Nahela Morales – From Iman to Ihsan Climbing the Spiritual Ladder
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
Go ahead,
Salam Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh welcome back to
another episode here and about Islam. My name is Mahela mirallas.
And today we're going to continue with the third part series. So
today we're going to finish the third part of the climbing the
spiritual mountain. And so Inshallah, I'm going to give it a
couple seconds for people to Lausanne with Nevada, and to share
this out myself. So
we have spoken about thus far about Islam
as a whole, when we talk about the five pillars of Islam, we have
spoken about the six articles of faith. And that was in the first
session. So I do highly encourage anybody watching to go back and
watch these three sessions. So in sha Allah, they make sense to you.
And they're of benefit to you in sha Allah.
So today, we're going to be talking about a very important
topic of the three, it's called East San. And what that translates
into, it's called excellence. And we're going to dive in and a few
minutes just letting people log on and sharing it myself. So if you
want to sit back and also share it with
with those who can benefit from this talk, Inshallah, I greatly
appreciate it.
All right, let's get started.
How do we let him initiate and rajim Bismillahi Rahmani Raheem
Subhana lackey will be handy, we're sure to Allah ilaha illallah
wa should do. And then Muhammad Rasul Allah. So today, we're gonna
be talking about excellence. And so one of the things I want to
start with is, it is important for us to acknowledge that ALLAH
SubhanA wa taala, does not want perfection from us. But he does
want excellence from us. And so one of the things to remember when
we're talking about this, is to look into our everyday lives, when
we get a brand new job, we are already looking to see what an
excellent job we're going to do to get promoted. And so it's similar
here, when we think about the different components, right, the
different
components within faith. And so we talked about the six articles of
faith, we talked about how important it is to have a
relationship with the Quran, to learn the life of the Prophet
salallahu alayhi wasalam. So here's Sita is extremely
important, because we're able to go back and forth when we are
going through test trials and turbulence and challenges. And so
the other thing to also remember is that this life is a test. And
we hear that very, very often. But how often do we put it to practice
when we are going through that tests, right, and that's what
we're going to talk about today, how to navigate this dunya, which
is not home for us. Home is Jenna, and for those and that's one of
the things that we need to make sure that we keep focus.
Oops change. And so I'm always reminding him that I may not be
there. But Allah subhanho wa Taala is always there, to guide him to
protect them. And it's up to him to do what is right, right. So
Allah gave us free will. And so when we're talking about
excellence, we want to make sure that we are worshiping as if he
were in front of us. And so that's what essentially I really want to
talk about today. And one way to, to go into this frame of mind, per
se, is to remember our Bagua, right our God consciousness, how
conscious are we on our day to day living? And what I mean by that
is, are we doing things for the pleasure of Allah subhanho wa
Taala or are we doing things to please His creation? So one thing
is the creator and the other is the creation. And so Allah is very
clear when he says that we need to be thankful to his creation.
And it's as if we are thankful to him. But by the same token, when
we're talking about excellence, we're talking about our character,
we're talking about our behavior. We're talking about how is our
demeanor to his creation? How are we treating one another. And so we
know that there is obligation, and there's voluntary, right. And so
when we're thinking about excellence, we want to make sure
that we are not only loving a law, but that we are falling in love
with the law over and over again. And when we're able to do that,
we're able to see the beauty in everything, including when we're
going through tests and trials, because I see them as lessons and
when you reach a level of excellence, and may we all reach
this level Bismillah Amin, we want to make sure that we are honoring
our Creator, that everything that is he sending our way. There's,
there's there's a lesson behind it, and that we're not questioning
it.
You know, there was, I mentioned this story last week, very, very
briefly, but I think I need to dive a little bit more, because it
has really impacted myself as a as a revert as a convert, and our
community at embrace, which is a organization I co founded for
river care, convert care. And so there was a sister that it's been
about three weeks since she passed, there'll be three weeks
this Friday. But the level of excellency that that she reached
by the time she hit her deathbed, it was really impactful to witness
from beginning to end. There was not a minute that she was
complaining. On the contrary, she was making sure that every second
and with in every breath, she was worshiping ALLAH SubhanA wa Taala
that she was maintaining focus on her Likud, on her,
on her love, everything that she learned up until this point. And
mind you she was a two and a half year shahada Subhanallah, some of
us have been Muslim for 510 1520 years, and have not reached this
level of excellency. And so this is something important for us to
check to check ourselves.
Because it's important for us to hold ourselves to a higher
standard. And what I mean by that is, we don't just want to be any
ordinary average person, we want our Creator to know our name, we
want our Creator, obviously, he knows us, but we want him to,
to know that we not only loved him, but we were in love with him.
And it showed through our worship and obedience. And so the other
thing is, we don't just want to do our obligation. We want to exceed
those deeds, right. And we want to make sure that we are doing our
voluntary
deeds and making sure that we go the extra mile, because we are
again seeking for that pleasure of Allah subhanaw taala. And the way
to keep ourselves on check is by always asking ourselves, would
Allah be pleased with this action? Would Allah be pleased if I was
angry, and I lash that someone would allow me please, if I got
myself into Riba, when we know that it's haram, that it's not
permissible. So asking these questions on a day to day basis.
And this is why Taqwa is so important, because God
consciousness allows us to connect both and strive for that
excellence and not just be ordinary individuals. And so we
want to make sure that we are distinguished and that we become,
you know, we have this connection and this relationship with our
Creator, that others can actually see, right? Because when somebody
comes to you and is going to backbite, about someone, this kind
of says something about you, but if someone retains themselves or
stains themselves or stops themselves from talking about
someone in your presence, it's because that's what you've given
out, right that you will not allow any of this negativity and any of
the spin around you. And so you want to reach to that level where
you express it without saying it. And with those around you,
respecting the fact that you love Allah so much
And they know that you love them so much. And you're seeking for
that pleasure that would, they would never put you in a situation
where it would jeopardize your relationship or where it would
cause any type of fitna.
And so we want to make sure that when we are interacting also when
with with a law, and we want to check ourselves as far as how are
we interacting with the people.
The other thing is, when we think of excellence, we think about
somebody being very pious and very religious. But that's not what a
lot is, is talking about. And obviously, like I said, In the
beginning, Allah is not looking for perfection. That attribute is
only for Allah Subhana Allah and that has to be very, very clear to
us. Because we are bound to make mistakes, we are bound to sin
that's in our nature, and Allah created us that way. Now, the
thing is for us to stop, think, reflect, ask for forgiveness, and
not commit those sins again. And that's how you start reaching that
level of excellency, when you start reflecting, when you feel an
ease when you feel like you might have cause someone you know,
also unease or when you know that your Creator is not going to be
pleased with you. That's when you start feeling that shyness and
that
feeling of excellency. So it's important for us to also think
that excellency is when we, when we spend, here's another example
when we spend for the sake of Allah, in times of ease, and in
times of hardship. And what does that mean? That means that there's
going to be times where ease, you know, you give your 2.5 Succot,
which is obligatory upon every Muslim who's able to give it.
But that's not all that you go into making sure that Allah's
creation is taken care of. And so you will go out of your way to
give sadaqa and you will not think for a minute, you know, that, Oh,
if I give,
I might have less, and we have to understand that there is no
individual that has has ever gone into poverty for giving for the
sake of Allah. Now, let's switch the coin, when we think about
someone going through hardship, and they give for the sake of
Allah. You know, that's a level of excellency, because they know that
their provision, their risk, comes from a republic, right? The
provider, the one that gives us and the one that takes, and so
this is what excellence is that in times of ease in times of
hardship, You are God conscious, that everything belongs to Allah
and everything will return to Allah, and therefore you will do
everything to gain the pleasure of Allah subhanho wa taala.
So the other the other the other component of how to reach that
excellency, or how to check ourselves is when we get angry,
you know, there's times where we have to swallow our anger, even
even when we're right. You know, when we do it for the sake of
Allah, the reward is greater, excuse me. And even when we when
we withhold our anger, even though it's justified, but we want the
pleasure of a lot. And so we let it go and we pick our battles.
We're like, No, not today, I'm not going to allow to put myself in a
situation that can cause more harm than good. And so we have to make
sure that we are always checking our Taqwa. Right. And again, these
two go hand in hand.
Aside from anger, you know, oftentimes we get hurt based on
expectations, and we should make sure that those expectations are
never exceeding.
We should never really have expectations on anyone but Allah
subhanaw taala. And so when people do hurt us, are we easy to
forgive? Are we easy to go to sleep and you know, with that
peace in our hearts, knowing that we don't feel any resentment, any
hate, and that we forgive the same way that we want our Creator to
forgive us? So a lot of this and the way we react and the way we
start building? Our character is based on what we want in return as
well, right? So for example, we want a law to forgive us. So why
is it so difficult for us to forgive others?
Also we want to obtain the mercy of our Creator. So why is it so
hard for us to feel that compassion and that mercy for
others. And these are things that we need to make sure that we're
checking ourselves constantly to make sure that we're on that path,
right, that we're climbing that mountain, that spiritual mountain
that we will get to that point. Obviously, it takes work. It takes
a lot of patience, it takes for us to make sure we don't stop
learning. We understand that knowledge is key, and that it's an
obligation upon us. Whether you're a convert or revert, whether you
were born in the faith, it's important for us to continue
learning and continue learning about our Creator.
The prophets, Allah, Allah Who Salam said that whoever memorizes,
the 99 names of Allah will enter Jannah. And so this is something
that is beautiful. And when you get to know your Creator, that
level of excellency starts to grow, and you want to just please
him and no one else.
So it's also important for us to never stop learning. Again, we
want to hold ourselves to a higher degree,
to a standard, where we understand that everything we are doing is
for our maker.
When we think of a SAN, we should,
we should make sure that we are interacting with that love that we
have for our Creator, for anything else that is surrounding us. And I
know it sounds repetitive. But ultimately, what we really want is
to make sure that in any situation, and we're bound to have
situations where again, we're going to feel anger, we're going
to feel disappointment, or we're going to feel like somebody hurt
us. And so we need to make sure that we're able to acknowledge,
validate those feelings, but also remember that the that Allah is
the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. And so we want to
mirror that in the sense of we want that from him. So we should
give that to his creation.
You know, there's, there's, let me continue with that story of sister
Cheryl, just because she continues comes to mind.
Her level of excellency up until her death Subhanallah not only was
the vicar there, but even even after she passed, she seems so at
peace. And so the other day I did another lecture with with another
student of knowledge and something he said you know that we are going
to die.
That no I'm sorry, that we need to think about the way we're going to
die. This is this is what we should be worrying about. Right?
We should be worrying about the way we are going to end. So
this sister who was only two and a half years into the fate Subhan
Allah.
Her last deed was giving Dawa. We didn't know she was going to she
was going to have a stroke that night. And just a few days later,
she was going to pass. But ultimately, her last good deed was
talking about the faith and talking about a campaign that
we've been working on
with Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. And she was talking about our our faith in
in a way as if she was a diarrhea for many, many years. And she
captivated the attention of these two ladies that were sitting in
front of us. And that's really how she ended SubhanAllah. In terms of
good deeds. The other thing is, you know, I mentioned this very
often in all my talks, but Allah is not looking like we mentioned
for perfection, and he is not looking for us to give in greater
amounts, but he is looking for consistency. And this is one of
the things we tend to forget when we think we don't have anything,
but we have more than we think we do. For example, if you don't have
wealth, but you have time we've heard many, many times that time
is money. And essentially it is therefore if you don't have the
wealth, you have the time and so volunteering, doing those extra
extra voluntary good deeds that will help you reach that
excellency that we are all seeking and hoping to reach in sha Allah
and really my
My biggest My biggest worry every day or my biggest not worry, I
would say let me start two things. So in the morning, I always make
my DUA and then I make an extra do I make the dua of the prophets
Assam and then I make an extra dua, and my dua really is very
simple. And I asked Allah subhanho wa taala, to not take me until he
is completely and utterly pleased with me. And I think that's very
important for us, because that allows me to reflect every day to
make sure that I am praying on time, that I am making sure that
if somebody calls me in needs of me, I don't pass that to someone
else, or, or tell them go here to this masjid, when I have the
capability. And Allah subhana, Allah sent that individual to me.
So that's part of excellency not pushing things aside, but taking
full responsibility with the the extra opportunities that Allah
gives us on a day to day basis. And so the second part is, I'm
always very conscious of death. And so, what Ben Javon asked, once
asked the messenger of allah sallallahu alayhi wa salam to
instruct him, right. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salam
said, worship Allah, as if you can see him and prepare yourself for
death. So I want to end with this because it's important for us not
to be afraid of death, I think most importantly, is to be God
conscious. And be very aware of how what is the state that you are
going to die, I think that's more important. And so when we're
trying to climb the spiritual mountain, and we got our five
pillars down pack, and we are giving our fellow believers,
Muslims, their rights and are practicing our six articles of
faith, and are increasing and working are on on our Eman. The
part that we're talking about is excellency making sure that it all
works towards that portion. So when your last breath comes, you
are not only at peace with yourself, but Allah subhanho wa
Taala will be very grateful,
very happy, excuse me to receive you. So we ask Allah subhanaw
taala
to grant us the ability to continue to sick seek for his aid,
to continue to seek power and knowledge to continue to obtain
his pleasure, His mercy and His forgiveness. May we be of those
that are motivated by his love and his compassion and his mercy?
Again, you know, this is a platform for all of you.
There is a campaign for all of you to partake on donating on becoming
part of
those individuals that give for the sake of Allah. We never know
what good deed will be the good deed that will allow us to enter
Jannah so take every opportunity, I always see these type of
opportunities as investments for our O'Hara, so I want to encourage
all of you to donate to this platform for us to be able to
continue inshallah working for the sake of Allah and bringing
material and content for you. Again, my name is Anna Hallo
Morales and I will see you next time Salam alaykum Warahmatullahi
Wabarakatuh