Saif Morad – Islam Beyond The Mosque
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AI: Transcript ©
Oh, you who believe, have that of Allah
that mindfulness,
that reverential fear that must be there,
the way that he deserves to be feared.
And do not die except in the state
of submissiveness as Muslims.
O people, O mankind,
have that taqwa of your Lord, the one
who has created you from a single soul.
And from that person He created his spouse,
and from them both He created many men
and women. And have that mindfulness of Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala,
the one from whom you demand
the rights of your kin,
and Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is ever watchful
over everything that you do.
O you who believe, O person of faith,
O the one who has iman,
have that taqwa of Allah
and say that which is true and just
because Allah
will rectify your affairs and will forgive your
sins,
and whomsoever
obeys Allah and His Messenger,
then those are the ones who have achieved
true victory.
And indeed the best
words are the words of Allah
The best guidance is the guidance that the
Prophet
was sent with.
And the worst of matters within our religion
are those newly invented matters that has no
basis because every
newly invented matter
leads to misguidance, and every misguidance eventually leads
to the hellfire.
My dear brothers and sisters,
as you and I
navigate
this life,
and we go through its different
stages and phases and the different roles that
we play within it.
When we go to
school,
when we go to work,
when we hang out with our peers,
the material we consume on social media,
the types of movies and TV shows we
watch, the types of peers that we keep
around us, the conversations that we have on
a daily basis,
the ideas that are taken in,
all these things have an impact.
It is not that it just goes in
one ear, and it comes out the other,
but these experiences, these ideas that we're exposed
to, the things that are happening around us,
it creates a paradigm.
It goes deep into the subconscious, and it
creates a paradigm for us. What that means
is
that it creates a framework,
a set of belief,
values,
actions,
which becomes the lens through which you and
I look at the world through,
How we analyze what's happening.
And the nature of our society
is that it is a secular society.
It views things in a certain perspective. It
wants to separate
religion
from
daily life.
Now this impacts us as well. If we're
not careful, this is definitely going to impact
us as well. And how do secular thinkers
actually look at religion?
To them, religion is a human construct
that
is meant
for certain social or cultural or psychological
psychological functions,
but it is not looked at as divine
truth.
And that makes sense if you look at
all the religions that's there and everyone claims
to for for their religion to be the
truth.
You can see that, okay, maybe it doesn't
really make sense.
But the danger is that the Muslim who
is going through their life
and all these experiences are going into their
subconscious mind, they start looking at their own
religion through these lens,
that my religion is just something that human
construct.
It's meant to serve a cultural,
social,
psychological function,
but it's not the truth. Yes,
Yes. It helps.
And then it becomes restricted, something we do
maybe once a week, maybe once a year,
maybe within
these four walls.
And the very definition of,
of worship gets changed
to something that is ritualistic,
you do it because you wanna deal with
the daily stresses that's there, and you feel
a little bit better, but doesn't really have
an impact on my day to day life.
Now is this the paradigm that Allah
wants us to look at the world through?
Is this what Islam truly is?
And we have to look at the world
through the lens of Islam, through the lens
of Allah
through the Quran and the sunnah.
Because when a person looks to Islam
with the lens of secularism,
how do you think that's going to impact
them?
That this is the lens that they have,
they're looking at Islam, and they say, you
know what, it doesn't really fit this description
of what the world is telling me.
And naturally, they're going to struggle.
But it is meant for us to look
at the world through the lens of Islam.
And when Allah
he says,
that I did not create the ins, the
human beings, and the jinn, except for my
worship,
except to obey me, to understand who I
am, to know me, to love me, and
to live their life in accordance to that.
Now the very same Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
who created us for that purpose, he put
us in a world where you and I
have to go through the different stages.
We gotta grow up. We gotta get educated.
We gotta go work. We gotta get married.
We have to take care of the responsibilities
that comes with it. He never created us
to fulfill this purpose while closing ourselves behind
a door and expect to live that purpose.
So what is exactly the definition
of These scholars of Islam, they say that
means
That the definition of that we have to
understand
is everything that Allah
loves and is pleased with. When it comes
to
the actions
and also when it comes to speech, both
the inward
and the outward,
internal and external.
So, is a kind word
not pleasing to Allah?
Is mastering your craft
not pleasing to Allah?
Is
kindness to your spouse
not pleasing to Allah?
Is taking care of your responsibilities
and fulfilling your contracts
not pleasing to Allah?
Is honesty
justice
not pleasing to Allah
Or have we restricted the definition of ri'ada
to mean
salah
and
and
reading the Quran
and giving
charity
while these are acts of worship,
but the spectrum is broader than that.
And we have to look at Islam through
that lens, which means that everything that you
and I do, that there is no separation
between deen and dunya.
That we're created for this purpose, we understand
this purpose, we come to the masjid, we
come for jum'ah, but then when you leave
these walls, and you go to whatever you're
meant to do after this, whether it's go
back to work, go to school, go hang
out with your family, hang out with your
buddies, whatever you're meant to do, the dunya
is the arena where we apply the teachings
of Islam.
It is where you and I go out
to implement
the teachings and embody that message.
And this is in everything,
from our interactions, to our business dealings, to
the way we display ourselves,
to everything that comes in between, and Allah
tells us in the Quran,
At the end of the day,
you and I go out, and we wanna
struggle, we wanna push ourselves.
At the end, what are we trying to
achieve? Are we not trying to achieve the
American dream, a good life, where I'm comfortable,
my family is comfortable?
Allah is telling us that whoever does the
good actions,
the righteous actions, whether male or female,
while being a believer So there's 2 conditions
that Allah is placing here. Number 1, is
that they have that that belief in Allah
They look at Islam as it is what
it is, divine truth. And they do the
righteous actions.
Righteous actions means
everything that comes in between.
The way that the Prophet
has shown us to do it, with that
intention that is done for the sake of
Allah
What is the guarantee that he's giving?
It is not me that's giving this guarantee.
It is Allah
who is giving this guarantee. He says,
We guarantee them a good life.
They
say, what does this mean?
Contentment,
sweetness of they get to taste the sweetness
of
There is the rizq is good for them,
it's halal for them.
And they
live a good life in terms of their
relationships, their heart is content,
they're pleased with what Allah
puts in their path.
Now is that not what you and I
want in the first place?
Is that not what we're chasing to begin
with?
Allah
is telling us that if we implement these
two things, which means it's not restricted to
something that is just within the masjid, in
our daily lives, in everything that you and
I do, there's that opportunity
for good actions.
When it's done with the intention to earn
the pleasure of Allah
you transform that entire thing into a work,
into an act of worship, and Allah
is guaranteeing for the person that we're going
to bless them with a good life.
And that doesn't mean the Islamic paradigm never
states, that doesn't mean a person is not
going to go through difficulties.
They will go through it. Challenges are going
to happen. They're going to lose their loved
ones. That's part of how Allah
designed this life to be. But,
when they turn to Him, and they rely
upon Him, and they understand how things work,
Allah
gives them the strength to handle those difficulties
and setbacks.
May Allah
give us the ability
to understand what iman is, to live our
life with that iman, and to do the
righteous actions where everything that we do becomes
a means of drawing closer to him.
My dear brothers and sisters,
we're gonna look at a few examples
that how the Prophet
he changed the perspective of the Sahaba. How
the Rudama,
they dealt with problems with the people were
going through, and how they changed their perspective,
which is meant to transform their entire experience.
One day, the prophet
was with his companions,
and they happened to see a young man
come down the mountains,
and this they were taken aback by this
person. Strong,
enthusiastic,
energetic,
and they made a statement and they said
that only if this person
dedicated that energy for the cause of Allah
And they're referring to fighting for the sake
of Allah
So the Prophet
turns them and he tells them,
that means you would only restrict the path
of Allah
to mean fighting for his sake. Now, without
a doubt that is included in it, and
the greatest of it.
But he turns and he tells them that
when a person goes and strives for the
sake of their parents,
they are in
they're in the path of Allah
When a person goes and strives
for the sake of their family,
they are in the path of Allah
When their intention is because they're fulfilling the
command of Allah, and to take care of
these responsibilities,
They are in the path of Allah
But when they go out, and their purpose
is just to accumulate and show off, then
they are in the path of shaytong.
So the Prophet
is changing their perspective,
that it is not just restricted to one
thing. While it might be the greatest thing,
but there's this other intention there as well,
that if a person has, they enter into
the path of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
A man comes to Ibrahim ibn Adham.
Now, this is in the early generation, and
just some context over here,
that at this time, the Muslims are the
superpower.
They are the ones who are setting the
trends.
There is no inferiority
complex that I need to be like somebody
else,
but yet this person is struggling with certain
sins.
And he goes to Ibrahim
and he asked him that, look, I'm going
through these things. I need help. Tell me
something that's going to change this.
So where is he on the change spectrum?
He's somebody who's actively trying to change.
He is making that change, but then he
experiences relapse.
And many of us are probably on that
same spectrum as well, that we wanna change,
we wanna become better, we're trying to change,
we do make a change, but then old
habits come back in. I relapse, I go
back to that sin. I'm unable to really
let let it go.
So he comes asking Ibrahim
ibn Adham for advice.
And I want you to imagine
that you are also presenting your problem to
Ibrahim,
and he's going to coach you in a
way that's going to change how you view
the situation.
So he tells him, okay. You have this
thing. I'm going to put 5 conditions on
you. If you're able to fulfill them, your
sin is not going to harm you, which
means, here's a green card, take it, and
commit this sin as much as you want,
if you can fulfill these 5 conditions.
So if you and I can fulfill these
5 conditions as well,
then we can go and freely commit this
sin as much as we want. He says,
Okay, you know, let's go, let's have this
conversation.
So he tells him, If you want to
commit this sin,
then do not eat from the rizq, from
the provision of Allah
And he's not instructing him, he's having a
dialogue with him. So there's two way communication.
This person has to confront what Ibrahim is
telling him.
So he tells him,
how am I supposed to do that when
everything
in this earth is the provision of Allah
to begin with? And Ibrahim responds and he
tells him,
that you want to disobey Allah
but at the same time you want to
eat from his provision.
He tells him, okay, give me the second
thing. So he tells, okay, you wanna disobey
Allah No problem.
Just when you do it, make sure you
don't live in any of Allah's kingdom.
So he tells him this is even worse
than the first, that how do you expect
me to
eat when everything belongs to Allah, and then
at the same time everything underneath the heavens
and earth belongs to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala,
in the first place.
And he tells him, how do you expect
to succeed when you know that the riz
is from Him, and where you're staying is
His kingdom to begin with? He said, Okay,
you know what? Give me the third one.
Said, Okay, you know what?
Eat from his provision,
live in his kingdom,
commit the sin, but at least do it
in a place where he doesn't see.
Have some shame, some haya, do it somewhere
where he doesn't see.
And he turns to him and he says,
How am I supposed to do that? When
Allah
sees everything. Not only that, he knows the
deepest secrets that I don't even know.
So it tells him now, what do you
expect? How are you expecting to be saved?
He's okay. You know what? No problem. Let's
go to the 4th. That when the Angel
of Death comes, tell him, hold on.
I'm just gonna go quickly, make tawba, do
some righteous actions, turn the affair around, then
come take my soul.
He says, I can't do that. It's not
gonna happen. When it comes, it comes. There's
no choice. I can't do anything. So he
tells him, if you can't even put off
death
to make tawba,
to turn back to Allah
then how do you expect to be saved?
He says, Okay. Now give me the last
thing.
Maybe there's one more chance. That, okay. I
leave this world, there's still a chance. He
says, Okay. When you stand on Yomul Qiyamah,
and the guardians of the hellfire, they come
to take you,
tell them, no thank you.
You guys go, I'm go somewhere else.
Says there's absolutely no way that they're going
to listen to that request. So he tells
them that how do you expect to be
saved, that even on that situation you can't
do anything? And he realizes because he's being
made he's
being made to face the reality of the
situation. Now, while everyone understands this in the
back of their mind, that
Allah is watching me,
but he's bringing this to the forefront, he's
making the face the reality of it, and
the consequences of not doing it, and he
realizes that, you know what?
That it's okay, I'm done.
I turned back to Allah
and I returned to him, and I changed
my life. Now why is this so effective?
Because he's making him confront that. He's not
just instructing him, telling
it. Feel Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, don't you
know any better? But rather he's making him
come to the realization that he already knows,
but the power in that is that he
is the person within himself. This has come
to the forefront. It's not just once that,
okay, you know what? Maybe I can pass
it. But multiple times over, where he's, okay,
you know what? That's it. I have to
do something about this to make it change.
And I'm going to end with the statement
of Ibn Al Qayy
where he said that within the heart there
is this need.
There's a need within our hearts, that the
only thing that is going to fulfill
and block that need,
is the love of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
To know Him, to turn back to Him,
to love Him,
to remember him constantly,
and have that sincerity and devotion to him.
That's the only thing that can fulfill that
need. He said, even if a person has
this dunya and everything within it,
that need will not be fulfilled.
And there's a line of poetry when he
says,
That I don't see happiness as the accumulation
of wealth.
Rather the
the one who implements and knows Allah
that is the person who is happy.
And this striving to accumulate the stakkah of
Allah
is the best provision that a person can
store. And for the one who has this,
with Allah
they have endless bounty waiting for them.
May Allah
make us amongst the people who are truly
the ones who have that taqwa.
And may he facilitate ease for us to
be able to get that taqwa within our
lives. My dear brother and sisters,
as we go and we navigate the challenges
of life, these things are going to happen.
And for somebody to think that I'm the
exception,
yes, it's gonna happen, but that's not me.
That is playing into Shaitan's trap.
That nobody is safe, but
we have the tools and the ability to
change that.
Which we have to be careful that as
we're taking these experiences that we look at
from, okay, is this how Allah wants me
to look at the world? Is this how
the teaching of the Prophet
makes me look at the world? So we
have to constantly remind ourselves about how we
look at this world, and how Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala wants us to do that. And
number 2 is also we have to really
take our religion seriously when it comes to
learning it, so that we make sure we
have the tools that I can distinguish.
No, this is not what it's supposed to
be. Yes. This is how I'm supposed to
be doing things. Because that becomes weapons within
our arsenal, that we have to navigate the
challenges of this life. May Allah
make things easy for us. May He give
us goodness in this world and the next.
May He allow us to understand,
and live according to that. May He allow
us to say this beautiful statement when we
leave this world. May He put
give comfort to our brothers and sisters all
across the world.
Just a quick announcement, the social and welfare
committee is collecting donations
starting today, to help the flood victims in
Bangladesh.
Our brother and sisters all across the world
in Bangladesh, Sudan, Palestine, so on and so
forth, and other countries, you know, they're going
through really difficult time.
May we may Allah give us the strength
to be able to help their cause and
turn the tables around.
Please drain the lines, close any gaps. Make
sure to fill up the rows in front
before starting 1 in the back.
A long.
Welcome
to your Masjid on this lovely day, 30th.
The social and welfare committee is collecting donations
to help flood victims in Bangladesh
with over 6,000,000 people affected losing their homes,
livelihood, and are displaced.
Survivors need help with their immediate basic needs.
Please give generously in the lobby or online
at the IAR website, rali masjid.org.
Join us tonight for family trivia night with
Imam Mohammed Badawi,
tonight after Maghrib.
Registration for the Saturday HIF program will start
September 7th at 10 AM in the 3rd
floor lobby.
We're excited to announce the first ever RISE
MSA Ultimate Leadership Summit
tomorrow
31st, from 1 to 4 PM at NC
State and Talley Student Union.
All college and university MSA leads, board member
I are invited to register via rali masjid.org.
Al Ma'idar, got some new things to try.
Burghol Mujadira is now on the menu and
you can follow it up with some sweet
warbat, also now available.
Stop by today to try it out.
Enjoy this wonderful week.