 Salamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Before we begin, just a quick reminder or an announcement, my dear brothers and sisters, as we are in the spirit of Ashura and the values of Imam al-Hussain, alaihi salam. Let's make sure that when it comes to the parking in this area, that we are parking appropriately, don't block any driveways. This is a residential neighborhood, and in previous years there have been some issues. So let's please keep that in mind, and also let's maintain the cleanliness of the premises and also the neighborhood around us so that we truly demonstrate the values of Imam al-Hussain, alaihi salam. And also here in this blessed hall, let's make sure that we maintain it, that it's clean when we leave the hall, inshallah. Salamu ala Muhammadin wa ali Muhammadin. I begin in the name of the Almighty God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. The One who has created everything in utmost perfection. And may the peace and blessings of the Almighty God be upon his pure and beloved messenger, the symbol of his creation, the peak of humanity, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi. And his immaculate progeny of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, especially the leader of our time, the awaited savior, al-Imam al-Mahdi, ajralallahu ta'ala, farajah. May Allah hasten his reappearance and make us all amongst the sincere and dedicated servants. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala states in the Holy Quran, Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem, qul ya'ibadiya al-lathina asrafu ala anfusihim. O Prophet, say to the people, my servants, my creation, O you who have excessively sinned against your own selves. You're stuck in this world of sins, la taqnatu min rahmatullah, inna allaha yagferu ad-dunuba jami'a. Do not despair from the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, for the Almighty God forgives all sins, no exceptions. You seek repentance, Allah forgives those sins. For He is the one who always forgives. He is the merciful one. Sadaq Allahul al-Aliyul al-Azim illuminate your hearts and minds with a very loud salawat. We extend our condolences to the master of our time, al-Imam al-Mahdi, ajralallahu ta'ala farajah on this tragic occasion, the martyrdom of his grandfather, al-Imam al-Hussein salawatullahi alaihi. And I also extend to you, my dear brothers and sisters, my sincerest condolences on the martyrdom of al-Imam al-Hussein. Secondly, I would like to welcome you all to our program in which we gather in the spirit of Ashura to reflect on the teachings of al-Imam al-Hussein, alaihi salam. As we gather in these nights, we are demonstrating to our beloved Imam who sacrificed everything in the way of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, who sacrificed for us, for me, for you, to demonstrate to him, oh master, we are at your service. We will carry your message and we shall continue your message. In these blessed nights, we invite ourselves to the school of al-Imam al-Hussein, alaihi salam, to purify the heart, because this is the school of al-Imam al-Hussein. It purifies us. It allows us to better ourselves. It is the great miracle of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that he has created the human being. Look at this walking, talking human being. It's truly one of the great miracles of God. And this human being has been endowed with amazing, miraculous faculties. One of the greatest dimensions that we human beings have is our emotions. Imagine your life without emotions. Emotions give life to us. In fact, our emotions allow us to taste what life is. Imagine if the human being did not have emotions. You could not experience love, hate, fear, anger, happiness, joy, guilt. What kind of life would we have? We'd be robots. But the Almighty God has equipped the human being with these amazing emotions so that you can truly experience the miracle of life. And all of the emotions, if used properly, allow the human being to better himself, to ascend the ladder of completion. In our discussion tonight, my dear brothers and sisters, I would like to examine the emotion of guilt. It is one of the emotions that is least understood. It's one of the emotions that Allah has endowed the human being with. What purpose does the emotion of guilt serve? Why did Allah give us the capacity to experience guilt? Because some people see it as a negative emotion. It's a burden. It's an uneasy experience or feeling. So why would Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala allow us to experience guilt? Do we have positive guilt? How can we use guilt to repent from our sins? And how is it that the emotion of guilt inspired so many people after the tragedy of Karbala to rise against the tyrants, to repent and to carry the message of Al-Imam al-Husayn al-Isra? Let's now examine the emotion of guilt. You might be surprised that it's actually an emotion. If you were to list the emotions, you probably would not list guilt as one of them, right? You would think it's more of a feeling. But many psychologists are confirming that guilt is actually an emotion. It's a fascinating emotion. And they classify guilt in the category of negative or sad emotions. It's a negative emotion. It's a sad emotion. It's one that makes you feel uneasy. That's how we define guilt. When you've done something wrong, you've made a mistake, you've made a violation, you have your moral convictions, you violate those convictions, you believe that you've caused harm or damage, you have failed to meet certain standards or expectations, you feel guilt. It's that bad feeling that you experience that makes you feel uncomfortable when you've made a mistake. That's the definition of the emotion of guilt. Now my dear brothers and sisters, this emotion of guilt, is it a negative emotion, or can it be a positive emotion? There are some who claim that the emotion of guilt is a negative emotion. In fact, there are some psychologists who say that the worst emotion is guilt. Because it wastes your emotional energy. It's a waste. What purpose does it serve? It makes you feel miserable. It doesn't serve any purpose. It makes you stuck in the past. I've done something in the past. I keep ruminating and thinking about it, and I'm just stuck. I can't move. It capitulates you. It immobilizes you. So it's a wasted emotion that wastes all of your emotional energy. And therefore it's a negative emotion that we need to free ourselves from and you need to get rid of it so you can stay focused in life. There are some who adopt this extreme understanding of guilt, this extreme opinion. However, my dear brothers and sisters, once you analyze this emotion, you realize that it's one of the greatest gifts that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala has given the human being. It's completely natural to feel the emotion of guilt. In fact, psychologists say people who cannot experience guilt, they have some level of psychopathy. These people are psychopaths. They have a mental illness. That's why you see big criminals, serial killers, repeated offenders. These people, what happens to them is that they lose this capacity to experience guilt. And so they keep committing the same crime over and over. It's completely healthy and natural to experience the emotion of guilt. Yes, excessive guilt is unhealthy. There are some people. Anything bad that happens, anything that goes wrong, they blame themselves. And they feel this guilt. Something goes wrong in the family, a problem arises, a challenge comes, they feel guilty about it. They keep blaming themselves when they are not to blame, when others are at fault. Excessive guilt of this sort, where you're blaming yourself for everything that happens, is definitely detrimental to one's psychological and spiritual growth. And indeed, it is this negative guilt that we, as believers and followers of Imam Al-Hussein, we need to push aside from our lives. Other than that, we find that the emotion of guilt is indeed a very positive emotion. I would like to share with you some benefits of guilt to better understand this emotion. I would like to share with you what role guilt plays in your life to better appreciate this amazing emotion that Allah SWT has endowed us with. Number one, you find that guilt aids the human being in developing conscience. Without guilt, we would not have a conscience. What is it that awakens your conscience? To know right from wrong, to know that you've made a violation, that I have committed a mistake. What is it that awakens your conscience? It's that feeling of guilt because guilt makes you feel bad. When you feel bad, you can't just continue. You have to stop yourself. I feel uneasy. I feel uncomfortable. Why? What has happened? And it beautifully awakens your conscience. And that's why psychologists have noted that children as young as three can actually experience guilt when they've done something wrong and they know that they've done something wrong. They start feeling guilty. And that is a beautiful internal faculty that Allah SWT has given us to know right from wrong. So the first benefit of guilt, of this emotion, is that it actually allows you to develop your conscience. Without guilt, we would not have a functional conscience. You probably would not see right from wrong. Or if you would, you wouldn't care because you wouldn't feel bad about it. And that's why Allah SWT mentions this aspect of our soul in the Holy Quran. And because it's so significant, Allah takes an oath. La'uqsimu biyaumil qiyamah wa la'uqsimu bin nafsil lawama. Allah SWT here points us to an nafsil lawama. This dimension of our soul that reproaches us, rebukes us for doing wrong. It is this nafsil lawama that awakes your conscience. And the way that is achieved is through the feeling of guilt. That's the first positive benefit of this emotion. The second benefit of the emotion of guilt is that it makes you a person who has empathy. Human beings, by nature, were selfish. We just want the goodness for ourselves. It is this feeling of guilt that protects you from selfishness because you feel bad about other people. How is it that we have empathy? We human beings. How is it that sometimes when others are suffering, when we've caused them pain, why is it that we feel bad? Why is it that we want their goodness as well? It's because of the emotion of guilt. It actually protects us from being selfish. And that's a wonderful gift from Allah SWT. Without guilt, believe me, people would have been so much more selfish and they would not care, they would not feel bad. All they would think is of their interests, of their comfort and they would disregard other human beings. So we find that the emotion of guilt actually protects us from selfishness. And because it also creates empathy in our hearts, it brings cooperation amongst human beings. The reason why we have functional societies in many parts of the world, you have harmonious societies, people getting along with one another is because of the emotion of guilt. Because once you disrupt the social fabric, you cause pain to other people, you wreck havoc in society, you feel bad about it. It's this emotion of guilt that actually discourages you from putting yourself in that situation. So you start cooperating with other people. That's the second benefit. The third benefit to the emotion of guilt is that it protects our relationships with one another. It's this feeling of guilt that stops you from hurting your partner, your spouse, your family members. Believe me, you cannot live with a person who does not have the emotion of guilt. Someone who does not feel guilty, you cannot live with them. Try having a roommate who doesn't feel guilty. Or a spouse who does not feel guilty. Or a business partner who does not feel guilty. You think you can sustain a relationship like that? It's the emotion of guilt that actually allows us to maintain our relationships. And the thought of this uneasy feeling which guilt generates in us, just the thought of it discourages you from ruining that relationship. So we're always trying to repair our relationships. For most people, for the functional, healthy individual, it's the feeling of guilt that actually motivates you to repair the damage done in a relationship. You violated your spouse. You violated a family member. Allah SWT awakens this emotion in you to feel bad about it. You can't continue living like that because you won't enjoy your life with that feeling of guilt. So go and do something about it. See how this emotion encourages you to fix your faults and mistakes? If you pay attention to it and use it proactively, it actually helps fix your faults. It helps fixing your mistakes. And speaking about family relationships, studies have shown that here in the United States, the greatest cause of guilt, the single greatest cause of guilt is what? Is people who feel they're not spending enough time with their family members. You're working 15 hours a day. You're busy with your life. You're not giving enough time to your children, to your spouse. You feel guilty, right? That's the biggest cause of guilt in the United States. That you're not spending enough time with your family members. This actually encourages you to pay attention to them. Pay attention to your wife, to your children. Give them time. Don't be so consumed with your own life and business life. And so it encourages you to dedicate some time to them. Now here's the thing, my dear brothers and sisters. Some people, unfortunately, they have a tendency of taking advantage of guilt in their partner or spouse. They make them feel guilty all the time. And this is something that's wrong. Allah will hold us accountable for that. How many husbands have you seen? They always make their wives feel guilty because they have so high expectations. She always feels guilty. Anything she does, she has to feel guilty about it. If she goes and spends an extra hour with her parents, with his in-laws, he makes her feel guilty about it. And she doesn't enjoy it. If she doesn't serve him the way he wants, he makes her feel guilty. And the other way around, there are some husbands they're really struggling. They're trying to provide for their family. And no matter how much they work, the wife is not satisfied. She's always complaining and making him feel bad and creating the sense of guilt in him. Don't ever make your family members feel guilty, my dear brothers and sisters. This is wrong. Don't think that pain and abuse is just physical pain and abuse. Beating someone, hitting someone, making someone guilty unrightfully is a sin in the eyes of Allah's panu ta'ala because that's a type of psychological and emotional abuse. But this always happens in society. So this is the fourth benefit of guilt. The fifth benefit, my dear brothers and sisters, so many studies have shown that teenagers who have a sense of guilt, they are less likely to fall into drugs and immoral paths, illegitimate relationships. This actually protects them because that uneasy feeling motivates them to stay on the right path. And this is rahma from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Now some people ask the following question and psychologists actually ask about this. They say, okay, we have some examples of guilt that's useless and that's annoying. Why is it there? For instance, you go and you buy a fancy suit, a fancy dress, or you go to an expensive restaurant, or the fact that you buy something, you spend something, you feel guilty about it because there are others who cannot afford it, right? Have you ever felt guilty? If you've gone to a fancy restaurant and you've shelled out $300 on a meal with your friends or family, sometimes you feel a little bit guilty about that, right? Is this a positive emotion here or is it a negative emotion? It's actually a positive emotion. Why? No, not because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not want you to enjoy life. Enjoy it. If you go and you buy expensive food, enjoy that. Be laafiya, sahten, enjoy it as much as you can. But the emotion of guilt serves one important purpose. It makes you a responsible human being. Go and spend and buy, but don't waste. You know how much of the food that we buy, we waste it? 40% of all fresh food in the United States and Canada is thrown in the bin, 40%. Do you know how much money that is in the US every year? Every year, Americans waste $180 billion worth of food, $180 billion. That is more than the GDP of tens of countries combined. That emotion of guilt should stop you from wasting. Buy as much as you want, but don't be wasteful. Wasting resources, you should feel guilty about it. And Allah wants you to feel guilty about it. So it stops you from wasting. That's number one. Number two, think of the poor. Yes, when you go and buy something and you kind of feel guilty about it, use this guilt proactively, positively. Go and give and sponsor an orphan. Make a donation. See, without the feeling of guilt, we would not do that. We would not feel bad about poor people around the world who are suffering. We wouldn't care. And it allows you to appreciate the blessings of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Therefore, even guilt that is experienced when you spend, when you're enjoying your life is actually a positive emotion here. It's aimed at making you responsible. So you use the blessings of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala appropriately. Now there is one type of guilt, my dear brothers and sisters, that I would like to bring to your attention. And this is a negative type of guilt that is experienced by some people. And they need to understand that they should not feel guilty about this. Sometimes you're stuck in a situation in your life. For example, you have a disability and you feel constantly guilty about it. There are many people with disabilities. They experience severe depression because they feel guilty. My parents are stuck with me. They have to care for me. My siblings, other people, other family members, other friends, and they constantly feel guilty. They feel uneasy. They feel bad. They cannot enjoy anything. Why am I a burden on others? And they feel guilty about that. My dear brothers and sisters, don't ever feel guilty about that. When something is beyond your capacity, there's nothing you can do about it. It's something willed by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. A disease, a disability. Don't feel bad about it. It's the will of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. In fact, realize it's an opportunity for your family members, for your parents to seek reward and compensation from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Families who have a disabled family member, that's a blessing from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala because Allah is giving them an opportunity to show care and compassion to that disabled person. Do you know how much Allah compensates them? Do you know how much Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will reward them? This is a blessing from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. This is not something that you should feel guilty about. Leave it up to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Don't let that take you to severe depression like it does to many people. We find that this beautiful emotion that Allah has created in us is one that awakens our conscience, my dear brothers and sisters. It helps us see right from wrong. And when we slip into a negative path, it makes us feel uneasy so that we can change that path. Now there is one distinction to make here, my dear brothers and sisters because sometimes they get mixed up. There's a difference between guilt and shame. Shame for the most part is negative. Guilt is the feeling that you experience when you've done something wrong because that action is disturbing you. That's good, that's positive. But there are some people who feel excessive shame such that they start self-loathing and they start hating themselves. Never identify yourself through a mistake that you've done. Many people fall into this trap, my dear brothers and sisters. And it makes them feel miserable, depressed, and they lose hope. Don't self-identify with an act, even if it's a sin. A believer is one who does not have hatred towards himself. I've heard this from many people who struggle with depression. And this is exactly what they'll say. Say it, I feel I'm worthless. I'm worthless. I'm not worthy of anything. Even when you ask them to do some recommended acts of prayer to even pray, no, I'm not worthy of praying. You see that self-hate? This is negative. Regardless of what you've done, in the end who created you, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you're the creation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, how can you not be worthy? Yes, be humble about it. Don't let that make you arrogant. But in the end, you are the creation of God. He's the manufacturer and you're the product. Don't develop self-hate because this is definitely something that will ruin your life. It will take the hope and the energy from your heart. Despise the action, but don't despise yourself. Subhanallah, in a beautiful hadith, Imam al-Sadiq, alaihi salam, teaches one of his companions who rebuked another companion for doing something wrong, and he attacked him. He attacked his personality. The Imam al-Sadiq said, don't judge his personality. Don't attack his character. Don't condemn his character, condemn his action. Yes, if someone did something wrong publicly, you have to show a stance. You have to show that it's unacceptable. Condemn the action, but don't condemn the person. Make a distinction between the person and the action. That's how you see your brothers and sisters in society. Always make a distinction between their actions and their character. You can critique an action, that's fine, but don't destroy their character. They have dignity. Imam al-Hussein, alaihi salam, beautifully in dua Arafah, in that last part. He beautifully reminds us how much self-worth we have because Allah is the one who created us. He says, ilahi kaifa astaizu wa fi dillati ar-kaztani. He says, oh Allah, how can I have self-worth, honor, dignity, a high status when I'm so low? And that's my reality. Look at the human being. What is this human being? We're miserable, we're so weak, but sometimes we become arrogant. The Imam al-Hussein does state that, so nobody becomes arrogant. But then the Imam al-Hussein beautifully states after that, but how can I feel worthless when you have attributed me to you? Oh Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. Wa kaifa la astaizu wa ilaykana sabtani. How can I not feel that worth when you are my creator and you're the one who created me? And I am your product, I am your creation. See how the Imam al-Hussein speaks to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Be humble, but at the same time realize that you have a lot of self-worth. So there's a difference between guilt and shaming yourself, putting yourself down and saying, I'm a bad person. I'm such a bad father. I'm such a worthless mother. I'm such a worthless daughter. Don't ever say that. Yes, look at your action and try to fix your mistakes. But don't start hating yourself because if you fall into this path, it becomes extremely dangerous, my dear brothers and sisters. We find that when we want to continue our path of towba and repentance, my dear brothers and sisters, we find that the emotion of guilt is instrumental in bringing you to repent to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. When you examine the traditions of the Ahlul Bayt, peace be upon them, and the traditions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayh, we see that there is this emphasis on regret. Nedam, there is this emphasis on feeling regretful. In fact, one hadith from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayh, he says, feeling remorse, feeling regret in itself is a type of repentance. If you really want to know if Allah has accepted your repentance, if you're truly and sincerely repenting, ask yourself, do I have remorse, genuine remorse? Do I really feel guilty about what I did or no? If you don't feel guilty about the sin that you've committed in reality, you're not repenting. You must feel guilty because that guilt reveals sincerity, that you truly mean it, you're honest, you're genuine about it. Without this feeling of guilt, how can you demonstrate that you really are repenting to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Kafa bin Nadami towba in another hadith. It suffices for regret to be repentance. In another hadith we find, Al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, alayhi s-salam, he describes the stages of repentance. He says, you want Allah to forgive you? Here are the stages. Number one, the first stage, the first step is to feel bad about your sin, is to feel remorseful. That's the first step. The next step is to fix the mistake that you've done. You've violated someone, go and apologize. You've taken someone, you've confiscated someone's rights, go and give it back to them. You have missed obligations, missed prayers. Imagine if I have years of missed prayers and I just sit there and say, Astaghfirullah, O Allah, forgive me. That's not enough, start making them up. That's how you show Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that you are sincere. And then the Imam Ali s-salam, beautifully as a last step, he says, if you really want Allah to forgive you and to show that sincerity when you're repenting, just as you allowed your body to taste the sweetness of sinning, allow that same body part to taste the difficulty of obeying Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If I use my eyes to sin, you want to compensate for that sin? You want to expiate for it? Use those eyes in Allah's obedience. Read and seek knowledge. Allah will forgive your sins. Read the Holy Quran. Look at your parents with compassion. See how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala trains us if we want to repent. You use these hands to sin. You use this body to sin. Use it in Allah's obedience and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will consider that as expiation for your sins. That's how you demonstrate that your toba is actually sincere. Some people, unfortunately, they don't feel bad about their sins. One of the conditions of Shafa'ah, this is a hadith from the Prophet ﷺ. He says one of the conditions of intercession of Shafa'ah is to feel bad about your sin. Malam tasuqhu sayyiatu. The Prophet says if you sin and you don't feel bad about it, tough luck. How can I intercede for you when you don't even care about your sins? We must feel regretful. Moderate regret, of course. Moderate guilt. Not something that's excessive that makes us severely depressed and stuck. But you need to feel that regret in order for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to forgive your sins because it is this feeling of regret that will motivate you to compensate for the wrong that you've done. Two, three decades ago, there was a very respected scholar, a Marja in the Holy City of Qum, al-mar'ashi an-najafi may Allah bless his soul. I've heard this from a number of scholars who narrate the story from him. He says that there was a man who seemed to be a very righteous man. He looked very righteous from the outside, you know? Subhanallah, sometimes the outside is very deceiving. That's why you should never judge a person according to their appearance. Even if someone looks religious, don't quickly judge and say, okay, this person is an angel. Or if someone does not look religious, don't quickly judge them. This person can be better than you. You're the one who you think you're religious. He says there was a person, I trusted him. He seemed very trustworthy. He seemed very religious. He used to pray with us. So I would give him money for some religious projects. Years and years I would give him money trusting that he is spending on a religious project. He's getting a religious act done. He says after many years and this man was old, after many years this man came to me. He told me, say it, I have a big confession to make. Remember all these years you've given me the money to perform a religious duty? Well, guess what? I never performed it. All those years I never performed it. And I took that money unrightfully. But now I feel really guilty about it. And I'm getting gold. I don't know what's going to happen to my fate. So I thought I'd come and I tell you. Now imagine this merger. All these years he's trusting him with this money so he can complete a task, a project. And suddenly he's told that he's not done any of those tasks. He became angry. He became furious. He told him, how dare you do something like this? Not only did you betray me. You betrayed Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. You betrayed the people. How can you do something sinful like that? All these years I trusted you. He said, look, I knew you were going to get upset with me and you have the right to be upset with me, but this is the reality. Now see how this old man used guilt to fix his mistake. He did not stop there and say, okay, whatever, I'm going to continue my life. He told him, tell me, what do I need to do? How can I fix this mistake? How can I repent from this sin? He told him, you really want to repent from this sin? All that money that you took over these years, you give it back. You give it back to me and I'll spend it in its appropriate place. You have to give it all back. You're liable for it. Now the guy was poor. You didn't have that much money to give back. He told him, I'll do that. If Allah will forgive me, I will do that. He told him, how will you do that? You're poor. You don't own a lot of money. He said, I have a shop and this shop generates an income for me. If I sell this shop, I can give you back the money. Ask yourselves, brothers and sisters, would you do that? If after years and years, you decide you have to sell your business because it was haram business, haram money. All these years, you violated your business partner and that's how you made your millions. And now if you want to repent, you have to give your business to your partner. It belongs to your partner. Are you willing to do that? It's not easy. But this man said, yes, I will. I am willing to do it. The marja told him, but if you sell your shop, how are you going to live? How are you going to sustain your family? He told him, I have Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala He's the sustainer. He'll take care of me. He went and he sold his shop and he gave back the money to the marja. And that's how he sought the repentance from Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Days later, this scholar, this marja was informed that that man passed away. The time had come for him and he passed away. See how Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala purified him from that sin right before he passed away because he felt genuinely remorseful and guilty about that sin. You see the role of guilt, my dear brothers and sisters, in bringing us closer to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib, alaihi salam has a beautiful statement. The Imam alaihi salam in speaking about the role of remorse of Nedam, the Imam beautifully states, The Imam alaihi salam says, okay, you've created a tree from sins. Now you're stuck with this tree. How do you get rid of this tree? How do you turn this negative, sinful tree into a positive one? The Imam alaihi salam says, Wasakawha bima innadam fa'athmarat lahumu as-salama wa a'qabathum ar-rida wa l-karama. The Imam alaihi salam says they water this tree of sin with what? With the water of remorse, the water of guilt. And through that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala turns that sinful tree into peace. And it's interesting that the Imam alaihi salam uses the example of a tree because have you seen a tree? What does a tree do? Have you seen fruit trees? In order for a fruit tree to give you the best fruits, you would fertilize it, right? In the past, they would use natural fertilizer. Have you ever seen natural fertilizer? Have you ever smelled the stench of it? It's disgusting, right? It's something that is very unpleasant, the odor of it, the nature of it, but the tree takes this nasty material, the natural fertilizer, and it converts it into wonderful fruits for you to eat, right? See the work of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Isn't that amazing? That it takes this nasty thing in this world object and it converts it into a beautiful, aromatic, fragrant fruit. And that's exactly what repentance does, my dear brothers and sisters. Repentance takes your sins and it converts them into good deeds. That's why Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala states, O laika yubadirullahu sayyiatihim, hasanat. Allah says those who truly repent, they sincerely repent. All those sins, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala will transform them into good deeds. That's the power of Toba, my dear brothers and sisters. And in these nights, as you have come to the Majlis of Abiyah Abdullah al-Hussain, realize that the Imam is inviting us to change, my dear brothers and sisters. Regardless of what you've done in your life, this is the opportunity to say, oh Allah, I feel guilty about what I've done, but I am willing to change and I will use the message of Imam al-Hussain, alaihi salam, to change myself. Read Munajat al-Ta'ibin by Imam Zayn al-Abideen, alaihi salam. Have you read this supplication? The whispers of the repenters, Munajat al-Ta'ibin. Beautiful words by Imam Zayn al-Abideen. Ilahi al-Basatni al-Khata ya thawba mad-dallati. Look at the beautiful words of your Imam. He says, oh Allah, my sins, my mistakes have made me wear a clothe of humiliation. Yes, when I sin, I humiliate myself because I lower my status. Every sin lowers us, my dear brothers and sisters, but repentance allows you to elevate yourself. And then the Imam al-Alihi salam says, wa amata qalbi, azeem ujinayati, oh Allah, my grave sins have caused my heart to die. They've taken the life from my heart. fa ahyee betawbatin minka ya amali wa ya bughiyati. Oh Allah, revive this dead heart. How does it get revived through repentance? Oh Allah, forgive me and that's how you will give life back into my heart. Fawa asafaa min khajlati wa ftilahi. Oh Allah, how shameful do I feel? What if I get exposed for my sins? But then you turn to Allah because you know your Lord will conceal your sins. You know that Allah, Subhanahu ta'ala, will erase your sins. Asaluka ya ghafir ad-dham bil kabeer wa ya jabir al-azmil kaseer. Oh Allah, I ask you, you're the one who forgives even the greatest of sins, even the big sin. Oh Allah, you're forgiven. Oh Allah, I trust that you are going to conceal my sins. You're not going to expose me, oh Allah. This is how a believer looks to Allah, Subhanahu ta'ala. As a merciful Creator who will cover your past, who is going to conceal your sins if you repent on the Day of Judgment, Allah, Subhanahu ta'ala, will not expose you. Here in this life, Allah, Subhanahu ta'ala, will also not expose you. Then the Imam, alaihi salam, says Oh Allah, if remorse, if feeling guilty about sins is repentance, then I swear by your glory. Oh Allah, I have repented. And you see this is how the believer trains himself to repent to Allah, Subhanahu ta'ala. Let's use the message of Imam Al Hussain, alaihi salam, to purify this heart, my dear brothers and sisters. But at the same time as we are expecting Allah, Subhanahu ta'ala, to forgive us, we also should forgive other people. Don't leave the smudges tonight, my dear brothers and sisters, without forgiving your brothers and sisters, even those who have violated you. If they've apologized, if they have expressed regret, give them a chance. You know what Imam Al Hussain, alaihi salam, says? If I believe in the message of Imam Al Hussain, I will believe in the statement from the Imam. He says, my grandfather Rasulullah, sallallahu alaihi wa ala states the one who does not accept the apology of the one who's asking you to forgive them. If you don't accept their apology, even if you think they're not that sincere, even if you think the person is not sincere, and you don't forgive them, you don't accept their apology, the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa ala says, this person is not from us. I will not intercede for this person. Because when you seek the shafa'ah, the intercession of the Prophet, in reality you're saying to the Prophet, oh Rasulullah, ask Allah to forgive me for my sins, to let go, I'm apologizing it. You expect Allah SWT to forgive you, but you don't forgive other people. Forgive them. Imam Al Hussain, alaihi salam says, forgive them. The one who apologizes, forgive them, even if you don't think they're that sincere. But now that they're asking for your apology, let go of the past. Let go of their mistake. Then my grandfather Rasulullah, sallallahu alaihi wa ala will intercede on your behalf. As we are commemorating the tragedy of Karbala, my dear brothers and sisters, we find that this emotion of guilt actually awakened the ummah after the martyrdom of Imam Al Hussain, alaihi salam. It primarily affected the people of Kufa. After the Imam was martyred, a group of people in Kufa, they gathered. They felt extremely guilty, and this emotion of guilt inspired them to rise to support the message of Imam Hussain, alaihi salam, and to fight the corrupt Umayyad dynasty, a group of people in Kufa they gathered. They told themselves, what's happening? How did we betray Abi Abdullah al Hussain? How did we not rush to his support? There were five leaders to this revolution that was about to take place. And the most noble of them was one of the companions of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa ala. Sulaiman Ibn Sard al Khuzai. Ibn Sard al Khuzai. This man was a companion of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa ala. He was born 28 years before the Hijrah. He met the Prophet. He was from Yemen. And he participated in the battle of Khannaq. He was in Kufa after the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. He gathered with a number of the followers of Ahl al Bayt, and they told themselves, how did we betray Abi Abdullah al Hussain by not supporting him? So they led a movement called Thawrat al Tawabin, the revolution of the repenters driven by extreme guilt. They gathered in a place called Nukhaila, 4,000 of them. Initially there were 16,000 who pledged them allegiance, who pledged Sulaiman allegiance, but then 4,000 of them showed up. They went to Karbala. They stayed for about two days by the grave of Imam Hussain alaihi wa sallam. Crying, weeping, feeling regretful and remorseful. How did we betray you, Abu Abdullah? They would recite poetry to express their sorrow, to express their sadness for the Imam alaihi wa sallam. And then they went to a place called A'een al Warda where they met the army of Ibn Ziyad. Now the army of Ibn Ziyad was 30,000. These repenters were only 4,000. They were no match for that big army, but they wanted to demonstrate a point that we will compensate for our betrayal of Imam Hussain because we the people of Kufa, we invited him. And we were not quick in supporting the Imam alaihi wa sallam. We feel regretful, but now we are willing to sacrifice our lives. All of these 4,000 were martyred over there because they wanted to demonstrate to the world that we will carry the message of Imam Hussain. So many revolutions, my dear brothers and sisters, were sparked after the battle of Karbala because people felt guilty. Al-Mukhtara al-Thaqafi was one of them. He also led a later revolution to seek vengeance from the killers of Imam Hussain, all those who participated in killing the Imam alaihi wa sallam. And that's how we find that the dynasty of the Umayyads collapsed. Finally the Ummah went back to its conscience. How did we betray the message of Imam Hussain alaihi wa sallam? You see the role of guilt in awakening the conscience. And there is no vivid example, my dear brothers and sisters, like the example of Al-Hur ibn Yazid al-Riyahi. Al-Hur ibn Yazid al-Riyahi was one of the warriors of Kufa. He was known to be one of the most courageous men of Kufa. He goes with 1,000 soldiers to intercept the army of Imam al-Hussain alaihi wa sallam. In nights like this, in a night like this, because it was on the 2nd of Muharram that Imam al-Hussain arrived the land of Karbala. On a night like this the Imam alaihi wa sallam was on his way to Kufa. But Al-Hur ibn Yazid al-Riyahi with 1,000 soldiers he intercepts the Imam. He blocks the Imam from going to Kufa. The Imam alaihi wa sallam then has to change his journey from Kufa and he heads towards Karbala. Al-Hur ibn Yazid al-Riyahi did not really think that Ibn Ziyad wanted to kill Imam al-Hussain alaihi wa sallam. He was confused. He did not know. On the day of Ashura when he sees that the battle is becoming serious, Umar ibn Sa'd, the commander of the army, he had come with 4,000 fighters and he was talking about slaughtering Imam al-Hussain and his companions. Al-Hur ibn Yazid al-Riyahi, he goes to Umar ibn Sa'd and he tells him, do you really want to kill this man? Do I really sense that you want to kill Hussain? He said, oh yes, there's going to be a fierce battle. You are going to see hands and feet being amputated. You think this is not serious? Of course we're going to kill him. He told him, but why kill him? Just let him go back from where he came from. He said, I will go back. He said, no. Either he pledges allegiance to Yazid or we shall kill him. At that point when Hussain sees that this is serious, the emotion of guilt starts to awaken his conscience. One of his friends, he sees him shaking. He tells him, Hussain, you're shaking? Why? You're one of the most courageous men that I know. On such a day, I would expect to see your courage. Why is it that I see you shaking? He tells him, I see myself between hell and heaven. Hell is on this side and heaven, the camp of Abi Abdullah al-Hussain is on the other side. And I swear by Allah, I shall not choose anything over paradise. He goes, he lowers his head and he approaches Imam Hussain, he felt ashamed. When he approached Imam Hussain, look at him. Who are you? He told him, Sayyidi, my master, I am the one who intercepted you. I am the one who put fear in the hearts of your children. Yes, it was a major sin. How can you do that to the grandson of the Prophet? The women and the children, they were terrorized by the army of Khur when they intercepted them. And he stopped the Imam from going to Kufa to meet his supporters. He tells him, Sayyidi, Aba Abdullah, I am the one with this history. I've committed this huge mistake. Halim and Tawbah. But Aba Abdullah, is there room for repentance? Can I repent? Look at the compassionate art of Imam Hussain. He tells him, If you truly seek repentance, Allah will forgive you. This is the message of Aba Abdullah Hussain. On such a night, the Imam invites you to repent, to go back to Allah, regardless of what we've done. Allah, let's go. Allah will forgive us for our sins. He tells him, Okay, Aba Abdullah. But now I have to compensate for my sin. Allow me to go and speak to the army. And to try to give them advice. He goes, he gives a powerful speech. He admonishes them. But of course, they don't listen. Then he comes back to Imam Hussain. He tells him, My master, Allow me to be the first one who is killed from your supporters. I want to compensate for my sin. Allow me to be the first one to be a martyr. And he becomes a martyr in the way of Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. This is the message of Karbala, my dear brothers and sisters. In these nights, as we gather, yes, we experience sadness and sorrow. But let's learn from the message of Imam Hussain. Now, my dear brothers and sisters, I want to take your hearts to the homes of the Imams and how they would commemorate Ashura. The Imam, alayhi salam. Imam Al-Qadim, alayhi salam. Imam Sadiq, alayhi salam. He says, when the month of Muharram would start, I would see my father, he would become depressed. Kanaabi, itadakhala shahrul muharram, la yuradahika. He says, when Muharram would start, my father, Imam Al-Baqri, he would no longer smile. This was a moment of sadness for him. This was a moment of sorrow. Wa kana til ka'abatu taqlibu alayh. I would see my father in extreme grief. He would feel depressed for what happened to Abiy Abdullah al-Hussain. The Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, whenever they would experience a tragedy, they would always remember the tragedy of their grandfather, Hussain. Once the evil ruler Al-Mansura Al-Abbasi, he commanded his general or his governor in Medina to attack the house of Imam Al-Sadiq, alayhi salam. They attacked the house of Imam Al-Sadiq, and they set the door of Imam Al-Sadiq to fire. And the fire encroached into the house of the Imam, alayhi salam. The Imam had to protect the women and the children from that fire, and he himself extinguished the fire. The next day, one of his companions went to see him. He went to see Imam Al-Sadiq, alayhi salam. He saw the Imam agonized. He saw the Imam severely depressed. He told him, what's the matter? Why do I see you in this state? You're actually crying. He told him what happened the day before our house was attacked. My house was set to fire. The man told him, yabda Rasoolallah, oh grandson of the Prophet, you should be strong. This is normal to you, the Ahlul Bayt. This is not the first time that your house is attacked. This is not the first tragedy. Why do I see you crying? You know what the Imam, alayhi salam, told him? The Imam told him, oh man, do not blame me. When I saw my women and children running from one room to another room to protect themselves from the fire, I remembered the day of Ashura. When my aunts, when the women and the children would run from one tent to another, because the tents were set on fire on the day of Ashura. And the evil commander of Yazid's army, he would say, ahrequbu yuta dhalameen. Burn the house of the oppressors. He's saying this about the family of Imam al-Hussain. Imam al-Sadiq says, when I saw this scene in my house, I remembered the tragedy of Karbala. That's why I'm crying. I'm crying for my grandfather, Abiyab Abdullah al-Hussain. This is how the Ahlul Bayt, my dear brothers and sisters, would experience these days with difficulty. They would have gatherings in their homes. Sayyid al-Hamiari, he was a famous poet. He says, I visited Imam al-Sadiq, alayhi salam. He told me, do you read poetry? He said, yes. I compose poetry. He says, I want to hear some lines of poetry, eulogizing and commemorating my grandfather, Hussain. He says, the Imam, he put a curtain. He called the women and the children, and I read lines of poetry and they would cry. This is how the Ahlul Bayt would experience these days, my dear brothers and sisters. Even before that, the Holy Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa ala, you know how many times Rasulullah, salallahu alayhi wa ala, would cry when he would see his beloved Imam Hussain, alayhi salam, his beloved grandson Hussain. Once Rasulullah went into his room, he told Um Salama, I want to rest. I want to meditate with my Lord. I don't want anyone disturbing me. Don't allow anyone to come into my room. Um Salama, the wife of the Prophet, she says, I saw Imam Hussain, I saw Hussain. He was a young boy, maybe three years old. He started running towards the room and he slipped from my hands. He managed to enter the room. I tried to stop him, but I couldn't. She said, I approached the room of the Prophet. Initially, the Prophet was happy to see his grandson Hussain. Then I heard the Prophet weeping and crying. I thought, maybe Hussain is disturbing the Prophet. Let me go and take him out of the room. She says, I went inside the room. I saw Hussain on the chest of Rasulullah. And the Prophet was crying. He was weeping, sobbing. I told him, what's the matter? Is Hussain disturbing you? He said, no, he's not disturbing me, but as he was on my chest. As I was playing with my beloved Hussain, Jibrail descended upon me. He told me, Ya Rasulullah, do you love your grandson? I said, yes. Jibrail told me, what would you do? Ya Rasulullah, let me tell you, one day your own nation, this ummah, is going to kill your grandson. And that's why I was crying. When we cry in these nights, we are following the path of Rasulullah. We're following the Messenger of Allah. He is the one who teaches us to grieve over Imam Hussain and to learn from his lessons. And finally, my dear brothers and sisters, I'll share with you a quick scene between Da'bel Al-Khuzai, the famous poet, and Al-Imam Al-Rıda, alaihi s-salam. He was in the presence of Al-Imam Al-Rıda. Al-Imam Al-Rıda, alaihi s-salam says, read some lines of poetry. I want to hear something about my grandfather Hussain. He read these beautiful lines, madar su ayaatiyyin, khalat min tilawatin. Wa mahabat wahiyyin, muqaffarul arasati. He starts his poetry by saying, these homes in which the revelation, the signs of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would be revealed. These homes in which the Holy Qur'an would be recited, but now these homes are empty. Which homes are these? O Da'bel, tell us. These are the homes of Ali ibn Abi Talib, of Hamza. These are the homes of Ja'far. These are the homes of the Ahlul Bayt, peace be upon them. What happened to these homes? Now these homes are empty. Al-Imam Al-Rıda is now emotional. He's about to break into tears. He's about to break into tears. He's about to break into tears. He's about to break into tears. He's about to break into tears. He's about to break into tears until he mentions this tragedy of Al-Imam Al-Husayn. When Da'bel says, If you were to see your beloved son Hussain, slaughtered by the river of Furat, what would you do? You would slap your cheek if you were to see your grandson, your beloved Hussain, sleeping on the grounds of Karbala, martyred by the river of Furat. Al-Imam Al-Husayn Brothers and sisters, raise your hands in Dua. This is the moment of Dua. Allah has promised us with tears, with broken hearts, He will answer our prayers. We ask Allah Subhanu wa Ta'ala to hasten the reappearance of our Master Al-Imam Al-Mahdi. We ask Allah Subhanu wa Ta'ala to give speedy recovery to those who are ill, to those who are suffering. Pray for them, my dear brothers and sisters. There are many who are going through struggles. This is the moment in which we beseech Allah to give them relief and to give them a speedy recovery. We ask Allah to forgive us our sins. We ask Allah to grant us the Ziyarah of