The Beauty And Wonders Of Islam
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Channel: Abdurraheem Green
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AI Generated Summary ©
The teaching of Islam is a fundamental teachings for the human mind and is impossible to claim the existence of a creator or trinity. The natural beauty of life is the desire for justice and individuals should be aware of their natural tendencies and prioritize their own happiness. The importance of praying and worshipping God is emphasized, along with the use of shaving hair in religion as a way of expression of one's spirituality.AI Generated Transcript ©
We begin by praising Allah, we praise Him and we seek His help and we ask for his forgiveness.
We seek refuge with ALLAH, from the evil of ourselves and from the evil consequences of our evil actions.
Whomsoever Allah guides, there is none to misguide. And whomsoever He leaves to go astray, there is none to guide.
And I bear witness, that Allah, God alone is worthy of being worshipped. And that Mohammed
May Allah says, peace and blessings be upon him. He is the servant of God, and He is his final messenger.
Many people in the world today,
view Islam, and imagine that Islam
is a religion that advocates
violence, terrorism.
Many people imagine that Islam is a religion, that denies basic human rights.
Many people in the world today have a very negative image of Islam.
And the fact is that this negative image is not greatly helped
by the behavior of Muslims, which very often
is not in accordance with the teachings of Islam.
However, every reasonable person,
every reasonable person,
would realize that a religion
should not be judged by the people or some people who profess to be its followers.
A religion should be judged
by its teachings,
a religion should be judged according to the actions and the teachings of its founder.
If some people who profess to be the followers of that religion,
after many years, and after a later time, have changed and corrupted and diverted themselves away from the true teachings of that religion. It is not fair to say, therefore, that religion is bad, therefore, that religion is wrong.
No reasonable, sensible, or rational person would judge Christianity based upon the actions
of the IRA,
or the Conquistadores.
Or the Spanish Inquisition.
Or, Adolphe, Hitler,
or any other person or any other group of people who claim directly or indirectly, to belong to the Christian faith.
Rather, if you wanted to judge Christianity, you would go back and you would see what are the teachings of its founder?
What did the founding fathers of that religion say? And what did they teach? And then you'd have to criticize the religion if you wanted to based upon that.
This is the sensible, rational approach.
Sometimes when I hear people talking about Islam, on the news, and in the media,
when they accuse Islam of being a religion that advocates terrorism and teaches violence,
and we have many images
of Muslims, and in fact, sometimes interviews with Muslims, sometimes there are people who do not even have knowledge of the religion.
And I think to myself, and I even say this, that I don't recognize this religion, which they are portraying as being Islam.
It doesn't seem to me that this is the same religion that I am following. It seems to me as if they're talking about something quite different.
You would imagine
Imagine that the basic teachings of Islam were about killing and murdering, and so on and so on and so forth. But what are the basic teachings of Islam?
What are they? One might imagine that Islam was a religion of fanatics and fanaticism,
that it was not based in any way or had no connection with reason, rationality.
And I think this is a view that sometimes is purposely portrayed by the media.
But what are the basic teachings of Islam?
What are the basic fundamental teachings of this religion? Let us examine them. And let us see
what, what Islam really teaches what Islam really says, The first and the most important teaching in Islam?
is its teaching about God.
What does Islam teach about God?
The Quran tells us and tells the human beings to observe, to look at the world around you, to look at the universe around you to look within yourselves.
And in these things, you will find signs, clear signs, for people who reflect for people who have wisdom, and for people who understand
in the alternation of the lights in the day,
in the ships which sail
on the ocean,
carried by the winds, in the rain that falls
in the crops, and the different fruits, and the different foods which we eat.
In these things, and other things, there are signs, for those who are wise for those who understand for those who reflect
signs of what
they are signs to show that there is a creator, there is a load, there is a sustainer
that these things could not have come into existence by themselves.
Because we don't find
in the human experience,
something just coming from nothing.
We don't find things just coming from nothing. We don't find order spontaneously arising out of chaos. Rather, our human experience tells us that when we see something ordered,
working according
to laws, working according to patterns, working in a system, then our human experience tells us again and again and again, that someone or something has ordered it and systemized it and made it work according to these laws and patterns.
This is why an archaeologist can go into the desert.
And this archaeologist could find a small piece of pottery, a small piece of pottery.
But from this small piece of pottery, the archaeologists will tell us so many things,
he will be able to tell us the state of technological ability of the society, and the people who made that pottery Why? Because he will say in order to be able to make the clay and to bake the clay, they must have been able to build ovens. And in order for the ovens to reach sufficient sufficient temperature for that clay to be baked, they must have been able to have this level of technological ability. And then he may say, and this clay, we don't find it in this area. In fact, this clay only comes from a such and such place so many hundreds of miles. So we know they must have some system of transportation. And then maybe the person could look at the artwork or the writing
and then more things they could tell us about those people who built this piece of pottery who made
this clay
and shaker and fashion did. So for this archaeologist. The existence of this piece of pottery is a conclusive proof
proof
of the existence of the people who made it, he doesn't need to see them.
He doesn't need to see that town. He doesn't need to see that ovens, he doesn't need to see any of those things. The piece of pottery proves to him the existence of these people, and also proves to him the state of their knowledge and intelligence.
That's why we look at things today,
pieces of incredible, technologically complex machinery.
And that makes us understand something about the level of scientific knowledge and achievement of the society that has made them.
And then,
if these things also not only are functional, but they are also beautiful, that they they are aesthetically pleasing,
then we have a higher state of appreciation of that society. Because not only do they have technological ability, they have qualities
that appreciate beauty and art, and so on, and so on and so forth. to us. All of this is a proof
of the existence of the people who made it have their knowledge and their intelligence.
Why? Because we don't find something coming from nothing. None of us will believe that this glass spontaneously came into existence through a processes of chance and coincidence, even if we believed that, for example, we claimed that this class was found in a volcanic area where there was a volcano surrounded by sand and the volcanic explosion heated up the sand and a piece of glass, which was formed from the sand flew up into the air and it came down and it landed, and then the rain fell, and then the waves washed it until eventually, we had this glass formed here.
Even though we believe that
it's not possible,
Did anyone see a glass perfectly formed by a process of coincidences, or a motorcar, or a bicycle, or even an ink pen?
Or a handkerchief? No.
Rather, when we see things ordered, we know that someone or something has ordered them. So then the Quran tells us, the Quran tells the human being look at the world around you. And you will see everywhere order, you will see things working according to precise mechanisms.
And the degree and the sophistication of that ordering
is illustrative of the wisdom and the knowledge and the power of the one who made it.
If we look to the universe, with its galaxies, it stars its solar systems.
How stars come into existence, how galaxies are formed, how the universe itself
was created.
If we look at our Earth,
if we look at the alternation of the night, and the day,
that we have a day, which goes through a period of 24 hours, 24 hours. Imagine, for example, just imagine that a day, instead of being a day and a night instead of being 24 hours was 30 years. Imagine the earth spun so slowly on its axis, that it didn't take 24 hours to go around, that it in fact took 30 years to go around or 40 years or even 100 years. So, the Earth is moving very, very slowly, what would happen, the sun would be constantly beating down for 15 years on one part of the Earth's surface and it will become superheated, another part will become super cold because it will not be exposed to the sun. Therefore, you'd probably almost definitely life could not exist.
The composition of the gases in our atmosphere, oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
If there was not oxygen life could not exist. If it was pure oxygen still life could not exist because pure oxygen oxygen is poisonous. We need carbon dioxide we also need nitrogen we need the other gases. There is a perfect balance of gases. there happens to be a gas
Also very important guests, we're learning about it now, especially in Australia, they tell us about skin cancer
and the ozone layer is being depleted. The the ozone has an extremely important role, it filters out the harmful effects of the sun's radiation. If there was no ozone layer, what would happen, we will be bombarded with harmful radiation life would not exist. Imagine if the earth was much closer to the sun, or much further from the sun. Again, too hot, too cold. In fact, what we find
that our planet is a perfectly balanced mechanism
more intricate, and more delicate
than the most sophisticated mechanical watches.
If we look at the human brain, the eyes, the ears, the lungs, the heart, the kidneys. Each of these things are incredibly complex machines. If we go deeper, and look on the microbiological level, we find that even the cell, which is the most basic building block of life, is incredibly complex. It has been compared to a mega city, a huge city,
a huge city.
In fact, if you were compared, if you were to compare the cell to a city that human beings built, the cell would actually be more complex and more sophisticated.
This cell has incredibly complex mechanisms that allow nutrients in and that allow waste products out but does not allow harmful products in and that keeps the beneficial products out. It has the means of reproducing itself.
It has factories
that produce certain substances, because each cell has a special task. And within the cell is a factory that produces these substances, breaking down chemicals and reconstructing them. This is a cell the simplest building block of life is incredibly complex.
What is there in the whole totality of human experience to allow us to believe that such a thing could be a product of random events? The fact is that asking us to believe that is not reasonable, it is irrational, it does not fit with human experience, it is not reasonable, it is not rational. Rather, it is rational and reasonable to believe that there is
an intelligence, a power
behind all of this.
So we could not have created itself. This universe could not have bought itself into existence.
Nor did it create itself. The universe is not its own creator.
Because we cannot attribute to the universe and the things of the universe the power to create. It is only a collection of what stars and galaxies.
And stars and galaxies do not have the ability to bring things into existence and to organize. So it couldn't have created itself. Nor could we be the creators of it because we ourselves are in need of a creator.
And these are the rational arguments you will find in the Quran.
The Quran is the essential book that is the foundation
of the religion of Islam. So in the Quran, you find these beautiful rational arguments, observe, look, think,
contemplate in these things, you will find signs evidences for those people who reflect for those people who are wise for those people who understand.
And if you think and you reflect, then you will realize that, yes, this universe, this universe, it did not create itself, and it did not come from nothing. So it must have a creator, there must be one that has brought this universe into existence.
And the you and the creator of this universe cannot be of the same nature as the universe.
The creator of the universe must be different.
Because if the creator of the universe
was of the same nature as the universe, then it would also need a creator. And then that creator would also need a creator and you will have creators creating creators ad infinitum. In fact, you would never get anything created.
is not reasonably possible. So the creator must be different. So as the universe is temporary, the creator is eternal.
As the universe is needy, it's needy, it means it needs a creator, it needs one to bring it into existence, and to make the laws through which and by which it exists, then the creator must be self sufficient without any needs.
And you could only have one such eternal, self sufficient creator, you could not have to eternal self sufficient creatures.
Therefore, what the Quran teaches, and this is what you will find the Quran teaches, fundamentally about God, that there is one God who is eternal, who is self sufficient, who has bought this universe into existence, who has created it, and who sustains it, and who maintains it.
That this universe is not God.
And God is not part of this universe, God is the creator of it. No, Does God become something inside this universe, because that would contradict reason that is an unreasonable and irrational claim that could never ever be proven. If anyone says, God became a man.
That is a claim that you can never prove, you can claim it, you can say I believe it, but you can never prove it. Because by definition, by definition, the belief that God became a man is something that contradicts reason.
Because man is temporary man is needy man breathes, man eats.
man is born and man dies, but God is eternal. God does not need to eat, God does not need to drink, God does not breathe, because God is self sufficient. God does not have a beginning, and God does not have an end.
So to say something is eternal, and temporary, both at the same time
that something is infinite and finite, both at the same time, that something is immortal and mortal, that is self sufficient and needy. It's an impossibility.
You are asking, or the person is claiming that two completely opposite, contradictory things exist at the same time?
And if you claim that, then On what basis can you ask people to even believe in God in the first place?
If you claim that then what is your argument? On what basis can you say to people believe in God?
Because if you say believe in God, because it's rational, then you demand that they believe in something irrational,
then
they will then question the very belief in God in the first place.
So it's not something that can ever be proven, it is only something that can be claimed. And so therefore, the first beauty and the first wonderful thing about Islam is exactly this, what Islam teaches about God, it is a belief that is so pure, it is so free from irrational beliefs. It is so completely in accordance with reason and with the natural disposition and the natural inclination of the human being.
We are not taught rather the core and refutes any concept that God is a trinity, that God is three and God is one of the core and clearly says,
Do not say three, do not say Trinity. Your God is one God.
Do not say Trinity,
desist, that will be better for you. Your God is one good. The Quran says about those people who believe that, for example, that Jesus is God, then the Quran gives a beautiful rational argument to appeal to the common sense and to the nature of the human being. It says
if God wanted to destroy Jesus and Mary, and everything in the heavens and the earth, who could stop him
meaningless Jesus and Marian everything, in fact, in the heavens and the earth is under the power and the control of God and that which is under the power and the control of
God cannot be God.
They ate food, the core answers, they walked on the streets, the core answers, see how we make our signs clear to them, and see how they are turned away from the truth.
To cover and close people away from worshipping the things of this world, don't worship the sun. don't worship the moon, don't worship the stars, worship the one who created the sun and the moon and the stars. All of these things have no power, and no strength of their own, rather all of their power and their ability comes from God. So worship the one
to whom all power and strength and ability lies. Why do you bow down and worship idols, that you yourself fashion with your hands,
and then you call upon them, and you seek their help. But these things could not even help themselves.
If they fell down, they couldn't pick themselves up.
If you smashed it, they could not even prevent you. So how can you worship this thing that has no power, no ability, it cannot hear you. It cannot benefit you. It cannot harm you. It has no ability whatsoever? Why do you worship these things? Why do we worship each other?
other human beings,
that we allow other human beings
to forbid things for us, which God who is all wise and all knowing has allowed
until allow for us things, which God who is all wise and all knowing has forbidden?
Where it is Allah, God the Creator, he is the one who knows all things. And what the human beings know, is very, very little.
So the Quran is appealing,
with beautiful, wonderful, reasonable arguments, calling to something also not only the mind, but something that is deep within the human being a deep knowledge, a deep recognization a deep recognition of this truth, that it is God alone, the creator alone, that is worthy of being worshipped, that He is the Lord, the provider, the Sustainer.
And this, my dear listeners is the first of the great wonders and the beauty of Islam. What Islam teaches about God, is there anything irrational, fanatical, unreasonable about that?
Is there anything unreasonable in anything of that? Is there anything irrational? in anything of that? No, rather,
the honest and sincere person must admit that this is a very rational and very reasonable belief.
And this belief, in fact, is the foundation of the teachings of Islam. In fact, Islam is all about the human beings, relationship with God.
What we should believe about God, what we should say about God, and what we should not say about God, what we should attribute to him and what we should not attribute to him. How should we worship Him? How should we seek His pleasure, and how should we avoid his roof
and then the Quran tells us also,
that this life is not the only life,
that there is another life to come.
There is a time when every human being will be recreated by God, physically, as well as spiritually but physically, and that human beings from the first to the last will be assembled in front of God and He will judge them, He will judge them according to what they believed and according to what they did,
that every atoms weight of good that we have done, we will know about it. And every atoms weight of evil that we have done, we will know about it.
You know it is one of the deepest and most natural things within the human being is the desire for justice.
One of the deepest and most natural things within the human being, is the desire for justice. To the extent that
to the extent that if a small child,
a small child has something taken away from it,
it will cry,
it will cry.
If a small child has some injustice done to it, it will complain,
even though this child has not reached the age, or the ability to reason,
but something deep within the natural instinct of the human being craves for justice.
But we look at this world in which we live. And we see, very often it seems as if
justice is not done,
that the powerful and the rich,
get away with many evil criminal acts.
And the poor and the weak and the defenseless, seem to suffer.
That there are people who steal and murder and commit the most atrocious crimes, yet they seem to be living a life of luxury. Yet someone lives an honest life.
Yet they, at the end of it seemed to get nothing.
But if we look to this universe, when we go back, as we began, we will see that in reality, we have a world that is so finely balanced,
a universe that is clearly working according to such precise laws. Therefore, it is something deeply acceptable to the human mind and to the human nature.
That justice will be done, that those people who committed crimes will not escape.
And those people who lead good and righteous lives will be rewarded. Therefore the belief in the Day of Judgment, the day of accounting, when the guilty criminals will be punished, and the righteous
will be rewarded.
It is something that is deeply attractive, and satisfying to the human mind, and the human instinct.
So the Quran teaches
the belief in the Day of Judgment,
the place of punishment, which is the Hellfire for the transgressors, and the place of reward
for
the true believers and righteous people.
This is the fundamental teachings of Islam.
That in order to teach us how to worship God, in order in order that we could know more about our Creator,
that we could know how to worship Him, how to thank him, how to pray to Him, how to praise him, how to glorify Him, what are the actions that God loves from us? What is the way what is the purpose of our life?
This is one of the wonderful things about Islam.
And believe me, I searched before I became Muslim through many different religions. And I read about many different philosophies.
But one of the wonders of Islam is it's clear, unequivocal teaching
about the purpose of the existence of the human being, and the knowledge that has come from the Creator. The knowledge that has come from the Creator. Think about this as an analogy.
Imagine I spent
a great deal of money, and I buy myself a
overhead projector, or I buy myself a new computer. But I I'm unfamiliar to this technology. It's very new. It's very expensive. I don't know how to work it.
All, for example, a mobile phone.
This is a good example. This mobile phone. This is the brothers aboubaker his mobile phone. But a friend of mine. He gave me a mobile
Phone, he wanted to keep in touch with me. Because I'm hardly ever in the house. He gave me a mobile phone. But he just gave me the phone.
He didn't give me he just gave me the phone, I could figure out how to turn it on. And I could just about figure out how to dial a number. Imagine you spend what how many dollars you're going to spend for this? How many dollars he's gonna spend
400 bucks.
So imagine $400 It's a lot of money, right? It's quite a lot of money. 400 bucks. So you buy this phone for 100 bucks. And you get it. It's made by you see Erickson. So you get the box and you open it up. Okay, maybe you switch it on, and you fiddle around with it. And you said there's supposed to be some games on this and some stuff. And so what do you look for? What are you looking for in the package?
The instructions? Yes. So you put up the instructions. And on the instruction manual. It's got Sony.
Wait a minute.
Ericsson? This is an Ericsson, all three 110 s you can drop it. I know. He told me. It still works. But my instruction is for a Sony five to one seven said.
I see that's no good. I want the instruction by the people who made this phone for this phone.
Yes.
Isn't that what we need?
You see, then this is the point. we human beings.
We are much more sophisticated than a mobile phone.
individually. And socially.
We are extremely sophisticated. If you ask most people, what is the purpose of your life? They won't even be able to tell you they will not blank. They don't even know why do they exist? What is the purpose of their life?
Many of them in reality, what are they? If you ask them? What's your mobile phone that tell you? What's your camera? For? They'll tell you? What are your eyes? For I know what my eyes are for? What do your ears for? I know. What are you for? Why do you exist? What is the purpose of your existence?
Oh,
I don't know. It's a good question.
Very strange. So really, this is more worth it has more worth than you because you know what this is for? But you don't know what your full?
Yes.
Really. So we need to know and this is a very, very deep desire. The human being really everybody is asking themselves this question.
Everybody at different times in their life, ask themselves why am I here? What is the purpose of my life? What is the old for most people that ask themselves when things start to go wrong? You know, the things that they really attach themselves to the house, that girlfriend that whatever it was that religion, they find it was a false religion or whatever, that they're the party that the government
and they find they're so corrupt. And then they start asking what is it all for? Why? What's it all about? Why am I here?
Then, from who do we want the answer? Do we want the answer?
from George Bush?
Did he create us?
Did America
create us?
Did the United Nations create us?
Did they create us? Did they make us and bring us into existence?
Did Tony Blair in the house of parliament today? Are they our creators? Are they the ones who made us but they all of them, they write the instructions. They say you should do this and you should do that. And you shouldn't do this. And you shouldn't do that. And this is the way you should live and this is what is good. And this is what is evil. This was right and this is what is wrong. They are writing the instructions, but they themselves are in need of instruction.
I'm not interested in their instructions. I want to know from the one who made me.
I want the instruction manual from the one who created me and brought me into existence. Everything else is worthless.
That's why God sent prophets.
God sent prophets to teach us how to live
according to the way
that is
God's way from his knowledge
God sent with these prophets, instruction manuals, books.
These books, taught human beings and gave the human beings the basic outlines through which and by which not only the basic outlines, but in many respects details how to live in a manner that is pleasing to God.
It makes sense that if we have a creator,
and we don't know what is the purpose of our life,
that God will send us instructions.
prophets, and these prophets were who ordinary people just anybody know, the prophets were special people, people who were themselves a type of proof and evidence that they were messengers of God. Why because of their character, because of their personality because of their truthfulness, their trustworthiness.
They were the people have the most outstanding noble characteristics, truthfulness, and trustworthiness.
Someone said, for example, if the man used to be a thief, he said, I know you used to be a thief, and now you're trying to steal my soul as well.
You know, even if everything he says is right, the person will go, I know what you're like, that's how you are. With the profits. Therefore we're not like that they were people of the most excellent if you examine the character, of the prophets, itself will be a type of means for you to be convinced that they are messengers from God.
Indeed, this is one of the wonders of Islam, that Allah sent a messenger, Mohammed, may Allah peace and blessings be upon him. So Allahu Allah, Islam, this man, if you were to read and research into his life, and his teachings, and his morals and his conduct, you will find that there is a human being have the most outstanding integrity
and dedication and good character and good morals and good manners. In fact, there are so many incidents where people became Muslim merely by observing the character of Prophet Mohammed,
just by observing his behavior.
There was a there's a famous incident where there was a Jew s, who used to live on the same street in Mecca as the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi salam.
And she used to throw rubbish,
you know, the waste from her house. And she used to wait for the Prophet Mohammed to come and then she would throw it out onto the street, so he would get dirty and to just inconvenience him.
And this used to happen regularly every day. And then one day, the prophet Mohammed walked past the house. And then he realized I didn't get my usual delivery today.
So
if it was one of us, we would have said, well, hamdulillah hope the cows dead.
You know, I'm sure most of us that's even the best of us will be thinking like that. But the Prophet Mohammed, what did he do? He went back, and he knocked on the door. And he asked the servant is your mistress, well, Is she sick? Is there anything I can do for her?
When this woman heard about it, she said, a shadow and Illa Illa lower shadow under Mohammed Doris, who I testify that there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is His Messenger. No one except the prophets have character like this.
This is one incident of so many. that illustrates the character and the personality and the truthfulness and the integrity of the Prophet Mohammed.
He indeed is one of the wonders of Islam, that Allah has sent us a man who is such a perfect example, in so many spheres of life, if one of us was just to be, for example, a perfect example of how to be a husband. I'm, for example, say that I managed to achieve being a good example of being a husband, or you manage to achieve a good example of being a wife.
Or you manage to achieve a good example of being a businessman or a businesswoman.
Or you manage to achieve a good example of being a teacher or a good example of being a general, a leader. A judge.
If one human being was to achieve just that in their life, and they were to fall short in the others, still you would say this person is someone whose character is
admirable. Take, for example, the judge that has now been accused in the Australian Parliament of having involved himself in child prostitution and homosexual acts. Well, he although he's openly homosexual, of course, as Muslims, we find that something that is, how can we say it is displeasing to Allah, it's not something we find that we like it.
However, the man, everyone amongst his peers, recognizes that he is very good at his job, he is a good judge, he is honest, he has integrity, and that they say all of these things are gonna blow away because he is a person who is good at what he does, he works hard, and he has integrity. So you see that his good quality in just one field allows people to overlook his shortcomings in others.
How about therefore, if someone is able to be an excellent example in every single field of activity,
that he is the best example of being a husband.
An example unfortunately, that many, or even most Muslim men miserably fail to match up to
the Prophet Mohammed, may Allah peace and blessings be upon him, used to sell his own clothes.
He used to look after his own affairs, he used to milk the goat, he used to clean the house, when he was not busy, he would come home and serve his family.
This is how the Prophet Mohammed used to be.
But he was also an example of a leader.
One only needs to look and see how his companions revered him and respected him. In fact, one of the pagans, when they saw how the companions treated the Prophet, they said, I have been to the court of Caesar and I have been to the quote of hospital who is the leader of the Persians, by I have never seen people who have respected and love the leader, as the Muslims love Mohammed
solos.
His example as a general, his example, as a judge, his example in as a teacher,
they used to say,
and one of the companions said, I never found anyone who used to be so kind, and so good in the way he corrected as the Prophet Mohammed.
Really, we could give a lecture on the manners and the method that the Prophet Mohammed used to use in teaching his companions.
But I just want to give one beautiful, beautiful story. There was one day when a Bedouin, a Bedouin, they're very rough people from the desert. He came into the mosque, and he started to urinate in the mosque.
He started to urinate in the mosque.
So the companions jumped up, and they were going to grab him and throw him out of the mosque. And the Prophet Mohammed said, leave him alone. And let him finish.
Yes, leave him alone and let him finish. So when the man finished, the prophet spoke to him. He said,
This place is not the place for that. The mosque, meaning the mosque is not the place to do that. This is not the place to do that.
He said, pour water on it.
And that will clean it. Pour water on it, and that will clean it.
When this Bedouin saw this,
he accepted Islam. And he said, may Allah have mercy on me and Mohammed and no one else.
Because he was I said, the Bedouins were off. And then the Prophet said, and then the Prophet said, No, he said, Allah is much more merciful than that. Allah is much more merciful. This is just one incident. How the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, how he used to teach people, his kindness and his gentleness.
Really, if you found one person could have one of the qualities in in one field you will admire that person. How about someone who is an example
In everything that he does.
This is one of the wonders of Islam that Allah has sent this messenger. And indeed, Allah said about him, that he is on an exalted level of character.
So Allah,
He sent books, the instruction manual. And then he sent the messengers, who in their life, and through their example, taught people how to implement that instruction manual. So not only did God say, here's the instructions, but I'm also sending you someone who will show you exactly how to
fulfill those instructions.
So imagine Ericsson, they send not only a little book, they send someone along to come and teach you everything.
So Allah, not only did he send messengers, it books he sent a messenger to teach you exactly how to fulfill those instructions.
And what are those fundamental instructions? What are those fundamental teachings of Islam? What is it kill, murder, blow people up,
read, look and learn. See, what are the fundamental teachings, the fundamental teachings are, number one, what you believe, very simple. We've already covered most of it,
that you believe that there is only one God
that He alone is worthy of being worshipped.
He is not born,
nor does he beget. And there is nothing which is like unto him.
That you should worship Him alone.
that Muhammad is His Messenger,
that you believe in the angels.
You believe in the books, all of them.
You believe in the prophets. And you believe in the last day, the day of judgment, and the paradise and the hellfire. And you believe that God has the complete knowledge of all things.
And that that knowledge he has written down.
From the beginning of the creation, to the end, everything that will happen, nothing happens, except that God knows about it. And nothing happens except with the permission of God, nothing can happen unless God allows it to happen.
This is the Divine Decree. This is the belief what a Muslim. What all in fact, human beings are required by God to believe.
That is what we believe, essentially,
very briefly, and the practices of Islam are, first of all, that you should pray
to God at least five times a day, that a very absolute minimum, that you must be in a state of purity.
That you should wear clean clothes, free from filth,
that you yourself should be free from filth, because you are going to stand in front of the Creator of the heavens and the earth.
And that you must present yourself before him.
And there is no intercessor and no intermediate tree and there is nothing between you and him. You are standing in front of God.
You don't need to pray through anyone. In fact, it is forbidden. Absolutely. to intercede or seek the intercession of everyone God wants you to talk to him to pray to Him, to worship Him alone, and to direct your prayer to him five times a day,
once in the morning, before sunrise between the dawn and the sunrise. So think about that.
The first thing you do when you wake up is you think about your God.
Your creator, the Lord of the heavens and the earth. And you thank Him and you praise Him and you seek His help and ask for his forgiveness. And then the day goes and it moves on until about lunchtime.
And you've been working or whatever you've been doing.
And then it reaches the middle of the day. And then again, you must present yourself in front of your Lord and your Creator.
And then in the afternoon, maybe it's just about the time when you're heading home from work.
You've just got back from work again, you have to present yourself in front of Allah, thanking Him and praising him and seeking His forgiveness.
And then when the sun goes down, and the sunsets, once again, you present yourself in front of your Creator. And just at the end of the day, the end of the night, when the night begins to come, and it's dark, and maybe just before you go to bed again,
that you present yourself in front of God to remember him. So throughout all the day, you are constantly reminding yourself
that you have a lord, a creator, that you should praise Him and thank him, you should seek His help and ask for his forgiveness.
This is what a Muslim is required to do.
At the minimum, at the minimum, you must do that, to be a Muslim, you must at least do that.
That you must give two and a half percent of your excess wealth minimum, if you want to give more you can give more. But as a minimum, you must give two and a half percent of your excess wealth meaning after you've paid your bills and so on and so forth, than what you have left.
As excess wealth, you must pay a minimum of two and a half percent, and that is to be given to the poor and to the needy people who are worthy of receiving it
as a minimum,
that one month in a year, you will fast you will not eat, you will not drink, and you will not have sexual intercourse from dawn to sunset, from dawn to sunset, after the sun has said you may eat and you may drink and you may enjoy the company of the house, the husband with the wife and the wife of the husband.
That the intimate company that is
and you should also abstain
from evil deeds from loose talk from backbiting and slandering. Because as the Prophet Mohammed said, Allah has no interest in the fast of the person who abstains from food and drink, but does not abstain from evil deeds and evil speech.
So it is not just a physical fast, it is a fast in your manners also from the evil behavior. And all of this is to teach the Muslim patience to remind them of those people who are less fortunate than themselves.
That they abstain from their worldly desires and their worldly needs.
Just to please God.
And it is something that only God knows about.
Only God knows whether you're fasting because you can go in there, go to the loo and you can drink some water, no one will know only you and your Creator knows.
That's why Allah said fasting is for me. It's one such a special deed it is for Allah and Allah He will give a special God will give a special reward for it.
And the other thing that you must do
is that at least once in your life, if you can afford it, you should make pilgrimage. You should make pilgrimage and perform the Hajj which is the pilgrimage and you should go to visit the first house that was ever built for the worship of the one true God.
The Kaaba, which was built by the friend of Allah, the prophet of Allah, Abraham or Abraham,
that you should go there and in this Hajj,
you will worship your Lord, call upon him and seek His help and you will stand
with all your pretensions taken from you.
For all you will wear is two pieces of cloth.
One that you wrap around your waist that is it has no stitches, it is an unstitched piece of cloth, one around your waist and one around your body. It doesn't matter whether you are a king, a millionaire or a pauper, you will be dressed the same.
And you will go and you will worship your Lord and you will go to the plane of alpha and you will call upon your Lord and your Creator.
That you should try to do this at least once and you must do it at least once in your life. If you have the ability and you can afford it
those
The basic acts of worship.
And apart from that, what is Islam teach?
From its fundamental teachings from its fundamental teachings. These are the real fundamental teachings of Islam. Number one, that you speak the truth, and you don't lie.
You speak the truth and you don't lie. The Prophet Mohammed, may Allah peace and blessings be upon him said, the believer could be a miser, the believer could be a coward. The believer could drink alcohol and the believer could even steal. But the believer could never be a liar.
Speaking the truth and not lying is one of the fundamental teachings of Islam.
Keeping your promises.
When you promise to do something, you do it. Because the person who fails to keep their promises is a person who has a very clear quality of hypocrisy. What is hypocrisy? a hypocrite is someone who says, I believe they say it with their tongue, but in the heart, there is no belief.
That's a hypocrite. I believe I believe I'm Muslim, I'm a Muslim, but really, there is no belief in the heart It is just something they say on their tongue.
This is the Prophet Mohammed said sallallahu lism. There are three or four signs
of a hypocrite, whoever has all of them is a complete hypocrite, meaning this person is completely hypocrite, meaning they have no faith at all.
Even though they claim it, whoever has one of these things, has one branch of hypocrisy.
When he speaks he lies when he makes a promise, he breaks it. When he is entrusted with something, he betrays it. And when he argues he does so in an insulting and licentious manner.
These are the basic teachings of Islam.
Amongst the basic teachings of Islam is the treatment and the kind treatment of your parents.
In fact, Allah has mentioned in the Quran, the kind treatment of the parents, along with reverence of him.
Allah has mentioned that in the Quran, Allah said, reverence Allah and the wounds that boy you,
the prophet Mohammed toward that paradise. paradise lies at the feet of your mother.
paradise lies meaning at serving your mother, being kind to your mother, and obeying her as long as she does not order you to do something that is against Islam.
Then Paradise is in serving your mother. The amongst the greatest crimes that a human being can commit is disobeying
their parents.
This is the fundamental teachings of Islam.
Amongst the fundamental teachings of Islam is kindness to the neighbors
is kindness to the neighbors. The Prophet said sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
will lie he which means he is taking an oath by God, he is making God testify meaning God a witness, by God will lie.
He is not a believer will lie he is not a believer will lie. He is not a believer, the person whose neighbor is not safe from his mischeif.
The person who is mischievous and annoys his neighbor,
cannot be a believer.
In fact, the prophet Mohammed said that the angel Gabriel jabra jabril, the angel Gabriel used to come down and tell him so much about the rights of the neighbors, that the Prophet Mohammed thought that it was going to be revealed to him that the neighbors would share in the inheritance.
The Prophet said, a believer is not the one whose stomach is full while his neighbor is hungry.
These are the fundamental teachings of Islam
justice, to be just even against yourself, even against your family, even against your tribe or your nation.
Be just justice in fact, is one of the foundation
pillars of Islamic Society. To the extent that if the people are Muslim,
they're Muslim, that they are not just Allah will not support them.
And if the disbelievers the people who are not Muslim, they are just, even if they are disbelievers, God will support them. Because Allah favors the people who are just even if they are disbelieving over the nation that is unjust, even if they are believing because the Sunnah of God in this respect
in the establishment of strength in the land is upon justice.
So from amongst the fundamental teachings of Islam is to be just
I will want to tell you one story
about to give you an example of the justice and please, I don't think anyone could find
in the history of the world today are from before an example like this.
There was an Egyptian
who was whipped by
the general who entered the Muslim armies entered into Egypt, and they opened Egypt for Islam.
There was one general his name was Ahmad.
He was from a high a noble family of the Arabs. As he was riding on his horse, there was an Egyptian Christian who stood in his way and he whipped him with his crop, you know, with his, the horse, the stick they used to make the whole he whipped him with it.
So, this person
is the gyptian Christian. He said, I have heard of the justice of Omar Ibn Al hottub, the Kayla's, the leader of the Muslims. Omar was one of the close companions of Prophet Muhammad.
And he was the second rightly guided caliphs, Muslims, so this man he said, I have heard the stories of the justice of Omar. So I will go and I will seek justice. So he traveled from Egypt, to Mecca.
And at the time,
the same Egyptian that same general was actually had returned and he was making two are from the Kaaba and Omar was sitting near by so this Egyptian came to him. He said, Oh, and miramont minion, oh, leader of the believers.
This Gen of us, whipped me with his crop, and I did nothing wrong.
I want justice.
So Omar, Al Haddad, He called this man he's a general of the Muslim army, who has liberated Egypt for Islam.
He is a noble man from amongst the nobility of the Arabs. So he calls him He says, Oh Allah.
Is this true?
That you whipped this man?
So I'm gonna look at him? He said, Yes, I would. Tim. So what?
So?
So Omar took his stick, he gave it to this Egyptian, he said, whip him as he whipped you.
And the man said, No.
A shadow law in a moment. illallah wa shawanna. Muhammad Rasul Allah, I testify there is no God, but Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger.
And he became Muslim.
This was the type of justice that was to be found amongst the Muslims.
This was the type of justice to be found amongst the true believers.
Could we find a story like that today? Could we find an incident like that today? It will be very, very difficult.
I think it will be impossible.
These are the fundamental teachings of Islam.
Now, I asked you honestly, and I could talk about many other things that we find in Islam, but I ask any person who is reasonable, any person who is saying any person who has wisdom and understanding, is there anything in what I have described today that a reasonable person could find an objection to
does not the
Do not these things illustrate and show
that really Islam far from being some irrational,
misguided and barbaric way of life is indeed
light, wonderful light and guidance from the Creator of the heavens in the earth Allahumma salli ala Muhammad in one early he was happy he was Allah
hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen
Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa salam
ala illallah wa shodo, under Mohammedan Abdul rasuluh
Mashallah got lots of nice questions.
So,
the first one,
you mentioned about the purpose of human life, the meaning of human life, but you evaded the answer. It seemed to me, sometimes I believe I know the purpose of my life, and other times, I'm not sure 100%.
Okay, that's the first part of the question. Okay.
We have to make a distinction now, between
the actual purpose of God, creating human beings, and those things that some human beings think they want to do with their lives, it's two completely different things. Sometimes, if you ask somebody, what's the purpose of your life, they say, the purpose of my life is to make money, to have a nice house to have a nice car, and to retire, and to be able to enjoy it. So they say that's the purpose of their life.
Some other people may say that the purpose of my life is to be a doctor, or someone else says, the purpose of my life is, you know, my wife, or my boyfriend, or my girlfriend or whatever.
So really, these people, they reply, that the purpose of their life is not something that is the purpose of the existence, or why human beings exist, and what God created them for. All they're saying is, these are the things that I want to do and achieve with my life. In fact, the interesting thing is that the self, same people who say, this is the purpose of my life, when they don't make that money, and they don't get that retirement home, or when their wife leaves them or when their boyfriend leaves them or when
your wife sleeps with your best mate.
And he happens to be a famous football player, right? And then you go into hospital, right? And then you start asking yourself, what's the purpose of life? What's it all for? Because that thing, which I thought was my life's purpose, now, I realized that's not what the purpose of my life was at all. So sometimes people make some things,
their life's purpose. But this is not what we mean. The point is, what is the reason for our existence?
And there are many things that we could guess, or we could philosophize. And we could say, well, maybe it's this and maybe it's that and it could be such and such an it could be this. And some people may say to do good, and some people say to do bad, and some people say, to spread peace and some people to say, you know, different people will give different answers. Some people have thought about it, and they've come to some sort of philosophical understanding. But the point is, at the end of the day, all of that really is just speculation. It's just guesswork. As the gentleman said, Sometimes I think I know but I'm not 100%
so the only way you could actually really know 100% the purpose
of your life
is when the one who gave you life when the one who created you, tells you I created you for this purpose.
So the Quran tells us exactly what is the purpose of life. The Quran tells us exactly why God created us in the Quran. It says
We're mahalo tole Jinnah, well insert Isla Leah boo, that Wilma collected that we did not create
the jinn and the human being except to worship us. This is what God is saying.
When God uses in the Quran, the plural, the we, it does not mean as some people say, oh, there's a proof of the Trinity there. Or it proves that God is more than one or something. No, this is anyway well known in the Arabic language, that it is a plurality of respect, just as the Queen sometimes says, we did this when we did that, you know, this is a type of plurality of respect, even in French and in In fact, in every language, you have that plurality of respect.
So when Allah says, we created, it means Allah God, but he is using, he is the plurality of respect, which is just a convention of language. So we did not create the human beings except to worship.
God created the human being to worship Him, that is the actual purpose for which we exist. What does it mean worship? What does he bother mean? It that, you know, worship is, as we explained this last night, if you hit the last day, last night to my talk last night, you will, I'm sorry, I'm repeating it. But the term worship is very, very inadequate. In describing what is ibadah, the best way to describe it is with a definition, a bar, that means a bar there is a worship in Islam, the term he bought, the purpose for which we were created, is everything which God loves, and is pleased with
everything which God loves, and everything which God is pleased with, whether it is the actions of the heart, or the actions of the limbs, this is worship. So the purpose of life is to try to make everything that you do, and everything that you say, and everything that you feel and believe. You try to do it and say it and believe in it and feeling it in a way that God loves. And in a way that God is pleased with.
How do we know what God loves? And how do we know what God is pleased with?
In Islam? The answer is clear.
We know what God loves, and is pleased with because God has revealed that knowledge
in the Quran. And he sent a messenger to explain it, and to clarify it,
and to complete its teachings. So we know what God loves. And we know what God is pleased with, through the revelation that he sent to his messengers.
That's how we know how to make a bar to unlock.
So that's the purpose of life. And as you can understand, therefore, this is something very comprehensive, it covers everything it covers. It covers how you pray, how you fast, how you give charity, how you perform pilgrimage, it covers, as we've already mentioned, manners, morals, treatment of the neighbor treatment of the parents, the relationship between the ruler and the ruled
international relations or even teaches
manners of cleanliness, how to go to the toilet, how to walk, how to dress, all of these things can be done in a manner that is pleasing to God or in a manner that is displeasing to God. So our aim is to try and make everything in our life, to try and make everything that we do.
pleasing to God, by obeying Him and submitting to His will and his knowledge.
So that's the purpose of life.
Also, you mentioned, Adolphe Hitler in connection with the Catholic Church. I don't understand Hitler didn't approve of the church, as far as I know. That's true.
Hitler was not a Christian.
No, no sensible person will say that Hitler was a Christian. In fact, Hitler was a great admirer of the occult, and paganism. However, what I meant to illustrate by that was that if someone is living not in the West, but if someone was living in another country, they think that everything in Europe they think of it as Christendom that
The people that are Christians. So they might point to someone like Adolphe Hitler and say, Look, he was a Christian, look what he did. So, of course, the Christian quite rightly would say, Adolphe, Hitler was not a Christian. He didn't even believe in Christianity.
That's a perfectly good defense. But the thing is that people say the same things about Muslims, they say, look at that person in this country and look at that leader of that country and look at this one who does that? I don't want to mention any names. But many of these people are not Muslims. They don't even profess belief in Islam.
In fact, they attack Islam.
So therefore, it's not right to say that this is Islam, any more than it's right to say Hitler represents Christianity? That's the point I was trying to make by that.
With a very good question here. Islam does not seem to be able to recognize God as a trinity Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, aren't you limiting the prerogative and power of God to manifest himself as he chooses?
It's a very, very good question.
Now,
the point, this is a, you know, this is quite a big topic. But let's try and deal with it in a very simple manner.
It's a big topic, it's an important topic. You see the issue is this.
as Muslims, it is not a question of,
Can God do it? Or can God not do it? That's not the issue. The issue is, is this worthy? And is this befitting the dignity and the power and the nature and the attributes and the perfect attributes of God?
The most simple way to illustrate it, is by giving another example, let's forget the issue now of incarnation, whether God can become a man or whether God does become a man, let's talk about an issue that for example, every Muslim and Christian will agree about this.
Can God do something evil? Can God do something evil?
Can God do something stupid?
Can God be ignorant?
These questions
are something that almost unanimously whoever I asked will give me the same response.
They will say, some will say No, God can't do evil things. God can't do stupid things.
God can't be ignorant. Why not? Because God is good. A good God doesn't do evil things.
And all knowing God, and an all wise God does not do stupid things.
And an all knowing God does not do ignorant things. So it is not in the nature of God, who is good to do evil. And it is not in the nature of God, who is all wise to do stupid things. And it is not in the nature of God who is all knowing to be ignorant.
God is good, and he does what is good. God is wise, and he does what is wise. We don't even ask the question about God, can you do something stupid? Can you do something ignorant? Can he do something evil, because it's not in the nature of God, to do those things because God is God. What makes God God is that he is good, that he is wise.
That he is all knowing, if God was evil, and God was stupid, and God was ignorant, then we wouldn't worship Him. He wouldn't be someone that we praised and thanked and worshipped. He wouldn't be worthy of it. Because he would possess attributes not of perfection, but he will possess attributes that are that attributes evil attributes, if we use exactly the same example, we just think about it. God, therefore as God is good, God is eternal.
God is good, he doesn't do something evil, God is eternal. He doesn't become something that is temporary.
God is as God is wise. God is also self sufficient. So as a wise God does not become or do stupid things. As self sufficient, God does also not become needy and temporary. Why the answer is exactly the same because that is not the nature of God. That is not the fitting the majesty of God.
If God becomes a temporary needy human being who is born and who grows up and who gets killed, then that being is not worthy of being worshipped. Because this being possesses the attributes that are imperfect, that are temporary, that are not things that we admire, are not things that are worthy of admiration or being worshipped. We worship God, and we praise Him, because He is infinite, he is the one before whom there is none, he is the one after whom there is none, we worship God because He is self sufficient, because he is good, because he is wise because he is,
and so on and so forth. So Allah God, the Creator, the one who possesses all the attributes of perfection.
Now Someone may say, ah,
but
if you're saying, and this is now getting a bit into philosophy, I think the issue is pretty clear after that, but just, you know, just to cover this issue, someone may say, this is a bit philosophical now, but people will say, but if you're saying, God can't, or God doesn't have the capability, or he wouldn't become a man, aren't you limiting God? Aren't you actually saying he's not really perfect? The best way? I answered this, I have the best answer I have this is to say,
Since when is it an attribute of perfection? To say
that you are someone or that someone is some someone who has the ability to do evil?
Is it an attribute of perfection? To say that this person has the ability not to be perfect? No,
no one will say this is an attribute of perfection. This is an attribute that makes something praiseworthy and good that it has the ability to do this or to be evil or to be bad or to be no.
So therefore, we say that God is the possessor of the perfect attributes.
We don't as Muslims say, it's not a question to us whether God can or God can't, God doesn't become a man, because God is God. Because if God became a man, he would negate those attributes of being eternal and infinite and self sufficient. Just as if God became
a real human being, he would also be ignorant.
And he will be temporary, and he would do foolish things. And I think one of the best things I would like to illustrate this with what is in respect to Jesus, specifically, here
is an incident in the Gospel
of Matthew, as far as I remember, we can check the reference later, but in the gutter in the Gospel of Matthew, and this is a very, very insightful event.
Jesus is riding on a donkey back to Jerusalem.
And he sees a fig tree.
And he's hungry, and he wants to eat some things. So he goes to the fig tree, and he finds that there are no things on the tree. And as far as I remember, Matthew says, and he says, and it was not the season for things.
So when Jesus finds that the tree has no figs,
he actually then curses the tree, and they come back at another time and they find that the tree is withered and died.
Now here we have we here we have a perfect illustration of somebody who does not possess godlike qualities. Number one, he is riding on a donkey. God does not ride on a donkey.
Number two, number two, number two. Number two, Jesus feels hungry. Jesus feels hungry, but God is not one who feels hunger.
Then Jesus finds that there are no figs on the tree. Now, that means that Jesus didn't know that there were no figs on the tree. If he was God, and He knew everything, he would have known that there were no figs on the tree, and he would not have bothered going over to that tree in the first place.
Meaning he was ignorant. He was lacking in knowledge, he had a shortcoming in information, God is not ignorant or lacking or has a shortcoming in information.
So this illustrates perfectly the attributes of somebody or something that is not good,
that is human that has imperfect qualities. That is the nature of the human being by necessity.
So therefore, this
Matter is answered very simply.
God does not become a man because first of all, God does not need to become a man, there is no need for God to become a man. Nor is it befitting
that God should become a man. This is something that contradicts His attributes of perfection. So that's the answer to that very good question.
Okay.
This is okay, it's not that this is
okay, for non Muslim neighbors? Can we mix with them socially? Ie, can we invite them for lunch or dinner? Or just the relationship only give them services? And that is it a normal?
No, absolutely, you should have good relations with your neighbors. You should have good relations with your neighbors, you can invite them for lunch, you can invite them for dinner, you should send them food if you cook something. It is from the manners of Islam to send them something what you have cooked. And this is the way that the Muslims should behave with the neighbor.
In fact, one of the interesting things is, what is the neighbor? Who are your neighbors?
Is it the person next to you or the two people next to you?
This is very interesting topic.
Some scholars said that your neighbor, who is your neighbor, they are the 14 nearest houses in each direction.
The 14 nearest houses in each direction, some scholar said they are all considered to be your neighbors. I don't know exactly where they got that number from 40. But this is what they said.
And some said less than some said they let people on your street or So anyway, your neighbor really I think the best answer that I came across is your neighbor is the person whom it is considered in the custom of that land to be your neighbor.
So in some places, your neighbor was literally considered to be the 40 people nearest around you, they were considered by custom to be your neighbors, and they would know all of their neighbors.
But in this society, usually your neighbor is the person, the two people who live next door tea, or some other places, it may be the person on your street. So it's according to the custom if people are more friendly here in Australia, than they are in England, right? Your neighbor is really the guy next door. And that's it, you know, those your neighbors. So 100 nights a bit easier? Well, insha Allah. But if Australia's Australians are a bit more friendly, then you know, it might be you know, like the people on your street, or it just depends on the customer of the people who are your neighbors. But certainly, you should have good relations with them. And you know, invite them around
and send them stuff. And this is and really to be concerned because what the Hadith of the Prophet shows is the concern, when the Prophet said, a believer does not have their stomach full while the neighbor is hungry, meaning that you know, the condition of your neighbor, you know, whether your neighbor is hungry or not, you know, whether your neighbor is poor or not, meaning you're concerned about your neighbor and their condition. That's this is the very important thing to understand from that Hadith of the Prophet
salallahu alaihe wa sallam, that you should be so concerned about your neighbor, it's not that you will have your stomach full and they are hungry. You're enjoying your life while they are in a miserable condition.
This is a very good question here we sort of really talked about this whole issue yesterday, is if Islam is such a beautiful religion, then why are the believers of Islam not honest? And why do they cheat each other?
Okay, we did sort of answer that question yesterday in my talk, the Coca Cola Muslim generation.
So if you really want to look into that a bit more you can get a hold of that tape.
It really goes back to what I said is that you can't judge a religion by the people who claim to be its followers. You have to judge it by the book and by the messenger.
I think many Muslims today they are Muslim, not because this is the religion that they have chosen. Because it's the religion that they were born into. For many, for many people. Islam is just a type of culture for them.
Maybe they have some good things like hospitality. We take the Lebanese for example.
was picking on the living
Especially in Australia, they have a good tradition of hospitality. But when it comes to arguments, you see, they take out the swords and they take out the knives and that's it. And
so,
and the Prophet said, if the Prophet said, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that it's a sign of hypocrisy. It's a sign of hypocrisy, that when you argue you are licentious,
then how about if you actually fight and attack each other? meat? That's worse? Yes. If you're just rude, and you say you this and do that, and bla bla bla, and you're just shouting and being rude. And if you do that, that's a sign of hypocrisy. But how about if you try to actually injure someone and you attack them? What's that?
So that shows me that people are there, it's their culture. They're brought up to be hospitable. And that's part of the culture. It's good hamdulillah. But it's not really that they thought about Islam, and they studied it, and they wanted to go back and see, how was the Prophet? What did he teach? Let me try and emulate his teachings and try and imitate him. Be a good husband. How many Muslim men follow the example of the prophet in in being a husband? Tell me
I think generally, the women are better at being wives than the husbands are being husbands. I'm not totally but I think generally.
Okay, maybe not. I don't know.
inshallah.
How many Muslims imitate that, but what do you find the Muslim is big, you know, the Muslim man is big and macho, and he's, I'm in charge, and you do what I say and this and that, and you cook this and do that. And, you know, I did the work. And that's it. You know, and again, when you look, this is culture, this is not Islam. This is not the way the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was with his wives.
So we are Muslims, culturally, it's a type of cultural thing. It's not something that we are Muslim, because we studied the Quran and we studied Islam, and we tried to emulate the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi salam. So this is part of our problem. We need to go back to the pure teachings of Islam, to see really how the Prophet Mohammed Salah Lawson was and tried to imitate him, because as I said, Allah sent the book and he sent a messenger to show us how to live that book. The Prophet Mohammed is the practical example of how to implement Islam. That's why we try to imitate Him and follow Him because He was made the practical example.
So that's what's lacking,
lacking of returning to the sunlight and too much
cultural Islam. So I think that's one of the reasons why we find that we have gone really far away from the Pure religion.
When a non Muslim asks about general information on Islam, what would you recommend as a preliminary introduction without bombarding the person with information overload? Maybe you can buy this videotape inshallah and give that to them and show
but I think myself, perhaps the best introduction to Islam, in my opinion, is to give them a translation of the Quran.
That's what I think it's the best. And that leads right on to the next question.
There is a friend of mine who is interested in Islam, I gave him a few books about the fundamentals of Islam and he's currently reading them further to that I intend to give him the English translation of the Holy Quran but there is this verse in the Quran which are translate to the Quran should only be touched by the clean ones or the clean the clean ones. I believe that it will help him a lot if I give him the quote and should I or shouldn't I?
By far, thanks for
okay.
First of all, the Quran is only called an in the Arabic language. The moment the Quran is translated, it is not a more Quran. It is only a translation of the meanings of the Quran. Allah revealed the Quran in Arabic, it is only the Quran in Arabic.
Once it has been translated, it is only really an interpretation of the meanings. So first of all, there is absolutely no harm in giving somebody a translation of the Quran.
How about if you wanted to give someone the Quran itself? Then this verse is not a proof because this verse actually means isn't this verse is actually not talking about the Quran.
This verse says that only the purified ones will touch it. So first of all, that is a statement that cannot
predicts reality, because there are people who are not pure, who have touched the core and there are people who are not pure, who have touched the core. And anyway, this verse does not is not talking about the core and this verse is talking about the low hanging fruit, the preserved tablet, this is the local manifold in which everything that is from the beginning of the creation to the end has been written down. Okay, this means the local manifold that does not mean the Quran.
Okay, so this verse that is being quoted is not any way referring to the Quran, as forgiving the Arabic Quran, to non Muslims, then Allahu Allah, and that's something the scholars they differ about. Some say that you can and some say that you can't.
However, it seems to me that the opinion that you can is stronger, because we have evidence that the Prophet Mohammed May Allah is peace and blessings be upon himself Allahu alayhi wa sallam sent letters, he sent letters to various kings and various leaders around the world. And in those letters, he included verses of the Quran and of course they were going to be touched by people who were not Muslim. So in that is an evidence that it is permissible to give at least things that contain Quran to people who are not Muslims. But Allah He knows best Willow Allah, Allah, Allah knows best.
I was just wondering if long hair is allowed for males,
because
because many people say it is haram for males.
I think that i think that i have to be myself an example. Or at least the way I am shows what my opinion is. Okay, if I thought it was hot, um, I would not let my hair grow long. But the fact is, there is no evidence at all, to say that men cannot grow their hair long. The only thing that we could say, and the only possible thing that could be used is the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that Allah has cursed the men who imitate women, and the women who imitate men. But you would have to establish that growing the hair long is something that is definitely an imitation of the women. If it is common for men in society, or it is considered normal in men for society to
leave their hair long, then that would not be considered imitating the women. Okay. And nor is it prohibited for women to cut their hair short. It is not Haram. It depends on the custom of the people. If for example, as in some cultures, cutting the hair of the for the woman to cut her hair is considered to be a sign of a disreputable person in some cultures. That is, for example, may I don't know about now. But it used to be that for example, in the Indian subcontinent, if a woman cut her hair short, she was was considered to be something really disreputable. So if that's the case, all we can say is it is not right for a believing Muslim woman to represent herself as a
disreputable person.
And this for example, the prophet Mohammed sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he used to leave his job undone. He used to leave it undone.
He used to leave it undone but in some cultures, if you leave your job undone and you show your chest it's only considered that rough people and bad many people do that. So therefore it's not considered right in that society to have your shirt on done.
Okay, because it's not good for a Muslim to present themselves as being like the people have bad manners or bad qualities, that's all but to say absolutely is haram you can't say that you need some evidence to say something is wrong. You need something that Allah said or something that the Prophet Mohammed Sol awesome said, okay, to prohibited. So anyway, even the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam self used to let his hair grow down to his shoulders. We know from authentic narrations that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to let his hair grow down to his shoulders.
The one of the things that is not encouraged
Is to constantly have your hair shaved
for the men. And for the women, as far as I know, it's not allowed to shave your hair. It's actually not allowed, except if you have lice, as far as I know, law element, but I'm pretty sure there is Hadith prohibiting the women from shaving their head, and why the men except you can cut your hair but to have it all the time shave. Why? Because this is the one of the signs of a deviant sects in Islam, which the Prophet Mohammed warned about. And one of the things he said is one of the hallmarks is that they are always keeping their head shaved.
Okay, so then it's not considered good to do that.
Okay, there's a question about, briefly how I accepted Islam.
Very briefly, it's because really, I came, I came across across a translation of the meaning of the Quran and I read that and that is what convinced me that it was, in fact, the Word of God.
If you really want to know the story more deeply, I'm not going to go through the whole story, the brothers are setting a tape out there about how I became Muslim, so you could look to that, inshallah.
There's a question about insurance. And I covered that pretty much, comprehensively. Yesterday, I covered the whole issue of insurance yesterday, and it's not fair to go through it all over again.
This is a very good question here.
Okay, the question is this. Could you please just briefly mention that the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that there will be 71 sex in Judaism 72 in Christianity and 73 in Islam? This is true. There's a Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that mentions that the Jews split up into 71 sex and the Christians split into 72 six, and he said my alma was split into 73 sects. In fact, in the Hadith, he said, the Jews split up into 7170 in the Hellfire and one in Paradise, and the Christians split up into 7271 in the Hellfire and one in paradise. My Alma was split into 73 sects Was it 773 73 sects all of them in the Hellfire except one. So 72 in the
Hellfire and one in paradise. So the companions asked,
or messenger of Allah,
which is that one, which is that one meaning, which is the one that is safe, they don't want to know about the ones in hell they wanted to want to know about the one that saved, we want to be from the saved sect, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he said, that to which I am my companions belong.
In another narration, he said, though, that which I am my companions are upon this day, to this day, that which I am my companions are upon this day.
And there are other narrations that state similar things, but the broad meaning of all of these various sayings of the Prophet about the Muslim splitting up into sects is that first of all, the Muslims will split into 72 different groups 73 altogether, but 72 will be astray. Only one will be guided, they will be the the saved sect, and what is their quality? How do we know who is the saved sect? They are the ones who follow the teachings of Islam, the way they were in the time of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu in Islam, as the Prophet said, they are the ones that which I am my companions are upon this day, Ali on this day. Okay. So this is something in fact, which really is
just agreeing with everything I've been saying today. And what I mentioned, that the Islam the true Islam is the one that's followed by the Prophet and his companions, people have distorted and corrupted and follows different sects and different groups. What is upon us, if we want to be from the saved sect, is to go back to
the original teachings of Islam,
which Alhamdulillah we have intact?
Allah has preserved this religion. Allah has preserved the Quran from corruption and distortion. Allah has preserved the teachings and the sayings of the Prophet Mohammed May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him
so that we know what is authentic from what is not authentic. From what the prophet Mohammed
Truly said and truly did from the lies and the false things that have been attributed to him. And this is one of the great blessings. And one of the wonders of Islam, that the Muslims have the same book today that was revealed to Mohammed 1400 years ago. In fact, you can go anywhere in the world, and you will not find two different quarter ends, you will find everywhere in every country and every place, the Muslims have the same code and
not like other religions, they say we have the same book, but our version has 15 books are 16 bucks, more than yours, an hour has less than yours. And we've taken this bit out. And according to the newest addition, we have taken these bits out, and we've put those bit in,
you know, all of these things, we find that they don't agree about what is in their book, which is not the case of hamdulillah with the Muslims, and this is one of the miracles and one of the signs that Islam Alhamdulillah is the true religion of God.
Is our closer for that?
Okay, I think we'll make it now.
The last question.
Another question about having long hair.
Okay, lots of good questions.
Okay, I think we'll just leave it with this one. It's a simple question. But in a way, it's quite a nice question. Why do we pray five times? Why is the number five, not 25?
little smiley face.
So actually, it's not a bad question, Really? Why? So handle? If you really think about it, don't you think if we thought deeply about our Lord about Allah, about how great he is about the bounties, and the mercies and the blessings and the favors that he has bestowed upon us that are so countless, if we thought about the smallest favor that God has given to us, the smallest, the ones we take for granted, vision, hearing, speech, if we just thought about that, we will not be able to count the benefits and the blessings of the smallest of Allah's bounties.
And his bounties are countless to us. So maybe we would think we only pray five times a day, shouldn't we pray 25 times a day, or 50 times a day, or 100 times a day that would be more worthy.
But as I said, anyway, Muslims are supposed to be people who try to make the whole life worship for Allah. It's not just the prayer.
The Prayer is not the only time you're supposed to remember Allah, you're supposed to remember Allah the whole time.
But why five, then five, this is something that is a wisdom from Allah. This is from his knowledge.
This is what he has ordered us with. Therefore, we hear and we obey, there are some things that you cannot understand with the intellect. There are some things that you cannot you cannot achieve with the intellect knowledge of the unseen. If I asked you what is taking place, behind me in the room behind me there
may be some of you will say, I think there's a man standing there selling videos, because you could take a guess maybe you could think and you could take a guess and approximation. But if I asked, you know, Tell me in detail, you'll not be able because you can't see it, or you have no way to hear it. The intellect is not capable of perceiving that. This is why one of the things that Muslims believe is in the unseen. We can't see the Hellfire we can't see the paradise.
But we believe in it. And we know it's there. Because God has told us about it.
We may not know why we pray five times a day exactly we could think. And we could understand something, as I explained in my talk, in the beginning of the day, in the middle of the day, in the middle of the afternoon, when it begins to get dark. And when it's dark, you can actually think that these are very important times in the life of the human being in the day of the human being. And each time God is bringing us and telling us to remember him. But we can never really know absolutely for sure. We can just take an approximation but at the end of the day, this is what Allah has ordered us with. And because we are Muslim, we submit ourselves to God's will, to his knowledge.
And we are His worshipers, and we worship him the way he wants us to worship Him, not the way that we want to invent for ourselves. This is really the essence of what Islam is.
About May Allah
guide you and may He guide me and all of us closer to the truth. Thank you for coming today and listening I hope inshallah, that you benefit yourself in this life and inshallah you will benefit in the next as well in sha Allah Allahumma salli ala Mohammed in while early he was with us Allah Subhana Allah Houma will be Ambika shadow La ilaha illa Anta a stockbroker will to a Salaam Alaikum