Tammam Alwan – Riba A Path To Ruin

Tammam Alwan
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AI: Summary ©

The importance of Islam in warfare is discussed, including sub hesitation tactics like hesitation and negative consequences. The rise of Islam is highlighted, along with the importance of education and making changes to one's life. The danger of starting a business transaction, including restaurants and student loans, is also discussed, along with the need for positive change in society and investment in businesses. The importance of educating oneself and finding ways to make changes is emphasized.

AI: Summary ©

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			O ye who believe!
		
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			fear Allah as He should be feared, and
		
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			die not except as Muslims.
		
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			Allah says
		
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			in
		
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			the Qur'an All
		
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			praise and thanks are due to Allah.
		
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			We praise and thank Him.
		
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			We seek His assistance.
		
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			And we seek His forgiveness.
		
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			We take refuge in Allah from the evils
		
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			of ourselves and the sinfulness of our actions.
		
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			Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide.
		
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			And whomever Allah misguides, none can guide.
		
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			I bear witness that there is none worth
		
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			worshipping except Allah, alone, with no partner.
		
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			And I bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is
		
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			His servant and messenger.
		
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			Allah ﷻ reminds us in Surah Al-Imran,
		
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			He says, O ye who believe!
		
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			have taqwa of Allah with the taqwa that
		
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			is due to Him.
		
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			And don't die except in a state of
		
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			submission, except in a state of Islam.
		
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			And He also says in Surah An-Nisa,
		
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			He says, O people!
		
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			have taqwa of your Lord, Who created you
		
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			from one soul, and created from it its
		
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			mate, and dispersed from both of them many
		
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			men and women.
		
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			And have taqwa of Allah, through whom you
		
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			ask one another, and the wombs.
		
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			Surely Allah is ever over you an observer.
		
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			You know, subhanAllah, with just five weeks left
		
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			until Ramadan.
		
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			Allahumma ballighna sha'ban wa ballighna Ramadan.
		
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			Allahumma ameen.
		
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			May Allah allow us to reach Sha'ban
		
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			in about a week's time, and Ramadan to
		
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			gain from the many countless barakat in the
		
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			month of the Qur'an.
		
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			I was remembering how the Nabi ﷺ would
		
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			sometimes, when giving a khutbah, he would just
		
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			read the Qur'an.
		
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			That would literally be his khutbah.
		
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			Surah Aqaf, for example, a very comprehensive surah.
		
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			And he would just read it.
		
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			But I was thinking, how can we gain
		
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			from that, and reflect upon the Qur'an
		
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			and its meanings in a way that's appropriate.
		
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			And so I've chosen some of the translation
		
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			of some of the meanings of the Qur
		
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			'an, because you can't really translate the Qur
		
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			'an, subhanAllah, that I've chosen to recite at
		
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			the beginning of this khutbah that's relevant to
		
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			the topic.
		
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			In Surah Al-Baqarah, at the end of
		
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			it, after Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for
		
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			several pages in the Qur'an, is talking
		
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			about sadaqah, about charity, about the benefits of
		
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			it.
		
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			And we're going to hear many of these
		
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			in Ramadan, I'm sure.
		
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			Many of these, we're going to be reminded
		
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			of them.
		
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			Well, in the very last ayah in this
		
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			section, he transitions to another topic.
		
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			A dangerous topic that can cause ruin and
		
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			destruction.
		
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			And so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
		
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			at the end of Surah Al-Baqarah, He
		
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			says, Those who give out of their own
		
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			possession, their own wealth, by night and by
		
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			day, in public and in private, will have
		
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			reward with their Lord.
		
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			No fear for them, nor will they grieve.
		
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			فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَهُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ But those who
		
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			take usury, those who take riba, those who
		
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			consume interest, will rise on the Day of
		
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			Resurrection like someone tormented by Satan's touch, beaten
		
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			by shaitan into insanity.
		
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			This is the state.
		
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			That is because they say, trade and usury
		
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			are the same.
		
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			Oh, business and interest and riba, it's all
		
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			the same.
		
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			But Allah has allowed trade or business, bay
		
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			'ah.
		
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			And He's forbidden riba, usury, interest.
		
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			Whoever, on receiving Allah's warning, stops taking usury,
		
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			stops taking this riba, stops taking this interest,
		
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			may keep his past gains.
		
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			Allah will be his judge.
		
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			His affairs rest with Allah.
		
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			But whoever goes back to riba, will be
		
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			an inhabitant of the fire, there to remain.
		
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			What a scary, scary warning about riba that
		
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			we have in the Qur'an and countless
		
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			ahadith.
		
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			Allah continues as we're reflecting.
		
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			Because again, the month of Ramadan should be
		
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			the month of reflection, and we should prepare
		
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			ourselves from now.
		
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			Even reading half a page and reading the
		
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			translation, and just stopping to reflect on the
		
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			meanings of this book, that Allah subhanahu wa
		
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			ta'ala sent as guidance until the Day
		
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			of Rising.
		
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			He continues subhanahu wa ta'ala, and He
		
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			says, Allah ruins, Allah destroys riba, usury, interest.
		
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			But He blesses charitable deeds.
		
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			These sadaqat, why?
		
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			How?
		
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			With multiple increase.
		
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			With multiple increase.
		
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			And He doesn't love an ungrateful sinner.
		
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			Or a sinning disbeliever.
		
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			SubhanAllah, disbelief in these ayat, subhanAllah, is compared
		
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			with riba.
		
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			And fire is compared, that's how serious, subhanAllah,
		
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			the warning is in the Qur'an.
		
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			It's scary when you read it.
		
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			And notice the contrast, right after those pages
		
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			about sadaqa, the contrast between sadaqa, giving and
		
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			charity, and riba, usury, interest.
		
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			Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, those who
		
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			believe, do good deeds, keep up the prayer,
		
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			give zakah, will have their reward with their
		
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			Lord.
		
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			لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ Another time,
		
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			there will be no fear for them, nor
		
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			will they grieve.
		
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			And then in kind of the last section,
		
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			or the second part of this, Allah says,
		
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			O you who believe, beware of Allah, have
		
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			taqwa of Allah, fear Allah, give up any
		
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			outstanding dues, anything remaining from riba, from interest,
		
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			from usury, if you're true believers, if you're
		
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			true believers.
		
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			But if you don't, then be warned of
		
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			a war from Allah and His Messenger.
		
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			The only other situation is in the hadith
		
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			al-Qudsi, which was said here by Shaykh
		
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			Yasir a few weeks ago from Riyadh al
		
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			-Saliheen, it's in the 40 of Imam al
		
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			-Nawawi, that, مَنْ عَادَ لِي وَلِيًا فَقَدْ آذَنْتُهُ
		
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			بِالْحَرْبِ That if you're showing hostility, animosity, you're
		
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			trying to go to war, you know, against
		
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			who, against one of the awliya, then Allah
		
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			says, then be warned, I'm going to war
		
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			with you.
		
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			What a scary situation.
		
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			And this is mentioned in the Qur'an,
		
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			that if you're taking usury, then prepare yourself
		
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			to go to war with the Creator.
		
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			Subhanallah, how scary.
		
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			And then He says, if you repent, you
		
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			can keep your capital, you can keep your
		
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			interest, you won't suffer loss, you won't harm
		
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			yourself, you won't cause others to be harmed.
		
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			And then He says to do with debts,
		
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			right?
		
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			He says if a debtor, so someone owes
		
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			you money, is in difficulty, then delay things
		
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			for them, make it easy for them.
		
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			But still, if you were to just write
		
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			it off as charity, that would be better
		
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			for you, if only you knew.
		
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			And this last ayah, how it connects, and
		
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			many Mufassirun, they say that this ayah is
		
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			the very last ayah that was revealed on
		
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			Rasulullah ﷺ.
		
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			And he says, beware of a day, fear
		
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			a day, have taqwa of a day.
		
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			When you will be returned to Allah, every
		
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			soul will be paid in full for what
		
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			it has earned.
		
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			Everything you got.
		
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			And no one will be wronged.
		
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			And subhanallah, why is riba?
		
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			Riba is ever relevant, but especially now with
		
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			a new presidential administration taking over, and talks
		
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			of the Fed, talks of interest rates, talk
		
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			of the economy, talks of stocks going up
		
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			and down, investments, cryptocurrency, subhanallah, it's on everyone's
		
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			mind.
		
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			This is a warning, that we have rules
		
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			of engagement when it comes to finances.
		
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			And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala very severely,
		
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			severely, prohibits us and warns us against engaging
		
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			in riba, engaging in usury, engaging in interest.
		
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			And many of the people, subhanallah, at the
		
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			so-called top in power, they've gained their
		
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			wealth, if you see it, through riba, through
		
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			interest.
		
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			And the second is Ramadan that's coming up.
		
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			We mention sadaqa so often, but remember, takhliya
		
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			and tahliya, get rid of the bad.
		
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			If you have interest right now that's affecting
		
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			you, negatively affecting your life, and it has
		
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			disastrous consequences in the dunya and in the
		
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			akhira, this is the time to get rid
		
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			of it.
		
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			Who is this relevant to?
		
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			Student loans, when trying to pursue an education
		
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			with a degree, starting a business, buying a
		
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			house or a car.
		
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			Okay, I want to buy this house for
		
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			$500,000.
		
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			Well, at this conventional interest-bearing mortgage, it's
		
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			7%, so you're going to end up spending
		
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			$1.2 million over 30 years.
		
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			$500,000 to pay us back, but $700
		
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			,000 because we lent you the money.
		
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			Just like if you were to tell me,
		
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			Hey, I need $10 right now.
		
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			Fine, I'll give you $10, but tomorrow I
		
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			want $15 from you because I'm giving it
		
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			to you right now.
		
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			That's haram, that's riba, that's not allowed.
		
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			Investments, when we're investing our money, we want
		
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			to grow it.
		
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			We have to beware of riba transactions.
		
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			Taking a job in an industry, when I'm
		
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			writing riba or giving riba or receiving riba,
		
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			it's so dangerous.
		
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			And credit cards, and being lax with it.
		
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			You know, it's okay, it's a low interest
		
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			rate.
		
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			I'll just keep spending beyond my means, and
		
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			I'll deal with it later.
		
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			So what is the call to action?
		
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			Three things insha'Allah.
		
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			One, education.
		
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			Educate yourselves and your families about riba and
		
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			proper financial transactions.
		
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			A khutbah can't cover everything, it's just impossible,
		
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			right?
		
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			There are so many institutes popping up around
		
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			DFW, I can't even keep track of them,
		
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			subhanAllah.
		
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			So many mashayikhs, so many ulema are teaching
		
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			classes, and they cover this.
		
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			Take a class online, educate yourself.
		
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			Simplify the issue to children.
		
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			You know, if you give me five dates
		
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			now, because the Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said,
		
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			wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for
		
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			dates.
		
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			If you give me five dates, my dear
		
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			son, my dear daughter, because I'm in need,
		
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			I want to break my fast or something,
		
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			can I give you, do I have to
		
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			pay you back, are you going to force
		
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			me to pay you back ten tomorrow?
		
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			Because you gave it to me now.
		
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			No, that's haram, that's riba, that's interest, that's
		
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			not allowed.
		
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			Second, make changes in your life for the
		
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			better.
		
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			I'm not saying quit your job right now
		
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			and make all these, but just educate yourself.
		
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			Understand what transactions are dipping into riba, and
		
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			see what changes can I make.
		
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			For example, I have an interest bearing loan,
		
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			not me, but for an example.
		
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			And I'm about to move in the next
		
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			month.
		
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			Okay, let me switch to some sort of
		
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			Islamic finance, another opportunity where it's going to
		
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			be shariah compliant.
		
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			And some people, subhanAllah, in our community are
		
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			not even doing these because of their scrupulousness
		
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			and their warah.
		
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			They're like, I want to stay for another
		
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			solution.
		
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			And mashaAllah, that's praiseworthy.
		
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			But there are ulama who have allowed that
		
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			as well.
		
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			You're in a job, start searching.
		
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			Send your resumes out.
		
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			Network, see how you can change the situation.
		
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			You have a few payments left on your
		
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			car, six months, and there's interest.
		
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			Try to live frugally.
		
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			Try to live way, you know, tighten up
		
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			with the family and try to pay them
		
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			off.
		
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			You have credit card payments from several credit
		
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			cards.
		
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			Start with the smallest one and get rid
		
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			of this and get yourself out of this
		
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			situation as soon as possible.
		
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			And know, my brothers and sisters, that you're
		
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			going to face difficulty when doing this.
		
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			You'll be tested by Allah when doing this.
		
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			I'll share a couple of stories.
		
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			For the first one, education.
		
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			I was a younger man, subhanAllah, and I
		
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			was abroad at a dinner gathering, dawah azimah.
		
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			And I remember, subhanAllah, I knew about these
		
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			ayahs very clear.
		
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			And there was someone, an elder, who started
		
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			a business transaction talking about a restaurant and
		
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			starting a restaurant with interest and was talking.
		
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			And I simply said, you know, I just
		
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			want to tell you, it's clear in the
		
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			Qur'an, that this is haram and it's
		
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			dangerous and I just want to warn you.
		
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			I don't think I was rude.
		
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			I don't remember my being rude.
		
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			I was ridiculed.
		
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			I was laughed at.
		
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			I was insulted.
		
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			I was called names.
		
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			I remember, I remember, you know, the discomfort
		
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			I felt, but I don't regret it.
		
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			Why?
		
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			Because it's education.
		
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			At least maybe something inside later that night
		
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			would fall on the person and say, you
		
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			know what, let me reconsider this.
		
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			Let me take another path.
		
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			Making changes as well.
		
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			I recently bought a car and I wanted
		
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			it to be 0% interest.
		
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			And I remember calling all these dealerships trying
		
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			to find a way to solve this issue.
		
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			And I was in the finance department and
		
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			the finance person was a Muslim laughing at
		
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			me, telling me that I'm, you're so, why
		
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			are you doing this?
		
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			It's such a waste.
		
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			What if your car crashes?
		
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			And all of these scenarios.
		
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			And I'm like, look, I can sleep well
		
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			at night knowing that I have a 0
		
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			% interest loan that I didn't engage in
		
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			riba.
		
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			It doesn't matter if I'm paying more.
		
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			It doesn't matter if I lose more.
		
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			It doesn't matter if I'm paying this or
		
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			that.
		
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			Alhamdulillah, I'm happy.
		
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			And you do it with a smile on
		
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			your face.
		
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			And lastly, the last piece of advice is
		
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			how can we make changes in our society,
		
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			in our community.
		
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			Beyond me, beyond education, beyond making personal changes,
		
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			how can we do that?
		
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			SubhanAllah, in our community, here at VRIC, we
		
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			have the founder and president of an organization
		
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			and an executive director of an organization called
		
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			Continuous Charity.
		
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			And I didn't tell them I was going
		
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			to say this and we didn't coordinate or
		
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			anything.
		
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			And what are they focused on?
		
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			We want to get students out of riba.
		
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			We want to have interest-free loans, qart
		
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			hasan.
		
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			How beautiful, subhanAllah.
		
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			That's one way.
		
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			Scholarships, offering qart hasan.
		
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			Someone needs to fix their car, they're like,
		
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			I need $500, $1,000.
		
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			Can you loan it to me?
		
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			Yes, but let's write it down because the
		
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			next ayah in Baqarah is the longest ayah
		
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			about writing.
		
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			We'll write it down, we'll do this properly,
		
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			but zero percent interest and you have, you
		
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			know, so how many months do you need?
		
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			And do that so we can help each
		
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			other.
		
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			And if you're borrowing money, don't delay it.
		
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			Don't take advantage of other people's kindness.
		
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			I'll give one more, inshaAllah, solution.
		
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			I'm part of a credit union, one of
		
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			the banks that I deal with.
		
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			And I have a checking account.
		
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			And subhanAllah, at that time, it was the
		
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			only one I had.
		
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			And interest started to come into it.
		
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			And so I called them up and I
		
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			told them, you gave me, you know, it
		
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			was a few pennies or a dollar or
		
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			something.
		
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			I don't want it.
		
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			They said, what do you mean?
		
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			It's free money, take it.
		
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			My religion, perhaps.
		
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			And I kept calling them and calling them
		
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			and calling them.
		
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			Guess what?
		
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			Every single month now, every single month I
		
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			see it says, interest 0.00. And I
		
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			have a big smile.
		
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			Alhamdulillah.
		
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			They made changes in their whole system because,
		
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			I think, because I kept complaining and complaining
		
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			and saying, this is wrong, this is a
		
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			religious thing.
		
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			I want this accommodation.
		
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			So don't doubt the changes you can make.
		
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			And remember, even with our halal financial mortgages,
		
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			you speak to anyone in the field and
		
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			they tell you, this is not the end
		
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			solution.
		
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			We need to do better as a community.
		
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			This is a temporary stopgap.
		
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			We need to rethink the economy and the
		
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			currency.
		
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			The Nabi ﷺ, he said, avoid the seven
		
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			great destructive sins.
		
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			And the people asked, oh, Allah's apostle, what
		
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			are they?
		
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			And he mentioned seven, and from amongst them
		
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			is consuming riba.
		
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			So to recap, one, educate yourself and your
		
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			family about riba.
		
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			Two, make changes in your life.
		
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			See, how can I optimize and be better
		
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			and get away from this?
		
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			And three, make a positive change in society.
		
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			You've seen the ceasefire, so-called ceasefire that
		
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			started on Sunday, while our Muslim brothers and
		
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			sisters continue to be killed, continue to be
		
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			murdered, continue to be abducted, continue to be
		
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			thrown out of their homes and exiled from
		
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			different locations.
		
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			And now in the West Bank and occupied
		
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			Palestine.
		
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			Most recently in Jenin, subhanAllah.
		
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			So when we're talking about financial transactions, also
		
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			keep in mind, boycott, divestment, sanctions.
		
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			I'm gonna boycott these industries that support the
		
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			occupation that are oppressing my brothers and sisters
		
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			in Palestine or elsewhere.
		
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			Something came up about Uyghur brothers and sisters
		
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			in slave labor.
		
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			You find out that clothing is made by
		
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			them or this company.
		
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			Stay away from it.
		
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			And divestment, in terms of our investment accounts
		
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			at work, we can bring this up and
		
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			say, I don't want to support these military
		
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			corporations that are funding bombs that are falling
		
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			on innocent people.
		
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			الحمد لله رب العالمين قيوم السماوات والأراضين والصلاة
		
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			والسلام على رسول الله الصادق الأمين عباد الله
		
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			اتقوا الله ويعلمكم الله والله بكل شيء عليم
		
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			يقول الله تعالى يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا
		
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			اللَّهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقْيَ مِنَ الرِّبَى إِنْ كُنْتُمْ
		
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			مُؤْمِنِينَ وعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال
		
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			عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال اجتنبوا
		
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			السبع الموبقات قالوا يا رسول الله وما هن؟
		
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			قال الشرك بالله والسحر وقتل النفس التي حرم
		
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			الله إلا بالحق وأكل الربا وأكل مال اليتيم
		
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			والتولي يوم الزحف وقذف المحصنات المؤمنات الغافلات الحمد
		
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			لله رب العالمين مدبر الخلائق أجمعين والصلاة والسلام
		
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			على رسول الله الصادق الأمين عباد الله اتقوا
		
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			الله ويعلمكم الله والله بكل شيء عليم أعوذ
		
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			بالله من الشيطان الرجيم