You Are The Fajr Of My Heart The Middle Path In Worship

In Alhamdulillah Nakamoto who honestly I know who won a stock photo when I was a Bella Himanshu Rory and fusina woman sejahtera Molina mania de la who Fernando de la la woman. Allah ha da da wa shadow Allah Allah illallah wa whoa la sharika wash I don't know Mohammed Abu Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa seldom at the Sleeman kathira, Ubud Medina dear brothers and sisters as salaam alaikum, warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Saturday morning, everyone's a bit mellowed out tired, the rooms a bit empty, the energy field is drained. So I'm going to tell you a nice story. A lot of people don't actually know what zip lining is. zip lining is actually considered an extreme sport. And I myself never would have considered this up. And until I saw how much fun the brothers were having when they did this. Just to give you an example of what it is or to explain what it is, basically, the Rocky Mountains, they go through the provinces of Alberta, and British Columbia. So there's like a small mountain range where they took two mountains literally, one slightly higher than the other. And they put like a line going

from the higher mountain to the lower mountain. So they take you to the top of the higher mountain, I think it's by helicopter, or by by car, or whatever the case may be. And then literally, they give you a rope and they tie you on to the rope. And you're just like holding on for dear life and sliding down the mountain. And I saw this I was like, this looks crazy. You know what if you fall down or something happens, but then how long did it have you tied down and you know so far no one's died yet. But it's only been open for like six months. So inshallah I'm looking forward to doing that being lighter. That's not actually next week, it's in two weeks visit lights Allah.

Now thinking about that, that wouldn't have itself being called an extreme sport. I thought it'd be a nice introduction to this very talk. And our talk and discussion is going to revolve around being balanced in our worship for Allah subhana wa Tada, the middle path in worship. Three men once came to the house of the wives of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and he told the wives of the prophets, I send them. One of them said, I will fast all day and night and I will not break my fasting I will continue to do this as long as I possibly can.

A second man said that I will pray day and night without taking a break whatsoever. And he would continue to pray day and night. A third man said that I will not marry my whole life and I will dedicate my whole life purely to worshiping Allah subhanho wa Taala departments Allah La Jolla was send them was not at his house at that time. However, when he returned, his wives informed him of these three men. So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam sought to these three men out and brought them to his house. And he told them, set the record straight, I am the messenger of Allah, I fast, and I break my fast, I pray, and I engage in my worldly affairs. And likewise, I marry women,

and I am from the most fearing of Allah subhanho wa Taala from amongst you, and indeed, no people hold in the religion upon themselves, except that they destroy themselves through it. So you can see this concept of going to extremes into religion, it existed during the time of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam. Now in such a discussion, we want to define what worship in Islam actually means. More worship in Islam is something very intrinsic, something very important. And literally, it is the very purpose of our creation. Allah subhanho wa Taala explicitly says in the Quran, WA Salatu. Jinnah was inside Dr. Boone, that I did not create the jinn and mankind except for my worship.

Literally, you cannot get any more explicit than that. Allah subhanho wa Taala clearly tells you why He created you. So you can see that this very purpose of creation, it is going to be something very important in Islam. Because not only is Islam a religion in which we worship Allah subhanho wa Taala, but it is a way of life as well. And this concept of worship needs to be manifested throughout our daily lives. So now in defining worship in Islam, several scholars have attempted to do so and trying to find a concise definition. I came across a nice one and need to see even kefir.

And instead of serum KC or when he gets to the verse, He Arcana Buddha er can Stein he mentions that worship in Islam

is a comprehensive term that covers and encompasses everything that is beloved to Allah subhanho wa Taala from statements, actions and beliefs, whether they be appearance or whether they be hidden.

It is a comprehensive term that includes encompasses our statements, our actions, and what we believe inside. All of these things being beloved to Allah subhana wa Tada, whether we do them openly or whether we do them in secret. Now you can see this is approaching the concept of worship, from a very physical aspect, that when someone asks you, you know, is the law considered worship, you will give them this sort of definition that he has said was considered worship because Allah subhana wa Taala likes it, and it is a physical act. But the concept of worship is not just mere ritual, where we do these movements, and it is void of spirituality, void of emotion, but rather the

very concept of worship is to have a spiritual attachment. It is to have a an emotion behind it. And that is why even Casio Rahim, Allah He goes on to explain that this was just a physical definition, a tangible definition. As for the stage that you want to be on the on the inside, when you worship Allah subhanho wa Taala, then it encompasses three things as well. And worshiping Allah subhanho wa Taala, there should be three emotions affiliated with it.

He says, it is the perfect combination of humility, submission, and love for Allah subhanho wa Taala, the perfect combination of humility, love and submission for Allah subhanho wa Taala. Now, why is it important to have all of these three emotions, because a person can do an act of worship, he can be praying, but he's not humble about it. He's not he doesn't have that humility. But rather, he's doing it just to show off, or he's doing it just to show or to show the people what a righteous individual he is. or an individual can do it. But he's not doing it for the sake of love. He does it out of spite. So for example, you have the example of an unjust ruler. You have this tyrannical

ruler, and he tells his people that, you know, I want all of you to give me gold, I want all of you to give me your harvest at the end of the year, this ironical ruler, even though the people may obey Him, they're not obeying him out of love, but rather they are obeying him out of fear. So when it comes to Allah subhanho, wa Taala, we're not worshiping Allah subhanho wa Taala out of fear, but rather, it is out of love for Allah subhanho wa Taala. And the last point being submission, that we're doing this because Allah subhanaw taala commanded us to do so. Allah subhanho wa Taala, being our Creator, being our sustainer being the one who grants us everything that we desire, it is it is

his soul, right, that we OBEY Him and everything that he asks. Now I want to share something, you know, for me, it was personally beautiful. But I was thinking about the talks that I will be doing this weekend. And I was having difficulty with one of those talks that talk being the the role between reason and revelation in Islam, and being the middle path in between reason and Revelation. So this talk, it's a very academic talk, very scholastic talk. And I really was not too sure as to how to approach this talk. However, these were just thoughts in my mind, I didn't share them with anyone. I didn't confess this to anyone.

Then when I came into a bookstore, this was yesterday, I walk into a bookstore. And the very first book that I see literally just on the stand right over there, the very first one was the intellect and its role in Islam. And I thought to myself, Subhana Allah, that here, Allah Subhana Allah knows what's going through my mind, he knows what's going through my heart. And before I even make dua to Allah subhanho wa Taala Oh, Allah helped me in preparing for this talk. Allah subhanho wa Taala sent this book to me automatically. And I was actually sad at that moment as well as happy. I was happy because Allah subhana wa tada facilitated this for me. But I was sad that I didn't ask Allah subhana

wa Taala before he gave it to me, because I knew that asking Allah subhanaw taala makes Allah happy. And this is something that I was deprived of. So that made me sad. So Allah subhanho wa Taala He grants us everything that we desire, regardless of whether we asked for it or not. So why not be able those individuals that asked for it and Allah subhanho wa Taala is pleased with us, and we still get the sustenance in this world as well.

Now when it comes to worship, there are several goals behind worship. And these are actually levels of worship. Speaking from a purely psychological state of mind, you will see that people start increasing in their worship of Allah subhanho wa Taala when they do something wrong, when they feel that they are sinful when they are needed redemption, when they need to clean the slate with Allah subhanho wa Taala that is when they will turn back to Allah subhanaw taala This is a natural inclination that Allah subhanho wa Taala has created inside of us that when you do something wrong, do something likes to follow it up, and that will be your form of redemption. That will be your way

of cleaning your slate. So the very first goal is cleaning off our sins and cleansing ourselves spirit

Truly, and this is something that Allah subhanho wa Taala naturally ingrained inside each and every one of us. Not only is it naturally ingrained, but this was the advice of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, to more Isaiah Benjamin. Why the Punjab or the Allahu anhu, one of the great companions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he was advised by the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, a very concise advice. And you know, a lot of the times people come up to me, and they're like, you're leaving Tunisia, you know, do you have any sort of farewell advice, or any farewell words, and I always like to share this hadith with them as more I live in Japan, or the

Allahu taala, and who is leaving for the land of Yemen. During those days. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam advised him with the following. He said, Fear Allah, wherever you may be, treat the people in kindness and gentleness, and follow up a bad deed with a good deed, and hope that it will wipe it out. So this was also the advice of the Prophet sallallahu wasallam, that when you do a bad deed, follow it up with a good one, and it will clean out the bad deeds you did and wipe it out as well. A second goal of worship is feeling spiritually close to Allah subhanho wa Taala. Our lives, some of you are still very young, some of us have a lot more experience than others, as we have

lived quite a bit longer. And those who have lived a bit longer can testify to the fact that the moments that they felt closest to Allah subhanho wa Taala were the moments where they were spiritually inclined, the moments where they were worshiping Allah subhanho wa Taala. For me, I remember one moment clearly, it was when I went for Alma for the second time, my father and I and I was about 16 years old at that time. And I remember it was the 21st night of Ramadan. And I remember that we were in the huddle in Makkah, not in the marble area. But as you're going up the steps is still the first floor. I was like in the second or third row over there. And I remember that insula,

as we're praying totally free and clear my lane, I can see the Kaaba in front of me. And at that time, I still did not know what the Imam was resending. I didn't know Arabic. I didn't know what verses were being recited. But I knew that looking at the Kaaba, thinking about history, Ibrahim Ali salam, Adam alayhis salam, the prophet heard of the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wa sallam, all of that, you know, literally happening in front of my eyes. I felt close to Allah subhanho wa Taala. And I remember that tears just started coming down my eyes. Until this day, that is a moment that I keep longing to relive. I make dua to Allah subhanho wa Taala Oh Allah, let me relive that moment.

Because I remember how close I felt to Allah subhanho wa Taala at that time, being in Makkah, being in front of the Kaaba, praying with literally millions of Muslims. And then the cherry on top was that you have someone likes today socially, you know, reciting the Quran. What more could you want than that? So feeling this spiritual closeness is actually a goal of the study itself. as Muslims, we are meant to feel good, we're not meant to feel depressed. We're not meant to be people who are angry, but we are meant to be people who are spiritually enlightened, and people who are gentle in their character, and people who are overall and genuinely happy. When you look at the Prophet

sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, Abdullah that Hadith rhodiola, who I know he narrates that deployment sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was the individual who smiled the most. Now you think about this hadith. And you may think that it's just talking about the virtues of smiling that as Muslims as people in general, we should be people that smile, but rather there's more to this hadith than just smiling. It's the state of mind. It's the state of diplomacy, Larson's spirituality that truly allowed him to smile. What was it that allowed him to smile so much? It was his worshipping of Allah subhana wa tada an individual that worships Allah subhanho wa Taala. Sincerely, that will be the most beloved

thing to him in this world. And that is why when you look at how the Bible is a long line, he will send them used to tell bill under the law one to make the A then he wouldn't tell villalbilla go and make the other end. He wouldn't give him that single command is that simple commandment, but rather he would say, yeah be LA, Ariana Bihar, ob LA, bring some comfort to us. And then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would have given and he would start the Salah, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he goes on to describe what you are doing that Cora to it for Salah that the sweetness of the eyes, the coolness of my eyes, was placed in Salah. Because once you taste

the sweetness of Lima and once you taste the sweetness of worship, that is something you're going to learn for over and over and over again. And this is something beautiful that the scholars of the past have said that indeed in this

world as a paradise, whoever does not enter the paradise of this world will not enter the paradise of the hereafter in the dunya agenda monomial, hula, hula, hula genital Akira. This statement, it almost seems contradictory because as Muslims were genuinely told that this world is a prison for the believer, and a paradise for the disbeliever. And there are several news stories related to this, I want to share two of them with you. One of the great scholars of Islam and half who Rahim Allahu taala, he was riding through the streets of Cairo. Now I want you to imagine those fairy tales that we try to tell our children, we tell our children have this princess that's always

seeking her prince. And the way we portray this Prince is that he's wearing like these white garments, he has those, you know, silky, smooth, flowing hair. He's riding on this white horse, as he's going by everyone's looking at him and saying, you know, I want to be like this guy. I'll have no idea was that guy, he was the alpha male of his time. So he's coming through the streets of Cairo. And there is this slave. He stops him literally as the horse is coming by. He just stands where the horse and literally, you know, he had to scratch his horse and he almost fell off. So halfway through, and he asked the slave man, you know, what is it that I can help you with? Why did

you do this? So he says, I have a contention with you. You're supposed to be a great scholar of Islam. And I've heard that you answer people's questions. So let me ask you a question. I'll have with him know how he keeps his cool. He says, Okay, go ahead. What's your question? And he says, I have heard that your prophet has said that this world is a paradise for the disbeliever. And it is a prison for the believer. Now compared to the two of us, here I am, I am the disbeliever I am wearing the most raggedy of clothes, and you can no imagine this as well now, I stink, my teeth are black, they're rotten. And then look at you. You're the believer, you're supposed to be in prison. You're

wearing the finest of clothes, I can smell your fragrance from miles away, and your hair has been freshly washed. So is your profit, not a liar. Now this may be something that baffles the mind. But I want you to pay attention to the answer of one half of them. He tells the slave man that yes, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did make the statement, but you have not understood it correctly. For indeed, the punishment that you are going through right now the hard life that you're living through right now. Wait until the Acura and you will see that it is many fold worse. And as for myself,

all the blessings that Allah Subhana Allah has bestowed upon me in this world. If you think this is luxury, if you think this is greatness and magnificence of all US blessings, then just wait till you the Acura and wait till you see the blessings that Allah subhanho wa Taala has prepared for the believers. Now that is one understanding of this Hadith, that the seasonal movement that is dunya being seasonal moment is relative compared to what Allah subhanho wa Taala has prepared in the era. I second understanding of this hadith is what I want to share with you today. And that is Allah subhanho wa Taala has created a paradise in this world. And the paradise in this world is not a

physical paradise. It is not a paradise that is filled with much luxury. It is not a paradise that has everything that you desire. But it is a paradise, where the soul is at rest. It is a paradise where the soul is content. It is a paradise, where the soul is spiritually enlightened. And thus the scholars went on to say that indeed in this world is a paradise. Whoever does not enter it will not enter the paradise of the Sahara, meaning that if you are not spiritually enlightened in this world, then you will not be spiritually enlightened, nor will you reap the fruits of spiritual enlightenment in the achiara.

The third goal of worship, attaining Allah subhanho wa Taala His mercy and His paradise out of worshipping Allah subhanho wa Taala there are many goals that one can attain.

The most individualistic and I guess the most selfish of them, that you can claim is what you yourself will benefit from it. And that is the mercy of Allah subhanho wa Taala Allah and His paradise. If you reflect and contemplate upon the relationship of your worship and the relationship between the paradise that Allah subhana wa tada has created, you will see that there is a direct correlation. There is a direct relationship between the two. How so, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he said, none of you none of you will enter Paradise through his actions, but rather you will enter Paradise through the

Mercy of Allah subhanho wa Taala the companions are the law of wine only said your rasulillah not even you, not even you who has the greatest amount of deeds, the greatest amount of rewards will you not also enter Paradise through your deeds? And he said not even I accepted Allah subhanho wa Taala in raps me with his mercy. So we see that entering Paradise is not contingent upon the deeds that we do, but rather it is contingent upon the mercy of Allah subhanho wa Taala because there is not a single deed that you can perform, that you will earn paradise with it, but rather the only reason you will enter Paradise is through the mercy of Allah subhanho wa Taala. So now the goal becomes to

attain the mercy of Allah subhanho wa Taala. And this is something beautiful that when you look through the Quran, with an analytical eye, you will see that all of the verses that say La lacouture, Hmong, and hopes that you may attain the mercy of Allah subhanho wa Taala. They are always preceded by action. They're always preceded by a specific action that you can do with which Allah subhanho wa Taala will give you His mercy. What the cola the under control hormone have fear of Allah subhanho wa Taala have Taqwa of Allah in hopes that you may attain mercy. Likewise, inshallah Allah subhanho wa Taala says, and rectify and mend your relationships with one another,

and hopes that you may attain the mercy of Allah subhanho wa Taala. So there are several actions that we can do with which through we attain the mercy of Allah subhanho wa Taala. So now the question arises, where does our worship and our actions actually come into play, the way they come into play is that your entering Paradise is contingent upon the mercy of Allah subhanho wa Taala. However, the different levels of Paradise, the highest and the lowest and the middle and all that is in between, that is contingent upon your actions. An individual who increases his actions will have a higher level of Paradise, an individual who had very few actions will have the lowest levels of

paradise. And this is one of the virtues that Allah subhanho wa Taala has given to the memorizers of the Quran. On that day as people are entering paradise, and they are being told as to which levels they will go to Allah subhanho wa Taala will tell the memorizers of the Koran that recite and read the Quran as you used to in this world. For indeed you will be raised to the level of the last word verse that you knew. Meaning that an individual who only knows shorter, fatter and shorter a class, he will recite a little bit and he will be raised a couple of levels. But an individual who knows, let's just say 10 years from the Quran, he will be raised higher, an individual who knows 20 joules

of the Quran, he will be raised even higher. And the group that will have the highest places in paradise will be the individuals who have memorized the Quran completely, because they will continue to recite and they will continue to recite until they finish the Koran, and then they will reach the highest and loftiest of places in paradise. So this engine Paradise is by the mercy of Allah with which you attain through your actions. And the More Actions you do, the more Allah subhanaw taala will raise your ranks in Paradise. So quickly let's go through the three goals of paradise of of worshiping Allah subhanho wa Taala number one spiritual cleansing, we worship Allah because it takes

away our sins. Number two, we worship Allah subhanho wa Taala to seek a spiritual closeness to him. And number three, we worship Allah subhanho wa Taala to attain his paradise. Now what are different types of extremism that actually take place when it comes to worshipping Allah subhanho wa Taala The first type of extremism that takes place is the spectrum of being too lacks versus that of being too rigid. And I would like to share two examples with you over here. Number one, when it comes to secluding oneself, and number two, in our interaction with the opposite gender, in terms of secluding oneself, a lot of people think that it is a pious and noble act, that you lock yourself up

in the house and do not intermingle with the people. So, this is a very rigid view.

The exact opposite is being to last in this matchup. Being individuals who are not sufficed with their own houses and they always need to be intermingling with the people and going out and about. These are the two extremes and the first scenario.

The second scenario is the way we interact with the opposite gender.

Number one, the side that is too extreme. They will say we will not interact with the opposite gender whatsoever. You know, it is fifth night is haraam, stay away from it like you would stay away from the fire. So they will not deal with the opposite gender, even in cases of necessity necessity. And this is a rigidity that Islam does not call for. And then on the other hand, you have a lack 70 where people are just too lacks, you know

They may not be related to you, but all of a sudden, she's my sister in Islam. He is my brother in Islam, just like I would speak to my own relatives on MSN and, and Google Talk, you know, all of a sudden I'm dealing with them the same. There was a funny cartoon that was made on how people actually become more practicing. And usually a lot of people become practicing through their MSA starting through high school, college, university. And it usually happens that there's a group of them that become practicing all together. So you have a brother and a sister, they become practicing together, and it starts off very innocent. inshallah, you know, every day, I'm going to send you

one, I have the Koran, and we're going to reflect on it. And we're going to share our reflections. Satan comes to the both of these people, you know, instead of emailing each other, why don't you just do it over Google Talk? So then you exchange email addresses for Google Talk, and you add each other? And now it's like, okay, let's reflect on those verses. And it leads to the next step, you know, instead of just typing to each other brother, your recitation is so beautiful, I want to hear it. Why don't you recite this verse for me? So the brother starts reciting. And the brother now he's like, okay, you know, I'm not too interested in what the sister recites, like, but I want to see

what she looks like, sister, you know, it'd be easier for me to recite it when I can actually see you there. So then she goes on webcam, and now they're communicating with one another. And then the cartoon ends, that they've been speaking all night. And forger has like come and gone over that we didn't waste a lot of budget. And then the brother goes, sister did you know foragers over and then the sister response, Brother, you are the father of my heart.

And that's how it actually happens. So you have that exact opposite extreme, where people are just too lacks, everything's easy going. There are no boundaries, no guidelines. Now in both of these scenarios, Islam has come with a middle path. In Islam in the first scenario, we are meant to be people who go to the mission, the men are highly encouraged to go to the masjid for four or five daily prayers. However, when the five daily prayers are over, go out into the world. If you're studying, go and study if you're working, go and work, do not seclude yourself to the mercy of day and night. This was not how the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam This is through that you may

come to them and remember him and worship Him through these places. And if Allah gives you the opportunity to go to the mercy, then you actually go there, know that Allah subhanho wa Taala has specifically chosen you, especially during the nighttime on the weekends, that while other people are out in the world, doing whatever they are doing. Allah subhanho wa Taala has specifically chosen for you to go to his mosque, this is a great blessing. So the middle class over here is go to the machine when you have to go to the masjid. And do your business do your studying when you have to do that as well. And then when it comes to the second scenario of interaction with the opposite gender,

likewise, Islam has come with a fine guideline. Islam does not require that everything in this world becomes segregated, that you have something for brothers and something for sisters, but rather what Islam actually came with, as a nurturing as a cultivation inside the body and the soul, that when you interact with one another, take away the malice and take away the enticement from the way you speak and the way you look. So when you look at the opposite gender, law, your gaze towards them, when you speak to the opposite gender, do not beautify your voices towards them. And if you ever fear that, you know Satan is whispering to you, your own nerves is starting to overcome you. That is

when you need to step back and analyze the situation again. So Islam did not come to segregate the two sexes, and create two separate worlds for them. But rather, we live with one another in a harmonious and harmonious tone and in a harmonious manner. And a world where we complement and supplement one another, not in a world where we are either competing with one another or destroying one another through not controlling our desires and emotions, a second type of extremism, and this was an extremism that was even seen during the time of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is an imbalance between fear and an imbalance with hope. The scholars of Islam, they like to give a

parable of the worship of Allah subhanho wa Taala to that of a bird. So you can imagine this beautiful white bird maybe a swan, maybe a white pigeon, or whatever you want or maybe a dove a dove is a usually a nice example. So you have this white dove and it has a head that had this collars usually call love. And it is our main goal or our main indication of worshiping Allah subhanho wa Taala that our main aim in worshiping Allah subhanho wa Taala is love so that it has become the head. So you can imagine a bird that has no head, how's it going to be? Imagine that chicken that you know it's headless is running around in circles, it doesn't know where it's going. Now in

likewise when an individual is worshiping Allah Subhana Allah and it is a void of love. It is going to be void of the direction as well.

How to worship Allah subhanho wa Taala. So the head is love. And then they say that the two wings are fear and hope the two wings are fear and hope. Now there's a lot of discussion between how do we bounce between fear and hope. And should it be the same at all times. abdelkarim Rahim Allah, he's probably one of the more spiritual scholars that you'll ever come across. And he comments on this by saying that the companions are not the Allahu on home while they were alive, and they were physically able, they would increase the amount of weight in the wing of fear that they were extra cautious of Allah subhanho wa Taala they were extra cautious of coming to the boundaries of Allah

subhanho wa Taala and out of fear that they may transgress those boundaries. So they were more fearful of Allah subhanho wa Taala. However, when it came to die, the Wink of Hope it took precedence, they gave a lot more weight to hope, when they were about to die. And this was because an individual who has good hopes of Allah subhanho wa Taala, then likewise, Allah subhanho wa Taala will have good hopes of him as well. Those who will want to see Allah subhanho wa Taala Allah will long to see them as well. This is a brief point today even though Kaya mentions but Allah knows best Allah subhanho wa Taala has created us to be in a state of fear and hope in balance between at all

times, that you always fear the Wrath of Allah subhanho wa Taala you fear his anger, and you fear his punishment. And what you actually fear is that if you do not fulfill one of the obligations, then fear the anger of Allah subhanho wa Taala Likewise, if you embark upon one of those things that Allah has prohibited, then fear the Wrath of Allah subhanho wa Taala. At the same time, if you have tried your utmost best, and have come short, then have hope of Allah subhanho wa Taala, that Allah does not burden a soul more than it can bear. Likewise, if Allah subhanho wa Taala has put you in a calamity, and in a predicament have hope of Allah subhanaw taala that the one who created you, the

one who sustains you, he likewise will get you out of this predicament. So you see that there was one group that had so much fear of Allah subhanho wa Taala, that if anyone committed a sin, they would expel him outside of the fold of Islam. And then you had an exact opposite group, that regardless of what sin you committed, you could even come at church with a law, it wasn't a problem. As long as you said La ilaha illa Allah, you will still go to gender, then Islam comes as a middle path between the two, that when we commit a sin, we seek forgiveness from Allah subhanho wa Taala. And as long as we're trying our utmost best, we have hope and the mercy and paradise of Allah

subhanho wa Taala as well. Now I want to conclude, I want to conclude with two points with ninja hits either. Point number one is that there is no extremism when it comes to the form of Islam, that there is no such thing as being an extremist in Islam, just because you're fulfilling the obligations that Islam comes with. I remember as I was growing up, I was 1516 years old. And I tried my best not only to pray my five daily prayers, but go to the masjid as well. And while my parents were accepting of this, the Friends of my parents were not accepting of this. Every time they would come over to our house. And you know, the auntie and uncle did speak to me and asked me what I was

up to. And I tell them you know, you know, I've started praying, I started listening to lectures, I started reading books, they will tell me better Why are you become such an extremist? Like, why are you becoming so extreme? And I'm thinking, you know, I'm barely doing like the bare minimum. Right now. I'm struggling to wake up for Pugin. It is the absolute bare minimum. And this is a mentality that we ingrained into our children, that once they start becoming practicing, all of a sudden they become an extremist. But we fail to realize that when it comes to the absolute minimal requirements of Islam, there is no extremism. These are commandments that Allah subhanho wa Taala has commanded

us with and we have to fulfill them, they are the distinguishing criterion between a Muslim one who submits to the will and Command of Allah versus that of a disbeliever. One who does not submit and compel himself to the will and command of a loss of high notes either. So that is point number one when it comes to the fluoride when it comes to the obligation. There is no extremism, you have to do it, regardless of what people tell you. Point number two is that Allah subhanho wa Taala divided this oma into three categories. He divided this oma in three categories and this is what I want to conclude on. so that you know where you stand Bismillah heights Allah, Allah subhanho wa Taala says

and sort of author which is the 35th chapter of the Quran, in verse number 32, and I want to share this verse with you. Allah subhanho wa Taala says Allah below him in the sheep on the regime, some our Snell kita Bella Dino Safina Minerva, Deena vermin home, Yvonne Imani NFC woman home mocha faucet. wamena home subiaco

Basically your RGB isn't in

the Liga hall for the Royal Caribbean, or Allah subhanaw taala says in this verse, that indeed, we have inherited this book, to a group of our slaves, whom we have selected and chosen and raised. So Allah subhanho wa Taala has given this book the Quran, to the oma of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and he has selected us and chosen us and raised us above the previous nations with this book. So what makes us benevolent and virtuous over the previous nations is this very book, then he goes on to say, and from the slaves are three types of people a volume on enough see that he who oppresses himself, and this is the individual, that he doesn't fulfill all the all the obligations,

nor does he stay away from all of the prohibitions. So he's falling short in the obligations. Likewise, he's embarking upon some of the prohibitions. Then Allah subhanho wa Taala, talks about the second category. The Mokhtar said, the mythos is linguistically, it means someone who's economical, someone who's moderate someone who's taken the middle path, but a more correct translation in this ayah is someone who is just neutral and doing the bare minimum. So meaning that he will do the bare minimal obligations. Five times a day Salah 2.5% is the only fasting in Ramadan only going to make hides once in his life. And he's going to be sufficed with that. This is the mock

dossier, the one who is neutral, the one who does not seek beyond that. And then Allah subhanho wa Taala tells us of a third group. So as before, and I will say about those people who raise and proceed one another in good deeds. These are the three types of people Allah subhanho wa Taala has created in this nation. Now what differentiates these three people is their actions. The most fundamental action and I will break it down for you with just this one action is the prayer and Islam the most important act of worship that anyone performs is the Salah. It is the distinguishing characteristic between Allah pleasure and Allah's wrath between Alice paradise and almost Hellfire

between Alice love, mercy and compassion, and between Alice, anger and wrath, it is the prayer. So when it comes to the prayer, likewise, you'll see that you have three levels where the people fall into the very minimum level.

The very minimum level or lowest level is the doing of the forest alone, just praying your five daily prayers, then you have people who take it to the next level, not only will they pray there for it, but they're going to pray there soon the prayers as well darwaza prayer, you know after before for God pray to before the how to pray for but after the how to pray to, after I'm going to be afraid to these are the sinner prayers that I'm talking about. And then you have a group of people that take it to a level even higher. They pray the the waffle prayers, the clamor late at night, the tahajjud prayers, the Doha prayers, and they're taking it to the next level. Now, the beauty of of

all of this

is our Eman is always going to fluctuate at times you will increase in our deeds, at times we will fall short and we will give up some deeds. So when it comes to the third level, and then the dividend individual sokolova Thanks very much.

An individual who not only performs the Freud vision, the first and then the Wofford prayers when his mind goes down. What is he going to end up losing? His mind is about to death. We have this individual he praises five daily prayers, his sooner prayers and his no awful prayers. When this person is a man dips, he ends up losing the no awful prayers. He might not wake up for chemo anymore might not wake up. He might not face a lot anymore, but he's still in a safe zone. He's still performing his photo, then he's still performing his student prayers. Then you have another individual. This individual just face his fourth prayers and his sooner prayers. When this person's

Eman depths, and it goes down. He ends up giving his son our prayers. So he's only praying his five daily prayers. This individual is still in a safe zone. He's still fulfilling his five daily obligatory prayers. But now I want you to imagine an individual who's only praying his five daily prayers. When his mind dips when his mind goes down. What does he have to lose? The only thing he has left to lose is his five daily prayers. So an individual who will praise on these five daily prayers when they see mine Dibs, there's nothing to protect him. There's nothing to save him. There is no safe zone for him. He has actually fallen into the danger zone. He has fallen into a territory

that is very, very severe. So likewise out of all of these

three categories we learn to protect ourselves in every act of worship Allah subhanho wa Taala has created these three levels, a level which is compulsory, a level which is recommended, and a level which we do purely out of our love for Allah subhanho wa Taala. So an individual who is struggling with his five daily prayers, Allah subhanho wa Taala has told us on how we can preserve those five daily prayers. It is a very difficult journey, it takes a lot of battling of the soul, it takes a lot of battling against one's desires. But Allah subhanho wa Taala tells us in how to be consistent, he tells us and how to be virtuous, that do more than just the bare minimum, aim higher for the bare

minimum and you will be safe. But if you aim for the bare minimum, you will be destroyed. Just like an exam, an individual who aims for 90 he will get somewhere close to 90 you will get an 85 very an 89 whatever he'll get somewhere close to that, then the individual who ends where 75 he might end up getting a 65 anywhere or 70 but then someone who's aiming just for a better 60 it is possible at times he may reach that 60 but the vast majority of the time he will fall short and will end up failing. So brothers and sisters in order to protect your worship of Allah subhanho wa Taala always aim higher than what you yourself can I think are capable of doing right now always aim higher than

that. And with the lights honor, you will be safe. But the second you start aiming for the bare minimum that is when you yourself will be destroyed and will fall into a very dangerous territory. So you yourself, control the keys to salvation, control your worship and do it consistently and you will be rewarded. And don't worry about those times where he mind dips. There is always a way to salvage it again, worship Allah subhanho wa Taala but you see that one of the worst forms of worship that you can perform, are those Sprint's of worship that we perform that were for like three or four days, in one month, we'll pray Our five daily prayers in the masjid we'll wake up 4pm and then we'll

be reading code on day and night. But we burn ourselves out and I'm sure we can all testify to this. that at some point during our lives, we felt we were high in demand and we did these Sprint's of worship where you just end up getting burnt out. I want to remind you brothers and sisters, that while you may get burnt out Allah subhanho wa Taala as rewards do not burn out, Allah is not concerned with you doing Sprint's of worship, but rather what Allah subhanho wa Taala is concerned with is that you'll be consistent in your worship. And this is what I want to conclude with the advice of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam where he said, Why don't our money in Allah,

Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah are the one who has more in common, that the most beloved deeds to Allah subhanho wa Taala are those deeds that are consistent and they are repeated time and time again, even if they are few in number. So if you truly want to have and achieve a high status with Allah subhanho wa Taala be consistent in your worship. This is more beloved to Allah subhanho wa Taala than doing those Sprint's of worship that a lot of us have a habit of doing be consistent and be perpetual, and this is more beloved to Allah subhanho wa Taala and I want to conclude with the fact that very verse that Allah subhanho wa Taala has chosen and selected and preferred this oma

over the previous nations through the Quran, Allah subhana wa tada has chosen you, each and every individual in this room to be here today. He has chosen you to be here to benefit to seek knowledge, hopefully implemented and go and teach others as well. There are so many other things that you can be doing right now you could be sleeping, everyone wishes they were doing it. But the struggle you do for the sake of Allah subhanho wa Taala realize that you're only here because of his will and only because he loves you. So feel special. Feel that special. Feel that