By: Ayesha Qaiser, one of our Youth volunteers and member of the Sisters Youth Council

Brother Mohamed Hoblos is an Australian Islamic preacher and motivational speaker. On December 29, 2023, IPC Jame Masjid Mississauga, had the honour of having Brother Hoblos come in as a guest speaker to speak on the revival of Imaan. A few topics that were discussed include actions by intention, the story of Abdullah ibn Hudhafah (RA), the emperor of Byzantine, and how the Quran serves as guidance.

Actions by intention is from the Hadith narrated on the authority of Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), say, "Actions are according to intentions, and everyone will get what was intended. Whoever migrates with an intention for Allah and His Messenger, migration will be for the sake of Allah and His Messenger. And whoever migrates for worldly gain or to marry a woman, then his migration will be for the sake of whatever he migrated for." (Bukhari & Muslim). One can learn from this that it is important to set the right intention as it precedes the action completed.

The story of Abdullah ibn Hudhafah (RA) and the emperor of Byzantine, in short, is about how upon capture by the Byzantines, he was brought in front of the emperor who tried to bribe and threaten him into revoking his faith in Allah (SWT) and his Messenger (PBUH) and becoming Christian instead. However, Abdullah ibn Hudhafah (RA) remained steadfast in his faith and did not allow the tyranny of the emperor to faze him. The story inspires one to prioritize their faith in Allah (SWT) instead of materialistic things and to not let worldly life distract them from the straight path.

Surah Al-Fatihah is the opening Surah of the Quran and is recited multiple times during Salah. The 6th verse of Surah Al-Fatihah translates to, “Guide us along the Straight Path.” The request for guidance is answered by the 2nd verse of Surah Al-Baqarah which translates to, “This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah.” This tells us that the Quran should be the first place we look to when needing guidance.

The topics talked about preached for the revival of faith within the hearts of listeners, through setting correct intentions, not getting distracted by worldly desires, and turning to the Quran for guidance, among the other topics discussed.

We would like to express our gratitude to Br. Mohammed Hoblos for coming to our masjid and giving us some important inspiration about how to continue with our faith. We all learnt a lot from his talk, and we have been inspired to better ourselves.