Latest / After Maghrib π / Imam Hussain calls the broken π ft. Shaykh Jaffer H Jaffer
Transcript
- 0:00This Mullah Al Ahmad Al Rahim Abdullah Abdullah Al Hussein
- 0:05Salah Alayhi was Salaam Alayhi. Welcome back to After Maghrib
- 0:11and condolences of course, first and foremost of the Imam of our
- 0:14time and of course to all at home on the tragic demise, the
- 0:19martyrdom of Abdullah Hussein Alayh Salaam along with his
- 0:22family and his companions Run sisters, we are now a few days
- 0:27into over a week into the blessed days, the blessed
- 0:30Knights of Muharram and we are fast approaching the day of
- 0:33Ashura. That means we're at a critical
- 0:35juncture of our spirituality of our Vicar and our Mosaib of Imam
- 0:41Hussein Leh Saddam. And it comes to a point where we
- 0:43now ask ourselves, in these days, in the build up to Ashura,
- 0:47are we ready for the return of our weighted Imam?
- 0:50Are we prepared to approach this blessed day with the respect
- 0:54that it deserves? And are we commemorating Imam
- 0:57Hussein in the way we should be, both in terms of the historical
- 1:00significance as well as the contemporary importance?
- 1:03And today, inshallah, we are blessed to have an amazing
- 1:05scholar, someone who has been gracing us here in London.
- 1:09In the heat of London, as you can probably tell, it's very
- 1:12hot. But this is nothing compared to
- 1:13the heat and the tragedy that Befellow Mammoth Hussein Ale
- 1:16Salaman is family companions and we've had this share with us
- 1:20throughout the last few days in London.
- 1:22Hamdullah. But before we introduce our
- 1:24blessed and dear Sheikh Say Ali Salaam Alaikum Sai,
- 1:38how are you doing Bella? Hamdullah, I'm well, How are you
- 1:40doing? How are you keeping?
- 1:41I'm well, it's been emotional the last few days and it's at
- 1:50the same time being beautiful. We always remember what I say.
- 1:53The Zaynab Salam alayhi said to me, said Malay to Allah Jamila.
- 1:56There's been beauty in the Mossiba and there's been an
- 2:00opportunity for us to grieve and mourn as a community.
- 2:03I put out on my personal Instagram a few days ago a
- 2:07message where I said that I feel like there's a unity.
- 2:10I saw I came across that, yes. In the community, and it feels
- 2:13like every community, every organization is working really
- 2:18hard. It feels like the communities
- 2:20are coming together. Attendance feels higher.
- 2:21Despite the heat here in London, attendance feels higher.
- 2:24There feels like there's an ideological unity.
- 2:27We have between people, we have a very famous saying in Arabic,
- 2:30we say Hubble Hussein, you know, the love of Imam Hussein about
- 2:35Abdullah Ali Salaam. His love unites us, brings us
- 2:38closer together. And we see and these are the
- 2:39fruits of the love of about Abdullah Hussein Ali Salaam.
- 2:42And I call the words you said and the condolences to the Imam
- 2:45of our time, to our listeners, to our audience.
- 2:47And I just want to say our hearts are heavy.
- 2:50Yeah. And our hearts are filled with
- 2:51pain. We've listened to massage day
- 2:53in, day out over the last few nights.
- 2:55But I, I, I think something I've been, you know, I mentioned in
- 2:58last week's episode, you know, what do we do with this love?
- 3:00Like, how do we channel? How can we put that to good use?
- 3:04Because I, I came across something very scary.
- 3:06And I know we, I want the chef to inshallah take part in this
- 3:10episode as soon as possible. I want to mention something very
- 3:12important because I I was listening to say, Mustafa
- 3:16Kazwini. I, I, he's a very irregular of
- 3:19mine. I listen to YouTube lectures
- 3:21online and he mentioned something, something that, you
- 3:24know, caught my eye. I was like, this is so
- 3:25important. He was like the tears, the tears
- 3:28that we cry for about Abdullah. It's yes, there's benefit to it,
- 3:31there's reward to it. And Charlotte extinguishes our
- 3:34sins, intercedes for us beyond all of them.
- 3:36But the tears are not enough for us to be Husseini.
- 3:38Why? Because he said historically I
- 3:42might have been sad when he ordered Chimmer a line to be
- 3:45had. The grandson of Rasul Allah,
- 3:47Muhammad Sallallahu Ali Ali Wasallam Omar bin Assad had
- 3:50tears in his eye. He knew he was the son of Fatim
- 3:53Dazarah. He knew he was the grandson of
- 3:55Rasul Allah. Yet those tears wasn't enough to
- 3:57stop him committing or giving that evil order.
- 4:00So this is something I think we all should all reflect on.
- 4:03Inshallah, Inshallah. They are salvation and they can
- 4:05only inshallah, hopefully four to five hours.
- 4:07OK, now Inshallah Sheikh Jafar H Jafar, thank you so much for
- 4:14being here, Sheikh. Thank you for having me.
- 4:16This is very nice to be here with you again.
- 4:21To our Imam, to all the believers, to all of you.
- 4:26It's an amazing time of the year.
- 4:29I know there is a tragedy, but you know, like I always find
- 4:33that this, this tragedy, it, it awakens it.
- 4:38It's not something that that adds so much grief that we feel
- 4:41like we can't continue with life.
- 4:43You know, sometimes in life when we go through hardships, we may
- 4:46not want to come out of the bed, for example, because there's so
- 4:48much weight on our shoulders. I think the weight of, of this
- 4:53tragedy. And then that's, I think for me,
- 4:54one of the miraculous aspects of this right is that we do this
- 4:58year in year out, like it's not like it's one time and then it's
- 5:01doesn't happen again. Every year it's renewed, it's
- 5:04the same energy, if not more energy because we've grown
- 5:07spiritually as people. But it's a grief that that
- 5:12really recharges, you know, it gives motivation, it gives
- 5:15energy, it gives hope. It gives so many different
- 5:18things that Allah has blessed us.
- 5:21He's really blessed us with this gift, you know, and it's really
- 5:24up to us to try and use it for good, you know, like it can't be
- 5:29that he gave everything and then we use it in vain or we use it
- 5:35or we misuse it. Like that line of questioning,
- 5:38like I don't want God to do that to me.
- 5:40You know, that I gave you this and look what you did with it.
- 5:42And Al Hamdullah, like, like you were saying in the intro, it's
- 5:47amazing throughout the world. You know what I mean?
- 5:50Like the youth, the adults, everyone are coming together
- 5:54with energy, excitement. And it's, it's really, it's
- 6:00really beautiful to see. Like for me, like I, I, I don't
- 6:02have the right like words. I would use words like it's
- 6:05amazing, it's beautiful, even though it's a tragedy, but
- 6:09that's genuinely how I feel. You know what?
- 6:11I mean, I think it's when what what really strikes me.
- 6:15And I think for me, this first occurred when I went for my
- 6:19first Zyat al Bahin in Iraq. I realized that the overwhelming
- 6:25number of people who love our Imam, and specifically when you
- 6:28think about how the Imam was a Khalid and how he was left alone
- 6:32and there was a time and a place where no one knew and could
- 6:36mourn his tragedy. There have been countless times
- 6:39over the course of history where no one could visit and pay their
- 6:41Salaam to the Imam to do the zyada of our Imam Ali, Saddam.
- 6:46And of course, when you look at today and you look at the sheer
- 6:49hundreds of millions of people worldwide who are commemorating
- 6:52his martyrdom, it really puts things into perspective.
- 6:55How blessed we are, how lucky we are.
- 6:57And it puts everything else, it makes everything futile.
- 7:00The community politics, the, the, the dynamics that we have,
- 7:04you know, the, the rebut, all of these things become so
- 7:06unimportant to us. And I think the, that's one of
- 7:10the many beauties we see. And this is the hikmah, I think,
- 7:13the wisdom that Sada Zainab was talking about.
- 7:16And also like I, I don't know if you guys want to get in, like I
- 7:19don't want to get too much into politics, but like the
- 7:21geopolitical environment that we currently live in today, like
- 7:26the world is learning about Shia ISM more than ever before.
- 7:30You know, like with what's happening in New York with the
- 7:32mayoral race and then what happened with the recent war.
- 7:36And so the name Shia is becoming more and more in people's minds.
- 7:42And now it's Subhanallah, it comes to Muharram.
- 7:44And now, you know, if anybody looks at Shia ISM, this would be
- 7:48what they learned, right? And then Arbaeen, you can't like
- 7:52Arbaeen was the largest peaceful gathering ever, but it was
- 7:56always hidden. No one talked about it.
- 7:58Like especially when we talk about like general media, right?
- 8:02But they can't hide it anymore. You know what I mean?
- 8:05Like Suhan Allah, like this, the wisdom behind how things unfold
- 8:09is beautiful. Like when that's what, like
- 8:12sometimes we God has this plan that we sometimes want to rush,
- 8:17you know? And you know, Allah says in the
- 8:20Quran that like a day with me is like 1000 years for you.
- 8:24So it's like, it's not a big deal.
- 8:26Yeah. Like, so God is saying like,
- 8:27look, you may run out of your life, but for me, like I have a
- 8:30plan and I'm going to see it through.
- 8:32And sometimes we may not understand that plan, right?
- 8:36But we just have to take that step back.
- 8:38And I think that's what Karbala was about too.
- 8:40Like God had a plan and they just carried out God's plan,
- 8:44right? Like, who would think that in
- 8:46God's plan it would be martyrdom and imprisonment.
- 8:49But that martyrdom and imprisonment gave me life today
- 8:53as a Shia, you know, gave us life, gave us the opportunity
- 8:56to, to, to spread God's message throughout the world, you know,
- 9:00and that's because of this tragedy.
- 9:02So like, God has this amazing plan and we just have to ride
- 9:06the wave, you know, and enjoy it.
- 9:08Chef, a question that comes to mind and said and I have
- 9:11hamdullah. I've had the honour of sitting
- 9:13beside the said for four years now in Ashura.
- 9:15And obviously in each Maharam we've we've had amazing
- 9:18conversations. And one thing we always want to
- 9:22come back to is the revival that Imam Hussein spoke about,
- 9:26Slahidi, Nafi, Jeddi, and that kind of concept of, of the
- 9:32revival, the spiritual revival, the social revival.
- 9:35What, what, what was the Imam intending for us?
- 9:38So for example, today we see Karbala has shaken generations
- 9:43across the course of history, spiritual or struggling people
- 9:47of all dynamics, walks of life and demographics.
- 9:50Everyone has found something in Karbala.
- 9:52Everyone has gained something in Karbala, whether it's an impact
- 9:56on their own life, their morality, the way they interact,
- 9:58acts of kindness, whatever it might be.
- 10:00Ultimately, we can say that the Imam died for many things, but
- 10:04what was the core message of of his mission?
- 10:08I mean, the when we look at the core message, so let's just like
- 10:11break that down into a couple of different areas.
- 10:13When we talk about the core message, we would want to go
- 10:16back directly to his words, right?
- 10:17And to say, OK, he said This is why I'm rising.
- 10:20I'm rising to bring reformation. But let's just pause that for a
- 10:23second. He goes back to kind of what you
- 10:24were, what you were leading into it with your introduction to
- 10:27that question. And that is like, Ashura, is
- 10:31this amazing again, like bad language on my part, like
- 10:34Buffet. Yeah, where if I feel like this
- 10:39thing, I'll get it. If I need that in my life, I'll
- 10:42get it. Whatever it is that I need
- 10:44that's lacking in my life, I will find it in Karbala.
- 10:48Right. And so we could be sitting in a
- 10:51modulus and the, the speaker, the scholar, the vodka could be
- 10:57reciting something and I could pick up something different.
- 11:00And you would pick up something different and you would pick up
- 11:02something different. Because that's the beauty of of
- 11:05the message and everything is available to us.
- 11:08And not only does that take place once next year, I come
- 11:13back and if I were to listen to that same mud list again, I
- 11:16could pick up something else because my soul at that time
- 11:19needs something else, you know what I mean?
- 11:21So like honestly, like people tell me and they're being nice
- 11:24to me. I appreciate that.
- 11:25They're like, oh, it's like you were speaking to me right when I
- 11:28was going to give a lecture And I tell them like straight up, I
- 11:31was like, honestly, that's a reflection of your heart has
- 11:34nothing to do with me. You know what I mean?
- 11:35Like, like I speak, that message only lands if the heart's open.
- 11:40If the heart's not open, the message is not landing.
- 11:42You know, I remember one of our teachers gave this example.
- 11:45I'm going to use it soon. But it is an amazing like
- 11:48example because he says, like sometimes we blame the speaker
- 11:53and we say he didn't, he didn't resonate with me.
- 11:55I didn't connect with him. He didn't make me cry.
- 11:57We have that lawyer. Yeah, we hear that, right.
- 11:59And like as a speaker, like I find that to be problematic, to
- 12:02be quite honest, right. But I remember our teacher
- 12:05saying that look like you look at Karbala, the best speaker of
- 12:10the time was speaking. The most noble speaker was
- 12:14speaking. The most the perfect faith
- 12:17person was speaking. The whole job.
- 12:18Allah, Yeah. Exactly.
- 12:20And how many people accepted it? He's like, are you going to
- 12:23blame the speaker? Are you going to say Naudibullah
- 12:25Hussein bin Ali Ali Salaam didn't do his job?
- 12:27No Right. And so oftentimes we put that on
- 12:31us. But like, if I come honestly,
- 12:34like all of us need to do this, just like come in there to say,
- 12:36OK, I have this, this, this imperfection.
- 12:39Yeah, Allah, I want to fix these imperfections.
- 12:42So I come in there and I come in there with the right intention,
- 12:45the right mindset. I want to learn.
- 12:47I want to grasp, I want to get better.
- 12:49And it's impossible, in my opinion, in my eyes, for us to
- 12:53leave that holy sanctuary and not have something that can help
- 12:58us in our lives, right? And it's continuous, right?
- 13:00It's like we say that the albeit alayhi musalam or Adlal Quran
- 13:04right? Like they are the talking,
- 13:06walking, explaining the Quran and just the way the Quran has
- 13:09levels to it and layers to it. I can read the same Surah twice
- 13:12and pick up something else from it.
- 13:14Same are the actions of the albeit.
- 13:17So in Karbala, I may pick up justice today, next time I come
- 13:20back, I may pick up loyalty. The next time I come back I may
- 13:24pick up trustworthiness, because those were the qualities.
- 13:27And now I need to improve myself.
- 13:30This unending university. It really is.
- 13:33And that's the baraka that Allah has added into these gatherings,
- 13:36you know, So we just have to. It'll never expire, honestly, it
- 13:41never expires. It never gets outdated because I
- 13:44will always pick up something different.
- 13:47That's very right, Chef, you know, saying it like this right
- 13:50now. I just reflecting now of the
- 13:52last few years. I remember there was like one
- 13:54year in my in my head, like when I go to the majority is how
- 13:56things I how I process things that are coming down from the
- 13:59pulpit. I'm like, OK, the theme for me
- 14:01this year is like the loneliness of Imam Hussain, or one year
- 14:05it's like the family relationship and the
- 14:08relationship he had with his companions.
- 14:09And every year it does feel a bit different.
- 14:12Last year for me, it was a tornado of Imam Hussain.
- 14:13I was seeing a lot of plan of its island, everything Imam
- 14:16Hussain done in Karbala. And you're very right.
- 14:19Yeah, you're seeing it now. It makes sense.
- 14:21Yeah. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense.
- 14:23And this is a it's a gift of God.
- 14:24That's the only thing I mean. And I think that's the result
- 14:27of, of a sincere action. A sincere action never expires.
- 14:32You know what I mean? Like if I sincerely dedicate
- 14:36something to God, God will make it live.
- 14:39You know, if I, if I sincerely give charity, God will make that
- 14:42charity live. But you know what it is, Chef,
- 14:43if you don't mind me interrupting.
- 14:44Yeah, yeah. Just like like you said, there's
- 14:46layers. So it's like we understand the
- 14:49layers of, in terms of like the, the variety and the diversity
- 14:53of, of actions in Karbala and pre and post as well.
- 14:58But you gave, for example, the example of, of charity for us as
- 15:03individuals. I feel like we need to process
- 15:05this and reflect on it because on day one, I might see
- 15:08charities. I'm I'm giving to someone in
- 15:12need, I'm helping them out. On day 2 I see a deeper and I
- 15:15think I'm giving from my own expense.
- 15:17And on day three I might see it as submission to our last panel,
- 15:20to Allah and to the word of Allah.
- 15:22So I'm giving because I'm commanded by my Lord, because He
- 15:24has knowledge, just the benefit it will have to me.
- 15:27And the more we process the same, even sometimes the same
- 15:29points, the deeper we begin to understand it.
- 15:31And that's why I think there are people who live to the age of
- 15:35100 who mourn this day in and day out.
- 15:38And they research and they study and they do poetry and they
- 15:41consume information. And they still can never
- 15:43understand it because it's, it is the greatest tragedy in
- 15:47history, the, the biggest legacy of, of, of all of humanity.
- 15:51Because of not just what happened and, and you know, when
- 15:54it happened, but also who was martyred and the way in which
- 15:57they were martyred and, and the, the sheer disparity between Huck
- 16:01and Bath and morality and immorality and good and evil and
- 16:04the way in which the Imam embodied not just goodness, but
- 16:08godliness. And I think that's something
- 16:10which we as his inshallah, we claim to be an Inshallah.
- 16:14We live up to the title of being Hosseini Shia.
- 16:17If we can really embody that in ourselves, then we are able to
- 16:21take something forth to the world, present it as our own
- 16:23accolade and a time, like you said, where the world that the
- 16:26micro, the microscope is on US. Marco Rubio's talking, we talked
- 16:29about last week, Marco Rubio in in Congress is talking about the
- 16:32Shia and the eschatology and the Imam and right, we've heard
- 16:36these things. So the world is on us.
- 16:37Let them look at us. We have nothing to hide, nothing
- 16:40to hide. We know we search online about
- 16:42Hussein Ibn Ali, Ali Salaam and we'll find nothing but goodness
- 16:46and godliness. So it's it is beautiful.
- 16:48But I think I feel like the consumption of the message falls
- 16:51on us. The responsibility of how we
- 16:53consume the message is on us. Yeah, I think I mean like, what
- 16:59do you mean consumption? Like, for example, we can either
- 17:02leave it at a point where Karbala is just a sad day, a
- 17:05mourning day, and we mourn the, the brutality of, of the
- 17:09martyrdom, or we can take it a level further.
- 17:12You see what I mean? And I think, and I don't want to
- 17:14point out, and I don't want to point fingers at any specific
- 17:17communities. There are communities that have
- 17:18come to mind even in London, but there are communities which
- 17:22leave it at the brutality of the martyrdom, the relationship
- 17:26between Abu al Abbas Ali Osam and BB Sakina Ali Salaam and
- 17:30they, they, they will mourn that for the rest of their life and
- 17:34as it should be mourned. But taking it a step further is
- 17:38extremely important. Do you see what I mean?
- 17:40I hear you. I hear you.
- 17:41I think. I think even if the tragedy is
- 17:44such like, I'm not disagreeing with you at all, the tragedy is
- 17:47such that even if a person never graduates to that deeper level
- 17:52of understanding, they will still benefit.
- 17:54I don't know if it's sufficient. They will still benefit, right?
- 17:58They would get whatever God has decreed for them.
- 18:01It was still, it would still have certain benefit to where it
- 18:05would still mold their lives a certain way.
- 18:08And then the hope is that we graduate.
- 18:11We understand that that this was far greater than just a tragedy
- 18:16and his tragedy. It was right, But it symbolized
- 18:20everything we go through in life.
- 18:23It symbolizes choices. It symbolizes decisions, it
- 18:27symbolizes knowing who to stand for and who to stand against.
- 18:30It symbolizes everything we will need to navigate this life
- 18:35successfully like a Hosseini lover would, you know?
- 18:39And so yes, I mean, that's what we want, you know.
- 18:42And, and I think to be fair, we have today because of platforms
- 18:50like yours, the the expansion of knowledge in the English
- 18:57language, right? There was a time when we were
- 19:01very limited. We as in maybe the Indo Pak
- 19:03community, but even like, I think in all communities, the
- 19:06way we were delivering and absorbing knowledge was really
- 19:10dependent upon one or two people telling us this is how knowledge
- 19:13is. And then in the last three or
- 19:15two or three decades, like knowledge has expanded to where
- 19:20now ignorance is not even a justification or an excuse
- 19:23anymore, you know? And that has greatly expanded
- 19:27our understanding of Karbala, too, you know?
- 19:30And I'm sure it always existed, right?
- 19:33But just the access to it wasn't necessarily there.
- 19:36And so today at Hamdallah, I think we're at that point where
- 19:39we have fantastic scholars who can dissect, who can explain,
- 19:45who can inspire. And then we get this better
- 19:48understanding that, man, this is not just an event, but it's a
- 19:52lifestyle. Yeah, You know what I mean?
- 19:54We have to make this a lifestyle.
- 19:55And then the more we make it a lifestyle, I do believe God
- 20:00would reveal more things to us, make that understanding clearer
- 20:03for us. Yeah, like his message, like you
- 20:05were talking about his message. I think if we go back to what he
- 20:09said, right, like what his statement was, and I'm not
- 20:12rising to for for arrogance or for joy or for my own sake,
- 20:16right in the Maharaja that I'm rising to bring about a
- 20:21reformation. I think this reformation also
- 20:25has multi layers to it. So like the end goal, I believe
- 20:31in everything that God wants from us is the success of the
- 20:35collective. That God is not concerned with
- 20:38the success of the individual. God wants the success of the
- 20:43community, right? Obviously the community is
- 20:46comprised of individuals, but God would rather see as many be
- 20:52successful as possible, right? That's why even when we recite
- 20:55dua, we recite in the plural all the time.
- 20:58Like even when I'm reciting alone, I'm, I'm praying for
- 21:03everybody else because Allah Subhanahu and Allah wants the
- 21:06success of the whole. And so when Abdullah Alaihi
- 21:10Salaam is talking about reformation, it's the, it's a
- 21:14communal reformation, right? That as a community we survive,
- 21:17but we we become better. But the community can't become
- 21:21better if the individuals within that community are not getting
- 21:24better, right? So there is this absolute link.
- 21:28So like, I'll die alone, my accounting will be alone.
- 21:31I'll go to paradise based on my actions, not on your actions.
- 21:35Or I'll go to hell based on my actions, not your actions.
- 21:39People may tempt me, they'll be held responsible for that act of
- 21:42temptation. But I'll get the blame for
- 21:44choosing to be tempted or allowing myself to be tempted.
- 21:48And so if I as an individual am not reforming, then what God
- 21:54really wants in that collective reformation will never happen
- 21:57and I'll be held to blame. You know, So I think when we
- 22:00look at the Reformation of an ummah, standing up for justice,
- 22:04fighting tyranny, doing Amra Bil Maharoof and Nahi Anil Munkar,
- 22:08all of these things are things that are tools to bring about a
- 22:12nation, a community that is on that divine path and getting
- 22:18better every single day. And and not only getting better
- 22:22for us, but trying to make the lives of other people better.
- 22:25That's how like Imam Hussein Islam did in his whole life,
- 22:28right? Like, it's a really cool story
- 22:30that gives me goosebumps all the time.
- 22:32Yeah. Like I just said, Jabir bin
- 22:35Abdullah Al Ansari one day was was walking and he saw an old
- 22:39man. Like an old man, like a poor
- 22:41man. Yeah.
- 22:42Like a poor. Like, he was dressed shabby.
- 22:44Whatever. And the man asked, he's like,
- 22:47he's like, where are you going? And he said, I'm going to go see
- 22:49about Abdullah Ali Salaam. So he says, I wish I could come.
- 22:53And so Jabir is like, what's preventing you?
- 22:54Let's go. He's like, I'm in no condition.
- 22:56He's like, look at me. And so Jabir is like, honestly,
- 22:59he won't care. Yeah, let's go.
- 23:01And so he went. And you know, like when you come
- 23:02to somebody and you're you don't feel like you're deserving, you
- 23:06kind of shy a little, right. And so Imam was saying that in
- 23:09Salaam, looks at him and he says, come here.
- 23:12And the man hesitates. And he says, come the poor sit
- 23:14next to the poor. Amazing.
- 23:17Yeah. Like, Can you imagine?
- 23:18Like, he gives me goosebumps every time I hear that.
- 23:20Like, the poor sit next to the poor.
- 23:23Imam wasn't even talking about like, obviously like, like
- 23:26material poverty for him. But he's like, I'm always going
- 23:29to be fuckir to Allah. And you and I are the same.
- 23:32You know, the way he cared for people, he nurtured people, the
- 23:36way he helped people throughout that journey, even when he was
- 23:39in Makkah, like, you know, like people would want his attention,
- 23:44but he would give it to the poor, the needy.
- 23:46He would give them all the time in the world and then turn his
- 23:48attention to other people just to make people feel special,
- 23:51right? And so that's the communal
- 23:53responsibility that we all have, that if I'm a Shia, I should be
- 24:00the person that people turn to whenever they think I need help
- 24:03somebody, you know what I mean? Like if I own a shop in a bunch
- 24:07of shops, like if somebody needs something, they should be like,
- 24:09man, that guy, he'll treat me with respect. that Lady will
- 24:12treat me with respect. Why?
- 24:13Because I wear that badge proudly.
- 24:15Beautiful. But that doesn't happen until
- 24:19like I take that individual responsibility.
- 24:22Like we, we sometimes take our individual responsibility, I
- 24:26think a little lightly, you know?
- 24:28I think we keep it to ourselves. Yeah, yeah.
- 24:31Like what do you mean like we? As in, you know, speaking about
- 24:33the identity and you're wearing that badge of badge of honor.
- 24:36We say, you know, it's for us and it benefits us in the day of
- 24:40judgement, but we don't share it with others.
- 24:42Yeah. And I and I think in many ways
- 24:44we are Shia as Hosseini's. We we are in many ways
- 24:48ambassadors of the other base. So what we do reflects and gives
- 24:53us a good image to the little base, to religion, to Islam, to
- 24:56the the Sierra of Rasulullah, Muhammad al Allah, Ali Ali
- 24:58Wasallam. I want to go to a point you
- 25:01mentioned a bit earlier on. You said, I don't know if we'll
- 25:03get into it, but I think it's impossible not to mention the
- 25:08the situation of the geopolitical climate current.
- 25:10And I want to ask a question because it baffles me.
- 25:13I think until today that, you know, as Muslims, not just Shia,
- 25:17as the Muslim Ummah, for example, we share so many things
- 25:20in common. We share the values and the
- 25:23principles of Rasool Allah. We share Inshallah, many ways,
- 25:26the teachings of the Quran. And, and beyond all of these
- 25:29things, right beyond the sectarianism, beyond the
- 25:31differences, there are things when it comes to justice.
- 25:35There are things when it comes to standing on the right side of
- 25:38history. There are things when it comes
- 25:39to humanity. There are things when looking
- 25:41after those who are oppressed. Why is it the Shia rise is
- 25:45people always just say it's because Imam Hussein took a
- 25:47stand? Is it really just because Imam
- 25:50Hussein took a stand in Karbala that we are inspired by this
- 25:53that we only see in my day and age, only the Shia stand up and
- 25:57say something at the very minimum.
- 26:00Why? Yeah, I'll hamdallah for it
- 26:04though, you know what I mean? Like I'll hamdallah for.
- 26:06It like. We're that we're that mud hub
- 26:08that when someone is being oppressed, we don't first look
- 26:12to see like which mud hub are you following?
- 26:14And I find that like super hypocritical that like somebody
- 26:17will support one person and then that same oppressor will oppress
- 26:20somebody else and we won't support that.
- 26:22And I find that problematic. I think Hussain bin Ali, Ali,
- 26:26Elihima Salaam have a huge reason why they through the
- 26:30teachings of Imam Ali, you know, Imam Ali, like when he
- 26:32established the level of justice that he did in Kufa and that
- 26:36then trickled down to actually it being demonstrated in Karbala
- 26:40that there's a right way to live and a wrong way to live.
- 26:43There's a right way to stand up and a wrong way to stand up.
- 26:46And there's, there's this responsibility.
- 26:49And so I think it is part of our, our teachings.
- 26:53It's part of how God wants us to to live this life and how to
- 26:59live in this world where my success alone is not enough
- 27:06unless I'm trying to make other people successful, right?
- 27:09This level of self sacrifice isa willing to put myself into
- 27:13difficulty for the comfort of other people.
- 27:16All of these things are part of our Akhlakhi teachings, the idea
- 27:22of standing up against in a tyranny, like it's a theological
- 27:26point associated with our Dalit and all of these other points.
- 27:29So I do think like Karbala is, is one of the main reasons why
- 27:36we do this. And I think I mean,
- 27:40realistically speaking, right? So let me just like backtrack on
- 27:42myself, like. Really, I want sorry to
- 27:44introduction. No, because I see like when
- 27:45Imam, when Imam was here and Islam took that stand.
- 27:48It wasn't just for the Shia, correct?
- 27:50Yeah, it was for the Om war, correct?
- 27:51For the entire Muslim war. Yeah.
- 27:52So I'm backtracking. You make a good point, right.
- 27:55So like, I think if I were to backtrack, I would say these are
- 27:58Islamic concepts. These are not a Shia concept.
- 28:01Yeah, right. You know what I mean?
- 28:02So these are absolutely. It's universal.
- 28:04Yeah, it's universal, but I think we as Shia gain our
- 28:08courage from Karbala. Others don't have an example
- 28:13like this where they wholeheartedly believe that
- 28:20martyrdom is nothing to be afraid of.
- 28:22Yeah, martyrdom is a badge of honor, you know, and the other
- 28:25mother I have don't have that. And they may have one or two
- 28:28trickle down examples of that, but not the way we have it.
- 28:31So yeah, I think you're right. It's an absolutely religious
- 28:34concept, Islamic concept that these are things we are expected
- 28:38to do. But when you lack the example
- 28:41for it, I think you don't have necessarily the same level of
- 28:45courage to do it, you know? So yeah, I think Karbala gives
- 28:48us that that boost that motivation to carry out these
- 28:53type of actions. If I can add one or two things
- 28:58and ask as well. So I completely agree with
- 29:01everything you've mentioned. And I think that that we are now
- 29:04at a time, like you said, where we carry ourselves.
- 29:09You know, we have to be very careful how we tread in the
- 29:12day-to-day world we live in because we are I think now more
- 29:15than ever more vocal and visible ambassadors of the Imam Ali
- 29:19Saddam than we've ever been as a community.
- 29:22We're in the spotlight. And I think in the last 5-6
- 29:24generations, we've seen that specifically more than ever in
- 29:27history since Karbala. I think the Shia are more known
- 29:29now as a mud hub, as a voice, as a group of people who have a
- 29:34certain specific identity. And especially to the lay
- 29:37people. Yeah, of course they, we are
- 29:39woven with Imam Hussein when you do, you know what I mean.
- 29:43And that is amazing. Our identity is woven in the
- 29:46fabric of Karbalana and vice versa.
- 29:49And inshallah we can live up to that's a big pressure, but it's
- 29:52a beautiful blessing. Now.
- 29:54Well, you know, a lot of Al Majalis generally, and this is a
- 29:58question I have because there's not always we have the honor of
- 30:01of sitting with someone who is able to speak to thousands year
- 30:05in, year out. And who's doing that after, I
- 30:08presume a lot of research and reflection and introspection as
- 30:12to who you're speaking to, the needs of the people and the
- 30:16communities you're speaking to. We hear a lot about the morality
- 30:20that we witness in Karbala. We hear a lot about the
- 30:22historical accuracies and and inaccuracies and kind of what
- 30:26took place and what didn't. One thing which we maybe don't
- 30:30hear enough of, in my humble opinion, is the spirituality of
- 30:33Imam Hussein Alayhi Salaam, his dorid, his Mahnafar of of Allah
- 30:37spawn to Allah his own Iman and yabeen.
- 30:40You talked about you thought and I know you mentioned it in your
- 30:42lectures a few nights ago and the deep level of submission,
- 30:46the taslim that the Imam had. Now there are people who are
- 30:51attending Majalis like every year, perhaps like myself, who
- 30:55are going to Majalis and who are maybe in a spiritual struggle,
- 30:59an uphill battle with themselves, with their own
- 31:01naffs, with their own desires and their own inefficiencies and
- 31:05blemishes on their soul. What about Karbala, especially
- 31:09now in the build up to Ashura, can we take and apply to our
- 31:13spiritual struggle? You mentioned something a few
- 31:16nights ago where you talked about spirituality not being
- 31:19material. And if you don't mind me kind of
- 31:21paraphrasing the obviously you, you said it so you can probably
- 31:23correct me. But spirituality not being
- 31:26something which you gave the example of a tingle in your
- 31:29soul, whereas, for example, the volunteers outside they, they're
- 31:33experiencing spiritualities through their hidma, right?
- 31:37And how spirituality is not material and it's kind of
- 31:39transcendental and therefore can be experienced in different
- 31:42ways. But what can we gain from a
- 31:43spiritual level? And for those of us who are on a
- 31:45spiritual struggle, how can we use this precious blessed time
- 31:49of year, which we don't know if we will see again, to kind of
- 31:53move forward and and gain motivation?
- 31:58I mean, that's a solid question, right?
- 31:59Like I find it a bit difficult to like to split these concepts
- 32:06up into its own area to say that this is like a spiritual
- 32:11component, this is a theological component, this is an ethical
- 32:15component. I really think these all go hand
- 32:18in hand with each other. And so I would like to think
- 32:21that when we make this journey or when a, when a scholar or a
- 32:25speaker is talking even about God, that can be practically
- 32:29applied into your spirituality, into your ethics.
- 32:32When he's talking about ethics, that morality is driven by a
- 32:35divine centric system. And so that also connects into
- 32:38theology and it connects into your spirituality because that
- 32:41ethic will make you more wholesome, right?
- 32:43So they're all connected in that way.
- 32:46I think it goes back to this, this notion that when I live my
- 32:52life, what is the framework with which I, I govern my life,
- 33:00right? Is it through the norms and the
- 33:04standards that are prescribed for me by my culture?
- 33:08Is it the norms and the standards that are prescribed
- 33:11for me by where I live? So they'll tell me this is the
- 33:14way to dress. This is the way to talk.
- 33:16This is the way to to do things. Or do I consider the framework
- 33:22as something which is divinely appointed?
- 33:26You know what I mean? So like we don't believe in this
- 33:31concept of like ethical relativism, right?
- 33:33Like where today something may be good and it's quite possible
- 33:39that 30 years ago that same thing was bad.
- 33:42We already see this in the world that we live in, without having
- 33:45to go to any examples, certain lifestyles, etcetera were in a
- 33:50societal perspective considered to be a taboo and now we see
- 33:54these things to be accepted. Today in Islam, we don't believe
- 33:59that ethics is relative. We thinks ethics.
- 34:01We think that ethics is a divine construct.
- 34:05And so when I can accept the fact that there is this actual
- 34:09way that God wants me to live this world, that is a framework
- 34:17that is based on divine principles.
- 34:20And if it is a, if it is a format or sorry, if it's the
- 34:25framework based on divine principles, then that will never
- 34:28change. It doesn't matter if that means
- 34:31it was true 600 years ago, it was true in Karbala and it's
- 34:36true today. We are following the same frame.
- 34:39Like if you think about it from that way, it's pretty cool,
- 34:40right? Like so the framework that I'm
- 34:42following is the same exact framework that Imam Hussein
- 34:46followed. And so if we accept number one,
- 34:49that there is this framework that I have to live by because I
- 34:52because I submit to the fact that this framework is divinely
- 34:57constructed, then when I look at Karbala in the statement that we
- 35:01always recite, and then that is deep, right?
- 35:04Like when Walid bin Utba told Imam Hussein to give baea to
- 35:09Yazeed and he describes and he goes into this, it's really
- 35:12amazing speech where he says, yeah, you halamir in nahala
- 35:15baita nubua Omaha de no rasala. What mohtala full Malaika that
- 35:20we are that house like of the Prophet where angels came, the
- 35:24kitab came, Bina fatahallah or bina khatamallah.
- 35:28That's such a gangster statement, man.
- 35:30That's such a gangster statement, I swear, right?
- 35:32I said by us, God started everything and he'll finish
- 35:35everything through US, right? And then he says Yazid Rajolun
- 35:38Fasik and he goes to the description of Yazid.
- 35:40But then he makes the statement, right?
- 35:42Like mithlila ubaya amithlah. And like that statement is like
- 35:48literally profound, right? Because until today, because he
- 35:52doesn't say Hussein bin Ali, La Ubaya, Yazid bin Maharia.
- 35:56If Allahi had said that then they would have said it's a
- 35:59historical event like. You said a man like.
- 36:01Me, yeah, People like me don't give Bega to people and so who
- 36:05are the people like him, right, The favorite, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 36:10The people like him are people who accept that there's an
- 36:12ethical framework. Yeah.
- 36:15And so. Makes sense, yeah.
- 36:16Right. And anybody who doesn't accept
- 36:18that ethical framework and believes that they govern their
- 36:22own ethics, society describes ethics, morality I based on what
- 36:27I want to do. That's my morality and ethics.
- 36:30Now we have to tread carefully because that's the other
- 36:32missile. Yeah, that's the other example
- 36:34of somebody who Hussein says they are not with me, I'm not
- 36:37with them. Right.
- 36:38It's completely true. And so, huh, it's a.
- 36:41Filter absolutely see but this or that you choose.
- 36:44Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's been true in the year
- 36:47610, it's been true in the year 1610.
- 36:50And it's, it's true like 2025, it's still true that the same
- 36:55framework exists for us today. And that framework governs every
- 36:59aspect of our lives. And also like when you and you
- 37:01ask that question, like spirituality, I think it really
- 37:05starts with first and foremost accepting the divine framework.
- 37:10I truly believe that God in his infinite wisdom has created for
- 37:15us a structure that he's tells me this is how you will be
- 37:20successful because he cares for us.
- 37:22You know, like when you go to IKEA and you buy something,
- 37:26right? And they give you this like 150
- 37:29piece like thing and then they give you instructions.
- 37:32If they hadn't given you the instructions, none of us would
- 37:34build any IKEA product, right? God's given us the instructions
- 37:37to life, right? He has.
- 37:39And he says this is where you need to be if you want to be
- 37:42successful in life. For me to rise in spirituality.
- 37:47I think the reason honest to God we struggle is because, like, I
- 37:52haven't. It's hard for me to accept that
- 37:55that's where I have to be, especially when everything
- 37:59around me is pointing at a different direction.
- 38:03Is it fair to say that distractions.
- 38:06Distractions. It may be, it may be, but it's,
- 38:10it's a distraction that is taking me somewhere like it's a
- 38:14distraction that's real. You know what I mean?
- 38:17So it's not just like a fake distraction, it's actually
- 38:20materially tangible, right? Like like simple choices like go
- 38:25to the Christmas party, yeah, there'll be music, yeah,
- 38:27there'll be alcohol, but you might get a promotion.
- 38:30Now, if I look at that divine framework and God says, look, I
- 38:33don't like you to be in those type of gatherings, trust me,
- 38:36you don't have to do that to be successful.
- 38:38But then I see like, oh, man, I'm not going to get a raise
- 38:41that way. So I mean, yes, it's a
- 38:42distraction, but it's real. It's a real struggle.
- 38:46And I think if I haven't accepted that God is worthy of
- 38:51submission, and I kind of, I talked about that too, like a
- 38:54few nights ago, like one of the first things we have to do to
- 38:58become a free servant of God, you know, is I have to consider
- 39:04God worthy of submission. Like I have to like if I don't
- 39:07consider God worthy of submission then I won't submit
- 39:09to him. I mean, that's point A, Yeah.
- 39:11Like you don't know where to start then?
- 39:13Yeah. And so the spirituality, your
- 39:15question, like it starts with these frameworks, understanding
- 39:18that it comes from God. And then if I can accept that,
- 39:21then yeah, then yes. Will it be a struggle to stay in
- 39:24there? I think so, because life is a
- 39:26struggle. Like I'm going to be tempted.
- 39:28Like Shaitaan doesn't tempt people who we've already gone to
- 39:31the. Other yeah, yeah.
- 39:33He's coming after us, of course, you know what I mean?
- 39:35Like since he's just, and I think what Shaitan does, like if
- 39:38I can use that word brilliantly, Shaitan just throws darts, you
- 39:41know what I mean? And he hopes something sticks.
- 39:43And so he's just throwing, throwing, throwing.
- 39:45And one thing I'll be like, oh, but I could get a head this way,
- 39:48you know, I got him. And then he'll pursue it.
- 39:51Yeah, yeah. And that's how he then he he
- 39:53attacks us. What a way of looking at it.
- 39:55Yeah, I mean, I'd. Never thought of it like that.
- 39:57That's true. The whole journey like of of so
- 40:01like I don't consider spirituality, theology, all of
- 40:04these things really like disconnected from one another.
- 40:08I think I remember our teacher always saying like, if you find
- 40:13any deficiency in your life, any deficiency in your life, it
- 40:17points back to your lack of understanding of God as great
- 40:20like has better. So like if you sin it's it's a
- 40:24direct. It's telling you doesn't mean
- 40:27you're a bad person, right? So I don't want it to think like
- 40:29that, but it just tells you that your understanding of God is not
- 40:33as strong yet because if you truly believed God is God, man,
- 40:38I would never sin against that God, right?
- 40:40And so we need to be super in tune with our souls, super in
- 40:46tune with our decisions, super in tune with our choices and
- 40:51realize that everything points towards something.
- 40:56Nothing is arbitrary, right? Like everything is, is is
- 41:00pointing towards a direction either that I have an I have an
- 41:04OK relationship with God or that my relationship with God is not
- 41:08as strong as it should be. I think we're sometimes afraid
- 41:11to draw that connecting dot because maybe you'll point out
- 41:15something that I don't want to know.
- 41:18Nothing is nothing means I'm a bad person.
- 41:22You know, I always believe that we should ask Allah Subhanahu at
- 41:26Allah to show us our deficiencies now before he
- 41:30reveals them in the hereafter, right?
- 41:32And so in this world, if God shows me the, hey, Jaffer,
- 41:37you're not there yet, I should say al Hamdulillah.
- 41:40I should really say al Hamdulillah because that means
- 41:43he's telling me change now, right?
- 41:46As opposed to like me thinking I am on the right path.
- 41:49And then later I find out that, man, I was kind of wrong in what
- 41:52I was doing, you know? Yeah.
- 41:56Beautiful, beautiful advice. And I think it's an amazing
- 41:58blueprint examples that you gave, how we should live our
- 42:01lives to build on that spirituality.
- 42:03And just speaking about spirituality, like I, I never
- 42:07really understood the connection about Abdullah Hussein had with
- 42:11Allah Azza Wajal only until many years recently.
- 42:14And this is something new to me. I knew he took a stand and
- 42:16everything, but what made it easy for Imam Hussein was that
- 42:19he relied on Allah and he knew God was with him in every step
- 42:23he took from, from from Mecca leaving Hajj all the way until
- 42:27he reached Karbala. So he had God with him.
- 42:29He was God centric. And I think this is something we
- 42:31can learn from. You know, like, sorry to catch
- 42:33you, LA. La Schefner, please.
- 42:34Say like in Surrey Toba verse #11 Allah says in Allah
- 42:39hashtaram in al Mahminina and Fusa Humwa amwa Lahumbi and
- 42:43Allahumu Jannah that Allah has purchased the souls and the and
- 42:48the and the possessions of the believers in exchange for
- 42:51paradise. I think this verse Imam al
- 42:55Hussein is the perfect definition of it, right?
- 42:59Like, you know, like God is not saying I want to purchase your
- 43:02soul. God is saying I purchased it.
- 43:04If I claim to be a believer, then my soul is gone.
- 43:07It's purchased. And what made Imam al Hussain do
- 43:11what he did is because he said Kabil to to this transaction.
- 43:15He said I accept it. You're my soul is not mine.
- 43:18Yeah, my soul is not mine. My family is not mine.
- 43:21My wealth is not mine. And that's why Imam Sajjad Al
- 43:24Isa. I mean, when one of the
- 43:25mucktails we have, he said that on the day of Ashura, when
- 43:29things began to get more and more intense, the companions
- 43:32looked at Imam Hussein and saw that he was in a different
- 43:35condition than he they were. He said they would still have
- 43:38their hearts beating faster and their shoulders would tremble.
- 43:41But he said Hussein would get calmer.
- 43:44Yeah, his his face would glow. And.
- 43:47And they said, man, he's on another level altogether.
- 43:49Right. And why?
- 43:51Because he submitted to that. And I and honestly, to come back
- 43:53to us, like for some reason, like in my mind, I think this is
- 43:58still my life, this is still my choice.
- 44:00And God is saying, man, no, I already bought it, don't fight
- 44:03it, right? And so the more we just leave it
- 44:05to him and say, I accept it. And, and this understanding,
- 44:09like one of my favorite verses of the Quran nowadays is that
- 44:15whatever is with God is better and more lasting, right?
- 44:19Like for us to navigate this world the way about Abdullah
- 44:24Alaihi Salaam teaches us and the way the family teaches us and
- 44:27the companions teach us in a manner where I don't feel like
- 44:32I'm missing out on things is by firmly believing that what is
- 44:37with God is better. You know what I mean?
- 44:39I'm going to give this example in one of my last lectures, but
- 44:42I think my time just comes out there.
- 44:44I might have done it already, but like, I like, like one day I
- 44:50called my brother. My brothers live in two
- 44:52different cities, but one had visited the other.
- 44:55And so I was, I was like, I feeling left out, you know what
- 44:57I mean? So I was calling them, like,
- 44:59feeling like jealous or whatever, like positive
- 45:01jealousy. So I called them.
- 45:02I was like, what's for lunch today, you know?
- 45:04And so my brother was like, oh, we're skipping lunch.
- 45:07And I was like, why? He's like, oh, big dinner
- 45:08planned, Right? And I just laughed.
- 45:10I was like, that's cool. But then I thought about that.
- 45:13And that's how we're supposed to live this world.
- 45:16There's this chance for me to go to prom.
- 45:18No, I leave that. Something better is waiting for
- 45:20God. Yeah.
- 45:21There's a chance to make a shady business deal, become wealthy.
- 45:24I'll leave that. Whatever with is with God is
- 45:27better, is longer lasting. And so we have to convince
- 45:29ourselves that when I see these things happening in my world
- 45:34that are tempting, that may give me peace, may give me happiness
- 45:38temporarily, whatever is with God is better, right?
- 45:41And so when Imam Hussein knew all of these factors and
- 45:45submission became a joy, it became a joy to him, you know,
- 45:49And I, I hope we can taste even a little bit of that, you know
- 45:52what I mean? Yeah.
- 45:54Last a last question from me. Of course we are obviously in
- 46:00the build up to the night of our Shura and a time which is
- 46:03extremely heavy for the Mutt Meneen.
- 46:06But beyond all the mutt Meneen, it's more so a time which is
- 46:10grievous for the awaited Imam of our time.
- 46:13Mom, So I have a Ziman Sharif. What is what is the condition of
- 46:18our Imam at the moment and how can we make him proud of us?
- 46:25I think that's something which I want to ask how can we be worthy
- 46:29of him? Obviously in the way art.
- 46:32We read about the potential, the whole of our awaited Imam on
- 46:36these nights, on the night of Ashura in Mecca and Inshallah we
- 46:40pray, if not this year, then Shallah next year.
- 46:42But some point we want to be worthy of standing behind the
- 46:46Imam, beside the Imam, when he says that I'm here to avenge the
- 46:51blood of my grandfather, right? He.
- 46:54Was like thirsty. I'm calling out Hussain.
- 46:58What does that mean in a real sense, especially when we're
- 47:01talking about the awaited Imam? Yeah.
- 47:03I mean, that's like a it's. A long.
- 47:06It's a bad question, you know what I mean?
- 47:07And I think it's, it's, it's a good question.
- 47:09It's a worthy question of reflection.
- 47:12So like, I think when when he says that I am, I will come to
- 47:15avenge the blood of Hussain Ali Salaam.
- 47:20Like obviously we can look at it.
- 47:22We can look at that as as like a real thing in the sense like
- 47:27he's going to come and avenge the blood of the Sufjanis and
- 47:29the, and the, and the Banu Maias and stuff and then those people,
- 47:32right? And sure, if that, if that is
- 47:35what it comes out to, it wouldn't be, it wouldn't be
- 47:39surprising, nor would it be incorrect.
- 47:41That's what he said he would do. But I also think it goes back to
- 47:45the statement of Imam Hussein al Islam when he says people like
- 47:48me and systems that say there is a system that's accepted and a
- 47:52system that's not accepted, there's a way of life that's
- 47:55accepted and a way of life that's not accepted.
- 47:58Imam was saying Imam, the 12th Imam is coming to fight that
- 48:01system too. You know what I mean?
- 48:03And so it's that the people like Hussein who stand up for
- 48:08justice, who live with and within that divine framework,
- 48:12and the people like Yazid who live by a different framework
- 48:15and those, you know, like there's one framework and then
- 48:19there are like exponential number of frameworks.
- 48:21So it's not just like one and one, right?
- 48:24But anyone not in the the divine framework is not part of the the
- 48:29example of Hussein Alice or the other party of Hussein.
- 48:32And so I think in a way that Imam is coming back to lead
- 48:36these people who are within that framework that God has created.
- 48:39And so I think for us, the first thing is we need to make sure
- 48:44we're in that framework. Yeah.
- 48:45Otherwise he's coming to fight us, you know what I mean?
- 48:48So like, we need to make sure we're not on that the other side
- 48:52of it, right? And so I think that should be
- 48:57our primary goal, like looking daily in our lives to say like,
- 49:00OK, am I fulfilling the responsibility that I have right
- 49:06now on a day-to-day basis? I think that's one of the things
- 49:10that we have to be really mindful of at all times.
- 49:13Like, I don't think we need as a as a whole, I don't believe we
- 49:16need major, major tweaks in our lives.
- 49:20We just like, you know, like major changes.
- 49:23I don't think we're there like we're.
- 49:25One step at a time. Yeah, one step at a time.
- 49:28No need to overcorrect small tweaks.
- 49:31And inshallah we will be right where we need to because we have
- 49:35like we were just like calculate like if we were to go down like
- 49:38we have 90% of the things. We're generally on.
- 49:41The right track, we're generally on the right track.
- 49:42We just, we just make a couple mistakes here, a couple mistakes
- 49:45there. Are there fringes?
- 49:47Yeah, of course there are people who are more fringe related,
- 49:50right. And so I think part of that
- 49:53responsibility, I said, is that just to make enough tweaks in
- 49:55our lives. I know like I've been debating
- 49:59this question a lot and I had like, I think I have an answer,
- 50:03but like, do we need the Imam or do we want the Imam, right?
- 50:07Like there's a huge difference between that those two
- 50:09questions. It's really worthy of debate.
- 50:12I debated this for like months in my head, you know, like, do
- 50:16we need him back or do we want him back?
- 50:21And which one is superior, right?
- 50:24So maybe we can ask, I don't know if you guys.
- 50:25Have to tell what I would say. Yeah, like what is like?
- 50:30So what are needs, right? Needs are like air, Need is like
- 50:34water, need is God. Maybe we need God, right?
- 50:39Or do we want God? And I see now if I put it as
- 50:43God, the want sounds better, doesn't it right.
- 50:46Like because if you think about it like, need is something that
- 50:50you have to have a. Society of.
- 50:52Want is something that you desire for.
- 50:55OK so like do I say I need to pray or I want to pray?
- 51:00I think one in this regard obviously might take present.
- 51:03Yeah, right. Like, so like when you look at
- 51:06it like I think when it comes to material things, needs are
- 51:09important, right? But when it comes to spiritual
- 51:12things, wants are better, right? Because want means I'm willing
- 51:15to put aside my desire for that. And it just sounds more
- 51:19beautiful. Like I want to pray, I want to
- 51:21wear hijab, I want to go to mosque as opposed to saying I
- 51:25need to pray, I need to fast, I need to do these things.
- 51:28And so when it comes to the Imam, I think we have to develop
- 51:32a want for him, you know, And so I think part of that
- 51:36responsibility that I have in my life is like, where is there a
- 51:39deficiency in my life where the Imam can come and fill a hole
- 51:42and, and, and fill it and take me?
- 51:45And if I genuinely can't find that, like, I think that's,
- 51:48that's that should shock my system to be like, then where do
- 51:51I use the Imam in my life? You know, So I think all of
- 51:54these things are absolutely connected.
- 51:56And like, so when we look at Karbala and what Imam stood for,
- 52:00I think the 12th Imam is going to stand for the same, right?
- 52:04But I think that Imam, obviously he's waiting for God's
- 52:07permission, but he also wants to be wanted, not just the constant
- 52:11dua for him to we need you, but he wants us as his believers to
- 52:17feel a gap in a hole in our lives where we want him to come
- 52:21and feel it, not just a need for it.
- 52:23And I think if we can develop those things and when, sha
- 52:27Allah, it happens soon. Sha Allah, we Allah, we Allah
- 52:31hasten his reappearance brought us marafa now Iman.
- 52:34Because you're right, you know, saying as lip service is just
- 52:37one thing, but when it comes from the heart, it makes it
- 52:39makes that huge. Difference, Yeah.
- 52:41Thank you so much. Allah bless you and Sha Allah
- 52:44allow us to continue to serve together and may allow you to
- 52:48continue serving. I mean.
- 52:49The Oma for as long as you live, in sha Allah.
- 52:51May He bless the both of you and your team who are feeling, who
- 52:58are, who are filling a good space where it reaches many
- 53:03people who this is the way they think that they gain their
- 53:07information. You know, who did they gain
- 53:09their guidance from? And so may Allah give you lots
- 53:11of success. May He allow you to reach more
- 53:14people, and may He keep you both humble forever and Shallah.
- 53:19It's very kind of you appreciate that.
- 53:22Just before we end, I wanted to mention something which I wanted
- 53:27to share with you on the day I just came to my memory Now I was
- 53:32Imaginus and I came across a brother and he said he's been
- 53:37listening to after Maghrib for three years.
- 53:40So since the chef bring up Aftermath, the benefit of this
- 53:44platform and shallow people do support the work we have.
- 53:46So do visit aftermath.com and consider making a one off
- 53:49contribution so we can continue in this field.
- 53:52And he said he's been listening to Arthur for three years.
- 53:55At the same time, he has a sibling who has severe autism
- 54:01and his brother's unable to understand, unable to, you know,
- 54:07be in a normal educational environment, unable to have one
- 54:09to one sessions, you know, with teachers and professionals in
- 54:12the field that deal with special needs and things like this.
- 54:14But he was like, what the podcast he listens.
- 54:19He he, he, he recently and and I, I kept telling him, Are you
- 54:23sure? Like I know what autism is.
- 54:25I know how is I know people who are there.
- 54:27But he said he was telling me every single time we put the
- 54:30family, they put aftermath the podcast on for him.
- 54:32He speaks about Imam and Mehdi. He talks about Amir al Mahmani
- 54:36and he listened to our episode recently with brother Muhammad
- 54:39Ali that released in the first of Muharram.
- 54:41And he was like, now he's talking about man Hussein when
- 54:43he's never talked about him in his entire life.
- 54:45So this was something that really until now, until now, I'm
- 54:49like a handle or this opportunity.
- 54:51So I just thought I'd share that with the team and inshallah no.
- 54:53Andala, it's been Yeah, lovely. The.
- 54:55Brothers behind the scenes as well, of course.
- 54:57Of course, the whole team and it's been nice because we hear
- 55:01these stories. Well, these stories allow us to
- 55:03continue. Yeah, honestly guys are home
- 55:06like I know said mentioned it already, but please support the
- 55:09work we do. Subscribe, share, but more so
- 55:12whatever you can do in terms of a contribution, whether it's
- 55:15buying merchandise, whether it's a monthly support, whether you
- 55:18run a have a business you want to support, please do.
- 55:21And ultimately, look, I, I don't want to, I'm conscious of the
- 55:24time of year and I don't want to utilize that.
- 55:27But what I will say is our mission is to continue this as
- 55:31long as we can and show a lot and to continue to mourn the
- 55:33morning mammoth. I'm saying year in, year out to
- 55:36continue to make his message applicable, universal and and
- 55:41kind of contemporary as well because we realize that there's
- 55:44a thirst and a need for that. But can I just interject here
- 55:47for a second too? Yeah, Like, I know that it's
- 55:51going to be like right around Ashura.
- 55:54And so inshallah, hopefully people hear this before Ashura.
- 56:00I think it's really important, like our, our day of Ashura
- 56:06should not be like any other day.
- 56:08You know what I mean? Like we need to make a conscious
- 56:13effort to feel the grief on that day.
- 56:17We need to make a conscious effort to not engage in, in any
- 56:21banter, any conversations, in anything that that makes us
- 56:27forget that is the day, of course, you know, and that's
- 56:30something that I really hope that our listeners, especially
- 56:32the young ones who are listening appreciate and, and, and try to
- 56:37figure out a way of, of crafting a day where they remain in that
- 56:41morning, you know, So inshallah they can do that.
- 56:44That's a very, very important reminder for us all.
- 56:46And inshallah we can can continue continue to to to serve
- 56:50on this mission inshallah. But sisters, thank you so much
- 56:53for for joining. We'll be back next week.
- 56:56Please remember us into our and inshallah we prove all your
- 56:59tears, all your your mourning and your commemoration are
- 57:04accepted. Inshallah.
- 57:05Come to like your workout?