Majed Mahmoud – Leadership in the divine light – Phroaic
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Allahu Akbar Assalamualaikum Bismillah Bismillah wa salatu wa
salam wa ala rasool Allah wa ala alihi
wa sahbihi wa salim May Allah bless you
for your attendance thank you to all those
who traveled from far away distances and even
if you're from Baltimore may Allah still reward
you for that as well and may Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala make this convention the
most successful one yet to come and may
Allah bless all the volunteers, wonderful MC and
all those behind the scenes that made this
possible and we also appreciate our wonderful ASL
interpreter for her work may Allah grant her
Jannah I hope she mentioned it do you
think she mentioned it?
inshallah, excellent, alright fantastic the topic is what
was the topic?
it's a joke it's about something about Islam
humility in authority but before I go right
to it I want to ask you a
couple of questions inshallah did you know that
there are times when you should step up
and seek authority and do you know that
there are times where you need to step
down and let others seek authority you may
say is it such a big deal that
this is a topic at a main session
event?
absolutely a man went to Rasulallah the Prophet
is giving a talk, just imagine I'm talking
right now and all of a sudden someone
from the corner of the event says brother
Majid what's the sign of Al Mahdi coming?
in the middle of my session Muhammad as
he was talking a guy said oh Rasulallah
ready?
when is the day of judgment?
what did the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam do?
did he pause, answer the question?
did he rebuke him?
no he continued the talk as if no
one spoke the sahaba were talking to one
another do you think Rasulallah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
heard him or do you think he got
angry, he ignored him or did he just
not hear him?
at the end of the lecture, ready?
at the end of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam speech, he asked where is the one
who asked me when is the day of
judgment?
that means he heard him, he moved on
so the man says here I am Rasulallah
here I am, I'm the one who asked
that question so the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
told him the day of judgment will come
when there's no more trust on earth when
treachery and betrayal becomes the norm then the
day of judgment is at the door some
of you right now may be sitting and
say why is brother Majid referencing this hadith
when his talk is about humility and authority,
what does trust have to do with this?
the man followed up with another question said
ya Rasulallah give me a tangible sign, like
give me a sign that the trust is
no longer there, then he says when now
you see people not qualified for leadership and
authority they take positions of leadership and authority
the world is coming to an end one
more time when people who are not qualified
for leadership take these positions this dunya is
coming to an end to show you how
critical the situation it is about leadership, and
Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and I'm sure many
of you have heard this before, is Islam
very much encouraging for you to become a
leader, as the majority of the hadith and
the ayat is it about praising yourself and
say I got this and choose me is
that what Islam majorly about no the default
no Rasulallah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and I will
clarify before people get upset and leave the
session, let me finish inshallah one time in
an authentic hadith a man said I walked
into the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam with my
two paternal cousins so my cousins told Muhammad
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam Ya Rasulallah please give us
authority over such and such location that we
conquered as Muslims, we took over this land,
make me the mayor make me the leader
of the financial department, choose me Ya Rasulallah,
ready to hear what Rasulallah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
said, he said I will never give such
position to someone who asked for it, then
he says and I will never give it
to someone that was desperate just for that
leadership brother Jazakallah Khair but your talk is
about prophet Yusuf and humility and authority and
we have in the Quran Yusuf Alaihi Salam
says Yusuf went, applied
for a position of the secretary of treasury
of the entire country of Egypt not just
applied and says choose me to lead the
entire nation which was a very wealthy nation
at that time, may Allah lift the hardship
from our brothers and sisters in Egypt and
Gaza and all around the world not just
he applied, he praised himself he said what
so brothers and sisters, when he says I'm
trustworthy I know my stuff, how do we
reconcile between what Allah is saying Allah says
don't you ever praise yourself and the hadith
says we will never give authority to those
that apply for it and then in the
Quran Allah praises that discussion how do we
reconcile Yusuf Alaihi Salam pushed himself to be
the leader, number one because he knew no
one around him is qualified no one is
even close to that, Yusuf Alaihi Salam upbringing
was in the house of Al-Aziz, the
financial minister of Egypt and he saw who's
the next man up and he saw who's
on the ballot and he saw who's being
funded and he realized none of them deserve
it, none of them are qualified for it
in that case he felt obligated that now
I have to step up, now I have
to go through and say I'm the one
for that job, number two when he now
puts on his resume an expert in Java,
an expert in C++ and whatever the case
may be he put the qualities that matter
to the job he says I am Hafidh,
I'm very trustworthy when it comes to money
you have to have amanah, I am Hafidh,
I know very well the halal from the
haram, I am Hafidh I will show up
to work early, I am Hafidh I promise
not to disturb on my phone when I'm
supposed to pick up the phones, that's Hafidh
but that's still not enough because some of
us can come early to work, do a
great job but you don't know how to
do the job, we might be people that
do i'tikaf in the musalla of your corporation
I've seen it happen before, may Allah make
it easy for us I walked in one
time to pray at one of the companies
I worked at and I saw a brother
sleeping they said what are you doing, he's
like i'tikaf Allahu Akbar, i'tikaf at lunch time
right, so he might be in a way
Hafidh but to an extent, but that's not
enough, do you have someone in your family
for example, they tell you, you know what
I want to drive 20 miles away because
they're selling an item 10 dollars less than
the store across the street, you heard that
before, yeah so then 20 miles that's Hafidh,
but what is that individual missing, alim, knowledgeable
the knowledgeable's partner's spouse says listen, according to
the IRS the standard mileage rate of reimbursement
is 0.67 cents per mile and 20
miles costs 13 dollars and 40 cents so
in essence you're buying the item from across
the street though it's 10 dollars more you
saved 3 dollars and 40 cents and I
lost half the crowd Alhamdulillah, that's why none
of you are qualified to be the financial
ministers Allahu Akbar, right so here, yes you're
trustworthy this person saved them at all cost,
but there's knowledge that has to come in,
it might be cheaper to go to the
next store that is more expensive and I
have this example as well some people may
have that aspect I really want to help
out, I will choose a makeup example, can
I do that or will I get cancelled
May Allah make it easy, Ameen so let's
say someone for example a sister wants to
buy a lipstick that is called Charlie or
Charlotte Tilbury, Allahumma Barik but Mashallah sisters can
relate Alhamdulillah, that's fantastic, right by the way
there's a review, there's ratings for every speaker,
so make sure 5 stars after this Jazakallah
Khair, on the app May Allah protect us,
right then someone else, Miskeen, wants to buy
from Sheen but anyhow, but the point being
here is that you have to know, maybe
one quality brand is better than 5 cheaper
brands, and let's proceed so he says I
am trustworthy, I am honest, and I am
Alim, I know money I know how to
buy and sell, I know what's the right
stock to invest in, the Ilm comes in
brothers and sisters, and that's very critical to
all of us, he could have said, and
I am Jameel, he's the most handsome man
ever walked on earth but that is not
important for the job he could have said,
I'm a very generous, kind human being, my
mom and dad love me, but that doesn't
matter for the job you go and you
propose to someone and you tell them, you
know what, I do this I do that,
and by the way I, for example, amazing
at FIFA the guy will very likely say,
you're rejected, you're denied, you apply for a
job that is specific to financials, and you
put on your resume, I'm 6-2, what's
the point of that, that might actually disqualify
you, because it looks like you're full of
yourself, may Allah forgive us so he says,
Inni Hafizun Alim so now we have a
picture of when to go up to authority,
and when to step down and before you
step down if now you're hearing this, O
Allah, I might be Hafiz, everybody loves me
in the Masjid, but I should not be
on the board correct?
I'm a big time donor it doesn't mean
you know how to run a Masjid or
run the Imamah position may Allah forgive us,
Ameen Rabbil Alameen so here, Yusuf Alayhi Salam
made it, and he was hired so now
the second part of the talk, which is
humility Khalas, you made it to the top
MashaAllah, Tabarakallah how do you maintain your humbleness,
three parts from Surah Yusuf number one, Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala says, ...
...
when the family of Yusuf came from Jerusalem
into Egypt, he received them he was not
embarrassed of who mom and dad are, remember
mom and dad, when they used to drop
you off to school, and now MashaAllah you
graduated and sometimes they wear clothing that do
not match, and they show up to your
graduation you're like, stay home right, your embarrassment
...
I received my mom and dad then he
says, ...
...
...
look at that, inshaAllah though he's the most
powerful of people in all Egypt, he didn't
say, go Egypt, no one will mess around
with you he didn't say, mom and dad,
my siblings go to Egypt, and you'll be
just fine he did say that, but there's
something he added to it, what was it?
excellent inshaAllah, and that's real humility, the higher
up you go in the ladder in whatever
place you may be the more you realize
I always need Allah so someone says, you
are a CEO at Microsoft, or CFO or
whatever the case is, and the guy comes
all the way to Seattle, headquarters and he
tells you, could you be able to hook
me up with a job, the guy, the
CFO says, I got you bro, for sure,
just give me your resume, I'll get you
a job in no time too confident because
he does not comprehend how can I not
get him a job as a CFO, Yusuf
is the financial minister, secretary of treasury for
the whole nation, and he knows, inshaAllah, if
Allah wants, it will happen, it's not up
to me so may Allah allow you and
I to always remember that, a brother comes
and says bro, you're gonna kill it, you're
gonna kill it in your lecture what do
we say, inshaAllah right, because all of a
sudden, what happens the mic may not work
right, it's gonna be quite embarrassing Allah can
cut off the mic, Allah can cut off
the way of not being able to speak,
I could've forgot my notes, so many things
can happen, inshaAllah can change the world, wallahi
no exaggeration look at this authentic hadith Prophet
Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam he said, Prophet Suleiman
Prophet Suleiman Alayhi Salam said and made a
promise and an oath his intention is to
get married, to have righteous children to become
soldiers to fight and lift the oppression off
of earth, that was his goal so he
said in his gathering tonight, I will approach
my spouses and in hopes they all become
pregnant and they all deliver boys, and they
all become old enough to be soldiers four
layers of dua, did you see that so
then what happened he approached his spouses, out
of all the ones that he had, only
one became pregnant, when she delivered, the one
lady that became pregnant she delivered a child
that was deformed and he died at a
young age what's in the world are you
telling us this story for because the Prophet
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says I swear by Allah
Wallahi, if Suleiman Alayhi Salam said in sha
'a Allah, if Allah wills, all his wives
would be pregnant, all would deliver baby boys,
all children become old, all will fight in
the way of Allah three words would have
changed destiny, just show Allah the brokenness, insha
'Allah of course Suleiman unintentionally forgot, subhanallah so
here brothers and sisters the humble of insha
'Allah the other matter of humanity, this is
a litmus test to see, are you full
of yourself or not, ok be confident, there's
nothing wrong with it, you go to a
job, go for it, tell them I'm this
and I'm that, but there's a point where
you break yourself to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala another litmus test, ready he says wa
qala ya abati hadha ta'weel ru'yaya
min qabl oh my father, what is happening
to me is the interpretation of the dream
when I was young, do you guys know
the dream the sun and the moon were
prostrating to Yusuf and the rest of the
stars, how many stars 11 stars so how
many children did Ya'qub have 12, Yusuf
was a 12th, subhanallah, so he said oh
my father, no he didn't say oh father
he says ya abati my dear beloved father
my habibi, so this shows me that the
more you are closer to Allah, the higher
you up in this world, the more humble
you are not just to Allah but to
your parents let your parents and your family
be the first ones to benefit from your
first paycheck let your mom and dad and
your siblings be the first ones to benefit
when you get that promotion, when you have
something that is a good news, share it
to those who love you and no one
loves you more than your family so he
says ya abati, oh my dear beloved father,
and look what he said, Yusuf alayhis salam
at the end, the third and last, as
a litmus test of our humility in leadership,
rabbi qad ataytani minal mulk, ya Allah all
this is from you, ya Allah, may Allah
make you and I remember that the meal
you had today is from Allah, not from
your own job yesterday, did you guys have
breakfast today, or lunch, raise your hand it
was probably one of the most expensive lunches
you had in your life, I know you
probably paid $24 for a small french fry,
subhanallah, so as you're paying this, you say
alhamdulillah that I had the capacity to pay
that amount of money when many people across
earth cannot be able to afford that, so
you say Allahumma lakal hamd, ya Allah, help
me be grateful so the thing is that
the higher up we go, to be very
frank with all of us here inshallah the
higher up we go sometimes we start feeling,
this is because of my grinding, my hard
work, and the means that I've taken, which
is true but it's very concerning when Allah
is not in that sentence when you don't
say it's because of Allah's help, then my
effort, so here he says, rabbi qad ataytani,
all this is from you ya Allah, minal
mulk, and you taught me, wa allamtani, how
to interpret dreams, Yusuf a.s related success
to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so to
conclude some of us may be desperate for
leadership roles, the question is to be answered,
why do you want to be the MSA
president, why you want to lead salah, and
that needs to be answered are you the
one and only qualified because if you don't
step up when you should, you'll be held
accountable and that's what our shaykh taught us,
shaykh Abdul Bari Yahya, one time he told
us he told us, brother Majid and others
if you are in a gathering and you're
about to pray salah and you know for
a fact that you're the best one to
read Quran in tajweed, and you know the
rules of the salah, if you lost your
wudu, how to exchange and who leads and
you do not step up and you know
no one else is qualified, and someone else
becomes the imam and you're shy and you
have the wrong type of humility and that
person makes mistake you are held accountable in
front of Allah SWT, so may Allah allow
you and I to be able to have
the priority, and may Allah SWT forgive us
for our shortcomings and if we messed up,
fix it today before a day that will
come that the money of the world will
never save us so may Allah forgive us
and thank you for your patience, wassalamu alaikum
wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh