Mirza Yawar Baig – Living By The Seerah Today – Session 5
AI: Summary ©
The importance of learning Islam in a non-traditional way is emphasized, along with the need to be mindful of one's behavior and not let things happen. The host emphasizes the importance of transparency in the media and setting up a business to create loyalty. The pandemic's impact on people, businesses, and industries has been discussed, as well as the need for people to stay safe and inform loved ones. The host introduces a series of questions and answers, encourages viewers to leave comments, and emphasizes the importance of protecting everyone and taking appropriate steps to protect their loved ones.
AI: Summary ©
Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.
$100 Bill alameen wa salatu salam O Allah shalom via our silly while he was having his way over
my brothers and sisters, it is
the, the direction of this. The title of this program
is living by the Sierra today. Now, if you think about this, and you say, Well, you know, what is the meaning of living by the car today. This is from my fundamental belief as far as teaching of religion is conserved, which is that I believe that today, the biggest problem is the inability to connect the dots, we collect dots, but we don't connect them. And I don't want to go into the reasons why we don't connect them, whatever, whatever be that the right is that no matter how many dots you collect, until you connect dots, you cannot make meaning. There is no picture. A bunch of dots on a on a page is just a bunch of dots. It's only when you connect the dots up there to get a
picture. And the context of the of Islam, what we seem to do is again, the same thing, which is we connect dots, we collect bits and pieces of information, whether it is translations of the Quran, whether it is a Hadees, and so on and so forth. One of the most
ironic exhibitions of this mindless collecting of rods, is the daily heavies, or the daily irons, which many people send dozens of them.
The first one which comes to my phone, I lock it and delete it. As far as I'm concerned, it's a disrespect to the foreigners owner. So anyway, there's no meaning you just send it and that's it you don't know why you upset it the other one who receives it does not know what he was doing with it.
That is there is nothing wrong with that this is correct the eyes of the operand is correct, but out of the blue one is a foreign company What am I supposed to do that
out of the blue on addiscombe What must I do with it what ends up happening is because now you sent this how these people start reading meaning into that people start making hokum out of that people start extracting meaning from that without having the knowledge to extract meaning.
So, you get a service and you For example, there is a hadith is narrated by as we Marika Delano, who said that he saw Rasul Allah is Allah Sallam mounted on his mount and he was writing in some direction and he prayed and he did not change the direction of the mount towards the direction of the Qibla. So, he prayed.
So, now you get these hobbies What must you do now?
Put it any way you like. Then this is not required we can play in any direction we like is this correct? But this is what people come out from that because they don't understand how they have not studied this, they do not have the basic fundamentals of also of hedis they do not have the basic fundamentals of also a fifth, they do not understand how to extract rulings from the Quran and the Sunnah. This is not a this is not fun. And games is not something which anybody can do in a weekend class. I don't even I don't even attempt to teach it because first of all, I'm the wrong person to teach it. And secondly, anyone who tries to teach this in a weekend classes is fooling you. Because
it is not it. This is not something this is like learning cardiac surgery that we can class. I mean, this is crazy, right? It wasn't that because at least there is a per patient will die here you're going to put somebody in the Hellfire because of your, you know, ridiculous way of teaching something. So
random collection of information is what we think to be the teaching of Islam. My submission is is not the teaching of Islam.
Islam is supposed to make sense to us in our terms in our time.
And this is no big challenge. This is what Islam does, provided we approach Islam the way Islam is to be approached. Islam did not come for a specific time for a specific place. Islam didn't come from metaphor Madina, munawwara in the seventh century, Islam did not come for Baba in the 12th century. Islam did not come for you and me in the 21st century, Islam will still be Islam, the rule of Islam will still be the ossola of Islam. What is Heller will still remain halaal what is haram will still remain haram 20,000 centuries from here, going forward if that is how long Allah subhanaw taala wants to keep this world in its place. Islam will continue to be relevant
The challenge the task of the people have the time and today we are the people of this time will be and is to relate that Islam to our time and space, not by changing it not by cutting it and trimming it not by molding it and twisting it. But by helping people understand how Islam in its complete and pristine sense which came to Hamas Allah Allah Allah, Allah wa sahbihi wa sallam, when Allah subhanho wa Taala Sierra Leone McMurdo Lagoon, Vina khumba la cama de hora de la comida, Slava, Deena, the same Islam in that same condition, applied in the seventh century applied in the 12th century applied to the 21st century will apply in the 15th century will apply in the 10,000 century,
as the case might be without any change. This is something very important for us to understand. Islam did not come for a particular time and place which means that Islam does not need to be changed to suit the times, this is very important for us to understand. This is the mistake which the Christians and the Jews made with their own religions, they said our religion came for a time and space came for a time and people today different time different people, different space, different rules, therefore, the religion needs to be changed and they went ahead and they change their religion Alhamdulillah horrible, I mean, we have not done that. And this is not going to
people like me, it is going to four hours of salary, it is going to the alama or Huck it is going to the Sahaba of Rasul Allah is Allah Allah He was it was Allah, this integrity, preserving the integrity of the deen started with them and those who followed them will SSR and will continue insha Allah masan illa Yomi Deen We ask Allah subhanaw taala to make us among those who will be counted amongst us among such people, when the time for counting comes.
So that is the reason why we have said here living by the Sierra today, the Sierra is the biography of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. As far as we are concerned, it's not a story of a of a Arab leader of the time, no matter how great he might have been, as far as we are concerned, this is not a biography as in purely a
sense of, you know, chronological sense that he was born on such and such a time or date. And then this happened and this happened and this happened. It's not a string of incidents strung together, no matter how beautifully the narrative the narrative might be, this is the biography of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, which we are inshallah must are looking at today, like you would look at a map, when you want to reach a particular destination. When you are looking at a map, reading a map tool to reach a particular destination, you are not concerned about how that map has been beautifully decorated, you are not concerned about how many colors are there in this map, you are
not concerned about the the cursive font with which the map is written, you are concerned with only one thing which is where am I standing? And how do I get to the place I need to get to. And this is the map which will show me where I am standing. And where do I need to get to this in one word is what is called perspective. perspective is the ability to hold simultaneously two pictures in your mind where you are now. And where you want to be. holding these two simultaneously in your mind is the only way to get from where you are now to where you want to be. To give you an illustration of this. If somebody falls from to me and says, I am standing in shamshabad Airport, I need to get to
your class. How do I get there?
We can give him directions because he knows where he is. And we know where we are. So we can say yes, this is how you get here. But if a person says I want to get to your glasses are fantastic, wonderful. Where are you is I don't know.
Then we can't help you because you don't know where you are. So, how can I direct you
the best I can say is get to such and such a point and from there I will give you the directions. Other than that there is no way of guiding him because he does not know where he is.
Vice versa if the person says I want to go to census a class and people say well Where is this place? I don't know where it is there is a class
right. Now, normally we would we will not make a statement like that. Because you will you know this by our own life. We know that I must know where I am. I must know where I'm going then the direction is possible. That is what is perspective. To bring it to the zero is what we need.
need to do is to say Where am I now, in terms of not physical location, obviously, in terms of my spiritual location, my mental location, my location with respect to Mohammed, Salah, Salah himself, my location, which with respect to my own life, where in my life, am I at what stage of my life? Am I?
Right? What is the state of my life? Is it till at the end of it beginning of it as far as our we don't know, and and beginning but we know where I'm standing here, where am I to be able to define that and then say, Where do I want to go and where I want to go is where the direction we get from the center. So we are looking at the Syrah here, as if we will look at a map, we will obviously look at various incidents from the life and we shall sell them. That's what the Sierra is all about. But every single incident in gela, this course I have organized the way where at the end of each of the stages, we will do a small exercise or other I will ask you to do the exercise of placing yourself
in context and say, Now, what changes do I need to bring about in my life, my submission to you is that if that does not happen,
if this does not result in any change in your life, then frankly, it's a waste of time, I mean, you will get solved inshallah, for coming to the budget, you will get dissolved for the vicar of Allah subhanaw taala. But also remember that what you learn can either help you or it can become a witness against you on the Day of Judgment, the one who will decide that is yourself,
not anybody else.
Right? You are the one who will decide whether what you learn becomes a witness for you or a witness against you. On the day of judgment, I remind myself when you this applies to all of us, let us be focused on that. And the way that our that knowledge, the way that information, the way that what we learn, becomes a witness for us is when we act on it, and the way it becomes a witness against us and mela for us for that and and save us from that is when we learn but we do not act on that.
Right. So please keep this in mind. As the time heat of this course, this is how I want to begin now, we'll do a short background comparison. To put everything in context between
mark and Society of 17th of the seventh century, and our society globally. Today, in the 21st century. I believe that the difference is is only a matter of magnitude. It's only a matter of scale. Because if you look at what were the principal things that were happening in modern society, or to put it another way, if you look at what were the principles that were driving mechanic society, what were what were the values? And what were the operative principles of modern society, between you and me, I don't think there was any difference between how that society was organized and how that society was run and how our global society today is not zero difference. Absolutely.
It's absolutely is a phenomenal coincidence. But this is an actual reality of this when I was studying the Syrah, and when I wrote my book, the leadership lessons from the life of Mr. seller. This is something that struck me very, very strongly, because he was mocking society, which was ruled by a bunch of businessman
that as I'm speaking, compare in your mind, current society, modern society, we didn't have a king McCann society did not have a tribal shifter. Macro society was not ruled by within courts, a pope
a religious head, makan society was ruled by a bunch of businessman, a small group of very wealthy businessman.
Does that strike a parallel? That's exactly how our world today is ruled. Don't be fooled the world today is not ruled by Donald Trump or Narendra Modi or you know, whatever that may is, what is it is ami
and so on and so on. These are bonds. These are all pawns in the game, the people running the game on somebody else.
And who are those somebody else? They are that 1%.
And as I think it's now one of my, I think last Juma lecture or something. I mentioned this the
World Bank figures they said that
at one point in time, they said that 62 people in the world owned more global assets, they own more and more money and more wealth and so on. They own more global assets. 62 people and I always when I mentioned this number, I would say that a bus a full sized bus is 65 people, which means three seats vacant this year as in 2017 and 2017. That number has come to eight people.
Eight people all on more global assets than 50% of the world.
One guy, Jeff Bezos,
his net worth is more than the GDP of hungry
of the country.
Now, is this good news or bad news?
This is what it was.
This is exactly what modern society was.
It was a society ruled by a bunch of businessmen.
What did they
How did they operate? What did they think?
They operated on only one principle and that principle was profit period.
The only important thing in life is profit is to make money. how that money is made through what means it is made by what way is it made while making that money? Do we hurt somebody? Do we help somebody all of this was secondary or tertiary not existed didn't matter. The only thing we mattered was do we make money or we don't make money? If we make money, whatever the means was absolutely fine. Can we trade in depth? Yes, we can trade in depth. Can we trade in addiction? Absolutely no problem. We can trade in addiction.
Can we trade in whatever you name it? Yes, we can as long as it is making money.
Come back to today's society.
Alcohol is legal. cigarettes are legal. marijuana for recreational reason is legal means I can I can smoke smoke a joint and get high and no problem.
prostitution is legal.
every conceivable evil in the name of entertainment is legal.
That is legal because weapons manufacture and sale is legal.
But we want peace.
How nice.
How do people operate exactly the same way that people I'm talking about the not not the the elite? The click the group. I'm talking about jail population? How did they operate? Just like the mindless morons that we have today which is aspiring to be like them.
That's it Allah mentioned is in the Quran. with Ray with respect to Quran. When the Saqqara many people said Oh, I wish Allah had given us like he gave him
that's exactly the situation of people today do when people look at those who are wealthy who are flaunting their wealth, who are misusing their wealth, who are earning that wealth from haram sources, and who are spending it in haram places.
What is the general population? I'm not talking about you guys? I'm saying what is the general population? What is the aspiration? I wish I was like this.
Yes or no.
I wish I was like this. That is why restaurants that for people, there are four kinds of people two will go to Gen two will go to Jannah.
He said one who Allah subhanaw taala has given wealth and power, and who uses it for the benefit of the people who will go to general.
The second one will go to generalize the one who was not given wealth and power but sincerely, he says and he feels that if I had it, I would have used it like this other one using it for the benefit of the people. This second person even though he did not have wealth and power, he will still go to Jana, because this was what his Nia was.
And you can guess the other two, the second one is the one who Allah gave him wealth and power and he used it for in ways which were harmful. He earned it wrongly and he spent it wrongly he will go to Jannah. And the second one and imagine the look at the the the tragedy of that look at the futility of that this fellow that did not have wealth and power, but his aspiration was Oh, I wish I was like this. I wish I had wealth and power like the other man has, then I also could have enjoyed life.
That is why Rosaura Sallam said there will be people on the Day of Judgment of judgment, who will see their children being thrown into the Hellfire and they will know that they are the cause. Their children are going into the Hellfire because of them because they did not guide their children because they did not teach their children who are allies and own who the Navy who Islam is. They did not give their children ethics and values and morals. They were a bad example to the children because they did haram and the children learned from from them. They are the parents who introduced children to haram they are the parents who brought who brought their children and gave them
membership of this club and that club darbuka degussa regata Bernero
why
Do you call it a club? jewelry jewelry euro
rasuna Zara Sallam said a sin is something that makes you feel ashamed and which you don't want the public to know. This is Addison Muslim.
So I said the problem with his hobbies is that his hobbies unfortunately refers to people who inherit people who are people who shame people with higher
Njoroge damage America. Sharp a body
if you are in the middle of a bunch of tears You are a thief Alhamdulillah
you will have honor if you are a great thief. How will you How will you feel ashamed? Today we have destroyed our hearts our hearts are dead. Today there is no zero there is no hair there is no Sharon there is nothing Our hearts are dead, you can see somebody's dead. And at the same time you can go and commit Tara without any problem
not to say that when you are eating you and you are having a meal you have invited people over for for for a meal do not mention death. Right? Even as an asiya nazira sudarsan said that we should the most intelligent person is what is the one who remembers his debt most often the beautiful hobbies. He said Don't mention it at the time when you have invited people for a meal or when you are eating they said why it is a good hobby is an umbrella. He said because
if your heart is alive, you will stop eating.
If your heart is alive, you cannot eat anymore.
You invited people for a meal and you spoil the meal you you talked about death and they will get up they will say because we can't eat because we are not remembering that. And he said if you continue to eat it means your heart is dead. So why do you want to expose this shamelessness before people that you are a person with a red heart
This is what we have done to ourselves.
We take pride in this
I am introducing myself to my my son to soccer club, I am a sponsor, I am his proposal for his membership to this particular club.
What is a club it is an association of people who joined together their partners to do something.
So you might have a Polo Club. So these are all people who have joined together in order to play Polo. So now they have auto fields they have a club bailing and so on and so forth. Alhamdulillah tomorrow when the club is dissolved when the Polo fields are sold on that land is sold for real estate, the the proceeds who did they go to to the owners who are the owners, those people who came together to form the club.
Now you found this club for affiliative needs just because we give something a nice sounding name does not make it anything anything better. And what among the affiliative needs is what the club has a bar. The club has a card room where you're playing playing cards with money. So you are gambling the club will have a New Year's Eve dance the club will have a christmas dance the club will ever dance for him for every reason the club will ever dance because there is no reason I mean all kinds of you know
activities which are prohibited in Islam will take place in this club.
And who are you you are a member of this club What does it means it means you are a shareholder in whatever is happening in this club.
So you cannot say that you know the liquor is not served in the dining room it doesn't matter. You are a shareholder in that wherever liquor is being served, believe me you are a share in that
you have a share in that doesn't matter if you're not drinking you are facilitating somebody else to do that.
And then what do you do when your son or your daughter comes of age?
The rite of passage is not introducing them to the masjid the rite of passage is not the same as it was my son is now going to deliver the hotbar for Joe Alhamdulillah MC my rite of passage is my son is now a member which we in this Shara we enjoy to get them a Mira beta v mirissa member Mashallah is
at least call it the right name then maybe some Sharon will come.
This is a picture of what maca was at the time.
There were clubs
they were today what you would call pubs.
They were today what you would call clubs.
Sara Villanueva story.
Late one night he came out of his house he wanted to have a drink. It was very late in the night he went to all his regular joints there was everything was shut down.
And then Zahra Surah Surah Salaam praying in front of the camera.
And I won't go into the whole detail which surah and so on.
Over but as an amateur I inserted myself
under the keys who under the law of under the the cover of the cover, and I stood in front of Isola when he was praying and my my thought was to frighten him.
Give him a scare
will then be like Allah subhanaw taala calls the MR Salim to recite surah every time so the number thought of something Salaam recited that I say that Omar Abdullah said that is when Islam entered my heart. He became Muslim later but he said this is where Islam entered entered my heart. I said this is something which is different.
What American society American society was what today we call branding.
You know what branding original meaning of branding was. I used to read a lot of even today I love reading Louis L'Amour, Western Union stories. Fabulous writer, absolutely wonderful. Do you know what branding is? branding is what you do to do things you do to cattle and you do to slaves.
That's called branding. Right? So you heat it up. And you throw the towel down.
And then you that hot red hot iron. You put on the skin, it burns off it burns it into the skin and they used to do that to slaves as well.
That's what branding is.
puts its mark on you forever.
This is what you want to do yourself.
He will tell you You are what you wear. Or vice versa at Miyagi pajama I was with
what do you want to add? Yeah, I mean hey, by the way,
you are what you were.
You are what you drive in Allah when Allah Raja your prestige is a piece of metal.
A car gives you proceed. I mean, imagine effectively what are the gems they are telling you? Allah subhanaw taala geladeira who made you the best of creation? Allah Subhana Allah Allah Allah Allah Who made you give you
give you
give you a position they want you to reduce that and say and they are saying no no you get dessert from the car car you drive you get results from the the trouser you wear you get results from the pen you wear some people wear a watch to tell the time some people well aware of watch to tell the world
this is
absolute garbage
that's why I tell people go when you go to America especially here you don't find them remote America go and see a junkyard a car junkyard. Do this as as as a as a
tourism thing. Go and see a car junkie, a motor car junkyard. Go standard.
And then tell yourself that every single car in this junkyard was somebody's dream.
Every single
every single car that thing in the junkyard, which is now being dismembered and chopped up and used and so on and so forth. And finally they stamp it and flatten it and goes into the
into the furnace to melt and become metal. Every single one of them was somebody's dream one day.
This is the actual reality not what do you see that shining in the in the showroom, this is real
and you want to sell your soul for that you want to buy that junk on an interest based loan program by the enmity of Allah subhanho wa Taala geladeira who accept declaration of war from Allah subhanho wa Taala and Muhammad Rasul Allah is Allah Salah to drive a piece of junk which is going to end up on a junkyard
and you are going to end up in your own junk yard long before that.
This was not our society.
No rules for the wealthy, no rules for the people with power. For the people with power. Whatever I do is the law. For people who did not have power, you had all kinds of rules.
to the poor. The week we're oppressed, the wealthy, no problem, you can do what he like. Sounds familiar.
One of the wealthy dies, it's a terrorist attack. One of the wealthy dies, every single police force in the world we'll get after the one who killed that person and they will take him to within court justice. Absolutely no quarrel with that. Most Welcome. Please do that. Must be
Done.
But 100,000 of the poor die, and we call it collateral damage.
Why must they die? They have to die because I have to demonstrate my weapons.
How can I demonstrate the firepower of weapons without being able to destroy entire neighborhoods without being able to destroy entire cities? Without accountability? I can't do that. If If I do that, then I go, and then I can't do that. So therefore, I must create a system which does not hold me responsible for collateral damage.
Sounds familiar, right?
religion
means of articulation.
Use religion selectively. What is it that helps me I take and pick and choose what I like to use or use what I don't like to use I junk.
Completely manipulative.
Get myself political authority or power, purpose of religion is to help me to gain wealth and power in this dunya, the asherah.
Find the sky.
This was makan society. The reason I'm saying all of this is, for a very simple reason, as I said, we are teaching Sera, not to collect dots. But to connect dots. What is the connection of the dots, the connection of the dots is in this society, which was so similar to ours.
We know historically,
that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam came
and he did something.
He came to a group of people, those who followed him to begin with in this society, were the weakest. They had no influence. They had no wealth. Generally speaking, there are some of them who had some money, but some weren't. But generally speaking, no influence, no wealth, no political control.
They were oppressed.
They were murdered with impunity, they were tortured with impunity, their wealth was confiscated with impunity. They were driven out of their homes with impunity. So this was their situation. But the same people.
The same, the very same people in a period in the same generation.
In the same generation, the very same people who were the dregs of that society became the leaders of that society. They became the aspirational model for the society, they became the people who were the role model for the society, they became the people who, from being oppressed, they became the people who called the shots, they were the people who made the rules.
So my, my contention is, that here we had, have a situation in Makkah, which is like a pilot project, to use our terminology. It's like a pilot project, it's a small scale
experiment, to test out
a theory test out a method to see if it works.
And history shows us that it was it was absolutely phenomenal. So, now, our task is we take this pirate project and we apply it now globally, because modern society today is global mega Society of the seventh century is global society in the 21st century.
This is how the whole world today's organized
on the same principles as modern society was organized.
So I'm saying we have a problem, we also have a solution
and that solution is to apply the way of hammer Salalah Holly who was I was on
and if you can apply that way inshallah Musa My belief is this is logic if something worked in one situation, the same thing will work in another situation, when none of the other very variables have changed, the variables are the same. So the same thing obviously should work inshallah it will work.
That is the reason why we are studying here.
Now
so therefore, what are the lessons from the Syrah that we are going to look at? In this series of sessions, however many takes inshallah won't be too long, but inshallah we'll try to do that as briefly as possible.
As I told you, each one of these, we are going to address it and we are going to then apply to ourselves and say how does this apply to me what changes do I need to bring about in my life to become like Mohammed Saleh Ali he was I will sell.
So, quickly to go through that, one is differentiating, number two is preparing yourself and your environment number three is making a significant investment, not tokenism, significant investment by investment it can be it can be resources, money, wealth, but more importantly and first and before that is the investment of yourself if your own time of changing your own ways, and of investing our own spiritual and mental and emotional selves into the change, number four is to create a system to build a system number five is strategic thinking number four, and number six is magnanimity and forgiveness. And number seven is taking this forward inshallah, which is succession planning, this
is what we will,
inshallah Muslim look at, in the course of these sessions.
So now, the first and foremost of this was, is the issue of differentiating, and I'm saying by leaving the message, because this is the cardinal quality of the Tao of aerosolised salaam, which was by personal practice, which was my personal example, which was not by talking about something. But by demonstrating it Rosaura. Sam did not just tell people to be truthful, he was truthful himself.
He didn't, he didn't just tell people to be pious, he didn't just tell people to, to, not to come and shake, he did not just tell people to give the rights of others to them, he did not just tell people to be compassionate, and to be kind and to have integrity. He was all these things himself, he demonstrated that if somebody wanted to say, What is the meaning of being truthful, you can say go look at the life of Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam and you can apply this across the board to all of these and more of the ethics and values that I have talked about. Now why brand and why differentiate?
Different differentiate, because differentiating creates brand. Brand inspires loyalty, and loyalty enables influence.
Usually, one of the things we teach, is what we call the elevator speech. So if you're meeting a stranger, how do you introduce yourself? That this is one of the things that we do very badly, unless you have learned how to do it. Almost the default is that people do this extremely badly. So here you have a person who potentially has the ability to make a huge impact in your life. Right? I did this course in GE and one of the things we used to example we used to take when jack welch was the chairman, we would say that you just got into the elevator on the 20th floor of G's office. And as the doors are closing, you hear a voice which says hold the doors and you hold the doors and Mr.
Wells walks in.
And the doors close, right so now you have the chairman to yourself for all of 15 seconds because this is a lift in New York, it doesn't take long to come down. So now in this 15 seconds, what is it that you can say to him which has the potential to make a impact on your career in GE
right.
So I usually give this question to people in the class and they say What will you say invariably
they will say sir My name is mega talented man I'm from Cali in Tamil Nadu reserved
15 seconds over
there is not a hope in * of you no object will ever remember in that
and if you say well I you know I won't say that I will say my name is Avi and I am from hydro Hyderabad. Still makes no sense.
Why should I care? Who the * cares who the * you are?
differentiation. You ask a lot a lot of my it guys. You ask him what do you do? I'm an IT professional.
Whatever the * that means.
Your IT professional.
pushy.
Right?
See this is this is the problem of differentiation, I am I am a doctor or very nice that means you are like 300,000 other highly educated unemployed unemployable which are produced in this country. I am an engineer that's even worse.
What does it mean? It means nothing
easier to have a ship that somebody somebody gets away or you don't look like a ship so at least there's some conversation right?
So example I usually give is
you go and sit in a train, like say you're commuting going to New York, you have maybe you live in White Plains or something and you are going to Manhattan for your job. So you get onto the train. And as you sit there, here is this other guy who comes and sits sits next to you. Now you don't know what he is the CEO of Sun Microsystems or something, whatever it is,
right.
So you decide you want to start up this conversation. So you say hello, hello.
So you say I am Mohammed so D or like his old recorded thing is to say Mohammed has already
said yeah,
I'm not
so then you say so he, he's interested in you?
Is like he's interested in a dead duck or something, you know?
Then you decide you look at a museum look like this fellow just his mother writers of the Zulu. Why are you so sad?
He said, he says, you know,
today I had his vision. And that vision was my computer gave me the blue screen
the blue screen is the this the signal of death and it's about to die, you've got a blue screen.
And he says The tragedy is that I did not backup any of my data. So I am a dead man. You want to know why am I Why am sad This is why I'm sad.
So now this dead duck, who he was had no interest in. He says you know what? I have a system which can retrieve all your data.
Now what I would do what changed? Nothing changed. You assume the same dead duck.
But suddenly now this guy realizes why he needs this dead duck like he needs a breath of air right? This is a man who can save my life
he doesn't care what you're called he still doesn't care what your religion is. He doesn't he doesn't care you know whether you look like a something that dog brought in but as far as he's concerned, you have what makes sense to him what he needs what what he does now. wi I FM what's in it for me?
You got him this FM channel is with the whole world. This is why w III FM. What kind of FM w III FM what's in it for me. That is what you open for him. Now he knows why he needs you.
You probably just landed yourself. Also a fantastic job isn't microsystem because the guy is the CEO of the place, you did not know that you don't have to know that he knows it.
But you saved his life who saved his data.
One time
as far as you are concerned, you still the same old dead duck but that doesn't matter because now you are a very valuable dead duck.
That is the meaning of grant. That is the meaning of differentiation.
When you go to buy toothpaste, what do you ask for?
He asked what miswak
brand name and the
same thing applies to everything. When you go to buy something you are asking for brands.
You're not going to buy a shirt you're not going to buy a toothpaste you never buy something right? You are looking for brands. Unless like unless you are like me where I make my own brands. I don't I don't buy shirts.
So I don't have to ask for a brand. But my point is that
you buy why because brand creates loyalty.
And it's so you know it's so
I don't know what to call it but when my wife was not here, I usually use close up too pissed.
So I ran out of rupees I mean there was plenty to present I was back on find it. So anyway. I asked was offered by driver to go and get me to twist so I don't have close up. Right. He didn't remember that. So I told him
the tube is red. So I said
the two was read.
So he went and Rod bought me call get which is also read.
Believe me it took me
mental gymnastics it took me a conscious decision to say I'm not going to be such a dumb clerk has to return this thing. I'm going to use this and I am going to try it out. I had to actually convince myself that I must use this thing because already it has come Can you beat me I'm either I'm totally stupid or this is the power of bread.
And there's no difference. I mean, it's a toothpaste, the toothpaste the toothpaste.
That is the power of differentiation. Only if you differentiate you stand out. Otherwise, you're like cattle. One more cow, one more sheep, who cares?
differentiation is what creates influence. This is what Muhammad Rasul Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did at a level of excellence. This is what his Sahaba did at a level of excellence. They stood out, you stand out by standing on your principles. You don't stand out by blending in.
Sheep blend in, leaders stand out.
If you blend in, you have one more ship.
Only if you stand out, you are a leader. You can only follow a flag that is flying, clearly visible. up in the air. Same flag is taken off the post laundered put on a clothesline to dry, it is hanging out
with other pieces of laundry. Nobody's erodes it, nobody follows it.
same piece of laundry called flag is on a pole. It is a symbol of a nation.
It's a symbol of something.
That is the power of differentiation. This is what Islam did to the people who followed Islam. This is what Islam can do today, and will be able to do till the Day of Judgment to the people who follow Islam.
So what is this brand?
Now, as I said, as soon as a restaurant did not do branding by talking about he did branding by living it
as well as our asylum.
The most important thing about him, la sala is his truthfulness,
believability, what is the believability of somebody? Why would you believe someone?
As I've been saying, coincidentally in a couple of passes well in the previous class, people first believed Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam before believing in Mohammed Salah. So
I gave the example last class. And there's a beautiful example. Therefore, I repeated of the statement of a worker, a city with Elena, when he was informed that Surah Surah Salam had been on Islamic marriage.
So they came to our city hotel and they said, you know what your friend is saying? He said, What are you saying? He said they are he's saying that he went from Makkah to Jerusalem and from Jerusalem. He went to the seven heavens, and then he came back and all of this happened in the space of one night. What do you say?
Our Casa de la rose? Answer is absolutely classic. And it is a fundamental principle in the authentication of Horace.
He said, If he said it, it is the truth.
So he's saying two things.
He said, If he said it, meaning I don't necessarily believe you, I will have to verify whether what you are saying is truthful or not. So you are the one that needs to be investigated, about whether you are speaking the truth or not. But if you are speaking the truth, and if he indeed said this, then it is true. I bear witness that it is true, whether I understand how it happened or not. Whether it appears logical to me or not. Whether it appears possible or impossible to me, none of that matters. If he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said something, as long as I verify that, and I am sure that he said it, then I believe it without question. Why do I believe it without question is
that blind belief? It is not blind belief. It is believe based eyes wide open on fact that the fact is that Mohammed sallallahu wasallam
does not lie.
That is the real Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam does not lie.
Abdullah bin Salah Catalano.
Before he became Muslim, he was one of the he was the head of the rabbi's of the banana deal.
in Medina, the banana they were considered to be they were also they also big business people. So they had a market of their own. And they were also considered to be the scholars of the Jews.
Among the three tribes that lived in Medina, Burundi were considered to be the scholars, the Jews, to the extent that it became the practice of a people of the people of Medina.
They used to send their children to live with the Varanasi and to learn from them manners and o'clock and so on and so forth. Even though these people at that time pre Islam they were not Jews, and after Islam, even though they had accepted Islam, they still send their children to stay with one another because this was considered to be a very good influence on on people. Right. Head of their
rabbis was Abdullah bin Salah Avila.
So Abdullah Abdullah vilano came to Jerusalem, and he accepted Islam at the hands of the research center. And then he said to him,
call the rabbis call the leaders, not just rabbis they call the leaders of the burner.
And ask them about me.
He said, I will consider myself behind you.
behind the curtain as the morning
sorceress hasn't called them they all came
and said,
Do you know Abdullah when ceram What is your opinion about Abdullah Salah.
They said Abdullah in a Salam is our chief rabbi. He is our greatest scholar. We believe him we honor Him, we revere him. His father was a great scholar before Him, who was also our leader and so on and so on. There are a lot of good things to say about observing Salah when they finished saying all these observers Alam came out from from behind the curtain. And he said I have accepted Islam. They said you are the worst of us. You are your father was the worst of us. And we have no you know, we don't believe you. We are these are the sons.
They asked Abdullah bin Salaam Why did you accept How did you accept Islam? He said when I looked at the face of Muhammad Sallallahu sallam, I knew that this is not the face of our life.
Right? To the extent that many of us are in zone they have said that a face reading is even today's practice. I don't know how authentic it is. But in the time of racism, this was an art which was actually learned and practice as an hour ago. satara was one of them was an expert at this, and they were other people. So they say that maybe Abdullah was alive or mentored from that sense as well, while Allah Surah Surah Surah salaams truthfulness, and therefore he got this title of zasada philomene in Makkah itself
long before he announced Islam. The reason I mentioned the story opposite up in ceram Rolando is because this is very similar to the story of rosov itself. Because here was a man who was known as a surgical amin, he was a man who was known as being the most truthful and the most trustworthy of the people, given to him by it is not a title that he made for himself. His title that people gave him because of his truthfulness, which they witnessed. He was born among them he grew up among them, only at the age of 40 claimed his he proclaimed Islam. So for 40 years they watched him is not a not something flash in the pan, not something that happened a week for 40 years. They watched him and
they said here is a man who is a solid one. I mean, he is the most truthful to the most trustworthy, but the minute he said Kuru La ilaha illAllah tofu, the moment is, he stood there and said, believe in one Allah do not join partners with him. C'est la la la la say there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. And I am his messenger the moment the same person
who said this, who was the most beloved to them, who was considered to be the most truthful to them. When he said this, they denied it.
They rejected it. Just like it happened with the case of Abdullah bin Salaam. He was the best of people. The moment is Elijah heilala became the worst of people.
And that's why I mentioned the story of Abdullah bin Salah as well.
Now the lesson we learn from this is that Islam
his
wealth,
Islam is real with wealth which will go with us in the ACA after we take after we go from here, the principle of wealth is that you have to work for it.
Wealth is that which has value and that which has value does not come for free.
You have to work for it. Even if you inherit it, if you do not work to preserve it, it will go away.
I don't think for people who have never I have to give examples of this enough and more examples of people who inherited unbelievable wealth. They did nothing this happened to be born in that house.
So they inherited that was
today they have nothing of that left because they didn't know what to do with it. They did not know how to deal with that was
Same thing with Islam, just because we inherited it. Please don't believe that this is going to be with us forever and it will not it will use disappear. It will go away just like money faster than money.
We have to work for it.
The example of Mr. seller.
When you talk about Islam, when you preach Islam, when you practice Islam be prepared for difficulties. May Allah save us all from difficulties we don't ask for them. But the tradition the rule of thumb
is that difficulties will have if they don't happen for you I may Alhamdulillah
but if they happen It is not something to feel discouraged and depressed and you know know this suppose
GLM reliability mean, we do what the prophet Salazar did, which is Rudra Allah, may God Allah subhanaw taala the one to
remove the difficulties Allah Subhana
Allah Allah Salah, Illa, Masha, Allah, Allah, there's no ease except the ease that you give.
So my daughter knows about that.
So no
differentiation, the many many things but for the sake of the class and we don't want to load too much stuff, easy to make it easy. First differentiator most important most critical differentiator was his truthfulness. Combined with that trustworthiness, which is a factor of reliability.
It is not enough to speak the truth once when the pyramids will be built. You have to speak the truth every single time.
It's not enough to stand up for Huck one time, but every single time
it is not enough to speak the heart when your personal welfare is not connected with it. As soon as a Muslim is a brother to another Muslim.
And he said he said a Muslim is a mirror to another Muslim.
What is the mirror
which reflects how
it reflects you like you are
doesn't change the reflection
reflects you like you are?
Is that easy?
usually easy with strangers because you know, it's okay i can tell you what I want. I don't I don't know you I don't care. What about friends? What about people who you love? What about people who you want to love you?
But the same person, you see they are doing something wrong?
The same person who see that they are engaged in something which is going to be harmful for them.
What must you do?
Keep quiet Rajan
because he's my friend. If I tell him you might get offended.
As soon as Allah Sallam said the decline of bunnies Rial started
when some of them started disobeying Allah subhanho wa Taala.
At that time, the leaders among them, the knowledgeable people not really deserved, knowledgeable people, among them, the scholars among them.
told those people that what you are doing is wrong, do not do this. But those people did not stop doing those wrong things.
The ones who told them what is wrong, even when they continue to do wrong, these people did not sever ties with them. These people
Continue to relate with them. These people continued their relationship with them because they said after all, they are our relatives after all, they are our friends. As soon as our subset This is when the decline of bunnies right started with ended up with the love of Allah subhanaw taala on them.
Not only the people doing good doing something wrong, the people who knew better
they told them once, then they lifted their hands and they did not stop associating with them.
As I was saying that for any minor today, if you ask any educated, sensible, logical Hyderabadi what his or her opinion is about our ostentatious weddings I can say without a doubt every single one of them will say this is wrong. This should not be done dowdy should not be taken all this ostentation and show we should not do it. This is this is macro this is this is bad as far as I'm sure every single person will say that test it out.
My question is then why do you go there?
How do I find you there? How is it that you are there in those pitch basically photographs, how is it that you are there in those weddings when you stood here and you said that this wedding this way is bad and so on and so on and so on. If this is not
the what is the work?
If you if this does not make you a hypocrite what makes you a hypocrite?
This is the problem with
not being truthful to yourself.
If you think something is bad, how is it that you associate with that same bad thing? When you think it is bad when you say it is bad?
You are doing what the bunny's right did because he was an attacker, Mr. Cha cha
cha cha cha cha.
are at Sala sulky ghosty or somebody Hey Mr. Fallon a multileveled
that's what one is. Well Did
he This is exactly what they did.
No, how can I offend them?
They are part of my family.
As I said, the principle is the same fire burns but everybody.
If you say Bismillah AR Put your hand in the fire, it doesn't cool. It'll still burn you.
truthfulness and trustworthiness will be a brand will differentiate only if it is done every single time reliability is not doing something right once it is to do the same thing over and over and over and over and over until this becomes your brand.
Right? Safety works in careers.
What takes a person up in careers you get a brand
I give a job to so and so. I can forget about it. It is going to happen
what a man
and that's why the famous Halley's man came to us and he said yes well I do many wrong things.
And I know they are wrong but you know I mean I drink alcohol I do this I do this I do this. But I want to change myself. But if you give me this whole list of things to change, I don't think I can do it. So tell me out of all this one thing which I need to change
that I will do.
Only one I can't give up everything else only one.
What is it what it sources tell them? He said do not tell lies.
Genuinely one thing never tell a lie.
For man that is easier. This is you know what's so different about him. And when he dies that nervous system did not tell me to change all my lifestyle my all my social network can be as it is, you know, all my club memberships can be as it is
Calgary
jeptha cartera gauge genre buruma
the day it stops being set from here you will know I am dead.
Anyway, so he said Don't lie.
He went away.
Then that evening, now he wants to go out to hang out with his pals in the pub. He thinks to himself tomorrow and I meet as soon as the wrestler men he asked me Where were you last evening? What do I do?
Honestly, I can't believe I did this I was shameful.
I promised I will not lie.
So he didn't go.
And the same thing for every single thing that he used to do.
The thought in his mind was, if Rasulullah sallallahu Sallam asked me
what will I do? I promised I will not tell a lie. I can't tell him I did not do that or something. You know, I have to tell the truth. If I'm doing something wrong, I can't go to the to the prophets, Allah Salam and say I did Haram. I can't do this.
his entire life changed. Because of that one thing which is be truthful. Do not lie.
Here we are talking about lying to the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam How about lying dollars Renata,
for whom nothing is hidden.
Who is seeing me and watching me real time?
That's why they asked Hassan al Bashir Abdullah is it How is it that you are so peaceful? How is it that you seem to have no worries in the world?
And what is his was if I read or what is it you do? How's that?
So he said to them, he said, number one, I am not worried about my risk. Because I know that what Allah has written for me nobody else can take.
So I do whatever I need to do, but beyond that, I'm not bothered with it. He said number two, I engage myself in fulfilling the purpose for which Allah created me which is his worship. This I do and I try to make sure that I do it to the best of my ability. I tried to make my Salah, the best Salah, my Vicar the best the Quran saw
number three, he said I am ashamed to commit a sin because I know that Allah is watching.
Just think about these stories I have said I've mentioned them many many times all of you have heard the stories and I will keep mentioning them because there is higher in remembering remembering good people and good things.
Put yourself in that situation let me put myself in situations when I am doing a D But when I am telling some story to somebody about somebody else, when I'm slandering somebody
when I'm participating in a in a in a meeting or participating in a gathering where I know I should not be here Why am I here?
remember Allah is watching
we have reached a point today where you know even to give the examples that I used to be given or at least my generation was given those examples today have no meaning.
Whereas on a both a bog examine a cigarette with a gap.
advisory Godzilla that'd
be the guy how many
33 Jeremiah t a movie
will you do will use video do something which you know, your parents disapprove off in front of them. I mean, you have not say Good, bad direct you should not do it at all, but I'm saying at least in front of them.
That How do you do something which you know Allah does not like in front of Allah subhanaw taala because there's no way of hiding from Allah as well. So as a matter of law, I'm I am, I do not commit sin or I avoid sin because I know Allah is watching. And the last thing is there is I know one day I will meet Allah. So therefore I prepare for it for things.
I'm not worried about risk, because I know what is written for me is written for me, nobody can take it, I fulfill or try to fulfill the purpose for which Allah subhanaw taala created me by worshipping Him. Number three is I do not commit sin because I know that Allah is watching and number four is that I know one day I will die and I will have to face Allah subhanaw taala. So I prepare for that day.
This is the meaning of being truthful. This is what is known as reliability, which is the essence of trust.
You trust people who are reliable.
You never you cannot trust people who are unreliable. Yes, a person did something right once but there is no saying that he will do it again.
How can I trust that person?
somebody gives a what I will do this by the time today. Unfortunately, lying has become so common. It's not even
so common. And I'm not even talking about it all the lies in the advertising and all of that I'm not talking about that is like now that like standard practice.
And that's why the level of trust has gone down.
Do we believe anything we see? Why is this huge level? Just think about this. There is an enormous level
Have cynicism in society tremendous cynicism anywhere you go tremendous cynicism in society. Anytime somebody even says something good, he will say I you know, this is all rubbish. And it was a cheeseburger and it was a chore I
don't wanna add a guy who wasn't how what is your proof to say what is your What
is your past experience is so much that we apply it across the board, which is really unjust If you ask me, but that is what we have this lying has created a society where people do not believe one another
huge level of cynicism.
And one of the the one of the most common examples, very unfortunate, when it's one of the most common examples is how we treat our own you know, appointments, you tell somebody I will come at this time.
Right, you will not come you will not phone in advance to say this is what happened to me Therefore, I cannot nothing that you use vanish.
There is one incident in the era where a man told him I will meet you at this point at this time.
restaurant I went there he waited for a long time The Man did not come the next day there was a moment again and waited. The Man did not come the third time he
waited, he came running he said Yasser Allah I completely forgot I am so sorry. And so on and so forth. Right now tell me, you've all heard this story. Tell me how come this story is you mentioned
Why is it was mentioned? Because it is one story.
It is worthy of mentioned because it is one story. Do you think if everyone behaved like this, somebody would talk about this?
today everybody will like this.
Every is no value for your own word and apps as far as I'm concerned, this is you have no value for yourself, as simple as that. I will deliver this by this time. Whatever.
The one thing we can be sure of is he will tell you will do it he will not do it that much.
How shameful is that and this is the problem we have lost a sense of shame.
You should be ashamed. We should tell our How can I be able to I gave my word How can I behave differently from this?
being truthful is good for you. In this dunya
Allah will test
Allah will test you will get carrots dangling Jetta will bring things to
mela not put you through that where people you respect will tell you to lie Voila. But if that happens that happens you still know you are right.
We ask Allah subhanaw taala to enable us to be on the right path and we keep us there and we take a break now. There is tea and snacks and after that we'll pray Magnum inshallah, then we come back here for the second session just like maloca Rasul Allah