Am I a Pharaoh? The pitfalls of Narcissism – This talk was delivered at the Valley Ranch Islamic Center.
2017-06-13
Am I a Pharaoh? The pitfalls of Narcissism – This talk was delivered at the Valley Ranch Islamic Center.
2017-06-13
We are selling the * concealer. I don't know if you all notice, but something very interesting in this part of the portal. And it's actually quite fascinating that we talk about two of the most powerful men that have ever walked the face of the earth. But that could not possibly be more different than they were, or those two men.
Early on, we talked about one man of power,
but own the Pharaoh. And then Who are we? Who did we get to after that? So a man at his Salaam, okay, so you go from the pharaoh to King Solomon, to people that were given much wealth and power in this world. But that reacted to that power in completely opposite ways. One of them was intoxicated by it. The other one was humbled by it. One of them used his power to only gain more power. The other one used his power, only to do good and to spread the word of a loss of hundreds on to spread goodness. And somehow to law. What it tells you is that it's not about that we as people, it's not about what we have what's given to us or what our circumstances are, at the end of the day, it's
about who you are at your core. Sulaiman and he his Salaam had his heart and his mind in the right place, and obviously he was divinely inspired by Allah. Whereas for their own, the pharaoh only distanced himself further from Allah subhanho wa Taala. Now I want to talk about their own but I don't just want to talk about fit our own in the capacity of a man that lived in the past that was a horrible human being. Were there other fair owns Were there other Pharaohs that walk the face of the earth after for their own?
Yes, who are they?
Please don't point to me. Who are they?
In our oma the most prominent fit around the most prominent Pharaoh was who
Abu Jahan, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam called Abu jihad, the fit around of this oma the Pharaoh of this nation. So there are other Pharaohs, people that came after for their own, that are Pharaohs in their behavior, not necessarily in their title. They act like for their own, they live like for their own. They internalize power like for their own, okay. And at the end of the day, what we find is that there are many people that oppress the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, many people that hurt the Muslims. But Abu Jahan was titled The fit of this oma, the Pharaoh of this oma, why. And what I want us to really reflect on is what makes a fit our own, what makes a pharaoh and
what makes this man so dangerous. Number one, they say that their own contains in him the characteristic of a blease of the of the devil, which is what? pride. So he has the most satanic quality, okay in pride, but at least does not have human agency. A police has pride, but he doesn't have human agency for their own combines the pride of a police, with the agency of the children of Adam, and particularly the power that very few of the children of Adam would actually have. So the ability to access that pride, the ability to access those desires, the ability to wreak that evil that exists within him. Meaning Imagine if shavon if at least was a human being, if the police was a
person, what would it please do on this earth, a loss of Hannah Montana, reduced him to a whisper reduced him to someone with no power in their body laser like gallium and so far, that my servants who have no power over them whatsoever, so please, is actually the devil is actually a very weak creation, because all he can do is whisper but fit our own had pride. And he had access. So he was able to oppress without being held accountable in this world and that's dangerous. Now, here's the thing about our own and here's the thing about Abuja, if you look at Fiona and the qualities of her own and who he is, do you think for our own likes to cut little children up? And, you know, carry
out horrific crimes on women?
Do you think that he really enjoys burning people alive? Do you think he actually found pleasure in it? Or do you think he didn't care?
probably didn't care.
Because for their own had no empathy. So that's number one. He had no empathy for anybody else. He was the ultimate narcissist. At the end of the day, it was all about him. Everything around that around if you recognize it, the psychology of phenomenon as is highlighted to us in the Koran. Everything for our own sees is either a benefit or a threat to his power. He doesn't care
Don't care about when Musashi Salaam came into his house as a child that owned it and say, That's a cute baby. Let's cut them up like we cut up the other children of bending a slide. Moosa was not a threat perceived threat to his power. So you know what, show him some compassion. I don't care what you do with him. It didn't matter for their own view of the entire world through the lens of his pride and his power. Whether it was something that benefited him, or embolden power or something that threatened that power, and anything that threatened the power of our own. He showed no mercy whatsoever, no empathy whatsoever. Abu Jamal I will Jehan if you look through the scene of the
prophets lie some this man the crimes that he committed against the the followers of the prophets lie some against the prophets lie some himself. I mean, suffice it to say the way he killed so many out on the allowed time on the first person murdered in Islam, the way he killed her was not in in any dignified way. I mean, it wasn't. It wasn't just murder. He killed her in the most humiliating way possible.
Right. I mean, he used a spear and he violated sumaiya all the allowance in the worst way possible. The man did not care. Did it slow him down at all? No. Then he moved on to Yasser, the the husband of Somalia, then he moved on to a modern and almost killed him too. He never slowed down at any point because apologia has saw everything around him as a threat. It's either of benefit or it's a threat. apologia didn't used to kill people the way that he did after Islam before Islam, because there wasn't a threat or a perceived threat to his power. But once things started getting in the way the viciousness of Abuja had showed itself. Why because he felt threatened and all abou Jahan
worshiped was himself. At the end of the day, a pharaoh worships himself doesn't care about anyone or anything around him. Everything in my face is either a benefit or a threat to my power. We're as Sulaiman alayhis, salaam, this righteous King, internalize that power, not as a means of enabling him but rather as an Amana as a trust. The difference between a suit a man and a frown is that suit a man recognizes one powerful Vicar of Allah Subhana Allah to Allah. Now Hola, what are quwata illa Billah
La hawla wala quwata illa Billah there is no mind or power, except that which belongs to Allah subhanho wa Taala. None. I have no power. If I have been entrusted with agency over people. If someone is at my mercy, that is merely a loss of Hannah hoods Allah, the Most Merciful testing me to see if I will show mercy. It'll humble men, fill out your hammock woman for summer, show mercy to those who are under you on this in this earth, Allah will show mercy to you from the heavens. Allah is testing me with my power. If you think about a person who finds himself in a situation where he takes advantage of others or harms others and oppressor. avala. Think about the dictator. And think
about the domestic abuser. A person thinks they have power. And when they perceive threat to that power, and to that pride, no one and nothing else matters to them. They will bulldoze anything in their way. And if you think about their own, and how he got to that point, and if it was ever moved on the inside, and somehow we see some of the dictators of the world today. And you wonder like you have kids,
and you have no problem gassing children,
dumping chemical weapons on children mowing people down and killing people in the 1000s. How does a human being become that cruel? It's not that those people woke up one day and said, You know what, let's go kill a bunch of children. It's that when my power is threatened, forget about everybody else. There is no empathy with anyone else. Now, finally, what is the core difference? Or how do we internalize this ourselves? If you look at the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. The Messenger of Allah alayhi salatu was Salam could have claimed could have claimed a power over his followers like no other. Think about it. Even the ambassador's of Quraysh who had seen Abuja hadn't seen Ebola
haven't seen these vicious people. When they saw the Prophet sly Solomon suited her they be
and in the Treaty of coup de via and they saw the adoration
That his followers had for him sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, what did they say? said we've never seen a man, this adored by his followers. What the prophets lie some commanded over his own man
was something that kiss throw in Persia khosrow did not have over his followers was something that Huracan Heraclitus of Rome did not have over his followers, what the prophets lie some had of love and adoration and obedience from his followers, none of those men had, but the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was the only one of those men that didn't abuse his power. He didn't betray that adoration that he had from his followers. Instead, he demonstrated a supreme empathy with them. He doesn't have to care about them anymore. they adore him. So allowing some, they will excuse all of his actions. The prophets lie some doesn't need to walk with the widows and the poor and the
orphans. He doesn't need to listen to that, you know, the the slaves and the former slaves of the oma doesn't need to listen to any of them. He could have ignored them all. And they would have made excuses for him. sallallahu wasallam. Why because he's rasulillah. At this point, he's commanded all of their hearts.
But when the prophets I send them had his ultimate power, before he leaves this world, we're talking post Mecca, post conquest of Mecca. His enemies are at his mercy sallallahu Sallam the people that tortured him and killed his family.
What did he do with them?
showed them supreme mercy, put his head on the back of his riding on his nose on the back of his riding animal, as he came into Mecca, not as a proud men saying not to three by the committee, Oh, don't worry, all of you are safe. There is nothing that I'm not going to harm you. I'm not going to do anything to you, in his supreme power in this world, so alone, some of the power of influence the power of military, the power over his followers of adoration, all of that. How did the profit slice of them recognize it all as an Amana from Allah? And those last moments of how I think of the last moments of fit own as he's drowning, and the water enters into his lungs, think how humiliating that
is? How humiliating I am. And then those moments he says, I believe in the Lord of the children of Israel. I believe in the rub of banning Islam in how humiliating as he's looking around and seeing his followers drowning around him and debris in alayhis salaam kicking him in the face.
And he sees his last moments drowning and he says I believe in the love of banning assault in the mat. Nothing. abou Jehan with the most the weakest of the oma of the prophets lie Selim Abdullah and Massoud are the Allahu anhu. climbing on to his chest. What was the last thing Abuja has saw in this world? It's actually quite amazing. The last thing Abuja had saw in this world was the love and Massoud sand standing on his chest.
About to end his life for all the atrocities that he committed law called delta theta, one of the consultants on a yacht away I love him, he told the love and miss Ruth, you've climbed the difficult mountain, you Shepherd of sheep, still arrogance. So who's winning the battle? And he says, Allah Allah to de la dee da su de la do Allah. victory belongs to Allah and the messengers like some you enemy of Allah, you enemy of all, that was the last thing he saw in this world. Can you imagine how humiliating that is? A lot put him back in his place. The person that he oppressed standing on his chest, humiliated him.
And he was still arrogant in those moments. But Lastly, look at what sort of lasala heart he was. I mean, seriously, you have everything. The prophets lie Selim could have at the very least, bought a nice palace for himself and said, You know what, guys, I've served you for 20 years. I got you back to Mecca. You have your homes, you have the oma no more wars. I'm gonna wait until the last panel is out. It takes my life now. To the last moment he was struggling with them to the last moment he cared about them to the last moment he was, he was, he was tending to their poor tending to their orphans tending to the women of his own to the very last breath. And what does he say? Salalah honey
and cinnamon hydrated with that in his farewell. He asks the people
did I convey the message to you properly?
Did I do my job?
He's concerned so long are you some that he didn't do right by that power? He didn't do right by what Allah gave him. He's actually afraid some of lohani with some of them did I do my job with you? Did I do my job? And when they all give the prophets lie, some that affirmation What does he say Alemany but
Left llama fresh at Ola. I delivered the message Oh Allah bear witness Oli delivered the message Oh la bear witness and imagine on the Day of Judgment. May Allah make us amongst them who show up.
When the prophets lie some is brought as a witness, and he sees this oma,
all saying that you did your job, yada yada lie you did not abuse your power. You never became a tyrant. You never stopped caring about your own. You never stopped caring about people. You never were distracted by what Allah subhanaw taala gave you may Allah Subhana Allah allow us as well to carry those beautiful qualities of our messenger sallallahu wasallam of King Solomon have sued a man at his Salaam of the prophets that came before and May Allah protect us from pride and narcissism and evil that is manifested in the men of their own may loss of hundreds are protect us from being Pharaohs ourselves, to those that he has placed in our mercy. May Allah subhanho wa Taala allow us
to do right by them. May Allah subhanho wa Taala not test us with the good of this world or with the hardships of this world, Allah I mean, it's like well, no, I don't sin I want to come