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in
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alhamdulillah
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my dear brothers and
sisters I would like to take you back
into history in fact a very pivotal
moment in our history as a
civilization and that was the day that
the Amir
Theif he opened
up Muslims finally after much time had
opened it up and
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as is on his way to
Jerusalem he has one of his close
companions
with him and he looks
at and he says
yeah I've met the rulers of Persia the
rulers of the Byzantine the rulers of
Rome and I look at their clothing and I
find it so luxurious so pompous and then
I look at you and then you can
imagine with his humble clothing with
patches on it perhaps even a few tears
and he says
are you not more deserving of this
luxury are you not more deserving of
This Magnificent
lifestyle and
then there was a term that he had coined
completely this is his anyone who says
it is following his footsteps he
says had anyone said this other than you
I would have chopped off their
heads he was such a merciful man subh he
never actually implemented this but just
to scare the people you know to to show
him who's the boss now the point being
this is where the Crux of our discussion
will
begin he went on to say and to share
something that needs to be written in
Gold hung on the walls hung in our
hearts Remembered in our minds he
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said we are a people whom Allah has
honored and given dignity and given
respect through our
Islam and when we seek that honor
dignity and respect through other than
Islam that is when Allah subhana wa
ta'ala humiliates us and disgraces us
and this is where I would like to bring
about our topic of discussion I'm Muslim
and I'm proud in our day and age if you
look at the climate of the world and the
state of the Muslim umah you would see
that there are certain elements in it
that make us so proud that alhamdulillah
there's a Revival of Islam people are
turning back to the religion people are
going to the mass people are learning
their Dean but then you look at other
elements of the Muslims not of Islam but
of the Muslims that there are still some
of the biggest criminals in the world it
is our countries that have the biggest
oppressors and then you try to figure
out what is going wrong Allah subhah wa
ta'ala his messenger sallallahu alaih
wasallam the they told us what went
wrong what went wrong was we became a
nation that tried to seek respect
through other than Islam we became a
people who sought money we sought power
and we sought greed but we left our very
fundamentals we left our
principles I want you to think about the
first revelation and the second
Revelation that came to the messenger of
Allah sallallahu alaih wasallam and the
reason why I ask you to reflect upon
this is because what a daunting t ask it
must have been for the messenger of
Allah to actually become a prophet to go
from just a regular man to become a
prophet of Allah subhah wa ta'ala and
call the people to Islam so how did
Allah subhana wa ta'ala instill
confidence instill power inside the
messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi
wasallam so that 1,400 years later we
can become proud of him and this is the
secret to becoming a proud Muslim proud
to be Muslim the very first revelation
Allah subhana tala gave the messenger of
Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam was
what what was the first revelation of
people read learn educate yourself and
then look at the second Revelation that
Allah subhana wa gave to the messenger
of Allah it
was and the first the second commandment
is given to the messenger of Allah
sallallahu alaih wasallam Allah subhana
says stand up and call the people so you
see over here a strong correlation
between learning and increasing in
knowledge and educating oneself and then
implementing that knowledge and this in
essence is the recipe for becoming a
proud Muslim to becoming an umah that
has respect honor and dignity have you
ever thought about how the messenger of
Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam gained
that
confidence it was with these two
concepts and then the third commandment
he was given
the third commandment he was given by
Allah subhana wa
tala that stand up in the night and pray
to Allah subhana wa ta'ala so knowledge
action upon that knowledge and building
a relationship with your very Creator
and you will see throughout history the
bright moments in our history have been
when the leaders and the Muslims have
encompassed all three of these elements
knowledge action and a good relationship
with very Creator so now what is the
essence of Isa what is the essence of
power might and respect it is none other
than aliz Allah subhana wa taala himself
one of the most beloved names to Allah
subhana wa tala is Al aiz and that is
why you see it repeated throughout the
Quran so many times and not only does
Allah subhana wa tala use this name so
frequently Allah subhana wa tala says it
explicitly that if you desire is
then all is for Allah subhana waala
alone so now us coming 14400 years later
how do we get this Isa how do we turn
back to our golden age of Islam that we
once had firstly it starts off by
increasing ourselves in knowledge and
this knowledge that we desire and we
should desire is of two categories
number one knowledge of our very Dean
itself and number two knowledge of the
great people that have left their
legacies behind in Islam so let us
increase ourselves in knowledge of this
beautiful religion let us talk about
what are some of the fundamental
principles of this religion one of the
most fundamental principles of our
religion is that we can proudful say
that we are the only or at least one of
the very very few religions that call to
True monotheism that not only do we
believe in one one Creator and one
sustainer but in fact the Crux of our
religion is that we worship Allah
subhana wa ta'ala alone and this is the
most fundamental pillar of our faith
something that we can be proud with and
this was the Crux message of the Quran
the Crux message of the prophethood of
the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi
wasallam in fact the scholars of Islam
have said if you were to choose just one
theme throughout the Sunnah and one
theme throughout the Quran you would see
that both the Quran and the Sunnah
revolve around
worshiping Allah subhana wa ta'ala
alone what is another theme we find in
our beautiful religion we find the theme
of love that we are commanded to love
our creator we're commanded to love our
people in fact we will not enter Jenna
until we become people who love one
another the messenger of Allah
sallallahu alai wasallam
said
the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi
wasallam he said you will never enter
Paradise until you believe and you will
never believe until you love one another
so shall I not guide you to that thing
which will increase you in love for one
another spread the salams amongst
yourselves and Subhan Allah I've been to
many Muslim countries but I have never
felt love like I have here in Malaysia
Subhan Allah I remember coming to the
Islamic University of Malaysia yesterday
delivering the jba you know usually
after the J you'll get two or three
people coming to ask you a question but
I had something yesterday that I've
never experienced in my life before and
that was literally without exaggeration
two to 300 people coming up to me saying
can I take a picture with
you and I was like this is the first
experience but for me what stuck out
even the most was how polite the people
were they would always come up
amum by the way can I take a picture
with you but I love the fact that they
gave salams and then when I left the
university you have all of these
students and all these Future Leaders
inshallah as you're walking through the
university everyone's saying Asam
alayum Alum and I thought to myself
Subhan Allah this is one of the great
legacies of Islam that has been left
behind that we wish peace for one
another as we walk by one another so one
of the key elements of our religion love
for one another what is another element
of our faith mercy and compassion for
those of you who study Hadith you'll
notice that when you study Hadith your
the first Hadith he will usually teach
you
is that have mercy upon the people of
this earth and the one who is in the
heavens he shall have mercy upon you
this was one of the fundamental
components of our conduct with one
another in fact if you look at what
Allah subhana wa tala sent the messenger
of Allah sallah alaihi wasallam with how
does Allah Define
it and that we have not sent you oh
Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam
except as a mercy for all of
mankind so where is that Mercy
today a key element from our faith is
forgiveness you look at Yu Alam yfam he
was betrayed by his own Brothers he was
treated unjustly thr into a well in fact
originally they had thought let us kill
him but then one of the brothers said no
we'll just throw him into a well he gets
thrown into a well he's picked up taken
into slavery he's accused of something
foul and then he's imprisoned unjustly
and then while he's imprisoned the
people he spoke to to help get him out
they forget about him think about what a
difficult life that is now some years go
by and then he confronts his brothers
again he's in a state of Isa he's in the
state of power he's a minister now he
can have them exiled he can have them
imprisoned he can have them executed but
what does he do he shows the epitome of
forgiveness he
says that no reproach or blame be upon
you today may Allah subhana wa tala
forgive you for he indeed he is the most
forgiving and the most merciful of all
those that show Mercy and when was this
repeated it was repeated by the
messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi
wasallam when he entered mecah for 13
years he was persecuted his companions
killed physically mentally emotionally
abused and then he enters Makkah in the
state of is doing what he could have
done again he humbles himself in front
of the Kaa and he tells the
people that no blame or reproach be upon
you today may Allah forgive you and then
all of Makkah entered into Islam on that
day Subhan Allah showing you the power
of character showing you the power of
Integrity showing what wins the hearts
of people showing one of the key
fundamentals of our beautiful religion
forgiveness and you can go on and on
looking at the key themes in the Quran
and the key themes in the Sunnah and key
themes in the S of the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wasallam and this will
increase you in being a proud Muslim
because how many religions can claim
that their religion is so perfect that
it calls to the Oneness of Allah and his
worship alone and then it calls to such
good conduct and character and then what
else does it call to it calls to Justice
Allah subhana wa T
says that be just for indeed it is the
closest thing to tawa and look at the
example of the messenger of Allah
sallallahu alaihi wasallam during the
Battle of bad one of the first
confrontations the Muslims are having
with the disbelievers at that time there
was a man who was not straight in line
in fact he was sticking out and his
stomach was sticking out so the
messenger of Allah sallallahu alaih was
he took his staff and he hid his stomach
so that he would stand up straight
someone who is courageous someone who's
Brave someone who looks as if he's going
out for battle and at that time that man
he took offense he said oh messenger of
Allah I want my retribution you hit me
on justly it was not called for now what
does the messenger of allahi wasallam do
think about the situation the they're
about to go into their first battle
everyone's on edge everyone you know is
nervous they're anxious the messenger of
could have told them look you know your
place get back in line we'll deal with
this later but he didn't do that he
showed us that even in such moments when
the odds are against you you have to be
just because it is with Justice that
Allah subhana wa tala grants Victory and
Isa so what did the messenger of Allah
sallallahu alaihi wasallam do he walks
up to the man he says here's the staff
and he lifts up his shirt he says go
ahead and hit it now what do you think
this companion would do was he going to
hit the messenger of Allah who would in
his right mind would do that sallallahu
alaihi wasallam the man he bent down and
he kissed the stomach of the messenger
of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam and
it shows you how even in you know times
of War they weren't afraid or ashamed of
showing of their love and affection for
for one another especially the messenger
of Allah sallallahu alaih wasallam so
these are fundamental themes fundamental
characteristics that we need to live by
by so this is the first element of
knowledge getting to know what our
religion is truly about then you move to
the second element of knowledge that I
was speaking about and that is getting
to know the luminaries of our beautiful
Faith people who have left behind great
legacies from the people who have left
great legacies are Abdullah HFA showing
the effect of
perseverance during the time
of the Muslims went out for an
expedition addition to Rome and during
that time a group of Muslims was
captured at the head of which was
Abdullah
HFA Abdullah hufa and his group his
Legion they're
imprisoned now the ruler of Rome at that
time he had heard about the Companions
and he had heard how literally they were
like
superheroes that these were people who
during the day were out on the
battlefield fighting and during the
night they're standing up in prayer
reciting the Quran bear barely sleeping
barely eating barely needing anything
from this world and at that time he
thought you know what I want some of
these superheroes to join me to be a
part of my family to create a greater
Legacy for Rome so once they're captured
the emperor the ruler he didn't kill
them he didn't persecute them but rather
he comes up to Abdullah HFA and he says
look I will let every one of you go
every single one of you just marry my
daughter meaning have children let from
the lineage of the companions become out
other superheroes
abdah he remembers who his leader
is the man who literally threatened to
chop people's heads off so he's like no
way you know you could be the ruler of
Rome I don't care who you are Omar said
no it's not happening I can't marry the
enemy of the daughter the emperor he's
not used to hearing no he was shocked
he's infuriated he's very upset he goes
back to his chamber he cont lates and
you know deliberates takes some time a
couple of hours maybe a day goes by and
he comes back and he says I'm not
accustomed to hearing no but I can
understand the situation that you are in
you are seeking protection not only will
I give you the hand of my daughter but I
will give you half of my kingdom half of
Rome this is one of the biggest Empires
at that time he says all you have to do
is marry my daughter and I will give you
half of my Empire and I will let all of
your companions go
abdullaha he does not even need to think
about it doesn't even contemplate it and
you can imagine how difficult this is
because the two biggest desires for a
man are women and wealth and here he's
getting the best of both of them but he
knows again that this is the religion of
Allah om is his leader the messenger of
Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam is his
prophet and there's a greater purpose to
be lived rather than just the luxuries
and desires of this Dy he again says no
to the emperor a second
time so what does the emperor do this
time he goes back and he invites all of
the
prisoners and this time he brings a
large cauldron of hot burning oil and I
want you to imagine if you've fried
something once you put the oil on the
hot Pand you hear that sizzling sound
the sound of boiling oil oil is even
worse cuz it's not sizzling anymore
you're just hearing bubbles popping and
that's what's happening in this large
cauldron of oil so the emperor he brings
out all the prisoners with Abdullah HFA
and he says I'll give you one more
chance marry my daughter have half of
the Kingdom abdah he says no again so
what does the emperor do this time he
takes one of the
prisoners he lifts him up and he throws
him into this cauldron of boiling hot
oil all you hear is that frying
sound and then at the top of the
cauldron you see these floating bones
without any
flesh at that time Abdullah HFA he
starts crying the emperor he rejoices he
thinks he's won Abdullah HFA over but he
lets Abdullah HFA and the rest of the
prisoners go back to their
prison and then he comes to abdah HFA
and he says look I can destroy all of
you like this this just marry my
daughter Abdullah he says no this is the
fourth time and this Emperor has never
heard no before now the emperor is ready
to give up at that very time he says
look
Abdullah just kiss me on the forehead
and I will let you go what does abdah
HFA say at this time he still says no
it's not good enough for him to be let
free he says let me and all of the
companions go and then I'll kiss your
for
it the king at that time you know he's
upset he's like I have there's no way
I'm going to win this man overas go
ahead abdah he kisses him on the
forehead and the Muslims are let free
the king knew he wasn't going to get
anywhere with them a messenger from
amongst them he hurried back
to and he
told that today one man freed a nation
through a single kiss Omar got up onto
the mumar and he repeated it to the
people that today one man freed Nation
through a single kiss so as Abdullah
comes back into Medina Let each and
every one of you kiss his
forehead so I want you to imagine that
this Legion of prisoners of Warriors is
coming back into Medina who's standing
on the m to welcome
them who's in the Masid the rest of the
Companions and as Abdullah is coming
in kisses his forehead and each
companion thereon kisses his forehead
this is a lesson in perseverance that we
as a nation we will go through trials we
will go through tribulations but we will
never break our backs we will never
subdue ourselves except to Allah
subhanahu wa'ta'ala and that is the
result of it Victory now that man that
one companion who was killed do you know
why Abdullah HFA cried at that time he
was later asked about it he didn't cry
because of pain he cried because of Joy
he said wo to me if I could be that
companion that I could go through a
minute of pain to live in an eternity of
Paradise in fact if I could relive that
moment with the amount of hair that I
have on my head meaning a en numerous
amount of times I would do so because he
realized that paradise is your ultimate
abot let's go on to other luminaries
that was perseverance let's talk about
luminaries in philanthropy a noble
companion by the name
of he was from the poorest of companions
how poor was he he owned nothing in this
world except for two pieces of clothing
his upper garment and his lower garment
and one day the messenger of Allah
sallallahu alaihi wasallam is collecting
money so he's asking people to give in
the way of Allah subhana wa tala so he
comes to the messenger of Allah
sallallahu alaihi wasallam and he says
you know I only have these two clothings
and he gives his upper clothing and he
sits next to the messenger of Allah
sallallahu alaihi wasallam perhaps that
someone would give charity so he could
give it out in the way of Allah subhana
wa
tala and he sees companion after
companion coming and they're giving
money they're giving whatever they have
to Allah's messenger sallallahu alaihi
wasallam till a time comes
where he starts crying and he walks
away now why does he cry why does he
walk away is he crying because he's
asked to give and does not want to give
no he's C lying because he wants to give
but he has nothing to give he just has
his lower garment which if he gave away
he would be Ned completely it was so
beautiful Allah preserved it in the
Quran that their eyes flooded with tears
not because they were asked to give and
didn't want to but because they were
asked to give and they had nothing to
give then look at the likes of Abu Bak
that when the messenger of Allah s alai
wasallam needed money he brought
everything that he had he's asked what
did you leave behind for your family he
says I've left behind Allah and his
messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam
this was a generosity that was unknown
before the Companions and was unknown
after the time of the companions but it
is a part of our great legacy that we
can be proud of and you look at the
stories of the companions thereafter and
you will see that there are many many
other great examples take an example of
Courage of Al Malik the Muslims are in
an
expedition and they are outside a big
fortress they can throw their arrows
nothing's penetrating they can try
hitting the door nothing is penetrating
it the only way to defeat and win this
Expedition now is if someone is thrown
over the Fortress defends himself and
opens the door the companions are asked
which one of you would want to do this
hands after hands are going up but who
was the first hand it was the hand of Al
Malik and I want you to imagine this
almost as as if it is you know uh an
image out of Wy coyote and the
Roadrunner you know how W coyot was
always doing like crazy things pulling
himself on slingshots and catapults and
anything to catch the Road Runner this
is what Al Malik did he got onto a
catapult he got onto a catapult they
pulled it back and they threw him over
the fence they threw him over the gate
now you may think he's being thrown into
the enemy how is he going to survive
this is
suicide but look at the courage of aln
Malik not only is he thrown over he
defends himself opens the door for the
Muslims and the Muslims win that
expedition I ask you my dear brothers
and sisters where is that courage we're
not in a time of War right now
alhamdulillah the Muslims are safe we're
not fighting but where is the courage of
leadership where are the people who need
to stand up for this religion everyone
has become so busy in their lives so
busy with the Affairs of this world but
what about the Affairs of the Hereafter
who is going to do them for you if you
do not do it
yourselves so this is all a part of our
past this is theoretical knowledge let's
get into our discussion of how do we as
Muslims now become a powerful Mighty
respected dignified Nation once again I
would like to share a quote with you
from the famous poet
arumi he says yesterday I was clever so
I thought I was going to change the
world today I am wise so I have decided
to change myself and this is how the um
will change when each individual takes
it upon themselves not to change the
world but changing the world through
changing yourself first because because
this is what it is all about this world
it consists of individuals and up and
until we fix the individuals starting
with ourselves and starting with our
family members and our closest friends
and neighbors we will never truly be
able to make a difference so it always
begins with yourself first what do you
need to change in yourselves and in
ourselves we need to do everything
withan meaning that not only does it
need to be for the sake of Allah subhana
wa ta'ala
it needs to be as the messenger of Allah
s alai wasallam responded when he was
asked
by he
said it is to worship Allah subhah wa
taala as though you can see him and know
that even though you cannot see him know
that he sees you meaning that your
ultimate goal is to one day stand in
front of Allah subhana wa'ta'ala
and to see his beautiful face the
greatest luxury in Paradise how do you
get to that state in this world knowing
and realizing that Allah subhah wa
ta'ala himself is watching you so
everything that you do in this world do
it with proficiency do it with
excellence and this is why the messenger
of Allah sallallah alaihi wasallam
said that
indeed excellence and proficiency has
been commanded in everything even in the
way we sacrifice animals and we prepare
them to eat we do it with Excellence
even though it is such a trivial matter
this isan so we live our lives
withan number two
is living according to the ultimate
relationship we have in this world and
that ultimate relationship is with Allah
subhana wa ta'ala that while you have
the Affairs of this World there needs to
be a counterbalance in Remembering Allah
subhana wa ta'ala that Allah subhana wa
ta'ala he created you in this world for
one sole purpose and that is to worship
him now when we think about worship we
think it's about restricting ourselves
to the mass we think about the month of
Ramadan we think about Haj these are
just small components of our worship
small components of our I but I is so
much greater your sleep can become an
Act of I if it's to Grant you strength
so that you can worship Allah the food
that you eat becomes I for you if you
say and do it for gaining strength
spending your time with your family
becomes an act of I because bringing a
smile to the face of your fellow Muslim
is an act of Charity so your whole life
can become an Act of I and that is what
you need to focus on if you look at the
life of the messenger of Allah
sallallahu alaihi wasallam where did he
get his strength he got his strength Str
through praying in the middle of the
night praying in the middle of the night
so that he could change the world during
the day the wife of
OMD she was asked what was the secret of
success for OMB
ABD she said he divided his day and
night into two the night was spent in
being in the service of his creator
seeking reciting Quran making praying
purely for the sake of Allah subhana wa
ta'ala and then his days they were spent
in the service of the people so service
in Allah at night service for the people
during the day the key to success both
of them have to go hand inand so you
while doing the Affairs of this world
you need a strong relationship with
Allah because your relationship with
Allah subhana wa taala is going to be
your source of strength and the last and
third point I want to share before I
conclude is that we will only become a
respectful and dignified Nation once
again is if we live by the principles
and code of conduct of our
religion and I will share and conclude
with this one story that I believe
epitomizes
it during the time of
om there were two men who brought in a
young boy dragging into the
courthouse
so he asked him what is this what is
going on why are you dragging him into
the courthouse they say this boy he
killed our
father he asks him did you really kill
their father the boy says yes I did kill
their father but it was by accident my
camel it used to tread on their property
so one day their father took a rock and
hit the camel in the eye and I saw the
camel suffering and it made me infurious
and aggravated so I took a rock and I
threw it at the father it hid him in the
head and he
died he asks the the two brothers will
you forgive this young boy for this
accident they say no we want KAS we want
retribution
so he asked the young boy do you have
any last words any last wishes any last
requests and the young boy says yes my
father passed away and I have a younger
brother and my father left some money
behind for my younger brother I would
like three days to go and retrieve this
wealth in from a hidden place so that I
can make sure my brother gets it when I
die and pass away so he thinks this boy
is making up the story he's like boy
what are you talking about what wealth
what father what Young Brother the young
boy he says trust me om he says okay I
will trust you but find a guaran for you
someone who will guarantee that you will
come back the young boy he looks around
there's a packed Courthouse will someone
not help me today and everyone as the
boys looking around they turn their face
away they turn their faces down no one
wants to help this boy then from the
back of the courthouse a hand races up
whose hand is
it the noble and illustrious companion
who gave da to so many of the tribes he
says I will be the guaran of this boy
Now understand what it means to be the
guaran meaning that if this boy does not
come back it is the head of
ab that will be choed off that he will
be killed abari he says I will be the
guer so the boy goes away the first day
goes by the boy is nowhere to be seen
the second day goes by the boy still
nowhere to be
seen time comes on the third day the two
brothers go to
AB and they say come with us to the
courthouse it is time
AB says I will come to the courthouse
but the day does not end
until so now Abu alari is walking
through Medina with these two brothers
they're going to the courthouse and the
people of Medina are following behind
them all getting to the courthouse to
see what is going to happen it is now
the Talk of the Town you can imagine
minutes are going by the courthouse is
filling up the anxiety is building up
will Abu gari have his life sack
sacrificed for the mistake of a boy and
literally minutes before the
of the boy rushes in people are now
shouting they're you know happy they're
wondering what's going to happen you
know will everyone be forgiven will
everyone be happy what's going to happen
so the Boy comes in thean for hasn't
gone he asks the boy oh boy why did you
come back I did not send a spy behind
you I did not send anyone to follow you
what made you come
back he said that I did not want anyone
to say that a Muslim gave his word and
did not fulfill it so I came back omab
he turns to Abu and he says oh Abu what
made you want to be the guer of this
boy he says I saw a Muslim in need and
he did not want anyone to ever say that
a Muslim was in need and no one was
there to help him so I raised my hand to
be his
guer the two
brothers they say when we have people
like this how can a Muslim ask for
forgiveness and no one be there to
forgive him so they forgave the boy and
the boy was
forgiven this was the legacy of Islam
this was the code of conduct this is why
during the of they were able to reach
the border of China all the way to the
the south of France because they had
strong relationships with Allah they did
things withan and they lived with the
code of conduct of Islam and this is
when Allah subhah wa ta'ala will restore
the is of this nation and will make us
once again proud of the great legacies
that have have been left behind in hopes
that one day we will be called a great
legacy my dear brothers and
sisters it is a time where we need to
stand up and begin with changing
ourselves and becom proud of who we are
as Muslims Believers in Allah
worshippers of Allah followers of the
messenger of Allah sallallahu alai wasam
reciters of the Quran people who pray
five times a day and they do it with
honor dignity and respect I pray that
Allah purifies our hearts and cleanses
them and fills them with Iman and
restores our great legacy starting with
us today that with this confence we
begin to change for the better so that
it can be said that in Malaysia there
was once a people who did things withan
they had a strong relationship with
Allah and they restored the great legacy
of beginning with
[Applause]
Malaysia
[Music]
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