Sikander Hashmi – Different Abilities KMA Friday Message

Sikander Hashmi
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AI: Summary ©

The success of Islam's "meditation" approach to helping people with disabilities is highlighted, including a woman with a rare birth defect and a man with a partial or complete fusion of legs. The importance of faith and resilience in facing challenges and struggles is emphasized, along with the need for testing and rewarding individuals for their resilience. The success of "slack of sorts" when faced with challenges and struggles is also emphasized, along with the importance of patient acceptance and support for individuals with disabilities. The speaker emphasizes the importance of including persons with disabilities in their approach to helping others, including a famous Muslim opinion and teaching children not to shun people.

AI: Summary ©

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			Muhammad.
		
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			Respected elders,
		
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			dear brothers and sisters,
		
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			my young friends,
		
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			Imagine
		
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			getting the good news
		
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			of having your child a child or your
		
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			first child.
		
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			For those who are married and have children,
		
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			you have experienced this already.
		
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			And those who are not, one day you
		
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			will experience this joy.
		
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			Imagine getting the news
		
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			that
		
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			your family is expecting a new addition,
		
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			and you are celebrating, and you are happy,
		
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			and you're sharing sweets and giving the good
		
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			news
		
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			to your loved ones,
		
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			and, masha'Allah, the child is born. But Allah
		
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			chooses
		
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			to give you and gift you a child
		
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			who is
		
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			not as you expected,
		
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			who is
		
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			formed in a way
		
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			that you are not expecting.
		
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			In many cases,
		
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			many times, of course, this leads to great
		
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			anxiety and great worry on the part
		
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			of parents.
		
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			But subhanAllah,
		
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			in my experience, I have seen
		
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			that the families who have been blessed
		
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			by Allah
		
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			with children
		
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			who have challenges, who have different abilities,
		
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			or who have disabilities
		
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			are blessed
		
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			in many ways that cannot be imagined.
		
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			In terms of the barakah that Allah subhanahu
		
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			wa ta'ala puts in their efforts,
		
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			in their time, in their wealth, and the
		
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			things that they're able to do, masha'Allah.
		
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			I have right now, on the top of
		
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			my head, at least two examples locally in
		
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			our community
		
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			of people like that
		
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			who have done
		
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			tremendous work for the deen of Allah,
		
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			they and their families,
		
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			even while
		
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			caring for
		
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			a child with special needs.
		
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			I think many people are probably aware by
		
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			now
		
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			of the young man who pretty much stole
		
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			the show
		
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			in the opening opening ceremony of the FIFA
		
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			World Cup in Qatar.
		
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			Either you saw it or you've heard about
		
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			it probably.
		
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			His name is Ghannim Al Mufta,
		
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			and he was born
		
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			with caudal regression syndrome, which is a rare
		
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			birth defect
		
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			characterized
		
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			by partial or complete fusion of the legs.
		
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			And for those who watch the ceremony, he
		
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			was on the stage,
		
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			you know, almost at ground level because he
		
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			doesn't have legs.
		
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			Masha'allah, this young man
		
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			has his own business,
		
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			and he is studying.
		
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			He's a YouTuber. He has you know, he
		
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			plays many sports and very interesting videos actually.
		
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			If you see his videos as to how,
		
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			masha'allah, he has adapted and how he lives
		
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			his life.
		
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			And he's even climbed a mountain as well.
		
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			And it is said that when he was
		
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			born in that condition, with that condition,
		
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			he was actually not given much time to
		
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			live. That was the opinion of the doctors
		
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			that it will be difficult for him to
		
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			survive.
		
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			But
		
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			he has beaten all odds
		
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			and
		
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			is living a a very active and fulfilling
		
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			life.
		
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			And
		
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			if you read about his life, you can't
		
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			help
		
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			but notice
		
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			his positive outlook.
		
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			The fact that he is filled with positive
		
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			energy,
		
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			and this positive energy
		
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			is fed by the unfaltering influence and support
		
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			of his parents
		
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			who insisted that he lead a normal life
		
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			beyond the confines of his disability.
		
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			Right? Parents are the greatest advocates for their
		
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			children,
		
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			and they insisted that they were going to
		
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			put every effort
		
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			to ensure that he is not limited
		
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			because of his
		
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			situation.
		
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			What also feeds into his positivity and his
		
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			success, masha'Allah, is the expert medical care that
		
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			he receives internationally
		
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			on an annual basis,
		
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			support from his community,
		
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			his society, his government.
		
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			So all of these things have come together
		
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			to
		
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			bring him where he is today.
		
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			Now we know that not every person with
		
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			a disability
		
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			will have all of these things come together
		
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			for them. But my brothers and sisters, what
		
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			we need to realize
		
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			is that we all have a role to
		
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			play
		
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			in supporting persons
		
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			with disabilities,
		
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			persons with different abilities.
		
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			And most importantly, with our attitudes,
		
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			the way we
		
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			look
		
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			at such
		
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			circumstances,
		
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			the way we respond,
		
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			the way we deal with individuals
		
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			with differing abilities.
		
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			The reality is, my brothers and sisters, that
		
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			every single one of us
		
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			is susceptible
		
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			to
		
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			becoming or being a person with a disability.
		
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			If not today,
		
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			then at some point in our lives, may
		
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			Allah protect us and make it easy for
		
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			us. We don't know what the future
		
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			holds for us
		
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			and for our loved ones. May Allah protect
		
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			us.
		
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			But we know experience tells us that as
		
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			we age and time goes
		
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			on, it is natural to expect that there
		
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			will be
		
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			perhaps
		
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			circumstances
		
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			and challenges that we have not faced earlier
		
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			in our lives, that we may have to
		
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			face
		
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			as we age.
		
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			And this is
		
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			a fact of life.
		
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			This is from the sunnah of Allah subhanahu
		
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			wa
		
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			ta'ala except for the people that Allah subhanahu
		
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			wa ta'ala
		
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			continues
		
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			to keep well and keep protected.
		
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			Now when faced with challenges, we take solace
		
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			in the fact
		
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			that patience
		
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			in the face of difficulty and adversity is
		
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			greatly rewarded by Allah
		
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			Right? And actually, I was just, at West
		
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			and secondary school with the students for their
		
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			salatul jama'ah. And one of the things that
		
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			I mentioned to them,
		
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			my to them, was
		
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			the fact that people of faith tend to
		
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			be more resilient.
		
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			It doesn't mean that people of faith don't
		
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			face challenges.
		
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			It doesn't mean that, you know, that we
		
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			don't face struggles.
		
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			We do like all human beings.
		
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			But what our what our deen what faith
		
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			teaches us and gives us is resilience
		
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			to deal with challenges and struggles when they
		
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			come our way. And sometimes I wonder how
		
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			difficult it must be
		
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			to operate in this world and face the
		
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			challenges of life without having faith,
		
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			without having a framework that gives us resilience
		
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			and strength,
		
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			if a person
		
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			does not have faith,
		
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			they don't have a framework
		
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			to help them
		
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			cope with challenges the way that the of
		
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			Allah
		
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			gives them that strength and that resilience. So
		
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			Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in the
		
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			Quran as we have heard before.
		
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			Be sure
		
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			that we shall test you with something of
		
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			fear and hunger, some loss in goods or
		
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			lives or bodies
		
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			or the fruits of your toil.
		
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			But give glad tidings
		
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			to those who persevere
		
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			with patience.
		
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			So it is understood. We expect.
		
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			We don't ask for it. We don't hope
		
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			for it,
		
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			but we expect
		
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			that
		
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			Allah
		
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			may choose to test us in one way
		
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			or the other,
		
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			but to our glad tidings for those
		
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			who are the people of Sabr of the
		
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			people of perseverance
		
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			and patience.
		
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			Those who when they are afflicted with a
		
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			calamity, they say
		
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			This is not just a phrase to recite
		
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			when someone passes away,
		
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			but rather
		
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			it is
		
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			a phrase,
		
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			a dua of sorts that Allah
		
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			tells us is from the characteristics
		
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			of the people of Sabar, the people of
		
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			perseverance and patience.
		
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			That when they are faced with a calamity,
		
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			what is a great struggle or a challenge,
		
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			they remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and they
		
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			say,
		
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			To Allah, we belong and to him is
		
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			our return.
		
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			And this phrase itself gives us strength
		
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			because it reminds us that we are nothing
		
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			on our own. We belong to Allah Subhanahu
		
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			wa ta'ala and we are going back to
		
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			Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. So whatever Allah sends
		
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			towards us, whatever
		
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			Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala sends towards
		
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			us in terms of challenges and struggles and
		
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			calamities,
		
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			it's part of the same journey. We've come
		
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			from Allah. We're going to Allah and everything
		
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			we face and we get in between is
		
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			from
		
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			Allah So we turn to Allah
		
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			for assistance, and we turn to Allah
		
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			for guidance.
		
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			And then Allah tells us,
		
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			They are those on whom to send the
		
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			blessings from Allah and mercy,
		
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			and they are the ones who receive guidance.
		
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			They are the ones who are guided.
		
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			So we find a link here between
		
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			tests,
		
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			perseverance, and patience,
		
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			remembering Allah
		
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			and receiving his blessings and his mercy. And
		
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			thus, again,
		
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			people who are faced with challenges and struggles
		
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			and calamities,
		
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			and they turn to Allah,
		
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			they will be blessed
		
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			in immeasurable ways, in tremendous ways.
		
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			And those blessings may even be licked with
		
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			the challenges
		
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			That if the challenge had not come, and
		
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			if they had not exerted sabr,
		
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			then perhaps those blessings and that goodness would
		
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			not come as well.
		
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			But the challenge and the struggle and their
		
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			response to it became a means or becomes
		
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			a means for receiving
		
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			blessings and mercy from Allah
		
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			Now we know my brothers and sisters that
		
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			Allah
		
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			has given us all, every single one of
		
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			us, different abilities and different strengths. Some of
		
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			us have better eyesight than others. You know,
		
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			some have greater strength than others. Some have
		
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			more stamina
		
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			compared to others
		
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			physically. You know, mentally, some of us may
		
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			be better in some areas than others.
		
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			You know, someone's
		
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			bad at math but better at writing and
		
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			so on. Right? So Allah has blessed us
		
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			all in different ways. So naturally, when we
		
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			excel and have an advantage
		
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			over others in some areas,
		
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			we know that we will also have weaknesses
		
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			as well because no human being is perfect.
		
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			Every single person is going to have some
		
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			strengths and also gonna have some weaknesses. And
		
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			if a person thinks they have no weaknesses,
		
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			they're actually deluded, and they're kidding themselves, and
		
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			they're fooling themselves. So every single person has
		
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			strengths. Every single person has weaknesses.
		
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			Sometimes these weaknesses can extend
		
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			a bit beyond
		
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			or a bit more than we as a
		
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			society are used to, a little bit more
		
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			than what the norm is.
		
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			And
		
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			therefore, society refers to it as a disability.
		
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			So for example, many of us has weakened
		
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			eyesight. You know, you wear glasses, you have
		
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			contact lenses. But when it reaches a certain
		
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			point, then it is categorized as legal blindness.
		
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			Now it doesn't necessarily mean that you're completely
		
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			blind and you can't see at all, but
		
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			there's vision loss beyond a certain point that
		
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			affects abilities
		
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			in a greater way, and therefore, it is
		
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			categorized as legal blindness.
		
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			Thus, a disability can affect us mentally, can
		
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			affect us
		
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			physically.
		
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			These can come at the time of of
		
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			of of birth.
		
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			It can come at a young age, sometimes
		
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			much later in life. It is the will
		
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			of Allah
		
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			Now we are having this discussion today because
		
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			December 3rd is the International Day of Persons
		
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			with Disabilities
		
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			as declared by the UN, by the United
		
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			Nations in 1982.
		
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			And there's a a great, wonderful organization that
		
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			is doing tremendous work within the Muslim community
		
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			to serve our brothers and sisters with different
		
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			abilities with disabilities
		
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			called Deen Support Services, and I encourage you
		
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			to look them up and to offer your
		
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			support to them.
		
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			They run a Khutba campaign every year,
		
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			to to,
		
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			to
		
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			spread understanding and to educate Muslim community
		
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			about
		
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			disability from an Islamic perspective.
		
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			When we look at disability and persons
		
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			with disabilities in the Islamic tradition, my brothers
		
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			and sisters, we notice a few things. So
		
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			the first of all first one is, like
		
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			any other challenge,
		
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			the challenges
		
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			faced
		
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			due to illness, due to disabilities
		
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			do not go unrewarded.
		
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			They do not go unrewarded. There is tremendous
		
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			blessing and tremendous reward
		
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			associated
		
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			with illnesses,
		
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			disabilities, and struggles. Abu Saeed Al Khudri
		
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			reported that the prophet
		
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			said that
		
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			And this hadith, subhanallah, always amazes me. Because
		
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			the prophet sallallahu alayhi wasalam says that whenever
		
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			a Muslim is afflicted
		
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			with a hardship,
		
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			with a sickness, with a sadness, with a
		
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			worry, a harm, a depression,
		
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			even the pricking of a thorn,
		
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			even the pricking of a thorn. Now you
		
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			imagine, you step on a thorn or a
		
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			needle. Yes. It hurts, maybe for a few
		
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			moments, but that's about it, and it's pretty
		
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			localized. But even that is counted by Allah
		
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			Subhanahu wa ta'ala. The prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
		
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			says, as a result, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
		
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			expiates their sins because of it. There is
		
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			forgiveness of sins even by the pricking of
		
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			a thorn. So any level of
		
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			anxiety,
		
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			worry, pain, suffering, physical or mental
		
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			that you go through, any type of difficulty,
		
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			there is a recompense for that. It is
		
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			being recorded by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It
		
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			is noticed by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and
		
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			you will find it on the day of
		
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			resurrection
		
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			in your book of deeds and its effect,
		
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			Insha'Allah. Secondly, my brothers and sisters,
		
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			as we discussed, if you deal with it
		
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			with patience and perseverance and ask Allah
		
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			for for for assistance
		
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			and you remember Allah
		
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			then
		
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			you will have glad tidings
		
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			and you will receive blessings and mercy from
		
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			Allah
		
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			in ways that you could not imagine.
		
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			And by the way, all of this also
		
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			applies
		
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			to the close relatives of persons with disabilities
		
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			who care for them
		
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			because it's not always easy.
		
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			It's not always easy.
		
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			But, again,
		
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			to be in that situation means that Allah,
		
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			subhanahu wa ta'ala, is giving you an opportunity
		
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			to get rewards and blessings
		
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			that are not available perhaps to others. Secondly,
		
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			my brothers and sisters,
		
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			we
		
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			the manner in which we deal with persons
		
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			with disabilities. You know, unfortunately, in many cultures,
		
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			persons with disabilities,
		
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			different abilities are shunned or disregarded
		
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			or ignored
		
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			or pushed to the fringes of society. But
		
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			when we look at
		
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			the the, the Islamic tradition,
		
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			we find
		
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			total acceptance and support
		
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			for persons
		
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			with disabilities. We have the example of Sayeda
		
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			Musa
		
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			who had a speech impediment,
		
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			yet it did
		
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			not bar him from continuing his mission as
		
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			a prophet. And he asked Allah
		
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			and remove the
		
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			We have the example of Abdullah Noom Maktoum
		
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			Radiallahu Anhu, the great companion of the prophet
		
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			who
		
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			was blind, who was visually impaired.
		
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			Made him in charge of Madinah when he
		
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			was not there.
		
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			It did not stop him
		
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			from getting that important responsibility
		
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			and also the responsibility of giving adhan.
		
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			We learn about Jullaybib
		
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			Now in society, he was, it is said,
		
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			a virtual outcast
		
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			due to his disabilities, which are not described
		
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			in specific terms, but it seems that he
		
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			was of maybe he was very short, significantly
		
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			short stature,
		
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			may have also had some other, you know,
		
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			physical differences. But the prophet
		
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			took special care of this man
		
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			and even arranged marriage for him even though
		
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			it was quite difficult for him to get
		
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			married. And he took part in a battle,
		
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			so he was participating still. And
		
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			he fought
		
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			heroically, and he became a shahid. He was
		
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			killed in the path of Allah Subhanahu wa
		
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			ta'ala.
		
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			No one noticed that Jalebi was missing. The
		
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			prophet asked who was missing. Nobody everybody you
		
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			know, they remembered everyone else, but nobody noticed
		
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			Jalebi. But the prophet
		
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			noticed,
		
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			And he mourned his loss, and he said,
		
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			that he is of me and I am
		
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			of him. And he said that 2 times.
		
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			He is of me and I am of
		
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			him. So the prophet
		
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			showed great reverence and and affection and closeness
		
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			to closeness to Jullaybib, radiAllahu anhu. We hear
		
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			we read about. The famous early Muslim jurist,
		
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			the hadith transmitter,
		
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			who
		
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			was actually the Mufti of Mecca at one
		
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			point in the 7th, 8th centuries.
		
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			He was known to walk with a limp
		
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			and was also paralyzed as well. So he
		
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			had a very real disability, yet that did
		
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			not stop him from excelling in the deen
		
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			of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, in the knowledge
		
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			of the deen of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
		
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			and being given a very important responsibility.
		
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			So what do we need to do, my
		
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			brothers and sisters? A few points. So first
		
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			of all, let us try to be, you
		
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			know, inclusive
		
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			in terms of our thinking, in terms of
		
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			our attitude,
		
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			not to look down upon people, and to
		
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			actively ensure that we are trying to include
		
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			persons with disabilities and different abilities as much
		
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			as possible. Right? Even little things that may
		
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			seem little to us. Right? Like the entrance
		
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			to the masjid,
		
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			like where we put our shoes,
		
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			so that we leave the pathway open. So
		
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			that if someone comes with a walker or
		
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			someone comes, you know, in a wheelchair or
		
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			has difficulty walking, they're not at risk of
		
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			tripping.
		
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			You know? So little things can show our
		
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			care and concern.
		
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			Even the design of the masjid. So
		
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			as you know, we're getting close to, to
		
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			starting construction of the new masjid building, which
		
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			will be right in front of us here
		
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			in the land. I know it looks small,
		
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			but there's plenty of space there.
		
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			And we're ensuring that the access to the
		
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			building has no steps.
		
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			So there's no steps going into the building,
		
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			So it'll be direct entry with no steps
		
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			inside. You go in, and it's all straight
		
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			and flat. So wheelchairs, walkers, strollers,
		
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			all of those things go in. People who
		
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			have difficulty walking, climbing stairs, no issue. Everyone
		
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			can go straight in and directly into the
		
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			Masjid area. And those who need to go
		
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			upstairs or downstairs, there'll be an elevator available
		
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			as well.
		
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			So just trying to be mindful and trying
		
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			to be, to to be conscious,
		
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			you know, ensuring that we teach our children
		
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			not to shun people. Right? Sometimes it happens
		
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			subconsciously.
		
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			You know, so we have to be mindful
		
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			about these things. And, to to be a
		
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			little bit, you know, lenient, to be a
		
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			little bit understanding,
		
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			if, let's say, someone comes to the masjid
		
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			with a child who has a disability, and
		
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			they're not able to control them, and the
		
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			child maybe is making noise. Maybe they're autistic.
		
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			Maybe there's some other challenge.
		
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			K? So be forgiving, be understanding, give people
		
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			the benefit of the doubt. So they don't
		
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			feel like they cannot come to the masjid
		
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			with their child because everyone's gonna give them
		
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			stares and everyone's gonna look down
		
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			upon them. You know? So be understanding,
		
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			be forgiving,
		
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			be tolerant,
		
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			and realize that these are situations and circumstances
		
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			that people did not ask for. But rather,
		
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			Allah
		
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			gave it to them, and they are trying
		
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			their best to deal with them. At the
		
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			very least, we can offer them our support.
		
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			We ask Allah
		
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			to grant them and all of us,
		
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			patience,
		
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			to support each other. We ask Allah
		
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			to make it easy for all of those
		
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			who are struggling in different ways. We ask
		
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			Allah
		
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			to grant us all protection and ease
		
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			in all of our affairs. Ameen.
		
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			We'll take a couple of minutes, to offer
		
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			and then we'll continue.