Mirza Yawar Baig – Define Yourself
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of investing in oneself and others to achieve success and achieve change. They emphasize the need for courage, avoiding the "right to kill" situation, and showing political involvement. The speakers also emphasize the importance of creating a system based on worship, social responsibility, and compassion to avoid war and achieve peace in the world. The speakers stress the need for people to show true commitment to Islam and participate in government to ensure everyone is respected and their interests are addressed.
AI: Summary ©
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious,
the Most Merciful.
We praise Him, seek His help, and ask
His forgiveness.
We believe in Him and put our trust
in Him.
We seek refuge in Allah from the evil
of our souls and from the evil of
our deeds.
Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him.
Whomsoever He leads astray, none can guide him.
And we bear witness that there is none
worthy of worship except Allah, and He is
alone, and has no partner.
And we bear witness that Muhammad is His
servant and Messenger.
I
bear
witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.
And he said, And our Prophet Muhammad, peace
and blessings be upon him, and upon his
family and companions, said, Verily, the truest guidance
is the Book of Allah, and the best
guide is Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon
him, and the worst of all affairs is
his misguidance, and every misguidance is a misguidance,
and every misguidance is a misguidance, and every
misguidance is a misguidance in the Fire.
My dear respected brothers, sisters, elders.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala defined us and
identified us and gave us an identity and
called us Muslims.
And therefore, I remind myself and you that
it's very important for us to define ourselves
in life because all our attitudes and actions,
what gives us meaning, depends on who we
are, on how we define ourselves.
I remind myself and you that Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala made the laws that run
this universe, including our world.
They include the laws of physics, which we
call natural laws, but they are not the
only ones.
There are others, equally powerful, equally non-negotiable,
equally inescapable, that govern and determine the success,
influence, and happiness of human life.
Those who learn those laws and operate according
to them can have as much success and
influence and happiness as they wish.
Therefore, it's very important for us to make
a choice and distinguish and ask ourselves, are
we spectators or players?
Are we spectators or players?
The difference is skin in the game.
Spectators can watch and scream in encouragement or
abuse.
They can wear T-shirts and caps and
they can discuss the game, but they have
no impact on the outcome.
They don't decide who wins or who loses
the game because they have no skin in
the game.
They don't bleed for the cause.
They don't invest time, money, sweat, and tears
to help their side to win.
They just scream from the strands.
That is our situation today as Muslims globally.
Illa masha'Allah.
We don't want to invest.
We don't want to bear inconvenience.
We don't want to stand in the street
in rain or sunshine to make our voices
heard.
We want someone else to do it for
us.
We want someone else to lose their job,
get doxed, get brutalized by the police, even
go to jail for our cause.
But we don't even want to be seen
with them.
Yet we want our cause to win.
Well, all I can say to you and
those who think like this is good luck.
Because you are going to need a lot
of it.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created a world
of cause and effect.
Those who benefit from a rise in the
share price are shareholders in the firm.
Not those who read the Financial Times, but
have no money in the firm.
So therefore, my message to you and myself
is invest in yourself.
Invest in your family and invest in your
society if you want influence.
And by invest I don't mean buy the
latest iPhone.
If you want power, start contributing.
It's like a tweet I saw some time
ago by someone who was against BDS and
against the boycott campaign.
And it said, I want to boycott everything
made by Muslims.
Can somebody please send out a list?
I remind myself I knew that we came
to give.
We did not come to take.
Our teacher taught us and we were supposed
to teach the world.
But instead, we forgot the teacher.
We forgot his teachings.
And we started learning from others.
We didn't even have the sense to ask
who am I learning from?
What is his interest in me?
Why would he teach me anything that benefits
me?
I remind myself I knew that in the
life of every man and woman comes a
time when a window opens and they have
a unique opportunity to make an impact and
influence others.
To succeed, we need to anticipate, prepare for
that opening, and act with courage when our
window opens.
Our window is open now.
Once that window is shut, our life is
over.
Even if we remain alive.
Because to live is not merely to breathe.
To live is not merely to draw breath.
That is to survive.
To live is to create a legacy of
honor.
We usually hear two statements from well-meaning
but confused people regarding politics.
One, I am not interested in politics.
And two, politics is dirty.
Well, guess what?
As someone said, you may not be interested
in politics, but politics is interested in you.
This is like a deer saying, I am
not interested in the lion.
If the deer wants to survive and thrive,
there is only one way.
Get interested in the lion.
And learn to influence the lion and his
behavior in your favor.
Otherwise, you are food.
That is what must be done with politics.
Become interested, contribute, participate, become influential.
As for politics being dirty, that is true.
As a description of the current state.
But that doesn't mean that it must necessarily
remain that way forever.
Anything dirty remains dirty for one reason only.
And that is because those affected by the
dirt choose to remain with the dirt.
If those affected by dirty politics, which is
you and me, do what we do when
we encounter dirt in anything else, the dirt
will go the same way.
So let us complete that statement, politics is
dirty, and add, but we are going to
clean it.
Believe me, it will happen.
It is waiting to be cleaned.
That cleaning cannot happen without us getting our
hands dirty.
But once we start washing, both the fabric
of politics and our hands will become clean.
Politics is the art of influencing.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent us to
influence.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, كُنتُ خَيْرَ
أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَحْوُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ
الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
said, كُنتُ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَحْوُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ
وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُمْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ To do what?
You encourage good, and you forbid evil, and
you believe in Allah.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us that
our job is to clean society from all
kinds of evil and to promote all kinds
of good.
Allah did not tell us that our job
is to sit there and get used to
filth and get accustomed to filth.
It is not the sign of health to
become well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
Allah didn't send us for that.
Allah said, go there and change it.
It needs to be changed.
Good governance comes at the top of the
list of things to do.
Number one, society can only be cleaned by
insiders, by citizens.
Participating in society does not mean only living
in the place and buying and selling things.
To participate is to be interested in the
welfare of the place.
That means investing time and energy and money
and talent and all kinds of resources to
help to do whatever is necessary to ensure
good governance.
It means to collaborate and cooperate with others
to make that happen.
It means to make societal change, both our
long-term and short-term goal.
We can and must move from a position
of deciding which of two bad choices is
the least harmful to deciding which of two
or more good choices is the most beneficial.
It can happen, but not without participation.
We must play the game, not just watch
from the sidelines and brainwash ourselves that we
can do nothing.
That is a lie.
So what is the role of Muslim citizens
living in democratic countries?
Should they participate in government from voting to
standing for election to discharging their responsibilities in
different capacities in local and national government?
Or should they abstain from doing any of
these things?
And if they should abstain, then how are
they to ensure that their rights and needs
and issues are represented and addressed by a
government that they did not elect nor show
any interest in?
We have multiple examples of what happens when
you refuse to participate in government.
None of them is good.
It is not about political parties, but about
being interested in and being willing to contribute
to the nation.
We must understand that working to ensure good
governance is the most important part of citizenship.
That is the secret of power.
Not merely casting our vote, important though that
is and must be done, but standing for
truth and justice, advocacy of worthy causes, helping
the weak, volunteering our time and talents for
the benefit of society, and putting our money
and effort where our mouths are when it
comes to helping others.
We, the people of the nation, through the
ballot box, have delegated authority to run the
nation to those we elected.
But we still retain the responsibility for their
success or failure.
I want to end this section with my
favorite quote.
We get the government we deserve.
I say this to ask Allah's forgiveness for
you and the rest of Muslims.
So ask His forgiveness.
Indeed, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most
Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, and peace
and blessings be upon the most honored of
the prophets, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, peace
and blessings be upon him, and upon his
family and companions.
Many, many times.
Then, Allah said, Verily, Allah and His angels
send blessings upon the Prophet.
O you who have believed, send blessings upon
him and his family.
Allahumma salli ala Sayyidina Muhammadin wa ala Ali
Muhammad kama sallita ala Ibrahima wa ala Ali
Ibrahim innaka amidul majid.
Allahumma barika ala Muhammadin wa ala Ali Muhammad
kama barakta ala Ibrahima wa ala Ali Ibrahim
innaka amidul majid.
I remind myself and you that changing society
is not instant coffee.
It won't happen overnight.
We have the example of Rasulullah, peace and
blessings be upon him, where we, the Rasulullah,
peace and blessings be upon him, at the
helm, and the best of all generations at
his command, it took 23 years.
Societal change is running a marathon.
It's about the long haul.
We must convince ourselves that our society needs
to be changed and that nobody else is
going to do it for us.
And get used to working for the long
term and stop looking for instant rewards.
Take the case of the Sahaba, all of
whom who dined before Fatah Waqqa.
Not one of them saw the victory of
Islam.
Musa ibn Umair, Abdullah ibn Ja'ash, Sa
'ad ibn Mu'adh, Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib,
Khadija ibn Khuwailid, Zaid ibn Haritha, Ja'far
ibn Abi Talib, May Allah be pleased with
all of them and grant them the highest
stations in Jannah.
And many others, they did not see Fatah
Waqqa.
They did not see the victory of Islam.
But they did not get tired, they didn't
lose hope, they didn't despair, and they did
not stop or even slow down their efforts
for Islam.
They continued with undiminished energy and dedication.
And Islam was victorious because of them.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is their
witness.
This is not my opinion.
This is what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
told us.
In Surah Al-Ahzab, Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala said, مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا آحَضُوا
اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَضَى نَحْبَهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ
يَنْتَظِرُ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا تَبْدِيلَهِ Allah said that among
the believers are men who have proven true
to what they pledge to Allah.
Some of them fulfilled their pledge with their
lives, others are waiting their turn.
But they have never changed their commitment in
the least.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala called them, praised
them and called them الرجال, real men.
This is not a gender statement.
It means people of honour who were true
to their word and did not break their
pledge.
Our pledge with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
I remind myself and you, is for life.
Our akhirah is the reward for that.
So how can we get tired?
How can we have dolor fatigue?
And how can you have activist fatigue?
And how can you have any kind of
fatigue?
How can we give up when Rasulullah ﷺ
never gave up?
And his Sahaba never gave up.
He is our example.
And to that, we must remain true.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala honoured the Sahaba
and said about their attitude when they faced
danger.
Overwhelming odd.
وَلَمَّا رَأَى الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْأَحْزَابَ قَالُوا أَذَا مَا وَاحدَنَا
اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَصَدَقَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَمَا زَادَهُمْ إِلَّا
إِيمَانَهُ وَتَسْلِيمًا Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said
when the believers saw the enemy alliance, the
Al-Ahzab, they said, this is what Allah
and His Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had
promised us.
The promise of Allah and His Messenger has
come true.
And this only increased them in faith and
submission.
We must realise that our task is to
establish in our lives a system that is
based on the worship of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala and obedience to His Rasul sallallahu
alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam focused on benefiting
all humanity.
Whether you or I like it or not,
it has to begin with me and with
you.
It has to begin first with this body
of five foot whatever, or six foot whatever.
And then it has to go into the
family, then it has to go in concentric
circles, bigger and bigger.
So don't worry about what the king of
Saudi Arabia should be doing.
Look at what you should be doing.
We waste hours and hours and hours making
tafsarah on politics.
This is what should be done there.
Ask yourself, am I obeying Allah?
Am I following the sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam?
Believe me, if the answer to one or
those two questions is no, then forget everything
else.
Nothing will change.
It has to start with me, no matter
how painful that might be.
We must change the present system which is
based on predatory capitalism and the worship of
the self to a system which is based
on compassion and social responsibility.
This takes time and sustained effort and investment
of all our talent and resources in something
which we truly believe is worth it.
It's a generational project for which we must
volunteer to go into the foundation to be
buried, known only to the one to whom
is our return.
On our shoulders then will stand future generations
who will take it forward and see our
vision to its fruition.
But do we have a vision?
That is the real question.
This is what Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
had and his sahaba understood and shared with
him.
And that is what gave them the energy
to continue in the face of apparently unsurmountable
odds, to keep contributing everything with unwavering sincerity
and enthusiasm.
That is how they won.
And history is witness.
What are odds when the creator of the
universe is with you?
In democratic society, citizens delegate authority, not responsibility.
If those to whom authority was delegated fail,
it is the duty of citizens to take
back the authority and delegate it to better
people.
We must realize that to give ourselves good
governance and good government is our responsibility, not
anyone else's.
And if you think that what I'm saying
is up in the air somewhere, impossible.
Then ask yourself, if I gave you a
task to create a world in which eight
men, eight white men, cumulatively have more wealth
than 50% of the world combined.
And unless one of you eight is sitting
here, you are in that 50%.
Eight white men have more wealth than 50
% of the rest of the world combined.
And they call the shots.
If I told you, create such a system,
you would say you are insane.
It's impossible to create that system.
But believe it or not, we created that
system.
In less than a hundred years.
I can give you dates if you want.
That's why I say read history.
So what I'm telling you is far less
difficult than what you and I have achieved.
We are morally responsible.
You might say, I didn't do it.
Of course you did it.
Everything you buy on the market, which you
don't need, is going into the pockets of
those people.
Even if you needed it, it still goes
there.
But at least you can say, I needed
it.
This country, we have people, the average American
has a freezer.
I'm not talking about the fridge in the
kitchen.
I'm talking about the freezer in the basement
or the garage, which is full of stuff,
which every year, date expires, and you throw
it in the trash.
Food.
Tell me if I'm lying.
So don't tell me you're not contributing.
You are contributing.
I am contributing.
And one day, we will answer to Allah.
So at least make the effort to say,
I did what I could to try to
change the system.
I would like to say in conclusion, clearly
and unequivocally that Muslims living in democratic countries
must participate in government in every way, knowing
that it is entirely in keeping with Islam
to do so.
They must participate because Islam orders them to
support all that is beneficial for everyone, Muslims
or otherwise, and to do that in a
way that showcases Islam for the rest of
the world.
Muslims must participate in democracy because it is
only by participation that we can ensure that
our interests are addressed and our needs are
met.
We have seen many examples of what happens
when we don't participate.
We are used and discarded.
That must not happen again.
That is the key.
So go out and vote.
Whether it is raining or not, whatever the
situation is, go out and vote.
Remember that this is the only opportunity that
you have in a democracy to be heard,
to influence your own future, and to protect
yourself from those who wish to hurt you.
Remember a party is not elected, a party
is not elected by the majority of the
population of the country, but it is elected
by the majority of those who cast their
vote.
This is the key to modern democracies and
the reason why we must vote.
If you don't enroll yourself and don't go
and vote, then don't blame anyone else for
the result.
You are responsible and you will pay the
price.
I ask Allah to enable us to do
that which is pleasing to Him, and to
help us to keep us in a state
where He is pleased with us.
I ask Allah to show us the truth
as truth, and falsehood as falsehood.
I ask Allah to show us the truth
as truth, and to help us to follow
it.
I ask Allah to show us falsehood as
falsehood, and to help us to avoid it.
O our Lord, forgive us our sins, and
forgive us our transgressions, and forgive us our
iniquities.
There is no god but You, and You
are the Most Merciful.
O our Lord, forgive us and have mercy
on us, and You are the Best of
Merciful.
O our Lord, give us in this world
what is good, and in the Hereafter what
is good.
And forgive us our sins, and forgive us
our transgressions, and forgive us our iniquities.