Tom Facchine – The Truth About Development

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			Development's an important dimension of growth, right?
		

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			They say if you're not growing then you're
		

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			dying.
		

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			But we have to be able to define
		

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			what development is and isn't.
		

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			Development doesn't just mean getting bigger, it doesn't
		

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			just mean material success.
		

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			It needs to be, you know, defined in
		

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			an otherworldly sense, okay?
		

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			If something is moving you closer to gender,
		

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			that's development.
		

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			And if something is moving you further away
		

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			from it, then that's the opposite.
		

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			And that's it, right?
		

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			And if you even look at your personal
		

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			life, we have a lot of stuff out
		

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			there about self-development and developing your skills
		

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			and stuff like that.
		

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			But for what, right?
		

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			Everything has to be tied to a purpose.
		

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			Everything has to have a lot in mind.
		

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			And so what are your skills for?
		

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			Are they to make Allah subhanahu wa ta
		

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			'ala happy?
		

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			Are they to serve him and his deen
		

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			in some sort of way?
		

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			Is it, you know, just to raise your
		

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			bottom line or make yourself more lucrative?
		

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			Okay, that might be permissible, no problem, you
		

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			have to make your livelihood.
		

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			Or is it for your ego and so
		

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			that you can feel better about yourself in
		

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			front of other people and show off and
		

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			these sorts of things, right?
		

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			So what is development?
		

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			The safest way and the best way is
		

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			to tie everything back to Allah subhanahu wa
		

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			ta'ala, right?
		

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			And this goes for the individual and it
		

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			also goes for cities, countries, right?
		

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			We hear development talk all the time.
		

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			It comes through this idea that more technology,
		

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			bigger skyscrapers, bigger economy, this is development.
		

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			Is that what makes Allah happy?
		

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			Or is it treating everybody justly and making
		

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			sure that things are sustainable, that we're not
		

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			hurting the earth, that we're taking care of
		

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			our responsibilities?
		

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			If that's getting us closer to Jannah, then
		

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			it's development.
		

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			If it's not, then it's not.