How to Give Dawah #3 We Have to Know Allah! How to Give Dawah

Yeah, because sometimes people's questions could not be a sign of what they really need. It may be a sign of what they want, by may not be a sign of what they need, what they need maybe something fundamentally different. Like, for example, when an atheist talks to me and says, Well, there's still a chance that there's no God, even though you give them a really good conception of the design argument. And you argue all the different kinds of philosophies concerning probability epistemic probability, mathematical probability, and all of this stuff, and they still seem to, but there could still be a chance that God doesn't exist, then do you think that person needs an art another

rational argument? No, I don't think so. We need to become more intellectually spiritually mature, because why is it for their life, the bar for knowledge, could the epistemic buyer, the buyer for knowledge for everything, marriage, buying a house mobile phone contracts, any type of contracts, law, education, children, driving, work, education, everything, the above knowledge is here.

But when it comes to Allah and God, and only online God is all the way here? Why the inconsistency? Why for everything in your life, your criteria for knowledge, and truth is here, but for good, and only God is all the way here why? That inconsistency shows and is an indication that there's a psychological thing going on, it's not just a rational thing. And we need to be intellectually spiritually mature and sometimes say to people, well,

I don't know.

But you know, how's life?

Honestly, you know, I had these experiences as well. So, you know, I had a debate with Professor James at Queen Mary University Creamery college university in London many years ago. And we were talking about deductive arguments, and you know, sounds proof, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then he basically says to me, Khan,

I'm an atheist because of this. I'm an atheist, because I've been taking care of my disabled son for 18 years. And we had this conversation after the debate. And, you know, retrospectively, you know, I'm thinking now, I should have felt really, really small, because I was so arrogant thinking, I know who he is, he's a philosopher, he must need this argument. But I didn't connect with him on a human level to find out what the real problem was. So I gave dower to my judgement of him. I didn't give Dawa to him. And therefore I couldn't, I didn't realize what actually made him an atheist. And I lost the opportunity to engage with him in a positive way. Do you see the point. And that is

fundamentally subtle. And that means someone who's giving doubt must have their own internal confidence. And they must understand what the human being is the human beings not just a computerized model, that you just put rational argument in their thinking they're going to change, but you see them as the human being. So you have to have a strategy that you listen with the intention to understand. You're not listening, and at the same time manufacturing and preparing a response. You know, because when you say, but the minute you say, but it means you've been thinking about his response while I've been speaking to you, many of you are probably doing it right now. You

have this radio in your head is playing.

What is Hamza saying? Who the hell does he think he is? Trying to challenge the record for? He's not even a scholar? Yeah, come on, man. You know, I'm not dumb. Yeah, I have done this hundreds of times. And he gives you so many people before that everyone has their own radio. Right.

Right. You know, he said he was Greek, but he looks Pakistani. Yeah. You know, the radio is playing, turn it off, turn the radio off, okay. Because it's a sunnah to turn that radio off. Because you we need to treat people as a blank canvas, okay, as a blank canvas. And this was the approach of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he would say to his Sahaba, don't talk to me about other people. Because he wanted to engage with people,

as they are not engaged with them through the filter of judgments, and pre framing them. Yeah. So we have to be very serious, even when we're speaking to non Muslims, and engaging with them that we have the intention to listen and understand. That's a very key thing. And if that's the only thing you learn in the next two days, Job's done, because you've done something which is almost miraculous in our community, to literally listen with the intention to understand because once you get that, then now you know how to talk to someone who you're talking to. So when John comes up to you, and he says, he's a Christian, right,

you know, giving, you know, down to your judgment of what a Christian means. You're like, oh, Trinity. Does that make sense? Blah, blah, blah. And then you had no idea he was a Unitarian. Then he knows that the end

And then you feel like a little worm. Right? Because you don't listen, we don't listen with the intention to understand. So when George the atheist comes to you, you know, you know, starting to say, oh, you know, Big Bang Theory science, and he's like, I don't care about science. He's more of a, you know, an RT type of philosopher type of poetic type. He just feels like, you know, religion doesn't answer my existential questions about who am I? Who's am I? For whom am I? Why am I and you're talking about some abstract scientific information that we don't even know, you know, what that really means. And we don't even have the background to understand that yet. We're giving it to

them. Because we've, we've, we've we're giving down to the judgment of George, we're not giving down to George Right. And, you know, this is like a social hypocrisy for me. Because, you know, don't we accuse many of the kind of Islamophobes of for doing exactly the same thing they look at you are you're a terrorist, your exterior minutes, you're this you're that you're the other? And you're like, No, there's a context. No, engage with me. No, let's have a conversation. It's okay. When you know, the shoes on the other foot, if that's a is that saying?

Or if the dot, you know what I mean? Let's work this make a new language up today. But the point is, you get what I'm trying to say. So but yet when we're talking to

human beings, we treat them like a monolith. Right? They just could fall bro. Right? Which by the way, is not even Quranic. It's not even Quranic. Allah says in surah Al Imran verse 113. People are not the same. Go check the tafsir classical tafsir check it, I'm never going to tell you, you check it for yourself. Allah says people are not the same. There are Christians and Jews who are upright amongst these communities, right? Check the Tafseer check the exegesis. Yes, we have categories, believers, non believers will Novocaine hypocrites etc, etc. But the general categories and primarily for us to internalize Am I am on afek Yeah, they're going on or even Anakata. But Roger

Lohan, the famous Sahaba Companion of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he was chasing the Sahaba, who had the list of the hypocrites to find out if his name was on there. Right?

And he was one of the ones promised paradise, because these categories are for us as well to internalize it. You don't read the Quran, the Quran with you, right? So, you know, where am I spiritually? But Allah also says, well, people are not a monolith. You can other eyes, people, that there is a group of people and they're all exactly the same. The Quran does not do this in any shape or form, clearly, especially when you see this verse, people are not the same.

So it's very important to understand that from that point of view,

anyway, so

now,

he was you don't want to break we just started right? You don't want to break? No? Good. So

you know, when you give down, we have to understand what actually what actually what we're actually doing. Because generally speaking, when we talk about data, we're talking about coding to Allah. And we're going to define what that word means. But I think it's very important for us to understand, well, if we're calling to Allah, we need to know who Allah is right? Now, in your in our tradition, and even your scholarly background or in your, your own level of education. We understand that will fundamentally

when we think about Allah, we're thinking about the sole creator, sustainer, Master, owner fashioner,

of everything that exists.

And we affirm the oneness of his creative power of his creativity, meaning he is the sole creator, Master Sustainer, owner of everything that exists, this is part of our tradition, how you articulate it and categorize it within your own traditional background doesn't matter as long as we know who Allah is okay. So, you know, we, we, we affirm the kind of Oneness of Allah, His transcendence, laser chemistry, he che, there is nothing like him and he is I had exclusively uniquely one could who Allahu Ahad I heard doesn't just mean one, it means uniquely one, Allah is uniquely one. And this oneness is understood through his creativity as well as the fact that he is the sole unique

master owner maker creator Fashioner of everything that exists.

And we also understand this transcendence and oneness when we look at his names and attributes. Yes, Allah has names and attributes. All right, man.

The lovingly merciful and Latif the Sutton in his kindness. Al Hakim, the wise I leave the knowing a Rahim especially merciful, Allah widowed, which means the loving, coming from the Arabic word would which means a loving that is giving. And we believe ALLAH has names and attributes are unique, and they're transcendent. And this is very important for us to understand that we have a maximal perfect theology. We believe Allah's names and attributes are to the highest degree possible that maximally perfect. They have no deficiency and no flow. Just like when Al Ghazali wrote in his magnum opus, in his ear, he wrote the 36th book, which was on muhabba on which was on love, intimacy and contentment

with Allah subhanho wa taala. He said, Allah loves and his servants can love him too. And many of the aroma at that time actually gunned him down. Like how dare you say Allah loves, right? Because they thought this was basically you know, negating the transcendent see of Allah subhanho wa taala. No, but Allah Rosati argued, he reaffirmed that he loves He has a transcendent pure love. But he loves Allah doesn't need to love because he's already he's independent and rich and free. But yeah, he loves and he gains nothing by loving because he doesn't require completion, because he is rich and free. And he's uniquely one. But yeah, he loves imagine how pure and you can't even imagine that

love. That's the whole point. But understanding who Allah is, should make you want to love him. Now if I say to you, someone's going to come through this door and then the most loving human being ever.

Regardless of who you are, something's going to happen in your heart. You want to get to know that person engage that person. Now, Allah's love transcends that type of love. And it's the most purest and maximum form of love. So what should happen to our hearts, to try and be on a path to taste that divine love?

And obviously for us, we know to do that. You have to follow Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa salam because Allah says in the Quran, to Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa salam say, if you love Allah, then follow me, meaning Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and Allah will love you and forgive you since. Because think about it. Forgiveness is actually the language of love, isn't it?

So the other aspect is the fact that we believe ALLAH is one of course, but he is one consenting his divinity. Okay. What does this mean? This means that nothing is worthy of worship except Allah. The only day to worthy of worship is Allah. And we direct and single out all acts of worship to Allah alone. We pray to Allah, we don't pray to somebody else, right? Simple things like that. We direct and single out all acts of worship, worship to Allah alone. And what do we mean by worship? You know, sometimes we don't worship doesn't just mean worship in a kind of post secular Christian sense that you're, you know, doing an act of worship, like bowing or prostration. It's wider than that. He

also means adoration. We adore Allah, right? It's a full, we have adoration. It's to know Allah, it's to love Allah is to obey Allah and within that, you have humility, and it's to direct all acts of worship to Allah alone. So when you think of worship, you need to think of worship in the correct Islamic comprehensive, holistic sense that it is to know Allah. It is to love Allah, how can you love something you don't know? That's what you have to know Allah, to and to love Allah, to obey Allah and to direct all acts of worship to Allah alone. I find this as this as a very helpful way of looking at worship. Because when you go to our classical tradition, you see, obedience is a form of

worship. Love is a form of worship, right? knowing Allah is a form of worship, and obviously, directing acts of worship, the internal acts and external acts are forms of worship, like to Wukan is an internal form of worship. Love is an internal form of worship. Gratitude is an external and internal form of worship. You can express gratitude through your Salah, but you also express it inside your heart, vicar is an internal and external form of worship because you have the vicar of the tongue, but you also have the vicar of the heart, right? So you could be saying, after salah, Alhamdulillah, 33 times And subhanAllah and Allahu Akbar, you get reward even if you don't know the

meaning just by virtue of you saying it as long as you don't change the meaning, but you get greater meaning you get greater reward greater transformation, if your heart is inside

aid what you're saying. So if you're saying Alhamdulillah, All Praise and Gratitude belongs to Allah, but you're really complaining about your whole life inside your heart or you're not really in a spiritual state of shocker, then there's something going on. Right? So there are internal acts of worship and external acts of worship.

And as you know, the opposite to this is the most grievous sin, which is schicke, which is associating partners with Allah subhanho wa taala. So, for example, if you believe something other than Allah, is the sole creator, maintain and sustainer of everything that exists, this is should you have associated partners with Allah subhana, Allah to Allah, if you believe that human beings are like Allah, from the point of view, like concerning names and attributes, and what you've done is you've deified that thing, and therefore you've committed Schoodic. And the opposite is the same. If you think that you know, that Allah is like a human being, this is very problematic, this is

shook because you have humanized Allah's names and attributes and Allah subhanho wa Taala Anna, which is Schoodic. Similarly, if you direct your acts of worship, in turn, internal and external acts of worship to other than Allah, then that is shook as well. You have associate partners with Allah, because part of Tao heat is that we believe ALLAH is worthy of all worship, and we must direct and single out all acts of worship to Allah alone, doing it to anything else other than Allah is associating partners with him. So from this point of view, when we know who Allah is, it is through love, through worship and obedience that we call to him. Okay? It is through love, through

worship, and through obedience that we call to Allah subhanho wa taala. Any questions on this point? And it's very critical, because you may be thinking, we already know this Hamza, I agree, you probably know it better than me too. But that's not the point. It serves as a reminder, to make us understand, well, fundamentally, what is the call of the NBR? Study the Quran, look at the Quran, the Quran of the NBA is La Ilaha, Illa, Allah, to affirm the Oneness of Allah, the oneness of his creativity, His names and attributes, the fact that, you know, the oneness of his worship of his divinity. This is what Tao is all about. And that's why we have to understand what if we're calling

to that, then we need to know who Allah is.

Because if you're not cooling taller than what you cording to Now, don't get me wrong in in a more comprehensive sense. Dow could also be removing the intellectual, emotional and social obstacles that prevent the call. Right? That's why sometimes you have people who debate intellectually, sometimes you have people writing papers, because that may be necessary in the grand scheme of things to remove certain intellectual obstacles that are preventing the Dow from flourishing, I agree in in a wider, comprehensive sense. However, on our level, today, what we need to realize is that, you know, we need to know who Allah is, if we're gonna call to Allah, because how can you call

to something you don't know?

That's the whole point. How can you call to something that you don't know? And that's why Tao is very transformative, it changes you first before it changes anybody else. Remember when you put the finger three fingers are usually pointing back? Yeah. So it's very, very critical to know who Allah is. And then you you're able to call to Allah, and it gives you the right focus because in your engagements with others, it may be then that it gives you the realization that I'm not calling to my ego anymore. We've become a bunch of narcissists haven't we? We haven't we right. Social media has created this egocentricity, this egoism to a level that is like we've become fake people. Like with

all due respect, and I was so close to doing expose these because you know, I'm 38 Now I don't really care what people think. So I was gonna go crazy online. Yeah. Because I feel it's a it's so damaging thing for our community. Why do you have an Instagram account? And you're in a masjid? And you're the only one doing sujood? I mean, with all due respect, yeah. How is that sincere?

It might be I'm not judging their hearts. But what how does it come across to the r1 to the layman