 shahad shumu-sul haddi bil kalimati fa'naratil afha Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem wa-sarat wa-salaamu ala Sayyidina wa Nabina Muhammedin wa'ala ala baytih al-Tayyabin al-Tahreen Three discussions that I will be discussing today. The first discussion is about piety. The word piety is understood when you understand that the last verse that was sent down to the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him was the verse of piety. wa-taqu yawman turja'una fihi ilallah This was the last verse that was descended to the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him. See, there are three steps of piety. The first step is piety in actions that a believer would not act and do something forbidden. The second step of piety is piety in thoughts that a believer would not think of committing a sin. And the third step of piety is piety in imaginations. Those imaginations, we don't choose what to imagine. They pop up in our mind. But we do choose a step. We take an action to a step that makes us imagine those imaginations. For example, you walk around with a bad group of people who speak dirty. They talk dirty. All those imaginations come into your mind. But the action you chose to be with those people. If you read a book, and it's a dirty book, for example, it has destructive words, destructive imaginations. Yes, those imaginations, you don't choose them. They come into your mind. But the action you took is what made you imagine those. You watch movies or flip through magazines. It is an action that you have chosen. On the other hand, if you read Quran or walk with a great group of people, those good imaginations will come to your mind. So yes, imaginations, we don't choose what to imagine. But it is a step to an action that we have chosen. Therefore, piety and even in your imaginations is very important. Because number one, it ruins your inner soul, the spiritual soul inside you. Have you seen sometimes that your heart becomes dull? It becomes dim? You feel like you don't want to pray your obligatory Salah. You feel like you're away from Allah, Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala. It's because of those imaginations. They ruin your inner soul. And sometimes one feels that there is nur in their heart. Their heart is bright. You feel like reading Quran. You feel like praying on time. You feel close to Allah, Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala. Why is that? It's because there's nur in your heart. The darker your heart gets, the more it gets surrounded by sins are from those imaginations. So it is very important to be pious even in your imaginations. Haj Hussain Al-Kummi, he used to go every Friday night to visit Imam Al-Hussain, with Sayyid Ahmed Al-Khatani. Now, Sayyid Ahmed Al-Khatani, he's the one who narrates. He says, I was young and Haj Hussain Al-Kummi was old. We used to go to visit Imam Hussain, as Shrine. We would weep. We would cry. We would read the Ziyarah. We would read Quran. We would supplicate. And I, the young man, gets tired. And Haj Hussain Al-Kummi is an old man. He's an old scholar. He doesn't get tired. At a time that Sayyid Ahmed Al-Khatani tells him, I'm tired. I'm going to go home. Haj Hussain Al-Kummi says, go home. I have not had enough yet. Ziyarah from Imam Hussain, alaihi salam. Where does this energy come from? It's a spiritual energy. When your heart is spiritually close to Allah, Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala. When there's not too many sins that are ruining your heart, your inner soul. And that comes from the good imaginations that you have. Why is it that when we read Quran, we don't cry? Ahlul Bayt, alaihum salatu wa salam. When they used to read Quran, they used to drop down from crying. Nowadays, we read Quran. We don't even cry. Al-Alam al-Amini used to enter the grave, the shrine of Imam Ali, alaihi salam. He used to weep. He used to cry out with loud sensation. Do we have this today? We don't. It's because of those imaginations, those sins that are ruining our inner soul. Therefore, our first discussion is having piety even in your imaginations. Stay away from those destructive magazines. Don't say I want to take a peek or look at a photo because that photo will affect you. It will affect your inner soul. Don't watch dirty movies and or destructive movies and say just this last time. That movie will affect your inner soul. Don't listen to bad words or be around destructive people who speak in a bad way because they will affect your inner soul. And they will put those imaginations through your mind. So step number one, let's have piety in all three steps. Piety in action, piety in our thoughts and piety in our imaginations. The second discussion that I would like to speak about is manners, akhlaq. And when I say manners, akhlaq, I don't mean the traitor type, the give and take. When someone says hi to you, you say hi back to them. When someone doesn't say hi to you, you don't say hi back to them. When someone greets you, you greet them. When they don't greet you, you don't greet them. That's the traitor type. We know that the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, has been feigned by the saying, إِنَّ مَا بُعَثْتُ لِإِتَمْ مَكَارُمَ الْأَخْلَقْ The akhlaq, the noble type of akhlaq is the manners. The other type of akhlaq, the traitor type, is not manners. That's a traitor type of akhlaq. When someone doesn't visit you, you go visit them. When someone disrespects you but you respect them, that is the noble type of akhlaq. There's a story 250 years ago of Sheikh Yusuf al-Bahrani. He's a great scholar. People went to scholar A and they told him, are we prohibited to pray behind Sheikh Yusuf al-Bahrani? Is he eligible to be a scholar for Imam al-Jama'a? That scholar A said, no, you're not prohibited to pray behind him and he's not a great scholar. The same people went to Sheikh Yusuf al-Bahrani and they told him, are we eligible to pray behind the first scholar? Sheikh Yusuf al-Bahrani said yes, he is eligible for Imam al-Jama'a and you are able to pray behind him. They told him, Shaykhna, how could you say so? This scholar has said that you're not an eligible Imam to pray Salat al-Jama'a after. He said he does his own job and I do my own job. Now for whatever reason that scholar said they're not allowed praying behind him but he had this noble type of Akhlaq. Not the traitor type give and take. He didn't say that, okay, this scholar said so. You're not allowed to pray behind him. He's not a good scholar too. He used the noble type of Akhlaq. La nuridu min kum jazaan wa la shakura. Sometimes even thank you, don't expect it from people. So let's have the noble type of Akhlaq and not the traitor type give and take because that is the proper Akhlaq, the noble type. In Safina al-Bihar, you realize that there is this hadith that someone asked the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him. Who is the best beloved in the eyes of Allah, subhanahu ta'ala? He said, those who benefit others. Some people don't like to benefit anyone. They don't benefit their mother. They don't benefit their father. They don't benefit their siblings. Their relatives, their friends, their neighbors. They're greedy. They benefit but themselves. Allah subhanahu ta'ala, he does not like greedy people. Have you seen those people who benefit everyone? They help people. They help in communities. You see them here. You see them there. You see them everywhere. Those people, Allah subhanahu ta'ala loves them. They're best beloved by the eyes of Allah subhanahu ta'ala. Therefore, you always see them happy. You don't see them falling through depression because they're benefiting everyone and they're happy. So let's learn how to benefit people and benefit others so we could be best beloved by Allah subhanahu ta'ala. You have knowledge. Give it to others. Don't keep it for yourself. You're rich. You're wealthy. You have money. Help the poor. Help the orphans. Help others. By helping others and benefiting others, you become best beloved by Allah subhanahu ta'ala. So let's not forget those three discussions. Having piety in all three steps, piety in actions, piety in thoughts, piety in imaginations. Second thing, having the noble akhlaq, not the traitor type. And lastly, helping others and benefiting others so we could be loved by Allah subhanahu ta'ala. Wa sallallahu ala Sayyidina wa Nabina Muhammadin wa ala ali bayti al-Tayyibin al-Tahiri. Tassawru al-muharramat khutwatu n'ahwal haram. Awwal aamil min awamil al-harakat tassawru. Tassawru qadiyya khatira. L'anat tassawru amaliyatun ikhtyariyatun b ikhtyariyat muqaddimatihah.