Nuh

In the name of Allah the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. Thanks be to Allah, Creator of all creatures. Prayers and peace be upon Allah’s Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (SAWS).[1]

Salam, everybody! This is a new episode of Life Makers. Today’s episode is different from all the ones shown since the beginning of our program. Since the very first episode, we have become used to suggesting a new project in a certain field, then calling upon everyone to take the initiative and start carrying it out. However, today’s episode is completely different. It is natural that we have an episode like this one every now and then, so that people have a chance to review what has been achieved. Today’s episode is an evaluation - one where we have to review the Life Makers account. Consider any large company and how it evaluates its achievements for a period of time. This does not mean that it brings its activities to a standstill; on the contrary, it evaluates and organizes what has been achieved so far, so that it proceeds on a firmly established base. Hence, today’s episode represents a realistic and unbiased evaluation.

In this phase, we aimed to eradicate all the obstacles that prevented the youth from acting and producing. We started by stressing the importance of positivism, bearing responsibility, etc, at a time when most youth were passive. Thus, we started undoing these shackles (being passive, not being serious, etc) between February 2004 and June 2004. At that time, we were not talking about a revival for our Ummah. We were just talking about undoing the shackles that were holding us back. At that stage, we also started five projects and started to carry them out. Let us now evaluate them to know where we stand.

In this project we suggested doing anything we could to serve our society. The people responded very positively. Many youths painted the walls of their faculties while many others started cleaning and painting their apartment blocks. We also heard about youth who worked in their schools and universities. I will never forget that university professor who saw the youth cleaning their faculty and asked them, “Why are you cleaning the faculty by yourself? Are you being paid for it?” They answered, “No we are not. We are doing no more than our duty.” “So, do you expect to be paid for it later on?” replied the professor. “We expect nothing,” they answered. Astonishingly, the professor said, “I have not seen this happen in the faculty since the 70s, when I was still a student.” That was a very good indicator of action. Then people started proceeding with more and more positive deeds. Some started to work on wiping out illiteracy. Others bought a kidney dialysis machine at their own expense and donated it for the sake of Allah (SWT). Later, we heard about ‘The Ramadan Bag;’ a project chiefly motivated by the words of Allah which can be translated as, “And Allah puts forward (another) example of two men, one of them dumb, who has no power over anything (disbeliever), and he is a burden on his master; whichever way he directs him, he brings no good. Is such a man equal to one (believer in the Islamic Monotheism) who commands justice, and is himself on the Straight Path?” (TMQ, 16:76)[2].

Considering this ayah (verse) as their motto, people started to carry out the project. These are all the positive actions taken in this project.

Now, let us consider some of the negative points. Where is the project now? Is it still going? At the beginning, people were very enthusiastic about it, and they worked for it for some time. However, it did not go on and it faded away. Think about a project like that of cultivating the roofs of buildings. What do you think our countries would look like if it continued without stopping for the coming ten years? Due to the fact that people are beneficent, they hurry towards any project the minute they listen to it. However, the problem is sticking to that project and continuing it. It was narrated by Aisha, “The Prophet was asked, ‘What deeds are loved most by Allah?’ He said, ‘The most regular constant deeds even though they may be few.’ He added, 'Do not take upon yourselves, except the deeds which are within your ability.’”[3]

Therefore, why not bring the project back to life? Why not discuss together that problem and try to plan to revive these projects once again, at least for the coming year. Why not agree on a strict agenda that we have to carry out in a certain district or village, during the coming year? We must allow everyone everywhere to say their opinion. We can hold these meetings on the internet on a weekly basis (not on television where one sends but never receives. The internet provides a better space for interaction).

Dar al-Tarjama was first given life by a young lady who believed that translation should be at the head of any revival. The young lady said, “Translation has contributed to the different cultures all over the world because in reality all world cultures draw from one another.” Currently, translation work is lifeless in our countries. On the internet, Nermeen Hussein posted her words, “As a translator, when I reviewed those statistics showing the world translation rates, I felt like I had been slapped in the face. Hence I decided to form a translation team.” Firstly formed of only one female member, the team now exists all over the world. Positivism has spread everywhere. The Dar al-Tarjama team has so far translated many books and works. Six months ago, when I was in Germany, I met a German lady who came to attend one of my seminars, even though she did not understand Arabic. Why do you think she attended? Actually, because she had read the book entitled ‘Loving Paradise’ translated by the Dar al-Tarjama members in Germany. The very book touched her deeply and stirred faith within her heart, so she decided to attend the seminar although she did not understand a single word of Arabic. Can you imagine the great thawab Dar al-Tarjama members gain? Nermeen Hussein has stated that her desire to be a positivist is what motivated her to act.

However, there are some negative points to bear in mind. Has the Dar al-Tarjama team planned its course for the coming five years? Do the members aim to turn from amateurs into true members of a team that bears upon its shoulders the responsibility of reviving translation all over the Arab world? Do they honestly intend to achieve this during the coming five or ten years? Why not hold a meeting with all Dar al-Tarjama members on the internet, on a weekly or monthly basis, so that we can set a plan according to which we can act and evaluate our work? Do you get my point? I mean, why not share in arranging everything so that matters move on easily?

The fruits of this project were numerous. Many people gave up smoking and many fathers started to feel ashamed of smoking in front of their children. One of our brothers in Yemen related to me how the logo ‘Do not Harm Me with Your Smoke’ has currently become a part of every room in the Yemeni Television Centre. I know a woman called Mrs. Nesreen who put the project into action. She took the responsibility of visiting as many secondary schools in Egypt as she could. She used to meet the schools’ administrators and agree with them to hold seminars to encourage people to quit smoking. In those seminars, she always showed a part of our episode together with the logo. Can you imagine the great thawab Nesreen has gained? Surprisingly enough, many youth went to her confessing how they used to smoke behind their parents’ backs thinking it was manly; and swearing never to repeat their mistake again.

Again, I ask the same question: where has that project gone? It seems that we have become engaged in new projects that have replaced it. This is exactly what I mean. What if we met weekly to revive these projects and gained a great deal of thawab? Can you imagine how beneficial this would be? Do you realize that you might help save a young man from Cancer by doing this?

Alhamdu-lillah (thanks be to Allah (SWT)) this project has been a success since the minute it started.

Let me tell you a story. One day, a father called me to ask me to help him save his son from drug addiction. My answer to him was, “Insha’Allah (if Allah wills) I shall try. However I know nothing about drugs and I have never dealt with an addict before. I am sorry, I do not know how to help your son.” His reply to me was the ayah where Allah what can be translated as, “…and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind” (TMQ 5:32).

I was very impressed. It was the first time I looked at the ayah from this perspective. I decided to meet the young man and asked him to accompany me for an Umrah. He agreed, and after that Umrah he stopped taking drugs. I could not believe myself and I still do not believe it, because this was the first time I dealt with the problem of addiction. Later, the young man changed and started leading a better life. However, unfortunately, he had a relapse. He met me again and said, “Alas! I wish we had met earlier. There are many youth suffering from problems similar to mine. Try to save them from them before anyone tries to fool them.” Consequently, the project of ‘Guardians of the Future’ was launched.

One of the strong points of this project is that teams have been formed in seven countries all over the world in order to put it into action and to raise awareness amongst the youth against the dangers of addiction. How many souls do you think have been saved so far? What is my future plan for this project? Actually, my plan is to have one of the Guardians of the Future in every school, university, or faculty in the Arab world, who works on raising youth awareness against addiction, before they fall among its many victims.

Everyone certainly knows about this project. In fact, many positive actions took place in its light. Clothes stores handed us brand new clothes that constituted a large proportion of all the clothes we received (they still had the ticket on them). See how charitable people are! See how great our Ummah is! Life Makers taught me that people are very charitable and always compete in being so! It is a great Ummah indeed, one that will remain lively until the Day of Judgment. Many ladies, gentlemen, and youth, whose time used to be spent in cafes, shared in the project by collecting clothes, ironing them, packing them, etc. Do you remember Darfur? I can never forget that lady who gave off a trill of joy the moment she received her clothes.

However, the point of weakness is, why has this project not been carried out once more?

These projects taught us to love our countries, whose love we never felt before, except when watching football matches. It is a great blessing from Allah (SWT) that we know our plans for the coming ten years. This is actually the greatest achievement of phase one; that every team knows its future plans; Dar al-Tarjama, Guardians of the Future, etc. What a great blessing!

In this phase we aimed to take the first steps on our path towards the revival. How did we do it? Actually, we decided that we could not dictate to anyone what to do. Conversely, we said, “Let us dream about our countries and how they will look in 20 years.” It went well and people started to post their dreams on the website. What impressed me most was the detailed report I received from the chairman of the Egyptian Court of Appeal, picturing, in detail, how the Egyptian judiciary system should be after 20 years. I was truly impressed. I was also impressed by a 7-year old Qatari girl who drew a picture of a train going across many countries, with no boundaries between them. Can you imagine a 7-year old girl thinking in this way? Amazingly enough, many dreams have come true. I reviewed many of the dreams by myself and I found that some of them had been achieved. Among the dreams that came true was that of Professor Hossam Mahgoub. He dreamt of Arabizing the different sciences, a project he believes will achieve revival for our Ummah. He managed to set that project into motion and now he is one of the Life Makers. Added to that is the dream of a lady called Omul-Baneen (as she calls herself in the forum). She dreamt of writing useful stories for children and spreading them all over the Arab World. Will you believe me if I told you that she has really written them and spread them around and that her stories are currently being adapted into a radio series? Hence, it is no longer impossible for dreams to come true. Also, one of those who worked with us is Engineer Ahmad Moharram, who was a guest in one of our episodes. Since that day and until now, he, together with a large number of youth, have worked on providing computer courses for people to learn computer basics. Why not set a plan for that project? At present, Engineer Ahmad Moharram is doing his work well, yet, why not plan for the future of that project? Why not meet and think together about technology, so that work will not be limited to amateurs?

We previously said that in order to achieve a revival, we need to be self-determined and persistent; that is why we organised a 42 kilometre marathon walk. Many people participated, but I will never forget the participation of a certain Palestinian girl. She sent us a message saying, “I would have liked to participate with you but our condition here in Palestine does not permit me to do so, it may be dangerous. Therefore, I did the 42 km marathon in a corridor inside my home. I walked everyday until I finished the 42 km walk. I desperately wanted to participate and build up my willpower.” I was so impressed by the attitude of this girl. She added, “While walking, I kept reading the Glorious names of Allah (SWT) which were written on the wall of the corridor. I thought so deeply about them that I learnt them by heart.” Neither will I forget the parents from England who decided to do the marathon holding their baby, in the winter, despite the very cold weather, because they did not find anyone to look after him; nor the handicapped person who decided to participate too. He could not walk without the help of a cane but this did not prevent him from walking the 42 km with a single leg and a strong will. It was a wonderful project but what about its continuity? Is there anyone responsible for it? Are there still some people who walk from time to time? Thus, let us try to revive it and organise it on the internet.

We have become aware that the criteria for illiteracy have changed, as they are now measured by how skilful a person is with a computer. Many people responded to the launch of this project and were keen to achieve its aims. A teacher at the Faculty of Physical Education, called Balia ‘Urabi, gathered all her colleagues and taught them computer basics. As a result, all the faculty staff became confident with computers thanks to the perseverance of this lady. Engineer Ahmad Samy managed the computer training courses for this project.

We previously said that we needed to compose songs because of the great impact that they have on people, especially the youth. Many people responded by sending their composed songs. Unfortunately, we were not able to pay due attention to them all. We admit negativity on our part, but now the time has come to compensate for it.

That was the second phase. However, before starting the third phase, a very positive thing happened - the creation of Life Makers clubs. Many young boys and girls gathered and created official associations through which they tried to realise the projects we had presented. After the phase of ‘dreams voting,’ they launched the ‘execution,’ where they created commissions consisting of specialists and university teachers. These professionals worked on the areas that needed reformation before revival can begin.

We have gone through three phases and achieved thirteen projects up to now. The first phase focused on ‘breaking the chains,’ while the second phase was aimed at enhancing the idea of revival through dreams. The third phase will oversee the execution of these projects. We promised to achieve thirteen projects:

Today we are supporting thirteen huge projects and we have to weigh up their positive and negative aspects. The positive aspects are as follow:

Let us talk about the future of Life Makers and the outcome of the project. We entered the third phase aiming to begin revival, so we presented to you eleven revival fields. We suggested practical projects appropriate to these fields and tried to achieve them with the interaction of many of people, although we have not covered all the fields yet. Now, I am faced with two choices: either investing time in refining and enhancing the projects and concepts that were presented, or continuing with the current projects at the expense of quality and sobriety. Why shall we hurry up when we have twenty years in front of us to accomplish the plan of revival?

Therefore, if we opt for the first choice, we will have to temporarily stop the program to devote time to concentrating on improvements. We will stop for two or three months, and during this period - until Ramadan - we will reinforce our work, fix all the projects and support all the groups to ensure that everything is running smoothly. We have to make sure that all the projects are consolidated and that they have become part of our culture and not just topics we are discussing. These projects have to be firmly instilled deep within us, to become a part of us so that we are able later on to follow our course steadily. Only then would we continue with the current remaining projects.

Let us stop, then, for two or three months. We will not stop for good because this is the project of our life and the provision of which we will meet Allah (SWT) on the Day of Judgement. Therefore, on one hand, we will have the opportunity to supply ourselves with spirituality through supplication and communication with Allah (TWT)[4]; and on the other hand, we will consolidate the projects we have created which is the role of Life Makers and all those who are interested in them. Since TV does not permit us to interact directly in both directions, we will be meeting through the internet every Tuesday for around two hours. This means that the episodes of Life Makers will continue on the internet. You will be divided into rooms, that is, a room for each specialized group, while I will be in a room with specialists and experts. We will discuss online through audio and video with each group in order to underline problems and difficulties and to draw up plans and goals. We will be moving from one room to another, from the group of Dar al-Tarjama to the group of ‘Rooftop Cultivation,’ to that of small businesses. This way, we will distribute tasks, suggest solutions and talk about the resources the groups will need from now on.

This is exactly what we will be doing during the coming months. It will enable us to observe the situation with enough background information to specify solutions. We can handle the projects and have the necessary people, so we will be meeting from next week onwards. These organized meetings have two important advantages: interaction between us for hours which will result in everyone tackling their task and performing activities for the rest of the week; and getting acquainted with each other and learning each other’s names which will lead to stronger unity. The work will be organized more effectively and on a solid base so as to be ready for next year, when we will be showing people our achievements.

We are like a building that is under construction and whose exterior is covered from view until the building is finished, so that once construction is over, the curtains are lifted and there is the completed product: beautiful and impressive. This is exactly what we will be doing during these coming three months.

As far as television is concerned, we will be devoting the episodes to increasing faith and spirituality. Then, we will begin Ramadan with the dearest person to us in our lives - the Prophet (SAWS). In this way, we will be bringing together spirituality and work in order to tackle the remaining phases of Life Makers after Ramadan with more vigour and increased faith.

Today Life Makers will be interrupted from TV broadcasting. I am not saying it is the end, because this will never happen – since it will continue its course on the internet, but before I finish the episode, I would like to end with the promises we have made:

The training cycle for discovering the skills and abilities of young people, for which ten thousand people have enrolled.

It concerns the survey. We promised you that if we exceeded one million participants, we would report your needs to the whole world. It was the third time we asked you to exceed the one million mark after the ‘dreams’ project and the ‘gathering clothes’ project. Today we reached one million three hundred thousand participants, and the survey is still going on. We will fulfil our promise by making a universal conference on the 21^st of August in Great Britain. In this conference, we will announce the results of the survey; and experts in small enterprise will attend it from both Arab and Western countries. A large institution will emerge from this conference; it will sponsor young people and adopt their ideas. It will mainly be concerned with providing five necessary elements to face unemployment and create small enterprises, these are: training, funding, marketing, determining products that are profitable, helping put pressure on the government to lower taxes for youth so that they can succeed.

This is a promise that touches us all. It is the promise we made to the Prophet (SAWS) before Allah (SWT) that we will never stop working for the revival of Muslims until our death. We will be working hard and renewing our promise to Him so that we may reach, on the Day of Judgement, the level of those whom Allah described as what can be translated as, “(On) the Day (when) you see the male believers and female believers, their light proceeding along before (Literally: between their hands) them and on their right hands. “Good tidings for you today! Gardens from beneath which rivers run, eternally (abiding) therein; it is that which is the tremendous triumph.” (TMQ, 57:12). That will be due to the fulfilment of their promise as stated in what Allah says and can be translated as, “Among the believers are men who are sincere to what they covenanted with Allah” (TMQ, 33: 23). Beware of committing the same mistake you made last year when the program stopped and your activity decreased!

Finally, I would like you to make a schedule with the days of the month on one side and five columns on the other side, to include the following elements:

Fill in the schedule everyday with the word ‘done’ in every column; you will feel increased levels of energy in your bodies and souls. You will also feel a powerful determination for revival. I say this from personal experience. Do make this schedule and put it in front of you somewhere in your bedroom and do fill in the columns!

Our episode has come to an end, what we should say is that the survey is still going on until we exceed three million. We will, if Allah (SWT) wills, organize the conference to report your ideas to the whole world. There will be a training program starting from August, in addition to the work on the internet. We ask Allah (SWT) to make all our thoughts for Him, grant us faithfulness and gather us with the companions of the Prophet (SAWS) who elevated Islam. A proverb for when times are difficult, “Whenever the darkness thickens, we say, ‘Dawn is near!’”

[1] Sala-llahu Alaihi Wa-Sallam = All Prayers and Peace of Allah be upon him.

[2] TMQ=Translation of the Meaning of the Qur'an. This translation is for the realized meaning, so far, of the stated (Surah:Ayah) of the Qur'an. Reading the translated meaning of the Qur'an can never replace reading it in Arabic, the language in which it was revealed

[3] Authentic Hadith, narrated by Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 76, Number 472.

[4] Tabaraka Wa Ta’ala: Most Blessed, Most High.

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Episode 46: Account Review for “Life Makers”