Could Strength Be A Virtue

In Alhamdulillah,

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for in us double Hadith Nikita Allahu Zoa jell o Hiral. Had you had your Mohamed in Salalah. While he was early, he was a lamb, or Shavon memorium defer to her Wakulla modesetting Bidda Aquila with it. And Allah Allah, all praises due to Allah, we praise Him, we seek his aid and we ask for his forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and the evil consequences of our actions. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can lead astray, and whomsoever Allah leaves to go astray, Nan can guide I bear witness that Nan has the right to be worshipped. Nan has the right to our ultimate love and devotion. But Allah subhanho wa Taala alone and I bear witness that Muhammad

sallallahu alayhi wa early he was alone is His servant and His Messenger or you who believe fear Allah as he should be feared and die not accept as Muslims, or mankind. be dutiful to your Lord who created you from a single person, and from him he created his wife, and from them both he created many men and women and fear Allah through whom you demand your mutual rights and observe the rights of your kin. Surely Allah is Ever and all Walcher over you, or you who believe. Keep your duty to Allah, fear him and speak the truth. He will direct righteous deeds and will forgive you your sins and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed attained a great achievement. The best words

are those of Allah. And the best guidance is that of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa early he was salam. And the worst things in the religion are the newly invented matters. For all the newly invented matters in religion are considered to be innovation and bigger and every bit is misguidance.

Our Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa early he was a lump, says in the authentic hadith, your older Ally has Salatu was Salam

Let me know

how you're on what I have in Allah him in a minute life of equal and higher.

The messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says,

The believer who is strong

is better.

The believer that is strong, is better. And Allah loves him more than the weaker believer.

And in both, there is good.

The this is one of the great Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam because we can really build a lifestyle around these small words. Because the meanings are profound.

The believer who is strong,

so the prophets Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah Salam establishes here, that he's talking about the context of believers, people who believe in Allah, being the creator, being the sustainer, being the Lord, being unique in His names and attributes, and that he doesn't resemble his creation, and his crit creation has no likeness to him, and that he is single in his right to be worshipped. He's the only one who deserves devotion and ultimate love from his creation.

And believe in the hereafter, that this life is not the whole story, that this life is a test, and the real life comes next. And that Allah subhanaw taala will hold people accountable for their actions,

in or out interactions and external actions and for their choices and the consequences of their choices. And that humanity will end up either in paradise, or the Hellfire everyone according to their choices and their actions. And then believing in the prophets and the messengers that Allah subhanaw taala sent, believing in all the matters of the unseen that were revealed in the words of ALLAH, or in the words of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. So we believe in the angels and we believe there are things we cannot see the Allah created.

And then we believe that everything was written before it takes place, the Cabal and the coder of Allah subhanho wa taala. So that's the context the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is speaking about people who subscribe to these things, people who hold on to these beliefs and embrace them as a way of life, the prophet within this group of people, the messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, The one who is strong is better,

is better and has receives more love from Allah. Allah loves him or her more than the weaker believers. And then the prophets Allah Salam confirms again, that he's talking about believers. And the fact that someone has faith and has belief still is a very great achievement that Prophet sallallahu Sallam concludes the Hadith by saying, with equal in hires, and in all of them, there is a lot of good

in both of them the strong and the weak, because faith is the main thing is that it's the most important aspect that decides whether you enter paradise or not.

So goodness is actually in having faith and believing in Allah subhanho wa taala. But the Prophet salallahu Alaihe Salam is here, drawing our attention to another aspects, and neglected aspects of our religion, a misunderstood aspect about Islam itself as a way of life. And that's the concept and the virtue of strength.

Strength.

This hadith indicates that strength becomes a virtue only

if it's based on faith.

It's a virtue only when it branches out of faith, and it serves faith. That's the only time strength is a virtue.

Because strength could be a tool for oppression, could be a tool for tyranny could be a tool for wronging others or could be a tool for disobeying Allah subhanho wa taala. So strength becomes a virtual only when it's based on faith, and when it's bound by faith and regulated by faith. And what is the truth, the strings the Prophet salallahu Alaihe Salam is speaking about so here we have to establish that Islam string as long as it's based on faith and

That's what that's the context we're talking about. I will not speak in this hotbar, about strength in general terms. I'm talking about strength when it's built and regulated by faith and by the truth.

In Islam strength is a virtue.

And it's part and parcel of Islam. And it is something to strive for. Because if something makes Allah loves you more, you should get more of it. It's a great act of worship. So when we strengthen ourselves,

after we have faith, then we are engaging in an engaging in a great act of worship.

And what type of strength is the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam talking about? Let's go to the Hadith itself. The Prophet sallallahu Sallam is saying a mineral Kawi, the believer who is strong,

he didn't specify any type of strength. He left it open. And that's what we call an Arabic almak lock and open term. The only limitation the prophets of salaam put on that was that it has to be built on faith. Strength has to be built on faith.

After this point, strength, in general is what the prophet Salam is talking about any type of strength, and when does strength based on faith become virtuous and praiseworthy,

when it is relevant to the context in which you are

so in the context of faith and belief and worshiping Allah subhanaw taala and religiosity and spirituality.

When you have a stronger faith,

a more conviction in Allah and his mind and his power and his mercy and his control over the world.

You will be better than someone who has less faith and less certainty.

When you have the strength of trusting Allah subhanho wa Taala as some of the righteous people in the Muslim history, they said men Sallalahu and your corner nurse fell Yet Allah Allah, whoever is happy, or whoever seeks to be the strongest of people, then let him or her put their trust in Allah.

That's where strength strength comes from. And what is trusting Allah smell? How can you help? How can you have to work on and trust in Allah? If you don't know Allah? Well, if you don't develop certainty about Allah Smite, and Allah has power, and Allah has control and that Allah is in charge of everything.

So the more faith and the more certainty and the more Eman you have, the stronger you are, you are within a religious context, within a spiritual context, when you have more knowledge of Islam, more knowledge of the Quran, more knowledge of the guidance of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and a proper understanding of it. You are stronger than someone in faith and probably in practice than someone who has less knowledge. That's why knowledge is important one, one reason why knowledge is an act of worship as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, tolerable aim if

a Muslim seeking knowledge, he's an obligation is a variable, obligation on every Muslim to seek knowledge, what knowledge first and foremost knowledge of Allah,

and knowledge of Islam, and then knowledge of everything that is needed.

Why because knowledge is strength, it puts you in a position it gives you access to more and more strength.

And that's why knowledge is important. So the first aspect of strength that makes us dearer to Allah that makes us better believers is to have knowledge and to have more faith in Allah subhana wa Tada and the deen of Allah subhanaw taala we become stronger. What other aspects of power that the prophets of Allah when you send them is talking about any type of power, any type of power or strength. And I'm not talking about power in the sense of control and position.

I'm talking about strength itself, the more strength you possess, as long as it's ethical, as long as it cert comes from faith and serves faith and observes ethical principles of the ethical principles of Islam, it is praiseworthy and you should get more of it.

So, some of the aspects of strength that we can talk about

is financial strength.

financial strength

when the Muslims

were poor at the beginning of their, the history of Islam in Mecca. Then in Medina, the Muslims were striving to eat and claw and clothe themselves. They found it difficult. But then afterwards, later on a few years later, specifically, when when the Muslims opened up,

the Muslims became rich.

The Muslims became rich.

And

Muslims gained more power, so they were more able to reach other areas in the Arabian Peninsula. And the Prophet SAW Selim, by the way warned against having the strength without the faith. When that type of financial strength goes against your faith, it becomes bad, it becomes evil, it becomes blameworthy. That's why the prophets Allah when he was when he saw all of these blessings from Allah are coming to the hands of Muslims, he says to the companions, and then he says to them Wallahi modificata Asha Alikum he says, I don't fear poverty for you, I don't feel lack of resources for you. Because you can still preserve your faith, even in difficult times. While I can assure and tube

sobre la como duniya, camera Basilicata, la la the animal cobbly, comfort and alpha Su,

for to Holika. But what I feel for you is that this duniya opens its blessings to you. And you get hold of it. Just as the nations that came before then you guys develop this competitiveness over it. This competition, you want to get more over it, of it. You want to fight with others to get more of it? And what how does that end up with Muslims and believers fighting among themselves, so thus, it destroys them.

But in terms of strength,

the Prophet salallahu idea was sending them says to one of the companions, mailman or side, your module aside,

how good is good wealth when it's possessed by a good man or by a good person?

It's better to have wealth when you have faith, because it gives you power. You don't need to beg people. You don't need to ask people. You don't need to put your dignity down some times and risk your face in order in order to get help or support from other people.

And that's why the Prophet sallallahu Sallam says to sad it'd be what costs all the Allahu Han when he was about he was extremely ill and he was considering giving a great chunk of his wealth in charity. The Prophet salallahu Alaihe Salam turns to him and he says in Nikka untether Allah what authenticate other Nia how you don't lock him in Antara home Allah Tanita, California nurse. He says, if you leave your ears, your family behind you

with wealth, they're well off. They have you know what they need? Financially, it's better than you leave them in need, asking people to help them.

That's part of strength, financial strength.

And it's something if it's built on faith, and if it serves faith and whatever is good, then it becomes praiseworthy and is something to seek to and the more you get of it, with that intention, you will become more beloved to Allah, you will get more of Allah's love. What are the types of strength do we need? Do we need any type of knowledge, any type of knowledge when you have knowledge, you have resources. When you have knowledge, you have the know how you're more resourceful, you're more effective, you have more power.

And that's why the Muslim ummah throughout its history,

it excelled in knowledge. A lot of its finances were put in building knowledge and spreading knowledge and enhancing knowledge and building institutions for knowledge. This is why knowledge is important. And that's on top of knowledge of the deen knowledge of this dunya wherever it is any field that is helpful in our times.

That's why the Prophet salallahu he was selling them when he was talking about warfare. When he was talking about the battlefield, the Prophet sallallahu Sallam says to the Companions and our internal Quwata Rami, he says real strength is in the ability to shoot with archery.

Why? Because this knowledge This skill is relevant to that time is relevant to that context. So this is what power is.

In another context, the Prophet sallallahu Sallam shows personal strength

psychological strength, emotional strength, strength when it comes from your moral framework, or your character. The Prophet SAW Selim explains a misconception, he wipes away a misconception to the Companions. When he says to them, Lisa should eat over salah. The strong man is not someone who is physically strong, who can beat people to the ground.

That's not the strong person. Lisa should either was Sora, working the shoddy, the lithium Licona job. But the real strong man is a person who is able to restrain their anger, and not not act upon it.

That's what strength is. And Allah loves that, why? The strength, when you are able to subdue your impulse to subdue your desire to subdue your fears, to subdue your anger, and not to act upon it, you are in control. And thus you make more informed choices, more ethical choices, you do what's in line with what Allah wants from you. That strength, because there are people who might be physically strong, might be verbally strong, but

they are weak towards their desires, the weak towards temptations, the weak towards the impulse, and their anger and their emotions. So they misbehave, they get themselves in trouble, they make bad decisions, that end up putting them in more trouble. So they end up being weaker, and weaker.

All these are types of strength.

And this is a very important aspects of the string that Allah Subhana Allah loves. And this is basically knowledge about ourselves. You know who you are and what you are, when or what are the forces that are active within you. You recognize the tendency towards evil, sometimes the proclivity to do bad things, you recognize it. But you also recognize the good tendencies in you, the good part of you that always pushes you to do more good, to be a better person, to strive to become a great individual with great character. You recognize this and you see these forces fighting and arguing within yourself. And you sort of recognize this, and you lean more towards the good side of you. You

give more power to the good side of who you are, and you don't have to act upon your evil desires. That's strength.

This is strength and it takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of courage. What other type of strength as well, physical strength, physical strength is par is praiseworthy, when it comes out of faith and it serves faith and good things.

Sometimes, for some reason, you know, we associate righteousness, piety, taqwa, and, you know, being nice with weakness.

And this is a misconception.

It's a misconception. Your ability to divert to defend yourself is a praiseworthy Well, it's a praiseworthy thing.

Islam doesn't call upon you to be weak. Allah subhana wa Tada describes the believers in the Quran, Allah says about about them, what either a saw

and when oppression comes to them, oppression reaches them when they are oppressed, they defend themselves, they stand up for themselves.

That's a praise Wizzy whether you think that your ability to defend yourself, your ability to protect yourself, is actually something good, praiseworthy, but you should not use that strength to oppress others to wrong others or use it in an evil course.

So strength in Islam is a virtue as long as it's based on faith. And as long as it serves faith and is regulated by faith, and the Islamic principles are colloquially referred to Lloyd you were looking for stuff.

hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen wa salatu salam ala Sayyidina Muhammad Ali, he also heavy oedema as well. So this hadith, and the commentary that followed just shows clearly that strength and as we said, as long as it's based on faith and it serves faith is actually something to strive for. And it's something that brings you more of the love of Allah and it makes you better. It makes you better because it enables you to do more things and the profits or loss

And then when the poorer Muslims came and complained to him, and they said, you know, richer Muslims are able to spend from the wealth and they get so much reward the Prophet salaams show them or he instructed them as to how to do some vicar and get similar reward. Then they came back to the Prophet Solomon, they said, the ritual Muslims are even, they're giving from their wealth, they're also saying these other car, and they're getting double reward the Prophet SAW Selim says that you can follow Allah here to him and Yasha

these are the blessings of Allah, He gives them to whomever He wills.

So it's not it's not a blameworthy thing, it's a good thing. When you have, when you are financially strong, you're able to help more people,

you're able to do greater things. When you have physical power, you are able to perform even better and do more acts of worship, and do other great things. When you have this physical power. When you have the social power, which is social influence, some people have this type of power, they're able to influence they're able to rally masses for good causes. This is a social form of power, and it should be used for good reason. So if someone has it or has the capacity for it, and they can build it, by all means, serve a good purpose with it. That's something Allah loves.

And it makes you better. So you build your capacity, you build your strength, so you can do more, you can achieve more, you grow your potential. That's a that's with, with some, you know, issues and concerns with the word philosophy. But this is one of the principles and philosophies that we have to have as Muslims. String.

Strength is not a bad thing, unless it's a tool. Unless you use it for bad things, it becomes bad. But it's useful in its own nature. And when you use it, for faith and for the truth, and for a good cause, it becomes praiseworthy becomes an act of worship comes something that Allah loves more than will make Allah love you more, and it will make you a better person.

So strength is a principle in Islam that we have to observe. So look at your life, what areas in your life you have potential.

In what field you are functioning.

If it's a field that requires studies and skills, gain more of that, and know that when you become a better physician, a better teacher, a better engineer, a better lawyer, a better

even labor worker,

you actually get in more love of Allah subhanaw taala. If you link that to faith, and you'll build it on faith, and you use it for a good cause. But if you are in a capacity that requires a bit more maybe personal maturity, building that type of resilience, one form of power that is praiseworthy is basically emotional resilience, going through so much hardship and pain and circumstances, yet remaining strong and founded and grounded in faith. And in trusting Allah subhanaw taala. There are people who so weak that when something happens, they stop whining and complaining and crying and feeling helpless. But there are people who don't succumb to that, who do not give in. And they put

their trust in Allah and they fight back emotionally. This is a form of strength that Allah subhanaw taala loves. Because when someone is emotionally weak, they will start to question the wisdom of Allah subhanho, wa taala.

And even physical strength, any type of strength that requires a lot of emotional stability, and strength.

So all in all, the whole point behind this heartbeat is that strength, and it's built on faith based on faith. And it serves faith and it is regulated by the beautiful teachings of Islam. It is an act of worship. It's actually a lifestyle. And something that brings you more of the love of Allah makes you a better person makes you a better person. That's a general principle in Islam that we should strive for and observe. And that these times when Muslims are weak, Muslims are weak today, compared to their history. We need more of that strength. And this strength has to be bounded has to be regulated by the beautiful teachings of Islam we cannot abuse them. We cannot misuse that power or

that strength that we try to build within ourselves. It has to humble us and make us in service of the creation of Allah subhanho wa Taala along with 3 million Muslim anonymously matter here even on what

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