Do you feel peer pressure

Oh, oh word

Bismillah R Rahman Rahim Al Hamdulillah should Allah Allah illallah wa SHODHANA Muhammad Abdul Salam about

brothers and sisters my short talk is nothing more than an extension of sister dunya Prasad and brother Hamza.

We want to talk this afternoon

about peer pressure

we have in New York City,

about 1,300,000 Muslims.

That's an incredible number.

Yet our children are suffering

under enormous pressure, peer pressure.

95% of our children go to non Muslim schools,

most of them in public school

pressure.

The Prophet alayhi salat wa salam said meble nebo escena be Yun Ihlara AlGhanim. Allah has never sent a prophet except as a shepherd. My talk today is actually a DUA, that Allah subhanho wa Taala can bless the parents, all of us to do a better job despite our deficiencies and our weaknesses.

I was in Atlanta, Georgia at a Walmart I'll never forget this last year, two years ago.

And a Chinese man and what looks to be his wife and his daughter about 11 years old.

said to me

As Salam aleikum.

There was nothing about this man that would make you think he's Muslim. He didn't have a beard. He didn't have a coffee. He didn't have you know,

a kameez. His wife didn't have a job or daughter didn't have Jill Babb. There was nothing about them that would make you think the Muslim yet he said to me a Salam Alikum

why he said that to me.

Why he said to me, assalamu Alikum. Why?

Because he don't know what I am. But I looked like a Muslim. He said, I'm a Muslim from China. And I'm here for a few weeks, and I need to know where I can go to get halal food.

I said to him, give me your name. I will get it for you and give you the information I did. And we have been in context since he's in China. Now. Every once in a while, I call him

the Prophet was X. Are you Islam?

This Islam as best he said to me, but Taku Salam, ala Min rafta, well, manlam tarrif. He said to feed the people and to give Salams to those whom you know, and whom you don't know why he gives me salams

because he looked at me and I look to be a Muslim. I'm not telling you tonight, or this afternoon, how to dress and this and that. That's not my point. I'm making a deeper point about who we are.

The psychology of the Muslims, who we are.

In Brooklyn, there's a store that I go to. And I go to that store once a week just to get a weekly newspaper that I can only get from that store. It's a store owned by an operated by Koreans. And I've been going to that store for years.

Recently, I went into the store, and the Korean woman said to me, where are you from?

I said America. She said no, no. Where are you really from?

I said America, know where your parents from?

I said America.

She said what? Your dress.

I said I'm a Muslim. She's all terrorism.

Now she was half joking.

But there's something there that the people they look at us as Muslims and our children are watching that.

went to Australia.

And when I landed in New York

up JFK. When he got off the plane, they said, American citizens this way, everybody else that way and I am an American citizen, and I went that way. And the lines were going fast. And I can hear the immigration officer asking two questions.

Where do you come from?

What country did you visit? How long did you stay? Go? What country did you visit? How long did you stay? Go? What country did you visit? How long did you stay?

He got to me. He said, what country? Did you visit? I said, Australia, how long did you stay? I said one week? He said, Have you ever been to Saudi Arabia?

I said, Yes. When were you last there last year? Why did you go for pilgrimage? Do you know anybody in Saudi Arabia, none of your business?

Is what I wanted to say.

What's my point?

All of these

strikes against the Muslims against Islam. And our children, 95% of them going to non Muslim schools are responding.

This enormous peer pressure, what to do?

Really, again, I agree with my, all the speakers here.

And, and, and their summary,

I'll say this.

Every prophet was first sent as a shepherd. Why?

Because if you study animals, you will see that all that of animals Allah put in it away to defend itself, or to attack.

It is the normal size of, of an elephant or of the shell of animals. Some animals have spikes and cinema, animals can fly and, and some animals have blinding speed. And in some animals that have teeth, and some have claws, and some animals can get away by chlorine in the earth, some animals can get away by climbing up a tree. And there's some animals that can that can camouflage themselves.

Even there are some animals that Allah has given the ability to give off a scent.

And all of these animals have a way to defend itself except the sheep.

Why? What did Allah give the sheep? He gave the sheep, the shepherd.

Our children have this enormous pressure.

I don't want to be different. I want to be like everybody else. I don't want to be Muslim, Sister dunya. She mentioned that some Muslims even hide their identity.

How are we going to get them

have confidence in themselves? A few things.

If you want to see the ultimate, Nonconformist,

and that's what we asked our children to be be non conformist. And non conformance is not like everybody else. So non conformance and non conformance is a person who has his own idea. He's not going to be influenced by anyone because he has she has within themselves in knowledge of themselves and they're not afraid to be themselves. Can I give you the ultimate non conformance?

The ultimate non conformance was evil Hema li salat wa salam. Let me tell you how non conformance C was

a conversation that he had with his wife Sarah

Yes, Sara

Lee sila what she called the movement God evil god okay. Oh, Sara, there's not one believe on the face of the earth other than you and I.

Non conform nonconformists not be like everybody else. But being as Allah subhanho wa Taala would have him to be. How great was Abraham Abraham was so great. Everybody claimed him. Jews say that we began with Abraham.

Christian say we began with Abraham Muslim say, Abraham was one of us. were followers of Abraham. And then the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him said

I will meet you sir Your melter Yama, Ibrahim. And the first one to be dressed on the Day of Judgment will be Abraham why? Because Abraham was a nonconformist.

Now

I know that none of you have ever seen a movie in your life

now

I don't usually tell you to go to movies

but today I am.

Now I'm not talking about your uncles and aunts who don't go arc. I'm talking about those of you inclined to go see a movie go see this movie

is called Hacksaw Ridge.

Hacksaw Ridge

is a true story

about a man named Desmon dos de o. S. S. Study his life.

He was a Seventh Day Adventist.

And he was called upon to participate in World War Two.

And he applied as a conscientious objector. Why? He said, Because according to my religion, according to the Bible, God said, Thou shalt not kill. And I won't kill anyone. And he got the status.

But he said I want to serve. So I'll go. And I'll serve as a medic, but I don't want to carry any weapons.

And he got a lot of pushback from the soldiers.

Not only did he go and participate, he was in the frontlines.

frontlines, no weapon.

His story is amazing.

And you know what he did?

He went and saved 75 lives,

men wounded, he would pick them up on his back and run and bring them to safety.

He got three bronze metal, three Purple Hearts and one medal of honor given by the President of the United States of America, how interested when I'm watching the movie and said, This guy gonna get killed.

He was wounded four times.

And you know, the irony

that even though he was on the frontlines, and he was wounded, and he fought in World War Two, he lived to be 86 years old.

Which makes you understand what Matt Kennedy knifes and tomato Elizabeth Nila keytab and more Angela? No so can die except by the permission of Allah. It's already written in a book.

What's my point?

This afternoon?

You my young brothers and sisters.

Your strength is in your differences.

That's what make you are who you are. Listen to where Allah said in Quran yerli Sana B. Let's do look at them in the sack.

Oh wives of the Prophet, you will not like the other women.

You are not like the other women.

You're Muslim.

And when Allah made you Muslim, he made you to obey Him.

It is an insult to Allah to tell Allah

that I was pressured to do it. By my peers is an insult. Let me give you a picture Fast Forward yo mo camera.

Yo Malkia my young brothers all the brothers 21 and under raise your hand.

Okay.

All right.

You know what?

You're, how old are you?

15 years old.

Incredible.

I remember being 15 years old,

about 100 years ago.

And at that age, you know,

everybody would like to be liked,

to be popular, to be respected. Not to be looked down upon. So everybody, you know, we try to, you know, fit in.

But in 1969 as a freshman in New York University,

I made a decision to be a Muslim.

I didn't go to Muslim school. I went to public school. And then I went to New York University. And when I went to New York University, me and my friend named Andrew we became Muslim

comes nobody in our family Muslim

to Muslims and anti university.

But yet, we were proud to be Muslim.

You know, 1993

I was the first Muslim to open our session of Congress. Congress never opens except through a Jewish rabbi or Christian minister for the first time in the history of our nation 1993 A Muslim imam, open a session of Congress and when

and when I went

you know, I went just like this. I just just the way I dress, you know, why? Because this is who I am. The Prophet alayhi salat wa salam said, Holly full mushroom making

it different from the disbelievers

be different why your strength Hamza, I agree with you, your strength is in your differences.

Your mole Kiama

will be resurrected.

You want to sneak on the internet and go look at women. You want to go look on the internet and social media to look at many women or young men to every everybody gonna be resurrected naked.

And you know what? In nobody gonna be looking at no one else because that day will be too difficult.

Yamal Kiama? What is your MO Kiama we stand before Allah subhanho wa taala. And everybody gonna be judged by Allah, the Almighty. How long 50,000 years standing in line waiting to be judged by Allah. And when that day come, let me tell you something. Have you ever read a hadith that Allah will say, I'm a Malik. I

the Lord, I am the king. We are the kings of the earth. Have you ever read that? You read?

I know Malik. I'm

the king. We are the kings of the earth. I'm actually a question. Who is Allah speaking to?

US who's Allah speaking to?

Her?

Yeah, let me tell you the truth.

You read the Quran about Lucasta soon

and the horn is blown. And when the horn is blown, everything in the heavens on earth will die in lemon shack except, except from Allah exempts. The scholars of Islam say

those who are exempted are 12.

The eight angels that hold the Throne of Allah Gibreel Mika L, the angel of the horn and the angel of death.

Allah will teach the Angel of Death to take the lives of the of the prophets of the angels. And Allah would acts the Angel of Death who's less

you and me.

Now die, and he will die.

And there will be no more left in the universe, no one everything is dead, why?

You got to the mouth of the soul shall taste the best. Everything except Allah subhanaw taala.

And when everything and everyone is dead, you know what he will say?

Allah Malik

the king, where the kings of the earth

were the tyrants and

we are the arrogant ones. And you no one

no one can hear.

Well him and then he will bring the ends of the horn back he will call make the blowing the horn and everything will come back to life again.

And now you will stand before Allah

in accounting of your deeds.

Will you say

over

the years free.

Honest

that's what you're going to tell Allah. You want to be like everyone else. I thought you wanted to be a non conformists because the prophets of non conformance conformance. Conformance. Do not a prophet peace and blessing be upon him said that there are some some prophets who had two or three sides

Some had none.

And that means they stood, they stood alone, and they did it for Allah subhanho wa Taala and my conclusion

I am

so thankful to Allah to be a Muslim

and you got to be careful. You want to fit in with the crowd.

If you studied the Quran, well I can accident NASA you may know the majority of the people they don't believe the majority of people don't understand the majority of the people are ungrateful. But the cul de lune the few

these are the ones the few that are thankful to Allah subhanho wa Taala

Be careful.

I'm gonna give you two examples in history and then I finish

one Abu Talib Have you heard of Abu Talib?

The uncle of the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him was on his deathbed.

And he was the prophet. Yeah. Kula Ilaha illa Allah Kula EULA, c'est la ilaha illa.

But the problem there was some kurush Abuja Helene others, they're saying don't do it.

Are you going to leave the religion of Abdulmutallab?

And the Prophet kept saying La ilaha illa Allah

but because of peer pressure,

I will tell him said I will die on the religion of Abu Talib. And he died

and the Prophet was actually salat wa salam. Your uncle did so many things for you. Will you help them? He said yes. Because of my intercession for him. He will be in the Hellfire but the least punished in the hellfire.

But he's there. Why?

Peer pressure?

You see brothers and sisters, they had it right.

The Prophet he said all of the nuts sibiya de la you may know her, according to her by lay him and we're lady over Laddie he will not say mind you're not a true believer and today I am more loved by you than your mother's your father's and all of mankind.

Be careful. The second example and then we close.

So be a non conformance mean conformance means that

you know what?

I'm sorry.

I see a nun what Allah

I love Ilana loves messenger.

I'm a Muslim. You know this funny now if you study trends.

Any of you New York Mets fan baseball fan.

If you notice now and a lot of the baseball players wearing beards, and a New York met on a radio program, someone called in and said what is this all these myths when beards what are they trying to be Muslims.

And by the way,

we don't think that a beard make you righteous.

If a bed made you righteous,

let's go to the park.

Let's find a hobo with a beard and say behold the righteous man.

You not righteous because you have a beard. You're righteous because you're following the Sunnah of the Prophet salaallah Salam, and you want to have your Islamic identity.

This case,

the Prophet alayhi salaatu wa salaam sent out the Muslims on an expedition and said you should obey this man.

And they went out and he got mad at them. And he said, the Prophet say obey me. They said yes, he said, build a fire and they built the fire.

And then he said, Go into the fire.

And they hesitated.

And they hesitated so much until the fire went out.

And the word got to the Prophet peace and blessings be upon them. And he said this three variations I give you all three. One he said LoDuca Lu

Maha Zhu Min Han. Had you gone in that fire you would not have come out

in the Mill Avenue, the

roof because obedience is only toward that which is right. Number two, Ladakh Aloha mahalo Zhu Min ha ha. Yo Milty Anna, in the metro auto filma roof. Had you gone in a fire you would not have come out until the Day of Judgment. Obedience is only toward that what's right.

And the last one I saved for last is the scariest

low Dr. Liu

Mahara Zhu Min had ever done

in the metadata film, roof. Had you gone in that fire you would never come out? Because obedience is only toward that which is right.

My younger brothers and my young sisters, the rest of you,

our parents Inshallah, we have to do a better job

of strengthening you as all that the speakers have said, I agree. But the main thing you got to go to Allah yourself is you and Allah is your faith. And when the faith is deep enough, you don't have no peer pressure. Because you are non conformist. May Allah bless you as radical