Mohammad Elshinawy – The Need To Know God

Mohammad Elshinawy
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AI: Summary ©

The speakers discuss the need for self-interest and fulfillment to achieve their primary concerns, including pursuing their potential and living their life with clarity. They emphasize the importance of clarity and purpose in life, and stress the need for a clear understanding of one's needs and goals to achieve their primary concern. The speakers also share personal stories about people who experienced the gap between wealth and pleasure, and how it affects their experiences and overall well-being.

AI: Summary ©

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			Brothers and sisters, in Surah Fatir, Allah Subhanahu
		
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			Wa Ta'ala says, يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ O
		
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			Humanity!
		
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			أَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ You are all utterly
		
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			impoverished before God, inherently needy, dependent on God.
		
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			وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ And Allah alone is
		
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			the One who is free of all needs,
		
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			praiseworthy in every circumstance.
		
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			إِنْ يَشَىٰ يُذْهِبِكُمْ وَيَأْتِ بِخَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ If He
		
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			so wishes, He would get rid of you
		
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			all, and bring about another creation.
		
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			وَمَا ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ بِعَزِيزٍ And that would
		
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			not be in the least bit difficult for
		
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			Allah.
		
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			In that reality, the inherent weakness, the utter
		
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			dependence of humanity on its Creator, that reality
		
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			unlocks a treasure for us brothers and sisters,
		
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			if we are to spend the next few
		
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			minutes on it.
		
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			To realize that it need not be this
		
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			way, we are so utterly needy as creatures,
		
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			as human beings, we didn't have to be.
		
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			The angels don't need to eat or drink
		
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			or sleep, but we do.
		
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			This is by design.
		
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			And this design of the profound wisdom behind
		
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			it, is that it keeps us best suited
		
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			to fulfill our purpose in life, which is
		
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			discovering God, discovering our purpose of devoting our
		
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			lives to God.
		
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			It stacks the odds in our favor.
		
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			You know when we speak about needs, and
		
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			I will not spend too much time on
		
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			this, but you know in undergraduate studies, in
		
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			college, you're all your children and maybe some
		
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			of you as well, when you go through
		
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			psychology 101, they always run you through Abraham
		
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			Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
		
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			Basically, Maslow, he's charting out the patterns in
		
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			human beings, that we all have the most
		
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			basic needs, he says.
		
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			You know, food and drink.
		
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			And then once you have those secured, you
		
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			start having the luxury to think about something
		
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			else, you move upward on the pyramid, the
		
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			hierarchy.
		
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			Let me get some shelter, I need some
		
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			warmth, I need to be indoors somewhere.
		
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			Then when you're there, wait, I'm alone, I
		
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			want to have a sense of belonging, a
		
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			relationship, so the need for relationships, whether friendly
		
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			relationships, familial, romantic, whatever, the need for relationships
		
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			and belonging.
		
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			Then once you have like a social circle,
		
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			the next need, he says, is self-esteem.
		
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			Like I have a need, endless needs, right?
		
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			I have a need to feel like, what
		
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			makes me different from my social circle?
		
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			Like what makes me special?
		
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			What unique strength do I have?
		
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			What edge do I have?
		
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			And then once you secure that one, then
		
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			you move up to what he called self
		
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			-actualization.
		
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			I want to actually see that I have
		
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			lived up to what I feel, self-worth,
		
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			self-esteem.
		
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			I want to actually see that I fulfilled
		
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			it.
		
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			I lived up to what I could live
		
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			up to.
		
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			I've reached my potential.
		
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			So this is what he says.
		
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			And so what did he miss though?
		
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			He missed that it's not that we happen
		
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			to have needs, and so we should go
		
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			to God for our needs.
		
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			No.
		
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			Allah created us, designed us with all of
		
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			these needs so that we may go find
		
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			Him.
		
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			These needs are there to drive us to
		
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			Him.
		
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			I need food and drink, His name is
		
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			Ar-Razzaq.
		
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			He is the ultimate provider.
		
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			It's not the supply chain.
		
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			It's not the automation that happened after the
		
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			industrial revolution.
		
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			No, it's not my scheduled paycheck.
		
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			He is Ar-Razzaq.
		
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			And every once in a while, Allah reminds
		
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			us of that.
		
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			Hiccups in the chain, right?
		
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			In the mundanity of life, the norms.
		
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			I need friends.
		
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			Of His name is Al-Wali.
		
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			He's the best friend you'll ever have.
		
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			No one understands me.
		
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			People are betraying me.
		
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			No one's listening to me.
		
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			His name is Al-Sami'a.
		
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			He's the best listener ever.
		
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			Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
		
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			I feel broken.
		
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			I feel incompetent.
		
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			I feel like His name is Al-Aziz.
		
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			He is the Mighty.
		
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			He is Al-Jabbar.
		
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			He is the Compeller.
		
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			He is the Mender.
		
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			Every break, every fracture, Al-Jabbar can fix.
		
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			Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
		
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			So that's what he missed.
		
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			That these needs were put there to bring
		
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			us to our purpose to discover Allah Azza
		
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			wa Jal and have a true meaningful relationship
		
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			with Him.
		
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			You know what he did get right though?
		
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			The fact that human beings, even if they
		
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			secure these five needs, they're still needy.
		
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			You know, he actually wanted to amend his
		
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			hierarchy before he died.
		
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			But most people don't pay attention to that.
		
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			His latest writings, his last writings.
		
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			He says when human beings fulfill their personal
		
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			potential, they feel like, okay, I fulfilled myself.
		
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			I didn't sell myself short.
		
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			They still have a need, what he calls
		
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			self-transcendence.
		
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			Basically, I want to feel like I'm serving
		
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			something greater, higher than myself.
		
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			Of course, all of the needs, if you
		
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			get them fulfilled, you will still have an
		
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			infinite hole inside you.
		
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			Because they were not it.
		
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			They are not the end.
		
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			They are a means to the true end.
		
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			So even if you get all of these
		
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			means, did they bring me to God or
		
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			not?
		
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			I still have a need to be connected
		
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			to my Creator.
		
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			Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
		
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			That's why in the famous Athar that the
		
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			early Muslims used to circulate, يَبْنَ آدَمَ أَوْ
		
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			صَنَفَ آدَمَ O human being, أُطُلُبْنِي تَجِدْنِي Seek
		
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			me out and you will find me, Allah
		
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			says.
		
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			فَإِنْ وَجَدْتَنِي وَجَدْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ If you find
		
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			me, you will have found everything.
		
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			وَإِنْ فُتْتُكَ فَاتَكَ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ And if you
		
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			miss out on me, if your problem gets
		
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			solved, your need gets fulfilled, but you didn't
		
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			find God, then really you missed the whole
		
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			point.
		
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			You actually didn't get anything.
		
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			And if you miss me, you miss all
		
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			things.
		
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			وَأَنَا أَحَبُّ إِلَيْكَ مِن كُلِّ شَيْءٍ And I
		
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			am more beloved to you than all things.
		
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			There is an infinite hole that nothing can
		
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			fill inside you, but the infinite, but the
		
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			eternal, but the perfect, but the supreme, سُبْحَانَهُ
		
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			وَتَعَالَى And this is why in the authentic
		
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			hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said, Whomever makes this
		
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			world their primary concern, meaning they obsess over,
		
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			I need this from life and I need
		
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			that from life.
		
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			Their needs for this world become their primary
		
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			concern.
		
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			فَرَّقَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ شَمْلًا Allah scatters for them
		
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			their affair.
		
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			They're just pulled in every direction.
		
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			They're spread thin.
		
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			وَجَعَلَ فَقْرَهُ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ The hadith says, and
		
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			he places his poverty, the deficit outlook, the
		
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			negative outlook.
		
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			He places his poverty right between his eyes.
		
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			Meaning wherever you turn, it's all you can
		
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			see.
		
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			I'm lacking, I'm short.
		
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			There's always a shortfall.
		
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			He says, وَلَمْ تَأْتِيهِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَ إِلَّا مَا
		
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			كُتِبَ لَهِ And this person will not get
		
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			anything out of life, but what was written
		
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			for them anyway.
		
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			Meaning it's fruitless to obsess over it because
		
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			what's written is written, what's ordained is ordained.
		
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			Then he said, صلى الله عليه وسلم وَمَنْ
		
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			جَعَلَ الْآخِرَةَ هَمَّةً Whomever makes the hereafter their
		
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			primary concern, the next life.
		
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			Let me rephrase that.
		
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			Whomever makes their need to prepare to meet
		
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			God, their need to be forever in paradise
		
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			with God.
		
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			Whomever makes the hereafter their primary concern, جَمَعَ
		
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			اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ شَمْلَةً Allah consolidates for them, simplifies
		
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			for them life, consolidates for them their concerns.
		
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			Such clarity.
		
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			وَجَعَلَ غِنَاهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ And He places His
		
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			riches in His heart.
		
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			You feel free of need.
		
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			I got my greatest need.
		
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			I'm content, right?
		
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			He says, وَأَتَتْهُ الدُّنْيَا وَهِيَ رَغِمَةً And their
		
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			share of this world comes to such a
		
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			person, whether it likes it or not.
		
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			Like, He's still gonna get His share of
		
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			this world.
		
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			He's not gonna miss out on it.
		
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			So this is the point of life.
		
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			This is the point of the universe.
		
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			This is the point of every event in
		
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			the universe.
		
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			That's not an exaggeration.
		
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			The last verse in Surah At-Talaq, Allah
		
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			says what?
		
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			Allah created the universe and sends His decree
		
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			down every day, right?
		
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			Why?
		
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			لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ All
		
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			of this, every ounce, every speck, every molecule
		
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			in the world, and every event that transpires
		
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			in the world by Allah's destiny, what He
		
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			preordains, everything.
		
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			So that you may know that your God
		
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			is over all things capable.
		
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			وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا And
		
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			that Allah has encompassed, accounted for all things
		
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			in His knowledge.
		
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			See, even the events, even the trials of
		
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			life, right?
		
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			These trials, brothers and sisters, they are not
		
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			there of course to break you.
		
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			Nor are they to even test your strength.
		
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			Are you breakable or not?
		
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			They're there to test the strength of your
		
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			reliance on Him, your good assumptions of Him.
		
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			You know like, think of Ayub A.S.
		
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			like 18 years at least.
		
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			He lost his family, then lost his fortunes,
		
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			and then lost his health.
		
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			And he never stopped chanting, God, You're a
		
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			good God.
		
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			The Qur'an etches for us till the
		
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			end of time, رَبِّ مَسَّنِيَ الدُّرُ O my
		
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			Lord, O my caretaker, so much suffering has
		
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			hit me.
		
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			وَأَنْتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّحِمِينَ And You are the most
		
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			merciful of anyone.
		
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			You are the most merciful of all those
		
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			who show mercy.
		
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			You know they say the most difficult part
		
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			of Ayub's trial was what?
		
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			That people started saying all around him, God
		
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			must hate Ayub.
		
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			Like, look how long it's taken, God must
		
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			really hate this guy.
		
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			That was the hardest one to resist.
		
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			He kept saying, You're arhamu arrahimin.
		
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			The next verse tells us, فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ So
		
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			we eventually, ultimately relieved him.
		
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			كَشَفْنَا مَا بِهِ مِنْ ضُرٍ We responded to
		
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			the supplication, relieved him and gave him back
		
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			family, gave him back wealth, gave him back
		
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			everything.
		
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			And then Allah says what?
		
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			You have to capture.
		
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			He says, رَحْمَةً مِّنْ عِنْدِنَا وَذِكْرًا لِلْعَابِدِينَ As
		
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			a mercy from us and as a reminder
		
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			for the worshippers.
		
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			When a worshipper of God, a believer, goes
		
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			through trials, he needs to know God doesn't
		
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			hate him.
		
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			When we ask like, Is God punishing me?
		
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			That's a wrong question.
		
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			Because if you're a believer, even if He's
		
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53
			punishing you, He's purifying you through the punishment
		
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55
			now so that you don't have to see
		
00:10:55 --> 00:10:57
			the punishment later because He loves you.
		
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03
			The Prophet ﷺ in one authentic hadith, he
		
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06
			says that a person may have a certain
		
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09
			station with Allah that his deeds will never
		
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10
			deliver him to.
		
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12
			Allah wants you at a certain rank, certain
		
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13
			status in the hereafter.
		
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15
			And you're too lazy, you're not getting off
		
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16
			the couch.
		
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19
			So He'll send something to you while you're
		
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20
			on the couch.
		
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23
			Had it been left to you, you would
		
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25
			not have been proactive, you would not have
		
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27
			taken the initiative to get yourself to do
		
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28
			those good deeds.
		
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31
			So He'll send you an affliction so that
		
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32
			you're forced to be patient.
		
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33
			Got no choice.
		
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34
			Am I gonna accept and be patient or
		
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35
			am I gonna disbelieve?
		
00:11:36 --> 00:11:39
			So I accept to be patient and by
		
00:11:39 --> 00:11:42
			that Allah delivers me to the station that
		
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44
			He had wanted me at and my deeds
		
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45
			would have never got me there.
		
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48
			The Prophet ﷺ said this in authentic hadith.
		
00:11:50 --> 00:11:53
			This is why Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah, he
		
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56
			says, what is peak intelligence?
		
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57
			Who's the most intelligent person on earth?
		
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00
			He says the biggest favor you can get
		
00:12:01 --> 00:12:05
			after faith, the biggest blessing, he says to
		
00:12:05 --> 00:12:09
			have proper understanding about Allah and His Messenger,
		
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11
			to understand how things work, to have proper
		
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12
			understanding.
		
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14
			You know, of the benefits also of having
		
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			a proper comprehension of Allah and His Messenger
		
00:12:18 --> 00:12:20
			ﷺ, the ayahs and the ahadith, the Qur
		
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			'an and the sunnah, is that it tightens
		
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24
			the noose on the shaytan.
		
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27
			Like of the perks that shaytan cannot press
		
00:12:27 --> 00:12:32
			you into cutting corners because you see things
		
00:12:32 --> 00:12:32
			as they are.
		
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			You know when Allah ﷻ says in the
		
00:12:35 --> 00:12:41
			Qur'an, الشيطان يعدكم الفقرة ويأمركم بالفحشاء Shaytan
		
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			threatens you with poverty, you're gonna go broke,
		
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46
			you're gonna go broke, he keeps threatening you
		
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48
			with poverty, and then he commands you with
		
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49
			indecency.
		
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51
			He tells you to cut corners or else
		
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52
			you're gonna go broke.
		
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			You will...
		
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57
			With those with knowledge of God, deeply rooted
		
00:12:57 --> 00:13:01
			knowledge of Allah, experiencing His nearness, they've developed
		
00:13:01 --> 00:13:03
			through work, through spiritual labor, trust in Him.
		
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06
			They're able to be patient and await the
		
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07
			verdict of God.
		
00:13:07 --> 00:13:09
			I'm gonna do my part, I'm gonna try,
		
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11
			but I'm not gonna cut corners and that's
		
00:13:11 --> 00:13:11
			it.
		
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13
			You know it's reported that Ali ibn Abi
		
00:13:13 --> 00:13:15
			Talib رضي الله عنه, may Allah be pleased
		
00:13:15 --> 00:13:18
			with him, he was entering a masjid one
		
00:13:18 --> 00:13:22
			day, and he left his horse with some
		
00:13:22 --> 00:13:22
			guy at the door.
		
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24
			Hold my horse for me, I'm just gonna
		
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25
			pray two rak'ahs, catch the salah, be
		
00:13:25 --> 00:13:25
			it out.
		
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28
			He prays and comes out, he finds his
		
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30
			horse there, and the ropes on the horse,
		
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31
			the reins are gone.
		
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33
			The guy stole it and...
		
00:13:33 --> 00:13:37
			So Ali gives someone two dirham, let's just
		
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39
			say two dollars, to go to the market
		
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40
			and buy him a replacement.
		
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44
			So the guy goes to the market, finds
		
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47
			his ropes on sale in the market, he
		
00:13:47 --> 00:13:50
			asks the seller, where did you get this
		
00:13:50 --> 00:13:50
			from?
		
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52
			He said, someone just sold this to me
		
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53
			for two dollars.
		
00:13:54 --> 00:13:57
			So Ali رضي الله عنه, hears about this,
		
00:13:57 --> 00:14:03
			he says, إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَحْرِمُ نَفْسَهُ بِتَرْكِ الصَّبْرِ
		
00:14:03 --> 00:14:10
			الرِّزْقَ الْحَلَالِ وَلَا يَزْدَادُ عَلَىٰ مَا قُدِّرَ لَهُ
		
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13
			He says, Subhanallah, sometimes a person deprives themself,
		
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14
			it's a moment's patience, alright?
		
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16
			But they don't have the right perspective to
		
00:14:16 --> 00:14:16
			be patient.
		
00:14:17 --> 00:14:20
			A person deprives themselves because they don't have
		
00:14:20 --> 00:14:23
			the patience, halal, lawful, wholesome income.
		
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25
			And at the end of the day, they're
		
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27
			not gonna get anyway except what was written
		
00:14:27 --> 00:14:27
			for them.
		
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30
			That's what it was for, that's what it
		
00:14:30 --> 00:14:30
			was all about.
		
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34
			But when you have that perspective, Allah will
		
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37
			give you in this world, and He will
		
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39
			also give you the ability to handle and
		
00:14:39 --> 00:14:42
			withstand what He will not give you of
		
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44
			this world because He loves you, not because
		
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46
			He's stingy, because He loves you.
		
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47
			Because He wants to give you something better,
		
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49
			so He withholds from you as a different
		
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50
			form of giving.
		
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54
			You know many of the things we want,
		
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55
			we don't actually know what we want.
		
00:14:55 --> 00:14:58
			You think of the idea of the elites
		
00:14:58 --> 00:14:58
			of society.
		
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01
			So many people, they envy them, and they
		
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02
			obsess over them, and I wish I had
		
00:15:02 --> 00:15:04
			the life of this athlete, and we live
		
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05
			like vicariously, they say.
		
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07
			Secondhand, I live their life, I wish I
		
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08
			had their success.
		
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11
			What if they hate their life, brothers and
		
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12
			sisters?
		
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13
			A lot of times they do.
		
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17
			And you will live and die thinking they
		
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19
			don't, while they actually do.
		
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21
			You know one brother was mentioning a story
		
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24
			of an NFL player who was like on
		
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25
			a tear, and they were supposed to win
		
00:15:25 --> 00:15:28
			the Super Bowl, but they got eliminated early,
		
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29
			and they didn't make it to sort of
		
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30
			the final cup, the Super Bowl.
		
00:15:31 --> 00:15:34
			And then out of nowhere, he meets this
		
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36
			football player in a barbershop.
		
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38
			And he's like, oh my God, I can't
		
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39
			believe I'm meeting you, it's the best day
		
00:15:39 --> 00:15:39
			of my life, man.
		
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42
			I've been struggling ever since you guys lost,
		
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44
			I haven't been eating, I haven't been sleeping.
		
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46
			And he said, the guy looked at me
		
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48
			and he's like, he's like, I'm really sorry
		
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49
			what happened to you.
		
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52
			He's like, to be honest, I'm really happy,
		
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53
			I got a longer summer with my kids
		
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54
			this year.
		
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55
			He's like, what?
		
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56
			He goes, I hate my job, it's just
		
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57
			business.
		
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59
			I just gotta perform, I gotta make money.
		
00:16:00 --> 00:16:00
			That's it.
		
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03
			We know the most famous actors in our
		
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04
			day and age, right?
		
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06
			One of them said, I wish everyone can
		
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07
			make it to Hollywood.
		
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09
			So they can realize it's not what they
		
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11
			realize, it's not what they think.
		
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12
			It's a dark place.
		
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17
			Some of the comedians that spend their lives
		
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19
			making us laugh, they wind up taking their
		
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20
			own lives.
		
00:16:20 --> 00:16:20
			Yes or no?
		
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22
			This is the truth.
		
00:16:22 --> 00:16:25
			And Allah protects many of us from that.
		
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27
			I say this and ask Allah to forgive
		
00:16:27 --> 00:16:27
			me and you.
		
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36
			All praise is due to Allah alone.
		
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37
			Peace and blessings be upon those who have
		
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38
			no prophet after him.
		
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39
			I bear witness that there is no god
		
00:16:39 --> 00:16:39
			but Allah.
		
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40
			He is alone and has no partner.
		
00:16:40 --> 00:16:42
			And I bear witness that Muhammad is His
		
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43
			servant, His Prophet and His Messenger.
		
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48
			Brothers and sisters, allow me to share just
		
00:16:48 --> 00:16:53
			one more anecdote, one more example that rests
		
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55
			in my heart for years.
		
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57
			About a person that I believe is very
		
00:16:57 --> 00:17:00
			close to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, has
		
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03
			very deep felt, not theoretical, felt knowledge of
		
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04
			Allah.
		
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05
			And Allah is His final judge.
		
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08
			But I find it to be a perfect
		
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11
			reminder, an example of how knowledge of God
		
00:17:11 --> 00:17:15
			makes life so sustainable, life so livable.
		
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16
			How at the end of the day, I
		
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17
			look at the world and I'm like, yeah,
		
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18
			no big deal.
		
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19
			Whatever happens, happens.
		
00:17:19 --> 00:17:19
			I'm ready.
		
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21
			It's all the same, right?
		
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24
			Allah is truthful when He said to me,
		
00:17:25 --> 00:17:29
			الأخرة خير وأبقى The hereafter is better and
		
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30
			more lasting.
		
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31
			So I've lost nothing.
		
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34
			And I'm gonna read to you some numbers
		
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35
			and then I'll tell you why I'm reading
		
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36
			them to you.
		
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37
			So bear with me.
		
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40
			Most of you know who Jeff Bezos is,
		
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43
			the Amazon empire, right?
		
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47
			This man is worth roughly 250 billion dollars,
		
00:17:48 --> 00:17:48
			right?
		
00:17:49 --> 00:17:51
			That's unimaginable money.
		
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53
			That's more money than his lifetime will allow
		
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54
			him to spend.
		
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55
			You can't even spend it.
		
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57
			Not enough time for all those transactions.
		
00:17:57 --> 00:18:01
			So just to give you some perspective, the
		
00:18:01 --> 00:18:04
			average US household makes 70,000 dollars a
		
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05
			year.
		
00:18:06 --> 00:18:10
			In your lifetime in this country, you will
		
00:18:10 --> 00:18:13
			make on average about 1.7 million dollars.
		
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15
			If you're a physician, it's about 7 million
		
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16
			dollars.
		
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17
			If you're a lawyer, it's about 4 million
		
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18
			dollars.
		
00:18:18 --> 00:18:21
			If you're a hedge fund manager, the big
		
00:18:21 --> 00:18:23
			guys who run everyone else's money, right?
		
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26
			80 million dollars.
		
00:18:27 --> 00:18:29
			Those people, many of us look at them
		
00:18:29 --> 00:18:31
			as like fabulously rich and they look at
		
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33
			themselves as fabulously rich on some level, right?
		
00:18:33 --> 00:18:36
			These are actually the people that oppose like
		
00:18:36 --> 00:18:40
			the policies that are trying to supposedly reduce
		
00:18:40 --> 00:18:43
			inequality because they believe that it's targeting them,
		
00:18:44 --> 00:18:44
			right?
		
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47
			But what they may not realize and we
		
00:18:47 --> 00:18:51
			definitely don't realize is the enormous gap, like
		
00:18:51 --> 00:18:56
			the enormous gulf between the fabulously rich, the
		
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59
			80 million dollars a year guy and between
		
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59
			the super rich.
		
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01
			You know Jeff Bezos?
		
00:19:03 --> 00:19:08
			All of the chemotherapy patients combined would cost
		
00:19:08 --> 00:19:12
			9 million dollars all of their treatment annually.
		
00:19:12 --> 00:19:16
			In July of 2020, he made 13 million
		
00:19:16 --> 00:19:19
			dollars in one day, right?
		
00:19:19 --> 00:19:22
			And this man is only one man.
		
00:19:22 --> 00:19:22
			He's not even the richest.
		
00:19:22 --> 00:19:27
			He's one man of 400 men and a
		
00:19:27 --> 00:19:31
			few women that have more money than the
		
00:19:31 --> 00:19:34
			rest of the 400 million Americans combined, right?
		
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36
			I just want to give you this perspective.
		
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40
			Why did I do that?
		
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42
			Because Allah told me to.
		
00:19:42 --> 00:19:44
			We all know this stuff and we come
		
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45
			across some of these numbers and how like
		
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47
			astronomical it is.
		
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49
			But Allah told us to do it in
		
00:19:49 --> 00:19:52
			a different way that this scholar, mentor of
		
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53
			mine, I heard him doing and I found
		
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54
			it so profound.
		
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56
			He said, Allah said in the Qur'an,
		
00:19:58 --> 00:20:02
			أُنظُرْ كَيْفَ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ Allah says,
		
00:20:02 --> 00:20:07
			look at how disparate, how different the degrees
		
00:20:07 --> 00:20:09
			are between some of them.
		
00:20:09 --> 00:20:12
			Think of someone, refugee camp, doesn't have a
		
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14
			toilet for 10 years.
		
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15
			Every member of their family killed.
		
00:20:16 --> 00:20:19
			They're suffering from diseases and scorpion, right?
		
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20
			I shared this with you a few months
		
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22
			ago and between someone like this, look at
		
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23
			the disparity.
		
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24
			Allah is saying, look at how big the
		
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25
			disparity is.
		
00:20:26 --> 00:20:29
			And then He says, وَلَا الْآخِرَةُ أَكْبَرُ دَرَجَاتٍ
		
00:20:29 --> 00:20:34
			وَأَكْبَرُ تَفْضِيلًۭا And know that the hereafter is
		
00:20:34 --> 00:20:37
			bigger in degrees, in separation, and bigger in
		
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38
			distinction.
		
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41
			So we see this stuff and many of
		
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43
			us, inshaAllah no one in this masjid, salivates,
		
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46
			obsesses, tries to put a plan together to
		
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47
			start climbing, right?
		
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49
			How do I get into the rat race?
		
00:20:49 --> 00:20:51
			And other people through the lens of Allah,
		
00:20:51 --> 00:20:54
			through knowledge of God and His words, they
		
00:20:54 --> 00:20:57
			look at it and say, wow, imagine what
		
00:20:57 --> 00:20:57
			the hereafter is like.
		
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59
			Imagine the difference there.
		
00:21:00 --> 00:21:03
			As he personally said, and I'll close here,
		
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04
			it's like riding an airplane.
		
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06
			Look how simple it is for him.
		
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08
			Some people ride in first class, some people
		
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09
			ride in economy.
		
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11
			What's the difference?
		
00:21:11 --> 00:21:13
			A guy gets a few more inches of
		
00:21:13 --> 00:21:16
			leg room and a few more snacks, but
		
00:21:16 --> 00:21:18
			will it really make a difference if, not
		
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19
			to say all those in first class are,
		
00:21:19 --> 00:21:23
			but if after the flight, that's what really
		
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24
			matters, where are we going when we land?
		
00:21:25 --> 00:21:27
			If he gets sort of a bag thrown
		
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29
			over his head and he gets dragged off
		
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31
			to a dungeon and the guy in economy
		
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33
			gets taken to the high life forever, does
		
00:21:33 --> 00:21:35
			it really make a difference where you rode
		
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35
			on the plane?
		
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38
			This is the nature of this world, crystal
		
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39
			clear in the words of God.
		
00:21:39 --> 00:21:41
			May Allah increase us in knowledge about Him
		
00:21:41 --> 00:21:45
			and patience upon His guidance and His directives.
		
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47
			May Allah make us of those that always
		
00:21:47 --> 00:21:50
			assume the best of Him and always properly
		
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51
			rely on Him.
		
00:21:51 --> 00:21:53
			May Allah Azawajal give strength to Islam and
		
00:21:53 --> 00:21:55
			the Muslims everywhere and make us an asset
		
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56
			for the well-being of humanity everywhere.
		
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58
			May Allah have mercy on our dead.
		
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00
			May Allah accept our martyrs.
		
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			May Allah cure our sick all across the
		
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			world and in particular the mother of brother
		
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			Qasim and our young Zubair and Muhammad Hussain
		
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			who's in UPenn Hospital.
		
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			May Allah cure them, may Allah cure them,
		
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			may Allah cure them.
		
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			May Allah grant us all life so long
		
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			as life is good for us and put
		
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			us to death whenever He knows that death
		
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			is better for us.