Certainty in Times of Adversity

It is very hard to choose your words after a big tragedy, like what happened in New Zealand.

And it is not an easy topic to address

is associated with so many are so much emotions, and sometimes anxiety.

Tons of people from my own here community 1000s and 1000s of miles ago, were so moved by the incident of New Zealand and

expressed a high level of stress. And even sometimes I noticed some of them reached to the level of panic of basically saying and thinking of things, which is very unreasonable and unlikely to happen.

And as if they are under an immediate threat, that I had to spend a good amount of time talking to several individuals, which is I do believe that's normal, that some people will react such way.

But in regardless, we are as one oma is not about the fear of death. It's not about the fear of a terrorist attack, we as one,

that when some parts of us get hurt, the rest of the amount will respond to that.

That's something I deeply believe in.

But also this incident made me ask myself, is that really the, the thing that made us respond this way to this incident?

Because as you all know,

there is many people died in Syria, just a few years a month, there is a massacre in Central Africa. There is a massacre in many places in the world. So that what are we feeling today? It's because we are one oma and we feel the pain and the bleeding of our brothers. And when somebody died unfairly in Palestine, I feel the pain in my heart. And I feel that in my life and impacted my life today, or it is again, Central and about ourselves.

It's really not about the, you know, the character of the Oman, it is much of this, the fear for my own life, the fear for my own self, the fear for my own family, because that's something I can relate to. I live in a similar environment and a Western atmosphere, I have the same type of threat that they have, which is the rise of the extreme right wing islamophobes. And that's a question that I think you should reflect upon. It's not a bad thing to fear about your own life, don't misunderstand me, it's not a bad thing to fear about yourself, not wrong things to be cautious, is not something you should feel guilty about, is just to get that very serious, and to feel the threat

about your own life in your family in your business. That's not my point. But my point is, it is just, we have to put it in the right frame.

Because also, it is as important about your own life is to feel the important and the sanction and the sanctuary and value of other people's life. So you can for a few maybe hours or days, you can relate to those who live in constantly in such fear.

who happened to be living in Palestine today? Or having to be living in Syria, having to be living in Iran, having to be living in so many places in the world? Can you imagine how type of life that they have, that they have a real threat every single day in their life, about their life? And how and their homes and their businesses and their, you know, family?

And such climate?

Islam in the such climate? How basically can we deal with such climate as a community?

It's a big question that I think it is worth investing a little bit of time reflecting upon, because this is affecting us affecting our family affecting our community.

And when you think about the guidance, I always say every Friday almost while you had you had your Rasulullah sallallahu Sallam the best of guidance or the guidance of Muhammad Sallallahu it was said

I'm going to ask the guys in the back there on the corner Omar

Bashir

Omar on your group, can you come forward?

Hey guys,

Some of the adults there Come on Don't sit next to each other playing while making slot or give them Papa

okay no no all the way up you guys young all the way nobody against the wall all the way up into the front you and then yes all the way up

okay we have a dismiss from school early today so

so here we say the Tinder be sallallahu Sallam guidance in dealing with such climate when it's so stressed there is something caught my attention in the center of the process. I live in a time where there is a battle in the battlefield. Where is the risk is so high for people's life properties you name it.

You find insatiable hottie Nabi sallallahu sallam, Hlj *okai through moussaka.

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had the beetle.

He basically led the army Go ahead, then he will race without a shadow of the law now. And he said, Now we are equal because long time ago, we race together and you beat me, you know, you were faster than me. And now my turn, I was able to win. So now we are equal.

You know, with all What do you think of in the battlefield and what can happen to them next day, but he's still he found the time to have that, you know, interesting thing that he did sallallahu alayhi wa sallam Adam, after eating from the tree expelled from Jenna sin down to earth, with all what you think associated with that. Latasha, yeah, and you will be in hardship. And all this is stemmed to Evan had, he enjoyed life on Earth, he have children's, he had basically stablish society and community and moved on in his life. buchalka Rebecca, he laughed, and he cried

Ibrahim, with all what he dealt with in Iraq, and the king of Babylon. And basically after he would throw on and fire, and Allah saved him from it, he will be leaving an era after what 80 years, some of the historian said 80 years or something like that 80 plus years, after all this years, not a single person became a Muslim.

Except he left with his wife, and his nephew, Luke, which is a prophet.

That's it.

He left Iraq with his wife to Egypt. And you know the story of what happened in Egypt. Then he ended up leaving his wife or the mother of his child in Makkah, her job and all this life. But you you see that he not at a single point he stopped. He kept moving and moving and moving and moving us of at a salon, after the darkness of the well and the darkness of the prison department being basically separated from his beloved father, from his family, being in slavery for years, and all this things that happened to him in his life. You know what, he's still have the calmness, he have the smile, he had the time to go to distribute food to the prisoners where he was prison. And he was able to make

that basically ask when he got the chance to be so special, to be spoiled to get through to relax after all these years of hardship. When the king said listen NFC our make him just to my body.

You know with the king, he doesn't need to do anything. You became the king's body. You know his best friend.

He said, No, Johnny Anna has an art. I'm not resting. I'm wanting to serve. I'm wanting to work. I'm wanting to use my position, being near you, and the trust that you have in me to help my to help the people of Egypt.

Moosa from his childhood. Can you imagine the threat, the level of stress, the level of calamities and hardship that you had to go through the moment he was born, he was live was under threat,

being thrown and river, picked by his enemy raised in the palace of Pharaoh, and with all this, and you know the story of Musa a sinner, no need to go into details.

I left his Egypt scared, terrified, and in the first time, and when he went far away, even across the desert of Sinai, he found those two young girls

No need help, and he volunteer his service, he found a time to get married, and to make a family and to move on in his life. Today, our Ummah at large, and our community is specifically witnessing so many changes, so many difficult times,

from within and from outside, a pressure from outside for people who care less about the interests of the Muslim ummah.

And from inside, where people have so much hate, unfortunate toward their own people,

we as a community today we have challenges from within, and challenges from outside, pressure from outside, and weakness from inside.

When we look at the world around us, wherever you look, even the only place down under which is we used to look we have a problem.

When we look to the east or to the west, or north or south, you will see challenges Where are we going as most I don't think I've ever heard in my lifetime. And in my history that I read that many Muslims been dislocated from their countries and homeland, that many civil wars going on inside the Muslim world like what I hear today.

To the extent that the only case I still remember that now nobody talks about are the Palestinians who've been this basically located from their land, and who don't want to come back to the land. It was their cases was forgotten because of there's so many other people have the same problem almost.

Today, we see even politically when he took the political solution in the Muslim world, not unsee dad, yeah. And as of that, basically, some people will look at it, as there is no hope.

dictatorship, the voice of freedom, the voice of live, which is have dignity is almost vanishing from society's

economy, not doing very well. People are kind of despair. You know, they don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. As someone said, even the light that this in the end of the time, most likely do you think it's the drain?

So there is no, there is no end kind of no hope. When you live in a live like that. When you see that our youth are shocked by the leaders of the countries and the leader of the society.

When they don't know how to explain why our own man is like this, what is our scholars? Where is our leaders? What are these beautiful principles, beautiful things that you keep telling us? Whereas human rights was the thing that we'd raised in America, hearing it every day that we care about people, that people are created equal? The freedom that we stand and defend, you know, the human rights, where's the law?

When we see this

ugly reality of our politics inside the country today,

with the presidency of our President Trump, and the rise of the islamophobes under extreme or the right wing, when we don't see voices that even willing to stand up

and to defend their best friend who passed away a few months back

when we don't see voices of moderate

it is became so hard when you see people attack so badly just because the common sense about that this country should come first before other foreign countries, no matter what these foreign countries are

and how close they are to our to our country. It is something make a lot of people wonder, What is going on? How many youth today the asked the question, how do we balance the loyalty and love we may have for this country and our disappointed with it with it government? Basically with the rise of Islamophobia with the oppression that we see. How can we address the growing popular trend of liberal Muslims who are asking us as Muslims to drop principle to compromise our religion discounted the synagogue the process on them by the day.

Our our youth don't know where to go.

You know, even when we hear a result, at one point, there is some

People, regardless, you agree or disagree, regardless how good or bad they have done in the Muslim world, which is we call it Islam. Our eyes have been Islamia, the Islamic movements, or basically who Muslims, activists in politics, it now became completely branded as a terrorist organization. And I'm open to say, like any one Muslim.

And it's not about Muslims, not about Muslim Brotherhood.

But it is the oldest, the biggest, the most influential you like it or not, that's the reality of all the Islamic movement and the region, I never was part of it. I do have my reservations like many others, but also I know that there is so much fear and good, and how that we can get when we open the floor for everybody to participate and improve themselves. If people have the do good job, people elected if they do bad job people replace them.

When we see that these kind of things happening today, and this, basically voices are crushed

our youth in our Ummah today, and our people today wonder, where's that, where's the solution?

When I see that we live in a time where so many of us have a very narrow vision,

have so much fear from any new things

that extend some of the eventueel hongfa. And really not not willing to address

with an open mind with courage.

issues that are very new and very sensitive.

When we see when people claim religiosity, they turn to terrorist, worthy miktek fear and they, you know, kill and use weapons to change reality. You know, and thinking that killing and blood wall change the reality that we live in.

I do believe the worst of all this

is when we lose hope and real change. When we lose hope that we can live a good life, a peaceful life.

You know, when we find that people are so close to give up their principles and their abilities. That's, that's so scary, that you're willing to give up things that since you're born you're basically practicing unbelieving in.

It's so scary when we see a generation of people today. They don't trust anyone. They don't trust anything.

Even the trust that it was put in some religious authorities is not there anymore.

The trust and the respect that was taken for granted is shaken.

And I do believe I am not my nature to be negative. And I'm trying to paint a very gloomy look because nothing new Anyway, I'm saying. But each one of these areas deserve to be addressed by itself. And there's cause and effects and solution for each part of it. But what I want to leave you with today,

then I want to say the least we can do that we make sure that we are in this particular time, so close and so near to our young generations, to the young men and women around us in your home or in your mustard or in your community or in your society. They are the real assets that we have and we have to invest in more and more. I can't emphasize enough the importance today of traveling not doubling, tripling your support to any organization who take care and empower and teach and educate and protect the youth through an education system like schools and Islamic schools or through activities that taking place in centers and massage it through social works and political area. Hats

is so essential today, as we see all these things happening around us. If you're a young man listening to me today, I ask you not to be alone. Because in Debbie Salalah and Samson in Namibia COVID casia at the wolf hunt the sheep that did by itself, come closer to to the to the mustards to the community, be part of the community. It is a time for us to come together to listen to each other. Listen to each other's pain, concerns, criticism. Listen to each other. You know about our dreams, we talk to each other about our dreams.

Are hopes and how can we achieve them? Love shows one another love, support can in a time when we feel that these are very hard things to get

our Ummah have been through more difficult times, our Ummah is bigger than one generation and much larger than one country or one community. Our Deen is much older than one ideology, or one extreme group. Our truth is much stronger than any islamophobes, or any terrorist attack, or any dictators or an oppressive regimes. The solution is not by basically giving up hope, and live in sadness murottal his nephew, Ronnie llamas, Mama, never ever come across sadness in the Quran. And the Sunnah, unless it was criticized in a negative way. Because sadness is just a strip you from the ability to move, it's paralyzed you.

You know, the solution is not to be sad and to be depressed and to be down. No, the solution is to shake this off, and to conquer that sadness and that fear with actions.

Even if a small steps, even if it is as simple as you go pray to Raka and you ask Allah Subhana Allah with the heart full of your pain. And don't tell me all until when we make the out women. Yeah, if this the only thing you can do, do it, if you can do something more than to do it as well. But sometimes that's what the best you can do. Maybe the best you can do, you can impress your children, and make sure that they became tomorrow, good people in society.

Maybe the thing that you can do, you can basically organize some events or talk about, you know, some of these problems that locally that you can have, you have solutions for it.

What is more important, it was very important for me is not to live by yourself, not to stay away from the society, but to come closer to it. I asked the last panel to add on you know, yaku when you clean out your console Phaeton

in what do you call it Rania Allah submit to the store for the lady with a compass

and hamdulillah who I know wa salatu salam ala Neva.

Remember

Omar Abdullah as he told his son something very interesting, he said Son

in Nima have settled down Rufus in in Laos, sloughi Laila.

The corruption that was built over decades, cannot be solved overnight, cannot be changed overnight.

Mohammed Salim didn't do that. It took him years and years and years to make change. Remember, it is so essential. And in fact, Bishop Auric and asthma.

It is

that you feel the problem, but you don't need to live the problem.

Any I feel the pain of others, but I don't need to live that pain.

I know the challenge but I need to live that I'm not putting my head in the sand. No, I know how much it hurts for somebody to lose his face. But I need to I don't need to be I have every excuse for someone who lost a son yesterday, or last week to be so down so hard to stand up. But you didn't.

You didn't need to basically to be like that what you need to do to stand up your feet, because that person needs to show you to see your strength.

If somebody around you in in hardship, he needs to see strong people around him. So that person can stand up in his feet. Remember, women are a hero who

attends Allah Subhana Allah has seen everything. And Allah Subhana Allah does things according to an infinite wisdom on what you need to do to do your role your part and you leave the rest for the last panel to add the optimistic because optimism is very important today. Don't let your emotions take over your life. And in the in this process or during the status, you basically forget reasoning.

That's not not not the right way and if it's okay for individuals, not okay for the community leader to be like that.

Don't, again, don't just be no forget reasoning and use logic and, and don't let just just string a strong emotion stick over your life and thinking

many community members shared with me great idea about endpoints about the security of the master. And I wrote for all the community members, something about that, so I don't need to go over it again. But what happened in userland, make us take security issues serious.

You know, like, I know, sometimes people are not comfortable on a site, please don't have a chair next to the exit, and sit on a chair next to the exit,

if you will get a little bit of, you know, fill the muscles kind of meat, but you know, what, that's a security hazard.

You know, please don't block the road. Like there's two cars, Mercedes black cars, blocking the way as a coming and they are basically, you see how narrow the street is. And they are parking there, right, their cars on the right side, next or landscape guy. You know, what if there is a rush to get out, your cars will be a big, big hazard for us.

You want to talk about how you respond to this. And instead of you know, that is the small steps make you survive, one of the biggest problem in New Zealand was the exit door was not was blocked.

So there are some small things that we care a lot about, sometimes you don't pay attention to it, but we do care and the Muslim hamdulillah and the regular base before this incident, we got police come to basically inspect our security system cameras, you know, alarms, that's very expensive, costly, we don't have a cheap type of alarm, you know, system to have, we we are generous, when it comes to security and we take this seriously.

You know, and even inshallah, you will see more presence of security in the following weeks. Because simple reason, because instantly, this can inspire other crazy people to do things, even though the moment that this things happen. And that's a credit I have to give it when credit is due to the FBI, the Office of Houston and to the Homeland Security, that in a matter of minutes, I get alerts and my phone immediately telling me you know what, there is no any indication of any threat to the Muslim community here in Houston monitoring this very well. But we don't have any indication, but we highly recommend to be cautious. These are numbers you can contact us immediately share this world leaders

of your community. And that didn't come to me only it came to many of the community leaders.

And that's a good thing.

You know, your security and your safety is very serious business for us.

You know, and security and safety is not only about that's why we don't get emotional. I care more about fire hazard than an act of shooting.

And let me do these three words before I get down.

In any case of active shooting, in any case, simple steps is not a rocket science. People think we need training hours and hours you do especially the leader of the community do but for an active person on the semester in any big gathering place. Three things to remember you fly you run as fast as you can from any exit you see.

Us number one number two hurricane if you can protect yourself on luck replace basically hurricane is not to come as a group in a corner of a mustard. You know parakeet it means you go and you lock the door so nobody can get into the place. You protect yourself.

Number three, fight

and that's one of the differences between fire drill and

active shooting.

And after shooting if you can't run and you cannot protect yourself, you fight one will die two will die three will die. But that ugly guy will be caught

a Somalia Somalian community kids playing in the basketball court and the guy got mad at them and he pulled the gun on them

none of them run he doesn't know that he's missing the Somalis.

He said we you guys crazy. I thought you guys gonna run he said no, no, no. Aren't you afraid to get killed? He said yeah, you might kill one two of us but we will cut your pieces.

The rest of us will catch you will make you die the worst stuff you can ever think of.

Then he put his gun as a you guys crazy and he left

yeah when you because in case like this you have to fight. So that's just a thing that I well I'm pleased people say about bringing guns to the musters and stuff like that. I never put restrictions and caring because they think that's your right as an American to Paragon. But make sure if you carry on to be licensed, number two, if you carry one that you know how to handle the world, because I don't want you to hurt yourself or to hurt your family or to hurt someone but your personal capacity and your personal choice. It's up to you.

But I promise you shall in the few weeks to come you all make sure that or almost we have any kind of threat level high will always take that issue of security very, very serious. That and I really appreciate all the feedback I got and the end of the day. We have to pray all souls panel to Allah to protect us. This is one of the real meaning of protection is the drop in the morning and the night of the car that we do. Now last night Allah protect us protect our family protect our countries tricked ours our homes and our businesses are Lost Planet Allah Allah Masha Allah Maria de la menza Shiva eco Fiesta Kala Kala Marie de la mushy motera la mata matana aloha mahalo. Aloha

mahalo, Tana Allahumma Alba, similar to one of the other gelato Ikram, overly Hawaiian in the Medina matter if you hadn't had either an MP New Zealand the other gentleman asked a lot to forgive those brothers and sister who died in New Zealand and those who died all over the world. ask Allah subhanaw taala to bring in ease and to shower us in the family of the victims with his mercy and ask Allah Subhana Allah to Allah to bless us as oma and brothers and sisters just reflect about the outcome of what happened. How much people know about snom interest in Islam and turn to this very positive outcome. Lots of Whoo hoo shakalaka it's bad in itself but the outcome will always be a

great so I asked Allah to bless that effort and to make that a means and a turning point in our life.

sallallahu wasallam and ebina Mohammed Ali Ahmed, Satya