 أعوذ بالله من أشياء خون رجيم بسمع رقم رحيم إن الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره ونعوذ بالله من شعور أنفسنا ومن سيئة عمالنا من يهته الله فلا مضلنا ومن يدل الفلا هاديلا واشدو أن دائلها إلا الله وحده لا شريكلا واشدو أننا سيدنا وحبيبنا مولانا سيدنا محمد عبده ورسوله خير نبي اجتباه هرال العالمين أرسله أرسله الله بدين الحق ليذه العدين كل ولو كريه الكافعون اللهم صلي وسلم بارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأزواجه وغورية وصحابه وتابعين وتابعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين أما بعد إباد الله وذكركم إياية بتقوى الله سبحانه وتعالى وذكركم بقوله سبحانه وتعالى في القرآن كريم حيث يقول يا أيها الذين آمنوا تقوى الله حق تقاته ولا تموتون إلا وعنتوا مسلمون وذكركم إياية بحفظ القرآن كريم وسيدنا محمد صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم تسليم كثيرا يا رب العالمين السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته الحمد لله we thank Allah سبحانه وتعالى for the opportunity of life and we thank Allah سبحانه وتعالى for that opportunity to gather here today for no other reasoning of bringing us here together except for to follow the command of Allah سبحانه وتعالى as the Prophet ﷺ said in the hadith that إيمان وما وقرا في القلب وصدقه العمل that iman faith is that which settles in the heart and the limbs testified to it i.e. there is action after it the fact that we are sitting here right now is a testimony to the faith that is inside of our hearts realized and activated through our limbs and we should give Allah سبحانه وتعالى immense gratitude for that coming here to this hotba today my mind is all over the place in terms of what I should speak about I received the first phone call last night from a student who was concerned about what they should speak about in their hotba and asked me for some advice I advised them but now I'm going to go against the advice that I gave them asking myself if that makes sense as I woke up this morning my phone kept ringing and ringing and ringing or first was a message that I received on social media from a orthodox rabbi that I used to work with back on the east coast sending me his condolences and well wishes for the community in a hope that we are safe in light of everything that has happened and I thought to myself that message to me is meaningful in that the world perhaps wants us to think that an orthodox rabbi and an Imam of a Muslim community should not be friends should not care about the well-being of one another should not care about the fact that if a bomb goes off in Tel Aviv or some other place that I can't have concern for that person's well-being for their family and children as well or should I mention the phone call that I received from a high school teacher who was a friend of mine called me weeping I don't know what to make of this world anymore have we just gone mad what is the world that we live in or the shop owner who said that all day yesterday people were talking about it after it happened inside of my shop and assuredly today they're going to ask you some questions what do I tell them or the other people that I've encountered from this morning at Fudger until right now what do I tell them I tell you right now with all honesty standing in front of you as a certain I don't know what to say I don't know what to say because there is no right answer for us to say in this moment in every single one of us are going to deal with this in a manner that is a reality of the context that we face in our relationship with Allah SWT to me that's the reality there is no cookie cutter for this there is no get well pill that we can give for this but there are realities that exist inside of our tradition that can help us and aid us through moments such as this the first thing that came to mind the first thing that I sat with for a while after this is that what are the opportunities that exist in my life because Allah has given me life today that I can change a good friend of mine as I sat in his Khutba one day he said something in the Khutba where he said that the Prophet ﷺ has advised us to reflect upon death that thing which destroys the let that of this world if you will that thing which brings an end to it and I sat with that for a while because what he said to me made the most sense and I carried it for years and I tried by the permission of Allah SWT to live by that he said that by remembering death it is not to put us in this morbid place of separation from the ones that we love but rather it's the exact opposite which is to enhance the relationships that we have right now because there is a reality that I may go to Juma on this day like those people in Christchurch and I will not come home to my family that's the reality of the world that we live in right now and so it made me think for a moment back to the phone call that I have with my mother this week when she asked me to call my aunt because she was just undergone surgery her older sister and that she's concerned for her health and well-being but to this day I stand in front of you I haven't made that call 72 hours later because why? I have time that's the trick of this world it'll put all the important things in front of our lives that really at the end of the day if I understand in front of Allah SWT are absolutely meaningless but then something like this comes into our reality and as I said I don't know what to tell you everyone is on their own path and they have to figure out what that path means to them they have to figure out why Allah put this in their life at this moment right now for where we sit as individuals yes collectively there are many things that are happening and I have no doubt that they will happen because I believe in the well the well a state if you will I believe in the goodness the inherent goodness that exists inside of mankind the people that will come the people that have already come to support some of the imagery that you are seeing some of the calls that are coming out can I aid you to Muslims need anything how can I be there this is the world that I want to see for my children be you Muslim or anything else underneath that that's the world that I want to see that we can live in and that's what this moment has given me pause for to put into perspective things that are important in my life and to absolutely push aside those things that are not because those things can wait and to not have them conflated and not have them confused nor to be confused by them so in sitting here today these are some of the things that I wanted to share because everyone is looking for answers but perhaps the answers already exist inside of our lives we just have to ask Allah SWT to have the courage to act upon those answers and the answer to me that keeps coming up every single time that I reflect this is the hadith of the Prophet SAW where he says what is this world to me except that I am a traveler I take rest underneath a tree for a short period of time and then I carry on where is that reality in my life are there relationships that perhaps need mending with my parents with my spouse with my children with that business partner that I ripped off a few years ago knowingly have I made amends with that am I ready to die and stand in front of Allah SWT with that on my account and if not then I have a lot of work to do I have a lot of work to do all of those things with 2019 coming in what is going to happen in 2019 I said nothing is going to happen in 2019 except for the things I said I was going to do in 2018 calling myself to account again sobering moments calling myself to account calling myself to account over and over and over again calling myself to account because there is going to be all kinds of responses there is going to be all kinds of political analysis all of these types of things but we have to ask ourselves let's do a heart check right now when we heard the news of this what did we do immediately after look for the most comprehensive coverage maybe it was Anderson Cooper maybe it was the BBC maybe it was someone else but if I want to sit here and claim Quran and sunnah in my life and in my home then I have to look at what the Prophet SAW how did he respond didn't visited him اتجه الى الصلاة اتجه الى الصلاة this is how he was known from his companions that when some sort of affliction when some sort of tribulation met the Prophet SAW he turned to prayer that's the heart check for me right now I failed I stand in front of you right now I failed but it's a moment for gathering it's a moment to remind ourselves it's a moment not to get caught up in this fervor not to get caught up in the constant victimization this is a reality that Allah SWT had decreed 50,000 years before these people were brought into existence that is our عقيدة all of us are meeting the reality and for us it is to ensure within ourselves and also within our children and don't just allow these words to roll off of our tongue when we say what does that mean what does the first part of that mean I am from Allah so that means that I will submit to all of the realities that are there that first being that Allah SWT has already decreed how I will leave this world and in what manner and I'm reminded by this of a scholar who received threats from people who said we're going to come kill you he said perhaps Allah has written for you to be the means in which I will leave this world but I have firm conviction that decree comes from my lord and no one else Inna lillahi I'm from Allah he is my creator he has destined all of this he has determined all of this that's what all of this is about that's why we are sending our kids to Sunday school is it not so that they will walk with that conviction and not with fear not with fear that every person is out there to harm them that is not who we are but if we listen to the media over and over again and that would be my second advice to you get rid of these televisions man get rid of these news cycles that are poisoning the mind over and over and over and over again with an endless cycle causing fear inside of the children and we are not there to reassure them are we pulling them aside and talking to them and talking through what this has happened from our tradition from how we understand it as Ibar Allah a servant of Almighty God I can tell you right now the most people that I am conversating with they are not so what are our children left with inheriting our fears our anxieties it's a moment for reflection it's a moment for deep deep reflection if we think about this as inna lillahi that I'm from Allah then all of the wisdom that he is al-hakim all of the knowledge he is al-al'aneen all of the information he is al-khabir oh I'm sorry all of the information he is al-al'aneen all of these things don't get caught up in this conversation of how could a good and merciful lord allow this to happen that's not from the place of iman the place from iman is to say that I can't answer that question but there will be a time in my creation when I leave this world or perhaps Allah will open up a meeting before that that we will have answers to it and if I believe that my lord is al-adil the just that I submit to that I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say I say وعلى آلى سيدنا محمد كما بركت على سيد إبراهيم وعلى آلى سيد إبراهيم إنك حميد ومجيد أخيين وخصوصين هنا أريد أن أقول بأن الله سبحانه وتعالى أخبارنا وحفظنا وحفظنا وحفظنا وحفظنا وحفظنا وحفظنا وحفظنا وشوفه و الله سبحانه وتعالى will never beอص might of his demise unfold كذلك مجرد حاجاته والتشاهدهم ل produces aeda و لن أậtها you I 했습니다 because our tradition tells us over and over and over again that this is a reality of this world نحن نبحث عن يوتوبيا، ونحن نسأل في المساعدة المساعدة نحن في المساعدة المساعدة، ونحن نحن في المساعدة المساعدة نحن في المساعدة المساعدة هذا هو دارو بلا هذا هو مكان من المساعدة ونحن should never allow ourselves to be deluded to thinking that it is something that it is not It can provide for us, yes, incredible opportunities of happiness and joy but also let's not be shocked when there are realities that unfold that we've been told about اللهم رحم المؤمنين والمؤمنات المسلمين والمسلمات الاحياء منهم والأموات يا رحم الراحمين اللهم صلي وسلم وبارك على سيد محمد في الأولين اللهم صلي وسلم وبارك على سيد محمد في الآخرين اللهم صلي وسلم وبارك على سيد محمد في الملل على اليوم الدين يا روب العالمين نسأل لكم جميع هؤلاء who have lost their lives in this census killing يا الله to give them to give them the highest levels in فردوس العالة يا الله. يا الله allow their families to have strength in this difficult time يا الله. يا الله we ask you for guidance يا الله. We ask you for understanding يا الله. We ask you for protection يا الله. We ask you for divine protection يا الله. We ask you for physical protection يا الله. We ask you for protection يا الله of our health, of our wealth يا الله, of our intellects and of our souls يا الله. يا الله protect our children يا الله. يا الله protect our children in this time of tribulation يا الله. يا الله protect our communities يا الله. We call upon your beautiful name يا حال فيلف. يا حال فيلف. يا حال فيلف. Oh protector we call for your divine protection to rain down يا الله. And we call on you يا الله for your guidance يا الله to guide our hearts back to you to have absolute strength يا الله. And to keep us on the سيرات يا الله. اهدين الصيرات المستقيم. اهدين الصيرات المستقيم. اهدين الصيرات المستقيم. واخدعوانا الحمد لله يا رب العالمين. أقيم الصلاة يا رحمني يا رحمكم الله.