​Continuing to read from the book "the character of a Muslim as molded by the Quran and Sunnah" Chapter discussing how a Muslim should be with themself 

​Reading from the book "Character of A Muslim as molded by the Quran and Sunnah" with an emphasis on the role of the Muslim in their family

 At the conclusion of this presentation the audience will be able to:
- List the five pillars of Islam
- Discuss modesty and gender Interaction considerations when caring for a Muslim patient
- List dietary restrictions 
- Discuss Maternity, Labor and Delivery and End of life issues as they pertain to the Islamic faith

​Reading from the book of "The character of a Muslim as molded by the Quran and Sunnah" with an emphasis on the role of a Muslim in their community

​My radio interview with Jessica Crew of Clear The Noise. This aired on WELT 95.7 FM on July 18th

​A translation of a khutbah (sermon) by Dr. Nabulsi (http://www.nabulsi.com)

وعن أبي هريرة، رضي الله عنه، أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، قال: "يقول الله تعالى: أنا عند ظن عبدي بي، وأنا معه إذا ذكرني، فإن ذكرني في نفسه، ذكرته في نفسي وإن ذكرني في ملإٍ ذكرته في ملإٍ خير منهم ، وإن تقرب إلي بشبر تقربت إليه ذراعا ، وإن تقرب إلي ذراعا تقربت إليه باعا ، وإن أتاني يمشي أتيته هرولة ) رواه البخاري ومسلم" ((متفق عليه)).
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah the Exalted says: 'I am as my slave expects me to be, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me inwardly, I will remember him inwardly, and if he remembers Me in an assembly, I will remember him in a better assembly (i.e., in the assembly of angels) and if he approaches me an inch, I come towards him an arm's length and if he walks towards me I run towards him"
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Also, God says in the Holy Quran 39:53
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۞ قُلْ يَٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."

A couple of things to ponder:
Firstly, God still calls the ones who sinned and excessively transgressed the limits set by Him as His servants. He did not excommunicate them or oust them from the folds of the faith even though they are sinning. He instead reminds us of His expansive mercy and His limitless forgiveness.

​Secondly, things like "You haven't prayed in 5 years, now you want to pray?" Or "you were just out partying and drinking, now you want to come close to God" are ways in which satan tries to detract you from the mercy of God but think about the verse in light of the above hadeeth. If one is to assume/expect the best of God then one shall receive that and then some. You take the first step and God will run towards you.

​"Do you know who is bankrupt? people around him answered "It's the one who has no money and no property" So he said "The bankrupt is the one who comes on the day of judgment having prayed, fasted, and paid zakah (elms) but has also cursed that person, slandered this other person, stole from the money of that person, killed another person and hit another. So each one of those whom he have wronged will be given from his good deeds until all his good deeds are wiped out but he has not yet paid off the wrong he's done. So God takes from his victims' bad deeds and add them to his and hell is his abode"

God says at the end of the second chapter that He does not burden a soul beyond its capacity. 
Holy Quran 2:286------------------لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ
Which to me says that I can handle whatever it is I'm going through because if I couldn't, God wouldn't have put me through it in the first place. This is not to say that I can't struggle with it, feel overwhelmed by it or tired from it. Rather it's to say "there is a light at the end of the tunnel" and although the journey may be difficult or uncomfortable, I know that at the end I'll get through it. 
Then in the same verse, He continues to say that each soul earns what it has of good or bad 
Holy Quran 2:286------------------ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ
Reminding me that at the end of the day I am going to face the consequences of the choices I make and will be held accountable for them on the day of judgement. 
This latter concept becomes clearer in the following chapter, verse 30 where God says that each soul, on the day of judgement, will find whatever good it has done before it and whatever bad it has done, would wish that there was a great vast distance. 
Holy Quran 3:30------------------
يَوْمَ تَجِدُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا عَمِلَتْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ مُّحْضَرًا وَمَا عَمِلَتْ مِن سُوٓءٍ تَوَدُّ لَوْ أَنَّ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَهُۥٓ أَمَدًۢا بَعِيدًا ۗ 
The above two verses then put the following Hadith (statement/saying of prophet Mohamed) in perspective :
Prophet Mohammed asked his companions "do you know who is bankrupt?" And they replied "a bankrupt is the one who has no wealth and no property" to which he replied "bankrupt is the one who, on the day of judgement, has come with prayers, fast and zakah (alms) but has also come having cursed this person, slandered that person, took from the money of this person, spilled the blood of that person and hit that other person. So each one of his victims is given from the good deeds of the one who transgressed against them until all his good deeds are gone but he has not yet paid his debt to them. So God takes from their bad deeds and adds to his and hellfire is his abode" 
يقول عليه الصلاة والسلام((أتَدْرُونَ ما المُفْلِسُ؟ فقالوا: المفْلسُ فينا من لا درهم له, ولا متاع, فقال: إن المفْلسَ مَنْ يأتي يوم القيامة؛ بصلاة, وصيام, وزكاة، ويأتي قد شَتَمَ هذا، وقذفَ هذا، وأكل مال هذا، وسفك دم هذا، وضرب هذا، فيُعطَى هذا من حسناته، وهذا من حسناته، فإن فَنيَتْ حَسَناتُهُ أُخِذَ من خطاياهم؛ فطُرِحَتْ عليه، ثم يُطْرَحُ في النار))[أخرجه مسلم والترمذي Prayer, fast, zakah and meeting one's obligations of faith would amount to nothing if those acts of worship are stained with immorality, transgression and dishonesty. A Muslim is one who uses the foundation of faith to build a strong beautiful structure of character.