Omer El-Hamdoon – The Leadership Challenge

			for humanitarian studies, so without further ado, I'd like to pass it on to
		

			him and hamdulillah salat wa salam ala rasulillah
		

			brothers and sisters salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.
		

			famous story which I think most of you may have heard, but if not, you hear now in sha Allah, he was
sitting with his companions and friends, after the passing of Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wasallam.
And he invites them to make a wish. So he says, make a wish to know, they not quite sure, it's quite
strange request to come from the Holy Land at that time.
		

			They said, you know, we're not sure what what do you mean? What shall we wish for he said, Make any
wish.
		

			So, someone made the wish that you know why we should have such so much money, gold, be able to
spend it and do this and another person made a similar with regards to jewelry and, and so on. But
then Omar was not finding the answer. He said, but you know, what I really wish for. And they said,
What is that he said, I wish for people like
		

			a wish for a house, this house that we say no wish for this to be full of people like aboral bayda,
like more as like Salim these kind of quality people whom I will use their help. And I will use them
enable to
		

			spread the word of Allah.
		

			And I'm just gonna leave that there and come back to that same of Omar, probably a lot more.
		

			Without doubt, as you know, any any activity that Muslim engages in, it's very important that to
always start that activity with a strong reflection within oneself about why am I here the intention
		

			in coming here, because in America, my robinia intentions, actions are bought by intentions. And as
nobis only Allah Han said, he said, you know, Nia to rajul album, anomaly an intention of a person
is much more greater than the action itself. And obviously, if a person has sincerity in his
actions, and why he or she are doing these actions, then without doubt, the reward will be related
to that, and how many small actions have been magnified with good intention, and how many large
massive actions have been diminished by a very negative or a bad intention. So I think it's very
important that while we're here, at the beginning of this, this junction is very important, that
		

			person does renew their intention, and make sure that they are doing it for the right reason, if
they're doing it for not so quite a right reason, then this is also an important stage where one can
change their intention or modify their intention. Because remember,
		

			we are here in this life for a short period of time, it is important to utilize every opportunity,
that person has to be favorable in the eyes of Allah Subhana.
		

			Allah want to just say that today, and I'm sure many of you are aware of this, anybody who in fact
is living now in the UK can see that the challenges that are facing Muslims are great, and they are
steadily increasing. And maybe some people will disagree about the word steady and even say they are
actually increasing quite fast paced, things are changing very quickly.
		

			I'm not going to go into detail into that, and I'm sure you're already aware of what's happening.
But not only that, the challenges facing the humans is general in the world today are increasing as
well. And that is the nature of when there are people who are driven by their self interest people
who are driven by their personal interests and when you're God, the one that you worship is your
desire, then you're going to do anything for that desire to fulfill it. And that's why Allah subhana
wa tada mentioned that you know, and mocked such a person who makes his God His desire and starts to
obey and even starts to rationalize this for item Annika illa Huwa. Have you seen the one who has
		

			made his God
		

			His desire. And so therefore that is what dictates for him how to live your life. And when we have
people like this, even though they are a few, then they can change the whole world in a negative way
because they are ready to oppress others to get their own needs to satisfy their own needs. And that
is happening in the world today. You're seeing people being exploited in the world today. And anyone
who's studied economics or even if you haven't studied economics, you can see it how people in the
third world, you know, that word third world is as a form of exploitation, are being
		

			are being used and abused by others and exploited for different reasons. So what I'm trying to say
is that there are many challenges in the world today. And this is the this is the reality of life as
Allah subhanho wa Taala says, well, Allah differ a lot in NASA bah, bah, bah, there are there is
that almost that kind of interaction that mutual pushing and shoving between people, good and bad,
		

			righteous and evil, and so on, there is that continuous happenings there. But there needs to be a
rising, there needs to be people who are ready to meet the challenges. There are people who have to
ready to challenge the misconceptions, and the directed hatred, and unaccepted practices that are
happening all over the world today. So there has to be people who have that concern, people who want
to provide some sort of solution. And those people have existed throughout time ever since Allah
subhanaw taala created them. And throughout the ages, there have been people who have been pushed by
their interests, and to serve the interests of their gods.
		

			And there have been people sometimes very few in number, and sometimes they are the minority, who
have taken up the challenge to stand against oppression, even though it means that they have to
sacrifice what they own what they loved and cherished. And so I think it's very important that a
Muslim, who knows Allah Subhana, Allah knows his message, and his mission in life that realizes that
there is a need for him and her to do something to make a change. And I think this is where the
challenge comes in, in a program like this, because if you want to meet the challenge,
		

			you have to be in a position. And in a state of state of mind, where you can meet that challenge.
Because as you know, Newton's third law, you know, there has to be the equal the equal republished,
repelling of the forces for them to equal equal out. So if you're having people who are planning,
		

			planning hatred, people who are planning bad and evil people who are spending their money, and what
they have to exploit others, people who are doing things in a very high standard, you know, they're
not just they're not just doing things, ad hoc, they're actually planning and putting their time and
efforts, then if you want to meet that challenge, you have to also be ready to rise. Your your, the
way that you present yourself, the way that you think the skills that you have, the way the people
around you how you understand life, how you see the world, all that has to rise to a different
level. You can't stay at one level and expect things to change. And that's why Islam is about
		

			change. It's about changing the individual. It's about changing the community, the society, a person
who accepts to be static,
		

			is in fact not static is going backwards. Because whoever does not, does not evolve with time does
not progress. Then as time is changing around him he is just or she is just going back. So I think
that's the challenge and that's where the saying of our model to Lohan because it's having quality
people, quality people who are who understand the message quality people who have the skills,
quality people who have the ability to act and know how to act and know how to make a balance of
priorities. And not to waste the time of the oma with sometimes as it's happened with trivial petty
issues and sometimes our homemade is stuck up discussing is an issue when when we are just made a
		

			mock
		

			Curry in front of others. And those kinds of people are the people who will be able to carry the
lanten of change. And it's not about how big you are and how muscular you are. And it's not whether
it's not about whether you're a man or a woman. It's not about what degrees that you have. But it's
about what kind of attitude you have. And that's why when someone like Abdullah, him and Mr. Or even
though he was a, he was a small man, and on one occasion, the prophet size, and I've sent him up a
palm tree to collect some dates. So as he was climbing the palm tree, the Sahaba they saw his feet,
they're quite small. He's a small man. And they were there was laughing, get his feet.
		

			So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, Are you surprised? Are you
		

			are you amused at the small, petite nature of Abdullah's feet, but by a law, his feet are much more
heavier in the measure of a law than the mountain of wild, because this is this is a person who has
understood Islam and has ready to sacrifice. In fact, I've lived in Israel, for those of you who
have studied the evolution of alcohol, you know, that the whole, the whole madhhab, if you like the
metaphor of the people of Iraq, which was later the basis for the Hanafi, madhhab, and so on, which
is the most, the most dominant understanding way of understanding in the Muslim world today, in
terms of the numbers was based on the finger of Abdullah had been measured. So it's not about size.
		

			It's not about gender, it's about understanding, and it's about attitude. So you should only have
that which you intended. So and that's why you need to ask yourself the question, why am I here
today? Why am I here this weekend? Am I here? Just to have a nice time? Am I here to enjoy myself,
get some entertainment, climb some ropes, or abseiled down some rocks or fall into some lake or
something like that? Oh, am I here for something much more noble? Much more greater? Am I here to
make a change, make a change for the better because I need to be that person. I need to be that
person who can bring about change. And don't belittle yourself. I disagree with
		

			brother Anwar, here when he said that, you know, you don't expect to be the president of Canada.
Okay. I agree with him that you shouldn't have us Canada because you're not in Canada. Or you should
be aspiring to be the prime minister of the UK, not the why why Canada? You know, we're here in the
UK. Don't belittle yourself because, because none of you none of you has anything preventing you
from being a prime minister. Or at least being a minister or being any position in society. Not that
that's something we aspire to, you know, that's something that's, you know, so great in itself. But
if you belittle yourself,
		

			then you've already lost the challenge. And that's what the challenge is about. It's about thinking
big and shallow thinking big and positive attitudes and following the right steps you will achieve
and don't remember that mountains are only made out of small stones or small rocks and the sea is
made up small drops and journey Chinese friends their journey of 1000 miles starts with a few steps.
So inshallah these will be the first few steps many most of you have already been wanting the steps
anyway, but this is where a program like this should be utilized in a positive way with the right
mentality and inshallah you will benefit so much. And you will be able to bring about the change in
		

			yourself and those around you by the world.