Zaid Shakir – Putting Meaning Back Into Muslim
AI: Summary ©
The importance of Islam in modern times is emphasized, including the need for consistency in politics and moral evolution, challenges of the pandemic, and fear and inspiration. The importance of love and faith in religion, staying at home during the pandemic, creating a common consciousness, and mutual faith in religion is emphasized. The challenges of fearing accountability and restraining oneself are also highlighted, along with the need for people to protest detention centers and mass protests. The difficulties of Islam, including violence and gang violence, and the importance of mutual faith in religion are also emphasized.
AI: Summary ©
so eloquently what
are the origins of hamdulillah salat wa salam ala rasulillah? Early he was happy he woman Hala. Hello Himalayan Milena Illa Allah tena la cantera Lima Hakeem Holloman fan of Mr. hollom tena
Elma wa sallahu wa Sallim wa barik ala Sayyidina Muhammad Ali, he was happy he advised
hamdulillah we're truly blessed to have a memzy checker with us here tonight. And Imam Zaid, as they say in Arabi, honey unitary, he is no need of any introductions. Everybody knows who is a member
of MCA it touches the lives of 1000s and millions of people either through his
books or teaching among Zaid teaches us zaytuna College, which I think it is the greatest The greatest thing that this country has right now really, if you look at our, our state, you know, the economy, the political state,
everything is going down.
But somehow analyze a tuna college voila, he is the greatest thing that's happening right now in our country. So thank you so much for coming here tonight. And I would love to thank the brothers and the sisters who facilitated this matter and brought Imam Zaid invited me out here, so
thank you.
Oh,
Jimmy.
The smilla menorah? himal hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen wa Salatu was Salam ala say you did more sitting Sayidina Muhammad while early he was the he was selling to him and kathira salaam alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh Mashallah, so tremendous honor great pleasure to be back here. The Irvine message it haven't been her for a few years. Mashallah the community is vibrant, it's growing. And it's so wonderful, especially wonderful to see all of these young brothers and sisters here in LA, reward them and give them long lives filled with faith and service to the deen of Allah. As a great, great, great pleasure. So that the subject, we're talking about insha, Allah who tala is putting
meaning back into Muslim. So I want to start with a little story when I was in Syria.
I met a gentleman. And he has, so we're talking and in the course of the conversation,
so he thought I was born Muslim. I mentioned I converted to Islam. And essentially,
the gentleman said, Why'd you do that?
It's like, you know, you, you had everything? Why would you give it up to become Muslim? And I'm stuck. So I didn't have a choice. But you had a choice. And I was just thinking, I thought, and I said, Subhana Allah, that that this this gentleman,
really, Islam is nothing is this like a birth you born Muslim? So you stuck. And if you and that's all there's, there's no higher meaning or purpose associated with it. And
I thought,
what, what a tragedy
that this person is just existing as a Muslim and feels he has no choice. He was born in a Muslim family or Muslim country. So he stuck.
And I just think a law that he blessed me to search for Islam, and to discover the meaning of Islam. And that's what I want to talk about.
Because a lot of us,
not us here, but maybe us who are out there. Maybe at a nightclub or something, just really don't realize the gravity and the honor
that comes with being a Muslim. So I like to first
talk about or And finally, the fact that we're chosen for this religion.
So a law a law is putting a team together. So like the NBA, or the NFL
When you have a draft
and you draft players for the team
and some players go undrafted,
and it's it's Muslims are a majority of humanity. We like to sometimes we get exuberant, that 1.7 billion Muslims take bureau Allahu Akbar. That's a lot of Muslims. But there are seven and a half billion human beings on this planet. Who means which means what? Muslims are minority, nano majority 1.7 billion Muslims 7.5 billion human beings on the planet. So Muslims aren't even half
of the people of the planet. Muslims aren't even a quarter.
It's almost a quarter of the people on this planet. Which means what that if you're a Muslim, from all of humanity, you've been chosen to carry the torch of Islam.
You've been honored
to carry the torch of Islam in the world.
And
what does that mean? It means that we share this particular distinction with Ebrahim Elise Anna.
So a lot of Tyler says about Ibrahim Ali Salaam in Ibrahim McCann, Madame carnita Leila honey from wollombi aku Minh and mushrikeen Shakira only an early age Tibet who had a lesser autumn stocking. The very Ibrahim was
literally a nation, but meaning he was a leader. The oma and email is from the same roof Alif me meme. Mmm hmm. So he was a leader. And so this is the first thing we should understand that from the vast multitude of humanity, a lot is chosen about a quarter of those people. He didn't choose them to follow the mass, he chose them to lead the mass.
So Abraham was a leader and Abraham McKenna Martin
he was a leader
and to lead another quality in mm is he was a codeword he was an example. So we're we're supposed to be an example brothers and sisters. For those around us now we are a minority on the earth we're definitely on my minority here in the United States. So we should be an exemplary community.
We shouldn't be a community that are following others we should be leading
and of course we should be joining with people of good etc but we should see ourselves as leaders.
Too often Muslims are following whatever fad comes out
there go the Muslims jumping on the bandwagon. So if the guys skinny jeans out guys trying to squeeze into skinny jeans.
Pants falling off your rear end or the fat there go Muslim guys pants falling off the rear end?
No, no, we're supposed to be dressing modestly. We're supposed to be leading people. showing them the modesty in dress sisters band Next comes out sister has a moral dilemma. Trying to square a modest dress with spandex like racking your brain I'm gonna work this one out,
just out of desperation to follow the fat. Then when the fat changes, we just get rid of that and Out with the old and in with the new. We should be consistent.
We should be consistent. And we should be setting a standard for others to measure up to and people are desperately looking for something.
This is why why is you have two extremes this election cycle you have Bernie Sanders and Trump. I should do it this way. You have Trump and Bernie Sanders, right hand left hand
and they represent extremes in the context of American politics. And both are identified as outside of the establishment, if you will,
why people are looking for something different. They see as Bernie Sanders says the game is rigged. The economy is rigged. The political game is rigged. And Trump is essentially saying the same thing. He's just appealing to people.
nativist
and some instances racist tendencies at one extreme, and Bernie Sanders is appealing to people who who are seeking for more distributive dis dis distributive political system more equitable on the other extreme,
but it indicates people are looking for something people are looking for something and we should be as a community offering something, despite the difficulties of the circumstances of the challenges of the day,
because this is the dunia was speaking earlier. This is the dunya the June dunya is a place of trials and tribulations we shouldn't be surprised by it. No one should be surprised by the dunya Allah says Tibet okay Lady vldl molk bawana coalition Kadir Allah the hollow hollow to one higher Talia Balu accom au come as no am Allah the one who's created death a nice to test you
has he been Nashua new truck who and Yoku em and now homeless ternoon do people think they'll be left alone merely saying we believe in not be tested? Well a number one number a minute hopeful Jor monoxide minute and Wally will enforce with thammarat or batura sabihin soybean we will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and loss of
of your your lives and your fruits and your wealth.
Give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere on and on the Quran is telling us test test, test test. And then when a test comes we're surprised. Don't be surprised. I'm not Tyler scanner. He says in one of his aphorisms, don't be surprised with the occurrence of things that murky up the water can rot
as long as you're in this earthly abode, because it's only manifested what is inherent to it is deserved the description
is the abode of trials and tests and tribulation when we know that and recognize that we can relax because we know nothing nothing surprising. It's not surprising it's just another day in the dunya so we have to get on with with our work. And that work is the work of moral leadership.
And hamdulillah despite everything
you look at this community people in this Masjid the majority of people there's probably a few overwhelming majority don't drink
the overwhelming majority don't use drugs. There's some they got the marijuana fatwah.
Truth be told, but the overwhelming majority exercise moral restraint in their lives
is a big crisis. It's difficult for many of our sisters to get married, most of them are fornicating the waiting the trying. Brothers you have to get on the case, man marry those sisters.
But seriously, you know, some give up and slip. But most continue to hold the rope.
That's that's that's that's moral character. Moral restraint. And moral restraint is the key to human events. How many of you know about the marshmallow experiment? The kids and the marshmallows? Yeah, right. They gave a kid a marshmallow and he's getting ready to eat it said no, no, don't eat it now. Oh cookies, a cookie, not a marshmallow. Or maybe they did cookies and marshmallows.
And no if you if you if you don't eat the cookie now, later, you get two cookies.
And so some kids they like looking around
for some kids.
And they resisted the urge and then they got another cookie. And that's how they experiment when then they follow the two groups. The children who restrain themselves and waited for the second cookie they did better in life.
Then there are more stable they ended up with higher incomes, then it up with less divorces.
delayed gratification.
That's the essence of Islam, right? Don't eat the cookie with that was cooked in bacon, fat, and lard.
And you'll get some real cookies in genda D is delay gratification.
And that ability to restrain oneself is not only the key to successful living. As that experiment confirmed, it's also the key to paradise. mm and half of my karma Robbie, he won and Nathaniel Hawa, then janitor he and Matt were one who fears the time they will stand before their Lord. And this this is what gives meaning to Islam that this, I believe in the Hereafter, I believe, which in a materialistic world is not is not an insignificant feat, even for someone who proclaims Islam because we've been affected by materialism. And and so concepts that transcend this physical world, internalize them. We can conceptualize them intellectually, but to internalize them, to the point
that they impact our behavior. That's, that's a challenge. And it's a challenge that's overcome by the remembrance of Allah. The law opens our hearts and when our hearts are open the quarter end,
reciting the Quran reflecting on the words of Allah subhanho, wa Taala, praying at night, when the people are asleep, those things expand our hearts, and our our hearts are expanded our bus era, our insight expands.
And it begins to see just as clearly and then more clearly, clearly than our than our bizarre.
And it begins to perceive the reality of those unseen realms. And then our lives impacted but to go back to the verse, the one who fears the time they will stand before their Lord.
And so if we can get to that point of fearing the accountability before our Lord, when the when and when, and where. And that fear translates into our restraining ourselves from those whimsical Caprice caprices of our soul. Just those impulses to do this and this we're told to do whatever you want.
In there when I was growing up, some of you are old enough and you grew up in this society, maybe you converted, but maybe you were a Muslim. from a family that had roots here.
You couldn't
you couldn't like just throw your hands in the air and wave I'm like, you just don't care. You didn't do that stuff. You someone with your hands like that? Yeah, I'm gonna be wild.
Like somebody that's not your head, put your hands down. Stop acting like you don't have any home training.
You'd be messed up.
You if you went to someone's house, you didn't just start talking to adults
contributing to the conversation. Boy speak when spoken to no one asked you anything.
Then I converted some yummy be converted to
a low Aqua how many of us to go to church
used to go to church. You couldn't move in church, right? You go to church, because they had like daddy's sisters. With these fans were popsicle sticks. Sisters with the popsicle stick fans.
If you move they'd be right there someday just know they'd look at you and start waving that fan. Like boy if you move again.
Then even note Arabic This is gonna be a janazah
of her in this church.
And so you just bought a cultivated restrain it cultivated self control and cultivated the virtues that are necessary for a successful life.
A cultivated repurposing shaytaan because shaytan says Do what you want when you want how you want.
And the Prophet say do what God wants when God wants how God wants it.
Right. That's right.
Ramadan is the last time we were here I was here was Ramadan shaken fassi was here. And the crowds are like way out in the parking lot people praying
well Ramadan you don't eat when you want.
You he went to law says eat.
You stop eating when a law says stop eating. Eat water law says
it's all discipline.
It's all discipline. And that's what it means to be a Muslim it means to be a disciplined person. Doing what we want when we want how we want isn't the way of the Muslim Therefore, our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam reminded us at dunya signal movement with genital catheter. One one meaning of that is how many of you have been to prison? Yes, no one no shame, you know, grew up here got caught up. Wasn't Muslim at the time. When you're in prison, you don't do what you want. When you want how you want you do what the warden wants. When the warden wants it, how the warden wants it, you don't eat what you want. You might want a big, fat,
pineapple upside down cake with cream on the top with strawberries on top the cream as like layered you get jailhouse cake is I flat and a pen is like that thick, flat. That's it no cream on top, no cherries, no strawberries.
That's the believer at doing your sigil movement with genital catheter. And so the believer restrains himself or herself
and then goes to Jen and has unimaginable bliss and pleasure genda tool cafe in this world, the person who doesn't know a law and doesn't fear a law
does what they want when they want how they want.
Even they have philosophers that say there that you can cry fire in a crowded theater. Because there should be no restraints on your behavior. These are called
sobre su de la and individualist Mark are anarchist
and they're leading philosopher max Turner. So you could cry fire in a crowded theater you can do whatever you want. There is nothing should restrain you.
This is insanity.
And we say no. There should be restraints on our behavior. And those restraints ultimately are determined by our Lord and they're good for us.
They're good for us.
They're good for our society.
So So Abraham was a he was a moral exemplar. And Abraham can Matan carnita Lila devoutly obedient to his Lord.
He was devoutly obedient. So a Muslim is a leader.
A Muslim is an exemplar, a coda. A Muslim is a strives to be a repository of
positive moral virtue.
There is a negative morality
of Muslim tries to embody and his or her character, the prophetic virtues.
The four what are the four cardinal virtues this four, mem ghazali talks about these?
If you want to memorize them easily?
Ha, sheen is Ha. Sheen is wisdom.
shujaa courage, wisdom. hikma. shujaa courage, I'm Adam, justice and
temperance. So wisdom
of Muslims Muslim tries to be a wise person and to follow the guidance of wise people.
A Muslim strives to be courageous, courageous courage is the is the fountainhead was more virtues emanate from courage than any other virtue. For example, generosity is a function of courage. Because a generous person isn't afraid of the consequences of poverty,
of not having what they give away. So what is a miser? I'm afraid to give this at the fundraiser last night. The economy's getting bad. What if I lose my job? What's going to happen?
So they're afraid, the courage just so the Prophet cannot Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam s Jan nursey the Prophet sallallahu wasallam was the most courageous of people therefore, cannot Rasulullah sallallahu it was an edge wet and nasty. It was the most generous of people. On the day after her name he gave an aka Robin acaba inhabits a valley full of livestock and then returned to his people. And he said, your home as we move in Mohammed and neurotic,
men like yourself,
or people become Muslims, your home as Lino because Mohammed spins like a man who doesn't fear poverty.
Mohammed spins like a man who doesn't fear poverty.
So that that's a function of, of courage is a function of poverty, of arming generosity is a function of courage.
Humility is a function of courage. While we have all these wannabe gangsters, right? I have with even a lot of Muslim wannabe gangsters.
They want to appear tough they think of I'm tough and no one will pick on me from humble and gentle.
Then people think I'm soft and a pushover and a punk and they'll trample on me. And so they fear the consequences of humility.
Then, there's so many that you can do like that. But unbeliever is courageous.
Or brave, believe is courageous. This is the dunya don't fear. I am hearing so much if Trump becomes president, we're going to go to concentration camps. We're going to have ID badges and all this. Don't fear that stuff.
Trust in a law
trust and a lot
then yeah, we should leave America Faina teta boom, where are you gonna go
back to Syria? Not a good option right now. Ignore the Philistine
now to go to option
iraq
the annotator boom you're gonna go to Pakistan
right now.
Afghanistan. We're go to Nigeria.
So you you you take your chances. You prefer to take your chance to have Boko Haram
over Trump
for entertainment, boom, where are you gonna go?
Stay well, I'll put you calm hiflo karma calm our karma Cola, calm hiflo calm comical lobby where a law puts you
and give you this full right? and stand up and be courageous and represent the religion be that example be that patois for people. People are desperate people are hurting.
So that's what the Muslim is hanifin he was inclined towards monotheism. Naturally. Well, let me call minun minun mushrikeen. And he wasn't amongst the idolaters Don't Don't be an idolaters. So who never worship idols. But people worship money. People worship cars, and not that these are great forms of shirt that would even negate one's religion but any manifestation of anything competing in our hearts with the last soprano attala cast it out of your heart.
Woman unassuming yet tacky woman do Nila hand data. You have bone a hunka hug Billa will lead in Amman watershed to hug Bella so the the Muslim is one who loves a lot
more than they love anything or anyone in this world. I chabaud hug that Leila.
Even hug be
mushy kina Leah and daddy him.
They love a lot more than the idolaters love their idols
and make everything a function of the love of Allah subhanho wa Taala we can love things what we suppose the love a lot more
calling in Canada that will come Abner como como como, as well as the Kumasi erotica Manuel and Dr. have to move to Georgia to talk Shona casada on the second or third Boehner I have la como la hora suli. Would you had infeasibility for Toronto Zoo had a tour.
The embryo while La Jolla del Carmen fascinating, say if it be that your parents and generalizing the phrase literally your father's, your father's, your children, your your brother's, your your siblings, your spouse's, your kinfolk, the wealth you've earned the business you fear decline in the dwellings you delight in a more beloved to you than a lion is messenger than wait, which is a threat until the law brings about his command and a law does not love a morally bankrupt people. So a Muslim loves Allah subhanho wa Taala
and loves the Messenger of Allah and loves to strive in the way of Allah. We should have so many volunteers we should love to strive and again within the the bounds of reason and within the context of our situation. So this is the believer then he says Shakira in the army, he was deeply appreciative of the blessings of Allah.
And so a believer or Muslim is thankful.
We're thankful
we're not in ungrateful people.
We check in with people give gratitude to Allah for the blessings, we have food. We have shelter. We are massage it. We have transportation. We can get around. I'm sure no one walked here unless you live close by. I'm sure 92% of the people who came here they drove transportation. We had nice, healthy dinners. I had a really healthy dinner. I thought I was going to explode as some good Palestinian food
from asthmas kitchen.
The real kitchen.
Allahu Akbar.
You guys should be thankful I'm here.
Because I didn't think I was gonna make it at a certain point. I was the man Seth
that's an inside joke.
But we should look how much we have to be thankful for Shakira and ermi famila to suddenly your maiden name. Then on that day they will be asked concerning the blessing. What was the blessing they're asked about whether or not best day or the man
from Allah to saloon, Yama, Eden Anna name. And as well Danny, what are the s with any
dates and water from Mila to Saloni your maiden name? They're going to be asked about dates and water.
dates and water. What about the honey? Our refrigerator forward dates and cherries, and apricots and pineapple.
And strawberries and yogurt, flavored yogurt plain yogurt and eggs. Case free free range. Eggs
and bread 21 grain bread, not just bread not not this white bread that you make the dough balls are one throw at each other 21 grain bread
Sukarno law, what are we going to be asked about?
How can we not be thankful brothers and sisters? How can we not be thankful Shakira only an army. He was deeply appreciative of a law's blessing. That's the Muslim. Here's the point is to bow who Allah chose him.
It's the bow. Allah chose him. We had who he loves your autumn, clean and guided him to a straight path. It's the battle I chose him.
Now we started with this verse.
to point to another verse where Abraham has mentioned
a law says does what jay he do feel that he has, he had a stroke strive in the way of a law as should rightfully be the case. In other words, give everything you have.
Give every given all you have because will will never fulfill the right Allah has over us.
How much a bad we have to do just to thank all of our eyesight for our vision
that you put on top of the vision the hearing, we can enjoy these
Beautiful sounds the birds chirping in the morning the wind blowing through the trees
then our smell we can enjoy the sweet fragrances of spring all these flowers blooming
orange blossoms
sweet fragrances the perfumes incense than a llama.
Then the touch the vehicle the touch thing how much trouble we get into if we didn't have touch our hands on the radiator burning up. We don't even notice it too. We smell it. And it's not a pleasant it's not like the orange blossoms
and your hands gone, but you didn't have any feel no touch do that. Wow.
That's hot.
So it's not like a minute later after your hands burned up.
I smell something burning. Yeah.
It's just one little
man Hello Ma. How much how much gratitude Shakira in the army is the bear who a lot of chosen and a lot of chose us and he says give it all you have. haka jihad, who wish to back home he has chosen you.
He has chosen you. Allah is chosen us. We said out of all those people in humanity on all these people. And America is the back home Allah has chosen you.
When they're john Allah confit Dean him and heritage and he's made no difficulty for you in your deen our religion is not difficult. If we had the original 50 prayers,
that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was first given the night of Mirage that's difficult.
50 prayers, think double taraweeh
the Tour de la Katara
double that and then add 10 more rockets every day.
That's difficult. But Allah gave us five and then for each five gave us what the reward of 10 so we got the 50 anyway, Allahu Akbar. We got the 50 Anyway, we'll manage Allah Allah confer dinham and heritage, military abhi come Ibrahim. So a lot of chose Ibrahim, Allah chose us
for this way,
for Islam,
we have to reflect on this brothers and sisters, we have a special position we have a special mission.
We have to strive we have to work we have to sacrifice for it.
Who has a maximum Muslim minimum probably worth the hair that
Allah has or Ibrahim most say a lot, it could be the way has named you Muslims. Ah.
So putting meaning back into Muslim this word it means struggle.
Within the context of our reality, right now we should be struggling. Number one to support people who are in situations we fear will be in we were talking about this earlier and Garden Grove. I some of us who have Trump becomes president will end up in concentration camps. There are people in concentration camps right now. There's hundreds of 1000s of our Latino brothers and sisters in these ice detention centers, privatized prisons
rotting away.
Right now. They're in the they're in concentration camps. They call them detention centers, hundreds of 1000s.
And the longer they stay there, so most aren't even deported right away. Because as long as they stay there, they're they're being paid by the government.
So racket,
what are we doing to protest? We're gonna protest once we're in concentration camps by the hundreds of 1000s.
When there are people innocent human beings there right now. That's part of our struggle and the context we find ourselves in.
You know, it's getting bad.
They might start shooting Muslims down in the streets like dogs.
There are people
Primarily young African American youth like Trayvon Martin,
Oscar Grant, or Alan blueford,
or Sean Bell,
or
Tamir Rice?
Or didn't you? The list is endless. We're being shot down in streets like dogs right now.
And then young
folks caught up in the gang violence being shot down in the streets like dogs. What are we doing about it?
community,
we wait for it to start happening, the Muslims then will get organized and motivated.
Now the Muslim acts on principle
of were against the principle of concentration camps, it doesn't matter who's in them. When innocent people are being detained, denied their liberty, we should be against it.
We're against innocent people being killed, unarmed innocent people being killed by agents of the state or by vigilantes like george Zimmerman,
in principle, not when it starts happening to Muslims.
So we have to, we have to stand with people, we have to struggle with people, we have to realize, if we've been blessed, to live a privileged life, in a safe neighborhood, that's a blessing, we shouldn't give it up. But we should do something
within the realm of our reality, to help to make things better for other people who don't enjoy the blessings that we enjoy,
on principle,
on principle, and not wait until it affects us as a community.
So we have a lot of work to do. And it starts with assessing our situation. Steve, what we can realistically do in our situation, encouraging our young people will have inclination.
Again, we were talking about this earlier, a lot of times we discourage, I don't want you to go to jail, you know, just be chill out, you know, you're gonna get on some lists. We already on a list, if you're Muslim.
You're going to get on the list, you're already on a list.
When you get on another list. As long as you are on the laws list, everything else is irrelevant.
As long as you want a long list
of those people, we're going to get there, the scroll in the right hand,
everything else is irrelevant. For on the list. So what this is the dunia
What are they gonna do with several million people,
conscientious people dedicated to serving their human fellow bear their fellow human beings, this what the Muslim is.
This is what the Muslim is, this is what we should be about. And these are the things that give meaning to us. And finally,
we have to fortify ourselves. We don't live empty lives where we just muddle along and go through the motions. We should see every page we read of the Qur'an as strengthening and strengthening us. So it's not just Oh, it's Ramadan, it's time to read the Quran. It's like it's another day Let me fortify myself by connecting to the words of my Lord. Let me strengthen myself by connecting to the words of my Lord. Let me draw myself closer to my lower by Avi Subhana, Allah every Alhamdulillah every Latin, La ilaha illAllah, every Allahu Akbar every la Hola, La quwata illa Billah
we should see that as a means to systematically steadily draw ourselves closer and closer and closer and closer to Allah subhanho wa Taala. So we're not just drifting. We're not just floating. We're not just living with no purpose. We're living lives of purpose. We're not just engaging in worship because oh, it's something we have to do like the guy we started with, oh, I was born into this. This what I have to do now is something I want to do, because it's something that draws me close to my Lord. It's something that's pleasing to my Lord. When the Dean Ambrose shadowhawk Dalai Lama, those who believe are more intense in their love for Allah subhanho wa Taala
Colin content ebonylife at Tabby Rooney, como yo mooloolaba como la
Before Rahim say to them all Mohammed if indeed you love a lot and follow me, then Allah will love you and forgive your sins and allows the Most Merciful most forgiving, Most Merciful. So trying to implement aspects of the sooner this isn't just an empty exercise is something that's bringing me closer to the love of Allah subhanho wa Taala
so love is is is a huge part of our religion we don't talk about this anymore. People say oh is Sufi stuff you're talking about love
this the Qur'an that's not the saying of ebony farted or somebody calling quantum to help Bono lawyer fat Tabby Rooney, boop como la Who?
Well Edina Avenue shed to help the Lila
was over for a while dude. He is the loving
Azerbaijan
Nana, you may know how to come Hata akuna habla la he,
no one of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him.
We mentioned
earlier, I have been a criminal law who was fully more beloved to you than Alon or the mess meaning our love for Law and the messenger should be greater than these things. This is our religion. This is the glue of our community methylene woke me Nina fito wet dmo Tara Hermia matar tufin methyl just had the likeness of the believers and the mutual love between them and the mutual mercy and the emotional bond between them as like a single body that should take him in heard one today Allah who set a rule just said if a bizarre one
when one part of that body is afflicted with some injury the entire body responds with sleeplessness and fever or they they rally each other to assist that part to die now who said it will just said
so what's the foundation of that love? And when the love goes then you see Muslim killing each other and massacring each other and slaughtering each other and tech fearing each other so they can turn around and fill not feel guilty when they slaughter massacre and exile each other.
Tech fear is a sign of hatred. Well if you love someone let me know how do
you hate belly or he may head Boolean FC no one of you truly believes until he loves his brother what he loves himself. was the thing we love most of ourselves more than anyone else doesn't believe anything else as a believer What is it? Young man? What do we love more than anything else? Right here young men abracadabra Cumbria become crumby What's your name? Young man? Safe Allahu Akbar save what do the Muslim love more than anything else we love to we would love to
know just big big big law and so how are we gonna meet a lot man I have there is again love man I have a law I have a law I have below who the
one who loves the Mira La La loves to meet him.
So go to generate all of us would love to go the agenda right? When you love to go the agenda more than a yacht more than a house more than a car more than the airplane private helicopter
agenda
so what do we love our brother to go the agenda
so if we making tech fear with saying we don't love our brother to go the agenda we want to push him out of Islam so he can go to *
and then we'll help to send them to * with a bullet or machete
that's what happens when love goes
but the likeness of the believers in their mutual love the love for each other.
We have we have to have love that's that's the believers that's the Muslim that's what it means it means to love one another
and to be willing to sacrifice for one another Tara homie him and their mutual Mercy Mercy is the willingness to sacrifice in the suffer on behalf of the one you show mercy to and is linked with love.
Same the same our relationships. They're frayed and we're struggling with marriages.
Woman yet he and Haleakala common and fusi comas Raja de tous kulu la ha
which Allah Dino coma word, the word Rama in a fee that
he's made between the man and woman love and mercy,
love and mercy.
That's the foundation.
So these are integral aspects of what it means to be a Muslim, what it means to be a believer. And these these enrich our Islam and they give focus to our Islam and they give direction to our Islam. So I'm going to stop there because I got the five minute warning.
Football they give you two minutes but in the masjid, they give you five minutes, because they love you.
hamdulillah and so if any questions or comments no sanand Omar huband May Allah bless us to just have that Islam means something to us.
And it means something that's so deep and so precious is not going to be easily shaken. Now we're not going to listen to a lecture by
Richard Dawkins or someone and then our faith is shaken.
We're going to have deep meaningful faith,
deep meaningful religion, a deep and meaningful relationship with Allah subhanho wa Taala. We're going to try to make ourselves good and pure. And Allah had pyy avant Walla Yakubu Illa
Allah is good impure and only accepts that which is good and pure. So a Muslim is a person who tries to purify himself or herself. Any questions comments, additions? delighted? Yes, sir. The gentleman right there. Okay. Also we're going to have a program who is a tuna college is going to have a fundraising dinner, March 26, myself and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf will be here in Newport Beach. I guess be here in Newport Beach is not grammatically or logically sound, because this is Irvine. We're going to be over there and Newport Beach on Saturday, March 26. So this gentleman right here, Tarik suhani has some flyers to divvy out on the table in the back. All right. Any questions, comments?
The gentleman right here.
Can you can you amplify that question, sir.
The Tips to Increase your Amen. Number one be thankful for laws and blessings. So look around yourself.
With Quran Allah tala alikoum. Remember the blessings of Allah upon you. Sabah, Tony hibou, you have Bahama law, your Villa Houma la de Yama, la la la de leeuw. The last one were Rajan on Dr. Aloha, Holly and for for that I know, a man who remembers a law and remembers the blessings of alarm private and his eyes flooded over with tears. Remember the blessings you say your convert, remember that just the blessing of Islam itself. No more confusion, no more drugs, no more.
Searching for the purpose of life. What a blessing. What a blessing. Remember the blessings of Allah. And that's something that increases the man.
Read the book of Allah. Read the book of Allah, and engage in the remembrance of Allah, those those are all things that that increase the man
first Karuna.
Remember me, literally, I will remember you but Allah says, Remember me and then I will be with you. I will assist you. I will guide you, I will increase your knowledge does this how Allah remembers us, because a lot doesn't forget. That's why the quotation marks but that increases our faith.
Engage in acts of kindness
that increases faith. Pray in the night when people are asleep. That increases faith because it opens our hearts, the faith and the tuck was in our hearts and when our hearts are more expansive, they're more receptive to truth and guidance and faith. And so though those are all things be consistent in our worship.
That increases our faith Cole am meant to be Latham, Mr. Kim, say I believe in a long thereafter be upright. So the uprightness comes over time through consistent worship.
And so all of those things and one of the most important
keep yourself in the presence of righteous people who are better than you indeed.
Morrow Allah Dina kalila. Sally over I had to commend you, Harlan, a person is on the religion of their companion, that each and every one of you consider Well, the company they keep, turn the television off that that destroys faith like nothing else. Turn it off. You can't be with people who are atheist devil worshippers and
who knows what? As your companions. So if they're right there in your living room in your bedroom,
they're your companion, you're going to be on their Dean. You're inundated with all these messages, subliminal messages. So capture technology embedded in these, these video productions. And before you know it, you know, I'm not feeling it anymore. You know, I used to want to be like, I should not want to be like Beyonce, and
stop watching Beyonce and start reading about Ayesha. And you might find the situation flipping.
Yes, sisters have any questions, comments?
You could ask them.
Why they come, sir? No, you can send a note, sister in the back. Yes.
How advice are sisters advice on beautifying our family life and child rearing? Number one, I would say
the family life has to be built around the religion. In other words, we have to pray together, record and together, study aspects of the religion together. We have to consciously
strive to be more merciful to each other because the Love and Mercy Mercy
fosters greater love.
Mercy fosters greater love. So we have to just show a willingness to sacrifice for each other and it's reciprocal is not Futura who me him the mutual mercy. We have to take time for the family. So we're in these modern lifestyles. wife's going that way husbands going that way children's going that way. We have to get together
specific designated times because our our our work and our friends and our just general level of buisiness and distract them. This will take our time the internet will take our time. And then there's nothing left for the family. You have to get together every Friday evening. soon as you get home from work. We're going to the park.
Every as a family.
We're just going to relax. We'll have a picnic. We'll play soccer. We'll do whatever. Don't embarrass me this time Salma. We play soccer.
Selma was on our high school soccer team
I met was a couch potato.
But we're going to the park we're going to
drive to visit our our grandmother's yours this month, ours next month, we have you have to structure time to be together as a family because a lot of times the love is there. But the routine overwhelms the love. And so month after month, and year after year, we're going separate directions. We're not taking time as a family and then we wake up one day and bam, they're that bond of love. And that deep qualitative relationship isn't there because we haven't cultivated it. So love and a rich family life is like a tree. It has to be irrigated. It has to be pruned. We have to give it some attention. If we don't it becomes prone to being ravaged by insects or some other maladies and
it might die.
Does that make sense?
Sharla brothers, the questions, comments, additions, subtractions deletions.
It's all fair game you know. None of us are Muslim.
All right, we'll go back to the sisters while you you have a question young man. You have a question young man. What's your name? Mohammed. Allah. May Allah bless you Mohammed give you long life. Filled with Baraka and edma. Service and blessings. What more could you ask for him? Yeah, Mohammed
wishing them again Habibi safe that's right I can't forget your name.
mala make you the hill a safe of truth the only safe way
that you cut down false hood
like a unsheathed sword.
Cutting down false hood and bottom line safe.
The man always be safe playing on words. I go back to the sisters, any questions, sisters, comments.
Yola, don't say you didn't have the opportunity
to take a picture
outside. Okay brother right here as a question. Yes, sir. All comment.
Bye bye. That's what I always say.
Salaam Alaikum aleikum. Bye bye.
Are you What do you want to say? You know, if and especially thank you like news, your children, you there's risks and there's a safe, stable place and you want to go there. Bismillah Alhamdulillah
invite me to your farewell party.
It's investable set together, shed a few tears and wish you all the best at you. But someone in that situation out of the law were fed to hedge allows Earth is spacious migrate. If push came to shove, his was part of our religion. But I don't think it'll come to that here. Because there are a lot of good people are just as upset about what's going on then. I mean, when when Trump right, he makes his comment about Muslims not coming into the country who was speaking out against them, Lindsey Graham,
Paul Ryan.
And so that that's the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of people out there very much upset by a lot of this demagoguery. And so naturally, they have other aspects of anti muslim policy. They might be advocating but there is a limit what happened to Stephen Harper in in Canada and you filmer Stephen Harper. He was Canada's Trump.
And then he tried to pass a law called the barbaric acts law, which were banned niqab and then the Canadians revolted and got rid of them. And now you have Justin Trudeau
said this guy's going too far. He so they had a Trump for 10 years.
And at a certain point, Canadian society said this isn't who we are. And Muslims played a very big role in getting Justin Trudeau elected because they built a local political base. All politics are local. We talked about this earlier in Garden Grove, don't just say, Oh, we voted for obama and nothing happened. Nothing's gonna happen. If there's no local political base, there's no local political organizing and work. So anyway, there are a lot of people who are who are against this kind of climate. That's me, because they realize like, they don't want to go back to the 1950s. Let's go to the sisters first. We'll come back over here. So anyway, but if someone feels you know,
I gotta go. That's their religious right.
hijra is a part of our religion. Nom sisters. Yes.
We don't have enough
power
handlers. So what can we do to make meaningful change? We might have a power hour. First of all, first of all, we have a lot of power. We don't like we have a lot of potential power. We don't lack power, we lack organization.
We like organization. So the first thing we can do is to get organized across racial ethnic
Class
geographical lines. And when we do that, you'll see that power start to actualize itself. So our greatest challenge I wouldn't say is owing to a lack of power is owing to a lack of organization to actualize the potential power that we do have. So and So to do that, I think this is one way we do it, we come together, look at the wide range of people here.
Beginning to to organize ourselves into regional networks that are then tied into other regions, and then sitting down with representatives from those various regions, starting with local messages, and then developing a strategy
to bring ourselves together. So that's the first step. Another first step is developing a literature that can begin to shape and create a common consciousness and inshallah these things will happen. We're a relatively new community, and we made tremendous strides, but we need we need a literature you you can't have mass consciousness without a literature that masses of people identify with. And in terms of what should we be studying, we should be studying
literature.
I mean, what is the great Muslim American novel, that's going to have an effect on the wider population beyond the walls of the masjid, or even a great the great work of of nonfiction, that really explains our religion in a way that the average person out there could identify with? Those are the kinds of things where, where's the literature, we mentioned some of the things our young people are wrestling with and they're the people who are working on establishing Institute to deal with these issues. Homosexuality not all Muslims are grappling with that why not because of anything wrong with them, but there's so much pressure in the environment. There's so much discussion in the
environment. Where can you like just this brother sister read this and then let's discuss it there's a group set of questions in the back discussion points. That think about those next time I see you will sit down and discuss it atheism. Read this this is an economically founded argument for the existence of God islamically structured refutation of these atheist arguments so racism
This is Islam This is what we say about racism. Just read this you'll understand and give it to your friends if you need more just go this website they give them out for free where's that literature we have to develop that once we develop that you'll see that power actualize and it's going to be a great day for this country
yes sir
for sure asuran Salah slow down
with because most of us because we're coming from a faster you we bring our state outside of salon to the salon.
just slow down.
Pronounce every word distinctly.
be mean.
Man yo Rahim. Al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen just slow down. You see the horseshoe are going up exponentially.
Just think about it. We were so fast. We only remember what
is racing through.
Out the door.
All a blower microphone that I pray for it was all a beautiful Well, a blower? I think I did but I'm not quite sure.
Back to the sisters.
Oh, it's time to go. Oh, I gotta go to another Masjid. Oh, why don't you tell me
after like five minutes here.
15 minutes. Why don't you say something 15 minutes ago.
Good. You need to get a little more so what's your name young man?
Johnny. Oh, Johnny.
Oh, Danny, Danny, Danny, may Allah bless you Danny May your good be Dan and like the good be nice and low for people to take your photo for her Danya May your good be Danny. Hi. Okay, Danny. A lot like Bye, love bless you have Evie. Anyway, I have to go to another Masjid. It's been wonderful being here. Hopefully we can come back. Bye, everyone, March 26. Maybe around that time we could come back do it again, with the permission from the ma'am. And all the wonderful folks here. Especially these young people, man, we got to take care of these guys. Allahu Akbar. And these young ladies. What's your name? Young lady.
Huh? And Isa, Allah Allahu Akbar. And this may Allah bless you and keep you on the straight and wide path. Keep that smile on your face. That's the son of our Prophet the smile. Yes, indeed. Allah bless you and Nisa. What's your name behind them? Miriam. Allah bless you, Maria. Maria, I have to go. I'm gonna get in trouble. So stop smiling. If you stop smiling, I will talk to you.
I love that. cup Bellman calm. Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah.
zacuto here
molosser Hannah tie like Renaissance love and the love of his beloved and the love of the scholars. May Allah Subhana Allah grant us the love of each other and we always be a source of peace and comfort and, and kindness to one another. Well also cannot Allah bless you and bless your families and May Allah subhanaw taala bless him EMS aid and grants him more more wisdom and knowledge and May Allah subhanho wa Taala bless his families and older people, and as a tuna teachers and students, and thank you so much for stopping by no silent marhaba And may Allah bless us to just have that Islam means something to us.
And it means something is so deep and so precious is not going to be easily shaken. Now, we're not going to listen to a lecture by
Richard Dawkins or someone and then our faith is shaken.
We want to have deep meaningful faith,
deep meaningful religion, a deep and meaningful relationship with Allah subhanho wa Taala. We're going to try to make ourselves good and pure. And the law has been wala Yakubu Illa
Allah is good and pure and only accepts that which is good and pure. So a Muslim is a person who tries to purify himself or herself any questions comments additions? delighted? Yes, sir. The gentleman right there. Okay. Also we're gonna have a program has a total college is going to have a fundraising dinner, March 26, myself and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf will be here in Newport Beach. I guess be here in Newport Beach is not grammatically or logically sound, because this is Irvine. We're going to be over there and Newport Beach on Saturday, March 26. So this gentleman right here, Tarik suhani has some flyers to divvy out. Are there on the table in the back. All right. Any questions,
comments? The gentleman right here.
Can you can you amplify that question, sir.
The Tips to Increase your Amen. Number one be thankful for laws and blessings. So look around yourself.
With kulu namah tala alikum. Remember the blessings of Allah upon you. Sabah, Tony hibou, you have Bahama law, are you the villa Mojave daily Yama, Delilah delu. The last one we're Rajan on the Corolla, Harley. And for for that I know, a man who remembers a lot and remembers the blessings of alarm private and his eyes float over with tears. Remember the blessings you say your convert, remember that just a blessing of Islam itself. No more confusion, no more drugs, no more.
Searching for the purpose of life. What a blessing. What a blessing. Remember the blessings of Allah. And that's something that increases the man.
Read the book of Allah.
Read the book of Allah, and engage in the remembrance of Allah, those those are all things that that increases
He's the man.
Third gurunath korakuen remember me, literally, I will remember you. But Allah says, Remember me and then I will be with you. I will assist you, I will guide you, I will increase your knowledge. That's how Allah remembers us, because a lot doesn't forget. That's why the quotation marks. But that increases our faith.
Engage in acts of kindness,
that increases faith. Pray in the night when people are asleep, that increases faith because it opens our hearts, the faith and the tuck was in our hearts. And when our hearts are more expansive, they're more receptive to truth and guidance and faith. And so though those are all things we consistent in our worship,
that increases our faith, and men to be less domesticated. Say I believe in a law and thereafter be upright. So the uprightness comes over time through consistent worship.
And so all of those things, and one of the most important
keep yourself in the presence of righteous people who are better than you indeed. And Morrow, Allah Dini, hi, Lila, Sally over I had to commend you, Harlan, a person is on the religion of their companion, that each and every one of you consider Well, the company they keep, turn the television off that that destroys faith like nothing else. Turn it off. You can't be with people who are atheist devil worshippers and
who knows what, as your companions. So if they're right there in your living room in your bedroom,
they're your companion, you're going to be on their Dean. You're inundated with all these messages, subliminal messages. So capture technology embedded in these, these video productions. And before you know it, you know, I'm not feeling it anymore. You know, I used to want to be like, I should not want to be like Beyonce, and
stop watching Beyonce and start reading about Ayesha. And you might find the situation flipping.
Yes, sisters have any questions, comments?
You could ask them.
Why they come, sir? No. You can send a note, sister in the back. Yes.
How advice are sisters advice on beautifying our family life and child rearing? Number one, I would say
the family life has to be built around the religion. In other words, we have to pray together, record and together study aspects of the religion together. We have to consciously
strive to be more merciful to each other because the Love and Mercy Mercy
fosters greater love.
Mercy fosters greater love. So we have to just show a willingness to sacrifice for each other and it's reciprocal is not Futura who me him the mutual mercy. We have to take time for the family. So we're in these modern lifestyles. wife's going that way husbands going that way children's going that way. We have to get together
specific designated times because our our our work and our friends and our just general level of buisiness and distract them. This will take our time the internet will take our time. And then there's nothing left. For the family. You have to get together every Friday evening. soon as you get home from work. We're going to the park
every as a family.
We're just going to relax. We'll have a picnic. We'll play soccer we'll do whatever don't embarrass me this time Selma. We play soccer.
Selma was on our high school soccer team.
And that was a couch potato.
But we're going to the park we're going to
drive to visit our our grandmothers yours this month ours next month. We have Do you have to structure time to be together as a family because a lot of times the love is there but
The routine overwhelms the love. And so month after month and year after year, we're going our separate directions. We're not taking time as a family and then we wake up one day and bam there, that bond of love. And deep qualitative relationship isn't there because we haven't cultivated it. So love and a rich family life is like a tree. It has to be irrigated. It has to be pruned. We have to give it some attention. If we don't, it becomes prone to being ravaged by insects or some other maladies and it might die.
Does that make sense?
Sharla brothers, questions, comments, additions, subtractions, deletions.
It's all fair game you know, none of us are Muslim.
All right, we go back to the sisters while you you have a question, young man. You have a question, young man. What's your name? Mohammed. Allah. May Allah bless you Mohammed give you long life. Filled with Baraka and kedma. Service and blessings. What more could you ask for him? Yeah, Mohammed. What's your name again? Habibi safe. That's right. I can't forget your name.
mela make you the safe of truth. Say for the heart.
That you cut down false hood.
Like a unsheathed sword.
Cutting down false hood and bottom. Low like boss safe.
Your Eman always be safe playing on words. I go back to the sisters. Any questions, sisters? comments.
Yola, don't say you didn't have the opportunity
to take a picture
outside. Okay, brother Ray has a question. Yes, sir. All comment.
What would you say?
No, Shannon, bye. Bye. That's what I always say.
Salaam Alaikum. Bye bye.
What do you what do you want to say? You know, if and especially thank you, like lose your children. You there's risks and there's a safe stable place and you want to go there Bismillah Alhamdulillah
invite me to your farewell party.
Eat some basketball set together. shed a few twos and wish you all the best at you but someone in that situation. Out of the low Where's your head to head you will hear a lot of surface spacious migrate. If push came to shove, his was part of our religion. But I don't think it will come to that here. Because there are a lot of good people are just as upset by what's going on then. I mean, when when Trump right he makes his comment about Muslims not coming into the country. Look, look who was speaking out against them. Lindsey Graham,
Paul Ryan.
And so that that's the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of people out there very much upset by a lot of this demagoguery. And so and naturally they have other aspects of anti muslim policy they might be advocating but there is a limit what happened to Stephen Harper and and Canada and EU filmer Stephen Harper. He was Canada's Trump.
And then he tried to pass a law called the barbaric acts of law, which were banned niqab and then the Canadians revolted and got rid of them. And now you have Justin Trudeau
said this guy's going too far. He's so they had a Trump for 10 years.
And at a certain point, Canadian society said this isn't who we are. And Muslims played a very big role in getting Justin Trudeau elected because they build a local political base. All politics are local. We talked about this earlier in Garden Grove don't just say oh, we voted for obama and nothing happened. Nothing's gonna happen. If there's no local political base, there's no law. And that work is the work of moral leadership.
And hamdulillah despite everything
you look at this community people in this Masjid the majority
People this probably a few overwhelming majority don't drink
the overwhelming majority don't use drugs. There's some they got the marijuana fatwah.
Truth be told, but the overwhelming majority exercise moral restraint in their lives
is a big crisis. It's difficult for many of us sisters to get married, most of them are fornicating. The waiting the going trying.
Brothers, you have to get on the case, man marry those sisters.
But seriously, you know, some give up and slip. But most continue to hold the rope.
That's that's that's, that's moral character. Moral restraint. And moral restraint is the key to human events. How many of you know about the marshmallow experiment? The kids and the marshmallows? Yeah. Right. They gave a kid a marshmallow and he's getting ready to eat it said no, don't eat it now. Oh, cookies, cookie, not a marshmallow. Or maybe they did cookies and marshmallows.
And no, if you if you if you don't eat the cookie now, later, you get two cookies.
And so some kids, they like looking around
for some kids.
And they resisted the urge and then they got another cookie. And that's how they experiment when then they follow the two groups. The children who restrain themselves and waited for the second cookie they did better in life.
Then there are more stable they ended up with higher incomes, then it up with less divorces
delayed gratification.
That's the essence of Islam, right? Don't eat the cookie with that was cooked in bacon, fat, and lard.
And you get some real cookies in genda D is delay gratification.
And that ability to restrain oneself is not only the key to successful living, as that experiment confirmed, it's also the key to paradise, where mmm and half of my karma Robbie, he won and Nathaniel Hawa en el Janata, he and Matt were one who fears the time they will stand before their Lord. And this this is what gives meaning to Islam that this I believe in the Hereafter, I believe, which in a materialistic world is not is not an insignificant feat, even for someone who proclaims Islam because we've been affected by materialism. And and so concepts that transcend this physical world, internalize them. We can conceptualize them intellectually, but to internalize them to the
point that they impact our behavior. That's that's a challenge. And it's a challenge that's overcome by the remembrance of Allah. The law opens our hearts and when our hearts are open, the quarter end,
reciting the core and reflecting on the words of Allah subhanho wa Taala, praying at night, when the people are asleep, those things expand our hearts, and our our hearts are expanded our bus era, our insight expands.
And it begins to see just as clearly and then more clearly, clearly than our than our bizarre.
And it begins to perceive the reality of those unseen realms. And then our lives are impacted. But to go back to the verse, the one who fears the time they will stand before their Lord.
And so if we can get to that point of fearing the accountability before our Lord, when the when and when, and where. And that fear translates into our restraining ourselves from those whimsical, Caprice caprices of our soul. Just those impulses to do this and this, we're told to do whatever you want.
in there, when I was growing up, some of you are old enough and you grew up in this society. Maybe you converted, but maybe you were a Muslim from
A family that had roots here.
You couldn't.
You couldn't like just throw your hands in the air and wave them like you just don't care. You didn't do that stuff. You someone with your hands like that? Yeah, I'm gonna be wild to patrol. Like somebody that's not your head boy Put your hands down, stopped acting like you don't have any home training.
You'd be messed up.
You if you went to someone's house, you didn't just start talking to adults
contributing to the conversation, boy speak when spoken to no one asked you anything.
Then I converted some of you have maybe converted to
a low IQ bar. How many of you used to go to church
used to go to church. You couldn't move in church, why you go to church, because they had like daddy's sisters. With these fans were popsicle sticks. It's just with the popsicle stick fans.
If you move they'd be right there someday just know they'd look at you and start waving that fan. Like boy if you move again.
Then even note Arabic is going to be a janazah
of him and his church.
And so you just bought a cultivated restraint. It cultivated self control and cultivated the virtues that are necessary for a successful life.
A cultivated repurposing shaytaan because shaytan says Do what you want when you want how you want
and the Prophet say do what God wants when God wants how God wants it.
Right That's what Ramadan is. The last time we were here I was here was Ramadan shake and fassi was here. And the crowds are like way out in the parking lot people praying.
Well, Ramadan, you don't eat when you want.
You he went to law says eat.
You stop eating when our losses stop eating. We water losses.
It's all discipline.
It's all discipline. And that's what it means to be a Muslim. It means to be a disciplined person. Doing what we want when we want how we want isn't the way of the Muslim Therefore, our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam reminded us at dunya signal movement where genital catheter one one meaning of that is, how many of you have been to prison? Yes, no shame, you know, grew up here got caught up. Wasn't Muslim at the time. When you're in prison, you don't do what you want. When you want how you want you do what the warden wants. When the warden wants it, how the warden wants it, you don't eat what you want. You might want a big, fat,
pineapple upside down cake with cream on the top with strawberries on top the cream. As like layered you get jailhouse cake is like flat and this pen is like that thick, flat. That's it no cream on top, no cherries, no strawberries.
That's the believer at doing your sigil movement with genital catheter. And so the believer restrains himself or herself
and then goes to agenda and has unimaginable bliss and pleasure. genital catheter in this world. The person who doesn't know a law and doesn't feel law
does what they want when they want how they want.
Even they have philosophers that say there that you can cry fire in a crowded theater. Because there should be no restraints on your behavior. These are called
sobre su de la and individualist Mark are anarchist
and their leading philosopher max Turner. Say you could cry fire in a crowded theater you can do whatever you want, does nothing should restrain you.
This is insanity.
And we say no. There should be restraints on our behavior. And those restraints ultimately are determined by our Lord and they're good for us.
They're good for us.
They're good for our society.
So So Abraham was a he was a moral exemplar and Abraham can Matan kanita Lila devout the obedient to his Lord.
He was devoutly obedient. So a Muslim is a leader.
A Muslim is an exemplar of coda. A Muslim is a strives to be a repository of
positive moral virtue.
There is negative morality
of Muslim tries to embody in his or her character, the prophetic virtues.
The four what are the four cardinal virtues this for? Nam ghazali talks about these
if you want to memorize them easily.
Hi, ha, Shane. I'm Shane. I'm wisdom.
shujaa courage, wisdom. hikma. shujaa. Courage. I'm Adam justice, an ephah. temperance. So wisdom.
Our Muslim tries to be a wise person and to follow the guidance of wise people.
or Muslim strives to be courageous, courageous courage is the is the fountainhead was more virtues emanate from courage than any other virtue. For example, generosity is a function of courage. Because a generous person isn't afraid of the consequences of poverty,
of not having what they give away. So what is a miser? I'm afraid to give this at the fundraiser last night, the economy's getting bad. What if I lose my job? What's going to happen? So they're afraid, the courage just so the Prophet cannot Rasulullah sallallahu it was sent him as john nursey the Prophet sallallahu wasallam was the most courageous of people therefore, cannot Rasulullah sallallahu it was an edge wet and nasty. He was the most generous of people. On the day after her name he gave an aka Robin acaba inhabits a valley full of livestock and then acara returned to his people. And he said you're home. So we move in Mohammed and Marathi are tall. Men yoshua.
Oh, people become Muslims. Yeah, home as lemo because Mohammed spins like a man who doesn't fear poverty.
Mohammed spins like a man who doesn't fear poverty.
So that that's a function of, of courage is a function of poverty, of arming. generosity is a function of courage.
Humility is a function of courage. While we have all these wannabe gangsters, right? I have with even a lot of Muslim wannabe gangsters.
They want to appear tough they think of I'm tough and no one will pick on me. If I'm humble, and gentle.
Then people think I'm soft and a pushover and a punk and they'll trample on me. And so they fear the consequences of humility.
Then, there's so many that you can do like that. But unbeliever is courageous.
Or be rescued courageous. This is the dunya don't fear. I am hearing so much if Trump becomes president, we're going to go to concentration camps. We're going to have ID badges and all this. Don't fear that stuff.
Trust in a law.
Trust and a law.
Then Yeah, we should leave America Faina taboo. Where are you going to go
back to Syria? Not a good option right now. You know the Philistine
now to go to option, Iraq,
the annotator boom you're gonna go to Pakistan.
Right now.
Afghanistan. We're go to Nigeria.
So you, you you take your chances. You prefer to take your chance to have Boko Haram
over Trump for entertainment, boom. Where are you gonna go?
Stay worldloppet you calm hi for karma calm karma Cola, calm hiflo karma cola B where a law puts you
and give you this full right? and stand up and be courageous and represent the religion be that example be that patois for people. People are desperate people are hurting.
So that's what the Muslim is hanifin he was inclined towards monotheism, naturally. Well, then me acumen and minion mushrikeen. And he wasn't amongst the idolaters Don't Don't be an idolaters so who never worship idols. But people worship money, people worship cars, and not that these are great forms of shirk, that would even negate one's religion but any manifestation of anything competing in our hearts with the loss of Hannah hautala cast it out of your heart.
Woman an SME attacking woman do Nila hand data you have bounnam Kabila will lead in Amman will shed to her belly la so the the Muslim is one who loves a lot
more than they love anything or anyone in this world I shared with her that Leila
will hug be
hug Bill mushrikeen earlier and daddy him
they love a lot more than the idolatries love their idols
and make everything a function of the love of Allah subhana wa tada we can love things what we're supposed to love a lot more.
Colin in Canada battle comapny como como como, as well as commercial erotica, Manuel and Dr. have to move to Georgia to talk Shona casada on my second or third downer. I have la como la hora suli. Would you had infeasibility for therapists who have yet to load the embryo Wallah hola del Carmen fast.
say if it be that your parents and generalizing the phrase literally your father's, your father's your children, your your brother's, your your siblings, your spouse's your kinfolk, the wealth you've earned the business you fear decline in the dwellings you delight in a more beloved to you than a lion is messenger than wait, which is a threat until the law brings about his command and a law does not love a morally bankrupt people. So our Muslim loves Allah subhanho wa Taala
and loves the Messenger of Allah and loves to strive in the way of Allah. We should have so many volunteers we should love to strive and again within the the bounds of reason and within the context of our situation. So this is the believer then he says Shakira, only an ami. He was deeply appreciative of the blessings of Allah.
And so a believer our Muslim is thankful.
We're thankful
we're not an ungrateful people.
We shake you in with people give gratitude to Allah for the blessings, we have food. We have shelter. We are massage it. We have transportation. We can get around. I'm sure no one walked here unless you live close by. I'm sure 92% of the people who came here, they drove transportation. We had nice, healthy dinners. I had a real healthy dinner. I thought I was gonna explode as some good Palestinian food
from asthmas kitchen.
The real kitchen.
Like boy
you guys should be thankful I'm here.
Because I didn't think I was gonna make it at a certain point. I was the man Seth
as an inside joke.
But we should look how much we have to be thankful for Shakira on the army famila to suddenly your maiden name. Then on that day they will be asked concerning the blessing. What was the blessing they're asked about whether or not best day or the man
from Allah to saloon, Yama, Eden and in name and as well Danny, what are the s with any
Take some water from Mila to Saloni your maiden name. They're going to be asked about dates and water,
dates and water. What about the honey? Our refrigerator forward dates and cherries, and apricots and pineapple.
And strawberries and yogurt, flavored yogurt plain yogurt, and eggs. Case free free range. Eggs
and bread 21 grain bread, not just bread not not this white bread that you make the dough balls out. Throw at each other 21 grain bread
Sukarno law, what are we going to be asked about?
How can we not be thankful brothers and sisters? How can we not be thankful Shakira only an army. He was deeply appreciative of a law's blessing. That's the Muslim. Here's the point is to bow who Allah chose him.
It's the bow. Allah chose him. We had who he loves your autumn team and guided him to a straight path. It's the bow chose him.
Now we started with this verse.
to point to another verse where Ibrahim is mentioned.
Law says to us we're Jae Hee do feel a haka jihad, strive in the way of a law as should rightfully be the case. In other words, give everything you have
give me give it all you have. Because will will never fulfill the right Allah has over us
how much a bad we have to do just to thank Allah for our eyesight for our vision
that you put on top of the vision the hearing we can enjoy these beautiful sounds. The birds chirping in the morning the wind blowing through the trees
then our smell we can enjoy the sweet fragrances of spring all these flowers blooming.
Orange blossoms
sweet fragrances, the perfumes incense than a llama.
Then the touch the vehicle the touch thing how much trouble we get into if we didn't have touch our hands on the radio to burning up. We don't even notice it too. We smell it. And it's not a pleasant it's not like the orange blossoms.
And your hand is gone. But you didn't have any feel no touch do that. Wow.
That's hot.
So it's not like a minute later. After your hands burned up.
I smell something burning. Yeah.
It's just one little
man Hello Ma. How much how much gratitude. Shakira in the army is the bear who a lot of chosen and a lot of chose us and he says give it all you have hochkar jihadi who wish to back home. He has chosen you.
He has chosen you. Allah is chosen us. We said out of all those people in humanity on all these people. And America ish tobacco molars chosen you
when they're john alikum for Dean him and heritage and he's made no difficulty for you and your dean. Our religion is not difficult. If we had the original 50 prayers,
that the prophets align it with seven was first given the night of Mirage that's difficult
50 prayers, think double taraweeh
the Tour de la Katara
double that and then add 10 more rockets every day.
That's difficult. But Allah gave us five and then for each five gave us what the reward of 10 so we got the 50 anyway, Allahu Akbar. We got the 50 Anyway, we'll manage Allah Allah confit. dinniman heritage. Military abhi come Ibrahim. So Allah chose Ibrahim Allah chose us
for this way,
for SNAP
we have to reflect on this brothers and sisters. We have a special position. We have a
special mission
we have to strive we have to work we have to sacrifice for it.
Who has a maximum Muslim minimum probably worth the hair that
Allah has or Ibrahim masala can be the way has named you Muslims ah
so putting meaning back into Muslim, this word it means struggle
within the context of our reality right now we should be struggling, number one to support people who are in situations we fear will be in we were talking about this earlier and Garden Grove. I some of us who have Trump becomes president will end up in concentration camps. There are people in concentration camps right now. There's hundreds of 1000s of our Latino brothers and sisters in these ice detention centers, privatized prisons
rotting away
right now. Then the they're in concentration camps. They call them detention centers, hundreds of 1000s.
And the longer they stay there, so most aren't even deported right away. Because as long as they stay there, they're being paid by the government.
So racket,
what are we doing to protest? We're going to protest once we're in concentration camps by the hundreds of 1000s.
When there are people innocent human beings there right now. That's part of our struggle, and the context we find ourselves in.
You know, it's getting bad.
They might start shooting Muslims down in the streets like dogs.
There are people,
primarily young African American youth like Trayvon Martin,
Oscar Grant, or Alan blueford,
or Sean Bell,
or
Tamir Rice?
Or do you the list is endless. We're being shot down in streets like dogs right now.
And then young
folks caught up in the gang violence being shot down in the streets like dogs. What are we doing about it?
As a community,
we wait for it to start happening, the Muslims then will get organized and motivated.
Now the Muslim acts on principle
of were against the principle of concentration camps, it doesn't matter who's in them. When innocent people are being detained, denied their liberty, we should be against it.
We're against innocent people being killed, unarmed innocent people being killed by agents of the state or by vigilantes like george Zimmerman,
in principle, not when it starts happening to Muslims.
So we have to, we have to stand with people, we have to struggle with people, we have to realize, if we've been blessed, to live a privileged life, in a safe neighborhood, that's a blessing, we shouldn't give it up. But we should do something
within the realm of our reality, to help to make things better for other people who don't enjoy the blessings that we enjoy
on principle,
on principle, and not wait until it affects us as a community.
So we have a lot of work to do. And it starts with assessing our situation, stating what we can realistically do and our situation encouraging our young people will have inclination. Again, we were talking about this earlier, a lot of times we discourage, I don't want you to go to jail. You know, just be chill out. You know, you're going to get on some list. You already want to list if you're Muslim.
You're going to get on the list, you're already on a list.
When you get on another list. As long as you are on the laws list, everything else is irrelevant.
As long as you want a long list
of those people, we're going to get there. The scroll in the right hand.
Everything else is irrelevant.
For on the list so what this is the dunia?
What are they gonna do with several million people,
conscientious people dedicated to serving their human fellow bear their fellow human beings. This what the Muslim is.
This is what the Muslim is, this is what we should be about. And these are the things that give meaning to us. And finally,
we have to fortify ourselves. We don't live empty lives where we just muddle along and go through the motions. We should see every page we read of the Quran as strengthening and strengthening us. So it's not just Oh, it's Ramadan, it's time to read the Quran. It's like, it's another day Let me fortify myself by connecting to the words of my Lord. Let me strengthen myself by connecting to the words of my Lord. Let me draw myself closer to my Lord by Avi Subhana Allah every Alhamdulillah every Latin, La ilaha illAllah every Allahu Akbar every lead Hola, La quwata illa Billah
we should see that as a means to systematically steadily draw ourselves closer and closer and closer and closer to Allah subhanho wa Taala. So we're not just drifting. We're not just floating we're not just living with no purpose. We're living lives of purpose. We're not just engaging in worship because oh, it's something we have to do like the guy we started with, oh, I was born into this this what I have to do now is something I want to do because it's something that draws me close to my lord is something that's pleasing to my Lord. When the Dean Ambrose shadow hug Bella Bella, those who believe are more intense in their love for Allah subhanho wa Taala
Colin contant ebonylife at Tabby Rooney beep como yo philippou Luba como la for Rahim say to them all Mohammed if indeed you love a lot and follow me, then Allah will love you and forgive your sins and allows the Most Merciful most forgiving, Most Merciful so trying to implement aspects of the sooner this isn't just an empty exercise is something that's bringing me closer to the love of Allah subhanho wa Taala
so love is is is a huge part of our religion we don't talk about this anymore. People say oh Sufi stuff you're talking about love
this the Qur'an
that's not the saying of me farted or somebody calling quantum to help Bono lawyer, fat Tabby, Rooney, boob como la Who?
Well Edina and Lucia to hug Bella
was over for a while dude, he is the loving
Azerbaijan
Nana, you may know how to come Hata akuna habla la he,
no one of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him.
We mentioned
earlier I have been a criminal law who was fully more beloved to you than a lawn or the mess meaning our love for our lawn the messenger should be greater than these things. This is our religion. This is the glue of our community methylene macmini in a futile wed de matara Hermia matar to Finn methyl just had the likeness of the believers and the mutual love between them and the mutual mercy and the emotional bond between them is like a single body hashtag common heard one today Allah Who says Iran just said if a bizarre one.
When one part of that body is afflicted with some injury, the entire body responds with sleeplessness and fever, or they they rally each other to assist that part to die now who said it will just said
so what's the foundation of that love?
And when the love goes then you see Muslim killing each other and massacring each other and slaughtering each other and tech fearing each other so they can turn around and feel not feel guilty when they slaughter massacre and exile each other.
Tech fear is a sign of hatred. Well if you love someone, you may know how to come Hata you hit belly or he may you head Boolean FC. No one of you truly believes until he loves his brother what he loves himself was the thing we love most of ourselves more than anyone else doesn't believe anything else.
Believe or what is it? Young man? What do we love more than anything else? Right here young men abracadabra Cumbria become crumby What's your name? Young man? Safe Allahu Akbar safe What do the Muslim love more than anything else we love to we would love to
know just big, big, big a law. And so how are we going to meet a lot? Man I have the there is again love men I believe Allah. Allah, Allah who the
one who loves the Mira La La loves to meet him.
So go to generate all of us who love to go to generate when you love to go the agenda, more than a yacht more than a house more than a car more than the airplane, private helicopter
agenda.
So what do we love our brother to go the agenda.
So if we making tech fear with saying we don't love our brother to go the agenda, we want to push him out of Islam so he can go to *.
And then we'll help to send them to * with a bullet or machete.
That's what happens when love goes
by the likeness of the believers in their mutual love, the love for each other.
We have we have to have love that's that's the believers that's the Muslim. That's what it means it means to love one another
and to be willing to sacrifice for one another Tarahumara him and their mutual Mercy Mercy is the willingness to sacrifice and to suffer on behalf of the one you show mercy to and is linked with love.
Same the same our relationships they're afraid and we're struggling with marriages.
Woman yet he and Haleakala common and fusi comas Raja detest kulu la wa Jalla Dino coma word the word Rama in the feed Erica tilicho Miyata
he's made between the man and woman love and mercy,
love and mercy
that's the foundation.
So, these are integral aspects of what it means to be a Muslim. What it means to be a believer and these these enrich our Islam then they give focus to our Islam and they give direction to our Islam. So I'm going to stop there because I got the five minute warning.
Football they give you two minutes but in the masjid they give you five minutes because they love you
hamdulillah and so if any questions or comments,
sorry, your workouts
or the origins will not hurt him hamdulillah salat wa salam ala rasulillah early he was happy he woman Hala Hello hola Milena Illa Allah tener la cantidad mo Hakeem Lomond fan of him alum tena
Elma wa sallahu wa Sallim wa barik ala Sayidina Muhammad Ali, he was happy he advised
hamdulillah we're truly blessed to have a mumsie checker with us here tonight. And Imam Zaid, as they say in Arabi honey and Annie tarrif he is no need of any introductions. Everybody knows who's remembers eight,
eight touch the lives of 1000s of millions of people either through his
books or teaching among Zaid teachers zaytuna College, which I think it is the greatest The greatest thing that this country has right now really if you look at our, our state, you know the economy, the political state,
everything is going down.
But somehow analyze a tuna college or law he is the greatest thing that's happening right now in our country. So thank you so much for coming here tonight. And I would love to thank the the brothers and the sisters who facilitated this matter and brought Imam Zaid invited me out here. So thank you.
Oh,
Jimmy
smilla Menachem al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen wa Salatu was Salam Allah say you did more sitting. Say you didn't know Mohammed wala Ernie he was the he was selling Islam and kathira Salam alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh Mashallah. So tremendous honor. great pleasure to be here.
Be back here. The Irvine messages. I've been in her for a few years. Mashallah the community is vibrant, it's growing. And it's so wonderful, especially wonderful to see all of these young brothers and sisters here, man law, reward them and give them long lives filled with faith and service to the deen of Allah. As a great, great, great pleasure. So that the subject, we're talking about insha Allah who tala is putting meaning back into Muslim. So I want to start with a little story when I was in Syria.
I met a gentleman.
And he has, so we're talking and in the course of the conversation,
so he thought I was born Muslim. I mentioned I converted to Islam. And essentially,
the gentleman said, Why'd you do that?
It's like, you know, you, you had everything? Why would you give it up to become Muslim? And I'm stuck. So I didn't have a choice. But you had a choice. And I was just thinking, I thought, and I said, Subhana, Allah, that that this this gentleman,
really, Islam means nothing is this like a birth you born Muslim? So you stuck. And if you and that's all there's, there's no higher meaning or purpose associated with it. And
I thought,
what, what a tragedy
that this person is just existing as a Muslim and feels, he has no choice. He was born in a Muslim family or Muslim country. So he's stuck.
And I just think a lot of that he blessed me to search for Islam, and to discover the meaning of Islam. And that's what I want to talk about.
Because a lot of us,
not us here, but maybe us who are out there, maybe at a nightclub or something, just really don't realize the gravity and the honor
that comes with being a Muslim. So I like to first
talk about or And finally, the fact that we're chosen for this religion.
So a lot a lot is putting a team together. So like the NBA or the NFL,
where you have a draft
and you draft players for the team.
And some prayers go undrafted.
And it's it's Muslims are a majority of humanity. We like to sometimes we get exuberant, that 1.7 billion Muslims take beer Allahu Akbar. That's a lot of Muslims. But there are seven and a half billion human beings on this planet. Who means which means what? Muslims are minority, nano majority 1.7 billion Muslims 7.5 billion human beings on the planet. So Muslims aren't even half
of the people of the planet. Muslims aren't even a quarter.
almost a quarter of the people on this planet. Which means what that if you're a Muslim, from all of humanity, you've been chosen to carry the torch of Islam.
You've been honored
to carry the torch of Islam in the world.
And
what does that mean? It means that we share this particular distinction with Ibrahim Ali Sena.
So a lot of Tyler says about Ibrahim Ali Salaam in Ibrahim McCann, mutton carnita Lila, honey from wollombi aku Minh and mushrikeen Shakira, Ronnie and ermi ha dubare who had who else your autumn stocking. The very Ibrahim was
literally a nation but meaning he was a leader. The oma and email is from the same roof Alif me meme on Eman so he was a leader. And so this is the first thing we should understand that from the vast multitude of humanity
Allah has chosen about a quarter of those people who didn't choose them to follow the mass. He chose them to lead the mass.
So Abraham was a leader, and Abraham McKenna.
He was a leader
and to lead another quality in mm is he was a codeword he was an example. So we were supposed to be an example brothers and sisters, for those around us now we're a minority on the earth. We're definitely on my minority here in the United States. So we should be an exemplary community.
We shouldn't be a community that are following others. We should be leading.
And of course, we should be joining with people of good etc. But we should see ourselves as leaders.
Too often Muslims are following whatever fad comes out.
They're going to Muslims jumping on the bandwagon. So if the guys skinny jeans out guys trying to squeeze in the skinny jeans.
Pants falling off your rear end or the fat there go Muslim guys pants falling off the rear end?
No, no, we're supposed to be dressing modestly. We're supposed to be leading people, showing them the modesty and dress sisters. pendeks comes out sister has a moral dilemma. China square a modest dress with spandex like racking your brain, I'm gonna work this one out,
just out of desperation to follow the fat. Then when the fat changes, we just get rid of that and Out with the old and in with the new. We should be consistent.
We should be consistent. And we should be setting a standard for others to measure up to and people are desperately looking for something.
This is why why is you have two extremes this election cycle you have Bernie Sanders and Trump. I should do it this way. You have Trump and Bernie Sanders, right hand left hand.
And they represent extremes in the context of American politics. And both are identified as outside of the establishment, if you will,
why people are looking for something different. They see as Bernie Sanders says the game is rigged. The economy is rigged. The political game is rigged. And Trump is essentially saying the same thing. He's just appealing to people who have more nativist
and some instances racist tendencies at one extreme, and Bernie Sanders is appealing to people who who are seeking for more distributive distributive political system more equitable and on the other extreme,
but it indicates people are looking for something people are looking for something and we should be as a community offering something despite the difficulties of the circumstances of the challenges of the day.
Because this is the dounia was speaking earlier. This is the dunya the June dunya is a place of trials and tribulations we shouldn't be surprised by it. No one should be surprised. By the dunya Allah says Tibet akella Db Ariel molk vahana coalition codere Allah the hollow hollow tall hyah Tayyaba lucam au come as you know Allah, the one who's created that and nice to test you.
Has he been nursing youth rock who in your coolamon afternoon? Do people think they'll be left alone merely saying we believe and not be tested? Well, number one, no commission Milla hopeful Judah lanoxin mineral and Wally will enforce with Murat or batura soybean, we will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and loss of
of your your lives and your fruits and your wealth.
Give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere on and on the Quran is telling us test test, test test. And then when a test comes we're surprised. Don't be surprised. I'm not Tyler scanner. He says in one of his aphorisms.
Don't be surprised with the occurrence of things that murky up the water, cataract,
as long as you're in this earthly abode, because it's only manifested what is inherent to it is deserved the description
is the abode of trials and tests and tribulation, when we know that and recognize that we can relax, because we know nothing, nothing surprising. It's not surprising. It's just another day in the dunya. And so we have to get on with with our work.