Family Values
By Abdul Nasir Jangda | 2026-01-19T07:46:55.924231+00:00 | Topic: Family & Marriage
Family Values
A Khutba by Abdul Nasir Jangda
Opening
In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and upon his family and companions altogether.
Introduction: The Blessing of Extended Time in the Masjid
We have this habit of we come in, alhamdulillah, but we come in, we pray, and we leave very quickly. You know, that's fine for practicality, it's fine, but we spend very, very minimal time in masjid. We come, we pray, we leave.
Ramadan is a time where we spend extended, you know, periods of time in masjid. I mean, I was just telling my own community, even in the first, you know couple of weeks of Ramadan, you know, who would have thought it was possible?
You know, two months ago, six weeks ago, if somebody would have said that, can you imagine, I don't even know how many people come here for Tarawih prayer, so Plano is a big, big crowd, but over there, we're a small little place on the other side of town, we probably have about, you know, 100, 150 people on a good night for Tarawih prayers. If somebody would have said that, can you imagine, in America, or in Mansfield specifically, that there will be 150 people, brothers and sisters, Muslims, who will come to the masjid at 10 p.m. and then stay in the masjid till midnight.
And they're gonna do that for 30 days. If you would have set that as a goal and as a target, people would have called you crazy. Like, brother, please be practical.
How are you gonna do that? Nobody can do that. Who's gonna manage that? Nobody would have believed you. But subhanAllah, Ramadan comes and lo and behold, a very common average believer is spending 2 to 3 hours a day in the masjid.
What a blessing. You know, when I was there in the haram, and, you know, especially in the last 10 days, in Mecca, at the haram, at the Kaaba, it's at least a couple of million people. On the 27th night, the local Saudi media was basically reporting, that there were 5 million people there on the 27th night.
And so it was, it's just, I mean, the ummah is there, I don't know what else to say. So, but one thing you realize is, you learn to be very patient. And you learn to just be comfortable, be okay with spending time in the masjid.
Learning Patience at the Haram
Because if you want to pray in the masjid, you have to go an hour before salah. So fajr is at 4.45, 5 a.m. You gotta go to the masjid at 4 a.m. If you want to pray in the masjid. In the masjid.
So you go at 4 a.m., you go up there, and it takes time, very patiently. Quiet, you inch forward. And then you stand on an escalator like this, stacked.
Going upstairs. And finally, until you get inside. And then you pray, alhamdulillah, I mean, praying in the haram is praying in the haram, right? Aside from the reward, it's just, it's spiritual fulfillment, it's amazing.
But when you get done with salah, here's the thing. It's not like, oh man, alhamdulillah, done. I'm gonna go back to my hotel, get some sleep.
No, you're not. If you decide to try to leave right after salah, you can if you want to. It's kind of like rushing to get the food at a wedding.
You're gonna wait in line. Alright? Personally, I've always been the kind of person where when I go to a wedding, I just sit and just, you know, hang out at the table where I'm sitting. For 20-30 minutes until everybody gets their food and I go get my food.
I'm not good at waiting in line, so I'll just rather hang out. That's me. So either one of two things.
Either you go and join into the crowd, and I'm not lying to you. Oftentimes, I would pray on the third floor on the roof. Open air was nice.
If you decide to leave right after salah, to get from there, out to the end of the marble, the white marble area, it would take you about 35-40 minutes. Just because you inch forward. That's it.
And if you decided you don't want to go and get caught in the crowd and pulling and shoving and all that kind of crazy stuff is going on, so then you decide to just sit and wait, then you just sit and wait, you make dhikr, you make tilawah, you sit for about 45 minutes, an hour, shuruq, you pray ishraq, and then you decide to leave. But you learn to be patient. Ramadan is a huge blessing and so, alhamdulillah, it's nice for these opportunities that Ramadan is gone now.
Five days, it's been gone. But alhamdulillah, we're still here in the masjid, sitting from maghrib till isha. This is a huge blessing of Allah.
These are very, very precious, you know, gifts from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And we should be grateful and thankful to Allah for these opportunities. I'm gonna go ahead and take permission from these guys.
Okay. Alright.
The Fundamental Nature of Family
It's no secret whatsoever. It's something that's as plain as day. It's something that's very obvious.
Family is a very important part of human life, human existence. It's a necessity, it's a human necessity. Psychologically, emotionally, even physically.
Family is a necessity. Religiously, spiritually, we have to also understand, I'm not gonna lecture on the psychological, emotional, physical needs, because those are obvious. And at the same time, I'm not a therapist, I'm not a psychologist, I won't comment on that.
But spiritually speaking as well, religiously, spiritually, Islamically speaking, family is, again, a need and necessity. Family is an integral part of the Islamic lifestyle. Yes, Islamic lifestyle.
This is something that's evidenced by the Quran and by the life of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ). It's something that's evidenced by Allah and His Messenger (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ).
The Quranic Foundation: Ayatul Birr
When we look in the Quran, we see a very fundamental, a very profound ayah of the Quran. There are some, you know, every word of the Quran is profound. Every word of the Quran is divine.
Every letter is deep. But there are some ayahs that serve a very specific purpose of kind of being the philosophical foundation of the faith. Some ayahs have that role.
Like the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) and this again is proven by the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ). When he asked the sahabi, what is the greatest ayah of the Quran? And he said, ayatul kursi. And the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said, sadaqt. Yes, it's ayatul kursi.
(Sahih Muslim 810)
So some ayahs hold special virtue for different reasons. So some ayahs serve as a philosophical foundation of the religion. One of those ayahs is surah number 2, surah al-Baqarah, ayah number 177.
Scholars, mufassirun, commentators on the Quran have referred to this ayah as ayatul birr. This is the ayah of piety, the ayah of righteousness, the ayah of spiritual, the spiritual foundation of the human being, al-birr.
The Structure of Ayatul Birr
What this ayah states, I'm not gonna do a very in-depth analysis of the ayah, but just to kind of show you the format, the layout of the ayah.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:
(Quran 2:177)
This is very interesting. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, this is something that again is very commonly found.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala before telling us what piety is, he starts off by telling us what piety is not. An-nafyu wal-ithbat. An-nafyu thum al-ithbat.
First to refute, to deny, to negate, and then to establish. So first Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala refutes and denies any false ideas of piety people might have, the believers might have. Very interesting, that's why again, the kalima of tawheed, kalima tayyiba:
It is an-nafyu thum al-ithbat.
It is the first refute to deny because it was presented in the face of idol worshiping, polytheism. People were worshiping multiple gods and idols. So the first thing that this statement did, this kalima did, was refute that:
There's absolutely no god, no deity, no object of worship. Forget about everything else that you've been worshiping before this.
Except for Allah.
Then it established that there is only one deity, one being worthy of worship, and that is Allah. Similarly, this ayah does the same thing. It refutes first.
It says:
(Quran 2:177)
Allah is saying, let me tell you what piety is not. Allah says, piety is not to simply turn your faces towards the east and towards the west. What does that exactly mean? Turn your face towards the east and the west. To simplify, the scholars of the Quran say that this is an expression.
This is a classical Arabic expression, a Quranic expression now, where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying that piety is not physical ritual. Piety is not physical ritual. Piety is not simply physical movements.
Piety is not just simply routine. That's not piety. Because you're missing the point.
Missing the Spirit Behind the Ritual
I'll give you a little bit of an example. Again, in the introduction I was talking about, alhamdulillah, going for umrah and stuff. It kind of jumped out at me there.
And I always emphasize it, we should try to focus on the positives. But overall, as a teacher, sometimes you have trouble turning it off. You just constantly observe behavior.
And so it's hard to kind of turn it off sometimes. But one thing I notice is, overall we as a ummah, and I include myself in this, so I only remind myself, reprimand myself. I forget sometimes the spirit, the purpose of doing something, and I become obsessed with the ritual.
For example, people go to al-Madinah al-Munawwara, the beautiful illuminated city of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ). When people go there, there's the masjid of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) al-Masjid al-Nabawi. In the masjid of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) there's a specific part of the masjid that is called Rawdah.
Al-Rawdah.
The Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said that which is between my home and my minbar, is a garden from the gardens of paradise.
(Sahih al-Bukhari 1196)
It's a very blessed place, sacred place. So people aspire to be able to go in that special part of the masjid, that is a garden of paradise, and offer at least two raka'ah there. To make some dua there.
Now in order to be able to offer two raka'ah there, if I gotta elbow somebody in the head, if I gotta run over a little kid, if I have to knock over an old man, hey, I gotta do what I gotta do. Right? It's all good, it's all gravy. So that becomes the mentality.
That's unfortunately the mentality I might have. And I have to remember, what is the purpose? What is the spirit? What is the reason behind it? And becoming obsessed with the ritual could lead me to abusing someone, hurting someone, physically harming someone in a garden from the gardens of paradise. To be able to drop two raka'ah in the garden, from the gardens of paradise.
So it's kind of missing the point. I wanna say salam to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ). And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow all of us to go there and say salam to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ).
But in order to say salam to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) standing in front of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ), if I elbow somebody in the head to be able to stand and say salam to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ).
عليه وسلم
عليه وسلم just elbow somebody in the head in front of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and then follow that by saying salam. Would he approve or disapprove? So we have to think about that.
You know when people fight to be able to kiss the Al-Hajr Al-Aswad, and I understand, you know, it's zeal, you know, it's a religious fervor that they feel.
I appreciate that sentiment. They're excited to be there. But we also gotta continue to educate ourselves and improve ourselves.
When people literally physically fight with one another to kiss the Al-Hajr Al-Aswad, the black stone, so they're actually, one hand is making contact with the Kaaba, and the other hand is making contact with somebody's face. That's missing the point, right? That's missing the point. So we really have to think about that.
The True Definition of Piety
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, piety is not the physical routine. Turn your face towards the east, turn your face towards the west. It's not piety.
Allah says, rather, what is piety? Now Allah refuted that. And Allah said, let me tell you what piety is.
"Piety is to believe in Allah.
"Piety is to believe in the last day, the day of judgment. Piety is to believe in the angels, in the books and the prophets and messengers. Piety is to have faith, to know what you believe, why you believe, and believe in that with full conviction.
But then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:
"The very first action, after iman, after faith, after belief, the very first action Allah states is:
"That he spends wealth, he gives money, meaning he is generous. Based on the love that he has for Allah, he is generous with the people of relations with him, to his relatives, to his family members.
"He is kind, he is generous, for the sake of Allah to his family members.
"And to orphans, and to poor people.
"And to somebody who might have run into some trouble on a journey.
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, that a person piety is also to establish prayer and to give zakat.
"And to keep your word and fulfill your promises.
The Significance of Sequence in the Quran
What's very interesting, see something about a rule of the tafsir of the Quran, is that sequence is very important. The sequence of words in the Quran, the sequence of actions, the sequence of different things that is mentioned in the Quran is not coincidental, it is not accidental. It's not a coincidence.
It's not potato, potato, tomato, tomato. It's not like that. It's fixed, it's precise.
It's there in that order for a reason and a purpose. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talked about being good to family before he talked about establishing prayer and giving zakat. Before he talked about salah and zakat.
And that's in the Quran, that's in a profound ayah that gives us a foundation for our spirituality and the religion of Islam.
Family Relations Throughout the Quran
"And that's something that cannot be denied. In surah al-Isra, surah Bani Israel, surah number 17, in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala begins to talk about the major commandments and the major prohibitions upon this ummah.
The first thing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala starts off with is that your Lord has decreed that you worship no one other than Him. Number two:
"And you're good to your parents. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about the covenant, the oath that He took from Bani Israel:
"So Bani Israel means all the succession of prophets that came from Bani Israel. This was consistent throughout all the teachings of maybe the tens of thousands of prophets that came from Bani Israel. What was the consistent teaching of all these prophets? Number one:
"That you worship no one other than Allah, what we call Tawheed. Number two:
"Being good to your parents, family relations.
Time and time again, in the beginning of Surah An-Nisa:
"Family relations. Be conscious, be cognizant of God. Live in awareness of Allah.
Always be thinking of Allah. And secondly, be very careful about family relations. Throughout the Quran, time and time again, Allah emphasizes family relations.
Right after our foundation of faith and iman, number two right there, family relations. So it's a very, this is something that's obvious, something that's a reality, something that doesn't need to be expounded upon. We know this for a fact.
It cannot be denied.
The Human Example of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
When we look at the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمwe see the same exact thing. The emphasis on family life, the importance of family.
And I wanna talk about this from the human perspective. Because again, if I keep quoting ayat and a hadith, which is of course, there's nothing more noble than that. But at the same time, it might not hit home with everyone.
It might just sound like I'm just quoting a lot of text, but maybe you won't be able to emotionally connect with it. I'd like to mention something human from the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. I've talked about this a few times before. So if you're aware of this, or I've maybe spoken to you about it, then I apologize.
But it's a reminder is always good.
The Prophet's Love for His Mother
The Prophet of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم was how old when his mother passed away? Anybody know? Six years old. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was six years old when his mother passed away.
Now, that's very tragic. Whenever you hear about the mother of a six-year-old child, the six-year-old child losing their mother, it breaks your heart. Very tragic.
And I don't mean to be insensitive, but let's think about it from the child's perspective. There will obviously be many challenges, major challenges, that child would face growing up without a mother. But at the same time, when we talk about just emotional attachment to another human being, in the first six years of your life, how much of the memory of the first six years of your life do you actually retain? Do you remember being four years old, five years old? Do you remember a lot from the age of four and five? Not a whole lot.
You don't. Meaning what? And again, not being insensitive, but talking reality. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and of course he's a messenger of Allah, so of course, Allah knows, he was a remarkable human being, so we don't know about his memory and his capacity.
But generally speaking, a six-year-old child wouldn't have many vivid graphic memories of his or her own mother till the age of six. So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم grew up then for most of his life without his mother. Lost his mother very early, didn't have a lot of probably memories of her, grew up.
The Journey to His Mother's Grave
It's mentioned in the books of Sira that this was either on the journey to Fath-ul-Makkah, or Umrah-ul- Qadha, not even Umrah-ul-Qadha, what became the journey of Sulh-ul-Hudaibiyah. This was either on the journey of Hudaibiyah, which was originally a journey of Umrah, they had Ihram and they were going for Umrah, but it became the treaty of Hudaibiyah. It was either on that journey, or it was on the journey of Hajj-ul-Wida.
It was one of the two. The narrations give one or the other. Why? Because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was in Ihram, so they say it was one of the two.
Because in both journeys he was in Ihram, so they kind of confused whether it was one or two. Some say this, some say that.
But it was one of those journeys, he was in Ihram.
That the Prophet of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم reached a place, it was a place by the name of Al-Abu'a. He was traveling from Madinah to Makkah. The Prophet of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم's mother, when he was six years old, he was with his mother, and they were traveling from Madinah to Makkah.
They had gone to Madinah to visit some family in Madinah, and they were traveling back to Makkah. And on the way back from Madinah to Makkah, the mother of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم became very ill, and some narrations say she was ill before they left Madinah. And on the way there, in the middle of the journey, she became very very ill, and she passed away.
And she was buried on the way from Madinah to Makkah, at a place called Al-Abu'a, when he was six years old. If this was the journey of Hudaybiyyah, then at this point in time, the Prophet of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم was almost 60 years old. He was probably 58-59 years old.
If this is the journey of Al-Hajjatul Wida, he was over the age of 60. He was 62 years old, 61-62 years old. Basically, this is 50 plus years, almost 55 years, after his mother passed away.
Keep that in mind. Where is he now? Who is he now? He's not a six-year-old child anymore. He's grown up.
He had a family, he had family of his own, children of his own, he has grandchildren. He has become a messenger and a prophet of Allah. He receives divine revelation.
He's been on the journey of Al-Isra and Al-Mi'raj. He has his own community of his own, in Al-Madinah al-Munawwara. So much has happened in his life since then.
The Emotional Reality of Family Bonds
But the Prophet of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم on this journey, when they stopped at that place, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم told the rest of the people who were traveling with him, everyone stay here. A few sahaba, just a few, to be able to kind of, you know, you never want to completely separate from the group. So just a couple of sahaba came with him, close people to him like Umar رضي الله عنه
And he said, I need to go take care of something. So a couple of sahaba went with him. The narration says that he went and he sat down at a place and it was kind of an inconspicuous place, like nothing remarkable or special.
And he sat down there, and he sat for some time. And after sitting for some time, he started to cry. And he started to cry, not just cry, not like just tears, he started to sob.
Like cry so heavily, so profusely, that he was shaking and sobbing, they could hear him cry. So much so that the sahaba that were with him, you know when you really love someone, you care about someone, and you see them in pain, it causes you pain. The sahaba who were with him, they said when we saw him in so much emotional anguish, it made us cry.
Until finally Umar رضي الله عنه went and put an arm around him. Now you put your arm around someone, and you comfort them, and you say, it's okay, it's okay. So he said, I put my arm around him, and I just told him, it's okay, it's okay.
Until he was able to kind of physically, kind of just compose himself. And then they say that we asked him:
Arabic: (يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ مَا يُبْكِيك)
What makes you cry like this, O Messenger of Allah? And the Prophet of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said that this is where my mother is buried. This place where we sit, this is where 50 plus years ago, my mother passed away, and my mother was buried here.
And coming here, visiting here, paying my respects here, I'm reminded of my mom, and I miss my mom. 60 year old, Messenger of Allah, misses his mom. That's a reality of family.
That's what family is. That's what family means. It's an undeniable truth.
The Practical Importance of Family Knowledge
It's a reality. And it's very important that we understand from the Islamic perspective as well. Through the example of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلمit's very important that we understand the importance of family in Islam.
And how our success as human beings, our success as believers and as Muslims, is directly impacted by our family relations. That's the truth and that's the reality. What does that mean now? What that means is that I need to constantly be in pursuit.
I need to constantly be seeking means, education, insights. I need to constantly be seeking improvement, and insights, and knowledge on how to continue to maintain and improve my family relations.
Breaking Cultural Barriers
We understand salah. There's no succeeding without salah. Correct? We know that? So what does that mean? I have to constantly work on improving my salah. So if the imam holds a class on salah, do I find any embarrassment? Am I shy? Am I embarrassed to come to the class on salah? When the imam is
holding a class on salah, do I feel embarrassed or shy to attend a class about salah? Like, oh, if I go there, what's everyone gonna say? Hey, look at him.
He must not know how to pray. Like somebody looks over at you like, don't know how to pray, huh? Right? No, of course not. That's silly, isn't it? That's preposterous.
That's preposterous. If I had the opportunity to sit with my teachers to still learn about salah, I would sit with them and learn with them. After studying fiqh for 10 years, I would still sit with my teachers and learn more about prayer, learn more about salah.
Because you constantly improve. Because I know my success directly hinges on this. It depends on this.
The Quran, the book of Allah, there's no succeeding without the book of Allah. So do we feel shy about attending a class on tafsir, attending a class on Quran? Of course not. I have to constantly know more about the book of Allah.
Hadith, seerah, etc, etc. But there seems to be this hesitation in our communities. Because of cultural baggage, very honestly.
Cultural taboos. There seems to be this type of baggage that if there's a class about family relations in Islam, it's kinda like, I don't need to go to that. I'll secretly, quietly, in the darkness of my room, in a corner at night, I'll read an article online, but I can't go to the class.
What if somebody sees me, they're gonna say, family problems, huh? It's okay, happens to everybody. It's that people almost treat it like a public confession. Like if you go to a class about marriage in Islam, the married life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم if you go to that, it's like, oh man, looks like he's having marital issues.
Here's the number of a good divorce attorney. Astaghfirullah. But there seems to be this type of like baggage, this barrier, this hesitation.
Obviously, mashaAllah, you know the title of the lecture was announced and mashaAllah, everybody else came. So obviously, you guys are able to rise above that type of silly, frivolous, you know, silly, foolish thinking. But unfortunately, this type of mentality exists in our communities.
Learning from the Companions
And this is something we gotta grow beyond. Salman al-Farsi رضي الله عنه, these were the most noble people that ever walked, after the messengers and after the prophets, the most noble human beings that ever walked the face of the earth were the companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Khayrun nas. Abdullah bin Mas'ud رضي الله عنه says:
These were remarkable people that Allah chose them for the companionship of Muhammad Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. Salman al-Farsi رضي الله عنه used to brag, the Prophet of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم taught us how to even use the restroom. How to use the restroom?
He was even asked, what, seriously? Your Prophet, he says, yeah. Taught us how to use the restroom, how to clean ourselves.
They found pride in this fact that he left no stone and turned in equipping us in order to live the most, you know, pleasurable, the most beneficial life as possible. Hayatan tayyiba. He taught us how to live the most beautiful exemplary life possible for a human being.
So this is something that they found no hesitation in. And it's very important for us as Muslims, as families, as communities, that we continue to improve ourselves.
Enter into Islam completely as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala demands of us. Well, entering into Islam completely obviously necessitates that one of the first and foremost and most important aspects of the Islamic lifestyle which is family, we constantly have to seek out counsel and guidance.
And I'm not talking about, even then there should be no shame in that, but I'm not even talking about getting counseling from another, like going to a counselor or going to a therapist or something like that, even though there's no shame in that either.
But I'm talking about taking counsel, taking advice from Allah and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم We have to constantly be on the lookout. Not just not having hesitation in order to attend a lecture or attend a class about family relations in Islam, but we need to be, I need to be going out of my way to go and find out, to ask, to seek, what has Allah told me that will improve, that will improve my family life.
What guidance has Allah provided for me that has Allah revealed for me from above the seven heavens in order for me to be able to live a good happy family life.
What guidance has the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم provided? What precedent has he set for me so that I can have the best family life possible? You have to seek that out.
A Practical Example: Sibling Rivalry
What I wanted to just kind of demonstrate, if nothing else, just kind of share here today was one little example. One little example of the guidance of Allah and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم in terms of improving family life.
To show you how practical and how effective this guidance is from Allah and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم in terms of family life. It's a very, very common issue in families. Some could even say it's a very small little issue.
But nevertheless it's an issue that comes up and it's a very common issue. And that is sibling rivalry.
Closing
Translation: And Allah knows best. May Allah reward you with good. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.