Sikander Hashmi – How do we treat our seniors KMA Friday Message
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of maintaining consistency in behavior during the month of ShaII, including taking advantage of fasting and making up for gaps in obligations. They also visit long term care homes and discuss the natural course of creation, including honoring and respecting elders and seniors. The challenges of adapting to new strengths and values, including the need to reflect on attitudes and behavior towards elders and seniors, and emphasize the importance of honoring and respecting elders and seniors. The speakers also express their positive outlook for the upcoming months and hope to use their facilities and programs to continue. They thank their community and employees for their generosity and expect progress in their community.
AI: Summary ©
Respected elders, dear brothers and sisters, my young
friends,
All praise is due to Allah,
the lord of the universe,
our creator, our nourisher, our sustainer,
and peace and salutations be upon his beloved
messenger, Mohammed, the son of Abdullah sallallahu alayhi
wasallam, and his family, his companions, and everyone
who follows him in goodness.
I'd like to apologize for the late start.
Encountered some technical challenges, but we are live
now, and I thank you for your patience.
My brothers and sisters, we find ourselves,
1 week out of Ramadan,
and this is when we get to judge
how successful our Ramadan
was because Ramadan was a training ground. It
was a time for us to train, for
30 days,
29 days, and now we find ourselves
in the actual test. So Ramadan was a
training ground, a great opportunity from Allah
to, of course, gain deeds, to increase our
taqwa, to seek the forgiveness of Allah
but also it was giving us training for
taqwa. It was giving us training for patience.
It was giving us training for good behavior.
So now is the time to put training
that training into practice. So this month of
Shawwal, this Islamic month, is actually a really
critical month for us to examine ourselves and
to see how successful our Ramadan actually was.
If we see the impact of Ramadan in
the month of Shawwal or not. So the
question is, how well are we performing now?
How are we maintaining our taqwa?
Or are we burning up taqwa and the
goodness of Ramadan
more quickly than we should be?
So the key, my brothers and sisters, is
to maintain something good, to maintain
something good from Ramadan even if it's something
small because consistency
is the key. Right? As the
prophet has told us that the, both beloved
of actions to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala are
which ones?
Right? That are consistent
even if they are small. So could be
some extra prayers. It could be some recitation
of Quran. It could be some askar, some
form of dhikr,
something that we keep going from the month
of Ramadan even if it's not at the
same level as Ramadan, but we try to
keep things going inshallah.
And, of course, also try to avoid something
that we were avoiding in Ramadan. So we
don't wanna go back to how we were
before Ramadan. So let's try to find something,
and it may not be possible a 100%,
but find something that we were avoiding in
Ramadan
and try to continue to avoid it outside
of Ramadan
as well.
Now with regards, and one of those things
actually that we could continue to do something
good is fasting because fasting is not something
it's not an act of worship which is
exclusive to the month of Ramadan. Any it's
fard, yes, in Ramadan. It's it's obligatory in
Ramadan,
but it is still valid and greatly encouraged
outside of Ramadan
as well. And especially when it comes to
this month, the month of Shawwal, the month
which follows the month of Ramadan because
reported that the prophet
said
that
that
whoever fast the month of Ramadan
and then follows it with 6 days of
fasting in the month of Shawwal, it will
be as if they fasted for the entire
year. It will be as if they fasted
for the entire year. Now you may ask
how. So there's another,
narration. It's also been reported that fasting the
month of Ramadan
brings the reward of 10 like it. So
if you have fasted for the month of
Ramadan, then as if it's as if you
have fasted for 10 months because Allah
multiplies the these by at least 10 times.
And then fasting for 6 days
brings the rewards of 2 months,
and that is the fasting of the whole
year. Okay? So,
essentially, you know, for every 3 days, multiply
3 days of fasting multiplied by 10 times
the reward. So that's like fasting 30 days.
So, essentially,
Ramadan is like fasting for 10 months in
terms of reward, and then, inshallah, the sixties
of Shawwal will be like another 2 months,
and then that will complete,
the year. Now another of the important benefits
of fasting the sixties of Shawwal is that
it makes up for any shortfall in a
person's obligatory
Ramadan fast. And, of course, for those who
are able to fast
because, you know, no one is perfect. No
one is free of shortcomings,
or sins that have a negative effect,
effect on our fasting. So, therefore,
you know, it is not only
a source of gaining, blessings and rewards from
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, but also a means
for making up for deficiencies that may have
occurred in our Ramadan obligatory fasting.
So inshallah, if possible, let us try to
take advantage
of this recommendation. It's not a requirement, it's
not obligatory, but it's something that has been
recommended by the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. So
inshallah, we should try our best to, to
act upon it to the best of our
ability. Even if you're not able to do
all 6, try to do as many as
you can in the month of Shawan.
Last weekend,
there were a number of families,
that took part that first came up for
the, drive in, aid gathering. The first time
we've done something like this,
and, it was only impossible, of course, because,
the provincial government had authorized just days before,
the religious gatherings of that nature, with certain
conditions, as you know. So we had, approximately
200, actually more than 200 cars,
over 800 people approximately. Alhamdulillah. So
thank you for everyone who joined us. And
then afterwards, of course, we went out for
the caravan of joy. Now the KMA caravan
of joy is something that we've been doing
for the last, 4 years,
last 4 aids. And the idea is that
we share the joy of, of aid with
our neighbors,
and I like surprising people. So we actually
tried to surprise them.
So the 1st year, you know, it was
a Sunday, actually, Eid fell on a Sunday,
so we went to local churches
just in time for the Sunday service. It
was a it was a great beautiful experience.
We usually have, you know, a framed letter
of appreciation of thanks. And that year actually
was the year, when we received a lot
of support
from a lot of the local churches with
regards to,
the, the Quebec City shooting. So,
you know, we were
it was a it was a time when,
you know, we there was a lot of
concern, a lot of fear, and our community
received a lot of support,
from the local churches. So we reached out
to the churches, you know, the year after
we went to first responders,
surprised,
the, the good folks at the the police
station, the fire stations, the paramedics.
That was a lovely experience.
Last year we were visiting city facilities, so
thanking city staff at the recreation facilities, at
the utilities Hydro Ottawa, especially for their hard
work during the tornadoes.
And, of course,
we also went to the libraries as well
to thank the librarians and the library staff.
So this year we said okay we also
we should continue this tradition, so alhamdulillah this
year we chose to visit long term care
homes.
So there were 3 homes that we visited,
alhamdulillah we have a good caravan,
approximately 20 families or so that joined us.
Of course we were trying to maintain
social distancing to the best of our abilities.
Most people
stayed in their cars. We had some very
nice signs that said we are praying for
you and there were some kids who took
turns holding those up waving at residents and
facilities
and also presenting a small gift, you know
a small tray of baklava,
and that signed and framed letter of appreciation
and
of concern.
So this is a very important initiative.
You know,
sadly, the hardest hit during this pandemic
have been our elders
and our seniors,
especially in the long term care facilities. And
the situation was already
very challenging, very bad in some of these
facilities. And this pandemic,
just made it much worse to the point
that, you know, believe it or not, the
Canadian military had to be called in to
help out at some facilities in Ontario and
Quebec. And just this week, the military released
a scathing report about the mismanagement,
you know, the abuse, the mistreatment,
that they've done, the lack of resources, the
lack of staff, that they found in some
of these facilities that they actually went into.
And it's really, really
heartbreaking. You know? And this is on top
of the fact that the seniors,
our elders who have been in such facilities
have been isolated,
unable to meet their loved ones, unable to
go out in many instances,
and sadly many have actually passed away without
being able to see their loved ones because
of the pandemic.
This is really heartbreaking because it sort of
shows you what our society
has, you know, has become. Focusing on people
when they are useful in terms of, you
know, buying things, in terms of offering support,
and helping others. But when they can no
longer offer that,
we find, in many cases that they're sort
of cast away and hidden,
many cases mistreated as well. The reality though
is is not, you know, not everyone,
sends their elders to long term care facilities
because they don't care about them. But in
fact, many families do send their elders because
they care about them, and they're not able
to,
you know, take care of the, of the
needs of their elders at home, due to
illnesses, lack of resources, perhaps the high level
of need and care,
that they need, and they have no choice
but to send them their elders to these
long term care facilities.
We ask
Allah
to protect all of our seniors, our elders.
We ask Allah
to bless them with good health and strength.
In the beginning, you see when we are
born,
we have an age of weakness, right, and
that leads to learning and to growth. So
when we are born, we are born weak,
and through the years of learning and eating,
and, you know, Allah grants us strength. God
grants us strength, and we become the people
that we are today.
And when we have strength, we take advantage
of that strength. We are capable of doing
many things,
but after some years, our age starts catching
up because not every person, you know, no
one actually is gonna stay at their prime.
And that is just the tradition, the the
way that Allah
has designed us and indeed all of his
creation that, you know, we get worn out
over time. No one is being built or
designed
or given life to live forever. You know?
Only Allah is the one who lives forever.
And after other than that, every everything has
to come to an end, and everything follows
the natural course that Allah has destined for
and has designed it with. So
and we see this with athletes. Right? What
there may be an athlete who, you know,
was was very good, MVP every single year.
You know, someone that everyone knows, whether it's
Michael Jordan or anyone else, Wayne Gretzky,
you know, any any athlete that you can
think of that has retired.
And, subhanallah, in the beginning when they're on
their prime, you know, they're they're going up
and they're rising, but we find that there
comes an age, there comes a time where
they may still be very good, but they're
not as good as they used to be
because the age starts catching up. And this
is just something which is
natural. And Allah
actually describes this process in the Quran.
Allah says,
Allah is he who created you in a
state of weakness,
then gave you strength after weakness, then after
strength, gave you gave you weakness and gray
hair. Allah
also says,
Then among you there is the one who
is brought back to feeble old age. Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then goes on says
so that he knows nothing after having known.
And this is the case. SubhanAllah. You know,
there may be people
who contributed a lot and they've worked really
hard and they were very
intelligent educated people, people who have, you know,
who who really knew a lot of things
and and were really active. But there may
come a point where a person goes back
to a state of really not knowing and
Allah describes that in the Quran.
Allah
talks about the prophet Zakariyah alayhi salam, the
beginning of Surah Maryam, the chapter on Mary.
Allah
says,
this is the narration of your Lord's mercy
to his servant, Zakariyah.
When he called his Lord in a low
voice and he said,
My lord, I am in a state that
bones in my body have turned feeble, and
the head has flared up with,
flared up gray with old age, and he
says,
and I have never remained my Lord unanswered
in my prayers to you. So so even
in his prayers he was describing
his, his state and you know the prophet
has given us dua supplications
that's recommended that we recite in the morning
and in the evening,
twice daily and amongst within that dua, within
that supplication, you know, part of it is
that
that my lord I take refuge in you
from laziness
and senility
as well. So
you see, when a child goes from weakness
to strength, child doesn't know what really what
strength is because you haven't experienced it yet.
Right? And it's something that you're starting to
experience. So it's all very new, and it's
easy to adapt to new strengths, to new
knowledge, and new, and new abilities
as they become available. And society, like I
said, embraces youthfulness
and energy and growth because these are things
which are attractive.
Unfortunately, though, the reality is that society is
not so kind when it's the other way
around. As we gradually start losing our abilities,
our strengths, you know, things that a person
was used to for many, many years, it's
not easy.
That's not an easy process. You know, eyesight,
hearing,
you know, driving,
sharpness, you know, may not be the same
as it used to be before.
And society's norms, the ways of doing things,
of communication, of interaction, values, all of those
things are changing very, very quickly.
And there's a challenge in adjusting and adapting
and accepting that change.
So this is something that most of us
are either experiencing or are going to experience
at some point in our lives. And sometimes,
you know, it can be scary to think
about the future, but we must try our
best and have faith in Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala. So we try to live a healthy
life, you know, give a good upbringing to
our children, have good relations with our relatives,
have a solid connection with Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala
then leave it up to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala because it's not really in our control.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells us
that whoever places their trust in
Allah, he is enough for that person.
Now on paper, in theory, yes, we value
our elders. So there's, you know, discounts for
seniors on particular days in certain stores. You
know, there's, of course,
holding security
benefits and, you know, and so on. And
we claim respect for our elders, but when
what we need to do today, my brothers
and sisters, is to reflect on our attitudes,
our behavior
when dealing with our elders and our seniors.
That as a community, as individuals, as society,
how do we see our elders and how
do we deal with them? And practically, you
know, the reality is really different. It's very
different in society generally, but also within Muslim
communities as well. So let us examine our
attitudes that, you know, are we impatient?
So if you are driving or you're walking
and there is an elderly person in front
of you who may be a bit slower,
are you impatient with them? Do you get
annoyed because of the conversations or the questions
or the ways of doing things? Are you
are you know, are we inconsiderate when it
comes to opening doors or helping with groceries
or, you know, or shoveling snow, offering assistance
to those, especially,
who who are our elders and our seniors?
Are we critical of decisions,
of of their fears, of their lack of
independence?
Are we taking advantage of our seniors and
our elders having a business like approach,
you know, continuing to rely on them while
we go out and enjoy our lives and
earn a good living, you know, using them
for cooking and or for money or for
babysitting and so on and so forth. Is
that really how we're treating our elders? Your
parents may not say it, but maybe they
don't wanna babysit your children, but they don't
wanna say no to you. Right? Maybe they're
not able to help out as much as
you think that they're still able to. So
be considerate and think about these things because
this is not the Islamic way. You know,
our elders may be facing realities which may
be difficult
to adjust to.
You know, they have life experience. They've made
significant contributions in many cases, and they need
to be honored for that, and they need
to be respected
and show respect and appreciation and consideration,
not just with words on certain days, but
through our actions. An old man came to
see the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, and,
and the people did not make a way
for him. So the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam said,
that he is not one of us who
does not show mercy to our young ones
and respect
our elders. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala also
enjoins that.
You know, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says your
Lord has decreed that you worship none but
him and do good to your parents.
Allah
specifically
points out, you know, old age if any
one of them or both of them reach
old age
Do not say to them
meaning a word or expression of anger or
contempt or annoyance,
and do not scold them.
Allah
says,
that do not scold them and address them
with respectful words and submit yourself.
Submit yourself before them in humility,
out of compassion, and make this dua.
My Lord be merciful to them as they
have brought me up in my childhood.
And this is,
specifically
actually, there's 2 messages here. So one is
the child's approach towards their elderly parents, but
also the fact that parents
are to be nurturing their children with mercy
and kindness when they're young, and that is
something that is to be returned as they
grow older. The prophet
also said that
that the part the part of glorifying Allah
is to honor the gray haired Muslim. And
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam also said
that if a young person honors
an elderly person on account of their age,
Allah
appoints someone to show reverence to them in
their old age. So it is, you know,
the way we treat others is how we
will be treated as well when we are
in a similar situation.
So we as a community are very concerned
about our seniors,
and we realize that we need to do
more for them inshallah once our place opens
up, then we do plan on starting programs
and activities regularly inshallah
for our elders.
But we need to reflect, myself included, all
of us, how can we improve
and increase
our care, concern, and compassion towards our elders
individually and collectively?
What type of attitudes do we have and
how can you
share and show more care and concern regularly?
How can we do better as a community?
So please do send me your ideas and
suggestions inshallah because I'll be very interested in
hearing your feedback and your ideas so that
we can do better inshallah.
And finally, this should serve as a reminder
for each of us that whether we like
it or not, as each day goes by,
each of us is getting closer and closer
to our meeting with Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So we should prepare for that meeting so
that we arrive in a good state when
we meet Allah
and then Allah is happy for us.
We ask Allah
to protect our seniors and our elders. We
ask Allah
to grant them good health and well-being with
Iman. We ask Allah
to reward them for all the good that
they have done, forgive them for any mistakes
or shortcomings. We ask Allah to please remove
the pain, the hardships, and the pain and
suffering that many are experiencing at this
time, especially in the long term care facilities.
I mean,
at this point, I'm pleased to welcome, joining
us, is brother Mahmoud Sheikh, president of the
Canada Muslim Association.
How are you?
How are you? So
I just came online to thank, everyone of
you and thank Allah
for giving us this great month of Ramadan.
And, you know, this month allowed us to
to worship,
very intensely. It provided a unique, diff a
very unique experience
and really as a family, we came very
much very close, but we could not see
each other, but within the family, we did
a fantastic,
Ramadan.
Also, I want to thank all the supporters,
all the volunteers, and of course, imam,
for,
meeting all our fundraising goals and surpassing them.
And this is, you know, we did not
expect this.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has,
you know, provided,
provided,
this
blessing to us to have a community, which
is so supportive and so encouraging.
So as a volunteer working, I find this,
really encourages people like, you know, many of
the our volunteers to say continue to do
the work all the time inshallah.
And, you know, I also like to thank,
imam and, the whole of the volunteer team
for helping us organize this Eid
celebration,
in car driving Eid celebration, which,
turned out to be, you know, much better
than what I thought and what I expected,
and it seemed everyone liked it. And I
really want to thank everyone who participated,
for their, you know,
participating, following the rules, and doing,
doing what you need to do,
and enjoying it at the same time. And
really want to thank you, all the volunteers.
In particular, I'd like to thank our counselor
who is gonna be joining us in a
few minutes. We,
to,
wish you with greetings,
Jenna Sertz, as well as Nokia Corporation.
So when I sent a message
to Jenna, she said, you know,
let's see what I can do. And within
an hour, we had a conversation going with,
Nokia, and Nokia responded within an hour as
well, and Nokia you know, on the same
day, we everything was set, and
it took hardly any time,
from the time of request to the time
of,
acceptance,
of the parking lot. So
thank you for Jenna. Thank you, Nokia.
I also wanted to mention about,
caravan of joy that imam mentioned that I
know my family has been participating that imam
started
a few years ago.
Is this caravan of joy,
when we began, it seemed like, you know,
something we do every year, but it over
the time, I know I have come to
realize the importance of this. We go and
visit visit all the service providers like churches
in the communities,
and, you know, it helps us break a
lot of,
stereotypes about Muslims.
It works as an as a very important
dawah.
It works as it builds a relationship with
other people. People get to know, people get
to know,
Islam and the generosity of Muslims,
as well as we as people who participate
in Karwan of Joy, we get to speak
for ourselves rather than getting other people to
speak for us through our action.
So if you have other ideas, no, we'll
certainly look, look into that. And looks like
Eid ul Adha is we may have, you
know, let's pray that Eidul Adha,
a lot of, these restrictions
are removed or reduced,
and we can have a better celebration. But
as the time comes closer,
we are looking for ideas from you.
If you have ideas for as the time
gets closer,
please send the email, contact us. We'd certainly
like to see how to make this power
program better
and improved.
I also like to thank all our teachers
in Hikma School, Madina School, and TriStar Academy,
who continue to do the work online, and,
with our construction workers to the project. About
70% of the project is now, the renovation
is complete.
We just ordered the doors,
early this week, so they should arrive in
2 weeks time.
And once the doors are in,
and before that, we'll do some painting. So
within a month, we hope that,
majority of the work will be done.
Hopefully, all of this will will line up
with opening of,
all of our Masjids,
slowly but slowly and gradually.
So, inshallah, looks like things are lining up
quite well, and I'm very positive and hopeful
that,
very soon we'll be able to use our,
facilities and,
continue to do our programs,
which is
for all your support.
And,
have a good week.
I'd like to invite Jenna
to, wish you with greetings.
Jenna, are you here?
I am. Thank you. Apologies. Technical difficulties.
Yes. Thank you very much
for having me here today and inviting me
to share a few words.
I hope that everyone
had a very happy and blessed Eid.
I know that celebrations this year certainly,
looked a little
different than they have in the past
and I'm sure it was difficult not to
be able to to gather and celebrate,
as you normally would.
And there's also,
additional demands I know during this time, especially
for those who are doctors,
nurses,
frontline workers,
celebrating this holy time,
but also working to help our community as
well. So a big thank you for this.
I'm grateful personally for all,
all of the support,
and your generosity
in our community,
during EAD, but all year round. I know
I've seen many of you coming together to
help our community in so many ways.
Most recently, of course,
earlier this month, I saw your work with
the Canada food cupboard which I know is
incredibly impactful
and helps
many throughout
our community.
I also wanted to thank you for
continuing
to respect the advice of our chief medical
officer,
Doctor. Vera Etches and Ottawa Public Health.
I know it's challenging,
but I know as a community, as we
keep, keep to the plan and we work
together,
that we will get through this sooner than
later.
And lastly, as we've just heard as well,
you know, I'm thrilled to see the progress
of the construction happening,
on the renovation of the mosque, and excited
for, the future built.
And I know,
many of you have been working very hard
to make this dream a reality
and have been very giving.
So a big thank you and thanks again
for having me,
and honored to join you today.
Thank you very much, Jenna. Thank you. Really
appreciate you joining us today. And, thank you
for everything you do for, the community in
Kanata,
Kanata now for about 4.
My pleasure. Thank you. Have a good weekend.
You too.
Thank you very much.
Okay.
So, once again, special thanks, to, everyone who
helped out, and as brother Mahmood mentioned,
especially, for,
counselor Jenna Seitz, counselor of Kannada North,
and as well as, Nokia for for making
that event possible because otherwise, it would have
been a big challenge, trying to just trying
to figure out how to go about it.
So that that help was greatly appreciated,
and we thank,
all of our volunteers, for their tremendous,
efforts.
So inshallah, let us make some dua.
Oh, Allah.
We ask you to shower your mercy and
forgiveness upon all of those who have returned
to you.
Oh, Allah. Please cure all of our brothers
and sisters who are ill. Oh, Allah. Please
grant them relief. Oh, Allah. Please remove everything
that is harmful from their bodies. O Allah,
especially our brother
who is undergoing constant treatment. And all of
those brothers and sisters who are currently in
hospital, currently undergoing treatment or challenges, o Allah's
o Allah, we ask you out of your
mercy to please cure them.
Oh Allah our brother and sister locally who
are suffering from long term pain and and
and injuries. Oh Allah please remove all of
their hardships.
Oh Allah our brothers and sisters who are
ill or at risk of becoming ill. Oh
Allah you are the protector. Oh Allah you
are the healer. Oh Allah please grant them
speedy recovery. Oh Allah please protect them from
all types of illnesses and pain and suffering
you Allah through your power you Allah please
remove their hardships. You Rabbi Alameen. Oh Allah
we are helpless in front of you. Oh
Allah we don't even know what is inside
of our bodies. O Allah, you know best.
O Allah, please purify us physically. O Allah,
please purify us mentally. O Allah, please purify
us spiritually.
O Allah, please protect all of us and
all of our fellow human beings, especially the
frontline workers, the health professionals, the health workers,
the first responders, the store workers, the relief
workers, anyone else, the transit workers, anyone else
who is going out on the front lines
to serve others to try to try to
do good. Oh, Allah. Please protect me.
Oh, Allah, please grant relief to all of
those who are in pain and grief and
stress and anxiety. Oh, Allah, please remove all
of those hardships. Oh, Allah, please remove all
of their worries and replace them with peace
and joy.
Oh, Allah, please open the doors of Halal's
sustenance for all of those who are in
need and especially those who are in debt.
Oh Allah, many of our brothers and sisters
in faith and humanity
facing financial crises. Oh Allah, please protect them.
Oh Allah, please grant them easy. Oh Allah,
please grant us all the good return to
you during this life, at the end of
this life and on the day
of judgment.
Allah
bless you all. May Allah
continue to protect you all.
Please go ahead and offer your prayers and,
inshallah, we will, see you on Tuesday,
for Children's Circle at 7:30 Insha Allah.
Registration is required and it can be found
at kranmuslims.cal/live.