Abdur Raheem Green – Culture Confusion

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him Allah, wa shadow, Mohammed Abdullah, who was Sulu Abu, well God, federal law while Pharaoh had he had the Mohammedan sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was Sharon Murray much tougher to her wakulla da wakulla Dalton de la la, la la la la la la, la. We must begin by praising Allah, we praise Him and we seek his help. And we ask for his forgiveness. We take refuge in Allah from the evil of our own selves, and from the evil consequence of our evil actions. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide. And whomsoever Allah leaves to go astray, there is no one to guide and I testify. This alone is worthy of worship, and that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam may God's peace and

blessings be upon him, is the servant of Allah and His final messenger. Most certainly, my dear brothers and sisters, may Allah have mercy upon you. The best speech is the book of Allah, the Quran, and the best way, the best way, the best way to live your life,

the best way to be and in fact, the only way to follow the religion of Islam is the way of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And of all the things in the religion, the worst of them, of those matters, that evil, newly introduced into the religion, matters that have not been taught to us by the prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

But people have introduced those things into the religion. These are the worst things in religion, and these new things that have been bought into the religion, practices, attitudes and beliefs

that we're not

practiced

and believed in by the prophet sallallahu, alayhi wasallam and his companions, it is called an Arabic VEDA. This is what the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam called it

innovations, religious innovations, and all collaborate within the law. All of these newly invented matters in the religion, they are the law which means they are misguidance they are going away from the straight path, the Salton muster theme, and everything my dear brothers and sisters that goes away from the straight path that Allah subhanho wa Taala has set for us, it is only leading and one other direction. It is not leading to the direction of paradise. It is not leading to the direction of eternal success. It is leading to the direction of the hellfire. And thus today's topic, my brothers and sisters is so important. It is so important to our situation as Muslims today. We have

called it culture confusion. Because most Muslims today,

it seems to me

what they are following is not so much Islam

as their culture. And this is particularly evidence in a place like England, where of course I live I work

where most of the Muslims are immigrants. They are not natives, in the sense that, like I in a salvo was born in Tanzania, but I suppose I'm a native in a sense, my ancestors came forth for many generations from that land, most of the Muslims in the United Kingdom. And of course, most of the Muslims in the United States of America are immigrants. And this culture confusion is particularly pronounced in a place like England,

but it exists everywhere else as well.

But the environments of the United Kingdom and the United States of America really allows us it magnifies it. It highlights the issue and the problem

with Muslims, who are Muslim because of culture, not because of conviction, they are Muslim because of tradition, not because of learning and studying and reading and understanding and comprehending. Islam is not a family heirloom, that you pass down from generation to generation. It is not that Islam is a guidance that has been revealed by Allah, the all knowing, and most wise, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the creator of you, and the creator of me, he Subhana Allah the Most High, knows us better than we even know ourselves. And in his mercy, in His mercy, in his kindness to us, He has sent down guidance in the form of the end.

And he gave us a messenger, a human being like us,

amen, who ate food, and breathe air, and who was born, and who died, and who had desires and who forgot things, and who made mistakes, a human being,

but a very special human being the most honest and the most truthful, and the most trustworthy, and the most sincere, and the one with the most high a noble character. This, of course, was Mohammed sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and all of the messengers are human beings. As the Quran quite clearly tells us, if there were angels walking and living on the earth, then Allah would have sent to them an angel, but it is humans. So Allah gives us a messenger who is a human being. Why there is an important wisdom behind this. The reason is my brothers and sisters, is because psychologically, and Allah understands the mind, because He is the creator of it, Subhana Allah to Allah,

psychologically, the human being will say, Oh, well, you are an angel. And you are telling me not to do this, and not to do that. And that I should do this. And I should do that. That is very easy for you to say, because you're an angel. You don't have desires like me, you don't need to eat like me. You don't change in wisdom and understanding like me. So therefore, we would have so many excuses not to follow what that angel is teaching us, because he will never represent a living example. But because Allah has chosen and made the prophets, human beings, the messengers are human beings. That means we human beings can follow their example, we don't have an excuse. We have a physical example

in front of us, of a human being who is behaving in a certain way. That means that we know psychologically, that we can also follow that example, maybe not to the same degree, but certainly we can follow that example. This is the wisdom of Allah sending the messengers as human beings and Mohammed sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was one such human being and he is the physical example. He is the practical example for us, of how we should worship Allah. He is. And his example is, and his life is in reality Islam. It is the Sunnah, the way, the teachings, the approvals of Mohammed sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that constitutes the basis of our worship and our life as Muslims. This

is very important to understand. Because to be a Muslim, means that we are submitting ourselves, we have surrendered ourselves to Allah subhanho wa Taala. Not to my desires, not to my culture, not to my parents, not to my tribe, not to the ideas prevailing in society, no. being Muslim means I willingly choose to obey Allah, and submit myself to God. And how do I do that? By following the example of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him.

This is the essence of Islam. Brothers and sisters. This means Islam is what we can call tofu. Here. It is based upon guidance from Allah subhanho wa Taala. We cannot invent for ourselves and imagine for ourselves, how to worship Allah. You can't do that. It is not permissible. worshiping Allah is based upon the guidance of the Quran, and the example of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and this is the case with every other prophets and every other guidance that Allah gave. That is the case with the guidance that Allah gave to our Isa evenin Maria, to whom Allah said the Injeel. But the religion of Isa was a slam the same religion as the religion of Mohammed sallallahu alayhi

wasallam. And the guidance that Allah gave to Moosa to Moses, was in the form of the Torah. This was the book that Allah gave to Musa, but the religion that Moosa followed, and the religion that he taught his people to follow, was not different in its essence, it was also Islam, willing submission to the will of God. So the guidance of all the prophets was based upon this. And Allah also sent guidance to Ibrahim alayhis salam. And Allah mentions Prophet Abraham Prophet Ibrahim a lot in the Quran.

In fact, he has mentioned my dear brothers and sisters, as a great example and a very important example for us to follow. In fact, the Quran tells us who abandons the way of Ebrahim, except a person who has lost their minds, who had abandoned the way of Ibrahim Ibrahim Hannifin, the one who surrendered himself to God and who followed the natural religion, submission to God. In fact, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us that every child is born upon the fitrah hanifin, naturally inclined to worship Allah alone, it is only their environment, their environments,

that takes them away from that, it is the influences from outside that take them away from that nature upon which they were born. And that's why I want to go back now to culture, what is culture?

When we say culture, what do we mean? Actually, from my research, there is no easy definition of culture. Culture is the things that people do the things that people believe the customs that people follow, it is in fact the social and physical environment in which people live, this is culture, culture can be good and culture can be bad.

The criterion or the means that we should judge our behavior, therefore, is not as Muslims based upon culture. It is not based upon what the people around us do. It is not based upon what my mother and father and my grandfather, it is not based upon what the people happen to be doing around us, and what is normative behavior amongst them. No, that is not what our religion is based upon.

The religion of Islam and being a Muslim, is based upon what we have already said, the guidance from Allah in the Quran, and the example of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. This is the basis of being Muslim and this is the basis of Islam. Now, some people will say, Are you telling me that my ancestors are misguided? Are you telling me that my father and my grandfathers are wrong? Well, in response to this, I will ask you by you telling me that your father and your grandfather's are infallible, that they could make no mistake, that they could not possibly in any way fail to misunderstand Islam. Are you telling me it is impossible? That they have mis understood or

misrepresented something from the religion by mistake? If you know they have made a mistake? Will you follow their mistake? If you know they have done something wrong? Will you keep following them

And wrong? If that is your choice, how can you claim to be Muslim? If you know that what your ancestors are doing, if you know that what your culture teaches? is against the teaching of the Quran, and is against the teaching of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam What does it mean Muslim? What does the word mean Muslim? Do you submit to Allah? Or do you submit your culture? Make your choice? because believe me, brothers and sisters, no Prophet came to his people. Except they said exactly this. We are following the way of our ancestors. read the Quran. I invite you read it, but you see, that's the problem. no one bothers to read the Quran. no one bothers to study the

Quran. Allah subhanho wa Taala the first words that Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam ikura reads, reads, in the name of your Lord, who created you from a thing that clings read and your Lord is most generous? He taught mankind by the use of the pen that which they did not know. Yes, the pen column writing, reading, and yet how many people have read the Quran how many Muslims have read the Quran? And I don't mean and of course, I want to make an important point here. reading the Quran in Arabic is an act of virtue for which you will be rewarded. Even if you do not understand it. I in no way shape or form and in am discouraging or intend to discourage anybody

from learning to read the Quran in Arabic. It is in fact only the Quran in Arabic once it is translated. It is not technically the Quran anymore. It is the speech of Allah in Arabic. However, in the Quran, Allah subhanho wa Taala he tells us in sort of Bukhara and if lamb in the early Calcutta Bula, right Buffy Hooda lil Mata Ki, la flair meme, this is the book Larry Buffy without doubt hood the lane Motoki, it is guidance for the pious people. It is guidance. But you know, people have a habit. I think it's a habit they have in India.

They read the Quran, in cloth.

And they put the core and high high high high up on the highest shelf that they can find.

This is what they do.

And they say we are honoring the core. And yet in the house.

There is the TV low low down. But what is on the TV. There it is there's the Qibla it's not Mecca, there's the Qibla, the TV, bollywood, the movies, the music, the heroine is taking place in the house and the Qur'an is high up what is in the car, and they have no idea. What does the Quran say? They don't know. They never read it. They never studied it. And these By the way, I'm not talking only here about illiterate people. We're not only talking about people in the countryside, who are farmers who can't read or write if there are any of those people who cannot read and write left. Some of these are people who are engineers, it consultants, professionals. They spent years and

years three, four or five years in university in college, studying stuff that even if I look at the title, Java 1.3, this and that language, I don't know what am I even looking at the title gets my head confused. Yeah, they can open it and tell you what it's about. It's yet the core and they have not even read the Quran from cover to cover. And they call themselves Muslim. They do not understand. And when I say they read it, they didn't read it in a language they could understand.

They have not even read the Quran, in a language that they can understand. And what they know of this land is the few things that their parents have taught them. And so they look at Islam as something that is part of their culture. Like they eat a certain type of food.

For example, you see that's culture culture, what is it really if you look at it

in its original form, culture is

Usually a type of systemized way that human beings develop in order to cope with their environment. That's why the food for example, the food we eat is usually associated with our culture. And originally Of course, the food is based upon what we could get from the land around us. So, the flavor of the food, the taste of the food, the style of the food is based upon what is available. In other words, our culture is influenced by our geography, whether it is the physical geography, the trees, the plants, the amounts of water, so on and so forth. Or it may be the political or social geography. For example, many people's culture is something that is a product of one group of people

or one cast of people imposing their authority on another class of people. their culture may be based upon that, a system of control, it may be based on a control system, like feudalism in Europe, or for example, like the caste system in India is a form of control, it is how the Aryans, who invaded India controlled the natives,

they did this through their culture,

through their religion, it is a control system. Similarly, we find this is the case in many cases, a type of control system. So our culture develops from that, how do I behave? What is my attitudes?

If I am, for example, an untouchable I have to behave in a certain way, if I'm a peasant, in feudal Europe, there is a certain attitude, I have a certain culture. So this originally, of course, these things have changed in Europe, and in India, they, of course, they have changed as well. But these are things that stay with people, these ideas they are very hard to remove. Some of them are survival mechanisms, it's, they are things that people develop in order to be able to survive in their environment. But other things from culture are not to do that. Some of those things are, you could say really misguided things. They are wrong things. They are things very detrimental and

harmful to the human affairs. And I want to give as an example of culture confusion, and let's see how this relates to us as Muslims, please, let's look at ourselves. We need to be honest, we Muslims need to look at ourselves. Sometimes it's very nice. We go to a talk, and we love to hear someone give a talk where we are attacking another religion. You know, maybe it makes it feel we feel better about ourselves. But being Muslims, we should look at ourselves, let's take an honest look at myself. let you take an honest look at yourself at your life at your attitudes and see if maybe comparison between ourselves today as Muslims and another group of people to whom Allah sent a

messenger, the Arabs. Let's look at the Arabs, the Arabs before Islam. Most certainly the arrows before Islam were amongst the most barbaric and backward and primitive people. In fact, in one Hadith, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned that Allah looked upon the people of the world, the Arab and the non Arab, and he hated them all except a few people from the Al Khattab, a few people from the Jews and the Christians, because the world was in such a state of corruption, such a state of disobedience to God. They were so far from the guidance that God had revealed. This was their condition, Arab and non Arab and the Arabs. When as I say when they are bad, they are

really, really bad. And when they are good, they are really, really good. And in the time before the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wasallam came, they had sunk about as low as the human beings could go. I mean, low, this is how low you can get. How about if you think it's a good thing to take your five year old daughter, five year old, I mean, five year old, that's when they are the sweetest, the cutest. They love you the most. They show you the most affection. You take a five year old girl

the night before

For you went to the desert and you dug a hole in the sand, and you take your daughter and say, we're going for a picnic, where are we going, Daddy, we're going for a picnic, my daughter, you take your five year old daughter into the desert, and you push her into this hole that you have dug, and you bury her alive.

And you go back to your people, and you boast about it. You can't get lower as a human being much lower than that. You can't get more perverted than that. You can't get something more degenerate than that. These are the people to whom the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was sent. This is the stage that they had reached. This is the evil of their religion. And this was their culture. This was their culture. Along with a worship of idols, and drinking and fighting and feuding. This was the culture, the culture of the Arab before the time of Islam, they call it jaha Leah janelia, ignorance General Ignorance, the wild crazy times, Jamelia. This was the journey This was their

culture. But you know, something brothers and sisters, they claimed they were following the religion of Abraham. You know, the Arabs they used to make terroir from the Kaaba when they made Hajj you know, they said love Baker lahoma bake. They used to say that they used to pray to Allah, the Arabs in the time of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam they did not disbelieve in Allah. In the sense it's not that they denied his existence. They believed Allah was the creator. They believed he was alcoholic. couldn't look for answers. Morocco summer waters about well Rob Bula, Arusha Levine Sayaka Lula, say oh ask them Mohammed, ask these pagan Arabs, who's the Lord of the seven heavens

and the Lord of the glorious throne. They will say it's Allah. They believe there was one God, they did not ever have an idol of Allah. They believed he was the creator. They believed he sent down the rain he caused the crops to grow. He believed that he caused the people to die, and he will bring them back to life. They believe that Allah had an arch. They believed all of this about Allah, but that did not save them. They were people who were far from Allah as guidance. They were people who used to worship things besides Allah. They used to believe that their idols will go betweens and intercessors between them and Allah and some of these idols were actually pious people who had died

near the Kaaba or buried near the Kaaba. And they used to pray to them, thinking that they would be intercessors between them and Allah. And because of this, this was their disbelief. And they attribute it they attribute it, their culture, their customs that they had invented for themselves, they attribute it to Allah. How did it happen? How did it happen?

Did not Ibrahim alayhis salaam bill the Kaaba Yes or no? Yes. Was not also is my Ishmael Ishmael, Ishmael? Was he also not a prophet of Allah? Yes or no? Yes. So was not the religion of the Arabs at the time of Abraham and a smile. A smile? Was it not also Islam?

Yes. But look what happened to them. Look how they changed. And when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam came to them. What did they say? Are you criticizing our ancestors? Are you insulting our forefathers? This is the religion of our ancestors, and we're going to keep on doing what they're doing. This is our culture. This is our way. My dear brothers and sisters what I'm asking you to look at today. Look at your life. Look at what you follow. Look at your what you call Islam. I wonder how much of your Islam is really based upon the Quran? How much of you Islam is really based upon following the Sunnah of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam how much of it? There are so many

things Muslims do today and we are famous all throughout the world. The whole people of this world they know Muslims.

forced marriages. I don't mean arranged about forced marriages. forcing a woman to marry someone she doesn't want to forcing your daughter to marry someone she doesn't want to marry. It is not even in Islam. For anyone listening

In Islam, it is not even valid as a marriage contract in Sharia it is not valid. It is a condition of the validity of the marriage, that the two people who are getting married agree yet Muslims are famous for forced marriages. In certain parts of the Muslim world, we are famous for female genital mutilation, even though the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam warned against this, but people are so addicted to it, because it's their culture. It's not the deen is their culture.

We can find so many examples amongst the Muslims. And these are some examples. But even more dangerous, even more dangerous than this, my brothers and sisters are the things that we do thinking it is Islam, thinking that it's part of the guidance, thinking that it's the Sunnah, and this is where shaytaan the devil has really taken us for a ride. He's really fooled us. He's so happy, because you know what, if you do something, thinking it's religion, you'll never ever make Toba. Why would you repent? If you think you're getting close to Allah, you'll never think to repent, you'll never think to say Forgive me Allah. If you make Zina or you drink alcohol or you steal, you all

know, that's how wrong Believe me even the people who are not Muslim, they know these things are forbidden. Yes, true or not? Okay. So if you do these things, surely you will feel bad, you will feel guilty. But how about when you are doing something, and you think this is from the religion?

You think the religion teaches you this? But in fact, if you search in the Quran, and you look in the actual Sunnah of the Prophet, salallahu, alayhi wasallam, you will not find that they did this. And even if you look at the Sahaba, even if you look at the Sahaba, you will not find they ever did these things. In India, and Pakistan, and in Iraq, and in Morocco, and all over the Muslim world, you find, one of the things that people do is they visit the graves of the dead pious people. They not only do they visit their graves, first of all, they build huge edifices over their graves, even though the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. He said to Allah even taught him and he ordered him

with two things. If you see any grave higher than a hand span level, it's flattened. It's, this is an authentic amount of Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wasallam. If you know the Sunnah, and you study it, you will find it there. If you're not interested in the Sunnah, and you only want to follow your culture.

Well, that's up to you. You're gonna meet along the Day of Judgment, and you will find out. So this is what the prophet said, but don't you find the Muslims everywhere, visiting these graves and making tawaf around them, going around them, circumambulating them, and even Subhan Allah, this is what I myself witnessed this. I witnessed this myself, when I was in Chennai. We were in a hole giving a lecture. We then went

in the masjid. And next to the lecture hall, behind the lecture hall was a grave. And there was lights and there was music, and there was saying, What's this always the grave of such and such thing? They are then went, and none of those people went to the masjid. Not one of them. They were so busy around the grave.

So harmala is this Islam? Is this Islam? And then they call upon those people thinking that they will be intercessors between them and Allah subhanho wa Taala. What is different between that and what the pagan Arabs used to do to some of the idols in the Kaaba, which were dead people? Is this not the same shark that the people that were doing in the time of the Prophet sallallahu lism but you know what you'll never think to give it up. You will never think to give it up. Why? Because you think it's Islam? You think it's the guidance, but find it for me, find me where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam ever taught any of his companions were Abu Bakr Omar of man, or any of

the Sahaba used to do these things.

If it wasn't religion for them, how is it religion for us? If it wasn't religion for them? How is it religion for us? There is another thing we find that people do, they gather together, it's our culture. You see, they gather together on the 14th day of

A person dies and they read the Quran together in a Jamal.

Now, I won't go into the issue of whether it is permissible to read the Quran, with the intention of the reward going to the dead person or not. In my point of view, it's not my point of view, there is some difference amongst some scholars, from the earliest days about this. I follow the scholars, for example, the Sharpies opinion, it's not permissible to do that. This is a bigger, however, some said, but this is only they said, a son, for example, could read it quietly alone. For his parents, they don't say that you should gather together in a gym. And you should have one man reading the code and and you do this for 30 days. And then after one year, and then another 40 days and like

this and like this. No one said this is part of the day No one said we should do this. But this is something we have invented. I asked anyone I challenge anyone, please find me. We're Abu Bakar Omar of man, Ali, Abdullah Ibn Abbas Abdullah Massoud, any of them did these things. Show me? Because if they didn't, how have you made it part of the religion? From where did you get the information Did you believe will come to you and tell you to do this? Did he come to you and say, yes, Allah now wants you to do this as a way to worship Allah. Please, brothers and sisters, please. You have to think and the problem is this. If you don't study, and you don't read, and you don't study the

Quran, even there are people who are islands, or they've gone through this course and that course but all they know is what they must have says, maybe they never read the Hadith. Really, they never open Bihari and read it and say a Muslim and read it. This is the basis upon which our religion is the son of the purified authentic Sunnah. So we have to ask ourselves, it is very important, because where are we going to go as Muslims? Where are we going to be as Muslims in this union in the era, we are going to be before Allah and Allah is going to ask us, and before that the angels will question us in the grave. We are going to be questioned about what we did. Now some people are

ignorant, and Allah knows who the people who have an excuse, yes, some people really they are ignorant. They don't know. They don't even know how to know. They wouldn't even know where to start looking in order to know who's a person of knowledge and who's not. Because they don't even have enough knowledge to know who's a scholar, they just find the guy with the long beard and the big turban and, you know, Mashallah he pays 200 and he looks like, you know, his dad was a scholar, you know, inshallah, he's a scholar, I don't know, so they follow him. Maybe this person in Sharla, they have an excuse. They can't read, they can't write nothing. They don't know they just doing that

that's Allah knows they are doing their best to follow the right way.

But how about the person who has a degree? How about the person who is educated? How about the person who can study complex subjects? biology, chemistry, information technology, yet? No. But the Quran we can't we can't understand the Quran. We can understand computer languages but the Quran No, no, it's too complicated.

The Sunnah is too complicated. Subhan Allah, too complicated?

This religion complicated. Believe me, brothers and sisters Alhamdulillah. This religion is not complicated. This religion is beautiful. This religion is easy. Yes, maybe if you want to study the laws of inheritance. It's a bit complicated. If you want to know fully the all the details of applying the rules of zaca. Okay, the mathematics may be a little bit more than what you can handle. It's more than what I can handle sometimes. But the religion the basics, what is a law Do you believe made it difficult to understand the basics to understand the essential aspects of this religion? And that's why I have to say brothers and sisters, some people they don't want you to

read. When we say to read the Quran in a language, you can understand this a nose though You mustn't do that. It's dangerous. You know that people who are saying that to you, the very ones who know that once you start reading it, you say to them, what are you doing? It's not in the corner, and it's not done by the prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, just like the Christian priests, just like the rabbis, when he saved the money and came to them. Ah, you see, now he's challenging our authority is questioning our interpretation of the law. The same thing when Islam came. Do you think the Christian priests The one who has knowledge, you think he doesn't know Islam is the truth? You

think he doesn't know? Allah?

He says in the Quran, the meaning of witches. Allah says in the Quran, those people have knowledge from the People of the Book. They know Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is a messenger from Allah, in the same way they know that son is their son. That's how they know. That is how they know.

Believe me, no person who has knowledge of the Bible will pick up the Quran and read the serum of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Except they will no definitely he is a messenger of Allah.

Yet, they are defending their position of authority, their privileges, their control over the people. So they slander Islam, they lie against this land. And I'm saying these are the people of knowledge. Some of them they are ignorant, and they just say whatever. They just say whatever people say, and you know, they pick up this and that. No, I mean, the scholars, they know why they don't change, culture confusion, because they're hanging on to that culture. It is maybe the arrogance, maybe that pride.

So this is something my brothers and sisters is very important. I want to say something also that we should not miss understand these people after the last lecture, someone came to me and said, Oh, you should have said this. I said, but I said that, how many times you want me to say it. So I will say it. So I hope you will understand what I'm saying. Alhamdulillah in Islam, it is considered everything from the worlds that dunya is good, is halal.

The general rule is, everything from the worldly things is halau except what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. So the general rule is halon what you eat, the food you eat, how much chili you put into your foods, the spices you use, the way you dress, the way you talk, the language you use. It's the type of business that you do. It's halaal, the type of car transport you use. It's halal. Generally, the rule is it's halal except when Allah subhanho wa Taala he has made something and mentioned it is haram or the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has made it hard on the general rule is therefore in the things of the life in the world, our culture, it's fine. Islam did not come

to take away the good things. And the Arabs, they had some good qualities. For example. They were very hospitable, very hospitable, so friendly. Subhan Allah, I have been really a recipient of some fantastic Arab hospitality in my life, including my dear friend, Chef Salima Emery, you know, he's a good person to be a friend of especially if you like seafood.

Especially if you I went to visit him Oh my God, I've never seen such a big plate of seafood in my life. It was so big. And he made me eat most of it. So Pamela, the hospitality Mashallah, the Arabs, they haven't lost that yet. Or at least some of them have done I haven't lost it. So the Prophet didn't say give this up. No, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he told them to keep it and encouraged it in them. And the sense of honor in some things, he encouraged that. So Islam, Islam is not saying give up everything. The British they have a sense of punctuality and being at on time, and queuing.

You see, orderly being orderly, is this a bad thing? No, this is a good thing. This is part of our culture. Does Islam say give this up? No.

So in general, these things are not a problem.

Alhamdulillah what you eat what you think but you have a filter. You see, you have a filter brothers and sisters. You have a filter. You don't like the strainer in the kitchen, when you're doing the vegetables you pour that you pour it in the strainer to filter out the water and keep what you want.

The filter for us

is the Quran.

The Sunnah,

the guidance that Allah subhanaw taala has, this is what we have to leave. So we use this filter. What What is left behind the handler we keep it and what the Quran and Sunnah tells us to leave, we leave it but brothers and sisters in order to do that, you have to know you have to know what's in the Quran.

You have to study it and read it and think about it. Deeply contemplate its meanings, understand its meanings and then apply that

in action in your life, apply what the court and apply what the prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is teaching if you don't know, then ask somebody who does know but in general hamdulillah the religion is not confusing, it is not difficult to understand. Of course, we need scholars and I am not saying for an instant that we do not need scholars. But we need true scholars, true scholars who themselves apply the Quran and the authentic teachings of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, my brothers and sisters, I am only calling you

inshallah, towards Allah subhanaw taala in his mercy has made it clear to my mind from the first day when I became Muslim. I remember I went to the London central mosque where I now work Subhana Allah, I went there, and I started to pray. And someone said to me, no, no, no, you don't pray like this. You pray like that. Okay. Does that mean you Muslim? You know, I said, my show. Thank you. Oh, thank you, oh, gosh, I won't do this. I'll do this. And then he says, No, no, no, you don't do this. You do this is another person. And then another one says, No, you must Wave your hands like this. The only reason that was done in the beginning because the companions used to hide idols underneath

their armpits. They were so addicted to idols and the Prophet told them to you know,

I could still do it and hide the island and if I, you know, so I said to myself, okay, everyone is telling me something different. I am sure Islam is not like Christianity confusing.

So what do I know? I know Allah, He revealed the Quran. And I know that the most authentic Hadees have been preserved in Bukhari and Muslim. So you know what I did, I went to the library in the masjid. And I sat down, I didn't stop. I went through every aisle of the Quran about Salah. I went through every howdy that I could find about sola. Then when someone came to me and said, Oh, you should do this. And you should do that. I said, Really? Cuz I read the whole Quran. And I read the whole of Buhari and I read the whole of Muslim I didn't see what you said anywhere. Can you show me What's your evidence? Aha.

jazak Allah. Thank you. You see, I didn't become Muslim, just to follow some culture. I didn't become Muslim to become a Pakistani or an Indian or an Arab or, you know, a Moroccan or I didn't become Muslim. I became Muslim to worship Allah according to the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. That's why I became Muslim

handling them.

And that's my brothers and sisters. What tonight I invite you to do the same thing. And it's only going to happen when you yourselves learn and study this religion. So brothers and sisters, please do that. That's my greatest advice to you. And then you will know and you will not have a culture confusion Alhamdulillah subhanak alohomora the ham deco Chateau and in the interest of too long.

Thank you, brother of Draymond Green for your

very elucidated talk on the topic culture confusion. Now we start our question and answer session. I repeat

for your questions.

Kindly follow these rules. Let your questions be on the topic. Be brief, and ask only one question at a time. non Muslims would be given preference if they come on to the mic over Muslims standing in the queue.

Assalamualaikum waalaikumsalam. My name is Aditya and I'm a bank professional. Sir, my question to you is that basically I would like to tell you that I personally I don't go to the guy that his tone, but some people around me go there. So if possible, can you please give me a verse from the Quran which says that the tone shouldn't be higher than half of our hand so that I can, you know, the support my statement when this is atla barakallahu. It is not an ayah of the Quran. It is a hadith. It's a Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. It's a hadith. So that's where you will find it. But also I have to tell you something very important. Some people will say, well prove

to me that I can't do this. They say prove to me that I can't do this in Islam. The person who says that has only with their words, confess their complete ignorance about what being a Muslim means. Because in Islam, you have to prove that you should do this. Not prove that you can't do it. It's the other way around. If you do an act of ibadah, you must be able to prove

Provide a proof. Not only that that act of worship is sanctioned in general, but it should be done in this specific way. Yes, not only the actual very body in general, but that it should be done in this specific way. For example, let's go back to the example before, no doubt, it is an act of evolved to love and honor the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

But we have been given specific ways to love and honor the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam by the prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam also, for example, Allah has told us to establish the prayer a key masala but I will ask anyone here tonight, bring me from the Quran the details of how to pray,

the beginning time and the end time, how many Raqqa each prayer is, what is the order of the standing bowing and sajida of what you should say in the Tisha who would bring me the details of any of these things from the Quran, you will not be able to do it.

true or not? Yes, we only know this from the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. But if someone said to me, Look, look for answers, establish the prayer. And I danced around like this. Now I'm praying now.

That Salah, this is Allah,

Allah, He says, The Quran says makes a lot this is what I call Salah.

Well, let's be accepted. Of course not. Because you have to prove that Salah is doing this. You can't say prove to me where the Quran says I can't do this actually is the opposite. You have to prove that what you're doing is something that is a Bada, that something that is acceptable to Allah subhanho wa Taala. This is the system that Allah has given us. So I hope that answers your question in Sharla sister does often have her

next question in the mind. Yes, brother, you can put forward your next question. Assalamu alaikum

My name is Dean Suki. I'm a mechanical engineer by profession. My question is, how can the Indian Muslims be freed from the strangle of age old culture? What remedies do you suggest? My suggestion First of all, is we do have to understand that not everything from culture is bad.

We do have to see what is good and what is bad what we should accept and what we should reject. The only way we can realistically do that is when we really understand the Quran and we really fully understand the teachings of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. So as a simple starts, for people like you, my brother for people like you, a simple start is literally simply pick up a copy of the Quran, in English or Hindi or whatever language you find most easy and read through it. Not because you can read the Quran and become a scholar and make fatwa. I am not saying that stuck for Allah. It's not up to us to make fatwa. We need scholars for that of course. But what I am saying is

only when you do that you will begin to understand what is the culture and what is the Islam then also to read a good Syrah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Like for example, Raquel Maktoum is a good Syrah Mashallah authentic of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to go through the hadith of Bukhari and Muslim. When you do that, I believe you will begin to see the scholars and you will begin to understand which scholars are basing their Islam upon the Quran and the Sunnah. And which scholars are just people who are not really scholars, they are just continuing the culture and sometimes even continuing and propagating the evil and wrong practices. These are the ones

unfortunately, who they do not like the Quran and Sunnah to be propagated because it means their position and their things will be challenged. For example, I when I am driving to the hotel and back some of the brothers told me that by the road there are kids

with incense and they put the incense in the car like this. And they said this, these people are from the graves, they come from the graves and they sell this as a type of it's a backhoe or something like that. And you give them money. Now if you say to this one, this is haram. He will say to you, this is my livelihood. We make our money from this will he accepted very easily.

Don't think so, the person who has vested interest and financial interest in maintaining the graves, for example, and all the 1000s and 1000s of people who come to the graves and give him money and pay him and you know, he is going to be between, you know, you ask Him and He will ask the saint and the saint will ask Allah, that's a big chain, look at this. And bit of money in between he is most of the time, he's not going to be ready to accept you say, No, I'm sorry, we have to knock this grave down now. Because this is what the prophet said, isn't what you're talking this is, you know, you are Wahhabi. That's the answer Wahhabi?

He's not interested you can bring him evidence is like this, you know, from here to here. On the right, the thing a hobby.

That's the only answer. a hobby like, Who cares what all I'm saying? Look at the evidence, look what we all Muslim, let's follow Islam. If I'm wrong, what I say I will change. That's it, believe me, you prove me wrong, I will change Bring me the evidence. Show me. So this is all we are saying. So we have to get used to studying the religion. This is the solution. Knowledge is the solution. ikura read. This has to be our culture. We have to be have the culture of being readers of being studied is so much better than watching Indian movies and you know, and all that type of stuff. So much better if we read the Quran. We study the Hadith, we read the Syrah, we sit with the good Arla, we

listen to the hot verse, this is what we need to do my brother, we need to have a culture of learning we need and if you look in your history, if we look in our history, Subhan Allah, if you study the history of the Muslims, of India, the history of the Muslims in the Arab world anywhere in Spain, you will find when the Muslims, their scholars were many. And the culture was one of learning and knowledge than the Muslims were very strong. They were very strong and very respected. And they had a fantastic civilization. But when we left this, and we just begin to enjoy the dunya and that's what we spend all our time. Then we become weak, and we follow all strange things and we become

divided. So my brother, this is my suggestion to you and everybody in sha Allah to study the religion in sha Allah, this is the way we were provided.

Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato. Polycom, Silla. First of all, I just wanted to thank Mr. czaka neck, and the people over a year older speakers just

further up the road. Just now you have mentioned in your speech, culture, confusion, that all prophets were human beings. That's wisdom of Allah, so that a common people can understand our laws, rules and regulations. This is a sense of Islam. I just want you to know that Quran was revealed by Prophet Muhammad, and the Torah was revealed to

musala salaam

Salaam alonza. Boo? And what about Isa Salah? He was not a common man, as do I think, because he did not have a father. And was he buried? According to the calculations, he was crucified? Can you shed light what Allah wants to show us till the end of this world that one of the Prophet was born without a father? And in the end, there was some problem about the burning and crucification Can you shed light upon this very briefly, although there is going to be a lecture in these days about the crucifixion of Jesus. So I don't want to go into that subject. But concerning the issue, this specific issue, Allah subhanho wa Taala has showed us his power, to do whatever he wills and to

create in whatever way He wills. First of all, yes, it is true that a Sir alayhis salam, may God's peace be upon him, had no father, Allah created him miraculously in the womb of Miriam.

He said be and Isa was, however, Allah subhanho wa Taala also created Adam, with no mother, and no father.

Yes.

And he also created how're Eve,

from a man but not from a woman. Yes. So in these things, Allah subhanho wa Taala is showing his complete power and control over the creation. It does not make Adam or how or Isa any less a human being, they are still

Human beings with all the attributes and the qualities of human beings, despite the fact that they have been created in a very special way, they are still human beings. zaca

Thank you brother Draymond Green