What Kind Of Salah Are You Praying

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Wala

hamdulillahi Rabbil alameen wa Salatu was Salam ala ambia it will most serene while early he was a huge marine from about

I have to start my speech by first fulfilling a religious obligation I have been commanded by my wife to give a shout out to her own. So shout out from so happy.

So, now that that obligation is under, out of my way, now I can talk to you about what I want to talk to you about childbirth. Okay.

So challenges and opportunities for the young Muslim oma.

I've been invited here to speak Alhamdulillah. This is actually the second graduation ceremony in two days that I'm attending for high schools. And I'm very proud of the Maryland community that these these kinds of efforts are happening. But in particular, as I heard, briefly about the young men that are graduating and the sister that's graduating today, my wheels are just constantly spinning, and I had to rethink all of what I was going to share with you in the last five minutes as I was just listening to just a few things that I've heard here. And what I want to start with inshallah, tada is just, actually, my speech isn't even to the rest of you, I'm just talking to six

people here, I am going to pretend the rest of you aren't here. You guys have been in an amazing environment, pretty much your entire, you know, the lives that you can remember. And you're about to head into a world that is not this nice. You're about to head into campus, you're about to head into a college environment. Many of you, I don't know which of you are considering pursuing further Islamic education. And if you are in trouble, I'll address that a little bit in my talk, too. I want this to be a very short, practical orientation into the real world, what you are going to see outside is going to be very depressing and disappointing. It's not going to be people that inspire

you and bring you closer to the deen those are few and far between. and May Allah help you find those people and be in their company. But for the most part, you're going to find Muslims your age above your age people that are smarter than you more educated than you and yet they know so little or care so little about the same Deen that you've come to love. And they're also Muslims. This is not just non Muslims, this is also Muslims. You're going to go into a into the university scene, maybe not at this school, maybe at some other school, and you're gonna find yourselves in this thing called the MSA. And there's not a lot of Islam, sometimes at the MSA. And you're gonna say this is

how they do things at the MSA. And yes, that is how they do things at the MSA. Just to give you guys a reality check again, because the rest of you aren't here. I actually, for a long time stopped going to college campuses to talk to Muslim youth for quite a while I was in my own bubble speaking at Islamic centers in massagin, across the country. But as of late the last two or three years, I decided to open up, you know, the or accepting invitations to go to universities. And boy has the scene changed. Wow. I went to an MSA not too long ago, where the President introduced me and then introduced his girlfriend, the Vice President of the MSA. So you're going to see things that you

haven't heard about here, you're going to see an environment that you're not used to it's going to be shocking, depressing, overwhelming at times. But you know what, that's what all this training was for. Not so you live the rest of your lives, surrounded by righteous people, but actually, that you take this righteousness, and you share it with others, you're actually taking on the legacy of this beautiful Ayah whose translation has been mentioned in this program. The the young people of

our great Prophet sallahu wa salatu salam were not in nurturing environments. Exactly. They were surrounded by evil and they had to face it. And they had to deal with it. And they had to stand up for Islam in face of it. That is the first thing I want to share with you. All of this training culminates into what kind of people you will be outside of these walls outside of these institutions outside of the support. This is what is your real training is going to be the test of your training the test of your education Alhamdulillah some of you have memorized if not the entire course and a significant portion of it. You know a wealth of Hadith you are familiar with the life of the Prophet

sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and lives of other messengers either Hema salatu salam, you are equipped with more than enough to leave lead a good life to lead an ethical, moral guided life. But that does not mean that you will make the right choice you will make the art that Allah gives you the strength of character, based on Disturbia that you've had to be able to make those right choices. Now moving forward. Islamic education by many parents is seen as an avenue by which they will save their children. Many parents bring their kids to Islamic school because they're afraid that if we don't our kids are going to get corrupted in public.

School. So in other words, Islamic education for a lot of people is seen as a defense mechanism, a way to save, protect, right, so that they are not attacked and swept away by the tide of gopher in the tide of fitna others.

Very few see Islamic education as a means by which we are producing leaders for the next generation do art for the next generation role models for the next generation. And even if your parents had both of those concerns, or maybe they were even originally more concerned about saving you, a loss plan was not just merely left to saving you a lot put you through this Islamic education, because he has plans for you the financial means and the opportunity and the the the the circumstances that were created by Allah so you could go to an Islamic environment. For you For these mode for more than a decade of your lives is not something random, it didn't just happen. There's a reason your

dad had a job here, there's a reason he was able to start his business here, there's a reason they were able to afford the school here, there's a reason the school was located in a place you were able to go to, there's a reason for all of these things. And the reason for that is allow one service of his Dean from you. You're you're responsible more than anybody for anybody else. Today, as you graduate here and you leave the shelter of this institution, you are now responsible carriers of this Dean. And even though the theme of that law was mentioned a couple of times already, there are other responsibilities. And so in the few minutes I have left with you, I just want to share

with you some possible avenues that I'd like you to think about in sha Allah. These are my own personal perceptions based on my observations of Muslim youth across the country, and inshallah you will take one or even another one of these avenues and pursue them in your lives. The first of them is Islamic education. This, the Muslim community in North America is actually in dire need of young Muslim scholarship. It is in dire need of it. And what I mean by young Muslim scholarship are not people that know a thing or two about Islam. We're talking about scholarship, we're talking about leaving a legacy like you know how in Islamic history, but God had its reputation. You know, Kufa

had its reputation. Medina has this reputation. in contemporary times, there are, you know, several major Islamic institutions of learning, they have a reputation, well, we're going to have to build those institutions, and that they cannot be built until we have the highest level of scholarship, if you're going to study Islam, if that is part of your aspirations, and I don't know, but if you're considering studying Islam full time, don't go anywhere and come back without a PhD. Don't come back with a bachelor's or a Master's, it's not enough, we don't need that here. We need the highest level of scholarship. We don't just need mediocre Islamic education. That is actually problematic when

people have a mediocre education and assume responsibilities of leadership. So if you're going to study Sharia be an authority, being the being the company of the top scholars of Sharia in the world, travel the world and study, but study at the highest possible levels. If you're going to study Hadith via Mahadeva, your times, pursue it, exhaust yourself in it. That's one avenue. That's not the only Avenue but that if that is one of your avenues, I'd like you to consider seriousness in the matter. The second direction, possibly is Islamic service, which is different from Islamic scholarship. Not everybody has to be a scholar. The community is in need of many things. As you

travel the Muslim community, not even the you know, the people who need that well, that aren't even Muslim, even within the Muslim community. How many of our youth are barely holding on to Islam? Barely, I mean by a thread. And if you were to look at their lifestyles, their company, the way they wake up and go to sleep, you wouldn't even know that they're Muslim, until they tell you their name is Muhammad, you wouldn't know. And these people, we don't look down on them. There are there still are Omar, there still are people and they need certain services they need. For instance, there's a dire need for youth counselors, teen counselors, there's a need for you know, Muslim psychologists,

there's a need for that. There's a need for institutions that are not only going to help with family issues, teen issues, but also institutions, like we need organized sports for Muslim youth. We need, you know, we need all kinds of social institutions that better and strengthen community. And for that we need to develop specified Islamic education. It's not education at the highest levels, but it's at least enough Islamic education that turns you into a servant of some sort of contributor to community of some sort, some kind of a productive activist. And if you are interested in becoming an activist, not a scholar, then you have to give serious thought about exactly what will you serve the

community with? Don't be general be very specific. What talents has given you What are you good at and how are you going to put it to work? How exactly are you going to put it to work have a real game plan, have a year by year month by month game plan of how you are going to accomplish what you're going to accomplish?

You have the advantage of having seniors, teachers, principals of the school, others elders that are there to help you chalk this plan out. You say to yourself, I want to serve the community, I want to do it in this way, how do I accomplish this? How do I execute this game plan? And you nobody, if nobody takes you seriously, you better take yourself seriously. You better take yourself seriously. So that's the second option. The third option, which is actually equally good, these are all good options, is pursue a career in what you love. It's okay. It's not like haram for you to love engineering, it's all good. You're not a person of dunya if you become an accountant, though, I

don't recommend accounting. But you know,

if you go into medicine, actually, no, don't go into medicine and pick something else.

I know your parents already told you medicine and you're, you know, you memorize Quran, you go to med school, they go hand in hand, at least in America, but anyway.

But anyhow, whatever path whatever career you pursue, just know that Islamic education and Islamic being inspired by your deen is not something that can stay with you, just because you did it previously, you have to keep up with it. And you have to further it and nurture it. So whatever path you go into, just make sure there's a regular time in your day in which you are furthering yourself as a Muslim. So it doesn't matter if you're an engineer, or a physician or a researcher or you know, a biology, whatever you are, but there's a time in your life that is dedicated, it's fixed, it never moves. Just like the times of Salah there are times where you will learn and nurture and further

your deen that it's a part of your life to further yourself as a Muslim. So you don't see Islamic education only as something where you abandon everything else and then go study Islam. That is for some, but for you still learning Islam as a part of your life. learning more learning more about the Quran is a part of your life. And you know, nobody should be delusional in this room. And I don't think anyone is that we're done learning Islam. Only people that have zero to no education in Islam can come around and say I know what the Quran says. There's only people, the only kinds of people who say I know what to put answers are people who actually have no idea what the Koran says, because

people who know anything about what the Quran says, Man, I don't know anything yet. This is an endless ocean. There's an eye, nobody can say I know the Sierra, there are too many pearls of wisdom for somebody to say, I have died, I dove into the ocean. And I know every single Perl Perl at the bottom, I know all of them.

You can't, this is a lifelong thing. And you will keep up keep up with it because it will inspire and put barakah in whatever career you pick. And then there's the final one, the last bit of advice I have for you.

And this is for the brave at heart. And it's gonna it might even cause your parents some ulcers, but I have to share it with you. Because I really strongly believe in it. I believe that this is a country that provides unique opportunities to all people that come here, and especially Muslims, we are some of the highest educated population in this country. We are some of the most talented people in this country. And we're not exhausting its opportunities because the real opportunity of this country is entrepreneurship.

That's the real gift that we the real nirma we have in this country is to be creative entrepreneurs. And I mean by that socially responsible, creative entrepreneurs, I'm not saying open up a gas station. That's not what I'm saying. I'm not saying you know, open up the next halau meat shop, been there done that I am talking about socially responsible entrepreneurship, Muslim institutions that are so financially well off, they don't ask for funds, they give funds, you guys are going to build those institutions. And if you have that in mind to strengthen Muslim institutions, through amazing business plans, have a solid business, why not? Why shouldn't we own entire lines of clinics and

hospitals? Why shouldn't we? Why shouldn't be the be the most profitable, and just on the side, they build a few machines on the side without a fundraiser. You guys have to help build those institutions. But that requires, you know, a brave endeavor into entrepreneurship. How do you get started? What are the principles behind which a successful, independent enterprise can be built? These are things we have to learn and we have to execute. We really have to learn and execute them. And I'm a personal believer in this myself. Because I have actually experienced some of all of these things. I decided to leave a career and study Islam full time. I tried that for a little while I

didn't get very far. Then I decided to go back join into the workforce and keep up with my Islam. So I was in corporate America for a while and kept studying my Dean. And I it wasn't fulfilling enough for me. And then I decided the only real way to do this man is you got to just be an entrepreneur somehow. You got to figure out how to just be your own boss, but let me just warn you before I go, being your own boss does not mean things come easy. If a full time job is 40 to 60 hours a week. Entrepreneurship is at least 100 120 and that's an easy week. You have to put blood sweat and tears into work. These people these days.

community leaders that are here that actually and by the way, entrepreneurship doesn't just mean you go into business for yourself, it could be for the community too. So the people that are sitting in front of us that are the pioneers of this community are in some sense entrepreneurs as well. And they put 100 to 100 hours a week, sometimes into just getting this institution off the ground, it didn't exist and then have to something had to happen. Right, they didn't just come and get a job. So you don't I say, I challenge you to think even if you, you know, graduate out of school and get a job, I challenge you to think like, I don't want to just just want to have a job, I don't want to be

an employee, I want to be an employer. That's what I want to be. Because that's where I can really make an impact for on furthering Muslim institutions and Islam in a significant way. So I want you to think big, you know, the poet says in Arabic, in that time, a native perspective. You know, if you wish, if you're going to have aspirations, then not aspire for a lot, aim high, and aim high. Aim very, very high. I want to be able to see these, these young men and the sister do incredible things with their life, in their Deen and in their dunya. And actually aspire to the highest goals in dunya. And still not be interested in dunya, to show the world that you can achieve dunya but

have it in your hand and not in your heart. You can do that. And then you can give all of that dunya that you attain, you can give for the sake of being you can do that. So people really learn what it's like to to learn from these role models. May I pray lots and lots for you. I especially make the honor that this institution grow and nurture and further itself. I make dua for all the teachers who have to be patient with all of the parents, you know, all the parents who have to be patient with their children and with the teachers, I make sure that you're able to you never feel like you're missing something. I'm actually completely floored by the the the slow torian speech

Mashallah named Amazing, amazing job. I'm floored. I really, am I this guy's dangerous. I tell you, he's dangerous. Oh, you got to watch out for him. Look for him on YouTube soon. So.

So he's already on YouTube. Thank you. Thank you for helping me.

So in closing, I just want to

just say one last thing to all of you in Sharla. You guys, don't be frustrated with your peers that don't have an Islamic background like you do. Don't be frustrated with them. Be patient with them. They don't need your anger. They don't need your criticism. They need your patience. They need your nurturing. And that's how they will get your dharma. That's how they will become you. You will be people that attract others to Islam, not push them away from it. You will not compromise your principles. But at the same time, you will not be harsh towards those who don't who haven't learned to see the world the way you have. You're not going to be those kinds of people. I pray that you are

able to bring so many other youth closer and closer and closer to this Deen and through the training that you've given all of your teachers continue to receive the reward for the awesome things that you're going to do in your lives. barakallahu li walakum wa salaamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh