Zaid Shakir – Lessons From The Life Of Abu Bakr (ra)

Zaid Shakir
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The speakers stress the importance of leadership and humility in bringing forward culture, and the need for creatively thinking and being mindful of one's own power. They also discuss the challenges of dealing with people who have been programmed into a certain type of Americanized religion and the potential for harm to one's social circle. The speakers stress the importance of acknowledging errors and fixing them to improve one's religion and society, and stress the need for people to be strong and considerate of their own successes.

AI: Summary ©

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			So after
		
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			mentioning the name of the law,
		
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			he said he
		
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			was
		
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			placed over you.
		
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			If we reflect on this opening to two very important points that we can note.
		
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			First of all, actually three, actually men will limit ourselves to three, and then interest of time.
		
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			First of all, he is clearly expressing
		
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			the fact that he's not imposing himself on the
		
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			need, why they
		
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			have been placed ob,
		
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			ob, those familiar with the nature of the Arabic language though this is a verb in
		
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			the passive voice I've been placed amongst
		
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			each one.
		
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			So one of the principles of good leadership is that leaders do not impose themselves on those who
follow them.
		
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			The prophets of the lion who was sentenced to 40 years among his people.
		
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			And he was never their leader
		
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			until a loss who had
		
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			called him to the prophetic office, and the loss of how what had elevated him to that position.
		
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			He wasn't a prophet. But he understood the nature of prophetic leadership,
		
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			the nature of leadership, that leadership, the nature of leadership that follows the prophetic
		
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			and that one is called to leadership.
		
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			And in that sense, all of us have been called
		
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			all of us
		
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			who respond to the call of the bride
		
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			and the call of all of the prophets
		
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			and specifically for us the call of
		
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			the head.
		
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			The point here,
		
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			the first goes on,
		
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			all on his toes.
		
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			Toes he was to that.
		
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			And Justin
		
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			was hoping
		
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			for
		
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			an Abu Bakr understood that he was chosen and placed in that position to accomplish something
significant for this religion. And each and every one of us you view the fact that we've been chosen
for this mission. We've been chosen for that.
		
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			We should do that. And understand that that Intel's responsibility.
		
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			All of you, our leaders are shepherds,
		
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			which is a an allegorical expression for leaders, the shepherd leaves his flock.
		
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			And all of you are answerable for
		
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			every individual Muslim. So we should understand.
		
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			We don't have to impose ourselves on people. We just have to assume the responsibility that Allah
		
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			has charged us with. And so I was assuming responsibility. Allah subhana wa tada had charged him
with the people who are
		
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			encouraged and suggested and nominated for that offer.
		
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			The second point
		
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			and that is mentorship has to be approached with the spirit of humility.
		
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			And so that was an expression of his ability. Well, let's go
		
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			Look at
		
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			the best of you, when in reality was the best.
		
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			And people might dispute and even though they're fair minded, who would say this or that opinion has
superiority of virtual
		
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			fairminded, who would definitely be in the top two or three,
		
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			for those who are,
		
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			deeply understand the virtue of Abu Bakr
		
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			and understand this close this book, the prophet to love it
		
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			and understand the nature of that Kostas gave him and then it is that he benefited from the
personality, the training, the guidance, the orientation of the prophet SAW Selim, as no other human
being who
		
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			has to be, despite that, he said, I'm not the best of you. So you approach his duties with the
spirit of humility.
		
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			And this is critical for us. Because when we approach our situation,
		
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			with a spirit of humility immediately, this sends a message to ourselves and others, that we're not
going to rely on our own power and resources. We're going to rely on the last time
		
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			because we all understand no matter how talented we are, no matter how virtuous we are, no matter
how well connected, we are, at the end of the day, when we
		
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			think creatively
		
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			and alone, none of us can do much. So personnel approaches leadership from a position of arrogance
is indicating he or she will rely on their own power on their own
		
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			their own fallible house, whereas the person who opposes the situation with the spirit of humility
understands that he or she is relying on the loss of the source of all power. And a lot of talent
reminds us in that regard to or the Prophet rather, to reinforce that message, when
		
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			no one knows themselves.
		
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			Except that
		
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			except that a lot of
		
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			adults a person, no one can put them down.
		
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			A person exhausts themselves to their own physical resources, anyone can knock them down.
		
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			As
		
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			well as support me and help me to do that.
		
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			So again, this is a valuable lesson that's particularly relevant in the realm of leadership. There
are some leaders that shy away from encouraging participation,
		
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			cultivate talent, because they see that talent as a threat to them.
		
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			Well, needle understands, it's not about him.
		
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			It's about the mission.
		
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			And the mission can always be better. The accomplishment can always be better. Good can always be
great.
		
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			As one hardcover book on leadership, the title of the book Good to Great.
		
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			helped me to be great.
		
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			And
		
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			then Help me Help me to do what helped me to be better, because this isn't about me.
		
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			And this is about helping this religion to obtain the position and the status in the world that is
occupied as the last message sent by Almighty God to humanity.
		
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			So he's saying don't accept mediocrity.
		
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			Have good
		
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			any excuses.
		
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			only accept excellence. Have you seen good help to transform that good into excellence?
		
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			This should be our attitude, some of us think there can be no improvement over what we might bring
about. And because of that we seek to systematically exclude others
		
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			from encroaching on our territory for making something that we did, author
		
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			alterations for the pet.
		
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			That's not a formula for long term success. That's not a formula for breaking the formula greatness
is what are
		
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			delineated.
		
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			Good helped me to do better. The second thing we can point we can mention here is that he's
encouraging participation. And that's another thing. That is the quality of good leadership and the
act of the code of participation.
		
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			Because participation doesn't just happen. In many instances,
		
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			we can just say we're free. So we don't understand why the sisters aren't.
		
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			They can get involved, they want to
		
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			make they're hesitant
		
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			to be given a message to actively encourage them to get involved. We all know why the brothers from
the barrio or the ghetto,
		
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			help You're welcome
		
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			is free, everyone can come get involved beyond the shora.
		
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			Sometimes the active message has to be presented by those in charge, break down barriers of
exclusion that we might not even be aware of. Because in communication, there are two sides. So from
our side, we might not see something from the other side that might be very visible, and very real.
To them message of encouragement has to always be present,
		
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			to say,
		
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			get involved and help me
		
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			and the air district
		
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			leaders who first of all, they don't even admit the possibility of error.
		
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			They definitely don't encourage someone to point out their mistakes and fix them. Because they see
that as lessening them and lowering them. And this theme of the people
		
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			philosophy if I do wrong Shut up.
		
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			correctly, you get shot.
		
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			For
		
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			more civilized cases thrown in jail.
		
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			The example and the model has given us
		
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			a set to
		
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			sit back and allow my errors undermine this religion and to undermine the work that we were both
safe with viral profits a lie he was
		
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			presented in less than the sterling light that it should represent in a world of darkness. Don't be
satisfied with that straightened me out, fix the problem, then again, get involved. And criticism
definitely has to be encouraged as more than putting up suggestion box on the wall
		
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			as the activity occurred, and it has to be accepted. And there has to be offers in the spirit of
constructive, constructive spirit as they say constructive criticism, not just trying to
intentionally undermine someone
		
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			try to make the overall effort better, because none of us
		
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			who think or believe that we're trying to do something for them.
		
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			None of us
		
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			is going to outlive this
		
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			problem process of the Senate.
		
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			He passed
		
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			he passed
		
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			from
		
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			Aloha, my
		
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			name
		
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			is fuqaha pads
		
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			go through history, all the great leaders, the great teachers, they pass, but it's learned absorb.
So we have to understand if that doesn't drive home the point is them is bigger than us.
		
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			So the challenge for us in the question about what can we contribute during our time on this?
		
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			So this is
		
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			what can we contribute? Now? What can you do for us?
		
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			And
		
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			ask not what your country can do for you rather ask what you can do for your country. And we can
paraphrase that he got it from Aristotle, so we can borrow it from him. And given an Islam
		
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			as not was loved can do for you rather ask what you can do for them? And if you're not doing
anything, then that's the answer to why we
		
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			have the answer. Why Allah subhanho wa Taala is it helped
		
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			him
		
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			a lot.
		
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			This is something deleted
		
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			as
		
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			long as
		
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			we're not for a deletion and repetition in the Quran and Duncan would have understood it.
		
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			But this deletion is repetition.
		
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			So in total law doesn't need help.
		
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			And tofu Dino law,
		
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			if you help the laws, he will help you
		
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			can do to help you
		
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			as what you can do to help
		
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			people who have been programmed into a certain type of Americanized version of religion.
		
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			So you try to make dollar to them. First thing they say is you know what your economic program?
		
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			You know, you got it, you got any job
		
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			in an economic program that will help your economic situation by teaching you to avoid Riba by to
spend half of your income on alcohol or drugs, by teaching you
		
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			to engage in credit spending
		
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			is a path to salvation is known as a path to justice in the world is known as a path for equality
and brotherhood.
		
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			Love is all about
		
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			what can we do to strengthen this religion, so I can be a stronger force for brotherhood and a
stronger force for justice and a stronger path to salvation for people losing their souls to the
most frivolous and irrational thing.
		
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			And
		
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			if you have a lot of religion, he will help you. So know that
		
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			you
		
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			can do for yourself.
		
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			Back is teaching us it's not about me.
		
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			God helped me do better, because it's about making Islam better. If I do wrong, this straightened me
out, because it's about helping us to go straight and helping this mission not to be lost to the
work
		
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			among students.
		
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			Until I take the right security, the rightness owed to him.
		
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			So again, this day is not about me, is about these weak people is about the poor people. And all of
us have to be mindful of this message. All of us, the poorest of us, are part of a very small
privileged class. Living in America, North America, Western Europe.
		
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			It's a privilege class.
		
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			If you think you're not in that privileged class, consider how you got here today.
		
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			What percentage of people on the face of this earth own an automobile? If you think you're not in
that privileged class book at your waistline,
		
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			what percentage of people on the face of this earth are shopping around for diet,
		
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			this company is trying to find some food period, we're trying to find a way to get rid of the
results of too much food
		
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			in a privileged class. So as members of that privileged class, and as Muslims, we have to be
concerned
		
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			about the rest of the people out there in this world.
		
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			concerned
		
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			with me, until I secured the rights.
		
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			And again, this is
		
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			because we want
		
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			to give in Divine help, and you're giving your substance based on sustenance, rather, based on how
you treat the weekend or amongst
		
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			the weekend, or the weekend or pass the pistol. How are we treating them?
		
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			What are we trying to
		
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			think about the
		
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			owner?
		
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			Have
		
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			insha Allah as the one who is wrong with you? is weak with me until I take from him the right that
he owes to others.
		
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			And the message here amongst others, is that
		
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			how long
		
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			should it intimidate a Muslim?
		
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			We should see the strong of this world being weak.
		
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			And we should see ourselves as trying to what the law will. So
		
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			I want as strong with you as the week with me until I take for the ride.
		
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			And we should be trying
		
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			to take the bike
		
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			because you know the medicine of injustice in this world.
		
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			We have a world food prices
		
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			even affecting America
		
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			causes rationing rice
		
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			a problem
		
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			because all the farmland is being taken up to grow corn and soybeans can a
		
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			car
		
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			a world full price.
		
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			And if you don't believe me, the cover story of Time magazine magazine two weeks ago must be true.
		
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			So we have to begin to think of solution.
		
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			People have to starve so we can pack up our cars.
		
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			Greenfield
		
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			tearing down the rain forests and burning those trees. For more carbon let's say
		
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			hi biodiesel,
		
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			Ohio as your reality free store carbon and biology one to one or even before that sixth grade. You
don't have to get to college. The trees take the oxygen out of the air or the carbon dioxide out of
the air and they give out oxygen. So what is it that carbon is stored
		
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			on to
		
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			burned and then is released back into the atmosphere and more carbon is released by burning the rain
fire force
		
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			then
		
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			producing biodiesel.
		
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			It will take a century to even up the ratio
		
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			and
		
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			the time is up so