Mufti Menk – The Middle Way, Balanced Life
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AI: Transcript ©
Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.
inshallah, as we have
normally commenced with the recitation of the Quran, I feel it appropriate for purposes of Baraka to commence with a short recitation from the Koran
or Amina shape on rajim Bismillah R Rahman Irani
in Effie is
one of the last
one
wiaa de facto nafi is
wrong
for Allah
Subhana kasatkina
birna in ankama
zeta
Vani Mina mean
in Anna Semyon una de una de Manny and camino Bo Bhiku.
Wrong. fofi Lana Zulu, our Caffey rang. Say, Tina. What was
wrong
smilla rahmanir rahim al hamdu lillahi wa wa sallahu wa Sallim wa barik ala Abadi Latina stafa Allahu Allah, Allah Allah Allah Subhana Allah Allah Al Hakim Loma Linda Mayan, una de ma lantana Allahumma in Nana who will be coming in Manila in fact woman I elected man woman called belaya woman botany lash back woman Do you smell? All praise is indeed due to Allah subhanho wa Taala blessings and salutations upon Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, we ask Allah Subhana Allah Allah to bless him and all his companions and every one of us and our offspring to come up to the day of pm May Allah subhanho wa Taala keep us steadfast on this Deen and may He make us from amongst the blessings
and those who are chosen.
Your Allah we ask you to grant us knowledge that is beneficial and we asked you to benefit us from the knowledge you have granted us yeah Allah we do not have knowledge besides that which you have granted us. For indeed you are the owner of knowledge all wise. Allah we seek your protection from knowledge that will not be made use of from eyes that will not cry for your sake. From a heart that will not tremble in your fear from a stomach or a soul that will never be filled or content and from a prayer that is made that will never be answered. I mean, honored scholars of Deen brothers and sisters in Islam once again I find myself here at this ri s conference
revival of the Islamic spirit this year with the theme striking the balance the opening talk inshallah I make dua or I ask Allah subhanho wa Taala
to let it be as simple as possible yet effective enough to change my life to begin with, and then everybody else's, I mean,
naturally it is such a broad topic that it can be discussed from many angles. Sitting here a few moments ago, listening to the melodious recitation of the khari, who read for us.
I jotted down a few points that came to my mind
and I wish to share them together with other points that I had jotted down previously.
And naturally when we are speaking to scholars, and when we are speaking to students, we need to jot down points. I think many of the brothers and sisters are not used to seeing me with a piece of paper but it is
Only correct for us to have a few points written down so that we can follow the topic correctly. We have limited time and inshallah I commenced by saying this Deen itself is a balance. Islam is a balance, there are people who do not follow any religion at all, they are free, they do what they want. They they literally behave even worse than animals on one hand. And on the other hand, you have, notice I'm pointing their meaning at the wall, not anyone in particular Sharla.
On the other hand, you have people
who have restricted their lives to the degree that they don't marry. They don't engage in anything worldly. They have dedicated their lives to what they believe is the correct and upright worship, and at times, not even to the Creator, but they have imposed on themselves rules of celibacy, and various other rules that have made them people who have forgotten the fact that they are living in a world.
Islam has come in the center balanced, neither do we behave like hooligans, not following anything. No. Are we from amongst those who divorce ourselves from this world? However, as the verses were read, regarding our own and what he was told,
what Avi FEMA
said, No see back Amina dunia
that have this particular worldly life that will be of benefit to you, that which Allah subhanho wa Taala has given you go forth.
Try obviously, and this is for all of us to get as close as you can to your Creator. Go forth to earn the gentleman the era that is the de la cara that is mentioned there. Don't forget that there is a life after death, there is accountability, but at the same time, remember you are in this world. So don't forget the little portion of this world, though and the worldly life and the earnings of this world, within the limits of the Creator. That's a powerful message. What happened to qarun
he was from amongst those who was one sided, he didn't strike a balance. He was so involved in the dunya he was so involved in the worldly material life that he earned and earned more than he could spend so much that the Quran says
that the keys to his treasures were so heavy, that a group of men would find it quite difficult to actually carry only the keys today, Mashallah, we've got one card and we get excited Subhan Allah, at that time, imagine what type of treasure he had. And yet Allah says he didn't have anything he was destroyed. He had prepared himself for this life which was coming to an end, and which came to an end very quickly for him, but he did not prepare for the eternal life. In Islam as muslimeen we have this life, and to strike the balance we have the life after death. And in the same way that we prepare for this life, and I normally tell university students that if you've spent four years,
three years or more or less studying books, for the purposes of success in the dunya, or in this world we live, we will not say you are wrong, but ask yourself, this will only help me for another 25 years, possibly 30 a little bit more, maybe less. What have I done for the eternal life that will commence at that point. And last forever, forever? So panela this afternoon I spoke about the greatness of Allah subhanho wa Taala. And part of what I'd said is time is a creature of Allah. Time is created by Allah subhanho wa Taala
with Allah subhanho wa Taala. Remember when we get into paradise, a billion years later, if I were to ask you, how many years left?
You would actually have to say what that question doesn't apply. Here it is Holly Dena via Bada, it is forever and ever. You don't age there's no time and so on. So it's important for us to know that as muslimeen we already have a balance however,
we know the Quran says la eco have indeed there is no compulsion when it comes to entry into faith. No one forced us to be Muslim when
you choose to enter Islam. Once you enter Islam, you have chosen to limit your freedom as understood by the secular world.
I hope we understand this. So when we become muslimeen, we are automatically surrendering to Allah subhanho, wa Taala, to the Creator. And we are automatically giving up some of what the secular world might consider a freedom that you enjoy. For example, your dress code has to be within a certain framework, not because we are not free as human beings, but through our freedom we have chosen to be Muslim in Hence, we have chosen to give up some of what the secular world might have given us. And I hope we understand what I've just said.
So no Muslim can say I'm a Muslim, but the Islam I follow, I'm free to do what I want in it. Well, that then would not be Islam, because Islam is at least Islam only law is to surrender to the law of Allah subhanho wa Taala, to submit to what Allah subhanho wa Taala has revealed, and what he has sent down, and we are fortunate, we are fortunate that Allah Almighty has struck the balance for us. amazing moments ago, I was sitting here with a friend of mine. And every day in the evening, we update Facebook status for purposes of that hour.
And we did it a few moments ago.
And I thought to myself, what should we say? in one sentence, we want to cap the whole topic. Let's give it
and I said Allah Almighty has struck the balance for us in what way simple by making our needs, acts of worship, if they are done with the correct intention Subhanallah Imagine if I want to be a pious person in Islam, I don't need to sit in Salah 24 hours of the day and sit with the most have the Quran and read 24 hours of the day and fast every single day. No, even whilst I'm eating. If I have the correct intentions, I am earning reward. It is an act of worship to eat in Islam Subhana Allah, look at the balance struck by the Creator. If it wasn't for that, how would we be able to
you know, continue with our day to day lives. So panela so it's amazing. When I eat, I can earn reward if I have the correct intention and I eat correctly. And I try my best to learn as much as possible, of what Islam teaches me regarding my diet and how I should eat when I should eat, what I should eat and so on. Naturally, there are things that are haram we will abstain from that which is totally prohibited. But there are other things that are not haram and they might not be followed either, but they are teachings of the prophet may peace be upon him. If we are to follow those teachings. Not only will it benefit our own health, but naturally we will be earning a reward for
it. We speak nowadays about the benefits of honey, raw honey, the benefits of olive oil, from a medical perspective, the benefit of cider vinegar, the benefit of various other items of halala when we had made mention of the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam a long long time back people did not take it as seriously as when the doctor tells you listen, Brother, listen, sister, you know, this will help you a lot you need to now use a bit of cider vinegar or some vinegar or a little bit of olive oil Subhan Allah we pay a doctor to tell that to us Mashallah. But Islam says, try and learn what the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has taught, put it into practice with the
correct intention, you earn a reward for it Subhana Allah, similarly looking after your own children, what is that? One might say? Well, it's nature it's a natural part of what is nature Mashallah. But Islam strikes the balance for our saying, do it correctly with the correct intentions we make it an act of worship for you bearing a child a woman in pregnancy Subhana Allah, she will handle the child or she will carry the child as the Quran says
hemella to
the mother has carried the child if I can use the interpretation being imposed on her
and she delivered it also in voluntarily which means she had to give Beth Subhana Allah but that is such a high status in the deen and in the Sharia, and from the lips of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam imagine it is an act of worship to have children Subhanallah
to get married is an act of worship, an act of worship amazing look at how the balance is struck. Neither should a person be from amongst those who believe in celibacy, nor should a person be from amongst those who is polygamous beyond the limits, but rather to marry within one's means and capacity.
and adopt and obey the law of the Almighty in the process makes that person so pious that the Hadith says how you can, how you can live.
The best from amongst you are those who are best to your spouse, your family members. Amazing. So look at how to be good to your family members is an act of worship. And this is why we say like chef Ibrahim mentioned moments ago,
a man with a big beard,
not necessarily is a brilliant Muslim. And in the same way, a man without a beard, not necessarily a bad Muslim. And I'd like to speak about the sisters as well. A woman in full niqab for example, is not necessarily a brilliant Muslim inside there. And a woman for example, who might not be dressed that appropriately may not be a bad Muslim inside there. So we do not judge Allah says, leave that for us.
And this is why amazingly, we as Muslim men are taught that to assist one another, to give what we call that our to one another. To give that hour even to those who are totally outside the fold of the deen is considered an act of worship, what the balance, and this is why very far from Islam are those who teach us to kill the non Muslims sporadically. That is unacceptable, and Islamic. It has nothing to do with Islam, Lamin Caribbean what I mean by it, neither from me nor from a distance, because that is my Hello. Those are the people we are trying to invite towards the entry into Islam, showing them the goodness of Islam, it has been made an act of worship to invite them to Islam, how
then would it be correct for us to eradicate them, when without them, we probably wouldn't have the scope of people uttering the Shahada, may Allah subhanahu wa taala grant us the balance.
So this is why it's extremely important for us to know as a gift is the fact that we are most limited. If you take a look at statistics, even on the internet, from Muslim websites, you will come to know or to note that Islam is one of the fastest if not the fastest growing religion
amongst whom a lot of them are those who are fed up, fed up with what they've been doing all along. The freedom that they've had, has made them fed up because that is not freedom. Freedom is actually something that Islam says is governed. And I like to give the example of a motor vehicle we are free to drive once you have a license, but are you free to bump into the next vehicle? The answer is no. There must be a balance you drive Mashallah, but without bashing into another vehicle, if you do, you are responsible, you can't say while it was my freedom, I was free to bash into your car. This is what the non Muslims seem to be doing sometimes to Islam, where they say we are free and using
the word freedom, they begin to bash into the Muslims and Islam saying I'm free. Well, in the same way, we have speed traps on the one and the roads we need to have speed traps spiritually and religiously, but who is going to govern those?
It's common sense Islam strikes the balance by saying all
got
amazing verses of the Quran. Allah says, Do not swear or mock or jeer at those who are calling out to Gods besides Allah.
Even though we don't believe in them, we might regard them funny. We might regard them foolish, but Allah says do not mock. Because they will then mock in return. Look at the balance. Look at the balance. When we lose this balance, we lose everything. This is when chaos spreads across the globe. What would we achieve by burning a Bible knowing that that Bible has been changed? Even the Christians agree that it's changed? I had a few Christians who came to my home some time back and I welcome them. And I asked him one question, and that was it. What was the question? I said, Look, my beloved brother in humanity, obviously, you have a book you are coming to me to preach the book. I
have a book My book is the Koran. All the Muslims on the globe agree that this is the one book no change, not even with the letter. Everyone agrees This is the book The Quran. Can I ask you in Christianity? Do all the Christians agree with
This is the book he says, No, how many versions of the book are there? He says, well, quite a few. I said, Look beyond the 36 versions, the last I knew was 36. So I'd like you to go back to your people and have a huge international conference, come up amongst the Christians with one book, then bring it to us inshallah, we will be ready to talk by that time. Subhan Allah, we know as Muslims, that the Bible, they themselves will agree that we don't agree with one another as to the authenticity of the book that the other has in his hand, we are taught, don't ever desecrate that book, don't burn it, don't do anything to disrespect it, because then it will create chaos and havoc. Islam has
struck the balance. But when people do not have that gift of Islam, they don't understand that balance. So they begin to desecrate the Koran, and they begin to abuse that which Allah subhanho wa Taala forbid, is very lofty in creation, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
We would never do that with an ISA or with Jesus May peace be upon him, nor would we do it with anyone else. And this is why we say we are fortunate to be muslimeen we have laws that govern us, we have breaks we have limits, and it is these limits that keep us SubhanAllah. on course, Allah subhanho wa Taala has instilled within every one of us a base desire.
That base desire should not be fulfilled in a manner that we begin to commit adultery and fornication. No, Allah says, hang on, there is a way and I've made it so easy. And you should get married so that everyone knows you are married. You need to have some witnesses, you need to have someone meaning there are certain laws governing the method of marriage which is extremely simple in the Sharia. But you do it in a specific way. You will be responsible for any female you have tampered with, because in the Sharia, we there is no tampering with females you either take her in nigga or you respect her, leave her alone. She is a chaste woman, she is your Muslim sister.
Whereas we have others who have no balance conjugal desires. Now the Billa I was reading an article on the net where they are considering or some groups are beginning to lobby the permissibility of * Allah safeguard us
in the same way that homosexuality was discussed several decades back and everybody considered it taboo and foolish.
Man was a man in America was a man in Canada, woman Casa Marina Sakuma, who was a man in society. What we consider today nothing wrong with people of some time back considered it very bad, taboo. And what we consider taboo today, they will come a time when people in the future will consider it. Nothing wrong with Allahu Akbar. I can't imagine my grandmother with jeans.
But I can imagine my generation my wife, or my daughter, and so on with jeans, I can.
I think I've just put it into perspective.
Things change over time. Remember, this is not a comment for or against jeans. No, it's just showing you really that what was considered a long time ago, something that was taboo. Now we nothing wrong with it. Allahu Akbar, may Allah open our doors, so times change, Islam is so beautiful, the balance it has struck certain items, it has just given us a framework, it is not specified, because it changes with the changing of time. Let me give you a simple example.
You take a look at the Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam wherein he mentions the happiness of this dunya and what person would have in order to be considered very, very fortunate and so on. And there are a few items which I mentioned one of them is a remarkable movie. He says, a very comfortable conveyance. Imagine if he said a camera like mine, hey, the story was over. The story was over but look at the prophetic words it is a balance because today, even the deaths and 120 wise we had in 1960 are no longer comfortable Mashallah, imagine the shocks of the BMW are now what we're looking for. Yes, these are the prophetic balanced words. Look at what he says Albay to
noir Sir, he says a spacious home because at that time, one little room was considered extremely spacious. But the balance of Islam is such that today, even if we have 234 10 on sweets, you know what's an unsweet? At that time they had the loo was the furthest away. The loo was the furthest away, you had to leave the home, cross the road and use the loo. Today, closer than your bed is the loo Allahu Akbar Allah says goddess. We're not saying it's right or wrong. That's not the discussion but look at the balance of words. These are prophetic words that will last up to three
Yama
Subhana Allah so the homes change. Look at another one he says Allah to Sally ha Oh xojo Salah
a pious or a good spouse what is considered good inspires today? Yes Mashallah, with all respect to everyone Mashallah is nowhere near what was pious at that time, not even in the least. But the beautiful words are such that we are taught, try and look for a spouse on your level or slightly higher religiously, always, because it will help you, instead of looking for someone lower, unless obviously you would like to teach them and so on. That's a discussion on its own. It's not today's topic. So this is the balance. We also have some hannula other matters or other issues or other creatures of Allah subhanho wa Taala that he has created in a balance.
Let's take a look at
the shade that we have from the sun. If it wasn't for the heat of the sun, would we ever know the value of the shade? If it wasn't for cold? Would we ever know what heat is?
If it wasn't for heat, would we ever know what cold is? Amazing? Look at how Allah has created it. If it wasn't for night, would we ever know what day is? The verses were read La Jolla La La como la isla samadhan ilaha
illa Allah
Subhana Allah say O Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam if the night was kept for you, everlasting up to Kiana without de who from those Gods besides Allah would bring forth the day for you.
Amazing, do you not hear the Quran says, Do you not hear? So even the balance of the day and night is a balance. It's amazing. That's Allah. And that's the cooter of Allah subhanho wa Taala at this point, don't when the khari was reading the verses amazing. Because without that, all creatures amazingly, are created in a balance, we as muslimeen as insane, sadly, do not follow at times that balance and this is where we fail.
Now one might say, well,
this is a question that one young studied, asked me, he says, you know, we talking of
the balance. So you get people who are pious, and you get those who are not, we must be in the middle, meaning give up a few things. And you know, there's a few things that we might engage in and not engage in. No, that is not what is meant by the balance. In Islam, we have a ladder. And I explained this even the last time I attended the same conference, there is a ladder, that ladder has many steps. The top is perfection, none of us will get there. But the bottom, we need to start with step one, and move closer and closer to the Almighty. As the days pass, we become better people. And I've given the example of clothing of women folk, for example, in the past, and I have said and I
repeat it again, if there is a sister, for example, who is used to miniskirts in her life, the day she drops that mean, well, what I mean by drop is something else. The day she lowers from where from the point to the knee and makes it a MIDI skirt,
or law, what will we say she within her heart, depending on her intention may have solved either 25 or 50% of the problem. Depending on what amount of her legs she's now covered.
Sorry for giving this example. But it's practical.
And after that, if she has to put on and look she has achieved something, she's achieved something. Because I've seen Muslim brothers and sisters, whom others might consider far from the fold of Islam, yet their struggle is far greater than those who might be proper Muslims apparently. And why I say this as a teacher, we have in the classroom, those who are intelligent, they always first and you have those who are normally last. But sometimes a child who was 30th in a class of 30, who has worked so hard to get to 20, I would say deserves a bigger prize than the one who was in first position and remained in first position. That's what I would feel. So the struggle only they would
know. And this is why we say don't lose hope in the mercy of Allah. Allah no bueno Kofi Raja
Eman and believe according to the Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is the correct balance between fear and hope. We hope for the mercy of Allah subhanho wa Taala. At the same moment, we fear the punishment of Allah and what I have noticed from my experience nowadays on the globe when we are public speakers, yes, we do need to speak
The Doom that is to come, that happens, and we must, and everybody needs to know about jahannam. But I feel that nowadays on the globe, there are a larger number or there is a larger number of people turning towards goodness through hope, than through fear. Nowadays, I may be wrong, but this is what I feel. Because it's a free world out there. There are Muslim men who may turn away from Islam, when we make them feel like they are non Muslim already by talking to them. So sister, or Brother, you are going to jahannam Have you heard that Hellfire he says, Well, I'm already they open the bottle now. So he started drinking. And I'm already I'd rather do this. That is because there is no
balance.
But when we strike the balance, we will be able to and definitely be able to walk on a path of the obedience of Allah subhanho wa Taala getting closer to Allah on a daily basis. And this is why I say there will come a time when that sister has now covered herself, possibly not in the best of material and maybe not in the loosest of clothing. But she has now arrived at a bare minimum, maybe step number five, and there are still another 100 steps, but she is far better off than she was when she was off the ladder totally. Allahu Akbar. And then she gets on the ladder, and she moves further. And then you suddenly have one of the pious people, you know, outwardly pious, may Allah
grant us achema and wisdom in Dawa, you have a person who comes and condemns and says, You know what, sister? Don't bother, you're going to *. Every hair that is showing is in the fire. Yes, so the sisters start seeing what, but remember, don't lose hope in the mercy of Allah. People are ignorant, they don't know your struggle within you, they don't know it. They don't have a clue. For as long as you are heading in the right direction. Persevere continue and you will find that Allah subhanho wa Taala will open your doors. But with that balance, if you are to fall on one of either side, you may lose the balance. Let me explain. Someone is for example, believing in a lot of hope
they have hope in the mercy of Allah was no fear at all. That person might end up sinning because they will think well you know what, Allah will forgive me I heard that Hadith, that Hadith I heard it and I heard that Allah Subhana Allah Allah will forgive everyone. So what happened? The person begins to think, let me see, hello, forgive me, then sin, Allah will forgive there is a verse in the Quran. Allah inserted Toba to Latina meluna saying that
either
in need to be
Oh, danger. towba is not for the one who continues committing sin intentionally. Then when death is overtaking them. They begin to say I seek forgiveness now. Because then it's too late. Look at what happened to me down. He was given so many chances at the end of losses.
sonita kaaboo workqueue terminal CD in. Do you want to turn now? No, it's too late. You had transgressed all along and you are from amongst those who are corrupt those who were sinners and so on. And you want to try and you want to turn now when it's too late. So we need to know nobody knows when they will
expire. When they will end. That itself should help us maintain the balance in Allah tala Yakubu Tabata lab with the man over here. The Hadith says Allah accepts the Toba of a worshiper, the repentance of a worshiper, for as long as they have not arrived at the point of arrival. And the caracara is a certain point where the soul is being removed from the body.
At that point, it's too late. So this is also the balance we need. And this is why I say continue. Even the brothers, we all have bad habits. Some of these bad habits are minor, some of them are major, we need to work on them, myself included, we are all human beings.
And we need to work to eradicate the bad habits and to increase the good. In the same way we have
bad habits that need eradication, we have good that needs to be increased. And I feel sometimes it's more of a seesaw situation where the more you have a law the less you will have shapen and the more you have shavon the less you will have Allah if a person obeys shape on for that amount. The law of Allah is displaced from their scale. And when you eradicate shape on from the system, naturally you have more of the obedience May Allah subhanho wa Taala grant us that balance and may He make us from amongst those who understand when I say a seesaw relation naturally, I am not saying we need to obey unequally but what I am saying is in the same way, we have
negativities that need to be eradicated, we have positives that need to be increased, because the more you increase your positive, the more inshallah the negative will decrease. Allah open our doors
Subhan Allah then we have the Hadees, the famous hadith of sentimental fantasy of the Allahu anhu with Abu Dhabi, or the Allahu anhu when they were made brothers, in what was known as mo Aha, there are several terms that are used to describe that what happened is when the Ansel were assisting the Maha Judean who had come from Mecca to the macabre Lama to Medina at a specific time, during the time of hegira, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he, what he did is he or he paid certain people, certain families, so each one took in another and so on. So from amongst these, they were sulman and fantasy and abou Dada. And what happened is salmonella fair is here of the Allahu anhu
noticed that Abu Dhabi, Allahu anhu was also a pious man. They will also have a Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he was overdoing something. Was it a bad thing? No. He was overdoing a good thing. Something brilliant Salah you know, a third of the night, not even a third. As the night entity began to read his Salah. And Salma looked at him and says,
Go and sleep, go back to rest. And again, until there was a portion of the night remaining, and then he was told Okay, now you can continue in the morning about da da da Allahu anhu. Naturally they arrived at Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and he mentioned the story and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says sadaqa Sal man to what Solomon has spoken the truth about what he says look at
your wife has a right over you. Your body has a right over you. You need to strike the balance. You cannot continue doing this and ignoring your spouse. You cannot continue doing this and ignoring your health. There is a balance. This is the literal balance that Islam has come with. Literally, there is a balance. So in the same way we would like to fulfill our Salah. We may not be of the level of sainthood and we are not where we can stand in Salah all night on our feet without expecting the feet to swell up. Yes, we might have heard that this happened to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he was a messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, his wife I shadowed the
meaning of the Allah and
she asked him, Why is it that you're standing so long, so long that your feet have swollen? And naturally he was a newbie he was on the level of his own? a fella akuna denisha Cora, according to one of the narrations, he says, shouldn't I be from amongst those who are grateful? Because the wife says your status is so high, you are indeed naturally from amongst those who are prophets, you are a prophet and so on. Why would you want to continue in Salah? And this was the answer. However with us, we need to strike a balance even when reading Salah. Neither should we.as though we are chickens pecking the ground, no, should we prolong it to the degree that we face medical problems is its
effect.
And the same applies. We have our duties towards our children, towards our family members, spouses, parents, towards our relatives, we have people we work with we have work and so on, you find some people they have contracted for work and then they leave without notice or they are darting from pillar to post and the time for their work is already
up or should I say it is time for them to go to work and they are somewhere else that's wrong. Strike the balance. This is why we have punctuality. punctuality is also part of Islam, to be punctual with the correct intention will earn you reward. Amazing. Look at this. So Sherry has allowed us to enjoy life, but within the limits of Allah subhanho wa Taala.
And this is what Islam has come with as a balance, you find Subhana Allah,
you lead your life, the colors you wear. Obviously there are certain things that are prohibited we need to know. But naturally there is nothing hard and fast. When it comes to the dress code of a woman. There is a framework. When it comes to the dress code of a man. There is a framework within that framework. You work in sha Allah, nothing says that you need to do exactly this. Everyone needs to wear a white robe with a white Kufa on the head. No, there is nothing in Islam that makes it prohibited to be wearing other clothing that falls within the limits of Islam. And this is what we need to know and naturally
A person's own spirituality. This was the point I was making earlier about pious people on one hand, you have a person's own spirituality developing as time passes, and within their secular freedom, they will then be able to progress as well. What do I mean?
I'd like to take an example from the burqa ban in France, for example. And someone asked me a few days ago, what is your opinion now naturally, there are lots of opinions flying around. It's not my opinion, I want to say effect from a secular point of view, not from a religious point of view, effect, from a secular point of view, from the French law point of view before the ban, going back to constitutional issues. secularly.
There is freedom enshrined in the law, freedom of all sorts so much that men marry men marry men, that's how free the secular life of France is. So there is freedom.
When you force in France, a gay to marry a woman, you could be jailed, naturally, you will be you'll be penalized. Why? It's the issue of forcing, you force someone to do something against their will.
So naturally, in the same way that secularly I'm not talking of islamically secularly it is considered a sin to force someone to done the niqab or the hijab, it would according to the same law, be oppression or wrong for for someone to force a person who would like to done the niqab or hijab to remove it. Common Sense, common sense, but because there is no balance and because these are laws that are men made the balance actually tilt, we need to know we are gifted as muslimeen, to have the Quran to resolve the matter and solve the problem Subhana Allah, even when it comes to the kuffar living in Muslim lands, they have laws that govern them. They do certain things in their own
meaning without getting out in public, they have certain laws that govern that as well. So Hannah law when it comes to Muslim mean, it's amazing. It's amazing how on one hand, we have people bombarding, and on the other hand, we have Muslims. Sometimes we don't want to turn to Islam. And this is why it is my call, really, for every one of us to educate ourselves. without knowledge, we won't be able to strike a balance, we need to educate ourselves, regarding or with the pristine pure teachings of Islam. The purer we get, the more balanced we will be. And when we say pure we speaking of that Islam, that was understood by the Sahaba of the Allahu anhu, that Islam that was taught by
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, take a look at his life, how he spoke to the Jews, how he spoke to the Christians, how he spoke to the others, how he dealt with those who required slight bit of harshness, when he spoke, how he dealt with certain people, what was the limit and the line and so on. Amazing with us, sometimes we don't even know the life of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, then we complain that, you know what, there's no balance in Islam. There's no balance, and I've heard these complaints coming from certain people. Remember, sometimes the media
plays a big role in disturbing the pellets when we don't understand another point that the Quran has made mention of and that is to authenticate before you believe something. We need to authenticate not everything we hear or see on the box or the radio What have you is correct. And if we feel that it is correct, always, then what will happen? It may tilt our balance as well. Then we begin to oppress those who are innocent by statements that fly from our mouths May Allah subhanahu wa taala grant us goodness, let's make mention of one or two other points in the Quran, that have been spoken about regarding the balance. Allah subhanho wa Taala speaks in Surah Elisa, about Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and his spending and Allah Subhana Allah Allah says, Allah, Allah de gamma Hulu Latin Illa okay kawada
lumen, so
don't be so stingy holding back your hand so tight and don't give away that which you need. Meaning you give away absolutely everything. There is a narration and obviously this is in us Babu. It may be a weak narration but a narration and I'm not going to say it specifically where it is mentioned that once the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam gave away something he really needed. And the verse was revealed to say, hang on, neither should you
be stingy holding back, nor should you give away that which you need, but choose the middle path. The same applies to
Luqman Allah Salatu was salam, advising his child, he tells his child as well look, you know, we as Muslims mean we need to pray. The prayer at the time of Luqman was different. But still he says,
Oh my son, remember your Salah, remember your prayer. And then he says when you walk, be balanced. Don't be haughty. Don't be arrogant.
Yes, be balanced in your work, so that you are a moderate, humble person. And at the same time in your voice, don't raise it so much. And don't drop it so that people cannot hear what you want to say when you want to communicate with them. And this is the example of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam balancing everything. When he spoke to two or three, he spoke in such a way that the volume that came out was exactly what was needed. When he spoke to larger armies, we find a hadith where it says Mr. Medina who Allah subhanahu wa
furusawa como Masako, according to the narration, he used to raise his voice at certain times when it was required. And he used to utter words which were very direct. Like, for example, and this is a point that I noted
when we want to tell our children
not to make noise when they're making a big noise. And we have important guests, it would be foolish for us to close our ears and say,
naturally, it's foolish for us to do that. Because we would make a fool of ourselves, we might get the message across, and there would be dead silence.
But that's not a balance, you've now set a claim, you've set a norm, every time you want something, you're gonna scream for it. No. And the other hand, you don't just leave them, literally to disrespect your guests. And to run around and only children, it's fine. They only children, they need to be told, this is just one example I'm going to give but you can fit it in any part of your life. They need to be told with the most effective method, that it is neither too harsh, nor is it such that the message doesn't get across. So you need to be quite direct and polite, firm but polite in the most beautiful respectable manner. Sometimes it's just
the eye, the frown that Does, does it. I think the sisters are understanding that because the mothers know exactly what that means. You know, when you looked at with an eye, and the child is shaking, Allah safeguard us, we hope that that's not the relation we have in our homes. We hope it's more balanced than that. But the child needs to feel the most loved by the parent. And at the same time, the child needs to have that slight element of fear in that the child must not do something that is outrightly wrong. Why do we say feel most loved? Sometimes people don't know what love is all about. Love is about striking a balance. You love your children and it's because of that love
that you reprimand them
to get the balance, but some of us I love my child so you we throw all the money, we throw parties for them Mashallah 18th birthday, they've got their vehicle, and we've done this for them. And we, you know, throw up maybe a holiday to Hawaii and Honolulu and so on Subhana Allah, we're not saying don't spoil your children, but let them earn it so that they realize the value of it so that the day they get married, and they cannot afford that anymore, they are not spoiled to the degree that the marriage doesn't work, Allahu Akbar, all this is foresight, we need to look ahead and think that also is part of the balance. So we ask Allah Subhana Allah to Allah really to open our doors, I
still have quite a few points. And naturally the time it's better for us to have run out of time, then Subhan Allah to have been so bored that everyone began to yawn and so on that also is a balancing Sharla
I'd like to also end on another note, today we have technology.
Technology, my beloved brothers and sisters is something extremely important. Personally, I have changed my views several times regarding various issues and technology. I give you the example of Facebook.
I always believed it was a waste of time. And I still do to a certain extent, depends how you use it. And it's broken. So many marriages, being a council, I've seen it, I've witnessed it, I have not been able to help in some cases, and we've been able to assist by the word of Allah in some other cases, and you have Twitter, the internet at large.
If we do not strike the balance and set limits and times we will destroy our lives. Remember that the most irritating thing a spouse can ever see. Is the husband or wife. so fascinated with the phone that click, click, click click. This is exactly what I'm going to say.
effect, click click click in the morning PP, then click clicking voila, he that is not permissible as a Muslim. That's not striking the balance. And I've touched the button. I'm sure I have for a lot of people pressed if in fact, because then we are not good Muslim in remember your time to sleep switch it off deal with it tomorrow morning. Today I met a brother at noon Street. He told me about I've emailed you you haven't responded. I said look, brother, I respond the first five, six emails after that I also have other issues. I'm not living in order to reply emails all day and all night. Well, he we need to strike the balance. So what should I do? I said, Well, look, there are other
ways of getting hold of me number one, number two is make use of other alama as well. Number three is if you really have to send the mail a few times, twice, thrice inshallah there's a greater possibility of it being seen. And I'm not I told him with all due respect, but we're lucky if we are to be enslaved by that. We won't have time for our children who are right there. Right there next to us saying that, but dad and you're saying
you just hang on one line, it is foreign for you to look at your son switch everything off and say yes, my son, I'm here for you today. Subhana Allah, may Allah subhanho wa Taala grant us a lesson. I could have gone further on the point of technology, but we can use it for the benefit of the oma or for its detriment for our benefit or for our detriment. It's up to us to strike a balance even in Dawa we, as those who would like to call others and to remind ourselves about Islam. There are limits sometimes people would require your presence. 24 seven, no, you should have the real really you should strike the balance where you need to know, brother, I need a break here. I need to attend
to my firearm. I need to attend to my own family. What's the point of trying to harness the whole world when my family this likes me totally because I don't even have a minute for them to smile at them. Now Allah subhanho wa Taala open our doors and this is why I say with anything to do with the internet especially and your mobile phones please draw the line. May Allah Subhana Allah Allah grant us the balance of sallallahu wasallam obata Kalyan Amina Muhammad wa salam aleikum wa rahmatullah