Sunaa’ al-Hayah

- Life Makers -

Episode 7: Perfection

Brothers and sisters, here we meet again in our program Sunaa’ al-Hayah (Life Makers). We spoke about proactiveness, and then we linked it to proficiency and perfection.  As we said before, we need some proactive perfectionists.

In previous episodes, we asked you to send us your own experiences about proactiveness.  Honestly, the reaction of people was tangible and real.  This we cannot deny or ignore. During the last week, we received word of about 6,500 proactive actions! What is more wonderful is that these actions were not done individually but in groups possessing a proactive spirit!

Young men write to say, “My friends and I did so and so,” and young girls write saying the same.  If we counted the actions by the number of the participants, they would exceed ten thousand or even more!

I spent a whole day selecting some examples to share with you from these wonderful actions.  I noticed that when I presented examples of actions of your brothers and sisters sent in previous episodes, the responses were extensive and the effect was greater.  As I always say and repeat, this program is not mine alone, it is yours too.  Together we will make life!

Let us start the episode by showing you some examples that I chose for you from among the thousands I received.

Examples for proactive attitudes:

1. Muslim immigrant youth in Switzerland, in loyalty to their homelands, sent needed medical requirements to hospitals in their homelands.
2. The immigrant Muslim communities in the West suffer from the problem of the second generation not knowing the Arabic language.  An Iman from Brazil and a Fattouh from France, among others, wrote to tell me that they conducted Arabic language courses for second-generation children in order to prevent their Arabic identity from dissolving into the western societies.
3. Two hundred and sixty Christian youth participated with us in the questionnaire.
4. Saudi female doctors made weekly visits to the residences of female nurses from South East Asia to give them lessons on how to treat patients with kindness and compassion.
5. University students: some students at al-Mansoura University (Egypt) performed a theatrical performance about proactiveness and success in life.  About 5,000 students watched it!
6. Some students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Alexandria University changed all the old praying mats at the faculty mosque with new ones at their own expense.
7. Some students from the Faculty of Engineering at Alexandria University repaired all the doors and windows of their faculty and bought wastebaskets.
8. Some students from the Faculty of Engineering in Shubra (Egypt) found that the walls of their faculty were not clean, so with the permission of their Dean, they painted the walls anew.
9. Some students at Cairo University, who were making weekly visits to the elderly, discovered that the seniors had various talents and handicrafts, so they decided to visit them regularly to learn from them.
10. Palestinian university students are in the habit of getting together weekly to watch the episodes of Sunaa’ al-Hayah and at the end of each episode they agree to take proactive action.  They make copies of the episodes and sell them at a nominal price to most of the university students.
11. Female medical students at al-Fateh University in Libya took so many proactive actions in their college that the college Dean allocated them a room where they can produce their works! They also went to the Libyan Radio station and agreed to present a weekly radio presentation on Sunaa’ al-Hayah!
12. Young girls from Oman, established the Um-al-Masakeen Society (as a good omen from the name of the wife of the Prophet (SAWS[1]). The society aims at collecting used clothes to distribute them to the poor.
13. Housewives from the Gulf area are teaching their illiterate Asian maids how to read and write.
14. Housewives started to have meetings with other housewives sharing the same area or building to memorize the Holy Qur’an together.
15. Housewives started phoning hotels to take the leftover food and distribute it on the poor.
16. Two ladies reminded me of the days of the Prophet's companions, and his Hadith that says, “Goodness remains in me and my people until the Day of Judgment.”  Those two noble ladies, unknown to each other, donated a piece of land worth of about two million Egyptian pounds to an orphanage.  The orphanage has already received the land last week.
17. As for school children, at al-Radwan school in Jordan, the children started to save from their daily allowances to provide for the orphans.
18. The same idea was implemented in a secondary school in Kuwait.
19. Girls in Syria adopted the idea of collecting used paper, instead of throwing it away, to sell to paper factories.
20. A University Engineer named Mahmoud Sharif Saeed had a wonderful and unique idea, namely Zakat of knowledge.  He knew he excelled in Mathematics, so he decided to give private lessons free of charge to anyone interested and for all school levels.  He distributed his name, phone number and email address in his building and around the area of his residence.
21. The same idea was undertaken by a University Professor named Tamer Mahmoud as he volunteered to help master degree students in his specialty.
22. In Iraq, Iraqi students undertook a project called 'Rose Planters' aiming at making the people of Iraq happy and helping their children become literate and teaching them computer skills.

To be very frank, I am glad and happy with these wonderful examples from all over the Arab countries, such as Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, and Palestine.  What are you waiting for, brother? What are you waiting for, sister?

I would like to remind those proactive people (male and female) not to forget to make their intention purely for Allah (SWT), the Great and Almighty.  The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions, and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended.  The other thing to remember is continuity, our noble Prophet (SAWS) says, “Most beloved to Allah are those deeds that are continuous even if they were little.” 

The wonderful thing is that those youth (boys and girls) started to taste the fruits of success.  They started to feel that sweetness, to feel that their faith increased as well as their ability to resist committing sins.  This is actually the aim of this program, to give you a goal you strive to achieve the whole week, not just a temporary surge of faith you receive from a weekly lesson you attend or a program you watch.

If we remember our project of last week, it was to help a needy member in your family. I received about 5,500 responses.  All of them full with proactiveness!

In the middle of this optimistic atmosphere, I received a letter of harsh criticism, the writer in a despairing tone said that he is unconvinced by the program or its idea.  He says its idea is fit to be among the impossible.  The world around us is changing.  The obstacles are so hard and harsh that they crush any chance of success or change! Vulgarity is spreading everywhere.  An example of that is more than 70,000 youth (boys and girls) applied to enroll in a program that sets to teach them how to dance and sing! My answer to him is, do you mean that there is no hope, that there is no solution? Do you mean that we’d better sit helplessly and say there is no hope? That we will remain like this, submissive and resigned, and die humiliated and weak? No!  Change comes from within.  We all have the ability to change, provided we have a goal; a goal we fight for and remain devoted to!

To convince you in another way, let us imagine that we have two circles:

·        The first is the circle of external obstacles. They are extremely difficult obstacles.

·        The second, is placed inside the obstacles circle and is called the circle of influence, which means all the talents you possess to influence other people around you.

If you look at the obstacles circle (outer circle), it will appear to be very huge, while your influence circle (inner circle) will look small.  If you kept looking at the outer circle and kept saying that it is very large, the inner circle will remain small.  However, if you look at your influence circle and ask, “What skills do I have and what powers do I own to influence those around me?” Only then will your influence circle expand little by little, while the obstacles circle will start to shrink gradually until it collapses from your continuous pressure!

Look at the following three figures explaining the above:

If we go back to our noble Prophet (SAWS), we will find that this is exactly what he did! The obstacles were very tough at the early days of Islam; the K'aba was teeming with idols, almost 360 of them.  What did he do? He started to expand his influence circle by guiding good young people to religion.  Little by little, the resistance grew, and billions of Muslims entered into his influence circle and others will continue to do so until the Day of Judgment, inshallah (if Allah permits).

We also can start expanding our influence circle from inside our homes, by the proper upbringing of our own children; raising them to be good people.  This is merely an answer to push the negative and subdued spirit away from us so we can rise.  Goodness and prosperity are ahead for us and all Muslims!

Now, let us continue our talk about perfection.  As we said before, perfection and proactiveness are two sides of the same coin.  We need proactive perfectionists.  Regrettably, Muslims are no longer efficient in anything in their lives, starting from their worship, passing by their personal relationships towards their studies and ending with work and production.  It has become easy to find people whose entire lives are characterized by inefficiency.

• You start hearing people say, “Let it go, man,” or “nobody is looking.”
  • Allah the Great and Almighty, answers with the following ayah which can be translated as, "Allah knows the fraud of the eyes, and all that the breasts conceal." (TMQ, 40:19)[2].

• Another comes to say, “People want cheap things, the inferior quality is the mostly sold.”
  • Allah the Great and Almighty, answers back with the following ayah which can be translated as, “Then as for the foam it passes away as scum upon the banks, while that which is for the good of mankind remains in the earth." (TMQ, 13:17).

• Another may say, “I am working exactly for the value of their money.”
  • Allah the Great and Almighty, answers with the following ayah which can be translated as, "Or you who believe! Fulfill (your) obligations." (TMQ, 5:1).

• Another person might say, “Everyone is doing it.”
  • Allah (SWT), the Great and Almighty, answers with the following ayah which can be translated as, "And everyone of them will come to Him alone on the Day of Judgment." (TMQ, 19:95).

• Another might say, “The finishing touches are not important.”
  • Allah the Great and Almighty, answers with the following ayah which can be translated as, "Verily, We created man of the best stature (mould)." (TMQ, 95:4).

• Another person may say with despair, “People have graduated from universities and are standing in queues.  There are no jobs, all is the same.”
  • Allah the Great and Almighty, answers with the following ayah which can be translated as, "We shall not waste the reward of anyone who does his (righteous) deeds in the most perfect manner." (TMQ, 18:30).

I will relate to you a very touching Hadith of the Prophet (SAWS), which he said on the day he cried the most, the day of the passing away of his son Ibrahim.  After burying him in his grave, a small gap remained in the grave.  The Prophet (SAWS) told the man attending to the grave, “Close that gap.”  The man asked the Prophet (SAWS), “Will it be of any benefit to him, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet (SAWS) said, "No, it will not do him any good nor any harm, but it will look better for the viewer.” 

Look at how the Prophet (SAWS), even at the moment of the burial of his own son, was seeking perfection.  He was seeking it even for a grave.  The Prophet (SAWS) then said, “Allah likes it that whenever anyone of you does work, to perfect it.”

In searching for the causes of inefficiency we found four reasons, they are:

1. To accumulate material gains: a technician may not repair a car properly, so that its owner comes back and pay him again! A doctor could do the same, but I believe that this money falls under the category of forbidden money. Negligence here is on purpose!
2. Ignorance: when the inefficient person is ignorant as to do what he is doing in the first place.
3. Laziness and laxity.
4. Never tasting the sweetness of efficiency.  If people tasted that sweet taste, they would never accept inefficiency again.

How do we become perfectionists?

1. By having a goal in life.
2. Strong willpower.
3. Patience.
4. Knowledge and expertise, or seeking the assistance of the experts.

These, if you noticed, are the same elements of proactiveness.  If you find these four elements in you, perfection will come automatically.

I will relate to you the story of a person who had all those elements and the result was excellent and astounding work! This man is Muhammad al-Fateh (Muhammad the Conqueror).  I told you his story before, but very briefly.  Now I will tell it in detail:

Muhammad al-Fateh is the Conqueror of Constantinople, but let me first tell you about that city.  Constantinople is a city connecting the Mediterranean to the Black Sea and Asia to Europe.  It was considered the best global trade center in the medieval ages. With regard to it, Napoleon said, “If the world was one kingdom, there will be no better city befitting to be its capital than Constantinople.”  The Romans controlled it and they led the whole world.  Muslims tried to conquer it since the days of our master Ali Ibn Abu-Taleb (RA), for over 800 years, but in vain.  This was because of its fortified fortresses:

1.      A moat outside the city wall: ten meters deep and 60 meters wide.

2.      It had two fortified walls: the outer wall was 25 feet high and 10 meters thick.

3.      The inner wall was 40 feet high and 15 meters thick.  Plus, it had guarding towers that were 60 meters high.

4.      The city was triangular in shape, two sides directly overlooking the sea and the third fortified by all those walls.

5.      Four hundred battalions protected those walls.

The reason Muslims wanted to conquer that city was not only because it was strategically important, but also because of two Ahadith of the Prophet (SAWS):

1. The Prophet (SAWS) said, “The first army to conquer the city of Caesar is a forgiven army.”
2. The Prophet (SAWS) also said, “Verily, Constantinople shall be conquered, its commander shall be the best commander ever and his army shall be the best army ever.”

The Muslims tried to conquer the city for over eight hundred years, through ten attempts.  The first by our master Osman Ibn-Affan, the second and third by Mo’awia Ibn-Abu-Sufyan, the fourth by Solaiman Ibn-Abdulmalik and the fifth by Haroun al-Rashid.

There were also several other attempts, the most famous one was the one in which all the senior companions took part, such as Abu-Ayub al-Ansari, Abdullah Ibn-Omar and Abdullah Ibn-Abbas.  In that attempt they besieged the city for seven years! During that attempt Abu-Ayub al-Ansari died and requested to be buried at the closest point to Constantinople.  He hoped that when he met the Prophet (SAWS) on the Day of Judgment, he could tell him that he was buried at the closest point to Constantinople ever reached at that time.  Just so that the Prophet (SAWS) may consider him one of the forgiven army! Can you imagine how that dream took a hold of them at the time?

Muhammad al-Fateh was then born.  At ten years old, his teacher instilled that same dream in him.  During his childhood, he used to be too playful and carefree.  Being the son of the King, he did not feel any sense of responsibility.  Once, his teacher beat him strongly and told him, “Be a man!” These words hurt Muhammad and straightened him up right away.  Later, he memorized the Holy Qur’an completely.  He mastered five languages: Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Latin and old Greek.  He also studied Astronomy, Geography and History.  Then his teacher told him the Hadith of the Prophet (SAWS) which says, “Verily, Constantinople shall be conquered, its commander shall be the best commander ever and his army shall be the best army ever.”  The teacher also told him that he thought that Muhammad would be that commander.  The teacher did not know that then, but he instilled the dream in Muhammad.

Here are the elements forming inside him:

1. The goal.
2. The knowledge and expertise.
3. The will power.
4. Patience.

He used to say of himself, “I have a heart as hard as a rock that will neither rest nor soften until I achieve what I want!”  What would happen if we were all like this, if we were men who realized their goals and dreams?

Then, Muhammad started to meet with experts to learn from them what prevented Muslims from conquering Constantinople.  He learned that there were three obstacles:

1. When reaching the shores overlooking the city, they would be exposed in the open before the enemy and building a fortress required a whole year.
2. The walls were so high and thick that no canon had been able to demolish them.
3. The presence of a thick chain which blocked any ship from entering the Gulf.

This was a complicated combination that would make any person realize that conquering the city was impossible.

I will tell you about the conquering plan, which, according to Orientalists, has surpassed the tactics of Alexander, the Great, and Napoleon.  That demonstrates the unprecedented capabilities that Muslims possessed:

These are, briefly, the steps of the plan:

1. Muhammad al-Fateh ordered a fortress to be built in only three months instead of a whole year, using willpower and the help of the best and most efficient builders.  These are actually the exact words, as they came in the books.  He used the Hadith of the Prophet (SAWS) to instigate the workers.

2. Then, he set up a plan to use the assistance of a Hungarian expert who was the only man capable of inventing a canon that could demolish those fortified walls. The expert was imprisoned inside Constantinople itself for fear of anyone reaching him, but to Muhammad, nothing was impossible.  He ordered his men to dig a tunnel beneath the walls and the moat to reach the prisoner and free him, enabling him to invent that huge canon that weighed seven hundred pounds.  One hundred oxen and one hundred strong men pulled the canon. When fired, the boom of the canon was heard as far as thirteen miles away! The bomb dug a six feet-deep hole after hitting a rock.  Just imagine such an invention! Imagine how foreign experts’ assistance was sought, while now the Muslim experts are immigrating to benefit the West! The plan was implemented perfectly and without a single mistake.

3. The chains blocking the Gulf were overcome by transferring the ships through the desert (bypassing the Gulf); a plan beyond the imagination of man.  How did the ships cross the desert and the mountain across a distance of five km? Muhammad al-Fateh ordered the cutting of all the trees in the area, using them to form a long rail across the distance.  Next, he ordered this rail to be greased with oil in order to slide the ships over it.  He brought hundreds of men and oxen to pull the seventy ships while opening the sails to take advantage of the wind.  The ships would then be lowered on the other side of the desert, directly into the sea and in front of the city walls!  This plan, which is almost beyond the imagination of any man, was to be implemented in the short period from dusk to dawn so as not to attract the attention of the Romans lest they would burn the Muslim ships.  It was imperative that the plan be implemented within that short time, in order for the Muslims to cross the sea with their ships, burn the four hundred Romanian ships and claim victory!

Such was the plan without which all the Muslims over eight hundred years were rendered helpless and incapable of conquering Constantinople.

Anybody who sets his mind on an idea, remains persistent on achieving it, and exhorts all his efforts to accomplish it, will certainly be able to achieve it.  Never forget this.

A short documentary film to elaborate the plan of Muhammad al-Fateh was shown. Anyone can access the film on the website: www.amrkhaled.net

The siege of the city continued over 50 days. On the day of conquest, Muhammad al-Fateh did some things that Muslims never knew of before.

1. He produced willpower in his men using military marches and chants.
2. He encouraged them by the Hadith of the Prophet (SAWS).
3. He asked them to bless the Prophet (SAWS) a great deal and pray for him, to stimulate them to fight.
4. He asked the entire army to pray two voluntary raqa’as (unit of prayer) and his teacher led that prayer as the Imam.

They conquered the city. When asked about his capabilities and how he managed the conquest, he replied, “I have two traits: a heart as hard as a rock that would not rest until I achieve what I want and a tearful eye out of fear of Allah, so how can I not achieve victory?”  Muhammad Ibn-Murad became well known as Muhammad al-Fateh because of his super plan!

This reminds us of another great man, another life maker.  He was crippled and was not able to swat the flies away from his face, but Sheikh Ahmad Yaseen was a life maker. Despite being crippled, he had an exceptional willpower.  We will not lament his loss; he should be celebrated, but we feel sad for the healthy people with crippled wills.  We are not sad for Sheikh Ahmad Yaseen.  How could we be when Khaled Ibnul-Walid, the Drawn Sword of Allah (SWT), wished for such a death? On his death bed, he had said, “My whole body is not free from a stab of a sword or a spear, and yet here I am dying on my own bed just like a camel.  May the eyes of the cowards never know sleep!”

However, the insolence of the murderers of Sheikh Ahmad Yaseen makes us say that Islam is passing through periods of ebb and flow.  The flow was during the time of the Prophet (SAWS) and the time of Muhammad al-Fateh.  Now we are in the ebb period, but the flow is coming soon inshallah (if Allah (SWT) permits).  The martyrdom of Sheikh Ahmad Yaseen conveys us with that meaning.

The project of this week:

The Prophet (SAWS) says, “Do not blacken my face (out of shame) on the Day of Judgment.”  He repeated it three times!

What will our generation tell Him?  We have to succeed in pleasing Allah (SWT) and the Prophet (SAWS), so make a move! If your Prophet (SAWS) is dear to you, make a move!

The first assignment:

Anything imperfect that you see, report it to its owner in all due politeness and good manners. Write him a letter about his faulty item. By doing this, we will be implementing the rule of ‘Religion is Advice.’  Let the motto of this letter be ‘Perfect the making of life.’

Apply it everywhere, to any faulty product or profession or even to any imperfect social relation.  Send us a copy of your work, so we can publicize it or even help you deliver it.

The second assignment:

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