Rise & Reflect with Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed Ep.8

Rise & Reflect — Episode 8

Opening & Introduction of Mawlana Shibli

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

If everyone can come close together, insha'Allah the brothers in the back.

So today, insha'Allah, we'll have some closing remarks from a guest speaker. We have, alhamdulillah, Mawlana Shibli who is with me in our candlelight conversation this morning. He was a past teacher here at Dar-ul-Salam for a couple of years, alhamdulillah, and he's been teaching remotely. Mawlana, alhamdulillah, has got a lot of different backgrounds in history and post-modernism. He's taught winter intensive classes.

Alhamdulillah, Allah has used him for many interesting things, including giving da'wah to people who left Islam. Alhamdulillah, through his efforts he was able to bring them back to Islam — people who had left the deen. So, a man of many talents.

He was actually traveling for the past 11 days from Chicago all the way to New York by road, and he and a few other students, alhamdulillah, did well over 100 programs in all of these cities. So today, insha'Allah, for the final reflection I'm going to ask Mawlana — he has a flight soon — we'll have insha'Allah a small session here with all of you. Please come forward and join us. Mawlana will share some reflections on his journey, what he saw, and some things that we can all insha'Allah benefit from.

Mawlana Shibli's Reflections on the Journey

You know, there are times where there's not much to say — you're groping for words and thoughts — and then there's the other extreme: there's so much you want to say, so many emotions in your chest and thoughts that you want to relay, but you don't even know how to distill them and organize them and convey them. This is one of those moments, coupled with a bit of exhaustion. It's been quite a few days.

But SubhanAllah, I'll start off by saying that again I'm reminded about the spiritual effects that the a'mal that the people do in this masjid — I got to witness how they're pumped out like arteries to the rest of the country. And even though I had the good fortune of being in Masjid Dar-ul-Salam in person for just a couple of years, a few short years, I never really — I'm realizing now — I never really appreciated the full extent of the effects that it's having on the rest of the country.

On this short journey of mine that I got to accompany with a couple of my students — as tiring as it was and as unprepared as I was — I was learning on the go; Allah was just teaching me on the go, and I was relying heavily on the advices of Mufti Azeem Sahab and everyone else who was here — Abdur Rahman, mashallah, guiding us through, Allah accept him. But as I was going through, I'm realizing all the students and all the people that were affected by the efforts of da'wah — I got to interact with them — and what I began to see is the strong network that is forming around the country, and how we can leverage that network, that brotherhood, for the sake of da'wah and reaching out to those people who have absolutely no idea where to even begin.

The Story of Brother Munawwar

I'll give you one example. We were doing program after program after program. Unfortunately I don't have the stamina of Mufti Azeem Sahab — he's my source of inspiration, but it's just I don't know how he does it, to be frank. Allah accept him.

But after doing those programs, in between, sometimes more programs would pop up. I went to one particular masjid in New York, we did a program there, and it was in the locality of my aunt, so I decided to just pop by, say salam, and be on my way. While I'm at my aunt's house, my aunt's husband was asking me to do a program at his masjid. I was reluctant — we have a schedule and we're tired, exhausted, a bit lazy, you know; shaytan gets to you. But something in my mind I was thinking: who knows? Because Mufti Azeem Sahab just gave us that advice — don't neglect even a tiny gathering, you never know what's hidden there. I remembered that.

So, khair, I said okay, let's go. Right from my aunt's house, down the street, there's a tiny masjid I've never heard of, I've never seen, I don't even know anybody from there. And it's very small — like only a few people can fit in there. And when I got there, I was a bit disappointed — it's mostly elderly people, mashallah, who don't really speak the English language; they're mostly Bangladeshi uncles. So I thought maybe it will be hard for me to reach out to this crowd.

Nonetheless, I addressed the crowd. There's one young guy there — one young guy, probably 20 years old — named Munawwar. I had the pleasure of meeting him. He came up to me afterwards. I had just addressed him for maybe 10 minutes. He was so amazed and so happy. He said he really wants to know more about Darussalam — he's heard of it, he doesn't know anything about it, and he never thought that somebody from Darussalam would come here and speak to his community.

What I learned from my uncle is this: brother Munawwar, who is 20 or 21 years old, has his own initiative. He reaches out to every single youth in the locality, and he set up table tennis so they can come and play in the masjid. He's the one holding the programs, he's the one inviting them towards the deen, he's the one trying to teach them hadith. He doesn't have a deeni education, he's not an alim, he's not a scholar, he doesn't have many resources — he's very limited. There are 60 youth that follow his leadership. Sixty. When I found out, I got to meet most of them — he called all of them right away, and they followed just like that. They arrived at the masjid saying there's somebody here from Darussalam, I want you to meet him.

I was astonished. There was no room in the masjid; we couldn't sit. I couldn't even record it — you know, we're keeping track of where we're going, I'm sending updates — but that was so impromptu, so sudden. I met so many people within a short span of time I didn't even get a chance to update the group.

He was so amazed when we spoke about the programs we're having here, so he said insha'Allah he's coming in May with the whole jama'ah from that locality. He came to me afterwards and said, "Mawlana Shibli, it's been very tough. I have this thing — my father wants me to do this — but I just don't know how to begin. All these youth are relying on me, but I don't have the ilm, I don't have the guidance. I just feel like I'm learning on the go and I need something to hold on to — I need a rock to hold on to." I said, "Then come to Darussalam. I'll see you in May, insha'Allah."

And I've been following up with him — the next two or three days we're traveling, he's messaging me every single day, every single day: "How's it going? Where are you? Do you need help?" He's tuning into Masjid Darussalam programs. So Munawwar, in this little corner of the world that I'd never heard of — but alhamdulillah, he's doing so much work on his own. Now he has this vast resource and network and the barakat and the spirituality of Masjid Darussalam, insha'Allah. And he's considering attending the programs here — if he does that, what a leader he will become. Allah accept him.

The Alumni Program & Mufti Salim's Impact

So that was impromptu. After that, just one more thing I want to share before I have to get going. Our beloved student, former graduate, Mufti Salim — when I saw him there and saw the influence he's able to hold on the people there, how much they love him. Genuinely. When they speak of Mufti Salim, I spoke with a lot of the Bengali uncles there as well — the genuine love they have for him and the stories they have about him, how much he's contributing to that community. I don't know how he does it. Allah accept him. But this is from the fuyud and the barakat of the work that's happening here.

We had an alumni program over there — about, I would say, 60 former students showed up — and the energy was amazing. I started speaking with some of these students whom I had never met myself, because they came either before my time or in the intervening period when I was here. And they started talking about their experiences and how Mufti Salim was able to keep them connected somehow to the Darussalam network, and how that's been a source of inspiration for their iman — an iman booster.

And it reminds me of my own story. Over the last three years, for one reason or another, I kind of fell off the wagon — got detached. But here's the thing: when I sat there back in South Africa, my teachers in South Africa, my pious friends — you'd think they're busy doing all their khidmat and their services that they're rendering to the deen — but Allah put something special in their hearts and they would reach out to me and say, "Hey Shibli, is everything okay? Do you need anything?" And somehow I'm drawn back into that community, drawn back into the masjid, drawn back into the circle of ulama, drawn back into the work of da'wah and tabligh. The same is the case with Darussalam — my own students reaching out to me and asking, "Shibli, is everything okay? Do you need anything?" Again I'm drawn back here, and that's why I'm here again, alhamdulillah, after that three-year period.

I cannot overstate the importance of having these vast networks — creating them, nurturing them, being part of them — and insha'Allah using them, leveraging these networks for the sake of Allah's da'wah.

A Historical Reflection: Darussalam as a Movement

I believe — and there's so much I want to share, time is very short, my mind's all muddled right now — but after seeing this vast network and seeing how many people are becoming involved and how fast it's growing, Allahu a'lam — may Allah forgive me if my statement is wrong. I don't just feel like a student of history. I love to study history. I love to look at trends, ideologies, movements, and organizations. I really don't believe that Darussalam is just an institute. I really don't believe Darussalam is just a masjid. I don't believe that Darussalam is just a maktab or a place to hang out. Wallahi, wallahi — and Allah forgive me if I'm wrong, maybe I'm being too ambitious — I do feel like we're watching the beginnings of a movement taking place nationwide.

Wallahi, I feel strongly in my heart — I have no way to prove it to you — but I do feel that this institute will last for hundreds of years after we're gone. And you are part of the founding generations. All the ajar that will come for generations to come in this country — and who knows wherever else — you will be accruing them in your graves long after you're buried, long after they've forgotten your names. But Darussalam, the institute, will remain. Whatever generation Allah chooses to carry on that work, we are part of this founding generation.

Times are changing. As difficult as things may seem in other parts of the world — as they butcher our children, as they rain down bombs — we know that a turning point is coming. The ummah is waking up. And that's why, generally, as much as the faults that we have — which is true and we need to rectify — I cannot help but have a positive feeling that things are changing. You can feel it. You can see the effects it's having in the communities, not just in America but worldwide. Muslims are starting to wake up.

The Treaty of Hudaybiyah & the Conquest of Constantinople

I'll just leave you with one historical analysis, if that's okay.

You know the Treaty of Hudaybiyah? When the Sahaba, radiyallahu anhum, were so hopeful that they were going to be able to make 'Umrah, and they're coming back to Mecca after so many years of being forced out — they had all this hope. And then, long story short, the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said not this time; we'll have to come back later to do our 'Umrah. "I've made a pact with them, a treaty, and we're going to go." The Sahaba were crestfallen — they were heartbroken. They couldn't believe that victory was so close and it had been snatched away from them. But what do historians say, those who have studied the seerah? The Treaty of Hudaybiyah was the turning point for the Muslims. This was the event that gave time for the Muslims to grow, to strengthen their alliances, to carry on the Prophet's, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam's, mission — which resulted in the Conquest of Mecca just a couple of years later. That was the beginning of the rise of the Muslim ummah and the cultural dominance that they held in the world for a thousand years.

Second example — a polar opposite. 1453. There was a massive battle that took place where they conquered Constantinople. An amazing incident. Muslims still to this day celebrate the conquest of Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih — what a great warrior, king, and da'i he was. However, historians say that that was perhaps the start of the decline of the Muslims, for many historical reasons which I don't want to go into right now. But when they conquered that area, the non-Muslims of Europe started finding more innovative means of overcoming the Muslims. They started advancing technologically. Historically speaking, we see the fall of Constantinople actually, now in hindsight, as the beginning of the decline of the Muslims.

So we have the Treaty of Hudaybiyah — which was in hindsight actually a victory in the guise of defeat; the rise of the Muslims began from that point — and then a thousand years later we have the Conquest of Constantinople, which seemed like victory at the time, but was actually, in a sense, the beginning of defeat. Opposites.

Sometimes Allah, in His wisdom, gives you something you may not like, but it's good for you — and vice versa. What's happening around the world right now, I know it feels very terrible. There's not really much that we can do except our duas and raising our voices. But I do believe there's a turning point, and you can feel it. Wallahi, when you go out and you travel and you meet the Muslims — and even if they don't yet have the practice of Islam — you see the jazba that they have, that restlessness, that they need a source, they need some guidance, they need someone to reach out to them and pull them into places like Darussalam. Then you start getting hope in the ummah of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

When I traveled this time, it filled me with hope. After three years of personal hardship and setbacks, this is a trip that really reinvigorated my iman. It brought back hope and my faith in the ummah and in Allah's promises. Sometimes you need a reminder, and that only happens with mujahada. And it filled me with love again — with the love and the brotherhood that this type of environment fosters.

I hope that Allah continues to spread the barakat from Masjid Darussalam across the four corners of this country, this continent, this hemisphere, this earth, insha'Allah. And may Allah carry on the works that are being started just now for thousands of years afterwards. Who knows what generation will catch it, insha'Allah. May Allah make all of you and I a part of this khidmah as well.

Unfortunately I have to go right now. I hope to come back in May, insha'Allah, where I will see everyone here at the retreat — and insha'Allah all of us will bring at least 10 people to the retreat, insha'Allah. Forgive me for any shortcomings. There were many people I wanted to meet and sit down with — all you wonderful people. I see Dr. Salih in the crowd, SubhanAllah — oh man, Dr. Salih, I was just speaking about you. I didn't get a chance to sit with you, Dr. Salih. Insha'Allah, hopefully next time I can get that benefit. Please keep us in your duas, and insha'Allah if not here, then we meet in the akhirah.

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed: The Da'wah Journey — Groups & Efforts

So, alhamdulillah, we had Mawlana Shibli who was traveling. He wasn't here for i'tikaf but alhamdulillah he came here. And I want Abdur Rahman to share a few words — he helped me, alhamdulillah, work things out — just because, since you are all the regulars and the brothers in i'tikaf, I want you to know the kind of effort that was taking place.

Part of spreading the da'wah was, alhamdulillah, making teams — groups of students — to go to different parts of the country. Mawlana led one of them. Our young brother here, Abdur Rahman, alhamdulillah, assisted me in formulating these groups, mashallah, this time around.

Group One: The Eastern Corridor

One group, alhamdulillah, departed right before i'tikaf started on Thursday night. We went from Chicago — starting in Toledo, Dayton, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Allentown, and then many programs in New Jersey and New York — so that was about 4 to 5 days. That was a team of 4 brothers. The number of programs they mentioned — they're still arriving in their own areas — I told them to count how many specific masjids and programs they did, but that number hasn't come in yet. But alhamdulillah, I could say about 5 to 6 programs per day at least, in different places — large and small — MSAs, universities.

Group Two: The Bible Belt Group

Then, mashallah, another group — we called it the Bible Belt Group. They started from here, they went to an area where most people don't usually go. They went to Peoria, from Peoria to St. Louis, Springfield, Champaign, Danville, Centralia, Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Nashville, Knoxville, Atlanta, Huntsville, Tulsa, Kansas City, Columbia Missouri, and then Bentonville — where Walmart is located. Mashallah. They drove the most. There were only 3 brothers in this small group, alhamdulillah, and also mashallah 5 to 7 programs a day.

Many places they slept in the masjid. Many places there were issues about whether you can eat the food or not — is it properly slaughtered? Whether they have any host, anyone to take them around — those are things that naturally all these issues arise. But what happens when these students travel, alhamdulillah, it's a great training on the go. They're having to learn how to improvise and how to connect. Otherwise they're young men, but they've never gotten an opportunity of this sort where they're in the driver's seat and A to Z they have to figure things out. Of course we've given them slots, we've given them locations — they need to arrive there in a mature manner and handle all of that.

So we're very happy, alhamdulillah, that this was within 10 days. Like my previous students who traveled in these types of trips — within 10 days we learned what we couldn't even learn in a year or more, just because of the type of experience and sacrifice this requires.

A Remarkable Story: The Native American Brother

These stories — I don't know who's here — some of them every day they'd send me a voice message of what happened in the day, and it would be so inspiring. One brother, SubhanAllah — he's a Native American brother who accepted Islam 15 days ago. He prayed to Allah that if his dad gets a job, he'll accept Islam. The same day, his dad — after many, many years — got a job. This brother is 18 years old. He learned how to read the Quran in one day. And now mashallah he's 18 years old and wanted to come for the one-year program.

The number of people who made niyyah for the one-year program in these trips — we're looking at probably easily 150 students who are ready to come and dedicate 11 months of an academic year to study. Of course they all have obstacles and issues and stuff that needs to be taken care of.

Group Three: California

Then a third group — they went to California. They went to Seattle, spent two days there, then went to Sacramento, spent two days there doing programs, and then went to the Bay Area, spent about five days. All different parts of the entire Bay Area — from Stockton, Lodi, that whole area, as well as Fremont and all of that. So mashallah every day again four or five programs. And that group mashallah went back to Seattle.

Group Four: Southern California, Salt Lake City, Denver & Phoenix

Then a fourth group went from here to Southern California, alhamdulillah — spent about two days in LA, two days in San Diego. Then that group split: one student went to Salt Lake City and we sent another brother from here to join him, and they went to Salt Lake City and then Denver. Another student went alone to Phoenix, Arizona, and we had a brother join him because he was alone, alhamdulillah. They spent about three days there. And I think just from the Phoenix area alone, about 36 students expressed interest for the one-year program. The brother who was taking him around said, "Honestly I cannot imagine — in 40 hours — how much barakah Allah gave, how much work took place, alhamdulillah."

The Power of Dhikr, A'mal & Tawakkul

One thing the students are always taught — and we're always taught — is that you have to have two things: one is your own effort, and one is your dua. So when you're under pressure like this you realize: without dua, nothing can happen; without dhikr, nothing can happen; without turning to Allah, nothing can happen. So this training is super necessary — that whenever any problem happens, start doing adhkar.

They had problems — they're not here to speak but they can tell you how many problems came about in their journey — and as soon as that problem would begin, they'd turn their attention to Allah and start doing their dhikr. And it's a matter sometimes of seconds, sometimes minutes, maximum an hour — whatever the issue is, Allah solves the problem. It is when you repeatedly use this method that your yaqeen and a'mal become strong.

And if we can teach ourselves or our children how to take from the treasures of Allah — by using Allah's name, by using tasbih, tahleel, tahmid, by using istighfar and durood sharif — SubhanAllah, you will see amazing things happen. Amazing things will happen. But our yaqeen has to come.

I don't know if I should say this or not, but yesterday — if you heard my last two rak'ats of taraweeh, which I led — my voice was gone, it was like this. So I was just at home with my mother at suhoor and she was saying, "When I heard your last two rak'ats I was worried — how is he going to speak after this?" She said, "I wanted to give sadaqah but where am I going to give sadaqah now? I'm in salah." So she said, "I just sat there and in my heart I did istighfar" — she said she didn't know if it was a thousand istighfar or whatever — "with the niyyah that Ya Allah, remove this difficulty." And she said, "When you started witr, it seemed like it was a different person." Those of you who prayed behind me — you know that's exactly how it was. I know, I felt it too. All of a sudden I had this unbelievable, renewed energy in my witr which I didn't have a minute ago in my two rak'ats of taraweeh. This is honestly the power of dhikr and dua.

This is what we should end our Ramadan with — and our i'tikaf with — knowing that whatever khair and good you are witnessing and have had in your life has only come from Allah. And whatever evil has come our way, it's because of our own mistakes and sins. And if we want to change the course of our life, we have to go back to the first, basic building blocks of our faith: use a'mal and adhkar to get your needs fulfilled.

The Army That Will Conquer Through Dhikr

The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, talked about an army that will conquer Constantinople through dhikr. It comes in hadith — they'll say "Allah, Allah," they'll start doing dhikr and the walls will start collapsing. When is that going to happen? Has that already happened? That's a whole different story. But more than likely, many scholars are of the opinion that this has not happened yet — that when Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih conquered it, it was true there was an army, not just dhikr. That means we're going to lose Constantinople (Istanbul) and then it will be conquered again by an army that will do so through dhikr alone.

So as we go into a very deep era of fitna, we have to go — more than ever — back to the basics, which is to connect ourselves with a'mal and adhkar. That's it.

My dear brothers, this is the khulaasah of our deen, the khulaasah of our Ramadan, the khulaasah of our i'tikaf. Let us learn how to fulfill our needs and remove difficulty from our path — be it emotional, spiritual, financial, mental, any issue — turn to Allah through two rak'ats of Salatul Hajah. Turn to Allah through sadaqah. Turn to Allah through fasting. And see how things will fall into place.

The Power of Sadaqah: A Story

I heard Hazrat Mawlana Ibrahim Dewla once mention a story: he said about a person — a husband and wife — they were at a chai shop in India. He said a man jumped up from the chai shop quickly, ran to the street, and gave someone sadaqah, then went back. What happened was that his wife had a sudden turn — she collapsed right on the tea table in the chai store. And he said he saw the yaqeen of this man — how he ran out and quickly gave sadaqah as he was attending to his wife. And of course, what do you think happened? Allah helped him in that situation. So this is seeing is believing.

The Story of Salawat in Death Valley

Our beloved brother here, Dr. Sami — I've got to share a story with your permission. He was traveling through Death Valley — you know, the hottest place in America. All of a sudden he realized that they had missed an exit and were getting further and further away from their hotel, hitting a dead end. The temperature — what was it? 130 degrees. And what was happening to the car? The car couldn't handle the heat. Once you hit a certain temperature the AC stops working — it doesn't function. And now at 130 degrees he's got 4 kids in the car and his wife. If the AC breaks down, the temperature in the car is already rising.

He said he turned towards salawat. As they started doing salawat, he sees the temperature — from 130 it keeps going down: 129, 128, 127, 126. Where did it go down to? 108 degrees. That's 22 degrees down — in how long? So now he's busy driving, the kids are there talking, and as soon as they stopped the salawat the temperature would go up. He realizes: "Oh, I've got to take care of this." He starts the salawat again — the temperature goes down. And after a while, "Okay we got this set. Let's talk, let's get the GPS sorted" — temperature goes up. So they realized they cannot stop; they have to keep doing it until they get to their destination.

My dear brothers, this is not fairy tales. This is the yaqeen and the conviction you have to have. Now, you go and try that outside in your car — it might not work for you because of the weakness of your conviction. That's what it is. The purpose of spending a month reading Quran, listening to Quran, and fasting is to create within us conviction in the promises of Allah and His Rasul, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

The Madrasa Elder & the Panadol

One time a jama'ah came to our warehouse — before the masjid was built — the first batch of students, 2012, eleven brothers from England. One uncle, Shamsi Uncle, very senior, from Dewsbury, gave a talk to our students. He said: "I'm in the madrasa in England and sometimes students come to the office asking for Panadol, Panadol." He told them, "Beta, let me recite Surah Al-Fatihah and blow it on your head for your headache." The students said, "No, no, it's okay — just give us the Panadol, JazakAllah Khair, we'll go to class, we don't want to waste your time."

So he was telling our students: if you, as a student of knowledge who is studying Quran and Sunnah, don't believe in the same product you're selling to people — how is it going to help? You're studying Quran and hadith but you don't think Quran can take away your headache? What kind of scholar are you going to become? What kind of khatib are you going to be? How are you going to affect the people when you can't even try it for a headache? That's the situation we have today — of people who have learned it and people who have not learned it — that if you tell anyone, "Brother, do some a'mal," they say, "No, no, it's okay, just pray." What are you talking about?

And just yesterday too, I got a bit firm with a couple of people who were telling me, "Oh insha'Allah, make dua." I said, "What do you mean? Your situation requires some serious planning — you do your dawa part and your dua part." Part of the dua and the dawa is — along with medication and therapy — you also use some adhkar to get your stuff done. If you don't use your dhikr and your asbab of a'mal, how is it going to happen? We need to create this conviction that sadaqah and dhikr ward off the anger of Allah, ward off the shayateen, and bring with them the help of Allah.

The Invisible Enemy: Protecting Our Homes

I read a very sad, long message before Fajr starts. Wallahi, we don't know what people are going through. The guy next to you — you don't know what he's going through. So sad. How this was the most difficult Ramadan for this father because of his son who has become a hardcore drug addict and an alcoholic — and how he has caused so much pain to him and to his family. May Allah make it easy for him. May Allah bring the deen back into his son. May Allah get rid of his addiction. May Allah cure him from this horrible disease of addiction, and all those others who are like this.

The reason I share this story is that we are dealing with so many people who have so many issues that don't seem to end. And disrespect to parents at a whole new level — maybe many of you don't come to the candlelight session so you don't know — but there have now been multiple instances of children beating up their parents, parents so bruised that they have to call the police to defend themselves. One instance this morning before Fajr — a kid brought out a kitchen knife and started chasing the father, going to attack him.

These people have lost their mind. Good people. It's like — one specific instance where a child hit the mother as she was trying to run away from the child at the front door. What she told me was that as soon as he did that and bruised her, he began to cry and said, "I can't believe I hit my mom." But since there was a fear of this happening again — because there was proof — they had to, for their own protection, call the police.

But the point I'm making is — I told the mother before she even told me this — I said, "Your son is not normal. He is possessed." She said, "Well, you know what — as soon as he hit me, bruised me, he started crying." I said, "Exactly. That's what I'm trying to say." We are seeing so many of these kids who are possessed in a sense — they are doing things that deep down, in 100 years, you would never imagine they would do. But they are doing it. And then some of them flip out of it for a few minutes and they repent — "What did I just do? What did I just do?"

There are so many cases unfortunately — things that haven't happened, alhamdulillah, in our community but happened in Orland Park — there was an Arab brother who killed his wife and killed all his kids right before Ramadan, about two months prior. Four people slaughtered in his house. These types of actions. There was an incident last year in Canada where a Bangladeshi family member went online to a multiplayer virtual game and said, "I'm going to do something crazy right now," and said he was going to kill his family. There was a lady playing that multiplayer game from Sweden who got scared, so she called the police. They didn't even know his location — it took I don't know how many minutes, 20 minutes, half an hour, to figure out his IP address, which country he's from, which city, and then dispatch the police — only to find the crime had already been done. The grandma, grandfather, father, sister — all namazi, masjid-going people, wearing topi and kurta — slaughtered with a knife. He's just sitting there when the cops come in.

This is normal. My dear friends, if this is not possession — what is possession? These are not isolated incidents. If you search, you will start finding so many more. Obviously they won't be listed under "Muslim," but if you look at domestic violence, killing, murder, suicide, you can pull out all the names — the data — and you will be surprised how many Muslim names you're going to find.

So this is the war we're in right now. The strange type of fitna that is overtaking our boys and girls, making them and their parents into something worse than animals — animals won't do stuff like this.

Fighting the Unseen Enemy with A'mal

As we conclude our final day of Ramadan, I want you to understand: you cannot fight the demon with a knife. You cannot fight the demon with a gun. You have to fight the demon with your a'mal. That's the only way to do it. Dhikr, sadaqah, and a'mal are the only way to protect ourselves from these satanic influences.

So we have to be committed to spending every single day — every single day — after Salatul Fajr, after Salatul Maghrib: read your Manzil, read your morning and evening duas, sit and do adhkar. You had your Ramadan checklist, right? Everyone had their Ramadan checklist, probably. You can take more of them and change them from Ramadan to Shawwal — adjust it however you want — but make sure there is dhikr and a'mal going on every day in our homes. Otherwise we're going to lose it.

At home, do dhikr out loud. Have a majlis of dhikr at home. Astaghfirullah, salawat upon the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, morning tasbih — سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ — do it out loud. Let the shayateen run away from the house.

The adhan is very powerful. Give adhan in your homes. If someone has these weird things happening regularly, you can give adhan on all the exterior doors of your house. Stand at the door: اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ — whatever evil shayateen are in my home are being pushed away. Do it on all your exterior doors — not on the bathroom doors, but all the other doors. Do this.

Similarly, have Surah Al-Baqarah read in the home. If not every week, then every two weeks — but try your best to read a few pages of Surah Al-Baqarah every single day with the niyyah of bringing peace in your home. I remember growing up, our mother would read Surah Al-Baqarah very regularly and blow it on water. Many of your moms probably did that, yes? Blow it on water and we'd all drink from that. That was way better than Fiji water — it was something powerful. So whatever a'mal you see your parents doing: what's not broken, why fix it? Similarly, your mom and dad probably read something and blew it on water. There was a lot of beautiful barakah in these things.

So at home, when you're reading Surah Al-Kahf or Surah Al-Baqarah, blow it on your water, keep on reading, and make a habit of drinking that. Insha'Allah, through the barakah of that Quran water we will see a lot of effects change.

The Power of A'mal at Home: A Story

One brother told me: he went somewhere — a road trip — and came back home. He entered and saw that his child looked different. "My child looks very different — his face just looks different." He inquired, and his wife said, "Yeah, after you left, his sabaq, his Quran, his a'mal — everything just went haywire. Everything is falling apart." I mean, there's not a single guy here who can say that it hasn't happened in his home. Every home is like that — there are days when your son or daughter, or maybe yourself, just go off track, do something stupid or foolish. You're usually so high, and then just plummet.

So he, mashallah, didn't get mad at his son, didn't get mad at his wife, didn't get mad at anyone. He immediately realized that this is the lack of a'mal. He said, "I told my son: 'We're not going to talk about anything right now. I want you to sit in the corner and do a thousand salawat or a thousand istighfar. Until you're not done, don't stand up. Just sit there and do it.'" And he said that boy did it. And he said, literally, after he stood up — after five, seven, ten minutes — "I looked at my own son's face. It was a different face." This is real. This is real.

Start recognizing what's going on in your homes. Don't get mad at people who are doing outlandish things — there's no point. They already have a shaytan in their mind, and when you get upset with them, the shaytan will make them do even crazier things. Instead, simply go towards a'mal.

I wish I had a way to explain to you what I'm saying, and I wish you all had a way to understand: this is not nonsense. This is real stuff, and this is happening in almost every home all over the place. We're dealing with something that is very unique and new. This invisible enemy, this invisible evil force, can only be chiseled out through an invisible batini power — and that invisible batini power is a'mal.

A Commitment for After Ramadan

Make a commitment today that you will not let a single day pass by without reading your Manzil. We read Manzil here after Dhuhr — there's a PDF available. Ask any of the brothers, or myself — I can share it with you. Please read that every day and make a habit of staying in the state of wudu. Keep your children in the state of wudu. Read Surah Al-Baqarah once a week or as much as possible. Give adhan regularly in your home. Stay connected to the house of Allah. Try to pray Fajr and Isha in the masjid — with your children. With your children — not alone.

My dear fathers, you need to have fikr. I don't know if you've seen me standing here — many times, maybe you don't notice — but I can be sitting in front of a crowd of a thousand, two thousand people, but my mind is always on where my kids are. Are they in the talk or not? And many times I will message one of the students to go find my sons. I don't care if two thousand people are benefiting from me — where are my kids? So we have to make sure that we remain committed to our children.

You're coming and doing i'tikaf, attending programs — that's great. But where are your children is an important thing. And this is not just as long as your children are ten or twelve years old. A dad and a mom have to worry about their kids until they die. Your son becomes married — he's still your son. Your daughter becomes a mother — she's still your daughter. Yes or no? So your fikr for them has to remain until you die.

The Example of Prophet Ya'qub

And that's what Ya'qub, alayhissalam, taught us. He's dying, and he's saying, "Oh my children, please — I'm dying now. Tell me what you are going to worship after I die."

He's worried. He's dying, and he's worried — as a nabi — about what's going to happen to his kids. Why don't you just relax, you say? You're a nabi — just say bismillah and enjoy. No. That was never the attitude of our prophets, our awliya, our sulaha. It was until the very last breath.

Nuh, alayhissalam — he tried. He tried 950 years in the community. How much he tried on his son. But the last moment he's like, "I'm not going to give up. Come on, son — come, come, my son, come." How much effort must Nuh, alayhissalam, have put into his son? How many tears? How much he screamed and wailed in front of Allah — "Ya Allah, please guide my son." And in the last moments, when the flood is already coming in, he still looks at his son and says, "Come, please." And the son said no. And he kept on crying about it, and he made dua until Allah reprimanded him — "Your son is not from your family. He died on kufr — you cannot make dua now." Until Allah did not stop him, he kept on making dua even after he died. That is what a true father is supposed to do — and a true mother.

No matter how far away our children are, my dear fathers and mothers — our commitment to our kids needs to be consistent. So as we are on our final day here, please spend lots of time making dua for our children, my children, your children, and the children of the ummah. And along with that, do the dawah as well. Come up with a plan: How am I going to get my son off these bad habits? How am I going to get my son to fall in love with the masjid? How am I going to get my son to take the summer intensive? How am I going to get my son to fall into the hands of good friends?

Make a plan for him. When a person wants to get married, they think about where the girl comes from, who her friends are, where she meets people — they think about all these things. We have to come up with a game plan of how we are organically going to get our son and daughter into the deen. You have to set it all up — in their college, find someone, at work find someone. That's not mean — it's loving. I have actually received cards: "Here is my son's phone number — he runs a big business, big shot. Call him and bring him to the masjid." I said, "I can't cold call him and ask him — no way. But you can set up a chai meeting with me and him. You can invite me to your home and we can talk. You can take him out to a restaurant and I'll happen to be at that restaurant at the same time — not coincidentally, but on purpose — and you can invite me to your table and we can have lunch together." There are ways to plan things out. If you plan it, it will happen.

How many dads have actually sat there for two or three hours and said, "Let me come up with a game plan for my son, for my daughter"? Maybe we did, but we need to do more. We have to do dua and we have to come up with dawah. And many young men sitting here — your own brother, your own sister might not be in the best place right now. You've got to figure it out. Come up with a game plan of how they can organically bump into someone who will become a means of their hidayah. Keep trying, keep praying, and one day Allah insha'Allah will accept your prayers.

Closing Du'a & Final Reminders

We ask Almighty Allah that He keeps all of us and our spouses and our children and our future generations guided. And may Allah grant shifa to all those who are suffering from spiritual and physical illnesses. May Allah keep our hearts and minds clean from the attacks of shaytan. May Allah allow us to use all the means necessary and available to keep our minds and hearts away from the whisperings of shaytan.

Insha'Allah, this is the final day, so let us try our best to utilize it in the most productive manner. We'll have after Asr — before Maghrib — a deep clean, so everyone's participation will be needed. Try to get your adhkar and a'mal and tilawat in. If you're trying to finish your Quran, this is the time. Don't go to sleep — maybe you can sleep at 8 o'clock — read as much as you need to, or sleep and wake up earlier. But try your best, insha'Allah, to complete all your adhkar and duas tonight. Please keep me and the entire team in your duas as well.

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ