The Good Person - On Honor and Dignity

Reflections from The Risale-Nur  a Qur'an commentary by Bediüzzaman Said Nursi

The Words - Twenty-Third Word - First Chapter - First Point

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Episode Transcript

UNKNOWN (00:00):
music.

SPEAKER_00 (00:22):
In a gathering yesterday, I was, we were

(00:50):
reflecting with a group ofsisters on what it means to
honor the human being, what itmeans to honor the human being.
And I like to share some of myreflections on today on dignity,

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on dignity or grace, as we callit, dignity and honor, because
it's so central in how we relateto another person, looking at
this fundamental basis, thisfoundational departure point for

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all our relationships, how weare with other people, and how
we must honor every person andevery individual, regardless of
their ethnicity, their race,their gender, their their
religion, their political views,their ideas, because it comes

(01:58):
down to really those kind ofsacred foundations.
That's a fundamental departurepoint for all engagement,
because over and over in theQuran, Allah calls us...
to honor the human being.
And this is not simply becausejust be kind or just be nice to

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everybody, but our framing, ourreligious framing starts with
the fact, starts with theQuranic perspective that every
human being, every individual,no exceptions, no exceptions, is
a sacred creation of Allah.

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And that every human being hasthe potential has the
coordinates, has been born withthe spiritual DNA towards an
inclination for good and foriman, for faith.
Please mute your microphones.
There is some background noise.

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But this is something that wehave to keep in mind as we think
of honor and dignity issues.
from an Islamic perspective.
What does it mean to honor anddignify a human being?
And why do we start there?
Looking at today's climate inevery society, left and right,

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across the ocean, in manycountries that I have
relationships and that I've beenraised and I have connections.
But in every society andcommunity, those are the never
ending issues.
And we see, especially intoday's climate, there is so
much spiritual disease and moraldisease in terms of how we treat

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one another, how we engage withone another, how we talk to one
another, how we behave towardsone another.
And for me, it really goesalways back to the fundamental
concept in the Quran or in Islamthat every human being has been

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bestowed with honor by ourcreator, is a sacred creation,
has been given dignity.
And those are inherent to everyhuman being.
That's how I encounter everyhuman being.
And that's what I need to alwayscome back to and remember myself
how to Treat another humanbeing.
Allah tells us in the Quran thathe has created us into tribes

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and nations and races.
I'm paraphrasing.
So that we come to know oneanother.
To know one another.
Not to despise one another.
This is really important.
This is so core to how to be agood person in the world.
What it means to have goodcharacter.
And how to treat somebody.

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And like I said, every humanbeing from a Quranic perspective
is seen as a potential khalifa,a vice-chairman, a trustee, a
caretaker of this earth.
So every human being has thecapacity to serve in such a way
and has the potential to be thatkhalifa, to be a caretaker, to

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be a responsible trustee in thisworld.
And to be a good person, Istarted off the series with
talking about what does it meanto be a good person?
And the good person, when wethink about the good person, is
someone who honors and dignifiesevery human being.
The reason why in Islam, thegood person, and of course, the

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Prophet Muhammad, peace andblessings be upon him, comes to
our mind, he is the embodimentof that beautiful character for
us.
And he shows us how to embodythe Quranic verse and how to
treat every human being withrespect and care and honor and

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dignity.
So much so that the companionssaid that they each felt so
beloved to the Prophet Muhammad.
They couldn't tell who's themost beloved because he aspired
and he accomplished this amazingethical ideal or amazing task.
to love everyone equally in hisspace, especially among the

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companions, that he encounteredeveryone with a smile, this
kindness, this love andcompassion, unconditional, and
not make preliminary judgmentsbased on somebody's social rank
or ethnic background or racialbackground or gender background.

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In that regard, he is ourbeautiful model to be a good
person and how to honor a humanbeing.
This is especially important,this kind of religious framing,
because in today's climate, intoday's atmosphere, sadly,
sadly, and so disappointedly,even as Muslims, we fail to

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uphold the sacred command of theQuran to honor every human
being.
When Allah says in the Quranthat he has honored the children
of Adam, that he has honored anddignified every human being,
then I can never ever debase anyhuman being, degrade any human

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being, demonize any human being,disrespect any human being.
First of all, I have to honormyself by saying Allah has
created me as a sacred humanbeing, as a responsible trustee,
as somebody who represents thedivine voice, his ethical

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commands.
So first of all, I have to honormyself.
Honor myself in saying I don'tdo any trash talk.
I don't dehumanize.
I don't mock people.
I don't insult people.
I don't disrespect people.
I don't hurt people with mywords or with my behavior.

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I do not debase people.
I do not mock people.
I do not bully people because ofthe fact that I have
internalized that every humanbeing has been given honor and
dignity, izzah and karam.
Simple, plain fact, noexceptions.

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And this is important in aclimate of polarization, racism,
aggressive nationalism,unhealthy treatment.
It's cyberbullying, mockingpeople, insulting in the social
media world, everywhere.
And I think if this foundationalperspective doesn't sit, we need

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to go back and take a hard lookwhy we are failing.
And this is not just anon-Muslim issue.
This happens within Muslimcommunities.
Degrading, disrespecting,mocking, insulting,
name-calling.
online and in person and inpublic.

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That's why I wanted to talkabout this, how we live in a
world where we are confrontedwith difference and confronted
with different views.
But how do we live up to theQuranic command that calls us to
honor every human being?
Because like I said, Allah hashonored the human being.
Allah has honored me.

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Allah has honored every humanbeing.
And to live into this truthmeans that it has to be
reflected in a prophetic way inmy own conduct, in my own
neighborhood, at my workplace,in my relationships, in the
community.

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There's so many aspects of this.
I can go on and on and on.
And for me, there's anotherverse in the Quran that speaks
to that.
And there are many verses thatAllah has honored the human
being and Truly honored becauselook just the way we are living,
how we are honored compared tothe creation.
The bed that I'm sleeping in,the food that I'm taking in, the

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clothes that I'm wearing, theknowledge that I'm being
presented.
These are all beautiful ways ofhow Allah sustains me as my
creator, but also honors me.
Look at you, I have closed you.
You're wearing silk, linen,cotton, the best.
Look at other animals.
Look at other creatures.

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They are not honored in such aregard.
They are not sleeping in amazingking and queen mattresses.
So this is the honor that Allahbestowed us.
And in the Quran, which is thisamazing love letter to humanity,
saying, for you, I have createdthe earth and equipped it with

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all what you need.
For you, I have raised the skyand sent down water, cleanest
water, purest water, the purestsoil, the purest blessings, the
best and healthiest blessingsand nourishment.
How is that not an expression ofhow Allah has honored us?
How is that not an expression ofhis love and compassion and the

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honor that he has bestowed onus?
So we can never take away thathonor from ourselves.
We can never do negativeself-talk.
or saying, I am lazy, I amangry, I am this, we should
never label ourselves in anegative way because that is
dishonoring ourselves and Allahhas not dishonored us.

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Allah has put us on a higherdegree.
At the same time, we cannotdebase and degrade others
because they are our fellowhuman beings and they are
equally endowed with thatcapacity to serve their creator.
In this section in the 23rdword, In Surah At-Teen, Allah
says in a similar vein, Indeed,we have created the human being

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on the most excellent ofpatterns.
Then sent him down to the lowestof the low, except those who
believe and do good deeds.
So Allah has created usperfectly.
He has created.
given us in the most excellentof patterns he has created us in

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the most beautiful way hashonored us in the same beautiful
way but if it's it's us whodegrade themselves debase
themselves and fall out of thathumanity we make that choice if
we want to go to the lowest ofthe low or rise to the highest

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of the high but if we go to thelowest of the low There are
plenty of examples how this ispossible.
It's possible through how wespeak, how we speak.
Do we speak honorably toourselves?
Do we speak in a dignifiedmanner?

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And how do we speak aboutothers?
How do we speak about others?
Do we make compliments?
Do we flatter them?
Do we uplift them?
Do we feel them included?
Are we inviting them to heartheir voice, to share their
voice?
Do they feel belong in a group,in a gathering?
Do we greet them when we go toFriday prayers or in a space at

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a wedding?
Or do I make an effort toconnect with people?
Do I make an effort to be inrelationship with others who
have different views?
Or do I shut down and dehumanizethem, exclude them, put labels
on them?
These are really importantthings and goes back again to
this departure point in theQuran.

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I have created the human beingin the most honorable way.
And that's a call for me not todegrade others, not to dishonor
people.
And you see that sometimes withchildren being mean to each
other and adults being mean toeach other, insulting, saying
things that are not of benefiton harming each other.

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or excluding and beingintolerant or arrogant or
judgmental.
Whereas there's so muchpotential in each of us, we
believe that Allah has createdeach one of us with amazing
skills, God-given talents,amazing capacity to flourish and
thrive and be constructivecitizens.

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But when we label each other,when we insult each other or
hurtful to each other, then wefall to the lowest of the low,
but we also disrespect Allah'screation.
It's a crime against Allah'screation.
And that's why there's so muchthat calls us to be mindful of

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really living to propheticcharacter, excellent character.
And sadly, religious people arenot excluded from this.
Religious people, myselfincluded, can fall to pray, to
judge, to insult, to hurt, oreven just making jokes about
another person and thinking it'sfunny.

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And they say, this is not funny.
It's hurting me.
Please stop.
And then you keep on doing it.
You keep on doing it and hurtingand putting more wounds.
So this is really for us thenkey to understand to be a good
person is one who is absolutelymindful of their speech, There

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are so many prophetic narrationsthat call us to be even truthful
when we make jokes about eachother or when we are sharing
humor.
So much in the tradition tellsus to not mock people, to not do
name calling, to not to insult,to be respectful.
And that also applies to theonline world.

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And sadly, you see a lot ofdisputing and debating and very,
very disrespectful ways ofengaging with one another.
And there are ways to connectwith another person, to get to
know them, because everybody hasdignity and honor.
Not to be confrontational, forexample.

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Number one thing, don't beconfrontational.
Don't accuse anybody or let'snot accuse anyone or be...
harsh in the way we relate toone another, right?
So there are ways of sayingthings honoring your
perspective, but also honoringtheir dignity.
And I see that all the time inmy work with people who come

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from different faithbackgrounds.
There are ways to say thingswhich are true, but still
respecting the dignity of theother person because they also
love their religious traditionand they love their faith.
And I choose my words wisely tonot to be confrontational, to
not to be aggressive, to notdisrespect them in any way.

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So the art of talking and theart of connecting to another
person is so important, how wename things and package things
how we present them to otherpeople, always with a tender
compassion and with agentleness.
Even the prophet Moses, Musa,peace be upon him, was called to

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go to the Pharaoh and talk tohim in which basically the Quran
tells us in a soft language,soft speech, gentle speech.
So these are all related to thistopic of thinking about what it
means to honor a human being, torespect their dignity, and not

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in private and in public, tomake sure that they are safe
from somebody's speech and notface any harm.
So here we see that the Qurantells us in Surah At-Tin that
every human being was created inthe most excellent of patterns,
Ahsan al-Taqweem.
And the first chapter, or inthis first point, Ustad

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Bediüzzaman Nursi explains howthen the human being is always
prone to progress and regress,to basically...
positive development but alsodecline but we make that choice
we decide in our intentionwhether we want to rise to the
highest of the high or we wantto be the lowest of the low and

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may Allah protect us we canalways be in a situation where
we can where we can lose faithwhere we can there's no
guarantee even until our lastbreath we should be in a
position of Fear and hope,fearing that we can lose Allah's

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mercy and always being mindfuland God-conscious believers and
acting in that regard.
And also hoping, hope, raja,that Allah will grant us in His
mercy and in His grace eternalhappiness.
So always being in the state ofhumility and hope, or fear and

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hope.
Through the light of belief, itsays here, So the light of
belief, man rises to the highestof the high and acquires a
valley worthy of paradise.
So it is true, like it was saidin the surah, in the chapter,
that it is through Godconsciousness, through iman,

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through taqwa and mindfulness ofAllah, that you are really
becoming a good person, thatyou're really rising to the
highest of the high.
Because when you are...
internalizing the Quranicwisdom, then this is how it
flows into all of yourinteractions and all of your

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behavior with others.
And you always see them,whatever they do, even if they
reject Allah and do not embracea faith and a creator, you will
always see the sacred imprint onthem.
You know, they were created byAllah.
They might you know, talk thingsthat are inappropriate or

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disrespectful, but you wouldnever still make that a
justification for wrongfulbehavior or that would never
legitimize your own wrongbehavior.
When somebody does somethingharmful or evil or destructive,
your response need to be alwaysbe aligned with this phrase of

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Ahsan al-Taqreen.
What's the best, what's the mostbeautiful way to respond?
Maybe I need to remove myselffrom this toxic situation, this
toxic environment, becausethere's no point to disputing
and debating because this personis so heated.
So then you simply removeyourself.
So in a similar vein, when weare in situations where we

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encounter people, our duty is toengage with them respectfully
and with dignity and withkindness and leave judgment to
Allah.
Leave judgment, final judgmentto Allah.
That is not our duty.
Our duty is to understand them,to know where they're coming
from, to make an effort to knowabout their context and the

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complexities and leave thejudgment to Allah.
And that doesn't mean that wecompromise on our beliefs, on
our truth, or on our principles.
But we say in this world, Allahcalls me to ta'arafu, to engage
with people, to make sure tounderstand different viewpoints,

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disagreements, and try to narrowthe gap, try to find connections
and build bridges among people,not to be somebody who divides
more and more and creates morestarker differences.
Because at the end of the day,there's so much similarity.
in terms of, in our humannature.

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Everybody carries a heart.
Everybody has a mind.
Everybody is endowed with aspirit, with a ruh.
Everybody has many of the samefeelings.
And this is where we can alwaysappeal.
And we are all searching formeaning and wisdom in the world.
And we can always connect andsay, this is how I find meaning.

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In my tradition, this is how Ifind meaning and purpose and
wisdom and how it sustains me inthis moment of human experience.
How is it for you?
Where do you find nourishmentand strength?
Where do you draw wisdom?
How do you find meaning?
We are all trying to seekmeaning in this world and we can
bring our Muslim perspective tothe table and say, let me share

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how I find meaning in thismoment or in this challenge.
And then listen how the othercomes to this.
These are beautiful moments ofhuman connection.
They are deep and they allow usAllah's rahmah, mercy is so
great that he created thisshared humanity within us.

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It's not different.
This is where I always go backand that always helped me in my
own life to find those sharedconnections.
And tawheed means to try toconnect with people, tawheed, on
the basis of oneness, on knowingthat my creator and their
creator is one, I can findpoints of connection, tawheed,

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connecting on the basis ofoneness.
And there might be cases whereyou will disagree or
fundamentally not come together,that's fine.
But then you leave withgentleness and respect and
there's always, of course,moments where the tension
remains and Allah says in theQuran come together in healthy

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ways respectful ways to know oneanother to understand one
another with compassion andrespect and leave the final
judgment to Allah because we alllive in very complex worlds and
societies it's not black andwhite there's a lot of nuance in
between but to never give up onthe human being because they

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might change, right?
And to always approach with hopeand hospitality and open your
mental space and your heart.
You know, a mantra that I liveby is, for Allah, always open
your heart, your home, and yourwallet, right?
Those are, basically, that'sessentially Islam for me.

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Always try to create thathospitable place in your heart
for people where they feel safeand heard.
and can share theirperspectives, right?
We should not feel threatened bydifferent viewpoints.
In fact, when we are confidentbelievers and Muslims, when we
are rooted in our tradition, andthat's how the Quran presents
us, we can be open to differentperspectives.

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We don't need to shut down orlive in a bubble or in some kind
of cultural, ethnic, or...
religious ghetto.
We are called to engage.
And one of the amazing thingsthat I found so illuminating in
the Prophet's life, peace andblessings be upon him, is that

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he always had this diverse groupof people around him.
He was not afraid of encounterengagement, always being in
relationship, always accessible,always present, always reaching
out to somebody he didn't know,always making an effort to
connect He was such a communalperson, whether Christians,

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Jews, pagans, non-believers, youname it.
He was black, white, poor, rich.
He was able to open hisemotional space to everyone.
And I think we need that so muchtoday in today's polarized world
and society.
where we always try to buildmore differences, see each other

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different, label each otherdifferent.
And that's within and outsidethe Muslim community, quite
frankly.
In many different societies,it's in the online world that we
sometimes lose perspective ofthe larger picture that Allah
calls us to be in relationshipwith one another on the basis of

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honor and dignity.
And we tend to, sometimes thereis the danger that the Shaitan,
and we know Shaitan was Iblis,somebody who was very devout,
very pious, practicing believer,that he became arrogant.

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I'm better than him and refusedto ask for forgiveness and
created divisions already Thisperson is different, this
creation is different, andcreating more barriers instead
of building bridges.
And through the darkness ofkufr, through the darkness of
unbelief, the human beingdescends to the lowest of the

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low and falls to a position fitfor health.
So cutting off, breaking downthe bridges, the connections,
seeing everything, everyone as astranger, as a foreigner, as
alien, as a threat.
I mean, you look at so manydifferent geographical contexts.
I don't need to name thecountries, right, here in our

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own backyard and overseas.
We always label individuals,groups as different, as alien,
as intruders, as foreigners, asa burden, as this, as a threat.
It doesn't matter what, thedynamics are the same.
The Quran presents us that thehuman being falls prone into

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arrogance saying, oh, thisgroup, these are the outsiders.
They are the ones who arestealing our resources, our
jobs.
They are the ones who are aburden and they are the ones who
are criminals and this and that.

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And this is something that, likeI said, even religious people
can be prone to.
And so we have to be verycareful and always seek Allah's
protection and have to bewatchful and mindful of our
heart, how we talk about people,groups, individuals.
And then we can fall to thelowest of the low in our speech.

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The power of our words andthoughts have incredible
consequences.
The way you talk to a person,you say something, a word, And
they don't forget it for 20, 30years.
There are many stories,experiences like that.
And one thing that really honorsa couple of strategies that we

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talked about yesterday inanother group setting was let
your words always pass throughthese three gates.
So when we talk to anotherperson, the three gates are, is
it true?
Is it necessary?
And is it kind?
Sometimes the thing that you'resaying is true, but is it really

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necessary in that moment?
And is it kind or is it causingmore damage?
Maybe it's not the right timing.
And as a believer, we alwaysneed to act with hikmah, with
wisdom in the world.
Maybe it's not the time whatyou're saying right now.
Yes, what you're saying isabsolutely true, but the person
was not ready for that to hear.

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Their context didn't allow.
They haven't reached thatexperience yet.
They were not in a mental stateto receive that, right?
And then is it kind andnecessary, right?
Saying to somebody who lookstired, who had a very rough
night and then looking at themand saying, you look really
tired.

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I mean, what is the value?
What's the benefit?
What are we adding to theconversation?
Are we uplifting the person?
I mean, the person is alreadytired.
They know they are tired.
They had a rough night.
If you say, can I help you withsomething or do you need
something?
Can I get you a cup of coffee?
You know, that might help andadding that.

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But always asking ourselves inour speech, is this uplifting or
is it destroying the person infront of me?
Is it hurtful?
Is it harmful?
Is it maybe making them feelless better about themselves?
You know, the other day I had agiant pimple on my face and
somebody pointed that out.
I mean, there's nothing to pointout.

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It's visible to everybody.
But I thought, is that reallynow helpful in lifting that and
pointing that out in public?
What happened to you having thislike disturbing pimple on your
face?
I mean, are you asking out ofconcern?
So these are just examples tolike, give you a sense of

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sometimes that we say things, wewaste words, not knowing the
impact how they have on others.
Are they having a positiveimpact, a negative impact?
Is it really necessary to saythat?
And so when I studied theseerah, the life of the Prophet,
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, hehad just so much emotional
intelligence and was so mindfulnot to waste words and to always

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say, be good or be quiet.
What amazing wisdom.
Prophetic wisdom right there,speak either good or be quiet or
be silent.
If that doesn't add value, thendon't do it.
I mean, or saying things with,you have lost weight, you have
gained weight, you look likethat, or body shaming is very

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common amongst communities.
It doesn't make the person feelbetter and it's not honoring
them either.
It's quite insulting.
It can be hurtful.
And especially for our youngergeneration to really help them,

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guide them and model that.
Less talking, more embodiedIslam instead of lecturing
people.
I mean, when you walk the talk,that already speaks such a
powerful language.
You don't need to explain much.
And nobody wants to be lecturedas less talking So less the
talking, I think, more thewalking and embodying Islam,

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letting Islam, letting yourIslam speak for itself.
And it speaks a powerfullanguage.
And then people hopefully willbe touched and moved and follow
that example.
So always trying to be even,especially speech is such an
amazing language.
human quality that nobody has wecan speak with eloquence with

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beauty with gentleness or we canjust waste words and comment on
things and and and then we needto ask ourselves is that really
honoring dignifying the personand that's in the blogosphere in
the online sphere wherecyberbullying has been very
common and a lot of youngchildren are suffering from that

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mentally.
It's so sad.
I mean, we have all thisresearch, these studies that
show that people do not honoreach other.
In fact, they add more harm toeach other.
And so being mindful of thesevery important Quranic
principles that how we talk toeach other or how we present to

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each other When I'm in a Zoommeeting and I'm distracted and
look at my phone or have otherwindows open, is that honoring
the other people in the meeting?
For me, I don't think so.
The same if I'm going to aFriday prayer and don't make an
effort to connect with a person,a new person, or try to, you

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know, dive into their world.
I don't think that honors theperson or the community.
A lot of people go into thesegatherings and come out as
strangers.
For me, these are questionsrelated to honor and dignity,
very much so.
And how, is that really Ahsanal-Taqweem?
Is this really preserving Ahsanal-Taqweem?

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Does this make Allah proud?
Is this pleasing to Allah when Igo in a gathering and don't make
space for others and otherpeople's voices?
Do I look into the room and say,I haven't heard from you,
sister.
Would you like to add anythingto the conversation?
How about you, sister?
You share your thoughts.
Or brother, would you like toadd something to the

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conversation?
And if they don't want to,that's fine.
And of course, me too.
If I'm more about feeling shy orfeeling a little bit on the
quieter end, I also still havethe responsibility to connect
and to get to know the otherpeople in the room better.
and to honor them and not leavea gathering and make people feel

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invisible.
I mean, that is also something,a reality these days where
people come in a gathering andthey didn't ask one question
about the other person or theyare two hours in a conversation,
but they haven't asked onequestion about the other person
because they kept talking.

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And I'm prone to that.
These pieces of advice I firstaddress to my own nefs.
I'm working still on myself.
So I don't want, when I saythey...
I very much speak to myself andI have to hold myself
accountable because I allowmyself.
I'm still growing, I feel, as ahuman being, but that's the

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beauty that Allah in His mercyhas given us, that we are
allowed to make mistakes, but weare also constantly called to
grow and learn and make itteaching moments.
And so Ahsan al-Taqweem andAllah honoring every person And
how do we honor that?

(37:15):
How do we honor every person?
If Allah says, I have honoredevery person, I have no right,
no justification to make themfeel invisible, unheard, to feel
them marginalized, right?
So that's a constant call thento make sure that everybody

(37:35):
feels they belong.
They have a place that they areimportant, that their voice
counts.
So we all can make a differenceand we each are called to do the
sacred work because sadly itbecomes more and more divisive
these days and more polarizedand more hateful.

(37:56):
And how are we bringing peopletogether like the prophet, peace
and blessings be upon him, whowas a weaver of communities, was
trying to bring people togetherand not to be more divisive.
If you declare that there is noGod but one God, and if you

(38:19):
declare that Prophet Muhammad isthe messenger, you are in the
club, you are under the umbrellaof Islam.
And as much as me and everybodyelse has so many sins and flaws
and deficiencies still, itcannot take away from that great
honor that Allah has given us.

(38:39):
We have different experiences,practices, but we are still
unified under that commondeclaration of faith.
And when we have that, twobillion Muslims, I mean, the
Hajj, the pilgrimage season isupon us soon.
That is always a powerfulembodied reminder that we are
one human family.

(39:00):
At the end, we are one humanfamily under Allah and that we
are all created with that sameamazing divine spirit.
That we make a commitment, apledge to each other to honor
one another, to dignify oneanother and try to transcend
these kind of spiritual diseasesof the heart, of arrogance,

(39:21):
exclusion, of indifference.
We should never be indifferentto people.
We should always be curious,always be walking with an open
mind to say, who is this personthat Allah has chosen?
is sent in front of me.
And how can I get to know thisperson?
Because Allah has created thisperson.

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Who else in the creation is themost important being, if not the
human being that Allah talks to?
If Allah talks to all humankind,how can I exclude them?
How can I shut them down?
How can I devalue them?
It's impossible.
It's impossible.
Right?
So, The Quran is a universaldiscourse to humanity, to all

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humankind, and calls us also tobe in discourse and engagement
with one another.
So to conclude, for belief, imanconnects man to the all-glorious
maker.
It is a relationship.
So when I have a firm convictionin Allah, when I have iman,

(40:26):
believe in Allah, I'm in arelationship with him.
And to serve him, I am honoringthe creation.
I am honoring the human beingbecause of him, because I want
to please him and I want toattain his love.
And so every human being is ameans, a gateway to that love,
to that satisfaction of Allahwith me.

(40:50):
And not to give up on oneanother, not to rush into
conclusions and judgments abouteach other, but always approach
each other with hope andpositive assumption, that we
always expect and assume thebest of each other.
Because Allah believes in us,right?
We remember the creation storyin the Quran when the angels are

(41:15):
curious and ask Allah, why doyou want to create a human being
that will spread bloodshed, shedblood on earth and corruption
and destruction?
Allah does not refute theargument.
Allah knows that we have adestructive capacity.
Yes, we can harm, we can hurt,we can destroy.

(41:37):
Yet he says to them, to theangels, I know what you do not
know.
This is such a powerfulstatement for me when Allah says
that.
It means that he has ultimatetrust in us.
He believes in us.
He has hope in us.
He knows us.
We have this jewel within us.
We carry some amazing potential.

(41:59):
that makes us rise to the highsof the high, to Ahsan
al-Taqweem.
So how can we disappoint himthen?
How can we live up to the I knowwhat you do not know?
Yes, there are people every day,us included, who do harmful
things, horrific things, yetthere are amazing people who are

(42:22):
also doing wonderful, uplifting,beautiful healing things.
And These people are ourinspirations and hopefully we
can be like them.
May Allah make us agents andtools of compassion and love and
wisdom and kindness andbetterment for humanity.
That people will miss us afterwe die and say, oh, this person

(42:44):
was just illuminating, healing,helped me, guided me, uplifted
me.
And that their presence is, thattheir absence is felt and that
People are yearning to be intheir company.
May Allah allow us to be thatembodiment of prophetic
compassion.

(43:06):
But yeah, those kind of thesebeautiful conversations and
dialogues in the Quran speak toour human nature that Allah did
not give up on us.
So let's not give up on oneanother.
Let's not give up on ourselves.
Let's never do negative things.
you know, self-talk or give upon ourselves and saying, I can't

(43:28):
change, I can't grow, I can't dothis, I'm unable to evolve, to
develop.
No, we can.
That's the amazing thing abouthuman nature.
We can always have, we are soadaptable, so flexible, we can
always learn and grow and leaninto some productive discomfort,

(43:50):
which is And we can do that inthe sunshine and in the
darkness, I have learned.
We will be surprised what wediscover about ourselves.
And so we should not cut offourselves from this divine hope,
from this divine trust, becauseAllah believes in us.
He trusts us.
And so if Allah says that aboutus, He knows us.

(44:11):
He's our creator.
We can see that immensepotential within ourselves and
others.
Thus man acquires value byvirtue of the divine art and
inscriptions of the dominicalnames which become apparent in
him through belief.
That's so beautiful.
Through Iman, we rise up to thehighest because we operate on

(44:32):
the basis of Allah's names.
So we say Allah lovesforgiveness.
Let me try to forgive.
Let me work towards forgiveness.
I want to show the nameAl-Ghaffar, Al-Afuf.
I want to hold on to At-Tawwab.
And so we then become more andmore forgiving with others, more
and more compassionate withothers because our connection is

(44:55):
fundamentally with Allah.
We want to be beautiful for himand he will always be the one
who will appreciate that themost because he is a shakoor,
the one who expresses utmostappreciation, gratitude towards
his servants and the one whorewards us.

(45:16):
Each one of us, our efforts, ourstruggles, our intentions,
right?
We might not be able toaccomplish the things we wanted
to do, but Allah will stillreward us for our intentions,
our sincerity, and such amazingways of encouragement.
But only when we are related toHim, when we are in a

(45:38):
relationship with Him, when weget up in the night, in the
dark, when we cry out to Him,when we...
are making efforts everywherewhere we are, where Allah has
placed us, in the family, in theworkplace, in the community, in
society.
And when we are trying to be aperson of honor and dignity, we

(45:58):
are honoring him.
Because that then means we donot disappoint him.
We always come back.
We can fall and slip, we comeback.
We seek forgiveness and we comeback.
Because guess what?
Through our ignorance, we areseeing his knowledge and wisdom.
Through our confusion, we areconnecting to his guidance,

(46:19):
al-hadi.
Through our weakness, we areconnecting to his strength and
power, al-qadir.
Through our harshness or ourwrongdoings, we come back to his
forgiveness.
So there's always ways to comeback and connect, even in our
shortcomings.
Always a way to relate to himand connect to him.

(46:42):
And then there's always anopening.
An opening for understanding,knowledge, and growth.
Unbelief, severe, so cuts offthe relationship.
And due to that severance, thedominical art is concealed.
But if I don't accept thecreator, if I reject Allah, if I

(47:03):
do not embrace a faith in him,then all of this becomes hidden.
All of this becomes hidden.
We don't fulfill our strongpotential.
We don't feel like, why should Ieven forgive?
What's the reason?
What's the holy cause here?
What's the purpose?
Why should I be generous toothers and be giving?

(47:25):
Well, because Allah loves togive and share and to be
generous in material terms andin spiritual ways.
We can say, oh, be generousbecause it's good for yourself,
but that's a wrong, unstabledeparture point.
The self...
The nafs is unstable.

(47:45):
The nafs is ignorant.
And also the nafs can leave you.
Tomorrow you have Alzheimer's.
You're moody.
You're constantly emotional upand high or low.
And it's a very unstable entity.
So not rely on the self and tryto please the self is a very,
very wrong endeavor.

(48:08):
So it's always good to focus onAllah.
and try to do everything, allour efforts with sincerity for
his sake, for his love, for hispleasure and satisfaction.
His value then is only inrespect to the matter of his
physical being.
So then you're just yourphysical existence.
You eat, you drink, you want toenjoy life, have pleasurable

(48:28):
moments, but there's no sacredvision, no sacred ideal.
And since this matter has only atransitory, passing, temporary
animal life, its value isvirtually nothing.
We shall explain this mystery bymeans of a comparison.
So I will leave it here, buthopefully that gives you enough
food for thought.

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But those are my thoughts abouthonor and dignity.
And if we are not people ofhonor and dignity, if we do not
understand this fundamentalconcept or we cut ourselves
short, out from that then thatalso a reflection of our weak
faith and we have to come backand reconsider so the good

(49:11):
person is one who acts andspeaks and thinks with honor and
dignity but also lifts up thehonor and dignity of others