Yahya Ibrahim – Key to Success
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of happiness and the concept of material success in society, emphasizing the need to focus on something greater than just happiness. They also talk about the importance of fasting during the summer to increase productivity and happiness, as well as the memory of being in a good situation and the importance of remembering a person named Hannah Montana. They also discuss the need for "hasn't been too far" in modern day America to address the "hasn't been too far" concept and the importance of learning one's culture and speaking their language to achieve success in school. They also discuss the need for privacy and deeds in achieving true happiness and encourage individuals to secure themselves through their jobs and pursue their dreams.
AI: Summary ©
Alhamdulillah wa salatu salam ala rasulillah salam ala honey who early he was sotheby he was certainly more about always and forever We begin with the praise of Allah we send our prayers of peace upon an AVI Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. We testify with current firmness and conviction that not only is worthy of worship but Allah and that Mohammed sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is his worshipping slave and final messenger, and hamdu Lillahi Rabbil aalameen.
It's been a while since I've had an opportunity to stand in front of you here in Perth. And it's something while I do miss, although I speak in different parts of the world and in different places in Australia. It's always nice at home, because I don't have to travel very far, literally 20 minutes, and I'm in my own car, so I don't need anyone to pick me up or drop me off and hamdulillah today, inshallah, it's really the intent behind it,
to talk about success. And I think this is something that if you were to ask any human being at any point in their life, what do you want? Like, what do you really want at the very core of it? It's like, I want to be happy.
And sometimes we confuse material success, for happiness, sometimes at the expense of genuine happiness. We push ourselves toward something that actually will not make us happy. Although we know other people might estimate it as success.
And I think there's a lot of problems that society faces in terms of materialism, greed,
envy, you know, can you imagine that a law cautions the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam as a prophet of Allah and other prophets before him? Well, Tim would deny. Don't let your eyes extend to other people.
Who we have given the Herat and hieratic dunya Jr. Those who we may have given a fragrant flower from this worldly life. Something you know, when you look at it's beautiful when you smell it, it even before you're near it, it's it's magnificent.
But a flowers life is temporal, and it's short lived. And it's not always recurrent. And it's under attack and duress, the life that is given. In that example of the prophets, I seldom don't look to that life, the hotel Hyatt in dounia, Lena Tina Hoon, fee, because it is nothing more than a test in this temporal, worldly life.
So keep your eyes focused on something that is greater. So I want to ask today, it's questions that I asked myself, my family, you, I want you to think about these issues. And I want you to think about what is the difference between happiness, happiness, and success?
What makes you really happy I
see a lot of talks about that in the forum in different ways. And a lot of talks about you know too much mean that'll call that tranquility of heart. And be Vickery law, he talks about England. Surely it is, but through the remembrance of God, a law that the heart finds repose, tranquility, delight, joy, and happiness, the Sahaba would become confused. You know, sometimes they look at the prophets like Selim, and they would be surprised they would say Jani this man some Aloha, he would sell them. This creative being he's a human being. He's like us, he's flesh and blood, we know that. He stands at night, until his feet swell, although he's promised forgiveness by God, although he is the final
messenger, although there is none after him who will call better than him to the path that is straight, that leads to paradise. And they would say to him, You forgive it like what why? Why do you do this? He would say, so I sell them fly akuna abdon Shakira, should I not be thankful for all the happiness I have. That's what the mamod will pay him in miftah de Rosada. That summer summary of this talk is a summation of that book, The key to the gates of happiness. He begins by talking about that the joy of the profits I sell them was that after exertion
in that which was pleasing a law and only for Allah He felt joy.
And therefore he would say to be loud, whenever depressed a lot he would sell them whenever in difficulty whenever something was was troubling him he would turn to
Villa ni se aka Miss sada here Villa, aka Miss Sala call the prayer is anytime you like he was waiting for the next Allah alchemists, Allah. Allah He Avila
Bihar. Let it bring us comfort Salalah hottie listen.
Have you ever fasted that long day? I know it's short in Perth.
Currently anyway.
Like, have you ever fasted? Because you know sometimes when you hear those statements of Valley you're on the Allahu anhu. He would say if I die, the things that I will miss the most is fasting in the midst of the summer in thirst.
Like this bizarre
like it? Is it like a punishment for himself? No. Is it like some kind of penance? No, it's that he knows I've done something maybe others don't do have failed in cannot succeed in in what is true success. And that brought him delight between him and Allah subhanho wa Taala.
If you ever fasted that day, you're talking to my father, he's in Ramadan. It's in Canada, like they break past 9pm and it's in the summer and it's humid. I know you say Toronto really humid? Yeah, it gets warm, kind of in a Canadian way.
He's fasting till nine. And I say Jani. Why don't you come to Perth in the summer? in Ramadan, five o'clock. It was Lana, and a total hayati. All my life I've been fasting and a wonderful allocator. I'm used to this. It's my habit. See, it's my it's what I'm used to. I could never imagine not fasting. I say hey, listen, why don't you pray taraweeh at home, don't go to the Ministry of Torah, we they used to start Torah, we 11:45pm.
Finish at two wahaca your hug stay home. He goes no further naked. I enjoy this. I've become accustomed, year after year to this habit.
Muscle memory
is where your body knows what to do without your brain actively thinking to do it. We've all seen that YouTube video where the guy's talking and he catches the ball. He wasn't looking. It's just not it's a natural motion. racecar drivers, they're going 300 kilometers an hour. If they have to think about when they turn, they die.
They've trained themselves to such a degree that I can't do anything but drive that car and go that quick. Become an adrenaline junkie.
And for us, we need to rediscover
that work ethic of a bada towards a loss of Hannah Montana.
It's tough to talk to people about horseshoe and Sala you know, people think when you talk about success, it's going to be about you know, I want to be a good husband. Yeah. Start with prayer. What does it have to do with being a good husband? Everything
makes you on time your wife would like that? Because you got to keep yourself according to a clock of worship.
You don't fit Salah in your life you fit your life around Salah
everything is around solder just like today. You said before a no no, I'm gonna pretty much live and then I'll come because surely the shirt isn't going to start seven.
You fit everything around solder, where will I pray if I arrive? You begin to think in terms of thoughts of success.
That connection to a law empowers us
to becoming better and better human beings.
So we want to talk about the memory that we seek to have within our body that is reflective of our a bother to Allah. Any of you who have been to has your finger Emre. Anytime you've come back, and then you hear that Mecca event or that Medina event or you see that short clip or you see a picture of the green dome, or you see something similar to that your heart. It just shakes flutters for a little bit. Because your mind and your body it's almost as if your soul goes back to where you experienced happiness and joy and tiredness and the times difficulty and hardship.
We're going to begin our discussion in sha Allah with those very real questions.
Success
in that worldly sense versus happiness, in the true sense of the heart, a brother one's
back in Toronto
Mashallah. He was an engineer, software engineer.
And he had a nice job. He got married Mashallah, he's a friend of mine. And he had you know, two beautiful children, who every day he'd walked with to the masjid, he made sure that he bought a home near Masjid near Islam, which is the larger Masjid in Mississauga, there. It was just walking distance, he could walk to them as measured with his two kids. They grew up going to the maktab classes, the foreign classes in the masjid, for about seven, eight years, he was happy doing the job he was doing. And because he was an honest, diligent, intelligent, young Muslim man, he was very progressive and they put them on a fast track.
Let's push you forward, because we can trust you, you don't overbill you don't buy things and claim them on company tax that you don't do any of that. You're the guy we want. Really being Mashallah.
Listen, we got a job for you. There's a new opening, we're going to create a role for you. Okay, what is it? It's going to require a bit of travel. How much? About two, maybe three weekends a month.
But I have a family and my wife and
he went home. And he said, Listen, I got this job, they're gonna give me an extra $20,000 a year.
I can buy you a new car. We can get a bigger house. A little bit bigger, not one garage to garage. It'll have you know, we have more room. The kids are growing. They need a bigger bedroom. So you begin to rationalize it all of those things.
I don't know. But how long will you be gone? Won't be gone? Yeah, I might come home a little bit later in the day, I might, you know.
And that once happy family
that ate at the same dinner table.
That walked to the ministry together that attended every Saturday and Sunday. That was our rock of that community disintegrated before our very eyes before my very eyes. And I would sit for hours talking to this brother. I say yeah, I don't know how I got here.
And I know how we got there.
And it's a warning to you and I that sometimes for $20,000. We lose children. Sometimes for an extra shift driving a taxi. You lose your kids not now, but when they're 18 because that Father that used to walk with them to the masjid, who used to take them to Koran class we used to help them who used to read with them who used to struggle in is a bother who yes had ambition, but knew what job to take that was good for the family and what job to leave that was good financially. He had a little bit of taqwa sense. taqwa sense, not common sense. See, common sense will tell you $20,000 you could say we could go to hush
hush next year $20,000.
But what happens is that the children who loved you and grew up with you, they begin to disconnect. And the only thing that happens is that when you come home, because you've been away for so long, your wife leans on you to be that primary disciplinarian. So your wife says to you, hey,
you've been away. I can't get him to do his work. Tell him to do his work. As soon as you walk through the door. Where's your homework? Everything becomes command based your negative everything to that son who's 11 years old is put downs and shame. How come you didn't do better? Well, you weren't there to help me with my math. He should say
the absence
of our males in our communities
is one of the leading problems for much of the difficulties that we see in our young maturing adults. It pains me we're lucky sometimes when I drive by Albany highway and I drive by pop black. And I see some of our boys some of our boys our Muslim boys standing outside smoking and drinking and
because there's an absence, there's success. See what you will see is that that same father he will drive Mashallah brand new car
Nice car, and the mother and hamdulillah. She has, you know, a little bit of extra expense that she can pay towards other things.
Every dollar you spend on your child is a savings.
My father, I remember Allah, your father, and hi Jordan. And I refer to you know, my family in particular, because I didn't grow up in a rich family, like my father yet, Mashallah. He was an engineer. But every dollar he made he spent on me, my brothers and my sister's.
Every year, he would pay for a plane ticket for seven years, Go, Go study, go learn about the D.
Go.
Every year he would send our family as young children to Egypt, it would he would break his back to earn enough money for our tickets. So we could learn our culture, and speak our language and learn not
to have what other people don't have. Not in material, but in a love for our home, and our community. And therefore, you know, when you invest in your children, the moment the moment you invest in your children, the moment your savings plan is that I'm going to educate my son. I'm going to put money in him to learn the Koran, to learn archery to learn how to swim, to go to take one dough to go from one class to the next. I remember my father will law he until I graduated from high school.
He would pick me up and drop me off every day at school. He would leave work pick me up, drop me off, go back to work.
He worked near where we lived. And where we studied. I'd say I could walk home. It goes Yeah, I know.
So do they they all walk home?
Yeah, but they're my friends. Yeah, they're your friends in school, but not on the street.
You want friends? They can come to our house.
Adam, my son or my Adam? Brothers that he might even be in the audience. He's one of our teachers at the Langford Islamic college.
He said brother Yeah, hey, you know, you know, if you come to our school, you'll see some of our stuff. They're wearing the bright yellow even I wear it the bright yellow traffic control, Mashallah. And sometimes we have to be very, you know, harsh move. Alright. So, brothers, Lucky Elijah, as he said, He's standing there, you know? And he said, Brother, you're here for one week, I stood there. What? Every day, every parent, every child that came in, I would tell them I was the first one say said I want a ceremony, ceremony ceremony. I'm the one that begins.
And I thought, let me wait this week. See how many parents parents who give us their children who come have spent money for their children at an assignment school? Let me see how many of them will begin with the theme that opens the gate of gender. The prophets I send them he said to the people you want Jenna f Xu Salaam be the ones who are giving with greetings of peace to others. And he said well, ah he brother all this morning he would cut every day we would talk about it. He said, Well, Lucha brother, one family today. One family. Why did this conversation start? My young son Adam, he was sitting on my chair in my office and brothers actually walked in and I said to Adam, stand up.
I said, you know,
I've never had this seen this I've been given Salaam no one says Salam. Stand up give Salaam to your uncle.
His five he doesn't understand but he needs to learn to understand. Those things cannot be taught in school. They cannot be taught by friends. They will never learn it through the internet, through television. Your children will never learn
the essence of the message of the prophets of Allah it was
the thing that gives character
that makes you a good man that will be a good father and an amazing husband that comes through learned behavior for a monk for the most part.
The profits I sell them grew up that way. For the first five years of his life, sigh sell them. He was put out to study Arabic and so on with a wet nurse, someone who looked after him in the desert away from diseases that could bring harm and stuff from the city life of Mecca. But after five years of age, all of the children would be brought out into the desert when their bodies were a little bit stronger and then they would be given all
The sons would be given to alcom the word poem in Arabi means to the men of a community because men raised men
and it is a key to success for your home and for your family and to your people.
Happiness
happiness arrives
from giving up what others presume is monetary success, to please Allah subhana wa tada
and to build a home that will remain pleasing to Allah and His nebia Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
The second example I want to give you
after the absent father
is that of hypocrisy.
nifa
see hypocrisy.
In the Arabs they didn't know hypocrisy until after the migration of the prophet to Medina sobre la jolla. If they hated the Prophet, I hate you. I disbelieve in you I don't like you. But when the Prophet moved to Medina, and he began to consolidate a little bit of authority, some who wanted authority with him, pretended to be along with him, some Allahu Allah said.
And what that meant was that they would pretend to believe in God, when in their heart was no faith. And therefore this concept of Manassas became a part of Islamic theology, we began to differentiate what is hypocrisy. And the word new thought comes from that word netup, meaning a tunnel and a monastic. He is characterized by all of the people of Hadith as being similar to erect a rodent, because rodents when they build a burrow, under the ground, they build enough up under the ground, they build two entrances, one that they use all the time, the other, they never use it, they never show it to you, they never show you their real face. They never show you where they will emerge from
until they are pressured, or the time is right to use it. And therefore, that out of they began to describe the Mona Lisa, as being rodent like sneaky, like in that sense, the fact is of two types.
One, in fact, all of us have it at one point or another. And may Allah subhana wa Taala. remove neufeldt from our hearts. May we be from those who are purged from hypocrisy, and don't think it's strange that I accused myself and implicitly, many of you have what is similar to nofap?
Only on account of what we know from the Sahaba
there was also hobby
His name is humbler
radi Allahu Allahu Akbar,
and hamdulillah he was sitting with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
And after he left, a few minutes later, in his home with his family, with his children, who we love, like I just told you, we must love them and invest in them and care for them. He's with his family, he ran back crying to the prophets, I send them and he said nafa han vada humbleness mo naptip Abu Bakr, he stopped him as he's entering upon the Prophet. He said, nappy, k origin. What's wrong with your man? He said I'm a hypocrite. And Abu Bakr radi Allahu anhu says La La Mancha in La Jolla. I know nothing except good about you. You're there for Salah you're there to do we always in that which is good. Why would you accuse yourself of hypocrisy? And he said oh my son, oh bobak whenever
we sit with the prophets, I send them it's as if we feel that we can see gender. Like I can see paradise. I know what I need to do. I know everything that's right in life, what I should do and what should I be I've stay away from I know right from wrong, and I'm with him Salalah while he was alive, but when I go home and I play with my children, and I sit with my wife and enjoy a little bit of food, all of that is out of my mind. I forget it.
I forget it.
So Abu Bakr began to cry.
He said I'm a hypocrite just like you. If this is hypocrisy, we're both in trouble. And they enter upon the profits or I sell them Yep, cool.
crying and weeping and he says what's wrong with you and they retell the story. And he says, Salalah Hollywood seldom lay psychedelic you're not whether he saw it in one Sara. Rather it is an hour and an hour, an hour with your family and time and enjoyment an hour with your wife and your children, and an hour that you must dedicate solely to Allah.
The prophets I send them his defining characteristic when they ask each other the olana What did the Prophet do for a living? Basically, that's what they're saying. What did the Prophet do most of his time? I shadowed Mr. Hankey, who you know the Prophet live what did he do? You know, because sometimes when you hear speeches in short, short bursts you don't study the Sierra you don't study the dean. You it's almost as if you feel you know, he got a Acropolis Malbec under the hood of his euro bed or her conduct. Mashallah Jenna.
It's like a movie.
What did the Prophet do most of the time? She says one sentence. She didn't say he prayed all day, he made Vicar all day. She said can FEC admitted
his duty was to serve his family Salalah What do you say? that defines a man. So it's not something to be embarrassed about that your first call, your first thought is my wife and my children. My father and my mother, before myself and before others before my job before my career, Sarah, that must occupy a part of your time. That's a part of your duty, that's half of your life. And therefore marriage is half of your deen. It is half of your religion, in your worship of Allah Subhana Allah to Allah, sir, it's an hour that you spend. But there's this other half was
an hour that you dedicate to Allah subhana wa Tada. And this is what I want to talk to you about.
an Imam. And you know, sometimes we use these terms, but we don't know who these people are. And Imam soufiane thodi. He's one of the tabea he lived with the Sahaba. But he reached a level of knowledge and wisdom that he became a person some Sahaba could learn from and we turn to to ask questions. He was from the eight people who were known in that lifetime in that generation, who were affirmed by our oma as being a bit was a worshipper of a law and knowledgeable men of a lot him al Hassan Al basri, and others.
This man, Juna Sofia, Anna fillory, he said about himself, just had to NFC and made jihad against myself. I struggled against myself a shuru, namun 20 years
ago, mainly, that I can stand before a law in prayer at night.
When I'm, when I'm agile,
and not once in those 20 years, I enjoyed it.
But what did he do for 20 years for himself? He struggled. He pushed himself an Imam Shafi, he would come to his bed
and he would touch it in the middle of the night, because it was soft.
Touch his bed and he would make against it. He would say Paul Taylor cola. May God destroy you.
Ma and the hammock You're so soft tonight.
This is Amanda shaffir. He
is slum Rabu the worship service to God does not come naturally.
It comes as an order from Allah to our nebby Mohammed sighs lm como la la la la kalila stand up in the night except but few hours.
Miss well, half of it. So La La Hollywood.
You have to you have to push hard. You gotta be like I Lee who doesn't like fasting in the heat.
Who doesn't want to be thirsty in the summer months in Mecca in Medina. But he enjoys it. After 20 years of fruit for being forced of fighting myself. I began to enjoy it. So Fianna 30 He says, and then he said
but I left it for four months in my life
in those my lifetime
For months, I didn't pray to Allah. And I know what sin kept me from it.
I know what I did between me and a law that caused a law not to make my heart and my body awake when others are asleep.
If he says that about to head shoot, what scenes are we doing to keep us asleep during
that era lava?
Doesn't need to know you sometimes. Well, light annoys me sometimes. You know how you have that one neighbor who wakes up to walk his dog at finish.
And he's like, all bright.
Man, I'm waking up to pray to Allah. To Allah.
tala to we'll do it just to wake up. This guy's walking a dog who's poor, he's got to pick up
Allahu Akbar.
In Assad. Where is that, you know, success that we have between us and a law? Where's that connection, you know, that we have with a loss of Hannah to Allah? Where are those secretive deeds that you do that? Only Allah knows. You know, a lot of people they say,
Are you allowed to let other people know the good that you do? Yes. You know, I'm speaking to you. This is a good deed. May Allah put all of you in my scales on the Day of Judgment. inshallah. I'm going to say that one there.
Yes, all of you know, I'm saying these words, no problem.
But the Imams they would teach that for every good public deed you do, you have to anchor it with privacy,
private deeds, and that's why the private deeds of the profits or I sell them, by far exceeded his public deeds. Salalah Hall uses the private deeds of our nebia Salalah hottie was seldom his prayer and his drive and his worship of Allah subhanho wa Taala that is between him and the law was greater
than that which is known and practiced in measure with us. That's why you can't attain the level he attained some Allahu alayhi wa early he was so happy he was.
So success
is that which you put as a pursuit of true happiness?
and true happiness is not attained through the material. ie or the Allahu anhu he said.
He said Zod to abstinence, you know, to, to push back this worldly life to push push back. The allure of the dunya Zod is not that you don't buy nice things. It's not that you don't have a nice car and have a nice home zoo. It is not that you don't own things in the dunya as Zoo Daniela
zoo is that the worldly life doesn't own you want you to think about that. It's a deep word. Yeah, okay, if you can feel this whole room with with halaal earnings and Masha Allah, you can live luxurious Bismillah earn it from Helen spending halaal. Give musica hamdulillah you do what you can.
But don't let your life's focus be so narrow that the dounia has taken control of every decision that you make. The calculations you make are only from a worldly sphere. And you forget the next fear. And that's why some of the most costly acts of worship are the ones that earn you the greatest reward and bringing back the greatest risk. I want to hug you this year Alhamdulillah and it was a beautiful beautiful trip Mashallah long May Allah subhanho wa Taala return us many more times. It was a difficult Hajj this year.
May Allah subhanaw taala have mercy upon those who have passed away along I mean,
it was difficult.
Not because there were many numbers of people or the weather with hot or it was disorganized. No.
It was difficult because there's so many other priorities in life.
You know, you have a job, you have commitments. You have to pay rent or a mortgage. There's so many commitments in life
For me and you and others,
and it's difficult to make that decision.
And one thing that I will say to you, my dear brothers and sisters here today,
the younger you are, the better. You know, I had a group with me I was I was helping lead a group. And the problem you have is that some people are old.
But they don't think they're old.
But because I know they're old, which they don't want to admit to themselves. And because I know what's still coming ahead, see, they've only Oh, I've done a toe off this. All right, I can do it. There's six more. And then there's running, you know, saggy, Safa and Marwa. And then there's more.
So you say to a brother, I think I need to get you a wheelchair. Me
to Hollywood. I'm not old yet. I said don't worry about it, brother. If you don't get a wheelchair, you will be old. You need it.
So if you're if you're young, if you're a young family, and if the you know the shaytan is messing with you sometimes you have a little bit of savings. shaitan comes No no, no, no, this is the house deposit. Because it happens. And see the wood you both have the job of success. Is that when it's there you go.
When it's there you go in law.
The prophets I send them promised. He says
nothing increases your risk. Nothing increases your prosperity. More than a hedge after a hush. Like don't just go once but go again. Allahu Akbar sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. A hedge increases your risk.
Puts puts effort spend on yourself go Oh, no, I you know I haven't I haven't secured myself yet. Secure yourself through the bother of Allah subhanho wa Taala. It is a key to success to change that parada them, you know in your mind that you begin to think about the ophira instead of the dunya