Speech at AMS award function

Okay.

Before acknowledging anyone we will start off by praising Almighty Allah subhanho wa taala. For all his favors that he has bestowed upon us says Allah in the Quran Winterhold Dona Amata la isla de la Sua. If you try and enumerate the favors of Almighty Allah subhanho wa taala, you will be unable to do so. Ascending salutations upon our beloved via Kareem sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. After acknowledging Allah subhanahu wa taala, and our beloved Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, it may acknowledge each and every one in this gathering each and every one is important. And this includes the Alama, the Board of Governors, the scholars, the students, and each and every one in all

protocols observed if I didn't want to make mention of everyone, I might miss someone that is important. Since this is to do with education, I just thought I will give some initial thoughts on education. And let me start off by saying that today we all are aware that there are various options that are available to people with regard to education. And when we talk about education and educational systems, we talk about various

options, whether it be the Derulo whether it be half as classes, whether it be the materials, whether it be just purely contemporary schools, whether it be the Islamic schools, and even today, we have online learning something that normally in the past, we wouldn't have even envisaged. But of course, today we have that also as an option and is a very viable option.

Now,

let me start off by giving an incident which multitap there was money, one of our greatest contemporary scholars have mentioned that when Pakistan was formed, he was his father was part of

a committee to look into the educational system

for Pakistan. So amongst the various options that were available to them was a purely dark room, like, for example, dark room Diovan or a mixture between the two something like that time was formula, you know, popular that network or whatever, for pure university system, illegal University.

It will be surprising to many that his father, the great grand mufti of Pakistan, did not call

for an educational system

that would be equivalent to the dark room of Diovan, he said no, he gave the example of the Tehran University which was detected was money says that from his research, not only was it the first university in Islam, but the first university

amongst humanity, the first university established. So in the caravan University, we found that within one structure, different disciplines were taught.

And he said today, if you go to caravan university, you will find the places of Cassia years who taught Islam and Sharia and if the roost who taught poet poetry and not philosophy, and those types of things, it is under one structure, one Institute. So he says that his father

recommended that that particular educational system be established in Pakistan. For whatever reason, it was not acceptable. And of course, today, we have the situation of the separation between contemporary and Religious Studies. Now, I'm not going to go into the pros and cons of that. Maybe there were reasons with regard to it. And maybe there was the system of Almighty Allah subhanho wa taala. That led to it. Perhaps it was the need that the team be preserved. So once it is preserved, it can be a guideline, and it can be an inspiration. If it were been perhaps,

brought into the system, it might have been compromised, but whatever it is, I'm not going to go into the pros and cons with regard to it. So that is what he had established that what he had suggested to the Pakistani authorities at that time, that there must be one Institute would teach teachers various disciplines. Now today, we are all aware we speak about the importance of Islamic education and everyone knows with regard to these a sacredness these are blessings with regard to it in each and every one every Muslim regards the knowledge of Quran and Hadith to be superior to be supreme. And we all know of the various virtues with regard to it man, Salah Catarina, yeldham is

Sophie Rima Subhan, Allah Allah otorrhea kanila Jana wherever seeks a path in in pursuit of knowledge, Allah will use in his path towards maybe a dream saw some set of fate

documenta lemon Khurana the best amongst you are those who learn and teach the Holy Quran. Now we come to a situation is we all are here we all know that we are in schools they are contemporary subjects that are taught. Now, what is the Islamic view with regard to these contemporary subjects?

Know, you know one of our greatest callers in our history one because

he has written that any branch of knowledge which is indispensable for the welfare of mankind. It is forensic ly fire for the Ummah to equate, let me repeat it

any branch of knowledge which is indispensable for the welfare of mankind. It is for a certifier, it is the responsibility of the Ummah to acquire, and if the woman doesn't acquire the Houma collectively will be sinful. And he goes on to say that Tippie well, he served in his area womb, like medicine and accounting.

This is now what we are talking about contemporary subjects Madonna Rasheeda, going, one of our great scholars, one day was teaching could be could be is a book on logic and philosophy. So a person came by and said, a relative of mine passed away. I want you to make his salary as a lab, make something that you can send it to him as a reward after he passed away. So surprisingly, more or less, took 10 said this lesson of logic which I've taught, I give that reward to your departed relative.

And he was surprised he said I would have thought you would have given Quran and Hadith as a reward, you are giving a contemporary subject as a reward for my deceased relative. They said yes, if a contemporary subject is taught with the right intention, right methodology that becomes DD

and that is why we find throughout history, Muslims were in the forefront of what we termed as contemporary knowledge. Now I don't want to go into much detail you are all aware with regard to it. Draper has written that the European Renaissance came from Islam and Muslims. Haytham, a great scholar, wrote a treatise about the Milky Way galaxy well, before they were telescopes that told us about the Milky Way galaxy. He was also a scholar in optics Biruni you know, Allama Biruni spoke about global positioning. Miss moody wrote a book on meadows of environment, Idris he was the first person to draw up a world map. And he was commissioned by the ruler of Sicily at that time to draw

up a world map. And William, you know, kidney interface was the first person to show the world with regard to the pulmonary circulation and the circulation of blood in the human body, something attributed to William Harvey who came 300 years after evening of his so these were the people who were in the forefront Muslims were in the forefront of contemporary subjects, or what we call today.

I don't like to use the word secular secular means something that is beyond what you can see. And we don't believe in that particular system. But I'm just giving an example where Muslims were in the forefront. Now, after understanding all of this, what do we do with regard to our situation in terms of our education? Yes, the Quran and Hadith will be the guideline will be the inspiration will be the motivation will be the end provide the framework through which all other educations will be pursued. That will be the framework. That is the most important thing. Many times people use the word pitra

to emphasize knowledge, but they don't complete the verse crop betas Mirotic.

Read in the Name of Allah, your knowledge is supposed to lead you towards Almighty Allah, it's just not normal knowledge and just general knowledge. It is read in the name of Allah. And really, if that knowledge does not lead you towards Almighty Allah subhanaw taala. It is a failure. It is not knowledge. What is it knowledge, a person has a PhD in something and you ask him, Do you believe in the existence of Almighty Allah and say, am I I'm an agnostic? What is it? What is the use of that knowledge? A five year old Muslim child, if you ask Him Who created you and who's your creator, you will say Allah, that five year old child is better than a PhD in something who does not believe in

Allah subhanaw taala. But we believe from what I've quoted, that we need Muslims in various disciplines. For if we don't have Muslims in the various disciplines. We don't have Muslims in medicine, in accounting, in engineering. As the Muslim community we are going to be severely prejudiced. Already we are seeing the effects of it. We talk about Jihad and today we all talk

What you had over what is happening when in rasa, right? But then I asked you, how are you going to make jihad?

Are you going to make jihad with catapults? Are you going to make jihad with the weapons of your the weapons of old? Or are you going to use the weapons of quote unquote, the enemies or at least the potential enemies against them and getting it from them?

Can you understand the prejudice we have with regard to it.

So Muslims need to be in the forefront of various disciplines. And that is where Muslim schools plays such an important role, that we have to teach these various disciplines with correct intentions and values. And there is no doubt there is a concern that the various contemporary subjects in education is taught with prejudice, with prejudice of LGBTQ and atheism, eggnog, eggnog, agnosticism, and doubt and skepticism with regard to religion and moral values, when whose fault is it, we need the contemporary bear disciplines, but then we need to teach it with the right values. And who's going to provide that to Muslim schools. And that is why I feel that we don't understand

or we underestimate the role of Muslim schools and M says to pray, they need to be more confident, more bold with regard to making known the need for this particular institutions in the Muslim schools. I was recently and I will conclude with this in I was in Hera Islamic school, but set up by Mufti today was smart enough to refuse money. Now for us in South Africa, we will find it very strange. But here are Islamic school is within the precincts of Durham Karachi,

in the presence of the data room is a Euro Islamic school.

And when I went to speak to the tsunami of data to use money, he told me, my father supervises the school with meticulousness. And he says, through the school, bring students who will have expertise in the contemporary subjects with Islamic identity.

Let them bring in the school people who will excel but they will have Islamic identity and at the moment they hear Islamic school is in the process of establishing various colleges, medical college engineering college, my dear respected elders and brothers I just want to show you the importance of EMS and the Muslim school concept. And also I'm very happy that

you know that we are going to be you know,

honoring the students who have done well maybe a cream so Solomon said in Allah Cantabria Sana Allah quality shame that Allah Allah has recommended excellence in everything we do. And the word we use also in one Hadith, when we are cream sauce from color will be fun. That to everything with excellence for STEM equal, Hi Ron, compete with one another in excellence in goodness. So this is what we are doing. We are honoring our students who have done well, which is part of it come part of excellence and part of competing in excellence, because mediocre mediocrity is not an option in Islam. May Allah give you an act of ego of understanding was the one on

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