Faith In Action – EP08 – Relationship With The Self – PT 2

Be always not enough to have good actions, but also good motors, vision, see and be firm. And we left off at saying that we have got to be positive.

And we said that positivity is a reflection of our relationship with our Creator, Allah subhanho wa Taala. Believing that for in the manner that indeed was every difficulty comes ease in them and nursery, you throw in deduce every difficulty comes is. So what happens is that a believer, we're not consumed by the problem, but we are concerned. And a concerned person is the person that is not worried about the problem, but they're thinking about what are the possible solutions. And as such, we say that we have got to be positive. Another character also of a believer that is really important is that a believer is not supposed to be afraid of failing, failing is not the problem. It

is not a big deal to fall, a big deal is to stay down. And that's not what we want. Because failure is human, it is inevitable to avoid that we cannot avoid that. It's just part of being human is that we will fail, we will something will go wrong. The question is how do you react to that do not be afraid of failing they say that people who are afraid of failing or people who are also not trying and if you do not fail, it means that you are not trying, we would rather be people who try and fail and then get up again and do not remain down that actually life offers us more it broadens our horizon and we are given more opportunities. So the point is, do not be afraid of failing. But be

aware that if you fail, that you do not stay down. Another point also that is very important is to pay attention to how we react to things. Remember this, we do not control what people do. We do not control what people say, we do not control the type of challenges that life presents to us. None of this is our immediate control. But what we really control is how we react to what people say, how we react to what people do, and how we react to the challenges that life throws at us. Sometimes people come to me and say no, that person made me upset, they know the person did not make you upset, you are choosing to be upset, you chose the reaction. And that reaction is I choose to be upset. People

can only say and this is not to undermine, you know the civility of you know hurtful words when they are upset to us. But the point is, also is that as a believer, do not surrender, when we actually allow people to determine how we feel, that is a lot of power that we are surrendering to them. So to a believer, a person like that is very aware of their reaction, we choose our reaction, we do not choose the actions of people, the words of people, or the challenges of life, but we choose our reaction. And as such, a person of faith must also be a person who is aware of his and her reaction, and then being able to modify the reaction to that it is in our best interest. It is not a reaction

that depletes and exhaust our energy was a good amount of our energy is really spent on that. Imagine this. Allah subhanaw taala describes the believer as saying, Allah Vina is asaba Tomas Eva Paulo in LA LA LA Harajuku, the believers are those when a calamity befalls on them, how do they react in Alabama, we're in La haradrim said that we are indeed in Alabama we our our final abode, our going back is to Allah subhanho wa Taala. And our return is to him That's a beautiful react. It is a reaction of a person who knows who is really in total charge of this is Allah subhanho wa Taala. And as such, when we wanted our reaction, we are able to do a lot more service and be more

positive to ourselves as well. Another also thing that is a requirement in our relationship or self is the idea of always being called okay being called a believer is a person who is always in the state of Voodoo and Sakina and Nina calm, peaceful in harmony, tranquility, because that is part of knowing that Allah subhanho wa Taala is in charge are always, you know, very peaceful. It was beautifully said, you know, the way that people sometimes react to problems is that they develop an

Anxiety and they become very hyper was beautifully said by person said look, if you have a problem and it can be solved, then don't worry

and if you have a problem and it cannot be solved, then worrying will not help you. So, by the end of it is, do not worry, but rather be calm, and that is the teachings of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam the idea of Can this be aware, remember that Allah subhanho wa Taala is in charge, it gives you this sense of peace and say know what, this all belongs to Allah, our abode and our return to Allah. And this is not you know, to make a person apathetic, that is not the point or decent sized or numb, that's not the point. But the point is that we react much better when we are con we put lose a lot more when we are called. So, we want to make sure that we actually train

ourselves in remaining calm. Another point also that is very important is always wear a smile, smile does wonders Subhanallah in the Hadith, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said let

me say I do not belittle any act of goodness, even if it be that you meet your brother with a cheerful face while

meeting the person with a smile, smile does wonders, smile tells people that you know things are okay. Smile tells people that I am okay. Smile is an invitation for people to smile as well. And that is why if you meet people, and you smile, most likely people will smile back at you. smiling back at you again is an invitation for others to be smiling. But that is one character of a believer that a smile is many times a reflection of the piece that we are living of the harmony that we are experiencing. So we express this to those who are around us inviting them along with us by the smile that we wear on our face. Another point also part of this self development is that they say make

sure that what you listen to is twice as this talk that we do the talking that we do we have a tendency nowadays of talking a lot more. And somebody said that Allah has created for us two ears, and one tongue because listening is twice as difficult as talking. And nowadays we have a tendency to do what we call verbal volleyball. You throw one on I throw one back at you and you say one and I say 10 at you and what to a believer, a believer is aware that success is not necessarily in how much we say. But truly success in how much are we really hearing. Allah describes the believers as being good listeners, for Beshear, a bad and latinosdelmundo cola fate of your own center. He said

that give glad tidings to my servants. They are those who listen. And then they follow the best of what was said? How do you know the best of what was said if you're not listening? The people in the Hellfire May Allah save us from the Hellfire when they are in the hellfire. They have a dialogue that takes place between them and the angels when they're talking in Surah Al mulk Dominion surah number 67. They will explain as to what happened and they said, we'll call Lulu Nana smile Oh, nappy Luma Puna feels heavy sorry. And they will say that had we been people who listened or people of intellect, we would not be in this blazing fire. So why are you in the blazing fire? Because I was

not an I am not a good listener. So a believer is a good listener. And in being good listening is an expression of respect to those who are around us that I can benefit from what you're saying and what you are telling me and so forth. Another skill that is also very important. They say that to always subjugate our motives and desires to our principles are not the other way around. What we want is that we have motives, we have desires, and then we have principle. We want to be aware, do our motives serve our principles, do our desires, are they in line with our principles and with our values and ideals? If not, then what we want to do is that we want to take these desires and we want

to subjugate them and put them in line with our ideas and principles. Then less friction that we have, the less opposition that we have, between our ideals and our desires and our motives, the more harmony and peace we invite to ourselves. So what we want to do is, remember the concept of Islam that

We spoke about few weeks back, it is to uproot evil and to invite virtue and this is really what we are doing when we say this, subjugate your desires and motives, so that they are in line with our principles and with our ideals. We do this and we are inviting harmony, we are inviting peace into our lives. In another point also that is very important. You know, we said yes, entertain self, yes, rejuvenate the soul and all these things, but they say avoid taking debts for the sake of consumption. A believer is not a consumer, rather, they say that a believer is mostly a producer. And then one final point, and this is a point that is very important, and that is in prayers. And in

devotion. There is also a lot of peace to be gained out of this most of the time, you know, doing all these good deeds and what have you. He said that this is where our sense of self must come from. And that is in the amount of good that we bring that we contribute to the society that is around us. Once we do this, they say that there is this sense of feeling good about what it is that we are contributing to the people who are around us. May Allah subhanho wa Taala make us of those are always putting their faith in action. Beginning was the relationship, the positive relationship with ourselves. And with this, we come to the conclusion of this part of our program. Thank you for

joining us. Until we meet next time we shall we say so long and assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.