The Oath Of Time

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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا. مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْهُ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ. وَنَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَنَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ. أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ فِي الْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ، بَعْدَ أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ.

صَدَقَ اللَّهُ الْعَظِيمُ.

Respected friends, brothers and elders, mothers and sisters and students:

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ — our Lord, our Sustainer, Creator, Provider and Nourisher — and the One who loves us the most, the One who plans for us the best, the One who cares for us the most. He has given us this great gift of time and great gift of life. And He has allowed us to invest it, like someone who gives a رَأْسُ الْمَالِ, a capital money, and for free.

Someone says, here's a hundred thousand, here's ten thousand dollars. And you can go ahead and invest as you wish. And if you do well, whatever profits that come from here, you get to keep it yourself. You have nothing to return to me, not even the capital. And if you do bad and you end up making wrong decisions, then don't come back to me crying. If you get arrested, you get in trouble with the government, etc., this is not my responsibility. But here's an extra three hundred thousand dollars that I've given you to invest as you wish. How happy and joyous a person would be! Just even a thought of that! How many sitting here would say, that would really make my year — not just my day? If someone would say, here's a gift of a hundred thousand, dear brother and sister, you know, you go ahead and invest in this as you wish. And you get to keep all of it. You don't have to even give me any return.

Allah جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ has given you and I life — حَيَاة. This is an indispensable something which is — a price tag cannot even be put on it. Obviously, not a hundred thousand or anything more or anything less. As we just heard in the seerah conference as well, and we've heard it many times as well: the story of a king, one of the khulafa of the Abbasids, who was asked by one of his scholars who would be spending time with him and correcting him and advising him. That: what would you do, even though your khalifa expands the horizon till the eye can see, all over? What would you do if you became very, very, very thirsty and you didn't have the water? What would you pay for someone? You're at your last — you know, on the deathbed — and you're dying thirsty. And someone says, I'll give you water. How much would you be willing to pay for that? After bargaining back and forth, what would you be willing to pay? You're tied up in a dungeon somewhere. It's been maybe — let's say — three, four days since you've drunk water. And someone says, here's a glass of water, but it costs money down here. What would you be willing to pay?

And he said, most definitely I'd be willing to pay anything. I'll pay half of the kingdom that I run — half of it, I'll give it. So after a while, he said, okay. Let's say now it's gone down to your water. And now your body is not able to excrete it. You've just got pain, or you're just simply not able to excrete it. And someone is not able to — you're not allowed to pass urine. And someone comes to you and says, you know, I have the cure for this. You're screaming, howling in pain. I've got the cure for this, but it costs money. And you've been through this pain, let's say, for four or five days. What would you be willing to pay for it? And he said, most definitely, such pain, I'll be willing to pay the other half of the kingdom that I own in order to get this out of my body, because it's such unbearable pain.

So he told him. He said, how foolish is it for a person — he told the king — to give value to that world, which is not even equivalent to the passing of one water, one glass of water through the body? Half of the value of it coming in and half of the value going out. So when you say life is a hundred thousand, no, it's not a hundred thousand. It's way beyond that. And Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ has given you and I this رَاس المال.

As soon as we're born, the clock begins to tick. As soon as a child is born, the clock begins to tick. And we're told, go ahead and invest this. Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ tells us in the Quran.

We made the night and the day two big signs. The purpose of these signs is what? The clock is ticking.

Allah takes an oath on the night. And He takes an oath on the day. And He says:

Indeed, your efforts are so vastly different. Some of you are investing this in the most proper way, and you're only going to reap more and more rewards, today and tomorrow. And some of you are squandering this away. And instead of simply — you see, the problem with money and investment, we all know. It's not about simply losing the money, but if you invest it wrong, you end up with what? With debts. With debts. That's worse. It'll be better than the zero. Now you're walking away with two hundred, three hundred, four hundred, half a million of debt. And got this one angry. Got that person angry, etc., etc. They're trying to get us into prison. So forth. You ended up with bigger problems. A person said, I wish I never even had this dirty money in the first place. I wouldn't be in this position.

And that's exactly what a كَافِر will say.

The disbeliever will say, I wish I was dust. I wish I didn't have to face this day. And that is why, because of that same fear, the likes of Abu Bakr Siddiq are saying, I wish I was like a blade of grass that an animal would come by and eat away, and that was the end of my life. And to the extent it's been narrated that the Prophet ﷺ even said:

(Hadith narrated in various collections)

Or as he ﷺ said, I wish I was simply a tree that would be plucked away, that would be taken away. Why is he saying that? How is the Prophet ﷺ saying this? He says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6477)

Or as he ﷺ said, I swear by Allah. Our Nabi doesn't have to take an oath. He is the most truthful after Allah, but he is driving a point home. He said, I swear by Almighty Allah:

لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ مَا أَعْلَمُ — if only you knew what I know. لَضَحِكْتُمْ قَلِيلًا — you would have laughed little. وَلَبَكَيْتُمْ كَثِيرًا — and you would have cried much. If you knew what I know. If you were to see what I see:

لَوْ تَسْمَعُونَ مَا أَسْمَعُ — if you were to hear what I hear. What does Allah say?

If you're smart and if you're intelligent — these disbelievers — Allah is warning them. Then you should reduce how much you laugh. Increase how much you cry. As someone, the mother who gets tired of the child bothering her all day — that son, daughter, what not — and says, listen, you're laughing right now. Just watch till your father comes home tonight. And he's enjoying his laugh. He said, carry on laughing, carry on. If I were you, I wouldn't be laughing. I wouldn't be this happy. I wouldn't be so jolly if I were you. If only you know what's gonna happen. But the child doesn't understand, he's going on.

So Allah said, فَلْيَضْحَكُوا قَلِيلًا وَلْيَبْكُوا كَثِيرًا. They should laugh, they should laugh less and cry a lot. جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ — if they only knew what awaits them. This is not a general rule for everyone. We're not saying that a person should not smile and be happy. The idea is that disbelievers, if they only knew what they have dug up for themselves, they wouldn't have the time and the energy to sit and laugh. They would start crying from now.

So Rasulullah ﷺ, he said, if you knew what I know, then you would have cried a lot, laughed less. What else? You would have not been able to enjoy the company of your spouses on your beds. You would never been able to enjoy the company of those most intimate times with your spouse. You would never be able to enjoy that. How is that an example? Example of someone whose most beloved parent or child has passed away, and the janazah is in the house. It hasn't been removed yet. Now at that time, a person will be — do you think his mind or her mind can have lustful thoughts at that time? Can the mind go towards anything? Obviously not. No matter where they are in. Because right now they got the biggest, the biggest calamity has befallen. This is dead, passed away, relative of theirs sitting in the house. How can you think about even food at this time?

So Rasulullah ﷺ knew what you and I don't know. So he said, if you were in that condition, you would not been able to enjoy even the company of your spouses. And instead:

You would run away from your homes and your localities to the far off open lands, open places, begging Allah for His forgiveness and shelter.

So then Rasulullah ﷺ had such مَعْرِفَة and understanding of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, which you and I don't have. That is why he was so afraid. And these statements of "I wish I was a blade of grass that would be eaten away," "I wish I was a plant that was plucked out," these are not things that are just exaggerations, hyperbole. No, this is reality. If you really know what he knew, you and I would have said things beyond this. But since we are unaware of that or we are negligent of that, we forget that. That our mind doesn't go there.

The Greatest Capital: Time

So my brothers and sisters, we were talking about the رَأْسُ الْمَالِ that we have. The greatest gift that we have is وَقْت — is time. And that رَأْسُ الْمَالِ is interesting. The hundred thousand that you have, you could invest in good things or bad things. And you either can make or you lose. And you can go into negative. But if you decide to say that I have a very busy day today, let me keep this hundred thousand today. I tried throughout the day, throughout this week, nothing much happened. But today is Jumu'ah. I don't want to be doing this. Let me focus on something else. So what's going to happen? The hundred thousand is going to be as, as you come back at Maghrib and Isha time, it's going to be there.

But the رَأْسُ الْمَالِ you and I dealing with, the capital you and I deal with, is not like that. It is such that if you keep it to the side and you say I've got something very important to tend to, every minute that you tend to that, that thing is decreasing. You're losing on it. You're decreasing. There's no such thing as let me store it away until I have the energy and the resources to put my mind to it. It doesn't work like that. Every minute that is passing is moving forward.

And here we, lo and behold, we've come to an end of a year. Few months ago you remember I was discussing the Hijri year. And now here we are at the end of the Gregorian year. And سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ, we can all probably remember where we were last December, where we were on this day, where we were in the holidays. And as quick as we can imagine, it's all over. So quick!

Students who are not married have gotten married. Those who didn't have children already have now children. Those who had few have more. Those who didn't have jobs now do. Those who had jobs lost them. Those who are just looking to get into, you know, a great school have now moved forward. Any milestones have huge milestones we have passed just in this one year. And of course, at an international level, at a domestic level, at a national level, so many massive events have taken place that have changed the course of history for good.

And that is something we witnessed this year. So this رَأْسُ الْمَالِ, you and I have to ask ourselves: this capital, what are we doing with it?

The Oath of Time

Allah جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ throughout the Quran, that's why He takes an oath on day and night. And He even takes an oath on, as the famous ayah, the oath of time. And Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, after taking the oath of time, says a beautiful statement, straight forward. This is a fact. This is not speculation. This is a fact.

إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ — the entire human race, the entire human race, is on the way, on the trajectory, of destruction forever, for eternity, straight into a pit of hell, complete destruction and damnation in this world and the next. Everyone! Everyone! Except a few exceptions. Except for the few exceptions. Who are those exceptions?

إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — except for those who believe, who have faith. So if a person doesn't have faith, then no matter how rosy it may seem, no matter how beautiful the garden may be, no matter how nice the backyard may look like, no matter how beautiful the ice sculptures may be, no matter how nice the investments may be growing at whatever rate, but if a person does not have faith and does not have — وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ — and good deeds according to Allah, and the oath that he takes, this person is on the trajectory of destruction. It's either today or tomorrow. But it's coming.

إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ — except for those who believe and do righteous deeds. And along with that, وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ — a person is constantly inviting people towards good, creating wake up calls, that stay awake, and ensure everyone around you is awake. وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ — and it's also along with that, inviting people to be patient. Because when you tell people to do what's right, they'll get upset at you. They'll get upset at you. They'll get angry at you. We say, why don't you mind your own business? So now at this time, a person will say صَبْر — we have to tell each other: remain patient. Just because I'm inviting you to something good, you don't need to get upset at me. You don't need to get angry at me. Then why me? This is out of brotherly love and sisterly love that we are creating an environment of mutual reminding.

So Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ says, besides these four categories, everyone else is on the trajectory of failure.

The Variance of Deeds

Brothers and sisters, now it's a time for me, for you, all of us to look down and see. When Allah says:

إِنَّ سَعْيَكُمْ لَشَتَّىٰ — indeed your affairs are different, your affairs are very varied. What's happening? What direction are we in? Are we going in the direction of:

Or are we:

Are we on the path of the one who صَدَّقَ بِالْحُسْنَىٰ — أَعْطَىٰ وَصَدَّقَ بِالْحُسْنَىٰ — that he gives, he's charitable and believes in the message of Allah and his Rasul صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and doesn't think of himself as self-sufficient? Or are we on the path in the group of بَخِلَ وَاسْتَغْنَىٰ — those who hold back and think of themselves to be self-sufficient — وَكَذَّبَ بِالْحُسْنَىٰ — and be lying in the true message of Islam?

Both of them are taking place. They are both groups. Allah says:

هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ — I'm the one, he's the one who created you. فَمِنْكُمْ كَافِرٌ وَمِنْكُمْ مُؤْمِنٌ — some of them amongst you are disbelievers. Some of you are rejecters. And some of you are believers. They're both amidst you. All of us have to ask ourselves: what group do we belong in?

The Cycles of Life: The Days Go Around

The passing of days. Some days are good. Some days are not so great. We may say. But Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ says:

These days, these days that come, like there's رَأْسُ الْمَالِ, this capital, like the market outside, some days it goes up and some days it goes down. Similarly, the days of your life — some days there are what you want them to be, and some days they aren't what you want them to be. But what goes around comes around. No one has a life that's always the way they want it to be. And no one has a life that is never what they want it to be. There's definitely moments.

If you think things are going really, really bad for you, go to the bathroom, and you are able to relieve yourself. Khalas, that's it. Remember, that's half of the kingdom, right there. If you think your life is going really bad, go to the water fountain and drink. And if you are able to get water from there and drink, that's half of the world that you own right there, according to the أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ, right? So things apparently may seem going very wrong for us. But when we look at it, the grand scheme of things, and how Allah has been with us in the past, we realize that no, it's not as bad as we make it to be.

وَتِلْكَ الْأَيَّامُ نُدَاوِلُهَا بَيْنَ النَّاسِ — Allah is saying, these are the days that we make it go around amongst people. Sometimes the way you want it. Sometimes you don't.

Believers will know. Believers will come to know that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is completely in control. When we won or when things go our way, it's not because we are smart or because we are prepared. It's because Allah is with us. And when things go the other way and it pushes us away from Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, it's not that we are not adequately prepared. It's simply possibly we have angered Allah. Possibly we have done something to get ourselves away from Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ's assistance.

So these days, the passing of these days, should be a reminder. If you're going through an up time, a high time, well remember there was a time that wasn't so high. And if you're going through a low time, then remember that there was times before this that were very enjoyable.

The Holiday Season: A Chance to Share Islam

Brothers and sisters, as we, you know, the country celebrates, the majority of the country celebrates the holidays. And we have people with us, obviously of different faiths, who ask us about your thoughts on the holiday. And what does Islam have to say? It's a great opportunity for us to present the message of Islam in a proper manner. And we shouldn't shy away from that. We should take this opportunity to present what we have and talk about Isa ibn Maryam (عليه السلام) as mentioned in the Quran.

And the miraculous birth of Isa (عليه السلام), and the beautiful gifts that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ blessed Isa (عليه السلام) with. And the fact that the very first thing that our Nabi Isa — we believe in him to be a prophet. We believe in him to be a very close prophet. We believe in him to be a prophet that came right before Rasulullah (ﷺ). We believe in whatever has been authentically attributed to him.

But the miracle was that as soon as he was born, he began to speak. We know that. And one of the things he said:

The very first thing, Allah says in Surah Maryam, he says, إِنِّي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ — I am the slave of Allah. That's who I am. So I know this is very shocking. I'm only two years old, three years old or whatever, and I'm speaking. But before you start getting doubts about me, the very first thing that I'm gonna tell you is:

إِنِّي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ — indeed I am a servant of Allah. آتَانِيَ الْكِتَابَ — he's gonna give me a book. وَجَعَلَنِي نَبِيًّا — and he will make me into a prophet, not God, but rather make me into a prophet. وَجَعَلَنِي مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَمَا كُنْتُ — and he will make me blessed wherever I may go and wherever I may be, blessing will come with me. وَأَوْصَانِي بِالصَّلَاةِ وَالزَّكَاةِ مَا دُمْتُ حَيًّا — and he has ordered me to be punctual on salah and punctual on giving of alms and zakah so long as I'm living. وَبِرًّا بِوَالِدَتِي — and he has ordered me to be kind and righteous to my mother. The rights of the mother, it's coming from so long. وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْنِي جَبَّارًا شَقِيًّا — and Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ has not made me wretched, nor has he made me hard-hearted and oppressive.

And he makes du'a. Allah mentions the du'a:

Peace and سَلَام descend upon me the day I was born and the day I shall die and the day I shall be resurrected once again alive in front of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ.

Our Belief in Jesus (Isa)

Our عَقِيدَة and belief is just like all the other prophets. We believe in Isa (عليه السلام) being a very chosen, مَعْصُوم, innocent prophet of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, who was born without sin, who was born without a sin being committed, and who did not bear our sin.

Allah says, no soul — this is the rule of Allah, this is the justice of Allah. This is not fair. Try that with anyone else. Try that with anyone else. That we get pulled over and the cop comes to us and says, you know what, there's ten people speeding. I'm gonna give you ten tickets for all those people speeding because I just have you on the side here. I'm lazy to go stop all those people. That's oppressive. Why would a person take the blame of others? And why would Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ? This goes against Allah. Allah says:

Allah doesn't oppress His servants. لَا يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ — Allah says, I don't oppress even an iota worth. وَلَا يَظْلِمُونَ فَتِيلًا وَلَا يَظْلِمُونَ نَقِيرًا — I don't even oppress the amount equivalent to that small white thread that's on a date and a white covering that's on a date. Most definitely, Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is not going to put the entire humanity's sins upon one person, and that also of a prophet.

My brothers and sisters, he was مَعْصُوم — he was a protected, innocent prophet, protected by Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ. And he came with great advice for us. And we share that advice. And I'll share with you a hadith that have been shared in the books of hadith. There are many, obviously, but just a few things that we might be able to relate with our non-Muslim friends as well.

Imam Ahmad (Rahimullah) mentions that Isa (ﷺ) is attributed to him that he said:

(Musnad Ahmad)

The virtuous actions does not consist in doing good to someone who has done good to you. إِحْسَان is not about doing good to someone who has done good to you. That is merely returning a favor. That is bartering of services. That is simply payback. Rather, virtuous action consists in doing good to those who have wronged you. And that is what Rasulullah (ﷺ) has mentioned.

That أُعْفُ عَمَّنْ ظَلَمَكَ — forgive the one who has oppressed you. وَأَحْسِنْ إِلَىٰ مَنْ أَسَاءَ إِلَيْكَ — and do إِحْسَان and be super kind and go out of your way to those who have done wrong to you. According to another رِوَايَة, Rasulullah (ﷺ) mentioned that Isa (ﷺ) said that if a day of fasting comes upon one of you, then he talks about that. Let him oil his hair and beard. And let him moisten his lips so that others do not think and do not think that you are thirsty. Moisten your lips. Make yourself look nice. Don't make yourself look disheveled and tired because this would go against the sincerity. Keep yourself in aware in a manner as Allah says:

These are such poor people, such beautiful poor people in the sight of Allah, that the rich think of them to be يَحْسَبُهُمُ الْجَاهِلُ أَغْنِيَاءٌ مِنَ التَّعَفُّفِ — you think of them to be rich due to them never extending their hand, although they don't have the means. But they will act as though they are wealthy because they don't want you to give charity to them. They have that sense of self-respect and self-esteem that I only take from Allah. I don't want to take from the people. So they present themselves in a better manner than they actually are.

So Isa (عليه السلام)'s report have said that a person should oil his lips and comb his hair and look beautiful on a day that he's fasting lest others begin to think that he is in fasting or in need. And if he gives alms with his right hand, let him conceal that from his left. Should he pray, let him draw the curtain across his door. Surely Allah apportions praise to people just as provisions is apportioned. سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ. Meaning, if you want appreciation and you want praise, it will come to you from Allah. Don't look for it. Don't beg for it. Don't run after it. Just like رِزْق is مَقْسُوم, عِزَّة is مَقْسُوم, مَحَبَّة is مَقْسُوم — love is apportioned. All of those things have been distributed already.

Indeed, those who believe and who do righteous deeds, Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ will bring for them مَحَبَّة and love and will put that and cast that into the hearts of the people.

So there are many other beautiful narrations that are attributed to Isa (عليه السلام) that can be found in our books of hadith, in our books of tafsir. We love him dearly like our dear prophet (عليه السلام) and all the other prophets. And that needs to be mentioned. How much we love your prophet. How much do you love ours? This is what our Quran speaks about about your figure, important figure. To the extent that whole ayaats are mentioned about him. At the very least, at the very least, we ask for some mutual respect. Mutual respect.

Let's not go and start calling our prophet names and accusing him of horrible things that you wouldn't want to even accuse your enemy of. That level of respect should we not have for each other? But when they do not know what respect you and I afford to Isa (عليه السلام), then they think that we treat him the way they treat Rasulullah (عليه السلام). And we need to let them know that our إِيمَان is completely invalid. No matter how much we fast, no matter how much we give alms, no matter how much we pray, but if we have any ill feelings regarding Isa (عليه السلام) and we accuse him of anything which he hasn't committed or we completely take him out of the picture, then there goes our faith.

While other huge groups of people, whether it's the Buddhists, whether it's the Zoroastrians, whether it's Hindus, they have no concept of Isa (عليه السلام) and you have no problem with that. There's no irrelevance to them. For us, he is super relevant.

If anyone disbelieves in Isa (عليه السلام) as being a prophet of Allah, he's out of the fold of Islam. So that's how much relevance we give. So let's set the record straight that we are genuinely closer to you than you think. And do not let others create that division.

So this is definitely a good opportunity for us, and the office at school or wherever we may be, to bring about Isa ibn Maryam (عليه السلام)'s discussion, the way he was brought up in front of Najashi, and Ja'far ibn Abi Talib recited the verses of Surah Maryam, and the king got affected by that and began to cry over what was being recited and what was being said.

A Closing Prayer and Call to Action

I pray to almighty Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ that he makes this upcoming year a better year than the past, and whatever mistakes, major or minor, that the ummah and all of us individually and collectively has committed, I pray to almighty Allah that he allows us to return to him in repentance, return to him in repentance.

Allow our last day of our life to be the best day of our life. The end portion of our life to be the best portion of our life. We ask Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ to remove the suffering of the entire ummah. To begin to fill up — these are holidays, Saturday, Sunday, no one's working. Next week, no one's working. There's no reason for us not to come for Isha salah. There's no reason for us not to come for Fajr salah. We are at home. Drive by to your local masjid and begin to fill up the masjid.

You and I, deep down, know that whatever is happening is happening because Allah allowed it to happen. And the only one, the only one, the only one that has an exit plan, an exit strategy, and a way to get us out of this mess is Allah جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ. And the way to get back to him and turn back to him is through تَوْبَة, اسْتِغْفَار, and through salah and du'a.

If we collectively — it's not one man's responsibility. One man can't do it. If one man can do it, we just get one red person ready to tell him, you do it. That would have been an easy job. But we can't. We pay him two hundred thousand. We pay him one hundred million. So you just do du'a and عِبَادَة for the entire community, and we're set. I wish it was like that. But it doesn't work like that. We all have to collectively, collectively be part of this revival of returning back to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ.

Let this year end be a time for reflection of what's happening and what's happened this year. And allow us to renew our intentions to getting close to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ.

Insha'Allah, we request you to stand up and fill up the صُفُوف and perform the sunnah.