Heart Soul – Episode 04

Welcome to heart and soul with me, Lauren booth, your place to reflect. When we want something really badly, there is a universally recognized position to adopt, you know when we want those grades, when we're hoping for that job or in these climates hoping not to lose that job, when we've done everything we can, we've studied, we've, we've worked hard, we've impressed and then it really is just the waiting game. There is this position that as human beings, we will automatically adopt, our faces will go to the sky, and our hands will shoot out forward. And we will say one word, wherever we come from. It's the same word, please. Now the question is, of course, who are we

asking? Why are we asking? And even if we're not following a faith? What do we expect to get from that gesture? My guest today to explore the Islamic viewpoint on why we ask and how we receive divine gifts. is Chef Sajid Omer. Chef Sajid is a prolific speaker well known to many communities around the world. And we are very grateful to have him join us today. He has a bachelor's degree in Sharia, a master's degree as well in judiciary, and he is now pursuing his PhD at the new Muslim Academy. It is his role in inspiring the youth. That brings him to our attention. And curiously chef, I read that you are a keen golfer salam, Aleikum, liftopia, keen golfer, I used to be a keen

golfer. And if I did get the chance I would get back

into the sport.

It's something that I treasured from my childhood growing up.

And sports that I took seriously at hand that I once heard it described as a waste of a good walk. He wouldn't ascribe to that then, no, no, absolutely. It's a good walk. And in the same breath, this

is the test of mental strength, and also physical ability. Very people think of just hitting a golf ball. But really, it's about shaping shots, and getting the balls to do different things. And it's all about beating the golf course. And absolutely, it cannot be described as a waste of a good walk. We're talking today about this instant when we are depleted in our resources. All we've done our best at something and often people find themselves asking the divine realm for help for sports. I remember being a Liverpool supporter, and that really does mean that you do a lot of praying, and a lot of crying. And but this instinct check the hands going out and the face going up. And the one

word, please. What is the meaning of doula in the Islamic understanding? And and how does it work? All right, that's excellent. Firstly, you said you used to be a Liverpool supporter. I hope that's the case. I still am. No, I still am. But I tried to be less fervent these days.

I'm

an artist, Liverpool supporter. I'm actually I went watch my first first match. Just a couple of weeks ago at the semifinals of the European semi finals.

I was I was told it was the best ever match to pick as a first Liverpool match to watch live. Because European Knights are amazing. But anyway, they didn't get the cup of tea and then the officer

talking about supplications is is is an important next step right with losing the finals. Yeah, I mean, you know,

as human beings

we've been built and designed to believe in the reality of our of

higher purpose in the presence of the Divine Being. We know as human beings that unless you know not everything can be solved by the human being. We know that, you know, all our abilities are limited. And the certain things that are in our control, and there's more things that aren't in our control,

and God who might be created as a natural disposition, and this position is purity

leads us towards

reaching out to God Almighty. I mean, you know, you see children you know,

turning up to the sky is not just the football supporter.

It's just it's something that is innate It is part of us as human beings. And it is this belief in God Almighty and and understanding that he is a part of a bill that mandates that we call out to Him. And we ask from him, and it is this process that really brings me

to the EQ, which is the heart and the Sq, which is the body and the IQ, which is the mind as well as the pq, which is

the body. The StG the soul, the pq, which is the body the IQ, which is the mind and the EQ, which is the heart, why should

why EQ, what does the emotional,

what a heart right? You know, the heart cannot experience

absolute peace, except if it has the ability to place his trust in a higher entity in importance

in the divine, right, because there's so many things that the heart won't be able to recontact. But when you when the heart knows that it can just leave something with the being that is upon all of this big selection rests to the heart, it, it sort of becomes content on focusing on that which is in its control, and leaving that which is in its control, to the one who is upon all April, right. So you know, the heart truly science patients, you know, even for the football supporter, as as you rightly or as you open this discussion for you know, when you after that loss, and you feel that hurt, and you go through human nature, as I call it is just part of being a human being that you you

know you there's something that means too much to you, and it didn't come through. And you truly find peace at the end of it by saying, Well, God Almighty knows best, you know, that there is a famous cricketer. And I know you'll know his name Imran Khan. And he wrote a great book called Pakistan, I recommend it to everybody as both a kind of notebook of history and the personal journey. And Imran Khan spoke about, you know, finding his peace and going on his journey through sport. What happened to him was, as a lead cricketer in Pakistan of his country, the captain, he would have days when he knew he was on top form when every member of his team was on top form. When

the ground was perfect, when they were all well rested, and they lost every wicked, they lost the whole everything that could go wrong went wrong and other days when the other team was in that condition. And yet it went their way. And he said in the gaps in his own physical prowess and overconfidence. Then he as a sportsman felt the initiative of God. Yeah, yeah. And that's it. That's basically it. And I think every human being an every listener listening in right now can relate to that. At some level, it happens in our life. And, you know, it's knowledge that all success begins automatically. And if all success begins with God Almighty, that that has to be the first point in

terms of everyone's thought that we raise our hands and we ask from the one who owns all of success. By can we actually, you know, relate to, to exactly what you've cited is from from the famous cricketer, but mostly, in reality, now, we turn to one another, as a child, a child, I remember, when I was little, I'd asked my parents and the person of power in my house was my mom, and then my grandmother had power in her house. So they were the people you'd go to you kind of bypass them and I have to be honest. And then but I knew beyond them, I thought, who does my grandmother ask? And I was on a plane recently with a, you know, an English man. And he, we were having this discussion

about faith. And he said, Look, if he prayed to anyone, sometimes he prayed to his dead mother and asked her and I said, was your mother a woman of faith? He said, Yes. I said, who did your mother ask? ask that person? Ask that being? And I think, how do we get so locked share into asking one another and having greater expectations and people can deliver? How is the how does that disease enter our hearts? And how do we remove it? Yeah, I mean, you rightly said it is a disease. And the reality is, you know, the life of this world is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. It's the system that God Almighty has placed us in. And we are on a journey back to God Almighty, and

there's a judgment day and then there's, you know, there's

just free content. So as God has God Almighty state of the system, we know of the devil that God Almighty has told us is an enemy to mankind. And he has commanded us to take the devil as an enemy. And I think this is this is the start of whole retrogression. It's our inability to recognize our enemy right?

The heart, you know, you rightly said it's a disease of the heart, an issue with the heart, and the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him, he taught us that, you know, we as human beings are lessons that one piece of flesh, and if that piece of flesh is correct, then the entire body will be correct. And if that piece of flesh is corrupt, then everything about the body will be will be corrupted to thinking, you know, the processing ability, everything will be corrupt, and then piece of fish is behind. So you know, when things swerve off

what God Almighty has cited as an ideal that no doubt the heart has been affected, and this is the first point of attack for the devil, that he knows he has to change this hot. Yes, this was this part, he has to affect the momentum that this talk has, and bring about negative momentum, and so on and so forth. And, you know, as I said earlier, God Almighty says, indeed, the devil shavon, Satan is,

is an enemy to taking as an enemy, right. And if we take someone as an enemy, then by default in the natural world, we set up our defense mechanisms, our defense systems, we do what we need to do we know that there's, you know, a Prowl in the areas, we know that Steve's operating the area immediately, you know, we, we spend money we spend our resources in insurance, we have security setup, you know, we have cameras put in place alarm systems put in place we we prepare ourselves, because we've taken something as an entity. And I think our issue is resolved to take the patient as an enemy with perhaps being Satan is a figment of our imagination. You know, it's something that

doesn't exist, and we are who we are, yes, we are, who we are in terms of the decisions that we make. But also our environments play a part in deciding, you know, who we are. And if we allow it into our environment, then these things happen. Nowadays, you know, when people have issues, as you rightly said, they tend to the network, it's just a switch on the mobile phones, open the contact list of looking to minister who can I call who's, who's gonna help me, you know, who can get me out of the situation. But we failed to recognize that isn't the person who we calling, that person is in need of somebody, and that person will be in need of somebody, right. And ultimately, everybody is

in need of God Almighty, because it is God Almighty, who is in charge of all the events

that happened in every second. And I was just reading something this morning, just before you call them. And a scholar was stating that God Almighty in only four dimensions in four places you'll be able to deduct the

means? Or is God Almighty describing himself as the one who is, you know, all over every process, and every activity and every magic that's happening in all parts of creation, right? Because he is the independent and all of creation is dependent on him. And this quality is of God Almighty has mentioned this for time, for time, to, you know, to make them actually resonate with us, because even as human beings, we sort of repeat important things. We will repeat it, we don't just say once or twice, right? You say more than one. It's our children, as human beings exams in something that will ask them more than one occasion. Are you studying? I was studying going, are you? Are you sure

you studied? Are you sure you okay with your study? Do you need an extra teacher? Are you absolutely sure we keep on you know, harping on it right? Because it's an important matter, our child passing the exam, the bottle might be sending us more than once. Because God Almighty is losing control of all of us. God Almighty is in control of all affairs. Why? Because this is the entry point of the devil make us forget who is in control, and when to shift our reliance upon other than God Almighty. And when this happens, we lose an important act of worship this act of worship known as application and as we call it in the Arabic language and we stop engaging God Almighty, in this act of worship

application.

We will be back in just a moment for more inspiring words from chef Sajid Omar, explaining how to ask and who to ask and who to make our supplications to after this inspiring performance from Sakina of poetic pilgrimage. I know why they say the lovers are crazy. While some take pills to remain sane, we actively seek insanity. we yearn to be casualties of love. People say be careful of the ones of remembrance. They are crazy. I say you judge accurately because inside my chest that was a heart that makes no sense to me, but it's constantly pining for the owner of eternity. Lovers are trying to keep their hearts in place, trying to keep a straight face because inside is a cross

between a mental asylum and a golden silence or

Hot waiting to burst and leave bits of flesh dripping from the ceiling seeking a meaning they say the lovers are crazy and they are not wrong. Because we see colors so strong it makes you want to run out into the rain with no coat on, jump into the oceans of our clothes on and so we can't tell the difference between the salt water we're inside and so falling from our eyes this love of a different kind this love I'm trying to find this love the binds me to he who owns the final hour, whose presence contained mountains into powder, Allah turn this helpless seed into a flower and reside in my heart forever. Allah said the universe's can't contain him, but he can be contained in

the heart of a believer. He said he can be contained in the heart of a believer heart of a believer. I couldn't believe it either. But my mind can't comprehend the world of spirit and ether. So we go out of our minds in hopes to find posts the science of woods insanity, so we can get lost in the love of our Lord May we all get lost in the love of our Lord and mean you're listening to heart and soul on Qf radio with me, Lauren booth, sharing his gems of knowledge with us today is Chef Sajid Omo, welcome back, Chef. Thank you very much. May God Almighty bless you and bless all the the listeners, I mean, that moment that we reach of desperation when we're driven to our knees, because

this life is not easy. If we watch television, if we watch anything on social, you know, our friends, photographs on social media, people we don't know on social media live, their life seems so full of joy. And they're going from one party and one event and one winning football team to the next game and everything's rosy for them. Why is it so rubbish for us? We turn inwards, and we say, why am I having all these problems? Why is nobody coming to my aid, and then perhaps, we make icons of these people, and we want to follow exactly what they're doing. If I wear their jeans, maybe I'll have that life. If I live in a house like this, maybe I'll be happier. Is that is that the way to

live. And that's not the way to live. I mean, if you live like that, then you quite frankly in in what they call the X ray.

Because you're looking for solace and happiness in materialism.

When release and happiness is in worship of the Divine.

I know it's easy to say that from from a religious perspective, and somebody who was was was upon faith.

But, you know, the heart and, you know, the crux of the matter is, is the reality.

You know, when you're talking about certifications as we are, it's not just about being at the point of desperation, you know, where there's absolutely nothing in your control. And now you're actually turning to the one who's in control of everything. And this is a fact that we haven't even those who don't believe

in God Almighty, the reality is when the shelf, and there's nothing to hold on to, you know, when the ships about to sink,

and no human being can help, just natural human nature, to look up to the heavens. Right? Look up to the heavens, whether you raise your hands, you don't even have to come to the heavens and, and call out to God Almighty to assist. But one thing we must remember that, you know, from an Islamic perspective, as applications, but just about asking, it's also about the conversation. The application is a means of having a conversation with God.

And this is, you know, something that is forgotten, you know, even amongst people of faith. Because even people of faith, they will see them, you know, saying Well, I'm asking, but I'm not getting, and they forget that it's actually a process of having a conversation with God Almighty. And just coming in, you know, the other question that you laid down about, you know, in other people having things and then we would love those things, or we might have asked for those things that we haven't been given those things. When the reality is, you know, God Almighty or why, and the life that we live, is, as I said, a means to an end. It's not a place of absolute happiness, you know, and

perpetual happiness. Nor is it a place of absolute perpetual doom and gloom. Because the place of absolute happiness, and perpetual happiness is paradise. And the place of absolute and perpetual demand is outside. Right, we in a realm known as the temporary, the realm before the protection and in the life that we live, you know, there's gonna be moments that are first and moments that are against us. They're going to be happy moments and sad moments, right? You know, life throws curveballs. It's just the nature of life that nobody can change. You don't know.

invention, no scientific ability, nothing can change this. This is part and parcel of the universal law that God Almighty has with regard to the life of this world. And our Creator, God Almighty knows us better than we know ourselves as is natural. With any creator of anything, if I create a vehicle, I know best houses vehicle operator, I know, you know, the optimum oil to be used. I know, the optimum used to be used, I know the upper deck, the correct operation of the entire vehicle, you know, if it's a cold day, how many minutes I should warm it up for and so on and so forth, which terrain the vehicle is suitable for the cleaner, I know which part has been put in. And as for the

buyer of my product, then that person will never, ever know the products as good as I, unless they read the manuals that are placed in the vehicle. Or they make mistakes and learn to experience. And that's just the hard way, quite frankly, to lack of God Almighty Creator, he knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what makes us tick. He knows how we will operate in front of adversity. And he gave us the instruction manual in terms of divine revelation. And he said, as you know, teachers who were taught by him, to teach us in the form of prophets and messengers, and they have taught us how we should operate in order to attain what we are looking for the formula of happiness, the

formula of success, because the human being in and of the realm and power of the human being cannot do anything to achieve absolute happiness, we in our own capacity might be able to achieve a portion of happiness, right, which many people mistake for complete happiness or permanent happiness, this, this wish that these bubbles of, of peace that we have when everybody in the family as well, when in fact the Prophet peace be upon him said that if we have enough to eat, we have a place to stay and we have accommodation, and we're living in a place where there's no war. We actually have everything in the world. And that's where we have to leave it today and we'll be back for a second part on the

power of prayer with Chef Sajid Ouma tomorrow, the producer for this series is a have a chef you've been listening to heart and soul until tomorrow Assalamu alaikum