FR… Three aspects of health

https://youtu.be/HoSt3sN4jDM Auto-generated transcript:Alhamdulillah Rabbil Alameen. Wa Salatu Wa Salamu Alai Sharafi Al-Anbiya Wa Al-Mursaleen. Muhammadur Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Alaihi Wa Sallam. Tasleeman Kaseeran Kaseera. Famaa Baadu. I'm in KBR Park, where I come every day to walk five miles. And this is a young peacock. He's just molted his tail. He's waiting to get his full feathers. Beautiful bird, as you can see. I want to remind myself and you that the reason I do this walk is because I'm concerned about my physical health. And when I'm concerned, it's not because I'm worried or something, but because... It is important to be concerned about your physical health. And as you grow older, you don't grow stronger. You... It's the opposite. You grow weaker. And if you don't take care of yourself, then the price to pay is very painful and severe. So I do my best to take care of myself. The best way to do that, hands down, is to walk... five miles a day. And that is what I try to do. Now, the point I want to make here, as far as Khatera is concerned, as far as Fathir Bantar is concerned, is that just as we are concerned about our physical health, which we should be, we should also be concerned about two other things. One is our mental health. And the third is our spiritual health. These two are equally, if not more important than physical health alone. Mental and spiritual health. So the question I want to ask myself and ask you to ask yourself is, what is our plan for that? For better mental health? And better spiritual health? So just as walking five miles a day is a great exercise and the best exercise for physical health, then reading one book a month is the best exercise for mental health. It doesn't matter which book you read. It doesn't matter whether you enjoy... book or you don't enjoy the book. It doesn't even matter whether you understand it or not. As a matter of fact, ironically, a book that you don't understand, a concept you don't understand, but which you struggle to understand. So, say, for example, if you are not a, or if your knowledge of mathematics is like mine, then reading a book on mathematics I would consider it to be, for example, a refined method of torture. But that is better for me, for my mental health, than reading something, you know, a children's, a book of stories for children or comics or something. Because the struggle, the mental struggle that you have to undergo to understand something you don't understand is what generates brain cells. It is what creates new neurons. So, even though it's painful, or rather maybe because it's painful, because the same thing applies for physical health. Any exercise we do, whether it's in a gym or whether it's this walking and so on, the first sensation is pain. Without exception, the first sensation is pain. And it's only when you go through that pain barrier, when you can break through the pain barrier, that you reach a stage where you get what I call a state of grace, where now you enjoy the exercise. Not that you enjoy the pain, because the pain goes away. Then there's no pain. Then you're just enjoying it for the sake of enjoying it, and it's wonderful. But to get to that state of grace, you have to go through a state of grace. You have to go through the barrier of pain. There's no other way to do that. Similarly, as far as spiritual health is concerned, once again the same thing, which is, we have to go through the barrier of pain. And the barrier of pain happens primarily because we don't understand the value of spiritual health. In the words of the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamoorthy, he said, it's not a sign of health to be profoundly adjusted to a sick society. It's not a sign of health to be profoundly adjusted to a sick society. And one thing for sure, we today, globally speaking, are a very sick society. We are not just sick, we are very, very sick. And the pressure on us, always from everywhere, is to get adjusted to that sick society. So, this is the problem. This is something that we have to come to terms with and say, that I will not adjust to the sick society. And the fact that I am not adjusted is not a bad thing. It is a sign that my heart is still alive. It is a sign that my spiritual health is still worth salvaging. It is a sign that I have not yet been corrupted to the point where I just accept whatever is happening in society. And may Allah forgive us, you know, maybe I fall into the group of people who not just accept it, but who contribute to it. They make the society sicker. Take, for example, the issue of ostentatious spending or luxuries. It's not just a matter of saying, I have the money so I can spend it. No. The question is, if you have the money, what are the choices that you are making? People like to blame God, blame Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for the misery that we find ourselves surrounded with in this world. And we ask this question and we say, if there is a God, why is this happening? If there is a God, why is it that there is so much misery and why are there orphans and why are there people who cannot have access to medical aid and why are there homeless people and why this and why that? And the answer is very simple. And the answer is that it's happening not because there is a God or there is no God. It's happening because you, Mr. or Mrs. Somebody who has money, who has power, who has authority, who has the ability to bring about positive change, you are not using that ability. You are not doing anything. The money that you have was given to you as a trust, but you are just misusing the money, using the money as if it's your personal property and you're using it to fund your own luxurious lifestyle, instead of using it as the trust that it was and making sure that people who are in need are served. Now, obviously, nobody is talking about that. It stops you from living a good life by all means, but there is a difference between a good life and a life that is ostentatious. That's the unfortunate thing that we seem to have to point out to people. So, spiritual life. So, now the beginning of spiritual life is to recognize Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That there is no one worthy of worship except the one who created everything. And that we worship Him for the joy and pleasure of worshiping Him. As one of the Salafi Salihin said, be content that you have been allowed to come to His door. That you have been allowed to hold His threshold. Be content with that. Be content with that. Like the thing which I mentioned yesterday, the Badu Arab, he makes this dua and he says, it is enough for me that you are my Rabb. It is enough for me. It is enough for my contentment. It is enough for my Waqar. It is enough for my status and stature that I am your slave. And that it is enough for me that you are my Rabb. That you are my creator. I don't need anything else. And he said, you are, he is saying to Allah, he says, you are just as I want you to be. So make me just as you want me to be. How beautiful is that dua? You are just as I want you to be. So make me just as you want me to be. How beautiful is that dua? And that is why also as I mentioned yesterday, in yesterday's khatira, as the Nasheikh says, he said, when you stand on your musalah, consciously say this, O Allah, this salah, is for you. I know salah is for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but to remind yourself, actually say that in so many words, O Allah, I am praying this for you. My brothers and sisters, this is the secret. This is the secret of spiritual health. To consciously do, to consciously worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Consciously. Deliberately. Not because it's a habit, not because it is farz, and not because if I don't pray I will be punished. No, all that is true. All that is true. If you don't pray, if you deliberately leave even one salah, you exit Islam. But don't worry about that for the moment. Consciously ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And say that I am worshipping you Ya Rabb, because I love you. Because I want you to be pleased with me. Because I want you to be pleased with me when I meet you. This is the purpose of salah. So, spiritual health comes from this and with this. More inshaAllah later. Wa salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Al Fatiha. Al Fatiha.