Safi Khan – Soul Food In the Service of Others
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of serving people who have experienced a moment of service and protecting privacy. They emphasize the importance of following the messenger's advice and not harming others. They also discuss the benefits of following the prophet's advice and protecting one's privacy. The speakers emphasize the importance of serving and leadership in one's life and offer advice on how to be a leader.
AI: Summary ©
Alright.
Everybody.
Hope you guys are all doing,
doing well.
Hope everyone's Eid was good. Everyone enjoyed their
Eid? Yeah? Good. It was a Saturday. Right?
So, hopefully, nobody worked on Eid Day. I
always have a problem with people working and
going to school on 8 days. I have
a huge problem with it.
When people were like, yeah. I don't have
much to do. I'm just gonna go to
school. I'm like, dude, why? Like, why would
you, like, not take, like, that one day
where you literally have the ability to take
off because of your religious holiday and just,
like, take the day off from working in
school. I just think it's important because I
think it's, like, multifaceted because,
you know, like, families who
basically encourage their kids to just kind of,
like, not do anything
school work related on that day, they it's
like an investment. Like, you see, like, a
long term effect in return of, you know,
your family just being invested into the religion
because they kinda feel ownership over it.
And, like, when kids, like, go to school
on a day, like, it's just, like, a
weird, you know, dynamic when they just don't
really feel like it's, like, their holiday even.
You know?
And it's just weird because obviously living in
a country like this, you have Christmas break
off, you have Thanksgiving off, and all these
different things, and you kinda get, like, confused.
Like, hey. I I I have time off
for holidays that aren't really mine, but I
go to school and go to work on
the holidays that are supposedly mine.
So I'm I'm just a big believer in
not, you know,
doing going to school or going to work
on any day.
So
inshallah, let's go ahead and continue on with
our,
soul food series. So
we are
nearing the end.
We have a few more narrations, Insha'Allah,
after today's session.
Today's narration is one that is rather short,
but you can go on for a long
time about the the statement of the prophet
he said.
So the the narration is on the screen,
and this is a narration where the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wasallam he mentions a sayyidul qawmi,
khadi muhum. So very very short. Literally,
essentially like 3 to 4 words. So the
prophet he says that the sayyid,
or like the master or the leader
of a group of people, aqam,
is
is the person who serves those people. Alright?
Or a person who is in the service
of those people.
Very short but profound statement.
The first thing that I wanna kinda share
with everybody here,
and we're gonna do a little bit of
kind of, like, I'm gonna I'm gonna
actually ask you to talk to the person
next to you for, like, 20, 30 seconds.
And I wanna hear
a moment
where you experienced
a an act of service,
and you can keep this as anonymous and
as generic as possible,
but a moment of
service, of serving somebody else that just really
moved you as a person. Alright? It could
be something very minute, It could be something
very small, but, like, just like a moment
of caring for another person's selflessness
that really moved you as a Muslim person.
Right? So I'm gonna give you guys 30
seconds, talk to the person next to you,
and I'm gonna kinda get y'all's, feedback on
this, Inshallah. So go talk.
Any general. Anything. Anything.
Okay. Can you can you hand me a
bottle of water, Brooke?
Thank
you. Alright. Let's go up. Let's hear it.
Who who wants to start us off?
Alright. Who wants to start us off? Anybody
who has any sort of reflection over a
time where they saw just kind of moment
of serving somebody that just really moved them?
Anyone? These ones are picking on people now.
Yeah. Go ahead.
So when I was in Ohio, we were
trying to move out of our apartment. Our
car broke down literally the day before we
were supposed to move out, And then we're
moving everything out of our permit. And one
of our friends was willing to
let us use his
car to load up his entire car and
drive 45 minutes for us with all our
things.
Really good. Very, very good. Awesome. Very good.
Good example. Alright. Anybody else?
Another act of service that kind of just,
like, moved you as a person. Anyone?
Let's go with one of the guys here.
This one. Go ahead.
This is really basic in general, but whenever
my mom needs food.
Nice. For me for school.
Very good. Saves a lot of money. Very
good. Nice. Very good. Saves a lot of
money. Right? Very good. Very good. Alright. Anyone
else?
Anyone else? An active service?
We'll hop back over here.
Let's see it. Let's hear it. Let's hear
it.
Somebody, go for it. You have 1?
Yeah.
A while back, I had gotten in a
car accident, and the lane next to me
was closed.
And the lane I was able to pass,
and the car next to me was cool.
I was like a group of guys, and
they stopped. So nobody behind them can go
through there and make sure that I was
okay.
Wow. By myself
and I just thought
I guess it helped me calm down a
bit.
Very, very good. Very, very good. Okay. Very
good. Anyone else?
I have one. There was actually
so a few weeks ago, I was,
grabbing,
something from the store for,
my parents,
And,
I was waiting in line. The line was
very long.
And there was a person in front of
me who was quite,
very, like, apparently and obviously,
very impoverished. You know? And, you know, without
trying to make judgments, I was, you know,
just kind of seeing, you know, what type
of person he was and kinda seeing, like,
what obviously he he he was trying to
get there.
And there was there were definitely signs that
he was definitely homeless. Like, there was
he he he he was very, very,
kind of disheveled.
He looked very, very tired, fatigued.
And so he went in the store to
grab, like, a bottle of water because, obviously,
Dallas is, like, burning hot outside. So he
grabbed the water, and he had, like, you
know, a a a a bundle of cash
with him. And,
so when he paid for the water,
he gave the cashier all the cash.
And the cashier was like, well, the water
bottle is, like, you know, a dollar 99
or $2 or whatever it was. And so
she tried to give him his change back
and he said, no. No. No. Just keep
it. Just use it for whatever the person
behind me is getting.
And this person, by the way, was very
obviously homeless.
And I was, like, 5 people back and
I was, like, just watching his behavior. I
was, like,
man. Like, this guy could very easily use
the change that he had. Very easily. Because
obviously when you're scrambling for money and finances,
any dollar counts.
But he was like, you know what? I
have what I need. I came here for
for water. My knee and my intention was
water. And so now that I'm done using
the money that I that I wanted to
come here and and use, you know, I
I have no need of the extra 5
or $10 or whatever it was. So she
was like, just use it for the person
behind me. And and the cashier, so how
long she started tearing up because she was
like she she was just trying to tell
him, like, no. No. Take it. Take it.
The people behind you can they definitely they're
using credit cards. Right? Like, you they they
don't need those cash.
And she and he was like, no. No.
I insist.
Just take off 7, $8, whatever this cash
is, take off 7, $8 from their from
their bill.
And I remember just witnessing that a few
weeks ago, and subhanallah for me was just
very, very moving as a person.
And I think, you know, the statement of
the prophet that he says that the true
leader, right, a Sayyid. A Sayyid by the
way is a person who has an upper
hand. Okay? Like a Sayyid in Arab because
literally the meaning is like a person who
is in a position of advantage,
a position of authority, a person who basically
has,
a little bit of like a leg up
over another person. This is how would you
what you would consider a sayyid and this
is why people who call sayyids are people
who are usually kind of like in in
more leadership positions. Right?
And the prophet was saying that a person
who's in that type of position,
the narrative of Islam
is that that person only is that person
if they serve other people.
Alright?
And this is completely, like, the
opposite of a lot of the mainstream
kind of ideologies that we see in today's
day and age where you see leaders on
the public eye, and they're always being served.
Right? They're always being kind of, you know,
tended to. They're always being taken care of.
And
one of the interesting things is that, you
know,
in in today's day and age, like, we
almost, like, pass by this type of, like,
norm by saying, like, oh, like, people who
are really high up, like, they can't do,
like, that manual labor anymore because if they
do that, it wouldn't free them up for
the things that they actually need to do.
Right? People in powerful positions, leadership positions, they're
no longer people who, like, scrub the floors
or, like, mop the floors anymore because their
time is better used elsewhere. Right? Or their
time is better used in other endeavors.
But in Islam, we don't believe that. We
don't believe that at all because we believe
that those things are tied together.
And
one of the most interesting things, I mean
this is one of the most awesome things
that you guys will hear. Imam Ghazali
by the way,
major scholar, you know, of our tradition.
He
was a man who was known to teach
like 100 and thousands of people. Right? And
and at a young age as well, by
the way. Imam Abu Ghazali was a young
scholar of this deen. And, you know, he
would be known just to have, like, thousands
of people sitting at his feet learning from
him.
And it was to the point where when
a person gets kind of used to that
attention,
there's this part of you. And
the Quran kind of describes it in 3
different ways. There's 3 different types of your
nafs basically. Nafs al amarabisu which is basically
the nafs that kind of yearns for desires.
Nafs al lawwama, which is the nafs that
kind of questions itself. Right? The nafs al
lawwama, by the way, hustle and buster, he
actually says nafs al lawama is nafs of
the believer.
Why? Because nafs al lawama is the one
that's constantly questioning itself, whether it's doing something
right or wrong. And then the goal that
the believer is supposed to kind of try
to achieve is what we call nafs al
mutama inna. Which is the nafs that is
pleased with Allah and Allah is pleased with
it.
So Imam al Ghazali would be teaching about
all of these different kind of sciences of
the religion
and the people who, by the way, know
you the best is your family. Everyone everyone
agree with the statement?
Like, you go out to work and everyone's
like, man, this guy's, like, the nicest dude
at work. Right? And, like, the your mom
comes in and just kinda rips you a
new one. Like, yeah. This kid leaves his
clothes everywhere. Like, gross guy. Showers once a
week. Barely. Like, you know, like, your your
your family will expose you to, like, to
the t.
And Imam Al Azadi's brother
was actually the one who was very honest
about him.
And he knew that his brother, Imam Al
Zali, was, like, struggling with this kind of,
you know, the this this young man was
teaching people these intricacies of the deen.
And one time he was teaching this giant
kind of, like, group of people
and his brother kind of, like, dropped the
mic. He came from the back and he
was like, subhanallah,
how can a stone that is so blunt
sharpen other stones?
He just said that.
And when he said that, Imam Khazadi just,
like, went silent.
The narration actually says that, like, he lost
the ability to speak.
You know, there's actually this, you know, and
you could kinda, like, medically equate it to,
like, I guess, like, you know, just, yeah,
shock, paralysis of the mouth, whatever it may
be. He just what he he ceased to
be able to speak at that moment. And
what he did
was he took that moment of, like, shock
as an opportunity
to refine himself.
So he
actually left his position of teaching,
and he went to do what? Anyone know?
Anyone have any idea?
Not not necessarily, but he wanted to do
something. He performed something.
What's the thing that everyone goes to perform
to kind of just refine themselves? Hajj. Very
good.
So he went to do Hajj.
He went to go do Hajj.
And after he did Hajj, he still didn't
wanna come back and accept that position of
teaching anymore. So what he did for 2
years
2 years, he went to a Masjid
in Damascus,
and he served as their janitor
As their janitor for 2 years.
And he used to write stories about this
stuff. He used to say that like the
Imams of that masjid used to teach his
his teaching.
Like the Imam Ghazari, you know Hafidullah
Rahimahullah,
he said x y and z. And he
said when I was hearing that stuff, I
was, like, sweeping the floor.
And obviously, like, no one had Instagram and
Twitter back then so no one knew what
Imam Ghazali looked like if he was far
away enough. So he used to say that
when he heard his name mentioned in, like,
a teaching, he would run the opposite direction.
Because it it it started to hurt him.
You know, that like, man, like, the the
the these things are just so
they sound good to me. Hearing my own
name sounds good to me. I gotta get
away from this stuff.
And so this is what khadam is. Right?
Like a person who serves. That you got
you you gotta do it to make sure
that you're staying grounded as a human being.
And so,
you know, one of the things that I
I also wanted to share, I actually wrote
this down and make sure I didn't forget
about this, is that,
you know,
this statement of the prophet
is a big example
of practicing what you preach. That the prophet
did not just say, oh, a person who
is a leader is one who serves just
to say it. He actually did that thing.
Right? And whenever we hear like religious advice
we always have this kind of like moment
of like man are you actually doing what
you're saying for others to do? And we
know a 100%
that the prophet, he actually did these things.
Because you look at it, like, look look
at look at leadership in today's day and
age, like, look at society. Right? We got
man, we got anybody else get that that
that air caught energy conservation email this week?
They're like, hey. So everybody, if you have,
like, this and this energy service, like, just
please
just just conserve your energy from 2 to
6 PM. I remember, like, the the the
sub tweets underneath that tweet was other everyone
was like, yeah. I wonder what the CEO
of Eric Hot is doing right now. I
wonder what his thermostat has said too. So
everyone's, like, super cynical about it. Everyone's like,
yeah. I really bet this guy probably got
his thermostat cranked down to 60 5 chilling
in his home right now, snowing from the
ceiling. Like, all of us are, like, dying
in our 85 degree homes.
So we all have this kind of, like,
hesitancy when it comes to leadership that we
don't believe that leaders do exactly as they
say because they require this from people. But
when it comes to their actual actions, you
don't see it leveling out to actually what
they're doing. But this is the furthest thing
from the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. And this
is why, by the way, Umar ibn Khattab
began to cry
at the state the prophet used to live
in. There's a hadith that literally says that
the prophet one time was turning and and
and and kind of like rolling around in
his sleep one day while Omar was near
him
and he was and and the pros customarily
used to sleep on what we used to
call like a straw mat. Like, it was
not like some sort of mattress, masha'Allah, that
have, like, sheep, like, bouncing over the pillows
and stuff like that. He used to, like,
sleep in, like, a very flat surface, and
he used to toss and turn, and he
used to kind of, like, show that, like,
there's moments when as he was getting older,
obviously, there's, like, jokes about, like, when you
start nearing 30, you wake up and you
have, like, random aches and pains. By the
way, that stuff is so real, dude. It's
scary. Y'all enjoy your twenties, man. Y'all y'all
in your twenties?
Anybody not in their twenties yet?
Man. Masha Allah. My man doesn't have to
stretch before he plays a ball. It's beautiful.
So, like, it like, enjoy those days, brother.
So, like like, literally, there'll be days where,
like, you wake up and you're like, man,
like, I'm hurting, man. Like, I like like,
yeah, yesterday, literally,
my daughter,
she is now, like, about, like, 10:10 and
a half pounds now. She's she's, like, 7
and a half weeks, 8 weeks old now.
Yesterday, I was, like, I was, like, just
kind of rocking her to sleep in my
arms. And then it was, like, a 20
minute endeavor, and I put her down. I'm
like, dang. Look at my shoulder, bro. Like,
what this kid do to me, man? Like,
£10.
This is what happens when you're near 30.
So imagine the process of getting older, and
he's sleeping on, like, that flat surface. Like,
y'all y'all y'all sleep in, like, a weird
position. You wake up the next day needing,
like, an like, an icy hot.
So imagine, like, what he went through. And
he saw the pro and Omar saw the
prophet tossing and turning, and he began to
cry. And the prophet, he woke up. He
goes, yeah, Omar, what what's causing you to
cry like this?
And Umar ibn Khattab, he goes, you Rasool
Allah, wallahi
wallahi, I know
that you are the most beloved person to
Allah on this earth.
No one closer to Allah than you.
And you have people who are leaders of
civilizations
that live the way that they do.
They live in palaces carved out of marble
and stone.
They sleep on, like, beds that are just,
like, so comfortable, and you live like this.
And the prophet he says to Amal, he
goes, yeah, Umar, wouldn't you rather them live
this dunya like that and we live our
life like this and we live our akhirah
like that?
What a statement, man.
Like, you it just shows you his perspective
on life.
So
being of service is is a very beautiful
thing. So I wanted to kinda share with
you guys a few of the benefits of
what we call khidma in Islam. Right? Because
khidma is is what we call service in
Islam.
Number 1.
Khidma,
the first lesson that it teaches is that
Khidma
is a means of you taking care of
yourself.
Like, being able to handle your own business.
Like, Islam does not promote other people doing
things for you.
And this goes back to, like, the examples
of the prophet
where he used to do his own chores.
Like, the man, whenever he ripped, like, a
piece of clothing of his, he would be
the one that sewed it back together.
Like, he wouldn't be like, hey, Aisha, come
here. You know, I need you to mend
this piece of, like, you know, this this
job offer me so I can go out
to Aisha later. No, dude. Like, he would
grab the the needle on the sewing and
the kit and the and and the thread,
and he would do it himself. In fact,
there was actually a narration that says that
somebody,
asked the the wife of the process of
Aisha, you know, what was he like at
home?
What what did he do at home? Because
obviously, like I mentioned to you guys, the
home is really where your character comes up.
You can act one way in front of
people and you can be a totally different
human being when you're behind the walls of
your house.
And so they they they asked her, Yeah
Aisha, you know, Omi Momineen, mother of the
believer.
What what was he like at home? Because
we only see him out, you know, in
in in in public with us and at
the masjid. What's what's he like inside the
house?
And her answer was beautiful.
Her answer was very beautiful, and it was
very purposeful by the way. The way that
she actually answered it in terms of, like,
just the the the the the chronological order.
She said, number 1, that the prophet used
to spend his time at home in the
service of his family.
That's the first thing she said about him.
And y'all know, like, the first thing that
pops into your family's head when it comes
to you is, like, the first thing that
they know. Like, the first thing that they
see all the time.
Like, if your if your parents' way of
describing you is, like, they sleep all the
time, chances are that you sleep a lot.
Right?
Like, if if if if your family describes
you as a person that works constantly,
you're probably out of the house working a
lot. Like, that's, like, what you're known as.
So imagine what he must have been like
if the first description that Saidiya Aisha gave
about him was that he spent his time
at home serving his family.
That means that was what that's what he
was always seen doing.
Always.
And the second thing was that he used
to go and pray when it was time
for the sultan.
And this is the most religious man on
the planet.
Not not the other way around.
Most people like, oh, yeah. He prayed and
then when he had time, he would serve
his family. It was the other way around.
He would serve and then when he came
time for prayer, he would then pray his
his salah.
This is the beauty of the prophet, right,
There was a narration from Abu Harira
who said that, you know, the the prophet
he said that he is not arrogant. Like,
Allah will not allow kibr to enter one's
heart who eats with his servants
who eats with his servants. Meaning, like, they
don't, like, distinguish
differences of hierarchy between the the the the
their helpers around the house. They eat with
those same people.
And they ride their animal in the marketplace.
And this is, by the way, a beautiful
balance because a lot of people, they think
that, oh, being being arrogant means that you're,
like, you know, strutting your stuff. You're, like,
you're driving around, like, your car really loudly
outside in front of everybody so everyone can
hear you and see you. You know, as
soon as they know that that GTR is
pulling up, they know from 4 miles away
that it's you. You know, like like and
and this is what the kind of general,
you know, idea of, like, all arrogant people
literally said, hadith Abu Hadda, he says that
you're you're riding on your animal in the
marketplace doesn't mean you're arrogant.
It could just be that you you want
to ride an animal while while you're shopping.
It's not a big deal.
And then he says, a person who tends
to his sheep and and and milks them
is also a person who's not arrogant.
Meaning, they take care of their own business.
They don't ask other people to do it
for them. And this is why you have
the tradition of all of the prophets of
Allah. Every single one of them being shepherds.
These responsible
people, man.
They took care of their stuff.
And, you know, like,
the the opposite, which is, like, expecting everyone
else to do it for you, this is
such a harmful characteristic, man, as a Muslim
specifically,
is that you start to kind of, like
and by the way, how many of us
have heard culturally of, like, oh, yeah. You
know, like, we should be, like, serving everybody.
You know, like, oh, like, don't don't don't
let them do anything at home. Right? We're
to the point where, like, literally, we have
to answer questions sitting here as, you know,
imams and whatnot of, like, hey. Does Islam
actually say, like, the the the wife has
to be subservient to the husband all the
time at home? The husband doesn't have to
do anything at home? And then we have
to have those awkward conversations with people who
are like, no. No. No. Husbands should also
be very, very, very helpful around the house.
There I I I you guys wanna hear
something scary? Man, I'm on livestream right now.
Yeah. I'm in trouble so much. Okay.
Anonymous.
There was a person who came up to
me 4 weeks ago who was interested in
getting married.
Masha'Allah.
Young, amazing person.
And she goes,
is it true in Islam that
it's haram of me to expect my husband
to do any work in the house?
Haram.
Sinful.
Not just, like, discouraged.
Not just, like, oh, like, real like, you
know, culturally taboo.
She said. She goes, is it is it
is it sinful for me to expect my
husband to do anything at home?
I'm like, word? Like, where did you hear
that?
And she goes, oh, yeah. You know, the
the the you know, my my families have
been talking to each other, and they said
that, you know, that's that's a possibility.
I said SubhanAllah man this is like the
extent
that we're going to to kind of like
protect this this this this bubble of people
who are raised with, like, a silver spoon
in their mouth.
No idea how to fold my clothes. No
idea how to do my own laundry. No
idea how to cook a meal.
And then we grow into these people who
expect, like,
and I'm sorry to, like, say this very
bluntly. When our brothers already get married, they're
they're expecting to marry their moms.
Like, I'll meet John, you know, in a
big for me every morning when I wake
up, and my laundry's gonna be perfectly folded
into the shelves. You know? Like, oh,
where's my where where where's where's my shawlwar
on Friday for Jumah? Why is why isn't
it ironed?
Like, homie, there's an ironing board and an
iron right there. You got it.
Like,
we we grow up, like, just normalizing this
stuff.
And then you go back to the tradition
of the messenger and you're like, this guy
was nothing like
that. Nothing like that. In fact, he was
probably the opposite. He probably used to spoil
the people around him.
He used to probably when he saw his
his wife walking with things, he probably tell
her, no. No. Give it to me.
Let me let me help you carry it.
Let me help you do it. I don't
want you to carry that stuff. I can
carry it for you.
This is the service of the prophet so
the the the the first benefit of khidma
is just understanding to be self sufficient. Obviously,
we know that Allah is the one that
that that that gives everything, but Allah also
gave you the ability to take care of
yourself.
That's the first lesson in hikmah. Right?
Number 2
is
understanding
that that that serving others is a way
of gaining Allah's love.
It's a huge point, by the way, right
here. There's a beautiful hadith of the prophet,
he's found on Tabarani, where the prophet, he
said,
the most beloved people to Allah,
are those who are most beneficial to other
people.
The most beloved to God
are those who are most beneficial to other
people.
Like, Allah didn't give you all this stuff
so you could just kinda, like, keep it
to yourself and just kinda hang out in
your own circle.
Like, Allah ta'ala gave you the ability to
give
so you can give to others.
And look at the examples of Abu Bakr
as Siddiqu radiAllahu an. I mean, this man
gave his life.
He gave his life for the Ummah, man.
Every moment he literally went bankrupt because of
this Ummah.
He was like, man, Allah gave it to
me. It must be for a reason.
It can't be for just me and me
alone.
And so he says that the most beloved
people to Allah and Faruhum, the people who
are most beneficial to other people.
That the most beloved deeds to Allah is
happiness that you bring to a fellow Muslim.
So even, like, giving joy to other people
around you is the most beloved deed to
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
They just pass by somebody and and just
make their day.
This is the most beloved deed to Allah
Ta'ala relieving their stress,
lifting a burden off of their shoulder is
a beloved deed to Allah Ta'ala.
And even to the point that prophet he
said,
for me to walk with a brother,
for me to walk with my Muslim brother
in his time of need is dearer to
me
than secluding myself in a masjid for an
entire month.
And this goes back, by the way,
to rewriting the narrative of what we think
religious is.
Y'all feel me? Because we all have this
kind of, like, understanding of, like, what religious
means. Because, like, we what like, we we
we compare 2 actions for, like, you know,
walking with a person who's going through something
tough, spending an entire month in a masjid
reading Quran and making du'a, obviously that one's
more religious.
This hadith literally proves that the prophet said
I would do the other.
I would do the other.
Redefine in your mind what religious actually means.
Right? Being a khadim,
being a servant is something that's far closer
to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
than than than than doing religious deeds by
yourself for an entire month.
Right?
And and and there's another beautiful statement by
the way the prophet where he actually says,
He says that Allah will be at the
assistance of his slave
so long as that person is at the
assistance of his brother or sister.
Y'all know this. Right? Like, there there there
there's a beautiful hadith and we covered this
before in this series.
The Allah the the prophet when he said
that a person who is not grateful to
the people is not grateful to Allah.
There's a lot of those kind of narratives
where a person who is grateful to Allah
will be grateful to people, a person who
is merciful to other people will gain the
mercy of Allah. So the Prophet says here
that a person who is in the assistance
of other people, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will
be in the assistance of that person.
You're there for people when they need you,
Allah will be there for you when you
need
him. Like, we complain a lot in our
lives, like, man, like, why am I always
in the toughest situations?
Why am I always in, like, the most
difficult situations?
Well, ask yourself, like, are you always preoccupied
with your difficulty,
or is a part of your life figuring
out how to alleviate the pain of those
around you?
And it doesn't mean that you have to,
like, fix their problems from top to bottom.
Like, are you at least a part
of the solution?
Or are you a part of the of
of of the constant issue that's going on?
Right? So it's another another really really important
kind of lesson here. Right?
Yeah. There's a very beautiful this it's kind
of like an additional narration. Whoever is given
authority by Allah over any of the affairs
of the Muslims by but but then hides
away their needs and poverty, Allah will hide
away his assistance
towards his needs and poverty. So meaning, like,
if you are in a position of power
over people
and you, like, neglect those people
when they need something from you, Allah will
neglect your needs from
you. And and and relevant, you know, to
y'all by the way. Like, I mean, most
people here aren't, like, major leaders right now.
Right? But, like, there are positions of leadership
that you have in your lives. Whether it
would it's like a position of mentorship over
a sibling or, you know, a position of
leadership in an MSA body or a position
of leadership in a group of friends, whatever
it may
be. And you know there's a need of
those people and you are in a position
to do something about it and you don't
do anything about it, Allah Ta'ala literally says
I will I will neglect what you need.
Like, don't neglect things that people need. Right?
We don't wanna ever be a part of
that stuff. And number 3
and, man, I got some beautiful stuff for
you guys today, man. The the the the
examples of khidma in, like, the stories of
the companions on the audiyah, the pious people
are endless and endless and endless. There's a
story of Omar Ibn Khabab, by the way,
who literally
literally he was he was walking,
and,
he saw
a group of, like, you would call, like,
sayyids, like people who owned slaves and servants.
And they were eating while their servants were
standing and watching.
And,
if you all know his character, he's a
very strong personality.
Right? So, like, that that dude, like, wore
his heart on his sleeve.
And so he walked by this group of
people.
And, by the way, one of the things
about Omar Khattab is, like, you have other
tough guys around the community, but, like, as
soon as Omar walked up to you, you're
like, you became
you became the beta the beta. Right?
You you're no longer the alpha.
So you saw Armada walking up to you,
and you're like, yes, sir.
So he walks
up, and he sees all these guys eating,
sitting and eating and enjoying themselves. And he
saw their servants.
Right? Their their their their their, you know,
their their people who serve them just standing,
not eating, watching over them.
And, Omar,
he looks at these men and he goes,
why do I not see your servants eating
with you?
He goes, what's going on here?
Why don't I see them eating alongside you?
He goes, do you not desire for them
anymore? Meaning, like, do you not, like, want
them in your company anymore? Do you not
wish to be a part of their company?
And they responded to Ahmed Al Khabab. They
said, yeah, Amirul Mumineen.
You know, we have we we we we
need them. We definitely are in need of
them, but we have preference over them.
Meaning, like, there's, like, a hierarchy here. Right?
Like, I e before they do. I pay
I pay their bills. I pay their wage.
I pay their salary. So, obviously, I e
before they do.
And
Omar Ibn Khattab,
the narration says that he got so angry
that you could visibly see his face change
in that statement.
His face began to change physically.
And he said,
what is the matter with the people who
prefer themselves over their servants?
How dare
you? How dare you?
He goes, Allah will deal with you.
He goes, Allah will deal with you. I
don't even have to say anything to you.
Allah will deal with you.
And then what he did, he looked at
the servants. He looked at the men who
were standing and watching their their their masters
eat, and he said sit down and eat.
I'll buy you your food.
And he goes, you will he goes he
goes, I'm also hungry, but I'm not eating
until you take a bite of food first.
This is, like, the importance that Omar placed
on serve serving.
Like, he did not just, like, idly sit
by and watch it, like, that that that
indecency take place.
There was another companion by the name of
Mujahid radiallahu ta'ala anhu, who accompanied Umar ibn
Khattab on, like, one of his journeys.
And he said that my role
on this journey was being the kadem of
Omar Ibn Khattab, the servant of Omar Ibn
Khattab.
That was his official title. So Omer had
a conversation with him and said, hey. I
want you to come along with me because
you're going to be my helper.
And
Mujahid, he narrates this. He says, at the
end of that trip,
I
or or the beginning of that trip, I
intended to serve Omar Ibn At the end
of the trip, Omar served me more than
I served him.
He goes, he was in my service more
than I was in his service.
He asked me if I needed things more
than I asked him if he needed things.
Because that's just the type of person he
was.
There was a scholar from Egypt
who
man, subhanallah. He was one of the most
beautiful reciters of his generation.
People used to literally
flock from outside cities to come listen to
him lead Isha Salah,
and he knew this. By the way, you
all think hearts know this stuff, man. Everyone's
like, oh, masha'allah, hamdulillah, you know. I'm just
gonna go lead Ishaa prayer. No, bro. Habibi,
I know that you know a 1000 people
come to listen to you right now.
You know? I was like, I'm going there
for for Tarawee. Right? Yeah. You all people
know about this stuff. Right?
So he knew this stuff. So he had
his, his his come, like, pick him up.
And he picked him up to take him
over to the to the salah, to the
masjid,
and he told his driver.
He said,
before you take me to the masjid, drop
me off at this other place. There's another
masjid, by the way. Small little masjid.
And so his driver assumed that he was
gonna go and just kinda, like, do his
prayers or whatever he was praying.
So he dropped them off,
and
he was in there for, like, 5 minutes,
10 minutes, 15 minutes passed by.
So the driver's, like, sitting out here. He's
getting confused now. He's like, yo. This is
gonna be late to his prayer. Right? What
what are you gonna do?
So 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes pass
by, and the driver, he gets out of
the car, and he goes inside of this
small masala.
He's like, what's taking this guy so long?
Like, what kind of sunnah prayer is he
praying? Right?
He goes in there and he sees this
guy just brooming up the floor.
Brooming the floor of this masjid.
And he goes, Sheikh, what are you doing?
Because what are you what are you doing?
You got you got a shot to lead
for, like, thousands of people.
He goes, I'm doing this for my own
mess.
He goes, if I don't do this, I'm
not allowed to do that.
Man, look at that mentality, dude. Like,
that that mentality
that that that I will will not allow
myself to think of myself as bigger than
I actually am.
That tradition as a Muslim is so so
important.
You all know Salma'il Farisi,
by the way, if if if if if
if we don't know Salma'il Farisi, by the
way,
I encourage every single person in here to,
like, go and read his story. It's absolutely
mind boggling.
Like, you if if you ever been a
person who's, like
how do I say this? Like been
been
chasing your belongingness to the community, read Salman's
story.
If you've ever been, like, muscle hopping trying
to figure out who your, like, group is,
read Salman's story.
Guarantee you you you you'll find some benefit
in it.
So myelofatisi
was a person who never really belonged anywhere.
He was a per he was a Persian.
He came from a Zoroastrian family meaning, like,
they used to worship fire.
He was the son of like a like
a like a high up, like, bishop in
his community.
He fled from that area to be in
the presence of the prophet and
when he got there, he spent time with
the prophet and the thing that he learned
from him the most is being humble.
And so Salman, when he grew older after
the death of the prophet
he was able to for the first time
in his life,
he was able to, like, spend on himself.
Because as long as the messenger sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam was alive, all of his his
his assets used to go to the Ummah.
So after the prophet passed away, he was
like, you know what? Finally now, I'm older
now. I can take a little bit of
my own money and kinda, like, put it
towards my own my own life.
And so he hired, like, a helper for
himself and his wife.
And there was a time
where
a man entered the home of Salman al
Farisi,
and he saw him, like, kneading dough.
Just like putting together, like, dough for dinner
later tonight.
And
they're like, Salman. Yes, Salman. Don't you have,
like, a servant?
Because this was, like, a very customary task
that you would ask a helper in the
house to do.
And so then he goes,
I sent him out on, like, another task,
but I wanted to do this because I
don't believe in asking him for 2 things
at one time.
I don't wanna overburden him.
I dislike asking too much of him.
So I would rather ease his burden
by by by doing this myself.
Right? Like like, these are the examples
that that we follow in our tradition. Right?
The the last one that I'll share with
you guys, man, this is amazing.
Anasibhmatik
was a young
young boy who was in the,
service of the prophet
for 10 years. He actually said that I
was in the service of the prophet.
I used to always be there for him.
Anasam Pneumatic was like that cute kid that
used to follow the prophet around with his
shoes. He's like, yeah, Sola, do you need
your shoes now? Right? Like, that one kid.
That was unasymptomatic.
And, you know, like, there's always a point
where people who are known to help you,
you sometimes get, like, a little irritated with
them because they're not doing things the way
that you want them to do it. Right?
But you ever have, like, a person come
and, like, take care of something in the
house. Right? Like, somebody who you even if
you're paying them. Right? Like, a person who's,
like, cleaning out something, plumber, handyman, whatever it
is. Right? And they don't do it right.
I remember I was, like, I was talking
to my mother the other day, like, before
Aya was born. My daughter was born, like,
a month and a half ago. For the
first time for the first time,
right, for all the Arabs out here. I
for the first time, I I I I
we hired a person to clean our house
just to get, like because we have 2
cats. Just to get, like, all, like, the
allergens and the dander and stuff like that
before the baby came to the home.
And I remember this lady came in,
and
my wife, man, like, I I give a
lot of props to my wife. She's, like,
always uncomfortable with this stuff. She's like, dude,
it's so weird. Like, she's like, I can
just do it. I'm like, I'm like, no.
No. Like, we'll pay this woman and do
it really well, better than we can probably.
And she's like, what am I supposed to
do while she's here? I'm like, I don't
know, man. Just do your thing. She's like,
it just feels so wrong. Just, like, sit
there and watch someone clean my kitchen. Right?
And
I remember
the person who I got, like, this recommendation
from,
they were like they were like, oh, yeah.
Just make sure she does everything properly.
And I'm like, okay. Like, that's cool. Right?
Like, if she misses one spot, I can
just, like, Windex that thing over. Like, it's
not a big deal.
And she,
like, she came and she she she was
leaving, so I was I was about to
pay her.
And I wasn't at home at that time.
She was with my wife the basically the
entire time.
And she pulled me aside before she left,
and she goes she goes,
your house is the first house that I
came to that the person who's living here
didn't, like, watch over me like a hawk.
Like, they actually, like, left me to do
what I did.
And so because of that, I actually did
an extra deep cleaning in in the baby
room for you guys.
I was like my heart, like my my
heart melted at that moment,
But, like, when we even ask people to
do things for us, like favors for us
or even if you're paying them whatever it
is, like, we have this kind of, like,
overarching, like, this idea that, like, you better
do it exactly right or you're gonna you're
gonna get my wrath.
And so Aras ibn Malik he says I
served the prophet
for 10 years.
For 10 years I served him and not
once
not once did the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
utter the word uff in front of me.
Like uff if anybody knows like that sound
that every Muslim naturally makes from birth
of a a
chuff.
You know, like, you know, they're like, every
Muslim swears they're never gonna be like their
parents when they grow up, and they're all
like that by age 25.
You're like, I'm never gonna eat I'm never
gonna want biryani on a Tuesday at 2
PM.
You know, like, you, like, want biryani on
a on a on, like, a Wednesday at
12, brother. Like, you you you were just
like your parents. Don't worry about it. So,
you know, like, he's I've never heard the
prophet utter oof one time to me in
10 years,
and he never,
never
asked me why didn't you do it like
this or why didn't you do it like
that.
Never once had a criticism with me.
Like, imagine the impact that has on a
person.
Imagine the feeling that that person has.
That person will never ever dread once doing
anything for you.
But next time you ask that person for
a favor, I got you. I mean, think
about it. Think think about why the companions
of the prophet were so eager to constantly
do things for him.
Y'all know people who are, like, dreading
doing things for other people because they're afraid
of the wrath that would ensue
if you did one thing incorrectly?
You left that one thing misplaced?
Like, you're scared the next time you speak
to this person.
And now imagine why all his companions
wanted to be in his service so much.
It had to have to do with something
with the way that he treated his his
people.
Alright? So
the principal takeaways, right, before we, inshallah, we
break for, for for
in, like, another, like, 15, 20 minutes.
There's just a simple takeaways today I wanna
share with everybody. Number 1
is to reframe
our mind
on how serving and leadership works.
Like, we think that being in a leadership
position means that, like, everyone's at your feet,
like, doing things for you,
so you're freed up for creative space. Like,
dude, shut up. Like
like like, be at the service of people
around you, man. That's the way you gain
the love.
That's the way leadership works. Right? Like, start
thinking differently than what we see in the
public eye.
You know, like, not everything is just about,
like, you know, like, having everything done for
you. You know, one time I was like
I remember I took a
in college, I remember I took like a
like a leadership
con it's like a, like, a leadership course,
basically, because I was a a a teaching
all learners major. So I was a a
a, like, a teacher's license, basically, in in,
like, elementary, middle, and high school.
And,
and the leadership,
the the the leadership retreat or conference that
I was in, they literally said, like, make
sure that, like, you're a good delegator.
And, obviously,
everyone's a good delegator because not everyone can
do everything themselves.
But there but but that person made, like,
a joke. They were like, yeah. Delegate the
things that you just don't have time for
anymore to people and the things that you
don't deem worthy of your time.
And at that moment, I just felt uncomfortable.
I was like, man, like, that's weird.
That's just weird. The because because the people
the people especially spiritually that you take advice
from,
I would be very hesitant
on taking advice and mentorship from people
specifically religiously
if you have not seen that person serve
other people.
The people today that I still to this
day called by teachers
are the people that the first time I
saw them, they were setting up chairs
for their students before a class started.
Like, they weren't just expected to show up
in the Masjid and have, like, the tables
and chairs rolled out.
And y'all ever wonder why, like, I I
don't know how many of y'all are, like,
OG roots people, like, back in, like, the
beltline days when y'all used to see us,
like, yeah, doing, like, the sofa coffee corner.
Y'all remember that stuff? Like, it was actually
required
of the of the teachers to go serve
the coffee before the class started.
Like, y'all saw, like, a side of the
Rahman before heart work on Monday nights. That
brother was out here sweating over y'all's lattes.
He was out here, like, pouring, like, beautiful,
like, unicorns and rainbows and hearts for y'all
in in your in your ice care in
your in your hot cappuccinos and stuff like
that. But it's it's not because, like, of
course, like, we enjoy coffee and stuff like
that, but there's this element of being in
the of the people that you're you're you're
you're serving, that that you're around.
And you never wanna outsource that stuff.
You never wanna outgrow that stuff. That's actually
one thing I wanna mention to you guys.
Like, this is the idea that, like, you
graduate out of, like, certain serve like, certain
services.
Like, oh, yeah. I don't I don't I
don't vacuum the floor anymore. We have a
guy that does that now.
Oh, I don't I don't really mop the
floors anymore. We have, like, a a brother
who comes in and volunteers to that to
do that.
Like, if that's our mentality, it's concerning.
It's concerning.
You know what I'm I'm gonna keep them
anonymous.
In in in my year at Qalam,
one of the most, masha'Allah,
amazingly
capable
brothers in my year.
One of the most beautiful voices I've ever
heard in my life, wallahi, and he never
talks about it.
Just a just a few weeks ago after
a program was over here at Roots,
he was, like, in a thobe and, like,
in a kufi and everything like that.
And then we were all, like, kinda wrapping
up and and and leaving.
I looked through that window right there, that
window that you guys see. I looked in
here, and this dude was in, like, basketball
shorts vacuuming up and down. These carpets.
Up and down. Up and down. Up and
down. And y'all ever get annoyed vacuuming your
house. Imagine vacuuming, like, a 6,000 square foot
carpeted area.
This ain't no joke.
And I was like, at that moment, I
saw him through that window. I I just
stopped and paused and made a du'a for
him. I was like, may Allah make this
man even more beautiful because his beauty on
the inside is is is unparalleled.
No one's watching
you. You can't even see anything. You're just
doing it. Just take a while. This
is it's just a way to rewire your
brain on what it means to, like, be
a leader. Right? Number
2 is obviously understanding that that that those,
you know, Allah protects those who who those
who serve other people. Right? And a very
cool thing is that if Allah loves those
who serves
it's best to serve those who serve and
also be one who serves.
If Allah loves those who serves
then be at the service of those who
serve other people. Try it one time in
your life. Right? People who are, like, volunteers
and you see my roots all the time
by the way.
You know, people out here, like, serving water
bottles and, like, you know, telling you which
way to go and stuff like that. Go
up to them and give them a water
bottle. See how they react. They'll be like
like, serve serve inception. They're like,
what kind of du'a do I make for
you now, dude? Like,
is there a du'a for this?
Serve those who serve.
Be like Umar ibn Khattab.
Find the servants that are standing waiting for
their their their people to finish eating and
serve them a plate of food. See how
they react.
The dua of those who serve constantly, man,
their duas are beautiful.
Because those are people who would fill with
iqas, filled with sincerity. So imagine what their
duas are like.
Because they're not on the forefront.
They're behind the scenes.
They don't get to see they don't they
don't get to see the limelight very much.
So imagine how beautiful their duas are.
And the last thing
is that serving khidma is a way to
gain the love of people and put barakah
into your own affairs.
But if you want if you want barakah
in your life, in the things that you
do,
just humble yourself and do the things that
a normal person just wouldn't do.
Take out the trash. You know we say
our roots all the time, you know, we
you know me me and Asadullah, we always
talk about this. Right? Because hamdallah every week
we have like an influx of people coming
in. They're like, how can we start, like,
you know, helping out our roots?
How can we start, like and obviously with
the new coffee shop coming up and stuff
like that, everyone's like, mashallah this new barista
named Kevin. I'm like, yo. What the heck
is going on here, bro? Like, everyone's like,
can I barista and stuff? But now I'm
like, who who are you, dude? I don't
even know who you are. The the you
know you know but you know who we
do value
are the people who just start, like, picking
up trash after events are over.
Trust me. We take mental notes. We see
that stuff where we're like,
that guy's pouring a latte next week.
You know what I'm saying?
If he or she has the heart to
just pick up someone else's trash,
Allah put something special on that person's heart.
Cleaning up a mess that's not theirs,
just picking something up and putting it away,
like, getting this idea that, oh, it's not
my mess, so it's not my responsibility.
Getting that out of our heads, there's a
special place in paradise for people like that.
So understanding that doing things for others, being
in the service of other people is a
way of putting barakah into your own life.
Right? And
so with that, inshallah,
we will, we will wrap up our our
conversation,
for today's soul food. We ask Allah
to make us in constantly in the service
of those around us. We ask Allah
to never allow arrogance,
to never allow entitlement,
to never allow
just this this idea that others should constantly
be in our service all the time. We
we ask Allah to protect us from those
thoughts, and we ask
Allah to make us in the service of
those around us, and we ask Allah
to accept all of our
Anybody have any sort of questions, Insha'Allah?
Love to take some questions right now.