Being a Muslim doesn’t mean you only do the rituals and forget about those around you. Islam is about living your life in a way that also leads to the betterment of society. One way to increase your spirituality is through standing up for justice. The Prophet is our example of someone who practised spiritual development through civic engagement.
Zaid Shakir – Adoring the Creator and Serving the Creation
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Bismillah Rahim al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen wa Salatu was Salam ala CD mursaleen Sayidina Muhammad. While early he was so happy he was selling testament kathira Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
First of all, let me say what a great honor
and pleasure it is to be here with all of you. So many wonderful Muslims from so many wonderful places around North America, even outside of the country.
And we pray that as we move forward, we can remain a United Community. We pray that
we can face the challenges that we inevitably will face that we can face them,
with Unity, with love, and our hearts for each other. And with the spirit of mercy,
adorning the creator serving the creation, this is really
the essence of our religion. A lot It reminds us and we're all familiar with the verse one malocclusion with insect Leah goon. I have only created the jinn and the humans to worship me.
That's our purpose. Philosophers reflect on the question ponder on the question. The question drives some people mad what is the purpose of life? We've been given the answer in just a succinct, brief, but profound statement. Our purpose in this world is to worship our Lord. That's our purpose. And the good times the bad times the hard times the easy times, the sunny days, the rainy days, snowy days, cloudy days, you name it, whatever the weather brings, we worship Allah subhana wa Taala. And we understand that we're being tested in that regard. Will we slack in during the difficult times, we'll be allow the fear of the creation, to remove the fear and reverence of the Creator. From our
hearts. We see a lot of evil designs being expressed against the Muslims, and I say evil. Because at the end of the day, they emanate from the idea of shaytaan Anima daddy comerciais on your hallowee for Alia, falletta ha fu Maha funi in comb, meaning, that is Satan. He wants to instill the fear of of his dupes into you. Don't fear them fear me if indeed you are believers in quantum meaning, we are believers brothers and sisters, and as believers, our first love and our last love and our ultimate love, and the ultimate object of our of our adoration
is Allah subhana wa Taala. A lot of times he reminds us that we should love him more than anyone or anything else. When the Drina ama new shed to hug belly laugh. When Latina ama new shed to hug belly laugh. Those who believe are more intense in their love of a law, in their love for a law than their love for anyone or anything else.
We love Allah subhanho wa Taala we love a law because we realize amongst other things, that there are two great blessings that we have received on the front of Allah subhanho wa Taala. And every other blessing that we enjoy, is predicated on those two blessings. Near Mattoon in near Myrtle ejabberd. We're near Mattoon, m dad, the blessing of being brought into existence.
And it is a blessing. I don't care how much difficulty you might have in your life. I don't care how much struggle we might be wrapped up in. I don't care how much disease or illness afflicts us because the fact that we've been brought into this existence has given us an opportunity for eternal bliss.
for eternal bliss, Assad to ever idea, eternal bliss,
that opportunity would not exist were we not brought into existence. And Eternity is a long, long, long time. The great Muhammad Ali, and some you might have seen this on YouTube. He was talking about eternity,
eternal bliss or eternal torment.
And he said, if you want to give get an idea
of eternity, and what we're talking about,
imagine yourself in the Sahara Desert, surrounded by sand.
And every 1000 years, you picked up one grain of sand and you put it
aside, and then after 1000 years you put it, you picked up another grain of sand.
Imagine how long it would take you to pick up every drop of sand and the Sahara Desert. At that rate, eternity renders that length of time the time it would take to pick up every drop of sand in the Sahara Desert one drop at a time every 1000 years pales when compared to eternity. Brothers and sisters, you and I have an opportunity for eternal bliss
based on what we do in this world, based on our adoration and our service to a loss of Hannah huatai wonderful up to genuine insert Leah Boone Illa Leah Boone
well Edina maneuver shed to hug Bella. But in addition
to loving and adorning, adoring and looking forward to meeting you, if you love someone you look forward to meeting them.
If you love your wife, you can't wait to go home.
you're counting the minutes like this clock here is counting my minutes. Like 10 o'clock Greg looking at your watch 1030 can't wait to go home 1045 you shoot her a text. you I love you I can't wait to get home to see you and get over your cooking
12 o'clock. Looking at the watch one o'clock send another text I love you baby. I can't wait to get home.
You can't wait to meet your beloved.
Those who love a law can't wait to meet Allah subhanho wa Taala
Ella Deena Habu
Manhattan have the car Allahu Allahu they are the one who loves to meet Allah. Allah loves to meet them. But that love has to be our greatest love. I'm going to tell you a story now about love. I don't you ever forget it? You guys ready?
You have your notebooks out?
There was a guy right?
He was walking in the souk. The old sukan like the kind used to have them Iraq or Damascus or coats in the wintertime is muddy. And before cars, yeah, the animals in horse carts and they're dropping the dung and the manure in the mud is really sloppy.
But anyway, so he's walking in the mud in the soup. And he sees a beautiful woman. She's more beautiful than any woman he's ever seen in his life. And so he calls out salaam aleikum, sister salaam aleikum, sister, and he gets their attention and she waits and he comes slashing up in the mud.
He says sisters salaam aleikum. Wa Alaikum. Salaam, brother, sister. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life. It was love at first sight. I have to marry you. She says no problem. I'll marry you brother. Yeah. Laws good. Laws. Good. Then she said. But if you saw my sister, you wouldn't think twice about me. Really? You mean she's more beautiful than than you? She said. I look like a potato sack compared to my sister. worse. Yeah, worse. Yeah. She said she's over there and when he turned around
She covered him.
And he fell in the mud and the manure and the dung. And he looked at her and he said, Why did you do that sister? And she said, because the lover never takes his eye off of his beloved
brothers and sisters and never take your eye off of Allah subhanho wa Taala but understand
an expression of our love for loss upon Allah tala is our service to our fellow creatures.
Allah subhanho wa Taala mentions in the Quran Yeah, you handed in ermine, who? He's addressing us believers. Yeah. Are you held in an urn? Who may your Ted demin command Dini for sofa yet Tila he'd be out yet Tila, who bill Coleman. You have go home, you have Boehner, all you believers, whoever turns back on their religion. And here as the exit just make clear, it's not in terms of
equity debt after the apostasy. Whoever turns back from helping and assisting the religion and helping this and assisting the religion. Man, you're tagged them in command, Dini is serving other people.
It's assisting other people
is bringing, allowing the light of faith in the light of love our Creator, to reflect in our actions towards his creation. And so law says whoever turns back from serving the religion, from working for my creatures, from teaching good to people, uplifting the poor, assisting the downtrodden, entering happiness into the hearts of the believers, and all of the other wonderful things working for the environment, that that is the found one of the foundations of our life, in this world, working to assist those who are oppressed, and various parts of the world. That's all part of our service, serving the elderly and assisting them, serving the children and helping to pave the way for a
brighter future for them. This is part of our service to our dean.
Whoever fails to do that a law says he will bring another people in other words, merely loving Allah subhanho wa Taala is not enough that love has to translate an action into action.
And he says what he will bring another people you have go home we had boonah home, he will love and they will love him.
home he will love and they will love him. And other words just as following our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is one of the keys to the love of Allah. Corn in Kentucky to hipbone Allaha Fett, Tabby Rooney, you become a law. We all fear local villaneuva como la hoga for Rahim say to them, oh Mohammed, if indeed you love a love and follow me, then Allah will will love you. So what is the key to a lost love in this context? following the messenger sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And what is the key to the love of Allah in the context we began with assisting the religion serving people or assisting people, uplifting people visiting the sick. Abu Bakr radi Allahu Allah.
One of the many, many instances when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam testified that he will be a person in paradise.
What was the foundation of that testimony of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, a group of his companions gathered around him.
Man us by hand in Kumasi, Yama saaremaa Kala Abu Bakr Anna, who amongst you woke up this day and committed himself or herself to fasting. Abu Bakr said, I did.
I did.
Men's men are the men Komiyama Merida, who have you visited a sick person, or even before that mentality I'm in kanayama janessa 10 who amongst you follow a funeral funeral procession today Abu Bakr said I did Khalid Abu Bakr Anna
Then other men come on Yama, Merida. Who Have you visited a sick person today call her Abu Bakr Anna Abu Bakr said I did. Man Ottoman Ottoman como Yama Myskina who have you fed a hungry person today? caller Abubakar Anna, enter. Abu Bakr said, I did feel Karla Salalah while he was sending that much demand at the Emory inlet, the Hillel agenda, these characteristics, all of them evolving, except the first which is service to our soul involves serving others, including the deceased, following the janazah, visiting the sick, feeding the hungry.
These are the things that invite the love of Allah and that interest into paradise. So Allah says, Those who work and assist this cause they will be the people whom I love, and they will love me,
whom I love and they will love me, brothers and sisters, this is our call. This is our mission, to serve our Creator
and to serve His creation. The second quality we mentioned near matilija had the blessing of being brought in to existence when near metal m dad, the blessing of being sustained in existence. These aren't things we can do for ourselves. These are things that Allah has given to us. And these are things we should cherish. And these are things we should love Allah subhanho wa Taala for based on the opportunity that they afforded us for eternal bliss, brothers and sisters, we must be a charitable community reflecting those values and virtues of our backyard. We must be a loving community, loving not only our Lord, but understanding a function of our love for our Lord as our
love for each other. If we love Allah, just as any other beloved that might exist in our life, we want to meet our beloved and to meet our beloved. We have to succeed on the last day to meet our beloved in the best of manners.
We
we met men, a happily koala humble aloha
was what is one of the conditions for meeting our Lord? Len Ted Hello jen netta had told me no, you will not enter Paradise until you truly believe. So the meeting with the law in the best of shapes is the meaning of the law and gender the greatest delight and gender is the word Yeah. When we meet our Lord and behold our Lord and has the full splendor of our Lord that incomparable meeting when the creator meets to create it when the absolute meets the contingent
but for that to a core lanterra Hello jen netta Hata to me, no one told me no had Tata hub boo. You will not intergender
and therefore meet Allah subhanho wa Taala in the best of days in the best of ways. There is meaning before that he SAP
until you truly believe and you will not truly believe until you love one another. Until you love one another.
Brothers and sisters loving one another means exactly that loving one another. loving one another means we try to build each other up, not tear each other down. loving one another means when we air we work to correct that mistake in the best of ways so that in the process of correcting the mistake, we do not tear down the bonds of love that should exist between us. You will not truly believe until you love one another lol Abdullah Kamala Shay and either for us to move on to official Salah anabaena calm, shall I direct you to something where you to do what you would truly love one another. spread peace amongst yourself. The greeting of peace and the spirit of peace with each
other, hug each other but the spirit of peace
selam so we say As salam aleikum FG Salam abena Khan, as salaam aleikum, wa rahmatullah to all of the beloved to my right, as salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa to all of the beloved to my left, that's half of the job.
Salim comes from Salima yes lembu
to ensure the safety and security of someone
so my celeb has to make sure that I don't render you imperfect. Allah SLM. Some of us are converts. I'm a convert. Let me tell you a convert story.
This is a convert story most converts 99% of us. We try to be clever people. So when we learn Assalamu alaykum one of the first things any Muslim learns, we learn the translation piece upon you. And then eventually we start learning the 99 Names of Allah. So we start working through R Rahman r Rahim, Al Malik Al Quran kudos as seller. I know that when I know that when the peace allows the peace. That's not what it means brothers and sisters.
Allah SLM means, men salema minute you wanna call us, one who is safe from any imperfections or defects. So when we say salaam aleikum, we're saying I'm not going to render you defective in any way. I'm not going to lor, you are less than you in any way. That's what extra Salaam benaco means. So brothers and sisters, we have to be a people of love, love for Allah. That love for Allah translated into service for his creation and that love for law, translating into a desire to meet a law and that desire to meet a law translating into a love for each other
as just selama vehicle
then Ted hudl Jana Tata to me No. Well, I mean who had Tata hub boo. Brothers and sisters, I love you. And my time is up. May Allah bless you may bless us be a loving, nurturing community that is a source of benefit to each other, a source of benefit to this land we live in, and a source of benefit to the world as salaam alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh