Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed Reflections from India | 09/21/25

Life Is Always a Test

Respected honorable elders, brothers, students, and sisters, dear listeners. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has made our life in this world, from beginning to end, a test. Many people, only when a difficulty comes their way — a challenge, a sickness, a family problem, a financial problem — that's when they think that they are being tested.

And they say, now is the time for me to make sabr, for example. Alhamdulillah, it's a good approach. And others may not, unfortunately, be able to make sabr. But they think that the test began when difficulty came their way. But in reality, the test is always present. Whether there is difficulty or there is ease. Whether there is sickness or there is health.

People think that when you fall ill, you're being tested. What they do not realize is that when you're healthy also, you're being tested. People think that when a person loses his job, and he's going through financial difficulty, he's being tested. What they do not realize is when they have plenty of wealth, and abundance of things, that they might even be tested more. People think that when they do not have respect, or when their honor is being maligned, then they're being tested. But they may not realize that when a person is beloved, and has a status in society, and respect amongst people, that he's also being tested.

So whatever situation a human being is in — in all situations — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is testing to see whether a person does what Allah asks him to do, or he does what his nafs, what society, what culture, and what everyone around him does. Does he respond to the invitation of the nafs, shaytan, culture and society, or does he respond to what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants him to do? This is a person's test.

Two Ways of Living: The Animal and the Believer

You see in the world, there is a lifestyle where a person makes decisions based on what he sees. And there is a lifestyle when a person does not make decisions only based on what meets the eye, but introspects, looks deep, beyond what meets the eye.

The first type of person takes everything at face value. He sees money, he goes towards it. He sees food, he goes towards it. He sees something he likes, he goes towards it. That's all that matters. My need is going to get fulfilled over there, so I need to go there. But does that wealth belong to you or not? That's not a question. Is that halal or not? That's not the question. The key thing is that it's available, it's present, and this is something I want, so I'm going to go take it.

When he sees something harmful, or what appears to be harmful, he decides to turn back. He decides to move away. This lifestyle that humans at times lead is very similar to the lifestyle of animals. An animal chooses to graze somewhere when it sees green pasture. An animal sees that this is prey, and it will attack it. It does not see whether the prey is wild, or belongs to someone. Doesn't calculate whether it is a child or a parent. Doesn't calculate anything else. It looks like food, something I desire — so no questions asked, it attacks. Not worried about the context, the background, the nuances, the fine print. There's no such thing. If it meets the desire, then the animal goes at it.

This is the "just do it" type of mentality — where if the appetite wants it, you go for it. And on the other hand, if there is something the animal is scared of and does not like, at all cost that animal will turn around and run. This type of very simple lifestyle, where you make your decisions based on what meets the eye, is what your average animal leads its life with — and many humans.

But a true believer's lifestyle is different. He doesn't make his decisions ever on what meets the eye only. Instead, he studies every situation, from beginning to end, deeply, and tries to understand — what is the hidden command of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this situation? So a believer always adds the lens of ghayb. He always adds a filter of ghayb — belief in the unseen.

For example: this is the time for salah. But coming to salah, I will have to close my shop, leave my office, and possibly lose a customer or two. There may apparently be some material loss. However, when I am going for salah, the barakah and the pleasure of Allah that I will get by performing my salah will outweigh any type of apparent material loss that I may suffer. So he does not simply ask, how can I go perform salah if I have to miss a customer or two? Because he understands there are many nuances here. And the biggest thing is, Allah has commanded me to pray, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will take care of my needs.

I am opening my store not because the store is the one that provides for me — it is simply a means to get my rizq. But the one who actually provides the rizq does not need me to use those means. The one who actually provides the rizq is Allah. And actually salah is one of the means of rizq:

Allah says: Order your family to perform salah — O Rasulullah, order your family to pray — and remain steadfast upon it. We do not ask you for sustenance. We are the ones who will provide for you. And the good ending is for those who have taqwa.

So salah has been directly presented as a source of sustenance. You are closing one means of providing sustenance and going towards another means — one directly mentioned in the Qur'an. A powerful means.

So a true believer's decisions are not based on what meets the eye alone. His decisions are based on what meets the eye along with ghayb — the unseen. This is our entire test on earth. Iman bil-ghayb — to what degree do we have belief in the unseen? And to what degree do we have belief in only what meets the eye? This is the main question of our existence. Are we going to lead a life like the rest of the animals? Or are we going to lead a life like a true believer — like the prophets trained us?

A man is being tested in all situations. There is no such thing as "I'm cruising through life." At every single step of our life, no matter how peaceful or not peaceful, no matter how easy or difficult life may seem to you, understand that we are being tested by Allah — to see how we respond to the situations Allah is putting us through. Do we give preference to what Allah wants from us? Or do we give preference to what we want, and what society tells us to do?

The Lessons of Bani Israel

Beloved friends, this is the history of nations. And this is what the Qur'an speaks about. Wherever you'll see Bani Israel mentioned in the Qur'an — all over — there is a very special relationship between this ummah and that of Bani Israel. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions Bani Israel over and over again throughout the Qur'an. Wherever mention of this ummah and the commands this ummah has to fulfill come up, Bani Israel's story comes in there.

What do we learn from Bani Israel's story? Very important. That when Yaqub alayhissalam and his sons were living in Canaan, they lived in a very simple lifestyle — similar to where I got a chance to go visit on my trip. Where people were literally living off of what grows in the backyard. They live off the ground. They live off of what sustenance Allah provides them through their buffalo and through their grains. That's it.

That simple lifestyle that Yaqub alayhissalam and his sons had — yes, it was simple. Yes, you may call it poverty-stricken and so on. But there was happiness and there was goodness that you could not find elsewhere. In that goodness, there was obedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. There was belief in the akhira. In that test, success came to the people who lived in Canaan — they kept Allah's command in front of them.

What happened? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, in a matter of a few years, a few decades, completely changed their situation. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brought the kingdom of Egypt into the hands of someone who went against all odds — who was thrown into a well, who was pushed into slavery, who was accused of something absolutely horrible, who went into a dungeon and jail. Against all odds, a young boy who went through so much hardship and difficulty ended up ascending the throne and becoming the king of Egypt. On the basis of what? On the basis of one dream.

Without bloodshed, without an army, without a political party, without any fight — the entire kingdom, possibly for the first time and the last time in the history of mankind, comes into the hands of a man on the basis of one dream. The king sees a dream and needs an interpretation of it. He seeks out an interpreter. And there is something that Yusuf has that no one else has — he's been given the gift of interpretation. He gives that interpretation. And within a little bit of time, he's sitting on the throne.

What happened? In that era of difficulty, and against all odds, when the people — the anbiya and their followers — were steadfast on the deen, steadfast on the orders of Allah, Allah gave them kingdom, Allah gave them wealth, Allah gave them power without even asking for it. Forget about fighting for it. It was pushed down their throat. Yes, Yusuf alayhissalam did present himself:

He did present himself, saying: I'm available for this, because I have these two attributes, alhamdulillah. But Allah put His love in the hearts of the people and the king, and they said: here, take it, please. We need you.

However, after that wealth came, and after that power came, the people did not follow along the simple lifestyle that their elders had. They became indulged in their wealth, in their enjoyments, in their shahawat, in their life of luxury, in the life of desires. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, after allowing them to enjoy this wealth — the test, I told you, the test is always there — this wealth and this power became a big test for the nation. They couldn't handle it. The abundance they had — way more than they had in Canaan, way more than they had in the village — they had everything. And they started becoming disobedient to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And before you know it, forward many tens and hundreds of years — now they're under the shackles of a horrible tyrant named Fir'aun, who utilized the most terrible tactics to cause a genocide, and who outright ordered the killing of all boys and the keeping of women alive to serve.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put them through a living hell. When they turned their backs, the test came. Once again, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala decided to assist Bani Israel. And Musa alayhissalam and Harun alayhissalam stood up, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala used them to revive their community, revive Bani Israel. And against all odds, Allah flipped it once again. Who would have ever thought that the boy whose beginning was in a box in a river would, over a few decades, end up taking over the entire country and beyond?

And the story of Musa alayhissalam, along with his brother Harun, is an amazing one as well. Time and again in Musa alayhissalam's story, you see that he teaches his nation that we do not make judgments based on what meets the eye.

From simply being chased down by Fir'aun and his people, and finding that they are across a body of water, Musa alayhissalam's nation said:

We're caught. We have the army of Fir'aun behind us, and we have a huge body of water in front. Now, what does experience tell you? What do the senses tell you? That you're in big trouble. Everyone turn around and fight till you die — what else are you going to do? But Musa alayhissalam, based on the command of Allah, received a unique order:

Take the stick — don't hit at Fir'aun's army. I want you to take this stick and hit it on the sea. How is this going to help us? Don't worry about it. We don't make decisions based on what meets the eye. We make decisions based on what Allah asks us to do, even if it makes no sense to you. The answer is: what does Allah want us to do? So he struck the sea:

Twelve paved roads showed up right in front of them — for all twelve tribes of Bani Israel, so they would not bicker and fight with one another, but each would have their own separate road. And tall walls of water in between, each one of them able to see: I'm not alone in the middle. My friends are here, my cousins are here — visible, and yet separate. And this is how they crossed over.

Constantly, Musa alayhissalam is doing things by the order of Allah that go against conventional logic or conventional methods. That is a story within the story of Bani Israel — and it holds lessons for all of us.

The Golden Rule: Wealth as a Test for Nations

At times, the true success of this ummah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam has been at the times of the most poverty. The times of most difficulty. The times of least means have been the times of the greatest strength of Muslims. And the time when there is the most abundance of material things has become the time of the weakest and most fatal moments for Muslims.

Anyone who studies the history of the Abbasids and the Umayyads and all the other generations of leadership that came after them will see consistently: when means were less, when food was less, when wealth was less, things were great. And when wealth became abundant and the ummah and the leadership became indulgent, every single thing — even though they had everything — turned upside down. Against all odds. Because this ummah is like Bani Israel. We many times get caught up in the abundance of material things thinking that in it lies our success, not realizing that in it is a secret poison. And when we hear about difficulty and less means, a person may think this is our failure — but in it lies our success.

SubhanAllah, this is not some thought of mine. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam himself said:

When is he saying this? He is saying it while they are in the midst of poverty — where everyone is tying stones to their stomachs due to the extent of their hunger. People have not even had a meal yet. There is no food right now. We don't even know where the next meal is coming from. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is looking at them and saying:

I am not worried about poverty. What I am worried about — O my starving sahaba, O my sahaba who don't have enough clothes to protect themselves from the bitter winter cold of Medina, O my sahaba whose children are running around crying for crumbs, O my sahaba who are living a life of absolute fear from the hypocrites, from the yahood, and from the mushrikeen — what I am worried about is that material things will begin to overflow upon you. The doors of material wealth will open up upon you, the way they've opened up on the previous nations like Bani Israel and others. You will begin to compete with one another in the amassing of these material things, the way the previous nations competed. And hence, these material things will destroy you, the way it destroyed the previous nations.

This is the golden rule. Just study the Qur'an. When did the nations get destroyed? The abundance of material things made the nations arrogant against the prophets. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

Whenever We intend to destroy a nation, We address the upper luxury-living class. And We tell them: come straight, make tawbah. Of course, they are arrogant. They say: for what? We don't need God, we have money. They begin to openly transgress and go against the orders of Allah. Allah says: I completely destroyed every one of them. The whole nation goes down because of the upper class who decides that their abundance of wealth means they don't need to listen to God.

So that same thing — the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam forewarned — will happen in this ummah. That people will begin to think that wealth is where our success lies.

Beloved friends, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam also said:

He said to the Arabs: woe to you for an evil that has come very close. And from other narrations we understand: the abundance of material things will bring about such destruction that is unheard of.

The State of the Ummah Today

Beloved brothers, no one can spend an hour without acknowledging the fact that the Muslim ummah — collectively and individually — is going through a very difficult and challenging time. There isn't a wedding you attend without someone making a comment: man, what should we do? And subhanAllah, as we continue to bleed from every direction, the saddest part is that if a Muslim does not recognize and realize why we are in this situation — even though he is bleeding from every portion of the body — then how can we ever expect treatment and the end of this suffering if there is no recognition?

The hadith, on so many different occasions, explains to us why that is going to happen. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam mentioned in multiple narrations the importance of amr bil-ma'ruf wa nahy 'anil-munkar — that the ummah, as long as they recognize right as right and wrong as wrong, and they stand up to establish right and correct the wrong, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's help will be with them. And as soon as they decide to turn their back against this, then against all odds — you have 60 Muslim countries, you have trillions in GDP, you have every single war machine, you have 1.4 to 1.5 billion people — these are all things that you would say are signs and means of success. But when something fundamental is lacking, Allah's decisions are not based on what meets the eye.

Our success does not lie based on what meets the eye. It lies in the command of Allah. And according to the command of Allah, we are absolutely negligent — as a community across the globe. To what level do we care about the deen of Allah being trampled upon, the sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam being trampled upon? How often do we sit and cry tears at night thinking about the number of people in our neighborhood who are not praying salah? The number of people who are not following the rules of hijab? The number of people who are indulged in haram — eating haram, earning haram, spending haram? How often does our heart ache at night? How often do we lose sleep? How often can we not digest the food we just ate — due to the pain of seeing how the ummah has turned its back towards the sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam?

How often do we stand up and say: what's wrong with my nephews? What's wrong with my nieces? What's wrong with my sons? What's wrong with my daughters? What's wrong with my spouse? What's wrong with me? What am I doing? That concern and worry about the deen itself has left the hearts.

And so, based on what the hadith mentions — the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said that when we leave this obligation of inviting towards good and forbidding from evil, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will send down tyrants. And then the hadith mentions very clearly: they will not respect our elders, they will not have mercy on our youngsters, and they will unleash a rain of terror. Then when we raise our hands and beg Allah for help, the hadith mentions:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2169; also referenced in Musnad Ahmad)

Your duas will not be accepted. Your duas will not be accepted against your tyrants. You can cry all you want, but you have made a mistake — and you're still not even fixing the mistake. You're just crying. So that crying doesn't help. Cry after you fix the problem. Then Allah will listen. But if you don't fix the problem and we cry, then do not expect Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to change anything.

Beloved brothers, that sums up our life at the moment as we speak. If we want to end this suffering, we have to go back to the rules of the game. And the rules of the game are: life is not based on what meets the eye — it's based on what Allah and His Rasul have asked us to do.

Reflections from the Journey: Servicing the Heart

This journey that Allah blessed me with an opportunity to undertake — spending a month or so abroad — was a journey in which I got a chance to see this. I was blessed to spend some time away from family, friends, and the distractions that do not allow us to focus on the big picture.

I think about why so many people accept Islam in prison. And the answer that comes to my mind is: because they have time to think. When you take out time to think, a lot will come your way. But when we are so busy — you cannot change your tire, you cannot add air to your tire, you cannot change the oil of your car while you're driving. If you want to service your car, you have to stop. But no — I've got to go to work. Okay, then go to work with that flat tire. Go to work with burnt oil, if that's what you want to do. You have to take out time in your life to put a break to what you do every single day and to service your heart. Without that, it's not possible. It is not possible that you are constantly moving and also servicing yourself.

The check engine light has been on for years. Have you ever sat in someone's car, and it's got a whole rainbow of warning lights? And you say, what's going on? And he says, "Chal raha hai bhai" — it's running, brother. Well then, you move on, I'll go in another car. But this is how it is with us. Every single portion of our body is screaming. Our soul is screaming: I need help, I need help. But our focus is: I don't have time for this. And in leading this rut, our death will come and we won't have time. It will be too late. Then we'll realize what happened.

So we learn from the Sahaba radiyallahu 'anhum — one of the stories that one of the ulama had mentioned really hit my heart. That Umar ibn al-Khattab radiyallahu 'anhu would send a senior Sahabi outside of Medina, and say: go out, travel, and I want you to go work on your salah. As long as you are in Medina, during the era of Umar ibn al-Khattab, you are not going to be able to work on the quality of your salah. Because you are going to be distracted with normal things and the responsibilities of life. Leave, go out, travel in the path of Allah, and use that time away from your family, away from the normal obligations of household life, to work on the quality of your salah.

SubhanAllah — we are 40, 50, 60, 70 years old. What is the quality of our salah? There's a salah that you learn in Sunday school, a salah you learn from your maktab teacher, a salah we learn as kids. And now 30, 40 years later — to what degree has our salah improved? To what degree have we made our salah a salah through which we can get our needs fulfilled?

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1319)

When the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was in any type of difficulty, he would run towards salah. As someone said in Urdu: "Jis ne apni do raka'at namaz se ek din ki roti nahin le sakaa — kal Qiyamat ke din pul-sirat pe kaise guzarega?" — The person who cannot get two pieces of bread with his two rakats of salah, because his salah is that weak, how will he be able to cross the bridge over Jahannam tomorrow?

If you think about it — any of us who have difficulty and problems tonight, I'm sure many of you came with a lot of stress in your mind about XYZ things for Monday morning. How many of us say: I'm not stressed, I'm just going to pray two rakats of salah and sort this out? And if someone were to say: did you pray your salah? The response is: "Ba'dein yaar" — later, brother. Let's focus on the big picture. "Theek hai insha'Allah, namaz us jagah par" — Yes, yes, insha'Allah, salah at some point. Qiyam — the establishment of affairs — doesn't happen through salah? It happens by preparing for the meeting. Let's be realistic. Realistic means: go sit on your computer and do work. Praying salah — whatever. That's our attitude. And that's exactly how Allah treats us. Fine, if that's what you think — then your salah is not going to get you anywhere.

The Story of Surah Al-Fatiha and the Madrasa Student

I remember there was a jamaat that had come, when we were in the warehouse when the madrasa had just started — they were from England. And they were addressing our students, first-year students. One of the elders who was in the jamaat from Deoband Markaz said: I sit in the office, and sometimes boys come and say, "Uncle, can I get some Tylenol or Panadol for my headache?" So he said: I tell them, no problem, let me recite Surah Al-Fatiha.

The 'alim-course student responds by saying: Uncle, I don't want to waste your time. It's okay, JazakAllah khair, just give me some tablets. He said: when a madrasa student — who is studying hifz and the 'alim course — thinks that Surah Al-Fatiha is not going to be able to get rid of his headache, how will he ever be able to provide the Qur'an as a solution to the world's problems? That's the level of conviction you have. Surah Al-Fatiha cannot get rid of your headache — how will the Qur'an take care of the world's problems?

And that's exactly where we are today. The one who's speaking and the one who's listening — no one truly believes in it. We're just going through the motions. Going with the flow. When it comes into our own lives, to what degree do we resort to amal — action and worship — to solve our problems?

Iman First: The Lesson from the Sahaba

So this journey of traveling abroad was a time for me to just service myself and work on these fundamental concepts. There is nothing more fundamental than iman, and nothing more fundamental than salah. In yesterday's post-Isha talk, we covered a hadith where the young Sahaba were sitting with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and they said: we were young men who had not even reached maturity yet, and he said — ta'allamna al-iman — we learned iman first from Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Not Qur'an first. The concept was not making nine-year-olds into huffaz. Instead: we learned iman first. Thumma ta'allamna al-Qur'an — then we learned the Qur'an. Fazdadna bihi imanan — and our iman increased as we memorized each ayah, because the foundation was already present.

So which madrasa teaches iman? We don't offer this course. Yes, you learn the technicalities — does iman increase or decrease? Is iman mufrad or murakkab? What is the definition of it? What invalidates iman? All of those types of discussions. But the reality of bringing that subject matter into life requires a different effort.

I remember mentioning a person regarding Masih Ahmad Khan, rahmatullahi 'alayh. He said: a person is studying 'aqeedah — studying advanced or basic 'aqeedah. And after that, he goes and takes an exam. And in the exam of 'aqeedah, what is he doing? He's cheating — because he wants to pass, and he didn't study. This is our life. That you talk about as-Sami' al-'Aleem and al-Baseer al-Khabeer, and you study all of 'aqeedah. But that 'aqeedah — what was the use of it? It couldn't stop you from cheating on the exam. The knowledge we're studying is just a subject matter. The reality of bringing that subject matter into life is a different effort. Without the presence and strength of iman, we will become like a university student in a western academic circle studying Islam as a subject. So the effort of da'wah and tabligh is a place where you actually go and focus on learning iman.

Arriving in Mewat: A Land of Spiritual Treasure

So alhamdulillah, we spent the majority of our time after arriving in Delhi, going to Nizamuddin, and from there we were sent out to Mewat. The area of Mewat where we went is a very unique area. The first place we went was about 70–80 kilometers from New Delhi.

What's very interesting about this region is that the soil is such that there is not a single indigenous fruit there — no fruits at all. Every single thing is brought in from outside. Because the water is absolutely bitter. Some of the masajid we went to — literally, your hand will burn. It's like acid. That's how bad it is. You cannot even gargle with it. It is so bitter. So we had to get filtered water even for wudu, to wash clothes, to take a shower, to do anything. There is nothing growing there. No fruits. There are crops that grow there, but no fruits. SubhanAllah.

That area — Allah chose it. Allah says:

Allah gives honor to whoever He wants. Allah disgraces whoever He wants. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave honor to that portion of land — Allah used that portion of land to give the ummah such people who would bring a revival across the continents unlike any other for the past many, many centuries. At the hands of who? At the hands of people who were literally highway robbers. The most illiterate, most uneducated highway robbers. Who had nothing of Islam except a Muslim name at times. If you asked them: are you Muslim? Yes. Can you say the kalima? Absolutely not. I don't even know what that is. Not Surah Al-Fatiha, not the kalima, not the five pillars — nothing.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala used such a group of people — against what meets the eye. Because you would think the most capable, most eloquent, most knowledgeable people are going to be able to change the world. Allah did not use the most knowledgeable, most capable, most eloquent people to change the world. Allah used these simple farmers — and many of them highway robbers — changed their lives, and they did work the barakah of which we are sitting in such a huge crowd today, and yesterday, and every day. MashaAllah, MashaAllah, Tabarak wa ta'ala.

Who would have ever imagined this type of environment, this type of sunnah that I see here? Most definitely, whether you like it or not, you have to give your appreciation to the people of Mewat, and to the efforts of Mawlana Muhammad Ilyas rahimahullah — how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala used them.

The Group I Traveled With

In this area where we went, we spent about six days in each masjid. I was with a group of American ulama — all of whom had studied in South Africa, India, and America, graduated from the 'alim program and from the ifta' program — now out in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for one year, after spending seven, eight, nine years in the madrasa. I didn't know they were in India — I had no idea. I just went, and I was paired up with them. I was also paired up with a father, a scholar, who came with his three young sons — 15, 16, and 17 years old — on their second four-month khuruj. And a young revert brother who had accepted Islam in the middle of nowhere in Arizona — SubhanAllah, he has nobody that he can see as a Muslim — and Allah guided him towards Islam, and mashaAllah he was with us also for four months. And another qari, a hafiz from Somalia, American, mashaAllah he was with us too. And a few local Indian ulama.

Life in Mewat: Simplicity, Purity, and Iman

The areas where we went — there is too much to reflect on, though I gave a strong introduction of why I went, and that's a key thing to remember. But you could see: the life that people are living is that simple life I was speaking about — Canaan. Poverty. Simplicity. Where Bani Israel was living. But to a great extent, a lot of people — due to the effort that took place a hundred years ago — are following the deen.

So in that simplicity — where you have electricity for only a few hours a day, where there are zero paved roads, everything is mud — and there was an unprecedented rain, after 30 years of this type of rain, flooding everywhere. You see people's houses just leaking: a tarp. People living under a tarp. And I'm literally watching — I stop. This is where a family lives? Yes. Mud hut with a tarp on top. This is it.

You have people whose livelihood is based off of three or four buffalo. They get the milk from the buffalo, they drink that, and if there's leftover, they sell it. They don't have stoves. How do they cook? They take the buffalo dung, dry it, and use it as fuel. They take the animals and plow the land. Every single morning, they go to their farm, cut from the fields, gather fodder for the buffalo, go farming, and live off of whatever they grow. Every single thing organic.

While we were there, we didn't eat processed food. No candies, no processed food, no chocolates. Every single meal we ate was 100% from the house — from the farm. Farm to table, as you call it. Everything was pure and organic. And you could see the effect.

They say the food that you eat is like the ocean, and the thoughts that you have are like the pearls and gems. The higher the quality of the water, the higher the quality of the pearls. And the lower the quality of the water, the lower the quality of the pearls. Meaning: the more clean, healthy, and halal the food is, the cleaner the thoughts. And the more filthy, dirty, doubtful, and haram the food is, the more filthy the thoughts are.

And I am a witness — and everyone who was with us was a witness — that literally, although there was filth all over from the animals and everything else on the streets, and you'd have to navigate through that filth, you had the most clean thoughts. It was very unique. I marveled at it multiple times: what type of mindset — even though there is so much filth on the ground, but there is this freshness in the mind that you cannot get perhaps in the Swiss Alps. It is because of what we are eating. It is so pure. And of course — hard-earned halal money.

These are poor people earning sometimes 5,000 to 6,000 rupees a month. And yet I found out that each meal they were bringing was costing 7,000 to 8,000 to 9,000 rupees — sometimes a month's worth of salary to provide one meal. And forget about trying to cook your own food. That is the biggest insult to them. They will chase you out of the town before they allow you to cook your own food. Not only will they not allow you to cook your own food, they will not allow you to buy anything from the street sellers. Whether it's a barber, a tailor, a pharmacy — you name it. Whatever goodness they have is because of the effort of da'wah. And although they're not the ones doing the khuruj, they're honoring those who are.

Walking on the street, people on their motorbikes would just stop in the middle to say salam. Because you're in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — everyone has to say salam.

Getting People Ready for Four Months

In that poverty and simplicity, we go out on the street. I'm with our ameer, just getting used to things on the first day. And the ameer sahib said: okay, we are going to go into this masjid and do khuruj. We are going to get a group of people ready for four months. What is four months? An iman refresher course. Four months — like the one-year program or summer intensive that you may have here. Four months is an iman refresher course. He said: insha'Allah, while we are present here, we are going to take out a four-month jamaat immediately. We're going to get 10, 12, 15 people, get them ready, and send them out.

So I go outside after Asr, and subhanAllah, I'm standing with my local guide from Mewat, and we're speaking to two old uncles. The guide is saying: come on, a jamaat came all the way from America, you should go out. So they're listening. I'm thinking, let's see how far this goes. He said: no, we're actually trying to take out a four-month jamaat.

So one of the elders just stayed quiet. The local Mawlana from Mewat said to me: in our area, when someone stays quiet, that means they're ready. I thought this was a joke. Then what happened? That uncle left — right in front of me. In my heart, I'm thinking: you just told me whoever stays quiet is going — and he just left? Little did I know what he was going to do.

They had been sitting with a bunch of older people, just chilling outside a shop. He went, borrowed money from someone, and came back and gave it to me. He said: here's my money for khuruj. For my four months. This is the habit there — you don't just give your name for four months. You actually give money for it. A deposit. Down payment. 500 rupees, 300 rupees — he just gave it to me. He said: this is for my four months. I said: what? What in the world did I just see?

So my eyes fell upon another three uncles, older people, sitting there, smoking their cigarettes. My eyes fell upon them. One of them made eye contact, threw his cigarette, and came to see me. Just like that. And subhanAllah, one said: brother, look at this uncle — he just got ready, he gave. One minute — he said: you know what? I'm ready to join too. For how much? Four months. I said: what? What is this?

Now, dear brothers — remember, these people are not sitting on big fat social security checks or pension funds. Nothing. They live hand to mouth. And subhanAllah, you go to their house and you want to cry. This is where you live? Come, come inside, I'll make you some tea. And you cannot imagine — there's no hot pot, no gasoline stove. They are cooking off of wooden sticks or cow dung. They'll make you some tea. That's it. Everything is within maybe 300 square feet. All mud. Like almost prehistoric. But the iman is there.

The Women of Mewat

If you think about the men — you know who beats them a hundred times? It's their women. So a brother comes in. Are you ready for four months? He says: brother, I'm ready. But subhanAllah, my wife is about to give birth. I've got three kids, plus she's expecting in two months. Okay, no problem. How about we go to your house?

This is a real story from my experience. The wife from inside the house calls out: hey, hey. You're not the one giving birth — I am. I am the one giving birth. Here. Here's the money. Take my husband. Take my husband.

Every single house we went to — the first person who packed the bag and gave the money was the wife. The mother says: please take my kids. We went to one house where the mother was crying. She said: my husband is out for four months. SubhanAllah, I don't even have money to buy tarkari — vegetables. But you know what? I want you to take my son. These are not hearsay. These are things we witnessed. She said: take my son. Allah will take care of my needs. But the biggest need I have is deen in my home. If my son is not praying, if my son is not following the deen, what good is he sitting around in my house? Allah will take care of my needs. Go.

There was a brother in one masjid who mentioned that he got ready, and he and his wife are now arguing. They own one blanket. One blanket. And it gets very cold there. He's saying: you keep the blanket. She's saying: no, you keep the blanket — I'll take care of myself. He says: no, I'm going to wrap myself up in the straw mats they have in the masjid at night — the chatai. I'll roll up in the straw mat and go to sleep. You take it. Eventually this brother — brother Yunus his name was — went out in the path of Allah.

So someone went to visit the wife afterwards. Said: how is life? How are things without your husband, with so much poverty? She said: I'm enjoying life. I have everything. He said: what? She said: every day I wake up, and in a pot or a pan or in my bedding, there are a few hundred rupees. Every single day. In different parts of the house. I collect it, like من وصلة like that — I collect it and go purchase whatever my needs are.

SubhanAllah — the brother was narrating the story. He said: as soon as he mentioned that, it stopped. As soon as he narrated what she had said, that miraculous provision ceased. But the point is clear: the people there, in the most challenging of times, have the full conviction that the solution to their problems lies in following the deen.

The Relationship with Allah Is Everything

I was listening today to a clip from Mawlana Yusuf rahmatullahi 'alayh. He said: if every Muslim's relationship with Allah were to be built the way it ought to be — and he said this in the late 1950s to early 1960s — he said: "Is zamaane ki atmi taqatein" — the atomic superpowers of that time, Russia and America — he said: "Sookhe patte ki tarah girengi" — they would fall like dry autumn leaves. All the most powerful superpowers of the world would fall like dry leaves, if the relationship of the ummah with Allah were the way it ought to be.

Mawlana Abdullah Kapodri rahmatullahi 'alayh — a great, great scholar of India — I was listening to a clip of his in which he said: I heard this live from Mawlana Yusuf. He said: when Mawlana Yusuf was saying this, I thought: what is Mawlana saying? He said: it was just a matter of years that the entire USSR fell apart — whoever would have thought? And they fell into abject poverty, with people dying for food. SubhanAllah.

So these people have this realization: you are saying what is correct. If I build my relationship with Allah, then my problems will get solved. And you go to a person's house and he'll give you ten excuses why he can't go out. And you sit there, explain to him, break each of his excuses, and speak about the rewards that Allah has promised. This is where your iman increases. Because we know that if someone were to come speak to us like that, we would be the biggest cowards. But these people are not like that.

Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanvi rahmatullahi 'alayh would say: whenever I am preparing for a khutbah or a talk, I always look at what is my own biggest weakness in life. And I choose that to be the topic of my lecture, prepare for it, and give da'wah about it — so that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala removes this weakness from me. If you are lacking in tahajjud, speak about tahajjud every single day. If you are lacking in respect for elders, speak about this every single day. It will change.

So giving da'wah there, you would come back pumped up. You would be self-doubting as you speak, and then you'd be shocked that the person actually believed you and stood up. He's got a million problems. But he says: you know what? I'll see you tonight with my bag. And sure enough, he's there with his bag for four months.

Many times, beloved friends, the brothers don't even own a bag. They come with a sack. How much do you have to spend for four months? They take account. They'll come and say: we have 3,000 rupees. Twenty-five dollars. Forty-five dollars at maximum — and that's for four months. Many of them say: I only have 20 dollars. No problem. I'm ready to go.

The Halaqah of Iman

In that area, one is to go visit people and make their tashkeel to go out for four months or 40 days. And for every person who comes to the masjid, we sit them down right after salah and do a halaqah. One halaqah of iman. One halaqah of Qur'an. One halaqah of the fiqh of deen.

So you ask these 18, 19-year-old boys: do you know how to pray? No. But I just saw you praying. You're 19 years old? He says: I just look at the guy next to me. These are not new reverts who accepted Islam today — they are born Muslims, Muslims for past hundreds of years, and still there is such ignorance. You will literally meet people whose name is Muhammad and you have to see it to believe it. You ask them to say the kalima and they have no idea. They'll know La ilaha illallah, they won't know the rest. You tell them to recite Surah Al-Fatiha — they'll know three ayat and not the rest. Or they know all of it but it won't even sound like Surah Al-Fatiha because the tajweed is so far off.

Now to sit there and teach an old 70, 80-year-old man — he can't hear you properly, he can't understand you properly, he gets mad at you, and you're trying to teach him. I'm thinking: how did Mawlana Ilyas, who was an academic of the highest degree — his writings give you a headache, you don't understand what he's talking about even though he's writing in Urdu — how did he lower himself and humble himself to this degree that he taught these people a hundred years ago? If they are tough cookies now, imagine what they were a hundred years ago, prior to everything.

The Story of Mawlana Muhammad Ilyas and the Founding of the Effort

Mawlana Ilyas rahimahullah needed men to work on. And so the first recruits were the people from Mewat who would come as day laborers to Delhi. He would interact with them. Are you Muslim? Of course. So you know the kalima? No. What is that? You know Surah Al-Fatiha? No, we don't know of that.

So what Mawlana Ilyas would do is walk with them to their work site. Many of them were bricklayers. He'd walk with them and try to teach them the kalima while they walked. After that he figured out their lunch break time. So he would show up with a cloth and a drink — like Rooh Afza or some other refreshment. He would come at their lunch time. Yes, that scholar who was at a high level academically, who was teaching in the madrasa, big books, and who comes from a wealthy landowning family — on a hot summer day, he is holding a towel, wiping the sweat from these laborers, giving them water or juice to drink, and while they're drinking and enjoying him wiping their forehead, he is teaching them the kalima. Teaching them Surah Al-Fatiha.

After a while he realized he had maxed out what he could teach them in their lunch break. He said: can you please give me a couple of days to spend with me? They said: are you crazy? We are day laborers. Who has time for three days? He said: okay, how much do you earn in three days? X number of rupees. He said: all right, I'll hire you for three days. What do you need us to do? You don't need to do anything. You can sit with me in the masjid. So he started paying these day laborers for their three days' worth of wages — simply to sit and learn the deen. Those were the initial foot soldiers of this work.

Mawlana Ilyas rahimahullah would speak with such yaqeen about the fikr of the ummah. One time, two scholars — Mawlana Abul Hasan Ali al-Nadwi and Mawlana Manzur al-Nu'mani — were sitting in front of him and listening to his high academic talk about the importance of worrying about the deen, about ending apostasy, closing the doors of kufr and shirk, and making effort on the ummah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam to bring them out of ignorance.

He said: you are ready. So all the villagers who barely understood even normal language — much less an advanced speech — sort of said: we're ready. So Mawlana Manzur al-Nu'mani and Shaykh Abul Hasan al-Nadwi, who were two top-notch scholars, were shocked. They looked at these villagers, these farmers, and said: did you understand what the Shaykh just said? What are you all ready for? They said: no, we didn't understand anything — it was too advanced. But we just know that if we don't stand up and do what he is asking us to do, we're afraid he may end up losing his life. We love the old man. We love him so much.

He was not old. He died very young — in his forties or fifties. But they said: we feel that if we don't say labbayk, he's going to die. And how can we allow this to happen? So out of this desire, we are standing up. SubhanAllah — that's what he was able to do: transfer this fikr of the ummah back to the people. And allow them to stand up.

The Madrasa of Mu'in al-Islam and the Hafiz Who Trimmed His Beard

Mawlana Ilyas rahmatullahi 'alayh founded a madrasa called Mu'in al-Islam, which we had an opportunity to visit. He founded it in 1922 — a hifz madrasa and 'alim-course madrasa. We went there. We saw the bed on which he used to rest — it's still there. We saw his handwritten letters and those of Mawlana Yusuf stored in that madrasa.

What happened is that in one of the villages of Mewat, a boy finished hifz. Mawlana Ilyas rahmatullahi 'alayh went to attend the hifz graduation. He got so happy. Alhamdulillah, there's a hafiz al-Qur'an in one of the villages of Mewat. But when he arrived, he saw that the boy had either trimmed or shaved his beard — he had not grown out his sunnah beard.

When Mawlana Ilyas saw this, it stabbed his heart. A hafiz al-Qur'an — trimming his beard — what's the point? What's the point of this madrasa? If you have memorized the Qur'an and yet do not have the tawfiq to fulfill such an important sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And then he came to this realization: making an effort on a madrasa alone is pointless if you do not make an effort on the rest of society. Because madrasa students at the end of the day are going to go back to their parents and back to their society. And if you want them to stay strong, you have to change their parents, their siblings, their spouses, and the environment they come from. Otherwise, they will stay a little while with you, and when they go back, they will go back to their old selves. SubhanAllah — what an amazing assessment he made. And it is so true.

And that's where he — he had gone to Medina and wanted to stay in Medina. Everyone loves to move to Medina, who wouldn't? It's nice, it's beautiful. But I tell my friends who want to move to Medina: Medina is a beautiful place — but that is your place to move to right before you die. That is your lounge before you catch the flight. Medina is not the place to stay now. The place to make effort is outside. Go there to die. But right now, the effort required is far greater than sitting and reading Qur'an all day — mashaAllah, it's beautiful, but the effort required is much greater. There is so much ignorance all over the world, and especially in our country, there is a massive surge of people leaving the fold of Islam.

So when Mawlana Ilyas wanted to move to Medina, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala decided something else for him. He had a vision of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And it was conveyed to him in his dream: go back to India, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will use you for something great — that was the gist of the dream. He got overwhelmed. He went to his Shaykh and said: I am very skinny, very weak. I am not eloquent at all. I stutter. I have this problem and that problem. How can I do any big work? His Shaykh said: repeat the dream again. He repeated it. He said: in the dream, did it not say that Allah will take the work from you? You don't have to do anything. You have to submit yourself to Allah. Allah will use you. So what are you worried about? Why are you thinking about your weakness? That is Allah's responsibility — how He will carry it. Submit, and go.

The Obstacle of Material Abundance

What we saw in this area — this group of people — was simplicity, the absence of materialism, and that allowed people to believe in the unseen unlike any of us. Because material things, honestly, contrary to what you may think, are the biggest obstacle in our progress. The abundance of material things, the abundance of wealth and luxury in our life, is the biggest obstacle.

Imagine — Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said to Hafsa: did you just double up my bedding? He didn't have a foam goose-feather bed. He didn't have a water bed. He didn't have a five-thousand-dollar bed. He just had a simple sheet. And his pillow was made of the bark of a date palm tree — not feathers, but the actual bark of a palm tree, that's how hard it was — covered with leather. And he asked Hafsa: did you double up my bedding? She said: yes, my dear husband. He said: why did you do that? Just increasing it from maybe a quarter inch to half an inch. He said: that makes it difficult to wake up in the morning. This is the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam speaking. Imagine the type of lifestyle we are living, and how hard it has become for us to really get where we are supposed to.

There are so many things I could mention. But I'll tell you one thing: there was not a day I spent over there without genuinely thinking: I am a hypocrite. All of this is fake — the lifestyle of Islam that I am leading here in America, myself, not talking about anyone else, is all fake. And if the Sahaba were to come and see us, honestly, they'd pull out a sword against me. They'd think: you cannot be a Muslim. You must be something else — acting like a Muslim. Look at your life.

We are looking at what we see around us and thinking: subhanAllah, this is the Islam we have. But when you go and see how people are practicing Islam over there, in that simplicity, you see that the deen of Allah is far different from what we have understood it to be. We are living a very watered-down version of reality. As long as a person does not leave his environment, it will be very difficult to understand.

My beloved friends, we live in an environment that constantly highlights ease. Drive-through Islam. Microwaveable Islam. Easy. That's not what the deen talks about.

Whoever makes sacrifice, Allah says: We are going to guide them. Can I tell you what sacrifice looks like? I met ulama whose salary was two thousand rupees a month — average imam salary, twenty dollars a month. Twenty dollars a month. And they are going out in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for one year. We actually brought some of them with us. Ready for one year. Said: I'm ready. I'm going to go. I will borrow if I have to.

People today do weddings on credit cards and borrow money. When the sunnah is to go out in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, borrowing money for that. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam passed away with a loan. Umar radiyallahu 'anhu passed away with a loan. The sunnah was to borrow money to go on the path of Allah. The sunnah was not to take haram credit-card loans to do extravagant weddings. We flipped the whole script.

I met ulama who are not going out for their first year — going out for their second year, some for their third year. Selling their car, that was gifted to them. Selling a plot of land. Selling their washing machine. Selling the jewelry of their wives to finance 10, 15, 20, 30 thousand rupees to go out for a second or third year in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — to the Arab world, to Europe, to America.

And to see people who have no worldly desire. I met two elderly men, 70 or 80-year-old brothers in Nizamuddin. They came to me: where are you from? I said: from America. Oh, where is America? They're talking to each other, these old men. They've been coming there for the past 60 years from their village. They don't speak a lick of English. And they tell me: we made a niyyah to go to Fiji. You know where Fiji is? I said: yes. He said: I don't know where Fiji is — but insha'Allah, I'm going to go to Fiji in the path of Allah.

I met a brother — a farmer — who told a scholar: you're a scholar, I'm a farmer. I don't know how to read, I don't know how to write. Literally, I don't know how to read or write. And alhamdulillah, I have gone to so many countries — Madagascar, Africa, Europe, all these places — with my farm money. Saved up, sold my crops, and gone out in the path of Allah for four months, multiple times, multiple countries. You are a scholar, man — you should go. Allahu Akbar. How are these people doing it? The name of the game is sacrifice.

The Call to Action: Sacrifice and Revival

Until you and I do not make sacrifice — sitting here on this luxury chair, on this beautiful carpet — understand this: without sacrifice, you will never understand the sweetness of iman. You will never understand the sweetness of dua. Never understand the sweetness of tahajjud. Never understand the sweetness of what is waiting for you and me in the akhira.

There are two things here. One is: our iman needs to be serviced. The check engine light has been on for years. And there is only so long the engine will work — eventually it will go cold. Dead. And Allah forbid, it might not even be resuscitable. Number two: the ummah is in bad shape. And the reason is that sin has become widespread, and no one cares. No one cares.

People will come and say: oh, there's so much haram happening in XYZ place. Did you hear, Sheikh, did you hear what happened at the weddings? I was there, I saw this. Okay — what did you do about it? What did you do about it? Nothing. Many times it is our own nephews, our own nieces, our own grandkids, our own friends who are involved in the biggest forms of haram. And if you ask even the most pious people: what did you do about it? He doesn't have an answer. Why is that? No pain, no gain. You don't care about it because you never invested in it.

Let someone take one little scratch in the parking lot on your brand new $40,000 car — you're going to say: where are the security cameras? Call the cops. Someone scratched my car! Yes, because you made effort on that car. But the deen — you can have a wholesale slaughter of the sunnah from the houses of Muslims, a wholesale slaughter of the commands of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — and it doesn't affect our hearts. There's simply no pain. "2025, man, it's America — what do you expect?" What do you mean, what do you expect? How are you going to face Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?

So these are two responsibilities we have. One is to resuscitate our own iman. And number two is to make an effort — nationally and globally — to ensure that the ummah comes back to the level on which Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam left us at. And then when we do that, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's help will come — insha'Allah, 100%. The angels of Badr are waiting. They're just waiting for the green light from Allah. That green light will come when we bring change.

What I encourage all of us to do is: while sitting here, we're not going to understand. You have to make a little bit of sacrifice. Go against the status quo. Put yourself down. Humble yourself a little bit. Get off the chair, as they say. Get on the floor. Get your hands dirty. And subhanAllah, taste the sweetness of iman that the Sahaba probably had.

Alhamdulillah, there were about 7 or 8 brothers who joined me from America, from Chicago, for a few days — just flew out and joined me for 4 or 5 days. And many of them, alhamdulillah, have now made niyyah to go out for that iman refresher course of 4 months very soon. We have 3 brothers, alhamdulillah, from this masjid who are ready from November for 4 months. And yes, they are just like you — full-time jobs, 3 and 4 kids. But by coming into that environment, they realized how much they needed this. And they said: we are going to do the unthinkable. We're going to pray to Allah and say: Ya Allah, while we still can, allow me to resuscitate my iman. And allow me to make the effort in others.

So I encourage all of you — give your intention, give your name, give your date, and give your year. Make niyyah that you're ready in the next few months. Join these brothers who are going out in November from our masjid, or go in December, January, February, March — whatever it is. Make niyyah that I am also wanting to go taste what you are talking about. Go taste the sweetness of iman. Make an effort on my iman, on my salah. And insha'Allah, whatever problems I'm going through, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will solve those issues. Allah will solve those problems when I build my relationship with Allah.

Brothers, quickly insha'Allah — let's stand up, give our names, and give our date and year to go out in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and learn the effort of iman, learn the sweetness of iman. Alhamdulillah, do not be afraid. The first step is intention, and then after that Allah's help will come. Shaytan simply doesn't allow us to make the intention — that's it. Break the back of shaytan, make an intention, and that's the first step you're going to take close to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Put your trust in Allah, and give your name, and say: Ya Allah, I'm doing this not because of anybody — I'm doing it because I need this. I'm doing it because it's my responsibility. I'm doing it because the ummah is bleeding, and the ummah will continue to bleed until sin is rampant. Through my little sacrifice, I am going to become a means of stopping this widespread disobedience of Allah on earth.

Even those who are listening online — make niyyah in your heart: Ya Allah, whether men or women or children, I am going to go out in Your path, just like the Sahaba did, and just like the prophets did. I will try my best to emulate the sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and work on the quality of my iman, the quality of my salah, the quality of my dua, the quality of my character. And insha'Allah, Tabarak wa ta'ala, through the barakah of my effort, Allah will change my entire household. Allah will change my relationship with my parents, my spouse, my kids. Allah will give a beautiful tarbiyah to my children, to my spouse, to me, to my siblings. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will then become pleased with the ummah due to them repenting — wholesale repenting from sin. And then after that, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's help will come in Gaza also. In Syria also. In Sudan also. In Yemen also. Wherever the ummah is struggling, striving, and suffering — physically or spiritually, financially — you name it. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's help will come.

But the yaqeen has to come. If a person says: the solution to today's problems is more money — may Allah help us. If we think the solution is more jobs created, more professionals created — then we have not learned the lesson, even though we've been beaten from every direction and are bleeding from every vessel, and every limb is being cut. If we still think the solution to our problems lies in the abundance of more material things —

Obviously that is not the case. The solution to our problem lies back in ihya' al-sunnah — reviving the sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And one of the core sunnahs is that you and I need to feel pain when Islam is under attack. As someone said so beautifully: there are a lot of people who cry for Muslims — which is good. But we need people to cry for Islam. You cannot just cry for Muslims dying. You have to cry for Islam dying. You have to cry for the sunnah being sacrificed. And Allah's loyalty is not with Muslims — Allah's loyalty is with Islam. Allah's loyalty is not with any tribe. Allah's loyalty is with attributes and qualities.

Every one of us has to have that pain in our heart. Ya Allah, I beg Your forgiveness for all the sins that my community, myself, and the whole ummah is involved in. Make this niyyah today that you will make istighfar — I will make istighfar on behalf of the whole ummah. I will beg Allah's forgiveness for the sins that are happening from Las Vegas to Medina, from Kabul to New York. Every single place where sins are happening — Ya Allah, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the way the Muslims are practicing their faith. And the fact that we didn't make enough effort for non-Muslims to see the beauty of Islam. At least start with that. At least feel guilty in your heart. And hopefully that remorse and guilt will become a means of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala opening the doors for us, insha'Allah.

Closing and Du'a

Allah reward you all. Those who gave your name — JazakAllah khair. Those who were not able to, give it afterwards insha'Allah.

I also want to mention: those new brothers who have never gone out in the path of Allah — every single weekend, Darussalam students and Darussalam brothers go for 24 hours. They go out from Saturday Dhuhr till Sunday Dhuhr. You are more than welcome — we encourage you to join us for a day. Any Saturday or Sunday. And every three months, all the students go out with the teachers of Darussalam for about three days. You'll have a great time, insha'Allah. Stay connected to all of us here and say: I want to join you for three days, or one day. Even if you've never been in your life, you'll get the sweetness of what I'm speaking about.

Also, every single Sunday between Asr and Maghrib, alhamdulillah, brothers go to visit our local Muslim community members, our local Muslim-populated streets — to meet the Muslims for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You are more than welcome and encouraged to join for half an hour, 45 minutes every Sunday between Asr and Maghrib. And after Maghrib there is usually a 10 to 15-minute reminder on Sundays as well.

I ask almighty Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that He allows myself and all of us to feel the pain of Islam diminishing and Islam being attacked. I ask Allah to grant us the solutions and the desire to be part of the solution — not just cry, but be part of the solution. I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make every one of us and our loved ones amongst the revivers of Islam. I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that He does not make us people who simply pray and leave — but He makes us people who are concerned about filling up this masjid, and who will care about 100% of the deen coming into the world. I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us men and women of powerful salah, powerful dua, and to give us the iman like the iman of the Sahaba.

JazakumAllahu khayran. وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ