Suleiman Hani – Why Me And Other Questions of Life

Suleiman Hani
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The speakers discuss the concept of Allah's will and the importance of knowing everything that has happened in the past and the concept of a will. They also discuss the importance of God's knowledge and the potential for suffering and evil in the future. The speakers emphasize the importance of seeking guidance and understanding God's actions to make a positive decision. They also discuss the concept of a punishment, which is a punishment for actions taken against individuals or groups, and the importance of taking all physical means when studying and studying for an exam. Finally, they emphasize the importance of free will, which is the ability to make choices based on God's command and actions, and explain the concept of " Free Will" in Islam, which is the choice of doing something based on God's actions.

AI: Summary ©

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			For our own success and our own salvation,
		
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			our own well-being. Allah
		
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			commands us, O believers be mindful of Allah
		
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			as He deserves and die not except in
		
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			a state of submission to Him.
		
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			O believers be mindful of Allah
		
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			and let every soul reflect,
		
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			think, prepare
		
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			on what you have sent ahead for tomorrow
		
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			for your afterlife.
		
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			And be mindful of Allah, be conscious of
		
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			Allah, verily Allah is aware of all that
		
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			you do.
		
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			One of the most common questions people ask
		
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			in times of hardship, whether
		
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			a personal hardship or a hardship that affects
		
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			a large group of people,
		
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			is a question of why.
		
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			And in a personalized sense, why me?
		
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			Why me going through this particular hardship?
		
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			Why did I receive this particular blessing that
		
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			I did not expect?
		
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			Question of why.
		
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			Question of desire.
		
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			And as human beings naturally
		
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			because of our limited knowledge, our insignificant
		
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			knowledge
		
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			and wisdom of the realities of the world
		
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			and the intertwined factors behind the scenes,
		
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			we wonder at times why things happen the
		
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			way that they do.
		
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			And oftentimes when people ask why, there are
		
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			many related questions to it. Why do you
		
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			exist to begin with? Why do people exist?
		
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			Why does this world exist?
		
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			Why do good things happen? Why do bad
		
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			things happen? To you or to others around
		
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			the world?
		
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			And do we have choice and how much
		
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			of that choice
		
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			do we think about and act upon on
		
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			a daily basis? Or is everything predetermined and
		
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			we have no choice?
		
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			The question of why of course is a
		
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			question in Islam of Qadr.
		
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			Thinking about one of the most important
		
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			and also least studied
		
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			pillars of iman.
		
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			Belief in Al Qadr. Al Qadr we've spoken
		
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			about many times, but Al Qadr,
		
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			the concept of divine decree, there's no perfect
		
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			word in English to summarize it. There's no
		
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			philosophical term that encompasses all aspects of Qadr
		
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			because in English in Western philosophy
		
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			there is no equivalent to the concept of
		
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			Qadr in Islam
		
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			because of its conditions, because of its guidelines,
		
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			because of its pillars.
		
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			So when we talk about Qadr, we're talking
		
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			about some very basic principles. If you believe
		
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			in these principles, you believe in Al Qadr.
		
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			Amongst them is the principle that God is
		
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			all knowing, that
		
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			knows everything
		
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			Allah knows everything that happened in the past,
		
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			everything that's happening right now to everyone and
		
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			to all of His creation and every parts
		
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			of His creation. And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
		
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			knows everything that will happen in the future.
		
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			And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows everything that
		
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			could have happened in a different way if
		
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			it were to happen.
		
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			Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's knowledge is beyond our
		
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			comprehension.
		
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			In terms of the details, in terms of
		
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			the specifics, we can't understand and fathom
		
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			Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala's knowledge being complete but
		
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			we say as Allah tells
		
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			us Allah is not missing anything in His
		
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			knowledge, He knows everything.
		
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			He knows everything,
		
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			Nothing is hidden from Him. This is the
		
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			first principle. The second
		
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			is that everything of Allah's knowledge,
		
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			and if we were just to think about
		
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			our universe,
		
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			our being created by Allah,
		
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			if we just think about our universe
		
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			and what Allah tells us and the Prophet
		
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			sallallahu alaihi wa sallam conveys to us, that
		
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			knowledge of Allah of the future of everything
		
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			that will happen,
		
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			that knowledge Allah commanded as He created the
		
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			pen to write, write everything that will happen
		
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			until the end of times.
		
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			The choices that his free will beings,
		
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			the ins and the jinn that we know
		
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			of at least these two beings.
		
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			All the choices that they will make is
		
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			this is all included in the writing,
		
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			all of that is written.
		
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			Now Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala's knowledge is one
		
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			thing, the knowledge being written is a separate
		
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			thing.
		
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			Our choices and the concept of free will
		
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			is a third thing.
		
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			But Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala also tells us
		
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			that He has a will.
		
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			And when we think of Allah subhanahu wa
		
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			ta'ala's will, and this is found at least
		
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			a dozen times in the Quran,
		
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			That Allah has a will means He permits
		
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			the universe to operate in a specific way,
		
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			in a general sense, with the laws of
		
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			the universe and the natural
		
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			to take place in this universe that he
		
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			allows people to do certain things, he does
		
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			not love. So we distinguish what Allah allows
		
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			from what he loves. Does Allah love for
		
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			people to kill, to oppress,
		
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			to abuse, to cheat, to steal, to lie?
		
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			Absolutely not. And we know this because Allah
		
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			informs us of it. And at the same
		
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			time does Allah permit people sometimes
		
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			with their choice they will choose evil? Yes,
		
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			He permits in this life and only in
		
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			this life, not in the afterlife.
		
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			But why the question of why is a
		
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			separate matter? That's the question that he told
		
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			us about in the Quran and throughout the
		
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			sun of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
		
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			what is called a theodicy.
		
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			Why are some things of suffering or evil
		
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			or hardship
		
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			permitted to occur in this world, in this
		
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			universe?
		
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			But they are not permitted in the next
		
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			life because the next life is the life
		
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			of accountability
		
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			and this is the life of testing, this
		
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			is the life
		
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			of
		
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			patients, this is the life
		
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			to see who's best in their conduct. This
		
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			is the life in which Allah Subhanahu Wa
		
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			Ta'ala tells us you will leave this world.
		
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			Everyone will depart, everyone will taste death.
		
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			We will test you, O mankind.
		
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			With difficulty and some for more
		
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			more difficulty for some people than others.
		
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			And khayr, the test of ease, the test
		
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			of blessings is a difficult test as well
		
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			for some people and they lose themselves in
		
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			the process.
		
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			And then at the end of the day,
		
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			everyone will return to Allah. So Allah subhanahu
		
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			wa ta'ala tells us about His will, but
		
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			it doesn't mean you don't have a will.
		
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			It doesn't mean you don't have choice. In
		
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			fact,
		
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			as He tells us about His will,
		
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			Allah informs us that the entirety of the
		
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			point of you existing the question of why
		
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			is about your will, it's about your choice.
		
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			And if the word choice is easier for
		
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			us to grasp
		
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			and understand and implement
		
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			and redirect our thoughts towards then let us
		
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			think of the concept of choice.
		
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			Why are you here today?
		
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			Why are you here in this very moment?
		
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			Now sometimes when people hear this question, the
		
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			question is responded to with a thought of
		
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			the decisions that you made to be in
		
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			this gathering, in this masjid, listening to the
		
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			khutbah.
		
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			But it could also be why do you
		
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			live here to begin with? Or are you
		
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			a traveler and why are you traveling?
		
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			Why are you in this country?
		
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			Why were you born?
		
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			Why were your parents born? You go all
		
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			the way back to Adam alayhis salaam, why
		
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			was he created?
		
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			You go back to the beginning of the
		
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			creation of the heavens and the earth. Why
		
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			does it exist?
		
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			These are the questions we started with, these
		
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			are the questions that give us a foundation.
		
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			So as some Muslim psychologist stated, when people
		
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			ask why me or why,
		
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			they might ask back why not? What do
		
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			you mean by why me? Is there something
		
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			you're expecting about your life, about your story,
		
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			about the things outside of your control?
		
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			Or can you focus only on the things
		
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			within your control?
		
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			Are you supposed to direct your thoughts and
		
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			emotions to what you can influence,
		
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			to what it is that you can change,
		
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			to the wisdoms you can understand and grasp
		
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			from every situation. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
		
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			grant us wisdom. Allahumma Ameen. Another of the
		
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			principles of Allah's
		
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			informing us of His
		
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			attributes and His names is the command, the
		
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			command of Allah. When He says be and
		
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			it is. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells
		
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			us about
		
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			in the Quran several times so we understand
		
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			that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is able to
		
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			do everything.
		
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			But everything that he does
		
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			is based off of his wisdom, and his
		
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			wisdom is complete and perfect.
		
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			When people start with who God is, who
		
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			Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is and they know
		
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			that he is perfect, it protects them
		
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			from strain, it protects them from thinking negatively
		
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			about Allah or about fate, it protects them
		
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			from disconnecting from acts of worship.
		
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			When you know who your Lord is and
		
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			the conceptualization
		
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			of Allah in your mind is based off
		
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			of the reality of what he stated,
		
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			then you will find yourself also more resilient.
		
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			You will find yourself turning to the tools
		
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			that Allah told you to turn to when
		
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			you go through pain.
		
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			Rather than living in the past, you find
		
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			yourself focusing on what does Allah want from
		
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			me in the present?
		
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			Because the choices of the present affect the
		
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			story that's written out of the future,
		
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			affect what's going to happen to me the
		
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			next life. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is
		
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			Al Hakim.
		
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			Al Hakim is the one who has ultimate
		
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			wisdom and also the one who judges.
		
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			And if you were to combine the 2
		
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			as many scholars have stated with the connotations
		
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			of this name, it is the one who
		
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			rules based on his perfect wisdom,
		
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			The one who rules based on his perfect
		
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			wisdom.
		
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			When we think of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala's
		
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			wisdom,
		
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			there's nothing like it we can compare it
		
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			to. But Allah gives us some questions to
		
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			think about in the Quran,
		
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			particularly for those who stray from the truth.
		
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			Do you think you were created in other
		
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			words without purpose that Allah made you for
		
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			play, for sport, for amusement?
		
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			And that to Allah you would not return?
		
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			Do you think you were created just for
		
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			fun, just to live on earth?
		
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			For no purpose, no greater objective, no transcendence,
		
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			no meaning in your life, in your decisions,
		
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			in your actions, and that to Allah you
		
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			would not return.
		
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			And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells us about
		
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			this group of people.
		
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			When they go astray they start to stray
		
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			in other things as well in terms of
		
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			their understanding of morality.
		
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			Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, we did not
		
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			create the heavens,
		
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			the heaven and the earth. And what is
		
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			in between
		
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			with
		
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			falsehood, with no purpose, with no intent, with
		
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			no wisdom, with no objective.
		
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			Rather this is the assumption
		
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			This is an assumption there's never certainty. This
		
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			is the assumption of people who reject the
		
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			truth
		
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			And so there's a warning for those who
		
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			reject the truth from the fire. Allah Subhanahu
		
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			Wa Ta'ala
		
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			gives us an example in the Quran that
		
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			is based on the fit that sometimes we
		
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			find coming up in conversations
		
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			where injustice
		
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			is discussed.
		
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			And he says
		
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			This is found in 2 variations in the
		
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			Quran.
		
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			Do you expect Allah to make those who
		
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			submit to the truth and those who follow
		
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			morality?
		
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			Do you expect them to have the same
		
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			results, the same judgment, the same
		
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			end destination
		
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			as those who commit evil,
		
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			as those who oppress their souls and other
		
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			souls in this world.
		
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			SubhanAllah,
		
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			one time we had a woman embracing Islam,
		
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			and right before she embraced Islam, she was
		
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			answering some final questions of why.
		
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			And I asked, is there anything else, any
		
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			other thought, any question that comes to mind,
		
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			and it was a group of maybe 5
		
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			or 6 individuals
		
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			at a Masjid, here in Michigan actually.
		
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			She said, I just wanna make sure one
		
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			more time,
		
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			you believe in a literal hellfire,
		
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			right? I said yes. So it's not metaphorical,
		
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			that it's just an idea of a punishment.
		
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			There's an actual hellfire
		
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			according to Islam. I said yes, can't deny
		
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			something like this. She said I'm ready to
		
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			become Muslim.
		
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			And so she became Muslim but the question
		
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			later was out of curiosity, why did you
		
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			ask that question?
		
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			Because most times you will find people not
		
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			wanting to address the reality of *. For
		
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			her it was the final,
		
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			basically the final point of conviction
		
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			that this is something she wanted to believe
		
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			in. And so Islam has this concept of
		
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			a literal punishment in the next life, yes.
		
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			We asked why and she said, I have
		
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			been abused so many times in my life
		
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			and I have seen so much abuse and
		
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			injustice
		
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			that people got away with at a legal
		
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			level.
		
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			I can't imagine
		
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			that we all die and that there is
		
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			no punishment for these people in the next
		
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			life.
		
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			Can you really imagine people who are committing
		
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			genocide and they've killed over 10,000 children that
		
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			there's no accountability?
		
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			You expect that God who is the source
		
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			of justice, al-'Adi,
		
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			you think God is going to allow people
		
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			to kill and kill and kill and abuse
		
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			and steal and do all that they're doing
		
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			whether individually
		
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			or they're doing this at an economic level
		
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			or a political level or they are killing
		
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			people,
		
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			do you really expect those who are righteous
		
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			to be like those who are evil? Is
		
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			that what your fitra is telling you?
		
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			On what basis do you judge? There's no
		
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			wisdom in such a judgment.
		
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			You can't imagine
		
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			that those who are facilitating
		
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			and those who support
		
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			evil and genocide and killing the world are
		
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			going to have the same end result
		
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			as those who are moral and upright and
		
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			following the truth from their Lord. And so
		
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			when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about
		
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			His wisdom,
		
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			we understand
		
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			the colonized Muslim is not going to be
		
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			like the colonizer, like the occupier.
		
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			The colonized lands of believers are not going
		
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			to have the same end result as those
		
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20
			who oppress and occupy.
		
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			Those who facilitated
		
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			some of the worst examples
		
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			of injustice in this world through
		
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			slavery, through genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda, against
		
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			the Rohingya, in East Turkestan,
		
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			the holocaust, whatever it may be. Those who
		
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			kill
		
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			and they kill and they kill and then
		
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39
			they justify and then they deny and then
		
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			they twist the narrative,
		
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			you expect that there's an afterlife in which
		
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			all people are equal?
		
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47
			Do you think your wealth and your political
		
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			connections are going to protect you in the
		
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			next life? As some of the pagan politicians,
		
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			the elite of Quraysh thought, They thought if
		
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			I have so much money and I get
		
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			whatever I want and I never have to
		
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			be held accountable in Mecca because they are
		
00:13:59 --> 00:14:02
			the political elite, They assume that their wealth
		
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			would save them
		
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			and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta tells us it
		
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			does not.
		
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			We think of Qadr,
		
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			You have to think of the lived reality
		
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			of belief in qadr, and that includes the
		
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			concept of tawakkul. It's an internal act of
		
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			worship where you know you can rely upon
		
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			Allah, and you know that you are turning
		
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			to Him internally first and externally second.
		
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			And there are many examples we can give,
		
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			obviously worldly examples, We are not comparing this,
		
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			but the example of
		
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			trusting someone who is righteous and very, proficient,
		
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			let's say an attorney, to take care of
		
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			a specific task, You're not as worried about
		
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			that task trusting the most proficient doctor, a
		
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			trustworthy person who's also amazing at what they
		
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			do. You're not as worried because you have
		
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			some sense of relief that I'm in good
		
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			hands. And of course there's
		
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			no comparison.
		
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52
			When you think of you putting your trust
		
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			in Allah,
		
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			you're putting your trust in the one who
		
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			says, The
		
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			one who has access to all the knowledge
		
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			of the universe, the one who is all
		
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			knowledgeable.
		
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			You're putting your trust in Allah who cares
		
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05
			more about you than you care about yourself.
		
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07
			You're putting your trust in the one whose
		
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			name we start with everything when you
		
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			say The Ever Merciful, the All Forgiving,
		
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16
			the One of intense love for His creation.
		
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			So you're putting your trust in Allah
		
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22
			And Allah tells us He's sufficient for us.
		
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			We say
		
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25
			What can you say at times when there's
		
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26
			nothing left to do?
		
00:15:29 --> 00:15:31
			We put our trust in Allah Subhanahu wa
		
00:15:31 --> 00:15:34
			Ta'ala. And this concept of tawakkul in Islam,
		
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35
			it answers
		
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			many of the questions of why.
		
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			It protects you. Instead of looking for a
		
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			literal answer why me, why this and why
		
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46
			that, we shift our attention to an action
		
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			item, a very practical way of life in
		
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			which we turn to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
		
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51
			to manage our pain.
		
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			You can have pain in this world. It's
		
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55
			not against Islam. You're allowed to be sad
		
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56
			in this world. It's not a weird foreign
		
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58
			thing. The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam experienced
		
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			sadness. We have many examples like this in
		
00:16:00 --> 00:16:02
			the Quran and sunnah. But the point is,
		
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03
			what are you doing
		
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			to manage that pain or overcome your challenge
		
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			or your hardship?
		
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10
			You may be a young college student, you
		
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			may have lived on this earth for 80,
		
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			90 years,
		
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			you may be coming from a background which
		
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			you struggle a lot of poverty or you
		
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			may have been born into a family of
		
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			much wealth,
		
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			but
		
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			the question when things occur, when things arise,
		
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			the question knowledge of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
		
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			we turn to what he told us to
		
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			turn to. The knowledge of Allah Subhanahu Wa
		
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			Ta'ala, we turn to what He told us
		
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			to turn to. Because Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
		
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			did not give us a revelation that is
		
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43
			pointless, rather it is
		
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			a healing for what is in the hearts.
		
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			It is a guidance
		
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			for those who are submissive and conscious of
		
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			God. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave us
		
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			the tools to deal with the test of
		
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			this world.
		
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			It's not that you're just taking the test.
		
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			Part of that test,
		
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			you have tawakkul internally, is also the actions
		
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			externally.
		
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			This is part of believing in Al Qadr.
		
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			In Islam we emphasize you have to take
		
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			all the physical means. Sometimes we say I
		
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			did everything that I could but we didn't,
		
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			there's a little
		
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			more. Sometimes people say I can't do anything
		
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			else for this relationship but maybe there's a
		
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			little more, maybe in some cases. Somebody says,
		
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21
			I studied, I did enough for my exam,
		
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			are you sure you did everything you could?
		
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			Do your best and put your trust in
		
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			Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. But you cannot say
		
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29
			I have tawakkul if really what you have
		
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			is called tawakkul where you say I trust
		
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			in Allah but I won't take any means
		
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			because nobody does that. You don't do that
		
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			with school, you don't do that with your
		
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			work, you don't do that in life. You
		
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39
			can't say, I want a child, and not
		
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			have the means for the child, the cause
		
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			and the effect. You can't say I want
		
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			a degree, I want an education and not
		
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47
			go and register for university semester and take
		
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			classes and pass exams.
		
00:17:49 --> 00:17:51
			We know we have to take the physical
		
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53
			means. But sometimes from a faith based perspective
		
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55
			we slack off or we have shortcomings, may
		
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			Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala grant us strength, And
		
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00
			this is a reminder especially for many of
		
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			the young Muslims developing their habits, for many
		
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			of the college students and high school students
		
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			that we teach them as well. You have
		
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			a lot of potential,
		
00:18:09 --> 00:18:12
			but that potential cannot rely on just wishing,
		
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			and talking,
		
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			and dreaming of, and even praying for, making
		
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			dua for, you have to follow it up
		
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21
			with as much action as is necessary
		
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			for you to achieve the result that you
		
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			want. Part of belief in Al Qadr
		
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28
			is not just that things are written in
		
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30
			terms of the future, but that they are
		
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32
			based off of the choices of today and
		
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			tomorrow and every choice you make in every
		
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36
			habit that you have. We know the famous
		
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			example of the Bedouin man, he comes to
		
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40
			the masjid, he left his camel untied.
		
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			Generally if you know anything about camels if
		
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44
			you leave it untied it's going to run
		
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46
			away. And the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
		
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48
			asked him why don't you tie it? And
		
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			he says I put my trust in Allah.
		
00:18:50 --> 00:18:53
			So this is an example of misunderstanding trust.
		
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56
			And the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam told
		
00:18:56 --> 00:18:56
			him,
		
00:18:58 --> 00:19:00
			Tie your camel and also put your trust
		
00:19:00 --> 00:19:02
			in Allah. Meaning you have to have both
		
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			components.
		
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05
			He didn't just tell him tie your camel.
		
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07
			Tie your camel and also do the internal
		
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09
			act of worship of trusting in Allah Subhanahu
		
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11
			Wa Ta'ala. You make dua, it's one of
		
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			the causes
		
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14
			that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala allows in this
		
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15
			world to be a means of goodness.
		
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18
			It was written before that you made dua
		
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19
			for something and because you made the dua
		
00:19:19 --> 00:19:21
			you were granted. It was a means of
		
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23
			achieving something. Just like when you say I
		
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25
			studied for my exam, you made dua for
		
00:19:25 --> 00:19:27
			something, it was one of many reasons you
		
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			were given something or protected from something in
		
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			this world. And Allah commands us to make
		
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34
			dua. So this goes against
		
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36
			the notion that some people might have. I
		
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38
			don't need to ask Allah, Allah knows what
		
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39
			I need. No, Allah told you to ask
		
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41
			Him. Allah told you to take that means.
		
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43
			Allah told you what the cause and the
		
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45
			effect. And finally the last principle that I'll
		
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46
			share today
		
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48
			is the concept of free will. And I
		
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50
			wanna share this only because
		
00:19:50 --> 00:19:53
			there's a lot of confusion about it. What
		
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55
			is free will? What are we supposed to
		
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56
			focus on? And I want to avoid and
		
00:19:56 --> 00:19:59
			skip over what free will is not from
		
00:19:59 --> 00:20:01
			a western philosophical lens because there are many
		
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02
			variations and misunderstandings.
		
00:20:03 --> 00:20:06
			Free will in Islam is, yes, English term.
		
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08
			We're talking here about your own choices.
		
00:20:09 --> 00:20:11
			Free will in Islam encompasses at least 2
		
00:20:11 --> 00:20:11
			things.
		
00:20:11 --> 00:20:15
			You're talking about things that you directly attribute
		
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17
			to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala or you could
		
00:20:17 --> 00:20:19
			be talking about things that you attribute to
		
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			human choices
		
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22
			and Allah permits to occur in this world.
		
00:20:23 --> 00:20:25
			But both are based on Allah's will. But
		
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27
			when we talk about free will in Islam,
		
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30
			we are talking about the choices that we
		
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31
			have agency over.
		
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33
			Your ability to do something, your ability to
		
00:20:33 --> 00:20:36
			influence something, your ability to change a situation.
		
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38
			And so when you think about free will,
		
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39
			yes, we said
		
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43
			You cannot will for something except if Allah
		
00:20:43 --> 00:20:46
			permits it, wills it. In this universe,
		
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48
			it doesn't mean that you don't attribute actions
		
00:20:48 --> 00:20:51
			to yourself as well. An example of this
		
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51
			is what?
		
00:20:52 --> 00:20:54
			If you're fasting Ramadan, Ramadan is around the
		
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55
			corner. May Allah Subhana Wa Ta'la allow us
		
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56
			to make it to that month and to
		
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			be accepted and to be forgiven before that
		
00:20:58 --> 00:21:00
			month and to prepare properly for it.
		
00:21:00 --> 00:21:02
			The Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam informs us
		
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04
			that if someone accidentally, unintentionally, if they forget
		
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06
			that they're fasting, and they ate or they
		
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			drank, he said this is a gift from
		
00:21:08 --> 00:21:10
			Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Does this mean you're
		
00:21:10 --> 00:21:12
			allowed to just eat and drink anytime? No.
		
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14
			So you attribute that as in the hadith
		
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15
			to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
		
00:21:16 --> 00:21:18
			Whereas when you talk about someone intentionally committing
		
00:21:18 --> 00:21:21
			a sin, the major sin of skipping a
		
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23
			day in Ramadan, one of the worst sins
		
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24
			that can be committed in fact to skip
		
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			an obligatory act of worship, you attribute this
		
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			to yourself because you made that choice. It
		
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31
			was intentional, there was no forgetfulness
		
00:21:32 --> 00:21:34
			in it. So when we talk about choice,
		
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			we are talking about the things that we
		
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			want to do, the things we intend
		
00:21:38 --> 00:21:40
			and the actions therefore that follow-up from that.
		
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			And I'll give you an example, a young
		
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43
			man, college student,
		
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46
			he was asked about a particular sin that
		
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47
			he was doing as a lifestyle.
		
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49
			He said that's my qadr,
		
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51
			that's decreed to be.
		
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			You're choosing to do this qadr, what do
		
00:21:53 --> 00:21:55
			you mean it's decreed to be? You cannot
		
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56
			justify
		
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58
			your sin by saying that's how things are
		
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59
			decreed to be. You're not allowed to do
		
00:21:59 --> 00:22:02
			that in Islam. Why? Because you're making the
		
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			choice right now to do that. Number 2,
		
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			you don't know the future.
		
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			And because you don't know the future you
		
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			have to make choices today based on Allah's
		
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			command. And Allah commands you to do this
		
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			and to stay away from that. Allah commands
		
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			you and He informs you and He gives
		
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			you good news and He gives you warnings.
		
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			If you do these things it leads to
		
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			paradise and more mercy from Allah. And if
		
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			you do other things in this world and
		
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			you fail that test you disobey Allah, there's
		
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			a punishment or consequence for it. May Allah
		
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			subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us. You cannot justify
		
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			sinfulness
		
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			as a lifestyle, as a choice today by
		
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			saying that's just my qadr.
		
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			You're choosing to do that. So a young
		
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			man who said, I'm not praying. Somebody asked
		
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			him, Why are you not praying? He's like,
		
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			It wasn't written for me. He's like, That's
		
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			not what it means when you say it
		
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			wasn't written for you. Can you get up
		
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			right now and pray? Are you able to
		
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			physically stand and pray? He said, Yes. He's
		
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			like, Then it's not written for you. You're
		
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			choosing. You're choosing, not written for you in
		
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			the sense of blaming quadr. You're choosing to
		
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			disobey Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Imagine
		
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			people who kill and steal and all of
		
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			that and say, well that was just my
		
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			decree, that was my predestination.
		
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			Well you made that choice and that's what
		
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			Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala constantly shifts our attention
		
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			to in the Quran,
		
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			choices.
		
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			Your choices matter, your choices have consequences,
		
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			and of course one of the most important
		
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			questions of choice
		
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			is about injustice when you hurt other people.
		
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			Or when you see injustice in the world,
		
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			when you see injustice in Gaza and Palestine
		
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			and Sudan and East Turkestan,
		
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			why does the law permit
		
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			people who commit evil and injustice?
		
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			Why does he allow them
		
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			to live in this world for an extra
		
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			second or 2, for an extra year or
		
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			10, for an extra century or 2, a
		
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			dynasty,
		
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			a civilization, a country that is established on
		
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			evil, that is established on genocide or ethnic
		
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			cleansing.
		
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			In this country and around the world we
		
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			know the history
		
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			of killing natives of the land, of enslaving
		
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			people, of violence of all types.
		
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			And so when we think of this concept
		
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			we remember a few things. Number 1, Allah
		
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			subhanahu wa ta'ala told us this world has
		
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			a purpose and it's not accountability.
		
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			It's the test.
		
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			While you're taking the test, you are not
		
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			being held accountable.
		
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			While evil people are taking the test, they
		
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			are not held accountable. Their sins are being
		
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			recorded.
		
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			And some of them are given more time
		
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			in this world
		
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			because of how evil they are. They're given
		
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			more time in this world so that their
		
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			punishment increases in the next life, so that
		
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			their consequences
		
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			increase in the next life. The next life
		
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			is a life of justice
		
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			where everything will be restored and the life
		
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			of ultimate reward, and that's what the believers
		
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			look forward to. But on a personal level
		
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			you remember when you hear of dulm, injustice,
		
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			that there are different types. One of these
		
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			types is injustice against your own soul.
		
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			Do not be unjust to your soul. Do
		
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			not do the things that Allah commanded you
		
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			to stay away from and follow the things
		
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			Allah told you to do. Injustice to other
		
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			people, start with your family, your friends, your
		
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			classmates, your co workers, your colleagues, start with
		
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			the people close to you. Do not be
		
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			a person who commits or facilitates any kind
		
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			of injustice in this world. And finally when
		
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			you think about your relationship between you and
		
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			Allah, do not commit an injustice
		
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			by misplacing the right of Allah. Allah commanded
		
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			you of something so turn to Him, spill
		
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			out your heart to Him, and remember that
		
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			Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala what he decreed there
		
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			are many wisdoms for
		
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			it. All of these wisdoms are intertwined,
		
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			the reward he tells you about is eternal,
		
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			and the reward of Jannah will be worth
		
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			it, and the only thing we can do
		
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			is to persevere.
		
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			Hold on, persevere, endure the promise of Allah
		
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			is true and do not be affected by
		
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			people who don't have certainty.
		
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			Ask Allah for forgiveness, He is the All
		
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			Forgiving, the ever merciful.