Untold Stories Of World History 08

Abdullah Hakim Quick

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Channel: Abdullah Hakim Quick

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00:00:00--> 00:00:01

La Jolla.

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Bismillah Ar Rahman r Rahim In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. I praise Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. And I send peace and blessings to all of the profits from the beginning of time. From the time of Adam alayhis, salam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses to Jesus, to Mohammed, peace and blessings be upon him all those righteous ones who walk the face of the earth, and I begin with the greeting words of the righteous. Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

00:01:26--> 00:02:22

The Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him, was the last of a long series of messengers and prophets, they came to every part of the world. prophets came to China, to India, to Russia, to Southeast Asia, to Africa, to Europe, to the Americas. And what united these messengers of Allah was the belief in one God, but the final prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, not only confirmed tawheed He not only confirmed the unity of belief, but he also confirmed or developed the unity of people themselves. And so amongst his followers, were people not only from the Arabian Peninsula, but from Persia, from Europe, from Ethiopia, from all parts of the known world.

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The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, dealt with his followers with love, regardless of their color, regardless of the language that they spoke amongst his illustrious companions, there are only five Sahaba who are listed to be from Allah Bashar from Abyssinia.

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They were the best of the Sahaba. They had come from their countries, they had struggled, they were striving with the other believers. And there are a few of them who are very prominent in the annals of history.

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Ayman radi Allahu Allah. It is reported by the books of Sierra the prophetic biography, that she was the dry nurse of the Prophet, peace be upon him and when his mother passed away, she was the one who brought him back to Mecca. She remained an important person to him all of his life.

00:03:23--> 00:03:38

Even later, in Medina, when they mentioned that a man wasn't was in his presence, the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him although he was the last messenger and also a mighty ruler, he would stand and he would greet her with love.

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For amongst the Ethiopian companions of the prophets of Salaam, was also saved on a below rhodiola one, and he is known as the caller to prayer. He has known as the one who suffered severely during the meccan period, and when he was being tortured, he would cry a hot a hot one, he confirmed and maintained his belief in the one God and it is reported that the Prophet peace be upon him. On one occasion, when he was given a vision of Paradise, he heard sounds, and he recognized the footsteps of below. And so below was promised paradise radi Allahu anhu before his death.

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Amongst the Ethiopian companions also was men hedge and habashi

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Abu Bakar, Abu Bakr Al habashi, Shah Quran Al habashi Hello, Al habashi, Amir al habashi and the list goes on. And there are over 25, who are mentioned amongst the major companions. In a minor sense there were many scores of Ethiopians who were also engaged with the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him in the struggle for the establishment of Islam.

00:05:00--> 00:05:13

During the rule of the colorfit, of Roma evil hartog rodilla on the second Caliph, It is reported that activity was going on in the Red Sea, in the islands just below Jeddah

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and it is reported that Oman, Qatar rhodiola, one dispatched an expedition to the coast of Jeddah in order to see what was happening and if possible to give Dawa to the people they found on the islands in the Red Sea.

00:05:29--> 00:05:50

When they returned, Omar remembered the saying of the Prophet peace be upon him who has said, leave the abyssinians as long as they do not interfere with you. And so based upon this understanding of the important role, that will have a shot had played in the early times, and the sayings of the Prophet peace be upon him.

00:05:52--> 00:06:17

Omar able to hottub and the early huldah, the leaders of Islam never sent any military expeditions into Ethiopia or in that region. What actually happened was a natural relationship between the merchants coming from the coast, near Jeddah, and southern Arabia, and going across into the Horn of Africa.

00:06:18--> 00:06:36

The books of history report, especially during the Omega period, that large numbers of people crossed the Red Sea. They crossed into the Horn of Africa. And they established business ports

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in the eastern side of Africa, and also on the Dalek islands.

00:06:44--> 00:07:03

We find reports given by the Romanians, and then later on by the acids. During the rule of Islam, we find information showing a brisk trade that was going on, especially on the Dalek islands, and in a place known as de la.

00:07:05--> 00:07:19

the companions of the Prophet peace be upon him entered into Ethiopia. And these are the first real reports that we get about Islam, coming into this region since the time of the joshy, the great emperor of Ethiopia.

00:07:21--> 00:07:48

The Companions in a natural trade relationship with the people did not come as Congress. They did not come to engage, to engage themselves in military activities. But they came as merchants as wandering scholars, as people who were reaching out to another land with the expectation that they would find brotherhood and solidarity.

00:07:49--> 00:08:04

And so it is reported that the companions traveled into Ethiopia, and then went further on higher into the mountains, high into now what is known by history as excellent.

00:08:06--> 00:08:17

And when they reached high into the mountains, they found a number of settlements. These settlements were established by people, many hundreds of years before their time.

00:08:18--> 00:08:26

And it is reported that high in the mountains, they found a settlement known today as hot off.

00:08:27--> 00:08:50

It was a mysterious part of the world, founded somewhere between the seventh to the ninth century AD. And one of the distinguishing points about this region and especially how to right from the beginning was the fact that it was the home of many important spices. And it is the home of the original coffee.

00:08:52--> 00:09:04

The people of hot are cultured coffee, and they develop the use of coffee. And they spread it out to the Arabian Peninsula. And now coffee is being used throughout the planet.

00:09:06--> 00:09:09

The people of hada were Semitic speaking people.

00:09:10--> 00:09:17

The people of hada had developed a type of spirituality and a type of unity from early times.

00:09:18--> 00:09:35

And we find especially in the 10th century AD, we find a great scholar Shaq about it, coming into the region into hada and establishing what is known as the athlete system.

00:09:36--> 00:09:59

The city of hada was built behind huge walls, and the and the system was based upon the relationship of the people in the city to the masjids. According to the fic of Imam Shafi, Rahim Allah it takes about 40 people to establish Joomla

00:10:00--> 00:10:16

Once for the men have established themselves in an area, it is permissible in the Shafi tradition, which was the prevailing understanding of jurisprudence in that region. Then Juma becomes compulsory on the people.

00:10:17--> 00:10:19

So, based upon this system,

00:10:20--> 00:10:21

the D

00:10:22--> 00:10:53

method was developed. This is a very important system, especially for Muslims today, who are in isolated areas, and who need to develop themselves and raise themselves to a higher level other than other than just coming to the masjid for prayers. The mosque was the center of community activity. The mosque was not only a spiritual place, but it was also a place where political decisions could be made.

00:10:54--> 00:11:32

In the early system, for every 40 families, there was an Imam, and a Masjid. And so in hada, what developed is a complicated web of masajid of masjids. With any mom as as the responsible person, and this leader, or Amir or Eman in that area, was responsible not only to establish salaat, and to educate the children in the Quran, and Islamic sciences, but he was also responsible for the welfare of the people who were living in the vicinity of that master

00:11:33--> 00:11:59

hada because of this system, takes on a special meaning in Islamic history. Some historians even look to her and they give us the information that in this mysterious walled city, that there are more masjids per square meter, than anywhere else in the face, on the face of the planet Earth.

00:12:00--> 00:12:03

A Masjid every time you turn,

00:12:04--> 00:12:09

every section of the city is a place to remember Allah subhanaw taala.

00:12:10--> 00:12:19

And so the people have had to develop themselves at to masjids within a circumference of 3348 meters.

00:12:22--> 00:12:27

These masjids these houses of worship became the hubs of activity.

00:12:28--> 00:12:33

And because of that, the very culture of hada itself took on

00:12:34--> 00:12:49

a very high spiritual level. The people of hada were oriented to Islamic sciences. And they developed a powerful grasp of the Arabic language, and the book of Allah subhanaw taala.

00:12:51--> 00:13:43

And so ehara was well known for this system. Within this early system as well, was a political concept that each Amir or each Imam who represented his people, would take the opinions of his people, or the problems that they expressed to a measureless assura. And that form the government of the whole of hada. And there was an Amir over the government. So they develop the type of Islamic system, a mini Islamic State, within the walls of the city in Ethiopia. And there they were able to come together to know each other not only as people who prayed, but also to know the subtleties of each other's families, to know the needs and the wants, and to always pray for each other in times

00:13:43--> 00:13:51

of difficulty. Let us take a break and come back after a few moments to discuss more about the mysterious city of hot off.

00:14:04--> 00:14:39

If you look into the lithofacies early exit cases of the Koran, you will find that all the professors who are trying to find out where are we seven f f in weeks, the natural product of a ship can delineate the boundaries between seven different zones with the conclusion that we have seven different layers within the earth came to not only that was essential is a true believer would prostrate out in obedience to Allah subhanaw taala the blessings of that prostration when the rich the seventh

00:14:52--> 00:14:59

the city of hada hi in the Ethiopian mountains was a city of mystery and a city

00:15:00--> 00:15:12

Islamic scholarship. It is not so well known to the greater world. But it is an important jewel for Muslims and for the history of this planet.

00:15:13--> 00:15:31

What is interesting about this city is that it is also known as a walled city as a Forbidden City. And some sources even say it is the fourth most protected city in Islamic history. It was surrounded by an imposing wall.

00:15:32--> 00:15:52

This wall was developed and established in order to keep out the wild beasts, that prowled around in the evening in Ethiopia, and also to protect the people from the roving nomadic tribes and for the large armies of enemies who would appear.

00:15:55--> 00:16:06

It is also important to understand that the city of hada became a city of scholarship and a city of spirituality

00:16:09--> 00:16:26

hada itself because of the use of new technologies, was able to develop a type of Islamic learning that was not found anywhere in the north east part of Africa.

00:16:28--> 00:16:44

For the people of horn of the Horn of Africa. hada was a type of Mecca of knowledge, how there was a Forbidden City, how there was a mysterious city, and above all, it was a city of high spirituality and scholarship.

00:16:45--> 00:17:06

It is reported that, up until the 19th century, no non Muslim ever stepped foot in hada itself. The city was completely developed and completely organized along Islamic lines and focused upon high spirituality.

00:17:07--> 00:17:17

In 1854, Sir Richard Burton, disguised as a Syrian Muslim, speaking the Arabic language came into Hara.

00:17:18--> 00:17:37

He found the city with a beautiful climate. He found the people steeped in Islamic tradition, and coming from different nationalities. He called it the Timbuktu of the East. Because hada was blessed with great scholarship.

00:17:39--> 00:18:15

The people of Hara had developed a type of Arabic calligraphy, where they were to where they were able to beautify the texts, they were able to bring the classical writings of scholars in such a way that it was pleasing to the eyes. And it is reported that the textbooks from harder were sought after by the great rulers in the Islamic world. And the Ottoman Sultans way up in Istanbul, would always ask for the court and, or for the texts of the scholars from the people of hada.

00:18:16--> 00:18:48

Today, in this region, there is a collection of Sharif Abdullah Ali, which has brought forward the beauty and the importance of the Arabic texts. And so we find texts dealing with different subjects, we find the Tafseer the explanation of the Quran, we find Hadeeth great books of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. We find classical books in Islamic jurisprudence.

00:18:49--> 00:19:16

We find the writings of great poets. We also find books on geography, mathematics, on philosophy, we find that the people of hada were able to bring in understand the different parts of East Africa, recorded in the Arabic language and make it available for not only the people of their region, but the travelers and the scholars who passed through the area,

00:19:18--> 00:19:59

however, was recognized for the beauty of its architecture, however, was recognized for the houses developed, where the niche was put into the wall where porcelain from China was being used by the people over 1000 years ago, were high culture was found amongst the Muslim people living in that region before Nairobi, and Addis Ababa hada was the most significant city in North Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa, however, you could say, was the jewel of the East hada was a place that the people had tried to reach

00:20:00--> 00:20:57

For many parts of the world, but few were able to make it through the Ethiopian Highlands, through the hostile tribes, and through the terrible wild animals that stocked the land, but those who made it to harder, found a beautiful culture. And they found not only scholarship, but they found basket weaving. They found beautiful clothing. And surprisingly enough, they even found the smallest coins in the world. It is said that the coins minted in hora with the Arabic language, were some of the most beautiful tiny coins ever to be found. And the people of East Africa benefited from these coins. The people of other parts of the eventually would find this tiny coin with La ilaha illAllah

00:20:57--> 00:21:18

on one side, which is there is no God but Allah and Muhammad Rasulullah saw Salam on the other side, written in such a tiny way that you need to have a special lens in order to read this. Imagine this was being done over 800 years ago, in the mysterious city of hora.

00:21:19--> 00:22:08

Another important aspect about the culture of the people living in this region was the relationship of the men to the women, the women of hada played a very crucial role in the running of the city. The women of hada were known for their strong personalities. And also there are their skills in trade. The marketplace was controlled by the women. The women had a strong saying and when the Imam would meet with the people in the alley system, he would listen to the women. And he would take the information from the women back to the measureless assura. And back to the Amir, who was governing the town and establishing the way how that would relate not only to its citizens, but to other

00:22:08--> 00:22:40

people coming into that region. And so how da played a very important role in the Horn of Africa during this time. When we look at harder in relationship to modern day Ethiopia, we find that before the building of Addis Ababa, that most of the high culture of Ethiopia actually came from her. This is a surprise to many people. Because when Ethiopia is mentioned, normally people would think about the Christians of Ethiopia.

00:22:41--> 00:23:02

If they don't think about the Christians, and they may even think about the droughts, they may think about famine, they may think about crisis. But the reality of Ethiopia and Africa, and especially this fabled city is that it enjoyed all the parts of culture of high culture that were enjoyed by people throughout the planet.

00:23:03--> 00:23:33

Harare's the people coming out of this region, not only organized their own life to a high level, but they also helped to develop the city of Addis Ababa. They were involved in carpentry. They were masons in the building of the city. They were involved in the organization of the streets, and their contributions will be spoken about within Ethiopia for a long time.

00:23:35--> 00:24:30

One strange report that comes from hotter is that they even found tombstones that they believe dated back to the time of Najafi the joshy rub the along with the emperor who had given sanctuary to the Muslims. In the time of the first hegira the first migration from Mecca. He was a well known personality, but most of the books of history and the discussion concerning Ethiopia at the time of the joshy and it never really opens back up again for centuries. The reality is, when a great ruler accepts any religion, his people accept with him. The joshy struggled against the worship of idols, the joshy struggled against the misunderstandings of the teachings of Jesus, the son of Mary peace

00:24:30--> 00:25:00

and blessings be upon him. And even though it is not recorded openly in the books, we are now finding information that points to the possibility that some of the companions of Natasha escaped the region after his death and went into the section of Ethiopia of hada. From a from a high mountainous area of exome. They went down into hada, which is now in the south east area in Ethiopia and they help to develop

00:25:00--> 00:25:10

This mysterious city, which is now coming to the surface, as an important capital for Islamic scholarship, and Islamic culture.

00:25:11--> 00:26:11

And so we look again, at the history of Africa. When we look in Objective eyes, when we really look at the sources, we recognize that the misunderstandings coming out of history, when dishonest historians would say that Africa had no civilization, that Africa did nothing towards the onward flow of humanity. This misunderstanding needs to be corrected. Young Scholars with objective minds need to now enter into the languages of Africa, the languages of the Middle East, to understand this rich history, and what it had to give to the people in early times. Today in Ethiopia, Muslims make up somewhere between 40 to 60% of the population, and hadera, as a city is on the rise. It was even

00:26:11--> 00:26:20

given the UNESCO award being the city of peace, they consider it to be the city of peace for the whole world.

00:26:21--> 00:27:15

This is an understanding that that needs to be realized by people not only in Ethiopia, not only people in the Horn of Africa, but people throughout the planet. hada was part of the natural extension of Islamic culture. hada was an example of Islam spreading into the African continent, spreading into other parts of the world without violence without a large army without an imperialistic force, however, was an expression of African culture, through the Arabic language, and through the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. And so the walls and gates of hada are wide open. The Forbidden City has now become an open city, and the people of hada

00:27:15--> 00:27:29

and Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa will play God Willing an important role in the onward flow of Islam. And we believe also in raising up African culture in this world.

00:27:30--> 00:28:04

And so we look again, to the lights coming to us from untold stories in world history. These gems of wisdom need to come out of their treasure chests. People need to begin to go through the surface of the history books, and really dig deeply into the stories and history of this planet. I leave you with this thought. And I leave you in peace. Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh

00:28:38--> 00:28:56

we find reports given by the Romanians and then later on by the acids. During the rule of Islam. We find information showing a brisk trade that was going on, especially on the Dalek islands, and in a place known as Zilla.

00:28:58--> 00:29:12

the companions of the Prophet peace be upon him entered into Ethiopia. And these are the first real reports that we get about Islam coming into this region since the time of the joshy, the great emperor of Ethiopia.

00:29:15--> 00:29:41

The Companions in a natural trade relationship with the people did not come as Congress. They did not come to engage, to engage themselves in military activities. But they came as merchants as wandering scholars, as people who were reaching out to another land with the expectation that they would find brotherhood and solidarity.

00:29:42--> 00:29:58

And so it is reported that the companions traveled into Ethiopia and then went further on higher into the mountains, high into now what is known by history as excellent

00:29:59--> 00:30:00

and when they

00:30:00--> 00:30:10

reached high into the mountains, they found a number of settlements. These settlements were established by people, many hundreds of years before their time.

00:30:12--> 00:30:20

And it is reported that high in the mountains, they found a settlement, known today as hot as

00:30:21--> 00:30:44

it was a mysterious part of the world, founded somewhere between the seventh to the ninth century AD. And one of the distinguishing points about this region and especially how to right from the beginning was the fact that it was the home of many important spices, and it is the home of the original coffee.

00:30:45--> 00:30:58

The people of hot are cultured coffee, and they develop the use of coffee. And they spread it out to the Arabian Peninsula. And now coffee is being used throughout the planet.

00:30:59--> 00:31:03

The people of hada were Semitic speaking people.

00:31:04--> 00:31:11

The people of hada had developed a type of spirituality and a type of unity from early times.

00:31:12--> 00:31:28

And we find especially in the 10th century AD, we find a great scholar Shaq about it, coming into the region into hada. And establishing what is known as the athlete system.

00:31:30--> 00:31:52

The city of Haifa was built behind huge walls and the and the system was based upon the relationship of the people in the city to the masjids. According to the fic of Imam Shafi, Rahim Allah, it takes about 40 people to establish Juma

00:31:54--> 00:32:09

once 40 men have established themselves in an area, it is permissible in the Shafi tradition, which was the prevailing understanding of jurisprudence in that region. Then Juma becomes compulsory on the people.

00:32:10--> 00:32:12

So based upon this system,

00:32:13--> 00:32:14

the

00:32:16--> 00:32:47

method was developed. This is a very important system, especially for Muslims today, who are in isolated areas, and who need to develop themselves and raise themselves to a higher level other than other than just coming to the masjid, for prayers. The mosque was the center of community activity. The mosque was not only a spiritual place, but it was also a place where political decisions could be made.

00:32:48--> 00:33:26

In the early system, for every 40 families, there was an Imam and a Masjid, and so on how to what developed is a complicated web of masajid of masjids with any mom as as the responsible person, and this leader, or Amir or Eman in that area, was responsible not only to establish salaat, and to educate the children in the Quran, and Islamic sciences, but he was also responsible for the welfare of the people who were living in the vicinity of that master.

00:33:27--> 00:33:52

hada because of the system takes on a special meaning in Islamic history. Some historians even look to Hara and they give us the information that in this mysterious walled city, that there are more masjids per square meter, than anywhere else in the face on the face of the planet Earth.

00:33:54--> 00:33:56

A Masjid every time you turn,

00:33:58--> 00:34:02

every section of the city is a place to remember Allah subhanaw taala.

00:34:03--> 00:34:13

And so, the people of hada develop themselves at to masjids within a circumference of 3348 metres.

00:34:15--> 00:34:26

These masjids these houses of worship became the hubs of activity. And because of that, the very culture of hada itself took on

00:34:28--> 00:34:43

a very high spiritual level. The people of hada were oriented to Islamic sciences. And they developed a powerful grasp of the Arabic language and the book of Allah subhanaw taala.

00:34:44--> 00:35:00

And sohara was well known for this system. Within this early system as well, was a political concept that each Amir or each Imam who represented his people would take

00:35:00--> 00:35:44

The opinions of his people or the problems that they expressed to a measureless assura. And that form the government of the whole of hada. And there was an Amir over the government. So they develop the type of Islamic system, a mini Islamic State, within the walls of the city in Ethiopia. And there they were able to come together to know each other not only as people who prayed, but also to know the subtleties of each other's families, to know the needs and the wants, and to always pray for each other in times of difficulty. Then let's take a break and come back after a few moments to discuss more about the mysterious city of hot off.

00:35:57--> 00:36:32

If you look into the herb lithofacies, early exegesis of the Quran, you will find that all the professors are trying to find out where are the 711 weeks the natural or artificial, can delineate the boundaries between seven different zones with the conclusion that we have seven different layers within the earth came to not only that was essential, if a true believer would prostrate down in obedience to Allah subhanaw taala the blessing so that prostration when the reach

00:36:46--> 00:37:05

the city of hada, high in the Ethiopian mountains, was a city of mystery, and a city of Islamic scholarship. It is not so well known to the greater world. But it is an important jewel for Muslims and for the history of this planet.

00:37:06--> 00:37:24

What is interesting about the city is that it is also known as a walled city as a Forbidden City. And some sources even say it is the fourth most protected city in Islamic history. It was surrounded by an imposing wall.

00:37:26--> 00:37:46

This wall was developed and established in order to keep out the wild beasts, that prowled around in the evening in Ethiopia, and also to protect the people from the roving nomadic tribes and for the large armies of enemies who would appear.

00:37:48--> 00:38:00

It is also important to understand that the city of ehara became a city of scholarship and a city of spirituality.

00:38:03--> 00:38:20

Hold on itself, because of the use of new technologies, was able to develop a type of Islamic learning that was not found anywhere in the north east part of Africa.

00:38:21--> 00:38:37

For the people of horn of the Horn of Africa hada was a type of Mecca of knowledge, how there was a Forbidden City, how there was a mysterious city and above all, it was a city of high spirituality and scholarship.

00:38:39--> 00:38:59

It is reported that up until the 19th century, no non Muslim ever stepped foot in hora itself. The city was completely developed and completely organized along Islamic lines and focused upon high spirituality.

00:39:00--> 00:39:10

In 1854, Sir Richard Burton disguised as a Syrian Muslim, speaking the Arabic language came into Hara.

00:39:11--> 00:39:31

He found the city with a beautiful climate. He found the people steeped in Islamic tradition, and coming from different nationalities. He called it the Timbuktu of the East. Because hada was blessed with great scholarship.

00:39:32--> 00:39:59

The people of Hara had developed a type of Arabic calligraphy, where they were to where they were able to beautify the texts, they were able to bring the classical writings of scholars in such a way that it was pleasing to the eyes. And it is reported that the textbooks from harder were sought after by the great rulers in the Islamic world and the Ottomans

00:40:00--> 00:40:08

tuns way up in Istanbul would always ask for the Quran, or for the texts of the scholars from the people of hada.

00:40:10--> 00:40:41

Today, in this region, there is a collection of Sharif Abdullah Ali, which has brought forward the beauty and the importance of the Arabic texts. And so we find texts dealing with different subjects, we find the Tafseer the explanation of the Quran, we find Hadith, great books of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. We find classical books in Islamic jurisprudence,

00:40:42--> 00:41:10

we find the writings of great poets. We also find books on geography, mathematics, on philosophy, we find that the people of hada were able to bring in understand the different parts of East Africa, recorded in the Arabic language and make it available for not only the people of the region, but the travelers and the scholars who passed through the area,

00:41:11--> 00:42:04

however, was recognized for the beauty of its architecture, however, was recognized for the houses developed, where the niche was put into the wall where porcelain from China was being used by the people over 1000 years ago, were high culture was found amongst the Muslim people living in that region, before Nairobi, and Addis Ababa, harder was the most significant city in North Eastern Africa. And the Horn of Africa, however, you could say, was the jewel of the East hada was a place that that people had tried to reach for many parts of the world. But few were able to make it through the Ethiopian Highlands, through the hostile tribes, and through the terrible wild animals

00:42:04--> 00:43:01

that stocked the land. But those who made it to harder, found a beautiful culture. And they found not only scholarship, but they found basket weaving. They found beautiful clothing. And surprisingly enough, they even found the smallest coins in the world. It is said that the coins minted in hada, with the Arabic language, were some of the most beautiful tiny coins ever to be found. And the people of East Africa benefited from these coins. The people of other parts of the eventually would find this tiny coin, with La ilaha illa Allah on one side, which is there is no God but Allah. And Muhammad Rasulullah saw Salam on the other side, written in such a tiny way that you need to have a

00:43:01--> 00:43:11

special lens in order to read this. Imagine this was being done over 800 years ago, in the mysterious city of ehara.

00:43:12--> 00:44:02

Another important aspect about the culture of the people living in this region was the relationship of the men to the women. The women of heart are played a very crucial role in the running of the city. The women of hada were known for their strong personalities, and also their their skills in trade. The marketplace was controlled by the women. The women had a strong saying and when the Imam would meet with the people in the early system, he would listen to the women. And he would take the information from the women back to the measureless assura. And back to the Amir, who was governing the town and establishing the way how that would relate not only to its citizens, but to other

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people coming into that region. And so how to play a very important role in the Horn of Africa. During this time. When we look at how to in relationship to modern day Ethiopia, we find that before the building of Addis Ababa, that most of the high culture of Ethiopia actually came from her. This is a surprise to many people. Because when Ethiopia is mentioned, normally people would think about the Christians of Ethiopia.

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If they don't think about the Christians, and they may even think about the droughts, they may think about famine, they may think about crisis. But the reality of Ethiopia and Africa and especially this fabled city is that it enjoyed all the parts of culture of high culture that were enjoyed by people throughout the planet.

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How are these the people coming out of this region?

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Not only organized their own life to a high level, but they also helped to develop the city of Addis Ababa. They were involved in carpentry. They were masons in the building of the city. They were involved in the organization of the streets, and their contributions will be spoken about within Ethiopia for a long time.

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One strange report that comes from hada is that they even found tombstones that they believe dated back to the time of Najafi, the joshy read the along with the Emperor, who had given sanctuary to the Muslims. In the time of the first hegira, the first migration from Mecca. He was a well known personality, but most of the books of history and the discussion concerning Ethiopia at the time of the joshy, and it never really opens back up again for centuries. The reality is, when a great ruler accepts any religion, his people accept with him. The jassi struggled against the worship of idols, the joshy struggled against the misunderstandings of the teachings of Jesus, the son of Mary, peace

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and blessings be upon him. And even though it is not recorded openly in the books, we are now finding information that points to the possibility that some of the companions of Natasha escaped the region after his death, and went into the section of Ethiopia of hada. From a from a high mountainous area of exome, they went down into hada, which is now in the south east area in Ethiopia. And they helped to develop this mysterious city, which is now coming to the surface as an important capital for Islamic scholarship, and Islamic culture.

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And so we look again, at the history of Africa. When we look at objective eyes, when we really look at the sources, we recognize that the misunderstandings coming out of history, when dishonest historians would say that Africa had no civilization, that Africa did nothing towards the onward flow of humanity. This misunderstanding needs to be corrected. Young Scholars with objective minds need to now enter into the languages of Africa, the languages of the Middle East, to understand this rich history, and what it had to give to the people in early times. Today in Ethiopia, Muslims make up somewhere between 40 to 60% of the population, and hora as a city is on the rise. It was even

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given the UNESCO award being the city of peace, they consider it to be the city of peace for the whole world.

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This is an understanding that that needs to be realized by people not only in Ethiopia, not only people in the Horn of Africa, but people throughout the planet. hada was part of the natural extension of Islamic culture. hada was an example of Islam spreading into the African continent, spreading into other parts of the world without violence without a large army without an imperialistic force. hada was an expression of African culture, through the Arabic language, and through the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. And so the walls and gates of hadera are wide open. The Forbidden City has now become an open city, and the people of

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hada and Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa will play God Willing an important role in the onward flow of Islam. And we believe also in raising up African culture in this world.

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And so, we look again, to the lights coming to us from untold stories in world history. These gems of wisdom need to come out of their treasure chests. People need to begin to go to the surface of the history books, and really dig deeply into the stories and history of this planet. I leave you with this thought. And I leave you in peace. Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh