Solutions – Episode 04 – Loss Of Faith

Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah

salam and hamdulillah Ahmed who wants to you know when it's still futile when we let him in truly and fusina was he at the Armani nama yet he know phenomenally later, when we, you know, had the ALA worship Allah Allah in the La Jolla Shadi Kela, why no Mohammed Abu Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi, wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam.

So in the fourth installment of problems and their solutions,

today's problem in sha Allah is loss of faith,

loss of belief. And what this covers is a full or a partial loss of belief, and faith. So whether we are talking about atheism, where a person doesn't believe in God at all, or agnosticism, where the person is not sure whether God exists or does not exist, there's not enough evidence to support this or that, or what I would call agnosticism about religion, meaning if God exists, but we can tell which of these religions is true, and we cannot. So either all of them could be or one of them could be, but do we have access to that information so I can decide, or a person who is spiritual but not religious. So I will be spiritual, I'll believe what I want to believe on my own. But I'm not going

to join another group that tells me what to do and how to do it. So it's an individual type of belief, a private type of belief, but it's not a communal type of belief, and self tailored religion of call it meaning that a religion where I would pick and choose, so I like this religion, but not everything in it. So I believe in these things, but not these things. I'll do these things, but not that thing. And then eventually, the apathetic, a person who simply doesn't care. So you live your life, not paying attention to religion, you have not addressed that question because it's you think it's not relevant. Religion really does not affect you and your life, and your pursuits and your

dreams, etc, etc. So loss of faith, in this presentation, inshallah covers all of this. And I'm going to Charlotte try to list as many causes as I can. And I would want from you insha Allah, whether here or online, to let me know, if I missed anything, Son shall I can add it to the list, or when I'm talking about solutions, if I missed a solution, let me know in sha Allah because I can add it and then later on, we can develop this if Allah wills into something

bigger than the last origin. So the first cause,

if you remember last time, I talked about this cultural trends in the West, a general movement away from religion. So the first cause is break from and with tradition in western countries. And I said it started in Europe, but then moves into North America, and then from there, it invades the rest of the globe, not entirely did not permeate all countries. But still, the effect can be felt, had been globalized, break with tradition, where before prudish religion was very relevant in Europe. It had reached everything, and it influenced everything, what people believed what they ate, how they lived, how they related to each other, it's structured life. So but when it was, there was a break

with the church itself. And the dominance among the monopoly of the church and some of the churches opinion, the church was identified as religion and religion was identified as the church. So when there was a rebellion against the church, even Initially, it was a rebellion against its power, its monopoly.

But then it turned out to become a rebellion against religion itself, against the influence of God on this earth. So gradually, God was removed from life. So religion was privatized, the public life was governed by reason governed by what we think is appropriate, not what Allah zildjian says, even though in the Christian tradition, it is ultra visible are altered, but at least in their minds, we're not going to love the Bible. We're not going to let any external force tell us how to live, how to develop our economy, how to create our state how to organize

relations between the citizens, religion if you want it, it's up to you. And Allah is the agenda was conceived as initially something that is removed from day to day concerns, day to day life, a lot created or God created, but he led the universe let the world run as based on laws run according to his plans, but he does not interfere.

That's deism.

Then eventually, even that allows it or was even pushed further and further to the margins. So that he does not even exist, and he is not very relevant. And you hear that also often when people say that religion is the cause of conflict is a cause of a lot of pain.

It's very backward. It's opposite to rationality, reasons science. So of course, because it's the cause of all of this suffering, it cannot be true, it cannot be right, it has to be abandoned. It is a dark era and time in human history where religion was dominant, and we should never return to it because religion is evil, religion is bad, it has caused a lot of hate. So that is break with tradition. And that is a general thrust in western countries. And if Muslims are living in it, they will be definitely influenced by it, that argument will be heard. And that argument will be accepted by some, and that will be convincing to them. The second reason of the laws and diminishing of faith

is rationality and science. These two were imagined as the vehicles that will save humanity after the break with

religion. So what are we going to depend on now, to know right from wrong, to organize our life, if Allah is not telling us or if God is not telling us, if to them, the Bible is not telling them the Bible is not now, it does not provide the map of reality of what we understand what's going to happen next, what is going to what replaces that are those two vehicles, the vehicle of reason, and the vehicle of science, the vehicle of reason meaning that human beings can reason and understand fully well what is good and what is not, they can discover on their own, what is good and what is not, they don't need any external source to tell them that. And science also becomes a vehicle by

which we will be able to understand the universe that we live in. So we're not going to live our depend on mythology or fairy tales, or superstitions. That to them is what religion provided superstition, because it clashed with science, and it clashed with reason in their experience. So science now is going to tell us, the more that we investigate, the more that we discover how the universe works. And when we discover how the universe works, there is no mystery in it. And now we fully understand it, and we can take advantage of it and we can improve human life. So as religion was stifling, sign was limited, science was liberating, and reason itself was liberating, because

now we can verify what is true and what is not not simply blindly believe something because somebody else is telling us we will decide. So reason and science, both of them are the vehicles of salvation.

The third reason for loss of faith and diminishing of faith is materialism. So when you think about it, when you detach yourself from Allah, as though just detach yourself from the next life, what are you left with?

This world, there's nothing left, but this world. So this will becomes the source of inspiration. And what you work for hope to gain and you want to develop, there's nothing else behind beyond it. So the only thing that you believe is what you see and what you can touch. The only thing that you aspire to get that the goal, your goals in life, are only restricted to this life and nothing else. So that's your whole focus. That's your whole concern. And so when that is the case, and capitalism is just a product of that we're using your pursuit is about maximizing profit. How can you maximize profit, the only thing that you're thinking about is monetary gains, financial gains, so you're

trapped by the material. It's your whole world and the this is the only thing that that matters to you, and you want to get when that's the case in society as a whole and you live in that society. And you start accepting this of course, the, the spiritual side, the hereafter side, beside that pertains to Allah azza wa jal to Spanner which Allah diminishes in importance because it's not important to people. And so if you accept that starts not being really important to you as well.

individualism,

also a product of that break with tradition. The traditional world was based on the family, not simply also the nuclear family, but the extended family. You had your children but you also had your cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents and, and then you had your tribe and you had your village and you had you and people knew each other right. And they were connected with everyone. Now there is a moment

Were now the one who is entrusted with making this decision. It's not the family, but the individual.

So the individual gets to decide on his own on her own, what is right and what is wrong, what works for me and what not, you're interested, you are empowered to chart your way in this world, again, detached from any outside influence, particularly the divine divine does not is not a factor anymore. But you, you decide, and you can still see it till today even more prominent, what is it that you like? What is it that you want to be

find yourself, listen to what is your what you are on the inside, it's all about the individual, it's not so much about the community is not so much about the family. So in that way, religion becomes privatized, and a personal choice, what is it that you want to believe you decide,

you have the power to decide right from wrong, and to pick what religion is and from that religion to pick what what suits you and whatnot, and you live it the way that you want to live it. Plus, on top of that, religion is a private matter, so has been sucked out of the public life, nobody talks about it, nobody's interested in it. It's all what I, you know, internalized. So you want to do you practice but on your own,

in the privacy of your own home, but not among people. So this again, individualism, and the focus on the individual, again, diminishes religion, because religion, as we will see, is also built on not only individual choices, but also the popular public practice of religion, and the communal practice of religion. Number five scandals associated with religion and the religious. So there's something that is happening with that Christian church, or with some, you know, Jewish sect, or with some Muslims, that scandal is taken is highlighted and is generalized, right? So if there is corruption among the religious leadership, it's assumed that all leadership is corrupt. Right?

And that all priests and all in all rabbis, but also, also even if you No, no, no, ma'am, or no chef has been found out to have been guilty of this. Even if that's the case, then there is still that generalization and assumption that all religion are corrupt, and all religious leadership is correct. By definition. They're after money. By definition, they're morally bankrupt by definition that they're hypocrites. So there's a scandal about religion, it only goes to confirm that religion is bad.

We already you know, we already had set out to believe that religion is bad, and not having it is actually better. But whenever we find that there is a scandal, it only goes to confirm that there is something wrong with religion.

Also wrong actions specifically attributed to Islam.

So there is a tiny minority of extremists who commit incredibly criminal acts, again, in the minds of non Muslims, that becomes all of Islam. Right? So the reason again, to reject religion, but also in the minds of some Muslims who do not know much about what is right Islam, and what is not that tiny minority. Because of those, you know, you they're being highlighted, and their actions are exaggerated. And they're being criticized, and you as a Muslim feel that I have to defend because I'm all constantly being accused that what they're doing represents Islam. So are you a terrorist? Do you hate this? are you against that? So eventually, you start associating all of these beliefs

and actions with all of Islam. So of course, you don't want to be that you don't want to belong to such a tradition. So you start rejecting that tradition altogether, or saying, I disagree with most of it. And that, again, is a reflection of not being really fully aware and knowledgeable about Islam and accepting the narrative, the common narrative coming from those who suspect Islam or enemies of Islam, about Islam itself. So wrong actions, exaggerated, and they are attributed to Islam, and we accept the fact that they are Islamic. So blaming Islam, we don't want that. Or if we find some of these wrong practices within our local community. And again, we mistake those practices

for Islam. So if I come to the masjid and somebody is harsh with me, and unkind and that is my first or second time coming to the masjid. Some people will stop coming to the masjid. Why?

Because I went to the masjid and this is how they treat me. I don't want to go there anymore.

Or they go to the masjid and some

People I mean, they have a problem and start start, some people start talking about their problems and spreading gossip about it. And it's unfortunate, very unfortunate, but they start thinking, This is what Islam, because that's what I've seen in the masjid. They come to the masjid and somebody yells at them, because they brought their children. Maybe their children were right, maybe their children were in the wrong, it doesn't matter. But they take that and say, that Islam, that it's harsh, it's unkind, it's inconsiderate, it's rough. So everything there is saying about Islam outside, I just found it to be true on the inside, I'm not going there anymore. So we take that

wrong actions of you. And we associate this with the message itself. And with the word the Prophet sallallahu wasallam has done even though we don't know enough about it, but we just make that assumption.

Number seven, it's doubts,

exposing oneself to these arguments that try to undermine belief in the Koran belief in Allah azzawajal belief in the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu wasallam, even though the person to begin with, didn't have any doubts, he and she, they were okay. But the more that you read, especially if you don't have a background, a solid background and foundation that will be able to challenge whatever you're reading, the more that you read, the more that you start believing these things,

the more that may, they may start making sense to you. Why because they've been exposed to them and not exposed once, but repeatedly. So if you open your heart and you open your mind to them, and you keep reading and reading without restraint. Maybe for some of us, these things will challenge our faith. I'm not saying that they will challenge what they will challenge our faith because they're right. It's their challenge our faith because we're weak.

If a person is strong, and they're fully educated islamically, and they're fully strong, and they're a man, most probably it's not going to affect them, although no one should feel that they're immune and protected from fitna

but the weak, he has the vulnerable. And if we are weak, yes, we are susceptible. So if we have a lot of free time, or if we are curious, and I go and visit this website, or I go and listen to that video, followed by another video, and I'm reading these things, these attacks about Islam, and I don't have the balance, the refutation of these doubts, I will start adopting them and I will start believing in them. So doubts and shovelhead. Without a reservoir of Islamic knowledge.

Sins also sins in general. So the problem with sins are two things. First of all, when you when a person commits a sin, the first time that they commit that sin, they'll regret it, and feel that they've done something terrible. And want to go back to Allah and ask for forgiveness, the second and third and the 10th. And the 100th time that they commit that Cinder feeling of guilt will evaporate, it will start to go down and diminish little by little.

And if they start enjoying that sin, and it becomes part of their life, they start feeling any regret any pain and start enjoying it, they'll start trying to justify it to themselves. Now, why is this? Why should it be held on because there's a conflict, and that person's mind and heart? On the one hand, I like this thing. I can't get rid of it. But on the other hand, I have a religion that is telling me that this is wrong. How can I live with those two things at the same time? That's difficult. So if a person wants, let's say, for instance, wants to drink alcohol, the first time as a set, they'll feel that they've done a major sin and in some of the incredible, incredibly wrong

and they'll try to seek Allah's forgiveness and so on. But if they that becomes a habit, and it becomes socially acceptable, and they keep doing it over and over and over and then don't even if they lose even shame over it. After some time, they have to say to themselves, why should it be harder? Because it's now normal. So you will seek to reconcile both of these things by how by challenging what do you do whatever you find a new religion that is gonna challenge or forbid the thing that you like. So if there is a specific verse in the Quran, if there's something specific in the service of Eliza lollywood salaam, is easier to reject it is easier to reinterpret it is easier

to say I don't believe in this and I don't believe in that just to hold on to what is due to you. That is a sin that Allah hates, but you have grown to like so and there's a tension between what we like and it's sinful and what Allah has said, if we like this more than that, we're going to change our laws of religion or reject parts of it because of the other problem with sin.

Is that slowly and the person usually does not feel this but it slowly changes you and changes your heart.

So you don't want you no longer recognize truth from falsehood, right from wrong. So in the beginning, you still have light from Allah azzawajal. As long as you ask Allah for forgiveness, right?

Like, if this room is lit,

if this room is lit, fully lit, okay, strong light.

And you're comfortable with that, all of a sudden, it goes dark, can you see?

You can. Alright, so the first thing, the first thing that you want to do, because I can walk, I want the light back again, right.

But if you leave the dark, I mean, if you stay in the dark without light, your eyes get started adjusting to it right. And you see that you can see more and more. That's just an example or a parable of the longer that you stay in the darkness, the more that you get adjusted to it, the more that you start living under it, and you don't miss the light as much. So when you when you are away from sin, Allah light is there to guide you. When you leave that slowly and you get used to the darkness, you don't miss the light anymore, and you can see properly. So sin has that effect. connected to this is off law.

That long, extended disconnection from Allah subhanho wa Taala. So the longer I stay away from someone, the more that I need, and feel that I don't need them anymore. Right. So for instance, if you have a relative, especially a close relative, and you're used to them, if they're away for an hour or two, you missed them, my right, a son, or a spouse,

you're with me, you're with them all the time. If they leave you for an hour or two, you missed them, you want them again, you pick up the phone and say, Where are you what happened to you because you do miss that person. But let's say you say that they start you know, spending more and more and more time away from you days away from you, the longer you stay stay away from you, the less that you will miss them. In the beginning, yeah. But later on, you'll get used to it. Slowly, slowly, you will get used to it, eventually, you're not going to think about them as much.

And they're not going to be thinking about you as much. So when Allah is very relevant in our lives, will continuously miss him subhanho wa Taala. And we want to bring him back into our lives. And we will actually actually, you know, see the effect of not being close to Allah, when we are not close to him. But when we get used to it, then yeah, it becomes easier to stay away from him. subhanho wa Taala, we will have consequences, we will feel pain, we will feel tightness, we will feel disruption in our life. But we may not recognize that this is happening because of our tough love because we're not close to him. subhanho wa Taala. And alpha, Allah is not important in our life, that he becomes

unimportant in our lives, and the heart hardens. And we feel that we don't need him subhanahu wa taala. And when you spend too much time away from him, then your relationship with him, you know that that that connection grows thinner and weaker. And so you think that I don't need him. Right? Number 10 in causes is trauma,

trauma, meaning pain, loss, whether this is something in fact that is happening personally to you. And that's often the case, or something that you observe around you. And then someone who

loses, let's say, for instance, a son or a daughter, and they cannot come to terms with that loss. How is it that I've lost them? Why would Allah do do it do that to me? How can I compensate? So there's vacuum in their life? And there's not enough in terms of understanding of Islam, understanding who Allah is, why does he does do what he does, and he man to be able to compensate and convince you that this is something that Allah has destined, and he's destined for good reason. So when there is such a vacuum, and where there is trauma, and you cannot process and understand that may lead to loss of faith, well, if God doesn't care about me, I don't care about him. If not a

God is not going to listen to me, I'm not going to listen to him. Or this is going to be a trauma on a global scale. That is, you know, why did this flood happen and kill so many people? Why is there so much suffering? That earthquake, you know, had made so many people refugees? And why did that happen? A lot could have prevented that. So there's trauma, I don't understand there is suffering, and that I cannot reconcile with the fact that Allah is merciful with God is merciful and caring. So I lose interest in religion altogether. And I say I mean, that's not, that's not for me, right? So these are causes, right? And there might be some more but these are the causes of low atom that I

mean, I think the main causes where a person starts doubting the religion altogether, and maybe Islam in particular. So solutions in sha Allah as we go through them.

Basically, we're going to revolve or we'll be focusing on dealing with the shubho hat.

And also improving and strengthening practice, because this is really the remedy. So misconceptions, misunderstanding doubts, how do you respond to all of that that is something that we need to learn because all of these things, as you can see, are misconceptions and misunderstanding things that we don't know how to process. How do I understand a lot as Odin and his mercy? How do I understand that he's there yet these things are happening at the same time. So we need to deal with these misconceptions. So we need knowledge for that. And the stronger the stronger our practice is, this more solid our relationship with Allah azzawajal is, the easier it is actually to overcome these

types of fitness and doubt. So first of all, as a solution is that religion is not bad. Religion is not bad, some religious expressions, yes, some religious traditions, especially if they have been changed. Yes, because they've been changed. But religion as religion is not bad. First of all, Islamic history is not the history of Christianity. So it would be unfair to assess Islam with lenses that had been borrowed from Christianity. So Christianity is clash with reason with science is not Islamic, right.

And we did not experience decay and backwardness because of religion. We experienced it because we've left that religion. So when you find out when we were strongest, we were strongest for the most part when we were still religious. When

innovation with us, and deviation from religion started to creep into our religion, we deviated from the pure message of Islam. And we started to accept superstition, and started to accept sherkin Allah as the origin and deviate from that sunova Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, that's when you start seeing that we started to go downhill. But now when Islam was strong and not when Islam was pure, so the history of Christianity is that yes, there was a clash with reason. Yeah, with science, yes, in Islam, that never happened. There were scientists, but they were Muslims, as well. So our religion is not the cause of our trouble. And you find repeatedly in the Quran, Allah Subhana

Allah amazingly, is that Allah azzawajal repeatedly asks people to think

and saying that in Quran and its verses and it is our science for those who reflect and contemplate on Allah calling upon people in general and upon the believers in particular, to walk on this earth and contemplate its creation, contemplate its history, think for themselves. Because a lot as noted in the Koran uses your mind as a vehicle to establish that He exists apana with that, it does not tell you to cancel your mind and it will find inshallah, soon we're gonna be talking about it that yes, reason has its limitations. We have also to understand that but to begin with the basic operation of the mind of trying to understand who you are the world around you establishing the

truth a lot as you confirms it in the Quran, and the prophets of Allah He was sending me with finding the Sunnah also confirms it in his Sunnah. Especially, you know, in the terms of use MPs analogy, this resembles that. That's the basic operation of my thinking on your own even religiously and finding out that this religious ruling resembles that religious ruling. So there is that use of the mind and reason early on in Islam and it is central in the Quran. So there is really no clash. And you will find the Muslim scientists were inspired by the Quran because the Quran asks them to contemplate and discover the secrets of the universe and the scientists when they would actually

know and find out more about the human body. More about its intricacies more about the universe. They use that to reflect and confirm the existence of Allah has Odin and His Majesty, they did not discover to run away from him. They discovered to run towards him and understand him better subhanho wa Taala. And they found that yes, there is a compatibility between Islam, between the Koran and what Allah zildjian has revealed in this universe for us through our reason and also through the sciences and to the accusation that religion is responsible for a lot of deaths and a lot of wars and this and that we say on the one hand, yes, religion can be responsible for this, but it's

because humans use it in this way.

But think about it is the secular

more was had a bloody or history or did religion have a bloodier history is the secular more responsible for human death or religion more responsible to prevent death? If you think about it, and only, you know, within, let's say, you know, within that 19th 20th century, just two centuries versus a long history of religion.

So, religion and religion among you know, different religions can cause clashes, can cause can cause bloodshed. But the secular, secular meaning non religion, did it cause death? Does it cause hate? Does it cause killing? In fact, more so? more so. And some people say, Well, I mean, if you're a religious person, you're as an you're an absolutist, meaning you will kill your enemy, no matter what he say, people will believe in secular causes, like they believe in religious causes. Just think about people who were believed in the Soviet Union, the state, they would give allegiance to it, like they would give it to religion without any question.

To the Chinese Communist Party, these are all secular, they will give allegiance to it, like they will they will have given to and to their leader like they give to Mohammed Salah law to sell him no question. You do the bidding of the state without any question and the massacre of millions of people

without any mercy?

And why is it easy? Why is it easy to massacre?

When you're a secular rather than your religious?

no consequences. Because when you're a secular, meaning non religious person, not simply that you believe but you don't believe in public religion, but you have a particular private belief by a second or I mean, here in particular, an atheist, so does not believe in Allah azza wa jal altogether, it is easier for you to mow down people.

Because a person to you is not more valuable than a mosquito, or a spider, or an ant. Like, do you cry after you kill an ant? And maybe you're really sensitive and you cry if you advertently kill an ant. But do you like there's a mosquito or a fly and you just SWAT at it, and you kill it? Do you cry?

Why it's just a fly. So those human beings did actually eventually come out from animals, right? Or there is nothing really special about them. And there is nothing after I dead after I die, there is nothing to hold me responsible for their death. And if I can get away with it in this life, I actually can get away with it. Why not shoot a person or two or 10 or a million, it doesn't matter if they're standing between me and my objective. So actually, the secular had a bloodier and a history than religion.

and actions of extremists we know very well do not represent Islam.

That is you cannot take the action of a tiny minority and Subhanallah, the extremists that we were talking about. They're very a very, very tiny minority, they do not come to a 1% of Muslims, they do not come to a 1% of Muslims. So you cannot take the actions of less than 1% of Muslims to represent the other 99%. And in fact, on top of that, if you want to understand a religion or a tradition, study it, I can't take the action of one person to say, that tells me everything that I need to know about that religion. So a person need to know more about their Islam to know that they are subverting and ruining Islam, and abusing it rather than representing it. And whatever bad practice

you see coming out and from Muslims, whether it's local or global, you must and we must understand, as I hope, a person of wisdom and insight that that person does not represent the book of Allah zoji.

And does not represent Mohammed Salah Harada he was in. And that's sometimes we know what the truth is, but we don't follow it. So you need to dig deep beyond what people say and beyond what people do into the message itself and find out for yourself if they represent Islam or not. Right. So that's number two, that religion is not bad. Islam in particular, is not bad. And we should not generalize from another religious tradition into Islam. Can Can Muslim religious leaders be corrupt?

Yeah, absolutely. Does that mean that the religion itself or the congregation congregation are corrupt? Or is that the fault of this person? It's the fault of that person doesn't mean that every single Imam, every single shape, every single party of the Koran is going to be like that is unjust if you do this, it will be similar to what I see you one of those days. And you commit the mistake in front of me. And I take it to mean that this is you all the time. Is that fair?

So if you don't want to be judged like that, I was having a bad day. I was having a bad day. Okay. I did not intend to say these things. I did not intend to act this way. I say no, this is you all the time. This is your reality. That's unfair. So a person with wisdom and insight. Definitely

He has to have a broader mind than this limitations of reason.

So as I said that Allah azzawajal calls upon people to use their minds, to be able to know who Allah azza wa jal is, at the same time, we cannot simply exaggerate the power of our minds to make them capable of understanding every single thing,

and deciphering and uncovering every mystery that is around us. We it's just beyond us. It is beyond us. Sometimes you don't understand your spouse.

You don't understand your kid. You don't understand another culture. There are limits to my understanding, because there's limits to my experience, and there is limited limit to my intelligence and my wisdom. There's limits to all of it. So I cannot take myself to be the final judge that understands everything in this universe. Plus, when we talk about reason, and we talk about human mind, we should also ask ourselves, what mind are you talking about? Is my mind or your mind?

Like when you talk to people in general, in this universe, you tell them should we allow alcohol or not? What should people say? Some people will say yes, some people will say no, where's the Where's reason?

Where's reason? Because reasons should you know be unanimous of all of us are rational. And I'm going to tell you that we're not rational. It's polite to believe that we're rational or irrational. No, it was, it was a fad. During the Enlightenment time, and so on, until even people on the west woke up to the fact that we know we're really not an irrational because we don't act in a rational way. There is no rational consumer. No, we're we can be manipulated very easily. You see an ad and you go and buy something, why did you buy it?

Why did you spend that money? Is there a rational reason? What do you spend it? No, the colors were nice. Okay, are they made me feel nice. They play on your emotions, because you know that you know that you are more emotional, than rational.

So we really are not natural, if there is no first of all universal reason that all of us can, you know,

resort to and consider to be a judge in all matters, that thing does not exist. And the clash that we have with each other with other human beings tell us that we don't have the same mind. And our mind is

shaped by our culture, by our experiences, by our expectations, and by our emotions, and that we are emotional.

And if we think that we are rational look, and how we have how we behave, what we've done with the world, so far, from the time that religion has retreated into private life, you'll find out that we have not been acting in any rational sense. So there is limitation to our reasons and to what we can understand.

There's also limitations to science, I mentioned that reason and science of the two vehicles. There are also limitations to science and science, for some people now acts as an ideology rather than a process. When you hear somebody says, I believe in science, what does that mean?

I believe in what science is not a set, you know, points or beliefs. You say, I believe in science and science is a doctrine. Science is not a doctrine, science is a process of investigation.

So for some people, science, we had become an ideology. That is, this is my belief, right now, I only believe what I can touch, I only believe what I can verify. I only believe what I can investigate in the lab and nothing more than that. And then these scientific theories, or these scientific facts were some are used as an ideology to supplant and replace any belief in the metaphysical.

And science cannot investigate the metaphysical.

And early on in philosophy, you got the physical or the physics, and the metaphysical. Physics is what you can observe right here, right? Now I can test this water, I can test this metal, I can put this something under a microscope, I can test it. That's the physical. The metaphysical is what lies beyond the physical beyond my eyes, beyond my ears beyond my touch, I can't receive it. The tools that are suitable here are not the same tools that are suitable there. You cannot judge the metaphysical by physical tools and you cannot reduce everything to the lab.

Because if you do lose everything to the lab, you miss something important about humanity. Because humanity is not simply about everything that can get produced or examined in a lab. How do you understand human sacrifice, or human love? Not in terms of preserving your own life or the species? I'm talking about somebody who sacrifices their life for the sake of another.

Not their children, because I'm not I'm not about preserving property.

Okay, because they say evolution, you know, you know conditions you to do this know somebody else, a stranger sometimes, and you sacrifice yourself for them for their life. How do you examine this? And how do you explain it? How do you explain consciousness?

which we call a rule, your spirit, your soul? How do you examine this? How do you understand it, you cannot subject this to any type of testing. Even if you map the mind, it's not about the mind. It's about something that is more than that. What departs the body and what enters the body to make it alive. So these things when they're simply being subjected to what I can see and what I can test, impoverishes humans existence. And by the way, if you say, I believe in science, is science, by the way moral?

Does it have morality in it?

No, right. There's nothing moral about science simply an investigation, I can investigate and create a bomb for good reason or a bomb for a bad reason. So I could be a good scientist, or I could be a bad scientist, or I could start out being a good scientist, then become a bad scientist. I could do it for the money, I could do it for the fame, I could do it because I want to control this world, whatever it is. Science has no moral fiber. Science is simply trying to understand testing the scientific method. But there's, there's no belief in science. So if you only believe in science, there is no morality to you. Right? There's no morality, and you'll not be able to extract any type

of morality, in this life and from this life.

So

scientists also and some, sometimes you hear people quoting scientists, as if they are quoting Allah,

or as if they're quoting Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam science has said, well, scientists have said, as if every single study a scientific study

is infallible.

Now, if there is a scientific study in the US, or another one in Germany, or another one in Japan, and you hear about it, does that mean that just simply because it's a scientific study, that it's accurate?

Don't other scientists come and dispute the findings of those study?

Right? And whatever it is science right now, or not science, whatever, you know, this study has found. And there's a lot of time, it's the fault of the media. And us as well, because we don't

distinguish between fact and what is reported as fact. But it's not fact. But some people report findings right now, 510 years from now, they report different findings. And now the, you know, common opinion shifts, what we thought to be right now is wrong. And what we thought was wrong now is right. So the more that we develop, the more that we gain understanding, we sharpen our research tools, we may find different results. So what I believe to be science at this moment, what is theory at this moment, may not be in so in five or 10 years, but you find some people quoting scientists or scientists have found as if they are infallible. No SubhanAllah. Scientists can make mistakes,

right?

Scientists can be biased, like if I'm biased, why am I biased? I've been working on this for live last 510 years, I want it to be true. What about you? Do you want to tell me that I wasted my life? Or what is the source of my funding?

So my that for my funding, once me, if that tobacco companies are funding me, the alcohol companies are funding me, then they want me to find something in particular. And they're only finding me because they think that I'm on that path, I'm not just going to simply come up with a result later on to dispute all that money that they've given me. And you are desperate, you're strapped for funding, you have to go and get the grant. Otherwise, you can do research, you can hire research assistant. So it's all economics. So of course, you know, there's this invisible force that again, of pressure you to find something specific, because you want to please the one who had hired you,

right? It's implicit. There's these expectations are implicit, but they're in you.

So you can treat scientists as absolutely objective people, all the mind that is completely rational, and neutral. That's not the case. They're human being just like you and I, they have bad days, good days, they have to buy homes, they have trouble with their kids.

And as I said, science is also used

as as an ideology. So you think about Subhanallah particular evolution. Why for some scientists, evolution is such a hot button issue that they would go to war over it.

And why does it matter so much to them? So for the religious it matters a lot. Why does it matter? Because it disputes

The beginning of Adam and Eve disputes the religious narrative that there is a first human being. And if that's not the case, then the Bible is not right in the Quran is not right. But for a scientist, who, let's say is not a biologist, he's not spend your time researching this, this is not your life's work. Why does it matter so much that evolution be right or wrong?

Okay, consider it, you know, to be a theory, if you don't believe in it, that's fine, does not affect you or me. Like if I don't believe in evolution, does it affect me tomorrow? Does it affect you?

Does it? Not really. I mean, you can still disbelieve in God, and still disbelieve in evolution, right? They're not tied together. You don't need to be an evolutionist to disbelieve in God. You can disbelieve in God and say, I don't really know how humanity started. Maybe there is a first human first woman, first man, first woman, somehow they came to be I don't know how I don't need to know how but I still don't believe in God. You can still say that. But why is it such a hot button issue for them? That they insist on it like an ideology? Like the religious argue for a lot? They argue that evolution is right. Why? Because it's a refutation of religion?

Because it stands to refute and challenge religion? Because if it is not true, then what answer do they have? There's nothing. And it becomes difficult to challenge that religious. So that's it starts acting out, you have to realize that this actually is an ideology that people fight over this. Because of that, just like you know, some people today believe that the earth is flat. Right? And some people believe not most people believe that the earth is round. Now, does it harm me, if you believe that the earth is flat? I'm going to have like a heated discussion over it, you must believe that the earth is round. I don't care Really? Right. Why? Because it's not consequential is

kicking still tomorrow, you'll still wake up, go to your work, send your kids to school, earn your money, while believing that the earth is flat, right? How is it going to affect you? or me? So if evolution was simply a scientific inquiry, it wouldn't be so controversial. Because it's not because it carries with it an argument against religion, it's not simply that it's an ideology.

Now, why organized religion? Why can I simply just have my own religion, practice it in my own home, select model what I like and choose what I dislike. And that be enough. Because no human being can practice religion really like that. This is not the way that Allah zodat has created religion, I'm gonna try and Charlotte to be brief so that we don't go over. These find that a lot as though a gel had made it within human nature is within us to form communities, you marry, and you have connections, it has to happen. So we have to come together, we cannot actually live without coming together. So we have to form communities. So if we're going to form communities, what are we gonna

build this community on? What borders and standards do we have? What final destination? are we seeking? What common objectives do we have? The thing that organizes all of this because there has to be something that organizes all of that, right? There has to be a code. So when you remove religion, what code Do you have, you have the state, organizing all your citizens and work we have this constitution and we believe in this and we believe in that. But what is fully was and still, that glue that puts pulls people together is the religion of Allah as the origin and that is why you find Salah in jamara. There's a calf for those who don't have money, there is Hajj that happens

among the pilgrims all together, doing it at the same time fasting all at the same time. You need the support of other people, and they need your support. And religion is there to organize all of that. And if you practice religion, on your own religion diminishes by necessity. It has to have a public face, it has to be done among a group and with a group. So you need to build a community and that community needs to be built by religion and needs to be guided by religion. And that is why Allah azza wa jal insists on organized religion, meaning religion having a structure. We don't have a pope.

We don't have an Imam that dictates what goes but we have people praying together. Common Prayer that happens at the same time done in the same way. That is what is organized religion, but we don't have a hierarchy that tells us No, I'm the single authority and I'm telling you this is right and this is wrong. No, we have a group of scholars who discuss and talk and you can if you wish, become a scholar and join them and you can discuss and talk about halal and haram and decide for yourself and give fatwah so that others will also know what religion is but it has to be done. In congregation now. Can I only be spiritual but not really.

Just

right. Meaning like, I feel that there is something great out there. But I don't feel that I need to pray five times a day in those in this particular fashion or fast Ramadan and fast differently. But I'm going to fast this way I don't like not to drink, I'll drink, but I will not eat or abstain from certain things. So I'll decide how to worship.

I'll pray my own way. I'll give you know my own in my own way, I'll contemplate and reflect in my own way, but that's spiritual, but I don't want to be religious or have a particular form to it. We say that, okay, if I tell you bring me this water, how do you bring it?

You bring it in a container.

Okay, so of course, what's important is not the container, right? I'm not going to eat this.

What I want is what is inside. But without that container, you won't be able to bring me any water, right? So in order for you to be spiritual, you need something to contain it, right.

So what is the thing that is going to contain it and keep it in place, and form it and develop it? If you don't have that container? There's nothing inside.

If there is if there is no communal worship, there's nothing inside.

That's why Allah azza wa jal brings that container and say pray.

Because sometimes when your spiritual, right, you say, I'm just going to leave it, you know, I, when I feel like, there'll be days and weeks and months, we don't feel like it. But Allah says, You know what, today whether you feel like it or not, you're fasting.

You know, you're fasting, and he pulls you back into him subpoena with the LSU. Don't forget, and you don't stray.

I don't want to phrase is no, you have to pray. Because then we need to maintain that content, so that it doesn't spill, it does not evaporate. So you cannot have what's on the inside without having what's the on the outside. And yes, what's inside matters the most. But without the external practice, it's not going to develop. So even Eastern religions, even those who are attracted to Eastern religions, if you go to

a Buddhist or a Hindu practitioner, was not going to demand from you certainly to believe in a deity. If he's a Buddhist, you know, don't Hindus have they believe their philosophical they don't?

Still will ask you to sit and meditate, right?

So I don't feel like it is a no, you got to sit and meditate and do it for hours. And slowly, slowly start getting used to it. Why? Because he also realizes, okay, whether it's coming from originally religious sources, or they came to this on their own, he realizes that you cannot attain higher spiritual connection, higher spiritual degree, without sitting physically and doing something about it. So you need to sit and physically do something about it. And that's why you need that form. I said, number six, does religion matter? Absolutely. Religion matters matters for the hereafter and matters for this dunya. And that's why you find that when we stray and move away from Allah as the

agenda when we are left with the material and nothing but else, rates of depression rates of suicide rates of hopelessness, war only goes up does not go down, but only goes up. Can I pick and choose? No, for the same reason that I said that religion needs to be practiced and not simply felt? I cannot pick and choose what I like. Because Allah azza wa jal presents it as a full package, there are things that you dislike that you need to do even though you dislike them and think that you like that you should never come to a close to, even though you like them. And that is the challenge that you have to be able to detach from your own desire, and do what Allah zodion wants and only then do

you develop spiritually. And only then do you become closer to Allah. So again, you need I'm gonna control that go through it very quickly. You need a number eight, you need knowledge to combat doubt. Not I'll wait till I have doubt and go look for the answers. Sometimes the fitnah comes knocking on the door, and you're not ready for it. Sometimes you read something, sometimes you look at something, and it's plant doubt in your heart. It shouldn't plant it.

If we have enough knowledge, and also me connected to that, you have to be careful and selective. What are you reading and what are you listening to? Okay, if you believe that you have enough knowledge, go ahead. I'm not gonna restrict you read whatever you want to listen to whatever you want, even though you still need to be selective. But I don't want somebody to believe Oh, okay, we're being censored. Don't be don't if you have enough study, Islam, studies, foundations have solid understanding then go read whatever you want to read. The scholars of Islam. They did not start by reading philosophy.

Okay.

And that's the problem. Even early on. They said that, you know, the scholars on the sooner they would say something like that they say people were fooled by the intelligent people who followed the L McCallum and they followed the philosophers and they followed the esoterics. They would see intelligent people who speaks a panelist so well, but they're deviant. And they were fooled by that. So sometimes I think that fools you is that you hear an atheist or an agnostic and they're very smart and they're a doctor or a PhD and this and that, that fools you that tempts you, I say, don't begin like that. Have a solid and good foundation in Islam, and then go read and go into wherever

you want to go. All right. So keep that in mind, inshallah, refrain from listening to everything and be selective sins will change you. So repent to Allah azza wa jal, otherwise, you will be weak in front of those doubts in front of those mistakes in front of those ideas, you will not be able to combat them understand also how to process loss.

And that's very important, everyone in among us, is going to be emotionally shocked, is going to experience an emotional loss. And we'll have these emotional questions about why did this happen to me and to my family, to my child, to my parents, or to those people. And if we don't have a solid amount, and a lot as though did we actually could collapse we could lose our faith not because faith is not there to help us. But we did not take much of it so that it can help us understand that Allah is wisdom is wise and he acts with wisdom. Understand that Allah compensates you understand that Allah does what he does, for reasons then sometimes will escape you understand that Allah as though

he did at times, he has reasons that will escape your and my understanding, I will not be able to explain everything to you and you will not be able to explain everything to me. And you have to accept our accept these limitations at one point, we have to accept these limitations. So if you don't understand something, ask Allah azzawajal to grant you that understanding. Now, tomorrow or 10 years from now, ask Allah to give you the comfort inside your heart and certainty so that you know that the things that you don't understand Allah xojo also will grant you their understanding. And finally, stay connected to Allah subhanho wa Taala stay connected with us because this time is the

time of fitten. Really, I'm not exaggerating, these times are the time of Fitton. So we need a lot as though just to stabilize our airmen and to keep it strong in our hearts. So keep asking Allah azza wa jal to keep faith fresh and strong in your heart and the hearts of your children and the hearts of your family and Allah as Odin will answer that, let me know in sha Allah, we don't have time for questions but let me know in sha Allah, if I've missed anything, or if you have questions about this, because as I said, Maybe later on we can develop it into a bit longer series. So as I can la Hara for attending, may Allah azzawajal reward you and keep you strong and EMA. Zuckerman law

here, so panicking on behalf of the shadow a dentist