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Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Alameen. Wa salatu wa salamu ala ashrafil anbiya wal mursaleen, Muhammadur Rasulullah ﷺ. Tasleeman kathiran kathira. And after that, we are looking at what I call four truths.
And the first of them we looked at, which was, what was the first one? Time passes. The time passes. And time doesn’t wait for anybody. And if we want something beneficial from that time, we must do what is beneficial, what is the most beneficial for us in that time. That choice we make and that choice we have to implement.
The second of these truths that we need to keep in mind is that liking something doesn’t matter. Liking does not matter. Now, the reason I’m saying that is because today, this seems to be a primary thing with a lot of people, a lot of young people especially. Especially in terms of careers, for example. You ask someone, people come to me for career guidance. And they say, well, what do you think is the best career I should follow and so on. And I tell them something. No, but I don’t like that. What’s the meaning? You don’t like something. What is it like? I am recommending to you a career which suits whatever training you have received, whatever education you have and so on and so on, right? If I tell you, go fly a 737. You have no training. What’s the sense in that? You may like to do it, but how will you do it? So, based on what you have done, based on your experience and so on, I suggest something to you. No, but I don’t like that. Okay, so you don’t like that. Here is the second one. No, I don’t like that also. So, you like to stop.
So, I told one guy, I said, I’ll buy you a rickshaw. Go, you know. Full rickshaw. You like that? What’s the meaning of like? Because the reality is, everything beneficial is disliked at first. Now, this is the truth of life. Whatever is long-term beneficial is disliked at first. For example, nobody likes walking 5 miles a day, 10,000 steps. So, ask yourself. I try to do that every day. And, in any day which I feel demotivated, I have a picture of a wheelchair in my house. So, I look at that. I say, you don’t like to walk 10,000 steps? No problem. That’s a nice wheelchair. So, I say, go look for, look at, go to the, you know, wheelchair shops. Go and look for nice wheelchairs. Because that’s what you’re looking at. You are looking at becoming a wheelchair passenger if you don’t have strong legs. Simple as that. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter whether you like it or not. You don’t like it? No problem. Don’t walk. Then, you like a wheelchair? Go sit in the wheelchair. That is the actual choice.
It is too hot. It is too this. It is too that. It is hot. Yeah, you’re living in a hot country. So, what do you expect? Snow? But, if you don’t strengthen your legs, similarly, nobody likes controlling their food intake or eating sensibly or eating healthy. You are my… I love sugar. I love sweets. We all love sweets. We live, Alhamdulillah, by the grace of Allah ﷻ, in a city which has, in terms of cuisine, according to me, the finest cuisine on the face of the planet. There’s nothing, nothing, nothing at all. There’s no country, no… I don’t care who is offended, who is not offended. There’s nothing that compares with Hyderabadi cuisine. But Hyderabadi cuisine is also the fastest way to a bypass. It is the fastest way into your Khabarazan. I mean, that goes with the cuisine. You want to eat this food on a daily basis? Brother, you are on a slide, man. Straight into the grave. Believe me. It’s a nice way of dying. I agree. You know. You die after eating biryani or die without eating biryani. One day you die anyway. So, that’s one way of looking at it.
But seriously speaking, if you want to preserve your health, then you have to control this stuff. I’m not saying don’t eat it. But there’s a friend of mine who said, Hari Haro, yeh biryani… Shadi ke daavataon ke biryani khane ki itti aadat ho gayi. Ek din agar daavat nahi rahe to, hotel sam aaya khara bol. Aizadat ke shadi hume Allah chaara ko. Pura saal kha sakte, pokhar ko. Koi kha nahi. Pohar se kha nahi zurat nahi. Loha parisan, gas nahi aari. Awaar ko zurat nahi gas ki. No, really, seriously thinking. Nobody likes that. Nobody likes to control their diet. But we have to do that.
Nobody likes getting off social media. I’m sick and tired of saying this. There is data from all over the world. Actual data. I’m not talking about opinions. That on an average, people spend six to seven hours a day staring at some screen or scoring some screen. And this is, believe me, it’s nothing to do with the youngsters. People don’t blame the youth. The biggest people on social media are people of my age. IH. Karne ko kaam nahi. Bhatne ko poor sattai. IH karnta kare de. Hai. Pura di. Forward this, forward that, forward that. So, young people, old people, all kinds of, six to seven hours. Any activity that you do six to seven hours a day is called a job. For which you should be getting a salary. If you’re not getting a salary and you’re working on that thing for six to seven hours a day, ask yourself, are you mad? Are you crazy? What’s wrong with you? Why are you doing that? Nobody is paying you. If you’re getting no benefit from it, then why are you doing that? So nobody likes getting off social media. Nobody likes the idea, I will use my phone only to call people. No, no, no. Nobody likes to invest time in building relationships.
You will be surprised the number of marriage counseling cases that come to me. On the face of it, oh, fantastic, this girl is so fantastic, long list, this is good, this is good, the boy, oh. I mean, it goes without saying, nobody marries someone if they are lousy or they don’t like them or they’re worthless. So at the time of marriage, everybody, both of them are good. Both are good. But six months later, three months later, can’t get along. Why? And some of the reasons are such that, you know, literally, I don’t know. I laugh and almost fall off my chair. I mean, this is a reason you want to get divorced? I mean, come on, man, give me a break. What do you think, you married a kitten or something or a puppy? I mean, but this is the thing. Nobody likes to invest in building relationships. Relationships have to be built. It’s not magic. Because it’s worth it, right? Nobody likes to invest in relationships. Nobody likes to learn a new language, for example. You know, how many Muslims have you heard? I want to become Hafiz of Quran. Okay. How do you become Hafiz of Quran? By memorizing. Is there some way? If there is some magic trick, please tell me. I also want to do that. You have to spend the time and memorize the Quran. One ayat a day. You don’t want to do that. But I want to become Hafiz of Quran. I wish I could speak Arabic. What do you mean? What is the wish? Nobody wishes. Nobody learns to speak Arabic or French or German or whatever by wishing. I want to learn German. Go learn German. I wish I could learn. What is the wish? Who’s stopping you? Nobody.
So the issue of saying I like, this whole issue of liking. Nobody likes to wake up for Fajr, for Tahajjud. One hour before the time for Salatul Fajr starts. Half an hour before the time for Salatul Fajr starts. Wake up. Pray two rakaat, Salatul Fajr, Tahajjud. Allah is on the first heaven. Allah is asking who is it who wants something from me. Go ask Allah. Do you have needs in your life? Is there something you really want in your life? No. Then ask Allah. Who will give it? Allah will give it. So ask Allah. Oh, I don’t like to do that. It’s too difficult. Right? Nobody likes fasting. Nobody likes going to the masjid for Fajr. Alhamdulillah. May Allah bless all of you who are sitting here. So I’m talking to the wrong audience. But I’m saying people who… Alhamdulillah, this masjid is like… Literally, you fall out of your bed in the masjid. For the people living here, you cannot possibly have it better than this. It’s impossible. Right? Still, may Allah bless those who come. But there are so many who don’t come. You’re missing out.
Because the one who prays Salatul Isha by Jama’at and then prays Salatul Fajr by Jama’at, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala gives him the reward of worshipping the whole night. Even if he didn’t pray Tahajjud, he’s getting the reward for worshipping the whole night. If he prays Tahajjud, he’s even better. Masha’Allah. Alhamdulillah. But even without that, if he just prays Salatul Fajr, Isha by Jama’at, any masjid, I’m not saying here, any masjid, prays Salatul Isha by Jama’at, prays Salatul Fajr by Jama’at, he’s getting the reward for worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala the whole night. But we don’t like to get up. Nobody likes to fast for the whole, for a whole month at a stretch. But we do in Ramadan, Alhamdulillah. I mean, Alhamdulillah, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has given us enough Iman. We love doing it also. We like doing it. But I’m saying a lot of, there are a lot of people who also complain about that. May Allah have mercy on them, right?
Nobody likes controlling their Shahwat, their passions. Nobody likes sharing their bounties by doing, by depriving themselves. When we’re given charity, we usually give things which we don’t like. Excess this, excess that, you know, old clothes, old this. Something you really like, to give that away. But Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said, Allah said, you cannot reach a level of birr, you cannot reach a level of closeness to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Until you give in the path of Allah, that which you love the most. Not anything. Not just anything. Something you love the most. That which you love the most. You just bought a new dress or something, a new, you know, article of clothing. You loved it. You went and you got it. And then you find somebody who has no clothes. Will you give that? You may give the shirt off your back because this shirt you’ve been wearing for a while. New thing. Somebody really likes something. Will you give it? Love the most.
Abu Talha al-Ansari radhiyallahu anhu, when this ayat was revealed, he came to Rasulullah s.a.w. and he said, Ya Rasulullah, I have this date orchard. And he had a very beautiful date orchard which Rasulullah s.a.w. used to go and sit there. It had a complete boundary wall. It had a well of sweet water. And Rasulullah s.a.w. used to go and sit in that date orchard. It was very thick. So it used to be cool in there. And he would go sit there on the side of the well. So he came and he said, Ya Rasulullah, I want to give this date orchard to you. Please distribute it to the poor. Sell it and give it away in charity. Rasulullah s.a.w. asked him, Why? Why are you doing this? He said, Because Allah s.w.t. revealed, You cannot reach a level of piety, a level of birr, until you give in the path of Allah that which you love the most. I love this the most. So here it is. What is the worth of that? Millions. Whole orchard of bearing red trees. Give it away. Rasulullah s.a.w. said, Sell it and distribute it among your own relatives. Now this is the hikmah of Allah s.a.w. He didn’t take it. But the point I am saying is, It’s not something you like to do, but you do it because there is benefit in that.
Similarly, nobody likes saying or listening to no. This is one of the biggest problems with raising children today. Parents don’t want to say no. Children don’t want to listen. They don’t want to listen to no. Whatever they want, give it. You don’t raise good children by saying yes all the time. You have to have boundaries. If you don’t have boundaries, you will not raise children who are good citizens, who are good children, who are good for you or good for anybody. Nobody likes admitting that they are wrong. You make a mistake, nobody likes to apologize. Yes, I made a mistake. I am extremely sorry. I apologize to you. I know it’s not easy. It’s painful. You don’t like it. But you have to do it. If you want relationships to remain, if you want people to respect you, you have to admit if you are wrong and you have to apologize.
So, of course, I can go on, but the point is made that almost everything beneficial is disliked at first. But we live in a society where you have been conditioned, to believe that what you like supersedes everything else. You like it. What you like is the most important thing in life. This is what we have been conditioned. Everyone wants to have a startup. I want to be a founder. I want to have a startup. You ask him. It’s easy. It’s one of the toughest things to do. Literally, you cry tears of blood. You decide you want a startup, you want to do that. There is no magic. Right? What you like is not the most important thing in life. We have been given this whole logic that your like or preference is a reason in itself to make something good. What is good? That which I like. What is not good? That which I don’t like. This is a complete opposite of what the reality is. Almost as a rule, I’m not saying this applies for everything, but almost as a rule, everything you dislike is good. Almost as a rule. But we don’t want to believe this. We live in a society which worships the nafs, worships the self, and has raised pampering to the nafs, we call it preference, to the level of virtue.
I define myself as this. So everyone must then treat you like that. So in this society, your like or your preference is justification for it, irrespective of what, what that does to anyone else. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala called it shirk. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said, أَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَىٰ أَفَأَنْتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ وَكِلًا In Surah Al-Furqan, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said, Have you seen that one? He’s talking about the Prophet. Allah is saying, Have you seen the one who has taken his like? Who has taken, who has taken his preference, his Hawa, his desire, as his deity, Ila, as the one he worships, Ilahahu, his Ila, Hawa. His Ila is his desire. His Ila is his liking. Allah is saying, this kind of thinking is shirk. And Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said, أَفَأَنْتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ وَكِلًا Are you going to become a wakil for that? For that person? So, this means what? Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is prohibiting Rasulullah s.a.w. from interceding for such a person who treats their likes as their God. You might say, I’m not worshipping my likes. Worshipping means you obey that in opposition to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. I like to sleep, but Allah tells me, Allah likes me to pray in Salatul Fajr, by Jamaah. I say, no, no, I’ll pray at home. So, what has happened now? You have given precedence to your like over the haqqam of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
I like to watch this kind of stuff on social media or television or whatever my, you know, fixes, but that is haram. But I like to watch it. But Allah has prohibited that. No, it doesn’t matter. I still like to watch it. You are worshipping that instead of worshipping Allah. I like to go out when I want and this and that, but my parents, my parents don’t want me to go out at that time. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said, obey your parents. I said, no, these people, they are old-fashioned people. These are, you know, they don’t know the modern world. So, I have to go. That is worshipping your desire instead of worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala called it shirk.
I remind myself and you to remind ourselves that liking doesn’t matter. Whether you like something or you don’t like something doesn’t matter. What matters is Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala likes that or doesn’t like it. Is that thing good for me or not? That is what matters. Is it good for me or not? Does Allah like it or not? The one who follows that is a Muslim. The one who follows his own like in opposition to what Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala likes, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says that one is worshipping that like, he is not worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. So, we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to help us to understand these truths and to follow them in our lives and to benefit us from that. Wa sallallahu ala nabiyyil kareem wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma’in bi rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.