assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatu alhamdulillah
Brothers and sisters first of all I want to thank you for taking your time spend some time fwith me here online at
home data were in the last days of
Ramadan this is the 25th today so this
is live the the month Allah subhana WA
Ta'ala says I am and my dudettes that
these are a yam in Arabic is how there
was an ephod
it's called Hilda it's a it's a plural
of pal city in other words these are a
few days so if it feels like they went
fast they intentionally are there to do
just that because this is an opportunity
that we're being told not to squander
it's an opportunity of time in our
tradition we have the concept of Baraka
which is in Arabic the word actually
means to descend so you have a camel
Baraka Tanaka to like the camel alighted
descended on something and so Baraka is
something that rain is called Baraka
it's something that it descends and so
in in I think the closest equivalent in
the Western tradition is the idea of
grace that you bless things thank you
people say grace before their meal
that's to to add in that Baraka and so
in our tradition we have we have Baraka
that in here's in time we have Baraka
that inheres in space and we have Baraka
that in here's in people and so the
buttock of time for instance there's an
hour every day that is an hour of st
Jabba and Allah hides these things it's
one of the things that he hides in in
his in in time so that we pursue it for
the woman estimate what would I get
he'll wrote I said are they to hurry is
to really fervently seek something to
seek it out and so allah subhanallah
donna has hidden that time that of
barakah of immense barakah in the day
and then monday has a blessing and
thursday has a blessing
the problem was asked about fasting on
monday he said fee he would it to on
that day i was born in other words it's
a day of blessing too because of the
fact that he was born in it gives it an
added blessing or barakah and the same
is true for Thursdays because Mondays
and Thursdays are the times when the
actions the Angels take the actions of
the servant and so when you're fasting
they're taken in in a state of
incredible obedience because fasting is
one of the most rigorous types of
obedience that we do and then you have
the the idea of Juma which is extra
Baraka and Friday and then the the
Baraka of the Milazzo more the season so
for instance the Hajj is an immense time
of Baraka and then you have Baraka in
Ramadan you have Baraka also according
to some not everybody agrees about this
imam mattock differed but the people of
sham the new shot ban what they call
chevy bharat is considered to be a night
of barik and there is a he laughs so
when you see people say oh i don't
celebrate that that's fine they don't
have to celebrate it and and and those
opinions stand but the majority of
scholars have seen it as of less at
night and that's why in most places
especially in south asia that they have
their own term for chevy bharat it's
it's a very important night for them so
it's these are times when there's an
immense amount of Baraka and so again
you have Baraka also in years and the
17th of ramadan is a day of barakah
because it's a day of Bedell and
traditionally Muslims would do the vidya
so this period that we have these last
10 days are considered to be an intense
period of blessing
and it's difficult to translate the the
word late or other it's it's often
translated as the night of power but
it's actually the night of decrees it's
the night in which allah subhanallah ana
you adieu and that's that's the dominant
opinion that it's called laila terrified
that because allah what is going to
happen in that coming year and there's a
lot of difference of opinion about when
it is in fact some of the scholars
actually argued that it was at any time
during the year and for that reasons
they said that really that the people of
highest him and they consider every
night to be possibly the night of Kedah
and but the the the common understanding
is it's a night of power in other words
it's a powerful night which that is
certainly true and so i want to talk a
little bit about power and the and the
secret of powerlessness in our tradition
Hodari allah allah Dehesa demócrata idea
there are many words used to describe
the different aspects of our laws power
that Allah has absolute power we on the
other hand have power that is granted to
us and there's differences of opinion
about whether that power in hears in as
or is it something that is purely from
allah subhanho wa taala and all we earn
is the is the action itself through
kissably these are what they call
difficult column the the the particulars
of column and I was speaking last night
with the great scholar Sheikh Saleh
horseys really one of the great scholars
of the element Kahneman we were actually
talking about this issue he called me
from Turkey and and I because one of our
students actually did a paper on this so
the idea of power of human beings having
power we actually in the end we express
our powerlessness by saying na hoona
what apple whatta in bila there is no
power
no strength to hula like you have would
do to make any changes or to actually
affect anything there's no strength or
power except bila through the means the
divine enablement this is the ISTE ayah
that imam about how he mentions in his
book that he grants us and so it's very
important for us not to see power even
in the world to see nations with power
that there's actually they don't have
power in reality and the people that
understand this are actually they're
they're they're the freest people
because they're not afraid they're not
afraid of people that are in power
they're not afraid I mean obviously we
behave with the S Bab so we're not
foolish people in that way the Prophet
SAW I said I'm said and Menelaus the
Lughnasa that a believer should never
humiliate himself and so Syrians are
okay and others mentioned that they
should not ever put themselves in
situations where they will be humiliated
and mizerock said Leia Tyrell dotes upon
that they don't oppose government in a
way that the government will in turn
humiliate them put them in jail and do
these things he said that was a type of
either lad that that that they did and
in fact in the famous hadith about the
highest Shaheed which is the the man who
goes to unjust power and and speaks the
truth and is executed for murder
Mohammed all day long on who actually
said that that he shouldn't go knowingly
that he's going to do that that if that
happens that's a shada but he shouldn't
put himself in that type of position
these are again he left issues but but
the important point that I really want
to drive home is that powerlessness is
our state it is the actual natural state
of the servant of Allah we are AB and
the thing about the AB then the AB is
Aja's he's he or she is powerless a
stabbed in the EMA that they are they
only they do what they're told by their
mola which again doesn't mean that we
don't do things we choose things in the
world we do all these things but we live
with this alignment with the divine in
other words we restrict ourselves to
what Allah subhana WA Ta'ala has
permitted us to do and in that way we in
a sense are handing over that freedom
and in doing that by entering into Islam
by entering into a state of submission
we actually become free so there's an
immense power in powerlessness and
there's an immense freedom in
powerlessness and this is something that
the early Muslims really understood well
they understood this in a very deep and
powerful way the prophets Elijah them he
said Bhavani Monteux Allah fear a demon
Casa Luba lamento other theoretical
bobba some of the commentaries say that
Doba is a tree in Paradise there are
many Hadees that use this term boba it
also can mean blessed are the people but
but some say it's actually a tree with
immense shade and fruit in paradise that
that will be for the people who do these
things so he said Mantova feel a demon
cosa who humbles him or herself without
monk pasa without there's no deficiency
in them in other words like a wealthy
person that's humble despite as well an
intellectual highly educated person
who's humble despite their education and
their understanding that's what it means
to be humble and it's something that we
have to struggle with there's there's a
there's a type of Toa though if you
actually look at the the morphological
form of it it actually has to do with
like you actually do it with a knowledge
that you need to be humble because in
the end at cabrillo Lila at a llama -
Lila would keep it out really laughs
that that magnin the the vastness the
greatness the grandeur the glory and the
majesty
all of these are attributes of allah
subhanho wa taala they're not attributes
of a servant and so the servant should
be humble before a loss of a hand with
an and this is why the prophet Isaiah
said mental that Leela or a fowl
whoever is humble before Allah subhana
WA to Anna
Allah will elevate that person and this
is something that we have to learn as an
Ummah that in in in many ways we tend to
forget this important metaphysical truth
that Allah will will elevate the people
who are humble and ladina let you read
una alone
no one fil ardi whatever said those who
don't want to be exalted in the earth
they don't want it Larry Doudna aloooone
fil ardi what F asada and that wow there
indicates that these are two separate
things they don't want to be elevated in
the earth
affarin Allah says Aleph a tarp and a
frown he he he exalted himself he puffed
himself up in the earth and so it's very
important that Muslims should not want
to be in those positions of power or
authority to be no in fact the Prophet
SAW a time said whoever seeks positions
of authority or power they should not be
given them well there goes elections so
so it's very important that we remember
that allies the one that you makin that
he's the one that gives Tim keen but he
gives Tom keen with conditions for the
people he loves he'll give Tom keen a
lending in mecanim fedora what do they
do
economist Allah you know they establish
prayer they pay their zakat they fulfill
the obligations of being in that
position if they don't have that ability
if Allah loves them he will not give
them he will not establish him in the
earth and so powerlessness is an
incredible Sunnah that I believe it's
actually a cinnamon SIA it's a forgotten
Sunnah of our prophet slice at him he
before even when he was forced into
jihad and and it's very clear even
Tamiya makes his clear and many scholars and if you haven't read Juan Cole's book, Mohamed The prophet of peace, amidst a class of civilizations, It's an excellent book.
I mean I recently read it and I actually had a meeting with the author and I was just so impressed with how he showed clearly that the Prophet SAW was far from a warmonger which we know that he really was constantly looking for avenues of peace.
The Prophet SAW
said I'm always wanted to find an avenue
of peace in the 29 battle they're called
battles they're not battles it has oweth
our military expeditions they're not
battles but they're often translated as
bad as a mistake because in those 29
there's again difference of opinion 27
29 but in those 29 battles fighting only
occurred in 11 and in the greatest
battle in terms of numbers which was the
hon duck less than 10 people died and
there were tens of thousands of people
involved in that 3,000 on the Muslim
side 30,000 it was 10 to 1 numbers the
despite that less than 10 people died
and when I did a study of the number of
people that died during the prophet's
lifetime we're looking at less than 400
people it's it's quite stunning and the
Bene apart a that which is clearly an
exaggerated number and the the book that
Barakat Ahmed wrote Muhammad and the
Jews is I think a really important book
that that really shows that the numbers
were grossly exaggerated much later so
so this idea of development wada if
you're a demon cosa well then F&F; see
him in of AD Masada and he he vel F
see he he in his own self he he deems
himself insignificant and this is
another really important quality is to
recognize not only are we all expendable
as de Gaulle said that the graveyard is
filled with indispensable people that I
mean one of the things about life is
that when you die most people are just
going to oh you know if they knew you
they might say Oh
mashallah and indeed anyway now they had
a job if they were close they might send
condolences to the family think but the
people that are really gonna miss you
are your direct loved ones those are the
people they're gonna miss you other
people won't really miss you
that the world goes on and we've lost
greats when even majore died who was one
of the greatest scholars of morocco the
man who buried
him who was his student wept and just
said I knew this world was insignificant
when when a man that had this tongue
because he taught his whole life and and
he was just a master of all the sciences
one of the truly great ease of
of Moroccan history and he said I just
knew that if worms could eat this tongue
this earth was work that this earth had
such insignificance in my eyes and and
this is the nature of dunya we're
passing through it it's important and
we're people that love the eylem because
it's a large creation but we we despise
the dunya and the the distinction
between those two is very important
between eylem and between dunya Adam is
this incredible theophany it's this it's
this amazing theater of enlightenment
it's this incredible manifestation of
divine attributes the actions of God
that I love God it's stunning with with
its stars in the heavens all of these
galaxies this extraordinary sky the
blueness of the sky and its reflection
in the ocean the wonders of the see the
incredible spectrum of flora and fauna
on this planet we're all now we're
living in a time where we're discovering
all these micronutrients and all these
amazing foods from all over the world
these these that aspect of the world is
something to just marvel at and to feel
joy just about being in it but the dunya
is reputation it's you know he said she
said
King Lear there's a wonderful scene at
the end of King Lear where he tells
Cordelia you know about how we're gonna
be free now from who's in and who's out
at the court you know we can live life
now without having to worry about
because he has a realization an
incredible realization in that play this
is part of dunya as you get older you
will see more and more how empty and
vacuous the life of this world is higher
to dunya Mattel material or its
the it's a deluge a delusional pleasure
in the teleportal that's all it is it's
a delusional pleasure "I've been with the poorest people on the planet and I've been with the richest people on the planet. I've seen the inside of palaces and I've lived in the huts of some of the poorest people on the planet and some of the most extraordinary people I've ever met are the poorest people" that I've met
and so I you know this is dunya we have to
we just have to understand the nature of
the abode and what it is and and and so
you have this sense of your own
insignificance one of my favorite
stories of all the stories in the Sierra
which is in a sahi collection also I
share the beloved wife of the Prophet i
sat empty when she went when she was
slandered so horribly when she found out
about it she her hair fell out she
stopped eating
she went into a horrible depression for
a period of time and then then the
revelation came but she said come to a
clear enough see i i i deemed myself
insignificant she said I knew Allah
would absolve me of this of this slander
but I just deem myself insignificant
that any revelation would come that
that's what this is about
well then defini hate m'lady must utter
like beggars just by begging you know
that laffy enough see he but it's saying
without being in a state of need you
have this insignificant view of yourself
and this is something really important I
mean so many people just take themselves
far too seriously and and their own
significance and and it just creates ego
it creates a sense of a just inflated
sense of self and and there's there's
nothing worse than a puffed up soul one
of the things in in in
in the Western tradition they have this
idea of canosa sub the emptying out of
the soul and we have the idea of techne
it's the same concept yeah it's a holla
Thalia you empty your soul of yourself I
mean there's a beautiful Egyptian
expression for the Egyptians out there
there's a beautiful Egyptian expression
that I thought about because I always
thought it was so such a strange way of
the Egyptians like in Mexico you have
idioms like in Spanish they say fungi so
you must throat you you're like watch
out which if you actually literally
translate it seems strange but in in
Egypt when they say watch out they say
highly Bannock i mean f sick hella
baddack monistic just means watch out
you know he'll live adequate enough sick
you know watch out but what it literally
means is empty your mind of yourself
that's how you watch out because if you
enter your mind of yourself if you if
you took her leave addict mean f ck
Allah will watch out for you it's it
must have come from from some
enlightened people in Egypt that just
started that phrase because it's a
beautiful phrase suddenly VALIC mean if
sick empty your mind of yourself and one
of the Moroccan great Moroccan sages
serial German he said but I yeah Banach
with Tana massive aha set your mind at
ease and learn how to swim set your mind
at ease and learn how to swim the world
is in good hands no matter what you see
out there of trial and tribulation it's
all from what we our own hands have
wrought all of it there's nothing out
there that we haven't caused ourselves
people say where is God somebody
actually said to that that to me
recently somebody from one of these
countries is going through immense
tribulation they said where is God and I
just said I think God's question to us
is where are you and and that is a
perfectly valid question from God it's
not a valid question from us lad you
said oh I'm not a fan
well whom you said God has not asked
about what
he does but they will be asked about
what they do and so that's a different
way of looking at it so just remembering
that power is a laws alone allahumma man
allama medical mood to attend would
command tisha oh oh allah possessor of
dominion medical would to attend would
command tisha you give Dominion to whom
you please you give it to whom you
please or turns out more commitment asha
what wisdom and I shall go to the lumen
Tosha you dignify whom you please and
you humiliate or a base whom you please
this is this is this is it what right
this this is the reality so it's very
important to remember that and then well
I'm feminine Gemma a whole fee of 80
masya
and they expand wealth that they have
gathered or earned without any
disobedience in the law hapa you own
that what i a better a lot by yoga
allies pure and he only accepts pure
things
what are him although I had a duly when
my Skinner and God will have mercy on
humble people and the poor people Allah
loves the poor poor in spirit
not necessarily poor in in in wealth
because there are many good wealthy
people and we don't we don't have the
tradition that wealth is somehow evil or
something to avoid know some of the
people that that had the highest mcoms
in our early Islam around the prophesize
and we're extremely wealthy people but
they used their wealth for good and the
prophet sal i said i'm said to people
will never will never go to people are
envied the one who's given wisdom and
and teaches and the one who's given
wealth and expends it piece of you tada
by night and by day so those are the two
things that we should want in the world
is either wealth to do good things with
or wisdom to act according to and to
help others to act according to so i
just want to look quickly and then and
then we'll open up for some questions I
want to look quickly at at surah taha
Allah subhana WA Ta'ala says and this is
from Imam Ali Baha'i one of the great
commentators of Quran great Shafi
scholar in Zen now who he later
telepathy
yeah near Piranha means the Ferranti
night and a nevada mathcore so it's a
it's is basically taking the place of
what's not mentioned so the Damier there
the personal pronoun who in and then who
goes back to the Quran and know who and
zero who Jim Letten Wahid attend feel a
little fatter mean lol muhaha it a
simmer at dunya so Allah revealed it at
one time so it all came down to Samoa
dunya one time the Quran and then it it
was revealed by over time over a 20-year
period through from there so so well da
who he baited
essa so this is a debate that the the
house that is over the Kaaba it was it
was placed there thumb can it unisol be
he drew Briella I am and this is why and
Zell naho in the Quran you have Angela
and mrs. Ella Angela means to come down
all at once mrs. Ella means unit zero
who to come down pieces so both happened
and then it says wama adraka ma later
tour cutter and this is this is Adam and
Eve a yahoo so Allah subhana WA Ta'ala
has its to make you think wow what is
this and what will convey to you what
lailatul cutter is and and and so sue me
Atlanta stupider Ileana Leila - taka
Darrell or more well akan yoga dear
allahu feeha a mother Senna TV everybody
he will be dad he in a senator mock Mira
so this is the reasoning muhammad baba
he says and this was the tafseer that
was studied by all students of knowledge
after it was written amount of the holy
and bow he became the two most important
tough series for students of knowledge
so he says that that it was what Allah
subhana WA Ta'ala
decrees for the following year excuse me
for his servants and for the land so
for instance the wars that are going to
be determined all these things the the
droughts the famines the blessings
everything and this is why you want to
be in the most obedient state and you
want to be really calling on allah
subhanho wa taala because it's a time
where you have to be aligned with a
lawsuit behind without it so the prophet
sala I said I'm said to seek it out in
these last ten nights especially in the
odd nights but it's something that we
should also take that advice and think
about these things every every year and
then he says what terrible fear akiha
and they differ about its actual time
from Kalevala home in Canada and idea
Rasool Allah is Allah I said I'm
tomorrow Fiat that it it was only during
the time of the Prophet and then it was
removed that's one opinion what a metal
Sahaba tea would ruin a Matta and about
the Eternity a yarmulke p.m. et so but
the majority of Sahaba
and the scholars say no it continues
until the day of judgement Caraballo
home here later to malaria center it's
any night during the the nights of the
year
well Jim horn Manhattan in an official
area Ramadan but the majority of
scholars say that it's in the month of
Ramadan well Colonel Hassan Laila two
separate Shara it's the night of this of
the 20s of the 17th well here Laila
let's he cannot so be had so be had to
ha what a veteran and it's the night
that can so be had to her what a better
than that it's it's morning was on the
the day of butter and so well sorry yeah
well Lydia dear octoroon but the sound
opinion and what the majority say and
Horatio are officially Rama ban mhmm
Allah who had a hill a litter Anna had
Haruma t leash de doo flibbidee teal a
area Ramadan Dahmer and via da rocky
hospital
ETA VT vo majority officer otter gusta
the sorrow water Homs we small out of
them were a small out of them fit
estimate so this is amazing so he said
Allah has hidden this night from his
Ummah in order that they strive hard to
to find it with their worship through
the nights of Ramadan desiring to to
actually achieve this night because it's
worth a thousand months and so and and
and like that Allah subhana WA Ta'ala
has hid the hour of Aqaba
on the day of Jummah he also has hid the
the wool of Prayer some say it's
automatic said it was fuzzy up but he's
hid the middle prayer in the five
prayers he's hid his is Malayalam in his
name's some say it's yeah I am some say
it's Ya Allah
so there's different opinions about that
but we don't know what he'll bajo Fattah
adds the araga bouficha me mija and then
he put his earlier ba his pleasure or
his contentment in his devotional
practices so we don't know what devotion
we do is is is going to achieve that a
lot of Allah that we know that the
prostitute was forgiven for feeding a
dog who was thirsty or start starving
and so and he hid also was up in morale
see me and tell Anya me Mia and he also
hid his wrath in acts of disobedience so
that we would avoid all of them well
alpha P emma sati the Oh sh t he do
Fattah at have a 10 min OPM yeah and
then he also hid that that the time of
the the last hour so that we would
always be prepared for it and then he
says later to rodriram in at V sha na na
who I'm an on-site account if he dated
Heidemann a committee ed sheeran they
Sevilla later tour other so it's worth
the actions of your worship on that on
this night are worth a thousand months
and then Allah subhana WA Ta'ala says to
Tennessee dole America to Aurora so the
Angels come down and the rooh the Holy
Spirit we know in our tradition the Holy
Spirit is not a persona of God as some
Christians believe but the Holy Spirit
is Jubilee and I had a said I'm he's
called a local does the Holy Spirit and
the Prophet believed in the Holy Spirit
and he said to Hassan II booth have it
yet the khalaby or Oracle dismayed
the spirit give you a sucker or help so
so that it's a time when the Holy Spirit
comes down a Bakula Eminem in a Haiti
what about akka so being the arugba
himming I mean couldn't be eminent in
other words of higher and Baraka
so yeah hold on I'm in a meeting that I
be a Marilla Saddam Alto said you use
Rama at Audia 11 at a party one of the
things in in in if you you know if you
have Christian friends and they might
send you a holiday card and they and
they quote a verse from the Bible that
says you know peace on earth and
goodwill towards men it actually doesn't
say that if you look at the in the Greek
it says goodwill towards a righteous man
and and this is something also in the
DAO de Jing it says all men hate arms
you know like violence
Thomas clearly told me it actually
doesn't say that in Chinese it says good
men good men don't like that so one of
the things that we have to remember is
that there are shielding and in out
there there's just there's so the sanam
is not for everybody it's for the people
of obedience to Allah subhanAllah a are
the ones that get the peace ah - at be
what to see any woman ethically
Audrianna and in massager Imam Shafi
said that it was that the angels are
greeting the people in the message on
latest of Qatar which is why everybody
goes i mean he Nita liebe shams Iranian
treasure from the time the Sun Goes
disappears until Roger appears Khalid
Kelby America in Girona feeha kunu ma la
Poma Mina no Mina tan sallim wa alayhi
memorably he had a pleasure opiate
America Rama and Capote he did not be
him including Emily so he said that that
the angels greet every believer man and
woman on that day that's what Imam and
Kelby said now in the in the in the
actual verse it says he had not Lyle
fetcher
and in Arabic had to has three different
meanings but but in Arabic it's usually
what's called a preposition hard job
that what follows it is mature or but it
can also be a type of thought so so in
if it goes like he had to mop lion
fragile and it's muscle then it means
including Roger if like if you say I
killed to a semi Qataris aha I ate the
fish even the head whereas if you said I
kill to sanika hot air Ecija then it's
up to to that point and so here it stops
at that point so the night is the night
and once the day comes once the day
breaks then the night of power is over
even though that day according to the
enema is a good day to also have HD had
and Mujahid said Yan Yun la etapa dari
Sally Mattoon liar Sophie Rochet upon on
llamada feeha a sua Ora and you had this
fear you had this and you had either
Feehan so it's the time when she upon
can't do any suit and nor can he cause
any harm had not lion fetcher i la motte
lion feta and until so al hamdulillah
some comments or questions that anybody
has may Allah bless you and I and I
would just request for those of you who
are supporters of Zaytuna College I
really thank you for your support for
those of you who are not I really hope
that you might think about even at the
12,000 strong we have a campaign of
12,000 strong we had an extraordinary
commencement this year with some really
great students we've got 23 students
coming in in the in the next class so
how do that we have a master's program
here we're going to be also have having
a launch for a new website fairly soon
so we're excited about things that are
happening
we have really wonderful new academic
chief academic officer dr. Thomas Porter
she's been fantastic we have really a
lot of really sincere and hardworking
people and so we really hope that you'll
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more for this community and for the dome
has fallen on hard times but in
Charlotte there are good times there are
times and there's always blessings in
the midst of all the tribulations thank
you for that she comes amid low reward
you
I mean and inshallah I will ask a few
questions from online I'm in love we
have a lot of people commenting prayers
for yourself your family and Zaytuna
thank you for the work we're doing and
thanks for your Ramadhan rumination
series and the first question we have
from Facebook is from yes Mena who asks
what is the best way to counter our nose
it's a big question a lot of it than if
you have four enemies in this life and
only four enough shape on how and dunia
all the other enemies you if Allah sends
them to use the tribulation but your
real enemies are these four and if you
can conquer these four enemies that all
the other enemies are very insignificant
but the nufs is the number one bad that
I do with my enough Sakura TV nijam bake
the Prophet SAW I am said the the most
vicious enemy that you have the most
harmful enemy that you have the most
aggressive enemy that you have is your
own ego between your two sides and we
all have them were born with children
children have wonderful beautiful side
but then they've got that horrible
childish selfish side it's mine
you know when they grab a toy it's mine
so this this is something that as you
grow older or hopefully you you learn to
overcome that but there are many people
that behave like infants throughout
their whole lives so
one of the most important things that we
can do so they cut off all loss behind
with to Anna just to remember a lot to
work on ourselves we have to work on
ourselves I mean we all struggle I
struggle with myself we have to work on
ourselves we can always do better I was
today just today I was in a you know I
had a meeting with some people that came
there are nice people you know and and I
was I just really because I was really
busy with something else and I had some
problems I just I I didn't I felt like
you know I really wasn't
I was rude basically to somebody and I
immediately like after the meeting I
went up to her and I just said I want
you to please I apologize you know I I
don't think I listened to you
attentively and then and that was my
mistake and I think being able just to
admit that you're wrong about things
it's really important not being
defensive
the ego always defends itself in fact
one of the most extraordinary scholars
Ibrahim Al Thani it's amazing man if you
study his life you just marvel he
actually wrote the Johan in one night
and when he finished it he went to his
share and he gave it to him and he
shaped knew what it meant like he had
had a opening because it's a stunning
poem 144 lines of just crisp creed and
he he took a oath with him he said from
this day forward I never want you to
defend yourself and that's that that's a
powerful practice of just not defending
yourself we have an amazing story of Abu
Bakr Siddiq about the law and who when a
man was really abusing him in front of
the prophets in him and the probe was
there this thing and and and and smiling
and then well what could I just couldn't
take it anymore so now his nufs came in
and even Abu Bakr had enough I mean it's
the purest of all nufs after our
prophets lies them in in his OMA but he
he he couldn't take any more he started
to finish up the
profit left when he saw him later he
asked him why he left he said that man
was it wasn't true what he was saying he
said I saw the Angels defending you and
right when you began to defend yourself
chiffon came into the room and I don't
sit with chiffon I mean that that is
just such a stunning testimony to the
power of fighting the ego so what I
would I what I would suggest first and
foremost is that that you you you begin
to do a type of Mahasabha and we
actually Imams ate and I worked on
something together called the agenda for
changing our condition and it's actually
a program to work on the self where you
you do a Machado
you know and then maracas band and
Mahasabha and then what alphabat so you
do you you you actually commit like I'm
not going to back fight and you commit
to doing it for 40 days 40 days straight
because it takes 40 days to really yet
the Allah subhana WA Ta'ala gave up I
mean Aleida like he gave 40 to prepare
for the meeting he gave Moses forty
nights to prepare and so forty this is
why in Jamaat tably if they go out for
forty days there's a big secret in the
number forty and so you do forty days of
no I'm not going to back by for forty
days and if you do you have to do my
house about the end of the day and then
you start over if you didn't do it and
then you do a more aqua but you have to
punish yourself
even though what have been said I made
many oaths to give up backbiting and I
ended up fasting a lot because he would
break the oath he'd do another and then
he'd have to fast and he said so I
decided that I would give a dinar in
charity every time I I spoke ill of
someone and he said because of my love
for money I was able to finally give up
because he made that his oath instead of
fasting breaking his oath so
I think that's something that you can
practice it's just working on things one
of the things most of us in Indiana you
know an NFC boss the human being knows
his own so well Oh Alabama
Adira even if he gives his excuses he
knows his own soul and so I think most
of us know what's wrong it's very good
to ask people I mean I I always get
shocked sometimes I'll ask do I do this
or do that yes you do you know that
that's an ouch but it's something that
you have to to take reflection from
other people so that that's important
and then the the best thing and this
this is absolutely well established is
prayer on the prophesy so if you make it
a consistent practice your soul will
will align and and this is something
witnessed by many many people so people
that do consistent practice of Prayer on
the Provos allies to them that it has an
effect on the heart and they really
begin to behave in a much better way but
each of us have our trials and
tribulations it's also useful to know
what's what's called the temporal the
humoral theory so if you and this is
something in madaba Soddy said that you
really shouldn't be a teacher unless
you've studied this so you should know
it's similar to the Briggs Mayer type
personality test so it's very it's
actually very similar and Jung also came
up with with a similar model but the
humoral theory is what the Muslims used
it was a developed by it originally
comes from Hippocrates and then Galen
but the one who developed it extensively
was even Cena the physician so you
knowing what humor you have is really
important are you Flagg Matic are you
choleric are you sanguine are you
melancholic so this is demo we better
than me so doing so far away knowing
those and then there are also mixtures
of two like my my my baseline is demo
but my my layered on is so far away a
lot of people that are asked that like
reading and studying and scholarly by
nature tend to be so far away and so far
away is is a tough disposition people
that are melancholic so far we have a
really hard time so it just depends on
what God's given you people that are
sanguine tend to be very cheery but each
one of them comes with their
shortcomings and their blessings so
knowing that can help because, there's an interesting book called 'Tthe Temperament God gave you'. It's a Catholic book, it has a test you can take. The test will really help you to see what things you're naturally going to need to work on and and I swear by the temperament tradition.
I really believe it's very accurate
HOST: "Thank you for that. We'll take a question from our livestream channel."
Could you ask your comes if someone doesn't understand the quran recitation' doing it's not a we're
but rather spend that time studying the
quran is there a similar reward that's a
really good question first of all i
wanted to say something about tara we
traditionally in most Muslim countries
today we I was actually done relatively
short doing a hut them in taraweeh was
not the tradition in in most places
there were certain mosques that did cut
them for people that wanted to
unfortunately now like if you go to
Turkey most of the mosque do very short
20 short rockets and I really think that
we need to revive this Sunnah because a
lot more people would come for tarot iya
a lot of people leave after eight
sometimes taraweeh ends now at like
twelve o'clock eleven thirty people have
to work the prophesy seven he said yes
you know what that's why sudo make
things easy for people make don't make
them difficult i love the the indian and
pakistani community is amazing like you
see these people that just masha'Allah
and
really quite stunning how they I mean
I've been to in the Muslim world in some
of the Muslim countries I've lived in
I've been to Moscow it's like Miss
mulatto none that I had even I mean a
lot like about women and Rahim mean a
lot I go out and I've literally seen
that and then I've seen middle and then
I've seen the the hutton so I think it's
important in the Maliki tradition which
is the school that I studied it's
actually preferred to do it in your home
if you're able to do it in your home so
if you're if you're gonna be lazy then
it's it's better to go the Masjid but
it's it's better especially people have
we don't have Moss on every corner like
many Muslim countries now in terms of
the question p.m. is is is one of the
sunan of Ramadan and I would never leave
us and I'll give an example there's
nothing there's no better vicar than the
Quran of the ludic Rida it's it's Keith
Avila it's my other I mean who was I die
that's the best vicar that you can do
I mean of the Roma Pope to the best
thing that anybody ever said I said or
any prophet said is la la la la la la la
la is also Quran so but in in the
furture time and in the mother of time
the best vicar at that time is the
avocado Sabharwal Meza about the Saudi
heart and things that the prophet saw
him did at that time it's better to do
those because it's the Sunnah to do
those at that time and following the
Prophet SAW I see them is very important
to do what he did and so you should do
some p.m. even if you just do you know
some short Rockets in your own home you
should do some p.m. if you find it
difficult it's not meant to be difficult
man is I'm not naked Quran latecha we
didn't reveal this Quran that you're
miserable so the understanding is and
then Quran ly Tessa to be joyful and
happy Sarah we has undeniably
uh-uh for most people I'm not gonna say
for everybody because I don't know but
for most people it's going to be a
richer experience if you can actually
understand the Quran it's even better if
you memorize so the parts that some if
if you memorize certain parts and you
hear them recited it's much more because
you can really follow them so I think
that definitely has an aspect but I
would say study the Quran in Ramadan but
also do p.m. even even if you can't do
the 20 records if it's difficult for you
just do some short rakaats in your own
home but do some p.m. particle Elfie
we have a somewhat related question from
Facebook for an ill person who couldn't
fast during this Ramadan what is the
right practice to adopt paid the Vidya
and fast 30 days when they feel better
before the next Ramadan or just pay the
Vidya and it is not mandatory to fast
thirty days prior to the next Ramadan I
feel very confused so thanks for
enlightening us if you can Ramadan
Kareem if if you if you if you can fast
later in the year you have to fast the
fidya is for people that can't fast so
you might be pregnant or nursing or
something likes it going to harm you but
when you're able to you make up the fast
phidias for like old people or people to
have diabetes or people that their their
physicians told them they can't fast I
know of somebody who was went into
pretty serious tachycardia because of
fasting that type person and it's
happened in more than one Ramadan that
person should not fast and the doctor
will tell them that and if the doctor
tells you not to fast if it if it's if
it's a valid doctor with an MD and
they're telling you it is medically
dangerous for you to fast
you should not fast the other thing and
and this is my firm conviction little
children should not fast I know there's
a feed off about this Imam Matta called
Ilan who said that it was tab that it
was actually torture for
children I know there's little children
that want to fast because they see
everybody fasting if they're going to do
that you should only do like half day
but they should their their brains are
developing they need glucose they need
energy they need caloric energy it's not
how it's healthy for us to actually fast
it's not healthy for them too fast when
they're young and I know there's Hadees
in the psyche collection things but that
was not the practice of the people of
madinah and Malik had 600 teachers from
the tabut mean and that was his opinion
it's a strong opinion and I think as
somebody who studied who has some
medical background and I think if you
ask most doctors they would tell you the
science is in and it's not good for
children to fast long periods of time so
the fidya is permitted if you allow a
year to go by you have to feed a poor
person for each day you allowed to for a
year to elapse before you made up that
fast so in Ramadan it's better to try to
make it up early if you did let the year
go by and you know when you finish
Ramadan you can actually according to
some opinions you could do the six days
of Show web and make the NIA of making
up fasting and shelter you get the rule
for both I mean these are enough issues
but I don't allow us yeah all those
mercies fast so that I think that that
answers that question in sha allah
particle elfia
okay we'll just take a couple more
questions and wrap it up if you don't
mind okay good question here may Allah
reward you for this talk and your
Ramadan ruminations any general advice
about the role the Quran should play in
our lives this we not remember him I
think the the Prophet Allah I said I'm
said towards these latter days to to
just go back to the book of Allah I
think the Quran is it's it's an amazing
experience to have a serious
relationship with the Quran
I think study is important but
recitation of Quran obviously if the
more you understand the the more
interesting it is just in terms of the
meanings because to do a Hatem you know
everybody should try to do a hutton once
once a month the Quran was divided into
30 just for a reason those Jews are
meant to be read
he's your honor Quran is considered his
Iran if you read it less than twice a
year that you've pretty much abandon it
so if you're only reading it once in
Ramadan you should at least try to do
one throughout the year the other thing
to do if for those of you who are trying
to memorize it focusing on whatever
you're memorizing is equal one of one of
the thing all of the Quran is is the
same in its equal weight that it's from
Kodama law I mean obviously there's some
verses and some things that like the
prose I said the greatest verse in the
in in the Quran is is ayatul kursi
because of the attributes of God that
are embedded in that first but all of
the Quran is Kaname law so any any Jews
you read from its Kaname law if you only
read one Jews a day but everybody should
try it it takes once you get used to it
it takes about 25 minutes on average
twenty to thirty minutes to do we waste
a lot of time there's a lot of people
that watch a couple hours of television
every day if you look on your cell
phones it's quite troubling to see the
type the amount of time that we spend on
the phone or on the on the cell phone or
looking at things people send us those
things I mean these are all things so we
should give give some time to a lost
book it's it's just a stunning
experience really to have continuous
connection with this book and one of the
things that I promise you if you do it
as a practice over time
it will it would just get stronger and
stronger in other words you you won't
want to stop so I think and that's
something all the people that have a
strong relationship with the put on the
experience so I just I recommend to the
students here don't do a lot of other
that goes to do the poor on don't don't
I think we need to get back to the Book
of Allah so behind with Donna and to a
foundational Sunnah Imam madacorp all
the Alana wrote a book the Moapa it's
the first major book in hadith he has
less than 800 hadith of the prophet
slice and even though he knew over a
hundred thousand he really put what he
felt was absolutely necessary
hadith tradition is for scholars it's
for our Ummah it's not for common people
it was never meant to be read by common
people the Hadees can really create an
immense amount of confusion and even a
weapon one of the greatest scholars of
Islam he's one of the Rashaad of imam
abu Hadi you even know what have been
said I learned so many hadith I became
confused and because of the the problems
in the hadith tradition and he said what
overlay thematically I'd like to had it
not been for lathe and imam malik imam
lathe and imam attic these are too much
that he doing at that time he said they
were his student teachers he said i
would have perished malik used to say
take this and leave that take this and
leave that so hadith is really not for
untrained people hadith is meant for
scholars it's meant to be read with
commentary in the same way that part on
should be read with with commentary is
very dangerous to - just because you
know Arabic if you studied modern Arabic
the Quran is very subtle
there are many subtleties in the Quran
there are many subtleties in
prepositions in hurdles the foul for
instance in the Quran Allah subhanAllah
data says yes whom want to come sooner
that we are the balloon of knuckle
mister unity circle you know that around
the kuru Naruto logic within jakkuman is
around remember the blessing of allah
when he saved you from around
and then it says you know he assumed
monokuma died that he gave you a
horrible punishment what that while
there WA you either be wound up now he
killed your your sons and he took
captive your women that Wow indicates
that that's not the AB the killing of
the sons and the taking of the women or
it or or or it's more than just that so
those types of lt's it takes a long time
to learn that I mean I've been studying
Arabic for over forty years now and I
really feel I'm just it's it's it's an
immense ocean of a language I mean I
feel blessed that I'm able to read I can
read in tough Sears and the books of
fifth and I had some really great
scholars but it's it's really a lifelong
study and just when you've got it all at
least you know I think it's time to go
so on that note last question last
question nautical of week earlier you
touched on speaking truth to power any
words on the suffering of the people of
Yemen at the hands of other governments
which leaves me feeling powerless how
can we help and could you please close
what they do off for this Ummah yeah
Yemen is a great tragedy of our time
among amongst many others these are
incredibly complicated situations
involving civil wars between Yemen's a
still a clan culture so you have tribes
you have cultures you have different
they're they're actually quite distinct
cultures in Yemen like ha Bellamy
culture is different from Michaela or
had them or or or or you know the
northern portion of Yemen it was once
actually two countries and they they
unified and now they're back to the
Civil War and then obviously the the
neighboring countries got involved
you had Isis or Isis like people al
Qaeda villages arrest Arab took over
quite a large portion
so it's just it's it's the fog of war
it's a horrible situation it's not easy
to discern it's very easy to point
fingers at this that or the other but in
the end these are fittin between Muslims
and we should just pray to Allah subhana
wa tada to remove these fitten from
these people the Yemeni people the
prophets allies him loved them there
were people that became Muslim without
having to without just by inviting them
to Islam they came he said like many
many he said then Imani Imani that but
there there's also unfortunately in the
whole Muslim world and here everywhere
you know Muslims have really departed
from the Sunnah of the Prophet Elias a
time from his Manoj and a lot of these
things if you read the Quran it's very
clear that the the Prophet says salat is
Adam said in Hadiya ma in had in in no
meeting unmet or mahoma my Ummah has
it's an Ummah of God's mercy and then he
said gorillas that will have he dunya ha
the punishment of my Ummah is in this
dunya so we also have to recognize that
when people divert and go far astray
from the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW I see
em and from the guidance that was given
to us and then the the sinfulness
becomes widespread and open that
tribulations will afflict us and in some
ways the places where these tribulations
are the worst are the places where those
people are closer to Allah subhana WA
Ta'ala in other words that the either a
below opponent of Tudela when a lot
loves of people he gives them
tribulation to elevate them or to remove
their sins and so we should pray for our
brothers and sisters do what we can
there's good organizations that try to
help but right now this is it's the fog
of war we're in the midst of just a very
tragic period for our Ummah we should do
our best to pray which council the
people that have the power to
to do what they can I think the kind of
belligerent attitude and what's
happening even for people that you know
and I have I have my own criticisms of
things in that region but I would
honestly say you know we should be
praying for these people we should not
this type of hatred that people have for
these governments and things like that
we should be praying for them you know
it's it's what comes without government
is actually much worse than what what
whatever tribulations governments bring
when you remove these government's when
you have anarchy this is the result of
anarchy we should be praying for these
governments our prophesy centum was
somebody that he didn't he didn't
disrupt social systems when he came into
Mecca in an Muruga Dada Hadoop area 10
of Sidhu ha which authorized it that
idea Villa the the Kings you know
tyrants and king when they come into
places they create these horrible
situations but the mostly on the people
of allah subhana wa ta'ala the prophets
they don't do that the prophesy him when
he came into Mecca he said man dakhala
beta ABI Sufyan
canna Amina whoever enters the house of
Abu Sufian will be safe he took the same
of the core age who had fought him for
twenty years and and he and he
maintained his dignity in honor because
he wanted to win his enemies over he
wanted to win them over when he wrote to
the Romans
Halima Rome to the great one of Rome
aslim taslam submit and and find peace
when he spoke when his if you want to
see the best lesson in dealing with
government I just look at how Jaffa
spoke with Anna joshie says stunning
testimony to the hikmah the wisdom of
these people despite the fact that the
new Joshi they were modify sites they
were actually a type of Christianity
that
believed in the divinity of Christ but
when I would have been an ass tried to
get them into a difficult situation the
the ayahs he quoted he just left it in a
way where he didn't compromise his
beliefs but at the same time he didn't
offend the beliefs of the of the of the
ruler that he was that they were guests
of and so just getting back to this
wisdom and trying to you know just
everybody is going to be judged by God
we're all gonna be judged by God these
rulers are gonna be judged by God and I
don't envy any of them most of them
don't sleep well the type of burdens
that they have people think that adavi
changed palaces every night never never
had a good night's sleep many of them
have to take drugs just to go to sleep
so it's not something that you should
envy or and and and we should just
really pray for them our tradition you
Mamta how he says then I am we don't
imprecate against rulers we should pray
for them there's a lot of people that
don't believe that anymore because we
have a kind of revolutionary Islam that
wants to tear everything down as opposed
to just recognizing we have to work with
what we have and try to make it better
so but you know everybody's doing there
is jihad and Yom OPM is gonna be a good
day we're all gonna see who's who on
that day
we'll see who's who it's better I think
to wait Tara bustle phonemic woman and
what'll be seen wait and I'll wait too
with you and we will see I'm on in the
body so you know community better but I
mean we're all gonna have to stand
before God and be taken to account for
our actions and for our lives so Allah
bless all of you bless your Ramadan
increase you elevate you may you forgive
us our transgressions forgive our
shortcomings may he may allah subhanho
wa taala inshaallah accept whatever
prayers we've been able to put forward
extra in this Ramadhan except our
recitation
quran allah subhana wa tada and shall
Allah give us visions of our prophet in
our dreams and may he may make our
prophet pleased with us when he sees us
at the hold inshallah may he give us
ease in our lives and ease if there's
anybody sick or depress me loss behind
without and remove your sickness or your
depression
lots of behind without increase you
elevate you in the allah subhana wa tada
forgive any of your transgressions may
allah subhana wa tada
make this book of allah the spring of
our hearts may may Allah subhana WA
Ta'ala spoke something that we love and
recite constantly and act accordingly -
may allah subhanho wa taala inshaallah
give right guidance to the people in
power wherever they are
may he may he just we asked you yeah a
lot - not meant to sit down with the
episode am minka said I'm going to carry
just said I'm hanging out I've been
episode on the market with a detailer at
a tea would a crown your peace and you
love peace and and and so bring peace to
two places where there's war bring love
to the places where there's hatred bring
unity to the places where there's
division make us people of unity always
and we ask you to bless this Ramadan
inshallah and and and give us the
blessing of laser cutter and and
inshallah may you make seen many
Ramadan's before we leave this world
going back to you in a pleasing state
yeah or how about I mean was all aloha
and I seen the Muhammad well and you
know Sam you send him to see me kathira
super Honora bigger average city I'm
Iosefa no Sarah morale-boosting were
handling the harbor and I mean some
Halekulani Heidegger said one era
Atlanta stock broker to break and Raqqa
Maher was Sarah Mike my work at
you