Shadee Elmasry – NBF 151 Why Does Evil Exist Ft. Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
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The Shiery Club and the Shiery Hub use YouTube and a website called Shiery hub to promote their work and encourage others to follow them. They stress the importance of learning Arabic and finding one's own happiness in life, avoiding evil behavior, avoiding comparison, and finding one's own happiness in gym gym. The speakers emphasize the importance of trusting oneself and others, faith and stContininess, and finding practical advice on pursuing spirituality and success. They also mention a new social media company called Run for Run, which aims to bring people to the fore and benefit their communities.
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Instagram and we are live on YouTube with our guests today that
hamdulillah had the was willing to come on with us shift for us
Rabbani, as you all know, somebody who is a veteran in the field of
Dawa, and somebody who doesn't need much introduction, but just
in case there are some of the youth and some of the MacDonald
Dooby bussen types of Shabaab, you may not know that way back in the
very early 2001 2000 to 2003. The number one online operation was
Sunni path. And that was operated by shift for either a bunny out of
the country of Jordan, where he was studying FIP. And they and
that website, not only did it have classes, it also it also had an
amazing q&a site, which I think like Ryan, you're always sending
that to the Convert chat, right? Like questions from, from that as
are always being sent out. And so that was one of the really, it, it
was a bridge for a lot of people to start for the first time
studying their texts and studying these Messiah and related to the
format hubs and really learning their Deen through that website.
So that was a massive website, then it transformed into seekers
guidance, which branched off to be called seekers hub. But
essentially, it's the same concept and seekers guidance now is the
website that hosts actually Sunni path or like live courses, seekers
guidance has a lot of live and pre recorded courses, which I don't
think anybody who was around from 911 until even today who doesn't
know what secrets guidance is, except maybe some of the Shabaab
youth. They don't know about it. So you should check it out. And
you could take those classes on those full courses. Now, having
said that, let us know. Correction. Okay, good.
So now I'm gonna
run out of New Jersey, no way. So New Jersey has the fun.
Yeah,
that's a clandestine operation.
I was just answering friends and families questions and so on.
Yeah. The person I didn't know from from New Jersey became a
lifelong friend since then. He started putting them on this
website. You're kidding. Yeah. I didn't know. That's how it started
them on. Yeah. He asked permission. Yeah. And then he told
one of my teachers that can be started online courses. Yeah. I
said, so my teacher told me you got to do this. Yeah. But it was
run for the first several years out of New Jersey. And then, you
know, the co founder, Imran Chaudhary, he moved to Jordan. So
we had Oh, that's how it works.
Sort of the we were registered out of New Jersey to so there's that
that connect No way. So New Jersey has the funnel or the virtue of
being involved in New Jersey has been involved from the get go. The
second or third Dean is Dean intensive, was held right in our
messages, basically, and message the hood? No, I remember that. Did
you attend that one? I didn't, I wasn't able to, but a lot of
money. Yeah. And of course, that message is now we don't use that
building anymore. We use a much bigger building. But that was that
was the that was one of the early days in 1995 and 96 and 97. When
the shoot of Sheikh Mohammed Jacobi came up, Sheikh Abdullah
lokasi came up, a lot of shoe were coming. And it was a place that
that's even where I heard of all this stuff. Like I've never heard,
shook nor 119 94 When realigned to the traveler came out. One of his
first stops to give a speech on it, to give a talk on it was I was
I was there at the age I was like, 13 years old. The message was
packed. It's a little small message, but it was packed, you
couldn't even get a seat. And he gave the talk on why you have to
follow your madhhab Why do you have follow method? If you have
the Quran and Sunnah for the entire time, to be honest with
you. I didn't know what he was saying. I thought he was saying
Why would you have to listen to your mother? If you have the Quran
and the Sunnah. That's literally what I thought he said. And they
said to me, Oh, what did you think of the talk? I said, I don't think
it was really necessary because everyone knows you have to follow
your mom. The whole talk was right over my head. I was 13 years old
and she had already his vocabulary, his the way he speaks
is very deep. He doesn't cater to what we cater for here, and then
nothing but facts live stream that the common, you know, focus on the
common person. So
now with that, let's take a preface first, and say that and
talk about I want to ask them curious, like how did you start
off how did you start learning what yours were, what were the
influences? Can we do this? I started learning
formally
when I was at university, because at the end, university was a big,
a big shock for me in that I grew up
It's been really? Yeah. Oh, your people just lost.
I mean, it's good a Muslim team beat them. But I said it earlier I
said Morocco's best feature is their defense just look at their
statistics. Their best strategy is to go for a 00 game and then take
their chances of Piquet's.
And that's what happened. Yeah. So I grew up in, in Spain, and then
we move back to Canada, just before just before University. So
high school was a was a big shock, because in Spain, I was at a
private British school, etc. And then moving to the middle of
winter, Canadian winter, high school seemed very strange, but
that raises a lot of identity questions, Who exactly am I, etc.
And going to university? Was it was a bigger shock in that, yes.
Especially because our high school is the worst possible High School
is shut down. A year after I graduated, we had five people from
the high school. Wow. So five people? Yeah, this is a public
school. Yeah, five people who graduated and went to any college,
one other student who was at the University of Toronto from my high
school. Wow. And so that you must have had special attention that
from your teachers, only five students?
Not really because there's, there's a complicated setup, but
anyway, so that got me thinking and connected. That really the
primary identity was me being a believer, being a Muslim. I wanted
to study and immediately and the first year I wanted to go overseas
and study but one of the
one of the things was every scholar I would talk to would say
no, if you begin something, finish it that will talk to somebody
else. So Sheikh Abdullah Idris Sheikh Abdullah Hakim quick Sheikh
Mohammed said that well, good that different teachers, everyone I'd
run into people I sort of respect and trust that all say, finish
what you start, like finished university, during university
studied with a number of teachers there, including Shukla, who's now
at zaytuna.
The Graduate Studies Program at zaytuna College, and other
teachers, after finishing university want the Damascus study
but done a number of years during university. So how did you go to
Germany? I'd be No, no model fit.
I studied mainly with the Messiah model fit, but but privately,
okay, I already had the Arabic down because I actually before
Spain, we were in a whole bunch of places, but amongst them, I was in
Cairo for six years. Wow. Growing up, so I already knew Arabic. And
then at University had done several years of Arabic both at
university and also with very few had done the grammar books, etc.
Before going overseas. So you'd spent six years in Cairo.
But when I was small, oh, when you were young. Okay. So Subhan Allah,
you have what, what's what got this international background is
like is your new data business? International Finance? Wow. So he
was in the banks.
Yeah, with different financial institutions and governance bodies
and this and that. That's usually the explanation, either a diplomat
or he's in banking because my friend, he grew up between three
different countries and the, like weird countries. Like Liberia,
Brooklyn, Alexandria, right. So the explanation is usually
diplomacy, or, or finance or money myself, so yeah, politics and
money. So you actually speak Spanish and you speak you grew up
speaking must have grown learned Arabic in Egypt, right? Yep. Yeah.
And then you're at home?
What did you Spanish and Arabic. That's an amazing background. So
it must have been easier for you to do just to learn Arabic.
Yeah, so like you because I started my my studies in Egypt,
yes. fluent in Arabic, and then studied it formally during
university as well like both university courses, but also
studying natural oneself and so on, with the Musharraf and studied
a number of the books before going to Damascus. But that helped a lot
like a lot of people when they want to go and study and they get
this impulse.
Not rushing into it
has a lot of benefit. You start where you are, and then also
realize exactly why you want to study. Yeah. And even then it was
possible. It wasn't widespread, but now I think most large
communities have opportunities of studying right there in your
community may not be as fancy as you know.
It's going here or there. So I'm doing so now you're you have a
spot
I'm in the middle of a suburb of Toronto. And this spot is we just
do receive do pray the five prayers there. So we get strangers
walking in, or is it just the class, we use it just as a
learning center? Okay, we use it as a learning center, we have
weekly classes, both general and for students of knowledge. And we
have monthly programming, mashallah, that's great. So you
have so so your do you deal with young people now?
Or is it mainly people who are ready to study if to some extent?
Yeah.
Um, that Toronto is a large community? Yeah, there are many
different organizations, we have a collaborative approach in the
sense that a number of the organizations have youth
programming, etc. Even one of our, you know, one of our younger
teachers here, said, Didi, you know, he has youth programming. So
we have a small amount of youth programming as part of our weekly,
weekly program, but sort of we don't try to do everything. Yeah.
We don't have the hips program, for example, because there's a
number of very good use programs, even regulars here, we encourage
this go there for your memorization. And this is what,
what we offer. So we focus primarily on on Islamic Studies,
and addressing critical issues through our seminars, and
programs, and so on. Very nice. Very nice. Now, speaking of
wellness, and speaking of these kinds of programs, the topic that
we want to bring up today is one of the most important topics,
probably, I would say, for belief in general. And it's been
something that
without, you know, picking a fight, but I don't think that the
Christian theologians have done much to answer this question. But
the Muslim theologians not only have they answered the question,
they've actually transformed it into an immense blessing and a
spiritual, you know,
a subject that revives your spirituality in such a way that is
unbelievable, and that subject is evil, bad things. What about if
God is so merciful? Why are all these bad things? Why do they
happen to people? Why is it that people cannot reconcile the idea
that God is
the Creator has mercy, yet, they can't understand the concept that
bad things happen to them.
That's what we're going to explore today. And we have Othman who, who
has compiled in detail some of these questions.
Why don't you start off with men and then shift for us? We'll take
the first question. And we'll discuss it sit down Monica from
the library.
So I guess,
what I would prefer is a more free flowing discussion. Okay, we will
kick it off, I'll just kick it off in Sharla. And if we have to come
back to Course, I'll kind of discard the discussion. But I just
like to hear your thoughts show for us.
So I guess the first, the first question that we have, would be
what is the definition of good and evil in Islam? Do we have a
conception? For example, we know for example, that you could have
something that's haram. And something that's valid now is
something that is halal, or something that is meant doober
forward? Would we consider that to be the essence of good itself? And
something that's haram? Is that considered something that is evil?
Or are these two, you know, like the fifth definition? And this
other definition of good and evil? Are they separate from each other?
So
if we can just step back, just a little bit from that,
very often, things only make sense. If you understand why they
are the way they are. If you come to building, and you're trying to
enter from all over, said, what's up with this structure, I can't I
can't get in.
But you understand that well, a building needs walls. But there's
a door, you want to get in this go to the door, and there's a way to
get in, right? But then you get to the door. And it's not opening. So
there is a buzzer so you kind of need a little bit of instructions
that you have to get into the building. And that's not being
unfair, but a building without walls wouldn't exist. Right? Like
how can you have a building that is completely open? There has to
be something holding it up. So similarly, to understand many of
these things. One of the challenges with Islam, for us as
Muslims is that there are rules and teachings related to
everything. But things don't don't make sense unless you understand
why they are the way they are. A lot of people pray, but they don't
really consider why am I praying? Similarly, say okay, this is what
I believe. But why do I believe
What I believe in. So I think the first thing to appreciate
regarding rules. I, because growing up, I was really lazy like
I, I wouldn't do anything unless I knew why you're not gonna convince
me that give me a glass of water. Why do you need water? Right? And
it's actually a good thing to ask. And we shouldn't hesitate to ask
very often, depending on, you know, our upbringing. Very often
were told not to ask too many questions, or we fear that if we
ask, it's somehow not right. But the first thing to appreciate is
that, who is Allah? subhanaw taala. Right and why there are
rules. And one of the simplest ways if you look at
the what we open all our actions with, we say Bismillah R Rahman r
Rahim, by the name of Allah, the All Merciful and the and the
particularly merciful. So if you consider that Who is Allah
Himself, right, he is the the All Merciful. And so everything and
the idea of his being Rahman is mercy encompasses everything. And
that includes
both what he creates, there's mercy. And what he legit what the
rules of Islam are, there's mercy in them.
But the difference between Allah being a Rahman was the
encompassing the Merciful. And Rahim, the particularly merciful,
one of the ways that that's explained, is that the
particularly merciful relates to the believer, to the believer,
that whatever happens to you, or whatever the whatever the ruling
is, the mercy is found if you respond to it, as a believer.
So, Allah being a Rahman encompassing the merciful
everything, even creating his mercy,
creating his mercy, because if you didn't exist, I mean, there's
nothing possibly worse than not existing. But once you exist as a
believer, you can attain Allah's mercy, by responding as a believer
to any particular situation, whether it's what happens to you,
or a particular ruling that appears to be difficult or
disadvantageous. I did something wrong. Now I have to go Apollo I,
let's say if I slandered somebody after go, apologize and clarify to
people I shouldn't have done that. That seems what I have to do all
of that. But where's the mercy in it? The mercy in it, if you
realize?
How exactly do I respond to it?
So that's where how we view view the rulings even the most
difficult to rulings, right.
So a question that you brought up was, existence itself being a
mercy.
And a lot of people, I think that this is a modern problem, but a
lot of people who face depression, they don't see it that way. And
I'm also reminded of the story of Medea Mata, his setup, where from
where when she's giving birth.
I forgot what the what the idea was specifically, but it's, it's
as if she says, yeah, let any
dark shadow Do you remember the couple of Hello continuous humans?
Yeah. Welcome to NASA man. See?
So this kind of suggests that, you know, maybe MIT cinema, why would
she be making this dua? Or maybe, you know, it's making this in
shot, if mercy itself if she knew that mercy, you know, that to
exist was to be a mercy. So why would she make a statement like
this?
Yeah. So it's not
unusual to feel overwhelmed. Right, right. Not unusual to feel
overwhelmed. And when one does feel overwhelmed, there's
difference between your reaction and your response, that sometimes
when, at the moment of being overwhelmed, you may react in a
way that is just one. That's the beginning of your response. And
that's one of the ways the scholars of Quranic interpretation
of deceit that I've explained that, that that just one
that's just the beginning of her response. And you see that with
many of the Sahaba, etc, even some of the other unique, the great
prophets initially and that is part of the weakness of the human
condition. The reality is Allah soprano tells us, holy Pearl
Insano, the IFA, the human being has been created, weak, and a part
of our weakness we can be initially we look at something it
can seem huge, overwhelming, unbearable, but then if we stop
and reflect and consult, we contextualize it, consider out
comes, then we can see the reality that lie you can live Allahu
nevsun, illa Usaha Allah does not make, Allah does not burden any
soul beyond its capacity.
So in those situations where things seem overwhelming, that's
natural, because life is meant to be testing that, you know,
this isn't how you initially feel is not rejected, that's your
initial reaction. But then you do have to step back, consider
consult, contextualize.
And then you see the wisdom in the way things are, and that helps
you.
You respond in a way that you can see the mercy in it very clearly.
I would add, that, sorta Lara gives us so much and it builds
upon what you just said. And I want to point everyone to what you
just said is that the mercy is if you act upon it, or react to a
tribulation as a believer, so and so that's a lot off
a round 54 and 55 and 56. It begins by describing Allah
subhanaw taala as the creator and of beings He created the heavens
and he created the earth. And then he says, LOL halco will hammer
this creation, it's all his, which an extremely important reminder
that about what justice is and what justice isn't, is if this is
mine, and this is mine, and my phone is mine, and the Ring is
mine, nobody could tell me what to do with it. There is never an
injustice in how I handle my own possessions. That's the first
thing
lol Hulk. Well Amber and the Sharia, the Sharia being his law.
Now, it then calls for joining near to Allah by dua calling upon
Odell Beckham, Taranga haupia. And Nola had been martyred in call
upon him in good times, and in bad times, loud and silently, many in
every possible way. That's how you're going to fulfill your
position. As a creation. You fulfill your position by praying
to this creator. God, that's the relationship here. Now. It's a 56
is so important. It says hola to FSI do Phil art don't so
corruption in the earth? Meaning the vast majority of bad things
that happen are caused by humans. It's us who do them.
So it says Well, what about the hurricanes that happen?
In Florida and but destroy so many homes? Hold on a second. You don't
know that for hurricanes happen there. You live there, you took
your own self and you went there, right? So even in the natural
disasters, it's something that human beings, in a sense, we are
part of it, right? It's not maybe our direct fault. But setting that
aside. The corruption of human beings is a large source of a lot
of diseases and problems by this language, oh, call for Otama
another reminder, but this is the that's so important. If people are
asking where's the Mercy here? Where's the mercy there? Allah
says in Naramata, Allah Hikari EBO men and Mycenean
if you want to know where is the mercy in anything, you can't find
it, if you're not in a spiritual state of Sn even to site
to site you know what some secularists may say, Einstein said
you cannot solve a problem on the same mentality by which it was
created. So if you're if your consciousness and your mentality
has certain level,
the the big that's the reason the problem exists in the first place.
You can't solve it at that same level, you actually you have to
elevate your consciousness to a higher level now to be able to see
this from a bird's eye view, move a couple pieces, then you realize
what's going on. So you're physically have to change your
spiritual have to change your state completely, in order
to see the wisdom behind something and see the mercy and that's an
Allah pointed to that two times in this series of eyes make dua make
dua and dua what does it require requires a great amount of
humility. In Christ belief. It's a bad it's enjoy out here yesterday,
bad. It's all excited about it. So I think that it's important to say
that the
that first point that you made here, is that when people ask evil
is 10 tends to be something people find no mercy in it.
And yet Allah tells you, you will find mercy in it, but you have to
change yourself first. You have to become one of the Mazzini.
Not 100%. But part of it also is very often, you know, we feel like
if you
to look at things just from the perspective of this life,
life itself is brutal. Because you're gonna die. There's nothing
more final than death, right? You're gonna die. So it's a losing
proposition, right? But things only make sense if you consider
that
in your life that this is this isn't your life and you have a
hereafter. firstly, secondly, you have a lord and you have to
consider who is Allah subhanho wa Taala That's why even after Allah
secondary, one of the great Imams of Islamic spirituality says you
have evanka LML Bella l mocha bn who who am oblique, let it
diminish the pain of your tests your tribulations, to know that it
is He it is Allah who is testing you and are you accustomed to
anything from him, except that which is good to you. So sometimes
when there is a test, rather than immediately reacting, this
happened, you have to kind of pause and take things back to
Allah subhanaw taala
take things back to Allah.
And which is why one of the deeply neglected
acts of remembrance is to say in Melilla, we're in LA he Rajon
truly we are Ullas. And truly,
it is to Allah that we are returning.
This has said not only at the time of death, but a moose it Allah
Allah Allah says,
Those whom a misfortune befalls that relates to when you hear
about death, but anything else, that if something happens, you get
sick, you get you lose your eyesight, temporarily or whatever.
You have to realize, in Melilla, we are Allah's.
But we are and it is to him, we're returning and we're returning to
him, he is the Merciful. And as believers we know there's the
hereafter.
There's a hereafter. And related to that, we also have to
understand this is the this life isn't isn't exam room.
Anything you get in this life is like snacks during your exam. It's
an add on,
it's an add on
the reward, the good that you find is not in this life, it's in the
next life.
So that's also that's also important to appreciate that,
ultimately, the good that you're seeking, the comfort that you're
seeking, the joy that you're seeking, is not in this life.
That's just an add on that, well, while writing the exam, I get to
drink some coffee, there's some water, there's some snacks, but
that's not the meal.
And we should divide the Define evil technically, in the shittier
in Islam, if you're a Muslim, evil is defined officially
as disobedience of Allah that is not followed by repentance, that
is so important to limit it because evil in the eyes of
people, if they don't define it, it becomes just a synonym for
pain. Right? Right, right, they just use evil as pain for which
they don't understand. Because everybody I think, can understand
the concept that you can cause pain to happen to somebody.
And but because you know that the future is better with this pain.
Nobody considers it evil. Like Nobody considers a parent evil. If
they say no, to eating sweets, oh in excess. Nobody considers a
parent evil if he forces his kids to study and gets him a tutor, and
makes them do math. Nobody considers a parent evil or a
Doctor Evil if they open up a kid or stitch them up. But those are
things that are extremely painful, right? And the reason is that we
understand the reason. And we see with our own two eyes, that this
is better for us.
Now, the whole leap, whether it's a difficulty of the Shediac, or
the difficulty of an event that occurs to us, is
believing that this is good for you while not seeing it not being
able to see the good or not understanding how this is good.
And in fact, I actually personally, I enjoy that because
it's a mystery.
Or it's like I don't like to watch a movie that I know the ending to.
Like, I'm not even really interested in seeing a movie if I
know what the ending is. So the real mystery of life is to accept
everything that has
happens that's bad in the way that the shittier requires us to accept
it. So the shitty I may say, fight back, the city, I may say accept
it.
But you have a belief that there's going to be some amazing goodness
that comes out of this. Now you're living life as a mystery. And you
can only connect the dots later on. Right? So you can say, oh,
that's why this happens. And there's this factor that Allah
tries to bring out of us, which is the test via which is the
amazement
Why would you deprive yourself of this, so a bad thing happens?
Whatever the reason be? You, you wait a little bit. Sometimes I
think when people have weak faith, that Allah to Allah gives it to
them right away. But as you mature, and you become stronger,
sometimes the wisdom comes 30 years later, because he's strong
enough, he's mature enough with Allah Tada to know, yes, that was
painful. I don't know the reason. But we will someday know the
reason that this happened. It increases your awe in the creator
and gives life some mystery. Rather than I want to know the
ending. I'm not watching the movie until we until I know the ending,
you're missing out on life. The joy of all the joy of life is that
everything is unfolding. Every mystery is unfolding for us. And
the only way you could do that is really what you said earlier on,
is to accept it as a believer if you accept it as a disbelief, but
you will not see it.
And then this subject of evil, in the subject of science, they say
Seeing is believing because you got to do the demonstration, mixed
blue and green, mixed blue and yellow. Produce green, I got to
see it first before I believe it.
But in faith and an evil, it's believing first, then you will see
the truth. You will see the wisdom but you got to believe first,
which is why you know the prophets I send them said that data are
federal law, federal law, yeah, RF coefficient that come to know
Allah.
When times are easy, and he will know you when times are difficult,
meaning he will grant you that ease of having clarity, and
certitude when things are difficult, right. And
when somebody finds that difficulty or distress, whether in
life or related to some religious test, that there's something very
difficult before them. That taking that time to cultivate one's faith
helps give one perspective, it helps give one perspective that
spend some time come to know Allah subhanaw taala rather than dealing
with the with
what happened. Take a moment to think about who is Allah subhanaw
taala you'll learn a little bit about his mercy. Learn a little
bit about the names of Allah subhanaw taala even the things
that the Prophet sighs I'm told us to recite daily, all of them.
One of the key emphases in it is to appreciate
the reality of Divine Mercy. What what do we recite in the prayer,
the Fatiha one of the key themes in it is if you reflect on the big
Well, those are respected, Maliki's don't begin with
Bismillah. You, you, you there's the mention of Divine Mercy, the
get go even Allah being honorable Allah mean, the caring,
sustaining, nurturing Lord, of all that exists on Rahmanir Rahim
encompassing the Merciful, the particularly merciful. And a lot
of this, a lot of the keys to being able to put evil, or tests
and difficulty in perspective are in the things that we're supposed
to say and do daily, most practicing Muslims would know, for
example, that and morning and night, they know we're supposed to
say the three polls, the more we that we say, and there's no
surprise in it. So that allows the nurse bulkiness Illa hiddenness.
We, we know from both throated falak and sudut. A nurse that
Allah is the creator of evil he tells us that Michelle Rima hello
from We seek refuge in Allah from all the evil that he has created.
And there is the wisdom of evil, that Allah has created it that
will you return to me? Will you return to me? I seek refuge in
Allah what is seeking refuge. You go to what you seek refuge in a
refugee goes somewhere. So that's, that's one of the key wisdoms and
and that's why if you look back on your life, rarely our blessings
for most people rarely are blessings what caused a
transformation in
Your relationship with Allah. So typically, it is some test, some
difficulty that caused you to return to Allah subhanaw taala
or something you didn't like.
I'm a little bit older than you, Dr. Shetty. But for example, when
I came back to Canada in 2007,
I realized something amazing that the people in my circle of friends
who struggled most in their relationship with Allah, and in
their religion, and also emotionally etc, are those who
appear to appear to have quote, unquote, successful marriages are
cheap. Why? Because marriages you know, we have a successful career
have a successful marriage, you have bigger house, bigger
waistline, bigger car bigger this, but ever diminishing relationship
with Allah and the deme. Many of them not all men mellow every
other people who had disaster after disaster in their career, in
their marriage, financially, in their health.
They Oh my God, that's such a tragedy, however, that transformed
their relationship with Allah subhanaw taala. Though it's that
mystery that you talked about that, you know, when we perform
the prayer of seeking guidance, subtle istikhara, which is one of
the things you should want, you know, should make part of our
regular routine, anytime you have to make a decision or a difficult
choice. But at the end of it, what do we say? What do real Phaedra
Hazleton and destin the good for me wherever it may be, and then
make me content with it. Why? Because what I think is good for
me may not be good. And what I think is bad for me, may well be
good.
And that's just an as you live, you realize that I was legally
blind almost four years.
From 2014 to 2018. I had retinal bleeding and retinal detachment,
etc. I till late 2018 hadn't read a book physically for four years
to use digital devices and stuff.
But
you know, but it's a tremendous blessing because you realize your
weakness your neediness to Allah you realize many things.
And
and that's a tremendous blessing. It's a tremendous blessing, you
appreciate the things that you take for granted. The now I can
actually read, I'm always reminded there's a time I couldn't.
So you put them in perspective. And so that's one of the one of
the the aspects as well. You bring up the the type of pampered person
who has no trials. And it reminds me that most of the people who
whose who question, the creator, the question Allah the question
God because of some bad thing that happens.
These people, their quality, they have to have another quality is
extremely selfish, because you've witnessed so many other people
suffering.
And you went on life normally. But when 1% of that suffering came
comes down to you, all of a sudden evil is an issue. Right?
I think that's such an important point. This idea in this concept
of entitlement in relation to Allah subhana wa Tada, the
entitled, who believe that they're entitled to a life of no pain
whatsoever, and no loss.
It's tied to this issue and this problem. Whereas if a person had
some selflessness, and would consider others, you realize
there's nothing that we're here in the Western Hemisphere, you could
draw a line 99.999% of us, whatever happens to us is not
going to be close to what happens to a random person from the
eastern hemisphere.
A death every five years, someone in Gaza loses eight out of nine
family members in one day.
Every few years, this happens in Gaza.
There's no comparison. So why is it it seems that you knew about
that it didn't bother you at all that but even if you if you see
those people, I was living in Amman, Jordan, and over 70% of the
of Jordanians are of Palestinian origin. And you meet a lot of
Palestinians who lost their whole village has been wiped out. Yeah,
this has happened that has happened. But how do they respond
to it? Right? How do they respond to it? They respond with faith.
They respond with faith. You know, they respond
In amazing, you know, in an amazing way. And part of that, you
know, this idea of entitlement is also that this is where
it's why Allah subhanaw taala out of His mercy
emphasizes the need for bonds of family, of neighborhood of
community of society. And because on your own, it's very easy to be
spoiled and pampered and entitled. But when you have this network of
relationships, you see that those around you and you're close with
them, you're living with them,
that people have difficulties they suffer, you see how others
respond, you see both good responses, and poor responses. So
that you have to learn how to sacrifice because you wanted to
have dinner, but you waited because your friend was running
late. Right? These little
thoughtful actions help you
be thoughtful with respect not only to other people, but also
thoughtful in your relationship with your Creator, that you have
this small problem. But if you step back, okay, I've lost my
sight. In my in one eye, it used to be actually I thought, and it's
part of the mystery used to be funny, because sometimes I like to
take a step, especially the left eye, I take a step left, and I
would miss the ground with my step. I just fall over my
daughter, like, it has good manners, she would walk away
because it's too funny. That's the first step. I thought it was
hilarious.
But,
but then you step back. So okay, I have this challenge, but I'm
alive.
Allah has created me, I'm alive.
I'm a human being I could have been that stone.
I have faith, I have guidance. I have
good of this life. And there's a promise of the good of the next.
So what am I missing? Nothing. So that takes us to another feature
that is very important in this issue, which is comparison.
Contrast, all blessing is really contrast. And all evil and all
harm is also contrast. I debated with a brother for years, when it
finally he just admitted why he's so called, quote unquote, angry
with God, which is a
contradictory statement. Because if you're admitting there is a
God, you're angry with him. It makes no sense. It makes no sense
on the nature of who God is. And it also on on the nature of how
weak you are, you're not winning this battle number one. And number
two, the nature of God himself. He has no reason to pick on somebody
and one guy said to him, an older brother said to him, who are you
for Allah to do injustice to? Like, like, Who are you if you eat
for even that to happen? But most importantly, what was he upset
about? His grandma died?
Like everyone's grandma dies, right? That's part of life is to
bury your grandparents. It's, it's a dry run for burning your
parents. If you think about it, you're not it's a mercy.
That you have grandparents, that's like one click away from your net
relation to your parents, you're going to bury them. That's a dry
run for bring your parents but most importantly, is you must have
not interacted with human beings, because that happens to everybody.
And all of Everything good is a contrast. Everything bad is also a
contrast. So if I sit around, and I hang out with
billionaires, then if I'm a millionaire, I feel poor. I was
laughing one time when I saw there are people who are left off the
Forbes 500 richest people in the world. There's a group of like,
people who are very close, but they left off. They're so upset,
right? They're like so bitter that they lost out and they're not in
the 500 anymore. But these people are billionaires, right? So it's
all contrast. Have you want me to tell you a story that he went from
in the emirates to somebody's house, and they entered into one
palace.
And then they come into another hall. And the chandelier in this
hall is like the biggest one in the eastern hemisphere, then the
next hall, then the rug and this thing is worth 100,000
whatever results
and then everyone's like, wow, this is amazing. This is amazing.
And then the owner says, Oh, wait until you see so and so's home. So
the way the owner isn't even satisfied, it's all contrast. And
what you mentioned about being around people, the the gem out the
masjid that gathers everybody one of the great wisdoms of the masjid
it's a place of gathering
and learning the skill in your head of what is actually a problem
and what is not. And that's the beauty of the gym and the Masjid.
You'll never stop finding benefit. wisdoms to the gym out and the
masjid and Allah forcing us to go to gym, ah, then highly
recommending the group prayers, the funerals, all that is because
you're gonna see everybody there. Like, you'll see all walks of life
and probably more of the poor than of the rich.
So you see the rich there? You see the poor? Yeah, and that's where
also, you know, it's so important like to go out there and greet
people. And you put, like, you know, when I was having my, my
vision stuff, one of the mosques I go to
the founders of the mosque are all generally getting to retirement
age that established it 20 years before.
And, and they'd be, you know, you find these older individuals, you
go and greet them.
And how are things going? He said, No shake tells me how's your wife?
How was your lovely children houses? They ask them, so how are
you doing? So, you know, his, his, you know, his brother passed away.
And his brother passed away last week, his wife's got, you know,
stage four cancer and this and that. And you see how this person
is responding?
He is.
That is the beauty of certitude.
The beauty of certitude. I don't usually do a lot of sort of
pastoral services in the community. But during COVID, I did
you know, especially with immediate number of people,
immediate family, and with my in laws, and you see, it's amazing.
Like how people who have your teen who have certitude respond,
respond.
I have a quote, if you look at some of the people who who
struggle, right, and just just sorry
that I got in trouble at one of these funerals, because there's
someone from my wife's side of the family, he passed away, and they
asked me to, to lead the funeral, etc. And,
and I was looking at his, you know, we're about to bury him. And
I smiled, because this man let lead a life of long service. And
he did all this good. And he's left good children and done all of
this. I couldn't help but smile. Why? Because you know, that you
have a merciful Lord. And he has a merciful Lord. He's done good. And
every expectation we have that
everything is that is as it appeared, that this is a believer
destined to do the eternal good.
Let me tell you something amazing about this. There, there is a
brother in the community, who
he describes funerals as being amazing. Like when a person was
righteous, his description of the funeral like it was like, this is
an amazing funeral. Right?
And people are looking at him like, it's like a weird reaction.
But that reaction makes so much sense. Because when you have
someone who has sada This is the whole point of why he was doing
all those deeds. Right? He was doing it just to attain his word
today, he got his reward, and nobody ever gets.
Nobody ever lives righteously and dies, except that there are so
many signs
of Allah's pleasure with them in their funeral itself.
There was one brother he died from Corona in Ramadan, on a Friday,
right? While fasting, like you can't get any better than that.
That's an occasion to me to celebrate this person. Yeah,
maybe. Of course, if he's leaving a widow or leaving young kids,
it's a little bit different. Right? But in general, to me,
that's a celebration. That's not even something that he he did it,
men come kadaga Some of you finish your mission. When someone crosses
the finish line and then goes into a tent and you never see them
again, you know that he's going to somewhere good, right? Because
Allah will not give a good death to phygital and a festive like
this. Right? Someone died, the whole community comes out. It's a
Friday. It's he's fasting. It's Ramadan, he gets shahada because
it was like a certain type of death, drowning or whatever. You
should envy that kind of debt. This is a celebration. That's how
we this is, this is where this is where, you know, we have to
cultivate that perspective of eternity, that perspective of
eternity that, you know, what is life except seeing that will
culminate in the law say it is all from Allah. Right? Number one, and
anything that happens, only makes sense insofar as how do you
respond to it? Right. Right.
In that sense, if you don't respond to the something that
seems good
for you, it is a tribulation
that you know you are blessed with a successful job. But what did you
do with the extra money you're making you invested it in the
Haram, you spent it in the Haram, you became more distant from Allah
subhanaw taala. That's a tribulation in your life, it
wasn't a success. Whereas you had you suffered loss, you discovered
you have stayed for cancer. And not you like the conceptual you,
protect you. I mean, someone discovered that they have stage
four cancer, but they saw that as Okay, I have a limited time now.
To make good my relationship with Allah, He is merciful repentance
will wipe away everything I've done before.
And that's a tremendous blessing. That was not a tribulation for
them. That is a sent to Allah subhanaw taala. Let me talk about
something else that many Muslims have trouble with, which is
addiction. And a lot of people have different addictions that
they start to wonder where is the Mercy of Allah, in in allowing me
to collapse into this addiction?
I thought for example, I met a youth who was all in about
Yokoyama, like the End Times, all of technology has to fail. For
Satan. I used to come down and it's just going to be a big
bloodbath. And I said, man, what are you so into this for? It could
be who knows? And it could not be and it could be soon and it could
be in 50 years. But he was like, Look, the check the fitna is too
much. I'm just looking forward to the whole collapse of the whole
thing. Right? Because the fitness now clearly.
He has like some addictions. And the addict
should should actually take heed that ALLAH SubhanA which motivates
us to a bad by fear.
It doesn't mean only a fear of this life. It's a fear of the
consequences of sins. So that maybe if someone is completely
dense and far from Allah, they need a fear in this life, like
being wanted by the police or something like or a disease or
something, a fear of this life to motivate them. Well, some people
are already in the deen, right. But they're not moving fast, hard
enough, fast enough. They're not moving. Unless their Deen starts
to be at risk. And they start to fall into major sins or minor sins
with with repetitiveness. And that either A, they could be exposed
for this, or B, they're going to destroy their afterlife. That's
also a form of fear. And Allah moves people by fear.
So sometimes, these bad things happen. They're not always in the
form of a natural disaster, because some natural disasters,
like a death or earthquakes are things like that. There is an
element to it of Mercy where I can talk about it. Without shame.
People sympathize with me. And I'm not guilty, right. But there's
another type of evil which were eat perceived evil or pain, which
is where you're guilty. You're the doer of it all. That is also a bit
of a it's a major calamity on people. And a you may be
embarrassed, but some addictions, people are embarrassed. And some
they're not some people make it I'm addicted to smoking, they'll
just say it openly. Right? I must smoker, other people who say they
in certain circles, they won't be embarrassed to say
I drink. But most people would tend to be embarrassed to say that
they're *. * addicts. Right? Or gay * addicts. Right? People
have weird sense. Odd an unnatural and not normal sense. But part of
their tribulation, they got to keep it inside them. They're too
embarrassed to mention it.
But we have to understand the role of this in spiritual life is that
sometimes that itself, if you didn't have this problem, you
wouldn't be moving to Allah. But also to know definitely, but also
to recognize the mercy in that right that that may, you know that
Allah subhanaw taala has not sent you the test, except that he sent
you the keys to get out of it. So, number one, right. What are they?
The very fact that you realize that this is bad is a mercy.
Secondly, Allah has given you opportunities. But there are
people you may be embarrassed to go down to Dr. Shadi and say, che,
I have this problem. But his presence in your community is a
mercy or maybe not in your community but you have taken
classes with
Safina society, et cetera. Who would you rather deal with Dr.
Shadi, if I can ask you, if someone comes and you ask him, How
are things going, everything's fine. And someone else booked an
appointment with you. And they tell you the biggest problem they
have in life, which 15 minutes are better? Yeah. For you. You know
what the somebody, you're the one who tells me everything's good in
life. So I said, I put him to work.
Right? Right. But that's your, that's where you're, you know, the
presence of a teacher in your community, for example, is a mercy
that you have a problem. You have
scholars, ideally, you got to know them beforehand. But if you don't,
a lot of times, people want to look good with the shape, you
know, they, they'll take a gift to them to shave, welcome to our
community, they give you a shawl. That's, that's nice. But check,
probably as loads of shots.
The big, the most important thing you you take to a doctor is your
sickness
that he has gone to the doctor said how are things I'm perfectly
fine, the doctor knows, everybody has something going on. So these
are circles of mercy. Your community is mercy, you have
family friends, and if you don't seek them out, because they're
around, they're around the Internet brings loads of
challenges, but we have means of connecting with sources of
assistance. So these are things to put those like addictions, for
example, there, if we step back, if we step back, addictions are a
gift from Allah subhanaw taala.
If we can only see them for what they are.
The last one I tell Sarathi was the Aquila shake my mercy
encompasses everything. And this is
this is a this is a test but you don't also from Allah's mercy. And
I learned this from Sheikh Suraj Hendrix in South South South
Africa, in Cape Town,
that when he was studying in the hijas, with some of the senior
scholars, you would feel very overwhelmed that he read something
that he put on top of his desk, that lay Sol, Maria, Neutrik and
Ninja. A person does not have to attain success. We're in NEMA Li
and yes,
they're only responsible for striving.
And he said something really beautiful and basic that you can
summarize, if you look good, there's a promise in the Quran.
That really, because what a lazily insanely Illamasqua and that no
person shall have, except what they strive for.
This is both a strength that you have to strive, but also that you
will have all that you strive for, not what you attain. So the
addicts they, you may die an addict. You're not held
responsible for that. You're responsible for committing to
leave the addiction
or your sincerity and for your striving, and you did your best to
get out of it. That's why Allah loves the off repentance.
That whenever they are, they sincerely repent and they keep
returning. They keep returning.
So
but also take the means that's the important thing. You it's very
important to appreciate if someone's struggling with
some tests some tribulation that you're not alone. The prophesy son
said as Jamar to Rama while Forca to other sub that the group and as
several of the scholars that Could you translate Jamar there as
community as well.
That community is mercy and being alone is torment said the prophets
or license. You've alone you feel tormented. Reach out, reach out,
reach out. Now let's bring up another subject.
If everything is maca, everything is destined. These terrible
temptations exists in the world. And people find so much misery
comes to their life because of these things. Now they may start
asking you a question. Well, is Allah doing these things? And does
Allah do as one question Who here has said,
green gummies has said is Does Allah do these evil things? How
would you answer something like that?
So we we respond, that it's not.
If you consider things with just one eye, you don't have
perspective. You don't have perspective.
We affirm both realities. And there's a very dramatic example
one of my
dear teachers in Damascus and a lifelong friend, Sheikh Mohammed
Al Anon. He entered, you know, he was a friend of his visited was
acquired
and teacher
and their close friends, you can only do this with a close friend.
It's like an old Arab, what's called a beta. It'll be an old,
traditional Arab house, you enter through a corridor, it ended up in
an open courtyard. And the Quran teacher
said to him, you know, if everything is destined and how are
we responsible? Sheikh moment said, I don't know what came over
me. I grabbed his glasses and threw them on the stone floor. And
it's like the late 90s. It was there were actual glass glasses,
they smashed. So the Quran teacher, what did you do? So he
looked at him said, Exactly, and he went to make the coffee
Subhanallah because we affirmed both things intuitively, that yes,
everything is necessarily, things only exist because Allah created
them and Allah sustaining them. And Allah exists beyond time.
But we affirm human responsibility as relates to our actions and our
choices and the actions and choices of others. So we affirm
that yes, the oppressor is created by Allah, but does not mean we
just say okay, oppression is from Allah, no, we have a moral
responsibility to respond to oppression by standing up to it,
as our religion tells us.
So we have to be faith only works with submission. And the IFA tells
us, everything is from Allah. But the AI of being a servant of God
is whatever happens, we say, Okay, what does God expect from me? What
does Allah expect from me, and that's how we respond. And that's
our, that's our, the two parts of our of our duty,
I would like to add two quick things before us speaks is that
it's very important to separate between the creator of evil and
being evil,
you can create something very harmful, like bliss or evil, with
a very wise intention, or meaning that the end result of this is
going to be x is going to be something that could not would not
have been attained without it. Okay. So that's one thing. Second
issue is that Allah has the right to test us, we forgot that, like,
we can't forget this.
So he has the right to create for you the temptation that you're
looking for, or the tribulation that you find it difficult,
because he has the right to test you. And nobody would want
paradise. Paradise isn't something for free. It has a cost. If you
didn't pay the cost, you would never know its value. And when
atheists come and say, Well, I never asked to be exempted, never
asked to exist.
There's a lot of you know, people say this, like bad things are
happening. But I never consented to exist. I never asked to exist.
Well, the first answer those Okay, kill yourself, then. Or let me put
a blade next to your neck and see how you're going to react, you're
going to react in a way that proves your love of life. Right?
That's number one. And number two, let's just remember who you are,
your consent isn't required. And a lot of things. These is essential
beliefs are so important to what you had mentioned, which is the
submission, you can't attain to, you cannot see the wisdom, if
you're at the level of consciousness of arrogance,
and lack of submission, that submission has to come first. And
then the wisdoms will open up for you. As you say some a question
that I had was a lot of what we're talking about. And the advice that
we've been given today is predicated on the idea that you
can actually acknowledge the Mercy of Allah subhana wa Tada, and that
you can actually see it.
But there's people who are unable to acknowledge that, for example,
you see, so many kids these days, parents are struggling with the
fact that the kids are ungrateful to the parents themselves. And the
kids themselves. And you know, society is pushing these kids to
say these type of things. You have three year olds and four year olds
who are saying that, you know, that even then, like at that young
age, they're rejecting the outward reason for their existence, right?
The parents are, that's why we honored them so much, because
they're the outward reason on why you exist on why you can eat, why
you can breathe, while you're taking care of why you have a roof
over your head. And they're already you know, going down this
path of ungratefulness they start by being ungrateful to the
parents, and then it's just a quick, you know,
quick path towards being ungrateful to the Creator Himself.
So, what's the cure for that? You know, because as time goes by,
it's starting younger and younger, where you have such young children
who are already going down this path of ungratefulness. And if
they continue down this path, they're, you know, they're not
going to be able to acknowledge that there's even mercy out there
that there's even blessings. I personally believe that the
parents are
first
teachers of how you're going to have a relationship with Allah. If
you're not forced to respect your parents or parents don't force it.
Or they first may start at Teach it nicely inspire, et cetera.
Then they got to make it happen.
And you're not going to just respect your parents, you're gonna
respect your grandparents, you're gonna respect your uncle's, the
elders in the masjid everyone else that you deal with, if they don't
teach that, and they don't teach you that you don't get everything
you want. Right away. I'm telling you, sometimes the best believer
the fastest route the has Madiba, and the fastest route is because
their parents taught them this, the essence of things, gratitude,
submission, you're not in charge all the time. Not everything that
you want, you're going to get I know better than you. All these
things are the microcosm, the DNA of Taqwa and Madhava are being
placed. Now all that has to happen, the sheikh has to teach
you theology and law and how to worship but in your relationships,
you're good at, you understand all these things. Yeah. I had also, by
the way, I have to add one more thing, some parents are too much.
Whereas the kid doesn't think he can't breathe, he can actually
express himself, he thinks is wrong to express himself. When he
goes to religion, they're too strict. They have no they don't
believe that Allah is merciful, because they didn't see that mercy
in their house. So you actually have to have both. It's very
important to have both that way you could do something, you can
have ideas, you can want nice things in life, you can want it do
breathe, and take your time and do things and and all that stuff. If
that's the case, with Allah, it should definitely be the case with
your parents. So the parents need to actually know that as well.
Because sometimes they put a chokehold, and a straitjacket kid,
guess what kind of religion he's going to believe is true, right?
The straight jacket religion, because that's all he knows, have
you ever come across parents, where, you know, they come in,
they complain about these things. They say that, you know, my son,
or my daughter, they're so ungrateful. And I'm having such a
difficult time with them. And then after that, say, six months down
the line, they come back to you and they say, you know, the, my
son or my daughter, there's so much better now, you know, they're
better with the family. Has that ever happened? And if so, did the
parents ever share what caused these children to change? Or what
the parents did that caused this change to happen and this
improvement to happen?
Let's see shift for us what he says, yeah.
Change happens, right. But one of the key things in this this, you
know, the prophesy, Sam said, each of us a shepherd, and each of us
responsible for their flock
that you can't force change, typically, right? You have to, you
know, be like the wise Shepherd. If the sheep is stuck in the, in
the thorny bushes, you can just grab the sheep and say, Get out.
Right, right. If a sheep is running away, you run behind the
sheep, it may fall over the cliff, right? So you have to be the wise,
the wise Shepherd, you have to, you know, you have to get the
sheep to
the safe pastures. But you cannot force the change. You have to,
you know, get them there. Right, you have to get them there. And
that takes time. It also takes a lot of discipline and patience. I
have one of my teachers.
You know, he, someone asked him about, what do I tell my brother
who's not who's very distant from him? He said, Don't talk to him at
all about Dean, even if he asks,
why? Said, because if you tell him about something about Dean, is he
going to listen, say no. So what's going to happen, he's gonna get
annoyed, then why say something that won't have benefit. So you
have to sort of be that shepherd in whatever relation between a
parent and a child, for example, actually, the prophesy SAMSA
something, everything about the process was amazing. He said, I,
you know, I will let the allowability come assist your
children in being good to you. Once my mother was quite annoyed
with the kids. So she said, you know, if I didn't cook for you,
guys, you wouldn't visit us? No, we were like, Okay, well, I
reminded me to check my intentions, right? But you're,
you're so you have to see how do you bring the person back? And
sometimes it can seem difficult. So that's why don't just have
that. Che How are you doing this and that, you know,
whatever. But go and consult, have the courage. It actually it's an
act of strength to consult. It's an act of strength. And there's
different people you consult about different things. Right? So it's
not weakness that you go to your team. Even if you don't know them,
you kind of you've noticed the amount of your message
It seems like a smart wise person mature. Okay, you may not want to
ask your fifth teacher or the person you're attending some
programs with, but there's somebody else go and have the
courage. That's being a strong believer why? Because ultimately,
you'll be able to make better choices.
On brother and I, whenever I'd see his mother come to the center, I
knew exactly what's the topic, shift for us get my son married in
front of everybody.
And last thing he wanted to do is get married.
I convinced auntie, let's strike a deal.
Please don't talk to him at all about marriage, even if he brings
it up and see what happens. But secretly, I knew, he was annoyed
by her insistence. And number two, he felt intimidated. Within six
months, he got married.
So very often, we get stuck in a situation. We were not responding.
We're just reacting to it.
Whereas if you step back, and don't react this, okay, what
should I do that will have good outcomes. So you consider, but
also consult, consult.
I think as when you speak about tribulations like that, that
parents have with kids that reminds me that certain qualities
and virtues, there's no shortcuts to them.
They have to take, they can only develop in a long period of time.
Like there are certain foods you cannot cook in half an hour, they
didn't require four hours in the oven or something like that. So
like a turkey, you can't if you can't be late and cook it real
quick. It requires a long time in the oven. So likewise, in our when
it comes to character, you can't shortcut a lot of things. There
are no shortcuts that say these things. And so a lot of people
find themselves in like prolonged 510 15 year tribulations where
they can't even fathom the end, they wouldn't even know what life
is like without this tribulation. But that's the tribulation that's
teaching you
a quality. And you're going to have to react to that tribulation
handle it so many times before that goes from being a hazard to a
macam. Like from a state to a to a, that's your permanent state.
The words had a macum loosely mean state and station, which means you
could say that somebody was generous once. And you could say
that someone is generous all the time. Right? So my friend was
going through a tribulation where he was wrongfully being like money
was wrongfully judged by a judge to be his responsibility, certain
certain bills. And he was losing amounts of money to the point that
he came to the masjid one night. So having said that, he just wrote
a six digit check.
Which way he was completely wrong in this he had the, the, by
Sharia, even by secular law, many judges and lawyers said you are,
this is a ridiculous decision that's being held against you. And
He Himself began to start to think maybe, Allah subhanaw taala, what
is making my hand loose and writing checks.
And I would have never written this, giving away this amount of
money unless I was forced to.
I was like, that's an amazing wisdom. That is an amazing wisdom,
because he's writing checks. And he's been wronged for over 10
years.
He never had to he did she shouldn't have paid any of this
money. And then he had a six digit one.
Okay?
When was the last time how many people in their life, right?
physically write a check? For six digits. Imagine now you're writing
it as oppression, right? But Allah, I said this, you got it,
you're you understand now why Allah is doing this.
He's forcing your hand to be loose in giving money. So that in the
future when this tribulation is over, you're gonna give so much
money in South Africa. And so many institutions are going to be built
just by your wealth. Right? Or by your charity. So sometimes these
long winded tribulations they are they're cooking a quality within a
person that is going to be the reason for so much of their good
much later on. Yeah, but but that good, sometimes could be in this
life. But someone could die. Would that tribulation still present?
Right? And that's where you also have to keep the next life in
perspective as well. Right? The next life in perspective, right,
that it'll help you know, they, they may well be good for you in
it in this life. But there's for certain good for you in it in the
next life. Right. So and that's
Were a part of Doha as well is that when you make dua for
something,
to have that certitude in the divine response, there's one older
lady in our community, she came to consult about her son from a
religious family. She's a pious woman, her son had drifted a
little bit, he was going to marry a non Muslim girl.
And not even of the, you know, like, Jewish or Christian.
But this older lady, she was so serene.
So one day, you had a follow up appointment, I said, How are you
feeling about this?
I am completely content. I said, How come? He said, beta, my son,
because I haven't made dua, and I know that my Allah answers doors.
And she didn't know a lot about the news, better pious woman. And
that's why, you know, the the elements say the difference
theologically, in in terms of beliefs, is that they have to be
certain about Allah's responsive dua or just have to be reasonably
sure. But that's a very subtle difference with a prophesy subset,
or Allah want to move Cloneable Jabba call upon Allah with
certainty in his response. If you're dealing with a tribulation
with your child, and you've sincerely made dua, you have to
risk certitude that Allah has responded to it. Now, how was the
response going to manifest it may not manifest in this life.
But that's where you have to have trust in Allah, and trust in the
Mercy of Allah.
And that's part of the benefit of a test, it increases you
incertitude and how that manifest leave that too. And I want to add
for listeners that this may be a discussion point, but whenever a
Java is brought in the Quran, it means in the dunya, first,
that even that you clean that it's my job for dunya. First, write
that, for example, festa, Jabba Jota Bo said they use IV and say
now you,
Zakariya
and many others when so I asked when the word e Jabba is used?
Does it mean in the dunya as you ask it, or as a reward in the
Quran?
And he said it No, when Allah uses that word, it's the job it is for
dunya. So that's the optimism. And when you have that optimism,
that's what keeps people moving, because there's hope. Right?
There's hope. And I'd say 90 said that you will not pay a lot in
cash and he pays you in credit.
And the beauty of when your DUA is answered in a different form, so I
asked one of the shoot, what is it? Well, how do I know the sign
of what the prophets I sent him said, you either get what you
want, or something better, or it'll be saved for you in the
echo.
He said that the first one is that when you get it, you get it. You
know that when the second one is that you yourself utter it, like
you yourself would say, Oh, I was asking for Cambridge, I got
Oxford, I got London and said, Oh, London was way better. I'm so glad
I got London. So you say yourself?
That's one of the signs that you will utter it yourself. And what I
said what about the one that is saved for you in the ACA, he said
that and heavy Vamana mentioned this, he said, If you may draw
1000 times, and your draw was answered. He said one of those
prayers were answered.
There was one of them was answered. The rest 999 Were saved
for you that good. Another Island said that there are prayers that
people make, that the when they if they were not to receive them,
they would not be in pain, such as
large scale dua for the OMA that you may never see the time where
your OMA is strong and its enemies are afraid of it. Right? That's
similar, maybe say for you on the academic it will not cause you
great amounts of pain that you haven't received.
It's an amazing subject, that topic of that shot have that
hadith of the prophets of Allah what He was saying that's the
Mercy of Allah subhanaw taala. Right, the to really reflect on
on, on the mercy of Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah tells us in the
Quran, you reflect on the traces of the Mercy of your Lord, right,
that we should practice seeing the traces of His mercy and everything
you walk, you just see like even if you look at cars as they go
around the bend, you see the mercy in that, like, you know, that just
the the order of things
So, you go a bird flies by what if it? You know, you have like the
seagulls and this and that what if they just flew a lot more randomly
they hit you bows beaks are kind of scary. I have a bit of an
active imagination harkaman Stop right by you know, all these
things, but just appreciate mercy if you have kids, you you come to
believe that kids are indeed souls surrounded by angels can they fell
off and this happen near misses, you see in everything. You're
these traces your practice seeing
the traces of Allah subhanaw taala has mercy and you're enveloped in
it, you're enveloped in it. You didn't have to make your heart
beat, its beating, you didn't have to make the oxygen do what's doing
in your body. It's all happening. That's all mercy. I think it takes
a lot of practice being optimistic. It's not something
that's a theory, you have to actually do. That's why company is
so important. All right company is so important. Because you keep the
company of people of a faith both, you know, that's why company in
terms of your circle of friends, it's very important. The purposely
seek out believe you people have active faith in your circle of
friends. And to keep regular company so many people are alone.
And to keep company a lot of times in our social circles, what do we
do? Let's meet up for dinner. What do we do? Basically, we show up at
a restaurant or wherever we eat.
Then we have dessert, and then people depart. And most of the
conversation was around. How was the steak? So it's very smooth.
It's not actually keeping company. We just had an appointment. Yeah,
but spending time rather than spending canned time online and so
on to have real human relationships. Right? That that
helps. But also to have in life people you look up to people you
look up to
that you can consult, you can observe their example.
I was, you know, I go to Istanbul because we have, you know, many of
the Syrian scholars there. You know, we we support through the
Islamic scholars fund that seekers and one of the scholars right like
he's lost half his family in Syria, his own son
you know, he was had a tip off that they're after you so he left
Syria.
His one one of his son stayed behind to take care of you have to
wrap things up and head back. The building his son was in was bombed
Suharto building collapse on his son, he lost both legs actually
worked with seekers, this guy, but they thought he was dead. But he
came out of the rubble. Right? And one disaster after the other.
troubled. Yeah, all like it's just
but you spend time with him.
And you see,
not just acceptance, acceptance would be disrespectful to him to
say, but he is he has contentment and joy, right, contentment, and
joy.
So the way things are right, and that's really important, right?
And that's why probably some of the faculty if you go to the
masjid, try to spend even if it's a minute with some of the old
people in the masjid.
And not just to say salam just get get to know them.
And that's part of you doesn't matter what your age is. This was
soon enough our prophets Eliza to respect the elders, one of the
benefits is they've lived. If you have a few difficulties, they've
had a lifetime of difficulties. Look at how they put it in
perspective. Get to know your teachers get to know other
people have faith around you.
Because these are circles of mercy, right? These are circles of
mercy. And the circles of mercy are like being in paradise. Like
being in paradise. So make the most of that and make them make
make the most of that. And
don't be alone. That's really, really critical, right? The
profits I'm told us not to eat alone.
Not to live alone.
Not to even at night. And this doesn't relate just to women. If
people knew the harm of traveling alone at night, nobody would
travel alone at night and the alumni say this not only going on
long trips, but even in town. You're heading back from work.
Make it a habit when you can to carpool together to take that
extra step to be with other people
and
and these are circles of mercy. And we've, we've accustom
ourselves, okay, I'll just grab a quick bite and do this No, take
that extra step of finding someone to eat with.
And that helps us put things in perspective as well. It's also
hard to actually stay depressed if you always have people around you.
Right. And the other thing is to serve, is to serve. And if you
see, you know, older people who don't, even when they're, they're
not, you know, like, observing elders and in the community and so
on, people who are in the service of others.
Like my mother is going through cancer. And she's, what's she
doing during cancer? She's going serving other elders in the
neighborhood. Why?
Is asked her like, but you're not what says, Listen, if I didn't go
around your being with other people, I would get depressed,
because then I would be living in my mind. So out there. I'm like,
come on, you gotta I mean, it's so true. And it's also a feature of
the depressed is that they tend to not do those things. They never do
anything for anyone else. It's actually a feature of someone
who's depressed. That's one of the qualities it's like in service.
As what else do you have for us? Should we go to q&a right now and
we take 10 minutes for q&a.
If we haven't, we've covered we touch I think on the essential
things like definition of evil, why it exists, how to react to it,
how to understand it, visa vie destiny. Cover, right, we I think
we covered a lot of the essentials. Here. I think it's
very important for practical advice. Show for us you give to
find a community. Yeah. And it's not just enough, like Hamdulillah
we have online communities now. But it's not, it's not just
enough.
Where you because you have to observe people like Michelle for
us is saying about, you go like, for example, when we go to lunch
with you. And when the community the entire community is there.
It's not like we're talking about Dean 24/7 No, we're just observing
each other. And just by virtue of like, being in the same room, it's
like two things rubbing against each other. And the rough edges
are being you know, they're they're being smooth and up. It's
so important. I think that song was so important because
you're not weren't training to be human beings, not lectures, right.
Right. So but to show you
is to see how, like,
see how they live.
Right not even speaking about myself, I'm like, Just disciple
myself, but when I want to be with a chef, I want to be with that
chef, not just in the lecture setting and the shoot them
Robbie's, I'll tell you who does that the scholar who is just a
teaching you rulings, they stick away, they that you only see them
in the classroom setting the Murghab is they let you in, right
the shields that are moral BS. They let you see them how they
eat, how they interact. You hear all these stories about their life
because we're not here coming to learn this lamp to become
lecturers, right? Or authors. We're here to be human beings. So
we need to see how it'd be a human being what said I it's just says
Hadith like that are completely about the intimate life with the
Prophet peace be upon how you ate with the Prophet how you use it,
because of the Prophet's life is completely an open book. Because
this religion is about how to be a human being. Not anything else. So
you need to see all that that's the importance of the samba.
Let us now look at let's take a first question I'll take and the
second one, I'm going to pass it to check for our second ones from
Shazia 2085. But I'm going to go to a question from read she says
how do you attain contentment? And I'm going to answer that that very
simply, contentment is one of the gifts of Allah subhanaw taala.
And the gifts of Allah that He gives are
of the same genre as your deeds. So if you want a lot of money,
give out a lot of money, right? If you want contentment, be content.
And part of being content is not just with what happens to you, but
it's also with the divine law. If you're not practicing the Divine
Law, the Sharia then clearly you're not content with it. Why
would Allah give you contentment in your heart when you're not
content with his own? Sharia? Right? There's going to be
hardships that come upon a Muslim when he or she avoids certain
things or has to do certain things, be content with those
results.
I've seen many Shabaab
one person in the family can do it one person doesn't. And you see
the difference in their life later on. So that's part of contentment.
It's very simple with dealing with Allah is very simple.
You just follow his rules and
specifically do what you want, like, what do you want? I want to
be happy. Alright, go make other people happy, be happy with the
Sharia by practicing it. That's how you do it. Alright, so that's
the first question now let's go to Shazia 2805. She says to what cool
is very hard during the trial after consistent dua you don't
feel heard.
How do you maintain hope? Anxiety is so tangible during this period,
check for those who answer.
No. So you need to look yeah, Torquil is, is hard. But that's
the whole idea of trust, right? That you're holding on to
something that you think that you can, that you have the agency to
attain the good for yourself, or to ward off the harm. But all of
Torkoal is to realize that I can't, I can't. So the act of
faith, right, and you have to have courage is to let go, is to let
go. Right? That. That's why we say husband, Allah, like Allah is our
sufficiency. And part of what that means is
I am not, right, I'm not. We're near metalworking, and what a
great Guardian he is an Okie ale is one who, who takes care of
things on your behalf. Right? So you entrust the matter to Allah
and your interest, which of course, so you take the means. So
you just realize there's two out there's two aspects, what can I
do? Do it everything else, you just have to leave it to Allah and
He will not let you down. Now this is practically it can be
difficult. So what do you do? First, consider number to consult.
The third is that you have to turn actively to Allah. So a lot of the
scholars recommend this not in this, this specific formulation.
It's not a specific sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu sallam, but we
know from the Quran, the encouragement to recite husband,
Allah when Allah will kill
husband, Allah, whenever looking, Allah is our sufficiency, and he's
the best of guardians or what a great Guardian he is. It's
actually an exclamation.
A lot of the early Muslims and many of the contemporary living
scholars encouraged that if you're in a difficult situation, recite
husband, Allah and airmen were killed 450 times. And I've heard
this from some of the scholars of the Indian subcontinent. I've
heard this from some of the scholars of Sham, and also from
Habib called them a Sutcliffe from remote from three very different
traditions. And they all mentioned this is tangible. Why? Because
trust in Allah, as the questioner mentioned, is not easy. It's not
easy to let go. So they suggest that okay, at nighttime,
it after a shot, for example, if you can do it this way. After
praying, sit
facing the Qibla. And recite husband, Allah when everyone will
kill 450 times, calmly
let the meanings permeate your consciousness mean it and then say
it.
But then let go of the matter, let go of the matter.
That's, that's, that's trusted Allah subhanaw taala. And there's
also one very practical thing that you know, like to live is to be
tested, right, that you have to distinguish between worry and
concern. Worry is when there's something that you're uneasy
about. Yep. And there's no benefit in worry.
But concern is positive concern is when you have unease about
something, but you connect it to a plan of action,
a plan of action. And I would add to the sister she's saying, I feel
like I'm not being heard. Sometimes. It's your stamina is
being developed here. Faith requires stamina. Like, you can't
just be that. Wait, yes, we believe in a DA is going to be
answered. But the timing is from Allah Tada. So stamina sometimes
needs to grow. It can only grow by being by being forced to do
something over and over. I think parents should teach this to their
kids. One practice that I find really, that it's a good practice,
is that you don't have to give them what they want right away.
For example, someone knocks at the door, and I'm
not I'm not. I don't have I shouldn't just answer you every
single time you're going to become spoiled.
I did this the other day. Someone's knock at the door. I'll
be there. I'll be there. What not now one second. And leave them
waiting. Right? Because I'm also a human being who just worked all
day. And this parenting is work. It's a different form of work,
right? So I'm teaching you a lot of qualities by doing this and I'm
we're
Relaxing at the same time. So they have to wait. And they wait. And
they wait. And then if one of them leaves hulless, no, oh, I wanted
this. No, no, you're not because you didn't have persistence
enough. Like you didn't have enough persistence. You need to
persist, you need to wait. You can't be entertained. 24/7
Everything is given to you right away. Like, why are some people
persistent and others aren't? Because they got denied something.
But then there's a question, Should I give up? Or should I do
it? You keep choosing to give up. That's all that's how simple it
is. Right? And persistence is not taught except by denial. You have
to be denied
the edge I think, everyone who has a shift for us, can I ask you how
many kids you have? For? Okay, I guarantee you, you have one kid
who's timid, who when he's told no, he goes back, and he never
brings up the subject again. He's very multi-year, right? But then
you have, but he doesn't get what he wants in life, then you have
another kid guarantee, you can say no many 100 times, they'll come
back 101 times, because they have a desire that's intoxicated their
brain, like when they when they have a desire, it's the it's has
taken over their brain, they cannot stop, they will not stop.
Now that person may be annoying as heck, but they will achieve
something in life. Right? I guarantee you, you have one of
these kids, right? Because I think that it's like a distribution.
Right? This qualities are usually distributed amongst kids. So
sometimes Allah is testing your, your stamina here.
And that's why our dua isn't answered right away. Now, here's
the question for shift for us from Z value.
saying, How do I know when to trust myself and when to trust
others? Because Jeff, you mentioned seeking counsel, right?
He's saying, I second guess myself a lot. But the advice I get from
friends, notice he said his advice he takes advice from friends often
fail. Okay, so shift for us just is that what the Prophet said?
Take your advice from friends. And the first point so there's a
couple of things right? Firstly, you don't trust anyone but Allah
subhanaw taala. Right. Ultimately, you don't trust yourself either,
right? Which is why you turn to Allah and decisions. But the
Prophet sallallahu sallam said, What shall we do? Who can consult
the wise? Now the wise doesn't have to be scholars? If you're
choosing
which laptop to get? You don't necessarily have to go to Dr. Shed
and say, Dr. Shetty, what's laptop do I get unless he knows a lot
about laptops using you know, but who's who's a wise person, a wise
person is someone who knows about things and knows about their
outcomes. And in different contexts, it may be a different
person. Right? So but when you consult, you're not bound by
people's consultations, even the scholars, as we know from Hadith
of the process of the prophesy, some said, seek an answer from
your heart is the fallback, even if people give you answer after
answer, and the ultimate, one of the best explanation I've seen,
what does it mean to seek an answer from your heart, that your
heart is the capacity within you, to turn towards the pleasure of
Allah?
That's the potential of your heart. So people will tell you
many things. The question to ask yourself is which choice appears
to be pleasing to Allah, whether it's which choice is acceptable to
Allah? Because sometimes it's just a matter of just keep out of keep
out of the Haram keep out of sin keep out of doing the wrong thing?
Or can I do what's pleasing to Allah? Or can I dare do what's
beloved to Allah in any given situation?
So and that's, that's the question. And if this is what is
pleasing to Allah, then you have to trust. Take the steps to take
the steps. Let's take some rapid fire questions here. So the
summary question for is if if you're asking your friends,
sometimes your friends aren't the experts. That's why it failed
being more diplomatic than that. Yeah. But yeah.
We got the straight route, the candidate goes the polite route.
No, no. Sometimes they say, you know, sometimes your best friends
or your enemies, because they'll be honest with you, that feels
real it is it is very true. Whereas your friends will just be
like, you know, they'll do all the sweet talk and that's hurts.
That's the they're the worst. And let me tell you who else is the
worst when a woman's fighting with her husband, when she goes talks
to her friends? Like nine times out of 10 This all divorced this
guy, right? They think that's what being a friend is right? Because
that's the easy route. That's what you want to hear. And then when
once you fix all her problems with her husband, she doesn't talk to
you again. Right because you gave her the advice to leave it. I've
seen this too many times. Let's take rapid fire here is someone
says I have a trip.
You did the tribulation to Allah subhanaw taala now I feel distant
from Allah like she doesn't he doesn't have a love for Allah
anymore because of the tribulation. How do you answer
this? No so Allah Subhan Allah tells us that end
in the Corrib I'm indeed near. So all you have to realize Allah is
near to you. It is only we who distance ourselves from Allah so
all you have to do is to return
and the keys to returning we know them.
So Allah is never distant from you. If you find yourself distance
distant that thank Allah take the means of returning. Yep.
Is a Timid Soul really bad? I guess that question is for me. I
don't know I think haya is very good. And I think those timid
souls they will have a good quality, which is namely that you
draw the red line or they know that the Allah has a red line on
something in the city. They won't come near it. That's one good
thing, but it's not always good to be timid in other facets of the
deen. Right? You something's achievement needs, persistence.
And it needs you to not be shy. What did the prophets say about
the shy they won't learn? Right? Da you so they have to be told.
And a parent who knows better should tell them? Listen,
I didn't give it to you not because you didn't deserve it. You
stopped asking. She kept asking he kept asking that's why he got it.
You did it right. Next time. You keep asking Don't be shy. Don't be
ashamed to keep asking. So although it may be annoyance,
right but it's so important to create that quality and to know
where is that quality good. And where is the quality of being
timid good. The quality being timid is good on the limits of
Allah. The quality of being timid is bad when it's coming to take
the fun love Allah. Now I want it.
I want this fun. I want this this thing, right that's that's you,
you should want the fun love Allah. Okay, let's go. Now the
question to shed for us says
what steps says sunshine should we give to our fellow friends who
wants to get closer to Allah but are still not yet satisfied with
belief? Okay, that's not really on the subject. So let's look for
something that's on the subject.
I think that we may, we may not have any one thing really brief
about that one of the most useful things you can do with for someone
is to connect them to the teachers to connect them to teachers. When
I was in Jordan, I used to get annoyed because I'm nice taxi
drivers would like just because I'm wearing like religious kind of
cold this a che. Yeah. And he's so annoying. So what do I do? He
said, listen, best thing you can do in life is to connect someone
to a source of guidance. Yes. So even if you know the answer, ask
them where where do you live? Says you know a man. Point them to to a
scholar, you know, to a masjid that they can go to yeah and
that's that's one of the one of the best things you can do in that
kind of situation. Very good. Connecting people to the Sahaba of
Allah really that is the salt and water of life of bread and water
of life is the is sitting with these Allamah and learning from
them. Max says there's a girl I want to marry I'm going to ask her
I'm going to go approach her family I guess her Willie make dua
goes well soon. If I don't get her someone better, I would say that
but yes, you can do that. Of course that's the attitude you're
gonna go and if you don't get her someone better, but I do have
something that bothers me about that. There's already like a
backdoor fail mentality to that. Right? Am I right about that as it
seems like you've given yourself an out already. Maybe he didn't
get to know her yet, but you want or you want to marry her? You said
that I want to marry her then you keep your Azeema stronger a little
bit. I will share like my personal story like yes, go ahead. Greatest
dua you can make. Yeah, is Yaqeen. Right? Subhan. Allah was one of
the greatest lessons I learned to life. I was engaged to someone for
like half a year I was living on like Cloud 11 Not just CLOUD NINE.
Yeah. Like I was the guy. I'd be walking on campus. All the MSA
students would look, you know, look at me, I started laughing
because I wasn't there. I was somewhere in the US. And I was
about to travel to that state, which a couple of libraries
to take the next steps in the marriage. Then the person backed
out. And there is an Egyptian graduate student. He saw me sad
after six months of just, you know, like the silly grin. So he
said, Brother for us, why are you not smiling? I said, you know that
that engagement didn't work out and he had a big smile on his
face. And he said, kale, and he said, you know Sarah
Talak it says Wilma yet tequila. Ah Hello Maharajah whoever has
Taqwa of Allah. Allah will grant them a way out when many token
Allah who has whoever trust in Allah, Allah will be there
sufficiency. But he said it with so much conviction as like colors.
I'm
surprised I stepped out within two hours. I had three different
people unrelated all say, for us. Are you blind? Haven't you
considered
Shareen for marriage? The first person told me I was kind of
offended. Like, leave me alone. If I didn't say it. It was a
Palestinian sister. Like,
why? I go to the library, this Yemeni friend of mine, were at the
computer terminal. Freshman. What's up with this thing in the
Stasi? I didn't even tell him yet. That it didn't work. Haven't you
considered so and so said exactly the same thing. I left him I went
to the dungeon of the library to use the terminals there as feeling
kind of down, I get an email from the US or someone in MSA,
national, are you blind, I already knew what is going to say.
I gene, afterwards I get home, my mother is cutting vegetables on,
you know, on this flat bed. He looks at me insofar as you're
blind. So I already knew what you're going to say. So let the
greatest you know the greatest dua you can make is the governor of
your state have complete trust in Allah. complete trust in Allah.
Allah says that as a woman, he took a lot of life for her
husband. That's beautiful, confirming what she shared. He
says, if something's right to do, pursue it with certainty. Yeah. If
it doesn't work out, then you can be sure that something else was
better. If it is no, but don't live a half baked life. Yeah. That
or maybe it'll work out maybe no, no. Pursue things with
determination, either Assumpta. But our Corolla if you resolve,
then place your trusted Allah. A lot of times we lead wishy washy
lives and maybe this maybe this, that's not the Sunnah of the
Prophet sighs to them. If he did something, he did it with complete
result, then if it doesn't work out, then you have the conviction
of something else may have been better than afterwards. If it
fails, then you can pull out the safety nets and the alternatives.
But it's not faith. It is not faith that you will every time you
walk, you have to have 10 safety nets first, That's not faith.
Right? Real faith is that you're going to go and if when that
happens, you shouldn't even have that in your mind. Right? Because
you cannot be saying, well, if I fall off, you're gonna fall off,
right? Because you keep thinking about it. So it's such an
important concept that we have this yucky and the Prophet saying
would allow him to move in whatever job and happy Vollmer
says this year clean. Some of the wise said that it is small all of
them. Have you heard this? No, I'll him I will your clean is
Malala them in whenever you have it like this is going to happen.
There's no alternative. You have to burn the ships. no alternative.
That's an estimate of them. And if you're not certain yet, then don't
even take any action. Like calculate the matter. Think about
it for either Assumpta Photobucket. Now go Tilak could
rely on a lot. I'm gonna go no, sometimes people sort of try to do
things on their own. Yep. We have a conference coming up in Toronto,
as walking with
with a famous
American comedian, but he's got he's a strongly religious guy.
Yep. And this brother from New Zealand came up as a shift for us.
Please help me I've been engaged for years. And
it's not, it's not working out. So I said, Ask us her. What I'm
asking you. But I had a context why I told him to ask us her us
man. Because her and I were engaged at the same time.
But and he's got a he's an experiencer. He said, listen, he
gave him the craziest thing to do. I just told my friend,
as there's a smart guy, just listen. He told Listen, get on
your knees, hold onto your dad's pants. I'm not suggesting this for
everybody. And just beg him but tug on his pants.
And he was easiest advice. The tag on his parents begged him start
crying like a baby SubhanAllah. But but said but trust in Allah
that he that you're, you know, appeal to his love and trust in
Allah that he'll say yes. He said
as soon as he got back to New Zealand, he did this. And he was
engaged. Wow. And he's now married and actually he's, he's in 30.
He just messaged me recently. And you know, that's why
Don't underestimate the benefit of consultation, that its strength.
Even in life. You know, a lot of times people overwhelm themselves
that often we have big decisions to make. But something that's a
big decision for you to make is not a big decision for people
who've made 100 such decisions before, and they've advise
hundreds of people about similar issues. So just helps you make a
better decision. And that's one of the
for me personally, like I know, there's certain types of issues
that come up. I know, call Imam Zaid,
is there's other issues, consults on So, yeah, there's other things
in family I know, there's a couple of my uncles reach out to so and
so because family matters, they'll tell me
which way that's it. You know, it simplifies your decision. And then
if you've consulted the right people that have the courage to
just follow their advice, it's upon.
Yep.
Let's take a question here. One more question. Our last question.
Before we have a to make a quick job for some families from
Montenegro.
This drop comes from the ham saying, Why do evil thoughts
consume us regularly? Even when we keep up with our of God? What are
we doing wrong?
So,
I mean, this is one of the great, it's very beneficial to learn
about thoughts and how to respond to them. That's one of the key
tools in one in our spiritual toolkit
to know and there's actually some books in the on this actually
translated into English as well about my preferred co author, no,
identify the different types of thoughts and why they occur. And
ultimately, just like anything else in life, it's a test. You're
not responsible for your thoughts. You just responsible how you
respond to it. Yep, that's it.
So bad thoughts come?
What you're responsible for, is to respond to it, but part of the
response is that maybe there are things that you're doing that are
stirring those bad thoughts.
And sometimes it might be something that you're neglecting
that, you know, you're doing everything else fine. But now you
started watching all kinds of weird things on some streaming
service. And that's the pollutant in your life.
The bad lots of blessing because Okay, let me get rid of that.
Oh, you step back and think because typically, your the
thoughts could have they they could be a reason that a stirring
them and some of that is pure test from Allah subhanaw taala.
But more often than not, there is something that is leading to them.
You have to step back and reflect. And sometimes gotta consult that
so I'm having this and talk it through with somebody who knows
that thoughts are like a strangers in the path. If you don't like
them, find another path. Like maybe there's paths entering into
your brain. Like you said, what you're watching maybe what you're
hearing and sometimes you can't avoid certain people, but also a
deep lesson something beautiful said Yeah, bad thoughts are like a
barking dog.
He said, If you there's a barking dog on the street, what do you do?
You go the opposite way. Keep going. Yep. He said, Only a fool
would walk up to the dog and say, Mr. Dog, Why are you barking at
me? Yep. Because they've dogs barking he now he may jump on you?
Yep. He may bite you. Where can someone study thoughts? Like with
the topic you mentioned. So most books on so for example, a man
will head that talks about, you know, this idea of thoughts in the
book of assistance and other books. And the these are
available. There's also a book I don't know the title of hand, the
Arabic title is allowed full author. It's translated into
English
as the fragrant breeze it's very
but if you if the Arabic title if you write it in last time, I found
it online. A lot of AR F altered at IR and it's available through
MCCA books for those books, etc. It deals with this at length. It's
also covered in most books of spirituality mahadji labin of Imam
Al Ghazali, which is translated into English and they're beautiful
lessons on this workmen hudgell Abdeen. By Habib Pacino Sutcliffe
translated into English as well you can find those lessons and he
covers this we have a class here at Secrets Canada and we broadcast
it online. It's on our YouTube channel on a word called Atari
total
In comedy at the path of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu
sallam, and we covered over a couple of lessons, his discussion
which is based on like Imam Ghazali, and others say, on this
idea about knowing your knowing your thoughts and how you respond
to them.
Excellent. It's one of the things that you you just, you know, if
you make a commitment to learn practical spirituality, right,
that thinks that okay, how, what can I do? And what can I
understand the cultivate my relationship with Allah where I'm
at? Yeah, that's practical spirituality. A lot of times
people like, fancy spirituality
feels good. But it does no good in improving your relationship with
Allah. So that's like, people who like good food, but they just
watch foodie videos, but stay hungry. Yeah.
It's not satisfying. Yeah. It's not working for you, because you
may be aiming for some level that you're far from. Yeah. Or it just,
there's, it doesn't tell you what to do. Right. And that's why also
one of the best ways of spirituality is to find teachers
who can help contextualize that knowledge. Yeah.
So I hear it in a book. There's someone who came to secrets
Canada, and they read about solitude. And they thought what it
meant was that as a believer, you should keep quiet and stay alone.
And he was very depressed. Subhanallah and no, right? If you
contextualize what is solitude, solitude is that you spend time
you step away, to spend time to cultivate your relationship with
Allah. But solitude also comes with that. Stay away from bad
company, but doesn't mean you abandon good company. Yeah, it's a
mandala. Without context. You can be, you can be far away and think
you're doing the right thing. It's true. That Allah Subhan Allah,
very, we have to, we're going to close with a special job before
wrapping up there. We have a request a dua requests from
Montenegro,
which is a country that most people don't know where it is. It
is between Albania, it's by Macedonia, and it's a mainly if
not 100%, Muslim country. And there is a family and their name
is Sal Vera. Kalina. vich, miticides collana vich. Leila,
Elma, and Addy.
And together, they have requested a prayer for them. May Allah
subhanaw taala add up some a lot of men that are human hamdulillah
Salatu was Salam ala Rasulillah. While early he was so humble human
who Allah may Allah subhanaw taala grant them
ease in this life and the next. And if they are suffering any
hardships, we ask Allah to Allah to show them the wisdom in this
hardship and alleviate it from them. We ask Allah if any of them
are sick, he gives them Shiva, if any of them are wealthy, that
Allah, Allah blesses their wealth if they need wealth, that Allah
opens the doors of blessing Jisc and we ask Allah to Allah for any
of them who are seeking to get married, that Allah gives them a
spouse that's a blessing in this life. And the next, we ask Allah
to surround them with beneficial friends, and fill their hearts and
minds with beneficial knowledge and keep them away from friends
that lead them astray. And unify them with those who will benefit
them in dunya. And aka We ask Allah to put love in their home
and Sakina in their households, and generosity in the hearts in
their hearts. We ask Allah to keep sicknesses away from them to keep
envy away from their households. And we ask this likewise, for
everybody who is participating in this live stream, likewise for the
ship family of our guests ship for us, who has taken out his time to
be with us here today. And we ask a lot out to bless him and bless
his work and strengthen him. And I encourage everyone to go and learn
as much as you can, from Secrets got a secret hub, so that you can
he can get more has to nuts and be encouraged to do more of the work
that he's doing. So we ask everyone to say I mean to this
dua, and likewise for all of ourselves. And lastly, we close
and we ask a lot to make none more beloved to us than His most
Beloved. say they'll co name say the name Muhammad Salah Hollywood,
he was salam. And I'll leave the last words to Sheikh for us. Well,
hello tartufi I just wanted to say that mashallah, you know, Safina
society and Dr. Shetty have been doing some excellent work for a
long time and
don't just love the project but benefit from that right that's
that's the biggest thing you know,
you know, benefit from from these teachings. I've been following
them for free for years and there's so much Hey, now they've
got their, their their new seminary project. Have the courage
if you are someone who wants to learn to commit to learning, but
don't just say okay, one one of these days I'll do that because
one of these days you'll be dead. Is that start
Learning start attending and benefit and if you have wealth
support them if you have a lot support them gently you know a lot
if you only have a little support them with that with that level but
because these these projects are the are the means of light in our
communities in the end in the OMA Mala Samantha bless shiksha I
mean, and I mean let's your team and your students and this
beautiful project a lot of people I mean just Aquila and likewise
for for your organization and all the organizations that are
spreading the hawk throughout North America and Canada and
Australia New Zealand and and the entire world Subhanak Allah humo
behind ik a shadow Illa illa Anta nessa Faruk wanted to win a call
us in Santa Fe Of course. Elon Medina meanwhile middle slowly
towards the wall. So what happened? What's the wall so this
summer was set while a camera module live?
Job