Bilal Philips – Radio Islam Interview in Malawi
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of learning the core of Islam and following the way of Islam to avoid accusations of fraud. They stress the need for proper knowledge and researching the source of Islam's influence, as it is crucial for education and growth in businesses. The speakers also discuss the benefits of lowering interest rates on Islamic banking and the importance of learning conventional law to avoid accusations of fraud. They encourage listeners to learn Islam properly and share their own experiences with it.
AI: Summary ©
Salam Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh My name is MacPherson molana, welcoming you to a special program in which I'm featuring Dr. Rod Phillips, who is a Jamaican Canadian Islamic scholar who was converted to Islam in the early 70s. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies in Medina and Master's in Islamic theology in area and a PhD in Islamic theology. In University of Warsaw, UK, Dr. Bradley Phillips has written translated and commented on over 50 books on various Islamic topics. He has also taught Islamic Studies and Arabic in a variety of universities, and has presented Islamic programs on the majority of global Islamic TV channels. He is ranked among the 500
most influential Muslims in the world for his establishment of i O, you welcome Dr. Phillips to Malawi. And welcome to register. My pleasure to be here, thank you for giving me an opportunity to share with the people of Malawi, I'm unable to finish your credentials, but there's a lot of things out contribution that you have done to Islam. In your background, I'm seeing something like he you converted to Islam in era 70s. To begin with, what was the journey like for you to become a Muslim? Well, you know, as you mentioned, I was born in Jamaica, so I was born in a Christian family, I was raised as a Christian. And
in university in Canada, my family had migrated to Canada, whilst I was there, studying in University majoring in biochemistry, I got involved in the Student Activities, political, you know, student activities, against war in Vietnam, and these type of things that in those days, and I fell under the influence of the communist movement. So from there, I became a communist, actually, for a number of years, promoting supporting communism as a way to change the world, to make things better for human beings. Christianity, of course, the values of goodness and charity, and these types of moral values were good, but it didn't have a system, it didn't have a way to implement, you know,
government, it was focused only on
the godly affairs, as opposed to the worldly affairs, you know, the principle of leave on to Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God, what is God's that separation, so, I didn't see it as a means for changing society. So communism offered that means to change to improve, I became aware of, you know, the history of slavery and, and the decimation of the Native American population by, you know, the system came from Europe, and wanting a system which was better than capitalism, which seemed to be so ruthless. And so, you know, devastating to much of the world. So, after journeying with communism, for some time, I came to realize that there were many gaps and problems and issues that
it also had, it didn't really fulfill what it claimed it would, communism wasn't able to compete with capitalism, you know, and if it was a superior system, then we should have seen that economic competition, you know, happened, but it wasn't able, there are weaknesses there. And then the the harshness of the communist system, you know, in terms of dealing with subjects, the people of this state, you know, the massacres of Stalin in Russia and the massacres of multitone in China, and these are very disheartening. So in the end, I felt there must be another way. And I began to look again, beyond communism. And this is when Allah opened the door for me to Islam to see Islam
properly, because I'd seen Islam before, through the black Muslims, you know, Elijah Muhammad,
back in, existed in America for the 50s 40s, and so on. But, and I knew that that was nonsense, you know, it couldn't possibly be
a religion of God because of its concepts. So I got a chance to see Islam true Islam for the first time, in the early 70s. And once I studied it,
from all of the various perspectives, I quickly accepted it. Then the main book, which
affected me was the book of Muhammad Cotto, which he wrote called
in Arabic, it's called super hot Khalid Islam, the name
English they translated it as Islam the misunderstood religion. Okay, listen, if you're just joining us, this is a special program discussing Islam
privilege to host Dr. Bill Phillips in the program. If you have a question, we'll be getting your questions and comments via SMS 0885257918 is the number to send your questions and comments. 0885257918 is the number you can send your question or your comment on our discussion this morning. Now, Doctor, let me take you to the word stage. Now there is a mixed reaction to what people are saying that Islam is at crossroads, some of the view that Gee, we have come to that stage due to the enemy's waging war, ruthless war on Islam, and some are saying Muslims are the number one enemy of Islam. What is your check the circumstance, world circumstance today, in my view, is that the
awareness and the awakening, which is taking place in the Muslim Ummah, has naturally come in conflict with those that would not like to see that take place.
I've been from one end of the Muslim oma to the other,
except for Malawi. And what I've seen, in my travels is that people if you go back 50 years, you know, the consciousness that people have of Islam today is 100 times greater than it was 50 years ago. So there is an effort being made by Muslims throughout the world to set up Islamic schools, set up Islamic institutions, you know, consciousness, International Islamic universities that have appeared, you know, that so there is a constant growth and awakening that is taking place in the oma and of course, the forces that be don't want to see that happen. Because the potential for the Muslim Ummah to rise and, and become a nation among the nations of the world, where it's really the
resources of that oma, which is much of what is being exploited today by the western civilization, would no longer become accessible to them as it is today. Now, where Muslims are confused, are at each other's throats, governments are destabilized, and all these type of things, that leaves the door open for continual access to our resources. In the end, I feel that this I mean, that's the driving force. I mean, I don't see it as say, for example, a war of Christianity, you know, like the Crusades or whatever, I don't see it that way. I see the western desire to, to control the Muslim world, as one of pure economics.
They built themselves on our backs, and they want to continue to keep that status quo, the status quo. I was on your website this morning. And you have published a lot of books, one of which is touching on soccer.
This is a month of Ramadan, where many I encourage you to pay. What do you have to say on payment of some Muslims ignore it? Well, of course, this is one of the five pillars of Islam, to ignore it, is to not practice Islam. Because Islam really is something which is complete. You can pick and choose of Islam what you want to practice, because once you start to do that,
for example, maybe you will only pray on Fridays, or you only pray during Ramadan in or are you. For women, for example, they may cover themselves up for religious occasions, but outside of religious equations, exposing themselves or you know, all of these various the various matters that are concerning Islam and community of Islam, where we pick and choose, we're no longer practicing Islam. It becomes what I called my lamb. Instead of Islam becomes my lamb. You know what, for me, of Islam that I
cherry picking the sum of 42 part time Islam Yes. When there is no such thing Allah tells us, oh, talofa, Cilmi Kapha come into religion is of Islam completely. We can't have one foot in and one
without, you know, Allah is not going to accept that on the Day of Judgment. It's either you are a Muslim, and you accept everything there is means that that you're able to do everything, he will have failings, you will have weaknesses, you commit sins. I mean, all of that is there, we have repentance to purify ourselves and various acts of repentance, we have had, you have ombre, we have so many different things we can do to help to purify ourselves. So we're not expected to be angels, free from sin. But we should be committed to the whole of Islam. That's Islam. Anything less than that, as you said, is part time Islam. And there is no such thing. Greece today is in very big
trouble. It has to pay IMF and the European Union banks about $1.7 billion dollars, dollars or euros.
But people are saying it has come out of it has been accrued from Riba, what should Muslims learn from such a situation?
Well, the situation in Greece is not much different than the situation in most Muslim countries around the world and most third world countries around the world were colonialism of the past, which required physical presence of European
representatives, and armies, etc.
has been replaced by economic colonialism. So this is the route by which the West Western civilization continues to hold or to have a stranglehold on the third world through debts,
pushing them into huge debts, offering mega proud projects, which are, you know, very beautiful, nice for the leaders to claim look what we build, look what we did, but they're beyond their means to pay it back. So and these loans will come with Riba with interest. And they eventually reached the point where they can no longer even pay off any portion of the principal, they're only struggling to cover the interest payments, and then it becomes bigger and bigger and bigger, and it's just a mountain over our heads. This is the product of living beyond your means. And this goes right down to the credit card, that the bank tries to get you to have that credit card, make it
available to you. Why because that credit card allows you to buy what you don't have the money to buy. And when you do that, they've got you. They've got you in the interest payments. So many people who look at America, for example, way back in the 90s, I remember seeing the statistics, there were over 4 million Americans living in the streets, homeless, many of them
ended up in that situation because of credit cards living in that world beyond their means. And then all it takes is for you to get sick, you lose your job, you can't keep up with the payments, then it's like the house of cards that just crumbles. And then you end up in the street, you your wife, your kids, you have no place to go homeless. So if that can happen in the richest of the countries of the world, the most powerful, then imagine what's happening in the rest of the world.
I was very interested in the quotation a I wrote from your website without the proper knowledge of Islam, Muslims end up doing things that are against the very teachings of Islam. What should Muslims take from this? Well,
Boko Haram,
ISIS,
Taliban,
Abu Sayyaf,
these various groups that have appeared amongst the Muslim Ummah
committing atrocities,
you know, murder, mayhem, blowing up, people places, all in the name of Islam, we have to say, this is a product of a great ignorance. Because Islam has nothing to do with this. This came from another ideology, actually it is more akin to communist
theory and approach. Che Guevara you know, Castro, that's there way blow things up, explode this grab power, but this wasn't the way of Rasulullah sallallahu wasallam. This was not the way of change if Prophet Muhammad Salah man wanted to
in Makkah, he could have gathered around him Hamza
Ahmad, eternal hottub, and the other powerful, strong warriors, and had cats caught the leaders of Quraysh in their majlis, in their sitting and killed all of them and taking power. He could have done that.
But he didn't. He struggled. He was patient. He and his followers suffered in Mecca for 13 years until the door opened up for them in Medina. And with that opening Islam spread in a community that was open to
change. And that was the revolution that changed the world.
That was the way the way is through education as my university, the Islamic online university, I owe you. motto states, changing the nation through education.
This is the prophetic way. Yeah, coming to the university that you have just mentioned. Why did you come up with that idea of setting up the university?
Well, of course, the need for setting up Islamic universities is an ongoing need. We need one here many here also in Malawi and many other countries where there are Muslim minorities. They should have their own universities also, there's this general need for spreading knowledge and this is a part of the Prophet Muhammad's asylums. instruction to us tolerable enemy for either Allah, the Muslim seeking knowledge is compulsory for every Muslim. So those who are in a position to help make that knowledge available, because the prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him. It also said Heroku meant Allah Khurana Allah, the best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it to
others. So on one hand, we are obliged to seek knowledge, to know the religion, we shouldn't just follow what everything but it does, what our parents did, you know, we should know our religion. And at the same time, we should engage in spreading that knowledge to others. So from the time that, you know, I graduated with my bachelor's, I became a teacher, my both of my parents were teachers anyway. So it was you could say. So I mean, I became a high school teacher of Islamic Studies and Arabic. And, you know, so I was in the process of teaching from the very beginning. And
it was just a matter of time I became a university professor, I set up departments of Islamic Studies in different universities in the UAE. Eventually, I set up a university first underground, in India, in Chennai, India, in 2009, I set up a university president International College, which is Islamic University, which has been up and running since then till today. And I set up also Islamic schools. Eventually, I came to realize that the future of education was going to be online, on the internet, not in the building of physical buildings, because the physical buildings cannot fulfill the need for education in any country of the third world today.
Malawi, from the statistics, I heard from the ministries of the Minister of Education, etc, you know, no more than 20% of the students who graduated this year, we'll find seats in the conventional universities. So the only way forward really for that 80% if they want to get higher education, will be through online study. This is the only opportunity that could fulfill that need. So I realized this much earlier, from 2007. And I launched University online learning as I went in 2010, we started to offer bachelor's programs and began with shehryar. But we ended up also teaching bachelor's in education, in psychology, in Islamic banking and finance, etc. Going into information
technology and business administration. Basically, we're looking to teach everything that can be taught online for the oma so Alhamdulillah from the time we started in 2007. Today, we have now over 200,000 students from 225 countries in the world studying with us. If you're just tuning in, you're listening to a special program discussing Islam on radio Islam education for the nation. And I'm hosting Dr. Bilal Philips. Yeah, if you have a question, you can forward your question via an SMS 0885257959180885252579
One eight, a question or a comment for the doctor to help you I in areas you may want him to clarify or to help you understand.
Let me take you to Yemen is a bit controversial, but it has to be spoken out. Saudi Arabia and allies are waging a war on Yemen.
On a group they believe
the sponsor that are being sponsored by Iran, and the whole issue seems a bit complicated. What is your take? So I'm saying
the enemy of Islam is to taking advantage of divisions in Islam to wage war on Islam? What is your comment on that?
I would say that the situation in Yemen,
one has its own internal issues. It's not something purely from the outside, you know, for example, say the situation in Iraq,
before American entrance, Iraq was stable,
and then be the leader might have been very dictatorial, and all these other factors, but the country was stable, like Libya, like Libya. But, you know, people from the outside came, and in the case of Libya, different from that of Iraq,
you know, Iraq was attacked, its leader was, was killed. And the country now fell into the hands of the Shia or Shiite majority, fully supported by Iran. So what the Sunni world sees is that Iraq, which was a Sunni,
which is the majority of Muslims in the world, a Sunni nation, because that's what it was originally, anyway,
was destabilized, its leader assassinated. And it was turned over now to Iran.
Yemen seems to be following along similar lines, and that destabilization taking place within the country.
The revolt, or we could call it military takeover, you know, is coming from a particular sect of Shiites, who,
who are sharing the same beliefs as those of Iran, they're getting the support, and, you know, we see a military takeover taking place.
Of course, Saudi Arabia and other countries of the peninsula, you know, don't want to see that take place.
So they have been trying to stop it,
to block it. And that struggle is ongoing from that perspective. But,
you know, we, we have seen Historically, the, the movement of
promotion of Shia Islam in different parts of the Muslim world
as something on an ongoing spread, you know, which is being very carefully orchestrated, you know, from Tehran, you know, even though we do have in Iran, Sunni minority of about 35%
they are completely disenfranchised in the country, you will not find a Sunni mosque in Tehran,
in spite of the fact that they're 35% of the population.
So, there are issues, okay. Okay, I have a question here. But let us play this clip. And the question is coming from this clip of your voice,
cultural baggage, customs, and traditions, which prevented them from accepting the message of Islam.
break the shackles of customs and traditions of break the shackles of desire to please ourselves and to please others, free our minds so that we can become a true Muslim.
The question is coming from Ishmael hurry devalues and saying Dr. Phillips once said that's that it is a scourge a customs and traditions
which prevented people to accept Islam? Can he clarify that point for us? Well, the most classical example is that of the uncle of Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam himself. You know who, in spite of knowing that Prophet Mohammed may God's peace and blessings be upon him, was a prophet of Allah,
raising him knowing who he was as a person, and as a messenger of God, what you find is that he did not accept Islam because of culture, customs and tradition. His brothers encouraged him not to betray their tribal beliefs, their traditions, not to disrespect their customs. And he died in a state of disbelief as a result of it. And this is repeated in many places around the world where people may know that Islam is the truth. They've seen the evidences, etc. they've understood, but they don't accept it, because of fear of going against tradition. So this, these traditions, we're talking about, really on Islamic traditions, traditions, which keep people locked up in false ways
of life, false ways of thinking, etc. You're listening to a special program discussing Islam and I'm hosting Dr. Pillai. Phillips, if you have a question for it to via SMS 280885257918, we're in the month of Ramadan. As a scholar of Islam, what should people know about
maximizing the collection of snowboard woods in this month of Ramadhan? What should they do? Well, I think we need to keep focused on the main goals of Ramadan, you know, again, we have the tendency of being caught up in tradition and rituals, where they're most easy to do
your morning meal, your breaking of the fast, not eating between sunrise sunset,
this kind of practice for that's not eating between the dawn and sunset, really, for common people, maybe not understanding the dawn, I mentioned sunrise, but the point is that
people in this month tend to overeat
which is completely against the spirit of Islam. It is the month in which people prepare special foods, you know, going into the fast they make, you know, big meals, they double budgets, you know, they gain weight in Ramadan, kamada, Ramadan, 510 kilos heavier than they went in, you know, so this, this is really against the whole spirit of Ramadan, you know, where we should be, you know, sacrificing our desires for food.
Because that's what it is, isn't it between the dawn and sunset we're not eating during that whole period of time where we're sacrificing that which is halaal because actually, it's permissible for us to eat and drink. But we sacrifice that in order to build our willpower to
avoid what is in fact forbidden. So that strengthening of the willpower is undermined by overeating.
So people might not might see that as one thing and fast and something else but in fact, they're interrelated. You know, so, my general advices let us try to fast the way the profit margins are solid, Mr. Fast used to begin the fast with three dates and water.
Most people said no, no, that's how he broke his fast. No, it's also authentically recorded that he used to begin the fast with three dates and water as well as break the fast for three days in water. So this was telling us something that we come in light and simple, and we leave the fast light and simple this is control as for three course meal, for savour in the morning, three course meal for iftaar.
We have lost our way. That is find our way back. Good lessons. Indeed they are from our guest, Dr. Pillai Phillips, there is another comment here say it's coming from lemak Island from Marina mangochi say,
first I wish him the best And may Allah guide and protect and protect him every day for accepting Islam to be
his religion,
best wishes for you.
Thank you, for for.
And also, the other one you say May Allah bless you for visiting Malawi has interest in Islam, but still wishing you the best and
feeling happy that you are finally in Malawi, because they have listened to your lectures since the inception of this radio in 2001. So
having you in Malawi is a very big excitement for many of us. After 911, we've seen
many people coming to Islam, the more people talk bad about Islam,
the more people are coming to Islam.
As a scholar, what is happening?
Actually, as I mentioned before, there is a general awakening
among Muslims, they're becoming more and more conscious of Islam throughout the Muslim world. And with that consciousness, naturally, the message of Islam is being spread more and more
the attacks on Islam that are intensifying with every decade, these are a consequence of that rise, they are not the cause of the rise,
they are a consequence of the rise. So you know, as they say, people only throw stones at trees that have fruit,
you know, you want to get the mango,
it's high, you throw a stone and knock down the mango so you can eat it. If it has no mangoes, you're not going to throw any stones at it.
So likewise, what Islam has
to do with that rise, people start to attack it more and more as it becomes more and more successful.
So
when they try, of course, as a lot of promised, you know, people will not be able to put out the light of Allah, because Allah will
make it complete. He will carry that message to all of humankind. And Hamdulillah, the radio,
television and most powerfully, the internet. Because you have to think about the internet. When it came, it came at a low point in Muslim in the Muslim world with regards to media.
We had no controls, no very little control in the media, very little impact in the media. The Internet gave the average Muslim the ability to spread the word of Islam,
to anybody who would listen.
And hamdulillah I think the internet over the last two, three decades, you know, has played a major role in the spread of Islam globally. And that is why also the Islamic online university focused in this area for accessibility of knowledge, the idea of trying to disseminate Islamic knowledge to the oma make it as easy as possible for them to access it.
You have a number of questions here. Let's say this is coming from
Elina Mati in image injury. He's saying how is how is Islam responding to sinful actions of the so called superpowers?
Well, it's not the issue of Islam response.
If we talk about Muslims response,
there's very little that the Muslim world can do at this point in time. And this is why I encourage people to focus on education, that much that area, we can work hard, there's a lot that can be done to spread correct knowledge about Islam, and, you know, all of the various disciplines
to be made accessible to the oma to build itself. This is where the focus needs to be. What's happening with our leaders, Muslim leaders, etc. You know,
they have their own political issues that they deal with and they respond as they choose to respond. It's very little that we as individual Muslims can do. And that's where our focus should be really, you know, what can we do? So in those fears, where we don't have any means to do anything, we don't spend too much time we try to utilize and manage
semis are energy in the areas where we can make a difference. educate our oma
talking about education, the saying what strategies are set to 412 wants to pursue an Islamic
say in Islamic studies or Islamic Studies at your, at your university, you know some coma from bizarrely,
it's very simple, you just have to go online
www iou.edu dot g m, that is i o u.edu dot g m. And you can register there, choose the courses that you wish, whether they're free diploma courses, or the courses and the courses in Sharia. We even have courses in memorization of the Quran. We even have ijazah programs, where people who have memorized the Quran but don't have teaching certificates, which we'll call the jazza. You know, we provide that for those who complete the course with us. And we offer courses, as I mentioned before, in education, in psychology, in Islamic banking, and finance, as well as in Arabic. So all of that is accessible. And for the bachelors programs that we offer. We the charges are very, very low. It's
only $120 per year, here in Malawi.
In African countries.
There is a very big problem about leadership in Islam rangos rangos, in a day in day out triangles and triangles, we should lead Muslims and the like. And people ask some times people feel like this was not happening the time of the Prophet, some of the view that he leadership problem started after the Prophet died and this cannot continue to live on and to the last day.
What should Muslims do?
to do away with the challenges that we have in terms of leadership, mostly in Africa,
where it's the most in Africa, it's globally, you know, the, the problems of leadership, a, we have to consider that the situation of the Muslim Ummah, today is his product of the colonial era where the oma has been split up into bits and pieces. And you know, each element is given its own identity. People tend to be nationalistic, tribalistic and all these other
ways of thinking, collective thinking, which are in fact against the teachings of Islam. Were the problems that Solomon said, Man dial alasa via for less a minute, whoever calls to nationalism, tribalism is not the true Muslim. You know, so with these nationalistic, tribalistic approaches, naturally, the oma can't come together, they're struggling to be able to come together and work together but the masses of Muslims given the opportunity would happily want to be together, we meet together and Hajin we see it, people from all nations, all tribes coming together. And we're, you know, one huge family there in Mecca. So we know that the the will of the Omar for that is there.
But you know, unfortunately,
in this point in time, our leadership is not responding to that. Will that desire and has its own agendas?
Listen, if you have a question or a comment 240-208-8525 7918 and I'm hosting Dr. Abu Amina Bilal Philips, I think I've mentioned the correction.
Okay, any any comment or question 42 08852571918? What is your question or what is your comment?
To us our discussion, we're going to the end of the program, but as you see, we still have some time that you can, for your question, we'll be able, the doctor will be able to help you because some questions of course, we cannot take them they're coming but we cannot take them in this program. Because of the nature of the controversy that is proposed in the questions. We cannot we cannot put the doctor to respond to those questions. But questions that
mostly that will help do the oma yeah for them to 0885 to 57918. We have you have written a lot of books
given a lot of speeches and lectures in different parts of the world.
Mostly,
what is the core of your messages that you always give what you have seen you have written on Islamic law, written on the foundation of Sonic studies that purpose of creation? Did God become mine is their true religion?
Daniel payment of zakka book, the book on thick hate Islamic law Made Easy menstruation and postnatal breeding, there is a lot that you have written. But what is the quote that Muslims should pick from all these? The core basically is learning the foundations of the religion, you know that whatever we do in Islam should be based on knowledge. And not just on tradition, and custom. Because this is one of the big stumbling blocks that the Oh my face is it's in our times that traditions have built up to such a degree now that most people cannot distinguish between what is Islam and what is tradition. They assume that whatever Muslims do are is Islam. And of course, it's a big
mistake. You know, Islam is what Muslims are supposed to do, not necessarily what Muslims are doing. So I'm basically calling Muslims to, to be Muslims, first and foremost, to know what Islam is, whether it's in areas of law, whether it's in areas of marriage, whether it's in areas, economics, or whatever field that's involved, we need to have fundamental, correct knowledge in order to effectively
implement the various areas of Islamic learning and teaching. And this requires an effort on our part. But if we're honest to ourselves, whenever we want to set up a business, we don't just jump into that business without having made proper research, checking, you know, its viability in the marketplace, these kinds of things. We can do all kinds of studies, to make sure that that business is going to succeed. When it comes to Islam. We feel like that's okay. Anything goes. But we know if we did that in our business, our business would fail. Don't fool yourself. If you do that with Islam, your Islam will fail also. Sure, sure. It's beautiful. 00885257918 what is your question that
the doctor can be of help to you today? Is that i don't i don't know when you come back but we have him industrious has another question here. We have problems in differences of schools of laws, whereby some nations or families choose a model have a method to follow. Thus, some can have doubt in registering in what in registering he hasn't finished or she hasn't finished. But
I don't know that's talking about differences in the schools of law. I thought maybe, maybe maybe they're talking about, we guess assuming that the online university Islamic Studies, maybe anything to do about mother Hubbell, maybe they're directing the question to that level? Well, the Islamic online university respects all of the math hubs of the great Muslim scholars of the past, we follow the way of Abu hanifa of Imam Malik of Shafi, Ahmed and humble, you know, we follow all of their ways we respect them, we do not call to, you know, the abandonment of the rulings which they made and the scholars who followed them, etc. You know, this is sort of some people have spread sort of
rumors that we are, you know, enemies of the math hubs, which is quite far from the truth.
But we don't take one particular math have to be the madhhab of university, students are free to choose themselves, they will study fit, they will study, you know, Shetty out study, economics, whatever from all of the opinions of the great scholars of the past. And really, in the end, what is a Muslim required to do but to follow what he or she thinks is most accurate, most correct as far as they can judge, you know, if evidence is brought to them, and they are convinced by them, and they're taught by leading scholars of Islam, then they follow them, and then that's what people did from the time of, of Abu Bakar after Prophet Musa Salaam
Until today, I mean that is the Islamic way, because abubaker had a motto.
But nobody knows about the Abu Bakar madhhab. Today,
Amara Nakata vida Mata
who is following the Omar Madhava, the alma mater.
So the question is, well, what was the matter?
There must have was the madhhab of Rasulullah sallallahu wasallam. Because madhhab means way, way path.
And pseudonym means way path. So when we say we follow the Quran and the Sunnah, we're following the Quran and the madhhab of Rasulullah sallallahu. And that's what Abu Bakr followed. And that's what Abu hanifa followed. And that's what Ahmed followed all of the great scholars have sought to follow the way of Rasulullah sallallahu wasallam.
Beautifully answered there and someone is requesting the website, we have it here. Can you just repeat for you? w w www.iou.edu dot g m? I think it is like that? Yeah. So
should you have a problem. In fact, you can come over to radio Islam, we can give you the website.
They've left us a copy. They've left us with a copy, we'll be able to give you Korea so that you have the correct
registration of what it is like.
There's another another question here. Say we we have had differences on the issue of moon sighting in our country with some following this over the moon sighting or others argue against that, as a result we end up praying to eat on different days. Doctor, what is your take on that one? that's a that's a question on deciding on. Let us say that
following a global sighting
or following a local sighting
are both acceptable islamically
Some may prefer the local, some may prefer the global but in the end, what is most important is the unity of the Muslim ummah.
So my advice would be that we go with the majority. If the majority of Muslims prefer the local sighting, then the minority that looks at or prefers, the global sighting should just go along with that of the local sighting. This was the advice given by great scholars like chef beanbags. Shalu, samina and others that we go according to me the majority because the unity of the oma This is more important that we do eat together, that we start the fast together, we break the fast together and that's more important. You know, it is not the question of right and wrong, there may be a question of preference. And when those matters, then we have to give precedence to the greater principle and
that is of unity, as Allah described as omoton wahida. You know, that's how we should be one nation.
Another question here. Recently, there has been a rising on cause for Muslims have a hurry for? Don't you think it is time to take this course seriously, or wait for others like Islamic State militants in Iraq to capitalize on the absence of a hurry?
While the Muslim Ummah today is so scattered and splintered and broken up into bits and pieces that to talk realistically about the halifa is unrealistic?
We cannot do it at this time. What we need to do is to build Omar from the bottom.
Another question, how can you say about the so called Islamic terror groups in Africa and around the world? For example, Boko Haram
are the real Muslims or what is their their agenda? You know, sorry.
I think you have already taken that one. But I think you can just say I'm late, but no problem. We just as we mentioned earlier such groups that have taken a path Other than that, which was taught by the prophet Mohammed Salim and followed by the righteous scholars of Islam.
We do not say they're not Muslims.
But we say that they are misguided Muslims they are misguided
because the way that they're following is not the way of Rasulullah sallallahu Sallam who forbade revolt
and, and rebellion, because of the evil consequences that comes from it. And we can see it globally, what has happened in the Muslim world, where various revolts, the Arab Spring, etc, etc, failed. They all fell into failure in the end, you know, that we try to build the dean from the bottom, from the massive Muslims educate them, and when they're educated leaders will arise from among them, who will then take the oma forward. But to take violent means to try to grab leadership coup d'etat approach. This is the way of the communists not the way of Islam.
Yeah, from Mike jinga from Sochi, saying we have appreciated your efforts in elevating your Islamic religion, for instance, the online university and your knowledge about books? What is the future plans that you want to achieve or working on? Now they want to know about your future plans? What is your Yeah, where would you want to see yourself in years to come? I think they're looking for that answer. Well, relative to Malawi, of course, we would like to see the presence of Islamic online university, well established in the country providing, you know, an alternative source for education of the masses, who don't have access to higher education, and are such disenfranchised. The
government, I'm sure is looking into different
angles are different approaches to try to solve this problem. But from my observation, the only solution lies in online education. And we are in the forefront.
The Islamic online university is not specifically an Islamic University, meaning that we only teach courses on Islam, we are approaching all of the useful areas of of learning which are beneficial to society to communities. And that's really the future that I see for Islamic University, that we provide sufficient courses and programs utilizing, you know, the resources that are available to reach the masses of the people to make a difference in Malawi, to help the Muslim community as well as the community general community at large access
learning knowledge, which will be beneficial to building this nation. Another question he is coming from weisen kisara p im kiraz room he says
focusing on the Islamic banking you say only Islamic banking the Christian saying only Islamic banking to establish it needs huge sum of money to pay the workers to cobots Station and so forth and so on he wants profits and and in in a business now Islamic banking is an unprofitable he saying Islamic banking is now profitable, since there is no interest both on the banker and the bank. Where did
Where should Where did the money? Okay say Where did the money to us on all these issues that more people do have encouragement to open this bank to say make their own they want to know who asked Where does the finance running such bank from banks? Yeah. Because the you know, the to refer to the Islamic bank as being non profitable is a big mistake. This is not the case. The Islamic bank is a business. Banks are businesses, their business is to make money. Like any other business, their business is making money through money, as opposed to a business making money through certain other products which they may produce etc. So the bank is a business. Islamic bank is a business also. So
the fact that Islamic banks do not deal in Riba in interest doesn't make it not a business.
The realities economic realities, as any economist will tell you, the lower the rate of interest, the more robust and strong the economy is.
So lowering the rate of interest is beneficial. everybody recognizes that it's beneficial to
countries.
Islam says take it to zero. Why just lower? Why not just canceled?
And it is possible at first back in the 70s, when the idea was first floated.
The Western bankers laughed at it. They scoffed at it, they thought it was something ridiculous backing without interest.
How could that be?
Today in university of Harvard in the US, in Cambridge, there are seats for Islamic banking being taught. And most of the students who are studying in these universities are non Muslims. All of your major banks around the world today, Bank of London, Citibank, all of them have Islamic windows. So believes that if it weren't profitable, they wouldn't be doing it. Because banks are there for profits. Right? So reality is one needs to understand what is the part of the process of Islamic banking function? How does you know, how is the profits, you know, gained, but in general, we can say
Islamic banking is moral banking, it's banking with a moral Foundation, meaning simple explanation.
In a conventional bank, if you have credit,
we will give you whatever you asked for, I don't care what your product is, whether it's harmful to society, whether you'll get a profit from it or not, it's irrelevant. As long as you have credit, I'll give you the money and take my money back from you.
Whereas Islamic banking, first, when you come you want you have a project. The first thing the Islamic banking looks at is is this project, halal? or haram? Is it something forbidden in Islam or not? Okay, hello.
Second, it looks at is it beneficial to society or not? Because maybe it is helpful, permissible, but it's not beneficial, it may be harmful to the society from other perspectives may be beneficial to the individual who sets up the company. But for the society as a whole, it hurts them. So Islamic bank would refuse. So it has a moral Foundation, which determines the kinds of, of relationships it develops on an economic basis. So it is moral banking,
it and its profit sharing, and loss sharing.
So it's taking into account if you're going to lose, because, you know, factors beyond your control caused you to lose when we share that loss.
We don't say doesn't matter whether you win or lose, we want our money back. No, as we were ready to share in your profits, we should also be ready to share your losses.
Okay, another one is they're saying this is coming from Ishmael from blonde dressing is aka the cat watch on assets as well or on only on general savings.
It is what it is wajib on assets where the asset is a part of your saving. You know you have one house that you live in, you don't pay any back on your house, but you bought another house, this is part of your assets. Now, what is the purpose of that other house?
You want to make some money from it
until you start to rent it. You have to pay on that asset the value of the house when you start to rent the house, then you pay on the rent which comes back from it. Another one also on as I say is it correct to defer one's one's due date for paying until the month of Ramadan in order to maximize your sin from Zumba. It's perfectly okay to choose any day in the year to do your zecca
it should be after a year has passed. If you do it early,
no harm if you do it after the years past actually you're now breaking the law. You're now breaking the law. If you want to shift it to Ramadan and make it be Ramadan every year, then you work out if you are paying January every year
and you know want to shift it to Ramadan then you you work out the time lapse and clear this account for that time and then start from Ramadan.
Next Ramadan for example,
another question he has coming from Salim maponya want to know what's the major, the common problems of Muslims in different countries, the most common problem is ignorance.
ignorance of Islam, what really Islam is, and the dominance of traditions and customs that now cloud the image of Islam, in the minds even of Muslims themselves.
tribalism is playing a big role in that
traditional approach, which blocks people from understanding what really are the teachings of Islam?
Yeah, another one from a Zainab from area 36 in a long way, saying, what about plans to partner with another stakeholder a stakeholder in Malawi to establish an Islamic University?
And know how you're going to take that one? Because you said that this one is an online one, that this one, maybe they're asking the physical presence, I don't know how you're going to take it? Well, you know, we do hope to, to
establish a physical presence here in Malawi. And we are looking for those who would like to cooperate with us in making it happen so that they can be an official Islamic University here in Malawi, to represent the needs of Muslims and do as well as provide services to non Muslims in the country making no distinction between between them in terms of our educational offering.
Okay, and another one on banking still, is it allowed for Muslims to work in a secular and secular banks or law firms? Please explain in conventional banking and Muslims work well, in terms of law,
it is necessary for Muslims to learn conventional law in order to be able to function in a society which is not based on Islamic law, that is a necessity. So, that is legitimate. However, if there are aspects of the law, which harm others,
then you as a lawyer would not be able to practice those aspects. For example, if a criminal came to you
to be your defense lawyer,
and you know that he is a criminal.
You as a Muslim cannot defend him. I mean, because he's trying to get away with a crime in other words, right? If he's a criminal, and you just want to get get his rights, at least protected in the law, that's a different situation. But he has committed a crime. And there is a case against him and you know, he committed that crime for you to fight to get him off.
Basically, saying that he didn't commit the crime is not permissible. It's immoral.
I know from the legal perspective, legal profession, you know, you should be should be free to defend anyone and you defend their rights, etc, etc. But from the moral perspective islamically we have this other factor, which doesn't allow us to deceive because that's what you have to do in order for you to win that case. You have to deceive others deceive the you know, the the judge and the jurors you have to deceive them, you have to fool them into thinking that your client is in fact innocent. When you know full well he isn't
that something as a Muslim is reprehensible you cannot do it how are you going to stand before God on the Day of Judgment
Okay, the Christian it was extending to the banks can Muslims work in banks in secular banks, conventional banks, which is which involve Riba Muslim is not allowed to work in them.
Just like they're not allowed to work in a brewery, you know,
institution which produces alcohol, they're not allowed to work. They're not allowed to work in any place which
whose product is considered to be haram islamically. But for example,
in the case of say hotels,
a hotel may have alcohol sold in the hotel. Can a Muslim work in that in that hotel? Yes. If he or she is not working in the section which deals with the sale of alcohol because these types of, of businesses where you have a mixture
of
halal and haram. If the institution is fundamentally halal. hotels are fundamentally halal. Providing rooms for people to stay in a traveler's etc. This is fundamentally halal. So you can work there, you're cleaning the rooms, you're making the beds, you know you are in reception, etc.
Those capacities that don't involve alcohol, it's permissible for you to work it.
Whereas if the institution is primarily Haram,
for example, in the case with a bank, or a brewery, which brews alcohol, even if you're only the guard
standing at the door, it's not permissible.
Yeah, in the interest of time, we have
touched on a number of topics and issues.
How would you want to conclude?
Well, I would conclude with a general recommendation to the oma who are listening to
make an effort to learn Islam properly, and practice it and share it with your network of friends, relatives, neighbors, etc.
This is what is required of us to be true Muslims, we need to know what Islam is. Because otherwise, we may be deluded into thinking we're Muslims, when in fact, we're not. So we do owe it to ourselves, to know what it is we claim to be,
and to live that make Islam a way of life, as opposed to
a tradition done on particular occasions in particular places that particular times. Islam should be 24 724 hours a day, seven days a week.
Not part time, not part time. Okay. Thank you very much, doctor that you came to Malawi and you came to Islam for this program, so that he
you
of course, share with us what you did on Islam. I hope our dear listener also appreciates that. You made a tremendous contribution this morning.
I appreciate that you came. Thank you for having me. Okay, listen, that's it for today in this special program discussing Islam. I had Dr. Pillai Phillips in the program for the day maybe inshallah we'll be able to have him in the future in sha Allah we just making a dua that this shouldn't be. His last trip to Malawi and salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato. cultural baggage, customs, and traditions, which prevented them from accepting the message of Islam.
break the shackles of customs and traditions, break the shackles of desire to please ourselves and to please others, free our minds so that we can become a true Muslim