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(soft sound)
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- What is your name here?
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And what do they call
you on the other side?
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We spend so much of our lives
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trying to build a name for ourselves.
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From a young age, there's
this desire to be remembered,
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to make sure that when people mention us,
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it's with admiration.
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Psychology even tells us
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that your name is actually
your strongest stimulant.
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Everyone wants to hear their name.
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Think about how excited
people get to see their names
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get honorable mentioned
by their favorite star
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or on their favorite show
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or on some sort of plaque or certificate,
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but have you ever thought,
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"What's my name with Allah?
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What's my reputation amongst
all the angels all around me
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and the souls that have gone before me?
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Is it possible to actually
have a different name there
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than the one we have here?
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Do I have a title in
front of my first name?
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Or maybe a quality in
place of my last name
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that they call me by?
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And when do I find this all out?"
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(gentle sound continues)
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(vocalizing)
(dramatic sound)
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(chimes tinkling)
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In one of the du'as
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of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam,
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he says about Allah's names.
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as'aluka bikullis'min huwa lak
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sammayta bihi nafsak
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aw anzaltahu fī kitābik,
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aw `allamtahu aḥadan min khalqik,
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aw'ista'tharta bihi fī
`ilmil-ghaybi `indak,
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"I ask You, O Allah,
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by every name that You
have named Yourself,
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or every name that You
have revealed in your book,
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or every name that You have taught
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to any one of Your creation,
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or every name that You
have kept onto Yourself
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in the knowledge of the unseen
that is with You alone."
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Meaning there are names that Allah has
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that perhaps He has taught
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to another creation other than us.
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Maybe His angels know Him
by other names beyond.
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And there are names that Allah has kept
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in the unseen that He has called upon
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that we still don't even have access to.
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So, we know Ar-Rahmaan, Ar-Raheem,
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but imagine the many beautiful names
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that we haven't even heard yet.
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Our Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi
Wasallam also had many names.
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He said, inna li asmaa.
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"I have several names.
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I am Muhammad.
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I am Ahmad.
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I am al-Maahi."
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The eraser by whom Allah erases disbelief.
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And "I am al-Haashir, the gatherer."
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At whose feet the people will be gathered
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on the Day of Judgment.
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And, "I am al-Aaqib, the last."
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After whom there will be no other Prophet.
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And in another narration,
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he said SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
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wa nabiyyu tauba, wa nabiyyu rahmah
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"I am the Prophet of repentance.
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And I am the Prophet of mercy."
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Now, some of these names
were given directly
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to him by Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala, like Muhammad and Ahmed
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but other names like
as-Saadiq, the truthful one,
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or al-Amin, the trustworthy one.
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These were earned
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throughout his remarkable life
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
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with his blessed character.
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Allah says about Yahya,
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the son of Zachariah 'Alayhi Salaam
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ismuhoo Yahyaa lam naj'al
lahoo min qablu samiyyaa
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"I have named him Yahya,
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and that name was not given
to anyone before him."
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This was a glad tiding,
both of Yahya's character,
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which would be defined by Haya, modesty,
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as well as a glad tiding that he was going
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to be a Shaheed since Yahya means life.
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And the Shohada are Ahyaat
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The martyrs are alive.
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But those are prophets.
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What about the rest of us?
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The Prophet SallAllahu
'Alaihi Wasallam said.
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Ma min abdin illa walahoo seetun fis'samaa
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"There is not a servant of Allah
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except that they have a "seet,"
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which means a name or a
reputation, in the heavens.
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Now, the first
manifestation of that hadith
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is definitely referring to the
reputation you have because
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the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi
Wasallam went on to say that,
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"If you have a good
reputation in the heavens,
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it descends to those on Earth.
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And if you have a bad one in the heavens,
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it also descends to those on Earth."
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But what if that reputation
doesn't just come
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with the name your parents gave you,
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but the name your deeds earned you?
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There's a beautiful story
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about Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz Rahimullah
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that gives us
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some incredible insight into this.
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Umar radiAllahu Anhu says that,
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"One night I saw the Prophet
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
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in a dream in a green meadow,
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and he said to me,
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'You're going to take charge
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of my ummah's affairs,
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and when that time comes,
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do not spill the blood of the people.'"
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Fainna ismaka fin naasi Umar,
wasmuka indhAllahi jaabir
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"For your name among the people is Umar,
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but your name with Allah is Jaabir,
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which means one who mends
together and brings comfort.
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And SubhanAllah as far as
human names are concerned,
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being jaabir, which is one
who brings comfort as a leader
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is the opposite of being a
jabbar, which is a tyrant.
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But think about the implications
of this dream for us.
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Umar was already named
Umar after his grandfather
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in hopes that he would
be like him, and he was,
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but then Allah puts him in a situation
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to where he could unlock another name.
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And sometimes, Allah
will put you in a place
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to where you can unlock a new level
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or a new name for yourself as well,
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but you have to earn it.
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As for the name your parents gave you,
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it's only as good or bad as
what you actually do with it.
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How many Muhammads in the world
today act like the complete
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opposite of the man they were named
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after SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam?
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You could be named Abdullah,
the slave of Allah,
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but actually be known
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as what the Prophet SallAllahu
'Alaihi Wasallam said,
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Abdul-dirham or Abdul-dinar,
the slave of wealth.
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There was once a tyrant
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who wreaked havoc on Medina in the past,
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and his name was Muslim ibn Uqba,
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but you know the people
actually called him Mujrim
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instead of Muslim, which means criminal.
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Abu al-Hakm, the father of wisdom,
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was the original name of the man
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who became known by his rejection
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as Abu Jahl, the father
of ignorance instead.
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On the other hand,
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you have Abu Bakr As Siddeeq
radiAllhu ta'ala anhu
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who earned the title
As-Siddeeq, the Man of Truth,
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because of Islam.
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But you have to put yourself
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in the school of sidq,
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the school of truthfulness,
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in order to earn that name yourself.
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So, the Prophet SallAllahu
'Alaihi Wasallam said,
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"A person continues to manifest truth
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Ya taharas sidq
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until he's written with
Allah as a siddeeq."
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Think how long you work on
Earth to earn a PhD or an MD,
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or some sort of other title.
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It takes time and effort to earn a name
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or title in the heavens as well.
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And how beautiful to even
have your name mentioned
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so frequently with praise in the heavens.
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And that's why the Prophet
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
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"Mention Allah often."
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"Do dhikr often."
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He said, "Verily, among
what you remember Allah by
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is His tasbeeh, His glorification,
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His tahleel, the
declaration of His Oneness,
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and His tahmeed, which is praise."
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And those athkar then go and
circle around the throne,
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buzzing like bees with the mention
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of the one who said them.
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Would one of you not like
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to constantly be remembered this way?
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You see, the more good you
do, the more mention you get
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by Allah with all of His
perfect, beautiful names
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calling you by your most beautiful names.
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Allah says 'Fadhkuruni `Adhkurkum'.
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"Remember Me and I will remember you."
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And if you make mention
of Him to yourself,
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He makes mention of you to Himself.
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And if you make mention
of Him in a gathering,
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He makes mention of you
in a greater gathering.
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And if Allah mentions your
name with praise there,
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it really doesn't matter
how much your haters
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mention your name with disdain here.
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No matter how much they
called him mudham'am,
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he was always Muhammad
Sallallhu Alaihi Wasallam.
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Always praised, no matter what.
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And just like there's envy on Earth,
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there's envy in the heavens as well.
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Iblis became jealous
of Ayyub Alayhi Salaam.
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Why?
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Because his name kept getting
mentioned in the heavens
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because of how righteous he was on Earth.
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But that doesn't always
have to be a prophet
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or someone well known.
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Kam min mashhur fi al'ard
wamajhul fi asamaa'
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wa kam min majhul fi
al'ard maroof fi asamaa?
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"How many famous people on Earth
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are nobodies in the heavens.
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And how many unknown people on Earth
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are celebrities in the heavens?"
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But what if you're not spoken about here?
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What if you're a, quote, unquote, nobody?
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Know that it doesn't
matter who knows you here
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if you're known there.
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As Umar radiAllhu anhu
said to a man who returned
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from a battle and
started to list the names
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of the casualties, the man says,
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"After all these well-known names,
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and there are a bunch of people
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that Ameer al-Mu'mineen doesn't know."
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And Umar radiAllhu anhu wept and he said,
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"And what does it matter if
Ameer al-Mu'mineen doesn't know
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them so long as Allah knows them?"
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So, what's your name in the heavens?
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And how much are you spoken
about right now in that world?
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What if your name is Farooq,
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the one who distinguishes
between truth and falsehood,
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because you're ushering in
truth in an age of propaganda?
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What if your name is
Adil, a man of justice,
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because you're striving for justice
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in a world of oppression?
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Or what if they call you
Tahira, which means pure,
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because you refuse to be stained
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by the sins of indecency and oppression.
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What did the headlines about
you read in the Barzakh?
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It's not impossible to find out.
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Look at every good and
evil quality in the Qur'an
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and ask yourself which
one describes you best.
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Okay, but beyond our own introspection,
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when will we know what
our name and reputation
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is over there?
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Well, first, you find out as you live.
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It was said to the Prophet
Sallallhu Alaihi Wasallam,
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"What do you think of a
man who does good deeds
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and people praise him
for those good deeds?"
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He said Sallallhu Alaihi Wasallam,
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Tilka ajiloo bushral mu'min
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"They're early glad
tidings for a believer."
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And then your Janazah comes,
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where the witnesses of the Earth testify
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to who you were here.
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If today was the date of your funeral
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and people were speaking about you,
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what quality would everyone mention of you
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that's actually true of you?
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Because the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam said,
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"You are the witnesses of Allah on Earth."
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Antum shohada'ollahi fil ardh
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Then after your Janazah,
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your soul gets to hear it for itself.
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When we die, we will be
called by those nicknames
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based upon what Allah knew of us
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and informed the heavens about us,
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and then the witnesses of the
heavens, being the angels,
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will speak with those names.
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The Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam said
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about the good soul as it ascends,
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that they will not pass
by a group of angels
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except that the angels would say.
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Ma ha'dhaa ar-roohi tayyib?
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"what is that sweet-smelling soul?
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And the angel carrying you will say,
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"So-and-so, the child of so-and-so."
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And they will call you
by ahabil'asmaai' ilayk,
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the most beloved of nicknames to you.
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On the flip side, if it's evil,
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the Prophet Sallallahu
'Alaihi Wasallam said
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that they will say,
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"What is that filthy scent?"
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And the angel will say,
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"So-and-so, the child of so-and-so."
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And they will call it by
all of the worst nicknames.
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So, who are you really?
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When you were born, you had a
spiritual birth certificate.
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And instead of male or female,
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it said you would be sa'eed
or shaqi, blessed or wretched.
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And now, you have a
spiritual death certificate,
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and it says tayyibah or
khabeethah, pure or filthy,
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based upon all that your soul accumulated
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during its time on Earth.
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And that's the name that
matters most at that moment,
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not the name on your tombstone,
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but the reservation under your name
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on the other side of that stone.
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But before your soul
fully enters your grave,
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is there a way to get a preview
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into what that reservation
holds for you on the other side?
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La'alleee a'malu saalihan
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feemaa tarakt;
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kallaa innahaa kalimatun
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huwa qaaa'iluhaa
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wa minw waraaa'ihim
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barzakhun ilaa Yawmi
yub'asoon (Quran 23:100)
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