Saif Morad – Divine Principles For Better Living
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AI: Summary ©
Righteousness Can everyone hear me?
Okay, it's clear Good Okay,
I Know today is Friday night and people
have a lot of things they want to
discuss and talk about But if we can
respectfully Maybe perhaps take that conversation just outside
the door so that we can benefit from
what we're about to talk about inshallah So
today's our second session when it comes to
our series divine principles of for better living
And this series is based on two books
Qawadah al-Qur'aniyya and Qawadah al-Nabawiyya
The Quranic principles and the prophetic principles both
written by Sheikh Umar al-Muqbid in which
he breaks down certain principles from ayat and
hadith and The application of it for in
order to enhance our own lives as Allah
subhanahu wa'ta'ala He tells us in the
Quran Ta Ha Ma Anzalna Alayka Al-Qur
'ana Li Tashqa Illa Tadhkiratan Liman Yakhsha That
Ta Ha, we did not send this Quran
down to you.
Oh Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam Li Tashqa
so that you would be miserable you'd be
unhappy but Illa Tadhkiratan Liman Yakhsha Except that
it is a reminder for those who have
that khushu, those who want to connect with
Allah azza wa jal Wa Sarrafna Fihi Mina
Al-Wa'idi La'allahum Yattaquna Aw Yuhditha
Lahum Dhikra Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala, he tells
us in the Quran that we have given
different styles of reminders in the Quran different
examples so that people would have that taqwa
of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala or perhaps they
would at least remember And Allah subhanahu wa'ta
'ala tells us Fa Man Tabi'a Hudaya
Fa La Khawfun Alayhim Wala Hum Yahzanun Whoever
follows my guidance, then they will have no
fear upon them No sadness in another one
Fa La Yadillu Wa La Yashqa, they won't
be misguided and they won't be miserable and
unhappy What that means is that Applying these
principles applying the Quran the prophetic way in
our life is our benefit comes from it
That you and I are the ones who
get to benefit from peace of mind good
rizq That connection with Allah azza wa jal,
the confidence knowing that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala
has your back But that only comes when
we learn and we implement the principles that
Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is teaching us in
the first place And in our first session,
we looked at three principles.
The first one was Anyone remember?
The first principle was Wa Quloo Linnasi Husna
That say good to people that when you
communicate doesn't matter who it is always try
to say good Because it enhances relationships people
are more likely to receive information when it
is spoken in a good way The second
one was Asa An Takrahu Shay'an Wa
Huwa Khayrun Lakum Wa Asa An Tuhibbu Shay
'an Wa Huwa Shatun Lakum That perhaps you
might dislike something But in reality, it might
actually be good for you and you might
actually want and desire something But in reality,
it might actually be extremely bad for you
Wallahu Ya'lamu Wa Antum La Ta'lamun
And Allah knows and you don't know So
what that means is the principle is that
I put my trust in Allah azza wa
jal while taking the means knowing that the
result that comes after that is what's best
for me and If a person understands and
deals with setbacks in that way, then they're
they have peace of mind.
They relax They did what they could they're
happy with what Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala decrees
from them The third principle we looked at
is a prophetic hadith in which the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that Innamal a'malu
binniyat That indeed actions are by intentions What
that means is if I want to gain
the reward from Allah azza wa jal that
I have my intention present I am mindful
of what I'm doing I'm not just existing
and going about my day Like a robot
get up go to work come home eat
sleep drink hang out do things on autopilot
But rather there is a mindful living a
conscious living that's going on So that I'm
the one who's reaping the rewards of that
as I spend time with my kids my
family my colleagues so on and There's an
intention behind it to earn the pleasure of
Allah azza wa jal which means I am
the one who is consistently and constantly Getting
the rewards from that Today we're going to
start with another principle and this is a
very profound Principle and it comes to when
it comes to dealing with one another in
our relationships with our spouses With our families
with our friends so on and so forth
Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala tells us in the
Quran In So
let's look at this verse Allah subhanahu wa'ta
'ala he says that if you were to
divorce them meaning the women mean the company
that Before you have consummated the marriage, so
you you divorce them before you consummated the
marriage But you have already stipulated the mahal
there What's the result of that then they
are entitled to actually not entitled to their
obligatory upon you is that they get half
the mahal Half the mahal is for them,
but then he says in Full of the
beauty you could have to make up except
if they were to forego it or the
husband is to forego it completely So she
gives up her share or he gives her
the entire amount and then he says what
and dafu?
I'll probably talk about and to forego to
overlook.
You're right is closer to taqwa And he
said don't forget the goodness that exists between
you Because Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is the
seed he sees everything that happens now If
you take this ayah in a fiqh class
is going to come down okay, the ruling
on what happens when a woman gets married
and She's divorced before Consummating the marriage and
the mahal has been stipulated.
What's the answer?
Okay, so if we turn it into a
fiqh lesson the question comes okay, what happens
if The mahal is stipulated the sister gets
divorced Before the consummation of the marriage happens.
What's the answer guys?
She gets half she's entitled to half is
actually mandatory that she gets half unless she
chooses to forego it You know what I
don't want or he says you know what
I give you the entire thing So that's
if you look at it from a fiqh
angle, but the transformational Aspect of this verse
is what's coming?
Because Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is pointing towards
that let go of that right that you
have because that's closer to him And then
he says don't forget the goodness between you
now.
Let's try to contextualize this okay, because theoretically
we can talk about it But then doesn't
really do anything for us.
You don't feel okay.
What's the big deal?
Where's the transformation in this ayah?
Let's look at it.
Okay boy meets girl They get to know
one another in a halal manner and they're
excited and everything looks good and they get
the family members involved and Think about this
as somebody maybe not your your son or
daughter because maybe get too personal there but
somebody you know and They get to know
one another and the families get to know
one another and they make this big announcement
and people are excited and the day of
the wedding comes and everyone's excited and they
attend the party and the families get to
know one another exchange gifts the food was
amazing and Then the night comes when the
party is over and now this new couple
goes together to the hotel room and when
they get to the room One of them
let's put the blame on the guy He
says You know what?
I'm not really feeling not sure.
This was the right decision And you know,
okay, it's done.
But you know Chris Hara and nothing's really
happened now, so I Seek divorce Okay picture
that what do you think the emotions are
going through them The guy himself all of
a sudden now he's gonna make a decision
what the girl's going through now They announced
it to the families.
What's going on here?
Do you think it's gonna play out?
Okay, you think you made a mistake?
You know, no problem, okay, have a nice
day Baba mama, I think we're not gonna
go through with this Oh Allah, but come
let's hug it out and and you have
a nice thing and you also have a
nice day Is that what's gonna happen?
Speaking from a realistic perspective or is it
gonna be something else?
Anyone agree that would go up very smoothly
and nicely and everyone would be happy as
I have a nice day give each other
You know hug it out.
And then Anyone think that would happen?
But it's never so if that's not gonna
happen what's gonna happen Emotions be high people
be upset over it Maybe say some things
that they shouldn't be saying You know, you
would expect that such a big thing and
all of a sudden we put so much
money into this plan This had a nice
party.
Everyone came through and then this is what
you're gonna decide with This is how you
want to end things?
Why don't you decide this earlier before we
sent out the cards before we plan before
we paid the down payment down?
But what does Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala he
says here He says look, this is a
ruling you forgo it tells the girl that
if you leave it I'll probably talk what
but encourage the guy that no you rather
give her the entire amount instead Now, here's
the main part the principle here.
What a tense a word father This is
our principle for the first principle of today
that don't forget the father the goodness that
exists between you guys Well, I'll be my
time.
I don't know the circle.
Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala sees everything that happens.
My question to you to everyone here is
They just got married.
They just got to know one another the
family is just connected.
What goodness is there?
What goodness is there in the first place
that Allah is saying don't forget it What
relationship is there?
Okay, so everything before that was good.
Okay That's that's great Okay,
so don't forget everything that came before that
incident.
All right anyone else want to add anything
to that?
sisters The passion and remember
the goodness that's exists there Okay, the father
that's there So if Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala
is telling them that don't forget the father
that exists between you Even though you've barely
got to one know one another but all
that good time the family's got together and
the excitement.
Don't forget that and Let Shaitaan come and
take over and then make you do things
that you're going to regret now Take the
principle and then what about people who've been
married for five years for 10 years for
15 years for 20 years Friendships that exist
between people for 10 years For 15 years
between relatives between colleagues between friends between Child
and parent between parent and child Don't forget
those good times that's there the good memories
that's there Because it makes a world of
a difference between how a person reacts In
the situation it could be intense husband and
wife could be having issues.
They're not getting along They have different goals
and different outlooks on how their lives continue.
It doesn't seem like they're aligned They seem
to be headed towards separation, but don't forget
the good memories that's there Don't villainize the
other person.
Don't pull them down Don't shame them don't
forget the good times that when you're about
to do remember all the good times that's
there all the good memories all the good
instance of reaction of intimacy of children of
being there with one another just because you're
going through a rough patch does not mean
that all of that gets thrown out the
window and We talked about this in the
hook But that the default state of the
human brain is that it pays attention to
that's what's missing The threats the problems the
issues that's there That's where the focus goes
because it has to protect yourself has to
give you okay What am I supposed to
do when you run away from the situation
to antifreeze?
Do I need to fight back and defend
myself?
Which means that when Allah says well, I
tend to will fumble a bank on the
default is what that we will forget The
default is the human nature is that you
will forget and it's not possible for you
to remember every single memory Because there's way
too much, but what it means that the
one it comes at that time Don't forget
me which means don't neglect it Try to
see the goodness because it will impact how
you decide to carry forward how you interact
with this person that's in front of you
and two of the biggest cognitive distortions that's
there you could say the mind traps that
we fall into the shape on makes us
fall into one is Minimizing So we minimize
the good experiences.
We just notice the negative experiences Recalling an
incident and all a person seems to be
remembering is all the things that went wrong
which means they're not noticing all the good
things that also happen in that incident as
well, or They discount the positive that oh,
you know what she did so much for
me He did so much for me, but
it doesn't count for some reason doesn't count
All the negative things count, but all the
positives that they have done for this individual
It doesn't count So this is a trap
that shape on makes us fall into and
then when you think like that How do
you think the reaction is going to be?
How do you think the emotions that's going
to bubble up inside of a person?
Is it gonna be positive or is it
going to be negative?
When my entire outlook is I just notice
all the negative incidents that happen I only
notice all the wrongs he or she did
But I'm not factoring into the fact that
there's so much history so much good memories
so much good Qualities that did my spouse
my kids my friend has demonstrated How do
you think the person is gonna feel positive
or negative Most likely they're gonna just thinking
of the negative memory is going to be
playing over and over in their head So
when Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala says وَلَا تَنْسَوْا
الْفَضْلَ بَيْنَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَدُونَ بَصِيرٌ That he
is he sees everything that you do and
a person clues into this He wakes up
to this reality that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala
is watching Nothing is hidden from Allah azawajal.
Yes, the situation is difficult, but I'm expected
to behave in a certain way So let
me behave in that way But how can
a person do that unless they really truly
know that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is Observing
them not just in theory, but they know
that this is the reality and they feel
that as well that Allah is watching Anything
that I decide to do right now can
be for or against you and to be
able to have that mindfulness That is the
practicality of this that we're not just talking
a theory here But how can I actually
live this and we might think that all
we know what it's not really doable the
moment You think that?
The moment you and I think that okay
if Allah is setting a standard and telling
us what to do that It is not
practical.
It's not realistic.
We're in a different age.
It doesn't work that way anymore.
Guess what's gonna happen You'll be right because
you don't believe it's possible You don't believe
that the principle is actually applicable in today's
day and age So we just discounted which
means I'm not even gonna try This is
for them as if they were superhumans and
we're different creatures.
No, they're human beings just like we're human
beings Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala would not give
us things to do That which we're uncapable
of doing in the first place la yukallifu
allahu nafsan illa wus'aa He does not
burden a soul with something that they cannot
bear So the fact that Allah subhanahu wa'ta
'ala is teaching us these high level principles
means that you and I do have the
ability to implement them but it requires us
to practice because the default state is that
where We don't want to do the right
thing.
Nafs al-ammara is the one who Dominates
our souls the evil inclinations to do the
wrong thing to say the cuss word to
do what's wrong You know to make somebody.
Oh, they they said something.
I'm gonna say something back.
They didn't do for me I'm not going
to do for them either but through practice
and mindfulness and reading the Quran and awakening
to that reality remembering Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala
a person trains themselves to Become or has
the ability to do that when the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
His character was asked about They asked Aisha
radhiyallahu anha tell us about the character of
the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
What did she say?
She said have you read the Quran Because
his example was the Quran he was the
living walking example translation of the Quran that
what the principles that we see in the
Quran the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam showed
us how to Put them into practice and
this principle is not just because it comes
in the context of husband and wife relationship
Does not mean it is restricted to that
but this extends across every category When you
have a friend, you know this person for
10 years so much good memories so much
times They've been there for you Something happens,
you know, they're going through a rough path
something happens they betray your trust and then
all of a sudden we forget about the
10 years of history that's there and we
go against this person and Sometimes we might
aid shaitan against this person.
That's not to say to be a Fool
and let people take advantage of you That's
not to say that because the believer does
not get stung from the same hole twice
That a person understands puts the barriers that's
in front But at the same time they
are just and honest with one another and
they deal with one another justly That's okay
something happened.
Let me find out what happened.
Why did that happen?
I don't tolerate I don't accept that you
did this but help let me be there
for you.
I know you're a good person I know
you've been there so much time.
You've helped me when I needed someone the
most and All of a sudden because something
happened.
I'm going to abandon this person What I
tend to will follow up in a comb
don't forget the goodness that exists there even
between parents and their kids Is he or
she has been such a good kid for
so long and all of a sudden something
is going on like all the worst Child
in the world doesn't care disobedient so on
and so forth find out what's going on
Something happened that changed the kids behavior.
Is there something that I need to clue
into the opposite is true as well That
your parents have taken care of you for
so long From the time you were born
when you couldn't do anything and then all
of a sudden now you have a little
bit of Independence and you don't like their
style.
Oh, they've not they've not done anything good
for me I can't wait till the day.
I move out of my home and Sometimes
unfortunately here this kind of thing that what
is your you know?
What is the role of your mother in
your life?
Well, the only thing she does for me
is she cooks meals and she makes my
bed really All that history and the only
thing you can think of to praise your
mom is that she makes your bed and
cooks food for you That's because the brain
is focusing on all the negative aspects Which
fails to recognize that every moment every day
every week every month of how much she's
doing for her children Is she perfect of
course not so you have her flaws.
Yes, just like everyone else has their flaws
as well But does that mean we discount
the positive that's there and that's not to
say that one a person Allows themselves that
you know, whatever happens happens.
Okay.
No, no, it means we try to address
it But address it in the right way
But at the same time not to forget
the goodness that exists between one another between
all of us Someone has done good for
you.
They might make a mistake you address it
you bring it up Nobody's saying that ignore
that and just let everything slide on the
table no, bring it up, but we do
it in the right way in the way
that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala has taught us
to do so and Once again this principle
plays out in every realm because when you
do that and you you recognize the goodness
that's there The minimum that happens is you
neutralize your position So you're not all heated
and defensive and wanting to go at the
other person you approach that Okay, what's the
best way for this to happen?
Now?
She's not a moped.
He mentions actually in his book He mentions
a story that you know, we might think
is unrealistic in today's day and age We
can apply this but he said I know
somebody that was able to apply this principle
His husband was with his wife.
They have children together and he decided you
know What things are not working out thought
about it and he decided that you know
what it's better for us to go our
separate ways But what he decided was, you
know what?
I have a villa Anyone familiar with the
concept of a villa you have pretty much
a building and then there's like multiple apartments
in there So it's not joint living the
way that Indian and Pakistanis do it, but
it's joint living but with separate apartments So
he has this villa.
There's a floor on this.
There's apartment on the second floor He decided
he's going to stay on the first floor
and he's going to give the second floor
apartment to his ex-wife and his kids
and he's gonna take care of all their
expenses and He would go and function in
a way that people of that area didn't
even know that this person got separated because
it's not something to talk about brag about
but he made sure to up hold his
end Of the bargain to do what he
can and not only that but go even
beyond that Because not forgetting the goodness the
good times that they had that maybe it's
not working out for them now But all
the history that's there to not forget it
The second principle if we look at it
that comes is that we're going to look
at today comes in surah al-qiyamah Allah
subhanahu wa'ta'ala he says يُنَبَّأُ الْإِنسَانُ بِمَا
قَدَّمَ وَأَخَّرَ that on yawm al-qiyamah when
the human being comes forward They are going
to be informed about what they have done
بِمَا قَدَّمَ what they put forward and what
أَخَّرَ what they've left behind in a sense
that what were those Projects that they invested
in what was the sadaqah jariah that they
left behind?
What was the influence they had on good
people?
That's going to be there for them and
this can work in the opposite way as
well.
What are the negative influences that they?
invest in haram things that After even they
died it just kept picking up when it
comes to its evil and then he says
this is the principle بَلِلْإِنسَانُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ
وَلَوْ أَلْقَىٰ مَعَاذِيرَةٌ بَلِلْإِنسَانُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ
بَصِيرَةٌ وَلَوْ أَلْقَىٰ مَعَاذِيرَةٌ He knows what's going
on when he does what he what he
knows to be wrong What he knows to
be saying is wrong And he might he
may justify it with whatever he wants rationalize
it make it justifiable Always because of this
person and that person and I was forced
to do it then But deep down inside
he knows what he's doing he knows he's
making of excuses she knows she's making of
excuses and This plays out in multiple ways
as well That from the categories that it
plays out in is when it comes to
religion itself That a person knows that Allah
subhanahu wa'ta'ala wants me to do something
and In my heart I don't want to
Allah wants it it's hard But deep down
I don't like it.
Why do I have to observe these restrictions?
Why do I have to follow such a
strict?
Rule now if the fact that people are
labeling things as this strict hard difficult restricting
That's telling of what how they view Islam
and if a person views Islam in that
lens They're going to find difficulty when it
comes to the implementation of Islam So a
person knows that they might justify the sin,
but they know what they're doing is wrong
now Here's the thing when it comes down
to actions That go against my values and
principles.
I'm going to experience cognitive dissonance.
There's going to be a problem inside Right,
you know, you've done something.
You know, what's wrong.
How do you feel after that?
Alhamdulillah?
I did something bad.
It's okay Or does a person normally feel
guilty?
Now you feel bad that oh, you know,
I know I shouldn't have done that.
It's wrong.
You know, Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is watching
me and You know, I need to do
better so a person usually they feel that
guilt they blame themselves and For whatever reason
they might be weak the temptation of the
world, you know the pressure that might be
there We're all human beings.
We all make mistakes But now what happens
if you're constantly faced with this?
I have these values that I'm expected to
live by but my actions are not really
aligned with that You know the feeling of
that guilty feeling.
Is it a good feeling?
Does it feel good to feel guilt and
blame yourself I think we all agree that
it's not the best feeling right?
So you can't always be in that state
so you have to Do something about it
Either you align your actions with your principles
and your belief or you have to forget
about this So, how does that happen?
So a person they'll justify like they'll rationalize.
Okay, you know why it's okay.
Okay I live, you know, it's it's hard.
It's difficult to you know, get up for
Fajr for example So they rationalize that.
Okay, why it can happen or they will
Belittle the sin.
It's not the biggest deal.
It's not a major sin.
I didn't harm somebody, you know I didn't
steal somebody's wealth.
So they will belittle the sin that's there
which makes it seem okay to them that
it's okay to do Or they'll blame External
circumstances.
I only did this because such and such
person did it, you know, so-and-so
did it to me Oh, we live in
a non-muslim country.
It means it's okay to do certain things
like that so they'll blame external circumstances or
a very common one is They will say
Allah Allah is the most forgiving.
He's the most merciful.
It's okay You know, I'll make Toba later
Shaitan comes and deceives a person this way
now what happens?
Okay, so you justify it you figure out
some way that okay I can make an
excuse for myself to do it.
You know somebody else's fault.
They haven't been there for me I can
do it or I just say Allah for
Rahim and go through with it Then eventually
the more a person does that what ends
up happening in?
Their own eyes, it's not a big deal
anymore Once upon a time they'd feel that
guilt because they knew it's not what I'm
supposed to be doing the more they do
it justify it rationalize it winds up happening
is that value drops it's not that important
anymore and The other thing that also happens
is that the heart gets heartache because we
know that for each sin that's committed there's
a black dot that comes there and if
those dots keep forming and forming and forming
then it blocks out the spiritual light that
Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala sends us and Then
if a person keeps on going that way
then they're heading not in the best direction
But when Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala says بَلِ
الْإِنسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرًا That Insan has insight
into himself into herself is that we're supposed
to take this and look into our actions
That are my actions aligned with my principles
the way that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala wants
me to live When somebody criticizes me and
tells me something that hey, you know what?
What you did there was not correct.
What do I do?
How do I take that in like, you
know?
You don't know what you're talking about mind
your own business every man for themselves Or
do I look at it?
Let me revisit that Scenario and see that.
Okay is the person what they're saying?
Does it have any weight?
Let me see how I behave was it
in line with the principles a person can
procrastinate for example You know the whole night
spend they're up playing video games They don't
have an important exam coming up and they
decided two hours before the exam They haven't
slept the whole night They cram and they
study and then they go take the exam
come home and they get the result and
it's like a bad mark No, and then
they might all the teacher hates me they're
racist they're Islamophobics.
They don't like Muslims But taking responsibility is
what that you know what?
Yeah, I messed up.
I Didn't study the way I was supposed
to this was important subject I thought I
could just you know, go through it because
I've done it before I'm gonna take responsibility
and I'm going to correct course I'm gonna
make sure I have a proper studying schedule
the same thing for going out for work
as well.
Something happened Oh, my boss is racist.
Oh, they don't like me and Whatever excuse
there is, okay You know what?
Let me see am I actually putting the
hours that I need to am I actually
performing the way that is expected of me?
Am I I'm trying to get that promotion.
Am I upping my skill set in order
to get that as well and This plays
out across the board That in every area
but an insane or another city, but see
they know about themselves and Do they take
account in for that?
Elemental top had a beautiful statement He said
has evil and fusilladeum couple and to Hassan
that take yourself into account Before you are
taken into account, which means that look at
what you're doing when you go to bed
see your deeds From morning till evening.
Did I live?
According to the way that Allah subhanahu wa'ta
'ala wanted me to do did I make
any mistakes there?
You know, I had opportunities to engage with
people Was I there for them the way
that he expected me to be and a
person is honest with themselves There's a huge
difference between the society we live in and
how they expect us to behave and how
our Dean teaches us to behave So We
always take this self accountability That am I
actually moving the way that Allah subhanahu wa'ta
'ala wants me?
Am I improving even by a little bit
on a regular consistent basis?
Am I taking myself into account am I
saying okay, you know what?
Yeah, I was I was a little bit
slack when it came to praying Fajr.
I woke up pretty late and I barely
caught it The person is honest with us.
Okay, you know, what can I improve?
Maybe I need to go to bed a
little bit earlier Maybe I don't need to
be standing or hanging out so late with
my friends maybe I need to get enough
sleep so that I'm I have the energy
to wake up for Salatul Fajr and Especially
when it comes to Dean related things, you
know people justify for example committing sins.
Oh, you know what?
I'm young.
It's okay temptations are there But it doesn't
matter if we're in 2024 going to 2025
in The in a different part of the
world or even 1400 years ago temptations are
always there Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala told us
Zayna linnasi hubbu shahawati minan nisai wal baneena
wal qanatiril muqantarati minad dhahabi wal fitdati wal
khayli musawwamati wal an'ami wal harth That
beautified for the people are the love of
women of children of wealth of horses all
these kind of things The temptations are always
there.
It's never going to be not there But
our job is to recognize that.
Okay, where are where am I getting tempted
from?
Where are my weaknesses and how can I
correct them?
Because this principle is a very strong principle
when it comes to test here Which is
the purification of the soul itself and test
here is what that you remove the negative
Qualities from yourself that for person looks at
themselves that you know what?
I Get angry pretty easily.
I Am a little bit self-conceited I
Neglect blessings in my life.
All right, so a person is analyzing themselves
and Recognizing that yes, I do have shortcomings
so it's removing those shortcomings, but then at
the same time adorning us with the Beautiful
principles that okay, how can I get rid
of this and then enhance the principles that
is beloved to Allah Azza wa Jal Now,
let's look at it.
What are qualities that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala
loves?
Saber, right.
So how can I build more Saber resilience?
How can I become somebody that no matter
what I'm always going to do the right
thing What are other qualities that Allah subhanahu
wa'ta'ala loves?
Repentance So, how can I become somebody that's
constantly repenting to Allah Azza wa Jal not
necessarily because I've committed a sin per se
But because I know who Allah Azza wa
Jal is and I know my shortcomings in
fulfilling the right that he deserves from me
So what I do is I constantly ask
him to forgive me and the Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam Tuba, that glad tiding to
somebody that who finds in his book plenty
of istighfar And istighfar is something that opens
the doors of provision for us When Nuh
alayhi salam, when people came and they asked,
what do you tell them?
Faqultu istaghfiru rabbakum innahu kana ghaffara Say astaghfirullah,
say I turn to Allah, say I repent
from my sins because Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala
is ghaffar.
Ghaffar, it's Exaggerating.
It doesn't mean he forgives once or twice.
No.
No, he constantly forgives Every time the servant
turns to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala Allah constantly
forgives.
Not only that he sends the rain He
opens the doors.
He gives them children.
He keeps opening the doors for him.
What else?
What other principles do we have that Allah
subhanahu wa'ta'ala loves?
Sisters Siddq, did I hear someone say siddq?
So honesty, being truthful, a quality that Allah
subhanahu wa'ta'ala loves And the Siddiqeen are
the highest level after the Prophets that how
can I bring that even in difficult situations
when Saying a white lie could be very
easy.
How can I speak the truth?
So to bring these things into us and
even balil insanu ala nafsihi basira Qatada, he
said in the tafsir of this verse That
if you want wallahi, and you see somebody
who's preoccupied with the sins of others And
he is ghafil an dhunubihi, he is heedless,
forgetful of his own sins Which means you
see people, their whole purpose in life is
to follow the sins of others To find
mistakes in other people Follow their lives, what
mistakes did this person do, what did they
say that's incorrect And then talk about this
And they forget their own shortcomings, their own
sins, their own mistakes Then know that this
person is deceived That they're being set up
for failure And bakar ibn abdullah al-muzzani,
he said That if you see somebody who
is preoccupied with the sins of others, forgetful
of his own sins Then know that this
person is being planned against But when a
person has that insight and they know their
shortcomings And we're all human beings, we all
have shortcomings, we all have committed mistakes That
stops a person You know what, I have
my own sins to worry about I can't
be worrying about other people's sins I have
to first correct myself And one of the
salaf that used to say That anfa' al
-sidd, the most beneficial truthfulness Is that a
person confesses his sins to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala They know that ya Allah, I
have these shortcomings, I've made these mistakes And
they constantly turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala Asking for his forgiveness The last principle
we'll look at for today is Now this
is a prophetic principle In which the Prophet
ﷺ, he said الدين النصيحة He said it
three times That الدين, the religion is We
translate نصيحة as, how do you translate it?
Advice, right?
That's not the technical meaning over here But
let's just translate like that for now That
the deen is advice And then the sahaba
said قُلْنَا لِمَنْ To who?
He said لِلَّهِ وَلِكِتَابِهِ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِأَئِمَّةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
وَعَامَّتِهِمْ Now the first question is So if
we translate it as advice Okay, let's go
with the general translation And we translate it
as advice Okay, he said to Allah How
do you give advice to Allah?
How do you give advice to his book?
How do you give advice to the Prophet
ﷺ?
So what's the more accurate translation?
Sincerity, Allahu Akbar So the better translation is
That الدين is sincerity And this is a
principle That the entire deen is sincerity Sincerity
in what?
In everything that you do That you do
it with sincerity In the best way possible
And then they ask Okay, to whom?
Because the fact that the Prophet ﷺ is
repeating it three times It shows that it's
important That the entire deen revolves around that
sincerity So he starts and says لِلَّهِ To
Allah ﷻ Now what is sincerity to Allah
ﷻ?
So sincerity in devotion to Allah ﷻ What
else is there?
This principle, you guys are going to explain
it توحيد So signifying Allah only Worshipping Him
alone Not associating any partners with Allah ﷻ
That is definitely sincerity to Him What else
is there?
Taqwa So the observance of His commands The
staying away from His prohibitions What else is
there in sincerity to Allah?
Anyone else?
Okay, so when it comes to sincerity That
a person is trying their best They know
they mess up They turn back to Him
They confess their sins They ask for forgiveness
They make a turn They know their weakness
in front of Allah ﷻ You know, we
say every day In Surah Al-Fatiha إِيَّاكَ
نَعَبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِي That you alone we worship
But in order to do that I need
your help And you alone are the one
that we seek help from That a person
knows that As I'm going through this journey
You know, we live in an age It
was very secular It's all about self, self
-help Which means all about you Trust yourself,
confidence Say the incantation and so on and
so forth And remove Allah from the equation
But for us Muslims, that's not the case
For us, it starts with Allah It ends
with Allah عز و جل That you alone
we worship But in order to fulfill this
role That you have placed us on this
earth for I need your help I need
you, Ya Allah, in my life I cannot
do it except with your help That a
person has that iftiqar How do you translate
iftiqar?
You know, that level of dependance, neediness, brokenness
To completely, Ya Allah I can't do nothing
without you That a person breaks down in
front of Allah عز و جل Admitting their
weakness Submitting to Him Asking Him for any
and everything that they need That true dependance,
reliance upon Allah عز و جل Then you
say, okay, but that's not it Sincerity to
Allah also means goodness to His creation Ihsan
towards His creation Treating people nicely Striving to
benefit people Preventing harm from them That's also
part of being sincere to Allah عز و
جل Because ihsan is two parts It is
your relationship with Allah That you try your
best to worship Him as if you see
Him You might not be able to do
that But you know He's watching you You
know He's watching you And then the other
side of the coin is That you strive
to benefit the people Ihsan ilal khalq We
strive to benefit the people Then comes sincerity
to His book How does that look?
How does sincerity to the book of Allah
سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى look?
All right?
JazakAllah khair Amazing, right?
So to read the Qur'an Now let's
take that and add to that What else
would it be then?
Tadabbur BarakAllahu feek To reflect over the book
of Allah عز و جل That a person
reads it Not just reads it But then
they reflect over it What is Allah سُبْحَانَهُ
وَ تَعَالَى telling them?
What am I learning?
What are the instructions I'm receiving?
How can I implement them in my life?
What else would be in there?
Tajweed So recite it beautifully That's also there
What else is included in that?
Commandments So acting upon it Memorizing it Teaching
to other people It's all part in being
sincere towards the book of Allah عز و
جل Now comes sincerity to His messenger What
does that look like?
Following his example Zakat Allah khair Loving the
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم What else is
there?
Following his example for sure Loving him for
sure What else?
Do we add to that?
Okay so following his example in everything Not
just when it comes to acts of worship
or dressing But even the most important ones
are like interaction between people That when I
do business How did the Prophet صلى الله
عليه وسلم do business?
When I deal with my kids How did
the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم teach me
to do that?
When we deal with spouses How did the
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم set the example?
When I deal with people in my community
What was the example of the Prophet صلى
الله عليه وسلم?
And then comes sincerity to the leaders The
leaders of the Muslims This could be the
rulers This could be the imams of the
community What does sincerity to them look like?
So helping them out If a person is
able to help out And they have the
skill set That maybe the community is lacking
Then that shows sincerity That they come that
You know what?
I can take care of this What can
I do in order to enhance the growth
of the Muslim community?
What else would it look like towards the
rulers?
Okay obey them So if they are just
And they are commanding that which is good
Then we listen to them And we enact
upon that What else is there?
Donating?
Okay so that helps as well To contribute
towards the growth of Islam That to advise
them sincerely That if they are slipping They
need reminders Because all human beings Everyone has
their own shortcomings Everyone has a situation that
they are in Part of sincerity is also
To understand that what people might be going
through And to base your approach on that
That you are not going to go and
talk You are not going to go and
give advice to your parents The way you
would give to your friends Two different situations
here You are not going to give advice
to the leader Of a community or a
country The way that you would go and
address You know somebody who is Like one
of the people within your community It's a
different approach That people have to take into
consideration And part of that is also Advising
them Helping them in their cause If they
forget to remind them But then there is
a way to do that That there is
sincerity to it Now also part of sincerity
is You know we always think When we
use the translation That ad-din is advice
When we think of advice When do you
give advice to somebody?
When they need it?
Okay When they are in a difficult situation?
Okay that's also good There is something else
the sister said Can somebody repeat that?
Hardship?
Okay You give them advice then A lot
of times you know What gets lost in
the understanding Is we give advice to people
When they make mistakes You know when we
see them make mistakes That's when we understand
Okay now I am supposed to go and
give them advice Or give her advice And
tell them that You better smarten up Because
there is a day that's coming And you
are going to be standing In front of
Allah Azzawajal You know we give them advice
In a very harsh way But one thing
we forget Is that sincerity If we look
at the word sincerity Is also to encourage
people That when you see them doing good
Encourage them Tell them you are doing great
That's amazing that Despite the things that's happening
Despite being in North America That you are
able to hang on to your deen Even
when they do good That sincerity comes in
That encourages them Encourage them to do good
Give them that Acknowledgement and validation That's also
part of Naseeha as well And then The
Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam He ends with And
he says To the general Muslims So what
is sincerity when it comes to The general
Muslims So Salaam
Alaikum Could be one of them And a
person Like we talked about right That you
go The definition of Naseeha is That you
know you You take care of your actions
And the things you are saying Because you
want good for that person You want that
person to benefit You want that person You
love for yourself What you love for the
other person That if you see them Straying
off the path You want them to come
back But you address that in a good
way You try to understand What's going on
in their world Because one of the principles
is That if you want to be Influential
in somebody's life They have to feel understood
by you Because a lot of times You
know this is our own minds Oh the
person doesn't get it They don't know what
I'm going through They can't relate to my
situation And it's easy for them To say
what they have to say They're not going
through the temptations And they don't know my
back story So the person has already put
a barrier Between accepting that advice And then
it comes off in a harsh way Oh
no way that's going to happen And one
of the Imams The name is Mis'ar
Ibn Kidab He said May Allah have mercy
upon the one That points out my flaws
To me in private He takes me aside
Gentle manner Mentions this That hey I'm worried
about you I love you for the sake
of Allah Azza wa Jal But this is
not our purpose You know they have good
words Reminding the person The person is more
likely to accept it Rather than Somebody who
does Or gives advice in front of everyone
Points out my flaws in front of people
You know that's going to lead to Me
feeling bad Me feeling embarrassed Me feeling upset
So a person is less likely To accept
that advice So when we have that Sincerity
towards others That we want good for them
We want to encourage them And sometimes we
want to correct them We have to understand
Number one What's this person going through Let
me find out more about them Let me
go and ask them Hey what's going on
I notice that there is a change I
notice you're not coming to the Masjid anymore
Did something happen Can I do something Tell
me Talk to me Let me understand Let's
go for a cup of coffee Help me
understand what's going on And then a person
opens And they feel like Okay this person
is getting me They're understanding me They're not
judging me Because sometimes what happens Is people
You know they look at you And even
though you're not doing it They feel as
if you're judging them Anyone experience that?
That you were talking to somebody And you
felt like So judgy I can just tell
by their eyes That they're judging me Anyone
experience something like that before?
But in reality Maybe they're not judging you
They're just talking to you But even then
We have to understand That people are going
through things To understand their situation Let them
open up to you And then give advice
Or help them come to the conclusion themselves
Because you can preach to somebody And okay
they'll get it But if you help them
realize by themselves It's much more powerful Because
they'll feel like Oh they got it How
do you do that?
You ask them questions Ask them questions What's
going on?
What do you think is going on?
What do you think is going to happen
If you continue this way?
Do you think this Is this how you
would want to live?
Is this you know Would your parents be
proud of you?
Is this what Allah SWT expected?
They're just asking Answering the questions And if
they come to that realization themselves It's much
more powerful When it comes to the transformation
Because they feel like You know we want
to feel like We have the answers So
oh I came up with it The other
person didn't come up with it I'm the
one who came up with the solution So
to end Let's review the three principles What's
number one?
ولا تنسوا الفضل بينكم Don't forget the goodness
that's there Remember the good times Remember everything
this person has done Once again That doesn't
mean You brush things under the table But
what it means is You remember that So
that your heart softens And you deal with
it In a more constructive Beneficial way What's
the second principle We looked at today?
Sincerity was the last principle What's the second
principle?
Okay you said the right statement But not
the principle What's the principle?
سورة القيامة بَلِ الْإِنسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرًا That
Insan He is a witness He knows himself
He knows the excuses he's making Or she's
making And part of that is We take
that And we hold ourselves There's self-accountability
Self-awareness Understanding my shortcomings What are the
situations that gets to me?
What are the temptations I get sucked into?
And then how can I make a plan
In order to move away from that?
So that I can move towards The pleasure
of Allah عز و جل And what's the
final principle?
Sincerity الله أكبر That the entire deen In
every aspect that you mingle in Your relationships
Your relationship with Allah عز و جل His
book The hadith of the Prophet صلى الله
عليه وسلم That there's sincerity there That I
love it I want to single out Allah
سبحانه وتعالى I want to know him Based
on his beautiful names and attributes I reflect
over his book Because I know this is
the kalam The word of Allah سبحانه وتعالى
This is where my salvation lies The best
of mankind was sent for my benefit He
was a mercy sent to me To love
him To learn about his seerah To learn
about his incidents When he was there And
he cried for you and I To want
good for people You know there's Sometimes it
happens People come Oh you know The masjid
is like this And you guys should do
this This this And why is the community
like this It's okay no problem Why don't
you come with a proposal That we can
implement You know how it goes We have
our hands tied There's lots of things going
on And then you never see them again
But part of the Okay that's fine You
want to constructively criticize No problem We welcome
that But come and tell us And how
we can improve But then how are you
Also going to contribute to that If it's
just bash bash bash bash bash And then
see you later Never going to see you
again But if it's okay We can improve
This is how we can do it I
have a strategy Okay let's go How can
we implement it Can you help us in
executing that So all of us Right There's
a principle called synergy Who knows what synergy
means Okay I don't know what this means
Right there's a principle In the book The
seven principles of highly effective people Called synergy
Who knows what synergy means This Put it
into words Pardon me Anyone One plus one
equals three Okay I like that Can somebody
explain it for us Common folk Somebody want
to take at this Synergy Allahu akbar So
the sum of all of us Is greater
than the effort of one of us Which
means Every single person has a role to
play And if we collaborate And we come
together Because I have a skill set Everyone
here has a skill set And not everyone
has to do the same thing Not everyone
has to do the same thing Everyone has
to be the person behind the mic Everyone
has a skill set That can contribute to
the growth Of this community Of this ummah
And when we synergize We put all of
us together As one body Now it makes
sense They put all of us together That
is much more powerful Much more productive Much
more effective Than individual efforts Happening here and
there So Your skill set How can it
benefit That's part of sincerity as well That
how can we improve the situation Of this
community Of this ummah Of the Muslims in
North America May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
Give us goodness May He allow us to
be sincere May He truly make us understand
These principles And live according to them May
He make it easy for us May He
make us be the example Like the Prophet
salallahu alayhi wa sallam Was the walking, talking
example Of the Quran May He give goodness
To our brothers and sisters All across the
world May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Bless
you, give you goodness In this world and
the next Jazakumullahu khayran for coming out I
know it is break time And you came
out And this is once again This is
ni'mah wallahi That it is a blessing That
we thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for
That despite the fact It's Friday night And
you could be doing anything And that you
want But the fact that Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala Allowed us to come to His
home To listen to His words To listen
to the principle Of His Prophet salallahu alayhi
wa sallam This is a blessing A ni'mah
that we thank Allah azza wa jal for
We ask Him to give us goodness in
it To give us more of it Wa
akhiru da'awana Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi
wabarakatuh