Sajid Ahmed Umar – Influencers, Mohammed Salah, Self-Evaluation
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Select recommended Rahim al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil aalameen or salat wa salam ala rasulillah Karim Allah Allah He was heavy he advised me bad. salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato. Welcome to the first ever Iran feed podcast with your host should be Hassan hundreds. Is this a different setting hamdulillah to be here behind the microphone for all of our viewers and for our listeners as well. A huge, huge welcome to you all to the first podcast, really, really excited to get this started in sha Allah, we're going to have some really inspirational guests from across the globe, not just local, but from different countries in Sharla whether that be shoe hand, you know different
inspirational speakers or it might even be artists as well creatives from the Muslim scene in Sharla. We're looking forward to it. On this occasion, however, for the first ever one, we have a very, very special guest with us. He has traveled across the world hamdulillah but his journey began here in the UK. He was born here in a place that we as people of Britain called Lester Sharif right. And he moved to Zimbabwe he is now currently based in Riyadh and Hyundai's been studying for many, many years. He's a qualified judge. If you've heard of Institute's such as like alcocer for example, he has a big role to play in places like this. So it gives me the great pleasure for the first ever
interview podcast to welcome our Disha Sajid Amato salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah
wa barakato. Well, thanks
for being here with your handler, thank you so much, first and foremost, for joining us. As you're aware, this is our first ever podcast. So, you know, we have the pleasure of inviting you onto the show for the first level one. It's a great honor, just humbly luck. As we mentioned, your journey started here in the UK. So how long have you been away for now? A long, long time. I was I was born here, but very early on, family.
migrated should we say to Zimbabwe, okay.
My dad loved the sun. Yeah. And since 2003, I moved to Riyadh, and I've been basically ever since. Okay, so you've been away from the UK for a long time, then? A long, long time. But I've been blessed to visit. Yeah. You know, good brothers, like yourself and the families here.
Over the years, several times have 100 left. So it's, even though it's been away for a long time, but we've been in touch.
And do you think things have changed in the UK? I mean, it must have changed. I mean, since you were living here, it no doubt it doesn't snow that much. Firstly, but the whole globe is changing. Right? mobilization. Yeah. Creates creates change everywhere. So I think it's, it's experienced that change that many other countries have experienced as well. Aside of Brexit, but we won't go there. Yeah, let's let's is the first show. So we can't go too deep. But okay, let's go. So in terms of you coming to UK, so how long have you been here now? For example, this time around? It's been a while about two weeks now. Okay. Yeah. I've been traveling all over. We're
trying to ignite communities that benefit humanity. Yes. So this is something actually that I've heard from yourself a lot from videos.
And, you know, I'm very fond of your work, Mashallah. And you do mentioned this a lot that you want to ignite community. So of course, under you've traveled across the world, and you've seen different communities? Let's start off by asking you, in 2018, how many places Did you travel to?
That's really a question which is certainly would require me to think,
to think many of us most kind, you know, almost every month is that there's a few travels. That's how it's been, okay? And grateful to Allah subhanho wa Taala, that, he's affording me the opportunity to try and create this, this vision and spread the knowledge of it. hamdulillah So, so give us a few names. And just just so just so you know, the viewers and the listeners can be enlightened. Have you been to? I've been to the UK several times. Yeah. Along with that there's Australia, there's been countries in southern Africa, countries in the Middle East.
And then this candidate will move westwards just to name a few. Mashallah, and most interesting place that you've that you've been to less luck in not not, you know, throughout the years, but let's say just last year, 2018 I would say Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan? Right. Why is that? It would be you you've it's, you know, you you feel that the communities there in this region.
have reached
perhaps a phase where communities in the UK well we're, you know, we're in the West, we're around, let's say 2008 that sincere zeal to learn that sincere zeal to develop
You know, every program run days is attended by a range of Muslims there and, you know, if you see the emotion in one Muslim you see it spread across the rest in the audience, there's just a sincere zeal and sincere appreciation of learning Islam and feeling on it because of it, you know, developing this, there's diseases
that people have and are searching for information to further grow it. That was interesting for me. I mean, obviously, it's a it's it has its beauty, and every country has all the creation of Allah subhanho wa Taala. But since you put you you know, you put across the question that way, that was definitely a standout. Very interesting, so I've never been to Sri Lanka, sir. Now, now that you've mentioned that maybe it's one of those places that we have to visit in hindsight, most definitely, most definitely. Muslims, the Muslims there for me when you do inshallah, inshallah. So, like you said, You've been in the UK now for some time. So what is it exactly that you do? Each time you
visit, whether it's the UK or different countries, what is it that initially Sajid gets up to during his visits, Al Hamdulillah. So there's several.
There are several opportunities and several objectives. When I do come. Sometimes, the opportunities that bring me here are seminar related, either across half a day, or a day or two days.
You just mentioned like author Institute, so we run double, we run single weekend, seminars that start in the morning, and in the evening, across two days.
Sometimes I come for programs more related to families.
And sometimes for these lecture tours. Right now, I'm, I'm here for a lecture tour. So we've been visiting several masajid, across the UK, from London all the way up to Manchester. And now we're coming back down.
And the aim is just to sort of contribute to that original, our the grassroots that are of using the massage to,
you know, bring people to it, firstly, and we pray together, and then we sort of, we sort of have the opportunity to learn together from the inheritance of Rasulullah, sallAllahu, Alayhi, wasallam. And it's been heartwarming, you know, the attendances have been, have been great. And in terms of the series that we running, I feel that thus far we've achieved the objectives of the lectures given based on feedback from the different massages that we've we've been to, and obviously making it clear to them that a lecture is just the lecture, it means nothing if it's followed by action, a lot of people feel good after the lecture.
But if there's no action, then that good feeling is irrelevant.
That's a very good point, actually. I mean, you I mean, because because you speak so much about igniting communities, you want to see communities that ultimately benefit humanity. Right? So I mean, from your travels, are you seeing, you know, are you seeing a lot of hate in the oma so to speak, in a time in a day and age where now? Things are really like negative? You know, the outlook is quite negative. So So what are you seeing on the ground level? Allah II, there's a lot of, there's a lot of goodness, the millennials, the, you know, the the active, and they sort of taking a lead from the work that was phenomenal from our elders, right. No doubt they didn't have the
knowledge that we find the millennials having today in terms of Islam and its sciences and what he teaches and what he promotes. But our elders did great work. I mean, just take the UK, for example, the amount of massage then dollar looms, and educational institutions that exist that were started up by those who definitely didn't have the knowledge that the new generation has. But we see the new generation following up in different ways in feed, for example, is is
is an example. Right. And there's many similar examples across the different countries. It's not just Islamic efforts being led by graduates from Islamic seminaries, we find people who are doctors who are lawyers who are professionals, they into marketing the interdesign the into different
contemporary spheres, but they're also taking a lead in terms of being in the service of Islam for the sake of Allah subhanho wa Taala. So this here is there. My message
across the different spheres and countries that I go through is the importance of ensuring that we don't fall into a vortex of a lot of movement with but very little progress and this is an
I find in my inner workings with millennials, that they're very active, they have a sincere desire.
But sometimes it's a case of not appreciating the journey that's required to achieve quantum results, right? And the ignition, I'm talking about his quantum ignition, because it stems from Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, as our leader and mentor, and role model, right, that's what he was about the world was in darkness, and he ignited it. Right. And then also his brethren from Zambia, Allah salatu salam, Yusuf Alayhi Salam who was a worthy citizen of every environment that he was in, in his father's home in the well, when he was extracted and stolen basically, in that journey to Egypt. He was a wealthy citizen, when even in the slave market of Egypt, despite the
harms of that market, we see that he was a wealthy citizen were growing up in the minister's palace. He was a wealthy citizen there, when he was locked up in a room with the minister's wife, he was a wealthy citizen there and an important role model there, then even when he was tested with all the women of the city, he was an inspiration at that moment, even in the prison, he was an inspiration. And then they after
helping the king with his dream, and then becoming the minister, himself, and then also how he reconciled matters with his family. We have countless examples. And this is just one profit, we have a heritage of prophets, the brothers of our beloved Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and we see how they happen to the world, they brought quantum progress to the world. And there's no more profits to come. But that legacy, the legacy of prophethood, is now set.
on the shoulders of the oma Mohammed sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, we collectively carried this legacy, right? So if that is the case, then ignition has to be our mandate, and we have to ignite communities that benefit humanity, because this is how we will
be diligent with the responsibility on our shoulders, the world needs us. So when you say, when you say us, does that mean? Like every listener, every viewer? Or what if someone thinks, you know, that's just reserved for the people, the people of knowledge, you know, this, you know, I mean, every I mean, every, everyone who declares Allah as one, and accepts Rasulullah, sallAllahu, Alayhi, wasallam, as the final messenger, they are part of the solution, we collectively carry this legacy, right, we collectively carry this legacy. And, you know, interestingly, you said that, because a lot of the times, especially in the age that we're in with Islamophobia, and all the isms that are being
thrown at our communities,
we see people pointing fingers at the scholars and the diet and the students of knowledge, the propagators of Islam, that where we have a and where's the leadership? And you know, why isn't the hub coming? But the reality is, it's easy to point the finger,
but we must remember the three fingers pointing back. And it's for every Muslim to ask themselves, that, am I doing my part to carry this legacy? Because if I opt out, then the weight of the legacy only becomes heavy on the few that I've opted in. That's the reality. So we got to ask ourselves that, you know, in mice within my sphere of influence, am I helping the scholars and the propagators? And the students of knowledge? Or am I living my life in a way that's, that's making the weight heavier upon them? So no doubt we collectively carry this legacy. We are interdependent beings. And that is what Allah said, that this nation is the best of all nations. Yeah, and the
nation is not includes the clergy. And it includes the latest clued in includes, you know, the realm of scholarship and the Masters as well.
I mean, in that verse, which you've you've quoted quite a few times in sort of at Enron, isn't it?
How we called you know, the best of nations? But then how important do you think in the verse also how it says that we've been produced for mankind, and not for Muslims, for example, or not just for a particular, you know, group? How important do you think is that part in the verse as well? For us? It's, it's, it's, it's absolutely important. And that's what the vision says ignited communities that benefit humanity. That's why bear vision stems from that area.
You know, the bottom line is there's no title void of responsibility. And if Allah says, You are the best of all nations, then you have to very quickly ask yourself why, yeah, it can't be seen as as simple as just being born after the advent of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, there has to be a fundamental reason why you are carrying this title. Because in life, there's no title void of responsibility. You know, you have a line manager. And above him, we have the CEO
As the title gets bigger, the responsibility between them also is different, right? And then you go up to the CEO, you see the same thing. There's a difference in title, but also a vast difference in responsibility. Same thing with with education, you have a teacher and you have a head teacher, and you have a principal between these titles. There's a distance and also there's a distance between the responsibilities that these these titles carry. Yeah. So Allah calls us the best for a reason. And in this very same idea that you're referring to Quantum hydrometallurgical. Exactly NASA and the first quarter of the of the fourth Jews.
As Allah says, you the best of nations, he tells us why.
So the answer is in the same verse, in the very same, it doesn't separate it. And what is the answer? For those who are wondering, for those who are wondering, it's, it's clearly because we collectively now carry the legacy of the obeah, Alamo. Salatu was salam, we are invited towards good and promoters of virtue, we are barriers in front of the spread of evil, right, we are advocates against evil. And we believe in Allah subhanho wa Taala. These are the three fundamental reasons and it was for these funds of these three responsibilities, that the best of individuals will then be Anima Salatu, salam, they carried this responsibility by themselves. But after Muhammad sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam, there's no profit, there is no
further revelation, but mankind continues to exist. Chevron continues to exist, desires and whims and fancies continue to exist. So what happens to the people? What happens to humanity? The oma Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wasallam happens to them. So it's fundamentally important for the soldiers of the globe, that the Muslims play their role as Muslims.
So we're talking about here enjoining goods, so you have a little bit maruf and then you have Nahanni Mancha, right?
So like, so is that, is that a role for everyone? So is there a role for all of the Muslims?
And are there levels to this, and I'm going to get to my point shortly, I just wanna, I just want you to answer this because we're gonna we're gonna bring it bring the discussion into social media. Excellent. I mean, look, if we say we are interdependent beings, and we collectively carry this legacy, then we absolutely saying that these three responsibilities are for every Muslim, but within their capacity, and there are rules and regulations regarding how to be diligent with these three matters, and Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam spread this knowledge. And in terms of knowledge, yes,
this knowledge that it's enough for scholarship, to know for Islamic scholars to to know that knowledge, and if the community needs it, then they have a reference point for it. But we also know that there is knowledge in Islam that is compulsory upon every Muslim to know there's no excuse for not knowing it. Right. And if this is our reality, as beings as members of the of the oma Hamad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and carriers of the title of the best of all nations, then we need to be seeking out that.
That knowledge,
the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, ballyhoo and neolo I teach someone, something from me, even if it's an IRA, we don't belittle any good teaching, we always
do something and leave something for the sake of Allah, Almighty Allah. And so we never look at the size of what's being done, what's being left, we look at the reality of the being that it's being done or left for, right. And then also Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam taught us that this concept of our and inviting towards good and forbidding evil. It happens in stages, depending on circumstance. Sometimes it's done with inaction, because we have the ability to sometimes it's done in dialogue, because that's the only opportunity and option available to us. And sometimes the situation is so dire, that it's done with our heart. So it's always being done right.
To the Muslims who say we don't know, or we can't, necessarily we don't know we recognize wrong, but we can't do that. We can't assist the situation with our hand and our tongue. I say to them, but what about your heart? Have you become desensitized? to that which is sinful? Have you become desensitized to suffering? That you know you see it and it doesn't even prick your heart that you don't feel the need to raise your hands and ask for from Allah subhanho wa Taala his assistance and help right so in the least you can you can observe the hour with your heart and if the Muslims in their masters were sincerely making dua to Allah subhanho wa Taala and asking from Allah subhanho wa
Taala no doubt, our situation would be better. And through the different travels and speaking to different communities about the reality that I'm sharing. Now, many people put up their hands and say, You know what, you absolutely you're absolutely right. We don't even make do out
about these things, in fact, we were so desensitized to it, we've stopped even seeing it as an issue. Wow.
Yeah, that's a very good point. I mean, yeah, I guess that's that, you know, like, like it says in the Hadith, that there's a low level, right? You know, the at least the minimum you can do is make dua and I guess the collective effort of everyone making
that would have made a difference. You're right, in that sense and SubhanAllah. From your travels, I know, you've spoken to different communities as well, and they would have mentioned these points.
But coming back, and coming back to the point of what we're saying about, you know, roads being exclusive to certain people or not others. So what would your advice be to those people who they have, they have sincere intentions, you know, they want to enjoy the good and they want to forbid the evil, but sometimes they they might be stepping out of their zone, they might be now walking into territory or territory, which is reserved maybe for people have knowledge now they don't have the qualifications. It's It's so amazing that you've you asked this because I've been discussing this with
senior scholars in the UK during this trip that look, we got to also appreciate the time that we live in, and that it's so dynamic that our reach our ability to reach certain elements of society can only be through artists, for example, through sports personalities, for example, through
millennials, who are qualified in different fields, different contemporary sciences and specializations, but they do have the they have a better reach to sectors to segments and sectors of society that we don't have the picture. So what we need to do is collaborate. We need to say that, look, you guys work within these fears, but they should be collaboration, they should be protocol, that, you know, at least we can have an association with these movers and shakers, right. And then they go about the way during the moving and shaking. But it's done in a way that brings about the net result at the end of the day has to be Muslim hat because that's what Islam came for Islam came
to bring about benefit and make it abundant and it came to reduce harmony eradicated. Right? So
and Allah says what are our new eligibility what taqwa collectively work together upon goodness upon piety, and taqwa, right? So, you mentioned the fundamental point. And this, more discussions need to happen about this that Look, guys, we need to appreciate that we live in unique times and appreciate that will hamdulillah we have millennials with great desire and great abilities such as desire, they, they are in the spaces,
they do have a rapport with segments of the society that scholarship has no access to, let's work together to try and achieve the goals that we that we all want to achieve. At the end of the day, we're not calling to, to a color without calling to a logo, we're not calling to a name, we're calling to Islam. It's about brand Islam. Right. And if we can, if we can have that understanding, that will hamdulillah that's the foot in the door in terms of us working together. And I will share this example that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, when he was stoned in five and was given the option
to
to take revenge basically, right that, look this, this is what they've done. And this is the option that Allah has, has has opened up for you, you know, the angels of the mountains are ready to move these mountains together and crush everyone in between. and he says no, they don't understand perhaps their progeny will, right, if we crush them, we're not leaving the door open. We're not calling to brand Muhammad. We're calling to brand Islam. It's not about brushing my ego or how I feel it's about achieving the objective. Right. And,
you know, if we, if the movers and shakers
have a vision, and that vision is to create this world of ignited communities that benefit humanity, and this vision is shared by scholarship, then of course, together we should have that collaboration. And through that collaboration will achieve great things.
nicely, you put it there and there are there are a lot of there are a lot of people out there especially for example, sports personalities, right. You're a Liverpool fan I've heard
so you have for example, you have for example, masala, right. So he's creating waves everyone speaking about him. I was just just before the podcast we were talking about our Brother Mohammed and how he did his articles now. Yeah, in terms of how he has changed perceptions. With regards to the non Muslims and the local massage at Liverpool.
And locally mums have informed me in Liverpool, you know about the visits they get from non Muslims.
Now to the masjid really, this is not something they would. This is not something that they moms were accustomed to before
the most Salah train Muhammad Salah Allah preserve him in his obedience, I mean, before the train came along, so what he has done, scholarship probably would not achieve in decades, Allah knows best, right in the space of one season one Premier League season has changed the perceptions of Islam and the Muslim people asking about Salah during Ramadan, they were asking about Ramadan and asking about fasting, I think the Champions League Final happened in Ramadan. So these are the these are tools that Allah subhanho wa Taala is opening for the oma and
you know, as I said, Allah preserve him in his obedience, and he continues to be a tool of guidance and englischen I believe he has inspired people to sort of come closer to their to their faith and showcase their skills without having to have an inferiority complex because they're in a particular space as a Muslim. I think he's brought that he's brought up that honor.
In that perspective. Yeah. So we've I mean, we've spoken about, like, the lowest level, you know, just at least in your heart thinking, thinking that something is bad, or you know, or at least making dua, and now we're speaking about, you know, someone who has that platform now. So that that basically proves us that everyone does have a road, right? Every single Muslim has a role because sometimes other people might get frustrated, you know, I don't have a certain following. I don't I don't influence people enough. So what is it that I can really do? You know, so So what would your message be for, let's say, the average Muslim out there just going to coming back as a family. But
you know, for them, they think what, really what hate Can I bring to the oma, you know what, it's not about followship. And this is from the ills of our time, you know, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he tells us about the day of gamma and he there will be some prophets with no following setup of followship. Right? It's about value creation. It's about creating value, set about creating profit, it's about creating value, set about creating followship is about creating value. Right? At the end of the day, it's about you living true to the testimony of faith that you announced it's about walking the talk Allah says in the Medina call or a boon Allah to muster calm, and that you
said your Lord was Allah Allah you walk the talk, you acted like you know those Allah, you thought like your Lord was Allah, you spoke like, you know, those Allah, you had mannerisms like you know, those Allah, that is value creation, right? There is beautifying yourself. And if you beautify yourself and move on Earth, then beautification, or, you know,
you'd naturally be gentle, and gentleness was not added to anything except that it beautified it, right? So if you were a gentle human being, because if you follow Islam and you practices rules and regulations, by default, you would be that person, and then you moved on Earth, you'd be adding beauty to Earth. Right? So and that's on a simplistic level, that's just you looking after yourself. But as human beings you know, we imitative by nature we influenced by our environments, you being who you are, will naturally have
an effect on those around you. So, you know, you don't need a Facebook like to know you're creating value. But just being who you are,
would naturally create value. There are people we have influenced and we don't know that we've influenced them. They are they are people who it's just about leaving good plant seeds of good you know, they talk about even in the winter, yeah, plant the seeds because it's in the summer that with with some sunshine, it will that seed will grow and turn into a rose. And we say now it's winter, forget about just be good plan goodness, speak a goodly word as Allah subhanho wa Taala tells us to do so I think I think sometimes we conflate it. And this is what makes us feel like we de capacitated we've sort of hyperventilate that, you know, I don't have the following I don't have
this, there's always this external look when it comes to
it comes to achievement, it's all about the show the personality. With little we focus very little on character, focus on character achievements also in the character, it doesn't mean that it's not recognized that it's not an achievement, right? And if you live in for the sake of Allah, then you know, it's recognized. That's, that's, that's a that's a default reality. That's a real reality that no one can spin or take away from you. Right? So if you sincere with Allah, and you live your life to create value, then indeed, you are being true to the legacy of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam and making a difference. It's not about whether you recognize the difference now or not.
It's about recognizing on the day of PM, that you meet Allah subhanho wa Taala. And you see deeds and you say, Allah, whose deeds are these? And Allah will tell you that you know that they you did that so and so was inspired. So they change their life and every good deed that they did, we gave you a portion of it. The other day, you did that. And so and so it was inspired, and because of that they did good deeds, and we rewarded you a portion of those rewards as well, because you are a means of the change. Right? So and that's what this call is before us used to say that if you can't do good, don't create,
leave it at a base level, right? Because at the end of and what does that teach us? That if you are a person, and sometimes we live in these ages, and this is a discussion goes up in scholarship, that sometimes you know what a win is not moving from minus 12 to minus 13. It's minus. But we didn't make it worse. That's in some, in some circumstances, that's a win. Right? So you didn't move from minus 12 to minus 11? Minus two minus 11. And then you'd you'd sit down and sort of become sad that what's the point? I haven't created benefit, but the benefit you created was that you stopped it going to minus 13. That is benefit.
It's all about perspective, right? Yeah. So is that is that your definition of legacy? What would your definition of legacy be?
legacy is differ from person to person. And,
you know, some people leave a legacy of education, some people leave a legacy of action. Some people leave a legacy of entrepreneurship, legacies can differ, right? But it's about
it, you know, it's not about just the legacy, it's what value did the legacy create, and a lot of the times we call something a legacy when we appreciate its value, right? So there's many routes to Gen. Right? You can leave as many. I mean, you can choose a you know, your route to gender and leave a legacy as a result of it.
The bottom line has to be us being Jenna centric, if I can, if I can say that, in our approach, that we boo Jana, with every breath that we take with the waking of every day and the steeping of every evening become agenda building entity be on earth in a way that your agenda feels you because of La ilaha illa Allah, there's a connection between us and our agenda, it can't only be that our agenda feels as when we first Ramadan, or when we, you know, go to the masjid for Salah, or when we give charity, or when we when we when we do that our for example, you know, we can't restrict our ability to build Gen nine during those acts, which are acts of worship in and of themselves. Right?
We got to appreciate it, we got to understand that through La ilaha illa Allah we have the ability to, to to have, we have the ability to convert our norms into embed into worship. And if we do so, then we've converted our norms into agenda building exercise, right? And that's as that's value, you know, just during this tour My message to the different communities, you know, was why do you go to the gym to lose weight? Why do you go to Why do you go to university for a degree? Why do you work to put food on the table? You know, that's what those who don't believe in Allah do. And that is a result of what you do anyway, if you go to the gym, and you diligent, you're going to you're going
to get fitter, you're going to lose weight, that's a result. Why are you making results, your purpose, right, make Allah subhanho wa Taala your purpose. It's not going to take away anything from that which you have to do, you still going to go University, the same hours, you're going to work the same hours, you go to the gym the same hours, but the difference is if you make Allah your purpose, you get fit at the gym and you build gender this at the same time. If you go to university, you get a degree and you build Gen at the same time. If you go to work, you get your salary at the end of the month and you will gender at the same time that is bringing value having a gender centric
approach to life.
Okay, so anyone can can get reward for like just day to day things. Is that what you're trying to say? Of course, absolutely. Absolutely. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told the Sahaba that and they told the Sahaba even in these things we can we can build gender, he says, Well, if you did it the wrong way. What would you get? You get sins. Right? As those are norms of life which if you do it incorrectly, you sinful and there's a punishment as a result, if you do it the right way you build gender it's about making Allah your purpose become gender centric and that's that's the legacy I'm trying to create and and leave with the oma that you know if I can be remembered it will
be remembered as as the guy who wanted to ignite communities and benefit humanity and that's what he was an advocate for and that's what he and that's what he spread that the oma you know
They have a podium, a podium of excellence that Allah gave to them. It's a god given podium, no one can take it away. This is the power of La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rasul Allah, right? I sincerely just want the oma to assume their podium of excellence, the podium has been given, it's up to us to assume it, right? And we got to do what we have to do. That part Allah subhanho wa Taala has left upon us.
Let's get some practical tips now for for for for Muslims, be in the west or anywhere around the world. We want some practical tips for them to really become you know, gender centric, as you nicely put it, and for them to create an add that value and to leave behind their own legacy. This is a massive
topic, really. And it I teach this over workshop spending several hours and we never do justice to it. But you know,
I meant to many of the youth hamdulillah with Fatherland, Allah, Allah subhanho wa sallam and there's a couple of things I try and implement with them very early on, number one, the importance of cave days.
Alright.
What I meant by gave these thinking days, and thinking base, okay, I call it cave days, because caves have a relationship with guidance in our history. Yeah, if you look at the sort of, to care for whole surah, named after the cave, and it was a means of protection of the guidance of the people who went in there. If we look at the Quran, it was revealed in a cave, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was in a cave to get away from the, you know, the noise of chaos, right and try and understand how he should worship Allah and be guided and ultimate guidance came to him there. If we look at the migration of guidance, the heater,
it also has a cave, the cave is what has, you know, it's a symbol of it has a symbolical association with guidance. So I call it a cave there. But I mean by thinking base, that, you know, we need to have regular days in our month. And as we get better with it than every quarter, at least, whereby we sit down, we suffer from technology, which are from the internet switcher from the noise of society, and go have a meeting with ourselves. Right? And really ask ourselves get get to grips with where we are and where we want to go and how well we're doing in getting there. Some people think they're great parents, but are they? They think the great children, but are they they think they're
great employees and employers, are they When did you sit down and take yourself to account the concept of Mahabharata taking accountability? Has he born full circle vocabulary to has to take accountability of yourself before it's before it's done for you as unbelievable hubbub, robiola, one said, and then what I asked him to do is to sort of get a big board in total solitude and split it into two parts. One part, they should list their mandatory roles in life, those roles that you can never, ever give up no matter what, like being a Muslim, like being a son, if you if you, right, like being a daughter, or being a parent, being an employee,
you being a Muslim, you can't detach yourself from that role, right? listed all down. And then on the other section, lists your elective roles. Alright, so those are roles that you sometimes as humans, sometimes detach yourself from, like the job that you have, the place that you volunteer, be the organization that you volunteer with, and so on and so forth. The next step then, is to think hard about your dreams about these roles. What will make you proud? Tom said you're a father. And this is your description as a father, you know, would you be proud of that description? Yes or no? No paper write down for us. Write Write, write down for yourself. What is your dream? Father
description? What is your dream parent description? What is your dream child description? What is your dream? Relative description? What is your dream description as a Muslim? That that's the vision. And when you die, and you think of yourself as a Muslim, you and you at that level up, you'll be proud to say 100. Right? When you passing away and you look at your family and think of yourself as a father or as a mother, right? What would make you proud at that moment, when you did when you look back at your time being a parent, and the same applies to all our roles, right? Understand that? Then ask yourself a simple question. This is my ideal. Where am I from my ideal run
a gap analysis we call the gap analysis, right? That this is my ideal. My ideal is up here. And this is where I'm I'm all the way down here. So why is there a gap between me Firstly, I need to identify the gap. So the gap analysis helps you achieve that. Then the next step in your thinking day is to have this root cause analysis where you ask yourself why is there
This gap between me and my ideal, right? Why is it this gap? Maybe I'm giving too much time to an elective role, like my work over mandate mandatary? Or like being a parent, maybe I need a course. Right at this this gap, because there's certain things I need to know that I don't know. Okay, so I need a course, root cause analysis, figure it out. And then finally, a solutions analysis, whereby now, you figure out what you need to do to the course, you know, change your work times change your job, right? These are the solutions analysis, put these into effect. And then at your next day, okay, today, you can now analyze if that gaps, you know, becoming smaller, or is it getting bigger,
or it's still the same and then run the same analysis, ask yourself why. So this is one of the things I the practical steps that I've ever I run with, with some of the youth that I mentor. The other thing that I tell them to do is to develop a board of directors. Now, why do I do this, because my approach with them is that they should treat themselves as a project. And they should call themselves project you.
Right? project you. Once you do that, now you need a board of directors, cuz every project does need that. And he needs those thinking days, because every project has a days where you sit down and you, you you draft out the DNA of the project and how it's going to be rolled out. So you got to have a board of directors, somebody who you trust with halal and haram. You know, he sincerely wants your success. And you will call him and he will be sincere in his fatwa, someone who you trust with your Eman, he might be having a low moment. He says, you know, this person sincerely wants my success, and you will call him and he will attend to you and He will help you in that matter. Right? Someone
who used him say someone who you add another person into the board, who's good with his shoulder, he has wisdom is a person of experience. And you know that he sincerely wants my success when I'm making big decisions. I need to speak to him.
Why do we need the board of directors, because if you if you are judging jury of your own life's progress and success, then that's a conflict of interest. And we know where conflict of interest stands, especially in the century that we are in. So these are two practical steps that I I try and implement to ignite individuals so that they become beneficial to the communities. Very, very, very practical steps. And I guess the second one in particular, seeking that advice and counsel, this is something of course that our religion promotes, you know, this concept of Sure.
You know, which leads to consultation. Yeah, mutual consultation. Exactly. I mean, this is actually something that even when you go to even a non Muslim workplace, for example, there's something that they always advising people to do that get advice from other people seek counsel get that second opinion. Of course, there's also this big thing called in the corporate world known as peer to peer learning, and so on and so forth. It's all there. But Islam came with it first. We might, you know, prove the terminologies from from different sciences today. But if we dig deep, really, this was from the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wasallam. This is from the Sahaba. This was from the first three
generations of Islam.
Very good, very interesting. Social media.
A lot of people they they turn to social media to get that opinion, or to seek validation. Is that the correct way of going about things? You know, what, I've been having discussions about the same point with many of our UK scholarship and scholars during this trip as well, yeah, because there is benefit in the internet. But there's also there's rules of engagement that the Sharia sets in play. In terms of scholars with congregations.
There's something in fact known as jurisdiction of fatwa, as I like to call it where it's a fatwa specific to a time and a space. It's one for another
scholar to comment in. And Islam also teaches us that local congregation meaning the local Imam has a greater right to his congregation than a foreign a foreign. Mm, yeah. One of the issues with social media is it's borderless.
So being borderless, borderless, it's difficult to censor congregations, from the views of other scholars in different places, especially when those views are not necessarily a hokum, charity or an Islamic ruling but rather a fatwa, which is an application of the Islamic ruling and there's a difference between the two. Because a fatwa is something that is applied based on space and time because the Sherry permits this application given the sensitivities of a particular community right. Now, if that is the case, and then that fatwa is transferred via social media to followers of their local exams,
then there is a reason or a possibility of harm being caused. In fact, we sit I've spoken
To some local imams who say we actually have a situation where our local communities are losing respect for us that every time we teach them we accused of being backwards and then they throw out the fatwa or statement or Facebook post or social media posts of
so and so who has a background with Islamic seminaries and study in a from another country in another place? So that now our situation is getting more difficult? Yeah, right. This, this, this, this is something that, you know, has been admitted in my discussions with some of the local imams. Also, you know, your local Imam, he's the one who, who sweats blood and tears for the progress of the company, he's dealing with the issues on the ground, he definitely has a greater eye to you. And he is going to draft the vision, that this is how I gotta go about ensuring that I can, I can progress the community because of these particular issues. If there's interference,
the image is going to fail, and ultimately, the community is going to fail. Now, I'm not saying the local local exams are perfect that there's no room for improvement. There's definitely room for improvement. But remember, I said earlier, Islam came to bring benefits and make it abundant. Right? If we're going to apply our Islam in a way that reduces benefit and creates harm, then clearly we're doing something wrong. Right? We're doing that our but there we have a local Imam saying that this da is actually causing my congregation
greater problems without them realizing it. And this is definitely not what this is definitely not something that Islam promotes. Now, one of perhaps this will be your next question is what's the way forward? Right? Because this is something that I've that I've been asking, I think, you know,
when we can normally censor people to information that ages past, right?
So we should not focus there, we need to focus on the hearts receiving, there's always two entities, right? In this you have, you have the sender and you have the receiver. If we can manage things with regards to the sender, then let's help the receiver let's now start educating communities on how to manage the Islamic affairs in the age of social media in the age of all sorts of information that has no censorship that you don't even have to look for it will reach you, right. We need to train communities with the rules or regulations in terms of how to deal with that. Our parents didn't need to know this. We need, right, I think we need to redefine the borders of knowledge which fills which
which sort of falls under the federal drain realm, and knowledge that falls under different key firewall. What I mean by this funnel drain refers to knowledge that every Muslim has to know. Right. And for buki via knowledge, which not every Muslim has to know, it's enough for Islamic scholarship to know we need to redefine those borders, because there's definitely things that our parents didn't need to know that it's compulsory for Muslims today to know, for people living in this age now, given the change of the world, right. So our parents didn't need to know about how you know how to manage themselves with regards to foreign fatawa, and so on and so forth. Because that wasn't an
issue in their time. We have this issue now. So we need to, we need to go on and on on an offensive educating communities that look, you can read that stuff. But these are the rules or regulation in terms of how you view that stuff, how you think about that stuff, right? These are the rules of engagement in terms of foreign scholarship and local scholarship. Because from an Islamic perspective,
Islam teaches us that foreign scholarship should always compliment local scholarship, not interfere with it.
Hello, we are we're running out of time the discussion was getting really interesting. I have have one final question for you. Just to bring the discussion back to where we started.
How can the Muslims nowadays those who are listening, how can we be positive? in you know, as we mentioned, it is quite it's looking bleak for us. Right?
From from one side of things, but how can we be positive
barakallahu Li, you can be positive by just being positive. Right? You know what, don't look at obstacles as obstacles, try and see them as opportunities. The bottom line is
every matter the world brings to us is a chance for us to build. There is an opportunity or an obstacle. It's only an obstacle if you failed to build Jana, in that circumstances situation, right. So even right now, we talked about the whole concept of foreign scholarship, local scholarship, we spoke about Islamophobia, etc, etc, etc. I've always As you've seen, we tried to address it as an opportunity to do more. Yeah, right. Also remember, it is not from our faith to be despondent. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam can Are you as as as we are taught he used to he used to love optimism. He was optimistic, no matter what he he always had the smaller number of people in in the
army but he was optimistic. It's not about you know, numbers.
It's about value. It's about quality, not quantity, it's about character, not personality. So be positive. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us that if you see the day of glamour coming, you see it happening. And in your hand is a is a seedling before PMO consumes you plant it, to all those opens it, what's the point of planting? It is no point they always come planted, and you will see it on your scales with Allah subhanho wa Taala. And so how should we be positive? By being positive? Be positive? You You believe in Allah Subhana who has that you have the rulebook in terms of how to how to be with your Lord. It's not that we just know Allah, we now have we also have the
ability to live on Earth, how he wants us to live on Earth. There should be no reason to be despondent when you have this reality alone. Every other thing is a matter of life. We are not in Jannah we are in the dunya is not a perpetual places a temporary place. There's nothing certain in life besides death. That's the reality. Everything comes and it goes you sometimes healthy you sometimes Ill you sometimes happy you sometimes sad but sadness won't last forever. Happiness won't last forever. It's about you know, just understanding where you are, and finding the opportunity to boo Jana no matter what circumstance you are in. I don't want to sound like a fortune cookie just
throwing out sound bites, right? I know in practice, it's hard for some people it's harder.
But then that's the that's the fun part of life. It's about the stick karma right is the karma is about applying yourself pushing yourself that's what we're here for. apply yourself to the point that you can find the agenda building opportunity in whatever you in, because will lie he will be lazy. What a lie. I swear by Allah building Jenna doesn't keep anyone despondent, it only makes us happy and makes us motivated. Maybe not. I think that's a very good end because I'm feeling positive now. And hopefully our viewers and our listeners are also feeling positive and ready to inshallah become more gender centric, and ready to inshallah leave behind their own legacy. She excited it's
been an absolute honor. Like we said, this is this is our first podcast will be on feed hamdulillah and to have yourself on the show, his face has been amazing. And you've shared gems, with myself and all of us who are listening, which I think is really going to benefit inshallah, but like you said it right at the beginning is it's not about just listening to a lecture, right? It's about the action from knowing to growing. Yeah, you know, and just just just before we sign off, I also want to say it's been an absolute honor, being with you all, an absolute honor. And I say that sincerely. And I make dua for your your progress, the progress of, of infeed and ask Allah to grant your
steadfastness and
ask Allah subhanho wa Taala to inspire the future of inflicting
pain and share Thank you so much, and all the best for the rest of your travels. And they hope to have you back here very soon in sha Allah, May Allah give us many times in this life and in alpha dose in the hereafter. I mean, I mean, thank you so much, and to of course, all of our viewers and listeners. We hope you enjoyed in Sharla and benefited from the first ever podcast and there's many, many more to come with different speakers in Sharla. So keep us in your doors and Sharla make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel feed in Sharla and we're all over social media so make sure that you follow us to keep up to date with future episodes more coming very soon. This year in
Sharla. From myself Shabir your host from chef Sajid and the V team. We'll see you next time Sharla Salaam Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh