Seeing the Signs of Allah in our Lives
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Channel: Yasmin Mogahed
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AI Generated Transcript ©
Thank you. I didn't have to be the first one. Thank you. Okay.
My second request is this. And this is, this is a time where we're all enjoying ourselves socializing, having like one of the best feels I've had anywhere in the world because you're born.
We are surrounded.
And I want to make a request just to kind of focus on what we're really doing here. Okay.
You guys ready for my first request?
Okay. My first request is I want to ask everyone in this room to set an
intention of why we're here. What do we hope to get now maybe we came because we wanted something nice to do on Friday night, that's okay.
Maybe you wanted to get a nice meal, that's also okay. But I want you to take the next few moments,
to silently
something you hope to benefit, and something you hope to take home with you, and something that you hope to benefit others with.
And everyone gets to hear that.
The second request I have is I want to ask everyone in this room, to make a go ha, I want you
to actually just ask the law to give you that thing that you can to see. And to make this time beneficial, I only have a few minutes with you. We only have a few minutes together. But to make this time beneficial for yourself, and for others and for every single person in this group. And so that we can help those people who this amazing organization are working to help kvk I was actually very impressed with you guys a few moments to make your intention, I was very impressed by this organization was solid number one, I'm always impressed by an all women organization, because I find that there's something really, really unique about women's organizations, we're really good at it.
We're just actually very, very good at it. And women have started. And this is just completely through a lot of experience with various different people and organizations and traveling the world, women have a certain set of skills. And when they come together for something they really believe in. It's amazing. And so I want to really applaud them for that. But I want to also tell you why I'm most impressed by them. When we are sincere, also kind of dilutes Baraka and blessing in our efforts, almost apologia
multiplies our efforts. And as to what I feel like I'm seeing with this organization, this is an organization that has really, really made it a commitment to the people that they're trying to help in other parts of the world that are less fortunate. The type of food that we just had, people in other parts of the world cannot afford that. And that's why I didn't come together to serve those. And what really, really impressed me is 100% of what you give some organization actually goes to those people. And you really never see that. And that's because they look from their own efforts and their own pockets to pay that overhead. And that's really something that I think really makes him
stand out. So I asked you to support kbk I intend to support educational our family does. And I asked a lot of that if you continue to bless this organization, because so long as we are sincere about this waterphone
and multiplies whatever we do. All right. So now I'm going to pause and I'm going to ask you to please, I'm going to ask you to do those two things. I asked to set an intention, and to make a block. So just take a few moments quietly to do
talking without talking to each other. I'm not gonna call out
You guys,
ready?
For polio? So as I was sort of reflecting on what I really wanted
to my mind, about something that a lot of us I think struggle with, how many of you guys know who that is? Everyone raise their hand, who's a law, our Creator, our sustainer Our Lord, every single day we turn towards the less father if we are practicing, and we pray to Him every right yes or no. But, but, but do we really know?
Here's the thing about Allah, we cannot see him.
We cannot see him. We began our forefather as our for Mother, what began with
a converse with him.
But we can't do that anymore. And so now all these years later, we've been sent out to this earth. And we've become, in a sense, disconnected from a lot in a physical sense, right? No one can see a love. Am I right? And so this here is the test. The test is that you and I have to live this portion of our life. And it is a very limited portion of our life. The process has been talked about this life, like
stuff, you know, when you're traveling, right? You're you're driving down the highway, and then you need to stop to eat or use the restroom. And you just stop for a few minutes. He said that this life is like that. He said, What am I he said that I am like a traveler who stops in the state of the street for a while, and then continues on his journey.
So right now we're at that rescue, that's called.
Okay. It's called dunya. And by the way, the word God, I don't know what it means. It means that this is lower. And so it literally means the lower life.
We are currently in the lower life. Why? Because there is a higher life and that higher life we haven't gotten to yet. And inshallah we all hope to get there. And that's the life of the hereafter. So right now this lower life, we are disconnected from a lot of physical sense, we can see.
We can't talk to him in the same, you know, in the physical way.
So now we are,
there's a separation that has happened, when we came to do.
And you know what that's done to the human being? Do you know what that separation has done to the human being, it created a vacuum. And in turtle vacuum, you know what that means? There is an emptiness inside of us. There is an empty spot. There is an empty place inside every single human being. And I'm not just talking about everyone.
I'm not just talking about everyone in this room, I am talking to them, every single human being has an empty spot inside of them, an empty place in the core of their heart. Why? Because we were created by a love for
a once upon a time a sense wasn't
to
ever reflect on this. I know most people just from our era. You understand what this means? But have we reflected on this? What
we have not created
as human beings for any purpose. Except Oh, what does that mean? Does that mean that all we're supposed to do all day is pray? Is that what that means? We have to think deeply about this. If Allah is saying that I have not created for any purpose except to do
worship. Is he saying we're supposed to live our lives in a Masjid? Or in a cave like a monk? And the answer is absolutely not. That's not what it means. What it means is something much deeper. It means that we were put on this earth rather we were created, in order to know love, and willingly and lovingly submit to our Creator. That's actually the purpose of our creation. And the idea or worship does not just mean prayer.
It is not just what you're doing the message.
And I'm going to tell you, what's actually going to blow your mind and it has everything to do with what we're doing here. And the prophets I send them said that the most beloved person to a lot and I want you guys to
Imagine Who's this person, right, the most beloved person to a lot, you're gonna imagine someone who lives their life probably
maybe spends a lot of time in Africa, always read the Koran. And these are amazing things. These are amazing acts of worship. But you know what he says, the most beloved person to Allah is the person who was the most beneficial to others.
The person who helps others the most, the person who benefits others the most, the person who sees a person, another person in need, and helps them
who sees another person who is hungry and feeds them, sees another person who's going through a difficulty and removes that difficulty. This is what he says is the most beloved person who will fall and then wasp is the problem densify second says
that I prefer not to talk about himself. He said, I prefer to help my brother in need or sister obviously, then to be an active calf in this festive for a month.
That is intense. Everyone should reflect on that. What are we doing here? We are here about service. We are here about helping some people who are suffering, and more hungry in other parts of the world. And the prophets, I said that he preferred to help someone in need that to be in Africa for a month in this semester. And by the way, he's not talking about the messages in Dearborn. He's talking about messages.
That's intense. And so when we talk about a lot, a slave of a wall, as I am a wife, or a husband, or a mother, or a teacher, or a doctor, or anything else that I'm doing my daughter, a son.
And that's what I really want to talk about. How can we start to see a long
while we are in this restaurant of Kenya?
And so let me just give a couple examples. And I want to begin by something that is on a lot of people's mind right now. And that's Coronavirus.
I want to talk about it. Because recently, I've been I've tried to sort of avoid news to be completely honest with everyone. And that is there's a specific reason I do that. I believe that when we become too hyper focused on negativity, it becomes not only unhealthy, but
it actually
paralyzes us, it makes us unable to actually act, when you hyper focus on negative things. Have you guys ever been a time in your life where you have a problem? And All you think about is the problem.
And all you talk about is the problem. And all you you know, maybe all you write about is how you make?
So basically envelops in what a problem. Let me ask you what happens during that phase of your life. Are you relaxed? Is the thinking about the problem and talking about the problem? Is it making you relaxed, and you have no idea what I'm talking about? I know we're era women and we all do it.
When you hyper focus on the problem, it grows.
It actually grows arms and legs, it starts to become bigger than it is it starts to
envelop you, it starts to drown you and and paralyze you. And so it isn't healthy. And it will not make you effective. And of course you're gonna see but you have to be informed you have to be informed but not hyper focus on negativity. Because when you do that you do not become effective to anyone, you actually become paralyzed. Very important. So recently, there's been you know, a lot of stuff about this Coronavirus. And there's been a lot of panic. I'm about to go to the UK and Sheldon a few days. And there's been especially a lot of panic coming out of the UK. You know, questions like about Liberty still coming, you know, because like when there's a plane, you're not supposed to
leave, and you have to go and get all this kind of stuff. People are very much panicking. And so
you know, the stuff of it, and everything like that. I want to actually talk about something deeper.
And that is when these things happen. Things like a plague. Things that are so scary that we completely feel are out of our control. What can we reflect on? What can we learn in those circumstances.
This is an example of how we can see a loss
why I'm going to give
A few reasons, because it shows us how vulnerable we are, and how desperately we are in need of the protection of
no human, you can wash your hands all you want, go ahead and wash your hands, I'm not telling you.
You know, you all know what I'm saying, right? Wash your hands 50 billion times a day, it's fun. But at the end of the day, we can wash our hands all you want. But it's
gotta have something written for us, we cannot prevent. There's a hadith that says that if all the people were to gather together
to party with something,
they could not harm you, except what Allah has written for you. I'm talking everyone in the world has come together to hurt you, it would not be able, they would not have the ability to hurt you, unless Allah had written it for you. Unless it was by the will of almost. And similarly, if all the people came together to harm you with something, right, it could not fit on this whole organ. And the other way is everyone had come together to benefit with something. So people want to come together and you know, give you something to benefit you somehow, they could not accept what Allah had written for you. Do you know what this is called?
This is called, you know what the problem is? We don't really understand. Because we think it's just to say that a lot is very easy. We know how to say it when we're two years old.
But is actually a loss of how to balance everything. Seeing that what's going to protect us is a long
it's not me, it's not what I do. And that doesn't mean that I don't tie my camel right? We all know the famous
man he didn't ties camel, he asked him why? He said because I have.
So what are the profits I said,
tie your camel and at the same time, a lot. By the way, a lot of us misunderstand that. You don't actually heard this, have you miss quoted as that
means that means tire camel, and then put your trust in love. It's not what the hugging says that Heidi says.
And as you know, in the Arabic language, when you say well, it means at the same time, you're not you're not tying your camel, and then you put your trust in a block. We're not washing our hands and wearing masks and hiding is only a loss of Hana data, who can cure us. And that brings me to another one of his attributes. This is how we see a lot through his attributes. A lot is a sheffy
that he is the only one who can heal or cure. There is no medicine that can heal ensure it is a law who uses the medicine to heal and cure. That's tell him
that is what it is. And so this is one example when we see the vulnerability that we now feel it should actually push us.
And it should push us to recognize a loss of power. And the fact I have to just tell you this when I saw that photo of Mecca empty when I saw the cabin, and I'm telling you if you'd be chills. It actually was a chilling photo. And I thought it was like photoshopped. And especially because I was just there in January. And I literally it was like my family and I went we came home literally as all this began. And I just realized that has a lot. It is a lot of controls. I can plan. All I want. I have a friend. God bless her soul. I have a friend right now. She is trying everything to go my own route right now from from the UK. And like she actually already has her ticket. She bought her
ticket, she has her visa and they closed it. And she's just like, Well no, maybe though I showed her the photo. I said sister
it's empty. You know she's she's so badly wants to be there and she has tied her candle she has put in her effort but who's in charge at the end of the day? And I don't think that has ever happened where the Kava was empty like, like what since polish.
Or what I mean, I don't know. It's it's an unbelievable sight because no time of day or or a year is
is not isn't not full, and someone is always worshipping, almost kind of at the Capitol. To see it like that was to me like a sign of a was
a sign not just of his father but of his power.
This is the power of Allah soprano pattern. If he wants to close the cabinet, he will close it.
That's the power of that. And when he opens, nobody can close it. You know what I mean? Like all the nations can come together and decide they want to close the cabinet.
Right. But if Omar decides,
it was empty, I was like,
that is the power of Allah subhanaw taala, we need to go back to that.
The recognize to recognize that we are the haves and he is the that we are the slave and he's in charge. And if we're missing the points right now, and we're thinking it's just about getting sanitizer,
up what I'm saying. If we're missing the point right now and think it's just about getting sanitizer, then that is tragic, because we've missed the point, get your sanitizer get by by a year supply of sanitizer. So what I'm saying, I'm saying let's not miss the point. This is these are signs of a loss of hanagan. And I'm not going to say they're signs of his anger or his mercy or that I'm going to say, because the prophets I should have said that these are both punishments and mercy. So we don't look at us will and his reasoning and his wisdom. But what we do know is that these are the signs of a loss of power.
And they are signs and reminders of our need for a lot
of you guys understand what I'm saying. They are to remind us and to bring us back and to wake us up, because a lot of us are sleeping through our lives.
I'm gonna repeat that a lot of us are sleeping through our lives. A lot of us have our life on this thing called autopilot.
You know what I mean? just going through the motions, just going through the motions. I wake up in the morning, I get my kids ready for school or I go to work or I go to school. I put my Macumba I love muffle, but as I've recently really, really learned to make remote people I just want to say I'm very happy with myself.
Egyptian we don't make possible so that's really impressive.
And we're just in autopilot. We are living just like we're going through the motions of life. We open our social media, even the way we go through our newsfeed is like autopilot. We're like zombies. You know what I'm saying? Like? Yes, yes. Does this look familiar? It's like an exercise of the fingers. Just we scroll we we want you know, it's almost like we're just living our lives sleepwalking.
And these types of things happen to wake us up.
I'm telling you, the power being empty, should wake us up.
That almost nobody wants to block us from his house. There's nothing you can do about it. No matter how many visas you have, and how many tickets you have and how many packages you've paid for. Because I'm seeing it right now.
If a law wants to close that opportunity to him, there's nothing you can do.
And Allah subhanaw taala is in charge. So sometimes these things happen to wake us up.
And we go through life.
We got very caught up in life. Allah Subhana Allah says, And have
you become distracted by this collecting of things. What do we collect these days? Well, we all know we collect money. But what about collecting likes? We collect followers, we collect praise. We collect you know, happy comments. And boy, do we watch them? Oh, I have a notification. You know what I mean? We are very distracted by collecting stuff. And that's exactly what a lot of how to says and have
that you become distracted by this collecting of stuff.
Until you and he doesn't say go to the grave. He says visit
until you visit the great Why does he say visit because it's just a stop. It's a it's another rest area. Let's make sure that it's a rest area for us alone that maybe and not a torment for me. But it all depends on have we seen a lot in this life. And I am saying seeing along with your heart that you see the law all around you when you're living your life you're seeing that's a law that
Is that a law, it's not just I need to wash my hands more, I need to wear a mask, I need to avoid this, this and that we're missing the point. And again, I repeat, we are told to tie our camel.
The profitsystem said tire camel at the same time as eloquent as having to overcome. But we are missing the point.
Allah is the one who protects. And it is only Allah. And Allah is the one who cures if God forbid we ever were to get sick from anything who is going to cure you? Well, they don't have the up work to this virus. Right there are, there isn't a cure, there wasn't a vaccine, who's gonna cure you. Again,
this is a sign of almost dependable guy. This is a sign of a loss. So we have to start realizing that
as Muslims, it's not just about, you know, going through the motions, but our entire focus is on our money, and our status parties and our fashion, and what people are doing and what people are saying and what they're commenting on our social media. Think about what we're focused on in our life. Think about what you're focused on, think about what I'm thinking about and reflect on it. And how the cancer tells us that we're distracted by this accumulation of stuff. They didn't have social media, they didn't have like some followers, but we got that now, right to add it to the things that we collect.
But is that is, is that our focus? Because I promise you, every single one of us is going to return back to the most important of them.
We can't see him now. But there will come a time when we will stand in front of almost.
That's a fact.
That's a fact. Are we prepared for that?
Do we even do we even think twice about a lot in our lives? I'm gonna tell you something else very powerful. How many of you know someone who on their deathbed was unable to say that?
Because when I'm talking about, I think everyone's heard some story.
What happens at your death, you know what happens at your death. There's a phenomenon that's very powerful that happens at death. And that is that whatever is actually inside of our hearts, whatever we fill our hearts with in this life, it comes out and
I want you to reflect on. This is why if a person has filled their heart with money, or filled their heart with their business, or filled their heart with rage and hatred, that these are the things that will come out at death.
And those people who feel their heart with a lot, they are able to say that
because that he left him a lot is actually a privilege.
It's a privilege. Not everyone can say it. Just like in your grave. When you're asked Who is your Lord? If I asked you that right now everyone can answer even the children.
Who is your Lord? zz?
What's your deen? It's easy. It's this man. Tell me about the Prophet Muhammad. So I said it's easy. These answers are easy, right?
Oh, why isn't some people can't answer in the rain. When these exact questions are asked, I don't know the answer is I don't know. People said no, no, it's because they didn't live it. You know what I mean? It was autopilot. It was something we just said with our tongues we didn't live in it wasn't in the heart. And now that brings me back to this empty place we have inside us. I told you that our separation from Allah Subhana. Allah created a vacuum internally, in every single human being. What does that mean? It means that we go through this life trying to fill that emptiness. Every human being is trying to fill that emptiness.
And some people go to drugs to do it.
This is the reason we have addiction.
If you want to peel away all the rhetoric, this is actually the reason it's because a person didn't know how to fill that empty place. They have an emptiness in them, and they don't know how to fill it. And they don't realize that the reason they have that emptiness is because they're no longer with a law.
Well muscled up to genuinely
need. It means that our existence our existence is about being with Allah, knowing Allah, if I don't know him, and I reject Him, then that means I'm not fulfilling the purpose.
Purpose of my existence, I'm going to be extremely empty.
And that emptiness is actually going to drive me crazy. I've recently been reading a lot and hearing a lot about people with addictions.
And this is, in some way, what they're saying that they are constantly in pain, that there's an emptiness inside. And they're trying to fill it.
Some people feel that emptiness, with distractions with materialism.
Some people feel that emptiness with money, or they try,
they try to fill in with power, they try to fill it with people, having a lot of distractions, a lot of people, a lot of, you know, socializing. A lot of whatever it is to fill that emptiness, some people try to fill it with their own children. This is also very deep.
Some people take their children
and put their children at the center of their hearts and their lives. And a lot of people don't tell you this, I'm going to tell you the secret that is extremely dangerous.
And it will cause excruciating pain. And your children will be the cause of your greatest pain, if you put them in the wrong place.
If you put them in the wrong place, those same children that you're literally worshiping,
are going to be the one who causes you your pain. And no one has caused you pain like it before or since. And it's actually because you put them in that core, that empty spot that's supposed to be for God, that's supposed to be for a law, and you put your child there, and no one told you that that was wrong. In fact, they called it love.
It called it love that you revolve your life around another human being, that's not love, it's worship.
It's actually the meaning of taking any nap. That's powerful stuff. And some people take that he left as their own child,
and they start to do a walk around them.
You know, this revolving your existence around your child. Some people do it with another person, sometimes it's their spouse.
Sometimes they take their spouse, especially when you know you first get married, right? And you think that this individual, this creation of a loss of anabolic is going to kill every empty space you have inside you. And what happens to you, you get very disappointed.
very disappointed. Why? Because you're expecting the creation to be the Creator.
And then what happens is you move on you say forget you. Now you have a child to say now it's gonna be you.
Whoa, whoa, now that's gonna be you. Right? Because you're, you're useless now, you totally couldn't fulfill me? Well, because you're expecting something that is incorrect. And so you put that aside, you say, forget you. Now, I'm going to do with my child, my child is going to fill that emptiness inside.
My child is going to do it and it's usually my son. Yes. Let's be honest here. Yeah, my son,
my son, right? It's the same thing with all cultures. I know his Arab culture, basically, it's all the same. It's all the same. My son is gonna fill this emptiness. But here's what no one is telling us.
Only a lot can fill that into us. Only a lot can fill that empty hole. It's not going to be your career. You know, there's people who worship their careers.
There are people who worship their business, worship their career, worship their money, meaning if they lose their money, they have no more reason to exist. Some people will commit suicide. Some people will commit suicide if someone breaks up with them.
What is that? What is that actually what's happening there? What's happening is that you took an object of worship, other than a law, you took a person, you took your career, you took your job, you took your money, you took your own child, and that person or that career ends up stabbing you not to be mean, not to hurt you.
The way I explained it, it's like putting orange juice in the gas tank. You know, if you have a car and you go to the gas pane, and you're like, Okay, gas is expensive today, orange juice is on sale. I'm going to be really clever and you fill your car with orange juice. Who brought the car whose fault is it? And it's your fault. Why? Because the gas tank is not made to hold the orange juice. It's made to hold only one thing. Yeah, we have a gas tank inside. That's the core of our hearts.
And if you put orange juice in there, if you put your child in there, you put your son in there, you put your husband in there, your wife, your business, your job, your career,
your ego, your image, your power, your pocket you another one, what other people say, a big one that we worship, we live our lives. What are people gonna say? Well, what are people gonna say? What are people gonna do? We live our lives worshipping other people's opinions. That's a worship, we have to understand what that really means. It means that only a law filamentous only a law is at the core, not my business, my money, my child, my spouse, my fiance, what other people think? Social media power, ego image, whatever it is that we worship, fashion. I mean, some of us worship fashion. Fashion says some.
You know what I'm saying? You guys understand what I'm saying? fashion commands we hear and we obey. I'm seeing a lot of that. Especially with men's fashion. Let's be honest.
They're wearing tights now. Yeah, they're wearing tights. And you know what? They're not Peter Pan. And they're not you know, Robin tights. And somehow it's okay, because fashion said, so. No one else seems to have a problem with this anymore. I still have a problem with it. Because I remember the days when men wore pants.
I remember. I still remember
to remember. But I'm not. I'm actually old enough to remember what pants were pants. They aren't anymore. They aren't anymore. And at that time, 10 years ago, if you told the guy to put on tights, sorry, if you told the guy to put on what now what's on? He'd be like, Are you crazy? What do you think I am Exactly. Yeah, those are tights.
Truth Yes. Okay, I'm gonna leave that there. But the point is, we worship fashion. So now to walk on over here and be obey, we do whatever fashion tells us to do. Here is my point. We have an emptiness inside. And it can only be filled with one thing. It's there because we were separated from the last panel that we began agenda and we're hoping to go back to that's our home is not here. This is a rest area. Dearborn is a rest area dunya is a rest area.
We are going back to Allah subhanaw taala. And so our internally, we we feel that that separation. And so we need to fill it with also have a balance. And if we try to find it in anything else, we will fail and we will suffer
those
who don't know him, so kind of a little bit
too late.