 And when does it go unchecked? This sense of self-respect? It's when you are in a gathering, you see sins being committed. You know that your duty is to get up and walk out, but you don't. Why? You say to yourself, but what will they say? So many sins are committed in our communities, under the guise and under the banner of what will they say? You know you're supposed to walk out when someone is being slandered, but what will they say, though? You know that this is a sinful gathering, even if it's your cousin's wedding, but what will they say, though? You know that you're supposed to maintain your hijab, but what will they say, though? So many sins are committed by sisters, by brothers, God knows what happens out there under the pretext of what will they say, though. That's when this desire, this narcissistic proclivity for people to like me, to validate me, to praise me, to give me all these positive comments is left unchecked. That's what you know that you've lost control. Again, let me read you some more Hadith. Amir al-Mu'mineen says, He says, I don't see anything more detrimental, more dangerous to an individual than shoes flapping behind you. Meaning having a fan base, right? And this is not exclusive to celebrities or scholars or anything like that. Every little group of friends in high school, at university, you know, has a leader. The Imam says that having people walk behind you, shoes flapping on the ground is one of the most dangerous things that can happen to you. Why? Because you feel, you feed this narcissistic tendency because it makes you feel important. It makes you feel like you matter. Imam al-Sadiq, alaihi salam says, Inna Allah yobgidu shuhrat al-libas. Allah despises. Just think of the gravity of that statement. God, the creator of the universe, despises certain things, like what? Shuhrat al-libas, meaning to wear things so that it would make you famous. Famous not as you turn into an overnight celebrity. Famous isn't famous in the community. Ah, did you see her dress? Ah, did you see his watch? Ah, did you see his new sneakers? Ah, did you see this, that or the other? Yubgidu shuhrat al-libas. And the marketing executives, they draw you right into the trap of this desire to become famous by the clothes that we wear, by the sneakers, by the handbags, by the shoes, by this, that, by using all manner of different techniques. Scarcity being one of them. You look at the product and there's nothing special about it, but they make it scarce. They make it, they ensure that it's not available everywhere. They make it expensive intentionally, just so you think it's important. You think it makes you important. Wa anhu alaihi salam, meaning Imam al-Sadiq. Ash-shuhratu khayruha wa sharruha finnaar. Being famous, whether it's for a good reason or a bad reason, they both lead to the fires of hell. Wa qala amir al-mu'mineen. Tabadd al-wala tashdah. Don't be famous. Avoid fame. Avoid having people point at you in praise and in adoration. Wa la tarfa' shaqsa ka li tuthkar. Don't put yourself out there so that people talk about you. Even when we comment over, oh Masha'Allah, sister, how beautiful are you in that picture? Oh Masha'Allah, brother, what a beautiful this, that and the other. When we leave a positive comment, we do so. Again, if you explore it, if you actually dig deep inside of you, you'll know that one of the reasons you're doing this is so that when you do the same thing, they also reciprocate the favor and say something positive about you. It's always about me. It's all about this insatiable beast, this desire that is incredibly powerful. And this society, this culture, this social media platforms that we have that have consumed our lives, it all feeds that insatiable beast. It just makes it bigger and bigger and more powerful to the point where you just can't control it anymore. There's nothing you can do. Listen to this beautiful hadith. The Imam speaks about the latter days. And he says that when 313 righteous, pious companions gather together, yakoonu kaan alladi turidun, what do you want will happen, meaning the 12th Imam, ajal allah ta'ala kharajahu sharif, will reappear. So the Imam then says, the problem is with our shia. The problem is we can't find this 313 people. So the Imam begins to describe the kind of qualities that he wants in the companions of the 12th Imam. I'm skipping most of the hadith, but the last part is what I want to draw your attention to. The guy asks the Imam, how do we find them? Where do we look for these people? The Imam says, alladina, do you know what they're like? These 313 people, alladina, idha shahidu lam yawafu. When they give testimony, people are going to say, but who are you again? No one knows who they are. They are the antithesis of famous. They are the opposite of prominent. In shahidu lam yawafu, number one, wa'in ghaabu lam yawf taqadu. And when they're away, nobody misses them, because nobody knows them. Wa'in maradu lam yawadu. When they fall ill, no one pays them a visit. Wa'in khatadu lam yawza wajju. Subhanallah. That should give some consolation to all the young brothers who go out and try to get married, but they get rejected over and over again. The Imam says that when they go to propose, everyone says, but who are you? What's so special about you? You have this simple job, you make a modest, at best, a modest income. You're nothing special, you're not famous. You don't have any position of prominence in the community. Wa'in khatabu lam yawza wajju. They end up becoming members of that exclusive club. Wa'in khatabu lam yawza wajju. Wa'in maatu lam yawshadu. And when they die, no one even bothers to show up at the funeral. These are the kind of shi'a that the Imam is looking for. Then Imam al-Sadaq, alaihi salam, I'll mention this hadith. And then, insha'Allah, transition towards the end of the majlis, the Imam says, If you can actually get to a point where people don't recognize you, do so. Because it means you'd have to step over this egocentric, narcissistic desire of yours. You'd have to avoid so many opportunities of becoming famous, becoming prominent, becoming loved and adored. Wa'in qadrta an la tu'raffa fa'al Wa ma'a alayka an yuthni alayka an naas Wa ma'a alayka an la yuthni alayka an naas Wa ma'a alayka an takuna madmouman an naas Who cares if people don't praise you? Who cares if you don't have a social media profile where people send you positive comments and likes and favorites and whatnot over every little thing you do, every little thing you wear? Who cares? Wa ma'a alayka an takuna madmouman Who cares if people insult you? And people think, love of you in kuntam ahmoodan an da Allah if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brings you close to him, then what does it matter what people say? Who cares? Then the Imam said, Then the Imam said, My father, Imam al-Salaam refers to Amir al-Muqineen as my father. He says, My father Ali ibn Abi Talib said, La khayra fil aaysh illa li rajulain There is no good in this life except for two people. Number one, Rajulun yasdadu kulli yawmin khayra One who increases their moral worth, who increases their knowledge, who increases their piety, yasdadu kulli yawmin khayraan wa rajulun yatadarakum aniyatahu bittawbah and another person who seeks forgiveness for their past sins. That's a good person. But what other people say? What other people comment about you? How does that add to your worth? How does it make you any better? And remember when the Prophet said that it grows hypocrisy in the heart, the love of respect and adoration and love and so forth. The reason for that is because when you enter this mindset and when you try to do things to please other people and there is a feedback loop, you know what a feedback loop is? You say something funny, people praise you. That praise tingles your narcissistic desire so it makes you want to do it more. It's just like a drug. It makes you want to be funnier. It makes you a people pleaser to say things and to do things only to attract the validation of other people. That's what happens. This is what the feedback loop does. This is what this dopamine drug does to you and to your brain, right? When that happens, soon enough, you will become the biggest hypocrite. Why? Because you will only do the things that make other people validate your actions. You will reveal only the part of you that people love and respect and like. You will cover the bad stuff and only show the good stuff and even the good stuff are mostly fake now because you're stuck in this vortex and this feedback loop.