Becoming The Best Version Of Yourself

Santa Monica Moroccan celebrity Council

mashallah in California y'all do Juma is at night, it feels like so strange to be here again at nighttime. But

hamdulillah before I get started, I just wanted to once again show gratitude and true, truly honored to be in the presence of my beloved brothers shahada of Twitter, Hassan, Chicanos Al Hamdulillah. And everyone here from the staff at this incredible sensor that I have a sensor at hamdulillah it's growing, it is flourishing, it's vision driven, and it's beautiful to see it coming together. So I pray that in sha Allah, Allah will be able to see it over and over and over again and that we be united multiple times within it Tada and that which is pleasing to Allah subhanaw taala. I also want to thank the volunteers Masha Allah and the security

if they got a little unnerved at some point, trying to get you in, you know, trying to get you through this door. And if, you know, they seem like they were panicking at some point or things became difficult, please forgive them. And in fact, thank them because it's not easy to manage an event with a space that is limited and handed a lot of blaming everyone that comes here with the right intention and shall be rewarded fully. And you'll get more than what you could get from a lecture but not Atana. So please forgive them and thank them and I'm certainly grateful to all of them just like Malachite on my last prints I reward you all and on your way out say thank you to

them as well. And then Nikita and then Docomo Hayden to all of you have the love for coming again. I know I was here not too long ago. How many of you were here at that event? By the way? Have the dinar mashallah, so it's good to see so many of your faces once again, attended and I was salatu salam ala Rasulillah why the Eddie, he will be here, well, then why not? So tonight is going to be one of those topics that if I don't make you a little bit uncomfortable, then I failed in my mission tonight.

And if I don't heed my own words, and make myself a bit uncomfortable, I've also felt, so I want you to understand that the topic is very specific for a reason. And I'm not intentionally offending you. But I do hope inshallah Ty that every single one of you find something in this lecture tonight, where you say to yourself, maybe that's where I fall, and that's where I need to work. Maybe that's where I fall. And that's where I need to work. Why? Because we all have deficiencies. And if any of you actually read the title of the talk, before you signed up, how to become a more wholesome Muslim. There is meaning to that. What I could do is, I could talk to you about the things that I'm

pretty certain as an audience as maybe a Masood going audience or an audience that typically goes to massages and engages in Islamic activities and is familiar with Islamic education online, I could share with you the things that I know that most of you probably already do, and encourage you to do more of it and talk about the rewards of those things. But actually, what I want you to do. And what I find is the most useful exercise at the beginning of any talk is for you to actually do your own introspection, and ask yourself, if I was giving advice to myself, if my self just walked through the door, and I was another person,

and I had to give myself advice as a friend, or

give a lecture or talk to someone on a heart to heart basis, and say something that might be an uncomfortable truth. What would I say to myself, if I knew myself as a friend, for let's say, five months, and I've spent every day with you for five months, that I probably have a pretty good idea of who you are. Now, you spent every single moment with yourself since you've been here. But I'm talking about if your self was a friend, five months, six months, I've seen you everyday and now I need to have a really uncomfortable conversation with you.

What would I have to say to you? And what would be the nasiha the advice that you need to hear And subhanAllah you'll find us in there oh my God, Allah Tada and who mentioned that, to factor the double into factor that contemplation introspection is like holding up a mirror to yourself, and it is the clearest most clarifying mirror that you can possibly have. You see if you have a righteous friend, that is willing to share with you certain things that you might need to hear at times because they love you more than they love your friendship. Those are special people. By the way, if you come across one of them hamdulillah they love you more than they love your friendship meaning

what? I'd rather tell you something that I think you need to hear, even if that means that I might alienate you from me, because I think it'll make

you a better person. Very few friends are like that. And when you find a friend like that, make sure that when they give you and I'll see how, when they give you that sincere advice, you thank them in a way that they will want to give it to you again, and that they'll be willing to receive it as well. If you have people like that those are the people that Allah is talking about when he says to also that happy what's also possible, they enjoying one another in truth, and they keep each other patient those types of friends, right, that will actually take the time and care to love you more than they even love your friendship.

Now, your self is even more clarifying, especially if you're paying close attention to yourself. And you should care about your hereafter more than anyone else cares for your hereafter. You see, there's a handoff point, especially for many Muslims that grow up in Muslim households, where your parents care more for your Islam than you care for your own Islam. And then there comes a point where you've got to take control of your own narrative and your own religion and your own story. And this has to become now your pursuit. It's no longer them waking you up for prayer, it's yourself waking up for prayer before they can even come knock on the door. It's no longer them reminding you,

it's you reminding yourself because you realize at some point, you love your success in the mafia more than they love your success in the mafia. Give you an example from a worldly perspective. You know, there's a point in life, where a person who is pursuing a certain level of education has to have buy in in their own education. Your parents can put you in the best schools. Think about the worldly perspective that can get you the best teachers the best education, they can invest in your after school education. They can help get you enrolled in the best universities. But at some point, it's going to be you sitting in that chair in the classroom. And if you don't choose to learn and

succeed, you're just going to fail even in the best university. There's a spiritual analogy there to that even if someone gets you the best environment, the best teachers put you in the best community puts you in the best university, the University of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa salam, which is the university you want to be enrolled in his sunnah. At some point, you've got to be wanting to succeed and learn and grow or else you fall off. Now, that's just one example of this. So as I said,

If I don't make you a little bit uncomfortable in this lecture,

then I failed as a lecturer. And if I don't heed my own advice and make myself a little bit uncomfortable, then I failed as a Muslim, to be honest with you. So let's talk about the subject for a bit in sha Allah to Allah, the idea of being a more wholesome Muslim. Now, the first way I want you to look at this is I want you to take a step back. And I want you to think about some amazing people we have in history, and some of the qualities that made them amazing.

And whether those qualities match the typical circumstances of those people. So I'll start with the Prophet of Allah.

Who are the wealthy prophets, you think of? Who are the wealthy prophets, like the prophets that were rich, the prophets that were wealthy, the prophets that were powerful.

So a man or a surah, who was his father,

that will that is the prophet that will that is.

So one of the beautiful things that you see with the wood and Sulayman is that Sulayman it has Salam is a prophet of Allah, therefore, he's naturally nourished in righteousness, and made worthy of being a recipient of Revelation. But it's beautiful when you see succession in the Quran between parents and children, the most common ones we talked about our Ibrahim RT Assam and his children.

And then, that's Iacobelli is salam to Jacob and then to use of Elisa to Joseph and there is such a consistency there. And you can see the same elements of righteousness and beauty transitioning from one parent to the next, which is beautiful, right? You don't just see that they all are Muslims. But if you met this half Friday his Salam or you met this married it his Salam and you had known their father Ibrahim alayhis, salam, you would see it, you'd catch if there is a Brahim on Islam you remind me of your father. It's a good parent. You know, if you met Fatima, all the Allahu Taala and her, if you met Fatima, you would see everything of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salam, if you

knew the prophets, I saw them and it used to stun people to the point that they'd say Subhan Allah, even her walk was exactly like the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, I shall have the Allahu Anhu said I've never seen a person who resembled the Prophet slice and the more had the end was sometime in mannerism in appearance in every single detail like file tema to the Prophet sallallahu

Are they he was early he was selling sustainment. cathedra. You so there's a transition like if I met, it's my in his heart that I knew Ibrahim, may Allah allow us to one day know them all, in person in paradise alone that I mean, let's see, I see your father and you I can see your mother in you. I see the transition point, I see the characteristics. So a few months when a man already has Salam. And you had known Whoo, daddy his Salam, there's a clear transition here. There's a beauty in the similarities of their character.

Now there will daddy his Salam. As I said, I want you to kind of take a step back and think about a wholesome person that would only his salam from a worldly perspective is marked by his wealth, and his power. Right? He's a powerful prophet. He's a wealthy prophet. He is successful in the dunya. We sense as he is in the Dini sense, and all of the prophets are successful. Right. But if you saw his worldly achievements, their success there, right. And usually with that type of success, which his son inherited, and then had grown in a way that Allah subhanaw taala, decreed in response to his do app, customized and even bigger kingdom. Usually people that have that type of success, have certain

flaws, that become more pronounced, even sometimes to their own ignorance. You know, if you were to take yourself and some people have witnessed a great variety of change in their lives, in terms of their economic circumstances, I know many of you are young, and you haven't gone through that, right. But at one point, very hard working poor, at some point, still hard working, but maybe they succeed in a worldly sense. Maybe some people came from a country where certain expectations of service and respect were not necessarily there, but now they're in a different type of society. And so that expectation in that service is there. It's like, you know, I'll never forget and may Allah

forgive this brother and I gave a whole talk today about not mocking people, but it hurt me to hear it. Honestly, I remember and hedge very specific moment in my life. And the American Hajaj, Nestle a lot of Apphia, may Allah protect us all and accept our hedge, but we go there with expectations, like, Hey, I paid for the package, right?

And this guy, you know, a bus is late. And he goes to the guy who's running the buses, and he asked him when the buses are and the guy kind of brushes them off. And in the thickest accent that was not an American accent says, I'm an American,

masha Allah, get back in line.

Right? But there was something that that came from, like a change of circumstance, men's a change of how I expect the world to approach me now. Right? Like when you get wealthier, may have lost pounds, I grant you all goodness in this life and in the next, whether that's manifested in wealth or not. But when you live a life of more ease, you expect better service at the restaurant, you're more easily irritated, because your circumstances dictate this idea that I've paid my way up to expecting a certain level of treatment at this point in my life. Maybe I wouldn't have had that same level of expectation earlier on. And I don't recognize that as arrogance in myself. But in reality, what

changed? What changed, right? So we dealt with it Islam. powerful, wealthy, successful. Yeah, look at what he's praised for. In the Quran and the Sunnah, you take a step back. He's praised for his worship.

He's praised for his Rebadow which is very significant here. Because Adam, it is Saddam, when

his descendants were being extracted from his loins he saw this light in the creation and he said, Who is that child of mine? And he was told that to double down Islam and dellwood was so beautiful. That other Muslim gave him several decades of his life. So this man needs to live more on earth. What are the prophets lie some praise about devil daddy's system?

Can anyone tell me anything you remember about Dawood Islam and his riba his worship any Hadith you may have heard you can raise your hands. I don't want to hear them mumbling. So anything you've heard about that? Oh, yeah.

A wise person is hikma is praised.

The AMOLED check out if you can't answer my gosh. You're a chef.

Like

he was generous.

The chef just gave you an answer. What did he say?

He was a king. Alright, why is no one repeating the answer of the chef? He was right.

The AMOLED Massa

Hello What's your name? Iman Masha Allah may Allah pants on what is it? Yeah ma'am Masha Allah may Allah subhanaw taala bless you and increase you. pm will live. The prophets lie sunnah mentioned the best prayer at 9pm will lead is the prayer of del Gudauri Salam you know that last third of the night he traced that today oh there it is Saddam that they're older Islam used to wake up in the last third of the night. Meaning though that Islam was not satisfied with simply being wealthy and being a prophet and someone who gives a lot he also was pushing himself to pray at night What else there's another very distinct to Riba the act of worship that he was famous for. Yeah,

there are cm what is what is this fasting?

Someone raised their hand what was his fasting

This can mean many things.

They on and day off does I can look at a life other May Allah preserve you day on and day off the prophets. Isom said the best fasting is the fasting of the watery salaam, he would fast today and break his fast the next day.

How amazing is that? His habit was to fast every other day, or lay his set up. Now you think of a man wealthy in his kingdom. He's a prophet of Allah, he has a long resume, he has a lot to be praised for. He's sitting here establishing Islam in the world, right.

But he still found the prerogative to rise from his comfortable bed in the last third of the night. And to forsake his comfortable wealth every other day and fast with Allah subhanaw taala beautiful person. So he has these qualities that aren't typically associated with someone that might just think Well, hey, I just write my, my check, I just give charity and that's it. All right. But on top of that, he also has all of the qualities that actually match his circumstances. So there are certain qualities, good qualities that might come more natural to you, because of your upbringing, because of your privileges because of your circumstances. And you're expected to shine with those

qualities, and then not have the blind spots and the flaws that might come with that place. So when someone gets wealthy,

what is one area of charity that usually a wealthy Muslim will resort to?

If someone gets wealthy, Muslim gets wealthy, and they start to give charity, there are different charity, charitable projects, you know, I just realized that that's a bad question because mashallah, you're gonna start naming a bunch of projects. But what about sponsoring orphans? Sponsoring orphans? Usually is a project that hits deep with people's hearts, especially the Muslims the profit slice, and I'm said that I am the one and only cafeteria team, I am the one who sponsors an orphan are like these two fingers can have a male last pants, I grant us this closeness to the profit slice. I'm on the Day of Judgment. I mean,

but there are different ways, right? There's someone that just writes a check. And there's someone that does even more, that shows a great deal of empathy, and love. And it's harder. When you're more removed from the circumstances of the one you're giving charity to to empathize with that person, right? It's harder. So even while it's actually interesting, subhanAllah, the psychology of charity, that even while you might be giving more, you might be connecting much less to the recipients, you're giving more out of a sense of responsibility, you need to write bigger checks, because you have more money now, you need to sponsor more people, but their experience is becoming more and more

distant from you. And of course, in our day and age and hamdulillah it's a great blessing that I could pull out my phone and donate right now. But there's something that needs to also be accounted for, which is that there's no longer that idea of going to someone and giving them sadaqa and being in their presence and actually seeing it and experiencing it and getting the softness of the heart that comes with it. Now though, Danny Sadam could have simply said, you know, to his minister, count how much wealth I have, and then a lot this percentage, like he's doing taxes, but you don't do sadaqa like you do taxes when you're a person of Exxon when you're a person of excellence instead,

that would be his Saddam was known for always surrounding himself with a Tom with the orphans. What is this based upon? If you read, not to get too technical, but it's it's a beautiful thing. If you read the Battlefront, one of the collections of Imam Buhari Rahim Allah to Allah, where he breaks down chapters of headlights on noble characteristics, noble traits, it's actually one of the most beautiful reads from a collection of a hadith that you will come across and other than Muslim. He has a chapter, which is named after this beautiful statement of dealt with it is Sunnah

the narration from the O'Donoghue, Salam. That would Alayhis Salam said Khun Delia team kill Abdul Rahim Khan Delia team caliber Rahim.

Be to the orphan, like a loving father. Couldn't really a team can Ebrahim be to the orphan, like a loving father, meaning one that would or Islam surrounded himself with a time with orphans. He wasn't just writing a check. He was taking deep interest in their lives.

Couldn't really a team can ever Raheem.

That's the type of household that is today, man, it sort of comes from

who will never be blinded by wealth. You see, now it kind of makes sense. How did study man or Islam have all of this wealth and it didn't faze him at all. And he still Azhar had a complete ascetic who's not moved by any of the kingdom in front of him anything that Allah's pants are put at his disposal, because he's had a father. Of course, first and foremost, Allah subhanaw taala nourished him in Revelation, but he had a living example. That certainly put an effect on him, where his father was so disconnected from the wealth of this world, though it was at his disposal. So he carried on the same attitude of his father, and Allah subhanaw taala grew his kingdom, but he

treated his kingdom the way his father treated the kingdom, meaning the wholesomeness of the world and he his salaam, translated to the wholesomeness of Sudan, Suriname, so I just want to talk about good qualities for a moment, this is not the part that makes you uncomfortable. All right. This is the part that makes you think a little bit inshallah to Allah about how wholesomeness is looked at through our deen through our test dia, but not the part that makes you uncomfortable. Another example, there is none of the Allahu Taala and home it's not even I found on the lawn, a very wealthy man, exceedingly wealthy man, I'm using wealth because it's an obvious example to start

with, we're talking about good qualities.

What was the quality other than sadaqa other than charity that Earth man or the Allahu Taala and who was distinguished by

he was shy.

A higher is a much broader term than shyness, but so modest, you know, higher includes modesty, humility, shyness, and includes many different things. But Hyah, or Islam or the allowance and I know like if you knew him,

the love that people had for him, the wealth that he possessed the position that he possessed in society, yet he would be the quietest person in the room. He'd be the shyest person. He didn't walk around with swag, he walked around with a lot of humility.

To where if you didn't know him, you wouldn't assume anything about his circumstances, you might even assume the opposite.

Because he was quiet, he was shy. He was modest. He was humble with people you'd never know. So he had a quality that was expected of someone of his circumstance. And he shined with it, which was super generous with his wealth. The prophets lie, some asks for something, he comes forth and he gives it which is what you would want from someone that has that well, but then he has a quality that is rare to find with someone that has those circumstances. wholesomeness, right you see what I'm getting at here. Look, man, and Hakeem Ali has set up.

Look, man is known for his wisdom, his wife speech, deeply poetic. His parables were legendary. Every time he spoke it his salaam, it became a statement that was etched in the minds of everyone in the hearts and minds of everyone that was around him. So poetic, so eloquent. But look, man, and Hakeem was distinguished actually by his silence, and he went to a gathering. Look, man was the quietest person there.

Isn't it? Josie Rahim? Allah has a story. And this is not a hadith. So I want to point this out there. It's just a parable about Lokmanya Hakeem, he said that it was said that one time though that is Salam spoken the gathering. And look, man, and Hakeem was in that gathering, and he, you know, he's talking about this idea. And he said that look, man did not speak the whole time. So the older Islam asked him,

why he didn't say anything. And he said, Is there any use? I'm paraphrasing, is there any use in speech unless it is about Allah? subhanaw taala? And is there any good in silence unless you're thinking about Allah subhanaw taala.

So your silence should be meaningful, your speaking should be meaningful, I was in a meaningful silence. And I didn't find that meaningful speech overcame the beauty of meaningful silence in these moments, right. Again, this is not a hadith it's a story that's narrated that in the Josie Hakim Allah mentions but certainly a great wisdom and the prophets lie some praises his wisdom and even more than that Allah praises his wisdom in the Quran. Usually people that are poetic, are going to talk more. Usually people that are eloquent and articulate are going to talk more, and they won't know when to be quiet, because they'll start becoming invested in their own speech. And the prophets

I mentioned that one of the signs of the Day of Judgment is everyone is fascinated by their own opinion. Everyone has an opinion and everyone is fascinated by their own opinion, as if it's an issue

formed opinions, no getting a bunch of retweets and a bunch of likes and shares and a bunch of forwards and people that think at the same level as you confirming everything that you say does not mean that you have an informed opinion. Just because it resonates with a lot of people doesn't mean it's informed. So one of the signs of the Day of Judgment is everyone becomes fascinated by their opinion, I shared an opinion. It's the greatest thing, you know, in the world. Sounded greats, even if it was entirely uninformed and illiterate, but it sounded great. So people get used to hearing their own voices. And if you're articulate, like, look, man and Hekima, you sit up, silence is not

usually a trait that you're going to find. So the quality that was expected of him, wisdom with his eloquence, he called to good things, right? Allah subhanaw taala immortalize the conversation of a man with his child on their walk. I mean, you have to be an incredible person of character and wisdom that Allah subhanaw taala will turn this advice that you're giving to your son on a walk into a surah of the Quran. Right? So a man who spoke with wisdom and who spoke with benefit, so he didn't use his eloquence in a way that was misplaced. He used it for good things, and he also did not let that good quality, own him

and betray Him by taking him away from another good quality which was learning to practice silence when it was necessary. Khadija, although the Allahu Taala Anna, a woman who has perfect faith, Khadija will the Allahu Tada Anna was exceedingly beautiful, exceedingly wealthy, exceedingly prestigious. She has everything that a person could want in that society. Yet Subhan Allah look at her qualities of humility, of modesty, the support the loyalty, the the way that she valued character and people, right. She was in the rooms with people who could care less about character they were all about folly. They were all about materialism, they were all about image they were all

about all of the superficiality yet, what does she look for in people sit, Amana

truthfulness, trustworthiness and Allah gifted her with a saw the Colombians of Allahu Allahu wa salam as a husband, so supportive, so modest, so incredible. So she has the qualities that would be expected of her righteous woman of her prestige. What does she do? She frees slaves. With her wealth. She sponsors the weddings of young women that couldn't afford to get married in her society, she pays mom see, I mean, her home was a soup kitchen and Jaha Leah, she literally had a green like 10 Some canopy in front of her house that people knew to come to her house and that she was always going to spend on people even before she married the prophets, Eliza. So she had the qualities that

were expected of a person of that stature. But then she had these qualities that are seemingly contradicted. I think you all get the point here. So I'm not going to go into more examples because I could go all that night and I realize that time is already moving. But most of the companions of the prophets lie some exemplify this in such a beautiful way. I'm gonna read the Bible, the Allahu taala. And who another example that you could take and that you could span Allah, dissect the beauty of his test Kiya, strong, powerful, but Subhan Allah, if a young child told her or model the Allahu Anhu fear Allah, his ego never betrayed him, never betrayed him. Shavon fled from Amata because

almost all the Allahu Anhu kicked his ego in the mouth figuratively, like his ego had no place with him, therefore shaitan had no opening with him. So you could tell Omar to fear Allah Almighty Allah and who would fear Allah right away and say, why? What do I do? Right? So his strength was expected of a man of his stature and prominence. But at the same time, he had these qualities that were not expected of a person who had that type of an, you know, an imposing presence in society. Now,

what does this have to do with being a more wholesome muscle? So we launched this study at Yaqeen. And I'm going to actually invite all of you at some point in sha Allah to Anna, to go on the website to Kenya institute.org and take the religiosity quiz at the bottom, you scroll right down, you'll see religiosity quiz, a portrait of your religiosity, a portrait of your religiosity. It's called basic belief, attitude, spirituality, institution, contribution, basic belief, attitudes, spirituality, institution, contribution. What does it speak to? Where did this come from? was actually a quiz and a methodology a data methodology that was worked on by Dr. Ismail murgee, who's

here and so called, by the way, and some of the scholars that are here and hamdulillah Grameen I just got the 10 minute mark for the Nabil. I'm sorry, I'm gonna go Alright, so

but they worked on this data collection, or a methodology to where what does it mean to measure the wholesomeness of a muscle? So I'll give you like practical examples. You might someone find someone that has great attitudes about their religion.

You ask them about Islam, and they light up and they say, I love my religion. They don't look the part. They don't pray the part. They're not in the masjid. But you meet this person in public and you ask them about Islam and they light up, they have a great attitude about their religion, they'll defend it against any islamophobe. Right? Attitude is great, maybe they're lacking in other areas. You have some people that have great spiritual practice, but their spiritual practice is not translating to any level of contribution back to the society back to community. That's a deficiency. The spirituality part is great, but how do you launch them into the contribution? There are some

people that have strong belief in Islam, like their creed is solid philosophy, they could argue with people they could do Dawa to people in the park, they can take on people and all types of things. But they're not really practicing Muslims, it's really relegated to the intellectual space, because we have a tendency to imbalance

and our lives are an opportunity to try to balance ourselves out to be the most wholesome servants of Allah subhanaw taala. Before we need to, you might have someone that is B A S C heavy, but they don't have a connection to the masjid and I understand institutions sometimes masajid are not welcoming. Sometimes you're not finding yourself in a masjid. But you know what? The prophets lie. Some said the masjid is the home of every believer. mess and messy debate to Cooley Muslim, every Muslim, their home is the message their spiritual home is the message you got to have a place of institution in your life as well. And institutionalizing your good efforts. Right? So how do I fill

these categories so that I don't meet Allah subhanaw taala with a great deficiency? In any one of them? What do I need to hear? What do I need to start practicing? While I build each one of these, now, every one of us is going to be imbalanced. But we don't want to be imbalanced in a way that we have fundamental flaws that go unaddressed in our personalities.

And the worst type of situation that you can be in one of the worst situations is when you're actually being betrayed by a good quality that you possess, meaning what every time you think about improvement, you merely think about a good quality that you already have and simply embellishing that good quality further.

I'll give you an example. Unto Allah belong as the greatest example. So this is different, but just maybe a human one that you can relate to. All right.

parent tells the child

I need you to do this chore. By eight o'clock.

child comes back doesn't do the chore says, Mom, I bought you flowers.

Alright, great. Can you go do the dishes now?

I cut the grass.

You know, okay, but can you go do the dishes. I vacuum the living room.

What's happening here, there's a disconnect between what you're supposed to be doing. And something that you might be doing that might be good, it is good. It's nice that you vacuumed it's nice that you cleaned up. It's nice that you cut the grass it's nice that you did all these things but you were told to do something very specific and you're not doing it.

Now that can become a fundamental and fatal flaw right now with our relationship with Allah subhanaw taala This is a form of rude deception, delusion. And Imam Al Ghazali Rahim Allah to Allah talks about a very specific type of road here right and that is the root of the righteous. So he says the righteous in quotation marks so he says for example, the people that can really get caught up into this he says scholars

worshippers people have to So wolf so spirituality and wealthy people. Now what is he talking about here? He says the scholar might feel a sense of immunity because they teach the religion to the people and so religion becomes relegated to theory preaching, telling other people what to do and the person has no time to practice anything that they are doing even worse than he meant Hakuna Matata I don't intentionally doing other than what they say. Or just not practicing it, letting the hearts Rus not doing anything, while telling people how they should be better. And they justify that to themselves by saying, I'm busy.

I got to teach the people and so they live in books and they teach in books, and they sleep in books, and they never experienced Allah subhanaw taala they might know about Allah but they don't know Allah.

So they're teaching people about Allah subhanaw taala but they're not getting into it and

That's a form of delusion. Right? And even worse than that, I can tell you this that in the culture, and let's not just take scholars and pick on scholars, people of data, people who are of the quote unquote, religious class. In those circles, some of the worst spiritual diseases go completely unchecked. Because when you see a bunch of religious people, backbiting, well, they're religious. And so if this person is doing it, then it must not really qualify as Liba then and if this person is doing it, this person doing it can't really be that corrupt. It's so much more blatant and obvious when it's a bunch of people that are clearly far away from Allah subhanaw taala, talking

about something that distances them from Allah subhanaw taala. So even the culture that gets created around scholarship and data and things of that sort can be a poisonous one.

So Moreover, deception, a fundamental flaw goes unaddressed, a person might worship Allah subhanaw taala a lot.

So you could be practicing a major sin, insisting on a sin, and having no intention to address it at any point in your life, but you pray extra, you fast, extra and Hamdulillah. You pray for Yama, lead. That's amazing. If you're praying soon as as well. That's amazing if you're fasting more than Ramadan. But Allah is not going to ask you on the Day of Judgment, why didn't you fast Mondays and Thursdays? Or why didn't you pray at night. And you might be developing an arrogance in the process of that self righteousness, looking down upon the quote unquote, sinners. And so delusion, even though what you're doing is good, you need to address the fatal flaw, people of spirituality. And he

speaks, he's speaking about a very particular class of people that think that they have access some secret relationship with the divine, to where they no longer need to do the actions that are required of the ordinary. So they've reached an extraordinary status where they no longer even need to do the ordinary practices, and people of wealth. And this is, by the way, very much. So not to pick on rich people. I'm sorry, you know, we love you when you give to the Masada than you give to the institutions in Europe. But on a serious note, if you think about where Christianity is going, capitalistic American Christianity is going right write your check to God and you're good as long as

you're putting that check in the bucket on Sunday. You're good write your check. Right? And we can have a manifestation of that as Muslims remember desire Rahim Allah was talking about it centuries ago, where a person feels like I give charity and what happens when you give charity Masha Allah tech via Allahu Akbar, everyone says no, I saw that brothers so generous, this this are so generous, and they praise and praise and praise and praise. And that person goes home and commits the same sins every day and night lives in Haram because no one even tells them that what they're doing is haram anymore, because they want them to keep writing those checks.

It's not a psalm, you don't get to write a check to God and just turn away. You've got you've got the same haram and hella does everybody else. But it can feel that way. And society will even prompt you in that way. And the delusion hence will grow. So how do we draw the line? How do we start to come out of this? Well, for 1 million Rahim Allah says something very powerful. He says, As for Hassan arts, good deeds, he said both a righteous person, and a sinner is capable of doing good deeds. But no one is able to abandon sin unless they're truthful with Allah subhanaw taala.

Not doing something that Allah tells you not to do is harder than doing something that Allah subhanaw taala tells you to do or tells you is good for you to do.

Think about this for a moment. It's powerful. Why? Because good deeds, resonate with your fitrah the inherent goodness inside of you. So you feel good when you do good deeds.

And so you could sit in that place and you could get very comfortable in that and keep on embellishing your good deeds, giving charity feels great. Volunteering, feels great. Praying feels great. And in the 21st century, there are books being written about this religion is being relegated to your latest method of self care.

It's your yoga practice on the side. It's how you feel better about yourself, when you go to sleep at night. I said I'm gonna make you guys a little uncomfortable. I don't want to be rude here. Alright, but think about it for a moment, right? So you give enough charity not to the extent that someone needs it, but to the extent that you need to feel good.

So that's the amount that I'm gonna love from my life. I'm going to volunteer, and especially in these disaster zones look.

And my heart is not immune. Subhanallah like we go to relief camps, distribution sites, and if someone's carrying around the camera the whole time.

There's something that can happen there. So you got your great selfie with the dying refugee and then you just walked away.

Something's wrong.

on here, it's the 21st century though it is a culture that we have. By the way, that doesn't mean that it's not good for people to be filmed in charity to invite other people to do good. This is just like every other form of charity. But I'm saying if you only do it to the point that it makes you feel good, not to the point that the other person needs. This is what religion is becoming in the 21st century. So you sit in a good place, a place where good deeds make you happy, but you're not abandoning what ALLAH SubhanA wa, tada tells you to abandon. And that's where true sacrifice comes. And I'm gonna call you Rahim. Allah says, Even atheists are willing to do many good things.

Because those good things make them feel good. So you'll find atheists that will do good deeds and good actions, that give them that sense of joy.

But when it comes to sacrifice, no, I'm good. I'm good. So what ends up happening is an imbalance with a fatal flaw in your life, where you're able to come to peace with the existence of disobedience to Allah subhana, Allah to Allah, and you justify it by saying to yourself, but I do all these other good things. I think I'm okay. On the Day of Judgment, I heard the husband the hot was said that a person who does this good deed and this good deed is great. And he's going to come on the day of judgment with this way and this way and this way. But if you don't address that other stuff, you've got a hole in your bucket, and the water is coming through. So you can keep on pouring

water in the bucket. Or you plug that hole so that the water stops falling through. And there's also a sensible human on Saudi called the Allahu Taala annually says, and I'm paraphrasing, because of time here, he said, a person might do a good deed, and they rely on that good deed and they forget their sins until they meet Allah subhanaw taala, depending upon that good deed, and then they find instead that their sins surround them from every direction.

Whereas another person might commit a sin, and never stop fearing the consequences of that sin, until they repent so sincerely that they come on the day of judgment. And they find that that sin is not only

not only not a source of distress and consequence for them, but it's actually a good deed that's been written down for them because it's that far, sincere repentance turns, even sins into good deeds. So they, they didn't depend upon a good deed that they were doing and then say, I'm okay. And it's okay, I'm gonna live with these sins that I know are present in my life with no intention to ever relinquish them.

And then they met the consequences on the day of judgment. And of course, the worst manifestation of that is one of the prophets I said, um, said, I tried to ruin a million Muslims. Do you know who the bankrupt person is, the bankrupt person is the person who comes with all of their prayer, all of their sadaqa all of their fasting, but at the same time, sub Sahara was shuttered. Mahalo after bahagia a little bit harder, curse this personnel foul mouth with this person back by to this person abused this person. And all they find on the Day of Judgment is they basically have their salah, their CRM, their sadaqa, taken away from them and given them given to someone else. Now that's

living a life of hypocrisy, where you think you can be good with Allah and bad with the people. And that's not possible. That's not possible. So this is one way that you start to identify like never justifying fatal flaws. Someone Someone says, brother, sister, the religion is not all that. And they'll point to certain rituals in Islam. And you're right. The religion is not all this in terms of a ritual. Right? But if you're saying that to diminish the ritual, to diminish our ibadah, to diminish an act of worship, you're only fooling yourself. It sounds great as a tweet, it's not going to go very well for you on the Day of Judgment. And then if someone else comes in diminishes

character and says, Who cares this person does this for but at least that person prays at least this person does this at least I do this or at least I do that and diminishes major, major, major character flaws.

Then on the Day of Judgment, that person might end up as a bankrupt person. So how do we start to deal with this inshallah Tada, a few things I'll mention. Number one, the Fatah adds the Met what is mandatory is the same for everyone. And Halal and Haram are the same for everyone. Listen, we're coming to a time where people are just not going to tell you what you need to hear anymore, because people are not going to want to offend your sensitivities and your sensibilities. We're living in a time where algorithms are catered towards what you like to hear and what you'd like to see not what's going to challenge you to be better everything around you is becoming more intelligent at

satisfying you and your delusion.

And you have to do that much more work to overcome that and to make yourself hear what's going to actually better you Inshallah, tada and Ramadan. Ramadan when it comes is a great time to do that. By the way. It's a great time to do that. Like there are things that I

need to hear. And even if someone's not telling it to me, I'm not just going to keep on looking for confirmation bias. And the algorithm is inherently confirmation bias. So you start with what? What's fuddled? What's mandatory on every Muslim? What's halal and haram for every Muslim. And if I'm falling short, somewhere there, what's my game plan to get to it, even if I'm not yet there, but I'm going to acknowledge it. And I'm going to be uncomfortable with that discrepancy. And I'm going to try to make progress towards settling that discrepancy in my life, whether it's on the side of ritual or on the side of character. That's number one. Number two,

there are recommendations for healthy spirituality in the realm of what is now often in the realm of what is voluntary, that will benefit you in every one of these buckets. So for example, the omelet, the night prayer, even if it's 1530 minutes, even if it's too dark cause

pm has a way of infusing goodness into every single one of the dimensions of your spirituality and your character. Because it makes you more focused on the sight of Allah. It makes you more introspective and makes you more reflective, it makes you more disciplined.

It is so wholesome as Ibadah as an act of worship, that it will infuse goodness, it's completely voluntary. But it will infuse goodness into all of those reading the Quran is one of those as well, right? You can't say that? Well, for this deficiency, I need to read less Quran no reading, the Quran is always going to have some way of pushing you making your app is always going to have some way of pushing you. So finding those acts of worship in the voluntary sense that push you towards a softer heart, and a greater zeal and trying to please Allah subhanaw taala. The next thing that we find is that growing in one area of the body or character will inherently affect the other areas of

your life. This is Subhanallah very powerful statement from Neoflam Rahim Allah as well on this idea. And before I say the statement, let me give you an example here.

If you're going to the gym, and you're working out a primary muscle, there are all sorts of benefits to surrounding muscles, right, that maybe will not be identified on the chart on the side of a machine.

But your overall health is increasing, and the muscles around it are getting stronger as well. And sometimes they're really small muscles and small things that people don't even see. Right. But there's an overall benefit. That doesn't mean that you don't have to focus some attention and diversify and hit those different muscle groups. But what that means is that when you're improving one element of your health, you're improving all of it. And so when you're becoming a more focused Muslim on your character on your faith, and you're actually targeting certain goals for yourself every single year, that this year, this is how I want to look like a better Muslim this year. That's

going to at the bare minimum influence your ethic and how you approach your relationship with Allah subhanaw taala and it will influence other elements of your character as well. And an acclaimed Rahim Allah speaks about this, particularly when it comes to good character when it comes to good mannerisms. You know, I just talked about how some people might excel in ritual, but not necessarily character. Some people might excel in character, but not necessarily ritual. And that discrepancy is sometimes very clear. He said that Rahim a whole lot to Ana, a dean who couldn't who who look from Anza alayka Phil Holyoke, Xander, alayka 15

Subhan Allah. He said the religion in its entirety is good character. So whoever surpasses you in good character has surpassed you in religion. This separation of practice, from practical on an everyday life is not an Islamic separation. This is a religion that is meant to transform every single facet of your life. If you have a Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam Who taught you that there is a connection between your thicket of Allah subhanaw taala with your tongue in your heart and the foot that you're going to step into the restroom with. Then certainly, the Sunnah, transforms and connects and aligns everything from how you act in the masjid to how you act in your

most private room in your home.

And how you act with the closest person in the world to you. With the person who's furthest away from you, from how you act with someone who has a financial commitment to you to someone who has absolutely no worldly connection to you. It's going to transform that and align. That's because the prophets I said, I'm taught us something that's coherent, that transforms character and Dean all together. The last couple of things I'll say here is that if you address those things, that's where you'll find that Allah Subhana Allah will unlock a particular brilliance for you. So this isn't contradicting to say that the Sahaba had specialties. Even though they were all balanced. They did

have specialties things that they excelled in. So I'll go back here on Earth man and Alimi.

Allah be pleased with them. Khadija Isha may Allah be pleased with them, they didn't excel in the same ways. They were balanced, they had the fundamentals. And then they had a particular genius. Just like a good basketball team, a good football team. And the companions are far greater than any team. But you got to have the center of the power forward, the small forward and you get where I'm going with this, the shooting guard and the point guard and I'm not gonna start assigning which companion is who, but you got to have people playing their different roles. And that's how you become a more wholesome team. That's how you become a more wholesome community. And the beauty of

the companions is that the prophets lie some was able to unlock that genius in every single person, so you don't necessarily look at another person and say, That's how I'm gonna be a good Muslim. Imam Malik Rahim, Allah to Allah. One time there was a man. It's a very famous letter. I'll read the first few lines of it. A man who sent him a letter that was admonishing Imam Malik Rahim, Allah because he perceived a deficiency in him in one particular route, you know, this was sort of the thing like the scholars and the Warriors, right? There are very few people that were playing both roles that were scholars and warriors in the battlefield as well. So sometimes the warriors would

say that guy is just sitting in the library the whole time. Sometimes a scholar would say that person who's active all the time doesn't even have real and, and that could be a trick of shaytaan to start pitting people against each other, right? So in my mind, I call him Allah responded with a very famous statement, he said in Allah pass some armella Camera customer or Zack, he said, Allah has apportions his good deeds the same way he's apportioned his sustenance.

Meaning what? Just like some people have different worldly circumstances that are more favorable in one regard. Some people have a particular portion from Allah subhanaw taala that comes natural to them in terms of good deeds, their personalities, their environments have cultivated them their circumstances towards easy low hanging fruits. When it comes to good deeds. He says federal barrage wooden foot to foot Yeah, hello for Salah when I'm used to Hello for some, he said a person, for example, might find that Allah subhanaw taala has unlocked the door of prayer for that person, but not necessarily with fasting, meaning what not that they don't fast Ramadan and they pray to Allah

No, but that they find it easier and more pleasing to pray extra, but they don't necessarily fast extra. That's not their EBA that's not their worship. And he says, Well alpha alpha Fujihara HuFa sadaqa when I'm used to allow for some and another person who Allah may charity, easy for that person but not necessarily fasting. So he goes through these examples and he says, Look, I'm satisfied. I know that Allah has opened a particular door for me and in and I hope that Allah will accept it. I hope that Allah will accept it I'm beloved Mr. Udo the amount of time to animal One time someone went to him and said, you know, we don't find you fasting extra days. It's it's very

peculiar. You don't necessarily fast too many extra days. This idea that everyone who's getting religious start to fast Mondays Thursdays, the middle three days every other day, for example, they didn't find him and Mr. Little the Allah I don't necessarily shining in that regard. And he said, Look, I teach Quran all day. I read and I teach Quran, Allah has read all the law and he was a walking Quran. And he said that there are still Quran is more beloved to me than a cm. He said for me reading the Quran teaching the Quran is more beloved to me than fasting. I'm happy with what Allah has a portion for me here. Like I'm okay with this excelling in this regard. So you're not

necessarily going to excel in everything, but excel in the things that come easiest to you without being betrayed by those qualities. If I could summarize this past our excel in the qualities that come easy to you the deeds that come easy to you, without betraying those qualities, with flaws that you ignore.

All right.

Now, with that being said,

the profit slice and I'm also said

that there are two types that envy is bad, except in two cases.

Envy is bad, not hazardous. There is no envy except in two cases, a person who Allah subhanaw taala gave knowledge to and they recite it. And one narration spread it meaning that they read it at night. So they pray at night with that knowledge, they recite the Quran or they teach it they preach it right. So a person who Allah has given to him and they spread it or a person who Allah has given wealth and they spend it.

Prophets lie, some said there is no envy except in these two cases. But isn't that a contradiction to what Mr. Maddock, Rahim? Allah said, Absolutely not. And I'll tell you why.

Someone might say, I really, really want to be that rich person.

All right. And I will give sadaqa if I get rich,

but what they envy about the person is not the sadaqa part. They're using the sadaqa parts to embrace that position and not find a contradiction with their religion.

So if I get there, I'll give a lot of charity to, they might like the praise that comes with it. They might like the lifestyle that comes with and says, Well, the sadaqa certainly washes that away. And so this is great. I want to be that person. Right? So you get a community where every single person wants to become a doctor. We need doctors, by the way, I'm not telling anyone to drop med school, but every single like, they think wealth, wealth, wealth, wealth, and there's more to it than that, right. But the prophets, I said, is not talking about that the prophets, like some is talking about a person who sees someone who's benefiting with their sadaqa. And they're envying the

benefit parts. I wish I could give that much benefits.

And so what does that translate into for them, they try to make up for their inability to give charity, with their wealth, with their volunteering with their work with all of the other things they can do with themselves so that they can match the benefit in the sight of Allah subhanho wa taala. And he sets the line so I'm a person who Allah gives knowledge to, and they spread it. Now, by the way, in another narration, the prophets lie sometimes said that whoever seeks knowledge so that they can argue with scholars shame, the ignorant or the yesterday for any who would join us turn people's attention to them, Allah will enter them into hellfire. May Allah protect us all.

So you're not envying thee. I want to be a speaker. That looks that looks great. I want to be on YouTube one day, I want to have tic TOCs going viral. I want to have this and this and that. This, you know, I want to be on the mend. But one day, no, no, no, none of that.

There envying the benefits and saying, I want to benefit people like that, I want to be a guide for people towards higher towards good. So that's either going to unlock in me that I need to learn more, or I need to find ways to maybe open the pathways of income for other people. So maybe I'll facilitate that knowledge towards other people, because I want to get some of the reward of that benefit. So the competition does not become about the specifics, it becomes about the reward, and output,

that we all have the zeal to want to compete. And that makes us all better. That makes us all better. You know, I don't want to use too many basketball examples. I feel like I've used too many of those already. Some of you like we don't know what you're talking about here, right? But, you know, a great player doesn't just study everyone at their position.

Right? They become a student of every great player and try to adopt what they can try to learn from what they can and bring it into their lives. And that keeps them getting greater, greater and greater and greater and greater. What does that mean for a Muslim?

Well, he that he affiliates in office and met Newton Ephesian let them compete in that good, sad equal rushing racing

Amata bin Abdulaziz Rahim Allah

you all have heard of Ahmed have been added as a as a Mullah. So in two years, this man turned the around 38 to 40 By the way, he was only 30 years old when he became the Khalifa incredible human being the great grandson of honorable hilltop. It'll be a lot of time in incredible human being. One of the most accomplished people in Islamic history is Amina bin Abdulaziz Rahim Allah He died when he was 40 he was the governor of Medina when he was 25 years old.

So 32 And then he became the Khalifa 38 What the man did a while the Allahu Tada and who is incredible. I mean, one of the most accomplished people in Islamic history to the point that there's consensus, according to many of the scholars that he's the first Mujaddid of Islam, the first Reviver of Islam after I would look at a study called the Allah Tada. I know, in his generation, he is the reviver.

So if you're gonna have an added disease, and people are telling you this stuff, and you're seeing the accomplishments, you're probably thinking to yourself, like I'm good,

I'm good. But I'm gonna be the disease one day goes out in the morning to do wicked and he finds Mujahid Rahimullah who was a professor of Quran, a great scholar of Tafseer. And he finds him remembering Allah at the riverbank and crying and weeping and getting close to Allah. And he looks at Mujahid and he goes, Woe to you. Oh, jarheads cave. Robbie for Yeoman Enta fie. Well,

how am I supposed to meet Allah on the same day that you meet Allah?

I gotta do better.

How am I supposed to meet Allah on the same day that you're gonna meet him?

He saw something Mujahid was doing that he wasn't doing it that inspired him it didn't shut them off, make him despondent because that's how we are as an OMA

and his great grandfather, I'm going to talk about the Allah Tada and who had one person in the Ummah after the prophets lie Selim, that was greater than Him and that was a vocalist to declare the Allah and when OH MY GOD, ALLAH and what does he say about himself? I always wanted to compete with Beckett and he always beat me out.

So I thought one day I'm going to surpass him. And this is probably a good segue into a fundraiser. All right, because you've all heard this maybe in a fundraiser one day I was going to surpass it will record all the law and the prophets like someone's asking for wealth I brought up

bunch of my money, profits I said I'm sad what have you left for your family so half of it yet also Allah for Allah and His Messenger half of it for the family, mashallah I sent to your alma, great job, then we'll record on the Allah annual comes. And he gives all of his wealth for the sake of Allah. And he's like, I don't know what to do. I can't be out of a bucket or the law on him, but he kept trying. And some of the greatness of the filth of Amir Muhammad Ali, Allah who I know is that he always had a Wilbekin will the Allahu Anhu ahead of them and was always thinking to himself to abdomen John and Benedict, you've exhausted everyone that comes after you I got to do better. I've

got to be like you, I've got to try to be more like you. That's the culture we want to have. And so being a more wholesome Muslim means being a more wholesome community. And it means looking at the best examples around you to inspire you, not the worst examples around you to make you complacence or even worst condescending and judgmental.

Looking at the best examples, people that have something that you know, that you don't have, and I want the benefit and the rewards I'm gonna push myself to do even better. May Allah subhanaw taala make us people that inspire and are inspired. And may Allah subhanaw taala forgive us for our shortcomings. May Allah subhanaw taala rid us of any of the destructive flaws that could do away with our good deeds? May Allah Subhana Allah guide us towards that which is pleasing to Him, that which makes us more pleasing servants to him. May Allah subhanaw taala rectify us and rectify through us may Allah correct our hearts correct our deeds. May Allah subhanaw taala correct our

creed, correct our ideas, correct our practices and allow us to die in a way in which we have reached that which is most pleasing to Him.