 الحمد لله رب العالمين الحمد لله الذي هدانا لهذا وما كنا لنا هتدي لو لا نهدان الله الحمد لله الذي أنزل الفرقان على عبده ليكون للعالمين نذيره وصلاة والسلام على خير خلق ونور عرشي أفضل الأنبياء والمرسلين كنا لكون للعالمين نذيره وصلاة والسلام على خير خلق ونور عرشي أفضل الأنبياء والمرسلين حبيبنا وسيدنا وسندنا وشفيعنا ومولانا أب القاسم محمد وعلى آله الطيبين الطاهرين المأسمين المظلومين أما بعد فقد خالق الله سبحانه وتعالى في كتاب المجيد وقوله الحق وهو أستقل الصادقين بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم إنه هذا القرآن يهدي للتي هي أقوم ويبشر المؤمنين الذين يعملون الصالحات أن لهم أجرا كبيرة صدق الله العلي العظيم سلوات الله محمد وآل محمد all praise belongs to Allah سبحانه وتعالى and I begin in his blessed name for granting us this life for sustaining us for considering us worthy to represent him on this earth as his agents who promote good for medieval and his mercy is infinite and that we are its beneficiaries for the more we struggle to purify ourselves the greater we will be the recipients of that mercy and the beauty of God's mercy is that it's eternal it's not time sensitive it's forever أبقى بالتأثيرون الحياة الدنيا والآخرة خير وأبقى you love this world Allah says it's transient it's short lived even a thousand years on this earth is short lived the hereafter is forever أبقى and it is superior and we all know that the eternity of good is superior to a limited good in time I recognize Allah سبحانه وتعالى for sending us 124,000 prophets the first one being Adam and the last one being محمد ابن عبد الله صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم صلى الله عليه وسلم الله سبحانه وتعالى is also blessed us with scriptures for we know that without written documents intelligent beings have a difficult time understanding the protocols of what we should be doing in this transient world given the fact that we are under a trial given the fact that we have to accomplish a deed within a finite time and given the fact that the Quran has warned us و العصر إن الإنسان لفي خصر إلا الذين آمنوا و عملوا الصالحات و تواصلوا بالحق و تواصلوا بالصبر so Allah promises us that mankind is at a loss until and unless the following are accomplished إن الإنسان لفي خصر إلا الذين آمنوا بليف و عملوا الصالحات they do good deeds تواصلوا بالحق they promote truth and justice تواصلوا بالصبر and they promote patience if you really break each one of these it is the entire component of the trial system of God in the most succinct manner meaning that this سورة العصر it's so succinct it's so concise it's so precise we can spend a lifetime dissecting it and you will see that it comes back to its original source but this requires for you and I to ponder to reflect not only to use the Quran as a book of إستحارة or to put it under our heads when we go on a long trip but rather to open it to read it to listen to it و إذا قرية القرآن فاستمعوا لا when Quran is recited and Allah says listen to it but that's just the part of it the real message of the Quran is adoption of it absorption of it as there are two types of أقل أقلان المان there are two types of intellect two types of knowledge and المثور is the one you absorb مثور is the one you heard but didn't absorb and أهل البيت and the Prophet and Imam have told us that the knowledge that you hear which you do not absorb has no benefit to you so I encourage us all in this gathering my dear respected sisters and brothers in Islam and outside of Islam if you are present we are honored to have you let us make it an article of faith within our souls to be the ones who absorb knowledge not just hear it let us not be a conduit to tell what we heard to others I think it is imperative and more important that we listen to it and absorb it and adopt it and adapt to it for there is nothing greater than such results but we find the society today it is very lethargic lazy it is apathetic meaning it lacks the zeal it lacks that desire it is what we call lack of alacrity we have no desire to pray we have no desire to observe the laws of Allah we have no desire to talk about Allah we have a desire for material and wealth and beauty we show off and we have a desire to become rich and powerful those these are not wrong to become rich and powerful but the greatest desire is meaning behind why are you acquiring why do you want to be strong why do you want to be knowledgeable there are people who have knowledge but they abuse it by taking advantage of the week through knowledge that's an evil doer our desire should be to acquire knowledge and absorb it and to become an integral part of Allah's mercy not to become a conduit of show off when Allah says للمصاللين اللذين من صالاته whoa to the prayerful one who shows off to the people to get notoriety or the one who goes to Hajj only to get the honorific title Yeah Hajj so that they can now be guile and fool others into thinking that this is a pious religious individual no we should not become conduits of such nor should we be followers of our forefathers out of loyalty this is ignorance in its purest form in the Quran has challenged that in these gatherings my respected brothers and sisters if we are going to progress we have to start at the level of absorbing knowledge we have to reach that level where knowledge becomes useful where the أقل see there's علم and there's أقل there are people that are علاماء but there's a big difference between the علاماء and the أقالاء please understand that علاماء have knowledge but they don't necessarily have the power to absorb they're like encyclopedias and they will tell you details but they don't know how to connect the dots if you take them out of the script they stumble but the أقالاء have knowledge already because they have intellect and their intellect works when there's knowledge the difference between the first and the second is the second understands the principles what we call epistemic spirit the kind of knowledge that they understand within the depth of fitr not simply having heard absorbed and bouncing off to show off to people no epistemic meaning they know the essence of knowledge they go deep into it and Allah calls them أول الألباب deeply rooted in knowledge the ones who understand the value of knowledge society today is like a herd of cattle Allah says لكن أكثر الناس لا يقلون لا يقلون يقول لكن أكثر الناس لا يقلون most of mankind does not think we are followers of fads media Hollywood produces something everybody runs the movie the music industry produces something everybody runs the fashion industry creates a fad everybody runs this is dumb little thing where one singer did some video where he is dancing while the car is moving and he has the door open call it I don't know kiki or something and then you've got this foolish what we call simple tons a simple ton is a foolish person a person with little knowledge now they want to mimic it they have to but then they have to videotape it of course so that they can get some more likes like fools to get likes what an irony what an irony it's an insatiable it's the kind of desire that will never make you happy as the prophet said when you run after the world the world runs away from you when you run away from the world the world comes after you we all want the world to come after us but we are foolish for we have to run away from it not towards it so we need to show off when you did it I need to do the same dumb video you know how many people died got into car accidents doing dumb things because there's no thought we're like a herd of cattle call an am bell they're like cattle Allah says nay worse at least cattle does what a cattle is supposed to do humans are much more intelligent much wiser much more capable shame on the human being who lowers themselves to such levels of sub-human level as Imam Ali says the human being is the capacity to be above the angel or below the animal when he's animalistic he becomes less than an animal when he's upright and intellectual and uses his wisdom to traverse the trials and tribulations of this world through patients then that individual becomes higher than angels angels are infallible beings they do not commit sins yet our prophets and imams have told us that humans can be higher than angels if they practice the gift that God has given them you and I sadly we challenge certain things and then we follow certain things there's a what we call a confused bipolar state of mind while we're demanding answers why God exists what's the value of this hijab why do I need to pray what does Islam mean is religion really needed often these questions are wonderful I think they're brilliant I love it when people ask such questions I think we should for then the akal is starting to challenge rather than us blindly following you know systems because our forefathers told us we challenge I like that but here's the contradiction the very person asking the validity of religion has become a slave to the fad society and they don't ask the question of that fad my friends are doing it so I must do it so why do I need religion oh you're so smart asking me about religion but you forgot to ask the other side see that's hypocrisy blatantly looking at you we're cherry picking why don't we question everything if my friends want me to play Fortnite because that's the coolest thing on the planet then I should ask what does it give me what's my future in it what will it do for me tomorrow now children don't have necessarily that capacity to prognosticate as we say to look at the future and to plan what is my next move to be as adults need to infuse that into our children through conversation through dialogue through role modeling through careful modulation to improve their behaviors and to show them the parameters that a wise individual thinks long term but today we ourselves as adults are impulsive lest we become compulsive and then our children are witnessing our madness of the pleasures of this world only to mimic it at another level but we are dissatisfied by their misbehavior only to forget that we are the examples for them for when you see a family that's an erudite family a family that is learned a family that is indulgent in education and conversation and deep meditation and reflection and cogitation you will generally find that their children are like that as they say the fruits don't fall far from the tree when I see children who are very smart as we call them precocious children children who are wise who think deep and they don't have to be old they could be 5 years old they don't have to be mature we can infuse wisdom even in the cradle as Allah says we gave Isa and you know يحيا بن زكرية we gave them wisdom في المحدي الصبيع you see we gave them when they were little young we gave them hikmah so a child can get hikmah but often we deny them that initial acceleration of growth we expect them to become mature when they become 17, 18, 19 and then we start talking to them like adults but the damage is done when they are 10 the damage is done when they are 9 when they are 5 when they are 7 we forget those parameters so Allah says my religion is to be practiced not only to be heard while it is a huge blessing huge unimaginable unthinkable for I can certainly not count the value and the virtues of this great tragedy of Imam Hussein 61 years after Hijrah 68 AD that the effects of that tremendous sacrifice with a small group of people has led to such gatherings that we have all changed our schedules within this night to ensure that we come we park our cars and we dedicate that one hour of reflection and we demand something that will spiritually invigorate us so that we walk out of here having done something good I smile at that and I don't care what a lifestyle we have although we should stop but somebody the other day told me says I've seen some people come to your lectures who drink and dance and do all kinds of illicit misbehaviors in public in weddings but I see them coming to this lecture I said yes we can look at it two ways we can call them hypocrites or we can say there is hope I'd rather look at the latter for how dare I call anyone a hypocrite maybe it's work in progress maybe it is something that they developed from childhood bad behavior which they would love to get rid of and maybe they found that hope in that one night or those 10 nights of Ashura hoping that that great tragedy of Imam Hussein will touch their spirits so that they can make a 180 turn towards Allah you love those who turn to him كل يا عباد الذين أصرفوا على انفصيم لا تقنطوا من رحمة الله إن الله يغفر الظنوبة جميعا إنه هو الغفور say to my worship كل يا عباد الذين أصرفوا على انفصيم the ones who have gone astray with themselves and who have become inordinate in their أخلاق in their deeds tell them don't lose hope لا تقنطوا من رحمة الله don't lose hope God forgives all sins إن الله يغفر الظنوبة جميعا he forgives you hope never lose hope brothers and sisters and never point a finger at somebody who is doing haram and say you are doomed you can never get grace from God you can never recover don't ever say that I don't care what kind of a drunkard they are as I mentioned yesterday Allah sends Musa to Pharaoh nobody could be worse in his time than Pharaoh and God says there is hope in Pharaoh if he were to listen if he were to think and subhan Allah Allah even exposes the future look when these people like Pharaoh are being tossed in hell angels are going to ask them ألم يأتيكم نظير didn't a warner come to you subhan Allah Allah says and Allah in the Quran says we never punish a community till we guide it first for there is no punishment to a community that was not guided for if they were not guided from such accusation so the angel is asking ألم يأتيكم نظير they will reply قالوا بلا قد جاءنا نظير فكذبنا وقلنا ما نزل الله من شيء إن أنتم إلا في ضلال كبير they will say no they did come but we call them liars when the prophets came we accused them of being liars no you lie to us you are not a representative of God you are not revealing scripture to me you are not giving me this scripture there is no God He doesn't exist so don't come and tell me to follow laws we have people like this in the world today too we always had them listen to what they will say after that وقالوا لو كنا نسمعوا أو نعقلوا ما كنا في أصحاب السائر فاعترفوا بذنبهم فسحقا لأصحاب السائر look how beautiful the verses they will say with their own tongues if only we listened and paid attention meaning we processed أقل where we listened and we absorbed as they say أقلان the listening type and the absorbing type in سوط الملك the one who is doomed is now recognizing if only I listened and I absorbed ما كنا في أصحاب السائر I would not be the inmate of this hell meaning I brought myself here Allah did not take them to hell Allah does not take his creations to hell easily Allah did not create us for hell we were not made to go to hell no human being has been created for hell Allah is too merciful to do that but he honors us by placing hell there to give us value for then he warns us that rise follow do the right thing why Allah says if I don't put that threat I understand its value but I am putting this threat not to threaten you but to value you for we know heroes are the ones who went through danger that's why they're unique in heroes Allah says my creation should be heroes you and I should be supreme how that we avoided the dangers for if danger didn't exist we'd be shrugging our shoulders why should I have to struggle I'm already sliding into paradise anyway who cares but Allah says no you will enter paradise but which stage of paradise do you want for there is a lower stage of paradise and there is a high stage of paradise which one do you want now I have never found a human being on earth were I to ask them that question that A is good meaning the lower paradise is good and B is the high paradise which is the best and I offer it to them which one do you want you would have to be out of your mind to take the first one you would have to be mentally questionable because you say why did you take A when B is available do you know most of us are taking A I just want to you know enter paradise you know and she says yeah he's mine he's my kind and I said yeah I'm a loser and she says you remember that weed that you smoke come on you're already tainted you're already infected come with me come on let's do more it's like Stalin says when you kill the first person it's murder after that it's a statistic anyway so who cares let me do more when Allah says no don't do that I sent 124,000 prophets to teach you not to do that and even if you did don't lose hope it's okay but notice how beautiful Allah is exposing أقل in his purest form when it is engaged and absorbed you avoid hell and when it is practiced it takes you to the highest stations of paradise and your nature just flows with it because knowledge starts to work that's why I mentioned in surah Allah says in this Quran indeed this Quran guides you to that which is most upright as I mentioned yesterday it is a book of morals it has stories but every story in the Quran is not to entertain us it is to give us a lesson of how we should behave and how we should avoid the lessons we need to take did you notice the Quran is filled with stories of prophets and non-profits why is it there because we human beings relate through other examples that's why the movie industry thrives so much we all want to know how the rich live we all want to know how the poor live we all want to know how orphans are abused we all want to know we are curious and there is no greater curiosity than to see what others are doing our nature our nature is gregarious in nature meaning we are social beings we learn through examples that's why teenagers and younger youth are so loyal to their friends because their entire nature their entire identity is reflective of their friends we never give up on that that's why we are so afraid of giving up our friends even if they are wrong because we feel we will be alone and we will be crying simply to maintain that loyalty and relationship we no longer observe Allah's law if our friends tell us to do haram we join them why because we don't want to lose loyalty this is how gangs work gangs will commit the most heinous crimes precisely for this reason for the gang leaders got you with the rope of loyalty the gang leader is going to tell you are you loyal to me yes well here is a gun go kill and if you don't you are not with me so they will commit crimes they don't want to commit you and I on subtle levels we cheat we lie we become immodest indecent because our friends want it why because our akal is not working we are bouncing off listening and just following like a herd of cattle when Allah says اتبعوا ما انزل الله قالوا بال نتبعوا ما وجدنا عليه اباءنا اولكان الشيطان يدعوه ملادب السلام when they are told this is by the way in surat luqman 31st chapter when they are told to follow that which they have been revealed by God واذا قيل المتبعوا ما انزل الله قالوا بال they said no we follow our forefathers with all due respect Christians are Christians because their forefathers were Christians Jews are Jews because their forefathers were Jews Muslims are Muslims because majority of their forefathers were Muslims we are followers of Ahl al-Bait because the majority of us inherited this from our forefathers now the school of Ahl al-Bait is right it is correct but ironically and tragically many of us don't even understand the value of the great truth of Islam within us because we are simply following what we inherited and we hope that when our children grow up they will follow us due to loyalty not validation that is my religion correct not validation how is it correct not validation I know mine is better than the rest how do I know that this pathway is the path of God majority of us are loyal to our forefathers and we will die on the battlefield maintaining that loyalty but I'm telling us all such loyalty has zero meaning to Allah and Allah will question us did you ponder so you were born in a Muslim family did you ponder so many of us by the way we ponder oh I don't know why Islam is right so you know what I'm going to give it up I said you're going to give it up for what no Islam I said so you're certain that no Islam is right no I said then why are you giving it up that's a dumb move like why would you give up you don't know why don't you go validate it and know for sure that it's wrong then give it up how many have that capacity we have no time you sit around and see how much reflection or conversation that is valuable some of us asking what lies between the second heaven and the third heaven I've had people ask that question so what lies between second heaven and third heaven I said I don't know what you're talking about did you know there are many layers of heaven so I said to him how did you come to the second you mastered the first and how many are there oh there are seven oh and how are they broken up I said I don't know and if I told you what's happening on the second what will you do for you but I'm just curious I said why don't you go home and look at your spouse hug your children listen to them talk to them fix your problems before you fix or try to figure out the secrets of the second to the third heaven did you notice sometimes when we get in we get in قبل ان تفقدوني ask me before I'm buried a man says how much hair do I have I could just imagine myself sitting there I would put my hands on my head I say ya Allah the gem of God is here the wealth of knowledge is here every second ticking his death day is a loss for us and to ask him pertinent questions that will help us we're being sarcastic how much hair Imam says there's as much hair as there are devils on you good answer because you are stupid in asking no question is dumb by the way but to ask a rhetorical question that's basically condescending in nature isn't itself riddled with a negative أخلاق so the Imam looks at him he says we didn't come to entertain you with such knowledge ask us pertinent questions and you know what they are for there are many things that riddle you every single day why don't you ask that rather than us acquiring mundane knowledge about the shoe sizes of superstars and what kind of clothes they like now that's secondary tertiary knowledge sitting and gaining knowledge with reflective power is the most powerful thing الله says indeed in the creation of the sky and the earth خلق السماوات والأرض in the alternation of night and day لأياتن are signs for people who reflect لأياتن لأولي للباب people who are deeply rooted in knowledge who are they الله describes it beautifully in the Quran الذين يذكرون الله قياما وقعودا وعلى جنوبهم ويتفكرون في خلق السماوات والأرض they reflect standing standing sitting lying on their sides رفلكتف يذكرون الله ذكر we must teach our children ذكر absorption of knowledge and adoption of knowledge so when Allah says indeed this Quran which is most upright give good news to those who practice it فبشل المؤمنين الذين يعملون الصالحات the ones who do good that for them is a great reward رلجن الله is all about action you know when you act on something it's louder than words you don't have to tell anybody anything your deeds see يصالح سلم says judge a man by the fruits he bears or she bears judge that person by the fruits they bear for their action bears the fruits there are people who talk a lot constant talking grandiose ideas but nothing comes they tell you how to do this project masha'Allah we need A for the community we need B this is why we don't have A and this is why we have a problem with B oh masha'Allah brilliant brilliant analysis then you tell them ok put $5 here and you start masha'Allah I'll join you when the crowd is big because you know at the end of the day we're all just going to join the bandwagon so where were you when it started well you know talk is cheap I mean you know to act on it it's not an easy task we love Imam Hussain he didn't talk about love of Allah he didn't pontificate he didn't sit in his house and do zikr all night he rose he says in kanadin Muhammad لم يستقم إلا بقطل if this religion cannot stand except by my death then come I am ready for it I have no fear I love those people indomitable where Allah says they fear nothing they go forward like Allah says to Yahya خد الكتابة بقوة take the law and move you are sitting around not doing things religion has become an entitlement many Muslims come and say Hajj that's a kaffir I looked and said what do you mean but he's not Muslim I looked and said oh mashallah you're so pure but I'm Muslim you know I do shahadate Mashallah very nice this is very nice do you see yourself with Imam Hussein if he called you there were thousands like us they followed Imam Hussein all the way to Karbala and then they all went home because you know to act put your money where your mouth is that's what really comes on judgment day that's what Allah will ask what did you do did you act did you absorb did you ponder you know what brothers I'll tell you when Allah says there is no compulsion in religion truth is clear from error you know how truth becomes clear from error when akal starts to work when intellect starts to absorb truth becomes clear you know it's an irony when sisters come and ask me when they're convinced about hijab even in our school here we're allowing a little flexibility and freedom we're testing there's talk in the community oh why is this an Islamic school it's allowing see I can easily promote blind following it's very easy put laws all over the wall thou shalt not how dare thou does this how does that thou shalt be x it's an Islamic school ISIS you said no my Islam is akal I'm fed up with this blind following of deen we're like a bunch of drones and robots simply mimicking our forefathers where's the thought where's the value that even those sisters parents come and say I said so she's walking on the edge of a sword her hijab has no value for if there's one whimsical sister who passes by without hijab oh I need to take it off too what happened to your senses what happened to the akal are we so whimsical to the environment that the many days of breeze our tree falls apart what happened to the strength of iman what happened to the validity that I'm going to become the ambassador to teach you no no no have it rigid this is the only way to teach children rigid laws and then you find they become teenagers and they become atheists they declare their atheism because now they're adults and then the parents are crying my child has become an atheist I said yeah you shove religion down their throat and there was no conversation there was no feeling of freedom and they always thought the grass is green on the other side that's very easy to you know and bring everybody into this bubble and make them feel like we're so sanitized and pure yet the level of debauchery lying cheating within our community is growing at an alarming rate and our children are getting lost to drug abuse and illegitimacy and all kinds of problems and we're turning a blind eye thinking iman is going to fix it I don't think so I think you and I have an obligation to challenge our akal you know there's a beautiful hadith in al-kafi jibrail comes down and I want to touch on this briefly I'll talk about this situation more and it's not only about this hijab with the sisters hijab with the brothers same this clothing that our sisters wear is the outer garb we have an outer garb to our hijab it's not only aimed at our sisters here it's ballistic men and women I promise you at every level our demeanor, our use of language our body language the way we look, the way we talk the way we transact is all hijab jibrail comes down to Adam after Adam is on earth and jibrail says God has appointed me to offer you three things but you must only choose one three things you're offered intellect divine path the path of God or modesty choose one brilliant when I ponder on this conversation the Imam is explaining what religion on earth has this I have never found a religion with the kind of depth and clarity as this deem and I don't claim to be a master in other religions but I've studied them enough and Adam says I want akal I choose intellect so jibrail it's a metaphor but it's actually reality don't be fooled they're actual living entities jibrail says to deen in haia leave go Adam has chosen what he has chosen the two of you left over leave do you know what the two reply brilliant this is the principle I follow and I will do my best in my life to follow this the two reply that God has commanded us wherever akal is we must be so we can't leave now if Adam would have chosen deen or haia with no akal then akal would have separated from them but notice the axis of God's law is built on intellect so when a sister or a brother comes to me and says brother convince me about modesty convince me that I need to cover my body hey job sisters and brothers cover the body please we think it's the air you wear a headscarf you're a muhajaba no it's work in progress it's not muhajaba sisters it's not muhajaba brothers please let's not fool ourselves we have boiled it down and narrowed it into a very myopic vision and this is why we're getting lost that's why our young girls are confused they don't understand hijab is a barrier يا يوه النبي قل لأزواجك وبناتك ونصائل مؤمنين يذنين عليهم من جلاب بهم ذلك أدنا أن يعرفنا فلا يؤذينا يا يوه النبي قل قل لأزواجك وبناتك ونصائل مؤمنين ونصائل your wives and the believing women that they cover their bodies جلاب بهم it is better for them to be recognized in an elevated way and therefore they are not bothered now you might think this is some absurd law of God that has put a burden on us as I mentioned yesterday Allah says وما جعل عليكم في الدين من حرج we didn't make religion difficult for you we are helping you we argue sisters we all know brothers we all know when أقل is pushed aside when impulse is used as a driving force we damage ourselves the meat of movement is an excellent example our women have been subjected to tyranny you know if you saw advertisements in the 60's and 70's women were nothing but an object of pleasure for men Allah says يا يوه النبي واجعلناكم شعوبا وقبائلة لتعرفوا إن أكرمكم إن الله يتقاكم what an elegant verse mankind we made you male and female nations and tribes so you know each other due to diversity and beauty and functions and Allah says the most honorable to Allah is one who's got conscious no man is superior to a woman no woman is superior to a man but we have used them as tilt and pleasure points that we cannot even sell cigarettes without putting a woman we cannot sell a car without putting a woman next to it we've done it in the expression of freedom أقل has stopped working it's impulse the economist wants to gain money pornography is booming there's no أقل there it's impulse throw the money put the credit cards let me watch it it's impulse the brain is not working you become a slave and then shaitan says come when there is أقل you say hold on hold on even the most reckless in families know that when a man is married and his secretary is in the room with her husband she will suspect I say to them why are you suspecting that's your life this is normal to you no no I can't if he does that I'm going to divorce him I said you grew it it's the tree you grew on it's the tree you watered now you're worried about it you know the irony about this whole meet-up movement women have been so abused by who some of the most powerful figures on earth Bill O'Reilly was making over a hundred million dollars a year he was a misogynist he belittled women Charlie Rose this man could pick up the phone and talk to any leader on earth and he would get a presence that's how powerful he is how talented he is how rich he is but he's got no أخلاق his foundation is lacking there's no حيا you know why there's no حيا there is no أقل they're simply bouncing knowledge no thought they're experts in that but no thinking no reflection not the type that Allah says they sit they stand and they reflect ويتفكرون في خوق السماوات ربنا ما خلقتها the bottle and سبحانكه فقن عذابنا look at the difference you might think rich and powerful they were all rich Harvey Weinstein a monster in Hollywood monster how many women has he abused thousands and women were just getting in there like droves and today they realize no if we don't cover ourselves these men will never stop abusing us now the men are guilty 100% this is not to blame just the women it's a two way relationship it takes two to tangle but the point I'm saying is when أقل doesn't work there is no Hayaa when أقل doesn't work there is no Hayaa but unprecedented in history the Miss America pageant started during the depression to keep the men busy and they had reached a stage where women were scantily walking on runways displaying their body and people were like drooling and women are proud look at me and then if they are used as objects of advertising I wonder who should I blame is it a blaming again subhan Allah here's the problem unprecedented after the Me Too movement finally أقل is kicking in this year they removed the swimsuit and they removed the gown I said bravo finally أقل is working and I'm saying to our sisters pay attention these experts who promote freedom of expression are coming back your way so hold high your flag of modesty and say here we are we've always been there join us صلوات الله محمد وعالمحمد one final quick story I was in Dubai and there was a Catholic girl who said I would like to debate you I said no problem she said I want to prove to you Christ is the son of God I said no problem we sat down at somebody's house it was very hot it was well over 90 degrees in the room she was wearing three quarter sleeves and I've mentioned this before in my lecture but I've had many cases like this this is one that was most profound it was so clear to me she was sitting there talking to me we were 90 degrees sitting and as we're talking she's telling me about about why Christ is the son of God and I was quoting the Bible and telling her no this is not Jesus Jesus never said that Jesus says why call us there is none good but that we sent me so don't put words into Jesus' mouth Jesus was an honorable human being don't say that so as I got her engaged I said sister why don't we talk about the father the God you and I worship when people ask me who do you worship when a Christian asks me I say I worship the God of Christ the same God Jesus worshiped I worship oh really wow you're a Christian I said yeah I believe in Isa as Messiah yes but not the type you believe in but I worship the same God Jesus worshiped he prayed too oh yeah yeah he did so as I'm talking about God and I said God the merciful he's here as we say to our kids he's ubiquitous he's present he's everywhere and as I'm talking she's looking at me she's looking at me and she starts to cringe and she's pulling her sleeve now it was very hot so it wasn't cold but she did this and she started she suddenly realized maybe I am not so well dressed everybody in the room looked at it she was odd she started to cringe and cover herself and she as she's even leaving she had her hand like this I thought I don't know what happened but I realized hold on Allah's presence came into our spirit she felt the presence of God and أقل probably turned on and Hayah became active oh wait I can't no no no no Allah says now you're real see when we don't think that way then we become impulsive why shouldn't I let me show my hair I said you're already beautiful who said you're ugly are you sure brother are you sure I'm not ugly so wait you want to sign here let's stop and see to end tonight Allah's religion is the religion of forgiveness Allah says hasten to forgiveness for there is a paradise that awaits you greater than the earth and the sky put together and who are you you give charity in good times and in bad times you hold back your anger and you do good deeds and you forgive mankind God loves the good doers this was حور was the commander of Yazid's army Ibn Ziyad's army who was sent to intercept Imam Hussein as Imam Hussein is going towards Kufa and he meets him in this place called Imam is already encamped and Imam was taking a back route he wasn't taking the main highway because he was trying to avoid this confrontation so he's taking the back route and حور is looking for him chasing him the other way so he also had to take the inside roads by the time he arrives in Imam actually is already encamped and they saw palm trees approaching them and the soldier comes to Imam Hussein at that time by the way Imam had a few thousand soldiers he said wait there is an army coming Imam said let it come who comes حور Ibn Yazid الرياح famous personality to me he represents this verse وصاري علا مغفرة من ربك وجنة أرض والسماوات والأرض he represents حيسن to forgiveness do not slow down سارع don't say tomorrow I'll ask for forgiveness Allah says now you don't know if you will die tonight حور arrives and he's thirsty emaciated as they say his horses are about to collapse Imam just had to touch them and the whole thousand army that hurried was going to collapse Imam looks at حور and says you are thirsty he knows this is the enemy who has come to stop him Imam says feed him and feed his horses and all the horses were given water all the soldiers were given water Imam made sure he personally served them what a difference between that أخلاق and what the Umayyads did in karmada the same Umayyad tactic that Mu'awiya used against Imam Ali in the battle of Sifin where he tried to prevent water from the army from the army of Imam Ali the same strategy it's only a coward who does that coward used such tactics to try to weaken the enemy but our imams were too strong that even if there was no water as you know water ran they say that water stopped flowing and there was no water on the 7th of Muharram that's when the army blocked the Imam from reaching the Euphrates but you find حور is meeting Imam Hussein but he has tremendous respect for Imam Hussein while he's on the opposite army he has respect so Imam says it's Salat time you guys can pray we will pray حور says no our army will pray behind you Subhanallah that spirit of God the love of Ahl al-Bayt is already in حور he's a commander he's a strong fighter but notice he's no coward so he prays behind Imam Hussein Imam leaves the Salah then as the Imam is about to leave حور holds his horse so Imam says why are you holding my horse is that I've been commanded that you cannot go to Kufa so Imam says may you be deprived of your mother's milk it's an expression he looks at the Imam he says I cannot say that to you because your mother was too great a woman فاتمت الزهراء سلام الله عليها was too great a woman that for me to respond to you but look at the beauty the Imam is doing Dawah he's engaging أقل he's doing role modeling he's showing him حور you've made a wrong choice now but don't lose hope watch you will change give it time wait give it time so he blocks Imam from reaching Kufa and he pushes him northeast and as the Imam is going he was on the ninth stop out of the 14 14th was Karbala on the ninth stop he meets حور from ninth to the 14th stop حور is on his way blocking the Imam he doesn't let the Imam go eastward until finally Imam reaches Karbala and he finds his camels and horses don't want to move they don't want to move so the Imam is pushing them they don't want to move so Imam is asking the people of the town what is this land called they said Imam says what's another name for it they said Imam says I have reached my destiny for my grandfather told me this is where I will be sacrificed so he calls the people of Banu Asad he said who owns this land they said the Banu Asad owns the land Imam says I want to buy this land from you the Banu Asad why do you want to buy this piece of desert he says because when we what will happen soon we do not want it to be on anybody's land but ours look at the clarity of God's messenger that even in the massacre even though he is being taken prisoner even though he is being unfairly killed even the land where his blood is going to drip it has to belong to Allah that's the clarity of religion that we will never find anywhere in the world and Imam camps there and he puts his tents by the Euphrates and his backyard was the Euphrates that's when he arrives on the 10th day of Ashura Hur is watching this dialogue going between Imam Hussein and Omar ibn Saad back and forth and Hur is agitated because he is hoping that this war does not start he said that man is the man of God I am stuck on this side in the wrong direction but let it diffuse so that I do not have to make such a choice they say when Ashura started the 10th day Omar ibn Saad takes the arrow he says witness me Omar ibn Saad ibn Abi Waqas I am starting this war and I hereby I am attacking Hussein ibn Ali when the war began early on Hur ascends on his horse and he is now full of trepidation his horse is moving in all directions the soldiers come to him he says Hur you look very disturbed he says I am deciding between dunya and Akhara do I want this world with these lies and its foolishness or should I go and sacrifice for the real life he says it secretly to a few then he kicks the horse and he runs on the opposite side and Imam I attend to watching this horse come towards him Hur descends a bit further away from the Imam he comes down and he gradually approaches the Imam like a slave Imam says come Hur we were expecting you Allah says hasten to forgiveness don't lose hope don't say you damaged goods Hur says you will accept me to be with you after I brought you here I am the one who caused you to come to Karbala Imam says it's okay Hur you did what you were commanded to do but now you've used your akhara you've made this decision to come come so as the battle begins early morning at Fajr time Hur goes to Imam and says give me permission to be the first one to go and fight for I owe it to myself that I should stand up there and reason with these enemies that maybe they will wake up and stop attacking you Imam says to Hur Hur stands in front of him says oh people of Gufa you invited this man you invited this grandson of the Prophet this is the grandson of the Prophet who the Prophet said his flesh is out here you know their flesh is his flesh have you forgotten that and as the people are starting to think even Saad throws an arrow and says be quiet because he knows if he continues to talk maybe some of these people will change their minds so Hur begins to fight he fights and he fights and he comes back then Hur goes again with Zuhair Ibn Khain as you know Zuhair was the commander of one of the flanks there were three flanks Abbas was in the middle Zuhair was on one side Habib Ibn Madar was on the other side Hur was with Zuhair Ibn Khain fighting and as he fought Imam is watching him I am thinking Hur you made the right choice will I make that choice before I die will I make that choice that you made that will I change my life the way you did on that battlefield Hur you are my master he is struck through people jump on him and they mutter Hur on the floor on the ground and they see a big gash was on his forehead the blood was gash Imam goes and carries him before Hur dies he says Hur your mother has named you well for Hur means free or Hur you are free in this world and free in the next world and Imam takes his handkerchief given by his mother and he wraps it around Hur's forehead and says we will meet soon in the next world we will meet soon in the next world وحالا لا يعرف الله للقوم الظاالمين وسيعلموا الذين ذهبوا أن ينقذوا إن ينقذوا السلام عليكم يا باعد وعلى لرواح التي حلت لتنقلك عليكم مني السلام الله أبدا ما بقيت وبقى الليل ونى ولا جعلوا الله واخر لاحد مني لزيارتك السلام على الحسين وعلى علي ابنى الحسين وعلى أولاد الحسين وصوصا سيدي ومولا يا أبا الفضل العباس وأختك زينا وبانتك رقا يا جميع شهداء كرب الله ورحمة الله وبركاته اللهم اكون لوليك الحجة ابنى الحسين السلواتك علي وعلى آبان في هذه السام وفي كل سام وليان وحافظ وقائدان ونانسر ودليلا عينعين حتى تسكنه أردك طوال وتمتعوا فيها طويلا برحمتك يا أرحمة الله سلواتك يا محمد وعلى محمد أرجوك أن تقوموا باستخدامه هل أنت بخير؟ أعلم أنه قليلا أرجوك أن تقوموا باستخدامه أرجوك أن تقوموا باستخدامه راب أثمان كما تعلم أنه قاموا باستخدامه سوط اللبار