00:00:17 -->
00:00:21
So your handouts are coming insha'Allah ta
00:00:21 -->
00:00:21
'ala.
00:00:23 -->
00:00:24
Bear with us.
00:01:17 -->
00:01:22
وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ الْعَالِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ
00:01:23 -->
00:01:25
Alhamdulillah, we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
00:01:25 -->
00:01:27
to give us tawfiq in these sessions and
00:01:27 -->
00:01:30
bless us to be able to learn that
00:01:30 -->
00:01:33
which benefits us and to benefit us through
00:01:33 -->
00:01:35
what He allows us to learn subhanahu wa
00:01:35 -->
00:01:37
ta'ala and may He increase us in
00:01:37 -->
00:01:38
learning, Tabaraka wa ta'ala.
00:01:39 -->
00:01:44
Tonight's lecture topic is on environments of learning.
00:01:45 -->
00:01:48
And this is a very important topic and
00:01:48 -->
00:01:51
it pertains to one of the core parts
00:01:51 -->
00:01:54
of our pedagogy here, how it is that
00:01:54 -->
00:01:56
we like to teach and what it is
00:01:56 -->
00:01:57
that we strive for.
00:01:57 -->
00:01:59
It ties right into our mission statement.
00:02:00 -->
00:02:03
And when we speak of environments of learning,
00:02:03 -->
00:02:04
and again, as you'll be getting your outlines
00:02:04 -->
00:02:10
here shortly, bismillah ta'ala, the right environment
00:02:10 -->
00:02:12
is needed for growth.
00:02:12 -->
00:02:15
You just ask them to turn the speakers
00:02:15 -->
00:02:15
off downstairs.
00:02:16 -->
00:02:19
The right environment is needed for growth.
00:02:19 -->
00:02:21
Just as certain conditions must be present in
00:02:21 -->
00:02:24
the physical environment for growth, likewise, there are
00:02:24 -->
00:02:28
conditions that must exist for religious and spiritual
00:02:28 -->
00:02:28
growth.
00:02:29 -->
00:02:32
So when we speak of this meaning of
00:02:32 -->
00:02:35
environment, what we really want from that environment
00:02:35 -->
00:02:36
is growth.
00:02:37 -->
00:02:39
And the idea of this growth here relates
00:02:39 -->
00:02:40
to the human individual.
00:02:41 -->
00:02:44
And we're not speaking here really in an
00:02:44 -->
00:02:45
outward sense.
00:02:46 -->
00:02:48
Human beings, naturally from the time that they're
00:02:48 -->
00:02:50
born until when they get older and older,
00:02:50 -->
00:02:51
that they're growing.
00:02:52 -->
00:02:54
And what we really mean here is a
00:02:54 -->
00:02:58
type of internal, spiritual, religious growth.
00:02:59 -->
00:03:01
And this is important because this is what
00:03:01 -->
00:03:04
we hope to benefit from, this world.
00:03:05 -->
00:03:08
And if you think about how the righteous
00:03:08 -->
00:03:11
refer to this world, they call it the
00:03:11 -->
00:03:13
mazra'a of the akhira.
00:03:14 -->
00:03:16
A mazra'a is a farm.
00:03:18 -->
00:03:20
You could also use the word seedbed.
00:03:20 -->
00:03:22
So the dunya, this world in which we
00:03:22 -->
00:03:25
live, it is the mazra'a.
00:03:25 -->
00:03:28
It is the farm or the seedbed of
00:03:28 -->
00:03:29
the hereafter.
00:03:30 -->
00:03:32
So even this very famous and well-known
00:03:32 -->
00:03:36
way of referring to this world points to
00:03:36 -->
00:03:38
this idea of environment.
00:03:40 -->
00:03:44
الدنيا مزرعة الآخرة In other words, it's here
00:03:44 -->
00:03:46
that we plant our seeds that we hope
00:03:46 -->
00:03:48
to harvest in the hereafter.
00:03:49 -->
00:03:52
And the harvest of the hereafter is the
00:03:52 -->
00:03:53
greatest of all harvests.
00:03:54 -->
00:03:56
The harvest here in this world is going
00:03:56 -->
00:03:56
to come to an end.
00:03:56 -->
00:03:58
It's at certain times, most plants and most
00:03:58 -->
00:04:00
fruits, that it takes time for it to
00:04:00 -->
00:04:02
bear that fruit and then it comes once
00:04:02 -->
00:04:03
a season and so forth.
00:04:03 -->
00:04:07
But the harvest of the hereafter is even
00:04:07 -->
00:04:08
greater.
00:04:08 -->
00:04:10
This is the eternal harvest.
00:04:10 -->
00:04:14
And there are so many, so many metaphors
00:04:14 -->
00:04:18
that relate to planting seeds here physically and
00:04:18 -->
00:04:21
then watching those seeds grow until eventually they
00:04:21 -->
00:04:23
bear fruit or whatever it is that you're
00:04:23 -->
00:04:25
trying to get out of those seeds that
00:04:25 -->
00:04:25
you plant.
00:04:25 -->
00:04:26
It could be some form of a vegetable,
00:04:27 -->
00:04:29
it could be some form of a plant.
00:04:29 -->
00:04:33
But these meanings of harvest here in this
00:04:33 -->
00:04:36
world teach us the true meanings of harvest
00:04:36 -->
00:04:38
which are always going to be related to
00:04:38 -->
00:04:39
the hereafter.
00:04:40 -->
00:04:42
And the more that we plant seeds here
00:04:42 -->
00:04:44
and cultivate those seeds here in this world,
00:04:45 -->
00:04:46
the more that we will then be able
00:04:46 -->
00:04:50
to harvest our actions and the fruits of
00:04:50 -->
00:04:52
them in the hereafter.
00:04:53 -->
00:04:59
And so our Prophet ﷺ, he also referred
00:04:59 -->
00:05:03
to these environments in his choice of words.
00:05:04 -->
00:05:06
And of course that we know that everything
00:05:06 -->
00:05:10
that a Prophet says is exactly, the words
00:05:10 -->
00:05:13
that he used was exactly the meaning that
00:05:13 -->
00:05:14
he was trying to convey.
00:05:15 -->
00:05:17
And so in the famous hadith again that
00:05:17 -->
00:05:21
our Prophet told us, إِذَا مَرَرْتُمْ بِالرِّيَالْدِ الْجَنَّةِ
00:05:21 -->
00:05:25
If you pass by the gardens of paradise.
00:05:26 -->
00:05:30
So رِيَالْدِ is the plural of رَوْضَةِ رَوْضَةِ
00:05:30 -->
00:05:31
is a garden.
00:05:32 -->
00:05:35
So just imagine a lush garden in a
00:05:35 -->
00:05:38
desert climate like an oasis and in a
00:05:38 -->
00:05:40
very arid climate and then all of a
00:05:40 -->
00:05:43
sudden you come upon a very lush garden
00:05:43 -->
00:05:46
when there's water, that it's filled with trees
00:05:46 -->
00:05:49
and all different types of foliage and the
00:05:49 -->
00:05:51
way that the temperature then drops and all
00:05:51 -->
00:05:54
the different flowers and the smells and that
00:05:54 -->
00:05:56
once you have all of these other plants
00:05:56 -->
00:05:57
and you have all different types of birds
00:05:57 -->
00:05:59
and animals and so forth and so on.
00:05:59 -->
00:06:01
It's very much alive.
00:06:02 -->
00:06:03
Everyone who's been to the desert and then
00:06:03 -->
00:06:06
that been in this environment, it's a very
00:06:06 -->
00:06:07
beautiful feeling.
00:06:07 -->
00:06:11
So our Prophet referred to gatherings as رِيَالْدِ
00:06:11 -->
00:06:15
الْجَنَّةِ Then he was then asked, what are
00:06:15 -->
00:06:18
these gatherings of paradise?
00:06:18 -->
00:06:21
And then our Prophet ﷺ said, هِلَقَ الْذِكَرِ
00:06:21 -->
00:06:23
They're the circles of remembrance.
00:06:24 -->
00:06:27
And so this word remembrance takes on a
00:06:27 -->
00:06:28
two-fold meaning.
00:06:29 -->
00:06:32
Remembrance like the gathering that we just did,
00:06:32 -->
00:06:34
reciting the Burda Sharifah which is in praise
00:06:34 -->
00:06:36
of the Prophet ﷺ.
00:06:36 -->
00:06:41
But also, remembrance insofar as it relates to
00:06:41 -->
00:06:41
knowledge.
00:06:42 -->
00:06:45
So the meaning of ذكر, the هِلَقَ الْذِكَرِ
00:06:45 -->
00:06:48
refer to the gatherings of invocation and remembrance
00:06:48 -->
00:06:51
just as they refer to the gatherings of
00:06:51 -->
00:06:52
knowledge and learning.
00:06:53 -->
00:06:55
So when Allah Ta'ala says in the
00:06:55 -->
00:06:58
Quran, فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلِ ذِكْرِ Ask the people of
00:06:58 -->
00:06:58
remembrance.
00:06:59 -->
00:07:01
إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلِمُونَ If indeed you did
00:07:01 -->
00:07:02
not know.
00:07:02 -->
00:07:05
And so this dual meaning, the people of
00:07:05 -->
00:07:06
remembrance are the scholars.
00:07:07 -->
00:07:09
But they are also the people that are
00:07:09 -->
00:07:09
aware.
00:07:10 -->
00:07:11
They're aware of their purpose of life.
00:07:11 -->
00:07:14
They're aware of the trajectory that they need
00:07:14 -->
00:07:14
to take.
00:07:15 -->
00:07:17
And they're aware of their surroundings.
00:07:17 -->
00:07:20
And they're aware of how to guide other
00:07:20 -->
00:07:21
people as a result.
00:07:22 -->
00:07:24
Which means that they also have to include
00:07:24 -->
00:07:27
as a part of their scholarship their piety
00:07:27 -->
00:07:30
and devotion to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
00:07:30 -->
00:07:32
in the form of ذكر, of invocation and
00:07:32 -->
00:07:33
remembrance of Him.
00:07:34 -->
00:07:36
So environments of learning.
00:07:37 -->
00:07:40
And when we speak about this, we're going
00:07:40 -->
00:07:44
to take this eventually to a very practical
00:07:44 -->
00:07:44
meaning.
00:07:45 -->
00:07:49
But the right environment is needed for growth.
00:07:49 -->
00:07:53
Without the right environment, you're not going to
00:07:53 -->
00:07:54
get growth.
00:07:54 -->
00:07:57
And just as you have conditions outwardly that
00:07:57 -->
00:08:00
must be present in the physical environment for
00:08:00 -->
00:08:03
growth, likewise there are conditions that must exist
00:08:03 -->
00:08:05
for religious and spiritual growth.
00:08:06 -->
00:08:07
So think about outwardly.
00:08:07 -->
00:08:10
You need water, you need soil, you need
00:08:10 -->
00:08:13
nutrients, you need light, you need air.
00:08:14 -->
00:08:16
And then all of these things, think about
00:08:16 -->
00:08:18
the type of water that you use is
00:08:18 -->
00:08:18
important.
00:08:19 -->
00:08:20
And if anyone's ever spent time even in
00:08:20 -->
00:08:24
their garden, in their backyard, think about how
00:08:24 -->
00:08:27
things grow in relation to rain water as
00:08:27 -->
00:08:28
opposed to water from your hose.
00:08:29 -->
00:08:31
It's a very different experience.
00:08:32 -->
00:08:35
Things grow much better and much more full.
00:08:36 -->
00:08:38
They grow much quicker with rain water.
00:08:39 -->
00:08:42
And think about soil, the type of soil
00:08:42 -->
00:08:44
that you plant that seed in.
00:08:45 -->
00:08:48
If it doesn't have nutrients and it's been
00:08:48 -->
00:08:50
over farmed and it doesn't have the right
00:08:50 -->
00:08:53
consistency, it's not going to produce the same
00:08:53 -->
00:08:55
type of plant or fruit.
00:08:56 -->
00:08:57
Light, air, all of these other types of
00:08:57 -->
00:09:00
things that need to be there in the
00:09:00 -->
00:09:00
physical environment.
00:09:01 -->
00:09:04
Likewise, there's a number of things that must
00:09:04 -->
00:09:07
be present in order for there to be
00:09:07 -->
00:09:09
religious and spiritual growth.
00:09:11 -->
00:09:16
And just as outwardly you could have a
00:09:16 -->
00:09:19
place and it's not too far from another
00:09:19 -->
00:09:23
place, one where you can grow very good
00:09:23 -->
00:09:24
crops.
00:09:24 -->
00:09:27
Not too far from that, it's land that
00:09:27 -->
00:09:29
can't even be used to plant anything.
00:09:30 -->
00:09:33
And likewise spiritually, even religiously, you could have
00:09:33 -->
00:09:36
places that you go to that place and
00:09:36 -->
00:09:38
it's a means for you to blossom and
00:09:38 -->
00:09:39
to bear fruit.
00:09:40 -->
00:09:42
And you go just down the street and
00:09:42 -->
00:09:42
it's the opposite.
00:09:43 -->
00:09:45
It's a means for you to, that have
00:09:45 -->
00:09:49
these meanings of religion and belief and piety
00:09:49 -->
00:09:50
stripped from your heart.
00:09:51 -->
00:09:52
And especially in a place like the United
00:09:52 -->
00:09:55
States of America, is that there are many
00:09:55 -->
00:09:55
places like that.
00:09:56 -->
00:09:58
You don't have to look far when you
00:09:58 -->
00:10:00
go outside the door to find a place
00:10:00 -->
00:10:04
that would actually bring about difficulties for you
00:10:04 -->
00:10:07
and that make you compromise your religion.
00:10:08 -->
00:10:11
And so environments of learning, this is really
00:10:11 -->
00:10:15
important because one of the blessed aspects of
00:10:15 -->
00:10:18
our Deen is you and I, we can
00:10:18 -->
00:10:23
create environments of learning in very easy ways.
00:10:24 -->
00:10:25
It's not that hard.
00:10:26 -->
00:10:27
You can do it in your house.
00:10:27 -->
00:10:29
It doesn't require a lot of money.
00:10:29 -->
00:10:31
You can do it in a very small
00:10:31 -->
00:10:31
space.
00:10:32 -->
00:10:33
It doesn't have to be elaborate.
00:10:34 -->
00:10:36
You don't have to spend millions of dollars.
00:10:36 -->
00:10:38
There's ways of doing it.
00:10:38 -->
00:10:40
It could be two or three people getting
00:10:40 -->
00:10:44
together in a public place and consistently doing
00:10:44 -->
00:10:47
something so that that halaqa, the plural of
00:10:47 -->
00:10:51
which is hilaq, of dhikr, is an environment.
00:10:51 -->
00:10:53
So it could be that on a college
00:10:53 -->
00:10:57
campus where most people are doing things that
00:10:57 -->
00:10:59
are distancing them from Allah subhanahu wa ta
00:10:59 -->
00:11:01
'ala, people coming together regularly.
00:11:01 -->
00:11:02
It could be in someone's house.
00:11:03 -->
00:11:04
It could be, like I mentioned, in a
00:11:04 -->
00:11:05
public place of some sort.
00:11:05 -->
00:11:07
Or it could be in a mosque.
00:11:08 -->
00:11:09
Or it could be in some other type
00:11:09 -->
00:11:12
of center where the purpose is to create
00:11:12 -->
00:11:13
that environment.
00:11:13 -->
00:11:16
And the whole purpose here is you and
00:11:16 -->
00:11:18
I need to be very careful about where
00:11:18 -->
00:11:21
it is that we are in order that
00:11:21 -->
00:11:24
we want to be able to receive what
00:11:24 -->
00:11:26
it is that we need to grow.
00:11:27 -->
00:11:30
Now also the beautiful thing here is as
00:11:30 -->
00:11:33
our roots get deep and as we grow
00:11:33 -->
00:11:37
stronger and stronger, then we will be able
00:11:37 -->
00:11:42
to withstand conditions that normally we wouldn't be
00:11:42 -->
00:11:43
able to withstand.
00:11:44 -->
00:11:46
And even Ibn Atayla uses this metaphor of
00:11:46 -->
00:11:50
planting when he says, ادفن نفسك في ارض
00:11:50 -->
00:11:55
الخمول Bury yourself in the earth of obscurity.
00:11:56 -->
00:11:58
And so if things aren't buried, if that
00:11:58 -->
00:12:01
seed is not planted under the soil, and
00:12:01 -->
00:12:04
then it's not nurtured and allowed to reach
00:12:04 -->
00:12:06
a point where it can then become strong.
00:12:06 -->
00:12:08
And oftentimes when trees are weak, you put
00:12:08 -->
00:12:11
a stake next to it so that it
00:12:11 -->
00:12:13
keeps it up until it grows strong.
00:12:13 -->
00:12:16
And then when it grows strong, most weather
00:12:16 -->
00:12:19
conditions, short of a hurricane or short of
00:12:19 -->
00:12:20
a tornado or something like that, it can
00:12:20 -->
00:12:20
withstand.
00:12:21 -->
00:12:22
And it's not going to fall over unless
00:12:22 -->
00:12:24
it's very violent weather.
00:12:24 -->
00:12:26
And likewise in the broader environments you and
00:12:26 -->
00:12:27
I are living in, and this is the
00:12:27 -->
00:12:31
goal, is that if we grow religiously and
00:12:31 -->
00:12:33
spiritually, we'll be able to withstand.
00:12:34 -->
00:12:36
We will have resilience.
00:12:36 -->
00:12:38
But it requires an environment.
00:12:40 -->
00:12:42
And I ask myself this question.
00:12:42 -->
00:12:43
This is the second bullet point.
00:12:44 -->
00:12:47
And in the places that you go in
00:12:47 -->
00:12:49
the Muslim world, the blessed environments of learning
00:12:49 -->
00:12:54
in the Muslim world, there are certain things
00:12:54 -->
00:12:57
that are present there that allow for these
00:12:57 -->
00:13:01
beautiful environments to really help you grow, to
00:13:01 -->
00:13:05
have this incredibly rich and enriching experience.
00:13:06 -->
00:13:07
And part of it is the people.
00:13:08 -->
00:13:10
When you're in places where the family of
00:13:10 -->
00:13:12
the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. is prevalent,
00:13:13 -->
00:13:15
when you're in places where there are awliya
00:13:15 -->
00:13:17
and there are saints, when you're in places
00:13:17 -->
00:13:20
where there are ulama and scholars of both
00:13:20 -->
00:13:23
genders, both male and female alike, this is
00:13:23 -->
00:13:26
one of the core components of all of
00:13:26 -->
00:13:28
a blessed environment, are the people.
00:13:30 -->
00:13:33
And this is actually the greatest factor that
00:13:33 -->
00:13:38
makes everything else in that environment mubarak and
00:13:38 -->
00:13:40
blessed, are the blessed people.
00:13:41 -->
00:13:43
And so just think about the Prophet Muhammad
00:13:43 -->
00:13:45
s.a.w. Think about the two most
00:13:45 -->
00:13:50
sacred places on earth, Mecca al-Makarama and
00:13:50 -->
00:13:52
Madina al-Munawwara.
00:13:53 -->
00:13:55
The honor of Mecca was in that Allah
00:13:55 -->
00:13:58
chose for the Prophet s.a.w. to
00:13:58 -->
00:13:58
be born there.
00:13:59 -->
00:14:01
Mecca was honored to have the Prophet s
00:14:01 -->
00:14:02
.a.w. born in, not the other way
00:14:02 -->
00:14:02
around.
00:14:03 -->
00:14:05
The Prophet honored everything.
00:14:05 -->
00:14:07
And this is the proof of that is
00:14:07 -->
00:14:09
in the words of Allah, that, لَا أُقْسِمُ
00:14:09 -->
00:14:12
بِهَذَا الْبَلْ وَأَنتَ أَحِلُّونَ بِهَذَا الْبَلْ That He
00:14:12 -->
00:14:16
says that, I swear by this land and
00:14:16 -->
00:14:18
you are dwelling in this land.
00:14:19 -->
00:14:21
The blessed land is Mecca al-Makarama.
00:14:21 -->
00:14:23
So Allah chose the Prophet s.a.w.
00:14:23 -->
00:14:24
to be born there.
00:14:24 -->
00:14:27
So Mecca becomes noble because the Prophet s
00:14:27 -->
00:14:28
.a.w. was born there.
00:14:28 -->
00:14:30
And it is also a place where you
00:14:30 -->
00:14:32
have the Bayt al-Atiq, the very first
00:14:32 -->
00:14:34
house of worship on earth.
00:14:34 -->
00:14:37
So Mecca al-Makarama is the spiritual center
00:14:37 -->
00:14:39
of the universe.
00:14:40 -->
00:14:41
That's an environment.
00:14:41 -->
00:14:43
You go into that environment and you know,
00:14:43 -->
00:14:45
that if you gaze upon the Kaaba al
00:14:45 -->
00:14:47
-Musharafa, it's like worshiping Allah s.w.t.
00:14:47 -->
00:14:51
for an entire year, according to a Hadith.
00:14:51 -->
00:14:55
In every moment there is 120 mercies descending
00:14:55 -->
00:14:56
upon the Kaaba.
00:14:57 -->
00:15:00
60 for those circumambulating, 40 for those praying,
00:15:00 -->
00:15:03
20 for those just gazing at the Kaaba.
00:15:03 -->
00:15:04
That's an environment.
00:15:05 -->
00:15:07
You go into that environment, it is not
00:15:07 -->
00:15:08
like other places.
00:15:08 -->
00:15:12
One prayer is like 100,000 prayers somewhere
00:15:12 -->
00:15:13
else.
00:15:13 -->
00:15:15
One time of saying La ilaha illa Allah
00:15:15 -->
00:15:17
is like 100,000 times somewhere else.
00:15:18 -->
00:15:19
That's an environment.
00:15:19 -->
00:15:22
You go into Madina al-Murawara and you
00:15:22 -->
00:15:23
visit that blessed place.
00:15:23 -->
00:15:27
By scholarly consensus, it is the most pure
00:15:27 -->
00:15:29
and best place on earth where the blessed
00:15:29 -->
00:15:31
Prophet s.a.w. is buried.
00:15:32 -->
00:15:34
It's different when you enter the Masjid of
00:15:34 -->
00:15:37
the Prophet s.a.w. One prayer is
00:15:37 -->
00:15:39
like 1,000 prayers.
00:15:40 -->
00:15:44
For those that actually prefer Madina over Mecca
00:15:44 -->
00:15:46
and say that it has even a greater
00:15:46 -->
00:15:49
merit, they say that 1,000 is an
00:15:49 -->
00:15:53
addition to the multiplied rewards of other places.
00:15:54 -->
00:15:56
So it's even 1,000 times greater than
00:15:56 -->
00:15:59
prayer even in Mecca and Muqaddimah, which is
00:15:59 -->
00:15:59
100,000.
00:15:59 -->
00:16:01
So you times that by 1,000.
00:16:02 -->
00:16:03
There is a difference of opinion in this
00:16:03 -->
00:16:04
matter.
00:16:04 -->
00:16:07
But the point is these are sacred environments.
00:16:08 -->
00:16:10
And then this is where it all started.
00:16:10 -->
00:16:12
And then look how Islam spread.
00:16:13 -->
00:16:15
And a place would go from a place
00:16:15 -->
00:16:19
of disbelief to a place that was a
00:16:19 -->
00:16:23
beautiful environment where shortly after that, some of
00:16:23 -->
00:16:25
the greatest people on earth stemmed from that.
00:16:26 -->
00:16:27
And look at wherever Islam spread.
00:16:28 -->
00:16:30
Not too long after that, you have great
00:16:30 -->
00:16:35
people from those places that learned this Deen
00:16:35 -->
00:16:40
and that became blessed people through their scholarship
00:16:40 -->
00:16:43
and piety and putting their knowledge into practice.
00:16:43 -->
00:16:46
And then the whole environment changes.
00:16:46 -->
00:16:49
This became very clear to me not too
00:16:49 -->
00:16:52
long ago visiting the blessed region of Mawara
00:16:52 -->
00:16:55
-an-Nahar, known in English as Trans-Oxyana.
00:16:55 -->
00:16:59
And that modern-day Uzbekistan being that part
00:16:59 -->
00:17:02
of this area, the likes of Imam al
00:17:02 -->
00:17:05
-Bukhari, in such a short period of time,
00:17:05 -->
00:17:07
Islam reached this blessed land.
00:17:08 -->
00:17:10
There's companions buried in this land.
00:17:11 -->
00:17:12
And you have some of the greatest scholars
00:17:12 -->
00:17:15
in human history that are buried there.
00:17:15 -->
00:17:15
They're not too far.
00:17:16 -->
00:17:19
You're only talking about 200 years roughly, 150,
00:17:19 -->
00:17:21
200 years after the time of the Prophet,
00:17:21 -->
00:17:22
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
00:17:23 -->
00:17:25
And this rose in that environment.
00:17:26 -->
00:17:29
And the same thing takes place in modern
00:17:29 -->
00:17:32
-day Iran and Afghanistan and moving further into
00:17:32 -->
00:17:36
Central Asia, all across North Africa and in
00:17:36 -->
00:17:37
other places as well eventually.
00:17:38 -->
00:17:40
And what you see is that when Islam
00:17:40 -->
00:17:45
spreads to these places, blessed environments follow such
00:17:45 -->
00:17:47
that still to this day, despite all of
00:17:47 -->
00:17:50
the dysfunctionality in the Muslim world, you go
00:17:50 -->
00:17:53
to these sacred lands where there's still blessed
00:17:53 -->
00:17:53
people.
00:17:55 -->
00:17:57
And there are environments that are still there.
00:17:57 -->
00:18:00
Although they're being compromised, the more they open
00:18:00 -->
00:18:04
up their doors to the pollution, the spiritual
00:18:04 -->
00:18:06
pollution of the modern world, and oftentimes their
00:18:06 -->
00:18:10
practices lead to physical pollution as well, the
00:18:10 -->
00:18:12
more that these things start to become hidden.
00:18:12 -->
00:18:13
But you go to the old cities and
00:18:13 -->
00:18:15
you still find very special people.
00:18:16 -->
00:18:19
You go to places where there's still scholarship
00:18:19 -->
00:18:22
intact and you find very special people across
00:18:22 -->
00:18:23
the world, literally.
00:18:24 -->
00:18:28
From Morocco all across North Africa, they're still
00:18:28 -->
00:18:28
there.
00:18:28 -->
00:18:31
Sub-Saharan Africa, they're still there.
00:18:31 -->
00:18:33
East Africa, they're still there.
00:18:33 -->
00:18:35
South Africa, they're still there.
00:18:35 -->
00:18:38
All throughout the Arabian Peninsula, they're still there.
00:18:39 -->
00:18:42
All throughout wherever the Ottoman Empire went, they're
00:18:42 -->
00:18:42
still there.
00:18:43 -->
00:18:44
They're still there in Afghanistan.
00:18:44 -->
00:18:47
They're still there beyond the borders of Afghanistan
00:18:47 -->
00:18:48
and further into Central Asia.
00:18:48 -->
00:18:51
In the subcontinent, in India and Pakistan, you
00:18:51 -->
00:18:52
go to Southeast Asia, they're still there.
00:18:53 -->
00:18:55
They're still in places in China and in
00:18:55 -->
00:18:56
the Philippines and others.
00:18:57 -->
00:18:58
It's still there.
00:18:59 -->
00:19:00
It's not what it used to be, but
00:19:00 -->
00:19:03
these blessed environments are there that stem primarily
00:19:03 -->
00:19:06
from these blessed people that were in them.
00:19:07 -->
00:19:09
But then when you add to that their
00:19:09 -->
00:19:13
methodology, how it is that they were and
00:19:13 -->
00:19:17
how it is that they interacted with people
00:19:17 -->
00:19:18
around them.
00:19:18 -->
00:19:21
This is another core component of these blessed
00:19:21 -->
00:19:22
environments.
00:19:22 -->
00:19:25
What is the methodology that is behind them
00:19:25 -->
00:19:27
that ultimately when it's rooted in the Quran,
00:19:28 -->
00:19:30
in the Sunnah, this is what's going to
00:19:30 -->
00:19:32
open up the door for that environment to
00:19:32 -->
00:19:33
become blessed.
00:19:34 -->
00:19:37
And then all of the practice that stem
00:19:37 -->
00:19:41
from this methodology, the strong societal relationships that
00:19:41 -->
00:19:45
come from people doing things like establishing funeral
00:19:45 -->
00:19:48
prayers, consoling the deceased, and that all the
00:19:48 -->
00:19:51
different things that you do, the aqeeqahs for
00:19:51 -->
00:19:53
the newborns, and visiting your neighbors, and all
00:19:53 -->
00:19:54
these other types of things.
00:19:55 -->
00:19:57
And when these things come together, these societal
00:19:57 -->
00:20:00
practices, along with the methodology and the people,
00:20:00 -->
00:20:02
and you could have mentioned several other factors.
00:20:02 -->
00:20:04
These are just to kind of point to
00:20:04 -->
00:20:04
this meaning.
00:20:04 -->
00:20:07
What happens is you create a blessed environment.
00:20:08 -->
00:20:11
And everywhere Islam went, this is what happened.
00:20:13 -->
00:20:16
Blessed environments were there such that many of
00:20:16 -->
00:20:18
you that are in this room now or
00:20:18 -->
00:20:19
maybe some of you that are following online
00:20:19 -->
00:20:22
know people in your immediate family if your
00:20:22 -->
00:20:24
family is a Muslim family that you were
00:20:24 -->
00:20:25
raised in.
00:20:25 -->
00:20:28
You know people in your immediate family or
00:20:28 -->
00:20:30
aunts or uncles or grandparents or people that
00:20:30 -->
00:20:32
were close to you in some way or
00:20:32 -->
00:20:34
maybe even neighbors or friends.
00:20:34 -->
00:20:36
You know exactly what I'm talking about.
00:20:36 -->
00:20:39
Many of these people never even went to
00:20:39 -->
00:20:41
a madrasah or studied formally.
00:20:41 -->
00:20:44
But they came up in this environment and
00:20:44 -->
00:20:48
culture became a capsule to transmit many of
00:20:48 -->
00:20:50
the realities of this deen, good culture.
00:20:51 -->
00:20:54
And then people learned these things and attained
00:20:54 -->
00:20:57
great degrees of closeness to Allah subhanahu wa
00:20:57 -->
00:20:58
ta'ala as a result without even stepping
00:20:58 -->
00:21:01
foot oftentimes in a formal school.
00:21:01 -->
00:21:02
That's amazing.
00:21:03 -->
00:21:03
That is an environment.
00:21:05 -->
00:21:06
And this is why we have to speak
00:21:06 -->
00:21:07
about these things.
00:21:07 -->
00:21:10
And one of our biggest jobs here in
00:21:10 -->
00:21:12
a place like the United States of America
00:21:12 -->
00:21:14
or wherever we're from, wherever we go back
00:21:14 -->
00:21:18
to is to be aware of the importance
00:21:18 -->
00:21:22
of this and to establish these environments.
00:21:23 -->
00:21:28
Because once these environments are established in small
00:21:28 -->
00:21:31
ways, in large ways, in ways in between
00:21:31 -->
00:21:35
that with individuals and with households and with
00:21:35 -->
00:21:39
communities and then once it leads to the
00:21:39 -->
00:21:42
institutional level as well this is where when
00:21:42 -->
00:21:45
people start to come into those environments they
00:21:45 -->
00:21:46
realize this is different.
00:21:47 -->
00:21:49
I just sat through a gathering and spent
00:21:49 -->
00:21:52
my time from about 5.10 to 6
00:21:52 -->
00:21:54
.10 doing something that if I would have
00:21:54 -->
00:21:56
spent that time from 5.10 to 6
00:21:56 -->
00:21:59
.10 that just driving my car around or
00:21:59 -->
00:22:01
going to another store I had a very
00:22:01 -->
00:22:02
different experience.
00:22:02 -->
00:22:03
You could have been there or you could
00:22:03 -->
00:22:04
have been here.
00:22:05 -->
00:22:08
But what was it that transpired from 5
00:22:08 -->
00:22:09
.10 to 6.10 when we're referring to
00:22:09 -->
00:22:12
the recitation of the Burda Sharifah which is
00:22:12 -->
00:22:13
the recitation of whom, of who?
00:22:14 -->
00:22:16
This great Imam, Imam al-Busayri who grew
00:22:16 -->
00:22:19
up in one of these environments and met
00:22:19 -->
00:22:22
these blessed people who opened up his heart.
00:22:23 -->
00:22:25
And he met the likes of Imam Abu
00:22:25 -->
00:22:27
Abbas al-Mursi and is buried not too
00:22:27 -->
00:22:30
far from him in Alexandria, Egypt.
00:22:30 -->
00:22:33
And as a result of that encounter everything
00:22:33 -->
00:22:34
for him changed.
00:22:35 -->
00:22:37
And then here how many times have his
00:22:37 -->
00:22:39
words been recited in praise of the Prophet
00:22:39 -->
00:22:41
ﷺ for centuries?
00:22:41 -->
00:22:45
That 8 centuries roughly or more from his
00:22:45 -->
00:22:49
time and we're still reciting his words in
00:22:49 -->
00:22:50
praise of the Beloved ﷺ.
00:22:51 -->
00:22:55
And what transpires what growth is taking place
00:22:55 -->
00:22:57
when we come into that and we recite
00:22:57 -->
00:23:01
those words with love and with longing and
00:23:01 -->
00:23:04
then your heart starts to change and tribulations
00:23:04 -->
00:23:06
are warded off from you and your Iman
00:23:06 -->
00:23:10
strengthens and your perspective changes and you get
00:23:10 -->
00:23:12
a new sense of determination and resolution.
00:23:12 -->
00:23:13
All these other things happen.
00:23:13 -->
00:23:14
That's growth.
00:23:15 -->
00:23:17
And these are just things that can be
00:23:17 -->
00:23:18
pointed to.
00:23:18 -->
00:23:20
What happens in the unseen in these gatherings
00:23:20 -->
00:23:20
is even greater.
00:23:21 -->
00:23:26
But that's exactly what it means is to
00:23:26 -->
00:23:27
do an environment.
00:23:27 -->
00:23:29
So one of the core meanings when we
00:23:29 -->
00:23:34
talk about environments are majalis and hilaq gatherings
00:23:34 -->
00:23:37
of different sorts circles of learning.
00:23:37 -->
00:23:40
But again you can do that just with
00:23:40 -->
00:23:42
yourself if you have no one else.
00:23:42 -->
00:23:44
You can create that environment with your own
00:23:44 -->
00:23:46
self even from the bounty of Allah Ta
00:23:46 -->
00:23:49
'ala just by engaging and doing the right
00:23:49 -->
00:23:49
thing.
00:23:50 -->
00:23:51
Then you can do it with two people
00:23:51 -->
00:23:52
or with three people or with a smaller
00:23:52 -->
00:23:54
group of people like we mentioned.
00:23:54 -->
00:23:55
You can do it in your home you
00:23:55 -->
00:23:57
can do it in a public place and
00:23:57 -->
00:23:59
you can do it on a college campus
00:23:59 -->
00:24:02
you can even do it at work and
00:24:02 -->
00:24:06
then you can move towards opening that places
00:24:06 -->
00:24:08
where then other people can go.
00:24:08 -->
00:24:10
So that it's not a burden on a
00:24:10 -->
00:24:13
family and people can congregate and people can
00:24:13 -->
00:24:16
then benefit from these environments.
00:24:17 -->
00:24:20
And then what happens is once this starts
00:24:20 -->
00:24:23
to spread sometimes at the level of almost
00:24:23 -->
00:24:26
an entire city you have an environment.
00:24:27 -->
00:24:29
And you come to realize this city is
00:24:29 -->
00:24:31
different than other cities.
00:24:32 -->
00:24:33
And so forth and so on.
00:24:35 -->
00:24:37
So this is one of the main things
00:24:37 -->
00:24:40
that we want to learn how to benefit
00:24:40 -->
00:24:41
from and then do.
00:24:41 -->
00:24:44
How to create an environment of learning.
00:24:45 -->
00:24:47
So if we look at the Al-Maqasid
00:24:47 -->
00:24:52
mission statement it is to cultivate holistic learning
00:24:52 -->
00:24:57
environments rooted in knowledge, devotion and service.
00:24:58 -->
00:25:03
By providing full time part time online and
00:25:03 -->
00:25:04
community programs.
00:25:06 -->
00:25:11
And the words in this mission statement were
00:25:11 -->
00:25:12
chosen intentionally.
00:25:13 -->
00:25:18
Because the best metaphors are the metaphors of
00:25:18 -->
00:25:20
the natural world.
00:25:21 -->
00:25:23
So did they pass out the outlines on
00:25:23 -->
00:25:24
the sister's side as well?
00:25:25 -->
00:25:27
I'm already noticing a couple of typos here.
00:25:27 -->
00:25:28
Please forgive me.
00:25:30 -->
00:25:31
Environments.
00:25:33 -->
00:25:33
Spiritual.
00:25:34 -->
00:25:35
Anyhow.
00:25:36 -->
00:25:38
We're on the third point here.
00:25:38 -->
00:25:39
The mission statement.
00:25:39 -->
00:25:41
And there's room there for you two to
00:25:41 -->
00:25:42
add some notes.
00:25:44 -->
00:25:47
But the purpose of mentioning the mission statement
00:25:47 -->
00:25:50
here is that this is the practical way
00:25:50 -->
00:25:51
that we move towards the vision.
00:25:51 -->
00:25:55
Which even in the vision statement it's about
00:25:55 -->
00:25:56
planting.
00:26:00 -->
00:26:04
Planting the seed of the prophetic inheritance in
00:26:04 -->
00:26:05
the hearts of individuals.
00:26:06 -->
00:26:07
That is the essential vision statement.
00:26:09 -->
00:26:11
Is to plant the prophetic inheritance in the
00:26:11 -->
00:26:12
hearts of individuals.
00:26:13 -->
00:26:16
And this is what you want to grow
00:26:16 -->
00:26:17
within you.
00:26:17 -->
00:26:20
Is the prophetic inheritance in all of its
00:26:20 -->
00:26:20
meanings.
00:26:21 -->
00:26:24
Because the prophetic inheritance is synonymous with the
00:26:24 -->
00:26:26
sunnah of our Prophet ﷺ.
00:26:27 -->
00:26:30
So when the sunnah is planted in you
00:26:31 -->
00:26:33
and how is it planted in you?
00:26:33 -->
00:26:36
It's planted in you informally and formally.
00:26:37 -->
00:26:39
And you can even add another category maybe
00:26:39 -->
00:26:41
I learned recently of non-formally.
00:26:42 -->
00:26:44
But just as you have these different types
00:26:44 -->
00:26:47
of things and when it comes to exercise
00:26:47 -->
00:26:49
as we took, remember, last Friday that you
00:26:49 -->
00:26:50
have physical activity and exercise.
00:26:51 -->
00:26:54
Physical activity is any type of that body
00:26:54 -->
00:26:56
condition that you get just by your everyday
00:26:56 -->
00:26:57
activities.
00:26:57 -->
00:27:00
And then you have exercise where you actually
00:27:00 -->
00:27:03
intend to do something specifically to get that
00:27:03 -->
00:27:04
exercise.
00:27:05 -->
00:27:07
And likewise is that you and I need
00:27:07 -->
00:27:09
to live a certain way so that we're
00:27:09 -->
00:27:12
always cultivating these meanings in our heart just
00:27:12 -->
00:27:16
as we have to that intentionally that do
00:27:16 -->
00:27:16
it as well.
00:27:17 -->
00:27:19
So formally and informally.
00:27:21 -->
00:27:23
And so we want to look a little
00:27:23 -->
00:27:26
bit more closely at these words because this
00:27:26 -->
00:27:29
is the heart of the work as you
00:27:29 -->
00:27:32
continue your studies and even while you're studying
00:27:32 -->
00:27:35
that you want to take back with you.
00:27:35 -->
00:27:39
And then likewise anyone who's inspired to contribute
00:27:39 -->
00:27:41
to the da'wah of our Prophet Muhammad
00:27:41 -->
00:27:47
ﷺ And so let's look at this word
00:27:47 -->
00:27:50
here cultivate first and foremost.
00:27:50 -->
00:27:52
So key words of the message statement.
00:27:52 -->
00:27:54
The first is cultivate.
00:27:56 -->
00:28:01
And this meaning of cultivate to prepare and
00:28:01 -->
00:28:05
work on land in order to raise crops
00:28:05 -->
00:28:07
or to till.
00:28:08 -->
00:28:10
And you see how important this word is?
00:28:10 -->
00:28:12
This is what we have to do to
00:28:12 -->
00:28:12
our heart.
00:28:12 -->
00:28:13
You have to till your heart.
00:28:15 -->
00:28:17
And have you ever seen them prepare land
00:28:17 -->
00:28:19
in order to plant seeds?
00:28:19 -->
00:28:21
That now they've kind of mowed everything down
00:28:21 -->
00:28:22
this is the end of the season.
00:28:23 -->
00:28:26
But come April they're going to start bringing
00:28:26 -->
00:28:29
out the manure and this type of stuff
00:28:29 -->
00:28:32
putting that on the earth and then eventually
00:28:32 -->
00:28:35
they're going to bring out their machines that
00:28:35 -->
00:28:38
till the land to prepare it and to
00:28:38 -->
00:28:40
turn some of the undersoil with the topsoil
00:28:40 -->
00:28:42
and so forth to be able to plant
00:28:42 -->
00:28:43
a seed therein.
00:28:44 -->
00:28:46
This is what we have to do to
00:28:46 -->
00:28:46
the heart.
00:28:47 -->
00:28:51
So the meaning of cultivating and that cultivating
00:28:51 -->
00:28:55
holistic learning environments but here cultivating that is
00:28:55 -->
00:29:00
this idea of tilling outwardly and then inwardly.
00:29:00 -->
00:29:03
This is what you're doing that same process
00:29:03 -->
00:29:06
where you're turning the topsoil over this is
00:29:06 -->
00:29:09
what you're doing outwardly that you're preparing things
00:29:09 -->
00:29:13
in terms of the physical space that it
00:29:13 -->
00:29:15
is that you're using for that gathering.
00:29:15 -->
00:29:18
The text or whatever it is that you're
00:29:18 -->
00:29:20
going to be reading or doing in that
00:29:20 -->
00:29:20
gathering.
00:29:21 -->
00:29:22
How did you do it?
00:29:22 -->
00:29:23
The ambiance of it.
00:29:24 -->
00:29:25
What you do in it.
00:29:25 -->
00:29:28
Why are things like coffee served in these
00:29:28 -->
00:29:29
gatherings?
00:29:29 -->
00:29:32
These are small little things to help is
00:29:32 -->
00:29:35
that why is incense burned and why are
00:29:35 -->
00:29:37
all of these things in and of themselves
00:29:37 -->
00:29:40
is that they're not the whole part but
00:29:40 -->
00:29:43
when all of these things come together it
00:29:43 -->
00:29:44
creates a certain type of ambiance.
00:29:45 -->
00:29:48
Why was this poem, i.e. the Buddha
00:29:48 -->
00:29:51
Sharif the one chosen and the whole setup
00:29:51 -->
00:29:53
of the room and so forth and so
00:29:53 -->
00:29:53
on.
00:29:53 -->
00:29:54
These things are all important.
00:29:54 -->
00:29:56
These are components and some of them of
00:29:56 -->
00:30:00
course are more important than others.
00:30:01 -->
00:30:04
So to prepare, one of the meanings of
00:30:04 -->
00:30:07
cultivate is to prepare and work on land
00:30:07 -->
00:30:08
in order to raise crops.
00:30:09 -->
00:30:13
But then it also connotes this meaning of
00:30:13 -->
00:30:17
to try to acquire or develop a quality
00:30:17 -->
00:30:18
or skill.
00:30:21 -->
00:30:24
So there's qualities that have to be cultivated
00:30:24 -->
00:30:28
within you and there's a way about going
00:30:28 -->
00:30:28
to do that.
00:30:29 -->
00:30:30
So you would speak about this in the
00:30:30 -->
00:30:33
sense of to develop or improve by education
00:30:33 -->
00:30:34
or training.
00:30:34 -->
00:30:35
To train or refine.
00:30:35 -->
00:30:36
These are the meanings of cultivate.
00:30:37 -->
00:30:41
To devote oneself to a particular science and
00:30:41 -->
00:30:42
even in terms of people.
00:30:42 -->
00:30:45
To seek or promote friendship, love.
00:30:46 -->
00:30:48
To seek the acquaintance or friendship of a
00:30:48 -->
00:30:49
person.
00:30:49 -->
00:30:51
These are all meanings of cultivate.
00:30:51 -->
00:30:53
What a beautiful word it is.
00:30:54 -->
00:30:57
It denotes this meaning of actually tilling land
00:30:57 -->
00:30:59
but also it connotes all of these beautiful
00:30:59 -->
00:31:02
meanings that relate to so many different aspects
00:31:02 -->
00:31:03
of our lives.
00:31:04 -->
00:31:05
So when we talk about the meaning of
00:31:05 -->
00:31:08
cultivating this is a really important word to
00:31:08 -->
00:31:09
understand.
00:31:10 -->
00:31:13
Because we have to one, cultivate the environment
00:31:13 -->
00:31:16
outwardly but we also have to cultivate the
00:31:17 -->
00:31:18
environment inwardly.
00:31:18 -->
00:31:20
And we want to be on both fronts
00:31:20 -->
00:31:21
at the same time.
00:31:22 -->
00:31:26
And so this word cultivate points to the
00:31:26 -->
00:31:30
work attention and care that must go into
00:31:30 -->
00:31:30
this.
00:31:31 -->
00:31:34
As well as the long term nature of
00:31:34 -->
00:31:37
it which requires patience in doing the right
00:31:37 -->
00:31:39
thing at the right time.
00:31:40 -->
00:31:43
You can't do something in its wrong time.
00:31:43 -->
00:31:45
You can't plant a seed now.
00:31:46 -->
00:31:46
It's not ready.
00:31:48 -->
00:31:50
You can't plant a seed now unless there's
00:31:50 -->
00:31:52
something specific that a seed that needs to
00:31:52 -->
00:31:55
be planted in late April or early May.
00:31:55 -->
00:31:56
You can't plant it right now.
00:31:56 -->
00:31:57
It's not going to grow.
00:31:58 -->
00:31:59
The seed is going to die.
00:31:59 -->
00:32:01
You have to plant it at the right
00:32:01 -->
00:32:01
time.
00:32:02 -->
00:32:04
And you have to do the right thing
00:32:04 -->
00:32:05
at the right time.
00:32:05 -->
00:32:06
And you have to be patient.
00:32:06 -->
00:32:10
And let the natural process go.
00:32:11 -->
00:32:13
And likewise with people.
00:32:13 -->
00:32:14
We are not machines.
00:32:14 -->
00:32:15
We are not robots.
00:32:16 -->
00:32:18
You cannot turn us on and off with
00:32:18 -->
00:32:19
a switch.
00:32:20 -->
00:32:22
There's a process that human beings have to
00:32:22 -->
00:32:24
go through for their growth.
00:32:25 -->
00:32:27
So that's the first word cultivate.
00:32:27 -->
00:32:30
And then we have this word holistic.
00:32:31 -->
00:32:34
Which also is a very important word.
00:32:35 -->
00:32:39
And the meaning of holistic is it's characterized
00:32:39 -->
00:32:41
by the belief that the parts of something
00:32:41 -->
00:32:45
are interconnected and can be explained only by
00:32:45 -->
00:32:47
reference to the whole.
00:32:49 -->
00:32:51
And so it's commonly referred to when we
00:32:51 -->
00:32:54
talk about holistic medicine that the idea of
00:32:54 -->
00:32:56
holistic medicine is the treatment of the whole
00:32:56 -->
00:33:00
person and all aspects of well-being including
00:33:00 -->
00:33:03
the physical, mental, psychological, and social rather than
00:33:03 -->
00:33:07
with diseases and symptoms in isolation.
00:33:08 -->
00:33:10
And what is meant here and the reason
00:33:10 -->
00:33:15
we're using this word specifically is compartmentalization of
00:33:15 -->
00:33:18
religion is a tendency of our time that
00:33:18 -->
00:33:20
must be combated.
00:33:21 -->
00:33:23
The flow, if you will, of the way
00:33:23 -->
00:33:26
things are going if you just kind of
00:33:26 -->
00:33:30
go with the flow, you will tend to
00:33:30 -->
00:33:32
just practice your religion partially.
00:33:34 -->
00:33:37
This is the nature of the secularized world
00:33:37 -->
00:33:37
in which we live.
00:33:38 -->
00:33:41
This is that if we just let things
00:33:41 -->
00:33:44
happen as they're transpiring around us and we
00:33:44 -->
00:33:46
get sucked into these tendencies this is going
00:33:46 -->
00:33:47
to be the result.
00:33:48 -->
00:33:51
You will just see your religion as just
00:33:51 -->
00:33:54
a part of your life as opposed to
00:33:54 -->
00:33:56
every aspect of your life.
00:33:56 -->
00:33:59
Religion for us is not just one particular
00:33:59 -->
00:33:59
day.
00:34:00 -->
00:34:02
It's not just one particular prayer.
00:34:02 -->
00:34:05
It's something that we devote ourselves entirely to.
00:34:06 -->
00:34:09
And this is something for our people.
00:34:09 -->
00:34:10
This is one of the main things that
00:34:10 -->
00:34:13
brought me to this religion was when I
00:34:13 -->
00:34:16
read of Islam as being a dean, a
00:34:16 -->
00:34:22
complete way where every single aspect of your
00:34:22 -->
00:34:23
life is regulated.
00:34:24 -->
00:34:25
That brought me to this religion.
00:34:26 -->
00:34:29
Because I remember as a young college student
00:34:29 -->
00:34:33
at the University of San Diego and at
00:34:33 -->
00:34:35
UC San Diego University of California San Diego
00:34:35 -->
00:34:38
when I was about 18 and 19 years
00:34:38 -->
00:34:42
old maybe by then and actually 18 years
00:34:42 -->
00:34:48
old then and wanting religion but not knowing
00:34:48 -->
00:34:49
really what to do.
00:34:50 -->
00:34:51
And then when I read a little bit
00:34:51 -->
00:34:54
about Islam and how that it regulated every
00:34:54 -->
00:34:57
aspect of your life I was like Allahu
00:34:57 -->
00:34:59
Akbar that is what I want.
00:34:59 -->
00:35:01
I wanted Hidayah.
00:35:01 -->
00:35:03
I wanted guidance in everything.
00:35:04 -->
00:35:08
And Islam provides you guidance in everything.
00:35:08 -->
00:35:11
There is nothing that is outside the scope
00:35:11 -->
00:35:11
of this dean.
00:35:11 -->
00:35:12
Nothing.
00:35:13 -->
00:35:17
The dean informs everything about what it is
00:35:17 -->
00:35:18
that we think, what it is that we
00:35:18 -->
00:35:21
believe, what it is that we do.
00:35:21 -->
00:35:23
It informs the state of our heart in
00:35:23 -->
00:35:25
terms of our own selves, our relationship with
00:35:25 -->
00:35:27
all different types of people, our relationship with
00:35:27 -->
00:35:30
the creator, our relationship with the world and
00:35:30 -->
00:35:31
everything else.
00:35:31 -->
00:35:34
Our relationship with animals, our relationship with inanimate
00:35:34 -->
00:35:37
objects, our relationship with plants and trees and
00:35:37 -->
00:35:37
things, everything.
00:35:37 -->
00:35:41
There is absolutely nothing that is outside the
00:35:41 -->
00:35:42
scope of our dean.
00:35:42 -->
00:35:43
Complete teachings.
00:35:44 -->
00:35:45
And then you start to realize the miracle.
00:35:45 -->
00:35:48
All of that in 23 years.
00:35:50 -->
00:35:51
What life was like?
00:35:51 -->
00:35:52
The life of the Prophet ﷺ.
00:35:52 -->
00:35:56
No one's life was as blessed as the
00:35:56 -->
00:35:58
life of the best of creation ﷺ.
00:35:58 -->
00:36:02
All of that was conveyed in 23 years
00:36:02 -->
00:36:05
such that everything that we need and not
00:36:05 -->
00:36:08
just we, people in every time from his
00:36:08 -->
00:36:11
time all the way until the end of
00:36:11 -->
00:36:13
time and all the different civilizations, all the
00:36:13 -->
00:36:17
different geographical locations on the face of this
00:36:17 -->
00:36:19
earth and all different types of people from
00:36:19 -->
00:36:22
the most simple to the most sophisticated and
00:36:22 -->
00:36:26
everything in between, all the different language people
00:36:26 -->
00:36:28
speak and the different beautiful colors of their
00:36:28 -->
00:36:28
skin.
00:36:29 -->
00:36:31
Islam was for everyone and every time.
00:36:32 -->
00:36:35
And the ulama that have left us with
00:36:35 -->
00:36:39
this legacy such that in a very real
00:36:39 -->
00:36:41
way there is no one on the face
00:36:41 -->
00:36:44
of this earth no people that this dean
00:36:44 -->
00:36:44
is not for.
00:36:45 -->
00:36:47
And that were those same religious principles could
00:36:47 -->
00:36:48
be applied.
00:36:48 -->
00:36:51
It might be slightly different based upon different
00:36:51 -->
00:36:53
situations and conditions but it's all there.
00:36:53 -->
00:36:55
What an amazing thing.
00:36:57 -->
00:36:58
What an amazing thing.
00:36:59 -->
00:37:02
So the idea of holistic here is to
00:37:02 -->
00:37:07
combat the tendency of the compartmentalization of religion.
00:37:08 -->
00:37:10
And so there's things that we need to
00:37:10 -->
00:37:12
learn though in order to combat this.
00:37:12 -->
00:37:14
There's things that we need to know.
00:37:14 -->
00:37:15
So part of this is knowledge.
00:37:16 -->
00:37:18
And one of the most difficult things is
00:37:18 -->
00:37:19
your career track.
00:37:20 -->
00:37:21
And what it is that you do to
00:37:21 -->
00:37:22
earn a living.
00:37:22 -->
00:37:25
Because sometimes it's very hard to earn a
00:37:25 -->
00:37:27
halal living but it requires knowledge.
00:37:28 -->
00:37:29
But knowledge is not enough in and of
00:37:29 -->
00:37:30
itself.
00:37:30 -->
00:37:32
It also requires traits.
00:37:32 -->
00:37:34
If you don't have a trait like courage
00:37:34 -->
00:37:37
in our time how are you then going
00:37:37 -->
00:37:41
to combat this tendency of the compartmentalization of
00:37:41 -->
00:37:41
it.
00:37:41 -->
00:37:43
So it requires courage as well.
00:37:43 -->
00:37:47
Knowledge, courage and a number of other things.
00:37:47 -->
00:37:49
So this is why the word holistic here
00:37:49 -->
00:37:51
is being used.
00:37:52 -->
00:37:56
So we've spoken about to cultivate holistic and
00:37:56 -->
00:37:59
then learning environments.
00:37:59 -->
00:38:00
Learning is clear.
00:38:01 -->
00:38:03
We want to be learning every day of
00:38:03 -->
00:38:03
our lives.
00:38:04 -->
00:38:06
Every day we want to be learning.
00:38:06 -->
00:38:09
And again here, learning like we just mentioned
00:38:09 -->
00:38:11
physical activity and exercise.
00:38:11 -->
00:38:15
There's informal learning and there's also that formal
00:38:15 -->
00:38:15
learning.
00:38:16 -->
00:38:18
So we want to be learning from everything
00:38:18 -->
00:38:20
that's happened in our lives.
00:38:20 -->
00:38:23
Our interactions with our spouses, our interactions with
00:38:23 -->
00:38:25
our children, our interactions with other people.
00:38:25 -->
00:38:27
Different things that happen to us.
00:38:27 -->
00:38:29
Watching the seasons around us.
00:38:29 -->
00:38:31
All of the changes in the environment.
00:38:31 -->
00:38:33
All of these different things that are happening.
00:38:34 -->
00:38:35
We want to be learning from.
00:38:36 -->
00:38:38
And just as we want to formally learn
00:38:38 -->
00:38:38
as well.
00:38:39 -->
00:38:40
Learn the Arabic language.
00:38:40 -->
00:38:42
Learn the basic sciences of the sacred law.
00:38:43 -->
00:38:45
Learn other knowledges that will benefit.
00:38:45 -->
00:38:47
We want to constantly be learning.
00:38:48 -->
00:38:50
Learning is one of the most important things
00:38:50 -->
00:38:52
that we need to do as a believer.
00:38:52 -->
00:38:53
Knowledge.
00:38:53 -->
00:38:56
We are the Ummah of Iqra.
00:38:56 -->
00:38:58
The first revelation began with Iqra, read.
00:38:59 -->
00:39:00
Which is about knowledge.
00:39:01 -->
00:39:04
So we are a civilization of knowledge.
00:39:05 -->
00:39:07
And it's a deen that led to this
00:39:07 -->
00:39:08
civilization.
00:39:08 -->
00:39:10
And we need to internalize it within our
00:39:10 -->
00:39:11
own selves.
00:39:12 -->
00:39:14
But then we have this word environment.
00:39:15 -->
00:39:19
So the environment simply is the surroundings or
00:39:19 -->
00:39:22
conditions in which a person, animal or plant
00:39:22 -->
00:39:25
lives or operates.
00:39:26 -->
00:39:29
And then it can also connote the meaning
00:39:29 -->
00:39:33
of the social and cultural forces that shape
00:39:33 -->
00:39:37
the life of a person or a population.
00:39:38 -->
00:39:41
So just as there are the different forces
00:39:41 -->
00:39:46
that shape the different types of plants and
00:39:46 -->
00:39:48
animals that exist in a certain region.
00:39:49 -->
00:39:51
And certain animals that live in certain regions
00:39:51 -->
00:39:53
are fit to do that.
00:39:53 -->
00:39:54
And if you take this animal and put
00:39:54 -->
00:39:56
them somewhere else, they're going to suffer.
00:39:56 -->
00:39:57
They might not be able to live.
00:39:57 -->
00:39:58
And likewise plants.
00:39:58 -->
00:39:59
And this is why when you go to
00:39:59 -->
00:40:03
buy plants at the nursery for instance, they
00:40:03 -->
00:40:04
have like numbers on them.
00:40:04 -->
00:40:05
And then you go and you look at
00:40:05 -->
00:40:07
the map and you see like wherever you
00:40:07 -->
00:40:11
live, what are the numbers where you can
00:40:11 -->
00:40:12
actually have that type of plant.
00:40:13 -->
00:40:16
And then if you don't have the right
00:40:16 -->
00:40:19
environment, but then there's other things that you
00:40:19 -->
00:40:19
can do.
00:40:19 -->
00:40:20
You can have like a greenhouse or you
00:40:20 -->
00:40:23
can have a closed off area where you
00:40:23 -->
00:40:25
have climate control and you replicate those conditions
00:40:25 -->
00:40:26
and things grow fine.
00:40:28 -->
00:40:30
So the engineer put me onto this beautiful
00:40:30 -->
00:40:32
place called Longwood Gardens where they have these
00:40:32 -->
00:40:35
beautiful, there's this conservatory with all these beautiful
00:40:37 -->
00:40:38
plants from all over the world, but they
00:40:38 -->
00:40:41
control the environment for it to be that
00:40:41 -->
00:40:41
way.
00:40:42 -->
00:40:42
Isn't that amazing?
00:40:42 -->
00:40:45
You walk outside, you're in Pennsylvania, and only
00:40:45 -->
00:40:46
certain things grow.
00:40:46 -->
00:40:48
You walk inside that controlled environment it's as
00:40:48 -->
00:40:50
if that you are somewhere else in the
00:40:50 -->
00:40:50
world.
00:40:51 -->
00:40:53
Because that plant can't grow here without that.
00:40:54 -->
00:40:55
Isn't that amazing?
00:40:55 -->
00:40:57
That there's certain things that you can do
00:40:57 -->
00:40:59
where it's as if that you're in that
00:40:59 -->
00:41:01
particular place and look it's growing right in
00:41:01 -->
00:41:04
front of you by changing the environment.
00:41:05 -->
00:41:09
And so the idea of environment here is
00:41:09 -->
00:41:13
to really understand the social and cultural forces
00:41:13 -->
00:41:17
that shape who we are as human beings.
00:41:19 -->
00:41:22
And, again, if we don't understand that, how
00:41:22 -->
00:41:24
are we going to disseminate this dean if
00:41:24 -->
00:41:25
you don't understand that?
00:41:26 -->
00:41:27
You have to understand that.
00:41:28 -->
00:41:30
And then the amazing thing is we have
00:41:30 -->
00:41:34
this idea of microclimates, and I'm originally from
00:41:34 -->
00:41:35
the Bay Area.
00:41:35 -->
00:41:37
The Bay Area is known for microclimates.
00:41:38 -->
00:41:40
That 10 miles away the climate is very
00:41:40 -->
00:41:40
different.
00:41:41 -->
00:41:42
If you're in, let's just say, Castro Valley
00:41:42 -->
00:41:44
or Hayward, because you're closer to the Bay,
00:41:44 -->
00:41:46
that's very different than if you just go
00:41:46 -->
00:41:48
over the 580 and you're in a place
00:41:48 -->
00:41:49
like Dublin.
00:41:49 -->
00:41:51
Or if you just go down the road
00:41:51 -->
00:41:53
where you're in Lafayette, that's different than being
00:41:53 -->
00:41:53
in Oakland.
00:41:53 -->
00:41:55
It's different than being in San Francisco.
00:41:56 -->
00:41:59
There's different climates and they're not that far
00:41:59 -->
00:42:01
in terms of miles away from each other.
00:42:01 -->
00:42:02
They're microclimates.
00:42:02 -->
00:42:03
So what is a microclimate?
00:42:04 -->
00:42:07
The climate of a very small or restricted
00:42:07 -->
00:42:09
area, especially when this differs from the climate
00:42:09 -->
00:42:11
of the surrounding area.
00:42:12 -->
00:42:14
So the macroclimate of our society is a
00:42:14 -->
00:42:15
toxic one.
00:42:15 -->
00:42:15
That's a typo.
00:42:15 -->
00:42:16
You can take out the E.
00:42:17 -->
00:42:19
A toxic one of kufr and fisk.
00:42:19 -->
00:42:20
That's the reality.
00:42:22 -->
00:42:25
Disbelief and we're being called to indecency and
00:42:25 -->
00:42:26
that immorality.
00:42:27 -->
00:42:31
But then how you can have a microclimate
00:42:31 -->
00:42:34
within the macroclimate where you and I come
00:42:34 -->
00:42:35
together in a place like this.
00:42:36 -->
00:42:39
How big is that piece of land compared
00:42:39 -->
00:42:40
to everything that is around us?
00:42:40 -->
00:42:41
It's tiny.
00:42:41 -->
00:42:43
How big is this building compared to everything
00:42:43 -->
00:42:44
that is around us?
00:42:44 -->
00:42:45
It's tiny.
00:42:46 -->
00:42:47
And this is what we need to have
00:42:47 -->
00:42:49
all over the United States of America and
00:42:49 -->
00:42:51
everywhere else where Islam spreads.
00:42:52 -->
00:42:54
Place microclimates where you and I can come
00:42:54 -->
00:42:56
and grow and be nourished.
00:42:57 -->
00:43:00
And then once we get strong, we take
00:43:00 -->
00:43:03
this light and this khair to people that
00:43:03 -->
00:43:03
are outside.
00:43:04 -->
00:43:10
So, to cultivate holistic learning environments, rooted, and
00:43:10 -->
00:43:12
again you have this word, this was chosen
00:43:12 -->
00:43:18
to invoke this sense of this natural metaphor.
00:43:18 -->
00:43:20
It's to cause a plant or cutting to
00:43:20 -->
00:43:22
grow roots, but then it connotes this meaning
00:43:22 -->
00:43:25
of to establish deeply and firmly.
00:43:26 -->
00:43:30
We want these learning environments to be rooted
00:43:30 -->
00:43:33
and knowledge, devotion, and service.
00:43:34 -->
00:43:35
And for time's sake, I'm going to have
00:43:35 -->
00:43:37
to spare myself from going into those details
00:43:37 -->
00:43:39
and everything else that they include.
00:43:42 -->
00:43:45
And then we have this word, programs.
00:43:48 -->
00:43:51
So, by providing full-time, part-time, online,
00:43:51 -->
00:43:53
and community programs.
00:43:54 -->
00:43:56
And you have the difference there for you,
00:43:56 -->
00:43:58
but the whole purpose here of talking about
00:43:58 -->
00:44:01
programs being full-time, part-time, online, or
00:44:01 -->
00:44:04
community is to relate to all the different
00:44:04 -->
00:44:05
groups of people.
00:44:07 -->
00:44:09
In other words, is that you want to
00:44:09 -->
00:44:11
have different offerings for people that are able
00:44:11 -->
00:44:13
to do it full-time, people that are
00:44:13 -->
00:44:15
able to do it part-time, people who
00:44:15 -->
00:44:19
geographically can be here with you, either on
00:44:19 -->
00:44:21
a daily basis or a weekly basis if
00:44:21 -->
00:44:23
they live close enough, and then online for
00:44:23 -->
00:44:25
people who can't physically be here.
00:44:26 -->
00:44:28
And yes, you can create an environment online.
00:44:28 -->
00:44:31
It is more difficult, but I would love
00:44:31 -->
00:44:36
to see very serious research into how blessed
00:44:36 -->
00:44:41
environments can be created online, whereas normally technology
00:44:41 -->
00:44:44
in the online world, it's a medium where
00:44:44 -->
00:44:47
there's various degrees of separation.
00:44:48 -->
00:44:50
But there are people of Allah that through
00:44:50 -->
00:44:53
the blessed state of their hearts, they can,
00:44:53 -->
00:44:57
if you will, spiritualize technology where it actually
00:44:57 -->
00:45:00
has an impact that it wouldn't have had
00:45:00 -->
00:45:01
were it not to be for the state
00:45:01 -->
00:45:03
of their blessed heart, even if that person
00:45:03 -->
00:45:05
be online and not be in person.
00:45:05 -->
00:45:07
So yes, even online, there will be people
00:45:07 -->
00:45:09
who are never able to be able to
00:45:09 -->
00:45:10
live close to Muslims.
00:45:11 -->
00:45:13
We have thousands and thousands of people like
00:45:13 -->
00:45:16
that in this country and throughout the world.
00:45:17 -->
00:45:19
There are people in the heart of Tel
00:45:19 -->
00:45:22
Aviv that take online classes and no one
00:45:22 -->
00:45:23
can even know.
00:45:23 -->
00:45:25
There are people whose families don't even know
00:45:25 -->
00:45:27
they're Muslim and they hide in their closet
00:45:27 -->
00:45:27
to learn.
00:45:28 -->
00:45:29
And not just one or two.
00:45:30 -->
00:45:32
These things might sound like they come as
00:45:32 -->
00:45:33
a shock to us, but these things are
00:45:33 -->
00:45:34
very real.
00:45:34 -->
00:45:36
There are people all over the world that
00:45:36 -->
00:45:38
follow different things that people are doing here
00:45:38 -->
00:45:40
in this country because they can't find people
00:45:40 -->
00:45:42
locally that fit their needs.
00:45:43 -->
00:45:44
So this is very real.
00:45:44 -->
00:45:46
We have to really study this.
00:45:47 -->
00:45:50
And online is a very important part.
00:45:51 -->
00:45:53
Online is a band-aid in so far
00:45:53 -->
00:45:55
as someone could actually do it in person.
00:45:56 -->
00:45:58
But if someone can't ever become a person,
00:45:59 -->
00:46:02
that environment has to be created for them.
00:46:03 -->
00:46:06
So then we get to this idea of
00:46:06 -->
00:46:07
programs.
00:46:08 -->
00:46:11
And the heart of the work lies in
00:46:11 -->
00:46:11
these programs.
00:46:12 -->
00:46:15
Programs is not really the best word for
00:46:15 -->
00:46:15
it.
00:46:15 -->
00:46:16
It's the only way we really knew how
00:46:16 -->
00:46:17
to refer to it.
00:46:18 -->
00:46:22
But programs or offerings, what it really is
00:46:22 -->
00:46:27
is these opportunities of these individual environments of
00:46:27 -->
00:46:30
various sorts, either online or in person, full
00:46:30 -->
00:46:31
-time or part-time.
00:46:31 -->
00:46:34
It's different opportunities that people have to come
00:46:34 -->
00:46:39
to that receive nourishment and to benefit for
00:46:39 -->
00:46:39
growth.
00:46:40 -->
00:46:42
And then the last bit of this here
00:46:42 -->
00:46:43
is this idea.
00:46:43 -->
00:46:46
And so there's that when it comes to
00:46:46 -->
00:46:48
programs, there's a few things that are really
00:46:48 -->
00:46:48
important.
00:46:49 -->
00:46:51
One, that we recognize that they're the heart
00:46:51 -->
00:46:51
of the work.
00:46:52 -->
00:46:55
Two, this is where relationships come in.
00:46:56 -->
00:47:00
And the realization of Iman, Islam, and Ihsan
00:47:00 -->
00:47:01
is a lifelong process.
00:47:02 -->
00:47:04
So relationships must be emphasized.
00:47:05 -->
00:47:08
And as we like to speak here, being
00:47:08 -->
00:47:11
a lifelong partner for a lifelong quest.
00:47:12 -->
00:47:14
But then there's the idea of weaving.
00:47:14 -->
00:47:17
A diverse set of programs that allows for
00:47:17 -->
00:47:20
various levels of formal learning, as well as
00:47:20 -->
00:47:24
regular opportunities to sustain and increase one's knowledge
00:47:24 -->
00:47:25
and practice.
00:47:26 -->
00:47:28
And then you have this idea of accessibility.
00:47:29 -->
00:47:31
And it's of the utmost importance that these
00:47:31 -->
00:47:34
programs remain accessible to the community.
00:47:35 -->
00:47:38
And there not be barriers that based upon
00:47:38 -->
00:47:43
gender, based upon that socioeconomic demographics, is that
00:47:43 -->
00:47:45
we try our best to remove these barriers.
00:47:46 -->
00:47:48
And we try our best to make education
00:47:48 -->
00:47:52
accessible to anyone and everyone who wants to
00:47:52 -->
00:47:52
learn.
00:47:53 -->
00:47:55
And one of the biggest barriers oftentimes is
00:47:55 -->
00:47:56
the financial one.
00:47:56 -->
00:47:58
And we have to find ways to get
00:47:58 -->
00:47:58
around that.
00:47:59 -->
00:48:01
And then finally, and we'll go over these
00:48:01 -->
00:48:02
very quickly, I think I've gone a little
00:48:02 -->
00:48:05
bit over time, is this idea of the
00:48:05 -->
00:48:07
environments of learning, the key components of them.
00:48:08 -->
00:48:10
These are just a few.
00:48:11 -->
00:48:13
And again, just as there are certain conditions
00:48:13 -->
00:48:15
that must be present in the physical environment
00:48:15 -->
00:48:19
for growth, likewise there are conditions that must
00:48:19 -->
00:48:21
exist for religious and spiritual growth.
00:48:21 -->
00:48:24
These are some of the key components that
00:48:24 -->
00:48:26
are like those other factors that lead to
00:48:26 -->
00:48:27
growth of plants.
00:48:28 -->
00:48:31
So having a chain of narration back to
00:48:31 -->
00:48:34
the Prophet ﷺ, having teachers with a direct
00:48:34 -->
00:48:37
chain back to Rasulullah ﷺ, this is one
00:48:37 -->
00:48:39
of the most important because this is where
00:48:39 -->
00:48:44
the floodgates of meded, that spiritual nourishment that
00:48:44 -->
00:48:44
flow.
00:48:45 -->
00:48:47
And this word meded is a beautiful word.
00:48:47 -->
00:48:49
Meded is spiritual nourishment.
00:48:50 -->
00:48:54
Meded is to the spiritual aspect of you
00:48:54 -->
00:48:57
what food is to the physical aspect of
00:48:57 -->
00:48:57
you.
00:48:57 -->
00:48:59
So when you eat food, you get energy
00:48:59 -->
00:49:00
as a result.
00:49:01 -->
00:49:02
That energy comes from the food that you
00:49:02 -->
00:49:03
eat.
00:49:04 -->
00:49:08
Spiritual nourishment, meded, spiritual food, is where you
00:49:08 -->
00:49:09
get your spiritual energy from.
00:49:10 -->
00:49:13
And one of the sources of that are
00:49:13 -->
00:49:16
the great mashayikh who have an unbroken chain
00:49:16 -->
00:49:17
of narration back to the Prophet ﷺ.
00:49:18 -->
00:49:20
But it also has to be an environment
00:49:20 -->
00:49:21
of love.
00:49:21 -->
00:49:23
Love of Allah and the messenger of Allah.
00:49:23 -->
00:49:27
People come into that environment and this is
00:49:27 -->
00:49:27
just how people are.
00:49:27 -->
00:49:29
This is an affair of love.
00:49:29 -->
00:49:32
Loving Allah, loving the messenger of Allah, loving
00:49:32 -->
00:49:34
to worship Allah, loving to draw near to
00:49:34 -->
00:49:36
Allah, loving to help people, loving to serve
00:49:36 -->
00:49:37
people.
00:49:37 -->
00:49:39
It has to be an affair of love.
00:49:40 -->
00:49:42
We can't let the nafs get the best
00:49:42 -->
00:49:44
of it where we start having problems between
00:49:44 -->
00:49:46
us and so forth and we can't love
00:49:46 -->
00:49:48
our fellow brothers and sisters for one reason
00:49:48 -->
00:49:48
or another.
00:49:49 -->
00:49:51
But it also has to be an environment
00:49:51 -->
00:49:53
of following of the Prophet's sunnah.
00:49:54 -->
00:49:56
When people come into that environment they see
00:49:56 -->
00:49:58
people following the sunnah.
00:49:59 -->
00:50:01
That's an environment that will nurture them.
00:50:01 -->
00:50:04
But there's also a permeation of spirituality.
00:50:04 -->
00:50:06
An example of this is why we do
00:50:06 -->
00:50:07
the tasbihat out loud, this is why we
00:50:07 -->
00:50:10
do the invocations out loud so that we
00:50:10 -->
00:50:12
can all benefit from that.
00:50:12 -->
00:50:13
So we're constantly making, if we're just all
00:50:13 -->
00:50:16
left to ourselves which one of us is
00:50:16 -->
00:50:16
going to make dhikr?
00:50:16 -->
00:50:17
Maybe a few people.
00:50:18 -->
00:50:20
But when we do it out loud and
00:50:20 -->
00:50:22
the deen has this latitude in the sharia
00:50:22 -->
00:50:25
to do this, everybody can benefit from that.
00:50:26 -->
00:50:28
And also purity of heart.
00:50:28 -->
00:50:30
When you come into an environment where hearts
00:50:30 -->
00:50:33
are pure, we can sense that.
00:50:33 -->
00:50:35
Where people actually really want good for each
00:50:35 -->
00:50:36
other.
00:50:36 -->
00:50:37
They don't envy each other.
00:50:38 -->
00:50:39
There's no hatred in the hearts.
00:50:40 -->
00:50:41
There's empathy.
00:50:42 -->
00:50:44
And in an environment, and some of those
00:50:44 -->
00:50:48
qualities are coming, that remaining people-centric, that
00:50:48 -->
00:50:50
the whole point here is that it's about
00:50:50 -->
00:50:51
people.
00:50:51 -->
00:50:53
It's about individual transformation.
00:50:54 -->
00:50:56
It's about planting those seeds in the hearts
00:50:56 -->
00:50:57
of individuals.
00:50:58 -->
00:51:02
And then mercy, empathy, and concern for people.
00:51:03 -->
00:51:06
Imagine you came into that environment and everybody
00:51:06 -->
00:51:09
who was present had mercy and empathy and
00:51:09 -->
00:51:13
concern for everyone that was around them in
00:51:13 -->
00:51:14
a real way.
00:51:15 -->
00:51:16
Oh my God.
00:51:17 -->
00:51:20
You would be transformed just by having that
00:51:20 -->
00:51:20
in the heart.
00:51:20 -->
00:51:22
If someone walked through this door and that
00:51:22 -->
00:51:25
was our reality, that person would be transformed
00:51:26 -->
00:51:29
before we said anything or did anything.
00:51:29 -->
00:51:30
Just by what's in the heart.
00:51:30 -->
00:51:33
There would be a rain in the unseen
00:51:33 -->
00:51:37
of mercy that would be a copious rain
00:51:37 -->
00:51:40
of mercy in the unseen that people would
00:51:40 -->
00:51:42
come into and they would feel like, Oh
00:51:42 -->
00:51:45
my God, where was I?
00:51:46 -->
00:51:48
Just as if you walked outside and it
00:51:48 -->
00:51:51
was pouring down rain that you would know
00:51:51 -->
00:51:52
the effects of that because your clothes would
00:51:52 -->
00:51:53
be soaking wet.
00:51:54 -->
00:51:58
And if there's spiritual rain pouring down, people
00:51:58 -->
00:51:59
feel it.
00:52:00 -->
00:52:01
They know this is different.
00:52:03 -->
00:52:04
And this is not about calling to here.
00:52:04 -->
00:52:05
We need this environment.
00:52:06 -->
00:52:06
Not just here.
00:52:06 -->
00:52:09
We need these environments all over the world.
00:52:10 -->
00:52:13
And there's keys that you and I can
00:52:13 -->
00:52:15
learn in order exactly how to do that.
00:52:16 -->
00:52:19
It's a science and it's application oftentimes in
00:52:19 -->
00:52:20
art.
00:52:20 -->
00:52:24
Respect of the ummah's diversity is key.
00:52:24 -->
00:52:26
People from different backgrounds.
00:52:26 -->
00:52:28
People with different understandings.
00:52:28 -->
00:52:30
People that practice slightly different.
00:52:31 -->
00:52:34
We have to respect the ummah's diversity.
00:52:34 -->
00:52:36
A spirit of service.
00:52:37 -->
00:52:39
Text-based teaching.
00:52:39 -->
00:52:41
Group invocations and gatherings and remembrance.
00:52:41 -->
00:52:44
These are all key components that come together
00:52:44 -->
00:52:47
to help create this environment and more could
00:52:47 -->
00:52:47
be added there.
00:52:47 -->
00:52:49
But if you look at this, all of
00:52:49 -->
00:52:50
this can be learned.
00:52:51 -->
00:52:52
This can all be learned.
00:52:52 -->
00:52:54
And if we embody this and live this,
00:52:55 -->
00:52:58
is that we will then be people who
00:52:58 -->
00:53:02
wherever we go is that people's experience of
00:53:02 -->
00:53:03
us and what it is that we do.
00:53:03 -->
00:53:06
It creates an environment that's different than everything
00:53:06 -->
00:53:08
else that is transpiring around them.
00:53:09 -->
00:53:10
This is the secret of transpiration.
00:53:10 -->
00:53:13
Is living these realities and then doing whatever
00:53:13 -->
00:53:15
it is that we can at every different
00:53:15 -->
00:53:15
level.
00:53:16 -->
00:53:19
And hopefully that environments of living will spread
00:53:19 -->
00:53:21
in these lands and may Allah subhanahu wa
00:53:21 -->
00:53:23
ta'ala give us tawfiq and bless us
00:53:23 -->
00:53:25
in all of our affairs and open up
00:53:25 -->
00:53:27
the doors of His mercy for us.
00:53:27 -->
00:53:29
Ya arham al rahimin wa sallallahu alayhi wa
00:53:29 -->
00:53:33
sallam wa ala alihi wa sallam walhamdulillahi rabbil
00:53:33 -->
00:53:35
alameen I apologize for going over.
00:53:35 -->
00:53:37
I think we have to move right into
00:53:37 -->
00:53:38
the next class.
00:53:39 -->
00:53:40
So we'll have to save our questions inshallah.
00:53:41 -->
00:53:42
Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh
