 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العالمين وبه نستعين ونصلي ونسلم على أفضل الخلق أجمعين نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه واتبعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين وبعد لن أفهم هذا but for a few years it has been happening my brothers my sisters we remember you our hearts are with you no matter what has happened we are not really too interested in what has happened the fact that the correctional services are taking care of you we are quite confident that by the time you come out of there you will have corrected yourself and we are ready to accept you back in society and community أمين my beloved brothers and sisters the reason I start this way is because sometimes even if there's nothing wrong it's important for us to visit one another you maintain family relations you go for a reason that purpose is in order to boost the relationship we have something known as a رحم or those who are related to us through the womb those who have a relationship through blood with us we should be keeping some ties with them it does not have to be so much that they get irritated with us نور should it be so little that we don't even know who our relatives are and we cannot fulfill their rights if we don't know who our family members are if we have not introduced our children to the broader family how then would we be able to fulfill the great act of worship known as مانتينing family ties when we don't even know who they are so it's important a lot of the older people used to take pride in the family unit I hope it is not done in order to draw tribal lines or lines in terms of cast اتساتر because those lines are the lines of the period of ignorance they mean nothing in the eyes of Allah سبحانه وتعالى how many families are suffering because the parents think that they are above the others because they come from a family that belongs to a cast اعوذ بالله that they claim is higher yet the prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says لا فضل العربي على عجمي ولا لعجمي على العربي ولا لأبيض على اسود إلا بالتقوى there is no virtue of an Arab over a non Arab or a non Arab over an Arab or a white over a black except by piety which is known by Allah سبحانه وتعالى so you treat your brothers as equals and your sisters as equals and you never ever use this because if you do you will never be able to save yourself from the wrath of Allah سبحانه وتعالى when it descends imagine when Allah's punishment comes it will be too late may Allah سبحانه وتعالى grant us the ability to understand today I received a clip of a young boy from the Gambia reading the Quran they were actually three or four boys each one wanted to read the Quran and the Quran was so melodious I chose the smallest or the youngest person and I posted it up on Instagram with a caption encouraging us to do more regarding our connection with the Quran who would have guessed that in West Africa there are thousands of people who only speak the Arabic language did you know that and it's not their mother tongue they have ensured from a young age that they speak Arabic and they have memorized the Quran better than you and I can imagine from a very early age they have competitions and contests in Sierra Leone in the Gambia in Ghana in Nigeria in so many places subhanallah in Mali such that our little competitions would actually be dwarfed by the size of theirs they have stadiums filled with hundreds of thousands of people subhanallah they are serving Allah they are worshipping Allah سبحانه وتعالى and we sitting comfortable here think that we are a big deal sometimes and when we look at them sometimes Shaytan makes us think that we are better never ever never we are not better in fact it is Allah سبحانه وتعالى who knows the level of piety those who are struggling in the townships in the villages only Allah knows their struggle yet they are dedicated to worshipping Allah سبحانه وتعالى may Allah make it easy for us this is why we say there is no room for pride and arrogance you never know where you're going to be the minute you close your eyes may Allah سبحانه وتعالى may Allah grant us Jannah الفردوس may Allah سبحانه وتعالى open our doors so when we visit each other we should be visiting for the right reasons but there is an etiquette or there are rules and regulations governing how you visit someone Allah سبحانه وتعالى in Surah Al-Nur makes mention of some of these rules verse number 27 Allah says يا أيها الذين آمنوا لا تدخلوا بيوتا غير بيوتكم حتى تستأنسوا وتسلموا على أهلها هذا يحدث في so many ways sometimes a long time back we used to get to the door we used to sometimes clear the throat a little bit maybe you know people can hear you as you're talking a little bit loudly and you knock the door so that they know is there is someone at the door they would then ask you who you were it is important to answer to answer that with the correct straightforward answer don't say it's me because me every one of us is a me isn't it so if I say me you say me we all me me's right may Allah سبحانه وتعالى grant us goodness so you say your name loud and clear they should know and thereafter guess what they have a right to tell you to go back home did you know that الله أكبر imagine you arrived at someone's house you knocked the door and they say brother we are a little bit busy now please can you come back later and you say but I came from so far well Allah has made it easy for us you know in the Quran in verse number 28 Allah says if you are told to go back then go back it is pure for you it is better for you they might be busy they might be having an intimate moment they might be having for example another plan they may have decided to lay the table and this brings me to the point some people it seems intentionally go for a free meal so they arrive at the time of a meal knocked the door where are we going for lunch today hey let's go to but I'm Muhammad there man you know we'll go to his house there's some nice food all the time arrive at exactly 12 29 because 12 30 they lay the table they'll open the door we'll have a child and we'll come back that's how some people think well I hope not but that's what it seems like right people go at the wrong time so learn to go at the right time today Allah has made it easy for us we have technology phone I think it is against the etiquette of a Muslim to actually go without communicating without phoning without making prior arrangements before we needed an appointment for a doctor now you need an appointment to visit your brother's house on a Sunday morning it's not so difficult but you communicate they might have had a plan they might want to go out so as you enter the door everyone is edgy they're waiting for you okay what are you going to say how are you doing fine that means get lost please leave can you please go where we were planning and outing you have just spoiled our morning remember this my brothers and sisters its reality الله speaks about this in Surat An-Nur in a different way but I'm giving you a current day example it's a reality send a message can we please visit you on Sunday morning 10 o'clock they'll tell you no visit at 3 in the afternoon but my brothers and sisters something even more interesting than the visit to go is one thing but to know when to leave is more important الله أكبر sometimes we enter the house subhan Allah we sit there for hours on end I know of cases where family members dread the coming of a certain granny because she doesn't know when to go so they say if she comes she's going to sit all afternoon so now when she knocks the door she's not welcome not because we are busy but because she doesn't know when to leave well sometimes we need to be kind enough to say ma'am my sister you know what you overshot here we've made you 3 cups of teas we fried you 3 sets of savouries it's about time you left may Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala forgive us obviously we would not do that we would not do that but sometimes within the heart we feel this why do we become hypocritical because people force us sometimes to do that let's not be from among those who make it difficult for others imagine here Allah is saying when you want to visit someone when you enter a home make sure that you are known everything is known about your visit look I'll visit you at 10 Insha Allah by half 10 I'll be away and this is why it's better to be shorter than longer because it's better for people to say but you didn't even sit they expect you next time then for them to actually think you know what this went on a little bit too long the same applies to this particular lecture before I used to speak for 1 hour then I chopped it to 45 minutes now half an hour perhaps next year it might be 15 minutes why the reason is people's concentration span becomes less and less the more technology advances the less they want to hear a person live Subhanallah especially when it runs through 30 days or the whole of the month of Ramadan I'd rather you leave from here saying you know what it was so interesting and it ended so abruptly I didn't even know how the time finished then for you to sit here an hour later you say I'm not going back tomorrow that man he can tune you know he can speak may Allah Subhanahu و تعالى forgive us may Allah Subhanahu و تعالى forgive us so for this reason we need to be short to the point it's okay we don't need to complete the entire Quran we need to be disseminating good beautiful teachings that we can practice upon and that's what's important so this message I started with is absolutely important let us understand that when we enter the homes we should make sure we do so with the right reasons and we should make sure that we do not overstay even if you're to visit someone for a few days make sure that they are comfortable with you remember when you're very close to someone the rules can change a little bit because you know they really want you there they really want you there but still if you're there for a shorter period they will appreciate you more than if you were there for a longer time and I want to say one last thing before I move on it seems like the more modern we are becoming the less hospitable we are becoming a long time ago our mothers our grandmothers I hope some of them we may not have seen them but the stories we hear is they were so happy so excited they used to welcome the guests the guests used to stay they used to you know put up the dishes and everything else as soon as the visitors came in they would stay for a meal 20-50 people it's becoming less and less common nowadays Mashallah Allah has made things easy you know you have spur around the corner and you have various others around the corner what happens well we'll eat together you know what just go and buy something from around the corner Mashallah may Allah سبحانه وتعالى help us may Allah سبحانه وتعالى help us to be hospitable من كان يؤمنوا بالله واليوم الآخري فاليكرم ضيفة the prophet says if you believe in Allah and the last day you should honor your guest you should honor your guest that having been said don't go to someone's house and say look I've come to you with a hadith that you need to honor the guests you know don't say that because you need to know that at times you know we abuse the religion in order to suit us and this should not be the case may Allah سبحانه وتعالى guide us forgive us and grant us such goodness that others are encouraged when they see us they are so happy and delighted rather than those who see us and they run away they don't even want to greet because they know how much of their time we are going to waste then there is a beautiful verse many times people speak about women and the way they should cover and the way they should be placed in a closet and the way they should be this and that not realizing that the rules of the sharia are not concerning women alone no and some of that is a little bit ridiculous what I say is some of what people create is far beyond what Allah has dictated why do we go beyond what Allah has dictated when Allah has given honor and dignity to a female when Allah has given her such respect that when it comes to the lowering of the gaze in suratun nur Allah starts with the males and then the females are spoken about later on regarding covering first the males the males Allah says in verse number 30 of suratun nur tell the believing males to lower their gazes this is way before the women were told anything tell the believing males to lower their gazes and to protect their chastity to protect their private parts subhan Allah clear terms in the Arabic language you know Allah subhanahu و تعالى uses clear cut terms and Allah says tell the men to look after themselves be modest in your dressing my beloved brothers it doesn't mean that just because you are muscular you know you can have your miniskirt on your bicep you know what that means you have your shirt and you are showing your body and every and you are intentionally creating a disaster because you are parading in front of all the women and you think that no the rule is for the women they should lower their gaze my brother take it easy you also need to put all of this into clothing that is fitting correctly fitting correctly not two sizes too small such that your shirt is tearing and as a woman passes you actually flex your muscle and it tears you know like you're a hulk if that is the case what you've done is wrong my brothers and sisters don't you agree it's wrong you need to also relax cool down you've got the muscle the idea is you need to be powerful that's what it is you want to be a strong person what's the point of a person who's like a feather but he's got big muscles and he's frightened of a fly or a mosquito in the room it happens you see a huge person there's a cockroach and he wants to run away what were all the muscles about those all those muscles were actually for the for the wrong reason may Allah سبحانه وتعالى forgive us so much comes to the mind my brothers and sisters we are guilty we need to learn to cover we need to learn to cover correctly I want to also address the issue of the trousers today please let's wear trousers it should be called a trouser إن شاء الله you know not something whereby you go into sujood and the man behind you doesn't know whether to go into sujood or to finish his salah there may Allah سبحانه وتعالى forgive us it's happening and it's happening more yesterday here in Cape Town I saw someone I presume he wasn't a Muslim and look they are free to dress how they wish and I saw him literally with his underpants they were on but his pants were below his backside well below his backside and I was shocked I couldn't tell anyone did you see that they would tell me what were you doing looking there but I couldn't help but notice that this is where the condition has gone my brothers and sisters I want to tell you we are living in a community and a country that permits you to wear whatever you want to wear so as a Muslim you wear what you are supposed to wear and leave the others to do what they have to you do what you have to leave them to do what they have to you don't have to get upset and angry and excited consider yourself you are living in a country that permits people to wear what they want because of that rule you are actually allowed to dress in whatever way you wish so if you did not like that rule then perhaps they might not allow you to cover in the same way that they are doing that in other countries may Allah SWT help us appreciate the freedom in our countries there are countries that claim to boast freedom but using the word freedom they are taking away the freedom of people to actually cover themselves so therefore I am telling you you do what you are supposed to let the others do what they want to whatever they have to it's okay those in authority have permitted them to do that you are a Muslim you need to know you are governed by a modest dress code and the term modesty is interpreted differently by different religions and different inclinations may Allah SWT guide us to understand the meaning of modesty according to us and to fulfill it in the best possible way so while we are fulfilling our own duty we are allowing the others their right to fulfill whatever they believe is correct because we are living in a free nation let's understand this never misunderstand it so my beloved brothers and sisters only after that in the next verse Allah SWT tells the women وقل للمؤمنات يغضضن من أبصاره ويحفظن فروجه ولا يبدين زينتهن إلا إلا ما ظهر منها amazing verse similar wording Allah says and then tell the believing women to lower their gazes to protect their modesty their chastity and to conceal their beauty this is a verse of the Quran this is Allah SWT speaking to us verse number 31 of صورة النور and this is why we say my brothers and sisters we need to know we're talking about saving ourselves to save yourself from the calamities of this earth you need to cover yourself modestly if you don't the wrong people may be attracted to you and your life may turn upside down say you're happily married and you go out on the street and you go out into the mall and you're showing every droplet of your beauty and there is a wealthy man or a mischievous boy or anyone else and they start becoming obsessed with you they follow you they stalk you they harass you if you incline or you may not incline if you incline it spells disaster you have a wonderful husband you have a beautiful home you have lovely children but shaitan will come and make beautiful that which is haram because it is outside of the fence you can be having the best mangoes but when you see the tree next door for some reason those mangoes look brighter than the ones in your basket that was just off the cuff by the way but it's a reality you cannot allow the man to come you have to let him go in the sense that you need to realize who you are allowed to let into your closed circle and who from a distance there's just a greeting if anything you need to know this so if you are to show and expose it is going to affect people I know people might say well I'm free to do what I want but remember there's a price if you want to pay the price well we told you about the price you're going to probably be paying about 10 million dollars for example in loss and it's okay if you can afford that go and enjoy a Muslim realizes you know what the price to be paid is too severe lose my family lose my children lose a lovely spouse sometimes we want to show off everything we have showing it off yes a man perhaps might be a little bit more public sometimes but no excuse women also have a role to play in community and society that role shall be played respectably and respectfully and the clothing in both cases will be modest not only that the way you speak to one another should be respectful there are a lot of people out there there are a lot of people who might speak to you in the best possible way without bad intention at all subhanallah but sometimes when we are dirty in our minds we think everyone else is dirty that is also a sickness may Allah grant us protection so if a person exposes their beauty there will be a price that they perhaps would pay we need to understand that that price we may not be able to afford it it might be so expensive it means we lose everything in our social circle it can happen it has happened and only later on do people realize now before I continue let me say one more point and that is beloved brothers and sisters when you are married go out of your way to make sure that your spouse is reassured hundreds of times a day that you adore them you love them and you they are the most beautiful human being and try and be that for them remember this because many people take it for granted you married you know there is a honeymoon for a little while and once the moon is out of sight what happens the honey disappears where does she go only Allah knows the problem is you have been ignoring her you haven't been talking to her you turn on the telly you busy here you tired you read a few things you with your friends come back at 12 who are who are you to do that to her you are supposed to be a spouse so fulfill the rights of one another because if you don't my brothers and sisters the very fabric of society shall be crumbling because a home is broken one broken two broken so many homes are broken because we don't realize it's over now you concentrate on what you have your children need you they need to grow up they need you to be a figure there for their mother or father remember this my beloved brothers and sisters so if you are married go out of your way to make your spouse feel special not just tonight but every night and not just in Ramadan or Eid no every day go out of your way because you are very closely connected to her or to him may Allah SWT grant us ease let's move on in the home it is important for us to liven it up the children will learn the house is filled with blessings of Allah SWT and Allah SWT mercy descends in the home Allah makes mention in Suratun Noor verse number 36 of the men who actually praise Allah in their homes في بيوت أذن الله أن ترفع و يذكر فيها اسمه يسبح له فيها بالغدوي والآصال رجال الله سبحانه وتعالى and how they are men who praise Allah morning and evening in the houses they praise Allah who are those men رجال الله تجارة ولا بيع عن ذكر الله و إقام الصلاة و إقام الصلاة و إتاء الزكاة يخافون يوما تتقلب فيه القلوب والأبصار they are the men whom they are businesses and they are buying and selling does not distract them from the remembrance of Allah سبحانه وتعالى they fulfill their salah they read their Qur'an they engage in the zikr of Allah سبحانه وتعالى they live in their houses with the remembrance of Allah they are never distracted by business dealings or by buying and selling not at all Allah سبحانه وتعالى says they are the ones who fear of judgment they are the ones who are conscious of the day that the hearts will be turning and the eyes the vision will be turning the day of judgment if we are conscious of the day of judgment we will prepare for that day because we want to save ourselves on that day by doing what life in the home sometimes and I promise you people call in saying I can hear sounds in the house I can hear noise I can hear voices a lot of the times probably your child on the internet in the other room but sometimes yes I do agree you are hearing things you are seeing things you are smelling things perhaps you need to get up and clean your home clean it in two ways physically and spiritually there is no salah in your house there is never adhan that is called in your home there is no Qur'an that is read in your house it is a house of doom do you know what is a house of doom doom is the name of a spray that kills cockroaches trust me we wouldn't like to try that trick here may Allah SWT forgive us we don't pray in the home our families our children have never witnessed us in sujood for Allah and we expect that house to be livened no it won't happen my brothers and sisters remember Allah SWT has told us clearly that there are men who liven their houses no amount of worldly gain will distract them from engaging in the remembrance of Allah brothers and sisters I am very very touched by this beautiful city of Cape Town people ask me why do you keep on going there well actually I have gone to so many places but it seems like I kept on coming here although I have given it a break one of the reasons is I have been living in this city one of the reasons is take a look at the keenness to learn the deen in this beautiful city the keenness to be connected to the Quran and those of knowledge may Allah accept it from all of you and may Allah SWT grant us something similar I have been to other cities that I have seen something similar I went to the city of Kano for example in northern Nigeria what I witnessed was actually amazing unique thousands of people may Allah SWT keep them steadfast all interested in the deen connected to the deen and amazingly we have that here in Cape Town and people come and they are dedicated and they don't mind sitting for hours on end although the half an hour that I am supposed to be speaking for today has just come to an end so we ask Allah SWT to bless us all and insha'Allah we will continue tomorrow I will say this