Musleh Khan – Spiritual Growth #5 Coping With Fitna

			salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato. Alhamdulillah wa Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah. So this
is part five of our journey on spiritual growth. And today, it's one word, it's all about fitness.
Fitness is a word that even the average Muslim across the globe, we've heard of this word, we
understand what it is. And today we're going to talk a little bit about what it means some of the
signs to look out for the two main categories of fitness. But more importantly, how do we protect
ourselves from fit now what is it that we do so that we recognize it, and we can protect ourselves,
and to be honest with you, not to each and every example of fitna, we're able to protect ourselves
		

			from there are certain types of trials and hardships that we have to learn how to cope with, we have
to learn how to live with it. It's just unfortunate but the reality of this day and age is that
there are certain things that we're just going to have to live with. And pray that Allah subhana wa
Taala gives us the strength and the man that we can overcome, and that these types of fitna that
we're forced to live with wooden overtake swidden influence us to the point where we compromise our
Deen we compromise our faith, and we compromise our religion to compromise our relationship with our
Creator. subhanho wa Taala. So the last thing that we talked about was, it was about the tongue. Now
		

			today, I'm going to just show you guys a glimpse of the set of cue cards I'm going to go through so
it's going to be about fitna. This is something as we mentioned affects all of us we go through it
during the days and during the nights. But listen to this. The Prophet alayhi salaatu wa sallam
described is that fitna is and will come upon each and every horse home like a strong storm. So
fitna will literally rain upon each and every home in every period of every generation generation of
all time, like a strong storm. So the imagery here in this hadith is that fitna is not going to be
subtle. Like you're going to feel it, you're going to see it, you're going to understand that it's
		

			there and you're surrounded with it. But the first question here is what exactly is fitna fitna
comes from what the word fat, tena fattening, literally means to test gold and silver, and to
separate the good from the bad. So if you have what the process of how this is done, basically to
separate what is useful, and what isn't useful, and an Islamic definition of that is literally an
empty, or empty hand or about so it's a trial or a test or a hardship that Allah subhana wa Taala
puts us through. So at least from a classical definition, it is to differentiate between the good
people and the bad. So in other words, those servants and those individuals that follow the commands
		

			of Allah, the do what they're supposed to do to the best of their ability, as opposed to those who
don't. And it no claim Rahim Allah mentions that there are two types of fitna, there is the fitness
of shubo hat and the fitness of shed wet. So the fitness of Chabot hat, the fitness of doubt. So,
now that we understand what fitness is, think about the things that cause you doubt in your life,
things that cause you to doubt your dean, things that cause you to doubt life in general, things
that cause you to doubt yourself your own identity. And that's what ignorant pm is referring to.
It's all forms of doubt, but specifically the kind of doubts that affect your religion. So for
		

			example, we are told to follow the sin of our messenger either his slot was sent him and I'll tell
you guys something, there's a really scary trend. I mean, it's always been there over the years for
as long as I can remember. And when I talk to older doormats, and lectures and scholars and so on,
when I speak to them, they tell me the same thing, like this trend that happens every so often have
people questioning Muslims questioning the validity of the Prophet Allah has sought to sell them and
following his Sunnah, following his prophetic tradition. So they question certain teachings and
certain aspects of his life. And if they don't get the answers that they're looking for, so this is
		

			the fitna that we're talking about, this is the trial that we go through. If they don't find what
they're looking for, then the doubt starts to kick in. Maybe the Prophet Alayhi salat wa sallam did
and project the message as clearly as we had hoped for maybe these are exemptions maybe these are.
these teachings are for a specific place and time, but they're not applicable.
		

			In our day and age, so these kinds of statements and these kinds of conversations start to happen.
And every Muslim at the end of the day understands, you can never be a true Muslim. As a matter of
fact, you can never be counted as a Muslim, unless you love and believe in the teachings of the
Prophet Mohammed Ali is salat wa salam, and you do your best to implement those teachings. So with
that being said, the fitna of shovelhead of doubt. So that's one example is just the whole overall
process of understanding and linking your faith to the what the prophet alayhi salatu was Salam did,
and his example, His methodology. But then there are also other forms of doubt that we go through.
		

			And media has a lot to do with this, the internet has a lot to do with this. There's constant
propaganda all throughout these media outlets and others across the globe, where people would listen
to certain things, they'll read certain articles there hear things about Islam, they'll question it.
And even in many cases, they'll even be influenced by it. So somebody would literally take an A, or
a headache and misquoted or give their own interpretation. And as a result of stuff spreads like
wildfire all across the internet. And then those that are vulnerable, those that are not grounded in
their religion, well, when they read this stuff, or when they listen to it, and it comes across in
		

			an eloquent beautiful way. The speaker, whoever he or she might be, they can project their message,
they use fancy words, they have a great style, they're very charismatic, they have a huge following
online. And so they end up falling into this stuff, they end up believing, well, maybe that's really
what Islam should be. Maybe that's really what it is. I mean, it's coming from somebody that's
eloquent, that sounds intelligent. So it has to be the truth. And so as a result, because you
yourself, were not grounded, and it will tell you I'm actually mentioned this, that people who deny
Sunnah
		

			are mostly people that have never actually studied it properly. They've never opened up a, you know,
a page of Bahati. They've never actually sat in a Hadeeth class, they've never actually gone through
that process of understanding and learning about the sciences and the old school of Hadith. And
understanding where what sonet is, sitting there literally is like a lifestyle. And it's a
collection of traditions and habits, that the Prophet alayhi salatu salam adapted throughout his
life. So they don't know how to make that connection, they don't understand the value of it. So
these are some of the things that if no, payam Rahim Allah mentions with respect to the fitness of
		

			Chabot hat, but then we have the second category of fitness, which is the fitness of show what the
fitness of desire. And this is the more common one, this is the one that is more rampant. And when
we think of the word desire, don't think about like sexual tendencies and things that, you know, you
might images that you might see on TV or on the internet, or clicking on that website, we're not
talking just about those examples. The fitness of desire could be related to wealth, it could be
related to, it could be related to just enjoyment leisure time, it could be related to so many
different things. And at the end of the day, having money and striving for good stability and wealth
		

			in this world is not a bad thing. It's not even how long. The point here is, is that when you do
that, you don't want to put like your full concentration and all of your effort to accumulate as
much as you can. That's when it becomes a trial for you. Why is this a problem? When you become
engrossed into worldly life and materialistic things? Then you forget the priority of the ephemera
and the blessings and the rewards that we want from our Creator. For the time that we lived on
earth, you forget, you end up losing sight of that, and that doesn't become a priority anymore.
You'll start to make statements like, Well, you know, Allah knows best I have a good heart. You
		

			know, maybe I'm not praying maybe I don't wear hijab maybe I don't pay my zakat. Maybe I don't take
the these 10 days of the hedger seriously, but along those that Islam is in my heart, Allah knows
that I love this religion. Yes, I love the Prophet alayhi salatu salam inshallah, one day I'll do my
best to follow his teachings, you start like procrastinating and sort of like trivializing the
importance of taking the things that you're supposed to take seriously, as opposed to the things
that you don't. So the, the point here is, is that if no claim mentions a ton of different examples,
so not just wealth and money, but just desires in general, how we the kinds of relationships that we
		

			have with each other the friendships that we might have, the way that we interact, the fitna of the
desire to react without thinking before we react all of these things
		

			And all of these examples are part of that massive picture and conversation of fitna. One last point
here that I want to conclude with in sha Allah is of course, have totally fitna the dangers of the
fitness of fitness. Number one, the scholars teach us that fitna starts within the heart. And so it
destroys everything in the heart. And a bullhorn, a lot of the Allah says that the heart is the king
of all limbs. And so you can't do anything unless you feed the right medicine to the king. So this
is a statement of abulhool, right out of the love line. So the heart that's where it all starts.
This is the foundation to everything that we say that we do, that we feel our confidence, all
		

			whatever state of emotion that you might have. All of it starts off with what's in the heart. And so
that's where fitna begins as well, how does this work, if you know that something is wrong, so for
example, snapping and losing your anger at somebody's lack of patience, you know that in life, you
can't live a stable, normal life. If you're impatient with everything and anything that you do,
especially when it comes to people. If you lose your anger real quickly, you have zero tolerance,
tolerance, the moment your patience is tested, you lose it, you react a certain way, you might say
certain things. If you don't take the time, and you don't see there's no need for me to control my
		

			tongue, or control my emotions or control my actions. If you see that there's no point of doing
that. This is one indication that fitness entered your heart. It's because you've trivialized the
things that are actually quite serious in life. And so even though pythium and the scholars in
general teach us that that's where fitna begins, and it begins within the heart. And it destroys
everything. So once the heart scholars continuing teach us that once the heart is corrupt, once the
heart has 50 fitna in it, then it starts the ripple effect that everything in your life starts to
feed off and the ripple effect of what's in the heart, you start seeing it manifest in everything
		

			that you do, even with your own family, you might have anger issues, and you take it out on your own
children, you take it out in your own parents or your or your siblings. So it's something that
happens very, very often. And it's almost quote unquote, normal to an extent. And so for the
believer, these things are important. And this is how the believer monitors themselves, that they
understand who they are, they can establish and re emphasize. And they can also dissect their own
identity to understand who they really are and what they're supposed to be. So when we say that you
have to be a pious person, strive your best to be the best slave that you can have a last panel
		

			entirely, strive to be the best Muslim. And to be the best of those things, here are the things that
you need to study, here's the things that you need to consider here are the things that you need to
understand, all of this stuff will start to make sense to you. So even if there's fitness in there
or not, but you're conscious, and you understand that, okay, I've got certain issues that I have to
work on, you're able to recognize that and you're able to work on it. This is why scholars became
scholars. This is why they elevated to the status, that they're that they're at, you know, this
higher level of knowledge and piety and discipline, the reason why they get to that stage, how are
		

			one of the ways that they do that is not that they're just engrossed in it, because let's face it,
there's a lot of people that are very knowledgeable. But when it comes to implementing their
knowledge, it's a whole different ballgame. They're on a totally different side of the world. And
then there's some that have very little knowledge. But when it comes to implementing the basic and
simple teachings that they've been able to adapt and acquire over the years, they are the most
disciplined in terms of practicing just the simple and little things that they've been able to
learn. And so when you pay attention to some of these things, it really gives a sense of clarity,
		

			but even more so you get to understand yourself to the point where you know you have what it takes
to overcome any fitness in this world. You will have what it takes to practice your deen regardless
of what you're surrounded with. Regardless of the situation, you'll start to develop this confidence
in you that wait a minute despite the fitna of shubo hat and sherawat doubt and desire. Despite that
I hear all of these things on the internet. Then when I watch the news, how Muslims are portrayed in
the media. Despite all of this I'm still proud to be a Muslim. That's what happens when you
recognize fitna in the heart and when it comes
		

			Still the desires, a piece of cake like it would never bother you, you could have like, a situation
where you know that if you look too much, or if you engage too much, you know, it's going to affect
you. But once you understand and recognize that fit, know where it is where it starts, you
understand that this is a test and a trial that Allah subhanho wa Taala is putting you through,
you're able to see that stuff and you can turn away, you're able to handle the situation. I know
that, you know, depending on the circumstance, you can't always just turn away or walk away from the
situation. And this is what I mean, when I say that there are certain types of fitness in this
		

			world, you're just going to have to learn how to live with it and how to cope with it. That's not
the same as just accepting it in your heart. You might never accept it. You know, and you might
never implement the things that you see or you see others do. You will never practice those things,
but you recognize it. And because of your understanding and discipline with this concept of fitna,
you know how to live and continue your own routine, you can still be pious, you can still be a
beloved slave and servant to your Creator. And there could be every single fitna that you can
imagine all around you, and you still say Alhamdulillah that's where we all want to be. Some of the
		

			scholars tell us to to get to that stage to gain the strength to cure fitna or to least get the
strength to recognize and live with the fitness around you. Some of the things that we can do is
number one, Alistair and will be asked a lot to give you strength, there is no sin that we can
overcome, except that we need the help of Allah subhanho wa Taala to overcome that sin. And one of
the most obvious examples of this is use of Harley he said him when he was being seduced by the by
the wife of the disease. The first thing that Yusuf alehissalaam says, con America is Allah, he
asked Allah subhanho wa Taala for help. This is Yusuf Ali Salim supprimer. Allah is one of the
		

			greatest prophets. This is a man that is the center of the most beautiful and important story of the
poor and that Allah subhanho wa Taala designated an entire surah, an entire suitor, just designated
to this particular man and what had happened to him. So the point here is, is that despite all of
the attention and all the lessons in the life of use of Allah, his solemn, we still see here that
this man had to ask Allah subhanho wa Taala to give himself strength to overcome that fitna that
test that he was going through at that moment. So asking Allah for help. Number two, is and this is
the last thing that I'll leave you with guys. Number two is to constantly keep yourselves engaged in
		

			in, keep yourselves engaged in learning about your religion, knowledge or in it destroys fitna. And
when I say the word destroy, it doesn't mean that it eliminates it. It may not always do that. Well
when I say it destroys fitness, meaning the more you learn about your deen, the more you equip
yourself with knowledge, the less power and influence fitna will have over you. So again, you'll be
around it, but it won't affect you. When it's time to turn your face the other way, turn your gaze
the other way, you're able to do that without a problem. When it's time for you to turn off the
computer or to get off your phone. You can do that. When you hear the event clock going on in your
		

			house. And you're you know, watching TV or engaged in something else, you're able to press pause,
you're able to stop that because you hear the sound. And you understand now because of the
consciousness that you have. When you hear how your eyelids solid, hear Ireland feather come to
prayer come to success, you can respond to it, regardless of the situation. And so with that being
said, we have what it takes brothers and sisters to cope with this. You know, I always tell students
that at the end of the day in 2020, the poor end is just as relevant to us as the day was revealed.
And for the fact that Allah subhanho wa Taala continues and tells us and never get and has never
		

			said okay, upgrade the poor and as time progresses, change certain age or certain rule is none of
this stuff ever happened. So the exact same message that was given 1400 years ago, is the exact same
message that we're getting in 2020. And that tells you and I'm that if the generations before us or
the people before us who received the poor and they were able to commit themselves and hold on to
this book until their death then we're
		

			able to do the exact same thing and shout Allahu taala that we have what it takes, but it's about
learning it's about learning and reinforces and gives us the consciousness that we need the times
that we needed the most of Allah subhanho wa Taala and so with that being said, I pray that Allah
subhana wa tada always gives us the strength and the ability to overcome fitna and trials of this
dunya as well as in the
		

			mean. So I forgot to do this in the last video, guys. I'll do it right now. But let's take a look at
what is next here. So I've pulled out another set of cards here for tomorrow's reminder. And
subpanel wow, you know, we're talking about fitness guys, we're talking about fitness. Take a look
at what's what I picked out for tomorrow. Well, I you these kinds of coincidences are just simply
from Allah subhanho wa Taala. Just, it just doesn't happen by chance. This is something that only
Allah azza wa jal, when you you pay attention to the signs, it really speaks to you in a very, very
personal way. Our reminder tomorrow in sha Allah is going to be the day of judgment. It's going to
		

			be yo yo pm. So we're going to talk about a lot of different things with respect to the Day of
Judgment tomorrow in sha Allah hotel. But with that being said, this is where we will conclude my
alarm so which will protect you keep you safe and keep you healthy, alone. I mean, just like them a
level higher and everyone take care of yourselves with Salaam Aleykum whatever warahmatullahi
wabarakatuh