 أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العالمين الحمد لله الذي هدان لهذا وما كنا لنهتد لولان هدان الله الحمد لله الذي أنزل الفرقان على عبده ليكون للعالمين نذيره والصلاة والسلام على خير خلق ونور عرشي أفضل الأنبياء والمرسلين حبيبنا وسيدنا وسندنا وشفيعنا ومولانا أب القاسم محمد وعلى آله الطيبين الطاهرين المأسومين المظلومين أما بعد فقد قال الله سبحانه وتعالى في كتاب المجيد وقوله الحق وهو أستقص صادقين بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم وجاهدوا في الله حق جهادي واجتباكم وما جعل عليكم في الدين من حرج ملة أبيكم إبراهيم وسمعكم المسلمين من قبل وفي هذا ليكون الرسول شهيدا عليكم وتكون شهد على الناس فاقموا الصلاة وقاتوا الزكاة وعتصموا بالله وهو مولاكم فنعمل مولا ونعمل نصير صدق الله العلي العثيم صلاة الله محمد والمحمد كل بلوات يبقى لله سبحانه وتعالى ونبدأ في بلسة نايم لنساعدنا هذه الحياة ونعتبرنا باستخدامنا باستخدامنا ونعطينا الأمور لكي تستطيع أن تكون تستخدمه للمرسله وما يعطيه أنه يدعونا مع الإنطلاقت مع المستخدمة لتسايفر من right وقد يدعونا باستخدامنا باستخدامنا باستخدامنا لتكون باستخدامنا ومستخدمنا for justice وقد يدعونا باستخدامنا لتساعدنا ومستخدمنا والله في القرآن يقول لا يُقلِّف الله نفسا إلا وصعها when we see the problems that we have in life today this is by design in that Allah has allowed due to our exercise of limited free will that we can either be proponents of good or proponents of evil and because of that factor of mixture that we can either be proponents of good or proponents of evil and because of that factor of mixture we find there are some human beings who prefer to take the negative side of life where they see the glasses have empty and then there are those who see the glasses have full although nature dictates when Allah says فترط الله التي فطر الناس عليها لا تديل لخلق الله ذلك الدين القيم but Allah says this is the system of God when Allah says فاقم وجهك للدين حنيفا فترط الله فطر الناس عليها it's a system of God what is a system of God? promote good demote evil and good will persevere and you will be the beneficiary of the good Allah says in the Quran احسنتم احسنتم لأمفسكم وين أسأتم فلها when you are when you do good you do good for yourselves right? so Allah says you have two options you can promote good or you can demote it and prevent it those who prevent good become a burden for the rest of society we call them in English an anathema an anathema is like a curse a burden on all of us a person who is a bala a troublemaker a fasik a gossiper a person who is a bala a troublemaker a gossiper a false finder one who is a cheater an embezzler a liar there are people like that in our societies who have decided to take that pathway thinking that they will achieve success and due to their misbehavior they cause trials and tribulations for the rest of mankind Allah says but Allah also tells us in the Quran ان الله لا يظلم الناس الشيء وَلَكِنَّ النَّاسِ وَأَنْ فُسَمْيَا الْلِمُونَ الله لا يفعل الإنجاستيس لإنجاستيس لإنجاستيس لن يفعل الشيء rather it is men who does wrong to each other so if you and I examine the problems we have in life today you will find that it's the predominance of the problem is human created not divine creation now you may think what about earthquakes floods tsunamis hurricanes what about that well in the era that we live in today we are very intelligent people we are very scientific in fact we know what causes tsunamis we know what causes the weather patterns today our power prediction of weather is very very good 90% floods and we do know when floods come and when tsunamis will hit us did you ever wonder that when such tragedies take place who is usually the one who suffers the most you will find it's the poor people the rich people their homes are built to withstand earthquakes they are built on high plateaus they are designed with many factors to escape such weather conditions so the poor people are left to become victims due to negligence of other human beings who have hoarded and embezzled the money that they should be spreading to give and Allah says وَأَعْتِيدَ الْقُرْبَ حَقَّهُ وَالْمِسْكِينَ وَبْنَ السَّبِيلَ so when we examine the problems in the world today it's predominantly human created now if you and I do die even if we're wealthy or well to do in a very nice home and a bad storm takes place it is minuscule with relations to the kind of damage that happens to the human race compared to how many human lives are taken due to the ignorance and arrogance of the human race at the level where we start wars we bomb people we use all kinds of sophisticated weaponry by which to pulverize the human being bunker busting bombs even that even if you're hiding under the ground the enemy is trying to kill you millions and millions just in world war two sixty million people died was it a divine act was it human ignorance and stupidity and arrogance which led to nothing only to come back and to bring peace and then to restructure what happened to all the sixty million innocent lives that were taken due to the stupidity of man Allah says I have chosen you I have given you I have endowed you with the ability to be promoters of good but I've also given you the capacity to be destructive like shaytan this is the reality of life everything comes to this bottom line when you and I can talk about science is money business acquisitions trillion dollar businesses like apple like amazon but those are all secondary matters for there's only so much you can do with wealth there's only so much you can do with structure there's only so much you can do with physical entities for the end of the day we ask the question what's it all for why am I here so now I have achieved all this mastery in the material world what is it all for and what am I supposed to do you will find that intrinsically built in our fitra when Allah says وَنَفْسِ وَمَا سَوَّهَا فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقوَهَا قَدْ أَفْلَهَا مَنْ زَكَّهَا وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ دَسَّهَا that mankind has been created to be a promoter of morality and the demotor of immorality to be scrupulous as we say one who is methodical and structured in a decent way where the person is principled and they refuse to violate principles the way Karbala was but with the enemy was throwing money and wealth because he wanted to conquer the world and destroy the human fabric of morality and our imams and our prophets came in the way to stop it at any price including their families we gather in these sessions to discuss this matter whether our bombs are the biggest or our planes are the most sophisticated it means nothing as I mentioned yesterday we could have antiquated tools and we can still defeat the most sophisticated enemy because at the end of the day it is the spirit the vision the heart the indomitable character for human being who understands the presence of God that defeats all of the evil forces صلاة الله محمد وعال محمد so Allah has chosen us and you and I are liable on judgment day الله says I will question you what did you do with my gifts I chose you with intellect I brought you as my representatives on earth meaning there are chosen representatives of God as I mentioned yesterday the importance of leadership divine leadership the constancy of divine leadership the kind that maintains a continual flow of guidance for the human being is constantly questioned at the moral level and you don't leave your journey without first putting in the coordinates of the GPS that's the wise move so Allah creates prophets meaning their spirits pre-exist us because Allah says وَالَّذِي خَلَقَ فَصَوَّى وَالَّذِي قَدَّرًا فَهَدًا قَدَّرًا فَهَدًا the فهدًا meaning that he وَالَّذِي خَلَقَ he creates and makes it complete فَصَوَّى وَالَّذِي قَدَّرًا he gives it destiny فهدًا and guides it but the guidance cannot start until the template of guidance pre-exists or you cannot move until the coordinates are there that's why the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم صلى الله أعلى محمد وعلى المحماد he said I was there before Adam was there what does it mean when Allah says الا في محبة او لا الخمسة الذين هم تحت الجساء الاماكنة من كساة ، مع فائدة فائدة ، يأتي في كساة في سلطة 33 سلطة الحزاب when الله يقول إنما يريد الله ليذهب عنك بالردس أهل البيت ويتحيرهم تتحيرهم صلوات الله محمد و أهل محمد ماذا هو this purity about when we say Allah says I did not create the universe nor the sun, the moon, the brightness the whole the seas none of this if not for the love of this five you might say what does you mean by this it's the essential nature of what Allah is talking about that the essential nature of leadership our Ahl al-Bait for this earth are this five do they represent the universe yes in principle they do what it means is if aliens landed on earth and they became earthly beings they would follow the principles of these Ahl al-Bait because they represent the universal truth and if I was to travel you're now able to travel to another part of the universe there would be a similar component of leaders like the Ahl al-Bait who represent those kinds of creatures there الله سبحانه وتعالى كل قومين had every community has been guided الله سبحانه وتعالى أرسلنا من رسول إلا بالسان قومي ليبينا لهم لن نقوم بسنجر ولكن مع لغة منها لكي يستطيع أن يستطيع أن أخبرها بشكل كبير لأن الوصول is essential its guidance is essential كما قلت yesterday لا يمكنك أن تساعد هذا الوصول إذا كنت تساعد حياة يصبح محاولة ن now start to cherry pick leaders ن now start to manufacture what we call relative morality while it has some values in it it doesn't take it to fruition to its fullest extent because morality is pegged in time what do I mean by that first the essence of morality has no time stipulation meaning morality does not change لا تبديل للخلق الله God doesn't change his system his system is fixed what is that good is superior to evil evil cannot exist without good good exists without evil life has a purpose meaningful and when you promote good you become beneficiary and you continue to grow when you promote evil you bring harm and damage and you go towards self-destruction annihilation fana every living entity knows existence is superior to nonexistence hence we are all fighting for eternal existence even animals are instinctually built that if there is a threatening event in their lives they have this instinctual movement to protect themselves to extend their longevity in the general sense everybody understands that that's the system of Allah but if I tell you here's the reason why I say morality is not pegged in time under the in terms of its value is that 10,000 years ago there was a generous man or a woman who helped the needy and if we ask from a moral value perspective what would you say about that person 10,000 years ago we would unanimously say that that was a good person we would not say what we don't know what the evolution of morality was 10,000 years ago so we cannot pass a judgment then we would say no that person was a good person and if I see a million years from now somebody will be generous and kind caring sharing giving forgiving loving what would you and I say or that's probably going to be a good that is going to be a good person but why not the scales of morality changing because morality doesn't change it doesn't change in time you notice the Quran is a unique book on earth there is no book like the Quran in the world it has a tasrifi style meaning it repeats itself but the story fragments the only continuous story that we understand in the Quran is Surat Yusuf other stories of Musa and Ibrahim and the Holy Prophet you find this fragmented in various chapters and it continues with expression in another chapter why does that happen because the Quran is not a book of stories it's not chronologically built because it is telling you and me I am a book of morals and I'm not bound in time that's what Allah says إن هذا القرآن يهدي للتي هي أقوام ويبشر المؤمنين الذين يعملون الصالحات أن لهم أجرا كبيرا this book guides you to that which is most upright what is the Quran about it has science in it it has foretelling it has future it has past it has presence it has everything لا رطب ولا يابس إلا في كتاب it's in the Quran but the objective of the Quran is to guide us morally because it is the moral argument that ultimately supersedes all arguments that's why religion is so important that's why belief in Allah is so important you might say why ask even an atheist is it good to lie is it good to cheat you'll tell you now I said good it's working God's template in you is working the problem is you haven't connected to the eternal hence it's temporal it lacks true meaning it's not a complete system it's fractured so morality for it to really work in its fullest extent it needs an eternal trajectory you cannot say to somebody I will be honest with you for a year can you you can but you're technically dishonest because you're telling me that your honesty will stop that's not good I will love you for 10 years after that I won't love you anymore can you imagine a couple saying that to each other you marry a woman she says I'll love you for the next 5 years and then we'll decide I mean you killed it in fact true love should be that I'd like to be with you eternally even after this world don't say I will love you while I'm alive say I will love you forever for my love for you should be forever that is the ultimate goodness you will notice the essence of goodness is directly pegged to infinity you remove infinity from the equation goodness starts to fall apart try it try to stipulate any conscious idea that's moral and good you will notice with Ihsan goodness Hassanat if it's not pegged with eternity it is Sayyiat it lacks it so there is to the atheists the idea of an eternal quality of morality doesn't compute until then unless you bring a line to the equation to say the universe existed and it continues to exist but it's mindless senseless stupid it's totally built on parameters of probability and chance but I'd like to be moral and my morality will die when I die it just killed the entire moral argument for morality has three components oversight liability and punitive measures you take any of these three away you kill morality there has to be somebody constantly monitoring above you oversight civil societies have policemen they have cameras they have courts they have judges to monitor you you must be a liable citizen you must be considered liable for when you carry a license while driving you are liable if a policeman stops you and you are without a license you are liable you cannot say I have no law no you are in our country you follow the law and you are liable and your liability means you need to be rewarded or punished otherwise you're not a citizen and the third punitive measures meaning you either get rewarded or punished so try driving someplace and you get a $500 ticket I promise you you'll always slow down when you pass that road if it was painful for the $500 so any kind of punishment is a deterrent and that capacity brings morality into the equation subhan Allah so when you and I talk about religion we say Dean people say do I need religion do I need to believe in God is it essential if you remove God from the equation your entire moral argument falls apart and then I ask you do you believe in good yes I said no you just negated it because the minute you take God out of the picture your good is as temporal as saying to somebody I'm going to love you for a year you killed it it has no meaning and there is no eternal but Allah only Allah is the eternal هو الأول والآخر والضهر والباطن it is only Allah who is eternal and it is only Allah who brings everything into existence and it is only Allah who takes it back إِنَّا لِلَّا وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ صلوات الله محمد وآل محمد why am I speaking like this? it will make sense for you and I to understand why Imam Hussein was where he was many a times we scratch our head how could you take your 6 month infant child and bring it to danger in front of the enemy the Imam is a walking talking moving إِنَّا لِلَّا وَإِنَّا إِلَّيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ explaining to us that the meaning of this world is built on this parameter of maintaining morality even if we have to sacrifice our 6 month old infants how many of us are willing to do that for Allah says on judgment day who will be the most honorable it's the one who kept their faces upright the ones who bargain for nothing no bargaining for Allah رجال الله تلهيم تجارة ولا بيعنون ذكر الله when Allah says في بيوتي نذين الله أن ترفع ويذكر فيه اسمو يُصبِّه له فيها بالغدوي والآصال houses which God has honored exalted for the name of God is mentioned through them and they are the role models for the human beings on how to be moral and how to be conscious of being honest and truthful every one of us here in this room has been a victim of some kind of a thief and a liar do you notice that that is why you notice morality is the most powerful equation these gatherings people ask why do you commemorate the Shahada of Imam Hussein ultimately it is the ultimate template of morality that's right the prophet said اُسَيْنُ منِّي وَأَنَا مِنَا الْحُسَيْنِ لَحْمُهُمْ لَحْمِي وَدَمُهُمْ دَمِي اَنَا حَرْبٌ لِمَنْ حَارَبَهُمْ وَسِلْمٌ لِمَنْ سَالَمَهُمْ وَسَيْنِ is from me and I am from Hussein لَحْمُهُمْ their flesh is my flesh their blood is my blood and I make war with those who make war with them and I make peace with those who make peace with them so please don't forget in Karbala the holy prophet was killed because he said لَحْمُهُمْ لَحْمِي وَنَا حَرْبٌ لِمَنْ حَارَبَهُمْ وَسِلْمٌ لِمَنْ سَالَمَهُمْ وَعَدُونْ لِمَنْ عَدَوْ I am an enemy to those who are enemy to them because the prophet is saying that they are one اولنا وَأَوْصَطُنَا وَأَخِرُنَا وَكُلُنَا محمد صلوات الله محمد والمحمد meaning all the twelve imams the holy ahl al-bayt are an extension of the holy prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم why? because he is the ultimate morality الله سللا قد كان لكم في رسول الله اصواتٌ حسنة لمن كان يرجو الله وليوم الآخر وذكر الله كثيرا indeed the messenger is your best role model for you on what grounds? the moral template he came 1400 years ago he is not archaic he is not past وعلموا أن فيكم رسول الله لو يوتيعكم في كثير من الأمر لعنتم ولكن الله حبب إليكم الإيمان no that the prophet is among you it wasn't only then even now for our shahadateen holds us liable for the leadership of God that God said I hold you for this reason for if you lose your morality what else do you have? do you conquer the planets and build gigantic palaces? why? when you have to die anyway كل نفسٍ ذاقة الموت كل من عليها فان ويبقى وجه ربكة الجلال والإكرام everything will perish except Allah then what is your purpose or humankind when you are so egotistic so self-centered that you fabricate all kinds of interesting facades by which to beguile and fool the human race into thinking that you are something important when you turn to dust anyway that's a profound thought to you and I have that you and I are sitting in this room tomorrow we will not exist on this earth we will be in a different realm and our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will not even know our first names but see how we walk around how important are our names plastered for the world should know who I am when Allah says why why don't you make yourself important to me in اكرمكم and the Allahu Akbar the most honorable to Allah is one who's God conscious who's God conscious one who's moral who refuses to lie who refuses to cheat who has a long-term vision to be within the trajectory of morality and they give charity and they ensure that that poor person living in the valley who became become a victim of a flood or an earthquake that we gather money to go save them and take them to higher grounds do we do that no we all swear within ourselves that when I become a millionaire I'll start giving my first donation Shaytan fools us doesn't he why if you're less than a millionaire you think you'll get poor if you get charity what a foolish thought but Shaytan has fooled us indeed and Allah says He threatens you with poverty whereas I call you to grace Allah says in the Quran I call you to grace He threatens you with poverty and many of us have become so what we call greedy and hoarders within our own realm that we're just building empires when we've given up the love of our children and our families thinking that that's our security there is no security on earth but the one who created us there is no security on earth but the one you and I ultimately returned to and what is security in between that high moral standards كنتم خير أمة نخرجت للناس تعمرون بالمعروف وتنهون عن المنكر وتؤمنون بالله you're the best in the community you're uprights in our communities today we have problems why are our children getting lost as I mentioned yesterday why do you think they're so addicted to these smartphones smartphones are not bad they are a gift of God computers a gift of God they're not bad technology is a gift of Allah everything is a gift of Allah it's how you and I use it and we will abuse it when we abuse ourselves and those around us due to our tacit negligence of what we were really created for which is to be conscious within the self and to say what is my real purpose in life am I willing to sacrifice the way Allah says لن تنال البرى حتى تنفقوا من ما تحبون you will not achieve righteousness until you give with that which you love are we willing to do that I believe we are if we understand what was just discussed meaning the moral argument the eternity of God the religion that God has placed upon us by which to make us moral individuals individuals who will not cheat nor lie who will love and care for humanity because God loves them not because I love them no because Allah loves them the way Zaynab عليه السلام talks to Imam Ali عليه السلام when she was four years old sitting on his lap she says to her father do you love Allah he says very much another مؤمنين says to his blessed daughter very much and she says do you love me four year olds because she's child full of wisdom you might think no it's only a four year old doesn't know God let's not fool ourselves these young children I don't care if they're two years old they know Allah they just talk a different language they are the most beautiful representations of Allah children innocent unadulterated straightforward soft as we say in their spirituality easily you know taken in the right direction and then these children grow up to become traitors and thieves and you wonder how did you get here somebody abused them at a young age somebody confused them at a young age but they're pure they're beautiful so Zaynab is looking at her father do you love me he said I love you very much she says to him how can you love me and God at the same time what she means is that my love that you have is your love you have for me is now a distraction for your love of God for now you have to choose between the two loves brilliant question and Imam replies with a smile I love you because Allah loves you see how he put it in structure she asks him a very interesting question he puts it perfect in position says I love you because Allah loves you we must love our parents because Allah loves our parents we must love our children because Allah loves our children we must love humanity because God loves humanity we must love the animals because God loves the animals how do I know that he created it he shaped it he taught it what it needs to do even a bee knows how to fly knows where to get its food an insect that's crawling in this room right now knows where to get its sustenance and Allah guides it did you take example of this Allah says did you look around and see how much love emanates from me how come you don't love them you and I must love each other because of Allah not because you are rich not because you are powerful not because you are famous people today love each other not for Allah for power for greed we love each other because somebody praises me this person praises me so I love this person this person doesn't like me so I don't like this person how about you and I love humanity because Allah loves humanity even the one who's not kind to us Allah created that person even when Musa goes to Fir'aun Fir'aun was a fiend was a wretched man was a murderer was a genocidal murderer but Allah still loves him as a creation that he sends Musa إذا بلا Fir'aun إنه تغى go to him he has exceeded his boundaries it's his loss he will be punished due to his stupidity and arrogance go wake him up أقول الله قولاً لينا speak to him with a soft tongue maybe he will be inspired look at the love of God that he even sends a prophet to go wake up the most treacherous human being how can you and I not love each other صلوة الله محمد والمحمد within this short time that I have I need to finish this verse even yesterday which I mentioned in Surat Al-Fat the last verse محمد الرسول الله والذين معه أشد داول الكفار رحمه بينهم محمد is your messenger والذين معه أشد داول الكفار and those who are with him are firm against كفر والذين معه أشد داول الكفار إيماء موسينا عليه السلام أشد داول الكفار firm indomitable عليبنا بطالب عليه السلام firm doesn't bargain when it comes to promotion of good firm not ISIS like not the one who holds a gun الله أكوين بيهد not the one who stones people that's not Islam this is not Islam not to go and be little Christians and to burn their churches and to burn the synagogues that's not Islam no the Islam of Amir al-Mu'mineen that Ibn Ali is on the battlefield he's smiling towards the enemy trying to invite them for the last second that maybe you will change your mind before I dislodge you from this world as a Catholic that kind of care that kind of love boil it down to you and me on a day to day basis the work we do the people we meet if you and I do not affect them through such leadership then we have failed الله أشد داول الكفار رحماه بينهم they are merciful to each other Karbala was like that 72 companions but merciful to each إهجال so Allah in the Quran he's telling us who are they تراهم ركعا سجدا يبتغون فضل من الله وارضوان سيماهم في وجوههم من أثر السجود you will see them earning the grace of God with ruku and sujood and you will see marks on their faces because they have given correct value to deen they know why they exist and they know they have a duty الله أشد داول الكفار their work raises trees firm trees whose fruits are so great that they enrage the kufar لعيدة بهم الكفار because they are so good the enemy can't do anything because they are so just the thief cannot steal because they are so balanced the bigot cannot practice bigotry this is the adalah of leadership that we talk about this leadership needs to be central in our hearts that when we cry for Imam Hussein when we cry for his family when we cry for his companions they are our leaders the 14th centuries later we can never forget them and that becomes the spirit of all these projects the kind of projects different from other schools different from other masajids different from other churches and synagogues the one that hits the trajectory the one that hits the mark the one that's designed to hit bullseye because that's the agent of God like الله سبحانه وتعالى كتكانا لكم في رسول الله أسواتون the messenger for you is your best role model but who for the one who wants to return to Allah لمن كانا يرجو الله what does it mean meaning they have taken into account every transaction God is watching every promise God is watching and I'm not going to cheat you nor am I going to lie to you because I know either today or tomorrow or a hundred years from now I am returning to God and he is going to question me about how moral I was لمن كانا يرجو الله وليوم الأخر and they remember the day of judgment وذكر الله كثيرة and they remember God often how how do you remember God often constantly giving charity constantly blocking gossip constantly refusing to find faults constantly forgiving constantly loving constantly caring constantly sharing this is what Allah means وذكر الله كثيرة this is the attitude you and I need to have otherwise we are not complete Muslims brothers and sisters صلى الله عليه وسلم محمد وعال محمد hear this verse and I'm going to continue that الله is talking about leadership as I mentioned the divine leadership Allah has chosen you and I cannot choose them I'm going to make a very clear argument here divine leadership cannot be appointed by human beings there is no sure in the matters of divine leadership we have 124,000 prophets Adam being the first and our Holy Prophet محمد peace صلى الله عليه وسلم as the last you find that 124,000 were all appointed exclusively by Allah not even a prophet was allowed to appoint another prophet even سليمان asks Allah that my son I would like to appoint him as a prophet Allah says No you cannot I will tell you who the next prophet is with the miracle that he will perform in front of you which was أسف بن برخية who brings the throne of بالقيس and سليمان realizes this is his successor you cannot choose a successor not even موس عليه السلام when he was told to go to فرعون while his brother حارون is already a prophet not even under that jurisdiction can a prophet appoint another prophet in the divine mission سبحان الله think of the gravity of the divine law إني جاعيلك للناس إمام إني جاعيل في الأرض خليفة موسى says واجعلي وزيرا من أهل هارون أخي make my brother my helper so Allah establishes a very clear foundation in the Quran divine leadership is not chosen by people you know why كربالا took place because a group of people decided to ignore that divine leadership and they said No we are going to choose our own we don't need the prophet to tell us we don't need a law to tell us we will just choose them based on other factors nationality age proximity and that's why كربالا took place take it further today what's happening in the middle east the carnage I'll ISIS and Al-Qaeda and all the other pseudo groups that pretend they're all the machineries of the same idea that leadership is in our hand we choose it we don't need God to choose this is why chaos takes place Allah says I appoint منذ اللذي الشفاور عنده إلا بإذني يعلموا ما بين ايدهم وما خلفهم ولا يحيتوننا بشيء من علمي إلا بما شاء who can intercede on this behalf except by his permission who Allah says I know what is in front of them and what is behind them and they cannot avail themselves of any knowledge until I give it to them that leadership is fundamental and it is so powerful that look at the holy prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم he makes one mistake were he to make one mistake just one and Allah says لو يوتيركم في كثير من الأمر لعنتم were he to listen to your whimsical suggestions much wrong would take place Allah says about the prophet a prophet where Allah says النبي you اولى بالمؤمنين من انفسهم the prophet has greater right on the believers than the believers have on themselves wow meaning the prophet takes over my free will النبي you once you do shahadatein لاي ليل الله محمد رسول الله Allah says now your prophet has greater right over you than you have over yourself that's how merciful Allah is that he protects me from my ignorance and stupidity by telling me go follow the leader I chose so you will never go wrong as the prophet said I am the صفينة النو I am the ark of nu and my family أهل الميت those who embarked on it were saved those who stayed behind drowned this is very deep talk you might say but what about the rest of humanity the human race is good overall but they are circling chasing their shadows in the dark shadows because they don't know what to do this apathy churches are shutting down with all due respect 95% of Catholic youth in Detroit never enter a church it's happening in other religions even within our Muslim communities you find the apathy in religion is growing children are beginning to declare their agnosticism they're getting indulgent into drugs escaping all questioning the integrity of modesty and hijab why do I need this what is this garb why can't I be free why can't I express myself freely and then you see even sisters you know brothers should never use foul language it's filthy when somebody uses foul language they look ugly sisters are using foul language this is not right Allah has honored us that's why in this ayah verse 78 and I conclude on this verse Allah says وَجَاهِدُ فِي اللَّيْحَقَّ جِهَاديِ وَجْتَبَاكُمْ struggle in the way your Lord deserves to be struggled for this is a conversation we need to discuss for you and I will give our skin our lives forever forever forever we will never do enough jihad enough struggle for Allah which is what promote good forbid evil don't be harsh be gentle be balanced be equitable be caring this is وَجَاهِدُ فِي اللَّيْحَقَ وَجْتَبَاكُمْ He has chosen you like Allah says to Musa اِن اخترتك لنافسي I have taken you for myself you know how powerful that is to me the most amazing verse is if God were to say I have taken you for myself wow I have succeeded when God takes us for himself there's nothing better for the owner of the universe has chosen us Allah says وَجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَا عليكُمْ فِي الدينِ مِنْ حَرَجِ and we didn't make religion difficult for you people say religion is difficult no it's not actually lack of religion meaning cognizance of God prayer fasting is where difficulty starts for there's no vision there's no purpose there's no dignity you don't have any sort of an upright moral conditioning on a daily basis we're like creatures who feed the refrigerator that feeds us whereas a believer is much higher than that that their planning of their material gains is predicated on a long term goal on a much greater goal that even if death meets them they're ready for it they become indomitable they become very firm and we love people who are firm we love people who are confident we love people who don't waver we love people who represent the truth firmly we find comfort in them this is how prophets and imams were unafraid unafraid but the verse I'm quoting here specifically is for you and I if Allah سبحانه وتعالى says ملت أبيكم إبراهيم the religion Islam was with Adam هو سمك المسلمين من قبل if he had a Islam is a verb I'll talk about it it's not a noun while it is a noun it is actually a verb I'll talk about it many of us on earth have gone astray because we've misrepresented this word Christians have gone astray Jews have gone astray Buddhists have gone astray because they've taken the religion as a noun and it becomes an entitlement and once you're entitled like you became a member of the club whereas Islam is not that Islam is a constancy of action constancy of purification constancy of reminding oneself just like a good athlete who refuses to eat anything poisonous like a good fitness guru who refuses to take any poison because unless their body grows the wrong way that type the scientist who refuses to move away from their methodical way of exposing the secrets of the universe you have to have a methodical system this is why the Dean of Allah صلاة أقمة صلاة maintain prayer it's not some ritual that God added upon us he said I didn't make religion difficult for you I elevate you I'm honoring you with your prayers you don't understand it we should in my life growing up as a youth in America whenever I prayed my friends always respected me but it wasn't to show off to pray it is because they say there's honor and dignity in it but then you realize if my friend likes me because I pray then I better act with what I just prayed two and four so that I can represent the prayer better because the prayer is not the end of the goal it is the means to the goal that's why Imam Hussein عليه الصلاة والسلام prayed he lost half his army half his army was shot with arrows he didn't care الصلاة why? because that's what the prophets and imams came for to teach us discipline to be moral and upright and to maintain the consistency of the Quran in its nature to constantly be balanced and to understand what the value systems are but he is the most profound part والله سبحانه وتعالى he says ليكون الرسول شهيدا عليكم وتكونوا شهدا على الناس this is very powerful struggle so that the prophet is a witness over you when you are a witness over the people you and I are being addressed in this verse we think the imams and the prophet do God's work and then we're on the sidelines cheering them يا حسين لباك we wear zulfi cars we tattoo Hussein we're just observers we're cheer cheerleaders out there hey we love you علي we love you هيدر Imam Ali is looking at us and says no no no you're not in the crowd you're in the arena with me God is in the angels are in the arena watching us they're in the crowds watching us you and I are here so let's not take a sidestep so you know let Allah take care of this Islam and let the prophet do Islam and let Imam Sa'ib ادركني الصال عجل you know إلهي عظم البلا تزب بلا Imam is replying us what are you doing no no we're waiting for you to come and fix it we're just observers Quran is saying no no no you are not an observer in fact the prophet is your witness and you are the witness over the people so what does Allah conclude listen to what Allah concludes brilliant الله سلسل وتكونوا شهداء للناس فأقيموا الصلاة وآتوا الزكاتة وعتصموا بالله هو مولاكم فنعمل مولا ونعمل نصير لذلك مولاكم ليست مولاكم فنحن نتحدث عن صلاة لا لا لا هذا هو مجرد مجرد يعني يبقى يبقى يبقى يبقى فأقيموا الصلاة وآتوا الزكاتة تقوموا بعمل أساعدوهم أساعدوهم وقوموا بعمل هو أساعدوهم سوف تساعدوهم اليوم سنقل هؤلاء الذين يوصلون في كربلا مع إمام سينا عليه الصلاة أساعدوهم أن إمام لفت مدينة لنذهب إلى مكة ولكنهم wanted to plot to kill him in Makka ومجردين ولكن إمام love the Kaaba so much يقولوا أن هذا هو the house of God وقد فعلت هذا المنزل في أول أبيتين ووضع للناس للذي ببكة مباركة وهدن للعالمين إنه مجرد من الناس حتى when the Holy Prophet قامت لأمكة من المكانين أن يقوموا بعمل هو قد يمتل رؤس الطعام هو جميل في قرارة المتالج وقوموا بعمل there was no bloodshed وقد قامت بعمل بعمل أبو سوفيان وقوموا بعمل أبو سوفيان للتسجيل بدون رؤس الطعام The next morning there was an attempt to create bloodshed the prophet prevented it and said no This is a sacred house It is not a house built on blood It is a house built on worship على مرسي، على ملعب، على ملعب، على ملعب إمام أسين لم يقوموا أن يقوموا ذلك لأنهم ستقتلواه في كابا قالوا أني لا ستقوموا أن يقوموا بلدشة في هذا المنزل سأتركه لذا إمام أسيني يزيد قد حصلت في مكة ومجموعة وقاموا لتقتلوا إمام قالوا لا هذا هو why he left مكة he took his family he took his women he took his children he was not hungry for power nor was he going towards Karbala he was going towards Kufa nor was his intention to fight for he had no intention of facing Yazid's army but the Imam left with his family on the basis of truth and Yazid said to him give bay'a give us your allegiance that I am a legitimate caliph Imam says I will never do that notice how they're demanding a human being to appoint a leader whereas Allah chooses leaders divine leaders Imam says I'll never allow that and as I mentioned yesterday the wasiyah of Imam leaving to Muhammad ibn Hanafiyah I am not going to be insolent I'm not going to be stubborn I'm not going to fight I am the promoter of truth and for better or for evil and I follow the sunnah of my grandfather and my father for that is the sunnah of الله سبحانه وتعالى so he leaves this children family his young son Ali Akbar they say Ali Akbar was an image of the prophet if you wanted to see the holy prophet just look at Ali Akbar he looked just like the prophet historians say that when he was in the battlefield people the enemies would come near him and they'd turn back remembering that was the prophet he said that's the prophet fighting us that's how Ali Akbar resembled the prophet but the Imam let him go kissed him and let him go we need to talk about that that power to sacrifice everything for the sake of truth Imam negotiates when he reaches Karbala he negotiates with Omar ibn Saad Omar ibn Saad was the commander in chief of the army in Karbala and Imam is negotiating him for days and he's telling him look I don't want to ever fight with you you know who I am you know where we stand on the pedestal of God don't fight us for it is your destruction and you will be exposed and destroyed if you touch us we are the chosen agents of God ibn Saad knew the Imam very well his family knew the Imam very well he tried he sends a letter to ibn Ziyad that look Hussain ibn Ali is ready to go to India he's ready to go to India and not fight your caliphate he's going to leave you alone but don't corner him but the annals of history is greed power like wars they start with a vengeance no I need to revenge you like shaytan who couldn't ask for forgiveness from Allah simply because he refused to bow he says no until the day of judgment I have a vendara there are people like that in our communities who just cannot bury the hatchets they are holding a vengeance till they die and Allah says you die with your vengeance موتوا قل موتوا بغيذكم Allah says let them die with their anger and that's what happened to ibn Ziyad happened to shimmer and happened to ibn Saad and all of them so tonight while Imam is now confronted on the day عشرة and I will talk about his journey in the next few nights how he traveled he stopped there were 14 stops he made before reaching karbala he didn't want to go to karbala he was aiming for kufa but yazid and even ibn Ziyad sends حر even yazid الرياحي to stop Imam Hussein from arriving in kufa because the share of Ali were known to be the strongest in kufa and if Imam arrives there they would have a more difficult time confronting the Imam so they block him from entering kufa and they push him north west towards karbala from kufa and as a result Imam ends up in karbala on the third day of حر he meets حر and I'll talk about حر another night but I want us to consider those 72 warriors there were two particular groups I want to touch on one was a couple a christian couple that became muslim name was أمي وهاب and Abdullah ibn omeir the husband they were christian they became muslim they meet Imam Hussein they sacrificed and as you know Abdullah ibn omeir was one of the first persons to go forward and fight the enemy and the wife was so in love with him she had just married him this was her husband but they both decided that our marriage is beautiful we love each other but our love will continue in the next world in this world we need to defend Hussein ibn Ali you know when I think of this history just this story of أمي وهاب and Abdullah ibn omeir I look at myself and say shame on me how material we are this is a beloved couple that gives up their relationship their progeny to go and defend the leader of God on this earth to me it lives in my heart every single day Abdullah ibn omeir and أمي وهاب talks to me and says we sacrificed we had so much to gain what are you sacrificing what are you giving and they say when Abdullah ibn omeir went forward and as he's fighting his wife was so proud of that battle she's screaming Abdullah I love you for what you're doing go hit the enemy she starts running towards him she leaves the tent she starts running towards him she got so excited to see her husband fighting in the defense of good to become a martyr who's going to die for good forever as she's running towards him Imam notices her running and says to her don't go it is not for a woman to fight in a battlefield stay behind as she's running towards her husband she looks at the Imam and she instantly realizes that that man is my life but this one is my leader forever this one is from God so she stops dead in her tracks she comes back eager to go and help her husband eager that spirit of eagerness here's what you and I should have if you watch his husband husband turns around and says don't come I'm fighting and when he turns around the enemy slices his finger he doesn't care looks that the enemy continues to fight she patiently watches until he's hit so hard on his head he falls now he's bleeding the enemy runs away now she gently goes towards the body lying on the floor she said I want to let him goodbye this is the man I just married she takes his head puts it on her lap she's caressing him says my love I am so proud of you the enemy notices this woman sitting there in the raging anger they come and they strike her also and she becomes shahida she dies with her husband on the battlefield that's the kind of sacrifice at the very high level and there was a man by the name of he was some historical over 100 years old he was so old his back was arching he's getting ready to fight for Imam Hussein they say his eyebrows were hanging he couldn't see old he takes his turbine and he ties his eyebrows I'm thinking 14 centuries later much younger than you where did you get this energy from old man old simon harith I said who are you how did you reach there how did you have that strength to take your belt and tie it around your eyes because you want to see the enemy in your old age how did you hold that sword he says I love my leader so much that I could be 200 years old but I'm never going to quit to defend the way of God قنص من حارث بيكام شهيد أللعنة الله أللقوم الضالمين وسيعلم الذين ذلموا أيام قلدين يدخريموا صواة رحم محمد وعيل محمد