Solid Lessons from Stories in the Qur’an

Salam Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

Bismillah he will hamdu Lillahi wa Salatu was Salam ala Rasulillah he will Allah Allah He was here Jemaine moments ago we heard a beautiful recitation by our Sherif Ismail. He chose to recite, Surah use of. And amazingly, I was pondering this afternoon what I should speak about seeing that we have people from a cross section of the community. And I was thinking about Surah Yusuf for many reasons. Lo and behold, when I heard him opening with Alif Lam Ra, I said, this is a sign. Let's go for it. May Allah grant us ease. I want to tell you, my beloved brothers, my dear sisters, who may see this a little bit later,

Allah Almighty makes mention of the stories of the prophets in the Quran, for a purpose, what will then happen so Allah He came in.

Also,

man with that be to be here for that.

Allah says to Muhammad, peace be upon him, every time

we mentioned a story of the messengers before you to you, it is in order to strengthen you and your heart, not to say it was not strong. But the lesson is for all of us, the followers of those messengers, to learn lesson from it will apply in our lives.

So, Allah says,

the stories that we mentioned, the best from among them,

is the story of use of alayhis salaam.

And the reason he says this, is because it's a complete story,

it will apply in your lives and in mind.

And so Allah Almighty starts off by telling us

that use of Alayhis Salam

had a dream.

His father was a messenger,

who was also the son of a messenger, who was the son of another messenger who was the friend of Allah.

What was his name? This friend of Allah? Can you say it?

Ibrahim?

Abraham made peace be upon him.

Allah mentions him in the Quran so many times and Allah says, What the What Allah Who Ibrahima for me Allah.

Indeed,

Allah Almighty has taken Ibrahim as a friend.

Allah Almighty.

I don't need water my brother thank you, Zack Allah.

Allah Almighty has taken Ibrahim as a friend.

Why? What was the reason? What's the purpose? Why did Allah say Abraham made peace be upon him was a friend. And by the way, it's the same Abraham mentioned in the Old Testament, the same Abraham mentioned by the Jews and the Christians, the same Abraham, we mentioned as Muslims. So we are all connected to Abraham, to Solomon to David, not just the Jews, not just the Christians, all of us, all of us are part of the followers of these great men whom Allah sent to us, to guide us to remove us from the darkness and to show us the light so that we can tread upon that light. It's not just something that belongs to the Jews, as some people think when we speak about Moses, may peace be

upon him, he belongs to us. He belongs to the Christians, he belongs to the Jews in the sense that we all follow these great men.

And their messages are important to us, because the messages who came thereafter had a completion of these messages. It is amazing. Unfortunately, people think when you talk about Moses, you're talking about the Jews, when you talk about Jesus made peace be upon him, you're talking about the Christians. And when you're talking about Muhammad, peace be upon him. You're talking about the Muslims. That's not accurate. The Christians actually believe in Moses, do they believe in the Old Testament do they believe in the Torah and so on to but unfortunately, over time, we believe that there was some change that happened and it is proven in history.

That's not the topic. The topic is Ibrahim, and how it comes down to the Joseph or use of May peace be upon him and why Allah took him as a friend. But this was just a side point of

benefit. Because today, when people believe because of my religion, I automatically qualify to be a citizen of a certain piece of land. If that was the case, the Christians, the birthplace of Jesus is better than him, it would be correct for them. If that was the case, to say that we all should be living in Bethlehem. And how many billion are we? It would be right for the Muslims to say that we all need to be citizens of the same place? Because these messengers were all part of the Middle East, but no way in human history, does it say that your religion qualifies you to become a citizen of a place, Allah chose where you will be born. And perhaps by birth, you may have certain

qualifications, because you're a human being and your access to this earth and the globe is similar to mine and similar to anyone elses. That's what makes you a human being. And we're all equal. Islam teaches us that we're all like the teeth of a comb, and national service here cas9 image, it's an Islamic teaching, people are equal, like the teeth of a comb. Have you ever seen a comb with one tooth missing, it's not going to do justice to your hair. So we're on the same.

Now, Ibrahim Alayhi. Salam is ours to in fact, the whole Hajj and pilgrimage that we go to is connected primarily to Ibrahim, and His sacrifice may peace be upon him. Allah took him as a friend, because when he was young, he automatically began to ask questions when he saw his father doing things not worshiping the Creator alone. And he said, Why is my father not worshiping his maker? Why is my father worshiping things that he found on Earth? Or that he's making himself on Earth?

So he began to ask these questions, and the father says, Don't you dare ask from this? I learned that when my children ask me questions, I will not say Don't you dare ask, I will look for an answer. I look for a response. If I don't know the reply, I will go and find it and make sure I am the one who helps my child with the with the answer.

And then Ibrahim tells his father Oh, my father, knowledge has come to me that didn't come to you. So if you follow me, I will guide you to the straight path. Was he telling him I know he was not? Yeah, but in the Father.

Any mean? In me, man, I'm yet tick. beaten me a deacon. So you're up.

So we, oh, my father knowledge came to me that didn't come to you follow me, I will guide you to the straight path had the father followed his son, it would have solved the problem. But unfortunately, the father did not follow his son. Similarly, I learned today that if my son were to come to me or a younger person, than myself, and tell me, you're going wrong here, you're supposed to look at this. And that, let me guide you. Let me show you. If he is right, I'm going to listen to him. If I don't, I will fail in the same way as the father of Abraham, may peace be upon him field. So we are taught as believers that a person younger than you can come up with something that you may need, can teach,

you can be your teacher, it's fine for as long as there is something to learn that is valuable and correct and upright. So Ibrahim, as young as he was,

he started searching and he found his maker. He said, When I look at the stars, they are not worthy of worship because they disappear. When I look at the moon, it's not worthy of worship because it disappears. And some days it's there. Some days it's not there. When I look at the sun, it's not worthy of worship because it only comes out during daytime and at night. It's not there. So he says what Jeff toward Gee, I've turned my face I turned my face to whom the levy firepower summer was the one to the One who created the skies and the earth. I turned my face in worship, only to the one who made me Allah loved that statement so much. So Allah tested him. You have recognized us, you have

chosen to worship your maker alone with no partners. And you have said none is worthy of worship besides the one who made me. That statement, carried through it carried through all the way to Islam and the Muslims. We repeat the same statement of Ibrahim, there is none worthy of worship besides he who made me La Ilaha illa Allah that's the meaning of the statement that will grant you entry into the fold of Islam.

Where did it come from? It came from the very beginning. Adam Alayhis Salam it was reiterated

And repeat it by all the messengers of Allah. All of them Moses, Jesus, David, Solomon, Abraham, lat. John, Jacob, may peace be upon them all. They all said the same thing, none worthy of worship besides he who made you don't ever render any act of worship to anyone or anything besides the one who made you. That's the ultimate statement. So Allah loves it so much. Allah says, We are going to test you, oh, Abraham, we want you to do things. The fact that you know that the instruction comes from your maker is enough. Let's see, we want you to sacrifice your son. Did it make sense to him? No, it didn't. The only thing that made sense to him is it's coming from my Lord. If it comes from

my Lord, I'm going to fulfill it because it comes from my Lord. You and I know that the sacrifice is confirmed in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The difference is who exactly it was. I'm not going to go into that debate whether it was Ishmael or Isaac because the Muslims believe it was Ismail Ali Salaam. And the Muslims say chronologically, the other brother did not exist at the time. So it would have been impossible for it to be Isaac but the Jews and the Christians say no, it was Isaac. Nonetheless, like I say, that's not the topic. I just mentioned it in passing that there is difference of opinion among the Semitic faiths. So when he started to adopt that and to follow the

instruction of Allah what happened? Allah replaced that with a ram.

To this day, we sacrifice in a similar fashion, the Hajj, what happens that is a sacrifice, we go and pelt? Is there a devil? Where we are panting? The answer is no, there was a devil. So what's the point of pelting there? Because there was a devil, we are going to go there symbolically, in order to follow the instruction of Allah and His messages, we are going to say Allahu Akbar and pelt with pebble sized stones. And we would actually remove the devil from within in order to make ourselves better people. How many bad habits do you have? How many major bad habits do you have? Can you name them? Can you count them, at least in your mind? I can. I have a few bad habits we all do. Because

we're human beings, sometimes a little bit bad. Some Some of them require urgent dealing with and others are not that bad, but they still would develop you as a person if you dealt with them, and they would help you. So therefore, you need to identify your bad habits. When you go for Hajj. You come back as pure as the day you were born, and even pura and you come back clean. Why? Because when you went there, you took out the devil within in your bad habits. You left them there in MENA where Ibrahim made peace be upon him, so the devil, so he pelted he pelted the devil in reality at that time, we go, and we do the repetition of the pelting in order for us to develop ourselves, Allahu

Akbar, and I've thrown a stone the first day seven pebbles, the idea it's called the Big shaytan genre, the big one.

The major bad habits, take them out, eradicate them work on them. Are you not a believer you are if you are two things you need to do. Your relationship with your maker. Number one to is your character, your conduct that is connected to how you will deal with the rest of the people you found on Earth, whom you live with whom you deal with whom you live in their communities, how do you treat each other? That's part and parcel of your test on Earth. If you're going to be a person who's only worried about yourself, your children, your family, you're not a good believer, you need to be concerned about the poor, the downtrodden, those who are struggling, our brothers, our sisters in

Palestine today, we pray for them, we reach out to them. We believe that there is injustice being perpetrated against them. We believe that it is wrong to stop water, food, drink from people from human beings. It's wrong to stop that from animals. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, says a man.

And in another narration, there is a woman as well achieved Paradise by quenching the thirst of an animal. Imagine what would happen by quenching the thirst of a human. And imagine the opposite. If a person was punished because they stopped water from a dog. Imagine what punishment would be served to a person who stops water from human beings, not just one but millions of them. And we claim to believe in the Torah. Which Torah are you talking about?

We claim that we follow the Talmud which Talmud are you talking about? Is there a verse in the Talmud or Torah that teaches you to block and stop water from animals? From human beings, which is far more important? Do you not fear the day you're going to return to your maker and mine? May Allah grant us is so we care. If you're a true believer, you care for humanity at large when Allah speaks about saving lives in the Quran.

He doesn't say a Muslim. He says, Woman Ha ha, * and never been nicer Jamie, who ever saves a single life, be it Muslim, non Muslim, whoever it may be from wherever in the world, you save a single life. It's as though you've saved entire humanity, because you served it. So this is the beauty of this goodness of the teachings, we need to develop our relationship with our maker in that we worship Him alone. Like I said earlier, we render our prayers to him, we call out to Him we do whatever he has asked us to do. But over and above that he has asked us to develop ourselves in terms of those we live with. Do you think you are living in Zambia? Just as a coincidence? No, the

Almighty chose it for you. That's why you are here. He will ask you how did you contribute towards the development of your nation? Not just your home? Not only your community? What did you develop? What did you do? Did you promote the goodness the growth, the positivity? Did you guide people? Did you teach them? Did you invest in human resources? Did you invest in anything that would help others and that's why we say my brothers, my sisters, this issue of being charitable goes way beyond just your money. It's more important to develop your character towards others, you see someone and you're going to greet him with the same smile that you will you will have when you greet another who

perhaps belongs to a different race perhaps belongs to somewhere else, another community, maybe another ethnic background, perhaps why is it that we differentiate when we are Muslims? We are believers, you cannot be a true believer, trying to impress the maker who made you when you know he made others as well. But you have no good relation with the others. Who are they? They are the creatures of the same maker you're trying to impress. Imagine someone trying to impress you today.

Imagine someone trying to impress you today.

And they don't have a good relationship with others whom you love whom you are connected to, will you be impressed by them? No, you won't. You won't be impressed by them. The reason is, they are not really trying to impress you, they are only serving themselves. I call on you, I invite you, my brothers and sisters to make a change, make a change in society and community by giving importance to everyone the rich and the poor, the downtrodden, the white and the black, the yellow and the green, whoever they may be, wherever they may be, whoever they are, respect people, offer them dignity. That is when you will be a true believer, offer them the minimum that you can. And what is

that the minimum Allah wants of me is respect. What does a person want? I remember seeing a brother who was wealthy and he threw some money at a beggar. And the beggar looked at it and said, You know what? Keep your money. Why? He says you can just throw things he will offer me with respect no matter what it is. We're going to take it the respect is more than the amount remember this. May Allah bless us. Ibrahim alayhi salam at that time, whatever happened, Allah made it compulsory for us to go for Hajj. Have you been for Hajj? One of the reasons Allah Almighty has instructed us that you cannot dress how you want your dress, how we want to show you you're just equal. You don't know

in this world, you might have had whatever, if you didn't appreciate what you had.

You may not have anything in the hereafter. How do I appreciate it? It must humble me. How powerful Are you? Are you humble? Then you are powerful. How wealthy are you? Are you humble then you are wealthy?

How famous Are you? Are you humble? Then you are truly famous. It's humbleness, humility that's going to carry you forth. Allah says yes. When is piety together with piety, all the piety will go down the drain? If we don't have with us humility, do you know where that comes from? narration of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. He says, Do you know who is the bankrupt person? The companion said, Well, he's a person who has no money obviously, and perhaps he might be owing and so on.

The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him says a bankrupt person is the one who comes on the Day of Judgment with a lot of good deeds, a lot of good deeds, but he abused this one accused that one, perhaps deceived this one ate the wealth of this one, and did this to that one, so many others who lived at the same time as him or her were wronged by him or her. So when he comes on the Day of Judgment with a mountain full of good deeds, some go to this one, some go to that one another amount of good deeds go to the other one whom you wronged that one whom you wronged until you're left with no more good deeds, and you still have a line of people wanting justice because of the disservice

that you did to them while you were on Earth. And guess what happens then? Their bad deeds are taken and put onto your shoulder? I wouldn't like that to happen. I wouldn't like

that to happen. So we're taught that let's learn to be humble that hajj connected to Ibrahim alayhi salam,

it is supposed to teach us that all of us are going to go into the grave when we go into the grave. Can you say because I have so therefore I need green color of Kevin, you know what's a coffin, a shroud. In Islam you have to have a white child unless you really there is no white child, then you can use something else as a last resort, but the sooner is white. And you cannot say I need you to bury me in my clothing and put my Rolex on and so on. It's not going to help you a Rolex will not help you to roll into the hereafter not at all. May Allah Almighty grant us ease. You can have it in this world, no problem you are allowed to enjoy. If Allah has blessed you with wealth, you are

allowed to have the best of everything on condition that you are humble and you relate to Allah, you become closer to Allah. May Allah Almighty grant us the best of the dunya and archaea.

You see, that was a very loud I mean, because everyone wants money.

Everyone wants wealth. Everyone wants to be rich. May Allah grant us wealth with goodness. That's it. I want wealth. We all want wealth, but we want it with goodness, we want it with respect and honor. And we want to be people we promise Allah we will be charitable in two ways, charitable with your character and charitable with your wealth. You know how to be charitable with your character. Just show your teeth. That's all. In Islam. If you show your teeth with a smile, you are already engaging in a charity that's considered mandatory, although there's no money involved. Sadaqa when I say give us a sadaqa what does it mean? Many people would understand it as give me some money. But

we want the sadaqa from you meaning at least give me a smile. At least smile at me. Come on. You can't just look at me. You're a believer you believe in Allah knows though. What's happening? Did you just see what did you see him? Smile? Come on. Do you know when you smile, what happens? You empower yourself and you empower the others and you make life meaningful. People want to live because you are around. How many suicidal cases are there today where people say I don't want to live any longer. Because life is becoming tough. It's not easy to survive in environments that are becoming more and more pressurizing in terms of the way we earn and spend. But when someone is

smiling, they look at you they greet you, they give you a small bit of recognition. Wallahi you want to see them tomorrow again, because they made you feel good? Am I right? Whereas the same time you can have someone who looks at you miserably even if you're working there even if you have to meet them everyday because you see them in a masjid for example, but a miserable look, it's something that breeds lots of negativity. Don't do that. Be positive spread positivity. Deb Asuka fie what he Africa South Africa. Do you follow the man known as Muhammad peace be upon him? If you do smile? Your expression is an act of charity, your character your conduct. Do not underestimate greeting

someone asking them how are you? How's your family? They might give you a story with tears. No one's asked me that question for the last five years. Because each one is worried about now I've seen I've seen from the dunya before the archaea. Each one is worried about himself in this world before the next how am I going to achieve things I must show concern I might not be able to give you the 1000s or the millions or whatever but I can greet you and give you importance which is more valuable. In the eyes of Allah.

We learned from the Hajj year comes Ibrahim alayhis salam, he passed every single test that Allah tested him with every one of them. So Allah says what? Allahu Ibrahim Al Thani, Allah, Allah considered him and took him as a close friend. Celine. What's the name? Colleen? It means the highest level of friendship that we are having. I'm sure from amongst you. We have a few colleagues, right? Masha Allah, may Allah grant us goodness and friendship Friend of Allah. Why? Because he adopted the law of Allah without actually understanding it, knowing that it's going to bring back a lot of reward. It's a good thing. So he had a son

is Huck Isaac, he had some sons one of them was is Huck is have had a son is harpaz also a prophet of Allah. Tremendous story, beautiful history. Some of it is mentioned in the Quran some in generations. And then we have his son Jacob yaku. May peace be on him. A beautiful story. Amazing. He had so many children year ago. His other name was Israel. It's mentioned in the Quran. His other name was Israel. So when you say Prophet Israel, you are talking about jacobellis salah, your follow. He had children. He had 12 boys. The youngest was Yusuf Joseph May peace be upon him. The one slightly older than him was Binyamin, or Benjamin. They were all gifted by Allah. Beautiful

handsome men. Guess what

Jealousy overtook them. So what do I then? My brothers and sisters, jealousy is a disease. It is real. It happens even among brothers, family members. So be careful before you look at others and say that man is jealous of me or that sister or woman is jealous of me. Ask yourself, Am I jealous of someone else?

Because many times what happens to us is, we know that there is a disease called jealousy. We are suffering from it because we have it. But we think others are jealous of us, my man, you are the one who's jealous of everybody else. Don't listen, be happy when Allah has given someone else things. Be happy when Allah has blessed another person, you will find growth, spiritual growth, as well as physical growth in terms of your wealth and your sustenance because you are a happy person. With positivity you will achieve great heights with negativity you're going to come crashing you won't even enjoy what you have. You have sometimes you have a millionaire He's jealous because another

person is becoming a millionaire. Have you not seen people who have a massive store and another guy is moving with with with a wheelbarrow, something similar is being sold in a wheelbarrow and the guy comes out and say you're not allowed to sell this because I'm selling it here. Who are you? Who are you?

Are you worried about the sustenance of Allah?

Are you really worried about this? No problem you should be a person. If you're a true believer to say listen, you want to come up come to me. I'll give you stock you can build and you can develop and you can open your own place I want to see you grow then you are building your paradise. Then you are building your paradise because even brothers become jealous of one another. Do you know what they became jealous of when they saw use of Alayhis Salam number one he was quite good looking Mashallah.

The hadith says he was so handsome. MashAllah so handsome, handsome, useful. They even little nursery songs that go like that handsome user, right? Handsome. He was so handsome. We all know YouTube is so damn good looking. The brothers became jealous number one. Number two, the father used to keep him close to him because he was the youngest and show the father who was a messenger of Allah did not favor one over the other but rather you were young you cannot remember that your father treated you in the same way but now that you're older and you're watching your father treating the little one with a lot of favor. You think why didn't he do this to me but he did. You

don't have the memory of it.

You're just watching the little one. Because they said all the use for iPhone have both been I mean, nothing no spy in Luffy.

Movie, amazing verse where Allah's describing what the brothers said. They said, you know, Joseph and his brother Benjamin are more loved by the father than us. So what do we do? Imagine some of the brothers said what is killing? How could you say that?

How can you say that? That's your brother? Why did Allah say this in the Quran? Allah said it for us to watch out what your heart Don't let your hatred for people make you go beyond the limits. You dislike someone you should still be fair and just Wila Yeah, God man.

Shana and a woman Allah Allah, Dino Dino who are Acorah Mooney. Toccoa. Allah says in the Quran, don't ever let your dislike of people make you be unjust towards them be fair and just even if you dislike some people or hate them, be fair and just it is best for your closeness to Allah. You want to be close to Allah be fair with everyone. I don't like you.

But I'm going to be fair in this particular thing. You are right.

That's it. But these were brothers they disliked and on top of that, they decided let's plan his downfall. The older brother felt a bit ashamed of that statement. He says, no, no, no, don't kill the boy. You know what, let's just get rid of it. Throw him into a pit to do something. And that's it. We won't see him again. They went to execute that. They actually lied to the father and said, hey, send this little boy with us. We are his brother's you know, we are tough. We're going to make him rough and tough. We're going to take him in order to perhaps teaching a thing or two and we will come back and he will have benefited we will have benefited and so on. The father says you know

what, I fear that perhaps an animal might come and harm you guys, one of those wild animals, you know, a wolf or have might come and attack. They said no. How can that happen when we are their strong men? They were planning.

They went and executed they threw him in the pit. What did this man do?

Now I want to show you something because I'm sure nearly all of us are aware of the ending of the story. Look at how it started a dream.

The father says, to use valets, and and you saw this dream, but don't tell it to your brothers. They may become jealous of you.

The dream was that he saw 11 stars, the moon and the sun, literally bow down to him prostrate to him. He told his father, what does that mean? The father knew that this is, this means that Allah will elevate him above all of us. That's all, but he didn't say the meaning. He told him, don't say this to anyone keep it to yourself.

And then

everything they did was directly connected to his ultimate success. My brothers, my sisters, something negative happened to you today. Another thing tomorrow, a third thing the following day, for as long as you are a believer, and you maintain a positive mindset, Allah will ensure that the very negativity that you went through would directly result in your ultimate success of a door opening that you never ever imagined. So believe and Allah will give you

believe and Allah will give you because we all go through negatives I've been through negatives you have, we probably are going through it right now you might have lost a job, you might have lost a limb, your health might be struggling, you might have so many crises, you might have a marital problem. You might have problems with your children, your siblings, your parents, whoever it may be your spouse, you know what, take it in your stride, work hard, do your best. Try to do whatever you believe would be pleasing to your maker and be determined. Great days are coming. Happy days are coming many of us when something negative happens and another negative happens and the third

negative happens and the fourth negative happens. What do we start thinking shaytan comes to us and make us think maybe someone did magic on you. Right? What do you call it in this country? They call it Juju where I come from?

Straight? What type of weak faith do you have? You had four tests use of alayhi salam had seven? He never ever said someone did something on me? No, he was determined the day will come when we will be granted Victory. Victory is coming. When is it coming? I don't know. Victory is coming. For a believer there is always victory you are happy. You know why? What is your ultimate goal? Is it not paradise? When if you get Paradise because of the patients you bought, because of the problems that Allah put in your life? It does not mean Allah gave you the ultimate victory. You might not have seen that happiness and joy on Earth. But what is better to see seven tears of joy or to see

eternity of millions and trillions of equivalence of days and years of the earth? Enjoy? Which one is more valuable? So my brothers and sisters take it in your stride.

When we have negativity happening sometimes we feel maybe Allah has forsaken us. Maybe Allah has left us Well I tell you read surah Taha Allah says Mao adakah book our man, Allah,

Allah is telling Muhammad peace be upon him your Lord has not forsaken you he's not upset with you know these are tests that everyone has gone through the prophet Abraham went through tests the Prophet a you are job may peace be upon him, went through tests, they all went through tests look at use of alayhi salam and the tests that he went through. Allah says We did not forsake you know, are we upset, it's part of our plan for you take it in your strike, if Allah has planned it for you, Alhamdulillah It's okay. A day comes when you make a profit and you get something positive and good. Alhamdulillah something negative happens and hamdulillah praise your Lord. Because without that

praise, you are never going to solve your problem. When we achieve a lot sometimes we forget God Almighty, we forget Allah. Some people when they have everything they want, they are far from Allah. So what does Allah do? If Allah loves you, he's going to tap you. How does he take? Take away a few things? Sometimes take away your health sometimes take away a human being whom you love, so much taken aback by Allah, what happened? My life changed. Is that not a sign of the love of Allah? Your negativity was actually a positive. Where are you today? Are you not a person who's a little bit more conscious of your makeup? If the answer is yes, that means whatever happened in your life was

good. It was good for you. You came closer, didn't you? It's amazing. My brothers, my sisters, now a dad cannot book our Macula Your Lord has not forsaken you know, is he upset with you? He didn't forget, you know, he knows you. And Allah says well, FIRA to Pharaoh Let come in L O Allah always remember

If you're a believer, your hereafter is going to be far better than this life.

You know, people ask me how come because I'm a believer I get tested? What about those who don't believe they're not getting tests?

Well, there's one simple answer to that. It's quite deep if you think of it, although it sounds extremely simple.

Who do you test? When you're a school teacher? Those in your classroom or those on the street?

Who do test.

You entered the classroom you enrolled you paid the fee, you said I believe you learned they showed you everything. They told you. This is right, this is wrong. Now come examination, you're going to have to sit here and write the exam. I can't go to the street and say guys can write the exam. We're writing all levels here. By the way, GCSE top exam coming right? It didn't say we didn't enroll in your college. They won't be tested. You are tested because Allah says

What does Allah say? Sugata Lanka boots?

Has he been? So AU? Turaco? Any upou?

Well, hula you've done rune. Do people think that it's enough? It's okay to say I'm a believer, and then tests won't come into their lives. In fact, when you say you're a believer, then the tests begin to come to test you. Are you genuine? Are you not? Didn't we start off by telling you about Prophet Abraham made peace be upon him when he discovered and recognized his maker and decided I worship you and you alone? Allah says, are you serious? If you are serious? We're going to test you. Do you love us in difficulty? Yes. Do you love us in hardship? Yes. Do you love us? Are you humble when we give you Yes, amazing. The Prophet Abraham with him who believes very few. But today, there

are billions of people who connect to him. The Jews, the Christians, the Muslims are just some that I've mentioned. They relate to Ibrahim so much. So there was an argument, was he Jewish or Christian? The Quran says, well, Judaism and Christianity came after him. So how could you drop him into one of those boxes?

That's what the Quran says.

Amazing. So we will go through challenges I'm going to be tested I entered the college and yeah, and here I am. Are you ready for the test? By the help of Allah? Oh, Allah do not test us with tests that will be too difficult for us to pass. I mean,

my brothers my sisters used to buy a Salem thrown into the pit and then they picked him up alive. That was a positive wasn't it? He was alive he didn't die. So that was a positive he recognized the positive he thanks Allah for it. But then again comes a new problem the people who picked him up wants to wanted to sell him to make money today anything you find you say, How much money will I make if I buy this? Right? I get this will I make money? Will I not make money? He found that guy. They found the boy yeah, push Ah Ha Ha hoo. Damn. Hey, here, I found the young boy. Let's go sell him on the street. I want to Billa Come on. May Allah safeguard us. They ended up selling him.

He began to work.

The woman of the house had a bad intention. And she tried to spoil his name. She wanted him to do that which was wrong, another negative. What did he say? This is another lesson for me. This is why Allah says it's the best of stories. It has the most lessons than any other story of any other prophet.

Muhammad peace be upon all of them.

You sometimes you might be falsely accused, it's okay. You're not the first one and you will not be the last one. They accused people better than you of crimes worse than what you are being accused of. They took it in their stride Allah's help came to them. You are not as grand as use of normaI. And we've not been accused with something bigger than what he's been accused of. So if Allah helped him the same, Allah is going to help me. I have the faith and conviction matter of time, they jailed him falsely. They may do that to you and I falsely

some of the people around believed it but most of them knew that this is just a lie.

What happened? Allah says that was our beloved, a prophet, a son of a prophet, a sunnah of our Prophet, a son of a prophet who was our bosom meaning who was so close to us. Our friend

like I said, Lee of Allah, He went through the challenges. Don't worry, the door is opening in Surah shara, which is just after Surah to Doha, Allah says for in number three use in number three use, you know how powerful those verses are? For indeed with hardship, there is ease and with that hardship, there is another ease if you know the Arabic language, well, you know what is Meriva and Nicaea and you know, the use of the terms and also is referring to the same hardship and user is referring to a new point

Have ease when one door closes to will open.

Are you not a person who has faith in Allah, someone fired you and you lost your job, you can't find another one or you looked for it so many times you got it and lost it and got it and lost it. Perhaps Allah wants you to work yourself as an entrepreneur, where you will make more money than all seven of those people who fired you together.

It's possible it has happened.

You read stories of people who passed and succeeded. Sometimes it was not the first time they but they were determined. They had a positive mindset, they develop their link with Allah to the best of their ability, that's when whatever you are going to get is going to be blessed. You get it with blessing.

How do you know that what I have? Is it a blessing or punishment? Because I have a lot? Well, it's quite easy. If two things have happened to you, then it's a blessing. And if any one of those things are missing, then it's not a blessing. It could be a punishment. What are those two things, if it brought you if your gift brought you closer to your maker? That's one point. And secondly, if it made you humble and helped you in your character and conduct when those two have come together, what ever you have is a gift of Allah.

You should thank him you are a humble soul. You are a lovely person, people love to be in your company, and who loves to be in your company that downtrodden those who perhaps have no one else. Look at Nabina Muhammad peace be upon him and all the messengers, including Jesus made peace be upon him who his circle, were they not people who are downtrodden when the kuffaar of Quraysh the cronies of Croatia at the time of Muhammad peace be upon him so that the people who have accepted Islam beloved, nada, and Abarbanel Radi Allahu Anhu and the others, you know what they said? They said, We will accept your religion on condition that you all these poor people, you kick them out, chase them

away, we will come in, Allah says why Allah that already lady in their owner have been been levada team alloggi, you need una watching her. Allah says No way are you going to chase people away from you who are serving Allah who are worshipping Allah, don't ever chase them away, you want to come come you don't want to come each okay. We're not going to change things because of you. May Allah grant us humbleness. May Allah bless all of us my brothers and sisters, use of Allah is Salah Salam at the end, Allah gave him an opportunity to clear his name with the women who accused him.

And Allah gave him is an Allah gave him rank and respect to the degree that at a time of severe need of the nation. He was made in charge of the granaries.

What were the granaries? It's like someone being made the Minister of Finance. It's like someone who is being made a person in charge of all the wealth here. Allah gave him that to the degree that his brothers had to come begging from him. His brothers had to come begging from him.

Subhanallah my brothers and sisters, I'm going to pause for a few moments, I hear the Athan, we will respond the Atlanta and we'll start again, in one or two minutes. Once they are done, Inshallah, it's only correct for us as believers, when the call is being called, we pause inshallah. And we will continue just now.

So my brothers and sisters, we were saying use of Allah is salaam was given an opportunity to clear whatever he was accused of, and to clear the air to the degree that when his brothers came, they had to beg for food at the hands of the person whom they thought was already eradicated. And how did use of Allah is Salam arrive at that point, direct result of the planning of these boys, if they did not plan that he wasn't going to be there, you see. So don't worry, when people plan your downfall, if you are determined and you have faith, Allah will grant you a Day when He will raise you above them, because he did it before and he's going to do it again. And he always does it. And what I learned

from this is I must never ever be a vehicle of the downfall of someone else. I would either empower them based on my teachings or I may not be able to do anything but I'm not going to harm them. You harm someone you pay for it. You don't realize how you pay for it within yourself, within your children within your families. Something

times it might filter through to the hereafter, which is even more dangerous. So use of Allah in salaams brothers come in, and he asks them a strange question. He asks them a strange question. And from that question

he said to them, Do you know what you guys did to use of when you were ignorant? When you weren't even thinking properly? Do you know what you did to use of and his brother? They were shocked because according to them, nobody knew what happened to us and to use of in particular, no one knew. So it can't be anyone else it must be this must be used. And the Quran asks when the Quran mentions the question that was asked in NACA, let

you also have is it that you are that use of is it that you are used to

what happened? Imagine he's there in charge of the food and the granaries, and he's telling these young men 10 of them, you know, big men, and some guys Mashallah. And they are His half brothers, but he's asking them, do you know what you guys did? And they look into or you use of, are you the one

that was his moment? He could have done anything he wanted anything he wanted. You know what he says? He says, Anna you also from What had he called Aman Allahu Allah Hina. Indeed, I'm used to this is my brother Allah has favored us. Allah has favored us. He didn't talk about what you did. No. He talked about what Allah did. Nevermind what you did, what you did was actually part of the favor. That's where it was. If you didn't do this, I wasn't going to be favorite today. So he says among Allahu Allah Allah you know what he says? In who may do is be whoever has two qualities sovereign Taqwa patience and God consciousness. For in Allah Allah you will be you know, agile

machining. Allah will never forsake the reward of those Allah will never leave or Allah will never waste the reward of those who do good. Never. You get your reward, but be patient. Then he says, They told him Oh, oh, we're sorry. Before even they could say much more. He told them later three ballet como el Don't worry, no retribution against you today. It's okay. It's okay. Leave it. You know why? Allah gave me more than you. What should I worry about you guys? Why should I hold it against you? It's like what we say. Yusuf Ali Salam was swimming in the ocean, and his brothers were only stuck at the river that they were at. Why must he worry about the water they're at when he's in

the ocean. He told him no, it's okay. Don't even mention it man. What are you talking about? Later three Malaika Alia Hola. Hola hula come May Allah forgive you. It's okay. I am praying that ALLAH forgive you You wronged against me but it's fine. That is use of Allah is Salam. O Allah blessed him way beyond the others. Because they were planning his downfall. Allah says that's not how we work. We are the givers we give not you.

We raise this man above you simply because you plan this down for and then Allah Almighty says that use of alayhi salam says it's okay go and get your father our father and bring him along and the father comes along and mashallah The story continues where everyone is happy. And the father says that was the meaning of the dream. I tell you my brothers, my sisters, Allah Almighty tells us a

lot that they can be processing him many Beratan only.

Indeed in the stories of every single messenger Allah says they are lessons for those with sound intellect, they went through challenges so ally So will you they bore patients so ally So will you they had victory soul I have So will you have it's okay, if they who are better than you and I went through more than you and I and victory came to them in sha Allah, it will come to us to

bear patients. These are the stories. This is one of the stories of the many stories mentioned in the Quran. And Allah Almighty tells it to us so that we can remain humble so that we can be hopeful. Today we are living in an age where people are struggling, like I've said, struggling for many reasons. There is a lot of pressure. Economies of nations are very, very challenging. It's not so easy to earn, and it's not so easy to live and social media makes it no easier because we've lived or we're now living in the life of competition and comparison which is very dangerous for a believer. Do not compare. Don't compete with others compete with your own self. I

Want to be today better than I was yesterday. As for you, it's your race. I'm not running that race. I'm running my own race. I'm happy, I'm satisfied. Be happy with what Allah has given you be satisfied with it, because many times we have what is sufficient. But we are looking for that which we don't have simply because we think other people have it yet. Sometimes they are only photoshopping photoshopping it for us to see. You know, we're living in an age I was talking about jealousy. The story of use of a salon where some people intentionally want to make you jealous of something they themselves do not have. They don't have it. Haven't you seen people you see a lovely

car? Can I take a photo with the car for walks? Four is not your car, leave it? Who do you want to show? You want to show them you own a Lamborghini? You don't even own the Dini, forget about the Lambo.

Allahu Akbar, Allah grant us easy. Allah grant us goodness and ease in this world and the next.

It's true.

Fine, we showing off. We want to make people jealous. Do you see my car, what car that's not even your car. We just saw you standing next to it. And that's it. People do the same with so many other things we Photoshop we edit, we show that we are in places we never ever visited. For what just to show off. What Allah here we don't need that we are believers. Don't show off. Live your real life. Be happy. Be happy with what the Almighty has given you be happy with your little vehicle. So be happy with your humble home. Allah grants you more joy than a home that might be looking like a huge palace. But if there is no baraka and blessing in that home, trust me it was better to live under

the tree that you might have been living in with joy, happiness, contentment and love than to live in a palace where it's void of love. It's void of happiness, no contentment. Everybody is screaming and yelling at each other. What's the point?

Do you want to hear something shocking? When I was talking to a group of youngsters in a country in a developed country? You know what the youngsters told me? They said I really don't mind living with screaming, shouting and abuse for as long as I have that type of a house. And I said look at where we've gotten to imagine what did I say just now? I said if Allah has given you goodness, happiness, love, joy, contentment, respect. It's far better than having a huge palace. There are some people who say no, no, no, no, give me the palace. It's okay. I don't mind why? Because we're living in a fake world where we want to show off showing off gets you nowhere. May Allah Almighty protect all of

us and grant us goodness I've spoken for as long as I had intended to speak. And I thank Allah for giving us this opportunity to meet all of you. I would have loved

to greet every single person. But you and I know with the 1000s that are here today at this beautiful Metro club, it is impossible. Nonetheless, may Allah bless you all you have come from afar. Allah has granted us great weather. Allah has given us such a lovely ambience, I see beautiful faces, we are all seated, many are standing Allah here I acknowledge you. May Allah bless you, Allah give you Baraka in your own homes, in your lives, in your health, in your Deen in your religion, in your dunya your life, and may Allah Almighty grant you the best of this world and the next me.

So a dua I offer you, you can offer me a DUA, as well may Allah subhanahu wa taala accept from me the few words that I've added, may Allah keep us humble and keep us sincere to him. And may Allah Almighty protect all of us from harm I end

by reminding you of our brothers and sisters across the globe who are struggling, make it a habit to pray for them every day to reach out to them no matter where they are. Today. There are people in Afghanistan who are struggling because of an earthquake that you might not even have heard of. It was not just one but they were more than one earthquakes. People have lost their homes, they don't they, they don't even know what they're going to do. Similarly, our brothers, our sisters in Palestine, I mentioned them already in the talk, but I repeat, my brothers, my sisters, we stand for them, we stand by them. We believe that it is against human rights. It is absolutely incorrect,

wrong and unacceptable. To stop water, food, drink and necessities from human beings. We as Muslims and believers believe that it is prohibited to block water from animals, let alone human beings. So we ask Allah to bless them to grant them ease to give them victory upon victory. And we ask Allah to be there for them For indeed, we stand with the downtrodden wherever they are, on the globe, be they in Sudan or Somalia, if I name the countries, it's the list is endless. We know and better than us, Allah knows everyone who's struggling even from amongst us. There are some in our own communities who are struggling. We reach

out to them tonight. Brothers, sisters, we love you for the sake of Allah. We may not be able to be there the way you want us to be there, but we offer you a prayer May Allah alleviate your suffering. May Allah grant you cure May Allah grant mercy to those who have passed on from your families and make it easy for you to overcome that loss or to bear it with patience. And may Allah Almighty grant us a unity and a bond in a way that we serve each other, we develop our communities and our nation and that development inshallah will spill over by the will of Allah into my country to Zimbabwe and inshallah we hope that we can see growth positive growth at a time when there is nothing but

negativity on earth. May Allah grant us that positivity I refuse to become negative with the negatives. I want to remain positive and inshallah by the help of Allah I will and so will you. Akula Kohli hada masala Allahu wa salam ala baraka and you know, Muhammad was Salam alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh