Respecting Differences

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us goodness. So, going back to those who abuse you with their words, the Quran says, be patient, be patient.

Don't swear back.

The Quranic Teaching on Human Diversity

Someone calls you a dog, you call them a dog back. What happened? Well, I told a little boy, if he's calling you a dog, guess what? He looks just like you.

Same species.

You call me a dog, what does that make you? You have a face like mine, nose like mine, eyes like mine, hands like mine, fingers like mine, nails like mine, legs like mine, everything else like mine. Then, it makes you a dog too. It didn't help you to get angry and excited, you just smile and walk away.

That walking away is called:

You have stayed away from them in a beautiful way. If you want to say something to them, respond to them, respond in a beautiful way. A very beautiful way.

No need to become ugly because others are ugly. When someone says something hurtful, you don't need to respond with something hurtful because you are a respectful human being, you are a Muslim, you belong to Allah. You belong to Allah.

When you hear abuse, you need to tell yourself, that person's bad should not make me become bad. I'm good. I hope we're following.

Broader Community Relations

If someone says a bad word to you, you don't need to say a bad word back to them because you are a good person. If you say a bad word back to them, you are equal. They showed their true colors and you are showing yours.

So what is the point? But if someone were to utter a bad word to try and insult you, to try to make you react in a bad way, to provoke you, don't be provoked. Because if you are provoked, you will be exactly where they want you to be. You will become just like them.

There won't be a difference. May Allah make it easy for us. So this is Allah telling us or telling Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) to be careful.

Don't let the bad words of others make you become like them. Rather be patient. Let's make the circle a little bit broader.

Who is in your community? We come to the Gambia, mashallah. There are so many names that are common here. So many.

(Quran 49:13) - O people! We have created you from a single male and female and have made you into different tribes, different people, different nations, etc.

In order that you recognize one another. Recognize, recognition. So Allah while telling us that we are different in terms of the people, the tribes, the nations, etc.

He is reminding us of the common forefather for all of us. Every one of us is connected through someone who is a parent, grandparent, great-grandparent or somewhere up the ladder. No matter where they are from, across the globe, we will ultimately connect at Adam and Eve.

May Allah's blessings be upon them. Adam and Hawwa a.s. Ultimately, that's where we are connected. I am related to you closer than that.

It doesn't have to go all the way to Adam. It's closer. Because according to the Quran, the Prophet Noah may peace be upon him, everyone drowned who was not in the ark.

And all those who were in the ark with him, none of them bore offspring besides him. Allah says, we made sure that his family was the one that remained. So we are from the progeny of the Prophet Noah.

May peace be upon him according to the Quran. And if that is the case, I'm related to you very closely, mashallah. Very closely.

Respecting Religious Differences

It is an honor to be related to such hospitable people filled with patience and love, filled with goodness and kindness. Show that kindness and goodness, not just to me, not just to a visitor or a guest, but within your own family, starting with your spouse and your children, your parents, and then you will see the difference. We go beyond this, mashallah, tabarakallah.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us of the common forefather. Why? So that we can respect each other. We know, just like when I am born, I feel very important.

I feel today that perhaps, you know, my view, my opinion is a good opinion. It is a strong opinion. I have a strong mind.

I think I'm right. Guess what? Every single human being has exactly the same right. What you consider correct and upright because you are convinced that way, the others might be convinced in another way.

Totally convinced just like you are absolutely convinced in another direction. It's their right. It's their right to be different from you.

Today, mashallah, this beautiful country, you are perhaps 95% Muslim, but there is another 5% that is not Muslim, approximately. Do you respect the fact that they have the right to be what they are? Do you

respect that? You should be because they are totally convinced in another way. Just like you are and I am totally convinced in the other way.

Subhanallah. So, it's not going to help at all when you don't respect people who differ with you. They can differ, no problem.

The Art of Convincing Others

If you think you have something grand and great, talk to them, convince them, sell your product to them. You know, when you walk through the market, people will come to you and tell you, I want you to buy this and you tell them why. They will start explaining to you why.

You know you have something, for example, when you want to sell a product in a certain market, you have sales reps. These sales reps have to go around convincing people why this product is brilliant. Whether it's in the medical field, whether it's food stuffs, whatever else it is, furniture, etc.

You have these sales reps, they will go to the doctors one by one and convince them, if you have the gift of the gab, you sell them the product. And sometimes if they are sharp, they will pick up points and ask you questions, you need to respond. But if they did not buy your product, what happens?

Do you become angry and upset, punch the doctor? You're not buying my product, give you one punch? That's it? I'm not talking to you again? You need to convince them to say, look, this is the product, I really believe this.

They might tell you, well, I don't think your product is good enough. You got to go back to the drawing room and see, look at where you've made a mistake. If it's a piece of furniture, they might tell you, you know what, it's breaking at this point because it's weak right here.

You need to listen, you need to correct yourself. Subhanallah, why am I saying all of this? Because ultimately we go back to the issue of faith and religion. Just like you have the right.

If you want to talk to others in a beautiful way, convince them, talk to them like you are marketing your product. You will sell them the product, look, I am a Muslim, I will tell people, I worship Allah alone. One Allah.

I worship my Maker, whoever made me, that's the only one I worship. And I worship Him directly, and I worship Him alone, and I put my head on the ground only for He who has made me, and I put my head on the ground only for the same one whom I'm going to return to. Many people will be convinced to say, yes, we won't worship anything besides He who made us.

He whom we are going to return to. But some might not be convinced, they still want to say, no, no, no, no, we want to worship something else. Well, if they were convinced that way, and even when we discussed it, they were still convinced that way, it's okay.

Allah made them in the first place. If He didn't want them, He would not have made them. Subhanallah.

He made them in the first place. Their account will be just like yours with Allah. Your account is with Allah, their account is with Allah.

If you are to believe within you that you have to harm someone whom you differ with, then everybody will be harming everybody else. There will be chaos on earth. Imagine if you had to punch people you disagreed with.

We would have punching happening right now here. We have so many people, look at the wonderful colors here. If we disagree, what color to wear?

Subhanallah.

So punch the brother, punch the sister. Subhanallah. Look at how I've said brother and sister.

The Unity of Faith and Humanity

Because in Islam it's highly recommended to call each other brother and sister because you are brothers and sisters. Subhanallah. Number one, in humanity.

And thereafter in faith. And the bond of faith is stronger than anything else. But primarily even if your faith is different aren't you still brothers and sisters in humanity? Never let someone make you believe that you have to harm another, you have to hurt them, you have to be violent against them in order to propagate what you have.

In order to promote what you have. No! The duty of the messenger himself Allah says is none other than conveying the message. You convey the message, give it.

If you've conveyed the message, do you know what Allah says? Indeed your duty is to convey the message and our duty is to take account. We know what will happen, we know what has happened. We will take account.

We will decide the ending. We will decide what we want to do. Convincing is in the hands of Allah.

We only try. We only try. So this is why we say my brothers and sisters, let's go back to the teachings that we have.

Historical Example: The Conquest of Mecca

The beautiful teachings of Islam. The great teachings of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. When people harmed him, what did he do? He forgave.

Mostly he forgave. And if you take a look at the day when the Muslims were in the largest of numbers, marching on to Mecca. They were going to Mecca.

It is so beautiful, so beautiful to put you into perspective. And you may know this, but for those who may not remember. The Muslims were driven out of their homes.

From Mecca. They were driven out of their homes. Their property was taken.

They were being killed one after the other. They made the famous hijrah. The migration going to Medina Munawwara.

Going to Medina Munawwara. Subhanallah. When they got to Medina they found beautiful brothers and sisters who gave them comfort.

And after some time, they wanted to go back home to get their property. And to go back to where they belong. So there were several wars that took place.

Ending in something known as Fath Mecca. The victory of Mecca. When the Muslims marched tens of thousands to Mecca Mukarrama.

Powerful. And the people of Mecca knew. We have harmed them.

We have killed them. We have driven them out of our homes. And today they are coming back.

We are at their mercy. We are at their mercy. So as the Prophet peace be upon him with the large army.

Marches into Mecca. The people of Mecca who had harmed all of them. They asked a question.

What was the question? In fact before they asked, the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him asked them. He says:

O people of Quraysh. Now obviously they are all standing there listening. They all know what they've done. O people of Quraysh, what do you think I'm going to do to you today? What do you really think is going to happen to you today? Now I'm quite sure that if a person has harmed and killed and thrown people out and usurped their wealth and so on.

And then the man comes to you as a big leader and he asks you what do you think I'm going to do to you today? What will you say? What will they say?

How do you think they would have thought? They must have been thinking so many things. But they knew that this was a great man. That Muhammad peace be upon him who was sent as a mercy would condone that behavior.

So think before you speak. Am I an ambassador of my faith? Remember my brothers and sisters we thank Allah. We are Muslimin.

Masha'Allah. I'm talking to a crowd perhaps majority Muslim. And we welcome those of our brothers and sisters who are not Muslim too.

I'm sure you will take a lot from today. May Allah grant us goodness. But my brothers and sisters think every time you do things am I doing this the way that if the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was here he would be proud of it.

The Importance of Proper Conduct and Character

Bearing in mind the beautiful qualities he had. I always tell brothers and sisters carry yourself in a very respectful way such that you beam the correct teachings of the faith that was brought to you by Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) given by Allah. When you dress in a way that if the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him had to see you you would not have to run away.

Wow. Did you hear that? And this does not apply only to the females. We have a problem.

People like to say the women are not dressed appropriately. I like to say well the men also need help. How many of our young brothers unfortunately show their backsides as they walk and they are fine with it.

And they think when they see a woman look at this lady, she's not dressed properly. Brother, lift your trousers up to start with. It's a reality.

Lift your trouser up to start with. We look at others without realizing the three fingers point at us. So the matter of dress is for both women and men.

When you dress people say I'm free to dress how I want. We say yes. But your choice comes at a price.

That price, you will pay it in your own life. You choose to dress in a way yes it's your choice. Secularly it's your choice indeed.

But we are asking you to dress respectfully in a way that you would not be embarrassed if the messenger had to come here today. Subhanallah.

Imagine if we had to be in the company of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and we say as Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah we say we want the intercession of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him.

We want it. On the day of judgment he will be interceding on behalf of people. So we say oh Allah give us that intercession.

Imagine. We want the intercession of a person whom if he was in front of us we would be embarrassed. Surely that is encouragement enough to say we can improve our dress code inshallah.

Both male and female. We can improve our dress code for the sake of Allah. You will find the calmness.

You will find the goodness. So when we talk about these things. When we talk about following the religion exactly as it is.

When we say respecting differences. We are not talking about giving up your opinions. Giving up your faith in order to appease everybody else.

I have a beard. My name is Ismail. I didn't just make it ishi for short.

I didn't just shave my beard because people stop me at the airport and say sorry can I have a peep? Look at your passport. Look again. Okay.

Sit there for 10 minutes. We want to confirm something. It's okay.

I'm a Muslim. I expect that to happen. Mashallah.

Here in the Gambia that did not happen. I don't even know what happened. I just was received by a vehicle right at the door of the plane and I was gone.

Mashallah. Mashallah. And I want to thank your government.

Your leadership. And I really have to express my gratitude to every one of you. My excitement is just like yours.

I'm sure you can hear it in my voice. And that's why I'm standing. I don't even know how long I've spoken for and that becomes irrelevant because I was told at 10 o'clock this morning there are people already at the stadium.

Do you know what I said (إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ). Wow 10 in the morning and they're already there.

11, 12, 1, 2, 3. Subhanallah. And the heat. And I was following what was going on through the live streaming.

And I saw some of our sisters struggling with the heat. And I said, Oh Allah grant them Jannah. And those medical helpers who are here from the Red Crescent and the Red Cross.

May Allah give you Jannah. May Allah grant you goodness. And all those who have been involved with security and with so much more.

I really pray that Allah give us Jannah. And that brings me to my next point. What is Jannah? Jannah is paradise.

Paradise and Divine Mercy

Paradise, the eternal life of goodness and bliss where you have what you want. Allah says:

In it, whatever your soul desires, you shall have. In it, anything that is sweet to the eye shall be yours.

Subhanallah. You see something, you like it, guess what? It's yours. But in this world, that's not the case.

So that is paradise. How big is paradise? Have you ever thought of it? It's a very important question because I'm about to make a point that is very strong. Have you ever asked yourself, how big is paradise? Allah always says:

(Quran 3:133) - The garden, the width of which is greater than the earth and the skies.

Subhanallah. Imagine how massive it is. But today, what happens? In the ummah, from among the Muslims, we don't know how to deal with our differences.

This man says, that is a kafir. That one says, he is a kafir. That one says, he is a disbeliever.

That one says, he is a disbeliever. And everyone calls each other disbelievers. And this one says this.

And that one says, this one's not going to jannah. That one says, this one is not going to jannah. The other three say, those two are not going to jannah.

And so on. So who is going to jannah? If it is in our hands, jannah would be empty. No one there.

Why? Just me. I was the only Muslim. That's it.

Ajeeb. Strange. You think jannah is only for you.

Subhanallah. You will be surprised. May Allah give us jannah.

When we get to jannah, we will see all sorts of people in jannah. Mashallah. All sorts.

People we differed with. People we disagreed with. Jannah belongs to Allah.

He is الرَّحْمَنُ الرَّحِيمُ الْوَدُوْدُ الْغَفُوْرُ، الْغَفَّارُ The most merciful, the most beneficent, the most forgiving, the most compassionate, the most loving. Allah.

Those are His names. Have you thought of the Quran? When you open it, you read the words. The first words.

(بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ). In the name of Allah. The most beneficent, the most merciful.

الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمُ. They depict the mercy of Allah. That's why Allah says to us through the blessed lips of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم):

(Sunan Abu Dawud 4941)

You want the mercy of the one in the heavens. The way to get it is by having mercy upon those on earth.

Have mercy on those on earth. No need to fight and kill, argue and abuse and be violent and cause hurt. Use vulgar terms.

No. Be merciful. Allah will give you mercy.

If you have mercy upon those on earth, the one in the .(ارْحَمُوا مَن فِي الأَرْضِ، يَرْحَمْكُم مَن فِي السَّمَاءِ) heavens will have mercy on you. In another narration, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 7376)

Allah will not have mercy on those who don't have mercy on other people. On who? On other people. Allah didn't say (مَن لَا يَرْحَمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ)

Allah didn't say Allah will not have mercy upon those who don't have mercy on other Muslims. No. He said on others, on other human beings.

So you want the mercy of Allah. Be merciful. Be merciful upon all.

The Importance of Character and Conduct

Have hope. Continue calling towards goodness and I promise you, the most powerful way to call people towards goodness is through your character and your conduct. How many people call to Islam but their character is not up to scratch.

So people don't want to listen. People go away. They are harsh.

Allah says in the Quran to Muhammad, peace be upon him:

It is because of the mercy of Allah that you are lenient with them. It is because of the mercy of Allah that you have leniency and compassion. So if you want to know if Allah has had mercy on you, ask yourself, how lenient am I? How compassionate am I? Subhanallah.

If you are compassionate and lenient, it is a sign of the mercy of Allah upon you. When you lack leniency and compassion, it is a sign that you are distant from the mercy of Allah. Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala adds to that verse and Allah says, if you were harsh and hard-hearted, they would disperse from around you.

They wouldn't be around you. So don't be harsh. Don't be hard-hearted.

Because then no one wants to talk to you. You know, I receive emails on a daily basis from so many people. Do you want to know what is the biggest problem we are facing today? The biggest problem we are facing today in terms of our social circles? Divorce.

Marital relations. People marry, one week later, divorced. I know of a case a few weeks ago of a couple who got married.

As they were walking out of the party, there was an argument of which car to go into. And that resulted in the divorce. Which car to go to? When they asked me, I said, they should have gone walking.

It's more romantic. Subhanallah. Go walking.

No problem. May Allah forgive us. Imagine fighting over small things.

For what? Don't fight. Clean your heart. My brothers and sisters, without cleaning the heart, you will never be able to respect differences.

The Importance of a Pure Heart

Never. You clean the heart and Allah will help you. Because the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 52)

There is a piece of flesh, an organ. If it is pure and good, the whole body will be pure and good. And if it is diseased and dirty, if it is sick, diseased, then the whole body will be diseased and dirty. Then he says, that organ is the heart.

So clean your heart. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help us to clean our hearts. The mercy that we have upon those we disagree with, should be such that when they see us, already the disagreement is minimized.

You know when you have someone who hates Islam, there are so many Islamophobes out there who don't like Islam because they hear from the media about things that are happening. We are perhaps 2 billion on this globe. If 1,000, 2,000, 20,000 did something bad, it doesn't mean the rest of the billions are bad people.

No. But sometimes the way the media portrays it, it makes it look like that. Subhanallah.

So if you take a look at the compassion that we are supposed to be having, when we carry ourselves in the correct way, we would definitely be able to resolve the matter. Without good character and conduct, people will then believe what is being peddled by the media. Imagine, if your character and conduct is so abrupt, so wrong, and the people who don't like Islam see you and I as people, and they look at us and think, you know what, these people are so arrogant, they don't even smile, they don't even greet, they don't even acknowledge they are so harsh in the way they talk, they don't say thank you, they don't say please, they don't greet good morning, good afternoon, etc, etc.

What happens? They start thinking to themselves, you know what, yes, it's a bad religion, but the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has asked us to be humble. To be humble. If you are not humble, you won't achieve.

Humility and Prayer

The more humble you are, the happier you will be, the more content you will be. No matter who you are, no matter how powerful you are, no matter what wealth you have, no matter how good looking you might be, no matter how popular you are, all that is irrelevant when you get into your grave. What will help you? Your good character, your piety, your closeness to Allah.

When the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was asked a question, the question was, O Messenger, peace be upon him, the people of paradise, what are the qualities that would have earned them paradise? He said, two things (تَقْوَى اللهِ وَحُسْنُ الخُلُق) the consciousness of Allah. That's why on

Friday here, I stressed the issue of salah, prayer. How can I call myself a Muslim and I don't pray five times a day? Today, subhanallah, who am I?

Okay, I'm about to say something very interesting, please excuse me.

Who am I? Can I tell you who I am? Zero. Nothing. I have no value, not at all.

Compared to others, nothing. The value belongs to Allah. Imagine if you were so excited to see a man who has no value.

I don't control heaven and hell. I don't control your goodness or sadness or happiness. I don't control what's going to happen to you in your grave.

I don't control whether you're going to go to jannah or not, not at all. That is all solely and only in the control of Allah. Yet, you were so excited to see me.

Who am I? Nothing. Will you not be more excited to see Allah five times a day? Will you not be more excited to see Allah to communicate with your Maker for salatul fajr? Just like you came here five hours earlier. Can you not go to the masjid five minutes earlier? It's a reality, I have to say.

I have to get it off my chest because I am nothing compared to what we need to do with Allah. There is no comparison. Who am I? If you truly want to sacrifice, even if you did not come here today, but you got up for salatul fajr, you are a champion.

You are a winner. But if you came here and sat for five hours and did not preach salat, you have lost. You lost everything.

May Allah forgive us. Like I told you, I apologize to you, I'm sorry. But this is the reality that needs to be uttered.

Say the truth, even if it is bitter. You miss salatul maghrib that is coming shortly. Wallahi, you've lost everything.

If someone were to ask you who is more important, Allah or this sheikh that came from Zimbabwe, that question itself is an insult because there is no comparison. You cannot bring those two in one sentence. Never.

The Value of Prayer Over Everything Else

May Allah grant us steadfastness. So, when I'm asking you to develop, I'm asking you to develop for the sake of Allah. I'm asking you to respect each other for the sake of Allah.

I'm not inviting you towards me. No, not at all. I'm asking you for the sake of Allah.

Help yourself by getting closer to the one who made you so that the day you die and go into your grave, you would have succeeded. You will be the happiest person. You will get that jannah that we spoke about earlier.

The width of which is greater than the heavens and the earth. That is just your paradise.

In one narration, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, explains the last person who's going to enter paradise. And it's a lovely hadith. In it, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala asks this person, he says, what would you like to have? If we were to give you the whole world and whatever is in it, all for yourself, alone, one person.

One person. All the worlds. The heavens and the earth.

Whatever was on the earth. And the person says, yes, that would be fine. Allah says, you have that multiplied, multiplied again and again ten times, all for yourself.

That's the last person to enter jannah. Subhanallah. Imagine those in the ghettos and the slums.

Imagine those street kids who don't have a home. If they read their salah, they are better than those in the castles. If they are serious about their connection with Allah, they are better than those in the palaces.

Why? Because they will have the eternal palace. Here on earth, how long are you going to live for? Most of us don't have more than 40, 50 years remaining of our lives if we are lucky. After that, we will die for longer than we were alive.

Definitely. There are people who died 500 years ago, but on earth they only lived for 50 years. Subhanallah.

So, those who prepared for the hereafter are the successful ones, truly. That doesn't mean that we divorce ourselves from this world. We also like to have good things.

We want food, we want clothing, we want so many other things. We want nice things as well. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allowed that on condition that you respect people.

You respect everyone. You know, we deal with the non-Muslims. We deal with those we differ with in faith.

Dealing with Non-Muslims and Building Bridges

When we want to buy things, when we want to sell things, when we want to buy food, when we, for example, would like to buy a car or something else.

If it is a non-Muslim on the other side or they are buying from us, so what? We buy and we sell. For what reason? Because I need to live on earth.

That's why. I need to make ends meet. I need to eat food.

The man selling it to me was a non-Muslim. I want to ask you a question. What is more important? Your worldly life, your deen or your dunya? Your materialistic life or your religion? Your religion is far more important.

If you can tolerate someone or respect someone or acknowledge someone because of a need that you have for your dunya, don't you think it's more important to respect them for purposes of your deen? I hope you've understood that. If I buy a bottle of water from someone who's not a Muslim, what happened? I drank the water. I was a happy person.

Mashallah. I might say thank you if I'm polite. Walk away.

Or if they buy from me, I'm happy. They gave me some business. I'm happy.

Wallahi, I have a product more important than water. What is it? My deen. It's a product.

I need to market it. I need to sell it. Because the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says, subhanallah.

Do you know what he says?

(Sahih al-Bukhari 3009)

- I swear by Allah, if Allah uses you to guide one person, it's better for you than the red camel which was the best of the conveyance at the time of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Imagine.

So what is it? It's a product. When you talk to people, be polite. Especially the non-Muslims.

Why? Because if they were to be guided through your character, your interaction, it is better for you than anything this world can give you in terms of material items. Better. So be good.

Be kind. And if that's the case, what about the Muslims amongst each other? Do we love each other? Do we care for each other?

(Sahih Muslim 54)

- You won't enter Jannah until you believe. And you are not true believers until you love one another.

That's what the Prophet, peace be upon him, says. I sincerely ask you today Do you really love one another? Do we really love one another as Muslims?

We say لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله Powerful statement, right? Powerful. There is none worthy of worship besides my Maker.

And Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the messenger of Allah. The final messenger of Allah. My Maker is Allah.

Powerful statement. Once we say that, we have already entered into a certain family. We love each other.

We care for each other. We will differ thereafter in so many other matters, but don't forget you have the one common flag that you fall under. Shaytan makes us fight each other, yet we fall under the flag.

We fall under that statement. We fall under the beautiful words. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.

I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. We fall under it, but we forget that we fall under it. So we start fighting, arguing, hating.

Like I said earlier, when you have differences, present your opinion, present the evidence of it, and convince the others about what you are saying. They will be convinced if Allah wills, because the hearts are in the hands of Allah. The hearts are between the fingers of Allah.

In the hands of Allah. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. He turns them as He wishes.

You try, and Allah will grant you guidance. And Allah will grant the others guidance as well. And if Allah chooses not to give them guidance, worry about yourself.

- O you who believe, be concerned about yourselves primarily, because those who are astray will not harm you, if you are rightly guided.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help us to develop ourselves. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide us in every way.

The Importance of Greeting and Spreading Peace

So I call on you my brothers and sisters to respect each other. To greet each other. Greeting is something so important.

The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said:

(Sahih Muslim 54)

- Should I not show you something if you were to do it? It would increase the love between you. Spread the salam among you. The greeting.

And not just the greeting, the peace, the goodness. When you say السلام عليكم, it means I pray to Allah that He bless you with peace. That's what it means.

Peace be upon you. That's why my brothers and sisters here in the Gambia, when you greet someone, greet from your heart, not just from your tongue.

Greet from your heart.

السلام عليكم You should break into a small smile because you are saying may peace be upon you when you want to say peace. You know when people are taking a photo, they say, say cheese. Why cheese? For what? Why cheese? I rather say peace.

Mashallah. Say peace. Then you can snap with your teeth.

Mashallah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us peace. But unfortunately people today say صالح Have you heard them greeting you? What is صالح? They say no, I mean السلام عليكم

So say it properly. It's a blessed prayer for me. Say السلام عليكم

And the Qur'an says that Allah has created the heart and He wants you to make an effort to purify it by His help. So this is what the Prophet, peace be upon him, says, you are not considered true believers until you love one another. And if you want the love to increase between yourselves, you must spread the greeting.

Many of us don't greet. Wallahi, we don't greet. We don't even greet our own folks, our friends.

السلام عليكم, please my brothers and sisters, I encourage you strongly to greet each other, to reply to the greeting. Don't think that, oh, you know my sandals are 5 inches higher than hers. So when she says, السلام عليكم I can just look at her and do, you know, push my head up.

That's not how it works. No. You reply no matter who you are and Allah will bless you.

He will give you contentment. So my brothers and sisters, you notice that the differences we have between us, today for a common cause, we have set them aside. I'm sure in our midst, there are people from so many different walks of life.

But we have come together to listen to a good word. Why can't we come together for the sake of Allah, for the pleasure of Allah? Why can't we respect each other? And I am saying once again, we are not calling on compromising your faith. No.

We are not asking you to give up something to make people happy. No. You don't just shave off your beard.

You don't just remove your hijab because you want to fit in. Because fitting in will never ever end. Today to fit in, you remove your beard.

Tomorrow to fit in, you have to change your gender. The following day to fit in, you have to remove all your clothes. And after 10 years to fit in, you have to marry an animal.

It's not going to stop. So you believe what you have to, let others do what they have to as well. Thank Allah that Allah has blessed you with respect, with honor, with dignity, with calmness.

We don't drink, we don't intoxicate ourselves. We are not people who abuse anything. Subhanallah.

We don't do that which is haram. We seek the forgiveness of Allah constantly where we have gone wrong because we want peace. That is how you achieve peace.

And we continue encouraging each other to be able to achieve the peace. The differences we have in tribes, the differences we have in race, the differences we have as human beings, male and female, is not there to discriminate against one another. It's not there in order for one to think that I'm above you.

No. It's there for recognition purposes so that you can recognize one another. I look at you immediately, I know who you are.

Why? Allah made you different from me. That's why if we were all exactly the same, I always say, we would need number plates on our foreheads. And I would call you, 65338925, please come forward.

And then you would come. Because a big number. Why? Because there are many many people.

You would have a number, not a name. But we have names. And people recognize us.

True Honor in the Sight of Allah

That's a gift of Allah. Tall and short and big and small and wide and narrow, etc. Whatever it might be.

Allah knows. Learn to love people, learn to respect them. Learn to honor them.

Because the same Quran says to us:

Remember the most honored. The most honored in the eyes of Allah from amongst you, is he or she who is the closest to Allah in taqwa. You're close to Allah, subhanAllah.

You are a better person in the eyes of Allah. You will find that out on the day of judgment. You might not know it right now, you won't know it right now.

Because no one knows it. Anyone who thinks, I'm pious, I'm a pious person. That's the beginning of the end of their piety.

Because piety makes you humble, it makes you concerned. Look at Umar ibn al-Khattab r.a, great man. When the list of hypocrites was out to one companion, he asked him, am I on the list? Allahu Akbar! Are you on the list? Such a high level of a person thinking he might have been filled with hypocrisy.

No, he was not on the list. Great man. But with us, we are nowhere near Umar ibn al-Khattab.

And we still think that everything is okay, I am pious, these people are not pious. I'm going to jannah, they are going to jahannam. When people think others are going to jahannam, I always say, perhaps you are already there.

That's why you can see who's there and who's not there. How can you tell who's going to jahannam? You there? It's like the uncle comes and says, you know what? I saw your son at the nightclub. You say, but uncle, what were you doing there? Now he's lost.

The uncle comes and says, I saw your son at the nightclub. So you say, but uncle, what were you doing there? He scratches his head and he says, well, I went to check if your son was there or not. May Allah forgive us.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us ease. We don't need to think that way. We need to rectify ourselves.

Making Promises for Change

So my brothers and sisters, I hope we can make those few promises today. It is a very very big day for us. Why is it a big day? Because whenever people gather in order to listen to a good word, in order to listen to the remembrance of Allah, to bring them closer to Allah, to learn something that is in revelation, they are encircled by the angels.

And the mercy of Allah descends upon them. So if we have come in large numbers to listen to a good word, let's make sure that the word changes our hearts. Let it not be such that we heard something, we go back home and we say, wow, it was a good day.

It was a memorable day. It was a historic day. But your life didn't change.

Nothing changed. You didn't become a better person. You didn't change yourself.

You didn't smile more. You didn't go home and solve your problems with your spouses, your children, your family members, your neighbors, and the others. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, speaks about neighbors and fulfilling the rights of neighbors who are not Muslim.

Respect them. Don't light a fire wherein the smoke of which shall go and harm them. Today we light a fire and we don't care the whole community is cursing us because of the fire and the smoke.

And the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, teaches us, the one who harms his neighbor will not enter paradise. The one who harms his neighbor will not enter paradise. Have you heard that? Subhanallah.

Amazing. Why harm your neighbor? It goes to show, if you want a good life, you need to make sure those next to you are having a good life from you.

Then you have a good life.

And the next one will have a good one. And the next one will have a good one. And we will all live together.

But if you believe you need to hit him, he believes he needs to hit you. And everyone believes they need to be violent to one another. And they need to bash each other.

Then the world is going to be reduced to chaos and disorder. That's not Islam. Islam is the opposite.

Islam teaches you to respect people. Understand, if Allah did not want them on earth, they would not be on earth. But Allah wanted them.

That's why Allah made them. And at the beginning I told you that I would tell you about the dog.

Remember we gave the example of the dog? And I said it can be a swear word.

The Story of the Dog and Divine Mercy

Depending on how you say the term dog. Let me inform you of that dog. There is a hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, that I love to repeat.

And you must have heard it, but I'm going to say it again. We ask Allah for barakah. Say, Ameen.

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says, on a hot day, there was a man who was very thirsty in the desert. And he was looking for water. And he found a well.

And there was no bucket. He decided to go down. As a human being, he went down.

He drank as much water as he wanted and he came up. As he emerged, there were no people around. But he noticed a dog.

What did he notice? What did he notice? A dog. He told himself, you know what, this dog is as thirsty as I was before I drank water. Let me do something about it.

Now you and I know, like I said earlier, as Muslims, when you talk of a dog, there are more rules and regulations governing your relationship with the dog. You need to make sure you understand. You need to make sure you know.

You need to make sure, yes, you have to be kind to the dog. You have to be good to the dog. But you need to know your limits as well.

If you saw a dog on your way home, what would you do? Many of us would walk the other way, right? Many of us would walk the other way. This man saw a thirsty dog panting. And it's a hadith, correct narration of the Prophet, peace be upon him.

He says, the man saw a dog panting in the heat. And he said to himself:

This dog is as thirsty as I was prior to me drinking the water.

He went back into the well. And he knew there is no way of getting the water because there's no bucket. What did he do? He took out his shoe.

He was not proud, he was not arrogant. He took out his shoe, leather sock, known in the Arabic language as a khuf.

He filled his shoe with water.

Allahu Akbar. Look at your shoes right now, your Clarks, your Adidas, your Nikes, whatever else it might be. Are you prepared to take them out and fill them with water for a dog? Let me be honest.

While I say that I will find it difficult with my own shoes, why should I ask you? Let me talk about myself. I will find it difficult with my own shoes. I think I will quickly run and get a cup or something else, inshallah.

So don't ask me that question. May Allah grant us goodness. But I just want to show you what this man did.

He filled his own shoe, that which he was wearing, he removed it and he filled it with water. He came back up the well, he took the water, brought the dog near. Allahu Akbar.

And he made this dog drink water. And Allah was watching him. And Allah says, we have forgiven this man, for him is paradise.

Allahu Akbar. Because he has love and compassion for a creature that Allah created that is a dog. And wallahi, this is a powerful narration.

A man receives forgiveness because he quenched the thirst of a dog. My brothers, my sisters, what do you think is the value of the one who quenches the thirst of another human being? Forget about dogs. What do you think is the value of you reaching out to a person you differ with completely? A satanist? Whoever else it might be.

Reach out to these people with some goodness. Perhaps Allah will guide them. And if Allah doesn't guide them, it's between them and Allah.

The Example of Prophet Moses and the Pharaoh

Look at the Prophet Moses, may peace be upon him. Allah sent him to a man who used to say, I am the God. I am God.

That's what the Pharaoh used to say. The Pharaoh said, O my people, I don't know of a God besides me for you all to worship. That's the type of man he was.

But when Allah sends Moses to him, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells the Prophet Moses, may peace be upon him, and his brother Harun, Allah says to them:

(Quran 20:44) - Go to him and speak in a soft way. Perhaps he might remember. Perhaps he might be more conscious of us.

Or he might understand. He might fear. He might realize.

So speak to him in a soft way. Allah is telling someone who is the highest of the time, the Prophet Moses, to go to the one who was the lowest of the time and that is the Pharaoh. He was a tyrant.

He was a killer, a murderer. He made it so many. He created disaster upon disaster.

If Allah wanted, Allah could afflict him and done whatever he wanted. But Allah gave him a long time.

And Allah did not tell Moses, go and kill him.

No! Allah said, go to him with beautiful words, loving, soft, kind words. You differ with this man so strongly. He's a mushrik of note.

Not just a mushrik. He has installed himself as a god besides Allah. But Allah didn't say, go and kill him, go and harm him, go and swear him, go and call him bad names.

Go and say you are a kafir going to Jahannam. None of that was said to the Pharaoh. But we say it to people who are not as bad as the Pharaoh.

And we are nowhere near the value of the Prophet Moses. Who are we and who are they? You see? We call ourselves Muslims. We speak in a more harsh tone to our brothers than the Prophet Musa was instructed to speak to the Pharaoh.

Is your brother a little Pharaoh? Some of you might be nodding your heads. Yeah, he is. In our house, we call him Fir'aun.

May Allah forgive us. May Allah not let that happen. No matter what, let's be realistic.

Let's go back to what we were saying. Take a look at this. One day when the punishment came, it came.

When Allah wanted the death of the Pharaoh, he died. Why do we have to kill people? For what? Why do we have to harm them? You really want? You really want goodness for people? And you should be wanting goodness for people? Speak to them, convince them. And if you can't convince them, complain to Allah about your weakness.

The Example of Prophet Muhammad at Ta'if

That's what the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, did. When he went to Ta'if, the people of Ta'if began to stone him. The children were laughing at him, chasing him, throwing stones at him.

And you know what? The angels came to him. The angels of the mountains, they said, Oh Muhammad, if you want, we can crush these people right here and right now. You just instruct us.

So he raises his hands. And the people must be thinking, Subhanallah, I am thinking, you are thinking, what is the prayer this man is going to make? He was sent as a mercy, and he was not sent as a means of destruction. So he raises his hands, he says, (اللَّهُمَّ - Allah).

Imagine what the angels must be thinking. I'm just imagining in my own mind that the best of creation is calling out to Allah regarding people who have harmed him, throwing stones at him, made the blessed blood bleed. And he says (اللّهُمَّ - O Allah).

I'm sure they were waiting for one word, destroy them. And they would have been gone. But that's not what he said.

He says, O Allah. (اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَشْكُو إِلَيْكَ ضَعْفَ قُوَّتِي وَقِلَّةَ حِيلتي - O Allah, I'm complaining to you about my own weakness and my own inability).