Ramadan 2025 | The Power of Prophetic Prayers | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed | 03/26

Etiquettes with the General Public

We're going to be continuing on the page of عَمْدُ الْبِدَايَةِ الْهِدَايَةِ — Beginning of Guidance. We completed the section of the etiquettes with Allah, how to have etiquettes with Allah, alhamdulillah, etiquettes with parents. And we started discussing how to have etiquettes with people who we don't know — random people.

So the text reads:

When you are tested with people of the general public who do not know — then the etiquette of sitting with them means, number one, avoid getting involved in their conversations or discussions. Don't pay much attention to their gossip, you could say.

تَغَافُل — disregard what follows on from the bad things they say, bad language, etc.

So the text continues:

Not paying much attention to their vain talk. Being wary of meeting with them too often, or getting into a position where you're in need of them. Calling attention to their blameworthy actions with gentleness and sincerity — when there is hope that they will accept what you say.

Protecting What You Have Gained in Ramadan

So in this paragraph, we're discussing how to deal with, as you say, random people. We're in i'tikaf for a day, or 10 days, or we're at home, wherever we're listening from. Alhamdulillah, you're fasting, you're pushing yourself — the 27th night starts in the next half hour, 45 minutes. You're going to make the most of it.

But when you end up meeting and spending too much time with people who are not on the same wavelength — Muslims themselves we're speaking about — who are maybe not fasting, or who are not praying, or who take everything lightly, who make a joke about how they've done too much ibadah this week and next year they've got to hit the casinos in Las Vegas to relax. May Allah guide them. There are people like that.

But us sitting with them, spending time with them — what happens, like we talked about yesterday? It sucks our soul out. And whatever goodness, alhamdulillah, we had gained, we lose it. This is a major issue with us right now. Because a lot of us do not realize that whatever you have gained in Ramadan and i'tikaf, it will not be long-lasting unless you make an effort to preserve it. Just like anything else, you have to add preservatives in order for it to last. If you don't add preservatives, and you keep on putting it through places where it's going to get bad, then subhanAllah, it will get bad.

So for us, our main issue needs to be: surround yourself with the company of such people that will allow you to stay strong. These people who do not have the same commitment to the deen — we need to spend as little time as possible with them, not pay much attention to the type of vile talk, the type of foul language that they may say. And do not try to keep on sitting and meeting on a regular basis with such people, unless you're giving them da'wah, naturally.

The Conditions of Giving Da'wah

Now if you go with the intention of giving da'wah, then alhamdulillah, you can go anywhere. But you have to be a real da'i, not a fake one. If you're going to the hookah lounge, you're not going to say, let me try it too. You're going to the hookah lounge for da'wah — mashallah, that's a place to give da'wah as well. But then you go in knowing exactly what you're doing: I'm here to get people to come. Not to, in the name of befriending them, smoke a little bit of this and smoke a little bit of that, and say salam to this sister and that sister. What are you doing?

Can you give da'wah? Yes, you can give da'wah in all sorts of places. But you have to have what it takes to be resilient and go into that environment. Think about the firefighter example. That person has to make sure he's got his fire gear, his masks, and so on. Because instead of helping anyone, he'll end up dying from smoke inhalation or fire if he doesn't gear up properly. So when you go into this type of situation to give da'wah, a person needs to be geared up spiritually before they try to give da'wah. And besides that, if we're not going to give da'wah, then we should stay away.

For example, you'll have iftar parties and Eid parties. If there's a lot of haram going on there, and you stayed here for so long to work on yourself — it just takes one five-second glance at someone, and you may lose everything you gained in the past 30 days. That's all it takes. It's crazy. Just like one stab — you take a knife and you stab a bag of sugar, a bottle of water — how quickly everything just comes out. That's what the evil glance does to you. One haram glance can completely suck out every single thing that we gained.

So that's why we need to be smart. What do most people say? "I have to attend this gathering, otherwise..." Otherwise what? "Family is going to get upset. Fulan is going to get upset. He's my best friend." Brother, please learn how to love yourself more than others. That's a basic requirement. You have to love yourself.

In reality, let me tell you — you're not doing this for someone else. It's my understanding of the psychology of this human being who says this. He's masking it by saying, "I'm doing it to keep him happy." In reality, his own nafs enjoys this. His own nafs enjoys the grazing of the eyes on different people. He enjoys it a little bit — of course, "I would never pay for it, I would never want to have the sin of paying the bill for it." But if someone else is doing it, let me be a person who sits on this chair and says, "Astaghfirullah, what's wrong with the ummah?" — and just, in between sipping his coke, looks up and says, "Astaghfirullah, that was crazy."

This is the nafs. The nafs enjoys this. But we cannot acknowledge that the nafs is enjoying it, because it feels very painful. So then we have to cover up by saying, "I've got to do this because... otherwise, if we are not representing, people get upset." People say, "Ever since you started going to the masjid, ever since you started going to i'tikaf, ever since you started fasting, you've become way too religious. Doesn't religion say take care of your relatives? Doesn't religion say you need to accept the invitation of a fellow Muslim?"

And so now all these ahadith — shaitan will bring them, and the nafs will bring them — to legitimize our presence in gatherings where we are losing our spirituality by the minute.

The Danger of Sitting in Gatherings of Mockery

One is by looking at haram. And the second thing is by sitting with people who are making fun of the deen. You're growing out your beard. The guy next to you says something derogatory about a Muslim brother with a beard. And now you nervously chuckle, while you have a beard yourself — because you know this guy is a big shot, and you don't want to upset him. What does that do to your deen, when you sit next to someone who makes fun of the sunnah? When you sit next to someone who is bashing the masajid, bashing scholars, bashing huffaz, bashing this one and that one. I'm telling you, all the goodness you gained is going out — because your silence next to someone who is speaking nonsense like this is tacit approval.

And who is saying this? Allah says this. Allah says in multiple places in the Quran: do not sit with those people.

When you see people making fun of the deen, فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ — turn away from them — حَتَّىٰ يَخُوضُوا فِي حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِ — until they begin to discuss something else.

And if you say, "No brother, it's my family. I have to" — then in that case, Allah says:

Indeed, then you are just like them. Indeed, Allah will gather the hypocrites and the disbelievers together in Jahannam.

Who is the hypocrite being referred to here? The ones who are sitting with the other guys. Allah calls them a munafiq. At least he is an open kafir — he is making fun of the Muslims. Allah says the one who sits with them, nervously laughs, chuckles just to keep the party moving, saying "I don't want to be the weirdo" — stays quiet — Allah says he is the munafiq. And Allah says, "I'm going to keep you all together — since you love each other's company — in hellfire."

So this is not a small thing. This is not a small issue. You cannot say, "Brother, at least I don't do this." No, it doesn't make a difference. You cannot be spending time sitting with people who are making fun of the deen. This pleasure, this approval of ours of the kuffar, may take us very far away from the mercy of Allah. May Allah protect us all and grant us a deep understanding.

Avoiding Toxicity and Being Solution-Based

So he says, that's why we need to decrease the time we spend with these types of people whose talk is not good, whose discussions are not good. They're not giving you any positive energy — they're actually taking things away from you. Similarly, do not stick around with people who are toxic — people always engaged in ghibah, backbiting, gossip, saying Muslims are like this and like that: "I never want to do business with Muslims. Did you see what this Muslim did to me? He backstabbed me." These things you need to stay away from. Because even if you're a great person, if you spend time around them, unfortunately that toxicity, that negativity will come into you.

If someone is speaking about the negative, you might say, "Brother, you always talk about negative issues." I am — but what's the purpose? For the sake of complaining? The sake of it is to make us realize we have a problem. Your mom says, "Hey, there's dirty laundry on the bathroom floor. Pick it up." The idea is not just to say it's dirty laundry — the idea is to go pick it up. We have to highlight what's wrong. If you're in a position of changing things, we cannot give a blind eye to the problems of society. We must highlight them and fix them.

But you have to provide solutions. Be solution-based. Do not just simply complain. "People are doing this." What is your solution? "I don't have a solution, I'm just talking about it." Then don't talk about it. Because what happens is it just makes me also hate the Ummah. This is not how it's supposed to be.

Every discussion we have should lead us to: what is the Ummah? The Ummah is like a child — a dirty child. I'm part of that Ummah, by the way. We're all part of that Ummah. The Ummah is like that child who's become filthy, stinking. They need sympathy, not hatred. They need sympathy, not hatred.

The 27th Night — Reach Out to Those Who Are Away

You see what I'm saying? If we all became sympathetic tonight — on this couple of hours before the 27th night — our sympathy should be: I'm in the masjid, and my own cousin hasn't come for a single taraweeh. My own siblings haven't come for a single taraweeh. I'm in the masjid; I have relatives who've never fasted.

Guess what? Take your phone, which is not being used, and message 25 of your relatives individually. Say, "SubhanAllah, I'm sitting in i'tikaf. My beloved brother, wallahi I'm making dua for you — that's why I remembered you. My dear sister, my dear cousin, my dear brother — tonight is the night I'm going to be making dua for you. Please make dua for me. Please try to go to your local masjid for an hour." If they live in Chicago, invite them. Tell them, "I'm here, just come." Not to other masajid, but subhanAllah — by you being here, you have the ability to say, "I'm going to host you tonight at Darul Salam. Just come. You sit next to me."

Feed him. Make ikram of him. Make dua. Tell him, "Let's sit for this bayan." He says, "I gotta go." "No, man — just sit for half an hour. Just sit for the talk, then you can go." How many people I see walking out, and then they hear something in the lobby, and then they come right back in. And then they sit till 2 AM. What happens? These people don't have exposure. They don't have exposure.

What we need to do, if we care about the Ummah, is use this night to actually message your own immediate friends and relatives who may not be on the deen. Make dua for them as you're messaging them — so you're not lying. You're typing the text: "Brother, I make dua for you." When are you making dua? You're making dua right then. In your heart: Ya Allah, guide this person. Ya Allah, put effect in my message. Make my speech effective. Allow it to hit the heart. Let today be the day he changes, the day she changes.

All of you sitting at home listening to me — same message for you. You're going to go for i'tikaf? You're going to go for taraweeh tonight? But guess what? There are hundreds of people in your city who are not going. For them, it's a normal Wednesday night. They're going to eat, watch some TV, spend some time on the phone, maybe go work out at the gym, and go to sleep. You say, "What?" Yes, wallahi, that's how it is. Minority? No, it's not a minority. Unfortunately, it's the majority.

I remember many years ago, a brother told me — he said, "We live walking distance from the masjid. But my son doesn't know — March, April, May, June, July — the 27th, 25th, khatm-ul-Quran. Walking distance from the masjid. And he's sitting at home." A grown man in his 20s. He doesn't care. How many of us have sons like this? How many of us have daughters like this? How many of us have siblings like this? Tonight, don't forget them.

But you say, "I'm going to make dua for the whole Ummah." No, it's not enough. Make dua for them individually and message them individually. After Maghrib, don't talk to anyone else. Have your dinner. Come sit somewhere. And spend your time messaging people. This is my request.

And subhanAllah — let's say you messaged 30 people and not one responded. That doesn't make a difference. Nuh a.s. is as successful as any prophet. Allah will not reward you based on how many people said yes to you. Allah will reward you for the fact that you cared about Rasulullah's ummah. The fact that you cared about fellow servants of Allah.

Now if you are here today, that means Allah has given you a level of guidance. Worry about those who are not here. And inshallah, Allah will keep you steadfast. The one who takes care of others, Allah will take care of him. The one who looks after and worries about the children of others, Allah will take care of his children.

Prioritizing the Akhirah Over Social Gatherings

Think about this: the amount of effort people put into sending wedding invitations — they send tens of messages, multiple messages coming to everyone. Kitni fikar hoti hai? "I paid $90 for this chair in XYZ banquet hall. I want you to come." And some people, it's not even about the money — it's just, "I want you to be there for my daughter's wedding." But be very honest: their presence or absence honestly doesn't make a difference to your daughter, nor to your son. You like it, but wallahi al-azim — is it not more important that your friend is here in the masjid tonight, than them being present for your son or daughter's wedding? What's more important for the akhirah? Their presence in the masjid.

But this Ummah — the love for Ummah is lacking within us. And so we should be asking Allah: Ya Allah, allow me to fall in love with the Ummah. Say Ameen. Ya Allah, allow me to have concern for the Ummah the way the Prophet ﷺ would have wanted us to have concern.

If we can get a thousand people of concern for the Ummah within our Chicagoland area — man, the place will be different by next year. The place will be different.

Usually when I message people and call people, sometimes they'll open up to me and say, "Honestly, our own siblings never message us as much as you do. Our own siblings don't care about our deen the way you might." And I tell them — "You know what, I'm a human being. How am I even remembering you? I probably have 4,000 contacts on my phone. How am I supposed to randomly message you? The fact that Allah made me remember you at this time has nothing to do with me. It's that Allah loves you — that's why He put your name in my heart."

And that's the thing for all of us. People don't care for one another now, especially when it comes to deen. "I don't want to go bowling alone, I don't want to go out to eat alone, so I'll message you." We don't need that sympathy. Save the guy's money, let him stay home and eat. What we need is a sympathy and empathy that says: "Brother, I need you to make tawbah. I need you to repent. I need you in the masjid." That's what the Ummah needs the most.

The ghaflah and heedlessness that is all over in our area — that has to end. We are living in a very, very difficult time. And I'm honestly so disturbed emotionally and mentally after watching certain things that are happening in America right now. Things I never imagined would have happened here are happening to innocent people. And subhanAllah, it's just a matter of time that one of us will be next. So this is something that we've got to wake up to. If we're just going to be cracking jokes and laughing and enjoying life with haram in our lives — what is really going to happen?

Going Out in the Path of Allah — Tabligh and Da'wah

It's very heavy on my chest — the Ummah is sleeping. So we need people, just like the dream I narrated yesterday, to go grab people. This effort of da'wah and tabligh creates that. If you've never been in khuruj — go! You might say, "What you're saying logically makes sense to me, but I cannot emotionally connect to anything you're saying right now." If you're one of those people, then I encourage you to go for three days. Because I don't think anyone listening to me can doubt that what I'm saying is correct and is exactly what the Prophet ﷺ would want from us. But you might not have it emotionally. Well, you've got to create it. And it's not going to create itself just by sitting around. Go out in khuruj. Go with those brothers who have this fikr, this concern. Spend time with them. Visit different people for the sake of Allah. Get humbled for the sake of Allah.

Then you'll come back to the masjid, and you'll be teary-eyed. Because in your entire adult life — 60 years — no one has ever spoken to you the way these people in da'wah speak to you. Not because you're begging for money, but because you're begging them to come to the masjid. And they chew you out. Now you're heartbroken. Now you get a glimpse of the trillions of difficulties that the Prophet ﷺ went through every single day of his life.

Because we talk about the sacrifice of the Prophet ﷺ. How many of us have even dreamed of what it feels like? You know when you're going to feel it? When you make $200,000 a year, you have a home, you have cars, you have everything — and you go to someone's apartment, someone's tobacco store, someone's shop, and you say, "Mashallah brother, it's the month of Ramadan, alhamdulillah. I just came to say salam. Hope you're doing well. Here's a box of dates for you. May Allah reward you. Tonight is the khatm al-Quran in the masjid. I'd really love for you to come." And then he goes on a tirade: "What's wrong with you? You think the Ummah needs people to go to the masjid? People like you have destroyed us!"

And you're thinking: why did I leave the comfort of my home to come to this gas station, to come to this apartment to speak to you — for you to chew me out like this? No one has ever spoken to me like this. I'm a manager. I'm a physician. No one speaks to me like this. And you can't say that. If you want to be like the Prophet ﷺ, you just look down and say, "I'm sorry brother. We just thought it would be helpful. That's why I was inviting you, but please forgive us for our shortcomings. May Allah make us better in our presentation."

Now you know the guy's name. You saw his badge. You saw his tag. You come back to the masjid, shaken up. And then after the adhan, subhanAllah, you sit and make dua for him. That is what changes the hearts of people. Not only that person's heart — but definitely what changed your heart. So after Ramadan, I encourage you to go out in the path of Allah for 3 days, 4 days, something.

And the goal should be: Ya Allah, allow me to feel what it means to love the Ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ — without any strings attached. Just wishing that people get connected.

The effort of da'wah is not just 3 days and 40 days, by the way. Some of you think, "Oh, that's what it is." No. The purpose of going out is to actually create a mindset. A mindset that wherever you are — at work, traveling, on vacation — if you see a brother or sister, your heart goes out to them and you say, "Let me try to connect them to the deen somehow or the other. Connect them to the local masjid."

When I travel, I meet so many people on flights. Many times they are first-time immigrants, first-time refugees — no idea where they're going. The key thing is: "Brother, your job and everything will be taken care of. Number one: which city are you going to? Okay, this is how you check out the local masajid in that area. Download this app, and inshallah, these are the masajid." And if I happen to know the imam of that community, great — that's nurun ala nur. I tell him, "Go settle in, but definitely go meet the scholar." So now you've connected him. It's up to him to move forward. But subhanAllah, if we want to take it the full nine yards, we should take his number and follow up with him.

You say, "Brother, there's no time for this." That is what it means to be of the Ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ — that you take time out to do all these calls, to look and worry about people. And that is what changes the hearts of people.

Caring for Those Who Cannot Be Here Tonight

There are so many people right now — do you know how many children are sick in hospitals? Their mom and dad are sitting in the hospital right now, as we sit here. How much they need to hear a message from us. We're not going to tell them to move here, because they can't — they've got to stay with their kids. But subhanAllah, what you can do is give them some targheeb, nice words. Console them. Send them the link for the bayans. Say, "You know what, wherever you are, listen."

How many people are truck drivers, cross-country? If they don't make their drop-off, they can't bring the money home. What are they going to do? They have to keep driving. How many Uber drivers out there — the only source of income for the entire family? Four kids, five kids. We have to care about these people. So on this night, send them the link. They can't maybe stop. But say, "Bhai, while you're driving, please at least listen to the khatm al-Quran dua. Listen to the dhikr and dua that's happening." Alhamdulillah, Allah is watching them. Allah knows their situation. We're not judging anyone. But we have to make sure that we care about them.

So this is my point of saying: if you're going to speak about the ills of the Ummah, provide solutions. Don't sit and simply bash people. Because that doesn't get us anywhere — it actually gets us further from Allah. And when you do speak, do it in a nice manner. What does the text say? Make sure you do it with gentleness and sincerity, when there is hope that they will accept what you say. Do not be harsh with people, because the little connection you have will also stop. So even if they said something harsh to you, please just accept it.

A Powerful Story — Feeling the Prophet's ﷺ Sacrifice

One extremely close friend of ours — a big businessman — told me this story. He said one day he was going to the ijtima. So he told someone he was going. That person had an allergy against the effort of da'wah and tabligh — even though he was a hafidh of Quran. So he told this businessman, "Why are you going there? That is for people who are uneducated, who are poor, who are at the lower end of the socio-economic ladder. Those people go to the effort of da'wah and tabligh. You are a well-to-do professional businessman."

Which is obviously incorrect — there are loads and loads of extremely wealthy and extremely educated people who go out. And per se, if there weren't, this is exactly what the kuffar of Nuh a.s. said to Nuh a.s.:

Nuh, we don't see following you except those who are the lowest of us at first glance. "The people we see following you are very simple, at the lower end of the socio-economic ladder. That's why we're not going to follow you." Where are they today? Still burning in hellfire after thousands of years. So it is foolishness to judge something based on someone's wealth or lack of wealth.

So this businessman told me — he said, "I told that person: 'I'm not a hafidh, I'm not an alim, I'm nobody. There's an ijtima happening, so I decided to go. But the fact that you're stopping me and telling me this is not for me — can I say something? You ulama and imams give bayans and lectures on the seerah of the Prophet ﷺ. You speak about forbearance, about generosity, about sabr. How much Rasulullah ﷺ had to go through, how much pain in the process of da'wah — who doesn't speak about this, from Sunday school to Jummah khutbahs? Tell me: is speaking the same thing as going through that? How am I supposed to feel what you speak about in the Jummah khutbah? One is the theory of it, and one is the practice.'"

Then this businessman said — one day he went for three days somewhere, and they went in jaulah to visit someone. The brother took them to another brother's apartment and knocked on the door. That guy didn't even open the screen door — he stood behind it. He said, "You came from where?" "Came from the masjid, brother. We came to invite you to the masjid."

This businessman lives in a five-million-dollar home. The guy from inside the apartment says: "You are probably some absolutely uneducated guy who just lost his job. Why don't you get lost and go find a job for yourself?" And you could have bought him out and seven generations of his family. But subhanAllah, the amir said, "Shhh, quiet. Can't say anything." Just say, "Please forgive us. Keep us in your prayers. We'll make dua for you." And walk away.

He said, "The way I walked back to the masjid — I can't tell you my emotions. I tried to understand what the Prophet ﷺ must have gone through. Every single hour of every single day of his life." When you're the Prophet of Allah — Jibreel comes to you — no one can enter Jannah until you enter. Not Nuh, not Ibrahim, not Ismail, not Ishaq, not Yaqub, not Yusuf a.s. Jannah is haram for everyone until the Prophet ﷺ enters. Where do we even begin to speak about the Prophet ﷺ?

And yet — he's being spat upon, he's being pelted with stones, he has the intestines of animals thrown on him while he's in sajdah. How did Rasulullah ﷺ make sabr? When are you and I going to feel that? Even in i'tikaf — what do we feel? Alhamdulillah, everything is mashallah five-star, seven-star. How are you going to feel the Prophet ﷺ's sacrifice?

That's what I'm trying to tell you. Go after Ramadan. Spend a couple of days. And the benefits you'll get from it are amazing — including fixing that nafs that is so accustomed to luxury.

One physician told me recently: "Man, I feel like I'm wasting my life. I've made so much money. I'm halfway through life. I want to give da'wah, but I don't know how to." I said, "Brother, go out in jamaat." He said, "Oh yeah, I went in my college days — those were some of the best times." I said, "Yeah, but that's 30 years ago. Go again." Spend time with seasoned du'at. We have brothers from all the way from Hyderabad, India, who are with us for the next two or three days. Spend time with them.

The Art of Da'wah — Connecting with People

They know how to go into a room full of people playing cards, billiards, whatever it is — and take over the whole room. Honestly, I learned this with them. I was very intimidated. But I saw: how do you go into a room where you would barely want to speak? You go in and say, "Mashallah brothers, how is everyone doing?" You do it in such a tactful, smiling manner. You go to the guy who runs the show first. "Hey, what's your name, brother?" He gives his name. Now you figure out a beautiful hadith or verse of the Quran to connect with his name. You say something to him that brings a massive smile on his face. No one ever connected his name with the Quran or hadith in that manner. You cheer him up, you say things to positively make him happy. You ask him about his kids, his job. You make connections — connections of everything to something that brings a smile to his face.

And then you say, "May Allah reward you all. Can I join you? Can I play?" If you know how to play, you play — cricket, basketball, whatever the case may be. If you don't know how to play, you share the stats and sports knowledge you have. Whatever knowledge you have of that sport, you bring it out. So the first five to seven minutes, you're not talking anything about deen. You're speaking about everything that makes them say, "Man, this guy is more into dunya than us. He knows more about cars than I do." Yes — and some of our teachers, I get flabbergasted at how much stats they know. You would never imagine — they don't even touch a ball, and they know so much. What do you need these stats for? For da'wah. Otherwise it's a complete waste of time to know stats. But the purpose is you're going to use that for da'wah.

So seven, eight minutes in — they realize, "Whoa, we're not the players — this guy is the player." And subhanAllah, now you control the conversation of the room. You say, "Let's finish up the game, and then let's have some drinks and coffee." Alhamdulillah. And then you say, "Hey, can I share a few minutes of deen?" And how do you start? Not a big long khutbah with hamd, salah, three ayats of the Quran in tartil. Obviously. You say bismillahirrahmanirrahim, a short du'a, start off with a story. Talk about your own story. "You know, subhanAllah — my childhood was spent not in the best manner. I was very far away from the deen."

You know who can say this story? Mawlana Tariq Jameel himself can say this story — that there was a time he wasn't at all in the deen. Imagine — if Mawlana Tariq Jameel can talk about his own private story that he was not in the deen, what about the rest of us? Look at where he has reached today — mashallah, may Allah preserve him, protect him, and accept from him. The idea is: you have to connect with the people. You have to say, "Don't think that just because I'm growing out my beard and coming here to speak to you in this lounge, I'm some super pious person. Bro, I'm just like you. I'm worse than you. I'm struggling myself."

Then you share your story, and people start saying, "Wow, I can connect with this." And then you say, "SubhanAllah, I don't want to take more of your time. I already took 10 minutes. The drinks are on me. So y'all can get whatever you need from here. And we're at the local masjid — we'll be there till tomorrow morning. Whenever you have time, stop by. After Isha it'll be great. We're going to have a talk and dinner together." Who doesn't like a free dinner?

That requires a knack. You have to have the know-how to do it. Practice makes you perfect. And it cannot be scripted. Chat GPT can't help you. I hate chat GPT messages. Please, use your broken language — I'd rather hear that than a chat GPT message, because it lacks sincerity. You can't use chat GPT in your da'wah. It's the concern in the heart for each person. If he's 65 years old, talk about his kids. If he's 20 years old, talk about his college. If he's 30 years old, talk about bringing muhabba and love in his marriage. We have to know — and Allah will inspire you what to say, when to say it, how to say it. But you've got to make the effort. Dua at night: Ya Allah, help me. Help me. And then spend time in the field.

I can cringe right now thinking about the times I've made mistakes — going into a house and saying something that I think about to this day. Man, I really messed up. Because yes, I had already graduated from the Alim course. I was already imam for two years. But man, you need wisdom. Which hadith to say where, and which hadith you should absolutely not say. Not everything needs to be said everywhere. Actually, if you say it, you're going to cause more problems. You have to know when to withhold and when to speak. What works with one person cannot work with another person.

And look at what I'm telling you — this is how the da'i works. And in order to understand it, it's not going to happen by listening to me. You have to go into the field. 3 days, 40 days. That's why our students graduating from the Alim program here — I encourage every one of them. Some of them go into medicine after finishing the 7-year Alim course. Some are going into PhD or master's programs. Some are going to teach. But I told them: listen, you all have to know how to talk. You are experts right now. You have more knowledge than I do — fresh, fresh minds. I am amazed. In recent exams, one of the students wrote 80 pages. 80 pages! And of course, no chat GPT. So the knowledge is there, no doubt. But how to take that knowledge and transfer it to every person in an appropriate manner — that takes a lot of talent. And that talent doesn't come while you're sitting in class. It comes by leaving your home and going into the field. What you're learning in the classroom on a whiteboard is very different from what you learn in the field.

The Importance of Khuruj for Scholars — and All of Us

That's why the ulema are supposed to go out for one year — one whole year. Because their knowledge is so much that to make that knowledge transferable, it takes a lot more time. And as a scholar, you're always in a leading position. Naturally, the more knowledge you have — unless you don't bring it down — the nafs also becomes bigger. So you really have to. Why? As a scholar, you're always in a leading position. How do you maintain a leading position while keeping your nafs under your shoes? That's not easy. Going through the sacrifices of small villages in Africa, small villages in India, small villages in South America, and random small towns in America — it really punctures your nafs. Where you're not given that respect. No one knows you. Alhamdulillah, that's the best possible thing you can get for your nafs.

And so I encourage all of us to make niyyah that after Ramadan finishes, go. Even if you've never tried it, go. Our own Darul Uloom students go about three times a year — every single teacher, and all 200 students go together. That's going to happen. What weekend is it? April 18th. April 18th, inshallah, Darul Uloom students, teachers, and inshallah myself will be going. If you want to join, by all means — be here on Thursday night. We'll leave Thursday at Maghrib and come back Sunday morning. If Thursday you're working, Friday you're working, no problem — join us after work for 24 hours. Come spend time. You're going to love it. I promise you're going to love it, especially with Darul Uloom students and teachers. SubhanAllah, you'll have a blast.

And then we have the ijtima, which is going to take place in June — expected to be what they call the world ijtima, happening in Chicago for the first time in about 40-45 years. June 27th weekend, it's going to be held at the Rosemont Convention Center for the first time. The expected attendance is about 35-40 thousand people who will actually be doing i'tikaf there for 3 days. May Allah make the logistics easy — it's a momentous, huge task. But definitely put that down on your calendar: June 27th. Make sure you put that on your calendar, wherever you are listening to me from.

Do Not Give Up on Your Own Family

I talked about last night that some people's own children are not following the deen, and they've simply given up on them. And that's the problem — because in order to even care for your own kids and your own siblings, the effort of da'wah is important. "Yeah, my sister doesn't pray. My brother is an atheist. My sister is agnostic." Okay — what are you doing about it? What are you doing about it? The average person does not have the knowledge to handle this. How many people have you sought help from? What have you done to help your agnostic or atheist brother or sister? It's just: move on with life. No.

If — Allah forbid — you had a car accident, how quickly would you leave your i'tikaf and run? How would it break your heart to see your sibling in a car accident? If they die in this state, they will be going to Jahannam for eternity, eternity, eternity. They've got a Muslim name, born in a Muslim home. You played soccer, football, basketball together your whole life. And if they die in this state, they're going to burn in the worst part of Jahannam for eternity. How can you just sit back and say, "Make dua"? Dua alone is not enough — you have to make effort for that.

Honestly, many times we're not making the proper effort for our siblings, relatives, kids, cousins who are not following the deen. And that needs to change tonight. You have to ask Allah, I have to ask Allah: Ya Allah, give me concern for all my relatives. Give me concern for all my friends. And allow me to truly do what needs to be done to get them back. If they never come back, but I try — at least I'll be able to show my face on the Day of Judgment.

But if these people on the Day of Judgment say, "Ya Allah, my own brother, my own sister, my own parent — they should have come after me. Why didn't they come after me?" How are you going to answer that? And the way to come after people is not to nag them. There's a whole process. Of how to get from point A to point B.

You know when they move a massive hundred-ton bridge beam across the country on trucks — hundreds of tons — they're able to move it because they plan it out. It was manufactured in a plant in Minnesota, and it has to reach Boston. The logistics company does it. If we can move a 200-ton beam, we can work on our cousins and siblings. But you have to come with a game plan. Am I making sense?

We have to come with a game plan. This is something we need to do tonight. Ask Allah. I'm not saying come up with a game plan right now. But ask Allah: Ya Allah, inspire me with a game plan. How am I going to become a means — not guide, because you and I can't guide ourselves — how am I going to become a means of guiding my brother, sister, cousin, relative, old childhood friend, from where he is now to where he needs to be? That game plan, once it comes in, inshallah, you'll be able to see our brothers and sisters in a much better situation.

And the only reason I'm sitting here and you're sitting here is because someone else made a game plan for us. Someone else made a game plan for us. And if that wasn't there, I would be outside at the gym or enjoying pizza right now. All of this is because someone made effort. May Allah reward all those people who made effort on our parents and on us. May Allah give them the full reward of every good action that we do and our children do — starting from the Sahaba to everyone else who tapped our dad and our mom and tapped us and became a means of us being here tonight.

So this is — subhanAllah — the beauty of our deen. Someone does the work, they pass away, but the ajar continues. And so this is where he says: make sure you use gentleness and sincerity when guiding people.

Du'a of Forgiveness — Du'a Number 9

The next section — how to deal with brothers and friends — we'll do inshallah tomorrow. And now we'll read one istighfar before we head downstairs. We're reading from Prayers of Forgiveness by Hasan al-Basri, White Thread Press. Both of the books I'm using are from White Thread Press, found downstairs as well as online at Balagh Bookstore. Beginning of Guidance, which I started off from, and Prayers of Forgiveness. Every day we're reading one of the du'as of forgiveness. Du'a number 9:

Oh Allah, I seek Your forgiveness for every sin by which I have wronged one of Your friends. Every such sin in which I misspoke and broke the heart of Your friend.

But in this crowd, in this entire masjid — is there any way for us to know who is a wali of Allah? Tell me. Do we know? We don't know. In the parking lot — who is a wali of Allah — do we know? So we don't know when we make a comment about someone. We don't know who is the wali and who is not. And we may have literally burned our bridges with Allah by getting mad at someone, by cursing at someone, by yelling at someone, by usurping someone's wealth — and he was a wali of Allah.

Oh Allah, I seek Your forgiveness for every such sin in which I have wronged one of Your friends. Or — نَصَرْتُ بِهِ عَدُوًّا — I actually ended up inadvertently assisting one of Your enemies.

He said, "You want an investment?" "Yes, I want an investment. Can you please invest with me?" This guy was an enemy of Allah. You invested with him. Not only did you make money — you made him a lot more money. And Allah hated him because of what he does. Now we're actually helping him. SubhanAllah.

One person just asked me a question and I got the answer right here. He said, "I'm starting up a company and I'm looking for investors. One person is a very clear enemy of Allah. But he's ready to invest in my company. I want to do it halal." Well, you got your answer. Why is the guy investing? He cares about you? No, he wants to make more money. So why should we take investment from someone who is an enemy of Allah? What is that going to do to our relationship with Allah?

So Ya Allah, I seek forgiveness from every such sin in which I ended up assisting an enemy of Allah.

أَوْ تَكَلَّمْتُ فِيهِ لِغَيْرِ مَحَبَّتِكَ — Or, Ya Allah, I spoke favorably against Your liking. Something that You didn't like, I gave an opinion for it. Ya Allah, I seek forgiveness from that.

أَوْ نَهَضْتُ فِيهِ لِغَيْرِ طَاعَتِكَ — Or, upon which I rode away from Your obedience.

أَوْ ذَهَبْتُ فِيهِ لِغَيْرِ أَمْرِكَ — Or to which I advanced in open defiance of Your command.

So how many things over here? Number one: such a sin in which I ended up oppressing a friend of Allah. Number two: I ended up assisting an enemy of Allah. Number three: I ended up speaking favorably against Your liking. Number four: I ended up walking away, riding away from Your obedience. Number five: I ended up moving forward towards something which displeases You in defiance of You. So we're seeking forgiveness from all such sins.

I ask Allah to accept this dua on our behalf and allow all of our sins on this blessed night and blessed day to be forgiven. Allow us to recognize and realize our flaws and faults. May Allah put the love of the Ummah in our hearts. May Allah give us the wisdom on how to become a means of guiding our family, friends, and the rest of the Ummah. May Allah use every single one of us as a lantern of guidance. May Allah allow us to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet ﷺ in loving and caring for the Ummah. Ameen.

Inshallah, we request everyone to please proceed downstairs quietly and engage in dhikr and dua in these final few moments.