 We begin by praising Allah Allah, you're amazing Allah subhanak Allah, you're incredible. Allah. You're tremendous. Allah. You're magnificent and our praises fall short Our praises fall short. We can never praise him What he is do? No matter if we praised him night and day With and never slept our whole entire life our praise will fall short We continue to thank Allah To thank him we say thank you Allah We are grateful to you. Yeah Allah We never had a moment in our life except you were taking care of us I never had a bite in my life except you gave it to me. I never had safety Except it came from you. I Never slept comfortably except it was provided by you My heart never beat except you let it be I never smiled in my life Except that came from you. Yeah Allah and if we thank Allah day and night and never slept Our things would fall short Just try to think for the sight that we have we can fall short. It'll fall short. We continue then We continue then to remind ourselves That we're not made for this world We're made for another world another place another realm and This is just a transient existence a transient moment That we're being monitored by a raqib The monitor the observer That we're being observed by al-khabir That we're being Gifted by al-wahab To see how grateful we're going to be And dunya daru man la dar ala This world is the home for the homeless We have a house waiting for us in paradise. Insha'Allah And this is just a temporary Motel that we're in may Allah be gentle with us and then After reminding ourselves that we weren't made for this world then we warn ourselves that we are returning To our maker We're returning to our maker So he's what he may ask us and may we enter paradise without being asked That he may ask us. How did you spend your life? How did you earn your money? How did you spend your money? Actually, how did you spend the money that I gave you because it's not actually our money? It's a loss money How did you use your eyes? How did you use your ears? Did you honor and respect your parents? How did you use the hands that I gave you? You didn't give yourself these hands You didn't give yourself these feet. You didn't give yourself this time. You didn't give yourself life How did you spend it? Did you spend it in my obedience? Did you spend it? Obeying your ego or obeying me Following your whims and desires or following my commands and my prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam And we're all on that journey consciously or subconsciously Going back to our maker and that's the essence of life we just finished Ramadan and we celebrated the Eid and Ramadan was amazing. We did things that we usually don't do and Ramadan is amazing because Islam is amazing and Islam is amazing because our prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is amazing and our prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is amazing because Allah is amazing and We have been chosen to receive that gift to be invited to Ramadan Invited to Islam We we're here. We're here in the messages right now in the house of Allah We are here. Allah chose us to be here. Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah So we just finished the month of fasting and we fasted Allah told you his panel to Allah He said I own your stomach and Right now your stomach is not allowed to eat and you said okay. I Own your stomach and right now your stomach is not allowed to drink and you said okay Now Ramadan finished but fasting did not finish how Because there's different there's a different kinds of fasting What do our eyes fast from Allah told you don't eat you said okay. I didn't eat Allah said don't drink He said okay. Don't drink Allah says don't look at this You say okay Allah. I won't look Allah says don't listen to this vile Vile music that encourages vileness and you say ya Allah you own my stomach. You own my you own my eyes You own my ears I'll fast from that Because one day as we return to our maker Allah will ask us. How did you use the ears? I gave you How did you use the eyes? I gave you So our we continue fasting after the month of Ramadan in different ways the question for me and you as we Come to Friday prayer we want to come to see how what can I do to be more lovable to Allah? What can I do to be closer to our Prophet say you know Muhammad? What can I do? What can I change? How can I grow and the epitome the epitome of foolishness is being satisfied with our spiritual state? I'm good enough religiously. I'm good enough spiritually. I don't have anything to improve The epitome of foolishness and so we come on Friday to see how can I continue to grow? What can I adjust? What can I? Calibrate Because in this life we need Calibrations and we continue every Friday with this beautifully designed religion Islam religion is an alarm clock It wakes us up When we go into ghafla and forget our purpose and our essence so we wake up on Fridays We wake up in Ramadan. We wake up in the five daily prayers. Oh, yeah Vikir remember oh Let me remember because there's many kinds of hearts Described in the Quran. There's the hard heart and the heart that has a file or locked. There's the sealed hearts There's the rusty hearts And then there's the heart Salim the sound pure heart and so we are in this We come on Fridays to say this is my essence. This is my purpose. What can I adjust and so the invitation for us today Is to identify an adjustment that made what can I fast from can I fast from missing prayers? Can I fast from arguing with my wife or husband? Can I fast from rolling my eyes at my parents? Can I fast from? smoking cigarettes or Drinking something that I shouldn't drink or looking at something. I should what can I fast from because a law owns me And one day my hands will speak One day my skin may speak my feet may speak my eyes may speak and Then we say how are you speaking who gave you? How did you speak? They'll say Allah made me speak The earth the ground will speak So we go back to Allah's panel to Allah and so We want to identify one thing each of us and If the shaytan is whispering to us and saying I'm glad I hope the person next to me is listening to the Imam I Hope the person next to me is listening to the Imam All of us can continue to grow forever will continue to try until the day we die Money is money bills our bills work his work all that stuff is never gonna end. We'll never finish May Allah be gentle with us But our spiritual growth our religious journey our journey to become only yet friends of Allah My goal is to be a friend of God Oh We have all these goals. How can I be a quick millionaire and how can I retire early and make this start up? And how can I walk business idea and what new invention can I make? Insha'Allah we have billionaires that can come and donate to Zaytuna college insha'Allah and Donate to MCC and donate to service and donate to the Muslim community and donate to the hungry and the oppressed and How about the goal? How about the goal there was a teacher there was a teacher of ours? He took his son out. He was a teenager. He took his son out. He was a teenager and they were walking and He told his son as his son was growing to become a man and and choose his schooling and his career and his education And the father was walking with his son and he told his son. He said you see that garbage on the floor You see that garbage on the ground. You see that those garbage cans those garbage bins he said If I knew that the ridah of Allah the pleasure of Allah was found in picking up garbage I would raise you to be a garbage man He said but I found that the ridah of Allah is in seeking knowledge So I want to raise you to become a student and a scholar and this is the lens we give ourselves and our children That I want you to be a friend of God. I want you to be a Wali I want you to be from the Oliya. That's on our bucket list That's on our bucket list to become a friend of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala So the question for each of us is what can we fast from and We can each possibly identify something maybe it's arguing And we know the one when there's arguing Who is the winner only Shaytan? Both of them are losers We know when when someone argues and they're silent insha'Allah the angel is defending them and Then when they argue Shaytan comes Maybe it's backbiting. I'm gonna fast from backbiting gossiping speaking negatively about others One time Radi Allahu Anha said about one lady. She's short. She's short and our prophet Said If you take that word and you throw it in the ocean, it'll contaminate the entire ocean Just that this person's short backbiting Mentioning your brother in a way they dislike Mentioning your sister in a way. They dislike even if it's true backbiting. You're like, no, no, it's true So it's not backbiting. It's still backbiting even if it's true I'll say in front of him. It's not backbiting. It's still backbiting even if it's in front of him Backbiting can creep up in various small ways. We can even make your aunt and it can be backbiting. Ya Allah help them raise their children There's you know better Because you're talking about their children having bad edab or something, you know So we have to be careful even we can say ya Allah help them help them, you know Help them have better edab And be careful who you're saying that in front of because you're the inference is that they have bad edab You know, ya Allah help them take more showers. You know, what do they smell bad? Like so we have to be even through even through Do I we can do backbiting or with our eyes we can do backbiting Someone says something and we make eye contact with someone in the other side of the room. We're like We don't say anything with our tongue But we're communicating that that guy just said something foolish and embarrassing So what are we going to fast from when we before we stand before we leave this message before we stand up What can I fast from? Let's choose something to say ya Allah you own my hands. I Won't touch this anymore. You own my tongue. I won't say this anymore. You own my eyes I won't look at this anymore. You own my ears. I won't listen to this anymore Iqqulul Qawlihada wa astaghfirullah li walakum fa astaghfiru innahu l-ghafooru r-Rahim seek forgiveness from Allah He indeed is the most forgiving and the all-forgiving Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Allahumma salli wa salamu barak ala Sayyidina wa Habibina wa Shafiqina al-Mustafa Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam One one idea of fasting from something is fasting from our rites What does that mean? That's a big one so There is a beautiful beautiful hadith of this man and he didn't he didn't do any good He didn't do any good all he would do This man he would loan people money, right? He would let people borrow money and then When it came time to be paid when it was due he would tell the collector his collector. He's like It's okay. Let them have some more time. It's okay. You know be gentle. It's okay Let them have more time or forgive it. Let them have more time and that's it. That's the only good. He did a loss upon a lot of God said I Am more forgiving than you Take him to heaven Take him to heaven Because of that. So now it's his right to be owed, but he forgave Fasting from our right. It's a big concept and it goes against this culture of individualism We have this creeping disease of individualism that I am entitled Entitlement I deserve this I am owed this and it causes so much havoc amongst families and so much problems and toxicity in Communities and in organizations because I wasn't given what I was owed And so here is a moment to think about instead of my rights to think of my responsibilities Instead of what I am owed to think of what I owe Then instead of my rights to think of my duties and this is a big lens of life It's a big lens of life and it can be applied in so many different ways and When we do this and if we can make that shift we can experience comfort in life Why cuz that's surrender and that's Islam and when we do Islam we experience Salam We're surrendering we're stop saying oh, I was owed a phone call and he didn't call me I'm gonna hold a grudge. I was owed an invitation to their that wedding and I didn't get an invitation I'm gonna be upset. I'm not gonna invite them to my son's wedding. I was I invited them to dinner They didn't invite me. I paid for their lunch. They didn't pay her so I'm owed this I'm owed this my rights my rights my rights and It can be applied with with my with my parents And we can think you know my parents. Oh, why didn't my parents do this? I was owed this by my parents instead of thinking of my duties to my parents or My wife or my husband she doesn't do this for me And she doesn't do that for me and she and she neglects me this way and she fails to do this instead of thinking Let me do this for her. Let me do that for her. Let me take care of this for her. Let me take care of that for her That shift. It's a small shift and it's huge at the same time Fasting from my rights It I'm not saying it's there. It's not there isn't truth to it Say the Abu Bakr. Oh, we know that the story there was a verse of the Quran revealed He was financially taking care of a man Who started Who started the if who started a big nasty rumor about the wife of our prophet Muhammad So I said and the daughter of saying Abu Bakr and saying that we'll beckon after he started that man started that rumor He said I'm gonna stop giving him money Right right like like we were all like, yeah, you know thinking something Allah He said Do you not want Allah to forgive you? Oh Abu Bakr Allah, do you not want Allah to forgive you? This is not about you So he did so he started giving him the money again the same man who harmed his daughter Because I'm interacting with Allah This money belongs to Allah So I I forgive the man so Allah can forgive me our dear prophet So Allah alaihi wa sallam forgave the woman that attempted to poison him So Allah alaihi wa sallam. So there's a lens of in life that we can fast from my rights And this is in the heart and what happens is we say yeah, Allah this heart belongs to you and Instead of putting myself in my ego. Yeah, Allah this heart belongs to you So I'm fasting from myself and this becomes the highest level of fasting fasting from myself What does that mean that means fasting from my rights and Anna and myself and my ego and so I live for Allah I love for Allah and I dislike for Allah. I hate for Allah. I don't hate because my ego was offended I don't hate because someone Didn't give me what I thought I was owed Right Alhamdulillah Let the Cassani had a war is a clean and I'm going to have a mini will a cool. This is a Duhat. We teach our five-year-olds When you get a pair of new clothes you teach your five-year-old listen to this is amazing This is amazing because this is a paradigm. We're teaching our five-year-olds that removes Individualism and entitlement so the child says thank you Allah for giving me this clothes for clothing me with this Even though I didn't earn it or deserve it and I didn't get it So the five-year-old says what I don't even deserve clothes. I didn't earn clothes So this individualism is wiped out This ego is wiped out and it's this training. So I'm not owed anything. I Don't deserve anything right? I live for you. Yeah, Allah. I hate for you. I love for you I give for you when the saddle comes and asked I give money for you. Yeah, Allah I spend for you. Yeah, Allah if you sent this beggar you sent I give for you. Yeah, Allah. La bake Haqqunless I mean well maharoon those who ask have a right to the money in malilla Allah's money that you're managing Right subhanahu wa ta'ala and then I withhold for Allah I don't withhold for myself and then eventually Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in a manner befitting to him becomes our hearing That we hear with our seeing that we see with our hands that we touch with our feet that we walk with and then we become Oh liya walking with the light of God Because my heart is emptied of myself. I broke the eat the idol in myself Hmm worshiping my own opinions and worshiping my own ego may Allah be gentle with us inshallah and so Alhamdulillah Ramadan was amazing and he'd we celebrated and Allah's doors are always open Ramadan finished, but the Lord of Ramadan is with us the Lord of Ramadan is with us Alhamdulillah. We have Islam always ready to turn to Allah at Tawab the one who Accepts the one who turns to him when we turn to go to Allah walking Allah comes to us running And so whatever it is that we're going to do for the next 11 months choose now What will I fast from what will you fast from? curse words listening honoring my parents Wearing something not saying something whatever it is and that's our recalibration to become Awliya and friends of God inshallah Bismillah. Alhamdulillah was salatu was salamu ala Rasulillah. Allah maqfiril al muslimi no al muslimat Well, we mean no al mu'minat al hiya'i minhum wa al amwaat. Oh Allah. We turn to you as a collective We turn to you as a group. We turn to you as an ummah yalla We turn to you and we beg you to accept our fasting yalla to accept our standing yalla to accept our prayers Ya Allah to protect our children yalla protect our marriages protect our mosques our institutions Protect our scholars and give them victory yalla protect our scholars and give them victory yalla Protect our scholars and give them victory yalla help the oppressed around the world give us victory over our own nefs Ya Allah the greatest enemy we have is in between our own two sides our nefs our ego give us victory over our nefs Ya Allah give us strength and boldness to do the right thing Ya Allah give us the strength to be silent in a moment of arguing give us strength to be to avoid backbiting and Gossiping ya Allah give let us live for you and breathe for you and die for you and sacrifice for you Ya Allah let us live for the next life not for this life yalla Let us see the truth as the truth and follow it and let us see what's false as false and protect us from it Yalla cure our sick and heal our sick yalla. We turn to you We have no power no strength except by you and from you and to you and with you yalla Help us walk for you talk for you live for you speak for you breathe for you blink for you live for you Love for you hate for you give for you withhold for you. Ya Allah Ya Allah help us connect with the Quran after Ramadan Help us now Help us connect with the Quran. Ya Allah and appreciate your words as if they're being spoken to us Ya Allah help us fall in love Refall in love with our Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam and reflect his beauty yalla Yalla, we ask you yalla to protect us protect us from the known and the unknown yalla And yalla we ask you to be gentle with us. Yalla. We ask you for everything good that our dear Our dear Prophet our leader our best friend Khalili Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam asked you for and we seek protection from every harm that Habibi sallallahu alaihi wa sallam Saw protection from and send peace and blessings on our master Sayyiduna Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam His family his companions his wives his children and everyone who follows him with beauty until the final day Subhanah rabbika rabbi al-Azzati amma yasifoon wa salamun ala al-mursaleen Wa alhamdulillahi rabbil al-alameen Inna Allah ya'mur bil-adli wa al-ahsani wa ita'idha al-kurba wa iyanha al-fahshai wal-munkir wal-baghi Ya'idhukum la'allakum tiddakkaroon Udhkur Allah al-Azim ya'dhkurkum Remember Allah and He'll remember you and thank Him and He'll reward you Wa akim al-salah