The Champion Mindset

To

begin by praising a lot of people I mean the Lord of all worlds the exalted, the majestic, and I asked him to send his choices of blessings and salutations upon our beloved messenger, the final prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam, his family members, his companions, and every single person who embraces the prophetic path with the class with sincerity until the end of time, my dear respected elders, Brothers and Sisters in Islam, I begin by him joining upon myself on this blessed Friday, and then all of you all gathered here for salatu. Juma to adopt a life of Taqwa. And that is to instill in your lives into every facet of your lives, the consciousness of

your maker. A lot of will either mean and you must do this, Oh, brother, you must do this. Oh, sister in faith, if you wish to attain if you wish to reap victory and success in this world, as well as the next May Allah subhanho wa Taala make us all from the people of Taqwa. And May He make us from the victorious and successful ones, Amin.

As the sands of the year 2023, slip through our fingers, and the promise of the year 2024 shimmers in the horizon. We stand that crossroads, and it is at this juncture, it is a time for deep reflection. It is a time for introspection. I want each and every one of you watching me, listening to me to shed the skin of the old year. With its regrets, with its doubts, with its fears, with its anxieties, and I want you all to prepare yourselves mentally, emotionally, and physically to step into the brand new year 2024 donning the armor of Hassan as we will discuss in just a bit and holding the shield of cyber, otherwise translated as patience. But yeah, brothers and sisters, a new

dawn approaches us in sha Allah Allah, carrying with it, the promise of new chapters, fresh beginnings, unchartered waters, unchartered territories, and the potential for even greater victories by each and every one of us in sha Allah Tala. You have to understand that in our lives, much like in a years cycle, we experience seasons of triumph, and triumph. We experience seasons of victory and defeat, we experienced seasons of profit and loss. Therefore, understanding the psychology of a champion,

not just in the realms of sport and competition, but in our sacred journey of faith, I would say, is essential.

Especially in our current times, many of us grapple with mental health issues. And these issues are often shrouded in silence and stigma, depression,

anxiety,

stress, a drowning sense of overwhelming negativity and despair. These are all realities that afflict many of us. Yet, they remain topics shrouded in silence, these invisible struggles, often masked by a facade of normalcy. A lot of us we wear masks. I'm not talking about the masks that people used to wear during COVID. Some of us still do. We talking about masks of normalcy. There are those of us every single day in the morning.

We wear these masks as we step out these masks of normalcy

that we try to use to cover these invisible struggles, these invisible struggles that affect II

Each and every one of us, either directly or indirectly, or through the experiences of those we love. My dear brothers and sisters from amongst these trials is the profound and deeply personal pain of losing loved ones, the passing away of a mother,

the passing away of a father, who have been our first sources of tender love, care and guidance, leaves an emptiness in our lives leaves a void and emptiness that cannot be replaced. It leaves this emptiness filled with memories and unspoken words, the loss of a beautiful child. I know those who have lost daughters, I know those who have lost sons, for a parent, to go inside the cupboard inside the grave, and lay to rest his daughter lay to rest his son, an unimaginable sort of an aching pain. Why? Because it shatters the natural order of life. But that is that it doesn't come as per the natural order. You see when a son, a child has to go into the grave to lay his father to rest it is.

It is painful, yes, but it is as per the natural order of life. The son knows the inevitability my father is going to pass away. But when a parent when a father has to go into the grave to lay to rest his young daughter,

his young daughter, his young son, in the prime of their lives, it is painful. It is a very painful ordeal. Allahu Akbar. It leaves the parents, the mother and the father, in a state of enduring heartache, losing a sibling, a brother or sister, with whom you share your mother's womb, with whom you shared a lifetime of happy moments, or a dear friend, perhaps who has been a companion in your journey, who has been with you. This brings a unique emptiness, a blend of grief, loneliness, and sometimes a drowning sense of despair. Each of these losses, my dear brothers and sisters is not just a statistic in the passage of time. They're deeply personal chapters in our life story chapters

that often remain hidden behind the way of our hearts. These are the sorrows that we carry silently. If I were to ask for a show of hands, I often say this,

as to whether any of us in the crowd myself included us, we could raise our hands and say, You know what?

I don't have a single sorrow in my life. None of us can raise our hands why? We've all lost a loved one. We're all going through battles, fights and struggles. We're fighting demons, we're fighting our own battles, each and every one of us and this is part and parcel of life.

Yet, in the midst of all of this, our fate, our iman offers a beacon of hope, a lighthouse of hope, a shining light, a guiding light. So as we bid farewell to the year gone by 2023 and welcome this new year 2024. Let us open our hearts to understanding let us open our hearts to healing. My sermon today, titled The champion mindset, unleashing your inner gladiator of faith.

In sha Allah Allah is to discuss the psychological landscapes of a Champions mindset. Why? Because the champion mindset

the believers champion mindset is not just about triumphing over external challenges. It is about also navigating the internal landscapes of our minds, our hearts and our souls, landscapes that are marked by both joy and sorrow, recovery and loss, victory and defeat. This mindset My dear brothers and sisters is so important because it is beautifully intertwined with the Islamic teachings of Hassan and the Islamic teachings of suburbia, so inshallah Allah without any further ado, I want to get into the content.

At the very introduction of the sermon I want you all to imagine stepping into this collage

So stadium, a colossal arena,

the the air around you, if you are an athlete is crackling with anticipation. You can hear the role of the crowd, cheering, a distant hum against the pounding of your own heart. Why? You're about to face a challenge. You're about to engage. So your heart pounding and thumping. You stand at this precipice of a challenge, a test of your will, a test of your focus, a test of your discipline, a test of your strength, a test of your very being.

But this arena that I'm talking about the stadium that I'm talking about the trophies My dear brothers and sisters are not made of gold or silver. They're not gold medals, silver medals, but the trophies of unwavering faith. victories are not measured in cheers and applause but in the quiet whispers with the Almighty, my dear brothers and sisters, welcome to the stadium of the champions mindset. Welcome to the heart of the champion.

I want to ensure loudhailer touch on a few powerful psychological aspects of the champions heart.

Because the champions heart is not forged by sweat alone, it is forged it is this intricate landscape of very powerful psychological threads. You have the unwavering focus of a champion, like a laser beam, cutting through distractions cutting through the noise, cutting through the chaos around them. That is the focus of a champion. The champion locks on to his or her goal locks on to his or her prize. I is fixed on the prize and fazed by the noise because today we live in a world.

A lot of noise around you. A lot of chaos around you. A lot of negativity around you a lot of voices around you trying to tear you down. But the man mindset of a champion focuses on the goal focuses on the prize just like Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam. He came at a time when the world was filled with darkness. But he was a beacon of light, a lighthouse, he shone bright and he guided the Ummah out of darkness. He guided the Companions out of darkness, you got individuals like Omar ibn Al Farrokh, Ahmad Al Shabaab, Robbie, Allah one your individuals like Khalid bin al Walid or the Allah one, you see your Omar or the Allah one and individual you know the stories. He was an

individual. He was an individual past tense who would drink regularly, who drink regularly he would frequent the clubs on a daily basis. He had the intent to put an end to Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam but look at the transformative power of our messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, look at the leadership qualities of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam look at how he helped these individuals rise from the ashes and today where he is or Marathi Allah who can you tell me where is he? He's buried right next to our leader Mohamed Salah Allahu Allah you believe as an individual who was drowning in darkness in the abyss of intoxication, an individual who had the intent to kill

Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, look at how he transformed him sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, this is the focus of a champion.

Then you have the intrinsic motivation of a champion, a Champions fuel, you know you have your vehicles that are fueled by petrol by diesel, a Champions fuel is not fame, or fortune. Eventually those things come in and blur the lines perhaps. But generally speaking, a champion is not fueled by fame or fortune. Those come regardless, a champion is fueled by the fire of their own passion. They are driven by this deep seated desire to excel to excel.

Have you ever spoken to a champion?

Have you ever sat down with a champion? It is never enough for them. It is never enough for them. It starts perhaps locally, and then eventually internationally, and then eventually globally.

They're looking for peaks, to climb, to rise to excel. They're never they don't settle, don't settle. They never settle for mediocre.

And this should be the mindset of a believer never settle.

You're always looking for peaks to climb, peaks to Summit. Intrinsic motivation. This is the concept of axon, striving for excellence. What is the point of us as believers talking about axon in a very shallow way, you should embrace it.

With regards to any aspect of your life,

or rather, with regards to every aspect of your life, strive for excellence upon excellence, then you have the power of discipline, a champion does not become a champion

without discipline, and a champion understands that victory is a marathon. It is not a sprint, it is a marathon. You have to bring in discipline, you have to commit to rigorous training. Have you ever read or watched videos perhaps on the training of champions, you have to commit not just to rigorous training to a very disciplined diet? You can't just indulge in whatever you want to indulge and then expect to be a champion. You have to train hard, eat clean, discipline yourself.

These are the teachings of Islam. Can you eat whatever you want to eat? Can you become lazy? Can you become sluggish? Look at the words of the messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam a strong believer is more beloved Unto Allah than a weak believer. Words of the messenger not my words.

But we as a nation have you not become lazy, have you not become sluggish, heavy not to become known to over eat?

Have you all not walking with pot bellies?

I have never, ever come across a description of a Sahabi a companion of the messenger sallallahu alayhi wasallam with a pork belly

with a pork belly. They were all tapered individuals.

Not that they were looking to compete in some Mr. World fitness competition. In general, they were individuals who were fit, who ate healthy, who were not lazy, who were focused. The companions of the Prophet sallallahu ALA. Look at the description of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, his chest and his stomach was one line. But for us it goes like this.

Amara, the Allahu Anhu

he spots an individual with a big tummy. He asks the man Yara Maha what on earth is this? The man he loves him says either Baraka two min Allah. This is baraka from Allah. The Prophet said Allah. Muhammad Radi Allahu Anhu says, No, it is not Baraka baraza it is admin Allah it is a punishment from Allah.

Allah who

submit to your brothers and sisters,

the discipline of a champion

and you see it not just in training and diet, you will see eventually now coming into the mindset of these individuals look at the Sahaba their commitment to the Quran.

You know, today it has become a feat for youngsters to for example, memorize the Quran as soon as possible. As soon as possible and even parents, they tend to brag and boast Oh my son became a half of the Quran in one year. My daughter became a half a dolphin in six months, in three months in two years. Well and good, masha Allah, may Allah protect the guardians of the Quran, I mean, but the Sahaba had a completely different approach. They used to commit to the study of the Quran, to the extent that some of them took a lifetime perhaps why? Because they would take an idea, they would take a worse they would study it, they would commit it to memory, they would implement it in their

lives and then move on to the next verse. They were basically walking Quran. You and I today in our time and era we have many of fogal Quran many Guardians of the Quran, but unfortunately the Quran has not gone beyond the lips and the tongues. We need to embrace the Quran into our lives and this was the commitment of the Sahaba one litre highly highly Himeji mind moving on psychological aspects of a champion

In silencing the inner critic, every champion has a doubter. A voice inside that keeps on whispering, you cannot do it. You cannot do it. This negative voice it can be from Chopin. It can be from our own news from our own next, the negativity within, you must learn to silence these inner voices. And this is why we seek the help of Allah also in the Quran, Michelle will was was still Fanox from the evil whispers, because you know why you might be thinking, well, this whisper is not necessarily evil. It becomes evil and toxic when it drags you down. When it brings in low self esteem, when you don't have confidence, confidence to move forward, when you want to try something,

the voice inside you says, oh, but you are a failure. You fail.

You've lost, you can't, you can't, you're physically not able to do it. You are a loser. You're this, you're that, oh, look at that person, that person is better than you. This voice in our heads can drive us crazy.

You can cause low self esteem but you don't have the confidence to move forward.

It took so many tries to come up with the light bulb. But my dear brothers and sisters, hundreds if not almost close to 1000 trials. So you have to understand that you should not give up. And you must learn to silence that inner critic. You must transform that inner critic within you into a positive coach, a coach who coaches you forward, who motivates you forward, who pushes you through the dark valleys of defeat and loss to help you submit towards the peaks of victory?

The Prophet Yusuf virus that was salam we see in the story that perhaps he must have been plagued by such voices when his siblings dumped him into a well, the bottom of a well, just imagine how the voices must have overpowered him that oh, your own siblings your own blood, they threw you into a well, no one's coming to get you no one's coming to rescue you and he was a young boy.

And then eventually, when help comes what was the health, people who kidnapped him, took him to another land and sold him as a slave in a marketplace. Subhanallah one day a free young boy, the apple of his father's eye and the next day being sold in the marketplace as a slave in an unknown and foreign land. And now he's in the household of some stranger, as a slave. Just imagine the voices that must have plagued that young mind that young heart but did he give up?

Did he give up his story is a stark reminder for each and every one of us that he reminded himself that Allah is with me, Allah is with with me. And Allah took him through all those trials. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. You know the story, the trial of seduction, the lady of the house trying to seduce him, and he was framed. He was not guilty, but he was framed and then thrown into prison. Years philosophy Sidney Beto, Icynene, he remained in prison for years and innocent young man in prison.

And then eventually he surfaces. Eventually he comes out and he rises to power. He rises to power and a dream that he saw in his childhood, in near AI into a Haida.

chanson Kamara as to whom Leaside GED when he goes to his father and he says, Indeed, I saw 11 stars, I saw the sun and the moon all these celestial objects in sujood unto me.

This was before he was thrown into the well. The father yaku valet slot was set up a very wise individual. He knows what is in store for the sun. But see that rise was preceded by trials was preceded by challenges. It was not just served on a silver platter. So champions know, they know to reach the peaks, you have to be forged in the furnace of trials in the furnace of challenges just high as how I'm sure the gym traders in the crowd would relate. You have a rough stone, for that stone to shine and for every facet to be visible. It has to go through a shining process. I don't know the terms for it. It has to go through a cutting process and then it comes

out the other side, a diamond, it comes out the other side at UL, it comes out the other side of lucify. Perhaps

a champion coming back to the mindset of a champion, a champion cultivates gratitude. A champion knows that every step, every victory, every breath is a gift from Allah. My dear brothers and sisters, we have taken so much for granted today, if you woke up in the morning, and if you were able to go to the washroom to the toilet, and relieve yourself without feeling excruciating pain, do you know how much you have to be thankful for? I'm sure you know of those of us within our community suffering from renal issues, kidneys, shutting down kidney failure, and therefore they have to strap themselves to a machine, they have to go, they have to undergo dialysis on a regular basis to do the

same things that your kidneys are right now doing within your body, even without you realizing it. Subhanallah if your kidneys start to shut down, it's a painful process. The fact that you and I My dear brothers and sisters, I want you all to do this for me take a deep breath.

The fact that you can take this deep breath, inhale and exhale, without feeling any excruciating pain in your lungs without feeling as if there's a tight band around your lungs is a huge blessing from Allah. Do you know there are those of us who are hungry for air, they can't take a deep breath. They can't go to the washroom and relieve themselves without feeling excruciating pain.

You know how much we have to be thankful and to Allah subhanho wa Taala so much do you know there are people strapped with bags onto their bodies to relieve themselves because they have undergone surgeries many of us there could be even those of us seated in the crowd Subhan Allah, may Allah ease your affairs I mean, so if you have not been tested in such a way, then how much you have to be thankful for how much of gratitude must you and I cultivate.

So let us make gratitude part and parcel of our lives My dear brothers and sisters.

So as you can see, a Champions journey is not a linear path to triumph. It is a dance of victory and defeat. It is a dance of joy and sorrow. You have the peaks of victory and the valleys of defeat. So this talking about the mindset of a champion.

When this champion goes through defeat,

undergoes defeat undergoes loss. The champion embraces suburb, the suburb that Allah teaches us LeBron Jamil.

The champion cultivates acceptance, not denial. A champion knows that defeat is a natural part of the journey. A champion knows that loss is a natural part of the journey. They avoid the trap of denial, they embrace the lessons hidden within the setbacks. Look at the life of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam bachelorhood, you know of the setbacks. But did he go into denial? No, they use it as stepping stones to transform to rise to summit peaks of victory. A champion learns from every fall, every stumble is an opportunity to rise stronger. A champion learns from his or her mistakes, identifies areas for improvement and works on those areas and rises against stronger rises from the

ashes stronger, Allahu Akbar,

and the champions they are those who find strength

in support. A champion knows that he or she cannot walk alone. A champion needs a strong support system, be it family, be friends be the community and that is why we have the OMA as a community. We are a support system for one another. I want you all as I leave you all, as I conclude to think of the story of Sumaiya Radi Allahu anha.

Many of us we grew up knowing that she was the first person to have sacrificed her life for Islam, but a lot of us don't know that she was from Habesha. She was from Abyssinia or modern day Ethiopia. She was a slave.

sumiya Radi Allahu anha a famous Companion of the Prophet sallallahu it really was.

She you have to understand that that time the society in Makkah they were highly tribalistic.

They were very much

into this tribal system. So many of your loved one How was a slave who was married to Yes, sir, of the above why? Now? Yes, sir, are the Allahu Anhu was a man from Yemen, who had come to Makkah to look for his last brother. In the process, he decided to settle in Makkah. And he has no tribe. He does not belong to a tribe. He's from Yemen. He seeks protection from a man named Abu Khalifa al movie rock. And then he marries Summa year of YAMAHA. And then the couple they have a child named Amar rhodiola, one their son, and he was a young man at that time. So from this, you have to understand they were neither slaves, nor were they independent. They were in this limbo status. They

were extremely vulnerable because they did not have a tribe to back them. Okay. And their family was serving Abu Hanifa, the man who had given them protection his tribe, the tribe known as blue versus zoom. Now by no means zoom was one of the most powerful tribes in Makkah, and they were a tribe highly resistant to the tribe of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam Benu harsh Hashim and you have to understand many brothers and sisters, I want you to understand the dynamics quickly. Do you remember the first seven people to embrace Islam? I'm sure most of you would have studied in your Islam books at some point, the first seven people to embrace Islam out of the seven. Only Khadija

Radi Allahu anha and Abu Bakr, Radi Allahu Anhu had tribes to back them. No one could touch them because they had tribes powerful tribes backing them. The remaining five did not have tribes below the Allah Who so many are the Allahu anha Yes, sir, the Allah Han, all were individuals who did not have tribes backing them. And because of this, they was subject to so much of oppression, so much of torment. So much of punishment. Allahu Akbar, you know of below the Allahu Anhu. A boulder used to be placed on his chest, but yet he would repeat Allahabad, Allahabad, the law had the champion mindset. So my Arabi Allahu anha she was undeterred.

And you know, the tribe that they were serving bunu max zoom. You know who else was from biomass zoom, Abuja who ring any bells Abuja

and he used to subject Summa Jambi Allahu anha, to different forms of torture and punishment, he would experiment with her, Allahu Akbar, experiment with her experiment different types of punishment and torture. And she used to annoy him because each time he would subject her to some kind of punishment, she would remember Allah and be in vicar remembering Allah, and this would annoy him. The messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam whenever he would pass by their family being subject to punishment, he could not do anything. His hands were tied Salallahu Ali when he was selling but he would say be patient.

Yes, sir. Oh, family of Yasser Be patient. You have a place in Jana, you have a place in Jana. This was the support system that they fell back on to my dear brothers and sisters. This beautiful family was one day tied to tree trunks, the trunks of trees, all within the view of each other. And after torturing them for days on end, Yasser Radi Allahu Anhu was about to die he looks like he's about to die no nourishment out there in the sun tied to a tree trunk. Abuja hell turns to so many are the Allah one hand says Your husband is going to die before you and you will probably be happy when he dies. Because you love Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam so much obviously he did not say Salah

what I'm saying if he says because you love Mohammed so much, no sooner your husband dies, you can marry Mohammed.

So many Radi Allahu anha at this insult, she spits and she says or enemy of Allah may you be humiliated by Allah what a wild girl and foul person you are. You are smaller to me in my eyes than a cockroach than a beaker that I would step on the ground. Hearing this Abuja Hall flies into a rage it takes his spear and flings it towards the lower abdominal region of Soumya Radi Allahu anha killing her on the spot, making her the first Shaheed the first martyr to die for the sake of Allah.

My dear brothers and sisters, what they want to highlight here is there's so much to learn from the story of so many era The Allahu anha so many out of the Allahu anha believed the promise of the Prophet to be true, and it gave her the strength. It gave her that laser focus. It gave her the courage to pray.

says the champion mindset gave her sober gave her patience as they went through these trying ordeals. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters as I conclude, remember, the champions journey is not one it is not a one dimensional climb to victory. Like I said earlier, it is a dance between between the peaks of victory between the peaks of achievement and the shadowed valleys of loss the shadowed valleys of disappointment, but within each challenge lies an opportunity to rise and grow within each stumble, lies and opportunity to rise and to grow, to learn and to emerge stronger, more resilient, and more closer and to Allah subhanho wa Taala I conclude by praying to Allah, grant us

the strength to face our trials with courage and wisdom, Yet Allah guide our hearts on the path of truth and lightyear Allah. Yah Rob returned to you in moments of sorrow and loss showered upon us your mercy and your healing comfort the hearts of those who have lost loved ones they are Allah who have lost their children yeah Allah who have lost their parents or Allah and fill their lives with your infinite peace and life. Ya Allah grant us the sober patience and grant us the Shakur gratitude and prosperity help us through the challenges of life with unwavering faith Ya Ya Allah, Allah, Allah Allah me Lord of all worlds, bless our country with Unity, bless our country with love and

compassion, bless our community, strengthen our bonds and help us to support one another in times of need, celebrating joys together and sharing burdens as one OMA the Omar Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Yeah Allah, a Shafi, the healer of the hearts we pray for those amongst us struggling with mental health issues with mental health challenges, grant them strength, grant them hope and the courage to seek help help us to be a source of support and understanding for them. Yeah, Allah, Allah just as how you united us here in this Masjid in this house of Allah unite us in the beautiful and lofty gardens of Jana in the companionship of our beloved prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa

alayhi wa sallam, and bless us all to drink at the house at the fountain through the blessed hands of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam, I mean, I mean walk through the doorway and in hamdulillah here or behind me