 Imagine, imagine it's 1400 years ago, it's the ninth of Maharram, you're in your tent at night, you hear noises and commotion from outside, you leave your tent, you come outside and you see people leaving the camp of Abab the Lord in their hundreds and thousands. Looking around the wilderness for a split second, your eyes fall onto the face of Abab the Lord. There and then you decide you're going to stay, knowing what's going to happen to you when the sun comes up. So now it's the day of Ashurah, you've now become the 73rd companion of Imam Hussain al-Azayn. Knowing what you know of that day, the tragedies that took place, the events that happened, imagine you walk up to the Imam and you ask him, I want to be at your service, how can I help you? And he gives you the choice. What part of it would you want to serve him? What part of how would I want to serve my Imam? On the day of Ashurah. On the day of Ashurah, what I understand from the whole tragedy is that there was such an occasion that happened with Imam Hussain from what I have learned and understood is that there was a night before the incident where he did ask his companions such questions. And if I was to have been there amongst those companions, amongst those 73 that stayed and I was the 73rd sorry person, then from what I understand is that he showed them, like you said, what was going to happen. I am aware of what is going to happen. I would hope in that situation I would have sacrificed myself for the Imam. I would have given myself 100% because if I was there with him that whole journey from Mecca, for example, going to Karbala, then I've already made that journey. I've already submitted myself Islamically to the Imam of my time and I would have went all the way. I would have went and sacrificed myself as those companions had done. May Allah rest their souls in peace. Some of them sacrificed themselves in battle, others sacrificed themselves to shield the Imam in prayer, others sacrificed themselves protecting the tents of the women and children, one of them sacrificed himself bringing back water for the women and children. In what manner would you sacrifice yourself? I would have loved to be alongside Abbas, alaihi salam, Abba Fadil Abbas. I would have loved to have fought amongst him and protected him as much as I would have protected the Imam only because I feel that him hearing the cries of the children, putting it on himself to be like, you know what, they need to have something to drink. They need to otherwise, you know, three days no water in this heat. Yeah, to hear those children's cry, I suppose I would have seen him go on his horse right towards the river. I would have followed him unless my Imam would have told me otherwise. But I would have loved to have fought amongst a brave soldier like Abba Fadil Abbas and the honor he got for doing something like that. You know, like you said, there was once there was those companions who protected the Imam during prayer, those that protected the tents and the camps of the children and the females. Unless my Imam at the time would have stopped me, I would have probably chased after Abba Fadil Abbas and died amongst his virtue and his sacrifice. I would have felt that would have been a big blessing on anybody, my children, my wife and kids. Sure, sure, sure. And it one person's bringing through another person's making food, another person's making tea. Sure. And it looks to you like you have a guest, a visitor. Sure. So you grab one of them and you ask who's come to our house, who's unannounced, what's going on? Sure. And they say they haven't come as a guest to see us, they've come to see you. Sure. You say, okay, where is this person? Why, when did they come? They say to you, he's waiting for you in the living room. So you come to the living room, you open the door, you walk in and you see sitting there on your sofa or your chair, is Imam saying, may Salam be upon you. Wow. In that moment, what would you say to him? What would you want him to say to you? Listen, before I say anything to him, I'm on my floor, I'm on the floor kissing his feet. Not in the sense that I'm worshiping him or anything like that. But to see Imam Hussein today in my living room, I don't know if I could bear it, if I could deal with that situation because, you know, the Prophet Moses, alaihi salam, couldn't, he was a prophet and when he asked Allah to see him and Allah said you couldn't, you can't deal with it, you won't be able to take it. I think it would be a similar situation for me in that sense because to see Imam Hussein and to be within his presence, that is a remedy for a life man. I mean that is, yeah, I'd break down, I'd first of all kiss his feet, kiss his hands and I'll ask him so much. So many questions I would ask him because his father used to say, ask me before I leave you. Yeah, you know, and that always, that saying there has always been inside of me is why did those people around them not ask him so much? Why was it only those, the handful of companions that would sit him down and would receive knowledge of the unseen, for example. I mean the amount of knowledge the imams have, yeah, that, I'd be honest with you, I'd break down, I'd cry, I'd ask him about the tragedy, I'd ask him so many questions, you know, fundamental questions just to re-establish our faith today because, you know, sometimes people they ask questions, they're like, would you have been one of the companions, was you at the time of Imam Hussein or even before that, would you have been one of Rasulullah's companions, would you have been in that era? And we can't answer that question, it's too difficult for us, you know, because there were people that saw Imam Hussein's miracles during his time and still, you know, they didn't believe or they didn't fully believe or they misjudged the situation. So yeah, I'd break down but I'd ask him so many questions, I wouldn't leave his sight, I'd tell him anything you wish me to do, I am the servant of your servant, I'm not even your servant, I will serve your servant, I'll be their slave, the slave of your servant, I wouldn't have no problem with that whatsoever. To be in his presence, in his nur, I mean I wouldn't even know if I'd probably go blind. I mean the beauty of Imam Hussein is too much, it's too hard to explain, like I said to you, he's a medicine, he's a remedy, he's, you know, he's the light for those in the dark, you know, he is too difficult to sit here and explain to you at that moment if I was to have seen him, how I would react, it is something that I pray for, you know, if I pray for if I don't see him then at least one of his grandchildren in Imam Mehdi at Tulfuraj Ta'ala, you know, yeah, I'd break down and I'd definitely, I'd break down but I wouldn't leave his sight and I will serve whoever serves him forever until the day of judgement. What would you want to hear from him? What would make you happiest to hear from his holy mouth? What would you want him to say, I've accepted you and your service? No, I'd probably want him to say Allah has accepted your prayers, Allah has accepted your fasting, because at the end of the day, everything we do is for the sake of Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, and I would be happy for him to say to me that my grandfather is waiting for you by the pool of qawthar, that would be very amazing. I'd be even more happy if he tells me, for example, 10 of your generations down the line will all be with Rasulullah at the pool of qawthar. I imagine he was to say something like that, I mean generation after generation of my children, grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren. If he says something like that, like 10 of your generation will follow us or will meet your Prophet at the pool of qawthar, then that alone, I'm happy to leave this one. You know, I mean, there's so much you can hear from your Imam that so much I can hear that would make me happy, but hearing that Allah is happy with me, with my wife, with my children in this modern day and age, because it's so difficult with us living in the western world that, yeah, if I was to hear something like that, not necessarily that he's happy, but Allah is happy, because if Allah is happy, then Rasulullah is happy, then it goes through the golden chain, right? So, yeah, as long as he says Allah has accepted your prayers, accepted your worship, and Allah knows you have fully submitted yourself to your religion, then yeah, I'll be happy with that. Alhamdulillah. So, at the beginning, I asked you about 1400 years ago, and I said, you walk up to the Imam and the Imam gives you a choice. Now, in this day and age, we often forget that our 12th Imam is among us, and he's with us, and in a way, him not being physically next to us, to speak to us and tell us what to do is, him giving us a choice in how we want to serve him. So, what do you think you've done for the 12th Imam? What do you think he deserves from you? What do you think? How do you think he feels with you as a follower of his? Right now, to be honest with you, to be frank with you, I don't like to judge myself in a manner to say whether I would know what the Imam would think of me, because for all I know is that I could be far away from the actual picture of how they perceive their Shia to be. I would love and I would hope that he is part happy with me, because I know for us living in the western world, well, I know for me, I can't speak for everyone else. It's quite difficult at times. I'll give you an example, like for example in Ramadan, to not break your fast in this country. It's doable, it's very difficult, very, very difficult, especially for young guys, you know. The amount of distractions and amount of things that can go against you or whispers of shaitan that can come into you, it's very easily distracted. So, I don't know whether me personally in the state I am now is that I have that he would be fully happy with me, but I would hope that at least I'm on the right path, that if there's anything that I could work on and I can develop that I can change, then he would be my guide for that. Just like, you know, for example our Maraja, this is why it's so important for us to have Maraja, because if you are stuck in a situation and you need to ask somebody, you know, you don't have the experience in religion, you don't have the jurisprudence in religion, then we'd have to go to them. So, I'd hope that there would only be slight things that I can improve on or I can develop to make him even more happy, but to say that he's going to be happy with me fully, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I'd hope so.