 All praise is due to Allah the Lord of all the worlds, Allah ta'ala has blessed us tremendously by guiding us to Islam. Allah ta'ala has blessed us tremendously by giving us a situation conducive to good health. All the things we need are available for our good health. All of the things we need are available for our treatment when we fall ill. All of the things we need are available to provide us with shelter, to provide us with clothing, to ward off the harm of the elements from ourselves. These are all from the blessings of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala upon us. And we can acknowledge those blessings by simtih saying alhamdulillah. As we mentioned recently if we if we can acknowledge Allah for the individual blessings but we can praise Allah because He is the giver of all blessings. And when we acknowledge the individual blessing our acknowledgement in the form of shukr is confined to that blessing. But when we acknowledge Allah as the giver of all blessings then our acknowledgement which is moved from shukr to hamd, from thankfulness to praise is acknowledging Allah for every blessing He's ever given from the beginning of time to the time we find ourselves in to the end of time. Alhamdulillah. Brothers and sisters is very important for us as Muslims to understand our religion. Our Prophet ﷺ he mentioned at the beginning of a longer hadith related by Muawiya ﷺ. Man yuridil lahubihi khairan yufakkihu fiddin. Qala ﷺ. Man yuridil lahubihi khairan yufakkihu fiddin. The one that Allah desires good for He gives him or her a sound understanding of the religion. The fiqh here is fahm. This is before fiqh developed into a technical term in the divine legislative system. Here it means linguistically understanding the one Allah desires good for. He gives him or her a sound understanding of the religion and one of the ways some of us not all perhaps not many certainly not most but some of us misunderstand the religion by thinking that Islam doesn't want us to aspire for greatness. Islam doesn't want us to aspire for great wealth. Islam doesn't want us to aspire for great knowledge just the far d'ayn yet fi ni'adah. This is my basic obligations. That's all I want. I was in Damascus and one of the students who had recently came who went to visit one of the great sheikhs there and he asked me to translate and he said tell the sheikh I came here and I don't want to become a big scholar. I just want to learn my far d'ayn and the basics of my religion and the sheikh he said tell him why don't you want to be a great scholar when Allah says in make us leaders for the righteous why don't you want to be a leader for the righteous but he said you should want this not for the aggrandizement of yourself but for the service to the people how can we serve if we don't have money how can we serve if we don't have knowledge how can we serve if we don't have education how can we serve if we don't have worldly experience in this or that area so we should aspire for greatness brothers and sisters Allah ta'ala mentions in the Quran we made from them leaders who guided nations in this case they guided the bani israel so they were great leaders and their names we know in history the names of the prophets and leaders who led the bani israel and the general meaning is applicable for every nation every community so we want great people and we want people who aspire for greatness but we need to understand that greatness it cannot come from us if we aspire to push ourselves up the maximum extent will be eight or nine feet some of us are six feet tall we can reach two feet over ourselves over our heads so we can push ourselves up eight or nine feet that's it if we rely on ourselves but if we seek greatness through Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala if we seek greatness relying on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala if we seek greatness seeking the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then there's no limit to how great we can be there's no limit to how great we can be because Allah ta'ala has unlimited strength unlimited power unlimited resources unlimited boundaries if we try to confine his power there are no expanses no physical non-limitations so there's no end to our potential if that potential is manifested through Allah and our early our our great sages those people who examined the teachings and sources of the religion they understood that the great scholar and sage ibn al paella saskandari rahimahullah may Allah have mercy on him he says in his aphor, aphorism his hikam so bury your existence in the earth of obscurity and that part which subsequently grows up that is not from the part of the seed that has not been buried its fruit will never be proper or complete so what does this mean it is explaining to us a process that everyone who's seeking nearness to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala should understand and that is the beginning of greatness is not to consciously seek it through oneself and hence if in wujudak, burry your existence in the earth of obscurity bury your ego in the earth of obscurity and that ego is like a seed once you've done that then Allah takes over he didn't say that which grows up from that part which has not been buried its fruit will never be proper this aphorism reflects a hadith of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam we mentioned it one part one to focus on we mentioned it in its entirety charity will never decrease your your money and Allah increases no servant who has the power to pardon to forgive to overlook the thoughts of others except by giving that person more honor and no one humbles themselves for the sake of Allah except that Allah elevates them this is the part we want to focus on so when he says itfen there's a message in this some people might say that's surrender they look at this aphorism see there you have it those Sufis they're trying to get the Muslims surrender no initiative that's why they don't they don't haven't had the Protestant work ethic so they could succeed in the material world like us he's not saying that edfin edfin wujudak bury yourself it requires action you have to get the shovel you have to dig the hole you have to climb down into the hole it's not going to happen with no work it's going to take action tawada takes action tawada is the consciously claim a station lower than one one could rightfully claim you could rightfully claim the station of a scholar you've studied you've received certificates from your teachers and from your schools and universities but you say no i'm just a tall of this much more i have to learn and that's true and so you humble yourself it takes a conscious effort and conscious action so burying oneself in the earth of obscurity edfin wujudak burry yourself in the earth one has to take the shovel one has to dig the hole one has to make the prayers on time one has to try to fast outside of Ramadan occasionally one has to try to control one's tongue control one's eyes control one's ears that's what it means to bury oneself to take the action is necessary and one has to shy away from uh being known in front of the people not hasten to get in front of the people understand that if a law puts you there it's one thing don't put yourself there and these are two different things so the the objective is not being known or being obscure that's not the objective the objective is not to seek it out because when one is seeking it out they're seeking it out from that part of the seed that's not buried so what comes up from that is not going to yield its proper fruits but if a long time it puts one in front one goes with whatever Allah decrease for one kum haythu akamak Allah be where Allah has placed you if Allah places you up front be in front and give that its full rights if Allah places you in the back be in the back sweep the masjid give it its full right people come in this is the cleanest masjid i've ever been in mashallah subhan Allah give whatever Allah wherever he places you give it its full right and then you will see amazing fruits amazing results be a great janitor if you're any man be a great e-man if you're a housewife be a great housewife if you're a teacher be a great teacher if you're a student be a great student whatever Allah has placed you in do it better than anyone else for the sake of Allah and to make yourself a true servant of Allah ta'ala and a true servant of the people do it in the most excellent way that's what it's talking about it's not talking about seeking out obscurity then obscurity becomes that shahwa khafiyah that imli ta'ala talks about earlier in his compilation he says there's a shahwa khafiyah those people who have worldiest attainment by the grace of Allah halal income lawful income millions of dollars came from a halal source we ask for forgiveness and we repent to him and we seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our souls and from the bad deeds of our deeds who is guided by Allah will not be guided by him and who is guided by him will not be guided by him and I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone does not have a partner and I bear witness that Allah makes him a servant of Allah alhamdulillahi rabbil alamin our praise is due to Allah the Lord of all the worlds Allah ta'ala has blessed us tremendously by guiding us to Islam Allah ta'ala has blessed us tremendously by giving us a situation conducive to good health all the things we need are available for our ma baadu fa enna astak al hadith kitabullah mohammad an abduhu wa rasulu ya ayyuhal ladzina amin taqu allaha haqqatu qatih haqqatu qatihi wa laa wa laa tabootunna illa wa antu muslimun ya ayyuhannas taqu rabbakum balladhi khalaqakum min nafsaw wa ahida wa khalaqa minha zawjaha wa bathna minhum a rijalan kathira wa nisaa wa khaira al hadih hadih mohammadin sallallahu alayhi wa sallam wa sharra al umorah mohdathatuha fa kulla mohdathatin bid'a wa kulla bid'a tin balala wa kulla balala tin finnaar alhamdulillahi alhamdulillahi hadana layhada wa maanoona deha instead of saying alhamdulillahi boy i can do some work now all you people hating on the Muslims you're in trouble because i'm taking my billions i'm opening up a muslim satellite station i'm taking my billions i'm building youth centers and everywhere There's some Muslims so the kids will have a place to hang out with each other. I'm taking my billions I'm gonna pay for Zaytuna college with my billions They don't have to scrounge anymore because I'm here with my billions. No, he says no I want to go to Mauritania to study Islam And on the surface is laudable subhanallah zahid he wants to renounce the world that is so nice He wants to study. He wants to go in the desert and not be tempted by all the fitna of modern society That's so nice, but it's a hidden Shafiyah Sheh and Shafiyah it's a hidden lust Because he really wants the people to say He's so pious the brother had millions of dollars and he left it all and he went into the desert To live with the nomads and to study in the middle of the Sahara desert that brother so pious And his shower his hidden lust was fulfilled No We go wherever Allah puts a visit if Allah puts us in the middle of Mauritania We go out there and we'd be the best student out there We don't complain about the malaria Best student out there Mashallah and if Allah puts us in a situation to make a billion dollars We're the best businessman. We got the nicest suits. They are halal We got the john j or john g or whatever non silk silk tie is halal We give it as full right So he also says later on Man arad al khafaq or al khumul fahuwa abdul khafaq Wa man arad al zuhur fahuwa abdul zuhur Wa man istawa al halani induhu fahuwa abdulla The one who's chasing after obscurity is a slave of obscurity is a servant of obscurity And the one who's chasing after fame and to be in front of the people is a slave of fame And the one whom that's two states are equal with him or her That is the servant of Allah Be where Allah has placed you Be where Allah has placed you and give that it's full right and that's where greatness comes from Because i'm not doing it for myself I'm trying to do it for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and i'm trying to serve the people That's where greatness comes from brothers and sisters each and every one challenge ourselves myself included Through how deep can I reach inside of myself? To pull out some greatness How much can I sacrifice for greatness? Muhammad Ali is great Most influential athlete of the 20th century But why is ali great? He's not great because of his boxing skills He's great because the world knows he was willing to give up his boxing career To give up the heavyweight belt to give up the fame the fortune the blinking lights To give up his place in history as the greatest fighter ever it's debatable If Ali didn't go to to get his title strip had to take almost four years off From fighting at the prime of his career and then had to fight his way back in the shape It would be no debate. Who's the greatest fighter ever Muhammad Ali? No, it's debatable. He had losses ken norton spinks Larry holmes it's debatable But there's no debate As the who was the most influential athlete Muhammad Ali hands down. Why is he famous? Why has he known because he was willing to give up much To defend his beliefs He was willing to stand up and say i'm a muslim at a time It was far more difficult than now. We have people now who won't say i'm a muslim To the application religion they got a crisis. I really want this job Got a crisis Like if I put moo maybe they'll think that's a new religion. We're in california new age i'm a moo A moo in my name is mo So i'm a moo mo No ali stood in front of the cameras in the 1960s when there was still not this tectonic shift in the mentality of most americans and said i'm a muslim I believe in a law and if I have to stand in front of a firing squad For my faith I'm gonna stand in front of a firing squad and i'm not gonna go halfway around the world to kill some people Who didn't do anything to me. You can take my title. You can throw me in jail. You can kill me But i'm not gonna give it up. That's why muhammad ali is great That's why people all over the world Put his picture in the house and on the back of their buses on the back of their cars on the windshield of their cars We have to ask ourselves brothers and sisters as we stand before the challenges of our times What are we willing to sacrifice force land? What are we willing to give up force land? What stand are we willing to take force land? That's a question each and one of every one of us have to ask ourselves On an individual basis and only each and every one of us can provide the answer But if enough of us If enough of us are willing to say i'm not backing down. I haven't done anything to anyone I haven't hurt anybody I haven't done anything to justify this venom. You're heaping on myself and my community I'm a muslim I'm proud to be a muslim. My name is muhammad abdullahi Well, that's stretching it. Let's get another example. My name is muhammad abdul majeed And i'm not giving up anything because I don't need to give up anything. I haven't hurt anyone I haven't broken any laws. I've contributed to the well-being of my community the uplift of my community the safety of my neighbors The dignity of my people Why should I apologize? Why should I be on the defensive? Why should I feel like i'm some kind of a criminal? If someone tells you the sun is in shining and the sun is indeed shining If they say it's not shining until the cows come home that doesn't change the reality before your eyes The sun is there. It's in the sky. It's clear. It's 12 noon. There's not a cloud in the sky The sky is bright and blue They could say the sun isn't shining till the cows come home And similarly if someone says you're a terrorist You're a wife beater like this film we saw go home and beat your wife people in shock. I never laid a hand on my wife For good reason. She has three black belts I never laid a hand on my wife I never harmed anybody I never thought about putting a bomb in anything. So why am I walking around here like i'm guilty of something Brothers and sisters we have to Stand up in the name of Allah Relying on Allah Drawing our strength from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and show people through our character That same video Tears brought to my seeing those young girls marching by these hate-filled terrorists. Yes, they were terrorizing them With their hijabs on and their heads up high and marching on to do what they had to do And that's an example for us We have to forge on and do what we have to do but we have to do it for the sake of Allah not for the sake of ourselves They say like I mean the emory shape you have nothing to do with this. It's not about us It's about others It's not about me. It's about others And these are the values that islam is trying to keep alive in this world When the whole world is saying me me me me me we follow a prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam who says My community my community my community That's how we have to see things I serve a community. I'm part of a community And that's what my life. It's not about me. It's about them and ultimately it's about my relationship with Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and my self-worth Comes from those sources My self-worth comes from me knowing that I make a valuable contribution to my community And my self-worth comes from my relationship with Allah ta'ala knowing I submit to Allah I get out of the bed in the morning when people are sleeping to pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala That's where my self-worth comes from. It doesn't come from what some people I don't even know and they don't even know me say about me I feel worthless and down because people talking about me. Do you know them? Do they know you? No Then why are you concerned about what they say? How's your relationship with Allah? Kefa halukah How's your state With Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala How's your state with your brothers and sisters? Your Muslim brothers and sisters. How's your state with your non-Muslim neighbors? And possibly relatives Those are the sources of your self-worth If something's wrong with that you should be ashamed of yourself And start fixing it. But if that's right, then you're right And if you're right, you can begin building an aspiring for greatness Brothers and sisters, let us be a great community This world is crying out for greatness. There's mediocrity afoot in every realm Every realm You said we're not going and and in the social realm. There's social mediocrity. There's political mediocrity political mediocrity No, we're going to be a great community. We're going to be great individuals As we said, not that we're all going to be president or in congress or something Our greatness can be in our relationship with our spouse. I'm going to be a great husband I'm going to be a great wife. I'm going to be a great parent. I'm going to be a great child I'm going to be a great student. I'm going to be a great janitor Whatever I do, I'm going to do it in the best of ways If we can do that, if we can commit ourselves to that, we will be a great community And when the annals of history are recorded Long after we're dead and gone The impact that we have on our community, our nation and our world Will be noted and it will be noted well I say this and I ask forgiveness of Allah for you and for the path of the believers O people, I ask forgiveness of Allah I ask forgiveness I ask forgiveness of Allah I ask forgiveness of Allah I ask forgiveness of Allah He's so pious. The brother had millions of dollars and he left it all And he went into the desert to live with the nomads and to study in the middle of the Sahara desert That brother's so pious And his shower, his hidden lust was fulfilled No We go wherever Allah puts us If Allah puts us in the middle of Mauritania, we go out there and we'd be the best student out there We don't complain about the malaria The one who's chasing after obscurity is a slave of obscurity Is a servant of obscurity and the one who's chasing after fame And to be in front of the people is a slave of fame and the one whom that's two states are equal with him or her That is the servant of Allah Best student out there Mashallah and if Allah puts us in a situation to make a billion dollars We're the best business man. We got the nicest suits. They are halal We got the john j or john g or whatever non silk silk tie is halal We give it as full right So he also says later on And then I'll rada khatat I will with my billions. No, he says no, I want to go to Mauritania to study Islam And on the surface is laudable subhanallah zahid. He wants to renounce the world. That is so nice He wants to study He wants to go in the desert and not be tempted by all the fitna of modern society. That's so nice But it's a hidden Shafiyah Uh, a shah wa khafiyah. It's a hidden lust Because he really wants the people to say and instead of saying Alhamdulillah boy, I could do some work now Are you people hating on the Muslims? You're in trouble Because I'm taking my billions. I'm opening up a muslim satellite station I'm taking my billions. I'm building youth centers in everywhere. There's some muslims So the kids will have a place to hang out with each other. I'm taking my billions I'm going to pay for zaytuna college with my billions. They don't have to scrounge anymore because I'm here