"If He only gave you what you asked Him for, your life would suck."

This was the line of the night by Sh. Muhammad AlShareef in Mina as we prepared those going to Hajj for the day of Arafat. Think about it: what if Allah didn't give you anything unless you supplicated for it? What if you had to ask Him for every sip of water? To allow your heart to beat each second? To give you another day of shelter every day? Yet He provides for us even when we're ungrateful. His blessings descend upon us even as we question Him. His mercy envelops us even when we stop recognizing it.

When you treat people well, those same people might not treat you the same way. But if

you pay attention, you'll notice that Allah has sent OTHER people who treat you even

better. 

Anas Ibn Malik (ra) says that the day the Prophet (peace be upon him) entered Madina,

everything in the city lit up. The day he died, that light went away. Yet still the tranquility

that this city has is uncontested. You will not attain that same peace of mind and

contentment in any other place in the world, even a beautiful island or vacation resort. If

this city is this beautiful due to the legacy of the Prophet (peace be upon him), imagine

what it must've been like when he walked the streets and masjid of madina as well.

Imagine what it was like to go to the masjid everyday and not merely visit his grave, but

actually pray behind him and interact with him. This place literally contains paradise on

earth in the rawda, and I pray that Allah grants us jannatul firdaws in his companionship.

May Allah accept our Hajj and every good deed done in these blessed days all over the

world, and make it a means by which we attain that special place in paradise.

Ameen.........!

Dear Social Media, I'm a Real Person:

I'm not always smiling like I do in my profile picture. Just because I have a few great pictures with my kids, doesn't mean I'm a great father (though I hope I am). Just because I post great things about how husbands should be to their wives, doesn't mean I'm a great husband (though I hope I am). Just because I give public sermons about the importance of private devotion, doesn't mean I practice (though I hope I do). Just because I speak about injustice, doesn't mean I'm not an oppressor (though I hope I'm not).

The greatest measure of a person is how their Lord sees them, and how they treat those closest to them. It's easy to fool the world, but impossible to fool the Lord of all worlds. It's easy to photoshop an image, but you can't artificially alter your soul.

When we turn our public leaders into infallible fantasies, we set ourselves up for heartbreaking disappointment. When we obsess over our own public images, we're likely to destroy our own private lives, often out of sheer negligence.