 We begin by praising Allah, by thanking Allah, by reminding ourselves we weren't made for this world and by warning ourselves that we're returning to Him. May Allah be gentle with us and may that return and may that reunion be one of joy and not one of remorse, Ameen. Islam is here to elevate us. Have we been elevated? Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the messenger of God Taras, innama b'u'ithtu li utammima makarima al-akhlaq. I was only sent to perfect beautiful character. Has our character been beautified? Ma kana rifqu fi shay'in illa zana, wa ma nuzi'a min shay'in illa shana. Anything that has gentleness with it is more beautiful. And anything that has gentleness removed from it is uglier. Have we become gentle souls? Gentle hands, gentle tongues, gentle eyes, gentle ears, gentle movements. Has Islam done its work with us? Islam is here to elevate. Have we allowed it to elevate us? And of course everything, Allah is the actor. Allah huwa al-haq. Allah is the real. Allah is the truth. Have we allowed this beautiful light to do its work on us? Has it transformed our hearts? Have we allowed it to marinate enoughs that we each have? This ego inside of us is our greatest enemy. But it has levels. An nafsul ammarah besuq, an nafsul lawama, and an nafsul mutima innah. The nafs, the ego, the spirit, that what? That commands me to do wrong. But when we train it and tame it, then it elevates to the reproachful. The one that reproachfuls. Ah, why did I do that? Oh, I shouldn't have done that. Ah, and we feel guilty and there's an agitation inside of us when we do something wrong. A natural agitation because their fitrah is there. And then we tame it more and train it more and it becomes an nafsul mutima innah. The tranquil, the serene self. Oh, you tranquil soul, spirit. Return, return to your lord, return to your master, return to your caretaker. Happy with him and him happy with you. Fad huli fi aibadi. And enter into my servants, my servanthood. And enter into my jannah. Allah. Allah. Do we live to serve ourselves or to serve Allah? What do we receive joy from? What do we live for? The nafs, the nafs. Ad dunya sa'a fa ja'alha ta'a. Wa nafsul tama'a amil alimha alqana'a. This world is a flash to God's way, hold fast. Your ego wants more than it has. Tame yours to like what it has. So when we tame this ego, what happens is it can elevate five stages. And nafs, alqalb, al-akilb, al-ruh and as-sir. So the nafs can elevate, right? The nafs, when we tame it, when we tame it, first it can become a kalb. The kalb, because the kalb, it flips. Sometimes I do this, sometimes I do that. Sometimes I feel, sometimes my angelic side, sometimes my, the demonic whispers come. And then the kalb, it flips, and then the akil. Allah gave us the akil, the akilha, to tie it. To tie this ego. It's not in charge. You're not in charge. You don't get to do whatever you want. I don't, I don't abide, I don't accept. I don't imbi, abide this false freedom notion, this false notion of freedom. To do what I want, when I want, how I want, where I want. That's not freedom. That's a false freedom. Freedom is not obeying your desires. It's your desires obeying you. This is the Islamic way here to elevate us. Every beast and animal goes and fulfills their desires and does whatever their instinct says. But we're here to say, my soul, I'm an elevated human being. We ennobled the children of Adam. Have we allowed Islam to ennoble us? Because these are choices we make every day. And I'm not talking about this grand, mysterious way. I'm talking about our daily decisions. The Sahaba, the Sahaba were a group of converts. And they came with these raw traits. And their daily lives were transformed. Their daily, their daily interactions were transformed. Where they know, now I have a master. And that master is Allah and I live for him, not just for myself. I don't live, I live to serve Allah. I obey Allah. And so this, when we tame this and the Aqil, the intellect, the mind that Allah gave us to tame the inner dog of anger and the inner pig of desires. The king, the intellect tames them, then it can elevate. And then finally becomes a Ruh, a soul. And it experiences Raha and experiences comfort. And then we taste the sweetness of faith. I say this, I ask Allah to forgive me. When we all experience the sweetness of faith, let's seek forgiveness from Allah. He's indeed the most forgiving. All praise is due to Allah. All praise is due to Allah. May Allah's peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad, his family, his friends and his followers. All praise is due to Allah. We're here today, every Friday to remind, to do this reminder. And with zikr, reminders, we experience the insan, the uns, the anisa, the intimacy and closeness. So we have the level of Islam, iman, ihsan. So we begin with Islam and it can be elevated. And we continue. And ihsan, this highest level, ihsan is excellence and beauty. And the question is, how do we reflect? How do we, as Muhammad, as Ahmed, as Khadija, as Zaynab, whoever we are, whatever our name is, wherever we come from, how do we reflect this divine beauty? Does our character reflect it? You know, on Fridays, we wear our Jumu'ahs finest. Allah swt cares about form and substance. What does that mean? That means Allah cares about the inward and the outward. What does that mean? Allah swt sent a Quran with lofty meanings and beautiful meanings, but he sent it in the most beautiful form. It sounds melodic. It sounds beautiful. It touches people who don't understand it because Allah cares about the substance and the form. Allah swt sent us the most beautiful messenger. Right? And he had the most beautiful form and he combed his hair and he oiled his hair and he trimmed his fingernails and he took care of himself physically and he showered and he always smelled beautiful because this is what Islam does. It elevates us. It elevates us. We're here to say, Ya Allah, elevate us. We're here to say, Ya Allah, let this Islam that you sent this guidance, this light. Let it do its thing and take me to a higher level in all aspects of my life. Even as an employer, I want to be the most beautiful employer. I go to this place and I encourage everyone to go there. It's called Windmill Farms and it's in San Ramon, close to San Ramon, close to the In and Out and close to Costco. And the owner, may Allah bless him, he's from Yemen, right? He's a beautiful man. And so one day I went there and it's owned by a Muslim gentleman, Masha Allah. And I went there and then there was a lady working there, may Allah bless her. She was from a different faith, from a different culture, from a different background. And I said, what's the name of the owner? And she said, his name is Jawad. And I was like, oh, that means generous. And she said to me, yes, sometimes too much. Wallahi, I've only been going there like a month or two after I discovered this place. I refused to buy fruits and vegetables from Costco anymore. All right. And I encourage everyone to go there. When I go there, I swear my aunt went there. He said, this is a gift for you. He didn't charge you anything. When my other aunt went there, he said, this is a gift for you. Every time I go here, take this mango, it's a gift. Take this strawberries for a gift. And he's just, he's elevated as what? As an employer, as a business owner. Because of Islam. He's even to his employees. He's too generous to his employees. Allahu Akbar. So has Islam elevated us as a husband? Has Islam elevated us as a wife? Has Islam elevated us as a brother? Has Islam elevated us as someone who's been harmed? So I can reciprocate. I don't reciprocate harm. Has Islam elevated me as someone, as a son? As a father? Has Islam elevated me as a daughter? Has Islam elevated me as a student? Has Islam elevated me as a teacher? Has Islam elevated me as an architect? As a lawyer? As a doctor? Physician? Has Islam elevated me as a poor person? Where I can still have refined character and dignity? Has Islam elevated me as a rich person? Where I don't fall in love with my money? And I share it with others and I'm generous? How do we, how do we just think that Islam is this thing that I come? Oh, I pray, I make wudu. Oh, I fast. Oh, I'm done. Islam came to elevate us, to take us from where we were, these Bedouins living with whatever and to make us into these refined exemplary human beings, right? So that we can give the one who's stingy and greedy to me so I can connect the one with the one who pushes me away so I can forgive the one who harms me. This is our Dean. This is our religion coming to bring the best of ourselves, the higher calling and even physically. Has Islam elevated me? Do I smell nice? Do I use the miswak, like the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, your prayer is worth 70 times more using the miswak. Matharatun l-alfam, mardatun l-rab. The miswak is purification for the mouth and pleasing to the Lord. Allah, using the miswak brings happiness to my Lord. That's all I get to do, brush my teeth and it brings happiness to my Lord. Allah, Allah, Allah. Why is brushing our teeth bring pleasure to our Lord? Because Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, wants us to be the refined, excellent, beautiful human beings. This is what Islam is. This is what Islam is. So we ask ourselves today on this Friday, have I been elevated by Islam? What part of me, what aspect of me do I need to elevate? Maybe it's my wardrobe. And there's this thing called true beauty and false beauty. True beauty and false beauty. Not everything is equally beautiful. I'm sorry, maybe this is politically incorrect. Not everything is equally beautiful. It's not whatever I feel is true. Truth is not defined based on feelings. Although that's the common cultural current today. Truth is not defined on feelings. And so when someone spends $250 on a pair of genes that are torn here, here, here and here, I'm sorry but we've been a little bit... That's an idea of false beauty. And it's not our fault, we're all victims. We're all victims to what we've imbibed in general. But this is the thing, this is the point. When we can't tell the difference between true beauty and false beauty, then it might lead to not telling the difference between truth and falsehood. That's why, inna Allah katab al ihsan ala kulli shayt. Allah prescribed and commanded beauty and excellence on everything. On our character, on our everything. On the way we look, on the way we act, on the way we talk, on the way we dress, on the way we interact with others, the way we forgive others. And this is the invitation today. This is the invitation today. To identify what part of myself would please Allah for me to elevate. And maybe it's as simple as brushing my teeth more, or taking more frequent, smelling better, frequent showers. Or maybe it's a little more difficult. Maybe it's my character with my wife. I argue too much with the beauty that comes off my tongue. Maybe I use vulgar language. Maybe it's the beauty that I let enter into my ears. I use vulgarity. Inna Allah katab al ihsan ala kulli shayt. Allah prescribed beauty, excellence on everything. May we be people of beauty, insha'Allah. May we allow this faith that Allah sent, this light that Allah sent. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, may Allah allow this light that He sent to elevate us, insha'Allah. Amin. May we live Islam and experience Islam. Amin. May we allow this gift that Allah sent, this gift of guidance that guide us. Amin. Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Alhamdulillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Allahumma salli wa sallim wa bariqa ala Sayyidina Muhammad. Ya Allah, Allahumma ghfirle al muslimina wa al muslimat. Wa lul mu'minina wa lul mu'minaat. Al-Ahya'i minhum wa l'ammat. Ya Allah, Allah mahdina fee man hadayt. Wa aafina fee man aafayt. Wa tawalla na fee man tawallayt. Wa bariqa na fee ma aatayt. Wa qina wa usrif anna sharra ma qadayt. Fa inna ka taktib al haqt wa la yiqda alayk. Ya muqalliba al qalub thabbit qalubana ala dinak. Ya muqalliba al qalub thabbit qalubana ala dinak. Allahumma inna ka aafu'un tuhib al aafu'u fa aafu'u anna. Allahumma inna na salli wa al aafu'u wa al aafu'u wa al mu'afat al daima. La ilaha illa an subhanaka inna kunna minna al-zalimin. Ya Allah, we turn to you in this moment. We turn to you on this Friday. We turn to you as individuals. We turn to you as a group. We collectively do toba to you. We collectively repent to you. We ask you to be pleased with this congregation, pleased with this group, pleased with this mosque. We ask you to restore harmony to our homes and harmony to our marriages and harmony to our inner universes and our hearts, harmony to our schools and our foundations and our institutions and our mosques and to our countries and to our country and our communities and our cities and to restore to the ummah and to the world. Ya Allah, we ask you to remove oppression and to help those who need help and to guide those who need guidance and to clothe those who need clothes and to feed those who need food. Ya Allah, we turn to you. We ask you, Ya Allah, to elevate us gently with gifts and not through tests, to elevate our children, to elevate our offspring. We ask you for us to have the most refined, elegant, beautiful reflection of the divine, reflection of your mercy, reflection of your love, reflection of your beautiful characteristics and traits. Takhallaqu bi-akhlaqillah. We are here to commit to you, to surrender to you, to love you, to submit to you and to hold on to the coattails of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the most magnificent and beautiful character. And we commit today to have and to reflect and to go on a journey until our last breath, refining ourselves every day, every week, every month, every year. We'll continue to try until the day we die. Ya Allah, help us and give us victory over our own self. Give us victory over the whispering demons and devils. Give us victory over materialism and love of money and love of prestige and love of reputation. And give us victory over our stubborn passions and help us overcome our weaknesses and difficulties. And we ask you for everything good that our messenger, our beloved Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, asked you for and we seek protection from every harm that the messenger Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam sought protection from. Subhana rabbika rabbi al-Azzati amma yasifoon wa salamun aala al-mursaleen walhamdulillahi rabbi al-alameen Inna Allah ya'unu bil-adli wal-ahsani wa ita Ida qurba wa yinhan al-fahshai wal-munkari wal-baghi Ya'idoukum la'allakum tadakkarun Uthkur Allah al-Azim yathkur koum wa shkuruhu ala ni'amihi yazid koum Wa aqim al-salah I bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam Come to prayer, come to success, The prayer has been done The prayer has been done Make our rose straight Turn to the creator As a group and as individuals inshaAllah And after the Salat we have with us Brother Nathan to do his Shahada inshaAllah All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the worlds. The Most Merciful, the Most Merciful. The Lord of the Day of Judgment. We worship you and we seek refuge with you. Guide us to the straight path. The path of those whom You have bestowed upon them and those whom You have bestowed upon them is the sun and the moon. And the stars and the trees are the stars and the sky is the moon. Do you not hide in the moon? And do you not lose the weight of the story and do you not lose the moon? And the earth and the moon are the fruits in it and the fruits of the fruits. And love is the pure and the pure and the pure and the pure. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the worlds. The Most Merciful, the Most Merciful. The Day of Judgment. We worship you and we seek refuge with you. Guide us to the straight path. The Most Merciful, the Most Merciful. The Most Merciful, the Most Merciful. The Most Merciful, the Most Merciful. The Straight path. The path of those whom You have bestowed upon them and those whom You have bestowed upon them is the sun and the moon. Man created from clay, like a double-headed pig, and therein is no skin and no skin. And He has the answer, the world's sea, and any expert. Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah Bismillah. As-salamu alaykum. Nathan, welcome. How are you feeling today? Good. Alhamdulillah. Welcome, welcome. All right. It's an honor to have you. Thank you. Thank you for coming here today. Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. Thank you for coming here today and honoring this group. It's a beautiful Friday. It's a blessed Friday. Insha'Allah, Nathan, we will do the declaration of faith and testify and declare in English and then in Arabic, insha'Allah. And no one's forcing you to do this? No. You're comfortable? You ready? Any questions? No questions. Alhamdulillah. Okay. Bismillah, Alhamdulillah. So repeat after me, please. I, Nathan Zabados. I, Nathan Zabados. Hereby declare, announce, testify, and bear witness that there is no God, there is no one worthy of worship, accept Allah, and I declare, and I affirm, and I testify, and I announce, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah in Arabic. The second time. Final time, everyone, if you'd like to join. I'll make a prayer for you, Nathan, Bismillah, Alhamdulillah, As-Salaatu Wasalaam, Rasulullah. Ya Allah, please accept Nathan as one of your beautiful servants, Ameen. Ya Allah, we ask you, we ask you, Ya Allah, by your beloved names and beloved messengers, to elevate Nathan in this world and the next. Ameen, elevate him inwardly and outwardly, and to fill his life and his home with joy and happiness and openings and victories and success and blessings and guidance and smiles and family and friends. Ya Allah, we ask you, Ya Allah, as you say, be, and it is, you do as you please, you do whatever you want, Ya Allah, to take this moment and to let it transcend time and space, Ya Allah, to go into the afterlife, Ya Allah, and to go to every unseen realm, so the angels are celebrating, and celebrating Nathan's moment, Ya Allah, Ameen. Ya Allah, we ask you in this moment, Ya Allah, to take care of all of us by this moment we're turning to you in sincerity, Ya Allah, and to grant us, Ya Allah, all of us, all forgive all of our sins, Ya Allah, and grant us all, Ya Allah, that real moment to gather all of us in heaven, Ya Allah. We declare, we know that paradise is real and the Hellfire is real, and we ask you to grant Nathan and to grant all of us paradise without judgment, Ya Allah, and to make Nathan a gentleman and a scholar and an example and a role model and to make him and to give him a beautiful life and a beautiful afterlife and a beautiful life in the grave and to make his journey in every realm and in every aspect a journey of light, Ameen, and a journey of joy, Ameen, and we ask you for everything good that Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam asked you for and seek protection from every harm that Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam sought protection from for our brother Nathan and to fill his life surrounding him with love, Ameen, Ameen, Ameen, Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen, Al Fatiha. Nathan, they might come give you fist bumps, no hugs allowed, only fist bumps. Here's a gift for you from our teacher, this is Qadr Amr, one of our teachers and Imam's, he's a teacher and so this is a gift from you, inshallah, for you inshallah. Alhamdulillahi, jizakumullahi khayr, thank you so much Nathan, inshallah.