A Life Well Lived

After welcoming my brothers and sisters to the house of Allah azza wa jal for another great opportunity to be in his house and be reminded and revived at our celebratory Juma our eighth the Juma function.

What is the greatest thing that Allah can grant a person? Is the question we have been studying or listening in on as the conversation progressed between Abdullah Hanuman Baraka, Rahim, Allah, and that have evil GitLab. And so YBNL Mubarak said to him, visa to Africa, a person having deep innate intelligence is the greatest thing Allah can give a person

and he says to him, What if that's not possible? Oliver has no adult than having great character good manners. Because our deen is all about manners.

He said, What if that's not possible? He said, Oh, and Sally Honister Shiro who? An upright righteous brother that he can consult to help keep him in check. He said what if that is not possible, the person does not have that sort of company, that sort of brother or sister in their life. He said for some tune, but we'll then unlink the silence. This person has to be extremely serious about withholding their words and being careful about the statements that once he releases them, he becomes she becomes their prisoner potentially. Those were the four deep intelligence, great manners, a righteous consultant someone to consult.

And then lengthy silence. He says to him, What if a person doesn't even have that? He said to him, Famille to Nigel, than to have an early death. God giving you an early death

is your last option.

And you know,

it is the only one of the five this early death that we are not allowed Islamically to actively pursue. And actually what an early death does not mean seeking an early death does not mean is probably with we're going to have to spend the entirety of the whole bond. Because at face value wishing to die is utterly on Islamic in many respects, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam when the better one man hate isn't similar to me, the Aston Men hate on us are the best people. He said, Man Paula omaruru hacer una Amadou who the person who gets to live a long life having good deeds and that long life.

And then in Bukhari and Muslim the Prophet alayhi salaatu wa salaam strictly forbid people from becoming wishful of death, in the absolute sense, and he said lie at a min Hadoken will note no one of you should ever wish for death very explicit. He says, ima morrisonville Allah who is dead what Imam will see. And for Allah, Allah who started he's either a good door, and perhaps he can add on to his good deeds, he can increase, or he's an evil doer, but he has more evil in his life than good. In that case, perhaps he can turn about be forgiven, he'll have more chances, increased opportunity to be redeemed basically to be forgiven.

And so that is the straightforward Islamic position that life should be sought. For it being such an increased opportunity, the more I live, the more opportunity I have to escape my evils and to do more good. You know, let me also tell you that we are so pro life in that sense Islamically speaking, not even just to be the devout ritualistic Muslim, when we say to increase your good doing, we don't even just mean ritual, ritual worship. We even mean on top of that, putting a positive mark on the world around you. You know, like our deen Believe it or not actually promotes for you to even buy real estate, to invent to produce to improve the world and its quality of life

for people to contribute to add to be a positive contributing force to the world. And you know, not even just for your fellow human beings. Islam even stretched it further to even the animals around you, even the animal kingdom.

There's many narrations that instill this paradigm, this perspective for us on what life is about and how the believer should see life. One of them and as Sidney Malika Radi Allahu Anhu said that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to us and hate is highly authentic and Bukhari and Muslim. He said, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mammon, Muslim many others who have chosen LASR was Iran for yet coolamon Jota Iran out in sun on Elba Hema tune Illa cannula who be sadaqa there is no Muslim

that plants any sapling, or baby tree, or plants, any crops, vegetation, or plants, any crops, and then he said a bird, or a human, or any sort of wild animal eats from it, except that it will be written as a charity for them, whether you're alive, whether you're dead, whether that human being took it, you know, because he knew it was allowed or he thought he was stealing it, you're still going to be rewarded. So how do you plant more trees unless you own the property, you can't go plant on someone else's property. So the scholar said, from that, that of the ways you make the best out of life is to develop this planet develop planet earth, for the betterment of everyone. That is the

Islamic outlook on life. Life is just a replete opportunity, every moment of it. So why is he saying early death?

You know, sad that nobody will call speaking about opportunity. Radi Allahu Allah and

I love this incident. So I didn't even say the amount of the tampereen he said I was sitting with Sadie who caused the Allah Juan

and Saddam nebula cos fell silent for a moment. And then he said to us, left the call to Kelly Martin higher on me, my second Nina will forgot.

I have just said in that short pause of mine, a statement that is superior, more valuable than everything that is irrigated, everything that is watered fed by the Nile River and the Euphrates River, can imagine the amount of vegetation that comes as a result of the Nile. Egypt has 100 million people in its population, just Egypt, right, then whole Nile, and then you go to Iraq and elsewhere, how what's the population is looking like? All of that. And all I just said something that will outdo all of this. They said, What did you say? He said, Subhan, Allah Alhamdulillah, La Ilaha, Illa Allah and Allahu Akbar, because all of those riches as massive as they are, they will

still diminish and fall apart one day and crumble with this world. Whereas these short passing moments said in a breath of silence, or in a breath, or in a moment of silence, these will live on forever. If you just think about life, that way, Allah gave you life, and every passing moment in life is an opportunity to be rewarded beyond your imagination forever. That is the perspective the mindset of the believer and his outlook on life. You said some Allah didn't take you one full second, it didn't write Allah who will reward you for it without end, and so on and so forth.

And so you ask Allah azza wa jal to help you make out of life. And it's opportunities, the best possible and that is a life well lived.

You know, there's another narration just to bring this whole thing full circle, where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said lie yet, amen, amen. hydrocodone, hydrocodone melta.

For in cannula Buddha ferula, no one of you should ever wish for death.

But if he must, he said leader in Asaba, who because of some frustration that comes his way, some suffering that comes his way. You see, when a believer seeks to hear after he doesn't seek it, because, you know, I'm just tired of this life and it's so dangerous, or I'm just tired of this life. And it's so frustrating. He's saying, Don't ever wish for death due to some suffering, some challenges you're going through. If you feel flustered with life, if you must say something he said. And what you should say is Allah Who mahine my limited hire to hire only whatever funny the limited offer to hire only, oh Allah grant me life so long as you know that life is good for me, and put me

to death whenever you know that death is better for me.

Meaning I want to live so long as life is good for me and I'm not going to pursue death. But allow me to die before I mess up before I ruin it all. That is what I've been loving. Mobarak is saying I hate my whole life. He's saying seek and early death meaning you better hope Allah pulls you out of here before you ruin the life project. But so long as he has placed you here. This is the paradigm that perspective of the believer, so long as Allah has placed you here, oh believer, you need to be grateful for his gift and make the best out of his gift and just relegate defer trust His timing. appreciate his gift and trust His timing of when the test will end.

Three of the great tampereen to drive this point home of trusting his timing and appreciating it

so if you nfld And why Middle Earth and use of that as well to gather at some say it was they were at the cabin one day they got together once and Sophia nfld said I never wished

For death before today, and I only wish for death today out of fear of the trials, I feel like it's very close that I may fall apart, similar to that robotic said in the beginning of the whole debacle, then seek an early death. That's the only one.

And so will hybrid Millward

and use Agnus belt or listening to him say this. And so use of us VALTRA himself is not me, I would never wish for death. How can I wish for death? When I am still seeing every one of my days as an opportunity for Allah to forgive me? I'm still wondering, will I find his forgiveness at the end of my journey or not? So I want to try harder and harder and better and better. I don't put me personally I don't wish for death. For perhaps there's still a day to come in which everything will be become a clean slate for me. And the third one will heighten Eduardo De Rahim, Allah, he stayed silent. He didn't add. And so they prompted him. They said, What about you? What do you wish for?

And so he said, this is the point of reference. He said, I have boohooman e Layyah. I have boohooman e li, the more beloved of those two to me, whether I live or whether I die, the more beloved of the two to me is the more beloved of those two to him. I'm going to trust His timing.

I don't want to be the one making this discretionary call. You can't anyway, right? And so even my wish fulness I'm going to wish for life so long as Allah gives me life. And I'm going to wish that Allah puts me to death when he knows that death is better for me. This is the perspective of the believer. A holy holy has our stuff for Allah Allah Emily welcome.

hamdu Lillahi wa salatu salam ala Milena be about that shadow Allah ilaha illallah who the hola Shakira who I should honor Muhammad Abdul, who whenever you who are pseudo.

On the other end of this discussion, is Abdullah Al Mobarak, Rahima. Hola. And we alluded to it on the intro of this hotbar he was turning the attention of the question or the person asking for advice, that the stakes do get higher. And your excuses do get less,

less acceptable as life progresses. That is the idea also. And this is a truly Islamic concept that we don't want to overlook. You know, in one Hadith for example, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, however, Allah Who Isla marine bellezza, who said Tina Marie, Allah has given enough excuses for a person, enough chances for a person that he allows to live to 60 years of age, meaning the more you live, the stakes are higher, I mean, 60 years and you're still not getting your act together. And then the Quran itself even sets

40 years old, as also a heavy milestone, that you need to start taking matters even more seriously now had to either bellava Should the huella or Barina Senate and cholera be Iranian ash Quran aromatic, the Quran says and that person when he is 40 years old, he says, Oh Allah, I, I asked you to grant me the opportunity because the opportunities aren't running out, grant me the opportunity to show do thanks to the opportunities, you've given me right to the favors you've given me. And you've given my parents and so on and so forth, and grant me righteous deeds to do. But even in the youth, even in your youth as it progresses and the age of strength in youth hood progresses, those

are also opportunities closing those are also stakes getting higher.

Even in terms of knowledge and not time, as life goes on, you learn more, you can't help it, you're not shutting your ears, you're not shutting your eyes, you just learn more and more things. You see more people that did it, right. Those could be a plea or a case against you, more people who did it wrong, that can also be a wake up call, you're learning more and more about life. And so the stakes are higher because you're less and less excused with more and more reminders have come your way more and more know how it's come your way.

And so to think about that, have I lived, you know, a life worth living is have I lived the good life? Have I left a positive mark on the world? You know, this this last point?

You know, it is you know, in public culture that February is well regarded as you know, Black History Month. And many times, reminders of great black figures are mentioned and, and of course as a Muslim, but not just because I'm a Muslim. I can confidently say that, you know, Malcolm X Malik Chavez

Rahima hola always stands out. And it is not to Allah He does not just for me especially as a Muslim Now, it is not just because the great work he did to uplift his communities

through the injustices and make huge strides in his short lifetime before he was assassinated in those huge strides. But for me, what is like very close to home for me is the fact that I never met Malcolm X. And I have hardly ever met someone who met Malcolm X about him a whole lot. And yet I have met so many Muslims, there are generations of Muslims today that are Muslim, because of the mark that Malcolm Rahim Allah left, there are generations of Muslims around us, because they were just pulled by him leaving Islam way better than we talk Islam.

And looking for those marks right before were plucked from life looking for, you know, to leave my positive imprint on the world. You know, I'm a little bit uncomfortable doing this. But, you know, Alhamdulillah we have a great brother in the community. It is sort of random, I'm going to ask him to introduce himself after the hug, but as well, he was just awarded one of many of his great accolades. You know, some of the five greatest African American you know, movers and shakers in the valley here. He is the head of a food pantry that's going to be helping with people that are hungry throughout our community. And this is yet another opportunity for us to show our Islam leave our

mark on the world. And if not, then at least on our children, he's going to share a few minutes I just asked him before he's able to do that after the whole book, as sort of a a practical, you know, implementation of what this is about. My life is progressing is my blade progressing is my favorite growing. And so may Allah azza wa jal, makers of people that are not satisfied with what we know or what we speak about make us people who live the action that are then calls us to make us servants of his creation make us beneficial to all those around us, the human beings and even the animal kingdom as our Prophet alayhi salatu salam taught us so I will end here and asking Allah azza wa jal to

bless you and bless you all, remember these five advices and have a share of each of them. And may Allah protect us and you from being deprived of any of those categories? May Allah grant us and you live so long as life is good for us and put us to death whenever he knows that death is better for us. He teaches us that which will benefit us and benefit us with that which He has taught us and make us of people whose actions match with our words. May Allah make us of people whose interior also matches with our exterior and makes our private lives even better than our public lives. Allahumma Alameen wa sallahu wa salam barakaatuh Vienna Muhammad Allah Muslim, Muslim, non Muslim to

me, I don't mean that I hear him anymore. What am what was SallAllahu wasallam Mobarak i that said in the beginning, Muhammad