How To Build Resilient Muslim Families Like Those In Gaza

Albula summary Minister Thanos is not a human or human hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen whatever you want to add a lot I mean, what are people to learn what's a clean Allahumma salli wa salam about a karate kata suka Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. While early he was so happy he was selling them to see him and cathedra

first and foremost I want to thank

and congratulate them on a wonderful convention mashallah to have all of you here. And I want to thank each and every single one of you for making the commitment to be here in the lights Allah and to engage not just with the sessions, but hopefully inshallah to Allah with the very important work that it can it does in so many different capacities. Secondly,

I want to begin with something that may seem unrelated, but that is front and center right now in my heart and in my mind that I'm sure so many of you which is what is happening in Palestine, today. May Allah subhanaw taala liberate, and most of the lochsa allow us to pray in a free Masjid Al Aqsa, may Allah subhanaw taala liberate our brothers and sisters in Palestine? May Allah subhanaw taala grant them Sakina grant them tranquility, May He protect them as they are under this heavy bombardment May Allah subhanaw taala give them victory over their oppressors May Allah subhanaw taala free them from

May Allah subhanaw taala free them from the occupation once and for all. Allahumma Amin, amin Hamdulillah.

And I want to actually start with a story of of Gaza.

When we talk about resilience,

there are different forms of resilience that exist in the world today.

There is the resilience that Allah subhanaw taala tells us about in the Quran that we often seek to nurture in ourselves and in our generation, which is to get to a point of what I have for not long Matala that we do not fear the blame of the blamers there is the resilience of being able to sit in a gathering and to be the only Muslim or to be a person who maintains their principles in a very unique way. And to find yourself is estranged, because your values do not line up with the values of people around you, but you are moved towards not only verbalizing those values and manifesting them, but being a positive source in society. Even when society tells you in dominant form that you don't

belong in the first place where you go from not only saying that we belong but that we have something to offer at the spiritual, social and physical level

to society around us that we're here not just to merely exist but to serve as well with our deen proudly, we will not shy away from our deen and we will live it in a way that Bismillah he to Allah will show other people in a time of moral decay that there is a better way forward and that is the way of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. There is that level of self actualization of Leia ha Fong Aloma today that we don't fear the blame of the blamers but there is a level of self actualization that the Prophet sallallahu Aeneas and I'm reserved for a specific people.

And when you talk about those people, they are the people who the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned UCLA ephah a group from this ummah and there are different words that are used for groups in the Quran and the Sunnah.

There are different collective efforts that are alluded to there is the general efforts. When asked in Al in Santa Fe, who's ill Alladhina amanu AMILO Sahni hotwater Ottawa so Bill Hockley, what was what was sub the loosest association that exists is the bare minimum that Allah subhanaw taala sets for us that by time that is fleeting away, verily man is that loss except for those who work together and enjoying one another in patience and in righteousness to also been happy with the loss of a sub, there is that level where we are doing that right now but in the light Allah, there is a dino Naziha the religion is sincere advice that your brother your sister deserves from you and the

type of relationship that we have with one another is a tunnel so is to give each other sincerity, Goodwill Subhanallah the word and I'll see how means goodwill, we have goodwill towards one another. And that's why you try to honor your brother and sister by giving them and I'll see how that can make them the most pleasing in the sight of Allah subhanaw taala you have the dua for your brother and sister believe, especially in the unseen when they don't even know so you give them they'll see how when you speak to them. You make your art when you don't see them for them. There is the right

Have your brother and sister that you visit one another that you pray in each other's janazah that when someone sneezes you say and hamdulillah and your hammock Allah and the Prophet sighs I'm established these as a group the right of Salaam. And then there is the collective work what attack when men come on materia de Luna ll hire a small group of you who call towards Good morning I'm Bill Monroe for 10 How now and in Moncure, you enjoin good and forbid evil, but then there's that smallest group of people

that the Prophet size and I mentioned

a group of people from my Alma who will always be upon the truth, clear as Knighten de la headin, there is absolutely no ambiguity to the fact that they are upon a righteous cause. Call he really I do we him.

There are enemies despise them, because of their perseverance. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned in different narrations descriptions of these people lie ago rowhome Man hatherleigh home and this is really what I want you to pay attention to. They are not dissuaded by those who turned their backs on them

lie to go home and had a home those who turned their backs on them Do not hurt them in any way because they know that they are upon the truth. They know that they're upon justice, they know that they're upon righteousness, they are nurtured by something that is divine. Therefore, they do not depend upon the material to build resilience within themselves.

And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned and they will be given victory they have the aid of Allah subhanaw taala until the day of judgment, and we said to the Prophet slice and I'm Who are they the Prophet sighs and I mentioned the people of a beetle muck this was a kind of bait and muck this and on the edge of the holy land. We see a living example today. And people who have gone beyond what I have found Aloma Tala am not fearing the blame of the blamer to lie although Roman Had Allah home, not even dissuaded by those who have turned their backs on them. We see those people and Philistine. Today we talk about the sahaba. We talk about the companions that passed and the example

that they have set with us of resilience. And we can draw from the example of our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and the example of the prophets that came before of suburb of perseverance and patience. musante is Salam, resiny salam, Ibrahim and Islam and so on, so forth. And then the examples of Abu Bakar and Amara and Iceman and Ali and Lucy bourbons, Karen, and Al Bara, Malik and Jabari have no Abdullah. We can draw from those examples in the past.

But I want you to recognize that you have a living example of resilience in the people of Gaza today. You have a living example of resilience, a legendary example of resilience in the people of Palestine and the people of Gaza today. They are a people who have been suffocated, who have had everything taken away from them, and whose enemy has tried to break them down mentally, psychologically, emotionally in every single way suffocated them

while their brothers and sisters sign on to the Abraham accords and sign on to agreements that completely disenfranchise them, even from the political power of the Muslim world.

And you know what they do?

They go to salata, Fajr you know, what they do? They still live their lives, you know, what they do? They still insist upon education, you know, what they do? They insist upon their Deen, you know what they do? They talk about their own liberation, and even these tiny places of the world that everybody else has moved on from them, they have not moved on because they do not exist for themselves. They exist for the sake of Allah subhanaw taala.

When you talk to people in Gaza, when you talk to young people in Gaza, they know that they exist for a greater purpose than themselves, otherwise, they would have laid down long ago and given up on their own existence. These young people that still want to get married, that still want to live their lives, if you've ever seen the weddings in Gaza.

And you see 1000 2000 People getting married at the same time. I want to talk about building resilience.

People that will get married 1000 2000 At the same time. And where are you going to honeymoon at the coast of Gaza, where you have just a couple of hotels, a few hotels where you can spend your time together and still insist

on existence.

Their resistance is their very existence. And subhanAllah when we are here, and we're talking about how we build resilience, I just want to take a moment and say that we don't just build resilience by looking at the people in the past. We build resilience by looking at the legends of the present as well. And they are setting an example for us. As a people, under over seven decades of a brutal occupation, seven decades of suffocation and they still breathe free.

They still c'est la ilaha illAllah. They still say Palestine, they still draw their own maps, they still draw their own flags, they still refuse to be erased. That is divine aid. That is a legendary example for us all. May Allah Subhana Allah to Allah, give them the support that they need. May Allah subhanaw taala allow those children that have grown up now, under the bombardment for five bombardments under the age of six years old, you've seen your you've seen everything around you, taken from you, may Allah subhanaw taala give them the perseverance, the hope that is necessary to survive, to move forward. And may Allah subhanaw taala be with our oppressed brothers and sisters,

wherever they are the innocent, the weak, the downtrodden, wherever they are, may Allah subhanaw taala be with them, and help them against the machinery of oppression that exists today that cannot overcome the aid of divine support Allahumma Amin with

loss of contact bless you

now to talk about our resilient families.

What does this mean for us?

Why bring in Palestine to this cause in particular.

And by the way, you know, welcome to the Islamophobes that are writing articles about the convention. I look forward to seeing your commentary on this on this lecture and of many lectures that are that are happening in this convention. We don't care what you think about us. That's number one. We

your hit pieces, your intimidation, your

all of the attempts have the machinery of alienating the Muslim community from broader society, and of demonizing Islam and of dehumanizing Muslims by caricaturing the Palestinian people. And then labeling us with these broad labels that you invented and that in fact you are guilty of none of that will intimidate the Muslim community in Allah He to Allah and if you look around here, there are young people here. And these young people here believe in Allah, Allah Muhammad Rasul Allah, and inshallah Tada, this community will thrive this community, this community will be nurtured, this community will grow. And this community will continue in sha Allah to Allah to be a positive force

in society, while believing in La ilaha illAllah Muhammad Rasool Allah, when we look around in our communities,

and we talk about the translation of something that was so transformative, in our own lives, to future generations, the very first thing that we have to take ourselves back to beyond the examples that have been given to us, is to manifest that example, for those that are around us, as well, especially those that see us in our most personal moments. I want you to understand for a moment, dear brothers and sisters, especially the parents that are in here, that the greatest way to instill Yaqeen certainty in the hearts of your children. And the greatest way to make them love Allah and the messenger, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, and the greatest way to have them committed to something

greater than themselves, is for them to see that in you. That's not a lecture. That's not a YouTube video. I make YouTube videos, I give lectures, I can't impact your children more than you impact your own. None of the speakers can, the resilience that you live. And the beautiful example that you manifest is what's going to keep your kids upon Islam and keep your kids saying that this is the most beautiful thing that has ever been given to us. I'm going to talk about something very personal.

My parents, may Allah Subhana Allah have mercy on my mother and may Allah have mercy on all of the deceased parents of those that are here today. And my father, may Allah subhanaw taala preserve him and may Allah preserve the parents that are alive of all of you that are here today.

My parents were Palestinian refugees. They actually met in the United States though.

I Subhanallah when I look back

And I think about what it was that actually made me

believe in this religion, the way that I believe in this religion. Personally, I'm not talking about anybody else, beyond the convincing that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi. wasallam is indeed a prophet of Allah and that his message is one that comes from the Lord of the heavens and the earth was at a very personal level, I could look at my own parents, and I could see Iman, I could see faith, I could see that they set themselves apart in the way that they chose to live their lives with Allah, and how they live their lives with each other.

I could see that Islam had colored

their worship, their service, and their relationship, I could see that there was a commitment to us

as children, that was far greater than what I had seen around me.

And I knew at every single moment that we did this for Allah, that they did this for Allah.

When my mother may Allah have mercy on her used to write poetry and in sha Allah Tala, I'm translating her poetry that she wrote about Muslim causes around the world. When she used to write the poetry about Bosnian, she used to write the poetry about Kashmir. And she used to write the poetry, of course, about Philistine.

And then at the same time, when refugees came to our country, came to the United States. And I found the very same people that were written about in the ink of my mother in the living room of my home.

And that our car was going to be to the use of refugees now and that when we bought groceries, we didn't just buy groceries for ourselves, we had to buy groceries for our extended family. And that on the weekends, we had to do acts of service. And that all of that was centered around the masjid on Yeoman Jumeirah and the message of the hutzpah and the Halaqaat. And what came out of that

that, to me,

is greater than any lesson that anyone could teach me with words.

And I want to put this onus on you right now because some of you are thinking, Well, I'm not anyone's example. At this point. I'm not a parent yet. I might not even be married yet. What Allah subhana Tirana teaches us to say, Allah bene habla namun as well as you know the reality now Kurata Aryan vagina in Matcha Pina Imam, our Lord grant us from our spouses and our offspring, the coolness of our eyes and make us leaders of the matcha kin of the God conscious. That is something that you are saying, before you have a future generation to care for, you already have in your mind that I am part of a legacy. I am part of a chain, that right now since the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam

has left the face of this earth, the prophets lie some has passed a torch from generation to generation to generation to generation. Even if the person before me has still not fully handed off that torch to me, I need to carry that torch and then pass it on. And the greatest way that I can serve that message is to live it in the most profound way possible.

When we talk about a person like amagno Capalbo, the Allahu Taala and the leader that he was establishing Islam in the most beautiful and systemic and structural lays around the world. I want you to think about what was happening in the home of Satan Amarante Allahu taala. And I want you to imagine not having lived to see all of the Allah Tala Andrew, but you met his children. And I want you to imagine if I'm the love no matter what the Allah Tada and Homer invited you to lunch at his home.

And I want you to recognize for a moment that our beloved Muhammad Ali Allah Tala and whom I would not have lunch in his home without an orphan at the table.

Why because he says that this is what my father used to do.

And that that man as he would walk around the city of Medina, or wherever he was, everything about him was connected to something deeper. And he used to say haka county of Allah. So Allah He said, the lines and I'm this is what the Prophet salallahu Salam used to do.

And everything was modeled after something he saw, from the messenger it his salatu salam, and then from his father, to the points, by the way,

that Abdullah and Rama are the Allahu Taala and hummus actions in and of themselves, to many of his students was an insinuation of near certainty that the profit slice and I'm probably used to do the same thing.

Because nothing he did was without tracing it to agenda

ration that came before him, his biological father Ahmed will have barbital the alongside and end our father in the sense of teaching us and imparting upon us the knowledge that we have the prophets I'm said in a manner that can be translated well into our Lemo come, I am to like a father and then I teach you, even though Allah Subhana Allah says Makana, Mohammed and other admin Regionalliga Well, I can Rasul Allah ohata Munna been the prophets like some is not the biological father of us, nor has Allah subhanaw taala set up the Prophet sly Salam, as a block between us and the heavens rather as a connector between us and Allah subhanho wa Taala rahmatan Neale Alameen, who taught us

how to make your app to Allah subhanaw taala directly who taught us how to live righteously SallAllahu Sallam directly, but he teaches us how to use salatu salam.

And everything he taught, could be visible, can be visualized. And then the next generation saw something from him. And the next generation saw something from that generation. And it was passed on from generation to generation, both at the community level and then at the deeply personal level, I believe no matter what the Allah Allahu Anhu ma saying, Look, we do this because I learned this little thing from my father that when we eat,

we have an orphan that eats with us. And this is a practice that I have hung on to

Subhanallah those small things that get transferred from generation to generation of righteousness, and they encompass major deeds. But every single thing about that is telling you that you're different,

that you have a greater responsibility.

And you cannot understand resilience if you don't understand responsibility.

Now, if you think about the people of Philistine and we're talking about the living example, that they are to us, of resilience, they understand that they have a greater responsibility, and that is what nurtures their resilience. On a personal level. The only way that you can be personally resilient with the hardships that face you in life is when you are renewed on the inside in regards to what your ultimate purpose is, if you know what your ultimate purpose is, the temporary difficulties paths, because your resilience comes out of knowing that you have a greater responsibility, and that that greater responsibility you will be questioned about on the Day of

Resurrection, and everything is calibrated in accordance with that on an individual level.

on a community level, when we recognize our greater responsibility, we build greater community resilience. When our children understand that you're not just here, to get a good education, you're not just here so that you can have your own family, you're not just here so that you could live the Canadian dream or the American dream, you're not just here for yourself, you're here for something greater than that allows them to be able to bear the voluntary difficulties that come with voluntary dedication to that greater responsibility.

Because I know that the stakes are high. When I'm sitting with other people, I know that the stakes are high, when my Islam is brought into question. Amongst other people, it's not just about me getting away and pulling to the side and sneaking off my salah. It's about me, conveying to everyone around me that we are a people of Salah we're a people of prayer.

It's not just me finding a way to get out of some sort of lesson or some sort of discourse or some sort of discussion. It's about me, belonging to a global faith community that has a message that can heal societies far and near. It's about having something more meaningful for you to benefit from as well, for you to find blessing in as well. I have a greater responsibility than myself.

And Subhan Allah as we look to the people around us, and we look to these generations around us, and we look to the way that Islam has been passed down from place to place. I want you to think for a moment, how many faith crisises happened in your chain of ancestry.

You know the story of your parents and maybe you know the story of your grandparents, and a few of you, maybe even your great grandparents.

But somewhere along the line especially for those that have an uninterrupted chain of Islam in terms of lineage not that they are better than those who reverted to Islam. In fact, those who convert to Islam are higher because they chose

Is this under immense pressure, but those who have the uninterrupted your great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother and grandfather were Muslim, and then they passed it down and they passed it down. You better believe that somewhere in the 17th century, somewhere in the 16th century, someone sat with themselves and thought, is Islam really worth it?

Do I really need to be doing this right now?

Do I need to be resilient? Someone made 200 in the 14th or 13th century

and asked Allah subhanaw taala, for the perseverance to deal with an onslaught from an external enemy, or a crisis from within somebody. And that is part of the vein that Allah subhanaw taala prepared you with

somewhere along the line.

You know, subhanAllah, one of the most powerful thoughts that ever struck me, as we look to the resurgence of Islam in African American communities in the United States through the Civil Rights Movement, through the likes of a hedge medica Chavez Rahim Allah to Allah and Muhammad Ali Rahim, Allah, what person who is trying to hide their Islam, under the brutal oppression of their slave owner, Master, what person was trying to hide suits and Fatiha and made your eye in those moments for ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada to let Islam have a resurgence in that lens whose drought was answered.

For that to happen, who saw that this wasn't just about me, surviving a moment of cruelty and getting away from something. But this was about having something planted here, the young, beautiful model that can take root in the earth that can take root in the society around me and bear fruit, even if it's generations later, who was trying to build something greater than themselves, even in the midst of tragedies that are completely unknown to us. 3456 generations ago, what old woman made dua for the likes of Malcolm X Rahim Allah to Allah, we don't know.

But you better believe that somewhere along the line,

someone in your lineage

was struggling and had to be resilient. And that's why the chain of Islam is uninterrupted to you. You better believe that someone was under the crushing revolts of the Mongols,

or the cruelty of the Crusaders.

And they fled with their Islam because Islam was more important to them than their very existence so that it can reach you 800 years later, you better believe that there are stories that are completely distance from your minds, but that are formative to your very existence.

And so resilience is paired off with responsibility.

I want to end with Subhanallah something. And a brother that I hope you'll make dua for is a distant relative named Ashraf, who's in Gaza right now, and I haven't reached him yet.

And last year, he does this talk, he does his his work. And he had gotten an offer

to go and to live in another country for four times the salary.

The dream had come to him

to leave his home in the USA.

And he could move on to Dubay and have four times a salary with all sorts of growth opportunities

for his career

and will lie and tell you these miracles. These people have Allah subhanaw taala May Allah protect him and protect his family and protect all of those who are cut off from our communication right now but not with Allah subhana wa Tada.

He said, that I want to stay here in the bazaar

and build with my people so that I could have the edge of being from an Morabito on those who the Prophet signs and I'm sad, hold the affordance I'm not going to turn away and walk away, even though from an Islamic perspective, it would have been completely halal. And he could have said to himself that I'm going to go there and I'm going to make opportunities for my people from the outside. But he chose to be in the midst of that because his resilience is directly tied to two things.

The reward of his resilience and the responsibility of his resilience.

You better believe that when you are in a place where Allah is remembered, and the angels surround that place, and Allah praises you, that Allah praises you so much more when you are around people who don't praise him, but you still choose to praise him around

People who don't necessarily hold on to your values but you hold on to your values, and you are patient and persevere with those values, you better believe that Allah subhanaw taala praises you in ways that you could never conceive of.

And so resilience is tied to your reward.

And it's tied to your responsibility. Bismillah heeta Allah

soon these halls will not be big enough to hold an Islamic convention.

You will need bigger halls, you will need bigger places. And in sha Allah to Allah, the quality of iman, the quality of faith that we pass on from generations that come after us will be Bismillahi Tana inspiring. And they will carry it on in a way that was even better than the way that we gave it to them. And with that being said, your brothers and sisters, I want you to do me a favor. And I want you to thank

those that came before you, your parents. Those that built massager, those that built organizations they didn't have they weren't as tech savvy as you. They didn't know how to do certain things that maybe you know how to do now they didn't have the tools that are available to you. But when you meet someone, even in your own home, who held it down so that you could be Muslim today.

Jazak Allah Who Hydra

ALLAH SubhanA huzzah Allah told us with the MaHA jurien The our relationship with the MO hygiene is that we make a step far. We seek forgiveness for those who came before us desire come Allah Who Hydra May Allah reward you, oh prophet of allah sallallahu alayhi wa Salam o Abubaker Amara is not an ally, and that entire generation for holding it down May Allah reward each and every single one of those brothers and sisters that held it down and that passed this on to us and may Allah reward the people that are in this room right now

that aren't famous on earth but within a town of their famous in the heavens, those that built institutions before you could digitally highlight them.

May Allah subhana

ears and may Allah allow us to be savvy born for those who come after us Allah Amin desert Malone Cairo Santa Monica Monica and Sarika