Navaid Aziz – Heart Of A Believer Nrc 2011

Alhamdulillah Nakamoto who wants to know who and istockphoto when I was a Billahi min surely unforeseen el amin say Dr. Medina Maja de la Fernando de la la woman you detail who further hi Deanna? What a shadow Allah Allah Allah Allahu la sharika wa shadow under Mohammed Abdullah who are solo sallallahu alayhi wa early he was talking he was seldom at the Sleeman kathira Ubud. My dear brothers and sisters of salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato. I really don't like sitting down when I speak, I believe it drains a person's energy, and they're unable to convey the message effectively when they do so. So I want to start off talking to about a portion of time, and that is

four seconds. What does four seconds actually mean to you, as an individual?

Four seconds is the amount of time that every individual has, before they make an assessment of another person. In this four seconds, you are ready to decide, will I be willing to listen to what you have to say? Or will I be, you know, politically correct, and nice and kind, and listen to you, but inside I don't really want to listen to you. That is approximately how long every individual has. Now, the reason why I mentioned this is this has a direct relationship to one's character, the way one's character is will define will another person listen to us or not? Now, one of the beautiful things about Islam is that when a most a person becomes a practicing Muslim, they become

someone who wants to dedicate themselves to this religion, one of the very first things they do is educate themselves about this religion. Now, like the shape was speaking before, there are certain things that are fundamental to this religion. And one of the most fundamental things about this religion of Islam is our character. If we were to go back in history, go back to around the year 240. In the Hadith, of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, we come to a great scholar by the name of Mr mathematic, Mohammed Rahim, Allahu taala. The scholars mentioned that there were approximately 5000 people that used to attend his gatherings, when he would give a lecture,

approximately 5000 people in Baghdad would attend his gatherings. Now from those 5000 people, only 500 of them would be writing down, meaning they would be writing down what he would say. And the rest of them, were just looking at his character and learning from the way that he conducted himself. And this is something truly amazing, because these were not young children that were sitting at his feet. But these were the future scholars of Islam. They wanted to see how this great individual, this great person conducted himself, so that similarly they could conduct themselves in that way.

And then you look, where did this tradition start from? That we start about learning about luck, it came from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself, and the famous hadith of gibreel, when jabril came to see the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, where he came in these beautiful white garments, and he had this nice black hair, and you could not see any remnants of travel on him. He came and he said, by the Messenger of Allah sallallahu, and he was send them politely putting his knees by his knees, and asking him questions. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam concluded this hadith by saying, this angel he came to you to teach your religion. And one of

the very first things that we learned from this hadith is that the way a person dresses is that when he goes out in public, he should be wearing presentable clothes, he shouldn't come out, you know, in the clothes that he slept in. Unfortunately, like a lot of the brothers have a habit of doing I know, in my local Masjid, that you know, when I give a lecture, I can tell you know, brothers who literally just woke up fresh produce a lot of budget, and they came to the machine they're wearing like their track pants, and you know, like these t shirts, I was like, you know, just take five minutes to get ready and you know, be presentable. So all these things, they make a big difference

in our lives. And that is what I want to talk about with you today, the importance of a HELOC, the importance of a HELOC. So let's start off by discussing what are some of the virtues of a HELOC. So I'm going to give two virtues myself and then they want to open up the floor to you guys, so you guys can give me some feedback. What are the virtues of a clock? One of the first virtues of having good character was the drive the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he used to make dua to Allah subhanho wa Taala. He used to make dua, Oh Allah, perfect my character, just that you have perfected my creation, meaning that Allah subhanaw

taala fashion just in a particular way. And just like he fashion this perfectly, we ask Allah subhanaw taala

to perfect our characters as well. So this is one of the first virtues of good character was that this was something the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself used to ask Allah subhanho wa Taala for a second virtue of good character. It was the advice of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, to his companions, when the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam sent more either bingeable to Yemen, he told him what, three things, he told me three things. The first thing he mentioned was to fear Allah subhanho wa Taala, wherever he is, Fear Allah, wherever you are. Number two, was follow a bad deed with a good deed, so that it may wipe it out. And the third

thing he mentioned, and treat people nicely, we'll call it can never be horsnell khalaq that treat the people nicely. So this was the advice of a companion, that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was not going to see again, his farewell advice was summarized in these three lines, and the last of them being treat people nicely have good character with them. So I want to take a moment here to hear from you. What are some of the other virtues of good character? It can be something related to the deen it can be something related to the dunya? What are some of the virtues of good character?

Who's gonna raise their hand? And you know, start off the discussion? Go for it.

Okay, how so?

Okay, good starting point. Who else? What are some of the virtues of good character?

This may be a manifestation of why a lot of Muslims have bad luck. This Navy? I'm not saying we do. But I'm saying it maybe.

What are some of the other virtues think about it? When a person is good? What do they get? Or what is the benefit of being good?

Go for it.

Excellent, good point. So birds of a feather flock together.

And the point being that a person who has good luck and good character will attract such people as well. I mean, very rarely will you find this person who has the amazing of luck and is surrounded by terrible people, because their time eventually comes either he becomes a bad person or they become good people, but it doesn't work that one person is good in the group and everyone else is bad. So good points, you will attract like people, what else? What are some of the other virtues?

People

that is a virtue, but what is the virtue of being patients? That being patient? Like why would you be patient?

Go ahead, patient and

say something happened.

Okay, so good character brings about good outcomes, right? good character brings about good outcomes. And I will generalize this statement even further is that you'll see one of the greatest aspects of leadership and what makes a leader good is the way he conducts himself with other people. And that is why you see all of the all of all the descriptions, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam could have been given in the Koran. How does Allah subhanaw taala describe him, he describes him as what in neck Allah, Allah, Allah can have him that Oh, you messenger of Allah, or indeed have an exalted standard of character. And this was a characteristic that stuck out. And this

ties us into another virtue, that it was the methodology, the way of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, that he would be well mannered with people. Now let's just get one more, and then I'll give you some more for myself in shaba. Because you guys don't seem to talk it if today. Well, let's just get one more person in Sharla. For the sake of Allah, go ahead.

Excellent. I was actually going to conclude my talk with that. So you just took my conclusion away. But good character is good data. So I'll give you my conclusion right now, but I won't conclude.

I was actually on an airplane. When the attacks in Norway happened. I was on the airplane when the attacks in Norway happened. And I was watching the news live as all of it was happening. And one of the very first reports they gave was Muslim strike again, you know, terrorism attacks happen in Norway. And that was fine a lot. You know, this is so crazy because it's like every other month, some crazy Muslim is doing something

Now the sad thing was, I fell to the propaganda of the media, you know, as it was myself, I fell for it. Now as time goes on, we later come to see that it has nothing to do with Islam had nothing to do with Muslims. In fact, it was someone that hated Islam, and the Muslims, and he was responsible for it. But one important lesson that it taught me was that as Muslims, we do have a bullseye on us, that people are out to target the Muslims, the media is out there to do that. And now there needs to be a counter reaction to this. One of the typical counter reactions to this is that we will go in front of embassies will burn down their flags will cause riots will do all sorts of other things.

But there's a more practical and a more effective way. And that is just practicing your religion, practicing the very fundamentals that Allah subhanho wa Taala taught you to be kind to be forgive, to forgive, to be tolerant towards people.

And other important virtue that God character brings about is that it is the way people will treat you. A lot of the people think that this is a Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, but rather it was just a saying of our predecessors, they used to say committed Dino to done, the way that you treat people is the way that you yourself will be treated. And I assure you, all of you have felt this in your life, that when you are generous and kind towards people, you will see that they reciprocate this generosity and kindness towards you. And at times when you're arrogant and stuck up, Allah subhanho wa Taala will send a person who's arrogant and stuck up to you as well. So

when you're well mannered people will be well mannered towards you, and when you're ill mannered people will be ill mannered towards you, as well. Another benefit of virtue of good character is the love of Allah subhanho wa Taala. And his paradise the love of Allah subhanho wa Taala and his paradise.

There's a set of verses in Surah limra and the third chapter of the Quran, which are some of the most beautiful verses that you may ever come across. Allah subhanaw taala revealed this these verses during one of the battles during one of the battles and when Allah subhanho wa Taala sent down these verses, there was a companion who had dates in his hand. He had data scientists, three of them.

And he looked at these dates, and he said, If I live long enough to finish eating these dates, I would have lived too long of a life. He threw the dates behind him, and he went onto the battlefield and he died. Now these verses that Allah subhanaw taala revealed were the following. Allah subhanaw taala says about the Billahi min ash shaytani r rajim.

Was

Isla Pharaoh Chimera become weijun what jannetty Naruto has to walk out the door I did little motor planning. I levena young officer rah rah, one count the mean

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Walla who you hate Bowl masini Allah subhanho wa Taala he says in these beautiful verses, and hastin towards the forgiveness of your Lord, and a paradise, a paradise, whose expanse is the size of the heavens and the earth, prepared for people who are conscious of Allah subhanho wa Taala. Those who give when times are prosperous, and those who give when times are adverse, and those who forgive people and pardon them and control their anger. And indeed Allah loves all people who do a son who do righteousness towards other people. So from the virtues of good luck is that Allah subhana wa tada has prepared a paradise for those people who practice good character. And it is from the love

of Allah subhanho wa Taala that when Allah subhanho wa Taala loves someone, he will give them good character. And likewise one of the ways of receiving the love of Allah subhanho wa Taala is having good character as well.

So now let's talk about what are some of the virtuous characteristics we need to have as Muslims, some of the virtuous characteristics that we need to have as Muslims. Going back to this very set of verses, Allah subhanho wa Taala he mentioned something very, very particular, which I believe we have become negligent of and that is being tolerant with people. Allah subhanho wa Taala mentioned

Are Finn and the nurse that those people who are pardoning and being are tolerant towards people. And when I look back in history, I found two amazing examples of this. One of them was from the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself.

That if you look back at the opening of Mecca, when the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam went back to Makkah to recapture it. Look at the series of events that happened at this time, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Not only was he himself persecuted, not only were his companions persecuted, but likewise they were exiled from their very hometown from Makkah, they were exiled, they were told to leave and to get out of here. And now as the Muslim community grew, they got stronger. They're coming back to take this sacred land, known as Mecca. And as the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and his companions. They came in in helmets they came

in and armor and with artillery, they entered Makkah, in a state of humbleness and humility. Imam Al Bukhari Rahim Allah He mentioned that as the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam entered Makkah, he was on his horse and his head was bowed down.

And as the people were watching this, you have 10,000 Muslims coming into America all at one time. They're starting to wonder what is going to happen with us. You know, the people that we persecuted the people that we killed, are they going to seek their revenge today? So as the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is coming in, they start asking, you are the noble, the son of the noble, what are you going to do with us? A person they want us to convince us to call a madman, they once used to call a destroyer of homes they once called a soothsayer in a magician. They're now calling him the noble the son of the noble lie what fear does to people.

Time continues, he finally gets the Kaaba, and the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gets down from his horse. And he sees that the people are petrified. And hear the message of a loss of a loved one to send them is in a state of strength, not in a state of weakness. If he wanted to slaughter and kill, he could have done it. But he tells the people at that time, I say to you, just like Yusuf Alayhi Salam said to his brothers, letter three baalei como Leone, young Pharaoh Allahu la Combe wa who are hamara he mean, that no blame and no approach be upon you today. May Allah forgive you, for Indeed Allah subhanho wa Taala is the Most Merciful of all those that show mercy

pardoning people. Now, I want you to think about that. And I want you to think about a time perhaps you were in the tube, perhaps you're on the bus, someone accidentally shoulder bumped?

How did you react to that? In a lot of the times he turned around, and, you know, the very least we do is we give them this evil stare, like, What's your problem? You want to take this outside? That's what we're thinking. And that's something as small as an accidental shoulder bump. Now, how would you react? Someone who persecute you, kicks you out of your house? Do you think you'd be able to forgive them? Would you be able to pardon them? That's what true character is about how you react in those times of tribulation. So now if you're reacting like that with a shoulder bump, I want you to think about what you would possibly do in that state. You know, male office panels Allah forgive us.

A second example that I find

was the example of Imam Shafi Rahim Allah. Imam Shafi Rahim Allah one of the great imams of Islam.

He was known to be a debater. He likes to discuss issues. And if you lead if you read some of his discussions, you know, he was like a cut throat type person, that you don't mess with him because he tears you apart. Now, one of the individuals when the mama Sheffield himolla passed away, he gave a eulogy. He gave a description of the amount of Shakira Hema, Hola. He said, Mr. Shafi and I Rahim Allah, we differed in many, many issues. And there was a time where I would get up and leave out of a state of anger. I would get up and leave out of a state of anger. And I would not speak to him for a few days, because of how angry I used to get. And after a couple of days would go by Imam Shafi

Rahim Allah, He used to come to my house, and he used to say that just because we differ on a few issues, it does not mean that we cannot have united hearts and to me this is the essence of unity. You know, a lot of times, scholars and speakers they speak about this concept of unity. Unity is not conformity of the mind unity.

does not mean we will all agree in the way that we think and the way that we speak and the way in the thoughts that we have. But true unity is unity of the hearts, that intellectually you have the ability to differ. But you realize that Allah has created a bond, bigger than our thoughts, bigger than anything we could ever create. And that is the bond of brotherhood. So one of the first things you need to introduce into ourselves or we need to introduce into ourselves is this concept of tolerance. This concept of pardoning the concept of forgiveness, for the sake of Allah subhana wa, tada

a second characteristic Allahu Allahu Allah, that he was generous, like the wind, he was generous, like the wind. Now, what does that term actually mean? I want you guys to think about that. And let's see who the the key or the intelligent person is amongst us. When someone is generous, like the wind, what does that actually mean?

How is that a praiseworthy description of the Messenger of Allah?

Go for it.

Excellent. So very quick. When the wind comes, it comes very quickly, it doesn't take a long time for it to come. So when it's time to be generous, the Messenger of Allah Azza wa sallam was very generous. But there's something more to it than just that. What else?

Never ending? Is the wind continuous here in London.

mean it stops and goes on? What I mean? I see where you're coming from that in the greater scheme of things, the wind is always going to be there. So generosity of the Messenger of Allah Azza wa sallam is never ending in that aspect. Anyone else?

The wind brings the clouds, this brings the rain. So how do you tie that in with the Messenger of Allah?

As we're fasting, it's okay, you're excused and shall go for it.

Excellent. That's what I was looking for. It does not discriminate against people. You know, when we think of charity, when we give her the cat is like, okay, we're gonna send our charity and there's a cat back home, or we're only going to give it to like the poor people of one community. But the charity and the generosity of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, it knew no boundaries, anyone that came for anything, asking the Messenger of Allah, he would give it to them. And this is a very important point and factor over here is when we talk about good character, what does it actually mean? good character can be summarized in one sentence. It is to be in the service

of Allah subhanho wa Taala during the night, and it is to be in the service of the people during the day. This is the definition of good character. And that is why when you see when the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam described his message, he said in the brief to you tell me Mama caramel o'clock, there Indeed, I was sent as a messenger from a law, to perfect morality to perfect good conduct. And this is good conduct with a law and good conduct with the people. And that is why you will see his secret to success was the very fact that he used to worship a lot during the nights for a prolonged period of time. And during the day, he was always in the service of the people

always willing to help them out. So generosity of the Messenger of Allah, it knew no limits, just like the wind, the wind benefits the young and the old, the poor and the rich, the black and the white, you know, the good looking the not so good looking all of them.

So that is what the generosity of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was. And this is important, particularly in this month, because the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he commanded us. He commanded us, that save yourselves from the Hellfire, even if it is with half of a date, meaning half of the date can save you from the persecution and punishment of the hellfire. If you gave it with a noble intention of feeding a poor person, someone who does not have food, even a half of a date can protect you from the hellfire. So how about if you give something greater?

I want to go back into the Hydra that the companions made from Mecca to Medina.

When the companions made hija, from Mecca to Medina, the first thing the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did was that he paired them up. He took one of them or hydrocodone. And he paired them with one of the answer to one of the companions from Makkah and took one of the companions from Medina. And he said, You guys are now brothers. And there's this beautiful story of how one of the companions from Mecca.

mouth was paired with one of the companions of Medina, Saudi Arabia, or their loved one home. Hmm.

So, now, he's introduced to Saudi Arabia.

He is told by the Messenger of Allah, you guys are now brothers. These people have never met before. They know nothing about each other. They have no idea what this relationship is going to be like. But I want you to see the reaction of Saudi Arabia towards Abdullah. Now.

He tells me now

that I have two houses. One of them is yours.

I have two businesses.

Take anyone that pleases you.

Now, think for a second, this is someone that you've never met, you know nothing about, you have no idea what they're going to do to your property, no idea what they're going to do to your business. Would you really trust them with this? Now, if you look at the economic state of Medina, at that time as well, it becomes very important. Medina was not very cultured at that time, meaning wasn't very strong in business. And the lights are dimming

a lot.

And then there was light again, how

are you good to go? Okay. So I've mainly been often Saudi Arabia, some people that have never met before, some people that have never met before. And he says, look, take half, take my two houses, take one of them, I have two businesses, take one of them. So this is generosity, or from the side of Saudi Arabia, he's showing this act of generosity, this act of courtesy, top of mind even off, and this is something tremendous within of itself. I'm literally speaking, I came from Canada, you know, you may or may not know anything about me. If I ask you for your house, and I asked you for one of your businesses, are you going to give it to me?

You're honest about it, at least

you're honest about it. And that's the reality of it, that we're no longer willing to give no longer willing to sacrifice. But for the the point or the

operative no more than in this story is the way that other people have reacted. He didn't say, okay, you know, what, give me the bigger of the two houses and give me the better of the two businesses. He says Jazakallah who could just show me where the marketplaces let me do business for myself. I will fend for myself. So he goes to the marketplace and the story continues.

Now he left his family behind. And he does business for a couple of days. And then one day he meets the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam again,

and he has these yellow stains on on a white garment. How many people know what healthy is hardly in? What's it called? An English? Does anyone remember?

turmeric powder? Excellent. So sir.

Isn't that what I said?

Okay, not tamarind? No. Turmeric. Yes.

So he has these stains on his clothes.

And the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he asks in the abdomen, what are these stains on your clothes? And he said yes to the law. I got married.

Now, I want you to think about this for a second. You know, what was up their mind doing that would cause him to have these yellow stains on his on this white garment. This is like an interesting point of fifth that you learn that the companions are the law. I know they knew how to party.

Honestly, like he was party, he was celebrating his walima and that's how it got on him. You know, in our own costumes in our own backgrounds. We have different ways of celebrating our weddings. And you know, even till this day, they use the this turmeric powder, and predominantly now it's for the women, but back then used to throw it on the bride as well. So, he tells the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam

that I got married the Messenger of Allah, He asks him, yeah, man, you know, what did you give her as a dowry? What did you give her as a wedding present? And he mentioned that he gave her a small nugget of gold. And this is such an amazing story. Because

now he came into Medina with absolutely nothing. Absolutely nothing. So how did you get married with a nugget of gold? And the story we learn to find out is that he was given food that day, which was dried yogurt. He took that dried yogurt went to the market.

and sold it for fresh butter, he gets this fresh butter divided into two, he now sells that fresh butter. And that is how he got that coin of gold. And this is the the effect of having tawakkol in Allah subhanaw taala not being greedy towards the wealth of others, Allah subhanho wa Taala will bless your wealth for you. So learn to give an Allah subhana wa tada will give you much, much, much more, and you will actually be content. The third and last point I want to mention in terms of things that we need to change in ourselves, is being concerned with our own selves. We live in a culture and in a time where there is this gross infatuation with what other people are doing. So

right now someone may be on their very phone. They're checking Twitter updates. You know, one of their friends is in the bathroom reading a book. And for some reason that's interesting in our lives. I mean, it's true. I mean, I'm sure you've all seen status updates, you know, I just arrived home. Now, you know, what do you want me to do?

But we have this gross infatuation, where we are over concerned with the lives of others. But you see, this goes against the prophetic methodology, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he told us, mean personal Islam and Marie Turku melayani, that from the best of one's Islam, one of the best things that you can do as a Muslim, is just be concerned with your own self, do not be concerned with the business of others. Now, how does this actually benefit you? This means that when you're walking on the street,

you're not looking around at every Tom, Dick, and Harry, you're not looking around at what this world has to offer. But rather, you're always looking at yourself. And you'll see this brings about many, many benefits from the benefits of this is that if you're a person who is busy with himself, this will naturally help you lower your gaze. Then when a person is thinking about themselves, where does their gaze usually go as they're walking? It's usually down. Right? So that naturally helps you lower your gaze and helps you not look at the opposite gender.

Another benefit of being concerned with your own self is that it prevents talking about other individuals. And when you can reduce the amount of conversation you have about other individuals. This is one of the ways that you will learn to save yourselves from the Hellfire, that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us that there will be a group of people, that they will say something about another individual that they will think is insignificant and minute, but in the sight of Allah subhanho wa Taala It is so great, that it will cause them to be thrown into the hellfire.

And then we have the example of a woman that was with the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And she described another woman from the unserved not by something she said. But she just went like this, meaning that she was a very short individual, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told her that you have done something you have said something that is so evil, and so vise, it would turn the watchers, the oceans in this world black. That's how evil it was. So another benefit of being concerned with yourself is that you reduce the amount of sins that your tongue commits, that you only be talking about yourself, obviously, you know, not praising and

glorifying yourself, but in a way that you don't speak about others. And actually want you to think about this for a second. Next time you're having a conversation with your friend.

Didn't mean right now.

Next time you have a conversation with your friend, see how much of your conversation is actually about other people. And you'll see the vast majority of our conversations are usually about other people. Hey, did you see Fatima's hijab at the event? Wasn't it so nice? Or did you see the film that brother was wearing and how it was in Ireland, you know, no offense to anyone that's doing the film. But it's like the vast majority of conversations, that's what it's about. It's about other people. So reduce the amount of sins that we commit. And a third benefit in being concerned with yourself is how Allah subhanaw taala will raise the ranks of people through this.

Mr. Malik Rahim, Allahu taala.

He says, from the people of Medina, there are people who are used to hold in very high esteem. And I used to always wonder that what was it that caused their status to be elevated to such a degree that people considered them noble they treated them well.

They treated them nice.

And then I noticed that as time went on, they lost this elevation. This is aura that they used to have. And I found out what's changed at that time was that they started to concern themselves with the affairs of other people. That before they started to concern themselves with the affairs of other people, they used to be noble in the sight of Mr. Malik Rahim Allah. But once they started to dwelve, into the affairs of others, they fell in that rank, they fell in that status. So a person who is always concerned with himself, Allah subhanho, wa Taala, will elevate his status for him.

So now, those are three important characteristics that I believe we need to change, self reflection, being concerned with yourself, being generous, and being forgiving, and forgiving. These are three things that you can leave with today. Make it your goal, to change this within yourself, to be more generous, to be more pardoning and forgiving, and to be a person who's only concerned with their own affairs. Because there will come a time where you will stand in front of Allah. It's not going to be this room, it's not going to be every Muslim, but you are alone as an individual will stand in front of Allah, you will stand in front of God Himself. And you will be asked about the deeds that you

committed. And if you're unable to answer that on that day,

what are you going to do?

Hope rollers Parliament forgiveness allows pardoning and forgiving, but how much will you seek that pardoning and forgiving, so don't put yourself in that situation where you're going to be in a state of regret that day, prevented that state from coming? And this leads us into our topic of discussion. What are things that we can do as Muslims as individuals that can have us have or make us have better luck and better character, and I want to summarize this into two points within the hits Allah.

The first point is having an interactive theology and interactive creed and interactive understanding of faith. I remember as a young boy, we were taught the

six calibers, did anyone learn the six calibers as a young child? Anyone go to a Saturday or Sunday school? No, not too many people. So we were taught the six calibers. And literally, we were given a sheet of paper. And we're just told, repeated and repeated and repeated in Arabic, we had no idea what it meant. And eventually I went to Medina, I learned Arabic. And I'm like, Oh, that's what that word meant, oh, this is what it means, and became like an enlightening moment for me. And I thought to myself supine Allah only if I was taught what these words actually mean, as a young child, perhaps that would have been a better child. But those words, and what I want to share with you are

the pillars of a man. You know, we are told that a man consists of six things. It is to believe in Allah, to believe in the angels to believe in the books. They believe in the prophets to believe in the last day, and to believe in predestiny, the good and the bad of it. These are their kind of Eman. And I'm sure that every one of us in this room knows what these terms are, and they know what they mean. But what ends up happening is, it remains very theoretical. It's not something that we interact with on a daily basis. It's not something that's ingrained in our minds that we need to be conscious of. And I believe this will be the catalyst in changing one's character truly, that if a

person understands what these six pillars of Eman truly are, this is what will help change your character.

The first of them belief in Allah subhanho wa Taala. What does this instill inside of you? When I mentioned the term Allah? Does this move you and shake you on the inside? More than likely it doesn't. But let me help you with that. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was one day in the marketplace.

And the companions are around the Messenger of Allah. And they see this woman running around from side to side in the marketplace.

And each time she would pass by a young child, she would pick up that child and embrace it. And tears would come out of her eyes, and then she would let it go.

And this continued several times, until she found the child that she herself had lost and she embraced this

trialed and she held this child and those tears of anguish and despair. They now turn into tears of joy.

The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he turns to his companions. And he says, Do you see this woman?

Do you think that she would ever throw her child into the fire? Do you think she would ever throw her child into the fire?

They said colossal Allah, that Yasuda she would never do that she would not be able to do so. That's how much love a mother has for its child. And then the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he says something so profound. He says, Allahu Akbar Hamodia a bad he may have the heebie wanted to hear that Allah subhanho wa Taala is more compassionate, more merciful and more loving towards his slaves than this woman is towards her child.

And that is our relationship with Allah subhanho wa Taala that we are those dis obedient, those ill mannered children.

And that Allah subhanho wa Taala will continue to forgive us will continue to love us, no matter what our state is.

When you move on to the angels, how does this affect your personality? How does this affect your mind?

The brother mentioned the example of clouds, and I'm going to tie it in right now. No clouds truly are an amazing thing. I was once in a city known as Edmonton, as the most northern major city in all of Canada. And I was about to deliver a course there. And two weeks before I was about to deliver that course. They sent me a newspaper clipping that newspaper clipping said Edmonton second coldest city in the world, minus 53 degrees. So I thought to myself Subhanallah, you know, how am I going to travel to the city and survive? And that's coming from someone who lives at like minus 35. Montreal is like minus 35 sometimes. So that minus 53. That's crazy. That's insanity. But when I actually got

to Edmonton, that is when I truly saw insanity. I saw madness, I could not believe what I was seeing. It got so called the pipes that run underground that carry our water.

They froze. So you could not go to the bathroom because you couldn't flush it. You want to make we'll do is like drops of ice. They're coming down and it's freezing. That's what's happening. So I asked them, you know, how do people get water when this happens? Then they said, you know, why don't we show you. So they took me to the town center. And there's like a building called City Hall there. And people would carry big water containers like these 20 liter jugs that you know they carry in offices, we press the blue button, you get cold water, you press the red button, you get hot water, those big containers.

They will take those containers, fill them up with 2030 litres, then they would suffer in carrying them back to the car. And then you'd see some old people that didn't have cars, they would have to walk on the street. And as they're walking on the street, they're climbing up these buildings that are three four or five storeys high, no elevators, the climbing up the stairs. And I thought Subhanallah how difficult it is just to carry 20 or 30 liters of water.

But let's tie that into the angels.

The angels transport millions, if not billions, litres of water. How? Through the clouds. Allah subhanho wa Taala he created water in such a way that it evaporates, it goes into the clouds, he wants to grant that sustenance to someone in London. He brings us cloud from Scotland sends it to London, and the rain comes down with the help of the angels. And thus you see the effect that angels have in our lives. They are the angels of Allah, the these these people or this creation that bring glad tidings. Think about an instance that perhaps you're walking down some steps

and somehow or another you managed to slip but you retain your balance.

Or think about maybe a time where you were driving and you weren't paying attention on the road. Yet somehow or another you were diverted from having a major catastrophe and a major accident. What happened? Allah subhanaw taala had sent an angel to help you just like he sent the angels in the Battle of butter in the Battle of 101 micrometer is ramita Joaquin de la harana that you are not the one who are casting the stones. It was the angels that Allah subhanho wa Taala had sent and thus the angels are there to protect the believers.

So they are there to help and to preserve and to protect. But what else are the angels, therefore, they're there to write down each and every single thing that we say. Now y'all filmin, Colin Illa de hiraki bonneted, that an individual does not speak a single word, except that an angel is there to write down what it says. So now when you can understand this concept that each and every word that you utter, an angel is writing it down, and is going to present it to Allah. Do you want an angel to show curse words to Allah that you spoke? Do you want the angels to show, you know, immoral things that you used to say in this world? Obviously not. So it helps you control your tongue as well.

Then let's move on to the Day of Judgment, the day of judgment, does it inspire hope? Or does it inspire fear.

And I believe in the vast majority of people, it probably inspires fear. But it's also a moment of hope. And let's see why.

It's a moment of fear, firstly, because that is the day we will be held accountable for everything that we did, for everything that we said, for the way that we treated people. And it is a scary place to be. Because we know we have done in justices in this world, we have done things we would not tell other people, and we're not proud to show to others. Yet on that day, Allah subhanho wa Taala will expose it to you, he will tell you what you did, and will ask you why you did it. And that is something to be very afraid of. And that is why thoughts of the Day of Judgment should prevent you from doing injustices towards others. But how is the day of judgment to bring hope. The

Day of Judgment also inspires hope into a person, that anything that you lost, anything that someone took away from you unjustly, you will be compensated in full on the Day of Judgment. So someone stole something from you, someone said something bad about you, you're angry and upset, but in this world, learn to forgive it. Because on the Day of Judgment, that is when you will truly get your compensation. So inspires hope in an individual as well. That, you know, we're not as doomed as we thought as we might be. Because just like we dealt in justices in justices were done to us as well. And perhaps we did a few less in justices. And we received a few more in justices, that Allah

subhanho wa Taala will forgive us and entrance into paradise. Then think about

destiny. You know, this is related to that very concept, that when you look at life as a whole, you see destiny as a beautiful thing. Because you realize that Allah subhanho wa Taala created you, he sustains you, he knows what's best for you, and He will only allow it to happen, that which is best for you. Whether you realize it right now right now or not, that when you die, you will see that Allah had this greater plan for you in life, and everything falls in its place. And a person who understands destiny will always be content, the world could be falling apart. But he knows that Allah is ultimately in control. And he's not going to do any injustice is towards his creation. So

he's content with that matter. Then you look at the messengers, what is belief in the messengers until belief in the messengers brings about looking at your conduct? How used to find a Salaam was with his brothers, how are you buddy Sam dealt with his trials, how he sallallahu Sallam was with his people, all of these prophets and messengers, they had this noble character, and it teaches and inspires us to be exactly like them. So you see my brothers and sisters, that when you take something as simple, just as the pillars of faith that we all know, and you learn to interact with them, you become conscious of them in your daily life. It is a first step in reef formation. It is a

first step in refining our character.

And the last point I want to conclude with Bismillah atana that will help us change our character. As a doula of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,

you'll see that life and change are very difficult things, to change habits to change friends, to change your environment, are very difficult things. And shaytaan will not want you to change for the better.

Now someone is great as the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. He used to say the following do us so frequently, that a young eight year old boy

learned it. Honestly pneumatic rhodiola one he says I learned the following dr from the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, due to how frequently he used to repeat it. due to how frequently he used to repeat it. He used to say

a llama inni obika menial HMI while hazard and HMI while hazard while adze while caisson while bocalee while giovane wadala Danny was Alberta region, eight things

I want you to notice with these eight things are the first of them, and HMI one version and hum is to be worried about the future. So he's saying Oh Allah, I seek refuge in You from being worried about the future. Well husband, it is to grieve over the past and seek refuge in You from grieving over the past. While adze while person as is to have incapability meaning to not be capable of doing something that all I seek refuge in You from not been capable of doing things while person and I seek refuge in You from being lazy, alliedsignal Castle, while bookly while jubran and boho to be stingy, someone who withholds not only with his money, but with his time and with his effort. So I

seek refuge in being someone who will withhold and is miserly and jubelin is to be a coward. He used to seek refuge in being a coward. Well, dada Dane was called buttery JOHN BOEHNER, Dane is to be overpowered by debt, and evolve a theory job is to be overpowered by men. Now I'm going to repeat these eight things one more time. And I want you to tell me what is the theme that ties all of these eight things together? I'll hum one version, it is to be worried about the future and to grieve over the past, while adze will castle It is to be incapable of doing something and to be lazy. When Bulkeley will jubelin. To be stingy, to be miserly, and to be a coward. And then to be overpowered

by debt, and to be overpowered by people. How do these eight things tie together? What is it that unifies these eight things? And anybody tell me?

Go for it.

Excellent. But what how is it related to yourself?

You can control it.

Possibly our brother over here that had his hand up.

It's all part of your character.

Maybe that might be it, but I'm looking for something greater?

And I'll give you a clue. I'll give you a hint. How does shaytan use these things against you? Go ahead.

Okay, that's part of it. It prevents you from being dependent upon Allah. And what else?

Almost Go ahead.

It builds anxiety. The first part of the drive is definitely about that.

Excellent. It prevents you from taking action. It prevents you from doing things it prevents you from change. All of these things will prevent you from taking action, that in the first two, you're either busy thinking about what may happen in the future, or you're grieving over what happened in the past, as in capability that you don't have the ability to do it. I'll castle is to be lazy. And then Albacore is to be stingy with your time, while jubelin is to be a coward, that you're not ready to face the people. Well, dollar Dane is to be overpowered by debt than when people are in debt. There j is just in the state of being a whirlpool of negative thoughts, and then being overpowered

by men, that sometimes people will overpower you and you're unable to stand up for change. And the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he became productive, he brought his actions about, through making dua to Allah, that Oh, Allah protected me from all of these things. I seek refuge in You from all of these things. Now, I want to tie all of this back in that the point of the lectures you're hearing today is not for the sake of being entertained. It's not for the sake of finding something to do before you break your fast. But the point of these lectures is to bring about change in your life, to change the character that you have to change the individual that you are, because

you came into this month of Ramadan with a message from Allah

quotevalet camassia kuchibhotla leadin amicably calm, Landa contract akun that you were sent fasting you were sent this month of Ramadan and hopes that once this month of Ramadan comes to an end, you are people of taqwa, people who are conscious of Allah subhanho wa Taala. So it is not befitting that you leave Ramadan, just as you entered this beautiful month, some sort of change has to take place. And this is what I want to conclude with, that you as an individual, are walking ambassador for Islam, that it is no longer befitting that a Muslim has evil or ill moral luck, that he cannot be, you know, a degenerate individual, but he is someone who is refined in his character, someone

who brings about positive change. Someone who teaches people were true Islam is all about being in the service of the people during the day, and being in the service of Allah subhanho wa Taala during the night, the key to success that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had. Now I want to summarize my whole lecture Bismillahi tada for you in two minutes within the atana we started off discussing some of the virtues and benefits of good character. We said it was a duel that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to make that Allah refine his character, just as he refined his physical appearance. We said that it was the advice the Messenger

of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gave to why they've been Jebel as he went to Yemen, to treat the people in kindness. We said that from the virtues of good character is that you will be surrounded by people with good character. And likewise people will deal with you in good character. So those are some of the virtues. Then we talked about three aspects of character that we want to change within ourselves, the first of them being that we be people who are generous, that Allah subhanaw taala has blessed us with so much in this blessed month, you want to learn to be generous. The second thing is that you be pardoning and forgiving. And then the third of them being is that we

be people who restrict ourselves to our own selves, meaning not constantly being concerned with the affairs of other people and looking at other people. And then I concluded my lecture with two things. How do we go about bringing this change, understanding the pillars of Eman and the effect that it has on your personality, and your depth and love as a Muslim? And the second thing, the do the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to make so frequently that an eight year old boy was able to learn it and that being Allahumma inni I also became an HMI when husband when he will castle will bocalee will jubelin wadala Danny was on buttery jazz. I pray that Allah subhana wa tada makes

us people of taqwa at the end of this month and makes us better Muslims than we were before we came into this month and makes us people who have this beautiful block and can be true ambassadors of this beautiful religion of Islam and makes us people who are forgiven through this month. Rafa Dhawan and Al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen wa sallahu wa sallam robotic identity Anna Mohammed while he was such a big mine subclinical llamo become the shadow Allah and as the Furukawa tubo Lake wa Salaam Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh