 Allah SWT has created us with the purpose and it's important that every single human being strives and puts in their best effort with complete focus toward determining what that purpose is. Why would God create all of this in vain? Why would God create all of the creation if there was no ultimate objective toward this creation of ours? Allah SWT gives us very clear and deliberate instruction within the Holy Quran of why we have been created and I'll get to that in just a moment. But before getting toward that point again it's important and vital to understand that Allah SWT has surrounded us by so many means by which we are able to see closeness to our Creator. As we mentioned last night that there are these signs that God allows to be manifest within the skies and within the earth. That of the sun, that of the moon, that of the stars, that of the trees and that of the oceans and the rivers, all of these are meant to be a means by which we are able to connect with our Creator. Through an understanding of who we are, our own selves, we are able to know Allah SWT, من أرث نفسه فقد أرث ربه according to the tradition that the one who knows his or herself knows their Lord. Through an understanding of who we are, why we have been created. Through an understanding of who we are in terms of the characteristics or the abilities or the potentials that we do have, we're able to understand in translation of who exactly our Creator is. Through an understanding of the verses of the Holy Qur'an, Allah SWT allows for the clarity in spite of all of the ambiguity to really show us a very clear direction of why we are here today. And sometimes it's important also to understand that it's healthy to ask certain questions toward posing questions like, why is it that I am created? What is my purpose in this world? Why am I created today? Why do I live in 2019? Why was I not there during the time of the Prophet SAW? So my eyes could have borne witness to his most beautiful face. As we recite in one of the du'as that are recommended to be recited on the day of Arafah, they say, Allahumma inni amantu bi Muhammadin sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wa sallam wa laa wa lam araa fa arrithni fil jinaani wajjaha. That oh Allah, I believed and I bear witness and I testify that I have intense faith in the Prophet SAW even though I never saw him. So allow for me to see him on the day of judgment and allow for me to see him on paradise. Sometimes we wonder and we ask the question, how come I could have not been or why was I not created so I could have been defending Imam al-Hussain alaihi wa sallam on the 10th of Muharram. That's why in the du'a that I read in the beginning we state, la ilaytana kunna ma'akum fa nafooza fawzan abima, oh Allah, how I wish we could have been there with them so that we could have attained the most ultimate victory. Victory is demonstrated in the words of the man that we are here to recollect tonight that of Qasim ibn al-Hassan alaihi sallam and we'll talk about that toward the end of the Mejlis when he states that in your way, oh my uncle Aba Abdullah, the death is sweeter than honey. That shows us the purpose of this existence. We wish and we desire, we aspire to have given everything in the way of Sayyid al-Shahadah Aba Abdullah al-Hussain alaihi sallam and posing the question of why I wasn't created for that and why I'm created for this is again a healthy question. But if the questions are only questions and we don't find answers toward those questions, well then there's just questions and questions lead to doubt and questions lead to confusion and we're not able to find again the ultimate understanding of what is it that we have been created for. It's important that we think about again that ultimate objective and when we have an understanding of why we're doing anything that we're doing, just things make a lot more sense. For instance, when you go to college and you're studying for school and you're taking a class that you really don't want to take or you're studying for an exam that you really don't want to study for, naturally it's very easy to lose focus during the course of studying or during the course of that class. But what allows for you to be successful in spite of the fact that you don't really care about what it is that you're doing because you understand that there's an objective to it. So you have to go through the difficulties, you have to go through the challenges, you have to go up and down through the hurdles because you know that you need to pass this class so you can get your degree and your degree opens up a lot of other opportunities for you. After you graduate college, we enter into the workforce and we have to do a lot of jobs that we don't necessarily like to do. You got to pay your dues, so we say. So you have to do certain things to allow for that sense of growth in your profession to occur. Again, if you keep in mind the ultimate objective, who is it that you want to be? What is it that I want to accomplish in this world? All of a sudden, things they just make a lot more sense and you have a sense of the contentment to doing what it is that you're doing. How many of us have ever done something? Taken a class, studied for an exam, even had a job or been in a life circumstance that we just despised so much. Every day when we woke up in the morning, we did not want to go to work. Every day when we woke up in the morning, we did not want to go to class. Many of us, we all encounter these sorts of things. In the minute that you tell yourself that this is not what you want to do, the minute that our heart is not into something, there's a greater potential for failure. Fair? When I started my doctorate program that I was talking about last night, I told myself there is no way in hell I'm going to finish this. I got a lot of other things to do. I have two children. I have a community. I travel a lot. There's a lot of other things going on. Why would I ever want to go and add something else to my plate? Because at the end of the day, I'm not going to be satisfied with it, and I'm probably going to do another doctorate after that. There wasn't any contentment. But then slowly you tell yourself, I think I can do this. How many of us have been in those situations? Where you tell yourself there's no way I'm going to get out of this, but then you just push forward and you just strive and you put forth a little bit more effort and a sense of clarity removes that ambiguity and a sense of precision isolates that confusion. And all of a sudden you know exactly what it is that you want and that you desire to accomplish, so you're able to do it. And you tell yourself no matter what, I'm going to be able to do this. When it comes to life, every single day, if we don't have that objective and if we don't have that purpose, then what's the point of living? If you think about it, what is it that we live for? Do we live for ourselves? Do we live for our spouse? Do we live for our parents? Do we live for our children? Many people, they say these things, do we live for Hosein? What do we live for at the end of the day? And if we're not in a state where we're asking ourselves those questions, then that's a problem. What are our goals at the end of the day? Your life goals, what is it that you want people to remember about you after you pass away? Or a better question, what is it that you want the angels to remember you for after you pass away? Or even a better question, what is it that you want Allah SWT to have pride in when He's conversing with the angels? In terms of your legacy, if we've never thought about that question, then what are we living for? Are we living for work? Are we living for our job? Are we living for our profession? Are we living for our career? Are we living for our salary? Are we living for vacation? Are we living for food? What are we living for? Once we understand that this world is temporal, as we mentioned again last night as well, and that at the end of the day it's going to end, and at the end of the day it's going to fade, and at the end of the day it's the end of the day, and we're We're going to enter into that space that's a lot smaller than this one so make sure you guys are sitting really close together and moving forward because it's going to be a lot more uncomfortable in that world after this one. So for my discussion tonight, insha'Allah, I want to work towards striving toward understanding the wisdom behind the purpose of creation as Allah SWT speaks to within the whole of the Qur'an and I want to do so on three different dimensions. The first dimension is in terms of asking the question, why is it that Allah SWT created me? Secondly, in terms of advices from Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, alayhi salatu wa s-salam, in terms of how he explained we should live our life. And thirdly and finally, what does the Qur'an instruct us in terms of our attitude, in terms of how our attitude to life should be? So let's go ahead and try to understand this conversation of the ultimate purpose of our existence in these dimensions. Again the first dimension is why is it then that Allah SWT created me? Natural question that I believe that every single human being asks at one point or another during the course of their life. Allah SWT has created us with something known as the fitrah, the innate nature by which we are able to perceive and understand Allah SWT. It's a light that God has created within our spiritual dimension that allows for us to know that there is a Creator. And numerous verses of the whole of the Qur'an and other traditions of Ahlu al-Bayt alayhim wa s-salatu wa s-salam, they tell us that God has created the human being upon this fitrah, upon this innate nature to know God, but because of our communities, because of our culture, because of our families, because of our upbringing, oftentimes we are molded in ways where either that light becomes more intensified, meaning that our knowledge of God is omnipresent and ever-present and ever-increasing, or something whereby that light dims, and we're not able to really perceive the existence of a Creator. But every one of us deep down within us, we have that notion and we have that ability and we have that potential as that man one day he comes to Imam al-Sadaq alayhi s-salatu wa s-salam and he states, Allah SWT. He says, O Ja'far ibn Muhammad, I'm an atheist. Prove your God to me. He says, I do not need to prove my God to you because you can prove God to yourself, meaning that what? Oftentimes in certain conversations we get so caught up in terms of trying to rationally prove the existence of the Creator to someone else. Start with yourself first of all, number one. Number two, the way to demonstrate the existence of a higher power, the way to demonstrate the presence of a Creator is to get someone to know themselves. This is within the traditions of Ahlu al-Bayt alayhi s-salatu wa s-salam, and I'm not trying to say that all of the other rational proofs and so on and so forth are insignificant, but I'm trying to say that this is the way that Ahlu al-Bayt alayhi s-salatu wa s-salam used to debate atheists. It's not working. So the Imam alayhi s-salatu wa s-salam, he tells him, he says, have you ever been on a ship? He said, yes. He said, have you ever been on a ship in the middle of the ocean and you look to your right and to your left, to the east and to the west and to the north and to the south and thought that I'm alone? He says, yes, actually, my profession is that I'm a fisherman and that's what I do and many times I feel that way. He said, during the course of that moment in the case that there was darkness to set in the sky and wind would begin to blow, what would happen? He said, I don't know. Obviously fear would enter into my heart. He said, in spite of that fear, would there be hope? He said, there's always hope. He said, that hope in your heart is the presence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in your heart. The fact that you always have a sense of hope, the fact that you always see that there's a way out for you in spite of all difficulty, that way out is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in your heart telling you that he exists, asking you and begging you to just open up that door and see what it is that he has to offer to you. And in the hadith of Qudsi, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he tells the messenger, salatahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam, he says, ya Ahmed, Allahumma sallalahu wa ta'ala, he states, ya Ahmed, khalaqtul ashiya lak wa khalaqtukal ashiya lak ajlik wa khalaqtukal ajlik. He states, oh Ahmed, oh messenger, oh prophet, know that I created all things for you. I created all things in your way. And I created you for me. Again, meaning that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us some ability. He has given us some potential. He has given us some reason to live. It's up to us to dig deep down and find that purpose, find that reason, find our worth. And when we want to ask this question, why is it that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created the creation? We want to do so also in three sub-dimensions. So what I did there, huh? The first one of those questions that we want to ask is again, why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala create me? But the question that we need to pose before that is why exactly do we want to even ask this question? And the question that we want to ask before that is who exactly do we have to ask this question to? We have these three questions that we want to ask and we want to ask them sort of backwards. So before we want to ask the question of why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created me, the prerequisite toward asking that question is what's the importance of asking that question. And the prerequisite toward asking the purpose of why God created us. And the reason why that question is important is a third prerequisite or a second prerequisite. And that is exactly who are we going to ask this question to. So let's start with this. And we want to know the purpose of creation. We start with asking exactly why is it or who is it that I'm even going to ask this question to Allah. The microphone is here. The purpose of our existence is going to be delivered in high definition. I've never been happier in my life because God knows that my throat is about to, I don't know what. So the first question that we want to ask again is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created us. Before that question we want to ask why is it important to know why God created us. And before that question it's important to know who am I going to ask this question to. Who created me, why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala create me, even better. Why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala create me, who am I going to ask. Call out my mom, mom why did God create me, I can. Mom's going to say, oh no. If I have a question in regards to anything, I need to ask the one who has a sense of authority in regards toward that thing that I'm asking. Let me give you an example. If I have a question about Romeo and Juliet, the best person for me to ask is a professor of English literature, or if he's present himself asking William Shakespeare himself. Fair? You have a question about a movie, the best person to ask about that movie is the director. You have a question about a poem. The best person to ask about that poem is the poet himself or herself. Why else would we go and seek from anyone else a question that is as important and is as significant as the purpose of my existence and the purpose of my creation? So what I want to ask that question, who am I going to ask that question to. Mom, dad, grandma, great grandma who told you about Jins, God bless all of our grandmothers and all of our great grandmothers, those who have deceased and those who are alive, I love us all of them. I hope you don't take any offense. I'm not making fun of anyone's grandmother and certainly not my own grandmothers. May Allah give them a long life inshallah. And I want to ask a question that is as significant as why did Allah SWT create me, the best person to ask is the creator himself. If we all submit to the fact in this room that I believe in a God, then this becomes easy because we know exactly who it is that we're asking. We're asking Allah SWT, oh Allah, why was I created? If I have a question about Romeo and Juliet, I ask William Shakespeare. If I have a question about a movie, I ask the director. If I have a question about a book, I ask the author. If I have a question about a poem, I ask the poet. If I have a question about a meal, I ask the chef. Everyone was excited about that one for whatever reason. I do that a lot. I say something and then I continue. But whenever I start with the Quranic verse and I try to have everyone finish it, bismillahi ar-Rahmanir. So we ask Allah SWT, why is it or what is the purpose of my creation? But before we get into the answer that Allah SWT offers me, the question that we want to pose before that, there's a lot of space guys, a lot of space. Come inside. Take a seat. I'd be more comfortable if you sat as well than I know that you're just relaxing as if we're in paradise because according to a Hadith, the Majlis of Hussain is paradise. The Majlis of Hussain is jannah. So you come to the Majlis of Hussain ibn Ali alayhi s-salatu wa s-salam and you get a little bit of what paradise feels like. And I don't mean me, I mean the tears that you shed in the way of Imam al-Hussain alayhi s-salatu wa s-salam, they are going to be a testimony on the day of judgment that you love the messenger of God, a love that ran so deep that it shook your core. So be in a state and allow for your hearts and your souls to be at peace because you are in the Majlis of Abiy Abdullah al-Hussain. What a blessing. There is no blessing like this one my friends. So before we get into the asking the actual question to our Creator of why is it that Allah SWT created us and what is our purpose in the world, we ask that question, why is that question even important to ask? And again, this is an easy one. When you ask the question of why is it that God created us, again going back to the example that I mentioned earlier, when you know what your purpose is, you're just more inclined toward getting toward that ultimate objective. Every day when you wake up in the morning, what's the first thought that comes to your mind? It should be your ultimate purpose in this world. Why is it not? Why do we think about everything else? The first thing that I wake up in the morning, where am I going to drink coffee? What am I going to eat for breakfast? What's on my ghoul calendar? All of these things come to our mind. The first thing when you wake up in the morning, where is God? The purpose of your existence, your Creator. It's as if that every single day or even a better example is for instance that tonight you go to sleep and tomorrow you wake up, for instance, in the middle of, give me something, finish the sentence, huh? In the middle of Kansas, what's the first question that you would ask if you woke up in the next tomorrow morning in the middle of Kansas? Why am I here, huh? You'd ask the question, why am I here? Out of all of, I would even prefer New Jersey to Kansas. Okay, maybe not, huh? The first question that someone would ask if they wake up in the morning in a completely different place than this one is why am I here? When have we ever asked that question to ourselves? The majority of people, when this question comes toward their heart, it's very easy and it's very quick to dismiss it. It's very simple. You can't sleep at night. You're wondering what's the purpose of my existence. How many of you ever had that? Think about it. You don't need to say it. You must have ever really questioned and grappled with such a question that runs that deep. I can't sleep. I can't focus. I just want to know what this is all about at the end of the day. And if that question is something that we posed but we're very quick to dismiss it, then we have to understand that we might not get that opportunity again when that question is entered into our mindset in the midst of our intellect, our aqal, our soul, our ruh. Again, it's easy to dismiss it because no one wants to spend time toward digging to the depths of such a question when there's all of these other distractions that can take you away toward things that are far less important. Just focus with me for just one moment. Super important what I'm mentioning right now. When someone wants to talk about something serious, it becomes very difficult for most people. You're having a dispute, for instance, with your spouse. Having the conversation where you're able to reconcile the differences between your spouse, between your family member, between your really close friends is not something that anyone likes to do because you have to have a conversation. And every one of us know that we don't like to have serious conversations. We like to be in a state of relaxation. We like to be in a state where everything is going well and sweeping all of the problems under the rug. And when a question is even deeper than just a relationship between two or three or ten people, and it's a question that really begins to fog your mind a little bit, like that of why is it that God has created me and what is my purpose in the earth? Again, that's also very easy to say, forget about this. Who cares about this question? I got to go to work, I got to go to school, I got a lot of other things to do. I got places to go and people to see, but we can't allow for that to happen. We have to really strive toward finding that answer. And once we have the answer, and I'm going to give you the answer in just one moment, then we need to make sure that it's something that we're always working to utilize as a means to build ourselves. So now we know who to ask. Secondly, we know why it's important to ask. And thirdly, we ask that question, oh Allah, why is it that you created us? Why is it that you created the creation? And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala states in chapter 51, 1st 56 of the whole of Quran that I did not create jinn nor did I create man except for one reason. وما خلقت الجنة والإنس إلا ليأبدون except that they worship. A couple of really important beautiful points about this verse. Firstly, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala begins the verse by stating وما خلقته. He states and I did not create. Let's take one sort of step back for just a moment to really understand the meaning of what it means when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala states and I did not create. Sometimes in verses of the whole of the Quran, he states and we created. Sometimes Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala states and I created. Or we did this and over here he sometimes he states and I did this. Let me give you an example. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this verse he states وإذا سألك إبادي عني فإني قريب وجيب دع وتداء إذا دعا. He states oh Rasool Allah there's a man who one day comes toward the prophet and he says oh messenger of God tell me. أربك بعيد فأنادي أو قريب فأناجي is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so far away that I need to call out to him with my loudest voice. Or is he so close to me that I'm able to whisper. At this moment Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reveals this verse of the Quran and he states وإذا سألك إبادي عني فإني قريب and that when my servant not when our servant and when my servant asks about me then tell him that I am near the first person. And I respond to the one who supplicates when they supplicate I respond to the one who makes dua when they make dua he doesn't say and we in the royal we meaning that him and his representatives from amongst the angels or him from and his representative from amongst the other creations but sometimes Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allows for things to be very personal like that of when he says that I respond to your da'a and in this verse he states وما خلقت الجنة والإنس إلا لعبدون and I did not create meaning that he takes creation and he brings them to himself he makes it personal and he states إلا لعبدون except for the purpose of worship meaning that there has to be something in which we're understanding the uniqueness and the closeness of our relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he states I created them so that they may worship me and the same way that I mentioned before he states يا أحمد خلقت الأشياء لأجلك that I created all of these things for you وخلقتك لأجلي and I created you for me meaning that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has created us for him and what an honor he created us for him he created us so that we may worship him he created us even though he does not need us does God need our worship no can God do without our worship yes then why did God create us so that we worship him except because he's God and that's the way that he wanted it and that's an honor why is that something that's confusing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created us because he loves to hear our voices and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created us because he loves for us to strive towards seeking a sense of closeness and proximity toward him Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created you to fulfill something to fulfill a purpose to fulfill an objective and to go through all of the ups and downs of this life because he wanted to see which one from amongst us is going to put forth our very best effort to her being the best of his servants the word and the best of his slaves as do as we recite in dua come on we state Allahumma you are the best of your slaves for me to be the best of your servants we are the closest in proximity toward you and in the words of Ali alaihi s-salam and that famous monajat of his he states ilahi kafabi iszan anakuna laka abda wa kafabi fakhran anakuna li rabba or Allah it suffices me as an honor that I am your slave that you consider me your slave and it suffices me as an honor that you are my Lord ilahi anta kama ahib sajani kama ahib oh Allah you are exactly as I love so make me that which you love that's what life is about it's about understanding that God has created us so that we strive to put forth our very best effort toward being the best of his servants but someone says but he has a lot of laws and he has a lot of instruction and he tells us to do this and he tells us to do that why is it that we have to go all of these things why do I have to pray and why do I have to fast and why do I have to go for hydrogen why do I have to give my money in charity and why do I have to do all of these things that I don't want to do Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave you the ability to stand and he gave you the ability to bow and he gave you the ability to prostrate you cannot take 15 minutes of your day to stand and bow and prostrate Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave us breakfast and he gave us lunch and he gave us dinner and he gave us all of the seven meals in between that as well and he says for 30 days I want you to fast Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave us wealth when we had nothing he gave us status when no one knew us he gave us an opportunity to live in this world and be a difference maker for people and to have the joys and the satisfactions of life and he says I want you to give out of your wealth and you say no it's my wealth that wealth came to you from God in the first place who are you to say I'm not going to give out of this wealth talking to myself before anyone else what a creation what an arrogant create what an arrogant creation that we are that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says I've given you all of these things and I've created you to demonstrate my love to you and the only thing that I want for you to do is pray make dua strive your best in this world to being the best of my servants and again that doesn't only mean by prayers and by acts of worship but even that we have a problem with which brings me to the second dimension of my discussion and that is the advice of Ali ibn Abi Qalb alayhi s-salam in regards to how it is that we should live life you know we have so much opportunity from within our traditions to really allow for every single facet of our life to really reach its ultimate ability and potential we have so much we are so blessed to have the prophet in his family alayhim s-salatu wa s-salam let me just open up a quick parenthesis over here for just one moment ahad al-bayt alayhim s-salatu wa s-salam are the best they're amazing if we spend five minutes every single day and again as a reminder to myself five minutes every single day toward reading the traditions of ahad al-bayt alayhim s-salatu wa s-salam do you have any idea how it would influence and affect our life really we have etiquette in terms of everything couple nights we would have about the etiquette of food there's the etiquette of food the etiquette of drink the etiquette of prayers and the etiquette of other islamic rituals and then the etiquette of socialization how do you communicate with one another there's the etiquette of using the restroom there's the etiquette of having relations with your spouse there's the etiquette of all of these things because the tradition in itself is so holistic and if we just took five minutes three minutes a day the etiquette of how to speak to your friends we have advice isn't just about anything and everything but we often see so much emptiness during the course of our life because we've not been exposed toward the wholesomeness that are the ahadit and the rwayat of ahl al-bayt peace and blessings be upon them and in this tradition from the imam alayhim s-salatu wa s-salam he states he states that for the believer there are three portions of their day it's a really really nice hadith i'm gonna run through it really really quickly he states that for the believer there are three portions of the day and again going back towards our previous sort of dimension in terms of understanding that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created us for worship so that we are the best of the servants of our creator so we are ultimately always seeking to understand what does it mean to worship at the same time because it's not only limited toward prayers and fasting and hajj and zakat and khums and jihad and all of those things that we all memorized in Sunday school and we could run it backwards as well it's not about that it's more than that that's one segment of it but our lives holistically they can be in the obedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala every moment from when i'm taking a morsel of food and putting into my mouth from when i'm in the midst of sleeping in my bed in the darkness of the night every one of those actions can be a mechanism of me demonstrating worship and obedience and ta'ala so he states that for the believer there are three portions of the day and the Imam alayhi sar'at wa s-salam he states and as for the first one fasa'a yunaji fiharabbah that the first portion of one's day a day being a microcosm of a lifetime by the way huh and sa'a doesn't mean hour it means a portion of time fasa'a yunaji fiharabbah that the first portion of one's day or a portion or a third of the day for the believer should be in communicating with your Lord it could be by means of Quran it could be means by means of prayers it could be by means of dua it could be by means of other ritualistic acts of worship as i mentioned before last night that worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and being in a state of engagement with our creator can be while we're doing a lot of different things could be while you're cooking could be while you're commuting it could be while you're doing anything you're baking something cookies and you're remembering that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala He is the razaq of all of these ingredients you could be walking in the park and you see a tree you see a plant you see a flower and you look and you understand that through that existence Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is trying to demonstrate something to you it could be while you're commuting to work and you're listening to the verses of the Quran and you hear all of the names and the attributes of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you know that He is arham al rahimin and that He is khairul ghaferin and all of a sudden allows for you to connect to the mercy of God and you raise your hand and you say oh Allah and I'm a sinner and please forgive me it could be doing anything fa sa'a yunaji fiha rabba the imam alaih saratu wa sarami continues wa sa'a yurmi ma'a isha and that the second phase of the life of the believer the second part of these three is that the believer should be in a state of taking care of his or her affairs we have responsibilities in this world we got to work we got to go to school we got to pay bills we got to pay taxes we have to visit family members we have to go and do a whole load of other things life is filled with responsibility God doesn't say that you need to lock yourself in your home and just worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala all night it's not about that it's about understanding that those responsibilities and the fulfillment of those responsibilities are also an act of worship they're also an act of the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala spending time with your family according to a hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam spending one hour with your with your family is equivalent to 60 years of worship that does not mean spending time with your family while you're watching Netflix huh it means spending time with your family in conversation and in and allowing for you to grow and benefit from one another and expressing your affection and love with one another and enjoying even a meal together without looking at your phones one hour is equal to 60 years of ibadah to law that doesn't mean that you cannot worship for 60 years after that just mean that you get the reward of worshiping for 60 years if you spend time with your family it's okay you take your family you go on vacation it's okay even that can be an act of worship because we have responsibilities in this life and God doesn't say that we have to run away from them or that we have to isolate them or that we have to marginalize them no it's not about that fasa'a yoramima'a should take care of your responsibilities go to work go to school study hard and know that out of those things again also realize that if you are doing it for God's sake we want to have the best in the business we want to have the best students you want to be the best in your profession because you want to be able to utilize the tools that you're doing to making a difference in the world that you're living in and understanding that is also understanding the purpose of your existence in this world so you're a cook you better cook the best food you're an architect you better build the best homes and the best mosques and the best domestic violent shelters you're a doctor you go and you be the best physician and the best whatever doctor that other people are when i get my doctorate everyone's gonna call me doctor sheikh make the offer me guys whenever anyone needs a doctor just give me a call in the middle of the night i got you no people do that anyway though sheikh got a problem it's 2 a.m. but seriously got a problem that's sheikh huh huh okay be it i'll break chicken oh my can i have a stichara i think it's a gin in my closet you're lying my grandmother is telling the truth the second part of the day should be in taking care of your affairs and your responsibilities and thirdly the Imam alaihi salatu wa s-salam continues and he states really beautiful really really nice hadith from the Imam alaihi salam and he states and as for the third portion of the day he or she the believer should keep that time between them and themselves keep it for yourself and do whatever it is that you enjoy as long as it's useful and as long as it's permissible it's okay take the entire portion of your day and again see the day as a microcosm of life keep a portion of your life and dedication and obedience to outward expression to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala a portion of your life in terms of fulfilling your life obligations and responsibilities and thirdly do whatever it is that you enjoy doing and again if god is in that equation in every one of these three points it starts with god remember huh the first one is that you keep that first portion of the day and dedication and conversing with your creator when you start with god certainly you're going to end with god so you're going to see god in the beginning then you're going to see god in the middle and then you're certainly going to see god when you're doing whatever it is that you're doing again as long as it's something that's beneficial and as long as something that's permissible you can't go away from the laws of islam and say but this is what i enjoy so it's okay to drink peanut butter banana smoothies once in a while it's okay to spend time with your family members it's okay to go out with your friends it's okay to eat nice foods it's okay to go on vacations it's okay to enjoy the benefits of this dunya but again as long as you understand that god is in the equation and you're never going to exceed those bounds and those boundaries and when something doesn't go your way in the midst of all of this won't bother you because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he's in the equation so something gets taken away from you life becomes a little bit more challenging those obligations they increase your hours at work all of a sudden from eight to eleven from eleven to thirteen from thirteen to fifteen you got to do what you got to do because when you go to work you come home you have babies and they don't sleep really well then you wake up in the morning in a bad mood all the time like me but you got to do what you got to do and you're okay with it because you know that this is a trust from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and their responsibilities and you see God in the equation everything becomes easier that's why Imam al-Hussain alaihi salam on the 10th of Muharram he says oh Allah I've orphaned my children and my wives have become widows but oh Allah if it's for you then keep on taking until you are content because I'm okay with that and that brings me then toward the third dimension of my discussion and I'll keep it brief Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has also told us that during the course of this life and fulfilling that ultimate objective there's going to be a sense of understanding and mindset that we need to be in during the course of this life you have been created to be the best of the worshipers the best of the slaves the best of the servants the most obedient toward God and the Imam alaihi salatu wa salam offers us instruction in terms of how we get there but God says that you're not going to get there unless you know one thing about this world and that this is important and that thing that you need to know is that this life is filled with trials and tribulations number one and number two that this life is going to end which is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala states within the whole of Quran that every human being shall taste death and another verse and that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is going to try you in this world which one of you are going to have the best of deeds in spite and in light of all of the trials and tribulations so you know you got to deal with it and you know that it's going to come and it's natural for it to come but if you know why you've been created then it won't bother you because you see God in the midst of that child and tribulation and you're ready to accept it that's what we learned from Mahmoud and Bait alaihi salatu wa salam how many of us have undergone a trial or tribulation in our life small big doesn't matter every one of us we go through difficulties it could be for instance that you lose your job that you fail a class that you get into an argument with the family member there's a death in your family an illness in your family you have an illness yourself whatever it might be we all go through challenges we all go through difficulties but it's about understanding that those difficulties they won't consume you so much if you know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has created this world as darul badaa as he states and as our tradition states ad dunya sijnul mu'min the hadith that states that for the believer this world is a prison and it's a paradise for the disbeliever so you have to go through certain things and they're going to hurt and they're going to be challenging and they're going to be difficult but you know what what's going to happen you got to get through it and if you don't get through it and if you don't accept that that's a difficulty and if you don't accept that that's a challenge then we're going to be consumed consumed in a way that's going to distance us from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and don't get me wrong let me just take one step back for those of you know me you know me as not someone who says that it's all doom and gloom and that when you're going through a problem you just got to be patient I'm not saying that don't get me wrong people go through real challenges and real difficulties where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has created us as the vehicles and the mechanisms and the agents for the light in the midst of their darkness and you should know your ability and know your potential in that regard as well but what I'm trying to say is that if we remove God from the equation and the entirety there's not a lot of potential for success at the end of the day in terms of understanding our ultimate purpose in this world I'll just leave you with this one anecdote it is said that there was once this man he was a employee at a mosque that was being built in Mashhad of Imam al-Ridha alaihi salatu wa s-salam Allahumma sallam in Khurasan in a masjid known as Masjid al-Gohr Ashad this particular mosque is now more recently part of the courtyard of the shrine of the 8th Imam of Ahlul Bayt alaihi s-salatu wa s-salam and during the time of the Safavids it was this man's responsibility like others like his other colleagues they were responsible they were responsible this construction workers toward building this mosque that the Safavids had said that they were going to build and it is said that these individuals like you know blue collar workers they're working 12 hours a day they don't have a lot of money they're not of a really high social status but they're just striving their best toward you know doing whatever it is that they can toward making ends meet I don't know that plastic bag is really bothering me 99% it's my daughter it's not yeah the other guy was okay God bless my daughter she's gonna kick she's gonna kill me when she gets older when she watches these when I make her watch these videos when she's eight years old how many times you make fun of me Bob it's not nice she's never gonna talk to me ever again make my daughter she talks to me for this guy he's working 12 hours a day 14 hours a day doing his very best toward making ends meet anyhow one day during his lunch break instead of going out to get food he decided to just take a rest he took a nap where it is that he was working and when he woke up he was woken up by his supervisor who told him that the king and his family are coming toward visiting this mosque they want to see the progress of it and since it was out of the request of the king that this was going to be built so he says quickly everyone get up from your sleep and make sure that shows that you're working like we do sometimes bosses coming in turn off twitter get your computers on put up those excel sheets so all of these guys they get up they start painting the walls or doing whatever it is that they were doing the king walks in he walks in with his family and amongst those who enter into this mosque that was being built was the daughter of the king and the minute that this man he saw the king's daughter he was blown away with her beauty and he said subhanallah oh i want to marry this woman anyhow that day he went back home after work and he went to have dinner with his mom and they sat at the dinner table he was not very well off his father had passed away so on and so forth and the king he tells this sorry excuse me the the mother tells the boy why is it that you're so upset like he came home really really upset ate his food quickly wanted to go to his room and go to sleep he's like no no you won't understand he's like no i'm your mom i'll understand he's like no i really don't want to talk about this she's like no no it's okay tell me tell me anything so he's like look i was working the king and his family came today while i was working i got woken up from my nap and i saw the princess i saw the king's daughter she was so beautiful and i just like i'm in love with her i can't stop thinking about her and at this moment the mom's like great go and ask go and ask her to marry you so he's like who am i i just work over here like i don't have a economic status that is that great like you know so she's like just you know shoot your shot let's go for it slide into her dm's just do whatever it is that you got to do so he's like no no no no like it's not for me so next day he goes to work he comes back home again he's upset mom says why you're upset this is again the same thing he said i can't stop thinking about her a third day a fourth day if a week passes and the mom's like look i can't see you this upset how about we just go to the king and ask to go and speak to this daughter of his and see if he would permit this conversation at the very least or just give your proposal if the king says no if she says no at least you can close that chapter and your life and end and move on with your life he says okay fine fair enough he says but i'm shy but i'm embarrassed the mom said i'm not shy nor am i embarrassed let's go boy dresses up really really well they go again they don't have that much they go toward the king and they enter into the palace and the ministers and the whatever security and so on and so forth said what have we you know what are you here for they said that we want to speak to the king this king was a really gentleman he was an accessible person he like loved his community loved the people but again he's also a busy person so all the security says no like you can't you have to come with an appointment send him an email first don't send text messages get it do you guys get it no no i don't think any of you guys get it send an email is better than a text message and you know they're like no no we really really insist we have to speak to him today so they said give us just a moment so they went toward the security went toward the king king was sitting on the throne and he said look there's a family outside they're standing outside and they want to talk to you and they said that it's urgent and they must speak with you today they live all the way out in the outskirts of the in one of the villages and they said how can we help you he says how can i help you the boy is very very shy so the mom says look king the other day you and your family you came to the mosque and my son was working in the mosque and he saw your daughter and he became very infatuated with her and we came with and we're coming here with a marriage proposal for your daughter he says okay he says what would you like for me to do he's like look just go and take the proposal to your daughter if he says no no problem we won't bother you anymore but we just want you to at least take the proposal to your daughter he says no problem that's fine that's fair no i have no worries good father in law huh he comes down he goes into the chamber where his daughter is is is staying and he says look there's a guy outside and he seems like a good person he's come with his mom she's very respectful they came in a way of you know in a very classy way and they're coming and they're asking for your hand in marriage would you like to speak with them would you like to communicate with them would you like for me to pursue this in any way and the girl she responds to her father yes i want you to tell them one thing and this is my condition for anyone who wants to marry me and he says what is it he said if he can perform the night prayer salatul lane for 40 consecutive days i will marry him i don't care what his financial status is i don't care what his economic position is i don't care what he is in terms of profession if he can perform the night prayer 40 consecutive days i will marry him king says sure you're the boss he comes out and he tells this mom and her son that look my daughter has this condition she's kind of a unique woman mashallah and she says that if you can perform salatul lane for 40 consecutive days huh then he then she will accept your proposal she doesn't need to see you she's needing to communicate with you she knows that you were dedicated to her god and she has that sense of conviction to him as well so they say great i think i can do that he tells his mom how difficult could it be i'll just set my alarm every night anyone and ever try to perform salatul leh is not easy salatul leh by the way just a quick parenthesis can be performed in many different ways the way is narrated according to ahru al-bayt alayhum salatu wa s-salam is not the prayer that you perform before you go to sleep you perform it after midnight after midnight for instance twelve midnight it's muharram where i wake all night anyway so i'm just going to pray and then i'm going to go to sleep and then i might wake up for fajr prayers or i might not not that prayer we're talking about the prayer that is performed in the last third of the night before fajr prayers and it actually says according to our traditions that you sleep after salatul isha and you wake up in the last third of the night to perform that prayer that's how it has the maximum reward anyhow he says if you can perform she says if you can perform this night prayer for 40 consecutive days then we will pursue this so they go back home everyone following so far okay everyone love stories about love it's beautiful so he goes back home and the first night he tells his mom he's like look i can do this like this is exactly what i want so he goes that night he goes to sleep he wakes up he's performing the night prayer his mom wakes up in the middle of the night should go and wake him up and she already sees him standing in quinoa asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for forgiveness second night third night 10th night 20th night 30th night he's consecutive they're having dinner one day when the boy comes back from work and the mom says huh how many number how many nights is it he says alhamdulillah 33 nights it's a great only one more week to go then we go to the king and everything's gonna be great he said i can't wait alhamdulillah i can do this i can do this i can do this 34 35 36 37 38 40 nights performing salatul laid every single night and dedication and obedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the 40th night the next day he went to work he came back home they sat down at dinner and the mom wants to the son to say that i've done it and let's go out and let's make that proposal he doesn't say anything the 42nd day 43rd day 45 50 days passes and he doesn't say anything to his mom so the mom gets a little bit worried a little bit concerned but she says you know what maybe he's not interested anymore maybe he found somebody else i don't know so he just goes she she goes toward her neighbor's home one day and she says you know my friend my son has this circumstance the situation and it's been 50 days now and he hasn't come and told me and i don't want to be so aggressive anymore he told me to sort of keep you know keep a keep a distance in regards to this situation so she said maybe she maybe he's just shy you know it's hard to have those conversations hard to tell your parents i want to get married i want to marry this person or come and help me through this process sometimes we don't want to have the difficult conversations like that so why don't you go and you take the initiative and you approach him so he says okay she goes the next day and that night she said i'm gonna wait one more night that night she creeps in the middle of the night and looks to see where her where his son is and he's weeping in tears and he's making da'a to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and she said tomorrow i have to check in on him tomorrow he comes home from work and he asks she asks him she says oh my son it's been 53 nights you've been performing the night prayer for all of these nights what about the girl he says and what about the girl what girl are you talking about what are you in mentioning he says that the girl the daughter of the king he said what he said you know you started these prayers 40 consecutive nights so you can so you can get to the prerequisite so you can make the proposal and he said oh her he said i completely forgot about her he said something changed during the course of those nights when i saw myself in dedication and in obedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala i realized that this life is not about worshiping God so i can attain something in return but i recognize that there's a sense of beauty there's a sense of pleasure and there's a and there's a and there's a sense of real deep love that i feel when i connect to my creator which is why in the da'a of Imam Zayn al-Abideen alayhi s-salam he states Allahumma s-salam he says eventually he did go make the proposal got married to the princess became the next heir to the throne and so on and so forth but the moral of the story is what difficulties and trials and tribulations they also have the means to getting you closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and sometimes that God throws us in a situation that wakes us up from that sense of slumber that we're in sometimes he wants to say i'm putting you through this problem so that you remember me now don't worry about everything else see me in this equation you lost that job you're going through that financial hardship you're going through that difficulty whatever it might be sometimes Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that you're really really really distant from me right now and i'm giving you an opportunity to connect with me and if you don't see God in it at all then we need to go back and really check ourselves and go back and really understand the purpose of our creation the reason why we are here present in this world Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in another hadith al-qudsi he states that oh creation he states that i created you so that you may seek some sense of profit and benefit from me not so that i can take anything from you my doors are open all you have to do is see that the doors exist so you can open them and find the treasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala within it we get so caught up on everything else except for God and that's what differentiates Hussain from all of humanity is that everything on the tenth of muharram was that he saw Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala first and the only thing at the same time that he saw was Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala my friends tonight is the night the seventh of muharram and according to different cultures and different traditions tonight is the night in which i will recollect the tragedy which is really hard for me to narrate and everyone from these nights until the tenth of muharram please forgive me because they're really really difficult and they're really really challenging and instead stated that on the night of ashura Imam al-Hussain alaihi salatu wa s-salam he was gathered together or he gathered together his companions and his family members and he looks toward all of them and he stated oh my dear friends and oh my dear family members tomorrow is the day in which i have been foreshadowed by my grandfather the messenger of god and i want to notify you all that every single one of us in this tent including myself are going to be killed tomorrow so if you do not want martyrdom i forgive you you can go back to your friends you can go back to your family members you can go back to whatever you came from and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reward you for everything that you have done the Imam alaihi salatu wa s-salam gives everyone a free pass and i'll speak to more in more detail about this on the night of ashura at this moment Imam al-Hussain alaihi salatu wa s-salam he turns off those candles for those of you know the story he lights them up and he sees every single one of the faces of those who are present in front of him ready and staunch in front of Imam al-Hussain alaihi salatu wa s-salam and then the Imam alaihi salam he will look towards some of those companions and he will tell them it says zif that i can see you die like this and it says zif that i can see you die like that and then at that moment there was one small voice that came from the back of the tent and that tent called out ya'am oh my uncle you said that every single one of us in the tent are going to be killed tomorrow does that include my cousin the six-month-old infant Imam al-Hussain alaihi salam he doesn't know what to respond to that boy whose voice was awesome the 13-year-old nephew of Imam al-Hussain alaihi salam the son of his brother Imam al-Mujtaba he doesn't know what to respond so he looks toward him and he states ya'a qasem how do you see death he states ya'am ya'aba abdullaa al-moutu ahlaa min al-asd that in your way oh my uncle oh abba abdullaa death is sweeter than honey can you imagine imagine the ma'rifah of qasem ibn al-Hussain this is what this is all about my friends that's the line that we want to utilize on the day of judgment that oh for you oh abba abdullaa all of this was worth it the tears and the wealth and the exhaustion and everything that i gave for you oh abba abdullaa accepted from that in your way oh abba abdullaa death is sweeter than honey what is the Imam alaihi salam gonna respond to him he didn't even ask about his own self he asked about the six-month-old infant and he was afraid to tell him that he was also going to be killed on the afternoon of the next day and he said that the day of ashura came and the morning of the azan of fejar took place and the beginning of the battle took place whereby in the first hour fifty of the companions of imam al-Hussain alaihi salam had been killed and one by one the rest of them they went out and they fought valiantly until they themselves were killed ali al-akbar comes toward imam al-Hussain he himself is killed and at this moment it is said that qasem ibn al-Hussain thirteen or fourteen years old he's just a child he exits the tent and he goes toward his uncle imam al-Hussain alaihi salam and he says oh abba abdillah do you give me permission to fight imam al-Hussain alaihi salam he sees the face of this boy that resembled a luminous moon according to traditions and he states oh qasem you how can i let you fight you're an orphan your father allowed for me to take the responsibility to take care of you there is no way that i can allow for you to fight and i'll tell you this my dear brothers and sisters that whenever any one of the companions of the imam alaihi salam came and asked for permission eventually the imam after a little bit of pushing he would allow for them to go but when it came to qasem immediately he said absolutely not qasem go back to the tent there is no way that i'm going to allow for you to go in a normal instance when someone does not have to go and risk their life they would feel a sense of relief but qasem he allowed for tears to flow down from his eyes and he walked back toward the tent of his mother ramlah and he entered into that tent he was so overcome with grief ramlah says oh my son why are you grieving like this and she says that my uncle has refused me from going out and fighting today at this moment ramlah she says that oh qasem you remember that will of your father aba muhammad that will of your father imam al-Hussain go and take it out and go and take it to your uncle and tell him and tell him that you want to go and give yourself in his way so it is said that they went and they took that paper they took whatever those leaves or however was written and they went back toward aba abdillah al-Hussain and imagine what is happening around aba abdillah all of the companions had been killed it's like yawm al qiyamah in one piece of land it is said that imam al-Hussain aleyhi salam had to endure so much on the day of ashura and qasem comes toward him and he presents him that will of his father imam al-Hussain and the imam aleyhi salam he looks through it and it says oh aba abdillah oh my dear brother many years from this day you will be going through that day of trial and tribulation that our grandfather promised on that day make sure that you allow for my son to be a representative of yours on the 10th of muharram when you are alone in karmada at this moment imam al-Hussain aleyhi salam he looks toward qasem ibn al-Hussain and he says oh my dear son how can i allow for you to go and fight but the imam at the same time knows that he has to fulfill the will of his brother imam al-Hussain so instead of telling him let yes do you know what he does he goes to the floor he embraces his son he embraces his nephew and it is said that imam al-Hussain aleyhi salam begins to begins to weep until he falls unconscious he falls unconscious twice on the day of ashura the first time was when his son aleyhi al-akbar went out and fought and the second time was when he was bidding farewell to qasem but my dear brothers and sisters it doesn't get easier for me to narrate this it is said that when they woke up imam al-Hussain aleyhi salam he went into the tent and he opened up a box and in that box was the turban of his brother imam al-Hussain al-Mujtaba he called qasem toward him he took the turban he cut it in half and then he tied it around the head of qasem because he was such a small child the turban of his father would not fit him and then he took the other half and he cut it in two pieces he took that one quarter and he tied it around the waist of qasem but i ask you all my brothers and sisters all those of you who know what happened to qasem do you know what imam al-Hussain aleyhi salam had to do with that last piece of qasem he had to pick up the body pieces of qasem after only a few moments after they were trampled by the horses at this moment imam al-Hussain aleyhi salam he enters into the tent of zaynab and he calls out la zaynab ya'um kulthum ya'r qayya ya'a sukayna ya'a farwa qumna stand up at this moment li'wida'a shabab so you can send your last salutations upon this young man they all go and they embrace him they all go and they kiss him and the minute when they see him they say that this man resembles our brother imam al-hussain qasem aleyhi salam he looks toward aba abdillah and at this moment he has a sense of excitement his bravery his courage he's still the grandson of aleyhi ibn abul qalib he says oh aba abdillah do you give me permission to fight so the imam aleyhi salam again doesn't say yes nor does he say no so he embraces his son qasem his tears begin to flow down from his eyes and he just points toward the battlefield as if what is he else is he going to say it is said that qasem aleyhi salam he begins to run and toward the middle of the battlefield he introduces himself as the grandson of the messenger of god he states that if you do not know me that know that i am from the sons of hussain and i am from the grandson of aleyhi ibn abul qalib and according to a narration he fought bravely he kills 62 people until imam al-hussain aleyhi salam exits from the tent and he's watching what is happening and a man from the army of banoameya he says that i swear to god that if this boy who has this face that is as luminous as a moon if we continue to allow him to fight he will pierce all of us so at this moment he says that i will take all of the sins of the arabs and be the one to strike this moon it is said that he runs he goes toward qasem and at this moment qasem he's just a child he realizes that his slipper has broken so he lowers his head to fix it and at this moment a man comes and he strikes qasem ibn al-hussain on the head and at that moment everyone else on the day of ashura when they were struck they would call out as-salamu aleyhi kyaaba abdulla but qasem was just a boy he didn't have that sense of understanding so he called out aghathniya amma oh my uncle come and help me oh my uncle save me oh my uncle the horses imam al-hussain aleyhi salam he exits from the tent he rushes toward the body of that boy he looks at it and the blood is drowning the body of qasem one narration states that imam al-hussain aleyhi salam huh one narration states that imam al-hussain aleyhi salam he picks up the body of qasem and he holds it close to his chest and it is said that the women that were watching the scene unfold and they saw that the limbs of qasem they were dragging on the ground why because the torches had trampled over his body and dismembered his limbs from his joint and it was dragging on the and hamed bin musim he narrates that when i saw abaa abdulla pick up the body of his nephew qasem when he picked it up he could not lift his back because his back was broken but i'll leave you with this this is the end of the measure this my friends it is said that imam al-hussain aleyhi salam he takes the body of qasem he goes behind the tent he places it next to the body of aleyhi and zaynab does not see imam al-hussain for a few moments and then she hears some weeping she hears some grieving she exits from the dead and she sees that imam al-hussain aleyhi salam he's lying between the bodies of aleyhi al-hussain and he's saying oh my two children what have they done to you