Nadim Ali – The Gift
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AI: Transcript ©
Oh, you covered in a blanket.
Stand up and warn and praise the greatness
of your lord Purify your garments. And keep
yourself well away from false gods and other
forms of foolishness.
And do not and do not do all
of this hoping for the gain of payment.
And for the sake of your lord,
maintain
patience.
And some of the things that we have
to remember as Muslims is that
to Islam, we have been given a great
gift, a great gift.
And even those of you who have been
born
Muslim, those of you who have, been given
Islam
through birth,
again, you have to make a decision at
some point whether you're gonna stay Muslim or
you're going to go off into some other
directions. Because there are many people who have
come into Islam through birth
and and died in in some other way.
And then many of us
came to Islam willingly, and then
we maintained it until our death. And so
we have to recognize
who we are going to be. Are we
going to be Muslims
again,
just by,
being called Muslims, Muslim in name?
Are we gonna be Muslim
by
commitment.
We're gonna have the commitment of this deed.
We're gonna be holistic in the way we
practice this deed.
We don't wanna just
just,
use it as a fad.
In Philadelphia, when it
was coming up, in in the Muslim community,
there were just so many people coming to
Islam, but
they were practicing Islam. They weren't internalizing
Islam.
It was just a style. It was a
fad.
And it may happen again, here in Atlanta.
You have people who, again,
you know, call become pick the shahada and
don't do anything else. Don't learn salat.
Don't basically,
engage in the prayers. Don't basically strive to
make the Hajj or pay the Zakat or
even fast the month of Ramadan. But you're
Muslim.
There'll be some Muslims in the hellfire. It's
it's, you know, we we go into it
with with a crystal centric
mentality
that Jesus died for our sins.
No.
No. That's not what it is. Muhammad
salaam alaikum wasalam.
He would not bear our burdens. He can
intervene
based on
what we do
holistically,
based on how we
are participating in this is this way of
life. Islam is a way of life. The
word deen again translates into way of life,
not religion,
not religion. These are some of the things
that we have to look at. We have
this great gift, and we have to recognize
the value of this gift.
One of the things that we have to
do is to share it with others.
Share it with others.
Because people are starving starving just this week
in McDonald's.
And Muslims spend a lot of time in
the local McDonald's.
Person shot another person
over some petty argument.
19 year old lady shot somebody,
and her life is over
for the most part.
But when you look at the fact that
the people intervened,
the people intervene. And, you know, we we
we we who came up in the African
American community, a lot of times, if you
saw something happening, domestic violence or it it
even violence. It's not our business. We don't
get involved. People got involved, and they held
the lady until the authorities
were able to pick her up.
But we have to basically
be of those who are getting involved.
What do we do during the crack epidemic
in this neighborhood? We were out all night.
If people started selling drugs,
you know, we've we've
have to step to them. We'd have to
call the police. We were the police.
Mhmm. That's one of the things
that Imam Jamil taught us is that we
need to secure our community even though many
people moved away from the community.
You know, but but wherever you're at, you
have to be of those who are securing
that. You have to be a Muslim no
matter where you are, whether you're on the
job, whether you're in neighborhood, whether you're at
home. These are some of the things that
we have to look at. We have to
basically
be contributors to this society.
If we can't be contributors to to this
this society,
make it or go into a Muslim society
where you can just have everything already made
for you or we can make this society
more Islamic.
I was talking to somebody this morning about,
you know, the younger generation and say, we,
alhamdulillah,
when I first came to Atlanta, there were
maybe 1 or 2 masajid
that that established the 5 prayers in the
in the seventies.
And now we have well over a 100
masjids
in in in the
Atlanta area.
But where's the hospital?
Where's the Muslim back?
You know? Where's the social service organizations that's
serving the needs of the Muslims? We still
haven't to go to Salvation Army. We we
we still have to go across to the
cross to get across. And so we have
to basically
establish Islamic organizations
and institutions so that it not only serves
the Muslims, but serve everybody. They're not yet
Muslim.
And for the young people, these are some
of the things that you have to to
put in place.
These are some of the things that we
have to put in place.
You know, we're not supposed to be dealing
with interest, but we have to establish,
you know, those institutions
where we can
buy our houses, to buy set up neighborhoods,
and and do these things. We can have
a 10, 20, 30 year plan, brothers and
sisters.
We established the foundation,
build the house.
These are some of the things that we
have to do. We have to be, again,
Muslim by commitment
Because, again,
many people have a distorted view of Islam.
They think, oh, it's just ritualism.
Just practice it. Just your practice is just,
you know, just, just pray. That's all you
do.
That's all you do is pray. You know,
the prayer is the fuel
so that you can it's it's you can
institute change.
What does the law say? He does not
change the condition of a people
until they change that which is in their
hearts.
And so we have to help people get
the ignorance out of them. We have to
help the people get all of the things
that they think is beneficial to them on
a physical level,
and they don't get the benefits of the
of the spiritual level. We have to let
them know what the true reality is. The
true reality is not just accumulating wealth. It's
about having the best of this world and
the best in the hereafter. These are some
of the things that we have to look
at, brothers and sisters.
We have to, again, stop people from having
a distorted view.
We look at what's going on in Gaza,
in other places around the world. Muslims are
being challenged and tried.
But
if we look at like, we talk about
conflict when I'm counseling, I'll try to talk
to couples about
you have to
have a paradigm shift on how you view
conflict.
And I give the example
of when you start a garden.
And the first thing that you do when
you start a garden
is that you kill the soil.
You kill the soul. You whether you have
a shovel or you have a tiller turning
it over. That's a conflict.
Killing the soul is preparing to
to put the seed in in this in
this growth. So we always have to view,
conflict as an opportunity for growth.
In healthy couples,
establish so they manage conflicts in a healthy
way. Unhealthy couples
don't handle it well.
And so in a relationship,
you have to basically
make sure just day to day that you're
healthy.
In society, we have to heal the society
because, again, the Islam is the medicine for
this sick society.
And we see the conflict in Gaza
is causing a lot of people to start
looking at Islam.
People who because they see people dying and
losing everything. They're bombing them into the stone
ages, but yet they say, yeah,
Allah. Children are dying. They're saying, yeah, Allah.
People here lose their job or lose their
car, they kill themselves.
And so people are saying, what is this
Allah
that these people are calling
on in their desperate situation?
And so we have been given the gift
of a knowledge of Allah
because you can have 2 people get down
at the same time, but based on what's
in their heart, it's gonna
be how they receive that information.
And if there's darkness in the heart, it's
not gonna be able to receive it. If
there's light
in in the receptacle,
actions, it's just like for the satellite dish.
If if it's stormy
and dirty, you're not gonna get reception.
But if that's if it's a sunny day
and clear and clean,
it's gonna receive the the necessary inspiration, the
necessary information.
So, brother and sister, whatever we're dealing with,
if we're dealing
with addiction, if we're dealing with propensity for
violence, if we're dealing with, you know, basically
a habit of stealing
or or or drug dealing or any type
of challenge that the shay time has put
in front of us, we have to call
on the loss of on the Wethullah. This
is the role that we have to do.
And and, again, as we when we come
up week to week, this is the reminder
that we have to give. You know, again,
I tell people you have to love a
lot more than you love anything else.
Because when you love a lot more than
you love anything else,
then you're gonna be able to do the
right thing. You won't walk around on eggshells.
Couples, you need to love a lot law
first, then you love each other.
Because then you're gonna tell each other what
you need to hear, not what you want
to hear. Mhmm. Because these are some of
the things that we have to look at,
and we have to basically recognize that
societal change is our business.
In the in the spring, inshallah,
that some of the brothers are putting together,
stop the violence conference. It's gonna be happening
after Ramadan. And so
as we get closer to it, we're gonna
need volunteers to help with that. It's gonna
be open to everybody
because we live in a violent society
because people are frustrated. People hungry not only
for food, but they're hungry for knowledge.
And we treat Islam
in the mustard like a private club.
So we have to recognize
that spread the word.
This is what we need to do. We
need to, you know, teach people what Islam
is.
And a lot of times, we don't have
to say anything through our mouths,
but we can teach people what Islam is
through our actions. For upsetting the things that's
inconsistent with what Allah has given us, and
the prophet peace upon him is role models
and real models for us. I take full
Oh, Allah, send blessings on the prophet Muhammad,
peace be upon him, and his family and
his companions.
And the law increases honor and elevates the
station and grant him the highest place in
paradise. Amen. And bless him with divine mercy.
And, oh, Allah, bless us with his intercession
on the day of judgment and forgive our
sins.
Again,
we have to be consistent
inward
to be consistent
indeed.
And he said, oh my people,
barely, I fear for you something like the
days of the nations who came before,
something like the punishment which befell the people
of Noah, the Ad and Thamud, and those
who came after them. Allah does not intend
any oppression of his slaves. And all my
people,
verily, I fear for the day of calling,
to one another. And on that day, you
will turn your backs and run-in fear, and
there will be be none who can protect
you from Allah. Whosoever
Allah sends astray,
no one whatsoever or who's whatsoever can can
guide them.
And we have to be of those who
are not astray.
We have to be of those again who
are consistent in word. Indeed.
If you're in business, you need to be
a good businessman as a let's say to
be fair and wait the measurement.
If you're an artist, your art should be
reflective
of of your belief.
Because what art you put out
will basically
share with who would you truly believe.
You know, those of us who write poetry,
write songs, and write raps,
and all of that, it should be reflected.
The Islam should be reflective
and not basically
play a role or or calling people to
ignorance.
We have to call people to enlightenment.
When I was coming to Islam, I I
was a jazz announcer
at Temple University
and this great scholar of,
Ishmael Farooqi, doctor Ishmael Farooqi.
He,
you know, used to talk to us. He
would mentor us. He was teaching the temple
at the time that you read the book,
the life of Mohammed Bahaykur. He's the one
translating it. And, you know, he was he
was coming and we were telling them what
we're playing the ad on. And, you know,
we had Islamic programming and we pray bring
playing on certain types of songs that,
that, that, that people,
you know, listening to and reminding them of
Allah. He he just said,
if African Americans are coming to Islam through
the jazz,
play the jazz. You know? And so he
stood it. It was unbelievable. It was a
fatwa, but he basically used
what
use the tool.
Use the tool that we call the people.
And then when people come into the d,
you know, then they make decisions of
of of how they will
interact and what they will be engaging in.
You know, so, again, those of us who
are businessmen,
we can get down by being fair.
You know, my mother-in-law,
she went she used to go to the
Halal meat store,
in preparation for us coming.
And
then,
you know, they they disrespected.
She, basically said that the prices, you know,
weren't
consistent with what they should be, and they
disrespected her. And so she gave me a
call,
and I called the brothers
in Philly.
And they play the pay the visit,
to
the brothers. And you didn't talk to language
in which that was actually talk to people.
They treated my mother-in-law like a queen the
next time she came in. You know what
the thing is? They did that first thing
that was given her
that would've given her that would've given her
that what they didn't know she did with
some relatives or Muslim,
brothers and sisters who would look out for
her. So we have everything that we do
should be reflective. We shouldn't be the PTMs.
We shouldn't be the part time Muslim brothers
and sisters in our parenting, our marriages.
A dean is a holistic one. It's mind,
body, and spirit, not just, you know, dressing
the pot.
Not just dressing the pot.
It's about internalizing
the pot.
The man should go through your system like
your blood, just like shit time. He goes
through the system like blood. You don't feel
just like the addicts I've worked with. The
same way it was almost like the car
drove itself to the dope
house. It is called a dissociative state.
The circle, the person has a multiple personality.
When a person is reaching that point of
having cravings, it's a dissociative state.
The body's taking over. She time is taking
over.
And so we have to be of those
who are conscious of the law. So I
don't want to all of in all phases
of life. And what we do, the work
that we do,
you know, we just can't say, you know,
this cash register
is is for the lot of the tickets
in this cash register.
This is for gas. And you think you
covered. No.
Stop selling a lot of tickets.
Stop selling the drugs. Stop
engaging in gambling. Stop engaging in the Haram.
We have to be a fool
who recognize
that we are agents of change, and the
science says 2 entities cannot occupy the same
space at the same time. So if the
society
is is basically occupied with ignorance, it's filled
up with it.
It has to be dispelled so that the
Islam can come in. You don't know who
is gonna be a Muslim. I'm getting calls
every day. People want to take a shot.
A lot of this based on what's going
on in Gaza. We got brother and bring
some friends to come take shot.
So
when you come in, what are they gonna
find?
People just engage in rituals
or people engaging in societal
worldwide change.
There's a lot changes again. The condition of
a people when they change what is in
your heart. We can't have one foot in
the doing and one foot in the dean.
It has to be a 100%.
We are familiar. We
are familiar.
This is the gift that we have been
given. This is the gift that Allah has
given us, and we have to be caring
in this. People come in and be empathetic.
Oh, to blame him and I'll shake to
Najim, miss Mara. Didn't
the news reach you of those who rejected
faith before?
They tasted the results of their actions and
for them is a painful punishment.
That was because messengers used to come to
them with clear signs. But they said,
should mere human beings guide us? So they
rejected faith and turned away. And the law
is in no need. The law is free
of all needs, worthy of all praise. The
disbelievers imagine that they will not be raised
up
for judgment.
Say, yes, my lord. Yes. By my lord,
you will be raised up.
And then you will be informed of all
that you did and all that is easy
for Allah.
And in the Hadith that we have to
internalize
whoever of you sees a wrong
being committed,
Let him change it with his hands or
by force.
If he is unable to do that, then
bites by this tongue. And if he is
unable to do that, then with his heart.
And whoever of you sees in one version,
whoever you sees a wrong being committed, let
him rectify with his hands. If he is
unable to do that with his tongue and
if he is unable to do that with
his heart, and that is the weakest of
faith. Another version that says that beyond this,
there is not a single mustard seed
of the mind in the heart.
Even my suit,
who,
was once asked, who are the living dead?
To which he replied,
he who does not acknowledge the right
as such and does not reject the wrong.
Again, we don't want to be of the
living dead. We want to be again those
who who
live Islam and not practice Islam because we
are all gonna be tested
and the results
of our test will be based when our
on our man or faith test.
But shown to the hearts like a strong
man,
straw by straw,
whichever heart accepts them and absorbs them,
gets a black spot
on it. And whichever heart rejects them, gets
a white clear spot on it. This goes
on until the hearts are 2 types. A
heart which is white, smooth, and clear, like
a polished stone,
which will not be harmed by further trials
or test for as long as the heavens
and earth last. And the another dark and
blemished,
it will be like a hook turned turned
over the wrong way on which something can
be hung. It neither acknowledges what is right
nor rejects what is wrong except for which
happens to coincide with this lust and inclinations,
which with with this
with with which this heart
has become fully absorbed.
Let us again purify our intentions
and be change agents for a lot. Because,
again, the reward of these depends upon the
depends upon intentions, and every person will get
the reward according to what they have intended.
Again, if I've said anything in which you
have gained some benefit, as always, all
praise belongs to Allah.
Our lord, take us not to task if
we forget or fall into error. Our lord,
lay down on the sub burden such as
you did lay on those who have gone
before us. Our lord, lay down on the
sub burden, which we do not have the
power to bear and overlook our thoughts and
forgive us and have mercy upon us. You
are our protector and grant us a victory
over the disbelieving people.
Come as we