 When the brother was done is it loud enough? Is it good? When the brother was doing the introduction He introduced me by saying Sheikh Ali Najjar. I appreciate the respect, but hopefully inshallah I remember the first time I came. I made the same exact announcement. I guess repetition is good inshallah Either brother is good or Ali is good or just bro. Inshallah Allah said in the judgment of his noble book and his true words and he is the true truthful In the name of Allah the Merciful, the Merciful And we have not sent you except the mercy of the world Salawat Respected brothers and sisters in Islam. As-salamu alaikum, rahmatullahi wabarakatuh Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has 99 official attributes For example, ar-Rahman ar-Rahim As-salam al-mu'min al-muhaymin al-mutakabbar al-haziz al-jabbar al-qahar and so on and so forth Each one of these attributes of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala represents a specific value That's a part of his essence and a part of his nature For example, one of the attributes of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is ar-Rahman or ar-Rahim, the Merciful Or ar-Rahman being the beneficent Each one of these values represents a specific attribute of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala And the attribute that could be found in us as human beings as well Now Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala being a lord of mercy He intended that we taste some of the sweetness of those values Meaning Allah has rahmah Intrinsically wired within his nature. He wants me as a human being to taste some of that rahmah Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for example has karam al-kareem generosity within his nature He wants me as a human being to taste some of that sweetness because Allah has a merciful lord That's why the Hadith al-Qudsi comes forward and says quite clearly Allah says I was a hidden treasure I loved to be known thus I created mankind That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala intends us to taste some of the sweetness of his values Yet how did he do that? Allah had to devise a specific method A bridge between the creation and the creator A bridge between him and us A bridge between the absolute and the limited so that we the finite human beings could taste some of the sweetness of his infinite nature How did Allah do that? You see when you examine the genesis of time And time before existence before creation Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala had a number of values displayed in front of him Generosity Karam for example Trustworthiness Patience Allah said I want to give these values to insan Thus, what did he do? He created specific individuals who manifested those values in human form He took for example the value of mercy. He put it into an individual He took the value of patience. He put it into an individual He took the value of generosity. He put it into an individual You see because I can easily explain this to you in the example or analogy of a prism You see a prism is made of three specific elements White light Going into the prism The prism itself And then different colors coming out of the right side of the prism This prism could be explained in the following analogy to understand what I'm trying to say The white light could be said to be Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala The prism is Islam and each light was one of the infallibles of al-muhammad Allah comes in Another light comes out which is patience manifested within hassan aleyhi salam for example Allah goes into the prism Patience comes out which could be said to be imam al ka'abum for example That's when I see al-muhammad. I don't see individuals with values I see values manifested within individuals. There's a big difference You see I see for example a man by the name of hassan hassan may be generous hassan may be trustworthy hassan may be kind Hassan is a human being with values That yet then you have a human being who he himself is a value. He doesn't have values You see when I see muhammad. I don't see muhammad. I see mercy When I see ali, I don't see ali. I see haq When I see hussein. I don't see hussein. I see bravery When I see zain al-abideen. I don't see zain al-abideen. I see obedience When I see somebody for example such as baqr. I don't see baqr. I see science when I see sadiq I don't see sadiq. I see knowledge when I see ka'abum. I don't see ka'abum. I see patience when I see river I don't see river. I see satisfaction when I see somebody such as jawad. I don't see jawad I see generosity when I see hadi. I don't see hadi. I see guidance when I see askari I don't see a military, I see hope, and when I see a Sahab al Zaman, I don't see a Sahab al Zaman. I see the manifestation of justice on the earth of Allah SWT. That you find Ahlul Bayt manifested these specific values. Now, when you come to the character of the Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam, what characteristic did the Prophet manifest, which is going to be the premise of our discussion tonight? The Prophet was a man who manifested all values and all characteristics, yet one of them stood out, which was Rahmah, mercy. Chapter 21 of the Holy Qur'an, verse number 107, being Surah al-Anbiyaa, Allah SWT comes and begins to describe the main reason why Rasulullah was sent to humanity and mankind. He says, Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem, one of the most famous verses that I'm sure many of us have memorized. Allah says, وما رصلناك إلا رحمة للعالمين. Allah says, يا محمد I haven't sent you except as a mercy to mankind. Now, يا رسول الله, you have generosity. Why did Rasulullah say mercy? Or why did Allah say mercy? He's making a very essential point. The Holy Prophet of Islam, yes, he had many characteristics within his personality. Yet mercy stood out. Generosity stemmed from his mercy. Patience stemmed from his mercy. Trustworthiness stemmed from the bedrock of his characteristics, which were mercy. Now, of course, the mercy of Rasulullah could be explained in three specific ways, which I would like to give you tonight. The first layer of the mercy of the character of Muhammad was a mercy that came with him. The second layer of the mercy of Muhammad is a mercy that came after him, which we have today. And the third layer of the mercy of Muhammad is a mercy which has yet to come, which will come later. Let's explain these three different layers. Number one, the form of mercy which came with him. Rasulullah's mercies, when he went within the time of Jahaliyah, because as you know, the Holy Prophet lived in Mecca for a number of years, 10 years. He then went to Medina for 13 years. The minute Rasulullah launched his prophethood, he came with three elements which comprise the very nature of his mercy. Number one, he came with a Kitab, which was the Qur'an. Number two, he came with Sunnah, which was the implementation of the Qur'an. And number three, he came with Wilaya, which was the manifestation of the Qur'an. Let's explain these three. Number one, he came with a Kitab, the Holy Qur'an. Or for example, Allah, the Almighty, says this Qur'an comes in command you to be upright. Number one, the Qur'an, the book, the scripture, the formula, that to find today was to go, for example, to a doctor. The doctor would come to me and number one, he would give me a paper which would tell me exactly what I'm supposed to be taking for medicine. That script, that manual was the Holy Qur'an. People were out of their minds straight up. People were crazy. I mean, if I was to explain to you what people would do in the time of Jahaliyah, you would say, my God, we're living in heaven today. In Jahaliyah, you find, for example, somebody such as Amr al-Qais, who was one of the most famous poets within the times of Arabia. He wrote a specific poem where he explained his sexual relationship with Aaneesa, his cousin. He wrote this poem, which is still available today. You can easily read it if you're familiar with the Arabic language. This poem was taken and hung up in Mak'aba as one of the best forms of literature in the time. You could examine this, and you could imagine. The Ka'aba, being the house of Allah, being the very sign and Sha'a, served as a place where poems which explain explicit relationships were hung. You find furthermore within the times of Jahaliyah, people would put flags, you know, on their house, a black flag, typically the females would take this flag, they would put it on their house, telling the people that I am open for specific acts which don't need to be mentioned. You know today, you have bars, you have, for example, clubs. Back in the days, they would simply put a flag, inviting the people to do specific things with them. Within the times of Jahaliyah, people would assess a human being, not by his character, but by his culture. Does he part of me? Does he come from the same tribe? Does he come from the same ethnicity? Does he come from this country? Then I'm not going to speak out against him. If he doesn't come from my tribe, then yes, I'm going to speak out against him. Basically, they would cherry pick the oppression that they would want to go against. And don't be surprised, the same thing is happening today. You find, for example, something happens in Egypt. They say, let's begin to speak out against it. Yet then something happens in Bahrain. They say, no, alhamdulillah, we can just stay silent. The same thing, Jahaliyah, subhanAllah, repeats itself. You know, when the Cocham says, history repeats itself, it holds truth to it. That Jahaliyah repeats itself in that sense. That the holy prophet of Islam came and brought them that book, which came and brought guidance, that beacon of Nur. That this Qur'an is a guide to those who are coming, and to those who are believing. This Qur'an came and brought people to the path which is upright. Number one, the Qur'an, which is the Kitab, the book of Allah. Then you have the sunnah, which served as what? The character of the prophet himself. The way the prophet would walk was the sunnah. The way the prophet would speak was a sunnah. The way the prophet would treat people in front of him was part of the sunnah. Yet then there's a third element which many people tend to put on the side. Which activates the first two elements. You see, I can come forward and have the Kitab and the sunnah. But if I don't have that third element, there's no point of the first two. What is that element? You see, within the holy Qur'an, Allah swt emphasizes on Muhammad. For example, he comes and he says, Allah is constantly emphasizing on the very position of the prophet. Or for example, O prophet, we have sent you as a guidance. Furthermore, Allah comes and says Allah emphasizes on Muhammad within the holy Qur'an. Yet then Muhammad comes and emphasizes on something else. It was almost as if Rasulullah and Allah had a business deal. He came to him and he told him, Yet I want you to raise Muhammad. O Muhammad, it's my job to put you on a pedestal. Yet I want you to emphasize on the greatness of Ahlul Bayt. The prophet throughout his 23 years of prophethood did one thing. I ask nothing from you except to love my family. Rasulullah, do you have anything else to tell me? Tell me the importance of marriage, for example. Tell me the importance of fasting. Tell me the importance of this, of that. He says no. Ahlul Bayt is essential. That if I have Qur'an without Ahlul Bayt, brothers and sisters, there's no point of loving that Qur'an. You see, today you have one point. You know how much Muslims you have. 1.8 Muslim, 1.8 billion Muslims. Many Muslims today out there in the world. The majority of Muslims have failed to connect it. Qur'an, we love it. Yet we're not interested in the manifestation of Qur'an. I'm interested in iman within the whole Qur'an. Yet I'm not interested in the very man who manifested and encapsulated Qur'an within his character. That's within the battle of Khandaq when Rasulullah comes and says, Complete iman has went to the battlefield to fight complete shirk. Look at how much time the Rasulullah is emphasizing on Ahlul Bayt. He comes and he tells him, Ali is from me and I am from Ali. He says, oh Ali, your love is true iman. He says, He says Ali to you is like the Ka'ba in Islam. For them, he's always emphasizing on Ali bin Ali. I ask him and I ask a question. Ya Rasulullah, why are you emphasizing on Ahlul Bayt? He's making a very essential point. He's saying Qur'an and Sunnah without Ahlul Bayt is not a complete equation. You see, I can have a hydrogen. I can have a whole boat filled with hydrogen. Yet if you don't bring oxygen, it's not going to give me water. Allah comes and says Qur'an is essential. Yet connect it with that second fiql. Rasulullah comes and says, I have come to you with two weighty things. Rasulullah could have came and said I've come to you with Qur'an. That's not enough. He could have come and said I came to you with Ahlul Bayt. That's not enough. Connect the two. What else? He says if you stay strong to these two things, you will never be led astray. You have to be able to connect it. Today, the enemy of Allah is trying too hard to disconnect it. Too hard. You know, I was just in Iraq for a visit. And you find this walk from Najaf to Karbala, that multi-million walk. They say 18 million, 25 million people made it to Karbala this year. Do you know what this is doing to the enemy? The enemy has his tanks. The enemy has his weapons. The enemy has this and that. Yet when he sees this walk, it strikes nothing but fear into his heart. He can't handle it. Hussein died. Why are these people walking towards his land from Basra? You know, I was walking from Najaf for three days. I saw a man next to me. I looked at him. I told him, where are you coming from? He said, I'm coming from Basra. Do you know how far it is from Basra to Karbala? Two weeks walking. I told him, why are you walking two weeks? He says, Hussein. I told him, what do you mean Hussein? Tell me something else. He says, Hussein, that's all I need to tell you. I love Hussein. This love is my fuel to go to him. You know, when I come, for example, from Detroit to New York in an airplane, there's fuel to keep the flight going. I told him, what's your fuel to come towards the land of Imam Hussein? He said, love, the same love that made Abis go crazy on the tenth of Muharram. He would take off his vest. He would go on to the lands of Karbala. They would tell him, are you insane? Have you become crazy? Have you went insane? What's wrong with you? He said, the love of Hussein has made me go crazy. This walk from Najaf to Karbala serves as a connection. They connect what Allah wants to be connected. The enemy, what does he want to do? They want to cut what Allah wants to be connected. When people today, you know, What do you do? Somebody comes and visits Imam Hussein. He would tell him, give me your right hand. They would have to sever an arm to visit Imam Hussein. A man came. He said, give me your right hand. He turned around. He gave him the right hand. The right hand was already severed. He said, turn around. Give me the left arm. He said, what do you mean, give me the left arm? He said, take my left arm. If this is what I have to do to visit Imam Hussein, then I'm more than happy to do it. Do whatever you want for me to visit my Mola. That's one of the most prominent quotes you'll hear when walking from Najaf to Karbala. The famous quote that comes in says, If there were to cut my hands and legs, stopping me from coming to visit you or Hussein, I would come crawling. What is this love? This love is the connection. Walking toward Imam Hussein is that connection. The enemy of Allah wants to sever that connection. When I come and I say, you have Kitab. You have Sunnah. And then you have Willaya. You have to connect to all of those three. Walking toward Hussein is that specific connection. The enemy of Allah hates it. Yazid wanted to sever that very connection to the extent that he would take the head of Aba Abdullah Hussein. He would place it on a plate and he would take a stick and he would begin to play with those very lips. Zaydi bin Arqam narrates, he said, By God, I saw those same exact lips being kissed by Rasulullah. What is Yazid doing? He's severing it. That's why he's playing with the lips of Imam Hussein. He mentions these very famous and prominent lines of poetry where he says, He says, Now somebody may come and ask a question. Why is it that we have to connect it to Ahlul Bayt? Why isn't that Quran is enough? Why do I need Willaya? For a number of reasons. Number one, because Ahlul Bayt were the Jews of the prophets. Ahlul Bayt were the encapsulation of all of the prophets. You see, when I look at somebody like Musa A.S., he was revered for what? His strength. When I look at somebody as Jesus, he was revered for his love. Jesus was known to be this loving spiritual character. When I look at somebody such as Job or a Yub, a Yub was revered for what? His patience. Each prophet had a specific characteristic. Yet when you examine Ahlul Bayt, all of these characteristics met into one family. They became the encapsulation of all of the characteristics of the prophets. One day, Jundub was sitting next to the prophet of Islam, Jundub being Abu Dhar al-Ghaifari, original name being Jundub. He was sitting next to the Holy Prophet of Islam, and the Holy Prophet would turn to him. He would tell him, if you want to see Musa and his strength, a Yub and his patience, Jesus and his asceticism, Musa and his strength, Yusuf and his beauty, then look at the man who shall pass by, who was like the moon and sun and radiance, and like the stars shining bright, Jundub says, I turned around and I saw no other than my master, Ali ibn Abi Talab, peace be upon him and peace be upon him. Musa, a Yub, Jesus, all of their qualities were there within the Holy Prophet, and within Ali ibn Abi Talab, Amir al-Mu'mineen. That Imam Amir al-Mu'mineen became the character who manifested all of the qualities of the prophets. That's when I come and I say, I love you, oh Ahlul Bayt. Why do I love you? Because within you everything was summarized. I could go and follow Musa, but Musa was simply a piece of the puzzle. I could go and follow Jesus, but Jesus was simply a piece of the puzzle. When I come and I say, I love you, oh Al-Muhammad, we come and we say, wa kulla shayin ahsainahu fi imam in mubeen. Everything was manifested within the character of Al-Muhammad. But when I say, I love Ali, I just said I love Jesus. When I said, I love Ali, I'm saying I love Musa. When I say, I love Ali, I'm saying I love Ibrahim, because Ali was not an individual. He was a principal. That's why Imam Amir al-Mu'mineen, if someone comes and he says, within a very famous narration, he says, He said with the prophets before me, I was hidden, yet with Muhammad I was manifest. What do you mean you were hidden? Meaning you were there with Musa? You were there with Jesus? What is he saying? He's saying within the time of the prophets, I was there as a principal. Jesus strove to implement Haq. I am Haq. Ali yun ma al-Haq. Wal Haq ma Ali. Yadur ma ahu haithu yadur. I am Haq. Musa strove to implement Haq. He is Haq. That he was there as a principal. When I love Ahlul-Bayt on the first level, I'm making it clear that I love the very manifestation of all of the characters of the prophets. Number two, the reason why I have to love the Holy Prophet and his Ahlul-Bayt is simply because you find each prophet had 12 disciples. Jesus had 12 disciples. Musa had the 12 sons of Jacob, al-Asbaat al-Lithnaash. And the Holy Prophet had 12. The Holy Prophet was the only man who had an infallible set of 12 individuals and perfect set of 12 individuals. Musa, alaihi salam, has his 12 individuals. He's there walking within the desert. Allah, swt, commands that he gets lost for 40 years. Now, if I want to follow a man, at least give me companions of his which I can follow. I don't want to follow a man who is simply there detached of infallible prophets and indeed companions who could continue his message. Jesus, 12 individuals, they're following him. People such as Judah, people such as other companions of Jesus, alaihi salam, alaihi salam. Jesus, alaihi salam, is there. He's walking. They come to him. They want to take Jesus and place him onto the cross. Why would I follow a set of individuals who took the initiative to crucify their very prophet? Yet the Holy Prophet came into the picture. Allah came and sent the verse. Muhammadun rasulullah waladina maahu. Muhammad, the prophet of Allah and the people with him. He didn't say only Muhammad. He said Muhammad and those with him because each prophet came forward with a seed. Musa had the seed to complete Islam. Yahud didn't have the soil. Jesus had the seed. Yahud didn't have the soil. Muhammad held such a specific and great phase within the religion of Islam. Why? Because it was the phase when the seed met soil. He had the seed. Yet he had to plant it somewhere. Where did he plant it? He planted it with no other family than the family. Allah, alaihi salam, alaihi salam. That's on the second level. You find the 12 of Muhammad, alaihi salam were the 12 infallibles. On the third level, the reason why Ahlul Bayt have to be connected with the Kitab and also with the Sunnah is simply because they are the gate to the Holy Prophet. You see, the reason why I love Ali ibn Abi Talib is because of his love towards the Prophet. Today, one of the saddest things and I speak to you with all honesty we find within our communities is the fact that we tend to exaggerate in the state of Ali ibn Abi Talib to the extent that we raise him over the very Prophet himself. You find this very common in specific communities. I remember I was actually in a community now to mention the culture and I mentioned that the Iman of Rasul Allah is superior to the Iman of Ali ibn Abi Talib to show that the Holy Prophet is the template. He's the pole of the tent, as one would say. A man came to me after I finished the Majlis. He told me, excuse me brother, very nice Majlis, thank you very much. Allah bless you. But you mentioned something which I disagree with. I told him, go ahead. What is it? He said, you mentioned that the Iman of the Holy Prophet is superior to the Iman of Ali ibn Abi Talib. I told him, yes. I'm waiting for the point. What's the point you're trying to make? He said, incorrect. I disagree. I told him, why so? He said, in the incident of Isra'a and Ma'raj, Allah used the voice of Ali ibn Abi Talib to speak to Rasul Allah. I told him, first of all, can you give me a reference to this specific Hadith? He said, no, I'm sorry. I don't have a reference. I told him, do you see the difference between you and I? I told him, I'm not going to get into an argument here. But just off the bat, do you see the difference? He said, no, what's the difference? I told him, I'm giving you a Qur'an. You're giving me a Hadith. Brothers and sisters, when we're trying to reach the truth and we're trying to reach the haqiqa of wa Islamiz, let us not go to the words of the creation over the words of the Creator. Allah comes and says, take Qur'an. Ahl al-Bait, themselves come forth and say, if our words go contradictory to the words of the Qur'an, fadribuhu halal ha'it. Hit it against the wall. Don't take it into consideration. That the way I prove that the words of Al-Muhammad are legit is by me seeing if they're in correlation with the very words of Allah, He's like, brother, but what do you mean? You're telling me all of these Mawlana's that come and describe. I told him, calm down, number one. Number two, go to the Qur'an. Allah comes and says, qulinkana l-ar-Rahmani walad, fa'ana awwulu-l'abideen. If there was to be a son to me, Muhammad would be that son. This is within the Holy Qur'an. He said, Allah doesn't have a son. Quluhu Allah. Wa-han, Allah has summoned. Yet if there was to be a son to Allah, Allah comes and says, fa'ana awwulu-l'abideen. Then say, oh Muhammad, you are the most qualified of being that son. That when I see the very incident of Ali ibn Abi Talib within the night of Hijrah, that's what shows to me the greatness of Ali ibn Abi Talib, that he was a man who sacrificed himself for Rasulullah. He gave his life for the Holy Prophet of Islam. They say, even Ameer al-Mu'mineen, as a young child, he would chase the Holy Prophet, protecting him from any injuries, from any people throwing stone. That's why I love Ali ibn Abi Talib. The reason why we love Ahlulbayt is because they were the moons. A moon in itself does not have light. Yet it's simply a reflection of the sun. Muhammad was that sun. Al-Muhammad were those moons. The moon within itself doesn't have light. The sun is what gives light to those moons. I love Ahlulbayt because they reflected the message of the Prophet. Let us not raise Ahlulbayt to such an extent that we make it look almost as if Muhammad was the student and Ali was the teacher. No, no, no, no, no. Ali ibn Abi Talib himself comes over and says, Al-Lamani Rasulullah al-Fubab. Wa min kulli babin tuftahu al-Fubab. He comes and he says, Rasulullah taught me 1,000 doors of knowledge. Each door opens up another 1,000 doors of knowledge. He comes and he says, Ana! Or Muhammad sallallahu alayhi sallam comes and says, Ana Arabibullah! And Ana Arabib Muhammad. He said, It was the one taught by Allah and I am the one who is taught by Muhammad. That's when I come and I say, I love Ahlulbayt. Why? Because there are that gate to the Holy Prophet of Islam. Muhammad is the gate to Allah. Ali is the gate to Muhammad. When the hadith comes in, says, Ana Madinatul Al-Almi Wa Ali ibn Babuha. How could I get stuck with the door and I forget this city? It doesn't make sense. It almost as if I buy a car, you know, 2012 Mercedes and I buy this car and all I do is wash the door. I don't take the initiative to go inside of the car. There's a big problem. He's washing the window. He's taking care of it. Well, he doesn't go inside of the car. Allah says, Go inside of the car. Don't stay outside. Don't get interested by the exterior. The exterior is a means to the interior. That exterior is Ahlulbayt. The interior is Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam. That's on the first level, the mercy that Rasulullah came with was comprised of these three essential points, being the Kitab, the sunnah, and the willaya. The first mercy is the mercy that Rasulullah came with. As for the second mercy is a mercy which we have today. All of the justice that we see in the world today is a stem from the justice of a man who came 1,400 years ago. All of the freedom that we see in the world today stems from the freedom of a man who came 1,400 years ago. A black president is impossible to come into power were it not for Muhammad to come in free slavery. It would be impossible for a female to be today in government, someone such as Hillary Clinton who is speaking like she owns the world, would be impossible for such a lady to come into power, were it not for a man who came and stopped infant females from being buried alive. That's what people felt to realize today is that the very source of freedom and justice within the world is no other than Muhammad. That the very man who gave you freedom, you know what's ironic today, you find people come forward and beginning to draw the holy prophet with bombs placed on his head. The problem is where, you know there's a hadith by Imam Amir al-Mu'mineen. He comes and he says, don't use the power of your speech against the mother who taught you how to speak. Meaning many times we speak up to our mother with disrespect. She says, Hadi go and wash the dishes. I speak to her almost as if I'm the mother and she's the son. This hadith is interesting. Yet there's a correlation I would like to make. Imam Amir al-Mu'mineen comes and says don't use the power of your speech against the one who taught you how to speak. The problem today is that people are using their freedom to defame a man who gave them it. You see when people come today and they draw the prophet with bombs on his head, they feel to realize the freedom that they have to defame such a man came from the man that they're trying to defame. But Allah is the one that gave you that freedom. Why are you busy defaming him? Well it's not for the sacrifice that Allah made 1400 years ago. You wouldn't know what freedom is. You wouldn't know what justice is. Today somebody such as Obama comes and says I learned from the mercy and justice of who? Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King comes and says I learned from the justice of Gandhi. Gandhi comes and says I learned from Hussain and Hussain was simply a student of Muhammad. That the bedrock is Muhammad. That's when we come and we say there's a mercy today. You look at the world today. Everything we see stems from the greatness of the Holy Prophet of Islam. That 1400 years later, after his very death his name is still being raised. Allah comes and says We have exalted your remembrance. To the extent that somebody such as Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay, you know when you go to Hollywood today and you look at that famous walk of fame, you see for example Michael Jackson, you see Britney Spears, whose name doesn't need to be mentioned. You find what? That you see these names, right? Muhammad Ali in 2011, they came and they said listen turn for us to place your name onto this walk of fame. He said I don't want it on the floor. Place it on the wall. He said why? They came to him. He stood up. You know he's an old man. He can barely speak. He said I don't want the name of my prophet to be stepped upon. 1400 years later, Allah comes and says We have raised your remembrance. Allah comes and says always will his remembrance be raised. Go wherever you want. Go to the east. Go to the west. Go to the south. The name Muhammad will always be raised. That today they come and tell you the most prominent name in the world is the name Muhammad, not John, not Smith, not whatever, not Michael. Muhammad is the most prominent name in the world today. Why? Because Allah comes and says Muhammad's name I will always protect. That when you look at mercy today and the mercy of Rasulullah that he came forward and brought to society is still alive in our societies today. Justice then from the justice of the Holy Prophet of Islam. Salawat ala Muhammad wa ala Muhammad. Now that's the second type of mercy. The third type of mercy which the Holy Prophet came forward and brought and the third layer of his mercy is a mercy which has still not come. You see because Islam could be explained in the following analogy. Ibrahim, alayhi salam was the seed. That seed grew until it became a tree which was the Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. The branches of those tree were Imams and the fruit of that tree is Imam Sahab al-Asr al-Zaman. Salawat ala Muhammad. Imam Sahab al-Zaman is the fruits on those tree and that is the last stage of the mercy of the Holy Prophet of Islam. You see because there's a very famous Hadith of the Holy Prophet where he comes and he says He comes and he says our first is Muhammad, our middle is Muhammad, our last is Muhammad. All of us are Muhammad. Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi will come and complete the last phase of the mercy of the Holy Prophet of Islam. You know today one of the most feared concepts in the world is the very concept of the Messiah. Now by the way the concept of Messiah is a universal Messiah that you find that exists in every single religion. Christians come and speak to you about the second coming of Jesus. The Jews come and speak to you about Mashiach, the coming of their Messiah, the son of David. Zoroastrians come and speak to you about Saushiant. You find even Buddhists come and speak to you about the coming of their Messiah. It's a universal concept that exists in every single religion. Yet one of the most feared concepts you find nobody comes and says I'm scared of the Messiah of Judaism. Nobody comes and says I'm scared of the Messiah of Hinduism. Nobody comes and says I'm scared of the Messiah of Christianity. Yet the world trembles to their bones the minute they hear the name Mahdi. Why? You know there was a seminar in Israel about the Shia. One of the Jewish men stands up and he says there are three things that the Shia have. You know just by saying this it gives me a boost of confidence. He says there are three Shia have that we fear coming from the mouth of the horse. Number one they have Hussain. Why do they fear Hussain? Because Hussain died yet he still was victorious. Now I can kill the Shia. I can slaughter them. I can destroy them. And still they won't feel defeated. We're scared of that. Number one they have Hussain. Number two they have Marjaya. They have pillars, leaders, jurisprudence within their society. One of the biggest problems that we find in our communities is the fact that we tend to not necessarily disrespect but diminish from the word of the Marjaya in our world. Our Marjaya comes and says this you find a number of people coming forward and not questioning him there's no problem with questioning your Marjaya. The prophet himself was questioned they ask you about the soul they ask you about the soul but the problem is where? The problem is when we begin to ridicule specific Marjaya. Marjaya A is a son of adultery. Marjaya B comes from the lineage of Yazid and you'll find specific people coming forward and saying this what's interesting is that they're in a basement in some distant country from the Marjaya. Tell them go out in public go and speak go and go on the battlefield. Why are you busy in your basement? He says no, no, no I'm busy over here. Who's funding such people only Allah knows. We disrespect the Marjaya. Question them as much as you want and by the way when it comes to Aqidah when it comes to the very creative Islam being for example Theology, Tawheed, Nubuwhah, Imamah you can't follow a Marjaya when it comes to these specific things you have to come to that own realization we only follow the Marjaya when it comes to Fiqh one of the biggest problems is that we tend to disrespect the Marjaya the Israeli man comes and says they have Marjaya. Number three this Israeli man comes and says they have Mehdi. Why are they scared of Mehdi? Why are they scared of Mehdi brothers and sisters? Have we asked that question? Because they know the last laugh is going to be ours what a relaxing feeling you know imagine I'm fighting somebody and I know for sure I'm going to win you know it's like for example you're watching a basketball match and you've watched it before and you know you're going to win your friend comes and tells you haha you're losing you're telling them no, no, no I know I'm going to win the last point is going to be mine the last match I don't know how their nicks are doing are they doing pretty good the nicks they're doing good inshallah you see when you when you see the nicks are doing good you say okay they're doing good so alhamdulillah I feel relaxed us the Shi'a we know that the last laugh is ours you can destroy me in Iraq you can rip the hijabs off our heads in France you can kill our children in Iraq you can go to Parachinar Pakistan and be a head in similar because his name is Haider yeah I know the last laugh is mine when Allah comes and says when we read that one of them chapter 28 verse number 5 Allah comes and says we want to inherit for you the world the last laugh will be yours Allah comes and says be confident be relaxed yet you can simply take it theoretically you have to be practical with it I know there is an Imam waiting for me shouldn't I take into consideration that jealousy that I have hindering inside of me stopping my progression towards Allah swt shouldn't I take the initiative to go and conquer that jealousy arrogance for example one of the biggest problems is arrogance Allah comes and says kill that arrogance because there is that Imam waiting for you understand it Allah comes and says take the Messiah and look at your life through the lens of this Messiah you know there is actually one of the congressmen he was once sitting on meet the press one of the most famous shows on ABC and he came and he said somebody comes and asks him a question he tells him scenarios if you attack this specific country and you find they have the same weaponry as you would you attack them he said yes he said but wouldn't that be a bad scenario he said yes but we'll still attack them he said what if you attack them you miss and they attack you back he said that would be a bigger tragedy he said what if you attack them you miss they attack you back and something escalates from there he said that would be a very bad tragedy he said if scenario after scenario is bad one is worse than the other why are you going to attack such a country he said for one reason because worse than all of these three scenarios is if a man rises from Mecca with the flags of La ilaha illallah in his hand striving to overthrow the agendas of us and the agendas of our country you think they don't know Imam Mehdi wallah today if we go into the white house I promise you they probably have pictures of this man here and they're wanted, wanted some people go even to such an extent to say that they attacked the shrine of the 11th Imam Imam al-Haskari al-salam so that they can go into the shrine of our Imam to take some of his DNA and to examine it so that they can find the 12th Imam they're doing everything brothers and sisters the question is are we doing something this is the question coming to the Majlis sitting for and remembering Imam al-Hussein al-salam remembering the Holy Prophet of Islam 1400 years after his death this is keeping the message going matem, hitting the chest is keeping the message going that's connecting when we speak about connecting hitting the chest is a connection there it is, you're connecting to the message I cry for Imam al-Hussein there it is, the switch is coming on I'm connecting to the message I come and I say salawat ala muhammad wa ala muhammad what am I doing I'm connecting to the message salawat ala muhammad I'm sitting in my school I'm connecting to the message I see for example people coming and questioning me about Islam I shouldn't back away you know just a few years ago somebody comes and asks you about Islam you would go you would back away you would withdraw you would go into sajdah you would get scared today Islam has reached such a level that not only are we scared to answer but we're going to them and giving them Islam Habibi do you want to learn about Islam here it is do you know muhammad let me explain muhammad to you do you know who Ahlul Bayt are let me explain it to you Hussain who is Hussain.org for example that's an excellent initiative to find the world to give the world who is Hussain I remember actually one day and I typically mention this story on a common basis because I find it gets the message across I was once in Miami we're passing out sandwiches and a man came to me and he asked me he said why are you doing this we're passing out to the homeless people it was in the time of muhammad I told him no specific reason for the sake of humanity he said but can I ask you a question I said yes go ahead he said can you give me the real reason why you're passing out these sandwiches I said yes I told him have you heard of a name Hussain he said who Saddam Hussain I told him no no Habibi Hussain son of Ali ibn Abi Talib he's like no no I've never heard of it he said who is this Hussain I could have told him that Hussain was a man who was laying on the temple and shimmer was sitting on his chest I didn't give him any of that emotional appeal I told him one thing one thing only and Allah has my witness he left with tears in his eyes he said who is this Hussain I replied to him Hussain is a man who died to keep the teachings of Jesus alive he looked at me he said your Hussain has something to do with my Jesus I told him yes he has everything to do with your Jesus he's like what does he have to do with him I told him Jesus what did he die to propagate he said truth liberty freedom equality I said Hussain died to keep all of these teachings alive Hussain didn't only come for me he came for you as well give it to the non-muslim when Allah comes he says invite to the path of your Lord with wisdom and kind wording billatihi ahsan and with wisdom what is wisdom is to know how to connect brothers and sisters in conclusion the world today is hungry for Islam the world today is dying for the truth let us give it to them somebody comes and asks a question how do I give it to the non-muslim through my words no through my character me simply walking and acting like a Muslim will attract people to my message the holy prophet of Islam the man who we all came to commemorate today wouldn't go around speaking about Islam he would act you know today you have these Jehovah's Witness who go and knock on doors he wouldn't knock on doors the holy prophet he himself was the door they would come knocking on him there's a big difference he would act with akhlaq he would act with kind manners to the extent that they say the prophet of Islam had such wisdom which was out of this world they say his teeth looked like pearls when sweat would come down from his forehead Salman would run to take baraka from that sweat they say Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam one day he would be walking and Salman al-Muhammad and Ali ibn al-Abi talib was there with him look at the love that Salman had for the holy prophet of Islam do we have that love brothers and sisters three people were walking they say one of the companion turns around and he sees only a set of two footsteps he stopped Rasulullah he says Ya Rasulullah we're three people walking why do I see simply two footsteps two set of footsteps he said oh companion that's Salman Salman follows my footsteps step by step because of his love towards me look at the love of Salman that Salman attached himself to the prophet why? because the prophet had this wisdom I'll give you a simple story of the wisdom of the prophet and we'll conclude and go to the Musaibah they say that one day the holy prophet of Islam was there in Mecca and the tribes of Quraish had some dispute amongst them they wanted to replace the foundations of the Ka'bah yet they were fighting as to who should do it they said listen each corner will give it to a specific tribe so the tribe of Walid goes and takes the left side of the Ka'bah they demolish it the other tribe goes and takes the right side the other tribe comes and takes the other side they demolished the Ka'bah completely until it was time to place the Hajr al-Aswad within the very Ka'bah itself when it came time for the black rock and Hajr al-Aswad all of the tribes began to fight they said I want to do it another tribe came and said no no no I want to do it they said listen we're going to do something very simple the next person who walks into the vicinity of the Ka'bah will give him the ability to choose who's going to put the black rock within the Ka'bah they wait and they see the Holy Prophet coming in instantly they look at the Prophet and they say that is al-Sadiq al-Ameen that is the honest, the trustworthy notice how they didn't say that is Muhammad no no no because he wasn't known for his name he said my name isn't important today every time they can hear me he's busy in spreading their name Allah comes and says the name isn't important it's the message that you carry behind that name they say that is al-Sadiq al-Ameen let him come and do it the Holy Prophet comes into the tribes look at the wisdom of the Prophet they say that the Prophet would take a blanket he would say I want each tribe to take a specific corner of the blanket one tribe comes and takes the right side one tribe comes and takes the left side the other two tribes come and take the following quarters of the blanket the Prophet comes and says take this rock and place it inside of the blanket they place it inside of the blanket he says now all four of you walk towards the area where you want to place this Hajr al-Aswad they walk instantly the Prophet comes and says I'm going to take this black rock and I'm going to place it inside of the Ka'bah with the wisdom of the Prophet a battle that sprung from this dispute for four days to the extent that one of the tribes came and took a jar and they soaked it they filled it with blood they dipped their hand within these jars and they said we're ready to fight that was a sign within the times of Arabia that I'm ready to kill somebody you would take your hand you would dip it in a jar filled with blood saying that I'm ready to fight they were ready to kill people they were up to their teeth in fighting the people the Prophet came and instantly extinguished the fire of dispute from the people by that simple method look at the Hakmah of the Holy Prophet this is the Rahmah of the Holy Prophet that when you examine all of the prophets they had specific names and specific titles Musa was known as Kaleem Allah Ibrahim was known as Khaleel Allah Nuh was known as for example Nabi Allah Yet Muhammad was known as Habib Allah the beloved of Allah Allah loved him so much because he was a man of mercy he was a man who always fought for the word of Allah SWT they say until the very last moment of the Prophet's life he would connect to Wilayah you know when we speak about Wilayah the Prophet until his very last breath he's there laying on his deathbed he says bring to me my cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib look at how he was always connected to Wilayah even the Prophet himself he's connected to the very Wilayah of Ali ibn Abi Talib he says bring to me my cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib they would bring Amir al-Mu'mine he would tell him oh Ali I want you to place your head on my lap they say Amir al-Mu'mine would do the following the Prophet would begin to speak to him telling him oh Ali I'm placing this trust in your hand and he would point to Fatima to the Zahra Salamu alayhi salam I asked your brother and sisters Amir al-Mu'mineen his trust was Fatima yet what happened to the ribs of Fatima after the death of Ali ibn Abi Talib after the death of the Holy Prophet of Islam you know why it was so sad to see the Holy Prophet of Islam in this world because he began to look at each and every single one of his family members and he would begin to foretell them of what was to come to them and take them away he would look at Hasan alayhi salam he would tell him oh Hasan it's almost as if I see that liver being spit out of your blessed mouth he would look at Fatima he would say oh Fatima it's almost as if I see that hand slapping your blessed cheeks he would look at Hussein and he would say oh Hussein it's almost as if I see the hooves of the horses crushing into your blessed chest and then he would look at Ali ibn Abi Talib and he would give him a look that only Rasulullah knows how to give to Amir al-Mu'mineen he would tell him oh Ali it's almost as if I see that sword plunging into your skull and soaking the blood of your head with your blessed beard yet then he would turn to Fatima once again and he would say oh Fatima those ribs of yours what will happen to them after I leave this world you know what was the saddest thing brothers and sisters when Zaynab alayhi salam would come to the Holy Prophet of Islam you know Zaynab how much did she see she saw Amir al-Mu'mineen being struck Zaynab saw Fatima to Zahra squished between the wall and the door and Zaynab also had to see the Holy Prophet of Islam leaving this world they say that when Zaynab alayhi salam was there next to the body of Rasulullah all of them are surrounding the blessed Prophet's body the Prophet all of a sudden hears a knock on the door he says oh Fatima go and open that door they say Fatima to Zahra would go and open the door she would see that nobody was there waiting next to the door she would close the door she would come back to Rasulullah she would tell him ya Rasulullah I opened the door and nobody was there why is it that the door was knocked he would turn to her he would say ya Fatima that was the Angel of Death he's embarrassed to take me instantly he took the initiative to knock on the door because I am Rasulullah they say why they are surrounding the body of Rasulullah Rasulullah closes his eyes the Holy Prophet extends his legs he begins to repeat these lines farewelling his family members saying Bismillah Wa Billah Wa Alamillati Rasulillah they say that the Prophet all of a sudden a gasp of air comes out of his blessed mouth they say that Fatima would come to his body saying Rasulullah wake up and speak to me the Prophet didn't open his eyes he didn't say a word Rasulullah was gone I ask you brothers and sisters what happened to Fatima to Zahra when the Holy Prophet left this world they say that the Prophet when he was there in his grave Fatima to Zahra would go and begin to visit him saying these famous lines of poetry saying Allah Allah they say one Fatima to Zahra would go and visit the grave of her father Rasulullah she would say oh Prophet wake up and see what your companions have done to me the same ones that and obedience to you are now squishing me between the door and the wall one Fatima fell onto the ground take your minds to Medina brothers and sisters there she is the daughter of Rasulullah she falls onto the ground with her ribs crushed she would say Allah they have broken my ribs into pieces yet I ask you brothers and sisters for you and I it's difficult to narrate the Muslim of Fatima yet what went through the mind of Amir al-Mu'mineen the very hand that had to pass by the rib of Fatima to Zahra they say that Amir al-Mu'mineen was one day sitting in his house and I said would go into his room he would say oh Amir al-Mu'mineen why do we see you crying heavily why do we see you isolating yourself from the people you are the one that teaches us about patience why do we see you in this situation he would tell him oh Ammar if you saw what I saw you would cry as well he told him oh Ammar yes I am the line of Allah he told him what do you mean you are the line of Allah what does that have to do with anything he told him oh Ammar it's almost as if Amir al-Mu'mineen was telling him oh Ammar I had to break the door of Khaybar but never did I have to pass my hand down the ribs of my wife Fatima they say that Amir al-Mu'mineen tells him oh Ammar when I place the body of Fatima he told him yes what did you see he said my hand passed by the ribs of Fatima he told him oh Ammar by Allah never did Fatima tell me what happened to her ribs I had to find out yet I ask you Amir al-Mu'mineen you couldn't handle seeing one rib or two ribs of Fatima broken what would you have done if you went to Karbala as Hussein was being crushed by the hooves of the horses not one day, not two days but three whole days without any without any kafan without anyone shrouding that blessed body body yet brothers and sisters I ask you what went on through the mind of Zaynab it all goes back to Zaynab they say that when Zaynab was passing by the bodies on the Tanthab imagine this there she is Zaynab passing by the body of Abbas passing by the body of Akbar passing by the body of Hussein she wanted to go in farewell Abdullah al-Hussein one last time all of the sudden while she's running to the body of Abdullah al-Hussein she hears a faint voice behind her she turns around she hears that someone is telling her Zaynab my on Zaynab have mercy upon my weak body she says who are you identify yourself he would say I Zaynul Qabidin he would tell her on Zaynab farewell Hussein from upon the Kaamullah they say that Zaynab would go upon the Kaamullah she would say As-Salamu Alaikum Aba Abdullah As-Salamu Alaikum son of the messenger of Allah one narration which breaks the heart comes forth and says Zaynab al-Salam so an old man crying on the body of Abdullah al-Hussein a man with disheveled hair a man with no slippers on his feet a man with ripped clothing she would tell him don't harm my brother Hussein he's already dead you can't harm any further they say that the man would turn around and say Zaynab why didn't you recognize me I am Muhammad I am Rasulullah you see brothers we are crying about Muhammad yet Muhammad would cry about Hussein he would be there looking at Abadi Ababa Abdullah Zaynab阮 can narrate that she is all all your hands will spread being the night of the death of the greatest man to ever exist. Allah SWT will never leave our du'as unanswered. Let us raise our hands and ask Allah SWT to ease in their peons brought off and waited. Imam, with the ayat and Mubarak five times, with the large of your voices, many people have sick ones. One of the brothers requested me to mention her in our du'as. Many of us have problems in our lives which we want to be resolved. Many of us have issues which nobody knows except Allah. Today spill those problems out from your heart and speak to Rasulullah because he's the greatest wasila we can take to Allah SWT. Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin wa ali Muhammad Allahumma shan fi kulla mareez Raise your hands brothers and sisters to the sky. Let Allah SWT know that you're a serious servant of his. Allahumma shan fi kulla mareez Bi haqqee mareezi karbala zain alaqaa bideen Allahumma qti hawaija al muhtajeen Allahumma suril islama wal muslimeen Allahumma qdnel kufra wal munafiqeen Allahumma ajil walika al faraj wa ja'nna min amsari wa awani wal musashhadeena bina yadei Amma yujeef five times with the loudest of your voices Bismillahirrahmanirrahim Amma all together Amma daqawu wa yakshifun sum Amma multa raida daqawu wa yakshifun sum Amma one more time Amma multa raida daqawu wa yakshifun sum Ya kashifun sum Akshifun suma qanna ya Allah We ask you bi haqqee Muhammad al-Mustafa wa bil murta daqaleen wa bil zahra fatiman wa bil mujtaba hasaan wa bil shahidi hussain illa qadayn ta lana hawaijana jamihan ya Allah And to answer our prayers and to bless the organizers of this majlis And so that we are blessed with the ziyanah Shafa'ah of the holy prophet of Islam and his family We recite in surat al-mubanaka, al-Fatiha But before the loudest of your salawat Ala Muhammadin wa al-Muhammad