Tarek Kareem Harris – S7E1 The Reinvention #01

Tarek Kareem Harris

With exclusive behind-the-scenes commentary from Mufti Menk

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AI: Summary ©

The speaker discusses the importance of slowing down and not
the need to be in control over life. They explain that achieving the completion of the creator's

AI: Summary ©

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			Let me try and think of a few verses I can think of how Allah asks us to ponder over the creation of
the skies and the earth, and the rotation of the day and the night.
		
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			And he says in it, there are Signs for those with internet. Assalamu Aleikum, you may realize that
wasn't my voice that's moved the mic. In preparing for Ramadan. I've been talking to Mufti about how
to help people to reclaim their minds in a sort of calm way that Allah would want us to. And these
are extracts from some of the conversations that I have with Mufti. And I apply them to, you know,
what I know about science and how to manage the mind. So today is very special, I'm going to play
back the entire conversation, or at least what he said, when we ponder these things, and we send
messages to each other, or what have you.
		
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			So this first session will be all about
		
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			understanding and claiming your time back, and how that is an act of obedience to God, and
disobedience to your negative feelings.
		
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			Welcome to the reinvention series,
		
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			the first thing we're going to do
		
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			is to slow down,
		
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			slow down, I mean it.
		
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			For those of us who really need to hear this comma, I know you know what I mean.
		
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			And I hope you hear this, the first part of claiming yourself back,
		
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			and returning to a pure state of being is to slow down.
		
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			And to understand that we have very little control over life anyway.
		
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			We have even less if we are rushing.
		
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			Imagine you're in a car, and you've got too much power, or you're too keen to get somewhere.
		
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			You lose grip.
		
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			Life is a bumpy road and a slippery one.
		
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			The only time we have proper grip is when we're driving slowly.
		
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			And we realize we can't control the traffic or the weather.
		
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			You have to realize that lives are already predestined.
		
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			If you have difficulties, just like everyone else, the only chance you have of really gaining some
kind of true understanding or control is once you understand that, it's your response to them that
matters.
		
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			Feeling broken, or miserable or hopeless, or anxious, is actually the problem.
		
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			And you can deal with that by accepting it. And understanding that to reality, and then slowing
down. Because if you just let time pass, you will find that these feelings don't have as much power
over you as you thought.
		
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			Imagine you don't have any of the luxuries you have around.
		
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			You don't have a roof over your head. You can't communicate with anyone reach out to them.
		
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			And imagine that
		
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			it's just you. And Allah.
		
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			Well, ultimately,
		
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			you don't need to imagine because that is the truth. No matter where you are in life, it's just you,
		
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			and Allah. And that's all you need. That's all you ever needed. And for all the things you feel bad
about, and all the things that you hope for, there is only one source, there's only ever been one
source.
		
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			And it's not something that you do to try to please Him, or he's not punishing you. This is your
life. And
		
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			the way you go about understanding it is by appreciating that you may not have the answers, but
Allah does. And in order to have a hope of getting to them, just slow down.
		
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			The strongest mind is aware that the best results come from those who are able to put their minds at
rest, cleaning their minds a few moments a day.
		
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			And we have opportunities in the day to do this.
		
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			Go and make wudu
		
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			before you make wudu
		
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			Just think how I'm going to do this in a way that is really considering what Allah wants me to do
with it.
		
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			I'm going to go and each step I take I will breathe really slowly.
		
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			And I will just go through each step at a pace that allows me to appreciate what I'm doing here. I'm
taking some time for myself
		
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			to symbolically clean myself and for God and I'm understanding that actually what he's promised
		
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			He's that my sins will wash away.
		
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			And I have no need to be guilty, I might feel it or might feel horrible or punished or whatever. But
		
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			I can begin to be suspicious of those feelings because
		
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			I can disobey them because Allah said, my sins will wash away. If I think about him, and I just
washed myself as a start
		
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			the doors of heaven open up for those who just slow down and wash themselves to a will believe me,
if you do it slowly, watching each part feeling that water,
		
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			I promise you, you will start to understand.
		
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			Once we do this, once we understand the ability to slow down, we can start to claim our confidence
back.
		
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			Welcome to day one. And here as promised, is the
		
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			bit that moved, he added, or that was his contribution to our discussion, I think it's just very
privileged
		
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			to hear it from him and consider this a very exclusive bit of
		
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			audio from movie, this is him and I talking together. And we have these moments and I've asked him
for permission, you know, to just give you guys a little snippet of that the fact that this guy
really is the real deal. And he's very serious about the mind and mental health and how it connects
to Islam
		
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			does
		
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			enjoy. Let me try and think of a few verses I can think of how Allah asks us to ponder over the
creation of the skies and the earth and the rotation of the day and the night.
		
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			And he says in it, there are Signs for those with intellect and those with the sound mind. And one
of the reasons is to be able to sit back and ponder over things and think over things, you know, and
		
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			Allah says, Allah DNA of Quran, Allah, you know, those who remember Allah while they're standing,
while they're sitting in while they're on their sides. And they think over the creation
		
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			of
		
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			the heavens and the earth.
		
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			And they say, Oh Allah, you have not created all of this in vain. You know,
		
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			Glory be to You, save us from hellfire. So that slowing down would probably be included in that type
of thing. Another thing is, no matter what you're doing, you've got to make wudu you've got to stop
everything, you've got to pray. And for that happens five times a day you must cut off from
everything. Allah is giving you a message to say hey, you know what, come down and focus on certain
things and so on. So and then the issue of the gorilla, which is something that's recommended
throughout the day and night whenever possible, is because Allah is trying to calm you down as well.
You know, the Quran says Allah be the karela hated my inner guru. It is only through the remembrance
		
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			of Allah that the heart achieves the hearts achieve comfort.
		
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			And calmness actually is the correct translation calmness. And then also the issue of recitation of
the Quran for example,
		
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			says in it there is cure, you know,