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 *ery 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 sex 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