Calamities – How should we respond

Bismillah Alhamdulillah

wa Salatu was Salam ala Rasulillah were either early he was actually he

was in La ilaha illallah wa Wahoo luxury Kara washer do and the Mohammedan on the do whoa what are pseudo my bad was said mid come warahmatullahi are better care to him

how was everybody

hamdulillah

it's good to see you know,

life starting to come back to a bit of little bit of normality for us as Muslims to see the house of ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada start to fill up again.

As you know that we're recovering a little bit Videla he to Allah. May Allah subhanho wa Taala continue to allow us to have this opportunity because what more he brothers and sisters will only have brothers today but we assisted to be watching in sha Allah. It is a nightmare from Allah subhanho wa Taala to be able to gather in his house, you know the these are the most beloved places to Allah Jalla wa Ala on Earth, the Prophet sallallahu wasallam said that the most beloved places to Allah subhana wa Matana are his houses. Why? Because this is a place where we can remember him subhanho wa Taala This is a place where we come in create bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood in

unity in community in Jamaica.

The Prophet sallallahu wasallam even said that one of the seven categories of people who will have shade of the Throne of Allah subhanho wa Taala on the Day of Judgment when there will be no other shade as someone whose heart is attached to the masjid someone whose hearts is attached to the house of Allah Subhana Allah because by default, someone whose heart is attached to the masjid will be attached to the owner of the masjid and I'm not talking about the board members or the uncles who put it all together the ones that give them a you know, beta Allah, every one of these masajid or houses of Allah subhanho wa Taala so by default that person will have love for Allah because they

come to his house and are attached to his house. Luigi lady, well, the Quran so it's good to have that opportunity again.

Calamity calamities, difficulties, trials, tribulations hardships, tests.

It's a fitting title, considering the past two years that we've gone through as as a human species and especially as a Muslim community

that we're being put through trials and tests and calamities and hardships. But by Allah, I can say this without any reservation. The tests that we face as Muslims in the West, are miniscule, to the test that a lot of Muslims throughout this ummah, in other places in the world face Allah What if we had to trade places with him for an hour, we would come back to this country and thank Allah subhanho wa Taala Anna, for every single difficulty, you know, it reminds me of the the people on the day of Tiama when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that a person who lived a very, very easy life was given all the benefits of this world, but Allah subhanho wa taala, but this

believes in him. On the Day of Judgment, Allah will take him for one moment, independend Jahannam, just to remind just to show him, this is what is waiting for you. And then bring him back and ask him how was your life and you'll say, Well, lucky, there was no good in it. It was no good in it. Because this is the end result in the person who suffered the most the the Muslim who suffered the most in this life will be made to taste gentleman for a second, put in paradise for a moment, and then brought back and asked How was your life? And they'll say, Well, Allah, he was no bad in it. It was nothing but goodness, because of this in result. And I think that would be our circumstance for

us Muslims who are living in the West. Now, if we had to go through the some of the struggles that our brothers and sisters throughout the globe are going, the Uyghurs that are going through in concentration camps in China, and our brothers from Syria, who are now living in refugee camps, scattered all throughout the globe, not knowing where their next meal is going to come from this harsh winter not having nowhere to escape from it. You know, children with no one no one to turn to No, no, no parents, nobody

Subhanallah the Yemen situation, you know, children are literally starving to death. You know, while we have food in such great abundance, well, it doesn't. You could walk outside right now and find food in any direction, even if you were homeless and had nothing I mean, it's very available to us here but it's a different situation when there's nothing, literally nothing you have nothing sitting around waiting for someone to help you, someone to assist you, someone to try to help you out of that situation. So we are truly blessed. For sure. And when we forget about that we become ungrateful. We become ungrateful and Allah subhanho wa taala. Told Musa the Tobin, Benny Sarayu,

that if you're grateful Lench SOHCAHTOA is then the Kumar if you're grateful to give you more, but if you're ungrateful, What did Allah say? Indeed, My punishment is severe, because the punishment for ingratitude is, is severe from Allah subhanho wa. Taala because ingratitude borderlines, Cofer they are they borderline one another to begin with?

Allah subhanho wa Taala you are bordering on disbelief, because look at what Allah subhanho wa Taala has given us.

Now when calamities happened, I'm going to talk about them in a global sense and then in a personal sense, Inshallah, because when calamities happen, they happen for one or two major reasons was as Allah jello Allah tells us in his book, they either happen as a punishment as a punishment, and that punishment becomes a warning to everyone else.

As Allah subhana wa Taala says, In the Quran is as was on the flyer, whatever calamities befall you whatever hardships and difficulties and trials and testing, however you want to define that word, before you it is from your own hands, in indeed Allah is, is is greatly forgiving. cathedra so Allah subhanho wa Taala is forgiving. So it can be a punishment, punishment for our own misgivings our own deeds, our own our own sins, our own turning away from Allah,

our own ingratitude.

Trying to get the mic fixed, if not, we can turn it off, everybody can hear me.

So it can be for a means of punishment. And that punishment becomes a warning to everyone who comes after them. Or as Allah subhanho wa Taala says at the beginning of solo Tonka booth that we know very well, do you think they are going to say that you believe you think you're going to say you think you're just going to say, I'm gonna, and we're not going to test you, indeed, we're going to test you and find out which one of those of you who are truthful, and which one of those of you who are liars about their faith and about the man they claim to possess, so it can be a test, it can be a test, but out of both of those situations, whether it is a punishment or a test, and sometimes we

don't know, sometimes we don't know, we have no idea which one it is. But out of both of those, the importance is what is the lesson? What do we learn? What do we gain from it? Because if Allah subhanho wa taala, punishes us and sends a warning to the nations after us or the people around us, and we don't take lesson from it, then it becomes a double loss. It becomes a double loss when we don't look at what happened. And this is why Allah subhanho wa Taala Ana speaks about it in the Quran, the punishment that he put the nations before us through, this is why Allah gelada talks about the punishment that he put upon Benissa eel for their, for their dereliction of their duties

and turning to other gods other than Him and becoming ungrateful to him. This is why Allah subhanho wa Taala warns us of the punishment of the people have looked at a Salam and what they did in, in changing the creation of Allah subhanho wa taala, from what it was designed to do. And he sent that as those messages as a warning to us. So it was a punishment for them. But to us, Allah has left it as a warning, but are we taking heed and taking lesson because if we don't take heed and take lesson what happens we fall down the same hole, and we see that we see that happening time and time again. And even the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us that this would happen, he said after me,

you will follow them, you will follow them, foot by foot, inch by inch, even so much so that if they jumped in the hole of a lizard, you go right after him. And they asked Whom are you talking about? A messenger of Allah, the Jews and the Christians. He said, Who else? Who else am I talking about? Because we don't learn from the lessons that ALLAH SubhanA wa Taala has left for us for what he put them through in the test that they failed. And in the punishments that they went through, they were going to end up falling into the same thing. I remember, someone said that the one thing that we've learned from history is we don't learn from history. And one of the one thing that we've surely as a

human species have learned from history is that we don't learn from history. And for sure, we see it being off repeated over and over and over again.

Now for the test, the test again, it's about the Listen, do we pass it this whole life? Allah subhanho wa Taala created as a test everything every morning, we wake up, we we log back into the to the proving ground of life every single day when you wake up, you are already in the test. Some people asked me how do I know if I'm being tested by Allah? See, if you're breathing, that's that's your notice. If you're breathing you being tested, just like they say about politicians, when they say about them. How do you know a politician is lying, his lips are moving.

If you want to know if you're being tested by Allah, as a believer, if you're still breathing, and you're alive, and you have the faculties to move in, then you're being tested every single moment of our life as a test. But Allah Jalla wa Ala gives this major test in our lives. And sometimes we are the source of our test. And we don't understand it. We don't grasp it. And we don't know. We might ask Allah subhanho wa Taala for something. And in response to that Allah will test us. We might ask Allah for patience. And I've told a lot of people be very careful about asking for patience. You know, we all want to have patience. We all want to have summer. And I said, as you get older, the

older you get, you'll learn how you get patients. You get patients through difficulty. You get patients through hardship, you get patients through being tested again and again. You get a patient's by being broken, you get patients by being hurt, you get patients by failing. Patients doesn't come through ease, that's an eye you learn that so be careful when you ask ALLAH SubhanA wa Taala for patients ask him for the patients that I just give me the patients that I need, and only too much of it because it's gonna come very difficult.

You know, there might be something you ask Allah for, and he wants to grant it to you, but you have to prove yourself. You have to be proven to show that you are truthful as Allah says, You don't think we're going to test you to make sure that you are truthful to what you want. Because sometimes if Allah just gave us everything we wanted, imagine that imagine if we we'd already be in Jenna. But imagine if we ask Allah for whatever you need, give it to us, we'd be ungrateful. We'd be like our children. How many of you had children? If you have children, I have three, do you give them every single thing they asked for? No, you would ruin them, you would ruin them. And half of the time,

they are very angry when you don't give them what they want, right? They get upset, they pout, they they run up to the room, and at the end of the day, you know why they need this is for your own good. This is where Allah subhanho wa Taala deals with us. He does not give us what we want. He gives us what we need. He gives us what we need. And a lot of times he gives us what we deserve. So if we ask for something, ALLAH SubhanA, Allah will either answer it for us, because he knows we've deserved deserving of it, he will withhold it from us because he knows if he gives it to us, it's going to be a means of fitting for us, it's going to be a test for us. Or He reserves it for us and

says I'll hold this for you and give you something greater on the day in which you meet me. So either way, it's a blessing and a benefit know that every single dollar that you make is answered by Allah subhanho wa Taala this is something we have as a certainty as Muslims is that no dog goes unheard Allah Subhana Allah Allah says in surah Ibaka detail those who call upon me, I listened to them and I respond so call upon me, it might just might not be the response that you will look for. It might be the response that you were looking for. But in today's world before we talk about personal calamities, in how to look at them in perspective, when it comes to the calamities that we

see going on as an ummah, because what affects one of us should affect all of us. The Prophet alayhi salaatu wa sallam said that this is one body, Allah Jalla wa Allah says, in the heavy humor to come within Wahida hon comfortable June, the tissue is your own is one and I am your Lord, Therefore worship Me, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, the believer is a mirror of each other, they are mirrors to one another. He said, this is like one body. If a part of it hurts if the eye is in pain, the entire body responds to that pain. It is it loses sleep, and goes to respond to that pain, and Subhanallah we have discovered that medical medically if there's a part of your body that

becomes injured if you cut your arm, your entire body creates a white blood cell response and other responses T cell responses to respond to that sickness and illness. And it'll actually take energy away from other parts of the body in order to heal itself and this is the way the Prophet sallallahu sallam said that the Ummah should be there, if there is a part of the Ummah that is hurting, the entire Ummah should be in a sleeplessness state and responding to that pain and trying to to fix it because it hurts us as well. When I see children in these refugee camps, when I see children going to the starvation in Yemen, I don't look at them as someone else's children.

These are our children. These are the children of this ummah. These are the children of the of Muhammad Ali Salatu was Salam I look at them as if I would look at my own son or daughter. And it pains me when I'm not able, you can't just go and help them and pick them up and tell them it'll be okay. And when I see these children starving in these in these camps, or I see these children starving in these hospitals and I'm thinking to myself, you know, my own children, they eat way too much. You know, I mean, this is my daughter, masha Allah, she snuck off from morning tonight if you don't stop her. And you know, it pains me and hurts me that this I can offer my own children this

but I cannot help in this situation that shows you that if you feel like this, that there's something left in you that there is something from the Sunnah of the Prophet alayhi salaatu wa Salaam in you, the Prophet alayhi salaatu wa sallam said that

in I've had people ask me over the past couple of years, especially since the pandemic, I've been home a lot more. There's only only the third time I've left my house since March 2020. So it's given me a lot of time to reflect in think in retrospect on my own life, and what I want to do with my life and what I want my goals to be in focus to be. And I've been asked a number of times, what do you think is the number one, you know, what is the number one top problems that are on the faces, and there's, you can make a laundry list. But for me personally, for me personally, it's the love that we do not possess for one another. For me personally, it's the love that we do not possess for

one another. It is the fabric of this Ummah that is in trouble, the way that we deal with one another. It's not in there are so many evidences I could give you for this, but we're not this is not the topic of discussion. But the Prophet alayhi salatu salam even said this, he even said this. He said I made dua to Allah for three things. Two of them, He granted me one of them he refused to me. The first door he made for this ummah, is Allah do not allow my OMA to be destroyed by famine, meaning don't starve it off the face of the earth, meaning that all Muslims die and perish due to famine. He said Allah granted me that so you won't die from famine as a whole. He said I asked Allah

subhana wa Tada to prevent my own

from being destroyed and wiped off the face of the earth by his enemies, he said Allah granted me that. He said, The third thing I asked for was, Oh Allah do not allow my OMA to destroy itself by fighting amongst one another. He said Allah didn't grab me down.

So we have our own destruction, we our own destruction, the Prophet sallallahu send them

in and this is such an important idea, such an important Hadith

the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,

he said, you will not enter paradise until you believe. And we leave that there for a second, we know that this is the crux of entering into Jannah is to have a man, no one enters into paradise except someone who possesses belief La Ilaha illa Allah, that is clear cut. No one enters paradise except someone who has belief of la ilaha illa Allah, He said, so you are not into paradise until you believe and you will not believe until you love one another. You will not believe until you love one another Subhan Allah how important as our Prophet Alayhi Salatu was Salam made our love for one another, as as a priority that he hinged on our entry into paradise, that you will not enter

paradise into you believe and you will not believe and to love one another. And then he further on went to say, Can I guide you to something which if you do it will help you to love one another? And they said yes, he said spreads salaam spreads lamps to those whom you know, and those of you don't know have genuine love for one another for the sake of Allah subhanho wa Taala Anna, that is not in this OMA today as a whole. That is not in this form. We love those whom we know. We love those whom we agree with. Yeah, we love those whom we're cultural, culturally tied to we love those whom some lines drawn on a map by some other people, and said that your country we love based upon that, when

our love for each other should be solely for the sake of Allah subhanho wa Taala alone.

That is another category of people whom the Prophet alayhi salatu salam said, Allah will grant shade on the day of judgment to those who love one another for the sake of Allah alone, and they meet and they depart based upon that love. There was a man who was going to meet a brother of his and an angel was sent to inquire about him. And why was he going even though Allah, Allah, Allah knows all of these things, anytime Allah makes inquiries, the point is for the response to come to us. So the angel came to him as a man and said, Where are you going? He said, I'm going to meet you know, so and so. He said, Why are you going to meet him? Does he owe you something? You know, does it do you

have any need from him? He said, No, I'm going to love him. I'm going to meet him simply because I love him. For the sake of Allah alone. The angel responded me the one whom you love, your brother for, let you know that he loves you in return, that he loves you in return.

If we had that genuine love for one another, we would be in a much better place than we are right now. A much better place than we are right now. Meaning that when I see a brother or sister see another sister, and you know this person is a possessor of Coheed they believe in Allah Azza wa Jalla wa Ala alone. They believe in the Prophet Muhammad Ali Salatu Salam is the last and final messenger. They believe in the Quran as the book of Allah subhanho wa taala. uncreated, unchanged, then that is my brother or sister in faith, and I have love for them. True love for them. True love for them. If we had that one, lucky, we'd be unstoppable, we'd be unstoppable. Because we'd be one

unit, we'd be one. We'd be one knit community together. Even if we disagree on many things, we might not even speak the same language. We don't eat the same food, we might not dress the same. You know, we might disagree on certain matters here. They're in the third which is permissible, but we love one another for the sake of Allah and that is above all other things.

And I don't think we've learned that lesson yet. Especially when the enemies of this ummah turn against us. What do we do we start squabbling about differences, how we should address it, oh, wait a second, this is the wrong time for that. Let all that other stuff slide right now, we are one united body one united OMA one united voice. We don't have that, unfortunately. And that is one of the biggest, biggest failures of the of our time, is that we don't have that genuine love for one another for the sake of Allah subhanho wa taala. Because if we did, Allah would love us. If we did a love, I love us. Because when we love one another for Allah sake, then Allah loves us in return. So

this is a huge, huge problem that we need to fix, then we wouldn't also have such a difficulty in areas like helping other areas of the Muslim world who need help. And we wouldn't be trying to pick and choose when we're going to help. Everybody would get help, because we would have that genuine care and concern we would see those children as our children, we will see the sister suffering is our sisters and our mothers and our daughters. We would see the brothers suffering as our brother as our father as our uncle as our brother as something close to us. And this is the way it was with the companions of the Prophet Alayhi Salatu was Salam. They are our example. Allah says about them about

them not about URI Allah says about them contemplate and omitted. Aqua rejet Linus, and all we like to say that's about us. No, no

That was about them. If you want to say that that verse refers to you, you have to be like the people whom it was revealed to. And how were they, they were people who came from different lens, different places. But above everything else was the love for Allah Subhana Allah and His Messenger, I'm gonna give you a very small story that I use quite often and then go on for that. Because this, we're talking about calamities, and what I'm trying to do is explain to you how to prevent them, how to prevent them, not just to deal with them, and then we'll talk about how to deal with them toward the very end. How many of you know

Abu Dhabi? Anybody ever heard the name Abu Dhabi before raise your hand? If you don't know why booth or go home tonight? Please, please? Wallahi for the sake of Allah go look up this man. Go look up this man, especially for our youth out there that are there. They consider themselves street savvy, gangsters and they want to be they want to be bad. Go read the story of Abba. Abba was a real gangster before Islam. You know that right? They fought a tribe of Arabia, what were they known for?

They were thugs. If you left a Medina or Mecca in you tried to go and travel somewhere and you ran into the before to drive and you didn't have enough protection. What you had was now there's that was it. They taken all that. That's what they did. They were thugs. That was it. You ran into the four tribes give it up? They're gonna take it anyway. And Buddha.

When he accepted Islam, he met the Prophet sallallahu wasallam. You see?

Wait a second. gangsters are not always stupid either. You know, I mean, I both thought it was intelligent. So when he met the Prophet sallallahu sallam, and he gave him that hour, whatever it was, obviously, I should do in La ilaha illallah wa Chateau Anika. Rasulullah I mean when it says no deity but Allah and you are indeed His Messenger, and at this time the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was still only giving Dawa in the house of Oregon. You know, there wasn't, there was no public data. As of now he had no protection. abogado said, I'm gonna go talk to all of these foolish, I'm gonna go stand up in front of the camera and tell him I became a Muslim. And the

Prophet SAW Selim said, you know, I appreciate that sentiment, you know, but don't do that. We can't help you. You own your own. If you go do that. He did it anyway. What did they do? They knocked him out, beat him right there. When he woke up from being beat. He did it again. They beat him like three or four times unconscious. And finally the Prophet SAW Selim audit him said, Look, get out of here. They're gonna kill you. But I said, okay, okay, I'm gonna show you gangster right. So he went to the desert and found his tribe, gave them our brought them all to Islam. And then he marched back into Mecca was his entire tribe, the most scared and feared tribe outside of Arabia at the time in

the Arabian Peninsula. He marched in with all of them stood in front of the cabin said my name is Abu Dharr you know who I am, you know who my tribe is? I bear witness there's no deity but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger. What you're gonna do, you're gonna do now, they let him they let him be, you know, so this is this is the dignity of Abu Dhabi. How many of you know Bilal, you got to know be nadelman Bilal is someone whom the Prophet sallallahu wasallam said he heard his footsteps

he heard his footsteps in Paradise, and want to know what is so special. What do you do below the mage so special, the Companions wanted to know. The Prophet SAW Selim city heard his footsteps in paradise.

Billa was so beloved to the Prophet Alayhi Salatu was Salam. One day Abu Dhabi and Bilal got into an argument.

This is such a profound lesson for us in the in this in this modern century that we live in Amador. And Bilal got into an argument over how to distribute spoils of war. Appledore made a suggestion and Bill said no, that's not the way we should do that. How did a Buddha respond? Anybody know?

A black woman he called himself a black woman. He called him the inward same thing called him the inward Can you imagine today so panel

cancelled. There's no coming back for you, bro. Terminate cancellation. Imagine if I went online and called somebody the inward GAME OVER especially with this color right here. I was over I might hide.

So he called Bilal the inward basically. And it hurt that hurt me. It hurts him.

He went to the Prophet sallallahu Sallam and complaint, you know, because he loved Abu Omar, how can I move our communists?

Look at the wisdom of the Prophet sallallaahu. Selim as well. This is also a

this is also a lesson for us online. Verify your sources mate. Verify Your information will save us from a lot of headache these days. So the Prophet SAW Selim said Tell Abu Dhabi to come to me. He knew without to be truthful. But you know what, in every situation, there are three sides to a story. One person side, the other person side and then the truth, which is usually somewhere in the middle of those two. So he called a Bulevar. And asked him Did you say this 2 billion

and he admitted it. He said yes, you are also law said it. He was ashamed. The Prophet sallallahu sallam said Abba, they're still Jamelia in you that broke him.

Helia to them meant the time when they worshipped sticks, rocks, stones, false gods they were ignorant of Allah subhanho wa Taala that was the worst you can be no worse in that time than a Jain. So, he was very broken by that. And he went to look for v net. And when he found out he looking for him everywhere What does he find below? He finds Bilal in the most busy place in Medina in the market. And what does he do? He goes to bail out what is he does he call him to you know, come come around the corner let's squash this beef. You know, I mean, let me let me highlight show let me take you to the side with squash it in private and then we'll come out and tell everybody Yeah, we

squashed it. No, no, that's not how men handle business. I insulted you in public I'm going to make contrition in public. So he went in threw himself in on the ground in front of BLM and said I will not get up from this spot until you put your foot on your on my face and prove to everyone that you are better than me.

Now what I'll do the jump jump on you normally that's how prove a point No, no, no, he picked him up and kissed his face and said I'd rather kiss this face and step on it. And that was it. It was over it was over a squashed that's how grown men handle business. That's how two grown men who believe in Allah subhanho wa Taala handle business that type of

that type of atmosphere that type of idea that type of of ideology is rare in today's day and age it's not how it was I was raised in the south in the United States and we were raised a little bit differently if you had a problem with someone you dealt with that someone you dealt with that someone straight up front to front face to face and you squash it and sometimes it might you guys might talk it out and you might make little tussle some I might get a black guy like yeah, it happens and then if that we all cool yeah, we got it out. We got it out. We squared good I haven't really.

But you see, this is the love because why it wasn't because yes, his feelings were hurt because feelings were hurt. I thought it was broken when the profit subtle, but it was bigger than their egos. Now our egos become absolute. We worship our egos we worship ourselves.

Their, their love for Allah subhanho wa Taala and the love that they should have for one another for ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada was bigger than themselves. So they squashed it. And that was the end of the end they were done. You know, this is what I mean when we have to learn to love one another, again to avoid these types of calamities, to prevent them because it's not just about being reactionary. Unfortunately, we as an ummah have become very reactionary. We wait to something happens. We sit around and wait to something happens and Okay, how are we going to deal with this? That's not the way we should be. We should be visionaries. We should be people who are looking okay, this has

happened to us about 15 times now. What can we do in the future to prevent this from happening ever again. We need forward thinkers and our own mo we need people who are looking around the corner, people who are looking down the street people are looking five years from now 10 years from now how are we going to get somewhere in life. And as I was talking to the brother before salah, you know, I told him, I said, if you're not focusing on the youth of the Ummah, you're not doing anything for this. If the majority of our focus in the West, the masajid focus the institution focus, the education focus is not on our youth and connecting our youth to the deen of Allah subhanahu wa to

Anna and also connecting them to the world that they live in, then we are failing. And our massages will become empty in 1015 20 years unless we just keep immigrating more uncles and Auntie's over and that's not really going to get us any anywhere whatsoever. It's not going to help us progress. So our youth and also mental health, mental health has been put on the front and center in this pandemic. And it is a problem that is alive and well in the Muslim community. And it's not all about Sarah, eine Jin weakness of faith. Some of it is deep seated generational trauma that needs to be fixed and be worked on and people are going through things and people are struggling and they need

someone to talk to. So we're working on those two areas. Those are my two areas of focus for the for the foreseeable future inshallah Huhtala our youth in mental health to try to avoid more calamities for us again and again and again.

Personal calamities How many of you guys have ever been through a calamity in your life personally? Raise your hand. If you haven't, you have not lived long enough yet. It's coming.

It's coming. I guarantee you there's gonna be some hard times and your life is good. If you don't have hard times in your life,

I would be very wary. I would be very afraid as a believer. Because Allah subhanho wa Taala says if you say you believe if you reverse sort of the ankle boot from the question that Allah poses and make it a statement, then Allah is saying if you say you believe I'm going to test you, if you say you believe get ready for that test, be ready for it. So you need to always be preparing and trying to read yourself for the test that are ultimately going to come from Allah subhanho wa Taala because let me tell you right now high ranks of gender. How many of you want to go to those? I want to be in fear of ghosts. I don't know the Prophet SAW Selim said if you ask me

agenda, ask Allah for the dose asking for the highest ranks.

You know the people who are inhabiting those highest ranks beyond the NBA who struggled the most among us, the people who would test the hardest. The people were put the most difficulties, the poor amongst us, the down trodden amongst us, the oppressed amongst us, the imprisoned amongst us, those are going to be the people in hand inhabiting for those, and those of us who live this cushy life and living in labs of luxury, if we make it to Jenna insha, Allah hota Anna, we might just slide right on in in those bottom levels because we didn't go through enough. The Prophet sallallahu wasallam said that the people who were not tested will wish wish that their skin was torn into

shreds, when they see the reward of the people who were tested, when they see the reward of the people who were put to the fire by Allah subhanho wa taala.

But why does it happen? Same reason tests or punishment. And I said this one time, I don't ended up making the rounds on social media somehow. And I like to put test into perspective.

Because Allah subhanho wa Taala does not test those who he doesn't love. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said If Allah loves someone, he tests them, he puts them into difficulty he puts them to test because he knows that those tests and those difficulties are going to increase them in this life and I'm going to increase them in the next life. Sometimes Allah subhanho wa Taala puts you through difficulty. Sometimes ALLAH SubhanA wa Taala breaks you sometimes ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada shakes you, because he does not want you to have anyone else in your life to turn to except by him. Sometimes that is the love of Allah subhanho wa Taala to you is that he takes everything else away

from you, he will take your job away from you, he take your home away from you, he take your family away from you, he take your children away from you, he take your money away from you, so that you have nothing left, but him to turn to subhanho wa to Anna and that is a mercy. That is a mercy from him. So sometimes we have to look at those things and understand that we don't know what ALLAH SubhanA wa Taala has in store for us. But we trust in His plan. And I've given that talk right to you sitting in this very chair before about trusting the plan of Allah subhanho wa Taala even if you don't recognize or understand it, or know what's happening. It is not about the test. It's about

what we do with it and what we do with the lesson and what we do with these calamities, because they're going to come if you live long enough, they're going to come in and like as I just said, if they don't come to you check your faith. Check your Eman because Allah test those whom he loves, and those whom He loves more, he tests them even more, he puts them through more difficulty look at the life of our Prophet alayhi salaatu wa salaam,

our Prophet sallallahu wasallam struggled, he went through hardship. He went through trial after trial after trial, when he accepted the message of prophethood and accepted the why he from Allah subhanho wa taala.

immediately, immediately after accepting why he from Allah subhanho wa Taala his family turned on him. Immediately his family turned on him, his uncle turned on him. Then his tribe turned on him. Then his city turned on him. Everybody turned on then they started plotting against him, plotting to kill him, calling him the same people that were calling him set up. But I mean, the most truthful, the most trustworthy one and now calling him a magician, calling him a soothsayer, calling him a liar, telling people to put you know things in their ears when they walk by him not to hear the message, plotting against his life.

Sum Allahu alayhi wa sallam

he suffered, but it never once distracted him and never once changed him. It never once caused him to do anything other than his character and other than going forward to convey the message of Allah subhanho wa Taala because he had a job to do.

And I'll end with this. As we wrap it up, and I talk about the partnership that we have tonight with one of them. I am an ambassador for the charity one whom I've known for a very long time.

We talk about calamities. So whenever I go through a difficulty and this is something I've done many times, whenever I'm having a difficult period in my life, I always go back and look at the most difficult day of the life of the prophet Sallallahu wasallam

and it always helps

Allah He gives me so much hope. When did I shut off the law when our boss has said was the most difficult day of the life of the prophet Sallallahu sallam.

She was asked was it the death of Abu Talib said no, it was the death of Kinesia even though he loved her dearly is no. What was his worst day?

PIF the day if tarrif his worst day, because after the death of Embleton him, he lost his physical support. And he had no one to protect him anymore. The wolves have of Mecca, we're gonna crowd around him.

And then he lost his wife Kinesia, which was his emotional that was his love of his life. And at this time, they were, you know, they were outcasts. The Muslims were outcasts. They had nowhere to go.

So he decided to go

To the city of tarrif. He took his adopted son stayed with him. And they went and knocked on the doors of Thai for days.

Asking the people of Thai to accept Islam giving our door to door. Every single one of those doors was slammed in his face. Nobody was accepting. He got a chance to sit down with the leaders of time. This is the best of Allah's creation is the best human being that ever walked the face of this earth. He sat down with the leaders of di F and told them either accept Islam and save yourself from the from the punishment of Allah in this life and in the next, or just accept me, adapt to me to protect me from my own people. Did they accept Islam? No. Did they accept to protect him? No, they turned them down. So he had a third request. Okay, then please just don't broadcast this. Don't go

out and tell everyone that you've rejected me. Because you have to understand from the human perspective, our Prophet sallallahu sallam was a human being. He had been through so much. He said, Just don't don't add insult to injury. You rejected me. That's fine. Let me just let me just, you know, go on my way. Let me quietly leave the city and go on my way. They accept that No.

They called for everyone to come out men, women, children come out and throw him out of the city. So they started throwing rocks and shoes and pots and Zaid said he was trying his best to protect the profit or lease it out to Sam was too much too much. By the time our Prophet sallallahu wasallam left the city of tarrif. He was beaten, battered, bruised and bleeding. Blood was running down his blessed body and filling his sandals SallAllahu wasallam the best of Allah's creation.

He didn't know what else to do, he had nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to. This is what I tell you. Sometimes Allah subhanho wa Taala will take everything from you. So that you realize with no doubt with firmer surety, that there is nothing, nothing but Allah subhanho wa Taala that matters. So what did he do? He stopped in an orchard outside of the city of Haifa. And he put his two hands in front of his face. And he made dua and ask Allah subhanho wa Taala to help him. I don't know what else to do. Help me.

Allah subhanho wa Taala decided to answer that door immediately. Immediately, that door and what had happened had reached above the seven heavens to the Throne of Allah subhanho to Allah. And Allah sent angels real with the angel who controls every single mountain on this earth to hold it in its place. Because we know that the earth we know also we know from from science, that if you remove all these mountains, those plates that are just going to be floating all over and crashing into each other. This this world cannot contain itself.

So he sent the angel of the mountains. And he said, If he gives you permission, destroy all those people. So guess what Allah had already made it had and Allah had made a holla he had given me permission. He said, But ask him, ask him.

So as this is happening, I want you to see we all know this story, but I want you to see how it unfolds in the lesson that we learned from this about calamities, about difficulties and how we are supposed to respond. Because our example is the example of Muhammad Ali Serato. Sir,

as the angels are coming, the owners of this orchard, see these people in this condition, and they have some sympathy for them. So they send their slave whose name was anybody know the name? But this adults they said Go take food and drink to them. A death took food and drink to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and before eating he said Bismillah even at this condition, remember Allah subhanho wa Taala This triggered something in the fitrah of others. He said what did you hear this? What did you get this this this from? These people who don't know these types of things? He said where are you from Mina Anantha had this he said mini ninja and from ninja he said you from

ninja. Then you know of my brother Yunus says how you know buy units you know about any out of you know by him. He said because the same way he explained it to him the same way Allah subhanaw taala sent him as a messenger. He sent me with him as a messenger. He explained to him to read and look at our Prophet alayhi salatu salam, his worst day, he's sitting here he's beaten down, bleeding, but he sees a man who has the faintest interest in Allah subhanho wa Taala and that becomes his attraction that becomes his purpose, because that's why he was sent Dalyan in Allah he beats me. He was sad you Mira? That's what you are. So he told him the dour and Adeste got down at his feet and said it

should do in La ilaha illallah wa shadow Anika Rasulullah started kids kissing his bloody defeat. His owners came and started beating him how what is wrong with you? How dare you leave the religion of your forefathers with religion? What did you respond? And he said well Allah He would this managers given me he said kill me go kill me if you want to, because what this man has given me.

What this man has given me is dearer to me than the whole world and everything that it contains.

At this point, the angel Jibreel ASAM shows up with the angel who controls the mountains and the angel that controls the mountains is infuriate, is angry.

And he greets the Prophet someone know how to sell them Salam o Allah rasool Allah. Allah has given me permission that if you wish

If you give me the right I will take Elektra bay in the mountains that surround these two cities that if in Mecca and I'll push them together and I will destroy all of your enemies Allah had given him the right had given him the right in the permission to end his enemies right then and there

what if they would have been URI? Subhan Allah we could have destroyed everybody and we'd have been like yeah, you know those guys over there we heard we heard some some some these Roman dudes and Persian dudes, we're talking trash and good, you can just go handle all of that. We will burn the world down in the day. I've been saying this for many years or as Muslims we wish we were you know, we have the keys to the world. And I'm saying yeah, I don't know about all that. We ask Allah subhana wa Tada to give us victory when we're when we're when we're worthy of it. Because if you gave us the keys to the world today, we would destroy the world by next Friday fighting over who

gets to hold the keys Allah He would man we'd kill each other first. And they'd be like, Well, that didn't last very long.

We ready to fight somebody to cut us off here in traffic. We're ready to I've seen brothers go to blows inside the house of Allah subhanho wa Taala over silly little silly things, but posters should that shouldn't be on the watch. And they go into the next you know, twinkles rolling around. That's how we behave. Our Prophet Alayhi Salatu was Salam What did he say? He said, No.

No, he said, I have not been sent to destroy, but to guide and even if someone from amongst this progeny of these people way down the line long after I'm gone accepts Islam. Then what I suffered here today is worth it.

There would be a young man named Muhammad him in the past and Mathare coffee at the age of 17 years old from the lineage of these people who take Islam to the subcontinent.

This vision of the Prophet alayhi salatu salam, even in calamities, he still understood that no matter what Allah subhanho wa Taala puts me through, my focus always has to be on him, and what I am supposed to do, as his messenger at a salatu salam, and that same job was given to every single Muslim after him to worship Allah subhanho wa Taala and to continue to convey that message This is the wisdom that we are missing as an ummah wisdom. We have a lot of knowledge, Masha, Allah, there's knowledge abundant in this ummah. It's not that we are lacking knowledge, we're lacking wisdom. We're lacking wisdom, which the scholars say that wisdom is how to use knowledge, knowing how to use

knowledge at the right time at the right place to gain the right purpose.

One last one, and then I'll wrap it up.

We don't understand these things. We we

we, unfortunately, have become reactionaries. We become reactionaries to everything

after the Battle of Earth, after the Battle of ahead, you guys remember what happened at Ohio? Right? They lost the archers didn't do their job. Who do you think would have been the most despised individual amongst the Muslims at that time?

Call it elite. He was the reason for their loss on that day with the archers, but he was the head that he had the knowledge he actually held people back he had a flank of the Army held back watching those archers if they lose if they move you go.

When our Prophet sallallahu was sending them after the after he saw Khalid mo leads brother

in the Medina, right? He said, I want you to send your brother a message now. How would that message go for us? Watch your back. I'm coming for you sleep with one eye open, we don't get you. That's how you know we saw it online for sure we'd be all kinds of nonsense. What did you say to him? Tell your brother, he's too wise. He's too smart.

He has great, great intelligence and for us, then he there's no way he can deny who I am.

This is the same man who was the cause of the loss of his uncle, the same man who is the cause of the loss of Jafar, the same man who is the cause of the loss of Muhammad Ahmed and all the martyrs of

his own family members close companions, he praised him. Why? Because the Prophet someone behind him was Selim had vision he could see bigger than than then then then what was right in front of him. He understood the implication of great people and what they could accomplish in their talents. He recognized people's talent and people's contributions,

even if they should have been his enemies. When his brother took that message to holiday, and he heard that

it broke him It touched him, that this man who might have caused so much misery to so much hardship to so much grief and anguish, he's only message to me was that I'm too intelligent not to recognize who he is. And he was right. They didn't fight against him because they didn't know who he was. They fought against him because they could not stand the implications of what he brought.

What did Holly do? jumped on his horse

rode straight to Medina. When he got to Medina, he started walking towards the masjid and Abu Bakar and a couple others they caught him they were like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, where you going? You know, they thought maybe this is an assassination attempt catch and they tied him up. And they dragged him to the Prophet we got him. The Prophet SAW sent him said, Let him do it, let him go, let him go. So the entire day let him go. He's came and sat in front of the prophets almost send them and said a shadow and Lai Lama shadow Anika Rasul Allah. And when he says no need to go on you and D, the Messenger of Allah.

The Prophet SAW Selim smiled

and how it started taking off his jewelry, you know, his flamboyance, his rings and all these things in donating him for the sake of Allah subhanho wa Taala said this belongs to South Africa now. Then he took the sword he had his sword hanging around his neck, because when you hang when they hold the sword around the neck that was like, you know, I'm here to this is it life or death situation for me. He took it off and tried to hand it to the prophets, Allah sent him over to the prophecy. So now hold on to that, I have a feeling you might need it. Just hold on to that. This the same cognitive normally they would take down the largest empires, the world is some of the largest empires the

world has ever known.

And bring them under the banner of Tawheed for Allah subhanho wa taala, the same sword that would become the destruction of the many members of the family of the Prophet alayhi salatu salam in his dear friends and companions that that same sword would become the unsheathed sword of Allah subhanho wa taala, to take their head around the world and defend the Muslim ummah.

You see, this is how we deal with calamities, we look at how we can prevent them in the future. We don't we don't just react to them and try to put a bandaid and slap, you know, slap a plaster on them. And that's the end of it. We try to look at ways that we can avoid these situations in the future. Unfortunately, we haven't gotten there yet. We're still dealing with reaction based calamities. So the next trip that went on maturity has is going to be out to Lebanon again. And in Lebanon, they have many, many refugees

in those camps that are going through some severe troubles, severe angers, anguish, severe persecution, no food, no, no, no, no clean drinking water unless we as an OMA help them. We as an OMA help them. And it is our job to help them we will be questioned about whether or not we helped them. This is how we wrap it up. Sometimes those calamities from Allah are not only a test to those whom they are inflicted upon, they are a test to everyone else, as well. We think that those brothers in in those camps and sisters in those camps and children, those camps, that Allah is testing them, maybe he's not testing them, maybe he's testing us. Maybe this is our test. Maybe this

is our test. And Allah Subhana Allah is saying what we are going to do, how we are going to respond, because I remember I've met a young man who came out of Homs, Syria back when it was really rough, and he had managed to get to America. And I happened to meet him

in Virginia, and, you know,

I was talking to him after Juma, you know, and I said, Oh, yeah, I had helped with a charity that had gone to one of the camps that had come through. You know, I said, you know, and the Muslims felt so sorry for what you guys were going through. As soon as I said, we felt sorry for what they were going through, he snapped. He said, Don't feel sorry for me. He said, I feel sorry for you, all of you over here. Now that I've been to America and see how you live, he said I feel sorry for every single one of you. He said because us for us. Allah has put us through the test. Allah has put us through the wringer.

And we are grateful to that. He said because before where I used to live, very few people attended the Masjid. You know, the Masjid was empty. There was more clubbing than there was going to the house of Allah subhanho wa taala. He said, But when Allah put down his test, and a lot put us to the test, people were standing in the streets. People are lining up in the streets to worship Allah subhanho wa taala. On Fridays, people came back to Allah, people return to their deen and the ones who passed away Allah subhanho wa Taala has already made judgment upon them and will often meet him in the next life. He said by you, and all of you Americans, which can come for us as well. You get

to go home and driving your nice little air conditioned and heated cargo, your air conditioned and heated house and a big refrigerator full of food. And if he runs out of food, you can go out in the street to the grocery store and get some more. He said you are the ones whom are going to be called to account not us because a lot already put it through us. Now it's your turn Subhanallah that brah I didn't know what to say I just said you're right. We got to fix up because that is the truth, that they are being put through it. Allah subhanho wa Taala is cleansing them because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said no believer is harmed, even by the pricking of a thorn, except

Allah subhanho wa Taala makes it an expiation for the essence and a cleansing for them. So they are being cleansed. What about us? What are we going through and we complain, you know, we complain, Oh, it's so rough. So rough over here. And most of us that complain

not last a minute in one of these other circumstances or situations and ask Allah subhanaw taala he does not test you like that.

So this is our test. So I'm asking you tonight Inshallah, this is not just for this this campaign even though I would like you, as you leave, please support this campaign. But this goes to all these circumstances and situations, when you see a chance to help your brother or your sister, help them. The Prophet sallallahu wasallam said that Allah is with his slave, as long as his slave is helping his brother or sister, Allah is with his slaves, as long as they are helping one another, whomever helps each other for the sake of Allah subhana which Allah, Allah is with them. Allah will take care of them, Allah will help them and this is what Allah asked us for in the Quran when he said, Yeah,

you Hala Dena Amma know how to do the commodity, Jonathan to Jean comunidad bien le Can I guide you to a transaction that will prevent you from a painful punishment? Allah says to me noona Billa He will surely he went to jail. He didn't disobey the law he be M What a wonderful cecum. Allah says, strive in His way, with your wealth, believe in Allah, His Messenger, and then strive and struggle, everything that Joe had means in his way with what the first thing Allah says, and what he can, because we know that that is what we love the most. Allah knows as well. You love that more than sometimes we love that more than we love our own soul. And you see that people become broken, they

commit suicide can't live anymore. So Allah says, give me your wealth, why and Fujichrome and yourself, then he can Mahalo, Come In Kuntum to element this is better for you than anything else. Because when it said that it's better for you. And it doesn't say what means is better than anything else. If you only knew in the next verse, you will come to know McLemore. You will come Janet, tangerine mentality. Helen Hamasaki Natalia button fee Jannetty. And what else do we ask Allah for? Allah says, I will forgive your sins, grant you beautiful homes in the garden in Fiji and that the Arden prime real estate in Jannah Valley Koufos will I think this is the greatest achievement. And

then in the next verse, What does Allah say, we'll call it a Muna, I'll give you something else which you love. Nostromo ma help from Allah, wa from the party and a clear victory or partially meaning. So Allah has told us that we need to give a little bit back, he's given us so much given so much, we just give a little bit back to him. If you leave today and put a little little donation in the box, that's you're not giving that to them. You're not giving that to the people who would be saved by this has been given to Allah subhanho wa Taala because once charity is given, that goes, I shall have the Aloha said that the charity reaches Allah subhanho wa Taala before it ever reaches

the individual who is meant for because it is given for his sake. So please, as you're leaving today, support these brothers, they're going to be right there at the back in sha Allah Who Tada with the blue hoodies, etc. Please support this campaign so that when they go to Lebanon again very soon, they can go and supply a great deal of amount of help to our brothers, our sisters, our children who are out there waiting on people like you or I who are living in luxury in the West to help them in Sharma Huhtala. May Allah subhanho wa Taala granted His goodness May Allah grant his success may Allah grant us the best in this life and in the next in the next life. So panicle Lahoma

will be handy go shadow lay the hill and step through to be lake which is our Haydn Baraka la FICO Maha. I think we