Knowledge Is Sacred

Knowledge Is Sacred

Imam Siraj Wahhaj

Opening Greetings and Praise

As-salamu alaykum, (بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim), alhamdulillah, alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen, nahmadu wa nasta'ina wa nastaghfiru wa nu'minu bihi wa natawakalu alayh, wa na'udhu billahi min shururi anfusina wa min sayyi'ati a'malina, man yahdillahu fala mudilla lahu wa man yudlilhu fala hadiya lah, nashhadu an la ilaha illallah wahdahu la sharika lah, wa ashhadu anna muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu amma ba'd.

My beloved Imam Hassan and brothers and sisters, I greet you with the absolute best greeting ever. As-salamu alaykum, peace be upon you.

The Angels' Declaration of Humility

I want to begin by quoting the angels in Al-Quran, and you find it in Surah Al-Baqarah, the second surah of the Quran:

"O Allah, glory to Thee. We have no knowledge except for what You have given to us. Verily, You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise."

In a hadith al-Qudsi, it is a hadith that the Messenger of Allah is quoting Allah. And I quote this, Allah speaking, not in Quran, but hadith, Hadith Qudsi:

(Sahih Muslim 2577)

"O My servants, every one of you is misguided, unless I guide you. Therefore ask My guidance and I will guide you." Every one of you is misguided. How many of you? Some of you? Every one of you are misguided. Unless I guide you, therefore ask My guidance and I will guide you.

The Central Question: What Kind of Education?

I was given the topic tonight: education is sacred. I agree, education is sacred. But what kind of education? That's my topic. Education is sacred. But what kind of education?

Brothers and sisters, I want to show you tonight that 1400 years ago, our Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, gave us a new definition of education. And I'm gonna ask you tonight, do you accept the

definition of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, of education? Or do you accept the old definition of education? Education is sacred, but what kind of education?

The Story of Masjid Al-Mutakabbir

Two weeks ago, I was in a masjid in Poughkeepsie, New York. And the name of this masjid, very interesting, called Masjid Al-Mutakabbir. Brothers and sisters, what if I told you I wrote a book? And in my book, every page I mention Siraj Wahhaj, that's me. Siraj Wahhaj, Siraj Wahhaj, Siraj Wahhaj, Siraj, Siraj, Siraj, Wahhaj, Mr. Wahhaj. What would you think? I'm what? Vain, right? I like my name too much.

But guess what? Question, and I want you to yell it out, and I want you to be honest, speak from your heart. I'm not going to prompt you. What is the greatest book on this earth? Al-Qur'an. Question. What word appears in Al-Qur'an more than any other word? Allah.

No word in the Qur'an can match the number of times Allah mentions his own name. Now, I was in Arizona this morning, and I was on a plane. I read that, right? That Allah is mentioned more in the Qur'an than any other name. So, I took out my Qur'an and I started counting. I know you don't believe me, right? I estimated that the name Allah is mentioned in the Qur'an something like 2700 times. 2700 times.

And no, I didn't count every word like that. I looked in the concordance, and I made a rough estimate. But only Allah deserves the name Al-Mutakabbir. Mutakabbir, self-praise. Allah praises himself in Al-Qur'an. And if you read the Bible, you find out also that God in the Christian tradition praises himself in the Bible and in the Torah. Yes, and he's the only one worthy of praising himself.

The Most Frequent Word After Allah's Name

More than any other word in Qur'an, you have the name Allah. But after the name Allah, what word appears in Al-Qur'an more than any other word? Does anyone like to guess? Rahman, no. Rahim, no. Yes? Mohammed, no. Mohammed only appears how many times? Five times in Qur'an, no. Al-Rahman, no. Habibi, no. Huh? Kitab, no. Aziz, no. Mutakabbir, no. Huh? Musa? Let me tell you.

Yes, ma'am. I think she has it. Oh my goodness. Oh, oh, oh, oh. Say it again. She's smart. She knows my topic is education. So she said, it must be education. Well, she's almost right.

The word that appears most in Qur'an after the name of Allah is the word knowledge. In all of its derivatives: (عِلْمًا، عَلِمُوا، عَلَّمُوا، تَعْلَمُوا، يَعْلَمُونَ - 'ilman, 'alimuu, 'allamuu, ta'lamuu, ya'lamuun). And on the plane today from Arizona to here, I was looking in the Qur'an to get a rough idea how many times the word knowledge is mentioned in the Qur'an. Something like 850 times.

Knowledge is important. Knowledge is sacred. But what kind of knowledge? That's what I want to talk about tonight, inshallah, for a few moments.

The Lesson from a Complaining Wife

Brothers and sisters, some time ago, a sister came to my office. And she came to complain about her husband. And little did she realize that in complaining about her husband to me, the imam, she taught me a very valuable lesson. And I want to share that lesson with you tonight.

She says, Imam Siraj, I remember when my husband first married me, he showered me with attention. Sounds familiar, sisters? He was so attentive. He always talked to me. He spent time with me. He showed me a lot of attention. But seems as if, as the years go by, my husband shows less and less and less attention to me. And I started thinking about what the sister was saying.

And subhanallah, do you know that from what she told me, I learned a very valuable lesson. If I would ask this esteemed audience tonight, how many of you love Allah? I think that everyone would raise their hand and say, Yes, I love Allah. I believe that. And I believe that you believe that you love Allah. But I think our actions show otherwise.

The Importance of Consistent Love and Devotion

You see, brothers and sisters, the thing that I learned from our wives, it's important how you begin a relationship. Because how you begin a relationship, it is expected and anticipated that it would continue the same way. No one likes to be showered with love and affection, and then all of a sudden, no more love, no affection, no more time, no more attention. So therefore, it's important for love relationship to continue throughout the relationship, even if you've been married 30 years or 40 years, you should still show attention to your wife like she's the most important thing on this earth. And she is. Yes. Tell her that, brothers.

In fact, I'll talk to you later, brothers. No, I'm serious. After sister's gone, we have to talk. How many of you brothers are married? Raise your hand. All right. We've got to talk. How many single brothers want to get married? We've got to talk. Sisters, we're going to try to straighten them out, inshallah. No, these, by the way, by the way, I'm not talking about these brothers here. All the brothers of all the state of Florida are straight. Together.

Allah Demands Daily Proof of Our Love

Now, brothers and sisters, guess what I learned? Allah expects His servants to worship Him, to love Him, to be committed to Him. And guess what? Allah demands that you prove your worthiness, your love, your commitment to Him every day. Every day. Don't tell me, Imam Siraj, last week, Alhamdulillah, I got up for Fajr. What happened to this morning?

Every morning, you have to get out of your bed every morning. Get up out of your bed every morning and get up before the rise of the sun and turn to Allah and pray to Him every day, five times a day without exception. Come on now. Why? Because Allah wants you to prove that you still love Him. You know why? Because Allah

knows people change. One day somebody love and then they fall out of love. One day somebody's committed, no longer committed.

So Allah demands every day, every year, you have to fast during the month of Ramadan, don't you? Even though you fasted for 30 years, you have to fast next year, don't you? If you have money at the end of every year, you have to give zakat every year, don't you? Why? Because Allah always demands loyalty from you every day, every week, every year, every time during your lifetime, Allah demands it. You know why? Because Allah refuses to let you take His love for granted. Yes.

The Lesson from Athletes: What Have You Done Lately?

And you know the lesson that I learned? Question, brothers. In your estimation, doesn't really matter your answer, who's the greatest basketball player ever? In your estimation. Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. No, not Kareem. Not right now. We have to talk first.

But it doesn't matter. But you know what I learned? Show me the greatest athlete ever. People adore them. Even some people, astaghfirullah, worship them. And I will show you when that athlete becomes old, and he becomes a step slower, and he's no longer great because inevitably, how great you are, Allah will bring you down. And then the people will ask of that athlete, Michael Jordan, one year from now, two years from now, three years from now, mark the word down, there'll be some other great rookie, and they'll replace Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan will be history. And the people will ask Michael Jordan, what did you do for me lately? Yes.

You know why? That's human nature. I don't care how great a person is. The real question is, what did you do for me lately? Question. How many of you know Muslims who used to practice Islam and no longer do? Raise your hand. Raise your hand. Raise them up high.

It's Not How You Begin, But How You End

You know, a brother told me once before, look, man, I told you brothers, I mentioned this before, but I'll say it again. It's a true story. One day, a brother looked at me. He's a Muslim. He didn't really know me, Siraj Wahaj, but he said, you know, brother, I want you to know that you are not a real Muslim. He says, you're just a convert. And I'm a real Muslim because I'm born Muslim. That's what he said.

I want to say three things about his statement. Three things. Number one. (قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: كُلُّ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ - qala rasoolu Allahi salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam: kullu mawloodin yooladu 'ala al-fitrati) - The Prophet said, "Everybody is born by nature Muslim." Even though my parents were Christians, I was born a Muslim. Everybody is born Muslim. Everybody. That's number one.

Number two, the Messenger of Allah said, "There is no superiority of one person over another person except in religion and the fear of Allah." And number three, the biggest lesson of them all, this brother didn't realize, it's not how you begin the race that counts, but how you end the race. Don't tell me what you were born. Tell me how you died.

"O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims submitting their will to Allah." It's not important how you begin. Not how you begin the race, how you end the race. Everybody starts the race together. Go ahead and run for it. Run the miles. Run the marathon. Don't tell me you started first. But the prize is the one who comes to the end.

The Example of Marriage

How many of you here, imams, have performed marriages? Raise your hand. Performed marriages. Muslim, yes. Performed marriages, right? Performed marriages. How many of you performed marriages? Performed marriages. How many else? Performed marriages. Performed marriages. I don't mean got married. Performed, right?

Look at the face of the groom when you get married. He's smiling. She's smiling. They're happy. Going to be married. Then what happens? How many of those marriages end in divorce? People get out of marriage not because it began great, but it didn't end the right way. What did you do for me lately?

And so for some people, the only thing they have from their marriage is reminiscent of the past. Nostalgia. History. And so, likewise, there are people who will say, remember, I used to go to the masjid every morning for fajr. Used to go to the masjid every morning for fajr. Used to read and learn Quran. Used to read and learn hadith. Used to get together. Used to spend money. Used to, used to, used to. But Allah asks the question, what have you done for me lately?

Building Takes Time, Destruction Takes a Moment

So brothers and sisters, knowledge is sacred. But what kind of knowledge? Now, I understand that we're going to build a new masjid one day. Inshallah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless masjid al-iman, madrasah al-iman, the masjid and the school. And you know what? If any of you ever seen someone build a masjid or even a building, one thing that you can attest to, that it takes a long time to build a masjid. Sometimes it takes years just to plan it. Get the architect. Get the approval. Get the engineer. Lay down the foundation. Build up the structure. Takes a long time.

But you know what we learned with the Oklahoma blast? That it can take years to build and take one moment to destroy. You ever notice that? Life takes long to develop but to die, right away. You can build structures. Take years. And a moment gone.

Do you know in California, I did some study and found out there's some trees as old as 5,000 years old. A 5,000 year old tree. Here before Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Here before Jesus. Here before Moses. But yet one match can burn that tree down.

The Danger to Our Children

Why I say that? I'm talking to the parents now for a moment. I want you to think about your children. Especially your teenagers. Remember when they were first born? How cute it was when your child was 3 years old and mom and dad would make prayer and the little girl would be in mama's shoes. He said, imitating mom and dad and she'd go down and she'd make prayer like she'd see her mother and father do. That's nice, right?

Remember you sat down and taught your son how to read the Quran? Taught your daughter how to read Quran? Remember you taught your daughter etiquettes of dress? How to dress? How to speak properly? All of that you taught your daughter? All of that you taught your sons and your daughters? And you can teach them for 10 years, 15 years and teaching them, training them. You can send them to public school one day and they can lose all of that in one moment. Hard to build. Easy to destroy. Knowledge is sacred. But what kind of knowledge?

Different Kinds of Knowledge

Now brothers and sisters, I want to get into the main essence of my talk and then try to wrap it up inshallah. You probably think I'm not going to ask you for any money tonight, right? Say, Imam Siraj, you forgot to ask the money. I'm going to ask you for some money. So just keep your pockets for a minute.

Brothers and sisters, I want to just leave you with a thought. Obviously knowledge is important. But I submit to you there's different kinds of knowledge.

A dua the Prophet made: "Oh Allah, I seek refuge with you from knowledge that doesn't benefit. I seek refuge with you Allah from knowledge that doesn't benefit. I seek refuge with you Allah from knowledge that doesn't benefit."

Muslims Have Knowledge But Lack Wisdom

Do you know that Muslims today have more knowledge than the companions could ever have dreamed about? More information. But we're not smarter. How many in this room tonight have either been to college or in college or plan to go to college? Raise your hand. Look at this. How many of you hold some kind of degree? Look at this. Look at this. You're knowledgeable. What kind of knowledge? What kind of knowledge? It's a rhetorical question. It doesn't require an answer. That's a part of a speech, you know. What kind of knowledge are we as Muslims putting our emphasis on?

The Shocking Truth About Muslims in Chicago

Last week, brothers and sisters, I'm going to say something. I hesitated. Imam Hassan, you have to forgive me. I thought about whether I should say it tonight, but I think that I have to speak the truth. Don't you agree? Would you prefer for me to speak the truth or you want me to beat around the bush? Huh? Huh? Straight? All right. Now, it's not going to be pretty. I'll let you know now. It's not going to be pretty. And I really thought about it and I hesitated, but I have to tell you because it's in my heart.

I was in Chicago. They had a conference this past Saturday and Sunday. I was with Imam Jamil Al-Amin from Atlanta, Georgia, Imam Luqman from Detroit, and a few imams around the country, about nine, ten imams. Imam Rami from Chicago, he took me around and drove around the streets of Chicago because he told me something that I didn't believe that I wanted to see for myself.

And what I'm about to say, I don't want you to take it as indicative of all Muslims, but rather a segment of Muslims. I don't want you to judge any non-Muslim here. I don't want you to take what I'm about to say because it's going to be a trial for you. I don't want you to think that what I'm saying goes to all Muslims. I'm saying it's a small segment of Muslims, but unfortunately a large segment of Muslims in Chicago.

Imam Rami told me, Imam Siraj, it's been documented. In the city of Chicago, there are 3,500 liquor stores owned by Muslims. I said, Imam, you have to be making a mistake. He said, no, Imam. And he drove me around. All these liquor stores owned by Muslims. Why? Because something is wrong with the application of the knowledge that we say that we have.

Two Types of Ignorance

Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to think along with me. I've done some research. America is one of the most literate countries on this earth. Ninety-something percent literacy. Ninety-six, ninety-seven percent. People can read and people can write. And I've gone around the world and I've noticed the literacy rate of some Muslim countries, some of them are pretty low. Not that, it's not flattering. Don't want to go over any statistics, but just know that it's not as good as it could be. It's better than recent years, but it's not that great.

But I'm here to tell you tonight that Allah makes a distinction between two kinds of ignorance. One is called ummi and one is called jahli. Allah doesn't condemn people simply because they're illiterate, simply because they can't read or can't write. He doesn't condemn them for that.

How ironic that Allah takes an ummi prophet, one who cannot read or write, on purpose. And Allah gives him the last revelation to a man illiterate, unlettered. There's no accident Allah didn't take the high scholars and the literate ones of that time. He took an illiterate. And the irony of all ironies, he said to this ummi:

"Read. In the name of thy Lord who created, created man from a clot." How ironic.

Why Allah Chose an Illiterate Prophet

Why Allah choose such a man? Because nobody can claim him. If I graduated from Harvard University, they say, we made Siraj. He's our boy. We taught you. At Yale and Columbia, we taught you. You belong to us. And all you do is recite back their knowledge.

But all this man, this illiterate man, he doesn't speak from them. But yet this man, this ummi man, raises to be the most knowledgeable person on the planet earth. And nobody can touch him. Why? Because he's Allah's man. And he speaks nothing but revelation revealed. And what comes out of his mouth is pure wisdom.

You have a choice today. Which knowledge? I don't want you to misunderstand me. We should learn science. We should learn engineering. We should learn all of these trades and all of mathematics and all of this. We should learn it. But don't learn it as if that's superior to the knowledge you have of revelation. And the words of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.

The Ummah That Doesn't Write or Calculate

Now brothers and sisters, in my conclusion, I hope that you can follow along with me.

(Sahih Bukhari 1913)

The Prophet said: "We are an unlettered nation; we neither write nor calculate. Therefore the months are like this and like this" - sometimes 30 days, sometimes 29 days. That's 1400 years ago. Do you know there's Muslim astronomers who can calculate a thousand years from now when the new moon will be born? Yes. We have that kind of technology. So we are more advanced now in terms of science than the earlier companions. But are we wiser than them? Knowledge is sacred. But what kind of knowledge?

Identity: Muslim, African-American, American

I submit to you tonight, brothers and sisters, I am a Muslim. Number one, that's my first identity. Number two, I am an African-American. My skin is black. That's my second identity. I love my black skin. I don't apologize for it. I love it, everything about it because Allah made me that way. It's Allah who created you in the wombs of your mother as He pleased. And if Allah made me a black man and pleased for me to be black, I'm pleased to be black. Allah made me that way.

Allah made me to be a man. And I love being a man. I don't want to be a woman. Be generous. And every woman should be proud of what Allah made her to be, a beautiful woman. I don't want my wife to be like me. I love her exactly the way she is. She is a woman. If your skin is white, be proud of that white skin that Allah gave you. Your hair is red. Your hair is nappy. Your hair is woolly. Your hair is black. It's blonde. Doesn't matter. These are insignificant things.

The real thing is, the real knowledge is that we submit our will to do the will of Allah the Almighty. So number one, I'm a Muslim. Why? Because on the Day of Judgment, my black skin can't do nothing for me. Your white skin can't do nothing for you. Your Arabic tongue can do nothing for you. Coming from America or coming from wherever you come from will do nothing for you on the Day of Judgment.

The thing that will help you is your relationship with Allah the Almighty, your iman, your faith, your taqwa. So don't worry about your skin color. Don't worry about what country you come from, language you speak, that's

irrelevant to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah doesn't look at these superficial things. He looks at your heart and your deeds. So I'm one, I'm Muslim. Number two, I'm black. And number three, I am American.

America's Condition: The Height of Jahiliyyah

Brothers and sisters, same way some of you brothers come from Egypt and sisters come from Egypt or Syria, or Jordan or Palestine or Sudan. Every one of you came from a country, I come from a country too. My country happens to be America. I'm born in America. Allah made me to. I had no choice. I just woke up one day and I was in Brooklyn. I had nothing to do with it. I didn't choose my parents. Allah chose them for me. Yes. And we have Allah raise you up and gave you life and whatever country he gave you life, that's the country you're born in. So this is my country. And I don't want to see America fail. I want to see America get better. But I must admit that America is sick.

America to me is the height of Jahiliyyah, the height of ignorance. I painted a picture a long time ago. Some of these young brothers will tell you the picture I painted of America. In my opinion, America is like a car speeding down a steep mountain full of ice and snow with brakes that don't work, driven by a blind man, high off of drugs. That's America. America like a car speeding down a steep mountain full of ice and snow with brakes that don't work, driven by a blind man, high off of drugs. And the problem is, in the backseat is Ahmed, whose feet are on the brakes and whose hands control the throttle.

Why America Is Steeped in Ignorance

Why do I say America is the height of ignorance? Imam Siraj, all of the technology of America, all of that, yes, tops. But real knowledge, she lacks. And what is that knowledge? Number one, brothers and sisters, the greatest knowledge that you can ever get is the knowledge of Allah. Trust me. The greatest knowledge you can ever get, the greatest knowledge, is the knowledge of your Creator, Allah.

"I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. How can you deny Allah when you were dead and He brought you to life, then He will cause you to die, then He will bring you to life again and then you have to return to Him." How dare you? How dare you deny Allah?

Actions Are Judged by Their Endings

And let me tell you the lesson that I learned. For Allah, the real issue is not how you begin but how you end.

(Sahih Bukhari 6607)

As the Messenger of Allah said: "Your deeds shall be judged by your last deeds." By your what? Last deeds. You know why? So you can't take Allah for granted. Some people want to rest on their laurels. Oh yeah, I worked hard. I can retire now. I can sit down.

But guess what? Prophet Muhammad peace and blessing be upon him never retired. He died on the post. Abu Bakr never retired. He died on the post. Umar never retired. He died on the post. Uthman never retired. He died on the post. Ali never retired. He died on the post. What about you? You're going to now retire from Islam? I've been working 50 years so I can retire now. Shut up.

The Priority of Knowledge

Brothers and sisters, really the best knowledge you can get is the knowledge of Allah. And I want to leave you with one of his names. Yes, knowledge is sacred. What kind of knowledge? And you make sure that you don't be ignorant to the real knowledge and then get the superficial knowledge that can't help you on the Day of Judgment. Because even if you're a mathematician by being a mathematician will not get you into Jannah. Not get you into Paradise.

Don't get me wrong. Don't say Imam Siraj is teaching against secular knowledge. No, I'm not. Imam Siraj is teaching us priority. Make sure you get the right knowledge first. And the most important and significant knowledge is the knowledge of Allah. Once you have that then you put everything else in perspective.

The Reality of Muslim Schools

One of the brothers from New York, Alhamdulillah, Sheikh Rafiq, he's the principal of the school, the Muslim school on which my children go to. And by the way, brothers and sisters, in case you didn't know it, there are 17 full-time Muslim schools in New York City. But don't get excited. Because those 17 full-time Muslim schools only accommodate less than 1% of the Muslim youth. So even though 17 appears to be a lot, it's really insignificant according to what we need.

But this school, Islamic Elementary School, Sheikh Rafiq is the principal. He went to Hajj. He was at JFK Airport the day on the way to go to Jeddah. And he had in his briefcase $15,000 in cash. And he put the briefcase standing up on the line, ticket counter. He put the briefcase between his legs. He says, Imam, I turned one second and I looked, it was gone. $15,000 cash stolen. The person who stole it is a person that's jahil, ignorant. Because they don't know Allah.

The Statistics of American Ignorance

14 million Americans arrested a year because the country is full of jahiliyyah. 21,000 people murdered in America because the country is steeped in ignorance. 30,000 Americans took their own lives, committed suicide because they're steeped in ignorance. American women parade themselves naked on magazines, on the internet. Raunchy telephone calls for money because we're steeped in ignorance. Prostitutes walking up and down the street. Army with sex perversion. Corrupted officials. President. Congress. More money spent in America on illegal drugs than on food and clothing and education. Why? Because America's in ignorance. Not technology. She has that.

Now why now are Muslims going after the same kind of knowledge that they're going after and forgetting our knowledge that makes 3,500 Muslims open up a liquor store in Chicago? Because I submit to you we're going after the wrong knowledge. And the knowledge that we should go after, A, the knowledge of Allah, and 2, the knowledge of the hereafter. I close with this.

Allah Is Ar-Razzaq, The Provider

Never forget who Allah is. Allah is Ar-Razzaq. He's what? Ar-Razzaq. He's what? Ar-Razzaq. That means he is the provider. Allah is the provider.

A sister was candid with me. She said, Imam Siraj, a sister in New York City, young sister. Imam Siraj, I needed a job. I needed a job. And I felt that if I had gone on the interview with my khimar on, I would never have gotten a job. So I took my khimar off so that I can get a job. I took my head covering off because I felt it hindered me from getting a job.

I told that sister, never forget who Allah is. He's Ar-Razzaq. He is the provider. The prophet says, "I am only the distributor and the treasurer, but Allah is the giver." What does that mean? That means the job doesn't come from that interviewer. The job comes from Allah through that person. And Allah tests you. He want to see if you still faithful to him. I told you to put it on. Keep it on. I'm the one to tell you how to dress. You dress for me. I'm telling you the rules of what taqwa, hududullah, la ta'taduha. These are the boundaries. Don't go past the boundaries.

Accountability on the Day of Judgment

You want to eat? I want you to remember on yawm al-qiyamah:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2417)

"The feet of the son of Adam, the servants of Allah, will not move on the day of judgment until Allah asks him about his wealth: Where did you get it from?"

And what will you tell Allah on the day of judgment? I had a liquor store. I sold liquor. I sold drugs. I sold my body. When Allah will tell us he is ar-razzaq. He is the provider. Trust him. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will bless you. You will see Allah will bless you. Allah is the razzaq. Believe in Allah. Knowledge of Allah. Knowledge of the hereafter.

Supporting the Masjid and School Project

Now brothers and sisters, this project, masjid al-iman, madrasah al-iman, they want to expand. They want to expand. I have faith in the masjid and the school. The Muslim school and the masjid. Why?

(Sahih Muslim 671)

"The most beloved of the places of the city are the mosques. And the most hated are the marketplaces." Why? Because in the mosque we remember Allah. And in the marketplace we forget Allah.

So tonight I'm asking you brothers and sisters, who will remember that Allah is ar-razzaq, the provider and give to this masjid inshallah. We need three brothers. We need three brothers and or sisters. Now, you know, I don't want to take anything for granted, imam. Do you, will you accept money from sisters tonight? I want to be sure. Some people do some strange stuff. I want to make sure. The imam said, okay.

The First Appeal: $5,000

We want, in order for us to reach some of our goals and I understand that many, we need three generous donators tonight and really I hesitate to ask for such a small amount but I was asked to ask you. Really I want to ask more. But I need three people to make a donation of $5,000 a piece. Remember that this is the baytullah the house of Allah that's loved by Allah. You may never pray there. You may never send your children to that school, doesn't matter. It's the house of Allah and it's madrasah Islamiyah.

Brother, please don't give that up now. Hold up, one second. Brother, not yet, please. I know you're thirsty but give me a minute, okay. I need three people to make a donation of $5,000 a piece. The young brother's raising his hand. Now listen, I don't mind if mom and dad is here and they don't stop him. Silence is approval. Three people, three people of $5,000 a piece.

Anyone, brothers and sisters, anyone can say, yes I'd like to make a donation. Doesn't have to be tonight. It could be over a year. Can anyone pledge $5,000 for this project? Raise your hand. It's for a school. Anyone? I need three, actually I need three brothers. I think they're conferring now. I hope they're conferring about the $5,000. I hope that's what you're talking about. Anyone? $5,000? Anyone? $5,000? Yes, do it brother.

You know, I feel there's a hand like want to go up, right? It's like let's help push him a little bit. Brother, do it for Allah because the knowledge that we're talking about is the knowledge of Allah, the knowledge of deen. Yes, we have pledge forms. Yes, I won't mention your name. I know some of you are very bashful, shy. It's good. It's okay. We can take it public or private but I need $5,000. Three people. Okay, I tell you what, I'm going to make it easy for you. But you got to do this, inshallah. And do we have anybody to write receipts? Okay.

The Second Appeal: $1,000

And brothers and sisters, I want you to raise your hand. I need ten people, really. Honestly, wallahi. I need at least ten people to say, we're going to make a commitment again. It's a very low figure. And by the way, I just came from Arizona. I had a fundraiser. They wanted to raise for a masjid that they're building. And I prayed in the site where they're going to build, inshallah, they laid the foundation. They said we wanted to raise $125,000 last night. Allah blessed them. They raised $175,000. And but they said the people in Arizona is tough. They said the people in this area are tough also. We're going to see.

All I want is ten people, brothers and sisters, to commit to this project, $1,000 apiece. That's all. And I need ten people. Raise your hand. I'm going to start counting them. Allah akbar. One, two, alhamdulillah. I need ten. Sisters, two. Two. Sisters and brothers, $1,000. You can give it all tonight. Or you can make a commitment, stretch it out for a year or a little longer if you like. And brothers and sisters, that's not much. Allah akbar. That's three. That's not much for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Regardless to whether you will ever pray in that masjid again. Why? It doesn't make a difference.

The Reward of Continuous Charity

For Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, $1,000. When a person dies, their work is cut off, it's finished. No more except three. Here's an opportunity to keep our sadaqah continuing to grow by building a masjid and building a school. Three people I need. Allah akbar. Your hand is up. Huh? Yes? Allah akbar. Sister, $1,000. Sister, may Allah bless you. I see you keep looking here. Her dad or her husband, dad must be over here. Where's dad? Allah akbar. Good dad. And dad didn't say no. When you get home, you get home, right?

Four. I think dad gonna be proud of you for making that intention to pray, to spend in the way of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. I need six more people. $1,000. Come on. Don't disappoint us. Allah knows what you have in your pocket. I don't. I want to remind you that what you have in your pocket Allah gave you. To Allah belongs everything in the heavens and the earth.

The Four Types of People

And you know what, brothers and sisters? There's only four kinds of people on the earth. One person Allah gives knowledge and wealth. And this person spends it in the way of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Real knowledge. The knowledge of what to give to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And a person Allah gives only knowledge but no wealth. But this person said, if I had what that person have, I would spend.

I need six people. $1,000. Six more. Raise them up. That's four people with $1,000. Can I get at least one more? Allah Akbar. That's five people. Jazakallah khair.

The Third Appeal: $500

Now brothers and sisters, really you got me at such a low figure but I need at least 20 people with a $500 commitment. Let's count them up. $500 I need at least 20 people. Raise your hand. By the way, some people are writing down now and maybe they're too shy to raise their hand but if you raise your hand, you help us publicly because you help motivate and inspire the others. Even though in the time of the Prophet peace be upon him, somebody raised their hand, other people raised their hand.

$500? Alhamdulillah. Jazakallah khair. Thank you brother for $1,000. $500? Now do we have any pledge forms? Do we have pledge forms? Pledge forms? Use the back of the cards. Now brothers and sisters, in the

back of your cards in the back of your cards you can use that as a pledge form inshallah. Write your name, the amount and a telephone number on the back of the card.

Now brothers and sisters, that doesn't mean that we only want pledges. No, we want money. I would prefer to walk out of here tonight with $100,000 cash or checks but if we don't, Alhamdulillah just make a commitment. Preferably, even if you make a commitment, give something tonight inshallah so the brothers and sisters can walk away with something. And I know the struggle of schools very, very difficult. Very difficult. And Alhamdulillah here's a pledge of $1,800. Alhamdulillah.

Collecting Donations and Pledges

So brothers and sisters, $500 I see one here of $500 Alhamdulillah. Thank you very much. Jazakallah Khair. A brother, anyone else $500? Great. Here's a brother's pledge of $1,000. He paid $500 right now and $500, let's do it. Allahu Akbar. Jazakallah Khair. Brother, thank you very much. I'm not saying the names because I don't want to embarrass anyone. If the organizers want me to say the name, I'll say the name inshallah. So I'm not going to say the name unless you tell me to say the name. Now everyone should have a pledge form.

$500? Maybe somebody's going to surprise me tonight. They're going to write a check for $50,000. Maybe. Hey, guess what? It happened last night. Exactly that. A brother gave $40,000. You know, I asked three categories. I need three people to pay $40,000 a piece. One brother did it. Then I needed some people to do $10,000 so he did $10,000 again. $50,000 from one brother last night.

You know what? You'd be surprised. There's somebody in here who can pay $50,000. I prove it to you. Brother, give me a check for $50,000. Watch. Come on brother. Prove to them that Allah has blessed. It's Allah's grace. He gives it to whom He pleases. You'd be surprised. People have it like that. If you have it like that, brothers and sisters, give it for Allah.

Alhamdulillah. Here's another $500. May Allah bless you. Alhamdulillah, a check for $200. Well, I see everybody's giving their own amount anyway. Despite what I'm asking for, you write what you want to act, right? That's fine. But don't limit it to $5,000. Go beyond that, inshallah. Alhamdulillah. Allahu Akbar. Look at this. $1,000 check. $1,000 pledge. Alhamdulillah. Another pledge for $100. And another pledge for $300. Alhamdulillah.

Give Whatever You Can

Well, I'm asking you, brothers and sisters, give what you can. Whatever you can. And remember this. Please, no one be ashamed to give any amount. Alhamdulillah. Do not announce $1,000. $100. Alhamdulillah. Don't be ashamed to give any amount.

(Sahih Bukhari 1417)

The Prophet said: "Protect yourself from the Fire even with half of a date."

So brothers and sisters, give what you can, inshallah. They're giving the food out. You know what that means, right? I never compete with food. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless you. Brothers and sisters, thank you for everything that you donated. Just remember, the real knowledge is the knowledge of Allah, Islam, the Hereafter. Math, science, yes, is good. It doesn't take precedence over this knowledge that will help you in this life and in the Hereafter. It is the knowledge of Islam that will help you in this life and in the Hereafter. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless you.

We have more, inshallah. Jazakallah khairah. Huh? No, I don't continue when they serve food, brother. That's a rule that I have. No man can compete with food. I'm serious. And you have to be smart enough to know that. Alhamdulillah, $100. Thank you very much, sister. May Allah bless you. Allahu Akbar. $1,000 cash. Alhamdulillah. We have a few, quite a few thousand dollars. So we're gonna count it. And I see them giving out the food, so may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless you, inshallah. Jazakallah khairah.

Assalamualaikum.