This is a transcipt of a very beautiful Kutba by Yasir Qadhi
My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, it is a common facet of existence that each and every living being, each and every breathing organism, has but one ultimate goal in each and everything that it does. In its sleep and its wakeful state. In its movement and its rest, in its eating and drinking and socializing. In whatever action that any living organism does, animal or man, ins or jinn, muslim or non muslim, male or female, there is but one ultimate goal and that goal is to find inner happiness.
That goal is to be fulfilled, its to fill sakina anta mahnina. Is to fill peaceful within themselves. So whatever every person does that person believes that through this thing, I will be happy. It will bring me comfort, it will bring me pleasure, it will bring me joy and peace.
This is what motivates every single living organism, every single being. This is what motivates it. Now the goal is one and that is the goal to feel happy. But we find that the path to find this happiness are different. We find that various people take different goals different methods, different paths, different roads and they all think that they will arrive at the same destination.
So we find that one group of people believe that happiness can be found through material possessions, through money, through wealth through owning the best houses and cars. And so you find that this person all that he does or she does is to figure out how I can get the most money. What degree should I get, what education, which university, which job, which firm which company, how can I climb the corporate ladder. The entire life becomes achieving that wealth because of which they thing they will become happy.
Another group of people think that happiness will be found through fame through recognition and so you find this group all they do, what can make me famous? How can society recognise me? So they become actors actresses gone to music and singing or if they are into arts and science they think of discovery. What can I discover to make me famous to win the nobel prize or to win this award? When every body knows who I am, that is when I will achieve happiness and satisfaction.
Yet another group of people believes that happiness is found through satisfying ones animal desires. Sensual instincts. And so you find this group of people turning to women and wine. To drugs and cheap luxuries and they think that by numbing out their animal senses by making sure each and every beastial desire inside of them is met, they will find happiness.
And most of us, most of us sadly, believe that happiness is a combination of the above factors. A little bit of wealth, with little bit of fame and a little bit of sensual desires. This is how we find happiness.
But the reality is when you look at the people who have spent their lives following this various paths when you look at the people whom society considers have reached the upper eculones of wealth of fame of sensuality the most evil people, in terms of sensuality. The most richest people in terms of wealth the most famous people in terms of recognition. The rest of society considers they have arrived. If you were to interview this elite. If you were to get to know them and ask them... “You have spent you life hoarding this wealth. Amassing fortunes. You are on the Forbes list of 100 riches people or 50 richest people. You are one of the most influential people according to times magazine. You are one of the most famous actors and actresses everybody knows you. Your pictures appear on the magazines. You fall you sneeze, you laugh, it becomes a national news item.
You enter the hospital you come out of it the whole world knows. Fine let me ask you, have you achieved happiness. Sure you’re rich, you’re famous, you’re wealthy you’re the most evil in terms of sensuality. Sure! Have you achieved this inner happiness, because the rest of society looks up to you. The rest of society believes you have. They take you as their role models they take you as their god and goddess that they have to worship. Each and everything you do becomes a religion for them. they follow your statistics. Your marriage and divorces. You become their role model. But let me ask u - are you happy in your personal life? Have u achieve what the rest of the people think you have achieved?”
And if these people could be honest with you, and many of them have if you read their interviews. And many of them are not but if they could be honest with you they would say all of them, not yet. For many people the very thing that they were desiring becomes a curse. For many people the fame, the fame, the recognition becomes the curse that they cannot get out of it. They cannot live normal lives anymore. They were they ones who didn’t wanna live normal lives. They were the ones striving to get famous. Once they reach there, they regret they cannot enjoy a normal lives anymore and they have no one to blame but themselves.
When they become rich their entire thinking, their entire day and night become worrying about the stock going up and down. My company floundering or getting more money, this transaction that business. This deal going through. In other words their time becomes locked up with that money. Not with their family, not with the joys of life. Not with the happiness. So what if they wear a fancier suit or drive a better car.
to be continued
