Majed Mahmoud – The Story of Prophet Shuaib & the People of Madyan
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
So are you ready to hear how Muhammad
sallallahu alayhi wasallam defined who is a Muslim,
ready?
He says the Muslim, مَنْ سَلِمَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ مِنْ
لِسَانِهِ وَيَدِهِ The true true Muslim is the
one, ready?
Because now you can check, am I a
Muslim or not?
The Muslim is the one, has two attributes.
The one whom the people feel safe from
his tongue and his hand.
I don't understand.
The true Muslim is someone, let's say for
example I choose Majd, may Allah grant you
Jannah, see what I mean?
So if he's a true Muslim, that means
when I give him my back and I
walk away, I feel safe, he will not
hurt me with his tongue, as in backbite,
as in gossip about me, as in talking
trash about me.
Not just the tongue, also physically.
He will not try to harm me in
any way, shape or form.
So if the people feel that way towards
you, then it's a sign you're a true
Muslim.
Now there's an upgrade to that.
What's the upgrade?
Not the main cabin, there's the Delta Comfort
Plus.
Alright, first class.
What's the first class?
The same hadith.
Rasulullah ﷺ says, do you know who is
the Mu'min?
Oh, that's next level.
Al-Mu'min is a different level.
Ready for the definition?
Rasulullah ﷺ says, al-Mu'min man aminahun naas.
The one whom the people feel safe trusting
him with their money and their life.
Have you reached that inshallah?
May Allah make you all reach that.
Say amin.
You reach a point, someone can leave $10
,000 in front of you to go use
the washroom, come back and they will not
lose it.
Someone is comfortable giving you the keys to
his house when he's going to hajj and
trusting you with his money and his life.
Allahu Akbar.
May Allah make us all reach that level
of Iman.
Why did I start with this introduction?
Because this story is a lot more heavy
in a way than the previous two.
The first nation we spoke about was the
nation of Aad.
Who was their prophet?
Who was the prophet of Aad?
Hud.
And then we spoke about the nation of
Thamud.
Who was their prophet?
Salih.
Aad had one punishment.
It was a strong wind and severe calamity,
right?
Wind.
The people of Thamud did more crimes.
So they got not one punishment, they got
two punishments, right?
The earthquake, Ar-Rajfa, and a very screeching
loud blast noise that made them lose everything
and die from it.
Today or tonight, it's a group of people,
they won't get one, they won't get two,
they'll actually get three.
And that's not very common in the Quran.
Why?
What's so different about them?
They are people who didn't just not believe
in Allah, they went against the definitions we
provided.
And you will see that shortly, inshallah.
Today's people are the people of Median.
Median is a city that was named after
the family's name.
You guys with me?
Some scholars say today's city of Median is
actually in southern Jordan, northern Saudi Arabia, known
as Ma'an.
Known as Ma'an.
That's what some scholars have said.
Now Median, that was the family name of
the people we're about to talk about.
And when were they living?
What's their era?
Anybody knows?
Around which time are they after Nuh?
Before, obviously, Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
Are they after Musa?
What's your take?
Who knows?
Anybody can help me out?
The people of Median, when did they come?
Take a shot at it.
Go ahead.
After Salih Alayhis Salaam, this man is a
smart man, may Allah bless you.
Fantastic.
Anybody can get me a little bit closer?
Go ahead.
Before Musa Alayhis Salaam, inshallah, that's a correct
answer.
Allah says in the Quran, The closest nation,
they came right after Prophet Lut Alayhis Salaam.
So Prophet Lut Alayhis Salaam, he was the
closest to them.
Pay attention.
In terms of time, like right after, and
in terms of location.
In terms of time and in terms of
location.
Famously known, the people of Lut Alayhis Salaam,
where did they live?
Near the Dead Sea, right?
In Palestine.
In Arabic, it's called Sadum.
In English, I think it's called Sodom.
S-O-D-O-M.
But besides these, we don't have a confirmation
in the Quran, so we'll move past that.
But they're close to Prophet Lut in time,
and Prophet Lut in what?
In location.
Fantastic.
What were some of their blessings?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala shares with us
certain blessings.
And the way, inshallah, we're going to go
about this is as follows.
We told you about the people of Median
a bit.
I will tell you the blessings Allah gave
them.
Then what do you think I'll go to
next?
How they misused the blessings.
Then they misused the blessings.
Then Allah, from His mercy, will send them
someone to teach them.
Fair enough?
You see the process?
Yalla, what are some of their blessings?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says they had
so many resources.
They were bikhayr.
They had every mean that you can think
of.
They had the wealth.
They had the health.
There was no plagues and diseases.
None of that stuff.
They had so much power, Allah says.
And they had so many people.
The population was big.
And they had a lot of children.
Do you think that's a blessing?
Children are a blessing?
What do you guys think?
I don't know if I share this or
not.
But children are a blessing.
The kids are saying yes.
What about parents?
All right?
I was writing the notes.
And then my daughter, she said, she saw
something along the lines of, you know, how
children are a blessing.
She's like, Baba, we're not a blessing.
She said, we are a waste.
We are so annoying.
And we're a waste of money.
I'm like, Allahu akbar.
Allahu akbar.
All the money that we spent is khalas?
La wallah.
They're not annoying, inshallah.
Nor are they a waste of money.
Why?
Because the Prophet taught us something.
Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
The best dollar you ever spend is on
your family.
The best penny they ever spend.
The best.
Why?
Because you're doing something of, quote unquote, like
charity and act of worship.
And they are your family.
So you get double.
Allahu akbar.
May Allah make us generous to our family.
Say ameen.
You know, not being generous is quite a
tough situation.
Even Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, a woman
went to him and she asked him, Ya
Rasulullah, you know, I got a few men
proposing to me.
And she detailed the names of the men.
And one of them was stingy.
And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says,
he's no good.
Allahu akbar.
So you got to be careful, brothers.
Ready?
Be very generous, inshallah.
So next time you go to a restaurant,
don't always order water.
Because we do that just for the bill.
I know, not healthy.
Not healthy like that.
You want to eliminate so bad that it
was $6.50. I feel you.
Right?
You see?
Alhamdulillah.
And the dessert is a whole other story.
Let's move on, inshallah.
So they had so much blessings in children.
Now unfortunately, the way people look at children
sometimes actually can be different.
And I'm not exaggerating if I tell you,
I was shocked when I took a marketing
class at the University of Windsor.
Not too far from you.
And then the professor was talking about the
issues in the world.
Like he just went all like so sad,
depressing way.
And he's like so negative.
It was so painful.
The financial calamity.
The inflation.
Look at the situation.
Look at even, you know what?
The pollution in the world.
He mentioned all the problems.
After he mentioned the problems, you know what
the professor told us?
I was in class.
He says, what do you guys think the
solution may be to this?
What's the solution?
What do you guys think the solution?
Go to Mars.
Fantastic.
You have Elon Musk revision too.
MashaAllah.
Okay, fantastic.
What's the solution to all the problems?
Be optimistic.
Ihsan.
Fantastic.
What is it?
The solution are children.
May Allah bless them.
Say ameen.
Children, do you agree?
Go ahead.
What's the solution here?
To not have children.
To not have children.
Allahu Akbar.
Actually, to be honest with you, that's exactly
what the professor said.
And he was dead serious.
But he said it in a quite adult
mode.
Right?
And he said, do not have children.
Stop having kids.
Enough.
That's why they're causing inflation.
That's why all these problems.
And I thought it was a joke, but
he kept going and going.
Then he moved on to the next point,
which was very disappointing.
But in Qur'an, Allah gives you two
verses.
Ready?
How many?
Two verses.
Look how beautiful.
Allah says in the Qur'an, أعوذ بالله
من الشيطان الرجيم.
For you who have children right now, and
you're scared of the present situation, this ayah
is for you.
وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُم مِّنْ إِمْلَاقُ نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ
Allah says, do not kill your children for
the fear of poverty.
Don't let that financial situation gets you so
nervous that you're willing to ruin and destroy
your child.
May Allah protect us.
And this killing of children, not just in
the past where Allah puts it in the
Qur'an, Allah says it, that they used
to bury their own kids, right?
Out of fear of poverty, I cannot afford
having a kid.
They would actually bury the kids.
That's one of the reasons.
But even today, some people can kill their
own children.
Yes?
And we're not talking about medical reasons and
so on and so forth.
But a reason that inshallah, all of us
can agree as Muslims, it is not appropriate
to choose to kill a child in the
womb of a mother for the fear of
not having enough money.
Correct?
Because this happens and more common and more
common.
And this is unacceptable in every way.
Allah says, don't kill your child for the
fear of lack of money.
Fair enough?
But what about the other ayah?
Not about the fear of the present, but
the fear of the future.
Some people say, I don't know about the
future.
I cannot have any more.
Things are becoming very expensive.
Oh, you who's worried about the future, this
ayah is for you.
Allah says, وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلَاقُ نَحْنُ
نَرْزُقُهُمْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ إِنَّ قَتِلَهُمْ كَانَ خِطُؤًا كَبِيرًا Khalas,
you're expecting, when a soon, no, Allah says,
we will provide for the child, then we
will provide for you.
It's a little bit detailed.
So pay attention.
Ready?
The first ayah I said, Allah said, I'll
provide for you parents, then He says, I'll
provide for the children.
Because that's present.
The ones worried about the future, Allah says,
I'll provide for your children, then provide for
you.
And if you ask almost anyone in this
auditorium or theater, oh, you who was expecting
a child or just had a child, you
see how Allah opened the doors for you.
Yes or no?
Some nods, yes?
Every single one of my kids, I have
a story for you.
First job that ever got full time was,
was when Maryam came.
Allahu Akbar.
Right?
Another child I had, I got something else.
Another child I had, I got this.
It's just unbelievable.
And I'm not the only story.
Every parent here has a story.
So next time you get a promotion, a
raise when you're about to have a kid,
please do not attribute it to your hard
work.
Another in terms of having a child, that
is the work.
May Allah grant us all Jannah.
Say ameen.
Fantastic.
Why do you spend so much time on
this?
Because Allah highlights it in their story.
Having kids is a blessing.
Having a big family is a blessing.
And remember, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, an authentic
narration, he used to dislike or he used
to push against being single.
And that's what Anas Ibn Malik said in
an authentic narration.
He never used to like people just to
remain single.
And he says, Tabattul, as in like for
the reason of being devout worshipers.
That's authentic narration.
So people say, I don't want to really
get married until I perform Hajj.
I don't want to really get married until
I like, you know, I go to Medina
and Al-Aqsa and so on.
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, he doesn't like that.
That's why Anas Ibn Malik said, Nahyan Shadeedah.
He was very strict on it.
Don't do that, devout worshiping.
What if he hears some of our people
saying, I don't want to get married until
I travel the world.
If like going to Hajj and stuff, the
Prophet didn't like that.
I want to be the type of guy
that prays all night.
I don't want a spouse to ruin that
momentum.
The Prophet says, don't do that.
Imagine like, let me just go until I,
you know, go up further in the ladder
in the company.
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was against that.
Fair enough.
So I don't want no one to tell
me because it happens very frequently.
I tell a brother who's a 23-year
-old guy.
So where's marriage in the picture?
Where's the to-do list?
He's like, no, I'm only 23.
You're only what?
You're only 23.
What do you mean?
I'm only 23.
What is it supposed to mean?
All right.
It should be on the to-do list.
Dua.
Some serious dua.
Ya Allah, grant me a righteous spouse even
younger than 23.
Put it on a dua list until Allah
make it possible.
May Allah grant you all righteous spouse.
Say ameen.
You want some marriage advice?
Last one.
Because I'm seeing your eyes like undivided attention.
This is pretty bad.
Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah.
All right.
May Allah grant you all Jannah.
Say ameen.
Fantastic.
What's the last blessing?
They had lessons learned from those before.
I don't understand.
They were educated about what happened to Prophet
Lut.
They knew what happened to Prophet Salih's people.
He knew what happened to Prophet Thamud's people.
And they know what happened to Prophet Nuh's
people.
How is that a blessing?
Tell me, how is that a blessing?
Who thinks?
Who can give me a suggestion?
How is that a blessing?
Go ahead.
Fantastic, right?
When you see someone making a mistake, it's
just logical that you're in a way a
step ahead to an extent, right?
So they don't have one story, they have
four, that Allah mentions in the Quran.
So when you see other people's mistakes, take
this as a blessing.
That you were not the mistake to learn
from, you can learn from other people's mistakes.
So may Allah make us intelligent.
Say ameen.
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, when Allah was teaching
him about them, Allah shows how they used
all these blessings against Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta
'ala.
And what makes them different is what?
Is that their issue with the Creator, and
the second issue with the creation.
That one more time, this is very important,
because it's the highlight.
Their problem, what makes them so bad, is
the problem they had with Allah, and with
the creation.
That's why the punishment will be tripled.
May Allah protect us, Ya Rabb.
And the thing that they used to worship
was a tree.
Have you ever read in the Quran, Ashab
al-ayka?
You heard that before?
Ashab al-ayka, the people of the tree,
that's them.
They were the ones that used to worship
this tree, and seek blessings from it.
All the advancement.
But they still had this inclination to idol
worshipping.
Some people today, may Allah guide you and
me, say Ameen.
And if you're someone like that, you may
have never known before, but maybe this opportunity
is for you to know inshaAllah.
Ready?
Some people, inshaAllah, accomplished people and so on,
and you see on their social media, on
their bio, such and such and such and
such, such and such and such and such,
then the blue eye.
I don't inject my bio, right?
No.
Or for example, they put a story of
them playing with their children, then they go
on the emoji section.
I actually had to confirm this before the
lecture.
I actually went on this.
Instagram stories, to add a gif, or I
don't know, what is that?
Then I put blue eye, and I get
the blue eye.
It's a thing, even to non-Muslims.
SubhanAllah.
It's not an Islamic thing, but many of
the people relate to it.
So the point being is that, as educated
as you may be, do not resort to
these things, only Allah can protect.
Fair enough?
Don't put a LeBron James on us.
What do you mean?
May Allah guide him, say Ameen.
But one time a reporter was talking like,
you're so clutch, I don't know what, and
you're the best, the go, and he's like,
knock on wood.
Yeah, LeBron, you are worth over a billion
dollars.
But still knock on wood.
So may Allah educate us, say Ameen.
And this comes to show you that everyone
in this room, including myself, we have this
inclination of spirituality.
No matter how much we decline God.
May Allah make us be spiritual in the
right way, say Ameen.
So this is with Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala, and Allah calls them the zalimin.
Allah says those who worship other than Allah,
those who prioritize people over Allah, they're oppressors.
No, you're not oppressing Allah.
Allah says in the Quran, وَمَا ظَلَمُونَ وَلَكِن
كَانُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ Allah says you're oppressing no
one but yourself.
When you do not prioritize Allah in your
life, you're causing yourself oppression.
You're harming your own self.
Allah's free from all of us.
Allah doesn't need any of us.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us
Jannah, say Ameen.
So we all, this is your haq, your
right.
Your right is to go to paradise if
you worship Allah.
It's a right that you have.
You guys know that.
It's your right to go to Jannah.
Not just that, everyone here has a house
in Jannah.
Wallahi, it's built.
I swore by Allah.
But the thing is that, well, you go
ahead inshaAllah and just turn that key.
Well, maybe there's no keys because there's no
issues inshaAllah.
Go right to the Jannah.
You know what the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam said?
He says everyone in my ummah goes to
Jannah, to paradise.
Everyone goes to paradise except the ones that
do not want to.
So the Sahaba said, who doesn't want to?
He says whoever obeys me goes to Jannah.
And whoever disobeys me chose not to go
to Jannah.
So may Allah make us of those who
obey him.
Say ameen.
Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
When it comes to the creation, there was
a very big highlight of their crimes.
And what was it?
They were cheaters.
They used to play games with the scale,
with the balance.
How can you relate to this to today's
time?
You know, for example, they have a weight
that shows five pounds.
But in reality, it is seven pounds.
That's when they sell.
Like, oh, you got seven pounds off for
oranges.
But actually the thing is five, but they
changed the number on it.
How can you relate this to today's time?
People cheating in their business.
How?
Well, we're good these days.
Halal fish?
Oh, fantastic, right?
Actually, that's pretty good.
That's actually a really good one, right?
The guy gets a beef.
Forget beef, pork.
Then he puts a halal stamp.
Halal.
What do you mean halal?
What is halal?
Right?
Just put a sticker halal and don't even
verify, don't even know what's going on.
So that's actually a very good example.
How many people they roll up or they
change the odometer of a vehicle?
Right?
It's 100,000 miles.
He plays around with it, makes it 79
,000 miles.
So the price goes up.
But you know, the value is not what's
actually you're sharing with the people.
Allah says these people are not fair.
They're so unjust.
May Allah protect us.
Say ameen.
And this happens, you know, in the automotive
industry in 2015, there's a very famous German
car manufacturer that was exposed and admitted that
they played with the emissions of the car.
Let me explain a little bit.
So the car is a diesel type of
vehicle and it releases emissions that are horrible
to the society, okay, to the environment.
They installed something in the car that when
someone tests the emission of the car, the
software turns on and shows to the tester
that it's a pure, clean diesel engine.
This was in 2015, probably very famous.
Some of you know about Volkswagen.
SubhanAllah.
So eventually they got, taban, the whole news
knew about it and it went viral.
A big company like that.
And you know, that's a lot of damage.
You know, how bad was the emissions?
It was 150 times more than the regular
car.
SubhanAllah.
So when people do these damages, don't say,
oh, I'm just harming myself.
They're harming society at large.
This was a chaotic situation.
Then you have another story.
2016, Wells Fargo.
They revealed that 5,300 employees.
You know how many human beings that is?
5,300 employees.
What about them?
They secretly opened phony bank accounts.
Why?
So they can achieve their goals.
Like, oh, I was able to manage seven
credit cards and open this many accounts.
Oh, we're fake.
SubhanAllah.
So all that.
Now, okay, well, how did this harm you?
Well, their stocks go up because they're doing
well.
Then eventually they get exposed and all your
retirement account drops.
And it's a disaster for all of us.
So you see how cheating goes very far?
Many people are just, you know, short-sighted.
Let us be very farsighted with that.
Rasulullah ﷺ, he dislikes and he is so
angry when people cheat.
One time he walked in the mall, like
let's say a group of stores.
So he went to a store that was
selling grain.
Focus with me, may Allah bless you.
So when he saw the grains, it was
a custom that people actually grab the grains
or the huboob and so on.
And they actually see it and they test
the quality of it.
When the Prophet ﷺ placed his hand into
that bucket and he took his hand out,
the tip of his finger was wet.
The tip of his finger was what?
Wet.
What does that mean?
Something, this is not supposed to be wet
because if it's wet, it will ruin.
Rotten the seeds.
It would rotten these items.
So the Prophet ﷺ, I want you to
all learn inshallah from that and I learned
from it.
Ready?
He didn't say, why is there water?
Like, no, this is, no.
He says, مَا هَذَا يَا صَحِبَ الطَّعَامِ Can
you have an explanation for this?
Why is it when I put my hand,
there's water at the bottom of this?
He wants to verify.
So this man got nervous.
Why is there water in this bucket?
Okay, I'll admit.
Ya Rasulullah, it was raining and the rain
hit the top of the seeds.
And then for me to hide because if
it got wet, it got rotten, people will
not buy it.
I don't want to lose my money.
So I emptied, look at the top.
I emptied it into another bucket.
So what was wet on the top became
in the bottom.
So the Prophet ﷺ says a line which
perhaps many of you heard before.
This is the hadith where it came from.
Ready?
He was so angry and he said, ﷺ
أَفَلَا جَعَلْتَهُ فَوْقَ الطَّعَامِ كَي يَرَاهُ النَّاسِ You
should have kept it in a way that
it's wet.
So people can buy.
Then he says, مَنْ غَشَّنَا فَلَيْسَ مِنَّا Whoever
cheats us is not one of my people.
You're not one of my ummah if you
cheat people in business, transactions.
And don't put a value to it, please.
Don't say, oh, just two dollars.
No, no, no.
Oh, he's rich.
Who cares?
What's a hundred dollars to him?
That's not your business or my business.
Cheating is cheating even if it's a penny.
Are you guys with me?
Whether intentional or unintentional.
Did it ever happen that you guys, for
example, borrowed something from someone and you forgot
to give it back.
Then you went back home, you're like, oh,
my God, I have their watch, I have
their pen, I have this.
Who cares?
They can afford it, whatever.
I can benefit from it.
No, don't do that.
As much as you possibly can.
Why?
Because you never know what will happen to
you on Al-Qiyamah and Dunya.
I remember one time we went to Chicago
and we had lunch.
And I realized, some of you may think
this a little bit extreme, but inshallah, it's
not at all.
Trust me.
We were given the bill and to pay
for it.
And Jazallah khair, one brother invited me and
he paid for the bill.
Accidentally, he kept the pen.
Then we left the restaurant, we started driving
around and he's like, oh, the pen.
So I said, you know what?
We either have to go back to the
restaurant and return the pen.
Worst case scenario, at minimum, we call them
up to tell them, we will have your
pen.
How would you like us to deliver it?
Not ask, do you want it?
See, very different.
So then I call up the restaurant.
I said, you know what?
My apologies.
We kept the pen that we signed the
bill with.
How would you like us to send it?
It's okay if we get another 30 minutes
because we're in a different store.
Don't make it seem like it's an option
that if they say, yes, bring it, they
seem evil.
You go ahead and I'm going to give
it to you, but would you mind if
I wait 30 minutes because I want to
finish my thing?
They said, oh, just the pen.
Don't worry about it.
That's it.
Thank you, thank you.
Right?
So if we try our best to practice
as much as possible, wallah, we'll be in
a much better place.
Agree.
And I have stories where I failed, which
I will not share with you, of course,
right?
Even if it's a finale, it doesn't matter,
right?
May Allah grant us all Jannah.
Say Ameen.
So Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, he says that
you should not cheat the people.
Otherwise, you're not one of us.
Now, what did they also do?
They were robbers.
Now, this is three categories.
Allah says in the Quran that they used
to sit in every path.
Let me explain that.
What does it mean?
Any possible way the people of Median can
take your money, they will take.
Taxes, customs, oh, taxes are haram?
Don't get us in trouble, right?
I know there's a lawsuit.
I was reading there's a lawsuit against taxes,
but whoever sued the government, obviously lost, right?
Anyway, let's move on.
But with the taxes that is being referred
to here, it's called Maksin.
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, whoever takes the
money of the people, taxing them, taking customs
from them without justification, as in not to
really improve the roads or something of a
need, they will not enter Jannah.
These people were like that.
I remember I went to a country and
it was such a weird scenario.
I hope I can show it to you
as the way I saw it.
So the guy was driving me.
I was recording a series of videos for
a TV channel.
And while he was driving, there's some random
guy with an orange cone.
The orange cone for parking spots.
So while he has this orange cone, he
was walking.
And then the guy who's driving me rolled
down the window and told him, you know
what?
I'd like to park here.
So I asked the guy, is he like
the owner of this spot?
Because this looks like a public area, like
a public parking.
You know, like some of them said $6
.50 an hour.
No, this is completely open.
He's like, these people, man, they're crazy.
They actually will not allow you to park
unless you pay them.
I'm like, who are these people?
Some random people.
Just have an orange cone.
Imagine you go to Kroger with a guy
with an orange cone.
You can't park here.
Who are you?
Don't worry about it.
Who am I?
$5.50, $5.50, $5.50. This is
the theft that they used to do, but
at a higher scale.
May Allah protect us.
Ya Rabbal Alameen.
Wa la taqoodu bi kulli salatan tuwa'idun.
And what else did they used to do?
Truth blockers.
Anyone that tries to fix the wrong that
they did, they would shut him down.
You try to like, hey, I don't think
that's fair.
I don't think that's fair.
Let us do our business, OK?
You want 10%?
We'll give you 10%, but don't get involved.
May Allah protect us.
So you have to be very, very sure
that you don't fall into that even in
this country.
If you are not able to stop the
evil, which is very likely many of us
cannot, don't be involved in the evil.
Fair enough?
I'll share this with you.
Bismillah.
OK, I'm not sure if I shared this
with you before, but one of my previous
jobs, I was working on a certain component
in a vehicle.
And that component, there was a supplier from
out of America.
They used to supply that company with that
part.
Now that part, anytime they sent it to
me for me to test it, that it
works, I had to do validation and all
that quality report, etc.
Every time I test it on the vehicle,
it doesn't work really well.
Malfunction.
So then I emailed them.
I said, you know what?
The part is not working very well.
So please, you guys, fix it.
So I give them another chance.
They go.
They do their thing.
They send me three samples like five weeks
later or whatever.
I get the samples.
I put it in the car.
And is it working?
It's not really working.
So I tell them, guys, it's not working.
This is a lot of waste of time.
This is something that used to work or
whatever the case is.
Basically, we change suppliers.
Anyhow, let's move on.
Eventually, they send me a third sample.
I'm like, Bismillah.
I tried to put it in the car,
turn on the switch.
It's not working.
So I said, no, it's not working.
I have to eventually put a report together.
We may have to move on, whatever the
case is.
So they come and fly three people, two
guys and a girl.
They come all the way to America.
I used to live in Canada at that
time.
And when they came to America and they
came right to my office or my desk,
office sounds a bit fancy.
It was a desk, okay?
It's a cubicle.
All right.
So they came and the two guys were
speaking like, you know what?
Thank you so much for your patience, whatever.
We're going to fix it.
We promise.
Give us another chance.
Don't report it.
Don't escalate the problems.
Give us a chance.
So I said, you know what?
Because I actually, at one point, I was
going beyond my working hours to go fix
the problem.
Two guys, they leave.
Who stayed?
The girl.
Dressed up and everything.
So she had a bag and she put
the bag in front of me on the
desk and she walked away.
And as she's walking away, she says, this
is a token.
I remember, a token of appreciation.
Token of appreciation.
Oh, thank you.
It's not a token.
It's tokens, right?
It was something very valuable, very expensive.
Very expensive.
So I said, I don't think I can
accept that.
Then she said, no, no, no.
You worked really hard.
You deserve it.
Now, who came to me?
Shaytan.
Yes.
They're kuffar anyways, right?
No, no, no.
Don't do that, right?
So I'm like thinking, I'm like, I did
work hard.
Wallahi, but it's like this.
I looked at it a couple of times.
This is nice.
So then I said, I know I can't
take it because the company policy is that
you're not allowed to take more than a
$20 gift.
And this is definitely more than $20, maybe
another two digits next to it.
They said, no, no, no, no.
I said, you know what?
Just for my comfort sake, let me call
the manager.
Look how naive this miskeen is.
I know.
No, don't call the manager.
Don't call the manager.
Keep it between us.
That's it.
Don't make it life complicated.
I said, okay, let me just think about
it.
Okay, think about it.
I'm leaving.
Put me under pressure to accept it.
So then when she left, I called a
friend of mine.
And he was actually a co-worker.
So I called him up.
I said, how are you?
I'm good.
I'm like, listen, this is a situation.
I told him the story that I just
shared with you.
So I said, should I take you or
not?
He's like, what do you mean?
Should I accept the token of appreciation or
not?
He said, he's like, brother Magid, you give
us Friday khutbas.
Tell me what you learned from my Friday
khutbas.
Tell me what did you learn?
He's like, of course not.
He's like, Magid, this could have been a
plot against you.
Huh?
Yeah, go run after the lady and give
her the bag.
I'm like, okay.
I hang up and I took the bag
and start running.
And they're like, you know what?
Take it.
I don't want it.
So eventually, it should have been stronger.
I told you, you have good stories, bad
stories, right?
So what's so evil is that when she
left, about 6.30 p.m., I went
back to Canada.
I used to live there.
I got a phone call from her.
She said, where are you, Mr. Mahmoud?
I'm like, I'm home, right?
She's like, I would like to see you.
I'm like, why?
I want to give you a token of
appreciation.
I'm like, what's wrong with you?
I just made a whole scene and the
company, everything.
She's like, yeah, look at this.
She said, yeah, but now it's after hours
and you're in Canada.
May Allah protect us.
May Allah protect us, right?
At this point, I escalated the life out
of this problem.
So much so that it went too high
up in the company that we used to
get from them at least eight figures of
supply of products.
So the company, may Allah guide them all.
See what I mean?
Look, subhanAllah, some people have the amanah.
They said, this is what we'll do.
We will stop getting any parts from that
company, not just that switch, everything else.
So I told them, okay, but under one
condition, don't mention my name.
I actually was scared, subhanAllah, right?
Because there's a sense of the cheating, the
bribery that takes place.
So these people lived on it.
And if you try to stop them, they
will cut you off.
Literally and maybe verbally, may Allah grant us
Jannah.
Say Ameen.
Last but not least, this is a bit
nasty.
And I'll mention this, then we can take
a break.
Though this was a quite short session.
They used to paint the people that are
righteous as unrighteous.
They say to the liars, they're truthful, vote
for him.
And the truthful as liars.
They tried to plot and make people fall
into traps to ruin the image of righteous
people.
So may Allah protect you all.
Say Ameen.
Because when a person of a high figure
falls, many of their followers, they fall along
with that person.
There's a very famous Christian preacher, I think
his name is Jimmy Swagger, right?
Whatever his name is, you don't have to
look him up.
A man who so many people in the
entire country and continents used to look up
to him.
And eventually he was exposed with a huge
scandal that was very much authenticized, not fabricated
on him.
And many of the people that used to
follow him, unfortunately, they did the exact same
sin afterwards.
So they tried to ruin that and plot
for people.
I'm not saying that they plotted for him,
but the concept of being strong.
May Allah bless you and grant you Jannah.
Say Ameen.
All right.
Now, with all the corruption that they caused,
it's absolute fasad in every level in the
society, within the family, within the neighborhood, within
the community.
The people that are not doing much, they
are still...
Actually, there's no one not doing well financially
in general.
All of these people are spreading so much
corruption and hurting other people that are trying
to genuinely compete.
And one of the best people that was
honest in the midst of all that corruption
was none other than...
What's his wonderful name?
Shuaib.
Shuaib was amongst these people and he was
known for his respect.
He was known for his fairness.
He was known for his justice.
He was known to be a very well
-spoken man, by the way.
He's very famously known as Khatib-ul-Anbiya.
The well-spoken, most eloquent of speakers amongst
all prophets.
Taba'an, Allah Ta'ala A'lam, not
beyond Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
Now, what happened in this case?
By the way, would Allah not just punish
them?
Like, why did Allah send a prophet?
Would Allah not just punish them and just
destroy them?
Give him a chance, right?
And what's that chance?
Someone, who said give him a chance?
Okay, so you're right.
Give him a chance.
I sent you.
All right, but give him...
Like, what is...
What's the chance looks like?
A prophet, right?
What is it?
Repent, give him time.
Now, I want you to memorize this part.
Ready?
Allah says in the Quran, وَمَا كُنَّ مُعَذِّبِينَ
حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولَهُ This is a rule of
thumb with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
He says, I would never punish a group
of people until I send them a messenger.
Fair enough.
I would never punish someone until they become
informed.
So these people would not be punished just
yet for they have not been completely and
clearly informed.
Though some of the stuff may be obvious,
but this is the rule that Allah goes
by.
He will not punish someone until they are
clearly informed and the person clearly comprehends the
information.
So if you say, pay attention, if you
say, well, I told this brother about this
is haram and everything like that and he
kept doing it and he still worships this,
he's going to hellfire.
Relax.
Because you may be so clear, but it
doesn't mean that he completely understood.
You guys with me?
And so dangerous to tell people this person
is a kafir.
Allah will not tell you why did you
not tell him he's a kafir?
But Allah may question you, why did you
say he's a kafir?
Why?
Because one of the scariest hadith about this,
Rasulullah ﷺ, by the way, these people are
kuffar, don't get me wrong, they are kuffar.
But the issue is that when our brothers
and sisters together, someone makes a mistake, gets
a quarter, goes to Somerset Mall, there's a
water, right?
Like a pond, right?
They throw the quarter, he's like, yeah, Allah,
get me married.
Right?
Like this is shirk.
You should ask Allah, you're throwing the quarter.
You know what?
I'll never pray next to you.
Yeah, relax.
Yeah, you are relaxed.
You call him kafir because you throw a
quarter?
Make him understand.
Why?
Because Rasulullah ﷺ says, whoever tells their brother
kafir, then one of them has to be
a kafir.
I'm confused.
Don't be confused.
InshaAllah.
If someone tells another person, you are a
kafir, one of them has to be a
kafir.
What are you trying to tell us?
If you are wrong at the label, it
goes against you, then you become the kafir.
So be very careful when you go tell
some parents that are trying their best and
they might do something that is completely wrong.
You put that blue eye that we referenced
earlier on.
Don't go into titles and label them just
like that.
May Allah protect us.
We know for a fact, kuffar go to
*, mu'minin go to Jannah.
But don't go and mention by name just
for you to be safe while keeping in
mind there are differences of opinion.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sends them
Prophet Shu'aib alayhi salam, a wonderful man.
Now I collected the set of advice.
I'd like to say the word advices, but
it's not possible to pluralize the word advice.
So a set of advice.
And the first thing he will do, he'll
address the problems they have with the creator.
Remember what I told you earlier?
The thing about Median, unlike other nations that
we spoke about, their issue was with the
creator and with the creation.
So what will he prioritize?
Their issue with their creator.
Because if you can fix your relationship with
Allah, you can fix every relationship.
So you have problems with your spouse, with
your kids, with your workplace, everything around the
world.
I promise you that if you're able to
fix your relationship with Allah, inshallah, everything will
be fixed by the will of Allah.
Fair enough?
So he's a smart man.
He's very intelligent.
Let's talk about the rights of Allah over
you.
He says, يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُمْ
مِنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرُهُ My people, my brothers, my
sisters, look at the adab, the respect.
You see?
He says, worship Allah.
You have no other deity worthy of worship
but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And his mentioning in another surah is unlike
other prophets.
You know what he says?
In another ayah he says, يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا
اللَّهَ You have no other lord besides Allah.
Then he says, وَرْجُوا الْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ And why
you got to think of the day of
judgment?
There's hisab.
You'll be held accountable.
You don't just live this life and just
move on like that.
No, you'll be held accountable.
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, you know how
some people say, well this person is so
nice, I can't imagine they're going to hellfire,
right?
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, the first
thing Allah will hold you accountable for, the
first thing is what?
Is what?
Salah.
If your salah was done right, the prophet
says, everything will be fine inshaAllah.
But if Allah were to hold you accountable
for your salah and you're not doing well
at all in it, then everything else is
meaningless.
May Allah make it easy for us.
So yes, worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
especially when it comes to the salah, to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Then what does he say next?
He's going to address the creation.
What is he going to tell them?
You guys need to really fix your tools
up.
The balance, the scale, playing up with the
odometer, all these things, you have to be
very careful.
Do not charge people over the price tag
of the real value of the item.
Let me give you an example.
Isn't it not possible for some doctors, with
all respect to our physicians, may Allah grant
you all jannah the way you help us,
but are there not some physicians that may
prescribe medication where the patient does not need?
Is it possible they may exaggerate?
Let's go a little bit deeper.
Look who does that?
Some people do that.
We have some in Michigan, very famous ones,
right?
What's his name, Dr. Fareed?
Right, he got sentenced for 45 years here
in Michigan.
Why?
This loser, may Allah guide him, may Allah
see whatever is best with him.
He used to prescribe chemotherapy and tell people
they have cancer when they never did.
Like how obsessed do you have to be
and corrupted to tell a family, unfortunately, your
parent, your son, your daughter has cancer.
You see how bad corruption is?
And this happened in Michigan and now he's
sentenced for 45 years.
So these people, they go above and beyond.
Not just that, he tells them, وَلَا تَبْخَصُ
النَّاسَ أَشْيَاءَهُمْ And now when you, in a
way you're the seller, okay, do not lowball
them in a way that is unjust.
How many times it happens, may Allah forgive
us, يا رب العالمين, you want to go
buy an item, the item in the store
is $95.
What are some people saying?
Wallah, brother, I saw this online for $85.
He never saw it online for $85.
He's like, I sell it for $95.
If it's $85, go online and buy it.
He's like, no, I'll show you.
Okay, show me.
If you show me that it's actually $85,
I'll match the price.
You get your phone, and you're like, oh
my God, I don't have it.
You know, you got Wi-Fi?
Oh, my phone died.
He's like, okay, whatever, I'll give you $85.
That $10 that you saved, you think there's
barakah in that?
There's no barakah in that.
Wala tabkhasu an-nasa ashya'ahum.
Do not defraud people of their property.
Ever went to a restaurant, and then the
waiter comes like, hello, guys, what's the occasion
for coming to Applebee's?
Nothing is halal or haram.
Relax.
Right?
You should pay me for this.
So like, oh, occasion.
I heard Applebee's gives on people's birthdays free
appetizer and desserts.
It's true, by the way.
Now, watch what happens tomorrow.
All bearded and hijabis walking.
January 1st, for some reason.
Right now, let's move on, let's move on.
You guys know what I'm talking about.
January 1st.
May Allah grant Jannah to our parents, say
I mean, and grandparents.
All right?
So then you walk in, oh, occasion, yes,
well, it's my son's birthday.
My birthday.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he just turned 16.
I'm just, no, I'm quiet.
Yeah, he just turned 16.
Oh, my goodness.
All right.
Do you have the ID with you?
Oh, no, my printer.
SubhanAllah, subhanAllah.
Right, right.
And then they give you like a 10
% discount on a free dessert.
Really?
I'm giving you a smaller scale, but there's
even larger scale of companies and corporations.
They're not fake your resume.
They're not fake your resume.
Proficient at PowerPoint.
You don't even know how to open it.
You have a MacBook.
There's no PowerPoint unless you install it.
But don't fall for these things.
Why?
Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is telling
these people, إني أراكم بخير.
What does that mean?
Shu'aib tells his people, you guys do
not need to do this.
You don't need an extra $100.
You don't need to scam someone over $1
,500.
You don't need to do that.
إني أراكم بخير.
You guys are doing very, very well, guys.
You're doing just fine to get yourself a
halal job.
So don't say, oh, I have this excuse.
So he's cutting the excuses for them.
You see what I'm saying?
He cut the excuses for them.
إني أراكم بخير.
So if I want to expand on this
meaning, but don't take it personal.
We're family.
We've been doing this for years.
So إني أراكم بخير.
I do see you in prosperity now.
Also means you have the capacity to change
jobs.
Don't say, I've been here for 10 years.
I know I have this house that I'm
paying off.
If I stop this corruption that I'm doing,
I won't be able to continue my payments.
I have a kid in school.
إني أراكم بخير.
You have the capacity to leave.
So we, as Muslims, have to leave the
mindset of poverty if we can.
إني أراكم بخير.
No, you guys are doing very fine.
You can do this.
Get out of that mindset.
As Muslims, رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
used to ask Allah, I beg you, ya
Allah, don't ever make me poor.
Ya Allah, I beg you not to make
me very dependent on people.
Now, all of us here will have to
depend on people.
But we're trying to tell you, minimize that
dependence.
Fair enough?
Minimize the dependence.
May Allah grant us all Jannah.
The other thing he told them.
So that's number one.
He said, you guys don't have to do
that.
Why?
Number one, إني أراكم بخير.
What's number two?
وإني أخاف عليكم عذاب يوم عظيم.
And I'm terrified.
I'm really, I love you guys.
I love you so much.
I know what you guys are doing and
everything.
I'm so terrified for you from a very
severe punishment that may come to you.
Because whatever goes around comes around.
Don't think you will get away with this.
Your actions will have a way to come
back at you and haunt you down.
If not tomorrow, maybe in a year.
If not in a year, in 10 years.
If not in 10 years, it will come
before you pass away.
May Allah protect us.
يا رب العالمين.
إني أخاف عليكم عذاب يوم محيط.
You know, Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and
look how the wording he says.
He says, do you know who's the bankrupt?
It's all business and things of that sort.
So he said, يا رسول الله, the bankrupt,
المفلس, the one who has no money and
no assets.
That's a bankrupt, nothing.
He says, let me tell you the bankrupt.
Remember what I said early in the session?
Collect the definitions of the Prophet.
Oh, that's a great one.
May Allah make it possible for us to
understand it.
Say, I mean, and I pray to Allah,
يا رب يا الله, help me put it
together.
يا رب يا رب.
He says, let me define what's a bankrupt.
He says, the bankrupt is the one who
comes on the day of judgment with a
lot of prayers, a lot of fasting, a
lot of charity.
This is a good brother.
He looks great to the sight of the
people.
But however, that person, that man or that
woman, they come on the day of judgment.
وقد قذف هذا.
وقد شتم هذا.
وقد قتل هذا.
وقد أكل ما لهذا.
However, that person, that same person who was
praying, right, the mu'min that you mentioned, right?
This man was praying, was fasting, was giving
in charity, but he used to rob people.
He used to cheat people.
He used to be like that guy, true
story, who used to fix garage doors.
And I have my close friend of mine
worked for him in that company.
And then he said to me, he said,
I had to quit.
I'm like, why did you quit so fast?
He said, the owner of that garage door
company, he went and he actually broke something
in the garage.
I thought these stories are not maybe as
common.
I never really witnessed it personally.
I never heard it from someone that I
know.
He's like, I saw him and he broke
it.
I said, why would you do that?
Why would you break this part in the
garage?
He's like, just be quiet.
I'm not going to make this trip to
this house for over $10.
He went and broke the garage to buy
a whole system.
Then you have to leave.
So with being that person, والله بصلي first
row, first row in the masjid, you think
that will help him out?
You're like, well, you told us.
Well, I got you, brother.
This is being recorded.
What do you mean?
You told us if someone prays well, then
everything else will be fine.
Oh, you're focused.
But they pray well.
Because a good prayer stops you from cheating.
I had a 15-year-old boy come
to me, or man.
And he says, brother, Allah says in the
Quran, إن الصلاة تنهى عن الفحشاء والمنكر He's
like, Allah says in the Quran is that
when you pray, you stop doing foul language
or saying it and stop doing evil actions.
He's like, I've been praying for 15 years.
You're 15.
But I moved on.
I didn't address that.
So he's like, I've been praying for 15
years.
I still curse.
I still do this.
I don't see any improvement.
So there is one of two issues.
One of two or maybe two.
Ready?
So this is the equation.
If you really want salah to help you
become a better person, there's two things you
have to do.
A little bit of math.
Is it okay if we do math at
8 to 35 p.m.? It's okay.
X plus Y equals Z.
X is the external actions of salah.
So for example, you know, Isha is four
rakaat.
You say, Allahu Akbar.
You say, Alhamdulillah, Rabbil Alim, Al Fatiha.
You do sujood, the ruku.
No, no, no, that's not ruku.
This is something else.
This is stretching or something.
This is ruku, right?
Maybe this is what you're lacking.
But there's another component because some of us,
we master this.
We take classes on this, which is important.
But this is not the outer actions as
much as the inner actions.
So the X is the outer actions plus
the Y, the inner action, which is focused.
Khushu'a, qad aflaha al mu'minoon li yunhum
fee salatihim.
Khashu'un, believers are successful, the ones who
are focused in their prayers.
Right?
The ones who pray sincerely for Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
The ones that understand what they're saying.
So that's the internal.
If you have the external plus the internal,
you get the fruit, which is what?
Allah will help you become a better person.
You see that?
So when someone, when Allah, when the Prophet
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says the bankrupt, the
one who comes with salah and so on,
their salah was not properly made to help
them stop breaking that garage.
I'm not saying he's going to *, guys.
Relax, all right?
Alhamdulillah, they didn't say the store's name.
All right?
But here, Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says
that man or that woman who cheated the
people, guess what happens on the Day of
Qiyamah?
They have a lot of good deeds, a
lot of hasanat, like loads, right?
Now what happens?
The person they cheated will come on the
Day of Judgment.
Ya Allah, this person, he lied to me.
How do they know, by the way?
How can they know that that person lied
to them?
How?
Go ahead.
They've seen their book, right?
Right?
Let me see your book.
Oh, you're the one who stole the jewelry
from my place?
What a loser!
And he came, oh, it's not me.
We should call the cops.
It was him the whole time.
Ya, you are a loser.
Right?
So what happens?
They will go to that person, Ya Allah,
this person cheated me.
This person ruined my life.
So what happens?
This man who has all the salah and
the sadaqah and the qiyam, what did he
do?
Okay, okay, relax.
How much?
100 hasanat?
Here, 100 hasanat.
Then 10 people, they come.
What do you mean 10 people?
Then 100 people, they come.
I cheated this.
How can I cheat 100 people all at
once?
Well, your business was open for 10 years
and you lied to everybody about the quality
of the cement that you do for your
concrete for the driveway.
You said it's 4 inches, you did 3
.8 inches.
For every 0.2, was it worth it?
You see what just happened?
So that person gives all the good deeds,
gives all the good deeds until someone else
comes.
He said, Ya Allah, this person cheated me.
This person betrayed me.
This person back-bit me, Ya Allah.
So this person, I got no hasanat.
What do you want?
He said, well, okay.
You don't have hasanat to give me.
I will give you my sayyidat.
And he gives sayyidat and sayyidat.
So the guy who came with so much
good deeds, the balance now is fixed, a
lot of bad deeds, fayuqdafa fin nadhin, pushed
into hellfire.
Now the question that comes, you just said
books, right?
Why did Allah not resurrect the person with
the whole calculations completed?
Does the question make sense a bit?
Like, what did I have to do the
transaction, khud hasanat, give me sayyidat?
Like, ha, so you come, and the book
says you're going to *, you did this,
you had 100,000 hasanat, you lost them
all.
Like, oh man, why do you have to
experience that?
What do you think?
Fantastic.
The real judgment is on the day of
judgment.
Fantastic.
That's a good point.
One of them is when you, when that
person sees their good deeds leaving, accumulating bad
deeds on the day of judgment, it's so
painful, right?
The regret is insane.
Just to give you a taste of the
pain you caused others that you cheated on.
Remember the three things?
You guys need to stop taxing people.
You charge taxes on the most nonsense ever.
Like, you're not even fixing the roads, you're
not even doing anything, it's not even an
urgency for you to collect money from people,
so quit that.
Number two, stop telling people that advise you,
stop correcting me.
No, be open to constructive criticism.
And you're striving to make it appear crooked.
Like, the right people have lost their mind.
No, the right people, inshallah, have not lost
their mind.
May Allah give us the wisdom to deal
with our businesses, with our families, with our
kids, the way that is pleasing to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Say ameen.
So he's going to tell him two things
to help him out.
So anyone who's struggling with anything, including myself,
I'm going to remember this if I ever
going to attempt to do a sin.
Ready?
Remember when you were few, then he increased
you in number.
Remember when I spoke about children and the
blessings of that?
As I told you, this is the main
theme of this session.
He says, remember where you came from.
Because when you remember your humble beginnings, you
will naturally become humble.
And when you realize you're scamming someone who
was at your situation.
That young man who just finished college, want
to buy his first ever car.
He only has like five or ten thousand
dollars.
And you play with that vehicle.
Or you do something with the switch and
so on, just to make it seem that
everything is fine.
And then you go ahead with that.
No, remember you were that student one day.
One day you were the one struggling.
And look at you now, you know, not
going less than this type of amount.
May Allah protect us, ya rabbal alameen.
Then he says, وَانْظُرْهُ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَقِبَةُ الْمُفْسِدِينَ
So number one, remember where you came from.
Anytime you're about to commit a sin, may
Allah make it easy for all of us
to quit it.
Say ameen.
Please, please, take it from tonight.
Two things to do.
Number one, remember how you have been blessed.
There's nothing that we use to disobey Allah
with, except that you had to use a
blessing he gave you.
Anything wrong we do in our lives required
Allah's blessings against him.
The eye he gave us in what we're
watching.
The ears he gave us in what we're
listening.
The hands he gave us in what we're
touching.
The legs he gave us in where we're
walking.
And where we're not walking, where we're supposed
to be walking.
Remember where you came from.
You were nothing.
And remember now you can see and watch
and clearly understand what's being said.
And number two, remember the punishment.
Remember, if I go ahead with this, what
will happen to me?
And this is why he told them, وَانْظُرْهُ
كَيْفَ كَانَ عَقِبَةُ الْمُفْسِدِينَ You guys know exactly
what happened to Prophet Luth's people.
You know exactly what happened to Prophet Salih,
Prophet Thamud, no, Prophet Hud, and Prophet Nuh
a.s. You know who was one of
the best people to ever apply this?
Who is it?
Guess.
Who is one of the best people to
apply this lesson?
Yusuf a.s. Yusuf, yes.
Without going into a lot of depth.
Yusuf a.s, Allah says in the Quran,
وَرَاوَدَتْهُ الَّتِي هُوَ فِي بَيْتِهَا عَن نَفْسِهِ There
was a lady that was seducing him.
And she had all the qualities to possibly
seduce many men and attract them.
So she's trying to push him.
وَغَلَّقَتْ الْأَبْوَابَ And she locked all the doors
and turned off all the cameras and nothing
can be heard, nothing can be seen.
There's no سَمِعْ and there's no بَصَرْ except
her and him.
That's it.
You know what did Yusuf a.s. do?
He actually said the following.
Very similar to what you just heard right
now.
He says, مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ Number one.
I seek Allah's refuge.
This comes to show you Yusuf a.s.
knows no matter how good I think I
am, I'm nothing without Allah.
I need Allah's help.
Number two.
He says, إِنَّهُ رَبِّي أَحْسَنَ مِثْوَى Allah blessed
me.
What did he do here?
He remembered where he came from.
He was in a well.
He was about to die.
Right?
He was a slave.
No one really, you know, give much attention
to slaves.
But then my master, the one who purchased
him, because رَبِّي here can mean two things.
Either رَبِّي as in my Lord or رَبِّي
as in the master who bought me for
when I got off the well.
So he remembered that I was in a
bad situation.
So remember where you came from.
It helps you a lot.
Remember that you never had that laptop or
that phone and now you can afford it.
And that's what you do with Allah money
that he gave you.
May Allah make it easy for us.
What's the last thing Yusuf thought of?
Say one English word.
The punishment.
Then he says at the end, إِنَّهُ لَيُفِحُ
الظَّالِمُونَ He says oppressors will never be successful
because he knows if I fall for this
sin, if I say yes to this girl,
I'm a ظَالِم and I'm an oppressor who
used Allah's blessings of my good looks or
speech or as Yusuf a.s. And this
is ظُلْم and oppression.
So remember these three things.
What did he do after that?
Run for his life.
So what helped him run from the sin
is that methodology.
May Allah make us all remember them.
Say ameen.
Think of the blessing and think of the
punishment.
Eventually as we move forward, he says something
very profound and that's why I kept it
just for one slide here fixed there for
you inshallah.
By the way, may Allah bless those who
helped with the presentation.
Say ameen.
There's wonderful Aisha there sitting here.
May Allah grant them Jannah.
Shu'aib tells them مَقِيَّةُ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ
إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ What is left as a
lawful gain by Allah is far better for
you if you are truly believers.
Now this sentence, you may possibly never come
across it in any university in the world.
This is in the university of لا إله
إلا الله This is the university of the
Qur'an.
Because I took an accounting class as an
elective in my master's program.
I took marketing class.
They never tell you that if you make
less, you can do more.
They can never tell you, Oh, they can't.
They never tell you like, Oh, there's a
hundred dollars.
You can do more with it than a
thousand.
No, but in Islam, we believe the hundred
can do more than a thousand.
Literally speaking, it is very possible.
That's where the barakah comes in.
I had my daughter, subhanAllah, just a few
days ago.
She said, Baba, I went and fear that
person who she bought the cheesecake for.
Don't take it personal.
Okay, she's not upset.
So she said, Baba, I bought someone a
cheesecake.
Will Allah send someone to buy me a
cheesecake?
Guys, please buy her a cheesecake.
All right, let's move on.
May Allah bless you all.
Say Ameen.
So I told her, Listen, Amina, I promise
you, Inshallah, Allah will give you back the
value of the cheesecake and much more.
But it may not be in a cheesecake
form.
It can be in the form that you're
about to slip in the playground and break
your ankle and not be playing for next
two weeks.
But Allah saved you because of the cheesecake
that you gave.
It can be an exam that you had
and you were struggling to answer the question
and your cheesecake was being able to answer
the question in the exam and make your
parents happy and you yourself be happy for
the accomplishment.
So the cheesecake can be in different forms.
It can be something that you make a
deal with someone as adults.
You did some barakah in your life.
You know what?
You're willing to be honest in a transaction.
So like, How will Allah give this back
to me?
It can be when you want to go
buy a car and you get a great
deal.
That great deal.
You know why?
You got it for $2,000 less.
You know why?
Because you were honest in $200 that you've
done.
So Allah saves you from purchasing and elsewhere.
So it's not just you literally getting the
money back.
It's much more than that.
Fair enough.
So he says, بَقِيَّةُ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ
كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ Rasool Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says
a hadith which really tests our faith.
It's a very heavy duty hadith.
He says, البَيِّعَان The one who buys and
the one who sells.
If they were very transparent and honest in
the transaction, بُورِكَ لَهُمَّ فِي بَيْعِهِمَا Allah will
put barakah in a transaction.
Allah will bless it.
Just say, you know what?
I'm gonna be honest with you.
The AC sometimes works, sometimes it doesn't work.
Sometimes the check engine light goes off and
sometimes it goes not.
What do some people do when there's a
check engine light?
They want to sell the car, unplug it
from the battery, then plug it back again
because the check engine light goes away.
And it happens till this day.
And there's an issue that subhanAllah I just
came across recently.
So you become clear.
But brother, if I was honest that there's
a transmission issue, I will make $3,000
less.
I'll make $7,000 instead of $10,000.
Wallahi, that $7,000 will go a lot
further than the $10,000.
I remember there's an accountant I spoke to.
I told the accountant, tell me something very
interesting you came across in your accounting business.
He said, I have a case.
There's one guy has a store and that
store alone makes $300,000 a year.
And every time we do the accounting of
that man, there's always in the minus.
But we don't know how.
Like he's making crazy amount of money but
always not doing well.
He's struggling financially.
$300,000 from one store.
So he said, you know what?
I kept telling him, you're dealing with alcohol.
You're dealing with lottery.
There's no barakah.
There's no barakah.
And he says the moment he stopped and
the numbers he made was a lot less.
It was not $300,000 anymore.
It was like $70,000.
But he did a lot better financially than
$300,000 came.
Allahu Akbar.
Just let go of that.
That's what we learned from him.
بَقِيَّةُ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِن كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ May
Allah grant us Jannah.
Say ameen.
Then he says after that, come on, this
is long but I'll read for you.
When they heard all this advice, all what
I told you was who's speaking?
Shu'aib.
All this was Shu'aib, don't do this,
stop this, stop that.
I collected it for you.
So hear the response.
Look what they say sarcastically.
They tell him, أَصَلَاتُكَ تَأْمُرُكَ أَن نَتْرُكَ مَا
يَعْبُدُ آبَؤُنَا أَوْ أَن نَفْعَلَ فِي أَمْوَالِنَا مَا
نَشَاءٌ He says, does your salah tell you,
does your salah encourage you to get involved
in day-to-day activities?
What are they trying to tell him?
Take religion out of our lives.
Don't put religion in everything.
Let me do my wedding the way I
want to do my wedding.
Don't say, oh haram, she cannot dance in
front of him.
Religion on the musalla, the prayer mat, في
بيتكم, in your house, in the masjid, and
you cut it there.
You log off after that, sign out.
Don't get, does your salah tell you that?
One of the scholars, he commented when he
read the verse, he says, إِي وَاللَّهِ تَنْهَانَ
وَتَأْمُرُنَا He's like, yes, our Islam involves us
in everything in life.
And we need to have that confidence.
There's one of the most amazing ahadith.
One of the most amazing ahadith.
A man comes to one of the sahaba,
a kafir.
He is sarcastic, just like this man, sarcastically,
says, so your prophet, your religion tells you
everything?
Like everything, everything, what to do this and
what to do that.
He said, حَتَّ فِي الْخَرَاءَةِ Even when you
want to wipe yourself in the bathroom?
That's what he told him, he told the
Muslim.
Even how to clean up yourself from number
one and two?
And he was kind of explicit.
What did the man say?
Come on, don't be like that, man.
You know what he said?
Yes.
And he told us when we clean ourselves,
we use the left hand and not the
right hand.
And we want to urinate or defecate, we
try to avoid facing the qibla.
And we try to wipe three times and
not less.
Look at the confidence and the barakah, yakhir.
Yes, Islam in everything in my life, how
I eat and how I drink.
How I wake up and how I sleep.
And everything, how to walk to the washroom
and how to leave the washroom.
And everything, how to fulfill a desire and
how to be able to bury someone and
how to buy and how to sell.
Islam in my life, A to Z.
May Allah make us like that, say ameen.
So here he says, your prayer tells you
not to have us worship Allah and how
to deal with our money?
Then what do they say here?
إِنَّكَ لَأَنْتَ الْحَلِيمُ الرَّشِيدُ Indeed, you're such a
tolerant, sensible man.
Did they actually mean it?
They're being sarcastic.
Why?
Why they're being like that?
Why?
Because you know, Shu'aib a.s, that
we are living our lives on this rhythm,
on this methodology for decades.
You want us to drop everything and start
a new page?
Are you out of your mind?
Do you know what you're talking about?
You know what will happen to us?
Now, look what he says, Shu'aib.
أَرَأَيْتَمْ إِن كُنْتُ عَلَىٰ بَيِّنَتِهِ مَنْ رَبِّي I
wanna ask you a question and you guys
be honest with me.
That's what Shu'aib is telling the people.
He says, now that I know the truth,
okay, I know the truth, and Allah gave
me prophethood, does it make sense if you
know what's right for you to no longer
do it?
Because they said you'd have no common sense.
No, I have all the common sense because
Allah gave it to me.
Would it make sense to act now weird
and so on?
Then he says, وَمَا أُرِدُ أِلْدْ عَنْ أُخَالِفَكُمْ
إِلَىٰ مَا أَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْ I'm not telling you,
this is very powerful, I'm not telling you
not to do things just for the sake
of being argumentative.
Because some people are like that by the
way.
وَإِنْ أُرِيدُ إِلَّا الْإِصْلَاحَ مَا أَسْتَطَعْتُ My ultimate
goal is trying to reform, is trying to
make this community a better place.
Then he says, وَمَا تَوْفِيقَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ My
success is in the hands of Allah SWT.
وَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَعَلَيْهِ أُنِيبُ I trust Allah with
the results.
I'm gonna put all the means that I
can, and I return back to Allah SWT.
And this is everyone in this theater, that's
your goal right here.
وَإِنْ أُرِيدُ إِلَّا الْإِصْلَاحَ مَا أَسْتَطَعْتُ That's your
job and my job.
Your job is not just to be a
good person.
Because being a good person, just literally like
that, will not save you.
What saves you, is you being a good
person and spreading the goodness to others.
Because we're all this on the same earth,
we're not in different planets.
Rasulullah SAW gives the example of a ship,
has two floors.
The lower floor, and the upper floor of
that ship.
The lower floor, think of it as like
a basement, alright.
The ceiling, there's a ceiling on top, and
the base is the actual bottom of the
ship.
So the Prophet SAW says, two groups, one
goes up, one goes down.
He says, the people on the top level,
they can easily get water.
Get a bucket, throw in the ocean, get
the water, easy.
The ones in the lower deck, right in
the lower floor, if they want water, some
of them said to each other, let's not
disturb the people on the top, let's just
drill a hole in the bottom.
So the Prophet SAW, look what he says,
if the people at the top, who have
access to water, things are doing well, they're
educated, whatever the case is, if they do
not stop those in that basement, in the
lower floor, and they do drill a hole,
all of them will drown.
All of us will drown.
If you keep the goodness, and your knowledge
just to yourself, there's no success in any
of us.
And I'll share with you this hadith, which
is quite terrifying.
Rasulullah SAW says, it's not usually that he
says that, very frequently, he says, I swear
by the one whom my soul is in
his hands.
You guys need to correct people with respect
and wisdom and knowledge, and tell them what's
right and what's wrong.
Then he says, if you choose to keep
everything to yourself, you see the wrong, you
can do something about it.
You can change it with your hands, if
you cannot, then with your speech, that's wrong,
you shouldn't do that with respect.
And if you cannot do it with your
hand, and you cannot change it verbally, then
at least reject it with your heart.
Then the Prophet says, or Allah will send
a punishment.
Who is he talking to?
Sahaba.
If you don't do that, Allah will send
a punishment, on you guys, and you will
make dua, and Allah will never accept your
dua.
Don't be selfish.
I'm not being selfish.
No, when you see someone doing wrong, and
you're able to adjust, go for it.
We go through, we miss many times, but
go within your lane, may Allah make it
easy for all of us.
But there's a lot of ways to help
out, a lot of ways to do your
da'wah and the correction.
Because people think I have to say it,
I have to speak it.
No, clearly said, with the hand, speech, with
the heart.
So for example, today's session, perfect example.
All right.
I'm calling to good and forbidding evil.
Right?
In a general sense.
Sah?
Is that right?
Or am I not?
Now you think, is it me just speaking?
Am I the one involved here?
Absolutely not.
Someone had to help spread the goodness, by
giving me a clicker.
Sah?
Someone had to help put the mic.
Mother Allah came, adjusted the mic for me.
Someone had to actually call the civic center,
or the new name of it.
Forgive us.
Right?
And call to reserve the venue.
Someone actually had to come and do it,
and pay for it.
Right?
And without Allah, then all of you, I
promise you, we would have never had this
session.
So you'd have to be proud of your
accomplishment, and know that Allah will grant you
that success.
Say Alhamdulillah.
So we all play a role in that.
If the least that you can do, for
the sake of Allah, is attend, this goes
a long way.
A lot of people attending, is a lot
of power.
And I'll show you that very quickly, Insha
'Allah.
Allah says in the Quran, وَمَا تَوْفِيقِ إِلَّا
بِاللَّهِ My success is in the hands of
Allah.
Now when he says that, he gets accused.
قَالُوا إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ بِالْمُسَحَرِينَ You're possessed.
You're bewitched.
There's seerah amongst you.
You're crazy.
You're majnoon.
And then they say, وَمَا أَنْتَ إِلَّا بَشْرٌ
مِثْلُونَ وَإِنَّ ظُنُّكَ لَمِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا
قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ The one who is clearly
speaking, a prophet of Allah, now is bewitched.
Remember what they do?
Remember what I told you earlier?
They change the truthful to a liar, and
the liar to a truthful.
So the one who is the wisest, becomes
bewitched.
And the one who is the most truthful,
becomes a liar.
May Allah protect us and keep us strong.
Say ameen.
Then when they said that to him, look
what Allah says afterwards.
Shu'aib replies.
How would you reply if someone says something
like that to you?
أنا مجنون.
إنت مجنون أو سيكستي مجنون.
Right?
Right?
I'm a crazy man?
No, you're crazy.
I remember there's one time on Facebook, there
was a sheikh that posted a video on
whether brushing your teeth breaks your fast in
Ramadan or not.
What do you guys think?
Does it break your fast?
Please brush your teeth.
All right.
Let's make sure you don't swallow.
All right.
So then when the sheikh posted this video,
there's a person, I actually have an exact
text.
I took a copy of it.
So a person replied under the video and
said, you're talking on whether toothpaste breaks people's
fast or not when there's people dying out
of hunger.
That's your biggest problem to say whether toothpaste
in Ramadan breaks your fast.
There's bigger problems in the community to address.
But why do you speak like that for?
And what's sad is the next comment.
The next comment was a reply to that
person.
Now look what that person did.
When they replied back, it says, you brainless
twit.
I don't know what that means.
Okay.
And that's what they said.
Okay.
I know it's not like haram, haram, haram.
Like maybe a little bit, right?
May Allah make it easy.
So you're brainless twit.
You're thinking about the poor people and so
on when you're eating your crab salad.
Crab salad?
How did they know?
So I actually went and I clicked on
that person's profile and they were having crab
salad.
I'm like, man, this is like some serious
keyboard warriors.
MashaAllah, TabarakAllah, right?
But then you have a sister.
Her name is Umm Yusuf, right?
And then she had a nice paragraph.
She said, you know what?
Yes, there are poor people that are struggling
and we should do our best to help
out.
And this Sheikh is helping us regarding Ramadan
and how to fast appropriately because when we
fast right, we feel more genuine towards poor
people and we support them.
Look at the love.
Umm Yusuf, may Allah grant her Jannah.
Say Ameen.
And that's it.
So see the difference?
How will you react to that?
Because one sister, she gave me advice when
we did the review session.
It was wonderful.
I did not say it last session.
Allah willed that I say it today.
Remember that.
Success is in the hands of Allah.
You can have all the means in the
world, but you still fail.
And some of you are actually an evidence
to that.
You may have less means than your cousin,
but you are far ahead in life than
them.
Because what they're missing, though they have everything,
is they don't have Tawfiq, but you have
it.
You being here is one of the greatest
signs in your life that Allah gives you
Tawfiq.
Not literally this session in the civic center.
The fact that you attend a gathering where
Allah is being honored, Allah is being praised,
and Rasulullah is being mentioned.
So rejoice for that.
That's the real Tawfiq.
You guys with me?
So may Allah grant us Tawfiq forever and
ever.
Say Ameen.
So what did that sister tell me?
She said when someone starts to argue, like,
you know, I said you're a magician, you're
possessed, you're this and that.
Usually this means that that person lost the
conversation, correct?
The moment you resort to insult, that means
you have no more base to stand on.
You lost it.
So she said, I'm concerned that Muslims may
do that.
Because Muslims do have a very strong base
in any discussion, anything about theology.
But some of us as Muslims, when we
get so angry and we start to curse
and insult, we show the other person who's
a non-Muslim or so, that we have
no ground to stand on, so we resorted
to insults.
You see what she said?
Very wise.
So don't ruin the image of Islam with
your behavior.
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, He says, لأن
سوء الخلق, bad akhlaq, bad character, ruins the
deed, the way vinegar ruins the honey.
What does that mean?
Let me explain that.
You may be doing a great job.
Let me, for example, who did I choose
as an example?
Let's say someone who set up this stage,
all right?
So let's say someone says, okay, get the
thing here, get the podium, all right?
Bismillah.
The guy miskeen has, you know, a bulged
disc and all the issues.
He's helping out.
May Allah grant him Jannah.
All right?
He's moving this.
Did it happen today?
This is an example.
So while he's helping, someone else is helping
him out.
He's like, come on, bro.
What's wrong with you, bro?
You're so weak.
You're doing a great job, but the way
you're doing it is evil.
So you won't get rewarded for what you're
doing.
And it's so sad.
You left your family.
You're volunteering in the masjid, or at this
place, or the civic center, or whatever the
case is.
But that reward all goes to waste because
of your attitude doing it.
All right.
So he says, وَيَقُومِ ٱلَّا يَجَلُ مَنِّكُمْ شِقَاقِ
Don't let the hatred you have towards me.
Why?
Because they said, you're just a human being.
So clearly, there's some sense of jealousy and
envy.
By the way, did prophets answer this question?
Because all the many prophets, they're told, you're
just a human being.
You're just a human being.
Did the prophets ever address this?
What do you guys think?
It's actually in chapter 14, verse 11.
And I wasn't really aware of it until
I actually prepared this session.
The prophets respond to the question because people
keep saying, you're just a human being.
There's nothing special about you.
They say, إِنَّحْنُ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ You are
right.
Shu'aib, Nuh, Muhammad ﷺ, we're all human
beings just like you.
وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهِ يَمُنُّ عَلَى مَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ
Allah chose me.
I have nothing to do with it.
So next time maybe we see someone that
we might be jealous of or so, or
shaitan whispers to you, realize that much of
the skills that we have, to the extent,
is literally given by Allah jalla jalaluhu.
Correct?
Like now that you're, mashallah tabarakallah, this height,
how did you work hard on it?
How?
Like I drank milk.
You drank milk all in your life.
You'll be six, seven.
Right?
Allahu a'lam, maybe.
I don't know.
Right?
But there's certain things, many of our blessings
that we have, it did not involve hard
work from you.
Especially when it doesn't make sense is when
we're, by showing off in general is wrong,
especially when we show off over things that
we have nothing to do with.
So be as humble as you possibly can.
May Allah protect us.
So he says to the people that say,
I am just a human being, but it's
Allah who chose this for me.
Just like how some of you are born
into rich families.
You have nothing to do with it.
Wallah, I promise.
Like you didn't do business deals in a
'lam al-arwah, the world of the souls.
Then you came back to this dunya.
How was it, the business dad?
You had nothing to do with it.
And you who was born in a poor
family, you also have nothing to do with
it.
So just accept where Allah has placed you
and believe you have enough capacity to succeed
in life.
And ultimately the afterlife, may Allah grant success.
Say ameen.
Because remember, the one who was born into
a rich family may lose everything.
Just like the example of the passport, right?
There's some people here that had the American
passport by birth, correct?
But there are people here sitting right now,
they had their American passport but through the
naturalization process.
So you may be born at a very
difficult circumstances, but inshallah you'll be able to
grow out of it and reach that level.
Not just that, the one who was quote
-unquote example, born with a passport, it doesn't
mean that you can always have it, correct?
It can be taken away from you.
Is that right?
So don't let your beginning become an obstacle
and make you disbelieve that you can grow
further because there's no beginning to an extent
more difficult than the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam.
He had no father, no mother much of
his life.
His dad died before he was even born.
And what happened after that?
He became the greatest man ever walked on
earth.
So may Allah grant success.
Say ameen.
Because remember, success is in the hands of
Allah.
So after he says this, look what he
says at the end here.
وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ Ask Allah's forgiveness
and repent to Allah.
إِنَّ رَبِّي رَحِيمٌ وَدُودٌ This is ayah should
bring everyone here so much hope and perhaps
even go back to it throughout your life.
Shu'aib is telling people that worship trees,
people that are making fun of Prophets, people
who saw and or heard what happened to
other Prophet people, that punishment.
People who have all that crime in their
record, so much disgusting stuff they've done and
he still tells them, you got room to
change.
Allah can still give you a shot at
this.
Wallahi not even in dunya's courts, they may
give you a chance.
Yes or no?
This is who you deal with, Allah ar
-Rahman ar-Rahim.
And this is probably the only time in
the Qur'an you see this by the
way.
إِنَّ رَبِّي رَحِيمٌ وَدُودٌ Though out of all
the people who spoke about Salih and Hud,
they were not perhaps as bad in the
way it was mentioned in the Qur'an.
And they got less punishment by the way
than people of Shuaib as you will see.
Yet as bad as they were, as nice
as Allah was offering his rahmah.
Incredible.
رَحِيمٌ وَدُودٌ Allah tells Rasulullah ﷺ, there's one
hadith I can mention about Tawbah, one hadith,
just one.
On a personal level, it's my favorite hadith
on Tawbah.
This is personal, but this is something Rasulullah
ﷺ has mentioned.
He says, let me tell you how happy
Allah is when you apologize to him.
Let me tell you how happy Allah becomes
when you ask for his forgiveness.
It's like a man who's traveling in a
desert, all alone and on that camel and
has all his stuff, the water, the food,
the luggage, everything is on that camel.
Then he goes and he takes a what?
Quite some rest.
So he goes and takes a little bit
of a rest.
So he sees a tree, goes under the
shade, and he sits.
And when he sits, what happens?
When he sits, what happens?
He falls asleep.
And when he falls asleep, the Prophet ﷺ
says, when he opens up his eyes, he
sees the camel is no longer there.
He panics.
I'm in the desert, where am I gonna
go?
So the hadith says, يَأْتِي جِهَا He goes,
travels one distance, so far away, he can't
even see the camel.
That's how far the camel went.
That's how far the camel has gone.
That's how far my resources are at.
He goes one direction, under the heat of
Arabia, or whatever the actual case may be.
So eventually, he doesn't see it there.
Then he goes other direction.
He goes, he goes, he goes, he goes.
He doesn't see the camel.
Then he goes a third direction, and he
doesn't see the camel.
Then what happens next?
He says to himself, let me go back
to the tree, and wait for death to
come to me.
That's how hopeless he became.
So the Prophet says, he went and then,
فَنَامَ عَلَى سَاعِدَيْن He was sleeping on his
hands, and then he actually dozed off.
Then, he eventually woke up, and when he
opened his eyes, what did he see?
The camels were right there.
فَمَسَكَ بِخِطَامِ النَّاقَةِ He grabbed the reins of
the camel.
And he says, Oh Allah, you are my
slave, and I'm your Lord.
And he said, I did not make a
mistake.
The Prophet says, أَخْطَأَ مِن شِدَّةِ الْفَرَحِ He
made a mistake for how happy he was.
The Prophet says, Allah is happier than that
man, when you ask for his forgiveness.
That's how happy Allah becomes.
Something that you can't even do, like he
doesn't comprehend, like what do you mean?
He said, you are my slave.
So happy.
Allah is happier than that man.
So don't lose hope in Allah, who is
رَحِيم وَدُود to people that worship trees.
What would he do to people that say,
لا إله إلا الله Don't give up on
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
As we reach the end, they say, يَا
شُعَيْبُ مَا نَفْقَهُ كَثِيرًا مِمَّا تَقُولُ Because he
put him in such a situation, so much
hope, so much love, so much fear, so
much warning, so much good news, everything.
There's a whole package.
And every Prophet comes with a miracle.
But the thing about Prophet Shu'aib, Allah
says in the Quran, that I came with
a miracle.
But something interesting, mysterious about his story.
You know what is it?
Though Allah says Shu'aib had a miracle,
but what's the mysterious part about it?
That Allah doesn't tell us what is it.
But it's enough for you to know.
And what does it mean when Allah sends
a miracle?
It means anyone who sees the miracle knows
for a fact that you're saying the truth.
Are you guys with me?
So for them to say, we do not
comprehend much of what you say.
That's what many people say when they actually
comprehend everything that you've said.
So may Allah make it easy for us.
I don't know what you're saying, bro.
Just anyways, let's move on.
May Allah not make us escape the truth.
So when you are corrected, address it and
try to comprehend it.
Don't be like these people.
And look what they say.
Ah, now there's two levels.
قَالَ الْمَلُؤُذِينَ اَسْتَكْبَرُوا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ Listen, listen, listen.
That's enough.
If you do not go back to our
faith, we will kick you out of this
place.
Exile.
You and everyone that believes with you.
We will kick you.
أَلَا نُخْرِجَنَّكَ يَا شُعَيْبِ And those who believed
in you or you go back to our
faith.
By the way, going back doesn't mean that
Shu'aib was not a Muslim.
But the majority of the people that believed
in him were actually not Muslim.
But then now they became Muslim.
So they threatened to exile him.
We will deport you.
We'll send you back home.
Whatever the case is.
Then he says, قَالَ أَوْ لَوْ كُنَّا كَارِهِينَ
Now you're really shoving down our throats your
beliefs.
Like I can't just live with you and
just pray to Allah and carry on a
regular human to human conversation.
Now you're forcing me to accept what you
believe.
Just like in how some corporations today, may
Allah make it easy for us, they shove
it down our throats to put on our
lock screen at work things that happened that's
special about March and June.
And just move on.
قَالَ أَوْ لَوْ كُنَّا كَارِهِينَ قَدْ يَفْتَرَيْنَ عَلَى
اللَّهِ كَذِبًا إِنْ عُدْنَا Shu'aib says, we
will be the worst of people.
What?
What?
Listen.
Shu'aib says, myself and the believers, we
will be worse than you if we go
back to worshipping the tree.
Why?
Because those who know the truth and don't
do it are a lot worse than those
that never know about it.
You see what I'm saying?
Many of us here don't take it as
a burden, take it as an opportunity to
grow.
Many of us here, we know more than
many other people outside.
Correct?
Obviously, there's outside people that know more than
you.
So whatever has been said with you tonight
and through the sessions that you take, you
attend, will have one of two effects.
There's no third.
Whatever you will learn will either be an
excuse for you to become a better person,
an excuse for you to go to Jannah,
or an excuse against you to go to
hellfire.
I wish I never signed up.
Don't be like that person who was asking
about music, is it halal, is it haram?
And someone says, actually, I told the person,
listen to this lecture about music, okay?
And then, inshallah, you'll make up your mind
after that.
So he's like, bro, I think I know
where this is going.
You know what they told me?
I don't want to listen to it.
Why?
Because if I listen to it and I
continue listening to music, that's a lot more
haram.
If this guy who was not really practicing
knew that, right?
May Allah guide him.
Say ameen.
So he says, قَدْ يَفْتَرَيْنَ عَلَى اللَّهِ كِرِبًا
إِنْ عُدْنَا فِي نُّذَتِكُمْ We will be the
worst people ever.
وَمَا يَكُونُ لَنَا أَنْ نَعُودَ فِيهَا Look, wallahi,
this is one of the most beautiful ayat
about steadfastness.
He says, we will never go back.
What does it say here?
Read it.
إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّنَا Unless Allah wills
otherwise.
If Shu'aib was not confident enough to
say, I'm going to heaven, what about you
and I?
Shu'aib said, we will never allow ourselves
to go back deviant ways unless Allah wills
otherwise.
So your whole life, you should be between
hope and fear on how your life will
come to an end.
The only time you're 100% hopeful, 100
% you're going to Jannah, you know when?
When?
When the angel of death comes to you
and says, يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّ Oh, you
beautiful soul, come back to your Lord.
Then, you're confident you're going to Jannah inshallah.
Fair enough?
May Allah allow you all to hear that.
Say ameen.
Then, the threat of death.
And this was the ending.
They told them the same.
لَنَرَاكَ فِينَ الضَّعِفَ You're a nobody.
And if it wasn't for رَهْتُك, the small
group that you have, لَرَجَمْنَاكُ We would have
killed you.
So we're waiting for the last moment possible
to kill you.
So they went as far as exiling the
people and now killing Shu'aib alayhi salam.
And I want you to realize something.
This is a very powerful gem we learned
from our teachers.
Some people are not dead yet, you know
why?
Because the ones that want to kill you
cannot get away with it.
That's the only reason.
There's so many people that want to rob
you.
Some people that want to destroy you.
So many people want to take you down
tonight before tomorrow.
But the only reason you're still here is
because they're scared to be caught.
So may Allah protect us from them.
Say ameen.
So they said, if it wasn't for your
people, you know I said, even if you
attend, there's strength in numbers.
Clearly in Shu'aib's story, the aspect of
his followers played a role for him to
be respected.
So there is strength in that.
May Allah grant us quantity and quality.
Say ameen.
So now when they threaten to kill him,
what do you guys think?
Isn't that the end?
At this point he says the following, you
guys are scared about my followers and you're
not scared of Allah.
You're scared to be exposed by that person
and the surveillance camera recording you, but you're
not terrified that everything that you've done was
documented in your book.
You're worried about people over worrying about Allah
jalla jalaluh.
Then he says, stay, wait, you will see
what will happen to you and what will
happen to me.
You see the tone changes?
He was very gentle, rahim, wadood, everything.
Not anymore.
Things change, it's firmness mode.
Then eventually, they do a foolish challenge with
him.
Okay, really?
You know what?
Then send us a punishment from the heavens.
Cause deadly pieces of the sky to fall
upon us if what you say is true.
Oh, we're wrong.
You'll see what will happen to you.
Okay, show me.
Now these losers, they could have said, the
opposite, which is still wrong.
If you're truthful, make it rain gold and
silver.
But when some people are so jealous and
envious, they become irrational.
It's like the guy who sees his neighbor
buying a new car.
And then the guy who bought a new
car says, hey, try the car.
He's like, I got a new car.
Okay, how are you getting this money, this
guy?
Oh, a nice car.
Hey, you wanna ride with me?
Check out the car, how it drives.
Sure, I'll get in the car.
That guy's so jealous.
How did he get the car?
So he sits in the car, that jealous
person.
And the guy's like, how do you like
it?
It's good.
Ya Rabb, Ya Rabb, make the car flip,
Ya Rabb.
You're in the car.
You're in the car with him.
So these people are so jealous.
They tell him, if you're right, let God
kill us.
If you're right, let Allah honor us.
Let Allah rain gold and silver.
No rationality with envy.
Because they lost the plot.
They said, send upon us the punishment.
It's Allah who sends it.
Look what he says.
Shu'aib says, it's not me who sends
it.
It's Allah.
And Allah will send what you deserve.
It's not up to me.
I don't, not the judge here.
Allah is the judge.
Then they say, So they now shift from
Shu'aib to the people.
They tell the people of Shu'aib, they
gave up on Shu'aib.
And that's the importance of having a leader
that doesn't give up, even if a sword
is on his neck.
May Allah make you all like that.
See what I mean?
May Allah never make us bend to no
one but Allah.
Say, I mean.
So they saw Shu'aib is not breaking.
We threatened to kill him, exile him.
He didn't fall for it.
So they went after the believers.
If you follow Shu'aib, you'll be losers.
At this point, you don't touch my people.
So here Shu'aib makes the final dua.
He says the dua.
And this dua, everyone here, whoever tried to
get their rights back, you went to court,
got a lawyer.
You went through the manager, HR, human resources,
because of some harassment at work.
You tried everything and it got locked.
It was a dead end.
You didn't get your right.
There was no solution.
Then I want to introduce you to this
dua.
This dua, you say, رَبَّنَا افْتَحْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ
قَوْمِنَا بِالْحَقِّ Ya Allah, every door is locked.
I tried everything.
Ya Fattah, O unlocker of locks, unlock this
case and show the truth and expose it.
وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الْفَاتِحِينَ And you're the best of
those who judge.
Indeed, as they came to that dead end,
Allah unlocked everything.
And here, the three punishments.
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam shares the story with
his sahaba.
And here, in books of tafsir say, the
weather was so hot.
So then, even the homes was not comfortable.
So they went and they saw a cloud
to protect them from the sun.
When they went under the cloud, such a
strange cloud.
Perfect, this actually gave us some shade.
Punishment one out of three.
Under the cloud, all of a sudden, like
a machine gun.
Punishment comes every single one.
Punishment, whether rocks or pain and so on.
Remember what he said?
Send us a punishment from the heavens.
Here you go.
Here you go.
And the punishment comes and strikes every one
of them.
So what do they do?
They run back to their homes.
As they run back to their homes, what
happens?
A loud blast, a screeching noise.
Sayha so loud.
Because they tried to shut Shu'aib up.
Allah shut them down.
Every punishment was related to the sin they
committed.
You know what?
A loud noise.
So how do you understand now?
Because they claim they never understood him, right?
Can he now speak to the other?
And the third but not least, last but
not least.
As they ran, then the earthquake took place.
An entire houses, places, humans, collapse on the
ground.
Lifeless in their homes.
Wow, that was pretty quick.
That's how quick it was.
They were all gone.
Allah says, Allah says, as if they never
existed.
Allah says that punishment was so severe that
they don't remember a single second of joy
in their lives.
So remember, when it comes to the sin,
focus on the pain and forget the pleasure.
When it comes to the good deed, focus
on the pleasure and forget the pain.
Because the most miserable human being on earth,
as in like difficult life, when they are
dipped in Jannah for one dip.
Do you guys ever went to Dairy Queen
and saw how they do the ice cream?
The chocolate ice cream.
You know how they do it?
Such a scam, man.
I'm just, right?
You think it's a chocolate ice cream, but
it was just a layer of chocolate.
For those that know a little bit Dairy
Queen, may Allah protect us.
They get a vanilla ice cream and they
dip it into like a chocolate syrup.
Just one dip and they take it out.
And one dip really quick.
And then you have that chocolate around.
And of course the vanilla, it's gone.
Allah is the best of examples.
He teaches us that the one that had
the most difficult, difficult life on earth, not
this year, on earth, they will be dipped
in Jannah once.
Take enough.
Then that person will be asked, have you
ever seen any difficulty in life?
It's like, I don't know what you're talking
about.
One split of a second in Jannah made
them forget every pain they experienced.
But the hadith continues.
An an'am ahl al-ard, the richest
living being that ever walked on earth.
The almost, almost, not exactly.
He says been, almost becomes in the sense
of commands everyone.
But only Allah can do that.
He had everything under his hands.
Never seen a difficult day perhaps in his
life.
They will be dipped, where?
In *.
Dip and out.
Have you seen any blessings in life?
I don't know what you're talking about.
So it's not worth it.
May Allah protect us, ya rabbal alameen.
Brothers and sisters, Shu'ayb final words, he
walks away, he sees that.
And by the way, this ayah brought me
so much comfort on a personal level.
Maybe it'll bring you comfort.
Fatawalla anhum, he walked away saying, oh my
people, indeed I have delivered to you the
message of my Lord and gave you sincere
advice.
Check this out.
How can I grieve for those who chose
disbelief?
How can I feel sad for you?
When you chose darkness over light.
When I spent all the time and the
money to make you a better person.
And you chose something different.
You chose that.
How can I feel sorry for you?
But obviously this was at the end of
their lives.
May Allah grant us Jannah.
Brothers and sisters, thank you very, very much.
Jazakumullah khair.