The Hidden Enemy Within – Fight the Evils of the Tongue

Muiz Bukhary

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The upcoming month of dashboards is emphasized as a time of discipline and discomfort to not forget to fast with the Bureau Leeway. The speakers stress the importance of avoiding harming others, setting boundaries, listening to positive talk, and seeking forgiveness. The speaker emphasizes the importance of knowing one's words and action to protect oneself and the community from harm.

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So my dear brothers and sisters,

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it is truly a difficult feeling to describe

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because we find ourselves in the last stretch

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of this beautiful and noble month.

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The month of Ramadan is nearing its end.

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We are in

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the last 10 days, the last 10 nights,

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and these are moments of reflection, of introspection,

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and we must work hard towards spiritual

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rejuvenation.

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So today, Insha Allahu Ta'ala, I want to

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address a matter

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of great importance

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and this is a matter that affects our

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hearts, our souls

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and by extension our communities.

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I want to talk about

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the harms

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of backbiting

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and gossip

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and how they are rooted in jealousy

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and in envy.

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You see my dear brothers and sisters this

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month that we are in the month of

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Ramadan it is a month of discipline

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And it is not just

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a month of discipline

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for the body

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or some kind of a diet where we

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abstain from food and drink

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only?

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No. It is a month of discipline of

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the tongue as well.

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Now you see this

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small

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piece of flesh

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has no bones, but it holds the power

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to earn immense rewards

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or drag us towards

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our destruction, drag us towards our downfall.

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And this is why the Messenger Sallallahu alaihi

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wasallam he warned us

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indicating that the faith that the iman of

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those who fail to safeguard their tongues is

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incomplete.

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So as we fast from dawn till dusk,

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abstaining from food and drink,

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we must

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not forget to fast with our tongues as

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well. Staying away from harmful

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words, staying away from toxic speech. May Allah

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help us all to do so. Now if

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you look at the roots of backbiting and

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gossiping, it is jealousy and envy.

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Jealousy and envy

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lurk in the human heart, whispering ill thoughts,

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whispering evil thoughts, whispering toxic messages,

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and urging the tongue to speak harm. Now

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these feelings my dear brothers and sisters, if

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unchecked

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lead to backbiting and gossip.

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This is why our beloved prophet Muhammad sallallahu

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alaihi wa sallam

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he described

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envy as a fire.

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Indeed, Al Hasid, indeed envy, indeed jealousy

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eats up your good deeds, gobbles up your

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good deeds just as how a fire consumes

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dry firewood.

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You see, we strive so hard. Look, in

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this month of Ramadan, we're striving so hard.

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We wake up early in the morning, we

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are in prayer, in the remembrance of Allah,

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in the reading of the Quran, we give

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out, you know, from our heart and wealth,

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we give out our zakah, we give out

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our sadaqah, we go on umrah, we go

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on hajj. Why? Why are we doing all

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of this? To earn the pleasure of our

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beloved maker. And we sincerely hope that when

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we stand in front of Allah subhanahu wa

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ta'ala in the court of Allah that we

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will see all these good deeds

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multiplied

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as mountains insha Allahu ta'ala.

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But

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the scary reality

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is that on one

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side,

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if you are going to be doing good

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deeds and on the other side, if you're

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going to be harboring jealousy, harboring envy,

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harboring all these toxic feelings, my dear brother,

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my dear sister,

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and these toxic feelings are going to eat

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away at your good deeds. They're going to

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destroy your good deeds, subhanallah.

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So in the serenity of this month, the

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month of Ramadan,

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we are called upon to cleanse our hearts.

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We are called upon to fill our hearts

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with the light of gratitude and contentment.

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Why contentment?

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Because when you are content, you push away

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the darkness of envy and jealousy. You do

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not look at others with jealousy.

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You do not look at the belongings of

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others with jealousy. You do not look at

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the blessings

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of others with envy and jealousy. Why you

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are content with the blessings that Allah has

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blessed you with?

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So you see my dear brothers and sisters

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back biting and gossiping,

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they not only tarnish and darken our souls

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and hearts, but they also tear at the

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fabric

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of our community.

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These feelings, these toxic traits, they saw discord

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and mistrust amongst brothers and sisters,

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amongst friends, amongst spouses, amongst siblings, amongst family

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members, amongst relatives,

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eroding

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the unity that our deen, our beautiful our

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beautiful deen seeks to build. And this is

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why our maker Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, he warns

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us

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very severely in the noble Quran against backbiting

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in Surah Al Hujurat.

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Our maker, he likens backbiting to eating the

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flesh

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of our brethren, our dead brother, or dead

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sister. SubhanAllah, would any one of us find

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that palatable?

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Would we find it palatable? This vivid imagery

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serves my dear brother, my dear sister as

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a stern reminder of the gravity of our

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words.

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So this noble month, the month of Ramadan

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teaches us self restraint.

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So let it be a time for us

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to guard our tongues. Let us use our

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words to heal,

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not to harm. Let us use our words

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to uplift,

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not degrade and humiliate.

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Let us speak only that which is of

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benefit, only that which is beneficial

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or otherwise let us embrace the beauty of

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silence.

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Our messenger salallahu alayhi wa sallam is reported

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to have said,

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The one who believes in Allah and the

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last day. Why last day? Because on that

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day, we are all going to be held

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accountable. Every single word of ours, every action

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of our of ours will be brought forward.

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So so the one who believes in Allah,

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the one who believes in that last day,

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the one who remembers that last day, the

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one who knows that he or she is

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going to be taken into account in front

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of Allah

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should speak good

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or keep silent.

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So inshallah wata'ala, as we move towards the

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conclusion of this video,

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I want to share a few action items.

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These action items will help us to control

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our tongues and avoid backbiting and gossip inshallah.

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So as we strive to carry the discipline

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of this noble month month of Ramadan throughout

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the year beyond Ramadan,

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let us work towards adopting these practical steps

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to safeguard

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our tongues and we ask

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help before going ahead with the action items.

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Action item number 1,

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keep yourself engaged in constant remembrance of Allah

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Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Constant

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fill your moments,

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fill your time,

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Moisten your tongue with the remembrance of Allah

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Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. The remembrance

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of Allah

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serves as a shield

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protecting the heart, protecting the tongue

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from

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slipping into the abyss

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of negative behaviors.

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So keep your tongue moist with the remembrance

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of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. For when our

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mouths and tongues are busy in the glorification

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and in the exalting and in the praise

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of Allah,

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there's little room

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for harmful and toxic speech.

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Action item number 2,

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keep good company.

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Surround yourself

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with people who remind you of Allah Subhanahu

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Wa Ta'ala. Surround yourself with people who themselves

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refrain from backbiting and gossip. The The messenger

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sallallahu alaihi wa sallam in many a place.

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He talks about the importance of choosing your

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company wisely,

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choosing your friends wisely,

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A good friend versus a bad friend. SubhanAllah.

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How an individual follows the religion of his

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friend, the deen of his friend. So we

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must be extremely careful, extremely prudent when it

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comes to choosing our circles, choosing our friends.

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Action item

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number 3,

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stop conversations that lead to sin. You, my

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dear brother, my dear sister, be

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the one who changes the subject when a

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conversation starts

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drifting towards backbiting or gossip. You have to

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remember,

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silence in the face of sin is complicity.

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You are basically becoming part and parcel of

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it if you're being silent in the face

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of that particular sin. So, therefore,

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always encourage positive talk.

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As the quote goes,

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small minds discuss people

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whilst

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great minds talk about ideas, talk about great

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things.

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You see it's small minds that sit down.

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You have this

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small person syndrome,

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if I'm not mistaken, where, you know, you

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end up talking about others, backbiting about others,

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putting down others, degrading others, subhanAllah.

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Therefore,

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encourage positive talk.

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And when you sense a conversation drifting towards

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backbiting and gossip, remind others of the dangers

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of such conversations.

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Remind them of the aya in the Quran.

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Remind them that this is something that they

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should stay away.

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But if they're not going to listen then

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it is upon you to remove yourself from

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such situations.

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Next action item,

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reflect before you speak.

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Adopt the habit of thinking before speaking. Ask

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yourself a couple of questions.

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I'm going to say something. I'm going to

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speak.

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What is coming out from my mouth. Is

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it true?

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Is it beneficial?

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Is it the right time to say it?

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If the answer to any of these questions

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is no, then it would be better for

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you to remain silent at that juncture.

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Next action item, make amends. You see we're

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all guilty of this. So if you have

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spoken ill of someone in the past seek

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their forgiveness because by making amends

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this cleanses the heart and it repairs relationships.

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The next action item, seek knowledge.

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Invest time, my dear brother, my dear sister

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in learning about the lives of the prophets,

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the Sahaba

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and the pious people of the past. Why?

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Because their stories

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are filled filled to the brim with lessons

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on controlling the tongue and using it in

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ways that are pleasing to Allah. So by

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going into these beautiful stories,

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they are our superheroes. By going into these

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beautiful stories, you are going to be inspired.

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You will find

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inspiration to control your tongue. You will find

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inspiration

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to help you use your words in ways

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that are pleasing unto Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.

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The next action item, and this is the

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last one for this video, accountability.

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Hold yourself accountable at the end of each

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day, my dear brother, my dear sister. Reflect

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on your conversations.

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Did I speak

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any ill of someone today?

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Did I hurt someone? Did I break the

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heart of an individual? Did I speak something

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that was of no benefit whatsoever?

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Umar radiAllahu and who is reported to have

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said,

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take yourself into account before you are taken

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into account.

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See, whether we like it or not, we

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are all going to be taken into account.

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All of our books, our actions, our statements

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are going to be audited. So let us

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audit ourselves before we are taken into

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in in for an audit, before we are

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account we're we're taken into account. So therefore,

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on a regular basis, take yourself into account.

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And then

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after a clear assessment, after a clear

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analyzing of what

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you've said,

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if you realize that, oh, you know, I've

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slipped,

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have made a mistake, then seek the forgiveness

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of Allah

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immediately

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and place a renewed intention to do better.

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So this practice of auditing yourself

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makes you aware.

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It it it brings in this awareness that

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you know what? I must be careful with

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my words.

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Because otherwise, we tend to become heedless.

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We tend to forget. We are a forgetful

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creation. May Allah

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protect us all.

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So my dear brothers and sisters, as this

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beautiful month draws to a close,

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let the discipline and the self control that

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we have nurtured within the month not end

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with it. Let the lessons of this beautiful

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month live on in us,

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guiding us to speak with kindness,

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to speak with care,

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to act with compassion,

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and to live in harmony. You see our

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tongues, this small yet significant part of us

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can be a means for us to

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fly into Jannah, into paradise, but we must

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use our tongues wisely.

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So

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in conclusion, by controlling our tongues, we protect

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not just ourselves, but our entire community from

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harm. As we bid farewell to this beautiful

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month, let us commit firmly to carrying forward

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its lessons, and we sincerely pray. May Allah

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accept our fasting. May he accept our prayers,

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our charity during this noble month. May he

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grant us the strength

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to further our spiritual growth, and may he

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bless us and make us of those

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who fly through the gates, the special gates

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of Jannah

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reserved for those who are fasting the gates

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of Arayan.

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Thank you very much for, watching the video.

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If you have not already subscribed to my

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channel, do subscribe so that you are notified

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no sooner a new video is out. And

00:14:04--> 00:14:07

if you found the content of benefit, do

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like the video and share the video around

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so that others,

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can benefit and so that we can all

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share in on the reward Insha Allahu Ta'ala.

00:14:15--> 00:14:17

in another video soon.

00:14:15--> 00:14:17

in another video soon.