 As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. So insha'Allah what I kind of want to talk about today when we're talking about you know the purpose or finding our purpose is really bringing it back to the greatest question in existence which is why do we need Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Why do we need Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? You know a lot of times we look at we look at being muslim or the rules or the commandments of Islam just kind of like something that's like a to-do list. No my parents tell me that this is what I need to do. There are things that are good and right and then there are things that are wrong and harmful but at a deeper level before we even appreciate and understand why those things are important the first question we ask ourselves is why is our relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so important? And why is it that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created us as human beings and that the human being is unique? So I'm going to tell you all of a memory that each and every one of us have and I want to ask you if you remember this memory or not. The memory is there but I want to ask if you remember it or not. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala before any of us came into this world Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when he created our father Adam alayhi salam he took out all of the souls of all of his progeny all of his descendants all of humanity and the souls of every single human being stood before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and Allah asked a very significant question that really defines our existence where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said am I not your Lord? So I want us all to close our eyes for a moment and really think deeply within ourselves that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala before I came into this world every single human being was brought before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and heard this divine address you me and everyone else on the face of the earth was spoken to directly from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Am I not your Lord? It's kind of a rhetorical question which means I'm definitely your Lord do you recognize that and every single human being said bella shahidna indeed you are and we bear witness to that so I want to ask you all a question does anyone remember that being asked that okay I don't see anyone's hands up why is it that we don't really remember it the way we remember other things does anyone know why any guesses does anyone take a guess is that okay because it happened in a different life good and there was another hand okay any other thoughts the memories that we have in this world are memories that are stored in our brain they're experiences from this world that's not where this memory exists it doesn't exist in the place where you have memories of things from this world and this life so where is it I heard someone say something your soul exactly stored inside of your soul and your soul is the essence of who you are so people come into this world and you find many many many many people who are really looking for meaning and they're looking for purpose and they're looking for happiness and fulfillment but one of the beautiful things is that whenever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala prophets and messengers he sent them so that people could believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and actually fulfill the purpose for which they were created so that's what we're talking about today is that the purpose of your existence your purpose in life is your connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala realizing abu divya realizing servitude realizing really having a strong and living connection with the one who created you subhanahu wa ta'ala and everything else that we do of the five daily prayers of the sunnas of doing the things that are pleasing to Allah and avoiding those things that are haram of the way that we eat the way that we dress the way that we live our lives all of those things stem from this first ultimate reality when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created us so that when we come into this world we're able to reconnect with that memory and fulfill the promise that we made with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does that make sense does anyone have any questions so far is everybody with me all right so but we have a difficulty there is a problem and a challenge okay is that when people come into this world a lot of times they try to find that purpose and meaning in worldly things Sayyidina Imam Al-Shafiri, the great Imam Al-Shafiri said You are through your soul not your body a human being but when we come into this world Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he created our body from worldly materials from the earth so part of us our physical construction is worldly but then our soul is from the heavenly realm so the human being combines these two kind of heavenly inclinations but then also the nefsi worldly desires and inclinations as well and much of our religious experience is really trying to give the preference to our spiritual aspirations and our heavenly inclinations but a lot of people in the world don't do that a lot of people really get caught up in the things of the world so you find people when they come into this world they think that the purpose of their lives and that their happiness is in what is in fulfilling their desires that come from their nefs and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he did create us with those desires so there is something that we have to do with those things but the prophets and messengers alayhim assalam they gave us guidance on how to direct those desires in ways that are pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and then the amazing thing is that when you look at people of the world and you see how much effort they put into fulfilling their desires whether that's fame whether that's money whether that is being seen as beautiful or desirable whether that's seen as all of having cars and big houses and all of these various things that really stem from the nefs let me ask you all a question how many of those people really seem fulfilled i'm asking you all a serious question what do you all think when you look at famous and wealthy people who have all of these things of the world how many of them seem really at peace really that's your arm you honestly feel that way i mean i agree that's my assessment as well and then on top of that you see despite the fact that they have everything that so many other people this like point zero zero one percent of people in the world who have everything that everyone else wishes they had but still they seem depressed they don't seem fulfilled and in many cases they even take their own lives or they're just really addicted to different kinds of substances that just make them forget about whatever pain or emptiness they're experiencing but then ironically only take them deeper into that that dark pit of emptiness so so if we look at that and we take you know we learn from that their example of okay all of those people they're on tv all of the time they have the nicest cars the nicest clothes the millions and millions of people follow them all of that stuff they still have broken relationships they still seem to be very fragile people even psychologically you see that they often go through breakdowns or even the media will kind of flip on them one day their their love the next day that they're ridiculed and mocked so you realize but even those people they're searching for meaning and many other people are searching for meaning but they're looking for it in the wrong places so if i think let's say for example i'm thirsty and i'm drinking salt water and she's like it looks like water right it you know it's to say it is water it's a different kind of water but salt water will never quench your thirst that's like the dunya it's like i'm looking for meaning i'm looking for fulfillment i there's this really deep existential need within me for something bigger than just the the little things that are currently available to me so people just keep on drinking salt water but they just get thirstier and thirstier and thirstier until eventually they die what we realize and this is why i really want to go through this with you is that the purpose of our life is filling ourselves with that connection to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is that true honor true happiness true fulfillment comes in your connection to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala right so that's kind of what we're going to focus on now la ilaha illallah so we talked about that covenant that we took with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that exists within us at a deep spiritual level it exists within our spiritual memory and that really sets us up in this world for seeking this meaning in our lives that sets us up in our lives to really search for something bigger and that's why a lot of people say like what's the meaning of life what's the purpose of my existence is it just to make a lot of money to have a lot of power to have a lot of wealth and material things and then die and then even some people went so far like the pharaoh to actually be buried with their material things as if those material things can follow them into the hereafter they don't but what is it that comes with you what is it that actually defines your existence in this life and then for eternity it is that you fill up your heart with the light of iman is that you seek honor in the ways that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has made honorable the more you connect to the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam the more honorable you become the more that you understand your purpose in life your responsibility that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has placed on your shoulders the more benefit the more capable you are of leaving the world better than how you found it of contributing something that's actually worthwhile and meaningful but there are so many things that are kind of like illusions that make us think that this is going to make me happy this is going to make me beloved to people this is going to make me feel fulfilled how many of you bought wanted to buy something whether it was like a game or an item of clothing or something that you wanted so bad and then when you got it soon after you get it you feel like it diminishes in your in your eyes how many people felt that way before i remember i'll tell you a really funny story there was a really nice shirt that i wanted to get and i remember getting it and my cousin also got it we both had it and when i saw him wearing i said man why does that shirt look better on him than it does on me mm that's because the nefs that's how the nefs works and then the more that you're able to realize my value my word my happiness is not in that thing what is this going to do this is going to make me happy clothing the way that i look even that's like i make you happy because it doesn't really access and tap in to the purpose for which you were creative and a lot of people in this world and one of the reasons why this is important to highlight is because there are so many people in the world who uh captivate others they capture people's attention people look up to them oh did you see what they did whether they're athletes or singers or actors and actors whatever it may be people are really captivated by the details of their lives and then you might start to realize well maybe they have something that i need and it works at a very subconscious level like most people don't think about those things like oh you have something i need but then deep down inside it's like oh if only i could be like that person if only i had what they have and some things would really be different my life would really be different but what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given you is even greater than that and it's much closer so as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran what we just talked about وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبْكَ مِنْ بَنِ اَدَمَ مِنْ ضُهُورِهِمْ ذُرْيَتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ Prophet remember when your lord took the offspring from the loins of the children of Adam and made them bear witness about themselves this happened to all of us and Allah said am I not your lord قَالُوا بَلَا شَهِدْنَا they said yes we bear witness to that أنتَ قُلُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إنَّكُنَّ عَنْهَذَ غَافِلِينَ so you cannot say on the day of resurrection we were not aware of this deep down inside people are aware of this but then with the dunya and with giving in to the desires of the nefs it starts to really cloud that memory and veil that memory and it becomes like a mirror that you can't see clearly through because it has rust and it has grind covering it so you can't see anything reflected in it but when you connect to the prophets and messengers why do we pray i'm asking you that question why do we pray what what's the end goal of of salat what's the ultimate outcome of the salat why is it so important yes to get closer to Allah subhanu wa ta'ala yes to talk directly to Allah subhanu wa ta'ala anyone else yes to feel a deeper connection with Allah to feel a deeper connection with Allah subhanu wa ta'ala excellent all of those answers are correct but oftentimes if we look at the salat like i'm in the middle of something and it's time to pray it's almost like i'm just gonna do it to get it out of the way the salat opens up a door between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that even the angels in the heavenly realm they get a portion of that they don't even necessarily have that whole full opportunity or the same potential that's given to us in the salat so when we look at it and we realize that this salat actually helps me attain the purpose for which i was created it goes from being something that's just a chore to something that's actually an opportunity and something that becomes very beloved and special but it all goes back to understanding what these things really are am i just praying because i don't want to go to hell or am i praying because i realized that i'm speaking directly to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala i am deepening my connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala i'm fulfilling the purpose for which i was created and Allah increases me in honor increases me in blessing makes me more beloved to his angels makes me more worthy of amazing spiritual gifts that nothing in the world could ever equal that's what the salat really is right so it goes back to understanding our true purpose in life and imam ibn al-qayyim one of the scholars in islamic history he said there is a sadness in the heart that can only be removed when you have when you have this close connection to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala there's a sadness in the heart that can only be removed that can only be filled a hole in your heart that can only be filled with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that's why you see so many people they're looking for meaning and actually one of the other things that's that's worth mentioning and supplies to both men and women is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he created us as human beings to be hardwired to love that's why you see you know so uh so many people are focused on love and unfortunately in today's world in society they've made love very superficial it's not even love they just they they present love in a way that's really just something that's very almost like an animal desire that's not love but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he created within the human being this love of love to be hardwired to love why because the greatest spiritual virtue the greatest thing that you can possibly acquire is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's love and you know a lot of us one of the one of the deepest human needs is to be love which is why you know the family unit our relationship with our parents our relationship with our children right is so important because it's a very essential human need to be love and then what happens to a lot of people is that as they go on in life they continue to seek that but sometimes and especially in kind of popular culture we're we're we're encouraged to find that in ways that have nothing to do with real love and people when they do that they continue to feel emptier and emptier which makes them wonder you know am i really doing it right but then think about it let's take a small step back imagine if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the creator of the heavens and the earth the all mighty the all powerful the most gentle the most merciful the most generous subhanahu wa ta'ala Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala there is nothing like him his creation has no similarity to him subhanahu wa ta'ala he is far infinitely above them in his perfection in his beauty in his majesty in his power subhanahu wa ta'ala now think of all of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's grandeur and his majesty and realize that he has given us little human beings flawed human beings the opportunity to become beloved to him if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grants you his love you don't need anything else in existence all the money in the world is worthless in your eyes all of the fame and the applause that people might give you means nothing if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grants you his love i'll tell you an amazing story there was one of the Sahaba his name was Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Hudatha Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Hudatha radi allahu anhu allahu he's not very well known because he was younger Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Hudatha radi allahu anhu he was sent by Sayyidina Amr ibn al-Khattab to a Christian king to teach him about Islam so as he goes there they're kind of taken prisoner him and a group of Muslims and the Christian king says listen i'll give you whatever you want i'll give you half of my kingdom and i'll marry you to my daughter you will be my heir you will inherit from me if you leave Islam so then Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Hudatha radi allahu anhu ibn salam allah barakatuh Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Hudatha radi allahu anhu he says absolutely not absolutely not i would even if you asked me to leave Islam for just a moment and you would give me your entire kingdom i would not leave Islam so then this king starts to starve him and he says don't give him any food except alcohol wine and pork and see if he buckles under the pressure so they're bringing him food they're bringing him things to drink but they're all haram so Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Hudatha he refuses all of their food then finally the king threatens to take his life to execute him and then he starts to cry so the king goes oh now we got him starting to break now maybe his his commitment to Islam maybe we can now break him so he says why are you crying he said you know when i realized that i can only die one time i wished that i had a hundred souls and i could sacrifice all of them for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that's what made me cry now i want us all to pause for a second what kind of person can do that you know what i mean what kind like what what was the state of Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Hudatha's heart to be able to go through that and to without even the slightest shadow of a doubt commit himself at that level it's not something that is just a choice that you make in your mind his heart and soul tasted the sweetness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's love he had become someone who because of realizing and experiencing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's love nothing in existence could shake him isn't that powerful isn't that miraculous i'll teach you all a hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam and this shows us once again the purpose of our life and our potential you know when i was your age uh you know my older brother this is before the marvel cinematic universe there was just a marvel comic books so my brother used to collect the comic books and we used to love all of these superheroes you know people who were had these amazing powers and abilities and i think part of the reason why we tend to love those things is because it speaks to that deeper existential question of doesn't my life mean more than just the mundane things that we go through isn't there more meaning isn't there more potential so anyway when my brother uh taught me this hadith you know many years later it reminded me of you know these amazing kind of stories these journeys these epic stories of people overcoming the most insurmountable odds and having this amazing transformation and accomplishing the the the most amazing things the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam wants all to pay attention to this this is a very very very important hadith and it's not important because you're going to be tested on it it's important because when you learn it and you understand it it opens up your potential and it opens up opportunities in your life so the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam he said that Allah says Allah says to His creation whoever shows hostility to one of my does anyone know what the awliya are the awliya are the most righteous people yes the protecting friends they are people who are so beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that He takes care of them they are like the the elect among the the righteous servants of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so we call them awliya we call them salliheen righteous people in this hadith Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says any of my awliya any person who's a wali of mine and another person shows hostility to them Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says I declare war against that person yes that's intense that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says I love this servant so much that if another person shows hostility to them I declare war against that person then the hadith goes on to describe to us who are these awliya how does someone become one of these elect and beloved servants of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala how does that happen so then the hadith goes on and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says my servant draws closest to me with an act that is most beloved to me which are the obligatory actions so think about that your salah your fasting in Ramadan your zakat when you get to a point where you're able to pay the zakat all of these things these obligations the five pillars of Islam the things that Allah has made obligatory and mandatory and those things that are haram that we avoid those are the things most beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so when you fulfill those things you actually are putting yourself in a position where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala potentially will grant you his love so that's the most important thing are the obligations the hadith goes on and my servant continues to draw closer to me closer and closer and closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala it's not a physical closeness it's a closeness with your heart until I love him or I love her then what happens if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grants you his love what happens if I love him I become the hearing with which he hears and the sight with which he sees and his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks and if he asks me for something I will surely give it to him and if he seeks refuge in me I will certainly provide him my protection Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives each and every one of us that opportunity I remember when I first read this hadith I was like that this is if you Allah becomes the sight with which you see the hearing with which you hear the hand with which you strike and Allah protects you what greater honor is that what greater honor is there than that that's the potential that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has placed in every single human being that's the opportunity that every single human being has been given and it's available to age is not necessarily a factor that affects that if you look at many of the Sahaba people like Abdullah ibn al-Abbas and Sayyidina Anas ibn Malik and Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Masood if you look at many of the companions they attain the highest levels of righteousness when they were still very young so it's not something that is limited by by age so this goes back to why do we need Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because our connection to Allah jalla jalal fulfilling the purpose for which we were created all of that answers that deep existential all of that goes back to that memory that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala imprinted upon our soul and that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created us to honor us and he created us in order to give us so when we come back to why am i Musa what's the purpose of my life what is it that i want to accomplish and achieve in my life all of that connects back to this reality all of that connects back to this meaning which is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given me the opportunity to be beloved to him and that if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bestows his love upon you there is no greater sense of fulfillment there is no greater achievement there is no greater honor that can ever be compared there's another hadith of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam about when a person becomes beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that when Allah loves a servant so let's say a person continues to establish the sarawat and their obligations and their fara'ild and so forth and they continue to also voluntarily worship Allah and make dua and engage and they can do all of these things that are beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala once they come to that point where Allah grants them his love the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam tells us what happens that he calls out to jibreel alaihi salam when Allah loves a servant he calls to jibreel and he says oh jibreel I love such and such a person so you love them now just think about that first thing jibreel alaihi salam the greatest of all the angels when someone on this earth becomes beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala they might not even know it but jibreel alaihi salam loves them and knows their name and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has mentioned their name you know if you're on social media of someone that you really admire tags you or mentions you it's like such an honor they mention me like it's amazing how these words they're actually the same words that we have in a hadith and there's a much deeper meaning spiritually but it's the same word that someone mentions you or tags you or whatever it may be oh this person remembers me they thought about me they put my name they mentioned my name and that's just a created being all of those people no matter who they are if they are if they're beloved to Allah then it's good that you love but if they're just like a regular person that and in some cases someone who might not even really be that virtuous or noble it's not that big of a deal that person breathes the same air they go to sleep at night they're just a regular human being that somehow got some fame and people took that to mean something but what if Allah jalla Jalal mentions you what then and then he mentions your name to jibreel alaihi salam the hadith goes on and the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wa sallam he said then jibreel alaihi salam he goes to the inhabitants of the heavens of the heavenly realm and he calls out to the people in the heavenly realm ya ahla al samaa inna allaha yuhibbu fulana nibnu fulanin fa ahibbu Allah loves so and so the son or the daughter of so and so so you all love them so then the people the inhabitants of the heavens love that person then that person has a degree of acceptance on the earth and that has you know a meaning that that is deep as well so it goes back to these this original concept of the purpose of our life is to rediscover the wisdom for which we were created and alhamdulillah you know you all are here we're all muslim we're already connected to the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wa sahbihi wa sallam we already know about Islam there are so many people like you know sheikh Yahya who's teaching the the adult the adults there are so many people who had to go through the darkness of kufr in order to find Islam and then they really appreciated it but Allah has already given it to us without any prior difficulty or effort on our part so when we understand and rediscover the wisdom for which we were created then the next thing is that we have to fulfill that and when we fulfill that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala fills your heart and soul with fulfillment with contentment with purpose with benefit with blessings with knowledge and then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala continues to raise you and elevate you and make you beloved even in the the heavenly realm and many of the sahaba they would see angels and speak with angels all of these amazing experiences but it all goes back to that original interaction where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala addressed us so i'm going to leave it there inshallah and open it up to hear from you all any thoughts or any questions that any of you have are ignorant and you haven't heard of like a lost message and you go to Yom al-Kiyam and then you go automatically go to Hellfire even if you like to go to kufr but then inshallah that's a very good question did everyone hear the question okay so the question was about people who might not have ever heard about Islam or have never heard about the prophets and messengers and then they died on the day of resurrection they won't be automatically punished because they never had an opportunity but how do we make sense of that and the verse where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that they all bear witness that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is their lord so when we bear witness to that we're accountable we're accountable when we hear the message of the prophets so what happens is when the prophets and messengers come and they inform us about something that our fitrah our natural state already senses you know you are created for a purpose that you have a creator and that you the way that you live in this world you will stand before Allah and He will judge you all of that goes back to this the memory that's imprinted in our fitrah in our souls so when the prophets and messengers come it's like they reignite they rekindle that memory but if a person never had that opportunity Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is just he does not hold them accountable without having the opportunity all right so and then the people who do hear about it then they they don't have an excuse because it already speaks to a deep reality within themselves yes so earlier we were talking about how people who you know are really rich and you can ask yourself oftentimes you're not really happy and then we talked about how it's done is like if you follow correctly all these they can make you and give you true happiness what about people who are just like ordinary people who say you know I account happiness in my religion or I account happiness in my yeah that's also a really good question thank you so let me just take one small step back so even when we were talking about you know people who are very wealthy and have all of these worldly things that it doesn't fulfill them so I just want to make a small differentiation between happiness and a sense of peace and fulfillment just I think that that's an important distinction because sometimes people who are experiencing difficulties but they're patient they might not necessarily be happy in that moment but they might have a sense of peace and fulfillment in their e-mail so back to your question about people who might find happiness or a sense of happiness in their in their hobbies in their skills or even in their in their work and their religion a lot of times the goal is not necessarily just to be happy right the goal is to have this complete and full alignment with what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants from us and the purpose for which we were created right so there is a strong possibility that people can find a great sense of fulfillment in other things right but it's not the deepest sense of fulfillment it's not really speaking to this existential question that burns inside of many people right so it's not that it can you know know it's either complete fulfillment or no fulfillment whatsoever but we're talking about going to the deepest levels of why we're we were created and there are many things that you know intelligent human beings have come up with thoughtful people whether it is you know being in touch with nature whether it is removing things that are unnecessary in our lives so that we don't have this you know stress and strength all of those things are you know useful but then getting even deeper than them the purpose for which we were created and really that can only be answered by the prophets and messengers and access at a spiritual level does that answer your question yes what happened abdulllah abdulllah abdulllah abdulllah abdulllah abdulllah abdulllah abdulllah close to hudayfah mashallah so then i'm so glad you asked that because i forgot to finish the story so when he cried and he said i i wish i had a hundred souls that i could give for a lost printer then the king was like this guy is not going to break like how do you break someone who continuously outdoes your schemes like it's just so far beyond your uh your level that you're used to so then the king says listen if you kiss my forehead which is you know a an act of respect if you kiss my forehead i'll let you go free and he said no i'm not going to kiss your forehead because you're you're you're trying to humiliate the people of islam and i'm not going to give into that like i'd rather you just take my life he said i'm going to kill you then he said kill me he said okay if you kiss my forehead i'll let you and the 300 other muslims that we captured go he said you'll let the other 300 go as well he said yes so then i'll kiss your forehead and humiliate myself for the safety of 300 other people so then he kissed the king's forehead and he let them go and when they returned to medina saydna umrah abdel khatab radi allahu anhu and he said every muslim should kiss the forehead of abdulllah abdulllah abdulllah and i'll be the first to start and he was the caliph and he went to saydna abdulllah abdulllah and he kissed his forehead to honor and respect him for the sacrifice that he made for to save the lives of others inshallah thanks for asking that any other questions or even reflections or comments i'd love to hear from you all i don't really believe in just you know giving you all a lecture and telling you all things that you might have already heard before i don't really want to hear from you on what your thoughts and feelings are yes inshallah that's also a very good question and it's important for us when we come to these kinds of questions especially because we live in a diverse society is that we're not we're not putting down other people but it's really important that we understand the significance of the truth especially truth with a capital T that relates to to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the case of let's say catholics or even people of other faiths who are very devout and are seeking to fulfill their love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so someone who's in touch with their filth someone who looks at nature someone who sees the signs of God they actually very easily can fall in love with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for all the blessings that we have and what this indicates of Allah's beauty and majesty and perfection but what's even more important than our love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is receiving his love so Allah says in the Quran say oh prophet tell the people say to them if you love Allah say if you love Allah then follow me and Allah will love you and forgive you your sins so there are a lot of people who naturally are seeking I love God I really want to dedicate my life to God and what's even more significant is receiving Allah subhanahu love in return but the way to do that is through following the truth with a capital T that the messenger of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala came so those people people who generally have faith Allah has already put them in a special category of ahli al-kitab and there's a certain consideration and respect that is given to them on that basis on the day of resurrection Imam al-Ghazali he has a really beautiful breakdown of the three different categories of people who are not muslim there are three categories Imam al-Ghazali doesn't say that all non-muslims are entirely the same okay so he says the first category is like what we just mentioned not too long ago someone who grew up in a place where they never heard about Islam they never heard about the prophet Muhammad ﷺ they never learned about the Quran so obviously they never became muslim so Imam al-Ghazali says this person is not held accountable Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will not punish them or hold them accountable he's never had a chance to begin with the second category is someone who's not muslim is someone who did hear about Islam but what they heard was all of these very twisted lies about Islam that are not true and actually Imam al-Ghazali says that you know they kill people and this and that and the other and making up lies about the prophet Muhammad ﷺ and making it seem like something so evil Imam al-Ghazali says it's it would be impossible it'd be so far-fetched to assume that anyone who hears that negative description of Islam was oh that sounds beautiful I'd like to become muslim even this is far-fetched that you would be like something's wrong with you that attracted you all right so he says that category of people will also not be held accountable by Allah Imam al-Ghazali and many many people in the world today fall into that category they watch the news or they don't know anything really about Islam he says the third category of non-muslims are those who actually did hear about the message of Islam and it was conveyed to them in a way that was clear and they did have an opportunity and they chose not to follow says that category of people will be held accountable by Allah so you can apply that you can apply that to the different situations and at the end of the day you know Allah is the one who will ultimately judge and we leave that with him right but those three categories we can apply them to the different situations to get a sense of Allah's justice any other thoughts yes how we really want Allah to love us right to love like a higher level mashallah mashallah are those the two things yeah okay beautiful so on one level so the question is about that we want Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to love us does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala already love us uh on one level ulama scholars say that the act of creating the fact that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created us is an act of mercy and that uh universally believers non-believers Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through creating them has already shown them an act of mercy uh perhaps some might say an act of love as well right there's a difference between that and this higher level of love that is granted to those that fulfill Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commands that's like a much higher level Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran is the the light is light and darkness equal or someone who sees and someone who is willfully blind i.e. they're blind to the truth they cannot be equal right so this is definitely like you mentioned a higher level and a very special kind of love whereas what is shared in that act of mercy for all of creation is one thing but this is something above and beyond that there's a very good question as well let me ask you all a question what do you think is the most difficult obstacle to fulfilling this kind of purpose oh make it higher was that better what do you feel like is the biggest obstacle between you and achieving the purpose for which you were created yes mashaAllah so she said that you know one of the things that's challenging is just the environment that we're in and being surrounded by you know the majority of people who might not be Muslim and then if a person's working for example long hours they might miss the time for prayers and so forth so that's one challenge an obstacle thank you anyone else yes to fight against your desires and your nefs that's a big obstacle mashaAllah yes when people judge you and talk about you behind your back how many other people feel that way as well that that's a hard one that one's challenging are you well there was another hand was it you yeah i was just going to say like the dunya as a whole the dunya as a whole right that there are so many desires and the uh you know even the people that we you know see and interact with in the world and we have kind of influence on a lot of things that's also very challenging yes islamophobia right people who might have an antagonism against muslims or talk about us behind our backs yes maybe an inferiority complex right feeling like oh you know maybe because we're a minority i'm not surrounded in a society that is majority muslim that maybe what they have is is better than what we have and even in many muslim countries they look towards the west in that same way they think that you know western culture and society is just like somehow this utopia this heaven on earth yeah those are all really good answers anyone else yes myself myself mashaAllah the nefs the nefs is is the biggest veil scholars say that the nefs is the biggest veil all right that the nefs is even more challenging than 70 shayatling 70 devils and it's right there inside of us is you know you can't disassociate from your nefs mashaAllah anyone else okay so let's talk about some of those things okay if we recognize and realize that there are these obstacles whether it's islamophobia or people's judgment let's start with that okay okay beautiful then you know what we can do check this out let's take a 10 15 minute break okay we'll come back at 1150 so as soon as the adults are done we'll come back here 1150 and we'll break up into groups and we'll all talk about we'll break up maybe let's say into six groups three groups for the young men and three groups for the young women and we'll talk about these things and then you can kind of present solutions to overcoming those obstacles how does that sound okay so we'll take a quick break and come back and discuss those things together inshaAllah what we'll do now remember before we took a break we said that we were going to get into three groups three groups for the young men and three groups for the young women actually what we can do is just maybe in in the area here this first row you can all make a small circle the second row you can all kind of face each other and the young women who are seated on the cushions you all can make one group and group number one we want to discuss how do we overcome the obstacle of people saying things behind our back and people disliking Muslims how do we overcome that obstacle and group number two we can talk about how do we overcome the world and the fact that there are so many things in our environment that get between us and fulfilling our purpose and then group number three you can discuss how do we overcome the obstacle which is within our own selves our own nefs okay so we're going to take five minutes and then each of you can you'll have one representative who can speak on behalf of the group and we can do the same for the young men the the rows so you all the young men a few of you can come to the front here and we can make a group and you can discuss in that same order so the first one is how do we overcome the obstacle of people who say bad things about islam or talk about us behind our back or islamophobia the second row and the second group can talk about worldliness and how we overcome that obstacle and the third group you all can discuss how we overcome our own nufus right in order to accomplish and achieve our purpose in life so you all have to come together and start discussing bismillah we'll just spend five minutes doing that for back fighting what you should do is mainly just ignore it and turn it into something positive and pray for the person who's back fighting for you the back fighting about you inshaAllah and and can you translate the meaning of that uh i'm not sure but why that the the disbelievers would make fun of the disbelievers and they laugh at you now they would they would laugh at the believers right so that's something that even in the time of the companions and the prophets and messengers it was always there inshaAllah any other suggestions or that was primarily okay inshaAllah so let's just discuss that a little bit because there were some very good things mentioned there and one of the one of the beautiful things there was a practical element and then there was also another element is everyone with me another element related to understanding our relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and how superior that is to every other relationship and how our connection to islam and our connection to the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is the greatest honor is accepting the fact that everyone's going to like you and when you're comfortable with that reality and when you seek Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's love then you're actually empowered in a in an amazing way like Sayyidina Abdullah ibn hudafah or the alarm who just spoke about he wasn't interested in anything that that christian king had to offer him he wasn't interested in what anyone thought of him his only concern was his connection to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and seeking higher and higher levels with him so that's really beautiful and then also the practical element that was mentioned is making dua for those people and making sure that we are representatives of the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam so that this name can spread even to those who might say bad things about us today and then maybe you know in a short while a year or 10 years from now they might become muslim inshaAllah ta'ala beautiful thank you for that so now we'll go to we'll go to the young men in group number two and then the young woman so the group number two in this circle back here you all were covering how to overcome this obstacle of worldliness and the world and the desires of the world there's also i think people following online so we had two things okay so one was we thought of life as like a placement test uh for your position in the opera and then we also our thing was we don't know when we're gonna die we always hear about people dying we never think about what if that was us it's like are we ready to die and it's like not yet or no we aren't sure and it's like we should always be willing to let know what we have in this life and be ready to go to the next be wanting to go to that we also had a few more points one was that you have to remember that this life is transient it's not it's not permanent right like it's like a placement test it's not this is not where we want to really be successful and rich sure being successful in this life is great but that should always be with the goal of ending up in the alhira right and the second thing was you need to keep in mind that this world is not really permanent and you do that by surrounding yourself with the life-minding people so people who are good Muslims right can't just be a Muslim because you have Muslim friends who might not really be concerned about where you end up and if you have non-Muslim friends they should be friends who don't distract you from your goal of the alhira right so if you're at a movie theater with your non-Muslim friends and you need to pray month after month you should have the kind of friends that will say yeah go take five minutes and pray right we'll be waiting for you not the kind of friends who will say no just stay here with us it's fine you can stay prepared wonderful and if we go to the is that the end of group number two if someone can take the microphone to the sisters the young ladies who's gonna speak on behalf of the the second group of the young ladies who's going to speak on your behalf there we go thank you okay and how does being grateful for what you have helped you overcome the obstacles of the world and the desires of the world or what other what other suggestions or ideas that you all come up with okay anyone else is there anyone in the group who has a suggestion that that was mentioned okay we can go on to the third group you can pass it to the to the third group behind you and this was talking about how to overcome things stemming from the the nefs all right from our own selves how to overcome that obstacle that sometimes gets in the way of us fulfilling our purpose um thinking about kind of like learning about what you can do better and then also practicing that um and maybe big practicing you could read the code on and I don't know uh kind of surround yourselves with better people who do want to choose the same thing or are doing the same thing and by doing advice around yourself you kind of take some of the characteristics that they have and put it in yourself that's all did you want to add to that you okay okay any other any other uh suggestions or ideas from that group okay then we can pass it to the third group of young men if you can just pass them the microphone and then your representatives can speak about some of the ideas that you all have okay so um we just came up with um like make the right to help it not to help like avoid distractions of this and like distract yourself with like good things like liquor and prayer and try to humble yourself like don't be too distracted with this world then because nothing in this room will matter when you're dead except for your good deeds and your bad deeds inshallah inshallah beautiful beautiful yes when uh when the topic went on to uh how to deal with this world it reminds me of hadith i've heard about how uh our time in this world is similar to the archive of travel because mashallah he was saying that when we were uh when thinking about how temporary this world is the reminded him of a hadith of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam where he said that the life of this world the time that we spend in this world is like someone coming and sitting under the shade of a tree for a short while then continuing on their journey right so mashallah those were all excellent uh suggestions and ideas uh and one of the major things and this is really kind of you know how they there's uh pro tips when you're trying to really achieve something people who've accomplished it and people who have achieved those things they find ways of simplifying that for others and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala at the end of time for the last community of believers that would ever be on the face of the earth Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made things simple and straightforward and achievable for the umma of the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam the shortcut as uh you know we always hear that the the easy way to accomplish everything that we've talked about fulfilling your purpose in life attaining Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's love having the strength and the fortitude to overcome the criticism of people to overcome the desires of the world to overcome the trips the tricks of the nefs and the shaytan the way to achieve all of those things is to strengthen your connection with the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and you know when we send salawat upon the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam what happens spiritually is something really amazing and what happens is that your soul remember how we were talking about you know these memories of the soul and the capabilities of our soul and how when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves someone he gives them all of these openings of becoming the hearing with which they hear and the sight with which they see when you send salawat upon the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam when you learn about his life when you try to embody his beautiful character when you love him sallallahu alayhi wa sallam your soul is brought closer to his soul there's like a connection that takes place or you know how we have like bluetooth and wi-fi and you have these connections that can take place that are invisible but there's a connection like this microphone here is wireless but there's something here that connects it to the system that then makes it convey my voice when you send salawat upon the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam your soul becomes connected to him and when your soul becomes connected to him all the doors of goodness open up for you of fulfilling the purpose of your life of finding fulfillment of actually having a purpose and one of the greatest purposes that we have as Muslims you know we were talking a little bit about inferiority complex and people speaking of us in negative ways and things of that nature when you're connected to the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam your heart fills up with mercy such that you want good for everyone in creation and then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala there are people that he chooses who become people they they're like servants of the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and they become people who spread the lights of guidance to other human beings they become like the chosen people who the mercy of the prophet sallallahu alayhi is spread to people through them but all of that comes back to loving the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam sending salawat upon him so that your soul is then connected to his soul and then you know if you're connected to the wi-fi right you start to get all the information and you start to you're able to download things and you're able to receive from the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam those things that are pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you fulfill all of these other aspects that are noble of being a source of mercy and benefit for humanity of understanding your own purpose of having that sense of peace and serenity and fulfillment so that's one practical takeaway from today is that we all should have a portion of sending salawat upon the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and then another thing that we should commit ourselves to is always learning about his life always learning about the life of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam there are so many amazing wisdoms and lessons and every single thing that we go through in our lives every difficulty every challenge all the ups and downs all of that the answers to all of that are found in his life sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and whenever we look at his life we can see what he went through and we can apply it to what we're going through right now and then we also see his mercy sallallahu alayhi wa sallam how he wanted good for people how he was able to transform people's hearts and then that also inspires us to be sources of benefit and goodness for our friends and our neighbors and all the people that we meet and all the people in our lives and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he tells us that this is true life remember we were talking about the purpose of life and we talked about how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala spoke to each and every one of us and said to be rabbiko and that when we fulfill that we are brought closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala we actualize the meaning for which we were created the purpose of our existence Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in another verse of the Qur'an that do you see the one who was dead and we brought him back to life and that he had a light that was with him when he would walk among the people now when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this verse talks about the person who was dead and then brought back to life it wasn't someone who was physically dead and the ulama scholars they say that this verse was about Sayyidina Hamza or Sayyidina Amr ibn al-Khattab when Allah put iman in their heart when they connected to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and they were able to really access the purpose of their existence it's as if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brought them back to life that's true life that's truly living is when your heart is filled with iman and you're connected to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and then on top of that that person Allah gives them a noon he gives them a light that then emanates into the lives of other people that then benefits and brings blessings to the lives of other people so each and every one of us when we send salawat upon the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and when we learn about his life we benefit ourselves and we bring life to our own hearts and then we become sources of benefit for humanity and that is some of the most meaningful aspects of our lives realizing our own or obudiyah and servitude and benefiting creation and benefiting humanity Sayyidi, would you like to add anything? And he said we can bring you the microphone inshallah we're very fortunate to have amul tarif here inshallah and for those of you who are in the area you know this is a amul tarif is a great resource that that you all can benefit from inshallah you will benefit from any comments or questions before before we close for the day? Yes I was reading in a book that like the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam some had jins like inside or I don't know if I really understood it right but but they were good jins and like they advised good things is that something that's excuse exclusively available to the Prophet or is that all? Mashallah so the question so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he was sent with guidance and he was sent to all of humanity and also all of the jinn so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in the Quran that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam of a particular more than one but of a particular incident where he was teaching the jinn about Islam and reciting the Quran to them and they were discussing it and so forth so the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he he was also had access to the world of the unseen we don't see the jinn most people don't see those things but the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam they have access to that at the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he you know would would speak with the jinn and sit with them and so forth I don't know the the way that it's accessible to other people but for the most part that's something that is is relatively unique to the prophets and messengers but there are people as we said the awliya who might be able to have a certain what is called unveilings they see certain things from the unseen wallahu arna any other questions or or comments what's one thing that that you've taken away from today what's like a lesson that you all learn yes beautiful that you know all of the things that are on this earth they're going to fake they're not going to last the things that are really worldly but the only thing that really matters is your connection to Allah subhanahu wa sallam beautiful yes we learned about the purpose of life excellent anyone else yes so like only our connection to Allah matters what about everyone else mashaAllah that's a good question so we're going to get to you inshallah that your connection to Allah subhanahu wa sallam is all that matters what about your connection to anyone else there are when we say that your connection to Allah subhanahu wa sallam everything matters we need an absolute the most absolute sense now Allah subhanahu wa sallam has told us that other relationships and other connections are very important your relationship with your parents your relatives your neighbors that Allah subhanahu wa sallam is important is that these things are very important so those things are also important as well but ultimately at the end of the day the reason we wanted to emphasize that is because we start to be pulled in so many different directions and we assume that you know that what this person thinks of me or having fame and followers and having all of those things is really what matters but those things are not valuable in and of themselves but those relationships that Allah subhanahu wa sallam has told us to maintain and to honor they're also by extension very important and honorable you were going to say something mashaAllah can you share that with us you don't have to only if you want to okay thank you like good mashaAllah anyone else what's the takeaway that you're going to to go home with clear yes you have Allah you have everything mashaAllah you have Allah subhanahu wa sallam you have everything if you have Allah Allah subhanahu wa sallam will protect you Allah will honor you Allah will fulfill your needs you have everything like Imam ibn Allah sallam whoever has Allah what have they missed out on and whoever doesn't have Allah subhanahu wa sallam what have they truly gained and have all you can go to the you can be the smartest person in the world you can go to the the moon or you can go to Mars or you can go wherever but if you don't even know why Allah created those things or that there is a creator who created those things what good is all of that going to do nothing and then the person who does have Allah subhanahu wa sallam everything in this life and that you're after thank you yes i was just going to say that uh maybe i guess my takeaway point was is to try to find like a lot in the beauty of everything i don't see around me and like have a more deeper appreciation of like rather than oh this flower is so pretty like mashaAllah that Allah is giving me the eyes the ability to see color you know just mashaAllah beautiful is that uh being able whenever seeing any of the beauty that we see in creation is actually taking a little bit more time to appreciate that this is coming from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and even our ability to appreciate it is a gift from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala beautiful thank you yes mashaAllah beautiful that there is a void there's a whole in our hearts that can only be filled with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's love beautiful is that anyone else oh yes um one thing one thing that i learned today was that um establishing a deeper connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can give you a lot of benefits of this life and the hereafter now mashaAllah beautiful is that having a deeper connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala benefits us in this life before the hereafter right is that when we have Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's his blessings he provides for us he honors us he brings good things into our lives and wars of harm from us but that doesn't mean that everything is always going to be just happy and joyful sometimes there's also difficulties but even in those difficulties we witness that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is assisting us and supporting us and helping us through those things before even the hereafter and if you imagine other people who don't have Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala don't have that connection nothing makes sense nothing has meaning good things and bad things all of it ultimately amounts to nothingness and meaninglessness and that kind of mindset uh creates a very evil type of despair Allah tells us that the shaitan he wants people to to despair he wants people to always be in a state of panic and fear and one of the greatest ways to accomplish that is cutting them off from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala beautiful thank you anyone else yes sorry it's my question earlier like obeying your parents is one of the only the big the one door agenda no and so you know in your where's the microphone can we pass it for yeah so like i said obeying your parents one of the doors to heaven and you know about your spouse like you'll be in heaven with your spouse after you get uh god's love well any of those connections matter ah mashallah so that is a very good question as well once after a person receives Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's love will those other relationships matter the reality is they'll matter even more because the person at that point let's say for example a person has this very high degree of nearness to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and their heart is filled with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's love it doesn't mean that all other relationships are cut off but rather they honor those relationships even more because the more they love Allah the more they fulfill his commandments and they honor those things that are uh honored by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala imam al-Ghazali he says that when you love Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala anything that's connected to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is part of that love so the the the beloved of Allah like the prophet sallallahu wa alayhi wa sallam becomes more beloved to you the more you love Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the one who loves Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala becomes more beloved to you because the lover of your greatest beloved is beloved you love the Ka'ba the Qur'an the righteous people in the ummah you love all of those things you love the average muslim just for being part of the ummah of the prophet and a believer in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala even more so the more your love increases for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so it's not mutually exclusive but it actually influences and adds to your life any other questions or reflections oh yes i learned uh the proper way to think of Salaam not as a chore but like as a fulfillment of an obligation inshaAllah beautiful they're not looking at the Salaam as a chore you know one of the other things i wanted you all to take away is that when we have difficulties in life and one of the things that's natural is that life has its ups and downs when we have difficulties in life yes you can talk to someone about it you should talk to a loved one about it especially if it's something really challenging you need to talk to someone about something that you went through or the way that you're feeling that's a good thing but whenever we go through challenges we should also flee to the Salaam that we should find Salaam and uh turning to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and making dua to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala one of if not the greatest way that we approach our difficulties and problems is that when you turn in the Salaam Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala it's as if you're entering into his courtyard it's as if as one of the the young men said before that you're speaking directly to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala it's as if you have a direct line now if you if you wanted something done and you wanted to talk to someone powerful who could get it done it would take so much work just to get their number or just to have an audience with them yet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that door is wide open whenever we want and even in those times where maybe we're not in a place or a position to pray we can always make dua and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has left that door completely open for us right so we always turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala we realize that we're given this audience with the king of kings jalla jalla and that the Salaam has this beautiful opportunity and when we have a rough day or we have a difficulty that we don't know how to solve or we have any need we should go to the Salaam and we should ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to fulfill our needs and seek the fulfillment of everything from him subhanahu wa ta'ala along with the other means that are available to us but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the one who says anyone else any other final thoughts or reflections or questions or take away that you want to share from today okay inshaAllah we'll just end with the dua but before we end with that dua i want to thank you all really i came here from pennsylvania i don't know if you all know that and we're here just for the weekend and i appreciate the opportunity to sit with you all and to meet you all and to learn about you all and to hear your reflections and your questions and your thoughts and i pray i hope inshaAllah ta'ala that this was beneficial and that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blesses you all and your families but it's really really important that we talk about these things and you're able to really understand your connection to Allah and this deen and the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam at a deep level it's really really important you know we were at a time where it's not just that we're going to be muslim because our parents are muslim or people are telling us to do things we actually have to learn and have a deep understanding and work through you know the challenges that we face in our lives so that we can see the truth and the wisdom of what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us so i really appreciate this opportunity to kind of be with you all and i pray that it's beneficial and inshaAllah wa ta'ala oh we ask you almost merciful that you look upon each and every one of our hearts and that you fill our hearts with iman ya arham ar-rahimin we ask you ya Allah that you show us truth as truth and grant us the ability to follow it and we ask you ya Allah to show us falsehood as falsehood and that you grant us the ability to avoid it ya arham ar-rahimin we ask you ya Allah that you fill our hearts with light and you fill our hearts with iman and that you make us ya arham ar-rahimin young people who grow up and are cultivated and nurtured through obedience to you and our connection to the beloved Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sahbihi sallam we ask you ya Allah that you make each and every one of us a key that opens up the doors of goodness for all of creation and barriers against evil and harm and the things that are displeasing to you ya arham ar-rahimin we ask you ya Allah that you make each and every one of us beacons of light who reflect the light of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sahbihi sallam