Facing Reality – Technology in a Charging World

Salam Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

Bismillah Al hamdu Lillahi wa Salatu was Salam ala Rasulillah who Allah Allah He was having he and my brothers my sisters. I'm excited to be in Luton once again mashallah, this time there are so many of you on the stage mashallah look at our brothers mashallah and I see right in front of me brother Omar Regan as I walked in mashallah I told him I think I'm going to start joking in my speech by just looking at your face, because I feel like laughing when I see him you know?

But that happens sometimes we traveled together a few times recently, we were in Australia. We traveled from city to city. You want to know the the distance in hours between Perth and Sydney?

What was it

was like four and a half hours Yeah, you're right, just in one country Mashallah. You can imagine what was happening to us may Allah subhanahu wa to Allah grant us ease. You can go and listen to our brother to know what happened to mashallah he says it in a beautiful way, mashallah, my brothers, my sisters, the world has changed.

The world has changed, and it will keep on changing. And sometimes things happen that make it change so quickly, so dramatically, that you need to pause for a moment to think about where you were just a few years ago, I'll give you an example. When I was little, in the 50s and 60s.

Just before I was little should I say?

Do you know the phone the telephone, forget about the mobile phone forget about video calling. Forget about all of that, just the more that the telephone was only for privileged people. If you wanted to send a message across the country, you needed to book a call, you actually needed to probably go to the post office, you needed to if you needed to send an urgent message there was something called a telegram and the Telex at some point. telex was supposed to be advanced, you know, and they had to type out little

letters you paid per letter. So they already started the abbreviating from that time, you know, condensing but the world changed. The world changed. I remember, people used to travel by ship, from the subcontinent to Africa, and it took them months on end. We used to write letters I used to write letters. When I was a child, we used to have a pen pal across the oceans. And the schools used to tell us write a letter why just get to know someone else and the culture. The idea is to get to know people so that you can respect different people's ways of looking at the world, or understand them at least. So we used to write the letter, it used to take a month to six weeks to get to the person.

And then by the time they reply, it's a few days, sometimes a week, another month or six weeks. So three months, you get a response and you're writing another letter and guess what, you only write a few throughout the year and your year is gone. Mashallah, today, I'm just going to jump straight to today. We communicate with people across the globe, in real time by them looking at us and us looking at them. What I'm saying right now is heard across the globe, anyone who wants to connect to the live stream may do so Subhanallah right now, it was impossible. Unheard of unthinkable just a few decades ago, unthinkable. Wallahi. When we were little we used to talk about things we used to

say you know what, one day you will have a car that you just press a button, it starts flying.

We've got it.

We used to say One day I'll be able to see the person I'm going to talk to and then they will say Nah, that cannot happen that's it can't be because televisions just before 1990 I think it was just the national TV and you had to connect to it and you know there were all these little black dots that you would get on a screen and you had to fine tune it in some of them were actually with a knob that you had to actually look for the channel and then clean it as best as you could and you can watch something nowhere near the clarity of today where you can count the hair on my nose right now but and people enjoyed it. Oh TV that uncle's got a TV and the TV was the size of perhaps a huge

What can I say a generator of today, right? A huge television. Not these thin little screens you just have a screen like the screens that

We have the ones on my sides here, simple, thin, beautiful, clear, crisp, high definition HD and then HD D and then something called What's it called for something? What's it called? 4k 5k and whatever else

mashallah, mashallah, you know what? With 5k, you can see what's not even there. You realize, you know why?

We've arrived at an age where they can make you say words you've never said it's happened to me. They can move your mouth and have your voice saying things you've never ever uttered, taking you places you've never ever been. And you see it in 6k and 10k. Mashallah, because the guy who did it is getting paid about 10k 5k. Right? Mashallah.

The world has changed.

We have to face that reality, we have to face it. But guess what your connection with Allah, if anything should only become stronger.

Everything that we have, in terms of technology is only to facilitate our relationship with Allah because as time has passed, man has become lazy in every single way, physically, mentally, I used to memorize almost 1000 phone numbers may maybe those of you my age and a little bit older would probably know yes, we knew numbers off by heart today, we don't even know our own phone numbers in many cases. I was in Makkah last week, Medina,

I have a SIM card. I don't even know what the number was. It's my own number. But guess what, I had the same one last time I visited, I still don't know what the number is. But I know I got to quickly check it and send the contact, what's your number said I'll send it to you, I send it in the form of a contact, not have not in the form of a number. And you save it without looking at the number but just as a contact, right? And then you send me a message without looking at the number. It's saved as a name. What happened? Your mind and your brain has gotten used to doing that. So now you cannot memorize numbers. If I were to take all of that away from you, you would go back to memorizing

numbers because man adapts to a certain degree to what is around him or her right? May Allah Almighty grant us goodness, so the world has changed. Now I want to tell you, who is according to us as believers as Muslimeen, who do we believe is the best of creation, the most noble of all prophets of Allah say his name,

Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

We believe that he's the best, the closest to Allah subhanho wa Taala that should we believe?

We believe his status is so high that no matter what we said, we would not be able to do justice to it. We say May peace be upon him after his name. Allah Almighty chose to keep him at a certain time in the history of this world or in the existence of this world where there was no running water from a tap.

For water, he had to get water from a distance.

Whether they did it for him, or he did it at times himself. Water was not easily available. Secondly,

there was no electricity.

There were no roads.

There were no cars. They were no aircraft, airplanes, no airports, technology as we know it today. No internet, no phones. Why? Why? Why? If Allah loves you so so much the most, and billions and trillions of people bear witness to that? Why would he keep you at a time when it was difficult for you to even go from one place to another, it took them slow journey 16 days to get to Medina to get to Makkah between the two. Normal journey eight days fast journey four days? Not really quicker than four days today, I promise you, not four hours, but you use the train in two hours, you're already in Makkah.

Why Why?

Why would Allah do that? Why did Allah give me facility and you facility that he did not give the companions of the Prophet peace be upon him?

It's a very important question.

It is in order to show you and I that all of that holds no value in the eyes of Allah. A winner is the one who has a connection with Allah with or without that technology. A lot of this my brothers my sisters is a distraction. That's what it is. It's not easy. It's a distraction. Such a big difference.

Action that many of us lose our way. I remember there was a scholar who said, not too long ago, he says.

And I had to ask him why he said this. He says, if you have a phone,

you must go through tick tock for a few minutes a day and swipe through to learn good things. Okay. Okay. Did you hear what he's saying? Encouraging people to go through tick tock every day for a few minutes. And I sat with him backstage later, and I told him check. What did you just say? He says, Do you know how much I've learned from tick tock? I said, that's because your algorithm is relatively clean.

And you've been learning things I said, Why don't you do yourself a favor? Get some one of the youngsters and ask him, can you show me your tick tock? He will not show it to you. Say why? Because he stopped for a lot. What do you want to do that? Right? It's the algorithm is relatively clean, it gets used to what you say around the phone. Two days ago, I was talking about something. And the phone started showing me the same thing because it hears me right now.

The phone has now

the ability to deliver this lecture that I'm delivering right now. Do you know that all you got to do is get to that app of the artificial intelligence and say, Please deliver a move demand lecture on this topic? And I promise you it will type it out for you in a in a short span of time. Exactly the way it's delivered by me. It's happening. I'm not you might not know about it, it's there. It's there people use it.

And subhanAllah so the reason he was saying this, he felt innocently rightly so there is a lot of goodness on Tik Tok.

It's true. But at the same time, the distractions are even more so you and I cannot say don't use your phone Don't be on Instagram Don't be on Tik Tok. Don't, don't be on Facebook. Please don't have WhatsApp don't even be connected because it's so dangerous. We have to face reality and tell you listen and giving you a red hot cold you're gonna have to bounce it through your hands and put on the asbestos gloves so that you don't get burned. And make sure you use it in such a way that you will be proud of it on the day of judgment but that doesn't mean I should tell you divorce yourself from it completely goes.

In our homes, we've had young people we've tried our best not to give them devices up to a certain age. Have you noticed that age is becoming less and less younger and younger? Because it's the reality on the ground they say but I don't exist. I don't have a phone.

But when you give them a phone it's like you're on edge always. You want to see what do you do? How can you spy on me? Mom? You don't trust me? You know what I trust you so much, but I don't trust shape man.

I don't trust shape, man. But I trust you so much. Chapin will come No, but you know, it's okay. It's just a friend of friend mashallah friend and a little while later what happens? The relationship begins to bend mashallah, Allah forgive us. It's a reality, we swerve. So to be able to guide and speak to your children and keep a connection with your family and your friends and have decent friends is how you shall face reality. That's how you face reality. Do not lose the ties with those whom Allah has created you in the presence and the company of to the best of your ability. What that means is sometimes you have a toxic family member, it's really bad, I really cannot make

it happen. You can take a step back, you're allowed to actually taper off a relationship with someone who's closely related to you. If it is really toxic and deserving of that. I've had people who tell me how could you ever tell someone that you're allowed to cut off a parent, but I'll tell you what, in some cases where that parent is involved in abuse of the particular child, what advice do you want to give them? You're gonna say no, but that's your dad. But my dad raped me, Stan, federal law. Now what? Now speak, are you going to say but don't worry, Allah has given them a status, what status, they've abused their status, they've been abusive, they haven't empowered us.

All the children want is a little bit of love affection together with the respect.

It doesn't mean because it's your child in public you can you can just abuse them they also have to carry themselves to a certain degree in a way that would be acceptable to their friends and those around even if you don't know a single person in this crowd, respect your children in the presence of others.

Just like you would like to be corrected behind closed doors Subhan Allah

may Allah Almighty grant us ease so

The use of whatever we have in terms of social media is very important. There is a lot of goodness, there is a lot of goodness, you will learn so much, even from something as simple as tick tock on condition that you tune yourself to ignore that which is harmful.

When I walk on the street,

the streets of Luton?

When I walk on the streets of Luton, what will I notice?

I notice so many things. But what do I give importance to? I give importance to what is pleasing to Allah? And what do I actually

keep myself away from that which is considered low in terms of morals and values, that which is considered unacceptable in terms of my faith, for example, in toxicants, for example, to walk into a place where you know, things are happening in there that would be displeasing to Allah, or if someone is dressed in a way that you feel you would not dress because of your faith? What do you do? Number one, it's not easy to navigate through this, but it's a reality facing you, you will have to offer them the respect of a human being, you have to offer them the respect of the human being that does not mean you agree with the way they're dressed for yourself. You don't but do you become ugly?

No, you don't. You're living in a country where the freedoms that are enshrined in the nation are the exact freedoms that have allowed them to do what they're doing, allowing you to do what you're doing Subhanallah it's something you need to think of so what will I do?

I would lower my gaze in a very respectful way that is between you and Allah Now it's your relationship with Allah so I need to look down

now brother almost giving me the long look, you know, it's just brother I know what's crossing your mind. You must he must be thinking well, I'm still you know, the first look is permissible. The first look is permissible. I'm still looking it's my first look, you know Subhanallah and then what do you do you say a stop for Allah start for Allah and you look down mashallah start for Allah is not a password by the way. brother Omar is the only comedian well mind you there's another comedian sitting here as well. MashAllah beautiful brother handle? I just know him also from Tiktok by the way, Allah grant you is my brother.

So, in reality, yes, you it's there is a way of navigating through this. There is a way of looking and a way of doing things. You don't disrespect people who have differed with you, you don't disrespect people who have different with you. And at the same time, you carry yourself in a way that's pleasing to Allah subhanho wa taala. So I look down. And mashallah, if I need to greet them, I will greet if I need to help them, I will help but with utmost respect, such that by the time you're done, they would be nodding their heads. You know what, these people are really good people. What did you do? You gave dower you called people towards your beautiful teachings and

characteristics just by rendering assistance to a person who might not even have been dressed in a way that anyone you would have associated with in terms of friendship may have been dressed. So what

we're citizens, perhaps we might be residents perhaps of the same place? Or if not, at least, they're right there in front of you. What would you do SubhanAllah. In the same way that I've just told you when a physical meeting happens, be it in the malls, be it on the streets, you have to respect people who differ with you, number one, that doesn't mean you compromise your goodness, number two, number three, if they require help, it doesn't mean you run away from them. Number four, when you help them at a time when they do need the help carry yourself bearing in mind you belong to Allah.

carry yourself bearing in mind you belong to Allah. For example, you might have gone out to watch a football match. People might say totally haram unacceptable listen to whatever is being said. There are reasons the people who say It's haram the people who say it's okay, those who say it's permissible. You know what, they give you guidelines, they don't just blanket permissible just go and do what you want. So now you go, you go to the stadium and you just start doing whatever you want. No, you may go if you do go and if you feel that you have to go and if that's the opinion that you follow, but you're governed still by The Times of Salah, aren't you? You're still your dress

code, the way you carry yourself the words you say and so on. You don't need to utter those abusive vulgar words just because everyone else is doing it. You know, the F word is no longer a swear word in some communities just how to say hello, how the FIU brother, that's what they say.

Something Allah I promise you and that they just greeting they just greet you sorry not you by the way, happy Habibi, mashallah I gotta say how the Alhamdulillah you my brother, inshallah. But it's the reality, people have made it such that no one remembers where it came from. It's actually a very bad, vulgar swear word, man. Can you not carry yourself with a little bit of respect, let's face reality. I don't need to drop down to the level become conscious of it. Train yourself to become pure in your language. Allah will grant you acceptance to utter good words at the time of your death. Because I tell you what the time of death, there are pangs, pangs of death, where you may

feel a bit of pain, a little bit of this to a certain point beyond which Allah takes you away.

But as you feel the pain or as the accidents made, or as whatever's going to be taking you finally away is happening. You don't want to say oh, yeah, you know, and so on. Notice I didn't pronounce the T.

But at the same time, that's what it is. People start saying those words. Is it really a bad thing? It's not such a bad word. But is that the word you want to end your life upon? Come on. Man, can I ask you rucola me he means dunya La Ilaha illa Allah that fellow Jana. The Prophet sallallahu Sallam says whoever's last words upon their tongues as they're leaving this life and this world is La Ilaha illa Allah they shall be granted entry into Jana. Everything else has just gone one side. Why? Because I said a beautiful word as I ended Allah Akbar. Get yourself used to it. Something happens in leyline Allah, it's better than evil. If, right? It's love for Allah. So I'm just saying it the

way it is. That's all.

As it is, the theme of our Light upon light this year is facing reality. That's what it is. My brothers, my sisters, we've been blessed. Allah has given us technology that he did not give those before us. Allah has given us a means of keeping ourselves warm with clothing that they wouldn't have dreamed to have come about in existence at this particular time. You have beautiful warm clothing that's quite thin mashallah they say it's pure wool it's this it's what do they call it heated and something else there are some words that they use to depict the long johns that you'd be wearing inside and whatever else it might be mashallah they didn't have it. Does this thing bring

you closer to Allah or does it create a distance? If it is a distraction? Here we are today to tell you let's face reality and rather than making it a distraction away from Allah, we should make it a means of getting closer to Allah.

You have your phone so what do you do? Well, I booked the Light upon light event kudos Mashallah. And by the way, I booked the comedy event that's going to be happening this evening shall also in Luton, Masha

that's also permissible by the way my salah it's called Hollywood Masha Allah

may Allah grant you guys ease and goodness my brothers, my sisters, I listened to Quran on my phone, my phone bears witness for me. I listen, I did something good. It will bear witness for me. Allah will bring about your devices, your gadgets, and whatever you have to bear witness on the Day of Judgment. Ask Allah Oh Allah, I am so sinful, grant me entry into your Jannah through Your mercy not through my deeds. I'm going to be so embarrassed if you're going to see my deeds on that day. Oh ALLAH forgive me. See I seek forgiveness make me a better person helped me to improve helped me to get closer to you helped me establish my prayer helped me be charitable and think about others who

are in need, oh, Allah helped me to become a better person, strengthen me so that this one sin that is bogging me down, I can quit it and cut it oh Allah grant me strength so that I can cut my sins, keep praying to Allah, we all have that one sin that were struggling with every 100% of us, minor or major depends on the different people. But we all have a sin or two or more sometimes that we're struggling with. We know a you know what, I need to get rid of this. I need. I need to do this to please Allah and get rid of this to please Allah.

to please Allah meaning to get to a level where I feel I have a better relationship with Allah. I know what's right and wrong. We all have these things because we're human beings. There's no exception. Nobody can stand up here today say, You know what? I'm cool, man. There's nothing I need to do that I don't do. And there's nothing I need to stay away from that. I don't say we have no chance no chance. If there is any one of you here like that simulator.

Allah grant you goodness, May Allah help us to get to a point where we feel we're doing much better. But when you feel you're doing much better, don't belittle others because that's another trap shaytan uses to get to us. You know, you see things that happen online again, facing reality. Like I said, I've given you an example of what happens when you're on the street you will see so many things that perhaps

If you're not supposed to be participating in engaging in or being liked and so on actions, activities of people, what do you do you carry yourself with the utmost respect. You remember the time of your prayer, if you're in the stadium or wherever else you might be. That doesn't mean you quit your prayer that one prayer is better than the whole world and whatever it it has. And if you missed a prayer, for some reason, do it. As soon as you can fulfill it. Allah has blessed you. Allah has made things easy for you. There is a time like I said, today, we have heaters, we have electricity, we have motor vehicles, we have transport, we have so much more that's happening. And

you know what, it's Allah's favor, are you going to make it easier for yourself to pray or to commit sin, people say, Oh, now I've got a phone, I can be in touch, you know, I can do this I can do that be in touch with Allah to commence with be in touch with the messenger SallAllahu sallam.

So as you face reality, in all honesty, the same should apply when it comes to whatever you're doing on your devices. This device is by far the biggest change that has happened to humankind.

In a long, long time. It has changed all of us. There was a time when just to take a photograph was a mission. I when I was young, let me tell you, there was a 110 fill that you had to get an open it into a codec and put it into the close it prior to that it was out we when I was very little, I remember going to get passport photos. That guy put us into such a dark room and put like cloth like black cloth. And he had a little like a big typewriter sort of a thing. And he started turning, turning something around. And then he says okay, that's fine. It's done. Say what's done. He says don't worry. Come next week. You get the pictures next week. Next week. Imagine imagine if that were

to happen now. Subhanallah next week, we have become so impatient that we want everything here and now technology it should happen today here and now. You know to buy an airline ticket was such a mission you had to visit an office and they had to it was such a mission trust me. Travel Agents became semi redundant as a result of technology. The post office has changed completely when last Have you send someone a letter by snail mail? Hardly ever. Someone told me I need to send you a letter but it has to be your Pio box I said it's not going to come to me so you just leave it tell me what you want right now. No, it has to be by letter. Have fun. It's okay you don't want to listen

to what I'm saying Go have fun enjoy yourself

May Allah Almighty grant is the last time I use the word have fun was on my way here because we were on this narrow road coming and we were early and we come in a narrow road here in Luton on the side and there's cars coming in we're like stuck like no one's giving us way so I said brother let's be on the side on the side as best as you can let one vehicle pass and then you know what have fun with the others what does that mean we just going to wait until they reverse

the brother was so good he says no no no let us reverse because we you might be late you know the guys in Luton Won't they just they park up there they probably have their child can whatever else it is. Allah grant is mashallah

beginning to love this place, Mashallah.

But my brothers and sisters, here we are, thank Allah for what he's blessed you with and use it to get closer to Allah, that was the message that I had for you in this first beautiful speech of facing reality. Because we cannot divorce ourselves from a world that we're living in. It's impractical. No one can tell me you can't do this. You can't do that you can't, I'll end up doing nothing. No, you can't, whatever you need to go to the university, you will go, you shall go You must go. You need to be educated. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, it would be wrong not to be educated. But while you're there, carry yourself respectfully. That's all you need to know. I need

to do the right thing. I need to have the right company, I need to be focused on what I'm here for. And that's it. And then you you may achieve more than people who ever ever thought you would Subhanallah I've had some who've come out with amazing results. And they're doing tremendous work yet to get to the university was a big struggle because of the people around them. You know, the culture, the the culture has had to wherever it has moved forward, modify itself based on the times we're living in, in order for us to be able to make use of whatever we have around us while we do but sometimes it was a struggle for us. I think now the generations that are there. It's been made a

little bit easier. But still in some countries, it's not easy.

Imagine the daughter comes up

audiences, you know what, I need to go to school, I need to go to high school. In some countries, they probably tell you, are you crazy? Are you mad, but they don't realize you cannot tell someone to divorce themselves from the reality, you've rather got to show them how to navigate through it, because in your absence, they're gonna have to be there anyway.

Without taking names, let me explain. Sometimes you have a scenario where you've been blocked, you've been stopped for years on end, from even facing reality. So the day the person passes away, or the day you're suddenly released,

you can imagine what's going to be happening there. Everything Haram is suddenly legit. Oh, finally, I'm getting this opportunity. Why? Because you were in a totally, totally blocked situation, which was unrealistic, they never taught you how to navigate through whatever you're going to see on Earth, whatever you're going to come interact my little daughter, one of my daughters.

She comes to me and says, you know, at school, they talk like this. And they do like this, I don't want to go there anymore. Because you know, it's so filthy. And I said, You know what, my child, that's the reality. If they say those things, you don't say those things. If they're doing bad things, you don't do bad things. And whenever you get a chance, try to talk to them about what to do and what not to do and what's good and what's not good, and so on. But if I pull you out of the school, simply because of some things you're listening to, or you've seen, or you've come across, that are negative, and so on, what would happen you had to pull you will have to pull yourself out

of life in totality.

You can't just come in, tell people that's it, you know what, it's very difficult in that and and there we are, yes, the day that you are not allowed to be who you need to be and the day that you are finding it impossible to live as a believer, you might want to consider perhaps getting into a situation that may facilitate that for you, you might want to consider moving into an area where it may be easy for you, you finding it's becoming a little bit dangerous, you finding it's becoming unsafe, you will have to make beautiful decisions. But you know what, you're going to have to swim in the deep end.

So learn how to swim

the waters all around you. You're going to have to swim, whatever you do, don't swallow that water.

Whatever you do, don't swallow that water. So we ask Allah Almighty to help us navigate through the challenges that we're facing. The world has become a better place in terms of technology, but not necessarily a better place in terms of the understanding between humankind.

As we're educated, we becoming educated, we're becoming arrogant. At the same time, we're beginning to think we are the only people who have the right to think and anyone who thinks differently from us is totally out of bounds. They need to be fought until they think like us. Unfortunately, that's what intelligent people think nowadays. So they think perhaps shape and doesn't come to them. You know what, you're trapped in what? In your arrogance, I always said money can bring about the chance for a person to show their true colors.

So if you've become arrogant, it's because under low key you always were. It's just that your money has now given you the chance to show it, it can happen. And I know of some of the wealthiest people who are extremely humble, you won't even know SubhanAllah.

Guess what? The problem with knowledge and education is even worse. It's even worse. You get your degree you're always first in class, you're always Topps, you're always this and that, you know, what, if you start thinking and feeling that sense of arrogance, the sense that others are nothing and we look where I am, you know what you're heading in the wrong direction. And that's why notice Allah has never kept a direct connection between your education and the amount of money you have.

Have you noticed that? The richest or the thickest? Not always?

Sorry, sorry, not always. But what I mean is, look at the globe, they the people who fell out of school, sometimes the people who didn't do so well, they lost here last day, they tried, they tried harder, and so on. There are exceptions, and the exceptions are becoming a little bit more bad. But

nowadays, it does not mean that you're highly educated. So you're actually correct all the time, doesn't mean that sometimes you're highly educated. That's the reason why you're wrong. Because you did not drop yourself to the level of the reality on the ground across the globe. You travel, are you going to respect others? The answer is no. They must do what I do. They must think the way I think I am the sharpest. I'm the most intelligent, I'm the most advanced and that's what it is. And if they don't think the way I do and if they don't want to do things exactly the way I think is the right thing. We're going to fight them. That's the attitude of Kent

Trees sometimes

and that's why face reality calm down learn to respect people with a difference what did I start with? I started by saying when you see something that perhaps you feel you wouldn't do or you are not going to be a part of because of your faith or whatever other reason it is a you're not going to offer them human respect.

Because you're gonna spit at them and swear at them. No, not at all. I'm a believer.

May Allah subhanho wa Taala bless us all. I see the silence here. And I ask Allah subhanho wa Taala truly to grant you Oh goodness, I am looking forward to the second part of my session that has been

facilitated by these brothers towards the end of this particular day. And until then, salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.