Live Your Life With a Vision
By Zahir Mahmood | 2026-01-19T06:17:41.051452+00:00 | Topic: General
Live Your Life With a Vision
Shaykh Zahir Mahmood
Opening
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen. As-salatu wa as-salamu ala Sayyidil Mursaleen Mawlana Muhammad wa ala alihi wa ashabihi wa man tabi'ahum bi ihsanin ila yawm ad-deen
Respected brothers, sisters, respected scholars, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
The Importance of Having a Vision
Mashallah, some very enlightening words by Shaykh Khaytham. As Shaykh Khaytham said, believers should be people who have a vision. There is a saying that the best use of one's life is that it is utilized in a manner that a person does an action which outlives his own existence. So he does an action, and after he's dead, the action outlives his existence. In the Islamic narrative we call this as-sadaqat al-jariyah - that you do an action, you've left this dunya, but you are still getting reward for that action although you lie in the depth of your grave.
Man's Aspirations and Death
People have aspirations - everybody has aspirations. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) once spoke about man's aspirations. He drew a box, and then he drew another line which started from outside the box and finished on the other side of the box. Then from this line, he took out other lines which came out of the box.
The Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said that the first line, the long line, is man's life. The box is death, and the other lines which come out of the box are man's aspirations. Man dies, but he still has these aspirations. He still aspires, he had all these large, huge aspirations, but death befalls him and he doesn't reach these aspirations.
As a poet says: If you go to the graveyard and you ask the people who lay in the grave, they would tell you about all their aspirations that they had, their desires that they had. If only Allah had given them more time, they had thought about what they're going to do tomorrow and the next week, and they had a huge vision for their business, for their career. But little did they know that before they would fulfill their aspiration, death would befall them.
The Reality of Our Priorities
This is my and your reality. We have all these aspirations, and the vast majority of our aspirations are actually dunyawi aspirations. So we're thinking about our career, we're thinking about our business, we're thinking about our houses, which area we live in, and hopefully where we'll be living in 15 and 20 years.
But there's another abode which we often forget, which, as the Prophet said, is either a garden from the gardens of Jannah or it is a pit from the pits of Jahannam - and that is our grave.
Luqman the wise once said: "Work in the dunya according to the time that you're going to live in it, and work for the hereafter according to the time that you're going to live in it."
How long are me and you going to live in this dunya? But we dissipate our existence in the pursuit of this dunya. And our eternal abode in which me and you will reside - how much do we work for that? This is stupidity. This is nothing short of stupidity.
An Example of Misplaced Priorities
If I said to you, "I had prepared two weeks to come to this gathering. For two weeks I've been preparing. But I went abroad recently to Malaysia and I had prepared an hour or two hours for my travel to Malaysia," you'd think this guy is foolish, he's warped. He went to Malaysia, he prepared two hours, and to come to this gathering, he prepared for two weeks. You'd think I got my priorities wrong.
Then I ask you, my dear respected brothers and sisters: The amount of time that we work for a temporary abode like the dunya compared to a permanent abode, the akhirah - then are we not stupid? Do we not have our priorities warped?
The Prophet's Vision for the Sahaba
This is why it's very important for believers to have a vision. What is your vision? People have business plans - a hundred-year business plan. He'll expire and the plan's still there. Fifty-year business plans. But what is my and your aspiration?
As Shaykh Haytham said, we have these aspirations, and even if we don't attain these aspirations, Allah will reward us for our intention if it's sincere for the sake of Allah.
This is what the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) gave. He gave these people, the Sahaba, a vision. He gave them an aspiration.
Before Islam vs. After Islam
Before Islam, you know the history of the Arabs before Islam - two main superpowers never wanted to rule over that part of the Arab Peninsula. The Romans, the Byzantines, and the Persians were not really interested in that part of the world.
Then came to them the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), and he gave them an aspiration. He gave them an impetus. He motivated them until these people became the best of creation after the Anbiya to walk on the face of this earth. Why? Because he gave them a vision.
This is what we are lacking. We are lacking an Islamic vision. We are lacking an Islamic aspiration. He gave them an aspiration which changed the world.
The Battle of Khandaq (Ahzab)
On the Battle of Khandaq, also known as the Battle of Ahzab (the Battle of the Confederates), all the enemies of Islam gathered and they marched onto Medina. The Muslims were a fraction of their number. It was mid-winter. Many of the Sahaba and the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) hadn't eaten for days.
The Sahaba who came to the Messenger of Allah complained about hunger. They removed their garment and they had a stone tied to their stomach. The Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) removed his garment and he had two stones tied to his stomach.
Then they were digging the trenches. They came to a boulder and they couldn't break this boulder. So they came to the Messenger of Allah (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ). The Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) came and he struck this boulder. A third of it broke and there was this huge spark. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said "Allahu Akbar."
Then the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) struck it again. A third of it broke and there was a huge spark. The Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said "Allahu Akbar."
Then the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) struck it the third time and it broke into pieces, small pieces. There was a spark and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said "Allahu Akbar."
The Vision Revealed
The Sahaba asked the Messenger of Allah: "The spark, the Allahu Akbar - what was it?"
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: "When I struck it the first time, Allah showed me that a day would come that the Muslims would take the palaces of Yemen. When I struck it the second time, Allah showed me that a day would come that we would take the Byzantine palaces of Sham. When I struck it the third time, Allah showed me that a day would come that we would take the White Palace in Madain of the superpower of the day - the Persians."
This was a reality. The Munafiqeen began to say: "Look at this man, he's promising them that they will become the superpower of the day, and one of us is scared to go and relieve himself."
But within a very short time, because the Messenger of Allah gave the Sahaba this aspiration, he gave them this vision, in a very short time, in the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the Muslims became the superpower of the day. Why? Because the people had an aspiration. They were motivated by this deen. They were motivated for the akhirah. This is why they made a change. They had a vision.
The Problem with Our Current Vision
Limited Scope
Also with that vision they had a scope. They had a scope. They were motivated for the sake of deen, but they had this huge scope.
The problem is today that you see the Muslim community - those who are motivated, their vision is this [indicates small scope]. Their vision isn't this [indicates large scope], it's this [indicates small scope].
What makes many youngsters and many even elders feel good is that they will be speaking about issues of differences. This is the scope of their vision. So they're still talking about: "Should you be joining the feet in salah? Should you be placing your hands on your chest or above your navel or below your navel?"
1400 years and you still haven't sorted out your salah? For real? 1400 years? You haven't sorted out your salah? But it makes you feel good, doesn't it? We can run down the other person. And that's your scope and that's your vision. This is why you're in this state that you're in.
The Reality of Our Limitations
Because the reality is this: You know that you can't deal with the issues outside. You can't deal with the issues outside because you have no vision. The vast majority of the Jummah khutbahs are upon these kind of issues.
I'm not saying that a person doesn't need to learn his salah - you need to learn your salah. But for years that's what you see youngsters bickering upon. For years. 1400 years and you haven't sorted out your salah.
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) gave the Sahaba a vision that they became the superpower of the day.
Comparison: Simple Masjid, Great Results
The Sahaba didn't have huge masjids like this. The Masjid an-Nabawi was 30 by 35 meters - that's all it was. After the battle of Khaybar it was extended a bit more. That's all the size of the masjid of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was.
There was no fancy carpet on the floor. There was no AC. The ceilings barely exceeded the heads of those who prayed within it. There were no firm walls - they were made out of unbaked clay. But the people, the men and the women which emanated from the masajid, they were baked, they were motivated.
Small masjid like the masjid of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) changed the landscape of half of the world. Why? Because people had a vision. People were motivated.
The Sahaba's Motivation
You look at the Sahaba - they knew the virtue of salat in Mecca and Medina. But how many of them died in Mecca and Medina? The vast majority of the Sahaba couldn't even read and write. But I ask you a question: Can any shaykh today say that he knew tafseer better than the Sahaba? No, because they lived it.
Allah says in the Quran:
"Those who make an effort in our path, we will show them the path. We will guide them to the path."
But you got to have a vision. You got to be motivated.
The Need for Action, Not Just Talk
All day, you know, we talk about Iraq, we talk about Afghanistan, we talk about Syria, we talk about Palestine. But what do we actually do for these movements? What do we actually do? How much time do we spend? We want to revolutionize the world. We want to revolutionize the world. But me and you, we can't wake up for the Fajr salah.
I'm not saying you can't speak about these issues if you don't pray the Fajr salah. But in Islam you have a thing called priorities. The help of Allah descends upon people's actions.
The Lesson from Umar ibn al-Khattab
When Umar ibn al-Khattab sent Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas on the Battle of Qadisiyyah - this was the battle between the Muslims and the superpower of the day - what did Umar ibn al-Khattab say to Sa'd?
He said: "O Sa'd, let me tell you that the vast majority of people who lose battles is not because of numbers or their weapons, but it's because they begin to sin. It's because of their actions."
This is what we need today. We need brothers and sisters who are motivated for the sake of Allah, who have a vision, who are motivated, who have a concern. But that motivation must start from yourself.
Personal Vision and Development
Vision for Yourself
What vision do you have for yourself? What vision do you have for yourself? If you are coming to the masjid, where do you want to be in 5 years? Where do you want to be in 10 years?
If you don't know Arabic, don't you want to understand the Quran when you sit in the masjid? So what's your vision? You've been so-called practicing for the last 10 years, but you haven't learned the Arabic language. Why? Why haven't you at least endeavored? All you need to do is take one class a week. One class a week. What's your vision?
Vision for Your Children
Let me ask you: What's your vision for your children? If your child is 1 year old, still in the mother's stomach, what's your vision? Where do you want your child to be when he's at the age of 6? Where do you want your child to be when he's at the age of 10? When he's at the age of 14? When he's at the age of 16? Have you ever thought about it?
Or do we just send him to school, that's it. As long as he goes to a good school, that's it, reasonable school. Islamically, what vision do you have for that child?
The Warning About Spiritual Neglect
Allah says in the Quran:
"Do not kill your children due to the fear of poverty." (Quran 17:31)
Let me tell you: If you kill your child like the Arabs - some of them would bury their child alive or for other reasons - and you killed your child because of the fear of poverty, that's obviously haram in front of Allah. But inshallah your child will go to Jannah.
But if you spiritually kill your child - that you've never spent any time with that child, you never had a vision for that child, you never sat with the child, the TV spent more time with your child than you did - why? Because your vision was that you wanted a bigger car, you wanted a bigger house, you wanted a bigger bank balance, and you have deprived that child. You have spiritually killed that child.
Then your sin is worse than that person who physically killed that child. Do you know why? Because that child who was physically killed will inshallah go to Jannah. But you have destroyed that child's eternal life.
The Neglect of Islamic Education
So I ask you, what's your vision for your children? Have you ever thought about it? Your children go to the maktab. Many of us have a dunya vision for our child. We want the child to go to a good secondary school. We want the child to go to university.
But the child comes for six years to the masjid, to the maktab, and never do we sit with the child and say: "What did you learn in the masjid? What did you learn in the masjid? What did they teach you?"
For six years, eight years the child comes to the masjid and you have never gone to ask the imam sahib: "What did you teach my child?" You have never sat with your child at nighttime and told him any stories about the Prophet which could have created a holistic human being.
No, but you allow the child to vegetate in front of the TV set. This is why we have the issues within our community: Five percent Muslim, twelve percent in prison.
The State of Our Masajid
Million Pound Structures, Limited Vision
We fail when it comes to a vision with our masajid. We can make these - and I'm not having a go at this masjid, I'm just speaking generally. Generally, all over England, 99 percent of our masajid: Million pound structures. Million pound structures. Open half an hour before salah, close half an hour after salah. And that's it.
The Vision of the First Masjid
Let me tell you the vision of the first masjid. Allah says:
"Indeed, the first house placed for humanity is the one in Bakkah (Makkah), blessed and a guidance for the worlds." (Quran 3:96)
Allah says it was placed for humanity - that humanity must experience the khayr which emanates from it. And it has two qualities: that it is a source of guidance and a source of barakah.
Allah didn't say "لِّلْمَكَّةِ" (for Makkah), He didn't say "لِّلْحِجَازِ" (for Hijaz), He said "لِّلْعَالَمِينَ" (for the worlds). Any masjid which is created on the model of the first masjid must have these qualities.
You look at the masjid of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) - it had these qualities. It was a source of barakah and it was a source of guidance for humanity. Guidance emanated from this masjid.
So as far as our masajid are concerned, we failed, it's true. This is why as believers, talk now must be translated into a vision, into motivation, into aspirations.
Translating Talk into Action
If you are spending hours speaking about the issues of the Muslims globally but you're doing nothing, then you're wasting your time. You'd rather read some Quran and do some dhikr of Allah, pray some nawafil, because all you're doing is frustrating yourself.
A Story of Action: Palestine Support
We have a heritage - a heritage of Islam. Let me tell you a story of how people translate [talk into action]. We speak about Palestine. We have a conference in Birmingham tomorrow about Palestine. Shaykh Haytham is there as well.
When we went to the first - when we first went to Gaza after the 2008 and 2009 attacks upon Gaza, we went on the first Viva Palestina convoy. We came back and we wanted to do something. So what we decided is that we were going to open a shop in Birmingham called Viva Palestina. Alhamdulillah it's open in the Coventry Road, where all the proceeds go to the Palestinian cause. And also it's a permanent billboard for the Palestinian cause.
So I thought, let me see if there's anybody else in England who's doing something similar. So I found a shop in Edinburgh where all the proceeds go to the Palestinian cause. So I flew up to Edinburgh and I told the taxi driver: "Take me to this address."
This taxi driver takes me and he parks outside a church. He parks outside the church. I thought: "Hold on, this sounds a bit dodgy. Is this a kind of missionary campaign? Are they trying to convert me or something?"
So I said: "You sure you got the right address?" He said: "That's the address you gave me."
So I went inside this church, and inside this church they had a shop where every penny that they made went to assist the Palestinians.
Today, half of the masajid, you ask them: "Can we give a talk on Palestine?" "Oh, oh, the topic's too hot." But that is the state of the Muslim community. It's true, isn't it? You have inadequate, inept people running the masajid, so they don't know how to deal with issues.
"Oh, can't call that shaykh, he speaks about Iraq." What is he speaking about? He's speaking about the blood of believers. He's speaking about Guantanamo Bay. "Oh, we can't touch him, he's too hot." What do you mean he's too hot? You seen a shaykh in a miniskirt? What do you mean he's too hot?
Overcoming Cowardice
But see, this is cowardice. This is what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) took refuge from. He took refuge from العجز (al-'ajz) - that you feel incapacitated. As the shaykh spoke about الكسل (al-kasal)
laziness والجبن (wal-jubn) - you're scared, you're scared. From cowardice.
Muslims are not meant to be cowards. Muslims are meant to be motivated people who are motivated for the sake of Allah. This is what the deen teaches. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) [taught this] because you know me and all of you are going to expire. So we might as well aspire before we expire. We might as well do something.
The Example of the Horses of Jihad
Allah, when He speaks in the Quran, speaks about the horses. Subhanallah, He speaks about the horses in jihad:
"By those [horses] running and panting, striking sparks of fire, raiding at dawn, stirring up thereby [clouds of] dust, arriving thereby in the midst [of the enemy]." (Quran 100:1-5)
He says those horses which run in the morning in the jihad, in the battlefield, and when they run they pant. And then Allah says about those horses: When they run in the morning, they run and they run with so much vigor in the battlefield that they make sparks fly up. And then what do they do? They attack the enemy in the morning. Allah says when they run, they run with so much vigor in the battlefield that they make the dust fly up. And when they attack the enemy, they don't attack on the side - they attack right in the middle. They go in the midst.
Then directly after mentioning the horses of jihad, Allah says [about humans and their ingratitude]. Why does Allah say this? Because Allah is giving a comparison: that a person gives the horse some fodder, he gives it something to eat, and that horse is ready to die for its master.
And Allah, the Khaliq, the Malik, the Raziq, who brought us out into existence when we did not exist - and we forget Allah. The only time we have for Allah is half an hour in Jummah. We have no time to teach our children. We're busy. We leave our children like they're yateem.
The True Meaning of Yateem
As Imam Shawki said: "A yateem is not necessarily that person whose father is dead. A yateem is that person whose mother has forsaken her duties to a child. She's too busy. She's watching drama on TV. She's got no time for the child. She's on the phone and the child is vegetating in front of the TV. Or the father is too busy. The father is aspiring - he's aspiring for the dunya."
This is why we need people who have aspirations, but not just bold and raw aspirations, but people who have a scope, people who can assess the situation.
The Complete Man (Rajul Kamil)
Because we have many youngsters, mashallah, who have a lot of get up and go, but they don't have any vision. They can't assess the situation. So what do they do? They get themselves in trouble and they get all the community in trouble.
The Story of Khalid ibn al-Walid
Khalid ibn al-Walid was on the battlefield and a man called Anushirvan, he was a Persian, he said: "If Khalid is man enough to come and fight me, let him come and fight me."
So Khalid came forward to the battlefield and Khalid said to Anushirvan: "You're full of yourself, aren't you?"
Anushirvan said: "Why shouldn't I be? I am the mightiest warrior amongst the Persians, the superpower of the day."
Then Khalid said to him: "Aren't mighty and brave men also meant to be intelligent?"
He said: "I'm known for my intelligence as well."
Then Khalid said: "If you're an intelligent man, then tell me: How do you worship fire? How do you worship fire?"
So Anushirvan said: "Listen, I haven't come here for a theological debate."
So Khalid ibn al-Walid said to him: "It was an obligation for me to convey the message to you so that on the Day of Judgment you don't say the message did not reach you."
The Definition of a Complete Man
Fourteen hundred years ago, Khalid ibn al-Walid defined a man. This is what the ulema call "Rajul Kamil" - he must have, or she must have, two qualities:
- They're brave and motivated - they have some pluck, they have some bottle. But not only that - if they just have that quality and don't have any intelligence, then the ulema write that this is half a man.
- They can assess the situation - the other one has intelligence, he knows what's wrong, but he's not got any bottle to do anything about it. He's got no motivation, he's got no aspiration. The ulema say he's a half a man as well.
And they say you know who's a Rajul Kamil, a full man, a complete man? He who has both of these qualities. He has both of these qualities: that he's brave, he's motivated, but he can also assess the situation. He's got intelligence, he can assess the situation.
This is what we need. We need brothers and sisters who have a scope, who want to make a change, who are inspired for the sake of Allah, who have some aspirations.
Our Legacy and Actions
Because believe it or not, all of us are going to leave this dunya. And the only thing that we are going to take from this dunya are our actions. As Allah says in the Quran:
"Do not forget your portion of this dunya." (Quran 28:77)
Let me ask you a question: Is your coffin going to have pockets? Is your coffin going to have pockets? What are you going to take with you? What are you going to take with you? The only thing that me and you are taking with us is our actions.
Therefore, it's important that we do something for the community. We have high aspirations. We have high aspirations. And even if we don't reach those aspirations, we will be rewarded by Allah. We want to leave something behind us that when we lie six feet under the ground, we are still getting reward for what we did because we had that aspiration. And that's what we want to be.
Subhanallah, there's so many of us. There's so many of us. If just some people could get motivated, but that motivation must start from yourself. It must start from yourself. It's futile talking about changing the world when you can't change yourself.
The Story of the Man and the World
There was a story of a man who came home from work and he's tired. His son wants to play with him young son wants to play with him. He's tired and he wants to have some cup of tea, put his feet up.
So what he does: He sees this paper and he sees a picture of the world on this paper. So he tears this paper up and he says: "Listen, put this world together. Finish this and then I'll play with you."
So he thinks that this is going to take the child quite a bit of time - all this world, he tears it up. The child comes back in a matter of minutes and he's put it all together. He's shocked and he says to the child: "How did you manage to do it so quickly?"
So the child says - he turns the paper up the other way around - he said: "Daddy, on the other side there was a picture of a man. I put the man right and the world came right itself. I put the man right and the world came right itself."
You want to make a change? A change? It starts from home. It starts from you. But it must be transitive.
The Sahaba: Made by the Masajid but Not Only for the Masajid
We are not people - I often say the Sahaba were people who were made by the masajid, but they were not made for the masajid or not made only for the masajid. Today, me and you, the little that we are made, we are made by the masajid for only the masajid. Nobody outside the four walls of the masjid sees any good that we do. Nobody sees it.
So we want to be people who do an action which is pleasing to Allah.
The Story of the Three Men in the Cave
I'll finish off with a story. My time is up. The Prophet said that from the people before, there were three people who were going on a journey. Whilst they are going on this journey, it begins to rain. So they take shelter in a cave.
Whilst they are taking shelter in a cave, a rock comes down and it covers the mouth of the cave. So they begin to push the rock, but the rock doesn't move. Then they decide - they are tired, exhausted - and they decide now to lie down and death befalls them.
Then one of them stood up and he said: "O Allah, I had elderly parents. And what I would do every night before I would go to sleep is that I would give my parents milk to drink.
"One day I went to look for fodder and I went further than I normally do. And by the time I came back, my elderly parents had gone to sleep and my children were still awake. They were hungry. But I didn't feel it befitting that I feed my children before I feed my parents.
"So I told my wife to put the children to sleep, and she put them to sleep hungry. And I stood by the bed of my parents with the bowl, and when they woke up in the morning, I gave them the milk.
"He said: O Allah, if you know that I done this action solely for your sake, then move the rock."
And the rock moves a bit, but not enough for them to come out.
The Second Man's Story
And then the second man stands up and he says: "O Allah, I had a cousin and I was infatuated with this cousin of mine. There was no woman on the face of this earth that I loved more than this cousin. And I had made a move on her many times, but every time she turned me down.
"But one day she was in desperate need of money and she came to me. And I said: 'On the condition that you allow me to have a relationship with you. You allow me to have a relationship with you.' And she agreed because she was in desperate need of the money.
"And he said: 'Just when I was about to have a relationship, she said to me: (اِتَّقِ اللّٰهَ - Ittaq Allah) - Fear Allah. Fear Allah. Do not break the seal unless you are the rightful owner,' meaning the husband.
"She said when she said this, the fear of Allah permeated my heart and I moved back. I moved back and I gave her the money.
"And he said: 'O Allah, if you know that I did this only for your sake, then remove the rock.'"
And the rock moved, but not enough for them to come out.
The Third Man's Story
And then the third person stood up and he said: "O Allah, I hired a group of people. And when it came to the end of the day, one of the people didn't collect his wages. So I invested his wages until there was a whole valley of cattle and livestock - that's how much it grew.
"And one day this man came to me and he said: 'I'm desperately in need of that day's wages.' And I took him to the valley and I said: 'You see all this? This belongs to you.'
"And he said: 'You're having a laugh. I'm desperately in need. Don't joke with me.'
"He said: 'I invested that day's wages and this is how it mushroomed. All this is yours.'
"And he said: 'O Allah, if you know that I done this deed and this action solely for your sake, then remove the rock.'"
And the rock moved and all three of them came out. All three of them came out.
The Question for Us
I ask yourself and I ask myself: If me and you were the fourth person in that cave, by what action that we've done in our life would we ask Allah to remove the rock?
And if we haven't, then we need to aspire before our time is up. We need to make a change. We need to work within our communities. We need to make our masajid vibrant. We need to become educated. We need to make Allah our focus. Whatever we do, our businesses - as a community we need to be united. We need to throw away the trivial issues, the issues which divide us. And there are many things which unite us, and we need to become strong as a community, motivated for the sake of Allah.
Conclusion: Having a Vision
Have a vision for yourself and have a vision for your children. It doesn't necessarily mean that you change the world overnight. No. If every single person's home, every single person's home, you had an Islamic ethos in it, you brought up your children in a good manner, children who fear Allah, then we would have a strong community. We would have a strong community.
So we endeavor and we aspire to do something on the Day of Judgment when we stand in front of Allah that maybe just because of that action, Allah allows us to go into Jannah.
May Allah make us amongst those who aspire for His sake. May Allah make us amongst those who, whatever we do, it is for the sake of Allah. May Allah make our children people of piety. May Allah make us people of piety. May Allah restore within this ummah the greatness that they once had. And may Allah keep us united in dunya and reunite us in Jannah.
Jazakumullah khair. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
Announcement: Supporting Our Brothers
Important Note: There are some brothers - there is only one brother from England who is still remaining in Guantanamo Bay: Brother Amir Shakir. They have a petition outside. Please, all the brothers, please do sign it. I mean, he had no trial. He has not been convicted of anything, and he is a brother in need.
Let me tell you a story a shaykh mentioned earlier on, and it occurred to me: In the time of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, there was one Muslim prisoner who was slapped in the Byzantine lands. The news reached Umar ibn Abdul Aziz that this Muslim had been slapped in the Byzantine lands.
Umar was the khalifa of his time, and Umar sent a letter to the Roman governor and he said: "Before you put this letter down, free that Muslim prisoner, for I swear by Allah I will send an army which begins here and ends where you are."
And we remember him why? Because of what he did for the ummah. And if we can't sign a petition, then there is something seriously wrong with us. Because wallahi, there is no guarantee that you may not be in his position tomorrow, or I may be in his position tomorrow. And then you will cry for the ummah. Then you will cry, you will say: "Where are the Muslims?"
So let's change, as I said - little changes. Let's change that talk into action.
Jazakumullah khair. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
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