Putting Life In Perspective

In Alhamdulillah, Allah Xena moto who wanna start a new one. So,

when he when I,

when I rubella Himanshu de and phocoena woman sejahtera Molina Manya de la hufa la mala woman you follow her the Allah when a shadow Allah La ilaha illallah wa the hula sharika when a shadow Mohammed Abdullah he was Zulu. Allahu Allahu taala. Buddha didn't leave Hara who Allah de Vaca fabula he shahida for some Allahu alayhi wa sallam at a Sleeman, kathira and casilla

for in the cul de sac, he tabula maharal Howdy, howdy Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam were in a short run moving data to her were in a coup d'etat in beta wakulla. Allah Allah, Allah, Allah Allah.

Allah subhanho wa Taala kitabi Karim, but as an akula

regime, sama duty to maintain fermata on hieratic, dunya mama en de la Jai Kali Latina Amano, y la lune de Sabri were Sidley Emily wahoo lock data melissani Melissa Hokulea Allahumma Sabina endl motiva La ilaha illallah wa la Miranda Mina Latina Amano, Amina Sally had, what I was hoping what I was hoping, I mean, yellow, but I mean,

it was very difficult for me to choose an IRA for today's hookah. And I've been thinking about it for some time. But I realized at the end of all that thinking that our religion, by definition is simple. And his teachings are straightforward. And so I don't have to make something complicated when by definition, it's supposed to be straightforward and simple. And so today's hooked by is about a reminder that I need that I think everyone in this room needs and it's something that we have to live with. And we it's so easy to remind ourselves of, but at the same time, it's very, very easy to forget. And I want to start with just a rough translation of the ayah that I recited before

you, Allah azza wa jal in Surat assura. This is the 42nd surah Allah azza wa jal says, from our ot to minchie, fermata on hayata, dunya, then whatever you've been given from our ot term, and the MA, the word ma already suggests that there's an openness, anything that you've been given. And in addition to all of that, it's minchie in, you could say mt ot to move with that it could have been a pronoun, but instead of adding a pronoun, it's MinJae in and not even che, and it's minchie, which is very unusual language, to suggest any at all things that you can imagine that you have been given. Now, and using those two words together in the ayah, Allah is talking in this ayah now about

every single object, physical object that you own, whether it's clothing, and car and house, or whatever you own, whatever is down to a pendants into your name. But in addition, Ally's also talking about whatever I have been given in my life experiences, what kind of parents have I been given? What kind of youth was I given? What kind of experience you know, what kind of opportunities were i given what kind of friends where i was i given everything that I have been given, everything that I've experienced in my life thus far is inside from our UI to minchie. That's, it's captured within it. So this is going to make a commentary about my entire existence on this earth. And before

I go any further a reflection just on the fact that the passive form was used to teach them that you've been given. In other words, none of the experiences I've enjoyed, not just the things that I own, or that I think I own rather, none of the experiences that I have in what I've had in life are actually mine. They were no, they were the door that was open to me by Allah subhana wa, Tada. He was the one that opened every chapter of my life, one adventure to the next to the next to the next. You know, for those of you that are that are married, who you married, and if there was a process before he got married, every piece of that process was actually from Allah. Every single

conversation was from Allah, this entire story of ours, and we don't remember so much of it. When you look back, you don't remember so many things that happened in your own life. Actually, for the last 10 years, it's becoming more and more of a blur for me. I don't know what I was up to in 2007. I can't tell you. I don't know. You know, it's just becoming blurred together. I can't tell you what happened in 2011 or 2012. I can remember some milestones here and there. I mean, I even have to look at those in a calendar because I can't tell. I look at my children, they're growing. And my 10 year old my now almost 12 year old also I look at her and it's hard for me to remember what she looked

like when she was four. I have to look at a picture to try and remember I can't remember that anymore. But Allah azza wa jal gave me each and every one of those experiences whether I remember whether I remember them, or I'm conscious of them or not. All of them together. Allah sums it up in one phrase from a thought will hayati dunia that's this basically the culmination of all of your in my life experience, whatever good, whatever bad or whatever we think was good or bad happened to us, boys.

down to one thing matar on hayati dunya, which is roughly translated the enjoyment of worldly life, all of all the things that you've been given, then all they are is enjoyment of worldly life. But I wanted to explore in this, this hotbar the meanings of the word matar a little bit deeper, more than what we've heard before. I mean, those of you that have been listening to my hotel venues before I've talked about before, as much as something to utilize, but not necessarily to enjoy, which is part of the base meaning, like the little girl with us many saw that was scrubbing dishes at the bank of a river. And her goat came and grabbed the scrubber, and it ran away. So she started crying

and saying I had a matar. He took my matar away, but the brush away that I was scrubbing with, right. So from it, he derived that metallic luster amount of things like a spoon, or a fork or a shovel or something that you use, but you don't necessarily enjoy. Nobody grabs a spoon and says, check this out, check what I got. You know, nobody does that. You know, nobody shows off their spoons and forks and shovels unless they're in the industry or something. But typically you don't do that. So it's something you use, but you don't necessarily enjoy. But I decided to do dig a little bit deeper into this word and see what else has been said in the literary precedent of the Arabic

language. Because at the end of the day, this word is as per this ayah has pretty significant importance, because my entire life is being summed up by this one word. My whole life amounts in this planet, my entire life amounts to this one word, so I should understand what connotations this word possesses. So the first thing I found, interestingly, very recently, actually Mata and newbies they use for wine. But this is pretty Islam, obviously. So we know about this from pre Islam, but the NBS is that that camera to who when the when the wine gets redder and redder it matures. When it reaches the point where it shouldn't it possibly can't mature anymore. That is it, it's reached its

climax. That's when they say it has reached these the state of motor that's it's the act of Madonna has happened to it. That's what's happened to it. In other words, when something reaches as far as it can go, when something reaches maturity, let's go a little further unless has the Arab say hello, no matter how blown matter, which is actually used for a rope that is twisted and coiled well together, something that is tangled and well and it's also not only does it have this idea of being tangled, but also the idea that the rope is now ready for use. Because when you coil a rope properly, it's matured. No more work needs to be done on it. Now it can be put to use, they use it

for people that are gradual, and they also say matter of Virgil Giada was a roofer when a person become a man becomes mature, and he becomes refined in his characters, meaning he can now go out and deal with the world. He can go do business now he's mature, he's graduated from certain prerequisites. So you can you can he's ready for success kind of thing. So ready to be used. That's the idea of a human being reaching meta, then allottee human condition at the end of the day. This is the most comprehensive definition I found. And I want to finish these definitions before I share some thoughts with you about this ayah and Matthew Roman coalition, Al ballyhoo Phil Judah, that

anything that reaches matar anything that becomes martyr that's the Islam file form anything that becomes this is actually something that has reached the far the most maturity possibly can and the higher fee Bobby as possible within it for family metafile Azul kulu Shea in Yun Tata will be he

saw a matar is actually something that can be benefited from, let's stop there for a second, we'll stop any piece of this definition. First, it was mature, it can mature anymore. So a lie is saying whatever experience has happened to you part of that reason, part of the reason for giving you these experiences is they're going to mature you. This is part of you growing the good things and the bad things that happened to me and you are part of us growing. And part of our growth is sometimes things that we are proud of. And sometimes there are things that we're not proud of things that we've done, we look back and we say we glad we did those things. And there are things we look back

and we say I wish I never did those things, but actually that was part of your matar. It was part of your growth and maturation process. Even that regret that you feel looking back. That regret is a gift from Allah. That regret is that regret alone might save you. That might be the reason for you and me to enter agenda is just that regret over what happened in the past. I'm reminded in Surah Toluca half of the gardener who at the end of his tragic experience of losing his beautiful garden says, Yeah, like a tiny lamb. Oh Shrek Bellavia. hada he has regrets. I wish I never did check. Look at what's happened to me. But actually that regret is a happy ending to that story because at least

now he's turned back to a life changed his ways. So now the first thing everything in life is there to mature. Second, my Yun Topher will be what can be benefited from. Let me think about this definition of Mata. Every experience in life is something you can benefit from Allah chose this word for a reason. There was some good

In it for you, you may not be able to see it, you may not be able to recognize it at face value and I may not be able to see it may be frustrating at that very moment. It may be something like the first response was why would this be happening to me and allows way of responding to us is that a lie of saying it's something you could have benefited from you into therapy, then when you tabula rasa word and it can be put to use, it can be read, it can be put to use you doesn't want to be now Ally's saying every single, every single object that we own, every last bit of our possessions, and every single experience is actually supposed to be utilized. adversity and good times altogether,

are supposed to be put to use, they are part of something greater meaning this what this life the things that we are given, they are given to be put to use. And you go back to the original meaning of matter what happens to why not by Muslims, but by non Muslims, what happens to Metallica or to alcohol or to wine, when it matures, it gets drunk. What happens to the rope when it gets twisted, it gets used when your life is full of metal. And now it's time for you yourself to put yourself to use look looking back for a lot of people, they look back in their life and their past experiences and their failures. And their tragedies, they debilitate them, and they're not able to do anything

in their future. And for people who understand what matar is what this world is for, they look at their past experiences, and they make them stronger than Allah put me through that. That must mean I'm stronger than this. And maybe I can help a million other people go help them go through these experiences, and see them in the way that they're supposed to see them. This would be a look looking at one's own experiences as matar. Now, going a little further, we'll find out who yet the lie part of the definition of metta is something that will come to end will not last part of its definition, it cannot be used forever. Even that scrubber will break eventually, I won't scrub as good as it

used to, even that rope will eventually snap, even that wine will eventually be no good. So every single thing that we possess, is not there forever. We are now in as you know, Senior Living and you know, in a facility where people that are having a difficult time taking care of themselves are being taken care of. And here we are the average age among our students. And you know, the faculty that's here were younger people, there's a younger audience in you know, in the Joomla today, but and we feel like we have some things that they don't have, you might feel like as you walk by someone who's in their 90s you know, and someone who's on a cane or somebody who can't even take two

steps by themselves. And you might look at that and say Subhanallah you know, I feel bad for these people. But you know what, we're, either we're going to be in the ground or we're going to be one of those people. We're going to be in that state one day. And they what they and they if you ask them look back at what you had in life, they'll say it felt felt like a day, or felt like the blink of an eye, lungful basa that's all it felt like. And if you look at your life right now, from the time you guys came, you know some of you who came to Texas to now what does it feels like it feels like a minute because like nothing. First time I saw brother Robert a few months ago when I came to see him

feels like I just came here like yesterday, it just the time passes by so so quickly, so proud a lot. So we have to be conscious of the fact that time is leaving us this meta is not staying your entire life is passing you by and the only thing that at the end of it that we can put it to use for is the aka so Allah says Wilma in the law Hayden vodka in my in the few minutes that I have left with you, because I don't want to make this a long clip. But the few minutes that I have left with you, what I want to share with you is in this life, we sometimes we make a plan for like the next 10 years, or five years, this is what I want to accomplish. This is what I this is how much Quran I

want to memorize. This is how much I'd like to be able to make in terms of money. This is when I would like to get married we we set goals for ourselves and we strive towards those those goals and there's nothing wrong with that. But I tell you, if you internalize this higher, you learn to put those plans in one compartment in your head. And in the other compartment, you realize that all of that means nothing. If I'm not building my IRA, all of those plans are worthless, they are meaningless. They are not any kind of accomplishment at all. If this is not building me towards Allah, if it's not taking me closer, if it's not making me a slave of Allah,

there are people's perceptions of us. And then there's the reality, people's perception, our own perception, and then reality, people's perception, maybe your successful people's perception, maybe you're knowledgeable people's perception, maybe you've accomplished something. And the opposite is true to people's perception might be worth nothing. But you know what people's perception at the end of the day means nothing. It really means it stands to benefit you nothing before Allah. It will not add to your deeds, it won't take away from them. People's criticisms will not take away from you and people's praise will not add to you. It will not and at the end of the day

People get praise and criticism from others all the time you know what starts happening, they start getting affected by it. So they start seeing themselves in light of how other people see them.

So their image of themselves becomes polluted, because they're not seeing themselves for who they really are. They're seeing themselves in light of other people's words, that that's a human phenomenon. This is why we have Allah's word. So we can see ourselves in light of a laws words. So we get that and that will help us see ourselves for who we really truly are. And at the end of the day, really, truly, we can have friendships and family and loved ones and community, we can have all of those things. But at the end of the day, we are in this world alone, we came alone and we're going to leave alone. And in that solitude if you don't find a connection with Allah, then all this

fake these fake connections that you have an I have, that are not really based in the relationship with Allah, they will all disappear, they will not last, the facade will dissipate eventually, if not in this life than in the next. So we have to internalize a very powerful reality that Allah has given us in from our duty to men shy from matar inherited dunya we treasure all of our relationships, so long as they are something that are building us towards the ohana. So I want to leave you with this picture. Well my end Allah how you don't know what Allah has in his possession is better. Now what we have right now is also in the last possession. It's not like this is not in

the possession of Allah. But it says though, by using the word ma here, it is as though Ally's saying, I don't want to tell you what I have yet.

I have a mystery for you. There's something I have in my possession and it's better. And it's better. In other words, it hasn't been given to you yet. Now one would immediately think what Allah has, he must be talking about agenda.

But as a matter of fact, because he opened the door by saying Martin the law, not what agenda to hire on worker, he said Martin de la hora, whatever Allah has, whatever Allah has, and what Allah has some of which he gave to you now, not just in terms of dunya but he also gave you in terms of that road to Jana. That road itself is better. The Revelation of Allah is better than everything else you've been given the revel the word of Allah is better because that word of a lie if you can, if you and I can live by it, he'll get it'll get us somewhere far better. And so in this ayah there are two comparisons. These are my last reminders for myself and you two two comparisons that we

constantly have to make if we are going to survive this world and not be taken in by the perceptions that are actually not real. The perceptions of people or the false self image that we might develop. What is that? What is that reality check? What am I in the law How you doin what abacha Lila Xena Amano

whatever Allah has is number one better. Number two lasts longer, longer lasting as far as those who really have Imani are concerned. So now every experience in life I compared to something else that Allah has and what Allah has must be better. What Allah has must be better is this small reminder you go into the store to buy yourself some new clothes. The moment you grab this thing and you're putting it on the cash register, just at that moment think Who am I in the law? Hi, I'm Colleen levena Amano. What a law has the clothing Allah will give me is better. Whatever is acceptable with a lion's den now for me is better for those who believe. Then of course, this is not just for the

believer in terms of the things that are highlighted. We're about to eat some good food. You enjoy the good food if you can tell yourself right as you're eating Omar en de la Hayden, waka Latina Amano, you don't become the ahera doesn't just become some cliche thing you bring up on you only bring it up when somebody is going through trouble. No, no inshallah Allah will give you in the Sahara. Not only that, it becomes a part of your life. The aka becomes something you think about all the time, because Allah didn't just describe it as something that is there in the heavens, he described it as something that is with Allah. Now, what does that mean? And that suggests closeness.

So gender is the acquisition of Jenna necessarily means closeness to Allah.

So what Ally's offering is in desire also closeness to him, Well, a lot of our colleagues they place their trust in Allah, I tell you, if you develop and I developed this attitude, then worldly possessions and worldly gain and worldly loss will become easy to deal with. It becomes easy to deal with relationships become easy, because if you realize this, what Allah has is better than the next time you get into a you know, a quarrel, some kind of tension between you and a friend, you and a family member. You your pride gets in the way of fixing those tensions. But when you realize what Allah has is better. And this world is gonna go before I know it. Before I know it, this will mean

nothing. There are people that have

have ruined relationships for years because their pride gets in the way of apologizing. They can't get themselves to say sorry. No, I'm not gonna say sorry is the other one's fault. Why should I say sorry. And they're gonna take that to their grave. They didn't have much time here. And by the way, when we're standing in front of a lot of pride is gonna be gone. You and your brother that you were angry with are both standing in front of Allah. And you're both begging a law for mercy and your your, if had you forgiven each other, you could have both earned Jenna, just by the act of forgiveness, when you put it in perspective was your pride really that much worth it? Is your anger

really that heavy that you couldn't earn yourself, you know what a law is offering you things when they when they're put in this perspective, life becomes easy to deal with. You know, how we learned the expression Kabir Hochberg Sahaja, swore, make something big, it becomes a big deal, make something smaller becomes a small thing. Well, you know what, this is about making a hero big, and making dunya small. That's all it's about. We're gonna go through life, we're gonna have careers, we're gonna have educational accomplishments, we're going to have challenges, all of those things are going to be there. But you know what, these are all temporary, these are all temporary, one day

will come and they will be a congregation. And they're going to make Salah, and they're going to make an announcement that there's a janazah, and it's going to be mine. And it's going to be yours, it's going to happen, and people are going to pray over us. And then we're going to be gone. And it's it's sooner rather than later. It's I mean, quite a bit of our life has already passed us by. So it's not like we're getting further away from that day, we're only getting closer. So the sooner we internalize that what ally has is better, because we're heading towards it anyway. We're just doing ourselves a favor. If we can just learn to utilize our time the right way. And I don't and

like I said, we make 10 year plans and 15 year plans and we don't think about the data. And how do you think about the data? How do you practically plan for the data, you don't make a 10 year plan. You don't make a 15 year plan for the data, you make a daily plan. It's not about making long term goals. It's about how did you spend today? What are you going to do afterwards? How are you going to spend tomorrow? What are you going to wake up? What are you going to do with your free time? When are you going to erase those useless games off your phone? When are you going to stop watching so much TV? When are you going to stop? When are you going to stop wasting time? You know just chatting

away or trolling? When are you going to stop? When are you going to hold yourself to a higher standard if not today, if you don't make your change in your day, how you go to sleep, how you how you wake up how you go to sleep, what you say and what you do, how especially how you spend what you think is free time because it's not free, you're not paying for it now you and I will be paying for it with Allah, we will be paying for it. There is a price we will not be we not realize we're gonna be paying for it. But it's on record. You know how people feel relaxed when they're off the clock, when they punch out of the office. While we're constantly on the clock with these angels. They don't

take a break when they do they put the other alternatives on shift. You know. So that plan has to be made for our day, our day and inshallah tala Friday is a great day to start new habits. Fridays a great day for, you know, introspection, we take extra time out for anybody anyway, we take extra time out to get ready to meet a lot anyway, on this day, you know, a lot already enables us to become spiritually more powerful, more strengthened this day than other days. So why not make some serious commitments to yourself, this is not for you to share with anyone else. This is just you and yourself. You're your worst critic when it comes to this. And you and I have to decide how we are

going to live our lives differently. Because we're lucky the moment we start saying that I'm doing pretty good. I actually don't have nothing. I have nothing to change in my life. I'm upset. That delusion that must It must be that so many other people have given you that false sense of delusion. They've blinded you for so long. They've poured so much dust in your eyes. Now you can't even see who you are for yourself. I pray that Allah azza wa jal does not make us of those that are blinded to their own reality. I pray that Allah azza wa jal constantly makes the book of Allah a mirror through which we can see the truth of who we are, and constantly seek to improve ourselves by a

calamity. Welcome, Hakeem, when finally we can be it with Kim

and hamdulillah. He waka or salat wa salam O Allah Allah, Allah.

Allah, Allah him wahat Amina been Mohamed el amin vida and he was happy he married a hula hula zojirushi kita Karim vida hula hula he ministry regime in LA Mola. eketahuna soluna nebby Yeah, you holla Xena amanu sallu alayhi wa sallam, Taslima Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa ala Muhammad camisa later Allah Ibrahim Ali Ibrahim al al amin in Dhaka homido Majeed Allahumma barik Allah Muhammad Ali Mohammed Salah Ibrahim Ali Ibrahim al al amin in la comida Majeed de la rahima como la

La Ilaha Illa de San Benito is in Cordoba, Vienna and in fascia you will mooncup Villa de croo la akbar wa la jolla la Motta snarl at Mississauga in a sonata Canada, mini Nikita makuta