Why the This Night is More Powerful Than You Think? Dr. Omar Suleiman

Summary

In this enlightening talk by Dr. Omar Suleiman, he delves into the profound nature of life's unexpected trials and how they can be transformative. He shares personal anecdotes and historical references to illustrate how moments that challenge us deeply are not only inevitable but crucial for our spiritual growth. Dr. Suleiman weaves through narratives of the Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Yunus to emphasize that these hardships are pivotal opportunities to realign our faith and reaffirm our connection with Allah. The takeaway is a hopeful reminder that these daunting experiences shape our path to tranquility and closeness to God.

Highlights

• Dr. Omar Suleiman shares a personal emotional roller-coaster day, linking life's illusions to spiritual growth. 🎢
• Prophet Muhammad's resilience in times of profound crisis is a central theme in the talk, serving as a lesson in patience and faith. 🌟
• The narrative of Prophet Yunus inside the whale serves as a metaphor for facing 'dark' moments with faith. 🐋
• Key insights underscore the importance of viewing life's tests as preparation for an afterlife of significance. ✨
• The talk encourages a shift in mindset—seeing every painful experience as a bridge to deeper faith. 🌉

Key Takeaways

• Trials are inevitable, and they serve as spiritual growth opportunities. 💪
• Even prophets faced severe tests that shook their foundations. 🚀
• Every hardship is a chance to reaffirm faith and reconnect with Allah. 🕌
• Reflecting on personal shortcomings during difficult times can lead to profound realizations. 🤔
• The ultimate goal is to emerge from trials with a stronger, more peaceful faith. ☮️

Overview

Dr. Omar Suleiman begins by setting the scene of an emotional day spent balancing family memories with stark reminders of life's unpredictability. With humor and humility, he reflects on his visit to NASA with his daughter, creating a poignant link between fleeting worldly experiences and eternal spiritual truths.

The talk transitions into a deep exploration of the somber yet enlightening phases in a believer's life, drawing upon the lives of Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Yunus. Dr. Suleiman eloquently discusses how even the most steadfast individuals, including prophets, faced moments that demanded a profound reassessment of their faith and direction.

Ultimately, Dr. Suleiman's message is one of hope and empowerment. He emphasizes that while life's trials can feel insurmountable, they are the precise moments designed to elevate one's spiritual status and solidify one's relationship with the divine. These trials appoint us with deeper patience and enhanced strength to navigate life's uncertainties.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction and Reflection on Death The chapter begins with the speaker expressing a dislike for being the final presenter, as it usually means the audience is tired. However, they express gratitude for the audience’s energy and thankfulness for a successful conference. They acknowledge the value of the knowledge shared at the event, wishing for its application to positively impact one's standing before Allah. The chapter ends with a prayer for divine reward for those who contributed to the event's success.
• 01:00 - 02:30: A Humbling Experience at NASA The chapter titled 'A Humbling Experience at NASA' recounts the author's emotional and eventful day at NASA. The narrative appears to relay a personal anecdote related to a larger theme, possibly tied to a deeper topic discussed in another context. The chapter starts with the author acknowledging the attendees and contributors of an event, indicating gratitude and a sense of community. The author also explains a missed talk, attributing it to their morning visit to NASA, highlighting the significance and impact of the experience.
• 02:30 - 03:30: The Illusion of Life and Hope in Death The chapter titled 'The Illusion of Life and Hope in Death' begins with a personal anecdote from the narrator who is visiting NASA with their family. The visit to NASA serves as a way to pass the time while waiting to meet someone who lives nearby. The narrator reflects on sitting in a theater that provides a history of space launches, with their daughter on their lap. This moment brings back memories for the narrator, emphasizing the theme of history and personal connection.
• 03:30 - 04:30: Beautiful Endings and Angels of Mercy The narrator reflects on the passage of time as they remember watching a movie on their father's lap decades ago. Now, in the present, they find themselves as the parent with their own child on their lap, providing a humbling reminder of how life progresses and roles change.
• 04:30 - 06:00: Reflecting on Signs and Life's Purpose The chapter reflects on the signs present in life and contemplates life's purpose. It starts with an anecdote about a person given only a few weeks or months to live, which leads to reflections on the fleeting nature of joy and happiness, highlighting life's transient and illusory nature. The speaker addresses the reader directly, ensuring that the message is not one of despair or hopelessness. Instead, they emphasize that what makes the faith ('dean') special is how it frames death. Though universally disliked and feared, death is central to understanding and appreciating life in the context of the faith.
• 06:00 - 09:30: The Battle of Uhud - A Test of Invincibility The chapter begins by discussing the concept of separation from families and how it is perceived as meaningful when coupled with belief. It emphasizes the belief in life after death which offers something more important and meaningful than the current life. This perspective encourages individuals to view the current life as a preparation for the afterlife, giving them something to anticipate, contemplate, and internalize.
• 09:30 - 15:00: The Worst Day vs. The Day of Uhud The chapter reflects on death, focusing on the contrast between those who die with faith and a sense of peace versus those who do not. Observations from witnessing the final moments of righteous individuals reveal a serene and blissful departure from this world, indicating a spiritual insight into the afterlife. The narrative highlights a specific historical or religious battle---The Day of Uhud---to juxtapose 'the worst day' with a day of significant loss and reflection, drawing parallels in faith and perseverance.
• 15:00 - 25:00: Prophet Yunus's Breaking Point and Redemption The chapter focuses on the theme of longing for a better future and the hope of a beautiful ending, as taught by the prophet. It reflects on the emotional experiences of witnessing transformations and good endings, especially in the context of life and death situations like those in an ER setting. The chapter concludes with a prayer for a beautiful ending and divine greeting by angels.
• 25:00 - 34:00: Lessons from Prophet Yunus and Prophet Muhammad The chapter explores the themes of mercy and divine acceptance using examples from the lives of Prophet Yunus (Jonah) and Prophet Muhammad. It emphasizes the importance of a blessed ending to one's life, as a good conclusion leads to goodness in the afterlife. The transcript reflects on how these prophetic stories teach us about God's mercy and the suitable conduct that can ensure paradise. The narrator aims to expand on these ideas, connecting them to the initial discussion by another speaker, She Abdas.
• 34:00 - 37:00: Strength Through Trials and Calling Upon Allah The chapter titled 'Strength Through Trials and Calling Upon Allah' focuses on the introspective nature of encountering various signs and verses in the Quran. These encounters are meant to prompt individuals to stop, pause, and reflect on their lives. It encourages them to reassess their spiritual state, direction, and life approach, questioning whether they are fundamentally correct or flawed. Reflection, in this context, is a broad concept encompassing deep contemplation and evaluation of one's beliefs and actions.
• 37:00 - 39:30: Conclusion and Prayers for Strength This chapter delves into the various forms of reflection, emphasizing that some reflections hold more profound meaning than others. It notably explores reflections not stemming from the Quranic verses but from significant, unexpected life events that profoundly impact individuals. The narrative acknowledges the inevitability of such life shakeups, indicating that no one is exempt from experiencing them at some point in their lives, thus highlighting the universal nature of life's trials.

Why the This Night is More Powerful Than You Think? Dr. Omar Suleiman Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 usually I hate going last because that's when everyone's already dead and ready to go home but mashallah you guys clearly still have some energy in you and alhamdulillah I've heard that the conference has been absolutely amazing so I ask Allahh that everything that you benefited with today that you're able to use it to elevate your status in the sight of Allah subhana wa tala and to better your situation in the Allah reward all the volunteers all
• 00:30 - 01:00 the mash all of the attendees everyone that made this event happen a mean so I actually uh subhan Allah I I I don't I I'll I'll summarize this but it is very much so relevant to the topic uh I had a very emotional day sort of a roller coaster so I I went this morning to NASA and uh that's not why I missed the talk i'll explain to you in a minute why I missed the talk i went this morning to
• 01:00 - 01:30 uh NASA with my uh with my family um to kill time because I was waiting on an opportunity to visit somebody and that time was not yet there and he lives just five minutes away from there so I had the opportunity to take my family there and subhan Allah I got there and as I sat in the first theater where they give you the history of launches and things of that sort and my daughter was sitting in my lap it struck me that I actually remembered subhan Allah being sitting in
• 01:30 - 02:00 my dad's lap you know decades ago watching the same movie and I thought to myself how time you know flies and the days switch and now I'm the parent and I've got a child in my lap and it was absolutely uh humbling to remember that right and subhan Allah I had the opportunity to visit my uncle who lives in uh who lives in Clear Lake as well many of you don't know that I have a maternal uncle that lives in in Clear
• 02:00 - 02:30 Lake who subhan allah has only been given uh a few weeks or a few months to live and I remember the days of joy and the days of happiness and that made me think subhan Allah what an what What an illusion this life is but I don't want to give you all a message of despair i don't want to give you all a message of no hope because what makes our dean so special is that it makes death though we all hate it no one likes death no one likes thinking about death no one likes
• 02:30 - 03:00 that separation from their families and so on so forth but it makes it meaningful there it's not the end we believe in something after and not only do we believe in something after we believe in something of more importance and we believe believe in something more meaningful than that which comes before it in fact we see this life as only a preparation for that which comes after so it gives us something to look forward to and it gives us something to think about and it gives us something to absorb and it allows us as we are
• 03:00 - 03:30 departing from this world and I ask Allah for you and I everyone in this room a good ending because I've seen people with good endings and I can tell you having been around people as they're dying subhan Allah being around righteous people when they leave this world is absolutely beautiful you see smile smiling you see calmness you see tranquility you see it in their eyes that they're already seeing something and you can see that they're already
• 03:30 - 04:00 longing for something that's coming next it's absolutely beautiful to see that because you know that there's something else i can see in the in the front row you're around dying people all the time in the ER is beautiful seeing someone with a good ending is something that's absolutely amazing it's absolutely beautiful and the prophet taught us to long for that and to ask Allah for it that Allah makes the best of our deeds the last of them so I ask Allah that he makes all of us have a beautiful ending he allows all of us to have a beautiful ending and to be greeted by angels of
• 04:00 - 04:30 mercy that will wrap us up in the kan of aljah of paradise with the musk of paradise and take us to the take us to the highest ranks and register us with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because verily if that time is good then everything that follows is good but the nature of my talk and what I'm going to share with you all today actually relates a lot more to what she was just talking about what she Abdas was talking about were
• 04:30 - 05:00 ayat and signs in the Quran and the signs that are to make you stop and pause and reflect and reassess everything reassess your spiritual state reassess your direction reassess whether or not your approach to life is fundamentally correct or flawed it forces you to pause and reflect and reflection is a broad term reflection is an umbrella because
• 05:00 - 05:30 there's there are a lot of different types of reflection and some reflections are deeper than others and more meaningful than others and what I'm going to address is the other side of that when it's not an ayah of the Quran a verse of the Quran but it's something that happens to you in life it's a major shakeup that suddenly hits you in life and subhan Allah it is so inevitable that everyone that thought they would have escaped it got hit with it at some
• 05:30 - 06:00 point that test that trial that's so different from every other trial and test in life you've been hit with pain you've had major major tragedies in life and you were able to power through those and you were able to say alhamdulillah and you thought because you succeeded with that test that any other test that comes to you in life you're going to react the same way you developed a sense of confidence and you see other people go through crisis and when I say crisis I don't mean crisis in regards to the
• 06:00 - 06:30 scalability of the tragedy i mean crisis in the way that they're responding to it crisis in the utter confusion that they're left in after they've been hit with that major tragedy and you go "Alhamdulillah that didn't happen to me i went through a similar tragedy and I didn't go through that and maybe Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will test you in a different way maybe you were well fortified for the nature of the tragedy that that person was going through so maybe you just really know how to deal with the loss of relatives though it's a
• 06:30 - 07:00 very difficult test to deal with but maybe you were really prepared for that and you've seen other people lose their relatives so when you lost your relatives you were well fortified but you never expected a test of another nature to shake you up in the way that it shakes you up what am I talking about she was with the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam on the day of she who was pregnant
• 07:00 - 07:30 with her first child um the mother of Anbn Malik may Allah be pleased with them both and a few other of the women of the Ansar were holding their buckets of water and they had their their their bandages and they had their their medical gear to nurse the victims of they were only a few women because they had a sense of invincibility as a community because if we won the way that we won and only lost a handful of people
• 07:30 - 08:00 then surely Surely we will handle the same way if Allah gave us victory in Badr where we will where we were less armed where we were less equipped than we are now in surely Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is going to make this easy and we're going to win this and the amount of casualties that we're going to suffer are not going to be that many so it's only a handful of women was one of them and then the Muslims start
• 08:00 - 08:30 falling people start getting slaughtered and massacred some of them so badly that they cannot be recognized except by their fingertips like the uncle of Malik and suddenly there is chaos and tragedy and we lifted our abayas there the anklets of the women showed because they lifted their abayas because they were running to the battlefield trying to nurse all of these people that are
• 08:30 - 09:00 falling dead trying to nurse all of these people that are critically wounded some women did it a little differently stood in front of the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam picked up a sword and started defending the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam but suddenly this was a tragedy that was not expected by anybody the believers had a sense of invincibility what's happening here the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam is dead that's what's being shouted out Muhammad
• 09:00 - 09:30 Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam himself has been killed the people are screaming they try to run in different directions but they're being surrounded by both sides everything has changed the nature of this battle has changed the prophet sallallah.aii wasallam did not die but he was very close he was struck in various ways in his shoulder in his face the blood was running down his face the prophet sallallah.aii wasallam fell into
• 09:30 - 10:00 a ditch and literally had a man driving his helmet into his head both of his front teeth knocked out sallallahu alaihi wasallam and he had to be carried because he couldn't even walk after the beating that he endured in the battle of and saw that she saw the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam that day she saw the hopelessness in the faces of so many people when they lost their dead she saw
• 10:00 - 10:30 hna bint running to the battlefield over the mutilated body of Muslim her husband she he saw they saw Sopia the sister of Hamd running to the battlefield and the prophet told he said go or told Zub go stop her don't let her see Hamza don't let her see her brother and she's insisting and trying to go forth and see the mutilated body of and the prophet sallallaihi wasallam
• 10:30 - 11:00 said don't let her come don't let her see it and the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam cried on the day of in a way that the companions never heard him cry when he saw the body of Hamz that was his uncle that was his brother he was the same age as him he was so close to the messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam he was so beloved to him and he was a he was a pillar in this community one of the first strong men if not the first strong man to embrace this faith and now
• 11:00 - 11:30 he's lying dead and mutilated that hurt and the prophet sallallaihi wasallam cried a lot and she remembers nursing the wounds of the prophet sallallah.aihi wasallam and the despair in the city of Medina losing all the people that they did why do I give you this lengthy introduction because I asked the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam was the worst day of
• 11:30 - 12:00 your life cuz she saw that and she could not imagine a day more horrendous than the day of she could not imagine a bloodier day a day of more hopelessness and helplessness than the day of was that the worst day of your life and the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said no it was actually the last day of it was actually the last day of those two weeks of calling the people of to
• 12:00 - 12:30 Islam and being rejected in the way that he was rejected sallallahu alaihi wasallam and being run out pelted with stones and finding himself sallallahu alaihi wasallam in a lonely place under a tree where no one else is with him and only Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sees him and hears him in a lonely place where he could not complain to anybody other than Allah where he did not have emotional support where no one cared that he was
• 12:30 - 13:00 crying the way that he was crying where no one cared that he was wounded that was the worst day of my life why did the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam bleed more on the day of than he did on no he bled more in in he was pelted with stones and words in he was struck with swords sallallahu alaihi wasallam and literally almost killed but was worse
• 13:00 - 13:30 and didn't see the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and she was too young she wasn't married to the prophet at the time she didn't know what that day was like she didn't know what that time period was like but she saw him in and just assumed that tragedy must have been the worst because that shook the community and it took away the sense of invincibility that this community at but was worse why why was worse not
• 13:30 - 14:00 because of the pain not because of the wounds but because the nature of the test of was different this was that trial that hits you so hard that it forces you to reassess and reanalyze everything that has happened up until that point it makes you look back at life all the way up until that point and say where am I going what am I doing is it worth it is
• 14:00 - 14:30 it the right thing that's the breaking point in a person's life that's the point where you you know the pressure has been building all this time i mean he was forced sallallahu alaihi wasallam in the boycott in the era of the boycott to hear the kids crying at night because they were too hungry and they were too thirsty and their parents had nothing to feed them nothing to give them he had to hear those cries every night sallallahu alaihi wasallam and Abu Jah would stop
• 14:30 - 15:00 him and say "You're doing that to your people your message is causing those children to cry that's pressure that hurts." He had to get in the grave sallallam and receive the body of and bury her knowing that what caused her death or what what what's what spurred it was the boycott that happened as a result of his message within the same three days he had to bury his uncle Abu Tal he had to see it all go down the
• 15:00 - 15:30 drain sallallahu alaihi wasallam in a matter of 10 years after life was beautiful and fine and Khadijah was smiling and Abu Talib was smiling and we were a happy family and we had nothing in our lives that would cause us any distress suddenly he's lost them all and the pressure is building but the breaking point didn't hit him yet sallallah.aihi alaihi wasallam because the prophet sallallaihi wasallam throughout all of that still knew it's worth it if I've got to sacrifice this
• 15:30 - 16:00 and that family has to go reputation has to go we have we're going to be persecuted this way he still had that resolve sallallahu alaihi wasallam he still knew it was worth it and he still had hope and determination that things were just going things were about to turn around that where I'm at right now and you can imagine if you're the prophet standing in the empty grave of Khad receiving her body that it can't get worse than this i
• 16:00 - 16:30 can't be treated any worse than the people of Mecca have treated me it can only get better from here he still had hope sallallahu alaihi wasallam there was still a sense of resolve but thaw was the breaking point because thaw seemed to be the decisive closed door that it is not getting better after this it doesn't matter who you go to with this message each and every single time the intensity of the rejection is only
• 16:30 - 17:00 going to increase and now the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam is sitting under a tree in a right around the area area of and looking up and wondering yeah Allah yeah Allah what is it what now what what's the what is the what is the manifest what is this a manifestation of is this your anger with me ya Allah what what's going to come next if I've been rejected by the people of Mecca and and I've been
• 17:00 - 17:30 rejected by the people of and I've lost my family members in the process what is possibly going to change now what comes next and is this a manifestation of your anger that moment that the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam faced is a decisive moment it's a turning point in his life sallallahu alaihi wasallam and all of us have that moment in our lives granted at a far less degree of
• 17:30 - 18:00 intensity than what the prophet sallallaihi wasallam faced but everybody gets hit with a moment like that in life a test like that in life where it's not about the intensity of the pain it's the the confusion and the wondering what comes next and what have I done up until this point where you start looking to your past and you start looking to your future and seemingly everything suddenly is subject to questioning the constants in your life that you've had up until that point your marriage your family
• 18:00 - 18:30 life your career whatever stability you had in your in your life at that point suddenly your foundation has shaken and you're wondering what now what comes next for some people it's the death of a of a family member that they really love someone that they could count on through thick and thin for some people it's I've been a successful businessman my entire life and suddenly suddenly my career is in jeopardy and I'm having to worry
• 18:30 - 19:00 about paying the bills for some people it's I've had a wonderful marriage my entire life our entire lives we used to sit and tell each other that nothing would ever happen and we used to look to other couples falling apart and say that will never be us but now you're questioning that as well and then worse than all of that is when your faith your foundation of faith is now subject to questioning and you're going "Is it all real i mean
• 19:00 - 19:30 I know I love this dean and I know I felt great when I was at the seminar and at the conference and at the class and the masjid and I know Ramadan was special and stuff but is it real or is it not real?" That type of test is the decisive test it is the crisis that almost every individual and human being will face in their lives and at that moment it's a matter of the word that you will say and literally how you will
• 19:30 - 20:00 react that will determine or whether you will come into the guardianship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala or whether you will be left to face the rest of the tests that come after that in ways that you have no help it's a really really scary moment for some people it's the midlife crisis a person reaches their strength they
• 20:00 - 20:30 reach their peak at the age of 33 then they reach the age of 40 they could look back and they could say "What have I done until now?" They could look back and they could reassess their level of religiosity and in this case what Allah mentions to us the person who reacted positively and said "Oh Allah I recognize this now i recognize this blessing i recognize the the the great burden that my parents
• 20:30 - 21:00 incurred because of me and what they've done for me i recognize that I'm at a very decisive point in my life oh Allah broaden my chest expand my horizon allow me to really recognize it from now on and to thank you and thank my parents for the blessing of Islam upon us well and it's a rededication that from now on for the rest of my life ya Allah I'm going to only do things that are pleasing to
• 21:00 - 21:30 you and oh my god I have kids I need to worry about too oh Allah make them righteous don't let them have to go through the trials that I went through don't let them have to go through the confusion and questioning that I went through oh Allah correct them i'm turning back to you ya Allah I've did I've done a lot and I am amongst those who submit that's one means of that point in life
• 21:30 - 22:00 where it's like okay reassess reanalyze and it turned out to be the right way but let's talk about this test as it comes to you the nature of that test the prophet sallallah.aii wasallam the very first prophet that he was informed about in the Quran was who anybody know the first prophet that came in the Quran mentioned to the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam was Ununice
• 22:00 - 22:30 allah mentions to the prophet sallallaham that be patient with the command of your lord don't be like when he called upon Allah subhana wa ta'ala when he was swallowed don't wait until that moment don't find yourself in that situation that found himself in to call upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and ask Allah
• 22:30 - 23:00 subhana wa ta'ala for help Had the mercy of Allah not come to him and the forgiveness of the Lord not come to him at that point where he was at then he would have laid in disgrace bare humiliated for the rest of his existence it's amazing allah subhana wa ta'ala says in the other in in the other surah Allahhana says I would have left him in the
• 23:00 - 23:30 stomach of that whale until the day of judgment he would have stayed there forever not just in the physical sense but in the spiritual sense as one who broke at that decisive moment when that point came to him and abandoned everything that he had up until that point he would have been in a miserable situation eunice would have been doomed literally until the day of judgment he would have went down as that prophet the
• 23:30 - 24:00 prophet that turned away and the prophet that died in disgrace he would have went down that way but Allah chose him and made him from the righteous what does that mean ununice faced his breaking point he had that moment where you know what I give up on you people it's that moment where you're reanalyzing everything you're reassessing there's no good in you people there's no hope in you people the punishment of Allah is coming upon you undone and he turned away from Allah
• 24:00 - 24:30 from those people he was angry with his people he's steaming it he was happy to hear of their destruction or to know that they were going to be destroyed but the problem was not that allah subhana wa ta'ala said and he thought that we wouldn't punish him for turning away then his people subhan Allah threw him off of that
• 24:30 - 25:00 ship said that ununice abandoned the dwa to the people that would save them from drowning in their kufur drowning in their disbelief and so in like manner the people on that ship abandoned him and allowed him to drown in his physical death they knew when they threw him overboard he's going to die they didn't care because they were trying to save themselves it came back to him in like manner and Allah subhana wa ta'ala sends
• 25:00 - 25:30 a whale to swallow him and he's in the stomach of that whale and subhan Allah as much as you talk about this seriously if you have to close your eyes and imagine you've just been thrown overboard you're drowning and you know as you're drowning that it's about to be over it's it's a very very you know harsh way to go right because you know that your breath your oxygen is getting less and
• 25:30 - 26:00 less you're unable to hold your breath you're drowning and suddenly you're swallowed by a whale it's a dark night says "Imagine the scene in the darkness of the night in the darkness of the ocean in the darkness of the stomach of that whale I mean where am I right now and where did I land myself in?" And you talk about a time to reassess and re-evaluate
• 26:00 - 26:30 literally in the stomach of a whale and the acids are eating away at you and subhan Allah at that moment seriously at that moment if there I mean that that is a moment to really despair that's a moment to give up that's a moment to say there is it's absolutely impossible anything good is going to come out of this and subhan Allah he calls upon Allah subhana wa ta'ala and
• 26:30 - 27:00 it's amazing he says ya Allah I'm calling you from a place I don't think anyone has ever called you from before subhan Allah i seriously doubt that anyone has ever been in the situation that I'm in right now i'm calling you from a place I don't think anyone has called you from before in the stomach of a whale in the bottom of the ocean in the darkness of the night he can't see anything he can't see anything he's just getting hit and he's disintegrating from that from from the
• 27:00 - 27:30 acid and so on so forth and he calls upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala I'm not even going to have the audacity to ask you to get me out of the stomach of this whale i'm just calling upon you ya
• 27:30 - 28:00 Allah there is no god but you subhan how perfect are you how perfect are you i am the one with the imperfections i am the one who wronged himself this was not you oh Allah i'm not bitter it was a moment of realization and what a moment to have that realization i have no complaints to you ya Allah i know that I deserve what
• 28:00 - 28:30 just came to me i know that I deserve to be in this desperate situation i'm not going to plead my case with you and tell you about how terrible my people are and what they did to me because the circumstances are irrelevant to Allah subhana wa ta'ala it's not about the circumstances it's about Allah making taking a covenant with you and you taking a covenant with Allah and you
• 28:30 - 29:00 abandoning that covenant and Allah told you he would test you allah told you he would send you moments like that allah told you he would send you he would he would send you moments that would really really burn it's not about how much it how how much it burned or what it felt like or how terrible the circumstances were allah already told you that was going to happen and you took a covenant with Allah that you would obey him and you would worship him and you would turn to
• 29:00 - 29:30 him no matter how severe those circumstances got you thought it was all good you thought based on your previous tests and your previous trials you'd be able to weather any storm but this storm is different ununice has no complaints he does not plead his case he doesn't say "Ya Allah these people are unlike any people i know had for 950 years my people are different from the people of He didn't do any of that ya Allah I messed up i've got
• 29:30 - 30:00 nothing to blame you for." Subhan I'm not bitter with you i'm not saying "Ya Allah could you have not given me that severe of a test because if you would have made it a little bit lighter then I think I would have succeeded with my people." No subhanak you're perfect you are perfect your decree is perfect your wisdom is perfect your reasoning is perfect your mercy is undeniable your
• 30:00 - 30:30 justice is is is perfect your judgment is infallible ya Allah you're perfect i messed up i misread the situation i reacted the wrong way all of that is contained within Subhanak how perfect are you and the angels hear this voice in the heavens and they say "That's a voice that we've heard
• 30:30 - 31:00 before from a very strange place the stomach of a whale." And Allah subhana wa ta'ala says "We saved him from that darkness we got him out the whale spit him onto an island he laid there he suffered the sun rose and it burned him because of the acid on his body." Ununice did not ask
• 31:00 - 31:30 to be saved eunice just wanted to be forgiven because that's the goal of life is to not disobey Allah in a way that would disqualify you from his forgiveness ununice had given up hope on going back to his people and things being all good there that was a done deal just forgive me ya Allah allah forgave him and Allah allowed him to be laying bare as the sun rose on him and his body burned and then subhan Allah he went back to his people and what did he
• 31:30 - 32:00 find all of them were Muslim all of them accepted his religion and it wasn't like 70 or 80 people like Nam at least had some followers right the civilization of Nineva in Iraq was a civilization that says that Ununice came back and found 100,000 believers he found an entire civilization of believers that were now
• 32:00 - 32:30 embracing him and accepting his message allah made the way out for him allah subhana wa ta'ala made the way out for him but it took that crushing moment to reanalyze and to reassess and at that moment if you react the way you're supposed to react what comes after is nothing but fut nothing but victories in life nothing but the help of Allah subhana wa ta'ala and perspective and
• 32:30 - 33:00 and and and the and the fortress within your heart to be able to deal with any test that's going to come after that you pass that test and everything after that comes easy in the relative sense and the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam when he faced that breaking point what could have been the end for him what could have been the point where the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam said enough of these people destroy them the prophet sallallaihi wasallam did not just you
• 33:00 - 33:30 know have the opportunity to wish for Allah to destroy them he had the angel set by Allah offering to him to destroy them he could have sallallahu alaihi wasallam said this is enough i've had enough and really broke but he didn't and subhan Allah on that day the man that came to him to serve him grapes and the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam said before he ate those grapes
• 33:30 - 34:00 and Adas said people in this land don't say where did you get that from he says where are you from he says in Iraq he said "Oh from the land of my righteous brother the righteous prophet you and Jonah you and that's where you're from." He says "How do you know?" And he says "He's a nabi i'm a ni." And then are brothers in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and how amazing the
• 34:00 - 34:30 first person the prophet sallallaihi wasallam was told about in the Quran from the Ambiat was Ununice Alisam don't give up and on the worst day of his life when any one of us would have given up Allah sends him a fruit from his brother Ununice this is why you shouldn't give up because even if those people reject their children might accept Islam and that's exactly what the dua of the prophet sallallaihi wasallam was on maybe the generations after will be
• 34:30 - 35:00 different and Allah gave it to him dear brothers and sisters my time is up but I want you to recognize the prophet sallallah.aihi wasallam says dua the dua of my brother no person in distress calls upon Allah with that dua except that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will answer him
• 35:00 - 35:30 acknowledge Allah's oneness acknowledge Allah's perfection acknowledge your own shortcomings face that test and when everything else seems to be a moving piece in life solidify yourself try to grab and hold on in those moments and remember everyone has been here before each and every single person every person faces that moment in life even the ambia of Allah even the prophets of Allah at that moment you
• 35:30 - 36:00 hold your ground you solidify yourself ask Allah for protection ask Allah for forgiveness have the right people around you to to remind you of Allah subhana wa ta'ala you need them at that time to remind you of Allah subhana wa ta'ala plant your feet firmly and inshalla everything that comes after that will be something that you can deal with i ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not to test or burden any one of us beyond our scopes i ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that when we face moments in life
• 36:00 - 36:30 where the test is so severe that it confuses us and that it shakes our core that Allah subhana wa ta makes that a means of our iman becoming stronger and firmer i ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that when we inevitably face tests and trials in life that the last moments of our lives are moments of pleasure and tranquility and satisfaction and contentment with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that Allah subhana wa ta'ala looks at us and despite all of our shortcomings and everything that we've
• 36:30 - 37:00 brought to that day Allah subhana wa ta'ala overwhelms us with his mercy on that day and for the rest of our eternity welcome [Applause]