 نعود بالله من شلولي من كوسنا ومن سيئات يا عالينا من يحدي الله وفلان ودره وما يهد الفلاء هادرة ونشهدوا أن لا إله إلا الله وإحتبه لا شريك له ونشهدوا أن الناس يهدنا وولانا محمد أبرك وغرصوره كيف حالت here I was just driving here and I swerved slightly to the left not even close to the line but the person next to me wanted to make sure that I was invading their space and they just wheeled on the horn and I'm already having one of those days I don't really need you to just take easy have a little bit of patience, but they have me but it didn't that put me into a situation where I started thinking about this هذا الشيء يسمى الآي آي آي is probably one of the easiest sounds in the English language everyone can say it آي آي if you don't have funny letters like you like with the you with the two dots on top or things like that our language is pretty simple as far as I can tell alphabetically speaking and آي is probably the most intense of letters and like all science it's not intense because of what it is it's intense because of what it points to آي is a letter a letter in a sign a sign that points to something which is very very very intense well it seems to be this آي this self this ego this person the thing that's talking to me when I'm contemplating whether or not I should drive up a little faster to let that person know how I really feel that person that self that ego that thing that I am striving against towards my Lord is actually my asset if I understand it I can think about it properly now this thing that آي this self this ego this person this consciousness if you want to put it in that way well let's take a look at it for example for a second when someone says you when talking about me what do they mean when they say آي in this case it would be you are you talking about my body is that what I am is that my identification is that how I'm known to my body is my body that thing which identifies me to you well if it is then know that well I'm 37 years old and I wasn't born this size I've gone through some changes so if you saw me as a child and you saw me now you would say they're two different people if you identify me through my body so therefore I'm not my body I can't be well someone would say well perhaps you are you are in your name what people call you well I wasn't born Mohammed Abul Latif my mother didn't know that kind of language I was born with an English name my name was changed but when my mother sees me she's not confused as to who I am if I walk in here tomorrow and everyone calls me Tony I'll be the guy formerly known as now known as but that doesn't change my identity it doesn't make me somebody else that's not the self the self is not the body the self is not the name well okay the self must be some attribute of mine well last time I was here I think my hair was curly and longer now it's not like that do you have any problem recognizing who I am sooner or later someone who is turning white now sooner or later it's all going to be white will I become someone else well I can't be through attributes then that you identify me well this self this thing that's so important to us it's not identified by my body it's not identified by my attributes it's not identified by a name how do we know what it is well it's this thing that is it exists it's the being that you have oh now you're really opening up the door what does that mean what does it mean to exist what does it mean to be what is being at the end of the day well you know man come on don't get into all that kind of stuff we do it all being you know it is fine take a moment out of our busy lives when we're not veering slightly to the left when we're not checking our Facebook messages when we're not getting notices from our boss that we're not doing so well when we're not coming back with bad report cards take a moment to realize that all you and I are doing all day long is existing all we do is be we are being being in motion it's all that happens but the question is what does that even mean to be to is no stop think for a second this is cool what does it is what is is it is disqualified by cool what is is all we do all day long is being I am a being you identify me by being a being but what does that even mean if you can't identify what being is certainly don't try to say what I is the truth is الله يعلموا وانتم لا تعلموا الله knows if you don't know that's the reality of the situation if that's the reality of the situation and I challenge someone to say otherwise then why is it so important this I why is it so important that if someone were to check this I or say something to this I that I doesn't like why is that so important when I doesn't even know what I is and more importantly if I don't know what I is then how can I know who the creator of I is who is pure and absolute or have I even considered that or do I even care or am I just blind that I don't know and is it possible for I to have any understanding outside of revelation at this point don't I need something to come from somewhere else beyond all this being that will be able to reach inside of I and wake I up because I am not even thinking about what I am but I'm doing I all day long and the only time I seem to recognize when I am is when someone has the nerve and the gunshot and the gall to be rude to I isn't the most rudest thing that I can do to I and not even to question what I is isn't that the height of bad manners to my own self I put food in I's stomach I spend all day making sure I have food in I's stomach and it can't just be food it has to be tasty food in I's stomach that space that hopefully is only this large for some of us is more like this because I have been doing a good job putting food in I belly now I sound like a Jamaican isn't it true so when I am driving in the car to bring I to the nest and someone challenges I by giving me a hard time maybe I should think about whether or not I even deserve really anything at any point from anyone especially the one who made me Allah gave me this I so that I can recognize the I the only one who can even say I and it means anything is Allah لا إله إلا أنا there is no God but I now what kind of I is that and you see what happens when someone tries to assert this I in front of the I that actually is isn't that the first thing that happened أنا خير منه I am better than him isn't that what he said لا إله إلا أنا is it not shaitanic then for me to assert this I is it not a sooner of the one who is cursed to assert this I to push this I forward especially when I don't even know what it is but what you and I like to do and what you and I tend to like to do is just to kind of mask everything just go on in life get education get a nice job get a nice house get a nice belly just go on in life anyone who would challenge the I especially if they are not from my religion especially if they are not from my way of life that gives me more of a reason to verify the I but I am here to tell you today to myself first that this I is the most is the largest obstacle is the greatest obstacle to progress it is the greatest obstacle to happiness it is the greatest obstacle to success it is the greatest obstacle to felicity happiness fulfillment realizing the full capacity of being itself ironically is all contained in the letter I I doesn't want to be a kind to another I I doesn't want to be thoughtful of another I I does not want to invite another I to the greatest of I's but I wants to be confirmed and I wants to be served have you seen the one who has taken himself as his own lord oh that's beautiful Arabic poetry brother that's Quran that is Quran you think Allah is asking these questions just to be poetic to be philosophical and nowadays we are living in a time when the irony is that the only I we hear about has a pot on the end in other words the only I we engage want to know about how does it work oh I can download this oh look at the access I get look at all the information inside the only I that we actually look at these days has a pot on the end or a pad on the end so if there was any way for us avenue for us to look inside of the I and to understand it and to find it as a doorway to the actual I it's already been monopolized by a company right over here somewhere in Silicon the valley of the dead so I say Arabic poetry this verse we say it all the time but think about what it's saying oh you who believe Arabic poetry be conscious of your lord the greatest consciousness that you and I can have of our lord is one who supersedes the I that you see Allah before you see yourself that's called Takwa this thing about dotting teeth and you know what do you call this crossing teeth and dotting eyes and making sure that you have all the soonness in place that is a that is a result that is a result of this step but what has happened in our tradition and it was happening in our schools even to this day is that we're just theorizing everything we theorize proximity to Allah even it's a theory get the theory down Masha' Allah you got it bro may Allah give us hope when we speak for Allah When we speak for Allah we speak for God or I'm asking for us to ask Allah for forgiveness barely he will be forgiving his mercy Alhamdulillah I pray to God I pray that we can have that we can have That we can have that we can have that we can have and that we can have that we can have that we can have وصلى الله عليه وسلم ورحمة وعليه وعليه في هذه العمرات بدينا هؤلاء الذين يتبعون بها بواه وقالوا بها يتبعون أعطانهم لا تكونوا أفضلين لانهم سيكونون أخيرين ولكنهم لا يعتقدون أنهم سيكونون أموسا أعطاننا بها وأنه الله تعالى يقوم بعمل أمره الآن she was inspired to put her child into the river she wasn't a prophet what this means is that God can inspire and does inspire the souls there is a direct link it is there it's actually better than wifi and in that it means better than wifi at the max store can you imagine that now in that here are some of the reception this is what has been received from upon high as according to the Alexander he says this is what he heard from his lord and he wrote it down oh slave I have decreed in my eternity that the illumination of submission to me and the darkness of contention with me shall never unite in the heart of my slave whenever there is one of them there cannot be the other with it so choose for yourself be warned for we have exalted your worth too highly that you should be busy with yourself so do not belittle your worth oh he whom we have elevated and do not humiliate yourself by going to other than me and need oh he whom we have exalted be warned you are too sublime in our eyes that you should occupy yourself with other than us for my divine presence have I created you and towards it have I summoned you and by the attractions of my providential care have I attracted you so if you become busy with yourself I will avail you and if you follow its capricious desires and illusions I will expel you and if you leave it I will draw you near and if you seek my love by avoiding other than me I will answer your call and desire what he said was oh slave when you think about what a slave is a slave is something that you own in the Arabic language you find this to be the case now the microphone this microphone it belongs to me it's mine is a slave something your property the property you decide what you want to do with the property what you don't want to do with the property you decide how the property will be maintained or will not be maintained it's your right and that way we understand who we belong to and he says oh slave I have decreed in my eternity meaning it's never been like this that the illumination of submission to me and darkness and the darkness of contention with me shall never unite in the heart of my slave either we submit to Allah meaning that we how can you submit to Allah if you're not even looking for him how can someone submit to Allah when they're not even looking for him some say oh I obey the laws that's enough you think that Allah made you for his laws Allah created you and I for Sharia that's what it is as if Sharia is a worthy object or Sharia I mean it's in that way that something as beautiful as law itself nothing more perfect than imbalance than Sharia Allah itself look at it in study who find it to be the case but even that becomes darkness when it becomes other than Allah whenever there was one of them or not be the other with it so choose for yourself light and dark do not combine be warned for we have exalted your worth in other words we know your value we know who you are we know what your worth we know what we put into you we know what your end is we made you with our own hands we know we know you you don't know yourself the original question in the khutbah is what in the world is I even mean Allah has all those answers we have exalted your worth you are too highly that you should be busy with yourself in other words the irony of all this is is that your worth is in your being busy with me capital M your worth is in being busy with me capital M and your lack of worth is being busy with other than me and is there a greater other than me than I is there a more subtle idol other than Allah than I all of us we know I think everybody in this room has a Muslim name فالد, محمد, أحمد جبيد ما شاء الله I'm sure all of us in this room pray five times a day may Allah increase I'm sure all of us are fasting may Allah increase I'm sure all of us have made Hajj it's a pretty you know, worth the community and we're probably going to go again may Allah give us two feet and sponsor someone else as well all that is there but where is Allah where is I and where is Allah be warned we have exalted your worth too highly that you should be busy with yourself yourself yourself so do not be a little your worth oh He whom we have elevated by being busy with yourself in other words Allah will take care of yourself just fine let Him do that job oh He whom we have elevated and do not humiliate yourself by going to other than me and need oh He whom we have exalted don't you know and shouldn't I realize that the people who are closest to Allah are the ones who have realized their need the most the ones who are closest to Allah are the ones who have closest relationship to the one who has put them in need the ones who are closest to Allah are the ones whom Allah Himself the one who has put them in need instead of running away from Him they run to Him it's one thing to know that Allah is your Lord mashallah عليك it's another thing to know that Allah is the one who sends down the problems mashallah عليك talking to night و something entirely different to run towards the one that you know that you perceive is harming you can Allah ever harm me? does Allah have the capacity or ability to harm me? everyone here will say yes the answer is no because when you harm someone you are trying to get something from that person when you harm someone because the benefit is only for me the benefit is only for me so when Allah harms me when I perceive that to be harm I have to understand that now it's time for me to realize that's for my benefits and run to the one who's benefiting me because the question comes if I don't want to run to Allah the one who I perceive to be harming me who else would I run to who has power but Allah who has ability but Allah who any power or ability that you and I can see even things has been given to it by Allah and if you don't believe that to be the case then watch the most powerful man die if you don't believe that to be the case then look at the most powerful institution die the most powerful corporation die the most powerful country die كل من عليها then كل من عليها then then Allah said everything on the surface of the earth He said it's already gone He didn't say it's it's translated this way it's not right He doesn't say it's perishing annihilating He said it's already happened كل من عليها then everything on the surface of the earth in other words everything that you and I know it's already dead with Allah not even dead it's literally nonexistent now the question you have to ask yourself is am I weak am I going to rely on something as weak as I am let's say for a moment we say to ourselves yes Allah is harming me fine that's not what's happening but that's a human response if you need help from harm who can you go to now you can't go to anyone else but the question is why would you want to we create this example a child a little child goes to the light socket a little child is bobbling around going to the light socket he doesn't know that that light socket is not his friend along the way he dips his little baby finger into a cup of water so now he's nice and ready for a charge he goes towards the light socket is about to put his finger inside the light socket if the mother is around what will she do she will scream at him it won't be a night screen it will be a shriek if she can't if he doesn't if he's so involved in the ambition that he has that he can't hear like watching a movie for about half an hour we lose ourselves gone in the light fixture curiosity can't hear mom what is she going to do or she'll say leave him no she will find an object any object shoe book God knows what she will hurl it at that baby and it could strike that baby and when it strikes that baby what will the baby respond how will it respond it's going to cry don't let anyone try to tell you we don't believe in causes because that baby is going to look in the direction of the book whatever which way it came from and wants to know where who why what and it's going to see mom sitting there and put two and two together and realize my mother just hit me with a blood object to my head that baby is shocked crying and saying why did you harm me but was she harming him or was she saving his life that is how Allah is with us that is how Allah is with us every single day of our life because we do not know as I said in the beginning on the hookah a creature that doesn't even know what it means to have a self and doesn't even know what being is what else do you think he or she might know so no when trouble comes down realize you're the baby go into the light socket something happened go back to mama she's calling you oh he whom we have exalted be warned you are too sublime in our eyes that you should occupy yourself with other than us and as we said before is there a greater other than Allah than me is there a greater other than Allah than me some will say well idols who made the idol people say you know brother the fastest growing religion in the west you know as Islam I say you're absolutely wrong the fastest growing religion in the west is called anania the fastest growing religion in the west is self worship it's based in material the highest fastest growing religion in the west is materialism the worship of things and the reason why we accumulate and worship and base our life around things is because we hope and we think that these things are going to make our lives better so therefore I'm just worshiping myself and my own objectives the fastest growing religion in the west no the fastest growing religion in the world is that self worship is there a greater more subtle idol than that be warned you are too sublime in our eyes that you should occupy yourself with other than us for my divine presence have I created you and towards it have I summoned you why do you think Allah has sent us prophets why do you think Allah has sent us رسل why did Allah send us prophets or He sent us prophets because He wanted to make the Middle Eastern and brown people on the planet triumph over everyone else no He sent us the message because He wants us to realize how important science is no He sent us the message because He had nothing else to do no He sent us the message to bring us to Himself the goal of religion is Allah the goal of religion is Allah Himself the goal of religion the goal of this relationship the goal of my praying my fasting my giving zakah my striving my yearning my learning anything language you name it the goal the objective is Allah Allah Allah Himself Himself Allah Himself nothing else how can it be God gave me a mind when I look at all these things and then I look at the one who made them there's no comparison and how can I love these things how can I dedicate myself to these things how can I look at these things how can I do it because I don't know my own words a man a woman who doesn't know their own worth they worship these things but a man or a woman who's tasted something or their actual worth they want this undignified they can't do it may Allah give us dignity so if you become busy with yourself if you become busy with that obstacle I will avail you what do you think you avail this from the fact that we're even doing it what's worse forgetting or forgetting that you forgot