 In other words, in this sacred month, Allah SWT manifests more of His generosity and mercy than He does otherwise. And this is from the Divine Will and the Divine Wisdom, the surpassing Divine Wisdom that informs everything in the world that certain times, certain places, certain circumstances are imbued with more light, with more mercy, with more opportunity for the believer to return to His Lord, to reorient oneself to the Divine Pleasure. And time is an interesting thing in and of itself. Allah SWT swears by time. I swear by time that human beings are naturally in and of themselves in a great state of loss, except those that, orientation, that have certitude in the Divine, firm faith, and work, deeds of righteousness, and enjoin one another to truth and enjoin one another to patience. And of course the principle of enjoining one another is predicated on knowledge. One of the travesties of our time is that everyone wants to weigh in. And the nature of our media with which we communicate allows for everyone to chime in. Social media creates, it enables everyone to give their opinion. And particularly in our community, the Sunnah prescribes a type of hierarchy. The people of knowledge are above. In this world they are positioned above the people of ignorance. The people of piety are positioned above. Allah SWT has granted certain people hierarchy. And that's clear in the Sunnah. But we're in an age of leveling. Everyone is leveled to the same playing field. And so those in our community that sacrificed the most and gave everything to learn this tradition and exerted themselves more than others to learn wisdom in general are just leveled with everyone else. And then they are the object of censorship and blame and rebuke for issues that at worst are great. The issues which our times call for ijtihad and we have to allow each other to make mistakes. But in any case this is a travesty of our community. It's one of the symptoms of the disease of ignorance. And as a community we have to be careful because if we treat our elders, elders in knowledge and wisdom if we treat them, if we level them and then treat them in a way of disrespect that's in our tradition called kufran and ni'mah. It's ingratitude to Allah for the blessing of such people. And the punishment in this life for ingratitude of a blessing is Allah SWT takes those blessings away. Just recently a dear colleague of mine and a teacher of mine albeit for a short period Mufti Umar Ismail in Austin just passed away at the age of 45. It's still a shock but Allah SWT the hadith at the end of time that Allah will lift knowledge and it's not by taking it out of the breasts of human beings, the chests of human beings but rather it's by the death of our scholars. And when that happens the people will take juhal, ignorant people as their ru'asa, as their leaders, as their guides. And the fact that people are willing to take individuals as leaders means that they have a certain amount of charisma, they have a certain amount of currency, they're able to articulate themselves in a way that gives the impression of knowledge and wisdom although they won't have any knowledge of wisdom and wisdom. The Prophet said they're juhal. And then what did he say? So those leaders will be misguided and then they will misguide the community. What happens when we tear apart, we're in an age of deconstruction. Postmodernism is all about deconstruction. If we deconstruct our hierarchies of knowledge and wisdom of how to take this tradition, of how to learn this tradition, what's going to happen in the next generation, in the next two generations? In generations that all they know is social media. And the people of knowledge and wisdom will receive it even more and more. They won't want a part of the charade, the façade, the façade in English, the façade in Arabic. But in any case, Allah's mercy is ever present. And we have to remind ourselves of the means by which we learn our religion. It is through the heirs of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam. And there are mechanisms for nasiha. We're not denying that, but not everyone can give it. Those eligible for nasiha are the ones that give the nasiha. And as a community, we need to reinstate these principles if we want to have sustainable communities and that not lose the mechanisms to pass on knowledge to our children and grandchildren. But Muharram is a beautiful reminder of the mercy of Allah being ever present. And my mercy encompasses every single thing. Even the situations in our lives that cause us to weep, Allah's mercy is still there. And Muharram is a time of deliverance. Allah swt in the authentic hadith that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam arrived in Medina, found the Jews fasting on Ashura on the 10th of Muharram, which is this coming Tuesday. And he said, why are you fasting? And they said, this is the day that Allah delivered Musa and the Bani Israel from Firaun and drowned the followers of Pharaoh. And so Musa alayhi sallam fasted this day out of shukr, shukran illa out of gratitude. And the Prophet said, sallallahu alayhi sallam, we have more right to this. Okay, Maqan sallallahu alayhi sallam. And this became a sunnah. And so it's a sunnah to fast on Ashura as an expression of gratitude. The year before the best of creation passed away, peace and blessings be upon him, he stated that his intention was to add to it another day. And so it's recommended for those that are able to, they able-bodied to fast on the 9th and 10th, this coming Monday, Tuesday, or the 10th and 11th, Tuesday, Wednesday. And that Muharram is a day that the voluntary fast is most beloved to Allah swt. It's a month, excuse me, in which the voluntary and all good deeds. Ibn Rajab relates in the Ta'if al-Mu'arif that in this month, on the day of Ashura, fasting and charity, according to this effort of the great companion, Abdullah ibn Amir ibn An-Nas, he said that the fasting on Ashura is like fasting an entire year and giving charity on Ashura is like giving charity for an entire year. And so whatever avenues of good we're able to do, we should embrace those. In this month in general, and in particular on the day of Ashura, as what? As a reflection of gratitude to Allah. Shukr in Allah, so we can hold on to these blessings. And as a way of reorienting ourselves to Allah, so that we can receive more of his sublime mercy and generosity. This is Shahrullah, the month of Allah swt. And that of the most salient principles in terms of turning back to Allah swt. In other words, what should inform whatever good deeds we're able to do on the Ashura or in general and Muharram, what should inform internally all of that is Tawbah to Allah swt to turn back to him. We are, all of us, each of us is in dire need of Tawbah. And this is based on the verse of the Quran, the text of the Quran itself Allah swt has revealed And return back to Allah, return back to the Divine in repentance. O believers, without exception, so that happily you might flourish. And in our Tafsir tradition, when Allah says, it's going to happen. And so the flourishing of the human being is predicated on Tawbah. This is a time of Tawbah, this is a month of Tawbah. The day of Ashura is a day of Tawbah. In the Hadith of Tirmidhi, Allah swt, the Prophet informed the Salah that Allah swt on the day of Ashura forgave an entire community, an entire ummah on that day. As an ummah, we need to make Tawbah. And individually we need to make Tawbah. But that's a day that Allah forgave an entire ummah and that Allah swt relents to people with repentance on that day. Repentance is the most sacred gift that we have to turn back to Allah. When a person becomes Muslim, that's the most important repentance in the world. And every believer, every believer must be in a constant state of Tawbah to Allah swt. The Prophet said, There is a haziness that dawns over my heart. And verily I seek the forgiveness of Allah swt 100 times a day. That's the best creation. A man who never committed an act of disobedience. A man who never did anything makroo, displeasing, disliked to Allah swt unless in the context of teaching the ummah that it's not haram for which reason he was rewarded for it. A man who never committed a major or minor sin before or after his blessed prophethood. A man who was divinely protected from doing anything displeasing to Allah swt which is why the ghayn, this haziness over his blessed heart. He was not a ghayn of distraction from Allah but as our scholars teach us it was a ghayn, a haziness of deeper remembrance of Allah swt. Something that we can't comprehend and because the ummah would not be able to comprehend the intensity of the illumination of that haziness over the blessed heart of the prophet. He saw forgiveness from Allah because Istighfar comes from the root word, because he sought to be veiled such that the ummah could still benefit from him recognizing his role of nubuwa, rather than his private wallaya with Allah swt the light of which would blind us, the spiritual light of which would blind us. So he sought forgiveness but our forgiveness is very different. We need to seek forgiveness for the darknesses. We need to seek forgiveness for not paying attention to Allah swt. We need to seek forgiveness for all the slips and the faults and the mistakes that we need to have introspection for. And connecting it back to this travesty of our times where the righteous scholars are leveled with everyone else and people who have no knowledge are ready to snap judgment at them and write long rants online about them and then do our long podcasts about them that where is the introspection? How many faults do we have? How many burdens do we have each of us on our own shoulders to busy us and preoccupy us from prejudiced circumstances that we don't understand? It's an absurdity. It's actually laughable. It's actually laughable. It's something to weep over and something to laugh at at the same time. This is the irony of the human condition. If a person is overwhelmed with their sense of their own shortcomings and faults they don't have the time or energy to get online and give their little rants. SubhanAllah. It's like the Salaf used to write down their own sins. That was their media post. Between them and the angels. Between them and their Lord. They used to write down their sins and make toba for each one. And the Oliya of Allah swt. Why are they Oliya? Why are they people that Allah swt. defends And who defends Allah makes him an exit. And he gives him from where he doesn't need to. Whoever shows animosity to a saint of mine I declare war against them in the hadith khudsi Allah says Defending is Oliya. That whoever has right taqwa of Allah swt. Allah gives them a way out and provides for them from whence they would never have realized. Why? Because they are overwhelmed with their sense. Their introspection is real and genuine and authentic. They are called the siddiqeen, the people of authenticity. The people who are most genuine and authentic for the sake of Allah swt. Their toba is real. They turn back to Allah swt. With a real heart. Living heart. La alakum tuflihoon. Flourishing hearts. That don't have the time for nonsense. Abu al-Hassan al-Sha'd Ali said Ahsan al-Hussun. The best fortress you could ever have. The best protection you could ever have. Ma akhbaraka bihi minal istilfar is what he, capital H, has informed you of. Of personal repentance and asking Allah for forgiveness. Personally. Wa haqiqatuhu anna yukuna li ghayrillahi qarar and the reality of istilfar is that the person has no repose, no true security and comfort except in the presence of Allah. That's a tall order. We all have a lot of work to do. Much more work than would allow us to engage in folly of no benefit, let alone harm. Out of pure ignorance. And then he cites the verse. See, the Abu al-Hassan cites the verse of the Quran. Wa ma akhbaraka bihi minal istilfar What's his proof? Kitab in Sunnah. All of our righteous Imams were following the way ascribed to the Salaf before any modernist movement. Kitab in Sunnah. Wa ma akhbaraka bihi minal istilfar What's his proof that istilfar is the best fortress in the world? Wa ma akhbaraka bihi minal istilfar Wa ma akhbaraka bihi minal istilfar And Allah was not going to punish them while they were seeking forgiveness. And Allah was not going to punish them while they were seeking forgiveness. How can a community hope for this protection, this sacred sublime protection revealed in the Book of Allah if they're too preoccupied with the faults of not just other people, but the best of their community that distracts them from their own introspection. And then it just becomes lip service. I recently heard some, I shouldn't have listened to it, where the person just, it was like a disclaimer. You know, we should be concerned with our own faults first. But anyways, let's get down to it. The people of Allah swt, they don't have that like a disclaimer. No, if they're going to do an hour long rant, it's going to be about their own state with Allah swt. And then du'a. And then just making du'a. If there's something vague about people in our community, leaders, scholars in our community that we don't understand, then pray for them. Put that effort in prayer. Not in folly and foolishness. We ask Allah swt to guide us. We ask Allah swt to make us people who embrace the mercy of Muharram of Ashura. We ask Allah swt to forgive us of our shortcomings and our faults and our sins. I pray for prayers. This is a time of gratitude. This is a time of hope. This is a time of optimism. Ashura and Muharram are profound reminders of who is in charge. One of the most important things to go back to to in our istighfar, in our toba is the state of the heart in recognizing reality. Who is in charge? There will be bitter times in this world. There will be difficulties in this world. There will be suffering in this world. There is evil and oppression in this world. But none of that negates reality that Allah ta'ala is the only one in charge. Allah ta'ala is never absent from his creation. Allah swt is never unaware of his creation. Allah ta'ala is never not paying attention to his creation. Ta'ala Allah. Ta'ala Allah. Allah swt is the eternal. The maintainer, the self-sufficient, maintainer of every single particular circumstance, movement and stillness in the entire cosmos, in the heavens and earth. Nothing happens except it's from the will of Allah swt. Even the most difficult ayaam. In every day, in every moment, Allah ta'ala is directly engaged in an affair. The affairs of our lives, the affairs of our communities, the affairs, the circumstances of people in power and people without power. People who are oppressed and people who are oppressed. None of that is outside of the scope of the mashia, the will of Allah swt, the omnipotent power of Allah swt. Allah knows all of it. Allah ta'ala has willed all of it. Allah ta'ala creates all of it. Say Allah is the creator of every single thing. And he is the one, the all dominant. And he remains all dominant even when people disobey him. Even when oppressors oppress the disenfranchised. Allah ta'ala still is the one, the all dominant. Allah swt, Allah says to the Divine will does every single thing rely on. And the mashia that the will of Allah relies on nothing. He swt, Allah says The Prophet said, the most truthful statement a poet ever uttered was the statement of Labid, barely everything besides Allah is bottom, fake, counterfeit, unreal. Why? Because who is the only real? And if we can't understand it, we will on the day of judgment, it's as simple as that. The Akhira, that's the time of levelling, that's the time where everything is made even, not levelling, but the time where every debt is paid off, Yom ad-Din min ad-Dayn, related to Deen, it's the day where the debts fall due. No one gets away with anything, on the Qiyamah, on the day of judgment, resurrection, Allah Ta'ala rectifies everything, even the animal, they're not even accountable, the one that harmed the other animal, they get to harm them back and then they're, that's the Qiyamah. So the context of everything, the good and the evil, the sweet and the bitter, Yom al-Qiyamah. And so Shahrullah is a reminder of who, Allah, and this is the way our hearts flourish. As the Prophet said, the example of the one that makes remembrance of Allah, compared to the one that forgets Allah is like the example of the living versus the dead. So if we don't make remembrance of Allah and then we get into existential crises trying to understand the world, we're like corpses, spiritual corpses, we have to allow life to enter the heart through what, through remembrance of Allah in the heart, in the mind. And then that recognition of the divine, that knowledge of Allah is the elixir, it is the healing for the soul and it allows us to see things as they are. Allahumma, ar-renan, haqqa, haqqa. Wa ru-zukna tiba'ahu wa ar-renan batila batila wa ru-zukna tshteenabahu. Allahumma ar-renan asha kamahi. Allahumma inna nasaruka tawfuq wa l-i-khlas wa dawaaman ni'ama wa chussan khitam. Allahumma faraj'ana wa'an il muslimin f makeul nima kaan. Allahumma inna nasaruka tamam al-aafya. Allahumma inna nasaruka duwaam al-aafya. Allahumma inna nasaruka shukrul lalawafya. Allahumma inna nasaruka l-zina'an il-nas. Allahumma salli wa sallim wa baraka ala siddina Muhammad al-Nabi al-Ummi wa ala alihi wa sahb yusallim wa hamdulillahi rabbil alamin wa aqim al-salah.