Sami Hamdi – Living the Seerah Tarbiya Through Resilience
AI: Summary ©
The importance of acceptance of Islam and not reciting the Quran is emphasized in the United States, where the success of Islam is emphasized. The speakers emphasize the need for people to be strong against Islam and the importance of acceptance of reality in one's life. political and political scenarios are discussed, including the need for someone to punish for their actions and the importance of staying true to one's values. The conversation ends with a brief advertisement for a clothing show and a warning about the upcoming election.
AI: Summary ©
Company. He advises government institutions, global companies and
NGOs on the geopolitical dynamics of Europe and the MENA region, and
has significant expertise and invite in advising on commercial
issues related to volatile political environments and their
implications on the market entry, market expansion and management of
stakeholders. Sammy is a frequent guest on Al Jazeera, Arabic and
English, Sky News, BBC, TRT world and other outlets.
Brother Sammy,
okay, I think he's finishing a prayer. He'll be here soon.
And then I wanted to invite one of our guest hosts tonight,
sister ismahan Abdullahi. Sister ismahan has received her
bachelor's degree in Human Biology from UCSD and her master's in
education and counseling with trauma informed care at SDSU. She
is a human and civil rights advocate who is relentless and
working for justice. Her experiences as a Somali refugee
have shaped her to politically advocate for for and for humanity
and work on numerous key issues, including refugee and immigrant
issues, racial justice and political and civic engagement.
She is the Muslim American society public affairs and civic
engagement director, national director, and she has served as a
leader and as a board member for multiple local, statewide and
national spaces, including the United States Council of Muslim
organizations.
So she'll be joining us here today, and brother Sammy, and it's
going to be kind of like a conversation here today.
Inshallah, the plan is that we're going to continue till 730 when we
will have the Isha Salah at 730 and then after the Isha, we will
continue with the program until about maybe eight to 815 and
during the last portion, we'll have some Q and A as well. So
Sister smahan, if you can join us, and Brother Sammy should be Coming
here momentarily. Inshallah, You
All right, salaam, Alaikum,
Abu as
welcoming brother Sammy to the front. This is a really good
opportunity for us to also make sure that we're renewing our
intentions. Inshallah, and then we'll go ahead and Get Started.
You
all right,
Osan, I both of them,
one for Homeland Security,
one for FBI. I
stop.
The British jokes are landings.
They're landing somewhere.
All right, let's go ahead and get started for joining
and just for the community, for being here on a Wednesday night as
well. Alhamdulillah. So we want to kind of get right into it
Inshallah, especially given the atrocities that we've been
witnessing Subhanallah in ghaza, in Philistine. And we want to
really take this opportunity to hear from Brother Sammy, and kind
of get grounded, especially looking back at the state of the
Prophet alayhi salatu wasalam in it are lessons for us to really
apply it in our current life right now. And so I'm just going to kick
start it. And I know brother Sammy in regards to time, from what I
hear in OC area, time is irrelevant, right? So folks can
stay here for as long as they need to to get the gems that they need
to. And Inshallah, our names will be mentioned to Allah subhanahu
wa, the angels that surround us as we remember Allah subhanahu wa, as
we remember the Sira and reflect upon the seer of the Prophet,
alayhi, salatu wasalam, and apply it into our current lives,
witnessing a horrible, horrible genocide occurring in Palestine,
occurring in a and, of course, elsewhere as well, in Sudan, the
atrocities that are happening to our Ummah across the board. And so
we'll go ahead and kick start this, brother Sammy, you have
traveled Subhanallah throughout so many different cities, reminding
us of the honor and the power that this ummah has, and being able to
really take this moment to reflect upon the the the the challenges
that we're currently facing and how to rise up to this moment. Can
you give us an example from the time of the seed of the Prophet
alayhi salatu wasalam, where they were being prepared for a great
victory in the early parts of the Dawah.
Smell to salami said, No Sula festival, salaam. Alaikum,
everybody. And I know that Orange County is very generous, because I
went to Mass. La Mace was very strict with every speaker except
me. And I looked at a time when I got extra minutes, and she didn't
pressure me at all. Every time I asked the crowd, is she behind me?
They'd be like, no, no, she's not. So I said, Alhamdulillah,
BarakAllahu, speaking for your generosity, but I will try to
behave Inshallah, because I know there's a break in Midway as well,
and everybody needs a break, even if people of Ghazi don't get one.
But in any case, I
think that one of the fascinating things, in my opinion, about this
ummah is that this ummah will read the seer of the Prophet Muhammad
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and they will celebrate it, and they
will do Halakhah about the life of the prophet muhammad sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam. And they will say, this is an extraordinary
story. But you know the poet buna Muhammad, he has a lovely line.
When I was in university, we used to follow a lot of his poetry. He
says, You he says, you know, we are all reflections true. So I
can't talk about me without talking about you. And my personal
reflections, perhaps will resonate with some of yours, which is when
you read the seed of the Prophet Muhammad. There are multiple ways
you could read it. Many people tend to read it from the spiritual
perspective. They want to improve their personal relationship with
Allah. Personal relationship with Allah subhanho wa taala, even
though they see there's a very public book, it's a very public
facing book. It's a very dour book. It's a very going out into
the community book. It's a very go out and be loud and speak out
book, rather than a book that says, Go inside and be quiet. It's
a book.
Says, Go out, even when there's a backlash, go out, even when you
feel pressure, go out, even if the odds are against you, go out, even
the world stands against you. Which is why I find it fascinating
that many of the Ummah read the Sira and go back into the personal
sphere, as opposed to appreciating the public side of what the Sira
is all about. You'll note, for example, when Allah tells the
Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam, go out and speak
out in public after sumayyah, rabilah has already been killed,
and she dies before the Prophet Sallam is even able to give dawah
in public, they know, if they go out, that there will be pressure
that will be brought to bear on them, pressure that, let's be
honest, none of us have really experienced in our lifetime, or
probably will experience moving forward. And to really emphasize
the point that I'm making, I was in New Jersey, although the Imam,
when he hears this, he won't like the fact I referenced this way.
But I watched many movies when I was growing old, and you have to,
I can't lie to you. I was telling a friend the other day. He told
me, what's America like? I told them, you know, okay, they talk
like the movies like they'll, they'll be talking to me like with
passion. And in my mind, I zone out because, you know, I'm
thinking they actually talk like this. And then I realized the
person stopped talking because they've asked a question. I'm
like, What was he talking about?
The point there was an imam in New Jersey, and he said,
he said to me in the car, he said to me, Sammy,
you know, if we think about it carefully, Islam
is a problem. You say,
I told I told you, Islam is a problem. It's a problematic
religion. I told him, Sheik, your dodgy territory. Now, stuff for
Allah Adim, either stop the car and let me out to the change the
topic. He said, Hear me out. I said, Okay. He said, 40 years of
the life of the prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam. Does
he have any problems with Quraysh?
What's his reputation amongst Quraysh for those 40 years? Sadaq
Amin, the spoiled child of Mecca, not in a negative way, in a
positive way, meaning, everywhere he went, they said, the noble man
has come to sit in our gathering, they used to leave everything with
him. You know, a man. They used to trust him. If you're going on a
trade caravan to Syria, who do you choose? You choose Muhammad bin
Abdullah. This was Quraysh. This was the likes of Abu Lahab and Abu
Sufyan and umayyah and all these people who would later become some
of the most ferocious villains in the story of Islam. He said to me,
Sammy, when did the problems of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu,
Sallam begin? It began when he stood up and said, La Ilaha,
illallah, Muhammad Rasulullah, and when he started demanding that
society uphold justice, when he started insisting that society
uphold justice, it was no longer about advising. It was about
insisting being loud, standing in front of the Kaaba, telling him,
yeah. Ibad Allah, why are you unjust? Why do you bury your
daughters alive? Why do you cheat each other with money? They tell
him, yeah, Muhammad, did we not treat you well for 40 years? You
are noble amongst us. Cease this talk, and he would keep going. And
that's when the problems began, problems that would not end until
his last breath after Hajj al Wada, problems that led to him
being boycotted, problems that led to Sahaba suffering, problems that
led to Bibi Masaba being beaten up, problems that led to somebody
getting the organs of an animal and pouring it over the Prophet
Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, problems that led the
Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam to celebrate small victories, the
Prophet Muhammad said, Allah umarin, may Allah Allah, bless
this Deen with one of the two ummahs, Omar Abu Khattab, or Omar
ibn Hisham. And when Allah subhanahu wa guided his heart to
Islam, somebody who beat up his sister because he was she was
reading Quran with her husband, the Prophet Muhammad sha Allah
Habibi,
when the UMW became Muslim, the the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa
sallam celebrated um entering Islam, even though the next day,
Sahaba continued to get beaten up, showing you the Prophet sallam was
not like some in the current Ummah, where They say, Yes, we're
making gains, yes, we're making change, yes, we're making efforts,
but the problem is still happening. Yes, you're celebrating
these small victories, but I'm not celebrating because the problem is
still happening. We read in the Sira how the Prophet Muhammad,
sallAllahu, sallam, it's a very gradual process through which he
finally gets to success. And the reason why I start with this point
is that when we look into what's happening with Ghazan Philistine,
the reality is that whichever way you look at it, there's an
unprecedented shift taking place in the entire course of the issue
of Philistine. We've never seen if you told me five months ago that
Israel would stand trial on the charge of genocide, I would have
told you you're a lunatic if you had told me five months ago that
United States of America would be unable to rescue Israel from an
international institution where 15 judges to two resist the pressure
of the Americans and the French and the British.
Apologies for the British and the British and the Western States
resist all that pressure to declare that there is enough to
suggest that Israel needs to stand trial for genocide. I would have
told you you're mad. But the reason this change has been
brought about is because an ummah of Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu,
alayhi wa sallam,
is not an ummah that is always equipped with the power it wants,
but an ummah that always uses the power it has. It's not an ummah
that waits for the power it needs. It uses the power that it has
because it knows Allah already has the power that is needed. It
mobilizes even when it doesn't have the power it wants, because
it knows all power belongs to Allah, and Allah delivers it
whenever he wants. And that's what we've seen in Ghazal Philistine,
the idea being in that when the beginning, when people were
talking and shouting loud, many people felt that frustration. All
we have is a voice. But when Allah, subhana wa Taala says, if
you take one step towards me, I take 10. When my servant comes
walking, I come running. I truly believe that objectively, perhaps
our voices wouldn't make a difference, but Allah amplified
the voice because the Muslims, they said, Ya Allah, I don't have
an army. Ya Allah, I don't have oil to cut off. Ya Allah, I don't
have money to buy the lobbies. Ya Allah, I don't have the skills to
go in the media to propagate Ya Allah. I don't have the ability to
force the Muslim leaders to do these things. Ya Allah. I lack the
power, but Ya Allah, so that I have a face to show the Prophet
Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam. I'm going to do whatever I
can. I'm going to forward WhatsApps, even if my children
laugh at me. I'm going to retweet even if my friends joke with me,
I'm going to LIKE and comment and I'm going to amplify it because I
watched a random YouTube video where they said that the algorithm
likes popular tweets. Yeah, Allah, I'm going to make these tweets
popular so that I can break the algorithm. Allah, you said in the
Quran woman as alihan wakali in an email, Muslimeen, Allah, is there
any better speech? You said there is? Is there any better speech
than one who calls to Allah does good deeds and say, I am from the
muslimeen? What I realized recently is we tend to recite this
ayah without reciting the ayah that comes after it, which tells
you what Dawa is supposed to feel like. Going back to this idea that
Prophet sallam, struggling the area that follows is wala Testa
will Hassan, a tualase, the good deed and the bad deeds are not
equal. Meaning where, when you raise your voice and there is a
backlash, when people are being racist towards you, when they're
being xenophobic towards you, when they're trying to shout you down,
Allah is saying that your good word, calling for justice is not
equal to their horrible words where they're trying to put down
justice. So Allah says it fab. Leti here Asen, conduct yourself
in that which is best. And it far, has a double meaning. It's conduct
yourself in that which is best, and it also means IDFA, push back
in Arabic when he tells someone idfail, Bab, it means push the
door. It fab Leti here Asin. And Allah tells you what Dawa feels
like for either lady, benaka, wabana, who Ada watka and Nahu
Aliyun hameen, for the one who today is your enemy, tomorrow
might become your warmest ally. And Allah tells you who achieves
this goal. He says, When are you? Lakaha, illa, ladyna sabaru, the
ones who achieve it are the ones who show patience. And here is
where Allah reveals the meaning of patience. Patience doesn't mean
you're waiting for something to happen. Patience doesn't mean
you're waiting for some outcome. Patience means that you persevere
in a process that seems like it's not bearing fruit, because you're
aware that even if you can't see it. Allah has already decreed the
outcome on the other side, and therefore you don't need to see it
because Allah's promise was enough. And so you mobilize
because Allah's promise was enough. You move because Allah's
promise is enough. You move, even though you can't see what's in
front of you, and you don't know if it's the right course of
action, but you know, you need to do something, and Allah blesses
that. And that's why, when you look at the seer of the Prophet,
Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam. And I'll be honest with
you, my father, everybody says, what book should I read? What book
should I read? Personally, I always say, look like a lot of my
thoughts, overwhelmingly, are from my father, who who was a political
activist himself, or he still is. And who was, you know, very
influential on my thinking, and also traveling around the Ummah to
see the stories. And I always felt what I realized was, in London I
grew up, and I thought, you know, I understood the world. Do my fear
like everything. And then you go to these places like Bosnia,
Turkey, Ghana, Nigeria, all these are Malaysia, these. And you
realize, in reality, Western Muslims in particular, are just
empty cups that need the memories of the Ummah to be poured into
them, which is why they need to go to these places they need. They're
like empty vessels that need to be filled in. The reason why I say
that is when you open the seer of the Prophet, Muhammad, sallAllahu,
alayhi wa sallam, I'll be brutally honest and accept it for what I
want to say, not what you hear me.
Say,
there are scenes in the Syria where you think, what, what? How
could they say this? For example, Allah says that the prophet sent
the Sahaba, Zulu Hata Yahuwah, rasulallahu matterh that the
Sahaba and the prophets were shaken to such an extent that the
Prophet and the Sahaba said, When is the victory of Allah coming
now, as a 16 year old, when you're reading that, hey, you're like
Allah,
the Prophet. And Sahaba said this, oh, you read, for example, you
know Musa Lam, when you know six reassurances from Allah talks to
him, gives him two big signs. And then Musa al salam says, I have a
stutter. And you think, Whoa, Musa, you're pushing it. And then
he says, after Allah tells him, it's fine go to Pharaoh. He says,
Allah, I know you're all powerful, but I want you to send my brother
with me. And I went, Oh, Yani, you know how some people went more
than they would have said, What is Allah's power? Not enough? You
want your brother to go with you, but Allah in His mercy, you know?
You know, wassi.
And then Musa alaihi salam, after he has his brother, he tells
Allah, they're both we're both scared. We're both scared to go to
Pharaoh. When you read the seal of the Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu,
sallam, you realize that to be scared doesn't mean you lack a
man. To hesitate doesn't mean you lack a man to see the world
against you and feel like I'm probably going to get screwed.
Like speaking out for Ghazal, speaking up for Palestine, that's
fine because Musa alaihi salam stood in the same environment and
he said for Oh, Josephine of Sierra, Musa. Musa also felt fear
in his hearts. And the reason why I started with the idea in that
the Ummah tends to read the Sira with half an eye, but not the
other eye, is that they read the Sira and come to the conclusion
that we should be insular when the seer is all about how to go out,
how to push back against the world, that the scenario of a
world putting pressure on you is not something that is an exception
to the ummah. It is the norm that those who call out for justice. It
is normal to struggle for it, and if you're not struggling, it means
you're not standing up for justice. When you look at Ghazi
today, why are they censoring the campuses? They're censoring the
campuses because they realize that in freedom with freedom of speech,
with free will, where people freely hear the debates and
arguments, the natural conclusion of everybody is to enter Islam.
Yesterday, who saw that video about Zionists entering Islam?
Listen, I heard about Christians entering but I didn't hear about
Zionists entering Islam. Why? Because they're forced on a
reckoning to see what's happening in ghaza. When I see on Tiktok
HAFA, the Allah and may Allah preserve Tiktok for us. Gul Amin,
otherwise listen. Otherwise Allah might leave us to BBC and CNN. And
I know which one I'd prefer I saw today in the Congress. They're
questioning the Tiktok because they're worried about Tiktok
influence. And I can't lie to you.
In the UK, our MPs are little bit more sophisticated, I have to say,
because you guys had a congressperson who asked him three
times, have you been a member of the Chinese Communist Party? And
he said, Sir Singaporean,
and he said, Have you ever been a part of the Chinese government,
sir, I'm Singaporean. And I thought, SubhanAllah. The
stereotypes are true. Some Americans don't know. Can't read a
map. SubhanAllah. The point is that as a result of Tiktok, I saw
as and I said this example, because for me, it's a fascinating
one, where a Zionist girl says, I grew up all my life, you know,
never hearing Palestinian voices. BBC wouldn't show it. CNN wouldn't
show it. But as a result of Tiktok, how father Allah come as a
I'm actually serious. I don't know. I laughed it. As a result of
Tiktok, I finally saw heard Palestinian voices, and she says,
I can't unsee what I've seen. I'm dedicating my Tiktok account to
promoting Palestinian content, and that's an example of itfibability
here, Asen, in conducting yourself, we say we're saying to
the world. We're not saying, Oh violent, horrible, brutal world.
We're saying, Oh world. Look at the truth of the matter. Decide
based on the truth. Hear our voices and hear the Haqq. And the
reason why they're censoring content is because when the Ummah
does like the Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam, just
listen to the hacker, just to hear it, and then decide for
yourselves. They're realizing. The world is deciding that the hackers
with Palestine, you all saw that girl who started her Tiktok
account, where she did a video, and she said, You know what? I
want to find out, where they get these resilience from these
Palestinians. You know, because I see these Palestinians. They're
undergoing a genocide. But they keep saying, husband Allah would
never Akil innalila, not going anywhere. Allah is sufficient for
us. And she said, I have determined. She said, I have
determined that their resilience comes from their book Quran. So
I'm dedicating my Tiktok every single day. We're going to go
through one page of the Quran by the end of the week. She did a
video with hijab saying, La ilaha illallah, Muhammad Rasulullah. The
point is that when they're exposed to the truth, it makes a
difference. And to bring that back, I know this question I
answered in 20 minutes, and I haven't finished answering it, but
the point is that when you go back to the seerah, and one thing that
I find fascinating is this,
if you read Surat hood, there were two things that I read before
Ghazal, which if I had not read, I would have had a.
Different opinion, I'd probably be like most people, sit at home and
going, it's all doom and gloom. Allah met. The sad days of
judgment are coming, and we wait for the Mahdi.
There were two books that I read. The first was, I was sitting with
an Algerian friend who was saying, Allah, these French arudh, Bella.
They never apologized. He's eaten a yogh of delis the French
company, and he's going, Allah, these French arudilla, I told
them, yeah, yeah, bro, like Mashallah. In the end, when I went
home, I said to my wife, so Maya, may Allah, reward her. I've only
been in London 10 days for the past three months, and me Sure, if
it was not for her support and my parents, I would not be here.
She's the one. When I tried to cancel the tour midway the second
tour, I tried to cancel midway to go home. The truth of the matter
is, everything was a bit too fast, and everybody was saying, you
know, what should we do next? I told her, I prefer life talk in
front of a camera with no responsibility. Responsibility. Al
haka is a whole different game. It's very daunting. I might come
home, so I don't feel it. She said, If you come home, you won't
find me here. I won't be married to somebody who runs from Allah's
responsibility. I told
the so I went to Sumaya, you know, may Allah order and give her
patience, because she's very patient. Mashallah, I'm not. She
hasn't given me any grief at all. Masha, Allah ly Berg, so Sumaya, I
said to her, I'm going to buy a book by somebody who sympathizes
with colonizers. She was like, what I told I'm going to order it.
But what about the royalties? Let him have royalties. I want to
understand why these guys won't apologize for colonization, and
I'm going to bring a guy who defends colonization. So I bought
Algeria, savage war of peace by a guy called Alistair horn. And
Alistair horn identifies two turning points in the liberation
of Algeria, which I thought was fascinating. The first, this is
relevant to you, masa. The first is that in 1920s sheikhad al Hamid
bimbadis decides to set up the Council of Islamic scholars. He
sets up a school in each city in Algeria, he sets up a little area
where he trains the generation in Quran, Hadith and Arabic language
to push back against French attempts to eliminate and force
Algerians to assimilate. For those who don't know, Algerians used to
the French used to line up Muslim sisters hijabis, and they would
make them stand in line, and they pull off the hijab of each one,
one by one, and say, You are liberated now. And my, for those
who don't know as well, my great uncle Tijani,
when his cousin was walking down the street, she was pregnant, so
four French soldiers as a you know, they got up, they took out
their machetes and their knives, and they said to her, they said,
let's see what gender the baby is. And they took out the knife, and
they were ready to cut open a stomach. He saw them, picked up a
rifle, started shooting at them. They ran away that night. They
came into his home and riddled him with bullets. The French Alistair
horn says in his book that there were two turning points to the
liberation of Algeria. He said the first were the schools by Abdul
Hamid bimbadis, whose graduates 30 years later, would be the primary
influence in the liberation movement. Abdul Hamid bin bedis
did not actually make many political statements. He kept
himself in the schools teaching this new generation, insisting
that if he imbued them with the Quran and the Hadith and the
Arabic language, then that identity would naturally lead to a
series of consequences that would result in the liberation of
Algeria, I find it fascinating that somebody defending
colonization points to that as the first turning point. The second
turning point he identifies is relevant to Assange, which is the
massacre of 1945 which is when, and many of you will have known by
now. If you don't know, then any case, may Allah forgive you. In
1945 France was liberated from Nazi Germany because they were
defeated in only two weeks. In any case, they were liberated from
Nazi Germany.
The liberated from Nazi Germany. They were
liberated from Nazi Germany. And the Allies all came together and
they sat down and they wrote a wonderful document. Every man is
born free, every people have the right to self determination. And
the Allies all praise themselves. They said, look how moral we are.
We're writing this piece paid some Algerians and Steve harata and
GEMA. They said, document. Oligar, aliha. You see the document is
signing. Gelu. Every man born free, every people served Allah.
We are born free. When the French heard that the Algerians had taken
to the streets demanding their own independence, France was so
horrified that
people that don't look like them actually wanted freedom and
independence that in the same week they celebrated in Paris, they
massacred 30,000 in Algeria,
the French say they only massacred 12,000
the Algerians say 50,000
just for the sake of the comments on YouTube, I go middle ground, or
go 30,000
he says that that massacre was such a shock to the world and to
the Muslim world that it was like an awakening, the same way that
Ghazi is an awakening for us that in reality, the Ummah had to
mobilize and decide its own fate. It could not rely on what is
outside. It had to dedicate itself to a struggle to move forward. The
second book that altered my opinion. This brings us back to
the Sira. Is Surat HUD Now, for those youngsters who are here, and
I see many youngsters when I was younger.
But, you know, you get not tired stuff. Allah is the wrong word.
But, you know, you kind of feel like reading Kula Abu Ness in a
Salat in front of your friends is not really impressive. You need a
long Surah, you know, I mean, so for me, the long surah was surah
Taha, 16 years of age. I heard sharim, and I realized I could
just read it back. In Sure, if it was any voice except Shari, I
wouldn't be able to remember the next area. But insurance voice, I
could, if I
go different, I can't remember the next area. So when I learned surah
Taha, of course, every salah, Maghreb, Asia, your friends, they
only know up to what jozama And you're like kala for Marabu,
kumaya, Musa.
So,
so I was, you know, leading Salat with some friends. You know, a
while like this is to encourage the youngsters. Trust me, it works
like, let get learn a long sort of, trust me. Your friends will
go, bro. What sort is that? Like? Masha, Allah, you know it, you
know, a six pages. Mashallah, I'm still stuck on my that's one
way I try to encourage the youth to learn the Quran. You realize a
lot of them go, you know? I also know long Surah as well, you know,
but mine is longer than yours.
So I was trying to recite Surah Hood with some brothers, and I
realized I did it, and I'd start with the first A and I forgot the
second, then I read the third, forget the fourth. I'd read two
more, and forget the six. And I just went Allahu Akbar. When I got
back up, I said, I need to remember my surah. So I opened
Suratul, then I went through it, and as you're reading it, suddenly
it's like you're reading it with a new lens. You're reading through.
And then you go, Oh, who? DALAI Salam goes to his people, pleads
with them. Allah destroys them. Saleh goes to his people, pleads
with them. Allah destroys them. Goes to his people. Allah destroys
them. No,
oh, no, you had a tough one.
Allah destroys them. Lord kalau and Neli become covid and Oh away.
Shadid, if only I had power over you or a powerful ally to resist
you. And I went, Oh, a prophet says that Yani feels that sense of
this is how I feel sometimes. So it's not haram to feel that way.
Oh, there I was thinking, I'm destined for Jahannam for feeling
that way.
And you read the ayah and you realize that
these prophets do you consider them as failures. Now,
aside from the fact it's haram to consider it, why don't you
consider them as failures? Because you believe that their aim was not
actually to deliver the outcome. Because when you look into it, you
realize that their aim was to deliver the message and to be the
vehicle to deliver the message, because Allah would decide the
outcome or not.
So when it comes to Raza or even the life of the prophet Muhammad,
sallAllahu, sallam, going back to that area, Zulu, they are shaken
until they say, When is the victory of Allah coming? It makes
you realize that on many occasions, the Sahaba and the
Prophet saw him did not know what the next step was. In the same way
that everybody here is looking for what do we do next? And I don't
think that's necessarily the right question. I think the question
should be Allah has decided the outcome. How do we keep going? How
do we keep moving? It's less about how do we achieve the outcome, and
more about how do we keep moving. The point is that you think about
the life of the prophet Muhammad, he goes 13 years Asmaa, 13 years.
He gives dawah while being persecuted, boycotted his Sahaba,
beaten up, Sumayya Radha and her killed and after 13 years, you
would think that before Allah would give him victory in Mecca.
No Allah tells him, not only has he put up with those 13 years, he
has to now leave Mecca. And there are many people who say who, when
they read the Sira, they don't really appreciate this particular
part. The Prophet Salam leaves Mecca on Allah's orders. But
there's a section of it which should make you stop the Prophet
Sallam turns around remember, he knows that Allah has told him to
leave. He knows Allah in His Hikmah knows what he's doing. He
knows that Allah is going to look after him. And still, he turns
around to Mecca. He looks at it in tears, and he says, Wallahi, you
are the dearest land to me, and if your people had not driven me from
you Wallahi, I would never have left you. His heart broken even as
he follows the Command of Allah, Subhanahu wa, his heart broken
even though he knows what he's doing is right, but the price that
he's had to pay for it is so heartbreaking for him, but Allah
does not punish or rebuke him for that heartbreak. Allah is
understanding and Merciful of that in the same way he was
understanding of Maryam alaihi salam when she says, while giving
birth, Kalat ya laitan emit to hablaha kutunasya mensya Maryam
alai Salam is told by Allah, Subhanahu wa Jibril comes to her
and says, you're going to give birth to a miracle, and that he
will be blessed by Allah, and you will be a miracle. I always like
to think that if I was told that I'd be like Amr, do you know what
Jibril said to me, alas 11, you know, I'd be walking, you know,
with, you know.
Masha, Allah, Maryam, alaihi, salam, she gives birth, and she
knows she's given a miracle. She says, I wish I had died before
this and just been a forgotten woman. But I realized the issue
that I had with the ayah was not that, How could Allah show mercy
on her? It was I didn't know Allah, Subhanahu wa I didn't know
Allah's attributes. I was praying to a lord. I did not understand. I
thought him wrathful, but in reality, he was so merciful that
when he heard Maria malai Salam cry out in that pain, he says,
Fernandez area, it was called out, Miriam, don't be sad. I've made
the earth like a mattress for you. Wahozi, elekhibito, alaikota,
banjaniya, and if you shake the tree gently, the ripest of dates
will fall for coolina. So eat and drink and dry your tears. That's
what Allah is. So when you feel the heartbreak of Gaza, when you
feel the despair of Gaza, Allah is not saying, How can you doubt my
will by being heartbroken, Allah is saying that while you are
heartbroken, what choice will you make? Do you keep moving or do you
give up and go home? And when you look at the series of events in
the life of the prophet, remember, even after those 13 years, he goes
to Medina, and immediately 1000 Quraysh are in front of Medina
ready to fight him in better, when he has 301 has when he wins in
better. You think, Okay, this is the turning point. We change
public opinion. You know, we're making a change. ICj ruling. But
what comes after Uhud, the battle where the Muslims are defeated and
the Muslims turn around and they're not sure what to do, and
Allah has to advise the Prophet sallallahu sallam, what do we do
with those who told us to go this way and it failed because the
archers, they disobeyed the orders of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi,
wa sallam, do we cancel them? Do we cast them aside? Do we sideline
them? No. Allah says, wala Kuta, Father, Lam for domin hawlik, if
you are hard of heart, then everybody else would flee from
you. So Allah says, Forgive, pardon them and ask forgiveness
from them. And this is the difference between the Ummah, the
prophet sallam, and our
ummah. We stop there, pardon them and forgive them. Do that. Forgive
you, but please stay at home. Let the big boys handle it. Allah
finishes the ayah with washalama, bring them back into your
consulting, your consultation. Yes, they may have disobeyed your
order. Yes, they may have led to defeat, but bring them back into
the consultation, and if you fear that they will make you fail
again. Allah says, for either azamta, Fatah, lalala, trust that
Allah will not let them make you fail again. Many of us in the
umkhalas canceled, made a mistake. We're not bringing you back, which
is very different process, and preach, but going back to the
point from Allah, where does he go? Khandak, the prophet sallam,
is digging a trench. Why is he digging the trench? Is digging the
trench because he doesn't know how to push back the Arab tribes that
have gathered against him. There are many people who say, Sami,
what should be our next step? Sami, what happens in November?
Sami, what happens after November, send me. How does Raza finished? I
don't know, because only Allah knows, and many people say so, if
you don't know, there's a disappointment on their faces. But
ya, ibad Allah, you read the Sira regularly when they told the
prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam, what's the plan?
He was digging the trench, praying on the Hill next next to it, and
saying, I see the pearls of Persia. And even some Sahaba were
like, how can we be on an existential crisis? The whole of
Arabia has gathered against us. They're at the door of Medina.
We're forced to dig a trench because we have no plan. And the
Prophet sallallahu, sallam, is talking to us about the pearls of
Persia. It's like me saying, yeah, ibad Allah, victory is around the
corner, but you tell me no, but there's a genocide taking place in
Gaza. It's like somebody saying, yeah, ibad Allah, victories are if
we move, we can win. And you say, Yahi, please stop talking about
victory. We dig in a trench at the moment. What kind of language is
this? Stop talking this the way you hear many people say today,
right? Don't talk to me about our power when we're weak. Don't talk
to me at our power. We are. We don't have power. Don't talk about
power. Our future is bleak. The Prophet sallallahu Sallam is in an
objectively weak situation talking to the Ummah about the power they
would achieve.
The point is, the prophet Sallam did not know what the next step
was until nuylan, who comes to him and says to him, ya Rasul Allah, I
have become Muslim in secret, but they don't know, and I have a
plan. And the Prophet Sallam doesn't say, I know your plan
already. He says, Tell me your plan. Tell me what is the way
forward. No, amen says to him, leave it to me. I can make them
withdraw without a single battle. And he goes to ghata fan, and he
says, the way the Republicans are saying today, why are we spending
all our money and resources over issues that don't affect us? Why
are we spending our money on foreign wars? This is Quraysh
Muhammad beef it has nothing to do with us. The same way Ramaswamy
and these other guys are saying. And Tucker Carlson, very similar.
Honestly, people always say, No, leave Syra in one way and leave
modern politics in another way. No.
Prophet Salla, Musa, Rama for mankind, and his life was done in
a in a way where we always draw the parallels and comparisons. So
no Amin goes in whispers to the Republicans, the way perhaps some
Muslims might consider doing whispers to the Republicans. Yeah,
yeah. We spent all this money on Iraq. What did we achieve? We
spent all this money Afghanistan. What did we achieve? We spent
money on Vietnam. What did we achieve? Now we're spending 3.8
billion on Israel. Come on, fool me. Once, you know, I'm the fool
for me. Twice, you know, and all this, all this other thing as
well. No, amen, gets ratafan. They start hesitating. Then he goes to
Abu Sufyan, you know, ratifan, are thinking of withdrawing. They're
saying this case doesn't belong to them, that it's a foreign war.
They're spending money. Why they spending money? So Abu Sufyan
says, Listen, I'm sick and tired. There's a storm. It's tiring. It's
whatever. I'm withdrawing. Ratafan Withdraw. They all withdraw the
me. The point is, the prophet Salla Salam doesn't have a plan to
push them back. But he keeps moving in building the trench. He
keeps moving and doing his tahajjud. He keeps moving and
inspiring his Sahaba to keep going. He keeps moving and
motivating his ummah. He keeps moving and telling them, Allah is
with us. He keeps moving and telling them, don't despair.
Though it looks bleak, Allah is giving victory on the other side.
He keeps moving and telling them that I see the powers of Persia,
because Allah has given us the promise. He reminds them of the
word of Allah, and they believe him, but yes, Mahan, what comes
next, Treaty of hudaybi.
So imagine Sahaba have gone through 13 years with him being
persecuted. They get a taste of victory in Badr, but defeated in
ahud. Then they have to dig a khandak for existential crisis.
They're hanging on. And then they have to sign a treaty of hudaybi,
which RAM considers so humiliating that he openly protests against
the Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu, Sallam and the Sahaba are so upset
with the Treaty of hudaybi that when the Prophet Muhammad SAW when
he's in his tent, he says to his wife, they're not doing the
sacrifice. How can I get them to obey my orders? And she says, go
out and do it first, and they will follow you. The point is, you can
tell the Prophet Sallam doesn't know what to do with his Sahaba.
He's in a situation where the path forward is not clear, because
Allah is saying only Allah knows the path that is forward. What the
Prophet Muhammad SAW did when he went out and sacrificed first is
the example of he moved. So the Ummah moved. He moved so Allah
opened the door, he moved. So the opportunities came, and one year
later, they were entering Mecca. The point is, for those of you who
perhaps aren't familiar with the Sira, and you might say, I've read
the Sira many times, but somebody can read the book many times and
not understand what it means. For example, I have a friend called
Benjamin English, revert to Islam
in our first year at university,
he used to debate very hard with the Muslims. Like, very hard, you
know. And we used to tell our friend, Bihar Bihari, you're too
harsh on him. He says, bro, we need to debate him. I was like,
but you guys, you know, really, like, even though we were never
wanted to engage Benjamin and debate, he at least was willing to
engage. We were the ones sitting on the couch, you know, saying
trying to criticize the guy who's moving pan Allah. Benjamin became
Muslim the following year, when he came we were stunned. We were
like, Benjamin, how? And he says, You know what, I was looking
through the Quran, you
know, just looking for things that I could use. And I came across the
area where Allah says that when he burns people in Jahannam, he puts
their skin back so they could feel the punishment. And I was like,
wait a minute, you're telling me an area on Hellfire made you come
to the deen.
And he said, Yeah. I said, I don't get it. He says to me, Sammy, how
does an illiterate orphan in the desert know that the nerves are in
the skin, not in the blood. You need skin to feel pain. That's why
the skin gets put on. If you don't have skin, you won't feel the
pain. Ben,
you've been Muslim less than two months. You understood an air.
I've read 1000 times and never
understood it. Maysha, Allah gives wisdom to whom He wills.
The point being is you might feel like you've read the Sira, but
have you read it? Have you read the life of the prophet Muhammad?
Or have you read what you wanted to read? Have you understood the
life of the prophet Muhammad? Or have you only extracted what makes
you feel comfortable and happy? Have you really understood what he
went through? Or have you only read that which makes you go
mashallah brothers, let's go for burgers now.
And that's the point that I'm saying in that even though I
promise this way, I wrap up for this question, I promise, when
we look at the shift in public opinion, people ask me, and I've
seen it before. So somebody said, What's the secret behind Sam is
optimism for the UMA? And somebody came up with a very good theory.
Now, for those of you who follow soccer or football, there is a
team that I love greatly, called arsenal.
I love Arsenal since I was a kid. For those who don't know arsenal,
always get close to the title, but never win it. Every time February
comes, they.
Collapse. They fall out of the Champions League, they fall out to
the FA Cup, and they just drop down the table. But every time the
season begins this Mahan, we tell ourselves, this is our season. You
know why? We got a new manager, we got new signing, we got message
urzel, we got Van Persie or the like. So somebody said it makes
sense that an Arsenal fan is always optimistic, because every
season, they're kidding themselves that they will have
but let me tell you, it's not because I'm an Arsenal fan.
They're gonna lose this season as well.
The thing is, when you look at the first 13 years of the life of the
prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa
sallam. I used to find it problematic when people say the
Ummah is weak because it's Allah's ummah. Allah's Ummah is not
actually supposed to be weak. So you go back to the Hadith about
you will be like the foam in the sea, and if you notice, the word
dwarf or weakness is not used in the Hadith at all. The Prophet
Muhammad says, what he says is, he says, One day, Allah will remove
the fear of your enemies in you,
because you will be afflicted by wahan, which is a love of comfort,
a love of the dunya.
And that love of the dunya will make you fear death or fear
sacrifice, and then your enemies will eat you like Allah, or they
will come at you like you're on a plate.
There is an interpretation of this hadith which doesn't actually mean
the Ummah is weak. What it means is the ummah will have the ability
to display power but choose not to use it because they're not willing
to put in the necessary sacrifice that requires that power to be
unlocked, that the Ummah always has power, and has always had
power, but to unlock that power requires a set of conditions for
Allah to unlock that power. For example,
Allah subhanahu wa says about Beni Saeed, when Musa al assalam came
to them and said, Allah tells you, go and enter the land of
Jerusalem. It will be given to you. Allah has promised it to
them. And they turn around and they say the same way many of us
are saying today. What do you mean? Jabarien, like, there are
very powerful people in here. It's America, it's the Western world.
It's they're so powerful. They have CNN, BBC, New York Times,
they have the money, they have the weapons. They have these. Were you
talking about? Yakhi? Go and stand against them for the sake of Gaza
and Philistine, we don't have what you mean? Punish Biden. You want
to punish Biden, and then Trump will come and make it worse. I'm
ready to forgive a genocide, to let Biden come, because I don't
want to struggle. Four years in Trump in my lovely three bedroom
house. No, I'm not interested in that. I would rather put my head
down and support. Biden, listen, you keep telling us we can beat
genocide, Joe. You keep telling us we can defeat the world. You keep
telling us we can make a difference. Nah, I don't see it.
We are 1.7% of the population. Nahi, listen, inhab And your Lord.
Your Lord gave you the promise. Yeah, go, you and your Lord and
fight. We'll be here waiting. Let us know when you get the victory.
Allah says, for those people that didn't move, for those people that
didn't trust the promise, for those people who said that the
world is against you, there's no point for those who said that we
don't have no power. Allah said, for 40 years, we prevented them
from getting any success, and we left them wandering through the
lands at the mercy of everybody else, because they refused to
move, because they said the world is against them.
When I look at the life of the prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu,
alayhi wa sallam, I came to the conclusion, my opinion, my humble
opinion. But bear in mind, bunu Muhammad says, I'm not a scholar,
a preacher, I'm just a regular dude who makes mistakes too.
When you look I believe the Ummah has always had power. Ibrahim
said, the Ummah is always one generation away from glory. Ummah
is always equipped. It's whether you choose to move or not. And im
has a theory before i i relate it back. I said, almost finished
here. Somebody made a joke. Said, when Sammy says I'm always
finished, he's going to talk for another 50 minutes. I promise
that's not the case here. That's not the case here. Ibn Khaldun
said a generation, a civilization, last three generations. He said
the first generation is poor, has no means and has nothing to lose.
So because it has nothing to lose, it keeps moving, keeps mobilizing,
and it achieves extraordinary and spectacular feats, because it just
keeps sacrificing, because it has nothing to lose. The second
generation lives half its life in sacrifice, half its life in
prosperity. But because they lived the sacrifice and saw how it leads
to prosperity, they continue sacrificing even in prosperity,
because they know that's what leads to prosperity and success.
The third generation is born in prosperity, people like Sammy
never having lived the sacrifice that brought about the prosperity,
and so they don't understand that it's the sacrifice that leads to
prosperity. So they're not willing to sacrifice, and therefore they
don't do the sacrifice necessary to uphold the prosperity. And so
they squander that prosperity when you come.
To the conclusion that the Ummah has always been strong and has
never been weak. Then you open the seal of the Prophet and you say to
yourself, I need to understand what was the strength in this
period of 13 years where the Sahaba were being beaten up and
persecuted, but the Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu, sallam, kept
going. Where is the strength? And I had the eureka moment. He
wants to hear it. But alafi,
I asked myself, hang on a second. If the Muslims were weak,
why are Quraysh persecuting them like this?
If the Quraysh were weak, why are they doing a three year boycott on
them? If the Quraysh were weak, why they make an example out of
Bilal when he becomes Muslim? Why not just tell him go away or the
like. What are they scared about the conversion of Bilal Rabah that
makes them believe they have to make an example of him to prevent
other slaves from becoming Muslim. What is it about the Prophet
Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam, that even though he has no
army, even though he doesn't have the money, even though he doesn't
have control of the media, what is it that scares quresh so much that
they have to commit to the persecution and every single day
make an example of the Muslims.
Read the seerah with those eyes, and watch how you start reading
it. You start saying to yourself, hang on a second. So Omar ibn
Khattab is living a luxury life amongst the elites,
and he gives up luxury and the elites to join the weak and
persecuted Muslims being beaten up every day. So the money and the
weapons and the power of Quraysh.
Omar Khattab believes the message of the Prophet Sallam is so worth
it that he's ready to go against all of that. Musa ibn Ahmed leaves
the elites of the Quraysh. A man who used to walk down the streets
of Quraysh, and you could smell his perfume from behind them, he
leaves the elite of Quraysh not to join a people with a more powerful
army or more money or more wealth. He joins the Prophet Muhammad
Salla sallam, because there's a power that the prophet has
exerting that is so great that not even the Quraysh, with their money
and their armies, can make Musab prefer them over the Prophet. Then
read the scene about najashi, about Abyssinia. When he goes,
najashi says to amrable, as I don't understand why they've sent
you the genius of the Arabs to come after ragtag group of runaway
slaves. What is it that these guys have done in Quraysh that is so
big that means they have to send their elites to bring them back?
We're thinking that we need an army to make a difference. The
Muslims were breaking foreign policy ties between Abyssinia and
Quraysh because najashi became Muslim and he was willing to cause
a diplomatic crisis with Quraysh in order to preserve the message
of the Prophet Muhammad. The same way Macron called for a ceasefire
when Biden didn't want him to. The same way the Deputy Prime Minister
of Belgium is calling for sanctions on Israel when Biden
didn't want them to the same way, Spain is saying that we're ready
to recognize a Palestinian state when Biden didn't want them to the
same way. Australia refused to join the Red Sea Alliance when
Biden wanted them to the same way. Saudi UAE refused to refuse to
join the Red Sea Alliance despite Biden wanting them to the same
way, the ICJ issued a ruling that Israel should stand trial for
genocide. Despite the power of Israel and America, they believe
the message of justice was so great and more powerful than any
weapon or nuclear weapon, that they were ready to stand by it
against that that's what Quraysh were terrified of. You think
that's a period of weakness. They felt it was a period of strength.
And let me finish with this example, because I'm wary of the
time here when Abu Sufyan, when you read the Sira from the
perspective that the Ummah is strong, read the dialog between
Heraclius and Abu Sufyan, Abu Sufyan could have lied to in front
of his clansmen, but he said public opinion of Muhammad Salam
had shifted so much that even though they didn't like Islam,
they knew he was a trustworthy man. He said, Because of public
opinion, I could not lie about the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu
Alaihi. The same way CNN presenter had to apologize for their
coverage of Palestine and Israel. Have you ever seen a TV presenter,
apologize, but do you think it's because Biden called her and said,
You know what? It doesn't say, Wallahi, but. But do you think
it's because Biden called and said, you know, you should be fair
in your coverage? Do you think it's because Netanyahu said, Oh,
I'm committing a genocide, but be fair? No. The CNN presenter
believed that the that Biden and Netanyahu power was nothing in
comparison to the power that the ordinary people were displaying in
their role for Palestine, in the way that they shifted public
opinion. Abu Sufyan stands in front of Heraclius, the Roman
emperor, the equivalent of America today, and Heraclius asks him a
series of questions, one of those.
Is, who are the people supporting Prophet Muhammad and delivering
him to success? He doesn't say like we say, today, oh, we need
the billionaires. He doesn't say like we say today, we need these
grand leaders. He doesn't say like we say today, we need a general or
we have no power. Abu Sufyan says it's the ordinary people of our
society who have delivered and Heraclius says, Who are these
people who have made the Prophet Sallam in such a way that he's
terrified you? Abu Sufyan says it's because he's backed by the
ordinary people. Heraclius says, this is the way of the prophets.
Muhammad will come to rule the land that I rule over ibad Allah.
How does an ummah read the Sira and see that Abu Sufyan and
Heraclius agree that the ones who deliver a revolution, the ones who
deliver change, the ones who can upend the entire global system,
are not the ones on the podiums. They are you the ordinary people.
And you know what I concluded from that? I realized there is no such
thing as an ordinary Muslim. For how can a Muslim be ordinary when
Allah the Almighty has given you a special personal relationship with
Him, How can a Muslim be ordinary? When Allah has said, I put no one
between us, ask me directly, and I will respond to you. It's not a
message to the podiums. It's a message to the ordinary people,
where Allah says, women, a Layli, Fatah, behena, feel like a book.
There's no such thing as an ordinary Muslim. Allah says that
when you do a private act in the middle of the night with Allah,
Allah says he elevates you in public. Allah says when you do an
act that no one sees in the middle of the night, Allah says He sends
you an elevated platform in public. How does an ummah read the
Sira and believe itself to be ordinary? How does a person read
the Sira and believe that just because they don't have the powers
they want to have, how do they come to a conclusion that they're
ordinary. I read the seer of the Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu,
sallam, and I believe that it is the ordinary Muslim who made Biden
buckle, who made Biden panic and search for a masjid in Michigan
that is ready to receive Him, desperately looking for any imam
who will be able to see him and meet with him, that made blink and
panic and break all those climate change policies to go to Tel Aviv
and say, we need the humanitarian pause. We need the hostages that
made the EU buckle and call for consequences for Israel and
punitive measures. It was not the Muslim leaders who made them
buckle. It's the ordinary people, because Allah gave us an
extraordinary relationship, and he said, If we move, he will give
success. If we move, he will give us glory. If he move, we will
shake the world. If we move, we will make change. And Allah showed
you in the Sira that Abdullah Ibrahim, the shepherd of the Allah
Anu, that bill Rabah, who was a former slave RadiAllahu Anu, that
these were the kinds of people who changed the Arabian Peninsula in
such a way that Sami can fly from London on a shaking 787, in the
turbulence in the sky, and say his shahada 50 times, and watch the
pilot come out the cockpit, and he tells him, hey, get back into the
cockpit. This plane is shaking in the sky. And then he travels 11
hours over the sea to the other side of the world, where, if the
world was flat, this would be where you fall off. These ordinary
people transform the world so much that Sami lands in the ends of the
earth and finds La Ilaha, illallah, Muhammad, rasulallah,
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. Allahu. Akbar, let no one ever say
there is an ordinary Muslim.
There is only an extraordinary Muslim who appreciates the power
Allah gave them, or is currently blind and needs to be awakened to
the power Allah gave them. And may Allah always make us from those
who appreciate his power. Allah, Allahu. Akbar, Allahu. Akbar,
subhanAllah, Allah, Subhan, Allah, beautiful reminder. And also a
crash course on the Sira, even the questions I had for you throughout
the Tira, you you got to it, brother Sammy, may Allah reward
you. Alhamdulillah. So I know we have few minutes before, before
Isha, and then we'll come back. We want to give you an opportunity to
to really go make wudu and prepare for Salah. Be in a state of hoshur
Inshallah, so that you're able to pray with that strength
Subhanallah and the remembrance of Allah, Subhanahu wa taala. One of
the things that I really want us to discuss when we come back is
really thinking about this point of the power of the Ummah, and
seeing the tests that our brothers and sisters are going through in
Raza, being tested with with their lives, being tested with things of
this world and Subhanallah Allah has, may Allah accept each and
every single one of them who were murdered and killed as you had
that SubhanAllah. And in a way for us, is a test being in this other
side of the world and being in the situations that we're in in OC in
San Diego.
Ago in LA and the United States, and the some of the privileges
that we have. I want to come back to this point, brother Samuel,
right afterwards Inshallah, and for all of us to kind of marinate
on, but not think about during prayer. Inshallah is this idea of,
how are we being tested? How are we really thinking about this
current moment of pain for the Ummah and this moment of
awakening, this moment where we're being pushed to move to really
think about, how can we ourselves, take ourselves to that next level,
subhanAllah, so we'll come back to that. We'll go ahead and break and
Inshallah, We'll return after Prayer. Send us a
As salamu alaykum
draw up.
Still avoid any Tiktok videos. We're going to ask for
make proper lines, and we'll have the sisters move to the back a
little bit. The brothers will pray in the front. If you can help with
the chairs, just move them back a little bit so we can make room for
everyone to pray. So
please and then, Inshallah, right. Well, when you finish, we could
come back to Where we were seated before. Thank you, Islam.
Allah.
Allah,
Allah
shadu, Allah
ILAHA, illallah shadwala,
Ila
ilama,
ah shadwan,
Namo ham, Madha Ram, madarsulma,
oh ya Lo SWANA,
ahlpala
lakh,
Eli,
thank you.
Ah,
Allahu, Akbar.
Allahu, Akbar, Rasulullah,
in
law,
Allah,
so In that sweater, Allah,
spill your
spill your rahmanir, Rahim
Al Hamdulillah. Mean Rahmani, Rahimi, Maliki,
omidy, I can Abu dhua, Iya, Kana staino,
surato il musta Kim suroto Li
Nam Talai, Moyer
maupuya Nay, him, wala Bon
In
a
I
Do
rahee,
Rahim Allahu,
Akbar, zabiallahu, Liman, habida
Allah,
Allahu,
Akbar,
Allah,
Allah,
Allah
Rahi, Rafi al hamduri, lahiro, Bilal, meanI, Ravi ni Maliki,
omitting.
Gana Abu ina
Stein, Idina,
Suro pal musta Tim surat al Ladin Nam talayhi
wa Irma, alayhim, wahiri,
naupubi, alaihim walaapu, mean,
waman, woman, Sanu ko Lam,
Mim
Lo
hiwani, na Muslim. Nani.
Muslimin
Kawabata, kawabae
na
Hu ADA Wali, un habi,
Wa ma ULA ko
il LADEE. Illini
camina,
one
kaminashe
in
the
A Allahu, Akbar.
Samia, allahuman, Hamidah,
Allah,
Allah,
Allahu, Akbar.
Allahu
Akbar, Allah,
A
Allah Smith
out
Allah
Samia, Allahu, Liman, Hamidah,
Allah, put
A what?
Allah?
Allah,
a
Allah,
Samia, Allahu, anamida, Hamidah,
Allah.
Allah,
Allah A
Allah,
A
salaam, warah kun WA, Rahmatullahi,
walaykum, warahmatullahi wa, Allah, Allah, mansourid Islam.
Eisen, muslimin, Allah, Islam. Alizar, muslimid, Walibi,
fatikali, haqqaddin, DEEN Allahu. Mansur, man Nassar at
Deen wakul, mankhala, DEEN Allahu. Aman Ara Abu Islam, iwal Muslimeen
Ahmed, Oman Arad, Abu Asmaa Al muslime Al tadbirah, who did me
Rahu ya Rabin Allah Mazel
to be A
rabbin Allah, Allahu, Akbar.
Been a Killman.
Decorah over Rahim, Allahu, Akbar, shahana, Al Kareem, a lady Zara
Nafi, Hadi Laila, one of Allah who be in me, Allahu. AKB, Allahu,
sorry, Allah.
Mean, liquid limit, a man, a headache.
Actually, Inshallah, we will continue the program. We're just
going to give five minutes for our sunnah salah, and then we'll
resume
National
School And
So
Inshallah, if we can all take our places, we will resume the
program. We had a break for salatul Sha mashallah, but we will
be continuing now. You
if I could, please ask all the brothers and sisters to make their
way back inside. We will be continuing the program. Inshallah.
You.
JazakAllah, khairan, before we continue, I did want to mention
Mashallah. This program was sponsored by OCS. Earlier we had
sister Maisa speak about orange Crescent school, and it's also
sponsored by Muslim American society Greater Los Angeles
chapter. What is mass? I'm sure many people in the community here
are familiar with the programs that mass does, mashallah, the big
convention that happens on Thanksgiving weekend. We have our
youth camp, our tarbean im camp for college and young
professionals, that takes place in December. But really one of the
core programs and services that mass offers to our community is
the halaka in the USRA system. What is the halaka? What is the
usurah system? It is a weekly a weekly gathering of brothers who
meet with brothers, sisters, meeting with sisters. And the
purpose of this is to gather in the remembrance of Allah. This is
where we study the tafsir of the Quran. This is where we study the
Sira of the rasulallah, not once in a while in a class, but this is
happening on a weekly basis. Every single week. We're coming
together, and we're doing this. And we're studying intellectual
works of authors, of Islamic scholars as well Alhamdulillah.
And the purpose of the halakh and USRA is not for us to just take up
knowledge and then go back home. The purpose is to apply the
knowledge to work in our communities, to give back to the
community and to work for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa So
ultimately, what mass is all about, it's about producing people
that are focused on this work of becoming those who call others to
the way of Allah subhanahu wa and be considered the USRA and the
halakah as a core component of our work. So mashallah, a lot of the
people here have registered for this program. After this program
ends, we will be sending you an email where we will be inviting
you to join this Halakha and USRA system. If you are interested in
being part of something where you are getting that weekly dose of
brotherhood and sisterhood, we encourage you, and we invite you
to join us. Subhanallah
and inshallah sister ismahan will also be speaking a little bit
about pace as well. I want to invite her to speak about the work
that they're doing with public the Muslim American societies, Public
Affairs and Public Affairs Committee Inshallah,
subhanAllah, I consider myself to be a product of math, one of the
early things I remember my freshman year in college, and just
kind of getting out of my own bubble. We live very, very far
away from a masjid. And I don't know how many of you guys know
Shaykh, Abdul Jalil. Many of you in so called region know him very
well. My mentor. This panel, I see some of his previous amazing
brothers, mashallah, who know him as well.
Well, one of the things he said to me early on, I kid you not, I was
not involved in Islamic work. I was a freshman coming out of one
of the only three Muslims that were attending her high school.
And, you know, just used to programs here and there. And I
remember going up to him and asking him questions and just kind
of participating in some of the classes that he had. And he said
something very interesting to me that is very aligned to what you
said, Brother Sammy, when it comes to Islam, there's people who come
to Islam expecting to receive, and Allah gives. Allah is Al Kareem.
Allah is the generous. And there are individuals who recognize
Islam. And you coming into Islam, and I don't mean this just
accepting the faith, even you as a Muslim, and renewing your sense of
commitment to this, Deen, it's about sacrifice, and how do you
become those people who do sacrifice, and being able to get
out of our comfort zones and really think about what is going
to be my role, because Allah is going to take care of Islam. Allah
is going to take care of his Deen, Allah is going to take care of his
ummah. Now comes a question about for me, do I want to be that
individual that's used as a vehicle, that individual who does
make those sacrifices to make sure that we are creating that
environment for the next generation of Islam, the to
continue Subhanallah and to be used by Allah as a tool of
guidance and to and for Allah to guide as well. So one of the core
things that we do in peace, aside from the halakhat and the USRA, is
really reawakening this sense of individuals who are grounded in
their faith and understanding of the prophetic methodology of
being, individuals who are going to be part of that change,
individuals who recognize right that you are a vehicle that can be
used to bring about that victory that our dear brother was talking
about in Gaza, here in our own backyards, as well as throughout
the world, in whatever means that Allah subhanahu wa uses this for
so pace is about really grounding ourselves, building that next
generation of community organized organizers, the next generation of
political activists who are able to turn out the Muslim vote in
elections, who are able to say, I am going to be principled in my
approach to justice, who are those individuals who are connecting and
recognizing that it's not about me, it's not about you. It's about
how can we all come together and move our communities forward? It's
about those individuals who will later on, run our amazing
organizations, such as care, such as other organizations who are
also at the forefront of social justice and civil liberties and
civil rights. So mass pace and a lot of activities that we have for
this year is about developing that Muslim individual who is grounded
in their understanding of being for justice and being a vehicle of
justice. Inshallah. So I know mass pace is getting started here in LA
we ask you to join, which is a good segue right now to our next
question. Brother Sammy is really recognizing that I'm a firm
believer. The Allah subhanahu wa gives you signs to help you stay
on course. The Allah guides you right in Surat. Allah subhana wa
Taala tells us, guide us to the straight path. Guide us. Not guide
me, not guide you. Guide us to the straight path, and immediately
afterwards we see Surah, Baqarah, Ali flami Valley. Herein is a book
in which there is no doubt, right, Allah subhanahu wa guidance is
there so recognizing that Islam does not exist in a vacuum. Islam
exists in a reality, seeing the world that we're living and being
able to push not sitting in that sense of comfort. Our brothers and
sisters in Ghazal are being tested with their lives. Our brothers and
sisters in Ghazal are tested with things of this world. But
Subhanallah, you see the footage where they keep saying, husband,
Allahu Akbar, husband, Allahu Waki. That is, keep saying, Allah
is sufficient for us, subhanAllah, you see their faith, you see their
resiliency. You see the strength. And they're not being tested in
their faith, subhanAllah, but when it comes to us and living in this
side of the world, looking at the seer of the Prophet, alayhi
salatu, was salam, which brother Sam did a wonderful job, kind of
giving us a crash course of how to really apply, not just to read the
seer like a storybook, but really apply it and extract the lessons
Subhanallah in a place and a mindset of abundance, in the
mindset of growth as opposed to scarcity, as opposed to weakness,
as opposed to lack of power. But really seeing the power Allah has
placed in us because of this beautiful faith that we have, this
has also become a test for us, especially those of us who are
living in the West, a sense of awakening that ghaza has has given
us. Subhanallah, Palestine has given us. And how can we really
look I'm thinking about the time of the hijra, where the Sahaba
were migrating to Medina, and in that moment Subhanallah, where
they felt that then the Prophet salatan, you said it so
beautifully in terms of looking back at Mecca in those moments
that you feel as if it's a sacrifice, in those moments that
you don't realize what the outcome is, but you trust that process.
Sometimes we become hasty in that process, right? Holy inside. I
mean, agile. Mankind was created in haste. We become this, I guess
you can say an approach where we think the victory has to come on.
Might.
On, the victory has to come. Because, you know what Brother
Sammy reminded us of our power, Allah says, a beautiful, beautiful
reminder the victory is going to come tonight, right? That so many
of our brothers and sisters have passed away. May Allah elevate
their status with him and give them the absolute, absolute best,
whether they have returned to Allah, whether they're continuing
to live in that situation, may Allah give them and reward them.
And we know Allah azza wa jal is going to take care of them. But
for those of us right now who are living in this luxury, for those
of us who are able to walk away from the screen to recharge, for
those of us who are able to see these atrocities and see it heavy
in our hearts and thinking about, you know what I'm going to do the
best that I can, how can we not be hasty when it comes to that
victory? How can we really put that trust in Allah subhanahu wa,
looking at the examples of the seer of the Prophet, look in the
ayah Allah azza wa jal has given us in the Quran, in multitude of
places, subhanAllah that you know you mentioned, how can we really
build and feel that sense of trusting Allah in this process and
Recognizing that it is upon us to move Yes, but recognizing that
that sense of responsibility that we have to move right, that is not
just about how do I take that step? It's about how do I see
myself as being that vehicle that Allah subhanaw taala does not
replace me? Allah subhanaw taala does not replace us. Inshallah, in
this path towards victory, not just for Philistine, but for the
whole Ummah
parakalafic ismahan, and they're very poignant. And I think you've
put your finger on the on the juror, on the wound that, on the
heart of the issue itself.
And I've always pondered, what's the best way to answer a question
like this, how do you make an ummah patient with the struggle.
How do you make an ummah persevere in the struggle and the like?
And one day, you know, you sit down sometimes, and I don't want
to give you the impression that I just sit down in my room and I
just ponder things. It's not that. It's just one thing leads to
another, you know.
So one day I was watching, so when I went as I was growing up,
I believed in Allah, and I would pray, not because I wanted Jannah
because I was too scared of hellfire. I always felt like I
wasn't deserving of Jannah. You know, like Jannah is for, you
know, good people, like it's not for people who maybe, you know,
Rush door because, you know, they've got a, I don't know, a
PlayStation FIFA match later on with their friends, and they want
to get there first, because if you're lost to the house you won't
play for another hour while everybody's going through the
matches. That's in my teenage years, not now. Don't worry, guys.
So shiram Salaman did this Jannah series where he goes through and
he describes Jannah based on the Hadith and that kind of and I
watched it with my family, and it was the first time, you know that
you sit there and you think, Wait a minute, like, Jannah sounds
nice. You know, I'd like to be I'd be so cool. Like just to go
through Jannah and see all these things the eyes have never seen,
and just be in comfort. Then you start thinking to yourself, you
know, what would I want in Jannah? I remember when the sheik used to
ask us when we were kids, I was about nine or 10, he said, you
know, in Jannah, you can have anything you want. Ya Allah. What
do you want? And I put my hand up. I said, I want a river of Rubicon
mango juice. And he said, Look at this narrow mind. Yeah, I think
bigger. I told the mango juice, and go have a juice on the other
side. He
told me, only think about your stomach. I told him I don't know.
Like no one to tell me I can't play Playstation, you know, like,
you know, a never ending football match where I can just have people
I just call on them. They come and play soccer, you guys, I know
American branding is really good. You branded handball as football.
So I watched the football match that in football like you know,
it's grab the ball, hut, hut, hand. Hut, throw, hut, catch. Hut,
touch down. Hut, all with the hand, and you called it the foot.
American branding. In any case, when I refer to football, I refer
it as football. And then,
of course, you start thinking at night later on, after that gender
series, I thought, what would I want gender to be like? And I
thought, first, I want my family near me.
Then you think, second, I want a football pitch. Then you think,
thirdly, I just want, you know, whatever. And then you think,
Okay, let me go beyond. You know You, as the series went on, you
you start to go beyond, you know, when you watch them and talk about
it. And then I thought, you know, what would it be like to meet the
Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam. What would it be
like, you know. And then I, eventually, I came up with this
scenario, you know, that you know about, you know, walking in on
Prophet Muhammad saw him, you know, you walk in, you, you sort
of, you look around and you think to yourself, you know, where am I?
What's this? It looks so beautiful, amazing. Am I in the
right place? Is this first Jannah or top Jannah? Because this looks
wow, like and then you go in and you see Prophet Salam flank by two
men. One is talking passionately, and you know, your imagination
runs away with you. You imagine you, you know, you walk in and
they're mid conversation, and one is saying, so ya rasulallah, when
I entered Al Quds, we finally entered, you know, and we entered.
And then the other person will say, when you entered, did you
give the rights to the Jews and Allah? And the other person will
say, Yeah, Mira momini, did I upheld? Says, well done. Very
good. Well done. Salah Adi. You're like, Whoa. Where am I? You know.
And then the one in the middle is a wonderful, handsome man, the
likes of which you've never seen before, tells you, salam, Alaikum.
You tell him why, salam, and he will tell you, sit down. You be
like, where am I? Well, you know, SubhanAllah. And he will say,
which generation are you from? And I'm like, which generation are you
from? You know? And he says, you know. And like that, salaah,
Allah, where am I? You know, like kind of thing, and Naseem and
Amara next to me, you know, for example, just they, they're just
as confused as I am. You know that we're all there. And then, you
know, we were talking the Rasul says, which generation are you
from? And then I think to myself, you know, what could I claim? I
went back to the seerah, Prophet sallam, and I asked myself, Sami,
if you were part of this story,
which part would you want to be? And you realize later why that's
the wrong question. So I read the Sira and I go to Sumayya, ravala
anha.
She becomes Muslim, but she's killed before the Prophet
sallallahu, sallam, can even give dawah in public. She goes to Ferd.
But, you know, I find myself asking ismahan, would I really
accept to be
Sumayya side character stuff for Allah. I realized, as you going
through then you think, okay, Sumayya, masha Allah, for those,
but that's not the way I want for those.
Musa Abu Asmaa and who goes and converts Yatra to Medina, but he
dies before Fatah Mekka. And I read it, and I was like, masha
Allah, Musa Ramey, but I know he's in for those but I don't want it
that way.
Hamza radhala anhu dies in ahud, dies in the battle the Muslims are
defeated. Asad Allah,
he dies. And I read, I would read the SIR, and I would say, okay,
Sami, would you accept to be this role? And I was like, I know Hamza
ALA is in Jannah, but I don't want it this way.
And you go through the Sira and what becomes apparent, and I'm
telling you only my own reflection. Maybe it might reflect
you. Maybe you're better than me. I realize that
the way I envisage struggle is I have to be the main character.
I have to be a protagonist. It was almost as if I would rather be the
Quraysh who became Muslim at Fatah Mecca than be somebody who left
during the journey and didn't get the applause at the end.
And the more you look, the more you realize
sumay is in ferdows. And that should you know, when I asked the
question, Where would I fit in the story? The reason I said it's the
wrong question, because I realized that if you ask the question,
where do I fit into the story, or where do I want to be in the
story, you think of the dunya and the glory of the dunya. But if you
ask yourself, How can I please Allah and go to ferdows, every
single aspect of that Seera, you think I'd accept being that I'd
accept being, that I would accept this, and I would accept this, and
I would accept this, and I would accept and I realized that in my
heart of hearts, and who, and the person who really exemplified it
for me was Muhammad Jalal in the thinking Muslim podcast, because
he asked me a question at the end, and he said, you know, we talk
about salah Hadean and these people in the podiums. How can we
be like those people of Jannah. And it hit me, why do you consider
those people as the people of Jannah exclusively? Why is it that
the cherry on top of the cake is what you look at, not the teachers
who upheld the Quran and taught the generation, not those who when
Quran was banned, they kept teaching, not the mothers who
instill that love the way Zubaydah bint Amar instilled it in me, not,
for example, those who when the hijabis couldn't go to school in
Turkey, the muslimat would set up exclusive schools in order to be
able to educate them and go why are these not the people that you
consider the ones in firdos? Why does it have to be the ones on the
podium?
Why is it that when you look at Bosnia, you look at all the
students of these Muslim associations who are under
pressure on the campuses, and I might recognize the face of one of
them, who's under heavy pressure at the moment online, on Twitter,
a girl called Fatima, but when you look at these students who suffer
or the like, and in Bosnia, they would be executed or the like.
Why, even though I don't know their names, why is it when I
imagine for those, I don't imagine these people. I only imagine those
on the podium. And I realized that the reason why it reflected the
disease of my own heart, that in effect, what I was viewing Islam
as Islam is only worth struggling for. If I get the applause in the
dunya Islam is only worth struggling for if I'm there at the
end of the journey of the dunya Islam is only worth it if I am the
one who is celebrated for my role, even though the Prophet Muhammad
SAW when he was offered before he died. Do you want to stay in the
dunya and see the fruits of your effort, or do you want to go back
to Allah? He chose to go back to Allah, subhanho wa taala. Every
prophet is asked before they die, because, for the Prophet Muhammad
SAW, he understood his role as not the one to bring about the outcome
as the one to live his life as a vehicle for Allah, waiting for
that blessed moment when Allah would call him back so he can go
to Jannah and it asks. It poses the question to you, what is the
blessed moment for you? Is the blessed moment to go back to Allah
in Jannah? Or is the blessed moment when you stand and
everybody says, Sam, imasha, Allah, You lifted the ummah?
Your back, and that's when you suddenly there's this terror that
overcomes you, where you realize that you're trying to share in the
glory of Allah. When Allah has told you, man, can you read Allah
to jamiah? And here is the fascinating thing about Islam, in
that when you get to that conclusion, you start saying,
Okay, I need to program myself to accept being a Sumayya, to be
accept to be somebody whose effort I do, the effort that I have, and
although it doesn't bring the outcome that I want, an aravi,
because Allah has Ravi, I accept it because Allah loves it.
And an interesting thing about it is it leads you to a mentality
where you value every action. And the irony is that you read this
verse in the short swaras. Every kid knows this verse, but you
never truly appreciate it. Allah says, wameratin,
He who does even and Oh, his she. Because I know you have gender
issues here in the US on pronouns and stuff, those who do good and
atom of good deed, Allah recognizes. Allah sees it, and I
realized that in my mentality, Allah might recognize it, but
because the Dunya doesn't, I'll leave it as an atom. I'll only
think about the big actions. And the fascinating thing about Islam
is you have a story about what Allah does when you're ready to be
the vehicle, however minor it might be, Allah tells you the
story of Ibrahim alaihi salam. And the story of Rahim alaihi salam is
about a man who sacrifices what is the dearest thing to him. Allah
tells him, if you truly love me, sacrifice the dearest thing to you
in this dunya. But look at Allah's mercy when Ibrahim finally got to
the point when he was ready to do so Allah didn't even take the
sacrifice from him. Allah said, All I needed was the proof you
were willing to do so you may keep your son and keep the blessing in
this dunya, and I will elevate you and put you on that podium that
you learnt and accepted was not the be or end all. It's almost as
if the secret of success in Islam is not to pursue the podium, but
to pursue the willingness to be a vehicle in any shape or form. And
the moment your heart is ready for that, the moment you say, Ya
Allah, I'm ready to be sumay. Allah anha, I no longer look down
on it. I now appreciate that she is just as important as those who
entered Mecca. She is just as important that Hamza, Allah Anu,
that those who never saw the Fatah, they are just as important
as those who got the victory. But for their sacrifice, there would
be no victory but for their belief, there would be no victory,
but for their supremacy of faith, that they were ready to give their
all for Allah, Subhanahu wa and His Prophet, despite knowing they
wouldn't get anything in the dunya when your heart is ready for that.
The fascinating about Islam is that's the moment you find Allah
opens the door that sends you soaring to the very podium that
you've just given up. So when you ask me about being hasty or the
like, I think that hastiness comes from a subconscious desire to
share glory, a subconscious desire to have people say, look at the
plan and how they executed it. Because the ones who are not
hasty, the ones who are at ease with the progress, are not
necessarily, when I say at ease, I don't mean they're sitting at
ease. I mean the ones who keep going, who keep mobilizing. We got
it wrong today. We fix it tomorrow. We got it wrong 10 times
we go. The 11th time we got it wrong in her Danda Kanu, we keep
going again. Why? Because, for them, they believe they've already
attained the victory. Because for them, it wasn't about the outcome.
For them is Alhamdulillah, Allah has given me the strength to be a
vehicle. Alhamdulillah, Allah has chosen me to be a vehicle. All I
want is for Allah to accept the effort. I want Allah to accept
what I'm doing. And the reason why I mentioned Surat HUD earlier is
you talk about hastiness. Noah gives dawah for 900 years, yes,
man. And after 900 years, he doesn't say, oh, Allah, where is
the victory? He says? He says, rabbin out to call me. Layla when
a Hara, wala me as it hum, dua e Illah, Fira, WA en nikula, ma,
doubt only. Taq virallahum, Jalo, a Sabian, fadani, him was stuck.
Show the Abu Asmaa was stuck, but a stick? Bara, no. After 900
years, he says, ya, Allah, I'm calling on these people day and
night, and every time I call on them, they plug their ears, and
when I call on them so you might forgive them, they put their
fingers in their ears and they cover their faces. They run away
from me, and they treat me with arrogance. What I find fascinating
about the verse is some people look at it and focus on the point
that as people weren't listening, I focus on Rabbi ini Dao to call
me Laila wanahara Allah. I called on my people day and night. Allah,
I kept going. Allah, I kept moving. Allah, I kept mobilizing,
and though I wasn't seeing the fruits that I wanted, Allah, I
kept moving. Allah, I kept mobilizing. And Allah delivers him
an outcome and a victory and elevates him to the heavens later
on. And that's why I think.
To answer the question, because I was whispered in my ear, please
behave on the time. But the point being is this, I think that when
we talk about hastiness,
I think that hastiness disappears once you're ready to accept being
a vehicle, and once you're ready to accept living a life where the
greatest honor is not what they say about you in the dunya, but
what the angels and the heavens will say about you. And for those
interested in hearing what the angels and the heavens will say,
let me tell you, because Allah says it in the Quran, I believe
that to get over hastiness, you have to create for yourself a
scenario that is worth achieving. And you realize that whatever the
scenarios of the dunya, no scenario in this dunya compares to
this scenario. And I'd like to share it with you, because this is
what keeps me going.
I believe
that the Ummah is destined to struggle because the Prophet
sallam, from the time he raised his Dao at 40 years of age, he
struggled until he died. And Abu Bakr Sadiq began his reign with
struggle, and Umm Al Khattab likewise, and the Ummah goes to
the struggle. Why? Because the very path of justice is one of
struggle. It's not one of comfort. The very path of justice is one in
which those of injustice will resist you, and it becomes a
struggle that Allah subhanahu will ultimately decide the outcome.
If I can reconcile this in my heart, and I'm not saying I have,
maybe I haven't, the reason why I gave you examples of Sumayya and
Musab and and Hamza Radi Allahu anhuj Marin is to oppose the
questions to you that I pose to myself. Sami hamdullah, you're
enjoying going around America and talking about Ghazal Palestine.
Would you accept to be somebody on the ground, canvassing on the
doors? Would you accept to be somebody who's the one who goes
and just, you know, says, Does the retweeting of the videos? Would
you accept to be somebody who's not gifted in eloquence, but maybe
is gifted in something small, where nobody appreciates would Are
you willing to accept it? I don't have an answer, and I would bet
none of you have an answer for that either. The scenario that I
imagine is this, that once you accept the outcome, might not come
in your lifetime, because, let's be honest, the prophet ha Salim
did not seek liberated.
The prophet. Did not see Islam being given like the Dawa being
given in English or in American, because they're separate
languages. The Prophet Muhammad SAW, did not see Islam in Latin
America.
Did not see those in Bangladesh who loved the Prophet so much
SallAllahu, sallam, that they would come out in the hundreds of
1000s defending his honor whenever Macron defends the cartoons.
Prophet, Sallam never saw this. But did he need to?
Because the magnificence of the Prophet saw them was not entirely
in the material things he achieved, because by the time he
died, he only ruled over the Arabian peninsula that the
Persians and the Romans didn't even believe was worth conquering.
The magnificence of the Prophet sallam was a spirit that he left
behind, a spirit in which the ummah will never be, an ummah that
sits down and does nothing, that the Ummah would keep going
whatever the odds, that the Ummah would keep shouting for justice,
no matter what, that the Ummah would always be on the front
lines, that the Ummah would rather throw everything for the cause of
justice than to sit in its comfort. That the people of Bosnia
would rather preserve Allah and suffer a genocide and persecution
than give it up and live a life of comfort in Yugoslavia, that the
people of turkia would rather struggle and be executed and be
tortured and be slaughtered for La Ilaha Muhammad Sallallahu, then
accept secularism, in which he banned the printing of the Quran
and tried to shut down the mosques and kicked out the scholars, they
could have lived a life of comfort. All they had to do was
say, I'm giving up. Layla. They refused to do so.
The scenario I imagine is this, that after accepting that I might
not achieve the outcome in my lifetime, because the Prophet
Sallam did not seek God's liberated NUHA salaam did not
convince all his people who Dalai Salam did not convince all his
people. Saleh, Hala Salam did not convince all his people, and they
were far better people than Sam Ibn Al Hashim.
If I accept that, and I say to Allah, I'm not a particularly
talented individual. I don't have lots of money. I don't have an
army. I tell people, punish Biden, but I'm not sure what will happen
next. I tell people, focus on the local politics. You can punish
Biden the elections, and you can prevent Trump from getting the
house. When they tell me how, I tell them, get the data first so
we can analyze it. They say, how? I say, Google it. Just do
anything, figure it out. Ya, Allah, I don't have all the
answers. Ya Allah, I don't know if I'm telling the Ummah to go into a
difficult four year period where Trump might be worse. All I know
is I want to punish genocide. Joe, I can't live a life being
humiliated where someone commits a genocide of 20,000 Palestinians
and still wins the second term. Wallahi, if I'm to suffer next
four years, we suffer together genocide. Joe, I'll bring you
down, and then let's suffer the four years together. But Wallahi,
I won't let you get a second term after committing a genocide 20,000
people. I will not let the world say that you can do that and still
survive in politics, your career is finished, and I will do every
power I can to make sure that it's finished. Allahu, Akbar, views
expressed on the speaker zone, views expressed.
Other speaker's own views expressed on the speaker's own.
Ignore what these people just
did. I imagine that, after living a life in which I trip over and I
hope the Ummah lifts me up when I trip over, I believe that when I
make a mistake and I hope the Ummah says, Sami, you had good
intentions. Get up, try again. I hope the Ummah does that. I hope
the Ummah doesn't do what they've done in the past to some mash like
Shikhar Sulaiman and others, where they lambast him for every tiny
little thing. I hope that we're in Ummah that the same way they made
1000 excuses for red pill. Maybe they'll make some excuses for his
pan Allah, they found rahmah for red pill. They couldn't find it
for Mashiach, yeah, ibad, Allah, show me at least what you showed
the red pill guy, at least
for Allah Ali,
I hope that after lifetime of tripping up, being lifted up,
lifetime tripping up, get to know what's up. Francis, it's Mahan.
Sami, keep going. I just sent this message to motivate you from other
brothers. Keep going. I just to motivate you when I feel down, I
think Subhanallah, I'm tired, and my wife tells me, go, go, go.
Allah, bless you. Don't worry about London. I've got it sorted.
You keep doing what you're doing. And I keep going. And I feel like
they all had hoped that I would do something, but ya Rabba
approaching the last breaths of my life, and Al Quds is still
chained, and Bin Salman is the islamizing Saudi, and the UAE have
gone overboard, and the Ummah just looks like in a much more
difficult struggle. And Imran Khan is sentenced to prison just
because they establish and believe he will win an election, and they
are so horrified that Pakistanis actually want to be liberated. Ya
Allah, I tried. Ya Allah, maybe I got it wrong. Ya Allah, I tried.
Maybe I should have done this. Maybe I should have done that. Ya
Allah, if only I had a few more years just to do is Ya Allah, I
tried. Ya Allah, I failed miserably. Ya Allah, I tried to
use my powers. I don't know if I used it well. Ya Allahu, Allah, I
tried, and I feel my Ruh, My soul is about to come out, and I say,
Ya Allah, I'm sorry that I left the world this way. I'm sorry I
couldn't use my powers to maximum effect. La ilaha, illallah,
Muhammad, Rasulullah, and the soul leaves the body. And I feel like
that. I failed miserably, because I kept trying, but I didn't see
the outcome that I wanted. Here's the scenario I imagine,
instead of my soul going up and the angel saying, yeah, yeah, to
hanafah o dirty, disgusting soul, soul that had power but did
nothing. So that saw others doing something and told him, there's no
point. So that said, this strategy is useless. Don't bother soul.
That said, Why are you moving anyway? The world is against us.
So that said, Mehdi is coming. Don't bother moving. Soul that
said, keep going, or whatever, soul that wanted to see the
outcome in his dunya and wouldn't mobilize unless they knew they
were going to see the outcome. That's not what you're going to
hear. You won't hear all this soul failed in this dunya because it
failed to liberate Al Aqsa, go to jahannam a bit Salma, sir. You
won't hear that.
What you'll hear is you will hear the angels as you're in tears at
not achieving the outcome that you wanted. You will hear the angels.
They will say,
Oh, beautiful soul, soul that whose heart was broken, but they
kept going. Soul that felt despair, but they kept going. Soul
that felt the world was against them, but kept going. Soul that
saw the odds were again, the more kept going, soul that felt even
the basic retweet made a difference, soul that believed in
soul that kept going and kept encouraging other people mother,
soul that kept making cupcakes to sell to neighbors so they could
find an excuse to give dawah. Soul that whose mother kept telling him
to take couscous to the neighbor and to give a Quran with it as
well. So they kept moving for the only reason that they believed
that Allah had all the power, and Allah would give it as He wills.
And so they use the powers that they had. You will
hear, yeah. Ravi atamard, you come back to your Lord. Why are you
crying. Allah is celebrating you. Allah. Ravi Alik, Allah is
appreciating you. Allah is celebrating you. Allah loves you
because you kept going. Allah loves you because you kept moving.
Allah loves you because when your heart was broken, it never lost.
Faith in Allah, you knew the victory was coming and you kept
going. What's perseverance? What's striving? You didn't get the
outcome in the dunya, but look at this beautiful outcome. For holy
fear ibadi, what holy janati,
come back to your Lord. And I imagine when you enter the Jannah,
you won't be asking about this dunya.
I won't ask Why didn't win in 2006 Champions League final.
I won't ask what happened in this dunya. You'll go up and I imagine
that scenario I gave you the Prophet Muhammad saw him. Let's
finish it. I imagine that as I approach I'm envious of listening
to Salah Dil Ayub in honorable Khattab telling the Prophet
Muhammad Sallam how they liberated Al Aqsa.
And I imagine I could be wrong. This is my imagination. Let's run
wild. I imagine that I'd be terrified that the Prophet said,
will ask me, what generation are you? Because I have nothing to
say. And
then Prophet said, will look at me smiling, mashallah, with his
beautiful face, and say, what generation are you? And I imagine
myself pouring my.
How? Ya rasulallah, I'm from a pathetic generation. Ya
rasulallah, we had social media. We broke Israel's monopoly over
the narrative, and we tried and we mobilized, but we made mistakes.
Some of the Ummah wouldn't believe they had power. I tried to shout
on the microphone. I tried to come up with so many different examples
and scenarios to try to encourage them. I tried to go this way and
this way and this way. Yeah, I tried to all this. And ya
rasulallah, all I had was a tongue. I tried to make money. I
was rubbish at business. My brother was everything he touches
turn to gold. Me. I touch anything he just gets. I don't know how to
make money. I have no idea how, even though I make good money.
Alhamdulillah. But any case, Ya Rasulullah, I tried. I didn't know
anything about this or this or this Yasser. And he will say,
Enough, enough, enough, enough, enough, enough. You're now in
Jannah, enough, and I will feel myself less. This is the scenario
I imagine and entertain me with this one. I imagine that one of
the youngsters sitting here Inshallah, he will come after me,
while I'm sitting in this gathering, and the Prophet Salam
will ask him, What generation are you from him and his sister? We're
all at this top point, sitting with Sammy in the sha Allah, all
of us, Guru, Amin, a the Prophet Sallam will say, what generation
are you? And they will say, Ya rasulallah, we are the ones who
liberated Al Aqsa for the third time. And in my heart, be like, oh
mashaAllah
on a let him sit down. But before they sit down, I imagine they do
this. Entertain me just for a bit.
Ya rasulallah, it's an honor to see you liberated. Al Aqsa, Allah,
Sammy,
are you? Sammy
mash. Ya rasulallah,
I used to watch his videos. Ya rasulallah, he convinced me we
were strong. Ya rasulallah, he told us that Allah was strong. All
I had to do was go to Bosnia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and reconnect
with the memories of my ummah. He said we were like vessels, and we
just had to pour the memories in. And I realized my ummah was
strong. I realized they were powerful his generation and those
of California. They broke Israel's monopoly over the narrative.
Everybody saw it as an apartheid regime. And then we pushed and
lobbied, and then sanctions were imposed on the Israelis. And then
we broke their apartheid regime. The Palestinians were finally
liberated. They went for the right of return. Ya Rasulullah. These
guys paved the way for us, if it wasn't for them, Allah say, You
see, every soul has value in the eyes of Allah, your generation's
role was to lay the Paveway. They the foundations for the liberation
of Aksa as Imam Al Ghazali and nurodin Zinke and those before
Salah in ayubi paved the way for Salah Haden to liberate Al Aqsa.
And I will say, Allah. Now I understand why you made me go
through the events I did. Now I understand the struggles that we
went through. Now. I understand the battles that we faced. Now. I
understand the values of the victories we had. Now I understand
the gains that we made. Now I understand how it all connects
together. You never truly abandon this ummah. You are always with
us. You always showed us the path. We took this path, we struggled on
this path, and now we sit in Jannat al for those your justice
was established on this earth and it was established on the jannah
inshallah. For those who are hasty, there are those who don't
imagine Jannah for those who are hasty, they don't imagine the
struggle for those who are hasty, they haven't yet met the Prophet
Muhammad, sallAllahu, Sallam in their imagination. And they
haven't prepared their argument for what they're going to say to
Rasulullah. They haven't prepared the argument say, Ya Rasulullah,
even though it looked bleak, I kept moving. Even though it kept
it looked bleak. I kept mobilizing. Even though it looked
bleak, I kept telling people to move they haven't had that
conversation yet. When you have that conversation your
imagination, yeah. Ibad Allah, every action of resistance has
value. Every action of speaking out for justice has value. Every
action that makes the Israelis unhappy, whether it's on social
media or the like ibadah, they're spending billions to silence us,
billions to shut our accounts, billions to shadow ban hashtag
Palestine. To be honest, when I see him spending billions to shut
an ummah that has broken their monopoly for free, I say, you
know, Bibi Netanyahu, retweet, there you go. Repost, there you
go, comment, there you go. I don't know how far it will go, but I
know he's worried. I don't know how far it will go. I know they're
panicking. I don't know how far it will go. I know they're concerned
about it. So as the Algerians say, scarafi, I'll keep doing it,
because somehow I believe it will lead to an opportunity where we
can do something great. And I'll finish on this point. I promise. I
promise. I finish on this point.
When public opinion shifted in Quraysh, when it shifted in Mecca,
it created a series of events that led to us and Hazrat going to the
Prophet sallallahu when he had no army, and saying to me, Ya
Rasulullah, we are ready to support you. This shift in public
opinion in Arabia created the environment that unlocked the
power that the Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam
needed to take the Dawah to the next step. Ibad Allah, if you're
tired about the slow pace, accept yourselves in the role of the
first 13 years of dawah, where you are shifting the public opinion
and Osiris are on the way in sha Allah, BarakAllahu come. Thank you
very much. Yeah, Allah.
All Subhanallah, balasam, as you were, I know we're supposed to
finish at 830 but I'm going to take the liberty of asking one
more question, because I think this really kind of brings us to a
really good ending inshallah with these reminders Subhanallah, just
today in San Diego. I wasn't actually going to share this, but
you reminded me of this as you were kind of giving us that
reminder. We had three individuals who pass away Subhanallah, a nine
year old girl,
28 my 28 year old cousin
and my 45 year old aunt, subhanAllah, all three of them
returned to Allah, Subhanahu wa today in different circumstances.
And it just reminds us, you know, my my sister and I are here
Subhanallah was like, we couldn't cancel last minute, even though I
know Farran and the team here could take care of it is in a
manner fulfilling that Amana SubhanAllah. And it shows you just
how fleeting life is, and that you never know when, which age you're
going to return to Allah subhanahu wa and where you are in this path
towards that victory and towards the end of the Prophet alayhi
salatu wa salam, life, and returning to Allah subhanahu wa
looks out at the Sahaba, and the last image that they have of the
Prophet alayhi salatu wa salam is that smile.
Is that beautiful smile Subhanallah and him recognizing
that light, you said, the faith that he left behind here by the
will of Allah subhanahu wa it reminds me of
a Sura that came towards the end of the life of the prophet Ali, he
said at Western which is Subhana, Surat Anas, EDA Jahi will put what
I ate a NASA yet holuna Feeding elaheja, what's up behind Wallace,
telling us and reminding us that when you see the Help in the
victory of Allah that has come, when that victory has come,
subhanAllah, when you see the people entering the folds of
Islam, so many folks have returned to their Lord as they are watching
the resiliency and faith of the Palestinians SubhanAllah. And
what's interesting for me is the last ayah where Allah, Subhanahu
wa has come in that moment you ask Mata na Sal Allah, where's the
help of Allah? And I'll tell Allah is telling you, here's the
victory. The victory is guaranteed. The victory is going
to come. Allah is telling us to
praise Him and to seek forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa. And
because Allah subhanahu wa is thought forgiving, and in that is
a reminder for us, if you can kind of end us with this, Inshallah,
don't worry about the time they're forgiving. OC is very forgiving.
Alhamdulillah,
is even in those moments, we believe the victory is going to
come. There is no doubt, and there shouldn't be any doubt, that the
victory from Allah, Subhanahu wa is going to come, that even those
who think that they may have power. We know that hasn't that we
tell the Prophets that the Prophet told Abu Bakr as an in Allah, the
Allah is with us. Allah is with our brothers and sisters in
Philistine. We know the victory is promised. We know the victory is
going to come. And in this ayah in Surat Al Nasr, Allah is telling us
to praise Him, to seek forgiveness of him. And in that reminder, you
can just share your reflections that even when the victory comes,
thinking about the victory, not just in terms of this world, as
you said, but even in that hereafter, and making sure in this
path, that concept of taribiya, the concept of every moment that
we live through, in these moments as we're building and Allah,
hopefully will use this as vehicles to bring about that
victory. Is also a reminder for us to make sure we're connecting our
souls back to Allah to improve the how I was. This is my hand three
months ago. It's not the same as Mohandas standing here today in
front of you all that inshaAllah, Allah gives me a long life in the
next month, the next two months, whenever the ceasefire comes,
whenever that victory comes, that this, this, this body that holds
this soul that ALLAH SubhanA wa Taala has given. And for all of
us, it's not the same that we are inching closer and strengthening
our bonds with ALLAH SubhanA wa Taala internally, and taking that
strength and applying it externally and working for
justice. If you can share us and end us with that reflection baraka
of sisters, Mahan, I think that
you hit the nail on the head in terms of what struggle feels like.
A lot of people think that struggle always feels like, Yes,
I'm going to keep going. I'm going to keep moving. Or the like, the
reality is that the Sierra shows you that it's not like that, that
Sahaba had to lift each other to keep them going, that even when
Prophet Sallam died, remember Allah says, I will, I will kill
anybody who says the Prophet Sallam is dead. Abu Bakr Sadiq had
to stand up and said, you know, they gave the ayah when Muhammad,
Allah, rasulallah, the Prophet Muhammad SAW, was only a
messenger. In that moment, all was so heartbroken that suddenly
everything had just, you know, closed in. It took Abu Bakr Sadiq
to remind him and say, and that's just in the seerah. But also, I
tell you something a bit personal, you know,
you appreciate, and some of the elders will appreciate this, that
you know, you plan your life one way, and it goes a completely
different way. Allah sends different you know, things.
You know, if you asked me, you know, 15 years ago that I doing
what I do today, and I told you, what do you mean? You know, I'm
going to be a lawyer, an attorney. You know, Baba was unhappy that
all four siblings did law. Not a single one became a lawyer, an
attorney. In any case,
one of the things that I always felt when I was younger was, if I
succeeded in life by my limited standards,
that I would feel happy about it, and, you know, my heart would
soar. And then Alhamdulillah, when I considered myself having
Alhamdulillah, like I made it, you know, like I'm advising
governments, I'm advising corporate clients. I'm sitting
with, you know, world leaders. You know, they're asking my opinion,
and that kind of and I felt, you know, you feel like you're on a
high and
then one day, somebody said to me, how do you truly feel about it?
And in reality, I felt quite horrible and explain what I mean.
It wasn't that I didn't appreciate the success. It was that I
remembered how I felt in the transition period between the
successes, where I felt like, yeah. Allah, why am I going
through this? Ya, Allah, why don't you just give me the, you know,
the role? Why can't the opportunity just open up now? Ya
Allah, why am I going through this? You know? Ya Allah, why is,
you know, this guy is doing well, he's doing well, you know, I could
be Ya Allah, like you always feel like there's a sense that Allah is
not looking after you, that somehow he's busy with other
things, and you're just left there dangling. You're trying. This is
not working. You're trying. This is not working. But when it comes
Subhanallah, when everyone has the power of hindsight, once you're
like Subhanallah, I needed to go through that to get here. This had
to happen to force me. And the reason why I said I felt horrible
is because I realized during that transition period I wasn't
grateful for what I had.
I didn't say Alhamdulillah for what I had. I only said
Alhamdulillah when the success came, I wasn't able when Allah
says, if you were to count the blessings of Allah, you never
finished counting them. I never counted them when I didn't have
what I want. I only celebrated Allah when I got what I wanted. It
was almost as if it was conditional. How I thank Allah
subhanahu wa and that's what I mean. It hits your point about
struggle in that people the reason why you know there's so much
burden when you struggle is because you're desperate for an
outcome that Allah has decided to deliver on his own terms, not your
terms, and you struggle to thank Allah for the process, because the
process feels so difficult, because you feel that it's tight,
whether it's monetary issues, whether it's arguing with your
parents who want you to have a better life. I used to think that
my dad's, you know, I had to be a lawyer or he'd be deeply
disappointed. I realized that it wasn't that he was just so upset I
didn't have any direction that he wanted to give it to me because he
felt no direction. You'll be lost, my boy. I just want you to be good
in this dunya. And when I turned out to be Alhamdulillah, all
right, in this dunya, that's when I heard him tell his friends, you
know, my son is this. And I was like, oh, okay, I misunderstood
SubhanAllah. The point is that you don't appreciate during that
period of struggle, and that's what I came to regret, because you
learn afterwards that the success is always coming. Allah will
always give you an out like Allah will always make you move forward.
Allah will always put an opportunity in your lap. Allah
will always give you a mahari should give you an outcome from
from where you don't even expect it, you know, like, sometimes I
always tell people, even in my own example, I did law, and then
didn't want to do law, and then I was applying for 200 jobs. I was
just changing, you know, you have a cover letter. Your company's
amazing and this, and you just change the name of the company.
Sometimes you you forget to change the name of the company. So they
email, they're like, Thank you for your letter, but we are not
company so and so, and even like, I'm sorry. Like, and then a friend
just comes randomly and says, Send me. There's a Middle East analyst
role. I don't know what Middle East analyst does. Is it data? Is
it coding? Is it whatever? You go to the interview, you don't know
what the job is. You go to second interview, you know what the job
is, but it's in Mayfair. It's in central London. And if I grew up
in the suburbs, I grew up comfortable. Hamdulillah, won't
lie. Like my father was successful. But to tell people,
you work in Mayfair, I realized that Ummah would go, Oh Mayfair,
So alhamdulillah. I ended up falling in this job, which was
just about politics. I just advised companies on politics. I
didn't last long in the company. Muslims aren't taught how to
navigate corporate environments very well, and Algerian blood is
not a good thing to have in a corporate environment. But in any
case, clients, they started coming afterwards when I thought, Oh, I
don't know I'm doing now. Clients, they came. A friend that I went to
university with gave me my first TV appearance. We're sitting in
Istanbul. Somaya had gone to go see her family just for a week. I
said, I'll go Istanbul. Why not? I went and sat with a friend. He has
an interview that evening on Yemen. He says, Send me. What's
the latest? Haven't been following. I told him, Aki, these
interviews, you've only got three minutes. There's no point focusing
on the event. On the event today. Just focus on the essence. There
was a national dialog. Houthis were upset between elections. They
allied with a former dictator, and they took a national dialog, and
he went, do you want to do
it? And you have to look dignified, you know? You have to
look shocked. Oh, me.
He gives you the first TV appearance. Then you start going
on that channel more often. Then you don't know where things are
going. You're like, Okay, this isn't what I planned, but it's
going then Erdogan and Gulen, they fall out with each other. 1000s of
people are sacked from the state institutions. One girl ends up at
LG Z English, Sammy, I'll get you one. I was like, Okay, thank you.
They she went to the director. They said, put his name in Google.
Nothing came up. They were like, LG.
Get English. We don't bring nobodies. She was like, I promise.
I'll get you one after the fourth time. I told her, please stop
saying this. You're raising my hopes and crushing it. Salah. I
don't want this. I don't need this in my life. Randomly, one day on a
Saturday, she calls and she says, How far is London Bridge from your
house? I said, it's 50 minutes. Door to door. She said, Get
dressed. Now. There's a debate show in one hour and a half. One
of the guest has canceled. My director says, because we have two
heavyweights, bring any Tom Dick and Harry, even if he'd just be a
passenger in the show whatever next day, New York Times, Middle
East expert Sami hamdita Washington, I had the blog that I
was typing on, I used to type. My wife used to tell me, move, semi
move. My parents used to tell me, move, semi move. And I was one of
those who said, I'm moving, I'm moving, and there's nothing
happening. I'm typing all my analysis on a blog, and no one's
reading it on my mailing list. It's just my wife, you know, like
Subhanallah, like, like, it's, it's so I don't know where the
opportunity is going to come from. And then SubhanaHu, on the day of
the interview I was then she called me, and I put the phone, I
went, Sumaya. She was like, What's wrong with you, Allah, what's
happening? She said, Okay, similar. She gets to sue. I wear
this one, not that one, but I like Brown, no way gray. No this and
about black, no way black, assuming I don't have time. Well,
you have to dress properly. If it's your first appearance,
yellow, put this on. No, no, put the tie on properly. So Maya, I'm
gonna be late. I need to run yellow. You go and the next day.
Washington Post, New York Times, on the mailing list. Harvard,
UCLA, Berkeley, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Department,
that kind of thing. Suddenly people are reading back the
articles again, and my parents would say, see when we told you to
move look what happens. You know, at the same time, my father is
telling me, No, you have to stay here and and work for the channel
as well. And you're exposed to all the politics. Then you move on to
the next stage, a friend you're playing football with. I'm giving
you these examples to show you how life is not a linear career path.
It's stumble, stumble, stumble. We're playing football on a
Sunday. Ad comes to me after the match. Al Jazeera, yeah, my guy,
listen, I'm doing a PhD at Oxford, and we're organizing an event in
Brussels, and I have leftover budget for one more guy. Do you
want to come? We'll pay for you. You're a Stan. Will tell you to go
back. I told him, at least make the offer with dignity. What do
you mean? Like an add on? Like a you know, we have dignity. Karama,
he goes, I make you an offer. Do you want to come on? I told him.
Ya Allah, I went. It was the blockade sir. Saudi had blockaded
Qatar. I finished my talk. Why is Saudi blockaded Qatar? Aman come
says, salam, how are you this? I'm the ambassador to the EU and NATO
of a particular country. I spend the next few years now working
with Ministries of Foreign Affairs of governments or the like. The
point that I'm saying is that what I regretted in those periods was
the inability to accept that Allah had a wonderful plan, and my
arrogance that I thought my plan was better, the arrogance that I
believed it had to be my plan or I failed, and Allah has shown me in
my very young lifespan. In my very young lifespan, I'm not old by any
stretch of the imagination. Hamdulaps,
the point is that Allah showed me that there was a beautiful plan.
And do you know how merciful My Lord is, Allah forced that better
plan on me. Allah imposed that better plan on me, because he
loved me so much that he wasn't willing to allow me to follow my
plan, which was paled in comparison to the plan that he
gave. So when you're talking to me about, you know, me for Sabbath,
the Nasr came, in my opinion, Alhamdulillah, Allah. I feel Allah
has honored me. Alhamdulillah, I feel Allah is on. And, you know,
you get to a stage in life where you think, listen, wherever some
people are saying, you know, what's America like? What are you
going to do next? I tell him, listen. Five months ago, I was
watching Arsenal lose. I didn't think I would be in America. But
the reason why you learn to go with the wave is you think,
Alhamdulillah, Allah trains you for a certain moment, and when
you're ready for it, he gives you that key. So when I read for
Sabbath, the staff in this part so praise Allah and make istiqar.
After the victory has come is to make istikhar. Allah, you had such
a wonderful plan. A staff for Allah. I didn't appreciate it. You
had such a wonderful plan. Tuba Alaya for Allah. Arab. I in those
moments, I never truly believed your plan was better than mine.
Allah, you gave me the victory. In spite of me. And Allah, I'm
celebrating this victory. So allow me to praise you for said, Be
Hamdi. Rabbi Kawa and Allah, in His mercy, is telling me in
nahukana. Tawab, telling me, hassmi, you are my beloved
servant. This is what I how I imagine, my Lord, You are my
beloved servant. Don't worry about those moments. In Nita web, I am
the one who forgives and I am the one who pardons. I'm the one who
wipes the slate clean. Alhamdulillah, you appreciate what
I have given you. Wala in shakar, tumla, azidan naqum, if you're
thankful, I'll give you more. Yes, Amy and Sami Malu Allahu, the
Shukra, show me your thanks through the actions for Wallahi in
the Actions. Actions is to use the powers that you have to show the
thanks for Allah subhanahu wa and then SubhanAllah. Finish on this
point. And I'll finish on a warning, even though perhaps it's
nice to finish on a good note, but let me finish on a warning.
There's an ayah that terrifies me, and it's an ayah that I came
across when I wanted to learn a long surah. Because when I learned
surah Taha, I found.
Brother behind me, knows along the Surat Surat Taha. I was like, Nah,
I can't have this. I got a one up him. I need to learn Surat Baqarah
too long. Surat Al Imran Yala,
there is somebody. They said they wanted to bring him to the deen.
So he became Muslim, and then they taught him Surat Al Baqarah as his
first surah. And he tired learning Surah Al Baqarah. So for those who
don Arabic, so to Baka the cow. So when he finished, the Imam said,
we'll go easy on you. Next, we'll do surat al feel the elephant. And
he said, No,
go easy. Don't go from cow to elephant. Go easy on me. There is
an A in Surat Al Imran that I came across that made me pause. And
again, we are all reflections true. So I can't talk about me
without talking about you. Allah says, in a few Al Bab in indeed,
in the changing of the night, in the day, there is Signs for those
who ponder.
Aladdin, ayahu, Allah, AJ nubihi, waladi, Rabbana, Mahala, Subhan
those who ponder the creation and who remember Allah standing,
sitting and lying down, and they say, Allah, only, you could have
created all this that we see. So Allah, please keep us out of the
* fire.
These people are ullul Al Bab, those who know Allah, Subhanahu
wa in this particular passage, two, three, Ayat later, they say
Arab banala, Tuz Hulu, Bana, Bada, Id had date, Anah Wahab, Ella,
dunka, rahma, Inna Wahab. This is the area that strikes me, Allah,
please do not take us out of this. Deen, after you have guided us to
it and bestow upon us Your mercy.
And I can't lie there, ullul Al Bab. So imagine for somebody like
Sam is Pamela. I don't think that before I read the AI, I don't
think I'd ever made an ayah. I made a dua for Allah to keep me on
Islam because I thought it was ALRIGHT. I didn't realize it was a
privilege or a blessing or a gift from Allah subhanahu wa that he
got. I took it for granted. That ayah made me realize I took it for
granted. So when ullul al Bay saying, Allah, please keep us
guided on this, Deen, it's because they appreciate it. It was a gift
that could be taken away. And what do you do when somebody gives you
a gift? You show appreciation. You show thanks. You tell them
BarakAllahu fiqh, you buy them a gift. When you go to somebody's
house, you want to up the gift is, oh, why you want to show that
gratitude and appreciation and ibad, Allah, the way you show
gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa is to recognize the gift and to act
within the powers that Allah subhanahu wa has given you. And
during those periods when you're waiting for the victory to come
and the victory has promised, don't be like Samuel, who used to
say, Allah, why is my plan not coming to fruition? Be the ones
who say, Listen, guys, I know it looks tough now. I know it looks
difficult. I know we don't know the next step. I don't know we I
know that. We don't know what might happen after November. But
listen, as long as we continue in the way of justice, as long as we
continue in the way of Allah, as long as you keep the ball moving,
who those who wants a sport reference 90 minutes to score a
goal, sometimes you just move the ball to see how the player is
going to move. Is the team pressing? Is it deep? Is the
fullback coming forward? Are they coming back? You're trying to see
how the other, excuse me, sisters, but trying to see, you know how,
how the other team is moving, and how the teams you move the ball.
As long as you move the ball, the opportunity will start to show
itself. As long as if you have that faith that Allah will decide
that out, I don't need to see it. I know that if I move, it will
come I don't need to see it. As long as I move, something will
happen if we make a mistake on the way, we get back up and we keep
moving, then that victory will come. And when that victory comes,
for those of us who perhaps, during the period we went, dude,
man, when's this victory coming, we will be the ones who say, for
Sabbath, Praise be to Allah Who gave the outcome in spite of us.
And may Allah forgive us for not showing that perseverance during
the journey, and Alhamdulillah ina Huq ala will wipe out our sins
despite those shortcomings, because Allah rewards the
striving. Allah understands the striving. Allah understood Mary,
and when she said, I wish I had been a forgotten woman, Allah
understood her pain. Allah understood the heartbreak of the
Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sin, when he left Mecca
and said, Wallahi, I would never have left you, and you are the
dearest man to me. He understood the pain and heartbreak of the
Prophet Muhammad sallam. Allah understands that we might struggle
with struggle. He understands that we might struggle with
perseverance. But our Lord, Almighty and Merciful, has not
said that I will punish you for feeling that that heartbreak, or
the like Allah has said, keep moving. I'm with you. Keep moving.
I see, keep moving. I can hear, keep moving. I will open the doors
and take one step towards me. I take 10 come walking. I come
running. May Allah always make us those from those who walk. And I
always say, and I finish on this point, as Martin Luther King said.
And the reason I give this message because it's a very Islamic
message, if you can fly, fly, if you can't fly, run, if you can't
run, walk, if you can't walk, crawl. But by God, keep moving,
for the Ummah that moves. That's the Ummah Allah gives glory to
ubara. Allahu, Akbar.
Allahu, Akbar, Sammy Subhanallah, ending on this.
Know, and I promise you, we're going to end at 830 but this is
why I don't say I will end up there as I promised. We'll try,
because the idea is we want to make sure we have these rooms
Subhanallah to have this deeper discussion and conversation and
reminders to be known by the inhabitants of the heavens.
Subhanallah is often better than to be known by the inhabitants of
the earth. And Inshallah, as we're coming to a close for this. Just
remember, take what it is that we that brother Sammy reminded us
today, and think about in the ways that you can turn that into action
and really imply apply it in your lives, as we are making dua and
acting for justice, whether it's in Philistine, whether it's in
Sudan, whether it's in Kashmir and Subhanallah, to list everywhere
that the Ummah was hurting, subhanAllah is going to take time,
but Allah is the One who sees and is the Aziz. So I will end with
this quick little reminder, Inshallah, in Surat Baqarah on the
cows, para not suited to feel and sort of Bakara Allah tells us,
with a lot of buchala, malaikati in nature and on Phil Arthur,
Khalifa Allah, fee him a new city to fee hayamtika. Wanna cut this?
Allah? Allah, any malata? That he was going to create vice chance on
this earth, and they were surprised and shocked, and said,
Will you create therein those that are going to be Subhanallah
spilling blood with a lot of buchay I know Phil Arthur, Khalifa
Allah, attach, a fee huh, spreading corruption. Where's FICO
de man when this Subhan
Allah, when we are praising you, and Allah tells the angels, I know
that which you do not know, and Allah knows that which you are
capable of. And Allah, Subhanahu, subhana wa taala, knows that which
you have the power to be able to because of this faith, because of
this belief, because of this reliance upon Allah, Subhanahu wa
and this commitment the Sahaba wept for the Prophet, subhanAllah
that lived amongst them. We weep for the prophet that we never met.
But we know that we're going to work until ASAP said both of our
feet. We're not going to rest until both of our feet are in
Jannah and we get reunited with our brothers and sisters, those
who came before us, may Allah forgive them and elevate them.
Those who are with us today, may Allah subhanho wa Taala liberate
our Ummah and give us that izzah and those who are going to come
afterwards to carry on this torch, inshallah. So just remind yourself
of this power. And this is of this Deen that ALLAH SubhanA wa Taala
has given us, and how Allah told the angels who were created from
light. I know that which you do not know. And this is the belief,
this, this, this Iman that we have in our heart, and being able to
strengthen it, to remind ourselves of the power of Allah subhana
taala, the Mercy of Allah azza wa jal, and the fact that we come
from Allah, and we're going to return To Allah JazakAllah,
khairan, Subhanahu, wahtana, to Be Like Asmaa