I'm going to make a du'a and that'll be the title of this lecture for tonight.
And I want you to instinctively say this to yourself as you're driving home today.
Oh Allah, use me as a vessel. Oh Allah, use me as a vessel.
Allahumma ista'milna wa la tastabdilna. Oh Allah, use us, do not replace us. I was thinking about the moment that we are living in right now.
Where you are witnessing some of the most consequential global shifts that you can perhaps recall in your lifetime.
I know for me, and as I leave here, I'm on my way to Bosnia, where it would have been 30 years since the genocide in Srebrenica.
That still feels so fresh in the midst of a genocide taking place in Gaza. And the world is shifting more now than any time I can remember in my lifetime.
So much is happening. And you have to look at all of that. And you have to choose what role you want to play in everything that's happening.
And allow me to explain for a moment. There are some people who when they see the world seemingly shifting off of its axis,
will brace themselves and make their greatest du'a, Oh Allah, protect me from the shifts of the world. Protect me from all of the changes that are happening.
And some of that is warranted. The Prophet ﷺ said, to Abbas (رضي الله عنه) when he asked him for a du'a that he could make, for a supplication that he could make, He said,
Ask Allah for safety. But the safety that the Prophet ﷺ is talking about is first and foremost, the safety of your iman, of your spirituality.
Let my heart be protected. Let my faith be protected. So that as all of this is happening and all these changes are taking place, Oh Allah, do not let the fitna be in our deen.
Don't let it be in our faith. Don't let it be in our children's faith. And so as everything is kind of moving around, There is cause to look at all of that and say,
Oh Allah, protect my iman and protect the iman of my family. It's warranted.
But a superior way of thinking is to look at all of these shifts and to say, Oh Allah, use me. Oh Allah, direct me.
Oh Allah, take from me until you are pleased with me.
Oh Allah, however you best see fit for this hand to move, let me move it.
However you best see fit for this tongue to speak, let it speak. However you best see fit for this heart to turn, let it turn.
But Oh Allah, I want you to guide me to what is most pleasing to you. And I'm desperate to find that guidance.
When the messenger of Allah ﷺ met a man before Islam, Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl (رضي الله عنه),
who died before he could meet the Prophet ﷺ, post-prophethood. But he was so desperate to find the religion of Abraham, of Ibrahim (عليه السلام),
that as the people would be doing tawaf around the idols, he would say, None of you are on the religion of Ibrahim (عليه السلام). This isn't the way of Abraham. I know that Abraham was not an idol worshipper.
I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. I don't know what religion I'm supposed to be following. But I know that the way of Abraham is a way of monotheism. And imagine the sight of a man putting his back to the Ka'bah
and telling the people, Don't worship these idols. And then calling out to Allah and listen to his words.
Allahumma law anni a'lamu ayyu tariq ahabbu ilayk abattuka bihi. Walakinni laa a'lamu.
Oh Allah, if I knew which of the turuq, which of the ways, which tariq, which way is most beloved to you, I would worship you with that way.
But I just don't know. But ya Allah, I want it so badly. And he's so sincere that the Prophet ﷺ said that on the day of judgment, he'll be standing as an ummah all by himself, a nation.
He wanted it. He wanted Allah to guide him, to facilitate for him. He wanted to be a vessel for Allah's purpose on this earth. He didn't just want to survive.
He wanted to spread. He didn't just want to buck the evil trends that were happening at the time. He wanted to trend set in good.
He wanted to be where Allah wanted him to be. Oh Allah, make me a vessel. When we look through the Quran, we find the du'as of the Prophets of Allah.
And the Prophets of Allah, they asked Allah for things of this dunya. But they never asked Allah for things of this dunya for this dunya. They asked Allah for worldly things.
But they never asked Allah for worldly things for worldly purposes. Not that it's haram. You can ask Allah for money and pursue it in halal ways. And for the purpose of halal enjoyment.
You can ask Allah for children, for the sake of the enjoyment of a child. And everything that comes with that. You can ask Allah for worldly things so long as they are in the realm of permissibility.
But if you want to follow the way of the Prophets, then you have to have a higher purpose for your prayers. Musa (عليه السلام) did not ask Allah, as Al-Qurtubi (رحمه الله) said,
did not ask Allah to untie his tongue until he was given the task of speaking to Fir'aun. Of speaking to the Pharaoh. It wasn't so that people would not look down upon him.
It wasn't because his speech being tied bothered him or embarrassed him.
He asked Allah to untie his tongue so that perhaps they may comprehend my speech better. So that I can reach them, let it flow. Not so that I can impress them.
Not so that I can shame them. Not so that I don't come out of that gathering looking a certain way. Yafqahu qawli, I want Fir'aun to hear the message in the best possible way so that perhaps he may wake up.
It wasn't to be a speaker. Musa (عليه السلام) wasn't trying to be a speaker. The wife of Imran, an Imran, wanted a child. Rabbi Ibn Ali, or rather she would ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
Rabbi inni wada'atu laka maa fee batni muharrara. Oh Allah, I dedicate to you what is in my womb. I free it, muharrara. I free this child from responsibility to me. I want this child to be entirely dedicated to you.
When Allah tells us about Zakariya (عليه السلام), in his 90s, making du'a for a child, he didn't make du'a for a child because he got old and felt cold and felt lonely.
Because he looked at his progeny, wa inni khiftu almawalia min warai. I'm afraid for the generations that will come after me. I'm afraid for the generations that will come after me.
I'm afraid for the generations that will come after. So grant me a successor from you, oh Allah. It was halal to ask for a child.
It was halal to ask for speech that moves. But it was prophetic to ask for something of this dunya, for a purpose other than this dunya.
When Allah tells us about Suleiman (عليه السلام), there is a saying that absolute power does what? Sometimes I don't know if the British and the Americans speak the same language.
Absolute power absolutely corrupts. That's the saying, right? There is no king that ever walked the face of the earth, not Fir'aun with all of his power,
nor Qarun or Nimrud with all of their palaces and the keys to their palaces and their treasures. That was equivalent to the kingdom of Suleiman (عليه السلام).
But when Suleiman (عليه السلام) asked Allah for all of those palaces, mulkan la yanbaqi li ahad min ba'di, a customized kingdom,
a customized kingdom, he didn't want the kingdom for the glory of the kingdom. He wanted the kingdom to glorify the king of all kings, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, al malik, al malik, al malik.
He wanted to glorify Allah with that kingdom. He didn't see palaces. He saw opportunities. He didn't see wealth to enjoy. He saw wealth to spend for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Ya Allah, give me more so I can do more for you. Give me more so I can do more for you. He attached it to that purpose. And he lived up to the challenge.
He wasn't corrupted by it, (عليه السلام). If anything, he was beautified by it because he saw opportunities to do more good deeds for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, to spread for Allah.
Oh Allah, use me as a vessel. Two verses in the Quran that I'll share with you. The first one is a very easy one.
If you turn away, Allah will replace you with someone other than you and they will not be like you.
Ta tawallu yastabdil qawman ghayrakum thumma la yakunu amtalakum. The Prophet ﷺ was sitting next to Salman al-Farisi (رضي الله عنه) when this verse was revealed.
I want you to imagine this by the way. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was sitting shoulder to shoulder with a man who came from Persia,
escaped to Syria, got to Turkey, then within Iraq, then to Turkey, then back to Syria, then was enslaved up to 20 times
and then somehow after decades of all of that journey ended up in the presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who he had been seeking all along and said I am with you Ya Rasulullah.
The Prophet ﷺ met Salman al-Farisi (رضي الله عنه) in Quba' when he made hijrah ﷺ. Salman al-Farisi came to meet him in Quba'
Salman officially embraced Islam after seeking out three signs of the Prophet ﷺ in the first janazah in the Baqir, that huge graveyard next to Masjid An-Nabawi.
That is when Salman al-Farisi (رضي الله عنه) completed his investigation of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he became Muslim and he became a companion
and Salman (رضي الله عنه), his Arabic was not perfect, he had pronunciation issues, he was a foreigner in every sense of the word, a quiet introverted man, introverted man,
he wasn't young when he found the Prophet ﷺ anymore, he wasn't like one of the youth. Can you imagine the shame of an Arab in Mecca
who knew the Prophet ﷺ for 40 years? Your inquiry is not just what you know from the biblical text that he doesn't consume charity,
that he will eat only from a gift and then he has a seal of prophethood on his back. Your inquiry is 40 years of seeing this man's character ﷺ as Sadiq al-Amin, the honest and trustworthy and truthful one
ﷺ. That's your inquiry. Your experimentation is four decades of character witness and you see him and he's your neighbor.
Ya Allah, the shame of a person who will be resurrected on the day of judgment that was a neighbor of the Prophet ﷺ and didn't embrace Islam. The shame of a family member
who will rise on the day of judgment and not be behind the Prophet ﷺ on that day. But Salman al-Farisi all the way from Persia? Right next to the Prophet ﷺ?
And so when they asked the Prophet ﷺ as this verse was revealed وَإِن تَتَوَلَّوْ يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ that if you turn away Allah will replace you with another group of people and they won't be like you.
The Prophet ﷺ put his hand on his back and he said, the Prophet ﷺ put his hand on the shoulder of Salman al-Farisi who was right next to him. And he said this verse is about Salman (رضي الله عنه)
and those like him. Which means two things, meaning Islam was going to spread through the Persians, which indeed it did, or those like him.
Those like him being the non-Arabs and the people around the world that would embrace Islam and that would be the torchbearers of Islam.
That's the first verse. Straightforward. Allah does not need the Arabs. Allah does not need the elite.
Allah does not care for your worldly decorations and titles if you are a slave to this world. You are of no use to the call of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. You're not needed.
And that was a strong message to these people. And by the way, it's important to put yourself in the context of the 7th century.
Religion and nationality, not in the nation state sense, but in the tribal sense, were inherently woven together.
The Romans were Christian. The Persians were Zoroastrians. And if you align to the Byzantines, then you align to their religion. If you align to the Persians, you align to their religion.
The idea of a faith that transcends race and tribe and culture is very foreign to that world.
And Islam brought it and infused itself into this world so quickly that it penetrated the entire world
and not only embraced people from different backgrounds than the Arabs, but actually placed them in positions of leadership within the very first generation of Islam.
It was instant. Allah doesn't need you. But you need Allah.
You had these people coming to Allah from all over the world saying, Oh Allah, make me a vessel. I'm ready. I want to receive it and I want to spread it.
I'm ready for it. Another verse in the Quran, which is extremely similar, but it's a bit more descriptive. It's in Surah Al-Ma'idah.
It's one of the final verses that the ulama mention was revealed. Surah Al-Ma'idah, later Madani Surah in general. Where Allah says,
Whoever amongst you turns away from their religion. And this is one of the signs of the imminent death of the messenger of Allah.
Whoever amongst you turns away from the religion because the reality is, is that there were people that embraced Islam at the end for political safety.
And because that's where the winds seem to be moving. And they weren't sincere in their embracing of Islam. There are people like that. And they would show themselves when the prophets of Islam passed away.
So, whoever amongst you turns away from this religion. Allah will produce forth a people.
They love Allah and Allah loves them. There are six descriptions in this ayah. They're paired. Okay, so two, two, two. You understand?
One pair. Allah loves them and they love Allah. Azillat al-mu'minin, a'izzat al-kaafirin.
They have humility with the believers and they show strength with the disbelievers. Yujahiduna fee sabirillah, wala yakhafuna laumata laam.
The last pair. They strive in the path of Allah and they don't fear the blame of the blamers. Six qualities. Three pairs.
I want to start with the first pair. But I want to give you a very interesting tidbit in Tafsir.
The scholars of Tafsir mention a very particular person who this verse is speaking about. Does anybody know who it is?
The scholars mention that this verse came down about Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه) and his companions. Interesting context.
Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) and his companions, those like him. A lot to unpack here. The Prophet ﷺ is about to die.
When the messenger of Allah ﷺ dies, those who were evil and who were concealing their evil, they will come out and they will form and they will try to undermine what the Prophet ﷺ has built.
Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه) will rise and he will seek to solidify what the Prophet ﷺ has built. What does that look like?
Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) was a man who lived, who breathed, who thought, who felt, who acted, who withheld, all for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
He's Siddiq. He's truthful. Truthful in what? In his faith.
He is constantly after what pleases Allah and that drives his very being and his very existence.
And so you find that he always sees eye to eye with the Prophet ﷺ. And he's always by the messenger of Allah ﷺ.
And his opinion follows the opinion of the Prophet ﷺ. And he affirms the Prophet ﷺ without hesitation.
And he does what should be done before he's even told that he should do it. That's Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه).
He's always a massive step ahead of the entire ummah of Muhammad ﷺ.
And because it was for Allah, he could turn it on and he could turn it off all for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. So when Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) becomes the khalifa of this ummah,
Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) is known for his kindness. He's known for his mercy. He's known for his compassion.
But he wasn't limited by that compassion and that kindness. And so when Musaylimah al-Kadhdhab, the false prophet rises and starts to organize some of the insincere and malicious Arab tribes
to now undermine the project of Islam, Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) doesn't hesitate to fight him and to quell the rebellion.
When some of the tribes start to say, we don't want to pay zakah anymore, Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) says, I make no distinction between zakah and salah.
Even if they withheld from me a na' that they used to give to the Prophet ﷺ, I would pursue them. Not because Abu Bakr is power hungry.
Not because Abu Bakr wants to put his foot down as the khalifa and say, I am khalifa to Rasulallah ﷺ.
But because it was for Allah, not for Abu Bakr. So even when Umar ibn al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) comes to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه),
Umar is the strong one, shidda, rough, tough, in good ways.
And you know, tries to talk Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) out of certain courses of action.
It is Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) that speaks to Umar (رضي الله عنه) and says, what is this?
Courageous in the days of ignorance, cowardly in Islam? No, no, no. We have to be people of courage. We do the right thing. We follow the command of the Prophet ﷺ.
Now that you know it's Abu Bakr, read the ayah. يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ They love Allah and Allah loves them. أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ يُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَائِمٍ It all fits perfectly.
Allah loves him. He loves Allah. Humble with the believers, strong with the disbelievers, strives in the path of Allah, and doesn't care what anybody says if he's doing it for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
It fits him. Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه), by the way, subhanallah, there's something really interesting here. In Hudaybiyyah, in Hudaybiyyah, and that's why, by the way, we love Sayyidina Umar (رضي الله عنه).
We love him. But Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) is superior to Umar (رضي الله عنه). And Umar would be the first one to tell you Abu Bakr is superior to me.
In Hudaybiyyah, Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) immediately saw the wisdom of the Prophet ﷺ in making peace. It was Umar (رضي الله عنه) who said, let's go.
Aren't we on the truth and aren't they on falsehood? This is not an accusation of the intentions of Umar (رضي الله عنه) at all. Umar (رضي الله عنه) is al-farooq.
He distinguishes truth from falsehood. Naturally guided towards the truth. But Abu Bakr is another level. Right?
So Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) always saw things exactly how the Prophet ﷺ saw them, and he acted in accordance with that. But there is a political context too.
You see, one of the things that the Arabs wanted to do to the Prophet ﷺ in Mecca, and the way they sought to deflate his da'wah,
by mistreating him ﷺ and undermining him in Mecca, the message that was being sent to those that were coming from outside, is that his own people don't believe in him, so why would you?
Because no one would know him better than his own people. That was the intentional propaganda that they sought to put out to the rest of the world,
who saw the messenger of Allah ﷺ and they recognized something special about him. His own people. We reject him and we know him. He grew up amongst us. So why would you accept him?
They sought to undermine him using that line. But Allah ﷻ instead foiled their plans. How so?
At no point from the time of the Prophet ﷺ receiving revelation, to the time of his death, and since ﷺ,
has Islam ever been on the decline. The numbers have been on the incline,
from the moment that Jibril (عليه السلام) came to the Prophet ﷺ in the cave of Hira. As they were trying to undermine the Prophet ﷺ around Mecca, Islam was spreading through Yemen,
the word was getting out through Oman, through Bahrain, through the coast of Africa, making its way into Iraq. Islam was still spreading.
They couldn't stop it. And so while they were making plans to undermine it, Allah's plan of growing it was taking place in full force.
And wallahi, let me say this right now. The Zionists who are trying to end the cause of Palestine in that small strip of land of Gaza,
with people that are greater than mountains in spiritual size, are only giving more life to the growth of the global cause of Palestine. Alhamdulillah Rabbil Alameen.
They're undoing their own cause. يُرِيدُونَ لِيُطْفِئُوا نُورَ اللَّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَاللَّهُ مُتِمُّ نُورِهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ They want to extinguish the light. Allah Azawajal spreads the light further.
It will grow. And so Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, مَنْ يَرْتَدَّ مِنْكُمْ عَنْ دِينِهِ Look, if you all turn away from the religion, Allah will bring forth a people better than you. Allah loves them.
And they love Allah. يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ Allah loves them and they love Allah. Notice that Allah started off with, Allah loves them.
When you love Allah, you are responding to an invitation from Allah to love him. Do you understand? Allah Azawajal invited you to love him.
Allah is مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ Allah is the turner of hearts. Allah turned your heart towards him because Allah recognized something inside of you that made you worthy of being in that relationship with him.
But it starts off with يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ Allah loves you so you love Allah. And Subhanallah,
Allah never turns away the one that's seeking from him. And I want you to just really ask yourself, have you really asked Allah for his love? Like when you're making du'a,
for other things, for possessions. Is there anything greater than being loved by Allah? اللهم إني أسألك حبك
Oh Allah, I ask you for your love. وحب من يحبك And the love of those who love you. وحب كل عمل يقربني إلى حبك And the love of every deed that would bring me closer to your love.
And then listen to the next part of this du'a. اللهم اجعل حبك أحب إليّ من نفسي What a du'a. Oh Allah,
let your love be more beloved to me than myself. I love Allah's love more than I love myself, my money, my children,
and a sip of cold water on a hot day. Oh Allah, let your love be more beloved to me than me. You understand the implications of that du'a?
That's how bad I want you to love me, Oh Allah. You think Al-Wadood would hear you making this du'a and say no? If you're saying no, I'm not sincere.
Oh Allah, love me. Oh Allah, use me. You want to respond to an invitation? How desperate do you think Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) was to be loved by Allah?
Companions to be loved by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala? And as Imam Ibn Ata'illah (رحمه الله) says, إذا أردت أن تعرف مقامك عند الله If you want to know your station with Allah,
فانظر فيما حيث أقامك Or فانظر حيث أقامك Look to where Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala placed you. If you want to know how much you love Allah,
or how much Allah loves you, as Imam Ahmed (رحمه الله) said something similar. Look to the position that Allah has with you. It's reciprocal. But Allah loves you.
And you love Allah. It's a pair. And the beauty is that you keep doing for Allah حتى until I love that person.
If I love that person, I become the hearing with which he hears, the sight with which he sees, the hand with which he strikes, the foot with which he paces. Allah Azawajal becomes
your every sense of direction and sense. Because all you want is to please him Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. When Allah loves you, but you have to earn that love.
As we learned from Ibn Al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) لا أريد إلا أن أريد ما يريد. Oh Allah, I don't want except to want what you want. Oh Allah, I don't want
except to want what you want. Oh Allah, use me as a vessel. Allah loves them and so they love Allah.
Humble with the believers. Dignified, strong with the disbelievers. By the way, just so there is absolutely no misconception about this verse. This verse is not telling you to oppress someone who is not Muslim.
This verse is not telling you to not be kind with those who are not Muslim. This verse is not telling you to withhold your manners from those who don't believe. To the contrary, in the Quran,
verse after verse, show people your good manners. Show people love, show people courtesy. Let them see from you the beauty of Islam and your character. So what is it saying? A'izatun ala alkaafireen.
That you are devoted to Allah in a way that your ego is put to the side. So when you deal with your brothers and sisters, you humble yourself towards them.
And when you deal with those who are not Muslim, A'izatun ala alkaafireen, you remain dignified. Upright.
You don't relinquish your faith. In fact, treating them with kindness while being a committed Muslim is part of A'izatun ala alkaafireen. It's part of your Izzah.
But I need to pray. I'm gonna walk as Allah commands me to walk. Be as Allah commands me to be. Dress as Allah commands me to dress. Speak as Allah commands me to speak.
Be committed to the causes of righteousness that Allah commands me to be committed to. And I will not shy away from my faith for anybody in this world. Or relinquish my principles for any person.
And of course, this also means that there's a level of strength. Now here's the thing. You rarely find people that can be humble in one context
and then display strength in another context. Usually you just have someone that's either timid or someone that's tumultuous. Someone that yells at everybody
or someone that never says anything. Right? Very few people can turn their personality on and off, different parts of it, to fit the context.
That was the companions of the Prophet ﷺ. When they were together, they bowed their heads in humility, show love and respect and honor. But when they were in the battlefield, they were lions.
They knew how to turn it on and off and it was never arrogant or ego-driven or worldly-driven or ruthless or cold or cruel.
It was for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. A dhillat al-mu'minin, a'izat al-kaafirin, yujahiduna fee sabirillah, wala yakhafuna laumata laam. They strive in the path of Allah
and they don't care what anybody says when they strive. They don't fear the blame of the blamer. By the way, the blamer here is not necessarily a disbeliever because sometimes the Muslims will give you more of a hard time for being Muslim than anybody else.
You're not trying to bother anybody. I don't want to do this. Why not? Because I don't feel comfortable in my faith. Oh, so you think you're better than us? We're Muslim too? Sometimes the laum,
the blame will come to you from Muslims more so than anybody else. Right? SubhanAllah. I've personally found it much easier sometimes explaining myself to non-Muslims who are very respectful
of certain principles that I can't violate than being amongst Muslims. Sometimes even like distant relatives. Sorry, I can't do that. Why? Shaykh al-Muslimeen, aren't we Muslims too? Like, yeah, you're Muslim. I'm not saying you're not Muslim.
I'm not even telling you what to do. I'm just saying I don't want to do it. وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَائِمٍ This is my pathway. I'm going this way. Respect it. Right? So there is
a lack of ego and there's a presence of energy and effort. Wallah, it used me as a vessel. I'm not here to exist for me. I'm here to exist for Him. And I want you to pay attention
to a very specific connection of that last pair. يُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَائِمٍ If you are doing for Allah يُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ If your efforts are for Allah
then you will never give up something you were doing for Allah because of somebody else. وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَائِمٍ So you're doing something good for the community
and the community treats you like garbage. You weren't serving them for them in the first place. You were serving them for the sake of Allah. I'm okay with that. You did something good and instead of getting praised, you got slandered.
الحمد لله It was for Allah in the first place. I never wanted you to say anything to me. It wasn't for you. It was for Allah in the first place. يُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ You do for Allah.
وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَائِمٍ You'll never give up something you were doing for Allah because of what somebody else has to say about it or someone else has to say about you. It doesn't matter. It wasn't for you. It was for Allah.
It's a test of your sincerity by the way. It's one of the hardest tests. Especially to young people that want to do something good. They get involved in some Islamic effort. You get into it. You start giving your time.
And then boom! Corruption. Boom! Scandal. Boom! Slander. Like man, I was hanging out with people that didn't do da'wah and they were much better in their character and akhlaq than you. What's going on here?
Allah tests you. You got involved in the masjid and now you don't even want to pray in the masjid anymore. Happens to people. How many people got involved with their in the US we call them MSAs here you call them ISOCs, right?
Got involved with it, got really excited. I was a, you know, a real student activist. And then, I'm not even going to anything anymore. You get involved in some of the strong
political work. Especially for something like Philistine right now. And it doesn't turn out the way And it doesn't turn out the way that you want it to turn out. Like people are being nasty to you. You don't know why they're being nasty. Like I'm not even here for all of that.
You know what? Allah is testing your intentions. If it's for Allah, you'll never give it up for other than Allah. You do for the sake of Allah and people trash you. Alhamdulillah.
Perhaps that is Allah Azawajal washing my slate clean so that it is only for Him in the first place. Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Because somewhere along the way, some of the sweetness of being praised or the sweetness of, you know,
whatever benefits come in terms of social capital or whatever it may be, that's gone. And maybe that's to make it clearly for the sake of Allah. Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. I want to
leave you with one last thought because this is a very important thought. And it's one I've been ruminating on. And I hope I can even express it clearly. How many of you have heard of Michael Jordan? No one in the UK has heard of Michael Jordan?
I see more sister's hands than brother's hands going on. Heard of Michael Jordan? How many of you have heard of Michael Jordan? Alright, you've heard of Michael Jordan. He's not here and he's not taking shahada to my knowledge, by the way. Alright? It's not what this is about.
Michael Jordan played what sport? Good. Basketball. What other sport did he play? Alright, a few brothers answered. Baseball. Michael Jordan,
a legend in basketball. If not the greatest basketball player of all time, one of the greatest basketball players of all time. At some point, Michael Jordan wanted to play baseball.
He left the NBA. He went and he played baseball. For those of you that don't know what baseball is, it's an Americanized version of cricket. Alright? Some of you don't know what I'm talking about. So,
he went and he played baseball. His baseball level was right at the meeting of a minor league and a major league player. Like he's just
good enough to be in the league, if even. Alright? So, he's a below average baseball player. Could still, because he's Michael Jordan, he's an incredible athlete,
could still be probably any athlete that he wants to be in some capacity in the world. Just that mindset, the work ethic, the natural talent, the skills. He was there,
but in basketball, he was here. Here's what I want you to pay attention with me for, inshallah. Khalid bin Walid (رضي الله عنه) spread Islam throughout the world. Khalid (رضي الله عنه) didn't know much Quran. Khalid bin Walid
was smart enough, intelligent enough, to where he could probably be whatever he wanted to be. Like if Khalid bin Walid (رضي الله عنه) was smart enough, intelligent enough, to where he could probably be whatever he wanted to be.
Like if Khalid bin Walid (رضي الله عنه) felt the inspiration with the Prophet ﷺ and said, you know what, ya Rasulullah, I don't want to be in the battlefield anymore. I'm just going to go become an aesthetic, a zahid, a worshipper, and I'm going to learn the Quran
and use my natural brilliance to learn the language and teach people Arabic and teach people the Quran and teach people fiqh. Khalid (رضي الله عنه) would have probably been a decent Quran teacher. But thank God, he never became that.
He never became that. Never. Because Khalid (رضي الله عنه) was a legend at doing what he did. Abu Darda (رضي الله عنه), Quran teacher.
Khalid will open Syria, Abu Darda will make sure that he stays in the masjid and grows the incredible Quranic programs in the masjid. Alhamdulillah, Khalid (رضي الله عنه) did what Khalid did best. Alhamdulillah, Abu Darda (رضي الله عنه)
did what Abu Darda did best. Alhamdulillah, the Prophet ﷺ did not try to change people in regards to their natural talents and their most favorable trajectories. Rather, he transformed their spiritual condition
so that everything else followed. So it makes him the greatest teacher, ﷺ. So here's the last point I want to point out to you. I have people that come up to me and that are
mashallah, top of the line for what they are doing, they've achieved great things. They can offer enormous capacity to the Muslim ummah, to humanity by taking what they do and finding
a pathway to make it fi sabihillah. And they come up and they say, Sheikh, I want to quit my job and quit everything I'm doing. I'm going to go study in Medina and become a sheikh. And I'm like, brother, for the love
of God, please don't. Alhamdulillah, ilm is beautiful. We need ulama, we need tulab ilm, we need students of knowledge. Look at where you are. Use it.
Attend your local halaqah. Learn the Quran. Study with your teachers. Make the intention. Memorize the Quran slowly. Make the intention that one day when you max out or you get to this position you'll do this. You'll learn,
you'll finish a bachelor's degree in sharia. But that's not where you're best suited. Your Michael Jordan trajectory is not that. It's something else. So here's the lesson. You can do something good
for the sake of Allah. And if you took that route, alhamdulillah, I pray Allah would accept it from you. But sometimes, it's not just about doing something good for the sake of Allah.
It's about doing something It's not just about doing something good for the sake of Allah. It's about doing the best possible thing that you could be doing for the sake of Allah. And that's part of sincerity. You are uniquely suited
to play a particular role. You know what that looks like in our ummah? Some of these brothers are organizing these events. They could be decent speakers. They could probably be even better speakers
than us. But they found that that's their contribution, and they do it. You don't have to be on stage to contribute. You don't have to be a shaykh to contribute.
You don't have to be a da'ia to contribute to the da'wah. Take what Allah gave you and use it for Him and let that be for His sake. You don't do what you want to do for the sake of Allah, but you ask yourself, Fanzur haythu
Aqamak, Fima aqamak Look at where Allah placed you and ask yourself, Ya Allah, what do you want me to be doing right now? Our ummah is vast.
And what's contributed to what has reached us today is a vast majority of people, of great people that embraced their roles and did it with ihsan to please Allah.
So whether I am Abdurrahman ibn A'uf (رضي الله عنه), coming into Medina with all sorts of property, fee sabeelillah, or if I am a housewife or a father, supporting someone in the home to become like Abdurrahman ibn A'uf.
Whether I am Anas ibn Malik or I am Umm Sulaym, whether I am Imam Laith or Imam Malik, whether I'm behind the curtain or in front of the curtain, whether it is with my resources or with my body, if it's my mind, my tongue, whatever it may be, Ya Allah, guide me to what's most pleasing to You.
And then let me do that thing solely for Your pleasure. There's a difference between doing something good for the sake of Allah and doing the best possible thing that you could do for the sake of Allah.
And that takes breaking the ego and curating the intention solely for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. And that's what made Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) so special.
While everybody else looks around, he looks up. Where does Allah want me right now? And he does it with perfection and beauty. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala bless you all. I'm getting the signals that I've gone way over time.
JazakumAllahu khayran. Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
