Adnan Rashid – Cape Town Radio 786

			and it is now time for this week's edition of Victrola. Today the broad topic that we will be
addressing is where ever you go you take your Islam with you. This is how we impact our society and
the world at large. And I'm very happy and very privileged to welcome to the studios of 786. We'll
start at nine Rasheed, who joins us here in studio all the way from London. Assalamu Aleikum. We'll
start at Dan, how are you? Thank you so much. I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine. Very happy to be here.
Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah? Was that your first time in Cape Town? Your first time in South Africa?
Actually, in Cape Town? It's my third time in South Africa. I can't remember. I've been few times,
		

			but in Cape Town, the third time Yes. Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah. So, so was that you are known, of
course for the for the Dawa work that you do? Even though you I mean, I was looking at some of your
bio. You are a historian. You have a specialty in the history of Islamic civilization comparative
religion, and Hadith literature. You are I love of poetry traveling antiquities, books and numerous
hydromatic give us medics, yes, I'm showing my ignorance. But of course, it is way beyond the scope
of our time. We have a very short time with you to go into all of those very, very interesting
areas. I'm going to start off by asking you in terms of the downward work that you do, how would you
		

			define it? And
		

			yeah, how would you just put it?
		

			Thank you so much for having me to address your audiences. And I'm very honored to be with you
today. Thank you so much. And thank you for the question. Tao, as I understand it, is calling non
Muslims to Islam. Okay, it is basically our educational mechanism in Islam. How do we educate others
about our faith? Islam is a missionary faith, if you like Islam, basically the faith that has to be
taught to others as far as the Muslims are concerned, we have been commanded by our Creator, Allah,
to take the message of Islam to those who do not have it, who do not understand it, who have never
heard about it. So it is a specific duty which has been bestowed upon us by Allah subhanaw taala. In
		

			the Quran, there are multiple verses that command Muslims in general, to indulge in Dawa. For
example, Allah says in the Quran, Allah will loan should on regime similar manner him Odori la
Seville Arabic mill Hikmah, or mo Ezekiel Hassan wotja, Delhomme bility, Assam called to the way of
your Lord, with wisdom with beautiful preaching. And if you have to indulge in dialogues and
debates, then do it in the best manner possible. So this is a direct verse from the Quran, Allah is
teaching us how to indulge in Dawa, how to invite people to your faith, how to get them to
understand your faith, so that they don't misunderstand you. And misunderstandings usually breed.
		

			They breed hatred, they breed all sorts of problems, right? When people misunderstand, you can end
up you know, hating you or disliking you, or being you know, away from you staying away from you. So
Dawa is a mechanism to bring people closer to you, even if they don't accept Islam, the people will
have a sympathetic view of Islam, they will understand your faith more, they will have more sympathy
for you. So Dawa is basically
		

			survival for Muslim this life it is our life if we don't indulge in Tao, then we are actually
effectively causing people to have misconceptions about us. So this is this is how I understand our
it is an obligation. We have to take it to others, even the prophets life as a model.
		

			It is a beautiful model for us to follow and he spent his entire life calling people to Islam. Okay,
his entire life as a man that he went through a lot of difficulties he suffered as a result of his
message.
		

			And it wasn't easy for him his family suffered, He himself suffered, he was nearly killed at times,
he was stoned. To the extent that His shoes were filled with blood. His entire body was bleeding. He
was spat at he was insulted. He was humiliated in ways that people were shocked when they saw the
way he was being treated. Even his own companions couldn't help him at times because they felt very,
very weak during the early days of Islam. So why was the prophet going through all of this because
he wanted the world to understand this faith, which wasn't from him, it came from a light came from
the Creator. So thou is a very important obligation which
		

			We have collectively neglected unfortunately, the Muslim community around the world we have
collectively neglected this obligation and the result is misconceptions, misunderstandings going
around the world on media and otherwise. Yeah. So, so going on what you are saying was that Dawa is
not something which is which would be reserved for scholars of Deen as such, it is incumbent on
every single one of us to ensure that Islam for want of a better term lives on. Absolutely. And so
that people, the masses in general,
		

			in particular, non Muslim masses, don't don't misunderstand you. Okay? So you don't have to be a
scholar to indulge in Dawa. Allah never said in the Quran that you have to be qualified to a certain
level to go and start calling people to Allah. Because this is the most basic thing. calling people
to Allah to the Creator, to the maker of the heavens in the earth is the most basic thing one can do
as a Muslim, right? So you don't have to be a scholar. You don't have to be a Molana or an A Lama or
a Mufti or a chef, you don't have to be that because the prophets of Allah Salam in a report he
stated Balaguer honey wala, deliver for me, even if it's a sentence, even if it's a verse. So this
		

			shows us that you don't have to be a scholar to deliver a sentence for the prophets, Allah salah,
almost every single Muslim on the planet knows something basic from the Prophet, so just share it.
Even saying, There is only one God that's Dawa. There is only one God who created the heavens in the
earth. That's Tao. Muhammad is the Messenger of God. That's dower we all know this right? We don't
have to be scholars to convey this. So that's why Dawa is like an individual obligation, in
particular for those Muslims who live in predominantly non Muslim societies. So those Muslims who
live in Muslim Societies, for them, this may be a collective obligation, if you like, but those who
		

			live with non Muslims, in non Muslim majority countries, for them, it is an individual obligation to
convey the message of Islam in whatever capacity they may choose. So they may be working in, let's
say, a bread factory. So you talk to your non non Muslim colleagues, if you are a taxi driver, let's
say you speak speak to your customers. If you are a lawyer, you speak to your clients, right? You
tell them about Islam, this is your ultimate duty as a Muslim, to convey the message of Islam to
those who don't have it. This is not so that you can gain something from them. This is to give them
something because we believe Islam is life. Islam changes life. Islam brings happiness to people in
		

			this world, and in the hereafter. So Islam is a symbol of success, not only in this world, but also
in the hereafter. So when we die, we go to our Lord and we will be responding to all the all the
questions will be asked about our life we spent in this in this world. So that's why we have to
prepare ourselves. And conveying the message of Islam is basically being selfless, not selfish. If
you keep Islam to yourself, if you are like an insular personality who just keeps yourself to
yourself, you're individualistic, you're staying at home, you're keeping goodness to yourself, it's
like you have a treasure, which which grows. Exactly, I mean, this is Islam is a treasure that grows
		

			when you when you when you when you share it, it doesn't decrease, okay? It's not like your golden
silver and your money in the bank account. When you spend it, it decreases right? Not the commodity.
Exactly. So as long as when you share it, it grows, right? So it's spread, your treasure is growing.
So you can't keep it like a selfish person. That's why we have to share it with others to make this
world a better place. So what is the benefit? If someone becomes a Muslim, ideally, I mean, ideally,
a good Muslim should be truthful, honest.
		

			A person of integrity, right? Someone who doesn't cheat and lie, someone who doesn't harm others,
okay? We cannot harm other people. We have to be law abiding citizens. We have to make this world a
better place. We have to be tidy and clean, we cannot litter the streets. These are some virtues
that come with Islam, some basic virtues. So if we are calling people to this, worshiping Allah
Alon, one God who deserves to be worshipped and following his teachings that come to us in the
Quran, then we are making this world a better place. So Dawa is basically multifaceted. It has many,
many great outcomes. Yeah.
		

			We'll start can we then differentiate exactly, because we now we touched on the idea that it's not
just sort of the domain of those that are scholars
		

			as religion it is incumbent on every single Muslim. So can we differentiate between sort of, and for
lack of a better term sort of an active explicit type of Dawa or an implied Dawa, just by virtue of
one's actions and how one engages with people. Dawa can be in different work it can be done in
different ways. It comes in different forms. So there is settled our, and there is a open now, for
example, there is passive Dow and is active Dow right. So it can be done in different ways. If you
if you're not a good speaker, if you don't feel confident to talk to people about your faith, you
don't have the knowledge or the confidence. If you think you have to be learned, then you can do
		

			subtle, passive Dawa by your behavior, smiling, smiling, if you're a Muslim, if you're a visible
Muslim, just smile at people. Can I Can I ask on that point, then it was that I think part of that
question would be how important with intentionality be. So that I'm actively promoting and so the
idea Yes, of a smile, yes, and imparting and showing good manners, which is essential to being a
good Muslim. Good. Yeah. So how important would intentionality be within the broadest Now it's very
important is absolutely central to one's actions. As the Prophet said, All actions are based upon
intentions. So if you are smiling at someone so that they feel attracted to Islam, or they feel
		

			attracted to your character, and ask you questions about your faith or your lifestyle, let's say
right, if you smile at people with that intention, you are getting reward. Just by stretching few
muscles on your face, you are getting reward from Allah subhanaw taala. And you know what the
Prophet said this very clearly. Salatu Salam, the Prophet said Lattakia, nominal Maru vicia Walo and
Bulka AHA haka. Be watching Dalek. Do not belittle any of your good deeds, don't belittle any of
your good deeds, even smiling at your brother, even so this is specifically from the Prophet
salallahu Salam smile is a form of Dawa, so you may change someone's day, there is someone who's
		

			going through troubles in life, someone who's not happy on that particular day, let's say, and you
smile at them, or if someone throws back at you, if someone insults you, or someone says something
unpleasant to you, and you smile in return, that will really affect people. We've had cases where
people came to our lot, who are giving dower and they threw hate at them, or some unpleasant words
at them. And they smiled. In response. Those people who were who were acting in this way, they
completely changed the attitude change, they started to ask questions, they started, and in fact, we
had examples where people accepted Islam just because of that smile. Okay, so intention is
		

			absolutely central to this, if your intention is correct, you action will be correct as well. Okay,
it has to be correct. So two things constitute in Islam, a good action, what we call our masala,
right? A good action in Islam has a very set definition. It constitutes good intention, followed by
a good action. A good action is basically what the prophet prescribed, or what the Prophet did and
following his example, we can have a good intention and do a bad action with a good intention. For
example, we don't have Robin Hood's in Islam, right, who was robbing he was robbing the rich and
feeding the poor, okay? We don't have that. Exactly, the intention is good, action is wrong. So both
		

			have to be right. So intention is very important in this so if you make an intention to do dower
call people to Islam, by charity, by smiling, by being kind and generous by removing harmful things
from the road, if if if you're walking on the road, and you see something harmful in the middle of
the road, and you remove it with the intention of Dawa so that others can see that this Muslim,
right is, is doing something good. So they will know that this is because of his faith or her faith.
So they will be attracted to Islam. So that's a passive form of active Dawa is when you talk to
people you actually feel confident enough to go and address people and invite them to Islam and
		

			goodness. So Dawa comes in many different ways, but intention is very important. You have to make
intention and indulge in Dharma, whether it's passive or active, you have to find your, your remit
as they say. So would you then say, Start based on what you're saying, and based at the majority of
Muslims, we aren't. And oftentimes the idea of quoting, for example, from Quran and Hadith, it's
slightly intimidating. Exactly if we wanted to scholar but but I'm thinking in terms of laypeople
for the most part, would you then say that Dawa as a concept if we imbibe and embody it, then every
action of ours becomes a way in which to propagate the beauty of Islam? Absolutely. Absolutely. 100%
		

			if you if you live down, if you sit down, if you eat down as they say, right, if it becomes
		

			As part of your you're living your life, okay? You will be doing it naturally right? As long as you
have this intention when you living look when you when you live in a non Muslim society, which is
predominantly non Muslim right? You have to as you use the word imbibed, you have to imbibe Dawa
within your character, you really have to bring it in, you have to make it as lifestyle. Dawa has to
become a lifestyle for you, you know you have to behavior, you have to behave yourself, you have to
behave in a manner which is befitting of Islam or befitting a Muslim or being a good Muslim. So,
when you behave like that, naturally, you will be attracting people to Islam and your character,
		

			right? People will ask questions, people remember you, we have example where people were kind and
generous. And when they died, non Muslims came asking for them. Where is this person? What is this
man? I mean, I can give you a very quick example, we might be going for a break very soon, right?
But you know, Dawa can be done in beautiful ways without even realizing because it becomes your
lifestyle. Because this is the way you are, okay? And you're doing down naturally by your actions by
your behavior. Oprah Winfrey is one of the biggest shows in the US, right? Okay. And it's watched by
millions of people. There was this actress who was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. And she she was
		

			asked about some of the most beautiful moments of her life. And she mentioned that she was going
through divorce. And she ended up in Indonesia, or for a holiday and she wanted to break. And then
she would walk on the beach every single day. And she would see this Muslim woman in hijab smiling
at her he doesn't know her language. And they don't know they don't communicate by speaking to each
other. But she smiles at her every single day. Right? And then she she felt she felt ill. And she
didn't turn up on the beach on that day. And this woman came looking for her. She found her
shivering in her bed. This is a very big actress. I forgot her name. But she was interviewed by
		

			Oprah Winfrey. And she's telling the story, that this is my view of Islam. This is my experience of
Islam. She was telling Oprah Winfrey, so this woman came and she took me in her arms, she started to
take care of me. She brought food for me. And I was lonely. I was alone. I was depressed, I was
dying. No one was there to take care of me. This woman took care of me. Even though she didn't know
me. She had no personal connection with me. But she came looking for me. And this was the woman who
was would smile at me every single day when I would walk on the beach alone, right? So she said,
this gave me hope in humanity. Right? This gave me hope in life, something like some something to
		

			this effect. She said, she said, This is my face of Islam. This is what I see in Islam. You see. So
this woman, whoever she is, she's not I don't know who she this woman is. She's some villager in
Indonesia not knowing what she's doing. But she has done a good deed. And that good deed caused Dawa
to be done to millions of people in the US in the US watching that program through Oprah Winfrey. So
possibly hundreds of millions of people want
		

			to receive Dawa? Absolutely. And it really sort of gives or demonstrate this whole idea around
imbibing and embodying qualities associated with being a good person. And from the obviously the
idea of being a donkey is absolutely absolutely well your whole life. So we'll start we need to go
for a short break. There's a few points I want to pick up on. After that. Inshallah, in studio with
me we have to start with a non Rashid, who is talking to us on the broader concept about Dawa, but
on the topic wherever you go, you take your Islam with you. Please stay tuned to radio 786 on 100.4
FM. We'll be back just after the break.
		

			We are entering the final half of today's segment of the Crow law. Today we are very privileged to
welcome who start at nine Rasheed in studio with us who, who hails all the way from the UK. And we
are discussing the topic wherever you go, you take your Islam with you, before the break would start
was expounding for us the whole concept of Dawa and how it is incumbent on every single Muslim to
perform ought to do that well in one way or the other, whether it's in the passive way, whether it's
in a very explicit active way by calling people to Islam, but it is incumbent, we were also talking
about the idea of imbibing
		

			qualities associated with being a good Muslim and being a good person in order for us to once we
imbibe it and how important intentionality is and calling people to Islam Sheikh was really started
was relating to us a story about the lady and some one of our listeners was
		

			that have messaged us to say that the actress you were referring to was Elizabeth Gilbert. And her
experience was with a Muslim woman. And that was a experience of Islam, her experience of Islam was
not of violence, it was not a fanaticism, it was of beauty of empathy, of kindness, of somebody
taking care of. And so again, harkening back to the idea of embodying these qualities, and so we
oftentimes separate, you know, modesty, kindness, etc. But if we are actively that is all the time,
then that means we incorporated. So I want to pick up on something else that will start alluded to
earlier on, but I think it's, it's important that we they are there to maybe discuss this in a bit
		

			more detail. The fact that even as as people who in some way the other promote Islam, that living in
different contexts, certainly would impact on the way in which we relay Islam in the ways in which
we propagate Islam.
		

			So maybe just speaking to us a bit about that, you know, how different would it be in a context like
Cape Town, as opposed to a, which is a Muslim minority space, as opposed to a space where it's the
Muslim majority? So in a place like Cape Town, I think we need to reach out to the non Muslims from
different walks of life. I know there are different economic conditions here, there are townships,
okay. And then there are suburbs, well, to do suburbs, financially stable, people are financially
prosperous, let's say, people who live in different areas, and they have different levels of
education, then we have areas where people are financially struggling, and they live in,
		

			you know, dire poverty. Exactly, exactly. So there are other economic social issues. So we need to
really assess the situations of different people in different places, and approach them accordingly.
Okay. Dawa is not like, you know, one that can exactly one size fits all, you know, we have to
really approach people with different styles, different languages, different methods, depending on
the economic conditions, the education, education levels, and how they are living as a people. So we
have to indulge in this sort of research. Look, we established businesses. And when we establish
businesses, if you are if, if we are really serious about our businesses, we do research, right? How
		

			do we find our target audience? Let's say when we do marketing for our product, when we are selling
something, right, how do we target our audience? We do research feasibility studies. Exactly,
exactly. So we find ways to reach different people in different ways in different languages, right?
So this is exactly what we have to do with our right we have so many skills and so many methods now
we have mastered in in recent day and age. In this current day and age, we we can use all those
sophisticated
		

			ideas and methods to fund that for Dawa. Why not why wouldn't we we're not changing Islam, what
we're doing is we're using modern tools, modern ideas, to convey our faith, you can use social
media, okay, you can reach out, you can reach out for the youth on platforms like you know, YouTube,
tick, tock and Instagram, people are using it for all sorts of negative things, right, there's a lot
of negative energy, there's a lot of waste of time, there's a lot of unnecessary content. And people
are become zombies scrolling on on these apps, you know, Facebook, your zombie scrolling, and then
you're looking at inconsequential content content that doesn't have any real impact. real value
		

			doesn't make this world a better place, if anything is causing more problems, right? So we can use
these tools, these very powerful tools to reach people, right, everyone's carrying a smartphone
nowadays, even in villages. If you go to Amazonia, let's say in Brazil, or in Peru, you will see
people using smartphones now. So this is a very powerful method to employ to reach people. And no
one's blocking us. No one's stopping I mean, gone are the days of this mainstream media channels
where you you couldn't put your voice out there you know, you were vetted, you were really kind of
sidelined or marginalized from the from the mainstream debate, right? But but now we have these
		

			tools at our disposal. Okay, we can use them powerfully, if effectively and intellectually
intelligently and reach out all these people. And then on the ground, we can go on the ground, we
can do some positive work, we can help people who are living in poverty, we can reach out to them to
some charity, educate children, okay established programs of inviting people to listen to the
message of Islam and at the same time, help them
		

			empower them, give them skills, give them medication, if people are suffering from drug abuse or
something like that, have drug rehabilitation centers, you take them to those centers and talk to
them about Islam and your faith and why you're helping them, you're helping them because you feel
sympathy towards them, right? And when when it comes to rich people, highly educated people, you
employ a different approach, you go out to them and tell them look, life is not all about life is
not a game. It's not all about making money. It's not about having a swimming pool in your house and
driving range rover. And this is not what life is about life is about making this world a better
		

			place. And you can do that better by worshipping your Lord Your Creator, right? It's not always
about having extra money in your bank account. Because people live lives in different circumstances,
for different ends, right? People have different goals, poor people, their goal is to put food on
the table, right? Rich people, their goal is to make more money and get richer, right. So this is
why we have to really assess the conditions and the situations of the people when we talk to them
and we address them and use
		

			adequate models to convey the message of Islam with them. Instead of using one universal one size
fits all kind of thing that doesn't work. That doesn't work. So we have to employ modern
methodologies and modern ideas to convey the message of Islam effectively. Inshallah. Inshallah,
it's absolutely true, because especially
		

			given the fact that there are so many variables, we have h f class here for ACF, gender, you have a
whole range of nationality, ethnicity, all of these that need to be taken into consideration during
doing when one is doing that work. And as we start pointed out now, though, social media platforms
or many of the other platforms, or all the tools that we have at our disposal, it's often used
indeed become intoxicated by those things. But but not more often than not, not in ways which which
can be enriching for us, or add value to our lives.
		

			Because it's couched in such terms. But But How open are people into this idea, in your experience
as a die? How open are people to using these sorts of platforms for example, Facebook Live, I'm just
thinking of something like that, whereas live broadcasts can be exist somebody on the other side of
the world from a mosque, how open are people in your experience? The good news is that there are
organizations out there
		

			who basically who are employing these methods, right for example, one of the organizations I work
with is called IRA is a UK based global Tao organization and Ira uses these modern platforms and
tools to convey the message of Islam right. There is actually an online dour course as well, those
people who want to learn how to do Dawa, they can actually go online and learn how to do our you
know Dawa. Even though it may be simple for some people to convey Islam or you know, say one
sentence to people, but, but what is obligatory?
		

			It also comes with, you know, how do we actually fulfill that obligation, if something is obligated
or slid down, giving dollars obligation is an obligation is obligatory, whatever facilitates now
also becomes obligatory, to learn how to pray. Let's, for example, let's use Salah as an example
prayer, okay, for us to learn how to make wudu is also obligatory because wudu is is a prerequisite
for Salah likewise, learning how to do the hour is a prerequisite prerequisite for us to do Tao
effectively. So we have platforms online, where people can go and actually free of charge, learn how
to do our there is one website we have, it is
		

			training.ira.org training.ira.org, you have an entire dollar course there, which teaches you how to
do that step by step effectively within five to 10 minutes. If you use this method, you can really
impact people's minds about Islam, you can really make a very positive impact on them by using
rational arguments, okay, using intellectual arguments to convince them about the power of Islam as
as an intellectual force, okay. So IRA is an example. There are other examples I can use YouTubers,
for example, there are many YouTubers, right who are using YouTube platform to convey the message of
Islam on different levels. Some are doing very kind of grassroots, basic Dawa to people others are
		

			doing intellectual programs dealing with highly intellectual questions. For example, the issue of
atheism, let's say, you know, reaching out to atheists on their level, then there are Christians
around the world reaching out
		

			Are two Christians using the Bible to give dower to them and other ideas? So there are many, many
young Muslims around the world now who are using these social media platforms Instagram, tick, you
will I mean, tick tock. If you think about tick tock people, people think tick tock is all about
promiscuity, it's all about music. It's all about bling bling is all about girls flashing their
beauty or you know, things like that, right. But amazingly, now, if you go on Tik Tok, you will find
videos with millions of hits millions. And these are the videos, people are watching people doing
the hour. So it depends how you produce this content, but it has to be appealing to the youth, you
		

			can't do things in your basic, traditional way. You know, when I say traditional, I mean, let's say,
you know, our traditional method of teaching Islam, it may not work on tick tock, it may be boring
for that particular audience. So you really have to make it attractive, you have to add some bling
bling to your content to attract people. And when they come to, to watch this video, they just get
taken in, you know, they just watch the video and they get fascinated. So we can't we cannot we
cannot possibly ignore these platforms. There is a bad use. And there's a good use. Yeah. Okay. So
we need to focus on the good news, right? We need to ignore the bad because we can't control that,
		

			unfortunately. Right. But what we can control is how we use that platform. And we need to start
using these very powerful platforms to convey the message of Islam. Right. And it works. It does
wonders, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Okay, because of this, because there
are millions of people who are watching these videos, these, you know, dialogues, discussions,
debates, podcasts, okay, short, short video, like one minute long. And in one minute long video, you
get blown away by a verse of the Quran. So in verse of the Quran with beautiful imagery, okay, so
there is a verse, which is being read in the English language, and then in the background, you see
		

			something relevant, being played, and the person, you know, connects the dots. And then it really
blows you away intellectually, right? So this is it's very important for us to take advantage of
these platforms and indulging them that you have available. So gone are the days that the idea of
somebody doing Dawa is a knock on the door, and somebody sitting in your lounge. Absolutely. And
speaking about this, and you don't need to knock doors anymore, you need to knock the phones, right,
everyone's this is this is the this is the door, you can enter into people's minds, right? You don't
need to go into people's sitting rooms now have some morsels and pakoras, and tea and sit with them
		

			and have long chats with them, you just send content right inside the bedroom, in their phones, just
like others are doing it just like you know, all these people doing all sorts of evil things online,
you know, promoting drugs, evil music, you know, all sorts of things, people, people are actually
entering people's bedrooms,
		

			through through these smartphones, who is stopping us from taking good content to people making them
better people making this world a better place? Right? By doing our data? So we can do the same?
Exactly. Yeah, exactly. That's why this whole phrase, or there's a topic that we are that we that we
that we are talking about, wherever you go, you take, take your Islam with you, it encapsulate so
much, because it exactly speaks to the idea of embodying being Muslim, and not associating being
Muslim in different spaces. So now I'm at work, and now I need to be a different person. So these
these qualities associated with being a DA if it was you all the time. And again, as as studies
		

			pointing out the idea around, whether you're on social media, whether you're on your phone, why not
in use and access these platforms to add value. And so many would say then that
		

			it sounds like one wants to adapt Islam to a particular time. That's right. And it seems sometimes
in a negative way, because Islam should in some way or the other, in, in some people's view. One
should you know if you if you if you love Islam, you should just stick to this but it it's couched
in very rigid terms, but that type of thinking doesn't appeal to the younger demographic.
Absolutely. Look, your younger demographics are living in a different world. They're not living in
your 19th century, 20th century, traditional Islamic you know, domain, they are now living in a
virtual world, which is online, right? They don't live the lives we used to live, let's say 30 years
		

			ago, okay. The youngsters today, you really have to talk to them in a language they understand and
they understand the language of social media and Okay, so
		

			Allah, our scholars, or intellectuals are preachers for, for that matter, we all need to wake up and
understand that Islam, okay, needs to be now conveyed through modern means, okay? Yeah, when we do
get people paying attention to Islam and our message, then they can come to the seminaries, they can
come to the Daro looms and they can come to the institutions if they want to study more if they want
to go on for longer if they want to advance on the knowledge. So, the first step is to convince them
to pull them in, okay, let them realize that this is a good force, this is a very beautiful message,
let them and you can only do that by using these means, okay? We cannot, we can no longer ignore
		

			these modern means of communication, mass media or social media, we have to indulge, it is not even
an option for us to ignore these powerful means of communication anymore. Okay, we have to make
movies. We have to, we need need to have media houses, media outlets that produce movies on Islamic
topics. We need radio stations, we need newspapers, we need games. Our kids are hooked on computer
games. Okay? How many millions of children youngsters around the world are playing games, computer
games, and they're hooked. They're completely hooked, right? How do we replace? How do how do we
propose an Islamic alternative with data elements involved in it produce games, animation, right? We
		

			need to really start thinking about these modern methods of conveying the message of Islam, so that
we can so that we don't lose a generation, of course, otherwise, we're losing these people. Exactly.
Somebody was relating to me the other day that the Prophet sallallahu sallam, he always in some way
or the other. He was always surrounded by young people. And you put them in decision making
positions, not just for window dressing. And that's why I'm touching on this idea of younger people
and doing that so that it reaches younger people. That's where Islam will continue living on
absolutely being vibrant is the province doesn't give leadership to Osama bin Zayed he was 16 years
		

			old. And he was leading Sahaba like Omar and Abu Bakr. These are like nearly 60 years old. But he
deliberately appointed him to make a point that young people need to be given leadership to boost
their morale, to give them confidence, and elderly people, they need to realize that they don't have
to be leaders all the time. They need to encourage the younger generation to take the lead so that
they can become effective leaders for the future. So the prophets of salaam was a genius teacher,
absolutely amazing. His policies are so powerful that, you know his followers, his companions within
a century that took this message of Islam to the whole world, from Spain to China, okay, he had to
		

			be a genius, right? And he was a genius because Allah revealed the Quran upon him, Allah taught him
what he knew. So Allah when it was aloneness, and that was that our time is unfortunately caught up
with us so quickly. And I want you to briefly to briefly speak about this this upcoming debate,
which will be held at UCT. Tomorrow.
		

			So perhaps in our final two, three minutes, maybe speak to us about the debate. So I'm having a very
interesting debate with one of my Christian friends, his name is Rudolph Bashar off, he's from South
Africa. And because I was visiting Cape Town, so this idea came up that why don't we have a
dialogue, a friendly debate isn't it's not like a hostile exchange, because I don't believe in
those. Right. So this is a friendly dialogue between myself and Rudolph. And we're going to be
talking about a very interesting topic, which in my knowledge hasn't been discussed before, on this
level, and the topic is the New Testament canon, manmade, or divine. Now, the details can be seen in
		

			the debate, you're most welcome to attend the debate. You can see what are we actually talking
about? It's a technical topic is a very complicated question. It is about how the New Testament
books the 27 books of the New Testament were accepted as scripture in the Christian world in the
first 300 years of Christianity. That's the question we are going to be addressing, and it is going
to be very, very interesting. So I invite everyone to attend the at UCT video later on online, it's
going to be online inshallah. Inshallah, we'll start at Nan Rashid chakra and so much for joining us
in studio today. My pleasure. Wish you a beautiful trip in Cape Town. Enjoy your stay. Welcome to
		

			Cape Town and yes, absolutely. And thank you for sharing your valuable insights with our listeners.
Today. Alhamdulillah