The “Inspire” Tour of the Caribbean brings us to the Muslim Fair at the National Cricket Centre in Trinidad and Tobago where this lecture was delivered.
Mufti Menk – Improve Yourself
AI: Summary ©
The speakers emphasize the importance of healthy lifestyle and avoiding negative behavior, as well as respecting others'dlls. They also stress the need to stay true to one's dreams and not give up on others, while acknowledging the negative impact of social media and the importance of finding a balance between socializing and protecting privacy. The speakers also mention a study on the topic.
AI: Summary ©
Salam aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh
smilla rahmanir rahim In the name of Allah subhanho wa Taala Most Gracious, Most Merciful Alhamdulillah wa salatu salam ala rasulillah who Allah Allah He was happy to mine. All praises indeed do to Allah subhanho wa Taala blessings and salutations upon Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
his household, his companions, may Allah subhanho wa Taala bless them all, and bless every one of us. And grant us all goodness, my brothers and sisters, I'm delighted to be here.
And although I haven't been to well, the last few days,
but I think Allah subhanho wa Taala
that He has given me this opportunity to stand in front of you in order to remind us all about our duties unto Allah, and the challenges that we face on Earth.
So my brothers and sisters, I want to start off by saying every one of us,
every one of us,
faces challenges, difficulties, hardship, pain, sickness, disease, death, death of loved ones around us.
Why does that happen? Because in Surah, Baqarah, Allah says, it will definitely happen. He says, while Anna boo,
boo v.
one v one, Joe, one.
Indeed, I will test every one of you, I will test every one of you, I will try all of you without a single exception.
With a few things, and there are mentioned in that verse, Allah says, with hunger, with fear with hunger, with loss of wealth, so therefore, some people are scared.
Some people are scared, to the degree that
it becomes a challenge and a test.
Look at the wars that are taking place across the globe allies testing many types of people, those who are the guilty ones, those who are the innocent ones, and those who are like you and I watching from a distance. It's a test for everyone. It's a test for mankind at large, what do you do for us? the bare minimum is to feel that this is wrong, it should not be happening.
When we see two people fighting, should we become happy?
You see one person punch another you said hamdulillah? Can you do that? Can the Muslim who believes in Allah ever? Thank Allah when he sees one Muslim, punch another Muslim? Can that ever happen? If you're a true believer, you would not want to thank Allah for any form of violence, you would not say Alhamdulillah to that at all. In fact, you would
think of ways to resolve the matter you would pray to Allah subhanho wa Taala Yama
help these brothers sought the mete out Allah grant goodness and ease to them, help them so that they can live in peace and harmony and so on. But you would never be a person if you had believed in you, who would thrive on the fact that people are fighting each other and become happy as a result? Or you see people dying and you say yes, and hamdulillah how many people see others die? And they say, yes, that's good. Would you do that? If you have belief, you would never do that. So my brothers and sisters, part of that test is for us never become happy at the loss of another person. Never. And never become sad. When someone gains something, that's also a test from Allah. You are
competing with someone in the classroom, you come second they come first. You know, we are children. We are young. We might say no, I, I should have come first and so on. Someone needs to be first someone needs to be second.
If you are true to yourself, you would say congratulations, Mashallah. Brooke, you worked hard. You did? Well, I'm going to try harder next time. So that competition will actually be in good spirits. It won't be in bad spirits. When you have two teams play. One thing I've never understood, maybe someone can explain it to me. Every time you have these major football teams that played when one gets trounced.
And then they have lost. They fire the coach. Have you seen that?
The coach resigns.
But someone needs to lose. It doesn't mean that that team was was bad. You have to watch the way they play perhaps. But if you have two brilliant teams playing, the coaches were the top coaches. Why do they fire the guy? Once the one team loses? He might have been the best coach ever. I don't understand it. Well, when it comes to us competing with one another, even in our businesses,
if I have a business, I'm selling something, someone has exactly the same business next door. What is my reaction? Do I believe firmly? That sustenance comes from Allah? Do I believe firmly that it is the Almighty Who will provide for me Do I believe that if I do, I will help them I will assist them, I will go out and at least make a dua that Oh Allah grant them and grant me to.
But sometimes people work in the wrong way they come out. And they start thinking evil, they say bad words, they go and send you know, I remember, there were two supermarkets one next to the other.
So they had a competition with each other. not written one was there for many years, the new one came in and it was a big big chain store, but also a supermarket. And
they were competing for products, certain products. And at the time, butter was obviously in demand. So the butter, the cost of it was $3, the cost of it was $3, they were selling it at about four 450. So they had on the price list their prices, so that people know whether to go into the shop or not. So the price is outside and sometimes in the adverts. So they had an advert saying $4 for butter.
And the other brother,
he says 395.
So when this guy says 395, he says 380. Now they are going below the cost, imagine they are they are taking a knock, they are taking a knock because they want to win customers. So their idea must have been that if we sell this below cost, we will cover it with some other goods when the customer walks in. So until the one brother says butter $2 done. So this big chain store decided, you know what, we can't do this anymore. Let's call for a meeting. Let's call for a meeting.
So he called the other brother in for a meeting the guy, the manager of the other store or the owner, and he says you know what? We've been at each other's throats for two years and butter for one and a half years. You have been selling it below costs. So this brother says no, it's you selling it below cost says What do you mean? He says the day I saw you hit the cost price. I stopped selling it. But I had the price therefore you
imagine he stopped selling it. He says so when I said 390 you went to 380 I used to buy from you.
But you didn't know. And I brought it right down to $2 to give you one slap this type of behavior. I hope I have not given ideas to some of you.
But this type of behavior is not the behavior of a true believer. You're supposed to be happy
they have a business Mashallah if you don't want to really get along so well with them because you're in competition with them. Well, you know what, there is a limit to it. There is a limit to it. May Allah Subhana Allah Allah grant us good relations. I know when I go to the Middle East, I always see whether it is in the UAE or in Saudi Arabia or, or some of the other countries. If they have an abaya store, there are 20 or 30 or 50 or 100 of them all on the same street or in the same area. If they're selling mobile phones, they're all piled up in one place. So you actually know I'm going to buy computers, I've got to go to this area. They are 5060 shops. Same thing with us. We
think the other way if there is one store, the other one must be in Marbella, which by the way is only a few kilometers away from here I was told
May Allah subhanho wa Taala grant us ease I was unable to make it for Salatu Juma at Marbella. And I felt really bad Mashallah. But I made the drama Allah bless all those who attended because obviously they attended for the sake of Allah. And may Allah grant him is in their issues in their matters, and grant them Baraka and blessings. And the same to every one of you and the same to the entire oma, we have to have a heart such that we care for our brothers and sisters, no matter where they are, no matter who they are. So let's get back to what I was saying. Allah says he will test you He will take
You with fear COF you will test you with hunger. Sometimes people may go hungry because they cannot afford food. Sometimes there is no food to buy, they can afford it. I've seen that happening in some parts of Africa where people had a lot of money, nothing in the stores. And sometimes there is food and there is money but your health does not permit you to eat. That's the taste from Allah subhanho wa Taala how many of us we've just got to look at the chocolates these days. See our kids eating them. It wasn't nice, dad, it was lovely. Oh, Mashallah. Enjoy it, enjoy it. And in your mind, you're saying I just wish I could have a chocolate, you know, but it's your sugar, right? Sometimes
your gout, sometimes your cholesterol. So you're watching everyone grilling their beef. And they're, you know, we call it whacking. They whacking their sausages, you know, one after the other. So panela and we're just watching. Nice, awesome, juicy man. You don't know what you're missing out on a test of Allah hunger, high cholesterol. May Allah subhanho wa Taala grant us ease. So Allah says he's going to test you. He just wants to see what you're going to do.
You know, one thing we're all guilty of myself included? Well, not maybe there might be some of us who take it a little bit more seriously. But this issue of our health, we take it lightly. Those of us who go to the gym, or we exercise or we run or without going to the gym, we exercise. Remember when I say going to the gym, I'm not talking of a gym where you're going to break your marriage. No, I'm talking of a legitimate place that you're going to actually work out and you're going to be coming back in one piece, Allah subhanho wa Taala. grant us the understanding of this because there is a difference. You know, I always say, if that's coming in the way of your marriage, drop it to
something else. If you really care for your spouse, choose another place, you know, do this elsewhere. Make sure that you're happy. So we take our health for granted we do. And sometimes we just don't exercise not at all and we start gaining and gaining and gaining. It's a different thing if you're gaming because hereditary or because you've given birth and so on. But even after that you need to make sure you have tried your best you need to sweat. We are so fortunate in Trinidad, I'm standing in front of you and I'm sweating so Allah
we need to sweat without sweat, you're not going to gain No pain, no gain. You have to do something my brothers and sisters, I am encouraging you as a religious duty upon me, you that you owe your body health for the sake of Allah. Make sure that you are fit, make sure you're healthy. Make sure that you walk or run or exercise or do your stretches and what have you. So panela make sure you do it. And I'm telling you this in a religious talk, because it's a serious matter. A lot of us take it lightly. And when we do it, do it so that you will be able to
feel better Your mind will be better healthy body healthy mind you will get more enjoyment when you fulfill so Allah subhanaw taala your family members your spouse looks at you and they just say wow mine You know
how many of us have a bad habit you look at others and you say wow
and when it comes to your wife to your wife, you know what
we say something else.
You see there is a wow in the Arabic language do you know about it?
Just before the one who there is a known Subhana Allah just before the Wow, there is a known so we are quick to go to the wow when it comes to the wrong people.
And we even will lie I've seen this with the men, okay, the men, the women because my interaction with them may be limited. That's why I wouldn't be able to see what happens but with the men, they'll nudge each other. I mean, generally, you know, even respectable people in Nigeria, they see what I see. See what I see. What are you talking about?
Allah forgive us visa test from Allah subhanho wa Taala appreciate what is yours, consolidate, work on it. You have your family, you have your children, work on them. Give them the best upbringing give them the best relationship such that when you die, they will pray for you. I had a dad I had a mum, the best person that I've ever known, dedicated towards the children towards the light. That's it, your circle is closed, close it and work on it. Rather than wanting to this to be in that circle and the circle and the other circle and your big circle is gone. That's it.
You're not happy at all because you're never happy. You're never content, you jumping from pillar to post. That's not how it's supposed to be. Rather, it is supposed to be such that when you have your family when you have what is yours, be happy, be content work on it.
The test of Allah subhanho wa Taala, we'll call it spend time, go out of your way to praise your spouse go out of your way to take your family somewhere, to take them on a little, perhaps picnic, or wherever else you'd like to go.
It is a gift of Allah subhanho wa Taala make sure that you appreciate it before it is too late. So my brothers and sisters, Allah says he will test you with fear with hunger.
Then he says with a loss naxi mineral. And while he will enforce two types of loss, loss in terms of wealth, every one of us, there will come a time when we suffer a loss. That loss for a very wealthy person, it might be a large amount, but it may not have the effect that it would have if it was a poor person. You and I if we were to lose, for example, $1,000 It's too much. You might have a very wealthy man loses a million and it's not really too much. But he suffered the loss, didn't he? It was a loss. How does he react? Does he start swearing all the the swear words?
And does he want to fix this guy and that guy? Or does he take it in his stride? And he says in the law, you're in a majority shala we work harder. A lot of the times when you suffer financial loss, you've got to go back and check if you've paid us the cat or not. Did you hear what I just said?
I'm repeating that. A lot of the times if you've suffered financial loss, you've got to go back and check if you've paid your Zakat or not. I did not say all the time. But a lot of the times when you haven't given a lot, the dude that is owed, he takes it away in other ways. He takes it away. in other ways. It's possible that you suffered the loss because you were miserly when it came to working out your circuit. Remember, give and you shall receive. You don't give you don't receive Subhana Allah.
Remember this.
Also above Zakat learn to be charitable, do not become too attached to your wealth in a way that you've not prepared for the hereafter. Through that wealth. Some people have earned paradise through different deeds, someone through their Salah, their prayer, someone through their dress code someone through something else, someone through their good character and conduct someone through fasting properly, and so on. Obviously, it's a package some people through their wealth, Allah bless them with something they keep spending, and they spend on this one and on that one, and they give here and give them and Allah blesses them in so many ways, because they've given sorry, they've given and
they get Qian, as a result, they get paradise as a result of the fact that they gave, they helped people, Allah helps you for as long as you help others. So remember, when we become too attached to our wealth, we cannot give we shortchange people. And you know what the sad reality is? what I'm about to say does not apply to everyone. But it's a lot of people, the more they get, the more miserly they become.
So if I was dealing with a young, poor man, and he asked me, How much is this, and I say, it's 50,000, he will say, here is the 50. But when I'm dealing with a very, very wealthy man, he says, How much is this? I say, 50 says, I'll give you 30.
And he has the wealth, and he can give you, but Allah doesn't want you to have that money. Maybe there's something wrong with it. Perhaps maybe, like I said, this is not a general rule, but it is the case with a lot of people. I'd like to think the majority, because I've seen it with my eyes. We've interacted and we've arbitrated in cases where you have a super rich guy on one side being difficult for $5 five bucks, I promise you and you have a poor person who's ready to give an extra 10 and say for as long as you happy I'm happy. Why? Because that's the test of Allah. My brothers, my sisters, when you get do not become attached to it. I had to fight myself. I stopped wearing a
pen because each pin was three four or $500. I gave a pin to someone not too long ago. He told me he sold it on eBay for $500
you might want to know what type of a pen it was. I won't tell you
but I stopped wearing a watch. Look at this.
Because each watch was getting more than what I was getting so attached to it. Something happens in your upset.
So panela The time is on your phone or the best thing just tell them. Do you have a pin? Someone has a pin use the pin, give it back or what's the time 20 people will say what the time is so Angela
I'm not saying you need to give up your phones and your watches and everything else. Because if that was the case either had a bag here for everyone to come and drop it in. But what I am saying is don't get too attached to it. If you notice what I've been wearing, I've been coming to Trinidad for a few years. Every time I come, I'm wearing the same thing. Do you realize that? Has anyone picked it up?
Probably.
My footwear hasn't really changed. I've got two sets. I've got a pair of sandals and a pair of shoes. And my clothing. I promise you it's been years. Just yesterday, I was telling one of my children who's with me that you know what?
This has been with me for about 10 years set of clothing. Wow. saying that's what it is. It's not like I'm miserly. This guy is so miserly, he doesn't even buy clothes. That's not true. But
you can use your wealth in a better way. You don't have to waste things. You don't have to waste things. My brothers and sisters why I'm saying this is because when we get too attached to that, which is material, we lose focus. We lose focus of the Hereafter, which is our main aim. What's the point of working hard? You know, today? I was coming from
I don't know the name of the area. I think it's called Hastings. Is that what it is? No, the area somewhere well, far away. Okay. And I was coming into this area here. It took us 45 minutes. And I'm thinking without an effort, you cannot achieve anything. But this is for the world worldly effort. We work. We work hard, we go to work in the morning, we come back in the evening, we would go
for a business trip to China or to anywhere else and we would go and buy things. What are you prepared to do for the hereafter? That's my question.
It also requires an effort Mashallah, you earned a lot of money. You bought your house, you bought your car, you pimped your ride, as they say, what do they call them? The low wheels that you see here in Trinidad so low that I think the driver must be tiptoeing when he's driving.
Have you seen those vehicles? How do they work?
I was shocked I I landed here and I started seeing these cars with all these wheels that are so huge. They like 10 times it's like when I was a kid, and I just wear my dad's shoes. That's what it reminded me of. But it's the same thing people are seeing. Whoa, see that? I think soon you might be wearing shoes in a bigger, bigger than your size. And everyone will say Oh, look at these kids looking cool man.
May Allah forgive us. But anyway, that's the train. I don't want to pick on it. If you're happy with it, and hamdulillah Let it be but we are so attached. We made sure we had our chrome plating on it. We made sure we had the low profiles, we made sure we had the large 1921 inch, 24 inch rows, whatever they were we and we bought, we saw we put we were delighted. But what did you do for the hereafter? If you were to die at that moment? If you enjoyed your car, you enjoyed your house, the air conditioning in it the perfume? What else? But what did you do for the hereafter? Did you just get up for the early morning prayer? Did you know? Well, that was free. Free meaning you just needed
an effort. That's it. We can do better. I promise you. I'm here to encourage you to do something more and myself.
About the day when we have to meet the one who made us. You can enjoy your life. No one is saying don't don't get me wrong. You can have your wealth but I said don't get so attached that you become miserly. Learn to give. People will know you as a wealthy person who gave Do you know
that wealth is not yours until you spend it? No wealth belongs to you until you use it. If it's in your pocket. It's not yours. You might be confused. What do you mean? Let me explain. If I have $1,000,020 in my pocket, I don't know if they call that But anyway, in my pocket, right?
And I die.
Is it mine?
Where does it go to
the heirs or someone else steals it and it's gone. That's it as soon as an accident happens. They say the first people to get to the scene. What do they do? Open the cubby hole start pinching everything. Look at the uncle in his pockets here there everything else and that's it, take everything and run away and then report I seen an accident somewhere so that the police can get there after you've stripped everyone.
That happens in some countries.
But if that didn't happen, your kids would be fighting over the 10 million, the 20 the 100 million that you amassed they are fighting over it.
killing each other, they stop talking to each other had you not left anything, they'd still be loved in, meaning they'd still be loving that home. It can happen. I'm not saying it's generally I'm, I'm wording it in the way that we think about it.
But if I was with a million dollars, and I spent it, I gave a poor person, I gave a charity, I helped someone, I took some people out to eat, I took my family, I bought something, all of that My name is written on it, what happened, he spent the money, if I haven't spent it, it does not belong to me. In the eyes of Allah, the wealth is yours. When you spend it, your name is written that you did this, I draw the borehole in Africa, and I did five of them in different parts of Somalia, and another five year and another five in wherever else that was with my money. That's my reward. My name is written next week. And that's it. That's what happened. But if I kept the wealth, everyone
will know me as the 10th richest man in the world, the 20th richest man etc. But
it will not help me in the hereafter. The angels are not going to say how much money did you leave behind? that's never a question. Never. The question is, where did you earn your money? And where did you spend it? Those are the questions you know it go and read the books you will find out where did you spend it? That's also a question.
But not how much did you leave behind for your kids? That's for them?
May Allah subhanho wa Taala grant us goodness. It's not wrong to leave behind something for your kids. No, not at all the prophet SAW Selim says in the in telara. What does that
mean? And Tara whom Allah tinea taka funan us he was telling sad, even though
I know that for you to leave your children, wealthier is better than for you to leave them so poor that they have to beg from the people.
Which means if you have wealth, yes, you you don't give everything to charity, but you give to charity
up to a third. And you can leave the rest for you for your kids. No problem.
So the point is, let's not get too attached to that which we have in terms of materialistic items. You know, when I was young,
my kids used to tell me now they tell me
that when we were babies, you were much younger. You used to get so upset
when we used to touch the window of the vehicle that you use to tell us what's happening. Can you guys see this you can attend to the glass and so on you missing it and so on. And we were not allowed to eat in the vehicle we couldn't not at all because why dad would get upset. You're gonna miss this car with the crumbs. And now they can scratch it. They can eat, they can drop. They can do what they want this liquidate as soon as we get home. It's clean speaking span, but they enjoyed themselves in the car. What happened? We've developed over time, we become people who are more patient. I have a brother.
And he wouldn't mind me saying this. He had a temper until he started having children 123
all boys, what happened?
calmed him call him because your child
you can scream and yell at your own children. Sometimes they're too small, they're innocent. They they might do anything to you. You know?
I've had some really, really embarrassing moments with the children. But it's smile because that's a child. It's not it's not embarrassing, unless you want to make it embarrassing. Otherwise, even if they beat in the airport in the middle of everyone. They've had an accident. It's an accident. That's it.
And what do you do? So don't worry, we'll clean that up and everyone's watching.
And the other women are looking at you see that's what you're supposed to do. You see the Subhana Allah
we get angry, upset. We start yelling so much that the child pees again. That's what happens. You may do mistakes all at once. You got to clean it, it can happen it does happen.
You say Bismillah and you
go for it, do the honorable thing, do what you have to because it's a test Allah is watching you and Allah knows. And that is your preparation for the hereafter we are on earth for a short period of time we are going back to our maker all of us, the those who are more good looking than us have already gone. And those who that doesn't mean we're all not good looking, by the way. Those who are wealthier than us also they've gone.
Those who are stronger than us, they've gone
we think we're not going just enjoy, enjoy but prepare for the hereafter by enjoying within limits. You don't just go and do what you want, how you want. No, you've got to do whatever you have to or you'd like to unconditioned that it is within certainly
limits. You don't trample the toes of others and you don't despise your makeup.
Someone asked me she, I didn't know you bald. This was now this morning. Okay? I didn't know you don't have hair.
I said, You know what? I'm almost a grandpa. He's telling me. You didn't. And I'm serious. I'm almost a grandpa.
He didn't know I didn't have a.
Well now how do you know? Is it when you put 10 pictures on Instagram, from Barbados? Did you see that? from Barbados? So there's 10 pictures of us, myself and brother Abdel and a few others on the jetski. And wherever else, and they say, oh, have fun, have fun. We went out there for one hour and you guys agendas. One hour out of this whole hectic schedule, we went out for one hour. But why did I put that up? There is a question. Someone might say, you know, you're a chef, you're not supposed to have done that. Why? Someone actually said, you know, the prayer you showed on the beach, that you guys were praying, why do you want to show your acts of worship to the whole world? And the
person taking the picture? Why wouldn't they pray? While the person taking the picture? Was Subhan Allah, a kid?
Child
Subhana. Allah. Okay. Not planned, no one said, we pray, take pictures. That's not how it works. No, I seen one of the selfies go down in such that they've got this thing going up, and flicking it from the top, that cap I just made to do. That's not how we operate. That's not how we operate. But it was there. And I saw these pictures. And I said, You know what, I would like to encourage people who are enjoying themselves, outside, outdoors, that when it comes to the time of prayer, no matter where you are, pray, that's the reason why I decided to put it out to say, look, we are living in a country where like Trinidad, Barbados, Grenada, wherever else it is, where you can have your little
place, and you ensure that you don't miss your prep, we had fun, the fun did not have to stop because it was prayer time. But it had to pause, there's a difference between the two, you pause for a while, you fulfilled your prayer in a beautiful way. And you carried on Subhana Allah. And that's the reason why that was posted. Secondly, sometimes people have this notion that you know, when you study religion, and when you become deep in faith, and you become closer to Allah, then it's prohibited to have fun. I promise you ask those who are with me Shia Muslim, and the others, I had the fastest jetski. And I throttle the thing right to the end that I almost, you know, took off. And
they were whistling at me to say Calm down, slow down. And I'm like, it's okay. That's why my knees are sore. You saw me walking up the stage here. That's the reason. And I was in the Air most of the time, you know, hitting these huge waves. That was me.
I'm a daring guy. That's all.
I wouldn't mind they, they wouldn't do it. No, the others who were with me were actually quite scared and frightened. Don't worry, I swim well, so it's fine.
And that's what we had to do. But that does not distance me from Allah. If anything, it brings us closer, doesn't it? You know, when you
are coming down again.
It does not distance you from Allah, it doesn't mean because I'm having I cannot enjoy a little bit. It doesn't mean because there are problems across the globe. And Muslims may be struggling and suffering that I haven't helped them. It doesn't mean that it doesn't mean I haven't reached out to them. And it does not mean that I'm not allowed to breathe because they are suffering across the globe. People say look, the Muslims are dying across the globe. And this man is on a jetski.
Wow.
For one hour, who said that it means if someone is struggling, we all have to now stand in silence or we all have to no one's allowed to do anything. You cannot go out picnicking, you cannot smile and laugh. That's a misunderstanding. We have not forgotten that we have reached out to them in a bigger way than they who are criticizing us would ever imagine. And in a bigger way that they would actually have got have reached out to them. Who knows? Only Allah knows. So don't come and pick on people. It's a test. Like I say you watch someone do something don't have the worst thoughts. You know, I enjoy it. Sometimes when I get a chance. When I get a chance and I'm sitting bored and I
don't have much to do. I'll sit and read through comments.
And I can tell you from a psychological perspective, who is depressed from among those who comments and you will be able to tell us Well, some people the only comments they make us negative
ones so bad, you know, you can show them a beautiful sunset. And the only thing they will say is, you know, looks like someone's dying. Why do you say that? Look at it positively, you show them something they say why Why not? I have a friend in Dubai, his name is Mahmoud, he's ill May Allah grant him to say I mean.
And I visit him now and again. And we took a picture together. And he told me that I can put it up and give people the story so that at least they can, number one.
Pray for him, like what we did just now. He's paralyzed, top to bottom. And number two is learn a lesson from what he's been through, and perhaps be grateful of what we have. And if we are going through something, then at least we can think that it's nothing compared to what others are going through. So when I put it up, you get people starting to comment, how could you do this? How can you put a picture of a sick person ill persons on and you know, they wouldn't be happy? If they seen it? Do you think I'm so foolish that I would put it up? If that was the case?
There must be a reason. And the reason must be very high. The reason must be, look, we are human beings, we do make mistakes.
But things like these, they are not of that category where you pick on someone and start looking at negatives. No, look at everything positively, I promise you, if, if the lights go off right here, right now the whole stadium comes to a halt. Thank Allah.
And just thank Allah, you probably hear me calling the alarm and we'll play our Salah from Asia in in the dark. So panela You know, when we were young, the electricity did not used to just go away, you know, cut back at home in Zimbabwe. But as we grew older, it started doing that. Like nowadays, a few hours a day, no electricity. So when we were young people used to pay at restaurants to turn off the lights and to bring in candles. And what do they call it dinner by candlelight. And they pay for it an extra amount.
And Allah offering it to you free of charge. The lights are gone. And you say What happened? Why? Bring the candles and make it a romantic moment? Come on.
Think about it. It depends how you look at it. Some people look at it as a disaster. When you scream, you yell, you get angry, it's not going to bring the electricity back. But when you have dealt with it in a beautiful way you can make the most of a difficult scenario and situation such that those around you are enlightened, the burden is less on them. They don't feel it as much. That's what it's all about. So panela
vehicle TCD 7498
we need to move it as soon as possible there is a medical emergency. And there is a child that needs to be carried for medical reasons and this car is blocking the way TC d 7498.
Does not communicate.
May Allah subhanho wa Taala bless you and the owner of this vehicle, and I'm sure you'll be able to come back and listen to what we had to say under law. So my brothers and sisters, let's get back to the verse. Okay, so Allah says he will test us with fear, with hunger, with the loss of
a more loss of wealth. And that's where I had stopped. And he continues to say, loss of life, he will test you with loss of life. That is something that is probably one of the most difficult tests ever. loss of life, you lose your spouse, you lose your child. Nobody will ever understand the pain you're going through. Allah says Don't worry, it will happen to every single person, it will happen to every single person without a single exception. All of you seated here, all of you listening to me, all of you who will listen later, and even those who haven't heard me, it will happen to you where you will lose the life of someone very, very dear to you. And if you don't, they will lose
you.
There is no third way
your husband dies.
He has to die or you die. You have to die or both of you die together.
Is there any fourth probability?
When I said when I asked this once in one country, someone put up their hand and said yes, we live wherever. And I'm like, yeah, that's in the hereafter. Now, we're talking about here.
So you have to go so don't
Get so depressed that you have failed the test of Allah, you have to get up and move, move on, you have to try, you will miss your loved one you pray for them, you may shed a few tears, indeed, you will miss them. Indeed, it's normal to do that, but your life does not stop. Do you know when you lose one person from the team, the football carries on with 10 men, doesn't it? They don't stop the match, right? One person's got a red card and they're out. And that's it, you have to still try and win the match. And you will win it and guess what that person will benefit as a result of the two hour you've made as a result of the goodness you've done as a result of Subhanallah the fact that
you prayed for them.
So you don't need to lose yourself. And that's it. I'm depressed and it's over my life can never be the same. Sometimes, you know,
I sit and I ask my family members.
If I were to die, what will you do? I say, look, I encourage you, I encourage you if I die, you need to get married. You need to marry.
No, I won't. I can't I won't do that. And then I say those who say I won't. They do.
It's got nothing to do with I won't or I will it's got to do with the reality. Sometimes, if a proposition crops up, it does not mean you did not love your first husband.
Because you now married again. No, that is the plan of Allah. It's permissible. You can look into it. You may. It's got nothing to do with faithfulness and loyalty to your first husband. Someone asked me so who will I be with If I marry another man, but I want to be with my first husband in heaven. You know what I said?
Obviously, some scholars will say you will be with the last one you were with and so on, based on a few narrations, but there is a better way of answering it if you want. If there is really a person who needs help. From a psychological perspective. Allah says that when you get to gender, he will give you what you want. It's over stop there. Someone asked me, will my cat be in paradise with me? The answer is No, it won't. It won't. And I'm sorry to say this, but it won't.
I've been asked weird questions. Will my dog be in paradise with me? No, I'm sorry, it won't, you know, because it might disturb the neighbors with a rap every little while. And Allah subhanho wa Taala grant us is
it won't.
But sometimes people nowadays have become so attached to their pets, because there are no human beings they can confide in, and they know trustworthy human beings. So they are so attached to the cat and the dog, and so on. When they asked you will my cat be in paradise say look, if you get to paradise, Allah has promised you that if you want something, you will get it.
But I don't know if you will remember that cat at the time. That's the thing.
Because Allah hates a verse of the Quran, Allah says regarding paradise.
in Paradise, what ever the soul desires shall belong to it, it will be yours. What you desire is yours. In this world, that's not the case. But in Paradise, it will. Why must I fight with someone to try and convince them that they are not going to be having x, y and Zed in paradise? When I just need to say work towards getting to paradise? Even if your cat was going to be in paradise? What if you don't make it there? Then your cat is gonna say, Well, my masterpiece paradise.
I can just imagine all the eels every little while, May Allah forgive us.
So we lose, look at how we lose focus. The focus is to earn paradise, but because we're worried about this and that and who am I going to be with and if I'm going to be with my husband, I definitely don't want to go there.
I promise you that is the wrong way of looking at things you losing focus. That husband of yours will be the coolest dude around I swear. He's going to be a different makeover. So Pamela,
you need to get there first. But look how shaytan comes to us and makes us think about these things. So that we lose focus, you don't pray, you don't you're not charitable. Your character and conduct is not even acceptable. You don't even have a relationship with your maker, and you're busy arguing and fighting about who's going to be with you in a place that you haven't even worked for. It's like me saying, you know, when I own the Hilton, I'm gonna make sure that one whole floor is just for me and my family, and I'll make sure that they're gonna cook and I even tell my wife, you know, when I get the Hilton, I promise you, you never gonna cook again. And the wife says but you can't even
afford the one bedroom house and you talking about
The Hilton and you're unemployed I am busy paying for you.
And how can you that's what we're doing with Jenna was paradise when I get to heaven, I promise you, I'm going to be with you. But you're not working towards it. You don't even think about it properly. You just think when I get when I get how On what grounds are you going to get there? So Pamela, well, I guess through the mercy of Allah, so develop a relationship with Allah.
You work hard towards something. Now, if that building is costing 100 million and you sitting at 99 million, then you have the right to say, once I can afford this, I'm gonna bite. And I promise you, I'll make you the shift.
You notice how I changed the statement.
Before you had the wealth, you were telling her You will never cook again, now that the reality has come? You say no, I'm making the shift. Don't be unfair. Don't be unfair. You know, may Allah subhanho wa Taala guide us talking about death. So death overtakes a person that overtakes you literally because you're running in one direction, and it comes at a speed and it goes beyond that you're gone, you're gone. So we need to prepare for the day that we meet with Allah subhanho wa Taala, we need to make sure that the day we meet our maker, we are the best of people.
This is why I asked you to do something.
And this is probably the most serious thing. And I'm going to be saying the whole evening.
Every single day when you get up, make sure you say your prayers, make sure you pick up
the Koran read a little bit of it, make sure even if it's one line, one verse, a little bit of it, seek the forgiveness of Allah early morning, every single day. If that becomes your habit, one day you will die. And that day that you die, you would have started the day in this beautiful way. So when you die that way, you have a relationship with Allah moments ago, you were talking to Allah and a few moments later you died you actually went up back to Allah subhanho wa Taala. Do you really think he's going to abandon you? Do you really think the Most Merciful most forgiving?
The beneficence? Do you really think he's going to throw you away when you were talking to him moments before you die? No.
So this is why I say every day, all of us, make sure you have developed a relationship with your maker.
And make sure that your relationship with the rest of the creatures of the same maker
is beautiful. That's character and conduct.
Because I promise you, when you are pious, it shows
it shows through your character towards other people.
Did you hear what I say?
When you're close to the Almighty,
you become very respectful towards the rest of the preachers of the same Almighty because they are His creatures.
When you become a really pious person, it softens you. It does not make you hard. So when you see people hard and harsh, they're not pious, it's just a show. Trust me it's a show
up one honey
from booming, howling. Oh, Mohammed salatu salam had you been harsh and hard hearted? They would have dispersed from around you. Nobody would have heard what you were what you had to say. But because of the mercy of Allah, we made you lenient towards others, softened up.
even close to Allah subhanho wa Taala. One of the signs is the person furthest away from Allah.
I'm thinking about how I can reach him or her so that I can give him some hope. And let him remember that he has a maker or she has a maker that he or she will return to one day so that he or she can inch closer to that maker. That's my concern.
My concern is not just the pious people, if I am pious, I'm not just concerned about my click and my gang. And the people who think like me and the people who are as pious and as holy, no, I am concerned about everyone because we are all brothers and sisters. I'm concerned about humanity at large and other creatures of the Almighty. And I'm concerned about my environment as well, because I'm a true believer and I'm so close to the Almighty, that I respect everything he has made.
It's something nobody teaches us.
It's something very few people remind us about.
Are you really a pious person?
Well, in that
You need to know
that the test of it is, how do you treat those who really hate you?
Are you respectful at least? Do you carry yourself? Well? Do you speak good words? Someone swears that you that's the time when you actually know that you're holy.
You're pious. When you can smile back or perhaps say a word. Look, we don't need that.
Have you heard of Siri? You know what a CD with the iPhone?
translator?
kids did it? What does she see? That's not a nice thing to say to me. That's what she says sometimes.
So had a lot, she won't swear you back.
As a Muslim and the moment
you need to know when your heart softens towards others, you're closer to Allah.
When you have a hard heart, it's filled with hatred. You're not close to Allah. You hate everyone and anyone, and it shows in your face. It shows in your character. It shows in the way you walk, it shows in your attitude. That's not a heavenly person. That's a person with an attitude who has a complex, it's a person who needs desperate out because they think they're close to Allah and they're not. That's why the prophets Allah, Allah warned us so much about the person who will pray so much, they will be charitable, they will fast so much they will give so much they will. They will make their pilgrimage and do whatever else but they will still go into the Hellfire because they back
bitten about this one. They cheated that one they deceived that one, they abused that one, they ate the wealth of that one, and they did this to this one. So on the Day of Judgment, all their good deeds would go away to those whom they have harmed until no more good deeds are left. And there will still be so many people who would want their due back because of the harm done by that person who prayed and he was conscious about his duty unto Allah but he was not conscious about his duty unto the rest of the creatures of the same Allah until the bad deeds of those people are taken and put on his shoulders because he doesn't have a payment, normal payment. And then he goes into hellfire.
That's the Hadith. That's the statement of the Prophet sallallahu sallam. That's what he says. Those are the ones who pray. They may pray so much, but they have hatred in their hearts.
They have people they despise others. The Hadees is layered Hello gentlemen canopy can be with him in her belly min Kibriya he will not enter Paradise in whose heart is a mustard seeds wait with of pride. You have your you have this pride. So the companion said, Oh messenger, we love to dress properly and so on the conveyance we like it to be proper. He says that's not pride. Pride is never the quality of your motor vehicle or your or your clothing or your abode where you're living. You could have the best doesn't make you proud. I could be driving an S Class. And they could be tomorrow a new Mercedes w class and if I have it doesn't make me a person who's proud. No. So what
pride shows in your attitude.
The Hadith says so they asked him so what is it he says Botterill happy, well, humbleness. A person who rejects the truth is arrogant. And the person who despises other people is arrogant. So even if you're fulfilling your Salah in the first stuff, and you may be outwardly so pious, you know, you might look like a person who if that has disturbed your attitude towards others, you could be such that you may not be allowed access into heaven according to this ad, which says if you have an atom's weight of pride, and pride is explained as despising people, you despise this one and that one why you're a human just like them. Allah can cause you to go back in such a way that you will
lose everything you had, how many people have built empires, and before they died, they've lost everything, and how many people had nothing and before they died, they got so much Subhanallah The same applies spiritually. There are people who are pious up to the end and right at the end, they spoiled everything lost. And there are people who are not pious at all and right at the end, they decided to turn to Allah so Allah forgave them and granted them and abode that they would never regret. So my brothers and sisters don't make a mistake. I I am really something serious.
mentioning something that a lot of people including myself need to be reminded of constantly. If you're a pious person, you are not arrogant. You respect people you treat
unfairly, you are not hard hearted, you're not filled with hatred for no deal for no reason. When someone is a drunkard, I hate. I hate the habit, but the individual, he's my brother, perhaps I need to work on him. I need to try. Like I said earlier, my concern is how can I get to the brother or the sister who is far away, they might have tattoos, they might have big chains, they might have, you know, alcohol in their hands. They might be high on weed and so many different things. And they might be, you know, walking with their pants, if they have any halfway down their backsides and so on.
I don't just look at them as a staff and walk away. That is not a sign of piety. Not at all.
I need to think to myself, that's my brother. That's my sister. Let me say a good word.
Imagine when Allah sent the Prophet Moses Musa alayhis salam May peace beyond him to the Pharaoh, the Pharaoh was the worst guy, the worst he used to say I'm the God.
And when Allah since Moses, musala salaam to the pharaoh masala Salaam said Look, I need to help my brother is more eloquent. So Allah says, okay, the two of you go.
Go to him. And tell him what listen to the words for Guna cola.
Go Oh, yaksha Go and tell him a soft word.
Perhaps he may be reminded, or he may fear Allah. Tell him something soft. Colon layin, some lenient word. Beautiful words. Don't go with arrogance. Don't go with hatred. Don't go in such a way that you
discourage him. Go with beautiful words. Perhaps he might remember. Why is that story mentioned in the Quran? Why? One of the reasons is for us to learn the lesson. Nobody we're ever going to talk to on earth can be worse than that Pharaoh. Do you know anyone worse than the pharaoh?
Do you?
Whoa, whoa, I see some women. I hope it's not your mother in law. By the way.
Bella, make it easy?
Or was it just the wind? Maybe you were just fixing your job?
Nobody is worse than the pharaoh no one. So how dare you speak to people as though you are better than Moses. Allah, none of us are better than Moses, and no one is worse than the Pharaoh. So we should be speaking to others in an even more lenient way. We have no guarantee we're going to end in this in a beautiful way. We've just got to keep trying and keep trying. And everyone else needs to keep trying. And you know, what's the beauty? The beauty of it all is the prophet SAW Selim says when you have helped someone come closer to Allah, it's better for you than any materialistic item this world can offer you.
If I helped you come closer to your maker, I get a reward.
A big reward.
So panela I don't look at it that way. This guy is away from Allah. That's it. Don't ever talk to him. Don't mix with him. Don't even look in his direction. Don't even try and you must just put it all over Facebook that you know what he is going to help. That's it. He's a stray, he's a deviant he's and this and that and go and rattle in front of the whole world what you've done, you've wiped out his sins, you've exposed something here. You've taken all of that onto your shoulders. You've given him your good deeds. And this is why you better do your good deeds properly because you don't want to give other people deeds that are like half done you know? This is what I normally tell
people when I hear them talk a lot of rubbish say you know what that Salah you did just now please repeat it man just do it nicely. Because you know, when the reward comes to me, I don't want like a salad. It's medium medium, you know, we want it done nicely proper.
Anyway, that's just a sarcastic way of wording things but
someone has, has been exposed. We enjoy it. Nowadays. One of the biggest ways of earning reward is via social media, say something good. Spread it. You have a million likes 1000 likes 100 likes, or even one like you know what happens if someone's benefited from it, guess what? You're getting a reward your bank balance increasing. But one of the quickest ways of ending sin is exactly the same social media WhatsApp, let's say we send a photo of someone innocently walking past another person. You know, I this was a real life example. Okay, in one of the countries.
There was a lady who came to me and told me you know, my husband's having an affair.
someone's having an affair. And I'm like, Okay.
Have you made draft for him? Have you spoken to him? Have you tried addressing the matter? and so on? You know, do you have evidence? Who is the person involved in the first line of questions, just to try and soften it to try and make sure that you're helping correctly, and you've understood it properly. So immediately, the phone comes out. And the friends had forwarded her a picture of him with an ad.
Okay. And I looked at him and I said, This doesn't look like it's anything deep. It doesn't look like anything. But I didn't say that yet. Because you can't, you cannot puncture somebody's balloon immediately. I said, Look, where was this? This was at supermarkets.
I didn't say the name of the supermarket, because then you'd know which country it was. Okay. So this was a supermarket. So I said, Okay.
What was happening here, explained to me, you know, he was, what he was doing. And just before this, and just after this, and it went so far, I promise you, this husband was made out to be like a proper womanizer. And in all honesty, I contacted him. And I told him, Look, my brother, there is a picture of you that people have just forwarded to your wife, it's causing problems. He says, you know, what, it was me at the till I was at the till I was trying to buy something at the supermarket. And somebody must have clicked the picture.
There was a woman's face not too far from his but the angle from which the picture was taken the lady at the table and him and they were laughing, laughing about something that happened and and the picture was cut at a certain point, so you cannot see what's below. And I'm like, people are trying to break your marriage, my system. The guy is innocent. No, I'm sure because they'd already said it so many times. And the friends were saying fixing, showing go back home, take the kids and go to this file for divorce to come on. Give the guy a break. Why break somebody's marriage, why go out and forward pictures to create fitness. So the person who started off all this.
Imagine the type of sin they have earned.
We may not do that, but you know what we do?
We love juicy news. Juicy news for some reason. It's like the wet pulp inside the coconut. You cannot let go of cold feels like you know, little beautiful coconut ice pieces on a hot day in Trinidad.
And we chewing on it one after the other one after the other sweet, sweet. You know, that's how we look at juicy news. When you hear juicy news about the neighbor, the other one deleted message the person please my sister, my brother, don't send me these messages ever again, do that. I will not entertain the speech about anyone. And when you do that, they won't entertain speech about you.
But we just forward and you know what indemnity we put f w DD as received.
Like that's going to sort of help you in the grave.
forwarded as received. That's that's what it is. Because a lot of it is lies. I've come across videos that are so well doctored that they look so real, so real. And later on you find out that there was never ever and then that actually played and the flowers actually opened. It was all a hoax. And it was actually made up to seem like it was on main news. And we as muslimeen Wow, we were so impressed by it. But it did not make us fulfill our prayer. Do you remember that clip?
Have you seen it? And then and they say the plan is so powerful that the flowers begin to open in Azerbaijan somewhere? I don't know. But I got to the bottom of it. later on. I forwarded it initially I was guilty, because Iran is indeed powerful without a joke.
But when I found out it was doctored and we saw how it was doctored.
I learned about it because there was another video about ketchup doing the rounds. And it was also doctored. Totally. So you see the original and then you see the fake and it looks so so well done. You cannot believe it.
It's just a professional laughing at everybody. We have a habit, we tend to believe these things. And we forward them. How do I know it's a lie? It did not impact on us at all. How many people forwarded this video about the other opening flowers. But they themselves never prayed before that or after that. It never made them better Muslim. Why? It's like us we read the Quran and nothing happens to us. It doesn't develop us in any way. My brothers and sisters I think you know where I'm going with this.
learn to respect people learn to be concerned about others, you see someone, you see these little children, you see a child walking up the stage, don't get mad at the child, it could have been your child, it's somebody else's child, the way you treat that child today will impact upon the child for the rest of that child's life, it will change the life it can.
So let that change be positive.
I had it once in Singapore, where there was a child who walked on the stage
and tried to give me a rose.
And I was speaking to a large crowd of people.
And it did distract me. So all I did is I decided to turn around, hug the child, take the rose, pick the child up. And I had this child in my hand and I kept on talking.
Because I thought for a moment, what am I going to do here? Stop the talk and say, where's the mother? Can't you look after this kid? I could have done that. I think you guys got frightened, right.
But that's a way of reacting. But it's the wrong way. It's a negative way. That's what we do a lot of the times in our homes with our wives and husbands. And without children, we just yell The worst thing that can come out of our mouth is said in the worst possible way. We don't ever say it in a nice way. But that's your test.
And then when Susan comes out, and she's our little receptionist. Hi, Susan, how's your day? What's up? Okay, I brought you some flowers. But those flowers were supposed to be
given to someone else.
I'm not saying don't be kind to those you work with. But you need to know a lot of us are guilty
of forgetting that charity begins at home. We say it, but we don't act upon it.
You want to be kind go out of your way to be kind. And at home. You know what happens? You are really tested because not everyone's going to be in your mood every day. They're going to be in different moods, different things may have happened. You need to learn to work with it. That's your challenge. May Allah subhanho wa Taala help us.
And the last part of the verse Allah subhanho wa Taala says we will test you with loss in terms of produce, produce meaning here, the vegetation, the rain will come more, the rain will come less, it may destroy your crops, the crop might be destroyed for whatever other reason, the economy may come crashing, the dollar may go up, it may go down, something might happen this way. And that way, all of that is part of your test. And Allah says at the end, while Bashir is sought, meaning give good news to those who are patient, to those who practice restraint, and to those who are forbearance, those whom when calamity strikes, they remember and they utter, we indeed belong to Allah and we
will return to Him. That's the first
sheet is
in
good news, glad tidings to those who are patient, those whom when calamity strikes, when some difficulty affects them, they say in Melilla in a Rajon that means we indeed belong to Allah, all of us, and we will all return to him one day, my brothers and sisters, I've spoken quite a bit. I've given you pieces of advice, but I'd like them to be of impact to me to begin with, and then to every one of us, and I hope and pray that we can learn to love one another for the sake of Allah subhanho wa Taala and be concerned for the betterment of the other. Four, if you are concerned for the betterment of the other, Allah will grant you betterman to begin with, and Allah will make sure that
you have a good life here. And then in the hereafter. May Allah grant us all paradise, and May Allah subhanho wa Taala bless you all, I hope to see you again tomorrow by the will of Allah subhanho wa Taala until then, aku colada, Osama salam, O Allah
Subhana Allah Subhana Allah mobium decondition to Allah Allah Allah and the stone Judo Kona tubo la was Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.