Mirza Yawar Baig – CTS Connections
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the importance of gratitude and submission to oneself, as well as following footsteps and avoiding ungrateful behavior. They stress the importance of valuing connections and striving for growth, as well as following rules and avoiding footsteps. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of following the Bible and avoiding footsteps.
AI: Summary ©
Success. Critical to success. This is a term
that we use in the corporate world. When
we are talking about those specific things
that are required
for success.
There may be a lot of things that
we do but
the intelligent thing is to focus on those
which are serious, which are critical to success,
and make sure that you succeed instead of
getting your attention diverted
over a whole number of things.
The secret
of success in this world and the next
is connections.
Connections.
The foundation of all connections is gratitude,
is shukal,
is thankfulness.
And it is flower
and its flower is love,
hub.
The foundation
is gratitude
and the flower,
the
outcome of that
is love,
is hope. The love of Allah
who alone we worship
because he is alone.
Allah
asked a question in
Allah said, how can you deny Allah?
Has a human being forgotten a time when
he was not even a thing mentioned?
He did not exist. His memory did not
exist. His idea did not exist. The fact
that he would be coming into existence did
not exist.
And here Allah is saying
you are nothing.
You did not exist.
You are dead. He
gave you life.
Then he will take it away again.
He will kill
you.
He will give you life back again.
How can you deny Allah when you are
lifeless, you are dead and He gave you
life
and then He will cause you to die
and He will again bring you back to
life and then to Him you will all
be returned.
My brothers and sisters, I remind myself when
you let us reflect,
let us think, let us reflect what is
the value of life.
What is the value of life? And in
that life,
what is the value of right guidance?
This beautiful Ayatul Kareema encapsulates
our existence.
We didn't exist until Allah
brought us to life. Then we must live
our lives with the consciousness
that one day we will die and to
Allah
is our return.
Just one small
ayah which demands
that we reflect on our lives.
What life means
and how to live it.
Everything begins with gratitude
for Iman,
for faith, for our families,
for our friends, for education,
next generation. We thank you for the opportunity
to share your thoughts. We
thank you for the failures of our lives.
We thank Allah
for all of them.
Because all of them are blessings
blessing, poverty is a blessing.
Every single thing that comes from Allah
is a is a blessing. The list is
endless.
Let us reflect on the blessings that Allah
granted every one of us individually.
Please make a list. Make a list of
your blessings, your personal blessings.
What did Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, bless you
with? Then separate that list into what you
asked for and you got and what you
got without asking for.
Make a list of all the things that
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala blessed you with and
then separate that list into what you got
because you asked for it and what Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gave you without asking.
Believe me, you will be shocked.
It will shock you because we can never
thank Allah
enough.
Allah
said,
If you try to count his blessings, the
blessings of Allah,
you would never be able to number them.
You will not even be able to count
them later on be thankful for them. Indeed,
humankind is truly unfair and totally ungrateful.
We ask
Allah
we ask Allah to save us from being
ungrateful
and from being
in,
from from showing,
being unfair. And Allah said, again, in the
same
Allah said, Remember
when your Rabjalajalal
who proclaimed and announced, if you are grateful,
I will certainly give you more but if
you are ungrateful,
surely
my punishment
is severe.
See the rahmah of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Even here, the the the the the the
the the the the the the the the
the the the the the the the the
the the the the the the the the
the the the the the the the the
the the the the the the the the
the the the the the the the the
the the the the the the
Allah does not say I will burn you.
Allah said here is the fire, don't put
your hand in it. Here is my punishment.
Don't get to that don't get to the
place where this punishment will fall upon you.
Be grateful and do not be ungrateful.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
ordered us to be always be grateful to
Him and never to be ungrateful.
Rasulullah
ordered us to thank the people
who helped us in our lives. The people
through whom we received
the blessings of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Our
parents, our
teachers, our relatives, our friends,
strangers,
all over the place. People through whom we
the
Abu Huraira
reported that Rasulullah SAW
said, whoever does not thank people has not
thanked Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Sometimes people ask
why they should thank others specifically. They say,
well, if the person knows, why must I
go and say thank you, thank you all
the time?
My question to them is, doesn't Allah know
whether you are thankful or not? Then why
did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala command us to
thank Him and warned us about being ungrateful?
If Allah knows, why is He asking us
to do that? Why is He commanding and
ordering us to do that? So what about
the human being who does not know? You
think they know, they do not know. That
is because expressing thanks
is about us. It is not about others.
Gratitude to Allah
produces love for
Allah and that in turn
inspires us to please Him
by obeying Him, which is success.
I remind myself when you, Islam
means
submission.
Islam means submission.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
Mentioned Ibrahim Alaihi Salam
and
praised him and he said
When His
ordered Him submit
to my will, He responded,
I submit
to the rub of all the worlds.
This is the essence of submission.
This is Islam. The essence of taqwa.
No
argument, no resistance,
not even hesitation,
just loving
submission.
Ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to make us
among those who lovingly submit to him.
And that was Ibrahim Alaihi Salam and Allah
loved him and he loved
Allah
I remind myself with you that Allah
commanded
us to enter Islam
fully and completely
in all aspects of our lives because Islam
came as a way of life.
It did not come merely as a set
of rituals of worship. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
said,
yeah, you are Ladina.
Allah said, oh
believers, enter into Islam wholeheartedly,
fully, completely,
without hesitation,
willingly, in willing submission,
enter into Islam wholeheartedly
and do not follow the footsteps of Shaytan.
Surely
he is
your
worst and clear enemy. Allah said, do not
follow the footsteps of shaitan
because he is your clear enemy.
My brothers and sisters,
he is your clear and sworn enemy. This
reinforces for us this beautiful that
Islam is a complete way of life and
that Allah's
pleasure
must be considered,
must be the criterion of every decision making
in everything that we say and do. Allah
warned us against following the footsteps of Shaytan
and his agents.
Please note that following footsteps
implies that the decision to do that is
ours.
Allah
is saying, do not follow the footsteps because
to follow or not to follow is our
decision.
The one whose footsteps we have chosen to
follow is not there. Had he been there,
it would not have been said, do not
follow His footsteps.
Instead, it would have been said, don't follow
Him. The choice to obey or not is
ours
and there is no compulsion for us to
do either.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala showed us the consequences
of both of obeying and the
So whoever
renounces
the false gods
and false beliefs and believes in Allah
has certainly grasped
the firmest and strongest
unfailing
handhold, and Allah
is all hearing
and all knowing,
a handhold that will never fail.
But the decision to grasp that or not
is ours.
Choose wisely
because we will live
with that choice.
And when we are resurrected,
we will be resurrected
according to that choice.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala told us about
the consequences of both grasping
that handover
and not doing so. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
said, Allah
Allah Subhana Waqarah jalajalalahu
said which means,
Allah
is the wali of the believers.
Allah is the guardian, the protector,
the sustainer, the maintainer,
the creator.
He is the guardian, He is the valley
of the believers.
And what is the benefit of that? He
brings them out of darkness into light.
As for those who deny, as for those
who disbelieve, as for those who reject Allah
their guardians
are false gods. Their guardians are whoever they
choose to worship and whatever they choose to
believe,
who lead them out of light into darkness.
Our fitra
is Islam. Our fitra is tawhid. Our fitra
is
goodness. It is not sin.
We choose whether to remain in that fitra
in goodness
or to leave it and go into darkness.
May Allah save us from that. And then
Allah said, These are the people who leave
the good
and who choose evil,
who leave the light and who go into
darkness, it is they who will be the
residence of the fire and they will be
there
forever.
We ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to save
us from that. My brothers and sisters, I
remind myself and you that everything begins with
the with obedience to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
in the way of Rasool Allah
this
is the
This is the connection
between the of Allah, the Kalam of Allah,
and the sunnah of Muhammad
We obey the Kitab Quran.
We are the only ones that are the
only ones that are the only ones that
are the only ones that are the only
ones that are the only ones that are
the only ones that are the only ones
that are the only ones that are to
follow the commands of the Quran
according to the sunnah. This is the meaning
of Islam.
This is the meaning of being Muslim.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala also told us what
Shaitan will say
when we
are before
Allah
where He will wash His hands off
us. He will say,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala said, And Shaitan will
say to his followers
after the judgement has passed,
after the judgment has
been prescribed.
Shaitan will say after
the judgment has
been passed,
indeed Allah made you a promise
and I too made you a promise, but
I failed you. I did not have any
authority over you. I only called you and
you came. You responded to me. So do
not blame me, blame yourself.
I cannot save you nor can you save
me. Indeed,
I denounce
your previous association
with me,
your association of me with Allah
in loyalty,
surely the wrongdoers will suffer a painful
punishment.
For anyone who wants to turn to Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in repentance,
let us remember that the doors of mercy
and forgiveness of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala are
always open until the minute we see Malakor
Bahu. That is the beginning of all goodness,
to turn towards Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to
own up our mistakes and sins and beg
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
for his forgiveness. Allah
oh my slaves who have transgressed
against themselves,
Do not lose hope in the mercy of
Allah for Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala certainly forgives
all sins and He is indeed
the all forgiving and the most merciful. As
if that is not enough, Allah
said for the promise
that those who are
and the people who
are in the midst of the world. And
the people who are in the midst of
the world, they are in the midst of
the world. For those who repent
and who believe
and who do good deeds,
they are the ones
whose evil deeds Allah Subhana Wa Ta'la will
change into good deeds for Allah Subhana Wa
Ta'la is All Forgiving,
Most Merciful. How can we possibly thank
Say it in any language you like. What
do we say when we say what do
we feel when we say Rabbi,
my Rab? Do we feel the connection?
If not, what's our plan? All connection, my
brothers and sisters, take time and effort to
build. How much time and effort we are
prepared to invest
depends on the value that we have for
that connection.
Ask yourself, do I value my connection with
Allah? Seriously,
do I value my connection with Rasulullah salallahu
alayhi
salallam? I'm not asking for the standard answer
that, you know, you don't have to answer
me. Ask yourself the question, what is in
the heart? Do I really value the connection
with Allah? Do I really value my connections
with Rasool Allah Subhana Wa Salam? If not,
if so, what am I prepared to do
for that? To build that connection and to
strengthen it, you we must find the time
to reflect,
then we must change our priorities. Remember,
every connection,
every friendship,
every relationship without exception
will end
except 2,
our relationship with Allah and our relationship with
Rasool idai salallahu alaihi waananihi
wa sallam.
Therefore, let us strive
to make that relationship
ever stronger
and healthier
because one day we will need that relationship
more than any other.
To finally close the circle, we must remember
that when we leave this world, we will
leave
everything
behind
except our deeds.
The cover on the shroud
has no pockets.
The grave will fit only our body.
Everything we have will be taken from us,
but how we earned it
and how we spent it will go with
us.
So focus on what will go with us
and don't sell that for what we
must leave behind.
What we have to leave behind. Don't focus
on that. Focus on what you can take
with you. See what a fantastic bargain that
is. Allah
has given us what is forever
in exchange
for what we will leave behind anyway.
So let's choose wisely
because it because we will be with our
choices
forever.
I ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for His
mercy and forgiveness.