Yahya Rhodus – Knowledge & Wisdom Imam alHaddad #2
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100 allow salatu salam ala Rasulillah what Allah Allah He or
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if it was different hot atomistic Nikita Villa wa Salatu was Salam
in Salalah they sent him winter eyelid Hooda de la red hair, if
you wish to add more blood to good with Robbie subhanho Tada I didn't
Hello him inside of him yet not a lot. And you had your I don't
know, I'm gonna eat him I'm an internet using in many European
line European hockey, European waiters, OpenDocument and whatever
it Lisa, you didn't miss any.
So Inshallah, we're going to start the row who has promised with a
review of
another set of intentions. And today we are going to look at the
intentions for marriage. And these are intentions that we should make
if we are going to embark upon getting married, and if we are
already married, is that hopefully it's not too late and sha Allah,
they'll still be a blessing in making these intentions, we can
always that make them now in our hope is from Allah subhanaw taala,
at least in relation to some of them, that they, we will get the
benefit of it. And so there are many that you can include that we
have here about 24. Yes, about 24. And
so we can make the intention to marry. And these first intentions
are the first four intentions relate to the ultimate ends. And I
want to just explain this, we've said this before, but this should
be common knowledge. We have means ins, we worldly ends, and then
ultimate ends. So three categories you have means worldly ends, and
ultimate ends.
Means are anything that you do
to achieve something not for itself, but ultimately for another
goal. And that could be a worldly end or an ultimate end. But even
the worldly ends, is it even though they're ins in relation to
this world, is that they really they lead to the ultimate ends.
The ultimate ends can be summarized by four or five things
that we intend, we always make the intention to draw near to Allah
and everything it is that we do.
We make the intention to seek his noble countenance, the words of
Allah, we make the intention to
that we make the intention to
to to attain his contentment. So to seek to seek closeness to
Allah, to gaze upon the noble countenance of Allah, to receive
the contentment of Allah. And we also make the intention to receive
the reward of Allah. For whatever it is that we do, we could add a
fifth, it kind of relates to the fourth, but we could add if we
want to enter into paradise, is it by virtue of what we do, it'd be a
means for us to enter into paradise, which is, if we're going
to receive the reward of Allah, yes, you it relates to also
entering into paradise. So we could, those four or five things
are the ultimate ends, everything that we do in this world, ideally,
will be made with that intention of one of those five things, to
draw near to Allah, to seek the contentment of Allah, to gaze upon
the noble countenance of Allah, to receive reward from whatever it is
that we're doing. And to enter into paradise. Those five things
are the ultimate ends. Examples of worldly ends are things like tacky
could udia
establishing actualizing, our servitude to Allah, that's a goal
in and of itself. That being the whole of the of Alon Earth, being
a laws, that custodians has vise Gerrans on Earth is an end in and
of itself, good character is an end in and of itself. And so, for
us, those are worldly ends in the sense is that even if we take
embark upon the means in the world, is that we can never bypass
those things. An example of that is if we have a business and the
ethical and center ethical considerations of that business
are of prime importance we can never say is that the ends justify
the means.
And other words is that the means have to be that rightly guided and
correct and the ends have to be rightly guided incorrect. And so
where people of principle ultimately, and so even if that we
take a loss in our business, as a rule
sort of a stance that we have to take, that is moral or ethical or
of good character is that that's an end in of itself. And we would
put that the reward that we'll get from a lot to add in relation to
taking that stance over, what we might lose outwardly in relation
to profit. And from the bounty of Allah to Allah, is that usually
what happens when we take these principled stances is that Allah
to Allah, that gives us in one of many ways it could be that he
replaces whatever it is that we seem really lost in that moment,
or he Ward's off something that might have come our way, where we
not to have done that. And so
those are examples of worldly ends, and then the means, or
everything else that we do. And so that's a long topic in of itself.
But it overlaps with the idea of intention. And this is why we want
to constantly remind you that everything that we talk about
marriage, Tao, seeking sacred knowledge, visiting our brothers,
for the sake of Allah, all of these things, we always make those
five intentions. And likewise, everything else that we do, in
those things that are from the category of permissible is that we
have to strive, especially in that category to make these intentions.
So let's say someone's just going to relax, they're going to go get
some ice cream, or they're going to go get frozen yogurt, or
something like that. What intentions do they make, in doing
that? That's something that is permissible. But we should make
the intention to draw near to Allah, to receive the contentment
of Allah, to that attain the good pleasure of Allah, to that gaze
upon the noble countenance of Allah, and that to enter get
reward from Allah, and to that, enter into paradise. And how could
you do that in relation to the Amelie permissible thing? Well, in
this case, there's a number of ways that you could turn that into
an act of devotion. And one is that you make the intention to
strengthen yourself for worship, you make the intention to that
take some time off to relax yourself so that when you come
back to that, whatever it is that you're doing, or Allah Tada sake
is that you have a renewed energy, you can make the intention to
that, that give Dawa in the process of where it is you join,
if you're taking family members you're taking, make an intention
to be good to your family, you can buy an extra ice cream, and give
it to someone. So there's a number of ways that we can do that, that
in relation to that thing in and of itself in relation to other
things that we can do around that thing. And this is why that if we
understand the power of intention, is that it will unlock immense,
immense good for us for in relation to the storehouse of the
Divine bounty. So we're going to go through these intentions. The
first five are the ones that we already mentioned, to draw near to
Allah to attain the contentment of Allah, to gaze upon the noble
countenance of Allah to receive reward from Allah into enter into
paradise to be granted entry into paradise. And then that we have
others that also are overarching, that relate to many of the other
intentions that we can make as well. We intend to follow the
Command of Allah and to follow the sunnah of our noble Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and our Prophet commanded us right to
get married in the football Ha, that have their opinions about
that what is the legal ruling related to marriage, and there is
that different outcome in different rulings fought depending
upon that one circumstances and so forth. But generally speaking, it
is a desirable thing, and recommended if someone has the
ability to do so. And this is definitely the son of our prophesy
centum. And in the,
the
introduction that is often recited that just precedes the marriage
contract into name they will, quote, The hadith of our Prophet
and Nika home in Suniti. That Getting married is from my son,
from an Rocky Mountain Suniti, Felisa Mini, whatever turns away
from my sunnah is not from us. So this is the way of the bowfin
Muhammad and we have the prophets who came before him. I named the
salatu salam. So we intend to follow in their footsteps to
follow the Sunnah. And we also intend to increase in our love for
Allah and His messenger. We make the intention to seek assistance
for the obedience of Allah, which is one of the primary reasons that
we should that get married and that's one of the primary that
things that we should look for in a spouse. Are they going to assist
us in the obedience of Allah or not?
Are they going to assist us in the obedience of Allah? There are many
considerations. You take in
consideration a number of things. But this is one of the most
important of all. And this is one of the great deposits you can make
for couples and make for your own selves in relation to your spouse,
that Oh Allah, make me a means
of assisting her in the obedience of Allah, Oh Allah make her a
means of assisting me, and the obedience of Allah.
And then, that we also make the intention to that being a state of
service by serving one another. And, in a relationship, you're
always going to be in a state of service. And this is from the
sunnah of our Prophet slicin, that the wife serves the husband, but
the husband also serves the wife. And we know that this is a part of
a relationship. So we make that intention to be in a state of
service.
And then we also make the intention to learn responsibility
by providing for your spouse, and whether that provision is a
physical provision, or an emotional provision. Because part
of responsibility relates to you're no longer thinking about
yourself only now you have to think about someone else, whether
you're a man or a woman, when you're in a relationship. It's not
just about you anymore. You can't be selfish. And in a narcissistic
age, there are many things that unfortunately, creep into people
that prevent them from having good relationships. And a lot of that
relates to that the focus on the self, and the inability of people
to that focus upon that other people and the needs of other
people and moving away from the self. And
in this last trip, they were, they had mentioned that Muhammad Ali is
credited for having the shortest poem in the history of the English
language.
And his poem states, me, we,
me, we,
and one of the themes of several of the talks, and it was
particularly particular Sheikh Nooyi mentioned this, as he's
talked about moving from me to we.
And he said that even that a linguistic subtlety, oftentimes,
we point them out in Arabic, but here's one in English, is that the
M of me really is just you just turn it upside down, and then you
get we. And so it's kind of turning yourself upside down to
quit focusing on your own self. So where are you have you focus on
the we, you focus upon other people, and so that you're not
that focused on the self anymore, you're focused on other people,
and this is the greatest of all people. And this is something that
we can learn through marriage, and that we can protect in particular
learn responsibility, because now you have to provide for someone.
And there are enormous lessons in life that you can learn by now
being responsible for someone else, in all the meanings of
responsibility. For the male, there's the financial
responsibility, but then also, that for both male and female, the
emotional responsibility, the physical responsibility, and so
forth, one to another. And then you also that make the intention
to give your spouse his or her rights. So you learn about what
are called hercog. People have rights, the man has rights over
the wife, the wife have rights over the man. So now here's a
practical, that opportunity for you to learn about rights. And
that, you start to learn very quickly, that if both sides demand
their rights, and they're not going to relinquish their rights,
that relationship is going to be a disaster. So you learn how you
have to be with other people, you also make the intention, and this
is one of the greatest intentions of all, to become aware of your
faults, so that you can overcome them. And this is perhaps one of
the greatest pieces of advice you could possibly give newlyweds or
people that are about to get married, or people that are trying
to breathe life back into their marriage is that if you approach
marriage from the standpoint of kind of a romantic, utopian type
perspective, where everything's just going to be lovely and sweet
and happy, and you're going to hold hands and walk on the beach,
and that every moment of your life, you're going to it's going
to be like watching the sunset. That's not the way things are, is
that relationships are difficult, especially when you get people
from two backgrounds. And that the same word that is used
for marriage is the same word that is used when trees grow next to
each other and then the branches intertwine. So the Arab say Tanaka
had till as jar
that the trees grew
next to each other in their branches became interwoven. So
their branches were all interconnected. And this is the
thing is that you have two people from that oftentimes very
different backgrounds, even if they're from the same culture,
even if they're of the same ethnicity. There's differences,
they have different temperaments, they have different ways they were
raised, and you put them together under one roof, and you make them
work out, especially increasingly, when we have that marriages, we
have people from very different backgrounds and cultures a very
real thing. And sometimes what is okay in one culture is not okay in
another culture. And so these are things that one has to be aware of
and work out. But one of the things that will definitely come
to the surface when you have these two people from these two
backgrounds under one roof, is that you will learn a lot about
yourself, you will learn things about yourself that otherwise, it
is impossible for you to know. Because when you're hanging out
with your friends, their friends, your friends tend to overlook many
of your faults, many of your faults tend to not rise to the
surface because you haven't been put in that situation for them to
actually rise to the surface. But when you put two people together
under one house under one roof, oh, is it things that are dormant
in your heart will come to the surface. And so one of the
greatest and this is why marriage is so important is that we can
learn about our faults and so that you have you take the approach
that I'm wanting to learn about my faults so that I can get rid of
them and overcome them.
And related to this is we make the intention to better our character
and rectify ourselves.
So by putting in that effort, we intend to better our character. We
also make the intention to increase in Taqwa by protecting
our limbs by having a good solid relationship so that when you go
out into society, where oftentimes there is Pfitzner, from the source
of that relationship that you're protected, is that you're, you're
a person of Taqwa as a result.
You also make the intention to protect yourself from the
whisperings of chiffon and the calls of the lower self, which
marriage assists in this. You also make the intention to seek
strength by which you can increase yourself in worship. And the
purpose of going through this as many of these intentions again, as
it they overlap and many other aspects of our lives. But we need
to hear them time and time again, hear them time and time again,
where it's not enough just to read through a book like this, or just
hear this once. We literally and I've said this over and over
again. It's not about me saying this is what our teachers say is
what the Imams before so all said, we used to teach the intention to
our children, the way that one of us was taught the fact that so
when you're memorizing Quran, what do you do?
You go you sit with the teacher, you learn how to recite it, and
then you go, and you keep reciting keep reciting keep reciting keep
reciting until you memorize it. Likewise, that is the same thing
with these intentions. We keep hearing them, keep hearing them,
keeping them where the vocabulary no longer is strange to us or
unfamiliar. Rather, we've memorized exactly what to say, in
relation to the intention and then that we actually do it. We also
make the intention to seek repose from the disturbance of the world
to prepare outwardly, for inward openings, to increase in knowledge
and all the different types of ways that we learn through
marriage, to increase in spiritual aspiration, to increase in our
loving connection for the people of a law. And then the obvious
intentions is to have righteous children that will serve the deen
and pray for us is intention that we can make through marriage is to
have righteous children who is according to the prophetic Hadith,
that a pious child that prays for the father and the mother is one
of the that things that remains even after that we die, and to
also increase the numbers of the Ummah, of our Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam, because he will boast about his Oman Yamaki AMA,
so you make the intention to that be a means for someone to come
into the world about whom the Messenger of Allah Salah lies and
will boast about on Yom Okayama. And from this perspective, it's
worthy of mentioning is that we have
a very different understanding of the world. And we don't
necessarily subscribe to this idea of finite resources. Yes, that we
are required to be custodians of the earth. Yes, we are required to
that not go to excess in terms of what we use and consume on planet
Earth. But if people would stay within their means, and so that
you would be doing things properly in relation to your interactions
with that the earth and people would be
Is that free from greed is that there's no doubt there's plenty of
resources to go around, even if there were many, many, many more
people on the face of this earth and there is now but there's a lot
of problems in terms of the outward dimension of how we are
taking care of the earth. But oftentimes when people look back
and say, okay, that we need to that prevent people from having
children and that oftentimes that Muslims, not just people that are
the insult, quote unquote, developing countries, but in
particular Muslims because we're religiously encouraged to that
have a lot of children and we have a very different way of looking at
the world. And so, while we need to outwardly that fulfill the
right of being custodians here on Earth, we also understand is that
a lot of adequate data if we have Taqwa is that he will give us
openings and give us the sustenance that we need that as
humanity
so those are just a few of the intentions that we can make may
lead to add to give us Tofik and that leads us to be people have
great intentions and everything it is that we do
okay so let's read that and feel solid and me and Sean.
Yes,
Miss Mina are here. Also not was our last ad now Mohammed didn't
know he was sending him
the book of knowledge and wisdom authored by Imam Al Haddad, may
Allah benefit us through him.
I mean,
where he says chapter number one the order of priorities the
iPhone, or knowers of God, and scholars concentrate primarily on
making their faith and certainty strong sound and strong, and on
purifying their toe heat from the blemishes of hidden idolatry. They
then turn their attention to perfecting the virtues such as
detachment, sincerity, and keeping the bread and keeping the *
clean towards Muslims and to counteracting blameworthy
attributes such as greed, ostentation, and vanity. Next,
they attend to the soundness of their good outward actions and to
guarding themselves against falling into evil works. Lastly,
they attend to the good management of their daily lives and the
preservation of their soundness by being scrupulous. Accepting good
counsel, maintaining frugality, and remaining content with little
knowers are happy with the bare necessities and are willing to let
others manage their worldly affairs for them, provided they're
scrupulous and avoid injustice, learn than understand. As for the
unaware, and they're confused, they concentrate their attention
mainly on their worldly affairs and their physical pleasures and
appetites, such as food, clothes, marriage, amassing wealth, and so
on. Then, when a few of them grow a little more aware and
farsighted, they began to pay attention to the soundness of
their outward actions, such as their devotional activities, they
may then move on to attending to their inward attributes, and last
of all, to the strengthening strengthening of their faith. This
is the reverse of the order of priorities recognized by the
people have direct knowledge and realization. reflect and meditate
on this and you will find it clear and and Allah knows best.
Love to Allah have mercy on the soul of memorable love and honored
her dad. And the advice that He's given us here. This is the most
precious
of advice. And
that I wish someone would write this in beautiful calligraphy. And
that way we could hang it on our walls and remind ourselves of this
every single day.
Dr. Mustafa better we titled this chapter, the order of priorities
because this is the theme of these succinct, yet very profound and
ever so important. That advice of the mom and her dad. And so he
says by that he says here the Adi phone or knowers of God,
concentrate primarily on making their faith incertitude sound and
strong
and in Arabic, is that it says your Coutinho Inaya which is a
very powerful way to say it couldn't is like the essence of
something. So the essence of the concern of who the atrophied in
the marketing. So the atrophying or the Gnostic
The knowers of Allah, the Mohawk again are the ones that are
realized in this religion. These are the true Imams of this Deen.
These are the true people that follow in the footsteps of the
prophets. These are the elect of the elect of the Ummah, the city
of Keene, those that have ascended to the highest degrees of closest
of Allah subhanaw taala that have given them a perspective that is
very different than other people's perspectives. They have a vantage
point that is unparalleled and unmatched. And in Hungary law,
these people will exist in every time they exist in every time they
exist to this day and age, there are people that are like this,
that are atrophied and Mohawk the theme.
And so, what is the essence of the concern of the true people
that are true and all of the meanings of being true? And what
is there that
those things that they primarily concentrate on?
Are the following. The first is is that tell us Hey,
Al Eman will europeen what talk we had the HEMA. So in relation to
Eman which is faith in the 18th, which is certainty to things tells
fear, making sure that their faith is sound, that they have correct
belief. They see things as they're supposed to see it. They believe
in things as they are supposed to believe in them. So it's sound.
But not only sound does hear. But it's also tough to hear. They want
to strengthen it. They want to make it strong. In other words,
their approach of life is different than other people is
that they think during that day, what it is that they can do to
strengthen their Eman on a weekly basis on a monthly basis on a
yearly basis. When was the last time we actually sat down and
thought that way? If we did, you would find wonders of inspiration.
And how a lot to add inspires you that way that he can inspire not
necessarily the inspiration that the ODI received but inspiration
of meaning that comes from doing something that's pleasing to
Allah, and thus attracting an angelic presence. And thus, having
thoughts come to your heart that don't normally come to your
thought if we would sit down and reflect upon this, in that make it
a priority, you'd be amazed at what comes to your heart
about ways that you could actually do this. And so there's an element
of learning here, which is the element of fear that primary
relates to learning is that we need to learn the basics of our
creed. And then we need to learn a little bit more. And if we live in
a time, that is rampant, like our time, with misconceptions of our
deen with misconceptions of how Muslims should view the world is
that we need to take the time to do that. So there's a learning
component. And we could develop a list of books so that someone
should read and study with teachers in order to do that. And
this is of the utmost importance, but we also must strengthen our
certainty.
And so
when we read in we make our cert and we make our faith sound is
that even when we become very knowledgeable still, it's in the
level of what's called a familiar pain, the knowledge of certainty
if we want to move up in a sin to the higher degree of certainty
that requires something else. And one of the greatest ways that we
can be on the verge of attaining it in the opinion that I have
certain to actually experience it is to be with the true that will
allow meaning the right the guided scholars who have put their nose
into practice and thus are living the realities of this Deen. And in
the absence of spending a lot of time with him or being with him,
we can read stories about him. And then there's other things that we
can do as well that even had that mentions in his other book. And so
you see the relationship between his works, because the very first
chapter of his famous work.
The book of assistants is on certitude that he goes in details
in that book ways that we can achieve that certainty. But this
is the very first thing of all. And along with that, because you
remember her dad keep in mind, he's an imam. And one of the
traits of his scholarship is that when he treats a subject, he does
so holistically
and so he doesn't want us just to have that faith in certitude in
that sense but also in on purifying their toe heed from the
blemishes of hidden idolatry.
Because toe heat is not just about correct belief and the higher
degrees of that toe heat is it's about purifying your heart from
the blemishes of hidden idolatry.
And this is why our teachers say every single day after virtually
every single prayer, Allah homage I live in ally happy good to hate,
we should memorize that DUA and say it day in and day out. Allah
whom a Jana Minelli, halfacre to toe heed, a law homage nm an early
Haqiqa to toe heed all law makers, from the people of the reality of
toe heat.
What does that mean? That Oh Allah make us people who experienced the
reality of the Divine unity?
What does that mean? It means that we move up in degrees where we
have a higher degree of certainty.
And that is reflected in the decisions that we make and the
things that we do. So this is what we want, we want to be from the
How are you going to do hate, and as the scholars mentioned,
is that the people of the reality of Tawheed is that their acts that
they do are much heavier than the scales than those that are from
the lower degrees.
It comes from the state of heart
that they are in when the ACT emanates from them.
In other words, is that there was a greater quality of act in one
way to kind of bring that home?
Is
you could have one bill.
That bill could be $1. Bill, it could be a $5. Bill, it could be a
$10. Bill? It could be $100. Bill.
It could be $1,000. Bill. And I'm not sure what the highest bill
that is printed is. But it's the same bill, it's the same piece of
paper, okay, slightly different, that design on it. But why is it
when you go to the store, you have $100 Bill is that they understand
that it's 100. And if you buy something for $20, you get $80
back, or did you give him a $1 bill, you wouldn't get it back are
actions that even though sometimes they look the same for some
people, it's like $1, other people's like $5, other people's
like $1,000, or even more. Or you can imagine a cheque, if you will,
is that there's different numbers written on that check is the same
piece of paper ultimately. But there's a small number or a great
number or something in between. And likewise is the case with our
deeds.
So this is their starting point. And they conduct their lives and
arrange their affairs based upon this. And so the work that we're
trying to do here, is rooted in this. And we hope, this is the
criterion where we can measure what we're doing that if we are
doing daily and weekly, and monthly activities that are
helping this cause we're on the right track, we're doing something
that we really should be doing, and it's a good sign. But if we
look at whatever it is that we're doing in our own selves, or the
community in which we live, or the organization that we're a part of
where these meanings are distant from them, then we have to find
other ways to bring them into our life. And,
anyhow, that we have this criterion to judge this. Then he
says, After this thumb, which indicates is that an interval is
that this is where we begin. And after this. And really this film
here is a type of metaphorical film because oftentimes, we're
doing these things at the same time.
We're doing these things at the same time. And that one helps
another. So it's not always that this is the only thing we focus on
at the expense of everything else. No, we're simultaneously for the
most part. Doing all these now in the MACOM of Tallinn, when we're
learning is that there's no doubt that we'll put certain things
before others and then slowly learn. So it just depends on what
exactly what we're referring to here. So he says thumb theory
tells a lock in my Muda, then they turn their attention to perfecting
the virtues. So we begin with faith in certainty. And then
we think about a clock and Mahmoud, good character,
because it is of the utmost, utmost utmost importance after
faith. It is the criterion after faith and it is the sign of true
faith in it just for this reason, that sometimes people that spend
quite a bit of time studying in a traditional madrasa is it when
they first come back to where they're from? And they're asked a
very detailed question about some obfuscation. That is a matter that
people don't really understand. And the fact of the matter is, is
that they actually never even formally learn that and they have
to go research what is the answer to that?
because their approach to the deen is not an approach that is merely
about that answering people's doubts in religion and so forth.
It's about actualizing the religion in themselves. And the
living examples of those religion are the greatest proof that trumps
all other types of proof. And so that they attain a degree of
certainty and rootedness in the faith by virtue of the people that
they're sitting before, especially if they're people of Al hockey
could lead, especially if they're people of a Halak is that they
develop a level of certainty as a result of their interactions with
them that even if there hasn't been an unveiling, it's almost as
if there has been because of the experiences that they've had. And
anyone that has spent time that in the Muslim world or with good
people will know exactly what it isn't, I'm referring to. And if
these things sound far fetched, from the blessing of Allah to
Allah, we have people in our own ranks from our own people, and
then many jilda Tina, who have had not just one or two, hundreds of
these experiences, and these are people, many of you know, people
like Dr. Omar, he's coming soon ask him. People like Shaq comes to
use of people like Shrek not Keller, people like Imams, eighth
chakra, and many, many others, people that have experienced
things in this religion and have met the true people of Islam, and
can recount to you stories that don't fit into someone's narrow
scientific paradigm that they might be trapped in, in their
mind. And so this is where we begin with faith. And then that
tells here at o'clock and Muda, focusing on perfecting the
virtues, and he's going to say cup, he's going to mention
examples like what detachment Zod sincerity in class, and Salama to
sub the little Muslim.
That keeping the heart clear towards Muslims.
And he would not have mentioned that if that was not one of the
most important things of all.
He's mentioning that the most important of the virtues and all
virtues are important. But Zoho Helaas en Salam at the Sutherland
Muslimeen, that is a trait of a believer, a believer is not
someone who harbors bad thoughts in the heart for other believers,
He's not someone who lets grudges that take root in his heart. And
what we're going to be discussing in the retreat, inshallah Tada.
Which is slightly different than the initial topic that I was
thinking about, but it's related to it, we're going to speak in
detail about Fuwa, which is chivalry.
And one of the ranks of chivalry is to that learn to let go
is to let go. And that not just have someone with a sublet, that's
a base level or in other words, you could say how do we have that
sentiment to solder and the best of ways is learning to let go
learning to let go in other words, is that if we see these things in
our heart
like we see ourselves as this is something that is just any this
simply should not be in the heart
the way as if someone just had horrible table manners.
That's not the way you eat at the dinner table. And that this is how
we should see things like this holding something in our heart
rather than believer I
and that if that causes that reaction, our heart that will
quickly that be able to uproot it. So we have sent Amethyst is that
we have that keeping a clear brush towards Muslims. And one of the
things is the second degree of chivalry is one of the outward
manifestations of that is is this Yan Alia
is it not only do you forgive people who wronged you, you forget
the fact that they wronged you, you don't even remember?
forgotten, and you move on in the past, buried, gone, you've moved
on.
you've forgiven them and you forgotten that it even happened.
And that will show in your interactions with them.
And this was the way the Prophet wanted to go out to people without
preconceived, negative notions about them, is that we want to go
out to people with a clear chest, we want to go out to people that
with Subhan Allah, that an ability to be a source of inspiration. And
you'd be surprised how many people especially with this really weird
world of social media, that posts things and when you meet them in
person, you're like, are you that same person who posts
Tesla,
in this has been studied and needs to be studied more, but needs to
be brought out more is that what happens when that we're alone
behind that computer and the psychology of what is taking place
in the distance where you're actually not with real people. And
the things that happens from these lurking aspects of our soul that
eventually that come out in the open as a result.
Whereas many of those same people in public, they would never say
that about you if it was about you, or about someone else or
speak like that. They wouldn't do that. And so how do we treat them?
How do we interact with them? The hope is, is that you'll interact
with them in a way that will be a means for their rectification and
that their purification
and keeping the rest clear towards Muslims and to counteracting
blameworthy attributes. So this is the second thing again, is that we
seek virtue and we try to avoid vice Nephi. He says ineffable
o'clock, l myth MoMA where he beautiful which he beautifully
translates as counteracting, blameworthy attributes such as
what haters, greed, oh, greed is destroying this world period. It's
destroying the world. And we have a lot to say about greed. And we
have an entire, that ethical,
that paradigm where we understand exactly the the danger of greed,
and how to identify and uprooted from the heart. This is one of the
greatest contributions that we can make to the modern world, is to
help people overcome their greedy souls, which is destroying the
world. And that's what people oftentimes don't realize, in their
greed. They're not only destroying their own selves, they're harming
their soul. But they're actually harming other people as well as a
result of their greed. ostentation,
which is the opposite of sincerity, and that vanity, being
impressed with oneself.
And then he says next, so faith character, and then they attend to
the soundness of their good outward actions, into guarding
themselves against falling into evil works. So then, after
focusing on their faith and character, is that here and after
of in terms of priority? And in terms of importance, then comes
our dimension? So think about how many people have the hierarchy all
wrong? Is that people that will that only focus on the outward No,
the outward is important. No one has ever seen that outward is not
important. Our dean ultimately teaches us balance. But is it we
have to put everything in its proper place, focusing only on the
outward or too much on the outward and neglecting or not focusing at
all on the inward is a grave mistake and ultimately want a
perfect balance between the two, but in the hierarchy is that
character takes precedence over that outward action? Now, in terms
of learning, is that when you learn in a manual, for instance,
of the that when you learn your foreign nine, yes, you will begin
with belief, then you'll go to practice and then you will go to
character. So we have to put everything in its proper place to
understand what we do in the McCollum of Tallinn when we're
learning and what we do in relation to that directing our
intention towards these affairs. So the the soundness of our
actions, making sure that everything that we do that is
sound legally. And that requires, again, a bit of effort, we should
think about our lives, how do we conduct ourselves? How do we
manage our affairs? How are we at work? How are we in relation to
our investments? How are we in relation to that our savings? How
are we in relation to the way that we keep our homes and all of these
outward affairs that relate to us? Is it more important? Is it we and
we should think about them. And Islam enters into every single
aspect of our life, from the clothes that we wear to the cars
that we drive to the homes in which we live, all of these
considerations are important, and that there are a number of
etiquettes and rules that go along with all of them. And then at the
same time,
that being weary of evil works, and learning that what are the
various things that could get us in trouble with our Lord subhanho
wa Taala and this is why we need modern scholars who can make it
easy for us. Very few people are going to be able to have the
requisite knowledge and time to be able to do intense research to
really point out to people
all of the issues that they're facing in their time, this is why
we need scholars to focus on this and write books to sum it up for
us that in that growing up in the United States of America, what are
the things that we really, really need to know that are of the
utmost priority?
And what are the things that we need to know for instance, if one
of our spouses died, this is very, very important that what many
people if the husband would go,
suddenly Yala teeth, it would be a complete mess, it would be a
complete mess, that the spouse and oftentimes known in the community
would really know how to deal with the situation, he might have two
accounts that no one else has on those accounts. And no one even
knows that they exist. He might have online payments that
reoccurring that no one knows how to go in and to actually, that
stop. And so we have to think about these things. And write them
down, find ways somehow, to make sure that they're taking care of
where one of us to go. And the more that we think about our
affairs outwardly. And to avoid falling into that evil, the
better. That's the last thing that we want to enter into the grave
realities. And to just,
you know,
to be in a state where, you know, the gravest constricted upon us,
because we haven't set someone up to take care of our debts for us.
That's a very serious situation.
And that we should let speak to people and that, you know, ask
people, hey, look, you know, if I were to go, can you please make
sure that this is taken care of, and trustworthy people, not
someone who's gonna back okay? Know, someone who you know, knows
the shittier, or at least, is in contact with people who know the
shittier and will make sure to administer your affairs properly.
And then he says, lastly, they attend to the good management of
their daily lives.
And the preservation of their soundness by being scrupulous,
accepting good counsel, we're gonna get into that. So the last
part of this is what he calls that tells here are more than mash on
other if you have their livelihood, which is the vast
majority of people think about how much time is spent, from the time
that we're young. Now we have people, you need to start doing
this from age three from age four. And it's ultimately a race to
nowhere. And there was a documentary about that, about a
girl from Lafayette, California, who killed herself a week after
she got an F on one of her I think was a math test or something, she
killed herself. And it wasn't solely because of that F on the
math test, it was just that the stress there was on her shoulders
to succeed. And if she didn't feel that she succeeded in, you know,
and just asked Muslim chaplains that the situation's they have to
deal with of people that commit suicide. And Muslims are not
immune to this. We know Muslim chaplains who have had this happen
on their campus, and just ask other chaplains of other faith.
And this is why universities have hotlines for these things, and so
forth, because people get so stressed out that they would
rather just put it into their life, we have the villa. And the
vast majority people this is all they really care about, at least
seemingly, is that the good management of their daily lives.
It's not that you don't manage it. That's not what we're saying at
all. But in terms of priority, it's fourth in line after faith,
character and outward deeds, then,
in terms of priority, this is the case, but that there are people
Subhanallah who will put themselves in very compromising
situations, just for dunya.
And thinking that they're somehow getting ahead and it might
outwardly look like they're getting ahead. It might be that
they have a higher salary might be that they that are in a position
where they earn more money, however, that we should never ever
compromise our deen ever, and that we should be principled, and it
doesn't mean that you can't make money. It just means that you have
to remain principled. And that in the modern world is a bit
difficult, because there are so many doubtful matters that relate
to the way that we earn money in the modern world. This is one of
the major areas we need. We need this to be really studied
carefully. And then people need to be advised on career tracks of the
safest career tracks are the most beneficial, not just safe
shutdown, but also beneficial to people and we need to encourage
Muslims to take them
that those tracks that after we do the research that year, so we have
a lot, a lot of work to do. The more and more exciting the more
and more we think about it, the more more you realize, some
highlight. Each one of these things is a life project for a
group of people, not just one person. But the hope is the way
the things begin as they begin with an idea. And then people are
inspired by that idea. You have people that come along, sometimes
1020 30 years later, who dedicate their life to that this is the way
scholarship is. And these the way these things work. And this is why
that if you look at the historical development of the different
sciences, they didn't happen overnight, did not happen
overnight. And some oftentimes the main commentary on books that
become the target of fatwa are two 300 years later. So what happened
in that interim period? No one knew Fick. Of course they did. But
it just wasn't as clear until that seminal work was written. And so
this is the way these things work. And this is why that it's so
important that we spend the time actually thinking about them.
And then he says, in the preservation of their soundness by
being scrupulous, accepting good counsel, maintaining frugality,
and remaining content with little, these are some of the key things
of all. Okay, so hosting it to be future mode and hosting it to be
here. Is that learning to
that, that manage our affairs? Well, and how do we do that is
that we always have to take into consideration water
scrupulousness, and being safe, and whatever it is that we're
doing, we also have to take into consideration good counsel, is
that we ask people's advice. And this is people fail to do this.
Oftentimes, if you want to open a business, if you have a project in
mind, seek counsel, talk to people, that religious scholars
and people that have experience in that field. And one of the other
principles of this as well, is maintaining frugality, literally
econo, which is being content with little.
And that, as he said, maintaining forgotten remaining content, when
little. So these are some of the very important principles of the
sword dimension in the way that we conduct our outward affairs.
Now, no, and then he says, As for
the unaware,
which is the way he translates here, the half a mean, and the
confuse the mahalo theme. Yellow teeth, it's the opposite
is that they concentrate their attention mainly on their worldly
affairs, and on their physical pleasures and appetites, such as
food, clothes, marriage, amassing wealth, and so on.
Is it how concerned how do we panic? If we go into our closet
and we don't see much food as something we should never let our
kids say should discipline them. If they go into the pantry, and
they say there's no food. I always
right, there's enough food probably for two or three months
in almost everyone's home.
In the kids go into the pantry and say there's no food.
And what they mean by that is there's no cookies, there's no
potato chips. There's no junk food, right where they can gratify
their knifes, I was a biller. That's a dangerous thing to say.
Because you've been ungrateful for the blessing of Allah to Allah.
And anyhow, that was this is not think about how much we focus on
the food that we eat, the clothes that we wear, that wealth, these
types of things. It's not that you can't have those things, but you
have to accompany those things with balance, minimizing them, and
that when you have things to give Thanks to ALLAH to Allah, and to
show gratitude for them. Then when a few of them grow a little more
aware and farsighted, they begin to pay attention to the soundness
of their outward actions, such as the devotional activities, so it's
turned upside down. Is that okay? I'll place a little bit of
attention on my devotional activities, make sure I pray from
time to time do a little bit there. You know, what we hope to
see is that that the deen becomes the priority is that learning
becomes a priority.
And that the more people want to learn, the more your teachers will
give you.
And if people came to teachers said, Look, I want to study every
day for two or three hours, I'm adamant and they persisted in that
allowed place baraka and the teachers time and in the students
time so that they all had the opportunity to do so.
And it least bare minimum for people that are serious about the
path to Allah. We have to attend one class a week at least
That's bare minimum of the arm of the common folk. They're meant by
bare minimum. But people who are really traveling the path to a lot
out of the Alcatra is that they should strive to do a little bit
more. And that also in relation to that, praying in JAMA, preferably,
in a masjid or place of prayer, at very least once a day, we should
try to pray in JAMA, the very least, if we can't do Fajr, and
Isha, or Fajr, and mulgara, at least one of the three, if it's
too hard for us to get up for Fudger, let's try to make mulgara,
he has to let us come into vogue. If no groups too early, let's come
to Asia. And so that we at least make this a priority. And you will
find in our time, is that it's difficult, because there's all
these other things that we're considering we're so overwhelmed
oftentimes by our daily lives. But one of the things you will find is
that if you make it a priority,
at least by way of intention, you will find wonders of divine
facilitation. In order to do that, it starts with the intention. But
if we close the door to ourselves, I can't do it. Is that really an I
can't or kind of a slightly lazy I can't, there's a difference
between the two. And anyhow, we are all in the same boat in this
regard. All of us are falling short, every single one of us so
no one is claiming that every single one of us are falling
short. But we're all trying to help each other do a little bit
more, help each other, collectively inspire one another
work together to that move in the right direction, at least,
then may may then may then move on to attending to their inward
attributes, and last of all strength of their faith. So the
MaHA Latina and that offI lien, they do the opposite order. Is
that the atrophying that people who really no, that's the order,
the people have viewed this, notice it's opposite. This is the
reverse of the order of priorities recognized by the people have
direct knowledge and realization reflect and meditate on this, and
you will find that clear, and God knows best.
This is a very short, it's less than a page if it would be on one
page. But an incredibly important section here
that we should remind ourselves regularly. And let that benefit us
to this great work of the great human beloved outed her dad Hold
on a lot. And and
whenever I end up, getting shots, read a little bit from man in the
universe. Quick question.
So the RFP in the start with that. But what was the beginning of the
RFP was just pure web like gifts from online, was there something
before that,
that enabled them to start at that starting,
there's no doubt that they are, have been put in work to become a
thing.
And they took a path of learning and implementation of their
knowledge, and striving to adorn themselves with good character and
to renounce the world and turn away from it, and to
learn that the way to conduct themselves with other people,
everything that they needed to do to fulfill the rights of their
Lord, and all the rights that other people have upon them. And
that not neglecting as well, the rights of their own self has upon
them but it's a process whereby which that they eventually became
realized, and that what he's telling us is is that this is what
we want to strive towards, and that we have to follow in their
footsteps. And by doing so the hope is is it by emulating them
that it will lead to what Allah Tada listen with.
Okay, so we're on page
10, the first paragraph of page 10 You want to read
in these worlds
from the book men in the universe will stuff rather we have people
who lie to Allah says, in these worlds, abstracting absolute
abstract things take on forms, much in the same way as abstract
meanings and formless realities take on forms or images to appear
in dreams. Certain sutras, chapters from the Quran, for
instance, appear as light in the grave, or as clouds at the
resurrection, shading those who used to recite them during their
earthly lives. evil deeds also appear to those who perpetrated
them, taking the form of huge venomous snakes, scorpions or
scorching fires.
Then there are the scales upon which deeds will be weighed. These
deeds must therefore take
can take on substance to be weighed, and they may be
outweighed by a small parchment in ascribe by with La ilaha illAllah.
There is no god but Allah.
The appearance of abstract meanings in perceptible forms is
called, are Arlen and Michelle, the world of similar tools. These
similar tools may even appear within the material dimension. As
when Gabriel appeared to Mary, he appeared to her in the form of a
well made human, no one there is a method that was the verb that was
used there,
where you see this similar linguistic relationship to the
word method, that method Allah which, which means that Gabriel
took on the likeness, or the similitude of a man. This is the
nature of the intermediary room realm of the human imagination and
of dreams, the world of imagination, ILM and higher and
that of dreams correspond in inwardly to what the world of
similar tools is outwardly. And this fact lives the explanation of
the strange happenings that the dead experience in their graves,
for they are not spatially contained in the narrow Sandy pit,
where the body is deposited. But rather, in the surrounding subtle,
subtle dimension, the physical body is there and there's a
relationship between their physical body in their spirit, but
they're in the surrounding subtle dimension.
Another invisible world is that of the jinn. The three recreate
creatures, the fiery the fiery creatures, who, being endowed with
reason are free to accept or reject Divine Messages, and are
thus divided, as humans are into believers and disbelievers. The
latter are the followers of the devil and carry out his sub verse
of plans. The worst among them are called demons. The root from which
the word Jinn is derived signifies hidden, invisible or covered
Junoon or madness is derived from the same route, not because
madness is due to the jinn, but because madness is defined as that
which covers reason and height set. Jun up Allahu Akbar, Lu
means, his reason has become hidden.
The Djinn are capable of appearing in an interacting with the
material dimension for they are made of energy, much like the
kinds of energy known to physical science. There are also levels in
the adjacent subtle domain domain, which constitute the medium
through which such phenomena as magic and sorcery, the evil eye
and high hidden hypnosis, hypnosis, hypnosis, exercise their
action. So he's still giving us an understanding of in a very brief
understanding, and his purpose here is not going into too much
detail. And he wants us to understand something about as he
spoke before, we won't review too much of that. But just before
this, we spoke about the very briefly about the intermediary
realm, the budget, which is that what happens the world between the
world in which we live in between the afterlife and it's the first
stage the stage of the grave of the afterlife, and that the
spirits of the believers will be young, and that the spirits of the
disbelievers will be in the same genus a lot to Allah subhana wa
Afia and that it is the, the unseen realms are increasingly
subtle. And the, the more outward the realm the denser they become.
And is he seen in these worlds is that abstract things take on
forms, okay, and this is why that like, for instance, in dreams, is
that you have have to understand a little bit about symbolism to
understand what the dreams actually mean. Because sometimes
they actually mean the opposite of what you think they actually mean.
And it is worth reading the introductory chapter to even
sittings World Book on dream interpretation. And just some of
the basic principles of symbolism that are necessary for the dream
interpreter, interpreters, interpreters, as well as, you
know, the gifts that they've been given. And that take into
consideration all of the outward factors as well. But the point
here is is that
This is an important aspect of our deen is to understand, when we
speak of these things
that the literalist mind,
who thinks that they are as we experienced them now and thus deny
them or think that this is just religious folklore I was a biller
is that, unfortunately, a very unintelligent person is that these
are very sophisticated meanings. And once you understand that
symbolism, and how this works, is that far beyond those, that very
dense minds that have difficulty, to understand these things, these
things are realities. And that the more that we move up in the
degrees of closeness to Allah to add in our certainty increases, is
that the stronger our faith becomes in the *. And really,
once you believe in Allah,
once you believe in Allah, it's very easy to believe, and the
unseen, very easy. It's very easy to believe in things that your
intellect can't grasp. Because you believe in Allah. It's very easy.
And there, we always have to remind ourselves the difference
between science and scientism. Science, we're not opposed to
inquiry, learning about the world in which we live. Understanding
the Sunnah of a long creation, the way things work, there's nothing
wrong with that, if we have a good intention behind it, there's a lot
of benefit that can come through it, as we see. But
scientism is something different, that is a choice that we make,
where we say that the only thing that can be true is something that
can be scientifically proven.
That is actually irrational to believe that, that is a choice
that you actually that make to believe and that because that just
because science, which only deals with their own material, can't
prove something, Rationally speaking, it makes no sense that
for you to come to the conclusion, I think can't exist. It simply
means that science can't that prove it. So if you make that
decision, your mind not to believe anything, unless science can
improve it, you have set yourself up to be very, very limited in
what you can ultimately believe. And that if you believe in the
existence of a creator, that believing in jinn and believing in
that the way that our evil deeds take on forms, that's very easy,
leaving how suitors become light, that's very, very easy to believe.
And so
that's an important consideration.
Okay, let's take a little bit more.
The created universe is a single, closely interconnected hole.
Whatever happens in one dimension has repercussions throughout the
hierarchy. The visible and invisible and invisible worlds are
in constant interaction, both for good and for evil. The effect of
faith and virtuous behavior is to unlock the gates between this
world and the higher ones, and to shut the gates between it and the
lower ones. The result is the presence of Baraka, the spiritual
influence or benediction, that comes from above and pervades
everything outwardly and inwardly, to make it flourish. Had the
People of the Book Jews and Christians believed and feared
God, we would have acquit, acquitted them of their sins and
admitted them to the gardens of bliss. Had they upheld the torah,
the torah, the torah, and the gospel, and what was revealed to
them from their Lord, they would have eaten both from above them,
and from below their feet.
Had the people of the cities believed and fear God, we would
have open upon them blessings from the sky, and from the earth.
The reference in both these passages is to rainfall and the
crops is to rainfall and the crops it causes to grow. The baroka,
which is the result of strong faith, virtuous behavior, and
sincere prayers, makes both rain and crops plentiful. The opposite
also occurs as a result of the opposite kind of behavior, misery
and destruction Biffa beef before the corrupt as a result of what
they do, corruption has appeared and the land and sea for that
man's own hands have earned and that he may let them taste some
part of that which they have done, that they may return, say, journey
in the land and then see how was the end of those that were before
most of them were idolaters. This however, is a highly complex
matter involving a great many factors of which the ones we have
just mentioned are but a few
Another element to take into account is the Divine Law whereby
whoever does good receives his reward in this world.
This believers who work hard at tiling,
telling, telling, telling their land will reap their reward in the
form of satisfactory satisfactory crops, although the end result of
their whole way of life cannot be catastrophic. Likewise, believers
who neglect their land will inevitably see their crops fail.
The miracle, the mitigating presence of saintly persons among
a corrupt population is a compensatory factor of substantial
weight, due to the power of their Barroca that unknown to the
community at large, neutralizes, to a certain extent, the adverse
effects of corruption.
That's a very profound passage, there are several couple
paragraphs.
And more he speaks of baraka and
Baraka comes from what, from faith from Eman and from virtuous
behavior. And the way he refers to here is it unlocks the gates
between this world and the higher ones, and it shuts the gates
between it and the lower ones. And so that the stronger our faith,
the better that our deeds is that the more blessing will be present.
And it will pervade everything that bussing, and the opposite is
true, as well. And so that he did note here is that there are a
number of factors that relate to that why things are happening in
the world, in general, is that what happens by way of evils from
what people's hands have wrought in what happens by way of good is
as a result of the good things that they do in general, but he
says it's a highly complex matter where there are many other
factors, and that we have to also take into the consideration the
Divine Law, where if someone does good they receive good for it. And
that if they neglect the means is that they find that they will
receive what it is that they've earned in that regard. And then he
points here to as well, that these blessing people who he says you're
unknown to the community at large that neutralized to a certain
extent the adverse effects of corruption.
And this is why it's so important to have righteous people amongst
us, righteous people amongst us, it's very important. And we should
never ever, ever fault the uncles that are praying in the mosque
ever. We should never speak like that. We need elderly people
playing in the moss.
And we also need young people praying in the moss, young people
who are learning their deen and are actively involved with veteran
society, of course, but we also need elderly people. We need
righteous people. Well, we only to realize the blessing that comes
from certain people. And people might not even realize the
greatness of these of these people. But there's immense
blessing and having righteous people in tribulations are warded
off from us as a result. So that this is really what we want to
have, we want baraka to that pervade and that one tiny example
of that is
if you look at the intellectual achievements of the people who
came before us, how on earth with the limited means that they had?
Did they achieve what it is that they achieved? And how can we that
despite that, we have that 1000s of volumes at our fingertips, we
can't even scratch the surface of what they really achieved
intellectually speaking, just as one example. And then the way that
we understand as well, that the that how materialism has taken
over in the outward dimension. That is a story for another time
that is detailed, but the what we want is to live lives of that
faith in a righteous deed so that we have baraka and everything that
we do Baraka that only doesn't only benefit us but benefits our
families and our communities and those that are around us, and may
we be a source of mercy for everyone busy lie to Allah give us
Tofik in all of our different affairs, and bless us with these
meanings in May the means of faith take root in our heart yada but I
mean to me that lead to the good action that is pleasing to You
mean you adorn us with all good attributes of character, that our
Prophet sallallahu sin was adorned with enrolling out where do you
favor Afia we set ourself out to height 100 tend to be