A Legacy of Goodness – Light Upon Light 2016

salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.

Bismillah al Rahman al Rahim al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen

wa sallahu wa sallam on a short film via you will mousseline Nabina. Habib in our karate Are you Nina? Mohammed Ebony Abdullah Allahu Allah Allah He was happy he of Allah to sleep my back

for the for Allahu tabarka Tada for analyzes bad to be learned him in a shape on your regime

for the last

one

is on

rubbish roughly so the revised Sidley Embrey Europa melissani

all praise and thanks to Almighty Allah subhanho wa Taala, who is no doubt our Creator sustainer nourisher protector and cure, we asked him genuine as to shower his choices to blessings and salutations upon our beloved prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam his family members, his companions and all those who tread upon his path with utmost sincerity until the day of their

burial brothers and sisters in Islam.

Let me get this right off the bat gives me immense pleasure to be here with you all in London, and to be a part of this beautiful winter conference light upon light 2016 and in accordance with the words of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam Melania scaliness lemmya karela the one who has not thanked the people has not thanked Allah subhanho wa Taala so I thank the organizers. I thank the volunteers I thank the team members and I thank each and every person who pitched in in some way or the other towards making this event a reality. May Allah subhanahu Medina bless all of them Mila as Richard bliss all of us know Allah subhanho wa Taala blessed one and all with the very best in both

worlds in this world as well as the hereafter. Please say I mean Milla as a Virgil make this gathering a gathering where the angel shoulders with their wings, the Sakina tranquility of Allah subhanho wa Taala descends upon us and made us to be more dynamic high dimensional fast in the seven heavens, I mean

okay, so before I tackle the topic that has been allocated for me and before I delve into the content, I would like to share with you all a profound quote of Imam Al hassanal bursary, Rahim Allah, he is he's reported to have said

in the madonia, the length in the madonia tell Africa young mother, Murphy, whatever then La la la to Drake, fundador, Monza Milan fee young.

Let me translate this in a figurative manner and not in its literal sense because I think it would be understood better. He is reported to have said that the life of this world the life of dunya is just three days is just a mere three days the life of this dunya the life of this world.

Yes, yesterday has vanished. Listen to me attentively yesterday has vanished with all that it came with.

As for tomorrow, perhaps you may never see it.

But today is what you have with you. It is yours. So work hard in it. Profound words. The life of this dunya it consists of three days yesterday has vanished with all that it came with tomorrow, perhaps you may never see it. And as for today, this is what you have with you. This is yours. So work hard in it.

If we were to just think about these words, it relates because look, we are at the inception of 2016 and the year 2015 just flew past us so fast. It just faded away. And for that matter this whole decade from 2010 from 2010 it has just been flying I mean the time has just been flying so fast. Last October. Here we are the inception of 2016 and trust me before you know it 2020 will hit you right in your faces BAM and you won't even realize it. Time Is Flying. And the fact that it's flying is something that was utilized a long while and you it was prophesied. It's from the minus signs of the Day of Prayer because a man may Allah subhanho Medina is the reckoning for all of us during that

horrendous day. I mean,

it is a day jambalaya O'Malley would have been it is a day where or when your children yoga will not benefit you. It is a day yo my affair role model Amina see what we mean you Abby was washy but he will Benny a day when a person will run away from his own

Brother from his own sister from his own children from his beloved wife, husband, they're all run away, why they will only be concerned about themselves such a horrifying day. And we're headed towards that day is just around the corner. This is something that will last for a long while evaluated and said, how many years ago 1400 odd years ago, that it's from the minus signs of the DFM. And here we are, Time Is Flying so fast.

So coming back to the quote of Emmanuel hassanal bursary. He talks about three days, and we just said that we have only today. Why? Because this belongs to us, we are supposed to work hard in it. So now that we are focused on Today, I would like to ask you all a question,

a question that is in line with the content that I hope to touch? And a question that I hope serves as a wake up call. And this question is, have you ever thought about your legacy?

Think about it, that every word, this question, sink deep into your minds? Don't just brush it away? Have you ever thought about your legacy?

Because each and every one of us, we're all going to leave legacies behind? Whether we like it or not, we all have to leave legacies after we move on. We all leave legacies. It's a matter of what kind of a legacy we leave behind. What kind of legacy Do you want to leave behind? Do you want to leave a legacy that resonates of goodness throughout the annals of time? Or do you want to settle for the status quo? Do you want to settle for something mediocre? Do you want to settle for perhaps a legacy that no one would be bothered about? It is upon us My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, that we go through the annals of history that we learn and study about the lives of the legends and

the looming luminaries of the past. The legends who left amazing and great legacies behind such powerful individuals, they were individuals who had a focused vision. And they used to do whatever it took, they were people were at times they went through a lot of hardship, a lot of trials, but they did whatever. Whatever possible, you know, they used to exhaust all of their resources come what may to realize those visions of theirs to realize those dreams of theirs. They did whatever they went through so much of difficulty. And the best example for that would be Muhammad Sallallahu. He was sending the best example. He was a legend, aluminum, a powerful person. But then when you go

through his life, you realize that he went through so many trials, so many challenges. He was often at a very young age, he lost his father even before he saw the light of day, and then he loses his mother. He goes under the patronage the care of his grandfather, he loses his grandfather loses his uncle, he loses his beloved wife, honey Giardia lohana. That particular year was known as amble hosen, the year of grief the year of distress. It was during that year the supervisor allamani SLM, lost his uncle and lost his beloved wife. There are two boulders of support for Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he lost both of them. And then he loses sons, his own people, the people of

Makkah, they chase him away out of Makkah, and he takes the message of Islam. This was his mission. He was the final profit center Allah subhanho wa Taala. He takes the message of Islam and goes to thought if indeed they accept him in life, they did not accept him and let alone accepting. They deployed street merchants to go running after him and to pelt him with stones. Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he was bleeding. He was injured Mohamed Salah while he when he was selling, but did he lose hope? Did he Raven? Did he despair? No, he did. He fixated his focus towards Medina and set up base in Medina. And as you all know, from their Islam spread to the four corners of this

world. This was Mohammed Salah while you Eddie, you said the luminaries, the legends of the past. They were individuals who faced adversity, they went through trials, they went through challenges, but they were very patient and they persisted. They did not give up. Look at the life of use of Allahu salatu salam.

At a very young age little use of at a very young age. Sometimes you know what we skim through these stories without deriving lessons. These stories have been mentioned by our makers behind the hotel and in order for an for a purpose for the kind of a process of human labor. And there stories in dimension or lessons that will allow for those who have intellect me Allah subhanho wa Taala opened the doors of understanding for all of us, I mean, literal uses, he was thrown into the bottom of a deep dark web and who threw him his enemies. Now his own brethren his own siblings, his own blood, his own brothers, they went and dumped him into the bottom of a whale. And what happens after a

period of time do you think a rescue team came about

saved him and rescued him and took him to his father. A caravan did come. But what did they do? They took him prisoner, and they went far, far away from Palestine to Egypt to missile. And they sold him as a slave in the marketplace one day a free man and the next day, his slaves Panama. He was sold as a slave. And what happens? a minister purchases him and then he starts to work for that minister. Fast forward the story. He's now an adolescent, and the lady of the house tries to seduce him. It's a trial, but some might enjoy the trial.

elderly lady trying to seduce me, but at that point, did he lose focus? Did he give up on Allah subhanho wa Taala. Look at the statement. It's such a powerful statement. He seeks refuge in Allah subhanho wa Taala. He did not forget Eliza gel.

And then after that, because he was innocent because he refused. There were a couple of other events that took place. But nonetheless, he ended up being thrown into prison. unjustly he was innocent, and he was thrown into prison. He remained imprisoned filibustered, FEC Geneva icynene he remained in prison for years. And only after that he was released, his innocence was proclaimed. And he was appointed as the Minister of Finance and treasuries, if you will. And only after that he was reunited with his family after all these trials, Panama, that he did not give up, he did not lose hope. Likewise, many brothers and sisters in Islam, Allah subhanho wa Taala. It puts us through

trials. But we fail to fathom and understand the gravity behind these trials. trials are blessings in disguise. trials are perhaps a way for loss of animal data to forgive you of your sins, do Polish you to the better to prepare you for something bigger, to help you to secure a higher rank in general. This is the purpose but we are very swift and very quick to question the decree of Allah Subhana Allah Allah, may Allah azza wa jal forgive us all. I mean,

so the legends and the luminaries of the past, they were individuals who encountered failure, yes, they encountered failure, but that did not deter them. They went straight back to the drawing board. And they started all over again, they started afresh, they were such individuals. Look at the story of the person who invented the light by Thomas Edison.

He went through almost around 2000 elements to come up with a proper filament for the light bulb for the light bulb. And after going across 2000 things, he fails. And his assistant says, you know, what a waste of time, we went through 2000 elements, what a waste of time, we haven't learned anything. And here we are, we're still a failure. We haven't come up with the light bulb or whatever.

And you know what he said at that point, he very confidently and very positively, he said, No, we did not fail, we haven't failed, we have instead

acquired a lot of knowledge, we have learned a great deal, we have learned that there are 2000 things that won't work as a filament to make a proper light bulb. So if you fail 2000 times, you have actually learned that these 2000 ways these mistakes of mine, I should never repeat them. Each mistake is a stepping stone towards success. Think of it as an installment payment that you're paying towards achieving or acquiring success and victory. And as they say, your last mistake was the best teacher, because the minute you commit a mistake, you learn that you shouldn't fall into the same pit again, to the luminaries, the legends of the past, they learn from their mistakes, they

did not give up. And most importantly, they push themselves, they push themselves past their limits, way past their comfort zones. They did not settle for the status quo. They did not even consider it acceptable. They were individuals who stroke, heart, stroke heart a lot. And just as they say, a ship is generally safe in the harbor. But that's not what it has been built for. Likewise, you and I were not.

We have not been created by Allah subhanho wa Taala to just remain within our comfort zones. No, we're supposed to strive to strive for excellence. And especially as believers who believe in Allah subhanho wa Taala and Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, it's just not about this life. We have the author as well. We have so much to strive for. We need to really, you know, work on our aspirations or with him, we need to have high aspirations. Look at this beautiful narration

for a long while you send him his report to have said and this is authentic.

The narration goes along the lines of these words have come upon AlLahi salatu salam, he goes on to describe gender. And he said a long while he states that gender has 100 levels 100 stages just amazing. And that

Most of them all of the 100 stages is genuine filters, because that is the most grandest of the generic the gardens of Paradise, and above which is our shamrock man, the top of the roof of General curdles is the output of man, the throne of Allah subhanho wa Taala. And then he said a lot more I knew it was lm went on to state that the distance between each paradise in general each garden each Heaven, is the distance equivalent, from the surface of this earth to the heavens, from the surface of this earth to the heavens, if we were to just skim over the Hadith. At times, we wouldn't understand the depth of the howdy with the words of the prophets of Allah while in the center. Think

of it, the distance between each paradise, each Heaven is the distance from the surface of this earth to the heavens. And until today, there is nobody who has traversed the whole universe are all of the heavens, nobody knows. Nobody can really measure this distance. Astronomers are the ones who are experts in this field, they state that our universe, our universe, just amazing mind blowing, our universe contains within it almost 100 to 200 not million billion with a be galaxies 100 to 200 billion galaxies. And after stating that they put forth a disclaimer stating that there were certain advancements made in telescopic technology, that number would actually double, the number would

double. And they would say that, you know, we have around 300 to 400 odd billion galaxies contained within this universe. And from all these galaxies from all these billions and billions of galaxies, we are part of one galaxy, in which galaxies that the Milky Way galaxy know the chocolate, Milky Way galaxy and galaxies, a chocolate brown talking about chocolate here, the Milky Way galaxy, and you know, within the Milky Way galaxy, these astronomers state that that galaxy contains almost around another 100 to 200 billion solar masses, some of which are bigger than the sun and some of which are smaller than the sun.

And within that galaxy, we have the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets, we are part of planet Earth, now start zooming in the United Kingdom.

Where is this place called East London. And here you are.

Take a step back and just think about

look at how much Allah subhanho wa Taala has created. And look at the Hadith. Now, the distance between each Heaven is the distance equivalent from the surface of this earth unto the heavens. So just imagine what a was gentlemen? And remember this the only size of regret of the dwellers agenda? I said this the other day as well will be that Oh, I should have said one more Subhana Allah, I should have said one more Al Hamdulillah I should have said one more Allahu Akbar. For if I had said one most behind Allah one more La ilaha illallah wa de la sharika lah we'll move while it will hum wahala condition for the perhaps a tree would have been planted in my orchards in general. Perhaps a

palace would have been built for me in general, Indonesia, we strive so hard. We strive to upgrade our vehicles we strive to upgrade our houses, our gadgets and whatnot. But what about Jenna just imagine if you perhaps are going to be on level 10 you would be so sad. Oh how I wish I would have been if I had only put in more hard work. I could have made it to level 50 6070 8090 100 Jonathan Fidel's high aspirations we need to work.

Mr. Rahim Oba is reported to have said in a dual agenda to dinner with Vic

unzicker, Dracula and ivig and Secretary mela you can see

that indeed the levels the palaces the stages of Jenna are being built with recur the remembrance of Allah Subhana hotel, and the minute the one was remembering Allah azza wa jal stops remembering the last vighnaharta Allah, the angels stop building his palaces for him. If you want palaces if you want a good life in the Hereafter, and that's the life if we're going to live forever and ever. Coming back to the court of your mama and hassle bursary, Rahim Allah this life is just three days, three days, yesterday, it has gone has vanished with all that it came with. Tomorrow you don't know you have no guarantee whatsoever that you will see tomorrow. All you have is today to strive as hard

as possible to secure an amazing legacy. According to the words of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the lifespan of my oma is just between 60 and 70. Such a short, transitory and temporary life. But the life of the author of the Hereafter is going to be forever and ever going to live there for an eternity. So don't you think that you need to put in really hard work to secure a good life there to secure investment that will reap amazing rewards for you in Alaska.

Work hard. Let's try.

And like I said earlier Come what may, you're bound to be put through trials and challenges and that's why I started off the talk by reading the American American Law Review the hill model comala Coalition for the LA the fella called Mount Sowell Heiser Lee

is Allah subhanho wa Taala, who creates a death and life for what purpose to test you on to test which one of you is best in terms of good deeds. So we may be put through challenges A times we have to go through the middle, and all these luminaries, all these legends, just as we mentioned, they were all put through the middle. They all went through adversity, they went through trials, they went through challenges, but they did not lose hope. I remember this interesting story between an old man and his daughter. His daughter was going through a patch of trouble in life. And she was finding it very difficult. She was almost losing hope she was depressed. She was very negative. She

was looking at everything, you know, from a negative angle, when it comes to her father, her old father, and she, you know, pulls out all of her sorrows and her worries and whatnot. The man, the old man, says My dear daughter, I would like to teach you a lesson. And the daughter was not interested to listen to any lessons. She was so depressed, she was so upset. She was so sad that she didn't want to listen to any lessons. Now she just wanted to you know, she wanted a shoulder to cry on. But the father said, Look, this is an important lesson and I want to teach you this. He takes it to the kitchen. He takes it to the kitchen, and he takes three things. A potato, an egg, and some

ground coffee beans.

He takes a pot of water, places it on the the oven of the cooker and he starts to cook it to boil the water.

The water is boiling. And he puts in Okay, he had three pots and he puts these three things in different pots. The potato in one, the egg in the other and the ground coffee beans, the final part

and after a while, okay. He looks at his daughter and he tells the please open up the pots and tell me what you see inside. And she was in agitated she goes she quickly opens up the pots and she says it's a potato. It's an egg. And here you are. You're some brewed coffee now. You put in ground coffee beans, it has become coffee.

He tells her Okay, touch the potato please. She touches the potato very gingerly. And he asks her What do you feel? What do you think about the potato she says it has become squishy and soft boiled now. And then he tells her to touch the egg to peel the egg. She peels the egg and he tells her please describe the egg. She says it's it's hard. It's a hard boiled egg now.

He opens up the port which has the coffee in it. And he posts some coffee and gives it to her to drink. And she starts to smile because of the lovely aroma that was coming from the coffee. Now he teaches us that he teaches her the lesson. He tells them these three things. The potato, the egg and the coffee beans. They were all put through the same adversity IE hot water, the same adversity, the potato went in hard, rough and tough. It went in it was put through the adversity. It came out soft, weak and squishy. On the other hand, the egg went in weakened for giant, weak and fragile it was put through the same adversity but water. It came out strong hard boiled egg.

Coffee on the other hand, it went in as coffee beans. It was put through the same adversity, what water it came out it was creative. And it came out with something completely new, something you know, tantalizing fresh coffee.

And so he taught her. Likewise, life puts us through challenges, but it depends on how we come out and how we look at those challenges. At times. The biggest mistake that we make is that we think that our negative perception of reality is the only solution. Our negative perception of a matter is the only solution that exists. This is the biggest mistake that we make. Every dark cloud has a silver lining, it's just that a times you need to look a little harder to find that silver lining and all of these legends, all of these luminaries, they did so this drove ha so that is derived lessons to strive hard. Look back at our Salah. finisar look at the scholars look at the Sahaba at

one like Allah Allah image mine. Look at the Gambia I live in salatu salam, their lives have been documented and their lives are there for us to derive lessons, the more we go into their lives. Each time we go into their lives we come out with amazing, amazing lessons, be it the prophets, the Sahaba the scholars of the past just amazing, so profound.

So my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, they strive hard to strive hard to secure a good life in this world, as well as the hereafter because there's nothing wrong in living a good life.

life in this world, as long as you live within the guidelines of Sharia within the framework of Sharia, as long as you adhere to the teachings, and the commandments of Islam of Allah subhanho wa Taala, the teachings of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. So, work towards high aspirations aspire to inspire as many people, firstly inspire yourself, and then inspire others before you meet molecule mouth before you expire. In other words, because inevitably, we all have to face death. It's a short, temporary life, let's make the best of it every single second that passes by that those seconds are so priceless. Even if you were to spend a million pounds, you would not be able to

get those seconds that went by the so priceless, use every single second, every minute, every day, every moment that you have to do as much good as possible, securing the pleasure of your maker, thereby resulting in you becoming successful in this world as well as the hereafter and also resulting in you leaving behind a legacy that resonates of goodness throughout the annals of time. With that, I conclude I ask Allah Subhana Allah to forgive us of our sins, to accept our good deeds. And just as how unites us here in this beautiful venue may unite us in the gardens of gentlemen tabela beloved our beloved prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi