Mirza Yawar Baig – Advice to students #1
AI: Summary ©
The importance of worship, integrity and happiness, and learning to oneself is crucial in shaping one's life. It is the only path to achieving joy and achieving personal joy. The speaker emphasizes the need to work hard to establish Islam's value and encourage others to practice Islam. The importance of regret and working hard to establish one's true oneself is also emphasized. The speaker discusses the importance of praying and practicing Islam, not repeating actions and working hard to establish one's true oneself.
AI: Summary ©
My brothers and sisters, the way I propose
to deal with our session this evening is,
I want to speak to you a few
minutes about the purpose.
Why do we exist?
Why are we there in this world?
What are we here to do?
And then some advice.
And the advice is titled advice to students,
but it's not necessarily restricted to students.
It's advice to anyone who wants good advice.
And then we'll open the floor to questions
and you are welcome to ask me anything
you like.
And I will answer anything I like.
I remind myself and you that Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala created us for two reasons,
two purposes.
One, He mentioned that as an individual purpose
for each individual human being, man or woman.
And the second one, He mentioned it as
a collective purpose for the Muslim Ummah.
The individual purpose, which is a purpose for
every single man or woman, Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala said, وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالإِنسَاءِ إِلَّا
لِيَعْبُدُونَ Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, I
have not created the jinn or the insan,
the human beings, for anything other than my
worship.
He told us, Jalla Jalaluhu, that He created
us only and only to worship Him.
Now worship is the formal worship, Salatul Ishaa,
for example, like what we did.
And worship also is in the meaning of
obedience.
So when we say our purpose is only
to worship Allah, it does not mean that
we have to spend 24 hours in the
Masjid in Salat.
It means that we spend 24 hours of
our life in obeying Allah in every aspect
of our life.
So just like I worship Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala in the Salat, how do you
worship?
How do I worship in the Salat?
Why did we pray four rakats of Salat
in Ishaa?
Why not three?
Why not twenty?
Why?
Why four?
Why did we pray three rakats in Maghrib?
Yes.
Because Allah wanted us to pray four.
How do you know that?
Yes.
Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
This is called a virtual handshake.
Shake my hand.
Like this.
Correct.
Okay.
From the Sunnah of Rasulallah sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam.
Rasulallah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, Sallu kama
ra'aitumuni usalli.
He said, pray as you have seen me
pray.
These four rakats of Ishaa we prayed just
like Rasulallah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam prayed.
Now please understand that this prayer and this
methodology and this philosophy of following Muhammad sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam exactly as he did it
is not restricted to the prayer.
The prayer is the example which shows us
what we must do in every aspect of
our lives.
So just like I prayed Ishaa the way
Rasulallah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam prayed Ishaa, how
must I eat my food the way Rasulallah
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam ate his food?
How must I treat my parents the way
Rasulallah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam treated his parents
and his elders?
How must I treat my children the way
Rasulallah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam treated his children?
How must I treat my friends and my
brothers and sisters?
How must I do business?
If I'm the ruler of a country, how
must I rule the country?
If I'm the commander of an army, how
must I command the army?
If I'm working for somebody as an employee,
how should I work?
And that is the reason Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala gave the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam a life which is so comprehensive
that it covers every aspect of human life.
So whatever is in your life, if I
want to search for an answer, look in
the life of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
So individual purpose, wa maa khalaqtul jinna wa
linsa illa liya'budoon Allah said I have
not created the human beings and the jinn
for any purpose other than to obey me,
other than to worship me.
Then Allah gave us a collective purpose.
And the collective purpose Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala said kuntum khaira ummatin ukhrijat linnas Limadhar
ta'muruna bil ma'rufi wa tanhawna anil munkari
wa tubinuna billah Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
said you are the best of people not
because you are Hyderabadi or you are Sudanese
or you are Somali or you are Nasiri
or something, no.
You are the best of people because you
have been selected for the benefit of people.
You are the best of people because you
benefit people.
You are not the best of people because
you oppress people.
You are not the best of people because
you trouble people.
You are not the best of people because
you rob people, no.
You are the best of people because you
benefit people.
You have been extracted.
Allah did not say ukhrijat minan nas ukhrijat
linnas You have been selected for the people
to do what?
Ta'muruna bil ma'rufi, amar bil ma'rufi
to enjoin and enforce and recommend and promote
everything which is al ma'rufi which is
beneficial and which is good.
wa tanhawna anil munkar the opposite of that
and you prohibit and you prevent and you
stand against and you fight against everything which
is evil.
And the result of these two things the
result of amar bil ma'rufi anil munkar
is wa tu'minuna bil la' and you have
iman on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
In suratul kahf Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
tells us the first story in suratul kahf
is about which story?
First story in suratul kahf You read suratul
kahf today, right?
In Jummah you should read.
This is the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad.
He said read suratul kahf every Friday.
What is the first story in suratul kahf?
It has four stories.
Which is the first one?
People of the cave, Asaf ul Kahf.
What is the story?
These young men, young people they stood against
evil.
They refused to give up their religion either
for worldly benefit or in fear because of
fearing harm.
They said no, it doesn't matter.
We will not give up our religion.
When they stood up, then the help of
Allah came.
When they stood up, the help of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala came and Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala then led them and they
went into the cave and Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala caused them to sleep for 309
nights and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala caused
the sun to rise and set in a
way which did not disturb their sleep and
so on and so on.
Right?
But what is the first step?
They stood.
When they stood, when they took the step
of standing for the truth the help of
Allah came.
So amabil maroof and nahi alal munkar the
enjoining of good and the prevention of harm,
of evil this is the collective purpose of
the Muslim Ummah of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam and that's where I want to begin
with.
So my first piece of advice to students
or to whoever wants the advice is remember
who you are.
Remember who you are.
You and I don't simply exist to fulfill
our desires just to eat, drink and feel
happy and have fun.
We are here for a serious purpose.
When you remember that serious purpose then you
can't go wrong.
And that's why I say that the most
important thing in life is integrity and integrity
is not the only path.
There are many paths in life but integrity
is the only path on which you will
not be lost.
You will never get lost.
We must all suffer from one of
two pains.
Everyone without exception.
We must suffer from one of two pains.
The pain of discipline or the pain of
regret.
Discipline is to wake up every morning and
make your bed.
Discipline is to ensure that you shine your
shoes.
Discipline is to ensure that your room is
kept in order.
Discipline is to clean your car.
Discipline is to park your car correctly and
properly within whatever markings are there in the
parking place.
Discipline is to make sure that if you
that every day you get a certain amount
of exercise.
No matter if you're feeling tired, no matter
it's cold, no matter there is snow and
ice, doesn't matter.
Effectively, discipline is to do what needs to
be done whether you like it or not.
That is the key to discipline.
Discipline is not doing whatever I like doing.
Discipline is to do what must be done
whether I like it or not.
Yes.
You can't pray because of your school?
How does your school interfere with your prayer?
That is illegal in this country.
You know that?
Aha.
In the United States of America, it is
illegal for people to prevent you from praying
if you tell them that you need to
pray.
Go tell your teacher.
Seriously.
I'm not joking.
They will ask you to get a letter
from the mosque to say that you are
required to pray.
The Imam will give you a letter.
They cannot stop you.
Nobody can stop you.
Okay.
Yes.
I'll go to an Islamic school.
Sure.
But even if you don't go to an
Islamic school, the regular school in this country,
by law, they cannot prevent you from worshipping.
Right?
Yes.
Fantastic.
His teacher allows him to pray in the
corner of the classroom.
Yes.
Understand this.
Do you understand what is discipline?
Everyone?
Sure?
The thing I want to say to you
is discipline is sometimes painful.
But regret is far more painful.
Because if you do something which you have
to regret, then it means that you had
the opportunity and you did not make use
of that.
If you feel the pain of discipline, it's
for a short time.
But the pain of regret is for a
very long time.
So we have to feel one of two.
The pain of discipline or the pain of
regret.
I remind myself and you to factor Allah
into the equation because He is in it
anyway.
What equation is that?
That equation is anything that I want to
do in life.
Whatever it is.
The question to ask is, will Allah be
pleased with me or not if I do
this?
Somebody asked me a question today about investing
in stocks.
And he said, can I invest in stocks?
Can I invest in stocks of companies which
have debt financing?
He asked me, can I get a house,
can I get a mortgage on a house?
And then he said, can I get an
Islamic mortgage?
And he said, but the Islamic mortgage looks
very much like the other mortgage except that
they are changing some words.
So I told him this.
I said to him that we have the
hadith of Rasulullah s.a.w. narrated by
Hasan ibn Ali r.a. who said that
I heard my grandfather say, who is the
grandfather of Hasan ibn Ali r.a?
Who?
Rasulullah s.a.w. He said, I heard
my grandfather say, leave the doubtful for that
which is not doubtful.
So the moment you have a doubt in
your heart about doing something, I say to
you, respect that doubt.
That doubt is Hidayah min Allahi ta'ala.
Allah put that doubt in your mind because
you have a good heart and you have
a good mind.
You have a heart which has taqwa in
it.
Alhamdulillah.
Because there are so many people who are
doing all that stuff.
Factor Allah into the equation because He is
in it anyway.
Allah s.w.t took responsibility for our
sustenance.
We must work in a way, not because
we have to work to make money.
We must work to establish the hukum of
Allah on the earth.
We must work to demonstrate the beauty of
Islam in our work.
We must work to establish and show people
what is the meaning of excellence in work.
Those are the reasons you work.
I'm not saying don't work.
Of course you should work.
But the reason you work is that you
don't work to make money.
Allah gives you the money.
Allah s.w.t has said, قُلْ إِنَّ
رَبِّ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَقْدِرُ وَلَكِنْ أَكْثَرَ
النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ Allah s.w.t said,
Say to them, Ya Muhammad s.a.w.
It is surely My Rabb يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ
يَشَاءُ وَيَقْدِرُ who expands your sustenance as He
wishes or constricts it.
But most people don't know.
Allah expands, not you and me.
So make sure that every decision that we
make in life, that we have this thought,
if I do this, will Allah be pleased?
And if the answer is yes, Allah will
be pleased, then do it.
If the answer is no, Allah will not
be pleased, don't do it.
If the answer is I don't know whether
Allah will be pleased or not, then don't
do it until you find out.
Go and ask the scholars, ask somebody who
knows, and they will tell you.
And then if they say yes, it is
halal, do it.
If they say no, don't do it, don't
do it.
I submit to you that Islam is the
name of a practice.
Islam is not the name of a falsafah.
It is not the name of a philosophy.
It is not the name of an ideology.
It is not the name of a theory.
It's not the name of a technology.
Islam is the name of a practice.
Just like judo is the name of a
practice, aikido is the name of a practice,
karate is the name of a practice, who
do you call a black belt in judo?
Somebody who knows a lot about judo, who
has memorized all the books of judo, he
has written 25 books of judo, is that
a judo black belt?
Or is it someone who knows how to
do judo?
Which one?
Do, right?
I can say I know everything about judo,
I've written 20 books on judo, when I
go on the street and somebody grabs me,
I'm flat on the ground, I'm gone.
So what happened, where's the judo you know?
Knowing about judo does not make you a
judo expert.
So how does knowing about Islam make you
a Muslim?
No.
We have to do Islam.
The judo expert is the one who does
judo.
The karate expert is the one who does
karate.
The boxer is the one who does boxing.
The Muslim is the one who does Islam.
Islam is the name of a practice.
And that's why I say in the end,
we will not be asked what happened, we
will be asked what did you do.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will not ask
you what happened in philosophy.
Allah will ask what did you do.
Yalla I made dua, yalla I prayed tahajjud,
yalla I cried before you, you are my
witness, yalla I had some money to donate,
I donated money.
I could raise my voice, I raised my
voice, alhamdulillah.
Allah will not ask, was it successful?
No.
That is not in our control.
Successful, not successful, is Allah the one to
decide that.
What did you do?
And the same thing applies to everything else.
I'm giving you the philosophy only because that's
a right of the face example that we
have here.
I submit to you, please understand this.
I asked one of the scholars, one of
my teachers to give me advice.
And I thought he will tell me, make
sure you pray tahajjud every day, make sure
you read so much of Quran every day,
make sure you do all these wazaif and
these azkar and make sure you fast.
He told me make sure that you do
not commit any sins.
He didn't say any of this.
He said make sure that you do not
commit a sin.
So I was surprised, I said Sheikh, I
agree with you, I mean I'm not saying
I want to commit sin, but the point
is I thought you were going to tell
me, you know, read this and do that
and fasting and charities and all.
He gave a beautiful example.
He said it is like a bucket, take
this bottle for example, right?
If there are holes in this bottle and
water is leaking out, so this water level
is falling because it's leaking out.
Now if I don't want this water level
to fall and somebody says, you know, the
simplest thing is take it outside, put a
hose, turn on the pressure, force water into
the bottle, level will rise.
Will that happen?
What will really happen?
Yes.
The water will come out even more, right?
Because it is already leaking and if I
force water in, the leak will be, will
increase.
So what is the first thing to do?
Plug the leaks.
If I plug the leaks, then the water
will remain where it is and even if
I am now pouring in a little bit
of water, every drop will stay in there.
Yes?
Yeah?
Done?
Okay.
So that is the point we have to
understand this.
Doing good matters, but sinning matters even more.
Make sure that we do not commit anything,
any sin knowingly.
Make sure our eyes do not look at
anything which Allah has made haram.
Make sure your ears, my ears do not
listen to anything which Allah has prohibited us
from listening to.
Make sure that our tongue, which is used
for the recitation of the Quran, is not
used somewhere else for foul language and cursing
people.
Make sure that our hands and feet, which
inshallah on the Day of Judgment will shine
because of the wudu we used to do,
make sure that they don't go to the
wrong place.
Right?
Do not commit sin.
I sometimes say to people, when I'm saying
to people, I'm saying to myself, that today,
Alhamdulillah, the amount of knowledge of Islam that
the average person has is so much that
it is enough to get them into Jannah
even if they do not learn one single
word more from today.
Supposing you say from today I am not
learning even one word more till I die.
Will I still go to Jannah?
I will guarantee you will go to Jannah
with the knowledge you have.
Let me prove that to you.
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala says, this is Hadith Qudsi, He
said Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, that
if my slave prays the five prayers that
I have made compulsory on him at their
time, then on the Day of Judgment, I
take upon myself the responsibility to forgive him
and enter him into Jannah.
And if he does not pray those five
prayers on time, then this responsibility, I don't
take that responsibility.
I may do it, I may not do
it.
Now tell me, how many Muslims are there
who do not know that they should pray
five times a day on time?
Is there any Muslim like this?
Even the non-Muslims know this.
When we do interfaith work, the non-Muslims,
they know Muslims pray five times a day.
So how can every Muslim know this, I
must pray five times a day?
So even if I learn nothing more, as
long as I am praying five times a
day at the right time, Inshallah, Jannah is
mine.
So if I don't get into Jannah, whose
fault is it?
Right?
So let us be very clear about that.