You need Islam!

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All Praise is due to Allh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We
ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him
from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allh,
he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one
to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allh, the Only One
without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, sws, is His
servant, and His messenger.

O You who believe, Fear Allah, as He should be feared, and die not
except as Muslims.

O You who believe, Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word.

He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allah
and His Prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory.
My dear blessed jemaah,
On every Friday, we are invited by our khatibs to have taqwa to Allah s.w.t.
One of the purposes is to remind us that no matter how busy we are with
our career and responsibilities, our lives must be centred on Allah s.w.t.
This is important because within the hearts of every man is implanted the
need to constantly connect with Allah, the Almighty. If we forget about this
affiliation, we will lose our sense of peace. We will be lost in a state of
disarray since we have ignored our relationship with Allah s.w.t. Therefore,
let us continue our relationship of taqwa with Allah s.w.t. Perform all of His
commandments and avoid all of His prohibitions so that we can attain
peace through our relationship with our Creator.

Dear brothers beloved by Allah,

For our mutual benefit, let us reflect upon the words of Allah s.w.t. in surah
Al-Imran verse 14:

Meaning: Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire - of
women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses,
and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has
with Him the best return.

My brothers and sisters,

The verse recited earlier clearly reflects that the human nature is attracted
to material things, the love of all beautiful things and the pleasures of the
world.
Mans nature does not change through time. Although our love for specific
things have changed compared to the past as portrayed by Allah in that
verse, in reality they are similar. Men are still attracted to material things,
and to all things that are beautiful and pleasurable.

My dear beloved brothers and sisters,

In the reality of todays lifestyle, particularly for us who live in metropolitan
cities, we are not free from the trap of materialism. With the high cost of
living expenses, monetary and material needs are deemed as necessities
for our survival.
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As with other people, we are not excluded from the obligation of seeking
sustenance for our own selves and for our families. In fact, in this uncertain
global climate, our job is neither guaranteed nor stable. We are constantly
faced with the risk of termination and layoffs.

Such factors lead us to work even harder in ensuring that we are always
able to compete with our other colleagues at work. As a result, we are
highly competitive among ourselves and this has become the norm at our
workplace. In fact, if not managed properly, this may lead to unnecessary
stress or pressure from the intensity of our work that at times we forget to
take care of our physical and spiritual health.

Parents equally face such pressures and stress. They experience the fear
of potential challenges that will befall their children. With the era of
globalization, the influence of negative traits is easily embraced by our
youths. And why not? With the proliferation of knowledge, youths are now
becoming more intelligent and savvy, as the ability and skills of surfing the
internet has become a daily norm for them. This is the price of progress
today.

In fact, such stresses are not limited only to adults, but are also
experienced by students. They are faced with increasingly demanding
standards of education and from the competition of their peers. In addition,
they have to also face the demands of their parents who always expect
excellent results from them.

Recently, studies shown that more young people in Australia that are
experiencing stress and suffering from mental illness without realising it.
The figure of 1 out of 10 young people experiencing this condition is
essentially not a small figure.1 Undeniably, mental illness is an
exceptionally a delicate health condition that requires appropriate and
holistic intervention and medication. It is here where religion and our
relationship with Allah s.w.t will be able to act as bulwark against stress,
depression and chronic anxiety. With a soul that is always conscious of the
will of Allahs s.w.t, we hope that our childrens lives will be stronger and
sufficiently equipped with resilience in facing with the challenges of the
modern world today.

My respected brothers and sisters,

Without us realising, at times, the life demands sometimes make us
complacent. We work almost everyday and the same goes for those who
are still in school. Such busyness, sometimes without even us realizing it,
has caused us to neglect our spiritual needs. Our souls are constantly
feeling worried and anxious. Our hearts are constantly feeling uneasy and
empty. It is important for us to ensure that we establish a relationship and
find links between our jobs, school with our act of worship towards Allah
s.w.t. Let us not forget to put an intention that our daily chores are indirectly
part of our ibadah towards Allah s.w.t.
Allah s.w.t. said in surah Al-Maarij verse 19-22:

http://www.responseability.org/site/index.cfm?display=134882

Meaning: Indeed, mankind was created anxious. Fretful when evil touches
him. And niggardly when good reaches him.

Not so those devoted to

Prayer.

Dear blessed jemaah,

Prayers in this verse does not only refer to the prayer which consists of
ruku and sujud. Prayers here can also be intended to include doa. By
continuing our relationship with Allah, it guards us from two things; anxiety
and worry, as well as pride attributing all success to our sole efforts. The
essence of this verse is that we are all urged to return to Allah and the
teachings of His religion to fill the spiritual void that we experience living in
this modernity.

My respected brothers and sisters,

Our lives are temporary. Therefore, let us make use of our time by
performing deeds that will attract the Pleasure of Allah. There is nothing
wrong in searching for the comfort and wealth in this world, as long as we
do not forget to fill our hearts and soul with the remembrance of Allah.
Remember the advice and guidance of Rasulullah s.a.w. in a hadith
narrated by Ibnu Umar r.a.:
Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a traveller. Ibn 'Umar
then said: "When evening comes, do not expect (to live till) the morning,
and when morning comes, do not expect (to live till) the evening. Take from
your health (a preparation) for your illness, and from your life for your
death.
From todays sermon, allow me to summarize a few salient points: First,
there is an increasingly urgent need for humankind to return to Allah and
the teachings of His religion to fill the void and emptiness of our hearts and
soul. Second, among ways for us to be more resilient in facing the
pressure of our lives today is through solidifying our relationship with Allah.
Third, religion will help in adding meaning and direction and a sense of
purpose to our lives today.

May our return to the religion of Allah and through our practicing the
teachings of Islam, can help to establish ourselves to be people who are
not only wealthy in our material and educational pursuits, but also a
Mukmin who is wealthy in his heart, spirit and soul. Amin.