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For many, the new year signifies new beginnings and a chance for a lifestyle reset. For many Muslims, however, there is confusion regarding how we should respond to the modern-day new year greetings and celebrations. In this insightful episode, Shaykh Hamza broadens the discussion with insights from great scholars of the past, such as Imam al-Juwayni, on the importance of time-keeping and calendars. Reflecting on the orderly motions of the sun and the moon allows us to see God's mercy and wisdom in providing us with a means, through these celestial bodies, to measure time and regulate both our worldly and devotional affairs. For the believer, the new year brings opportunities for expressing gratitude to our Creator, sharing our blessings, and doing other good work. In that spirit, can we say, “Happy New Year”? About the Sacred Text Messages podcast: In this age of material excess and spiritual privation, grounding ourselves in divine guidance has never been more critical. The Sacred Text Messages podcast with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf provides an antidote to the modern madness by reconnecting us with God and His Messenger ﷺ. Listen to timeless wisdoms from sacred sources and rediscover Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Read more about https://sandala.org/hamza-yusuf/ (Hamza Yusuf). Visit us online at https://sandala.org/ (Sandala.org).

The company you keep leads to your success or failure depending upon what type of companionship you choose. Abū Musā al-Ashʿarī narrated a beautiful hadith of the Prophet Muhammad where he likened one's company to either a seller of musk or a blacksmith. The seller of musk will leave you with perfume or a pleasant fragrance, whereas the blacksmith may cause burns and leave you with malodor. Expounding on this important prophetic parable, our scholars identified eight types of people that you can spend time with. Two bestow gifts, and the other six can result in a loss of one's precious time in vain pursuits and vacuous recreation. Tune in and listen to Shaykh Hamza as he discusses the sacred texts that counsel us on the importance of judiciously choosing our company. The Book of Proverbs (13:20-25) Keep company with the wise and you will become wise. If you make friends with stupid people, you will be ruined.Trouble follows sinners everywhere, but righteous people will be rewarded with good things. Good people will have wealth to leave to their grandchildren, but the wealth of sinners will go to the righteous. Unused fields could yield plenty of food for the poor, but unjust people keep them from being farmed.If you don't punish your children, you don't love them. If you do love them, you will correct them. The righteous have enough to eat, but the wicked are always hungry. About the Sacred Text Messages podcast: In this age of material excess and spiritual privation, grounding ourselves in divine guidance has never been more critical. The Sacred Text Messages podcast with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf provides an antidote to the modern madness by reconnecting us with God and His Messenger ﷺ. Listen to timeless wisdoms from sacred sources and rediscover Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Read more about https://sandala.org/hamza-yusuf/ (Hamza Yusuf). Visit us online at https://sandala.org/ (Sandala.org).

Season 4 of Sacred Text Messages continues with an episode that warns of the Devil's favorite discourse, ghībah (backbiting). Today, the online and social media platforms allow for this discourse to spread like never before and are nearly impossible to erase from the virtual world. God commands us in sura al-Ḥujurāt to avoid mockery, one of the worst forms of backbiting, and He likens ghībah to eating the dead flesh of your brother. Shaykh Hamza expounds on these verses and reminds us that our journey toward virtuous character starts with restraining our tongue. One of our greatest hadith scholars, Imam al-Bukhārī, known for his truthfulness and upright character, would often recite these lines of poetic advice: "Have a vast character with people, and don't be like a dog that growls at the people." Tune in and learn to be aware of that inner "growling dog." About the Sacred Text Messages podcast: In this age of material excess and spiritual privation, grounding ourselves in divine guidance has never been more critical. The Sacred Text Messages podcast with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf provides an antidote to the modern madness by reconnecting us with God and His Messenger ﷺ. Listen to timeless wisdoms from sacred sources and rediscover Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Read more about https://sandala.org/hamza-yusuf/ (Hamza Yusuf). Visit us online at https://sandala.org/ (Sandala.org).

One of the most common debate points against Muslims centers around the Qur'an's ten recitations (qirā’āt) that have been codified and preserved by qualified scholars since the time of the Prophet’s companions. Detractors often use the linguistic variations as means to confound Muslims into doubting the immaculate authenticity of God's Book. In this powerful episode, Shaykh Hamza clears the confusion by unequivocally proving that the secret of the Qur'an's pristine preservation lies in God's assertion that it is an oral Book. Slight variations in pronunciation and even some of the words exist, but all the variations have been validated by our scholars and wondrously enhance the meanings—and hence the miracle—of the Qur’an. These sacred words have been preserved in the hearts of men and women since the time of their revelation. The guardian (ḥāfiẓ) of the Qur'an is the one who can not only recite from memory but also write the entire Book from memory. Today, you will find many of these guardians, throughout the world, who can flawlessly write out the muṣḥaf in its exact order. No matter what the devil's minions may try to use to stun the hearts of believers, it is the prophetic defibrillator that stabilizes us in these times of confusion. Tune in, and get a dose of spiritual cardioversion!

Sacred Text Messages returns in the blessed month of Rabi' al-Awwal with a profound discussion on a prescient hadith related in Imam al-Bayhaqi's collection: “The Messenger of God ﷺ is reported to have said, ‘The hearts rust, and they rust like iron will rust when exposed to water.' The Companions asked, 'How do we remove that rust?' He ﷺ replied, 'By much remembrance of death and recitation of the Qur’an.'" In modern terminology, rust is commonly referred to as oxidation, a phenomenon that has both physical and spiritual manifestations. Recent health fads have focused on anti-oxidant rich diets and supplements that prevent free radicals wreaking havoc on our vital cells and organs. But what about our spiritual organ, the heart? When we're blind to the corruptive forces on our soul, the oxidative process of the spiritual heart leaves us blind to the prophetic light. Our spiritual doctor, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, left us with an unfailing prescription. Tune in and learn to antioxidize! About the Sacred Text Messages podcast: In this age of material excess and spiritual privation, grounding ourselves in divine guidance has never been more critical. The Sacred Text Messages podcast with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf provides an antidote to the modern madness by reconnecting us with God and His Messenger ﷺ. Listen to timeless wisdoms from sacred sources and rediscover Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Read more about https://sandala.org/hamza-yusuf/ (Hamza Yusuf). Visit us online at https://sandala.org/ (Sandala.org).

Dr. Thomas Cleary performed the task of hundreds of men. He mastered Greek and Latin in his teens and went on to master Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Pali, Sanskrit, French, Bengali, Gaelic, Urdu, and several other languages. He then went on to translate some of the most important works in many of these languages, including a remarkable translation of the Qur’an. More than a gifted linguist, however, he was also a spiritual master of immense depth and insight. His comments on some verses from The Essential Koran should convince anyone of his remarkable gift. His passing is a great loss to the world in general and the Muslims in particular. The clarity he provided the fortunate few who attended his extraordinary classes at Zaytuna Institute in 2001 and 2002 have lingered long after the classes ended. Shaykh Hamza celebrates this remarkable luminary along with some reminiscing with Sayyid Feraidoon Mojadedi, the original founder of Zaytuna, about the early days of the school. About the Sacred Text Messages podcast: In this age of material excess and spiritual privation, grounding ourselves in divine guidance has never been more critical. The Sacred Text Messages podcast with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf provides an antidote to the modern madness by reconnecting us with God and His Messenger ﷺ. Listen to timeless wisdoms from sacred sources and rediscover Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Read more about https://sandala.org/hamza-yusuf/ (Hamza Yusuf). Visit us online at https://sandala.org/ (Sandala.org).

When the Prophet, God’s peace and blessings upon him, entered Medina, he counseled his fledgling community, “Spread peace, feed the poor, maintain kinship bonds, give a portion of the night to prayers, and you will enter Paradise in peace." In this podcast, you will hear from a group of brothers whose mission in life is to realize this hadith. Hamza Yusuf converses with a group of men whose journey of transformation will inspire you and may even ignite your soul to action. Join us in this extraordinary conversation of a group of former gangbangers who are now game changers. About the Sacred Text Messages podcast: In this age of material excess and spiritual privation, grounding ourselves in divine guidance has never been more critical. The Sacred Text Messages podcast with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf provides an antidote to the modern madness by reconnecting us with God and His Messenger ﷺ. Listen to timeless wisdoms from sacred sources and rediscover Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Read more about https://sandala.org/pages/about-us (Hamza Yusuf). Visit us online at https://sandala.org/ (Sandala.org).

In life’s mysterious journey, most of us will experience a transformative event that forces us to reevaluate and reorient ourselves. God asks in the Quran, “So where then are you going?,” a reminder for us to avoid the distractions of this world and to remain steadfast on His path. In this special episode, Haroon Sugich joins Shaykh Hamza in conversation about their own journey to Islam and the incredible lessons they’ve learned on the way. About the Sacred Text Messages podcast: In this age of material excess and spiritual privation, grounding ourselves in divine guidance has never been more critical. The Sacred Text Messages podcast with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf provides an antidote to the modern madness by reconnecting us with God and His Messenger ﷺ. Listen to timeless wisdoms from sacred sources and rediscover Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Read more about https://sandala.org/hamza-yusuf/ (Hamza Yusuf). Visit us online at https://sandala.org/ (Sandala.org).

The 1967 film “In the Heat of the Night” represents one of the first major motion pictures in which a black man has the leading role and is portrayed with dignity. Sidney Poitier plays Virgil Tibbs, a man falsely accused of murder. After a racist cop arrests Mr. Tibbs and brings him in for questioning, the police force of this small town discovers that Mr. Tibbs is a highly distinguished police detective from Philadelphia. The racist police chief makes a snarky remark: “Virgil? That’s a funny name for a [black man] that comes from Philadelphia. What do they call you up there?” In response, Mr. Poitier emphatically delivers one of the most iconic lines in cinema history: “They call me Mr. Tibbs!” Through his dignified behavior, he ends up winning over his obtuse and backward colleagues, holding his head high and solving the crime he was falsely accused of. In this podcast, we hear from a real Mr. Tibbs: Mr. Tobias Tubbs, a man falsely accused of murder who spent 28 years in a penitentiary for a crime he did not commit. Instead of serving time, Mr. Tubbs used his incarceration as time to serve—he transformed thousands of lost lives in the penitentiary, teaching men that while we do not choose our circumstances, we do have the freedom to respond to them with dignity. Now, with his partner in virtue, Anthony Samadani, the two are taking this knowledge painfully acquired to the streets. About the Sacred Text Messages podcast: In this age of material excess and spiritual privation, grounding ourselves in divine guidance has never been more critical. The Sacred Text Messages podcast with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf provides an antidote to the modern madness by reconnecting us with God and His Messenger ﷺ. Listen to timeless wisdoms from sacred sources and rediscover Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Read more about https://sandala.org/hamza-yusuf/ (Hamza Yusuf). Visit us online at https://sandala.org/ (Sandala.org).

The global online pornography industry is currently estimated to be nearly $40 billion and growing. Its pervasive nature remains a key destructive force in both the spirit of the individual and society. In the third part of our series on the nafs, Shaykh Hamza explains the profound impact our habits, good or bad, have on our hearts. In a time where demonic forces continuously assault us, the need for sacred veils and filters is more important than ever. Tune in for another powerful episode in which Shaykh Hamza gives the secret to breaking bad habits and addictions. And, there’s a sneak peak at next week's episode with two very special guests!

Season 3 of Sacred Text Messages continues with the second part of Shaykh Hamza's insightful commentary on Imam al-Ghazali's analysis of the nafs. In this episode, we learn the secret to winning the battle with our lower self: we need God. That realization alone is the critical first step toward success. No matter how strong we think we are, the inner jihad is a lifelong battle that requires complete reliance on God. For those ready to arm themselves with divine guidance, this is not an episode to be missed.

We're excited to start Season 3 of Sacred Text Messages, with an analysis of the nature of the nafs (lower self or ego) and its devilish inclinations. Shaykh Hamza navigates us through the core tenets of Imam al-Ghazali's brilliant text Mizan-al Amal (The measure of actions), from which we learn about the states of the nafs, its critical role in steering our actions, and how to tame its whimsical pursuits. Tune in to a new season, with timeless lessons from sacred sources that illuminate the mind and nourish the heart.