Glad Tidings To The Strangers

kondalilla amin or Salatu was Salam ala via even more selling.

He was a communist and then he

was Medina made home woman under the Nam and

whatever. So we'll have both of us on the salt.

When I went

when I went up on

the camera, Washington has become

Chabot, tala and the few moments we have together.

I was given a topic,

the title of which is the strangers, obviously referred to from the

the last part of which autobytel we're about, then good news, and congratulations B to the strangers.

And this is particularly I thought it was a great topic for you. And a great idea to choose to discuss with the youth because we're living in times where it's no shock, and you don't need a speaker to tell you that Muslims are looked upon as weird.

Everything we do is strange, the way we dress sticks out in the mall, the way we stand in line at the airport, the camera somehow zooms in on our faces.

The way we travel at the toll booth, and we make the person nervous when they're handing us when they're handing us their change.

Everything about us is weird.

So much so that if in an election campaign, somebody might be Muslim, it can send shockwaves not that they are but the idea of it is to strange to alien.

But this you already know, why should I give you a speech about something you already know. It's something else I want to share with you. And I want to I want to start with something, especially at the level of the EU.

There are some things that are some of our youth allows religion, blesses them with a certain experience. Many of you, you don't have to tell your neighbor or me This is between you and a lot. Many of you are party animals.

You did very bad things that your parents had no idea you did.

And you were in company that your parents had no idea of its true nature.

And you spend a lot of your young energies in directions that can only be attributed to the west facade shape on

and for some divine reason, some inexplicable mercy from allies that was and because of it, Allah put something in your heart to want to learn something about Islam.

Maybe a budget that for you when you were attending a conference like this one, or he did that for you, because of the influence of an older brother, or just one foot out of nowhere, sort of hit you. And you decided that you want to learn more about your religion and you started changing. And many of you as I'm talking, you can think of the times in your own life that you would rather not share in public that you know about, and nobody else knows about. And at that time, everybody around you thought you were normal. The things you did, were normal, I used to go out to the movies with your friends. And that was normal. I used to go play with your friends, that was normal. Some of you guys

used to go on the basketball court and using filthy language and that was normal. That was just part of everyday.

But then you started changing. And for you, you personally thought this changes for the better. Things are getting better, you're becoming a better Muslim, you're coming closer to recognizing your purpose for why you're alive, why you exist.

But as you started finding your purpose, everybody around you started thinking that you're weird. You're changing. So your friends, they don't look at you the same way anymore. And they don't really call you when they go hang out because you You're acting funny. And you started to look funny while while all of you for the for you brothers, all of your friends are really obsessed with over 45 minutes standing behind behind the mirror fixing that pencil thing. You're growing your beard and it's completely not in line with the fashion sense required of the times. So you don't really you don't you, you don't fit in. So you start losing some of your friends. And then

after on top of everything else, your parents say to you, you're becoming a little too Muslim. I mean, we're all Muslim, but you're becoming Muslim, Muslim.

And that's a problem.

For the sisters. All of your friends are obsessed with the way their hair looks and their makeup and everything else and you've changed you put your hijab on and all of a sudden your friends don't really associate with you they find it intimidating. They'd rather not go I know you know some people from my own family distant cousins and stuff. They wouldn't go to a gathering whether they know they're going to be women in HR because they find them scary. They're too weird. I don't want to go to those

hrb people's parties, those are normal. Okay, so now you've become strange not only to non Muslims, but what I want to share with you is perhaps many of you feel that you have become a stranger in your own family.

Your own parents think you've gone crazy. Your own older sister, your own husband, your own wife, your own kids, your own extended family, your cousins, they've turned you into the object of ridicule. So come any lead gathering, guess who they're going to be mocking? It's going to be you. And all for what, because you show some signs of Islam, maybe it's in your appearance, maybe it's a beard from the brothers are a little bit more modest dressing, you're not wearing that 50 cent t shirt anymore, right? Or your pants aren't dragging two feet behind you when you walk. Maybe that's changed, right? And we don't know the brand of your garments. Because the labels aren't sticking

out. Maybe we don't know that anymore. You've humbled your dress. Maybe for the sisters, you've started to wear as well, Bob, you've started to cover yourself appropriately. And that's become the reason up it is sometimes it's in our appearance. Sometimes it's in our behavior, you refuse to go to this gathering where there's going to be stuff. And you all know what stuff that is. And your entire family wants to go in there saying where are you going? It's your uncle at your cousin's wedding. Does Islam teach you to break Family Ties? Is that what you this is what your Islam teaches you to disobey your parents. And you sit there and you listen, and you say, Yeah, well, I guess I

should go party. Because Islam says I should listen to my parents this time. And you go,

but now you become the object. You know, everybody ascribe strangeness to within your own circle within your own family, maybe even in your own workplace. Especially you know, it's okay for a stranger to see you a strange, maybe you're used to that already. Maybe before 911, it wasn't about you being Muslim, it was you, you know, you being colored in any way, if you're a little bit less less than a shade of off white, then people look at you funny anyway. So maybe it's a new weird, but the old weird anymore. So you may be used to that. But now there's a new thing added on your own family, your own loved ones, everybody thinks you're strange. You're being alienated entirely. And I

wanted to discuss really, if some of you feel that you can relate to what I'm saying. I wanted to discuss at the heart of this problem, the heart of this weirdness that everybody sees around Muslims, what is the root of it? You know, our beautiful religion, this way of life that Allah has granted us is called an Islam. And one of its meanings is complete submission. And you all know that already. Probably you learned that in Sunday school or earlier. That means complete an absolute submission to the will of Allah.

But you know, when you read when you were a kid, or you in Sunday school, your head in a foot by the stories of the prophets, you heard them. You said, Yeah, I know that story. Or you learn those stories, and you appreciated them. But when you put them in a modern context, when you go back and reflect on those stories, then you find something else. Not too long ago, I was listening to NPR what a year ago, there was a comedian on NPR. And she was actually talking about the story of Ibrahim it set up fairly accurately, except for the smile in his heart that they confuse the Christian, fairly accurate depiction. And you know what she was saying, what kind of God is this? It

makes you kill your own kid. If anybody wants, you know, you all know that Lisa was given revelation to attempt to slaughter his own son, you know this already right? Now, she says, well, nowadays, if somebody says God told me to kill my kid, what would you do with them?

Then you answer that for me, what would you do with them? If somebody said God told me to kill my kid? They end up in the psych ward or worse, right? Child Services 911 something this person is not normal. This person is insane. But why do we then have so much admiration for this man and for Abraham to make up for it?

Right. And when she put it in that way, makes you think.

At the end, not just our behavior nowadays, not just our supply at the airport or at the mall, not just our the way we look and the way we dress, not just the fact that we say salam aleikum, wa rahmatullah or somebody overhears you say Alhamdulillah. And they turn Oh, my God, I think I heard that in a movie before an explosion happened, you know?

Not that not any of that. This goes way back. The messengers are they he was salatu salam displayed submission before Allah and the world at large looked at that as strange. That was strange.

And what the world sees is crazy redefined as the greatest gift of what has given us the willingness, willingly coming before a lot and giving ourselves in complete submission to him. So our heroes are messengers, either he was Salam or those who were the role models of submission. What the West looks at his craziness, we look at as the best role models of forms.

Humanity. Because if Allah wants you to do something, no matter how crazy you think it is, it's better for you. Because we no one knows better. What's better for us. I'm not giving you an educational speech. I think you know, word Enough already. I'm just here to try to remind myself and you have some basic things, some very basic things. Allah azza wa jal, he commands us to do things and you know what He commands us to do you all most of you know what's haram and what's halal already. Yet you find yourself still doing those things and being tempted towards the Haram. And so here, I'm going to take a step back and share something with you about psychology. This was my first

psychology course, it was abnormal psychology and advanced psych. And you know, how an abnormal behavior, abnormal abnormal psychological behavior, you know how that's defined. That's defined as someone behaving in a way that nobody else behaves.

Like if you start acting in a way that nobody around you accent, or dressing in a way that nobody around you dresses that way, or speak in a way that nobody around you speaks that way, then by definition, you are acting abnormally, you're weird. There's something psychologically wrong with you.

And this is supposedly a modern definition of abnormal behavior. But look at our messengers, I think he must Lazzara all of them.

They come before people, and they say that Allah has given them a message. Does anybody else say that in their society? No, they're the only ones. They're the only ones who are received revelation. And what do you find from ancient times? What do people call them?

People call them insane. Now, people say when you say something, nobody else is saying You're crazy. You're, you're, psychologically you've got an abnormality you suffer from, you have to figure out what it is. And in the times of the messengers in ancient times, also like our beloved messenger, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the people call him insane. They called him insane, because he called for something nobody else had.

So this is something a background that I wanted to set for you, in dealing with this subject of strangeness in interesting in that study, that, that warmth and comfort that are messengers of a lover, it gives us the word toolbar. And toolbar is a beautiful word, it has the meaning of congratulations in it, it has a meaning of a news that you get. And when you get it, your heart settles, it relaxes your calm. And this is the same congratulations that is given to us. If a lot by Allah's mercy, we all enter a lagenda libitum. All of you have this happiness that leads to tranquility or calm, you'll find you can finally relax, there's no anxiety left. This is the calm.

And this is the happiness that was our messenger promised us in this country, some of our listeners, for those who will be considered strange. And what will be strange about them, the whole premise of my talk, they will decide to submit themselves to the will of Allah. That's what's going to be weird about them. They're going to be strange for the developer. They're going to be strange for that reason.

So now, having said that foundation, I want to take this a step further and just talk a little bit about religions in general. And we'll come to Islam at the end.

Nowadays, religions have also been redefined.

religions have also been redefined. We've gone through the last 2030 years of this interfaith dialogue and post modernism. And, you know, there is this idea that all humanity can get along. And the thing that really divides us in history are these religious wars, religions clashed against each other. So if we can get these different religions to get along with each other, humanity would be united sounds really fluffy and happy and nice. And so all these organizations and movements and intellectuals come together, and they sit and discuss Christianity compared to Judaism compared to Hinduism compared to Islam, compared to Buddhism or whatever else, even atheists consider at the

table agnostic lets everybody just sit together, hold hands, and talk about what we shared our humanity, this universal religious idea, and you know, save the atheist what are some things that every religion has in common is an idea of God, right? Every religion believes in some sort of God, whether they have some shark involved in that belief or not. That's a separate story. But across religions, there's this deity. There's this divine being. So at least you know, the phrase which is to us, it's *, but it's common English terminology. Children under God are children of God.

Right, we say slaves of America, right? creations of a mirage, children.

But this terminology is developed. The reason I'm telling you this is because what makes the label that this religion or that religion is extreme. This religion is extreme on that religion extreme. They don't fit within this normal happy let's get along and sing together. Picture of religion is that there is somebody in their religion that makes them unique.

That makes them stand out from everybody else. And this is actually a messenger RNA surround mean what makes all the religions different? Each of them has a different messenger, some individual who stands between them and the unity of people. So they in modern times, look at messengers as a means by which people are divided God is the same. We can get everybody to agree that there is a God that's good. That's the good part. But not everybody can agree on Isa Rama, you know, some people don't agree on him. Not most people can agree on Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam so might as well de emphasize these messengers. Let's just emphasize God and the rest you know, it's fine, then we'll be

united. And this idea subconsciously has appealed to many Muslims unfortunately, subconsciously, not consciously, subconsciously, consciously are Kadima included the messenger doesn't it? A shadow Allah in our in Omar Hua Shan to enter Can I hear this piece? Mohammed Abu Rasul

Allah Muhammad Rasul Allah. This is part of our indoctrination into Islam, we enter into the citizenship of Islam by saying these two parts statement. So consciously, we can never de emphasize one or the other. We can't. But you know how this is happening subconsciously. Let's talk about Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam as a profound leader.

Let's talk about him as a great father, as a negotiator, as a wise man as an honest man, as a man who never cheated anybody in business, someone who was a great husband, someone was an awesome friend, right, etc, etc. all these great things about Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. But what is the first thing you have to know about Rasulullah sallallahu Sallam that he is the Rasul of Allah, Muhammad, goon Pasuma everything. I mean, right, the Father, the trustworthy, the noble, all of those attributes are true. But before you get introduced to any of those attributes, what's the first thing we know about Muhammad Rasul? Allah, that he is the Messenger of Allah and as a

messenger, what does he demand? He doesn't just demand to be appreciated. He doesn't just demand to be preyed upon not just a spiritual leader. This is another thing modern religion wants. They want a spiritual leader for every religion. So they'll say that the spiritual leader of Islam has become Muslim in some respect. That's true, but that's not the entire truth. Our messenger some a lot more unemployment by definition, all these messengers came in this at this two part thing but

what are your own? have Taqwa of Allah, be conscious of Allah that's the first thing correct your relationship with Allah and the next part, how do you correct that relationship? What are your only obey me? If you want to correct your relationship with Allah you have to obey the messenger. And in our case, Muhammadan rasul Allah subhana wa Tada. Why am I sharing all of this with you in a talk about strangers? Because it's within our own ranks within the Muslim community itself. The tragedy of the people who c'est la ilaha illAllah Muhammad Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the tragedy of these people themselves as many of them, they say, Well, this is an operon, but it's not

in the Sunnah. Or it's in the cinema. You don't have to take it that seriously. Where's it in the Quran?

So people will question the son of the messenger. So it's secondary. It's not really that important. It's not really a primary importance.

But you see, when you turn to the Quran, Allah azza wa jal protects not only the book of Allah but also the Sunnah of his messengers.

Again, all of this is important because what makes us strange is our love and our obedience and our allegiance to this man. Well, how about some of the legal definition of Eman even by even hahaha is the speaker as soon as the man does the first part, Eman is defined Now speaking of love first, but failing and confirmation in the messenger first of all Maharajah because he will tell you about a lot. You might have incorrect beliefs about Allah, Who can correct those beliefs as the messenger himself some of them

so what makes a strange his allegiance to his son? What makes us strange is the love of being like him. taking his words more than the weight of gold, his advice. His concerns are more valuable to us than anything else the world has to offer. And this is what makes us one of our and when you have this love of Muhammad Rasulullah sallallahu sallam, then the messenger congratulates you Congratulations on being weird on being strange.

You see the I started with and I recited before you by the way, how much time do I have? I don't wanna take a second more

15 one minutes.

The IRS started with talks about obedience to Allah.

Certain Nisa number four. This is iron number 66

In an enforceable regimen, Dr. Eco, if Allah had ordained, I'm paraphrasing with the ISS. Imagine that Allah commanded us to kill ourselves

or to become homeless, leave our homes. If the command from a lovers leave your homes, or kill yourselves to commands that if I don't go any further if I didn't tell you about all of us, so if I just said to you, you know what we should all do, we should all kill ourselves. Or we should all despite owning a home, we shouldn't become homeless. Despite having an apartment, we should just leave our homes, does that make logical sense to you?

killing yourself makes no logical sense within your home doesn't make any logical sense. But Allah says had a loss at it,

then first buffer, Allahu ilmenau,

most of them would not have done it at all, even if a lot of them they wouldn't have done it at all, will follow by you. And if they had done what they were being advised to do,

that would have certainly been better for them.

If it makes sense to you or doesn't make sense to you has become irrelevant. If Allah says that it's definitely better for you.

The only one who can accept that as someone who despite any argument and any criticism, and any pressure from anyone else accepts what a law says is better for me. And what he takes what he forbids is harmful for me. They accept that and no other argument is more convincing to them than the word of Allah. That's enough for them. What I said that at the time would have been a more firm decision, that would have been the right thing to do that would have shown their character, even if somebody asked us to do that, that would have been better for us not that he did.

But even if he did, it would have been better.

Another part of our of our book that I want to share with you very quickly in sha Allah,

Allah azza wa jal says what I Kingdom mahabhava la coolamon was a you know, movie, who will be called workaholic who will go for

a car.

Allah says, Allah has made him a man something beloved to you.

Allah made it so that you Muslims, you love a man, you love having it, you treasure it. And when you have a treasure, you hate to lose it right? If you have nothing to lose, then you don't lock your doors because you got nothing in the house. But if you have a treasure and you have something really valuable, you got this cash, you haven't deposited it yet. It's sitting in Dallas, you're gonna lock all the doors and make sure it's in the same place. Right? We have this man we treasure it, because Allah made it beautiful to us, when our kingdom mahabhava in a coma was the Yahushua poo becoming purified it in your hearts. Now imagine when you think of the man, the first thing that comes to

mind is a man in a coma, isn't it?

When you think of a man, it's the remembrance of God, the vicar of a bar. Right? The faith that the trust in aka the gratitude towards these are the things that come to mind. You know how this same idea begins, while the moon and T Kumara sudama.

You had better know that among you is the messenger of a loss of a body, low up arrow comfy Cathy remain an umbrella and a tone. If he was to follow you in most issues, then you would all be harmed.

The first part of the ayah talks about you better recognize that among your allies, not just anyone who has sent the messenger of a class.

And instead of he obeying you, how should things mean? You should be obeying Him. And once you do that, then the law says, A man has been made beautiful for you. Imagine what a man in this messenger imagined in this real faith in our hearts that what he advises is better for us. What he has to offer us is the best prescription for our life. And once you have that in your heart and being streamed is a wonderful thing. And until you don't have that if you don't have that then being strange is depressing. You are depressed that your family ridicules you. You are sad that people look at you funny when you go outside.

You're just you're strange when you sit in the classroom in college or somebody passes a remark you get saddened you know you feel low self esteem. But if this faith is in your heart, this this love of obeying the Messenger of Allah someone that's in your heart then every time you hear those things you are reminded that you are strange and so this car takes over you are told by the law

it's a different attitude. These are the people who love and follow become a single mother how to send a mail lawmakers from them.

So now I Lastly, and with you with a was mentioned his favorite.

No doubt have already bestowed his incredible favor upon the true believers is a Sufi humorous hula Minho.

When he raised the messenger from among them, look at the favor of a lion This is the favorable law is that he appointed Muhammad Rasulullah

This is his favorite.

The last and final thing in Thailand I'm done with it, I have no more to share with you

is in regards to the pressures are you many of you, my younger brothers and sisters face in society

constantly constantly without fail,

you will be exposed to that which is good. And that which is harmful that which is success, and that which is failure, that which looks good. And that which looks ugly, you will constantly be bombarded with these two definitions of what is awesome and what is terrible. A new movie is going to come out and you're going to say I gotta go see it.

A new sneaker is gonna come out and you just have to buy that sneaker, this new video game is going to be released and you're gonna have to buy this game.

You will constantly be obsessed with entertaining yourself that's good for you.

You'll be constantly obsessed with your fashion, your appearance, your beautification, you'll be obsessed with these things constantly being bombarded with these things. So whether you're on the computer, and you hit Facebook, or you going on YouTube, you'll be you'll be you know, pumped with this false definition. Or you hit up your iPods and you go and you surf on the internet, you'll be hit with this definition when you see a bill of vision when you see a billboard on the highway, you're gonna be pumped with this definition, this wrong definition of what you want. The UB UB basically you'll be brainwashed into wanting things and wanting things and wanting things. But we

have to reverse this brainwashing sequence. And how do we do so? Number one, my serious advice to all of my younger brothers and sisters, my series advice, cut down your intake of garbage. Cut down your intake of garbage and you know what I mean? I don't have to spell it out for you. Whether it's been downloaded on your PSP or your iPod or you're doing that on your laptop, cut it down, replace it with something beneficial. And the best thing you can do for yourself in this age is surround yourself with other weirdos and by that I mean friends that are in love with the Sunnah of the messenger some of our hardest be friends with people that are better than you find people that you

really think they're better people than you are and be friends with them, spend time with them. Not with people you think you're gonna try to help them you're not gonna help anybody you're just gonna get messed up yourself. That's what's gonna happen. That's really what's gonna happen. So brothers in this in this audience in sha Allah tala, when you go back to your local communities, make it a project to be at the mercy of budget and I shot just just make that decision that you're going to be there. You will find wonderful people in the house of Allah. Maybe a lot older than yourself, but it will give you maturity when you hang out with people like that. The people who love the obedience of

Allah that about that to realize that the people who love to remember him, the people who fulfill the great song of His Messenger, some of our heart and soul sisters, find yourself other sisters that are role models, in their knowledge in their worship, in remembrance of alliander obedience to Allah. Surround yourselves with these people. You need this at this age. I'm telling you the words of the messenger Salaam and I promise I'm done. I promise I'm not. You know, this is the scariest and the most profound Hadith in my knowledge about this issue about the youth.

Allahu Allah de, and then depends on the religion of his friend. An individual depends on the religion of his friend, Eleonora dokumen, Johan, then watch out who you make a friend. Look out for you, you better know where you're making friends with. Because your religion is entirely dependent upon the religion of your friend. You want to maintain that tranquility in your heart, find yourself good company, may Allah which will grant all of our youth good company, a company that betters their character and strengthens it and gives them a lover continued and growing love of the Sundarbans messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam May Allah azza wa jal protect our youth from all the trials

that surround them, and let their hearts not be saddened by any of the pressures and any of the attacks and any of the attempted humiliations that are waged against them because they have the greatest honor of all they have the honor of Lai ilaha illAllah Muhammad Rasul Allah subhanho wa Taala