Jumu'ah Khutbah: "Don't lecture our youth! Listen, be positive, support and mentor them. Ask Allah (swt) to 'untie the knots.'" (Surah Taha 25;28) - Imam Tarif Shraim - September 6, 2019

We praise Allah, we praise Him, we ask His mercy, we ask His forgiveness, we ask His permission. And we believe in Him and we trust in Him. And we seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. And we seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the gracious, the merciful, I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship and adoration, prostration and remembrance except Allah, the Creator and Sassanah of the heavens and the earth and I bear witness that Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam is his final messenger. Your brothers and sisters, a week ago last weekend, we had the blessing of being able to take 60 young people. Youth, college students and young adults, myself and also brother Munir who lived here, we took 60 people to Eastern shore on a retreat. And subhanallah, those who have always been in my life, very powerful experiences. You're able to spend a couple of nights, three days with young people and just be with them. And if I were to stand here and just share lessons and insights, I could be staying with you for years. But I wanted to just summarize a couple of things because I think as parents and as adults we need to hear and listen. If there is one lesson that came out that speaks of the common experience, the common stories we've heard was that these young people are craving belonging. They want to feel safe and that they also crave support and encouragement. And they're listening here. They're overwhelmed by life, by its stresses. As one of them said, if I were to count the number of things that I have to change in my life, to change me, it's hopeless. And just for them to be in that retreat where they have that presence of mentors, for many of them they've left with tears, left with tears. And it made us really wonder, what else should we be doing for young people? I want to capture this with a letter that I received from one of the retreaters. We spent, you know, Alhamdulillah, I had a personal relationship with him for years and he comes actually here. He's a youth mentor as well. And he went on, masha'Allah, to accomplish incredible things in his life. He sent me a long letter. I'll keep it to myself. Very long letter, three pages. It's still in my car right now. And I just want to quote something he said that baffled me. He wrote to me, thank you for being haroon for me. I'm like haroon. I was kind of, I was a bit confused by that. He said, thanks for encouraging me and sharing my task of pursuing and making an effort to become and live my best version of myself. And he went on to say, to celebrate Allah's praise without a stint. And remember, Allah without a stint. I'll leave the rest, insha'Allah, between me and him. I wanted to comment on this. I was so moved by just his reference to haroon. I said, what did you talk about? And I reached to the Quran right away. And I opened the chapter in Surah Taha looking at a dua that I know I've learned when I was five years of age. But perhaps there was more in it that I didn't see, that this young man came to open my eyes to. And within it, we find this incredible dua of Prophet Musa (as) to Allah Azza wa Jalla. Pay attention. We know this dua. But there's something at the end that this brother referred to, haroon. In what context? Musa (as) when Allah commissioned him to go up in Sera'un and invite him to Allah and tell them to free the people, the children of Israel from his stranglehold, from his persecution. Musa felt overwhelmed. Felt overwhelmed by the stress of this, but also by the enormity of the task. How am I going to be able to talk to this tyrant? I'll be killed. It's a hard task. And he already felt constricted in his heart. Here comes life. All of us are going through it. Young people are going through it. Stressful and overwhelming. Overwhelming. What did he say? He understood the way he needed help. He turned to Allah, the one he was speaking with, and he said this. He said, Here's what I need right now. Life is hard. It's constricting me. I feel my heart beating, racing. And you know when you're stressed out and you feel it in your heart, you can't do anything. You can't even speak. You feel overwhelmed and the stress hormones are all over your head and they slow you down even. They make you frantic and incapable of even thinking straight. So he understood no one can calm my heart about Allah so that I can move forward in life. Ya Allah, calm my chest. He said this. Ya Allah, calm my chest. Expand my breast. Facilitate my task. He understood no one has power but Allah. Ya Allah, empower me. I can do this on my own. Who amongst us can do anything on their own? Can you really bear the tasks of life by yourself? I would even really see that it's only Allah that can back us up. But then turn to Allah and say, Ya Allah, I'm overwhelmed. I'm overwhelmed. You're the source of all strength and might. Back me up. I'm overwhelmed. He said that. Ya Allah, expand my chest. Calm it down so that I can talk to this man. And facilitate my task. And then he said, untie the knot of my tongue. He had a lisp. And one would wonder, it's like, why would a prophet be sent as a prophet, one of the best five prophets of Allah? The top five and yet struggle as a messenger who needed to speak. Ya Allah, took away from him clear articulation. How many of us complain and say, oh, only if I had this, only if I had that, I would have been successful. Ya Allah, why did you make me sick? Ya Allah, you know I want to help people. I want to be good. Why Allah did you hold well from me this and that? Musa could have had every excuse to say, ya Allah, all things you took away from me, you took speech. But I'm a messenger. Let it, leave it to Allah, subhan Allah. Allah will show Musa how even with an incapacity like this, where he needed his own tongue, you will be among the best of messengers. Because it's not in your words and in your articulations. It's with Allah and your trust in Allah, don't put up excuses. He was done with this, but then he stopped the dua. And this is what this brother was saying. He said, thank you for being Haroon. I'm like, what is Haroon? He says next, because Haroon is a figure we don't often hear much about. We hear Musa but not Haroon. He says next this, how would I succeed in this mission? How can I conquer my struggles in life? He said, wajahalli wazira min ahli haroon aakhri, ushdud bihi azri, wa ashrikhu fi amli, kainusabbiha ka kathira, wa nadkuraka ka kathira, innaka kuntabina baksira. He didn't stop. He said, ya Allah, I don't talk about us. Ya Allah, bring me Haroon as my aid. Strengthen me with my brother Haroon. Strengthen me with my brother Haroon. Haroon, I need him in this. I can make it on my own without Haroon next to me. And ya Allah, join him with me in my task. Join him with me in my task. But then he stated why. What's his ultimate goal? What does Musa want to do? Serve Allah. He had a spiritual motive. It wasn't to accumulate wealth. It wasn't to, you know, get more and more in this life. It wasn't for his own personal gain. He understood we are here to remember Allah. Can I remember Allah on my own? Most of us know what we need to do, but we struggle with it. I expressed that at the retreat. We had an easier time remembering Allah. We know we needed to remember Allah, but what was it easy? What were people crying out of joy? Young people, because they were together. And they were in a safe space. And they had people caring for them. So they found Allah. Musa said it. He said ya Allah, bring him to me so that we can remember you frequently. Without a stint. That was in the letter. Without a stint. And that we can remember you without a stint. He understood even my remembrance of Allah, my ability to turn to him. I can make it on my own without someone to aid me and strengthen my back. I need others around me. Brothers and sisters, this movement. This movement when you see these young faces of people just seeking that aid in their lives. Just seeking that listening ear that doesn't judge them. Someone to be in their presence that shows them that concern. You know what's that called? Mentorship. Mentorship. You and I need it. It's not just for young people. But young people are the future. What are we without them? What are they without us? You and I desperately needed Musa (as) said I needed that source of encouragement in my life. And yes, a mentor. And yes, a teacher. We all seek teachers in our lives. We all need mentors in our lives. But we ourselves have this opportunity to become mentors. You and I need that aid. Life is overwhelming. It breaks people's backs. It makes us cry at night and grieve. We are always one that someone to listen to us and see the pain. See the pain. To encourage us. To counsel us when we go and have a complaint. We always want to dump what is in our chest. Right? We want to complain. It's good. We need someone to listen. We need someone to see us. We need someone to see our goodness, our potential. We need someone not to compare us to others all the time. Isn't it true? We need someone with someone as this brother said to me in the letter to help me struggle in realizing the best version of myself. He saw a best version of himself. He understood he is somewhere in life. And I have a dream of becoming someone better. How do I get there? He said to get there I need someone to help me. Who said it? Musa (as) said it. He said Allah grant me Haroon. So this brother is saying thank you for being Haroon. Subhanallah. Are we Haroon's brothers and sisters? How many of us hear the cries of people around us? Closest to us in our lives. And especially young people. They are crying out for Haroon's in their lives. To just be there. To give them that attention. To hold their hands. Help them guide their steps in life. But what do we do? What do we typically find? Do we find those mentors in our lives? And right now in business they tell you cannot even make it in business. To succeed in your profession you need someone to mentor you. The best of CEOs on earth had mentors. But we are talking here about something much even bigger. Not to just navigate life. But as Musa said to make me even remember Allah. I need a mentor. I need someone to inspire me. Bring the best out of me. Make me feel good about myself. But what do we find? You and I when we are struggling we find egos. We find people out there closest to us that want to fix us. Right? That see us how you are hoping for somebody to see you as great. As having potential. But they tell you those bad things you have done. Bad, bad, bad. You are bad. Right? How often have we heard this message? How often have our children heard this message from us? You are awful. You are terrible. You angered Allah. How dare you. This and that. Laundry list of mistakes that we have for them. All the time and we are reminding them of this. So we are telling them you are pretty much defined by your flaws. You are nothing but a bunch of mistakes. So we constantly have others around us seeing us as mistakes. Flaws as errors as shortcomings. How do you feel about yourself when people look at you as you are a mess? And I want to fix you. And they give you the sense that they are your teachers. I am more than you. I am here to teach you. So you better listen. I am the wise one. You automatically feel like you don't even have a chance. I am not even good enough. And you feel an automatic disconnection when you see someone looking at you that way. Talking down to you like that. Just with a bunch of words lecturing you about how bad you are automatically. You know what we do when we do this? We break people. We disconnect them from us. And you will not be able to grow. In fact, we might end up reinforcing their flaws. Because that's all they think about right now. We are telling them your story is that you are a mess. So imagine a young man, young woman sitting in their beds repeating that story in their heads. I am messed up. I am messed up. I am stupid. I am horrible. Well, I heard it from young people at the retreat. Some of them said, "When I look at the mistakes that I have done because people, my parents, this and that remind me of them all the time, I feel I have no chance. I am already out. Why should I even bother? Why would Allah listen to me right now? They are done. They break away. And they want to belong. They want to feel safe. They want someone to hear them and see them and say, "I believe in you. Here I am for you." All they need is probably a power on the back. And someone to listen. Musa needed it. And he needed Haroon in our lives. And I always ask, how many of us are seeing this opportunity? And we are looking for people around us to help us in our growth. But are we there to help them in their growth and understand what they need? Young people will not listen from somebody lecturing them and telling them, "We are going to fix you." Young people will listen when they see a compassionate presence that cares. That they feel a connection with. Somebody who spends time with them, they vote it to them. Because they deserve it. They deserve it. Someone who sees them as a gift. The best thing that a mentor can bring is not to see young people as they are. Or anyone. You can be looking at me as who I am right now with my mistakes. I can be looking at you the same way. But can you see me? Can I see you as who you can become? As the gift? As light? As light that Allah put in you? As unique? That you are unique. You are different than Him. Sisters, you are different than each other. Your children are different. They are meant to be here. That you are able to see their growth, their potential. That thought, you know what? Young people see it. Because their insights, their intuition, people understand when you really wish them well. They really get it. You know when you look at somebody and look at that? This tasteful, bitter look. Checking them out. Top to bottom. They get it right away. You are judging. You didn't even see me as good. They can read it without you saying a word. But then when you look at them and you carry that intention in your heart, of wishing them well, of seeing them as being unique and good, Wallahi, they will read it without you saying a word. And they will be inspired by it. Because they will see your care. Allah made our hearts speak to each other. And they need that connection. They need that connection. How many countless souls are there? How they are broken? Because there is no one to listen to them. No one to see them as a potential, as a gift. And to say you deserve my attention. And you deserve my presence. I am here to help you. Mentor you. Because you deserve it. Where do we find the wisdom of this? Within our prophetic tradition. We find it in our faith, in the Quran. Listen to Allah when He describes Himself in His beautiful attributes as Rahman, as compassionate. As Al-Hadi, the guide. As Rashid. One of the names of Allah is Rashid, the one who shows people their way. Allah is interested. That's His priority. To grant us the potential that then steers to help us realize those potentials. It doesn't leave you alone. He's a Ra'u. He's so compassionate and caring. He never leaves you. He's constantly pushing you. Steering you. Counseling you without even knowing. Sends you people in your way. Listen to you. He hears you all the time. Why? What does that say? Allah cares. Allah wants to see you grow. Allah describes Himself as Al-Wasir, the encompassing one. You know this name of Allah blows my mind the way. Al-Wasir. Nothing can encompass Allah. He encompasses everyone and everything. You know what that means? No one is left out. We are the ones who want to throw people out. Allah says, "No, no, no. Throw them in." I created them. Every single one of them. No one is left out and everybody belongs. And if you can just only turn to Allah, or have someone point them to Allah, they are automatically encompassed. We are already swimming in the ocean of the mercy of Allah. No one is left out. Where did we come up with this version of faith? That looks down on people. That throws them out. That judges them. Did Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) do this? Here's what Allah said about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) How he is indeed a mentor. A healer and a mentor. You and I have that capacity. What does He say about them? When He reminded us of the gift of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) He says, "The qadijaakum rasulum min anfusikum ajizun aleyhi ma aleykum." "Hareesun aleykum bin mu'minina rahoopun raheem." He says, "Let me remind you, Allah states it. Last couple of verses of Surah Al-Tawbah, "Indeed, verily there came to you a Prophet from you. He's not an angel. "He became an angel with his character, but he's not made of the substance of angels. "A human being like you from within you." Why did Allah say this? He's saying he's someone you can relate to. Can we relate to young people? Let me ask you a question. When people look at us, they say, "Ah, I really can't connect with you." And how many of us cannot connect with others, nor can others connect with us? Because we're always, as I said, talked down to them. We want to advise them and lecture them, but they never see any relevance. And we're telling them because we're not listening. You cannot build connections with people you cannot relate to. And how do you get to know someone? You need to listen to them to know them. The whole idea of getting to know means I have to sit down and listen. And I have to see you as worthy of my time. So Allah's reminding us, I did not send you angels. If Allah sent us angels as mentors and teachers, none of us can connect or relate to them. They're talking here, we're talking here. You have not gone through our pain. So Allah says, "I'm sending you someone who has gone through your pain." Someone you can identify with so that you can now fall in love with them and connect with them. Because when you connect, you can now listen and grow. You cannot lecture people, brothers and sisters. I can be standing right here right now and lecturing day and night. That doesn't mean it can reach a heart. Lectures are easy. Words are easy. Time is where it's at. Connection is where it's at. That's worth the world. And that's the hardest work. So Allah's saying, "I sent you someone from you to relate to you." So that you can relate to them, build a connection so that he can see that he cares for you and you can follow him and then grow to become your best. There has to be a relationship. Allah's saying this. He didn't send ages. So he's telling us that's a gift. Then he described his qualities. He says, "Azeezun alayhi ma'alitum." He says, "It grieves him that you're facing any difficulty." The Prophet ﷺ carried a heart that cried for him. He looked at everyone. He lost sleep over people. Because he wanted them to become the best, to grow, learn Allah. He didn't want them to hurt themselves. So can you imagine now crying when we think of young people? How many of us cry at night? "It's about Allah." What have we done? Have we been present for them? Well, that's when I was looking and just thinking of the gift of last weekend. Sixty people were lost sent. "Are you someone from here? Are you right here? Young professionals from here?" Subhanallah, what a potential that is when we speak of the future of this Ummah. Our future. Subhanallah, the Prophet ﷺ, if he was amongst us right now, he would be crying. Arabian desire to help us. He would lose sleep over our problems. Your problems will become his problems. Can you imagine having that heart? It grieves him. Allah is describing him. "Azeezun alayhi ma'alitum." He's so keen over you, so concerned over you. That's Allah's description of him. Concerned for people. Concerned for everyone uniquely. Are we concerned for people individually? But then understand what it needs to help them. Not our way. Our way seems not to work. It's sending people away, pushing them away. It's all ego. It has a lot of ego and harshness to it. That's not what Allah's saying here. He continues on. "Azeezun alayhi ma'alitum bil mu'minina ra'ufu rahim." With the believers, all of them, without exception, he is compassionate, ra'uf, merciful. That's what he brought. And Allah said, "That's from me." I made your heart. To become the best mentor, the best teacher, you have to carry a heart that is so compassionate, so merciful. That means he feels the pain of everyone. He's thinking about everyone, night and day. He's thinking of how to connect to them. The Prophet ﷺ never gave advice the same way to two people. He understood each person. And understood that if I gave you this other advice, it might end up hurting. He met everybody where they are. But that means he knew everyone. He spent time with everyone. He didn't just give generic advice to people. We'll spend another time, insha'Allah, another lecture, insha'Allah, khutbah, on just advising how to give it. Wow, that's wisdom. "Ra'ufu rahim." Allah says, "It's from me." That you have such a gentle heart. And without it, people will break away. And they'll be left alone, and they cannot grow. In another verse in Surah Al-Abraham, Allah says, "Relating, drawing our attention to a battle, the battle of Uhud." Let me tell you what happened in the battle of Uhud. The Prophet ﷺ, you know, the believers were meeting Quraish, you know, life-defining battle. So the Prophet ﷺ put some archers on the hill. We know the mountain of the archers. You've seen it when you've gone to Umrah. He put 50 people there. He said, "Protect our backs." We're going to be fighting here, in this field. And even if you see us dead, don't come down. Clear instruction, don't come down. Cover our backs. Even if the battle is over, and you see birds eating, our bodies don't leave. So the battle started, and subhanAllah, the ayat al-ad-dhuza Mecca, Quraish, started retreating. So the people on the hill were excited. And they saw the Bury, and they're like, "What do I want to miss out on the Bury?" It seems that the battle is over. They forgot the command of the Prophet ﷺ. Life blinded them. They said, "Let's come down." They're leader, Abdullah. He said, "Don't go down, don't go down." The Prophet ﷺ was clear. They said, "No, no, no, the battle is over." They came down, 50 of them, most of them. Most of the fifth, except few. Khalidun Walid, who was leading a battalion on horses, saw what was happening. He said, "Let me outflank. Go from the back." Because everybody is off the mountain, and I can now attack from the back. So he encircled the believers from the back, outflank them. And indeed came down, attacking from the back. Quraish sees this, they come back. And guess what happens? 70 companions get killed. 70 companions, including the uncle of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Hamza, got killed. And because of that mistake, the battle was over. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ almost got killed. What do you do there with these 50 people there? They cost the lives of 70 people. They cost them Allah's. The Prophet ﷺ himself was almost killed. Can you imagine the anger? Here's what Allah told him. This is recorded in the Qur'an. [Arabic] What a beautiful instruction and wisdom from Allah. He says, "It's out of the mercy of Allah that He gave you a merciful, gentle heart." This time, they just cost the lives of 70 people, cost us to lose this battle. What do I do Allah remind him? I gave you a heart that is so gentle. This is what you need right now. So forgive them, make dua for them that Allah forgives them. And you know what? On top of this, invite them to be part of the discussion. Wow. You know when somebody is really messed up? He says, "Okay, I forgive you." I'm like, "Okay." But they're still feeling down. They're like, "I really messed up here. How can I ever become better?" Thank you for forgiving me. But they know inside, that's it, they're done. How do you bring them back to believe in themselves? You say, "What do you think we should do in such and such?" You're saying you're asking for my opinions? Me? Stupid me, right? When you ask people for their opinion and invite them to be part of the discussion, it gives them hope. Believe in themselves. Allah told this to Prophet Muhammad SAW. He said, "It's out of the mercy of Allah." He said, "I gave you that heart. Without it, you cannot connect with everyone." Then he told him, "Walaqun ta-fadbal ghalid al-qalbi l-anfaddu min-ha'udi." He gave him an alternative. He said, "If you're harsh, if you're critical, you're going to judge them or look at them the wrong way. If your heart is thick, they're all going to turn away." You need to be there to build relationships and connections. Otherwise people will leave, will leave the faith. Allah is what we're witnessing. Because we're not present with gentleness. When you find yourself to be so gentle, so merciful, to wipe the tears of young people, listen to them, or anyone around you. But I'm drawing attention to young people just because of this experience I just had, right? When you're doing this, it's from Allah. Allah gave you that heart. And that's what endears others to you. There's no way to endear others to us. The Prophet SAW was connected to everyone. Everybody is in love with him. Why? Even the tree. Because of what? Because of his gentleness and incredible care and concern for everyone. Because of that quality and people's thought in him. He was human too, guys. He wasn't putting on a facade. You know sometimes we pretend like we're perfect, everybody else is messed up. Now when a young people is looking at you and you're putting on this facade, they can't see you, any similarity between you and them. And you're not vulnerable, meaning that you're not sharing your pain. They're not going to relate to you. Prophet Muhammad SAW never felt shy to even cry to say, "I'm having a hard time." You know why? To remind people, "I'm like you. I understand your circle. I'm struggling myself." When people see this, they say, "Oh, it's like me." Wow, that's empowering. He was human. Human. No facades. Allah's mentioning this in the Qur'an. We ask Allah Azza wa Jalla enable us to see our potential to be mentors and to empower us to help and empower others around us, including young people. [Arabic] Today, we're talking about an enormous loss that Allah gave each and every one of us. We're meant to be here on this earth in the presence of ours, not by ourselves. Even the faith journey is meant to be a communal journey. We can't make it on our own. We cannot remember Allah on our own. That's what we have even in the messages. It's really ultimate about mentors, to mentor each other. It's not just a bunch of people who are the designated mentors. Allah is saying, "You are a mentor. You call to Allah." But how do you call to Allah? You cannot call to Allah. We love learning deen and learning instructions. We can talk to a lot of people. It doesn't work. Even prophet Muhammad SAW was taught like this. Allah gave him a gentle heart, compassionate, caring heart. He made him love everyone around him, to lift up everybody, walk the tears of everybody. He saw everyone as worthy, not through their mistakes. He didn't define them through their flaws. Who gave him that? Allah. If Allah has given you that sense of compassion, care to see yourself as a mentor, and also to see how much people around you need you to touch them, to smile on their faces. Some of us say, "Well, I don't have the skills of becoming a mentor." You don't need anything. You need a smiling face. You need a mind and a heart that sees the words of everyone around you, especially young people, to validate them. It doesn't mean everything they do is right. No, neither are we doing everything right. To see that you need to be vulnerable in front of them, make them see that they can connect with you, be present, devote time, investment. What an opportunity and a gift Allah turned you and me today. Into people who see this as a gift of Allah. That when somebody, a young person crosses my path, even if they're silent, they have a story to tell. And they're craving connection with Him. The one that supports, the one that encouragement, the one that haroon. Musa needed it. How about you're a my child? They need that love that the Prophet ﷺ dispense to everyone. They need that forgiveness. They need someone to not lecture them. You know when we always, you heard him saying, people will not remember what you said to them. But what will they remember? How you made them feel. How do you make people feel around you? When they see you and come across you, they feel lifted, encouraged, feel good about themselves, feel hope or like, "Oh, I'm done." Some of us brothers, sisters push people away, literally with our faces. The Prophet ﷺ smiled all the time. He says, "Can't you do that? Can't you make dua for someone?" Instead of looking at this child, say, "Oh, messed up." Say, "Ya Allah, guide me." Ya Allah, make me a means of lifting this person. Wiping their tears, ya Allah. Ya Allah, soften their hearts, soften my heart to love them. O Allah, brothers, this is dua for them. Care and time, which is not easy. That's mentorship. That's what a successful teacher is. And all of us, Allah put us on earth to be teachers. To learn and help others. Our teaching is not lecture. You and I are mentors. What a gift from Allah has sent. What a gift from Allah has sent. Our children are calling for this process. They're craving it. And before we lose more of them, and before we lose our faith, and they lose their faith, Allah's summoning us. All the time to remember this beautiful message of Musa Alayhi Salam, "Waj'ali wazeera min ahli haroona." Ya Allah, strengthen my back with haroon. And we need haroons in our lives. May Allah make us haroons. Our children, our parents, our friends, our community. No one comes across us. Except to say that, you know what? You cared about me. You cared about me. Allah makes us among the helpers who care. Who wipe the tears, who put smiles on the faces of young people. Who become a means for them to find Allah. Who become a means for them to remember Allah frequently until the last breath in their lives. May Allah make us a source of guidance, a light for others around us. May Allah illuminate our hearts. We understand his wisdom. May Allah make our hearts compassionate and merciful. Like Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Allah makes us among the helpers who care. He makes us among the helpers who care. May Allah make us a source of guidance, a light for others around us. May Allah make us a source of guidance, a light for others around us. May Allah make us a source of guidance, a light for others around us. May Allah make us a source of guidance, a light for others around us. May Allah make us a source of guidance, a light for others around us. May Allah make us a source of guidance, a light for others around us. May Allah make us a source of guidance, a light for others around us. May Allah make us a source of guidance, a light for others around us. May Allah make us a source of guidance, a light for others around us. Allahumma wa rehmatullahi wa barakatuh. Shalwa ila illa Allah. Shalwa anna wa barakatuh.