 Once a few decades after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had passed away, there is a group-making Hajj. And as the people are making Tawaf, there is a small delegation also making Tawaf. And in that delegation is one of the members of that royal family. Because after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, eventually royalty became status quo. So the Khilaf actually became a monarchy. Now within it you had the royal family, and in that family you had a member by the name of Hisham Ibn Abdul Malik. So he was a princeling and he was making Hajj. So he had his entourage with him and they're all making Hajj. As he's making Tawaf, just like today, he's trying to make his way to the Hajj of Aswad. So you know his entourage's group is like jostling, the people trying to get them out of the way, trying to make their way to the Hajj of Aswad. So the prince himself can go and touch the Hajj of Aswad, maybe even kiss it. But no matter what they try, they can't make their way to the black stone. And so they give up, they try several times, they give up. So he goes, he finishes his Tawaf, and they go and they do Sari between Safa and Marwah. Then after they're done, they go and they come outside a little bit within the distance where they can still see the Ka'bah and his people, they put a chair for him, he sits down. And now they're watching the Ka'bah. And of course, if this is a member of the royal family, many dignitaries are also with him. So you have people from other parts of the Muslim empire and they're also joined the prince. So they're all sitting there and he's sitting on the chair and they're looking at the Ka'bah because it is also a form of worship to just look at the Ka'bah itself. Now as they're watching, they see a very strange sight. That every so often, the group of people making Tawaf would open ways so that a person can walk up to the Hajj of Aswad, kiss it, and then move back and keep going. And then the hole would close again and everyone would continue to make Tawaf. And it's the same individual. Every so often, this person, every time they came around, people would just get out of the way naturally. He would go to the Hajj of Aswad, he would kiss it, touch it, and then he would continue. And this kept happening. And now everyone's curious, like who is this guy that the whole group, all of the people making Tawaf are just naturally parting ways. He doesn't have an entourage, he's not pushing anyone, he's not shouting, he's not making a fuss. And yet, people are still giving him that deference. And so there's a dignitary from Sham. He speaks up and he turns to the Amir. And he says, Yeah, Amir. I mean how the Rajul, who is this individual? Like this must be somebody of nobility and you must know him because who else can know him? And now he knows exactly who he is. He, Sham, Abdul Malik knows exactly who this man is. But what happens when a person's ego is a little bit beaten up? You know, Hajj will do that to you, right? Umrah will do that to you. So he's got a little bit of wounded pride. He says, I don't know who he is. He knows exactly who he is, I don't know who he is. But a man speaks up from the crowd by the name of Farazdaq. Farazdaq is actually a very notable poet from the Bani Umayyah. So he speaks up. He says, I know who he is. So now the dignitary from Sham's like, okay, tell us who is he? So on the spot, Farazdaq composes a long Qaseeda, a great praise of this individual. I'll just share a few lines where he says, haathal ladhi ta'arifu al-bat'ha'u wa ta'tahu al-baytu ya'arifu hu wal-hillu wa l-haramuh haathabn khaira ibadillahi kullihimuh haathat taqi'un naqi'u ta'hiru al-alamuh haathabn faaqima'in kunta jahilahu bijaddihi an biya'u Allahi qada khutimuh faa lisa qawduka man haathabi ta'irihi al-arabu ta'arifu man ankerta wa al-ajamuh He says, do you know who this is? This is a man that even the ground itself knows his footsteps. That Kaaba itself knows his name. The mountains and the rivers and the seas, they pay homage to this man. This is the great grandson of the Prophet of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. This is a man who is an exemplar in honesty, dignity, respect, in generosity and sincerity. This is the grandson of Faltima herself. Because of his great grandfather, Allah sealed prophethood. So you saying, I don't know who he is, that doesn't hurt him at all. Everyone else knows who he is. Now Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentions in the Quran that a person, there are some people that, you know, that a person sometimes, you know, their false sense of pravado, their false sense of pride, it will cause them to do a little bit, you know, something that is uncalled for, uncouth. So what happens when Hisham ibn Abdul Malik is pride is wounded, that all these people are now looking at him and not looking at him. They're looking at the individual who is a great grandson of the Prophet, by the name of Zain al-Aabideen, Ali ibn Hussain ibn Ali. This is the great grandson of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. He was a survivor of Karbala itself, that person. So everyone is giving deference to him and no one is looking at Hisham. So Hisham gets very upset. So what does he do to Farazduk? He imprisons Farazduk, right? It's, you know, pretty much status quo when it comes to the royal families anyways, right? He throws them in jail. So Farazduk is sitting there in jail in a place between Makkah and Medina. He's probably thinking like, how do I get myself into this situation? Zain al-Aabideen, Ali ibn Hussain ibn Ali. Here's about this, Rahimahullah. And so he sends a gift. He sends a monetary gift to the jail will where Farazduk has been kept. He sends him a gift and when he gets there, Farazduk, he himself takes a letter and he writes a letter and he sends the gift back. And in the letter he says that I want you to know I did this only for one reason. Inna ma fa'altu thalika inti saraan li ahli bayti rasulillahi sallallahu sallam. I only did this in defense of the honor and dignity of the family of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. I didn't do it for any material benefit. I don't care what I get from Dunya. I did it to show my love and respect to you because you're a person who deserves that. And then when Zain al-Aabideen gets this money back, he gets the letter, he writes a letter in return and he says, okay, then you of all people should know the family of the Prophet doesn't accept a return to gifts. So take it. And then in the letter, he also writes, but remember, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows that your sincerity in doing this action and Allah will reward you way better than what I'm giving you today. Zain al-Aabideen, Rahimahullah. A great grandson of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Imagine, can you imagine? The great grandson of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the grandson of Ali, the son of Husayn, the grandson of Fatima, survivor of Karbala. If there's anyone who has like a first class ticket to Jannah, it's him. Anyone who's got the itinerary that you know what, just skip the line of day of judgment, skip the questioning, just walk straight into Jannah, it will be Zain al-Aabideen. And yet, when he passed away, the age of 54, this is mentioned in, it's mentioned in the first age, the first age, the first age, he mentions that when he passed away, Zain al-Aabideen, Rahimahullah. And they were doing a ghusl of his body. They found on his back a bruise, a dark bruise on his back. And they wondered, where did this bruise come from? It looked like he was, you know, seriously hurt. And so within a day or two, through investigation, they found out the poor people of Medina, he lived in Medina, the poor people in Medina, they said, you know, we had a mysterious benefactor. Every morning we would wake up, we had a bag of food waiting for us in the morning, outside of our doorstep. And they realized that as soon as he passed away, Zain al-Aabideen, Rahimahullah, the food stopped coming. Zain al-Aabideen, Rahimahullah, would wake up. In the middle of the night, the whole of Medina is asleep. And he is awake. And he would fill a sack full of food. And he would throw it on his own back, and he would go and deliver food to the poor in the needy. When no one else was there. Why? Because he knew the words of his messenger, of his great grandfather, and his messenger, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, which is what? Sharaful al-Mu'min, Suraatuhu bil-Layl. Wa'izzuhu istiqnahu wa'amma fi'ayd al-Nas. The nobility of a Muslim is found in what? Getting up at night and showing obedience to Allah, Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Showing obedience to Allah. Be it in Sada, be it in charity, whatever it is. Imagine giving charity in the depths of the night. That's how you get nobility. That's how you become a person of fame and honor. And he said, and the B.S. wasallam said in the hadith as well, that your honor is found in your independence from what people have. Don't look at what other people have. And don't desire from what people have. And don't be dependent on other people. Be dependent on Allah. Allah will make you a person of honor. You look at the stories of the Sahaba. And Allah, SWT, shows us through their stories, how to gain honor. Umar, R.D., is a prime example. Umar Abdul Khattab. You know, Umar, R.D., when he was younger, in the infancy of Islam, his aunt, she said that, you know what? I think I see within Umar an inclination. He might accept Islam one day. She said this to her husband. And her husband, who is the uncle of Umar, R.D., with her marriage, he says, Umar, Ibn al-Khattab? He said that donkeys of Khattab will become Muslim before Umar becomes a Muslim. This is what his uncle said about him. And not only did Umar become a Muslim, he became the leader of the Muslims. Umar, R.D., was a person. You know how he started his day with the sword in his hand to go and slay the Prophet, S.A.W. How did he end that day? He ended it as a Muslim. How did his life end? It ended with him dying in the Masjid of the Prophet, S.A.W. How was his legacy sealed next to the Prophet, S.A.W.? That's why, when he walked into Jerusalem, when he walked into Quds, may Allah's mother return Quds to the hands of the Muslim, Ameen. He walks in as he's walking. Umar, R.D., stops him because he sees Umar. And Umar, R.D., was like, you know, completely dusted, disheveled, right? And he's got no hat on. He's holding the reins of his camel. He's taking his shoes off and he's got them slung on his shoulders. He's walking in and the entirety of the city is coming to meet the leader of the Muslims. And Umar, R.D., said, why don't we, you know, hold on, take a moment. Let's get you freshened up and then you can go inside and show off to everybody, you know, the leader of the Muslims. And he addresses Umar and he says, Umar, Umar is the one who knows this better than anyone. نحن قوم عزر الله بالإسلام. محما ابتغين الإزاة بغيضني أظلنا الله. محما ابتغين الإزاة بغيضني أظلنا الله. He says that we are a people, Allah honored us through our faith. If we look for honor anywhere else, Allah will humiliate us because Umar knows that people used to look down on him that he couldn't even take care of goats. And now, the entirety of a city is waiting for him to walk in. It's because of his faith, because of his connection to Allah, S.P., that same Umar, Nabi S.A., what did he say about him? لو كان بعدي نبيون لكانه Umar. If there was any profit after me, it would be Umar. Umar had a daughter that was Hafsa, R.D., wife of the Prophet S.A., Umu al-Mu'mineen. And she had a brother. So this is another son of Umar R.D., by the name of Abdullah. Abdullah ibn Umar R.D. Imagine being the son of Umar. He was a young man at the age of 15 who stood on the battlefield with the Prophet S.A. Imagine that kind of status that you have. Teenager standing on the battlefield with the Prophet S.A. Nabi S.A. once turns to his wife Hafsa and she says that, you know your brother Umar? Abdullah, he's a good man. He's a good man. If only he would pray Tahajjud he would be even better. And from that moment on, you know obviously brother and sister's talk, right? So word gets to Abdullah and from that moment on he would sleep little and pray much. As a young man, Shabbun nasha fi ibadatillah. And that's same Abdullah. Decades passed. Nabi S.A. leaves his dunya. Abu Bakr leaves his dunya. Umar leaves his dunya. Decades have passed and he walks into Makkah. Walks into Makkah. Abdullah ibn Umar walks into Makkah. The people see him and they rush towards him. Surround him. I mean who does it want to? They want to learn from him. Learn to learn want to learn the deen from him obviously. And he sees all of them coming towards him and he says why are you coming to me? Why are you coming to me? When Ata ibn Abi Rabah is here. He says, Abdullah ibn Umar say why are you coming to me? Go to Ata instead. A similar incident happened during the days of Hajj. Abdullah ibn Abbas walks in. This is the cousin of the Prophet S.A. Abbas was the uncle of the Prophet S.A. Abdullah ibn Abbas. Another young man who grew up with the Messenger S.A. People rushed to him. And if you read any book up to see it after every ayat you will find Abdullah ibn Abbas said this. People rushing to him wanting to learn the deen. He says, don't come to me. You're in Makkah and you're coming to me. Go to Ata ibn Abi Rabah. Who is Ata ibn Abi Rabah? The people turn around and they look at him and you know who that is. It's a man who was born as a slave of African descent. He was born blind and one eye crippled in his leg. Weak and feeble. Couldn't even look after himself. As he got older his master wanted to set him free. And he goes to his mother. He says, mother I don't want to be free. Why not? Because I can't take care of myself. How am I going to work? How am I going to feed myself? At least my master feeds me and clothes me and takes care of me. I can't even do that by myself. She turns to her son and she says, listen, go and seek knowledge. Allah will never let you be humiliated. Allah will honor you through that knowledge. Twenty years. Ata ibn Abi Rabah stays in Makkah. Twenty years until he reaches that point when the cousins of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam are telling people, go to this man, former slave. He mentioned the story of Heisham ibn Abdul Malik. He had his brother was Suleyman ibn Abdul Malik. He was the Khalifa of the Muslims. A day of Hajqams. Suleyman ibn Abdul Malik comes in with his group and he has his two sons with him. He is the Amir al-Mu'min, the leader of the Muslims at that time. And he sees, he says, we have some questions to ask. So they make their way towards the only Mufti in Makkah. And that's Ata ibn Abi Rabah, a former slave. So they make their way to him. They cut in line and they get to the front. Khalifa of the Muslims gets to the front and he says, I have some questions. You know, can you give me some fatwa? So Ata asked him, he says, okay, I will. However, he's in my condition. Are these questions for you or are you asking on behalf of all the Muslims? And he says, no, no, these are questions, personal questions. He says, in that case, you can go to the back of the line and wait your turn. Imagine this. Allah, says what? Qulillahumma maalika al-mulqa Tu'ti al-mulqa mantasha wa tanzi'u al-mulqa min mantasha wa tu'izzu mantasha wa tuwazillu mantasha biadika al-khayr innaka anakulli shayn qadir. Allah, SubhanAllah, gives kingdom to the one he wants. And Allah takes it away from the one he wants. Allah gives honor to the one he wants and Allah disgraces the one he wants. Today, unfortunately, we can buy the nicest bed that you can't buy a good night's sleep. You can buy the nicest car or you can't buy people's respect. You can wear the nicest clothing, you can't buy people's love. You can buy the biggest house, you cannot buy honor. You can buy jealousy though, definitely, right? You can't buy honor. Allah, SubhanAllah, gives that to whomsoever he wants. Allah, SubhanAllah, brought kings to the feet of slaves. Maan kaana yuridur aizzah farillahi al-hizzatu jamia. The person who wants honor, Allah has all things that he wants. The person who wants honor, Allah has all honor. We see our brothers and sisters in Palestine and every week we learn from them, every single week. These are individuals. 80% of the population in Raza doesn't have a home. Nowhere to stay. They wear the same clothes every day, barely have food to eat, forget having any money or land. And yet, millions and millions and millions of people are marching in the streets calling their names, wearing their colors. This is all we talk about, all we think about. Spent day after day after day. Muslims, non-Muslims, black, white, rich and poor, everyone is concerned about them. So understand, it is not in the ephemeral, it is not in the temporary. Honor and dignity comes from Allah SWT. Walillahi al-hizzatu wali Rasoolihi wali al-Mu'minin. To Allah belongs all honor to His Messenger, S.A.W. and to the one who follows that Messenger, Allah will give them honor. Make dua that Allah SWT makes the people of honor and that Allah SWT lifts the difficulties of the Muslims and that He allows us to help them in whatever capacity that we can Alhamdulillahi kafa wa salamun a'la ibadihi al-Ladheen astafa wa salamun a'la ibadihi al-Ladheen astafa khususan al-asiyat al-anbiya'i wa rasuhi Muhammad ibn Abdullahi wa ala alihi wa sahbihi amma ba'din. Inna Allah wa mada'ilkatahu yusalloon a'la al-nabiyya'i yuhal ladheen a'amun usallu a'layhi wa salimu taslima Allahumma salli wa salim wa barika al-asiyat al-Muhammad wa ala ali wa sahbihi wa saliman kathiraan kathiraan. Ibn kathirahim Allah mentions in the explanation of the ayah mankana yuryatul izzaf alillahi al-izzatu jami'a the person who wants honor Allah owns all honor and dignity every one of us wants to be a person of honor and dignity right? and yet we see what happens when Zain al-Aibideen al-Rahimahullah a person who has he's literally you know has the ticket to Jannah golden ticket to Jannah but he doesn't let that be a means for him to become lazy or to give up and say well I'm good to go Abdullah ibn Umar the son of Umar Umar himself the person the Prophet sallim said about him that Umar if there's any prophet after me it would be you that same Umar these individuals they didn't just say well I'm good to go I'm coasting and I'm going to be comfortably walking into Jannah they worked harder Umar al-Adi al-Lahu it is said about him when he would lead Salah in Fajr he would cry so much that nobody had any idea what Surah is reading he was leading the Salah without a mic and people on the back could hear him Zain al-Aibideen the great grandson of the Prophet sallim used to carry such heavy weight of food to distribute at night that he would leave imprints on his back this is what you and I need to worry about that it's not just walhamdulillah we have Islam no it's that Islam sticks in our life not only that but it sticks in the generations to come afterwards as well Imnu kathir mentions Rahimahullah in the Tafsir he says that man yulid an yaqun azeezan fid dunya wa fil aakhira fal yalzam ta'at Allah a person who wants to be azeez you want to be a person of honor and dignity hold on to the obedience of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that's it stick to Allah ma min abdil akbar arallahi bi qalbihi illa akbar allahu ilahi bi qalbihi ibadil a'lam is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that any person any person who turns to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with his heart Allah will turn the heart of every single person towards them we can't please everybody but if we please Allah we will please everybody that's it may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us atulfiq to do so may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala strengthen our connection to our prophet may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us atulfiq to do all the good deeds that he has expected of us and to stay away from the ma'asi that he has prohibited for