 On this blessed day of Jumr, it is imperative that we remind ourselves to be people of Taqwa, people who are mindful of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, who fulfill Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala's commandments outwardly and inwardly and avoid his prohibitions outwardly and inwardly. And it is the people of Taqwa that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has advised them to be people of Dhaka, those who came before us and those that will come to the end of time that will truly be successful, that will truly be successful in the true and real meaning of the word success. And ultimately no matter how much success someone has here in this world, is that if we do not return to Allah safely and if he does not forgive our sins and if we are not admitted into paradise, there is absolutely no meaning to any other meaning of success in a worldly sense. This is how you and I have to be. And what a blessing is that we learn the meanings of Taqwa from the book of our Lord Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, the Quran. Just as we learn the meanings of Taqwa from the Sunnah of our beloved Messenger, the Prophet Muhammad, and this is what must preoccupy our minds from the morning to the evening, from day to day, from week to week, and month to month. How can we increase in Taqwa? How can we increase in awareness? Awareness of not only what it is that we do, because Taqwa actually gets very, very deep because it relates to what transpires in the depths of our heart to make sure that our hearts are right. And this is why our Prophet, when he pointed to that blessed chest of his sallallahu alayhi sallam and said attaqwa ha-hunah and repeated this two or three signs, sallallahu alayhi sallam, he was indicating that the reality of Taqwa emerges from the heart. And we know that the Ulema have told us that there are three or four axial or pivotal ahadith that the entire religion is built upon. And one of them is that blessed hadith begins with al-hala al-bayin wa al-haram bayin, and there are multiple narrations in both al-bukhari and Muslim. But in one narration in Muslim is that it ends with where our Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam after speaking about the reality of the halal and the haram being clarified and that there are then the various matters in which there are doubts opening up the door for a higher degree of scrupulousness that many people might not know, giving us an incredible metaphor sallallahu alayhi sallam to understand it. And then he ended this hadith speaking about the heart and the importance of the heart and letting us know is that if the heart is not right, it is impossible for anything to be right on our limbs. This is the way that the Quran and our Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi sallam taught us to be. And on a blessed day like this, this is an opportunity for us to take a step in the direction of getting things right. And we want to resist the tendency of believers to become robotic, to become mechanical, to just go through our day to day life. We pray, we go to Juma, we go to Juma, and that we're more worried about that what's going to happen after as opposed to actually the moment. Whereas our Dean teaches us to be present in the moment and that the secret of living a good life is to actually live in that moment and recognize the greatness of that moment. And within our own selves, there is that tendency that stems from our egos, our lower selves that pollutes our perspective in so many different ways to think that there's going to be an imaginary moment in the future where all of the conditions are going to be right, but then I'm going to actually truly benefit from that moment. But this does not happen. On the contrary, what happens is we keep postponing and we keep postponing and then we go through our lives and we look back in retrospect and find ourselves having wasted an abundant amount of time in numerous opportunities. Whereas if we can train ourselves in the moment and our anthem should be, as one of the righteous said, siro illallah, origen omokassir, travel to Allah. And here the travel to Allah is not in a physical sense. Yes, we do outward actions, but the travel to our Lord and the whole meaning of Hidayah guidance connotes the meaning of travel. Because the whole point of Hidayah is that you are going somewhere to reach some destination that you are set out to reach. And so when we think about this meaning, then we come to realize is that we are all traveling on the path to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And we need to learn how to be mindful of our Lord Tabarak wa ta'ala and to benefit from the moment and travel to Allah with broken bones. And even if we are slightly paralyzed, as you are, as you are, we can't wait for some imaginary moment in the future. All we have is the present moment. And that includes the moment that we're in now. And any one of us that benefited from this very moment that we're in now. And in fact, some of the scholars have said is that Juma is such a blessed day that the divine manifestations of Allah's bounty on it are so great, the wisdom, this is Imam Mashallah and what he says, the wisdom of praying Juma in congregation is that the individual soul can't bear it, especially the day of Juma. These are precious moments. And we know that there is a moment where we return to Allah in it that our prayers will be answered, but even outside of that, we need to learn to benefit from the very moment that we're in and to learn what we need by way of guidance to prepare ourselves to deal with our day to day realities. And one of the things that we must come to know is that we can find in the Book of Allah, a way out. We can find in it an answer to everything that it is that we go through as human beings. All of the human archetypes that we need are there in the Book of Allah, and are then clarified by the Sunnah of our prophecy for any potential situation that you and I will ever be in. It's all there. This is why we want to increase in guidance. We want to increase in our knowledge of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's Book. It is the mahraj that we will see in a hadith of our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, but we have to have a connection to Allah's Book. And there are some people that will spend a long time learning all different types of sciences, but how much time have we spent even learning how to recite the Quran properly outwardly, pronouncing the words properly, reciting it with tajweed. That's the very, very, very first step. And ideally that we should have done this from the time that we're young. And if you start children when they're young by age six or seven, they will be reciting the Quran fluently with very few mistakes. This is what we need to do every single one of our children that we should start them early, reciting the Book of Allah ta'ala. This is the first step to recite it. And then the second step is that you and I strive to learn its meanings. And I would advise people, even those who speak Arabic, even those who speak Arabic, to read a translation of its meanings from time to time. We did this last Ramadan, where the jizah of the day that we are reading together, we also read the jizah in translation. And it takes about an hour at the speed that we were reciting. But we all benefited tremendously because translations of the meanings of the Quran serve like tefsir's do. And if you don't want to read one, say in English, then read the many other resources that we have, either in Arabic, brief commentary on it, or in some other language, your native language that you speak, you're likely to find that a brief commentary on the meanings connecting to the Book. Why is this so important? Because our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam taught us, is that the Quran is the way out. And there's a hadith where one time, Amir al-Mu'mineen said in Arabic that he came out, and that he saw that a group of companions or people were speaking about things that were transpiring in the world. And he asked them what is that they were talking about, and then sat with them, and then wanted to share a solution to many of the things that they were talking about. And he says that I heard the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam say, Alla innaha setokun fitna. Indeed, that there will be fitna. There will be various types of tribulations and trials and calamities and indiscriminate killing, civil strife, wars, famine, all of these different meanings that are encompassed in this term fitna. Our Prophet indicated is that you will experience various types of circumstances that are difficult. And our Prophet also taught the companions is that after to prepare them for what was to come, is that those of you who will live longer, you will see all different types of things that happen that cause people to differ. How do I respond to this particular situation? And then, Sayyidina Ali, because he was fatan, he was wise and smart, he asked the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, What is the way out? The makharaj literally is the way out. It's an exit. What is the way out of these difficult times that you have just described? And then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, Kitabullah, the way out is the book of Allah. The way out is the book of Allah. And then he goes on to list a long description of many of the virtues of the Quran and what it is that you and I can benefit from when we read the Quran, but this presupposes that you and I have dedicated ourselves to not only reading the Quran, but to understanding the Quran and then spending time with no one else around where we ponder verses of the Quran deeply based upon knowledge and then apply them to our everyday realities. And wallahi, if we spend time doing this, the fruits will be great. Were we only to spend the time doing it? It's not enough just to hear it recited. We have to reflect upon its meanings and then we have to see how those meanings relate to our own circumstances. So our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam then went in more detail in describing why it was the way out as he says in it you will find the news, the knowledge of those who came before you and what came before you, i.e. that the Quran is not a history book, but it tells us essentially what we need to know from the past beginning in the pre-earthly realm as well as with the beginning of creation and some of the important events of history because the Quran presents sacred history where we learn from its examples. So it is that news and knowledge of what came before, but it also tells us about what is to come, what is to come until the end of time, and then what is to come in the everlasting abode of the hereafter that never ever ends. But then what does the Quran also do? So everything that we need that preceded us and we've come at a certain juncture in history and if the world's been around for 14 or 15 billion years and Allah knows best that's a long time. We have what we need to know from Surah Al-Fatiha to Surah An-Nas, from what preceded us just as we have everything that we need to know about what will come until the Qiyamah Sa'a, until the day of judgment, and then eternally. But then what is the judgment? The Quran gives us guidance how it is that we need to be. It is a hukm, is that it allows us to know right from wrong what we should do and what we should not do. But again is that we have to get into the meanings of Allah's book in order to really experience this. Wahoo al-Fasal is that this is decisive speech, the Arab has what is called Fasl al-Khitaab. And so that we're ready to go around in a circle and everybody shares their opinion and one person's opinion is so well thought out and so based upon knowledge of the reality of what is being spoken about, people realize that's the opinion that we're going with. Fasl al-Khitaab. There's no words after someone presents this opinion that is clearly that what people should do. This is how the book of Allah is. It is not something insignificant that we should deem light. And then we learn what happens to those who abandoned it. Any tyrant who abandons it is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala literally will break their backs. Anyone who seeks guidance in anything other than it, Allah will lead them astray. And then we learn about some of the blessed names of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's book. But if we just look at a couple clusters of verses in the remaining time that we have that are examples of us, how is this Quran a way out for the circumstances that we might find ourselves in? That look at what Allah ta'ala says in Surah al-Baqarah. When he says, they ask you, O Prophet, about fighting in the sacred months. What does Allah ta'ala say? Say, fighting during these months is a great sin. But hindering others from the path of Allah, rejecting him and expelling the worshippers from the sacred house is a greater sin in the sight of Allah. And then the principle that we all need to know is that persecution is far worse than killing. In other words, is that who are you to talk about this one event in the Sabab-e-Nazul here, is that our Prophet sent a group of companions in what is called a sariah, a military campaign in the end of Jumad al-Akhira, which is the sixth Islamic month. And this is, it was the day before Rajab, which is one of the Ashur-ur-Huram. And Rajab is not a month that even in pre-Islamic etiquette that they could fight. And the amir of this campaign, Abdullah ibn Jash, is that he saw that a group from the Quraysh and that they shot one of them with an arrow and killed them. And then came back to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and he said to them, that I did not command you to take any life during the enviable months. And then they were criticized by the Quraysh, but then Allah revealed this. So even with that, that Allah ta'ala is teaching us here how to understand circumstances is that we are ultimately people of principle. And our Lord Subhanahu wa ta'ala that he tells us in his book, that O you who believe, that stand firmly for justice, is that being witnesses for the sake of Allah, even against your own selves, or even against your own parents or your own relatives, we are taught ultimately to be people of principle in all circumstances. However, is that Allah ta'ala is also telling us is that for someone to have the moral platform to criticize us, when they have done things that are much, much, much more severe, that is not just and that is not right. And we should never be as believers think that we have to have our backs up against the wall. And that if someone would just look at the sheer amount of death that is on the hands of Western civilization in particular, they have zero moral platform to speak to anybody about human rights or to speak to anybody about the taking of life. If we're all honest, read the study that was called Body Count and look at the civilizations and how many lives they have taken and who is really violent and who is really that has that methodology and a perspective where by which that they then that inflicts so much destruction on humankind. And so we should never feel that we have to have our back up against the walls. And when we're asked to condemn any particular event and that ultimate where people are principle, if anything went against the sacred law, we're against it period. But is that we should say before you ask us the question you want to ask us, we want you to look internally first and say, do I even have a moral platform to ask you that question when we have done so much that in throughout history and that is still that we're complicit with many atrocities to this very day that we are living in. This is important for us to see things in the proper light. And unfortunately, we don't have any much time to go into any more details here. But there's another thing that's also really important. And that what this teaches us is to look at things from the outward and the inward perspective and his two sides of the same coin. Is that you and I must know that nothing happens outside the power in the will of Allah Tabarakotal. And that if people think that they can get away with something here in the world, they need to think again. Our Lord tells us in Surah Ibrahim, do not think that Allah is unaware of what the people of wrongdoing or the oppressors do. He only delays them until a day when their eyes were stare in horror. Out of fear of what's going to transpire because of what they've done. Allah grants respite and He'll give people time but He never neglects subhanahu wa ta'ala when there has been injustices that have transpired. This builds us as believers knowing this. Knowing is that absolute justice will be served on Yomul Qiyamah. And yes, we strive for justice here in the world, but we're not going to attain it fully no matter how hard we try. We do what we're commanded to do. But when we know that from the standpoint of reality, there will be absolute justice in there after that strengthens us as believers. And there's countless. Everything in the Quran when we understand it is a mahrash. It is a way out for us. It is a way for us to understand what is transpiring around us. And one of those great meanings is is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ascribes despair not to the believer. He describes despair to the disbeliever. We are people that remain stubbornly optimistic despite the most dismal circumstances on the face of this earth. And when we do our part is that you will be amazed at what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala causes to happen. When Allah says, Never despair from the mercy of Allah. It is only the disbelieving people who despair from the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. When our dear brothers and sisters in Palestine and in any other place where they are being oppressed, stand firm and that remain faithful to the teachings of that Allah and our patience and seek the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala even though there's almost no help worldwide is that you will see what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will do. And you'll be surprised at how many hundreds of thousands if not more people are impacted by the way that they stuck to their principles and the relationship they had to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala despite the most difficult possible circumstances that you can imagine. You will see how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will bring good to many people and many of us might know people that have completely changed as a result as a result of seeing a particular clip about someone losing children but praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala being in a state of patience. This is from the Ajaib and the wonders of the divine decree of things that happen despite the most difficult circumstances. This and many other things are what we need to cultivate in our hearts especially in times like this and find in the book of Allah a way out so that when we look at the world ultimately see it in the way that Allah wants us to see it. Washarro an la ilaha illa Allah. Washarro anna Muhammad Rasool Allah. Amma ba'd ya'ibad Allah. Inni musikum wa nafs iyyaya. We talk with Allah. From the bounty of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala we have teachings that you and I still have access to and the efficacy of these teachings is such as that anyone who's sincere that turns to Allah and reads his book in attempts to put it into practice, learns the sunnah of our Prophet SAW and turns it and puts it into practice. It will transform that individual. It will draw that individual closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It will prepare the heart to fulfill its purpose here on earth which is to know Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is that we must realize that as believers we are the last repositories of prophetic knowledge and we are people that must dedicate ourselves to this cause of learning this deen and putting it into practice in every generation and in every age and at every different time so that is that those people who come after us will also be able to have access to these transformative life-changing teachings. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us tawfiq and bless us in all of our affairs. Ya'ar hamur rahmeen.тер that Allah and His angels are the one who pray to the Prophet SAW. Ya'i wa al-dina Amun wa Sal'u alayhi wa sallim wa taslimah. Allah ma salri wa salim ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa ala ala Sayyidina Muhammad. Kamal salli ta'ala Sayyidina Burahim wa ala Alasiyna Burahim. Enak hameedu majeed. Wa barakara Sayyidina Muhammad wa ala Sayyidina Muhammad. Kamal ba'arakta alasiyna Burahim. Wa ala alasiyna Burahim. Fill alameena enak hameedu majeed. Wa radi Allahu ta'alu an sadat wa l-akhul wa ila alashiydina, Wa-l-wa-l-wa-sani, wa-e-ta'idu-l-qorba'a, wa-yanha'an al-fahshai, wa-l-munkari, wa-l-baghi, Ya'idu-l-kum, la'allu-kum, t-tadakkurun, o-dhku-rara-ra-zim, ya-dhku-rkum, wa-shku-rani, am-i-zidkum, wa-ra-dhku-rallahi-akbab. Kim Al-Salaam.