Omar Suleiman – Consuming Too Much Bad News and the Danger of Despair

			Salam Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh everyone send out mama hain and then handed in Lahaina
Amanda who want to stay in a hornet's nest understanding we're not may not be here when until I
could have easily went a little bit longer premium and surely unforeseen Omen see ammonia nominee
the level to Allah Allah mobile Allah or many little further howdy Allah I shadow Allah Allah ilaha
illallah wa junta who naturally cannot work without Hammond you will you meet with Jorge you layer
more to be able to good flavor Hawaiian Aquila Shane Cody, Russia, Donna Mohammed Abdul water Sulu.
wasafi Yahuwah Halina Adela Manitoba lava risotto nos, Kesha for lahoma whatever I can add him or
		

			her to the label or label her kanheri her lazy vine her inner Haddock Friday of last summer tasleem
right early he was like up here one minute standing between the TV on the dean along there and I
mean home I mean I am and I'm gonna slowly how to ask but how cool that was on the sub. I mean, I
mean also you can whenever we talk a lot, aka Mr. Rabbit hardcore Carla Talia. And Alina Amenhotep
law hacker to high to
		

			low and to Muslim on you and NASA Taco Bell Camila v Kanaka. From a nurse and wider or Salah
caminhadas o jaha or bethlem in humare. JOHN and Kathy are all Juanita. What's up La Liga, Tessa and
we want to be one of ham in a lot of Canada and a camera fever.
		

			Yeah, you were living in Ireland and tequila Haku Colin said either you're American, we'll come on
your query la hora, sudo fucka defassa frozen, Avi mathema. Barrett, I want to welcome you all, to
this Friday message. We begin with the praise of a Lost Planet Allah, we ask him to send his peace
and blessings upon His messengers and prophets, his prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
his family, his companions and those that follow until the day of judgment, and we ask Allah to
allow us to follow in their blessing path a lot more. I mean, so I've been doing a lot of reflection
on what to talk about this Friday in particular. And I thought about, you know, how, how much bad
		

			news there has been, how much despair there is, and how we're dealing with all of this news that's
coming our way. But at the same time, unfortunately, one of the things that's happening is that in
the process of all of that bad news, and despairs, it's not just making us more attentive. It's,
it's, it's causing us to shut off and not really do anything with the circumstances, not feeling
like we have any power. There is this feeling of Judgment Day, you know, resurrection in the
background. And the thing is, is that you have to find this balance where you process all of that,
because it's good to be reminded of our mortality, it's good to be reminded of the Day of Judgment,
		

			it's good to be reminded of our vulnerabilities, it's good to be reminded about our health, all of
these things are positive. But at the same time, it's important for us to stay activated and to feel
like we still have a way forward, right. And so what a lot of warns about of despair is very
important. And one of the things that was really interesting, this hadith that I was reflecting on
and how it would apply to our circumstances. Now, even a lot protects us from some bad news and some
gloom, not not not protecting us in the sense of protecting us from knowing about what's out there.
So we have mentions of punishment, we have mentions of doom. And we have mentions of the punishment
		

			of the grave and the punishment of the hereafter. We have these things in the portal, and we have
them in the Senate, and it's a balance, you have reward, and then you have punishment, you have
hope. And then you have fear, and the believer lives between hope and fear. And they you have to
have a healthy balance between the two, your hope cannot become delusion to where you're complacent
and heedless. Your fear cannot become despair, to where you're shut off, and you don't do anything
because you feel like you have no chance at salvation and no chance of good or you're not deserving
of any type of salvation or any type of good. So that balance is there. And there's this one Hadith
		

			about how even a law protects us in a way, and that is where the profits in the long run. He was
seldom he was talking about the punishment of the grave, right and the things that happen in the
grave. Now obviously, the grave is the first station of the station of the hereafter. And that's why
it's modeled the longtime man who used to weep at the grave because he said that if this station is
good than everything, after it will be good. If you are living in a mini genda in your grave, then
that is a sign of the agenda to come. If you are in a mini jahannam in the grave, it's a sign of a
mini jahannam to come so May Allah subhanaw taala allow our station in the grave to be ease and to
		

			be a part of Jenna only to lead us to the ultimate gender the ultimate reward of Allah subhanaw
taala right. So we know about the reward and the punishment, were sought to seek refuge or we're
taught to seek refuge from
		

			The punishment of the grave and every one of our prayers, we are taught extensively about the
importance of death, and how it is how the middle of that how it is the destroyer of pleasures, all
of these things are there. But can you imagine how difficult our lives would be if we could hear the
punishment of the grave? If we could actually see those things. And I remember, you know, when, when
Google Video first came out, before YouTube was a thing, and before social media had taken off, and
there were a lot of these videos that were circulating this before, what's up, it seems ancient now.
And I remember these videos about the punishment of the grave where someone was testifying to what
		

			they heard, or a body was dug up or in the process of burial. The grave was not accepting the person
or they saw snakes in the grave or Python, you know, all of these these different types of videos
that would come out. And the Prophet sallallahu wasallam spoke to how horrified we would be or shut
off we would be if we saw the graves of everyone if we actually had that glimpse into the Hereafter,
and how it would stop us from being able to function properly. He said Salalah Horton, he was alone
as he passed by a group of grades he says, In the Haverhill oma, tell her if you have already her
for Lola, Angela to death no fanola Allah to Darfur. No, they're out to LA ha and your smear come in
		

			other bill compre lebbeus marrow minimal. So I'm gonna say that again, the prophets lie some says in
the house, we have to tell her people worry her for Lola and let her know that they're out to LA and
your smear come in other will probably love the smell Minho, the profit slice and I'm sad that this
group of people are being tested in their graves, they are being tested in their graves. And had I
not feared that you would not even Bury Your Dead. If you could hear the punishment of the grave
that I would have asked the loss of what's added to allow you to hear what I'm hearing right now.
Meaning the prophets lie Selim could handle hearing what he was hearing so alohar Islam and seeing
		

			of the unseen what Allah had allowed him to see. But the Prophet slicin, um, was saying that he had
a fear that as an oma, as a people, we would not be able to handle hearing or seeing those things
that he was seeing sallallahu wasallam because our capacity does not allow it. And it would actually
stop us from carrying out the sunan, the traditions, the important rituals that surround death.
There's another incident where the profit slice of them recognizing his capacity versus the capacity
of other people. And some of you have heard the first part of this of youth incident where the
Prophet peace be upon him. So like I said, I'm walked by a group of people and they were laughing
		

			obnoxiously now the prophets lie. Selim was one who used to smile and he used to laugh, right, the
prophets lie, some was the salmon will hack and he would smile and he would laugh, though his
laughter. Was was very noble and dignified. So the law is a meme, but not only would he smile and
laugh, he would bring joy to the people around him. So you would smile and laugh from the smiling
and laughter of the Prophet slice of them, but there is a type of laughter that is obnoxious, and
that, that veers into the impermissible and that denotes some sort of an ignorance of the world and
of our purpose in life. And so the Prophet slicin walked by a group of people, and he saw them
		

			laughing heavily, and he said something a lot he was alarmed that by the one and whose hand is my
soul, well, not enough. cvrd had you seen what I have seen? and not knowing what I know? You would
laugh little and weak, much? Had you seen what I've seen and known what I've known? You would laugh
a little, and you would week much? When the prophets lie some left those people and this is an
authentic hadith, Allah Subhana hota Allah revealed to him for Oh Ha, la xojo la. Yeah, Mohammed
Lima to cognito everybody. Allah says says to the prophets, why Selim? Oh, Mohammed, why are you
causing my servants to despair? Why are you causing my servants to despair? Now nothing that the
		

			prophets lie Some said was wrong, we should think about the hereafter. And indeed, the prophets
lysozyme has seen things that we did not see. And he was giving that advice, not in the capacity of
dismissing them. But he was giving that advice in a way to let them know that, hey, look, think
about your purpose. You need to you need to think about your purpose. And this is indeed in the
books of tusky and the books of spirituality that there's a good type of laughter and then there's a
type of laughter that goes a little too far and denotes a form of ignorance and delusion. But the
fact that Allah subhanaw taala says to the Prophet civil Isola, why did you cause my servants to
		

			despair? And the Prophet slicin goes back to them and he says Mr. Shido, was suddenly do a carnival.
Okay. So give good news. And the zero was suddenly do and guide people will call people and bring
them as close as possible meaning you want to give them the
		

			Proper doses, the proper messaging of hope and fear of mercy and punishment that would cause them to
ultimately drive themselves towards Allah's mercy and not find themselves in the category of
punishment, not all of us are inherently imbalanced and the Prophet slicin was the most balanced of
all right, all of us have to find that balance. And sometimes, you know, we risk in talking so much
about mercy, we risk leading people to complacency and sometimes we risk and talking so much about
punishment, even out of love for people and consequences, worldly consequences and consequences in
the hereafter. We risk people becoming too, you know, or despairing from a loss of habitat and
		

			feeling like they have no path back to Allah and they have no path to good and then everything is
going to fall apart for them. But the fact that Allah subhanho wa Taala said that to the revealed to
the profit, slice them and the profit slice and went back and the Prophet sallallahu wasallam said,
give good news and guide the people, and we'll call it evil and bring them as close to perfection as
possible. They can't be perfect, but bring them as close to perfection as possible, is very
important here, it's an important lesson. Even Allah has spared us from some bad news, not in, in
making us ignorant of it, we know of it. But there would have been an overload of it had we been
		

			able to hear what was taking place in the graves and some of the things that were taking place in
the hereafter if we were to able to actually hear it and witness it, it would debilitate us and it
would not be productive and bringing us closer to a loss of hundreds are causing us to prepare it
would cause us to probably shut off. And so even a loss of hundreds are protected us from that. But
a lot did not make us ignorant of it. And that's the key here we have knowledge of it, we know about
it, we need to know about it, we need to strive to be amongst those that are rewarded in the
Hereafter, and that do rewardable deeds in this life. But sometimes seeing or hearing too much can
		

			shut you off. Right? And it's important for us to know what that lever is for ourselves. And I was
thinking about you know, as you see the imagery, the videos of
		

			the cabinet empty and you see the pictures and the videos that are you know, that are coming out of,
of just horrible things that are happening in the world and obviously horrible things were happening
in the world before the Coronavirus, right. The ER in Italy was already the ER and it wasn't it
right these these ers but it was different because it was people dropping bombs and it was people
shredded, shredded to pieces. And that, you know, and seeing those can be very, very debilitating. I
need to know what's happening so that I can activate myself towards it. But if you consume too much
of it, then you might shut off. And sometimes you know, I think to myself, what if what if in the in
		

			the 10th century, where you know, people are asking Was there no hatch there was, I believe it was
the year 919 or 918, the Khatami a group that attacked the Canada
		

			that attacked Mecca. And they killed all of the Hajaj that were coming to Mecca that day. They
filled Zamzam with blood, they threw dead Hajaj dead pilgrims into Zamzam. And they even could stole
the Blackstone and there was no hedge that year. And if you were to live in that time, would you
really be able to function? Okay, like if you were to live in that time, and you were to see the
images coming out from Mecca, if they had news reports and social media at the time, and you saw the
images of the people in Makkah, going to hedge being thrown into being thrown into these the into
Zamzam slaughtered and massacred and there was no hedge, would anyone living at that time would have
		

			really been able to function? Would would they have been able to actually come to terms with the
things that they were seeing? And the answer is probably not it was a mercy from Allah subhanaw
taala to them, that they didn't see it. However, it was important for people to know about that the
Crusades that were taking place the
		

			the massacre of Mandala by the Crusaders, the the way that the barbaric treatment of the people in
Syria at the time and May Allah subhanaw taala make it easy for the people of Syria as they're,
they're being treated in like manner now, but by their new oppressor, okay. And by the way, it was
it was actually 930 the year 930 that there was no Hajj and at the kilometer had massacred the Hajaj
if you saw what happened in, in Jerusalem in, you know, in the in the years that followed Mandala,
right, all of this happened, the massacre of the people in Mandala, the conquest of Jerusalem by the
Crusaders, the the pillaging of the Hajaj that we're going to hedge all that happened within 100
		

			years. Imagine if they had social media back then. Right? It would have it would have likely
debilitate
		

			Everyone, right to where they couldn't do anything anymore. So it's important for us to, to keep
some sort of hope to make ourselves aware of things. But to always know that Allah subhanaw taala
has pulled people out of difficulty before. And Allah subhanaw taala can pull us out of difficulty
now that whatever circumstances we are encountering right now, though they may be new to us, they're
not new to Allah subhana wa Tada. And Allah was powerful then and a lot is powerful. Now, a lot is
the healer, then and Allah is the healer. Now, Allah is the Most Merciful them and allows the Most
Merciful now and he always will be. Okay. So we need to know that though these circumstances are
		

			unprecedented in our lifetimes, they're not unprecedented. They've happened before. People have been
through these things before. And they've gotten through it. Now. Some of them passed away. And if
they were righteous, if they were upon the house, if they were upon the truth, and they were
righteous, and they were people who sought the mercy of Allah subhanaw taala. Then they gained
Shahada they gained, they gained the best thing that you could possibly want, right? Your purpose in
life is to do what will grant you Felicity in the hereafter. What more could you want? Right? And so
people made it through before people will make it through Now, the question is, how much do we keep
		

			ourselves engaged? How much doom and gloom is good or bad? How much should we make ourselves aware
of the bad circumstances of the bad news around us without being debilitated by it? And so just a
few things here, and I'll actually share a personal story. You know, one time I'd given a hookah and
this was right after
		

			it was right after the the, the beginning of the massacre of the Syrian people.
		

			And someone said to me, how can you smile at a time like this? How can you even smile? How did you
know like, it's offensive to the people of Syria that you would smile right now. Now, granted, the
hotel was about the people of Syria, we fundraise for the people of Syria, we made your app for the
people of Syria, we connected people, we advocated for the people here, I think we had a protest
that weekend for the peoples here, right. So we've done all of these things. And it's not enough, we
have not done enough for the people of Syria or for the people that are being oppressed in Yemen or
anywhere else. Right. We haven't done enough. But what I'm saying is, the whole point was about the
		

			people of Syria, we had action items for the people of Syria, and afterwards was the same setup. And
this this this brother very sincerely, by the way he wasn't, I'm not I'm not condemning him at all,
actually, you know, I get the place where his his disapproval and his discomfort came from. And I
acknowledge it came from a good place. How can you smile at a time like this? Why are you saying so
now? and smiling at the people after you just talked about what's happening to the people of Syria?
And
		

			all I could think about was, you know, how is it that the prophets lie Selim smiles through the
burial of six of seven of his children through oppression, persecution, being run out of his home,
run out of his city, having his teeth knocked out through the trauma of thought if through the
trauma of losing Khadija will be 11? Hmm. How could he still smile still a lot anymore? Send them
and the realization so how is that it's a mercy from Allah, that Allah subhana wa, tada still allows
us that Why? Because the reality is not smiling, is not going to change the situation of the people
of Syria, being ignorant of the people of Syria and of their plight is sinful, okay? And neglecting
		

			people in hardship is sinful, but not smiling wouldn't change anything, it wouldn't make anything
better for anybody. So the balance is in the person of the prophets lie Selim and the balance is
what we learn from the Koran and from the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam about
how to be knowledgeable, be acquainted, be engaged without being dejected, debilitated, and in
despair, okay. On a personal level, I am never complacent with sin, nor should I make anyone else
complacent with their sin. Sin is not okay. Okay. Sin is not okay. And I should not make myself
complacent with sin, nor should I make others complacent with sin. However,
		

			what I'm confident in is not that Allah Subhana Allah will forgive me despite my insistence on sin.
What I'm confident in is that Allah subhanaw taala will forgive me if I turn away from that sin.
That's the difference between despair and a healthy consciousness and fear of Allah subhana wa Tada.
So the confidence is not Yeah, law is gonna forgive me anyway. That would be taking the mercy part
of this too far. Right? The confidence is Allah subhana wa tada will forgive me I have personal love
a good expectation of a loss, that he will forgive me if I turn back to him, and that a loss of
parents at his mercy will overwhelm the generality of my sinfulness.
		

			I'm trying to get rid of it because that's a feature of the son of Adam. That's just a feature of
who we are as human beings. When I'm preaching to someone else, it's not that you're okay, where you
are, right? You know, and I get it Don't judge me We should not be judgmental, judgmental, as in
passing final judgment on the person, right or dooming the person to Hellfire or assigning a status
of evil to them. Right, which buries them in their sin causes them to turn off for mercy and they
never, you know, and they don't find a path back to a loss pans out. So what's the fine line? The
fine line is that you have some good that is redeeming. Use that good to overcome that sinfulness.
		

			And you will find a loss of hand water and always willing, always willing to accept you. Right. So
that's the difference between despair and taqwa taqwa and top notch woman, Rhonda Tila, okay, fear
of a loving God conscious being pious.
		

			You know, that's the difference. And so how do we transfer that to these aspects of our lives with
everything that's going on? The, you know, all of this that's happening reminds me of the power of a
loss of patterns and my vulnerability. My view of the world right now with everything that's
happening is not that it's all done and not that in any way that Allah subhanaw taala is incapable
of changing the situation. It's how do I place on myself a sense of urgency that I am on the side of
the favor of Allah subhanho wa Taala. With everything that's unfolding, while still believing that
Allah subhana wa tada can change everything that's unfolding with one of mine to us, despite my
		

			sinfulness, right, despite my sinfulness, don't belittle your job. Don't belittle your supplication.
And so make yourself aware of the world around you know about the world around you know about the
bad news, but don't over consume it to a point that you don't do any good. Okay, avail yourself of
the good that Allah subhanaw taala has put in front of you, and don't lose sight of the fact that
his mercy overwhelms his punishment, that his that Allah subhanaw taala his power is there and that
we can appeal to that and that we have the power of doing that we have open access to supplication
to a direct line of supplication at all times. So May Allah Subhana Allah allow us to never despair
		

			but at the same time to never be diluted. May Allah subhana wa tada allow us to live healthily
between the fear of not doing enough or the fear of displeasing him, and hope that Allah subhana wa
Taala could forgive us and will forgive us, no matter what, so long as we turn back to me Allah
subhanaw taala allow us to be driven by our love of him, and to have a healthy balance and a healthy
flight back to him. Between the hope and the fear of a loss of power inside those two wings. May
Allah subhanaw taala allow us to be a source of hope for people around us, but not to shut them off
from the things that they should be doing. May Allah subhanaw taala guide us and guide through us
		

			May Allah rectify us and rectify through us May Allah heal us and heal through us along I mean does
that mean little hidden to all of you for tuning in Don't forget to pray a lot to the Lord for like
us even if you did also even if you even if you're dressed nicely even if you're in your living room
and you've got a masala looking room, please pray your soul out of your forecast and we lost the
parents are returned us to his homes soon where we can pray Jumana together and May Allah subhanaw
taala allow us to reap the benefits of this blessed month of shutdown and prepare us for the most
blessed month of Ramadan. We'll slowly learn more ceremony Nabina Muhammad right and he was
		

			Salaam Alaikum Welcome to life.