Yasmin Mogahed – The Goal Of Change

			Assalamu alaikum This is Yasmin went ahead and you're listening to serenity streaming live on one
legacy radio. Today, I wanted to talk about a topic, which I think is something that a lot of us
think about a lot of us hope for. And sometimes we don't really know how to achieve. And that's the
goal of change. We think a lot of times about things in our own lives or things in our own selves
that we wish could be different, we wish that we could achieve a certain goal that we that we sort
of idealized in our mind, but we don't really know how to get there. And we don't really know,
usually what happens is, our mind sort of plays tricks on us. Or rather, one could say that the
		

			neffs, or shaitan, plays tricks on us. And what one of those tricks that is played on us is that the
goal is made to seem very, very far away. So for example, suppose that I live a life which is
distant from Allah subhanaw taala, I live a life which is, is far from him, and, and, and, and far
from his Deen. And I'm not really practicing in the way that I really wish I could, in the way that
I and that I ought to. And so what will happen is,
		

			as an obstacle that I really create for my own self, I'll see it as too difficult to change. I'll
think that Yeah, I wish that I could be a better Muslim, I wish that I could have a lot in my life,
I wish that I could be close to Allah, but it's too hard. It's too that that goal is just too far
away. And so the distance from that goal, the way that that that distance appears to me, makes me
basically becomes a barrier for me achieving or even taking any steps towards that goal. And the
reason why this is actually a deception is this and this is what inshallah I will talk about, for
today's show, is, is breaking down this basically this trick, this deception of shaitan, and of the
		

			neffs, that, that this goal of change this goal is of, for example, reaching Allah subhanaw taala,
or changing my life is is made to seem so far away, and why that's actually a deception.
		

			So people, a lot of times, they live, you know, we live our lives in a certain way. And sometimes we
get stuck in certain habits, we we get stuck in a in a certain sort of momentum of our life, just
because that's the way it's always been. And just because that's what's familiar, and just because
that's what we're used to, and we're afraid to make a change, we're afraid of something else, even
if it's something better, just because it's different. And a lot of times we are afraid, literally
we are afraid of change. And and what we have to do is overcome this fear of what of change, because
the truth is that as human beings going through this life, if we are not constantly striving and
		

			constantly transforming, and constantly changing, for the better, we are, by default, changing for
the worst. So anytime that we think that we're sort of standing still see, there's no steady state
in this life, there's nothing that stands still. And so if really, if we find ourselves in a point,
at a point in our life, where we just sort of feel stagnant, we we have we're not progressing, we're
not growing, we're not developing, we're not transforming and we're just sort of standing still,
then we can know for sure that we're actually declining, we're actually going down, because there is
no steady steady standstill. And if you're not going upwards, you're going downwards. So what we
		

			have to do is make it you know, we have to transform our whole idea of what is what is how should my
life really be how should my progress be? What should it look like? And what we have to understand
is that life in order to be going upwards in order to be going in the direction that we want to be
going towards Allah subhanaw taala and towards the Hereafter, we need to be constantly working on
ourselves, we need to be constantly growing and struggling in that in that path. If we get to a
point in our life, where we just sort of feel comfortable, we sort of you know, it's that sit that
kick back, sit down, relax, I'm okay. Then you know at that point that you're on your way down,
		

			because that's a point where a believer should never reach where you just feel satisfied with with
and when I say satisfied, I don't I don't mean satisfied with what Allah subhanaw taala has given
you. Of course we feel satisfied with our lot in the sense of, you know what Color My Skin is and
you know what, what race I was born with and the things
		

			In our life, which born in I'm sorry, the things in our life, which we cannot control, those things
we should be satisfied with, because they're from Allah subhanaw taala. But in the realm of the
things that we can control in the realm of the things which we are going to be held accountable
about, in the realm of our actions in the realm of our, the condition of our heart, in the condition
of our soul, in that realm, we should never get to a point where we're satisfied, we should never
get to a point where we think, okay, my heart is okay, I've my soul, you know, I'm good, I'm good,
I've reached that point. And I'm, I'm the, I'm the best Muslim, that I can be, or that I should be,
		

			and I don't need to strive anymore. That is a very, very dangerous place to be. And in fact, it's
indicative of the fact that we are in fact, going the opposite direction, and we're not where we
want to be. So one, one thing we have to keep in mind, the the first lesson is that the path to
Allah subhanaw taala needs to be a path of change, it needs to be a path of transformation, not a
path of standing still, because the moment that you stand still know that you're going in the
decline, you're going down
		

			the second deception that we need to break and I will inshallah get into more into detail when we
return from the commercial. The second
		

			return from the break, I'm sorry.
		

			The second lesson that we really need to understand and deception that we have to break is the idea
that our goals are so far away, and they're too far for me to reach. So inshallah we'll go ahead and
take that break right now. And when we return, we'll talk about how to break that deception, and
really take the first steps towards change.
		

			Welcome back, this is SME Mujahid and you're listening to serenity streaming live on one legacy
radio, we're speaking today about the topic of change, and and what it means to, to make a change in
our lives to make a change internally, and therefore, to make a change externally. And when we talk
about change, one really important principle that we need to keep in mind is that a lot of us have
situations in our life that we wish could be different, we have situations where we're not maybe
satisfied with the way our you know, maybe the way that our job is or the way our relationships are
or the way that we interact with the world. And, and and what we what we will find is that a lot of
		

			times when we're looking for the cause of the problem in those situations that we don't like, or
that we wish could be different, we look for the problem in the wrong place. And what I mean by that
is, oftentimes, when we're trying to diagnose a problem, and therefore look for a solution, we tend
to look at the problem externally, we tend to look at the problem outside and try to figure out,
Okay, if I have a problem with a colleague at work, well, what is that colleague doing wrong, and I
sit and I stay up all night, and I and I, and I lose, I lose sleep, and I and I sit and I and I'm
and I spend my mental energy, trying to make a list of all the things that that colleague is doing
		

			wrong, or, or that friend is doing wrong towards me. And and I'm trying and what I'm doing in this
way is I'm trying to find and ascertain the problem, and therefore the solution. Externally, I'm
looking externally to find the problem. And the the challenge with this is that if I do that, I will
never actually find the true problem. And I will never actually find the true solution. Because the
problems in our life and the things that that in our lives that we don't, we don't like, you know,
oftentimes we don't realize that in order to change, to make a change externally, the change needs
to begin internally. And and one of the, that I absolutely love and has really, this concept has
		

			really transformed my own life personally, is that the idea that Allah subhanaw taala says
		

			that Allah will never change the condition of a people until they first change what is inside
themselves in the law. You know, maybe Coleman had the euro euro maybe and force him that that
whatever it is of our condition externally, that we don't like and we wish could change it will not
change until we
		

			change what is inside of ourselves. And so what this does panela it actually brings the power back,
you know, the problem with thinking about, okay, what everybody else is doing wrong to me is that
now I'm powerless because I can't change how other people treat me, I can't change other people, but
there is something that I can change, and that's myself. And so when I take back that, you know,
the, the, the power, to change my circumstance, the power to change my, my situation, I take back
that power into my own hands in the sense of, of course, it is ultimately in the hands of a loss of
final data. But this is where and I will talk about the dynamic of how do we get the help of Allah
		

			Subhana Allah, and, and realizing that, that now it's not i'm not powerless anymore, it's not things
are happening to me, but rather that I have a role. And I have the ability to make changes
internally, that will make a change externally. And this is in this is in every realm of my life, in
my relationships, in my job in my school, that when I make that change internally, I will see change
externally. So then the question comes of how do we, you know, where does First of all, where does
change come from, and is changed something as difficult as it looks like, and and what I think that
the important thing to understand about the dynamic of change is that
		

			it's it's sort of like, I'd say that one of the best ahaadeeth to exemplify this this concept, is
the Hadith where Allah subhanaw taala Hadith, let's see that says that if if my servant takes one
step towards me, I take 10 steps towards him, towards my servant, and if my servant comes to me
walking, I come towards him with speed. And and the you know that the concept of this hadith is
extremely important. And that is that there is basically two steps to this process of change. The
first step has to do with has to do with me, has to do with an effort that I make, that I am taking
that step of doing of some action of that I am taking that step towards Allah subhanaw taala. But
		

			here's the key key element here that I want to really emphasize. Allah subhanaw taala talks about
one step from me, and 10 from him, Allah subhanaw taala talks about walking from me and running or
with speed from him. So the two are not actually equal. And this is where we break down the
deception that we talked about at the beginning of the show. And that is that when I see my goal as
So, so far away, in fact, I see my goals, perhaps, I look at it, and I see that it's, perhaps I
suppose it's a million steps away, or an infinite number of steps away. And so what I do as a result
of seeing that is I say, Well, I can't even start because it's too overwhelming, it's too far away.
		

			But here is if we look at this, this Hadeeth what we learn is that the goal is actually not a
million steps away, it's actually just one step away. And that's that first step that I make that
first sacrifice that I make that first action that I make the means that I take towards Allah
subhanaw taala. And then the rest of the way Allah subhanaw taala will make easy and that is where
and this is the essential understanding that we have to have in terms of change. And this is where
shaitan tries to get us is to make the path look so difficult to make the process of change look too
hard. So we don't even start but what we need to do and in this sort of inner dialogue and with with
		

			our own neffs is we need to realize that only the first step is ours, that only that first gesture
towards Allah subhanaw taala that first effort that first step is ours and after that Allah subhanaw
taala will carry us and Allah subhanaw taala says this, you know he's in this hadith as well as in
the Quran. When Allah Spano Dinah says, Whoever strives in our cause, we will guide them, we will
guide that person to our way. So the first step is the striving. And that step is yes, at first it's
difficult. But once you take that first step, Allah subhanaw taala guides you for the rest of the
way. And the rest of the journey after you take that first gesture towards Allah Spano Dinah the
		

			rest of the journey you're not on your own. See the what what makes things look so difficult is when
we feel like it's all on us. When we feel like you know we're left to ourselves and when we are left
to ourselves, the burden is too difficult to carry. It's too heavy. But what happens when you make
that step towards a lot and you take that first in sometimes it involves a sacrifice that you have
to make sometimes it involves, you know, that you are deciding
		

			Allah subhanaw taala I want to make a change in my life, you know, maybe I have 100 things in my
life that I need to change. But I say, you know what I can't, I can't do it on my own Allah subhanaw
taala, I am going to make this one small change for your sake. And you will find that if you do
that, the 100 things will then become easier for you to change because now Allah subhanaw taala will
be with you, and you won't be taking that journey by yourself. So practically, how do we? How do we
how do we take something from this and practically apply it? Well, what we do is we look at our life
and everybody. I mean, everybody knows that they everybody has something in their life, or many
		

			things in their life that they wish could be different that they wish they could change things
perhaps about themselves that they wish, maybe maybe someone you know, isn't praying regularly, or
maybe someone isn't, you know, has an issue with, with certain relationships, which are displeasing
to a lot on relationships with the opposite gender, maybe it has to do with gender relations, maybe
it has to do with, you know, how they're interacting with in their job, or in their school, or
whatever it is, we all have struggles and we all have things that we really wish we could improve
and we could change. And and and really what we can do practically, is go to Allah subhanaw taala
		

			admit our weakness, admit that we can't do it on our own, we can't make these changes on our own.
But ask Allah subhanaw taala for his help, and ask Allah subhanaw taala for for his aid and for his
guidance and to make it easy for you. And then choose something, anything that you can do for the
sake of Allah as a gesture to Allah subhanaw taala as if you're, you're saying, Oh Allah, I'm going
to do this thing for you, I know, it's small, I know that I have 100 things that I need to change, I
can't do it, I can't do it all by myself. But I'm going to do this one thing. And I'm going to do it
and do it consciously with the intention for Allah subhanaw taala to help you change the rest, and
		

			make that effort and after that, you will see a transformation, that everything else will then
become easier, because you have taken that first step towards Allah subhanaw taala Allah in sha
Allah will take you the rest of the way. So don't don't let
		

			you know the idea that, that it's, there's too much. So how can I begin or where do I begin, just
begin somewhere, and you'll find that the rest of the path will be unbelievably, you know, made
easy. And I'll leave you inshallah with actually a personal story that that happened with for me,
and that is, when I was younger, I basically came to a point in my own life, where, you know, I grew
up obviously, in this country, and I never went to Islamic schools I as as a, you know, in middle
school and everything I went to public school. And so, you know, sometimes we, we just, we don't
necessarily live the type of life that we want with this stomach identity that we want. And, and I
		

			came to a point in my life where I had where I made a change, where I took a different path. And
what it was that sparked that change in me, was actually a promise that I made to Allah subhanaw
taala. And it began, I had gone to like one of those youth camps actually. And while I was there, I
mean, I think I went there with this very deep sort of deep down, desire to be different to desire
to sort of, to be a devoted Muslim and to be different, you know, not just to be one of one of the
crowd, you know, and in the sense of, you know, my friends weren't Muslim, like my company, I wasn't
living the way I wanted to. And, and so what happened was when I went there with that deep
		

			intention, and when I was there, I decided that I wanted to make a change. And I was afraid that
when I went back, you know, to my, to my home, that I would, you know, that that decision would
just, I just go back to my regular life. And so what I did, so that I would be compelled to stick
with that. That new path is I made a promise to Allah subhana wa Tada, and the promise that I made
at that point in my life, and this was just before High School, actually, the promise that I made at
that point was that I would never miss another prayer. Because what happens when you start to, you
know, when you're, when you're a kid, and you, you start to like, you know, you're praying because
		

			your parents are telling you to pray, and then it sort of becomes like a habit, where not praying
becomes a habit out of the middle. So, so what what I the first, the first thing that I did was I
made that promise to Allah subhanaw taala and that's where I began is that I would never miss
another prayer. And and that I would cut off with any any type of company that I had or any type of
relationships that I had, which were not good for, for for my relationship with Allah subhanaw taala
and that were displeasing to Allah. So those were the two promises I made. And in fact, after that,
I was able to do those things and and from then onward until today, and that was a long time ago.
		

			That that was a different path and Allah subhanaw taala he paved that path and it was because of you
know, just that, that gesture that desire and that and that action towards that, that way of Allah
subhanaw taala and after that Allah subhanaw taala took you know takes you the rest of the way
akunis Kali has stopped for lolly Welcome innovaphone Rahim subhanak alaba ham definition one that
Isla Antinous Dakota Kona to bow Lake wa salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.