Ali Ataie – Islam Is A Force For Social & Moral Good in the World
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
Today is a day of
praising
our Lord.
Today is a day of saying Allahu Akbar.
Allahu Akbar means that God is great.
God is greater.
God is the greatest.
God is greater than anything that our minds
could possibly conceive.
God is greater than the universe which he
created out of nothing
by his divine fiat.
This is the day upon which we commemorate,
the faith,
the sacrifice, the struggle, the obedience
of our master, Ibrahim, alaihis salaam.
We are the millah of Ibrahim, alaihis salaam.
We are the standard bearers of pure Abrahamic
monotheism,
Tawhid Ibrahimia,
in the world.
Nobody comes close to us.
The Christians have slightly more followers, but the
vast, vast majority of them
are Trinitarians. They worship God as 3 distinct
persons.
This is not Tawhid.
While the Jews are only 15,000,000 or so
worldwide,
and they reject Isa, alayhis salam, and the
prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
We are the standard bearers of tawhid,
Allahu Akbar.
And in our times, and I'll come back
to this later in the khutba inshallah,
in our times right now in 2021,
people of all stripes all around the world
are really starting to wake up to the
truth
that Islam as a world view stands uniquely
equipped
as a formidable and robust,
opposition
to the rational,
extremist,
unnatural,
and
intolerant zeitgeist
of our current age.
The promise of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is
through
When God's help and victory come and you
see humanity
entering the religion of God in multitudes
and masses.
Glorify the praise of your Lord. Truly, he
is ever relenting.
There is a Surah in the Koran called
Surat Ibrahim,
Alayhis Salam.
Appropriate for today's occasion, this Surah contains one
of the great
spiritual laws of the universe. So there are
physical laws and there are spiritual laws.
It's an equation essentially, and this is how
it goes. Gratitude to God
equals increase from God.
Gratitude
to God equals increase from God. That's it.
Shukr equals
ziyada.
If we are grateful to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala, he will increase us. That's ayah 7
of Surat Ibrahim
But let's look at the preceding ayat
for some context.
Allah
begins aliflamra.
The meaning of these letters is a sir,
is a mystery, is a secret known only
to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala,
and we allow them to remain a mystery.
Imam al Razi said that the wisdom of
this is that this keeps our hearts oriented
toward that which is beyond our sense experiences
and rational faculties.
It reminds us of the noumenal
realities of the unseen that are imperceptible
to our senses and unknown to our intellects.
After this, Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, says, kitabun
anzalnahu
ilaykalitukhrijan
nasaminavulumati
ila Noor.
A book we have revealed to you in
order for you to bring humanity out
from the darkness,
and the Arabic here is in the plural.
Minathudumat
from the many manifestations
of darkness
to the light.
Imam Azamaqshari,
he said, these are metaphors.
Darkness and light. These are metaphors
for dalal and huda, for error and guidance.
The ayah continues, bi ivni rabbihim ilasuratilazizalhamid,
by the permission of their Lord to the
path of the mighty, the constantly praised.
That's the first ayah.
So
the kitab, the Quran is the means through
which Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
guided us from error. The Quran is the
ultimate and definitive revelation of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. The Quran is the standard of judgment
with respect to the previously revealed books
such as the Torah and the Injeel.
There is no more wahi. There is no
more prophetic
revelation to come. It has been sealed with
our master, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi
wa sallam. The prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
he said,
hablullullah.
This Quran is the rope of God. Hablum
mamdudun minasama'i
ila'ord,
a rope that extends from the heavens to
the earth.
However, the Quran did not literally descend from
the heavens as pages in a book
as or or written scrolls that anyone can
just unfurl
and read.
A book we have revealed to you,
and the pronoun here is masculine singular.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is speaking directly to
our master, Muhammad
sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
In fact, according to Imam Al Khortubi, the
Sirat itself, the Sirat Mustaqim is a reference
to the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
This is why the word Sirat is never
in the plural. It is one specific path,
the path of our master Muhammad sallallahu alaihi
wasallam, a path that never goes out of
style. It stays relevant.
It remains necessary.
The Quran descended upon the Kaalb, the heart
of the Prophet
The Kaalb in the context of the Quran
is not the physical heart that pumps blood.
It is really the mind, the seat of
emotion and reason.
This is why the Qalb can fail to
understand something.
Or
This is why the heart can have diseases
that are not physiological.
This is why the exeget say that when
the Quran says about our master Ibrahim alaihis
salam,
that indeed he approached his Lord with a
sound heart. This means a heart free of
doubt,
a mind free of doubt and full of
certitude,
never inclined towards idolatry, a Tawhid oriented
worldview.
So when the Quran interacted
with the sacred prophetic heart, you have Nurun
al Anur, light upon light.
The sunnah, the established prophetic
ethos and way, which is called Sirat in
the Quran, which is called Al Hikma in
the Quran. The sunnah is the timeless living
tradition
of the Quran itself. The sunnah is the
lamp, the Siraj that illuminates the Quran.
The sunnah is the lens through which we
understand the Quran.
He is the teacher of the Quran
with his words and actions. He is qadamusitqin.
He is Urwatiul Wuthqa. He is Aula Hakun
Burhanun. These are all of his names in
the Quran. And this and for this, we
can only say, Allahu Akbar.
We are the nation of the great teacher
and seal of the prophets.
Surat Ibrahim continues,
Allah, unto whom belongs
exclusively
whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is
on the earth.
So woe unto the disbelievers for a severe
punishment.
All of creation
belongs to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Allahu Akbar. It is all his,
and he can do whatever he wants with
it.
He is both malik and malik, owner and
king. This is why the so called problem
of evil in Western philosophy
is not really a problem for us as
Muslims,
For those who claim positively
that God is love,
with God as a subject and love as
a predicate, the presence of moral evil in
the world
becomes very very difficult to explain.
From a Muslim perspective, all of this, all
of creation
is
Allah's exclusive dominion, and he can never be
questioned for what he does to his dominion.
Just as space and time do not apply
to him. He is the creator of space
and time. Our conceptions of good and evil
do not apply to him. He is the
creator of good and evil. Allahu Akbar.
Yet he is the loving
al wadud.
He is the compassionate ar Rahman.
He is the relentor at tawab. Allahu Akbar.
This is our theodicy.
This is our vindication of God. Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala is the omnipotent king of the
universe who overwhelmingly
deals
with his creation,
with what we understand to be love and
compassion. But he is also al Jabbar, al
Muntaqim, al Mutakabbir,
al Akahir.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is beautiful, but he
is also majestic. He's merciful, but also but
also rigorous.
Yet there is preponderance of mercy over rigor.
Allahu
Akbar. For those who say that the Messiah,
peace be upon him, is the Lord of
the heavens and the earth. Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala responded to this through our master Muhammad
through the prophet of the Abrahamic restoration.
He said,
Then who would have an iota of power
over Allah if he decided to destroy the
messiah,
the son of Mary and his mother and
everyone on the earth altogether?
Unto Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
exclusively belong sovereignty
over the heavens and the earth and whatsoever
is between them. Meaning the cosmos. He creates
whatever he wills.
And Allah
has power over all things.
Allahu Akbar Kabira.
Alhamdulillahi
kathira. This is Huda. This is clear guidance
we've received from Al Hadi, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
This is from Al Wahhab, the one who
gives to the undeserving.
Allahu Akbar.
Surat Ibrahim continues,
Those who prefer the life of this world
over the hereafter
and who turn away from the way of
God, from the Sabeel Allah, and seek to
make it crooked. It is they who are
far astray.
Those who prefer this fleeting life of 60
or 70 years over the abode of permanence
are not being rational. This is unintelligent,
irrational thinking.
Putting all of your eggs in the basket
of the dunya
is irrational
when you know that the specter of death
lurks behind every corner. You can go at
any time.
We know this. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
of the life of this world and its
ornament. But that which is with Allah, subhanahu
wa ta'ala, is better and more lasting. Will
you not use your intellect?
Will you not be reasonable?
Our master, Jesus, peace be upon him, is
reported to have said, what does it profit
a man to gain the world but lose
his soul? Our master, Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa'alehi
wasallam said, Alkayizhu
mandana nafsahu wa'aminalima
ba'adalmoutwalaaajizhu
manatbah
The intelligent one is is the one who
subdues his lower self
and works for that which comes after death,
while the unintelligent one is the one who
has put his lower self in pursuance of
its desires
and has vain hopes in Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. The commentators say that such a person
follows
his whims and desires. He leads a hedonistic
and selfish lifestyle against his better judgment
and expects Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, to forgive
him. That's not intelligent.
That's not reasonable.
We need to get our theology straight. This
deen, this religion is an intelligent deen. It
is a thinking person's deen. A wise old
man once said, would you rather hold a
handful of dirt
for several hours, or a piece of gold
for a moment?
And the answer is, a piece of gold
for a moment.
He continued, yet, there are people who would
rather hold dirt for a moment
than possess gold forever.
There was a study conducted on children years
ago by a Stanford professor.
It was a study on delayed gratification. They
found that children
who preferred, to have 2 cookies later rather
than 1 cookie now were generally more intelligent
and successful
later in life.
Self control,
discipline, patience,
these are markers of success in both worlds.
This world is a shadow of the next
world. Why would someone prefer this fleeting life
over the hereafter? It's
because they have doubt about the hereafter in
their hearts, but rather than try to alleviate
their doubts with serious and sincere study using
reason, logic, and academic inquiry,
they take the lazy way out and allow
their hawa, their caprice,
their desires, their lust, their feelings
to rule them.
And then out of spite for those who
engage
in the way of God, the Sabeel of
Allah, which Imam al Suyuti says in this
ayah means al Islam.
Out of spite for those who practice Islam,
they seek to change Islam
through lies, deviation, and falsehood.
The people of knowledge say that you're either
calling to something or you are being called
to something.
No third option.
Right now in our society,
God rejecting deviance are openly saying that they
are going to quote, convert our children.
We will convert your children, they are saying.
They are saying this openly now. No more
hidden agendas. No more conspiracy theories. It's all
open. We want to convert your children. They
want to convert our children into accepting their
deviant lifestyles and perverted philosophies.
But in order for them to do this,
they need Muslims
to forsake their tradition
and accept the current zeitgeist.
They need us to accept this highly intolerant
and coercive liberalism
that has now openly declared ideological
war on traditional religion.
This is their project.
This is their project. And let me tell
you something.
We are gradually becoming the last line of
defense
when it comes to traditional religion
in the world.
We, the ummah of the prophet Muhammad sallallahu
alaihi sallam,
have been entrusted
with the millah of Ibrahim alaihi sallam.
We we must not allow ourselves to be
bullied or intimidated.
Fastakim
kamaumirt.
Be upright as you have been commanded.
Be strong, resolute. Stand up straight. You ayyuhalmudathir
kumfaanthir
warabbaqafakabir
warthya baqafathahir
warrujazafahjur
Stand up. Warn people about their behavior. Say,
Allahu Akbar. Purify yourself.
Shun their defilements and idolatry.
Don't expect anything from them, and be patient.
This is our project.
This is our project.
We are the last line of defense.
The vast majority of Jews no longer believe
in the 13 principles of faith as articulated
by Maimonides,
their greatest classical theologian, the historical critical method
has ripped the Torah to shreds.
Most Jews today are non practicing.
They go to the synagogue for cultural or
or social purposes, or they practice Reformed Judaism,
where they can eat whatever they want.
And their halakah, their sharia, is optional. Even
belief in God
is optional, is not required.
The current pope of the Roman Catholic Church
is an extreme liberal who constantly offends
his traditional and conservative followers. This is the
leader of a 1000000000 Catholics.
He's made strange and bizarre comments
about the existence of *, about civil unions,
about the Latin Mass. Something strange is going
on with this guy.
Most Christian churches in the West have let
the woke circus through their doors.
They have capitulated to the same coercive liberalism
that has overrun the academy like a scourge.
They surrender to the mob
that claimed that their beliefs were not only
offensive but constituted
violence.
Your beliefs, not actions.
Your beliefs
are violent, the mob said.
So they let the circus in. And once
you let the circus in, sooner or later,
the clowns will run the show.
Amazingly, during this time,
people in the West continue to convert to
Islam.
Allahu
Akbar. It's really not that surprising.
It makes sense when you think about it.
Islam is a religion of human fitra.
It appeals to our natural disposition.
People naturally love monotheism,
uncompromising,
monotheism.
They are attracted to the simplicity of Muslim
worship, bowing and prostrating without icons, without statues.
They are attracted to the prophet, sallallahu alaihi
wa'alehi wasallam, who was respectful of others yet
uncompromising
when it came to his principles.
People respect that. Even his enemies respected him
for that.
They are attracted to how Islam recognizes
the difference and uniqueness of men and women,
how they are equal but not identical, how
they are complements,
not rivals,
not antagonists.
They are attracted to the sanctity of human
life in Islam and the equality of all
human beings before God. For them, Islam is
totally refreshing
in the face of the current zeitgeist.
And of course, there is a place for
for or for culture.
In Islam, there's a maximum in the Sharia
that says,
that which is known through custom or culture
is like that which is legislated by revelation.
But there is a caveat.
Any cultural practice must be circumscribed
within the hudud,
the bound of the sacred law. It must
not violate the revelation
which is from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
There's no such thing as obedience to creation
in disobedience
to the creator.
Interestingly, a lot of middle aged adults are
converting to Islam.
These are people who have had some time
to think
and ponder about life and the current state
of affairs in the world. They have come
to see through the lies and deceptions
of the current zeitgeist.
Many of these converts who, live in Europe
are total submarines.
A submarine is a Muslim who has chosen
not to make his faith to anybody.
Only Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala knows who they
are.
You'll notice that children, because they are close
to the fitra,
they love Allah and his messenger.
Children with terminal cancer never complain.
They accept the qadr. They are auliya.
But then when they go to public schools
and colleges,
they become exposed
to this postmodern
philosophy,
critical theory,
deconstructionism,
atheistic materialism,
post structuralism,
radical hermeneutics,
etcetera, etcetera. And they have a falling away,
their fitra takes a hit.
Their common sense is questioned.
But then, eventually,
when they get older and wiser with experience,
when they begin to do some real thinking
on their own, they come to realize,
sadaqah Allah.
Deceptive, and irrational philosophies
are making people miserable.
These philosophies turn the world into a godless
battleground
where different identity groups are constantly vying for
power.
Everything becomes a struggle for power.
These backward philosophies turn people into mean spirited
self righteous cynics.
It bifurcates the world into 2 classes,
the oppressed and the oppressor. And ironically,
those who are often labeled as oppressed are
actually the oppressors
and vice versa.
Tawba and Shukur and Tawagur,
Humility are thrown out the window
and people are getting tired of it. They're
getting tired. They want an alternative and they're
discovering Islam.
They're discovering the prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam.
Surat Ibrahim continues, I'm nearly out of time.
And we did not send a messenger except
in the language of his people in order
for him to clarify for them. And God
leads astray whomsoever he wills and guides whom
so ever he wills. And he is the
mighty, the wise.
This surah continues.
We indeed sent Moses with our signs saying,
bring your people out from the darkness to
the light,
and remind them of the days of Allah.
Truly and that are signs for those who
are patient, grateful.
Here, the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam is juxtaposed
with Musa alayhi wasalam as he is often
in the Quran. Yet the superiority of the
Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam is explained that in
that while Musa alaihis salam was commanded to
take his Qaum, his people the Bani Israel
out of the darkness. The prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam was commanded to take enas,
humanity out. The prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam
sallam, is the universal messenger, Rahmatidil Alamin.
Musa, alayhi salam, was commanded to remind
his people of the days of Allah.
These days are those special days throughout the
calendar that commemorate certain events in the history
of Bani Israel. They remind people of the
blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Such as
Allah saving them from the firaun and making
exodus to Egypt. We have special days as
well. Today is one of those special days.
The shaitan also has his days.
His special days. His special months or months.
But while we say lakumdinaqumbaliadin,
the shaitan wants to compel us
to commemorate his days.
During the entire month of June, Shayatin were
working overtime,
inundating us with reminders of their special days.
Even children's cartoons were not spared from their
demonic efforts.
But during this time,
Allahu Akbar, the Izzah of this deen was
discovered
by many decent non Muslims
because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is in charge.
They noticed that there is something about Islam
that prevents Muslims
from surrendering their moral truth.
They notice that there's something about Islam that
prevents Muslims from groveling and genuflecting
before the mob. That we have Istiqaama.
That we stand up straight.
Allahu Akbar. People are coming to this deen.
The Surah continues. And now we come to
verse 7.
And your Lord proclaimed, if you are grateful,
I will surely increase you.
But if you are ungrateful,
kafartum kafarah means to disbelieve. It also means
to be ungrateful.
If you disbelieve, if you are ungrateful,
truly my punishment is severe. This is the
great lesson for this day. If we are
grateful to Allah,
he will increase us.
Don't let the current zeitgeist,
convince you that you're some sort of victim.
This eliminates Tawadur. This eliminates Tawadur.
This makes you an ingrate.
Follow Allah and his messenger. May Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala increase us in all good things
in both worlds.
May we all show immense gratitude
to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for his many
blessings.
May we continue to may we continue may
he continue to give us the istiqaama
needed to uphold the millah
of our master Ibrahim alayhis salam.
The substitution of a ram for Ibrahim's son,
Alaihi Salam,
serves as the basis,
for the ritual of the slaughtering of an
animal, the
the qurbani,
that is required as a final, rite of
the Hajj.
We are to do this as well, or
at least have someone do it,
on your behalf. Also, it is Wajib and
the Hanafi school to continue the taqbiraat at
least, once right after every Fard salah,
up to and including
Salatul Asr on 13th Dhul Hijjah. So that's
this Friday, July 23rd. Asr on Friday is
the last time.