Suzy Ismail – #57 AlHamid

			Salam aleikum, it's nice to see
you again as we continue to bring
		

			the divine into the daily by
understanding how we can
		

			incorporate the 99 names of Allah
subhanaw taala into our daily
		

			lives to improve the relationship
between us and our spouse and our
		

			children. The name that we're
going to discuss today is an Hamid
		

			or the old praiseworthy.
		

			throughout our day, we
consistently repeat at
		

			Hamdulillah, which is, of course,
praising Allah subhanaw taala. For
		

			all that we have in our lives, yet
frequently, we can say and haven't
		

			done enough, and do it more
routinely, or ritualistically,
		

			where we lose the true meaning of
contentment, and where we may no
		

			longer truly feel that sense of
contentment, but we repeat the
		

			words Alhamdulillah out of
routine. Now in our marital
		

			relationship, often times, we'll
find that there is a spouse who is
		

			consistently seeking the praise
from the other spouse, and vice
		

			versa. And while it's beautiful to
hear those compliments, to hear
		

			those kind words, to hear that
praise from a spouse, when you
		

			feel that you've done something or
you've given something, or you've
		

			said something, to kind of get
that response back, it can also be
		

			rather poisonous and dangerous for
the heart. Because when we seek
		

			adoration and praise from those
around us, rather than giving the
		

			adoration and praise to Allah
subhanho wa taala, we can allow
		

			our ego and our arrogance to
control us rather than our
		

			submission and our guidance coming
from Allah subhanaw With the
		

			highlight rather than from the
people that surround us.
		

			So in terms of seeking that praise
from others, it often comes from a
		

			well of insecurity that exists
within us. And that insecurity can
		

			lead us to feel that we need
validation of what we do not from
		

			doing things for the sake of Allah
subhanaw taala. But we need
		

			validation from the people that we
are doing those things for
		

			primarily our spouse and our
family members. But the reality is
		

			that when we put that type of
expectation on a spouse,
		

			consistently asking, seeking
goading and expecting the spouse
		

			to give us praise, we will be
disappointed, because that's not
		

			the type of seeking of praise that
we should be after. Instead,
		

			working on anchoring our hearts,
and consistently invoking the
		

			praise of Allah subhanaw taala
with our tongues will allow us to
		

			free our deeds and what we do to
link it to the love of Allah
		

			subhanaw taala rather than the
love of the pat on the back, or
		

			the thumbs up, or the feeling of
praise from a spouse, and with our
		

			children, of course, while they
may look to us and seek praise
		

			from us consistently, we want to
be able to strike that balance.
		

			Yes, we want our tongues to be
beautiful in terms of the words
		

			that they share. But we don't ever
want our tongues to be the source
		

			of poison, where the excessive
praise may lead a child or may
		

			lead a spouse towards the path of
arrogance or ego.
		

			So as we interact with our spouse
as we interact with our children,
		

			we want to ensure that our tongues
are sweet in giving that praise
		

			when the praise is needed or when
the time and the opportunity is
		

			correct. But we don't ever want to
put our spouse in a position where
		

			the praise is expected. And there
is disappointed when
		

			disappointment when the praise is
not received. So I asked Allah
		

			subhanaw taala al Hamid to
consistently beautify our hearts
		

			with our praise of a hymn, the old
praise worthy and to beautify the
		

			tongues of our spouses and our own
tongues as well. And giving praise
		

			when praises do and giving praise
and amounts that are acceptable
		

			that will never lead hearts
astray, or into the realm of
		

			arrogance or ego to Zakouma low
height. And I look forward to
		

			speaking to you again as we
continue to bring the divine into
		

			the daily salamati