Muhammad West – Building a New South Africa

			Are they reliable Ashikaga regimes Villa Rahim Al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen wa salatu salam ala
COVID Mursaleen Satana Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi Germain we like brothers and sisters cinema
Alec mark would like us to go to Al Hamdulillah Bill Alameen always and forever we begin by praising
Allah subhanaw taala we thank you we glorify Him mission of Allah, Allah and Allah will testify that
these and unworthy of worship because Allah subhanaw taala and we send our love and greetings to our
beloved Nabi Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam to spice up your family, his companions and all those who
follow his sunnah until the end of time. May Allah subhanaw taala bless us the Muhammad Sallallahu
		

			sallam, Allah made easy for those who are going through difficulty May Allah bless all of us, Grant
Shiva to those who are ill many people are ill mela Grantham Shiva, Mala grandma, Farah mcphedran,
for those who have passed away, and they will all be united together in general for a dose. I mean,
what hamdulillah Al Hamdulillah today, the 30th of July 2021. This July has been a very difficult
month, they've been many issues that our nation, the young rainbow nation, have, you know,
experienced? And in fact, these ICs are these tests these challenges, really test the foundation of
us as a nation and making a decision which direction we want to go. Where are we going as a people,
		

			you know, we can discuss all these problems and spend many, many times talking about the unrest, the
political unrest that was that we saw in Durban and Johannesburg and Hamdulillah, it has calmed
down, although the damage will be far reaching. We have ongoing violence here in the Western Cape
Subhanallah a taxi more than is we in the middle of a taxi was Panama Allah grant us protection, we
have ongoing pandemic, third wave of the COVID 19 pandemic. And of course, without delving deeper,
you know, the roots of so much of it goes down to poverty, inequality, the way in which our society
is structured is not sustainable. And while we can talk about these very serious problems, we can
		

			talk about all these issues. And we can, you know, sit back and criticize and blame and shift, who's
to be responsible Alhamdulillah, in the midst of all of this and a very difficult month, they were
moments which were extremely encouraging, we found people that really stood up in private capacity
to make a difference. And I remember, really just before eight, and when this, the issues in the
case of imminent, were rising up, you know, people would phone and say I'm willing to put down
hundreds of 1000s of my life savings on the line, to get a truck together to send some bread down to
Durban to send some bread into those areas where people were standing for hours, queuing, just for
		

			basic necessities, and SubhanAllah. In the midst of all these horrible stories that we saw on the
news, what comes out in terms of at the same time, in difficult situations, certain people will
hamdulillah they rise up, they rise to the occasion, and they really make a change. And you know,
for us as believers, Allah subhanaw taala did not ask us to change the world, las Panatela did not
expect us to fix every problem. But he did require from us as believers to try to make a difference
to do something more than just blame or more than just to be critical more than to be despondent.
And so today's quote by insha Allah today's lecture is how can we change the world? We know what the
		

			problems are locally, internationally, the big issues, the small issues, but the mindset of a
believer is what can I do to contribute? How can I change in my capacity to make small changes that
will ultimately lead to big differences in the world? And so three advices that we can give, and the
first advice is that a believer, his mindset is that he always sees potential. The believer looks at
a challenge, not as a problem, and he doesn't become despondent as Hanalei. If you look at the
biographies that are because you went through so many difficult moments in his life, so many
impossible situations and Gambia as well. They never become despondent. Yes, on the one side, of
		

			course, the dependency and Allah subhanaw. Taala is the one the one string that they had, but they
look at every situation as an opportunity, every difficulty as a chance to do something good. And so
Hamdulillah, as we said, we saw in the midst of all of the chaos that is happening, we find people
rising up using it as a chance to feed others using it as a challenge of Dawa to put Islam forward.
And hamdulillah goodness came out of of these difficulties. So for us as Muslims that are based on
samosas, how wonderful is that? A fee of the believer? How wonderful is the mindset of a true
believer for everything and all his affairs are positive or good for him, no matter what comes his
		

			way. He's always goodness in if Allah subhanaw taala blesses him with something good, something good
goes in your life, you're grateful that you'll give thanks to Allah. And so he increases us in the
goodness of Allah increase all of us and goodness. And if some difficulty comes to you, and spatula
all of us are going through some difficulty, and all of us are going through either a personal
challenge, whether it's in our family, in our health, in our business, whether it is bigger than us,
our communities going through hardship, we find the goodness in it and we give we are sober, we are
patient, and we optimistically look for a way to take some positives out of it. So then, how
		

			wonderful is that a fate of a believer. Number two, this hadith, it really touches us than our
resource. And I'm said that even if Qiyamah was upon you, you know Qiyamah is the trumpet has been
blown. And the world is in the midst of ending and you had a plant in your hand or sapling, when you
should plant it. So Subhanallah many things can be taken
		

			From this, you know, the one very simple thing is how beautiful Islam is in terms of planting trees
and looking after the environment. But beyond that, we see from this hadith, the optimism of the of
the moment, a true believer is always optimistic that he is even though he is upon us there is no
tomorrow. Even so, we are not worried about the results, the results lie with Allah subhanaw taala.
On our side, Allah has put us in a situation, we do the work we do the we put the effort in, and the
reward is for Allah subhanho wa taala, whether this plant would grow to be a tree, and that tree
would be fruits and people will benefit that is for Allah to decide. But from our perspective, we
		

			get involved and we make the change and our hamdulillah as I said, what really inspired me
personally, in the midst of all of this calamity, you know, you could feel bad, you can feel down,
you can feel despondent, you can feel angry. But you know, when I looked at certain people, I have
one brother in particular, when he mentioned, you know, I'm going to put some money into this
venture, and I asked him, How are we going to recoup this, this is a lot of money. Inshallah, we put
our faith in Allah subhanaw taala we just do the work and we leave the rest to Allah subhanaw taala
and it's this mindset Alhamdulillah that will always when Allah subhanaw taala will always go and
		

			success to those who are optimistic, no matter how big the challenges are, you know, they can be
innumerable, but the believer with his philosophy, sincerity with Allah and his support, because if
Allah is on the side, then nothing is impossible. So first point is As believers, we should not give
up, we should not become despondent, we should be optimistic, we should always look to the future as
being bright, and that there is hope, and that there is a way forward that we can fix our problems
in sha Allah. And if the believer is that this will handla I unequivocally Ambia the DUA you know,
it says that none gives up on the mercy of Allah except to disbelieve, it is only a disbeliever,
		

			meaning the one who truly rejects Allah has no faith and no hope and is despondent. Anyone who has
Eman in Allah subhanaw taala, and knows the Mercy of Allah subhanaw taala you will always believe
that tomorrow can be better, that every problem can be fixed, that every disease can be cured,
because Allah subhanaw taala is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy. The second point is of
being optimistic is one thing. The second point is and really one of the big, perhaps the biggest
issue that we face, as a country as a society is a serious lack of leadership, the structures, the
people in charge, and those who are responsible for making changes are, you know, subhanAllah, they
		

			are either overburdened or they are inadequate, whatever it might be, but it is not translating into
what it should be. And so it is left up to us as individuals, you know, simple, ordinary people
yourselves to get involved and make the change. And this is, again, that goes back to the Hadith
with no resources, all of you are shepherds, and all of you are responsible for the flock, every one
of us, you know, we are all leaders, we all have a role to play, we all have something to give back.
And So alhamdulillah if the government is not, you know, able to feed certain people, they're not
hungry, and we will take that as an opportunity, Allah has given us the opportunity to see if some
		

			problem in the school isn't functioning as it should be. Alhamdulillah I as a parent can get
involved and do something good in something wrong in my Masjid Alhamdulillah I will join the
committee. And so once again, my message and my appeal to every single Muslim, you should have part
of your life yes, you have your job. Yes, you have your kids, you have your basic Islamic you know,
the things you need to do your Salah, your fasting, the basics you need to do, part of your the
makeup of a believer is you need to be involved in something positive in your community, you need to
give back to your community that is really one of the functions of a believer, and so get involved.
		

			Then also Allah mentions that we're able to believer is positive goodness comes from it is like that
window like rain that we ever he goes whichever communities in whichever business is in with us in
the company with these socializing, he brings about something positive to the environment around
him. And so we should be like that, like the other analogy is like the one who sells Musk the one
who the perfumer said that whenever you around him, you benefit from his from the good smell. And so
every single Muslim, your job in society is to bring about positive change. So if you identify a
problem, get involved Alhamdulillah get involved. And on that note, I just take a side note here and
		

			having that measured put on Islam, not just the mercy but the organization. And for many of you are
not familiar with this organization or Hamdulillah. It's a sizable organization at hamdulillah under
Burano This is the masjid with the lecturers go out from Alhamdulillah. There is a nursery school,
one of the oldest mystery mercy schools in South Africa. We have a soup kitchen where a lot of the
social welfare goes through and we think the people especially during this time, Corbin they've
donated the meat which will be used to feed the poor. We have publications and many, many other
departments and our Hamdulillah this does not just happen overnight and under Pamela, I'm very much
		

			not involved in most of the functionings of the department. But we have a wonderful team of
volunteers that have come on board over the last three years. The term ended basically on Wednesday.
		

			And through this very, very difficult period, you know, people thinking out of the very busy time of
engineers, doctors, or old people, young people, students, people that have very busy lives, exams,
people getting married, but they take time out of the schedule once a month to come and give back
and contribute to the organization or hamdulillah through this difficult period, where the
organization was under a lot of strange during COVID Alhamdulillah, we can continue and
Alhamdulillah after the term ended, many of them have stayed with us and the Committee continues to,
to serve. And again, my appeal is everyone out there get involved, you know, either in our
		

			organization or any other organization, your own local Masjid get involved, there is nothing more
precious than time donating money is good. Well, Hamdulillah, your your eyes should be, you know, as
should always be that you should always be making dua for those who are doing good around. But what
is really needed is the time and the expertise of individuals, every single person that joins add
something new, brings some new value to the organization and helps fix problems, and collectively
Alhamdulillah what a few people can do, you can really transform an entire community. And we just
need to look back at the Sahaba they were only about 301,000 to begin with. And they've changed the
		

			world's panela we are Muslim, and hamdulillah through the through the sacrifice. And so just get
involved. Don't worry about all the negativity and all the things that can go wrong. Just get
involved and have faith in Allah subhanaw taala, I'm going to plant the seed, my job is to plant the
seed with that seed grows into a tree that is in the hands of Allah. And that is the last and
remember, again, a reminder that Allah does not reward us based on the results, whether that seed
grows or doesn't grow, the reward is for Allah subhanho wa Taala the result that is in the hands of
Allah, but the reward is guaranteed by Allah. So please, every single Muslim get involved, we as a
		

			community need leadership. And so when I say leadership, it doesn't mean we look to the President,
we look to the Orlova Yes, they have accountability with Allah subhanaw taala. But every single
individual play a leadership role. And this is the thing really, at the end of your life, is what
you're going to look at. And that goes to our next point, you know, sadly, we've been through many,
many John has in this period of time, almost every day Subhan Allah someone that you know, someone
that you know, of passes away, and in, you know, in these, when someone that is close to you passes
away, you look back at their life, and you reflect on what they achieved, and what they what they've
		

			done, really, at the end of the day, the things that matter, after your family and your your
personal relationship with Allah, it is the legacy you leave behind in your community. And so every
one of us should look back and say, if I were to die today, what good did I contribute on the earth?
What Mark did I leave? And this is again, not for showing the people can talk about me, but what can
I present to Allah on the day of chiama? What can I show that I was part of this solution, I was
part of that struggle, I was part of that building that thing. You see, we live in a society where
it's easy to destroy, and to break down. But it's really the people that build things and people
		

			that that make positive contribution that is needed. And so the point here is, we call it the
butterfly effect. And sopranos is a theory. And what it basically says that a small contribution can
make a massive change. The theory is that a butterfly somewhere in the world flaps its wings. And
through that the apreciate analogy that butterfly changes, and that has a chain reaction and some
way in the world it causes a hurricane is a theory that the scientists have in our head discussed.
It's called the butterfly effect. But we as humans believe in these kinds of things. We believe that
a small contribution from your side, something which you take as very trivial, might have a major
		

			impact, it can really change the world's Pinilla. And there are many examples in the Quran and the
Sunnah about individuals do a small a small deed, we might regard it as small but in the eyes of
Allah subhanaw taala it is major and it changes the world. And so then it also says, Do not be
little any good deed that you do. Don't look down on anything many of us we feel what can I
contribute? What good can I do? We can I you know, I'm insignificant and trivial than the resources
don't belittle yourself and don't belittle the good deeds that you do. Even if you smile at your
brother, even if despite greeting him and smiling is big Allah subhanaw taala loves this. So
		

			spotlight get involved and give something back it will count majorly in your scales of goodness on
the FTM. I mean, and it might even change the world. We just mentioned one story when the Sahaba we
know migrated to Medina, a new community started and one can imagine which is not discussed very
frequently is there were some real world issues. So Hamza Sahaba came from Makkah, they are now one
Omar Al Hamdulillah, they can perform their Islam practice Islam in peace, they can make Salah to
get all those things are wonderful and good. But at the end of the day, there were real problems in
society, this lack of housing, we have a whole lot of refugees, and there's a lack of water. This is
		

			in a desert. So you have you know, the people of the small town, increasing exponentially. We need
to have water. And so we're going to be so Solomon looked at the wells and there were a few wells
that were owned by the Jewish community. That's going to be Santa basically say, Who's going to step
forward? Is there a source of heat
		

			And McDonough like it's in the rain. But what he said instead he said, Oh, my OMA, who of you are
basically going to stand up and help fix this problem? Who is going to buy a well and guarantees
place in Jana, who's going to take ownership of this problem. And in that process, you will
guarantee your place in Jannah. And so this mindset is what we should do, we look at the problems
around us as opportunities. And when you say, I'm going to take, I'm going to take ownership, I'm
going to step up and volunteer myself for this problem. I really doing it so I can guarantee my
place in gender. So we know of course, to complete the story, say, North man or the Alon, he came
		

			forward. And look he was of those who are refugees, he didn't have much money, he brought whatever
his life savings from Makkah. And so he volunteered to basically use everything he has to buy the
well, when he went to the Jewish man. And he asked him, Look, can I purchase the well, man said no,
you know, business is good. People need water. I've raised the prices. I'm not, you know, supply and
demand basic of business that hamdulillah our Jewish friends are very good when it comes to
business. And so he realized that now is what is in short supply, why would I sell my well, so say,
North man said, Fine, let me buy half the well, and the man thought, you know, what, what kind of
		

			silly person? Are you? You know, how do you sell a well, basically, one day you use the Well, one
day I use the well. So he thought, you know, while you use the days you use the well, it doesn't
disadvantage me because on my day, I'll just take all the water that I need. And so I've got your
money, and I get access to the water, you know, this is an amazing deal. And so on the day that
said, North man, he had the well, you will on his day he bought so he bought hospital well, he of
course gave the well free of charge to everyone. So if anyone wants to use the well, you don't have
to pay any more for water you can come. And so obviously everyone would come and use the well during
		

			the time of St. northmont On his day, and no one came on the day when it was the turn of the Jewish
man. And so Subhanallah he's half was worthless. Now, no one is buying water from him. And so this
Jewish man came from, let's say North mind and said, Look, I changed my mind will you now buy my
other half at a much reduced price and say North man bought the rest of the well with the full well,
and he of course gave it free of charge. The amazing part of the story is Alhamdulillah if you go to
Medina now and May Allah grant all of us to go to Medina, that will still be that well is still
functional. It's amazing to think 1400 years ago, usually wells don't last that long. Allah subhanaw
		

			taala bliss, this purchase that he continues, I mean, I'm going to be some guarantee that say North
man will get Jana for that. But if the Sahaba and every person that has basically lived in Medina
over the last 1000 plus years has benefited from that. So I mean, in that time, that contribution
from say, North America can we imagine? And this these opportunities are all around us all the time,
every single one of us can make a change that will really count massively on our skills of goodness,
but in the law, so get involved. Be optimistic in your mindset, and put yourself forward and
volunteer. Am in in sha Allah you will make major changes. The last word of advice is if you can't
		

			do any of that, if you can't get involved for whatever reason, and Allah make it easy for you, at
the very least as an advisor if you can't add something positive to your community, then do not make
the matter worse. Don't make a bad situation worse gonna be some says when the wind is harvested
What if I can't you know do all these amazing things I can't get involved in the masjid I can't join
the committee. I can't do anything good. I'm just so focused on my own life and my own my own
struggles. What should I do if I can't give back and then a resource that I'm sick to him and
without then desist from doing any harm to the people that don't make the situation worse? And that
		

			will be your sadaqa you will stand before Allah and you will say yeah, Allah I didn't build any
Masjid I can get involved in any organizations I all I did was my salah. I looked after my family I
you know Hamdulillah I was I did the basics, but I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't harm anyone. I
didn't make the situation worse. And then I because this inshallah will be your your sadaqa this
will be what Allah accepts of you and that FPM Allah accept from us all our deeds, forgive our sins,
Quran Rama for those who have passed away she fought for those who are sick. And all of us
gentlemen, go to Dracula Fado said I want them to love you, too.