Aqeel Mahmood – Year the Prophets Lut
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AI: Transcript ©
Insha'Allah, as, the announcement was made,
we're going to be talking about the life
and story
of Lut alaihis salam.
And
this
prophet of Allah
and the people he was sent to
and
the
weaknesses and the
desires and the sins that the,
the eventual
end,
came as a result of.
And
also,
we'll talk about,
lessons we can learn
from the life of Lut alaihis salam
and from,
the
state of
the society that he was in, and how
he responded,
and how, he used to call them to
the worship of Allah,
and away from those evil actions which they
used to do.
And
of course, when we talk about the the
life of Lut alaihis salam and his people,
then it's very well known that
his people were involved in the act of
homosexuality,
which is attraction
of the man to another man, and this
is something which is,
common in society, especially in today's society in
the West.
So it's something which
after we've talked about the story of Lut
alaihis salam, we'll discuss from an Islamic perspective,
what Islam says
about homosexuality,
about the act of,
luwat,
which is
called after the prophet Lut alaihis salam and
due to
the people that he was sent to, but
first we'll talk about the story of Lut
alaihis salam.
Who was Lut alaihis salam,
and
who were these people that he was sent
to, and what sins did they commit, what
was their crime, and what did they do,
that caused Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to first
of all send a prophet of Allah to
them, and also punish them as a result
of these sins eventually.
So
Lut alaihis salam,
he was
Lut ibn
Haran,
ibn Tariq,
and Tariq,
his grandfather,
ibn Kathir, he says,
that this was his lineage and his grandfather
Tariq
was actually the name also
of,
Azar,
who was the father of
Ibrahim alaihis salam.
So Ibrahim alaihis salam, it said that he
had a brother called Haran,
and his brother Haran had a son
and this son
was Lut alaihis salam.
So Ibn Kathir says Ibrahim alaihis salam was
the uncle of Lut alaihis salam.
And
the grand or Lut's grandfather
was
the father of Ibrahim alaihis salam Tariq.
And
when Ibrahim alaihis salam left
his homeland because they were committing shirk,
Lut alaihis salam also accompanied him.
And when Ibrahim alaihis salam went to Egypt,
Lut alaihis salam asked for permission to leave
and go and make his way to the
city of Sodom.
This was the name of the city. In
Arabic, it's called Sodom.
And this city,
it's on the western shore of the Dead
Sea,
or it was
on the western shore of the Dead Sea.
So now it doesn't exist anymore because the
Dead Sea is where the
the city initially was.
And also, it said that it wasn't just
this city, there were also other cities,
okay,
where, the sim similar actions and similar evil
acts were committed.
So,
Sodom is one of those,
cities which is mentioned, one of those nations,
And also,
another nation called Gamora
or Gomorrah.
And sometimes we hear in English Sodom and
Gomorrah.
So this is also what's
been described as another city,
that was in the same area,
and they were people who commit the same
kinds of evil acts.
And Lut alaihis salam, he left and he
made his way to Sodom, which is on
the western shore of the Dead Sea. And
the Dead Sea, for those of us who
aren't familiar,
the Dead Sea
is between Palestine
and Jordan. So it's in Sham. It's in
it's in it's in Sham, modern day,
modern day Palestine and Jordan. So between the
2, you have this sea called the Dead
Sea,
And of course,
on the other side of Palestine, on the
western side of Palestine, you have the Mediterranean
Sea,
and on the other side you have the
Dead Sea. The western side you have the
Mediterranean Sea. On the eastern side you have
the Dead Sea, which is
it's it's not something which splits,
goes
from north to south all the way
down, you know,
connecting to a larger ocean,
but it's a sea between Jordan and Palestine.
So the point being that these cities, and
Dut alaihis salam, he went to these places,
and these individuals,
were involved in many kinds of sins. And
from the sins that they would commit is
that
they
were people who would wait,
for travelers to come close to their towns
into their villages,
and they would attack them, they would interrupt
their journeys,
they would kill them, they would, rob these
travelers who are simply passing by.
And also,
as we mentioned,
they were
individuals who were attracted to the opposite gender,
and they would commit acts of luwat,
okay, which is
intimacy with somebody of the same gender, a
man with another man. And
Lut alaihis salam,
he was ordered by Allah to call these
people back to the worship of Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala, and the story of Lot alaihis
salam is mentioned in a number of parts
of the Quran, in different parts of the
Quran.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, he mentions the story
of Lut alaihis salam in Surah Surah Surah,
and he says,
That the people of Lut rejected
the messengers,
and they were branded liars. They were considered
to be liars. Just as
previous messengers and previous prophets of Allah, as
those of you who've been coming regularly
are aware and know,
and even if you haven't been coming, you
understand that when messengers call
to the worship of Allah, when messengers
call their people to to tawhid and to
the oneness of Allah, they initially will reject,
and this was the same with the messenger
of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
And so the people of Lut alaihi wasallam
were no different in that they rejected the
call of Lut alaihi wasallam.
And Lut alaihi wasallam would call them to
the worship of Allah, and he would say,
Allah says,
When their brother would say to them, Don't
you have any fear?
I
mean, verily I am a sincere,
honest,
trustworthy messenger that's been sent to you.
So fear Allah and obey me.
And we'll notice,
when, whenever the messengers and prophets were sent
to their people, the first thing that they
would call to was the worship of Allah.
Belief in Allah.
Actions sincerely for Allah,
doing things for the sake of Allah, staying
away from
those things which Allah has forbidden.
Regardless of what crime they used to commit,
and regardless of what, you know, action they
used to do, which wasn't
pleasing to Allah.
The most important thing was
acknowledgment
of the existence of Allah.
Obeying Allah
commands, worshiping Allah.
And this is important because
when
a person's,
moral compass changes,
and he starts
to commit sins,
thinking that these things are correct, and these
things these things aren't wrong, there's nothing wrong
with them,
then his moral compass
isn't decided by what Allah has ordered him
to do.
So basic there's other things which are dictating
what's right and what's wrong for him.
And so when you redirect a person's moral
compass into him understanding that Allah is the
one who created him, Allah is the one
who knows what's good for him, Allah is
the one who knows what's bad for him,
He's going to do whatever Allah has ordered
him to do, and stay away from those
things, which Allah has told him stay away
from.
So it's very important to understand
that as Muslims, we have this moral compass,
which is from Allah. So our morality, meaning
how do we know
what's right and what's wrong?
How do we decide?
What is it that tells us?
And for us as Muslims it's Allah.
And so whenever Allah tells us something is
correct or something is incorrect, something is right
or wrong, something we should do or something
it's something we shouldn't do, then that's something
that we accept.
Why do we accept it? Because it's part
of our faith. It's part of our iman
to believe that Allah is the creator and
the all knower,
and the one who is all wise.
So when we are Muslim and we declare
ourselves to be Muslim, what is the word
what does the word Muslim mean?
The one
who submits, the one who submits to Allah.
You're submitting to what? To the will of
Allah.
As opposed to submitting to your
desires,
as opposed to submitting to your lusts and
things which attract you, and things which your
instincts tell you to do, because you just
feel like doing them.
So when you as a Muslim submit to
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, you're recognizing
Allah is the one who understands me
and knows me better than anyone or anything
else.
And if Allah has told me something is
good or something is bad, then that's something
which I'm going to accept, it's something which
I'm going to try my best to avoid,
or try my best to do if it's
something which I'm supposed to do.
And the more you try to do what
Allah has ordered you to do, the higher
and stronger your iman goes.
And the less you try to obey Allah,
the weaker your iman will be, and the
more confused you'll end up becoming.
To the extent where, if you continue to
disobey Allah,
and you don't do what Allah asks you
to do,
shaitan may come to you and you may
start questioning
why certain things are wrong, or why certain
things are right.
Why are we supposed to do certain things?
Why isn't this thing allowed?
Whereas a person should be thinking Allah, because
Allah is the most knowledgeable, whatever he has
decided has to be the best.
Because if Allah isn't deciding for us, then
who is deciding?
Ourselves,
other people, society,
you know, other influences,
human beings
who are not perfect,
they make mistakes.
Okay. The the moral compass if it's not
judged by if it's not judged according to
what Allah has told us, then it's going
to be influenced by something else.
So
it's very important to understand
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and belief in
Allah and obedience to Allah is the most
critical and the most important thing.
Because it gives us everything that we need
to live our lives in the best possible
way according to the fitrah.
The natural inclination of the human being.
And when a person goes away from whatever
Allah has ordered us to do, then he's
going to go away from the fitra.
Whether it's in his habits of how he
deals with people or with regards to intimacy,
or with regards to, you know, food and
drink, or you know prayer,
worship, family,
you know, whatever the case may be. It's
going to be affected because you're now saying
that something else or someone else
has more of an understanding
about this aspect than Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
does.
And the moment you start to do that,
that's when you start to question
albeit indirectly
Allah
knowledge.
Because when you're saying Allah
doesn't understand, this person understands something more than
Allah,
you're questioning Allah's knowledge. You're saying Allah doesn't
know it or Allah doesn't didn't elaborate.
Didn't make it clear for us.
Allah doesn't know this issue or this topic
as much as, you know, a, b, or
c.
So when Lut alaihis salam called his people
to the worship of Allah, that's the most
that's the primary thing, and especially when you're
giving dawah, when you're calling people to Islam,
there might be many issues which a person
has doubts about.
Okay. Women's rights,
slavery in Islam, for example, capital punishment,
you know, animal rights.
There might be all kinds of questions that
a person may have, okay, about Islamic issues,
issues relating to Islamic law, whatever the case
may be.
But
if
his belief in Allah
is affirmed, meaning if he actually starts to
understand who Allah is, and the qualities of
Allah, and the power of Allah,
and how Islam is based on the worship
of Allah first and foremost, more than anything
else, more than it's more important than any
other issue.
Once that's done,
then he's basically more or less accepted Islam.
Because then it's just a case of him
understanding
that the prophet Muhammad was
sent as a messenger from Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
And once he accept Islam,
once he believes and understands and has full
conviction
that this Quran was sent by Allah. Allah
is the all knowing, the most powerful, the
all knowledgeable,
the one who is most wise, the one
who understands us the best. Anything which Allah
has told him, anything which Allah has told
the person to do or not to do,
he'll accept straightaway.
He won't question anymore,
because he has accepted the most important thing
in Islam, which is
worship of Allah.
So this is why we have to understand
when the messengers of Allah, the prophets of
Allah would call people to the worship of
Allah, first and foremost the primary thing,
it's there for a purpose, it's there for
a reason. Because everything else really is secondary.
Everything is secondary.
A person could agree with Islam, a person
could agree with aspects of, you know, how
we worship and how we treat our women
and in terms of, you know, the way
we eat halal food and how we worship
God in a specific way and we show
humility
and akhlaq, etc, etc. But he might not
be Muslim.
Why won't he be Muslim?
Because he doesn't believe in Allah. He doesn't
understand Allah. He doesn't know who Allah is.
He doesn't understand the attributes of Allah. He
doesn't know what the qualities of Allah are.
He doesn't understand the most important thing. Even
though he may accept and he may consider,
it's time to have praiseworthy things inside of
it.
So this is why the worship of Allah,
making people aware of the oneness of Allah
is so important.
Salut alaihis salam, he will call people to
the worship of Allah, fear Allah
fear Allah and obey me. And he will
tell them, he would say,
I seek of you no reward.
My reward is none except with Allah, the
Lord of the universe.
And then he would tell them about the
crimes that they're committing.
Do you approach
men out of all of the creation which
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given you.
And you leave that which Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala has created for you.
From your spouses, from the opposite gender.
Rather you're a people that have transgressed. You've
overstepped the bounds. You've overstepped the limits.
And so
they would respond and they would say,
If you don't can if you don't stop
whatever it is that you're saying, if you
don't stop
the things that you're saying and the things
you're preaching to us, you're going to be
from those people who are gonna be expelled.
We're gonna throw you out of our city.
You're not gonna even be here anymore.
So society at that time had a way
of life. They had a way of living.
There was a norm in society,
and he was the one who was the
outcast. You know, he was the one who
was saying something which wasn't part of the
norm.
And so they said, if you don't conform,
if you don't conform to the way we
are and to what we're doing, then you're
basically somebody we're not gonna accept. We're gonna
reject you. We're not gonna accept your thinking
and the way you're behaving and these ideas
that you have. And so
Lut alaihi salam, he responded and he said,
he would tell
them,
I am from those people who abhor the
practices that you have.
This act that you do and the killing
and the robbing of the travelers that you,
that you
meet,
you know close to your cities, etcetera.
And he would make dua and he would
supplicate to Allah.
And of course
the messengers would continue to call people to
the worship of Allah, and they would continue
to tell the people not to commit those
sins that they're committing.
Those evil deeds that they're committing continuously.
It wasn't just a case of them doing
it once or twice or 3 times or,
you know, for a week or for a
month.
This was a long term thing that they
would do. They would live a life of
righteousness
in a society which was committing sin.
And on top of this, they would advise
others to also worship Allah and to live
a life of righteousness and to stay away
from those sins that they're committing.
And so
it was something which he was doing on
a continuous basis,
until eventually,
there was nobody from his town
who accepted
what he was saying.
No one from this town accepted
his
call to the worship of Allah and to
stay away from these sins that they were
committing, not one person.
And in fact
the situation became so difficult
that even people from his own family
were not believers, were not worshiping Allah.
There were also people who agreed with
or they conformed or they accepted,
and they didn't think anything was wrong with
these acts which the people of Lut alaihis
salam would do. His own wife.
His own wife was somebody
who didn't worship Allah. She was somebody who
never accepted
and took on the message of Lut alaihis
salam. And so he supplicated to Allah
and he said
Oh Allah, oh my lord save me and
my family from the actions that they're doing.
Save me from those actions that they're doing.
So Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala he saved him.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saved him and
all of his family. Except
for an old woman who was amongst those
who stayed behind.
Meaning his wife.
His wife is being referred to here as
the woman who stayed behind.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala continues and he
says,
and we utterly destroyed the rest of them.
And we sent down upon them a rain.
And what an evil rain this rain was.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala continues and he says
verily in that is a sign.
And most of them, but most of them
won't believe. Those who see this sign,
they won't accept and they won't believe even
though these signs are in front of their
eyes. And
scholars and historians, they say that the Dead
Sea today
isn't the same as what it used to
be,
because initially it was smaller than it was
after this punishment and this adab of Allah
came upon these people.
So when this adab came, it basically
became part of the Dead Sea. The land
in which they used to live and they
used to commit these evil acts was basically
destroyed, and we'll talk about the the punishment
of Allah that came upon these people. But
the land was destroyed and it was basically,
sent under the water
eventually. And so it became part of the
Dead Sea. So the Dead Sea extended,
and this land was basically nowhere to be
seen. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he says,
verily your lord,
verily your lord is immensely mighty and the
most merciful, the most compassionate.
Rahim.
Rahma,
this attribute of Rahma is mentioned with Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala,
even though
he's punishing a people.
Why is it a mercy from Allah if
he's punishing people as a result of the
sins that they're committing?
First of all, if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
punishes an individual,
a Muslim, a believer
in this world for a sin that he's
committing,
then it could be the case that Allah
forgives him in the akhirah as a result
of punishing him in this world.
And when we look at society,
if society is being harmed
by others,
and those people are punished by Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala, it's a mercy for the rest
of society, for the rest of the world.
Because the rest of society now,
the rest of those people living in that
land aren't being affected, aren't being harmed
by those people who are killing them, who
are harming them, who are oppressing them initially.
Now that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has dealt
away with them.
So this is where the mercy of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala comes.
We already mentioned
that Luth Alaihi Salam's wife
was a disbeliever.
And Ibn Kathir, he mentions that Luth Alaihi
Salam had 2 daughters,
and his daughters were believers. They were people
who believed in, Luth Alaihi Salam's message. And
we said that he continued to call people
to,
to worship Allah and to,
stay away from these evil actions which they
would do,
and he was patient even in the face
of adversity.
They continue to disbelieve him. They continue to
mock him until he supplicated to Allah,
asking for Allah's mercy, asking for Allah's punishment
upon them, asking for some way out.
Meanwhile,
Ibrahim, alayhis salam,
is living in the desert with his wife,
Sarah, alayhis salam.
And while they were there,
angels
came to see them in the form of
men.
And he mentions that,
these angels, it said,
mentions this in his
that it was
Jibril,
Mikael, and Israfil,
who were the angels who visited.
So when they came to Ibrahim Alaihi Salam,
he didn't assume or think that they were
angels because they came in the form of
human beings.
And so he accepted them. He took them
in his own home, and he was hospitable
to them. He presented them with food,
and
when he presented them with food
and they just sat there, they never took
the food and they just looked at him,
he became scared.
Because when you're hospitable to somebody and you
enter people into your own home and they're
strangers to you, you don't know who they
are, but you want to show hospitality,
and you put food in front of them,
and they don't take the food,
you may become scared because you may think
they have other motives.
Like, for example,
they're going to
kill you
because they're not take not taking food is
a sign of
hostility,
sign of possible aggression,
that maybe they have evil intentions instead. So
he became afraid, and that's when they told
him don't be afraid. We are messengers of
Allah giving you glad tidings of a child,
and that's when he was given the glad
tidings
of a child.
And
then Ibrahim alaihis salam had the following conversation
which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions in the
Quran.
He says to them,
What is your job? What are you doing
here? What is your errand? Where have you
been sent?
And they said,
We've been sent to a guilty people, an
oppressive people, people who are committing sins, committing
crimes.
And they said,
except for the family of Lutz.
So the only exception
is the family of Lutz, alayhis salam, from
all those people.
And,
some,
mention
that there are about 40,000 people.
Some say 40,000 people, some say less, some
say more,
who are from these people, who are committing
these crimes.
And the only people who are saved were
the family of Lut alaihis salam.
Except the family of Lut, we're going to
save all of them. We're gonna save every
single one of them.
Except for his spouse, except for his wife.
She is the exception.
We've decreed
that she will be from those who will
stay behind.
She's not going to be saved.
And so
when they came,
when the envoys came to the household of
Luth,
Luth alaihi salaam
became worried when he saw the angels eventually
traveled to him and come to his city.
But Ibrahim, prior to this, Ibrahim when he's
having this conversation,
he says to them,
he says Luth alaihis salam in another place
in the Quran, he says Luth alaihis salam
is there. He's with amongst those people.
And,
Ibikathir, he says
that it could be the case that Ibrahim,
alayhis salam, according to some narrations which Ibikathir
mentions,
he pleaded with them not to destroy
the whole of the,
tribe of of Sodom, the the nation of
Sodom,
because Lut alaihi salam was from amongst them.
And so, it said that he
requestingly asked, if there were a certain number
of people who are believers in that in
amongst those people, in that area, in that
nation, in that in that town,
then would would they be saved?
And the angel replied, yes.
And then he said again, if they were
fewer in number, if they were less people,
would they be saved? And they replied in
the affirmative. Until he went down to Lut
alaihis salam.
Verily Lut alaihis salam is from amongst them.
Just one person.
And so they
said, We know who is from amongst those
people. We know who is in that town.
We know is
there.
The point being,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent these angels to
destroy
the people of Lut alaihis salam.
And from the miracles which Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala,
is showing here,
is how he saved
some
from that town, from that society,
even though the majority of majority of them
were those who were committing crimes. They were
committing sins.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saved those who were
righteous, even though they were few in number.
Even though the majority of them,
99% of them were those who are committing
sins.
And this shows us the importance of remaining
steadfast,
continuing to worshiping continuing to worship Allah,
not giving in and following the norms of
society
just because everybody else is doing it or
just because a person is influenced as a
result of what other people are doing.
So the angels,
they made their way
to
Sudom where Lut alaihi salam was.
And when they came, ibn Kathir he says,
he says that
they approached
a lake
just outside of the city,
and Lut alaihis salaam's
daughter was there taking water, collecting water.
And she saw them approach and of course
when angels take the appearance of human beings,
they're beautiful.
They're very beautiful. They they take the most
beautiful form.
So when they approached,
they asked
they asked
her about where they could stay in this
town,
And she left and she went home and
she told her father, oh father, there are
people outside who are looking for someone to
take them in in a in this town,
and I've never seen anyone like them. Meaning
in terms of their appearance, in terms of
their beauty. And so Lut alaihis salam, he
panicked,
and he was scared and he was worried.
He became anxious, he became stressed,
because his people
had told him
if any men come to our town,
you're not you're not allowed to be hospitable
to show hospitality to them. We're going to
show hospitality to them,
because of what they wanted to do with
the men.
So they said, if any men come,
you're not allowed to take them,
to be hospitable to them, to greet them.
Okay. We're gonna take them and we'll do
as we please. So
when they came,
and they spoke to his daughter and his
daughter told him,
okay, who they were and what they were
asking and where they were and how and
what their appearance was like. Lut alaihis salam,
he went out and he met them and
he tried to dissuade them. He tried to
stop them
from coming into the town.
And he tried to explain to them, the
people in this town, but of course these
these were angels and they had a specific
goal in mind. They were given a specific
task,
and so he continued to try tell them
to go somewhere else or to not enter
the city. And when they continue to enter
the city, when they didn't leave,
he felt it was his duty to take
care of them.
Otherwise,
because he doesn't know they're angels, they'll be
taken and they would be harmed.
And so he says to them,
you are a people who are and you're
ignorant, you don't know.
You're people who aren't aware of the situation.
You don't know what's going on here.
And so they said,
Rather we have brought you that concerning which
they have been in doubt of.
Meaning the punishment which they are in doubt
of and they weren't sure of, and they
rejected,
and they didn't think it would happen.
We are coming
to to you
with that punishment which they rejected and which
they had doubts of.
And we are here with the truth and
verily we are the from the truthful.
So now
they've told Lut alaihi salam their intentions. Another
section in the Quran
talks about and tells us
what
happened
when they were in the when they were
in the home of Lut alaihis salam.
So when they were in the home of
Lut alaihis salam,
The people
word got out as a result of Lut
alaihis salam's wife
finding out about these guests. These very handsome
guests who had entered the home of Lut
alaihis salam. And so she went out and
told the people
that there were
guests secretly staying in the house of Lut
alaihi salam. So they came,
and they were surrounding the house of Lut
alaihi salam.
Rebekathir says that they were knocking on the
door and they were pushing the door to
the extent that he was holding the door.
He was on the other side of the
door,
telling them
not to do whatever it is that they
intend to do, stopping them from committing this
act that they were going to commit.
And
as this was happening, and of course you
can imagine the stress
and the anxiety of Lut alaihi salam in
this situation.
It also shows you his strength.
You know, his mental strength, his uprightness, his
character.
You know, how he's willing to obey Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala where basically they have surrounded
his house and they're almost going to enter
and they could potentially kill him.
But he's showing his faith. He's showing his
iman, and how much he's willing to try.
And
this is
when
the angels,
they spoke to Lut alaihi salaam,
and they said, yeah, Lut in,
Oh, Lut, we are
messengers from your lord,
and
they won't approach you, they won't harm you,
they're not gonna cause any distress to you,
they're not gonna cause they're not gonna kill
you, they're not gonna hurt you.
And
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about how
eager they were to enter.
Allah says,
that they demanded
from him his guests.
They wanted the guests of Lut alaihi salam
for themselves.
So we obliterated
their eyes,
so taste my punishment,
and this was the warning that was given
to them.
This was a warning.
And in the Kathir he says that this
punishment,
which Allah describes as obliterating their eyes,
it said that Jibril alaihis salam
beat his wing,
the tip of his the tip of his
his wing once,
and as a result of him beating his
wing once,
it affected their eyes where they weren't able
to see.
And so they retreated,
and
they made their way back home by touching
the walls and figuring out, you know, which
house,
they were touching and they were holding on
to, and they made their way back home.
And also it said that they promised
that they would come back the following day
and finish what they had started finish what
he had started.
Also, says
that,
other narrations mentioned that when Jibril,
beat his the tip of his wing, that
not only were the eyes
blinded,
but
that the complete feature of the eyes basically
ceased to exist. It was completely obliterated,
as if they never existed in the first
place.
So the eyes basically it was as if
they weren't even there.
So this was the extent of this punishment
which they were given initially.
And so
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he tells
us when they left,
Jibril alaihis salam,
he told
Lut alaihis salam
Set out with your family
in the night.
Keep yourself
behind them.
Meaning keep moving away,
don't turn back, and don't turn around, and
don't go back to your town.
And don't
not one of you should turn around.
Okay? And so Ibn Kathir mentions that this
could potentially mean, meaning physically not turning around
and turning back and going back to the
place where they came from.
But also he says,
not turning around when you see the punishment
of Allah
descending upon them.
Not turning around when you see the punishment
happening to them.
And
keep going ahead as you've been commanded to
do.
And so,
when the time came, they left. And
when they left,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
he
punished them, and this punishment that he gave
them was unlike any punishment that he had
given anybody else.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
he says,
that a mighty wind,
a mighty
blast, a mighty wind caught them at sunrise
as the sun was rising.
And it turned the land. The land was
raised up where they were,
and the land was caused to turn upside
down,
and it was pouted.
It it rained, but this rain was a
rain of clay.
And it pouted these people.
So a mighty wind came first, and also
Ibn Kathir mentions a type of earthquake which
took place as well.
The land was raised up, and it was
turned upside down. To the extent Ibn Kathir
says
that the roofs
and
the the the higher parts of the buildings
which they lived in were the first ones
to hit the ground.
When when when everything was turned upside down
and it came back down to earth, when
they were destroyed in this manner.
Okay. Allah says,
We made
the uppermost part the lowest part.
So this was the punishment that was given
to them.
And we rained down upon them stones of
baked clay. Allah says in another ayah,
that we sent down upon them stones of
layered hard clay.
He says
that
each,
piece of clay
stone of clay had,
the name written down of who it was
going to hit and who it was going
to afflict and who it was going to
kill.
And this town basically ceased to exist
up until the point that it became part
of the Dead Sea, meaning it's basically underground,
and that earth and that land isn't a
land which is of any benefit.
It's not something which is of any use,
of any benefit, and even the water of
the Dead Sea, it says it's very very
bitter. It's very salty water.
So it's something which is of it's not
of any, of any specific use for anybody.
So Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala when he mentions
this, the story of Lot Alaihi Salam and
the punishment which came upon them. He says,
Verily this is a great sign or these
are great signs for those who have intelligence.
Meaning a person with intellect, with understanding,
will recognize
the message behind these punishments which Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala gave these people.
And verily
this place lies along an old route. Meaning
it's something, it's a place where it's known
where it happened and,
it's still around today. Meaning the areas, it's
still known where this adab of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala took place.
Allah says verily there is a sign in
this for the believers. So this is a
story of Lut alaihis salam
and what happened to the people of Lut
alaihis salam. And as I mentioned,
you know, we we live in a society
where,
people are free to do whatever a person
wishes to do. Whatever a person does wants
to do, whatever whatever he feels like gives
him happiness and gives him contentment.
And as Muslims living here,
we have to understand, first of all, as
the messenger of Allah said,
that the Muslim
abides by the law of
abides by his conditions.
The Muslim abides by his conditions. So if
you live in a certain land,
and
you're living in a place
where there may be certain laws which are
contrary
in principle to the laws of Islam,
then you have to abide by the laws
of the land that you're living in as
much as your as much as you have
to do.
So for example,
car insurance,
just as an example. Car insurance is something
which in essence is haram.
It's not permissible.
It's not permissible to have car insurance,
but because it's a necessity,
and it's a crime if you don't have
car insurance
living in this
country, if you don't have car insurance, you're
a criminal.
In essence, you have to have car insurance
because
it's part and part of living in this
land.
So the point being there are certain things
that as Muslims living in these types of
countries in the west,
we have to do as a result of
us living here.
And
as I mentioned,
as Muslims living here,
we
may come into people come into contact with
others
who aren't Muslim,
who don't have, the same views as us,
but also
we have to remember that the messenger of
Allah
would come across individuals
from all facets of life, from all backgrounds,
from all with all kinds of illnesses and
diseases, all kinds of problems in society.
But one thing that he had was this,
quality of tolerance.
He was able to tolerate,
he had this level of tolerance and being
able to deal with people,
regardless of what kind of sin it was
that they committed.
For example,
a man came to him once and said
I have committed zina, and
the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, he
ignored him.
Even though he's confessed his inner,
and he came to him a number of
times,
until eventually this man was punished
because he wanted to purify himself from this
sin.
But the point being
that the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam
would show tolerance to people who would come
to him telling them, telling him about the
sins that they've committed.
You know, grievous
major sins in Islam.
But as Muslims,
we learn to show tolerance to others
just like the prophets and messengers of the
past would show tolerance to their people. Just
like Dut alaihis salam,
would show tolerance and patience to his people,
calling them to the worship of Allah to
the extent
that they're trying to knock down his door.
He's telling them not to do what they're
doing because it's something which is harmful, it's
something which is evil, to that extent.
They're breaking down his door,
wanted to get to those people who are
inside of the home,
and he's telling them not to do it.
He's trying to call them to the worship
of Allah, trying to tell them not to
do whatever it is that they're doing, to
that extent. The point being
that in Islam you have this case of
tolerance.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells Musa alaihi salam
to go to firaoun.
The one who claimed to be God himself.
Let alone committing shirk.
He's claiming he's God.
And, you know, speak to him with soft
words, be tolerant with him.
And this is with somebody who's claiming to
be a God,
which is the most serious the most serious
crime anyone could commit.
So the point being there's a level of
tolerance that a person has, and in Islam
tolerance is something which Muslims have had from
the time of the messenger of Allah.
And as I mentioned,
if someone chooses to do something,
that's a choice they've decided to do. And
in Islam,
you can't force someone to do something that
they don't want to do because it's a
case of sincerity, it's a case of Ikhlas.
Okay? It's disingenuous
for someone
to do something
when
his heart isn't set in doing that specific
action.
And
as Allah
says,
there is no compulsion in religion.
No one can force anyone
to do something until he ultimately accepts and
understands
that is something which you should do or
it's something which you shouldn't do. So when
we look at laws in Islam,
such as for example,
homosexuality.
In Islam, this is something which is impermissible,
just like we mentioned in the in this
in this in this class, in this in
this lecture, when Lot alaihis salam
spoke to his people.
Okay.
Do you approach men
lustfully with desire as opposed to women?
So it's something which is impermissible,
the act of luwat,
the act of a man having intimacy,
okay, with another man.
This is something which is haram, it's something
which is impermissible.
Likewise, it's something which isn't permissible in Christianity,
and it's something which isn't permissible
in
Judaism. In Orthodox Christianity and Judaism, it's something
which isn't permissible.
So
when we look at, as I mentioned before,
the laws in Islam, where do they come
from? They come from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And if we were to question why
something is right or why something is wrong.
Yes there's wisdoms behind something being good and
something being bad.
And sometimes there's no wisdoms, and we don't
understand why something is a certain way. Why
do you pray 5 times a day? Why
not 6? Why do you do tawaf 7
times around the Kaaba? Why not 6 times
or 8 times?
Why?
Sometimes we understand the rules, sometimes we don't
understand the rules. But what
we have to do as Muslims is understand
that Allah
rules are perfect.
Because Allah is perfect.
If we start to disagree with the laws
of Allah, we're disagreeing with Allah's perfection.
And that's a question of one's iman now
in Allah, and what we believe about Allah.
So it's something that we have to remember.
If something is declared haram by Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala, it's always going to be haram,
unless somebody is forced to do something.
That's a different issue.
Or somebody, you know, is compelled to do
something,
because, you know, he may die. If he
has to eat, you know, haram food because
he may die, or he's forced to,
because he may be killed by someone if
he doesn't eat haram food, for example. That's
a different situation. But generally speaking,
if something is haram, then it's haram,
you know,
today as it was a 1000 years ago,
as it will be, you know, a 1000
years from now. So the ruling stays the
same, because rulings in Islam don't change according
to how society is and how society changes.
Because human beings, their whims and their desires
and the things which they like and dislike
will change over time,
and norms in society will change. You know,
before Islam in India,
1000 of years ago,
if the husband died,
the woman was expected to burn herself alive.
It was it was expected.
It was a norm.
If the woman didn't do it,
it was a it was a problem. It's
like, what are you doing?
Why are you still alive?
Why why would they do this? Because it
was a case of showing loyalty to the
husband.
It was this case of I love my
husband so much that I can't live without
him anymore.
So now that he's dead, I'm gonna burn
myself alive.
Okay? No chance of any any of that
happening today.
Okay. But in those days, it was a
norm. It was normal. Just because something's a
norm, does it make you okay?
Does it make it correct?
No. That was a norm in those days.
The point being, norms will change over time,
And so just because norms change over time,
doesn't mean now that right and wrong changes
over time according to us as Muslims, because
right and wrong is always gonna be right
and wrong, regardless of the the time period.
Because laws are from Allah, Allah is eternal,
Allah's judgment is eternal, Allah's laws are eternal.
Okay. Allah's knowledge is unlimited,
Allah's wisdom is unlimited.
And so when Allah tells us something is
good or bad, it's for a specific reason.
So
you may have people today
who will question why this specific act isn't
permissible. Why isn't it allowed? Why shouldn't it
be allowed?
Okay. And there's different arguments that I've mentioned.
They may say for example, it's a natural
thing. They may say,
I am inclined naturally
to be attracted to people of the same
gender.
I'm attracted to men.
I'm not a man, I'm attracted to men.
I'm not attracted to women. That's just the
way I am. It's the way I've been
created.
But just because it's in one's nature
to be attracted to something,
doesn't mean that it's now permissible
or or that it's okay.
Because it may be natural for a person
to swear.
He may have a natural tendency to just
swear.
He may have a natural tendency to kill
someone. I'm not equating homosexuality to killing somebody,
but the point being,
in some cases, we know the story of
the person who killed 99 people.
Was it in in his nature to kill
people?
Yes.
He killed 99 people. It was in his
nature to kill people.
Just because it's in one's nature to do
something
doesn't necessarily mean that it's something which is
right, or even something which is wrong.
Okay. Because one's nature could be inclined in
a certain way.
A person could be inclined into doing something
which is wrong.
So just because something is natural doesn't mean
it's okay. A man will desire to do
all kinds of things. You could be you
could have desire to kill somebody, you know,
to harm somebody, to steal something, to smoke,
to drink,
to take drugs,
to shave your beer, to do whatever.
Just because you're inclined to do something, it
doesn't mean now that that's something which is
allowed, or it's something which is okay.
Because every single individual will have these desires.
You know, somebody might be inclined, there's something
called kleptomania.
Kleptomania is when a person is inclined to
steal. It's it's in his nature to steal.
He just can't help himself. If he goes
into a shop or somebody's house, he just
has to steal. He has to steal. It's
in his nature.
Just because it's in his nature doesn't now
mean that it's okay.
Doesn't make doesn't justify
something being right or something being wrong. Also,
the other argument may be that it's something
which I have decided to do for myself.
It's a choice that I've made,
and it's not something which is
harming anybody.
And it's my own choice. It's something which
I've decided myself.
If you are a Muslim,
then you choose as a Muslim to submit
to Allah. And if you choose to submit
to Allah, you're choosing to submit to submitting
to
the rules of Allah, Subhanahu wa ta'ala, those
things which Allah has told you to do
and told you not to
do. So the more you obey Allah,
the the more
and the the higher your iman is,
the more righteousness
a Muslim will have, because he's doing whatever
Allah has told him to do or told
him not to do. He's staying away from
those things which Allah has told him not
to do.
And the less you do those things, the
further away you're going to be from the
mercy of Allah, the compassion and the love
of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. So when you
choose to be a Muslim, you're choosing to
follow a set of laws
that have been mentioned in the Quran and
the sunnah.
And when you choose to follow those sets
of laws,
you can't pick and choose. Yes. It's possible
that a person can commit sins. Everyone commit
sins. So a person may end up doing
something haram. But just because he does something
haram doesn't mean now he's justifying doing that
haram act. That's a separate issue.
Doing something haram and saying something haram is
halal are 2 separate things.
You can accept that you have these weaknesses,
and you can accept
that those things aren't part of Islam.
There's some there are things which are Haram,
but there are weaknesses that you have.
And
just because a person
has a choice and he chooses to do
something,
doesn't necessarily make it right.
You know,
if a mother
chose
to have an intimate relationship,
okay, with her son,
is that something which is acceptable? Is that
something which is good?
No.
So just because somebody chooses to do something
and,
you know,
he or she and the other person are
consenting,
it doesn't necessarily mean that it's something which
is right.
Now if we
compare those two things, a man having relations
with another man,
okay, and they're both consenting,
what's the difference between
something like this and something like a man
having relations with his daughter, and they're both
consenting?
They're both adults, they're both consenting. What's the
difference?
If you look at it from the perspective
of
consenting adults doing something which is of their
own choice, and it's something which they feel
is is naturally,
you know, something which is natural inside of
them,
What's the difference?
Why is it that one thing is okay
and the other isn't?
But you see that's a very dark path
to go down,
because then everything is gonna be questioned.
Everything's gonna be there's no moral compass like
we talked about.
What are you basing your decisions on? How
do you know what's right and what's wrong?
You're questioning every single thing now. Anything could
be allowed. There was a debate between a
man, a Muslim man in in in in
in Speaker's Corner. He was on YouTube, and
he asked this very same question. He said
if he was and he was a homosexual
person he was talking to. And he said
to me, if it was a man
having relations with his daughter,
would you accept that? And of course, because
he himself was a homosexual,
he had to say yes.
He said, I would never problem with that.
He had to accept
it. Why? Because he's in a predicament now.
Because if he says no, why isn't it
okay? Because it's not natural. Well, if that
if that's not normal, if that's not natural,
then
your situation isn't it's a similar kind of
situation.
Also,
some may say that
there are animals
that have been found in every species
who have shown attraction to the same gender,
and so this also shows that it's something
which is natural.
But like we said before, just because something
is natural
doesn't necessarily mean that it's good
or that it's allowed.
There are animals who kill their children when
they're born.
Now if someone did that as a human
being, you're not gonna say that's okay.
You can't use animals as a reason to
justify
something being okay or something not being okay.
The black widow spider
is a female,
and when it finds a mate,
and after it,
mates
with a male spider,
it kills its male it it kills the
male spider. That's why it's called a black
widow,
because it kills the mate once it, once
it does the deed. It basically kills the
male spider.
Okay? And then it lays its eggs.
Now obviously, that's in in in nature. That's
in amongst spiders.
I don't think anybody would accept,
you know, a woman marrying somebody and killing
them killing them after being intimate with them
and then moving on to somebody else.
That's not something which you can equate. Just
because it happens in nature doesn't necessarily mean
that it's something which is permissible,
outside of
outside of nature in, you know,
in amongst human beings. But also they'll use
this because, of course, nowadays, you have, atheism.
You have the theory of evolution.
And so they'll say as animals,
as animals, we as animals, this is what
they'll say, we as animals, okay, we'll also
be inclined inclined in this way, just like
other animals are. But of course, as we
know, we as human beings are separate creation.
We have honored the son of Adam.
Allah has honored
the human being more than He has honored
animals.
Okay. He's given us. He has given us
this honor. He has given us this status,
this power, this dominance over other,
creation.
Also, they may,
say that this should be allowed
because nobody's being harmed. It's not harming anybody.
If there's 2 consenting adults who are willing
to have this relationship,
then what's the harm? It's not causing any
harm.
In Islam,
one of the things which the sharia has
come to preserve is
hefgun nafs,
preservation
of the self.
So before it before thinking about what harms
other people,
you have to look at what harms yourself.
And when we look at what harms yourself,
it could be physically,
it could be
mentally, it could be spiritually.
Because if everyone
started to do drugs, and they're not harming
anybody else, you're just doing drugs yourself,
It's affecting society.
You're in a state now where you're not
able to function, taking care of your family
members,
okay, working.
You're not in a society, in a community
where
people are now
productive.
People aren't in a peaceful
society
where they're supporting one another and there's safety
and security.
It's not happening
because of this,
addiction problem.
So the self is more important than society.
Allah says, you who
believe, save yourselves and then your families from
the hellfire.
So the self is even more important
than everything else.
And this is why in the sharia,
and
preservation of the family, the family unit, the
mother, the father, the son, and the daughter.
Statistics show that a person
from a broken family
will grow up more inclined to crime as
a result of him not having a mother
figure or father figure in his family, in
his home.
It has an effect, because the mother and
the father have different strengths and weaknesses.
You know, the mother shows this affection, this
compassion, this love, this tarbia, this, you know,
this this,
education,
and the father will have the sense of
discipline.
Generally speaking, that's the case.
Okay? Not that one is better than the
other, but the point being that they both
bring something to the table. And when something
is missing, it affects the child,
and that's why
statistics also show this. So
having a look at all these arguments that
I made,
we understand,
first of all,
that
in Islam,
this is something which
isn't isn't permissible.
But we also have to remember
that
it is something which is affecting our society,
and there are Muslims in this society, and
there are Muslims
who are inclined
towards
these kinds of tendencies where they're attracted to
the same gender.
And
the question that arises, is it possible for
a person to be homosexual and to be
a Muslim?
Is it possible?
Okay. Is it possible for a person I
see people shaking their heads.
Is it possible for a person to smoke
or to take drugs and to be a
Muslim?
If you're smoking, are you are you are
you a Muslim or not, if a person
smokes? Yes.
He's still a Muslim. He's not because he's
smoking.
Otherwise,
most a lot of Muslims here will be
won't be Muslim.
Be careful, guys.
If a person is drinking, is he still
a Muslim?
In essence, he's still a Muslim.
Is he committing a sin?
Yes, he's committing a sin,
but he's still a Muslim.
The only thing that takes a person outside
of Islam is
shirk,
and that subhanAllah shows us the seriousness of
shirk
compared to everything else, because now your moral
compass is gone because you're looking at other
things to to follow.
So if a person is committing an act,
okay,
of liwat with a person of the same
gender, is he still a Muslim?
Yes. He's still a Muslim. He's not a
kafir now.
Is he committing a sin?
Yes. Is he committing a major sin? Yes.
But that doesn't take him outside of the
fold of Islam. He's not a kafir now
as a result of him committing this specific
act.
And that's what we have to remember.
When
people came to the messenger of Allah sallahu
alaihi wa sallam,
like I mentioned, they confessed that they had
committed zina. He didn't say, you know, you
you're a kafir now.
He didn't execute them because they were disbelievers.
Okay? So when a person commits a sin,
that sin doesn't take him outside the fold,
that's what the Khwarij said. They say when
a person commits a sin, that's it, he's
outside the fold of Islam, if he commits
a sin.
But in Orthodox Islam, if a person commits
a sin, he's still a Muslim, but he's
committed a sin.
You're sinful,
but you're still a Muslim.
And I've heard cases,
I've heard from people who've told me that
people have come to them, Muslims have come
to them.
Okay? And it shouldn't surprise us,
where they've told people, counselors and other people,
Muslim counselors,
chaplains and, you know, whatever the case may
be, that they have tendencies and feelings of
attraction towards the same gender.
Now in this kind of situation, what would
you do if someone came to you with
that kind of question?
You have to have some wisdom.
Go to Fir'aun with soft words.
Fir'aun isn't
worse. Fir'aun is worse than these guys. These
guys aren't worse than Fir'aun.
And the fact that someone approaches a Muslim
with these
issues,
shows us that this person has a level
of
iman in his heart.
So we have to understand as Muslims, we
have to be very wise.
We have to understand
that somebody approaches us as a Muslim with
these kinds of weaknesses,
is that somebody approaching somebody
confessing of being addicted to drugs, being addicted
to stealing, being addicted to do something else,
which is haram.
Smoking whatever is.
It's a crime. It's haram. It's a sin.
It's a major sin,
but it's something which doesn't take him outside
the fold of his tongue, and you have
to give him advice.
So
it's possible that a person can be Muslim
and he could be a homosexual, it's possible,
but he's committing a crime. He's committing something
which is haram,
and
you treat that person
with tolerance.
You keep connections with that person. You advise
that person
to make sure that he doesn't end up
being disowned by a society where he can't
even come to the community anymore, and he
ends up leaving and going to other people
who would accept him, namely
the LGBT community.
So we have to be wise when we
think about these kinds of issues
because it's affecting us in this city.
These are issues affecting Muslims today.
It shouldn't surprise anybody.
Don't be surprised when you hear that there
are Muslims who are homeless who have these
kinds of tendencies,
and they're fighting, they're battling with these kinds
of issues.
You know,
empathy.
You know, it's hard to put yourself in
in that position, but just imagine how hard
it must be when you have those kinds
of weaknesses.
You know, when you're you're you're giving into
these desires,
imagine what kind of a trial it must
be.
So some advice
for those,
for those who are in this situation where
they're having these kinds of urges, they're having
these kinds of they're having these kinds of
desires
to do these kinds of acts.
First of all,
the fact that they're recognizing these weaknesses is
a sign,
okay, that they're one step closer towards
resolving that issue.
Okay? Now if a person has these tendencies,
it's like another man having tendencies to be
attracted to the opposite gender, which is mostly
the case.
We're all attracted to the opposite gender,
but we lower our gaze, we stay away
from those things which are haram,
and we marry, and we have relations in
a permissible, in a halal way. So likewise
somebody who has these tendencies,
if he has the ability,
and he has attraction to the opposite gender,
he should marry.
And he should try to suppress those tendencies
as much as he can, because if he
does do those haram things, he's sinful, it's
haram.
So he does whatever he can. If he
isn't able to marry,
and he doesn't feel any attraction to the
opposite gender, then he should live a life
of celibacy
and not give in to the desire of
committing
haram with people of the same gender because
that's something which haram is gonna be sinful
for that.
So he does whatever he can to limit
and to suppress those,
desires, those urges,
which he may be feeling.
And finally brothers and sisters,
again, I repeat the importance of, tolerance.
And you know, being
Muslims who are approachable,
and showing tolerance. Because I've heard myself about
people who approach,
brothers who are practicing,
and they'll tell them.
They'll say, I have and they'll be very
graphic
straight away,
you know, about
having issues with,
you know, relations with the same gender,
or I've I've committed zina, or I've done
something else. And they'll be very graphic,
because they want to see the person's reaction.
Because they know they've been to other imams,
and they've said similar things to people in
the past, Muslims,
and they've been met with the cold shoulder,
anger,
humiliation, embarrassment,
and so they're basically left.
They don't go back to those messages or
see those people or meet those people anymore.
And so they just wanna see their reaction.
And so when they respond in a measured
tone, these brothers that I know, they're surprised,
and they say, I didn't expect this from
you.
I never expected you to behave in this
way, to be so calm and collected, because
every time I've gone to somebody, they've just
they've got angry, they've gone angry, they've, you
know, started to shout at me and
told me to leave and get out, etcetera,
etcetera.
And so when you build this level of
communication, you can help them, even though they're
committing something which is haram. And that's the
case with anything, drug addiction,
or alcohol addiction, or whatever the case may
be. So we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
that Allah keeps us steadfast on the religion,
and that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala helps
those who are suffering from these types of
sins, and these types of haram urges. That
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala aids them, and assist
them, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala provides for
them a way out.
We'll take 3 questions, inshallah, if there's any
questions?
Any questions?
So the companions, they differed
amongst themselves with regards to,
the punishment of
somebody who committed,
this act. But again,
this would go back to the case by
case basis, early Islamic country,
and it would depend on,
because these types of acts are acts of,
which means it's at the discretion of the
judge
for him to decide what kind of punishment
would take place.
It depends on many things.
So the brother is asking, did Lut go
back to, his people or go back to
Ibrahim
after
the punishment?
I don't know.
I didn't come across anything after
the people of Lot, alayhis salaam, were destroyed.
Allah knows best what happened afterwards.
Any more questions?
So your brother is asking what advice would
you give to our young, brothers and sisters
to
stay on the right path and to specifically
you
mean
so I was asking how can you, you
know,
give advice or what can you do for
the youth to protect them from these kinds
of,
issues in society. So, you know, a lot
of these,
a lot of these things are,
what's the word,
magnified
as a result of the media,
as a result
of promiscuity
being rampant in society.
So things which are the norm now,
in terms of, you know, sexual habits or
whatever the case may be, weren't the norm
20 years ago, 40 years ago.
You know, because when people start to do
haram acts, or people start to be more
and more promiscuous,
it's not
enticing enough.
It's not stimulating enough, and so people will
go down,
you know,
will go down other routes to find something,
which will stimulate them.
So when you stay away from as much
as you can,
you know, you know, films and these kinds
of TV shows which promote
promiscuity.
This is one step
towards, you know, safeguarding
safeguarding our our families and safeguarding our youth,
and it's it's a difficult thing to do,
especially in today's society,
and Allah knows best.
Yes, last question, Insha'Allah.
So I teach in a secondary school. I
teach RS,
and I do this same topic.
It's a problem because
the examination boards.
Yeah, I teach in Islamic school, so it's
slightly different, but,
AQA or, Edexcel, these examination boards, their textbooks,
they will have these things in them. Okay.
And if you know your stuff as a
Muslim,
okay,
sometimes these books can help you.
Because you can give one perspective and you
can give the other perspective and as Muslims
living in today's society,
they need to understand that there are different
points of view, there are people from different,
you know,
walks of life,
who are growing up in different,
you know, atma, in different different ways, influenced
by different things.
So when they grow up, and when the
Muslim youth grow up, they're in a situation
where if they're confronted with somebody who does
something haram,
they're able to interact with that person fully
aware
of the fact that he himself as a
Muslim is confident enough to know that what,
what his beliefs are
are correct,
and what that person is doing from his
perspective is wrong.
Okay. The problem is nowadays we don't have
that, this is insecurity,
and I think one of the reasons for
this is because we live in a bubble.
Muslims live in a bubble. We don't interact
with non Muslims.
And so when somebody asks a simple question
about Islam,
okay, you know, what do you guys do?
What do you guys believe in? We start
panicking.
Like we don't know what to say. We
start panicking as if we're being attacked about
in our faith or about Islam. We don't
know what to do. It's a simple question.
Like, we should have enough confidence as a
Muslim to be able to answer those questions.
So in schools, it's a perfect way to
make them understand
that perspective
at the same time responding and giving the
Islamic point of view to every single point
that they mentioned in those in those textbooks.
Yeah? Same thing with atheism, evolution, those things
that I mentioned in those textbooks, because I've
done those myself. You mentioned those those points
that the atheist brings about, but you respond
to them.
You respond to them,
and so you're answering every single issue, every
single question they have about atheism, about evolution,
about, you know,
homosexuality, whatever the case may be. Capital punishment.
There's lots of issues.
There's lots of issues, and Allah knows best.
If you come to me afterwards, inshallah, maybe
you can exchange information
and I can help help you
more inshallah.