Safi Khan – Soul Food for College Students Imam al Ghazali’s advices to his student #17

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The importance of environment in human growth is discussed, with emphasis on the importance of watering and " forces" in cleaning. The speakers emphasize the need for humility and "heat" in gardening, as it is essential for everyone to have a certain person to help scrub and prune and clean their weeds. They also discuss the importance of networking and the importance of cleanup in life. mistakes can lead to cleanup, and mistakes can happen by others.

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			Alrighty.
		
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			So we are gonna continue, Insha'Allah,
		
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			with
		
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			Imam Al Ghazali's 18th
		
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			advice.
		
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			So we finished the last one was 17,
		
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			but it it felt like it was so
		
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			many. It took us a long time because
		
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			there was, you know, 8 different benefits there
		
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			that Hatem al Hassan he mentioned.
		
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			But here we're gonna, insha'Allah, go over advice
		
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			number 18, which Imam Ghazali has given. And
		
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			the theme is actually something completely
		
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			different from the previous ones. If you want,
		
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			y'all can sit up here if you want
		
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			to, or you can keep the wall to
		
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			find. No no worries.
		
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			So the theme of this advice is actually
		
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			something unique,
		
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			so far. Like, he hasn't brought up this
		
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			topic at all up until this point.
		
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			And that theme
		
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			is the importance of having
		
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			someone that you can identify in your life
		
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			as being like a mentor or a teacher.
		
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			And this is something that when we look
		
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			at outside of the Islamic
		
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			realm,
		
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			we're very accustomed to this. Like, this is
		
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			something that we're very used to.
		
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			Does anyone here have any, like, internships? It's
		
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			all good. Anyone here have internship or anything?
		
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			Yeah.
		
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			Or, like, you if you are studying at
		
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			school,
		
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			sometimes, you know, you have obviously your classes
		
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			that you're taking, but you typically will have,
		
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			like, a professor
		
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			or somebody that you can, like, get a
		
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			letter of recommendation from or reference letter from.
		
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			And that kind of mentorship is something that
		
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			is really invaluable. If you wanna get a
		
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			job or
		
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			graduate and go to some sort of
		
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			postgrad school, like a master's program or something,
		
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			having that mentorship is something that is it
		
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			actually saves you a lot of stress, a
		
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			lot of headache, and a lot of money.
		
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			And
		
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			because people who have gone through experiences can
		
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			give you guidance, right?
		
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			And so when it comes to Islam,
		
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			the idea of having that mentor, that teacher
		
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			is something that is actually
		
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			completely and totally critical.
		
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			It's not a choice. It's not like, Oh,
		
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			I'll do it if I can or I'll
		
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			do it if I have time.
		
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			Having that relationship is something that is absolutely
		
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			indispensable.
		
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			Okay?
		
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			And so he begins by talking about
		
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			what it means to have a teacher. And
		
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			then he starts to say, what should you
		
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			look for in a teacher?
		
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			Like, not everyone's a teacher. Right?
		
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			And
		
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			in this age, especially
		
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			like on the Internet and stuff,
		
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			not everyone should be sought, not everyone should
		
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			be the person that you seek advice from.
		
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			There are certain qualifications and certain conditions
		
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			that scholars have given from, you know, a
		
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			1000 years ago,
		
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			as far as like, who are the people
		
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			that you should actually place your trust in?
		
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			Cause your faith is the most valuable thing
		
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			that you have.
		
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			And so he begins by saying that,
		
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			let me clarify for you what the travelers
		
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			on this path should do regarding their teacher.
		
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			He says, Every traveler
		
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			should have a sheikh or
		
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			what's also called a morshid,
		
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			which is like a spiritual guide or a
		
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			teacher, to instruct them and also
		
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			to cleanse them of the negative
		
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			characteristics, the bad manners
		
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			that they have through the process of tarbia.
		
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			And he describes
		
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			tarbia,
		
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			and he says that tarbia is like a
		
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			farmer
		
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			or a gardener
		
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			that goes into their gardening patch or their
		
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			garden, and they start to pull out the
		
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			weeds or the thorns from the garden that
		
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			could be problematic.
		
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			I actually did that this morning, oddly enough.
		
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			In my rose bush, we have these weeds
		
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			that are growing. And you have to go
		
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			and you have to extract them. Right?
		
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			Now tell me a little bit about that.
		
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			Anyone here garden before ever?
		
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			Yeah. Yeah? Okay. Alright. So what's gardening like?
		
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			A lot of work. It's a lot of
		
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			work. Okay. So
		
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			how
		
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			Okay.
		
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			K. So it's a lot of work to
		
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			garden. And so when you translate that analogy
		
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			to, like, your your your practice of religion
		
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			with your teacher, it's important to understand that
		
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			when you look to someone for advice and
		
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			you ask questions, right, someone comes up to
		
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			me after and I have a question
		
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			and they ask something,
		
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			it's not like an easy process.
		
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			Right? The process of
		
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			being refined and being purified and being kind
		
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			of
		
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			like grown. Tarbia literally means to grow something,
		
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			to mentor something.
		
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			It requires a lot of effort and a
		
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			lot of work. And just like anything that
		
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			requires work, it takes time.
		
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			Many people
		
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			think that when they engage with Islamic practice,
		
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			that it changes them automatically overnight. And that's
		
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			actually not the case. In fact, if somebody
		
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			does feel that way,
		
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			then typically it's unsustainable and they're gonna snap
		
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			right back out of it. So he starts
		
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			to compare
		
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			the sheikh or the
		
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			Ustad or whoever in the life of a
		
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			person to the farmer.
		
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			What's something else that you realize about
		
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			being purified from something?
		
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			What else
		
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			in this analogy of gardening or of cleansing
		
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			or cleaning?
		
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			Describe.
		
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			What is it like to clean something?
		
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			Yeah. Well, in terms of gardening, it requires
		
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			a lot of patience. Okay. Good. It requires
		
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			patience on on behalf of the
		
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			of the gardener
		
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			and the garden. Right? Because the garden takes
		
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			time itself. So you have to have patience.
		
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			It's not something that happens overnight. What else?
		
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			Okay. What do you mean by that? Like,
		
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			you have to go back and look after
		
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			your, you know, the cars or whatever you're
		
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			talking every day or, like, every week. So
		
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			it's not just like you find something,
		
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			Very good. You have to actually you know,
		
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			some plants even require watering, like, numerous times
		
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			throughout the day. If you're growing grass, you
		
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			have to water it pretty much like 4
		
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			or 5, especially in Texas. And it depends
		
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			on the environment.
		
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			So much of your growth as a person
		
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			depends on the environment that you're in or
		
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			the environment that you put yourself in. And
		
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			so if I'm gonna expect this class, soul
		
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			food, okay, I'm coming on Thursdays.
		
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			I'm gonna become a better person. Well, the
		
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			reality is that watering one time a week
		
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			is not sufficient for any plan.
		
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			Right? So if this is the only thing
		
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			that a person does, it's good. It's better
		
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			than nothing.
		
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			But there are other elements of practice that
		
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			have to be implemented in order for all
		
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			this stuff to work.
		
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			Right? Even my son Musa is 4, he
		
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			knows. It's not just water. It's not just
		
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			sun. It's not just soil. It's all 3.
		
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			So Allah mentions
		
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			the analogy of faith in the Quran. It's
		
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			actually the name where roots comes from,
		
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			that its roots are strong, and as a
		
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			result, its branches reach the sky.
		
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			Your branches won't be able to grow unless
		
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			your roots are firm, and your firm roots
		
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			require
		
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			nourishment.
		
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			Okay. So that's another good point. It requires
		
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			consistency. What else?
		
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			Okay. Good. What do you mean by that?
		
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			In a sense where you can put all
		
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			your, you know, energy into it, it doesn't
		
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			pan out the way you want it to
		
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			pan out or, you know, your flowers don't
		
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			bug the way you want
		
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			it.
		
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			On. Very good. So I might just take
		
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			out of the work work. But Okay. That
		
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			needs a little bit of extra care. Good.
		
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			Okay. Excellent.
		
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			Sisters, we're talking, about
		
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			the process of farming and how the analogy
		
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			of farming is being used to talk about
		
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			developing somebody, making them better. So he's talking
		
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			now about how everybody in the sun has
		
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			to have, like, a mentor or a teacher
		
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			that they reach out to. Is it okay
		
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			can I ask is it okay if the
		
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			guys scoot over this way and if the
		
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			sisters kinda come this way? You don't have
		
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			to get off the wall, but can you
		
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			You can sit on the wall. It's fine.
		
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			But can can we get on the wall
		
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			over here? Jessica, I can't see any of
		
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			y'all.
		
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			Like, if the if the sisters don't mind.
		
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			Like, there's a lot of wall over there.
		
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			You guys are more than welcome to take
		
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			the wall. That's fine.
		
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			Alright.
		
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			Just because I can't see y'all. So if
		
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			if anyone like raises their hand and stuff.
		
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			Okay. So he's talking now about this idea
		
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			of gardening and the other analogy that he
		
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			gives for Tarvia for purification is washing something,
		
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			is scrubbing something.
		
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			Who who does the dishes here?
		
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			Good.
		
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			Who has ever done the dishes before?
		
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			Alright. Who left a bowl of cereal in
		
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			the sink overnight?
		
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			And then it it was like cement.
		
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			Right? Or, like, if you if you boil,
		
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			if you cook something and on the bottom
		
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			of it, like, you boil milk,
		
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			on the bottom of the pot, it's like
		
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			it's part of the pot now. Right? It's,
		
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			like, in there. And, it's it's actually very
		
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			interesting, SubhanAllah, because there's so much analogy when
		
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			you talk about cleaning
		
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			substance versus cleaning the heart.
		
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			The reality is that cleaning substance, sometimes you
		
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			require what? What does it require?
		
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			Force. Force. Yeah. You have to use actually,
		
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			like, your muscles. What else?
		
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			What's better, hot water or cold water for
		
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			cleaning something?
		
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			Hot water. Actually, this is really funny. I
		
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			have a my my mom is Egyptian,
		
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			and I don't know what it is about
		
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			Egyptian, like, women, but, like, they're they lose,
		
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			like, their nerves in their hands, so they
		
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			don't, like, feel heat anymore.
		
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			So I actually have oh,
		
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			So I actually have a, I actually have,
		
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			like, this joke in my household, this running
		
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			joke that
		
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			hot water doesn't bother me because I I
		
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			when I wash the dishes, I turn the
		
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			water all the way on hot, and I
		
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			leave it there. And I I'm the recipient
		
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			of so much negative dua for my family
		
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			because when they turn it on, they they
		
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			just burn their hands. What's your issue? What's
		
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			your problem?
		
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			So this is something, but, you know, you
		
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			need to use hot water in order to
		
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			clean surfaces.
		
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			Right? Cold water sometimes doesn't help get rid
		
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			of that residue.
		
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			Even
		
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			the the the the material that you're using,
		
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			can you use like a cashmere blanket? Or
		
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			like, can you use like a nice fleece
		
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			blanket to wash?
		
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			No. You can't. Why? Because soft materials
		
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			don't get that sticky stuff off of the
		
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			stainless steel. Sometimes you have to use some
		
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			really rough stuff.
		
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			Right? Steel, wool, or something really harsh. But
		
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			all of that is used to achieve what
		
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			goal? The hot water, the force,
		
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			the rough. What does it use to achieve?
		
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			Cleanliness.
		
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			Purity.
		
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			So when Imam Ghazali here is talking about
		
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			this idea of purification
		
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			and how difficult it is, what do we
		
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			take from that principle is what? Sometimes purification
		
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			is not very pleasant.
		
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			It's not like the most pleasant experience.
		
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			You know? Anyone here exercise
		
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			or workout?
		
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			Right? In the first 10 minutes, you hate
		
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			your life.
		
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			Alright. Halfway through it, you're like, what have
		
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			I done?
		
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			And then when you're done with the workout,
		
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			you're like, that actually was very fulfilling.
		
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			That was very satisfying. Even though I'm sore,
		
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			even though I'm tired, even though I'm sweaty
		
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			and need a shower, I feel good.
		
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			Faith is very similar to that experience. And
		
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			Imam al Zadhi is saying that here. Whether
		
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			a person is gardening, and the gardener, when
		
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			they're gardening, they hate gardening. Right? Like when
		
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			you have weeds in your garden, you have
		
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			thorns, all that, it's it's a very annoying
		
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01
			process. But then what happens when you stand
		
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03
			back and look at it after you've cleaned
		
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05
			everything out and the rose bushes are alone
		
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08
			and the fruit is is is growing and
		
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10
			all that, the gardener says, wow. Look at
		
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11
			how worth it it was.
		
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13
			Right? You hate cutting grass in the 105
		
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15
			degree Texas heat, but when you stand back
		
00:11:15 --> 00:11:18
			and see your nice lawn lines, right,
		
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20
			you're like, how worth it was it?
		
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24
			Okay. So he says it's absolutely essential for
		
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			everybody to have that person who can help
		
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			scrub them,
		
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			to have that person who can help prune
		
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32
			them and clean their weeds. If you don't
		
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34
			have that person in your life,
		
00:11:34 --> 00:11:37
			a pot can't clean itself, a garden can't
		
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38
			clean itself,
		
00:11:38 --> 00:11:40
			and you can't clean yourself,
		
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43
			right, in that way, in the spiritual way.
		
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44
			So then he continues
		
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47
			and he says that, the follower of the
		
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			path
		
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51
			requires a teacher in order to improve their
		
00:11:51 --> 00:11:51
			character
		
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			and to guide them upon the path of
		
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			Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Have you guys ever
		
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			had a moment where you thought you were
		
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			absolutely correct until someone showed you like a
		
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			mirror?
		
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02
			Anybody? Can you share that story?
		
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05
			Matal, if you were like really feeling it
		
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06
			as you were nodding, so can you share
		
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			that story?
		
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			Oh, oh, dang. That's awkward. I think there's
		
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			a time where
		
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			you, like, asked a question. I said something
		
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			confidently, and you're like, not so much.
		
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17
			Like, ask a question. I said something confidently.
		
00:12:17 --> 00:12:17
			You're like, no. Not so much. You're just
		
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18
			gonna shut up for a little
		
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21
			bit. No. Sorry. Did a humbling moment. Suck
		
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23
			for a lot. No. I didn't mean it
		
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25
			like that. But No. No. I know. But
		
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			you know what's funny is that the only
		
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			reason why probably I even am in that
		
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			position or whatever, it's like that happened to
		
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			me millions of times.
		
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			Right? Like, the the the, I'll never forget,
		
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36
			man. So I'll never forget.
		
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			And,
		
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			you know,
		
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			Omar here, Omar Bajwa. He's actually a masha'Allah
		
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			chaplain at Yale. So he's in town visiting,
		
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			and he he he does college chaplaincy full
		
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			time at Yale. You you guys know the
		
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54
			prestigious institution,
		
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			And not only that, but he has, like,
		
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58
			over a decade of experience doing it. So
		
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			he works with college students. So we were
		
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			at dinner last night, and he was like
		
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			he's like, yeah. I'd love to stop by
		
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04
			and see. And I was like, man, I
		
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06
			hope not. It's kind of embarrassing. But, he's
		
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08
			here, hamdulillah, for for a wedding and to
		
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			see some, some friends. So, you know, welcome,
		
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11
			Sheikh Omar and Jack Laukhedan.
		
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			And he could probably share and do this
		
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			do this session a lot better,
		
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17
			than I can, but I won't put him
		
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19
			on the spot because, you know, I don't
		
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20
			I know that whenever I travel somewhere and
		
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			someone does it to me, I'm, like, scrambling.
		
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25
			But what I will say is this, I'll
		
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			I'll never forget in one time and and
		
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			and, Shay, Omar, you probably have stories just
		
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			like this,
		
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			where I was actually at lunch with some
		
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			of my,
		
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36
			like, senior,
		
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			like, individuals in my life, people who were
		
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40
			teachers of mine. Right?
		
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41
			And
		
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44
			they were discussing something that was a little
		
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45
			bit sensitive,
		
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47
			and I spoke up and said something. Like,
		
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49
			I offered my opinion. And at the time,
		
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50
			I was, like, 24.
		
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52
			Okay? So it was, like, almost 10 years
		
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53
			ago.
		
00:13:54 --> 00:13:54
			And,
		
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56
			and I was there in front of, like,
		
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59
			really knowledgeable people, like these, you know, Shuyuk
		
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00
			and stuff who knew what they were talking
		
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02
			about, really knowledgeable people.
		
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03
			And,
		
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05
			one of my teachers, he looked at me,
		
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06
			and he's, like, come outside.
		
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09
			And, so we went outside,
		
00:14:10 --> 00:14:11
			and I thought,
		
00:14:12 --> 00:14:12
			like,
		
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14
			what's the big deal? Like, people were talking
		
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16
			about a certain topic, and I just kinda
		
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18
			offered my opinion and whatever. Now everyone at
		
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			the table was, like, double my age.
		
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22
			And I was, like, I think this. And
		
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			as soon as I said that, my teacher
		
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			was, like, come with me. And we went
		
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			outside, and we walked around the parking lot.
		
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28
			And you know, like,
		
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31
			you know there's those conversations where unless you
		
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			hear the audio, you don't know that the
		
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34
			person is being just destroyed?
		
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37
			Like, it just looks normal. Just looks like
		
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39
			2 people talking, but then you hear it
		
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40
			and you're like, that person is just being
		
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42
			the the floor is being mopped with them.
		
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44
			That was what was happening to me.
		
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45
			You know, he was like
		
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48
			he was like, what are you why are
		
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50
			you even talking right now? Right? And he's
		
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53
			like, you can't even grammatically dissect an Arabic
		
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55
			sentence, and you're trying to, like, offer your
		
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57
			opinion. This is a really nuanced issue. It
		
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			was a really it's like someone asking you,
		
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00
			like, hey. How do you think we should
		
00:15:00 --> 00:15:03
			treat this cancer? And there's, like, 17 doctors,
		
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05
			like, oncologists together, and you're like, I heard
		
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06
			turmeric helps. Like, you know what I mean?
		
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07
			Like, it's kinda one of those things where
		
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09
			I was like, what are you talking about?
		
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11
			Like like, you're not even you're not even
		
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			qualified to be qualified to be qualified to
		
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			be here, and you feel the confidence. So
		
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			so I remember going through that moment. Right?
		
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20
			And I remember being very embarrassed. Like, I
		
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22
			remember feeling very low.
		
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			You know what I mean? And I'm like
		
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			a really by nature, I'm like an unfortunately
		
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			confident person.
		
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30
			And for me to feel that lowness is
		
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			like a very strange feeling.
		
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34
			But I'll tell you something, dude. It was
		
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			one of the most necessary experiences in my
		
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			life,
		
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			like till today. I mean, think about this
		
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			y'all. It's 10 years later, and I'm telling
		
00:15:42 --> 00:15:42
			you that story.
		
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			It is so necessary sometimes to be humbled.
		
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48
			It is so necessary.
		
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			And no one can humble you except that
		
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			you look at that person in a position
		
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55
			that they can give that to you. Right?
		
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57
			Because if I just told that guy, man,
		
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59
			forget you. Then you know what the problem
		
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01
			is? He goes on and lives his life,
		
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02
			and he's fine.
		
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04
			He doesn't care about me. Like, he doesn't
		
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05
			need me. Right?
		
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07
			But if I have the humility to say,
		
00:16:07 --> 00:16:10
			you know what? I actually really needed that.
		
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12
			Like, I really needed that,
		
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16
			and I appreciate that this person cared enough
		
00:16:16 --> 00:16:16
			for me
		
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19
			to talk to me instead of allowing me
		
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21
			to continue looking like a little fool in
		
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22
			front of all these really qualified,
		
00:16:23 --> 00:16:26
			very smart, very educated people. And I'm sitting
		
00:16:26 --> 00:16:28
			there offering my turmeric,
		
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29
			you know, advice.
		
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31
			So sometimes
		
00:16:33 --> 00:16:33
			that cleansing
		
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36
			is a really, really tough process.
		
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38
			But you look back, you know, 3 years,
		
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41
			5 years, 10 years later, and you realize
		
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43
			that had that not happened, your trajectory would
		
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44
			have been totally different.
		
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46
			Right? You guys have a moment like that
		
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48
			in your life, where somebody sets you straight,
		
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50
			and you're like, thank goodness they did. At
		
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52
			that time, you hated it.
		
00:16:52 --> 00:16:55
			It was very difficult. But afterwards, you're like,
		
00:16:55 --> 00:16:55
			Alhamdulillah.
		
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58
			So Imam Al Ghazali talks about that.
		
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00
			And you have to have that kind of
		
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01
			willingness
		
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02
			to be corrected.
		
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05
			Okay, to be guided so that your character
		
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08
			can be made right. And then he continues
		
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10
			and he says that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
		
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12
			and the Messenger of Allah SWAW,
		
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15
			they,
		
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16
			Allah sent the Prophet
		
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18
			to guide people.
		
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20
			And when he passed away
		
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23
			he left people to guide people.
		
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25
			So what does that mean?
		
00:17:25 --> 00:17:27
			All of this stuff that we're doing right
		
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28
			now,
		
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30
			like, I'm not making it up.
		
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31
			And my teachers didn't make it up, and
		
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33
			their teachers didn't make it up. Like you
		
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35
			guys are sitting in a gathering where you
		
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36
			are actually receiving
		
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39
			the very same substance that the prophet gave
		
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40
			the companions.
		
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42
			Right? And it sucks for me to be
		
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44
			in that position, and it sucks for you
		
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45
			to have me be that person to you.
		
00:17:46 --> 00:17:48
			But it is pretty amazing
		
00:17:48 --> 00:17:51
			that Allah has designed this entire system, that
		
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52
			we are the recipients
		
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55
			of the water that came from Jibreel to
		
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56
			the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam all the
		
00:17:56 --> 00:17:58
			way trickled down to us.
		
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00
			So this is not like some, like, this
		
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02
			is not some light stuff here. This is
		
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04
			pretty serious. So when you engage in a
		
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05
			relationship with a teacher
		
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07
			and you'd say to that person, can you
		
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09
			help guide me? If I have questions, can
		
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11
			I ask you those questions? If I need
		
00:18:11 --> 00:18:14
			guidance, can you give me direction in those
		
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15
			moments of my life?
		
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17
			It's not just that you're asking a person
		
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19
			to give you, like, you know,
		
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22
			investment advice, you know, crypto, Dogecoin or not,
		
00:18:22 --> 00:18:24
			you know, you're asking a person to help
		
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26
			connect you to the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
		
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27
			sallam. That's a big deal.
		
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30
			Right? You talk about networking being important, that
		
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31
			is the networking.
		
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33
			That is the most critical network you can
		
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35
			be a part of. And so he says
		
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37
			that and after that he left representatives
		
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40
			and successors in his place so that they
		
00:18:40 --> 00:18:42
			could direct people towards Allah.
		
00:18:42 --> 00:18:45
			The condition now of the teacher. Okay, now
		
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46
			here we go. This is really serious stuff.
		
00:18:47 --> 00:18:49
			What's the condition of the teacher? What do
		
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50
			you guys look for in someone who can
		
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51
			give you advice?
		
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56
			Oh, good. Okay. What is wisdom? Someone else.
		
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59
			Define wisdom for us. Some of the sisters
		
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01
			that I moved over there to the wall,
		
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04
			to this wall because they were on that
		
00:19:04 --> 00:19:06
			wall. See, the sisters are smart. They came
		
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07
			and took the wall.
		
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09
			Now when the brothers are complaining about their
		
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10
			backs, sister are chilling.
		
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12
			Alright? Okay. What's wisdom?
		
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20
			Very good. You know, there's a beautiful Arabic
		
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22
			saying that says, don't ask the smart person,
		
00:19:22 --> 00:19:24
			ask the experienced one.
		
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25
			Don't ask the one
		
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26
			who
		
00:19:27 --> 00:19:30
			is wise alone based on theory. Ask the
		
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31
			one who has been through it,
		
00:19:31 --> 00:19:34
			right? Because knowledge and wisdom are 2 different
		
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34
			things,
		
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37
			Right? Knowledge very famously is what? Knowing that
		
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38
			fire is?
		
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42
			Alright, not enough people. You guys get burned
		
00:19:42 --> 00:19:45
			a lot, don't you? Okay. Knowledge is knowing
		
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46
			that fire is what?
		
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48
			Wisdom is knowing what?
		
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49
			Don't touch it.
		
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51
			Right? That's why you have a little baby.
		
00:19:52 --> 00:19:54
			You can tell them that the stove is
		
00:19:54 --> 00:19:56
			hot. Like Nooni, my daughter, Iman. We call
		
00:19:56 --> 00:19:59
			her Nooni. She's 2a half. She knows. My
		
00:19:59 --> 00:20:02
			wife literally, Wallahi, just texted me. Says, man,
		
00:20:02 --> 00:20:04
			Nuni did it again. She's very destructive, man.
		
00:20:05 --> 00:20:05
			She's very destructive.
		
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08
			Not, like, really destructive. Like, no insurance claims
		
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10
			are made, but, like, she's destructive enough. You
		
00:20:10 --> 00:20:10
			know?
		
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14
			She she, like, empties out tubes of toothpaste.
		
00:20:14 --> 00:20:16
			You know, like, that kind of destructive. You
		
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18
			leave her for one second, it's done. Like,
		
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20
			if she smells like peppermint, you're like, oh,
		
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21
			that's nice. Oh, no. And you realize
		
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24
			something is amiss, like, something is wrong. So
		
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26
			as soon as I left, wallahi, this happened
		
00:20:26 --> 00:20:28
			today right before I came, I saw my
		
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30
			wife was using some lotion, and she was
		
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32
			like lotioning her arms and her legs and
		
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33
			whatever.
		
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35
			And she left the lotion on the bed.
		
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38
			And I looked at that lotion, and I
		
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40
			said, that's that's that's in reach.
		
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42
			Like, that's what I was thinking. I was
		
00:20:42 --> 00:20:44
			like, that's in reach, but I had to
		
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46
			go. And my wife texted me, and she
		
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47
			goes, man, Nooney just dumped that whole bottle
		
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49
			of lotion out on the bed.
		
00:20:50 --> 00:20:52
			And she's like, man, this girl, you leave
		
00:20:52 --> 00:20:54
			her for, like, 90 seconds, and you regret
		
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55
			it. It leads to, like, an hour of
		
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56
			cleanup.
		
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57
			Right?
		
00:20:57 --> 00:21:01
			And, subhanAllah. So Iman knows that that lotion
		
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04
			is something that you only put on your
		
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05
			skin. She knows that that's what it's for.
		
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08
			But she doesn't have the wisdom to understand
		
00:21:08 --> 00:21:10
			that when you make that mistake, it leads
		
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			to a lot of cleanup.
		
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			And that's kinda like us too. Right? We're
		
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			all chuckling because she's 2. But how many
		
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			mistakes do we make we don't realize it
		
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			leads to a lot of cleanup?
		
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			And sometimes the cleanup has to be done
		
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			by somebody else. That's why sometimes, you know,
		
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			our parents, our siblings, our older older friends
		
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			in our life, they might tell us something
		
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			and it seems harsh, but they know that
		
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			if we do that, it's gonna lead to
		
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			a lot of cleanup.
		
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			Right? I can't