Health
055: Trump Therapy
In this episode of the Quran for Busy People podcast, the host explores the emotional turmoil surrounding the Trump presidency, addressing feelings of anger and despair. Drawing on teachings from the ...
055: Trump Therapy
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Interactive Transcript
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You're listening to the Quran for Busy People podcast, a safe space for you to rediscover
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the simple beauty and spiritual depth of Islam beyond the headlines.
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Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
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The name of Allah, the most loving, the most kind.
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It seems like we are in some desperate need of some Trump therapy right now.
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People are like coming to me, asking me things for coaching and checking in with me how I'm doing
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and they're really angry and sad. We've got Trump PTSD right now.
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And so it's time for an intervention.
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All right, this is my couch. We're going to have some Trump therapy.
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Okay, come sit down.
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So here's the thing. I figured if we're going to do Trump therapy, let what better source
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of dealing with our feelings about the whole Donald Trump thing,
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than the words of wisdom from the prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him,
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who is the founder of the religion that Trump wants to basically ban from the country.
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I figured, well, yeah, let's do that.
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So I'm going to share like a few teachings of the prophet Muhammad,
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peace and blessings be upon him and see what kind of relevance it might have to our current day
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situation. But first and foremost, like what I'm seeing happening with people since Trump
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won the election is enormous anger and upset.
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Like huge amounts of anger and upset.
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Like how could first, you know, like your heart sinks like everybody who I who found out,
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like this is what happened to heart sinks and I'm like, no, no,
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like sadness, denial and then pretty soon just anger.
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Like how could we be so stupid? How could we let this person get elected?
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I can't believe the way racists won the xenophobes, the sexist homophobic.
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I can't believe this campaign of hate and fear actually won.
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And that brings us to our first teaching of the blessed prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,
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which is this. Strong is not the one who can win a fight.
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Strong is the one who can control their anger.
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Now you might be thinking, well, control my anger.
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Like are you stupid? Do you not see what's going on?
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The racist campaign just won.
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The people who ran on the campaign, the campaign chanting was in New York City,
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they were saying, we hate Muslims, we hate blacks.
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We want our country back or something like that.
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And these people won and you're saying, don't be angry about this.
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I'm not saying don't be angry. You can be whatever you want.
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But control your anger is the teaching of the prophet.
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Now the path of anger is not the path of Islam.
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The path of anger has never been the path of even in Surah Fatiha, the first page of the Quran
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that Muslims recite twenty times a day.
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We say, guide us to the straight path, the path of those you've blessed,
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not the path of those who have overcome with anger and who has gone astray.
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Now you might be thinking, I have the right to be angry.
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Look at what's going on around you.
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I've got the right to be angry.
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Of course you've got the right to be angry.
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You didn't need Donald Trump to get elected for you to have the right to be angry.
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You've always had the right to be angry.
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You were born with the right to think and feel anything you want.
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And yeah, there are going to be some very real consequences.
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Absolutely.
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But there's a difference between the path of the prophets,
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peace and blessings be upon them and the path of anger.
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You're not angry because of the injustices you see.
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But when you become angry, you and your response are going to be unjust.
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How many times have you already sworn out of anger?
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You don't know all of these things that are just not the path.
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The path isn't the path of anger.
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And here's another thing.
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All anger is a psychological and spiritual state.
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Anger is a psychological and spiritual state of disconnection from the divine,
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unless you are crystal clear on where it's coming from.
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And your anger does not come from Donald Trump getting elected.
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Your anger does not come from an election campaign.
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Your anger does not come from racists being winning an election.
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Your anger does not come from the xenophobic campaign.
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An election campaign doesn't have the power to cause your anger.
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There is only one source of your anger.
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And that is your psychological state, your state of mind in this moment.
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Your thought and the way you're using it in this moment.
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That is the only source of your anger.
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And the moment you're clear on that,
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we can separate out our response and our internal state of emotion.
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Because here's the other thing.
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Angers are state of mind.
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It doesn't mean you're right.
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The fact that your anger about what just happened,
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it doesn't make you a good person.
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The fact that your anger about what just happened doesn't actually help in any particular way.
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And it doesn't mean that you care about your country.
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It just means you're angry.
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It just means you've got angry thinking in this moment.
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And again, it's not the path of it.
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It doesn't change anything.
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We don't need a bunch of...
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We don't need on the left or the seven...
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Not even the left, the 75% of the United States that didn't vote for Trump.
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And the rest of the world that didn't vote for Trump.
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We don't need the people who didn't win this election to be a bunch of grumpy, angry,
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cry babies.
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That is not our path.
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That is not our path.
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What we need is to transcend the path of anger and upset and all this kind of stuff.
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It doesn't mean...
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The last thing that we need...
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We need to be more than just political activists.
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All right, we need to be spiritual activists.
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And we need to be people who are people of light.
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Are we supposed to be people of light?
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Well, there is a vast light inside of you.
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And it isn't a vast light inside every single American.
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It's just that it gets dimmed when you give into fear and hatred and anger and all of these things.
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That's exactly what's going to stop any kind of progress.
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So that was the first teaching.
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Strong isn't the one who wins a fight.
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Strong is the one who can control the anger.
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Here's the next teaching.
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You might be saying, well, how am I going to respond sensibly to what just happened?
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How am I going to transcend this psychological and spiritual defunct state of anger?
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And the answer is in the next teaching which comes from Bukhuraan.
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Prayer.
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Indeed Allah is with those who persevere.
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This is how you transcend the path of anger.
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This is how we go from our messed up psychological state to being people of
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steadfast perseverance.
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Now, the next verse of Bukhuraan is beautiful as well.
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We should actually pay really close attention to this.
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Because you might be saying, okay, all right, patiently persevere.
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I can do that.
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But people are going to die now.
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People are going to be killed.
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And that's not actually an exaggeration.
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If you're not aware of this, the chances are you're not black or a person of color
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or a Muslim.
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Because if you are any of these things, then you know that people being killed as a result
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of a racist political campaign is the default scenario.
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This isn't me thinking negatively.
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Okay, this is just realism.
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Every time a racist person gets elected,
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every time a political campaign is based on race,
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ism, and xenophobia and those types of things, people start getting killed.
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That just happens.
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It's a way.
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This is what happens.
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So you're saying, so I'm saying like don't be angry.
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You're like, well, how can the racist one, they're going to start doing this political
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campaign?
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There is now basically a mandate for 25% of the country seeing this as a mandate to be
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overtly racist.
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I've already had half a dozen reports of Muslims who have already faced physical attacks.
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Half a dozen.
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It's not even been a day.
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So yeah, there is going to be racist attacks.
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And they may well be violent.
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You know, there's a TED talk recently by Suzanne,
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called Islamophobia killed my brother.
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This is a real thing.
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Now let's listen to what the Quran says.
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The very next verse.
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La-tuk wa la-tukulu li-man yukta lu.
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Fisa-bil Allahi amwatan.
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Bal Ayayun wa-lakin la-tasharun.
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Do not say of those slain in the way of Allah that they are dead.
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No.
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They live.
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But you perceive it.
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Not.
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and the next verse and we will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of
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wealth and lives and fruits but give good tidings to the two, we're busher, we're busher
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is sobering, give good tidings to those who are patiently persevering. And who are those people
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when disaster strikes them they say in Nalilahi we're in Na'ilahi Rajun and by the way
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disaster and calamity did just strike the United States of America but there are ones who respond
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to anger and heedlessness and there's ones who respond by saying in Nalilahi we're in Na'ilahi
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Rajun every believing Muslim the minute someone that they love dies before there's even an expression
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of pain and out anger and everything the minute someone dies what do they say in Nalilahi
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Rajun. Ula ika ula and this is beautiful now Ula ika alaihim salat umrabhihim wa rahmah
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wa ula ika humul muhtarun they are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy
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and it is those who are rightly guided. So that was the next teaching now you might be saying well
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okay all right we've got to be patient people are going to do crazy things there's going to be
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violence but and now you might not face like violence on the level of people getting killed you
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personally but probably everyone who is Muslim in the United States and everyone who is a person
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of color is going to face some kind of abuse and how do you deal with that when you're walking down
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the street and someone racistly ignorantly insults you because of your religion or the way you
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look or anything like that and there's more wisdom from the Quran to answer this because this
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isn't the first time it's happened by the way in all of human history there's more there's more
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which is how do you respond when people are ignorantly insulting you. You should ask the Quran says
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wa ibad or rahmah the servants of the most loving are those who walk gently on the earth
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and when the ignorant insult them say salam and in another place when the ignorant insult you say
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peace and turn away in the most beautiful manner that's the path of the prophets that's the path
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of guidance now you might be saying well i can we really do this can we really expect the average
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person to respond like this well yeah i you're not the average person you're a person of light
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you're a spiritual warrior you're a Muslim or you're a every american right now needs to live up to
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this standard because it's the only way your country is going to survive this tumultuous period
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so how do you you know we might if you're asking yourself like can i really do this is this too
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tough is this path of light too tough for me and here is the response to that from the Quran
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here it is i want to i don't want to mince my words i want to get this right
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rabbana la okay is this path too hard for us that's the question and the responses
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la yukali fall la hu nafsan illa wasaha la yukali fall la hu nafsan illa wasaha Allah
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does not burden a soul with more than it can bear this isn't too tough for you this is exactly
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right for you this is exactly what Allah wants from you right now
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la hama kassab and now listen to the rest of this because it's a beautiful prayer this is the
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the the the last teaching from the Quran i'm going to share with you la hama kassabat wa alaiha maktasabat
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so think about this Allah does not burden a soul with more than it can bear
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let me get this right Allah does not burden a soul with more than it can bear it will have what it
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earned a hama kassabat wa alaiha maktasabat it will have what it earned and it will get what it
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deserves rabbana la to acha dina in nasina or ahtana our lord don't take us to account if we've
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forgotten and made mistakes and by the way america you did fall into forgetfulness and you did make
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mistakes everyone watching this video who didn't vote that was forgetfulness and negligence
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that was a really big mistake and there's a consequence of that mistake but this isn't about
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who won the election this is about your relationship with the divine that's what's going to bring you
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all of us back our lord okay rabbana la to acha dina in nasina or ahtana rabbana or a ta'am al al alayna
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is franka maha ma'lahu ala l-adina minkabalina our lord do not lay upon as a burden like that which you
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laid upon those before us and who are those before us who face the similar burden of the most powerful
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person in the land being racist well it just happened in the 20th century it was the people
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that do not lay upon as a burden like those they laid on those before us those before us are the
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Jews in Germany and by the way in case you hadn't realized it the way people talk about Muslims
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today is worse than the way they talked about Jews in the 1930s Germany right so think about where
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this path leads if we don't step up our lord do not lay upon as a burden like that which you laid
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upon those before us rabbana la to hamilna ma'lahu ta'am alana abit our lord do not burden us with more
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than we can bear wa'afu anna and pardanas wa'afir alana and forgive us wa'ra hamna and have mercy on us
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antamulana you are our protector fansurna al al-qaum al-kaafirin so give us victory over the people
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who have just fallen into denial so finally i'm going to share with you something that shehaamza
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use of shayda is a beautiful teaching from the prophet peace and blessings be upon him who was
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sent as a mercy to all of the worlds he said peace and blessings be upon him just listen carefully
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to this let this sink in oh community of muslims roll up your sleeves for the matter is momentous
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prepare for an imminent journey gana provision now as the journey is long
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lighten your loads for before you is an ascent most steep only those traveling lightly will bear
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its climb oh humanity before the last hour comes you will see wonders vast tribulations and
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difficult times darkness will prevail and foulness will take the forefront those who enjoy right
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will be oppressed and those who condemn vice will be suppressed hence strengthen your faith for
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that time and cling to faith as you would clench on for dear life flee to righteous deeds and
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force yourselves to perform them flee to righteous deeds and force yourselves to perform them
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be patient and persevere during the difficult times and you will eventually arrive to eternal bliss
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so these are the words of our beloved prophet peace and blessings be upon him
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i may not be able to travel to the USA for a while but you can let this message travel through the
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USA feel free to share it far and wide if you're in the USA my heart is with you my presence with you
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you are the light there is a vast light inside of you it's not the light of the darkness of it
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anger fear you know these that's the path of the dark side everybody knows that Yoda knows that
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if you've ever seen Star Wars these are the path of the dark side but there is a there is a light
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inside you it's the light of suburb perseverance the light of love is inside of you and it's inside
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of every single American that's what can let you prevail through this really tough time it is
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you don't you don't you can't fight darkness with darkness be the light and the darkness can't
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exist in your presence someone is evil to you don't respond with more evil respond with goodness
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that's the path of the prophets peace and blessings be upon them that's the path that's demanded of you
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um spread this message far and wide if you are doing a hutba a friday sermon tomorrow feel free
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to take anything that i've just shared and use it none of these ideas of mine they're all coming
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from Allah and his messenger may the peace, love and blessings of Allah be with you and take care
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of yourself and those you love and hold on tight to your connection with Allah because that's the light
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may the peace, love and blessings of Allah be with you always if you'd like to know how to
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implement these spiritual teachings in real life discover how to master your knuffs and fulfill
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your potential by taking the knuffs mastery assessment go to www.mamun maam oon usuf yusaf.
Topics Covered
Quran for Busy People
spiritual depth of Islam
Trump therapy
Trump PTSD
teachings of the prophet Muhammad
control anger
path of Islam
psychological state of anger
spiritual activists
Islamophobia
patience and perseverance
responding to ignorance
servants of the most loving
light inside you
spiritual warrior
Allah's guidance