Riyad Nadwi – 0.6 Imam Ghazali on Ikhlas
AI: Summary ©
The importance of understanding the meaning of "fit centers is crucial to being a successful person and finding a celebrity designer with a specific label to show the value of celebrity's markings in our lives. The speaker emphasizes the negative impact of excessive focus and the importance of finding a balance between pleasure and satisfaction. The importance of positive views in removing negative comments and finding a balance between pleasure and satisfaction is also discussed. The speaker provides short lectures on optimal experiences, learning to improve condition, and pray for the flow of praise.
AI: Summary ©
And you all want to start start now.
Let me check. Yeah. Okay. No worries. Are
you alright? I've been set up in the,
in the room. Yeah. Every everything's set up
now. You're welcome to start now. Okay. Okay.
Allah
says to us in the Quran that
they were not commanded except to worship Allah
with sincerity with full in a state of
being full sincerity
in the faith in religion in claiming to
truth
and to establish prayer, to give zakah, to
give charity, and that is the correct faith,
the correct religion.
Assalamu alaikum
brothers and sisters.
Welcome to our 6th
session
on lessons from imam Ghazali.
He's,
which we are using as a base for
this course.
In our last session, we read
the imam's,
discussion on
the eternal knowledge
as elite,
as opposed to
the
the
ones that are that change that are susceptible
to change.
And we
arrived at
that point where
the distinction was drawn between
knowledge that
is
changeable, knowledge that knowledge that is susceptible to
change, and knowledge that is eternal eternal knowledge.
And
we said that the
eternal knowledge,
some of which we can acquire and when
we do so, it provides us of light
in this world
and beyond. It it it succeeds. It it
it supersedes death, that knowledge,
where it become
it becomes lamps,
like
little lamps with which we light larger lamps
for us for our lives in the next
in the next world.
And
in that, the point was also emphasized that
that there is no true and genuine felicity
and
happiness
to be found
except in knowing our Creator, in knowing Allah
We also discussed the
virtues of chamul, a new concept.
Chamul, which means anonymity,
and we reflected on
its relevance to our modern world and the
phenomena of
celebrity mania that affects us through the virtue
of being members of the society.
We are affected. We are influenced
in subtle but powerful ways
through a
an osmosis like process.
And that we should not think that
the fit in, the corrupting schemes, effects will
these corrupting
ideas, the corrupting schemes will remain in watertight
compartments,
and
that,
as long as we,
keep a certain distance, we will not be
affected.
The effects of fit in,
as long as you're living in the same
times,
these effects
seep into our hearts
as members of a society stealthily,
surreptitiously,
like the creeping damp
in the walls of a house. If you're
part of a society,
then
you have to be aware of its fitan,
and you have to take
active steps
to inoculate yourself and your children for Allah
says in the Quran.
Fear the fitna
that will not affect only those who have
done the wrong among you. Fear that fitna.
This is directly related to the
4th subject in the curriculum
of Jibril alaihis salam which we discussed in
the second class.
Knowing the fitan of your of your time.
Because if we're unfamiliar with the fitan of
our time, then we would not recognize it
when it creeps into our heart. We cannot
live in a bubble and expect
expect to be expect to be completely isolated.
And the first step towards
protecting ourselves is recognition, is to be able
to recognize this. You have to be able
to see it. And and then which is,
of course, the first step towards,
avoiding it and then take other steps.
Now one of the ways in which this
fitna
of celebrity mania affects us
is by distorting our perception of happiness,
of what it means to be to have
a good life.
It tricks us into thinking that celebrity
is the measure of success and happiness, And
that if we do not indulge in this
pursuit,
our our lives will be in the pursuit
of celebrity or if we do not indulge
in the mania,
that our lives will be miserable.
And so so much so that the,
the stamps of celebrity is required for
social validation and vindication
in
mundane aspects of our lives. And I wanna
give you the other example that I,
wanted to mention last week, but this this
this is an important example because it leads
back to
the
perception
of the
it shows very clearly
how perception
can be altered, because perceptions can change. The
the example is of clothes.
A few decades ago,
all clothes that were when when people manufactured
clothes,
the labels and the tags well, the the
labels
used to be tucked away behind the collar
or somewhere hidden in the seam somewhere
so that no one could would see it
unless you took the clothes and had a
and inspected it.
But
as the
celebrity mania began to spread and grew into
the consciousness of vast swathes of society,
that all changed.
Now for clothes to be
for for the clothes we wear to be
validated with value,
we need to have the name of a
celebrity designer
printed
on it in a place where everyone can
see.
A shirt or a blouse with an Armani
label displayed in a place where everyone can
see it is perceived to be more valuable
than a garment made of the same cloth
and the same design without the label.
That perceptual change is the direct result
of the spread
of celebrity
mania. The value of
celebrity stamp is now firmly imprinted in our
minds, in the minds of people, including Muslims.
So we should not consider ourselves to be
that somehow we are safe from this.
This is a this is tragic because when
it comes to the worth of
the label of the sunnah of Muhammad
on it, If someone says to you, oh
this brother, you know, this is the sunnah
of Rasulullah
I think so, this is my understanding. Maybe
you might have another understanding about
the the the
value of the hadith,
the
the station of the hadith, but it is,
in my opinion, a sunnah.
When someone says this, we have difficulty perceiving
value in it. We have all sorts of
ready made arguments, against wearing sunnah. You know,
we say, oh, it's just sunnah, brother. It's
not fun.
Or it is,
you know, it's it's a different time. It's
a different climate.
Yes. Of course.
But what about the value of sunnah? What
about the value of sunnah clothes in your
heart
compared to the value of celebrity designed clothes
of of our celebrity designer
clothes?
Which which one has more value in our
perceptions
or in our hearts?
Nowadays, even the the pursuit of religious knowledge,
of of Deeni knowledge, has become victim of
the celebrity mania.
We have begun we we we we began
to we we we are now measuring piety
through celebrity.
In other words,
there is this new age of personality cults
and celebrity mania
Even in our Islam, Islam has to come
with celebrity branding.
We spend,
if
you,
we have, you know, lots of young people
today. We spend a few moments in the
company of a celebrity scholar celebrity
scholarship, memorize a few hadiths and see and
and then they turn around and said
start seeing that as a springboard for social
media superstardom
without realizing how
devastating this pursuit can be. If you not
by learning if you learn a few
hadith and some Quran, that doesn't
mean that you have to go and become
a super a superstar, you know, you you
in
and be
and use your din for fame. But the
problem is that because we perceive that success
in this world today is is in gaining
fame, then people think that that's the natural
thing to do. That I'll make some nice
videos, you know, and people will love me.
But
we have to be
careful. We have to be careful because shaitan
can come and trick you into thinking, oh,
I will I'm helping people. You know? I'm
doing what I'm doing. I'm I'm doing it
with good reasons. But
if deep down inside, it's it has a
dust it it has that
black ant crawling as we said in the
in the earlier lessons,
then we have to remember the words of
Rasulullah
here
where he said,
The
destruction
of seeking fame and seeking wealth
in your deen
is more it will be more devastating
than sending
2 hungry wolves
in a pen with sheep, where where sheep
is. If you send to what kind of
2 hungry wolves,
which where there's sheep,
the sort of devastation it will cause, that's
the kind of devastation. These are the words
of Rasulullah. These are the words of the
prophet
saying
that
that they that they will not cause these
2 hungry wolves will not cause the kind
of devastation
that it that a person who is seeking
fame and seeking position and seeking wealth with
it through his deen. So
we have to be careful. We we have
to analyze our actions and look, and this
is why we need this sort of discussion.
Now in contrast to this, we pondered also
the phenomenon known as flow,
where many people in the world today,
are not affected as much by this celebrity
culture. They have they they they experience optimal
life experiences of happiness and satisfaction,
not through seeking the attention of others,
but
through paying attention
paying attention in solitary focus,
through single-minded focus on tasks,
without the worry of defending the ego.
These are people who are able to disengage.
They're able to disengage from
worrying about what people will think and or
what people will say about them,
and they're able to focus on more meaningful
goals.
They're not caught in a never ending obsession
for recognition.
These are
people who
are not only happier in their lives, but
they prove the point that
running after the celebrity
is not as rewarding
as we tend to think it is, and
that was the message last week.
Now among Muslims, the people who
have reached
the highest heights
that we have seen,
highest heights
in this area, in the area of flow,
in the area of
having
this the of having value, of enjoy of
experiencing life to the fullest, but without celebrity.
And these these people are the opposite of
those who are running after celebrity, and they
are the people who practice
humul,
the concept we studied last week.
And as we saw in the reflection
on, on the virtues of kumul, the opposite
of celebrity, that to disengage from seeking Jah,
moving away, and moving away from the,
celebrity centered mindset
has a great value. As Imam Ghazali
in his discussion drew our attention to 8
points in this regard. The first was that
an anonymous disheveled person in rags
may person who in in this
celebrity mania world who no one will look
at and think that has a person a
person of a person who is disheveled and
who is in rags and no one cares
about, I would have no value whatsoever. That
that's
the
the automatic perception that we would have. But
what we learned last week is that these
people may be so elevated
so elevated in the eyes of Allah that
if they were to take an oath and
say that Allah will do such and such,
Allah will fulfill their oath. That's the extent.
In this world, Allah will fulfill their their
oath.
Number 2 was that Allah may give Jannah
to some. They may ask Allah for things
of this world and they may not give
him, they'll not be given it
but Allah will give them things in the
ihara, will give them Jannah if they ask
for it. These are the same disheveled anonymous
people who no one knows, no one cares
about
And that the people
who no one cares about
are refused
audiences with the princes and with the governors
and they are not given daughters to marry.
But on the day of judgment, these same
people will carry
enough light that will be sufficient for everyone.
That's how much light they have in their
heart.
And number 4 is that some of the
unknown people have hearts that are lamps of
guidance.
They
are they are lamps of guidance that put
that that protects them from all the calamity
and all the fitna around them.
Number 5 was that
sometimes the supplication of these unknown people,
their dua
is accepted immediately by Allah as we saw
in the story of the drought in Madinah.
Number 6 was
that one of the favors of Allah and
his servants is in keeping him
anonymous.
Allah
Allah
will recount that on day of judgement.
Did
I not hide your sins? And
did I not conceal? Did I not conceal?
Make you anonymous? Did I not keep you
away from fame? Because fame
is a test. It's a great test. When
you are, when you become famous, then
how do you carry yourself?
The fame of the prophets,
then that was the point number 7 was
that the fame of the prophets and the
fame of the ulama
come from Allah.
They did they do they do not seek
it so we should not use this uh-uh
or misuse this as justification for our celebrity
pursuits.
And finally, number 8 was that if you're
weak then
and you know you're weak then it's better
not to be known because it's like the
example he gave this beautiful example
of a weak swimmer in a river where
people are drowning. It's better for people not
to know you because they will hold on
to you. You will drown and they will
drown. But if you are strong, then it's
better for them to know you so that
they can seek your assistance and get help
to come out.
Now when we are trapped in
this
storm, the storm the status storm,
the storm in the mind,
our mental energies tend to be occupied
constantly with
the concern about what people are thinking and
saying about us, you know,
what would they say? What are people are
saying? And this is
the worry what
leads us to check our social media status,
you know, for feedback 20 times a day
or 5 times an hour depending on how
obsessed you are, you know,
or looking for praise, checking for likes, searching
for mentions.
And
because these make us
feel good about ourselves, it it it it
has a,
we end up into a spiral going more
and more and more for it because we
get the feedback and we want to go.
And if someone posts a negative comment about
us, we become upset and dejected, and it
life is turned upside down for days days
on end.
Now today,
we will look at some
strategies
for dealing with this sort of problem,
the problem of excessive focus and concern
about what others say about us in terms
of praise and criticism
because this is
at the heart of the matter. So let's
read
and we're going into the cures now.
And here, Imam Ghazali is saying
that most people
that most people
have ended up in destruction
by excessive by worrying about what about the
criticisms of people
and the love of praise from people.
What happens is that their entire life all
their actions everything they do then becomes
dependent
upon what pleases people
and it's
for what pleases people and for the drawing
over the hoping and praise and hoping for
praise
and for
and then the fear of criticism
And this is of the pitfalls of destruction.
This is one of the pitfalls of destruction.
So it is necessary
to treat this.
And the way of treating it is
is to look at the reasons for which
the person loves
praise and hates criticism.
Now the first is that the reason you
you like this, the reason you you enjoy
this is that it gives you a sense
of complete sense of completeness, a sense of
perfection.
The the that you feel that what this
person is saying, this praise that they're giving
you is interpreted deep in your heart that
that that you have some sort of perfection.
So the the the way to
return to your senses
you should say to yourself
that this quality with which this person is
praising you do you do you really possess
those qualities?
Is it really for you?
That if you are if you have this
attribute
it is it will either be one that
it is deserving of praise
such as knowledge true knowledge and piety
or a an attribute that it's something that
you have in you that it does not
deserve the praise, but the person is praising
you for it.
Such as
wealth in the world
and abundance of wealth and station,
and provisions of the world.
That if it is about provisions about this
world, things that we have in this world,
then it is your joy over it
is short lived, will be short lived because
it is like being
it is like the joy of,
the joy of seeing
vegetation
sprout from the earth but then after a
while it becomes dust and blown away.
And and this
it's
it
it it indicates to a,
a a shortsightedness.
But the intelligent one is the one who
says as the he
said
He said that the most intense sadness for
me is
in the
joy, in the excessive joy, the celebratory, this
ecstasy of of someone over something which he
is sure that he will lose.
How can how can you be so so
happy over it? You go into ecstasy about
something.
So it is not it is not
suitable for someone to become excessively
happy and,
ecstatic about things in this world. But if
you are happy about it, if you have
if you if you become joyous then
the thing that you should be happy with
is not the praise of of someone who
praises you
but but with its with the presence of
this gift that you have.
And the praise is not the reason for
its existence.
If it is one of those attributes that
is deserving of praise
such as knowledge and piety
though it is not it is it you
should not be overly
joyful over it because
because no one knows what what our end
will be
the end in this world you have knowledge
you have piety but in what state will
you die?
Yes it is it deserves to be you
deserve to be pleased and happy about it
because it brings you closer to Allah
Allah. But we have to remember. So it
has to be measured. The yeah. The the
the danger of a of a terrible ending
is still there.
So it is about having this balanced approach
and not becoming excessively
ecstatic over over things in this world and
and running after them and being happy about
the praise about them. So he's saying here
that look
that there has to be balance between these
2 that the
that it it's balanced off with a worry.
The the joy is balanced off with a
worry about what will happen in the end.
This dunya is full of trials and tribulations
and sadness and things and and worry.
The place where all of that will go
away is is in the is in Jannah.
That if you're happy about hoping that you
will have a good ending
then you're if you are going if if
you're choosing this to be
the point the reason for your joy then
you should be happy
because of the bounty from Allah
but you should be happy with Allah that
this is that this knowledge and this taqwa
this
righteousness is from Allah
not from the praising of the praiser the
one who is praising you
That this joy that you're getting is from
feeling is that sense of completeness, that sense
of perfection. And that is with Allah. That
is with Allah. That's a bounty from Allah.
The man it
the praise that you are receiving it comes
from
it did not create this attribute that you
have. So you should not get happy with
with the praise. You should be happy with
the actual thing that you have.
The praise does not increase you in any
in any bounty.
So that as far as things that you
had, attributes that you actually had and people
praised you for. As for things that you
did not have,
they're they're they're telling you about some they're
they're praising you for something that you are
void of you do not have it.
So your joy
of that over such a praise,
you do not you do not have an
attribute and people are praising you for it.
He said that is
It is the full extent of insanity.
Yes.
That a person who is, you know, passing
relieving himself
and someone says to him, oh, oh, what
beautiful smells you
have.
That when he when he relieves himself, he
a lot of, beautiful smells comes out of
him.
He knows that what
that that this is not true. It's the
complete opposite that happens.
And then he's happy about that.
Then so
and so it is that if they praise
you for being a very pious person and
to and and be a very scrupulous person
in your deen, then and you'd and you
are void of it. You do not have
any of this, then
that you are you are happy with this
and that Allah knows
the true nature of your in your of
what's in your heart.
And all the all the dangerous,
all the destructive capacities in you
and all the terrible, the disgusting
attributes you have.
This is the highest extents of ignorance.
That so
if someone praises you and he's truthful in
what he's saying and you know him to
be then your joy should not be about
the praise your joy should be about
the Fadl about the bounty from Allah that
that's Allah's. If he's
lying
that if it's lies what he's saying he's
praising you for something you do not have
then that should be a source of sadness
not joy
now as for the second reason
That this is an indication
of the reason another reason why, you know,
you will be get attracted to it is
that it's an indication that this person who
is praising you, his heart is now
in has now become
back it's backends towards you. It's now part
it's now it's now in your control.
And once this person is in your control,
he through him now, you'll be able to
control others.
And of course this is what
is this is what and
seeking position in the heart
this is what we have looked at
and how do you repair this? You repair
this by
cutting
the yearning
for people's for for position
for cutting of position in people's heart and
for seeking position
in front of Allah
and this is very important sentence this sentence
needs to be written in gold
that you should know very clearly in your
mind
that seeking position in the hearts of people
and having joy over it
It
degrades you
in your station in front of Allah. When
you seek position in front of people in
the hearts of people you're degrading yourself in
front of Allah.
This is the sentence this is the sentence
how then can you be happy about this?
In the law
that seeking position in people's
heart
degrades you in the in in in the
position in front of Allah in your position
in front of Allah
so how can you be happy about that?
And then he said
the third reason why it happens I'm a
servant of
shyness You know, the the person is is
shy. He feels
obliged to say something.
Even if he doesn't know of, you know,
being polite and, you know, shyness, he wants
to
it's a situation where he has to praise
you, then know that this is this is
passing. This is fleeting. This is a fleeting
moment.
You should be that this should
be a source of of sadness.
That the our early our early scholars.
He's saying that this, this brings a calamity
on people. If you praise them, it just
brings calamities because it it destroys their balance.
That whoever has become
happy with praise of people
then he has made it he has made
it easy for shaitan to enter into his
stomach
that if you are the best of people
It should be better for you for people
to say oh you are the worst person
that
you are you are falling into into a
trap
That that you have
you have broken his back. And this sentence
comes,
repeatedly in hadith that if people who praise,
who who indulge in flattery,
then you should throw dust in their face.
Because
it's about raising positions and you're you're you're
indulging in flattery for other things.
So then
the Sahaba didn't didn't fall into this kind
of trap
of flattery and this excessive
being excessively,
pray
praising excessively
so that you
you destroy a person's,
self image as image of themselves.
Because of the joy it puts
And and it's reported that some of the
so some of the caliph's
are.
He has a personal
something,
and the man said to him, to Adam.
He said he asked him some question. He
said, oh, you are better than me and
you know me.
And he said to him he said to
him, he
he became angry and he said, in the
lam, and to Zakini, I did not ask
you for a reference.
A person said to a Sahabi, you know,
that that that people will be be
will be safe as long as you are
around,
that Allah keeps you alive. And the Sahaba
got angry. He said,
I think you're an Iraqi.
In those days, because they had a lot
of, of this,
tendency for culture, not not all of people,
but it it was known.
That, oh, Allah, this person is getting closer
to me. He's trying to get close to
me by angering you.
And the reason they dislike
too much praise, they dislike praise from people
from the creation
is that they fear that they would be
that they that it will be the opposite
in the eyes of the Khalekh, in the
eyes of the creator.
That that their occupation
with their status in front of Allah
made them angry about
praise of people around, worrying about people's praise,
interrupted that whole process of worrying of
having that focus and and paying attention to
their station in front of Allah.
That the rail the rail praised person is
the one who is close to Allah.
And the one who is blameworth, the one
who is criticized, who should be criticized, who
is blameworthy
is the one who is far away from
Allah who is thrown into the fire.
That if this person who is being praised
if he is of the fire
what
great ignorance is this? What kind of what
great ignorance is this of him that he
is happy with the praise of others while
he is going to the fire?
And if he is of the people of
Jannah
he
should not he should only be
be happy with the praise of Allah and
the bounty from Allah
is
that his
outcomes, his future,
his benefits are with Allah. It's not with
the creation.
That the more you're Yaqeen, the more you
you you you're understanding,
the more your belief, the more your your
certainty
that
what will reach you in this world and
what sustenance you will get in this world
is from Allah. The more that rises is
the less you will turn you will you
will give attention to what people
say in terms of praise
or criticism
and the love of praise will diminish in
your heart
and he will that person when that happens
when when the love of praise diminishes in
your heart then you will turn towards
what is important for your deen in other
words you will focus on what is important
for your
Akhirah that's
that Now that was in terms of prayers.
Now the next chapter is about criticism that
we don't like people to say bad things
about us and there's
and well,
He said in summary, this is
that the person who criticizes
you
They can it it he will not
be from
more than 3 perspectives.
3. From from in 3 situations.
That way, if he criticizes you, the first
situation will be that
he is truthful in what he says,
and his reason for doing it is to
is to advise you, to give you good
advice
and to show,
compassion towards you.
He he's he's doing you a favor.
That the second situation is where he does
it, she does it, she criticizes you but
the reason for doing it is
to to cause pain
and to condescend, to cause the condescension.
Well, Imma and the third situation was Imma
and Yakuna Kaziban or he may be lying,
the third. The third situation is where he's
making he's making some
slander, some backbite. He he's he's not backbiting
but completely,
fabricating something against you. He's lying.
So in the first situation he's explaining here,
he says
that if he is telling the truth and
his purpose, his aim is to give good
advice,
then there's none of then you should not
be angry with him,
and, and hate him for that reason.
You should hold on to you you should
recognize
his favor that he's doing to you.
The
one who shows you a
a
defect that you did not notice or reminds
you of your defect, but then he's helping
you. He's helping you not to fall into
it. So
you you should be happy about this.
And take the advice and remove that bad
quality, that bad attribute that for which you
have been criticized
to remove it from yourself.
As far if you start to
feel angry and start to criticize him and
go and
hate him because he has done this,
then that is a form of that that
is
the pinnacle of ignorance.
So that's for the first category. The first
situation in the in which this happens. The
second situation,
he wants to cause pain. He wants to
put you down. He wants to condescend.
So
but he what he's saying is true. So
he's saying,
you have benefited from what he has said.
That he may be pointing you to a
defect in your own character
or defect in you for which you were
unaware of possibly. That's in one situation. Oh,
that or he reminded you of something that
was in in you that you were that
that you you did not you are
heedless of. You knew it was there, but
you were heedless of it in removing it.
Or he made it dislikable in your mind.
By doing that, he's he's transforming you. He's
helping you. He's transformed
So from and from that, you will be
motivated to removing that that that ill that,
defects,
that bad that bad characteristic
Maybe you you you did not recognize it
as being bad, but now you've recognized it
because of what he's done and he is
spreading it among people. So you will remove
it from yourself.
And all of this is in your benefit.
And you you you've been benefit you've benefited
from it. These are all
measures. These are all reasons for
your
good life, for for your benefit.
So go towards seeking happiness, seeking good in
this world.
So you have benefited from what you hear
this person say.
That if you're and he's giving an example
to bring home this point. He says that
look, imagine you are imagine that you are
about to enter into the court of the
king
and your clothes has dirt on it and
you do not and you are unaware of
it.
That
you
it it it is possible that
the sultan may
punish you for messing his his court up
with with the clothes that you have.
And so if someone says
And so if someone addresses you as you
are about to go in and say oh
you dirty man
clean yourselves
so it is necessary for you it is
you in that situation you should be happy
about it.
That this is this is something in your
favor you've you've earned something
by by him.
That all the bad characteristics
of people
in your character, all of these
are
stand all of these are are potential disruptions
like that king who was will chop your
head off if you mess his his
his court up. He said these kind of
every bad
character
defect is has potential
for
leading us into failure on the day of
judgment. Failure. Well,
and the person
finds his own mistakes. He sees
his his mistakes from the speech, from the
words of his enemy.
That you you should
be happy about you should use this this
opportunity.
And as for
his intention to cause pain and to condescend,
that this is he is committing a crime
against himself.
On one hand, it's a crime against himself,
and it's a benefit. It's a reward for
you.
So why why he be angry on something
on an action on something done through which
he has suffered and you have benefit
That's the so this is how you get
out of that trap of worrying, oh, this
person has posted something about me and this
and that.
Well, hadith of Saris and the you know,
he's saying that, look, this is the that
that was the the the third
situation.
That he that he then fabricates something against
you. He's lying. He's saying something bad about
you.
You should not worry about that. Don't worry
about him about getting angry.
And don't engage with his criticism.
You should think about 3 things.
That yes you might not have that particular
defect in you but you may have many
other
similar defects.
So don't
feel too confident. He's saying here so this
is the first thing you must think keep
in mind.
And the ones and the defects that Allah
your sins
that Allah has covered is more than what
this person has fabricated.
So thank Allah that He has not
exposed your sins to this person.
And He has led him into saying things
which you have not committed, which you have
not done. So keep that in your mind
that's the first thing. The second thing
that this is an expiation
of your other sins. If he's mentioning one
thing and he's fabricated it, then that is
an ex that's wiping out other sins that
you have.
So so he's he has accused you of
something that you do not have.
He has accused you. He has thrown at
you
a,
a sin that you do not have and
with it, he's wiping away sins that you
actually have.
And anyone who backbites against you has given
you his good his good deeds.
And anyone who praises you, you know, goes
into flattery with you then that person has
broken your back. In other words, he has
destroyed your ability to stand
to to worry about the real thing which
is how you stand in front of Allah.
And so why do you why are you
happy with this?
Why are you happy with the one who
has broken your back?
And you
are being sad about good deeds that you're
receiving from people,
good deeds that are bringing you closer to
Allah.
How how how can I have this
this upside down, this alternative
reaction when you claim
that you
love being close to Allah? These hasanat that
you're getting from people who are doing all
these things are bringing you closer to Allah.
So why why worry about it?
And he said now for for the third
thing
The the third thing that you have to
keep in mind is that that this,
this person, this miskeen, this poor person
that he has now committed a crime against
his deen
He has fallen in the eyes of Allah.
And he has destroyed himself with this fabrication.
And he has made himself exposed to the
worst types of of punishment.
That then you should not add more anger
to him because Allah is angry with him.
That's what Shaitan you know cause they will
tease him. Shaitan will tease him.
And
you say you will say Allahum, O Allah,
destroy him.
But is but instead you should say you
should say
O
Oh Allah, rectify him. Oh Allah,
forgive him. Oh Allah, forgive
him.
He's saying that Rasulullah
in response to the people
who broke his
tooth and who injured his face and who
killed his uncle,
he was in response to those things that
were happening, he said,
oh Allah forgive my people.
Oh Allah guide them.
Oh they do not know what they're doing.
They do not know. So this is the
mercy of Rasool Allah
You know, a person that that won the
battle,
a tire, the thing that's connected to
to a
to a helmet,
ripped his head,
ripped and caused a a big wound in
it, and he made dua for this person.
And
he said, I know that I get reward
because of this person.
So I got good I got good I've
I've received
I've received good from him.
So I don't want him to be punished
because of me.
And of the things that
makes it easy for you to bear criticism
is to
sever your yearning, sever your covetousness, sever your
your yearning for what people have.
We're warning yearning for what? Because this is
where it links into the wider cultures that
we look up. You know, last week we
talked about that hadith
where Rasoolullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said that
if you're looking, if you're doing comparisons,
that if you're if you're doing if you're
in the business of comparing, you're doing comparisons
between who has and who hasn't, then be
sure to look at those who are less
fortunate
because this is what leads to this.
You're leading it leads to wanting what other
people have, wanting this.
Is stagnant.
And
that if you have nothing if you have
nothing more to gain from these people, you
have nothing more to want from what is
with people, then it becomes easy
to ignore people's criticism.
And the effect of it excuse me. The
effect of it also in your heart will
be diminished.
Will
be lessened.
And the foundation of our deen
is in being contented,
being contentment and satisfaction. We should be we
should be contented with what we have,
we have. And this is not fatalism.
It's about, yes doing your best but what
you managed to to achieve that has to
be a you have to be contented with
look this is what Allah thinks is good
for me. This is what I have and
this is and I'm contented with it. I
will ask for more. I will try for
more but I will not look at people
and and blame Allah for not giving me
what people have.
Then the yearning for what people have will
be cut off.
That as long as you then have
this view of looking upwards and looking what
people have then you will be you'll be
stuck in the trap in that storm as
I said the storm of Jah, the storm
of Hubul Jah, the storm of loving station,
the storm of loving position will be dominant.
He said
That all that you will spend all your
time in trying to get to to earn
position in people.
And the the tragedy is that you will
not get this
except through the destruction of your deen as
we say like the 2 hungry wolves.
That the person
who's
who has this yearning, this
this covet, this covetousness for wealth and for
position
and love of praise and hating of criticism,
that person,
his deen is not safe.
This is very far. That
is the conclusion of of this chapter.
Alright. We've run out of time right now.
So, okay, we finished that on time. Now
now to come back to what we started
this discussion with which was about optimal experience.
We talked about,
that where regular moments of optimal experience
serve
as fortify as a fortifying force, as a
strengthening force in an individual's life.
As Muslims,
where do we find our optimal experience?
The answer is obvious.
We can find
our optimal life experience
in our optimal goal in life. What is
our optimal goal in life? Ibadah, getting close
to Allah, the purpose for which we were
created.
We find our optimal experience
in the remembrance of our Creator in prayer,
in our salah.
The requirement
of Khushu,
if you look at the requirements of Khushu
in which we
as Allah said in Surat Al Mominun is
that the people, the praising the people who
have salah in the fa who have Khushu,
It it they it it includes complete disengagement
from the world, not worrying about anything in
the world, not who might say what and
what people are saying, complete disengagement
from the simulations of worldly conversations.
Khushu is total disengagement in this hadith. In
Bukhari and Muslim said
that
There are person who prays 2 rakat 2
rakat salah, just 2,
in which he prays it for
and he he did not indulge in those
worldly
conversations
he did not simulate any conversations in his
mind
of anything worldly
he keeps it completely disengaged from the world
then that turakah
will it will wipe all his previous sins.
So, and this is our flow, this is
what we have to aim for. That's the
salah we aim, we should aim for. Our
flow is found in salah, in dhikr, in
all its forms. Our flow is in the
flowing of the eyes with tears.
It is in the flowing of the heart
with mercy and compassion.
It is in the flow of sincere intentions
and actions.
It is in the flowing of charity from
the hands like like a pleasant wind blowing.
It is in the flow of heavenly mercies
pouring
upon the creation.
It is in the flow of consciousness of
the divine
in the secret depths of the heart and
the mind,
it is in the flow of reciprocal
remembrance
as in
remember me and I will remember you, it
is in the flow
of divine praise
as Allah
says look at my servant
When Allah sees you get up at night
and you leave your bed and your children
and your family
and your
duvet and get up your bedding
in the night to pray, Allah says, It
is the flow of that praise that we
should seek. It is the flow of praise
among the angels in heaven.
Prayer when it reaches this is a comfort
as it was for our prophet Muhammad sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam where he used to say
to Bilal, radiAllahu alaihi he used to say,
oh it's to start the prayer Bilal start.
Bring us comfort with it. That's the comfort.
The comfort of the difficulties in this world
used to come through salah.
That the salah has been made a comfort
for me.
Khushu
is in the eyes and the ears because
it is through these two things. It is
through this this Khushu. It is through this
that
the
clutter of the world pours into us. The
clutter of the people speaking and what who
has said what and what I'm going to
say to who and what. And this is
the thing that corrupts our hushu in salah.
And the tragedy is
that Rasulullah said
that that the first
good thing, the first thing of benefit, the
first
great treasure that will be lifted from this
ummah that we will lose is khushu
Until a time will come when the masjid
will be full. But there will be not
one person with khushu.
To find this flow in Khushu,
begin with your salah. It is the Mi'raj
of Mu'min. It is the Ascension of the
believer.
We have to pray like the Prophet
did. He used to say
that both my ears and my eyes
are now flowing with the goal of pleasing
you alone only you.
He used to say
I used to seek refuge
in you from knowledge that is of no
benefit and from a heart that does not
have in it.
And an eye that does not flow
and from an from a dua supplication
that is not answered.
So
let us pray, let us ask Allah
to help us.
Allah forgive us. Oh Allah forgive our negligence
and guide us to the flow of your
mercies
and protect our hearts and minds
from doubt and save us from worrying about
what others say about us and make us
seek your approval, make us worry about what
you think of us and what the angels
think of us. Oh Allah,
turn our hearts towards you in all situations
and guide us in a direction of your
love and your mercy.
Place
our joy and happiness
in your prayers as it used to be
for your beloved Prophet Muhammad
Oh
Allah, cleanse our hearts from the clutter
of worldly,
of a worldly chatter.
Oh Allah, cleanse our hearts from the clutter
of worldly chatter
and in our prayer and open it, open
our hearts with the light of your guidance.
O Allah, we are your servants,
we are your creation,
we are your slaves,
we have no other to turn to but
you.
Accept us and guide us, O Allah, forgive
us, O Allah help us.
The recordings
for the previous 5,
classes,
plus
a
link. I've prepared a link here with a
series.
I have,
One second. Let me just grab it. I'm
going to share this with you.
It's a series of
short lectures between 20 30 minutes
of 40 lectures
on improving your salah because we're talking about
salah, and this is a good moment
to
try and make an effort to improve the
quality of your salah.
So the 6th link that I will send
here, there's a list of 6 links. The
first five are for the 1st class the
first five classes that we have done, which
you can study or you can revise, go
over them, and make notes,
so it can help you to internalize to,
practice what we what we are learning. This
is not about information gathering, this is about
inculcating
them into your practice. And so for salah,
which I said, this is where our optimal
life experience is.
And to improve to improve that, I'd like
to you to try and find time to
study these,
to listen to these 40 lectures, take notes,
try and,
implement what's said in them, they're short and,
Insha'Allah,
in the in the in the course of
a few couple of months, Insha'Allah, you should
be able to, even if you do one
a day, Inshallah.
So, yeah, I I'd, I'm going to share
that now.
Please copy it and keep it into your,
with you. Okay.
Just tell me if that's get sent it.
Let me see here.
Okay.
Is
it gone? Can you see it? Yeah. We
received it.
Yeah. Okay.
Yes. Okay.
So, yeah, please copy that and, yeah, follow
the link.
Okay.
Are the brothers in the
in the
class?
Do they have
any questions? Where where are they?
Can't see who is in the class.
Maybe I'm not seeing any answers. Anyway, yeah,
inshallah, we will,
meet up next week. Insha'Allah, next week is
back to 7 o'clock. So, please,
don't be late. Insha'Allah.