7 TYPES OF PEOPLE

Imam @ L Mosque
Ramadan Khutbah #3


So the Hour, the Moment, the Day of Judgment will be a perilous one for many. The hot, hot heat from the sun, the clamorous noise, the fact that kids & moms, brothers & sisters will be too preoccupied with being accountable to care for each other—this is the day we want to fall into the category of: The 7 types of people to be shaded on the Day of Judgment…

1) The Just Leader
As we all know esp. nowadays these are few & far between

2) The Youth that grows up worshipping & serving God
Being a Youth is hard nowadays, there are so many temptations and difficulties, & sometimes it seems that it may be getting harder as time passes

3) The one whose heart is attached to the masjid
Literally one whose heart is hung up at the masjid, not like the guy who forsakes his family, job, and community and stays there all day long, but the one whose heart is in remembrance of God even when they’re not there, and who longs to be at such high levels until they return to the masjid.

4) The one who is generous in secret, even his left hand does not know what his right hand gives
The one who is mad covert in his generosity

5) The ones who love each other for the sake of God
When they come together it is out of love for God and when they part it is also out of love for God.

6) The one who is able to resist sexual temptation
Like Yusuf (as)

7) The one whose eyes well up with tears in remembrance of God, while they are in solitude
In solitude, no one can praise you, acknowledge you, give you mad props, except the One who matters most.

Let us strive to have the attributes of at least one of these, if not all.
Ameen.

WEIGHT LOSS IN RAMADAN

Ramadan Khutbah #1&2 combined

Shaykh YC @ Masjid A-I

Ramadan is not a time to lose physical weight. It is a time to lose Nafs/Ego weight. Our excess physical weight can be addressed much easier, with more exercise & healthy eating, whereas our nafs/ego weight may be much more difficult to deal with. Even a dead elephant can be lifted, but a person with a heavy ego cannot even be lifted by crane. One individual's nafs/ego weight can bring down an entire room of people down.

Ramadan is a month of mercy & perfect for self-reflection. It is as if our spiritual light has been switched on. Since we are not eating or drinking, we experience a type of fatigue. This fatigue intensifies our senses. We can hear, speak, feel much more intensely and deeply than ever before. This month we may hear things and understand things in ways we normally are unable to. Our words are able to penetrate more deeply. We should take advantage of this, but also take precaution that we don’t hurt others or ourselves.

Thus, Ramadan is ideal for losing ego weight. It takes spiritual exercise & self-reflection. We should honestly assess those things we do not like about ourselves, since they may be more apparent, and ask God to help us address them, change them, and replace them with that which is better.

We must ride our nafs and not allow it to ride us, which is usually the case throughout the year.

May we take advantage of this month and may Allah help us lose all that nasty extra ego/nafs weight. Ameen

Eid Mubarak!

Masjid DaS
Imam/Professor HB

EVALS
Like the New Year's practice of self-evaluation--
This Eid, try a spiritual evaluation.
With a score card take a tally of how you've been doing--
but remember not to be overly negative and lose hope-- because remember God is Most Forgiving. If your sins reached to the heavens He would still forgive them.

This is a time to say,

"I come to You with all of me."


TRUE SACRIFICE

Eid is not simply about the sacrifice of a goat and providing food for your family and the community. Sacrifice entails giving up/sacrificing the part of yourself that prevents you from improving as a human being, from obeying God. Abraham did this on a very difficult occasion, we've got it a bit easier-- it's a pretty joyous occasion.


Messengers of the MESSENGER
Remember that we might need to try a bit harder to go the extra mile to create community-- but do. Think of yourselves as messengers of the Messenger, like the early Muslims who ventured into the lands with no Muslims and representing the legacy of Abraham. But don't forget that goes with a BIG dose of humility.

And I'm out.

To all an Eid Mubarak!

3 Things to Focus on...

Imam SS @ DS

This month commemorates the Word of God sent down to Prophet Muhammad. We are the Ummah of the Rasul, we are the bearers of this Message. This is a great blessing and responsibility.

Bear this in mind and focus on 3 things...

Your Self
-Ask for forgiveness
-Allah forgives your sins, even if they reach to the heavens
-"Smoked a couple blunts, messed with a few girls"... God will forgive you
-Be positive, it is haram to despair in God's mercy

Your Family
-Make it a point to spend time with family. At least 1 hour a day just them.
-Your child doesn't need mp3, PS3, DVD, they need D-A-D & M-O-M.
-For those who are unmarried, be conscious that that which you do before marriage will affect/have an impact on your future marriage

Your Society
-Do not rebuke the people going thru the much and mire of life, welcome them in the masjid
-Do not tear people down, be there crutches
-If we asked the people immediately around this masjid, contemporary world affairs aside, what they thought about Muslims
What would they say?
-In re Immigrant Muslims
Most of you are not going home. This is your home. Once you realize this and start living this way, we will be that much better off.

-Be an emmisary.
In Malaysia there is a town. In the town there is a board with the history of how Islam came to this town.
Not thru the sword, but through the Yemeni business men(trade). Consider the modern business men in our communities/neighborhoods-- what impression do we give the people around us?

Let us all be the contemporary 14th century businessmen.

Action speaks volumes.

SADAQA ANALOGIES

Dr. S @ Masjid DaS

Muslims should all be members of BofA.*
There you get the best returns for your investment--
some 10x and even 7x70 amounts from The Generous Ar-Razzaq (الرزاق)
You strive to invest your money where you are guaranteed the most security.
The FDIC insures only to 10,000, invest where there is absolute security.

Or like the parent that gives the child allowance.
I will continue to give you allowance if you continue to spend on what is good.
There is an assurance and positive reinforcement, but the parent's source of income is limited,
whereas Al-Karim (الكريم) The Bountiful, is not.

On the Day of Judgment, those 'who have/the rich' will be held in account if there are those who 'have not/are poor' in their community.

Those who expend their wealth night and day, secretly and in public"..to.."neither shall they sorrow." (2:274)

Give, for the sake of Allah.

Social justice is a personal and community responsibility.

** Bank of Allah

Ramadan #9, On Approaching the Deen

Ramadan #9

Ramadan Mubarak! Apparently I've been inactive since the last one-- but I'm back in the blog world. Alhamdulillah I have a do-over opportunity. May the Most Merciful make it a billion gazillion times better. Ameen.

Dr. S, I believe. J-Masjid

1st Ramadan Khutba

On Approaching the deen...

If Islam is our job, Muslims have high job satisfaction.
We don't work just to get paid.
We don't just go through the motions just to get the sawab/ejr
We do it because we love it.
We do it because we love the good Lord.

We put are heart and soul in it. -Mos Def

Plus the Creator is a lot more merciful than the boss, each and every effort is rewarded.
And if we do good, we get a major bonus in the end.

Intelligence

On Akl.

Shaykh Y fr: Masjid A-I

God created the Akl. It was one of His best creations and he gave it to us!

It is said to be divided into 10 parts. 5 are visible from the outside and the other 5 are all internal.

The external 5 are:
Silence
Forbearance
Humility
Enjoining the good and forbidding the bad
Good actions

The Internal 5 are:
Contemplation
Taking heed
Making your sins big
Fearing Allah
Lowering your Ego

Try Out New Places

Imam AQ @ Masjid on D St.

Iqra!
Read the Qur'an. Listening/Attending Taraweeh is not enough. It's like going to dinner and watching the food being passed around, hearing the clanging of the dishes, and smelling the food, and saying, "Wow, what a great dinner!"
Feed your soul; read the Qur'an.
Read it, live it.

Shahr as Sabr
This is the month of Patience.
Be patient.

Silence
Like Maryam (as) has demonstrated in her fasts, sometimes it's good to be silent. Being noisy and being around those who are noisy can often get you in trouble. (ie listening, engaging in ish talk). In your silence, recieve God's message.

Student of Creation
Go out and sight the moon, watch for the thread of white on the horizon, and seek the grey beneath the orange at sunset. In these days, you are a student of creatopm, draw closer to God through nature.


Ramadan #8. Savor whatever Ramadan this is for you. It may possibly be your last.

This life is not promised, tomorrow may never show up.


May Allah bring us closer to Him through study and reflection of His creation & His word. May we hear Him in our silence. May He give us patience. Ameen.