Mirza Yawar Baig – Springfield College Iftar Lecture
AI: Summary ©
The importance of fasting during Islam is discussed, including the need for healthy diet and avoiding touching one's body. The "strife" concept is also emphasized, including the importance of having a healthy diet and avoiding touching one's body. The "weekendism" concept is discussed, including the need for "weekendism" and the importance of avoiding "weekendism" in shaping behavior. The "weekendism" concept is also discussed, including finding four different wild birds and separating them into smaller pieces, tying "weekendism" to "weekendism" and finding a woman who asked how God could bring her back to life. The transcript describes Islam's "weekendism" concept, including a woman who asked how God could bring her back to life and tame a wild bird.AI: Transcript ©
Willa Amanda Rahim
Al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen
wa Salatu was Salam ala Shara philam be able mousseline Muhammad Rasool Allah is Allah Allah Allah He while early he was abused, seldom the Steven cathedra and cathedra.
I begin in the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
And we send salutations on master the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
And we ask Allah subhanaw taala to bless this beautiful gathering, and to help us to do that, which he sent us to do.
Ramadan is the ninth month in the lunar calendar called the Hijiri calendar.
And as you all know, we fast in this month.
Fasting Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, sunlight from sunrise sunset. And
we do that many times you would have heard this that people be fast so that we know what poor people feel, and so on so on. Let me correct all that. Being poor is not about missing a meal.
Being poor is not about postponing or bringing your breakfast early and postponing your lunch. Being poor is about complete insecurity. Being poor is about being desperate, being poor, it's about not knowing where the next meal will come from. When we are fasting, we have food in the fridge for a month.
Being poor means you don't you do not know where the next meal is going to come from being poor is not funny. And that's why we do not fast for that reason, because we don't want to
reduce the value of that reason. We must learn
what it means to be poor so that we can help the poor. We fast for another reason, which is to get close to Allah subhanaw taala to get close to our Creator, Allah subhanaw taala said in the Quran. What is that? He said? Good the rally como cmo comma katiba Lizzy Naveen Colico, Lakota Takuan, he said, which means fasting has been prescribed upon you as it was prescribed for those before you so that you may become Moutoku. A McDuffie is a person who is conscious of God in his life, and who takes every decision in his or her life based on whether it pleases God or not. Fasting is not unique to Islam, every religion has fasting in one form or the other. I don't think there's any
religion at all, which says no fasting.
And the reason in all the religions the same, to bring you back to track, to reboot your life to reflect to revamp it and bring it on to the track which takes you close to Allah subhanaw taala we have the right connections.
What's the new connection?
In Islam the meaning of connection is to submit Islam itself. Like Lena greeted us. And she said As salam alikoum
usual, the usual translation of this greeting is Peace be upon you.
Incidentally, this is the greeting which we know from the Bible that Jesus, Jesus greeted the people he said, Peace be upon you. And that is the greeting of all prophets. These be upon you. But I want to take it a little more deeper to say the word in Arabic Salam comes from the root word salah, which means security. So it doesn't just mean Peace be upon you. It means I give you security. If I say salam alikoum to Heather, then I'm saying you are safe with me.
No harm will come to you as long as I am alive. If anyone attacks you, then I fight for you. It means all of this. They just it's not just some
distant Peace be upon you and then you know something's happening to you. I said Peace already. I'm done. No.
I give you security. And that is why
I give you protection. In the old days. If you if you said Salam Alaikum somebody in Islam, it is further it is it is compulsory to return the salam and say well alikoum was salam.
Right in the in Hebrew is a shallow Malaysian and will leave him shut up, which is the same thing will be upon you and maybe is also be upon you. If you did not return the salam of a person it meant that maybe you are not a friend because I'm saying I give you protection and you're not returning their salah. It means that I now need to watch you because you are you don't sound like a friend because you have not returned my my greeting of of safety really? So peace Yes, but peace is the result of safety. You can't be you can't have you can't have
peace unless you have safety and safety is the result of justice. So all of these are interlinked. Now in Islam, we said as I said,
it means submission.
I want
To tell you the story of one of our greatest prophets, the father of the prophets, Abraham Ibrahim alayhi, Salam
Allah subhanaw taala in the Quran and Allah is the name of God is the name of our creator
the creator of everything that exists
he said
ways God Allahu Rabu Aslam Carla Aslam to little beyond me. When he's Rob said to him when his Lord said to him submit he said I have submitted.
Now the spirit of submission is the spirit of Islam.
Somebody in what? submitting my desires submitting my wishes to the wish of Allah. Now connect that with fasting, why are we not eating this beautiful food here? And by the look of the number of trees I think this is either for all of us for the rest of the year. Or
or it is for like 100 people, right? May Allah bless all your generosity now, but you're not eating why? I mean, you guys are not eating out of courtesy and friendship and may Allah bless you, but we are not eating because it is the order of Allah not to eat until sunset.
That's it. This is the meaning of submission. Why is that important? Because Ramadan reinforces the fact that eating this food, when it when it's time to eat is halal. It is permissible, it is good. It's recommended, by all means eat.
But why are we not eating? Because Allah said don't eat. That's it, because he said so. Now what about therefore, the things that Allah subhanaw taala has prohibited us. And as I mean, all human beings throughout our lives, no lying, no cheating, no slander or backbiting, no deceiving people, you know, being kind to people being now, no unkindness, no oppression, no cruelty. So if you are stopping yourself from doing what is normally permissible, because God said so what about stopping yourself from doing what is not permissible for the same reason? Because God said so that this is what how it gets reinforced. And that's why this word fasting does.
And as I said, The Story of Your grandmother is very beautiful. Imagine this I want you to put yourself in this place. Here is this
small boy maybe 10 years old, maybe 12 years old. I don't think he was older than that, at that time. This little boy, agrarian society he lived in the messy Mesopotamian times in the kingdom of or
in Mesopotamia, which means in present current data between the the Euphrates and the Tigris.
very fertile land, hills, mountains, you know, literally the breadboard of the world.
So this little boy, now he's out in the country.
And he's talking to Allah.
He's having a conversation with God. So what did you say? Allah subhanaw taala said with Karla Ibrahim rugby irony gave her to heal Malta. He says to Allah He said, Oh Allah. Oh my god. Oh my Lord, show me how do you bring something back to life after it's dead?
Okay for to heal. Mulder, let's think about this here is this. How many times have you heard a 10 to 12 year old boy or girl talk about life after death?
Probably never right?
That this also shows the orientation of people who are destined to be leaders they think far ahead. You think far forehead. They know that this life is not just having fun. There's nothing wrong with that, by all means, have fun, as long as that fun is good fun. But there is something more than that.
So he's saying careful to hear about how do you bring life back to death?
Now see the
the response to that? If you're asking Allah subhanaw taala How do you give life to the dead? Allah subhanaw taala you're showing this I do it? No, he's first responses. God Allah to me.
You don't believe?
And his response evil evil is rapid responses. Karla Bella, what I kill yet my Nickleby isn't Of course, I believe, but
to strengthen my feet
to strengthen my feet,
right.
And that's why the Prophet Muhammad Salah Salem will be a bony wizard that Ibrahim Ibrahim could say that we have a right to say that even more.
So my submission do is talk to Allah. Talk to your Creator.
And in today's world, when I say something like this,
maybe you are thinking this guy is bonkers. I mean, we talked about what is that?
How do I know if I talked about how do I know? God is listening to me? How do I know God is answering me? If I
Get some thought, How do I read from God?
I'll tell you, I'll tell ya.
If it is from God, it will always be something good. It will be something good.
It won't be killed somebody, it won't be deceived somebody something good.
So talk to God. Ask Allah subhanaw taala so what happened now?
Then Allah is right that is it.
Carla for old arbour atom Mira PlayReady for Suhana la Kazuma Allah Allah Cooley Jubilee, mean Hoonah juicer, somebody we're on? Yeah. Tina Khazaria. While I'm on Allah Aziz on hacky. Now, Allah subhanaw taala give you a project. Here's a little boy saying, show me. How do you bring the dead back to life?
So after they have this very affectionate, loving, little interaction, you don't believe? No, no, of course, I believe please tell me to strengthen my feet. So there's a little
interlude. And then Allah subhanaw taala gives you a project, what's the project? He says, Get four wild birds.
tame them so that they come to you and you call them.
Then slaughter them, chop them into small pieces, the whole mess of that
separated into separate piles. Take each pile and put it on top of one of the hills. And when you're done all that come and stand here, call them they will come back to you.
Now think about this. Seems simple, right?
How do you tame a wild bird?
Can you do that? No. There's ways to do that. You know, get it when it's a chick. Get it from the rest. When it hatches, when it's just the right age. If it grows, if you take it from the from the from the rest too early, it will probably die because you won't know what to do with it.
If you take it too late. You can't tame it because he's wild. It'll fly away. So now what's the what's the the plan for this little boy?
Identify four different birds. Allah did not tell him take a chicken and a duck and a turkey no wild birds. So identify four different wild birds find out about them. Because different birds eat different things. Some are seed eaters, you got the American Robin here, which eats its own bodyweight in earthworms every day.
Now I've got seed feeders in my in my in my in my art. Robins don't care a hoot about them. They are in the grass. And they listen. It's amazing to see the error. Have you ever seen a notice or I've been feeling it listens like this? It can actually hear the worm under the ground. Listen like this. And then it picks up there the world pulls it out. It
eats its bodyweight in earthworms everyday.
So you've got Cardinals for example here which are seed eaters, you got black eyed juncos you got the number of small birds here is incredible.
One of my hobbies is wildlife photography and I take a lot of photographs of boards. I love them. So anyway, so not everyone is the Rams job is fine for then watch. When where do they build nests? Some build nests in trees some bitterness in those are the grounds on business, in rocks in the mountains and all kinds of places.
Wait for them to hatch figured out what do they eat the whole project right?
And imagine a little boy doing all of this must be great fun.
And when he does all of that
these birds are his pet birds, but they're free flying pets. So they you know, imagine one once a year once they got their hands on. And then when they are ready.
He catches them he slaughters them, he shoves them up mix into a big mince pie. They separate all of that. Then he has to climb mountains. He's got to climb this hill, that hill that hill, I don't know how many hills they were number of bits. And then he stands there and he calls them and they come back to him flying alive. And well. His bed birds are back to him.
How was defeat?
Imagine that this feeling that boy what must he have felt.
Now interestingly, in the Quran, Allah subhanaw taala also mentioned another story. And in the ayat in the Quran, this one which I recited for you was ir 260 in the second surah into the buckler and the other one is ir 259 which is before that. And then Allah Samantha also talks about somebody who asked about bringing back to life after you die. And in this case, Allah says all like the man who passed by our town and the town was in ruins, the houses are collapsed and everything is dead. And he said
How can God bring this back to life? Now imagine the the tone of the question here is reminiscent of asking you show me how you do this. Show me how you do this means what it means I know you can do I'm not denying this I know you can do this show me how and that's what I lost if you don't don't You don't know of course I believe
so there is one asking, who has faith who has belief out of love out of wanting to know, curiosity, deeper interest? The other one is asking in a way which in effect is saying I don't think you can be done. How can this ever happen? If I say how can it ever happen? Is that a question or is there a desire
to do that? Like how can it ever be that cannot happen? So the best How can it happen? So Alyssa resists so because him today so he's uh, he said, how can it happen show me he's actually die
he's dead. Now he was on a donkey is going somewhere you riding his donkey? He is donkey and whatnot, everything that
he remained there Allah has set for us for 100 years.
And then he was brought back to life.
And he was asked, how many years were you did How long were you there?
And the man said maybe a day maybe part of a day. Yo man oh, by the way, oh. He said no. You were dead for 100 years 100 years.
And then Allah says look at your food and look at your drink. They are the same nothing has changed 100 years preserved and then this is the look at your donkey and his donkey was out 200 years What do you think
everything is God is like powder and the donkey comes back to life before his eyes. Allah's writer says We showed him the bones came back and the flesh grew on the bones of the donkey stood up.
Now think about this.
might ask the question you got an answer? And you also got a pretty spectacular answer right? forcing an answer but look at it from another aspect
100 years from now.
Not only will I be dead
and long before that, but every single person in this room will be dead in 100 years.
So if I dropped dead now and I come back to live 100 years later what is the world I'm seeing?
I'm seeing my whole family gone every friend I knew is gone
everyone I knew is gone maybe my money doesn't work anymore in my pocket my cards are not working anymore my ID is doesn't exist I look at the world maybe I'm seeing flying cars or something you know God knows how technology has changed complete isolation
there's nothing I mean you know I imagine that situation
now why
as this question why
Ibrahim Ali said I'm also asked a question this man also asked a question and if I give you the same question
How come that Iran well Islam gets this fabulous superior special treatment with full of love and affection. And the other one just gets an answer you asked me here it is.
connection
and that connection is submission to
you when I when I said I'm comes from the position of submitting to Allah,
Tala Islam to
Allah Kara's Asim Aslam do.
Submit I have submitted
then doors open for you.
But you can come from any other place. No specialty in
the world is a place of cause and effect.
This is what Islam comes or Islam is what rather than comes to reinforce, it comes to reinforce the importance of submitting to our Creator, whom one day we will meet.
And to do and to do that so that when we meet him, we get this beautiful,
wonderful treatment like they get here. The reason we are getting this beautiful treatment is because we have been friends. They
every time I say I introduced David to somebody so he's my best friend. He like you always laughs so I don't know maybe
he doesn't want you or my best friend with
the other threads. So when you're here with friends, good treatment is a short you don't ever ask anybody.
build friendship.
That's why we say in sales training. You Oh you can only sell to friends.
So, you want to sell somebody something make friends first.
So in selling, not just this question of of commercial sense, I mean selling meaning ideas, I mean, you know, persuading people just so friendship is very important thing is very, very important. And in that list of friends
or not number one friend daily should be the one who created us. And that word comes to reinforce.
I ask Allah subhanaw taala to bless all of you, I ask Allah smarter bless all of us. I ask Allah subhanaw taala to make this Ramadan, the best Ramadan our lives yet and with many more to come with good health and you might ask Allah to bless bless all our non Muslim friends why we're here. Thank you so much for being with us. It's a wonderful thing to have all of you here with us. And the whole idea of bringing building bridges bring hearts together, so that we can live and create a world which is full of harmony and compassion and and friendship. Thank you very much was Allah Allah will carry while he was a neighbor How to Get him away.
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