Yassir Fazaga – Quranic Reflections – EP06

			Begin by greeting my brothers and sisters salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato. Prophet peace
be upon him, has identified eight thieves that will take away happiness and joy from our lives. And
he started by saying that Oh Allah, I seek refuge in You from being in the state of him and hasn't
worried and grief or anxiety and grief, whether the source of anxiety is known or not, it's
irrelevant, because sometimes we may have the anxiety and not know why sometimes we might know why.
In any case, the prophet peace be upon him said that I do not want to be the prisoner of my
imagination, and the capital of my memories. But I'm so sad about what took place yesterday, I'm so
		

			worried about what will go wrong tomorrow. And in the meantime, I've lost the dearest thing that I
had with me. And that was today and today is being rubbed off on me. Sometimes we have problems, and
we cannot change. And what they said is that if you have a problem, and you cannot change, then that
is an opportunity for us to change ourselves. The problem is that we cannot do anything about it,
it's almost impossible to change anything about it, we can grieve over that problem. Again, that
won't change. So they said, when we have when we are faced with such kind of a problem, it is time
that we change ourselves. And that is why it was so beautifully said in one of the prayers, said
		

			they call it the prayer of serenity. It said oh god gave me the serenity, to accept that which I
cannot change and the strength to change that which I can and the wisdom to differentiate between
them. And that is such a beautiful statement, when we're asking Allah for the courage and the
strength to change what we can. And if we cannot, then we want the serenity, to submit to that which
we cannot change. That was the first one. And the second point is avoidance of negative thinking.
Remember, our thoughts have great impact on us. It was one so beautifully put, watch out for your
thoughts, your thoughts become your words, watch out your words, your words become your actions,
		

			watch out for your actions, your actions become your habits, watch out for your habits, for they
make up your character. But where did that all start from? It emanated from our thoughts, what kind
of thoughts we hold will determine what kind of words we say, will determine what kind of actions we
do, the actions will change into habits, and then they have it will shape our character and they
will shape our our personality. Remember, we cannot change or we cannot control what type of
thoughts come into our mind. However, we can definitely control what type of thoughts we want to
dwell in. And that is the point, you may and you will get the urge to think a thought that is not
		

			very healthy, we do not say that you have got to rid yourself of all negative thoughts. What we're
saying is that once the negative thought comes your way, then what you have to do is that you make a
conscious choice that you do not want to dwell in this type of negative thinking simply because of
the consequences that will have on you. Now there are very different types of negative thinking.
Just to give an example, it's mentioned some of them thinking in black or white, meaning that for
many people, they've got this dichotomy. It's either this way or that way. So what happens is that
thinking black and white is that there is no room for flexibility. There is no gray area where it
		

			might be okay for things to be this way. Or maybe this way, black or white type of thinking is
indeed an invitation for disaster. And it is also a recipe for disaster as well. So avoid black or
white thinking. And the idea is that you've got to show some flexibility, things may not be the best
the way they are. But remember, it's not black or white. You also have got over generalization,
people have the tendency to over generalize, or it's always like that, all people are like this, it
will happen this all the time. So what happened is that because we over generalize, then what we do
is that our expectations also are as such
		

			Part of negative thinking is what we call negative filtering, we have the thought it comes to our
mind. But the way we filter the thought is that it's always through negative means that we use in
the, in the process. Another type of unhealthy thinking or negative thoughts, is what we refer to as
fortune telling people thinking that they have the ability to predict the future. And when they
think about the future, and when they think that they are predicting it, they can only see the very,
very worst in the in the process. So these are just type of negative thinking that we ought to
avoid, then going back to the statement that was made up by the prophet peace be upon him, to allow
		

			me to come in and tell me what hasn't Allah, I seek refuge in You from being in the state of anxiety
and hasn't grief. And then he goes on to say, when I see one castle, as in ability, and castle is
laziness. Now the Arabic language is an extremely rich language, it is so rich that there are no
synonyms in the language. And the difference may be minor as far as the construction of the word is
concerned, or even the types of words that are used to describe a certain object or a feeling or an
event. But there is a great difference.
		

			In ability, or just as we would refer to it, is when a person has the desire, but they lack the
need, that is called the edges. laziness is when the person has the means, but they lack the desire.
However, at the end of the day, there is inaction, impracticability, things have not changed. And
they are both blocks of our meaningful life, or the fact that our life could have potentially been
very, very meaningful. And then you have got the concept of castle laziness, where people have the
means, but they lack the desire, they are not motivated, they do not have the willpower to make a
change. Now, sometimes that laziness could either be physical people are just lazy, physically lazy,
		

			don't want to exercise, don't want to move around, don't help around, don't want to change and
improve their physical health. That is a type of laziness. And then you have got mental laziness as
well. People just don't do the thinking. They let somebody else do the thinking. their thoughts are
not their own. Rather, their thoughts are thoughts that were taught to them by somebody by somebody
else, they mentally lazy, they're not putting their God given right, that God given tools that God
has blessed them with, they are letting somebody else do the thinking for them. And at that point,
you are prone to being exploited. You're trying to be cheated, you are upon to be misused and
		

			abused. There is also what we call the emotional laziness. Sometimes people are afraid of making
emotional investments, they avoid being in love, they avoid any positive emotions that they may
have. And the idea is that it's it's there is a tendency of laziness. They don't want to think they
don't want to feel they don't want to act. So the Prophet peace be upon him said at the beginning of
everyday, call Nancy Hardin, for that Ernesto from Morocco, ha ha ha. So that at the beginning of
every day, every single person is a vendor of their own soul, some are going to liberate it and
others are going to bring about its ruin. And the beauty of this statement is this is that he said
		

			that you are the vendor of your own soul. Your body may be in a slaved physically, you may be
captivated civic, physically you may be imprisoned, whatever. But the prophet peace be upon him said
as far as your attitude is concerned, as far as your mentality is concerned, as far as your spirit
is concerned, nobody can take that away from you. You are the vendor of your own soul. And as a
result, you make the choice. You are either going to enslave it, or you are going to emancipate it,
and you are going to free so the Prophet peace upon him said, being lazy, or putting yourself in
that comfort zone with no ability or I can't do mentality, then that is very, very catastrophic. And
		

			then the Prophet peace be upon him moves on to tell us about other blocks. So now we spoke about
tell him one hasn't. And that is anxiety and grief, while agz while castle in ability and laziness.
And then he says well bully will Giblin, miserliness and cowardness. In another narration, he said
while kufri while fuckery being in the state of disbelief, or being in the state of poverty, look at
the first one, and possibly will Germany being a miser or being a coward? See, what happens is this
		

			mindset people are afraid to give what they possess. And cowards are so afraid of losing their life
that they give things that they are supposed to hold on to hold on to that this is one of the worst
type of characters that anybody can possess. And the consequences are not only personal, but they
also affect the society that is around us. Can you imagine if all people are greedy and stingy and
miserly, what would happen is that those who have less than we do will not have a better life simply
because nobody is willing to share, then we will not have economical justice going on, then the poor
will always remain poor, and the rich will always remain rich, they will get richer and the poor
		

			will get will get poorer, because there is no sharing that is taking place. The statistics are very
scary when it comes to this point, the three richest people in the world have more money than the 48
poorest countries in the world combined. We've got a very important question to ask here. How are
three people able to get more money than 48 countries combined, regardless of how poor these
countries are? A country cannot be poorer than an individual. An individual cannot be richer than a
country. But that is that discrepancy that we have in our world today, where the gap between the
rich and the poor is so wide, and it's not getting any smaller, either. The rich are getting richer,
		

			the poor are getting poorer. In many areas, the middle class is being diminished. Some of them are
making it to be rich people, but then the majority are going down into poverty as well. So Islam
comes in and emphasizes the concept of sharing emphasizes the concept that if God has given you,
then you ought to share with the rest of the creation of God. And then the second point, which is
also very similar to it, we have got the concept of jubelin. Again, the Arabic language like I said
earlier is a very rich, precise language. The Arabic language uses two words it uses Japan and how,
how is when a person is scared. However, if you are scared, and you do not do the right decision,
		

			you do not make the right decision. As a result of your fear, then you are account seekers in Islam
has nothing to do with how you are feeling. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is doing
what is right despite the existence of the fear. courageous people are brave people are not brave
because they are not afraid. They are brave because they are afraid, however they feel did not stop
them from making the right choice. So when you say that when when a person is developing bravery in
them, or courage in them, the idea is not to rid themselves of the field. The idea is, Do I have
enough guts? Do I have enough nerve to act upon what is right? Despite the feeling that I'm feeling
		

			under or an is full of this? to a person with regard to a person was really, really liberated, great
part of humanity. We're talking about our beloved Prophet Moses, peace be upon him. Prophet Musa
alayhis, salaam, and foresting lab of Prophet Musa Moses peace be upon him or moose, as he's called
in, in every whenever he met was the Pharaoh. Whenever God told him that you are about to meet with
the Pharaoh, Moses, peace be upon him always use the word have said Allah said for lgct nfcu fee for
the Musa Musa became
		

			afraid. So the word how the word fear, as as long as most as mentioned, somehow the word health is
mentioned there with him as well. Does that mean that Moses peace be upon him was a coward?
Absolutely not. Because he still did the right thing. And that tells us again, and this point is so
very important, that courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is doing what is right, despite the
existence of the of the fear. And that is why history of nations is not written by what the majority
of the nation has done. The history of nations is written in the lives of individuals, and what is
most common about these individuals in the way that they were chosen to be part of the history of
		

			their nations. It was the courageous apps and decisions that they have that they have made.
		

			And then the profit goes on. Like I said, in the other narration, it is covered and covered in
gratefulness. And Father is poverty. Somebody that is not appreciative or go for sometimes also
means disbelief. And poverty is a state where you do not have money. So a person here is bankrupt
spiritually. Another person here is bankrupt
		

			financially
		

			And the Prophet peace be upon him said, I do not want to be part of any of this, I do not want to
have a physical body, but at that spirit, I do not want to have a physical body that is living, but
I cannot sustain simply because of the level of poverty that I am in. So, the prophet peace be upon
him say, I do not want to be in the state of California, where I am an unappreciative person, a
person that is constantly consumed and preoccupied by counting my problems, not my blessings, a
person that has rejected the truth, or somehow the truth has been concealed from me, as in the state
of California, and then you've got the other way the Prophet peace be upon him said I do not want to
		

			be deprived spiritually. Likewise, I also do not want to be deprived financially in the state of
Florida. And if you look into the state of focus today, they say that the most expensive way to look
to live nowadays is to be poor. The most expensive way to live nowadays, is to be poor. Poor people,
unfortunately, do not get proper education, if they get any education at all. You look into poor
people, and you see their health conditions, you see their living conditions, you see, whatever it
is, that is all almost unfortunately, with all of our,
		

			the resources that we have in the world, unbelievable production of wealth, unbelievable production
of food, yet, what is the number one reason or the number one vise that humanity is suffering from
today, you've got things like poverty, that are inflicting our societies at all, at all levels. So
for unsafe that to begin with, do not wish it upon yourself. But sometimes people erroneously think
that the more religious you are, the poorer that you have got to become, say in itself, money does
not make you a righteous or an immoral person. Money is just a tool. And the way you use it
determines whether it was a curse or a blessing for you. So Islam is not against people having
		

			money. But that Islam says that, if you have the money and you are a righteous person, then that is
the best combination, we will avoid what we spoke about earlier that greed that is taking place the
miserliness that is taking place, Islam says, have money, but have money for the right reason. Some
is against hoarding money. However, Islam says that the having of money is good. But there are three
indications that would make the halving of money, evil, not that money in itself is evil. But these
three things would make money evil. Number one, when we are indifferent of how we acquire that
money, or how we spend that money, people are willing to steal, they're willing to be guilty of
		

			fraud, they're willing to blackmail, they're willing to do whatever it takes to get the money. At
that point, we are sacrificing what is ethical to have the money. Money in itself, in principle is
not bad, but the way we are acquiring it has made it bad. So that's number one. Number two, is when
we have money or word money, for things that money cannot buy. Remember, money is capable of buying
many things. However, there are also so many things out there, that money cannot buy. So if you want
the money to buy things that money cannot buy, then you are making a big mistake. And at that point
it becomes it becomes Money, money becomes evil. For example, like they say, money can buy you a
		

			bed, but it cannot buy your sleep, it can buy you food, but it cannot buy an appetite. It can buy
you a position, but it cannot buy you respect. It can buy you fame, but it cannot buy you dignity.
It can buy you medication, but it cannot buy you health. It can buy you books, but it cannot buy you
knowledge, it can buy a security system, but it cannot buy you a peace of mind. It can even buy a
Koran in the form of almost half, but it cannot buy your salvation. So what happens is that when
people say I want money to be happy than making a big mistake, because money can buy you
entertainment, but it cannot buy you happiness. Happiness is a feeling that you get and money does
		

			not control that you cannot buy feelings was one, you cannot go to the pharmacy and say, please give
me a dosage of courage or happiness or, or what have you. Islam is not against having the money but
it's how you get it and what you do with it that would determine whether it's good. However, Islam
		

			despises poverty. And that is why we're not supposed to wish it upon ourselves. You're not more
religious because you are poor. Your relationship with our God is not determined by how much money
we have, or we do not have and that's why we say that you are not rich because of how much you
		

			Have rather you are rich because of how much you can do without an example. For myself, for example,
I am so rich that I do not need a billion dollars to joke, of course out there. But what happens is
that they say that you are rich, not because of how much you have, but rather how much you can do
without. And we understand that poverty is really Unfortunately, it can be shackles that are around
people. And nobody understands this better than people who are poor, where they're not getting the
education, they're not getting the health, they're not getting the sometimes they're not even
recognized that humanity is being jeopardized. They're the ones that are marginalized, they are the
		

			ones that are forgotten. They are the ones that are exploited. And the list goes on, of course, and
then the Prophet peace be upon him goes on and speaks of another shackle and * was elevated date,
being overwhelmed with deaths, but people are taking loans. And as a result, and this is so sad
nowadays, I just read the report that in the year 2003. African, the African countries or the
continent of Africa, paid $15 billion $15 billion
		

			for the interest on the debts and the services that are on the debts that they have incurred during
that particular year. Now, if you know anything about the economy of Africa, $15 billion is money
that is badly needed in that continent. However, because there was so much debt, so much loan that
was taken in the process, that payment of the interest on these loans became very, very
		

			difficult, almost impossible for people to keep up with it. The example the classical example is
given about organda. For example, the country spends the equivalent of $2 a month per citizen in
Uganda, that same country spends the equivalent of $11 a month per citizen in Uganda to cover the
debts and the interest and the services on the debts that the country has incurred. Now the poor
person that was in such dire need of the health care, has never seen that as never seen the loan
that was taken by his country. But now he is being deprived is asked to pay back. Because every time
a country is not able to keep up with the payments, what they do is that the lending party can
		

			impose certain policies, such as we want you to lift the subsidies from education. And at that
point, what we're saying is that only rich people can get the education. They said lift the
subsidies from the health care. And at that point, we're told that only healthy people or only
wealthy people can be can be healthy. So the Prophet peace be upon him would say, I do not want to
put myself in that position. And the process alone would say up eliminate daily
		

			bar or less, you live a free man. Our freedom brothers and sisters, is our responsibility. And
sometimes we enslave ourselves to our attitudes or our behavior, whether it be with others, whether
it be with ourselves, whether it be the way that we deal with money, but at the end of the day,
remember this and was this we conclude that every single person at the beginning of every day is the
vendor of their own soul. Some are going to liberate and freed and others are going to enslave it.
May Allah Subhana Allah make us amongst those who emancipate their false Solomonic