Surah Al-Kahf

Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.

Take the shoes off.

So before I start, how much time do I have? Organizers?

Are you kidding me an hour these people have been sitting here for an hour. You guys have been sitting here how long?

an hour. Just stand up stretch a little just Okay, good. Okay.

Take your time say salaam to the person next to you make a new friend make an enemy do something

okay, don't get too happy. Okay, let me show you somebody with a silly Emery lock that Emily Sani of Coco Lee Amin, Arabella Alameen. So inshallah I was asked this evening to share with you some lessons from sort of gut health. And my primary intention is to try to give you something that all of you can, inshallah think about, remember, without losing your attention span. So I'm respectful of the idea that you've been sitting here for quite some time. And I'm also mindful of the idea that it is Friday. So some of you did suffer through Houston traffic to get here. So you're already kind of mentally exhausted. And I'm aware of that. So I'm not going to make this talk too long. I mean, I

say that I know, everybody says that, and then they go extra long, but I'm actually going to really get to try. So I'm going to look for the person that yawns first. And that will be my indication that it's time to stop. So I'm just going to be looking around, there's always one or two, there's always I mean, it's usually in the first row. I'm watching you guys. In the first row. Sisters are much more subtle about it, they turn their hijab into a niqab and do it, they

they're a lot better at it. And we're just straight up, like in the guy's face.

But anyway, so what I wanted to share with you tonight, I think is very important for all Muslims, especially our families and and young people. And before I do begin some conversation about this beautiful surah. And what are some of the lessons that has to teach us at least, you know, the first couple of ayat even what I want to share with you is a recognition of the time in which we live, it's really important that we understand some things that are happening in the world around us, that directly affect us. Sometimes you hear things on the news, or you watch things world events. And you might not think that they impact you personally, or they have any bearing on you and me personally.

But the fact of the matter is, if it doesn't have any bearing on us today, it trickles in in a couple of years time it becomes part of a culture. And it affects the way we think even as Muslims the way we think. Just to give you a small example of that the way Muslims thought about Islam before 911 is not the same as how they thought about Islam after 911, the entire discourse of Islam completely shifted, especially in the United States, but not only in the United States, all over the world, it did have an effect that these events, they have an effect on how you and I think and not just terrible calamities, like, you know, a war and terrorist attacks and things like that. But even

social and cultural events, they have an impact on how we process things and how we think. And I want to share with you as an observation, this is not at the seed of the Quran first or an explanation of an IRA. It's an observation. And my observation is that over the last two decades, one of the things that has definitely shifted, it's shifted in the very, in a very rapid pace at a very rapid pace, is the confidence Muslims exhibit in their faith, and the confidence that Muslims exhibit in their practice of their faith, and how comfortable Muslims are being Muslim, are being identified and recognized as Muslim. And the conversation has shifted, in some sense about this idea

that we need to share the message of Islam, and let people know how beautiful this religion is. And they need to know how this can even beautify their lives. This is something humanity needs not just us because it is a message not for a race or a continent or an ethnicity. This is a message for all human beings. And it's a gift from Allah to all of humanity. And we shouldn't be cheap about this gift. We should be concerned in sharing this gift in our speech and also in our practice, right with the world around us with everybody, right? That the conversation shifted from that the obligation to carry the message of Islam. It's shifted to defending the message of Islam. So it's kind of like

we've gone from what used to be a kind of offense, even in the ideological sense to defense. We're constantly deflecting or answering a criticism about Islam. Right, and Islam is constantly under attack the normal state about the discussion about Islam today among non Muslims is something critical about Islam itself, right. And interestingly enough that has impacted Muslim culture. This has impacted us as a people so you'll find more and more and more Muslims asking very critical questions about Islam

to their own Imams to their data use to their speakers on us, you know, on internet forums on blogs on you know, the trolls sphere

or just if they find the email of a random speaker, there are more and more questions like How come the Quran says this? How can we treat women like that? How come it says that? How come this hadith says this? How can we believe that? Exactly? And those are the kinds of questions maybe 10 years ago that you only saw coming out of the mouths of non Muslims. Within a decade, what's happened is, now those same questions are coming out of some Muslim kid who went to high school here in the US. And by the time he's in college, he's got these same questions. And in many, many Muslim families, these young people that have come back home from a semester in college for the summer, they come back

home, and they have a little chat with their parents. When Mama says to Namazi birthday, you're not making salad, not Sally, and not to Sally. And he goes, Well, actually, Mom, I've been thinking about this whole religion thing. And Islam and its origins and near some as I took this course in college, and you know, there's this video or this or that, and he starts getting all philosophical with his mama, and his mom's like,

Britta MC, what do you got chip on or something? You know, you this is, this isn't good for you? What's happening to you? So she panics, right? And she goes, of course, the solution will be make force my kid to watch a new model behind video or something. And I meet those four kids that aren't, you know, that's not answering their question, because the, my videos don't have questions to their particular problems. But the point is, the kinds of criticisms they've developed young people, many young people, and by the way, it's not just young people, it's Muslims that are in their 30s, and their 40s, that were born and raised Muslims from Muslim countries that are asking these questions

now, that is the reality in which we live. That is a reality, or the foundations of our faith are being challenged. Not too long ago, I saw a video very beautifully produced, I mean, HD and all that and multiple camera angles of this kid who looks like he's Pakistani, and he's talking about the Quran, he believes the Quran is an authentic book, but he adds a little bit of it at the end, for the most part, right? And then he goes on to talk about how there are different kind of art and this and that. And by the end of it, he says, Well, you can't really rely on the Quran because there's too many versions of it. Right? You find out it's actually a church group that produced a video and

the kid knows how to recite Quran decently? Well, it sounds it looks like a Muslim, he sounds like a Muslim. And in the beginning even says, for the most part, nice things about Islam. But he reels you right into, you know, and then these efforts are ongoing. These efforts are ongoing. And in that climate, in that climate, Muslims are forced to ask some very critical questions about themselves. They, they keep getting asked from everybody all the time. And so they feel like I need to have an answer, I need to answer these questions. I can't just go what do you say to this? So they go to the chef and the Imam and say, Chef, you know, my coworker was saying this, how do I answer him? And my

friend was saying this from college, how do I answer that? And he was thinking about this. i Oh, how do I answer that? And they've got all these questions that they want to get answered. But you know what, a lot of times, there is no coworker, and there is no college friend, it's your question, but you're embarrassed to say it's your question. So it's your coworker or your college friend or someone I know or someone who emailed me or my doctor or whatever, that has that question, but it's you it's okay. The first thing I'm here to tell you tonight is it's okay to have questions. It's okay to have don't panic if you have questions. Don't panic. Human beings were created with the urge

to question. Ibrahim Alayhi. Salam got to the conviction that he got to because he questioned, he asked questions. There is nothing wrong with asking questions. But the what Islam teaches what the Quran teaches, what is Dean was here to teach is to teach people to ask the right questions, to ask the proper questions, you know, and that's something that we have to critically think about, how do we know that the question we're asking is the right question. That's the first thing I want to talk to you about. You know, and then again, I don't intend to take a long time. But I do think this is important enough to at least start this conversation. In my personal opinion, Allahu Allah, Allah,

Allah, I think in an age of confusion, and an age of overwhelming agnosticism, if you're not familiar with the term, I'm not sure the belief of I'm not sure. The belief of I don't know, there may or may not be a god, I don't know, this may or may not be a good religion. I don't know. You know, there's even third graders who legitimately sometimes I have have a question when they go to public school, and they say, Well, my friends are Christian, my other friends a Jew, or they I wonder which religions right? Are we on the right team? Are they on the right, and you could ask that innocent question. I mean, honestly, I had that question. When I was a kid. I didn't ask my

parents but the thought crossed my mind. I wonder which one of us is on the winning team? You know, it does occur. It's a natural thing. But you know, what our religion does? Our religion addresses actually, first of all, Allah encourages the asking of questions. Second of all, Allah took the questions of the machete goon, the idol worshipping, not not even capable of writing I mean, people that are as as unlettered as they came out of there.

My mother from that time till the time they're older, they still don't know how to read and write even they have critical questions about Islam. You don't have to be a PhD in Orientalist Islamic studies to ask questions about Islam. You could be a Bedouin living in the time of the province is alum and ask questions about Islam and to Allah that's legitimate enough that he will quote it in the Quran. The Quran is full of questions asked by Mr. Missionary, Khun.

Allah tells us what they say. Allah doesn't just tell us what the Prophet says, or what Allah says, or what Musa alayhis salam said, or what use of other Islam said, Allah also tells us the kinds of questions that I wouldn't asked, or the most frequently asked, or the People of the Book asked, and not just their questions, also their criticisms, because criticism is a part of learning.

So you have to be ready for criticisms. And I argue actually, that the Quran came to a society that was extremely aggressive. And it wasn't receptive to new ideas. It was actually a very aggressive, very proud society. They were a tribal people, and tribal people are very proud people. And just for them to accept anything is very hard. And the first line of defense is going to be they're going to be critical of whatever they hear. They've already almost made an assumption that what I have my tribe, my lineage, my heritage must be superior. By definition, I was raised to believe that that's part of my self respect that I have to believe that what I live by is superior, which means

subconsciously, whatever you give me I'm already putting a sticker on it that says inferior. I'm going to criticize it no matter what.

And the Quran came to welcome that attitude. The Quran didn't run from that attitude. The Quran came to welcome that attitude and says, Bring your questions How to BronyCon in quantum Saudi clean, Quran becomes equally critical of their ideas and says if you're free to criticize the Quran, then the Quran is free to criticize you. Let's ask you some follow up questions. Let me answer your question with a follow up question. Allah does that too in the Quran. Now, this means that we have to have an exchange, that we have to have discussion. And before we even have a discussion with non Muslims, which is further down the line, I think it's really important that we start having real

discussions with our youth, with our new generation, a generation that is getting a Western education, in the prime definition of the word, the world, the word, you know, we are living in the most educated, you know, education glorifying country in the world, there are the top universities of the world located here. People come here from all over the world to study. Right? And our kids go to school in these universities there and if they're not yet they will your plans are not to send your kid to a village somewhere. Your plans are to send them to school. And when they go to study, sorry, you said holding on something cool happening back there.

What happened?

There's always something always something somebody shoe is missing or something I don't know.

Actually, I'll tell you what happened. That sister was negotiating a hijab price. And she said 40 He said 4540 45 Nene. Mom gave us and she gave him a 40 and she walked away.

Cuz she's from lawyer, but anyway.

Anyway, so there's a you can't do this. We don't do that.

Anyway, what was I talking about? Something about Islam or something? I don't know.

Ah, our youth, this course. We have to have serious discourse about what is it? What is at the heart of what we believe? Why are we Muslim? Why are we Muslim? Why do we believe in this book? Why do we have so much confidence in this messenger? Before we ask, ask or answer any other questions? Let's start with those questions. Let's start with those questions. Why is this book so powerful? What makes it so beautiful? Why would I want to commit to this? You know, why should I follow Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam I would argue a lot of people that have a problem with isolated a hadith about the Prophet sallallahu outlives him I would in full confidence argue they have never read a

thorough biography of our messenger or they sought to ascertain because it is almost impossible to study a thorough biography of Rasulullah sila of the prophets I said I'm a thorough one

and not have your attitudes realigned.

We don't know this man. The OMA has become in the information age we are the we are become more become more ignorant than ever before. That's what's happened to us. We don't know this man. We don't know this book. We don't know this book. And so a curriculum needs to be developed, of how to engage not about information but how to engage in conversation, how to create discourse among young people. And by the way, that curriculum, you know what that necessitates?

It's 70% of it necessitates that we listen to our youth, and 30% of it is us talking to them.

Most of the time in the Islamic space, you know what's happened, what's happened in the Islamic spaces, we give the lectures, the speakers, and the themes and the shakes and the diaries and the teachers. We give the lectures and people sit there and what they listen. And then there's like a little tiny little QA session. And when the when somebody asks a question that doesn't have to do with the topic. Oh, that doesn't have to do with our subject. Let's move on. But actually, people have a lot of fundamental confusions. And then this is not the format to address them. Because this is this, a discussion here is impossible. It's impossible. Actually, even making small conversation

with you at this point is impossible. I say, salam, O Allah come to you, by the time you say, what are the Como salaam, somebody else has said, I'm already gone. By the time I asked you, how are you somebody else said, hey, I want to take a picture.

And they grabbed my head like this. And they, you know.

This is not the forum for conversation. Conversation happens with small gatherings. conversation happens when people exchange ideas. And it doesn't happen one time, it takes time. We need to create a platform for that. My argument would be Sunday schools, Islamic schools, we are too forced with too obsessed with delivering information to children. We're obsessed with giving children information. What they need is discussion what they need is thought there is a difference between thought and information. We're not giving them thought. So what if the kid memorize $10? Or he knows five zeros, or they can recite beautifully. So what if they're not even sure why they're Muslim,

none of that means anything. And that has to be built inside them through discussion. And you won't know what their problems are until they express themselves. We haven't created the environment where they are freely able to express themselves. Here's the problem with all of this, we ourselves are scared of what they're going to ask. Because we don't know how to answer it. We're scared. I mean, if your kid ask you some crazy stuff, you will?

I don't know.

I don't know. You know, and then you're gonna try to drag me after this talk is over here. Talk to my son.

That's because we man we could talk me for this guy told my son, I'm gonna say what's up, man? How's it going? All right, okay, I talked to him. Next is not gonna I can't solve that problem discussion, can conversation can you know? So we need people equipped in this, we need to, you know, empower young people with this. You know, we need young role models that are better trained, not just religiously, but they're also trained in modern criticism of religion. They understand what's happening in the world around them. And they know how to combine the two they know how to address modern intellectual problems, social problems, ethical problems, in terms of Islam without watering

down our religion. This is really, really important. An entire generation of people is needed, not one person or two people. And I don't mean public speakers, I mean, role models. Speaking is one this is one area, it's an important area. It's important. I don't doubt it. But we need to produce people. We need to have factories where that people produces young leaders. You know, I have some ideas of how we can do that. I'll share with that with you towards the end, but I just want to share some things about these ayat with you now, just maybe even just the first two ayat if I can, Inshallah, and why they're so relevant. Does anyone here know why the prophets like Selim encouraged

us to recite sort of gaff on Fridays?

Anyone have any idea?

Yeah, protection from one of the worst trials that will ever hit humanity.

Protection from one of the worst trials that will ever ever, ever hit humanity. One of the descriptions of the jail is that he is one eyed. He's one eyes. And the same Hadith says that Allah is not one eyed.

That he is what Allah is not. Now what is the purpose of an eye?

To see an eye functions through by helping you see and find your way. So an AI is this in the physical sense and is necessary for guidance. Yes,

an AI is necessary for guidance. And technically you can survive with one eye.

Technically, if you just have one eye you can still go down the street. You can keep one eye closed. I mean, it'll mess your perspective up a little bit but you could still get by you survive pirates have been doing it for a long time, right now.

However,

the i in order to see needs light.

I will just build this argument solely in the eye in order to see needs what? Light okay. There are two kinds of light.

There are two kinds of light, physical light, like the light of this bowl right here. And spiritual light

light, the light of the Quran, the Quran is also called Light. Allah calls himself Allah Who knew to somehow it will. Allah is the light of the sky, that's not physical light that's talking about spiritual light of guidance, right? It's another kind of light. It's the unseen kind of light. Okay? So the eyes purpose is to do what again helped me out, to see and to see it needs, what light and the jawline is how many eyes. But there's another eye that a human being has. And that eye is actually spiritual in nature.

The other is spiritual in nature. And it doesn't need physical light to see these what kind of light to see. It's the spiritual light, the argument in the well being one, it has many benefits and one of them as he will be entirely worldly. Every is entire worldview will have nothing to do with the unseen.

Everything is about that one eye that only sees the physical realm. And there's a complete denial of the unseen realm.

He performs all kinds of miracles right? And that hadith collection of a hadith suggests that he performs all kinds of physical miracles beautifies this world, not the next this world makes people obsessed with the beauties of this world. Now, his people who follow Him also become one eyed in a sense, because they stop seeing threes see seeing things through the lens of what

spiritual guidance revelation Quran, sunnah, prophets, that light is closed, that door is shut down because you close that I you blinded yourself from that I, in a sense, the stage is being prepared for that kind of trauma. Because the world so many intellectuals in the world and so many cultural phenomenon in the world, and so many media movements in the world, and so many entertainment cultures in the world, are shifting in a direction where everything that's important in life must be physical in nature. And everything that's spiritual in nature is stupid, prehistoric, archaic, it's a fairy tale, it doesn't actually mean anything it's man made. It's a big fat lie.

And that's what's being sold.

And so many people who think they're really sophisticated think that they are so because they've moved on from religion. Because religion is too primitive for them. They've consciously shot one i,

what a great prerequisite to meet the entire armies of them

that are going to consciously be one eyed anyway, what a good fit.

You know, when you shut the eye of guidance off, please understand the progression of this argument when you shut the eye of guidance off. When you don't look at things from the lens of guidance anymore, then all you have is the physical world. And the physical world is always changing.

It's always changing. No City is the same in 100 years, no people are the same in 100 years, no language is the same in 100 years, no culture, no clothing, no shoes, no cars, nothing is the same as time goes by, right? Was the world that even technologically speaking was the world the same 20 years ago? It wasn't it's a completely different planet. It's completely changed. You know, people didn't think about what a mobile device was, you know, in 1990, nobody thought of this stuff. And now we can't live without them. People didn't ever imagine there could be screens, you can touch and move around. You didn't think of this stuff? Has it had an impact on our culture? Have these things

changed our culture? Yes. Okay. You know what, when culture changes, then what is acceptable also changes?

What's acceptable changes? What's cool, what's admirable, what you look up to changes? What is beautiful changes and what is ugly changes. They change over time.

But, you know, through the lens of guidance, through the eye of guidance, Allah has set some standards. He revealed them How long ago

1400 years ago, the thing with the standards set by Allah, the lens of guidance, guess what does it change?

fashions change, languages change, cultures change, technology changes, governments change means of transportation change, right? Foods change, but this these standards, they never change, what is right will always be right, what is wrong will always be wrong, and it will never, ever change. But only the only people who will see things that way, or people that don't have one eye shut.

They will be okay with the world changing. They're not going to panic when more technology comes out. So long as they keep the other eye open. You understand? Our religion is not against the world being more advanced. It's not against technology. It's not against refining. You know the world. It's not against building bigger cities or better technologies or better roads or all of it's not against any of that stuff. However, it is against the idea that you turn this AI off

and you start designing deciding what is right, and what is wrong, just based on empty whim, just based on whim, we just decide what's right and wrong. And you start experimenting with what is right and what is wrong. And there are some people who are so depressed, they are so depressed, that they can't even tell the difference between right and wrong. And their definition is if it feels right, it must be right.

In counseling in the United States, you know, you have certified counselors, counselors are there to help young people, for example, youth counselors, their job across America and high schools and other institutions, community centers, their job is to help young people that are having some trouble, they're suffering from depression, they're suffering from low self esteem, they're suffering from some kind of, you know, some kind of manic behavior, whatever it may be, their job is to help them walk through some of the troubles they're having in life. More recently, actually certified counselors from many, many, many states across the country have been told, and they have

to sign waivers about this. If a young person comes to you and says, I think I'm gay.

If they come and say that to him, they are not allowed to say or suggest that that might be something wrong. They could lose their license for that. You have to tell this person well, if you feel that way, it must be right. Except you're feeling celebrate them. You know, just be yourself. It's okay.

It's okay. The world needs to accept who you are and how you feel. Somebody else comes with and by the way, this is just one problem right now, because it's popular. It's popular. But how far down this road goes? We don't know. Because there are no set standards, right? There are no set standards. Right now in different cities, there's a different minimum age for getting married.

There's a social standard.

What's the same 20 years this doesn't decline and get worse?

You know, we don't have any standards. It's not like it's prevent. It's the only standard we have is if there's enough people behind it. If there's enough political pressure behind it, we can accept it. It can become part of society. That's our standard. And once it does become a standard, what happens to people? People say, well, everybody thinks this way. How can you say it's wrong?

How can you say it's wrong? Allah says in the first I have sort of done Kochava hamdulillah the Angela Allah up the hill kitab. All Praise and Gratitude belongs to Allah Who sent the book on top onto his slave, while Amir Jalla Hua Shan what powerful words he didn't put any crookedness in it. Or actually more accurately translated. He didn't furnish it with any crookedness. Let me explain. First of all, the word of a wedge.

In Arabic is used for an elephant bone, you know, the big elephant bone that's a little bit curved.

Edge little literally non data tells us, okay, not just okay, maybe the test to that's also considered Arja. But other bones even inside of its body, a bone is never perfectly straight, is it? A bones got a little bend to it. It's got a little bend to it. And bones tend to have some flexibility. They're not completely rigid. They have some ability to bend just a little right? Allah azza wa jal used his word to suggest that Allah did not furnish the Quran, even with a little bit of flexibility in its standards.

Not even a little bit it is what it is. There is no bending it. There are no bending these principles. There's no bending these rules. Now check this out.

We say in Arabic, in the word in is fee.

Allah does not say while I'm Elijah Alfie, here, Elijah,

which would have been translated he didn't put any crookedness in it. But the word in wasn't used for called SubhanaHu wata Allah, Allah. Allahu wa.

Now what Islam do here, we say in Arabic that Allah created the cow. Allah created the cow Haluk Allah Al Baqarah.

While OMYA Lucha Quran, he didn't put home he didn't provide it with horns.

Allah didn't provide a cow let's say with a trunk like an elephant. Allah didn't provide a cow with tusks.

We don't say Allah didn't put tusks in it.

You know what it means? It means once he was done building it, then there was room to put something else. When you say Allahu you're saying to begin with it never had that potential. It was designed not to ever have them not to begin with the law. Miniatur Allah whoever just suggests that Allah azza wa jal created the Quran or that rather agreed My apologies. He spoke to Quran and when he spoke to a Quran from design from the way he spoke it it never had any potential to be taken sideways anyway.

It doesn't have the ability to be looked at the wrong way. It doesn't have that ability. The Quran cannot bend according to the whims of men. People can misinterpret it, that's fine but so long as you stick to the word, there is no other way. You can go another way. Let me read your Allahu Allah John. Now in order to explain the next part, which is tied to this discussion

The very next word of the next is Chi Chi Minh. Let me I love whoever John Clayman. Now in order to explain that I'm going to digress from the subject and give you an example in English that doesn't have to do with the translation of the saya. What it has to do with actually

is how we it's a kind of style in speech. I asked a young man Hey, so do you like golf?

I don't like golf, basketball.

I'll repeat his answer again, because it was that epic. I don't like golf, basketball.

He did not say I dislike golf. But actually I have a liking for basketball. He just said golf. I don't like golf and said one word, which was what? Basketball? Well, what he's saying is in one word, he's saying, Actually, my liking isn't there. My liking is here I have a liking and affinity for basketball in one word. And that's how the next I actually says a human. One word, just one word, which actually means by the Jai Allahu ke man, rather Allah turned made the Quran into something that is a yam.

He didn't put he didn't furnish it with any potential deviation. Rather, he furnished it with the quality of being a human. That's what he's saying in that one word. That's what it's saying. It's very eloquent of the Arabic language to do that in just one word. Now, what does he mean? That's the crux of what I want to share with you today.

When they say in Arabic is both last name and moto rd in English we say it's both intransitive and transitive. I'm still haven't spoken English yet. I know. It means it's a word that affects its own self and affects others. That's English. It's a word and its meaning it affects its own self and it affects others. Okay? Now, what does that mean an explanation. But you mean something that stands straight?

That stands straight know when someone's dreads standing straight? The act of standing like I'm standing right now, who does it affect myself? But if I took this thing and I stood it up straight,

then my act didn't affect me. My act affected this thing over here you understand? The word came is both. It stands straight on its own. The Quran stands straight on its own. And the Quran is also a means by which anybody who commits to it will become straight, will become guided.

The standard itself has to be perfect and the standard is being used to set up other things on the right path. This is a human our standards will not budge. We are living in times now where the pressure is mountain, Oh boys had mountain.

It's heavy. It's not easy to say anything about certain subjects. It's not easy to discuss the Islamic position on certain things.

And more and more and more the things that Quran considers vile and evil and unacceptable. I've become such a part of society that they're in even penetrating Muslim society, and they're afraid to speak up. Like some of you who go with your friends to have a drink, they order a beer, you get a Pepsi, and you say it's okay, but actually Allah says about alcohol reach so minimally shaytaan it is an abomination from the work of the devil fudge then Eboo not Fela shabu.

Allah didn't just say don't drink it. He said, stay away from it.

Because it's an abomination. It's an evil curse thing from the work of the devil. In other words, you're not just sipping your Pepsi and it's not affecting you. You're in its vicinity, and it's evil. You don't just tell your coworker I'm not allowed to drink alcohol. You tell your coworker according to our faith, that liquid is evil. It brings out evil from people I want. I don't care to be in its company. So if you're gonna you guys are gonna go drink, please. Excuse me. I respect you guys. I just have a hatred for that fluid. That drink I have no respect for you guys. You're free to do what you want. But I can't be in that company. Sorry. Actually, I'm not even sorry.

But I feel sorry for you. But I'm not sorry.

Have to stand up. When the Quran somebody holds on to the Quran. You know what happens? They learn how to stand up for themselves. It stands them up. They're not scared to say their position. They're not afraid. They're not worried about what other people might think. How they might look down on them. Actually, if anything, once you stand up, you look at all the people that are bent and crooked and you realize oh, my god, poor person.

I wish they don't you wish if someone can stand up straight, you feel bad for them. You feel bad for them, right?

You don't look at someone who's standing crooked and say, Oh, I wish I could do that. I could check a limp like that. You don't do that.

This is what we do right now. People that have no standards, people that are bent and crooked in all kinds of ways. They are

are glorified. They are celebrities, they are artists and singers and actors, and God knows what else they are. And we look at them and say, oh my god, I counted their victory next to this one. I said, I wish I was him or her or whatever. You know,

we're looking at this all wrong. You know why? Maybe we haven't held on to this book. And it hasn't set a straight so he can see things for what they actually are. You know, we don't know, the world around us is seeing these things. You know, I talk about this often, because I'm so traumatized by it. I saw the Justin Bieber documentary. And I cried. And I the volume wasn't even on I was on a plane, I didn't have headphones. It was a silent film, thank God. But I sat there and I cried. Because your girls,

like, you know, they're doing all kinds of IG like mo acts of worship, as he's walking by. And this, you know, and I'm watching this, and I'm thinking to myself,

Wow, this is how far humanity has come.

knows how we advanced in technology so much. But we've shut the eye of guidance so hard. We're so like primitive when it comes to just basic, common sense. We're so primitive.

What do people do when they lose their religion? You know what people do? They get tattoos. They pierced their faces, because the world just becomes ugly. I'm only here for a little bit, then there's nothing.

Then there's nothing do whatever you want. And all these artists and celebrities and people whose lives are glorified on TV, if you look into their personal lives, you'll find nothing but torment, psychological torment, they are sad, depressed, lonely, anxious people that have to take all kinds of drugs, just to deal with their reality. So what if they have millions they don't care. There's their living miserable, miserable lives. They don't live lives that stand up. A human. Allah says a human Leone, the Robertson Shalida, Mila, almost done, guys, I promise. This book stands straight, and it sets you straight. In order to warn about a studied means means intense, I studied bugs.

There were bugs is commonly translated as war, which is certainly one of its meanings. Well, that can help us Yeah, TB mana adab al adab a Shuddha. You know, and Bosque, one of the words from bugs comes by ESL translate all of this in a sec, but he's actually means a brave person who can handle tough trials for Nakula and human but 711 is nobody can survive a bus which I'll translate in a second except the ultimately brave. Allah says this book still stands you straight so you so you can warn you about an intense now I'm gonna say war, but an intense trial, and intense punishment and intense difficulty in the world. And intense onslaught. I like the word onslaught for us. It's gonna

be intense. And from the root of the word, you learn that the only people who survived that onslaught are the very, very brave, normal people will not survive that attack. Normal people will cave and they will say too much. I don't know. I'm not sure about this religion. But you'll have to be super brave to stand up against that pressure. You'll have to develop a lot of courage inside yourself. It's like surviving a storm where so many gets swept away. But the person who held on to this anchor, just no matter how hard the storm was they held on, they were able to remain standing, right. That's the image factor, they stamp snackable or whatever with BA Lenfest lamella. They were

able to weather that storm. It is no surprise that right after this discussion in the Surah. After these first nine ayat, the 10th ir starts talking about the people of the cave, young men who lived in a time where nobody was Muslim, and they were under persecution for being discovered as Muslims, and they were brought to trial. And they were supposed to be tried as for treason, for believing against the religion of the king, which was uncut. Their religion wasn't deemed compatible with the constitution of their time. Sound familiar? Right. They religion made it they made it seem like if you hold on to this religion, you cannot be someone who means well for our country. You young

people, you need to get your act together and come back to the ways the great ways of our nation. And if you don't you better watch it because we will try you for treason. We'll give you since you're young we'll give you a couple of days to think about it.

And you know what Allah says about these young people they didn't stand up and talk about the misconceptions of their faith no, no Psalms not that bad. No, no we don't hate women. You know, we don't we don't do that we didn't stand up is all movies are born out of somehow it will odd when they Allah didn't just say they spoke up. He says they stood and they spoke up and it's no accident in the Quran. Allah says if calm will follow this

stood up and spoke. III mean, they stood up to the worst tyrants, they stood up against the worst pressure, they stood up even against the idea that their own lives were in danger for standing up. But they did. And that's brave. That's brave. That's what you require in times of bucks.

What I'm here to tell all of you and myself is our families will not survive the stroke storm, if we don't grow a spine.

We're going to have to stand up for this faith. We're going to have to stop being on the defensive and realize what a powerful gift Allah has given us. This book, it doesn't budge, it doesn't bend, it doesn't change, it stands up, and nothing will prepare you for the coming attack than like this book. Nothing will prepare you against the media onslaught, the social onslaught, the cultural onslaught, but this book, people ask me, How are young people supposed to survive on campus with all the pressure and all the parties and all the bad friends and all of that, I say, How is everybody else supposed to survive when there's a Muslim on campus?

You know, for God's sake, we're Muslims. We're supposed to be the standard that doesn't budge. We're supposed to show the world your bent. What's the matter with you, people? Malcolm, we care about you. You're destroying yourselves. We're not supposed to say, man, it's haram for me to go to the party. Oh, no, I want to go but as her on my mom told me, No, no, no, no, no.

You're supposed to be the guy that says, You think God created you for that? He gave you that brain so you could drag it up. He gave you that he gave you these gifts. So you can lose them, but you're not going to answer to God for what you have for these incredible gifts that he's given you. You know, we're supposed to be the ones that make people wake their conscience of again, what is the most of you those people? When we go on the defensive, then we've we understand that we're living in times of busts, and where we don't have the spine yet. We don't have the spine yet. And we better grow that spine. I for one, I know this is a dark lecture. I know. I know. But I for one, yes, I

know. 10 minutes? Well, that was short. Okay.

I, for one believe, honestly, with true conviction with absolute conviction that the young people, Indian, the young Muslims in the United States, young, the college students, high school students that may be having their doubts, if we were to help them through their doubts, for being doubtful, they're not criminals, for being skeptical. They're not criminals. We haven't exactly given them the best example. First of all, okay, we have not, we have not been we have not intelligently answered their questions. We have not gone gone out of our way to cater our masajid. And our speeches and our talks to their concerns. We haven't done this. We haven't educated adequately educated ourselves to

be able to respond to their concerns, either. We haven't done this. We said only rhetorically, all the youth are our future, the youth are our future. Now donate.

So we can buy a chandelier for the youth of our future. No, that's not for the youth of our future unit got an extra expensive carpet for your machine. And you call the youth of our future, please, please, you know, we haven't invested in our youth themselves. We have not done so. And we need to do so. This absolutely has to happen. Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah. It's a miracle of Allah, that in a society in a country where we don't have the institution like work. And we are a people who don't accept whatever, that we've been able to build massage at across this country, just from the halal earnings of Muslims, I get benefit of the doubt. You know, just from the halal earnings of Muslims,

we've been able to build massages all across this country. The buildings are now in place. Where where's the soul?

Where's the soul of those buildings? Where's the young blood at Fudger? Where is it? Where are the people where the young people that are saying we're going to do this activity and this activity and this activity, and we're going to invite non Muslims and we're going to invite all kinds of doesn't matter if you're praying or not just come to the masjid. Let us have a little talk. Let's discuss if there was Jose Salam can invite Christians to Masjid another way. And they can pray to Jesus in the masjid.

They could do that. They did. They did that was also invited the Christians from Nigeria and they came they still did as much as another way. And they prayed the way they pray and those who didn't stop them. Why? Because he wanted to have an open conversation with them.

He wanted to have an open conversation and this is important. We have to be able to create the space in our massage to have conversation.

I know where I am, I'm in Houston. I know.

We need space in our massage to have conversation.

Young people aren't coming to the masjid and it's not their fault.

It's not their fault. We haven't given them a reason to come.

We haven't done it. And I'm not saying we compromise a single

value of rd not one. And before I close this, this really important subject. How do we empower our I talked about we have to do it, we have to do it, we have to do it. How do we do it? How do we empower our youth?

I personally believe that we have the wherewithal in this country now Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah, to be able to train young people to carry the religion confidently. I think we can do it. I decided a few years ago that I want to create an institution you guys know to try to teach Arabic. And that's one prerequisite for the study of Islam is Arabic. If you don't it LM digital Oribi

La Clinica de la satin Islamia, right. So if you if you don't do well, in Arabic, you can't study Islam properly. You can't get depth in Islam, not in the Quran and the Sunnah, not in anything. So you need to ground yourself in Arabic first. So I created one institution. And my beloved colleague, Sheikh Abdullah said, I kept pestering him, you need to create something for youth for Islamic studies for Islamic studies for Islam, and not just any Islamic Studies, Islamic studies to shepherd communities, Islamic studies to lead youth in Slavic studies to help guide other youth, to for them to study things, not only to see it or not only to have seen, not only Fick not only Aida but all

alongside of it teen psychology counseling alongside of it, sociology, alongside of it contemporary issues, so they understand the society they're dealing with. alongside of it arbitration, how do you tell talk to youth that are having trouble in their family? How do you provide them the right kind of answers, training young people in that And subhanAllah it was just a conceptual thing until last year. Now there are 20 students that Calum institute that have done the Arabic with me and other studying with him a two year program, they're not coming out. Yes, no, no, no, but they certainly are coming out inshallah youth directors, youth coordinators, and that's what we wanted. We have Al

Hamdulillah. There's no shortage of Messiah, masha Allah. But we don't have young people who understand other young people available in our communities. And my vision is we should have one of those in every masjid, or two or three or 20. For God's sake, why not? Men and women, boys and girls. Girls need role models badly. They need them badly. Oh, my God.

You know, I was so sad one time, you know, I was watching this debate. And

even though I respect her as a person, I disagree, I couldn't disagree with her more she had Manji was talking. And when she was done, these girls in hijab came in to get her autograph.

Because there's a one Muslim woman up there, it doesn't matter if she's crazy. Whatever it is, she's Muslim, at least I love the fact that she's so confident.

There's a void, who's getting nobody from the outside is going to come come fill that void people. And nobody's going to come from the Muslim world. I know I keep saying last comment I have don't write that product, I will fire you.

Minus 10 On your next exam if you write that, okay. He's a student right now. So

anyway,

let me tell you something. I lost my train of thought because I'm still imagining me to writing the minus 10 on his exam. It feels so good.

It just really feels good. Okay.

What was I saying?

Ah, role models for women, role models for women. Listen. So recently, I started traveling outside the US and started with a trip to Europe. I went to the UK, then I had a chance to go to Malaysia and to go Al Hamdulillah the Qatar and Bahrain and inshallah other countries soon, too. And as I traveled, I thought, Man Subhanallah, the land of the Muslims. We're going to learn so much. We're going to bring solutions back for the Muslims here.

I went to Bahrain and they said we have one Islamic school here. We don't have a curriculum, though. Could you help us with the curriculum? Do you Americans have a curriculum?

I went to Qatar. They said we have one Arabic institution and they doesn't have a very good curriculum. Could we borrow yours?

I was baffled. I'm baffled. You know why? Let me tell you why. Allah put us us. The people in this hall. Nobody outside people in this hall. Allah put us in a position to rise to the occasion and help the entire OMA

to help the entire Oma. They're looking at us. And we're not we're too obsessed with ourselves. The entire OMA is dying. The entire Ummah is in need of role models. It's in need of young people that can carry this Deen confidently. You know, it's incredible, that that that void exists, and it does. On the one hand, you have a religious scholarship that is so incredibly deep and in scholarship, but it's completely disconnected from the rest of society, and they teach the people who want to learn from them, but nobody else cares about them. And on the other hand, you have people that are so extremely secularized in the Muslim world, even the mention of Islam or salah or Sunanda go to

I don't want anything to do with

That's the the Muslim world is polarizing very fast. And there are a few people left in between this population of Muslims who are trying to raise their kids and saying, I don't want to raise my kid who doesn't know anything about the real world. So I don't want to send them to Islamic institutions, because they'll forget about the real world. And I don't want to send them to the real these worldly institutions, because they'll forget about the religion. This shuts one it shuts the other I, what am I supposed to do? How do I raise this kid of mine?

And guess what Allah put us in this position. So we learn to keep both eyes open.

We're supposed to do that we're gonna do that we're gonna have people that have the highest level of education in whatever field, and yet they're not going to be ignorant of their faith, not in their practice, and not in their knowledge. They're gonna carry it in a mature way. We have to do that. Nobody else will come and do it for us. And Allah azza wa jal has given us all the tools necessary, all the talent necessary, all the manpower necessary. The only thing missing is our will. That's the only thing missing. You have all these plans to send your kid to med school or engineering and you figured it all out their career plan, but you've got no plan for their soul. You've got no plan for

how they're gonna stand up and weather the storm. Where's that plan? You know, when you're looking for a spouse for you, I'm going to talk to warranties later tonight. And you launched tonight, we're gonna talk right? Click your bottle give her you know,

well, you got all these plans for their career, but no plan of who how the what to look for when, when you're getting your kids buried, all you look for is what village they came from, and what degree they have and where they went to school. What does that say about their character, all these schools have their one eye closed, man.

The eyes are closed, you're gonna get you know, the resume looks good. The resume looks good, and you get married. And two months later, there's a divorce and you're shocked? How did this happen? We never knew who could obtain yoga. You know, these were good people from a good family. What happened here? You know what, we have to open both eyes and see what we're doing to our own kids. We have to realign their priorities. It is equally important for our young people to get a secular education alongside a thorough grounded solid religious education. They should have a direct connection with the Quran, I can tell you for sure, a nation a generation of people that are not directly connected

emotionally and intellectually with their text with this book will lose their identity guaranteed, and the generation that rises that is directly connected emotionally and intellectually with this book, that it recites the Quran, and it understands it, and it sheds a tear when it's moved by the eye of the Quran. That generation will not only be protected on its own, it will become a pillar for others to lean on. It'll stand others up. That's what we're here to do. That's what we're gonna do. We don't just need a boost of Eman sometimes that's that's great. But now it's time to build people up. You know, those who say salam did not leave us buildings. He didn't leave us buildings. He

didn't leave us roads and highways. He didn't leave us universities. He left us people. Nowadays you talk about P universities. I went to Harvard, Columbia, NYU, I went to Georgetown I went to this or that or the other and back then you know what the university was? If no Abbas will be allowed data and Houma. That's the name of a university. You know, which I had Qatada, Abu Bakr, Siddiq, these are our universities, people were turned into institutions. People were turned into institutions, you know, we got to start investing in people. You know, and we build the right people and the institutions will come. What's our thinking all the time? Let's build the institution and somehow

people will be built. No, no, no, no, no, you're thinking the wrong way. It doesn't come that way. You build the right people. And Wallah, he, the institutions that we're going to construct are going to be incredible. They're going to be amazing. I mean, there is no limit to the potential of young people. There isn't any limit in the home fit yet on Amanullah be him? There is no doubt they were young people. Allah says in the home fit yet and that's a shocking sentence to me. No doubt about it. They were young people. It's Allah Allah. Allah is saying, Can you believe it? They were young people.

I'm a newbie Robbie him who had the man in their master because young people have so many different directions to go in. But these young people, they stood up. They had faith. You know, Allah highlighted their youth because it's something special. It's something juicy. It's so juicy. And it's so so awesome that Allah even calls those young people one of his miracles.

Um, has it done that was horrible. Kathy what rocky mica Newman, IR Tina, I Japan. I Jabon.

They were a miracle. Young people are an act of Allah azza wa jal on this earth that stand up for their deen and we have them in our midst. We just haven't given them the ability. It's like Allah gave us the seed. We decided not to water it.

We're just saying

not to let it have any sun.

That's that's what's happening. Allah gave us everything we needed. The right here are sitting among us.

You know, every time I think I feel like I might have accomplished something, I start thinking Subhanallah if I if I've accomplished this little, I see my students and I seen some people that what I've accomplished is going to look like a little speck compared to what they're going to accomplish. I can see it already. I can see some 16 year olds, I can see some 14 year olds, this guy is going to be who, in sha Allah

as potential this guy's going to shake the planet. You know, Allah has some real plans with young people have that hope and don't think about other people's young people. Think about your own kids parents here. Think about your own kids. You we are all in this together. I pray that Allah azza wa jal recalibrates our priorities, and makes us realize that we are here to save humanity from itself from its own devices, that we are here not only to stand up for the truth, but to help people see that they can stand up for the truth also, that it's not something we alone will benefit from, but they will benefit from too and I pray that we're able to be the generation of people who realize the

colossal responsibility Allah put on our shoulders because of the opportunity he gave us. Because of the financial amenities he gave us because of the immigration he gave us because of the country he allowed us to live in. Because of the opportunity he provided us. We are going to be asked for these blessings from Allah Aluna yo, Ma, Ethan Allen Noreen, you're going to be interrogated about these blessings. And if there's one thing we can show Allah azza wa jal ya Allah I gave my children

I gave my children and your cause I wanted them to be sources of light. I wanted them to stand up for this deen and help others stand up for this deen and I did everything I could for this cause for you for your sake. And maybe we have a chance. Maybe we have something good good to show Allah azza wa jal. And I pray these words are taken to heart and I pray that Allah accepts from all of us in our families and overlooks all of our mistakes and all of our rough law. I know I had a couple of slips of the tongue when I was talking I pray Allah azza wa jal forgives them and you guys can edit that out Inshallah, because I don't want people to get confused and stuff BarakAllahu li Walakum wa

salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh.

minus 15.

So I can thank you so much for your insightful speech. We'll now have a break until 930 For for dinner and Isha. Also there was phone found near the brother's entrance