Navaid Aziz – Nation Builders
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the loss of Kobe Bryant and the importance of finding one's true contribution to society. They emphasize the need for motivation and purpose for individuals to achieve their goals and fulfill their obligations. The importance of loyalty and finding people with a strong loyalty towards Islam is emphasized. consistency is the most important aspect of Islam, and it is about regular behavior and habits. The speakers also emphasize the importance of surrounding oneself with believers who believe in them and their impact on one's life.AI: Transcript ©
My dear brothers and sisters,
In March of 2 1,009,
I was in the city of Toronto
attending
a jummah with
Sheikh Mohammed al Sharif
That is now on YouTube, and it's actually
entitled Nation Builders.
What's very fascinating about that
is that sheikh Mohammed,
he starts off that khutba
speaking about an interaction that he had with
one of his neighbors,
saying that one day when he came back
as he was studying in Medina,
he found that his neighbor was extremely sad.
And it was a sadness that you knew
that someone close to you and someone beloved
to you had passed away.
So he's just waiting to hear who was
it that passed away. Was it your brother?
Was it your sister? Was it your mother?
Was it your father? Who was it?
And this neighbor just
stayed there in silence, and you could tell
that he was on the verge of tears
till eventually, Sheikh Mohammed,
he asked him, was it your father that
passed away? Because it was that intense.
And then this brother, he responds by saying,
sheikh bin Baz
has passed
away,
and that was on a Thursday. And on
the very next day,
the janaza was prayed. It was attended by
1,000,000,
and everyone across the globe had dedicated their
khutbas, had dedicated their talks to reminding the
ummah about the legacy of Sheikh Iimbaz
You listen to this
khutba, and he talks about how an individual
never knows when they're going to die, and
they never know when they're going to pass
away, and how you have to be prepared.
And I think about that for a moment,
subhanAllah,
because Sheikh Muhammad,
he ended up passing away in July of
20 22.
And I wonder
how much insight he had into that. How
much did he know that, you know, his
time to pass away was coming soon? Because
prior to his death, he was constantly speaking
about, are you prepared to die? What if
it comes at any minute? And his death
was instantaneous. SubhanAllah.
But with that being said,
today's topic is nation builders.
How do we develop a legacy
so that we've actually contributed something to society
after we've
passed away.
What was very fascinating in the non Muslim
world, when Kobe Bryant passed away in January
of 2020,
a lot of non Muslims saw their own
mortality
in the death of Kobe Bryant. He was
in the prime of his life. He was
so young. He had such a bright future
ahead of him. How could he die
so young?
And, subhanallah,
a lot of Muslims couldn't relate to that.
But then when Sheikh Mohammed
passed away in July of 2022,
all of a sudden people can relate to
it.
And I think the biggest takeaway from this
is the constant reminder that none of us
have a guaranteed life up until a certain
age.
What's really fascinating if you break it down,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has decreed how many
heartbeats you will beat. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
has decreed how many breaths you will take.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has decreed how many
steps you will take,
but you don't know that. Only Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala does.
So
technically speaking,
you should be living on edge
thinking that at any given moment, my time
could come and the angel of death could
be waiting for me.
Now is that something supposed to be something
is that supposed to be something scary, or
is that supposed to be something that we
look forward to? This depends on who you
are as an individual.
An individual that sacrificed for the sake of
Allah and lived their lives for the sake
of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, then this is
a moment that they're looking forward to because
they know this is where life truly begins.
When an individual
that has lived their lives
just living for the sake of living,
this is going to be a moment that
they are petrified,
a moment where they are scared because they
know they haven't prepared anything for their meeting
with Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
And this is why the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam, he reminds us that if you
make the akhirah your priority,
Allah will rectify your dunya and your akhirah.
But if you make the dunya your priority,
you will not attain the akhirah nor will
you attain the dunya nor will you attain
the dunya.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, He reminds us in
the Quran,
that whoever does good deeds whether male or
female, Allah
will bestow upon them a good life, which
leads into our discussion of what does happiness
look like, what does success actually look like,
at least from this worldly perspective?
What if you had everything in the world?
Every single thing that you desire,
if you owned
it, would that actually make you happy?
And the answer to that is a resounding
no. You would be miserable
because you would constantly be desiring more. As
human beings, we are insatiable. We cannot be
satisfied.
So once you have everything,
you'll still want more, but there's nothing more
to be had, and that is what will
lead to your sadness and to your depression.
Everything
will be equal without actually having those possessions.
Because you've developed the most important characteristic and
trait, which is to be content with that
which Allah
has given you.
Let us look at something important, a distinction
that we need to make.
What people are known for
versus
what is the contribution that they have made
to society.
So certain people, they'll be known for the
way that they dress.
Other people will be known for the way
that they interacted with others, always happy, always
smiling.
And I think if you look at 2
unique
companions,
If I was to ask what was he
known for, what would you guys answer? What
was known
for?
The general of the army for partaking in
battle. Now let me ask you. What was
Abu Bakr
known for?
Generosity. Generosity. That's one characteristic. Yes. But is
that like a unanimous consensus that everyone will
agree upon? How about his companionship of the
prophet
and his loyalty?
How about
his easy submission to Islam?
These were all characteristics that the prophet that
Abu Bakr was
known for. So if you look at this,
some people may be known for something specific,
Others may be known for a wide variety
of things.
Does one make the e the other better?
Not necessarily.
So from our perspective, don't conflate what an
individual is known for with what they have
actually contributed and what they have actually brought
forth.
And what you want to focus on is
what is your actual contribution to society.
So let's begin this discussion over here.
What is preventing you from making great contribution
to society?
Oftentimes, it is a lack of focus in
your life that you are so bogged down
in the day to day affairs, we're so
bogged down with technology, we're so bogged down
in what's happening in the news, what's happening
in the lives of celebrities, what's happening in
the lives of athletes that we're not actually
focusing on the contribution that we're meant to
be making.
Let us look at something at,
an individual from the 2nd generation of Islam,
He says that Allah
created 3 creations.
He created angels,
He created human beings,
and He created the animals.
As for the angels, Allah
created angels
with logic
but without desire.
And thus, they are the most obedient
servants of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. In fact,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells us about them
that they do whatever they are commanded
and they never disobey
Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created the animals,
and He created animals without desires
and little to no logic and little to
no logic.
So you look at how they live their
lives, it's just about
nihilism. It's all about hedonism, just fulfilling their
desires. It's time to eat, let's go eat.
It's time to sleep, it's time let's go
sleep. It's time to go to the bathroom,
let's go to the bathroom, wherever we are.
Just do whatever you wanna do, whenever you
want, however you want without a concern, without
any guidelines, without any morals, without any ethics
because that is what animals
do.
And then Allah,
he created human beings.
And in human beings, he placed logic
and desire
at an equal
proportion.
So when the human being
succumbs to their desire and allows their logic
to be overpowered,
they become worse than the animals.
But rather they are like animals or even
more astray
because they allowed their logic to be overcome
by their carnal desires.
But how about if human beings use their
logic to overcome their desires?
Then they are like the angels
and even better
and even better. Ibn Taymiyyah
he was asked about who would have a
higher place in Jannah, the angels or human
beings?
And he responds by saying that the human
beings, if they use
their logic to overcome their desires and to
submit to Allah,
they will actually have a higher place in
Jannah than the angels actually will. And, subhanAllah,
this is a creation
that was only created to worship Allah. That's
all they do. Yet human beings have the
potential to reach something higher
only when
they use their logic to overcome their desires
and focus
on the life that Allah
has given them. Meaning,
that you cannot be an individual
that is addicted to technology
and think you're going to make a contribution
to society.
You cannot be an individual
that is going to sleep half the day
away and think that they're contributing to society.
You can't be an individual
that just focuses on the life of this
world
and its desires
and think that they will make a contribution
to society.
There needs to be a greater motivation. There
needs to be a greater purpose. There needs
to be a greater goal. Where does that
greater motivation? Where does that greater purpose? Where
does that greater goal come from? And, subhanallah,
this is the unique thing about human beings
and how Allah
makes them differently.
There are certain individuals
that from the time they are born, they
know what they are created to do.
Even though not the best of examples, I
think the clearest example is someone of Mark
Zuckerberg.
From the very onset of his life, he
knows that he wants to get into technology.
He creates Facebook, and that's what he's dedicated
his life to, making Meta, which is now
which was formerly Facebook, the greatest project on
social media that has ever existed,
and he has that clarity.
How many people will actually have such clarity
in their lives where they know what they
want to achieve and they know how to
get there and they know what to do?
Less than 5% of people.
The 95 remaining percent of people
will jump from one project to the next
if they are fortunate
or even the vast majority of them. They
are just going to go with the flow
and see how things go.
But here's something you need to understand.
Then once you get to point number 2,
where you're trying to figure out your idea,
but point number 2 is no idea is
fulfilled except with the help of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
This constant pursuit
of the pleasure of Allah,
constantly seeking the pleasure of Allah. So those
of us that don't have that clear idea
that, you know what, this is what my
life mission is meant to be. This is
how I worship
Allah throughout the rest of my life.
Their constant pursuit should be to attain the
pleasure of Allah. Oh, Allah, guide me to
attain your pleasure. Oh, Allah, help me attain
Your pleasure.
Ibn Taymiyyah
quoted by Ibn Qayyim
in the introduction of Madaraj Salakin,
he says that the greatest dua
that an individual can make is
That, Oh, Allah aid me in attaining Your
pleasure.
And this is the ultimate reminder that
don't hate yourself
if you don't know what your life vision
is.
Make your life vision attaining the the pleasure
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and Allah
will guide you to what your life purpose
is meant to be, to what your motivation
is meant to be, to what your fulfillment
is meant to look like. Either you will
find that one project that you dedicate the
rest of your lives to or you continue
being utilized
by Allah
where you are needed the most.
That no one knows who these soldiers are
of Allah
Allah except Allah
Even just prior to coming into the conference,
I was just reading one of my WhatsApp
chats,
and a brother was sharing a story of
one of the hotel employees. He's a Muslim
guy speaking to his non Muslim colleagues,
and they were asking, you know, why are
there so many Muslims around? What's going on?
Is there a big celebration? Is there a
big event? And this individual was basically just
giving them dua. We're just telling them about
Islam, telling about a community, telling about, you
know, Palestine and everything that was happening.
And, subhanallah, you use the circumstance that Allah,
subhanahu wa ta'ala, gave you and you make
the most of it. But that only comes
from the tawfiq of Allah and Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala only gives tawfiq, the dough, to
those that are seeking the pleasure of Allah.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala only gives tawfiq to
those that are seeking the pleasure of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So you're looking for your purpose, you're seeking
the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
you need to surround yourself with people that
actually believe
in you and in your cause.
And this is one of the most difficult
things.
This is one of the most difficult
things,
finding people that believe in you and believe
in your cause sincerely
and genuinely.
I think of 2 examples.
Example number 1, when the prophet salallahu alaihi
wa sallam first received revelation,
he thought that he had gone mad. He
thought that he was losing his mind, sallallahu
alaihi wasallam. And he ran home in a
panic to Khadija and
he tells her, cover me, cover me.
And she has no idea what's going on,
and she's never seen him so scared and
so petrified so petrified.
So she asked him, what is it that
happened? And he explains everything of Jibril coming
and telling him to recite and squeezing him.
And then what does Khadija
do?
She says,
you're someone that stands up for the oppressed.
You're someone that stands up for the weak.
You're kind to your guests and you're to
our you are hospitable.
You keep ties of kinship.
Do you think that Allah
would ever betray you? Do you think that
Allah
would ever abandon you?
And that level of loyalty subhanahu wa ta'ala
is unheard of. Let's jump to the hijrah
of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. The
prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is now making
hijrah
and he's by himself.
And he doesn't want to be by himself,
but nor does he want to put one
of his companions in a situation
where they themselves are in danger. Because the
prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam knows that the
Quraysh are trying to assassinate him and to
kill him.
But what does Abu Bakr do?
He got 2 horses ready. He got 2
containers of water ready. He got 2 parcels
of food ready. And he was ready for
the moment that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam was ready to leave, that Abu Bakr
radhalahu ta'alaan who was going to go with
him, no ifs, ands, or buts.
And that is what loyalty looks like. And
look at how this loyalty is reciprocated.
That now when they're in the cave and
the Quraish are just outside
the cave of Azar,
Abu Bakr
who is petrified,
he's thinking that not only am I going
to lose my life, but the prophet salallahu
alaihi wasalam is going to get killed and
this is going to be the end of
Islam as we know it.
Till Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reveals to the
prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam
Do not grieve. Do not worry. Worry for
surely Allah
is with us. And I think there's so
many important lessons over here that when you're
pursuing something the way of Allah
you will be afraid, you will be scared.
You will have enemies that are trying to
attack you and trying to tear you down.
Where will you find your comfort? Where will
you find your solace in knowing that Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala is with you? And this
is only for the sincere and those that
are working for the sake of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
That is whom Allah grants his protection
to. So you need to find people that
will have this loyalty towards you
and will have this sincerity towards you. And
it's not a blind loyalty. It's not a
blind sincerity
where even if you're doing something wrong, they
continue to be yes men. But what we're
looking for is people that will encourage you
and people that will support you in your
good and will give you sincere
advice
when you mess up and when you make
a mistake.
What this also means is
you need to learn to filter out the
negative people in your life.
There are certain people in your life that
they just will not believe in you, and
that has nothing to do with you and
has everything to do with them. Their standards
are very low. They're naturally pessimistic. They're naturally
negative. So you tell them you want to
change the world, and they start reminding you
of all of your shortcomings and all of
your mistakes and all of the things that
you're not able to do well.
Rather than saying, you know, may Allah make
it easy for you. How can I help
you in this vision? How can I help
you in this
cause? Those sorts of people, even if you
grew up with them as childhood children and
playmates,
get rid of them. Even if you guys
like the same sports teams, you like the
same TV shows, get rid of them.
You need to surround yourself with people that
believe in you and people that will hold
you up and people that will pull you
up when you are down.
And that is the third thing that you
need to fulfill this vision.
Number 4,
what is it that actually motivates you? What
is it that actually motivates you? And this
could be a variety of things.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
was one day out in the desert,
and you could see the stars clearly that
night.
And he tells his companions,
do you see these stars
in the sky?
When you get to Jannah,
you will see twinkling lights
in Jannah,
and those will be the residences
of the inhabitants
of Jannah, meaning these massive high rises that
they're twinkling.
So the companions
they got a little bit demotivated.
They said,
is that only for the prophets and messengers?
Is that only for the martyrs? Is that
only for the scholars?
And the prophet was like, no.
This is just for those that believe in
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and his messenger salallahu
alayhi wasallam.
And I believe this introduction to the companions
is so important
because even they
understood
before being educated
that there are multiple levels of jannah. And
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam teaches us
that when you ask for jannah from Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala
ask for alfirdos,
ask for the highest levels.
Now when you're asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
for the highest levels, do you think it's
like, you know what? You're watching a TV
show. There's a commercial break. Let me may
raise my hands. Oh Allah, grant me janatul
firdaus.
Oh, the commercial is over. Let me go
back to TV. Do you think that's how
it's going to work? Not at all.
Dua has to be accompanied by
sincere action. It has to be accompanied by
sincere action. I digress. I wanna get back
to the point. What is it that motivates
you? So the sahaba
when they thought about seeing these stars and
thinking about these high rises in Jannah, they
were motivated
by that.
In the Quran, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in
Suratul Insan, he tells us about a group
of people
that they're going to be in Jannah and
they have palaces.
They have thrones that they recline upon.
They're provided from every single thing that they
desire.
And what was it that these people did?
They did something very, very simple.
They fed people
sincerely for the sake of
Allah That indeed we feed you only for
the sake of Allah
We don't want any compensation.
We don't want any recognition.
So what is it that motivates you about
the hereafter?
For some people,
it's about running away from all the pain
that they experience,
and that's
fine. For other people, it's about being in
the company of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us from
amongst them. Amin.
For other people, it's about all the things
that they could entertain in the dunya that
they want in the akhirah.
Whether it is castles and palaces and mansions,
whether it is delicious food, whether it is
amazing company,
whatever it may be, whatever you couldn't have
in this dunya, so you long for it
in the hereafter.
But what is the ultimate
motivation
in Jannah?
When Allah
speaks about the mazeed
and when Allah
speaks about the hushnah
of the hereafter,
it is about your meeting of Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala.
That there will be nothing more
glorious,
there will be nothing more amazing
than your meeting
with Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
And that is what the ultimate motivation needs
to be, both in positivity motivation needs to
be, both in positivity
and negativity. What do I mean by that?
In negativity,
you show up on the day of judgment
and Allah
is disappointed in you,
and Allah
is angry
with you.
I gave you food. I gave you shelter.
I gave you clothing. I gave you health.
I gave you a mind. I gave you
education. I gave you a community. I gave
you wealth. I gave you a job. I
gave you a family. I gave you a
car.
I gave you every basic necessity.
What did you do with it?
That on that day, people will be destroyed
by the invasive questioning that they will face
as a result of the luxuries and comforts
that they enjoyed,
that they did not do anything
with.
So that is one form of the motivation
that imagine how petrified you will be on
that day, and you have no answers prepared
for Allah.
So that leads you to doing more action
right now before that day comes.
But on the opposite side
is once you have been sacrificing, once you
have forced yourself to be disciplined,
once you have minimized your sins, once you
have minimized
your distractions
and you've done everything you possibly could,
you wait for that day
till you meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells you how
proud he is of you
and how Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is appreciative
of all the sacrifices that you made,
and how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells you
that this is Jannah.
Enter through any of the gates that you
please.
That is al Firdaus.
That is where you are destined to be.
Imagine what that moment is going to be
like.
But the tragic human condition
is that we can't keep these ideas at
the forefront of our mind.
Something comes in front of us, we get
distracted and we forget about Jannah. We forget
about Jahannam. We forget about the pleasure of
Allah. We forget about the anger of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala till we're reminded of it
again.
So then the question arises, what are you
motivated by? What is going to keep you
going?
And this is where it needs to be
a consistent
burst of knowledge.
You need to continuously attend alakat, continuously attend
hutbas, continuously attend conferences,
continuously attend community gatherings
so that you're reminded about Allah, so that
you're reminded about Jannah, so that you're reminded
about Jahannam.
These are active choices
that you will make. These are active choices
that you will make.
You know, subhanallah, you look at the hall,
and you can picture this hall
in several ways.
You can think that, you know what, The
hall is half full.
And you're like, that's so sad. Why does
a community not come out earlier? Why are
they waiting till later on in the day
to come out?
Or you can view it as
you have half of the room filled with
dedicated human beings that love
Allah and his messenger salallahu alaihi wa sallam,
and the other half is filled with angels
that are surrounding the gatherings of knowledge,
that are fulfilling the word of Allah
in descending with tranquility upon the believers,
that no one leaves such gatherings and their
without having their sins forgiven.
So perception is everything, my dear brothers and
sisters, but what you do with it is
the most important thing.
And what's going to end up happening like
it does at the end of Ramadan, you
leave Ramadan and there's regret. I wish I
had done more. You're going to leave this
conference on a high learning so many different
things, and you're going to be like, that
was an amazing experience. I learned so much.
But what will it be worth
if you're not going to create consistent habits
thereafter?
And I want to speak about consistency
as a part of my conclusion.
So we're speaking about what you are known
for.
That individual that was known for smiling all
the time, did they become known for smiling
all the time just because they smiled once?
The individual that was known for their fashion
identity,
was it just once that they dressed well
and that's what they became known for? That
person that is praying in the 1st row
of the masjid, did they just pray once
in the 1st row of the masjid and
that's what they became known for? Not at
all.
They were habits done consistently.
And the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says,
that the most beloved of deeds to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala
are the most consistent of them even if
they are few even
if they are few.
Let's look at the pillars of Islam and
see how much consistency
we can find.
You have the.
If you're a convert to Islam, you say
it once, but then you get to this
level where you're saying it several times a
day inside of your salah and outside of
your salah. Let's look at the salah. You're
praying 5 times a day at the very
least. So it's something you're doing habitually
day in and day out for the rest
of your life till the day that you
meet Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Five times a
day, you're doing it. So that's one form
of consistency
that you have to have every single day,
multiple times a day.
Let's look at fasting.
Fasting is every year in 9th month of
the Islamic calendar in the month of Ramadan.
And you're going to do it every single
day for 30 days straight, but then you
get a break till the following year. That
is another form of consistency.
Let's look at Zakat.
Zakat is you give your mandatory charity
once a year. So it's not multiple times
a day. It's not consistent for a month,
but it is one day every single
year. What are you learning about these pillars
of Islam?
It's that it's all about consistency, but different
types of consistency
for different types of deeds.
Those that you need the most,
you do regularly on a daily basis.
Mankind cannot survive without salah.
You will not remember Allah,
a remembrance that he truly deserves without establishing
that salah.
Zakat,
you give it once a year only
as a reminder that this wealth is not
yours. It is a trust from Allah,
and you have to fulfill its trust.
Ramadan
is an all encompassing, all inclusive experience that
for 30 days straight, you remind yourself
that you control your desires and your desires
do not control you, and
Allah makes it easy for you to sacrifice
those desires to remind you that whatever you
put your mind to and you seek the
help of Allah
you will be able to do. Try to
fast 30 days outside of Ramadan. It's next
to impossible. Why? Because it's not a collective
communal effort like it is in Ramadan.
It is not as dedicated on the individual
level like we are in Ramadan.
That sakinah that comes from the barakah of
worshiping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not there
outside the month of Ramadan.
But at the end of the day, this
is a reminder
of what we are able to achieve when
we are sincere, when we're seeking the pleasure
of Allah, when we have the help of
Allah, subhanahu,
wa ta'ala.
Be consistent in your deeds, be disciplined, and
that is how you will attain success.
Now the reality of life, we always want
instantaneous
results.
I took 10,000 steps today, why haven't I
lost £10 yet?
You know, Why is this not happening? I
read a book today. Why has my IQ
not gone up? Instantaneous results. That's what we
want.
But that's not how life works.
You have to work at it and work
at it and work at it. And that
is what you will get at the end
of it.
You will make mistakes, but Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala forgives and he continues to help. The
people that believe in you will pick you
up.
So the point that I wanted to get
at about instantaneous results,
what was the legacy of the prophet Muhammad
sallallahu alaihi wasallam?
If you think about that, what is the
legacy of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam? It is
Islam and the expansion
of Islam.
So during the time of the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam, how far did Islam spread?
You had Mecca,
Medina,
and a few other short small areas around
the area. That's about it.
But by the time
of you have Islam that has expanded
till
the borders of China till the south of
France. Right? This is how far the Muslim
empire had expanded at that time.
Do we say that the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam was unsuccessful in his legacy? Never.
Legacies are not determined by what you see
in your own lifetime.
Legacies are determined
by the acceptance that Allah
gives you
after you pass
away.
Getting back to the death of Sheikh
getting back to the death of Sheikh Mohammed
al Sharif
You know, subhanAllah, you go on to YouTube
and you just type Mohammed al Sharif legacy,
And you see all of the different lectures
that people have given commemorating the life of
Sheikh Muhammad al Sharif
When you had looked at his actual life,
he had developed Al Muharib Institute, and he
moved on to discover you.
And you would think, subhanallah,
amazing legacy.
But what made it even more profound
is along with his contribution
to humanity and to society
was how he had made the people feel
along the way.
Every person from Sheikh Yasser Fadi to Sheikh
Omar Saleiman to Sheikh Waleed Bassiyouni to myself
included. We all had our personal moments with
Sheikh Mohammed al Sharif
and how he had helped us.
So when you think about legacy,
try to combine the 2
that you have this vision that you're building
towards,
and Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, pleasure is at
the head of it. And along the way,
you're surrounding yourself with believers that believe in
you, and you believe in them. They uplift
you, and you uplift them, and you're on
this journey
together.
And this is what I'll conclude with. We
asked, what was the legacy of Khalid ibn
Walid?
It was about going out in expeditions. It
was about, you know, military expansion. It was
about fighting for the sake of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
An individual
that there's not a space of 2 fingers
on their body except that there's a scar
that there is placed.
Where do you think they're going to die?
You would think that they would die on
the battlefield.
Right? That's what you would expect. This is
what they've committed and dedicated their life
to. He passed away
on the deathbed
like a regular
human being.
Did that diminish from his legacy? Not at
all.
Because Khalid ibn Walid was the sword of
Allah,
and the sword of Allah would never be
defeated and never be put down on the
battlefield.
That is what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala shows
us. So my dear brothers and sisters, quickly
summarize what I wanna share with you.
Life is too short
to let it go in vain. Life is
too short to just focus on the distractions
that are out there. You have to cut
yourself off from the distractions
and find purpose and meaning as to how
you serve Allah
and how you worship Allah
For some people, they'll find it immediately. For
other people, just focus on earning the pleasure
of Allah and making that your goal, and
Allah
will put you and place you where you
are meant to be.
Constantly seek the help of Allah
and you will be successful. Without the help
of Allah, you will always be destroyed.
Surround yourself with people that believe in you.
You uplift them, and they uplift
you. Figure out what motivates you. That ultimate
motivation should be your meeting with Allah, subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
You don't wanna disappoint Allah. You don't want
Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, to be angry with
you. You want Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, to
be happy with you, and you want Allah,
subhanahu wa ta'ala, to reward you with paradise.
Try to keep that at the forefront of
your mind as much as possible, and that
will only be done by you consistently
attending
gatherings of knowledge and gatherings of remembrance.
Your legacy may not be achieved in your
lifetime, and that's okay.
Because as long as you were sincere and
tried your best,
then Allah
is the most rewarding, and Allah
does not shortchange
anyone.
There are human beings, subhanAllah, they've contributed so
much to society.
We may not know their names, but Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala and their angels
do. Other individuals,
they've contributed so much to society.
We know their names,
but they had no sincerity.
There was no piety and righteousness behind it,
and they will be the fuel of the
hellfire.
My dear brothers and sisters,
as you embark upon today,
make your intention that whatever I learn, I'm
hoping to practice.
Make your intention that whatever I learn, I'm
hoping to share with my family and friends.
Make your intention
that whatever I start to practice,
I want to be consistent in, I want
to be disciplined in, And that is how
I want to be remembered,
surrounding myself with believers contributing to this society,
making the world a better place. I may
achieve it or I may not, but that
is irrelevant because a day will come where
I will meet Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. And
as long as I was sincere and tried
my best, then Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, will
be happy with me. And that is the
greatest legacy that anyone could ever have. And
Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, grant us that.
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