976.    (As mentioned) If you oh Muslim, consider yourself as ‘plucked and saved’ from between those who have been damned to perdition, then you will thank Allah and take your life more seriously at every moment.

977.    One reason why al-Ghazali (RA) is called Hujjatul Islam is because he was a living proof of the transformative power of spirituality in Islam directly upon a person’s life.

978.    (As mentioned) Ask Allah to make your dreams Islamic, rather than frivolous or erotic (it seems a simple matter, but is very serious about showing where our hearts are, because we sometimes think our dreams are an escape to sins in the back of our minds, we should never consider them as such).

979.    (As mentioned) Why is the story of Musa (Alayhi as-Salaam) and Fir’awn repeated over and over? One hint may be that people will face tyranny until the end of the world, so how they deal with it and how they spread the message while this tyranny obstructs them is something they have to be prepared for.

980.    People may criticize Abu Bakr (RAA) for waging war versus those who didn’t give Zakat, but consider, how often do rulers literally fight for poor people’s money, in any way whatsoever?

981.    There is a lot of Jam’ in Aqeedah matters in the coming of Islam. For example, we say Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) is the last and perfect exemplar, his life of 23 years being a vast repertoire of what to do in various circumstances.

But some ask, what about Isa (Alayhi as-Salaam)? Well, he was the Maseeh, but his scope and function were different, he (Alayhi as-Salaam) fulfilled what he had to do, and his mission as ordained by Allah was shorter and not as encompassing. Meaning the Prophet (ﷺ) encompassed and went further than the mission of ‘Isa (Alayhi as-Salaam). This is how the matters are joined together, and this is a point of belief for the Muslim.

982.    Why is it that people trying to implement Islam in a society get into so many problems? One reason is that the pursuit of lofty goals is always fraught with obstacles and trouble. While there cannot be a ‘Utopian Islamic society’, even the attempt at such the best approximation of a society will not exist without its opponents doing everything possible to derail it.

983.    (As mentioned) So many people talk about freedom, but consider that paradoxically in today’s world, it has become more like being free to be in debt from the cradle to the grave, which is a different type of “slavery” (sure, debt has always existed, but its ubiquitousness is much more visible today than ever before).

984.    Our deeds don’t get us into Jannah, but they show Allah that we are desirous for it, and Allah will give us Jannah through His Mercy. (This is not a strict theological statement, but it is made for us to be desirous of Allah and of following His Commands).

985.    Interesting issue about Shiaism and Taqiyyah: they say it is about warding off threats when oppressed. But the truth is, one is oppressed whether in the minority or opposition and out of power, but in power as well there is a great danger of being overthrown, especially when the Shia propagates a strictly dynastic system (which is basically one strike, they’re out)- so lying for political need can be justified in the former instance, but it can also be justified in the latter instance- in both cases, there is no way to know, as per the Shia religion, whether their “Infallibles” are saying the truth at all, starting unfortunately from the Prophet (ﷺ) himself, may Allah save us from such principles and their logical consequences.

986.    Change is often spearheaded by young people who take themselves seriously, and by those who aren’t popular when they promote their views – even if this change and appreciation is realized later. Think of Malcolm X, who really was not popular or liked during his time, plus he died young, yet today his views and his person are more appreciated than they were during his own time.

987.    (As mentioned) Khutbahs are meant to be about personal improvement and communal improvement, not about highlighting this alleged spying ring or that Zionist plot, etc. Consider that in the Prophet’s (ﷺ) time, there were many political problems, many real plots taking place against the Ummah’s very existence, yet the Prophet (ﷺ) did not spend his Khutbah talking at length about the Jews getting together with Makkan pagans, or Byzantines and Persians spying and plotting versus Madina – no it was about bettering one’s self, recital of Ayahs of the Qur’an, and so on. The plots against Islam and Muslims, while often real, can still not be a reason to divert our attention away from what we are obligated to do at all times.

988.    (As mentioned) What do we glean from the first Ayahs of Surah 23? That we should be on our prayers, then a number of things related to society and inter-relational aspects, but again we should be anchored to our Salat. End of story, since the personal obligations take precedence over activism.

989.    We should be on the look-out for opportunities at promoting Islam not only through normal Da’wah but also at taking thoroughly Islamic positions regarding events where non-Muslim parties are suffering (because there is a lot of suffering, Islam has things to say about it, but keeping silent does little either for us or for the problem at hand).

990.    (As mentioned): We don’t know what benefits there may be for Muslims in the difficult outer realities we are now witnessing. Analogy is made to the case of the Mongols’ invasions of the Muslim lands and the latter Mongol Empire – yet a number of their chieftains and their domains eventually did convert to Islam and have remained Muslim down to our time.

991.    (As mentioned) Don’t underestimate or forget the capacity of centers of power to infiltrate groups which are against their interests (example is of government efforts to infiltrate peaceful civil rights movements about 50-60 years ago, and it continues to this day with many Islamic organizations). Besides, this has been an issue within Islam from the time of the Prophet (ﷺ) himself, nay even before that with ‘Isa (Alayhi as-Salaam) and other Prophets (Alayhim as-Salaam) as well.

992.    (As mentioned) Consider, the Muslim is always versus drugs and versus terror, but we need to know, under what paradigm or context/narrative are peoples being targeted?

Previously, it was in the context of a war on drugs or war on savages, today it is the war on terror, and besides, just like drug use has not ended after 30 or more years of war against it, a war on terror will not eliminate terrorism, this much we can count on.

993.    We have to recall and remind ourselves that we need first and foremost spiritual likeness between our Muslim brethren working towards the common goal of Jannah, and after that we can talk about political, social, or economic solidarity with other peoples, otherwise we have gotten the issue backwards.

994.    (As mentioned): Don’t be so naïve as to blame Muslim shortcomings solely on Euro-American shortcomings (or try to make an analogy to their condition, in a way validating their supposed “superiority”). Rather we should hold ourselves to a higher standard, simple.

995.    When we talk about justice or due process within the current legal codes, we have to keep in mind that there are tons of loopholes or deals that can be struck in order to circumvent the straightforward procedures. Even informants many a times come forward in lieu of circumvention of their formal legal or financial issues, through totally legal maneuvers if they agree to cooperate.

996.    (As mentioned) Why would someone become an informant in our day? It could be pending criminal cases against the individual, immigration issues or financial problems (i.e., the powers-that-be prey upon vulnerable people for their own purposes, and these weak persons know the weight of the Law will come crashing down on them if they don’t cooperate with the government and tell it exactly what it want to hears, even if this is an embellished version of ‘reality within the Masajid’, for example).

997.    Secular Historians generally endeavor to establish the most probable occurrence. Many (Prophetic) miracles therefore are difficult to establish historically (using modern viewpoints) since they are the least (naturally) provable, they are Khawaariq al-‘Aadah (breaking of the apparent natural realities), and also one specific type of Khawaariq as per our Islamic definitions, not just a wondrous thing in and of itself. So this must be considered whenever a normal secular academic historian comments on the time and place of any Prophet (Alayhi as-Salam).

998.    We have to be cognizant of the fact that Tuul al-Amal (elongation of hope) is wrong, that in fact we have no time left.

999.    (As mentioned): Why would ‘Asr be coupled with loss? One thing is that at the time of ‘Asr the shadow (darkness) is increasing and the light is decreasing, as if to say that one’s life is decreasing at every moment.

1000.    The so-called Gospel of Prosperity is a highway to unmitigated atheism, since materialism without God can preach the same thing. People are not naïve, they will find out after a little while that what is being preached is materialistic hedonism.