Mirza Yawar Baig – Juma Khutba We Need Perspective

Mirza Yawar Baig
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The speakers discuss the importance of finding perspective and holding two pictures simultaneously to determine the investment needed to reach their destination. They stress the need for individualism and a culture of trust and respect, as well as the importance of hedonism, egoism, and a desire for pleasure. The speakers emphasize the need for schools to catch young animals before too much damage has been done and the importance of setting goals and keeping them in mind. Success is to be protected from punishment and be granted Jannah, and the goal is to be protected from punishment and be granted Jannah.

AI: Summary ©

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			The number one
		
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			requirement
		
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			for problem solving, any kind of problem, whether
		
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			you are lost in a desert or a
		
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			jungle,
		
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			whether it's a physical problem,
		
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			whether it's a psychological
		
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			problem, whether it is a spiritual problem, whether
		
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			it is a mental problem,
		
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			whether it's a problem in your career or
		
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			in your family or your marriage or your
		
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			or how you're raising your children,
		
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			whether it's a problem in your, in in
		
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			your academics when you are studying,
		
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			any kind of problem.
		
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			The first
		
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			and most critical
		
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			requirement
		
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			is perspective.
		
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			Perspective.
		
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			Perspective is the ability to hold 2 pictures
		
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			simultaneously
		
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			in your mind,
		
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			where you are
		
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			and where you want to be.
		
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			Where you are and where you want to
		
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			be.
		
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			Without this,
		
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			it is impossible
		
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			to find direction or to give directions.
		
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			If I call you and say,
		
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			I'm coming to you,
		
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			give me directions.
		
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			What is the first thing you will ask
		
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			me?
		
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			You will ask me, where are you?
		
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			Because the directions
		
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			you give me
		
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			have meaning only
		
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			if you give those directions from where I
		
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			am to where you are.
		
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			In this case,
		
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			you know where you are, but you don't
		
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			know where I am, so it is not
		
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			possible to give directions.
		
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			Now if I tell you where I am,
		
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			then you can give me directions. And that
		
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			ability to hold
		
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			2 pictures,
		
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			where you are and where you want to
		
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			be is called perspective.
		
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			Physically, mentally, or spiritually,
		
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			as I mentioned, we need awareness of where
		
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			we are, and where we need to be,
		
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			to be able to chart out a roadmap
		
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			for development.
		
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			Only with perspective can we say what investment
		
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			we need to make
		
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			to reach our destination.
		
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			That is why we need
		
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			the 3 skills that I mentioned in my
		
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			last khutba reflection,
		
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			introspection,
		
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			and abstract conceptualisation.
		
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			These are critical life skills which must be
		
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			learnt.
		
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			All of them need
		
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			an attention span
		
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			longer than that of a monkey
		
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			or a goldfish,
		
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			which is the average duration
		
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			of
		
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			the most popular
		
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			of
		
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			social media,
		
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			TikTok
		
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			and YouTube shorts.
		
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			So either
		
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			pick the most successful
		
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			monkey or goldfish you know as your role
		
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			model, or develop the ability
		
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			to focus attention
		
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			and to stay on something worthwhile
		
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			long enough
		
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			to achieve that goal.
		
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			It is our life,
		
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			it is our call,
		
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			because it is our akhirah.
		
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			Perspective.
		
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			Our species, Homo Sapiens, have been on earth
		
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			for about 300000 years, but when did civilization
		
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			begin?
		
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			Interesting. In 2020,
		
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			in an article in Forbes,
		
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			Remi Blumenfeld
		
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			writes,
		
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			years ago the anthropologist
		
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			Margaret Mead was asked by a student
		
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			what she considered to be the first sign
		
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			of civilization
		
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			in a culture.
		
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			The student expected
		
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			Mead to talk about clay pots and tools
		
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			for hunting,
		
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			grinding stones, or religious artefacts, but no.
		
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			Mead said that the first evidence of civilization
		
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			was a 15,000
		
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			year old
		
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			healed,
		
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			fractured
		
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			femur
		
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			at an archaeological site.
		
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			The femur is the longest bone in the
		
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			body which connects
		
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			the knee to the hip.
		
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			In the wild,
		
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			a broken femur
		
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			is a sure death sentence.
		
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			If the animal,
		
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			in this case the human being, breaks the
		
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			femur,
		
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			then he cannot walk.
		
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			He cannot run. He cannot escape
		
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			predators. He cannot find food. He cannot hunt
		
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			or gather
		
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			and he just has to wait for some
		
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			predator
		
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			to find him
		
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			to die.
		
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			A broken femur that healed
		
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			is evidence that somebody had taken time to
		
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			stay with the one who fell,
		
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			bound up the wound, carried the person to
		
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			safety
		
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			and tended the person through recovery.
		
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			Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization
		
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			starts.
		
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			Looking at our current state of what we
		
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			like to call civilization,
		
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			where we have not only legitimised
		
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			but sanctified
		
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			fulfilling of personal desires, and where the highest
		
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			ROI, return on investment,
		
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			is in endless war and human life and
		
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			suffering has no value at all.
		
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			I wonder
		
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			what Margaret Mead would have said,
		
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			If caring for someone is the mark of
		
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			civilization,
		
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			what would you call the deliberate
		
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			annihilation
		
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			of people?
		
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			Passing over centuries like you pass over days,
		
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			we come to about 5000 years ago, when
		
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			we find the first writing.
		
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			Mesopotamian
		
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			cuneiform
		
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			script
		
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			invented in Sumer,
		
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			present day Iraq,
		
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			circa
		
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			3,200
		
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			BCE.
		
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			And this can be traced
		
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			to the present day alphabet.
		
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			Writing is crucial because that is what distinguishes
		
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			us from animals
		
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			and enables us to build on the work
		
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			of previous generations.
		
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			All creatures have languages. They communicate. They have
		
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			life experiences.
		
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			They remember
		
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			some of them for a long time, even
		
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			teach some of them to their offspring, but
		
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			none of them have the critical tool
		
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			to transcend the time and generational
		
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			barrier
		
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			so that their experience can be recalled,
		
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			relived
		
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			and learned from.
		
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			That tool is writing.
		
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			In the 300000
		
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			years that our species have existed on earth,
		
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			we only know what happened to them from
		
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			about 5000 years ago.
		
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			That is why reading is so important. When
		
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			we read, we see that all success has
		
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			been the result
		
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			of collaboration
		
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			and mutual consideration.
		
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			Our modern society, especially here in America, as
		
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			well as all over the world, however, is
		
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			primarily
		
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			based on individualism.
		
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			In the words of one of my dear
		
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			friends, individualism is a philosophy,
		
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			as a philosophy draws from all corners of
		
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			the lower nafs, the lower self,
		
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			absolutely animal desires. It is hedonistic,
		
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			myopic, egotistic,
		
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			egoistic,
		
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			arrogant,
		
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			selfish,
		
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			self preserving
		
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			or masquerading
		
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			as positive elements for self realisation.
		
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			Human society is built on cooperative
		
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			control of individuals for the greater good.
		
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			No wonder that the social order has unravelled
		
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			within a couple of generations since the idea
		
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			of
		
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			individualism
		
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			went mainstream.
		
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			In the American context,
		
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			this manifests as arrogance,
		
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			which is disguised as self esteem and given
		
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			the status
		
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			of almost a religious ideology.
		
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			That feeds into the tyranny
		
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			of feelings, which super legitimizes
		
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			subjective feelings to the level that if a
		
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			person feels a certain way, that is enough
		
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			for him not only to act
		
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			according
		
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			to that feeling, but to expect
		
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			everyone else to subordinate themselves and their feelings
		
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			to his feelings, so that his feelings are
		
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			not hurt.
		
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			Ed Batista
		
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			says it very eloquently. He says, my feelings
		
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			are justified. This is the position of the
		
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			of the person today in this society. My
		
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			feelings are justified because they are my feelings.
		
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			Nothing else is required. My feelings at this
		
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			moment take precedence over all other considerations.
		
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			I have the right to express my feelings
		
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			any way I see fit.
		
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			And if I believe that you are causing
		
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			my feelings,
		
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			you are obligated
		
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			to modify
		
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			your behaviour
		
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			in order to align
		
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			with my desired
		
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			emotional state.
		
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			Now how completely insane is that?
		
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			But that's
		
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			the foundation
		
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			of
		
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			our social interaction
		
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			in society today.
		
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			This is not
		
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			this is simply not acceptable in any civilized
		
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			society, including Islam, which demands the opposite.
		
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			That is, that I must subordinate
		
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			my feelings to the feelings and needs of
		
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			others so that they are not hurt or
		
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			or disrespected
		
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			in any way. And if that means some
		
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			inconvenience
		
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			to me, then so be it.
		
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			That is what consideration means.
		
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			This is what caring and respect means.
		
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			But in a society that glorifies individualism,
		
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			caring for others is at best a secondary
		
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			matter.
		
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			So we are looking at trying to make
		
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			a 180
		
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			degree turn,
		
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			while the external environment, including in some cases,
		
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			the law of the land, is against this
		
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			turn.
		
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			What makes it even more urgent is that
		
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			whether we like it or not, this is
		
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			our problem,
		
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			as much as that of this society.
		
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			Our children are involved.
		
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			And when we grow old, this will come
		
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			to visit us in a very painful ways.
		
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			That is why we need to deal with
		
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			it now. May Allah help
		
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			help us and make it easy.
		
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			Aldous Huxley,
		
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			in his book
		
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			Brave New World, which was published in 1932,
		
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			argues that much of the anxiety that drives
		
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			modern society can be traced
		
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			to a widespread
		
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			belief in technology
		
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			as a futuristic
		
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			remedy for problems caused by disease and war.
		
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			Listen to this, the man said this in
		
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			1932, we are talking about this today in
		
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			2,024.
		
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			He said, and I repeat,
		
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			much of the argument, much of the anxiety
		
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			that drives modern society can be traced to
		
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			a widespread
		
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			belief in technology
		
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			as a futuristic remedy for problems caused by
		
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			disease and war.
		
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			Huxley felt that such a reliance was naive,
		
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			and in his book he challenges this belief
		
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			in technology
		
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			taken to its extreme.
		
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			George Orwell,
		
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			the author of another wonderful book called 1984,
		
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			he imagines a world which looks very much
		
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			like the present.
		
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			Now I recommend both these books as required
		
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			reading to understand our world.
		
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			I quote
		
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			from
		
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			Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
		
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			in 1985,
		
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			who compared Huxley
		
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			and Orwell.
		
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			And he said, what Orwell feared
		
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			were those who would ban books.
		
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			What Huxley feared was that there would be
		
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			no reason to ban a book, for there
		
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			would be no one who wanted to read
		
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			one.
		
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			Sounds familiar. Right?
		
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			Orwell feared those who would deprive us of
		
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			information. Huxley feared those who would give us
		
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			so much that we would
		
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			be reduced to passivity
		
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			and egoism.
		
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			Orwell feared
		
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			that the truth would be concealed from us.
		
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			Huxley feared that the truth
		
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			would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.
		
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			Orwell feared that we would become
		
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			a captive culture.
		
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			Huxley feared that we would become a trivial
		
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			culture.
		
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			In 1984, the book, people are controlled by
		
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			inflicting pain.
		
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			In the Brave New World, Huxley's book, they
		
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			are controlled by inflicting pleasure.
		
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			In short, Orwell feared that we
		
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			that what we hate
		
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			will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we
		
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			love
		
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			will ruin us.
		
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			This is really worth
		
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			sitting and reflecting on,
		
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			and that is why we need
		
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			what I mentioned to you.
		
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			Introspection,
		
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			reflection,
		
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			and
		
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			abstract conceptualization
		
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			to say, what do I take away from
		
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			this?
		
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			What will I start doing and what will
		
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			I stop doing thanks to this?
		
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			For us, the challenge is to draw our
		
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			people back from this abyss,
		
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			back from the edge of the cliff.
		
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			The reason these hedonistic philosophies succeed is because
		
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			they are free.
		
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			They seem to free one from all
		
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			restraints,
		
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			and they raise self indulgence to the level
		
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			of a virtue and a right.
		
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			They are very seductive and persuasive.
		
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			Our way seems to be restrictive and painful,
		
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			which in a matter of speaking it is,
		
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			but that is essential for the greater good
		
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			in this world and in the afterlife.
		
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			However,
		
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			if you have been raised
		
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			pandering to your animal instincts,
		
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			this doesn't seem attractive. And that is why
		
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			we need schools
		
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			which can catch them young before too much
		
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			damage has been done.
		
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			This is one piece
		
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			of perspective
		
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			where we are.
		
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			For the second part of the puzzle,
		
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			we need to keep our goal in mind.
		
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			What is our goal? Allah
		
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			told us what our goal is.
		
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			He said,
		
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			Allah
		
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			said which means, every soul will taste death
		
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			and you will only receive your full reward
		
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			on the day of judgement.
		
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			Whoever is spared from the fire
		
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			and is admitted into Jannah will indeed triumph,
		
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			will indeed be successful. Whereas, the life of
		
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			this world is no more
		
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			than the delusion of enjoyment.
		
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			And nothing can be clearer than this.
		
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			Allah mentioned 3 things.
		
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			Everyone will die
		
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			and will be called to account
		
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			and rewarded or punished.
		
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			2nd,
		
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			success
		
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			is to be protected from punishment and be
		
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			granted Jannah.
		
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			3.
		
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			The life of this world
		
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			is deception.
		
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			Let us begin with the first statement of
		
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			Allah
		
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			Every soul
		
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			will taste death.
		
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			Ask, does this apply to me?
		
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			When is this going to happen to me?
		
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			Sounds like a dumb question, but believe me,
		
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			it is the most important question you will
		
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			ever answer. And once you answer it, your
		
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			life ahead will be crystal clear.
		
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			If I truly believe in the core of
		
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			my being, not just intellectually,
		
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			that I can die at any time and
		
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			will have to answer to Allah Subhanahu Wa
		
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			Ta'ala, then I will remember that
		
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			at every decision point,
		
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			and will never do anything
		
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			that I know displeases Allah.
		
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			The second is to remember
		
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			that to reach a goal, we must have
		
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			a goal.
		
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			Let us ask if jannah is our goal.
		
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			Is it even on our list?
		
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			Seriously.
		
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			I sometimes do this exercise in my leadership
		
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			courses
		
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			when I teach goal setting. I ask people
		
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			to list 3 goals in order of priority.
		
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			I've never seen anyone write Jannah as a
		
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			goal.
		
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			So how can we expect
		
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			to reach a place
		
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			which is not even on our list?
		
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			This must change and right now,
		
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			the sign that jannah is our goal
		
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			and it should be our number one goal,
		
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			not just any goal.
		
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			The sign of that this is our number
		
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			one goal is
		
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			that from then on,
		
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			every decision we take
		
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			will be and must be based on whether
		
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			it brings us closer to Jannah.
		
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			It's like driving. You take the roads, the
		
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			exits, the terms that lead you to your
		
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			goal,
		
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			which you told CD or
		
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			whoever to navigate you to.
		
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			Same principle.
		
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			We can only reach the goal we aim
		
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			towards.
		
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			So let us set our goal.
		
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			We ask Allah
		
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			to navigate
		
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			us to Jannah at least 17 times a
		
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			day.
		
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			But then,
		
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			do we follow that direction
		
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			or some other?
		
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			That direction is called the sunnah.
		
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			We ask for it,
		
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			Allah gave it to us.
		
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			Let us not get deceived by anyone or
		
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			anything
		
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			and leave the Sunnah
		
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			because it is the only way to Jannah.
		
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			Lastly, Allah
		
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			warned us
		
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			that the life of this world is deception.
		
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			So we must question
		
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			everything we see or experience
		
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			and understand its reality.
		
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			That is why we have the Dua asking
		
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			Allah
		
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			to show us the reality behind things.
		
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			Alhaqq.
		
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			O Allah show us the truth.
		
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			O Allahummaarinaalhaqqakan
		
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			warzuknatkibah.
		
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			O Allah show
		
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			Allah show us the truth as true
		
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			and inspire us to follow it
		
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			and show us falsehood
		
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			as falsehood
		
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			and inspire us to stay away from it.
		
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			Today, we live in a world that excels
		
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			in deception.
		
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			And AI will lead the way
		
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			to blurring the lines between the real world
		
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			and virtual reality.
		
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			The thing to remember is, that no matter
		
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			how real
		
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			virtual reality may appear, it is not real.
		
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			This doesn't apply only to AI. It applies
		
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			to life itself.
		
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			We are sold the vision of success, the
		
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			American dream or some version of it. And
		
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			we are asked to believe
		
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			that if we achieve that,
		
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			we will be home and dry.
		
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			Social media influencers tell us what to eat,
		
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			how to dress, how to behave, what to
		
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			like, what to dislike,
		
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			how to look.
		
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			And like obedient little sheep,
		
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			we comply.
		
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			We don't stop to ask whether those
		
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			who are apparently living this dream are indeed
		
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			happy or not.
		
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			To know that is easy.
		
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			Just search for celebrity suicides,
		
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			and you will know.
		
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			In the last 5 years,
		
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			150 celebrities
		
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			committed suicide.
		
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			On the face of it,
		
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			every single one of them had achieved
		
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			that dream which you are chasing.
		
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			Yet, they committed suicide,
		
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			which is the final act of despair in
		
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			a life
		
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			when the person considers
		
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			himself or herself to be an abject failure.
		
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			That is why suicide is haram in Islam.
		
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			Because to despair in the mercy of Allah,
		
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			is Kufar.
		
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			The destination depends
		
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			on the focus.
		
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			Allah Islam came to change that focus
		
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			and to guide us to the truth
		
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			that in the end, we will pay for
		
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			what we did or chose not to do.
		
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			I remind myself and you, that when we
		
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			meet Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, we will not
		
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			be asked, what happened?
		
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			We will be asked,
		
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			what did you do?
		
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			It is for that day
		
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			that we must prepare ourselves,
		
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			and that day
		
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			must always and always and always be our
		
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			focus.