Strengthening the self Late Night Reflections #8

Baraka Masha Allah, so as usual we discussed from the book of individuals Rahim Allah Allah said how to capture thoughts and we're going to go into this chapter in sha Allah Allah I'm going to go over this the topic quickly and then we will open for discussion and q&a inshallah to add afterwards when the night as well. So Imam even know Josie Rahim Allah Allah if you guys remember last night we were talking about what do you guys remember? It was last night's topic.

Hinges versus humans, right? And before that we were talking about why the DUA is being delayed and the struggles we have to go through dealing with all these struggles and trials and so on. So today or tonight, today, the day it's actually 1am. So how do you strengthen yourself? Okay, I know I have to go through all these difficulties. I know I need to struggle to go upstream instead of you know, going downward. I know I can't be an angel, me I can't be a perfect person. But I can do something about you know, trying to reach certain human perfection. The question over here is how on that road on the road to Allah subhanaw On that journey to Allah azza wa jal? How can I make myself strong

enough to endure all the hardships and trials that I go through? That's the meaning of the chapter inshallah Darla remember when Josie Rahim Allah He began with an interesting thing. He goes, Look, he started he talks about a story. And that's the real story that he actually he would show the Subhanallah window to their time and their lifestyle back then. Because Mara, Bihar, Milan, says, One day I was walking, and I came by two people, two workers, laborers who are carrying timber or lumber or actually the trunk of a tree must be heavy, of course, called wahama atta Giovanni. But in short, the neuron, what they were doing, as they were carrying that piece of wood, it's so heavy.

And as we were walking, they were exchanging chantings you know, kind of like chanting songs, and maybe probably poets or something like that carvaka remodelista raha to bring themselves to ease to endure the hardships of the labor that they were working they were kind of chanting songs to each other and kind of like trying to pass time with each other and so on call for how do mostly Ely maya called hula Aha. So one of them is singing apart, but from my radio he will always leave and then the other person he repeats that and answers with his own line. So they kind of like exchanging all these lines. God will ask him metal metal medallic and the other person does exactly the same thing.

So one is saying something and the other one responds to him and then the other person says something that would respond to them and chantings mode and of course in with the beautiful voices

for for call for it Anoma Lola Mia Fila Harada that is my shortcut to Allah him he said I thought about this so by the very interesting thing to us today I mean how can we this dilemma they see anecdote and everything around it I mean to two random guys doing their own money their own business and this shift is looking at as it goes like wow, that's an interesting thing. Because color for a month to further a month to seven here's a call for it to anomala me lol MF Allah that xalatan Masha Allah to Allah Hema, so I was thinking about this, I was contemplating over this, I thought to myself, if they didn't do that, if they did not try to pass the time with this, because it will be

actually it will feel heavier on them, or became more difficult for them to do that. What's up polymer? Well, coulomb fala hada handle Amara and every time they try they do that with the exchange these chance it gets easier for them. And they find that the time goes by so quickly qualify the amount of Sebulba Friederike. I was thinking about what could be the reason behind that for either Vitaly COVID kukula had him in Houma be Maya kulula He was I found out that everybody was each one of them is waiting in anticipation to what the other is going to reply to him.

So he said like when I say something now my him My concern is about how's he gonna reply to this? So now you distract yourself is saying

Ouattara Hoovy and each one of them is enjoying the chanting of the other person. While you have to physically feel Joab immensely, the Alec and his mind is busy right now preparing the refutation or the rebuttal to what he's listening to call a phone call to rotary Wednesday, tickle Muhammad, and as a result, we pass through the road and we forget about the weight we carry over our shoulders. Like no one really paid attention to that for help them in how they're a charlatan. elgiva. So I got from this an interesting thing like an interesting technical a symbolic thing from their from their behavior. What I will insert called Hammer laminate tech leaf will Manasa and I looked at what the

insane human beings are carrying the load they're carrying right now in terms of the tech leaf, what Allah Subhan made obligatory upon them whatever they're supposed to be observing and so forth. But for hammer mill tech levy will more on cyber heavy load. difficult matters. Woman woman asked Calama woman as Kadima Hamill and our the heaviest thing that the insan had to deal with called

Mudaraba infc How to how do you say the word Mudaraba

kind of like saying you kind of like trying to help your nerves go by without focusing on the load and the heavy way that's gonna distract us the way like it's more like a distract how to distract yourself from the from the burden of this tech leaf while benefiting from it overall. So he says, Carla, what a cliff we'll have a sublet. I'm mad to him. He says and also trying to make my enough's endure the hardships of dealing with the patience to stay away from what it desires obviously, got our cool look while I'm at Accra, and also to endure the hardship of doing what it hates and dislikes that he's talking about over of course that year by that and also staying away from the

Muhammad. He brought a line of porridge over here. Bala for it to Sahaba. Qatari to somebody be Tesla to Talat dividend knifes said I found out then, in order for me to survive all of this, the best way to do that is helping our nurse to go through the road to ALLAH SubhanA journey to Allah azza wa jal by doing the same thing, finding that bringing some ease to my enough's while I was going through all these hardships How can I bring ease to my nerves while going through all these hardships? And he mentioned a line of quality event a shortcut for a little while majority Mundo Sabha where it however wha hoo ha. He just said if your naps start complaining about the darkness of

the night like the night has been too long. Then kind of like persuade you never talk to enough Stella look, I'll Majora which means these stars. That's a sign that the morning is very close. Even though it's not problem, but like you see the light up there that the light of the of the in the horizon was not the federal light it's actually the night light from the stars. That means the morning is so close. And the NAPS will endure that of course long length of that journey because now the anticipation of the morning is very close to her call worried harbor rawa Hello, ha until you enough so we're going to be traveling very soon. We're going to be arriving there very very soon. So

this is the introduction to a check now before we move on to some of the statements if you'd like to make any comments on this inshallah Tabata Kota, and then we actually have de la Shala to give his input here.

So

I, you know, subhanAllah, as you're going through these things, the idea of, I think, to put a modern day example to, which is what came to my mind. Obviously, if you go on a long trip, if you've ever been on a long trip where you sing songs to each other, you have something where this, this group will sing one line, and the other group will sing one line, it's actually a very profound way to actually pass time. So you think about that growing up on the field trips. I know when you take the hedge groups, the bake Allah or the bake, it's like when everyone's really excited about the meat pots when you're first starting in Medina. And then 10 minutes later, all you hear is

and then you got that one guy that wakes up every 30 minutes it goes.

So you gotta get everybody get the hammock ago and once again in the bus, right? Come on, y'all like get the bagel love I'm gonna make so you got that one person, that's gotta get the group going. And then you have the really overzealous person every once in a while, who just likes to hold every time people start falling asleep, we just start screaming the big alarm and the bacon wakes everybody up.

That's one way. And somehow I noticed thinking about it also, is even when they were building the funder, the ensemble are similar to each other. They were doing the sheets to each other, the most difficult moment, they're facing a genocide. Right, they're facing a genocide, but they're singing to each other, as they are digging the trenches to also not just the past time, but it had meaning to it's also part of the power of it is that they weren't just singing empty songs that they could think of, they had meaning to it. And I think of some of my fondest trips Subhanallah when I go on a long trip with with certain brothers, and we'll sing the seeds on the way, you know, the seeds that

we know, it's a way to really build a bond and two paths with one another. But as you go forth, I think the point that he's making here is a very profound one, which is connected deeply to what we spoke about yesterday that our why our souls are carrying the bat at some, they're carrying the abaya the clothing of the body, right, the burden of the body. And so it's just like the example that he gave, that we spoke about yesterday, that the soul has to take care of the body the way that a rider has to take care of the camel, and he gives the example of Yom Antonia, give it some rest, you know, before you go into the days of Hajj. And so the idea here that you don't neglect the self,

but you keep on telling yourself just a little longer, just a little longer, just a little longer, right? And keep telling it there's something else coming push yourself a little bit further. Push yourself a little bit further push yourself a little bit further. And I'm sure Sheikh Abdullah, you can comment on this in the gym. I would come with you if you would sing to me.

I think I could lift the same amount of weight as you just said. If you started to sing to me, I think we'd be able to get through through it together. Is it good?

Okay, can you do that seem to shake? I'll join with him.

Let's do it. When you're, when you're when you're, when you're working out when you're exercising, we're trying to get to that next step right? What do you tell yourself when you feel like you're about to give it? And if there's someone that's spotting you, pushes you right? Isn't it easier? Yeah. So this physical thing, obviously, which transformed Of course, the symbolic thing of the sort of the knifes as well, too. No, no, no doubt. I mean, definitely.

It's definitely the physical. You know, I remember one of my mentors was telling me just how you look is just a byproduct of a really the internal, you know, mentally you have to tell yourself that you can do it and you just start to you just got to zone out. I mean, even when you know, doing anything in fitness, or even, you know, eating, you have to zone out and see what you want. And what do you want from this? And a lot of times, it's just me zoning out and thinking, okay, if I'm picking this up, or if I gotta go an extra mile, I just okay, I'm trying to, there's a rock that's on my daughter's leg, and I'm the only one that can get it off. You know, and I have to there's no,

there's no other, there's no choice. You know, SubhanAllah. I remember I was it was speaking of Hutch. I was there. During the stampede. It was a stampede thing. It was 2006. And you don't even you didn't even realize it was happening until all of a sudden they called the amount of Uber. And you see people doing this.

And they're screaming, you know, the event is going off. Because that's when you can start to throw it to the Jumbotron. And you don't hear what they're saying. And all of a sudden, she says stampede. I remember my leg got caught. And then I said to myself, Okay, I better keep going. If I don't, I'm going to be run over by hundreds of people. So I really just pulled my leg and I didn't know what was going to happen to my leg, she was going to come with me or not. So she just got to think about those moments and say, okay, you know, I gotta push it. I'm at that last point. If I give up on my eyes and say myself, I could have done a little more and just knowing that making that effort,

Inshallah, you will get to the next stage and that's literally even in that for your anatomy and as a muscle or your mind. You have to take it to that next point where your mind is telling you, no, just relax. You say no, keep going. Just take it one more step. You'd be so grateful after you do it. Beautiful Spanner that ties into the next story actually or the chapter. Continuing that chapter when he Emmanuel JoJo Rahim Allah brought the story of Michel haffi Rahim Allah to Allah, one of the righteous predecessors in the past he says paella. Vishal have Yuka I know there was a story about him was travelling Sarama Rajaram Vittorio, they were traveling on the road and back then the road

is not like ours mashallah you have all these fancy, you know, gas stations to stop and get some rest and so forth. It's a dangerous journey. When you go you might not even come back at all. You might die on the roads of Hamlet. So he says Karla Sarama origin and futari they went on a road on the road trip for Artesia Sahaba his campaign and got all of its thirsty for Kerala who national woman Heidelberg so the man told me she will have a Can we start to get a drink from this water well for visual haffi he told him call this it will be an okra says Be patient let's go to the next one will be okay but we'll get to the next one will drink the next one fella masala Elijah when they

arrived at the next water well, water station, we should have again tells us goodbye guys. How about we wait for the next one. Let's wait for the next one. And then he kept doing that confirm as Allahu Allahu every time he kept distracting him from his want, or his need to drink that water right now. And from that water while he kept delaying him and keep basically kind of ask him to postpone the fulfillment of his need in that moment, Carla, to multifamily then finally Vishal haffi looked at his campaign, he goes, You see HackerEarth on Tata dunya. This is how you can go through this dunya

like this, how you can go through this life. Every time your nafs is desiring something and you just go follow that instinct right away. You will never go anywhere. Because you're never like we learned earlier. You have always tried to take of course downstream, you'd have all want to push downstream. But we've been learning all these past nights that you need to try to strengthen your muscles going upstream. Obviously, it's not going to be easy. It's going to be difficult. So how can I do this? Distraction sometimes works very well as in this example, I'm sure we were talking about road trips, right? The lines of priority exchange amongst yourself and so on. I remember we used to spend our

road trips as well the same way and sometimes all we need especially with the kids obviously you distract them with what with rosamma playing I Spy right? I spy This is why you spend hours playing I Spy just try to spot things in the cars of Hala and by the time we're done with the game we probably maybe crossed 200 miles so the same thing the same car I'm sure you have this experiences will do chiasma but this concept itself what he should have he was talking about.

He's saying that look if you want to really to reach your destination, then don't stop don't have too many frequent stops on the way What does

doesn't mean?

Again, it's just saying that, you know, we can go a little more can go a little more, you know that it's not going to be easy to reach that destination. I mean, we think about it, many of us are in school, we went to college, you know, you've had to keep going. There's a point to where you're just you're pushed to a limit. And sometimes you say, Metta Nasrallah, right, it's like, when is to help when it comes to you just take the extra step. You're so grateful for it, and, you know, being distracting I remember us talking about now in the mornings, you know, I take my son or my daughter to school, and if we would be boxing, and the only would be boxing.

You want me to do it right now, as well. I'm not that old man.

I remember so while I was in Medina, man, it was so funny. My wife is gonna kill me, but it's okay

to Jubail, and I was explaining to her, like, how would be boxing gloves? She was like, nah.

Like, there's no way. So then I just bear with me. I did it real quick. She was like, ooh.

And I just started laughing so hard. But you only box a lot, but I do with my kids in the car. We just do like you do is called like a dad bar session. So like you're jumping, you know, dropping bars or

why talk with me talk to him.

He's not pulling his dad jokes.

Jokes. That joke. He doesn't. Either the dad jokes. He doesn't fit that exactly.

So I'll just say aloud, I'll drop a line. Like I'll say, go into the store. And that mindset is funny. My nine year old is the most talented. My daughter is gonna hate me. But he's the one he has the most like the subject. Like if I say going to the store, he only has a couple of seconds. He said, and I really want more into my daughter's and say, This guy's a galore. And whoever takes too long, you're out. Interesting. So by the time we get to school, there's a winner. You know, it's usually Dad, I'll be honest.

No, but that really passes the time and kind of the law. You know, in the morning. A lot of times they're like, you know, full of anguish and tired so when I just kind of pick them up, you know, and do that it kind of passes the time on the shoulder. So it's the same kind of concept has been a member of Jos Rahmatullah atta, he elaborates on this principle of distracting the self until it gets to the destination he goes, woman for him, I had Allah Allah Nuff said what a lot of phobia if you truly understand this principle, this this concept about your own self, that even your own self needs to be distracted needs to be given opportunities like this like given given yourself a hope

delayed response from those needs, because it's more rewarding when you wait a little bit longer. He does call with a lot of heavy hand took it easy with yourself instead of always pushing yourself or others always follow your love. If someone wants to go God well what the hell Jimmy and you keep giving yourself the promise that the reward for waiting is better. If you always keep reminding yourself, Wait is going to be better called Leptospira market hammered so that would be able to endure all these all these loads that she's getting are themselves getting called Kim Coronavirus, Olivia Kuhn, Epson, just like some of the salad price predecessors used to say to themselves when

they speak to themselves and that's what we call it Maha Sabha right? It's more of like self auditing. You talk to yourself you have that self talk every now and then just like when you talk to somebody at the gym, you start talking to Chef Rama to lift higher right? And Havilah same day you talk to yourself that kind of self talk you do it as well. You tell yourself God wala Hema or either women at men had and lady to have been ill Ishiwata ality says look, the only reason I'm preventing you from following what you desire because it's my field for your safety

I'm looking after you it's not because I want to prevent you from enjoying what you what you like to do but I want what I would like for me to enjoy further but maybe not now. And then the last statement he says you gotta walk Allah we need Rahim Allah to Allah.

Muzzle to Asuquo Nuptse Allahu taala. Turkey had the soup to have a little hug. I was God Subhan Allah says Val, Muslim to a tsunami I kept driving myself to Allah subhana wa Taala forcefully while my neffs is crying, why is crying because my nerves is feeling that I'm depriving my divine driving it from what Allah subhanaw made,

you know, permissible probably even or haram here. And it's crying because unable to fulfill these desires. He says I kept doing this to myself, had soaked to our thought hug until my nurse came to the conclusion that this is for its own course good. And when I do that my enough's is just happy with it. It's smiling. It's laughing, because now my nerves recognize that the reward for the for weight is called Harlem and Amadora turnoff civitella

To phobia and you should understand that distracting yourself and being nice to yourself and easy with yourself in that manner. With that you can cut the artery. In this way you can go through the journey without feeling of course the burden of that journey for her Ramzan, ishara. And that just kind of like bringing, bringing it to your attention was your whole your tool and has a long explanation to go through. This is Subhanallah one of the deepest concepts in the religion, one of the deepest concepts in the religion course. And if you study theology, and you study other religious systems, this is one of the most you know, beautiful elements of our deen. When do we do

or eat

after a sacrifice, after slam and after sacrifice, our two celebrations come after an act of worship. And their intimate talk about this in so many different ways with so many different dimensions. We are supposed to push ourselves with tears and these last few nights of Ramadan

as if we're not going to be forgiven by Allah subhanaw taala Yet Allah forgive me and pushing ourselves but on the day of her Eid that's a preview of Jana.

Come out close enough to come and decode the message it is multiplied. So much more go to the go to your salon to their eat. Wearing your best clothes embrace one another celebrate one with one another. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La Ilaha Illallah Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, what denied Hamed? There's a celebration right? At that point. What do you find from the suddath who have such fear of Allah subhanho to Allah and were crying their eyes out in those 10 nights in ways that they had not been crying before laughter Joy celebration, singing and then you find in how many of you have been to Hajj just a show of hands.

May Allah write down for each and every single person in this message hejin mob rule Allah

and everyone that's watching as well Allah

Subhana Allah, you go to Hajj, you finish the day of Allah, for those of you that have been will understand exactly what I'm talking about. When you finish that day of dua, and you've probably cried more in those six hours, or seven hours than you have for the whole year, and exerted yourself and do the hugs with people that you've only known for 10 days. The hugs when you come out of a haram then after doing the hard stuff, because there's always like at 1.0 and 2.0 for the judge, right? It's like, you finish out of fun, you feel like amazing, you feel like you've just you know, expelled all of these sins from your life and there's a joy there. And then you go to miss Daddy

finish like, Hey, we're not done yet. We still got you know, a lot to go here. And then after the Haram comes off, and you know, in our groups, if we do a hit on burning, now we don't burn our house real

you know, like, it's after you're done with the prom, and you never want to see that thing again. Right? It's like so, you know, just sweaty and nasty and you know, subhanAllah but my mom from years ago, Michelle, can you not bring that one on this year? So

I don't know how that is and that was you know, but But on a serious note somehow think about the celebration that comes you're not supposed to be holding your head down like Did Allah accept my hands did Allah accept my Ramadan at that point, you're celebrating so Allah gives you previews of Jana, And subhanAllah those of you that have come out of haram and after Hajj, like it feels like a celebration of entering into a new realm into a new presence. And that's a preview as well in Ramadan. So think of the opposite way. You know, we often talk about Messiah and he fell down the very profound Hadith Bootsy that for the fasting person or that the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah

is known for the fasting person has two forms of joy, the joy when they break their fast and the joy when they meet their Lord. So we often talk about, hey, look, the joy that you feel when you break your fast is, you know, just a preview, right? But the real joy is when you meet Allah subhanaw taala right? What if Allah azza wa jal didn't give us a star and the drought of the star, the hubba Lama was tentative Iraq with several adroit Shaohua like confirming your Allah with my husband Lundy the good deeds have been written down, the good deeds have been written down but in the nighttime, what if Allah did not give us aid? What if we didn't have this celebration element? You know, and

what does that look like on a daily basis? Either someone has an outlook when your good deeds make you happy, and your bad deeds make you sad, Phantom movement, you're a believer. That means your Eman is there that means your heart is alive. The joy that you feel when you finish a good deed and how Allah azza wa jal invites us and what is what is and this is something Subhanallah I was actually getting in my clip and I gotta think of another multiple but I'll just unfortunately, it's like we're lecture after lecture, right? But I was thinking about this and only occurred to me today. What do you say? As soon as you're seeing the bake Allahumma bake Lubbock Allah Homina Baker

Baker la sharika local a bake until the end of it the telopea RIGHT HERE I COME HERE I COME Oh Allah. And then on the day of eight in Hajj here

I come from Allah, which is an expression of Kurup coming closer to Allah, as soon as you stone that shape on the whole chant just switches. So you see the people doing telethia going, and then you see the people leaving. And it's a beautiful like transition. It's like the wave, the wave of people going to demo to the alpha, saying, here we come, stone, the shape on, you know, the Egyptians with a little bit extra emphasis on their stone in the shape on here.

And then you leave the genre, and then it's Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, right to be wrought. Like there's a triumph there. And what happens to us when we finish these nights of Allahumma Nica went to Hibbeler Alpha site for only 10 nights of crying 10 nights of seeking forgiveness. There's a feeling of triumph and aid, right? Like Shakedowns coming back out from his chains. By the way, we have strengthen ourselves in the Nikita Ana to where we're not going to let certain habits come back into our lives. We're not giving you the same space that used to occupy in our lives. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illa Allah Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, wa ala Hamed. So that

triumph eases the journey along the way, because we talked about the mountaintop and to get to the mountaintop. It helps to know I got five miles down hamdulillah let me take a break. Let's celebrate five miles. We're halfway there. The nature of insaan we're halfway there. Alright, what's the next step? What's the next step had to either Bella or should the who? Or Bella or Marina Sana? Right? Allah azza wa jal even mentioned these Murrah Hadleys age milestones of age, like you take a step back and say, hamdulillah okay, I'm here now. Hamdulillah. What's the next step? What's the next step? What's the next step until we have the ultimate ease beaten and itad Ultimate? Well, not just

the walls along the way, the health of our prophets of Allah and he was arriving at his help. May Allah azza wa jal allow us to arrive together. I mean, arriving at his hotel, and drinking from his hand sallallahu alayhi wa sallam like, I made it, I made it right. That's the ultimate well, that you look for. And the little wells along the way. They sustained the neffs. They sustained that self to let it know, Hey, it's okay. You're getting there. You're getting there. You're making progress. You're making progress, you're making progress.

I want to repeat what I'm going to mention here it's interested in in regards to the theological concept in almost every religion, that in order for people to endure the hardship the de vida, they have to think and imagine what the delayed response to the delayed reward that there is reward for this, right? Yeah, it's hard right now. But if you wait an hour or two or a year or or, or lifetime, the reward is will be way beyond, you know, what do you expect today? And I remember two things. One, there's a there's an experiment, I think maybe all of us heard about it, the marshmallows experiment with kids with little kids. When you give little kids you know, the chance to take one

marshmallow right now to eat. Okay, or wait five minutes you get to

now if I ask you this question as who would say I will take the one because it's short for me right now. I don't want to wait to the five minutes to take two because it might not have been habit, but could happen between now on the five minutes, for example, then the five minutes, we have all these anxieties, all these waters, all these, you know, expectations. So some of us might say no, no, I'd rather actually take the one marshmallow now because it's for sure that certain I worry about the other one next time inshallah Donna, some people this is how they treat their Acuras want to? Like, look, I mean, Allah promised me pleasure in the ACA, right. There's this there is this there is

that, but this is here now. You know, this is certain this is? I don't know, I'm not really sure. But the Eman is very big. So if we want to look at it from that perspective, what should we tell our brothers and sisters in regards to helping them strengthen this principle, this theological principle look, to wait for the reward in itself is much more rewarding? What do we need to do to start strengthening our Eman and that delayed reward versus just go downstream with our knifes and follow the results quickly? Is really knowing the reward. I mean, really, really new, really knowing the reward and having an acquaintance with understanding what it is reading about it like going on

last month on it talks about Jenna, like what is gender? And really why do I want gender? Why should it matter to me as a human being. And then the whole concept of tech leaf, tech leaf means responsibility. There's a level of even some scholars they cut into for you couldn't leave it was a level of stress. So you have to have that level of stress to move on to the next level. And that's anything in life, we just take a step back and see the things that I've earned. There was a level of hardship and there was a point where I didn't want to continue. But the fact that I continued, that got me to that point where I looked back and I said humping law that I was able to endure that. So

it's really about the goal and looking at that light at the end of the tunnel, knowing that like, understanding what that light is desiring it to her when you face that hardship, you think of that light and you say, you know, no, I'm going to continue on. So not knowledge is very important. Knowledge is essential. And as a matter of fact, that reminds of course, Colheita vaalco to Allah in the martial law

In a budget of a man, those are truly fear Allah subhanho wa Taala among the servants are those who have the knowledge, the more you know of ALLAH SubhanA wa Taala the more conscious of him Subhana wa Taala the more your Eman will be stronger and stronger and stronger. And if I may add one more thing in regards to their attention and talk about your pain right now. Allah subhanaw taala at the beginning of sort of Bukhara says Alif Lam Meem daddy Kalki tabula rasa fi who then lit up in this the book there's absolute has absolutely no doubt in it is guidance for those Mottaki those who are righteous those who are self or God conscious people. The first description like everybody knows

what Aladdin I mean, I'm gonna build those who believe in what the unseen. What does that exactly mean? Everything about our deen and a great element of it is about the unseen, including, of course, the delayed reward. So how should people really strengthen their Eman with that unseen, with the knowledge that chef was talking about taking responsibility for your actions, which we talked about one of the sessions before? It's panela? How can we make sure that all the men and European is so strong in that delayed reward that will make my journey easy as I go to the arches? Zirkel affair Subhanallah there's a lot to unpack there. But what is the what is the pleasure of axon of

excellence excellence, of course, is when you're no longer just doing enough to get by you're not just fulfilling the obligations, but you're doing the extra, right kaneka Tara?

Like it gets to a point where it says if you can see Alonso gel, right? So it's like that's a sweetness to it. And that's why the prophets lie. Some enjoyed his prayer so much, because it was the salah bear son was the prayer of SR. So it relieved him at his Salatu was Salam because Kanika Tara, you the closer you get to Allah azza wa jal, the more real, it all becomes to you. And so the easier it becomes to, to deal with these things, and there are a few narrations that come to mind here. One of them is, of course, the narration and it just Subhanallah because it fits the analogy, you know, the narration of Jabba will be allowed to and when his wife, when they welcomed in the

guest of the prophets of life and and from the onset, and the way that they fooled the kids to put them to sleep, which I guess was a habit at the time of the Arabs, right, they only had a little bit of food to feed the guests from the unsought or from the poor, the poor person that was brought into their home. And so what does he say to his wife, you know, stir the pot at night, until the kids basically go to sleep. So they're smelling the smoke, they're, they're hearing the water, they're hearing, hearing the boiling and so that's enough for them at some point to be put to ease so that you can save the little food we have for that guest the prophets of Allah hunting was set up. So

sometimes, indeed, what we do on a regular basis, our leisure, our Halal leisure, which we're very intentional about our, you know, our breaks, which we're very intentional about, right that don't undo the progress but rather keep the keep the worldly element of us

taken care of, while we continue our pursuit of what is outside of this world, like you know, give it its sleep give it its right, you don't give the body it's right because you worship that you give the body it's right because it's that camel that you need to take you into the next place. Right. So thinking of it that way, my leisure my my time. And then speller, what happens when the pursuit happens to things the appetite shrinks. And the goal continues to become more manifest in your life. The appetite shrinks the Hadith of the Prophet slice, and I'm

about the believer who eats with one intestine and the disbeliever, who eats with seven. That's actually as if no matter the amount of time to amplify the narration from the nominal the low anima gives us greater context to that. How many of you've heard that hadith before? By the way, this the the disbeliever eats with seven the believer eats with one. Okay, so it's a narration that you'll actually see some Islamophobes will make fun of right? Because, like is the implication that like when you take shahada, like, you know, like, it just becomes one stomach and all of a sudden, did that happen? Sheikh Abdullah he took shahada like, like it just all of a sudden like to

me.

Like, you know, it's like is the implication that no, no model the law and Omar gives the context of this, that there was a man that was just all about his food. And so he was drinking leather, drinking milk, and he kept on drinking from like different animals until he finished seven, right, just going through the milk, the milk, the milk, the milk, the milk. Then once he became Muslim, his appetite shrunk, so he was satisfied with just one. And so it's like the person who has an exam, right? You're not thinking about your food, except for the purpose of nourishing you, giving you enough nutrition so that you can continue to focus on your exam, right? You're not going out. For

sushi, you're grabbing a Clif Bar, right? You're doing what you've got to do, just to get by and to give you the the focus that you need. So your appetite of this world starts to become that way. Your celebrations become toned down a bit. You're the house that you want the worldly thing you're pursuing. You kind of tone it

down a bit because it's enough for the say it's enough for the journey. Now the gift of this and and with this is SubhanAllah. And this is you know what the elements speak about. And it's not to set an unrealistic standard out there. There's the level of the companions of the Prophet sallallahu in the battlefield actually would say, you know, I can smell that I had to Jana. I can smell Jim, like I got I got to that point that I could smell Jana, you know, there's the person who, who really starts to encounter this like, as as amaro the Allahu Anhu describes the Hebrew room and all the law and as a beautiful narration, he said, How do you not fear Allah subhanaw taala let me RCE still would not

disobey Him. Like he's fallen in love with Allah to such an extent that even if even if he didn't fear him, he'd still he still would not disobey Allah subhanaw taala because there's a realization there that's taking place. One of the gifts that Allah gives to the believer

when you start reading enough about the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sunnah

and you start immersing yourself in his sila, immersing yourself in his Shema, immersing yourself in his sunnah, bringing that as a reality in your life.

The beautiful Abu Mustafa in the the, the intro to the Day of Judgment series, when he said I feel like I know him some Allah hottie who has something that's a gift that comes over time, right? So when you start thinking about journey, think about the accurate enough, and you work for it on a regular basis, it gets to a point like where you, you start to feel it, you start to sense it right Katara as if you can see it. And so the idea here is to work, the reality to work with that Yaqeen, right? Randomly again, until I know you're keen and happily again, right. So you work with that end until you have a deeper realization of it. And it becomes as if you can see it and we asked Allah

subhanaw taala to let that become a reality. So that it drives us and we can continue to tell the neffs and to tell our worldly appetite, just calm down a little bit more, there's a better well ahead, calm down to something else that had no SSL beautiful and I always tell myself, you know Subhanallah you know in converting to Islam and whether you're someone that was born a Muslim and you saw you saw the light, right and you decided to move in. Just remember that Ramadan should serve as a catalyst, it should serve as a new beginning, each and every one of us has a habit, you may say a demon or whatever the case may be, that we want to try to suppress may not be able to eliminate

but suppressed that thing to Ramadan is the beginning to a new habit. And I say habit because we don't want to just stop at motivation. Motivation is the beginning we want to be disciplined. And that's what you have, you have to discipline your knifes and Siyam there's so much wisdom in cm I mean cm literally means to withhold yourself from something in in adopting the right man, someone as Maria mentioned, that I made the obligation to have song and it's not speaking to anyone let let them condominium and see and to not to speak to any person. So really prohibiting it with holding yourself for something much greater. It gives you high aspirations. You're prohibiting yourself from

something that's even in permissiveness, sometimes it's obligatory just eating and drinking for a much loftier goal. Hinman's morality, it makes you a person that has high standards, you're holding yourself to higher regard the last one I don't want you to be a person that has high standards. And no one pushes you to do it. I mean, it's if you really push yourself and that's why a teacup is so beautiful, whether it's in the Masters you're sitting by yourself and thinking Have you hassled the nurses holding yourself accountable you know the Senator has gone from second number two has to hold yourself accountable before you will be held accountable was no public that Tuesday and the way your

deeds before they will you in so being active about your soul but being consistent upon it and you know yourself that's why I Subhanallah as you mentioned with with the you know you want that or you want to you want to do the sprite you want to obey your thirst at time but you know that if I hold myself just a little more or reach a level that I never thought existed within myself and that's that sort of control self mastery that when someone has that you're in good shape so you build basically the spiritual muscles on the way of course on the journey

remember was a story I forgot to Paula which Mahad it was was one of the setup for him Allah Tala famous Allah of the Hadith back in the days of course there when you talk about knowledge people that concern us to be the pursuit of the Hadith I mean, how many Hadith Have you collected? How many How did you memorize you studied Hadith of the prophets of Allah knows and that was the the main principle knowledge back then for them. In order for people to collect knowledge is not like us today. Al Hamdulillah is from home. And even anywhere you are, you can grab your phone you can find connection across the globe with one of the alumni and the scholars and so it was easy in today's

easy to get that knowledge. But back then, in order for them to collect that data

They had to endure a journey, a harsh journey through the desert, the mountains, the weather, and all that stuff, just to go and learn few more a hadith that they heard that one scholar live in that area, he has them, I don't have him. So one of the element of the Hadith, he was teaching his young son, his son was, you could say, a young boy at the time, and they didn't have a camera or a horse to travel by. So they would walk, they would walk from one town to the other, or from one village to the other one, looking for the scars of headache to collect the Hadith, the knowledge. So the young, the young, actually, son right now speaking, when he became a good Muhammad afterwards, because my

father taught me a lesson in regards to anticipation and waiting and of course, you know, get into the safeguard and you and your energy and so on. Because as we were traveling on that journey, my father, he used to ask me to collect some stones, some rocks from the from the ground. And he said at the time, I have no clue why he asked me to do that for. So I will just listen to my father obey Him, and I grabbed these rocks, and hold them in my hand. And he says, We could walk in and we walk, we walk, we walk, we walk, and of course, a young boy gets tired and exhausted, right? He said, I walk and my father is often ahead of me, and he keeps looking at me, and he gives it to me. And when

I get tired, my hand South Korea kind of dropping down going down, then eventually he says, My Father, then when he looks at me that I'm getting really tired, because look, he says, drop one of those rocks, just drop one of them. He goes, when I asked me to drop one of them, I feel I was, oh my god, I fried completely freedom from slavery in a moment.

And then, but still, I still have a few more in my hand, and I walk again. But now I feel the way is actually the weight is less, and I'm having right now, more energy on being energized. then sometime later, my father looks at me, I'm getting exhausted, he asked me to drop another one. And then finally, I would have one in my hand. And this one becomes so heavy at some point, then my father, he asked me actually to drop it. And now that my hands are free, I'm just like, ah, but then he keeps walking and walking and walking and walking, until my father says, I'm getting really exhausted, because then he carries me over a shoulder. And we start walking like that. Because I

learned from that example, how my father was teaching me to take the life, one station at a time, you might think it's heavy today, but it's heavier, probably in the future. However, if you endure the hardship of this time, a little bit longer, the reward for it in the future is sweeter. So shares from that point of view, I want to ask you this, because I might, I don't want people to get the wrong perception from the meaning of freely delaying, you know, your reward for it. To the extent that now we have absolutely no understanding of worldly pleasure, we can't really enjoy Halal entertainment and so on. So, but at the same time, I don't want people to think that when we ask you

to discipline yourself, but then the Senate taken a break, then we will break all the rules, how do we balance this, I want to make sure that I don't want to follow my desires frequently, so I can get my reward in the future inshallah Anna, you know, so therefore, I might put myself under so strict system or discipline. But at the same time, I don't want to go the other extreme, which is basically it's okay for me to take a break, then I'll take a real break, that might even distract me from my destination, how can you balance between these two things?

Like, you have to really know yourself, and just going through this journey of trying new things. And throughout that journey, you get to know more about yourself. So I mean, and knowing your personality, having the friends that are around you this, you're not going to for instance, took a lot of fitness equipment that like you're not going to be printed person is going to count your macros, for example, are going to come up with carbohydrates, if you take, I know you're not going to, but I know that you're when you're determined to do you know, a certain thing, instead of being very scientifically put about it, you'll go out. So having those individuals that are around you,

that can give you that will say about yourself, being honest with yourself, and knowing that you're gonna make mistakes throughout the process, acknowledging, accepting and embracing them to or when you make a mistake, or fall short or do something that is not in your best interests, you embrace that accepted. But still, you're like looking at the light at the end of the tunnel and seeing the majority of the time I'm pushing myself. So it's knowing that next to balance is knowing that I'm going to make those mistakes, I'm gonna fall short. But then when I get back on it, I go a little harder. Right. So I guess I think that is the process. It's a process knowing that it's not

something next overnight. It's something that is a process. So from your point of view, help us over here as well. What do you suggest to show to the brothers and sisters today, in regard to this matter? How can we balance this? I think that the main thing is, have something that's trackable. If every Ramadan, you're at the same square, right, you're back to like, where did I go wrong? What am I doing? Then? You have to ask yourself, you know, where's the Hadith of the Prophet slice on the most beloved of deeds to Allah are the consistent ones do I know when cut if you would have just picked up with it?

This is a goal by the way, how about we just set this as a goal for everyone with it?

If you haven't been praying witted regularly witted from now until next Ramadan not the whole eight rocker as of today we're not the whole even Orisha in the masjid but just witted okay you're one moment one or three guys with a lost pounds every night set something that's trackable that you can build that becomes such second nature that you feel as weird leaving it off as if you were to leave one of your foot off but yes, we spoke about very early on it one of our how to cut the idea of guarding your foot with your no alpha Okay, so that when you miss an elf if you're not when you miss enough you don't you miss a voluntary prayer, you're not sinful. Okay? It's simply a build yourself

back up. So stop trying to you know, build this this grand, you know, portfolio with Allah Subhana Allah to add one step at a time one step at a time and have something that's trackable trackable fail to plan then you plan to fail. Right? I'm pretty sure I got that from one of your podcasts right? fail to plan plan to fail, right? It's one of them. But like you got to put something ahead of yourself so small, small things so just take one or two small things so next Ramadan when you look back at yourself in the night if Allah gives you life you say you know what hamdulillah those things worked out that one or two things that I took with me those habits are still with me today

and inshallah Tada I can persevere

I want to add to what we mentioned earlier, in regards to safeguarding your follow up it will do nothing so it's really important that you guard your fraud will you know and once again you start with the five daily prayers you need to come out from this month of Ramadan with commitment to one thing such as a chef who was talking about you know, at least the water but if I'm I push you there was further a little bit more as well is add the other Sooners and nephew that comes with it once again, because if you feel weaker, then you're gonna maybe stop doing some of the Sunnah and NFL but you will never quit on the phone.

But then our alumni they take a shift to the next level. Like I said, sometimes for the righteous person you should stop or abstain from the MOBA hat. What is considered for miserable? Forget about being a method or sunnah. You need to you need to abstain from what is permissible. So that your naps whenever you desire something, it's still within the permissible realm. Otherwise, if you indulge in everything that is halal, just because it's halal, what is left for the next we'll start desiring something beyond that. Because your next is going to get bored.

You tried everything, all the kind of you know, mashallah the vigor of your household? All kinds of juice and drinks is there all the halal stuff? You even try the halal wine and the halal be regimen,

which we tried.

You might want to clarify what you mean by that. Halal wine is actually zero alcohol. Basically, it's a version of wine, but it's kind of like took the alcohol out of it. We try that Subhanallah but for me, I was thinking about oh my god, what is left than right. It's so scary. So our mother teaching us, Hey, God, your forearm will do nothing. God, you know, after what your mobile had, which means you need to discipline yourself to consciously abstain from things that are halal. So that when you never ever desire something, you still desire something 100 We live in the culture of abundance. We have so much out there, that we're never satisfied with anything. So we keep trying

new things. We keep trying new things in our culture. We want to try everything in our life. We live in the culture of consumerism, like you want to consume whatever is out there just because I want to feel left out.

You see something online, I'm going to make this just one of your friends posted some that they had, you know, they got on the store. Oh my God, I want to try that. You don't have to try it.

You don't have to try it. Yes, it's hard. I'm not saying it's haram to go and try it. But you need to discipline yourself that your neffs doesn't have to fulfill all its desires, just simply because it's handled again. We live in a culture that unfortunately, and that's the sad part. We always, always look for an alternative to the Haram

when he tells somebody this is haram. Okay, so what do I do?

I don't know what your business is haram don't do it.

So we always look for alternative halal. I know the principle alternative is acceptable. It's permissible. But to be honest with you, that's for the average person. Absolutely. For the one who wants to go all the way up there. That's not for you. Absolutely. For you if it's something haram salmonella, Tana, do you have to do something instead of this? No, absolutely not. I will go with something not MOBA something was to have something fun to do. But what was finding an alternative was something haram to satisfy my naps. You still go on downstream. So we don't have to do Halloween. We could just stay home on love.

Not everything has to have

I think what you just said is very profound. Right? Sheikh Abdullah said don't obey your thirst. You also can't have it your way in this dunya. Right? You know, so

it's it's that that's really profound because especially for us in the United States we're having that we've been blessed with so much. And it's easy and we're always looking for the halal alternative to everything. Yeah, and Hamdulillah you know, the the realm of hunted is so great. It's MOBA, right. There's so much that's MOBA, Allah azza wa jal made the whole garden so that you don't have to go to the one tree. But there are going to be some times that you don't need a tree that looks like the Haram tree. It's okay to sacrifice on this one. Like learn to delay your gratification for the AFA. It's okay you got to let this one go. There are some things that we're

not going to be able to do in this world and that's okay because we have a greater goal Allah has given us enough to entertain ourselves with and to, to relax the body and to find joy in this life while we search for that also, we try not to have a halal Ramadan Christmas tree at home.

It depends on the colors.

I don't know about that. I've never tried that Khaled wine because I remember one of my, one of my teachers, like when it first like became like a thing and it's so obvious. It's like it's an inferiority complex, right? Like, you gotta have the same branding, same colors and everything like that, like we're drinking beer. And one of my teachers, he was like, he was like, he took one sip of it. And he's like, this is the most disgusting thing I've ever had in my life. He said he said this he said, This just gave me more yet to never be tempted by any of that garbage any of the stuff that's out there because that's what the Haram tastes like and Hamdulillah that just gave me like,

full canard like not to even touch that stuff, right? I didn't miss much really.

I want to call shout, please. Sir Hamza. Imam, Hamza Malik is here from Memphis. This is the first shift to recite Quran on Fox News.

I'll give the I'll give the explanation of that. If you remember the Muhammad Ali Janaza, Elijah Hamel Sheikh Hamza was chosen specifically to read at the funeral of Muhammad Ali. And I remember, not just being there at hummed a lot of Ramana and enjoying his recitation, but also that I was thinking to myself Subhanallah here you are reading Quran and it was on Fox News, ESPN, CNN because Muhammad Ali's janazah His funeral was being broadcast on every single channel seven years ago and I remember when when you were when you were reciting the Quran, so hamdulillah we're very honored for you to be here second, I want you to come and share a few minutes and shallots how you reflections

on the subject

I'll get a good

look.

So now to live with a cat to

allow Salatu was Salam ala Rasulillah he, while early he also be a woman? Well, Allah hamdulillah it's, it's a blessing. It's an honor to be here with you today. Coming all the way from Memphis, Tennessee. To to see your beautiful faces in the Ramadan of all times. And hamdulillah just, you know, you say you wanted me to say a couple words about the subject. I'm doing how hamdulillah there was I mean, there was so many things that you all have already said.

Mashallah, but what one of the when you first mentioned the first story about the men carrying the logs or the tree trunk, it reminded me of

Imams aid Shakir. So I grew up in Imams, a chakras community I was actually my father converted with

Imams aides hands in the air force, they were an Air Force together. Um, so he's kind of like my spiritual grandfather so to speak. So

in any case,

at our Masjid.

Most of the parents were involved with teaching the children how to recycle and and things like that, but Imams aide would come. When he came, he wouldn't really

engaged in that part of it. He would take us out of the masjid and we would jog around the block. mumsy was really big and he would probably still be going jogging. I think he was hearing he did this. I think he lifted himself up. It might have been this semester and other rest. She does a lot of exercise my shoulder. But when we were we would jog with him. He would jog for miles. We wouldn't. We wouldn't jog with him for miles. But in the beginning, we would get tired. And he would he would sing this he would do this chant. Because he was in the military and he would do that, you know, to kind of get them through a workout and the chant went

Omeo me Can't you see and then we repeat whom you can't you see what it's like?

I am is done for me. This was done for me, this me up and take me straight and we, we repeat after. And it was just and we would get around the block by the time we got to the end of it. We get around the block and and we would like look forward to those moments of running around the block to read data to return to chant that with him. So reminded me that I want you to write this song for us. Absolutely. Absolutely. When the next time Ramsay comes, he's sure he'll be he'll be pleased to hear from you on show.

But one of the things that we should look forward to that. And I realized, actually just now when listening to you all speak is that Imam Zaid wasn't

he wasn't teaching us the formalities of the deen we have people who are teaching us the formalities. But he was teaching us certain realities of the deen practicing self restraint, right practicing doing things incorporating things in your efforts that allow you to get through to the end. And Subhan Allah Allah subhanho wa Taala he does that. For us in the Quran. Allah subhanaw taala says who Allah the and Zillah Sakina tough equilibrium you need lots of 100 to Allah says He is the one who brings down from above he brings down that peace and tranquility in the hearts of the believers. peace and tranquility. The idea of Sakina words Akina

comes from this idea of like stillness, peace, serenity. It's matter of fact in Arabic when we say Hanukkah, Hanukkah, Fatah, Obama sukoon, right. These are these

are federal Dhamma Kassala is how to cat so when you recite a letter and use it, you put a hot cat on it. It's almost like you're moving the sound with the letter, but sukoon is when you're still on the letter. And similarly, the neffs the ego wants, it wants things it wants to constantly move. It wants to constantly get things and actually, it's it has a good intention, which is that it wants stillness. But it wants stillness by and he wants to tranquility and honor and satisfaction. Because what happens when you're satisfied. You still you don't need anything anymore. Lena right richness the idea of being rich in Arabic is to me to not need anything. I don't need anything anymore. The

knifes in its primitive state wants things and but it can't it doesn't have the African does have the knowledge you all mentioned the knowledge that it needs to know what the what things it needs in order to not need anything anymore. And so when we when we're outside of Ramadan, we're eating and eating and eating you know, maybe we're eating because we're bored maybe we're eating because we're stressed out. Maybe we're eating because we have an addiction and just getting rid of it just eating a little bit will calm us down. But in Ramadan Allah subhanho wa Taala and this is one of the blessings of it's bittersweet moment you know at the end of Ramadan because on one hand is sweet

because these are the best times of our lives. Really when we look back, these are going to be the best times of our lives being with the believers. Yeah, you Alina am an otaku Allah aku Mau Saudi Pinot Noir subhanaw taala says have Taqwa of Allah, and be among those people of integrity. Those are the moments will remember the most but then at the same time,

is only a few days left of it.

And one of the blessings of a being in Ramadan is that Allah subhanho wa Taala puts us through

a whole curriculum of Sakina right whole curriculum of Sakina where, you know, we fast and we fast together. So it makes it easier for us to fast we break fast together, even kids I was just talking to your son, even kids, my children, they're fasting 976 years old fasting half of the day, you know, they try to fast just because they want to be with the gym, they want to be with everyone.

But then that's replaced that suffering of fast is replaced with a sweetness Halawa to Eman, a sweetness of faith as a Kena that Allah subhanaw taala puts in our heart and being a human being in Arabic the word human being is inside and inside comes from the word NS and NS one of the meanings of Ns is second little club is to have is to have a still heart, right to be at peace and to be a tranquillity. So after after fasting all day, and eating a little bit eventually once we get to eat it's difficult to even eat right we it becomes more pleasurable to fit

hast into eat? And so Allah subhanho wa Taala replaces that need for Hanukkah with sukoon. Right and that's the blessing of Ramadan. And so yeah hamdulillah the Hamid II The

recitation mashallah when I just mentioned one thing about it was so many things about Muhammad Ali Rahim Allah, but he was planning, he was planning this, this event for years, he had a whole book of notes that he was, you know, that people around him would jot down about things he wanted to do. And one of the things that he wanted to do was, he wanted to make sure that the first thing everyone heard was the Quran.

He wanted to make sure the first thing everyone heard because he knew he knew his position. And he knew that people will be watching it like one one story, he would go to the to the beach, and he would, and he would, he would have a bunch of Islamic pamphlets with like, you know, information about Islam.

And he would sign his name on it at the beach, and then he would give him up. So obviously, it's his name is a signature. So people will come from all over the beach, to try to grab, you know, a signature is actually worth money. But he would use that in order to get the message of dry out and even when you go to Louisville, Kentucky, and I recommend you go to his museum, he has a museum. The first exhibit at the museum is the five pillars. You go to Museum and you I think, I think he like laid down in some kind of lounge chairs and you look up and it's a lot. shahada is a cast, right panel. So he had that he had that vision. And Allah subhanaw taala also gives us that vision with

the blessings of Ramadan, a vision that once we have that vision, then it becomes easy to go through whatever we need to go through. May Allah subhanho wa Taala give us that give us that Hello. I mean last time it gives us the kingdom