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Dear brothers and sisters, last week as we spoke about this idea of being self-centered rather than having a loss of

Hannah at the center of your life and as I said I want you to be introspective and not to think about other people but to think about some of these

traits as they may exist within ourselves. There was one point that we came to towards the end of the Khutbah which I think

is very important in inshaAllah for us to pick up on. Which is this idea of a person who becomes engulfed with their selves sees everything and everyone around them as either a threat or a tool.

And I mentioned that when we talk about Fira'un for example, you know Fira'un murdering children, it might not have really been about the children but it was more about, at the end of the day their

threat to his power, they're no longer of use to him. And many people may not be able to relate to such an extreme example. And so I wanted to pick up but with a very specific angle that we can take from this

Bidin dahi ta'ala and it starts with the foundation of Shukr, gratitude. And it's important for us to recognize that whether we're talking about the negative or the positive we start with the

foundation that's laid out for us in the Qur'an and the sum of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam as inherent good qualities that keep continue to bear fruit or negative qualities that are unchecked that continue to cause a person trouble.

And when it comes to Shukr, when it comes to gratitude of course we know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala always starts off with gratitude to him because no one has ever done more for you than him. No one has ever given more to you than him.

No one deserves more praise and more thanks than him and then immediately goes to the parents. That is the methodology of the Qur'an over and over and over again. That you'll never be able to repay Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala no matter what you do.

And you will never be able to repay your parents. And even if you can't remember the moments that your parents held you, hamalatuh ummuhul kurha.

Allah is reminding you to play back the tape that your mother held you in pain. She bore you in pain and then she gave birth to you and then she went through all of that trouble.

And the father went through all of that trouble and even if you can't see it now, your existence, they were the suba before your existence, the means by which you exist and so much in your life and so much of their life went into solely investing in you.

You can't repay them and then everything else follows. That's how this always goes within the Qur'an. Now when it comes to sugar, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala also distinguishes between the beginning of sugar and the long term manifestation of sugar.

The beginning of gratitude is that you try to pay someone back and you thank them. You say alhamdulillah. The long term of sugar is al wa fa, is loyalty.

It's to remember without having to constantly be reminded what someone has done for you. And again that starts off with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And the Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has taught us through his messenger, Salallahu alayhi wa sallam that whoever does not think the people does not think Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Therefore the opposite of that, whoever forgets the favors of Allah upon them will always forget the favors of the people upon them.

If you forget Allah's blessings upon you, you're going to naturally forget what people have done for you.

And the most insulting thing in the world is to use the favors and the blessings that someone has given to you against them.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala creates you and you worship other than him with what he created you with.

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