Transcription
[Music] Ald [Music] [Music] for Alhamdulillah, we have reached the last two verses that deal with the advice of Luqman. Alhamdulillah, last time we mentioned Luqman. He advised his son when he said, last time he said, "Oh my son, I enjoin you to establish your Salah. Make sure you establish your prayer, your five daily prayers." And he said, "Oh my son, enjoin the good, forbid the evil, and be patient upon whatever befalls you, whatever difficulty befalls you in life." He is advising his young son, "Be patient." Alhamdulillah, we benefited from that advice last time we talked about it. Then he continued his advice. Luqman [Music] says [Music], "Why?" He said, "Oh my son, don't turn your cheek away from people." Meaning, don't look down on people when someone is addressing you. Don't look down on them in an arrogant way. Then he said, "Don't walk on the earth with pride, with arrogance." Why? Because Allah does not love arrogant boasters. You know, I want to highlight something here, something beautiful. When Luqman started advising his son, it showed his wisdom, because Allah refers to him as wise. You see, when he started advising his young son, he started with the right of Allah. The biggest thing you and I can fulfill is the right of Allah. And what is Allah's right? The Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him] asked, he asked, "Oh, do you know what is the right of Allah upon His servants?" He said, "Allah and His Messenger know best." So the Prophet [peace be upon him] responded, he said, "Oh Mu'adh, the right of Allah upon His servants, meaning you are, you are not have to fulfill this, the right of Allah upon us is [Music] what?" SubhanAllah. The Prophet [peace be upon him] said, "The right of Allah upon us is that we worship Allah alone and we never associate partners with Him." In the beginning, what did Luqman say to his son when he started his advice? He said, "The Oneness of Allah." Allah sent prophets to us to give us one message, and that message is to what? To worship Allah alone and to never associate partners with Him. So Luqman started with that. That's the right of Allah. In this advice, he's going to advise his son about the right of people, how to deal with people, good manners. The Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him] gave us a similar advice when he said, he said, "Have Taqwa of Allah wherever you are." It doesn't matter if you live in America. Have Taqwa of Allah. Fear Allah. He's watching you wherever you go. Be conscious of Allah. Then he said, "Follow up a bad deed with a good deed." Meaning, if you do a bad deed, then you do a good deed after that, the good deed, it will erase your bad deed. Then he says, the Prophet [peace be upon him] said, "And behave well towards people. Be mindful in how you deal with people. Be mindful of your character, of your manners." So Luqman, this wise man, he said, "Oh my son, oh my son, don't turn, don't look down on people. Don't turn away from people in pride." You see, sometimes we do this without even realizing. For example, let's say you are walking on the street, you're walking outside, and you see someone approaching you. Someone looks, he looks homeless, hair is messed up, dirty clothes, and you know he's going to ask you for money. You already know in your mind, and Shaitan comes to you and says, "Don't even look at them. Just walk away. Pass. Don't give them a time of day." No. SubhanAllah. As believers, we need to be humble. If you're not going to do it, just tell them, "I'm sorry, I don't have it." But don't turn away from them or rebuke them. What does Allah say in the Quran? Allah says, SubhanAllah. Allah said, "As for the beggar, as for someone that comes to you, asking for something, Allah says, don't report him, don't abuse him, don't embarrass him, don't yell at him, don't look down on him." This is the best manner we Muslims can adopt. So Luqman is telling his son, "Don't look down." So in general, if Allah gives you a high status, if Allah makes you a manager or a boss, a supervisor, a leader over something where you have to look over your staff, you have to supervise over your staff, be mindful in how you deal with them, with respect. Then he said, "Oh my son, don't walk on the earth arrogantly." Why? Because Allah, the Creator, He has no love for anyone that walks arrogantly and boasts. Allah doesn't have no love for you. Allah says the same advice to us in verse 37. Allah says, SubhanAllah. Allah says, "Oh human beings, don't walk on the earth in an arrogant manner. Your walk will never pierce the earth. No matter how big you think you are, your walk will never cause the earth to split open, and you can never be as tall as the mountain. We are nothing." That's what Allah is saying, putting us in our place. Relax. Be humble. So Luqman, he wants his son to be, to be humble in the way he deals with people, to be respectful, to be kind, and to even be mindful in the way he walks, because Allah dislikes arrogance and He loves when we are humble. And when we are humble, the Prophet [peace be upon him] said, the Prophet [peace be upon him] said, "Whoever puts himself above others, you think you're superior, you think you are better than everybody, and then you walk in the way with swagger." You know, back in the day, they used to tell us, "Oh, walk in a swaggering way." Don't do that. Walk humbly. That's what Allah loves. The Prophet [peace be upon him] said, "Whoever puts himself above others and you walk in an arrogant way, you will meet Allah while He is angry with you." He's saying, if you die, you will meet Allah in an angry state. Allah is angry with you. SubhanAllah. You and I, we make Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'in at least 17 times a day. SubhanAllah. 17 times a day, we are asking Allah, "Oh Allah, don't put us on the same path as those that earn Your anger." So we don't want Allah's anger. We want Allah to be pleased with us. So, as an advice to myself and to you, humble yourself. Walk in the normal way. Don't look down on people. Guess what? Bring Shaitan. Do you know why he became Shaitan? His name was Azazil. Allah commanded when He told him, "Oh, brush straight to Adam, the human, the fresh human being." Allah is the Creator. If He gives you a command, you say, "We hear and we obey." Who cares about our opinion? So Azazil, when Allah told him, "Shaitan, show respect to Adam," he refused. He refused. He became arrogant. And Allah says, "He, he, Allah, he became from those who disbelieve." So when Allah asked him, SubhanAllah, imagine the Creator is talking to you. The Creator is asking you, even though Allah knows everything, Allah gave him a chance. "Oh, Azazil, why are you refusing to prostrate to Adam? Why are you refusing? What is preventing you? Have you become haughty? Have you become arrogant? Do you think you're above everybody?" Guess what? He doubles down. The Shaitan, he doubles down in front of Allah. He said, "Oh Allah, I am better than Adam. You made me from fire and You made him from clay." Human beings, we are from clay and dust. So Shaitan, he said, "It is beneath me to show respect to someone You made from clay." Look at the response of Allah. That means, look, Allah is, Allah could have destroyed him if He wanted, but Allah told him, Allah told him, "Get up. You are expelled. You are outcast. And My curse is upon you all the way to the Day of Judgment." So those who follow the same step, racism, thinking you're superior, thinking your race is superior, guess what? Be careful, because Allah told Shaitan, Allah says to him, "Oh Shaitan, My curse is upon you." So if we don't want Allah's curse, make sure you don't think you're better than others. Make sure you are humble. Don't follow the Shaitan's footsteps, because Azazil was outcast because of arrogance, for pride. The Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him] said, and this Hadith is enough. If you hear this Hadith, you should make every effort to never, never fall into pride, arrogance. The Prophet [Music] says, SubhanAllah. The Prophet [peace be upon him] said, "No one will enter Jannah. No one will enter Paradise that has a seed amount of pride in their heart." A seed so tiny, you can barely see it with your eyes. The Prophet [peace be upon him] is saying to you and I, that whoever has pride, arrogance, you think you're better than everybody, the Prophet [peace be upon him] said, "Whoever has a seed amount in their heart, they will never enter Paradise." I'm not saying this. This is the Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him]. Because when you advise people with this, with this Hadith, they say, "Why are you judging me?" I'm telling you what the Prophet [peace be upon him] is saying. The Prophet [peace be upon him] said, "Whoever has pride, arrogance in their heart, they will never enter Jannah." So the, when they heard this, this was concerning. One of the, he says, one of the companions, he says, "SubhanAllah, oh Prophet of Allah, we love beautiful clothes. I like beautiful clothes. I like new shoes. Is that arrogant?" If I like beautiful things, does that mean I'm arrogant? The Prophet [peace be upon him] said, "No, that's not arrogance. He said, verily, Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty." So if you appreciate beautiful clothes, that's not arrogance. But look what he's going to say now. The Prophet [peace be upon him] says, "Pride, arrogance is what?" Two definitions. He said, "The first definition of pride of arrogance is to reject the truth, knowing the truth." Someone comes and gives you the truth, but because you think so highly of yourself, "I'm not going to accept this truth." You look down because you think you are better. So you reject the truth, knowing that's what Allah in the Quran about those that are ignorant. SubhanAllah. How arrogant is human being? Allah says, "Those who have no knowledge, those who are ignorant, they say, 'Hey, how come Allah Himself doesn't come and talk to us? Before I believe in Allah, let Him come and talk to me.'" Who are you, oh human being, like this is the, this is the status human being gets to when they become arrogant, that Allah needs to come and talk to them? As if it is not, isn't it enough that Allah chose from among us human beings, He inspired to come and tell us about His message? Well, he, that's enough. But some people think that Allah needs to come to them before they believe. So they reject the truth. Or they say, "Or let Allah send me a miracle, a sign, before I believe." No. So that's the first definition of arrogance, to reject the truth. The second definition, that's what we're talking about today, to look down on others, to look down on people. So the definition of, of arrogance is to reject the truth and to look down on people, to think you are superior, to think you are better. SubhanAllah. Allah, brother and sisters, Allah says, Allah said, "He has no love for those who are arrogant." Those who walk around on the earth, putting their chest out like this, walking in a struggling manner, looking down on others. Allah is saying, He has no love for those who have, who have in your heart. Allah protect our hearts. Allah make us humble. So now we reach the last verse. The last verse. Luqman, he said to his son, Luqman said, "Oh my son, walk in a moderate way." So after telling his son, "Don't walk arrogantly," so he needs to tell him how to walk. "Oh my son, when you walk, walk moderately." Now, Islam is not telling us to look weak when you walk like you are sick. No. Walk normal, but don't look arrogant. Be moderate. That's a, that's a beautiful advice. Allah praises the believers. Allah praises His servants. Allah says, "Allah says, the righteous servants, the servants of the Most Merciful God, the servants of Allah are those when they walk on the earth, they walk humbly." And when people that are ignorant, because people always try to get you riled up. Some people, when they see you humble, they don't like it. They want to test you. They will say ignorant stuff to you. Allah [Music] said, "When people try to entice you." There are some people like that. I'm telling you, you're trying to be good, they will come and tease you, they'll come and test you, because they want you to be riled up, they want you to be angry, they want you to yell. Don't fall into that trap. Allah says, "When someone who, when someone who's ignorant, when they come and address them, they say, 'Peace be upon you,' and continue walking." Then Luqman, he said to his son, "Oh my son, lower your voice." When you are, when you are discussing with people, you're in a discussion, he's saying his son, "You don't need to yell to make your point. You don't need to scream at people." Because guess what? He gave his son an image. He said, "Oh my son, the worst of sounds, the most annoying sound is what? The sound of the donkey." The donkey. Have you heard the sound of the donkey? I YouTube, I checked it on YouTube. It is annoying. They're just loud for no reason. That's why many people, many people attribute stupidity to donkeys. So he's telling his son, "Don't be loud like, like the donkeys. Lower your voice and talk in a normal way." SubhanAllah. Brothers and sisters, wow. The story of Luqman is a lesson for all of us. Whether you are a parent or not a parent, make sure you go to this story and benefit from it. SubhanAllah. Luqman didn't just leave his son alone. He didn't just say, "You know, inshallah, I send my son to school, my son, he must be good." No. He took his time. He called his son, sat him down, advised him. Let's all do the same thing. If you see a child on the wrong path, advise them. Don't be bullies. Don't lie. Don't curse people. Don't be rude. And advise them. Take your time. Invest your time in advising your children, because they're not just going to change. You are their first role model. Your advice to them, don't trivialize it. Your kids, they listen to you better than anyone. But you've got to be an example for them to see. Tell them about the verse of when Allah said to, and to all of us again, at the best, at the, at the front of the list, the front of the list, the highest is what? "Don't worship anyone except Allah." That's why Luqman advised his son again. Make sure you teach your children that. Make sure you only worship Allah, because that's your ticket to. You can be so good, but if you don't have Tawhid in your account, I said it last time, that has to be in your account. When you die, you have to be someone who submitted to Allah alone. So Allah says, "Don't worship anyone except Allah." Be good to your parents. Be good to your relatives, to the poor, to the orphan, to the poor. Huh? And then what's next? "And say beautiful things to people." When you speak to others, say good words. A Muslim, bad words should never come out of your mouth. Don't call people out of your name. Be humble and be respectful to everyone. The Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him] says, SubhanAllah. He said, "Allah is Generous and He loves generosity. And Allah loves the one with the best character is the best among us. And Allah loves those with the highest moral, with the highest character." Let's work on that. SubhanAllah. The Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him] [Music] said, he said, "The most beloved to Allah, the most beloved people to Allah amongst mankind are those with the best character." That in a different Hadith, he said, "The most beloved people to Allah are those that benefit others. They are helpful. They are positive influence in their society." Guess what? Luqman, he covers both of these in his advice. When he advised his son, he said, "Oh my son, enjoin the good and forbid the evil." Meaning, he wants his son to be a benefit to society. Do something that will benefit your society. Don't just say, "No, I pray, Alhamdulillah, I'm good." Do something that will help others. Even if you have to give money or be helpful, volunteer, do something for your society so they can benefit. SubhanAllah. So the Prophet [peace be upon him] said, "The most beloved to Allah are those that benefit others." And Luqman also told his son, "Don't look down on people." Meaning, good manners. Have good manners. This was his father that was clearly concerned about his son, about being from those whom Allah loved. He wanted the best for his son. So he gave him an advice. SubhanAllah. That was the last verse that deals with the advice of Luqman. I thank Allah for giving me the strength to go through all of this. Alhamdulillah. I encourage myself and you to go back to these verses and read them, reflect on them, and implement them in your life. You know, he mentioned something beautiful, and I want to, this is my last one. He said that Luqman used to tell his son. It was said that Luqman, he advised his son. This is, by the way, but it was told by a narrator that will call his son, "Oh my son." This is a beautiful advice. "When you come to a gathering," he said, "Oh my son, when you go to a gathering, you see people, a bunch of them sitting in one place. Oh my son, when you come, first say you start with a greeting. Then you sit at the edge." Look what he's saying. Don't sit in the crowd. Don't come and just push your step. He said, "Oh my son, when you come to a gathering, first you start with Salam. Then you sit at the edge of the group. Then you listen. Don't say nothing. If they speak about Allah, then stay down, then continue and stay with them. But if they speak about something else, get up and go find a different group." See, Luqman, this was a father who was concerned about his, about his son, about his son's character with people. May Allah make you and I parents that will be a benefit for our kids, parents that will be good role models. Allah guide us in our case now. Allah keep us all of us firm until the Day of Judgment. Now, Allah make us that as [Music] [Music] Alhamdulillah for.