Mohamed Magid – Purifying Your Intentions Beyond the Basics #07
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This week, Insha'Allah, we'll cover we'll talk about
the
concept of Riya
and showing off.
And, also, ria
meant to
a person does things not for the
sincerely for the sake of Allah, but
to gain human
recognitions.
The there's a definition, linguistic definition of riyyah,
and there's
a, which is,
they call the salah, human definition of riya.
The purpose of this class
today to
have us to recognize
what Imam Ghazali call it the signs
of the disease of riya.
How to notice it,
and when you feel it, how to,
overcome it.
The is the a disease
that associate with Ibadah or human behavior in
general. Worshipping of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala or
in general, people don't do things sincerely,
sincerity.
And that's why it begins with the
with the intention, with the heart.
Because in the you cannot know
whether a person is doing
it most of the time
for the sake of Allah was doing to
show
off. The only Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can
see the whispering of someone and the feeling
of someone and the
the state of mind of someone, the intention
of someone, the heart of someone.
And therefore, it is something that is we
have to measure it, not necessarily someone else
can measure it for us. Because,
you know, only us we know what we
are doing it for the sake of Allah.
And that's why the Abdul Malik
has a very nice
song about the intention.
Have you heard the native
deen?
Is it for Allah?
You know, and
go through
different actions,
whether you're coming to the Masjid to pray,
whether you're doing something salakah or something like
that. Is it for Allah or somebody just
to recognize us
as such?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
condemned those people who have such
behavior.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in Quran,
talking about the
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, oh to those
who pray,
but they neglect their prayer. They're not mindful
of prayer.
What kind of characteristic they have? They oppress
the orphan. They don't,
they feed the needy.
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala said then o'er
to those who neglect their prayer, those who
show off.
They don't do anything for the sake of
Allah. They don't do anything sincerely
with sincerity,
but rather they do it to show off.
A Jerjani, one of the scholars says,
the riya
is absence of
You wanna think think most sincere for Allah
is real. Period.
Therefore, the absence of the sincerity
is,
is ria.
And also at the Hawani, one of the
scholar says,
to do something good.
Only for the recognitions of human,
you know, being recognized by by human being.
Not for for for sake of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
Even if it's appeared, the action is good,
but the intention was to
seek recognition,
by others,
it is become riya.
Imam Ghazali
says that,
riya
is that to worship or to do an
act of worshiping
in order for you to get,
recognition or to please people other than Allah
To do something which is good,
but is for other than Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
And the
the
easiest definition of from
by the way,
from in Arabic. You know what the word
is? To see.
If a person does it to be seen,
does it to be
looked at,
and that's what is the is.
And
none of us will have difficulty
recognize that in our self. We know when
we do something we want to be seen,
to show off, we do
it
just
for people to see us.
And if there's not for that reason, we
will not have done it.
There's a word in Arabic called, you hear
this,
oh, Allah, clear our heart from suma
and riya and nifaq.
What are the difference between suma and riya
and nifaq?
Suma is by saying,
a person
showing up by saying saying, I am this,
I am that, I am that, I'm that,
to try to
impress people about who they are
so that the people will be pleased with
them.
And most of the time,
it is for a suma'ah, it is the,
deeds or the words being said
to re to open something that was concealed.
For example, I go to Tajik that night
at home, and the next day I see
Eunice. I say, Eunice,
oh, I have a long tajud last night.
Then I meet the, I said, the, the
tajud last night was excellent in my home.
You know? I was, you know, it was
I was doing it by myself, but I
would like to make sure that people say,
oh, subhanallah. Because sometimes, Shaytan cannot let go.
This nice tajid they have, you cried for
Allah alone.
You know, Yunus doesn't know about it, he
has to know about it, you know. And
then
tell other people
about it as well. Or you can say,
ask my wife what I was doing last
night. I was praying all night long, you
know? This is called.
The
is that one I invite Eunice
to come see me.
That is a reality. That's to
publicize it, you know, the thing that I
do. Or I give somebody some money aside,
you know,
to help them. And next they said, you
know what?
If you do what I've been doing this
community, I've been giving all my salary to
people, all my money to people, and so
forth. I helped I'll help that person, I
gave him my money before, and help her,
and help this person help that. This is
a problem
of the
of us,
you know, want to seek recognition.
NIFAQ
is hypocrisy,
which
is all the symptoms of su'a.
Of sua and and ria
can be elevated to, nifaq,
a hypocrisy, because
Nifaka,
in at its peak at its peak,
it's worse than they are.
Because nifaq hypocrisy,
a person conceal
kufr,
disbelieving Allah and showing iman.
That means whatever he does from the beginning,
the niyyah
was not for Allah, but a
person is does not believe in Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala
and he want he or she in order
for them to gain materialistic
gains,
for some reason,
they have concealed the kufr, the disbelief,
and they show,
belief.
And what the difference between a person do
nifaq and person.
A person who is munafiq,
he was not pray with excitement
but can pray with excitement.
If if,
the person showing off, make sure that people
surround them,
they make all the hushu
and, you know, the crying
and all the
not necessarily everyone does hushuur as Moray. Don't
go and spot out, oh, here's Moray.
I'm talking about
us. And that's why I said
is something only for us to measure ourselves,
not to measure other people.
Therefore, a person gets into salah, he want
to make sure being seen. Is
too difficult.
He he or she does it like, okay,
maybe
they can just play one prayer to show
off that the Masjid is not enough.
The rest of the projects is skipped. Don't
don't don't don't shove in the Masjid.
And that's what Allah says
He said, when they stand for salah, they
come soft with laziness.
So the people might see them. Here
not of the of the terminology, but the
here is the linguistic one to be seen.
Okay? They don't remember Allah that much.
They are not to this group or not
to that group. They are always living
in the stage of not certainty. Always
doing this and doing that.
Therefore, is
a person doesn't believe in it to begin
with.
Moray could believe in it.
Really believe you should pray,
but also
believe that, you know, it's once in a
while to make sure that people know that
you're praying. You know? That's kind of things.
The
the the the different between,
and
great shirk.
You know?
Because riyah is like a shirkal kafi. It's
a small shirk. It does not put a
person out of Islam.
But he border
into that. You cannot tell that you're kafir.
Especially some people really want to release,
kafir,
statements and certificate easily.
Now, therefore, a person even if that person
do does something to show off, don't call
him that, you know, you are a mushrik.
Is not,
is not
a great shirk that put a person out
of Islam.
Why? Because shirk is to do something always
with,
to assess Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, somebody with
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala always.
Shirk is
to associate Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with a
partner.
But that is the ideology or the thinking
of the person, always does that.
Not necessarily.
He does it to but
sometimes
in principle,
he knows that he doesn't follow Allah
When he knows that those people, they are
not the one that equal to Allah. That's
why they call it. You know what? It's
hidden.
Because the visible shirk is the ideology. You
say,
Allah cannot do by do by himself, therefore,
I need
idols to be worshiped with Allah.
But the person who does it to show
human being, but he or she sometime might
not realize
that what they are doing is associating Allah
with those people.
The have different,
categories.
As usual, we define things by categories,
and this is,
methodology.
Is
person thinking through.
He look at it, analyze it, you see
the doctor,
give you an you know, the prescription bit
on the analysis
of of a disease.
Imam Ghazali is rahamullah is excellent in that,
analyzing the disease,
very well.
Ghazali rahamullah says,
the
the first
category,
he said that the per people show riya
in a physical sense,
physical appearance. For example, say somebody, you know,
in the morning, you know, with a group
of,
bat show that he's
very sleepy.
You know? Make sure that he show sleepy.
He said, why you're so sleepy? He said,
I prayed all night long.
You know? What a person look look like,
say, what you're doing? I've been fasting a
lot. You know? Those kind of he said,
and there's some people and and that's why
you see Imam Ghazali is a very reasonable
person.
He criticized even those people who said that
who are, you know, doing things for the
salah, for this and that, and he criticize
some Sufi
who says
that, okay, you need to show it off.
You need to look sick.
You need to look, you know,
always
your eyes very low so that people would
know that, subhanallah, he's the worshipper of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
He said this is in indeed.
And he said, in duniya,
people do the
he said even people do somebody in duniya.
Someone does exercise
to shave up, and they come and wear
this t shirt, you know, the the shirt
with no,
sleeves,
and doing like this to show the muscles,
Make sure people don't know that they do
exercise.
They fall You need to show off. You
know that guys, you know I've been doing
some, working out.
You know.
The the purpose of working out is not
to get healthy. What the purpose of workout,
like, look my muscle, you know.
I I have I have it, you know.
I have a nice muscles here, buddy.
That's all it happened in in Dunia. People
do that also in in Dine also.
The second is by the
not physical appearance, but what what people wear.
You do things that make people notice.
For example,
Imam al Ghazali said, and there's another criticism,
for people who like to show that they
are realists who had in Dunia. He said
the person come and make sure that have
a hole in their pants and they have
another color,
red and blue and so forth and sit
there and say,
duniya is not good. You know, because it
was it is instead of in your heart,
you want to show people in your He
said, when a person does that,
that that person himself is not really
of
a person have not care about Dunia because
you don't care about Dunia, you don't like
the recognition in Dunia in this life.
What if people say that you are zahid,
you know? That's why they say, the the
peak of
who
are The high level of
not to be attached to materials
is to have in itself. You don't want
to show people that you are you don't
love materials. Okay? Therefore, he said, those kind
of people,
out or
he give it to other group. He give
it to to the Soviet, but he give
it to other group. He said, a person
might come and try to wear their clothes
in the middle of their, you know,
leg.
You know? And then he said, brother, why
are you doing that? Why is your your
rope is almost to your knee? Well, this
is
sunnah. You know, I want to notice me
the items when I pray in the middle
of the masjid, people see that, oh, it
look different. Then people come to me and
says, what's it about? They said, and I'm
I'm the of the salaf of salah has
been poured on me. You know, I'm representing
of all the salaf of salah. Here. Yes.
You see salafasalah walking before him. This is
it is not
the or the person that is supposed to
do. All a person have big miswak,
you know, have it in the pocket, you
know, and walk with the in
Egypt. Brotherhood is here.
And it become like a it become like
a protocol. The Musawak in the left,
you know, in the subtle way, and then
you do this. And the people said, oh,
brother, Majid, you make fun of sunnah. I
said, no. Yeah. I don't make you don't
make fun of sunnah. We're saying that when
if you do the sunnah, you don't do
it like you tell people, look at me.
Or, by the way, there's no hadith of
Rasool alaihi wa sallam, saying you do in
the in the line of prayer.
Imam before he said, Allah
It is not in the it is not
in the One
person bring the
line
of salah. He did not do that.
So he do swak
in the time of
and come. That's
it. Misunderstanding of the hadith.
It's not meant to have on this between
the and
the thing to do this
work. Therefore,
it is important a person watch himself because
sometime what happened, you remember we talked yesterday
about last week about arrogance?
Because sometimes
can come through a bada.
I become like, I'm the only person who
knows it. I'm the only person who's muttaqi.
Other people, they don't have taqwa, they don't
have iman, have nothing,
you know. That's the danger of it.
Or a person,
you know,
sometimes you want to make sure that it
look different.
We come to the Masih, we have a
person have 2 dafira. You know, dafira, those,
bread,
You know? Have them here, and he walk
into the Masjid says, there's a there's a
brother or sister there? The person, no, no,
there's a brother. Yeah. Brother, what is it?
It's a sunnah of Rasool alaihi wa sallam
used to do that.
Al Amas said that even if you do
this sunnah of want to look at like
Rasool alaihi wa sallam, you have to make
sure at that culture, people understand this.
Because there's no sunnah waqaddah or sunnah wajibah
in anyways.
Therefore, people want to sometime,
to do something different, so to shock people,
say, I'm doing this to,
you know
of course, a person might be sincerely doing
that.
You know? But because you want not to
bother an area,
you know, be careful of that.
Now,
in duniya,
he said,
that the person want to show they have
a beautiful car.
Make sure that, you know, you park your
car in a way that people see the
car, you know, and so forth, or you
you start, you know, start cleaning it and
say, I have a beautiful car, or a
person,
you know,
come and show,
you know,
have a tour. You know, make sure that
everyone come to their home. They have to
see their bedroom. They have to see this,
how much this luggage from Italy, this from
this and that. You know, to have to
make sure that people that you show off
was your wealth.
That is also a form of ria.
But all of it, the most dangerous one
is ria in worshiping of Allah Subhanahu Wa'ala.
Okay. Using Islam to do
this. But see, he wants you to
imam, he want us to notice behavior.
The third
is that the
ria by
saying,
wish a person would be sit in a
group of people
who from nowhere,
he tried
to start mentioning the senate of Hadith.
Instead of saying, said this,
he want to tell him what is all
the senate. He said,
Just tell us the Hadith and Bukhary, you
know, to impress people that he knows all
the senate.
He said, be careful of that to show
off, you know, of of to impress people
by how much,
information,
you have.
And he said, or a zikr, a person
who sits on the group,
you know, they're talking about something else. He
sit in front of
them. We among them. Yeah. If you want
to do zikr, go and do it somewhere.
But but you cannot be in a group
of discussions, and in the middle of it,
you start to show zikr.
You know, a person does their zikr in
front. It is important a person
when does that, he says, subhanallah, why am
I doing this?
Why am I doing it here?
What is it for?
That is the questions that help a person
to provide themselves from from the end.
In the in Dunia
is to impress people by information. You see
those people
like me in literate in the computer,
and they talk to speak in terminologies,
you know? You the the you know, you
know this, you know that.
And then I said, a person says to
himself, why I'm doing this? Have you said,
been in a gathering where a person who's
doing a PhD might be in a climax
or
and big big vocabularies.
You know, a person,
just throw things at people, left and right,
So that people said, oh my goodness.
He is so she'd really educated.
You know? They know it.
They know you know? You you see the
way they spoke?
You know? And a person make sure that
impress people, you know, in this.
Or someone speak sometimes
vocabularies that people are not familiar with.
As as he or she talking in their
head, they're looking for what kind of vocabulary
I'm gonna say today that's be really big,
a word that people cannot spell. Like Muhammad,
imagine we can get to know even how
to spell it. It has to be something,
you know, from a dictionary that that is
also a very dangerous thing.
You need to, you you know,
make sure
that that
was not in the business to impress people.
What he does, he spoke simple language.
Spoke simple language
to everybody.
The 4th
is the reactions
or deeds.
For example,
people pray behind me,
and instead of my salah when I'm imam
is shorter, no.
My salah when I'm imam has to be
longer.
Impress people how much Quran and more is.
Make it difficult. Children crying, I don't care.
Bakr has to be finished, You know? You
know, people coughing? No. I don't care. I
have to finish the baklava. You know? That
is the will, you know, to impress people,
and that's why
a person sometimes
you need to before enter salah, they ask
you to lead the salah, don't let shaitan
say shaitan.
Give them, like, the big surah, the biggest
one, the longest one. You know? Tell them,
you know, your mawas or Yusuf.
You know? That's his real,
You know? It is important.
You know, the
they have a joke about that.
It's not make it to want to make
it funny, but to bring how people can
be simple in their thinking and their worship.
A son,
his father,
and he realized that his father,
he
choose a surah, a long surah when they
have guests.
When they tell his father, father, why don't
you pray, you know, pray use this sword
today, Salah? He said, no, this for the
guest
one.
You know?
A a person have to make sure that
really does not he or she does things
to impress people in worship. What a person,
they have to do salah.
In
their regular salah, they don't make long sudud,
prostration, or rakur, bound down.
But because
he's he or she, they're leading salah, sister
leading other sister or a person,
he make his raqor like the longest raqor
it can ever have.
And he said, why is that?
You know? Because a time comes and said,
make you as long as you can. Require
as long as you can because when people
therefore, it is important a person,
to notice
the of Ria and this.
In Duniya,
how what people would show Ria?
Show it they show it in the way
they walk,
the way they
sit, going to show that they're they're an
authority, or sometimes,
in the way that you want to know
that you're coming from America. You come from
here, from from United States, visiting a village
in Sudan
or Bangladesh,
you know, or going back to Pakistan.
And some people don't know that you are
you're really living in America. You went to
Brazil. They bring you food? Said,
please fork in the spoon.
They put fork in the spoon, please napkin.
What is that about? You know, we want
to make sure that, oh, why is that?
Oh, I live in United States. You want
people cannot wait to tell people they live
in United States.
Have a reason or not a reason. Bring
it up.
You know?
Make sure that you don't want to, and
that's part of sometime we want to show
that we are up a little bit. We
live in higher, you know, modern society and
so forth. Person have to be,
hampering that.
The 5th is the social.
The social
is that you want to make sure
that you're being seen
with a big shot.
For example, I don't know anything,
you know, of
of hadith
or for the Quran and so forth.
Therefore, I say always I had a discussions
with the,
you know,
Imam Shafa, you know, the say in his
time, and Imam Shafa and I disagreed in
the hadith.
A person said, oh,
yeah. You? And other person come walking and
said, what did tell you Mohammed Mahid? He
said, did you talk to Shafa? Yeah. His
brother, he wants only to hadith.
Imam Shafeh,
he he just took took took you for
a ride, you know. Yeah. He want to
show up. All he said, Imam Shafeh, please
please, I want to visit. I want you
to visit me tomorrow.
Imam Shafeh said, oh, what is it? They
said, I'm just having a wedding for you.
Please, you come and then you bring other
people said, you know, see,
you
know, like like that. You know?
That,
you want to show that you are in
the status.
So that people will say that, okay,
if he's a friend of Imam Shafi'i, then
we can ask him religious questions,
you know.
In Duniya,
person
have low self esteem. They want to make
sure that somebody says
that person is their intellectual,
and this and that. You know, you gotta
invite that, Bahamad, to your home, which is
a very nice brother, and you make sure
that, okay, people see me was, you know,
this professor.
Okay? Next day you said, I was giving
a lecture and and
also,
lead to lie.
The person says, I was talking to, I
was with Akbar Ahmed and and, he asked
me to come to his class and I
gave a lecture.
Yeah, oh,
you know what? Yeah. I I saw and
saw, he was in my home yesterday.
You know, this kind of things, you know,
a person have to be really
careful not to sound. Now there's a degrees
of air.
You know? When
when the a person stand before the call,
somebody kills someone, there's degree. You know? 1st
degree and second degree and third degree.
Ria have degrees. The highest degree of riya,
Imam Wazal
says,
is that the person
does things
with no intention to get any reward from
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
That's it totally
for people.
They they plan to go to the masjid,
not for sake of Allah, not because Allah
said pray.
Prayer is not a habit of theirs,
But if that person
pray because just to see people, people to
see them. And that's why some people pray
social prayer.
If you're in a gathering,
you pray
to to be seen.
But after that, the event is not there,
person doesn't pray in their life,
You know? Once in a while, a person,
you know, sitting in the the the present
of a president,
and the president says, let us pray Maghrib.
Oh, Subhanallah, you know,
I have to wear Maghrib now. I don't
have verbal. And some people do, you know,
they do
make salah was knowable.
Some people,
you know, pray was knowable.
It happened that, unfortunately, I've seen something like
that.
You know, an important person came
to Salah
and the people who their assistant,
they couldn't time to have all of them.
One of them just went to bathroom, I
hope.
Alhamdulillah, 2 brothers
noticed that they spoke to the person, said,
yeah, he cannot do that. He said, but
I was planning to repeat it. He
said, but you stand before because
the prince says that you cannot do that.
It is you cannot say it was an
intention to repeat it because it prohibited to
study
Sometimes, shaitan comes to the person, said, you
know
you know, just go and have and
untie your shoes
and do all of these kind of things
and your tie gonna get wet and your
we have, we're gonna pray.
No problem.
Allah
sees that. Therefore this he said,
this is the worst. And Imam Ghazali said,
I'm
telling you this Imam Ghazal is a very
intelligent man. He said,
He said,
My prayer was
The second category,
that the person,
he want to pray,
You know?
But it it it make a big deal
for him or for her to be seen.
But they believe in salah. Therefore,
but the being seen is bigger
than than what? Than seeking the reward themselves.
And he said that
also a level that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
will not accept that because the my intention
is to be seen.
The third is when we
being seen
and done it for Allah for the for
the sake of Allah become equal.
What what that means, that a person say,
listen,
I really want to pray,
but I really like it also to be
seen.
You see? The person says, I want to
do charity work, but I really
also like people to notice that, to see
when they're doing charity.
Ramazali said that person need to do some
fighting
inside himself to make sure that he does
it only for the sake of Allah.
The 4th
is that
a person
seek the pleasure of Allah
but
he or she, they become more excited
about worshiping Allah if people notice it.
Person comes to the Masjid.
The
comes to the Masjid,
but
my my neighbor saw me come to the
Masjid, and he doesn't know that I come
to the Masjid. I said,
oh, you know, Ahmed, I have to make
sure that person in front of him. Now
after the prayer isha, the sunnah has been
for the hamad so that maybe he didn't
see me. I want to make sure that
I've been seen.
The niyyah was good. It started good, the
intention, but it start mixing.
That become mixed. He said, a person need
to fight that also
in them. Okay?
And he said the worst
of all
is that
when the it is in the core of
the belief itself.
Amen.
A person does not believe in Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala at all.
And that is what come to Nifaka here.
Been elevated to hypocrisy.
A person doesn't believe in Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
A person an atheist.
He want to get to marry somebody,
and father said, do you believe in Allah,
you pray? So,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he give us everything
that we have, Allah, blah, blah. But the
person in their heart that what Allah I
don't believe in him.
You know? This is hypocrisy. The high level
of it of or they have become hypocrisy,
and that's why Munafiqin
they they come to Rasoolam. Allah subhanahu wa'ala
says in Quran,
the come
to you says, we
believe that you are the prophet of Allah.
We testify, we are witness, we've been witness
that you are prophet of Allah or the
messenger of Allah.
And Allah
qualified this statement, he says,
and Allah knows
that you are his prophet.
And Allah witness been witness that hypocrites are
liars.
Because they come to they gave a great
testimony here, but it's not real, you know.
And also,
Allah
described this behavior in Surah Al Baqarah.
Allah says
and some people,
group of people, human being,
that they
they may speak nicely,
you know, they speak in very nice language
and they testify and they said that, oh,
we believe in Allah.
And that person really is not a person
of believing of belief.
And Quran describes that.
When a person says, I'm doing this
for good, for the goodness of humanity,
but the person does it for their personal
interest.
That is,
in in fact,
all of his together.
When they meet the believer, said we believe.
When they meet with their
they
say, no, no, we're with you. Oh really,
don't worry about that. The people said, but
yesterday, you said
nothing you believe in in this? They said,
no no, I was just showing off. That's
politics,
You know? I'm not real. I don't believe
in that. Okay?
And Abdullah ibn Abu Salol,
the the head of Munafirqil,
when he used to meet the rasulullah
in the street,
he tell the people, stand up. This is
the prophet of Allah. Look to the messenger
of Allah. And this and not only that,
in Jum'ah,
before the Jum'ah,
I was asked to be walking to the
Jum'ah, I said, be quiet, guys.
Prophet of Allah is coming, about to speak.
And when when he's not in Jummah, while
Rasulullah speaking, he said,
listen to the prophet of Allah.
After he was exposed,
when he said that I'm when I go
back to Medina, the the one who's more
who's dignity will keep the person who's been
more humiliated.
People know that he's Munafi. He tried to
stand up when
I smiled also. Somebody pulled him and said,
sit down. This game is over.
We know who you are.
Don't don't stand doing this. And they shut
him down. After that, he never stood up.
And we used to meet Abu Bakr and
Umar and
Umar, and he would tell his friends, the
Mullah Faktin,
said to them, listen,
I'm gonna tell you today something,
I'm gonna show you something very interesting.
Know, I'm gonna make
Abu Bakr and Omar happy.
They said, how? He said, when I see
them, I'm gonna praise them. When they're coming,
he he hold
to his friend. Look, so big.
He
was in the together in the cave.
What a nice man. You are the head
of believers. He said to him like that,
and he goes, then,
When they live, he said to his people,
you see, I make fun of them, you
know, deny,
they believe me.
That is
hypocrisy, in fact, that is part of showing
off that you are nice to people,
but in the heart, we are not, and
we cannot do that.
The
also,
the,
the part of the
sometimes,
a person might not do in
in in the form,
but you want to do riya in sunnah,
in Nawafil.
You know? That is I I will pray
Isha with people, but after Isha, you want
to say that you pray 11 raka. You
do it in a masjid.
11 raka. The person said, we need to
close down the place. No, I have to
finish my 11 raka. You do it at
home.
But if a person a person have pure
intention doing that, but I'm saying, person need
to,
watch it, Make sure he's not doing it,
because of
the with the people.
Then, Imam al Azale rahaamu Allah wants something
very interesting.
He says,
people also,
they do show off
because of whom they try to show.
You
know, depends
and the reason.
I mean, the reason of doing real.
He said the worst type of it when
a person use religion
to accomplish materialistic
gain, for example.
I want to be,
the mayor of of
of Herndon.
I go and pray in every masjid
and make sure to become the imam of
that Jum'ah
so people see me, so that I can
be voted into office.
He said, that's not acceptable.
When a person,
he said, does things temporarily. For example, a
person want to borrow money, $100,000
for somebody.
He showed that they are so sincere, they're
so honest,
and they said, subhanallah, yesterday,
Mohammed Mahdi gave me $100 as a loan,
I just returned it to him. I don't
like he actually do not return money on
time. I like to return money on time.
And the person says, you're
a good person. Then after a month, I
come to the same person that I've been
telling him that I'm an honest person, said,
can I put a hand it off from
you?
I lied about about being, you know,
or I have done things, or even if
I do it, so that I have to
get the big fish. Do
you know what you call it? You know,
you build up your credibility until you hit
strike.
Unfortunately,
some people do that, even some Muslim. They
go and build very good credit in America.
They said, I gonna raise the my credit
limit. Now it's 5,000, have to be 10,000,
then 15,000, 20,000.
Then they buy things and go overseas.
All they declared bankruptcy.
You build in the credit. You show off
that you're sincere, you're on time, and so
forth. That also is not acceptable, of course.
This is the worst type of of riya,
using something such
as honesty and dignity
to get some
to, to do what is wrong.
Or a person who want to become Qadi
or a judge, he
shows dignity and honor until they get to
their positions
and they don't do it anymore.
Or politicians,
they show that they're sincere.
I like to make sure that I go
to a charity place, say, please take my
picture Washington Post.
You know, I'm taking this orphan in my
lap, doing like this post for the camera,
you know, make sure that the camera take
picture of me. Until I become into office,
then I don't do that anymore because of
us.
I use that to achieve my goal.
When a person
in marriage,
a person go,
you know, as I said earlier,
the the father says, I I will not
give my daughter to anyone except I see
them praying.
And guess what? The brother in the Masjid
everyday.
And if the father-in-law to be is not
in the Masjid, he's traveling overseas,
it doesn't
disappear.
Make sure that the the the schedule of
salah has to go back by with with
the arrival of the father-in-law to be. He's
in town, the salah in town. He's out
of town, salah out of town.
Okay?
To make sure that show off
until he or she get married to that
person,
and then
leave salah. No prayer anymore. There's no salah.
Forget about it. It was that's why they
say in Arabic.
He prayed and fasted to achieve a particular
goal and objective. When the objective
and the goal been achieved,
no more prayer, no more fasting.
The
also the,
this type of,
of of riyah, the danger of it,
that make a person
feel that they have full people.
A person does not deceive anyone but themselves
because
Quran says, they try to deceive Allah and
the and the believers, and they're deceiving no
one but themselves.
There are certain things that's not real
because now, I I met so much things
about real, then people now become,
what is, how am I?
I'm gonna show you something that's not real.
A person intention to do something for the
sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but people
praise them for it. That's fine.
For example,
if I see a young man in Adams,
masha'Allah, he will ask Quran or he or
she does good things and so forth,
it's okay for me to praise them.
I said, shake their hands, said, masha'Allah. Good
job.
They say even if a person become happy,
for me praising them is not is not
is not real.
Because that's that was not their intention to
begin with.
Come along.
A wife does something for her husband or
a wife does something husband does for his
wife.
I know, to please them
and he does not for the sake of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but he want also
to make them happy, but he knows part
of their happiness. If they become happy, Allah
will be happy with them. That is not
a reality.
Therefore, he do something for the the the
object
the the objective
is to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
but
the the praise came along.
That's fine.
You know, like,
and and even if if, if a person,
get recognition,
say, if you go you give someone an
award,
this is not a react.
Person doesn't he he did not ask for
an award,
but if their intention to get an award,
that's,
yeah.
But a person does something good and we
recognize him. That's fine. And that's why Rusell,
he he used to recognize his companions.
He called Abdul Jabal Al Jara,
the most trustworthy
in the Ummah.
The
he called
the Bilal he called the, Omar, or Bilalhan
al Farooq.
You know?
Then some people said that
with a person,
a kind of person,
that thinks
to get an award
for it,
if the award is a degree
or an
achievement, says
yes,
some of them.
If is the award is something that will
help them to
be elevated in the ladder of of their
work. For example,
if you know for sure, if you in
order for you to
to get ahead in your job,
you have to get a particular,
evaluation.
Of course, you do everything for the sake
of Allah, but at the same time, you
say this is a way that means for
me to be good in my work,
and a very fine line, of course,
you know. It's always based on intention because
people mix,
then everything has become
This is not true.
Okay?
And that's why Allah
says in
Quran. He said, let believer become happy with
their iman
and the and the lahma of Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala. And especially,
if they get to know
that they are, alhamdulillah, been accepted,
or, by people.
If a person, for example,
does something and then, he found that the
people appreciate what he or she they have
done,
and they become happy with that. This is
not riya.
I'm emphasizing that, so don't look up any
confuse
about this as a rhea show off. It
is not,
a show off. Okay. Now I will stop
here. When I come back, there's a 3,
4,
points
of what is not considered
showing off that you can contemplate on that,
and then we go to the how we
can cure
riya, and then we'll conclude the class Inshallah.
To continue the the class,
That a person does things
will she
for the purpose
of having other people to learn from them.
For example, Ruzus Allah Alaihi Wasallam
used to say
the adkar after salah in loud voice.
So that these are companions how to say
the adkar.
K?
Or the sheikh
recite Quran for the children
or the students so that they learn how
to recite Quran.
For a person can or person,
pray before people so that they know how
to pray.
For
the that doing things
with the purpose of teaching others
is not considered,
riya.
Also the
to encourage people to do what is good
is not considered a.
For example,
if one of you wearing a T shirt
says,
clean on a river,
their intention
is to have people to ask them what
this is about and then to tell people
about the environmental issues.
Okay? That's not considered here.
Although the intent as long as long as
the intention was not to show off,
but it's meant to teach people,
to promote a particular values.
For example, somebody said donate money
and somebody says I'm gonna start this donation
by giving $100.
That is not considered because during the time,
the
the has stood in front of people and
pledged
money.
Therefore, to encourage people
to to do what is,
to do good. And Rasulullah
in the building of the masjid, for example,
he was carrying 2 stones.
The Sahaba carrying 1 stone, he was carrying
2 stone in his shoulder to encourage them
to do that,
and have them to follow him in raising
to do what is what is good.
Then what is the difference with riya on
doing those things? Riya, as I said, is
intention.
And that's why a person have to know
why they're doing it. It has to be
done for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
And what I would like very much
have us to differentiate
and to draw the line with what is
riya and what is have been could be
done
and to promote,
what is good.
The
way that cure
is a disease, how can we
get rid of it,
cure it?
First,
we have to know the
the things that is not
meant to be for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
A person get
no reward for
it. 0 reward.
It is completely done for the sake of
human being, and
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
does not accept things that was not for
him.
That's why he says in the hadith, whoever
done any kind of work and actions
and associate someone with me on it,
I left
I leave that person with the shirk.
Let them
do for the people, but for me,
no reward will be given to that person.
Therefore, a person knowing the consequences
of their,
and
they know that it's waste of time,
waste of energy,
and it is not good for for their
akhirah, then a person will change their intention.
Said, whoever does something to please people, Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala will expose them.
If we do things only to please people,
then will come a time when Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala expose
us to see the the reality of who
we are.
Before we need
to, be careful
of doing things for the sake of people.
Imam Ghazalir
said,
a person
who seek
the praises of people
need to realize that the best
praise that person can get is the praise
of Allah himself.
What what more important for you
in your company to have your colleague recognize
your work or your boss recognize your work?
Which one?
The boss. Because the boss is the one
who write the check and,
give the raise.
Think about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Is it
better to have human recognize your work
or Allah recognize and accept your work?
Which you can
god can reward you, can reward us for
what we do. Before we need to think
about high level
or pleasing.
And you know what will happen?
As as I said that when Allah become
pleased, he have human become pleased.
Because whatever Allah is asking for us, not
supposed to be
against
what is natural, what is good.
For example,
if Allah want us to,
look for clean environment,
We do for the sake of Allah and
you're gonna see many people say that alhamdulillah,
Muslim are doing good.
You know?
How people recognize Rasool Allah alaihi wa sallam?
How did how they loved him? Because he
have done him for the sake of Allah,
then Allah put the love of
of, of of, of Rasool alaihi wa Salam
in people heart.
Before we do it for the sake of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
and you're gonna see the reward of it
even in dunya.
But people good people recognizing the work,
And
establishing
a model, an example where people follow.
You know, people say, want to do what
that person is doing.
Although the person is doing only for the
sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
What make us what what react make a
person,
when sincerity,
make a person do,
if make us does things
make us do things without
changing our principle.
For example,
if all of you did not come to
the class,
except 2 people,
then I said to you, sir, subhanallah, there's
only 2 people in the class.
I'm not gonna teach the class today.
Then I need to I check myself why
I'm saying that.
Because I like more number of people
or I'm not displeased those 2.
It's supposed to be teaching the class whether
it's 2 or 100 or 10 or 5.
You see? You do think it matter of
principle,
not matter of how many people seeing it.
If that was the case, Muhammad will not
have continue giving the message because in in
the beginning, many people rejected him,
but he become patient
with it and a mental principle
Muhammad telling
him, be patient with those people who remember
Allah in the morning and the night.
Do not have your eyes go away from
them to go look for other people.
You want to to say that they are
poor, they're needy,
you know, how come some those are my
surrounding, I need to look for other people.
Said, do not listen to the people who
said to you, your companions are not good.
Be patient.
And then
people later accepted Islam.
That you
have have seen people entering Islam in crowds,
in groups.
Therefore, it is method of principle, be consistent
on it. K?
We should not concern we should not be
concerned about position
and prestige
in order to
take the off
from our heart
is that I will say whether I'm in
I'm gonna have this office or not having
this office, still I'm gonna be do what
do what is good,
a matter of principle.
If I'm out of office or in office,
I'm gonna do what is good. If people,
chose me to be a leader or not
chose me to be a leader, still I'm
gonna gonna do what is
good. A matter
of principle again.
Because Rizal al Rahm Allah, he recognized a
very important thing. He says one of the
reason of
of of showing off,
people become concerned of, you know, power,
concerning about power position.
That's why they want to show off.
The other thing is that we need to
resist the temptations
of being in control
because the that will have have us to
if I I want to,
in control of something, then then I want
to do things to show off that I'm
I'm I can able to do this so
so I can get that the part of
control. We have to be open to criticism.
If we don't if we really don't want
to have riyyah,
people have we have to be open to
criticism.
Because you remember they said that the arrogant
person is a person does not like people
to tell them you're wrong.
The same thing
a person will do things not for the
sake of Allah
because he or she, they want to please
people, they get disturbed when a person said,
you know,
it it's not good.
What happened
is that the person become annoyed
by things.
Then we say, no,
If you really want to do it for
the sake of Allah somebody
correct you, accept that corrections.
You know? Be open to criticism.
And the also one of the,
you know, the problem that
was when we do something not for
the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
will not will become unhappy
when a person will try to please
is not become pleased.
You know? Therefore, we want to do more
sha'af.
And that's why people say, if you have
done it for the sake of Allah, you
could not have struggled that much.
Get my point?
A person for example,
want to show off that they're good at
work.
K? But they don't believe in being good
in working principle.
Just want to make sure the boss see
me,
so I can get a raise.
What I do,
I sit in a meeting,
and I I try to present myself as
intelligent, as wise as a person perfect in
my work,
but I have not done good. I just
want to show off that I have that.
Then people not become pleased with me.
They become so demoralized and say, I did
all of this out of my way to
show off and it didn't pay off.
Show off didn't pay off. Therefore, what I
will do next time,
maybe I have to do I have to
maybe I have not
represented myself. I don't know why I didn't
cook it correctly.
I need to cook it. I said, don't
cook anything. Just go and do the right
things.
Do the right thing,
and then things will come along.
Do it for the sake of Allah,
and then you can see the result of
it. Therefore, it is important that we have
that.
To resist the whispering of shaitan
in terms of ego and satisfaction.
When to do things,
sheikhan come to us and say, you know,
your ego is bigger than this.
You know, people should saw you, you know,
playing, you know, 2 rakahs,
but, you know, you should show people that
you can play 6 rakahs after.
Why you say 2 rakats?
You know? Then after they say the salam,
you want to stand up, shaitan said, no.
No. No. No. Tell them we're
gonna pray. Brothers, I'm gonna have to pray
another for sunnah.
You know, shaitan come to.
To learn to do things in private
as well
as in public in the same way.
If I'm praying at home,
you know, doing the prayer very good,
then praying in public supposed to be good,
but not praying in public like,
so sure
about to cry and at home,
you know, get rid of them prayer line,
You know, there's
you know what I'm saying?
Or or
if somebody should see you in Makkul Do
slowly
taking your time because you're in the bathroom,
like, Adam bathrooms.
You know? Make sure that clean your toe
and this kind of thing.
But doing,
wudu at home, forget about
it. It is called fast
wobble thing, like fast food. You know?
And you don't care what what you know,
feet was washing.
That is a symptom
of riyam.
A person the wudu at home has to
be the same wudu in public.
Of course, I'm talking about the good wudu.
Not the bad wudu at home, bad wudu
in public.
You know,
But it has to be be consistent in
what is good. Don't be consistent in what
is bad.
We should do that all the time, have
that in mind. Therefore,
the,
the
the importance that to be consistent with doing
that.
A person also will need to learn
to
do more nawafil,
voluntary
fasting and and and salah and so forth
because that is soft in our heart, make
it close to Allah subhanahu wa'ala.
Because part of the medicine
is that to cure,
to give more dose
to the heart, to make sure that the
immune system is getting better. And that's through
the members of Allah and
the
extra prayer and extra fasting.
This is very important
point I'm gonna mention.
Don't stop doing things
because of fear of riyyah, because itself is
riyyah.
For example,
I want to pray Isha ad Masjid. Shaytan
come come to me and says, listen. Every
time you go pray Isha ad Masjid, I
think you're doing this to show off.
You need to pray at home. When a
person asks you why you're not praying at
Masjid, he said, I don't like to show
off.
That's itself showing off because he tried to
say that I'm sincere.
Get my point?
Leaving things
because you want people to say that you're
showing off is still showing off.
That's a very,
you know,
fine and sensitive area.
Many of us sometimes say, they say, brother,
why don't you do, take this committee at
Adams? Brother, I don't want people to say
to say that, you know, I'm I'm in
the committee. I said, subhanAllah, you many of
you concern about people,
itself is a problem. It's not a clause.
It's not sincerity.
Do it what is right.
Do for the sake of Allah and forget
what people think.
Can we do that? Can we take people
offside of mind?
Many people said people said,
I cannot do that brother.
You know, I cannot
I cannot,
you know,
come to the masjid, you know, all the
time because I don't want people to say
that. I said, you are doing things now
is wrong. I said, brother, what can I
do? I cannot resist that.
I rather do it at home. I'm gonna
come to the just let me go and
then open the questions. Then
also,
do things
whether as we should do things,
whether people recognized
or not.
See what I'm saying?
We do things
for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Whether people
see
it or they don't see
it, that you consider
because being consistent of doing it.
Okay? Therefore, being
making the mental principles, and we would like
to do this,
and especially of something that we have started.
A person start praying in in the Masjid,
pray it 1st week, next week, and somebody
said,
person said,
even if you go to Masjid, no one
noticed that you go to Masjid. Why don't
you stop going to the Masjid?
Over sudden, first of all, it was good,
but he said, you know, people don't realize
that they go to the Masjid. Therefore, why
should they go?
You should go because you're going because of
Allah, not because of them.
Even if they said that you are invisible
and and of course in extreme, I think
that people think that a person can be,
yeah, and a heard you from which is,
it doesn't happen by the person become an
invisible person, except in the time. The where
the became invisible when someone want to kill
him.
Now this was a karma and miracles.
But I'm saying that the
we we do it whether people
notice it or not. What kind of exercise
we should do?
This exercise for myself first and then inshallah
for you.
Observing our behavior and see the pattern of
doing things in regard of position of people
toward
those things.
What what I mean by that?
See, we can we have we can make
our own evaluation. Says,
my prayer in Masjid,
it is increasing or decreasing?
It's increasing.
Why it's increasing?
Because
of having,
you know, Eunice been calling me and said,
oh, you are good at the machine? If
Eunice is not there, would they go to
the machine?
Ask yourself ask yourself that question.
Do you my worship decreased.
Why it's decreased?
Because
my friend moved out of the area.
Then why I'm doing why I was doing
for my friend? What I was doing for
Allah?
Why why why am I going to Masjid
have changed because somebody moved out of there?
Then I say, there's a problem there.
Then my activism level,
how is it?
Is it because of people noticing me or
because I really want to be active?
Okay? Is it increasing or decreasing?
K?
But still, I want you to draw a
line here.
Encouraging people to I repeat again. Encouraging people
to do good
is part of human nature. That person want
to be encouraged.
That is okay. That's not real.
For example,
a person
come to the Masjid,
people notice that he's come to Masjid, said,
You are always in the Masjid.
Person says,
I did for a second of Allah and
people notice that I I go to the
Masjid, I should continue come to the Masjid.
Because you see, alhamdulillah, I get the love
of the people. Because in the Masjid, people
said, we love you because it comes to
the Masjid. He said, subhanahu waisi. Oh, the
love of who comes to Masjid probably the
love of people. It's a good thing.
That that
encouraging. That's not real. You see the fine
line here? And that's why the Abu Musa
Lashari
or the law of anhu,
who was,
reciting Quran.
And Rasool alaihi wasallam was passing by his,
home,
and he heard him reciting beautiful recitation.
Stood outside, hear him recite.
You know, Medina doesn't have,
what's called proof glasses or what's called proof
and windows, double windows.
Or the windows was a hole, like, it's
still in some village in Sudan. They have
a hole, like a window.
You know?
Because it doesn't run that much in the
in the village I come from, by the
way. Therefore, it is, like, open thing. You
know?
You pass by. If somebody recite Quran loudly,
you hear them in the street.
Rasulullah
this beautiful citation coming from this. He stood
in the middle of the street listening to
the citation,
and then left.
He said
to the
If you have seen me last night
listening to your recitation, you have a beautiful
voice like Dawud alaihis salaam. You know what
Abu Musa said?
This encouragement, which is not real. He said,
oh, Rasool Allah, if I know that you
are listening, I could have made it more
beautiful.
So they have you to enjoy it more.
Now, the If I know that,
I would have decided better even to have
you to enjoy it more. That is not
real
because you get encouraged and you start doing
it,
you know,
better, improving in your level of things.
The last thing I would like to say
that
I want you to
you'll notice in this
handout,
We have not put the verses.
You realize that? We did not tell you
what we did not copy the verses.
And
my assistant, I know she's a little male,
and she's not here today,
they suggested
that they are not far, lazy, or tired
doing this, by the way. They're very dedicated
people, and I can say that. See, they
are doing it, Uzzah, asking recognition,
but I'm recognizing them, and Allah
be pleased with them. And, please, would anyone
help in this this process of this class
and
have it to be
happening.
Jazaakumullah khair on all the assistance that you
give.
The
the Surahs
the the number of the Surah and number
of Ayat
is there. I want you to go as
a homework.
Look to those ayaat I mentioned here.
Look them in the Quran
and study them, the verses.
This is the class for today. Any questions?
Who was here before you? Okay.
Embarrassment. Would that be a a symptom or
a real
feeling feeling you feel uncomfortable
about what other people are thinking about you
Mhmm. Maybe you're with someone and,
you don't wanna be associated with someone, maybe
the wrong impression about you. You feel embarrassed.
Is that a symptom
that you're concerned about what other people think?
This is border in arrogance too.
If a person if a person
be embarrassed to be with poor people,
that is a sign of arrogance.
This was last week class.
Okay? But
if a person,
if he always want to show off with
with big people. Mhmm.
Or,
you know, people of Al Ahmad and so
forth showing off Riyadh. But in reality,
his group, social group, they're not practicing.
He does not go practicing Muslim, you know.
Then he will be in a company of
people who drink alcohol
all the
times. Therefore, if he sees Mohammed Wajid walking
to
bus by and see look through the window
and saw somebody sitting there, and he said,
oh, oh, oh, I don't want to be
seen.
You know?
That that person have a a disease of
showing off that they're good, but in reality,
I'm not.
But if a person
does a sin
and he doesn't want to be seen doing
it, is a good sign.
It's a good sign that the person feels
shame of
not, you know, the sin is wrong. They
have a guilt.
But if that person,
become open with the sin, it become more
dangerous.
Although the first one is not good because
you fear people more than the fear of
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
But it's still of a person recognize
that
by standards, it's not on right things,
is embarrassed about it, more likely that person
shall when they will quit the sin.
That's why when they say you're out of
the closet, you're up in about it and
so forth, that's why there's no most of
the time, very difficult to have a u-turn
because you are out there
for it. You know?
I hope I answered the question. Can you
clarify it more? Yeah. That you basically answered.
I was just also, I think, say for
instance, a person's doing something that's
harassing. Somebody's drinking. You don't want it's not
that you're with them, but you don't want
to,
be seen with them or associated with them.
Like I said, someone's concerned about the reputation.
Someone's involved in any type of harm, man.
You should conserve concern about the reputation, Islam.
Okay.
Even when you do the right thing is
I'm might confuse to people, you need to
make sure
that it you don't leave a a doubt.
Okay. If you do try it, don't worry
about what people says.
For example, prophet Muhammad
was talking at night to his wife in
the corner.
There's no street lights in Marina.
Okay?
He talked to his wife,
then 2 of Anshar came by.
Called them. And when they saw talking to
his wife, they know he's his wife. They
walk faster
so that they don't hear the conversation.
Rasulullah said,
slow down. Come here. She's my wife.
The
the 2 Ansari, they said,
do you think that will feel ill of
you?
He said, I don't know, I whisper to
you things.
Just want to clarify that the person I'm
talking to was my wife.
That meaning,
did not leave any doubt,
area of, you know, of of,
you know, gray area
there.
But sometimes,
even if you do the right thing, people
want to think ill of you, keep it
live with Allah.
Do
the right thing
and don't worry about what people say. As
long as it's pleasing to Allah.
Now Yeah. My question has to do with,
the final line of,
encouragement and reality.
And,
some people give, donations, large amount of amount
of money.
Mhmm. And some do it anonymous people. They
don't wanna make any real.
And some people give
some amount of money to encourage other people.
So here, could you elaborate which which is
the right way to go?
If a person
does things for the sake of Allah subhanahu
wa'ala, donation to make sure to encourage other
people to do donation, that's not nothing wrong
with that.
That's why I'm not offended. Did that publicly.
Okay?
And that based on the intention now.
But the action itself
is permissible from some perspective.
Then now the heart,
and that's why some said,
some people
heal sadaqah better for them than open sadaqah
because
they know in their heart they meant recognition.
I'm gonna give the sadaqa, and that's why
it's very controversial now. It's gonna put me
in trouble with Adam.
I was very much against
to make sure that the person name,
be in the front of Adams, for example.
I'm gonna donate money, but my name has
to be in the front.
To put my name, said Mohammed Mahid donate
this.
What I mean by that? In front mean
recognized, being put in the column, say that
I give this much money. Because now
you're encouraging me to do,
to be in the border of Riyadh.
And that's why sometimes when a person say
I'm gonna build this column, but listen. I
have to have my parents name on it.
I said, no, you can do it in
the name of your parents
for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
for the sadaqajari for your parents. Nothing wrong
with that.
But you cannot you don't have to say
I like that the names to be the
room called
Hajj Madid room.
He's my father. You know? That is a
problem.
Yeah. K? Before, a person have to be
careful of that.
Now why? Are there any other forms of
ayaat? Like, say, for instance, you mentioned the
definition that ayaat
is when you do something for other than
the sake of Allah.
So, let's say you do something
and
you're doing it, you're not doing it for
other people, but maybe, maybe you're doing it
for like
your your con to clear your conscience or
something. You know, you donate money. And maybe
it's not for the sake of love, but,
you know, like, is is there any other
form of riyat where it it could be
like an internal,
or Just because it seems to have been
nice to do with me. Yeah. Or just
Because you want to feel good. You say
I'm doing good. You wanna feel good about
yourself. Yes. This is what the last few
class. Share it with Yeah. It it when
you give anything, we do things to do
with humbleness.
You remember we said
is a form of ego things.
You do it and said you go home
and said, listen, I give a $100
to David
Adams. I was a good man.
You said that to yourself,
that's not good,
but he said, if you give it 100,
Allah give me ability to do.
And yourself said, oh, I thank you for
I was able to do something good. That's
not wrong with that. But when they say,
oh, I'm a good man.
If people know how good I am.
If if people just know, that is a
problem. That's Hajjib,
you know? Now Do you actually know your
intention of Allah knowing who is that? You
know, really what is in your heart? Do
You see,
the purpose of this, you know,
something interesting about Imam Ghazali,
he said this is meant to have a
person to try to be in high level.
As human beings struggle with that, he said,
Allah
of course forgive certain things can happen to
us. Once in a while, we like, you
know, do things, but Allah forgive
those kind of shortcoming.
But if a person
become a patron
of behavior is real, And that's why he
said there's different categories of them. A person
always do things to show off.
That person does not have any good deeds.
Said, the first people that help start with
is a person that have a lot of
knowledge.
Then Allah asked him what did he use?
The knowledge that Allah taught it to people.
He said, no. You taught it to people
because what we would say, you're
you're a scholar. And people have said that.
You got the reward in Dunia, and you
have nothing. They drag him to help.
Person
said, oh, I give money left and right.
I said, you did that because you want
to be elected,
and you were elected to office. You get
your praise in Dunya. You were in the
front page of every week. You are this
is not that's what your intention? Did you
get that in Dunya?
We gave you the what you asked for
in dunya. You have nothing in.
Then a person also died for the cause
of Allah and so forth. The hadith talking
about the 4 categories of people. What a
person need
become a pattern of behavior or something that
they do all the times, they're very dangerous.
But this meant to have us to
to try to disassemble ourselves and fight,
these ego things in inside ourselves. Because I
think the greatest fear is the fear of
the self. Yes. Of of distilling oneself.
Struggle to surrender
sometime, to submit.
Yes. The struggle that really makes you it
makes you very strong.
Absolutely.
It's a Buddhist struggle. One of the things
that I always say,
you know, let's let people say negative thing
about Islam, but but your character as a
Muslim, you know, this is how I always
look at thinking character should be, you know,
like I always send my tranecan that say
anything that I lie or I promise them,
you know. And this is very important for
a Muslim. We should really
strive to, you know, to be a good
person.
Let people say whatever they want about Islam
because this Islam belongs to Allah and we
do protect that. But we as Muslims, you
should always try to do our best and
be a good example.
Make your objective is pleasing to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala and everything comes
along come along. The projector is pleasing to
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Yes, Dennis.
How
we should be pleased
other people how to say the good things
about you. So if you could give us
something that I need to advise that, just
if a servant does something good, I'll just
not
example,
if a person go and visit someone sick
for the sake of Allah,
the
there's a call for that person.
If person going to visit someone, a sick
person, only for sake of Allah, Allah said
that
tell him your effort
is good effort
and you're walking is a good walking,
you know,
striving to visit this person, and you're gonna
have a place in Jannah.
You know? In another hadith, they said that
a person who want to visit someone from
the sake of Allah,
and he was
from the previous,
people building Sahin.
And he was asked, are you visiting this
person
for money?
Reason to get money from him? He said,
no.
For
to get power or have him to hire
you for office? He said no. What why
are you visiting him? He said only for
the sake of Allah,
Because I love that person for the sake
of Allah. Then he was told Allah loves
him because he loved that person for the
sake of Allah.
For you do things for the sake of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you get the
reward of recognition of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
of it. And that's why
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept the small things
people do.
You know? If a person have donated 10¢,
it could be the same reward per the
the net donating 1,000,000
because that all that person has 10¢.
It's not how much you have, it's how
much been accepted by Allah.
That's what make a difference. And that's why
the the criteria of accepting of deeds is
with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's not with
human being.
Yeah.
Other questions?
Just just one quick one. I'm just trying
to conceptualize
what you're saying.
Some always struggle with just trying to delineate
between,
you know, doing, you know, piece of your
life, doing it for someone else. What if
the law puts, you know, empathy in your
heart or love for someone or the sick
person you really feel
for that person that you wanna do something
for them? Would that take you away for
doing it for the sake of a lot?
If you if you do it to satisfy
that urge
for that, you know, that feeling that you
have. Like, like, love, like your child. You
love your children. You actually feel love and
Nothing actually you've got to work for loving
your children. Oh, yeah. Loving the children itself
is is Ibadah. Loving a Muslim brothers or
sisters for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala, that's a self is worshiping Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala. Okay. That's right. And therefore, when
you visit a person because you love them
for the sake of Allah, you get a
reward for that.
And if you want to make them happy,
that's also for the sake of Allah. Always
do things, say, I'm doing this, making this
person happy is pleasing to Allah too.
There's time For example, somebody says I go
to somebody sick and said,
please, you know, I'm I'm not feeling well.
Can you stop by before he come and
get me just a beer?
And then I said I thought to myself,
you know, he's my friend. He's my, you
know, relatives. Okay. I should not disappoint them.
You know, they're sick. I should get by
them. I said, no. No. No. No. No.
I cannot do that.
See? Therefore, you draw the line out what
pleasing to the person, what pleasing to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. You want you love them?
You want them to feel good? You want
them to be, but you're not gonna help
them to do something wrong.
Therefore, you draw the line. He said, oh,
buy me a second. I said, no, no.
I'm not gonna buy you anything. There's times
when I know I mean, this from my
own expense, I may do something
just out of the fear of why I
may not have a desire to do it
for that person. Yes. But, you know, I
may not really, you know, care for that
person, but, you know, I'm doing it strictly.
Some sometimes
you have somebody have animosity somebody have animosity
against you, somebody hate you,
but you see them
in on the street got hurt.
If you left for you, for your desire,
you said let them get hurt.
But you said said, I fear Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. I do for the foe. If
I want to help them. You know what
happened? See the beautiful things in Quran? Then
the man is the person start liking you.
Allah
said, do what is good, then the person
have
towards you.
You paid off.
You do it for the sake of Allah,
you get good things out of it. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. You get the world in the
out life to come and you get, you
know, the love of people here as well.
You
know? Yes. Or kind of a compliment to
you than being cooked?
Or,
like like last week? Yeah.
Not the opposite, but there you dig
you distinguish between dignity and humble. Yes. Humility.
Yes. Yes. Would
would the compliment or the positive aspect of
not but
would it be haq then
or would it be sincerity?
Sincerity. Yes.
To Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala said in Quran,
They are not being commanded to anything except
to worship Allah with completely sincerity to worship
him alone.
Sincerity is is is is the right is
opposite absolutely is the right term of,
opposite of.
And when you do something sincere,
you always you can feel the the, you
know, the impact of it in our life.
You know? When a person does something sincere,
to help the needy and the poor,
sincerity,
that the person
not only feel good, by the way, which
is good to feel good. When you do
the sincerity, you sleep at night and say,
alhamdulillah,
I have my part.
No. I did for the sake of Allah
accept
it. Part of the sincerity
is to be worried,
to make sure that Allah accept it
from us. You know?
That, that's why you see in the Quran,
the
dua
Oh, Allah make me do good deeds that
be accepted by you. Why you should say
that 2 things?
Period.
Meaning because I can be praying, prayer itself
is something good.
But it's not been accepted by Allah because
I did not did for do it for
him.
But itself is a good righteous deeds.
Feeding the needy is a righteous deeds.
I can do that, but not being accepted
by Allah because it was not for the
right purpose.
Therefore,
we need to pray to Allah to do
the righteous things, the right thing,
but for the with sincerity,
Ikhlas as the sister was saying. And you
remember when we talked about the before in
this class, we said that
is to purify things. You know, we say
was pure milk. Was pure milk, you know?
That the milk that has no other things
mixed with it. It's pure. Because some people
mix milk with water when they sell you,
you know,
they want to increase the the amount of
the quantity of the milk, they mix it
with water.
And the unit of,
Al Khattab used to check around, check the
city around. As I said,
he does not spy on people, but he
hear conversation. He walk in the street, knew
people arguing, shouting,
you know. He heard an argument,
a a a a a mother and her
daughter
arguing.
The mother said, I asked you to mix
the milk with water.
There's no we don't have enough milk. Said,
no, no, mother, we cannot do that. She
said,
no, do this. He said, Omar, didn't you
know the Omar
made a law prohibiting mixing milk with water.
If you get caught, get in trouble. She
said,
Omar is not looking at us now.
I asked her to she said, ma'am,
if Umar is not looking to us, the
of Umar, the lord of Umar is looking
at us.
You know what, the next day said
to his son, he says, son, I found
you a very good wife.
Go ask for her hand.
Don't let the opportunity pass you.
Yeah. Yes. For real. Okay. And and
there's
a
you don't have to spy on people to
get a wife, brother, to single people.
Get to know them and and more. But
that's what it is, you know. May Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala accept it from all of
us. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala besought his
blessing upon all of us and make us
among those do things only for his sake
and open our heart and mind to have
you full of sincerity.
Have our action and deeds be only for
his sake. May Allah
have us be happy of our action and
deeds as we meet him in the day
of judgement
because we have done it only for his
sake.
Allah accept our prayer, our dua, and our
effort of all of us being here.