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As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu, Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Alameen, wa salatu wa salamu ala inna lillahi wal mursaleen, Muhammadun Rasulullah ﷺ, wa ala alihi wa sallim, wa sallimun kathirun kathirah. Amma ba’du, my brothers and sisters, I’m on the Waal River, looking at the sun going down; a very beautiful scene. The waters, from where I am standing, you can see it goes into something which are like rapids, but the water is not flowing very fast. So they would have been rapids if the water had flown faster, but otherwise, it’s just water going over some rocks. Very beautiful.
There are a lot of Egyptian geese that are flying overhead. There are some wetlands here where they seem to breed, I think, and then they come to the river because the river is absolutely loaded with fish. And there are, funnily enough, even though this place is called Hippo Paradise or some such name, but there are no hippos. And there are no crocodiles. So in that sense, it is safe. And also, that’s the reason why there are so many fish. You can see ducks here on this river. I don’t know what kind of duck that is, but there it is; there’s some more coming down here.
So, very, very, very beautiful. Shama Allah. I remind myself and you that Allah gives us the opportunity to see His khudrat in multiple ways so that we can praise Him and so that we can marvel at His Creation. And we asked Allah and we said to Allah: “If this dunya, which Allah did not even praise, is so beautiful, then how beautiful must be the Akhirah and how beautiful must be Jannah.” And Allah Ta’ala described Jannah as *Jannat-in-tajni min tahti al-anhar* (gardens under which rivers flow), waters flow. And that’s the beauty that water adds to the environment. I mean, you can imagine the same place if there had been no river or even if the river had been dry and just sand. And it would not be a fraction of this beauty. But Alhamdulillah, Allah Ta’ala brought us here at a time when there is plenty of water. And we are seeing a completely different picture here.
My brothers and sisters, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala created this earth. And He sent us human beings. And He sent us human beings on this earth to worship Him. And that is what I remind myself and you to say: we need to focus on this and say, am I fulfilling the purpose of my creation? Because the reality is that everything is valued in relation to the purpose for which it was created. When something, no matter how beautiful it might be, how impressive, when it stops fulfilling the purpose for which it was created, then it loses its value. It is no longer something that is valued. It’s no longer something which has anything intrinsically beneficial or useful in it. And so, I remind myself and you, let us focus on this and say, how can we worship Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala? And fulfill the purpose for which He created us.
Just think about this, that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala created many things. If you look at the animals and birds, you can say, for example, that pigs were created to clean the environment. So, they eat refuse. And they eat filth. Now, if Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala had created us for that purpose, then we would have been fulfilling our purpose by doing that. But He didn’t. He created us for the most beautiful, the highest of purposes, and that is to worship Him, Jalla Jalaluhu. So, how much, how grateful we should be that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala gave this to us. How grateful we should be. I ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala to make us among those who are always, always the *Shakirin*. People who are always making shukr to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala. Always grateful to Him, Jalla Jalaluhu.
Now, brothers and sisters, what always strikes me whenever I am in nature is the infinite variety of nature. The same river; I was here more than 10 years ago. And that time I was also fishing, I caught a fish, quite a large yellow fish. The same river, but very different scenery. It changes with the time of day. It changes with the way life is. The way the light hits the water, it changes in so many ways. From where I am standing, I can’t show that to you on this camera, but there is a tree which seems to be absolutely festooned with large cormorants. I don’t know specifically which cormorant it is, but it’s full of cormorants. And then there are two African fishers. They are fishing eagles, which are flying overhead and causing anxiety to the ducks, which are in the water, for good reason. On the opposite side of the river, there are waterbuck, which have come to the edge of the water to drink. And I am told by my friend who owns the farm here that they swim across the river to get to the lucerne fields on this side. There is somebody here who is growing lucerne, and so those waterbuck come here to eat the lucerne. There is a whole *nizam*, there is a whole administration.
Oh wow, there is a huge grey heron that is flying across the river. I have never seen that big grey heron in my life. SubhanAllah. I wish I had my big camera. My friends always tell me, “You must always carry the big camera.” But I guess I am stupid anyway. So, beautiful, fantastic.
So, when I come here, I see this infinite variety of what Allah has created. And everything, *sabha hadhi Allahi mahti* (everything praises Allah), *sabba hadhi mahti Rabb* (everything glorifies Allah). Everything praises Allah. Everything glorifies Allah simply in its being. Simply by being there. SubhanAllah. And it glorifies Allah by actually praising in their own ways, in their own languages. The sounds they make, what they do. Those were Egyptian geese. There are two Egyptian geese which are landing. They have these beautiful white flashes on their wings. And as they fly, you can see those white flashes. This is so beautiful. I have them flying all over my head, all around.
I want to close with this. Alhamdulillah, I don’t think I said many wise things in this one, but doesn’t matter. This is something which really should just be enjoyed in silence. May Allah Ta’ala bless you. May Allah Ta’ala keep you in His protection and safety. May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with you and never be displeased. Wa Salamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.