 I begin in the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful, I bear witness that there is unworthy of worship except the one Allah and that His beloved Nabi and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ peace and blessings of Allah be upon him is his last and final messenger. We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for His help, His protection, His mercy, His blessing, His sustenance, and praying and begging Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us amongst the most successful individuals both in this life and the year after, I mean Ya Rabbi al-Amin. Nassafirullah wa nathubu ilayh, we begin by seeking forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and repenting to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for our individual shortcomings, our communal shortcomings, the shortcomings of the believers, the shortcomings of those who don't believe, and asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for His immense mercy as a result of the young amongst us, as a result of the elderly amongst us, as a result of those amongst us who are close to Him and in proximity to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reminds us in the Quran and says have they not seen that we drive the water into in the clouds to barren land and bring forth thereby crops that with which their livestock and they themselves eat, do they not see? This immense blessings that we have from Allah, every blessing is from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that we have. Everything that we own, everything that we utilize, everything that we sometimes tend to forget and we boast about is all from the Almighty Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and when Allah gives it is out of His wisdom and when He withholds that is also out of His wisdom subhanahu wa ta'ala. Had the water not been taken away from us we wouldn't have had this opportunity to fulfill the Sunnah of the Nabi Muhammad and this water not been taken away from us we might not have had this opportunity to seek forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and repent to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala which is why we're reminded of that tradition of the Prophet peace be upon him, that in all of the affairs of the believer right there is khayr, there is goodness. If goodness receives them, if they receive goodness they're in gratitude and that's good for them. And if there's difficulty that comes their way they are patient and that is also good for them. And so the wisdom behind the things that we don't understand or sometimes become extremely uneasy about right only Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows that wisdom but as a community right it behooves every single one of us to do our part individually and collectively to seek the mercy from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Right seek forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Surah of Nuh alayhi s-salatu wa s-salam Allah says after the maqfira, after the promise of maqfira immediately Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says The first thing Allah promises after Istighfar is water, is rain. And so in this blessed moment, in this blessed day, this blessed time, this blessed gathering we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for forgiveness. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for water. Allahumma s-tina ghaithan, mughithan, ma li'an, ma li'an, ajilan, ghaira, ajil, nafi'an, ghaira, dar. Allahumma s-tia'ibadak, wadahaimak, wanshar rahmadak, wahi badadak, al-mayyat. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for helpful rain, wholesome rain, healthy rain, beneficial rain. And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as divine mercy for this rain. And it's so good to see the elderly and especially the young enough amongst us because the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is with those individuals, is with those individuals. And so we ask ourselves a simple question that what can I do in all of this in addition to simply making Istighfar? In addition to simply making Istighfar, very very practical brothers and sisters. Now we need to make muhassab of ourselves, take ourselves into accounting and ask ourselves, is there anyone whose rights I have usurped? Is there anyone that I have hurt? Is there anyone that I collectively hurt? What is my behavior like? What is my attitude like? Am I humble? There's times when we are arrogant in front of elders, in front of the young, in front of people around us, things that we get away with. And generally when we get away with this kind of bad behavior, the response generally is that's just how they are. That's just how they are. That's just their personality. They're always like that. That doesn't work with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That doesn't work with God Almighty. We need to truly look into ourselves and we can't, it's very easy to put the blame, especially in the land that we live in or in the type of area that we happen to live in with the amount of sins and the types of sins that are being committed. It's very easy for us to point our fingers towards those individuals. But in this moment I think that as believers we need to take some responsibility as well. And the responsibility that we need to take is that Allah has blessed me with iman and Allah has blessed me with faith. And as a result of this, I have a relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And as a result of that relationship with God, as a result of that relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah would open the doors of His mercy and Allah would answer our prayers. Not just on behalf of myself, but on behalf of the entire community and the entire ummah. On behalf of the entire community and the entire ummah. The wisdom of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, a week ago I began a 1700 mile journey by car. Right? I began a 1700 mile journey by car as I was traveling. Right? California was barren. California was dry. Some of the reservoirs that we are used to seeing filled are extremely empty. Yet you arrive, I arrived in a different state, but it was pouring so much that it slowed down my driving. I had to complete it. It was in the middle of nowhere. Extreme rain in the middle of absolutely nowhere. And here I was just, you know, slightly struck and dumbfounded. Right? Again, this is the wisdom of Allah. And I'm thinking, Ya Allah, this water could be used where I live. Now for me to say that this water is of no use to the land in which it's raining, that would be my ignorance because I'm sure that there are creatures and animals and land that happen to benefit from that rain. But at the same time in my mind I'm thinking this water could be used elsewhere to Ya Allah. You just took this cloud and moved it over just by a little. Right? Like we click a mouse and we move things around. Young people, you know what I'm talking about? Take a little mouse and move it around and all of a sudden you're in a different part of the screen. Allah could easily take that cloud and move it over. And this is this is a metaphor especially for the young. That's essentially what we're asking for today. That's what we want you to ask Allah Subh'anaHu what Allah for today. Ya Allah, all your clouds that are in so many different places, we just want you to take this divine mouse of yours and I'm using a metaphorical term. I don't want people to get caught up. Right? Take that metaphorical mouse of yours and take that cloud and just move it over. And why? Because a group from amongst the individuals, the believers gathered and asked Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah for forgiveness. And in this I just want to close, you know, I just want to share one hadith and then I will close. This is not just for the situation that we happen to be in, but for our individual and collective situation. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said If anyone constantly seeks pardon and forgiveness from Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah would appoint a way out of that, a way for that individual from out of every distress, a relief from every anxiety and provide for them from where they never imagined, from where they never imagined. And so today with that intention, we make this default, we seek forgiveness from Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah. We do a little bit of introspection and look into ourselves and say what can I do better with those around me? Right? Some of the cardinal sin is that of arrogance. Amongst the cardinal sins in our tradition is that of arrogance. Is that of disobeying parents? I'm not talking about other things while there are many other greater sins. But many of those sins such as adultery or alcohol and so on and so forth for the most part don't affect the Muslims as much as certain other things. But when we look into our own community, arrogance and treating people with ill behavior, putting people down, disobeying the elderly, these are things that affect our day to day lives. So I remind myself of what it first and foremost I ask myself and remind myself of my responsibilities towards Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah. And in reminding myself, I remind all of you and everyone else to be cognizant of certain things that we can do better in our lives through which we seek the divine mercy of Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah. We ask Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah for His help. We ask Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah for His assistance. We ask Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah for His for His blessings. And we ask Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah for blessed rain on this community. Our community year after year has witnessed miracles. Some of you may remember one of the first salatu is this thought that we held in Pleasant and not too far from here a few years ago. Soon after we saw rain from Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah. And so we again water will come blessings will come in their due time in the divine time that Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah has promised. But we ask Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah out of His will and out of His generosity to speed it up on our community and make it easy for all of us for the believers and non-believers for the young and the elderly the humans and the animals and for everyone. May Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah answer our prayers. We once again seek forgiveness from Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah in some of the other madahib you know just as in the hookah of Eid when we recite we continuously recite the Takbirat in the beginning and in the middle of the hookah and towards the end of the hookah there are narrations in which people would actually make this default a numerous amount of time during their hookah so we once again seek forgiveness from Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah ask Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah for His mercy. We ask Allah Subh'anaHu what to Allah to forgive us. There's any little or big major or minor sin that I have committed as an individual O Allah I ask for your forgiveness that if there's people in our community who have done things wrong O Allah we ask for your forgiveness. Ya Allah we ask that in this very moment you inspire us guide us and bless all of us to mend and fix our ways so that we would become closer to you O Allah so that we would receive your mercy O Allah we would receive your blessings of Allah that the goodness that you have continued to give to us is not withheld Ya Allah and in this very specific moment and with this with this Salat with the intention that we have today O Allah we are specifically today seeking rain from you Ya Allah we are specifically seeking water from you Ya Allah we have seen the fires last year we continue to see them this year Ya Allah there are so many people's lives who have been destroyed Ya Allah Ya Allah we ask for your mercy and your blessings Ya Allah we ask for your mercy and your blessings Ya Allah we seek your forgiveness O Allah we seek your forgiveness O Allah we seek your forgiveness O Allah we seek your forgiveness O Allah we seek your forgiveness O Allah and we repent to you for our shortcomings Ya Allah and in this very moment for those that are present here for those that are not present for those that are watching a home we make the intention O Allah that we will try to make our lives better that if there's anything that I am doing in my life that happens to be harmful to those around me Ya Allah that I would change my ways I would mend my ways I would be kind to my elders I would be merciful to those younger than me that Ya Allah my my siblings and my spouse and my children and and all the people that I immediately live with who can be a result of goodness or punishment Ya Allah we ask that those those relationships become a source of your blessings Ya Allah and not become a source of punishment Ya Allah and O Allah in this blessed moment we seek from you Ya Allah helpful wholesome healthy rain Ya Allah that is not harmful Ya Allah now and not later Ya Allah now and not later Ya Allah now and not later O Allah we ask that you accept our du'az Inna Allah Ya Amor bi Adili wa Liyasani wa Iida'idil Khurba wa Iimha Adil Fahshai wal Munkari wal Baq May Allah reward all of us for being here insha Allah today and we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to answer our prayers and answer our du'az while we all insha Allah anticipate and you know seek a miracle from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to be able to see the rain come down soon I also want to take a moment to remind myself first and everyone else that in this moment let us take this practice of home for the very least those that are present those that are watching online wherever you may be you know when we're alone in the car and we're driving home driving to the masjid let's make a regular regular weird of regular right and it could be in any language doesn't have to be in Arabic you know in Urdu whatever you want seek forgiveness from Allah with this specific intention that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would bless myself as an individual all of us our community and our neighborhoods with his blessings but most importantly in this difficult time water insha Allah I also want to take a moment to seek forgiveness from my dear teacher and elder Sheikh Alal you know our tradition is that we don't speak in the presence of our elders and Sheikh Alal happens to be here may Allah bless him and reward him and sanctify him and protect his secret insha Allah but I seek your forgiveness from Allah the Lord be with you JazakAllah to you and salamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu Alayhi wabarakatuhu