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Talk · al-Sirat al-Mustaqeem | 2024 Ramadan Series, part 22 of 32

Pitfalls of Humanity | Al-Sirat Al-Mustaqeem EP.20 | A Journey With Shaykh Alauddin ElBakri

Shaykh Alauddin ElBakri

Transcript

No lines contain “Gratitude”.

  1. Assalaamu 'Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh
  2. and welcome back to our Ramadan series "As-Sirat al-Mustaqim"
  3. The fourth enemy
  4. or hurdle on the way of
  5. The Straight Path, is actually no one else but people
  6. or bad company. In The Noble Quran, Allah SWT
  7. explains to us that people are of three types,
  8. either believers, or
  9. nonbelievers, or hypocrites.
  10. And He also furthermore explains to us
  11. that among the believers, there are good believers,
  12. there are bad believers,
  13. that by name, they are believers, they're Muslims.
  14. We cannot say they're not Muslims, but they're not practicing their faith
  15. and they could be very detrimental
  16. and dangerous to your faith
  17. The second is that Allah explains to us, is that among nonbelievers,
  18. there are some of them that are evil,
  19. aggressive oppressors, and some of them are good.
  20. They're good neighbors.
  21. They are good people.
  22. They have morals, manners, ethics and values.
  23. And they will even stand with you as a believer at the time of need.
  24. Now, the hypocrites, they show faith and Islam on the outside,
  25. but they hide resentment and hatred to the faith
  26. and those whom want to be as far as possible from them.
  27. Now that we
  28. have understood the categories of people that we're dealing with,
  29. Allah SWT exposes the reality of the human to the human.
  30. Allah in the Quran tells us our strengths,
  31. and He also tells us our weaknesses.
  32. And He explains to us why
  33. we need guidance, why we need the truth, why do we need Him SWT
  34. Now as Allah exposes that,
  35. let's learn a few things about ourselves because we're human beings too,
  36. and about the potential that other humans, individuals around us
  37. could present to us, whether it's a good side or a bad side,
  38. so that we are not in the dark and we know what we are dealing with.
  39. 10 things, Allah wants us to know about ourselves.
  40. Number one, that we are
  41. by nature, vulnerable and weak.
  42. If we don't breathe, we die.
  43. If we don't eat, we die.
  44. If we don't sleep, we die.
  45. If we don't, you know, rest, we die.
  46. We are so vulnerable.
  47. And that makes the human vulnerable
  48. to the trials and tribulations and the dangers around them.
  49. Now, when we put our faith in ourselves, when people say, believe in yourself,
  50. or believe in him, people are not God, you are not God.
  51. You drive your strength from Allah
  52. You don't drive it from yourself.
  53. You drive it from your Iman and your faith in Allah
  54. Number two, Allah explains in The Noble Quran
  55. the human, is in the raw without guidance,
  56. will lean to oppression and aggression and will lean to ignorance.
  57. And that is something very important for ourselves, to stop ourselves
  58. from oppressing others, and to stop ourselves
  59. from acting ignorantly or being in the dark.
  60. Because Subhanallah, ignorance is darkness, knowledge
  61. and truth and guidance is light, as Allah names
  62. His book, The Noble Quran, in His book, as "Light to Mankind" and "Enlightened"
  63. The third thing that Allah wants us to learn about ourselves.
  64. Allah said, I created you
  65. from a clot, you know, a sperm and an egg,
  66. and they form a clot and they hang in the mother's womb.
  67. Allah said, We created the human from a clot,
  68. but when he comes out and develops, he becomes "Khaseemon Mobeen"
  69. an opponent, an enemy
  70. and very vowed in being an opponent to Allah SWT
  71. So, if in life you notice many people around you,
  72. they love to take a stand against you or against others.
  73. Don't be surprised, as Allah warned us of that in the Quran.
  74. The point is also you should stop yourself from being like that.
  75. The fourth thing that Allah wants us to learn about ourselves
  76. that we like to rush and haste in things
  77. (And humans ˹swiftly˺ pray for evil as they pray for good.
  78. For humankind is ever hasty)
  79. The human wants anything, everything.
  80. And sometimes you are praying for something and it's bad for you.
  81. But you just want it, and you won't change your mind,
  82. and Allah says,
  83. you like to have things fast
  84. and quickly, and things don't happen like that in life.
  85. So don't be disappointed and don't say Allah
  86. did not answer my prayer
  87. Are you just rushing things
  88. and things cannot happen the way you want them to happen
  89. Sometimes rushing works, but many times it doesn't.
  90. The fifth thing that Allah mentioned about us that the human by nature,
  91. because he thinks he's going to run out of money
  92. and I need money and I need a lot of money
  93. because maybe tomorrow, maybe next year, maybe after ten years.
  94. So it leads to the human being miserly and stingy.
  95. (For humankind is ever stingy!)
  96. The human tends to becoming stingy and miserly
  97. and doesn't want to spend even when Allah asks him to spend.
  98. So we should warn ourselves and we should be careful
  99. when we see these characteristics in others and not be surprised,
  100. but rather liberate ourselves from being greedy and miserly.
  101. The sixth thing that Allah wants us to learn about the human in general
  102. and about us, that even though Allah SWT
  103. explains everything in details in the Quran,
  104. yet the human likes to argue for the sake of arguing.
  105. (We have surely set forth in this Quran every ˹kind of˺ lesson for people,
  106. but humankind is the most argumentative of all beings)
  107. We gave forth a similitude and an example
  108. of everything that the human needs in this book, the Quran
  109. But the human likes to argue for the sake of arguing. If you didn't notice,
  110. but people literally like to state their opinion like it's a matter of fact.
  111. And many times they have no idea what they're talking about.
  112. And not only they mislead themselves, but they mislead you with them.
  113. So be careful and verify your source of knowledge.
  114. The seventh thing Allah SWT wants us to know about ourselves
  115. and about the human in general, in the raw that the human is ungrateful.
  116. "Kafoora" and "Kaffar"
  117. and from it comes the word "Kufr" disbelieve, to be ungrateful.
  118. Don't be surprised if you help so many people or you help one person.
  119. And no matter how much you help them, they're not thankful.
  120. They're not grateful they actually want more.
  121. If you learn that, they actually do that with God
  122. Almighty, you shouldn't be surprised if they do that with you.
  123. You just don't want to be that person.
  124. The eighth thing that Allah SWT I want us to learn about ourselves,
  125. that we go overboard and we transgress
  126. once we feel that we are self-sufficient
  127. and we are empowered with resources.
  128. (Most certainly, one exceeds all bounds,
  129. once they think they are self-sufficient)
  130. Nay, the human goes overboard
  131. and transgresses when he sees himself self-sufficient.
  132. Never see yourself self-sufficient.
  133. And when you see someone that is acting like they own the world
  134. and they have it all, you should smile because it's only in one day,
  135. their entire life could flip.
  136. They could lose all of their money, all of their status, all of their wealth,
  137. or all of their lives.
  138. They could pass away in any minute.
  139. So overconfidence is not recommended.
  140. The ninth thing that Allah wants us to learn is that we are in a state of loss, unless
  141. (By the ˹passage of˺ time! Surely humanity is in ˹grave˺ loss)
  142. Because time is ticking,
  143. and unless you do the four things that we explained in another episode,
  144. that you believe, do good deeds, enjoying together
  145. the truth, enjoying together, and helping one another to persevere.
  146. Otherwise,
  147. you are in a state of loss, even though you might think
  148. you are gaining more money or more fame or more power.
  149. It's going to all go away in front of your eyes.
  150. And lastly, the 10th point that Allah wants us to learn
  151. is that the human is impatient
  152. and always hastening things.
  153. When something bad happens to him, he is frightened.
  154. He's scared.
  155. He's suddenly hopeless and helpless.
  156. And when something good happens to him, he wants it
  157. only for himself and he doesn't want to share it with others.
  158. This has to change, and this is what Islam changes about us as believers.
  159. May Allah SWT make us feel
  160. peace and security, and make us feel strong and rich,
  161. not because of ourselves, just because we believe in Him SWT
  162. Alhamdullilah Rabb Alameen
  163. As you can see today, we shared the ten points that
  164. Allah SWT wants the human to know about himself and about others
  165. so he doesn't build false hopes and expectations
  166. and becomes constantly disappointed in life.
  167. Insha'Allah
  168. tomorrow, we will continue with the next series
  169. to complete this topic, Insha'Allah Rabb Alameen

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