Tarek Kareem Harris – S4E4 Four Ways Find The Purpose Of Life – The Blacksmith’s Story.

			Bismillah al Rahman al Rahim, life can be overwhelming. Like being lost at sea. Sometimes, when this
happens, we wonder where we are going. It can become very unsettling if we don't have a reason to
keep going. The biggest reason is to know that you are here to try to do something good, that place
your strengths, and pleases your God.
		

			Here is a story about how Zed discovered his purpose.
		

			Zed was on the outskirts of the small town where he lived. He was walking home from the center of
town through a messy little St. in the artisan quarter, where lines of little workshops overflowed
with stone, metal and wood, all the things that different artisans used for their work.
		

			He was most fascinated by the blacksmith. He would often stop outside the workshop and stare inside,
allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness within
		

			there. He would see some year the blacksmith all day, Samir would work in that intense heat near a
furnace coming out of the dark. Only if someone would ask him to make something or buy one of his
wares. It seemed like such a hard job. Samir was outside arranging some of his goods. And Zedd asked
him, Why do you do what you do? I mean, it is the most difficult of all the jobs here. A pan cost
the same as a humble leather belt. And yet the belt was probably far easier to make. And who makes
the buckles for the belt came the reply from the blacksmith.
		

			And he smiled. But yes, I know what you mean. I'm a blacksmith. I do it because part of me wants to.
And part of me needs to
		

			when I was a boy, I used to love going to see the horse races. But I was always concerned at how
they could bear the weight of a person. They have such small hooves.
		

			I asked my mother about it. And she told me it was because they wore horseshoes.
		

			I thought to myself, it must be a very kind person who would make a shoe for an animal. And one day,
I came with my mother to this very Street to this very shop in fact, and I noticed these horseshoes
for sale.
		

			And to my surprise, there was all manner of other things. pots, pans, knives and chains. My mother
needed the pan but could not afford it. blacksmith my Brooke was not known to be very polite, or
very talkative. But his kindness was underneath. He accepted the little money she had without any
hesitation and the pleasure of knowing that she would use it to cook food for us that night
outweighed his need to be paid immediately.
		

			blacksmiths were kind of people I thought,
		

			but my mother felt bad at his charity. So she offered to come back and clean his whole workshop as
part of paying off her debt. But Mel Brooks said this was too dirty for a woman to do. So I cried
out that I will do it. Mother agreed, and so did my group. And so after school, I went the next day
and help clean his workshop. And while I was there, one of the shakes horsemen arrived with a horse
that needed shoeing urgently, the shake was traveling to Albuquerque. The next morning, I saw the
care and concern with which Millbrook treated the animal, soothing it and calming it as he measured
its hooves. Then he said to work, and I was very excited. I asked to stay and watch him and he
		

			agreed. He worked late into the night hammering and forging, hammering and forging. And the next
morning, I ran back to the workshop just before school to see him in time dressing the horse in this
new shoes.
		

			I loved it so much that I asked if he would teach me.
		

			He agreed. But then he told me it would take five years to learn his work. Five years just to learn
something. Then he sat me down and asked me
		

			why did you stay with me all yesterday? And I replied, because I wanted to see how you made the
horseshoes. Do you remember what it was like? Yes, I loved every minute of it. I was mesmerized. You
were bending hot metal from the very Earth itself. Hot. It was hot in here. He said. Well, I don't
know. Yes, it must have been very hot. It's always hot in your shop. And then you laugh the big
laugh. You see? You loved it. Of course it was hot in here. But you didn't feel the heat because you
loved being here. This is why I agree for you to come. This is why five years will feel long for
many people but not for you. And it was through this quiet and shy man had such love for God's
		

			creatures and humanity and showed it through his work.
		

			I forgot the heat. I forgot the coldest. It's as if I was in another space. So I started here, and
it's been 20 years now. Sure, some days are hard. And occasionally I wonder how I put up with it.
Not everyone is grateful. And not all animals are treated well. This is something I don't like to
see.
		

			But there are many reasons that draw me to this work. I love metal. I love bending it to my will to
a graceful shape. It makes me feel close to God, knowing that I am using what he has given us to do
something good. My wife Shaheen was in fact a customer once, who would want a tired, always dirty
husband coming home late, covered in coal dust and burns. But she knew what she liked. And she
decided that I was a good suitor.
		

			Alhamdulillah things just kind of fell into place.
		

			So I'm not reaching money. My pan doesn't cost a lot. But I am very wealthy in four ways. I have a
love for what I do. I feel it is pleasing to God. The world needs me. And that led me to do
something which I become skilled at. So here I am.
		

			And with that, the voice of his wife Shaheen came out from within the workshop. Get ready for
Maghreb, Samir
		

			Samir turn to set and said, I have to go now to watch for prayers. Was there anything else you
needed?
		

			No. So it said shokran. And as that walked home, he was spellbound, who knew that the dirtiest most
humble shop in the street had the richest happiest man in it? That night. Zedd also dreamt of making
horseshoes.
		

			Now, return to the app, and you will see a diagram which shows four circles. Look at each of the
four circles, and fill in the four blanks.
		

			What do you think are the four things that make your life meaningful?
		

			Answer the questions afterwards. Because your answers will determine the next task you do.
		

			The best answers will be put up in the community pages
		

			in the exercise, I hope you all enjoy that. That was a taste of what kind of things will feature in
the new app, which will be released in iOS and Android. It will be like an Islamic coaching and
wellbeing app and it will feature everything from mental health to mindfulness to achieving our
goals as Muslims to perfecting your Salah. The only thing that stands in the way of the app is
funding and time. So you can help us by any of three ways. Firstly, buy a book. any of the books the
links are found beneath this video. In particular, a book that is absolutely full with Zed and his
adventures is called Voyage of the humble soul. It's about the young man's dead when he goes off on
		

			Hajj and learns a number of life lessons and it's very beautifully written alongside a Nasheed
writer kurumi soufiane and also the third word will cope and the instant insights and instant
actions books are there of course. Secondly, drop us a donation to our GoFundMe page. And thirdly,
like subscribe and share this video. Eventually our YouTube support and Instagram support will mean
that future releases and books can be free inshallah. Okay, I look forward to making the next video
for you. Leave your feedback underneath what Salaam