Sadullah Khan – Developing a Qur’anic Personality To be and What not to be. #8
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the impact of the recent disaster in Cape Town, which has caused people to lose their lives and property. They emphasize the importance of responding with generosity and urgency to alleviate the suffering and loss caused by natural disasters. The speaker also emphasizes the need for people to be profitable and be agents of compassion.
AI: Summary ©
Developing the Quranic personality,
how to be and what not to be.
We know that Ramadan is a month of
ihsan, a month of heightened consciousness,
month of fasting,
of increased
worship,
of spiritual reflection,
a month of philanthropy and increased compassion.
Ramadan encourages the promotion of the spirit of
what we call local Ubuntu,
of humanity to others.
It's about consciously caring, about sharing,
about being sympathetic
of the needs of the people around us,
about deepening our understanding of our world
while
simultaneously empathizing with the challenges
faced by people and those in need.
This spirit of Hassan
and this concept of wundtu which we have
locally
was brought into test
the past few days.
We experienced a devastating fire
the past 2 days in our beautiful city
of Cape Town. Burning acres of vegetation on
the iconic Table Mountain.
And spreading to the esteemed University of Cape
Town, destroying part of the 200 year old
Library of African antiquities,
forcing hundreds of students
on campus
and thousands of residents in surrounding areas to
evacuate.
But in all of that, it was so
reassuring,
alhamdulillah,
to see the immediate
positive response
of muslim institutions.
Institutions that provided much needed
and urgently required aid and relief
to all those who needed the help and
support. May Allah bless all of them.
We know that this tragedy, like any other
tragedy, carries tremendous power. Tragedies
carry tremendous power.
Power to cause grief, to cause sadness,
to cause despondency sometimes,
to cause mourning.
But also it has the power to cause
cooperation,
reflection,
and also introspection.
Though we cannot undo the tragedy, what has
happened has happened, we cannot undo the tragedy.
But we can and must reflect upon what
we can do to alleviate its negative effects.
We live in a universe of cause and
effect. We are alive,
people are born, people will die, people get
sick. This is the reality of life that
will not change.
So we live in a in a universe
of cause and effect, and the consequences of
which are inescapable.
Fire does burn,
water
does drown,
viruses do infect,
and diseases do destroy.
They'll continue doing so till the end of
time.
These facts and these realities
have moral and social implications.
And as we know,
any natural hazard
may strike at any time and can cause
considerable
loss of life and of property.
Reminding us as human beings,
as powerful as we think we are, it
reminds us of our enduring vulnerability
in the face
of mother nature.
So as people of faith, as people of
iman,
it is our moral duty to respond to
the needs of people who are in distress.
To respond with generosity of spirit but also
with urgency.
And that's why
Rasulullah said,
Allah will be at the
Allah
will be at the assistance of a person
as long as that person is of assistance
to fellow human beings. Another hadith, Rasulullah
His Sahih Muslim documented. He
said,
Whoever
helps
people in the difficulties,
Allah will personally help them in this world
and the hereafter. May Allah count us among
them.
So rather than merely watching the devastation by
the fire on television
or listening on the news as detached spectators,
our faith
demands of us and motivates us to be
proactive.
You can, you donate.
If you can physically or indirectly
support, please support as best as you can.
The prophet
reminded us after all,
The most beloved of people. Of all the
people, the most beloved to Allah are those
who are most beneficial to humanity.
So may the compassionate.
May the most compassionate.
Rahman Ar Raheem. May the most compassionate
make us agents of His compassion.
In this times of time of tribulation
and beyond, through Ramadan
and after Ramadan, through the pandemic and after
the pandemic, through the fire and well after
fire or any other tragedy that may strike.
So let us be beloved to Allah. If
the most beloved are those who are helpful
to others,
may we be also beloved to Allah. Let
us be beneficial agents of compassion.
Let's never be indifferent
to the suffering of people.