00:12:19

the other spheres that make us a whole

00:12:19 --> 00:12:20

self,

00:12:21 --> 00:12:22

our mental,

00:12:22 --> 00:12:22

emotional,

00:12:23 --> 00:12:23

spiritual,

00:12:24 --> 00:12:24

and physical.

00:12:27 --> 00:12:29

I was in Canada pre COVID and was

00:12:29 --> 00:12:31

invited to be in a conversation

00:12:33 --> 00:12:35

at a large masjid

00:12:36 --> 00:12:38

in the area that was having

00:12:38 --> 00:12:39

discussions now

00:12:40 --> 00:12:41

introductory

00:12:41 --> 00:12:43

on mental wellness and health.

00:12:44 --> 00:12:47

And after I'd given some remarks, we had

00:12:47 --> 00:12:49

a panel. And on the panel, there was

00:12:49 --> 00:12:50

a young woman who was speaking to this

00:12:50 --> 00:12:52

audience of 500

00:12:54 --> 00:12:55

that were individuals

00:12:57 --> 00:12:57

of all backgrounds.

00:13:00 --> 00:13:01

And as she saw her

00:13:01 --> 00:13:04

personal narrative and made herself vulnerable,

00:13:05 --> 00:13:07

She talked about what it was like for

00:13:07 --> 00:13:09

her as a convert to Islam

00:13:09 --> 00:13:11

who self identifies

00:13:11 --> 00:13:12

as black,

00:13:13 --> 00:13:13

has

00:13:14 --> 00:13:16

been diagnosed with clinical depression,

00:13:18 --> 00:13:21

and also is a survivor of abuse

00:13:21 --> 00:13:24

stemming from an incestuous relationship.

00:13:24 --> 00:13:27

May Allah make things easy for her and

00:13:27 --> 00:13:29

all those who are survivors of abuse.

00:13:30 --> 00:13:33

And she very vividly described what her life

00:13:33 --> 00:13:36

was like in the prism of mental health.

00:13:36 --> 00:13:39

That's what the conversation was about that day.

00:13:41 --> 00:13:42

And when it concluded

00:13:42 --> 00:13:45

and the audience started to get up and

00:13:45 --> 00:13:45

have conversations,

00:13:47 --> 00:13:49

3 women approached me

00:13:50 --> 00:13:53

who, not stereotyping them in any way,

00:13:54 --> 00:13:58

but wearing abayas and hijab and niqab so

00:13:58 --> 00:14:00

that you can get a picture of them

00:14:00 --> 00:14:00

in your mind.

00:14:02 --> 00:14:03

And they said, can we talk to you

00:14:03 --> 00:14:05

for a moment? And I said, sure.

00:14:06 --> 00:14:08

And they said, we studied this religion

00:14:10 --> 00:14:11

traditionally

00:14:12 --> 00:14:13

in the Indian subcontinent

00:14:14 --> 00:14:15

for 7 years.

00:14:16 --> 00:14:19

We pursued Ferger graduate studies

00:14:19 --> 00:14:20

in the UK.

00:14:22 --> 00:14:25

We're even studying more now

00:14:25 --> 00:14:26

here in Canada.

00:14:29 --> 00:14:31

And they said nothing in the decade plus

00:14:33 --> 00:14:34

of learning that we've engaged

00:14:36 --> 00:14:38

has taught us how it is that we're

00:14:38 --> 00:14:39

supposed to

00:14:40 --> 00:14:40

respond

00:14:42 --> 00:14:43

or answer

00:14:43 --> 00:14:44

this person.

00:14:46 --> 00:14:47

And I said to them with deep love

00:14:47 --> 00:14:49

that maybe that's because

00:14:50 --> 00:14:51

you're not the ones that are supposed to

00:14:51 --> 00:14:53

be answering her,

00:14:54 --> 00:14:55

and that's okay.

00:14:57 --> 00:14:59

That your training is what it is,

00:14:59 --> 00:15:01

and it's an important training.

00:15:02 --> 00:15:04

But there are others who are deeply versed

00:15:05 --> 00:15:06

in the fields

00:15:06 --> 00:15:07

of counseling,

00:15:08 --> 00:15:10

therapy, and so much more

00:15:12 --> 00:15:13

that can help to add nuance

00:15:14 --> 00:15:16

to what it is that she is going

00:15:16 --> 00:15:16

through.

00:15:18 --> 00:15:20

And so where you and I can understand

00:15:21 --> 00:15:23

the conversation that we have today

00:15:23 --> 00:15:26

and the critical role that a chaplaincy provides

00:15:26 --> 00:15:29

as we go through Ramadan now and we

00:15:29 --> 00:15:32

understand the legality of it. We understand the

00:15:32 --> 00:15:35

fiqh aspects of it. We know what invalidates

00:15:35 --> 00:15:38

our fast and what validates our fast. We

00:15:38 --> 00:15:40

know what is prohibited and what is recommended.

00:15:41 --> 00:15:43

We know the start times and the end

00:15:43 --> 00:15:44

times.

00:15:47 --> 00:15:48

What we want to know now is how

00:15:48 --> 00:15:50

do we deal with the things that come

00:15:50 --> 00:15:51

up for us?

00:15:52 --> 00:15:54

The stresses, the exhaustion,

00:15:55 --> 00:15:57

the anguish, the anxieties.

00:15:59 --> 00:16:02

How do we start to approach the realities

00:16:02 --> 00:16:04

that come to us day to day that

00:16:04 --> 00:16:06

suddenly don't stop when the month starts?

00:16:07 --> 00:16:09

And who is it that we go to

00:16:09 --> 00:16:12

to now start to engage in conversations

00:16:14 --> 00:16:16

that are not always just giving us direct

00:16:16 --> 00:16:17

answers

00:16:17 --> 00:16:19

because everything is not always so black and

00:16:19 --> 00:16:20

white,

00:16:21 --> 00:16:23

but to help to create within us the

00:16:23 --> 00:16:26

sense of self esteem and self worth, empowerment

00:16:26 --> 00:16:28

to our tradition, and give us a sense

00:16:28 --> 00:16:28

of accountability

00:16:29 --> 00:16:32

rooted in confidence that we can make choices

00:16:32 --> 00:16:33

and decisions.

00:16:36 --> 00:16:37

And even when we

00:16:37 --> 00:16:38

have struggles,

00:16:38 --> 00:16:40

that we don't have to go through it

00:16:40 --> 00:16:40

alone

00:16:41 --> 00:16:43

because there is an empathetic ear that is

00:16:43 --> 00:16:44

listening

00:16:44 --> 00:16:46

to affirm what it is that we feel

00:16:46 --> 00:16:49

and to help us learn how to replenish

00:16:49 --> 00:16:51

ourselves through what we go through.

00:16:52 --> 00:16:55

Many of you likely have heard of the

00:16:55 --> 00:16:58

attacks that took place in Dallas, Texas

00:16:59 --> 00:17:01

earlier this week. And may Allah make things

00:17:01 --> 00:17:02

easy

00:17:02 --> 00:17:05

for all those whose lives were lost

00:17:07 --> 00:17:09

and the ones that they have left behind

00:17:09 --> 00:17:11

who yearned to be with them.

00:17:12 --> 00:17:15

The young woman who was killed

00:17:16 --> 00:17:18

in that violent attack

00:17:19 --> 00:17:21

was a student of mine at New York

00:17:21 --> 00:17:22

University.

00:17:24 --> 00:17:26

May Allah grant her peace and entrance into

00:17:26 --> 00:17:27

Jannah without any judgment,

00:17:28 --> 00:17:30

a beautiful young woman by the name of

00:17:30 --> 00:17:31

Farben Dohid.

00:17:34 --> 00:17:36

And over the course of the last few

00:17:36 --> 00:17:36

days

00:17:37 --> 00:17:37

where

00:17:38 --> 00:17:40

so many of her friends and classmates,

00:17:41 --> 00:17:42

faculty, professors,

00:17:43 --> 00:17:46

administrators who knew her as a student in

00:17:46 --> 00:17:47

our school of the arts,

00:17:48 --> 00:17:51

A young girl whose energy was so profound

00:17:51 --> 00:17:54

that no one could say anything other than

00:17:54 --> 00:17:56

when she walked into a room, she would

00:17:56 --> 00:17:57

just illuminate the room

00:17:59 --> 00:18:00

dedicated to her

00:18:01 --> 00:18:04

art which spoke such volumes of who she

00:18:04 --> 00:18:06

was and what her character was.

00:18:08 --> 00:18:09

There's so many people

00:18:10 --> 00:18:12

who are looking now for understanding,

00:18:13 --> 00:18:14

looking for healing,

00:18:15 --> 00:18:16

looking for hope,

00:18:19 --> 00:18:20

and continue to

00:18:21 --> 00:18:22

in these days

00:18:23 --> 00:18:25

that are still so raw

00:18:25 --> 00:18:26

after

00:18:28 --> 00:18:28

that violent

00:18:29 --> 00:18:30

tragic attack

00:18:30 --> 00:18:32

that took her life and that of her

00:18:32 --> 00:18:33

immediate family.

00:18:37 --> 00:18:39

And for all of those young people, we

00:18:39 --> 00:18:40

were able to create

00:18:40 --> 00:18:43

healing spaces and spaces for processing.

00:18:45 --> 00:18:47

My staff and I at our chaplaincy

00:18:48 --> 00:18:48

last night

00:18:49 --> 00:18:52

hosted a khatam and a service that had

00:18:52 --> 00:18:55

100 from across our university,

00:18:55 --> 00:18:57

whether they were of our faith or not,

00:18:58 --> 00:19:01

listen to her friends reflect on her, hear

00:19:01 --> 00:19:03

us recite Quran,

00:19:03 --> 00:19:06

complete 5 khatms on behalf of her and

00:19:06 --> 00:19:07

her family,

00:19:08 --> 00:19:09

and make du'a for their magfirah.

00:19:12 --> 00:19:14

And then we had a smaller space

00:19:14 --> 00:19:17

where there was about 60 or 70 who

00:19:17 --> 00:19:17

gathered

00:19:18 --> 00:19:20

to now have more open discussion

00:19:20 --> 00:19:21

on what it feels like.

00:19:26 --> 00:19:27

I want you to think

00:19:28 --> 00:19:29

because in that moment,

00:19:30 --> 00:19:32

amongst the people who showed up

00:19:32 --> 00:19:33

were also

00:19:33 --> 00:19:35

members of her family,

00:19:37 --> 00:19:38

who said that in the midst of all

00:19:38 --> 00:19:39

of this,

00:19:40 --> 00:19:42

this is the first base that we feel

00:19:42 --> 00:19:42

like

00:19:43 --> 00:19:45

we're actually starting to heal.

00:19:48 --> 00:19:50

That's what a chaplaincy does,

00:19:52 --> 00:19:54

and that's how you have to use yours

00:19:54 --> 00:19:55

and cultivate it

00:19:55 --> 00:19:57

and engage it as a resource through your

00:19:57 --> 00:19:58

Ramadan

00:19:58 --> 00:20:00

after a year in a pandemic

00:20:00 --> 00:20:03

where there's so much stress and so much

00:20:03 --> 00:20:06

difficulty, and it's okay to acknowledge that. That's

00:20:06 --> 00:20:08

not a sign of anything problematic.

00:20:11 --> 00:20:13

And I want you to think where would

00:20:13 --> 00:20:16

those hundreds of people be? Where would those

00:20:16 --> 00:20:19

dozens of students be who are her close

00:20:19 --> 00:20:22

friends in a short amount of time as

00:20:22 --> 00:20:24

a 1st year student that she built a

00:20:24 --> 00:20:25

relationship with?

00:20:27 --> 00:20:28

Where would they be

00:20:29 --> 00:20:32

if our office, our center, our chaplaincy was

00:20:32 --> 00:20:34

not there to provide support

00:20:34 --> 00:20:35

to them?

00:20:39 --> 00:20:42

That's the unfortunate reality that many Muslim students

00:20:42 --> 00:20:42

experience.

00:20:43 --> 00:20:46

In Canada, the United States, the UK, and

00:20:46 --> 00:20:47

much of the world.

00:20:49 --> 00:20:52

A space that is so critical within one's

00:20:52 --> 00:20:53

formative period of

00:21:00 --> 00:21:01

with a complimentary

00:21:02 --> 00:21:04

understanding of the ethical and moral framework

00:21:05 --> 00:21:07

that equips them now with the opportunity

00:21:07 --> 00:21:09

to move forward, to find strength through our

00:21:09 --> 00:21:12

tradition, to find meaning in failure, and to

00:21:12 --> 00:21:14

know that you don't have to just go

00:21:14 --> 00:21:17

through things alone or that your expression of

00:21:17 --> 00:21:18

emotions is not a problem.

00:21:21 --> 00:21:23

In this coming Ramadan,

00:21:23 --> 00:21:25

try to understand that there are so many

00:21:26 --> 00:21:28

who would long for someone to just call

00:21:28 --> 00:21:30

them and check-in on them. So be the

00:21:30 --> 00:21:32

ones who check-in on them.

00:21:33 --> 00:21:36

There are so many who are going through

00:21:36 --> 00:21:38

difficulty and strife. May Allah make things easy

00:21:38 --> 00:21:40

for them. Be the reason they have hope

00:21:40 --> 00:21:41

in this world.

00:21:42 --> 00:21:44

Live your faith in such a way that

00:21:44 --> 00:21:46

it is not simply one that is nefsy

00:21:46 --> 00:21:47

or egocentric,

00:21:48 --> 00:21:49

but serves the common good.

00:21:51 --> 00:21:53

And then make sure that you become the

00:21:53 --> 00:21:54

biggest advocates

00:21:58 --> 00:21:59

of stabilizing

00:22:00 --> 00:22:01

in people's minds

00:22:04 --> 00:22:05

why the chaplaincy

00:22:06 --> 00:22:08

at the University of Toronto is so important

00:22:10 --> 00:22:11

for the students there,

00:22:12 --> 00:22:14

the entire community there,

00:22:15 --> 00:22:17

but also for the city of Toronto

00:22:17 --> 00:22:19

and people who

00:22:20 --> 00:22:20

live

00:22:20 --> 00:22:22

all around it and in other parts of

00:22:22 --> 00:22:23

the world.

00:22:26 --> 00:22:29

Because the success and support of that vibrant

00:22:29 --> 00:22:30

institution

00:22:30 --> 00:22:33

will then yield individuals such as yourself to

00:22:33 --> 00:22:36

go out with a different sense of self,

00:22:38 --> 00:22:40

then you now become the catalyst

00:22:41 --> 00:22:42

of real change

00:22:43 --> 00:22:44

for so many.

00:22:46 --> 00:22:47

A source of light and illumination.

00:22:50 --> 00:22:52

A source of healing and a source of

00:22:52 --> 00:22:53

benefit.

00:22:57 --> 00:22:59

That's why we have to do our part

00:22:59 --> 00:23:02

to ensure that no one feels alone.

00:23:03 --> 00:23:05

No one feels they have to struggle by

00:23:05 --> 00:23:05

themselves.

00:23:07 --> 00:23:09

The Quran, it prohibits alcohol, and the prophet

00:23:09 --> 00:23:13

sallallahu alaihi wasallam demonstrates to us pastoral care

00:23:13 --> 00:23:16

and how he shows compassion to the companion

00:23:16 --> 00:23:19

of his that in hadith he is laughing

00:23:19 --> 00:23:20

with.

00:23:21 --> 00:23:22

And in other narrations,

00:23:23 --> 00:23:24

he is standing with

00:23:25 --> 00:23:28

as he struggles with his drinking and comes

00:23:28 --> 00:23:30

to take the Hyde punishment for it.

00:23:32 --> 00:23:34

And when other people mock him and say,

00:23:34 --> 00:23:37

oh, so and so, he's coming again in

00:23:37 --> 00:23:38

a way that looks down at him,

00:23:40 --> 00:23:42

Our prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says to

00:23:42 --> 00:23:45

those people that do not assist shaitan in

00:23:45 --> 00:23:46

victory over your brother,

00:23:47 --> 00:23:47

then indeed

00:23:48 --> 00:23:50

he loves Allah and his messenger.

00:23:52 --> 00:23:54

If those people heard it and we know

00:23:54 --> 00:23:57

it, then assuredly, the prophet's companion

00:23:57 --> 00:23:59

heard it and find strength to it. That's

00:23:59 --> 00:24:02

what a chaplain does. That's what pastoral

00:24:02 --> 00:24:05

care is. It works with a person in

00:24:05 --> 00:24:06

their given reality.

00:24:06 --> 00:24:09

It allows for Ramadan to not just be

00:24:09 --> 00:24:10

about the absence

00:24:14 --> 00:24:16

absence of water, but it's about embracing now

00:24:16 --> 00:24:19

a nourishment of the whole vessel. And I

00:24:19 --> 00:24:21

don't know about you, but I could say

00:24:21 --> 00:24:23

for myself that after the last year and

00:24:23 --> 00:24:25

a half, I'm ready for replenishment.

00:24:26 --> 00:24:27

I'm ready for rejuvenation,

00:24:28 --> 00:24:30

and I'm ready to turn to people who

00:24:30 --> 00:24:31

make sense

00:24:31 --> 00:24:33

to help me get to where it is

00:24:33 --> 00:24:35

that I want to be and my soul

00:24:35 --> 00:24:37

is in need of me returning to.

00:24:39 --> 00:24:41

And so support your chaplaincy

00:24:41 --> 00:24:43

and encourage others to as well,

00:24:44 --> 00:24:47

and make sure you avail yourself of the

00:24:47 --> 00:24:48

resources that you have.

00:24:49 --> 00:24:50

Just think and reflect

00:24:51 --> 00:24:52

as our teacher,

00:24:53 --> 00:24:55

Ma'am Yassin, is telling us.

00:24:56 --> 00:24:57

350

00:24:57 --> 00:24:58

cases.

00:24:58 --> 00:24:59

Can you imagine that?

00:25:02 --> 00:25:02

Anxiety,

00:25:03 --> 00:25:03

depression,

00:25:04 --> 00:25:04

grief,

00:25:05 --> 00:25:06

suicidal ideation,

00:25:06 --> 00:25:10

physical abuse, mental abuse, financial abuse,

00:25:10 --> 00:25:11

spiritual abuse,

00:25:11 --> 00:25:14

relationship issues, family issues.

00:25:16 --> 00:25:16

Worry

00:25:17 --> 00:25:19

about the future, bad grades,

00:25:20 --> 00:25:23

marital problems, things across the gamut, These are

00:25:23 --> 00:25:26

entire people with names and narratives.

00:25:26 --> 00:25:28

Where would they have gone

00:25:28 --> 00:25:31

if not to the 3 chaplains that are

00:25:31 --> 00:25:32

there at your chaplaincy?

00:25:34 --> 00:25:36

And would the alternatives

00:25:36 --> 00:25:38

actually have yielded for them

00:25:38 --> 00:25:40

what it is that they needed?

00:25:43 --> 00:25:45

Or would it be like the young woman

00:25:45 --> 00:25:47

who I spoke to you before about?

00:25:49 --> 00:25:51

When these 3 scholars,

00:25:51 --> 00:25:54

who are scholars in their own right,

00:25:55 --> 00:25:57

said we don't know how it is that

00:25:57 --> 00:25:58

we can engage someone like this.

00:25:59 --> 00:26:01

Would they have met somebody who did not

00:26:01 --> 00:26:02

have the training,

00:26:03 --> 00:26:04

but still nonetheless

00:26:04 --> 00:26:05

pretended like they did?

00:26:07 --> 00:26:09

And so with that, I wanted to ask

00:26:09 --> 00:26:11

you all to join me in a short

00:26:11 --> 00:26:12

dua

00:26:13 --> 00:26:15

that is about our

00:26:15 --> 00:26:16

coming Ramadan

00:26:21 --> 00:26:24

as a way for us to be centered

00:26:24 --> 00:26:25

together in the space

00:26:27 --> 00:26:30

and to benefit from each other's presence that

00:26:30 --> 00:26:32

even where buildings are closed, that hearts remain

00:26:32 --> 00:26:33

open,

00:26:33 --> 00:26:36

and our physical separation does not necessitate that

00:26:36 --> 00:26:38

we have to be spiritually disconnected.

00:26:39 --> 00:26:40

And so I would ask you all to

00:26:40 --> 00:26:43

recenter yourself and join me in making a

00:26:43 --> 00:26:44

dua

00:26:46 --> 00:26:48

to remove yourselves from any distractions,

00:26:51 --> 00:26:53

to let us be in a place where

00:26:53 --> 00:26:55

we understand that before anything

00:26:56 --> 00:26:57

came into existence,

00:26:57 --> 00:26:59

Allah wrote that all of us would be

00:26:59 --> 00:27:01

sharing this moment together.

00:27:02 --> 00:27:04

And so your heart is the most precious

00:27:04 --> 00:27:06

heart in the elevation of our dua.

00:27:07 --> 00:27:09

May Allah accept it from us

00:27:09 --> 00:27:12

and grant us better than what it is

00:27:12 --> 00:27:13

that we are asking of him.

00:27:47 --> 00:27:50

We begin this supplication in your name, You

00:27:50 --> 00:27:52

Allah, and beseech you to send your choices

00:27:52 --> 00:27:54

salutations upon your most beloved

00:27:56 --> 00:27:59

We ask that you shower your infinite mercy

00:27:59 --> 00:28:00

upon this gathering,

00:28:00 --> 00:28:02

granting each and everyone who is present here

00:28:02 --> 00:28:04

in and our loved ones, only the best

00:28:04 --> 00:28:06

in this world and the best in the

00:28:06 --> 00:28:06

next.

00:28:07 --> 00:28:09

We ask you, Allah, that if all of

00:28:09 --> 00:28:10

us are meant to be together only at

00:28:10 --> 00:28:12

this time, at this place,

00:28:12 --> 00:28:15

whether we are young or old, male or

00:28:15 --> 00:28:18

female, regardless of our race, our ethnicity, our

00:28:18 --> 00:28:21

social class, our country of origin, our cultural

00:28:21 --> 00:28:21

heritage,

00:28:21 --> 00:28:23

whether we are Muslim or come from a

00:28:23 --> 00:28:24

different walk of life,

00:28:25 --> 00:28:27

If our individual hearts are meant to be

00:28:27 --> 00:28:29

in the presence of all of our hearts

00:28:29 --> 00:28:31

that are gathered here only at this time

00:28:31 --> 00:28:32

at this place,

00:28:33 --> 00:28:35

and gather us all together again in the

00:28:35 --> 00:28:36

best of places in the world beyond this

00:28:36 --> 00:28:37

one.

00:28:38 --> 00:28:39

You Allah, You 'alim,

00:28:39 --> 00:28:41

knower of all things,

00:28:41 --> 00:28:43

you who has known each of us before

00:28:43 --> 00:28:45

we even knew ourselves,

00:28:45 --> 00:28:48

help us through this coming month of Ramadan

00:28:48 --> 00:28:49

to know ourselves better.

00:28:50 --> 00:28:52

Help us through this blessed month to know

00:28:52 --> 00:28:54

our strengths and to live by them, to

00:28:54 --> 00:28:56

know our character and how to increase it,

00:28:56 --> 00:28:58

to know our pains and how to heal

00:28:58 --> 00:29:00

them, to know our value and how to

00:29:00 --> 00:29:03

share it, to know our blessings and how

00:29:03 --> 00:29:05

to be grateful for them, to know our

00:29:05 --> 00:29:07

wants and to see where they conflict with

00:29:07 --> 00:29:10

our needs, to know our shortcomings and to

00:29:10 --> 00:29:12

how to confront and defeat them, to know

00:29:12 --> 00:29:14

how to really forgive all those who have

00:29:14 --> 00:29:17

wronged us and to actually forgive them, to

00:29:17 --> 00:29:19

know how to seek forgiveness from those that

00:29:19 --> 00:29:21

we have wronged and to then go out

00:29:21 --> 00:29:23

and seek it, to know what charity is

00:29:23 --> 00:29:25

by being generous with our wealth and our

00:29:25 --> 00:29:27

time, to know what

00:29:31 --> 00:29:33

goodness is by extending our hands without qualification

00:29:34 --> 00:29:36

to all those who are in need.

00:29:37 --> 00:29:39

Help us through the coming month of Ramadan

00:29:39 --> 00:29:41

to know who it is that we are

00:29:41 --> 00:29:43

and not let the people we are today

00:29:43 --> 00:29:45

be afraid any longer to meet the people

00:29:45 --> 00:29:46

we can be tomorrow.

00:29:47 --> 00:29:48

And through it, you

00:29:49 --> 00:29:50

Rabbi, help us to know you and your

00:29:50 --> 00:29:52

mercy, to know you and your love.

00:29:53 --> 00:29:55

Make us from amongst those who live with

00:29:55 --> 00:29:58

true contentment every day of our lives and

00:29:58 --> 00:30:00

grant us an abode in the place of

00:30:00 --> 00:30:03

ultimate contentment in the world beyond this one.

00:30:04 --> 00:30:05

Allow for our beings to be filled with

00:30:05 --> 00:30:07

self love that we can go out and

00:30:07 --> 00:30:08

share with others

00:30:09 --> 00:30:11

rather than a love of ourselves that keeps

00:30:11 --> 00:30:13

us from being everything that we are able

00:30:14 --> 00:30:16

to be. When our hearts are heavy and

00:30:16 --> 00:30:17

we are filled with darkness,

00:30:17 --> 00:30:20

bring people to us who illuminate us through

00:30:20 --> 00:30:21

kindness, compassion, and love.

00:30:22 --> 00:30:25

Make us always the reason that people have

00:30:25 --> 00:30:26

hope in this world

00:30:26 --> 00:30:28

and never the reason that people might dread

00:30:28 --> 00:30:29

it.

00:30:30 --> 00:30:32

Help us to know the realities of those

00:30:32 --> 00:30:34

that are around us by overcoming whatever it

00:30:34 --> 00:30:36

is that exists within us that keeps us

00:30:36 --> 00:30:37

away from one another.

00:30:38 --> 00:30:40

Through the coming month of Ramadan,

00:30:40 --> 00:30:42

perfect us inwardly so that we are victorious

00:30:43 --> 00:30:45

in the battle that is taking place every

00:30:45 --> 00:30:47

day for control of our hearts.

00:30:48 --> 00:30:51

Give us victory over selfishness and remove from

00:30:51 --> 00:30:53

within us any feeling of arrogance or racism.

00:30:54 --> 00:30:57

Increase us in brotherhood and sisterhood so that

00:30:57 --> 00:30:59

we might together take on every challenge that

00:30:59 --> 00:31:00

we individually face,

00:31:01 --> 00:31:04

and together celebrate every success and achievement.

00:31:05 --> 00:31:07

Give us hearts that feel anger whenever one

00:31:07 --> 00:31:09

of our sisters are abused

00:31:09 --> 00:31:12

and the confidence and compassion needed to build

00:31:12 --> 00:31:14

for her the services and shelters that she

00:31:14 --> 00:31:15

is in need of.

00:31:16 --> 00:31:18

Give us hearts that feel sadness when any

00:31:18 --> 00:31:20

one of us loses a loved one

00:31:20 --> 00:31:22

and the gentleness and mercy needed to be

00:31:22 --> 00:31:24

there for them fully.

00:31:24 --> 00:31:26

Give us hearts that feel joy whenever any

00:31:26 --> 00:31:28

one of us succeeds

00:31:28 --> 00:31:30

and the love and hope needed to celebrate

00:31:30 --> 00:31:31

that achievement.

00:31:32 --> 00:31:34

Give us hearts that are not lost in

00:31:34 --> 00:31:35

the pursuit of this world,

00:31:36 --> 00:31:38

but hearts that are bold enough to be

00:31:38 --> 00:31:40

drawn to the world beyond this one.

00:31:40 --> 00:31:43

Let our rage be only at the injustice,

00:31:43 --> 00:31:44

oppression, and exploitation

00:31:45 --> 00:31:45

of people

00:31:46 --> 00:31:48

so that we will work for justice, equality,

00:31:48 --> 00:31:49

and peace.

00:31:50 --> 00:31:52

Let our tears shed only for those who

00:31:52 --> 00:31:54

suffer from pain, rejection,

00:31:54 --> 00:31:56

starvation, and conflict

00:31:57 --> 00:31:58

so that we will reach out our hands

00:31:58 --> 00:32:01

to comfort them and change their pain into

00:32:01 --> 00:32:01

joy.

00:32:02 --> 00:32:04

And let our successes be many as we

00:32:04 --> 00:32:06

make a difference in this world by doing

00:32:06 --> 00:32:09

the things which others say cannot be done.

00:32:10 --> 00:32:13

Help us to see this world always through

00:32:13 --> 00:32:15

hearts that have benefited from Ramadan,

00:32:15 --> 00:32:17

to see the goodness in all those who

00:32:17 --> 00:32:18

are around us,

00:32:19 --> 00:32:21

and to never be those who elevate ourselves

00:32:21 --> 00:32:23

by denigrating others,

00:32:23 --> 00:32:26

to see the benefit in any challenge that

00:32:26 --> 00:32:26

comes our way,

00:32:27 --> 00:32:29

and to not pass on a gift that

00:32:29 --> 00:32:31

can only be acquired through patience

00:32:31 --> 00:32:32

and perseverance.

00:32:34 --> 00:32:37

Help us to silence fear and abolish anxiety,

00:32:38 --> 00:32:41

to overpower indifference and break away from greed,

00:32:41 --> 00:32:44

to eliminate arrogance and defeat racism,

00:32:45 --> 00:32:46

to be bold enough to ask of you

00:32:46 --> 00:32:48

to make us those who only do that

00:32:48 --> 00:32:49

which is good.

00:32:50 --> 00:32:53

Make us those who find real peace and

00:32:53 --> 00:32:53

real love

00:32:54 --> 00:32:56

and not just the semblance of it.

00:32:57 --> 00:32:59

Those who give real peace and real love

00:33:00 --> 00:33:02

and not just the facade of it.

00:33:04 --> 00:33:05

Make our motivation

00:33:05 --> 00:33:06

always selflessness,

00:33:07 --> 00:33:08

not selfishness,

00:33:09 --> 00:33:11

sincerity, and never self centeredness.

00:33:14 --> 00:33:16

For any pain and torment that we might

00:33:16 --> 00:33:16

have faced

00:33:17 --> 00:33:20

through it, give us ease, understanding, and facility.

00:33:21 --> 00:33:23

For any suffering that we have sustained, bring

00:33:23 --> 00:33:26

to us understanding and strength of healing.

00:33:26 --> 00:33:28

Grant us always a life that is filled

00:33:28 --> 00:33:30

with the wellness of our minds, our bodies,

00:33:30 --> 00:33:32

our spirits, and our hearts.

00:33:33 --> 00:33:34

Make this month of Ramadan

00:33:34 --> 00:33:35

a month of rejuvenation

00:33:36 --> 00:33:39

for us, a month of renewal for us,

00:33:39 --> 00:33:40

a month of replenishment.

00:33:42 --> 00:33:43

That it is not our stomachs that will

00:33:43 --> 00:33:44

be hungry,

00:33:45 --> 00:33:47

nor that our thirst will come from our

00:33:47 --> 00:33:47

throats,

00:33:48 --> 00:33:50

but it is our hearts, You Rabbi, that

00:33:50 --> 00:33:52

are parched and long to be revitalized.

00:33:53 --> 00:33:55

Grant us both in and through the coming

00:33:55 --> 00:33:57

weeks a much needed peace that we long

00:33:57 --> 00:33:58

for

00:33:58 --> 00:34:00

even if we don't realize it.

00:34:01 --> 00:34:03

And throughout that blessed month,

00:34:03 --> 00:34:05

help us to make decisions through our hearts

00:34:05 --> 00:34:07

and not ever at their expenses.

00:34:09 --> 00:34:11

Put into our hearts a desire for nothing

00:34:11 --> 00:34:13

less but to take from the coming Ramadan

00:34:13 --> 00:34:15

all that it is that we can

00:34:16 --> 00:34:18

and remove from our hearts anything that distracts

00:34:18 --> 00:34:19

us from it.

00:34:20 --> 00:34:22

Make us those who seek out witness and

00:34:22 --> 00:34:24

benefit from Leilat al Qadr.

00:34:24 --> 00:34:26

And in our standing in the nights, help

00:34:26 --> 00:34:29

us to remember all those who are forgotten,

00:34:29 --> 00:34:31

whether by us alone or the world around

00:34:31 --> 00:34:32

us.

00:34:33 --> 00:34:35

Give us the energy to stand into the

00:34:35 --> 00:34:37

night and the sincerity to make du'a for

00:34:37 --> 00:34:39

all who are special to us.

00:34:40 --> 00:34:41

Through the coming Ramadan,

00:34:41 --> 00:34:43

increase us in our Islam.

00:34:43 --> 00:34:44

Through the coming Ramadan,

00:34:45 --> 00:34:47

increase us in our iman. Through the coming

00:34:47 --> 00:34:48

Ramadan,

00:34:48 --> 00:34:50

increase us in our ihsan.

00:34:51 --> 00:34:53

Make the Quran our guide and grant us

00:34:53 --> 00:34:55

a deep understanding of it.

00:34:55 --> 00:34:57

Make the sunnah our goal both inward and

00:34:57 --> 00:34:59

outward aspects of it.

00:35:00 --> 00:35:01

Make our prayer our anchor,

00:35:01 --> 00:35:03

granting us the true sweetness

00:35:04 --> 00:35:06

that salah and dua only can.

00:35:06 --> 00:35:08

Make the best of our deeds the last

00:35:08 --> 00:35:09

of our deeds,

00:35:09 --> 00:35:11

and let not any one of us leave

00:35:11 --> 00:35:13

this world other than in a state that

00:35:13 --> 00:35:15

is most pleasing to you.

00:35:16 --> 00:35:18

Thank you for the good work that is

00:35:18 --> 00:35:19

coming

00:35:19 --> 00:35:20

from the chaplaincy

00:35:22 --> 00:35:23

at the University

00:35:23 --> 00:35:24

of Toronto.

00:35:25 --> 00:35:28

Bless all those who have established it, all

00:35:28 --> 00:35:30

those who continue to work for it,

00:35:32 --> 00:35:35

and make it a continued source of benefit,

00:35:35 --> 00:35:36

illumination,

00:35:37 --> 00:35:39

and light for all of your creation.

00:35:40 --> 00:35:41

Make us

00:35:42 --> 00:35:43

from the best of supporters

00:35:44 --> 00:35:46

of the good work that is being done

00:35:46 --> 00:35:46

there,

00:35:48 --> 00:35:49

and increase

00:35:49 --> 00:35:51

all those who are there

00:35:52 --> 00:35:53

in all that is good

00:35:53 --> 00:35:55

so that they might be a continued source

00:35:55 --> 00:35:57

of benefit for your creation.

00:35:58 --> 00:35:59

You Allah

00:35:59 --> 00:36:01

bless us through the coming month of Ramadan

00:36:02 --> 00:36:03

and help us to gain from it.

00:36:04 --> 00:36:06

Protect us always from hearts that are not

00:36:06 --> 00:36:09

humble, tongues that are not wise, and eyes

00:36:09 --> 00:36:11

that have forgotten how to cry.

00:36:11 --> 00:36:13

Forgive us for our shortcomings and guide and

00:36:13 --> 00:36:14

bless us all.

00:36:35 --> 00:36:37

Thank you all so much for the opportunity

00:36:37 --> 00:36:40

to be with you, and thank you for

00:36:40 --> 00:36:42

the great work that you all are doing.

00:36:42 --> 00:36:44

May Allah make you a continued source of

00:36:44 --> 00:36:46

blessing for his creation

00:36:46 --> 00:36:48

and give to you only the best in

00:36:48 --> 00:36:49

this world and the best in the next.

00:36:59 --> 00:37:01

Thank you so much,

00:37:01 --> 00:37:03

Imam Khaled Latif,

00:37:04 --> 00:37:04

for

00:37:04 --> 00:37:05

your support,

00:37:06 --> 00:37:08

for your prayers, your supplications,

00:37:10 --> 00:37:11

and for your presence.

00:37:19 --> 00:37:21

We we are thankful for,

00:37:21 --> 00:37:23

your presence, for your work,

00:37:23 --> 00:37:25

and we look forward

00:37:26 --> 00:37:28

to the time where we can,

00:37:29 --> 00:37:32

be physically and visibly present with you once

00:37:32 --> 00:37:33

again here in Toronto.

00:37:34 --> 00:37:34

May

00:37:35 --> 00:37:37

Allah bless you. May he guide you and

00:37:37 --> 00:37:38

keep you

00:37:38 --> 00:37:41

and your blessed family always

00:37:41 --> 00:37:42

in his care.

00:37:43 --> 00:37:44

May he,

00:37:45 --> 00:37:46

help us

00:37:46 --> 00:37:49

and facilitate goodness for us, and may he

00:37:49 --> 00:37:50

plant

00:37:50 --> 00:37:52

the seed of

00:37:52 --> 00:37:53

righteousness

00:37:54 --> 00:37:55

within the hearts

00:37:56 --> 00:37:57

of you, your family,

00:37:58 --> 00:38:00

and your children and may Allah

00:38:01 --> 00:38:02

bless your children

00:38:02 --> 00:38:04

and make them pleasing

00:38:04 --> 00:38:06

to their Lord and pleasing

00:38:06 --> 00:38:08

to their parents. May

00:38:08 --> 00:38:11

Allah bless you and we look forward to

00:38:11 --> 00:38:13

seeing you again very soon inshallah.

00:38:13 --> 00:38:15

Thank you so much, imam Khaled.

00:38:17 --> 00:38:18

Khaira. Alhamdulillah.

00:38:19 --> 00:38:22

Imam Khaled has mentioned a lot of very

00:38:22 --> 00:38:22

important

00:38:24 --> 00:38:24

and

00:38:25 --> 00:38:25

unfortunately

00:38:26 --> 00:38:26

very

00:38:27 --> 00:38:27

difficult

00:38:27 --> 00:38:28

matters that

00:38:29 --> 00:38:31

we as chaplaincy organizations

00:38:31 --> 00:38:32

are dealing with.

00:38:33 --> 00:38:34

And one of the main

00:38:34 --> 00:38:36

features of a chaplaincy organization

00:38:36 --> 00:38:38

is to provide

00:38:38 --> 00:38:40

a spiritual home

00:38:40 --> 00:38:43

for those who may feel

00:38:43 --> 00:38:44

alienated

00:38:45 --> 00:38:48

from those traditional spaces that we call religious

00:38:49 --> 00:38:49

spaces.

00:38:52 --> 00:38:53

And home

00:38:54 --> 00:38:55

is not necessarily

00:38:55 --> 00:38:58

where you were born, but home is where

00:38:58 --> 00:38:59

all attempts

00:39:00 --> 00:39:01

to escape

00:39:01 --> 00:39:02

cease,

00:39:03 --> 00:39:05

where you don't have to run anymore.

00:39:06 --> 00:39:09

That in fact is where home is found,

00:39:10 --> 00:39:12

And we at Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto are

00:39:12 --> 00:39:13

looking to create

00:39:14 --> 00:39:15

a space

00:39:15 --> 00:39:16

that

00:39:16 --> 00:39:19

all of us can call a spiritual home,

00:39:20 --> 00:39:21

especially for

00:39:21 --> 00:39:23

the students whom we serve.

00:39:24 --> 00:39:25

And it has been

00:39:26 --> 00:39:27

over a year

00:39:28 --> 00:39:31

since the COVID 19 pandemic has started, and

00:39:31 --> 00:39:32

the Muslim chaplaincy

00:39:34 --> 00:39:35

has seen a significant

00:39:36 --> 00:39:37

rise in demand

00:39:37 --> 00:39:40

for our mental health counseling services.

00:39:42 --> 00:39:44

We have hired additional chaplains and staff to

00:39:44 --> 00:39:47

handle the increased demand while also

00:39:47 --> 00:39:51

expanding, as I mentioned earlier, services across all

00:39:51 --> 00:39:52

Ontario universities.

00:39:54 --> 00:39:55

And since our foundation,

00:39:56 --> 00:39:58

the Muslim Chaplaincy has always kept our counseling

00:39:59 --> 00:39:59

sessions

00:40:00 --> 00:40:00

free

00:40:01 --> 00:40:01

for students

00:40:02 --> 00:40:03

to make it easily

00:40:04 --> 00:40:04

accessible.

00:40:06 --> 00:40:09

And while demand for our services are growing,

00:40:09 --> 00:40:11

we have seen a huge drop in donations

00:40:12 --> 00:40:13

for the past year,

00:40:14 --> 00:40:15

putting

00:40:15 --> 00:40:18

the financial sustainability of our organization at great

00:40:18 --> 00:40:19

risk.

00:40:20 --> 00:40:22

And we ask that you find it in

00:40:22 --> 00:40:24

your heart to contribute whatever amounts you can

00:40:24 --> 00:40:27

and share a word about our services with

00:40:27 --> 00:40:27

others.

00:40:28 --> 00:40:29

And we ask

00:40:29 --> 00:40:29

Allah

00:40:30 --> 00:40:33

to grant us all success. And, again, if

00:40:33 --> 00:40:34

you believe in the work

00:40:35 --> 00:40:37

of Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto, we ask that

00:40:37 --> 00:40:38

you give

00:40:38 --> 00:40:39

generously.

00:40:40 --> 00:40:42

We have with us as well

00:40:43 --> 00:40:43

our

00:40:44 --> 00:40:44

teacher,

00:40:45 --> 00:40:47

our sheikh,

00:40:48 --> 00:40:48

our

00:40:50 --> 00:40:51

mentor.

00:40:52 --> 00:40:53

One of the primary rules

00:40:53 --> 00:40:55

of any religious organization,

00:40:56 --> 00:40:58

any spiritual organization is to provide

00:40:59 --> 00:41:02

mentorship because the tradition of Islam is not

00:41:02 --> 00:41:03

necessarily

00:41:03 --> 00:41:05

inherited through books,

00:41:05 --> 00:41:07

rather it's inherited

00:41:07 --> 00:41:08

through people.

00:41:09 --> 00:41:12

And among those people is our beloved sheikh,

00:41:12 --> 00:41:14

Abdullah Idris Ali,

00:41:15 --> 00:41:17

and he has served as imam and director

00:41:18 --> 00:41:20

and founded the 1st full time Islamic school

00:41:20 --> 00:41:21

in Toronto.

00:41:22 --> 00:41:24

He has served as the principal of ISNA

00:41:24 --> 00:41:27

Islamic Community School for 17

00:41:27 --> 00:41:27

years.

00:41:28 --> 00:41:31

He also served on ISNA's executive council, the

00:41:31 --> 00:41:32

Majlis Ashura

00:41:33 --> 00:41:36

Youth and Education Committee and as the president

00:41:36 --> 00:41:37

of ISNA

00:41:38 --> 00:41:39

for two terms.

00:41:40 --> 00:41:41

He is the chair of the Islamic Media

00:41:41 --> 00:41:42

Foundation,

00:41:44 --> 00:41:45

and he is

00:41:47 --> 00:41:48

an all around

00:41:49 --> 00:41:50

magnificent

00:41:51 --> 00:41:53

and perhaps one of the most important

00:41:54 --> 00:41:57

sources of guidance for the Muslim community, not

00:41:57 --> 00:41:58

only in Canada,

00:41:58 --> 00:41:59

but throughout

00:42:00 --> 00:42:00

North

00:42:01 --> 00:42:01

America.

00:42:01 --> 00:42:04

And he is currently working as the executive

00:42:04 --> 00:42:05

director of ISNA

00:42:06 --> 00:42:06

Canada.

00:42:07 --> 00:42:09

I can't tell you how pleased I am,

00:42:10 --> 00:42:11

to introduce

00:42:12 --> 00:42:13

my teacher

00:42:14 --> 00:42:14

and

00:42:15 --> 00:42:15

my mentor

00:42:16 --> 00:42:17

and

00:42:17 --> 00:42:18

perhaps

00:42:19 --> 00:42:21

a teacher and mentor of all of you

00:42:21 --> 00:42:23

who are present today. I'd like to invite

00:42:23 --> 00:42:25

our beloved Sheikh Abdallah Idris

00:42:25 --> 00:42:27

to address us and

00:42:28 --> 00:42:29

to encourage us

00:42:30 --> 00:42:34

to give generously to Muslim chaplaincy of Toronto.

00:42:34 --> 00:42:34

Sheikh Abdallah,

00:42:35 --> 00:42:37

I believe you're on mute.

00:42:40 --> 00:42:41

I'm unmuted?

00:42:42 --> 00:42:43

We got you now, Sheikh.

00:42:44 --> 00:42:44

Okay.

00:42:46 --> 00:42:46

It's for the

00:42:48 --> 00:42:51

stay muted. Stay unmute. Doesn't want to disappear.

00:42:51 --> 00:42:51

Okay.

00:42:52 --> 00:42:54

Now I wanna, let me say this.

00:42:57 --> 00:42:59

That's in the name, by the name, with

00:42:59 --> 00:43:01

the name of Allah that declares Allah

00:43:02 --> 00:43:04

We send our peace and blessings upon prophet

00:43:04 --> 00:43:05

Muhammad

00:43:07 --> 00:43:08

and may the peace and blessings of Allah

00:43:08 --> 00:43:09

be upon him.

00:43:10 --> 00:43:12

Let me begin by saying 2 things. 1,

00:43:16 --> 00:43:17

All of this together

00:43:18 --> 00:43:19

for me,

00:43:19 --> 00:43:21

for giving me at least this opportunity

00:43:22 --> 00:43:23

again to talk to the chaplaincy.

00:43:24 --> 00:43:26

I did actually talk a couple of times.

00:43:26 --> 00:43:28

I don't know 2, 3 times before.

00:43:28 --> 00:43:31

And may Allah give you all the reward.

00:43:33 --> 00:43:35

Number 2, I always keep the this now

00:43:35 --> 00:43:38

to collect some information that's not proper because,

00:43:38 --> 00:43:41

I'm no longer the executive director now. Our

00:43:41 --> 00:43:42

brother Fuzan

00:43:42 --> 00:43:44

Khan is the one who's going to be

00:43:44 --> 00:43:45

is now the executive

00:43:46 --> 00:43:47

director.

00:43:47 --> 00:43:50

There are organizations that were before, but are

00:43:50 --> 00:43:52

not not there. So you just add past

00:43:52 --> 00:43:55

this, past that, past that, and you keep

00:43:55 --> 00:43:55

it.

00:43:57 --> 00:43:59

Again and again. Now,

00:44:00 --> 00:44:03

talking to you actually and talking about Toronto

00:44:03 --> 00:44:04

brings me back my

00:44:05 --> 00:44:07

young age memories when I was about 44

00:44:07 --> 00:44:10

years ago. Came to U of T, and

00:44:10 --> 00:44:11

I was in the campus

00:44:11 --> 00:44:14

where the students are very small number. I

00:44:14 --> 00:44:17

remember the first experience I had is on

00:44:17 --> 00:44:19

Jummah. The first Jummah I prayed,

00:44:20 --> 00:44:21

I counted the number of the people there.

00:44:21 --> 00:44:23

There are only 17 people in half house.

00:44:24 --> 00:44:27

And in those days, my was very low.

00:44:27 --> 00:44:29

I come from a Maliki background where we

00:44:29 --> 00:44:32

were being taught, we don't know from where,

00:44:32 --> 00:44:34

that you have to have minimum forty people

00:44:34 --> 00:44:37

for a prayer. So I was in doubt

00:44:37 --> 00:44:37

with it.

00:44:38 --> 00:44:40

And I asked people around me.

00:44:41 --> 00:44:43

So, ultimately, I mean, I said, okay. I'll

00:44:43 --> 00:44:44

pray with them, but I'm going to pray

00:44:44 --> 00:44:47

my as well just beyond the comfort zone.

00:44:47 --> 00:44:48

Later on, that changes,

00:44:50 --> 00:44:50

Allah

00:44:51 --> 00:44:54

opened all doors of, mercy for us, to

00:44:54 --> 00:44:55

know about Islam. And this is what I

00:44:55 --> 00:44:57

advise all people to do,

00:44:58 --> 00:45:00

especially when we come from any country overseas

00:45:00 --> 00:45:02

and so on. We come with a lot

00:45:02 --> 00:45:04

of, I call it, culture of religion rather

00:45:04 --> 00:45:06

than religion as such. And this is why

00:45:06 --> 00:45:08

people get here to be amazed when so

00:45:08 --> 00:45:10

many fools are there. Now,

00:45:11 --> 00:45:14

for Ramadan. 1st, the Zakkul Maqir, I said

00:45:14 --> 00:45:15

to imam

00:45:16 --> 00:45:16

Khalid Al Latif,

00:45:17 --> 00:45:19

and I'm telling you this. I I was

00:45:20 --> 00:45:22

saying I mean, after every word he said,

00:45:22 --> 00:45:24

and I think if this is answered, we

00:45:24 --> 00:45:27

are all in paradise. I can assure you

00:45:27 --> 00:45:29

the joy he made, if Allah accepted,

00:45:30 --> 00:45:33

we are in paradise even pre Ramadan. However,

00:45:33 --> 00:45:35

Ramadan is an opportunity for us,

00:45:35 --> 00:45:38

to reset our relationship with Allah

00:45:40 --> 00:45:40

says,

00:45:41 --> 00:45:43

Quran is the rest of the Quran. I

00:45:43 --> 00:45:45

will tell brothers and sisters, especially younger people,

00:45:46 --> 00:45:48

if you never read the Quran in your

00:45:48 --> 00:45:48

life once,

00:45:49 --> 00:45:51

please take this at least Ramadan

00:45:51 --> 00:45:53

to make sure that you make an intention

00:45:53 --> 00:45:55

that you finish the Quran by the end

00:45:55 --> 00:45:57

of the month. One user of the Quran

00:45:57 --> 00:46:00

takes between half an hour, maximum 45 minutes.

00:46:00 --> 00:46:03

An hour, we will have difficult reading. So

00:46:03 --> 00:46:05

we are talking 1 hour a day, and

00:46:05 --> 00:46:07

on average, they call it, 45 minutes. I

00:46:07 --> 00:46:09

personally read it in 5 minutes

00:46:10 --> 00:46:13

every single day. So at least this Ramadan

00:46:13 --> 00:46:14

make it a case because

00:46:16 --> 00:46:17

assured us that Ramadan

00:46:18 --> 00:46:19

and the Quran,

00:46:19 --> 00:46:22

like the 2 months I mean, the 2,

00:46:22 --> 00:46:23

twins that Allah

00:46:24 --> 00:46:26

will bring them for us on the day

00:46:26 --> 00:46:28

of judgment that they become like our lawyers.

00:46:28 --> 00:46:29

We'll appeal to Allah

00:46:30 --> 00:46:31

on behalf.

00:46:31 --> 00:46:33

So the first thing you keep in mind,

00:46:33 --> 00:46:34

you read the Quran.

00:46:34 --> 00:46:36

As I said to you, at least once,

00:46:36 --> 00:46:39

if you cannot read it more than that.

00:46:39 --> 00:46:41

On average, you can do that if you

00:46:41 --> 00:46:43

read 1 user a day. By the end

00:46:43 --> 00:46:45

of the Ramadan, you'll finish the Ramadan. And,

00:46:45 --> 00:46:48

also, coupled with this, I want you all,

00:46:48 --> 00:46:50

Sam, to pick up maybe 5, 10 verses

00:46:50 --> 00:46:53

a day. Go through any translation of the

00:46:53 --> 00:46:55

Quran so that you understand exactly what you

00:46:55 --> 00:46:58

are reading, and gradually you build your net

00:46:58 --> 00:47:00

knowledge and then make it a habit so

00:47:00 --> 00:47:03

that every single day, you come in contact

00:47:03 --> 00:47:05

and you talk to the Quran. Because Allah

00:47:06 --> 00:47:07

told us that the prophet

00:47:09 --> 00:47:12

actually will file a complaint to Allah by

00:47:12 --> 00:47:13

people who desest the Quran.

00:47:14 --> 00:47:15

And he will say to Allah

00:47:19 --> 00:47:21

Like my people and some of my unfortunate

00:47:21 --> 00:47:24

did that they deserved the Quran, and that's

00:47:24 --> 00:47:26

not what the Quran is for. The second

00:47:26 --> 00:47:28

thing, of course, is the fasting itself.

00:47:29 --> 00:47:31

Make sure that Ramadan should be the time

00:47:31 --> 00:47:32

because

00:47:32 --> 00:47:34

told us, and I think this is what

00:47:34 --> 00:47:34

should understand.

00:47:39 --> 00:47:41

That no matter how much you sinned, how

00:47:41 --> 00:47:44

much you're wrong, how much you fell short

00:47:44 --> 00:47:47

of fulfilling the of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala,

00:47:47 --> 00:47:49

Ramadan will be your chance, actually, to cleanse

00:47:49 --> 00:47:51

all of that and allow it right for

00:47:51 --> 00:47:53

your sins. The prophet also won.

00:47:54 --> 00:47:56

In a very famous hadith, they said the

00:47:56 --> 00:47:56

prophet,

00:47:58 --> 00:47:59

said

00:47:59 --> 00:48:00

the is

00:48:00 --> 00:48:04

a a phrase that's being used to humiliate

00:48:04 --> 00:48:04

people.

00:48:05 --> 00:48:07

It literally means let them wipe their nose

00:48:07 --> 00:48:09

with the floor of the dead. For those

00:48:10 --> 00:48:12

and he mentioned 3 people. Among them was

00:48:12 --> 00:48:14

the person who actually had the chance to

00:48:14 --> 00:48:16

be in the mosque of Ramadan, and he

00:48:16 --> 00:48:19

did not have the privilege of Allah for

00:48:19 --> 00:48:19

giving it.

00:48:20 --> 00:48:21

The hadith is famous, the 3 things he

00:48:21 --> 00:48:22

said.

00:48:22 --> 00:48:23

First, the person,

00:48:24 --> 00:48:27

and other Quran is said to ever

00:48:27 --> 00:48:28

Allah

00:48:28 --> 00:48:30

even the opportunity in the Muslim Ramadan and

00:48:30 --> 00:48:33

didn't didn't take that as a chance for

00:48:33 --> 00:48:35

him to cleanse himself from his sins.

00:48:36 --> 00:48:37

Second person, of course, is the one who

00:48:37 --> 00:48:40

does not. He says that he has parents,

00:48:41 --> 00:48:42

and he did not do good to them.

00:48:42 --> 00:48:43

And blessed

00:48:44 --> 00:48:46

him with these parents, and they were

00:48:46 --> 00:48:49

not, like, he was not able to make

00:48:49 --> 00:48:51

sure that with helping their parents, being kind

00:48:51 --> 00:48:53

to them, that would be his message to

00:48:53 --> 00:48:56

paradise. The third, of course, the prophet said

00:48:56 --> 00:49:00

that whoever hears my name, like Muhammad and

00:49:00 --> 00:49:00

didn't say

00:49:02 --> 00:49:04

or in a format, Allah

00:49:04 --> 00:49:05

mentioned these reasons.

00:49:06 --> 00:49:08

The prophet mentioned them specifically,

00:49:08 --> 00:49:10

to remind us that Ramadan would be that

00:49:10 --> 00:49:11

opportunity.

00:49:11 --> 00:49:13

Now the the first thing that we do

00:49:13 --> 00:49:15

in the mosque of Ramadan, of course, of

00:49:15 --> 00:49:16

the,

00:49:17 --> 00:49:19

the, the, I mean, the cycle of the

00:49:19 --> 00:49:21

Quran is actually charity.

00:49:21 --> 00:49:22

Now

00:49:22 --> 00:49:24

we are being told by the prophet

00:49:26 --> 00:49:27

that any

00:49:27 --> 00:49:29

even form, any deed you do in the

00:49:29 --> 00:49:30

month of Ramadan

00:49:30 --> 00:49:32

will earn you multiples of rewards. This is

00:49:32 --> 00:49:34

why many of the people keep their zakat

00:49:34 --> 00:49:36

until the month of Ramadan so that they

00:49:36 --> 00:49:39

can multiply the reward just by being paying

00:49:39 --> 00:49:40

it during the month of Ramadan. And the

00:49:40 --> 00:49:42

measure of that is the charity, of course.

00:49:43 --> 00:49:43

Now as,

00:49:44 --> 00:49:47

Imam Al Hussein said, now the chaplaincy is

00:49:47 --> 00:49:48

very much affected by,

00:49:49 --> 00:49:51

the way you provide funds for it. We

00:49:51 --> 00:49:53

need more. By the way, I just I

00:49:53 --> 00:49:56

don't know because, Imam Khalid,

00:49:56 --> 00:49:59

talked about this tragic incident that happened in

00:50:00 --> 00:50:01

in Texas,

00:50:01 --> 00:50:03

but he didn't he might not have I

00:50:03 --> 00:50:05

don't know whether everyone knew about it or

00:50:05 --> 00:50:07

not. But according to the report of El

00:50:07 --> 00:50:10

Gezira, it's a very sad film, and it

00:50:10 --> 00:50:12

reflects not only the need for the temple

00:50:12 --> 00:50:13

and see. As much as the need for

00:50:13 --> 00:50:15

the community to be together because this this

00:50:15 --> 00:50:17

is a family. There are 2 young boys.

00:50:17 --> 00:50:20

They have a daughter. They're mother. Actually, their

00:50:20 --> 00:50:22

grandmother was visiting them also. They are from

00:50:22 --> 00:50:25

Bangladesh, and their father was there. And the

00:50:25 --> 00:50:27

thing that was really, really, really disturbing to

00:50:27 --> 00:50:29

me is that these kids,

00:50:29 --> 00:50:30

suffered from loneliness,

00:50:31 --> 00:50:33

suffered from all these mental problems,

00:50:33 --> 00:50:36

but it seems nobody looked after them. And

00:50:36 --> 00:50:38

then both of them decided to commit suicide,

00:50:38 --> 00:50:39

the 2 brothers.

00:50:39 --> 00:50:41

And the strange thing in this specific case,

00:50:41 --> 00:50:43

which is really

00:50:43 --> 00:50:46

something that's amazing. They said that when they

00:50:46 --> 00:50:48

decided they went and brought a gun, they

00:50:48 --> 00:50:50

want to shoot themselves when they commit suicide.

00:50:50 --> 00:50:52

But before they do this, one of them,

00:50:52 --> 00:50:55

they didn't mention exactly who said it, but

00:50:55 --> 00:50:57

said to his brother, you know what? If

00:50:57 --> 00:51:00

we kill ourselves and commit suicide, we are

00:51:00 --> 00:51:03

going to keep our parents, our sisters, our

00:51:03 --> 00:51:03

father,

00:51:04 --> 00:51:06

like, in a miserable situation

00:51:06 --> 00:51:08

all the rest of their life. So the

00:51:08 --> 00:51:10

best thing to do is to get rid

00:51:10 --> 00:51:11

of them before us, and this is what

00:51:11 --> 00:51:13

they did. Can you imagine this is why

00:51:13 --> 00:51:15

I'm kind of thinking? People can be dragged

00:51:15 --> 00:51:17

into this. These boys went, killed every one

00:51:17 --> 00:51:19

of them thinking that this is a mess

00:51:19 --> 00:51:21

for them so that they don't suffer behind.

00:51:21 --> 00:51:23

And this is a very strange way of

00:51:23 --> 00:51:25

looking at what people and then they shot

00:51:25 --> 00:51:27

themselves. So all of them were founded,

00:51:28 --> 00:51:30

in in in it's really disappointing by the

00:51:30 --> 00:51:31

support

00:51:31 --> 00:51:32

that the report.

00:51:32 --> 00:51:34

It's very sad. It's very disturbing.

00:51:35 --> 00:51:36

It actually received urgency

00:51:36 --> 00:51:39

of doing as much as we can to

00:51:39 --> 00:51:41

keep the chaplaincy, to keep it going inshallah

00:51:41 --> 00:51:44

for that. Now Ramadan actually is the most

00:51:44 --> 00:51:47

of the Quran. Right? And when strictly tell

00:51:47 --> 00:51:48

you about the Quran,

00:51:49 --> 00:51:51

about this giving, but and and when it

00:51:51 --> 00:51:53

speaks strictly, because even the thing that the

00:51:53 --> 00:51:54

prophet

00:51:55 --> 00:51:56

explained about Ramadan,

00:51:57 --> 00:52:00

actually is, about anything is actually what he

00:52:00 --> 00:52:02

understood from the Quran and what he actually

00:52:02 --> 00:52:05

knew about the Quran, what Allah meant for

00:52:05 --> 00:52:07

us. Now, I'll give you these 2 invitations

00:52:07 --> 00:52:10

I give, and 2 invitations from Allah Subhanahu

00:52:10 --> 00:52:12

Wa Ta'ala. One invitation, actually, invitation

00:52:13 --> 00:52:16

of Ramadan. Yes. Invitation from Allah. Allah says

00:52:16 --> 00:52:17

in the Quran, quote,

00:52:19 --> 00:52:21

Allah invites you people

00:52:21 --> 00:52:24

to Darul Salaam. Darul Salaam is paradise.

00:52:27 --> 00:52:29

And he guides whoever wants to stay past

00:52:29 --> 00:52:31

that these people to paradise.

00:52:31 --> 00:52:34

Why Allah is inviting us? Because Ramadan is

00:52:34 --> 00:52:36

our opportunity actually to make it for paradise.

00:52:36 --> 00:52:38

And the prophet said it that if you

00:52:38 --> 00:52:40

fast Ramadan, then you are in the place

00:52:40 --> 00:52:43

that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala assigned for you

00:52:43 --> 00:52:45

in paradise. Now this is the first invitation

00:52:45 --> 00:52:48

just to be and make it to paradise

00:52:48 --> 00:52:49

to Shaba. The second invitation

00:52:50 --> 00:52:51

is the invitation that Allah

00:52:52 --> 00:52:52

says

00:52:53 --> 00:52:56

and actually addresses us directly. I'm going to

00:52:56 --> 00:52:58

say it to you as it is. And

00:52:58 --> 00:52:58

Allah

00:52:59 --> 00:53:01

says, here you are.

00:53:01 --> 00:53:04

Here you are. Literally says, you are. The

00:53:04 --> 00:53:04

word in Arabic

00:53:06 --> 00:53:09

is. Where you are. You are being invited

00:53:09 --> 00:53:11

to what? Allah says, here you are. You

00:53:11 --> 00:53:12

are being invited.

00:53:14 --> 00:53:15

To do what?

00:53:17 --> 00:53:19

So that you can give in charity for

00:53:19 --> 00:53:19

Allah

00:53:20 --> 00:53:23

say. Now Allah poses us by saying, He

00:53:23 --> 00:53:23

says,

00:53:27 --> 00:53:28

He said,

00:53:29 --> 00:53:30

from among you,

00:53:31 --> 00:53:34

Some of you will, like, hold. They hold

00:53:34 --> 00:53:36

because they don't want to give. He said,

00:53:38 --> 00:53:41

that if you hold, you'll be holding against

00:53:41 --> 00:53:43

yourself, not against the project. I mean, all

00:53:43 --> 00:53:46

these projects, Allah will provide people for them,

00:53:46 --> 00:53:47

It's

00:53:50 --> 00:53:51

is Allah is

00:53:51 --> 00:53:52

abundant village.

00:53:54 --> 00:53:56

And you are the one who disrespect me

00:53:56 --> 00:53:58

with Allah. Me and you need Allah

00:53:59 --> 00:54:00

We need a lot to live. We need

00:54:00 --> 00:54:02

a lot to breathe. We have a lot

00:54:02 --> 00:54:03

to earn. We have a lot to do.

00:54:03 --> 00:54:05

All what we do. He

00:54:06 --> 00:54:06

says,

00:54:07 --> 00:54:09

and if you turn your back, Allah may

00:54:09 --> 00:54:09

keep you.

00:54:10 --> 00:54:12

Says this. He says,

00:54:16 --> 00:54:18

So the invitation here for you is to

00:54:18 --> 00:54:19

respond to Allah for

00:54:20 --> 00:54:22

what he says. As I said in the

00:54:22 --> 00:54:23

beginning, Ramadan

00:54:25 --> 00:54:27

And Allah did not, as we said, assign

00:54:27 --> 00:54:30

us to everything in the Quran. Actually, Allah

00:54:30 --> 00:54:30

is so merciful.

00:54:31 --> 00:54:33

He says that you can read on the

00:54:33 --> 00:54:35

Quran, but at least read as much as

00:54:35 --> 00:54:36

you can from the Quran.

00:54:37 --> 00:54:38

There is one verse in the Quran in

00:54:38 --> 00:54:40

Surat al Muzammil where Allah

00:54:41 --> 00:54:42

says,

00:54:44 --> 00:54:47

Allah measures the days and the nights. Our

00:54:47 --> 00:54:48

life is a day to come and a

00:54:48 --> 00:54:49

day to go. Yeah. And the life is

00:54:49 --> 00:54:52

this. You measure your life by days, a

00:54:52 --> 00:54:53

day and night. He said

00:54:57 --> 00:54:59

Allah knows no one can measure up to

00:54:59 --> 00:55:01

what Allah speaks of. Now what do you

00:55:01 --> 00:55:03

mean by that? He said

00:55:05 --> 00:55:06

Allah is so forgiving

00:55:07 --> 00:55:08

that he let go.

00:55:08 --> 00:55:10

Then he said why? He said

00:55:12 --> 00:55:15

Some of people might be, like, not well,

00:55:15 --> 00:55:17

like, health sick, well, with all kinds of

00:55:17 --> 00:55:19

things that you go through. Now

00:55:22 --> 00:55:24

there are some people who are struggling, and

00:55:24 --> 00:55:26

they say to make the ends meet. They're

00:55:26 --> 00:55:29

struggling with everything. They're days to bring this.

00:55:31 --> 00:55:33

And there are so many people now. If

00:55:33 --> 00:55:35

you are in Iraq or Syria or Palestine

00:55:35 --> 00:55:38

for for years years years for this place,

00:55:38 --> 00:55:40

and you see the bomb falling on people.

00:55:40 --> 00:55:43

Just name it. It's Kashmir, Bahrain. Name it.

00:55:43 --> 00:55:45

Every place. If you are on those war

00:55:45 --> 00:55:47

zone, you could understand exactly why we're locked

00:55:47 --> 00:55:50

down by. Now having said that Allah

00:55:50 --> 00:55:51

says,

00:55:51 --> 00:55:53

then Allah made this a sign for me.

00:55:55 --> 00:55:57

You. He said, Just read as much as

00:55:57 --> 00:55:58

you can from the Quran.

00:56:00 --> 00:56:01

And keep your prayers.

00:56:01 --> 00:56:03

Keep your prayers. Keep your prayers. Allah

00:56:04 --> 00:56:04

answers.

00:56:05 --> 00:56:08

Of course, if you have the amount of

00:56:08 --> 00:56:10

money that's supposed to be paid for zakah,

00:56:10 --> 00:56:12

a year term money to have to pay.

00:56:12 --> 00:56:13

Then he says,

00:56:14 --> 00:56:15

Then Allah added,

00:56:17 --> 00:56:18

And then advance

00:56:19 --> 00:56:21

a soft loan to Allah. Soft loan. I

00:56:22 --> 00:56:24

mean to advance loan to Allah. Yes, Allah

00:56:24 --> 00:56:26

says, when I want something done, I want

00:56:26 --> 00:56:28

you to advance loan for me. Me.

00:56:31 --> 00:56:34

Rest assured, whatever you advance, Allah said not

00:56:34 --> 00:56:36

for Allah for your son, because anything you

00:56:36 --> 00:56:38

do is actually for yourself. He says,

00:56:43 --> 00:56:45

We'll definitely find it with Allah Subhanahu Wa

00:56:45 --> 00:56:48

Ta'ala. Not as is Allah said

00:56:50 --> 00:56:52

It will be much more better than that,

00:56:52 --> 00:56:54

and it's greater in the world. And we

00:56:54 --> 00:56:55

know all these verses we read in the

00:56:55 --> 00:56:57

Quran where Allah

00:56:57 --> 00:56:59

give us these parables and similitudes.

00:57:03 --> 00:57:03

Like,

00:57:04 --> 00:57:06

the famous verse that most of us know

00:57:06 --> 00:57:08

that Allah says, when you're spending challenges, like

00:57:08 --> 00:57:10

putting a seed, and the seed will have,

00:57:10 --> 00:57:13

like, years years have every hand a hundred

00:57:13 --> 00:57:13

plus,

00:57:14 --> 00:57:16

what you call grains, and the grains multiply

00:57:16 --> 00:57:18

and so on. And Allah will keep multiplying.

00:57:18 --> 00:57:20

So anything you do and by the way,

00:57:20 --> 00:57:22

sometimes, I'm telling you, anyone of us can

00:57:22 --> 00:57:25

do something. Anyone else. You, me, everyone.

00:57:25 --> 00:57:26

And don't underestimate

00:57:26 --> 00:57:29

what you do because in giving check, the

00:57:29 --> 00:57:31

smaller things will build to be big. Even

00:57:31 --> 00:57:32

students.

00:57:32 --> 00:57:34

I know people here are struggling that even

00:57:34 --> 00:57:36

if you can spare,

00:57:37 --> 00:57:37

for restaurants,

00:57:38 --> 00:57:40

a price you want to pay for a

00:57:40 --> 00:57:41

cup of coffee or tea or whatever it

00:57:41 --> 00:57:43

is and so and donate it because that

00:57:43 --> 00:57:45

would be the thing that you have, then

00:57:45 --> 00:57:47

it builds up insha'allah for you. So we

00:57:47 --> 00:57:48

pray Allah

00:57:49 --> 00:57:51

thanking everyone of you insha'allah,

00:57:51 --> 00:57:52

give it to you and so on. Let

00:57:52 --> 00:57:55

me conclude by putting this shuri for you.

00:57:55 --> 00:57:57

You. 1, Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa sallam

00:57:57 --> 00:58:00

rarely used to swear by Allah, real.

00:58:00 --> 00:58:03

But when He does it, He means to

00:58:03 --> 00:58:05

really bring our attention to something that's much

00:58:05 --> 00:58:08

more greater than what you think. In this

00:58:08 --> 00:58:09

particular instance,

00:58:10 --> 00:58:10

the prophet

00:58:11 --> 00:58:13

says, salaf.

00:58:13 --> 00:58:14

Three things.

00:58:15 --> 00:58:17

I swear by Allah.

00:58:17 --> 00:58:19

What are these? He says, maanaqasamalu

00:58:20 --> 00:58:22

al salakah. No matter how much you give

00:58:23 --> 00:58:25

in charity, it will not decrease or diminish

00:58:25 --> 00:58:28

your wealth. Allah will always compensate you for

00:58:28 --> 00:58:28

it.

00:58:30 --> 00:58:31

And then he added

00:58:35 --> 00:58:37

And the more you give, Allah will the

00:58:37 --> 00:58:39

more honor you follow. And the third is

00:58:39 --> 00:58:40

warning. He said,

00:58:46 --> 00:58:49

which means that if you act as if

00:58:49 --> 00:58:51

you don't have and you have, act as

00:58:51 --> 00:58:53

if you cannot do zinda. And then Allah

00:58:54 --> 00:58:57

will actually say this to you that Allah

00:58:57 --> 00:58:59

might open a door that will take everything

00:58:59 --> 00:59:01

from you. So keep in mind that giving

00:59:01 --> 00:59:03

to Allah is actually,

00:59:04 --> 00:59:06

giving to Allah you get for yourself more

00:59:06 --> 00:59:08

than actually what you do for Allah

00:59:09 --> 00:59:11

So we want you to support the charity,

00:59:11 --> 00:59:12

support your chaplaincy

00:59:13 --> 00:59:14

as much as you can. And those of

00:59:14 --> 00:59:16

us who are with us on this line,

00:59:16 --> 00:59:17

whom Allah

00:59:17 --> 00:59:19

bless you as well. Please don't hesitate

00:59:20 --> 00:59:22

to extend yourself to do it insha'allah.

00:59:22 --> 00:59:24

You can do it as individuals. You can

00:59:24 --> 00:59:26

do it as families. You can even talk

00:59:26 --> 00:59:28

to your family because this is what the

00:59:28 --> 00:59:29

students do.

00:59:29 --> 00:59:31

One of the things that I can't forget

00:59:31 --> 00:59:33

at all, if you watch European Urban Institute

00:59:33 --> 00:59:35

University, how domestic you are built. I remember

00:59:35 --> 00:59:37

it to this day, and this is a

00:59:37 --> 00:59:39

long time ago. I mean, the students got,

00:59:40 --> 00:59:42

a commitment from the university with them, a

00:59:42 --> 00:59:44

piece of land that they can build,

00:59:44 --> 00:59:46

a mascot in it. And there's growth of

00:59:46 --> 00:59:49

students, small university. So I went hitting every

00:59:49 --> 00:59:52

parent of children. Ask all the children. One

00:59:52 --> 00:59:54

of the boys, I cannot forget him. I

00:59:54 --> 00:59:55

asked him, what does your father do? He's

00:59:55 --> 00:59:57

he's a physician. I said, okay. This would

00:59:57 --> 00:59:59

be our catch. Go to your father and

00:59:59 --> 01:00:00

talk to him that you need this x

01:00:00 --> 01:00:03

number of money. Students. So he went

01:00:03 --> 01:00:04

to him and said, okay. I'll give you

01:00:04 --> 01:00:04

$10,000.

01:00:05 --> 01:00:06

I said to him, okay. Don't give it

01:00:06 --> 01:00:08

to us. We'll invite all the rest of

01:00:08 --> 01:00:09

the doctor. You know?

01:00:09 --> 01:00:10

Pay for them and bring me

01:00:11 --> 01:00:12

We raised

01:00:13 --> 01:00:15

$190,000 in that that night. And the reward

01:00:15 --> 01:00:16

you go for this man will take I

01:00:16 --> 01:00:18

mean, it's 10,000 paid that. So talk to

01:00:18 --> 01:00:20

your parents. Talk to the people you know.

01:00:20 --> 01:00:23

Don't hesitate to ask people. And actually asking

01:00:23 --> 01:00:24

for charity for Allah

01:00:25 --> 01:00:28

is among the best deeds that Allah mentioned

01:00:28 --> 01:00:28

in the Quran.

01:00:29 --> 01:00:31

Quran. For the sisters in particular, I always

01:00:31 --> 01:00:32

mention Surah Al Nisa.

01:00:33 --> 01:00:35

I always say in Surah Al Nisa, Allah

01:00:35 --> 01:00:37

subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned something. I'm going to

01:00:37 --> 01:00:39

conclude this. Surah Nissah is chapter 4 in

01:00:39 --> 01:00:42

the Quran. The verse I'm talking about is

01:00:42 --> 01:00:44

very simple to remember. It's verse 114.

01:00:45 --> 01:00:47

That's the number of the chapters in the

01:00:47 --> 01:00:49

Quran. You know, we have 100 and 13,

01:00:50 --> 01:00:50

sorry,

01:00:51 --> 01:00:52

chap sorry.

01:00:52 --> 01:00:53

100 and

01:00:54 --> 01:00:55

14 Surahs in

01:00:55 --> 01:00:57

the Quran. I mean, the the number is

01:00:57 --> 01:00:59

this. What Allah says, he says

01:01:01 --> 01:01:03

We know we are very talkative. We chat.

01:01:03 --> 01:01:05

We do this. Said there is no good

01:01:05 --> 01:01:07

in most of what you talk about except

01:01:07 --> 01:01:08

in 3.

01:01:09 --> 01:01:12

Take them 3. He said 1, he says

01:01:16 --> 01:01:19

except the one who actually commands and urge

01:01:19 --> 01:01:21

these people to do charity. So take it

01:01:21 --> 01:01:23

to your home, take it to your parents,

01:01:23 --> 01:01:24

take it to your friends, take it to

01:01:24 --> 01:01:26

anyone, and don't hesitate to ask people. Give

01:01:26 --> 01:01:28

it to the chaplaincy, and tell them that

01:01:28 --> 01:01:30

you have offered any purpose for that. He

01:01:30 --> 01:01:31

said 1,

01:01:33 --> 01:01:35

to do it in general.

01:01:35 --> 01:01:38

Like, you volunteer, you do this and so.

01:01:38 --> 01:01:39

And the 3rd, he says,

01:01:41 --> 01:01:44

between people. So if you do these three

01:01:44 --> 01:01:46

things, you got what the reward comes. Allah

01:01:47 --> 01:01:47

says,

01:01:50 --> 01:01:51

And if you do this for the sake

01:01:51 --> 01:01:54

of Allah, Allah will say to give you

01:01:54 --> 01:01:55

a great reward.

01:01:57 --> 01:01:58

So I pray Allah

01:01:58 --> 01:02:00

as you are approaching Ramadan and make your

01:02:00 --> 01:02:03

intentions from now to the most of Ramadan.

01:02:03 --> 01:02:05

Make your intention, then to read the Quran,

01:02:05 --> 01:02:07

to keep the prayers, to keep yourself in

01:02:07 --> 01:02:09

Ramadan, to restrict your things to Ramadan

01:02:11 --> 01:02:12

You say because

01:02:12 --> 01:02:14

you are less than a week from Ramadan,

01:02:14 --> 01:02:16

but you never know who's going to be

01:02:16 --> 01:02:17

here in the past months of Ramadan. And

01:02:17 --> 01:02:19

it's an opportunity that we don't want to

01:02:19 --> 01:02:20

waste, inshallah.

01:02:20 --> 01:02:23

So ban your efforts and increase your rewards

01:02:23 --> 01:02:25

by actually coming closer to

01:02:26 --> 01:02:27

Allah Again,

01:02:27 --> 01:02:28

I

01:02:28 --> 01:02:29

say

01:02:43 --> 01:02:47

Sheikh Abdullah, thank you so much for being

01:02:47 --> 01:02:48

with us this evening.

01:02:49 --> 01:02:51

Thank you so much for your presence,

01:02:51 --> 01:02:52

and we ask

01:02:53 --> 01:02:54

Allah to grant you the best of this

01:02:54 --> 01:02:56

life, the best of the hereafter.

01:02:56 --> 01:02:57

And we ask Allah

01:02:58 --> 01:02:59

to

01:03:00 --> 01:03:02

guide you and keep you and your loved

01:03:02 --> 01:03:04

ones always in his care. And we look

01:03:04 --> 01:03:05

forward to,

01:03:05 --> 01:03:07

having you join us,

01:03:07 --> 01:03:10

once again. Wazhazakman al Khayran. Thank you. Sheikh

01:03:10 --> 01:03:12

Abdullah. Barakallahu Akkum.

01:03:12 --> 01:03:13

And alhamdulillah,

01:03:14 --> 01:03:16

my dear brothers and sisters,

01:03:16 --> 01:03:18

who have joined us.

01:03:18 --> 01:03:21

Again, this is a pre Ramadan program

01:03:21 --> 01:03:24

sponsored by Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto.

01:03:24 --> 01:03:27

We thank you all for joining us. And

01:03:28 --> 01:03:28

as I've

01:03:29 --> 01:03:29

mentioned earlier,

01:03:30 --> 01:03:32

if you believe in the work of Muslim

01:03:32 --> 01:03:34

Chaplaincy of Toronto,

01:03:34 --> 01:03:36

we ask that you give

01:03:36 --> 01:03:37

generously.

01:03:37 --> 01:03:38

And whenever

01:03:39 --> 01:03:41

I'm directly involved in fundraisers,

01:03:42 --> 01:03:43

I have a go to story,

01:03:44 --> 01:03:46

and I'm gonna go back to it today.

01:03:46 --> 01:03:49

You know, I have some good news,

01:03:49 --> 01:03:51

and I have some not so good news.

01:03:51 --> 01:03:54

The good news is Muslim chaplaincy of Toronto

01:03:54 --> 01:03:55

has a lot of money.

01:03:57 --> 01:03:59

Did you hear me? Muslim chaplaincy of Toronto

01:03:59 --> 01:04:00

has a lot of money,

01:04:01 --> 01:04:04

but perhaps the not so good news is

01:04:04 --> 01:04:06

that money is in your pocket.

01:04:08 --> 01:04:08

So alhamdulillah,

01:04:09 --> 01:04:10

by Allah's permission,

01:04:11 --> 01:04:13

we have the funds. We have the money.

01:04:13 --> 01:04:14

However,

01:04:15 --> 01:04:16

it is

01:04:16 --> 01:04:18

filtered through all of you.

01:04:19 --> 01:04:21

So we ask all of you to be

01:04:21 --> 01:04:21

generous.

01:04:22 --> 01:04:25

We ask our community members to be generous,

01:04:26 --> 01:04:28

And if you are interested in donating to

01:04:28 --> 01:04:31

Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto, please visit mcuoft.com.

01:04:36 --> 01:04:36

Mcuoft.com.

01:04:39 --> 01:04:41

And as well, during the month of Ramadan,

01:04:42 --> 01:04:44

we at Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto will be

01:04:44 --> 01:04:46

sponsoring programming throughout the month.

01:04:47 --> 01:04:48

On

01:04:48 --> 01:04:50

Mondays, we will be having

01:04:51 --> 01:04:52

a community iftar.

01:04:53 --> 01:04:56

On Tuesdays, we'll be having our evening

01:04:57 --> 01:04:59

Ramadan reminder just before we break fast,

01:05:00 --> 01:05:03

And the good life study circle, the good

01:05:03 --> 01:05:04

life halakha

01:05:04 --> 01:05:06

that I have been hosting over

01:05:07 --> 01:05:10

the past 2 semesters will continue. However, the

01:05:10 --> 01:05:11

timing may

01:05:12 --> 01:05:14

be changed so that we can make sure

01:05:14 --> 01:05:15

that we are all

01:05:16 --> 01:05:16

prepared

01:05:17 --> 01:05:18

to break our fast.

01:05:18 --> 01:05:20

And as well, we will be having other

01:05:20 --> 01:05:21

programming.

01:05:21 --> 01:05:25

Last year, we had a very exciting cooking

01:05:25 --> 01:05:25

show.

01:05:26 --> 01:05:29

We're hoping to reproduce that, this year once

01:05:29 --> 01:05:29

again.

01:05:30 --> 01:05:31

Please keep in touch,

01:05:32 --> 01:05:34

with us through our social media, our Facebook,

01:05:34 --> 01:05:35

our Instagram,

01:05:36 --> 01:05:37

and as well

01:05:38 --> 01:05:39

as we are

01:05:41 --> 01:05:44

still in a very awkward situation regarding the

01:05:44 --> 01:05:46

COVID 19 situation,

01:05:47 --> 01:05:48

we ask that if you are in need

01:05:48 --> 01:05:51

of anyone to speak to, anyone to connect

01:05:51 --> 01:05:54

with, you're looking for a safe space to,

01:05:55 --> 01:05:56

express yourself

01:05:56 --> 01:05:59

and to speak about your fears, your hopes,

01:05:59 --> 01:05:59

your aspirations,

01:06:00 --> 01:06:03

and to unpack the uncertainty of the future

01:06:03 --> 01:06:05

that we're all experiencing,

01:06:05 --> 01:06:06

please,

01:06:06 --> 01:06:07

again, visit

01:06:08 --> 01:06:09

mcuoft.com

01:06:10 --> 01:06:10

to book

01:06:11 --> 01:06:12

a confidential

01:06:13 --> 01:06:16

appointment. Again, our appointments are for free and

01:06:16 --> 01:06:18

we hope that will continue.

01:06:19 --> 01:06:21

Indeed, if you want to summarize the religion

01:06:21 --> 01:06:23

of Islam, keep your heart busy with Allah,

01:06:23 --> 01:06:25

and keep your hands busy

01:06:25 --> 01:06:27

with the people.

01:06:27 --> 01:06:30

Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto is here

01:06:30 --> 01:06:31

to facilitate

01:06:31 --> 01:06:33

the remembrance of Allah

01:06:34 --> 01:06:36

but also to serve you,

01:06:36 --> 01:06:39

to serve you and to be present for

01:06:39 --> 01:06:39

all

01:06:40 --> 01:06:40

of you.

01:06:41 --> 01:06:41

So we ask

01:06:42 --> 01:06:44

Allah to guide us all on the straight

01:06:44 --> 01:06:46

path, the path of those whom he has

01:06:46 --> 01:06:47

blessed and not the path of those who

01:06:47 --> 01:06:49

earn his displeasure nor those who go astray.

01:06:50 --> 01:06:51

We ask Allah

01:06:51 --> 01:06:54

to forgive us for all of our shortcomings,

01:06:54 --> 01:06:55

our

01:06:55 --> 01:06:59

mistakes, our deficiencies, and to transform those shortcomings,

01:06:59 --> 01:07:01

those mistakes, those deficiencies,

01:07:01 --> 01:07:02

those sins

01:07:02 --> 01:07:03

into opportunities

01:07:03 --> 01:07:06

for us to return to him in Tawbah.

01:07:06 --> 01:07:08

And we ask Allah

01:07:09 --> 01:07:10

to bless

01:07:10 --> 01:07:11

all of us

01:07:12 --> 01:07:14

and to guide all of us

01:07:14 --> 01:07:16

and to increase us in knowledge, knowledge that

01:07:16 --> 01:07:18

will benefit us in this life

01:07:18 --> 01:07:19

and the hereafter,

01:07:20 --> 01:07:23

and to bless our teachers, to bless our

01:07:23 --> 01:07:24

mentors

01:07:24 --> 01:07:27

like Imam Khalid Latif, like Sheikh Abdallah Idris,

01:07:27 --> 01:07:30

and all of those who have helped us

01:07:30 --> 01:07:31

to understand

01:07:32 --> 01:07:35

Islam and to help us to connect with

01:07:35 --> 01:07:36

our religion, especially

01:07:36 --> 01:07:39

during very difficult and trying times. And we

01:07:39 --> 01:07:40

ask Allah

01:07:41 --> 01:07:41

to plant

01:07:42 --> 01:07:44

our hearts and our feet deep in the

01:07:44 --> 01:07:45

soil of Islam,

01:07:45 --> 01:07:47

deep in the soil of iman, and deep

01:07:47 --> 01:07:49

in the soil of ihsan.

01:07:49 --> 01:07:50

And we ask Allah

01:07:51 --> 01:07:52

ultimately

01:07:53 --> 01:07:55

to shower his peace and his blessings upon

01:07:55 --> 01:07:57

our beloved Prophet Muhammad

01:07:59 --> 01:08:01

his family, his companions, and the righteous everywhere,

01:08:02 --> 01:08:04

and help us to follow his way of

01:08:04 --> 01:08:07

Rahma as he is called Rahma 10 lilaalameen.

01:08:07 --> 01:08:09

A mercy to all of the worlds. Oh,

01:08:09 --> 01:08:11

Allah, we ask you to plant our feet

01:08:11 --> 01:08:12

and our hearts firm

01:08:13 --> 01:08:14

in the soil of mercy

01:08:14 --> 01:08:17

until we visit the grave. And, again, my

01:08:17 --> 01:08:19

dear brothers and sisters, thank you so much

01:08:19 --> 01:08:21

for joining us. Again, please visit www.mcuoft.com

01:08:24 --> 01:08:25

to make a donation,

01:08:26 --> 01:08:27

to book a confidential

01:08:28 --> 01:08:28

appointment,

01:08:29 --> 01:08:30

and we look forward

01:08:30 --> 01:08:33

to you joining us during the blessed month

01:08:33 --> 01:08:34

of Ramadan

01:08:34 --> 01:08:36

where we are

01:08:36 --> 01:08:38

doing our best to cultivate

01:08:38 --> 01:08:40

taqwa. May Allah

01:08:41 --> 01:08:41

help us

01:08:42 --> 01:08:44

to visit Ramadan once again. May he accept

01:08:44 --> 01:08:46

our prayers, our fasting,

01:08:46 --> 01:08:49

and allow us to exit the month of

01:08:49 --> 01:08:51

Ramadan better from which we entered.

01:08:51 --> 01:08:53

Allahumma Ameen. Subhanakallahuma.

01:09:09 --> 01:09:09

May Allah

01:09:10 --> 01:09:12

bless you all. I leave you

01:09:12 --> 01:09:13

with peace.

01:09:17 --> 01:09:20

May God's peace, mercy, and blessings be with

01:09:20 --> 01:09:23

each and every one of you.

Share Page