Suleiman Hani – What Defines a Successful Ending

Suleiman Hani
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AI: Summary ©

The importance of a good ending in writing and film is discussed, highlighting the importance of having a good ending to achieve their goals and dreams. The segment provides examples of good ending moments, including the deaths of experienced people and the importance of humility and pride in finding the right ending in a good life. The speakers also stress the importance of rejecting the truth and humility in protecting individuals and finding the right ending in a good life.

AI: Summary ©

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			One time in a classroom setting, a teacher
		
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			asked, what is a good ending?
		
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			What does it mean to have a good
		
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			ending?
		
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			And of course, without more context, the responses
		
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			were diverse.
		
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			A good ending in what sense?
		
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			A good ending for this class, for this
		
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			khutbah, for your program, for your diet, for
		
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			your habits, for your life, what is a
		
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			good ending?
		
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			Oftentimes, when you explore the writing of fiction
		
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			and the documentation of history, you find that
		
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			many people are looking for a certain type
		
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			of feeling at the end of a novel
		
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			or a movie or TV show.
		
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			They're looking for people living happily ever after.
		
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			They're looking for the main character to have
		
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			succeeded.
		
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			They're looking for some kind of conflict resolution.
		
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			They're oftentimes looking for happily ever after marriage
		
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			in their perspective.
		
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			They're looking for some kind of success or
		
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			hero versus villain.
		
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			And these are very common tropes, we know
		
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			this.
		
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			It's very common in script writing, in books
		
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			and in movies.
		
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			The reality is in Islam, when you talk
		
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			about human experiences and you talk about the
		
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			purpose of life and you talk about what
		
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			it means to have a good ending, what
		
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			does it mean to have a good ending?
		
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			You find that in conclusion, in short, a
		
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			good ending in Islam is not always about
		
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			worldly or material success.
		
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			Again, a good ending in Islam is not
		
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			always about a worldly or material success.
		
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			How do we know this?
		
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			We know this throughout the Quran, the emphasis
		
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			on the purpose of life and what it
		
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			means to leave this world in a good
		
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			state.
		
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			But of course, let's talk about lived reality.
		
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			Look at the companions of the Prophet, salallahu
		
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			alayhi wasalam.
		
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			It is true that some of them struggled
		
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			for many years and they succeeded with battle
		
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			after battle after battle after battle.
		
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			But let's look at the very first decisive
		
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			battle in Islamic history, the battle of Badr.
		
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			You find that despite the fact that the
		
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			Muslims, and they were much smaller number, were
		
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			given a worldly success.
		
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			313 versus over a thousand of the Qurayshi
		
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			pagans.
		
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			They were given a worldly success and Allah
		
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			subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in the
		
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			Quran that He sent down the angels to
		
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			assist them.
		
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			The battle of Badr was a very decisive
		
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			one historically.
		
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			But we also know that some people were
		
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			martyred.
		
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			Does that mean those who survived, their ending
		
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			is good, and those who died as martyrs,
		
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			as shuhada, their ending was bad?
		
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			Of course not.
		
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			Those who left as shuhada are also successful.
		
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			They're also experiencing a good ending.
		
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			And the reality is when you look at
		
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			the different types of shahada, martyrdom in Islam,
		
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			as we mentioned previous khutbas before, it's of
		
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			many different types.
		
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			The highest ranking, the most rewarded, yes, is
		
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			on the battlefield like the example of the
		
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			companions here.
		
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			But there are over 30 different types of
		
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			shahada mentioned in authentic hadith.
		
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			Amongst them, the one who dies in a
		
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			fire, the mother who dies while giving birth,
		
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			the one who dies due to drowning, the
		
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			one who dies due to a stomach cancer,
		
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			and on and on.
		
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			There are many examples.
		
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			The point is that leaving this world, leaving
		
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			this world on its own does not mean
		
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			that this was a bad ending.
		
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			Meaning the ending of life, the cut off
		
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			of future ambitions and goals and dreams does
		
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			not mean this person had a bad ending,
		
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			not from the Islamic perspective whatsoever.
		
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			A good ending can be like the example
		
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			of the man in New York City over
		
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			15 years ago.
		
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			He came to the masjid after Isha prayer
		
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			had just finished.
		
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			And his friend told him where to go.
		
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			He came late.
		
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			He arrived to the masjid.
		
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			He's like, I'm ready to become Muslim.
		
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			There's a sense of urgency.
		
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			Anyways, they helped him.
		
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			He embraced Islam.
		
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			They gave him some materials to start with.
		
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			And he's like, I will be back for
		
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			the first prayer tomorrow morning, Fajr prayer.
		
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			They gave him some of those books that
		
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			people have when they first become Muslim.
		
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			And they wanted to teach him salah the
		
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			very next morning.
		
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			As they were leaving the masjid, I don't
		
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			know how far from the masjid, but as
		
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			one of the mashayikh told us firsthand, that
		
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			brother who just embraced Islam was hit by
		
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			a vehicle and he passed away.
		
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			May Allah have mercy on him.
		
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			He did not pray a single prayer, but
		
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			he died with sincerity and humility in his
		
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			heart.
		
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			And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave him
		
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			the blessing of becoming Muslim.
		
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			And his slate is now clean because this
		
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			is an act of tawbah from shirk coming
		
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			to the truth, coming to Allah subhanahu wa
		
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			ta'ala.
		
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			We don't know how we'll leave this world.
		
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			We don't know how we will depart from
		
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			this life.
		
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			What is a good ending?
		
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			We have examples of good endings when people
		
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			are tested with hardships.
		
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			May Allah alleviate our hardships in our brothers
		
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			and sisters.
		
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			But as they are experiencing hardship, they hold
		
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			on to their faith.
		
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			There are people who lose their faith in
		
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			times of hardship.
		
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			They want to worship Allah only when things
		
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			are going well in a material sense.
		
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			They worship Allah on their terms.
		
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			May Allah protect us from any kind of
		
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			fitna.
		
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			Allahumma ameen.
		
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			So the reality is when you look at
		
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			the lived human experience and the stories of
		
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			the Qur'an, and they are almost 23
		
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			or 24% of the Qur'an in
		
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			terms of the number of verses, you find
		
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			that the people of certain prophets, their ending
		
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			is mentioned explicitly.
		
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			Like Prophet Hud a.s. Prophet Salih a
		
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			.s. Yes, there were some believers, but for
		
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			the most part, people rejected the clear evidence
		
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			that this is a prophet of God, the
		
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			message that he came with.
		
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			And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us
		
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			how He gave them an opportunity through these
		
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			prophets, and then they were punished.
		
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			When it was known that none of them,
		
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			no matter what, they would not believe anymore,
		
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			they were punished.
		
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			And their punishment, their ending is detailed in
		
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			the Qur'an for a reason.
		
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			These are lessons for later nations.
		
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			These are lessons for us.
		
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			You look at the example of Nuh a
		
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			.s. Yes, he had a good ending in
		
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			terms of being saved, and the believers who
		
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			are less than 100 with him were saved.
		
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			But his own son chose to flee to
		
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			a mountain, thinking with some pride that I'm
		
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			going to be safe on this day.
		
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			سَآوِي إِلَى جَبَلٍ يَعْصِمُنِي مِنَ الْمَاءِ I'm going
		
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			to go to a mountain that will save
		
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			me from this flood.
		
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			And Nuh a.s. is pleading to his
		
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			son to ride with us.
		
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			اِرْكَمْ مَعْنَا Ride with us.
		
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			And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us,
		
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			the waves came in between them.
		
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			And he became amongst those who drowned with
		
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			the disbelievers.
		
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			So when you look at the examples of
		
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			good endings, you see a really interesting case
		
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			study of Surah Al-Buruj.
		
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			Now in the Madani Mus'haf, in the
		
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			print that is very common, it's one page
		
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			this Surah, approximately one page.
		
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			And you have within it references to three
		
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			different nations, three different people.
		
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			Amongst them you have a reference to Fir
		
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			'aun, but specifically, the one I want to
		
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			talk about is the people of the ditch.
		
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			These were Muslims, they submitted, they believed in
		
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			Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because of a
		
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			miracle that they saw on the young boy.
		
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			It's a long story, I think we had
		
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			a khutbah on this before.
		
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			They became Muslim and the king told them,
		
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			he threatened them, if you don't leave this
		
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			faith, you will all be killed.
		
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			Whoever refuses to let go of this faith
		
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			will be killed.
		
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			And they dug a ditch for them, lit
		
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			and kindled a large fire, and they were
		
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			threatened.
		
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			They held on to their faith and they
		
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			died.
		
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			And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala details their
		
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			history, their story, their experience in the Qur
		
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			'an for us to recite until the end
		
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			of times and to learn from.
		
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			You would look at a story like this
		
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			and say they were killed.
		
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			Is this a bad ending?
		
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			No, they were all shuhada.
		
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			They're all martyrs.
		
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			So sometimes we need to take a step
		
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			back and redefine what it means to have
		
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			a good ending.
		
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			The longest and most detailed single story in
		
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			one sequence in the Qur'an, the story
		
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			of Yusuf a.s. Pretty much most people
		
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			know the story.
		
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			Yusuf a.s. story is detailed in the
		
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			entire Qur'an once and it is in
		
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			Surah Yusuf.
		
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			His actual story is found only once and
		
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			it is in Surah Yusuf.
		
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			You find that what looks to be a
		
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			happy ending, that he succeeded, the dream came
		
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			true, he was given a position as a
		
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			minister, his family came, the brothers admitted, confessed
		
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			what they did to him, that they tried
		
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			to hurt him, harm him, kill him.
		
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			When you look at the ending of the
		
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			story, some people say, well, this is a
		
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			happy ending.
		
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			This is an example that's rare in the
		
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			Qur'an.
		
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			A happy worldly ending.
		
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			But if you take a step back and
		
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			you look at the rest of the story,
		
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			you see what?
		
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			Before that ending, you find that Prophet Yusuf
		
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			a.s. suffered a lot, struggled so much.
		
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			His own brothers, your own family, throwing him
		
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			into the well, the hardships he went through
		
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			in the palace of the minister, being accused
		
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			of certain things, being thrown behind bars and
		
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			he was innocent.
		
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			Prophet Yusuf a.s. went through many struggles
		
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			and hardships before what we see as a
		
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			worldly success or worldly victory.
		
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			And at the end of the day, the
		
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			point of all of this is to say,
		
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			happy material endings are not the goal in
		
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			Islam.
		
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			We seek comfort at times.
		
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			But comfort is not guaranteed in this life.
		
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			May Allah protect us.
		
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			May Allah make us grateful for all the
		
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			comforts that we have.
		
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			May Allah alleviate the affairs of those who
		
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			are suffering and struggling around the world.
		
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			We find that a happy material success is
		
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			not the goal in Islam.
		
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			And in fact, there isn't a concept in
		
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			Islam of the pursuit of happiness in the
		
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			sense of materialism.
		
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			There's a pursuit of contentment, tranquility in the
		
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			heart.
		
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			And a person can be content with very
		
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			little.
		
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			And a person can have a lot and
		
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			be very miserable and empty inside, looking for
		
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			more and more and more.
		
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			We see in the Qur'an, we see
		
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			in the Sunnah, we see in the books
		
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			of history an emphasis on where you came
		
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			from and where you're headed.
		
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			Who are you at the end of the
		
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			day?
		
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			And so I want to just mention these
		
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			three quick reminders.
		
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			When it comes to where we came from
		
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			and where we're headed, number one, if you
		
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			want to have some humility in a moment
		
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			in which there's some pride, if you ever
		
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			felt any kind of pride whatsoever, may Allah
		
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			protect us.
		
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			Think about where biologically you came from.
		
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			Think about the reality that we come from
		
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			nothing.
		
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			We come from things that we don't like
		
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			to talk about.
		
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			And the soul was given to us as
		
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			a blessing from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
		
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			We are souls with vehicles, with bodies intertwined.
		
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			And this will bring some humility.
		
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			If you want to have more humility, think
		
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			about death and where your body is headed
		
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			and where your soul is headed.
		
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			Think about the reality that the body will
		
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			deteriorate.
		
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			And this will bring some humility.
		
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			However, in between birth and death, these two
		
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			reminders of humility is the test of the
		
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			state of the heart, is the test that
		
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			you will not become an arrogant person because
		
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			you have a job, because you think you're
		
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			better than others, because you have a certain
		
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			home, you live in a certain city, because
		
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			of your ethnicity, your language doesn't really matter.
		
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			There is no reason or permission or excuse
		
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			or room in Islam to ever think you
		
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			are better than other people.
		
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			To look down on other people, the Prophet
		
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			ﷺ defined this as kibr, as arrogance.
		
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			And the second part of arrogance is to
		
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			reject the truth when it comes to you.
		
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			That when it comes to you, you accept
		
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			this is true, I must change.
		
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			And the reality is oftentimes we don't accept
		
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			the truth when it comes to us.
		
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			May Allah ﷻ protect us and forgive us.
		
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			هَلْ أَتَى عَلَى الْإِنسَانِ حِينٌ مِّنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ
		
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			يَكُنْ شَيْءً مَذْكُورًا Allah ﷻ tells us in
		
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			surah al-Dahr or surah al-Insan, a
		
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			reminder about time or humanity, the two nicknames
		
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			for this surah.
		
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			Allah ﷻ reminds us that there was a
		
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			period of time in which we were not
		
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			even mentioned.
		
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			We were not mentioned.
		
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			We did not exist.
		
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			You did not walk on this earth.
		
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			So if Allah ﷻ blesses you with a
		
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			job, if Allah ﷻ blesses you with any
		
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			kind of privilege or test of this life,
		
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			and you know that others don't have this
		
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			test or this privilege or this blessing, don't
		
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			ever look down on others.
		
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			For as quickly as it came to you,
		
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			and as you quickly came into this world,
		
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			it can leave you as well.
		
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			May Allah ﷻ grant us humility.
		
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			There's a young brother that asked me recently,
		
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			what are some signs that our ending in
		
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			life is a good ending?
		
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			And when you leave this world, you left
		
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			in a good state.
		
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			Generally speaking, most of us know that yes,
		
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			towards the end of one's life, if you're
		
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			being righteous, you're taking care of your prayers,
		
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			your character is good, you're not committing sins,
		
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			you say the shahada at least once towards
		
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			the end of your life or as the
		
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			last statement, you know that these are good
		
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			signs.
		
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			In addition, some of the scholars say is
		
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			dying as a shaheed, we mentioned, there are
		
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			many different types of shahada.
		
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			Another is the janazah prayer itself, that it
		
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			was decreed for this person to have a
		
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			janazah prayer for at least 40, 50, 60,
		
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			100 people to come and pray.
		
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			There's a specific hadith that mentions, those who
		
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			die and 40 people pray janazah upon them,
		
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			they will be forgiven in that state, meaning
		
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			the one who died will be forgiven.
		
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			Another thing that is mentioned is that often
		
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			times when those who passed away and they
		
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			are righteous, they are being washed or they're
		
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			being buried, that sometimes people are smelling something
		
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			good coming from them, something that they cannot
		
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			fully describe.
		
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			And there are other examples as well, but
		
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			the end of the day all comes down
		
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			to their taqwa, their righteousness, their consistency.
		
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			What did they do in their last moments,
		
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			their last days?
		
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			May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala have mercy
		
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			on us.
		
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			Umar ibn Abdul Aziz r.a, is considered
		
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			by some scholars because of how righteous he
		
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			was, and he was a descendant of Umar
		
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			ibn al-Khattab, he was considered to be
		
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			like the fifth of the rightly guided khulafa.
		
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			And Umar ibn Abdul Aziz r.a, within
		
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			two years of being the khalifa, he changed
		
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			so many things, reformed so many policies.
		
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			And in fact, there were so many injustices
		
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			during the Umayyad dynasty that he repealed, that
		
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			he changed.
		
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			At the end of his life, he was
		
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			in a way poisoned and slowly was dying.
		
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			At the end of his life, on his
		
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			deathbed, his wife who reports this story, his
		
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			wife Fatima, rahimahullah, and her brother, they were
		
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			both there.
		
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			And they reported, and this is found in
		
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			number of books of biography, that at one
		
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			point at the end of his life, he
		
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			said, leave, leave the room completely.
		
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			And in one report he says, welcome to
		
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			these faces that I see, faces that are
		
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			neither the faces of humans nor jinn, meaning
		
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			it's as though he was seeing something else
		
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			and Allah knows best.
		
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			But then in particular, in the narrations that
		
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			we find, is that he kept repeating one
		
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			specific ayah.
		
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			He kept going back to this one verse.
		
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			In one of the narration said, he would
		
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			repeat it, in another he said he mentioned
		
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			it.
		
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			What is this verse that he says as
		
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			he passes away?
		
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			تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُهَا لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوًّا
		
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			فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فَسَادًا وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ That eternal
		
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			home, in the hereafter, we reserve, meaning Allah
		
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			Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la reserves, for
		
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			those who are not looking for tyranny or
		
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			corruption in the earth, and the ultimate outcome
		
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			is only for the righteous, Al-Muttaqeen.
		
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			It's only for those who have taqwa, God
		
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			consciousness.
		
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			He mentioned this ayah, and then they heard
		
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			silence, meaning he stopped repeating over and over
		
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			and over, and eventually went into check, and
		
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			in fact he had passed away.
		
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			What's interesting about this ayah, it's really really
		
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			remarkable.
		
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			If you were just to think deeply about
		
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			it, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
		
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			is linking arrogance, pride, corruption, tyranny, to all
		
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			types of crimes in this world.
		
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			And you'll find that an increase in arrogance
		
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			amongst humanity or a society or an individual,
		
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			you'll find an increase in immorality, an injustice,
		
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			an abuse.
		
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			In just one family you can observe such
		
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			a thing, that if the head of the
		
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			household is arrogant or has pride in their
		
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			hearts, that there will be some immorality, there
		
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			will be some corruption, there will be some
		
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			impact of their oppression or their abuse.
		
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			May Allah protect us and grant us humility.
		
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			So increased arrogance leads to increased crime in
		
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			the world.
		
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			May Allah protect us.
		
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			And the second is that your position in
		
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			the next life is proportionate to how much
		
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			humility you live upon in this life.
		
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			And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
		
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			says, وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ The good outcome, the ultimate
		
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			outcome is for those who have taqwa.
		
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			Those who are afraid of breaking the laws
		
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			of Allah.
		
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			Those who are so mindful of Allah Subh
		
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			'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, they're not coming
		
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			close to the lines, the boundaries that Allah
		
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			has revealed.
		
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			And if they accidentally fall into sin, they
		
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			immediately go back to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa
		
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			Ta-A'la.
		
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			So every time you find yourself perhaps angry
		
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			or about to react to a situation or
		
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			oppress someone or insult someone, remember, وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ
		
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			The good ending is for the believers right
		
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			after this.
		
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			Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la gives
		
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			us some good news.
		
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			مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ خَيْرٌ مِنْهَا Whoever brings
		
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			on the day of judgment, whoever comes with
		
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			a good deed, they will be given much
		
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			more than it.
		
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			Meaning the good deeds are multiplied.
		
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			Look at the mercy of Allah.
		
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			And then, وَمَنْ جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ Whoever comes with
		
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			a sin, فَلَا يُجْزَى الَّذِينَ عَمِلُوا السَّيِّئَاتِ إِلَّا
		
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			مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ They will not be given
		
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			except that as a compensation, a punishment, consequence
		
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			for what they used to do.
		
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			Meaning what?
		
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			The sin is for the sin.
		
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			It doesn't mean it's a light punishment.
		
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			But the sin is not going to be
		
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			multiplied unfairly.
		
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			Everyone who deals with any kind of purification
		
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			or punishment in the next life, it's because
		
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			they actually deserve it.
		
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			And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
		
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			is Al-Hakeem, the All-Wise.
		
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			So once again, as we go about life,
		
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			as you go about your weekly work, your
		
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			studies, your education, many of you are, alhamdulillah,
		
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			starting your university classes again.
		
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			Your internships, as many people are raising their
		
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			children, as many people are doing different things
		
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			and trying to figure out the next move
		
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			in life.
		
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			Remember the promise of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa
		
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			Ta-A'la that the believer always has
		
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			a good ending.
		
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			The believer always has a good ending so
		
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			long as they hold on to that taqwa,
		
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			so long as they hold on to their
		
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			iman in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A
		
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			'la.
		
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			And if you ever find yourself in a
		
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			heated argument with a loved one, in a
		
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			bad situation in terms of conflict, don't let
		
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			it end on a bad note.
		
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			Don't let a situation leave with some kind
		
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			of division or conflict or enmity in the
		
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			hearts.
		
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			The same way that when you start to
		
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			your university classes, your high school classes, you
		
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			should be looking ahead.
		
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			You should be looking at the end.
		
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			What do you want to do?
		
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			Do you want to celebrate or regret?
		
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			Do you want to pass or do you
		
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			want to fail?
		
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			If you want to pass, then focus.
		
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			Put in the effort that is required of
		
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			you.
		
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			And at the end of your day, every
		
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			single day, ask Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta
		
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			-A'la for forgiveness because we have many
		
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			shortcomings from morning to night.
		
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			And of course, thank Allah Subh'anaHu Wa
		
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			Ta-A'la for all the blessings that
		
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			He has given us.
		
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			May Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
		
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			forgive us.
		
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			Ask Allah for forgiveness.
		
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10
			He is the All-Forgiving, the Ever Merciful.