Living Islam #62 – Imaan before Qur’an

filarmonica Rahim al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen wa sallahu wa salam O Allah Asha will be able to cook saline. Muhammad Rasul Allah is Allah Allah Allah you it was seldom at the Sleeman, the Sera, Sera from

my brothers and sisters in this

session on living Islam.

I want to mention to you the Hadees rossella.

Where he said, narrated by jundo bin Abdullah. He said we were with a socializer salaam and we were strong youths. So we learned faith before we learn Quran,

then we learned or on and our faith increased thereby.

He said Allah Hondo which means

we were with Rasul Allah is Allah solemn, strong youths.

And we learnt

faith before we learn Quran

and then when we learn the Quran, it increased and

strengthen outfit.

Now, if you think about this head is, first of all, if you look at the Macan period of the life on which are seldom,

then for a great part of that period, there was not much or unrevealed. So that's the first thing to understand.

Second thing or rather before that

is to understand the issue of creating a foundation

on which knowledge is built.

It's like a platform on which your apps and your software runs.

It's extremely important to have a strong platform, which is,

which has integrity, a strong platform, which is free from fault. If you want the apps and the software to run properly on that platform, if the platform has weaknesses, and if you are running some something on it, then either that thing malfunctions or the whole thing crashes.

The same principle applies as far as Islam is concerned, because Islam is the name of a practice, Islam is not the name of a theory, which can be studied in bits and pieces as you want. Islam is the name of a practice. And when you look at the practice, then it is critical to understand that the success of any practice is based on the strength of the foundation, the strength of the practice, the strength of the platform on which that practice runs. Let me give you my favorite

analogy that I always give, which is with martial arts. What happens to those of you who have been to any martial art classes, you know, this, what happens to you what is the first thing that you learn when you go into a martial arts class, you learn to fall, right? They teach you to fall 10,000 times you have to learn to fall, because that is the platform on which everything else is based. Why is learning to fall? Why is it? Why is it the platform because it teaches humility, it teaches you to protect yourself when you are down and how to go down in a way that you don't hurt yourself.

It teaches you the fact that you can actually fall and it builds your confidence to say that if just because you fail, it doesn't mean you have to stay then you can get up. Now because of all this, then when you learn the other moves, and the other holes and the other blows and throws, then everything else sits perfectly on it. Now Islam is the name of a practice Islam is the name of living, a

living a method of life a dean, it's not just a religion, it's not just a mother. It is not just a set of rituals of worship. Islam is a complete and total way of life.

Because it's a complete and total way of life. Therefore the purpose of Islam is not to fill your head or my head with a bunch of technical terms instead of a heart or with, you know, some theories, some theological constructs. The purpose of Islam is to help us to practice Islam

and where that whole thing begins, is in understanding who you are

La subhanho wa Taala is

not just knowing about Allah, you can begin there. But knowing Allah subhanho wa Taala in the core of our hearts, where when the name of Allah subhanho wa Taala comes before us, something happens to us. In namale mina Lavina Isa Rukia Allahu wa Jalla Lobo, Allah subhanaw taala said very the moment in the believers are those who analyze measurement, there is an effect on their hearts. There is something that happens to their hearts, their hearts react to the word to the name to the call to the sound to the thought

of Allah subhanho wa Taala

the hearts respond the hearts react, not dead hearts.

This is the sign of a believer that his or her heart must respond to the name of Allah subhanho wa Taala

when he hears the other one, Allahu Akbar, it must do something to him. When you stand in salah and he says Allahu Akbar, it must do something to him. When he reads the name of Allah subhanho wa Taala no Quran when he listens to the name of Allah Subhana Allah in the Quran, when anyone mentioned Allah subhanho wa Taala to him, it must do something to that person.

This is one of the reasons why it is not recommended and it is disliked to keep on saying things like Wallah and and and you know by Allah and things like this because it reduces the magnificence and glory and magnitude of Allah manatal in the heart, it just becomes a Tokyo kilometers becomes a way of speaking. One light is Jai This tea is so nice. One law This is good. Or this is bad. No. Because you're swearing or taking an oath to Allah subhanho wa Taala This is a very, very serious matter.

This is an extremely serious matter. There's nothing that can be more serious than taking an oath by law to ban old data. It's not something to be done. You know, just like that without thinking remotely,

just by default. It's something that you must put some thought into.

There is a famous quote of say the Ayesha Siddiqa. delana she said, the first Buddha in this community of Muslims was when people started taking the name of Allah subhanho wa Taala without the glory and magnificence of Allah in their hearts

and see the beautiful words of our mother's a digestive disorder. And he says that the first the first innovation, reprehensible innovation, in this oma was that people started taking the name of Allah subhanho data, without that feeling of glory and magnificence of Allah subhanaw taala in their hearts.

We know that this is a seller, where he would be with the family he would be, you know, laughing and joking with them and whatever it was he was doing and then suddenly he would hear the other man and say the ashes in the car delana says the it was like a switch. It was like some sudden change that would come on him. And he would be like, as if he doesn't know us at all.

completely cut off and and and, and divorced from whatever is happening around him because he heard the call Allah Akbar.

We know the story of Satan it when we thought about the alarm when he heard when he heard the car, Allahu Akbar, his face would become white.

His face would lose all color, the blood would drain from his face and somebody asked him what I would do is I you know, you look like you're in shock. He said into here the call Allahu Akbar.

Allahu Akbar.

This is the sign of the

of Eman in the believer. So gentlemen, Abdullah Golan who's saying that this is what Rasul Allah is Allah Salam inculcated in us

before he taught us the Quran. Now, if you take the marking period,

see this, that in the marking period

the

tests that came on the Muslims were very, very severe, extremely severe.

Where they were tested in in ways I mean, people lost their lives, people were tortured people were harassed people were all kinds of things happen to them for no reason. Other than that, they said Laila heilala.

Abu al killed sumaiya been the Hydra Viola one, the first matter of this day. I will I will

speared her and killed her. And then her husband.

I will Mr. Yasser Allah who I will I would hell had him ripped apart by tying horses to his to his limbs. Right? I mean, imagine this is not just killing somebody, this is killing somebody in a very, very horrible way.

What happened over there? Nothing.

Nothing about it and did Rosaura Salam after after this happened did Mr. asylum say to his, to his companions, there are plenty of people who were there and and you know, brave people and Mashallah people more than capable. Did you say to any of them take out I would

finish out with the hell assassinate Abu Jamal killer, would you

rather give this kind of an order?

What did he say to the Muslims? He said have summer.

He said have summer.

Let me give you an example of what I mean by having a foundation

before you

before you get any results. And I think one of the best examples that I can give you is that of the prohibition of alcohol in the United States, and what happened with it. Now, in 1919,

the 18th amendment to the US Constitution was passed, which paved the way a year later for the ban on the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors within and the importation they're off all the exportation they're off from the United States. And this is I'm reading it off of the thing. Now, why is that, as they say, they didn't, they didn't prevent you from consuming alcohol, if you had some stuff stashed away,

in the privacy of your home, you could do that nobody was going to stop you from doing that, but manufacturer transportation, sale, import export all this was banned in 1920. And this was a constitutional amendment that was

that was done. Now it was interestingly, anyway, so let me continue.

Now this continued, it was enforced, quite literally millions of dollars was spent on enforcement on

you know, on catching of illegal illicit manufacturer of liquor.

on the, on the dis disposal of whatever was called liquor, it was literally sort of poured down the drain

1000s of people, probably hundreds of 1000, people got jailed.

All sorts of things in happen in terms of enforcement, including,

quite literally 1000s of people died from drinking tainted liquor. Because obviously, when you have this kind of a broad prohibition, when you put it in, when there is no foundation for it, when there's when the people don't want it and you impose a law like this, then immediately, actions happen to support that. So illegal distillation of liquor became a huge business, we legal distribution, illegal transport, and so on. So people got charged, they got jailed, you know, many died. And in that process, because now you're illegally producing something, God knows what went into that. So 1000s of people quite literally 1000s of people died of drinking tainted liquor. Now,

all this happened. And this became such a misery that in 1933, by the 21st amendment,

this was cancelled. Now, very interestingly, this is the only constitutional amendment in US history ever to be rescinded ever to be withdrawn The only

constitutional amendment in US history that was ever

made and then withdrawn. It was, you know, they call it a success, because it proved a constitutional point. But it was a colossal failure, because obviously, the purpose of purpose for which it was

it was put in the first place, that purpose was not achieved.

And

you know, they're the result of so many years of so much misery.

so on so forth and in in nothing. Now, why am I making is this contrast that

with

that also relates to the seller and how prohibition was

affected? I will not say enforced because it was really never enforced. There was no need for enforcement. How privation was affected in or by rustlers.

And we'll tie that back to the issue of dalaman, Eman

cobla, dynamic Koran. So that if people learnt Eman before they learn the Quran. Now the what happened with that now, another hurdle of course, revealed I heard

of, you know, in different levels where he stopped and he lost mantella disliked and finally completely prohibited the

private and the consumption of alcohol and by by inference of all intoxicants. So

the law says that he said I was in my house and I was pouring drinks for my friends now and he named some of this I have officers that have been there. And he said when we heard the caller who announced the revelation of the AI we're almost around that I said on camera well my zero well on Sabu while assalamu radio so Min amily shaytan first enable La La home.

Totally home.

So Allah subhanaw taala revealed yeah yo la Vina armano enamel himuro while my siru while ensemble while as La mu ratio, so min Amelie shaytani first Dynamo that I love whom to flee home and last Ramadan I said oh you will believe in toxic guns. So all kinds of intoxicants, gambling idolaters idolatrous practices, which is all forms of, you know, superstitious stuff, and divining futures all sorts of future telling fortune telling our Lord some evil of sideshow Titans doing their radio show mean America Daniel, the worst of the deeds of Satan shall find steady boost stay far away, shun those

locum toeffler horn so that you might be successful. Now, I want another one who says that when this ayat was revealed, he says I was pouring the drink. I moved by hand and the drink was poured onto the,

onto the ground. He said those who had the drink in their cups, they emptied the cups.

If somebody had a mouthful of drink, if they're taken a sip, they didn't swallow that sip, they spat it out. Then the Sahaba our other Bora Lama said that the literally the

the streets and the drains in Medina had liquor flowing in them had alcohol flowing in them, and wine flowing in them. Because people were just getting rid of their stocks. And these are people who, who used to manufacture they were people who were didn't have factories, as far as I know, but people manufactured wine and liquor in their homes, right, they used to squeeze grapes to squeeze dates and so on and so forth. And they weren't manufacturers, all of this stockpiled liquor was literally

thrown down the drain. Then the Sahaba did an amazing thing. They broke the

utensils in which they use to store the drink

to somebody went and told I was a seller This is one of their slashing the jobs and the

and the utensils and we saw some call them and he said Why are you doing that? This, you know there's no need to do that. There's wash them and you can use them for you know to store other things and for any other purpose. There is no need to to smash the utensil. There's a GRS Allah sallallahu sallam, we do not even want to be reminded of our time when we used to disobey Allah subhanaw taala.

Right. I think about that. We're the disobeying Allah subhanho wa Taala at all. Because well before the iron ore prohibition came, it was not privated so if somebody was consuming alcohol, he was not disobeying I was rattled.

When he was doing something which was not good in itself, intrinsically, this was bad. And this is the beauty of Islam. We need to understand this. Sometimes people will Oh, but you know, there are so many restrictions in Islam. The key thing is that Islam restricts only things which are by nature by themselves toxic.

Somebody asked me about 20 years ago when I was when I used to live here, I was

invited to speak at a

gathering.

It was a meeting in UMass, and I was invited to speak there. So I,

after I finished my speech to speak on Islam, one, there was a lady in the back, she asked, she has a question. She said, What is the Sharia?

What is the Sharia? So I said to her, that the Sharia is the way that any decent, honest, socially conscious, compassionate, and honorable person would like to be

met, if you want to set a set of rules, to say that I want to behave like a decent, honest, socially conscious, responsible, compassionate human being. Now what must I do? The set of rules that you would you would numerate or set for that person? I said, this you would call this is the Sharia because what are the Sharia tell us to do? What is the Sharia prohibit? It prohibits intoxication. Mentally, what is good about intoxication? Forget about, forget about religion, I'm just saying a simple question. What is good about intoxication? Why even use the word toxic?

intoxication is a debate over the word toxic. So why do you call it toxic? If it is good? Why do you call it toxic?

We know it is bad.

Yet,

we still use it.

One of the big reasons why prohibition in the United States failed was because there is they realized the kind of revenue that the government could earn by taxing alcohol.

They were losing out. So the reason for repealing the law was not was only because of money. So well, you know, what, why are we letting this income go? So you're saying that if you have to wait two things on a scale, one is what is beneficial for people. And the other one is what makes money than what makes money will always give precedence to what is beneficial for people.

Right? Just now, as I'm speaking, the minimum wage in the United States, in 2009, was $7.25 per hour, the minimum wage right now 2021 is still $7.25 per hour between 2009 and 2021. no change in minimum wage, the current government wanted to raise it to $15 an hour, the thing failed,

didn't happen. Because if you have a bunch of capitalists sitting to rule on this thing, they're not going to rule in favor of what what is good for the poor.

So when you have two sets of things, one is what is good for society. And the other one is what makes money you're always going to rule in terms of what makes money because that's what's driving you

know, Islam just doesn't work like that. We rule in terms of what is good for society, and in that process, if it doesn't make money, very good, you should not make money in toxic ways. sale of alcohol production of alcohol, sale and production of any intoxicant

sale and production of any tobacco products, cigarettes and so on and so forth. Then why why why is cigarette smoking? Not bad, wise, wise, the manufacturer of cigarettes? Not bad? You go to Saudi Arabia, you got big billboards, right? Talking about how tobacco consumption is privated how it in Islam, how it is toxic, how it is

how cigarette smoking is haram, big billboards, but cigarettes can be bought, you can go to a shop buy cigarettes. So how come the government does not banned the sale and manufacture of cigarettes? Because they're making money out of it? They're taxing them. Take for example, the sale and consumption of marijuana for recreational purposes. What do you call a pot party?

What do you call a bunch of people sitting together and smoking joints

for recreational use of marijuana. Now recreational use of marijuana has been made legal in the United States in Canada and so on so forth. Okay, fantastic. Beautiful, right. Very nice. You want to go and walk a bunch of joints please go ahead is no longer earlier. My point is that what did you jail all those people in the 60s and 70s for maybes

What are they doing which was so bad there, they were doing exactly the same thing.

They were doing exactly the same thing. And the and and the, and the winning court. The beauty is that a lot of people before this thing was made legal, who were caught and who were sentenced to prison, on this charge.

On the building courts, recreational use of marijuana are still sitting in prison, even though the law is no longer valid, even though the law has been removed. It is now legal. So why don't you go back to those people and say, Look, I mean, you know what I mean, you were you were jailed unnecessarily, because this thing was, is now legal. So obviously, it is now legal,

then it must have been good even that.

But that's not how our worldly laws work. Islam does not say that Islam says what is good is good. What is bad is bad. What is good cannot become bad. Just because there's a fad or something, you know, mood changes or something. And what is bad cannot become good for the same kinds of reasons. What is intrinsically good will remain intrinsically good forever. What is intrinsically bad will remain intrinsically bad forever. And the consumption of alcohol, all forms of intoxicants is intrinsically bad and toxic. That is why it is called intoxicant.

And therefore Islam prohibits it, and it remains prohibited. Now, the point I'm making all I'm saying is because what is it that enabled Rasul Allah is

simply to tell people, Allah has prohibited and people obeyed.

Whereas, in the United States, and in many countries, including India, prohibition have been tried and failed,

over and over again.

Despite police, despite enforcement, despite millions and probably billions of dollars worth of expenditure, despite all kinds of misery, prisons and whatnot, still,

prohibition could not be implemented. Why?

Because the foundation of obedience to Allah subhanaw taala did not exist. The people were not convinced, I want to drink I want to drink, I don't believe that this thing is bad for me. Whereas when the people who are conditioned when their EMR had already been built,

and they knew, they knew who Allah is now and they know Allah is that obeying Allah is, you know, just happens to be there's no way that it won't happen.

They know what lies there, of course,

one of the I remember listening to a beautiful lecture once and May Allah bless the show, he gave this very nice example. He said that take a little kid, you know, three, four, your three four year old child who is playing in the street, he's talking about, you know, the, the small communities in you know, in our countries, where the dome yard and you know, playground and stuff, so children literally play in the streets. So he said this little game three, four year olds, his five year old, whatever is playing around to the street, and the, the general the commanding officer of the army comes and he's, you know, fully in combat uniform is probably he's a sidearm and whatnot. And

everything else, this kid will look at me laugh, he'll, you know, wave to him. He's not afraid of the wind.

But the same kid, his mother sticks her head out of the out of the window, and she's a gummy or otherwise was this, come here or this? Now she's just showing her pad, that kid will turn and run back.

So he says, How come? The kid is not afraid of somebody who has this power and you know, authority and weapons. And he's afraid of his mother showing our hand

because the kid knows the mother. The kid has felt descend on his bottom.

Whereas the kid does not know this general and you know, he doesn't understand the uniform he doesn't understand weapons and whatnot.

that a lot of times

when we are no laws were handled and when we understand the glory and magnificence of Allah subhanho wa Taala when we have a look with Allah subhanaw taala

when the word and the name of Allah subhana wa Taala does something into in our hearts

right, when the word and name of Allah subhanho wa Taala does something to us in our hearts.

That is when obedience is instantaneous,

because I know who is Allah, I have the glory or magnificence all

Line my heart, I am sure uncertain that one day I'm going to meet Allah subhanaw taala. And I want to make sure that I do everything in my power to make sure that that meeting is a great meeting.

And I have this dialogue with Allah. I love Allah.

And I want Allah to love me. I want to be in a situation where I raised my hand for Dawa and Allah subhanaw taala does not reject by

now obviously, I cannot do that by disobeying Allah.

So what do I do? I ensure that I obey Allah.

I ensure that I never do anything to disobey Allah.

Right?

So when an order of Allah subhanho wa Taala is presented to me, then I don't even think

not because I'm following blindly but because I'm following with knowledge and my knowledge is that Allah subhanho wa Taala is in control Allah subhanho wa Taala whatever he orders is only for the good Allah does not give any order which is destructive by itself.

And that one day I will meet Allah subhanaw taala and Allah subhanho wa Taala will question me about what I did.

Allah will not say what happened. Allah will not ask what happened Allah will ask what did you do?

Right.

And that is the whole the whole point of Duckworth. So Dalai Lama Li man is a he said we learned the man this is what was what was teaching them.

And Alhamdulillah they learnt it beautifully.

So when the orders came, there was no need for enforcement. As soon as I didn't spend a single dollar law enforcement, there was no jail in Medina. There are no police in Medina. The reason I didn't send people you know, sorta house to house to catch people who are drinking illicitly or who had the stills manufacturing, illicit liquor, nothing, nothing, nothing.

There was no need for any inwards enforcement because the enforcement had already been done in a different way. The enforcement of the glory and magnificence of Allah, the enforcement of the love of Allah subhanaw taala gelatin Allah if it can be called enforcement, I mean, the fact that these were people who loved Allah subhanaw taala beyond anything else.

One of the armano Asha Allah,

Allah subhanho wa Taala was there with us is Allah said these the believers, they love Allah more than anyone, anything else.

So obeying was, whoa, it was a dream. I mean, it was a automatic thing it happened. Yes, of course, what else

nevertheless, is just that is the power of this. Now today, unfortunately, we have

taken Islamic education and believe me, all of this is post Industrial Revolution 1726.

Right onwards, there were no schools and mothers as the way we know them today before the industrial revolution is all posted as a revolution. And the tragic tragic tragedy is that even our religious schools are patterned exactly on the same model as the secular schools. There's no difference. The only difference is the books we teach. We teach one set of books in the secular schools we teach another set of books in a religious school but exact that system is exactly the same, which is there is a teacher the teacher teaches the books the assumption is the kids do not know teacher knows the chart, the job of the of the jobs, the children is to study, meaning memorize and pass exams, the

teachers teach them how to pass exams, neither of them actually knows anything.

Same system in the secular schools. That's exactly what happens in secular schools as well.

secular schools are a little bit better in the context there at least for the sciences, there is some some level of experimentation, some level of practical

you know, practicals and practical experience in religious schools in our mother is there is no experimentation, there are no experiments there is no practical experience of really experiencing the religion. Whatever the Messiah used to do, has been lost

does not exist anymore. not part of the curriculum. The by the curriculum is to study the books and then go give an exam and once you have finished the exam, you pass or you fail, and on that basis, you are granted your degree. And you call yourself alum or Mufti or whatever, at exactly the same thing happens, you know

In a secular school

This is not how a solo solo solo taught. He did not run a school, he didn't run a crash. He didn't run a a muck tub.

He did not run a dark room he did not run a jamya he drain drained and he created and he molded any raised.

There'll be a tour regional, he did tarbiyah of noble people,

of men and that and when you say men, that is not meant as a gender comment, it's meant as people of nobility, men and women.

There is a lot of Nevers never taught children that they were they were children who were around him. But he never ran a class for children. He didn't have a child, a children's education program. He taught the parents and the parents went on and taught their children, which did two good things. One is that revision of your of your teaching is good for the one who is teaching and it built a relationship between the parents and children which by by and large does not exist today. And that was a relationship between the teacher and the student. The children respected the father or the mother because the father and the mother was the route through which they are laid, they learnt

about Allah subhanaw taala

This is how we taught, but we have discarded that whole system.

As soon as I said I'm focused on the platform, and the platform was what and is what is the knowledge of Allah subhanaw taala is the erfan of Allah subhana wa

is the mareva of Allah subhanaw taala

is feeling Allah subhanaw taala in your heart and my heart, when we stand in Salah what happens to us nothing happens, well, we have our thoughts are all over the place, we are problem concentrating in the liquor. Liquor means remembrance, and we are forgetful in the Zika which is an oxymoronic thing it is theoretically impossible,

because the two opposite things, vigor is remembrance, forgetfulness is ruffler two opposite things, How can two opposite things simultaneously coexist in one place?

They cannot which means that when if you if you think that is happening, then one of them is missing.

A fire and water cannot coexist in the in the same place. So if you think there is fire and water in the same place, you need to go and check it's either only the fire or only the water the two cannot possibly coexist in the same place. The exactly the same way. The seeker of Allah which is salah and havlat from Allah subhanho wa Taala whatever the name it is cannot simultaneously be in the same place. So if I'm in my salah and I'm Raphael there are not in Salah

I'm just standing there

How does that happen? Because our foundation I won't even say our foundation is weak because we don't have a foundation

we need to get this foundation and that get getting the foundation is through working on a man How do you work on your you work on demand by two things.

And inshallah that we look in the next episode, but right now working on a man just to give you a thumbnail sketch of that we work on Eman or by two things one is by reflecting on the glory and magnificence of Allah subhanho wa Taala serious reflection not in not not the thinking something and you know your phone in your hand or throw the fourth

serious reflection on the glory and magnificence of Allah subhanaw taala

and allowing that glory and magnificence to sink into the heart and the mind and the soul.

And the second thing is serious reflection on the nehama the blessings of Allah subhanaw taala.

And to allow those that reflection to result in

the sugar of Allah, on thanking Allah

in every way,

right,

reflection on the glory and magnificence of Allah and reflection on the sugar often on the blessings of Allah for which we thank Allah subhanaw taala.

These are the two ways in which we

can build

this platform of Eman. This is what also celebrate with the Sahaba

in McCann, of course continuously it's not as if we stopped it doing it by the reminiscing Mkhize because we're looking at the Hadees of judo bear Abdullah Delano.

So he's referring to

specifically to that period

where he said we learned Eman then we learn the Quran. And when we learned the Quran it reinforced and strengthened our river.

ask Allah subhana wa Jalla gelato to enable us to focus on the right things and the clear things and enable us to live our lives in a way where unless we have that expertise with us masala will carry while he was a member of Salaam Alaikum