Dealing with Difficulty #19 Negative Mindset

Mufti Menk

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The importance of trusting Allah for one's life is discussed, emphasizing the need for positivity and finding a way to manifest Allah's actions. The speaker also highlights the importance of facing challenges and laying a trust in Allah. The speaker emphasizes the need for gratitude and negativity in resolving negative emotions, and the importance of preparing for unexpected events and showing positive connections with Allah.

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Dealing with difficulty

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regarding

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being negative all the time. Some people are

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indeed negative. Anything that happens,

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they think of the worst case scenario and

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they live

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with that type of understanding. Now bear in

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mind, we are human.

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It's normal to be negative, but it's also

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normal to be positive and to strike the

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balance.

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Try your best to strike the balance. Don't

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look at everything in a negative light.

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Something happens that is good, and you just

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look at the negatives.

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You know, you look at the ceiling and

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think, what if the ceiling drops? You look

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at a road and you say, what if

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this just cracks open and we all go

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in? You look at a building and you

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say, what if the building falls? You're flying

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in the aircraft and you think, what if

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this aircraft, this happens to it and that?

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Why think negative for everything?

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Okay. We're

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human. It may cross our mind, but understand

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quickly

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lay your trust in Allah.

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That's the bonus of a believer.

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When you have belief in your maker and

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you know, he put you here in the

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first place, he will look after you.

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Then,

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you will definitely be able to achieve

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so much of positivity.

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Because what you will begin to understand is

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Allah has given me a capacity.

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He's helped me. He's provided for me to

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a certain extent.

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He's given me everything that I actually have,

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and whatever he's given me, my physical capacity,

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my intellectual

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capacity, my financial capacity, and so on,

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everything put together, I will do whatever I

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believe is best to protect myself,

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and to be able to build myself in

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a way that is pleasing to Allah

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and will make my life on earth, which

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is temporary,

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easy.

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And then I lay my trust in Allah.

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Work hard towards achieving that which is beneficial

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for you. Seek the help of Allah

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and don't be lazy. Don't just give up.

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Keep trying.

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If something happens that is negative, then definitely

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it happened.

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We will

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rise to the occasion. We will do whatever

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we can. We try again. We're not going

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to be lazy and we're not going to

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give up. It's part of the plan of

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Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.

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So don't look at every scenario and say,

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do you know what?

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What if this and what if that? It's

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a type of an anxiety.

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It can become a disorder where you might

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even require professional help.

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Nonetheless,

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in the deen and the religion of Allah

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subhanahu wa ta'ala,

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he's provided you with a coping mechanism

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and he's given you something amazing. Connect with

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him. Recite the Quran. Look at the meanings

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of the verses of the Quran.

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Take a look at the stories of the

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prophets.

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Go through them. Understand them. See what Allah

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did for the people. And remember, challenges will

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always come in your life.

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You will always have certain things that will

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occur, but with the help of Allah, you

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will overcome every one of them. Allah says,

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Allah says, Allah does not hold a person

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or does not

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burden someone with more than he or she

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can shoulder.

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So remember,

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if Allah has put you through a certain

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challenge,

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it's because he knows you will cope and

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you can manage. Even if it's tough,

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Allah knows he's going to make you strong.

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Where were we? Have we not been through

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challenges? Have we not been through so much

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in terms of

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uncertainty, in terms of negativity?

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Where are we today? Did Allah not provide

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for us? Did we not come out of

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it? Alhamdulillah,

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we thank Allah Almighty.

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If we look at others,

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they are really struggling way beyond us.

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And therefore we should accept that we owe

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gratitude to Allah because of whatever he's given

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us. In fact, if we want to fight

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that negativity, one of the ways, yes, we

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lay our trust in Allah. Yes, we believe.

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Yes, we pray. Yes, we read Quran. Yes,

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we engage in what is known as dhikr,

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the remembrance of Allah. Because Allah says,

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remember me, I remember you. Get acquainted with

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Allah at times of,

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ease and Allah will get acquainted with you

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at times of

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difficulty.

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All of this is there. Remember, Allah Almighty

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has favored us. He will definitely grant us

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ease, and he will help us to cope.

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He will open the doors for us. We

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have to have that conviction.

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So

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this world is made up of so many

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different things, different types of people,

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different days, the days that were difficult,

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by his will, and that is the will

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of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

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So for us to constantly think about

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negatives

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is definitely

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a quality that needs remedying.

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Allah Almighty

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wants us

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to thank him. He says,

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If you are thankful,

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I will grant you increase in goodness. And

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if you are going to show ingratitude,

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then I will definitely

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meaning then my punishment is severe. He didn't

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say I will punish you, but he says,

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remember my punishment is severe.

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And if you are ungrateful,

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indeed, my punishment

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is severe. He didn't say I'm going to

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punish you because sometimes

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Allah's mercy dictates that he gives you some

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time.

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And this is the beauty of the mercy

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of Allah.

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He won't punish you immediately. In most cases,

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Allah will give you a long time to

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repent, to turn and so on. Sometimes he

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might choose to give the punishment earlier.

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Remember,

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gratitude is positivity,

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ingratitude is negativity.

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And also,

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positivity

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is to show gratitude and negativity

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is being

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ungrateful.

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So thank Allah.

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If something out of human nature happens to

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come in your mind and you think of

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the worst possible scenario,

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thank Allah. I mean, you're a human. So

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it's bound to creep in now and again.

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I'm sure it happens to all of us.

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But it depends how long you dwell on

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it. If you dwell on it too long,

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you become a burden upon those whom you

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live with. You become

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a person whom who is difficult to interact

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with. You become a negative

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force

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that people around

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you feel very low when they're in your

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company because you only think of negatives.

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You have to push yourself to look at

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the positives and give people hope and have

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hope yourself. It won't happen inshallah. It's possible

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that a fire might happen. So we have

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extinguishers.

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We have fire hoses. We have hydrants and

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everything is there. But inshallah it will not

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happen. Chances are 1 in a 1000000.

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Every time we jump on an aircraft, they

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make an announcement.

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And they tell you about the oxygen in

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case the oxygen fails. They tell you in

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case there is emergency, this is what you

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should do. They tell you in case

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of,

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you know,

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landing

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emergency landing. This is how you open the

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emergency exits, and this is what you should

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look at, and this is what you should

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do

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Yet 99.99%

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of the flights land safely.

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It's not because they are negative.

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It's not because they are struggling or suffering.

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It's only a normal thing to give you

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precautionary,

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you know, precautionary measures, let you know about

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them. So

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in the same way, we find

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Allah Almighty has kept within us a mechanism

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such that

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when you think of what might happen, there

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would be a few negatives. Don't dwell on

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them. Prepare for them and move on. Prepare

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for them. Be ready. Inshallah, look. I've got

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this and this and this in place if

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something happens. I've prepared for a rainy day.

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It may happen, but I'm going to go

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ahead and I'm going to continue.

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So some of these topics are interconnected because

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they happen to all be

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remedied

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by the connection we will be having with

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Allah Almighty. And this is the mercy of

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Allah.

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When we're connected with him, all the sicknesses,

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all the diseases, all the negativity, all the

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anxiety,

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sadness, whatever else it may be, jealousy, hatred,

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everything gets remedied

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because that is Allah.

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The connection with him has a holistic

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growth

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of positivity

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that human being will always feel and appreciate.

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You will build yourself into such a lovely

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person by the help of Allah. With the

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connection of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, you begin

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to appreciate that connection and you start enjoying

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your prayer and your connection with Allah Subhanahu

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wa ta'ala. May Allah grant us all ease.

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May he make us able to look at

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things more

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positively than negative.

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May he make us a force of positivity.

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the harms of this world and the next.

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the harms of this world and the next.