The Pursuit of Excellence

The Pursuit of Excellence

Imam Siraj Wahhaj

Opening

(بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim). Alhamdulillah. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, the One and Only. I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

Brothers and sisters, I ask Allah to bless me at this moment to be able to articulate what I feel inside that we could help you inshallah on the way to your progression to become better at what you are. I don't think there is anyone here can deny all of us in this room are Muslims. We get together and we pray and we do the things that Muslims do. And really today inshallah we want to go beyond that. We want to get to the point of excellence.

Different Levels of People

I read a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that kind of give us a good perspective about people. In every way you look brothers and sisters, you notice that there is always different levels of people. Everything you look at, Allah shows us that even in the hereafter, even Jannah is not one place. We have different degrees, we have the very very lowest of Jannah and we have the very very highest of Jannah. Even the hellfire is not the same. It's different levels of hellfire. Some very very low and some very very high. So there is different levels.

From Students to A Students

What I would like to do inshallah is to push this group to be not just students but to be A students. And I was wondering if there is something that we can do to help you inshallah to help us to become A students. And I discovered some things in the Quran and in the sunnah and in life that I think that can help us to become A students.

I mentioned to you yesterday about basketball and teaching you some techniques of basketball. Years ago Dr. Jackson, I don't know if you ever read the book called The Laws of Success by a man named Napoleon Hill. One of the greatest books I've ever read. I recommend you to read it. But what he did, Napoleon Hill, he began to study successful people. And he found out that everyone who was successful was successful for a reason. And he did a study and found out that there were principles and laws of success. And then he put it in a book called The Laws of Success. So there are reasons that people are successful.

Natural Talent vs. Excellence

There is one thing that we will find out if you study basketball. Every coach will agree that there's two things that you can't teach. You see you can teach the techniques of how to dribble a basketball. How to block out, how

to get a rebound, how to pass the ball. You can teach that. But there's two things universally that every coach agrees. One, you can't teach size. And you can't teach speed. I can teach you a crossover dribble. But none does it better than Allen Iverson. He's swift. He's fast. And you can't teach that. It's God-given.

And really Pervez, I don't care how much I train you brother how to play basketball. You'll never be Michael Jordan. You can't. Because there are some things that Allah gave him. Shaquille O'Neal, Allah gave him that gift. Likewise those who sit in this room here, Allah has given you gifts. That's automatic.

Using What Allah Has Given Us

But as I'm in the plane and I go across America and I notice. I said look at this earth. 196,940,000 square miles. And look at it. Look what Allah gave us billions and billions of years ago. But look at it now. Look at all the homes that people built. All the things that man has discovered and put on this earth. And we didn't take the same thing that Allah gave us and gave it back. But Allah gave us the raw material and we took that and we made something great. Look what Allah has done for mankind. And I'm saying, what about us as Muslims? What can we do to pursue excellence? And that's what I want to talk about today.

The Hadith of Doing Extra

I want to first go to an experience. A man came to the Prophet ﷺ asking him about Islam. And the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 46, Sahih Muslim 11)

Five prayers a day.

You know what the man said? هَلْ عَلَيَّ غَيْرُهُنَّ - Is there anything more than that? These five prayers a day. Anything more than that? And the Prophet ﷺ said لَا إِلَّا أَنْ تَطَوَّعَ - Except what you do extra.

Then the Prophet ﷺ said, صِيَامُ شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ - Fasting in the month of Ramadan. The man said هَلْ عَلَيَّ غَيْرُهُ - Is there anything more than that? The Prophet ﷺ said لَا إِلَّا أَنْ تَطَوَّعَ - Except what you do extra.

Then the Prophet ﷺ explained to him this principle called Zakat. He said هَلْ عَلَيَّ غَيْرَهَا - Is there anything more? And the Prophet ﷺ said لَا إِلَّا أَنْ تَطَوَّعَ - Unless you do that which is extra.

And the man said, وَاللَّهِ لَا أَزِيدُ عَلَى هَذَا وَلَا أَنْقُصُ مِنْهُمْ - I swear by Allah, I will not increase. Nor will I decrease from it anything. And the Prophet ﷺ said أَفْلَحَ إِنْ صَدَقَ - He will be successful if he is truthful.

Two Types of Students

Brothers and sisters, when I was going to school, I remember in high school, we always had those students who was always better than anyone else. JazakAllah khair. You always have those students, you know, when they look at the grade, the test, you have students saying, he's performing, he's looking at his grade, he said, man, he's disappointed. And when you look at the grade, it's like 97. And he's disappointed because he wanted better than that. He had the spirit that he wants something better than that. He wasn't satisfied with 97.

And then there's some who get their grade and say, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. What? I got 65, I passed. And so you have the people on both extremes, you have those who just happy to get by. And then you have those who are A student who don't want to get to be the best.

My question to you today in this camp, do you want to be an A student or do you merely want to get by? And what can we do in this camp to make every one of us an A student? I looked around, I studied, and I found something. Inshallah, I believe that's going to help us to be an A student, to be the best that we can be.

The Natural Tendency to Compete

I mentioned to you yesterday that there is a natural tendency among people to compete. They want to get the best job, they want to get the best position on the job. They want to get the highest pay, they want to get the best woman to marry, they want to get the best man to marry. People always trying to get this tendency within people to do the best. But what about Islam? And what is it that will make us rise from one level to a higher level? What is it?

The Price of Excellence

You know, I remember Larry Bird. Larry Bird was a great shooter, Hall of Fame basketball player for the Boston Celtics. And you look at him, people watched him, people watched Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan and others, and you enjoyed looking at them, the expertise. But if you would follow them around, follow Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, or any of the great ones, and you will see, when everyone else is sleeping, they're in that gym, they call them gym rats, shooting. They used to say Larry Bird would shoot hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of foul shots. I think you should talk to Shaquille O'Neal. Kind of help him out a little bit.

But all of them, what were they doing? Working on their game. If you see so many great players go back to their college years, and you will find out that most of them had a relationship with the janitor, and late at night, they would get the key, and they would go to the gym, and they would practice, and they would practice, and they would practice. All of them, without exception, they paid the price.

Natural Gift Without Effort

Every once in a while, you see someone in college, natural gift, 7 feet tall, 300 pounds, great physique, great jumping ability, great speed, but they never become great. And they never become great because they don't go the extra mile. They don't do anything extra. All they do, Allah give them a talent, and that's it.

The Potential Within This Room

I agree with Professor Jackson. There are some great minds in this room. Some of you, I've spoken to you. Brothers and sisters, I marvel at your sagacity and your wisdom and your knowledge. You are smart, really, very

smart. But the question is, will you be ordinary smart, stay on one level, or will you achieve the greatness that you can achieve as a human being with something more than that? And the question is, what is it?

The Simplicity of Islamic Worship

Truthfully, brothers and sisters, if I look at you and watch you make salat, I can't tell you anything about what's going on inside. Because really, to be a Muslim is fairly simple, really. To make prayer five times a day, and I'm embarrassed, truthfully, I'm embarrassed at our worship before Allah based on what Allah has given to us. I'm like embarrassed to say that, you know, we only make prayer five times a day, and we only fast in the month of Ramadan, and we only go to hajj once in our life. I'm embarrassed about how light that is. And personally, I want to go on a higher level.

The Famous Hadith of Jibreel

The very famous hadith of Jibreel alaihi salam, he came to the prophet, and by the way, brothers and sisters, when you get a chance, I mentioned this yesterday, but every hadith, try your best to not only go to the text of the hadith, but go to the setup of the hadith. Because always even in the setup of the hadith, there's wisdom for you.

For instance, in this very famous hadith narrated by Umar radiallahu anhu, he said:

(Sahih Muslim 8)

We were sitting with the messenger of Allah ﷺ one day, and a man appeared.

He didn't say جَاءَ رَجُلٌ or أَتَى رَجُلٌ - He said - A man appeared. Not a man came, but a man appeared. And you know the hadith, the long hadith, this man was actually Jibril. He came with a white, exceedingly white suit, and his hair was exceedingly black, and there was no sign of, trace of traveling on him, and no one recognized him. And then he put his knees against the knees of the prophet, and he put the palms of his hand on the thighs of the prophet, and then he began to ask the prophet the question. All of that, there's wisdom in it.

So the students, don't just go to the hadith, but they go to all the setup, because all of that's said for a reason, and there's something for us to learn from that.

Islam, Iman, and Ihsan

But anyway, going to the text of the hadith أَخْبِرْنِي عَنِ الْإِسْلَامِ - Explain to me what Islam is. This is Jibril asking the prophet, and this is the easy part. Oh, to bear witness that there's no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is his messenger, to establish the salat, to pay the zakat, to fast in the month of Ramadan, and to make the hajj into Mecca, when you're able to do so.

If you look at all of those things, all of these pillars, it's something that you can observe with your eyes, hear with your ears. I heard him, he's a Muslim, I heard him take shahada, I saw him making salat, I was with him

the whole day in Ramadan, and he didn't eat. So these are things that you can observe.

So when in the Quran, the desert Arabs say that we believe, Allah says, don't say that you believe, just say that you submit it. (Quran 49:14) Yeah, you make salat, and yes, you pay zakat, you do all of that, but do you really believe? Because as professor Jackson said, belief is something different now, that's a higher level now. And it's something, belief is something that you can't see, it's something inside of you. Do you really believe in Allah? Do you really believe in yawm al-akhir? Do you really believe in the angels? Do you really believe? Do you really believe?

Now, and finally, the last thing, Jibril asked the prophet Muhammad فَأَخْبِرْنِي عَنِ الْإِحْسَانِ : - Explain to me what al-ihsan is. Al-ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you can't see Him, know that He sees you.

This is the level we want to get to here, inshallah. And that's why I'm asking Allah to help us to get to this stage.

Allah Orders Perfection

The prophet ﷺ said, Allah has ordered us, prescribed for us perfection in anything we do:

(Sahih Muslim 1955)

Everything that you notice in the Quran and in the sunnah, everything that Allah asks us to do is for our best interest. Everything. Nothing that Allah asks us to do that is not for our best interest.

Fasting is Better For You

Even things that appear to be very difficult for us to do. It doesn't say, Allah is doing it for our interest. Just a couple of examples:

And that you fast is better for you if you but know it.

So everything that Allah asks us to do is for our best interest. Now shaitan, he tricks us. And he makes us to believe that these things that we can get immediate pleasure. He makes us think and deceive us to think that that's for our best interest. But it's really not.

The Beauty of Marital Relationships

Let me tell you something brothers. I swear by Allah, there's nothing better on this earth than a beautiful marital relationship. To have a wife or husband that you love together loving each other for Allah. Anything that you do outside of those boundaries definitely won't bring you pleasure.

I was listening to Professor Jackson yesterday. Notice how he's talking about going after things and you're looking like you really want to get it. But it seems like the moment you get it well, you no longer want it. This is the deception of this world. You ask these men who run after women one woman after another you think that they're happy. They'll never be satisfied. They will never be satisfied.

Paying the Price

Now how can we get to that plane to want to strive higher? The question is what price are you willing to pay? The one thing that we learned about anyone who wanted excellence in anything there's a price that you have to pay. No one can get it without striving for it. And the number one thing that you have to do you have to pay the price. And the price is time. The price is time. Are you willing to pay the time?

The Incentive System

How do people get people, move people, motivate people to move to do things in this society? Incentive. The major incentive in this world is money. They dangle money in front of you. We give you a job and give you X amount of money give you lodging and give you expenses. They dangle money in front of you. The question is can Islam offer us something greater incentive? And I say yes.

The Condition of the Muslim Ummah

Brothers and sisters go around the world and go and look at the condition of the Muslim ummah and you will see every country look to see who's the leader in that country. And then I will tell you about the condition of the Muslim ummah. Who is it that can help motivate us to put us on the top level?

The Importance of Leadership - The Coach

In the language of basketball it's the coach. You know brothers what happens if you have great basketball players and they have a bad record. What do they do? Fire the coach. It's the coach man. They find a coach. Give it to the coach. Because the assumption is that the people are there, the players are there but the coach doesn't have the ability to get out of the players the best.

This principle is in the sharia and I'll show you how. If we use the language of basketball who was one of the greatest coaches ever? No, no, no, no. No, no. In Islam. The best coach. Huh? Prophet Muhammad. He was a great coach because of what he was able to do with those who were around him. Allah gave him raw material but Allah took that raw material and the Prophet did something to them so that these people who were pagans yesterday become some of the greatest people on the face of the planet earth ever in the annals of history. Why? Because of the ability of that leader.

The Best Generation

To do something with these people that nobody could do something with. These people were steeped in ignorance but one man was able to come and make a difference. He was able to make a difference with these people because he inspired them to do things of greatness.

The Prophet said it,

(Sahih al-Bukhari 2652, Sahih Muslim 2533)

"The best of my ummah is my generation and then the generation that comes after it."

Look at Abu Bakr. Look at Umar. Look at Ali. Look at Uthman. Look at Khadijah. Look at Aisha. How did they come like that? This is why if you get a good leader he is worth his weight in gold because of what he can do. Look around the world.

The Power of Leadership - A Personal Experience

You know, Professor Jackson one of our brothers, his mother died a few months ago. And they had a funeral for her in the church. She wasn't a Muslim. But this woman, I got to know her. Elderly sister. Her son, the Muslim, Ali, he used to go with me, travel with me at times. And do you know that this woman, she's a Christian. Every Sunday, without any exception, she plays one of my tapes. Her son brings the khutbah Friday home every Friday and she don't listen to it Friday. She waits till Sunday.

And one day, you know, she said, Where is that imam? Where is that tape for that imam? Right? And I got to know her. She died. She wasn't a Muslim. But I went to the funeral for my brother Ali. And a number of us, we went, we sat there. Because of my brother. His mother died. He was sitting there and I was there. I was there with him, my brother.

And I noticed in that church all of these people, all of these Christians, they were singing and shouting and loving Jesus. They all love Jesus. Every church you go, they love Jesus. And they're taught to love Jesus. The Jews, I read a book by a Jewish rabbi. And in the introduction of the book, he says, Yes, Moses, the greatest of all prophets. Jews believe Moses to be the great prophet. The greatest of all prophets.

Following Leaders and Groups

So the Jews extolling the name of Moses and the Christians extolling the name of Jesus and the Muslims extolling the name of Muhammad. These great prophets. And then everywhere you look, there are people, there are groups, there are organizations. Even among the Muslims, there's a group here and a group there. And the leadership of those groups push the people to believe in one area, one section, one area of concern. Leadership.

The Danger of Misguided Leadership

There's a Christian leader on the west coast named Price. He did about a 10-part series against Islam. I don't

know if you heard about it. Attacking Islam. Brothers told me about it. And told me, Imam Siraj, he's coming on next Sunday. And I turned it on. Very skillful. I don't know if you ever saw him. This man said, Frederick Price, he said, there are nine volumes of Bukhari Hadith. And I read all nine from cover to cover. And then he started quoting from Al-Bukhari Hadith out of context. Trying to make the Prophet look bad and try to make Islam look bad. And I'm looking at the audience. And I'm saying, subhanAllah, they're listening to this minister and the minister is guiding them.

Uganda, about a month ago, we read about all these people that committed suicide. Close to a thousand people. Somebody convinced them. In Guyana, years ago, Jim Jones, somebody convinced them. And everywhere you look, groups of people following somebody. And everywhere, misguided, but because of the leader ability to convince people, even to convince people to go to hell.

The Hadith About Blind Obedience

And this is why one of the scariest Hadith that I've ever read, when the Prophet said in one word, he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 7257, Sahih Muslim 1840)

"Had they gone in that fire, they never would have come out."

And these are the people whom the Prophet told, a man, a Muslim made him their leader in the Ghazwah and told them to follow him. And he told them the same thing he mentioned, to go in the fire. And some of the Muslims thought about going in the fire and they hesitated. And some of them said, wait a minute, we're following the Prophet to be saved from the fire. And they didn't go into the fire. And when the word got back to the Prophet, he said, had they gone in that fire, they never would have come out, ever. Because obedience is only what's right and what's just.

The Check on Leadership

So everywhere, people are talking, people trying to get you to do things. So it's not a leader, just ability to get you to do something, but it's to get you to do something that's right. And the beautiful thing about us as Muslims is that we have a check on every leader. The check on the leader is the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad.

Paying the Price for Excellence

Now, how do we get to that point of excellence? It's simple, it's simple, brothers and sisters, to pay the price. I don't have to follow brother Sherman Jackson to follow him around and see how much he studied the Arabic over the years. I don't have to. I know he paid the price.

Oh, by the way, I want to correct something. I saw in the page of me, they said that Imam Siraj attended Umm al-Qura. Brother, I attended for like one month, brother. Four months, rather. I didn't attend the school. We were in the school, the University of Mecca at the time. But it was a training program that we were in. And so I don't

want to mislead you. I mean, I saw it there. I don't want you to think that I went there. I'm just a little guy. I didn't attend it. I happened to be there.

And I know the price that he had to pay. Hamza Yusuf, same thing. Went to Mauritania. A price that he had to pay. Whenever you get to a certain level, it's a price that you had to pay at the time.

The Question of Time

I finish with this. What price are you willing to pay? I mean, really, to be the best that you can be. What price? Five prayers a day? Fasting the month of Ramadan? What price? Coming to a camp every year for two days? Going to a month retreat? What price are you willing to pay?

And I've determined, I found out, definitely, the higher you want to go in anything in life is the principle. You have to pay the price. And the biggest price is your time. If that's true, the question is, where will you get the time to become Hafiz of Quran? Where will you get the time to learn Arabic? You know what you have to do? You have to look at your time right now and ask yourself the question, how am I spending my time? How much time of my time is being wasted? Wasted away, sitting around doing nothing instead of using that time.

The Problem of Television

I read reports with some Americans who watch TV up to 40 hours a week. How do you watch TV 40 hours a week? That's a job, man. At least if they're going to pay you. But think about it, Akhi, think about it. If you take those 40 hours instead of watching TV, and I'm telling you what happens when you watch TV, by the way. It's not just you losing the time, but somebody is doing something with your mind. Somebody is trying to sell you a product. Somebody is trying to get you to do something that's going to enrich them and further make you poor.

And so the more you sit down and watch them, you watch these silly programs and because when you watch them, you empower them actually. But what happens is that when you watch it, brothers and sisters, I promise you, I promise you, something is happening to your soul. I guarantee it.

Making the Choice

Question is, are you willing to cut back from some of those things that you do in order to take that extra time to become, to pursue excellence? I finish with this. You know, one of the most compelling hadith with Aisha radiallahu anha when she at late at night saw her husband, the messenger of Allah, praying many extra rakats. Praying. Why do you do this? Allah is already forgiving your sins of the past and the future. Why do you do this? And he said, should I not want to be a thankful servant of Allah? (Sahih al-Bukhari 1130, Sahih Muslim 2819)

The Prophet's Example of Excellence

And if you look at the prophet, he was never satisfied with just doing the ordinary. He always did more. And

that's why he's where he is. Because he did more. You want to be ordinary? You just want to pass? Fine. Just do the major. Just do the major, make your prayers, and do these fard. But if you want to go the ihsan, get to a high level. The prophet explained to us, the thing most loved by Allah is those deeds, those fard things. Fard. But if you really want to get the love of Allah, do the nawafil, the extra. And this is a principle in life, that if you ever want to get to the highest level, you have to do extra. Extra credit. More. And when you do the more, inshallah, you rise to the highest level.

Channeling the Desire to Compete

This natural inclination of people to compete with one another, Allah recognizes that. And He gives us an avenue of expression. Two things, one ayah from hadith, one ayah from Quran and one hadith. Hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 5027)

"The best of you, you want to be the best? Fine. Then channel that desire to be the best in what's pleasing to Allah. The best of you are those who learn the Quran."

Stop. How much of us are learning the Quran? Really, learning the Quran. But don't stop there, وَعَلَّمَهُ - and teach it. This is the level that we reach.

And finally:

"We made you into nations and tribes that you know one another. Verily, the most honored of you in the sight of Allah are those who fear Allah the most."

Knowledge and Fear of Allah

Be careful. Be very careful, brothers and sisters. The Prophet said, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, I know Allah and I fear Allah more than any of you. You need knowledge but you can't have knowledge without fear. Because if you don't fear Allah, you're going to pick up this Quran and you're going to justify everything you want to do. If you don't fear Allah, if you're not conscious of Allah, if you're not learning and getting closer to Allah, then you're going to pick up hadith and you're going to do anything that you want to do. But you've got to fear Allah.

Creating Leaders

And I pray Allah would help us to create from this group, leaders that not only know Allah and fear Allah, but leaders that will inspire others. I don't say that you should be a leader just for leadership sake. I remember I think it was in Detroit, one of my first public speeches I've ever gave and I was speaking about leadership. Yeah, Muslims are going to be the leaders. The brother came to me, he's an Arab, I don't know what country he's from. He says, Imam Siraj, you know what, he said, don't seek to be a leader. He said, seek to be a slave of Allah. And if you're a slave of Allah, if Allah pleases, He'll make you a leader.

So I say that in context to this group, is that to be a slave of Allah so that Allah can help you with the people in this society. But I warn you, to be to the top, very few are there. The average person, mediocre. Just like everyone else.

The Reality of the Minority

Go to the Hadith of the Prophet, how many people be in a hellfire? Every 1,999 in the hellfire. One person in Jannah. The minority of the people. (Sahih al-Bukhari 3348, Sahih Muslim 222)

What's the population of America? 272 million. How many of them are Muslims? Maybe 7 million, 8 million, 9 million. It's a small percentage. How many of the people Muslims? Of the Muslims, how many of those will make the Salah?

Pursuing Excellence in Everything

But if you're going to be trying to perfect and pursue excellence, then that means that I must pursue excellence in everything I do. Is it possible, brothers and sisters, that we make prayer five times a day and get no credit for it?

The Hadith of the Man Who Didn't Pray Properly

I remember reading the Prophet ﷺ and he was very observant. I noticed this about him. He's very observant. You know why? Because he loves his ummah. And he watches them. And a man comes in the masjid, he said, (السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ - As-salamu alaykum ya Rasulullah). The Prophet ﷺ said, (وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَام - wa alaykum as-salam). The Prophet ﷺ was noticing the man. He was making salat.

And so when the man finished the salat and gave salams, the Prophet ﷺ gave salams back and said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 757, Sahih Muslim 397)

Go back and pray. For you have not prayed.

The man went back and prayed again. When he finished he said, (السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ - As-salamu alaykum ya Rasulullah). Wa (وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَام - alaykum as-salam). (ارْجِعْ فَصَلِّ فَإِنَّكَ لَمْ تُصَلِّ - Go back and pray. For you have not prayed.)

The man prayed a third time and came back. (السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ - As-salamu alaykum ya Rasulullah). Wa (وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَام - alaykum as-salam). (ارْجِعْ فَصَلِّ فَإِنَّكَ لَمْ تُصَلِّ - Go back and pray. For you have not prayed.)

And the man said, Ya Rasulullah, I don't know a better prayer than this. Teach me how to pray. And so the Prophet ﷺ taught him how to pray. And you know one of the things that you have to have in your prayer? The scholars they call it طمأنينة - That means calmness. This man was moving so fast that there was no real concentration on the prayer.

Excellence in Prayer

So if you want to pursue excellence, the first thing you got to do is look at your prayer. I'm not even talking

about the extra prayer, the prayer itself. You got to look at it.

Those who are successful, they have this humility in their prayer.

Assignment: Visit a Criminal Court

I have an assignment for you. How many of you have ever been in a criminal court? Raise your hand. I mean not as a defendant or anything like that. If you've never been in a court, what I want you to do, when you go back to Houston, or go back to whatever city you're from, Austin or wherever you're from. Take one day and go to a criminal court, and I want you to sit down in the court, and I want you to observe a few things.

You will notice that when the judge comes in, he has a black robe. And when the judge comes in, the attendant says, All stand. Professor Jackson, you may disagree with this, but I remember about 15 years ago, we were in court. A lot of Muslims were there. One of the brothers was having a case. And we were sitting there, and the judge came. And the court officer said, All rise. I said to the Muslims, Remain seated. Everyone in the court looked. And I said, Your Honor, I want to approach you. These Muslims who sat, there's no disrespect to you or your court. We respect your court, and that's why we're here. And have to abide by your judgment. However, in our religion, we are very careful about our worship of any other than Allah. And this is no disrespect to you. We think that it is too much.

Honestly, I told him that. The next day, Allah is my witness. We're in court, and the court officer said, Here comes the judge, all remain seated. They did that out of the respect of us, even though they may not agree with it. The fact that we stood up, and we spoke, and we addressed them with respect.

Fear of the Judge

But when you go to court, you see the judge with the black robe. Notice as these young men come in, their hands behind their backs. And as they walk in front of the judge, it's all psychological. Got his head bowing down. And these young men are afraid because they know that this judge is going to make a decision that's going to affect the rest of their lives. And they're humble before the judge.

I watch them. Sometimes you think that they have handcuffs behind them. There's no handcuffs there. It's psychological. Because they know that when they go in front of the judge, they have to act a certain way. And so they go there, and I'm telling you, brother, you said put your hand on your chest and feel the beating of the heart. I'm telling you, you go to court, and you put your hand on the beating of that man that's standing in front of the judge. I'm telling you, brother, the heart will be beating fast because they feel a kind of reverence for that judge because that judge can make a decision that's going to affect the rest of their lives. And the people there are shaking.

The Judge's Power

And the judge, he can be a puny little thing. A small little guy, man, with a booming voice. Yes, sir, you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Put you in jail the rest of your life. Throw away the key. A little guy, man, if you saw him in the streets, he's a man out. But he's a judge. He's a judge, and you, he's a human being.

Examples of Powerful People Humbled

He's a human being, Mayor Giuliani. Everybody afraid of Mayor Giuliani with his zero tolerance of crime. Giuliani. Then Allah exposed his own private life. Allah exposed him now. The same one that put fear in the whole city. You know we have 40,000 police officers in New York City, man? And you can't hardly drive the street unless some police officer's harassing you. They got these, what they call those things? Barricades, man, everywhere you go. Stopping you. People afraid. People being afraid of being shot by the police. People afraid.

But then Allah exposed these people and make you show that they're nobody. They're nobody. So every once in a while, Allah take a great man deemed great in this society, President Clinton. He'll take Mayor Giuliani or anyone else that's dangling in front of the world as some great power. Allah will humble them.

Not Bowing to Anyone But Allah

But yet, when you go to them, I see Muslims, subhanAllah, really. They go in front of the President. You know, bowing, man, and scraping, man. You meet the President. He's a Muslim, man. I don't do that, man. I meet him like this. How you doing, sir? Like this. I'm not like, man, you ain't all that, man. You're not all that.

When I went to Ankara, when I stood in front of the Congress, man, I didn't, like, change my dress, change my attire. This is me, man. Take it or let it alone. This is what I like to dress. I don't want to dress like that. I don't want to look like you. I don't want to dress like that. And I'm not going to dress like that to please you. I'm dressing like this.

That's how I feel. And I'm not going to change my dress to please you. And I'm not honored to be in the Congress. So the Congressman said, Imam Siraj, we're honored to have you. I'm not going out like that. Man, because you're a Muslim, brother. You're a Muslim. You got the deen. You got the Quran. Why are you bowing down? So we bow down to all these people. All these people. All our professors. All our teachers. We bow down to them.

Standing Before Allah in Prayer

But yet the Lord of the worlds, we go:

Now you, Akhi, Allah knows the state of your Salah. Maybe, Akhi, really, when you look at it, maybe none of us made Salah. Really? But how many of us have the khushu'a? Really, when we're standing before Allah,

knowing that you're standing before the Lord of the worlds, it's not just a ritual. It's real. It's real. You're talking to Allah. It's real. It's no game. You're not playing. It's real. Your life is real. You're standing before Allah. It's real.

A Personal Experience in Prayer

I remember once, Akhi, really, I was praying. You're right about Iman going up and down. I was praying that I was like this, Akhi. And I never felt like this in my Salah before. I felt, Akhi, such a presence of Allah. Wallahi. I felt that if I looked up, I would see. Wallahi. And that happened to me but once in my life. Once in my life, I swear by Allah, my prayer was such a degree that I was afraid to look up lest I see my Lord.

Experiencing the Presence of Allah

I remember one time, you know, and every, you know, you're always trying to get closer to Allah. You try different ways to get close to Allah, right? So, I'm in my car. And I told you yesterday, I really try, I try my best to practice. And we're human, so we don't make mistakes. But I try my best, right? And I said, Oh Allah, just be with me. Just call on Allah in my car. Because one thing I learned about our Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, his relationship with his Lord was real. He's always calling on Allah for everything. It's real. He ain't no once in a while, Alhamdulillah. No, it's real, man.

As Professor Jackson, his little performance is real, man. Every day, it's real with him. 24 hours a day, every day. On his camel, on the donkey, it's real. So, I'm driving my car. And I'm asking Allah, you know, Can I be with you? And I felt like, you know, the presence. You know, it's not, I don't, I don't. And please, my sister, don't get me wrong. I'm not telling you, you know, I'm there. No, not by any means. Once. Once in my prayer, once in the car. That's it. Right? And I felt like a presence. So, I'm driving around. So, now what do I do? See? You ask for Allah. You feel, you feel a presence. But now, what do you do? How do you sustain it? He's there. How do you, how do you, what do you do with it now?

The Value of Dhikr

So, I'm telling you, there's nothing better in this world than the dhikr, and the remembrance of Allah. We take it, we take it for granted. We take it for granted. Something like salat. We take it for granted. I'm not talking about doing extra. I'm talking about just doing the fard. We don't really put in it in the real, the khushu'a and the humility.

Another Assignment: Feel Your Heart

You know what I want you to do? I want you to put your hand on your heart too. Go to the court. I don't mean now. But go to the court and watch those people before the judge. And if you ever stand in front of the judge, watch your own self in front of the judge, how you feel. And then when you make salat, feel your own heart.

And see if you feel anything. How real is Allah to you? How real? How real is Allah to you? Or is it just some vague concept?

Making Allah Real Through Practice

You're right, professor. You know how you do it? Practice. Everything you do, all the food that you get, ask Allah for it. And then thank Him when He gives it to you. Then it becomes real to you. All the gifts that He gives you, thank Him for it. And use it the right way.

The Value of Eyes

And I'm really finished. I know I told you this before, but I'm really finished. Professor, you mentioned about how much would you pay for eyes? $5,000? Let me say this. You know, there's some people in this society that are sick. Who would do it? They got places where people, they sell their organs to get money. They're desperate.

I mentioned this person accused of killing these people in Wendy's yesterday. You know what I was thinking about? I was thinking about that worker who makes $5.90 an hour. He's on the job, man. She's on the job trying to feed their family. $5.90 an hour. You know why they killed him? You know what the motive was? You know why they killed him? Money. $2,000. And afraid that they're going to recognize him. A witness. But they already, Allah already knows. It's there, it's done.

How to Thank Allah for Eyes

But you know what? Professor Jackson, how thankful are we of the eyes? You know how you thank someone? You say, brother, thank you. I appreciate it. And he's right, man. I'm telling you human nature. If somebody gives you $500, brother, you feel obligated. That's just human nature. There's an old proverb. It says something like this. He who pays the piper calls the tune. And when you're paying someone out of gratefulness, these people often do your bidding.

But I got a bigger test for you, brothers and sisters. These eyes, $5,000, $10,000? How much is it worth to you? How do you thank Allah for them? Oh, Allah, thank you for giving me these eyes. Thank you, Allah, for giving me these ears. Thank you, Allah, for giving me these lips, and these tongue, and these hands. Thank you, Allah.

But can I tell you something a little bit better, a better way to demonstrate your thankfulness? Use these eyes only to look at halal. That's how you thank Allah.

The Best Muslims in America

Want to thank him, brother? Let me tell you something. This is my opinion, you know. This is my opinion. Some of the best Muslims in the world are in America. And some of the worst are in America. Let me tell you what makes the best. You're young brothers, man. You're really young and strong. When you walk past that blockbuster, and they got a section in there, adult entertainment. If you take that and put it in your VCR and

watch these so-called adult movies, you disrespect the eyes that Allah gave you. If you walk past it, you're one of the best Muslims. Because in many Muslim societies you can't get it, unless it's underground.

Thanking Allah with Our Tongues

You want to respect your tongue? You want to thank Allah for the tongue that he gave you? Okay, fine. Use the tongue for the remembrance of Allah. Use the tongue only to speak the truth. Don't use the tongue for lying.

The Hadith About Zina

I mentioned yesterday that is inevitable that everyone of you must, must, must, must have a portion of adultery. And the hadith continues, the adultery of the eyes is to look, the adultery of the ears is to listen. The adultery of the feet, the feet of the one who take you to do the act. And finally, your heart desires it. And finally, the private part, either it commits it fully or it doesn't. (Sahih al-Bukhari 6243, Sahih Muslim 2657)

Thanking Allah for Our Feet

If you want to thank Allah for your feet. Sheikh Hakeem, Hakeem Jackson, you look at the person in the wheelchair, and you thank Allah that you're not in that position. But I look at my feet, and I don't like where my feet go. I was in a masjid, man, and the other day a brother was making wudu. I had never seen a wudu like that in my life. That was the best wudu. And the thing that, I mean, he was doing, the way he was working his feet. I mean, I don't know, Hakeem, I was impressed, I was really mesmerized by it. I've never been mesmerized by wudu before. But this one really, Wallahi, Hakeem, you know, and I started thinking about it.

I said, man, you know what? From now on, man, I know that on Yawm al-Qiyamah, my feet are going to be a witness against me. And all these body parts are going to be witness. I want to be the highest that I can be. And I want to make sure that all of these things that I got from Allah, that I use it for good.

Closing Dua

So may Allah help us to improve our Islam, our Iman, and our Ihsan, to become the best that we can be to take one more step to do something extra for Allah. And when we do something extra for Allah, then we get closer to Allah. And when we become close to Allah, we become the friends of Allah. And then we become the feet by which Allah, Allah becomes our feet by which we walk, as the Hadith said. And inshallah, we'll be guided.

May Allah bless us to become more excellent for His pleasure. Ameen.

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.