Summary:

In this live Friday sermon, Alban Fejza discusses the community’s use of the website chat and explains that God rewards us for our deeds, not for our positions.

Video Transcript:

Praise be to God. There is no other God except God. That introduction music sounded like some some start of an Australian show or something. which was nice in a nice way. what do I want to talk about today? Oh, yeah. The the the the chat the we’ve been using the chat a lot recently. I hope we didn’t annoy someone by like lots of messages. lots of messages and when when I was trying to design the chat feature in our in our website, I had concerns whether we it’s going to be used for the right things or the wrong things. And yeah, the the wrong things is if you try to write when I’m speaking, that’s the the during the Friday sermon, that’s the wrong way to use the chat. but I think we’ve been using the chat in the right way recently and I I recently but also most almost always and I’m so happy about it because u it was mostly intended what I call for sort of like work like work like communication. If any of you have jobs, you know there’s usually meetings, there’s people communicating, but they communicate for work. They don’t communicate for uh for debates and and and taking positions on things. now but and by the way before and before I go to like to talking about this, let me just say that in the group chat, God willing, I’m going to post in the following Friday sermons. As you guys know like as you guys know we have been working on the Quran making the Quran in a sort of v video format for YouTube and God willing in the probably that during the next year I’ll quite often I’m the plan is that I’m going to post the link of suras in the group chat and tell you that oh during this let’s say during this Friday sermon just listen to this surah here is the link so We might not go live. It’s really really important for you to remember this. We might not go live at all, but you’ll know in the group chat. You you’ll see it in the group chat. So today the Friday sermon is going is going to be a surah. Here is the link and it’s going to be in the group chat. That means we will not go live. now I hope someone reads it and doesn’t then say, “Oh, why is it not live?” because today you’re supposed to to listen or or view as read or read a sura as part of the Friday sermon. So don’t get surprised. I’m going to post it in the group chat. so that’s kind of the idea of the group chat group chat to help us, you know, organize and work better, not to to to have positions. And I’m using the word position here because I just want to use simple English. What I really mean is stance, you know, political stance like a stance on, you know, what is your stance on homosexuality? For example, what’s your position on on homosexuality? and a lot of people think that that’s how the religion should be like having positions. What’s your position on on homosexual sexuality? Oh, well, I am against homosexuality. And in the next world, do you think God is actually going to pay you for your possessions or your deeds? Who chose you to be a king to have possessions on things? Oh, my position is that we should not eat I don’t know, we should not eat meat. That’s my, you know, some people might say that. so yeah, we we are supposed we are God rewards us based on deeds, not based on positions. And it might sound a little bit ridiculous to express it like this. but only prostitutes get paid for their position. Everyone else gets paid for their deed. I mean, even they don’t get paid for, but you know what I mean. So, yeah, it’s that’s really important for us to understand. If you think you’re going to get rewarded for your position, oh, my position on on this issue is we should do that. Who is who’s asking you? Do you think you you’re actually going to change it the world by having a stance, having a position? No, you should do something. Not necessarily about that. We got paid for for our deeds, not for positions. And so when someone asks and I’m going to give you an example of what’s you know why actually having like doing deeds is better than just taking a position. And and I this is important because we I want people to use the group chat as a working relationship, not to take positions on things. for example, if someone asks me what’s your position on homosexuality, I don’t know. I my position is I sit straight on my chair, if you guys know what I mean. I I’m a grown man. I don’t sit on people’s laps. I s sit straight on my chair. That’s my position right now. I’m sitting on a chair. That’s my position. I’m I’m just trying to make it ridiculous because well, who who cares? I mean, it does matter. It does matter what like uh it does matter what people do in relation to whether they are homosexuals or not. It just doesn’t matter what our position is.

Oh, we’re against we’re who who cares like who’s asking you? who appointed you. To be fair, Congress members do get paid for their position a tiny bit. So, prostitutes and Congress members a tiny bit. They get paid for their positions. The rest of the people, no one is really getting paid for their position. You’ll not get get paid for your position in on in when you go to heaven or hell if you think positions are going to send you to heaven. so yeah. Now let me give you an the example of why doing the deeds is better than actually having positions. there was this guy some of very a few of you might have reme might remember him. I’m not going to mention the name. but like probably he was like about three years ago, four years, I don’t know. Time has passed past maybe three years ago. and he joined us he he joined the submitters and but he had some some questions like he he wanted he by the way he’s not a submitter anymore but that’s why I’m kind of like talking bad about him but yeah so he joined and then very soon after he joined just a few days later he had a question about oh why why does do we have to report the zakati this way or that way like he had some questions and like the conversation I had a convers conversation with him and a voice conversation and I was and one of the examples I gave him is like oh you know this is kind of important because you know what what if you have you want to know who’s who’s available for marriage and stuff like that and then my deed not position my deed I was trying to do something you know I’m like and by the way I think there there would be someone suitable for you and you might be interested and I would like to help you get married. So this is my deed. I’m trying to actually do something. And the ne the next day he just doesn’t doesn’t stop communication. He stopped being a submitter, stopped commun talking to me. That’s it. That was it. Then I go check it on his Facebook profile and stuff like that. What’s going on? How did this guy vanish? Yesterday he was my best friend. Sort of pretending to be my best friend. Now he just vanished and then I see based on his Facebook that very likely he was gay. As soon as I mentioned marriage he he ran away. So what I think happened is the guy noticed as noticed in our website because in our that’s still our what we post on our website. In our website it says as long as you do the contact prayer and the obligatory charity you are among us. You are a submitter. So, I guess he thought, you know what, these guys might be progay because they they all they care is the contact prayer, the zakat, and I’m gay. I guess I’m just going to go in this group and they’ll accept me. Well, I don’t have to take a a position on homosexual homosexuality. But when someone comes, I try to to help them get married and they run away. They don’t like it. No, please. No. and by the way, when we see as by just doing the deed and not taking a position, it was better. The guy just ran away. I don’t think we have any gays right now in our community. Even though we never took a stance. I have no video. I I don’t remember. At least so far. God will probably make a video for explanation purposes. Not so we not so we take a position. But but so far I don’t think we have any video on gays. I don’t think anyone is gay. one guy who try one guy who was gay whatever who tried to to join us who joined us actually and then left immediately almost immediately. yeah he ran away because we because of what we did not because of our position. Now had we taken a position this is how it could be worse because if I say for example we are against homosexuality anyone who who is gay is gay cannot join us. What that can do is actually it can exclude also the parent of a potentially of a let’s say of a child who has homosexual tendencies. you know someone is like oh you know my son my daughter they have they don’t like boys they don’t like girls whatever the situation is that can happen it’s a b biological thing but me being their parent and I can see this community they actually do not accept them I don’t feel welcome so ba basically when we take a position we exclude the parent who’s not gay at all but he just feels unwelcome and there’s no need to take a position on that like just just don’t do it. Just don’t do it. It’s it’s as simple as that. so yeah, that’s an example of where the deed are actually better than taking a position on on something. let’s repent.

Praise be to God. There is no other God except God. I’m just going to read some Quran verses which actually support this idea. Surah 36:54 says, “On that day, meaning in the last day, no soul will be wronged in the least. you will be paid precisely for whatever you did. This is Rashad’s translation. Now, Rashad was a genius in some way because he he translated it the word precisely here. But in Arabic, he translated it more suitably for our generation. But in Arabic, it says, “And not you will be paid except for what you used to do.” Meaning that you will not get paid for your possessions, you’ll get paid for your deeds. You’ll not get paid for your positions. Oh, when you go to heaven, do you think God is going to ask you? Oh, what was your position on homosexuality? Did you agree or did you not agree? That’s not what he’s going to ask you. God is going to ask you as an adult grown man, did you sit in someone’s lap? That’s if you know what I mean. If you’re a child and sit in someone’s lap, yeah, fine. You know, your parents lap. But he’s not going to ask you what was your position. You know, you’re not the king. You’re not a congress member. Like who cares about your position? so now Rashad didn’t kind of excluded the word only because in Arabic it is only. You will not get paid but except meaning only meaning that you will only get paid for your deeds nothing else. and Rashad said you will be paid precisely for your deeds. He kind of excluded the word only because sometimes people misunderstand it. They think that comm sometimes they don’t know that actually communicating is part of work like when we chat on the group chat or oh do you like this font what do you think about this could we post it like this or you know that’s actually part of work. So that’s a deed you know typing typing in the computer that’s the deed you will not get rewarded for your position you will get rewarded for every keystroke you made you know or whatever swipe so God will reward you that’s that’s how much God will reward you by the way that’s why we deserve less less rewards these days because this we use our finger for to get rewards you know type it here do that do that use the mouse do this so God is going to reward me for Yes, this is the movement similar to how God rewarded a tailor who was fixing the the clothes of of a person who came from battle and let’s say one of the one of the disbelievers was trying to kill him and he cut his clothes and now he has to fix his clothes. So let’s say his wife now is trying to fix his clothes after the battle, you know, kind of suing the clothes. See, it’s similar. It’s a similar similar movement. I She was doing this, I’m doing this, you know, doing that. So basically what I’m doing is similar and what you some of you guys are doing helping with the Quran videos and all, you know, you’re just moving your fingers. That’s the deed. That’s the actual deed. And you can see it’s kind of like similar to helping someone in battle rather than actually being in battle, which is a good it’s still good. You know those women who who sued the clothes of the soldiers when they were came after battle, we might get paid similarly to them because what what are we doing all day long? Just moving our mouse. Here we go.

Click click click click click. That’s that’s the deed we do. But that’s what we get get paid for. It’s a just a finger movement, but it gets rewarded because the Quran says even an atom’s weight of good will be rewarded. So don’t underestimate it. It’s just a finger movement, but it’s going to get paid for you’ll get paid for it in the last day. But you will not not get paid for your position ever. Now going back to Russian’s translation he didn’t use the word only in this case because I think he was thinking about you know some people will communicate and some people write some and that could also be part of the de and then they they’ll think that oh are those things excluded no they are not excluded but you are doing there something you know in a meeting in a work meeting at least you are trying to sit straight in your chair you know you’re not laying down or something so that’s part of part of work part of deeds But God doesn’t pay us on our position on our stance. He pays us for what we do. So guys, if you want to know like how good you’ve done is if you’ve held the helped the community for which you’ll get rewarded in the next world is how many finger movements did you make to help the community or if not actually some people by the way I I this is a good opportunity to thank a lot of those who actually haven’t who make sure that they don’t forget to pay the penalty zakat. I was thinking for example, let me just give you an example of whether we have enough money to to do the Quran in video format because you know some of these things cost and and I was I almost decided to go with a just black screen as a background and then in some for some way it didn’t really work very well and and in the meantime one of the guys here actually had paid I don’t know it seemed like penalties I I just received money on PayPal in our group in our community PayPal and I’m like oh this seems like just enough for our project. So that guy now what will that guy who send the money just in time get rewarded for? He will get rewarded for all the because I think he also has a has a work where he put types and stuff like that. all the typing he has done at work, he took that, he sent the money and God will reward him in heaven for all the finger movements he did he did at his work. So that’s a good way to help and also people will help. So what I’m saying is even when you actually help with money that’s a deed you are actually getting paid for the deed which you did at your work when you earn the money. or some people are unemployed, they might help with deeds within the community. Either way is fine. Either way is fine. It it wouldn’t work without both. It wouldn’t work without both. We kind of need both. Employed and unemployed unemployed people. because they are equally important to to whatever we do. So when we do the Quran, please don’t think that it’s only the ones who got involved were part of the success. the ones who paid for it are also part of the success and they will also get rewarded probably more in some ways sometimes sometimes less it depends how much they you know who did more so yeah it’s we’re going to get paid for our for our deeds another verse in the there’s so many verses in the Quran probably like at least 20 who emphasize this verse 3739 says you are paid only Rashad translated did it more closely to the Arabic in this time. You were you are paid only for what you have done.

surah 66:7 says, “Oh you who disbelieved, do not apologize today. You are being paid only for what you did.” Verse 27 90. As for those who bring evil works, they will be forced into hell. Do you not get paid only for what you used to do? As you can see, it’s all about deeds when it comes to the rewards in heaven. It’s not about possessions. It’s because at the end of the day, think of it like this. If you just have a position on something but never did anything about it, how is that different from acting? You know the Quran says that actors are pretty much useless people in the sort of that’s a way of describing it. It kind of says like they are followed only by the strayers. it doesn’t label that and then it it does some exception of some of them might be good. But what I’m saying is how is that different from acting? You know an actor who goes to to an actor who pretends to be a soldier in a movie. He’s just communicating. He never fought. It’s not real. So what I’m saying is how is that different from acting? If you just have positions, my position is that we should go not go to war in in in Vietnam. That’s your position. How is that different from from an actor who would does a movie about how bad war in Vietnam is? It’s not different. He never went there. He never stopped from being there. Do you see that? The like the how how similar they are acting and just taking a position on things, you know? my position is the same. Pretty much essentially the same. So if you just have a position, you’re just acting. But if you do something, and I’m not saying do something about it. We don’t have to fix someone’s sexuality. Like I’m not a doctor. Like I’m not I also I’m not a therapist. Like I I don’t have to deal with it. However, I don’t have to do there are things we can do, you know, we can build a mosque. We can we’re way we are some people are trying to help with I don’t know in different ways. And by the way, don’t feel guilty if you there’s nothing to do for you right now. What you can do is work in your job. Find a job, work, send the money. That’s also that’s one of the best ways to help actually to that money is going to be used in the cause of God of course. So that’s how you you sort of earn deeds in the next world not on based on positions. I don’t like it when people go in chats and they are like, “Oh, our stance on this issue is that our stance.” How how often did you guys have to deal with that? It’s most of the time you we never had to deal with it like in real life. It’s like it’s unrealistic. It’s like live your real life. does anyone have any question?

Someone is typing so I’m just waiting here.

I’ll try to keep it short by by the way. Maybe just one question or two and that’s it. yeah, great great great uh great point Jad. So Jad is saying the only positions that we will be rewarded are our positions in prayer. That’s actually a very good way to put it. Even that is kind of like we get rewarded for the movement, not the position for actually standing up and bowing down. And so the movement is the but You guys get the point? Like it’s it’s a very way a very good way to prove the point. I don’t think it’s fully correct because we actually get paid for the movement, not the position. But but it’s a very good way to prove the point. The only positions I’m going to repeat, very very nice saying. It should be a quote in our website somewhere. Guys, make a poster out of it. The only positions that will be rewarded are are our positions in prayer. That’s it. And Trevor is saying, “Don’t get arthritis, everyone.” Yeah, that’s funny. Also, okay, cool. Okay, so yeah, I I I I think you guys got the point like coming up with these nice quotes. You got you you got the point. so maybe I should Yeah, it’s because I’m I want people to get the chance to actually be able to read the group chats, especially the guys who work and are busy. And I’m going to keep it short so people can actually read the group chats to catch up if they haven’t. okay. So, uh, for those who have to do the contact prayer for which you get rewarded, u do the contact prayer. the rest of you, peace be upon you.