From being consumers to contributors #1

Bismillah R Rahman r Rahim Al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen

wa salatu salam, ala Shafi Lumbee able more saline Muhammad are sort of nice and Allah Heidi who I know, love to see that

there is something which is, you know, one of the worst or most difficult things was calamities is

the most difficult things is to lose your eyesight, right.

Many things are difficult, what's probably one of the worst.

But there's something worse than not having eyesight that is not having vision.

The two are different.

eyesight is different from vision. Vision is the ability to

have a plan I don't say see the future because I don't want to make it sound like some kind of prophecy or fortune telling is not that is a question of what do we see for ourselves in the future.

I'll give you a couple of

couple of examples.

In 1631, the foundation of a building was led.

And that building was eventually completed in 1653. So that's 22 years.

In 1636, which is four years or five years, after the first building 1636, the foundation of another building was laid

across the world. In another country.

The person who built the first building, his net worth

was equal to 25% of global GDP of the time.

Right, his net worth is wealth was equal to 25% of global GDP of the time.

The person who founded the second building was a

was a priest was a Puritan minister.

Both the buildings exist even today.

The first building has two occupants, both dead.

The second building has produced global leaders in practically every aspects of society every walk of life.

Any guesses which two buildings I'm talking about?

The first building is a Taj Mahal,

built by the Mughal Emperor Shah.

And he and his wife are the only two occupants both dead obviously,

the tomb of Chaga.

The second building

is Howard University.

Howard incidentally, also as the is known for two other things, one, apart from being the oldest

education institution in this country in America, it also has the wealthiest or the other biggest endowment fund of $50.7 billion.

And it has the largest library of any education institution in the world.

This is what I mean by

a difference of vision.

Please notice nothing, it has nothing to do with resources. The resources of Sharjah compared to the resources of John Howard, after whom we work is named

the amount of money that John Howard probably spent a year

maybe 50 times that was spent on one of Shujaaz horses.

So it's not a question of how much money do you have? It's a question of the ability to say what can what is the best use of these resources.

I was in South Africa in I think it was 2005 or 2007. I was invited to speak at Rhodes University, named after Cecil Rhodes, in Port Elizabeth in South Africa.

So as I was walking to the place, the auditorium where I was supposed to speak, we passed by a building, which had a huge stairway. Very tall stair with the building, the actual plinth of the building was maybe 2030 feet up in the air. So the long stairway going up there

And the stairway was literally it was like seeing a railway station of people, young people, students going up and down the stairways and people are going into a place. So the person who was with me was escorting me one very dear friend of mine I asked him I said, what what building is this? He said, Sir, this is our library. Your library. So fantastic. I mean, this is so busy. And it was nine o'clock in the night.

That's a nine o'clock in the night. Your library is so busy this like real estate? Is it? Yes, is it our library is open 24 hours of the day, 365 days of the year.

He says the library has no oddities.

It so happened and of course there are no coincidence Allah subhanaw taala guides.

I think a week later I was invited to speak at one of the very big dark rooms one of the very mother is

and again, Coincidently, as we were walking to the auditorium where I was supposed to speak, I pass by a door on which was written mcta

Dhamaka in Arabic as a different word, but in although it means multiple means every and it was not. There was a lot of fun.

So I asked the the Mallanna was with me, I said, my name

is Amanda. I said this is locked mundanity and

he said yeah, that's always what his why it's a no that's only four it has reference books and so on only for the teachers if they need to find some book. So I said the students are not allowed to live a normal.

This one, students are not allowed into the library.

Or the weather isn't the order.

They want them to place one of the big mudhar Is the rooms.

My question myself and you is what really do we want

to do with our lives?

What really do we want for our people?

Because Allah subhanaw taala made this rule of you know, Allah made all the rules in the world.

Somebody called the rules of laws of physics, the other laws, which are not physics laws, but they are equally they just like that, like, for example, the law of gravity doesn't change because now it is 2023. Right? You don't always see with gravity in the year in the year

1000 was different from Illinois, it's empty. So check which people say oh, the world has changed. Well, notice, only the external things in the world have changes because you are now driving an electric car and used to be driving a horsecar horsecar is doesn't change anything. Right is right wrong is wrong, evil is evil, good is good.

And so also with the laws that Allah subhanaw taala made and one of the one of those laws which is immutable, and immutable, which is which is unchangeable. Like the ground law of gravity and so on is the law. That output is directly proportionate to investment.

If you want a certain output, you have to invest something in it.

It's not magic, there's no magic, it doesn't come out of the air. So if I want education, I have to invest in education institution. I can't get education by just wishing to have as you wish.

If you read the Islamic history of Muslims is amazing. It's incredible. We had

we were known. There was a time when this Omata masala was known for its knowledge. The problem is we don't read history. So we conflate everything and we speak of everything as if it was yesterday is not if you read the history

1258 The abassi Khilafah ended when allego sack Baba and what did he do in Baba he burned down he destroyed by to LACMA. He destroyed the greatest one of the greatest research institutes in the world the world had ever seen. They said first, the water of the Tigris and Euphrates ran red because of the number of people he killed. And then it ran black because of the ink of the books that were dumped into the into the river. They said that the number of books which were dumped into the river was so much that you could ride a horse across the river on the books.

So what are the Xs it was it was a civilization which was known for learning right

after that,

that is that is 1258 then we go the last of it was the Andalus the Omega helluva in Andalus which was 1492 1492 that ended for

Dinner Isabella finished Cordoba and Spain.

From 1492 onwards, if you look at the history, the last Muslim sultanate ended in 1927, which was the Ottomans. So 1492 to 1937 is what roughly every year is what 500 500 plus years, right?

There were three major empires, three majors alternates, there was the novel, empire in India, there was the Ottoman Empire in Europe and North Africa. And there was this, there was the Safavid. Empire in Iran.

All of them were known for buildings, beautiful massages, beautiful palaces, beautiful, massive, magnificent forts. They were known for music, they were known for beautiful carpets. They were known for art.

But not one word, about learning, not one word or education, not one word about any institution of learning. None of them left behind libraries, none of them left behind. great universities. Nothing, everything in it. 14. So when we talk about all these great scholars have already had this one and that one, and it is me and you're talking pre 1400 talking about the 15th century,

pre 15th century.

From then to now.

Zero. If I asked you just today, today, can you name for me?

One, university, global university in the top three. And just think about the top three top three global universities, top three hospitals, drop three libraries. Drop three scientists.

is even one Muslim? Is any of these things in a Muslim country.

Just think about the things we like to use take this phone, for example. We can't live without it.

Take our planes, take our cars, take anything. Air conditioning, this mic I'm speaking with F asked me has any of these things? Does it have any Muslim contribution

00.

The World

Values contributors, not consumers.

We have become consumers. In a country we don't cultivate the media's consume, consumers are used contributors are valued.

At that is what must change, change from being consumers to being contributors.

And that, like I said, takes investment. It takes investment time, money, energy and tears before Allah subhanaw taala in the night.

At this investment, like it did for everybody else, please understand the rules are the same. Today, the people you see who are in leadership positions in the world who are leading the world war, running the world in their own way. They didn't get to those positions overnight. They also took 100 years, they also took 200 years.

So also for us. You're talking about a generational project, which will span at least minimum two generations.

But that is provided we start today.

Otherwise two generations from now.

somebody like me who will be equal to my great grandson we say the same talking the same garbage.

You ask Allah

to have mercy on us today. I was in the

in the Unitarian Universalist Church. And guess what they recited their reading for the day was a NASM by Allama have been

here in Springfield. And I'm thinking to myself Allama Iqbal passed away around the law over 100 years ago.

Every single thing is said 100 years ago applies today.

Is that good news or bad news?

That means nothing changed. Nothing just 400 years nothing is what he Lemond did any wept for

remains exactly the same, if not worse.

You ask Allah Subhana Allah to have mercy on us because nobody else will have mercy on us. We ask Allah subhanaw taala to open our eyes before Mala godmode comes in over the rice. We ask Allah subhanaw taala to invest in ourselves in our communities, in our children in our societies, so that we become contributors and then we get valued in the world or seminar and they will carry while he was alive.

In a bit all together why