3 Ways to Save Yourself from Fitna

I begin by praising Allah subhanaw taala and bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for him. And we bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa Salam is his final messenger. We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him and those that follow in their blessings path until the day of judgment. And we ask Allah to make us amongst them Allahumma Amin, the brothers and sisters, last week, I spoke about this idea of figuring out what to do when there's so much to do, and how to actually choose a path forward and

keep our priorities as the priorities that Allah subhanaw taala has intended for us. And I mentioned the narration of our beloved nonmotile The Allahu Taala and Houma when he was frustrated that a group of people that would have taken place part in the murder of an Hussain will the Allahu taala, and home spilling the blood of the grandson of the prophets lie some of them would have the audacity to speak about, you know whether or not the blood of a mosquito coming on the garment of one would nullify their prayer speaking about the idea of priority, priority priority, where are your priorities, and then once you see so much that's happening, and you can exert yourself towards

causes of good in so many different directions. How do you choose which cause without becoming completely exhausted and eventually rendered idle. Now, last week, we spoke about prioritizing action. This week, I want to speak about another elements of dealing with fitna which is chaos, turmoil tribulation. And that is when inaction is actually necessary. When inaction, being intentionally inactive, is actually a good thing. And where we hold ourselves back, especially when we don't know what to do. Now, this is actually a very important dimension here. That many of the narrations of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam about the end times are acted upon prematurely

throughout Islamic history. So people who thought that the End of Times would have been 800 years ago, or 900 years ago that's there. And so they kind of abandoned all things and didn't do anything. So prematurely acted upon some of these Hadith in their most absolute sense. And there are others that deal with these Hadith in a very inappropriate way. Where they use these a hadith to introduce things that are not actually concepts in the religion. And so let's be very clear, when there is a known good to busy yourself with then it is good to busy yourself with that known good. And when there is a known wrong to combat and to work against, then it is always good to busy yourself in

working against that which is wrong. But then when there's a lot of confusion in between, and gray areas and disinformation and chaos, and people don't know where to go or what to do. That's where holding yourself back becomes very important in this regard. And so let's talk about this for a moment in sha Allah to Allah before I get to this beautiful Hadith of the prophets lie somewhere he gives three fundamental tips that a person can act upon to really keep themselves safe, when things become confusing, and distracting. This hadith is one in which herbal nama asks without Allah battle the Allahu taala. And when he says, this verse in the Quran, Alikum and forsaken, like Worry about

yourself, worry about yourself, which is one of those statements that can be good, or it can be grossly misinterpreted, right to mean abandon all others worry about yourself. He said, does that mean that like we really should not care about society or worry about what's happening outside of ourselves and outside of our homes? How do we deal with this? And he said, You know, I asked the Prophet sallallahu wasallam that question, and he said to me, but it tells me it will be my roof, what's an hour and in one car, rather, you should enjoy and good and you should forbid evil. You should not abandon the act of enjoying good doing good things and working against that which is not

good working gets that which is not wrong. You shouldn't join good, you should forbid evil, but he said after that sallallahu alayhi wa sallam Hatta era Atia Shu Han matar and well, Juan Mata Baron were dunya Lazzara tun were and Jabril Cooley the Iranian Biragi Veronica BNF seeker were there and kala Huang. Powerful narration, he said until you see people reach this level. And this particular level, by the way, is a is an absolute level. But there are always going to be elements of these things. So he said until you see people reach a point where Sure, Hamilton sure Hamilton means people succumb to their greed. Sure has a very particular type of greed. It's to hold back what is

due to God or do to the people around you. So holding back to the cup or not fulfilling

In the rights of your family, not fulfilling the rights of your society upon you, holding back your wealth, holding back what you owe to others, because people succumb to greed, which is a potential fault or flaw and all of us, they succumb to greed. Sure, Hambleton. Or he went on to say, well, how can multiband and people follow their lusts? Now, you'll always find greedy people. And you'll always find people following their lusts. But the idea that this becomes the dominant order of the world around you, that people are shameless in their stinginess, and people are openly in obedience or in worship of their lesson of their desires. And then he said, We're dunya, Sara, and you find

that people prefer the life of this world to the life of the hereafter very clearly and very openly. And the next one, he said, were a job. But clearly the Iranian Bureau II, and every person has an opinion on everything, everyone has an opinion on everything. And they're impressed by their own opinion, it's actually a very profound way of putting it everyone that could possibly have an opinion, has an opinion on everything. So you have an opinion on everything, from religion, to science, to medicine, to biology, to sociology, you know it all because you got something on WhatsApp that looked very compelling, and you forwarded it, and you were very compelled by it and

very compelling with arguing why it's true. So you know, there's very little dispute in the world today that there is mass disinformation, the dispute is about who's causing the mass disinformation, right? And who should be checking it not whether or not there is mass disinformation. That's a fact that this point, right, we live in a post truth world, but everyone that has an opinion, has an opinion on everything, and is impressed by their own opinion. And if they have the spiritual corruption that is mentioned in the previous three categories, then their opinions are likely to follow that which gives them access to their less, and makes them feel better about succumbing to

their greed. You know, this is the way it is, this is why we're like this. And so everyone sort of succumbs to that so fitna, in this sense, makes things very, very confusing, and very difficult for a person to move forward. So the prophets lie some said so at that point, it can be enough cyclic Worry about yourself, what there and kill our and leave the the things that people are talking about, and the affairs of the people, the masses, stick to yourself, stick to what you know, you shouldn't be doing with yourself and live off what everybody else is doing. And everybody else is thinking of and the gossip of the day stick to yourself. So what are the ways then that you stick to

yourself and what's a healthy way to do that? And this is the narration that I actually wanted to share with you today. To narration from America webinar metal, the Allahu taala. And when he asked the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, ya rasool Allah, Min Naja, how do you stay safe? How do you stay saved? How do you protect yourself? We see corruption on the rise. We see a lot of things that we're hearing about and we don't know what to believe and what to not believe. What do I do? Man Naja greed is overtaking us on the profit slice and I'm sorry, I don't fear for you poverty. There's a lot of poverty in the OMA province lies on said that's not my fear for you. Poverty is not the

fear. In fact, riches are the fear because riches bring with them certain corruption, global corruption, that's what I worry about for you, not the poverty part. It's the riches and the corruption that is generated as a result of that. Seattle's little manager, like how do I protect myself? Give me some fundamentals here. And this is where the prophets lie. Some said three things. And listen very carefully. MC can equally Sonic, hold your tongue.

Learn to hold your tongue.

Like grab it and hold it not in the physical sense but restrain this tongue of yours. Hold yourself. Everyone that has an opinion has an opinion on everything. You know what?

Learn to practice some silence. Hold your tongue back and hold the allowance out and who literally one day was walking around. And he was holding his tongue and he was saying this this thing has driven me to dangerous places. Because it can be one word you say one thing that you utter that totally ruins the life of someone else and ruins your own afterlife, right? A word of gossip. That's actually a word of slander. A word that is displeasing to Allah subhana wa Tada. Like learn to hold it even when you're so convinced that you shouldn't be saying this. You're weighing in on something you really shouldn't be weighing in on, learn to not weigh in, learn to really practice silence and

mechanically sound like he's saying this to us a hobby to a companion, who's righteous and who's afraid. What about a person who doesn't have that level of Taqwa that level of God consciousness that would govern their tongue in their expression and their keyboards, and mechanically Sonic, hold your tongue and Subhanallah one of my teachers I

She said that a gem from this hadith is that the prophets I said I mentioned holding on to revelation that the way of the messenger sighs I'm the Quran and the Sunnah. He said, Hold on to it with your with your back teeth, like someone's trying to pull it out of your mouth. And so if you open your mouth to get loose with your tongue about all the nonsense, then the divine revelation, and that which is good and righteous will be taken away from you right under your eyes. But a person who's really trying to hold on guard that which is sacred in their life, practice silence intentionally. You don't have to weigh in on everything. You can learn to be silent, and whoever is

silent is safe. This is actually a saying and a principle, a great principle in our religion, not when there is an obvious oppression happening in front of you. Right? You say no, I'm gonna stay silent. No, no, you should say something. Not there. But assumption when things are not really clear. Learn to um, Socratic reasoning, don't have an opinion when you're not sure. When you're not sure. And then the prophets I seldom said

what he Asaka they took hard, by the way phrase to translate, let your home suffice you. You all are just coming out of quarantine and you're like, don't send us back home. Go home, stay home, learn to enjoy your seclusion when he ISACA Bay took, you know, this literally means let your home encompass you let your home suffice you like don't everyone wants to get out all the time, actually, while the ISACA Bay took let your home suffice you. Now, the scholar has mentioned a few two meanings of this. There's a minor opinion and a major opinion. And they don't they don't contradict one another. In fact, they enrich one another. The first one, some scholars said, Imam will focus on your family

focus on what's in your home. And that parallels, it's Tina leaving off the affairs of everybody else like you know the saying clean up your own house first. And often you find those that talk about everybody else's homes, the same things happening in their house, they're just not aware of it because you're busy talking about everybody else's business. And you're not realizing that those those flaws, and those diseases are actually penetrating your own home, you're losing your own children, you're losing your own your own house. So they team up focus on your family. And indeed, that's one of the ways that we learned that those who taunt others for their sins often end up doing

the same sins themselves. At some point, those who taught other people for their affairs find that those affairs consumed their own household. So that's one meaning of this hadith. The second meaning, which is the main meaning is in some basic, like learn to stay home a bit, learn to be by yourself, learn to enjoy seclusion, learn to be introspective and reflective and in a state of contemplation in a state of remembrance. Because if you're talking about everybody else, and you're busying yourself with everybody else's stuff, that is disaster waiting to happen, even if you escape nine times out of 10, that one disaster you fall into, could lead to a much greater mostly before

you on the Day of Judgment. So learn to enjoy your house. And this is something that that requires some balance. Remember, no we don't aim Allah to Allah mentions that the believer when they think when they're leaving their home, they leave and they weigh every time they step out of their home, a Muslim denier or a Muslim dunya we're something that is good for me and my religion or something that's good for my worldly affairs. Me, I'm going out because this is how can I actually justify, of course, back then you don't have the world of social media, I'm stepping out of my house. Why am I stepping out of my house? What's the what's the benefit of me leaving my house right now? And going

out? So what's the religious benefit? Or what's the worldly benefit? Am I going to work? And am I going to benefit myself? Am I going to increase my self interest and sustenance? Or am I wasting my time and wasting my good deeds in the process as well? So why am I leaving my house? The opposite extreme though some people use this hadith to stop coming to the masjid their start and stop going to good things or doing good things. And the masjid is basically moment as the prophets I said, it's the home of every believer. And the prophets lie. Some said, the gardens of victory. The gardens of remembrance and knowledge are gardens of Paradise on this earth, you need to immerse yourself in

those gardens. So some people use this and they disappear and they say no, I'm practicing some seclusion right now. And that's actually a form of self delusion. Because we need these places. We need these good gatherings and these good places and these volunteer opportunities and ways that we can we can do good for ourselves and do good for the world. While the Asaka beta does not discourage this in any way. Well, the Asaka beta means you know learn to actually enjoy being alone by yourself sometimes and and not diving into a lot of these different things. And there's something very profound and I hope inshallah you'll remember this because it actually blew me away when I read it

in the context of this hadith. The scholar said, if you look at the prophets like Selim,

he never forgot his Escar his remembrance when he stepped out of his home

And what are those two eschar two phrases of remembrance to Escar that the Prophet SAW Selim always would say when he left his home, the first one Bismillah to a character and Hola. Hola. Hola. Wala Quwata illa biLlah in the name of Allah. I depend upon Allah La Jolla Lakota welcome to Out Hola. Hola. Hola. Hola. Quwata illa biLlah there's no power, no mind except for that which is with Allah with God. And what did the prophets lie? Some say happens? The devil flees you? The angel calls out and says who DITA what Kavita Okita you're going to be guided for the day. You're going to be protected for the day from your enemy. You will be protected for the day for any type of harm that

would come to you who ditto Kavita, what will what will kita and this is one narration but the other narration listen very carefully and I want you to try to practice this insha Allah to Allah and I'll hold myself to it as well. Um Salah model the Allahu Taala and her says, Maharaja Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in Beatty cuts in LA Rafa, I thought of her who either sama I love the imagery here, and actually just thought about it today. She said every time the prophets like some left my house and he never left my house, except that he would do this. He'd look up to the sky. He'd look up to the sky, so let's try to practice this inshallah time. He'd look up to the sky and he would

say hola, hola in the EU obika and Albula while as it was wizard of Lima OH, Willem. Hello. Oh, yo Johanna Aditya so profound he would say Oh, hola hola hola in the Oval Vika and Linda Hold on. Oh, my Lord, I seek refuge refuge in You from going astray or leading astray leading you're going astray, being astray, or leading astray, being led astray.

Oh, Zilla. Oh, Zell, or it's a slip or cause to slip or be made to slip

of the Lima or the lump or to oppress or to be oppressed.

I don't want to be misguided. I don't want to fall. I don't want to oppress and I don't want any of those things happening to me either.

Or the prophets. I said, I'm set agenda, oh, huge Allah, Allah, or to do wrong or to have wrong done towards me. This is profound. Like think about the intentionality of stepping out of your house every single day and looking up and saying this.

I pray that we can practice it maybe not every time, but at least we can start bringing this in as a synonym when you walk out of your home. And you make that even if you're in your car, driving out of your garage, if you're coming out of a garage, say that you're out and think about the implications of this drought. Like I'm trying to leave my home today, and I don't want to cause harm to anyone. Nor do I want this harm to be caused towards me. So this is a profound way that the prophets I said I'm used to engage every single time he walks out of his home walks into the world. I don't want to harm be misguided, nor do I want those things to happen to me. So while you're Sarika Bay took and

obviously, if you know, you're sad Kobe took. If you connect with social media, if you dive into social media when you're at home, it kind of defeats the purpose of this hadith. The hadith means disconnect. The hadith means under you know, learn how to cut off and enjoy yourself and seclusion and in solitude, the last one, the prophets lie some said, what Kiana healthy attic and cry over your sins. What this means is that many people focus on either the future uncertainty of the world, or the current gossip about other people's flaws. And you have plenty of current and past baggage that you need to cry about. And you need to get out of yourself, to really exert yourself towards

Allah, and he is merciful, and He will forgive you when you ask for his forgiveness. But let that be your concern. So some people talk about the fitna the fitna, and I think the end of the world you know, I heard the chef say 2022 2022 came Alright, the world didn't end well. He got the character he meant and 2222 You know, he read the Quran wrong. So I think it's 20 to 22 You know, and you're not you're likely not going to be around at that time if it's even around right? But like this is happening and you see this happening and so what causes them anxiety and paralysis is what everything that might happen, or what causes them distraction and delusion is the flaws of other

people. And the profit slice I'm saying bring it back to yourself. You've got your own flaws to work on. What Kiana Hartley attic, let that be which keeps you you know, concerns. I've got things that I don't want to meet Allah with. I don't know when I'm going to meet him but I know I will meet him.

Let me work on those things and do that dirty laundry rather than trying to indulge in the dirty laundry of everybody else. May Allah subhanaw taala protect us from that delusion May Allah subhanaw taala guide us to that which is pleasing to Him in all of our affairs, Oklahoma. I mean Akula colada, or stuff Lalibela company certain Muslim infested fruit and a whole lot for him.

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