Suleiman Hani – 3 Ways To Establish A Legacy

			When you think of the word legacy, what comes to mind when you think of the concept of legacy in
general and more specifically, your legacy, what you leave behind in this world, what comes to mind,
it's interesting to note that generally speaking, humanity will pursue and people will pursue a form
of legacy that is in accordance to their worldviews, what they value, what they see as the purpose
of life, if there is one for that individual. And as people are trying to formulate their own
arbitrary, their own subjective purposes in life, they tend to find that creating a purpose from
nothing will end up falling short. And we find this in study after study psychologically and
		

			philosophically, where people are trying to find something meaningful find purpose for their
existence. And when they don't find it, or when they reject what there is being sent to them or
shared with them. They end up trying to formulate their own worldviews, their own purposes. So when
we talk about the worldview of Islam, and the worldview of Muslims, we define legacy in accordance
to that in accordance to what we believe to be true. Because you cannot formulate a legacy based on
the definition of secularism, or a liberal philosophy or another ideology or another religion, it
has to be in accordance to what we believe what you hold to be true.
		

			And so in order for us to talk about our legacies, we can talk about maybe 20, different principles,
but for the sake of time, we'll cover three, three principles to establishing your legacy. The first
is to recognize that there is a link between your legacy and the actual purpose of life that you
have. Now, we are not formulating our own purposes in life, we were told by the one who created us,
the One who created this universe, why we exist, Allah the follow up alma mater, will hire attorney,
		

			son Ramallah, the One who created death and life in order to test you to see what's best in their
deeds, their actions. And notice here, it's sending Ramona not necessarily a third, what I'm gonna
say about the quality, and the excellence and the correctness of one's actions, not necessarily
about the quantity. And I ask Allah subhanaw taala, to guide us always to that, which is best. There
are people in this world who are looking for a legacy, and striving to leave something behind. And
they may have that intention. But when it comes to accepting the message of the Creator, they're
rejecting it. So they're rejecting with it, the definition of success, the criteria for your purpose
		

			to actually be fulfilled, you were created for a purpose for you to leave a legacy behind,
necessitates fulfilling that purpose. Because if you gain every kind of success of this world, but
in the afterlife, you've rejected, what there is that what was sent to you have a message and a
reminder and guidance from God, then you haven't really gained anything. Because if you live in this
world for 1000 years, it's incomparable to an eternal life. Allah subhanho wa Taala reminds us as
well, that through the fulfillment of one's purpose, you find tranquility, when you pursue what you
believe to be true, and what is evidence to be true intellectually, psychologically, spiritually,
		

			you'll find with that a fulfillment a psychological need, as many studies have found, in fact, that
is one of the greatest needs for mankind. It's not about the physical pleasures that people have.
And yet, we're living in a times in which we all know, looking around the world, and looking at the
different forms of media and entertainment, movies and TV shows that are trending in different
places. That what often times is being taught to people is that you'll be happy if you buy this
product. If you are a consumer, if you keep fulfilling a physical need, you will be happy if you are
living a hedonistic lifestyle, of just chasing basic human pleasures, without boundaries, and the
		

			realities we find in society that in fact, it is contributing to a lack of happiness. We find there
are people who can fulfill financially and everything else that can fulfill any physical desire that
they want, but they're not happy, they're miserable. And in many cases, it's even led to a forms of
depression and suicide and so on and so forth. It's not fulfilling the spiritual need that we all
have the psychology the psychological need that we were created with. So when we are talking about
actual legacies, we're talking about doing something that is aligned with
		

			higher purpose, Transcendence.
		

			And so a true legacy from the Islamic perspective is for a person to liberate themselves from the
expectations of all worldly things and all people and to submit to the expectations of the Creator.
Because if you are pursuing truth, you cannot place the creation above the Creator. If you're
pursuing what you believe to be true, not just pleasurable, but what you believe to be true,
philosophically and theologically, you cannot place people or worldly pleasures between you and that
truth.
		

			Imam Al Bukhari Rahim Allah, famous scholar, the greatest scholar of Hadith, from the third century,
went through a number of trials and tribulations. He was the most famous scholar of his time.
		

			And his funeral prayer, his janazah was one of the largest and yet at the end of his life, Imam Al
Bukhari Rahim Omar went through a number of trials and tribulations due to some politics due to a
political authority due to some Phaeton some tribulations. And as he traveled from line to line, he
ended up passing away Rahmatullah Allah, may Allah have mercy on him in such a state. And yet he was
arguably the greatest scholar of Hadith, and one of the greatest scholars of Islamic history, one of
the greatest intellectual thinkers.
		

			So your legacy is not about the state of people, it is not about validation. Your legacy is not
about fame or glory. Your legacy is not about how much money you have or how many degrees you've
accumulated, or how long your bio is. Your legacy has to be aligned with the purpose of life with
Allah subhanaw taala. Which brings us to the second point. The second principle is no doubt
sincerity. If you want to leave a legacy behind that is aligned with your purpose. It has to be
sincerely for the sake of Allah. We don't do things acts of worship for the sake of people, we help
people, we serve people, we serve His creation, but we're not doing so for their sake in terms of
		

			the intention. The intention is that these are good things. These are moral things. These are
necessary things for the sake of the One who created us, the one who will hold us accountable. A
legacy that is not sincere for the sake of Allah is an invalid legacy from the Islamic perspective,
a legacy that is not sincere for the sake of Allah falls apart. And it will be rejected in terms of
the acts of worship in terms of the deeds themselves. And it's important for us not to confuse being
a role model or being a righteous community member or being a pious person in society serving other
people confusing that with things like fame, or credit or glory, or jobs or your status or anything
		

			else. It's not for social media followers, it's not for people to see you, you're not doing these
things for the sake of the creation. And yet, it is possible that some people who are sincere Allah
subhanaw taala, will test them with fame, and other people who are evil will also have fame and some
people who are righteous will the unknown to the rest of mankind, and they are the majority, and
many people who are evil are also unknown to others. So it's not a measuring stick. You don't look
at someone and say because they are famous or because they're not that this person is or is not
righteous is or is not sincere, sincere. It is an internal thing first. And if you're working on
		

			yourself and your legacy, then you know that your sincerity will most likely show up behind closed
doors, who you are behind closed doors, who you are when you're at home, with your family, who you
are when you're alone, and you're worshipping Allah subhanaw taala are you doing what's right? Are
you are you striving? Or are you looking to be alone in order to disobey Him? Your your legacy has
to be established on the principle of sincerity. Imam Al Bukhari Rahim Allah, his mother, what do
you know about her? Most people know very, very, very few details about her. In fact, there is not
much we know about her, except that she was very pious, she was very righteous and she was very
		

			sincere. How do we know this? She was a single mother raising this young child who became later on
Imam Al Bukhari Rahim Allah, a single mother working really hard striving to take care of her
child's development. And she spent a good amount of time in his development with his teddy bear his
upbringing. And in fact, she invested a lot as well financially, to make sure that he was taught by
some of the greatest scholars
		

			imaginable Hari Rama hola his legacy we know of it. It is a continuous charity until the end of
times. It is the most studied Hadith book the most relied upon book of narrations with the most
strict measures of authenticity and authentication.
		

			And of course, when we think of that legacy and his continuous charity, we should be linking it to
the parent as well, in this case, a single mother, think of the rewards that she has. And of course,
when you see something like this lasting more than 1000 years, we recognize that sincerely has
ripple effects. A sign of
		

			Something being accepted by Allah subhanaw taala. An act of worship that you did, or the raising of
your child is that the good will last after you depart from this world, after you die, it will move
on it will continue. And if there's a lack of sincerity, and there's a lack of effort, and there's a
lack of clarity, a lack of focus on the purpose of life taught to one's child or children, and they
start to kind of lose their faith lose their identity, they're confused in this world in this era,
in this time, in which many people are confused, many people are lost, many people are looking for
something of substance.
		

			What ends up happening maybe to them is not severe in the parents eyes have slowly losing their
identity or their faith. But what happens to the generation after that their children and then their
children and then their children? Imagine baja de la mala. This is one example that we are talking
about. We can all imagine that 200 years ago now 1800s, let's say a righteous couple, a righteous
mother or righteous father, invested time and effort and sincerely worked on raising their children,
which is no easy feat. And they spent so much effort on it.
		

			Yes, sacrificing other things of this world, yes, sacrificing at times, maybe greater career maybe a
greater amount of time in the corporate world, maybe sacrificing some pleasures as well, for the
raising of their children, what ends up happening to their grandchildren, and their grandchildren
and their grandchildren. 150 200 people later descendants later, what happens to them in terms of
the bedrock of the blessings of Allah subhanaw taala because this mother and his father, or even a
single mother, single father, were sincere. Your sincerity can move mountains, your sincerity can
move mountains, your sincerity can move mountains, but we cannot afford to live our lives distracted
		

			by worldly pleasures distracted by societal pressures, and forgetting about the element of sincerity
May Allah subhanaw taala make us amongst the sincere alumni. I mean,
		

			the third and the last principle is resilience. So you have number one, the purpose of life has to
be correct for your legacy to be successful. Number two, you have to be sincere and sincere is not a
one time task. It's an ongoing part of life. It's an ongoing experience, where you're renewing your
intention for the sake of Allah subhanho wa taala, the Exalted and then finally you have the effort,
the resilience and it's linked to your sincerity, because a lot of times people say I can't, or I
won't, or I give up. And so they perhaps started off an act of worship with sincerity and then they
faltered and then they gave in, it became too difficult their faith was tested.
		

			Oftentimes, a test will arise in order to distinguish between the one who's really sincere and
ambitious, and the one who give up very quickly, and that test may come in different forms. So no
doubt resilience. Sabir is combined with many other acts of worship in the Quran. Sabra is also
combined with victory patients and success. Sabir is linked with perseverance is linked with
paradise. Eternal success. Sub is something we rely upon we engage in, we exemplify, we nurture, and
it requires no doubt sincerity. And it won't always be easy. People will talk about you at times
your tests will be your own family, or a community or maybe people in another place maybe people
		

			online, Muslim community and non Muslim community. People might oppress you, you might face some
other struggles. It might be in something societal might be in something political might be in
something financial, your test may come in different forms.
		

			And it is a test of faith.
		

			How long will you endure? How long do you hold on? Allah subhanho wa Taala reminds us in the Quran,
a hassy been su ie Oatstraw coup de PUE.
		

			One whom la you've done, the people expect to say I believe and they're not be tested for their
claim. No people expect to say I believe I'm a believer, I'm a good person. Externally, that's easy.
But then when the test arises, what do you do? How long do you hold on?
		

			How long do you endure? You intended to pray as a minor example you intended to pray a voluntary
prayer? You're at home you decide I'm going to prickly and you started your claim. You finished the
tour because then you remembered you didn't have a loop.
		

			You go make Hulu and pray again. Or do you give up oh, I tried. I didn't have a man goes out sets
out to pray in the mosque, budget a prayer and it's dark and he can't see and he trips, his clothes
get dirty.
		

			He goes back home he changes and he intends to go back to the masjid he walks out again. He trips
somewhere else, his clothes get dirty, goes back home and changes once again to go to the masjid
does not give up eventually the shape on stops trying to make this man trip because every time he
goes back and his sincerity is renewed, and his intention is still there. He's being forgiven more
and more and rewarded more and more for his deed for his persistence and doing something good. How
long do you endure
		

			people might
		

			Talk about you. There are so many people who became righteous religious, more practicing in the
pursuit of what is true, and their own family members made them feel bad about it. You You think
you're a good person now I know what you used to do. Their own relatives, their own friends, their
own community cannot count the number of times people in this community and other places became
Muslim, and their own family members at times were not supportive of that. And in other cases they
were.
		

			And so yes, the the tests we may face may come from our loved ones, it may be a test of
relationships. How long will you endure, and hold on to what you believe to be actually true? So
you're looking to please the One who created you, and not necessarily the creation, the pleasure of
Allah subhanaw taala is lasting, the pleasure of people dies as well. When they die, they disappear.
When they die, the pleasure, the satisfaction, the compliments, the complaints, the criticisms, the
insults, the oppression dies with them, and the rights that you had and the principles that you held
on to are lasting. And you're heading back to we are all heading back to the One who created us, the
		

			one who will hold us accountable.
		

			The famous scholar Imam Muhammad again from the third century, Imam Ahmed Rahmatullah Ali. In the
year 800, faced one of the greatest trials in Islamic history known as the Inquisition
		

			and mechana. Imam Muhammad Rahim, Allah was the most famous scholar perhaps, of Baghdad of the area
very often generally, the region was known throughout the OMA.
		

			And as a famous scholar, you would assume that people wouldn't mess with him. And I don't mean
people like the masses. I mean, the government's Imam Muhammad Rahim Allah faced a trial when the
Khalifa at the time, and Moon from 830 to 833, I started what was known as the Inquisition because
he was influenced by mortality philosophy, a type of sect or denomination that was influenced by
Greek philosophy and attempted to change and reform foundational things in Islam and Islamic
theology. So he became the Khalifa. And what he started doing was changing certain principles that
scholars were teaching for years before for decades before for the last 200 years, trying to change
		

			that into multicity philosophy. And one of these issues that I'm not delving into it deeply was the
question of whether or not the Quran is created. So what it tells us we're saying the Quran is
created. Of course, this is very problematic, it's rejecting something very important, which is what
the speech of God cannot be created. Qalam Allah, the speech of Allah subhanho wa Taala Allah
subhanaw taala speaks, he tells us Kalam Mala Mala Mala Musa cleaner, and Allah sight, Allah's
hearing, Allah has attributes cannot be created, they are eternal, they are part of him. So you
cannot say the Quran, which is the speech of Allah, you cannot say it is created. And yet that's
		

			exactly what the Khalifa did. And he started this in the Inquisition because the scholars refused to
accept that they kept teaching Islam as it was. Now today, we may see that this is a very minor
issue in terms of impact, like nobody's thinking about this, people are not debating this, this is
not an issue that people have.
		

			And yet it was at the time.
		

			So what did he start to do? He passed basically a law to ban this you cannot teach anything except
what monetization are saying. And so the scholars started being silenced one by one giving in the
Khalifa is requesting that you stop teaching such and such they gave in one after the other, except
the Imam Muhammad Rahim Allah. They said, I refuse that contradicts the Quran, the revelation of
God, I cannot teach something I don't agree with that is rejecting a foundation of Islam, I cannot
do that.
		

			And he was persecuted, he was tortured. He was beaten, he was taken to prison numerous times. In
fact, he stayed in prison for a number of years, take into the courts of the Khalifa to debate in
public. And they tried to bring people to debate with him. And he basically intellectually wiped the
floor with them with more than a dozen proofs from the Quran and authentic hadith. And it may seem
like a minor issue today. And yet, the greatest scholar of that time was being persecuted for it,
tortured, one of the most severe forms of torture. And he endured, he didn't give in, he refused. He
said, I can't, it would be easier for him to give in. And it would be easier for someone in that
		

			situation to say, well, you know what, given until this person disappears until the next ruler comes
in, and then teach people what's correct or teach in private or something else. No, he refused. He
said if I give in and the scholars given it will have a ripple effect in the community.
		

			So he sensed some responsibility on his shoulders. And he refused to give in, presented his evidence
in the court numerous times and stayed in prison until that Khalifa that Caliph was replaced by
another and mutawa killed in your 847. And eventually he stopped the Inquisition. And Imam Ahmed
Rahim Allah was released. His story was shared throughout the OMA. It was known to other scholars.
It inspired so many people why
		

			A man inspired in fact, if you look at some of the studies in academia and some of the PhD
dissertations, and inspired a lot of non Muslims as well, it wasn't just Muslims. And it wasn't just
scholars why he endured, he was resilient. He held on to what he truly believed to be revelation.
And it is revelation. And it had an impact throughout the OH MAN throughout history to our times,
theologically and philosophically, the question is, how long do we endure? And how quickly do we
give up, you may not be facing an inquisition, like a moment, you may be living in physical comfort,
you're blessed, you're privileged, you're not struggling with maybe worrying about your next meal,
		

			worrying about whether or not a bomb will drop on your village tomorrow, you're not worried about
something specific in terms of the pandemic and access to vaccines and things like that. Maybe
you're living in comfort physically.
		

			But what happens when your test is the test of ease? are you passing that test? And Are you
enduring, because we have many people around the world, who are wishing to be in our shoes wishing
to have a fraction of the blessings that we have, just so they can have comfort, they're not
worrying about in terms of their survival, so they can spend some time learning searching for the
truth, finding Islam and studying it, growing in their knowledge and their nearness to Allah
subhanaw taala Allah the Exalted.
		

			And yeah, in other places around the world, like here, perhaps there are many people who are tested
by distractions. Your test is not that your Government doesn't allow you to study Islam. Your test
is not that you are not allowed to research theology and philosophy. Your test is not that you don't
have access to the internet and 1000s upon 1000s upon 1000s of beneficial series and articles and
books and publications, you have access to all of that. That's not our tests. Our test is the one of
distraction, the one of pleasure, how much time is being wasted, how many opportunities lost? And
are we grateful for what we have access to? Are we grateful for these blessings? May Allah subhanaw
		

			taala keep us grateful, and guide us and forgive us for our shortcomings. And may Allah subhanaw
taala alleviate the fears of those who are struggling all around the world? May Allah subhanho wa
Taala make us amongst the resilient and the sincere and those who are constantly looking for the
truth and acting upon it Allahumma Amin seek forgiveness from Allah He is the Ever Merciful The oft
forgiving, a Julio od ha That was stuck through Hollywood a confessed of Pharaoh in the Hall of a
photo.
		

			Of hamdu lillah wa Salatu was Salam ala Rasulillah wa ala early he was suffering he woman wala what
helps us to be resilient. What helps people endure? Number one, as we mentioned, is the pursuit of
knowledge. Knowing what is right helps you to stick to what is true. But if you don't know what is
true, it's going to be hard to stick to any principle, the pursuit of beneficial knowledge, the
pursuit of beneficial knowledge, the pursuit of beneficial knowledge. I know we emphasize this in
many of the Friday hotlines, but we cannot stress this enough. We all have access to so many
lectures, so many Institute's so many programs do we take advantage? How much of the knowledge that
		

			we seek or the knowledge that we consume on a daily basis is actually beneficial? And what part of
it? Well, part of it is truly impactful. We all have access to these blessings. And yet, at times we
ignore at times we neglect. These are the types of knowledge that transform us and transform society
and change many generations to come. We cannot do that. If you don't know what's true. May Allah
subhanaw taala grant us beneficial knowledge. Number two is a strong support system. Good friends,
surround yourself with good people. People are looking for the truth and acting upon the truth.
People are trying to support one another and when you fall short, they advise you they don't support
		

			your immorality. They don't support something evil, they advise you because they truly care about
you. And when you see them to remind you of something good when you see them, they remind you of the
afterlife, a good community stay attached to the community especially during a pandemic like this,
it is very difficult. And so what a lot of people have done is found themselves busy with online
classes and virtual interactions. And of course, whatever you can have in person interactions, but
be very cautious. And number three is a constant connection to the Quran. If you want to be
resilient and you want to endure, you have to be connected to the speech of the One who created this
		

			room. You have to be connected to the speech of Allah subhanho wa Taala when you recite and you will
fall upon where you come across an idea. They sing of Allah subhanaw taala in the lady Nakamura
buena Allahu musta como Verily those who say, Allah is my Lord and then they remain resilient upon
it, they stick to it until they die. They hold on to it. As difficult as it may be in your life.
They hold on to it through all distractions and all trials and tribulations.
		

			and they die in that state. The angels when they come to them the soul is leaving the body will say
to them alerta Hafele Walter has no Have no fear, no grief, no sadness will actually do have an
agenda to let you continue to argue and, but instead have the glad tidings of the paradise that you
were promised before. In other words, you're welcomed into a better place. Be steadfast endure, hold
on to what you believe to be true. And don't give in don't allow any human being. Don't allow any
society don't allow any ideology don't allow any pleasure, any distraction, any temptation of this
world, get in between you and your pursuit of what is true. May Allah subhanaw taala guide us
		

			forgive us an increases in goodness, may Allah Subhana Allah allow us to live for the purpose of
life and allow us to die in a good state and to leave behind many continuous charities. May Allah
subhanaw taala grant us all a powerful legacy one that is sincerely for his sake and not for the
sake of people. And may Allah subhanaw taala keep us resilient and enduring and upon Sabir until the
day that we die along that I mean
		

			bla bla
		

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