 Alhamdulillah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blessed us with iman, with faith. This is one of the greatest gifts that Allah ta'ala could bestow upon a human being, especially at this particular historical juncture, because faith provides us the foundation for having a clear purpose and meaning to life, which those who lack faith do not have. Faith provides us with a foundation for seeing ourselves as being more than merely a continuation of ordinary physical creation. So we are no different essentially in that we're a compilation of atoms and molecules that this podium or the air that we breathe or the tree outside or the rock that we might sit on. We're no different essentially. Faith tells us that we are different. Faith tells us that we have a quality that allows us to recognize that there is a power greater than ourselves that allows us to connect to that power at a deeper level, at a deeper trans or sub-physical level. These are the gifts of faith. Faith also allows us to not be tortured by the differentiation or rather the hierarchy that we see in the world, especially in human institutions. There are moves today to render everything allegedly everything equal, allegedly. And I say allegedly because if we look at something like the contemporary attack on what's sometimes referred to as patriarchy, some person or people might say well it's only an effort to restore a balance or equality between patriarchy and matriarchy, but in reality it's not that. It's an effort to destroy both so that we end up with some sort of an androgynous middle that's neither fully male or fully female, a sort of gender hypocrisy. If the hypocrites are described neither here nor there. And so that's what we're being pushed towards as a society. Faith allows us to understand that in the context of the thought of Satan, of Satan against us. There's not only no God, there's also no Satan. And if there's no Satan, there's no evil force pushing us in directions that would destroy humanity. Why is it so difficult for people to get married today? I would argue one reason is because the lines between clear masculinity and clear femininity are becoming so blurred that people can't see themselves as being fully male and therefore fully attracted and committed to a female and vice versa. And who benefits from that? Satan benefits because what is Satan's greatest joy and greatest delight in his most, in his firmest conviction to destroy the family? We read in Surah Baqarah that these sheykhs, they learned from these two at Baqarahut and Mahut that which saw distinction between a man and his woman. Satan sends out his dukes and when they return he asks them what have you done? One of them says I agitated the man and the woman until they fought each other and he said you didn't do anything because when you left they reconciled and he asks you another what have you done? And he said I caused them to fight until they separated they divorced each other. He said this one has done something and he took his crown and placed it on his head. There are demonic forces that work in our world and one of the consequences of atheism is the failure to even recognize the existence of these forces let alone recognize the damage that they're doing to our society to say nothing of fighting and pushing back against them because without faith rather they don't even exist and so we see the the consequences of evil all around us and we see growing evil proliferating evil I would argue is no coincidence that the the six five six or seven of the deadest mass shootings in American history have occurred during the last 10 years in other words and I'm not saying correlation indicates direct causation but I say it's something we should begin to think about that these mass killings have run up with atheism and they don't want to talk about it the shooter in Texas who goes into a church and just murders indiscriminately is an atheist and I would argue some person might put the finger what about these Muslim mass murders I would argue that a lot of them lack real faith not the faith that you look at a catechism and say I've formed this I've formed that I've formed that so I'm from Tahir who knew here who knew here and that was the fat one and I check on the boxes but faith that's described by saying sometimes to our prophet they said sallallahu alaihi wa sallam they said that faith being here meaning faith isn't a fantasy rather it's what takes root in the heart and then is testified to by the action and that's why we call actualized faith akida that which is bound up with the heart not that which is intellectualized and then checked off as some sort of empty checklist that you if you paid a drunken and alley enough money to check out you do it they'll give you a bottle of wine just check all the boxes and say you believe I believe you give me two bottles of wine I really start believing but faith that is entered into the heart of the human being and then transforms that human being from the inside out that transforms that human being from the inside out that's the faith that we need and that's the faith that our world is increasingly lacking in many quarters and a lot highly give us coffee no lot highly give us success with our faith we can't see ourselves as being a reflection of the loving merciful power in this universe all of these meanings associated with mercy and we've internalized the meanings of those names in the name of Allah Allah has 99 names 100 less one whoever has has internalized the meanings of those names and then reflects the meanings of those names through their being without faith we can't realize as we started this special nature of our being there's an ontological truth associated with our existence our existence started with being his command when he desires something his body says be and here's the ontological moment be and it is we exist because Allah entered uh issue the command governing each and every one of our existence be and we are which is not something that is necessary or inevitable or incumbent but is based on a divine choice informed by divine wisdom brought in and actualized by divine power and yet the world was to separate us from the divine so that we don't see our actions as reflecting the magnanimity and reflecting the great the greatness and reflecting the specialness of the divine as Muslims we have to become conscious of who we are some of you saw the lion king i think you're correct but the key moment right the key moment is when mufasa says to simba what simba remember who you are right and then simba he remembers what he remembers he's the king and the kingdom is being destroyed and he has a responsibility to go back and save the kingdom what brothers and sisters you are the king of this creation you are the khilata you are the vice-geriff and the kingdom's being destroyed and you have the responsibility to go out there and save the kingdom remember who you are remember who you are you're not just a podium you're not just a tree you're not a rock you're not an empty compilation of atoms and molecules of physical stuff your physical stuff that's been endued with the divine command your physical stuff that has the capability of reflecting the names and attributes of all nighty god your physical stuff that has a rule your physical stuff that has a soul that's capable of being refined as we equalize and level everything in this world with these twisted and corrupted ideologies that are being foisted upon humanity the leveling takes place at the lowest denominator the least common denominator so there's a waste to the bottom we want to abandon the lofty tradition of great philosophers and great theologians and great leaders moral and ethical leaders and become united at the level of the bestial nefsul bahbahimia shekhwania surrender to your desires forget about any illumination as we talk about illumination some muslims have been so or enlightenment better word enlightenment and being enlightened human being some muslims have become so twisted they'll say that's bidah that's soupism that's soupy bidah well why did our prophets send the teachers of prayer that's recorded in bukhari and muslim agudawil tirmidhi ibn maja firstly every compilation of hadith and some version of another Allahumma ja'am fi qalbi nurah well oh what place light in my heart and light in my vision and light in my hearing and light before me and light behind me and light to my right and light to my left and light above me and light beneath and some birds and light in my skin and light in my muscles and light in my nerves if we're not intended to be an enlightened creature who can light illuminate the darkness of evil that's descending upon our world the darkness and this guidance error and strain that's descending upon our world why won't we talk that prayer we're being shown as a collective humanity a bag of goods we're being so calm and newer as organic chocolate brownies may Allah give us taufiq iqulu kalli hada was taqfirullah adi walakum wal-lisa'ir al-mu'minin yaqam is taqfirullah