Making The Changes

Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.

Rabbil alameen wa salatu salam, ala rasulillah, Karim Allah and he was trying to sell them to semen kathira the brothers and sisters, I'm going to try to ensure that I make it short. I'm not going to go longer than love it up, so I won't go more than 30 minutes inshallah Tada. And, you know, honestly, I wanted to just kind of leave everyone with some practical tips, because I know that one of the things that usually happens is when you go to a convention when you go to a conference, wow, that talk was mind blowing. That was awesome. Did you hear what what? What brother Norman said? Did you hear what this what this speaker said? Did you hear it? But did you hear about the costume said

What did you? Did you hear that? Did you hear what Dr. Otto said, but at the end of the day, we really don't make much change, there isn't really much practicality. Sometimes it's the fault of the speakers. Sometimes that's the fault of the listeners.

And here's the thing, I know that this topic has probably been regurgitated hundreds of times, under the guise of different titles, different Holt was how I can change now. But you know, the mountain was a lie, he said something very powerful because the lies agenda tells us in the Quran, that those who seek Huda guidance will be guided, those who seek it will be guided. So essentially, what Eliza gel tells us is that if you really want to change them, the first thing is that you have to want if you really want to change them, the first thing is that you have to recognize that there is something about you, that needs to be changed. Looking at yourself, recognizing those things as

whether or not a man said, not blaming anyone else for anything. Not looking at the world and suffering from analysis paralysis, you know, where we'll just sit around and complain and whine, and the same brother that's talking about how terrible everything is, and isn't doesn't how terrible everything is in Pakistan and Africa is the same one who won't do who won't put forth even an hour's worth of volunteering towards his message or towards any Islamic cause. But I want to really focus more on the individual, I think rather not not uncovered very well the idea of a society, you know, how we how we can change as a community, but if a person has changed, then Allah subhanho wa Taala

inshallah, through that person would change many things in the community. So it starts with each and every single one of us. Here's the thing, if you want to change, remember, that was a little hidden. Holla he says something beautiful, he says either model candidates Allahu fakra that he could leave shaped in La Habra. When a person is really deeply involved in some sort of thought, when something is heavy on his mind, heavy on his heart, then everything around him will be a guide towards that thing. Let me put it to you this way.

How many of you guys have met annoying newlyweds? Raise your hands?

How many of you guys are annoying newlyweds? Nobody? No, I don't think so. I was about to call you out. Good call. None of you are annoying. You know, the people that go around and all of a sudden you put like, 1000 pictures on your Facebook The day after your wedding? And I'm like, shouldn't you be doing something else the day after your way and uploading 1000 pictures and, and it's like, you've got these cute little shirts that point to each other. And there's thing one and thing two, and I'm hers and I'm his and all that kind of stuff. And it's like, people really don't care that much about your life. But anyway, the thing is, is that whenever you fall in love,

or whenever a person gets engaged, let me tell you what happens from a guy's perspective.

One day, the same guy wants to play basketball all the time. wants to always hang out annoys is married friends because he's not understanding enough to understand that the married guy has to get home by midnight, wants to go hang out all the time and every you know, at any time in the day, then all of a sudden he gets engaged and he never answers his cell phone again.

until a year later whenever he wants to run away from his life.

And he wants to hang out again look for an excuse to hang out right? But the point is, is when that person is in love when that person is overwhelmed when that person is overcome when that person is really in that mood. So Pamela, everything they look around, everything they see around them reminds them of love. Right? Like oh, that empty paper cup in the parking lot. It's so beautiful. Look how it just goes with the winds. I wish I could be that paper cup in her house and just float around and all that stuff. You know, like all that. Here's the thing. You love Allah subhanho wa Taala everything around you has meaning all of a sudden, every single thing you really have a sense of

Have urgency. Allah subhanaw taala will show you the way to change because you know what at the end of the day is different for everybody. All of us have our different demons including me including brother Norman, including brother apostle, including Dr. Out of include all of us we've all got our own set of problems

and every single problem has its specific solution. Allah subhanho to Allah is the one who guides you to that. But the first thing you have to have is a sense of urgency. Don't worry about anyone else. Don't worry about what other people are doing. As the mom hasn't received chemo Lhasa Rahim Allah Cimarron, Sheva lots Who are you born Urbanus. May Allah have mercy on a person who is too busy with his own faults to be worried about anybody else's faults, a sense of urgency, I've got to make my relationship right with a loss of Hannah hautes Allah, I'm going to meet Allah Subhana Allah, maybe tomorrow, it could be very, very, very soon I need to make sure that when I meet him,

I'm prepared for that interview. So here's what I'm going to give you because I know that we all have practicality issues with some of the lectures. So I just typed up five things. These are five tips. If you want to take notes, you can if you don't take notes and lectures, then you waste your time and most of your lectures, the first one, eliminate the poisons in your life that aren't allowing you to change. How many of you guys have ever seen a person?

I know I deal with bums all the time, right? Anyone who deals in relief work or any moms, any mom or something like that, you'll always have the guy that, you know, that was a loser from a dunya perspective. And usually when you're a loser from a denier perspective, you're also not very disciplined spiritually, walks into the masjid reeking of alcohol.

Brother, you know, I thought we agreed you're going to make a change. I thought that something was gonna happen. Oh, I'm a changed man.

I go home more now. I go to work every single day. What's he not recognizing the alcohol? Right? The same way spiritually. You have to recognize the poisons in your life that will prevent you from coming close to Allah subhanho wa Taala Do you really think Allah subhana wa tada is going to give you a short and your Salah when your eyes have been all over the place all day and all of a sudden you think you're going to go to salon salon is going to be okay. You really think Allah Subhana data is going to allow you to enjoy that relationship with him. If right before salon you were sitting on G chat and Facebook or whatever, and you know you're chatting with whoever it is, and then two

minutes left and so law time officers had for 38 it's 436 Brb, gotta go make a law. Right? And he put a smiley face or something like that. You go Hurry up and rush to make your Salah and come back and you write FML almost Miss masala or something like

hamdullah uncles don't understand that.

Don't work on that acronym. Okay. The point that I'm trying to say is you really think a lot is going to give you change like that. You really think your short will mean anything that you'll be able to get any horseshoe out of that. And essentially what that teaches us is that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he taught us about this hearts. This kind of reminds me of him Rahim Allah He says what? Your cattle business space, you fill it up with you fill it up with anything else, you're not going to be you're not going to have any space for Allah subhana wa tada in there. So the very first thing, the very first step to making that change as an individual, eliminate the

things in your life that are a hindrance to you. excelling in your relationship with Allah subhanho wa Taala get rid of those things before you go do good deeds. You know what, like any mom Sophia nfld Rahim. Hola. So the very beautiful statement, who was asked where's the priority is the father or tuscumbia doing good deeds or seeking forgiveness. And he said, if you have a dirty job, you don't accessorize it, you clean the stain. You clean the stain you wash the stain off. If you got a big old brown stain on your white shirt and you go and you put $200 cufflinks on, people are not going to notice the cufflinks people are going to look at the stain, get rid of the stains, then you

can start talking about all these all these things that you can do. And unfortunately, you know, some kind of love, spirit spirituality, the notion of spirituality. So this this concept of progressive Islam slash to spirituality and ignoring the commands of Allah subhanho wa Taala is essentially the same thing that the Christians that essentially what Paul proposed, it allows you to act as a fool your entire life, not doing anything in accordance with the Quran and the Sunnah, but to do like something super spiritual, so that you can feel good about yourself. So essentially, what you're doing is you're giving to a loss of hands either what she wants to give him, not what he

wants you to give him. You know, I'll go and I'll pray and I'll do this extra pm. The problem is not the PM. The problem is that you're doing the things that will stop your pm from being accepted. The problem is not your door. The problem is when

You do after dawn before, do I that's the problem that you're having eliminate the stains from your life, and then you would find that you naturally would start to come close to Allah subhanaw taala because once your heart becomes clean and honest, your heart starts naturally inclining towards Allah subhanaw taala you're a fifth pillar is to incline towards Allah subhanaw taala. So, eliminate the things that corrupts your fifth pillar number two, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. You know, some people Subhana Allah, they wait for really, really, really bad things to happen. They wait to see the consequences of their sins before they change those things. an ounce of

prevention is better than a pound of cure. What happens is that safe on Claus, he digs you into this hole or you dig yourself into this hole. It's a lot harder, harder to climb out of that hole until I've taken care of it in the first place. And Emanuel Kalyan Rahim Allah, He says, and I want you to think about this prevention, before you commit mistakes, you know, some people somehow are just very weak, we're all weak, right? But some people just wait to mess up and then I'll try to figure it out. Put aside the flaws you already have. Don't go any further. I'm gonna tell you Mr. Heyman. Hola. He says that every single action that you commit every single sin that you commit goes through

the following stages. Number one, it's a thought for passing thoughts.

Number two, after it's a passing thought it becomes a settled thought. You start thinking about it. Hey, what about that? You know, say Tom caught your gaze with something, he caught something he got to at some sort of interest. Let me start thinking about this. You start to entertain that thought you were not strong enough to cut off yourself before you could entertain that thought, you know, some people some panela. Immediately the instinct because their Eman has become strengthened. It takes a long time to really to raise yourself to purify yourself, the minute that something walks by or the minute that they see something and that they're approached by something, that's how long

immediately they go into default. There is no time there for that. I mean, the amount of time that lapses before they do is to fight and go back to Allah subhanaw taala is very small, some people passing thought, then I start entertaining the thought, after I've entertained the thought enough shavon has told me about how great the benefits of this action are going to be in essentially we commit sin because we think that is going to serve some sort of benefit to us. We think it's gonna give us some sort of pleasure and it usually does for a temporary time. Then it becomes a nia. I have the intention to commit that soon.

After I have the Nia the intention to commit that sin once I've made the intention to commit something, nothing's gonna stop me. Then it becomes azeema I'm determined to commit that sin, no matter what stops me. Right at first, I was very hesitant. Now I'm full force. You know, I'll give you an example. There was a sister that I knew that wanted to take off for her job just to rebel against her father. That's that was the only reasons you want to throw off our heads up. She was telling my wife she was saying the first day she went to school. She felt so uncomfortable without her a job that she threw her hoodie on. She did what he did, but she threw a hoodie on.

Next thing you know, the hoodie came off a few days right? I have the intention. Next thing you know, then the tank tops came then the cleavage came then the short skirts came to Why? Because you start becoming determined then to commit that sin your heart became hard into that that sin has become humanized to you Hey, this isn't so bad. You became an addict. And that's why once you have azeema becomes on its surface it became action. Once it becomes action it becomes ad becomes a bad habits. Once you have a system i sin in your life, trust me that will kill your dog that will kill your soul that will kill your your opportunity to get close to Allah subhanho its ad that's why from

the drop that we that we make a llama nakina nobody will hop by and let the tech be so dry or not clean. Amina Roby will hop is at 10 00 Bella, we ask Allah Subhana Allah to purify us from the sins and from the mistakes that caused our daughters to be cut off.

And that caused the anger of a loss of Hannah who it's added to descend upon us. If you keep on with a bad habit if you keep on with the sin. I want you to think about this. So panela also lustleigh salaam tells us that at one point you become defined by your sin, just like at one point you become defined by your good deeds Bahati, the prophets I seldom said that a person would tell the truth so much he would be so truthful had to use the law to do so he's written with Allah subhanaw taala as a Sadiq not that he told the truth one time, this is a truthful person. This is someone who was truthful in his face.

And then a person would lie so much not that he told the lie here there until he's written with a loss of habitat as

your name with Allah is Allah

Subhan Allah, you become defined by your traits you become defined by your deeds. So the second thing, dear brothers and sisters, again, is that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Stop yourself before you fall into those situations. Number three, I just typed these up, by the way, so I'm using my iPhone I'm sorry. Number three. Anyone ever heard of the acronym kiss?

Nobody.

Keep it simple, stupid. So that means now because some brothers always get offended whenever I say that. I changed it to keep it simple.

Just to make it okay for everybody. Some brothers like Brother, you should have said keep it simple, smart. Don't insult your brothers. Okay, keep it simple. So now we can all agree upon that. Well, so last Isilon tells us that when a person goes to his grave, instead of an understanding of that, he would it's not that he's gonna want to come back and he's gonna want to establish khilafah he's gonna wish he would have a moment to come back and establish pilaf and liberate Palestine those types of things, or, you know, build a new messages and those types of things. Yes, those are great things. I'm not saying those are bad things. But when you go to your grave, what are the things that

you're praying for? What are the things that you miss? What do you really want, he would come back and wish he could just offer to us to maracas, so that Allah subhanaw taala might forgive him with those two costs. Find something small in your life that you're capable of doing? And stick with it? Eventually that will accumulates eventually that might be the cause of you answering intergender Subhan Allah when a person finds something small that he can do I can't change the situation in Palestine right now. I can at least try to change it right now in my own community can at least do something here you know, some handle on most massages, whenever they're the the new board elections

and the new committee elections and things of that sort. You have like 30 committees that are formed, right and brothers bring out their nice agendas. I don't know the politics of any of my sides in here, by the way, none so you can't accuse me of being being involved in anything here. But usually what happens and every massage

brothers bring out their long agenda is this is what we're gonna do. This is what we're gonna do. This is what we're gonna do three months later.

Wait, I'm on a committee?

What are you talking about? I didn't know that. People completely forget what they committed to. That's why the prophets lysozyme said what is it some of the Allahu anhu narrated that the most beloved actions to Allah subhanaw taala at one Maha Cola, you know, the most consistent of them, even if they're very, very, very small. I'm gonna give you guys a story. Actually. Do I have time I have time to tell the story. And I'll give you guys the story. Amanda Josie hakimullah. He wrote a book about the management of Muhammad Rahim Allah Menaka. The virtues of Imam Muhammad Rahim Allah tala

Rahim Allah at the time of at the peak of his life before the fitness started, even after the fitness started, was the most famous man in the Muslim ummah. Hands down factory Mama, that'd be Rahim Allah says this was the largest genocide that took place in a matter of one day. He died and he was buried in the same day, you had 1.3 million people come and preach and I was on him. That's more than the Pope. More than pope john paul with all the all the media and holding his body out. Imagine how popular and beloved he was my mother in law used to go around and students halaqaat used to go around seeking knowledge from other people wrapping his face so people wouldn't notice him.

very humble person because he didn't want people to put them on a pedestal. One day he was traveling to a shop to Syria, what's what we would call Syria today, but of course, it's Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan, a sham and he tells the story and of course back then you know, you don't imagine with Rahim Allah didn't have a Facebook page.

He didn't know how he looked. He walks into a message to spend the night and the hottest the guard of the message that tells him get out. Moses closing he said, but I have nowhere to go. I don't know where to go. He said get out approach. You know, Moses closing he didn't sit there and say By the way, I mean, I'm not gonna know you didn't play that card.

Just get out

picked up this stuff. And he slept on the steps of the massive the hottest came and started a move. Go you can't even sleep here. Go move away.

Like where am I gonna go? I don't know anything. This man not knowing who he's messing with, picks up email him a lot by his legs, and he drags him to the middle of the street and drops him.

Hey, Mom, I was like, Okay.

Then what happens? a baker who owns a bakery right across the street. He comes to my mom and he says you can come sleep in my bakery tonight. I'll be doing some work. You can come sleep here. So he opens the way for him.

Rahim Allah observes this man.

He's sitting there and he's

You know, putting the dough together and he's putting in the oven, and everything that he does while he's kneading the dough he's going Suppan a la, la la la la la la la, la la, la la la la la la la la or somehow the entire night he's making us be

shocked usually people get tired of test me after two minutes three minutes shocked skies, constantly making tests me at his workplace. He's not sitting in that just that his workplace. He has nothing better to do. Right back then they didn't have little later on consume, you know, or Junaid Jamshed pre what we know he is now right he didn't have his iPod or anything subpanel 100 Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah constantly, Mohammed Rahim Allah goes, how long? Have you been in the situation? He says what situation making tests back to Allah Subhana Allah to Allah says my whole life this is what I do.

A whole lot. He says, What have you seen from Allah subhanho wa Taala as a result of all this testimony that you make, all these days that you make to speak obviously Jenna and imagine will soon have slide seven tells us each one of these is planting trees and mentions in gender. You can imagine what this man has with the loss of Hannah it's Allah talk about change, right? But he says Maduro to Lani say Illa upon he never made it to Allah for anything except that he answered it.

Allah Subhana Allah, mother out law honey Shea in our pocket, yeah, you never made the odds to Allah except he gave it to you. He repeated. I never made the odds for las panatela for anything except that he gave it to me. He said except for one thing.

I said what is that? He said an Imam.

To have a chance to see each

other he was brought to tears he embraced this man. But then he said Subhana Allah, how who Allah caja could be your general will be originally he illamasqua zyk. So here is Allah. He brought you dragging him by his feet to your bakery. If it wasn't for you, I could have slept in peace at the messages. How do I think about that

test to be he made use of his time how much time you kill at a red light going to work how much time you kill in front of the TV. How much time do you waste of your life that you could be planting trees and palaces in general? That's changed. Keep it simple, sooner, have have a word have a word, not one of these words that's made up by some shifts somewhere that you're going to be doing No, go to the son of the messenger. So I sent him and that's sufficient. Find the things that he used to do on a daily basis, some of the lohani he was solemn, and incorporate that in your life. So that's number three. Keep it simple Sunnah.

Number four. Think Progress. Why do I say this is so important? How many times do we see a sister that says I don't think I can work a job anymore? Or I'm not gonna wear hijab because I feel like a hypocrite because I don't even pray right?

Yeah, I've seen it a lot. I feel like a hypocrite I feel two faced when I wear hijab, because I know that I'm not really what people think of me.

We've seen that a lot. I don't even pray my five times my five prayers on time I just I can't do this. I'd be a hypocrite. Cow shavon gets you he makes you think backwards are the brothers in my community who always do this let me tell you what the greatest cop out of not going to hedges. But she's working hard on

how can I use my money and I can go to hedge and then come back and work and how long so instead of getting rid of what I'm

I'm just not going to go to hedge convenient thinking. Instead of fixing my internal life I'm just never going to work the job. Right are How many times have you heard this question? Is it helpful to fast if you don't pray? And if you heard that question before, a lot of times a lot of times I hear it all the time and you know some shoe if they say no that person should fear a lot he's not even a Muslim he shouldn't be fasting he should start praying first these types of things.

Why don't you start praying and add that so that your fast can become validated panela Think Progress don't think backwards shape on always pulls you this way. I didn't mean you by the way. It just happened the phone and happen to be coming at the same time. Say pawn always pulls you this way. And Allah subhana wa tada always calls you forward. make progress. The most profound lecture I've ever heard in my life, Arabic or English. I was going through my old tapes, cassette tapes, by the way, I don't want I don't listen to lectures in English anymore. Honestly, I can't handle I love listening lectures in Arabic. I just that's my own personal inclination. There's one person who

always does it for me mounts the lodge watch half of the whole lot. One night

I found that this hotel in the 80s called Islam means progress is my cassette I popped it in my car and have the light on drive a new car. So I still have a cassette player popped it in my car. Islam means progress. One of the greatest lectures I've ever heard in my life. If you can find it online find it I don't know if it's been transcribed or it's been put into mp3. Islam means progress. Number four, is to think forward. Number five, and this is my last thought inshallah to Allah.

Because I promised you I'd finished on time and I've been trying to be good with that recently.

One time a convert. Two years ago.

He converted to Islam and cammarata actually in the UAE British convert. And Subhana Allah, he was reflecting on the manners of the Muslims. And he said something very profound. And I saw it repeated on on Facebook a few times and things of that sort. He said, on your way to becoming a good Muslim, don't become a crappy human being.

Becoming a more religious person should not make you a jerk. It should not make your character worse. It should not make you more condescending towards people. It should make you make you more humble, to make you more loving. It should make you more compassionate, it should make you more caring. Don't become a terrible person on your way to becoming a good Muslim. It starts off just as I was saying with your parents. You know, somehow a lot of soulless, Isilon tells us what what's going to be judged on the Day of Judgment, your whole look, that's the heaviest thing. That's the heaviest thing, your character. And when you have nasty manners, that is a reflection that on the

inside you are actually devoid of emotion. Because if we look at the woman who the Prophet slicin, I mentioned, who prayed a lot of prayers fast and her fast, did all the rituals did all the good things.

But she was abusive to her neighbor. Let me put let me put this in perspective for you. And we shouldn't be judging other people. The prophets I send them was making an example of this woman we it's not our job to do this. But let me put let me put this in perspective for you. You know, a person who was extremely religious and foremost and coming to the Muslims all the time and doing all the Holocaust, if they have bad manners, if they have a bad attitude, the most he would say is you say that person might get called out on the Day of Judgment for their bad attitude, but you know, come to law, they still do this. They still do that. And we're supposed to make excuses for other

people. We're not. That's our job. We make excuses for other people. We just don't make excuses for ourselves. But the prophets lie Selim said, what about this woman? What did he say? Someone told me?

No one remembers this hadith. The woman who abused her neighbor,

who was abusive to her neighbors with her tongue seemed to beat him up. She just was abusive to her neighbors with her tongue. She prayed she fasted she did what she was supposed to do from a ritualistic standpoint. What does the law say about her brothers or sisters?

She's in hellfire. He said something else to

Rasulullah saw I said I'm setting a hierarchy here for now. There is no good inside of her she's in hellfire. Think about that law Hira, Fie. Ha. There is nothing inside of her. That's good. He often not all of that was was superficial. what really counts is when your inner beauty changes that will reflect with your outer beauty too. That's why it also loss Isilon taught us when we look in the mirror we say Allah We ask Allah for change every time we look in the mirror, when you change your clothes, you ask Allah for a different type of change. What do you say? Allah McKenna, I sent a healthy the way you beautified my appearance, you know you gave me these clothes. You allowed me to

change into this new pair of clothes You created me, you know with with some form of cemetery. What do you say next? Sinhala clean. Correct, beautify my insight. So we asked Allah subhanho wa Taala to make this amongst those who experience real change, who search for guidance and who are guided by His mercy a llama. I mean, does that come along colocado stuff. allamani Kumar