WEBVTT 00:01.202 --> 00:01.992 [SPEAKER_00]: Five principles. 00:03.331 --> 00:17.354 [SPEAKER_00]: If you feel that your life is characterized by laziness or too much sleep, too much socializing, moving from one room to the other room in your house, looking for someone to talk to, looking for something to do, looking for something on social media to consume. 00:17.694 --> 00:21.275 [SPEAKER_00]: And you're not really achieving what you feel you could be achieving as a Muslim. 00:21.575 --> 00:22.916 [SPEAKER_00]: You're not a person of growth. 00:23.276 --> 00:25.656 [SPEAKER_00]: I share with you five very simple principles. 00:25.976 --> 00:27.217 [SPEAKER_00]: Please take out your phones. 00:27.937 --> 00:31.798 [SPEAKER_00]: I recommend you to take out your phones, take note of these five headings, 00:34.018 --> 00:45.243 [SPEAKER_00]: Put them in a place in your life when you can see them and I promise you you will begin to see changes in your life and you will see results. 00:45.864 --> 00:47.104 [SPEAKER_00]: What are these five principles? 00:47.784 --> 00:48.885 [SPEAKER_00]: Principle number one. 00:50.975 --> 01:04.005 [SPEAKER_00]: Whether you are a person or a person who has described to this dog life, or whether you are like the majority of us, a normal Muslim, but perhaps a little bit too normal. 01:05.987 --> 01:09.970 [SPEAKER_00]: And you feel that your life has been by a large characterised by 01:19.549 --> 01:21.129 [SPEAKER_00]: And you want to do more with your life. 01:22.470 --> 01:33.432 [SPEAKER_00]: The limbs, the senses, the kidneys, the organs, the strengths that Allah Jalla Jalaluhu has given you are clearly there to fulfill a higher purpose. 01:34.672 --> 01:45.555 [SPEAKER_00]: He wouldn't have given you all of these tools and these sophisticated apparatus for you to just live to work and work, to live, and just to live for another day. 01:46.035 --> 01:47.495 [SPEAKER_00]: Impossible, there must be more. 01:50.200 --> 01:55.684 [SPEAKER_00]: So what is it about the accomplished life, the empowered life? 01:56.865 --> 01:59.166 [SPEAKER_00]: I say to you, this is my dear brothers, my dear sisters. 01:59.527 --> 02:11.015 [SPEAKER_00]: If there is an enemy in your life that is on your back, I say to you, place your reliance upon Allah, Subhan Allah, and then fulfill the one thousandth principle. 02:13.126 --> 02:24.349 [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to succeed at work, or you want to succeed in your studies, place your reliance upon Allah Jalla Jallalu, and then apply the 1000th principle. 02:26.830 --> 02:35.292 [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to move out from the confines of misery to happiness and laziness to proactivity, 02:36.610 --> 02:40.873 [SPEAKER_00]: and a meaningless life to a life of meaning and value and achievement. 02:40.993 --> 02:48.398 [SPEAKER_00]: I say to you, place your reliance upon Allah and apply the one thousandth principle. 02:48.698 --> 02:52.761 [SPEAKER_00]: So now the question that maybe you are looking to ask, what is the one thousandth principle? 02:54.842 --> 03:00.666 [SPEAKER_00]: There was a academic in the field of leadership studies. 03:00.686 --> 03:02.087 [SPEAKER_00]: His name is Kopp-Kopp-Maya. 03:03.745 --> 03:21.151 [SPEAKER_00]: and he authored four books on the topic of success and each one of those books has within it 250 principles of success that he's compiled throughout his life as an expert through coaching experiences, through study, through personal experience. 03:21.631 --> 03:25.512 [SPEAKER_00]: A thousand principles for success divided over four books. 03:27.923 --> 03:36.449 [SPEAKER_00]: Then he was once asked a question during an interview, which one of these principles in your estimation is the most important? 03:38.071 --> 03:40.513 [SPEAKER_00]: And he gave a very crystal clear answer. 03:42.054 --> 03:52.782 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, all of the 999 principles that I have included are absolutely useless if this one principle is not present in your life. 03:53.923 --> 03:55.324 [SPEAKER_00]: It's the principle that says, 03:57.055 --> 04:03.437 [SPEAKER_00]: Do what you should do when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. 04:05.977 --> 04:07.038 [SPEAKER_00]: Take note of this, please. 04:08.158 --> 04:15.040 [SPEAKER_00]: Do what you should do when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. 04:16.297 --> 04:27.062 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, shelve that thought in your mind for just a moment, and I want to zoom back with you 1400 years to an event that took place just after the Battle of O'Hud. 04:29.163 --> 04:40.248 [SPEAKER_00]: News was conveyed to the Prophet Ali Hisala to the Selam that there was a man by the name of Khalidib Nusufianel Hudale who was gathering the Arab pagan forces 04:41.293 --> 04:47.856 [SPEAKER_00]: to create a coalition to bring them to the city of Medina and put an end to the Muslim presence once and for all. 04:48.277 --> 04:51.238 [SPEAKER_00]: Khaled Abnusofyan al-Hudali. 04:52.919 --> 05:02.764 [SPEAKER_00]: And our Prophet ﷺ in his bid to avoid the bloodshed of war and to minimize casualties he wanted to neutralize this threat. 05:03.585 --> 05:05.166 [SPEAKER_00]: And how can this be achieved? 05:05.786 --> 05:09.508 [SPEAKER_00]: This is by exterminating this man who was gathering the forces. 05:12.312 --> 05:17.396 [SPEAKER_00]: So, the messenger of Allah, he was said to them, calls, a man called the abdu Allah, he would unease. 05:17.756 --> 05:19.497 [SPEAKER_00]: A sahabi, a noble sahabi. 05:20.618 --> 05:24.120 [SPEAKER_00]: And he gave him very simple, short, clear instructions. 05:25.341 --> 05:27.743 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, Ya Rabbi, Allah, O abdu Allah. 05:28.663 --> 05:32.126 [SPEAKER_00]: Balaghani, Annaqali, Daniyajmaun, Nasa, liyaqzuhani. 05:32.286 --> 05:38.330 [SPEAKER_00]: News has been conveyed to me that Khalid is gathering the people to invade Medina. 05:39.457 --> 05:48.663 [SPEAKER_00]: Wa'huwal a'na b'ina'chala A'ubi y'a'orana, and at this very second, Khalid is found in a place called Na'chala or a place called A'orana. 05:49.583 --> 05:51.164 [SPEAKER_00]: Thad have Ilehi Faktulhu. 05:51.224 --> 05:53.726 [SPEAKER_00]: So make your way to him and kill him. 05:56.187 --> 06:00.050 [SPEAKER_00]: Abdu'lahi b'na'una'i, he said to the prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi wa-sallam. 06:01.509 --> 06:09.834 [SPEAKER_00]: Inaatuhul iyar asuhul Allahi had ta'arifah Messenger of Allah, please describe him to me so I recognize him when I see him. 06:11.715 --> 06:24.743 [SPEAKER_00]: He said to him, ah ya tunna beinaka wa beinaka wa beinaka wa naka ivar aatehu wa jattaluhu koshia arira the sign for you to recognize him is that the moment you see him you're going to feel a shiva going down your body. 06:27.797 --> 06:49.875 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, so I made my way to Nakhla or Oranat where this man was based, and this was around the time of Asa, and then I saw him, and the moment my eyes fell upon him, I felt a huge shiver covering my body, so I knew he was the target. 06:51.388 --> 06:58.570 [SPEAKER_00]: And I feared that I was going to miss my Asa Rasala because of what I was doing, but the opportunity was there. 06:59.170 --> 07:07.913 [SPEAKER_00]: So I started to pray my Asa Rasala as I was walking, moving my head up and down, just cheering for, bowing and perspiration, Rukohan Sujut. 07:09.655 --> 07:17.679 [SPEAKER_00]: Till when the time was right, and I was near Khaled, Ibn Osofyan, and he was with his wife, he was taking them to their homes. 07:18.219 --> 07:28.103 [SPEAKER_00]: I pounced at Khaled, and he was on the ground, bleeding, and breathing his last, and his wives were all around him, sobbing, and weeping. 07:30.004 --> 07:31.525 [SPEAKER_00]: So I came back to Medina, 07:33.387 --> 07:41.635 [SPEAKER_00]: And the moment the Prophet ﷺ saw me, he said, this is a face that brings with its success. 07:42.656 --> 07:46.779 [SPEAKER_00]: I said, I said, Qadqat al-Tuhu Ya Rasulullah, I killed him or messenger of Allah. 07:47.140 --> 07:49.622 [SPEAKER_00]: He said to me, Sadaqt, you speak the truth, you did. 07:52.084 --> 07:56.748 [SPEAKER_00]: And then the Prophet ﷺ gave Abdullah, he been on a stick. 07:57.829 --> 07:58.990 [SPEAKER_00]: He gave him a stick. 08:00.100 --> 08:04.525 [SPEAKER_00]: And he said, I'm Sikyah, Abdellahi Haihihi and the keep the stick with you, Abdellahi. 08:05.806 --> 08:08.629 [SPEAKER_00]: He didn't ask him why, or what is the stick for? 08:09.230 --> 08:10.191 [SPEAKER_00]: So he kept it with him. 08:10.291 --> 08:18.059 [SPEAKER_00]: The very next day, Abdellahi, my own ace, is walking around the city of Medina, carrying out his day-to-day duties, and he has his stick in his hand. 08:18.420 --> 08:20.342 [SPEAKER_00]: So people, they say to him, what is the stick? 08:21.677 --> 08:26.360 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, I don't really know, the Prophet ﷺ gave it to me and he said, keep it with you. 08:26.860 --> 08:29.802 [SPEAKER_00]: They said, they didn't you think about asking him what the stick is for? 08:30.442 --> 08:31.503 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, I will ask him. 08:32.703 --> 08:35.585 [SPEAKER_00]: So he went to him and he said, Messenger of Allah, what is the stick for? 08:36.045 --> 08:43.670 [SPEAKER_00]: He said to him, ah ya tunma baini wa baina kaya umal piyamati in n'a akallan n'asil mutah khasru'un ayah umain. 08:45.410 --> 08:52.016 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, this stick will serve as a sign to help me recognize you on the day of judgment. 08:54.078 --> 08:58.282 [SPEAKER_00]: And the majority of people will not have sticks to lean on the day of reckoning. 09:00.284 --> 09:04.087 [SPEAKER_00]: So it's something for the Prophet Ali Hussalatu Al-Salab to recognize Abdullah, he will 09:09.210 --> 09:16.194 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, I don't want to focus on the actual details of this account, and the background story behind it. 09:17.534 --> 09:24.378 [SPEAKER_00]: I want to take from it a completely different lesson that for me is a blindingly obvious one. 09:25.278 --> 09:31.261 [SPEAKER_00]: And I have asked this question to so many of the brothers when I hear, when I relate this story to them, what do you take from this story? 09:31.721 --> 09:32.842 [SPEAKER_00]: No one shares this one. 09:34.192 --> 09:38.877 [SPEAKER_00]: For me, what is the most profound element of this whole encounter? 09:38.917 --> 09:39.358 [SPEAKER_00]: Is what? 09:40.859 --> 09:42.701 [SPEAKER_00]: How little the conversation was? 09:44.403 --> 09:47.487 [SPEAKER_00]: And how significant and enormous the outcomes were? 09:48.674 --> 09:55.117 [SPEAKER_00]: The Kalam, the speech, was so little, the instructions were basic, and there was no objection. 09:55.717 --> 10:02.140 [SPEAKER_00]: He did what he should do at the time that he should have done it, whether he felt like it or not. 10:02.500 --> 10:04.261 [SPEAKER_00]: There was no Kalam, no conversation. 10:05.442 --> 10:11.845 [SPEAKER_00]: Do what you should do, whether you feel like it or not, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. 10:17.730 --> 10:24.615 [SPEAKER_00]: I want to share with you now five principles for those of you who want to need an empowered life. 10:26.376 --> 10:27.657 [SPEAKER_00]: What is the empowered life? 10:28.578 --> 10:44.048 [SPEAKER_00]: A life of proactivity, a life of vision setting, a life of meeting Allah and you are confident to say, I carried out my function as a Muslim human being in the life of dunyaah, the empowered life. 10:45.349 --> 10:46.150 [SPEAKER_00]: Five principles. 10:47.450 --> 11:05.414 [SPEAKER_00]: if you feel that your life is characterized by laziness or too much sleep, too much socializing, moving from one room to the other room in your house, looking for someone to talk to, looking for something to do, looking for something on social media to consume, and you're not really achieving what you feel you could be achieving as a Muslim. 11:05.714 --> 11:09.795 [SPEAKER_00]: You're not a person of growth, I share with you five very simple principles. 11:10.115 --> 11:11.356 [SPEAKER_00]: Please take out your phones. 11:12.076 --> 11:15.937 [SPEAKER_00]: I recommend you to take out your phones, take note of these five headings, 11:18.157 --> 11:29.384 [SPEAKER_00]: put them in a place in your life when you can see them and I promise you you will begin to see changes in your life and you will see results. 11:30.004 --> 11:31.245 [SPEAKER_00]: What are these five principles? 11:31.905 --> 11:39.970 [SPEAKER_00]: Principle number one, put and end to excuses, normal justifications. 11:42.451 --> 11:43.251 [SPEAKER_00]: People are very 11:46.455 --> 12:01.685 [SPEAKER_00]: when it comes to giving themselves excuses to wiggle out of difficult situations and to prove to people why they were inactive and why they haven't sacrificed, why they have attended, why they haven't learned, why they haven't planned. 12:02.365 --> 12:03.566 [SPEAKER_00]: Very creative. 12:03.706 --> 12:06.728 [SPEAKER_00]: La ila ila when it comes to creating excuses. 12:08.610 --> 12:10.691 [SPEAKER_00]: But you know we have a singing in the English language. 12:10.791 --> 12:12.372 [SPEAKER_00]: They call it an idiom. 12:14.457 --> 12:16.578 [SPEAKER_00]: You can't have the button and eat it. 12:18.059 --> 12:21.322 [SPEAKER_00]: Or you can't have your cake and eat it. 12:21.762 --> 12:23.883 [SPEAKER_00]: And you can't have the penny and the button. 12:25.485 --> 12:26.525 [SPEAKER_00]: Meaning it's one or the other. 12:26.986 --> 12:27.866 [SPEAKER_00]: You can't have both. 12:28.427 --> 12:30.088 [SPEAKER_00]: You sacrifice one, you get the other. 12:30.128 --> 12:32.729 [SPEAKER_00]: But the other will go if the other one states. 12:32.890 --> 12:33.810 [SPEAKER_00]: You can't have both. 12:35.271 --> 12:41.856 [SPEAKER_00]: And similarly, I say to you, my dear brother, my dear sister, it is impossible for you to lead a successful, 12:42.993 --> 12:49.577 [SPEAKER_00]: an empowered and an accomplished life if you are giving yourself excuses. 12:49.957 --> 12:50.838 [SPEAKER_00]: It can't happen. 12:51.778 --> 12:53.299 [SPEAKER_00]: You need to keep momentum. 12:53.620 --> 12:55.040 [SPEAKER_00]: You need to keep moving. 12:55.421 --> 12:57.442 [SPEAKER_00]: It is a sink or swim situation. 12:57.542 --> 13:04.046 [SPEAKER_00]: Either you swim or either you sink because the third option of standing on water cannot apply. 13:04.066 --> 13:07.348 [SPEAKER_00]: This is principle number one. 13:07.868 --> 13:08.829 [SPEAKER_00]: Principle number two. 13:10.953 --> 13:17.856 [SPEAKER_00]: What you do today is an illustration of who you shall be tomorrow. 13:20.917 --> 13:27.600 [SPEAKER_00]: The same way that your marriage, it cannot survive on the level of yesterday. 13:28.981 --> 13:33.723 [SPEAKER_00]: Your business, it cannot thrive on the profits of yesterday. 13:34.830 --> 13:36.973 [SPEAKER_00]: The same thing can be said about you, Yakhil Karim. 13:37.854 --> 13:41.498 [SPEAKER_00]: You cannot be a successful Muslim of growth. 13:42.459 --> 13:48.967 [SPEAKER_00]: If you are just singing about the righteous person, you used to be once upon a time in the past. 13:49.808 --> 13:51.831 [SPEAKER_00]: There has to be activity today. 13:53.848 --> 14:13.214 [SPEAKER_00]: The person you are going to be in the future if you're interested to know who he or she is and what they look like, I say to you, there is no magic needed, no horror scopes, no palm reading, and certainly no reading into the stars or a crystal ball. 14:13.974 --> 14:22.177 [SPEAKER_00]: All you need to do is look into the decisions you are making today because that will be the person you shall be tomorrow. 14:23.244 --> 14:24.265 [SPEAKER_00]: So create a vision. 14:25.285 --> 14:26.626 [SPEAKER_00]: What does your future look like? 14:26.966 --> 14:29.388 [SPEAKER_00]: It looks like the decisions you are making today. 14:29.988 --> 14:30.489 [SPEAKER_00]: What are they? 14:33.030 --> 14:34.171 [SPEAKER_00]: What is principal number one? 14:34.571 --> 14:35.192 [SPEAKER_00]: Put an M2? 14:36.252 --> 14:36.833 [SPEAKER_00]: Excuses. 14:36.873 --> 14:37.713 [SPEAKER_00]: Principal number two? 14:39.394 --> 14:39.775 [SPEAKER_00]: What is it? 14:42.076 --> 14:45.779 [SPEAKER_00]: Your future will look like the decisions you're making today. 14:46.979 --> 14:48.160 [SPEAKER_00]: Principal number three. 14:48.340 --> 14:49.381 [SPEAKER_00]: Take note, yes, you're about. 14:53.622 --> 14:57.505 [SPEAKER_00]: because the lower levels are congested with people. 14:58.325 --> 15:00.406 [SPEAKER_00]: Thomas Edison, you've heard of this name, right? 15:01.567 --> 15:05.530 [SPEAKER_00]: We've all covered Thomas Edison during our GCSE education. 15:06.410 --> 15:12.834 [SPEAKER_00]: The famous inventor of the incandescent bulb and the first motion camera. 15:13.615 --> 15:16.677 [SPEAKER_00]: Thomas Edison, the greatest inventor of his era. 15:18.797 --> 15:24.342 [SPEAKER_00]: Thomas Edison he narrates an amazing story when he was still a child. 15:25.222 --> 15:36.992 [SPEAKER_00]: He comes home on one evening after school and he hands his mother over a small letter that had been folded and they told him don't read it, your mother will read it out to you. 15:38.894 --> 15:43.637 [SPEAKER_00]: And so she opens the letter her name is Alva, mother of Thomas Edison and she says to him 15:48.952 --> 15:49.873 [SPEAKER_00]: Mom, what does it say? 15:51.093 --> 15:56.117 [SPEAKER_00]: She said, the letter says that your son is a genius. 15:57.337 --> 16:03.381 [SPEAKER_00]: And the school doesn't have the facility, and the talents needed to educate a boy of this caliber. 16:03.781 --> 16:07.163 [SPEAKER_00]: So please take him out of the school and educate him yourself. 16:09.125 --> 16:12.867 [SPEAKER_00]: So she took the responsibility upon herself and she gave him home schooling. 16:13.327 --> 16:17.350 [SPEAKER_00]: And he became Thomas Edison, the genius of his century. 16:20.117 --> 16:28.960 [SPEAKER_00]: And in many years passed by, and Thomas Edison passed away, and his mother, I mean to say, Alva passed away. 16:29.060 --> 16:34.401 [SPEAKER_00]: And on one particular day, when he was rummaging through his old family belongings, he opened up a desk. 16:35.101 --> 16:39.163 [SPEAKER_00]: And he found a small paper that was folded at the back of the drawer. 16:39.883 --> 16:42.244 [SPEAKER_00]: And he took it out, and he opened it. 16:42.284 --> 16:43.144 [SPEAKER_00]: And what did it say? 16:44.024 --> 16:46.465 [SPEAKER_00]: It said, your son is mentally ill. 16:47.745 --> 16:50.707 [SPEAKER_00]: He has no future taking out in the school. 16:51.047 --> 16:51.968 [SPEAKER_00]: He's not welcome here. 16:54.009 --> 17:00.054 [SPEAKER_00]: So when he read this, he understood what happened and he wept for several hours. 17:01.735 --> 17:11.121 [SPEAKER_00]: And when he had managed to gather his thoughts, he pulled his diary and he wrote within it, Thomas Alva Edison. 17:12.253 --> 17:19.702 [SPEAKER_00]: was a mentally ill-child, but by the efforts of a hero mother became the genius of his century. 17:21.624 --> 17:29.033 [SPEAKER_00]: Aim high, that's what his mother, she did, aim high because what the lower levels are congested with people. 17:31.177 --> 17:37.603 [SPEAKER_00]: Survey results suggest that the majority of people have not set for themselves any goals in their lives. 17:38.364 --> 17:39.725 [SPEAKER_00]: Are you part of this statistic? 17:40.466 --> 17:48.834 [SPEAKER_00]: They say 80% of a population have not set for themselves any goals is just 20% to have goals. 17:50.863 --> 18:01.371 [SPEAKER_00]: and of those 20% of people who have clearly identifiable goals that they are working towards from that 20% 70% of them fail to achieve it. 18:02.813 --> 18:05.335 [SPEAKER_00]: See, brothers, sisters, the issue is not that 18:06.830 --> 18:09.431 [SPEAKER_00]: We aim high and miss. 18:09.851 --> 18:13.713 [SPEAKER_00]: The issue is that we aim low and we hit that target. 18:14.433 --> 18:21.916 [SPEAKER_00]: The issue is that most of us aim at nothing in our lives and we hit that target with amazing accuracy. 18:22.036 --> 18:23.416 [SPEAKER_00]: We receive nothing in the end. 18:24.897 --> 18:25.797 [SPEAKER_00]: What is your target? 18:25.957 --> 18:33.040 [SPEAKER_00]: Aim high as a Muslim you have every reason to aim high when you know that this life is not the end, but that is just the beginning. 18:34.499 --> 18:54.272 [SPEAKER_00]: Thus, our prophet, Sallallahu alayhi wa sallallamut say, in allah at-a'ala yuhibbu m'a'ali al-umur wa ashrafaha wa yakrahu s-safaha, Allah loves the high matters, the lofty matters, the noble matters and Allah hates the loony pati'matiz. 18:54.752 --> 19:02.017 [SPEAKER_00]: Aim high because the lower levels are congested with people, emerge from that deck and go to the upper deck 19:05.158 --> 19:09.499 [SPEAKER_00]: And when you set yourself a goal, make sure it has two ingredients. 19:10.119 --> 19:16.201 [SPEAKER_00]: They say the scholars of leadership studies, they say, this is what will bring optimum performance in the life of a person. 19:16.261 --> 19:18.121 [SPEAKER_00]: And this is the ingredient of a giant. 19:18.521 --> 19:20.202 [SPEAKER_00]: Two qualities for your goal that you set. 19:20.242 --> 19:22.562 [SPEAKER_00]: Number one, clearly identifiable. 19:22.902 --> 19:23.382 [SPEAKER_00]: It's clear. 19:24.343 --> 19:25.103 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't not vague. 19:26.511 --> 19:30.032 [SPEAKER_00]: Something that is clear, a number two, make it ambitious. 19:30.712 --> 19:33.593 [SPEAKER_00]: They call it a stretch goal, something that will stretch you. 19:34.413 --> 19:39.955 [SPEAKER_00]: Like an elastic band, when you stretch it, and you let go, it's not the same length, it is longer. 19:39.975 --> 19:49.618 [SPEAKER_00]: That's the human being, when he gives himself a goal that requires him to be stretched, when he comes out of the other side of that goal, he's a stronger person, he's a bigger person. 19:50.898 --> 19:54.259 [SPEAKER_00]: A goal that is clear, and a goal that is what? 19:57.113 --> 20:05.539 [SPEAKER_00]: And I love here the words of Omar Abdel Aziz, Rahimahullah, who said, Innali, Nefsen, Tawaka, I have a restless soul. 20:05.639 --> 20:08.281 [SPEAKER_00]: By my nature, He said, My soul is restless. 20:09.582 --> 20:20.470 [SPEAKER_00]: Mahakattu Shayy and Fihayati, illatakat, le levi, badaahu every time I achieve something in my life, I find my soul yarning for what is above it. 20:21.171 --> 20:22.552 [SPEAKER_00]: And then He gives examples. 20:22.952 --> 20:23.313 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, 20:24.621 --> 20:31.170 [SPEAKER_00]: I set myself a goal of marrying my cousin Farlima being to have dealing with Abdul-Malik and I married her. 20:32.792 --> 20:37.939 [SPEAKER_00]: Then I set myself a higher target of reaching a position of political authority. 20:39.023 --> 20:40.524 [SPEAKER_00]: And I achieved it. 20:41.204 --> 20:47.846 [SPEAKER_00]: And then I set myself a higher target of becoming the greatest political authority of the Muslim to the Khalifa. 20:48.146 --> 20:49.386 [SPEAKER_00]: And he became the Khalifa. 20:49.606 --> 20:52.747 [SPEAKER_00]: And he said, as for now, my soul is yearning for gender. 20:53.148 --> 20:53.888 [SPEAKER_00]: Allah, Akbar. 20:53.928 --> 20:56.168 [SPEAKER_00]: And I hope Allah will make me amongst these people. 20:58.189 --> 21:02.570 [SPEAKER_00]: So aim high because the lower levels are, ah, congested. 21:02.611 --> 21:03.791 [SPEAKER_00]: What was principal number one? 21:05.150 --> 21:07.091 [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to keep repeating them, huh? 21:07.712 --> 21:13.856 [SPEAKER_00]: Put an N2, excuse us, principle number two, that's it, yeah? 21:14.096 --> 21:18.019 [SPEAKER_00]: Your future will look like the picture you're painting it today. 21:18.279 --> 21:22.663 [SPEAKER_00]: Number three, aim high because, low levels are congested. 21:23.183 --> 21:28.587 [SPEAKER_00]: Principle number four, most people search for what is easy. 21:30.628 --> 21:32.730 [SPEAKER_00]: The giants, however, they search for a challenge. 21:35.345 --> 21:42.448 [SPEAKER_00]: And Arab Bedouin came to the Prophet ﷺ and he pledged allegiance to him and he took his Shahada, he came in Muslim. 21:44.669 --> 21:55.054 [SPEAKER_00]: And then a few days or weeks later, the booty of war was distributed between the Muslims and they came to this Bedouin and they said, this is your beauty, what is this? 21:55.374 --> 21:57.315 [SPEAKER_00]: They said, this is your portion of the booty of war. 21:59.296 --> 22:00.037 [SPEAKER_00]: He didn't like this. 22:01.120 --> 22:06.185 [SPEAKER_00]: So he carried all of it, and he brought it to the Prophet ﷺ, and he said, what is this? 22:07.187 --> 22:09.289 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, this is your portion of the booty of war. 22:10.210 --> 22:12.012 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, ma'ala hada tabatuk. 22:12.752 --> 22:14.714 [SPEAKER_00]: I didn't become a Muslim in search for this. 22:16.065 --> 22:19.447 [SPEAKER_00]: Mani, dunya, I didn't become a Muslim in search for this. 22:20.388 --> 22:27.473 [SPEAKER_00]: Walaqin ni taba'atuqa'ala an orma'abi sahmin ha'hu'na wa a'shara illa' hal tihi'fa'amu'u tahu'a'adhul al-Jannah. 22:27.894 --> 22:36.360 [SPEAKER_00]: But why I followed you was in the hope of receiving an arrow here in my throat, causing me to die and thus Allah will allow me to enter jannah. 22:38.281 --> 22:39.482 [SPEAKER_00]: Amazing aspirations. 22:39.762 --> 22:40.863 [SPEAKER_00]: This is what he wanted. 22:42.204 --> 22:43.225 [SPEAKER_00]: Shahada matidam. 22:44.148 --> 22:48.593 [SPEAKER_00]: So the Prophet ﷺ said to him, Inthas, dokkillah, ayyas, dokkah. 22:49.134 --> 22:51.357 [SPEAKER_00]: If you are true to Allah, Allah will be true to you. 22:52.999 --> 22:56.964 [SPEAKER_00]: If this is your intention and it is pure, Allah will help you for filling. 22:58.606 --> 23:01.889 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, long after this, the Muslims found themselves in the heart of a battle. 23:04.060 --> 23:11.824 [SPEAKER_00]: And when the dust had settled, they began to search for who was dead and who was alive and they found this man on his back. 23:12.264 --> 23:16.125 [SPEAKER_00]: He had become a corpse with a arrow coming out of his neck. 23:18.086 --> 23:21.668 [SPEAKER_00]: They called the Prophet ﷺ, they said messenger of Allah, look at this. 23:23.009 --> 23:26.770 [SPEAKER_00]: And so he went to his knees and he said, ahuhuhu, is it the same one? 23:27.851 --> 23:28.431 [SPEAKER_00]: Is it him? 23:29.291 --> 23:30.252 [SPEAKER_00]: They said, yes, it's him. 23:31.665 --> 23:38.529 [SPEAKER_00]: So the Prophet ﷺ wept and he said sadaqallahu, he was true to Allah. 23:38.549 --> 23:42.271 [SPEAKER_00]: So Allah was true to him and then he carried him. 23:42.531 --> 23:50.736 [SPEAKER_00]: And now when he saw Allah ﷺ was a strong man, the finest of men, in terms of his physical construct and in terms of his achlāq. 23:51.696 --> 23:59.521 [SPEAKER_00]: He carried him man on his forearms and he lifted him and they shrouded him. 24:00.743 --> 24:03.725 [SPEAKER_00]: and they prayed the prayer of Janāja upon him. 24:04.526 --> 24:17.835 [SPEAKER_00]: And they heard the Prophet ﷺ making a dua to Allah for this righteous man saying, Allah Almighty, in this abduk, Harajamu Hajir on Fisebiliq, Fakut ila shahid and Anah shahid on Alayhi. 24:18.435 --> 24:23.959 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, O Allah, this servant of yours, He migrated to Medina. 24:25.212 --> 24:26.473 [SPEAKER_00]: in search for your pleasure. 24:26.793 --> 24:29.396 [SPEAKER_00]: And He was killed as a martyr in your path. 24:30.016 --> 24:31.838 [SPEAKER_00]: Ah, I am a witness for Him, O Allah. 24:32.398 --> 24:34.280 [SPEAKER_00]: Ah, a witness for Him, O Allah. 24:36.702 --> 24:38.743 [SPEAKER_00]: Most people search for what is easy. 24:40.825 --> 24:43.007 [SPEAKER_00]: The greats they search for a challenge. 24:44.368 --> 24:45.609 [SPEAKER_00]: And this is the attribute. 24:45.849 --> 24:48.712 [SPEAKER_00]: Ah, I hope you will define yourself with dear brother, dear sister. 24:50.623 --> 25:02.515 [SPEAKER_00]: Whatever that challenge may look like in your personal life, in search for the pleasure of Allah and each one of us has his personal challenge and has his personal, personal obstacle, he or she wants to overcome. 25:05.378 --> 25:07.541 [SPEAKER_00]: Confert is easy. 25:09.283 --> 25:12.264 [SPEAKER_00]: But now the modern day trend in the Western for what is what? 25:12.624 --> 25:15.104 [SPEAKER_00]: The importance of moving out of your comfort zone. 25:15.964 --> 25:21.305 [SPEAKER_00]: This is the principle we are speaking about most people search for what is easy and the grace they search for a challenge. 25:21.325 --> 25:25.326 [SPEAKER_00]: They don't live in this horrible dark zone, called the comfort zone. 25:25.626 --> 25:36.548 [SPEAKER_00]: They are always on the other side of it, because they realize that every good in this dunya and success in the year after is available, but it's on the other side of the comfort zone. 25:38.474 --> 25:44.535 [SPEAKER_00]: There was a man called Bill Ekström, and he is the co-author of a book called The Coaching Effect. 25:45.896 --> 25:53.818 [SPEAKER_00]: And he studied over 100,000 coaching interactions between coach and coachy mentor, mentee. 25:55.118 --> 26:00.939 [SPEAKER_00]: teacher and student, to try to understand what is it that brings success and growth in people. 26:02.120 --> 26:06.401 [SPEAKER_00]: And after this long study, he concluded the following. 26:08.932 --> 26:14.655 [SPEAKER_00]: He said that growth cannot happen only in a state of discomfort. 26:16.736 --> 26:28.542 [SPEAKER_00]: And then he says, your success in large is determined by your willingness and your comfort in making yourself uncomfortable. 26:30.577 --> 26:34.880 [SPEAKER_00]: Then others, they took this theory and they made what they called the comfort zone framework. 26:34.900 --> 26:35.580 [SPEAKER_00]: Have you heard of it? 26:36.360 --> 26:40.483 [SPEAKER_00]: You've seen maybe that diagram of circles going out and then there's a label in each. 26:41.163 --> 26:42.264 [SPEAKER_00]: It's an amazing diagram. 26:43.965 --> 26:52.050 [SPEAKER_00]: This framework suggests that for you to grow as a human being, you need to go through three distinct stages at least. 26:53.385 --> 26:54.486 [SPEAKER_00]: What are those three stages? 26:55.246 --> 26:58.368 [SPEAKER_00]: And you will see, Subhanallah, Halitli, Mr. Ramallah, and actually, I'm fasting. 26:58.869 --> 27:01.991 [SPEAKER_00]: But our life as Muslims, generally speaking, there was hardship. 27:03.972 --> 27:05.914 [SPEAKER_00]: The first of these zones is called the comfort zone. 27:07.475 --> 27:11.357 [SPEAKER_00]: Most of humanity live and die within this zone, comfort zone. 27:12.538 --> 27:13.699 [SPEAKER_00]: It's a great place to be. 27:13.859 --> 27:14.199 [SPEAKER_00]: Why? 27:14.640 --> 27:16.801 [SPEAKER_00]: Because it's a place of familiarity. 27:18.002 --> 27:19.383 [SPEAKER_00]: When you're within your comfort zone, 27:20.487 --> 27:24.809 [SPEAKER_00]: You're with your family, you're with your close circle of friends. 27:25.169 --> 27:33.413 [SPEAKER_00]: You're not challenging yourself to be somewhere or to do something that's outside of your custom, you're comfortable because you can control the factors. 27:33.733 --> 27:35.013 [SPEAKER_00]: There's no surprises. 27:35.434 --> 27:42.357 [SPEAKER_00]: You're not being mentally strained, you're not being physically challenged, you're an autopilot, like driving, like watching TV. 27:43.057 --> 27:44.898 [SPEAKER_00]: This is called the comfort zone. 27:46.565 --> 27:50.288 [SPEAKER_00]: And here, your brain will produce happy chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. 27:50.788 --> 27:51.709 [SPEAKER_00]: It keeps you buzzing. 27:52.009 --> 27:53.671 [SPEAKER_00]: There's nothing scary to expect. 27:56.453 --> 28:05.400 [SPEAKER_00]: So, the comfort zone is a great place to be, but the only problem within it is that nothing ever grows in that zone. 28:05.680 --> 28:07.081 [SPEAKER_00]: Things only deteriorate. 28:07.762 --> 28:10.104 [SPEAKER_00]: Let me tell you another problem with this comfort zone. 28:10.664 --> 28:12.806 [SPEAKER_00]: Remember, which heading are we speaking about here? 28:14.487 --> 28:15.168 [SPEAKER_00]: Which principle? 28:17.021 --> 28:17.961 [SPEAKER_00]: Number four, correct. 28:18.181 --> 28:18.962 [SPEAKER_00]: What is it titled? 28:21.482 --> 28:25.564 [SPEAKER_00]: Most people are served for what is easy, and the giant search by challenge. 28:26.504 --> 28:29.245 [SPEAKER_00]: And we're talking about zone number one, the comfort zone. 28:29.845 --> 28:33.887 [SPEAKER_00]: One last thing about the zone before I share with you is zone number two on your way to growth. 28:34.867 --> 28:40.329 [SPEAKER_00]: The other issue with the comfort zone and my dear brothers, my dear sisters are, is that it doesn't stay the same size. 28:41.029 --> 28:41.469 [SPEAKER_00]: It shrinks. 28:42.970 --> 28:43.890 [SPEAKER_00]: It can get smaller. 28:45.360 --> 28:52.850 [SPEAKER_00]: And the more you stay inside of your comfort zone, and you don't challenge yourself to grow as a Muslim, your comfort zone actually gets smaller. 28:53.030 --> 28:54.692 [SPEAKER_00]: The world's beginning to close in on you. 28:55.313 --> 28:56.014 [SPEAKER_00]: What does that look like? 28:56.614 --> 28:59.378 [SPEAKER_00]: Say for example, you're only comfortable hanging out with 10 people. 28:59.779 --> 29:02.622 [SPEAKER_00]: 10 brothers, you don't like to hang out with anybody else. 29:03.906 --> 29:07.867 [SPEAKER_00]: If you stay like that, it gets smaller, your comfort zone. 29:08.208 --> 29:10.008 [SPEAKER_00]: So now you're only comfortable with aid of them. 29:10.868 --> 29:13.209 [SPEAKER_00]: And a few years later, it's just five of them. 29:13.569 --> 29:15.770 [SPEAKER_00]: And the next thing you know, you're completely loaned. 29:15.790 --> 29:16.430 [SPEAKER_00]: You cut off. 29:18.111 --> 29:19.111 [SPEAKER_00]: No one wants to talk to you. 29:19.271 --> 29:20.292 [SPEAKER_00]: You don't want to talk to anyone else. 29:20.552 --> 29:23.053 [SPEAKER_00]: The comfort zone doesn't get, doesn't stay the same size. 29:23.213 --> 29:23.893 [SPEAKER_00]: You're smaller. 29:25.254 --> 29:27.514 [SPEAKER_00]: You only go to them as you'd once a week, right? 29:27.574 --> 29:28.955 [SPEAKER_00]: For example, only once a week. 29:30.407 --> 29:31.648 [SPEAKER_00]: because you're comfortable with that. 29:32.509 --> 29:42.957 [SPEAKER_00]: Anything more is uncomfortable fine, but that's gonna get smaller and even going through the measured once a week becomes a little bit difficult now and you try to find your way out of that obligation. 29:44.298 --> 29:53.646 [SPEAKER_00]: But the opposite is true when you find new challenges, so you're Muslim, new challenges of growth, you meet new people, you plan for your religion, you learn something new, you're uncomfortable, guess what? 29:53.906 --> 29:57.489 [SPEAKER_00]: The borders of the comfort zone grow to meet you, to catch up with you. 29:58.703 --> 30:02.925 [SPEAKER_00]: until what was uncomfortable yesterday becomes natural today. 30:03.885 --> 30:04.545 [SPEAKER_00]: Keep doing it. 30:04.585 --> 30:06.706 [SPEAKER_00]: What is natural today becomes comfortable tomorrow. 30:07.106 --> 30:07.966 [SPEAKER_00]: It also grows. 30:08.967 --> 30:10.327 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't live within the comfort zone. 30:10.567 --> 30:12.948 [SPEAKER_00]: The comfort zone therefore is your worst enemy. 30:13.008 --> 30:15.109 [SPEAKER_00]: Back your luggage and coming to the second zone now. 30:15.309 --> 30:17.230 [SPEAKER_00]: What is the second zone on your way to growth? 30:17.530 --> 30:18.990 [SPEAKER_00]: It's called the, does anyone know? 30:20.391 --> 30:21.371 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, the fearsome. 30:23.892 --> 30:26.393 [SPEAKER_00]: You've now managed to convince yourself to do something with your life. 30:27.748 --> 30:41.864 [SPEAKER_00]: to learn a new craft, to learn a new trade, to improve your tattooing, to change your address, to re-shuffle your coming to Navi, ah, the fearsome, all of a sudden you can't control the variables here. 30:43.432 --> 30:46.535 [SPEAKER_00]: There's things that will challenge you physically, challenge you mentally. 30:47.316 --> 30:51.300 [SPEAKER_00]: And your brain, therefore, starts blocking those happy chemicals of serotonin and dopamine. 30:51.540 --> 30:55.223 [SPEAKER_00]: And instead, it starts producing stress-related hormones like adrenaline and glutamate. 30:55.584 --> 30:57.806 [SPEAKER_00]: You're now afraid, you're distressed, you're anxious. 30:58.166 --> 30:59.387 [SPEAKER_00]: So most people, what do they do? 30:59.768 --> 31:02.070 [SPEAKER_00]: They quickly scurry back into the comfort zone. 31:03.870 --> 31:07.731 [SPEAKER_00]: Every time they kind of walk, they want to walk out, they say it's time, not a kid anymore. 31:08.152 --> 31:12.353 [SPEAKER_00]: You come to walk out, there's huge inner debate ensues inside of you. 31:13.193 --> 31:25.938 [SPEAKER_00]: And you start hearing things like, I can't, and I won't, it's impossible, I don't have the talent, and whole people say, I'm not used to it, it's not me, you just get all these error messages cropping up in your mind. 31:28.276 --> 31:54.531 [SPEAKER_00]: But the good news is I'll have to let hear some reassurance for you, brother, sister, is that if you are patient, this fear zone, as we just said, doesn't stay forever, you find your feet, it becomes natural to be there, actually it becomes comfortable, the borders have grown, now you're coming into the third zone, what is this zone called, the growth zone. 31:55.907 --> 31:57.907 [SPEAKER_00]: So, Halas, you finish now with the comfort zone. 31:58.327 --> 32:00.048 [SPEAKER_00]: You move it out into the fear zone. 32:00.328 --> 32:01.028 [SPEAKER_00]: You are patient. 32:01.048 --> 32:02.028 [SPEAKER_00]: You didn't throw in the towel. 32:02.048 --> 32:05.669 [SPEAKER_00]: When you got scared or bored, and now you are into the growth zone. 32:05.849 --> 32:07.269 [SPEAKER_00]: That's where the most elements to be. 32:07.729 --> 32:08.930 [SPEAKER_00]: Success is bread there. 32:09.430 --> 32:10.550 [SPEAKER_00]: Growth is bread there. 32:10.870 --> 32:13.090 [SPEAKER_00]: Happiness well-being is bread there. 32:13.231 --> 32:16.471 [SPEAKER_00]: For those who are looking for happiness, we will speak about this next week. 32:16.751 --> 32:19.592 [SPEAKER_00]: It's found within me, within the growth zone. 32:19.932 --> 32:25.153 [SPEAKER_00]: And one bit of advice to keep you there, my brother, my sister, keep learning. 32:26.650 --> 32:40.720 [SPEAKER_00]: Keep learning, keep reading, minimize TV, well, I minimize Netflix, junk food is not what you consume through your mouth is what you consume through your eyes and ears, that is the worst form of junk we're allowing into our system. 32:41.020 --> 32:46.084 [SPEAKER_00]: Keep learning, read, even if you don't like it, even if it makes you uncomfortable, we said, you gotta get out of that zone. 32:47.972 --> 32:52.314 [SPEAKER_00]: If you have to watch what's something useful that will help you grow, add to your information and knowledge. 32:52.814 --> 32:56.196 [SPEAKER_00]: Attend a halakal like this, a weekly halakal outside of Ramadan. 32:57.317 --> 33:05.461 [SPEAKER_00]: Watch a beneficial YouTube lecture, learn a new language, learn a new craft, learn a new trade, keep learning. 33:06.181 --> 33:08.522 [SPEAKER_00]: This is a salient characteristic of the giants. 33:10.223 --> 33:16.346 [SPEAKER_00]: So you have the comfort zone, then you have the fearsome, then you have the growth zone. 33:17.630 --> 33:20.771 [SPEAKER_00]: make a plan to come out of your comfort zone. 33:20.791 --> 33:28.373 [SPEAKER_00]: Most people, they search for what is easy, but the giants, they search for a challenge, so make a plan to come out of the comfort zone. 33:29.113 --> 33:36.995 [SPEAKER_00]: Make the phone calls, make those connections with those righteous brothers and sisters. 33:37.275 --> 33:45.197 [SPEAKER_00]: If it's a sin that apparently gives you peace and comfort, is giving you comfort, make your plan to come out of that comfort. 33:47.621 --> 33:52.288 [SPEAKER_00]: is, never say that you have missed the opportunity. 33:53.890 --> 33:55.252 [SPEAKER_00]: And never say it's too late. 33:55.873 --> 34:03.644 [SPEAKER_00]: As cliche as that may sound, if we are able to summarize life with one word, that word would probably be, 34:04.500 --> 34:18.243 [SPEAKER_00]: continue, plow on, keep going, never say that you have missed the boat because as long as your eyes are yet to fall on the face of the angel of death, realize it's still a free for all. 34:19.584 --> 34:22.244 [SPEAKER_00]: And then look at our scholars like Imam Ibn Muhazim. 34:23.465 --> 34:28.626 [SPEAKER_00]: Imam Ibn Al-Arabi Al-Malikhi, Fudayin Ibn Ayaad. 34:30.109 --> 34:34.351 [SPEAKER_00]: others, they became scholars of the religion, later on in their lives. 34:34.391 --> 34:37.372 [SPEAKER_00]: They went young when they started, Al-Hazib and Abda Salam, same thing. 34:38.952 --> 34:53.918 [SPEAKER_00]: And then you look at the political front, and some of the things that were achieved in our history, at old age, Yosifib Muqajafin, Al-Hemahullah, who defeated one of the fiercest kings of Europe, the Castilian king, Al-Fanzo, the Sikh. 34:55.716 --> 35:09.007 [SPEAKER_00]: It was a devastating encounter, a gruesome bloody encounter between the Muslims led by Yusuf Ignutai Shafin and this man, Alfonso de Sikth, who had gathered an army of 100,000 men. 35:09.648 --> 35:21.557 [SPEAKER_00]: And he said, with this army, I shall defeat the inhabitants of the heavens and the angels and the spirits and Muhammad and his men, I will crush them all a sth-fiyun-lah-w-h-w-a-t-o-b-l-e-l-e. 35:22.418 --> 35:34.647 [SPEAKER_00]: And they meet in this grueling encounter, a battle that lasted nine hours, and so much blood was shed from both sides, that is, that it was titled, to tell anyone know the name of the battle. 35:35.768 --> 35:38.410 [SPEAKER_00]: Al Azalaka. 35:38.811 --> 35:41.593 [SPEAKER_00]: Azalaka, it literally means the slippery plane. 35:43.394 --> 35:47.017 [SPEAKER_00]: Because so much blood was spilled, people were falling all over the place. 35:47.637 --> 35:48.298 [SPEAKER_00]: Azalaka. 35:49.437 --> 36:06.260 [SPEAKER_00]: And Alhamdulillah, you'll be surprised to know that by the end of it from the 100,000 combatants led by Alfonso de Sikth, only 500 remained, including Alfonso himself who retreated back to his empire with one leg missing. 36:07.960 --> 36:09.640 [SPEAKER_00]: Why did I narrate this story to you? 36:10.201 --> 36:13.581 [SPEAKER_00]: Because how old was Usofib Nutashafin when he led this campaign? 36:14.481 --> 36:18.142 [SPEAKER_00]: He was at the ripe old age of 80 years old. 36:19.220 --> 36:22.622 [SPEAKER_00]: way past the contemporary man's retirement age. 36:23.042 --> 36:24.843 [SPEAKER_00]: Look at what he was doing at the age of 18. 36:25.243 --> 36:26.904 [SPEAKER_00]: So he was saying you've missed the opportunity. 36:28.205 --> 36:34.668 [SPEAKER_00]: In conclusion brothers and sisters, do what you should do when you should do it. 36:35.709 --> 36:38.230 [SPEAKER_00]: Whether you feel like it or not. 36:39.271 --> 36:43.173 [SPEAKER_00]: And realize whenever you get lazy, there is a bitter reality. 36:44.061 --> 36:50.546 [SPEAKER_00]: And that reality states that there is a pain that you and I have to experience whether we like it or not. 36:50.746 --> 36:53.228 [SPEAKER_00]: You choose which of the two, but there is no third option. 36:53.308 --> 36:54.949 [SPEAKER_00]: You have to experience one or the other. 36:55.309 --> 37:03.936 [SPEAKER_00]: The first pain is the pain of sacrifice and waking up early and vision setting and growth discomfort. 37:04.636 --> 37:10.741 [SPEAKER_00]: Either you choose that pain, or you have automatically chosen the other pain if you don't, and that is the pain of regret.